Chapter 366: Look Into My Eyes (Please Subscribe)

The sun, has set.

A single sentence, and Herbert's nerves were pulled taut to the breaking point.

!!!

In his past life, this would have been a perfectly ordinary remark.

The sun rises, the moon sets — the laws of nature, nothing special about it.

But in this world, the same words would carry an entirely different meaning.

The sun in this world was no ordinary celestial body of the cosmos — it pointed to a powerful deity.

The Sun God… has something wrong?

He… fell?

For one fleeting instant, Herbert wanted to burst out of the Penitentiary and look up at the world outside.

If Albatross truly did plummet from the sky, what kind of catastrophe would that bring upon this world?

To that terrifying question, Herbert actually could find an answer.

In the history that once was, the sun really had set once before!

In that battle against a god from another realm, the sun fell.

That catastrophe very nearly destroyed this world entirely.

Later, for a very long stretch of years, the whole world sank into an endless night, with only a blood moon hanging high in the sky, and the sun did not rise again until a great while later.

If He were to do it again… hiss!

The mere thought of such a possibility made one's body involuntarily tense and a chill run down the spine.

But Herbert held himself back.

Because he suddenly remembered — not long ago, in Elda, he had happened to see the sun himself.

Outside, everything was still perfectly normal.

The sun was still that same sun, the world was still that same world, nothing unusual had changed.

And Lucille's silence had begun before he had teleported to Elda.

Herbert did not know what the fallen angel had seen in the mirror, but by the looks of it, it was at least not the present reality.

A glimpse of the past?

Or a corner of the future?

And what was it that Lucille had seen?

Although Herbert was not all that close to Lucille, he knew she was not the sort to be sentimental or fragile.

What on earth had she seen? Something that could make an archangel who once stood at the pinnacle beneath the gods shed tears?

The sun setting… does it mean the death of the Sun God? That the Lord of the Blazing Sun has fallen?

No, that's not right.

Didn't Lucille herself betray the Sun God?

If the Sun God had truly fallen, Lucille might not be happy, but she wouldn't be this sorrowful either.

What on earth was it?

Herbert frowned in thought, burying these doubts deep in his heart.

Although he was very curious about the truth, now was not the moment to ask.

Most Urgent Now was not to pry a precise answer from Lucille's lips, but to calm a troubled woman.

Herbert held Lucille tightly, one hand gently patting her back, the other lightly stroking her waist, soothing the panicked soul with tenderness.

He lowered his head and whispered softly beside the fallen angel's ear:

"Don't be afraid."

Just one simple, gentle murmur, yet the fallen angel, whose body had been trembling faintly all this while, suddenly went still.

The angel, in a daze, turned her head; behind the black veil, her eyes opened wide as she tried to make out the youth's face.

"I'm here."

Herbert did not turn his head, and went on:

"I don't know what you saw, and I don't know what you're grieving over, but there's something I want to tell you."

"Fate is not set in stone."

He lifted his head slightly, his gaze meeting his own reflection in the distant mirror with quiet resolve, and said gently, "Do not, and need not, grieve over an unreal, undecided bubble."

Do not suffer over something that has not yet happened.

You can take out a loan to buy a car, take out a loan to buy a house, even take out a loan for the championship… but please, never take out a loan on pain and sorrow.

"Fate can be reversed."

"If you don't want that kind of future to come, what you should do isn't cry — it's work hard to change it."

Herbert counseled softly, trying to convey his thoughts.

He was very sincere, but at this moment, Lucille did not take all of his words to heart.

In the Young Lady fallen angel's mind, the words Herbert had spoken at the very start kept echoing — "Don't be afraid."

Don't be afraid, I'm here.

In the past, Lucille had never once heard such comforting words from anyone.

Never.

Because… she herself was the one whose presence made others feel fear.

Every time she appeared before mortals, she had to take the initiative to soothe them, to keep them from being frightened by her appearance.

Before the other angels, she was the merciless archangel who never once smiled — the sharpest blade in the god's hand.

Comfort? An embrace?

No one would ever say such words to her, and no one would dare make such a presumptuous gesture.

They… were all afraid of Lucille.

Mortals were awed by her radiance, not daring to meet her eyes.

Angels revered her majesty, not daring to chat casually with her.

Afraid of being cut by her sharp edges, afraid of being burned by her blazing body, afraid of being seen as a heresy that needed purging.

So they kept their distance—even though Lucille had come to save them, even though Lucille was their leader.

Lucille could understand their thoughts, so she quietly kept her distance as well, never once trying to get close to them.

And now, Lucille was being comforted by a mortal countless times weaker than herself, being soothed as if she were an ignorant child.

Was it bewilderment?

Was it confusion?

Was it being moved?

Perhaps, a little of all these emotions, lingering tangled in her heart.

But what filled Lucille's heart most at this moment was none of these—rather… anger.

"Don't… be afraid?"

Lucille suddenly broke free from Herbert's embrace, deliberately flying backward several meters.

She floated in midair, stared at Herbert, and slowly began, "Telling me not to be afraid? What… do you even know?"

Her voice carried an unsettling, grim fury, causing the temperature of the entire Mirror Space to drop considerably.

!!!

"Hiss!"

Liukaliya, who had been hiding on the side watching the show, flinched and quietly floated her true body, the ancient mirror, to a slightly farther place.

Not good, not good!

This one looks really angry—better hide farther away!

Liukaliya silently speculated to herself, even harboring some unrealistic expectations—would she actually tear this place apart?

But at the same moment, as the one facing this blaze of fury head-on, Herbert showed not a trace of fear.

He floated quietly in place, lowered his eyes to feel the lingering warmth and coolness on his chest, and smiled to himself.

Lucille was furious to the extreme?

Already unable to control her emotions, losing composure?

No.

The truth was probably not like that.

When Lucille broke free, she hadn't used any force at all, nor had she pushed herself away… rather, she had retreated a few steps on her own.

He was certain—her anger was nothing more than a disguise, a surface appearance.

It was even possible that Lucille herself didn't know the truth, instinctively putting on this act to cover her real feelings.

Herbert raised his eyes, looked at the furious fallen angel, and asked softly, "I don't know?"

"You don't know!"

The fallen angel roared without hesitation.

You have no idea what I saw.

You don't know what I've been through.

You don't know!

You! Know! Nothing!!!

And facing her rising fury once more, Herbert nodded seriously and admitted, "That's right, you're right, I don't know."

Creak.

Lucille clenched her teeth tightly: "Then why are you still saying…"

"But that isn't my problem."

Herbert calmly interrupted her and said seriously, "It's yours."

"…What did you say? Me?" Lucille frowned, feeling it was somewhat absurd.

What nonsense was he spouting?

"Yes, you."

Herbert smiled and countered, "Do you think I don't want to know?"

He stood fearlessly, quietly meeting the gaze of the bewildered fallen angel, and said calmly, "It's precisely because you say nothing that I know nothing."

"If you want me to know, I can be a listener, and hear your troubles."

"But if you don't want me to know, I can also be one who stays silent, and ask nothing."

"So whether I can know your troubles—the choice is yours, not mine."

You speak, I listen.

You don't speak, I don't ask.

This was Herbert's way of getting along with others—striving to explore while also giving due respect in certain special places.

"I! You…"

Lucille wanted to retort after hearing these words, but hesitated after opening her mouth.

What he said… really didn't seem to have any problem.

She was the one throwing a tantrum.

Taking advantage of the silence, Herbert continued:

"In fact, I don't care at all what exactly you saw. I'm only concerned about how you feel."

"Whether the sun sets or not, I don't care."

Herbert spoke without servility or arrogance, his tone carrying no fawning flattery, no 'brotherly' tenderness — only a hint of faint anger.

"If you don't need my concern, you can just tell me directly. I can pretend I saw nothing and quietly walk away."

If you need me, I'll be right here.

If you don't need me, then I can leave too.

"Then, Luciel, you can tell me now."

He stared into Luciel's eyes and asked slowly, "Do you… actually need my concern or not?"

Clearly, in terms of strength, ten thousand Herberts couldn't compare to Luciel — the gap between them was worlds apart.

But at this moment, Herbert's presence utterly overwhelmed Luciel's.

A mortal questioning an angel.

And the angel, as if wanting to avoid that calm gaze, lowered her head and fell silent.

"…"

Yes, Herbert knew nothing.

But his ignorance of these things was precisely because of his own silence.

Yet Luciel had her own difficulties.

What she had seen in the mirror was simply too absurd.

She couldn't tell him, couldn't tell anyone.

If they knew such a future, it would only be harming them.

…Not knowing is enough.

Precisely because he knew nothing, he had no superfluous thoughts when treating her.

"Why?"

Luciel slowly raised her head, looking at Herbert with complicated eyes, and asked softly, "You clearly know this is dangerous — why go this far?"

Since you already understand how dangerous this truth is, why not just leave me alone?

Luciel didn't answer Herbert's question directly, but not refusing was itself an answer.

"Heh."

The corner of Herbert's mouth lifted slightly as he said with a smile, "First, it's out of duty."

"As a Warden, my mission is to reform you lot, to let you lost sheep of prisoners find the right path again."

"Second, it's out of concern for you."

"As a friend, caring about a friend's feelings — is that anything strange?"

The boy blinked and asked playfully, "Or do you not think our relationship qualifies as friends?"

Friends?

Luciel pressed her lips together, her pearly teeth lightly biting her lower lip.

"…"

The Young Lady didn't hesitate too long. She floated forward on her own initiative, returning to stand before Herbert, lowered her head, and said softly, "Sorry, about the prophecy I saw, I can't tell you anything."

Herbert laughed at her obedient appearance.

"It's fine, I don't mind."

Saying so, he raised his hand and gently lifted the veil covering Luciel's eyes.

"Look at me."

Herbert looked at the fallen angel, whose eyes were tightly shut and whose expression was somewhat flustered, and said seriously, "Luciel, open your eyes. Look into my eyes."

"Rather than those futures that haven't happened yet, look at the reality that's right in front of you."

"I'm right here before you."

After saying this, Herbert said nothing more and quietly waited for Luciel's reaction.

Open your eyes and look at me — I refuse to believe your eyes are empty!

"…"

And Luciel, seemingly struck by a tremendous impact, her thick lashes trembling faintly, tried several times to open her eyes.

She was hesitating.

Could she really show her most vulnerable side to him?

She was an Archangel, a fallen one who defied the gods, was… no, right now she was nothing.

In this prison, she was nothing more than a prisoner.

And a prisoner showing a soft side to a Warden — there seemed nothing wrong with that.

Besides, he was also…

Luciel made up her mind and suddenly opened her eyes.

In those special eyeballs of hers, countless pupils gazed simultaneously at the smiling boy before her.

This boy was unlike anyone she had ever met.

Perhaps she really could show her softest side to him.

"Heh, you've finally agreed to look at me."

Herbert chuckled softly, then naturally opened his arms toward Luciel.

And this time the Young Lady didn't hesitate any longer, plunging straight into the boy's embrace.

"He's right."

Lucil felt it silently, murmuring in his heart: "Compared to that prophecy, this warmth is the true reality."

At the same time, just as Lucil was sighing inwardly, Herbert turned his head to the side and looked at the reflection in the mirror.

"Speaking of which... there's still someone here."

The person in the mirror was currently looking at Herbert with a strange expression, as if having a thousand words to say.

"Heh."

The young man placed his index finger before his lips, secretly making a "quiet" gesture, and winked at the mirror fairy.

At this time, you shouldn't be butting in.

Just watch quietly from the side.

But remember not to make a sound~

(End of chapter)