The Heir and the Monster
The black priestly robes fluttered in the wind.
“Raphael?”
Kanna stared at him, unable to believe her eyes. How could Raphael be here? Why was he here?
“You must not follow them.”
Raphael issued the warning with quiet gravity.
“They are the kind of people who would extract your blood by force if necessary. It is dangerous.”
“Ha! How ridiculous. To hear the word ‘dangerous’ come from your mouth. Aren’t you the most dangerous person in this entire world?”
Yet Raphael ignored Jerome completely and extended his hand toward Kanna. It was a clear signal for her to come to him.
“Do not go, Master Kanna. That man is far more dangerous than anyone else.”
Jerome’s gleaming eyes glared at Raphael.
“Do you even know how a Holy Spirit is created in the first place? A Holy Spirit is a being formed by scraping together the lives of countless people!”
Kanna listened to their exchange in silence. However, she did not move toward either of them. Her feet seemed rooted to the ground, utterly still.
At that moment, her eyes met Raphael’s.
He looked puzzled. The question was plain in his gaze: Why won’t you come to me?
The instant Raphael’s attention was fixed entirely on Kanna, Jerome pulled something from his chest and hurled it with vicious speed.
Thud!
A horrifying sound rang out.
Kanna blinked.
Raphael had already stepped in front of her. A dagger had torn through the black sleeve of his robe and now protruded grotesquely from his forearm. Crimson liquid welled at the sharp tip before dripping steadily to the ground.
Kanna stared at the stream of blood, then shifted her gaze beyond it.
Jerome was fleeing as if his tail were on fire.
Why did he attack me?
The answer was obvious.
Because he knew Raphael would protect her. Because he knew the blade would strike Raphael instead.
I can’t let him get away like this.
If she allowed it, Jerome would undoubtedly return later with other Black Apostles to hunt her down. This was her only chance.
The moment Kanna tightened her grip on the spell array in her hand, Raphael yanked the dagger from his forearm without hesitation and threw it.
The blade flew true, piercing straight through the back of Jerome’s neck. He collapsed without even a scream. He was almost certainly dead.
“You do not need to do such things while I am by your side. Please refrain from inflicting unnecessary wounds upon yourself.”
Kanna watched his sincere devotion with an expressionless face. Then, in a flat, emotionless voice, she said,
“And yet here you are, injured again, Raphael.”
“I am fine.”
“Because it heals quickly if you leave it alone?”
“Yes.”
“How fascinating. Is it because you were meant to become a Holy Spirit?”
Raphael closed his mouth. He did not seem surprised. He had clearly heard every word of the conversation between Jerome and Kanna.
Which meant he now knew that the truth of him being the Holy Spirit’s successor had been exposed.
“Do you have some ability to track people down?”
Otherwise, this made no sense.
Kanna had definitely left Riben Island on a tiny rowboat. There had been nothing but open sea around that vessel.
In other words, it should have been a place no one could possibly follow.
And yet Raphael had found her.
“Yes.”
Raphael spoke the astonishing truth as if it were nothing.
“That is correct.”
It was Kanna who was thrown off balance. She had only meant to mock him, yet such a bizarre ability actually existed.
“Then does that mean the Holy Spirit also knows I’m still alive?”
“No.”
“Why not? If you, his successor, can do it, shouldn’t he be able to as well?”
“I was created to be superior.”
Like a product released with better specifications than the previous model, he described himself that way.
Everything felt strange.
The things he said. His true identity. His abilities. Raphael himself.
As she stared blankly into his eyes, a chill suddenly raced down her spine. That was when she understood—Raphael was not an ordinary human.
He was an entirely different kind of being from her. Like the Holy Spirit, yet equipped with abilities even the Holy Spirit lacked. A monster…
Drip.
The sound of a droplet falling echoed.
Kanna lowered her head without thinking.
There it was—Raphael’s hand, soaked crimson. Blood poured endlessly from his fingertips.
Again.
He was hurt again. Every time she saw him, he was injured somewhere.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, the tension in her shoulders crumbled. Kanna let out a long sigh.
“Stop getting hurt. No matter how quickly it heals, it still hurts, doesn’t it?”
“I am fine.”
“Raphael.”
“Yes.”
“Are we related by blood, by any chance?”
It was an abrupt question. Yet Raphael’s expression remained eerily calm.
“It is possible.”
“…What does that mean?”
“Those born in the Great Temple do not know who their parents or siblings are.”
Of course.
Only by keeping people ignorant of their blood relatives could such a horrific institution as incestuous marriage be maintained.
“However, from the moment I was born, I was designated as the Holy Spirit’s successor. Therefore, I believe the probability that I am his son is extremely high.”
So that was it. He was right. The odds were high. In that case…
“We might be siblings.”
The moment she murmured those words, a sliver of emotion finally appeared on Raphael’s face. His brows drew together slightly. Displeasure radiated from the narrowed space between them.
Did he hope they were not blood-related? But when she looked again, his forehead was perfectly smooth. She must have imagined it.
“When did you learn that I am the Holy Spirit’s daughter?”
“From the first moment I saw you in the slums.”
“Then why did you act that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you behave like a servant? When I revealed that I was the Holy Spirit’s daughter, you had the chance to tell me we might be siblings.”
“I could never presume to stand as your equal.”
Raphael answered quietly.
“My life is filthy, and I am a cowardly fugitive. But you are different.”
His clear, unwavering eyes fixed on her.
“Even in the depths of despair, you save others. You are worthy of worship.”
Good heavens.
Kanna let out a groan. Raphael truly saw her as some kind of saint.
It was an absolutely enormous delusion.
“Raphael, I am not the person you think I am. I am selfish. I will do anything to survive. If anything, I am closer to a villainess.”
“Not to me.”
Raphael spoke with absolute conviction. His eyes were strict, allowing no argument.
“If I had not met you, my life would have been extinguished long ago. I would have ended it myself.”
Kanna’s throat closed tight. The certainty overflowing in his gaze made it feel like the truth.
“But you told me to live. That is the only reason I continue this worthless existence.”
“Don’t say that!”
She could endure no more. Kanna burst out,
“The way you devote yourself to me like this—it feels uncomfortable and burdensome. I don’t even remember you…!”
“I remember.”
“…”
“I do not ask that you remember me. I desire nothing from you.”
It was sincere. Raphael wanted nothing from her. Not affection, not goodwill, not even the smallest shred of attention.
“You may simply use me as you please.”
That was all he wanted.
“Use me as your shield. Use me as your spear. If I break one day, discard me then. To die for you would be an honor.”
Only then did Kanna fully understand.
Raphael did not know how to live. He knew neither joy nor happiness. He had no interest in them. He was a pitch-black abyss of a person with no reason to exist.
He had once tried to die. There must have been a reason.
Yet she had stopped him. She had given food to a boy who had chosen death, spoken words of hope, and treated his wounds.
A careless act of pity that she could not even remember now.
That trivial kindness had created this outcome.
In other words, Raphael was her karma. The retribution for carelessly offering life to a man who had decided to die.
Damn it.
Kanna could not pretend to ignore this persistent karmic debt from her past. In fact, she felt pity for him. It was like a thorn lodged beneath her fingernail—she could not disregard it.
“I don’t want that.”
Yet the words came out cold, against her true feelings.
“I am going to live a new life. Do you understand what that means? It means I will sever all ties with the past.”
“I will help you.”
“You’ll only get in the way. The Great Temple is pursuing you, isn’t it?”
Kanna shot back sharply.
“If you linger near me, the Great Temple might discover me. My survival could be revealed. I have no intention of shouldering that risk.”
Silence fell. He stared at her with an expressionless face. Then, with utmost seriousness, he said,
“I am very good at many things. I can satisfy you in various ways.”
He continued quickly.
“I excel at cleaning, cooking, and all household chores. Whatever you command, I will surely please you.”
“I don’t need it.”
“What if you use me to guard the house?”
“I don’t need it.”
“You may simply stand me up like a statue for decoration.”
Was he joking?
No. Astonishingly, he was more serious than anyone in the world. Raphael was completely sincere.
To ask so earnestly to be set up as a statue… Well, if she kept such a handsome sculpture in the house, it would certainly be pleasant to look at…
“I don’t need it.”
“Am I of no use to you at all?”
“That’s right.”
He finally accepted it. He bowed politely.
“I will follow your will. I wish you happiness.”
Then he turned away. His retreating figure showed not a single trace of lingering attachment. The lightness of it actually surprised Kanna.
Wait, he’s not going to try to die, is he?
An ominous premonition made the back of her neck stiffen. It felt entirely possible. Kanna clenched her fists tightly.
Yet the farther he walked, the clearer that past moment became in her mind.
Raphael’s hands as he carried her through the blazing flames. His body that had melted completely because of it.
Damn it all.
“Wait.”
Raphael turned immediately. The moment their eyes met, Kanna was seized by a terrible sense of defeat.
“…So, before you worry about taking care of me, try living your own life properly first. How can you help me when you’re being chased by the Great Temple?”
She knew it was the wrong answer, yet she had to choose it. The feeling was utterly miserable.
Raphael pondered her words carefully before asking,
“If I am no longer pursued by the Great Temple, may I stay by your side?”
“That’s the bare minimum!”
Ah, she didn’t know anymore. Kanna let out a deep sigh.
“I don’t need a slave who dies in my place. I don’t need a guard dog for the yard, a decorative statue, a cleaner, or a cook.”
“Then what do you need?”
With a sense of complete resignation, Kanna continued.
“A strong person. Someone strong enough to protect me from Adis, from the imperial family, and from the Great Temple. That might be necessary.”
It was pure nonsense, of course. She had long realized how dangerous it was to wish for someone to protect her.
Therefore, this was nothing more than idle talk meant to give Raphael a new goal.
Yet Raphael asked with absolute seriousness,
“Then may I remain by your side?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
Kanna answered coldly.
“Until then, do not even think of meeting me. Even if you can find me, do not come. You’ll only be a hindrance.”
“Understood.”
“If you have changed that much in five years, we will meet here on that day. Until then, do not approach me.”
With those final words, Kanna turned away. She had dressed it up in roundabout phrases, but it was ultimately a farewell.
This was the end between her and Raphael.
It’s obviously impossible.
Even if it took five years, even fifty years, it would never happen. But Raphael’s thoughts were different.
“Three years.”
Watching her receding back, Raphael murmured softly.
“Three years will be enough.”