Rewinding sometime into the past.

There’s this political system in place between the angel haven and demon faction where a pureborn demon in an angel’s custody would be exchanged for a pureborn demon and vice versa.

Trisha was thinking of a gift for Avner when she hit on the prospect of maybe finding the pureborn he was looking for.

Hence, she went to the detention center. Because she held quite the authority in the angel domain, she was granted access to a lot of private, insider information without restraint.

The clue she found using Avner’s description after checking the ether terminal was the fleet LIGHTSHADOW.

Trisha then went through the detention database and found the pureborn demon Carlos of Hades among many names in the log. His name rang a bell. She went to visit him at once.

“Hello, I’m Trisha. I’ve come to ask you a few questions if that’s alright..” her sentence trailed off, unable to hide the shock from her face.

Carlos too, found the situation unbelievable.

“What a coincidence. To think that I'd see you again. You’ve grown a lot these past few years,” he said.

“No wonder you seem familiar.”

And so was their reunion 2 years after ‘that’ incident. Or perhaps, half a decade for someone like Carlos.

Trisha matched the information she knew with Carlos’ testimony. He did seem to somewhat match the account of the person Avner was seeking.

“Are you willing to accept a contract?” Carlos brought up out of the blue.

“What contract?”

“Would it be alright if I hired you as my escort? Help me find my irul. I hear that I’m going to be released in a few days.”

“Oh, is that so? Then no problems with that.”

“On top of it, how would you consider a bounty? A special one just between you and me.” Carlos said with his business-like smile.

“Wow there, I’m not going to kill my fellow angels.”

“You might be interested after what I say.”

“Uh-huh? That doesn’t convince me one bit.”

“Even though they were the ones that killed your ex?”

Carlos recognized the submarines that took down the previous vessel because he had fallen for them not once, but twice. LIGHTSHADOW was a fleet that mainly did secret contracts to kill. They had a reputable name for themselves that reached even the demons. The second time he fell for them was how he ended up here in the detention center. The first time however..

“How.. you..” Trisha looked at Carlos skeptically.

“I was there. I saw it happen.”

“Then how did you survive.. no. You’re right here.”

“So, what do you think?”

“You know that I shouldn’t hold grudges.”

“You may not. But he does.”

“He?”

“I promised him revenge,” Carlos said, with a shrewd smile. Weaving his hands together, he continued. “Will you help me fulfill it for him? I feel that now the time is ripe, to have met you here, at this moment. I can’t help but think fate brought this instance in time. Though that may be, whether this chance encounter will bear the fruit he sought will depend on your decision.”

Trisha fell silent.

Carlos’ offer had more of an emotional requite than it did from a material standpoint.

Back before the creation of ALPINE, when Trisha had yet to gauge the severity of this whole angel-demon war.

That time when she was– still in love with him.

It was a sultry summer day. The weather was scorching hot outside, Trisha and Ivan loitered around in the conditioned air of the mall. It was a date.

“I actually need to pick up someone,” Ivan confessed.

“Pick up someone?”

“A pureborn just hired me to bring him to Hades.”

“O-oh. So that’s the real purpose you’re here for?”

Trisha thought for a moment he had found an elf.

“En route, you know? Since you said you were free.”

“Bleh.”

They went to pick up Carlos at the gate.

Trisha was piqued. This was the first time she had been to a demon harbor. And surprisingly, it didn’t look too different from the ones constructed by the angels. Maybe a little shabier.

Gates for different nations appear at random coordinates. Whenever there came a shift, the gates would disperse and appear elsewhere. When that happens, the harbor would be taken down and be moved to the next location.

It was a mystery why certain gates only appeared in certain countries, and why others were more prevalent. Multiple gates from all over the world could come and connect to a single nation; a hundred portals can open up to a single transfer site, becoming an absolute pain to manage.

With knowledge and technology accumulated over hundreds of generations, demons and angels have discovered methods to accurately calculate and predict when, which, what and where the gates would appear. Coming to this point, it’s become not much different from a weather forecast for most.

The gate for Abbadon this time was opened inside an emergency exit of a shopping mall.

There were many demons hidden amongst the crowd. Ivan held Trisha close to him. The demons who saw that turned the other way. Trisha found it both amusing and embarrassing.

It was then Trisha met the devil who was no bigger than the size of her palm. Carlos of Hades.

“What an interesting spouse you have there?”

“That’s rude,” Ivan quiped.

Carlos flew around Trisha, “Miss angel, you’ve landed your sights on quite the man.”

“T-thank you.”

“Hey!”

Trisha had always known about the existence of the different pureborns, and though she met a few in her lifetime, she herself had never attempted an escort quest.

There wasn’t any law stating that a mortalborn angel can’t house pureborn demons. So Trisha was dumbfounded when Carlos confessed that he preferred Ivan’s cabin, saying that her’s was too girlish. Now Trisha had one more thing to sulk about in her life.

“I’ll call you later tonight, see you.”

“See you, love you.”

“Take care, Miss angel.”

“I will!”

Ivan had a job to do. Trisha understood as much and gave him space to complete his duty.

Their date ended an hour earlier than planned.

And then, one week later.

“Morning.”

“Good morning, Ivan. So, how did it go?”

They were planning to have a hot pot later.

“How did what go?” Ivan looked at her, confusion in his eyes.

“The escort.. Ivan. Did something happen?”

“Recently? It’s not a big issue, I think.”

He who was once her lover.

“No.. I mean.. you.. Don’t you remember?”

Trisha touched him.

And tried initiating combat.

But there was no reaction.

“Trisha, what’s wrong?”

The horror on her face surprised him.

He tried to hold her, she pushed him away.

He..

An empty shell.

His crown was no more.

.. had died.

The incident changed everything for her henceforth.

She was over him of course. It had now become but a figment of a bad memory. Truth be told, she was grateful that it happened as it taught her an important lesson.

What had happened to him could very well happen to her. Not wanting to be involved in the war shouldn’t be an excuse to neglect her safety.

Though she was nonchalant about it, she had always wondered how it happened.

Who would’ve thought that she’d meet the pureborn who had the answers to the question long been buried in her heart.

It was as Carlos said. A fateful encounter indeed.

“I understand that angels don’t typically pick up contracts of these types. Even so, I can’t help but think that you are the most suitable person for this mission. I won’t force you if you oppose it. I just hope you would consider it a little.” Carlos gave that slight nudge to move Trisha to the edge.

“I.. I’ll.. think about it.”

She left the room in a daze.

[“Hello, this is Trisha. I would first like to express my sincerest apology for having almost killed you yesterday. So to make up for it, I have a gift to compensate for our oversight. Carlos of Hades. Is this the pureborn you’re trying to find?”]

Trisha first needed to confirm if Carlos is the person the demon fledgling was searching for.

[“Yes.”]

She actually hit the jackpot.

[“Good. Then let’s meet up at Ducklings. I’ll bring him over.”]

[“Which chain?”]

[“The one you usually go to.”]

There’s only one Ducklings restaurant in Alska. And it’s run by that amazingly kind demon. You even get a free ticket to fight her. It was a place popular among the angel society.

With Avner’s objective confirmed, Trisha processed the documents for Carlos’ release. Afterwards, by Carlos’ request, she did further research on this LIGHTSHADOW group and learnt that they were a fleet that did pretty shady things.

It was a wonder why no one dared to warn them of their actions.

One news article even cited that they caused the war in the 21st zone. And it was a serious issue.

Carlos, now in Trisha’s girlish cabin, pondered deeply.

‘Have you thought about it?’

“Thought about?”

‘The bounty.’

“That again?”

That sealed gap in her heart opened up a little every time Carlos poked at it.

“Not really.”

Having returned home, she brushed away the loneliness sprouting from somewhere inside her. Rolling over to bury herself in the pillow, she huffed.

‘I’m not sure why you’ve gone so far as to help me. I’ve met many angels, and you’re surprisingly benevolent in comparison to most.’

“Not really. I’m not so altruistic to say I’m doing all this selflessly. There is a reason why I’m doing all this.”

‘Do you mind enlightening me?’

“I almost killed a demon who well.. got caught up in some mess. We kind of cheated so to make it up for him, I thought maybe to bring him a gift.”

‘A gift?’

“Yes. And you’re the gift!”

‘It seems unscrupulous to think that an angel is treating me as a mere bargaining tool,’ Carlos chuckled.

Trisha only meant it as a joke. But hearing that made it feel like she had done something incredibly sinful. Eugine and Corus weren’t the kind to spare pureborns in exchange for minor compensations. And if not for Avner, Carlos’ irul, Lucia would’ve died right then.

Wasn’t she no different from those angels that caused the death of the one she most cherished?