Chapter 3

"That's not going to happen, you filthy creature."

A flash of light seemed to pass by, blinding me. I could see the sparkling light even when I closed my eyes because it was so bright. The voice of the other man there made me realize that someone was interrupting Junigo to touch my body.

I slowly opened my eyes, looked around, and saw that someone dressed in white was strangling Junigo's neck while looking at him with a murderous look.

"Your filthy hands have no right to touch my future mate."

I shook my head to clear my vision, still trying to wake up and convince myself of what I had just heard.

A man with a pair of white wings hovered and held Junigo's neck tightly. His face was covered by a mask that glowed like a pearl in the reflection of a shimmering light. I swallowed hard, waiting to see what would happen next. My body was already too weak to break them up, but could I?

"Your mate? Tch, don't be so overconfident, stiff mini fairy. You're just a God's errand boy who will never stop being one. Will you ever be able to be a mate to a human who has desires and always wants to be satisfied? You don't stand a chance."

The angel-like creature's grip tightened around Junigo's neck. The mask on the man's face faded, revealing a handsome face behind the mask that left me speechless for the umpteenth time.

"N-no way, what's wrong with this world?" I ran out of things to think about.

The man who was floating with a pair of white wings looked at me with a softened look, he threw Junigo so hard that Junigo was thrown against the wall.

"Hey, are you okay, Dean?"

I lifted my head and stared. Dean? Who the hell is that? Was he talking to me? Did he think I was someone else?

"Jade, uhm... What's going on? Why are you conspiring with Junigo to bully me? This must be Junigo's plan, right? Please stop, I'm so tired," I begged.

"Junigo? Jade? What do you mean, Dean?" the man asked.

Yes, I call him Jade because his face looks exactly like Jade. It was like I was in a mirage, an illusion I couldn't believe was true. A demon with the face of Junigo and an angel with the face of Jade. What the hell is all this? It's a very unfunny joke. I was too confused to decide what to make of it, if this was a reality that was actually happening, or if I was once again caught up in Junigo's ridiculous games.

"Why are you doing nothing?" asked the man who looked like Jade.

All right, I'll call him Jade. To hell with who he is, but in fact his face is exactly the same as Jade's and even more handsome now with his aura.

"This must all be because of *****. He's poisoned your mind," Jade said.

I couldn't hear what Jade was saying, was he saying the name of a man who looked like Junigo? Why, when he said it, did it sound like a scattered and irregular sound? Like the sound of a broken record that cannot be defined by human hearing.

While Jade was busy watching me, Junigo suddenly attacked quickly from behind. When Junigo's weapon collided with Jade's steel-hardened hand, the sound was like steel bouncing. It was so shrill and deafening that even the room we were in shook.

"Stop taking Dean from me, *****."

"Stop calling my name, you hypocritical creature. Do you want to destroy my lover's hearing? He has a new nickname for me, Junigo."

The jade-faced angel scowled. Then he snorted and smiled sarcastically.

"You think you're the only one who got a new nickname from him? Me too, he calls me Jade. I think my name is better than your new nickname," he said.

My head was spinning, why were the two people who had so much disgust and hatred for me fighting like this over me? But I also can't deny that the two people who look like Jade and Junigo might not be the two of them. I'm trapped in a universe I never knew before.

Is this transmigration? Oh dear, I've read too many fantasy novels. But what I'm experiencing now is similar.

"Oh my... Maybe it's because of that painting," I monologued.

I'm assuming now that I entered another world through the painting I was looking at earlier this afternoon. I assumed that because before I woke up here, I had slipped right in front of that painting and everything went dark before I could realize what was happening in detail.

I looked around, trying to find the painting I had slipped into earlier that afternoon in the museum. I had to find that painting, if indeed I was trapped here and entered this ridiculous universe because of that painting, then I had to find that painting so that I could return to the original world I came from.

"I must find that painting."

When I ran away while they were still busy with their battle, I found a door to get out of this room. The door opened slowly, as if someone had opened it from the outside.

Out of the door came a man dressed in luxurious robes like a king, looking at me with a gaze of displeasure and disappointment.

Who is he? What's with that gaze?

"Dean, are you rebelling again?"

I stopped walking and stopped in front of the man. "Who are you? And I assure you, I'm not Dean."

The man rubbed the bridge of his nose lightly, as if he was dizzy from my answer. "Dean, what ridiculous charade are you trying to put on for your father? The kingdom of Bordan is now shaken by the battle between the Angels of the Palace of Aetheris and the Demons of the Palace of Abyssaroth. Do you want to ruin this land because of your selfishness? You must obey your father's words and become their mate!"

"Order! What are you talking about? I don't understand! Even if you know, I'm not the Dean you call your son! I'm suddenly trapped in this body because of something I don't understand!" I said evasively.

"Don't beat around the bush, Dean. I've made you a sacrifice to heaven and hell. The grace that comes from the deepest abyss of hell and the highest heaven will flow because of you. You must become their mate because I've made a pact with them!"