The Author's POV

"This will do for now."

Brian carefully combed his hair and adjusted his clothes in front of the mirror. In addition to his white shirt, he wore a black pair of pants that seemed a bit too big for his body.

His shirt was slightly wrinkled, but given his current living conditions, it was all he could do.

It was still nevertheless a good look for him. He looked sharp.

"Haaa…"

As Brian exhaled, he leaned forward and placed both hands on the side of the sink.

Softly mumbling under his breath, he gazed at his reflection, particularly his green eyes.

"You can do it. You can defiantly do it, Brian!"

This was the first day of his new job, and he couldn't screw it up. Brian's resolve hardened as he thought about his mother's condition.

"I can definitely do it."

As Brian turned around, he slapped his cheeks and closed the faucet.

As he carefully opened the bathroom door, he felt his previous nervousness disappear completely.

Upon exiting the bathroom, Brian was greeted by a blast of cold air coming from the air conditioner of the building.

"You must be the newbie."

A young man in his mid-20s greeted him near the entrance to the bathroom. With long black hair that flowed down his shoulders, he had a face that mesmerized everyone who looked at him. Especially his eyes that made one fall into a trance with just a glimpse.

'Handsome.'

As he stared at the man in front of him for a moment, even Brian was mesmerized for a short couple of seconds.

"Eh..ah."

He fumbled with his words.

As he extended a hand, the man carefully scrutinized Brian's face.

"Nice to meet you, newbie."

A bright smile adorned his face.

"My name is Hemlock. Hemlock Feyner...and I'll be your supervisor."

***

"Smallsnake!" "Smallsnake!" "Smallsnake!"

Suddenly, he was awakened by a familiar voice. After slowly coming to his senses, Smallsnake spotted a familiar face.

'…Ren.'

He silently thought to himself as he struggled to open his mouth.

He could feel water dripping inside of his mouth as some of the water began spilling all over his face. He didn't know for how long this had been going, but he no longer felt as thirsty as before.

Even so, his body and mind remained numb.

"Smallsnake!" "Smallsnake!"

He heard Ren's voice calling out for him.

'Why is it him out of all people?'

When Smallsnake thought about how someone would hallucinate near death, he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

If there was a face that he didn't want to see when he was close to death, it would definitely be Ren's.

He had been traumatized enough by him.

"Smallsnake!" "Smallsnake!"

Smack—! Smack—!

his left and right cheeks sting, and after the dream cleared up a bit, he realized he had not been dreaming, and Ren had indeed been slapping

Smack—! Smack—!

"S…stop!" "Stop!"

"You're awake!"

heard Ren's relieved voice as the slapping

"…Yeah."

replied in a relieved voice,

the

They really hurt.

"Are you okay?"

"…Yeah."

up, he realized he couldn't move a single

"Ugk."

escaped from his lips

"Stay down."

hand pressed down on his chest as Ren shook

given you enough water to hydrate

he could see Ren's face turn

'I guess he cares…'

Ren cared for him, but seeing how worried he

just too much of an ass to

smile spread on his face as he turned his gaze away from

"..it's..b..ad, isn't it?"

to understand that his current

barely being able to move his body,

Smallsnake could tell.

on the

'This sucks.'

inside of his mind as

want to

wanted to do before dying. Something that he promised himself to accomplish no

couldn't die

Yet…

became heavier. He didn't know what was happening, but the incoming darkness

only thing he could see at the moment was Ren's blurry figure. He could also faintly hear something, but his mind was too

darkness slowly overtook his vision and his consciousness

to make out the last words that Ren

"Have..a..rest."

faint curl spread on his

'Okay.'

***

"This is bad."

as I stared at Smallsnake, who

frankly terrible. If something wasn't done

to do something about

you said, they know

I tell

sinister voices filled with malice echoed throughout the room as my head snapped back and I saw two

"Who goes there?"

behind them. It was there that I caught

the others on the ground staring at me with their eyes open, I realized that they were probably responsible for beating

of the demons slowly

you know demonic

I tried to shield Smallsnake away

was critical, and if anything happened at

'Shit.'

my heart palpitate

what, I can't

responsibility, but because he was one of the people I knew for the

Kevin,

my highs and lows. I couldn't for the love of

how you

circled inwardly. The darkish red tone of his skin and the aura he exuded were similar

but since my mana was currently sealed, it certainly felt

curious. Have the humans perhaps figured out a way to teleport to other planets? If so, that would

demon, he had a rather lanky build and his horns were sharp rather than