A few minutes earlier.
Nox was walking through a quiet street that looked like a residential area.
The young man with silver hair and blue eyes blended well like a picture with the scenery of the city where the blue sky opened up over low-rise pure white buildings.
Of course, his lips were pouting because he was separated from Rosha.
'He has a simple personality.'
Hajin thought as he followed a few steps behind him.
He had been told to be careful because it was unpredictable where Nox might go, but he didn't seem difficult to handle.
If nothing else, he was said to be weak to Rosha.
...By the way.
"Is that what they call an experimental subject created by the former Emperor?"
"That's right. I can't dissect him so I'm not sure, but I suspect this body is the result of synthesizing various demonic beasts."
Koko, perched familiarly on his head like in the previous world, continued.
"He was only shaped into that appearance from the beginning, his lived years are probably not even 10 at most."
"He's very young. A different case from noona."
"That's right. You can think of him as a big child."
Koko nodded his head.
While Rosha was a colleague's body that had become younger after being together until her mid-thirties, Nox was no different from a child in an adult's body.
'Noona is...'
Hajin, recalling Rosha's face, let out a quiet sigh.
The feelings he had for her were always complicated.
Gratitude for accepting him as a team member and allowing him to get revenge after his entire family was massacred by demonic beasts.
The preciousness and affection of becoming a second family after going through thick and thin together for several years.
But also the bitter sense of betrayal for returning to her hometown without a word after clearing the 'final trial'.
"...It was really hard back then."
"Huh?"
"No, nothing."
It's fine now that time has passed, but at the time, his mind was entirely absorbed in the thoughts that crept up from the shadows, stirring his head.
-Maybe she only thought of you as family?
-There's no need to be tied down to someone like that.
The feeling that family had abandoned him was just unbearable.
Unlike 'White Hawk' or 'Doctor', who were colleagues and family who survived until the end of the final trial, Hajin spent his wandering adolescence by Rosha's side.
He inevitably had to rely on her more.
But time dulled everything.
After enough time had passed for the wounds to heal, when he coincidentally met Rosha again, she looked much younger than he remembered.
Moreover...
'She looked very happy.'
She looked much better eating and laughing warmly with her family that he had only heard about. It was the first time he saw that side of Rosha, who rarely smiled.
It was right after that when he realized that was where she belonged.
If he had been younger, he would surely have been jealous. But he was old enough and had already humbly acknowledged it.
It's not that difficult to understand Rosha now.
Because he now knows that she has her path, and he has his.
"Don't get distracted. Do you want to get caught?"
"What. There was no feeling of attack coming anyway. Don't you trust me?"
Hajin, brought back to reality by Koko's scolding, replied confidently.
Thanks to his long period of sword training, his sense was very sharp. Especially within a radius of seven steps, it was virtually no different from his domain.
If it was a surprise attack, he could respond in time.
...But you know.
"...It's a bit strange."
Suddenly, he noticed the residents of paradise glancing at Nox as they passed by.
If it had been one or two people, he would have overlooked it, but it wasn't just one or two.
'Why are they doing that?'
Of course, objectively speaking, Nox is handsome.
Pure silver hair like an angel's wings and blue eyes that hold the sky.
Although he had never seen the former Emperor, it was said that their appearances were very similar, so the former Emperor must have been quite handsome too.
However... it felt somewhat uncomfortable to say they were just looking because he was handsome.
It was around then that he figured out the reason.
"Who's Elehar? They're saying he looks similar."
Hajin, who had managed to overhear the conversation, whispered to Koko. The mixture of wonder and reverence, along with fear, felt ominous somehow.
Koko's expression hardened upon hearing that name.
"Oh no, I didn't think that far!"
"So who is it?"
"...The owner of paradise. She doesn't like her accessories acting up. In this case, it would be an accessory of an accessory..."
He rarely held back his words despite usually liking to teach.
Something felt suspicious, but that wasn't the only problem.
"The bird is talking?"
"An animal in paradise?"
Only then did Hajin realize.
That he hadn't seen a single animal in this city.
Not even stray cats wandering the alleys, let alone common birds crossing the sky.
In paradise where everything necessary for food, clothing, and shelter is provided, nature's ecosystem isn't particularly needed.
"...Hah."
People quickly disappeared, and as he confirmed the whitish fog slowly enveloping the surroundings, Hajin thought as he reached for his sword.
Turns out all the burdens have come to me, haven't they?
* * *
There are a few things to be especially careful of in paradise.
Among them, if nothing else, what you absolutely must know is about the Guardians.
The Guardians of Paradise.
Usually formless, they float through the sky observing every corner of paradise, and when they detect a disturbance, they instantly appear and transport the source of the disturbance somewhere.
It's unknown whether these fog-like beings have self-awareness.
Of course, they don't show any consideration. That's why even Rosha had the experience of being caught by a Guardian and confined in a strange place during the sacred relic trial.
"It's over there."
In an alley of a quiet residential area.
Froy, who spotted the whitish fog gathered like a ball of thread, quickly moved his steps.
Although his steps were confident, Rosha had no intention of letting him dangerously contact the Guardian.
Hurriedly grabbing his arm, she whispered:
"Stay behind just in case."
"What are you saying? Then what about you?"
"I'm probably not in danger since I'm a promotion candidate, but you're not, Froy."
"Not in danger? Are you just believing what that God of War said?"
Although his tone was full of disbelief, there was no strength in his voice.
Froy, too, instinctively felt that what the God of War said was true.
"Well, even if that's not the case, I roughly know how to deal with Guardians."
Rosha gathered mana in one hand while looking at the whitish fog gathered like a cocoon.
The most effective method to deal with Guardians was lightning magic. Because their bodies are fog, they have a lot of moisture content, so electricity conducts very well.
'Moreover, lightning magic has paralysis and stiffening effects. Although it's not the attribute I mainly use...'
Still, it's not that she can't use it at all.
Zap!
As the pure white current crackled and struck, the cocoon-like fog shook greatly for a moment.
In that brief instant, a sword that popped out from the cocoon quickly sliced the surface, and Hajin jumped out from inside.
"Hah... it's much tougher than I thought. I really thought I was going to die."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But..."
Hajin trailed off. The reason he trailed off became clear shortly after.
Unable to withstand the current flowing through its entire body, the Guardian retreated a step, seeping into the air. The hazy surroundings cleared, and Nox, who had been resisting inside the cocoon, crouched on the ground, panting.
This was the problem.
"Where did Koko go?"
Koko wasn't in the place where the fog had disappeared.
Being so small, unlike the others, he had been immediately transported.
"..."
Rosha's lips trembled as she recognized the situation.
Koko was her long-time companion and friend. If anything, she had spent much more time with Koko than with her family.
Moreover, wasn't this the time when they had come to paradise to end everything?
She couldn't lose him now.
It was then.
"He seems to have been transported there. That's how it feels with my ability."
Rosha looked at where Froy's outstretched finger was pointing over her shoulder.
Now that she looked, a majestic building without windows was located not far away, just a few districts over.
It was the Hall of Glory, which was also their destination.