Midnight.
Someone pushed open his door.
His body tensed instantly, his hand already on the hilt of the blade beside his pillow.
But in the next second, he lowered his hand.
Because that presence… he knew it too well.
Moonlight spilled through the window, outlining a slender figure.
Honey-colored hair glowed softly under the pale light, and those amber eyes looked at him in silence.
Demeter.
Genichi frowned.
"Demeter?"
There was a hint of confusion in his voice.
In the dead of night, what was she doing here?
Demeter didn't answer.
She simply stood in the doorway, moonlight stretching her shadow long, long across the floor. In those amber eyes, complicated emotions flickered.
Silence.
A long, heavy silence.
Finally, Demeter spoke.
Her voice was quiet, so quiet it almost got swallowed by the insects chirping outside.
"Geni—" She paused.
"I want to know what happened to you… in the past."
Genichi's brow tightened further.
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
Demeter didn't explain why.
She only continued.
"Of course, this isn't a demand."
Her voice stayed gentle, but the concern was impossible to hide.
"If you don't want to talk about it…"
"That's fine."
Genichi was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke slowly.
"It's not really a big deal."
He sat up, leaning back against the headboard, his gaze drifting toward the moonlight beyond the window.
"If you want to know, I'll tell you."
Demeter stepped into the room and sat down by the bed.
She didn't speak. She just listened.
Genichi kept his eyes on the window, his voice calm, as if he were telling someone else's story.
He told Demeter how, after he came to Orario, he'd arrived full of hope and tried to join a Familia, how he'd been turned away again and again, until he had nowhere left to go.
Then how he'd been tricked into the Dark Faction.
How he'd been used as a human punching bag, day after day, beaten, humiliated, tormented.
How, in those lightless days, he'd lost hope bit by bit, lost the will to live bit by bit.
And finally—
How Valletta Grede had kicked his neck apart.
How he'd nearly died in that dark corner, left there like trash.
Genichi's voice stayed calm the entire time.
No anger. No sorrow. No emotion at all.
Like the story had nothing to do with him.
But as Demeter listened, her eyes slowly reddened.
She pictured that boy coming to the city full of hope, only to be rejected over and over.
She pictured those sunless days after he was tricked into the Dark Faction.
She pictured the pain of being beaten like a punching bag.
She pictured that last moment, a boot snapping his neck.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
When Genichi saw her crying, his brows drew together.
"I'm not telling you this because I want your pity."
His voice was calm, but there was a firm, unquestionable edge to it.
"I'm telling you because you wanted to know."
He paused.
"Stop crying."
Demeter froze.
She lifted a hand to wipe her tears, but no matter how much she wiped, it didn't feel like they would stop.
"But… but…"
Her voice broke, unable to form a complete sentence.
Genichi looked at her, and in those amber eyes, a complicated pain flashed.
"There's nothing to cry about."
His voice was steady, carrying a force that made it hard to argue.
"The me right now is alive."
"The me in the future will take revenge."
He looked straight into Demeter's eyes.
"So, Demeter—"
"I don't need you to cry for me."
Demeter parted her lips, wanting to say something.
But when she saw how calm his eyes were, she closed her mouth again.
She understood.
He meant it.
He didn't need sympathy.
He only needed—
To grow stronger.
Then take revenge.
Demeter took a deep breath, forcing her emotions to settle.
She wiped her tears again and looked at Genichi. In her amber eyes, the ache was still there.
But she didn't say anything else.
Genichi watched her for a moment, then spoke again.
"If you hadn't taken me in back then…"
He paused.
"I probably would've thrown myself into the Dark Faction."
Demeter's pupils contracted.
"So long as I could get a blessing, I was confident I could grow strong fast."
Genichi's voice was even, but his eyes carried a faint, chilling sharpness.
Demeter imagined it.
Genichi joining the Dark Faction, using that terrifying talent and those skills to climb rapidly.
Then what would he do?
Revenge?
Slaughter?
Destruction?
With his abilities, if he truly went down that path, all of Orario could have been dragged into disaster.
Demeter couldn't help feeling relieved.
Relieved she'd taken him in back then.
Relieved she'd given him a place to stay.
Relieved—
He was still at her side.
"Demeter."
Genichi's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
She looked up at him.
In the moonlight, the boy's face was still calm as water. But in those dark eyes, a few faint sparks of light flickered, as if something had reignited deep inside.
"I'm grateful to you."
His voice was quiet, but solemn.
Demeter froze.
Grateful?
This boy who never softened his words, who never allowed himself to look weak… was saying he was grateful?
Genichi saw her stunned expression and let the corner of his mouth lift, the faintest smile.
So faint it was almost invisible.
But Demeter saw it.
And her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"To you, who gave me a blessing…"
Genichi continued.
"I'm truly, sincerely grateful."
He paused again.
"Just like Rias."
Demeter blinked.
"Rias?"
"Someone who matters to me too. Someone who helped me."
Genichi didn't elaborate.
But Demeter understood.
Whoever this Rias was, she and Genichi shared a bond that couldn't be easily put into words.
"Whether it's Rias or you…"
Genichi looked straight at her.
"You're both my benefactors."
He paused.
"As long as it doesn't put me in danger, I'm willing to help you."
"As repayment."
Demeter listened quietly.
In the moonlight, they held each other's gaze for who knew how long.
"Genichi," she said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for being willing to tell me all of that."
Genichi didn't speak.
He only nodded slightly.
Demeter stood up and walked to the door.
She turned her head and looked at the boy sitting alone on the bed.
"Get some rest."
"Yeah."
The door closed gently.
The room fell quiet again, with Genichi alone.
He leaned back against the headboard, staring at the moonlight outside, unmoving for a long time.
Thoughts churned behind those black eyes.
Rias…
He didn't know if she was still alive in that world.
But he did know this:
No matter what happened, he would go back.
Back to the person who'd given him a second life.
And before that—
He had to grow stronger.
Strong enough.
Strong enough to do whatever he pleased.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]