With her head bowed, she lowered herself even further and knelt.
Her bow became an act of penance toward Amon.
Even though reality had reached a happy ending, it did not mean that what the priest and the director had attempted could be justified.
Beside the priest, the director, overwhelmed by guilt, trembled and collapsed onto the floor.
She struggled to bow properly, her uncomfortable prosthetic arm creaking as she moved.
A trembling voice escaped from the prostrated director.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Drowned in guilt rising from the depths of her being, the director sincerely begged for forgiveness.
There were so many things she wanted to say, yet she didn’t know where to begin seeking forgiveness.
To make matters worse, Amon had used the settlement money from selling Hexen Group for the orphanage.
She had sinned, yet Amon had repaid with grace.
That fact weighed even more heavily on her heart.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Her apologies grew closer and closer to desperate wailing.
She did not seek forgiveness.
If anything, she would have preferred punishment—it would at least bring her some peace of mind.
She was willing to accept any judgment Amon saw fit.
However—
“Please stand up, Director.”
“I have to atone… I…”
“Director. You fed and sheltered children who might have died alone in the rain. With no reason other than kindness. I was one of those children.”
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry…”
“I forgive you.”
Amon forgave the director.
The fact that she had tried to offer him as a sacrifice?
It hadn’t actually happened, so it was fine.
The fact that she had concealed his divine power?
He had known all along.
The fact that she had deprived him of opportunities to awaken his abilities?
There wasn’t much he could have done as a child anyway.
Besides, he had his own plans and hadn’t sought them out on purpose.
And—
‘I should just be grateful that she fed and sheltered me.’
She had raised him without any government support, purely out of goodwill.
That was enough for him.
This mistake did not erase all the kindness she had shown him.
So Amon forgave the director.
Not only her, but also the priest.
He forgave them both completely.
The director, having received Amon’s forgiveness, expressed her gratitude over and over as she stood up.
“Thank you…”
Wanting to lighten the heavy atmosphere, Amon jokingly addressed them.
“So, what should I call you two now? Father-in-law and Mother-in-law?”
Thanks to his joke, the mood seemed to lift slightly.
But then—
A sudden explosion from an unexpected source shattered the moment.
“Why are you forgiving them so easily…?”
Sonia’s single sentence plunged the atmosphere into icy silence.
They had forgotten one crucial fact.
While Amon was the main victim of this incident, Sonia had suffered just as much.
“Then what am I supposed to be…?”
She had been right there all along, yet she had been forced to grow up as an orphan.
That fact alone had been painful, but she could have accepted it if given a reasonable explanation.
But when she learned that the director had tried to sacrifice Amon, she found them utterly unforgivable.
To her, Amon was more of a family member than they ever were.
‘What did blood ties matter?’
To her, the love she had shared with someone mattered far more than the love she had been born into.
That didn’t mean she disregarded the director’s care. But who could call someone “parent” when they had tried to sell their own child?
And yet, the director had tried to sell Amon.
At that moment, Sonia no longer considered her family.
The priest, who had stood by and let it happen, was no different.
So she could not forgive them.
And that wasn’t the only reason.
“I’m ashamed that your blood runs through my veins…”
Sonia looked at them.
But her gaze was not one of a daughter looking at her parents.
It was the gaze one might direct at criminals.
That was when the two finally realized Sonia’s misunderstanding.
‘No way…’
At first, when the word “demon” had come up, she had wavered but had still chosen to believe in the director.
But after hearing about all the wrongdoings the director had committed—including attempting to sacrifice Amon—Sonia changed her mind.
The demon was just an excuse.
The director was simply a cowardly human being.
In the Vatican, as a Seraphim, she had sinned, using demons as an excuse for her evil deeds.
And now, she was pretending to be good.
But deep down, her nature had never changed.
As soon as she found herself in a desperate situation, she had tried to sell Amon.
Now, she was acting like a victim, but her cowardice remained unchanged.
At least, that was how Sonia saw it.
The director, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding, tried to explain herself.
“I’m sorry…”
“Instead of apologizing, explain why you did what you did. Make me understand.”
“I had no choice back then.”
“That is exactly your problem!”
To Sonia, it sounded like nothing more than an excuse.
“You always refuse to make a choice and just hide behind ‘I had no choice’ as an excuse! That is the problem!”
“…”
“Why do you always say things like that while doing nothing? Why do you always leave the decision to someone else?”
The director was at a loss for words.
Because Sonia was right.
Her life had always been tangled up in this kind of indecisiveness.
The director opened her mouth, desperate to come up with any kind of defense.
But Sonia spoke first.
“It’s because of your irresponsibility that everything got this bad! Ever since you were a Seraphim! Ever since the demon came! And even now!”
Before Sonia’s fury, the director could say nothing.
Seeing her speechless, Sonia scoffed in frustration.
“That’s why you’re nothing more than the flesh vessel of the Demon of Sloth.”
Crash!
Sonia’s final words were enough to completely shatter the director.
***
Astaroth. The Demon of Sloth.
And sloth—neglecting responsibilities and refusing to contemplate the significance of one’s actions.
That was how Sonia judged the director.
Her scathing words crushed the director.
But Sonia merely looked down at the fallen woman with cold eyes and stood up.
“I will always be grateful for raising me. But… no matter how much I think about it, I can never see you as my mother.”
With that chilling declaration, she walked out of the director’s office.
“Oh-ho. So this is your past. Quite fascinating.”
At Orobas’s voice, Sonia was pulled out of her memories and back to the present.
Where was she?
Ah, right. The horse-headed demon had shown her the past…
“Ah.”
Orobas smiled as he watched Sonia sigh.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I now know where we need to go next.”
“No…”
“We need to retrieve Astaroth. However, that priest is a bit of a nuisance, so you’ll have to accompany us as a hostage.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Don’t worry. If things go wrong, you can always serve as a new vessel.”
The horse-headed Orobas continued speaking unilaterally.
Trapped in this conversation, Sonia felt a growing sense of helplessness.
She had chosen to remain silent to avoid giving away any information, yet in truth, she was powerless to do anything.
She had spoken so boldly to the director, yet now she was just as helpless.
A wave of self-loathing washed over her.
‘Was this the demon’s power at work? Or was it simply her own emotions?’
She didn’t know.
One thought, however, kept echoing in her mind.
‘I just want to give up on everything.’
The moment that thought surfaced, another wave of disgust rose within her.
‘I really can’t escape my bloodline, can I?’
Orobas silently observed Sonia’s expression before suddenly brightening as if he had recalled something.
“Ah! Now that I think about it, I was the one who lured your mother into a trap and turned her into a demon. Ahaha~ It’s been years, so I had nearly forgotten.”
Sonia’s face twisted as if her entire world had crumbled.
Seeing this, Orobas’s grin deepened.
‘Bingo.’
He had suspected that a little extra seasoning would make things even more flavorful—and he was right.
Just as he expected, she was beginning to hate herself even more.
She had pointed fingers at the director for being irresponsible, yet when placed in the same situation, she was equally powerless.
Should she forgive the director now? With what right? After everything?
The idea that she now understood the director’s actions felt absurd.
She had condemned the director so harshly, yet the moment things turned against her, she started to understand?
It was disgusting.
Sonia clenched her teeth so hard that they nearly shattered.
A part of her wanted to slam her head against the wall.
Self-hatred, rage, and regret crashed down upon her.
‘I should have forgiven her back then…!’
She had been too young.
Too short-sighted. Selfish. Immature.
Regret consumed her.
Looking back, even the way she had forced honesty onto Amon and Cassie was shameful.
Using her own wounds as an excuse to burden others—it was no different from causing trouble for them.
A single tear slid down her cheek.
‘In the end, I’m no different…’
Drop.
Her tear hit the ground.
Just then, a single beam of light shone upon her.
Through her tear-blurred vision, Sonia followed the beam.
It led her to a crack in a broken wall—through which she saw Amon.
She had thought they were separated, but in reality, only a thick wall stood between them.
At that moment, by pure chance, Amon’s eyes met hers through the small hole in the wall.
“Sonia! Ugh—ah, dammit!”
Amon, relieved to have found her, called out her name.
Then, mid-sentence, he kicked away Naberius, who had lunged at him, and disappeared from sight.
Sonia opened her mouth slightly.
But she couldn’t bring herself to speak, afraid of distracting Amon from his battle.
‘Save me. Please. Tell me it’s going to be okay.‘
That simple plea remained stuck in her throat.
Just then, Amon’s voice rang through the communicator.
[Sonia. Thanks for holding on. I’ll be there soon.]
“No, I…”
Sensing something in her wavering voice, Amon responded in a gentle tone.
[Remember what I told you? Instead of saying sorry…?]
As Sonia struggled to grasp his meaning, another impact shook the wall, widening the hole.
More light poured through the crack, growing stronger between them.
Even though there was no apparent light source, the glow connected Amon and Sonia.
Orobas, watching the beam of light, suddenly tensed.
Then, veins bulging in his neck, he roared furiously.
“Why?! Why is it responding to her?! Don’t make me laugh! I won’t accept this!”
Orobas howled, abandoning all pretense of dignity as he unleashed his furious rage.
Yet even through his deafening cries, Sonia heard Amon’s voice loud and clear.
[Sonia. You don’t need to apologize. You can always rely on others and just say thank you later.]
At that moment, Sonia understood.
[Instead of sorry… thank you.]
It was Amon’s way of showing consideration.
Saying sorry meant asking for forgiveness.
It meant she had yet to be forgiven, that she feared she might never be.
But thank you was a response to being forgiven.
‘Oh…’
He had been waiting.
Waiting for the day she would come to understand forgiveness and grace.
He was already prepared to forgive her for everything.
Her tears stopped.
A deep emotion swelled within her—but this was not the time to cry.
“Once all of this is over… I’ll forgive my mother.”
Muttering to herself, she slowly rose to her feet.
Orobas’s expression twisted in fury.
“Why?! Why now of all times?!”
Desperately, he tried to manipulate her, dredging up her past in an attempt to gaslight her.
But Sonia’s eyes remained unwavering.
A radiant white halo formed above her head.
Beneath its light, she whispered—
And at that moment, brilliant wings of light unfurled behind her.