Chapter Text
"It seems we've never had a real fight? Or rather, even if we've had disagreements, we've always made up quickly."
The incident stemmed from a casual chat.
After the end of the apocalypse, the world returned to peace. The various malevolent gods that had been taking advantage of the chaos to wreak havoc were all wiped out once the righteous gods had the chance to intervene.
As a result, the workload of the Church of the Evernight Goddess significantly decreased, evident in the fact that the Angel of Darkness, who had previously been constantly either working overtime or commuting to do so, now had more and more time to visit the Lord of Mysteries at His Sefirah Castle.
With more time spent together, their conversations inevitably became more trivial. In the past, they might have discussed serious matters like Pathway, sealed artifacts, or the Outer Deities, but later, for some unknown reason, their topics shifted to trivialities such as which new play in Backlund was worth watching, the latest installment in the Adventurer series featuring an alternate universe where Gehrman joined the Red Gloves, or whether black pepper-flavored ice cream would taste good.
After exhausting these peculiar topics, the two beings, whose combined sober time didn't exceed a hundred years, moved on to even more mundane discussions, such as what activities they, as the best of friends, had yet to do together.
After rambling on about various nonsensical things, their conversation further shifted to speculating whether, in a parallel universe, Klein and Leonard would argue or even break off their friendship over such disputes.
The Angel of Darkness firmly denied this possibility, believing that no matter which universe Leonard was from, he would never break off his friendship with Klein over a fight. The Lord of Mysteries, however, remained noncommittal. As the Beacon of Destiny, although He could hear the whispers of fate and witness the convergence of world lines, knowing that amidst endless variations, there was always an unchanging essence, He couldn't rule out the existence of a universe where He and Leonard would have a fierce argument and become estranged forever.
"Impossible! You faked your death and kept it from me, and you even acted as if you were about to betray the Church. Despite such serious matters, I never said I wanted to break off our friendship. I can't imagine what could possibly make me angry enough to do that," the Angel of Darkness argued persuasively.
"You never know," replied the Lord of Mysteries, whose human emotions had been increasingly fading, yet for some reason, He was still easily provoked when facing the Angel of Darkness.
Watching the the Star opposite him, who was adamant about being right, the Lord of Mysteries raised an eyebrow and then shook the yellow crystal pendant in His hand. "Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"
He selected a universe, one from which the sound of Leonard shouting, "Klein, you're being unreasonable!" had just reached them.
After selecting their target, He took the Angel of Darkness's hand and, guided by the crystal pendant, followed the mysterious threads of fate forward.
The destination of fate was a moderately spacious room with a cozy arrangement, yet the atmosphere between the two individuals present was far from harmonious.
The Angel of Darkness immediately activated concealment, shielding both Himself and the Lord of Mysteries as they silently observed what was unfolding. The scene before them indeed appeared serious.
Leonard from this world seemed to have just vented a round of anger, now glaring furiously at Klein from this alternate reality. The young Seer, in turn, crossed his arms and wore Gehrman's signature mocking smile, watching the irate Sleepless whose feathers were clearly ruffled.
The Angel of Darkness quickly noticed that both quarreling individuals were wearing Red Gloves.
"In this world, both of us have become Red Gloves..." His voice grew heavy, and His expression turned slightly dazed, as if witnessing a long-cherished yet unattainable dream from days past.
"It seems so," the Lord of Mysteries murmured, closing His eyes briefly. Soon, the intricate web of the world unfolded before Him. "The Apocalypse in this world doesn't seem to be approaching as swiftly, so it doesn't demand that 'I' here become the Lord of Mysteries so soon. Therefore, the Goddess has chosen to grant 'Me' in this world greater protection."
Praise the Lady! Both the Angel of Darkness and the Lord of Mysteries silently tap their chest four times.
Meanwhile, the two individuals before them continued their argument.
Leonard in this world didn't resemble the melancholic, silent Angel of Darkness from His own time; his demeanor still carried the confidence of someone who believed himself to be the protagonist of the era. Similarly, Klein in this world didn't resemble the heavily burdened Lord of Mysteries; even when employing the abilities of the Clown, traces of genuine emotional fluctuations could still be seen in his eyes.
At least for now, it was easy to tell that both were genuinely angry with each other.
The content of their quarrel continued to escalate, and although they didn't resort to physical violence, their words grew increasingly hurtful. Upon closer listening, it was all about trivial matters like how one had neglected preparations during a mission, been too careless, or overly focused on taking care of others, resulting in injuries.
Finally, after another round of Klein's veiled insults, Leonard, looking thoroughly incensed, took a deep breath and shouted at the opposite Klein, "Fine! Klein! Since you've put it that way, then from today onward, I'm cutting ties with you!"
"Enough..." The Angel of Darkness took a deep breath upon hearing this, then retracted the concealment.
They appeared directly in front of the two still arguing.
"Who are you?!" Although they had been bickering fiercely until just now, Klein and Leonard from this world still demonstrated remarkable teamwork. As a match in the corner of the room flared up, Klein leaped towards it, while Leonard's eyes grew deep and dark as a dreamscape slowly unfolded.
The Lord of Mysteries, who had originally intended to merely observe the situation, shook His head helplessly and snapped His fingers. With His action, Leonard and Klein frightenedly discovered that their movements had become sluggish.
"Klein, get out of here! Go report to the church!" Leonard gritted his teeth, looking as if he was ready to fight to the death, but soon he stared blankly at the Angel of Darkness in front of him.
"Who exactly are you?" The high-sequence beyonders appearing before Leonard was not only dressed in the attire of a senior deacon from the but also had a face identical to his own.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The Lord of Mysteries over there also removed His hat. Although most of the time, His appearance was a blend of Zhou Mingrui and Klein, this time He chose to use the image of the young Seer from Tingen to explain the situation. "No offense intended, we are travelers from another world, just passing by briefly. We'll be leaving soon."
As He spoke, He yanked at the Angel of Darkness's hand, but the Star, who seemed genuinely angry, ignored the Lord of Mysteries entirely, and continued to glare coldly at Leonard in this world—
"Why did you argue with Klein? Why did you say such things to him?"
"That's because he did something outrageous first!" Realizing there was no immediate danger, Leonard grew angry again, casting a disdainful glance at the Seer still in the corner of the room. "I've got nothing more to say to this guy!"
Outrageous thing? Me?
The Lord of Mysteries, who had initially intended to avoid disturbing this world as much as possible, quickly stop His dear poet and leave quietly, also felt a twinge of curiosity. He decided to directly steal the thoughts of the two individuals in this world.
Then, the Lord of Mysteries was left in shock.
He grabbed the Angel of Darkness, who was still intent on continuing to reason, and said with a weary sigh, "Let's go. Don't waste time on their nonsense." For once, His voice wasn't flat—it almost sounded... alive.
"But..." the Angel of Darkness paid no heed, struggling to break free from the Lord of Mysteries' grasp. Considering the physical advantage, without resorting to extraordinary abilities, a Seer 's physical strength was clearly inferior to that of a Sleepless. As a result, even the Lord of Mysteries, a true deity, failed to hold onto the Angel of Darkness at once. The latter then dashed straight towards his own counterpart, like a puppy breaking free from its collar.
"Even if you think it's excessive, you can't say such things to Klein! You can't say you're going to cut ties with him! Apologize to Klein quickly! Otherwise, otherwise..." The Angel of Darkness tightly grasped his own younger, more reckless self, who had yet to learn that every gift from life comes with a price. His voice gradually trembled, as if He had a lot to say all at once but didn't know where to begin.
Leonard grunted.
"Let him go!" It was Klein in this world, who had originally been in the corner, who rushed over first. Ignoring the difference in status, he charged at the Angel of Darkness like an irate kitten, almost pouncing directly onto him.
The startled Servant of Concealment finally realized that a casual grip from a Sequence 2 was not something a Sequence 6 could bear. After releasing his hold, he quickly saw Klein rush over and pull open Leonard's shirt, frowning at the bruised area.
Klein took out a paper figurine, but before he could act, Leonard, who had been in a daze since earlier, frowned and attempted to push him away.
"Why do you care? I'm about to cut ties with you." he muttered gruffly.
"You!" Upon hearing this, the Angel of Darkness became agitated again, but this time he was firmly held back by the Lord of Mysteries and failed to pounce successfully. As it turned out, the Lord of Mysteries' action was really correct, for the next moment, the Angel of Darkness watched in horror as Klein—this world's Klein—not only didn't continue to be angry but instead flashed a slightly apologetic smile, then wrapped his arms around Leonard in this world and...
...kissed him.
The Angel of Darkness stopped struggling.
Leonard, the one being held, put up a half-hearted struggle for two seconds before turning the tables—now he was the one clutching Klein, lost in a passionate kiss.
At that moment, the Lord of Mysteries finally leaned in and whispered to the Angel, "I just stole their thoughts. Actually, these two idiots started arguing because..."
...because they’d originally decided—out of fear of violating some unspoken "no dating within the team" rule—to keep their relationship secret and pretend to be just friends. But then, after a particularly grueling mission, Klein returned to the squad, and Leonard, missing him terribly, couldn’t resist grabbing him and planting a kiss right on his lips, accidentally outing them to everyone. Klein flew into a rage over this unplanned exposure, accusing Leonard of breaking their pact, while Leonard fired back, furious that Klein’s first concern after such a long separation was this trivial "accidental outing" instead of their relationship. In short, it was the kind of petty, nonsensical fight even a dog wouldn’t bother sniffing at.
By the way, the moment the Lord of Mysteries and the Angel of Darkness arrived, these two had appeared to be bickering and hurling insults—but their thoughts were already spiraling into absurd territory like:
“What if Leonard actually wants to break up with me over this? No, no, I need a plan. Last time I disguised myself as a woman for a mission, he couldn’t take his eyes off me. Maybe I’ll try that again to win him over…”
And:
“What if Klein gets so mad that he wants to break up with me? No, no, I’ve heard men are ruled by their lower halves. He looked stunning in that skirt last mission—I wonder if I’d pull it off too? Maybe dressing like that and begging for forgiveness would work…”
"As compensation, your wishes are granted. You’re welcome." The Lord of Mysteries snapped his fingers, then hurriedly dragged the Angel of Darkness away the same way they’d come.
All that remained behind were Klein and Leonard, now dressed in nearly identical dresses, staring at each other in stunned silence.
Yes, when the Lord of Mysteries goes insane, he doesn’t even spare himself.
Returning to the familiar bronze table once more, the Lord of Mysteries barely had time to catch his breath before His spiritual intuition began screaming warnings.
He looked up warily, glancing at the Star sitting across from him. The green-eyed celestial didn’t even notice the god’s gaze, lost in thought—and when He finally realized He was being stared at, His cheeks flushed red before any sign of panic could set in.
Could it be…?
The Lord of Mysteries’ spiritual intuition erupted into full-blown panic. Across the table, the Angel of Darkness seemed to steel himself, then opened his mouth—
“Um… Klein, do you… have any plans this Saturday…?”
Oh no! My dear Poet, what's going on? I know I used to joke that you looked gay, but now you’ve actually turned gay after just one trip to another dimension?!A jumble of chaotic thoughts flooded the Lord of Mysteries’ mind.
And true to form, he did what any sane deity would do in this situation—
“No—” The word hadn’t even fully left his lips before the demonic wolf across from him pouted, those green eyes glistening as if tears might fall any second.
This is how you act as an angel? How do I even comfort a man? Did anyone ever teach me this? Would advising him to “drink more warm water” help? The more absurd his thoughts became, the more flustered the Lord of Mysteries grew. “I mean—I have other plans Saturday, so I’m busy then. But Sunday? Or… today? Now works too. I’m free. Very free.”
Only after seeing how thrilled the Angel of Darkness was by this answer—and realizing He, too, felt inexplicably happy—did the Lord of Mysteries grasp the undeniable truth: I’m probably, definitely, gay now.
Well, gay it is then. He thought. I’m already a mythical creature. Technically, I’m not even a mammal anymore. Sexual orientation is the least of my problems.
In fact, for the first time in a long time, He felt genuine joy, peace, and the sweet satisfaction of having finally grasped… something important.