Chapter 272: Run Away (2)

Before the side story and the 20th volume were released simultaneously, Xenon (Isaac) mentioned this through a letter. He urged readers to read the side story first and then the 20th volume. He claimed that reading the side story first would not only make the 20th volume more enjoyable but also provide a different shock.

Readers, following Xenon's advice, began to slowly read the side story without any suspicion. Especially since the side story was the past story of Jin and Lily, which people had been anticipating, they held even greater expectations.

How bright of a story would it be? How did Jin and Lily come to possess the yearning for each other? These were some of the questions they had.

However, as soon as they reached the beginning of the side story, all such thoughts vanished. Jin's unfortunate past, which was beyond words to express, was gradually revealed. Once again, it must be emphasized that in Xenon's Biography, the demons are still being persecuted.

Furthermore, as will be revealed in the 20th volume, Jin, due to his origins, was even abused by his birth mother, and humans pointed fingers at him. As a result, he not only lacked a normal environment for growth but also struggled to live day by day. At home, he faced harsh abuse from his mother, and outside, he was pelted with stones by passing people. Not committing suicide was considered remarkable in itself.

[Extreme, but a story that could very well happen in reality.]

As the above evaluation suggests, there were numerous situations similar to those before Xenon's Biography emerged. Rather than living under the protection of Helium, these demons ended up living outside by chance.

According to some scholars, demons born outside of Helium were more likely to become devils than those born within Helium. Surprisingly, Jin's tragic past was a highly realistic situation. Of course, readers were already immersed in it before they even knew, rendering the research results meaningless.

Nonetheless, Jin's past was so miserable that it was almost indescribable, and his psyche was not just sad but incredibly dark. No one reached out a helping hand, and in reality, there wasn't even an adult to protect the frail child. Such an environment was highly conducive to another devil being born. Indeed, there were even explanations that Jin's mind was extremely distorted, causing readers to feel uneasy.

[Hello? Who are you? You're really unusually good-looking.]

Fortunately, a kind and warm touch was extended to the young Jin. As everyone expected, Lily would eventually be revered as a saint. However, perhaps due to the wounds inflicted during abuse, Jin firmly rejected Lily's outstretched hand. Instead, he rejected her and sent scornful glances, fearing that she might someday point fingers and throw stones at him. The deep-rooted distrust towards people showed no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

[Do you want some bread? I bought this.]

[Why are you so scruffy? Go wash up.]

[Are you a demon? Can I touch your horns?]

Furthermore, there were times when Lily, perhaps due to the innocence of a child, unintentionally caused hurt as well.

Whenever Jin felt annoyed, he would send a glare mixed with irritation and completely ignore her.

[Do you not have parents? Where are they?]

[Fuck off.]

Jin even cursed at her, telling her to leave because Lily accidentally touched a nerve..

People held suspicions about that. Since their relationship was so bad, how could they make such a romantic and tender story? What did Lily do to impress Jin and voluntarily become her shadow? The side story had only one volume, and Jin and Lily's sharp confrontation continued for a third of it.

In fact, it was a situation where Jin was unilaterally pushing Lily away and Lily was timidly following her, but it was never boring.Rather, reader eagerly anticipated when this front would end and eagerly flipped through the pages.

And just as they reached exactly half a volume, the moment when Lily's efforts paid off was approaching.

[Why are you chasing after me like this? I'm a demon. The kind of demon that humans hate.]

[So what if you're a demon? We're all just people. Oh, could I touch your horn before that? I'm curious how it feels.]

[...]

[Can I?]

This answer promptly revealed Lily's unique personality, which tossed away discrimination, as if it to prove she was a saintess to be.

With a single line Jin's heart slowly began to open towards Lily, albeit in limited ways, and they often found themselves sticking together in various situations. Lily showered Jin with unconditional affection, and though Jin felt burdened by the affection he was receiving for the first time in his life, he reluctantly accepted it while secretly smiling.

However, there was one fact that Jin was unaware of. Lily, destined to become a future saint, had been endowed with divine power from a young age due to her sacred lineage and was under the protection of the church. Naturally, from the perspective of the church protecting her, they could only view Jin with a less favorable eye, especially considering he was of demonic descent.

Having grown up enduring severe abuse and being treated as an outcast, Jin sensed this atmosphere and distanced himself from Lily once again. At the time, he didn't fully realize it, but Jin had sacrificed himself for Lily for the first time in his life, fearing that his presence might harm her.

As a result, their relationship drifted apart again, and due to pressure from the church, Lily's contact with Jin diminished.

However, ending the side story like this leaves much to be desired. This is where a decisive event occurs, leading Jin to make a crucial decision regarding his loyalty towards Lily.

It turns out that there was a plan within the church to assassinate Jin, who was a thorn in their side. Lily happened to overhear this conversation.

Furthermore, Jin's mother had died due to the aftermath of being assaulted by the sin of gluttony, Belzebub. Despite being a trash parent who abused a young child, Jin couldn't abandon his feelings as a blood relative and personally made her grave.

As usual, filled with a desperate hunger, he sneaked out for some food. Jin encountered Lily, whom he hadn't recently met, just before going outside.

Well, if you've gotten this far, you can probably guess what kind of situation has unfolded.

The Church aiming to kill Jin, and Lily, who embraced Jin with open arms to protect him. Just this alone was enough to conclude their poignant past. Especially Jin's monologue at the end of the final act touched the hearts of the readers deeply.

[Where there is light, there is also shadow. To protect the brightest light, I will become the most despicable shadow.]

Jin's extreme spirit of sacrifice has been consistent since the past.

Through the side story, readers come to understand clearly why Jin blindly pledged loyalty to Lily and furthermore, why he couldn't express his true feelings to her.

[Light and shadow always go together. However, they can never truly become one.]

[Jin's self-esteem always tailored to Lily.]

[Lily looked back, but Jin always turned away, making it difficult to face each other.]

With the past history that has been veiled coming completely to light, there was a flood of praise. Lily showed actions befitting the title of "saint", while Jin obtained a new identity as a "shadow".

However, that doesn't mean the support for them has stopped. On the contrary, the desire for their story to continue has grown even stronger than before. With such feelings in mind after reading the 20th volume...

[Xenon is clearly a devil in human disguise. Otherwise, he wouldn't toy with human hearts.]

[Surely they won't actually kill Jin? Right in front of Lily?]

[It's surprising that Jin's biological father is Gluttony, but why?]

The shock came back amplified and struck the readers right in the back of their heads. Of course, in order to set up the awakening planned for the next volume, he wouldn't actually kill anyone for real.

But for the readers who knew nothing, it felt like their hearts were being torn apart. If it were Earth, they might have thought, 'Well, they're not really going to edie like this, are they? Are they really going to kill off this character?' and shrugged it off nonchalantly.

But in this world, there were hardly any genre novels like Xenon's Biography. Whether it was a cliche or a flag or whatever else, Xenon's Biography was entirely unprecedented.

At least Cherry's novel, "Red Sunset," was there, but only one had been released so far. Above all, with characters like Kyir and Elisha setting a precedent, the readers' anxiety only intensified.

As a result...

"Send the letter quickly! Tell me if Jin is really dead!!"

"They can't really be planning to kill him, can they?! Helium is in an uproar too, right?! It's going to be a disaster!"

"I've drawn so many pictures for them! CEO, come out quickly! If Xenon sees my drawings, surely he'll change his mind!"

Readers were causing a scene in front of the publisher's office. The noteworthy point here is about the races.

A year ago, during the hiatus crisis, only humans gathered, but now at the entrance of the publishing house, demons mixed in among humans. The romance between Jin and Lily has gained tremendous traction among the demons, making it a crucial matter.

Lilith, who lost her beloved and turned into a devil of the Seven Deadly Sins along with Jin were inextricably drawing demons to them. Thanks to these charming characters, the perception of demons as pure men of romance has been established, making Jin's actions understandably sensitive.

Moreover, setting up a sweet romantic subplot in the side story only to deliver a cold blow in the main story understandably made everyone angry. As a result, like a collaboration between humans and demons at the exhibition, they gathered in front of the publishing house, raising their voices together at the 20th volume.

Even if they occasionally showed excessive behavior, they ultimately remained amicable, most often thanks to the demons. No matter how angry they got, demons were a species of 'restraint,' so they naturally thought rationally and could prevent crossing the line.

"No. I don't know anything, so why are they bothering me?"

"Because the only other connection Xenon has is with Queen Arwen."

"Ugh..."

Of course, from the perspective of the publisher, Musk, this was absurd. He simply receives and publishes manuscripts, yet every time, he faces the aftermath. If it weren't for the connection, such a situation wouldn't have occurred. However, ever since it became known that they were corresponding, things have been like this.

Especially this time, it was even worse. Since Jin, one of the beloved characters, died in front of Lily.

Whether he truly dies or not will only be known when the next volume is released, but that could be delayed until then.

'This would be awkward even from Xenon's perspective...'

If Jin dies, it's a problem; if he lives, it's still a problem. Because that was a spoiler.

There's only one way to resolve this. That is to quickly release the next volume.

Since it was said that a new volume would be out in a month, we can wait until then. But for now, we need to calm down the protesters in front of the publishing house.

"Hey, Matthew."

"Yes, boss."

"At least provide some food for those protesters over there. Let's also show that we're in the same boat."

Thus, with Musk's wise plan, the ruckus at the publishing house calmed down a bit.

"Honey! Let's go to Helium right away! Hurry!"

"Do you know how far Helium is? It would take at least two months by carriage."

"Just ask someone up there! Don't you know anyone?"

"But... wouldn't it be tough? Teleportation devices require at least the approval of the Royals."

"Ugh..."

Anna, Isaac's mother, who was a passionate fan of Jin and Lily, was pondering on how to head to Helium.

It was for this reason that they went to Helium before releasing the 20th volume. Even with Marie and Adelia in tow, so Anna had no suspicions whatsoever.

"Shouldn't we just leave it alone? Isaac must have gone to Helium because he thought you'd react this way."

"But we need to know if Jin really dies!"

"What if Jin really does die? Would you really disown him from the family?"

"No, but... I'm anxious. I wish I could shake off this unease."

Hawk scratched his nose as he watched Anna's agitation. It wasn't just her; others were showing similar reactions. That's how staggering the shock delivered by the ending of the 20th volume was. Just seeing the protests in front of the publisher's office indicated the magnitude of the situation.

"Don't you usually prefer not knowing?"

"I'm the type who feels relieved after knowing the ending."

Most people dislike spoilers, but Anna seemed to be the opposite type. Does she find relief in knowing spoilers?

At this rate, it seemed like she wouldn't be able to sleep at night. She wanted to find Isaac quickly to hear directly from him what happened to Jin and ease this anxiety.

Hawk crossed his arms, unable to stand Anna's restless demeanor. He wanted to fulfill his beloved wife's request, but realistically, it was impossible. At the very least, it meant they would need to use teleportation, which required permission from the royalty and would take several days.

Meanwhile, the likelihood of the next volume coming out soon was high, making anything they did futile.

"First, I'll think about it. Just wait a bit."

"Thank you, dear. As expected, there's only you."

"Hmm. Hmm."

Hawk felt embarrassed as Anna hugged him tightly and thanked him. He hadn't told her, but there was one appropriate way.

That was to find the summoning stone presumed to be on Isaac's bedroom desk. Specifically, it was not Siris's summoning stone but Gartz's. Gartz was always on standby to modify the typewriter to Isaac's taste. Additionally, he was tasked with promptly repairing any breakdowns, a weighty(?) duty.

Because of this, it was highly likely that a summoning stone was placed in the bedroom. Gartz was both guarding Cecily and serving as Isaac's contact.

'This needs to be said at the right time.'

If he told Anna this fact right away, Gartz would be summoned without any preparation. At least Isaac should be given time to escape, right?

While preparing for the arrival of the unexpected, Isaac...

"So, son-in-law. Does Jin really die?"

"··· ···"

Instead of Anna, the question was directed to his mother-in-law and Cecily's mother, Aisillia.

'He doesn't die...'

Just endure it for a month.

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