Azekiel wasn't expecting anything. He only thought the girl wanted to thank him, and he was about to push her aside when the girl moved closer to him, placing her soft lips on the lips of the young man.
Even Rowan in the distance was shocked to see what his sister was doing as his eyes opened wide.
Azekiel stood still, initially shocked. It was the first time something like this had happened to him. He had seen other people kiss before, and he knew it was an intimate thing. However, he had never experienced it before, even in his old life. It was the first time a girl had kissed him.
His mind was momentarily dazed in the strange feeling as he tasted the sweetness of her lips. His hands subconsciously moved to land on the perfect hips of the lady.
Elina's eyes opened wide as she saw a pair of hands land on her hips. Even though she acted boldly just now, even she hadn't been intimate with a man before. Just because she didn't want to lose Azekiel, she took these drastic steps but now that things were exceeding, she didn't know what to do.
It was as if her mind had overloaded. Her face turned red as she moved her head back, stopping the kiss. The lips of the two were separated.
After a moment, Azekiel also realized what he had done. He couldn't believe he had let himself be lost like that. This wasn't his goal. He didn't know how much time he had before he was going to be tossed out of this world. He didn't want to end up before Michael, weak and hungry.
No matter how amazing that kiss was, there were more important things that he needed to consider, like being prepared for what was to come.
The woman stood frozen in her place, staring blankly at Azekiel. Azekiel didn't know how to respond to what happened. He was still a newbie when it came to such things.
"May I ask why you did what you did?" he asked as he moved to the next horse. He knew he needed to do some multitasking if he wanted to be ready.
"I told you... I've started to like you. Please come with me back to Estia. I will convince my father to let us be together. Please." Elina expressed her desires.
Hearing her, Azekiel couldn't help but shake his head. "What made you love me? I've done nothing but kill people. What about me do you like other than my fighting skills? Because if you only like me for my fighting skills, doesn't that mean you don't actually Love me but want a bodyguard?"
After tossing out a question, he began eating again.
Standing in the back, Rowan decided to stay out of it. He didn't want to have anything to do with this mess. He just raised his hands as he stepped back innocently like it wasn't his concern.
"I-i like your personality." The girl answered after thinking for a long time. Even though Azekiel was right about why she selected him, she couldn't say that, or it was going to make him angry, so she went with the cliche answer.
"Do you like my personality? Well, that's convenient." Azekiel let out as an amused smile spread across his lips. "You haven't even seen my personality, have you? We didn't talk before this. All I did was come here and fight. What personality are you talking about?"
"I-i am telling the truth. I like everything about you. Despite having nothing to do with Estia, you were brave enough to come and fight the Dark Mages. I love that righteous personality of yours. That's what I fell in love with. You are brave, you are kind, you are considerate," Elina explained, coming up with a coherent answer.
In the meantime, Azekiel moved over to the next horse. Elina followed him as their conversation switched places.
"Look, I don't know if you're serious or not, but you and I... It's impossible. We are from two completely different worlds, and our paths will never cross again. If I'm not wrong, this will be the last time we see each other, so you better forget about what happened here. Get on the horse with your brother and leave," Azekiel straight refused her.
It wasn't as if he didn't want anyone to be with him, but his life didn't allow him to. He couldn't stay in this world. He needed to go back to the Tower of Sin. There, he needed to face life-threatening challenges to climb. He also needed to face Michael there. Only when he finished his revenge could he feel calm again.
His life wasn't made for peace, at least not in this world... This world wasn't his, and he couldn't stay here even if he wanted to. He just tried to make the best use of it.
Being rejected so brutally, Elina was taken aback. She had thought that Azekiel was going to fall for her after their intimate kiss, but instead of that, he straightly refused her. Just who was this guy? Just who was this person who was more interested in food than he was interested in a woman with impeccable beauty?
"But-"
"No but. I don't have much time. Get out of this place before more Dark Mages arrive. Because my mission here is done. If you're caught again, I won't save you," Azekiel stopped the lady before she could even finish.
He turned to Rowan. "Take her back."
"Y-yes, sir." Rowan climbed on the horse and brought it closer to the lady.
Elina glanced at Azekiel one last time. She opened her lips to say something but closed them immediately. No words came out of her lips. She just gently touched her lips that had their first kiss before she turned her back on Azekiel.
She knew she couldn't force Azekiel if he didn't want to.
"Wait." She stopped before climbing on the horse.
"Even if you don't like me, you can still be a guest at our Empire. Come with us." She told Azekiel.
Unfortunately, Azekiel even refused to reach as he kept eating. His mission was done, and he could be leaving anytime now. His time was better spent here.
Azekiel's silence was his answer which Elina understood. She climbed on the horse behind her brother. The two of them left, leaving Azekiel behind.
*****
Back on the fourth floor of the Tower of Sin, the King of Pride Michael was preparing to go to the next Floor. He was just waiting for his porters to return. However, it was someone else who returned.
The Three Lords of Sins returned and told Michael what had happened. They informed him about the appearance of another King of Sin who wanted him dead.
The King of Pride turned back, revealing a smug smile. "Is that so? I guess the fifth floor can wait."
He stretched his arms lazily as he started walking back to the portal of the lower floors. "He wants to meet me. Why make him wait? Let me present myself to him to make things easier for him."
