Chapter 430: Kozue’s Secret
Kouhei was back at the Sarushima House, lying in one of the beds after everything that had happened during his fight against Via. His body still felt incredibly heavy from the battle, and even though he had managed to survive the encounter, the exhaustion left behind by the fight was something he couldn’t simply shake off by getting a few hours of sleep. For the moment, resting was probably the smartest thing he could do, especially when his body was still trying to recover from the injuries he had received.
He was currently resting inside Yuuna’s bedroom, with Aria lying right beside him. She had also been injured during the incident, so she was recovering alongside him instead of being left alone in another room. Her hand was gently holding his, and Kouhei could feel the warmth of her fingers against his palm whenever either of them moved slightly.
Kouhei’s expression remained serious as he stared at the ceiling.
His blood was still boiling whenever he thought about Via and what that man had done to Aria. He couldn’t simply forget about it, and forgiving Via was even more difficult to imagine. The image of Aria getting hurt because of him kept replaying inside Kouhei’s mind, reminding him that his anger wasn’t going to disappear just because the fight itself had already ended.
At the same time, Kouhei knew that anger alone wasn’t going to solve anything.
Via was incredibly strong.
Far stronger than Kouhei had expected.
The difference between them had become painfully obvious during their battle, and although Kouhei had managed to survive, surviving against someone didn’t mean he had actually come close to defeating them. If anything, the fight had shown him just how much further he still had to go.
Kouhei had become considerably stronger compared to the person he had been before, but against people who existed on an entirely different level from him, that strength still wasn’t enough. There were monsters in this world who could completely overwhelm him despite everything he had gained, and Via had just given him a rather unpleasant reminder of that fact.
"I have to become even stronger..." Kouhei muttered quietly as he tightened his grip around Aria’s hand.
His fingers gently squeezed hers as he stared toward the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened.
Getting stronger had never been optional for him, but it felt different now. Before, becoming stronger had sometimes felt like something he could pursue at his own pace. After fighting Via, however, Kouhei understood that there were people out there who could threaten everything he cared about in an instant.
He needed enough strength to stand against them.
More importantly, he needed enough strength to protect the people around him.
While Kouhei remained lost in those thoughts, the bedroom door suddenly opened.
Souichiro stepped inside.
He looked toward Kouhei lying in the bed and immediately wore a smug grin, apparently finding the sight of his rival looking completely exhausted far more amusing than he probably should have.
"You look like you’ve been completely wiped out," Souichiro said with a smug expression.
Kouhei turned his head toward him.
Even now, it was still somewhat strange seeing Souichiro casually walk into the room and talk to him like this. Only a few months earlier, the two of them had been enemies who had fought against one another during the Faction War. Their relationship had changed dramatically since then, but sometimes Kouhei still had to remind himself that Souichiro wasn’t actively trying to kill him anymore.
The transition from enemies to something resembling allies had been surprisingly strange.
Kouhei was slowly getting used to it, although he still wasn’t sure whether that was necessarily a good thing.
"Well, I guess you could say I’ve had better days," Kouhei replied, letting out a tired breath.
"I heard that Via is an extremely powerful fallen angel," Souichiro said, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "Apparently, he was even close to being promoted to the rank of archangel before he fell. Someone like that was obviously going to be ridiculously difficult for you to defeat."
Souichiro crossed his arms while continuing to explain.
"It was only natural that you wouldn’t be able to defeat him in one go. Hell, I’m honestly more surprised that you managed to survive against him at all. None of the new generation should even have the capability to properly fight someone who was practically on the level of an archangel."
Kouhei quietly listened to him.
Archangels were beings who stood among the highest authorities within the hierarchy of Heaven. They were essentially the guardians responsible for protecting Heaven against invasions, serving as its greatest defenders and its final line of defense whenever ordinary angels could no longer handle an enemy.
Normal angels were effectively soldiers under their command, while archangels stood far above them in both authority and strength.
Their power was so overwhelming that an ordinary demon would have practically no chance against one in a direct fight. A demon would need to reach at least the level of an arch demon before having any realistic chance of defeating an archangel.
That made Via’s strength even more ridiculous when Kouhei thought about it.
The man hadn’t simply been some random fallen angel who happened to be stronger than average. He had once been close to reaching the level of an archangel, which meant that Kouhei had essentially gone up against someone standing near the very top of Heaven’s hierarchy.
"Even that Sano bitch was apparently praising you for managing to survive against him," Souichiro continued. "Considering the circumstances, you should probably be somewhat proud of yourself."
Kouhei turned his head toward Souichiro and stared at him for a few seconds.
"Are you perhaps trying to comfort me because I lost, Souichiro-kun?" Kouhei asked with a faintly amused expression.
The reaction from Souichiro was immediate.
His face suddenly turned bright red.
Kouhei blinked.
For a moment, he genuinely wondered whether he had somehow managed to hit a nerve without intending to.
"W-What the fuck do you mean by that?!" Souichiro shouted, pointing directly at Kouhei with an expression that looked almost offended. "T-There’s absolutely no way I’m comforting you! I’m just making fun of you for being unable to defeat a fallen angel!"
Kouhei stared at him.
His expression slowly became more confused.
Was Souichiro seriously acting like a tsundere right now?
Kouhei had encountered plenty of strange personalities throughout his life, but Souichiro was somehow managing to establish himself as one of the most impressive examples. The way he immediately turned red and started denying that he cared was so obvious that Kouhei almost felt embarrassed for him.
"But if you’re making fun of me because I couldn’t defeat Via, shouldn’t I make fun of you as well?" Kouhei asked calmly.
Souichiro’s expression stiffened.
Kouhei continued before he could interrupt.
"After all, I fought and survived against a fallen angel, while you were defeated by me."
Kouhei deliberately aimed straight at Souichiro’s pride.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
There was no reason to waste such an opportunity.
"You fucking scumbag!" Souichiro shouted.
He immediately stepped forward as if he was about to jump straight at Kouhei, but halfway through the movement, he remembered that Kouhei had only just returned from fighting Via.
Souichiro stopped himself.
His expression twitched with irritation before he clicked his tongue and turned away.
"Tsk!"
He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him with enough force to make the entire frame shake.
Unfortunately for him, the door didn’t even close properly.
It remained partially open.
Kouhei stared at it for several seconds.
For someone who had just attempted to make a dramatic exit, Souichiro had somehow managed to make the entire thing look less intimidating than intended. Kouhei couldn’t help thinking that the door probably had more dignity in that moment than Souichiro did.
A moment later, Yuuna entered the room.
"Fufufufu..." she chuckled, clearly amused by what she had just witnessed. "I never thought I would live to see the day when Souichiro would turn that red while having the vein on his forehead practically pop out."
Kouhei glanced toward her.
Considering Yuuna’s relationship with Souichiro, her amusement wasn’t exactly surprising.
The two of them had never been particularly close despite being siblings. Their relationship had always been complicated, especially because of the traditions and expectations imposed by the Sarushima House.
Although they were siblings, the Sarushima House had a tradition of keeping its bloodline as pure as possible. Because of that tradition, Yuuna and Souichiro had also been engaged to one another despite being related.
Kouhei had stopped that marriage from happening during the wedding ceremony itself.
He had declared a Faction War, fought against the Sarushima side, and ultimately won.
Afterward, Kazuhiro accepted Kouhei as the man Yuuna had chosen, which essentially meant that Kouhei was going to become part of the Sarushima House through his relationship with her.
That entire history made the current situation even stranger.
Souichiro and Kouhei had once been enemies who were willing to fight against each other, yet now Souichiro was casually walking into Kouhei’s room and arguing with him like some annoyed friend who had wandered in specifically to start an argument.
Seeing that change firsthand was still bizarre.
For Yuuna, however, it seemed to be more amusing than anything else.
"Have you talked with Kazuhiro-san yet?" Kouhei asked.
"I haven’t yet," Yuuna replied.
Kouhei nodded slightly.
Kazuhiro had been the first person to arrive because the portal leading to the Sarushima House happened to be located near the area where Via had appeared. That convenient location had allowed him to reach the incident much faster than most of the others.
However, there was another reason why Kazuhiro had been the first one there.
And Yuuna hasn’t told Kouhei what that reason was yet.
"For now, I want both of you and Aria to focus on resting," Yuuna said. "I’ve already told the others that we probably won’t be able to return there for a while, so they should understand the situation."
Kouhei’s expression became slightly more worried.
"I’m worried about them," he admitted.
"Me too," Yuuna replied, her voice becoming more serious. "Although the mansion is making sure that the presence of our demonic energy keeps demon hunters and angels from getting close to the area, Via is different."
Kouhei looked toward her with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean by that?"
Yuuna hesitated.
She looked as though she was debating whether she should say what she knew. Her expression shifted slightly, and Kouhei immediately noticed that there was something she wasn’t telling him.
"I want to keep this a secret for now, especially since Kozue isn’t here, but..." Yuuna paused for a moment before continuing. "There’s something you need to know."
Kouhei waited quietly.
"Kozue..." Yuuna said carefully, her voice becoming noticeably more serious. "Kozue is Via’s daughter."
Kouhei’s eyes widened.
For several seconds, he couldn’t say anything.
The revelation hit him so suddenly that his mind almost seemed to stop processing information. He stared at Yuuna, trying to make sure he had heard her correctly.
Via’s daughter.
Kozue was Via’s daughter.