Chapter 15
“Belle, do you have anywhere to go once you escape this place?
After chatting for a few hours, Melina had taken a liking to the passionate and optimistic girl. Under her influence, the atmosphere of despair in the cell had also changed a little.
At least the villagers were now willing to talk to each other. They used it to ease the despair and tension brought about by their imminent death.
“Also, Father has always wanted to let me go to school in the city. I want to visit the library there. There must be many books there, right?”
Using the script that Joshua had given to him, Ynor’s established image was successfully accepted by the villagers, and he became the center of attention in the cell.
It was akin to a group of castaways floating about on the dark Atlantic Ocean only to suddenly see a beacon before them.
While they may not know how far the shore was, it still gave some comfort in their hearts.
An old lady at the end of the line stopped before the portal, and Joshua noticed that Ynor was following the old lady.
Was the person acting as Belle’s fa… no, mother?
“Gaston, just call me Gaston. You can save the gratitude for later,” Joshua urged as he nodded. He then pulled Ynor into the portal with him.
The moment all of them stepped into the portal, the prologue for “Beauty and the Demon” began.
Zenarth’s massive frame then appeared at the door of the interrogation chamber. He was holding a suitcase the size of a briefcase in his hand. In it were all of Joshua’s filming equipment.
“Sorry to trouble you, Zenarth.”
Joshua took the briefcase from Zenarth’s hand, and the space within the briefcase was much larger than its outer appearance suggested. It was still not as magical as Newt Scamander’s [1] suitcase, though.
Joshua checked his equipment inside the briefcase, and his camera, as well as memory cards, were all there. There was also a bottle of invisible powder for him to hide.
Let’s get it started then, the filming of “Beauty and the Demon”.
“Ciri, didn’t you want to see the ending of this story? Keep your eyes wide open from now on, then,” Joshua said as he picked up his briefcase and walked into the portal.
“Write it first, then!”
God knows how long Joshua would take with the filming. If Ciri was able to beat Joshua, she would really hold him against the table and put a blade to his neck to get him to finish the ending!
Those were just mere thoughts, though. She had no plans to stay in the Demonic Realm as she quickly ran into the portal.
Zenarth stood in the interrogation chamber as he saw Joshua off. Just as he prepared to exact the next phase of Joshua’s plan, he caught the scent of a human…
Zenarth poked his head out of the interrogation chamber and looked at the corridor of the dungeon. He saw a little girl running about in confusion.
It seemed that she had been separated from her parents, or… perhaps she had lost her parents long ago. The little girl had undoubtedly been left behind.
She was left alone in the treacherous Demonic Realm, and she would not survive there for long…
In the past, Zenarth would not have cared about the survival of humans, but Joshua gave him an order to ensure that all of the humans returned to the Human Realm safely.
The brave Sin Demon hesitated a little at that very moment. In the end, he slowly walked out of the interrogation chamber toward the little girl.
“Human, the exit to return to your world is over there!”
Zenarth tried to make his tone sound friendlier as he pointed at the interrogation chamber.
Yet, no matter how friendly his tone was, the flames in his mouth and the roiling magma in the cracks of his skin made the girl cry in terror.
The scene made Zenarth feel conflicted. If it were a foe crying before him, he could rip that person apart without any hesitation. But she was just a child… not an enemy.
Zenarth looked at his hands, thinking about carrying the girl and placing her into the portal. But, his razor-sharp claws could end up taking her life instantly.
“That day will come, trust me Zenarth. You will become a superstar, and human girls will scream for joy when they touch your mane. They will brim with pride when they stand beside you…”
Zenarth suddenly recalled the words Joshua had said not too long ago…
It was just impossible.
Facing the little human girl who was crying out of terror, Zenarth realized that there was only one way to get her to stop crying.
He started to move as his massive frame once again entered the shadows until he completely disappeared.