Chapter 3: Hunted by both sides

The forest stretched endlessly ahead.

Dark and silent.

But no longer the same.

Lucien walked steadily, his steps firm against the uneven ground. The wounds from the fight… were gone.

Not healing.

Healed completely.

His grip tightened slightly.

That shouldn’t be possible.

His gaze lowered to the child in his arms.

Zia was quiet again, her small fingers loosely holding onto his coat, her expression calm as ever.

“…You did that,” he muttered under his breath.

No answer. Just silence.

Lucien looked ahead again, his thoughts heavier than before.

A devil’s child.

That much, he knew.

But now—there was more.

Too much.

And before he could piece it together—the air shifted.

Sharp and cold.

Different.

Lucien stopped instantly.

“…No way.”

Light.

Faint at first—then growing.

A presence unlike anything in the forest.

Not dark.

Not corrupted.

Pure.

An angel.

A figure stepped forward, emerging from the shadows as if the darkness itself made way for it. Its gaze was steady, unwavering—

and locked directly onto Zia.

Lucien’s expression hardened.

“…State your purpose.”

The angel didn’t hesitate.

“Hand over the child.”

Direct and cold.

Absolute.

Lucien’s grip on Zia tightened.

So it wasn’t just him.

They knew.

“She’s not yours,” Lucien replied flatly.

“She does not belong in your hands,” the angel said. “She is a threat. She must be taken.”

A pause Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“…So you know what she is.”

The angel stepped closer.

“More than you do.”

That was enough.

Lucien exhaled quietly, his stance shifting.

His decision—

made.

“No.”

Silence.

The air tightened instantly.

“You would defy heaven?” the angel asked, its voice calm—but edged.

Lucien didn’t flinch.

“I don’t take orders.”

The moment the words left him—the angel moved.

Light surged forward.

Fast.

Too fast.

Lucien reacted instantly, twisting his body and shielding Zia as the attack tore past him, cutting through trees like paper.

He didn’t counter.

Didn’t strike back.

He knew better.

Fighting an angel head-on—

wasn’t something he could win.

Or something he was willing to do.

Instead—he ran.

The forest blurred around him as he moved, fast and precise, using every shadow, every turn, every obstacle to his advantage.

“Running will not change the outcome,” the angel’s voice echoed behind him.

Lucien didn’t respond.

His focus remained ahead.

On escape.

On distance.

On her safety.

Branches snapped underfoot, wind cutting past him as he pushed forward—

Then—a sudden movement from the side.

Lucien’s instincts reacted before his mind did.

He dodged.

A creature lunged where he had been a second before, crashing into the ground with a distorted snarl.

A demon.

Another one.

Lucien didn’t stop.

“…Not just angels?”

The realization hit instantly.

They were coming.

Both sides.

For her.

His grip tightened around Zia as he kept moving, faster now.

More urgent.

“She’s not just a devil’s child…”

His voice was low.Serious and certain.

“She’s something else.”

Zia remained quiet in his arms, her small form steady against him, as if none of this chaos mattered.

But Lucien knew better now.

This wasn’t coincidence.

This wasn’t random.

This was pursuit.

And for the first time—the situation became clear.

“…You need to be hidden.”

His gaze sharpened as he pushed deeper into the forest.

Away from everything.

Away from everyone.

“Protected.”

Because whatever she was—she wasn’t meant to fall into anyone’s hands.

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