Chapter 476. Bond
Seven Sins System Chapter 476. Bond
Puriel’s PoV
Puriel’s eyes remained fixed on the window, on the way Red leaned in slightly, her lips moving as she spoke to Azrael. She couldn’t hear their words, but she could see the way he responded—his head nodding, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. That smile… it wasn’t the arrogant, teasing grin he often wore. It was softer, more genuine.
It was the kind of smile that Puriel had never seen Azrael give her. Not once in all their centuries of knowing each other. It wasn’t the smug grin he used when teasing her, or the cruel smirk he wore during battle. This was different. This smile carried warmth, a connection. A small, genuine moment between him and Red that made Puriel’s chest tighten even more.
Her hand instinctively gripped the roll of bandage tighter.
What was she even doing here? Trying to give a devil, her supposed nemesis, a bandage as if that would bridge the chasm between them? As if that would fix the tangled mess of emotions between them?
It felt childish now, foolish, compared to what she was witnessing.
‘They’ve been together for a long time and through many battles,’ she reminded herself bitterly. ‘Of course, he’s close to her. Of course, he cares for her in ways I can’t even begin to understand.’ But the reminder did little to soothe the jealousy inside her.
Her gaze dropped to the necklace around her neck. For a fleeting moment, she had thought it meant something more. The way he had softened around her, the way his fingers had lingered when he placed the necklace on her… She had let herself believe, just for a second, that maybe he felt something too. That maybe there was a chance—however small—that they could move beyond the hatred and conflict of their past.
But now, watching him with Red, all of those thoughts felt foolish. She wasn’t part of his world, not like Red was. She was an outsider, always caught between the life she was supposed to live as a goddess and the emotions she couldn’t seem to shake when it came to him. It was a ridiculous notion—a goddess, sworn to light and virtue, feeling this way about the Prince of Darkness.
Puriel’s fingers loosened, and the bandage slipped from her grasp. It made a little thump sound when it hit the ground. Instinctively, she jerked back, pressing herself behind the water tanks, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew that movement and sound were enough.
She had been locked in battle with Azrael for centuries—she knew how sharp his senses were. He could pick up on the smallest of movements, the faintest shifts in the air. And now, he would know someone had been watching him.
‘I can’t get caught,’ she thought, panic rising in her throat. Her emotions were too raw, too exposed. She didn’t want to be seen like this, didn’t want to face him while her heart was in turmoil. Not when she had just realized how foolish she had been to think anything between them could change.
Her gaze flicked to the fallen bandage, now lying a bit farther from her than she had expected. She extended her hand, pointing her finger toward it, ready to use her Telekinesis to retrieve it quickly and get out of there. But just as she was about to pull it toward her, she felt it—Azrael’s demonic power, approaching fast. The unmistakable, dark energy that always sent a rage in her veins, but somehow today… was different. She didn’t feel the rage she usually felt.
‘No... not now,’ she thought desperately. She couldn’t face him like this, not when her emotions were so conflicted, so tangled. She had to leave. Now!
Without wasting another second, Puriel activated her Teleportation skill. Her form shimmered for a moment before disappearing entirely, just as Azrael’s power reached the rooftop where she had been.
She reappeared in her dorm room, the soft light doing little to calm her racing heart. She stood there for a moment, her breath coming in short, uneven bursts as she tried to collect herself.
Puriel sank onto the edge of her bed, burying her face in her hands.
Why had she gone there? Why had she followed him? She had told herself it was just to give him the bandage, to thank him for the necklace. But deep down, she knew it was more than that. She had wanted to see him. To feel… something. To understand why her heart was so conflicted when it came to him.
But seeing him with Red, seeing the way they interacted so naturally, had shattered whatever illusions she had been holding onto. She was an outsider in his world. She didn’t belong there. Red did. Red, who had stood by his side, who had fought with him, bled with him, and who understood him in ways that Puriel never could.
She let out a long, shaky breath, her hands dropping from her face as she stared blankly at the floor. “Why did it have to be you?” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the stillness of her room. The question echoed in her mind, over and over again, a question she had no answer for. Why did she have to fall for him? Why did it have to be him, of all beings?
Her heart was torn, her mind lost in a whirlpool of conflicting thoughts, and yet, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t push him away…
Little did Puriel know, the thread of fate on her wrist appeared again, more vivid and brighter than it had ever been. It glowed faintly, reacting to the storm of emotions churning inside her. The thin, almost invisible line that bound her to Azrael. This time, it was more vivid than ever before, its presence reacting to the emotions swirling within her. A sign that their bond was getting stronger.