Chapter 86: Relief

He chuckled and shook his head, "Are you screwing me around? You must be such a sadist."

He gripped his fist tight and thought about it.

For almost half an hour, he was sitting on a different game machine, staring at the crane machine, hesitating whether he'd give it a try again or just go back to sleep.

It wasn't much a deliberation, if Haru was being honest with himself.

He let his heart lead and he knew more than anyone that doing that leads to stupid decisions. Ever since his return, his judgment had already been clouded, so might as well do the things that I really wish to, he thought to himself.

He went over to the crane machine and he couldn't just hide his hands from trembling. He pushed the start button and played again.

He pressed his forehead on the glass as he was about to get the toy.

"Please, please show me something," He whispered at the back of his mind. Without any eyes on him but himself, he let out his fragile side and begged his heart out. "Anything, anyone, show me someone. If there's just one person…"

He won the game and the toy dropped at the bin.

He shut his eyes, fearing the glass would be empty again.

He kept on rationalizing that maybe loving someone wouldn't be such a big deal and he could just abandon the whole idea that the crane machine was telling him.

But he couldn't.

He didn't want to feel that pathetic after deciding to outlive being murdered by himself, by his own hands, if only the portal didn't appear that day.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a figure. His eyes widened at the sight he saw.

There was someone.

The glass didn't turn out empty and it felt like the world had disappeared surrounding him.

He's staring at the glass exactly the way that Camille had stared it while saying that she saw her brother Arthur. Haru couldn't help but let out the tears that were being held back from before.

From all the impatience and misery that he felt, being ridiculed and humiliated by the system unfolding the truths in his heart.

"So I really did have someone…" He whispered, letting out a relieved smile. The figure wasn't even much of a figure and he couldn't tell how exactly it looks like.

In fact, it seems more like an abstract concept than a concrete, tangible person he could touch and hear and speak to.

But he knew who it was.

It was the devil.