The situation of the neglected residential area ended with the death of the noble, who was directly working under the king. As I was the one who landed the deadly hit, the king was after me. Steve agreed to handle the situation with the king. And I was ordered to leave the capital until this situation is settled.

Mount Himi, the mountains on the north border of the kingdom, lies between the nation of Lydia and the great desert. The mountains which were never seen without snow. The most appropriate combination of beauty and deadly area. That was my next destination. Of course, that also meant, I won't be seeing William for a very long time.

As ordered by Steve, one of the people from EVA brought the car. Another Pierce Arrow, navy blue colored with white vertical stripes shining on the rich blue colour. Without wasting much time, the car moved out of the EVA from a different road I was not familiar with.

Slowly and elegantly the car moved out of the capital without getting in anyone's sight and I relaxed myself on the seat, thinking about who was waiting for me in those mountains.

After I was gone, Steve called William and Rita back in his office for further discussion. He also allowed Erika to join them.

"I assume you heard the talks between me and George?" asked Steve, with a normal tone.

"Yes." replied William. "I heard your talks."

"Firstly, it's a bad habit to hear other person's talk," said Steve. "And secondly, I hope you know the real reason why I sent him to Mount Himi and not somewhere else."

"Itsuki Yamato?" William asked,

"Itsuki Yamato."

Their eyes met each other and they agreed to Steve's decision. Rita was quietly sitting back with Erika, looking at them proceeding the conversation.

"Well, moving on to the next point I wanted you to know." said Steve, grabbing everyone's attention. "May..., I mean...my spy returned last night."

"EVA has spies!?"

"Not from EVA," Steve said, "they are people totally on my and only my responsibility. Nobody in EVA knows."

William controlled himself and calmed down. "So what about that?" he asked.

"She is a spy, currently observing the regions near the cursed belt," said Steve. "According to her, and it's my assumption too, that 'higher fifth' devil, Naberius was killed 3 days ago,"

"What!?" Rize said with a shocked face.

"As hard as it is to believe, it's true. I was able to feel it myself." said Steve. "I'm sure that the information I received is not wrong," he continued. "He died, or I should say, he was killed right the other day after you encountered him."

"And..." William paused, "and what about Charlotte? Where is she?"

"I'm afraid we don't know anything about her."

"He was an upper rank devil, okay? He can't just...die himself.'' William showed signs of panicking. "Someone, who I'm assuming as Charlotte, must have killed him."

"Yes, I think the same. But we don't know where she is." said Steve, trying to convince him.

"William calm down," said Rita, ordering him from the back.

William quickly stood up and slammed his hands on the table in front of Steve. Steve looked in his eyes, still with a calm face.

"If you know that the devil was killed." William said with a louder tone. "How do you not know where the person who killed that devil is?"

"I never said, she is the one who killed Naberius," said steve. "According to the information, we just found that the devil is dead."

"Of course it must be her." William shouted. "Who else in the whole continent can kill the higher ranked devil."

"William, calm down." Rita said with a louder tone. She looked a little frustrated.

"I am calm."

"No, you're not," Rita stood up from her seat and said, shouting at him. "I know you still blame yourself for what happened with Charlotte. But get this in your head, it was not your fault and you can't protect everyone."

"How can I stay calm," William shouted again. "Look at this man." he pointed towards Steve. "How can this man stay so calm? Charlotte sacrificed herself to save others, this man was there but he didnt save her. Does he even care about her?"

You should not tell William about this. Charlotte's words echoed in Steve's head, and he said, "William, I had no choice. I have my reasons. And I'm as upset as you are."

"Oh are you?" said William, with tears in his eyes. "Cause your face doesn't show that."

That's enough William. Thought Rita and she walked towards william.

Before William noticed, Rita used her two fingers to hit on William's neck, and within a moment, William felt unconscious. Rita quickly grabbed him, keeping his head on her chest and slowly rested him on the sofa at the corner of the room.

After keeping him on the sofa, she quietly looked at William's face. Her hands touched his cheeks and Rita gave a faint smile at him. He was unconscious.

I'm always with you, William. She said in her mind. Everything will be okay, I promise.

Rita walked back to Steve's table, Steve and Erika were quietly observing this whole thing. Steve gave Rita a small smile, telling her that he already forgived William and there's nothing to worry about.

"I'm surprised you handled him so perfectly."

"Yeah, William and I might be the weirdest couple in history." said Rita, smiling back.

"I can't disagree with that." added Erika.

"Rita, you need to be more careful regarding William," said Steve with a serious tone.

"Why would you say that?"

"I got another news from the spy, who you already know is Maya, William's...sister."

"What did she say?"

"An illegal organisation has been formed against him," said Steve.

"What!?...why?"

"If I have to assume," Steve paused. "These are people who lost their loved ones during the fight, when Naberius descended in the entertainment streets."

"Why against william?" asked Rita. "William was the one who fought against the devil, risking his own life.

"People in this organisation are sorcerers, normal humans can't see these curses and dark entities, but those people can." Steve said. "During the fight, for some time, William harnessed the devil's energy," Steve continued. " And this kind of news doesn't talk long enough to spread everywhere."

"They fear William might betray humans?"

"Precisely," said Steve. "Even after you go back to Zora, never let your guards down."

Rita nodded towards Steve and looked back at unconscious William. His face looked calm, like an innocent kid. A kid who, instead of living a calm life, has to deal with such terrible situations fate is throwing at him.

Rita looked back at Steve. "What about Erika?" she asked. "Does she have to return to that hell?"

"I'll be taking care of her," said Steve. "And all the people in that area will be given a place in EVA's residential area."

"That's really nice...but why?"

"Erika made me realise how neglected those people are." replied Steve. "That's the reason why there were so many devil incarnations, or i should say 'dark skin incident' in that area. Cause no one looks after those people."

"That sure is a good decision." said Rita,

"Thank you so much, kind sir." added Erika.

~~

Rita was permitted to take William back home, while I headed to Mount Himi as ordered by Steve. Rita felt a little nervous, it was the first time, She and William were alone. Just two of them. As they approached the border of Zora, Rita woke him up.

"William, we will soon reach the village." she said. "Did you rest well?"

William, hearing Rita's voice, slowly opened his eyes and quickly got up. His face showed intense expressions.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Please tell me, my meeting with Steve was just a dream,"

"Oh...about that." Rita hesitated. "It was all real. The meeting, and...the things you said."

Oh good lord, that was really bad. Thought William. Nervousness spread all over his face.

"Uh...don't feel bad. You were just a little panicked." Rita tried to calm him. "Steve realised that. He already forgave you. Look, we will arrive at the main area in town soon."

The car stopped at the other side of the village. It was not the usual dropping place, but they accepted it and moved inside the town. As they approached the village, Rita had a really different feeling. She was still helping William walk. William was calm, but Rita realised people were avoiding him.

They walked a little further, but people would just avoid them as soon as they saw them. Some shut their doors without making it look as intentional and some pretend to be busy. As they moved a little forward, a man, wearing a white apron walked towards them.

"Hey Will! It's been a long time."

His name was Charles, one of William's very few real friends. He owned a coffee shop, the most popular coffee shop in the area. He was a master in his work. He walked towards them, wiping his wet hands to his apron.

"It's been a long time since we met," said William, with a smile.

"Yeah, only if you remember to come to this part of the village."

"Charles? Why is everyone so different?" asked Rita. "They are acting so differently."

"yeah...about that." Charles nervously said. "We can talk while having a coffee together, shall we?....My treat of course."

When Rita asked him, his expressions suddenly changed. He was a little anxious. He avoided the topic, which made it clear that he was hiding something.

William and Rita accepted the treat, and went inside the coffee shop. As they entered the shop, people looked at them. And again, some people pretended to not see them, while some walked out of the shop, trying not to make it look intentional.

"Charles." William said, in a low voice. "Why did they leave so hurriedly?"

"Because I asked them to leave." He lied.

"Why?"

"You came here after a long time." Charles said. "Today, the cafe is reserved for you."

William forced an awkward smile on his face and pretended like he believed in whatever Charles said. William walked forward and rested himself on the table at the corner. So did Rita, and she rested herself on the same table.

"I'll be back in no time." smiled Charles. "Make yourselves comfortable, you both." to which, they both returned him a smile and nodded.

William And I are alone after a really long time. Rita thought. It's...different.

William took a newspaper and dived his head inside its pages. This was his attempt to hide his feelings. He felt embarrassed and ashamed after all the things that happened last week. He messed up his control over his life force and Rita noticed it.

"William, what's happening." she asked.

"Uh...nothing?"

"Strike one."

"O...okay! I'll say it."

"Good boy." Rita smiled. "Now tell me. After all the discussion about how it's not your fault for what happened to Charlotte, why are you still so anxious."

William kept the newspaper aside and leaned forward, using his hands on the table like a stand. His fingers folded in fist, supporting his chin and he looked into her eyes.

"It's not just about Charlotte."

"If not Charlotte, then what's bothering you?"

"Back at the town, that night." William said. "I felt miserable, not just Charlotte but I wasn't able to save even a single possessed human in that area. That...devil just came out of a bigass portal."

"Language." Rita interrupted.

"That devil came out of that giant portal and massacred all of them."

"So this is what is bothering you?" Rita asked.

"That's one of the reasons."

"William, I don't know if this will make you feel better, but," Rita paused. "When curses possess any human, they control their mind and their life force. So humans are still alive under their possession, just like you were alive when Mary possessed you. But, devils don't possess mind or life force. They possess their souls."

"What do you mean?"

Rita looked down for a moment and looked back at william.

"When a devil possesses a human, it possesses their soul and makes that soul one of them." she said. "So, the humans possessed by devils are most likely already... dead. It's just the possessed body without soul which remains, those humans are just like puppets."

"Please don't tell me--"

"Oh, I really should." said Rita, interrupting him. "The possessed humans you wanted to protect that night, they were already dead. They were just acting like puppets controlled by that devil. To bring you to him."

"Oh, that's definitely not making me feel better," said william. "Knowing that I was the target all along, and those people died, just to be puppets and bring me to him."

Oh god, he's overthinking it. Rita thought.

"No...I mean--"

"Whatever you're talking about, even if it's important, cut it out." Charles' voice came from behind the cabin and soon the cabin door opened.

Charles came out, this time with a brown apron and a wooden tray in hand with two big cups and one small glass of coffee resting on it. Small water droplets were accumulated on the surface of the glass. Charles always preferred cold coffee.

Charles walked forward and kept the wooden tray in the middle of the table they both were sitting on. He dragged the chair from a table nearby and placed it on the empty side of their table and rested himself.

"Go on, have it." Charles said.

William moved his hand and grabbed the coffee cup, so did Rita. Charles took his glass of cold coffee and took a sip of it.

"It's been forever since we sat together for coffee."

"And you still remember my coffee choice." William said.

"Well it's not hard to remember when it's literally the normal coffee."

"And what about my choice?" asked Rita.

"When a new customer enters the shop, they usually order the most likeable coffee for them." Charles explained. "So I just write their choice down in front of their name in my diary. Same applies to you."

"That's...weird, but still makes sense."

William finished his cup and kept it back down in the tray. He looked back at charles.

"Want some more?" asked Charles.

"No need." William replied. "Charles, clear something up for me."

"What is it?"

"Since I entered the village, I have had this strange feeling." William said. "People in the village were not ignoring us, they were ignoring me alone. The pretended like they never saw me before, they walked out of the shop when I entered in."

"What are you talking abou--"

"And then I saw my childhood friend, who I trusted the most besides Rita, hiding things from me."

As William said these words, all three of them went quiet and William, calmly, kept looking in Charles' eyes. Rita kept her cup down with some coffee left. And Charles was quiet, looking down.

"Go on, what is it?" William asked.

Charles sighed and kept his glass down in the wooden tray. He looked back at Rita and then William.

"I can't hide this forever anyways." he said. "Follow me, see it yourselves."

Charles stood up from his place and picked the tray from the table. He kept it back in his kitchen, cleaned his hands and came outside. Charles was never so nervous. Rita was a little worried about what he wanted to show them.

Rita and William followed him on his way, which was leading to William's old house. When they reached the place, it was clear why Charles was trying to avoid this.

The condition of the house, just a week after he left, was horrible. All the window glasses were shattered and the glass particles were floating in air around the house, like gravity doesn't exist in the place.

His small gardens, which William created to make this house better again, were destroyed. The walls of the upper right corner of the house roof were turning black, and were weak enough to break apart any moment. This dark color was slowly spreading on the walls. The walls in the right corner of the massive house were broken and the pieces were floating in the sky, very slowly floating upward, towards something which, at first glance, looked like a small black hole.

The house which once was considered cursed and haunted, now actually looked dark, eerie and more cursed.

The compound walls of the house were painted red, and the words 'Cursed Child William' were written everywhere.