Devil’s Music

In a black and white world where everything except one demon and one human had stopped.

200,000 spectators were frozen mid-dance and jump, helicopters in the sky had halted as well.

Standing in this surreal scene, Geon Kim might have been expected to be bewildered or even wary of the suddenly appearing demon Gamagin, but instead, he asked a somewhat different question.

"You might expect me to ask who you are, why this place has turned out this way, if you were the one who did this. But the question that came from Geon was unexpected.

"We know each other, don't we?"

Gamagin seemed surprised as well, twitching his eyebrows as he looked at Geon's face.

Geon's expression, undisturbed by panic or absurdity, only showed tranquility, which made Gamagin nod slightly.

"We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?"

As Gamagin nodded again, Geon asked.

Now that Geon was finally asking a normal question, Gamagin chuckled.

"You're asking that now?"

As Gamagin watched quietly, Geon slightly nodded.

"You look very much like me."

"Of course, that makes sense. Your human parents made you, but after you were about four years old, I sculpted your appearance and soul. It's natural you'd come to resemble me as you grew."

"Are you saying you sculpted me? Are you perhaps a god?"

"Haha, no."

"A being that's not a god has sculpted me? Then, an angel?"

"Keke, yes. Soon I will be one."

"So, you are an angel... I always felt like someone was shouting in my ear from when I was young, telling me to make music, to bring happiness to people through music. Was that you?"

"Yes, it was me."

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you think?"

Geon lowered his head and pondered for a while, then suddenly smiled and shrugged.

"I guess it doesn't really matter. I chose to make music on my own."

Gamagin smiled faintly and said.

"Your will? How can you be sure that it's your own will?"

Geon, facing a Gamagin that resembled him, returned the smile.

"Because I enjoy it now."

Slowly nodding, Gamagin's smile grew deeper.

"Then that's settled."

"Why have you come?"

"What do you think I came for?"

Turning his gaze from Gamagin to the stopped world around him, Geon speculated.

"Well, maybe it's some important time, and that's why you've shown yourself?"

Standing at the edge of the stage, Gamagin joined Geon in looking out at the still world.

"Yes, that's right. And perhaps, it might be a long time before I see you again."

"Why?"

Gamagin laughed lightly, placing his hand on Geon's shoulder.

"I'm being transferred. Think of it as something like a training program for new employees, though it's for several decades."

As Geon looked at Gamagin's profile, he said.

"You mean it'll be a long time before you see me again... So you've always been watching me up until now."

"Wherever you were, I was there. Whatever you did, I was watching you. Sometimes, I manipulated those around you to prevent you from escaping when you tried, and sometimes I faced you directly."

"I don't remember that."

"Yes, you shouldn't remember. It must be so."

"Will I not remember this time either?"

"Why, do you want to remember?"

"It sounds like it'll be a long time until we meet again, even though it feels like we're meeting for the first time, it's not really the first time."

"What's the problem with that?"

Geon, fixing his gaze on Gamagin's face, said.

"It's sad."

Turning his head from the still world to Geon, Gamagin asked.

"What is?"

"That no one remembers. Surely, there must be no one who remembers you?"

"Hmm... that's true."

"It would be nice if at least I could remember you, wouldn't it?"

"Haha, perhaps?"

"Memory... don't erase it. If I realize it later, then I'll be hurt, and you'll be lonely."

"Haha, okay. I won't do that."

"So you can't watch over me anymore?"

"That's right, but there are many others who will watch over you instead. Don't worry."

"Will they guide me on the right path like you did?"

"Haha, don't worry. You'd be surprised to know who they are."

"Who are they?"

"Keke, it wouldn't be fun if I told you everything."

"Che, you're stingy."

"I'm the first to call you stingy?"

"That's right? You're

really stingy though?"

"Keke, I see. Perhaps so."

Their conversation, devoid of any significant content but somehow full of enjoyment and longing for Geon, continued as he seemed anxious that Gamagin might leave soon and kept the conversation going.

"Have you been beside me since I was four?"

"Yes, the children you met in your dreams were brought together by my power."

"Dreams... I see. But I have a question."

"What is it?"

"John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. About these people I met in dreams."

"Yes, go on."

"Usually, when you meet someone in a dream, they teach you something, and you use their abilities in reality... Shouldn't it be like that?"

"Haha, you've seen too many novels."

"It's fine if you call it a novel. But except for learning the basics of guitar from Jimi Hendrix, I only talked with them, I didn't really learn anything else. Why did you let me meet those people?"

Gamagin placed his hand on Geon's shoulder and looked up at the sky. Unknowingly following his gaze, Geon looked up too as Gamagin began to speak.

"Did you really learn nothing?"

"I didn't learn anything technical, nor did I gain my musical vision from them. Ah! Did you give me that too?"

"Haha, yes. Exactly, I arranged for someone else to give it to you."

"I see..."

"Now, let me answer your question."

Gamagin dropped his hand from Geon's shoulder and crossed his arms.

"Abilities, or skills, as you call them, are very important for living in the world. They keep you and other humans fed and alive.

But no one tells you how to use those skills and abilities. What's taught in moral or ethics classes are just vague expressions, they don't detail how to use the myriad abilities that exist in the world."

After a long explanation, Gamagin looked at the sky and continued speaking to Geon, who was listening.

"When you met Elvis Presley, you learned the joy of singing. It wasn't about singing skills, but the joy of it. When you met Jimi Hendrix, you learned the joy of playing the guitar, and that's when you gained your vision.

When you met John Lennon, you learned how to imbue your music with ideas, and when you met Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, you learned how to unleash your abilities."

Looking at Geon, who was still staring at the sky, Gamagin asked.

"Do you still think you learned nothing?"

Smiling, Geon looked down.

"No, it seems I've learned quite a lot."

Following Geon's smile, Gamagin turned toward the center of the stage and said.

"There's still much you want to ask!"

Geon, sensing that Gamagin was about to leave, hurriedly spoke, but Gamagin, with a relaxed expression, turned back to him.

"The time left for us stretches over eons. There's plenty of time for conversation."

"Where are you going?"

Without answering and with a deep smile, Gamagin pulled out a round bead emitting a holy aura from his inner pocket.

"Back to where I was."

Raising the bead high, Gamagin struck it hard against his chest, shattering it and releasing a sanctified energy that enveloped the world.

A tremendous energy swirled around the stage, radiating out into the world and then being absorbed back into Gamagin, whose clothes turned white and his black long hair transformed into blond.

Spreading his arms slowly, Gamagin began to ascend into the air, and four pairs of black wings unfolded from his back.

As black feathers fluttered down over the world, all the feathers from the wings fell off, and new white feathers sprouted in their place.

Wrapped in a golden aura and floating in the air, Gamagin looked down at Geon, and his voice, which had been human, changed.

"My child, thank you. Wait for the day we meet again."

Geon, catching a fluttering black feather, watched as Gamagin slowly ascended into the sky.

Gradually rising, Gamagin suddenly vanished in a burst of golden light, leaving Geon alone on the stage, clutching the black feather and murmuring softly.

"Goodbye, until we meet again."

In the still black and white world, the only two colorful figures, Gamagin and another, watched from the rooftop of City Hall.

"Has he left, Pyemon?"

A brown-haired man leaning on the rooftop railing asked as Pyemon, with a somewhat sad expression, sat precariously on the railing.

"Yes, he's gone."

"It will be hard to see him now, won't it?"

"Haha, indeed."

Glancing at the melancholic Pyemon, Amdusias

turned his head as the rooftop door opened, revealing Gusion. With a complex expression, Gusion approached and said.

"It was really possible, then."

Pyemon chuckled.

"If it hadn't been possible, it wouldn't have started. Who do you think he is?"

Knowing what kind of being Gamagin was, Gusion tapped Pyemon's back as he sat on the railing.

"Cheer up, now that Lord Gamagin is gone, you'll move up the ranks."

"Keke, are you happy, my son?"

"Of course, I'm happy."

"You're saying what you don't feel."

"Che, you're quick-witted."

"Will you watch over the child until his life ends?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Gusion."

"It's not for you."

"Keke, regardless,"

The three demons watched as the world remained frozen, with Geon standing alone on the stage, holding a black feather, and closing his eyes, a warm smile spreading across his face.

Quietly watching Geon, Amdusias laughed.

"Heh, does he know what he's smiling at?"

Gusion, smiling, looked at Geon.

"Who knows, but he probably has some idea."

>

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