Monarch of Gluttony: System of Sin

" I need to get to work early since I called in sick last evening. I should be back soon. I'm leaving a spare key on the table. If you need to go out, use the key. But don't forget to be back by evening. I'll be really upset if you aren't!"

Yulia walked closer to Azekiel and kissed him on the lips before leaving.

Azekiel glanced at the key on the table. He could see how attached the girl was getting to him.

Ignoring the key, he continued eating. After he finished eating, he picked up the key and started leaving. Even though he wasn't planning to return, it was still good to have a place where he could come and rest in case he needed to.

Keeping the key in his pocket, he stepped out of the house, only to get back again, noticing it was still raining. In fact, the rain only intensified now.

"Will this rain ever stop or not?" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

He snapped his fingers, opening a black portal before him that connected him to his storage.

He placed his hand in the portal and brought a cloak out of the portal, which could protect him from a good rain.

He wore a black cloak and covered his head with the hood. The cloak seemed a bit oversized, having longer sleeves than the length of his arms. Still, at least the cloak was able to protect him from the water well, along with giving him some protection from prying eyes.

Surprisingly, his dark cloak looked awfully similar to the cloak of the person that Raphael was trying to see.

The cloaks were almost identical in size, and none of the two had any marks. Both the cloaks made it impossible for the person inside to be seen. However, that wasn't rare either since the cloaks didn't have any mark. There were possibly thousands of such cloaks in existence.

Azekiel stepped out of the house after donning the cloak. He didn't forget to close the door on his way out.

****

"I told you last time; I don't know who that person was!" The old man exclaimed, getting tired after receiving the same question from Raphael about the identity of the cloaked man a thousandth time. "And even if I knew, I wouldn't be telling you. It's your responsibility to find out who that was!"

He couldn't believe that Raphael was more interested in the identity of that person more than recovering his memories. Moreover, even if he was interested, it was getting irritating to get the same question when he told Raphael again and again that he didn't know.

Raphael eventually stopped asking the old man this question, seeing him so upset. He was sure that the old man knew the answer to the question. If he hadn't known who that person was, he would've tried to find out about the identity of the person as well!

The abject lack of interest of the old man in trying to find the identity of the person who could destroy an entire world was unsettling. It was clear he knew who that person was. But why wasn't he telling in that case?

Raphael focused on reliving his life, but his mind was still overwhelmed by that one question. Who was it that destroyed his world? Who was that person? And why didn't he kill everyone else instead of just hurting them?

Lia also had a similar question about the identity of the person who killed her. Who was it? And why was it? She kept trying to remember but even now, it was impossible!

"This!" Lia suddenly exclaimed, noticing something.

They were still going through Raphael's past. Moreover, they were also in the final stages of these memories. They were on the 80th floor, and Lia noticed something shocking.

She could see herself in these memories! She had entered the forest where she was supposed to have died.

She looked at the sky, noticing the time was also similar. From the position of the sun, she was sure that she was going to die in the next one hour or more.

She had an opportunity to see who killed her! This was perfect! She flew after her inside the forest, only to stop mid-way as she noticed another person entering the forest not long after her.

They were in Raphael's timeline, and they could see the real Raphael entering the forest not long after Lia. Lia looked back at Raphael's Spiritual Form, feeling a bit suspicious.

What was Raphael doing entering the same place where she had died around the same time?

"I promise if you're the one who killed me...!" Lia flew inside the forest, following after her real self instead of following after Raphael.

Raphael's Spiritual Followed after Lia, being distracted by her accusations. Was she really right? Did he actually kill her?

The old man couldn't help but shake his head. "People often make the mistake. In search of gold, they lose silver. And after all that, they don't even find gold..."

Eventually, he also followed after them, even after knowing what a big mistake they were making. "They've had so many opportunities, but after all that, they still make the same mistakes."

Raphael and Lia followed after Lia of the past instead of following after Raphael of the past. If they had followed the latter, they could've seen that Raphael didn't even take the same direction as Lia inside the forest.

Raphael and Lia kept an eye on Lia for close to an hour as Lia went to a plant inside the forest. She picked green berries before leaving the forest. She didn't do anything else inside the forest.

"Why didn't I die?" Lia asked the old man, confused. She successfully entered the forest and left alive. "Could it be that it wasn't the day?"

The old man smiled in response. "Now you're on the right line of thinking. Today isn't the day when you died... Just because the time of you entering the forest was the same didn't mean the day was also. In fact, you used to enter this forest often to get some fresh berries."

"Today was instead the day of someone else's death," he added, taking a glance at Raphael.