Azusa woke up and she immediately recognized her surroundings. She had seen the outside of this place so many times, but this was the first time she saw the inside of the chamber that was located in the most inner part of Kai's office.

She groaned and tried to stand up but she felt a warm big hand touch her forehead and she heard Toru's voice beside her.

"Don't wake up just yet, let me call Kai to check on you." 

Was this a dream? 

Did she die and went to heaven?

She remembered that the black fog was trying to devour her alive, but then she also remembered that another portal was opened and she saw an all white figure come out of it. 

And that was it.

That was the last thing she remembered about everything before she woke up here.

"Hey, sleeping beauty." She heard Kai's calming voice as he entered her peripheral and she could also see Toru's face that was contorted with concern, and fury.

Uh oh.

"Well, from your expression, I can see that you're absolutely fine, and that you need time with your husband here. Don't worry about Arisu, we got her. Take your time Toru, Azusa. Just call me after you finish."

Azusa could see that Kai couldn't wait to go out and leave them alone, and she dreaded what was going to come.

"Are you really okay, baby?"

She heard the concern and love in Toru's voice and decided that she was indeed in heaven. There was no way he would speak softly like that if he knew what she had done. He would definitely give her a good scolding for trying to leave him and Arisu behind.

And apparently her face said it all because Toru smiled and he hugged her tight.

"I know what you're thinking and no, you're not dead, and yes, I remember everything including what you had done for me." He squeezed her tight and kissed her hair. "I am sorry, baby. I am sorry for making you feel that you need to do what you did to make me happy." He then let go of her and looked her in her eyes. "I love you, and I am sorry that you felt that you and Arisu were not enough for me."

"Now you're scaring me." She pulled back from his embrace. "Are you sure you're the Toru that I married? Not some kind of a figment of my imagination?"

"You imagined me to be like this?" He chuckled as he kissed her. "What else did you imagine? Tell me and we could reenact them all."

"Damn, now I know that I am in heaven." She hooked her arms around him and pulled him for a kiss. "I love you, and I want you to be happy. I really wish to know your father and your uncle, and Chiori-san, and Chikara, and everyone. And I really wish Arisu would know them too." She suddenly shed a tear from her eyes. 

"They knew, baby. They knew and they loved you. And they're going to love Arisu too."

They took a moment to mourn what had happened to those people, when the door was opened again and Azuma entered with Arisu – followed by Dottore.

She quickly straightened up her spine and bowed respectfully to Dottore, while Azuma put Arisu into her arms.

"Hey, baby… mama missed you a lot." She kissed the chubby baby and she giggled and kissed her back. After a moment, she looked at Dottore in question and Dottore nodded.

"I am really sorry to bother your time here, but I will be quick. Can you tell me more about what happened? Azuma here went back to the island together with Dante via the portal in the lab, and they found you unconscious and the apparition was nowhere to be seen. Have you succeeded in exorcizing it?"

She took a while to gather her jumbled thoughts and she shook her head.

"No, Dottore. I was in the middle of being devoured by the apparition – which was actually a collection of seven deadly sins. They took forms of each sin and tried to lure my emotions out, and I guess when they failed, they changed plans and tried to eat me alive." She looked at Toru and squeezed his hand tight. "I remember that one of the sins had successfully penetrated my chest and I was about to unseal myself when it choked me so I couldn't do anything except for waiting for them to devour me alive."

Toru squeezed her hand and kissed her hair. He was so afraid when Dante returned his memory and they frantically went back to the island only to find her lying there, motionless.

His heart almost stopped beating from panic, but upon closer inspection, she was actually fine without any wounds at all, only sleeping. Her clothes were tattered, but she was perfectly fine.

They immediately took her away and sealed the island for further inspection and brought her into this chamber to find out if she had any internal wounds.

But she was as healthy as a horse, and even her scars were gone. Like she was just being reborn.

"Anything else?" Dottore's interest was piqued as he saw the results of her blood test. 

In the first place, her body was not able to hold on to the power that she had as the direct descendant of Abe no Seimei, that's why he put a seal on her to let her experience normal life. 

After she had Arisu, the seal was weakened and Dottore was about to strengthen it once again when all this happened. So when they scanned her all over, Dottore noticed that the seal was actually gone, and the power was down to the level that she would be able to maintain without having to seal her again.

And to do this kind of thing, one should be on the level of the original Devourer like him – or more.

So yes, he was really curious about this.

"Ah, I don't know if this is relevant or not, but I vaguely remember someone dressed in all white came out of a portal and then they spoke in a strange language, before everything went black. At first I thought it was you or Kai, but to think again, I think the person was a woman."

To be continued to PANDORA (Angel Devourer #5)