Chapter 278 - Setting The Stage
In the northern reaches of Aernor, a giant island over 20 km in diameter floated in the sky. Pure-white palaces were built all over the island, and hundreds of angels flew around in the sky.
It was the island of angels, Sant'Angelo. The island was directly connected to the celestial realm and acted as the base of all angels.
BOOM!
A loud explosion was heard within a breathtakingly beautiful castle.
"Shit! Form the goddamn Gate already!!"
"L-Lord Uriel…"
A boy with short blue hair was yelling at angels far taller than him. He was only as tall as an average human, his height unlike an angel's average height of three meters. If one didn't know any better, it would look like a little boy was scolding grown adults, but that was not the case.
"W-We apologize."
The angels lowered their heads without even daring to go against the boy.
The blue-haired boy, Uriel, flapped his eight wings.
Crackle!
Blue lightning spread in all directions with the sound of thunder.
Biting his lip, Uriel said, "Is apologizing all you can do? Huh? We can't even check Raphael's condition. What have you upper angels been doing until things turned out like this?"
He looked like a young boy throwing a tantrum, but the upper angels just lowered their heads and gulped. The six wings behind their backs were trembling.
Upper angels possessed the highest authority after the archangels. Their role was to constantly keep tabs on the schedules and status of the archangels, who were scattered across the world to do their own missions. To make a comparison, the upper angels were like the secretaries of CEOs. It was their duty to know what each archangel was doing at all times.
"Sh-Shalgiel has not been reporting lately because he has been executing the mission given to him by Lord Raphael, so…"
"So you're blaming Shalgiel?"
Uriel glared at him.
The upper angels remained silent in frustration. It was true that Shalgiel had not contacted them after he had begun his investigation of Guardians. On top of that, Raphael had been too busy researching and recovering to contact them, so there was no way for them to know what was happening on Earth.
"… We apologize."
The upper angels could not make any excuses due to Uriel's turbulent mood. Uriel kicked the ground in irritation. The floor of Sant'Angelo, which was protected by all sorts of magic circles, caved in.
"Open the Gate right now. I'm going to Earth."
"About that…"
The upper angels made troubled expressions.
Forming a Gate leading to Earth had become fairly easy now that Gaia's protection had been severely damaged, but they needed more time to create a Gate for an archangel like Uriel to pass through. This was due to the protection's characteristic to reject otherworldly beings possessing great power. Even if they had the permission of the gods of Earth, they needed time if they wanted to get Uriel through safely.
"We need more time."
"… How much more time?"
"It will take a week at the very least."
"You can't do it any faster?"
"If we rush, there is a high chance that your powers will be limited due to Lady Gaia's protection."
"Shit! I'm in a goddamn hurry!" Uriel anxiously shouted.
Even so, crossing to Earth while risking having limiters placed on his powers was too dangerous.
He thought about sending his subordinates, but he shook his head.
'They'll just die in vain.'
Rakiel wasn't stupid—he would have most definitely made the necessary preparations for scouts. Not just that, forming a Gate for his subordinates to go through would only delay his chance to cross over to Earth.
Even if the protection on Earth was currently a mess, creating a Gate to another world wasn't that simple.
'Rakiel.'
Uriel started to feel uneasy. Rakiel was the Constellation of Corruption and had corrupted countless angels and gods during the era of myths. Uriel wasn't sure when exactly Rakiel had broken out of Seraph's seal and crossed to Earth, but facing him while having limiters on his power was completely illogical.
"Has Lord Raphael… been corrupted by Rakiel?" an upper angel carefully asked.
Uriel grimaced.
"Nonsense," he said firmly while shaking his head. "Even if he's the Constellation of Corruption, he can't make Raphael fall so quickly."
It made no sense.
Even if the legends about Rakiel in the era of myths were incredible, Raphael was one of the archangels, who were more powerful than the average god.
'For Raphael to have fallen despite not even a month having passed since he last contacted us…'
Uriel snorted.
The voice he had heard through the communication crystal had been no doubt Shalgiel's, but there were countless magics that could imitate one's voice.
'I smell a ploy….'
He narrowed his eyes, and a ferocious energy flowed out of him. It was only obvious what sort of trick the Constellation of Corruption was playing after having crossed to Earth.
"Tsk."
Uriel clicked his tongue. Whether it was a trick or not, he couldn't help but worry. He couldn't sit idly by after knowing that the communication crystal that Raphael should have had had fallen into Rakiel's hands.
"Raphael…"
He anxiously bit his lip and shook his foot in irritation.
'Be safe.'
Although Raphael was old-fashioned and sometimes drove Uriel mad, they were comrades-in-arms who had fought together in battle.
They often fought due to the differences in their personalities, but among the archangels, they were the closest friends. It was only obvious since Michael was practically unapproachable and, in the case of Gabriel, she was far too wacko for anyone to get along with.
"Fuuu."
In any case, Uriel did not believe that Raphael had fallen, but he was still worried for him. He wanted to go to Earth immediately to find out the truth, but he only became more frustrated because he couldn't.
"Five days," Uriel said.
"Pardon…?"
"Open the gates within five days, whatever you have to do," he said while baring his teeth.
The expressions of the upper angels hardened.
Creating a Gate that connected dimensions already required enormous amounts of effort. On top of that, if they wanted to let a being as powerful as Uriel pass through without any limiters on his power, they needed to spend day and night converting enormous amounts of sacred power into complicated formulas. The number of collapsed angels from overwork could easily surpass a hundred.
Faces pale, the angels quickly mentioned, "No matter how quickly we work—"
"If it's not ready in five days…," Uriel firmly said as if he would not accept any objections, "I'll rip off two wings from every single one of you myself."
"…"
Ripping off two of their six wings meant that they would be demoted from upper to intermediate angels. The angels nodded frantically as if there were a motor attached to their heads.
Even if they were fighting to eradicate evil, they were living beings—they also had emotions and ambitions.
"Y-Yes, my lord!"
Uriel turned away after he heard their answer.
"…"
After he turned around, Uriel's expression darkened.
'Something's wrong…'
He knew that there was no way that Raphael would've fallen. No matter how amazing Rakiel was, Raphael's conviction and will were not so weak for him to be corrupted so easily.
'But…'
Uriel bit his lip and clenched his fists. A faint sense of uneasiness spread throughout his body.
* * *
"First off…" Oh Kang-Woo looked around and organized the plan in his head. "I should call Lilith and Vaal Zahak."
His plan would be hard for him to carry out alone. Among his retainers, Vaal Zahak and Lilith could be called pros in setting stages.
'They did a great job making the stage for the incident with the Four Heavenly Kings last time.'
However, they would go for a different theme this time; he couldn't reuse the same stage.
'Uriel will apparently come to Earth in a week, but…'
Kang-Woo's eyes narrowed. Considering that he had blown the situation to a much greater degree, he had to consider the chance that Uriel would arrive sooner.
'At least he can't cross over right away.'
He'd asked Shalgiel how angels were able to cross from Aernor, the world they were based in, to Earth.
Creating a Gate that connected dimensions required many hands, and for an archangel to cross it, hundreds of angels had to work on it.
'So that was why Lucifer was so weak despite having Divinity.'
There was a way to cross quicker, which was to accept the limiter placed by Gaia's protection.
Lucifer had likely been weak because he had crossed dimensions as quickly as possible to save his son.
'But it's still not enough time.'
They had to finish all the preparations before Uriel arrived on Earth. The good thing was that they wouldn't need to prepare a large-scale stage like the one they had used before.
"Three days should be enough."
If Uriel arrived on Earth quicker than that while accepting the limiter, then the plan would fail.
'Though the chances of that happening are low.'
Kang-Woo hoped Uriel wasn't that stupid.
Click.
Soon, Vaal Zahak and Lilith arrived.
[I have answered your summons, Master.]
"I escorted Seol-Ah to Balrog's residence just now. What is going on, my king?"
The fortress was empty, so Vaal Zahak and Lilith were able to come to Raphael's research room faster than expected.
"We don't have a lot of time, so I'll be quick."
Kang-Woo explained everything to them as quickly as possible.
[Wha… T-To think she would possess Seraph's soul…] Vaal Zahak exclaimed in surprise, his eye sockets shining.
"It is… hard to believe."
Lilith touched her lips while narrowing her eyes. It felt very seductive. Kang-Woo shook his head to eliminate such useless thoughts.
"We have to complete the stage before Uriel arrives."
"Are you thinking of creating a dungeon like last time?"
"Yeah."
Kang-Woo nodded.
"…"
Lilith narrowed her eyes.
"It may be safer to just go to war with the angels instead," she calmly said.
It was the first time she had objected to Kang-Woo's plan, showing how reckless it was, as well as its high chance of failure.
"You understand that this is completely different from before, do you not, my king?"
They were not the lead roles who would be on the stage. No matter how much they could try to convince Uriel that Raphael had fallen, everything would fall apart the moment Uriel decided to trust Raphael.
"Uriel will believe Raphael," Lilith said.
It was only obvious. They had traversed through many battlefields side by side for thousands of years. There was no way that Uriel would believe that Raphael had fallen so easily.
"I know." Kang-Woo nodded. He also knew that making this plan succeed would be difficult. "In the worst-case scenario… I'm considering war."
"… I see you have no intention of giving up Seol-Ah."
"You know very well how I've lived until now."
Kang-Woo smirked.
Making a bittersweet smile, Lilith nodded and looked down at the floor.
"My king," Lilith said carefully.
"Hm?"
"What would you do… if I were put in the same situation?"
"What are you talking about now?"
Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. What he would do if Lilith was in the current situation instead of Seol-Ah was so obvious that it was a waste of time to even think about it.
"If it were you… using you as a hostage wouldn't work, so that's out of the question. Corrupting you also wouldn't fit that well either… Mmm. I would either try to make some sort of conflict among the angels or create a third member of the Four Heavenly Kings. If that all fails, I guess we'd have to go to war."
"…"
The possibility of giving up on her wasn't even in his head.
"Ah…"
Lilith trembled. She clenched her fists and jumped in excitement.
Yes. The demon king that she loved was this kind of person.
"Fufu. I see. Fufufu."
Lilith covered her mouth and twisted around as if it was difficult to hold back her giggles. Her long black hair swayed as if it were dancing.
"So, what is the plan?" she asked.
"Well…"
Kang-Woo explained the stage he had in mind.
The more he explained, the more Lilith's and Vaal Zahak's eyes shone.
"Hah…" After listening to it all, Lilith exclaimed in surprise. "Mm. I guess it is very like you to think of a plan like this, my king… No, maybe it is a bit too cruel, even for you…"
She couldn't help but feel sorry for Raphael.
Lilith smiled brightly.
"But it is worth a try."
Kang-Woo nodded.
If Lilith, who was basically the chief of staff, agreed to it, it meant that the plan was more than possible enough to try.
"In that case, let's get ready. Vaal Zahak, you collected all the angels' corpses, right?"
[Of course.]
Kang-Woo got up.
It was about time to set the stage his way.
* * *
Three days later, Kang-Woo sighed while putting down an old book on the table.
"Fuuu."
The stage had been fully set.
"Now, then…"
His eyes gleamed with anxiety. He looked at the stage he had created in the research room for this plan.
A blue message window appeared in front of him.
Riiing.
[The dungeon has been formed.]
[Please set the name of the dungeon.]
'Finally.'
The time had come.
Kang-Woo took a deep breath and opened his mouth. He had never been more nervous for anything in his entire life.
"Fallen Angel's Nightmare."
[Setting the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare.']
'Alright!'
Humans were learning creatures.
Kang-Woo clenched his mouth shut; he did not even let out a single breath.
Badump, badump.
His heart was beating fast.
Just then…
Click.
"My king~ have a cup of coffee."
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee.']
"Motherfucker!!"
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker.']
"This stupid ass system!! Why does the dungeon name have to be set verbally?!"
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally.']
"You fucking son of a bitch! Hey!"
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey.']
"Nooooooo!!!"
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey Nooooooo.']
"Aaah… Fuck… Stop… Fucking stop…"
Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.
Riiing.
[Changing the dungeon name to 'Fallen Angel's Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey Nooooooo Aaah… Fuck… Stop… Fucking Stop….']
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