Chapter 207 Schrecken Magie
Shock rippled through both the wardens and prisoners as they beheld the magnificent archangel before them. The radiant scene of holy light breaking through the pitch-black sky was a spectacle beyond the wildest dreams of those aboard the ship.
Without hesitation, Michaela unfurled her graceful wings and with divine precision, severed the steel bars imprisoning the political dissidents and those who had defied the royal family. Their shackles fell away, and they were granted the gift of freedom in that miraculous moment.
Amidst the astonishment and awe, those devoted to Christianity began to pray fervently, thanking God for this extraordinary miracle that had descended from the heavens.
"The goodness will always prevail over evil" – this was the teaching they had followed and believed throughout their lives. Everything they had learned, whether in school, from television, or even the advertisements in this country, had instilled in them the belief that the royal family represented goodness, a radiant light that shone throughout the world. This nation had weathered countless disasters thanks to the royal family's merits bestowed upon heaven and earth. Justice and righteousness were always on their side, regardless of their actions.
But... what was the situation before them now? What was this? An archangel descending from heaven to aid those sinners who had defied the royal family – the very symbol of goodness, righteousness, and justice? What had they been doing all their lives?
At this moment, confusion reigned among the wardens, and questions they had never dared to ask surfaced.
"Everyone, please, follow me!" Michaela called out loudly, but at that very moment, one of the wardens regained their senses and fired their gun at her.
Bang!
Gunfire echoed, but the bullets couldn't penetrate the holy aura surrounding her body. They harmlessly deflected in different directions, leaving all the wardens stunned.
"Hurry!" Michaela urged the liberated prisoners as she stomped her foot, bending the iron deck above to create a stairway to freedom below.
"Ignore the angel! Kill the prisoners! Don't let them escape! Long live His Majesty!" the warden leader commanded.
Following the order, all the wardens quickly aimed their guns at the freed prisoners attempting to flee. Seeing this, Michaela swiftly rushed toward the deck below and expanded her holy aura to intercept all the bullets.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A hail of bullets was unleashed upon the prisoners, but all of them harmlessly ricocheted, allowing the liberated captives to run safely toward the beckoning light above.
"The wardens on the deck above, intercept the prisoners! Kill all of them! Don't let them escape from this ship! Long live His Majesty!" The head warden bellowed his orders into his walkie-talkie, directing the wardens guarding the upper deck to eliminate the liberated prisoners.
"No!" Michaela shouted in panic, expanding her holy aura even further to shield the prisoners above.
At that very moment, a dark silhouette hurtled toward the prisoners above, assaulting the protective barrier of holy aura.
Boom!
With a single punch from the silhouette's owner, Michaela sensed her holy aura weakening abruptly.
The owner of the silhouette came to a sudden stop and quickly withdrew, examining his bleeding right hand. He was a man of imposing stature, with platinum blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and an aura that exuded an eerie and unsettling presence. His attire matched his demeanor – a black luxury suit.
"Mr. Eisenhart..." One of the wardens bowed in deference to the newcomer. On this ship, some wardens who had long served the royal family possessed clearance to know about the existence of the Curtained World, affording them a greater composure when confronted with anomalies like this.
"Oh? What do we have here? An archangel? The first one in centuries! How fortunate I am," Eisenhart remarked with an amused tone, his gaze locked onto Michaela as if she were a rare specimen, a fusion of curiosity and greed in his eyes.
Archangels ranked among the rarest of species, with every part of their being – feathers, hair, skin, and even tears – holding immeasurable value beyond price. To mages, archangels weren't merely messengers of God; they represented a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck, an opportunity not to be squandered, whether for capture or harvesting of their parts.
"You shouldn't do that, archangel. Releasing all of these prisoners is such a waste of resources. Their bodies, blood, bones, and even souls can be used in many magical rituals. For example…" Eisenhart said, waving his hand as a bright light shone on the back of his hand, revealing his personal insignia—a horrifying creature amidst an intricate and complex magical array, shining brightly with eerie dark green light.
In an instant, his outer suit transformed into a substance made of blood, bone, and hundreds of souls. Shock filled Eisenhart's face as he looked at his outer suit, which had completely vanished, replaced by this dark substance.
Seeing this, Michaela had an ominous feeling. She quickly materialized her sword and rushed toward Eisenhart, intending to kill him in one strike.
Klang!!
The sound of metal clashing reverberated around the ship as an arm extended out of the mysterious substance, blocking her sword. What guarded her blade was a familiar short blade.
The moment Michaela saw that short blade, shock washed over her face. It was none other than the short blade her lord had crafted and used as his personal weapon.
"Impossible…" Michaela uttered in disbelief as she retreated to a safe distance and turned toward the liberated prisoners behind her, making sure they were unharmed.
Then, the mysterious substance transformed into a figure she revered and feared the most—a familiar handsome face with cold eyes devoid of warmth, the very eyes her lord wore when he looked upon his enemies. The figure was none other than Daniel, clad in his usual battle gear of a black trench coat.
Now, those eyes were fixed upon her, and a sharp pain tore through her heart. This was her worst fear—to be the recipient of her lord's ire, disappointment, and disdain.
"My lord…" Michaela uttered as she slowly stepped back in shock.
"You have disappointed me, Michaela... Instead of protecting the prisoners, you dared to act outside of my command. The first time you failed against Satan's army, failing your mission to protect my wife, and now, you're attempting to fail me in another mission. Do you think my forgiveness is boundless?" Daniel's figure said in a cold tone devoid of warmth as he slowly walked toward Michaela.
Unlike Michaela, Erina and the others saw her trembling with fear as Daniel's figure approached her in silence. This left them baffled, wondering why the archangel seemed so afraid of this particular figure.
On Eisenhart's side, he recognized the figure that had Michaela so unnerved, and he gleaned some basic information from her words.
[Is Daniel Emberweave her lord? Daniel is undoubtedly a powerful mage, but to have an archangel as a subordinate is quite extraordinary... There must be something here I don't know. Let's see if increasing the intensity of my 'Schrecken Magie' (Terror Magic) will yield more results.] Eisenhart thought, injecting more of his mana into his insignia to amplify the effect of his Terror Magic.
Terror Magic was Eisenhart's specialty, a dark magic that materialized the worst fears of its target into a Terror construct with 100% strength of the target's worst fear. In essence, the stronger the object of fear within the target's perception, the more potent his terror construct became.
However, there were limits to this magic, as it consumed a substantial amount of souls, blood, and bone, condensed into essence and woven into his outer suit. If the object of fear was powerful enough to destroy the world, he would need an impractical amount of material to fuel that level of strength.
One fortunate aspect was that his Terror construct had taken on the form of Daniel Emberweave, a mage capable of hand-to-hand combat and even capable of holding his own against the Vatican Secret Exterminator Unit. But a glaring weakness remained: the construct couldn't use magic, relying solely on its combat abilities and strength. Eisenhart had tried to find a solution to this limitation, but so far, no breakthrough had been achieved.
In Michaela's perspective, her lord's eyes seemed to grow colder, with a hint of anger and hatred.
"Michaela... Did you intentionally fail to protect my wife? So that you could take her place?" Daniel's figure spoke with a tinge of anger.
"No, my lord, that's never crossed my mind!" Michaela vehemently denied the accusation, but terror was creeping into her heart, and her face paled.
"Don't try to deny the obvious, Michaela. I know what you desire from me. You've always wanted to be the object of my lust, to bear my child, and live a mortal's happy life like those in the Korean dramas you watch. Pathetic!" Daniel's figure continued, his words like daggers piercing her heart.
"No, my lord... I... I didn't..." Michaela stammered, her legs growing weak as she stepped back, and Daniel's figure advanced slowly toward her.
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