Chapter 34
Deep, deep underground.
In that secret place, a group of wizards was conducting a preordained ritual.
In the expansive room lay a massive magic circle.
At its center, powered by the sacrifices of numerous magical beasts,
it slowly began to reveal itself.
“Oooooh…!”
“It has finally descended!”
“Worship it!”
“Praise it!”
“Rejoice, for the great demon of Hell is here!”
The wizards, with voices full of madness, poured out words of praise.
As if responding to their call,
the being began to reveal its corrupted, wicked body, exuding chaotic power far beyond human comprehension.
One of the lords of Hell.
A being that, through the sacrifices offered by its followers,
had finally crossed dimensions and begun to set foot in this world again.
Its name was…
“Welcome the great Diabolos!”
“O Diabolos! Lord of destruction! You who shall cleanse this filthy world!”
Receiving the fervent praise of its followers, the summoning neared completion.
The great demon Diabolos, standing proudly in the magic circle, had a sinister smile on his lips.
{Heh heh heh… Finally… Finally, I have returned… Returned to this dust-like world once again!}
Not long ago, a carefully prepared summoning ritual had failed due to an unforeseen accident.
However, Diabolos did not give up and planned another descent into the mortal world.
Though the first ritual failed, his followers in this world were still many.
As long as the roots remained strong, it wouldn’t take long for the tree to grow again.
Fortunately, with a bit of luck, his followers quickly gathered new sacrifices and began another ritual to bring him into the mortal realm.
Learning from the failed attempt that had summoned him from the skies, he changed the summoning location this time.
He chose a place surrounded by his followers, where no one could interrupt.
Even if fate worked against him, he was certain he wouldn’t face that wretched seraphim again.
This place was the magic tower, renowned for its strong defenses on the continent.
And this was even deeper underground, beyond the lowest known floor, below the 0th floor.
{Prepare yourselves, you filthy beings… especially that seraphim! Try to stop me this time if you dare! Just wait a little longer… Once I regain my power in this world, you’ll be the first one I rip to pieces…}
-Pop!
{Huh? What’s this…}
-BOOOOOM!!!
It was autumn.
*
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
“Move quickly! We must leave this place immediately!”
“Yes, Commander!”
Eva and the Holy Knights, out of breath, fled.
With Seraphim’s orders given, they had immediately entered the magic tower, their arms filled with research materials they had taken.
Ordinarily, it would have been impossible to even approach the magic tower, let alone steal such valuable documents.
But at this moment, a great commotion was unfolding inside…
Explosions occurred throughout the tower, and the wizards who guarded it had vanished without a trace.
This situation presented them with the perfect opportunity to strike.
Though they couldn’t fully grasp the exact situation,
they could only assume that the great Seraphim had done something to aid them.
Thanks to that, they had successfully completed their mission and, as instructed by Seraphim, were now running forward without looking back.
‘Seraphim told us not to delay for even a moment, to just keep running.’
‘What could possibly happen that would kill us if we turned around?’
With only questions in their minds, they continued running mindlessly.
*
-Huuuush!
“Huh?”
“What… What is…”
Suddenly, they all felt an overwhelming chill.
The air turned cold, and a sudden deafening silence filled their ears.
Several knights pulling the cart instinctively began to turn their heads to look back.
“Idiot! Didn’t you hear not to look back? Just run!”
“Ah… S-Sorry.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Reeve’s sharp voice stopped them in their tracks.
At the sharp command of their superior, they flinched for a moment
and had no choice but to turn their heads back to the front.
And then…
-BOOOOM!!!!!
“!!”
“Ughhhh!!!”
A massive explosion suddenly swept through.
The scorching heat and the violent gusts forced them to instinctively lower their bodies to the ground.
“Damn it! Hold on tight! We can’t lose anything!”
Thankfully, everyone here had received blessings from Seraphim.
Because of that, they were barely able to protect the documents and prevent themselves from being blown away.
At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel a mix of relief and fear.
What would have happened if they had carelessly looked back just moments ago?
Facing that intense heat and wind head-on, at the very least, they would have been blinded,
and at worst, the shockwave could have led to their deaths.
Reflecting deeply on their foolishness, having almost disobeyed the divine warning,
the Holy Knights pushed forward, still dragging the cart, trying their best not to look back in the now quietened situation.
At this moment, they missed the sight of the massive mushroom cloud rising behind them…
*
The many angels rescued from Sodomora.
Of course, my plan was to raise them all here in Heaven.
Even though they were created as clones from experiments, these children were undeniably angels.
And since their original form was Arc Royle, from my perspective, these children were like my own.
Angels who barely escaped from a hellish place.
Now, they were taking a breather, settling down in various parts of Heaven.
Though it still felt somewhat empty compared to the vastness of Heaven,
the previously lonely atmosphere—when it was just the two of us—had eased a bit.
But still…
[“Are you alright?”]
[“…Seraphim… “]
Arc Royle responded, unable to hide the shadow still lingering on her face.
Looking at her, I spoke in a calm voice.
[“I told you before. This wasn’t your fault. You were simply used. The blame lies with those who have now fallen into Hell.”]
[“Yes… but…”]
[“…Hmm…”]
Despite my words of comfort, Arc Royle still couldn’t shake off the guilt.
It was only natural.
Unlike the scum who commit such heinous acts without remorse, Arc Royle, as I knew her, was kind and pure.
She wasn’t someone who could easily ignore the tragedy that started because of her.
Watching her, I spoke softly.
[“First… Let’s do this.”]
[“What do you mean?”]
The way to relieve her guilt.
Simply offering words of comfort wasn’t enough.
Although it wasn’t entirely unhelpful, what mattered more was settling the debt in her heart.
To do that, I made a suggestion to Arc Royle.
*
[…]
A high place where the blue world unfolded beneath her feet.
Heaven.
There, the Archangel Arc Royle stood, silently gazing at the ground below.
It was the same scenery as always.
But the emotions she felt while looking at it were now quite different from before.
The ‘mission’ that had started because of her stubbornness.
Though the actual execution took only a few days,
it had left a greater impact on her life than anything else in the eternity she had lived.
So much blood had been spilled because of her naivety.
And after realizing that, she had lost control of herself, almost crossing into a point of no return.
Even though the merciful Seraphim had comforted her, Arc Royle still had to acknowledge the truth.
She knew she had failed.
Rather than being of help to Seraphim, she had only burdened him.
However, more than the bitterness of failure,
the heavy emotion in her heart at this moment was for another reason.
That reason was…
{Um… Arc Royle… Ma’am? Why did you call me?}
[Huff…]
The voice that came from beside her was exactly like hers.
The difference was that while Arc Royle’s voice had a slightly higher pitch, this one sounded a bit lower.
Upon hearing it, Arc Royle turned her gaze to face the reality before her,
and looked at the ‘child’ standing next to her.
[Let’s fly for a bit.]
{! … Yes.}
She, who had been speaking formally until now, suddenly switched to informal speech.
It was her own way of trying.
A way to bear the ‘responsibility’ that would follow.
Whether or not the child next to her recognized it, she couldn’t know.
Anyway,
Arc Royle slowly stood up and floated into the air.
The child followed behind her…
The one who had first encountered her, Angelculus.
Angel Number 562 also spread her wings and gently lifted off.
Though a copy, flying was as natural to angels as walking.
As they gently glided through the pure white heavens,
Arc Royle cautiously began to speak.
[How is life here?… How are the others?]
{It’s fine. Although some are still a bit confused… we’re all relieved that there’s no need to kill or be killed anymore.}
[That’s good to hear.]
Heaven, which once felt so empty when only Seraphim and herself had been there,
was now filled with many.
The surviving angels they had rescued from Sodomora.
Some of them seemed mature,
as if they could hold Arc Royle back with their strength.
Others, like the little girls who barely had their chests grown,
were so young they had just been born.
Their total number was 1,273.
And one of them, the one named Arc-562, was now standing before her.
Feeling a faint sense of affection from the brief contact they’d shared,
[Um… you see.]
Arc Royle spoke with a nervous voice.
Once again,
remembering Seraphim’s words.
[First of all… I want to apologize. I made you go through all this. Because of me… because I naively trusted humans…]
She was momentarily reminded of that scene.
The hellish sight of pure children killing and being killed.
Even now, though she was somewhat stabilized, the thought of it brought a deep, instinctual discomfort.
Suppressing the emotions rising within her, Arc Royle continued speaking.
[I’m truly… truly sorry.]
An apology.
And.
[And… though I am someone like this, someone as foolish as this… could you give me a chance? A chance to atone for this sin… A chance to take responsibility for those of you who remain.]
{!…}
“Please allow me to make amends.”
Upon hearing this request, Angel Number 562 looked at her with a surprised expression.
And then,
{…Sob… sob…}
[!… Ah… uh… I… I’m sorry! If… if what I said upset you in any way…]
{Thank… you.}
[…Huh?]
Seeing her in tears,
Arc Royle was momentarily flustered.
With a trembling voice, Angel Number 562 spoke.
{Thank… you… truly… for accepting us… truly… truly, thank you…}
Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, the girl smiled.
As Arc Royle gazed at her, filled with a mix of relief and joy, she was overwhelmed with emotion and briefly covered her mouth.
Then, without a word, Arc Royle embraced the girl.
Leaning into the warmth of that embrace, the girl felt her heart pounding as she quietly thought,
‘Thank you… Mother… our… Mother…’
*
{Mother Fu*ker!!!!}
-BOOM!!!
A massive roar echoed through the Divine Temple.
At the same time, an explosive sound reverberated, and the entire Pantheon began to shake violently.
—
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