Chapter 315
Chapter 315
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 315
Chapter Title: Chapter 7-1. The Sixth Fragment, Requiem
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Angels stood outside the sandstorm's domain, spreading two or four wings. As the sandstorm thinned and Judah's group came into view, they began to approach slowly.
Their white robes were stained with blood from whoever they had killed, and their wings were caked with sand and dust. They flew about 50cm off the ground, maintaining even intervals from each other, swords blazing with holy fire in hand. Judah's furrowed brow didn't ease at the sight of them.
'I told you to watch out for the angels.'
The words he had said in jest came back to him. But despite trying to be cautious, he hadn't encountered any angels, nor had he seen them in the otherworld.
If Metatron, said to have hundreds of thousands of eyes, couldn't inform the angels of Judah's location, it might mean even the strongest Holy King had limitations.
He couldn't relay Judah's position to the angels on the ground in real time, or Cyan was blocking his sight.
Either way, it was fortunate for Judah.
However.
Even so, the sight of these angels approaching like they intended to snatch the fragment he'd painfully obtained after entering the otherworld and suffering greatly was enough to make his irritation boil over.
'Did I create the angels as such trash-like bastards...?'
A sudden wave of doubt arose. At this point, devils seemed better by comparison. Judah sighed. Without the angels, with Esther Serlion's treatment complete, he could have relaxed, checked the unread system messages, and reviewed Esther Serlion's status.
Judah looked at Arhil, who sat beside him watching the angels approach, then stood up.
"Arhil."
"Yes?"
"Esther Serlion... well, this woman here. Please heal her a bit more so she wakes up soon."
Arhil wouldn't know this fallen dragonkin's name or her circumstances. To her, she was just a short-haired dragonkin, or one who'd lost her reason to a fragment and attacked them—that was all. But without any complaint at Judah's words, Arhil nodded.
'They're all just lower to mid-rank angels anyway.'
Unlike devils, judging an angel's strength was simple. Primarily by their wings. Some angels with many wings kept only two out, finding the rest cumbersome, but most prided themselves on their wings and displayed them all.
To them, wings were something to flaunt and a symbol of power. Yet among the approaching twenty or so, most had two wings, with only two having four.
"It looks like we'll never be on good terms with angels."
He'd vaguely thought so since seeing the apostle Organ sent by Metatron in the Black Land and his descent.
The relationship with Gabriel, whom he'd met right at the game's start, hadn't been good either. Unless starting as Cain, it was inevitable. Later, the character Judah would be declared a continent-wide criminal by the Holy Empire upon crossing to the second continent.
While Cain gathered fragments without interference from angels or the Holy Kingdom—in fact, with their help—they had declared Judah a public enemy to seize his fragments.
Judah recalled Artemisia, which he'd lent to Esther Serlion, summoning it to his hand. Checking it, the storage gauge he'd filled killing blue spear knights and soldiers in the Black Land had plummeted to empty.
Who knew when he'd fill this again.
Judah told Iris and Lime to rest, then walked toward the angels.
Even strolling leisurely, the angels flapped hard to close the distance quickly.
Roar!
Dozens of fire spears materialized above some approaching angels and flew straight at Judah. As the fiery spears rained down, Judah drew Requiem from his bag, nearly tossing it in.
"It'd be better if you submitted quietly. No matter how much you tempt me, taking my body is impossible."
Whether they understood or not didn't matter. As he lowered the sword, fierce flames erupted from the blade. The blazing fire looked intensely hot, but Judah felt nothing.
Holding Requiem greatly boosted fire resistance. Not invincible, but at least immune to the flames it produced.
In the game, allies took no damage, but here that wasn't the case, so using Requiem required caution.
Watching the incoming fire spears, Judah swung Requiem broadly from low to diagonal. The moment the sword arced, its flames surged forward like a tidal wave, devouring the oncoming spears.
Then Judah plunged into the blaze without hesitation. The fragment's mystical power dwelled within. Running through the flames didn't affect his breath, nor did the searing heat bother his eyes.
The distant angels flinched at the oncoming fire wave, spreading wings and ascending.
Ignore the lower angels. Target the two mid-rank ones.
As the distance closed, Judah hurled Artemisia from his left hand without emerging from the flames.
"!"
The wind-cutting sound preceded Artemisia embedding in the mid-rank angel before it could react. Slow to respond, it saw the dagger pierce the flames and tried to swing its sword, but only moved its sword hand after impact.
Artemisia immediately sucked in the angel's flowing blood and holy power. The angel tossed its sword, screamed, and tried to pull the dagger out, but soon stopped flapping and fell.
"Do you have time to look away?"
"You...!"
He spoke, but had no intention of conversing. The other mid-rank angel, hood pulled low, turned from the falling comrade to Judah emerging from the flames, face twisting in fury.
A woman.
Her hair and delicate features visible inside the hood marked her as female. But that changed nothing. Without hesitation, Judah slashed at her with Requiem.
She raised her holy fire sword. Clang—the flames clashed.
'If it were Yakal, I could've cleaved sword and all.'
At 99 stats, any fragment would feel similar, but at his current level, the difference between fragments was huge.
Even so, unlike the gritted-teeth angel, Judah had relative leisure. But she could fly, and he couldn't.
Unable to defy gravity, Judah anticipated his fall and ignited Requiem's flames.
Fierce fire rose from the blade, consuming the holy flames and enveloping her body.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
He saw her writhe in agony, engulfed. Though using holy magic, Requiem's fire was no ordinary flame—likely similar to their holy fire.
Wings burning, she thrashed wildly. Her hood fell, revealing blonde hair, but it meant nothing in the blaze.
Judah landed softly on the desert sand, then dispatched the remaining lower angels without much time passing. Their proud wings burned away, their blood drained by Artemisia, leaving gruesome remains unfit for angels.
"Hoo."
Confirming no angels remained, Judah caught his breath. It hadn't been hard. With multiple fragments, lower and mid-rank angels—even without archangels—were no match. What had Metatron been thinking, sending such low-grade angels to the Blazing Land? At least an archangel might have been controllable.
Or did he underestimate Judah that much?
Even Metatron wouldn't expect low- or mid-rank angels to fell Judah with his fragments.
'Esther Serlion said angels came too.'
Devils had come, and angels as well. An angel penetrating the otherworld's mana surge, breaching mad dragonkin, defeating palace guardians to reach her must have been at least an archangel.
'Got cocky and died, huh.'
Judah unsummoned or bagged his fragments. With battle over, exhaustion crashed in. He needed rest. Returning to the group, Esther Serlion still slept peacefully.
Her calm face suggested deep slumber.
Iris and Lime looked fatigued too. Dragon Head growled lowly, snoring already asleep. Seeing the guy who vanished nightly now sleeping felt novel. No need to check the map—his view showed no angels nearby.
"Let's rest here fully today before leaving. Cooking... too bothersome, right? Lime?"
"...Yeah."
Lime nodded as if obvious. Even a cooking lover like him lacked appetite in this state. Judah gave a wry smile, asking for simple magic against the heat.
Already planning it, Lime cast without protest, then enclosed the area in a barrier. He added cooling magic, chilling the inside like AC. A canopy overhead, Iris shaded it, blocking sunlight perfectly.
The barrier blocked outer winds, inner air cooled by frost magic. Air chilled rapidly. No need for tents like this—if Lime held it all day. Just in case, they pitched them.
Meanwhile, Lime lay on sand and slept. Arhil and Iris helped Judah wordlessly. After moving Esther Serlion to a tent, Judah spread cloth on the sand.
"Lime, time to eat."
Waking sleeping Lime, he laid out food on the clean cloth: fresh sandwiches, warm lunchboxes, cool water, tasty roasted meat, and cherished elven fruit wine he'd always eyed but never drunk.
"Huh? Isn't this the fruit wine from the elves?"
"Fruit wine!?"
Arhil marveled at the spread. Lime, looking too drained to eat, bolted up. Seeing the glass bottle before Judah, his eyes widened.
It matched the empty fruit wine bottle from the tower lord's room, made by elves. Forgetting fatigue, sand-covered back and all, he tried climbing onto the cloth, but Arhil told him to brush off the sand. Lime paused, magicked away dust and debris, then joined, eyes fixed on the fruit wine.
"O, ooh! I-is this really elven fruit wine?"
"Eat up and rest well, everyone."
Ignoring Lime's question, Judah handed him the wine. Distributing a bottle each, he reached first for a thick leg roast and bit in. The rich, oily taste rewarded all his hardships.
Popping the fruit wine cork released a fragrant aroma. Gulping from the bottle, the smooth slide down his throat was pure bliss. More angels or monsters might come, but auto-save post-Requiem let him summon Wraith Knights for guard, feasting carefree.
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Tip 30. Alcohol and meat keep your mind healthy! Haha, so pour it up! Drink up!
(But excess in anything is no good.)
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========== Afterword ==========
1) Thanks for the coupons. Hehe.
2) With DNF's multi-hit and water damage patches, I can go back to Luke now.
I'd tuned everything for Geom-Ma, prepped for Cheonnyeon Set, but Luke patch blocked it... Guess I'll pub casual parties like Heading Pot.
3)
Q1. Coming 5:1 play?
A. ...Huh? Including Lime? No no, 4:1 seems plausible, but no way Lime's in it.
Q2. Fantasy pigeons are all dumb lol. Ah... real pigeons dumb too? ㅋㅋ Birdbrains..
A. Characters' smarts scale with the author's. Sob sob. If I were a genius, angels would be too!
Q3. If Carpe Diem allows lending, isn't giving then taking back Yakal more efficient?
A. Artemisia has no conditions, but Yakal or Requiem-like ones that enchant the user need caution when lending. Lending doesn't guarantee use.
Q4. Someone asked to list current fragments, but comment vanished. Someone else listed?