The Angel Who Brings the Rain (9)
While the professors spouted nonsense and massacred the monsters, Refri poured every ounce of his strength into racing toward the heart of the Naiad Forest. Why? Because, naturally, that's where the Reflection Flowers were clustered thickest.
'I have to neutralize that spot to end this madness...'
Refri dodged the violence unleashed by the illusions, sprinting with all his might toward the Naiad Forest's center. Toward the place where mana was running rampant... And every so often, he glanced up at the sky. He had advice to give Yumari, and beyond that, he needed to gauge how the situation was unfolding.
'The professors are getting pushed back...'
The closer he got to the center, the stronger the monsters became. Of course, those monsters fell to the illusions of Lephriel's sword strikes manifesting around him... but plenty escaped. And those fleeing monsters became the professors' burden to handle.
'Look at that. The golden aura...'
Sensing the illusions of the monsters growing stronger, the professors began slowly unleashing their full power. One of those was the golden aura. The pinnacle realm of superhumans, said to be emitted only by those in their nineties, approaching the unattainable level 100. Park Jinho and Rusa, Klein and Rebecca—all of them stood against the monsters cloaked in golden auras. It meant every one of them had surpassed level 90.
"Radiance."
Naiad murmured as she beheld the sight.
"Radiance?"
"Yes, that's what humans call the light that cloaks their strongest. I wouldn't know what angels call it."
Then, with an incredulous shake of her head, Naiad continued.
"But Lephriel, why the face?"
"What about it?"
"You're looking all amazed and envious... Your own radiance is on a whole different plane from that. Are you mocking them?"
What are you talking about? I haven't even hit level 10 yet—how could I use an aura? And incomparable to that radiance? Does that mean Lephriel broke past human limits to reach level 100 because he was an angel?
It was absurd. Irritated, Refri shot back at Naiad.
"Naiad, have you gathered enough Reflection Flowers?"
"W-wait. A few more minutes, and I can get twenty more."
"Good."
"And stop moving for now! It's dangerous!"
What now? Refri was about to snap at her with wide eyes, something like:
'I know it's dangerous, but don't we have to stop this chaos?'
'And what about you? You're just standing there twiddling your thumbs instead of solving it?'
And so on. But Refri held his tongue. He could sense Naiad was right.
"The pinnacle."
Pinnacle—the key factor separating professor-level superhumans from the rest. It referred to skills honed to their absolute peak, the unbeatable edge in battle where lacking it meant inevitable defeat against one who possessed it.
'Beautiful...'
Refri watched the professors' pinnacles unfold. The first was Martial Arts Professor Rusa Sherinen's pinnacle of the Fairy Fighting Method: 'Full Bloom'.
Countless flower buds formed from qi around Rusa... and with every step she took, every path she flew, a gorgeous flower field unfolded as if from an imperial garden. A true spectacle.
But this was merely the setup.
"Pinnacle Technique."
True full bloom began with Rusa's mudra. The elves' supreme art, refined over ten thousand years to slaughter other races, started with a gesture devoid of any aggression... Refri felt the irony.
Rusa formed the mudra with a serene expression, murmuring.
"Full Bloom."
And the flowers bloomed. Not just blooming—they burst into extravagant full splendor. Sinister flowers woven from blood and flesh.
No matter how tough the monster, how regenerative— it didn't matter. Flowers simply bloomed when spring came. And no one could stop spring.
Hundreds of mythic beasts were slaughtered in an instant, the survivors fleeing in terror. Overwhelming violence.
Speechless, Refri looked to the sky. Naiad gazed at him with a helpless expression.
"Don't be too shocked."
"...At what?"
"Don't get too worked up over something like that being called a pinnacle. On the surface, it's considered pretty strong."
She muttered offhandedly.
"Of course... compared to yours, Lephriel, it's just a single petal... "
Lephriel had a pinnacle too? And far stronger than that Full Bloom? Refri was starting to grow genuinely curious about what kind of being Lephriel had been.
'The strongest on earth—no, in heaven itself, or something like that?'
...There was often twisted truth hidden in jokes and humor.
Refri and Naiad pressed on. Rusa's single pinnacle technique Full Bloom had carved a highway-wide path through the horde... The other professors had no need to unleash theirs.
'Besides, Professor Park Jinho can't use his pinnacle technique at all. One wrong move, and he'd take out the other professors nearby...'
Refri swallowed hard. Park Jinho's pinnacle technique—its power was...
'Death.'
The boy shook off stray thoughts and kept feeding Yumari the monsters' weaknesses. Yumari exploited those vulnerabilities and habits to the fullest, unleashing dazzling hunts with her battle sense—ranked top among future heroes.
Helped the future hero defeat monsters harming people!
Helped the future hero defeat monsters harming people!
'Auto-hunt's working great...'
And of course, cameras from around the world couldn't miss this beautiful girl's elegant hunt.
And so.
Helping the future hero is the act of an angel!
Guiding the future hero on the right path is the act of an angel!
Elevating the future hero's fame is truly the act of an angel!
Refri savored the angel power multiplying as he watched.
Yumari begins drawing public attention + The girl who trusted no one starts trusting exactly one person.
Yumari draws closer to becoming a hero!
'Yumari was known for having the sharpest battle sense of anyone. Even Future Park Jinho acknowledged it. He said in an interview that even if her specs were lower, her odds of winning would be about equal...'
To borrow 10% of that battle sense... It was an insanely powerful ability, no doubt.
Thus, Refri finally reached the Reflection Flower field at the Naiad Forest's heart.
"Good."
Now he just needed to reflect others' memories to end this chaos. Refri turned to Naiad.
"Let's begin. Distribute these flowers to everyone around—but skip anyone who might have dark memories."
"...Got it."
Refri smiled. How much angel power would flood in once this was resolved? Since it had warned him it was his duty as an angel, it would be a massive haul. Maybe on par with the Holy Sword Extraction Operation... Thinking of the incoming angel power, Refri couldn't help grinning.
Naiad was startled by the sight.
'The emotionless judge of the earth, Lephriel, smiling? So brightly?'
Why was Lephriel beaming? Naturally, because resolving this would make him happy. Was he glad it was ending? What did he gain from it?
'I see. He's happy saving the other students—and that masked half-dragon.'
Happy to save people. Even those no better than enemies. Truly angelic. Naiad couldn't help asking.
"Lephriel, the memories you showed me..."
"Yes?"
"Those memories you showed—all true?"
Refri met Naiad's gaze. The sharp scent of angel power farming wafted from her—like what he'd sensed from Professor Rebecca. In the end, Refri spoke.
"Yes, all true. Things this human me went through."
"Human? You really became human? Really abandoned all that power and authority for one person?"
Of course, it was Lephriel who'd abandoned it, not the boy... But since she was mistaken, Refri nodded to let her keep believing.
"...Otherwise, those memories wouldn't exist."
His reincarnation as Refri hadn't erased those tragedies. They existed firmly in this reality.
'But at this point in time, I was gone. All that remained was the apartment with Mom, bloodstains... and those rotten chaebol heirs.'
Where had the boy from that timeline gone? Probably fused with Refri, still trapped in nightmares. Refri had sensed it the moment he entered Klein's white room.
Naiad murmured in disbelief.
"But why."
The Spirit King pressed on with a trembling voice.
Even after becoming human, enduring such immense pain while living as one...
"Why didn't you despair of humanity?"
"That's..."
Refri cast aside hesitation and answered. The boy smiled.
"Because I'm an angel."
Angel power trickles in bit by bit.
"Just as you're the Spirit King."
Refri repackaged "to gain angel power" as "because I'm an angel." But Naiad interpreted it differently.
'Lost angelic power, yet still bearing the heavy duty of an angel?'
She felt ashamed for shirking her own Spirit King duties. This angel protecting people in a mere boy's body seemed awe-inspiring.
'Now I believe it. Lephriel, you really sacrificed everything for one girl. You weren't a cruel judge. Not some emotionless heavenly doll.'
She could only admire Refri. Bittersweet regret and apology welled up.
'What have I done? What did I say? To an angel who sacrificed all for humanity...'
'And I... Even Lephriel abandoned all power and authority for humanity... yet a Spirit King got drunk on mere human-world politics...'
Making a great being realize their mistake is truly the act of an angel!
'Realized her mistake? Why?' Refri wondered but shrugged it off—angel power was angel power.
Neutralizations rippled through the forest. Water spirits diligently delivering Reflection Flowers had done their work. Amusement park illusions, cartoon illusions, lewd illusions—countless student fantasies neutralized Lephriel's.
Gazing at them, the boy couldn't help feeling sorrow.
'Human memories are so vibrant and varied... But Lephriel's held only monsters. No friends, no acquaintances, not even anyone to talk to...'
A mere angel of slaughter. A heavenly doll. That was Lephriel.
'What a tragically lonely life...'
Now for the finale. Reflect Naiad's memory last to fully neutralize Lephriel's. As the chaos's core, it needed a Spirit King's caliber to match, the boy judged.
Refri turned to Naiad. Even feigning stoicism to hide emotions, the rising messages let him roughly read her feelings.
'No idea why... but that "realized mistake" popped up earlier.'
Perfect. Holding one Reflection Flower, Refri said:
"Naiad. Your turn."
Naiad bowed to Refri with reverence.
"...Understood. Yes, understood, Refri."
Naiad's memory poured out, overwhelming and erasing Lephriel's. Days of emotionless slaughter, memories peopled solely by monsters. Faint ones vanished first.
Thus, weaker monsters faded first... Stronger memories lingered longer. So the mightiest monster would remain.
Refri tensed. What monster would it be? What colossal beast occupied the deepest recesses of Lephriel's heart?
"...Huh?"
But contrary to Refri's expectations, no monster appeared. Instead, the boy saw a woman. Her hair matched the vast sky's hue, cradling a cute black-haired child with tiny horns on her forehead.
"Angel, she finally fell asleep."
The child slumbered peacefully in her mother's arms. The girl couldn't stop smiling at how adorable she was.
"Look at this. A sleeping child..."
Unable to finish, Lephriel's final memory faded away.