An Angel Walking Outside (6)
Druymark glanced between Refri and Sori for a moment, muttering as if anticipating the fun ahead.
"The girl next to you looks like an angel too. How amusing. Hey, Boss Kim, even a pathetic worm like you... has a knack for collecting toys."
"A-and I even fooled that idiot from Central Academy."
"Shut up and stay quiet. Time to have some real fun."
Bow—bow— Kim Mansu, who had scrambled to his feet, kept bowing repeatedly toward Druymark.
Refri assumed his stance.
Druymark of Regression, one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings. The weakest among those who had first revealed themselves in the human realm... yet still an overwhelming powerhouse who had fought Rusa, Hexi, and Klein three-on-one. And Druymark's true value lay in...
'That supreme mastery, said to be the pinnacle across all dimensions barring the Demon King himself.'
The odds of victory were abysmally slim.
But...
"Sob, b-brother. Sob. Only the angel... please, Angel Lord."
"Your crying face is a delight. Time to get to work. But first... the other child. Surrender quietly, and I'll spare your life for now. Resist, and you'll bid eternal farewell to those limbs."
An immense pressure bore down. Druymark could probably do it effortlessly.
Seeing Refri freeze, Druymark slowly approached Sori.
'No choice. I have to choose.'
Refri couldn't escape anyway. So he'd pick the path with even a sliver of hope.
Angels grow stronger when doing righteous deeds!
Refri blocked Druymark's path.
Angels grew stronger through righteous acts. And barring the way of an overwhelmingly powerful Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings to protect countless innocents... was precisely that.
Angels truly transcend their limits when doing righteous deeds!
'I'll hold out by any means until Soya's magic circle is complete!'
Refri steadied himself—mind and body both.
"Good. You won't yield. Now that's an angel."
Druymark grinned widely. His razor-sharp teeth gleamed.
"This'll be the most fun I've had in ages."
In an instant, Druymark lunged amiably.
"By the way... how does a kid like you know my name?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Oh, it's plenty wrong. And you even know I'm one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings..."
Kukukuku—
Druymark let out a devilish laugh. Or maybe a human one.
"Kid, you must be the prized disciple of those damned professors. Hmm, I figured it'd be Yumari or Hongwol... my intel failed me."
Druymark's face hardened instantly.
"Guess I need to purge a few intel bureau scum."
"And send you back to your professors as a broken example."
Another wave of crushing pressure. But Refri had already transcended his limits. He could even mock Druymark amid it.
"Why so pathetic, Druymark?"
"...What?"
"All this teeth-baring, 'I'll break you,' empty threats... Isn't the great Four Heavenly King ashamed to scare kids? No wonder angels never even ruffle your feathers."
"You... what are... you saying...?"
Why did Druymark of Regression love tormenting angel-like kids? Simple—he hated angels.
Why the hatred? Because he'd challenged them, suffered humiliating defeat, and to survive, he'd done everything imaginable, even rumored to spew all manner of filth in terror.
'Rumors? No, it was fact.'
So he took revenge on angel-like children, terrifying them and reducing them to the ugliest states.
"No matter how much you bully kids, it won't change how you bawled like a coward and fled before angels. And didn't you soil yourself?"
"You... you...!"
"Heard the stench was awful... Still smell, huh?"
Refri muttered "gross" and stepped back as if repelled by the odor.
Druymark saw it and...
Hahaha—
...laughed. Not from joy, but sheer absurdity and rage.
"Insolent brat. You really want to die in agony?"
"Bring it."
Another taunt. Druymark regained his composure.
"The reason a worm like you can provoke me... must be your Awakener status window. Sigh... Your professors didn't warn you, did they?"
Druymark assumed his stance. Immense demonic energy gathered behind him, frosting his shoulders in golden aura—proof of Level 90, the pinnacle for superhumans.
"What my supreme mastery entails..."
Dark energy cloaked his hand. He swiftly formed hand seals.
"Supreme Technique Activation."
The seals blurred beyond Refri's sight. Seconds passed. Then—
His hand halted, extended toward Refri like a handshake.
"Great Regression."
No typhoon, no lightning storm despite the grandiose name. Just Refri collapsing.
"An... Angel Lord..."
"Hah, hah. Mouth off, pay the price."
Druymark looked more fatigued despite using it. Refri couldn't rise easily.
Supreme Technique: Great Regression.
The sole reason the overall weaker Druymark held his Four Heavenly Kings seat. Among top supreme techniques...
Its nature: Reverting the target to pre-Awakening state.
Superhumans prized their status specs above all—and this stripped them instantly. Pure terror.
In Refri's known future, even mighty heroes betrayed humanity out of fear of it.
Druymark smirked wickedly, pathetically human in his pettiness.
"You're nothing now. Will your professors still dote on a reverted normie? Favor you? Laughable. You've lost everything."
He kept mocking.
"Friends, comrades who liked you? They'll abandon you. Though I'll shatter you first... look forward to it. Your good days are over."
But Druymark erred on one thing. Great Regression reverted the target to pre-Awakening.
Refri had awakened the moment he opened his eyes. So pre-awakening meant before birth.
Two hypotheses: First, follow the soul to pre-reincarnation boyhood. Or second... to his angel days as Lephriel, pre-fall.
Which? The answer was clear. Recall the Reflection Flower incident.
How did the Great Mana judge? By soul or body? It followed the stronger one.
The boy's past reflected briefly, then Lephriel's memories overwhelmed.
So now...
Twitch—
The boy rose. His name was Refri—no, Lephriel, Judge of the Earth, stood.
Platinum aura flowed over the boy's shoulders. This sacred power, realms beyond a Level 90's gold, conveyed truth merely by sight.
What truth? That this being was invincible.
"...Impossible."
Druymark muttered in terror. He yelled at his cowering elite Demon King troops.
"Fools! What are you waiting for? Deal with him!"
Elites who could match Yumari or Hongwol one-on-one. Hundreds of them—enough to crush a nation before lunch.
Lephriel invoked his Divine Ability.
Great Angel's Dragon-Trampling Martial Arts Lv.20
Of the hundreds, 250 perished instantly. Lephriel didn't blink.
To the fleeing elites in horror:
Light of the Lord Angel that Illuminates the World Lv.20
The remaining 100 burned away in that light.
"No, this... this is cheating. Instant-cast skills with holy fire? Holy fire only manifests when drawing the holy sword!"
Lephriel approached Druymark slowly. With the Eyes of the Earth Angel that Pierces All Things, he saw his sins: countless children tortured to death, civilizations destroyed, atrocities as a Four Heavenly King.
Lephriel pierced them all.
"Damn it, damn it! Don't... don't look down on me!"
Druymark formed seals. Black spears bloomed behind him—each deadly even to professors.
Lephriel used the Night-Walking Reverse Angel's Steps.
From then, Druymark couldn't see the boy.
Even as Lephriel walked up empty-handed...
"What? What trick is this?"
"I'm the Demon King's top sensor! You can't hide!"
He scanned around. Yet even right before him, he missed the boy.
As Druymark muttered, "Tch, he ran?"
Great Angel's Dragon-Trampling Martial Arts Lv.20
Druymark's left arm flew from a single strike. No more seals. His abilities sealed in one blow.
"Gaaahhhhh!"
Pain was bonus.
Lephriel surveyed. People shivering in cells. His Divine Ability revealed: families duped by this cult into sending them here as "treatment facilities." Signs of corruption detected.
"A... real angel."
"We worship you. Mercy, please..."
Lephriel turned. Cult executives praying in terror. They'd deceived with false faith, ruined families, fattened themselves. Signs of corruption detected.
Then to leader Kim Mansu.
He'd gathered beautiful boys and girls, dressed them as angels... and fed them to Druymark.
Those children... all...
Lephriel gazed coldly upon the world.
For the first time, he spoke.
"Supreme Technique Activation."
Lephriel extended his hand.
Chanting one word.
"...Keter."