An Angel Walking Outside (7)
Keter. In Hebrew, it meant "crown." In Kabbalah, it was the Sephira closest to God, signifying His primordial will—a noble word indeed.
And the ultimate technique known as Keter belonged to the archangel Lephriel.
So, what was the power of Keter? True to an angel's nature, the ultimate technique Keter consisted simply of offering a prayer to the heavens.
Lephriel clasped his hands and reverently directed his prayer skyward.
In truth, prayers could be answered or ignored. That's why people sometimes foolishly blame failure on not praying hard enough.
But Keter—the ultimate technique called Keter—meant a prayer that reached the pinnacle of all prayers in this world.
A prayer offered through Keter always reached the heavens.
"Lord in heaven."
Thus, an ultimate prayer was no different from rewriting reality itself. It was tantamount to omnipotence—anything prayed for would come to pass. Like a genie's lamp, perhaps.
Of course, even this Keter had its weaknesses. The heavens might refuse the prayer... the target might be strong enough to ignore heavenly power to some degree... or Lephriel's heart might be clouded, preventing a pure prayer.
But only the Demon King, his Four Heavenly Kings, or professor-level foes could exploit such flaws... Weaker beings couldn't even speak of them.
Why? Because they wouldn't even perceive the reality altered by the prayer.
"Hear my prayer."
What prayer would Lephriel offer? The one who had gazed upon the world with cold eyes until moments ago—what would he wish from the heavens?
Obviously, judgment upon this world.
Lephriel wasn't driven by rage at the sins he'd witnessed. Nor was he condemning the sinners sprawled at his feet.
Devoid of emotion, he acted solely out of duty.
"This world..."
In that instant, as he sought to purify the entire area with a single prayer—
Lephriel's sleeve was tugged, little by little.
"Hic... hic... Angel sir."
Lephriel looked down with impassive eyes at the girl pulling his sleeve. Then at the crowd gathering beside her.
Using his Divine Ability's sight, he pierced through them all.
The earlier battle had collapsed the Central Sanctuary's treatment facilities, and the chaos had drawn all these gathered believers here. And they had discovered... their families, already broken beyond repair.
They'd believed in this faith because the angel's power would heal them... but that choice had led to the worst outcome.
Some vented fury by assaulting New Truth Church officials... others wailed, clutching their cold, lifeless family members and children.
Those who became cold corpses were the lucky ones. If a family member had been mutated by the Demon King's experiments... And even believers without families panicked at the sight of the facility and the fallen Demon King elites.
Lephriel felt nothing at the scene.
As he prepared to offer that merciless prayer once more—
"Angel sir... please save my brother... please..."
It was Sori, the subhuman girl still tugging his sleeve.
Lephriel tried to ignore her and continue the prayer.
But he couldn't.
He empathized with her grief over lost family.
Family? For Lephriel, who had lived solely as a tool of the heavens, such a thing was impossible.
Yet Refri's chest ached. A memory surfaced.
Blood seeping under the sofa. His mother's voice, silenced forever.
"This is... whose...?"
Another function surged in. And a soul he couldn't gather—a girl holding a child. Lephriel had smiled at that child.
"...I have no such function."
Lephriel gazed upon the world once more. A world abandoned by the heavens, invaded by hell, devoid of salvation.
The people plunged into despair again.
"Angel sir... please... hear our prayers..."
Feeling this unfamiliar pain for the first time, Lephriel prayed.
No—he had no choice but to pray.
"Lord in heaven."
A single tear traced down the boy's white cheek. A tear even he didn't understand.
"Grant my wish, I beseech you."
The boy clasped his hands reverently, knelt, and prayed.
Please, for these pitiful people...
"Please, grant their wishes."
The ultimate technique Keter activated.
* * *
In truth, the summoned Lephriel at this moment was in an extremely unstable state.
First, the entity who summoned this monstrous archangel was Drumark, one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings—someone weaker than Lephriel.
A weak being summoning a stronger one? Such a summon couldn't last long.
Second, the angels' rules. As apostles of the heavens, angels weren't allowed direct intervention in this world. Due to an ancient pact with the Demon King long ago.
Thus, angels could only support heroes indirectly— as guardians or the like. Or fall to earth entirely, becoming a low-level angel like Refri.
Finally, the contradiction: Lephriel had already lost his power, fallen, and become Refri. Regaining it through a mere Four Heavenly King's trick? The great mana wouldn't tolerate such a paradox for long, unless it was an even greater power.
For these three reasons, Lephriel couldn't unleash a complete Keter.
In his fading mind, Refri felt terror.
'This power... Lephriel is in danger...'
And so Refri collapsed.
"O-oppa...!"
"Urk... Sori..."
Of course, that didn't mean Keter had failed. It succeeded, saving those sacrificed by the Demon King army and New Truth Church.
"The child—the child's breathing again!"
"...A miracle."
It granted salvation to the believers in need.
But since Keter wasn't fully complete...
"Wh-what the hell happened?"
"...That angel over there saved us."
It couldn't erase the memories of those swept by Keter.
"I saw it clear as day. That angel there..."
They had seen it.
"Single-handedly defeated all those demons over there..."
They had witnessed with their own eyes how Lephriel vanquished the terrifying Demon King forces and performed miracles, healing them.
They would never forget what happened today.
That moment of utter despair, when the angel appeared out of nowhere and saved them all.
They believed in the angel.
They believed in Refri.
"He saved us."
Sori held her now-recovered brother's hand and gently stroked the fallen Refri.
"Angel sir... Angel sir..."
Sori was crying. So were the others.
In this chaotic scene, what was Refri doing?
Zzz...
The boy slept like an angel.
Yes. Refri had passed out cold.
"Mm-nya."
Forcing the ultimate technique in an unstable state. Plus, it was akin to possession.
The combination left Refri with no choice but to sleep.
"He's asleep? Angels sleep? Heh, he overdid it."
At that moment, the fallen Drumark rose.
He hurriedly reclaimed his severed arm, desperate to escape.
"Out of my way, you trash."
With one arm lost, he couldn't form seals. But even without them, this monster could slaughter everyone here in ten minutes.
"Move."
Yet Drumark didn't kill them.
Why? A sudden change of heart, pitying humans? Hardly.
He simply didn't want to kill near Lephriel and risk his wrath. Even asleep like the dead, what if...?
If Drumark were sane, he'd kill the sleeping Refri to eliminate future threats. But utterly terrified, escape was all he could think of.
Flee. Flee from the angel.
That was Drumark's sole thought.
"No, I won't move."
Sori blocked Drumark's path.
"You brat... I'll give you one last chance. Scram, or I'll grant you exquisite agony."
"You're the one... who took the kids living here, right? My friends!"
Drumark laughed. And murmured.
"Yes, I tormented each one with care."
The Four Heavenly King's immense pressure crushed the non-awakener Sori.
"So what? Want to end up like them? Regretting you were ever born?"
Even awakeners would tremble and freeze. Skilled ones would flee in terror. Non-awakeners risked shock death.
But.
Sori smiled and said,
"The angel will judge you for sure."
Enraged, Drumark swung without thinking to decapitate her.
That instant...
"Ha, what a sight for the great Drumark."
"Rusa, stay sharp. Drumark's one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Not someone to underestimate."
"Pfft, he's just a one-armed retard."
An elf blocked Drumark's fist. Her name was Rusa.
And her epithet was...
"The, the War God?"
"Long time no see, you dog-ass pedo fuck."
Rusa crushed Drumark's remaining hand as she spoke.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Vengeance for our kin's children you kidnapped..."
Rusa grinned as if truly delighted.
But behind that smile lurked deep sorrow.
"Finally, I can do it!"
Klein sighed and spoke.
"Sigh, before that, you know we need him as an experiment subject, right? A live Four Heavenly King... an irreplaceable test subject. Use him well, and we can easily find the others' weaknesses."
"Tch, that's why you STEM nerds suck."
"Magic engineers aren't STEM... never mind."
How had Rusa and Klein appeared here at this exact moment?
It was thanks to the magic circle Soya had prepared.
The Six Realm Barrier. Dispatch forces from countless mega-guilds. And the legal protection of the New Truth Church's authority.
To overturn it all at once, only Soya's "Barrier Absorption Spell" would do.
Barrier Absorption Spell, one of Soya's developed magics, involved entering the enemy's barrier magic circle and converting it into one's own mana.
The New Truth Church, flush with cash, had installed six high-spec barriers. Under Soya's magic, they converted into immense magical power.
Soya used that power to report the Church's collusion with the Demon King army to Central Superhuman Academy.
And upon receiving it...
Klein and Rusa had bolted out.
Rusa, crushing Drumark's arm, gazed gratefully at Refri.
"Our race owes that child a debt. A massive one."
Klein, who had eyed the surviving believers coldly, murmured fondly at Refri.
"Capturing a Demon King Four Heavenly King alive... As expected of my one and only disciple."
With that, Klein hoisted Refri onto his back.
Rusa's face darkened instantly.
"Don't tack weird shit onto my disciple, or you're dead."
"...Go easy on Drumark and return. You'll have plenty of time with him from now on anyway."
"Don't change the subject, you bastard. Refri's my disciple. Absolutely mine. Got it?"
But Klein was already gone.
"That punk, already flown off?"
Rusa looked skyward. Klein was vanishing beyond the horizon.
"What's with that witch?"
She spotted a gray-haired witch dangling from Klein's side.
'P-professor! This flight magic is a bit black-magic phobic!' echoed as they faded.
"Tch, fast flyer as always. Oh right, Drumark. You weren't bored just 'cause I ignored you, huh?"
Rusa grinned at Drumark. And whispered in his ear.
"You always said it: 'From today, your good days are over.' Yeah, from today, your good days are done, you dog bastard. Look forward to it."
Drumark trembled. And wet himself.
* * *
The New Truth Church was finished.
But the Central Sanctuary wasn't.
No—it was thriving more than under the Church's rule.
Far more people. Far more fervent followers.
"Fervent" was a mild term, truthfully.
More bluntly: borderline cultish.
But who could blame them? They'd witnessed a miracle firsthand.
How could they not believe?
"Lord Lephriel..."
Veiled subhuman Sori prayed before a sacred painting of Refri.
Behind her, countless others joined in prayer.
Their bibles included photos: Refri styling Soya's hair, playing with Hongwol using a laser pointer, sweating through lessons with professors.
Fanaticism burned in their eyes.
Thus, the New Angel Church—a new cult—spread stealthily worldwide.
Stealthily, yet swiftly. Swiftly, yet powerfully.