Chapter 22
“Um… is this the place that makes feathers grow back?”
Arcana Resort, first-floor lobby.
Every eye in the hospital locked onto one spot.
A guest had descended on a pillar of light from the heavens.
Wings of pure white sprouted from its back, and a faint halo hovered above its head.
Anyone could see it was a angel.
But this angel's appearance was far from anything holy.
Its skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, its limbs skinny enough to snap with a poke.
And the wings—worst of all—were a disaster. The feathers that should have been lush were mostly gone, leaving patchy remnants, with bare wing bones sticking out like chicken wings.
“Welcome. I'm Director Kang Jinhyeok.”
Jinhyeok held out his business card.
“My name is… Piel. Formerly of the Third Legion of the Heavenly Realm.”
Piel bowed its head deeply.
For avian races, baldness—no, defeathering—was a social death sentence.
“Let me take a look.”
Jinhyeok examined Piel's wings, turning them this way and that.
No strength in the follicles at all.
A gentle tug, and the feathers came out without resistance.
Severe mana deficiency-induced alopecia due to malnutrition.
Status: Protein deficiency, anorexia, obsessive dieting disorder.
Jinhyeok's eyes narrowed.
“You haven't been eating, have you?”
“Pardon? Oh, angels are supposed to live on dew alone, so…”
“Dew, my ass. That's why your feathers are falling out.”
Jinhyeok clicked his tongue.
Angels often resorted to extreme fasting to maintain their “light bodies” and “noble image.”
No nutrients in the body meant no materials to grow feathers.
“This isn't something pills can fix. You need dietary control and exercise.”
“Ex-exercise? I can barely walk…”
“Don't worry. We've got a top-notch rehab center right here.”
Jinhyeok pressed the intercom.
“Manager Ma. Gym's open? Sending down a new member. Condition's kinda… anchovy-level. Start from the basics.”
“Glutton… King?”
Piel's face drained of color.
Sending an angel to a demon from the demon realm—the Lord of Gluttony, no less?
Wouldn't it get eaten alive?
“He won't eat you. If anything, he'll stuff you too full. Come on.”
Jinhyeok dragged the trembling Piel down to Basement 1.
Arcana Wellness Center (Formerly Basement Prison)
The door burst open to a wave of sweltering heat, sweat stench, and thumping beat music.
“One! Two! Gains!Gains!”
Piel's jaw dropped at the sight.
The old monster prison had been remodeled into a state-of-the-art gym.
Ogre-bone bench presses, dragon-hide sandbags.
And in the center, two hulking behemoths.
One was the muscle-bound human, Ma Dongtak.
The other… a horned demon, but with a perfect inverted triangle physique—no fat in sight.
The Glutton King Beelzebub, pared down to pure muscle.
“Member! Squeeze those lats! Imagine wings on your lats!”
At Ma Dongtak's shout, Beelzebub grunted mid-rep.
“Grrraaah! Pump incoming! Fat's burning!”
Beelzebub hoisted a 500kg barbell like it was nothing.
His eyes burned not with hunger, but with the desire for muscle growth.
“You made it?”
Jinhyeok shoved Piel forward.
“Newbie here. Help him grow some feathers.”
The two gym bros' gazes pierced Piel. Shock rippled across their faces.
“Holy shit…”
Beelzebub racked the barbell and approached.
He pinched Piel's scrawny arm with two fingers.
“This an arm or a twig? Not a single muscle fiber!”
“Flying around like this? Miracle you don't have osteoporosis. Lucky break.”
Ma Dongtak tsked.
Piel folded its wings in shame, trying to hide.
An angel body-shamed by a demon and a human.
“I-I'm a noble angel… I abstain from carnal desires…”
“Abstain yourself into a bald eagle, why don't you.”
Beelzebub snorted.
He'd once tipped the scales at over 10 tons, but now he was a health evangelist like no other.
“Listen up, anchovy angel. Feathers are protein at the end of the day. No protein in you, no feathers.”
“Y-yes… you're right…”
“From today, you're my partner. Two weeks, I'll forge that flabby frame into a body of steel.”
Beelzebub gripped Piel's hand tight.
A demon's touch, but oddly reassuring.
“First things first—chow time. Diet starts now.”
A massive bucket loomed before Piel.
Inside: thick green sludge and chunks of meat.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Abyss Shake. Mandragora juice, troll regen blood, ogre breast meat—all blended into a custom protein bomb.”
Ma Dongtak gave a thumbs-up. Taste? No guarantees. Protein content? Earth's by a hundredfold.
“Y-you want me to drink that? I only do dew…”
“Chug it! Leave a drop, I'll chase you to the pits of hell!”
Beelzebub glared, unleashing his old glutton-king pressure.
Piel choked it down, tears streaming.
Gulp. Gulp.
“Urk…!”
Bitter and vile. Ready to hurl.
But as it hit the stomach—
Whoosh!
Heat exploded from the gut, surging through veins.
Troll regen kicked in, forcibly reviving dead cells.
The feeble heart started pounding strong.
“Oh…?”
Piel's eyes widened.
Power… surging?
“That's just the start. Grab the bar.”
“One! Two! Wings out! Wings in!”
“Aaaargh! My wings are ripping apart!”
Piel flapped with 100kg plates strapped to its back—a lat pulldown variant.
Ma Dongtak corrected form from the side.
“Member! Traps firing up! Angels need wing power!”
“More! Pull harder! Pain's the sound of muscles tearing—feathers grow in the gaps!”
Beelzebub bellowed.
An angel and demon sweating in the same gym—surreal.
But one goal: gains.
Day one, two, a week.
Piel wanted to die.
Shake every morning, iron till puking, then chew meat.
Escape? Hyenas guarded the door—terrifying.
Two weeks later, Piel stared at the mirror in shock.
“Is that… me?”
No more scrawny anchovy angel.
Shoulders broad as hell, pecs armored solid.
Veins popping on forearms.
And the wings—glossy white feathers packed the once-bare bones.
Nutrients revived the follicles.
“I… I did it!”
Piel clenched a fist. Biceps flexed and peaked.
“Not bad, kid.”
Beelzebub slapped Piel's back.
Thwack!
Old Piel would've flown off. New Piel? Unfazed.
“Thanks to you, boss.”
“Boss? Call me bro.”
A bro-mance bloomed between demon and angel. Sweaty, manly bonds.
Discharge day.
Hospital front yard.
Jinhyeok and the hunters watched as Piel prepped flight test.
“Body's heavier now—dunno if I can fly right.”
Piel fretted. Muscle mass up, 20kg heavier.
“Relax. Engine's upgraded.”
Jinhyeok sipped coffee.
Piel deep-breathed.
Wings unfurled wide.
Muscled wings gleamed huge in the sun.
“Hup!”
Pushed off the ground.
Boom!
Earth cratered. Then—
Shwoooom!
Jet-speed ascent. No more fluttering.
Tore through air, powerful flight.
Pierced clouds in seconds.
“Whoa! Wing power's insane!”
Ma Dongtak whistled.
Up high, Piel whooped.
“I'm flying! Power overflowing!!”
Loops, dives, zooms—pure flight joy.
Not just recovery.
Evolution.
From delicate pretty-boy angel to combat macho angel.
Thud!
Piel landed in the yard.
Dust settled. Head high.
Face brimming confidence.
“Director. Thank you. A new life.”
“Glad you're satisfied. Time to settle up.”
Jinhyeok handed the bill.
1. 2-week intensive diet & feather regrowth clinic: 100L Heavenly Holy Water.
2. PT fees: Appoint as Heavenly Realm ambassador & VIP client recruiter.
Heavenly Holy Water.
On Earth, a single drop fetched 100 million won—top-tier purifier and potion ingredient.
Piel pulled a glass vial from sub-space without hesitation.
“Here. I'd give 1 ton if I could. And I'll promote hard. Lots of colleagues with feather loss issues.”
Piel flapped proudly.
Those lush, glossy feathers.
Heaven would go nuts.
“Farewell then! Gains!”
“Gains!”
Piel rocketed up, vanishing into the light pillar.
Beelzebub wiped a tear watching.
“Good partner…”
“Quit moping. Hit the treadmill. Yo-yo rebound incoming.”
Jinhyeok scolded. Beelzebub bolted back to the gym.
That night. Heavenly Realm. Third Legion barracks.
Angels gawked at returning Piel.
“P-Piel? What're those muscles? Why're your wings huge?”
“Hit with dark magic or something?”
Piel grinned, hoisting a dumbbell.
Flexed biceps.
“This is health. You weaklings.”
“Gasp… badass…”
“Me too… I wanna go!”
A new trend swept heaven.
No more skinny pretty-boys.
Era of beast-mode angel dudes.
Arcana Resort's waitlist filled with big names: Michael, Gabriel.
Back in the Abyss. Jinhyeok tallied books.
100L Heavenly Holy Water.
Potion value? Astronomical.
“Director, jackpot.”
Lee Shinwoo brought a tablet.
“Heaven's inquiries exploding. Server's crashing.”
“Good. Strike while the iron's hot. Prep phase 2 expansion.”
Then Yoo Isu approached, expression odd.
“Jinhyeok. Problem.”
“What?”
Yoo Isu pointed outside.
Hospital entrance.
A kid stood there.
Horns on head, red skin.
Dragging a greatsword as tall as itself.
“Who's the kid?”
“Says he's from the West.”
West? Asura the Frenzy King's turf.
Asura was doped on sedatives, flower-viewing busy?
“Asura's son, apparently.”
Luna chimed in.
“Dad got meds, turned too nice—no more fights…”
The kid (Demon Prince II) stabbed his sword into the ground and yelled.
“Give back my dad! You turned him into a dumbass puppy! Own up!”
Asura Junior, son of Asura.
Here for revenge on the doc who turned Dad soft.
Issue: Kid's combat power rivaled S-rank hunters.
“Ha… pediatrics now?”
Jinhyeok removed glasses, rubbed his brow.
Adult diseases, baldness, diets… now spoiled brat parenting.
“Ma Dongtak. Handle it. Kids need playtime with muscle.”
“Me? With the sword kid?”
Jinhyeok's hospital never had a quiet day. But that was how it climbed to cosmic top dog.