The Bond That Has Never Broken Since Ancient Times
The forces of Darkness had been unrelenting in their assault on the Venice Kingdom and the Habsburg Empire for eight straight days.
While an undead army alone might have been manageable, the monsters unleashed by Jae-hyun’s creations were far worse. Beyond the black smoke that turned anyone who touched it into the forces of Darkness, diverse abominations poured forth. Among the creatures spawned by the Demon King were six-meter-tall, twelve-meter-long Tyrannosaurus Rex-like beasts, but he had gone even further, fabricating beings that never existed on Earth.
Reference books from his time on Earth had inspired the Japanese kaiju films Jae-hyun had loved. He had enjoyed the Heisei series far more than the Showa, and though these monsters drew from Gamera, they were not the true Gamera. They simply borrowed its essence.
Their turtle-like bipedal form, the sixty-meter height, the way they tucked all limbs and heads into their shell, the intense gas expulsion from four ports that enabled supersonic spins or high-pressure jet flight from their rear legs alone, the plasma flame bombs fired from their mouths—these were all faithful to Gamera’s abilities. Yet the weight proved impossible for a pure lifeform. Using magic to reduce the mass to the equivalent of one hundred and twenty tons, and inscribing flight magic to the frame, the creatures took their final shape.
They were ugly, monstrous things, but they were effective. To the people of this world, they were nothing short of apocalyptic.
These creatures moved according to the will of their creator, Kim Jae-hyun, executing his commands without hesitation. Their targets were, of course, the humans of the Habsburg Empire.
Even the ogres alone, at six meters tall, were lethal with their raw power. They smashed against walls, and defensive magic cannons had to be used before they could close in. For ordinary civilians, the sight of an ogre was pure disaster. A sword expert knight would struggle to handle it, let alone a commoner.
The bipedal turtle monsters were even worse. They belched plasma flame bombs that dwarfed anything the Habsburg forces had seen. One soldier muttered under his breath.
“This is a disaster…”
“It’s truly a dírĭtas.”
The name spread like wildfire across the continent. It had been coined by the Habsburg soldiers themselves, not by Jae-hyun, but the word “Dírĭtas” now echoed everywhere.
“Damn it all…”
Ferdinand was drenched in sweat, consumed by both the curse’s agony and crushing despair. Reports poured in from every front line of the Habsburg Empire. The defensive lines were crumbling under the relentless advance of Dírĭtas monsters. The Habsburg Empire was the strongest in the world; it possessed multiple top-tier Grand Sword Masters who rivaled dragons and nine-circle archmages. These were the elite warriors who had fought in the war against the forces of Darkness and grown even stronger through the conflict.
Yet the Empire could not simply throw them into the fray. Dragons, too, were difficult to deploy at will. A warning had come from the Demon King himself.
Until the ancient hero emerges from the barrier I have placed, no dragons or dragon-like beings may reveal themselves. Do not allow the urge to sweep you all away to grow too strong.
Delivered to the Dragon Lord and the Habsburg Emperor, the message filled Ferdinand with fury. He, the Emperor himself, had ordered such a warning sent. Yet the curse had forced him to endure daily torment with Griffith. If Jae-hyun launched a total assault with the forces of Darkness, it would mean the Empire’s end.
Playing the Demon King’s game was far better than facing annihilation. Still, Ferdinand’s hope had been shattered. He had believed the ancient hero would destroy the Demon King with overwhelming power. Now the hero was sealed inside Jae-hyun’s barrier, unable to move, and the disappointment cut deeper than any blade.
Still, Yu Ji-ho remained the single most powerful force. Without him, no one else held even a chance of ending the Demon King’s reign. Nine days had passed since his disappearance, and the front lines were collapsing when a message magic reached Ferdinand.
“Your Majesty… the ancestor… no, the ancient hero has finally returned!”
Ferdinand had never told Griffith about the hero’s imprisonment inside the barrier. Looking back now, he wondered why he had kept silent. Complete despair had replaced his hope; the daily torture with Griffith had turned him cold. He had chosen silence.
“…Oh?”
Ferdinand answered weakly, voice dull. What could the ancient hero do? The Demon King’s power left him in another realm entirely.
But Griffith’s next words jolted him upright.
“Your Majesty! The man has opened the gate of the Heavenly Realm!”
“What?!”
Ferdinand shot up and rushed toward the underground passage. Hope flickered in the face of the forces of Darkness led by the Demon King.
***
The power to open the Heavenly Gate belonged to only one being in this world—Yu Ji-ho. Originally, the Holy Sword could have opened it, but eight thousand years ago Ji-ho’s contract had sealed the gate so that the sword itself could not open it.
At that time, Ji-ho had agreed to the bargain that only he would receive the Heavenly Gate’s power, while the Holy Sword remained powerless against it. The sword had no choice but to consent. The gate had been rendered inaccessible by its own master.
The contract had been made in preparation for the next hero from another world. Those wielding the Holy Sword could not attack using pure holy power. They had to transmute it into aura blades or elemental magic before it could strike. Moreover, the stronger the wielder’s innate power, the more dangerous it became. If a human with the Holy Sword harbored even a shred of ill will toward the Heavenly Realm, catastrophe could follow.
The angels, having witnessed the death of Demon King Karkus at Ji-ho’s hands, had trembled at the hero’s growth speed. Ji-ho had always been good and righteous; the angels themselves had known he would never attack the Heavenly Realm.
Yet no one could be certain that future heroes wielding the Holy Sword would remain pure. Eight thousand years had passed without incident, but when the new hero chosen by the Holy Sword became the Demon King and still held the sword as his own, the ancient choice had proven correct.
The Heavenly Realm itself was blessed by the Goddess Astraea. The angels were called God’s Messengers—holy beings revered by humans. Light beings who carried the title of God’s Messengers received awe from mortals. The angels, by nature pure-hearted, had only to descend to the Intermediate World, serve a little, endure both the ugly and noble sides of humanity, and then return to Heaven.
At the very pinnacle of the Heavenly Realm stood the Four Great Archangels. Gabriel was one of them. Her divine authority had been of immense help during the war against Karkus’s forces of Darkness. At that time, the Heavenly Realm had been forced to restrain the Demon World; the angels could not descend freely. Only Gabriel had been dispatched to the Intermediate World as the hero’s aide.
Just as the Heavenly Realm had kept most of its strongest warriors behind during Jae-hyun’s arrival, the angels had stayed as well.
The Heavenly Realm and the Demon World were not separated by simple distance; they could only reach each other through the Astral Plane. Their entrances existed there, protected by massive fortresses and guardians. The angels and demons alike could cross the realms at speeds far beyond human limits, shuttling back and forth simply by walking.
The bond between Ji-ho and Gabriel was unique. At first she had been nothing more than a comrade in the battles against the forces of Darkness. Over time she had fallen in love with him. During the final battle with Karkus, she had taken the role of holding back the demons while Ji-ho finished the Demon King.
At the time she had only known raw combat. Living among humans, she had learned systematic martial arts from Ji-ho. After defeating Karkus she had not returned to Heaven immediately. Instead she had remained with him, mastering every art he taught until the moment of their parting.
She had opened the gate for him because she was grateful for everything he had taught her, believed he was a reliable man, and—most of all—because she loved him with reason. Yet love between a human and an angel was the beginning of the angel’s fall. Many had descended into Fallen Angels precisely because they could not accept the restriction that kept them from loving humans. The leader of the Fallen Angels, Mastema, was one such example.
Knowing all of this, Ji-ho had promised to meet her again and parted with her. Now, using the power she had given him, he had opened the gate.
A portal-like gate formed right beneath the ceiling. Someone stepped through.
She was a beautiful woman with waist-length blue hair and blue eyes, clad in pure white robes. Six radiant blue wings shimmered behind her back. The instant Ji-ho saw her, he felt the weight of time’s difference settle on his shoulders. Five years for him, over eight thousand for her.
“It’s been a long time, Gabriel.”
She raised her hand and slapped him across the cheek with a sharp crack.