Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Raphael's Intention
Archangel Raphael.
Created by God, but one of the twelve angels who possessed far more powerful authority than most gods.
One of them, Uriel, had sealed Diablo, who was one of the Seven Seats, so within , their status could be considered to belong
to the highest tier.
'Why is Raphael here...?'
Rudian frowned as events kept deviating from the original story.
Originally, on the 65th floor, a Demon King-level demon called Orias, who was called Leviathan's closest confidant, was supposed to appear.
Abel had fought a fierce battle with Orias for over three days using not only the holy sword but also the seven-colored world, and barely managed to defeat him.
Rudian had also steeled his resolve and prepared for battle, but what actually appeared wasn't a demon but an archangel who would surely be more vicious than any demon!
"...It can't be the main body, surely."
If the opponent was truly the main body, the conquest of this tower would be as good as finished here.
No matter how remarkable his growth had been over the past 10 years, there was no chance of victory against an archangel who could burn the continent's surface with a single strike.
Raphael smiled gently and opened her mouth.
"Of course it's not the main body. This place is Leviathan's tomb, after all. I'm merely the caretaker of this tomb."
"Caretaker...? This is the first I've heard of such a thing."
From Raphael's mouth began to emerge hidden facts that were never mentioned in the original story.
"Ten thousand years ago, Leviathan, who had lost almost all his power and collapsed here, wanted to leave behind even a trace of himself. I respected his will and cooperated in creating this space."
-Naturally, that bastard's resentment would be directed toward the demon realm that betrayed him, so you would have had no reason to refuse. What a cunning bitch.
Raphael smiled warmly and brushed off Diablo's criticism.
Rudian pondered Raphael's words and then tilted his head as if remembering something.
"But as a result, for a full ten thousand years, this northern region became a hell where not only humans but most races could barely survive. Wasn't that too irresponsible a decision?"
If Raphael had truly contributed to creating this Tower of Trials, she would also bear responsibility for the abnormal climate caused by the tower's creation.
But Raphael shook her head and denied Rudian's words.
"If we hadn't intervened there, the entire continent would have been contaminated by the demonic energy flowing from Leviathan's corpse."
The northern cold served not only to protect Leviathan's tomb but also to seal the demonic energy from leaking out.
"When this space was first created, this northern continent was essentially an artificially created demon realm."
"...I see."
"Heaven also made many efforts to transform it into a place where life forms could survive. Please don't blame us."
Rudian looked somewhat convinced, but Diablo's tone remained sharp.
-Hmph! If you had just completely incinerated that entire area and spent about a thousand years letting it regenerate naturally, this wouldn't have happened. Ridiculous. What a poor excuse!
"It's somewhat refreshing to hear such words from a Demon King. And burning the earth isn't something to decide lightly."
-Enough, how is Uriel doing? Once my seal is broken, I'll set out to tear that bitch apart first!
Even with Diablo's strong provocation, Raphael's expression remained unchanged.
"He's still sleeping in the center of the Pantheon. He would be greatly pleased to see your current state."
"......"
Her expression remained benevolent, but there was a slight hint of mockery in her tone.
About ten thousand years ago, they would have been clashing countless times with spears and swords, so no matter what, their relationship couldn't be good.
Still, responding to Diablo's third-rate thug-like provocation while maintaining the dignity of an archangel was quite good...
-Your speech has become quite scholarly. Where did that madman who used to bash demons' heads with scripture while shouting about divine punishment disappear to?
At those words, some scene naturally flashed through Rudian's mind.
'...What the hell was that.'
What kind of fanatic was that?
"...It was the recklessness of youth."
Perhaps noticing Rudian's uncomfortable expression, Raphael's face showed cracks for the first time.
Of course, that crack returned to normal in less than a second, but it was clear that Raphael had shown the emotion of 'embarrassment' for just a moment.
Rudian cleared his throat loudly to calm the situation, fearing what might happen if he let Diablo's mouth run any longer.
"AHEM, Lady Raphael, may I ask why you appeared before me?"
"...Interesting."
A gleam appeared in Raphael's eyes.
"How did you realize that I came with a different intention rather than as a gatekeeper?"
"Someone of your stature wouldn't bother to act as a mere gatekeeper."
"The legacy left by Leviathan is a dangerous treasure that could sufficiently disrupt the balance between heaven and earth, though?"
"If that were the case, angels would have been lined up from the first floor."
At Rudian's rebuttal, Raphael observed Rudian with steady eyes for a while.
Then she smiled, narrowing her eyes.
"You seem to be guessing for some other reason..."
FLINCH!
"But it's not a wrong answer, so let's say that's correct."
Rudian was wary of what Raphael's intention might be.
Depending on the circumstances, it could become a much more troublesome problem than someone like Orias.
"I came purely to see you, Lord Rudian."
At the unexpected words, Rudian's wariness shot to maximum.
"To see... Me?"
"You are an irregular who ignored Uriel's constraints and made a contract with Diablo, and the one who summoned an extraterrestrial god whose identity even we couldn't identify."
"......"
"Do you know that your existence has put Heaven in a difficult position?"
Rudian didn't answer.
Of course, he had been expecting this since the moment he obtained Diablo.
He had just been viewing the situation somewhat optimistically since his goal was to build demon forces.
"In what way has it caused difficulties?"
"Various ways, you could say. For example... This place was originally prophesied to be reached by someone who would face the demons in the future, but that prophecy was suddenly broken."
Rudian couldn't not know the identity of that 'someone.'
"And Diablo's intervention in the history of the middle world has become much faster than we expected."
CLENCH!
At that moment, Rudian consciously suppressed the strength in his hand gripping the sword hilt.
If Raphael had remained silent intentionally, he might have accidentally swung his sword.
"Originally, Heaven's majority opinion was to capture you by force, even if it meant taking risks, since you had completely tangled up the causality of prophecy..."
"But not anymore?"
"Yes, we concluded that even if the original plan gets tangled up, the results that will occur due to your existence aren't necessarily disadvantageous to us."
Naturally, Heaven would also know about the existence of the Demon Kings who invaded the middle world.
That decision was probably reached for such reasons as well.
Raphael stepped slightly aside and pointed to the door leading to the upper floor.
"Please go up. Leviathan and Rigos are waiting for you."
"Did you really... Appear just to see my face?"
Even to this interrogation-like question, Raphael showed a subtle reaction.
"You're someone who could easily disrupt the world's balance with just a slight deviation. Naturally, I'd be curious."
Rudian sneered inwardly.
That wouldn't be all.
'She conveniently left out the part about Heaven monitoring me.'
Still, learning that Heaven was watching this side was a great gain in itself.
In , Heaven wasn't an unconditional ally, and ultimately was also an enemy that had to be defeated.
"There will come a time when we meet again."
Still, it was fortunate that a fight didn't break out right now.
"I hope that time comes as well."
Rudian exchanged subtle glances with Raphael and then passed by her toward the door leading to the upper floor.
-Be careful.
Unusually, Diablo gave a warning.
-That bitch belongs to the most vicious category among Heaven's archangels. During the Heaven-Demon Great War, more than ten demon realm corps commanders were played by that bitch's schemes.
'Hmm...!'
From the angels' perspective, wouldn't Diablo's words be the highest praise?
-She's truly vicious enough to be called an angel among angels.
'Is that praise or insult?'
-Of course it's an insult!
Diablo's roar hurt his ears, but he understood well what kind of danger Raphael posed.
In the original story, she was an angel who didn't appear much despite her power, but if he got entangled with her like this, he would likely see her face often in the future.
'The fact that she's deeply scheming is certainly something to be cautious about...'
The gods of basically had arrogant personalities and weren't interested in their creations.
In the first place, the Second Heaven-Demon Great War that marked the beginning of was a disaster caused by some gods who had fallen into arrogance and shadowy figures who had been operating secretly in Heaven for ages.
Most of the other gods had delegated all authority to the archangels and cut off interest in the middle world.
Only some archangels were paying attention with talk of prophecies and such.
The archangels who received authority from such gods were basically good and fair beings, but some of them sometimes showed tendencies that were vicious and cruel enough to rival any demon under the pretext of justice.
'I wonder when we'll meet next.'
She wouldn't try to kill me the moment we meet by bringing up blasphemy, would she?
***
66th floor.
The top floor of the Tower of Trials that Rudian had been aiming for.
"You've come. I thought I'd die of boredom."
The 66th floor of the tower was a spacious open area on all sides, unlike the lower floors that were full of various geometric patterns.
A warrior wearing black armor all over his body.
Unlike the calm-feeling Kimaris, he gave off a violent and crude impression.
Rudian immediately recognized the warrior's identity.
"So you're Rigos."
The one who had been active in the Morian Empire disguised as a noble named 'Rigos Bargo.'
And beyond him, the figure of a giant serpent coiling around the entire tower could be seen.
'Then that must be Leviathan.'
Though only a silhouette was visible through the clouds, that assumption was probably correct.
Rigos' true form, having shed the disguised appearance of Rigos Bargo, was a typical demon appearance about two heads taller than Rudian.
Blue skin, with black and white reversed eyes.
And hair that rippled like darkness.
In Kimaris' case, he had looked like he existed only as a flame-shaped form, so this was the first time actually encountering the appearance of a demon like this.
"You must have had a hard time waiting for 10 years."
"I watched you climb the tower. I thought about attacking you then, but Leviathan made an unexpected proposal."
"What proposal was that?"
Rudian knew the answer but deliberately asked with seeming curiosity.
Instead of answering, Rigos released the demonic energy he had been harboring.
PFFT!
Rudian also drew his sword and gave the answer.
"One of us two must die for this to end."
"Correct!"
Rigos let out a roar.
"Come at me, human!”