Chapter 512: Michael
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 512: Michael
“S-Save me. P-Please, I beg you. Sob… For the Savior! For the Savior!”
“…”
“Hic… For the Savior!”
It was somewhat surprising to see such a reaction, especially after he had just heard our conversation. I had tentatively taken the position of hearing them out. He was acting this way despite not knowing what the future held, despite the possibility that we might even form an alliance.
He must have decided that staying here was far more terrifying than betraying his entire race. No, he had chosen to abandon his own religion and join ours.
“…”
“Sob… For the Savior! I will pledge my loyalty to the Savior! Hic…”
I was at a bit of a loss for words, watching him spread his arms and cheer wildly. He clearly saw me as his only lifeline. When Baek Ahyeon let out a small sigh, he flinched and trembled violently. It was quite a sight—he looked like he was about to piss himself.
Even Michael was showing a negative reaction to Baek Ahyeon. So it was no surprise to see Nazareth acting startled.
Their goal was proselytization. How absurd that a missionary who came to spread his faith was the first to fall for ours. A devout believer had fallen for a heretical cult.
“Hmm…”
“For the Savior! For the Savior! For the greatest Savior in this world!”
Still, his squawking was getting noisy. As I looked at Nazareth and opened my mouth to speak, fat tears began to roll down his cheeks.
“Enough.”
“S-Sob… I-I’m sorry.”
Michael looked at Nazareth and spoke.
“Nazareth is a sinner who has committed a crime. He is no longer in our hands, so I will leave his punishment to you.”
“Excellent. Then I’ll take him. That female dove over there has also committed a crime, strictly speaking, so she’s our responsibility now. Of course, the same goes for all of you… We’ll take the others as well. You’re lucky, Michael.”
“…”
“Hmm… Baek Ahyeon.”
“Yes, my Savior.”
“With the exception of Michael, I will entrust the others to you for now. Though they have committed an unforgivable sin, that dove is repenting. So, we shall improve his treatment slightly. Grant him the opportunity to undergo the Ritual of Purification.”
“Yes.”
Naturally, there was no other response. I wasn’t telling her to forgive his sins, but the dove’s reaction was quite dramatic. I could understand why he was so happy—he probably wouldn’t be put in the bull—but aside from Baek Ahyeon not punishing him directly, nothing else would change.
“Sob… Thank you! Thank you! Infinite glory to the Savior! Hic…”
Once again, I was amazed by Baek Ahyeon.
That dove was a specimen. A perfect example showing that even those who come to proselytize can be influenced by us. I would have much to discuss with Baek Ahyeon later. There was no rule saying only they could spread their faith. We, too, could plant the roots of our religion within theirs.
Baek Ahyeon probably knew what I was thinking.
As soon as I finished speaking, Baek Ahyeon and the other believers began to drag them away. Even as they were being led out, Nazareth’s cheers echoed through the chapel.
“For the Savior! For the glorious mercy of the Savior! Hic…”
“Puhahahahahahat.”
Michael was silent. It must have been a bewildering sight for him, too. I looked at him and spoke.
“Now then. For starters, I’d like to meet with those who could be called your leaders.”
“Understood.”
“The place will be here, in three days. We’ll set the time as well.”
“You don’t trust us?”
“Of course not. Is there any reason I should trust you?”
There wasn’t. In fact, letting him go, even temporarily, was a gamble on our part. Of course, his disappearance alone wouldn’t cause any major problems. That was because everyone else, except for him, was in my hands. The important thing was that I could get any information I failed to hear from the Nazareth dove—a good little dove who would spill everything except classified information was right by my side. It was only natural to use him as much as I could.
“Ah, one more thing before that.”
“…”
“Where did you bastards come from?”
“The sky.”
I nodded. I had no desire to question him further. Soon, Choi Eunju entered the chapel and placed a few magical restrictions on him. After several believers poured their holy power into the bindings, his departure preparations were complete. He seemed to have trouble flapping his wings, and his ascent into the air looked unstable. But he vanished from sight in an instant.
Watching him go, Choi Seulgi spoke up.
“Did they really come down from the sky?”
“Who knows. We’ll probably find out in a little while, right? I’ve already placed a tracking spell on him.”
“And the talks?”
“I’m just trying to see if we can talk. There’s nothing to lose.”
“Hmm…”
Literally, there was nothing to lose. I looked at Choi Eunju, who was standing next to Choi Seulgi, and asked.
“What do you think?”
“Their intentions are a little suspicious.”
“In what way?”
“Especially when you consider the Fallen Prince’s diary. I looked into a few things while you were talking.”
“Mm…”
“First, I don’t think they were lying about coming to proselytize. It seems to be the purpose of their entire race… I’m not certain, but that’s the feeling I get. Just as Green Skins live to fight, they seem to live to spread their message.”
“Spread what?”
“What they believe in, I suppose. According to the diary, their military strength is also considerable. And considering the Fallen Prince clashed with them before…”
“At the very least…”
“I don’t think they’re beneath us.”
“Hm.”
“But they didn’t seem to want a military conflict.”
“I see.”
Even by today’s standards, the Fallen Prince was quite strong. Even though I was stronger than before, I couldn’t completely disregard him. My previous victory was due to a bit of luck, as well as help from others.
I also agreed with her point that their race’s purpose was proselytization. Judging by their actions when they first came to this temple, fighting itself was definitely not their goal.
“Still… I can’t figure out what being ‘enveloped in light’ means. Considering the diary says they disappeared while engulfed in a bright light…”
“They’re not actually sending people to heaven, are they?”
“Probably not, right? That would be absurd. One thing is certain: the angels don’t use that ritual in combat. It seems they only bestow that light upon those who believe in them. There’s no record of them ever using the ritual in a fight. When they brought the Fallen Prince’s kingdom to utter ruin, they descended from the sky bearing weapons themselves. And they didn’t perform the ritual on those who resisted.”
“In other words.”
“That ritual might require the other party’s consent.”
“That’s a plausible deduction. You did well.”
“Th-Thank you, honey. B-But it’s just a guess…”
Choi Eunju bowed her head shyly at my praise. Choi Seulgi seemed bored by this conversation, but she slowly opened her mouth as if she wanted to add something.
“Aren’t they just gathering mana or holy power or something?”
“Mm…”
That wasn’t a bad guess, either. I suddenly felt a bit busy. Putting aside the matter with Storm Shadow in the Land of Glory, I immediately focused my efforts on gathering information. However, contrary to my expectation that I would find the answer quickly, the mystery was not easily solved. That was because even the doves under Baek Ahyeon’s care knew nothing about the ritual.
To be precise, they perceived the act as salvation. A salvation that sends them to a place without pain.
Considering the case of the Nazareth dove, it didn’t seem like they were lying.
He would just appeal to me with excessive loyalty, saying, ‘H-How did you know about the ritual of salvation? A-As expected of the Savior! For the Savior! For the Savior!’
One thing was certain: that ritual would have no positive effect on us. It might sound like a sweet promise of going to heaven, but in the end, it was an act of complete self-abandonment. This was even more true when considering the outcome the Fallen Prince had experienced.
Even if they could actually go to heaven, not a single Green Skin would be foolish enough to make such a choice.
Perhaps to other ordinary humans, their words might have sounded plausible. They had the appearance of angels and certainly possessed a divine aura. They were beautiful, and that appearance and atmosphere would be very appealing to the general public.
Even I was the same; I had found myself thinking they weren’t dangerous.
However, in other areas, I was able to gather quite a lot of information, just as I had expected. It was all thanks to the doves, who were now all of one mind. The others, besides Nazareth, had initially chosen to remain silent, but after experiencing Jane’s bull and Baek Ahyeon’s special tutoring, they transformed into faithfully trained doves.
First, the most important news was that they didn’t actually live in the sky. This was confirmed by the tracking spell Choi Eunju had placed. They had established their own city on a continent across the sea, and they called it Agape. It was a basic religious city with a civilization different from that of humans.
When Michael said they came down from the sky, it was because the place they were before was the sky. Hearing that they were summoned along with the humans and had already ‘saved’ most of them, I could tell that they were in the same boat as us.
Their abilities and rank could be distinguished by the size and number of their wings, and their roles and positions were determined accordingly. It certainly felt similar to the well-organized command structure of a religious group.
It seemed that most information was restricted from them, but just learning this much was a huge achievement.
It was far better than having no information at all.
I gave Baek Ahyeon full credit for all of this, and perhaps because of that, she seemed to have recovered a little from her previous distress.
To commemorate their achievements, I suggested we build a statue of ‘The Believers Who Captured the Angels,’ and at my words, all the followers rejoiced. Baek Ahyeon and Jane were moved to tears. It was in the midst of this situation that Michael, who had left, reappeared, leading a few other angels.
“They’re here.”
“Looks like it.”
As expected, they weren’t armed.
They had kept their promise.