How to Replace Dad 68
The barrier was breached, and Irregulars poured in through it. It was said to be a joint operation by Ross and Yuis.
“I guess I did well to bring Ross.”
“It was amazing. They said it would take three days from the Magic Tower, but it was solved in a day.”
The squad leader of Antonio, who was guarding me, smiled brightly.
“By the way, what is that flag?”
Can assassins really charge in so flamboyantly?
When I made that expression, Chari replied.
“We are going to advance, so those who don't want to get caught should run.”
“Wow, cool. Who thought of that?”
“One of the elites, Miliano-nim.”
A good person. We'll meet someday. The future looks promising. And right now, money is what I'm looking forward to.
I watched the Irregulars' battle. Yuis, who was supporting from the rear with curses, frowned.
“Did you not do it properly?”
The target Yuis was referring to was Antonio. At the start of the battle, Antonio was energetic, but now he was throwing weak, half-hearted punches at the enemies. Even after hearing Yuis's words, Antonio looked dejected. His face was like a big dog that had almost had his bowl stolen.
Yuis finally shouted.
“What's the problem!”
“The leader is pretty good, and the others are pretty good too. It's too simple...”
The members of Antonio's squad laughed.
“You haven't broken the habit of being a dog yet.”
“Do you miss the Colosseum?”
Antonio was a gladiator slave in the Colosseum. Besides the leader, Antonio was almost from the Colosseum. The members who saw Antonio when he was a gladiator said.
“He fought like a madman.”
“Back then, Antonio was very young, and even adults didn't want to fight Antonio.”
“It was a bit scary to see him covered in blood and grinning.”
The oldest and most composed member of Antonio's squad said.
“You enjoyed fighting. After becoming a squad leader, you prioritize missions and comrades, so you don't get the chance anymore.”
It seemed Antonio's instincts were triggered by the fight with Abel. 'He was amazing.' Compared to him, the other soldiers of the Dawn Cult were pathetic. It was natural since the believers had forced them to fight. At least, the usable soldiers had already been wiped out once because I tricked them into going to 'Gold Mountain San Miguel'.
And then...
“Saint! It's the Saint!”
“Saint!”
There were even those who prostrated themselves upon recognizing me. Because I had revealed my identity to the believers with the help of Grandma from the Holy See. There were so many who lost their fighting spirit upon seeing me that it was hopeless. Yuis had a frustrated expression. Of course, it wasn't just Yuis.
“Hic...”
“I-I can't! I can't! I don't want to die!”
At least, the Dawn Cult soldiers who were fighting started fleeing in fear. The one who led the soldiers shouted, but it was useless. Yustea and the Irregulars passed through the castle gate without issue. Yuis shot his sword at a Dawn Cult soldier who was running while screaming.
“Let's go easy. Where is the high priest?”
“T-tower... tower...”
The soldier who had been released from Yuis's hand collapsed with a thud. He was so scared he was about to wet himself. I looked towards the tower. Familiar silhouettes were visible at the top of the tower. The high priest and high priests.
[Irregulars, draw your swords. Exterminate the violent intruders.]
The high priest's voice echoed like thunder.
“What a show.”
Antonio's words. Then the deputy leader said.
“Get ready to guard.”
“What about that?”
“Form a barrier with your bodies, swallow explosives, and charge, and the members will start taking damage.”
“Are you going to do something crazy like that?”
“Those who are armed with madness are not afraid.”
The deputy leader was right. The believers had backed down because they recognized me, but if they were willing to die, things would change. It was really overwhelming in numbers. The believers, hearing the commotion, came to the windows to check the situation. The windows of the castle were all filled with so many people that they looked pitch black. However, fortunately, the believers were bewildered.
“Attack those who came with the Saint?”
“W-why...?”
“The Saint is the one who will save us, but for what reason...”
The believers couldn't move.
[Attack! The Saint has been deceived by Theresa's cunning scheme and lost her mind! Cut off and kill the snake of Theresa in the Saint's womb!]
'They're panicking and just shooting blindly.' If the believers start believing this here, it's a problem.
“Yuis.”
I called, and he came over. Yuis put his hand on the ground. String-like patterns spread from his fingertips, encircling the ground I was standing on. I opened my mouth.
[The high priest deceived everyone. Everything he taught until now is a lie.]
“What?”
“W-what...!”
The believers were greatly shocked. Of course, the high priest didn't stay quiet.
[Don't be fooled! This is the words of a wicked snake that borrowed the Saint's mouth!]
[The high priest has not only stolen the believers' property and labor but also taken their lives. Remember the ones who suddenly disappeared.]
[Don't believe it! I fed and raised you...!]
[Feed and raise you with the money, in a place where bugs are crawling? A holiday extortion is better than this, uncle.]
[The comfortable sleep of tomorrow's hope...!]
[Comfortable? What conscience did you put that adjective in?]
“Shut up!”
The high priest and my speech ended in a verbal battle. The high priest was gritting his teeth. The believers were looking alternately at me and the high priest with bewildered expressions. 'I need to buy more time.' I looked at the deputy leader. The deputy leader took out a pocket watch from his pocket. He checked the time and nodded. 'It's done.' I shouted.
[I will show you the proof of divinity.]
I pointed to the sky. Then people's gazes followed my fingertip upwards. Light poured out from the mountain ridge behind the castle. It spread to the sky. The light swam like a veil over the sky. “Wow...” One of the believers let out a mesmerized exclamation. Something appeared from within the veil of light. Wearing a himation over armor, with six wings...! ...Roslyn. That's right. This was a scam. “Angel!” “The angel has descended!” The believers exclaimed excitedly. Ross, who had broken the barrier with Yuis, where would he be. He had worked hard to install magic tools on the mountain ridge and floated Roslyn in the air for this performance. Yuis whispered.
“How did you float it?”
“Connected wires from the top of the mountain to the top of the castle.”
Like a zip line. Fixed with magic. 'I tried to float it with magic, but the mana consumption was huge.' I had already poured mana into the light performance, and if I added floating it, the people performing the 'descent' might die. It wasn't just for the entrance scene. It was to hide the wires. And to hide them when exiting.
Paaat—!
Intense light spread again. And when the people opened their eyes again, Roslyn was gone. 'She slid down the zip line.' As soon as Roslyn descended, the wires were pulled and processed. The believers watching all this cheered. 'I told you. An eye for an eye.' Fake for fake. Scam for scam. The believers prostrated themselves. And they shouted while supporting the sky. “Ah, our god!” “I believe! I believe!” Some were overcome with emotion and sobbing. But a laugh echoed from the sky.
[How pitiful. Trying to deceive the believers by pushing a fake, but it's impossible. The real angel who protects the Dawn will descend.]
“What?”
“What kind of nonsense is this.”
The members had bewildered expressions. Piiing—! A strange sound came from somewhere. The sky roared. It wasn't magic that amplified the high priest's voice. A strong wind blew. Birds felt the crisis and flapped their wings roughly as they left the mountain. Like... during Abel's rampage. And on the sky appeared a large sphere with six wings. It had a golden frame, and the frame and the core of the sphere had strange patterned fur. It soon settled in the air and stopped moving. And at that moment....
Piiing—!
With another strange vibration, the places with fur began to split all at once. “...” “?!” It was all eyes. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of eyes with pupils moving strangely. The sphere soon split horizontally. Inside was a human mouth shape. The sphere spoke. “People of the gods, raise your heads.” The high priest burst into laughter.
[This is the angel from the Bible, right!]
[Unparalleled divinity compared to the fake!]
It seems they made it following the Bible. The same. Exactly the same, but....
[Follow all the angels. You must cut off and kill the snake that has taken the Saint's flesh....]
Even I thought the believers' reaction was strange, and the high priest hesitated. At that moment.
“Aaah—!!”
“Kyaah!!”
“Monster!”
“Uaaah—!!!”
The believers started running in panic. [What... why....] The fakes are more obsessed with reality. They made it too similar. “Exactly, I should have done it moderately like me.” I made a pitiful expression.
***
The high priest was in a panic. 'This is not it.' He perfectly expressed the appearance of the angel from the Bible. Despite not being able to shed tears while admiring the divinity with his own eyes, why did he run? Even the high priests turned their heads with troubled expressions. “By activating it and opening the eyes, it looks more... what should I say... appearance...” As one of the high priests was muttering. A low voice came from behind. “You woke up something annoying.” It was Abel. The one who never came out even when called, for some reason, came in person. “Leader...!” The high priests bowed. The high priest frowned. “It is nothing to worry about.” After all, the leader to be replaced. Since the angel's appearance was overwhelming, it would be fine to upgrade to human form. And replace Abel. 'That one is a failure.' No need to hold a weapon that doesn't listen. It's better to have something without self that is easy to control. The angel used Abel's blood and mana. 'So I can beat Abel...' “It will rampage.” I was startled by Abel's words. 'Rampage?' It can't be. I had injected enough 'food' into the angel. So never.... 'Wait.' Abel's and the angel's meals were both prepared by Carmen. Abel had eaten earlier than scheduled. I thought he went out to catch garbage outside the castle. 'What if he stole the angel's meal and gave it to Abel?' The high priest was startled and looked at the angel. At that time. Yustea and Antonio ran up the stairs leading to the top of the tower. Yustea shouted. “What is that? Why is it trying to rampage.” “...” “Intending to destroy the castle itself! ...I didn't know.” Yustea, who noticed the high priest's bewildered face, clutched her forehead. Yustea knew how bad Abel's rampage could be. The whole area would fly away. Not only the believers but also the Irregulars. Yustea looked at Abel. “Is there no way? If this flies away, you won't be okay either.” Abel looked at the angel with lazy eyes. The rampage was almost over. “Only way is to inject food.” After saying that, Abel grabbed the high priest's nape. The high priest was shocked and asked Abel. “W-what are you doing... leader, why me...?” His heart was pounding with anxiety. His limbs were trembling. 'Could it be... could this be me...' “L-leader, I don't know what you're thinking, but please let go of this...” While fumbling, the angel's mouth opened again. “G, gug, k, gugugug.” The rampage had begun. Abel grabbed the high priest's nape and threw him towards the angel. “H-high priest!” “High priest...” The high priests were shocked and ran to the railing. But it was too late. The high priest had entered the angel's mouth. “Aaah—” The sharp terminal faded. With a crack, the angel's mouth closed with a sound. The high priests collapsed on the spot. Abel, who was expressionless even seeing the high priests with mouths open like people who had lost their minds, muttered. “It was useless.” Yustea ran and grabbed the railing, looking up at the angel. 'It's about to explode.' In this situation, there's nothing to do. I hurriedly turned my head and looked at Abel. “Tiramisu, do you want to eat again?” “Yeah.” “Then help me. I can fly, right?” “...But?” Yustea clung to Abel's waist. Around that time, Yuis and the deputy leader, who had climbed to the top of the tower, frowned. “What is that.” “You shouldn't see it, deputy leader. ...I don't want to see it either.” When the deputy leader said it with a grim face, Yustea hugged Abel's waist tightly and shouted. “Towards the angel!” “...” “What are you doing, hurry!” Abel looked quietly at Yustea. No one tried to touch his body. Especially seeing his cloud. But why is this one embracing me. 'Strange guy.' “Hurry.” I know one thing. This guy has a very big liver.