Chapter 472: An Unexpected Encounter (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 472: An Unexpected Encounter (3)
Honestly, after witnessing a Constellation descend with my own eyes, I thought I wouldn't be surprised by much anymore.
But I was wrong.
Squish, squish, squish.
Without knowing what was happening, her breast landed in my palm, and I reflexively squeezed.
For the record, my will had nothing to do with it. It was purely a conditioned reflex born of instinct.
Logically, what kind of guy in this world would happily grope the chest of someone who might be trying to kill his woman?
“Hnngh… H-Hyun-woo-nim, a little more gently…”
“Ah.”
Turns out, that kind of guy was right here.
When I came to my senses, I was kneading the angel’s breasts with both hands.
Seeing her face flushed bright red, as if she were about to explode, I hastily pulled my hands away.
“Hah, hah…”
We must have been like that for quite a while, because the angel was panting heavily as she straightened her disheveled clothes.
Thanks to that, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the prayer room.
I couldn’t maintain the sharp attitude I’d had before. Who was I to act high and mighty after mindlessly groping someone’s chest?
But if I tried to strike up a friendly conversation, the memory of her suddenly holding a knife to my throat flashed through my mind.
After a moment of deliberation, I scratched the back of my head and let out a deep sigh.
“I was rash just now.”
I bowed my head deeply to the angel.
But that didn’t mean I trusted her.
Her purpose for appearing before me, her relationship with Lucifer—nothing was certain.
Trusting her in this situation was impossible from the start.
However, one thing was clear: the angel before me wasn’t hostile. So, for the sake of smooth information gathering, I needed to approach her more sociably.
“Please don’t worry about it too much. I understand your circumstances, and I’m aware that my own explanation was lacking beforehand.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse my rudeness, may I ask just one thing?”
“Of course.”
I took a moment to catch my breath before speaking slowly.
“…Are you our ally, or our enemy?”
“I swear to the Lord, I am on your and Luciel’s side.”
I fell silent for a moment at the angel’s unhesitating reply.
She looked at me with a somewhat bitter expression.
“…Even if the pure white lily withers in vain, I will see my will through. That is the only atonement I can make.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
That day, when Lucifer lost everything due to the betrayal of the comrades she trusted and was imprisoned deep underground.
Why on earth did they betray her?
“…I’d love to explain everything from start to finish, but I don’t have much time, so I’m afraid that will be difficult.”
Ruuuumble—!!
At that moment, the prayer room’s ceiling shook, and a shockwave, like a violent thunderstorm, coursed through the entire building.
“It seems the Tower is angry that I used a shortcut to descend. Unlike the System, the Tower has absolutely no flexibility.”
The angel gave an awkward smile.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere seemed a little more relaxed than before.
I looked at her and carefully continued my questions.
“Why are you trying to help us?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Is it worth risking your life for?”
“Yes.”
The angel was resolute.
“The reason I sought you out, Hyun-woo-nim, was to ask for your help.”
“Help…?”
She nodded slowly, taking a breath as if to organize her thoughts.
“Eden is currently heading in the wrong direction. My comrades are living in false hypocrisy, unaware that their own white wings are slowly melting away. I couldn’t stop it with my meager power… but Luciel might be able to.”
“If that’s the case, couldn’t you have just called Lucifer here from the start?”
“…”
At my words, the angel fidgeted with her fingers and parted her lips, then finally stammered out a reply.
“B-But… Luciel is scary when she’s angry… The misunderstanding hasn’t been fully cleared up yet, so if we met now, who knows what might happen…”
“…”
I slowly nodded at the angel’s words.
Knowing the Lucifer I knew, she’d throw a punch the moment she saw her, forget about having a conversation.
“But convincing Lucifer based on your word alone is nearly impossible. And I have no intention of trying, to begin with.”
Lucifer’s thirst for revenge against Eden was beyond imagination.
One wrong move, and it could look like I was defending the target of her vengeance.
“If I get involved and end up on her bad side too, who’s going to take responsibility for that?”
“I-I’m not asking for this with empty hands.”
The angel shook her head frantically.
“When you bring me up, Luciel will surely fly into a rage. When she does, tell her this: ‘Ten Spears’.”
“Ten Spears…?”
“It’s difficult to explain its meaning right now, but those words will surely prove my innocence.”
Just as she said, it was a phrase I couldn’t even begin to guess the meaning of, let alone understand.
But seeing the desperate look on her face, I reluctantly nodded. It definitely wasn’t because I’d touched her chest.
“The second thing I have for you is a fragment of Luciel’s power that I’ve been keeping.”
“A fragment of power… Don’t tell me?”
I’d heard about it from Lucifer.
On the day of her betrayal, she was imprisoned in the Abyss and had her power stolen at the same time.
“Originally, Luciel was the most powerful among us. Even Metatron and Michael were a step below her. But after Luciel was imprisoned, we followed His will, sealed her power, and divided it into twelve fragments to keep for ourselves.”
“Do you have it with you now?”
The angel slowly shook her head.
“The 8th-floor dungeon you’re scheduled to clear with the Twilight Holy Society. A fragment of Luciel’s power is sealed there.”
“…Were you the one who commissioned the Astrein family?”
“Of course not. I only made the request. To be precise, this child’s contractor did it.”
Now it all made sense.
Why a powerhouse of the Tower like the Twilight Holy Society would seek outside help for clearing a low-level dungeon, of all things.
“Finally, this is a gift for you, Hyun-woo-nim.”
The angel smiled brightly and placed something in my hand.
It was a pure white lily.
A fragrant floral scent, as if it had just been picked, brushed past my nose.
Tiring-
「Activating ‘Incomplete Moon’s Eye’.」
「Lily of Aquarius
Classification: -
Rank: -
A lily imbued with the authority of a pure angel.
When your will proceeds down the righteous path, its petals will bloom in profusion, as if welcoming the spring.」
“Please use it when you face a dangerous situation. It will surely be an excellent relief pitcher. Ah, if possible, it’s best not to use it in matters involving other angels. The cleanup will be quite a hassle.”
“Thank you.”
As I bowed politely and placed the flower into my storage bag, the angel smiled a bright, pleased smile.
I didn’t want to rain on her parade, but I couldn’t ignore the parts that needed to be addressed.
“I understand that you’re on our side and that you genuinely want to help. But I’d like to hear at least the minimum context of the situation.”
“That is…”
The angel’s lips parted at my question.
Finally, she averted her gaze and continued.
“…It would be better for you to hear it directly from Luciel than from my lips.”
“Understood.”
It was a little disappointing, but I had no intention of making things difficult for her.
Besides, as she said, it was something I could just hear from Lucifer.
The truth was, I had never heard the detailed story of that day from Lucifer.
All I knew was that one day, all of Eden had suddenly betrayed her, and despite her desperate resistance, she was eventually overwhelmed by their numbers and imprisoned in the Abyss.
I hadn’t bothered to ask before because she seemed unwilling to talk about it, but it looked like the time had come to uncover the truth.
Ruuuumble—!!
“…It seems we don’t have much time.”
The ceiling shook as if it would collapse at any moment.
I brushed the dust off my clothes and hair.
“May I ask one last thing?”
“Anything, as long as it’s a question I can answer.”
“Why did you let me touch your chest?”
In an instant, the angel’s eyes began to tremble violently.
They seemed to be shaking even more fiercely than the building.
“Th-That’s…”
Seeing her more flustered than I could have imagined, I realized I’d misspoken.
“If it’s really too difficult to say—”
“S-Sandalphon said that men feel good when they touch breasts…! So…!”
The angel frantically covered her face with both hands.
“…What?”
But she couldn’t hide her earlobes, which were flushed bright red.
Embarrassed by the unexpected answer, I rubbed the back of my neck and turned my head away.
“…But that body isn’t yours, is it?”
“…Ah.”
“Make sure you apologize to her later.”
“……Yes.”
Answering in a voice as faint as a crawling ant, she crouched on the floor and hid herself with her white wings.
“…You don’t do this with other men, do you?”
“N-No!! I swear to the Lord, you’re the first, Hyun-woo-nim!!”
“That’s a relief to hear.”
“Uuuu…”
The wings wrapped around her body slowly shrank, revealing the angel moaning with her face buried in her knees.
I hesitated for a moment, then carefully crouched down and slowly stroked her head.
“Well… it’s true that men feel good when they touch breasts, but you shouldn’t use that as a means to an end. It’s not really my place to say, but please, cherish your body. And stay away from this Sandalphon person.”
“…Yes.”
I was about to stand up after offering some comfort, but the moment I tried to pull my hand away, her wings pulled me back.
In the end, I was only released after stroking her head for nearly two minutes.
“…Hyun-woo-nim, you’re able to contract with other Constellations, aren’t you?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
Normally, a player can only contract with a single Constellation.
But I was an exception.
Thanks to my negotiations with the System, the contracted Constellation slot in my status window was currently blank.
“Th-Then…”
The angel, perched on a prayer room chair, kept glancing at me before carefully broaching the subject.
“I could become your contracted Constellation…”
“Ah, that’s a bit…”
“…”
If I made a contract with her here, Ishtar might descend next.
“It’s definitely not that I dislike you. It’s just that my circumstances aren’t ideal…”
“It’s alright. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I must have troubled you by being so pushy all of a sudden.”
She stood up from her seat and forced a smile.
Fwoosh-
At that moment, her pure white wings spread wide as if to embrace the entire prayer room, and a halo, shining brilliantly with golden light, appeared above her head.
“…My name is Gabriel. The noble messenger who delivers the secret yet magnificent revelation that opens the prelude to salvation.”
Clasping her hands together, she slowly walked toward me.
And then—
Chu.
Along with the warm touch on my forehead, she blushed and hurriedly stepped back as if embarrassed.
Tiring-
「The Constellation, ‘Herald of the Pure Lily’, bestows upon you a sacred divinity.」
「You have been imbued with ‘Archangel’s Blessing (S)’.」
「Archangel’s Blessing
Classification: Blessing
Rank: S
Proof that Archangel Gabriel blesses you.
Your luck will increase for half a year.」
“…I will look forward to the day we meet again. I hope we can speak a little longer then.”
Fwaaash—!!
In that instant, an intense flash of light, so bright it was hard to even open my eyes, spread throughout the prayer room.
When I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, Gabriel was already gone without a trace.