Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Don't Die
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"Demon."
The sports field, in the midst of the ongoing athletic festival. Michael muttered as he surveyed the gruesome scene.
In truth, it wasn't that gruesome. Everyone had simply fainted—no one had died.
Still, the sight of people who had been walking around just fine moments ago collapsing like dominoes was too shocking to dismiss as mere pretense.
Especially since the reason they hadn't died was him. His waist-length white hair. The wings radiating brilliant light behind him.
Five pairs. Ten wings in all, emanating pure white radiance.
Michael had blocked the wave of demonic energy spreading across the entirety of Justitia.
It wasn't particularly difficult, but he couldn't help furrowing his brow.
"I'm on vacation here."
He muttered toward the sky, but no response came. Michael's face crumpled in frustration.
He swung his sword toward the heavens three times or so, then slid it back into its sheath.
"Ahem."
Returning to his usual composure, Michael pondered what to do.
According to what God had told him before he came here, the black-haired man and Raphael would handle whatever happened.
Go and enjoy yourself, he'd said.
"How can I just leave this alone?"
As an angel. As a Seraphim. How could he stand by and watch a demon rampage on earth?
He planted his feet on the ground, about to fly toward the demon. That's when a wave of dark red demonic energy surged forth once more.
It was different from before. An immense wave.
He panicked for a split second, but his judgment was swift. He blocked the wave mid-flight.
It was powerful. Not something he could brush off lightly. It made him want to fly straight to the source and eliminate it right then and there.
"If these keep coming, I won't even be able to move."
He gazed at the sky. Closed his eyes once. Then lowered his gaze back to the ground.
The fallen people filled his vision.
"If an angel abandons the people, who will hold loyalty to God?"
Kaang—!!
He shook off the demonic energy with his sword. A mad vibration rang out, but he suppressed it in one motion and sheathed the blade.
With a bitter smile, as if he had no choice, he looked toward the direction where the demonic energy was surging.
"Raphael."
Calling the name of the fool.
Kwaang—!!!
The resounding explosion. The spreading dust. Visibility zero. Raphael was slammed into a wall.
As if to end it now, the demon had detonated its demonic energy in an instant, sending her flying.
A simple attack of compressed demonic energy hurled forth. Not even using an authority. And yet its power was this immense.
If there had been even one person nearby to make a wish, Raphael wouldn't be breathing right now.
The fact that he had engaged her in hand-to-hand combat was nothing more than a whim.
Even that truth, Raphael had yet to comprehend.
The thick dust settled. The blonde hair embedded in the wall came into view.
Her pure white wings had lost their glow. The sapphire eyes that had shone beautifully were now devoid of life.
Her limp body held no will to fight. With vacant eyes, she slid from the wall and dropped to her knees.
'Lee Seong-hoon is dead?'
No way. Was he the type to die just because? He'd come back from the brink of death time and again.
The demon was lying. That's what she thought, at first.
But then she saw Lachesis. The spirit beast had saved her in her moment of crisis, but Raphael wanted to deny her presence.
The cat she always carried on her shoulder. The cat who valued her own life above all and never yielded it.
"No way."
Would Lee Seong-hoon really leave Lachesis behind in a situation with a demon? Raphael, who had been glued to him for the past half year, knew better than anyone.
Absolutely not. Forget crises—even in normal times, unless they were home, Lachesis never left his shoulder.
「Hmm? Your will to fight is completely gone. Were you two that close?」
The demon's words didn't register. She couldn't even see it approaching.
Raphael's gaze was fixed solely on the sky.
—If you die, that's the end for Raphael too.
—You'll be unable to ascend to the Heavenly Realm and have no choice but to fall.
A torrent of thoughts flooded Raphael's mind.
Was she going to fall like this? Spend eternity alone on earth? Never return to the Heavenly Realm?
Was Lee Seong-hoon really dead? Would she never see him again? What about going home? What about Levatein?
Lachesis. Lily. Our house.
All sorts of thoughts arose, but strangely, most centered on the earthly realm. More than the Heavenly Realm where she'd lived for thousands of years.
The dorm she'd only spent half a year in felt far more missed.
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped her unbidden. No matter what, could half a year on earth hold more memories than thousands of years in Heaven?
In a way, it was natural. Wiling away time in a Heaven where no one spoke to her was nothing compared to bickering with Lee Seong-hoon, chatting away, and hanging out hand-in-hand with Levatein. Of course that daily life was more fun.
"Why go dying and causing a fuss."
Fool.
No word fit Lee Seong-hoon better.
The fool who grumbled when asked to buy something but bought it anyway.
The fool who refused to play games but joined in slyly.
The fool who, despite being weak himself, somehow resolved every incident.
That's where her thoughts trailed off. She lowered her gaze. The approaching demon came into view.
「Hmm. What emotion is this? So ambiguous. The taste... meh. Whatever. You're dying soon anyway.」
The demon drew near. Its neck lolled like a doll's. Demonic energy gathered in its hand, forming a sphere.
Not an authority or spell—just raw demonic energy pooled in its palm. Yet its destructive power was beyond imagination.
A normal person would have felt terror, but what Raphael saw wasn't the demon.
Behind the demon. The ominous mana sphere that had been emanating dread from earlier.
The black cat perched atop it.
[Meowww~]
Crying out loudly. As if pleading for her to look this way.
"As expected."
「Hmm?」
Life returned to her eyes.
"No way he'd die."
Her pure white wings regained their glow.
"Who dies just because someone says so?"
And that wasn't the end. Pure white light overflowed. It exceeded its bounds, engulfing even her golden hair.
The blonde smiled. The demon faltered. The light swallowed the darkness.
Raphael decided to admit it. It was a matter of pride, but with things as they were, there was no reason to cling to it.
The half year spent with Lee Seong-hoon in the lower world was more joyful and precious than thousands of years in Heaven.
In Heaven, no one had ever spoken to her, but Lee Seong-hoon did so casually.
The mouth that would have complained all day in Heaven never once opened there. Instead, her lips curved upward.
Every day was a delight. Laughter never ceased. And the one who made that happen was no other.
Not God, who had created her. Not Michael or Gabriel, fellow Seraphim.
Certainly not the lower angels who never spoke a word to her, nor the trash called Fate.
Only the man named Lee Seong-hoon.
'Don't die.'
She wanted to save him. There was something in that sphere. Lachesis, the cat of fate, wouldn't do something meaningless.
First, she wanted to shatter that sphere.
But the situation didn't allow it. The demon was already overwhelming with just two wings, and Lee Seong-hoon needed saving.
For no one else—for herself.
So she wished. For power.
From the beginning of time, offering prayers to the heavens had always been synonymous with earnest desire.
Make it rain. Grant peace. Lead us to victory in war.
The content differed, but begging for what one wanted was the same. Thus, Raphael prayed too.
Usually, her prayers went unanswered, but now was different. Light engulfed her body. It created a pure white space where she couldn't see an inch ahead.
'Not enough.'
This was merely the light from her two wings. It wasn't sufficient.
—I heard from Michael.
—Angels all have roles, right? Something like a heavenly mandate.
A voice flashed in her mind. Raphael gave a bitter smile.
"Even in a moment like this."
The words she remembered were his. How ironic. And yet, how strange.
The heavenly mandate that all angels supposedly possessed. She'd asked Michael, but he'd only evaded, teaching her nothing.
At first, she'd thought it was the usual exclusion.
But now it felt off. Lower angels had theirs—how could she, a Seraphim, not know hers?
"What in the world—"
That's as far as her thoughts went. A sudden headache struck. Intense enough to buckle her knees.
And then.
The voice replayed. Her vision warped dramatically.
The familiar scenery of Heaven felt alien. It was a memory she hadn't possessed before.
Raphael shuddered at the foreign sensation wrapping her body. But the replaying voice didn't stop.
—You are my first creations.
A voice she knew. The kind man in Heaven who had always indulged her whims.
—Your names... I don't recall yet. I'll call you this until they come to me.
But it was different. The voice was the same, yet it felt like another person. Cold. Devoid of emotion.
—This is the role I've assigned you. Lead the children of earth who will be created henceforth.
Her vision shifted. Long black hair of a young child entered her sight.
—You are Purity. Teach purity to the children.
This time, it transitioned softly. A white-haired, expressionless child.
—You are Loyalty. Guide them to hold loyalty toward me.
Next, downward. A still-small body appeared. She knew who it was. Golden hair rippled into view.
—You are...
Raphael lifted her head. Why had she forgotten? Why hadn't she remembered?
She didn't know. And it wasn't important now.
Raphael rose. Resolve dwelled in her sapphire eyes.
She didn't understand the situation. She'd prayed, and her heavenly mandate had surfaced.
She had simply become aware of her duty. That was all.
And yet.
That was enough.
Zzzt—!! Zzzt—!!
She stepped forward. She didn't even react to the ominous sound from her back.
"I am."
The pure white light receded. Its scope limited to her wings.
"Seraphim Raphael."
She saw the demon falter. Its face, twisted like a mask until moments ago, now recoiled in genuine retreat as if fleeing.
"My other name—"
[Meowww~]
The cat's voice rang out. At the same time, the sound from her back intensified.
Zzzt—!!! Zzzzzzzt—!!!
It sounded like noise. Harsh enough to make one's ears ring, yet she strode forward with majestic dignity.
—Compassion.
Noise intruded. It made her ears throb. As if warning her not to listen.
Even so, Raphael didn't turn away. She didn't cover her ears. She looked only ahead.
—Teach love to the children of earth.
"The Angel of Compassion."
Crash—!!!
With those words, it shattered. The wretched angel, who had done nothing until now, broke something of her own volition. Her will blazed.
Six wings shone brilliantly. The newly manifested four wings wrapped around her body.
Two wings unfurled, exuding majesty.
Feathers drifted from the wings. Each feather that touched the ground erupted in explosion.
Dust rose. The dust lent an even more mystical air.
Pure white light flooded through the dust, illuminating the demon's face.
"Are you prepared for repentance?!"