Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Ratatouille's Chef
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Raphael!”
“W-what? Why?!”
I grabbed Raphael's shoulders and shook her. She'd said it before. That her wings were sealed when she came down here.
“Your wings are really sealed, right?”
“Y-yes. Right. It's not a proper descent from the Heaven Realm to the lower world—it's a fall, so the wings are—”
What is a seal?
It means blocking and preventing use. Which implies that with the right key, that power can be released at any time.
A seal that can block an angel's power. Ordinary strength won't cut it. In other words, it has to be a supernatural ability or magic.
I felt a bit like a pervert, but I turned Raphael around. I swept her long golden hair, which reached her waist, to the side. The beautiful curve of her nape and waistline came into view. I ignored it.
What I needed to see right now was something else. What was reflected in my still-glowing [Mana Eye].
Dozens, hundreds of mana flows—no, spells. Raphael's back was covered in hundreds of them.
All the magic I'd seen so far had formed regular patterns, creating a single shape. But these on Raphael's back were different.
It felt like staring at a tangle of threads—no consistency, twisted every which way, impossible to trace the connections.
Still, one thing was certain: they were spells. My [Mana Eye] could poke right through them and make them vanish.
“Isia.”
“Y-yes?!”
Isia, who had been watching me from the side with her hand over her mouth, jumped in surprise. Her face was beet red. Why?
“Go assist Kim Tae-hyun. Buy as much time as you can.”
“Huh? If I go fight, what are you going to do?!”
What's with calling your master “you”? I scowled.
“Resolve the incident.”
“...Got it.”
She still seemed uneasy, clicking her tongue before dashing toward Kim Tae-hyun. I'd even sent Isia, but I still didn't fully trust them.
“W-why? Is there something on my back? N-no way, did I get cursed? Nooo!!”
“Stay quiet. I'm trying to unseal your wings.”
“!!!”
Raphael whipped around at my words. Her eyes sparkled like stars—she seemed to have high expectations.
“For real? Really? If this isn't a lie, I can forgive all of Seong-hoon's misdeeds today. I absolve thee of thy sins.”
Then stay still, please. I calmed the excitedly bouncing Raphael and turned her back around. She wasn't a three-year-old kid—what was she doing?
“Are you restoring all twelve?!”
“I'd like to, but who knows. We'll see when I try.”
“Ehh~ Then, just in case, find them in pairs. Otherwise, I can't use their power. Asymmetric wings don't resonate.”
Resonate? Anyway, it sounded like I needed to unseal them symmetrically.
What? I couldn't believe my eyes. So, I couldn't liberate her wings? Sure enough, when I pressed the blade against it, it felt like hitting an invisible wall.
I frowned in confusion, and another blue window popped up.
“What?”
“What's wrong? Is something off?”
So, one use of [Heaven's Blessing (EX)] per wing?
Would one intervention even unseal a wing? No idea.
「GUOOOOOOOOO!!」
With the roar still echoing, this seemed like my only option. I squeezed my eyes shut and thrust the blade forward. I felt a cool sensation, and Raphael let out a “Hiiik!!”
The blue window appeared along with the vanishing sensation of the wall blocking the blade.
“Where should I stab...”
“S-stab? For real? Actually?”
“It's fine. Probably?”
“Probably? Isn't that an automatic out? Let's just pretend this never happened?”
“Moving now is dangerous.”
I couldn't see her face, but imagining Raphael's teary expression, I searched for the spot. Then a pale white hand pointed to her back—right at the mana flow.
I looked up. There stood the silver-haired cat-eared girl.
“Okay.”
I lowered my head again and touched the blade to the spot Lachesis indicated. The mana flow refluxed into view.
And at that moment—
“Seong-hoon!!! Th-that thing!! It's swinging its scythe like crazy!! My instincts are screaming to run!! Seong-hoon!!”
Raphael's panicked shouting rang out. Just as I wondered what could cause such a fuss, a massive gust of wind slammed into us.
“Wow. That was really dangerous.”
I nearly pissed my pants. If we'd been a second slower, we'd have ended up flying like those trees. My spine tingled.
The wind was still howling. So why was I unscathed? Simple.
Our angel was spreading her two pure white wings, shielding us.
“Watch closely!! Behold this Raphael's heroic display!!”
If she hadn't said that, it would've been seriously cool.
The wind died down, and Isia and Kim Tae-hyun—who'd been buying time—were gone. They must've been blown far away. No need to worry, right? Should I not worry? Erasing you two from my mind?
“Alright! Let's go, Seong-hoon!! Time to catch that guy!!”
Why was she so hyped? I nodded and stood. I started walking toward the Reaper, but Raphael wasn't budging.
I glanced back. She was standing still, twitching her wings and tilting her head.
“Seong-hoon.”
“Don't say anything weird.”
“I can't fly. I'm used to flying with six pairs, but one pair won't cut it. I need to be high up to use my skills.”
She stared right at me as she said it, grinning brightly. Ominous. Very bad vibes.
“Give me a piggyback ride!!”
My ominous premonitions never missed the mark.
“Ask Lachesis.”
“Ehh~ Lachesis is too short. I need height for my skills! An angel's stage is the sky! The higher, the stronger the power? Seong-hoon, you don't wanna catch that guy?”
I did want to catch it. What I didn't want was the piggyback. After agonizing hesitation, I reluctantly lowered my head.
Only then did Raphael go “Ahem! That's more like it!” and climb onto my neck. She was ridiculously light—I stood up easily.
Where the hell does all the food you eat go?
“Depart!!”
With that, Lachesis reverted to cat form and hopped onto Raphael's shoulder.
Feeling like the chef from Ratatouille, I started walking. It wasn't long before the Reaper came into view. Exhausted from its flurry of swings earlier, it stood motionless as we approached.
Only then did it stir. I swallowed hard, tensing up, but the one riding me seemed unfazed.
“Now that I have wings, I can see it. Six souls in that thing's grasp. They look pretty tormented.”
She oozed confidence. Arms crossed, snorting derisively as she gazed down at the Reaper—or rather, up at it.
「REEEEEAPER」
Still not giving up, it gripped its scythe and charged. Raphael asked me casually, as if struck by curiosity.
“How did it know I'm an angel? I didn't have wings. Do I just unconsciously emit an aura or something?”
“How should I know? It's coming!! Kill it quick!! Whatever works!!”
So impatient. Raphael muttered under her breath and extended her hand.
I couldn't see well from below, but I knew what was happening.
The pure white wings began to glow. Dazzlingly. Each and every feather radiated light—so bright it hurt my eyes even from underneath.
How much must the light-hating Reaper despise it? It was covering its face with its hands.
The Reaper's movements were sealed. Geometric circles like magic arrays appeared beneath its feet.
Not just one—circles within circles, nested endlessly. They began spinning faster and faster.
Click. Click.
Each time one aligned, it halted, emitting a burst of light.
“Seong-hoon! Burn this into your memory!! Not just anyone gets to witness this Raphael's attack!!”
She was having the time of her life. She damn well knew whose help made this possible.
Finally, all the circles aligned, and a blue window appeared before my eyes.
Angel Fall (EX)
A skill that recreates the impact of an angel crashing to the earth. Its destructive power surpasses even a dragon's breath.
Thanks for the explanation.
A pillar of light—so blinding it could sear the eyes—erupted right in front of us.
“Hmmm.”
Sophia sat atop the clock tower, gazing at the pillar of light. Brighter than the sun—it would've turned any ordinary vampire to ash on sight. Yet her red eyes stared unflinchingly.
She'd watched the whole thing from start to finish with her vampire night vision.
“What a remarkable man.”
Lee Seong-hoon.
She'd swung at empty air, catching nothing but small fry. He'd zeroed in on the “real deal” and taken it down in one go.
That true specter had the ability to scatter decoys. A cunning monster that paralyzed Justitia with fake specters while sneaking around devouring souls alone.
“Wrong opponent.”
To get caught by Lee Seong-hoon of all people. Sophia felt a twinge of pity. It was a monster on par with her.
The pinnacle of specter-kind, evolved over eons. Even she wasn't sure she could win.
Few in all of Justitia could have handled it.
To meet its end due to bad luck in the perfect setup... She couldn't help but feel sorry for it.
“Didn't even get a single soul.”
A classic specter flaw. They never devoured souls mid-battle unless in dire straits—a ridiculously foolish habit.
Well, from Sophia's perspective, no deaths was a win.
The specter incident was over. Every last one plaguing Justitia, sowing chaos and paralysis among the faculty, would vanish.
With crowds drawn to the light pillar to wrap things up, no rumors about vampires would spread.
All thanks to Lee Seong-hoon. Just what kind of person was he?
Hanging with a dragon. Keeping a woman who could one-shot top-tier monsters by his side. A man who concealed her identity.
His true nature, his motives—impossible to fathom.
When he'd first seen through her disguise, she'd resolved to cut ties with human society. Now, she was almost glad he'd found out.
A man like that might even help resolve her own issues—
“But I'm still his maid.”
If that situation arose, he wouldn't just ignore it, right?
“Right, Karul?”
Awoooooooo!!! Sophia's wolf, devouring a nearby specter corpse, howled in response. In the dark night, only the wolf's cry filled the bustling streets.