Should I Even Stop Them?
"Uh... Should I stop them?" Tae-hyun pondered.
Did he really need to stop the demons? Honestly, weren't demons actually beneficial to the continent? If they came out, adventurers could hunt them for loot, and since they were highly skilled in various fields, capturing and employing them would be a massive help in running his territory.
"What are you thinking about, Your Majesty?"
"Ah. I was just thinking about how truly wicked demons are."
"As expected of Your Majesty!" The angel rejoiced.
There had been all sorts of nasty rumors about Tae-hyun, the new king of the Atali Kingdom, but they were clearly just baseless slander. There was no way a hero of such high renown would ever do such things! It was a relief that his Reputation stat far exceeded his Infamy stat. Otherwise, he would have been suspected from the very start.
But whose angel is he, anyway?
Phytos... No, not Phytos. Who else would send an angel to find Tae-hyun? Akisus? Carbanog?
No. Akisus doesn't have angels.
As a god who had gone completely bankrupt, Akisus was hard-pressed to find even a single angel. It would be more surprising if one popped up now. As for Carbanog...
Carbanog states that he has angel-like rabbits instead.
...Right. Carbanog was also a minor god who had been practically forgotten! It was highly unlikely he had any angels. If he hadn't been so utterly lacking in presence, would he have been left behind all alone when the other gods and demons fought and abandoned the continent?
Carbanog protests vehemently.
Was this angel just a pure being who had come solely to protect the World Tree?
"Hmm. Very well."
Tae-hyun stopped pondering and held out his hand. The angel, looking slightly surprised, tried to grab his hand to shake it.
Is this the righteousness of a human hero...!
A righteousness that immediately steps forward to stop demons without calculating profit or loss!
Slap!
"Your Majesty! As expected, you are...!"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Huh?"
"Hand over the support."
Tae-hyun slapped the angel's hand away and held his palm out again. The angel stared blankly at his hand. It wasn't extended for a handshake; it was spread open, demanding something.
"......"
"How am I supposed to stop the demons without any resources? Come on. Hurry up and hand over everything you've got."
After a brief moment of utter confusion, the angel shook his head and replied.
"Um... I cannot provide you with any support."
"Who are you trying to lie to? I know for a fact that angels can get all kinds of support if they go to the church of the god they serve. Go and get it."
On the continent, churches and angels had a mutually beneficial relationship. The only difference was that angels held a slightly higher position and were filled with pride for being closer to the gods. Thanks to this, whenever an angel appeared, paladins and priests of that order would jump through hoops to help them.
"My church has... well... temporarily vanished from the continent..."
"So it went bankrupt?"
"It did not go bankrupt!" the angel snapped back defensively.
"There's no shame in going bankrupt. Every church has its rise and fall."
"How could a church just... Ah. The Archisus Church. Ahem."
The angel coughed dryly, seemingly remembering the Archisus Church. He recalled that the church had indeed been wiped out for a long time before the man standing in front of him resurrected it.
Right! Churches could indeed go bankrupt!
If it's a defunct church, it'll be hard for me to know about it... Tae-hyun mused.
There were countless gods in Pandemonium Online, and there were far more gods Tae-hyun didn't know than those he did. If this angel served such an obscure god, it would be impossible for Tae-hyun to dig up any information.
Well, whatever. No need to verify. I just need to squeeze him dry.
"If you don't have anything to give, you'll have to pay with manual labor."
"Y-Your Majesty. I am an angel."
"So what? You're not the only one. Other angels have paid with manual labor too."
"Do not speak such nonsense!" The angel was outraged. How could he tell such a blatant lie!
Tae-hyun remained completely unfazed by the angel's anger.
"What if it's true?"
"If it's true, I will convert to a different god!"
"?"
"??"
"???"
- ????
- ?????
The party members, Heuk-heuk, Yong-yong, and even Carbanog, were simultaneously dumbfounded!
Was this angel serving the God of Fools, 'The Scammed One'?
Even Tae-hyun was taken aback. He had only planned to trick him a little and squeeze out some pocket change, but the guy had basically just shouted, "Please devour me!"
No, wait. Maybe angels are just naturally like this as a species?
Carbanog states that is definitely not the case...
Maybe it's just because players have never met an angel before, but they're actually a species that loves giving things away.
Carbanog screams at him to snap out of it!
Is that why they locked up the Heavenly Realm? I have to find a way to get up there.
Carbanog thumps his foot on the ground in frustration.
"Alright. Let's go." Tae-hyun snapped back to reality and spoke to the angel.
"Go where?"
"I have someone... no, an angel to show you. By the way, what is your name?"
Come to think of it, he didn't even know the angel's name.
"My name is Satique."
"...Sadiq?"
"N-No! What a blasphemous... It is Satique!"
The angel practically jumped out of his skin at the mention of Sadiq, calling it blasphemous!
"R-Right. Satique..."
Tae-hyun exchanged glances with the rest of his companions.
- Is he an angel of Sadiq?
- It certainly seems like it.
- An angel of Sadiq...?
- But why would an angel of Sadiq come to me?
Tae-hyun was utterly flabbergasted. Strictly speaking, Tae-hyun was the mortal enemy of the Sadiq Church! He was the one who had stopped the Sadiq Church when they ambitiously tried to take over a kingdom to establish a public presence on the continent. He was the one who chased them to the Valley and blew their church to smithereens. Not satisfied with that, he had chased them to another continent to shatter whatever remaining hope they had...
And at the very end, he had interfered with the Holy Knight Commander's attempt to summon an incarnation, completely extinguishing their final hope!
Honestly, the moment Sadiq descended to the continent, Tae-hyun would probably be the first person he grabbed by the collar.
- Isn't it because you're the only successor of Sadiq left on the continent, Tae-hyun? Lee Da-bi suggested, tilting her head.
That made sense. He was the only remaining user of Sadiq's Authority! Tae-hyun had already sent the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander and the Archbishop to Sadiq's side, and the remaining church NPCs had long since been absorbed into the Archisus Church.
Thinking about it that way, Satique seemed a bit pitiful. The poor guy, who should have been receiving support from his church, was wandering around all by himself because of Tae-hyun. He must have had absolutely no one else to turn to if he ended up coming to Tae-hyun!
"Why are you looking at me like that, Your Majesty?"
"It's nothing."
He felt a bit sorry for him, but business was business, and personal feelings were personal feelings. Tae-hyun had no intention of letting Satique off the hook. You were the one who made the bet!
"Everyone here is so devoted to their god. It is truly a beautiful sight."
Satique nodded in admiration. He was deeply moved by the sight of the players in the Valley of Despair and Sorrow! Everyone walking past was desperately calling out Archisus's name.
- Archisus! Archisus!!
- Ah! Dammit! Archisus! Just once! Please!
- Archisus, you piece of shit!
It sounded like there were some curses mixed in, but surely that was just his imagination.
"But wait, this place looks strangely familiar...?"
Satique looked around in confusion. The scenery felt incredibly familiar!
"Haha. Let's head inside quickly."
Tae-hyun hurriedly dragged Satique along. This valley had originally been the stronghold of the Sadiq Church! If Satique looked around for too long, he might notice something off.
Well, it's clear this guy has no idea how the Sadiq Church got completely wiped out.
Since he was an angel who hadn't been on the continent, he seemed completely ignorant of why the Sadiq Church had fallen. That was actually for the best! Tae-hyun decided to keep his mouth shut. It was for Satique's own good. Ignorance is bliss!
"Now, look. Sadiq."
"It is Satique."
"Ah, sorry. Satique. See that angel over there?"
Tae-hyun pointed toward the forge. Demons and mechanical engineering blacksmiths were having a heartwarming conversation.
- I've been having a dilemma lately.
- What is it?
- I'm wondering what I should put inside the bomb to make the target feel the most miserable... I feel like a bomb that ruins the opponent's day is a true bomb, rather than one that just deals high damage.
"...?? Isn't that a demon?"
"Huh? Ah, sorry. My mistake."
The Demon's Forge was in the Valley, while the Angel's Forge managed by Yohas was in the capital of the Atali Kingdom.
"Your Majesty?? Your Majesty???? That is definitely a demon!"
"They're demons, yes, but they're demons I captured to use as slave labor. I'm having them reflect on their sins instead of returning to the Demon Realm."
Persuasion successful.
Satique is deeply moved!
"The Archisus Church has such a wonderful custom!"
"Of course. You can't just let demons go. That is the law of our church."
"I believe our church should adopt such a practice as well."
It was a rule that perfectly suited Satique's tastes! While they were supposed to kill demons on sight, thinking about it, it was a bit of a waste of their abilities. Wouldn't it be better to work them to the bone?
It was a thought truly befitting an angel of the evil god, Sadiq. He had been behaving cautiously since he hadn't been on the continent for long, but his true nature couldn't be hidden.
"Then we should head to the capital. Come, let's go quickly."
"Yes... Wait. Isn't that a priest of Sadiq over there?"
"Sadiq? I don't know any god by that name. Are you perhaps an angel of Sadiq?"
"I-I am not, but I could swear I just saw a priest of Sadiq..."
"Ah, we don't have time for this. Let's move!"
"Yes..."
As the one in the weaker position, Satique couldn't complain. He ended up holding Tae-hyun's hand and heading to the capital.
"Look. There's an angel over there!"
"T-That's impossible! Why would an angel...!"
"...?"
Yohas, who had been working diligently, turned his head at the shout.
"Who might you... No! Isn't that an angel of the evil god?!"
"What? Yohas, how did you know?"
"The wing color! Look at the color of his wings!"
"???"
Tae-hyun and his companions all tilted their heads in confusion. Both of them had white wings, didn't they?
"Isn't his color much duller?!"
"Uh... now that you mention it, it does seem a tiny bit less white...?"
It was a subtle difference that you could only barely notice if you stared intently! Who on earth could distinguish such a difference? This wasn't some fashion game!
"That is the hallmark of an angel who serves an evil god!"
"I-I see."
Your knowledge regarding angels has increased.
A bonus will be applied when you visit the Heavenly Realm...
Do I really need to know this?
Carbanog nods in agreement as well.
Yohas quickly ran over and pushed Satique away.
"Your Majesty! You must not associate with such a fellow! He might deceive you!"
"Hmm?"
"??"
The companions, who had just witnessed Tae-hyun trying to scam Satique, were utterly dumbfounded. Who was deceiving whom?
"He seemed quite nice, though?"
"His gentle appearance is merely a disguise, Your Majesty! Angels are beings heavily influenced by the god they serve. An angel of an evil god is fundamentally wicked. They are barely any different from demons!"
What was the difference between a demon and an angel of an evil god? Honestly, aside from the fact that they hated each other, their actions were practically identical! The only real difference was that the latter used holy power.
Yohas had said it to insult him, but to Tae-hyun, it didn't sound like an insult at all.
Demon = a very useful subordinate!
"If that angel acted politely, it's only because he's desperate!"
"Ah. That's true."
Since his church had vanished and he had no one else to rely on but Tae-hyun, it made sense why he was so polite.
So once he gets comfortable, his true colors will show?
Carbanog offers a simple solution: just don't feed him.
Carbanog is really smart.
Carbanog puffs out his chest proudly.
"...Well, anyway. He's no longer an angel of an evil god."
"Pardon? Why is that?"
"We made a bet. He said there was no way an angel would pay with manual labor, and if there was one, he would change the god he serves."
Yohas hung his head in embarrassment.
"Well... I also ended up like this by accident..."
"Right, right. It's not your fault. Anyway, Satique..."
Satique was completely out of it. Finally snapping out of his daze, his jaw dropped as he pointed at Yohas.
"You... Do you have no pride?!"
Yohas avoided his gaze and pretended not to hear.
"I... I was an angel of Archisus from the very beginning. It is only natural to perform a bit of service for the Avatar."
"......"
"......"
Carbanog remarks that it is absolutely certain that angels are heavily influenced by the god they serve.