Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Heavenly Commotion (2)
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CRASH!
The moment Imir’s straight punch landed, Rian vanished, leaving only his greatsword behind.
As Rian flew backward, a torrent of thoughts flooded his mind. To block the next attack, he had to regain his balance and land on his feet. He could barely manage to steady himself. It seemed he might just land on both feet.
But the next thing he knew, his crumpled body was rolling across the floor.
As the shock subsided, the cold sensation of the floor met his cheek.
An unintelligible sound escaped his lips. His body didn't ache, yet he couldn't muster any strength.
Imir observed the sprawled-out Rian before picking up the greatsword from the floor. It was a greatsword to a human, but in Imir’s hands, it looked like a common longsword.
Imir’s eyes gleamed as he examined the blade.
“Hoh? This could be quite useful.”
“Give… give it back. That’s… my grandfather’s…”
Rian trembled as he pushed himself to his feet.
Thanks to his daily training, pushing his body to its limits, he recovered from the impact far faster than an ordinary person. It was what one might call resilience.
Imir’s lips curled into a grin as he tossed the greatsword. It slid across the floor, stopping at Rian’s feet.
“Want to go again? I like your grit.”
Rian painfully picked up the greatsword and charged once more. The difference in power was clear, but if the Great Celestial Stage was Imir’s destination, there was no option but to fight.
Imir and Rian clashed in the center of the hallway. Imir didn’t even think of blocking the greatsword.
CLANG! The greatsword struck Imir’s forehead. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he blocked it with his forehead.
Imir’s fist flew in a wide arc.
*I can’t dodge it.* Realizing this, Rian’s eyes widened. If he had to die, he wanted to fight until the very last moment.
Imir felt a thrill from the look in Rian’s eyes.
*A shame I don’t know his name.*
Imir’s fist cut through the air where Rian had been, stirring up a gale.
A moment of silence followed.
Imir’s expression soured. Was there anything more unpleasant than an uninvited guest interrupting a fight?
A strange, yet familiar phenomenon.
He had clearly seen Rian shatter into dozens of squares an instant before his fist connected.
“Honestly… these higher-ups have no sense of timing.”
From a spot about three meters from where Rian had stood, square panes of glass flickered, and two figures materialized.
The handsome, black-haired Ashur. And beside him, Rian was on one knee.
Imir smiled coldly. The mere fact that Mara, known for being the most sedentary in Heaven, had made an appearance suggested that something unusual was happening at the Great Celestial Stage.
“Well, well, look who it is. Shouldn’t you be with your beloved instead of loitering on a battlefield?”
“Imir, if you do not abide by the law, unpleasant things will happen. Return now.”
“Keke, and if I refuse?”
“Then I have no choice but to erase your existence.”
As Ashur opened his palm, about thirty glass panes arranged themselves in three columns in the air. A long, slender sword glowing with a violet light was projected onto them.
“Is that Signal?”
Ashur’s ability, Signal, collected all kinds of signals.
Each pane held a single signal, and by combining their patterns, he could manifest a near-infinite range of phenomena.
Ashur’s longsword, ‘Shockwave,’ was also created by receiving thirty different signals.
Its blade vibrated on its own due to the influence of electromagnetic pulses, making it a weapon of maximum lethality that could devastate an opponent’s insides once it penetrated.
Rian stared blankly up at Ashur. It was as if he had died and been reborn, the process in between completely erased.
“Who are you?”
“Go. I’m an ally.”
The words were brief, but he understood immediately. Shirone had clearly created some kind of variable.
Rian glared at Imir. But since Ashur’s appearance, Imir hadn’t even glanced his way.
Rian bit his lip and ran toward the Great Celestial Stage.
A fire churned within him. He hadn’t been raised so nobly as to fear defeat. But the shame of failing to land a single successful attack pained his heart.
He could feel Tess’s drone following him. The machine remained silent to the end, but he could almost hear her voice of comfort like a phantom whisper.
“Damn it! Damn it all!”
Rian ran with all his might toward the Great Celestial Stage.
@
Ashur still blocked the path. He wanted to follow Rian to the Great Celestial Stage, but stopping Imir was the immediate priority.
Using Signal’s ability, ‘Transmission,’ he could send a signal to his destination and move there in an instant, but the Great Celestial Stage was an exception.
The place was so saturated with electromagnetic waves that it was faster to run than to wait for a signal to get through.
That was why he had sent Rian ahead.
“Stand down, Imir. I will not tolerate any more of your indulgence.”
Imir stroked his lower jaw and said.
“To leave behind even your pretty angel, something important must be going on. How about you let me in on it?”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“For some reason, that sounds like it has everything to do with me.”
Ashur did not deny it.
What Imir, King of the Giants, wanted was battle. He, who had his body stolen simply for being strong, awaited a fierce battle where he would have to fight with his original body’s power to win.
Ikael, on the other hand, held the position that war must be prevented.
If that was what Ikael wished, Ashur would obey.
As long as he intervened, nothing would happen in Heaven. Therefore, there was no reason for Imir to be concerned.
Ashur aimed Shockwave at Imir’s solar plexus.
“By order of the Archangel Ikael, I hereby revoke all rights granted to you.”
“Kekeke, does a lowly angel even have such authority?”
Ashur lunged forward like a gale.
Imir crossed his arms, and his forearms split open, splattering blood. The vibration of the electromagnetic waves seared his bones.
Ashur pressed down on Imir with an insulted gaze.
“A mere giant dares to insult an Archangel? You are nothing but a vessel. Do not defile a noble spirit with your disgusting tongue.”
“A mere giant?”
One of Imir’s eyebrows twitched.
“I am Imir.”
Sensing the killing intent, Ashur created distance. But Imir closed the ten-meter gap in a single leap.
Imir’s powerful straight punch pierced his abdomen.
“Keuk!”
Shock filled Ashur’s eyes.
His form, which had been frozen in time, blurred. The 180-odd glass panes that held his signal flickered and vanished.
Imir glanced back with an annoyed expression.
Having completed his transmission to a new space, Ashur stood in a dignified pose, Shockwave hanging loosely in his hand.
“Keke, aren’t you overdoing it? I heard the restraints on your power were severe.”
“I am not in a position to be pitied by you. You’d do better to look after your own body.”
“Is that so?”
“Hell of Ice and Flame.”
The space around Ashur and Imir was enclosed by glass panes.
Roughly 2,400 panes flickered as they began to collect signals of heat and cold. The sight of fire and ice alternating every ten centimeters was dizzying.
What would happen here once all the signals were transmitted? Would it burn to cinders? Or freeze solid?
“You brought this upon yourself. Don’t blame me.”
“I blame no one. For I am the strongest.”
Imir bared his teeth like a beast and charged. In response, Ashur’s cold eyes narrowed as he swung Shockwave.
As the transmission completed, a scorching wind and an icy gale raged simultaneously.
@
“Tess! Just hold on a little longer! We’re almost there!”
Rian no longer conserved his breath. After running for ten minutes since parting with Ashur, he had finally reached the bridge leading to the Great Celestial Stage.
The bridge was a kilometer long and sixty meters wide. With no guardrails, it felt like he was floating in the sky. A strong gust of wind made his stomach churn for no reason.
At the end of the bridge stood a dome-shaped structure. The Great Celestial Stage, where his friends were being held captive.
The fact that the building was visible was a good sign. It meant Canis had disabled the Mecca System.
“What, you’re still out here?”
Turning around, he saw Canis approaching.
“You, how did you get here so fast?”
“I took a portal. Anyway, what happened to your face? You look like you got beat up.”
Rian touched his face. He had been sent rolling across the floor so quickly he hadn't had time to feel the pain, so he hadn't even realized it was swollen. He looked up at the drone with a sense of apology.
*You must have been worried, Tess.*
Canis noticed it too. Without hearing an explanation, he could tell it was Tess’s.
To have sent out a drone even while being captured by an angel was certainly impressive.
“What’s the situation inside? You’ve checked, right?”
“Yeah. Looks like they’re okay for now. But…”
Suddenly, the drone started acting strangely. It darted about erratically before dropping from the sky as if its power had been cut.
Rian hastily caught it and examined it.
The operation lamp was off. Since the device was linked to her brainwaves, this was proof that something had happened to Tess.
“What? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know! We’re out of time!”
Rian shot forward. He could have crossed in an instant with Dark Port, but the bridge floating in the sky was entirely within the domain of light.
Canis grabbed Rian and, swallowing his pride, cast a photonization spell.
A flash of light carrying the two of them sped across the bridge.
@
“You bastard!”
Amy shouted, glaring at Kariel. The faces of Tess and Arin were also contorted.
As information seeped in from the panels implanted on their heads, their minds grew dizzy, as if they had drunk themselves into a stupor.
“There is no need for concern. Your hormones are simply being regulated to a state suitable for the Rite of Life.”
Kariel, who had been dispassionately observing the women, turned his gaze to a screen.
“Nothing much will change. Though it will be different after the Rite of Life is complete. But does it matter? It is something all living beings must experience once.”
“Shut up! Who are you to decide that! You think we’ll just do as you wish? I’d rather bite my tongue and die than suffer this!”
Kariel wrinkled his nose as if looking at something disgusting.
“I cannot understand. You are not being punished. You have been chosen for the noble duty of conceiving a Nephilim. Not many women have refused the Rite of Life until now. Do you not wish to attain eternal life?”
“I don’t want your eternal life! Even if I die tomorrow, I’ll die doing what I want!”
“Words are useless with you. In any case, nothing changes. Once all the information in the panels is transmitted, it will be impossible to reverse.”
-Rite of Life progress at 20 percent.
A woman’s voice sounded from the ceiling. It seemed to be giving updates every ten percent. For those being experimented on, the emotionless voice was all the more chilling.
Amy struggled with all her might to escape the cuffs.
If she could just free her hands, she would grab the panel embedded in her forehead and rip it out.
Even if it cost her her life, she would live her own life.
“Tess! Amy! Arin!”
The doors of the Great Celestial Stage were thrown open. Rian and Canis entered simultaneously, as if in a race.
Tess, who had watched them cross the bridge, shouted.
“Rian! Over here! Hurry and get these things off me!”
Rian took a step and flinched. He was overwhelmed by the unimaginable scale of the Great Celestial Stage.
It wasn't just the size; the equipment and instruments were also unfamiliar.
On one side, a planet was rotating, and from a tower on the other, all sorts of lights flashed chaotically.
“Damn it! What is this place?”
Kariel flew up to a height where he could look down on the humans.
“Did you follow the women? This too must be the folly of ignorant humans.”
“Are you the one behind this? Don’t think you’ll get away with this after what you’ve done to my friends.”
Rian raised his sword, on high alert.
Despite his sharp words, his actions were cautious. Having witnessed the power of the fallen angel Ikasa, Rian could guess at the might of an archangel.