Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: Heaven's Commotion (3)
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As Rian slowly closed the distance, searching for an opening, Tess shouted in frustration.
“You big oaf! We can fight later, untie us first!”
“Dammit! I want to, but…!”
If he could, he would have rushed over in a heartbeat. But with an Archangel standing guard, looking away was practically a death sentence.
Arin explained calmly.
“Canis, the Art of Life has already begun. We need to remove the panels attached to our foreheads. If we don't, we'll all be impregnated with Nephilim.”
Before Canis could answer, Rian’s eyes widened as he yelled.
“What? You should have said that from the start!”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you, you idiot! If you don’t want to see me lose my mind, get these cuffs off now!”
“Alright! Just hang on!”
In a way, Rian and Tess had similar personalities. Unlike a mage who would assess the situation until a path to victory became clear, Rian charged forward with the sole thought of tearing off the panels.
In that instant, a shockwave erupted before his eyes. Staggering back from a stinging pain, Rian looked up. Cariel, floating in midair, held out a hand with a displeased expression.
*‘What was that? It wasn’t that strong.’*
While a shockwave appearing from thin air was surprising, its destructive power was less than he’d expected.
Rian, who had been intimidated by the title of Archangel, gripped his greatsword with newfound hope.
Canis, too, was paying close attention to the information Rian had gleaned.
-The Archangel's power is weaker than I expected. This could be our chance.
-It must be because of that Art of Life thing. Creating a human can’t be easy, right?
-Probably. But this is surprising. Is he really going to continue with this even though we’re here?
Angels were powerful, but they did not exist for combat.
For instance, the Archangel Ikael’s ability was ‘Activation,’ which seemed unrelated to fighting.
But the concept itself was so vast that it made any Mara, and even other angels, tremble in fear.
Cariel, too, possessed a vast concept: ‘Birth.’
Explosions, combustion, machines, chemicals.
The number of things he could create by combining existing elements was nearly infinite.
But among them all, the one Cariel took the most pride in was life.
No matter the object being created, the energy focused on the act of birth itself was immense.
Especially for the Art of Life, which created living beings, even an Archangel had to pour most of his mental energy into it.
“How dare you interfere with an Archangel’s calling. You humans, who live less than a century, are so arrogant.”
Canis secretly sent Harvest slinking into the shadows. The plan was to stall for time, ambush Cariel, and rescue the women in the ensuing chaos.
“An angel’s calling? What are you planning to do with these Nephilim? We can find plenty of Unlockers in our world.”
Amy spoke up, having seen through Canis’s plan to buy time.
“Heaven intends to use the Nephilim to attack the human world. They're trying to balance the scales of power now that there are more Unlockers on our side.”
“Conquest? You mean to start a war?”
“Yes. The Nephilim are not messengers of God. They were spies sent to occupied territories.”
Cariel did not deny it. The thoughts of insignificant humans were beneath his notice.
God was great, and angels were superior. There was no room for human concepts to interfere with the work of an Archangel.
“I suppose I should thank you. Thanks to you, we can now wage the final war.”
Amy and the others fixed their gazes on Cariel. The phrase ‘final war’ was unsettling enough, but they couldn’t understand what he meant by being able to wage it now.
“The final war?”
“Just as I said. The world of humans will soon meet its end. Until now, that detestable Miro has been preventing the apocalypse, but you have raised the curtain for war.”
Canis was bewildered. The woman Shirone was looking for had been holding back the end of the world?
Then he recalled Arcane’s reaction. If the destruction of humanity was at stake, it made sense that his master would have erased his memories.
“But why is it thanks to us? What did we do?”
“The woman named Miro is blocking the passage between Heaven and the human world. But thanks to the Metagate you brought, a new path has been opened. Soon, the armies of Heaven will mercilessly burn you all.”
Everyone’s heart sank. If what Cariel said was true, they had done something irreversible. They would be responsible for hastening the end of humanity.
Cariel pointed at the device and shouted.
“Behold! The Metagate that Ikasa brought! Once the Art of Life is complete, I will analyze its coordinates. The moment a new portal opens, your world will be destroyed!”
Everyone’s gaze snapped in that direction simultaneously.
“…”
The Great World Chamber fell silent. No one spoke.
Puzzled by the lack of the expected reaction, Cariel slowly turned his head. His expression soon mirrored theirs.
“…”
A fairy, hugging the Metagate, was staring their way with her mouth agape.
Cariel started to say something, then closed his mouth again.
Why was a fairy here? It defied the Law, and even if it didn't, there was no causality to be found in this situation.
As if the silence was awkward, Peope spoke first.
“Oh, hello.”
Cariel tilted his head. Was she greeting him? If so, she wasn't completely insane. Hoping this next question would yield some semblance of logic, he spoke.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Peope.”
Cariel felt a surge of anger. But showing his emotions was beneath him, so he forced himself to remain calm.
“Right, Peope. Why are you here?”
“Oh, I came to get the Metagate.”
“…I see. Then why… Hah, I mean, why would someone like *you* be trying to retrieve it?”
“Because a war can’t be allowed to happen, of course.”
In that moment, Cariel’s patience snapped. With the sole thought of blasting the gnat before him into oblivion, he extended his hand.
One shot. A spectacular explosion.
“Die.”
-Harvest! Now!
From the shadows of the Great World Chamber, Harvest shot out.
As it swung a blade-like shadow, Cariel shot up toward the ceiling.
Seizing the opening, Canis rushed toward the women, shouting.
“Rian! Protect Peope! Don’t let them take it, no matter what!”
Rian immediately changed course and ran toward Peope. He desperately wanted to rescue Tess, but in a critical situation, it was best to listen to the mage.
“Peope! Over here!”
Peope, who had been startled by the sudden battle, flew toward Rian’s voice.
Cariel, evading Harvest’s pursuit, targeted Peope. But when Rian took up a defensive stance with his sword, Cariel abruptly changed direction and flew back toward the ceiling.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Rian turned to Peope.
“Phew, are you okay?”
“I don’t know! I was scared to death! Just take this already!”
Peope’s face had turned a pasty white. She had just had to provoke an Archangel. Even now, she had no idea how she’d managed to talk back.
Rian took the Metagate. Even someone as stoic as him couldn’t help but be moved.
If he activated the Metagate right now, he, at least, could go home.
Of course, he had no intention of doing so, but the thought of how much their situation had improved filled him with courage.
“Thanks, Peope.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea! I wasn’t trying to help you, I was…!”
Peope trailed off. The situation was so obvious that she couldn’t think of an excuse to hide her true feelings.
She had defied an Archangel’s command and helped a human. She hadn’t just broken the Law; she had incinerated it.
Giving up on excuses, Peope grumbled.
“So, what are you going to do now? I’m finished.”
“Come with us.”
“What?”
“Come with us. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in our world, too. You saved us, so we’ll do our best to save you.”
Peope quickly turned away. Honestly, she was a little touched.
But she couldn’t accept his offer. Getting to the human world wasn’t the hard part, but that wasn’t why she had done it.
“Forget it, you idiot! Think about it after you’ve saved your friends!”
While keeping an eye on his surroundings, Rian checked on Canis’s progress. Canis was currently using his shadow authority to sever the women’s cuffs.
-Art of Life progress: 40 percent.
As the voice echoed from the ceiling, Amy shouted.
“Hurry! We don’t have time!”
“Just be quiet, you pumpkin! If my focus wavers, I’ll cut off your wrist too!”
Canis was rotating a razor-sharp shadow to cut through the cuffs on the three women. Since they were pressed tightly against their skin, the work required extreme precision.
Cariel, dodging Harvest, was growing annoyed. He was tempted to just cancel the Art of Life and annihilate them all.
He could probably think of fifty thousand ways to kill them with his power of Birth.
But he couldn’t cancel the Art of Life.
Even with the information transfer rate exceeding 40 percent, none of the women were showing a positive reaction.
*‘These are the finest materials. I absolutely cannot give them up.’*
As a last resort, Cariel opened a portal.
With his remaining mental energy, he could summon a decent Mara, and he even had the perfect candidate in mind.
“Answer my call, Baalv.”
As a new Mara appeared, the Great World Chamber was steeped in an ominous color. Everyone except Canis looked up at the ceiling, first checking the number of horns.
It was a two-horned Mara.
“Baalv, the Sleep Mara. I await Lord Cariel’s command.”
He was a stylishly aged, middle-aged man. His hair was slicked back with oil, revealing perked ears.
He wore a cloak with a collar that stood higher than his head.
“Subdue the humans. The Art of Life must not be disturbed.”
“That is certainly my specialty. As you wish.”
Baalv placed his right hand on his chest and landed on the ground.
“Peope, hold this for a second.”
Rian handed the Metagate to Peope and charged at Baalv. But despite rushing forward with the resolve to die, he couldn’t even get close. The moment he neared Baalv, his mind grew hazy, and his consciousness began to fade.
*‘What? I’m suddenly getting sleepy…’*
Feeling drowsy in a life-or-death battle was something only a madman would experience.
It had to be some kind of ability.
Realizing this, Rian hastily retreated.
Once he was out of the invisible zone, his consciousness returned. But the fatigue of sleep deprivation remained in his body.
The situation was infuriating.
“Dammit, what kind of trick is this?”
From giants to fairies, Maras to angels, every single one of them had some ridiculous ability. Looking back, he felt a sense of shame, thinking he had been nothing but a burden to his friends since coming to Heaven.
Baalv turned with a refined posture.
“It is useless. You will not even be able to swing your sword at me.”
A red jewel was slowly orbiting Baalv. Was that the source of the problem?
Rian assumed a swordsman’s stance and slowly closed the distance. As expected, once he crossed a certain boundary, the red jewel began to glow, and drowsiness washed over him again.
*‘Dammit. So it was that thing. What the hell is it?’*
No one knew the jewel’s identity, but the magical lifeform Harvest could read its unique wavelength.
-Canis, this is bad. We should retreat for now. It’s an Objet.
-An Objet? That thing is an Objet?
Canis had only heard about them from Arcane; this was the first time he had ever seen one.
An Objet was an object.
What set it apart from ordinary objects was that it exerted a strange influence on the outside world.
Some Objets were familiar even to humans.
Things like a cursed blue diamond or a flying carpet fell into this category.
Since humans collected such items, it wasn’t strange for Maras, who had traveled through countless worlds, to possess one.
A Bloodsucking Objet owned by a certain Mara was said to drain the blood of those nearby. A Hate Objet could incite rage and drive people to murder.
Baalv’s was a Sleep Objet, an item that caused any living being who entered its sphere of influence to fall into a deep sleep.