Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Luciel's Emergence
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As soon as Michael and his subordinates appeared, Lucifer vanished in an instant.
“Kim Cheonjae!”
“…… Michael.”
The angels swiftly flew in, filling the room. They began purifying the demonic energy lingering in every corner.
In less than five minutes, the room was spotless, with no trace of the battle left behind.
“It looks like there was a fight.”
“…… Yeah.”
“Was it Beelzebub messing things up again?”
“Beelzebub. And Lucifer.”
“…… Lucifer?! Wasn’t he still sealed inside there?”
I pointed at the hourglass with my finger and explained to him.
“Yeah. But it seems he had a fragment of his soul hidden somewhere before the seal.”
“A fragment of the soul….”
“And the soul of the sealed Lucifer is gone. Look at the hourglass.”
Michael examined the hourglass from every angle before asking me.
“Where did it go?”
“I don’t know either.”
“……”
“But it’s definitely in there. He can’t break the seal and escape with his own power.”
“So what do we do?”
I shrugged.
It wasn’t up to us to decide—this fell to the archangel Michael, who stood on the same level as Gabriel. The angel leader had to figure it out.
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of Lucifer disappearing before.”
“……”
“But you’d better decide quickly on whether to release the seal. Raphael’s out there holding the barrier alone.”
Michael stared at Gabriel trapped inside the hourglass, lost in thought.
It was a problem with no easy answer.
[‘Michael’ is pondering two choices.]
-1. Release the seal regardless of Lucifer.
-2. Do not release the seal until a way is found to extract Gabriel alone.
[‘Kim Cheonjae’s’ group, please select the story progression.]
[Time remaining: 60 seconds]
Huh?
Suddenly, a number—60 seconds—popped up in front of me, counting down.
‘No way, they’re making us choose this?’
I hadn’t discussed it with the other group members, so I had no idea what to pick.
It would’ve been nice if we could at least talk, but the space was completely isolated.
I alternated between the two choices, letting out a sigh. Couldn’t the system just handle something like this on its own?
The outcome wouldn’t differ much anyway.
“…… Still, if I have to pick, this one’s better.”
[Player ‘Kim Cheonjae’ has selected option 1.]
[Waiting for other players’ selections.]
I rested my chin on my hand and glanced at Ma Jeongwoo. His hand was blatantly leaning left, same as mine.
As expected….
I looked around at the others next. The results were hilariously unanimous.
Every single hand pointed left. We hadn’t talked, and we couldn’t see other players’ choices beforehand.
‘Heh….’
Beep.
[‘Kim Cheonjae’s’ group has selected option 1.]
[Progressing the story along the ‘Gabriel and Lucifer’s Promise’ route.]
‘…… Huh?’
Gabriel and Lucifer’s Promise? I’d never heard that one before. Angels and demons making a promise?
Step. Step. Step.
Michael approached me with a grave expression.
“Let’s just release the seal.”
“…… What if Lucifer comes out with it?”
“We block him together.”
“You sure that’ll work?”
“It should. After three thousand years sealed, his body must’ve changed.”
“……”
“We might not beat him, but we can shake him off.”
I nodded.
The more I respected his opinion, the higher my intimacy with the angels would rise. Better play it smart.
[‘Michael’ feels a sense of closeness toward player Kim Cheonjae.]
Instant reaction.
‘…… This is too easy.’
“Then let’s start the seal release right away.”
“Wait, since we’re doing it anyway, let’s split the hourglass in two. If we’re lucky, we can separate Lucifer and Gabriel inside.”
“……”
“We were planning to divide the hourglass anyway.”
Michael readily agreed to my suggestion. If I kept building this rapport, I could maintain good relations with the angels all the way to the final round.
Several angels gathered around the hourglass, chanting holy incantations.
A donut-shaped ring of light wrapped around the middle of the hourglass, slowly tightening.
Kreeeak!
The hourglass began to bend slightly in response, like forcing a plastic spoon with your hand.
As the shrinking light ring formed a perfect circle, the middle of the hourglass sealed shut, halting the falling sand.
I looked at the hourglass and told Michael.
“I’ll take it from here.”
“…… Got it.”
I crooked my finger, summoning Yoo Sora.
“You called?”
“You have the Book of the Lion, right?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Sora pulled out the Book of the Lion and showed it to me. The edges of the pages were frayed from how much she’d read it.
“Did you memorize all the spells I told you?”
“Of course! You told me to, Cheonjae.”
“Good. Then…. Place your hand holding the Book of the Lion on top of this hourglass and recite the spell.”
Yoo Sora brought the Book of the Lion to the hourglass and asked.
“Like this?”
“Yeah.”
“…… Ah! This must be the object containing the power of the gods!”
“Exactly. You’re getting the hang of it without me explaining.”
Yoo Sora beamed with excitement.
“Shall I start the incantation now?”
“Go right ahead. No one will disturb you, so focus.”
“…… Understood.”
She slowly closed her eyes and began reciting the spell.
The Book of the Lion.
To other players, it was indecipherable ancient script, but only Yoo Sora—recognized as the opener’s companion—could read it.
As she chanted, the hourglass started vibrating. Vibrations rippled through the frame, and cracks like spiderwebs spread across the transparent tube.
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
It was unlikely, but what if Lucifer, trapped inside, went berserk?
‘Well…. He’s not visible, so probably not.’
Still, better safe than sorry.
As Yoo Sora uttered the final line of the spell, the hourglass shattered with a bang!
Golden sand poured out from the broken base.
Gabriel was swept out with it.
We all tensed, searching for Lucifer. A sinister aura was palpable, but the bastard was nowhere in sight.
‘…… No way.’
I looked down at Gabriel. Holy energy and demonic energy flowed from her body together.
A body coexisting with light and darkness.
We hadn’t noticed while she was trapped in the hourglass, but now that she was out, it was clear.
A pitch-black aura, vivid to the naked eye.
“…… Get out of the way, Michael!”
I swung my scythe at Gabriel’s chest.
Whoosh—
Michael thrust out his sword, blocking my scythe.
Clang!
“Stop, Kim Cheonjae.”
“What?”
“I get your intent, but that’ll kill Gabriel too.”
“If not now, we’ll miss our chance to take down Lucifer.”
“No, I’ll catch Lucifer with my own hands someday. Right now, treating Gabriel comes first.”
“……”
I kicked Michael’s shoulder. With a thud, his body was pushed back.
The angel soldiers all drew their weapons, aiming at me.
Ignoring them, I shouted at him.
“Don’t talk nonsense. What would Gabriel say if she heard you?”
“……”
“If I were her, I’d sacrifice myself to take down Lucifer.”
“Calm down.”
“Michael, we don’t have time for chit-chat like this. We need to kill that thing now.”
Michael emitted a holy aura, blocking the way to Gabriel.
“Sorry, Kim Cheonjae. I can’t kill Gabriel. Even if it means letting Lucifer slip away this time.”
Pathetic fool.
He was willing to sacrifice Lucifer to build a cathedral in hell, but now he wanted to protect Gabriel?
“…… You’ll regret this.”
“Archangels do not regret their actions.”
“You know if Lucifer revives, you, the angels, and even heaven will be in danger?”
“……”
“What would Metatron say if he saw this?”
Michael shook his head.
“Don’t try to persuade me.”
“…… Damn it.”
I stomped the ground. With a crash, marble shards shattered and scattered everywhere.
* * * * *
Michael and the other angels gathered their holy power bit by bit, injecting it into Gabriel’s body. It seemed like a spell to weaken Lucifer’s influence, but the situation only worsened.
Reacting to their power, signs of Lucifer awakening within Gabriel’s body appeared.
-Kieeeek!
Dark energy surged violently from Gabriel’s body. Her face sharpened, veins bulging thickly on her hands and arms.
Michael placed his hand on her chest, pressing down hard like giving CPR.
“Snap out of it, Gabriel!”
“Keeek!”
“Expel Lucifer from your body. You can do it. We’ll remove him and return to heaven.”
“Kiek!”
“Gabriel!”
Crack. Something snapped in Gabriel’s head.
Her wings fluttered.
Shimmering black powder scattered everywhere. Gabriel opened her eyes and whispered to Michael.
“Michael.”
“…… Back to your senses?”
“Long time no see.”
“Yeah, you did well.”
“Did well? I’ve been having a blast with Gabriel until now.”
Splurt—!
Gabriel’s hand pierced straight through Michael’s solar plexus. It was too fast for him to react.
A hollow silence fell.
No one moved.
Gabriel let out a chilling, wicked laugh.
-Kyahahaha!
Two horns sprouted from her forehead.
An oily, transparent liquid dripped from Michael’s body, pattering like raindrops.
“Ga…. Gabriel….”
“Michael, sorry, but I’m not Gabriel.”
“…… Lucifer?”
“Not Lucifer either.”
“Urk…. Then….”
A smile spread across Gabriel’s lips.
“Me? I’m…. Luciel.”
[System Message]
[All players, please unite your strength to stop the rampage of the ‘Holy Demon Luciel’!]
She casually flicked her hand, hurling Michael aside. The angels panicked, not knowing what to do.
‘Luciel….’
I see.
The being I knew had appeared.
I’d never encountered it in the previous game, but I knew how to subdue it.
My heart raced.
I thought we’d taken a wrong turn, but this was a path only I could tread.
Ma Jeongwoo noticed it too and said to me.
“Kim Cheonjae, that one’s your opponent.”
“…… Leave it to me.”