Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Awaken in Wrath, O Thou
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***
Fifth phase.
That is to say, I died again.
But the previous death had been profoundly meaningful.
Two things had become crystal clear, after all.
First.
I learned the location of Metatron's hiding spot—the one who had set the trap—along with the method to enter her barrier. On top of that, we reached an agreement to join forces and repel the Lord-grade and Grand Lord-grade monsters. Of course, that part would vanish from memory, so I'd have to persuade her all over again.
Second.
There were no more time loops available.
This was a critically important matter, and it hit me like a thunderbolt. The absence of time loops stripped away every last bit of leeway I had. In truth, I'd already known the hidden option came with a usage limit. Yet Metatron herself had confirmed it directly in the previous phase.
She'd said it could happen exactly one more time—and since I'd looped, my remaining chances sat at zero.
Completely drained.
According to Metatron, it amounted to about 0.1 or 0.2 in numerical terms, akin to the dregs of mana at the bottom of a parched well.
Sure enough, when I touched the shield upon returning, that familiar sensation was gone. At least the good news was that its functions as an armament remained intact, and it was immutable until the moment of destruction.
In any case, I had to utterly abandon any attachment to the time loop.
This was the final phase. The time had come to settle everything.
Let me touch briefly on the previous fourth phase. My meeting with Metatron hadn't lasted long, impressive agreement notwithstanding.
At first, I triggered the trap as the Cyclops to draw her out.
No sooner had we exchanged a few words than the Lord-grade monsters swarmed us. That much I'd anticipated. We fled together and managed to buy about an hour.
That was when we forged the agreement.
Metatron had been utterly flustered by the time loop, but when I revealed facts knowable only within time travel, she responded with startling acuity. She began sharing various intel to prepare for subsequent phases. That said, she didn't fully trust me.
The information she provided was quite limited.
Details like her hiding spot and breaching the barrier would lose all meaning without another loop, so she figured there was no risk to her.
In fact, she refused to discuss any matters that could cause immediate trouble. If I was curious, I could come asking after the loop.
A shrewd stance, to be sure.
At that point, I requested one truly perfect piece of information.
"You're still half-doubting my words right now," I told her. "So I need something that the post-loop you will have no choice but to believe unconditionally." She hesitated intensely but ultimately yielded to my persuasion and divulged her secret.
Afterward, battle erupted with three pursuing Lord-grade monsters and one Grand Lord-grade.
Yet it was here that Metatron made a peculiar proposal.
She claimed the reflection and reversal functions on my shield would play a key role in the next fight, so she had me practice them against a Lord-grade monster.
The Grand Lord-grade one seemed utterly confident of victory, lording over us arrogantly from the rear. As the three Lord-grades charged, Metatron focused not on felling the foes but on shielding me and helping me master the reflection technique.
Her position was obvious enough.
She couldn't shake off four such formidable enemies, nor could she win the fight outright, so she appeared to be pinning her hopes on the faint possibility of a time loop.
On top of that, I heard something bizarre from her: that she'd encountered and fought a being called the King.
Metatron had even stabbed the King with her sword and driven it off—but in the process, she'd sustained grave wounds and lost much of her power.
We agreed to discuss that matter in detail next time we met.
That covers the previous phase.
This time, I planned to head straight to her hiding spot instead of the Dongjak District Office trap.
But first, there was someone I needed to meet.
Sui-el.
I intended to ask her for quite the difficult favor.
Moreover, it seemed likely to enrage Metatron.
From our conversation in the previous phase, I'd gleaned that Metatron was bound by some oath or solemn vow. But it felt irrational, and it was pushing victory further away.
So I planned to act on my own terms.
Even if it led to an outcome she wouldn't desire.
***
Noryangjin was honestly getting a bit tedious.
Still, tedious equated to safe for a hyena.
It meant I was familiar with it and had secured routes to evade the enemies. But that held only as far as the Dongjak District Office—to Metatron's hideout, the story changed entirely.
Metatron's current hiding place was Boramae Park.
More precisely, the Dongjak Residents' Hall within Boramae Park.
The distance from my position at Noryangjin Station wasn't far at all. A quick search showed about 4.03 kilometers. A bus ride would make it a breeze, but for me, it was an entirely new path brimming with unknown perils.
"Let's see."
I decided to avoid the main roads first.
Traveling along major thoroughfares was suicidal for a hyena. So I plotted a detour route.
The infiltration itself posed no major issues.
I'd worried endlessly, but whether it was luck or the payoff from ten years of experience, I dodged monsters several times and ultimately reached my destination: the Dongjak Community Center.
"This is it..."
The Dongjak Residents' Hall presented a highly peculiar sight.
The entire building was enveloped in vines, leaving no clue how to even approach.
Less a structure and more a green box?
The barrier at work, no doubt. It carried an unmistakably artificial aura.
Rather than circling in search of an entryway or futilely tugging at the vines, I simply stood at what had once been the main entrance.
"Sandalphon."
That single word sufficed.
The vines stirred to life at the utterance of Sandalphon, parting to reveal the concealed door.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The Dongjak Residents' Hall was a vast auditorium. High above hung a weathered placard.
[Welcome, 2015 Workplace Civil Defense Members]
2015—that wasn't the year the monsters descended from the moon? The auditorium appeared abandoned in its ruined state. Chairs lay scattered in heaps, and amid them sat something like a bird's nest.
Soft plants had clustered together into a cozy nest-like form, and at its center lay Metatron, asleep.
She'd mentioned being injured—seemingly true.
She looked utterly forlorn, like a person who'd collapsed from exhaustion.
But after two more steps, her eyes snapped open, fixing me with a piercing glare. The intensity in that gaze held the power to stop a heart.
A top predator through and through, even in decay.
Worthy of rank one—even in her weakened state, this was her caliber.
Meeting her eyes was ordeal enough.
"Who are you? How did you pierce this place?"
Her tone was resolute.
One wrong word, and she'd slay me on the spot. The silver lining: she hadn't drawn her flame sword yet. Even so, her aura was so fierce it dried my mouth just to behold, but I betrayed nothing outwardly.
"You're too harsh, Metatron. I came responding to your invitation, and this is how you greet a guest—like Park Jeong-ha?"
"What?"
Metatron propped herself up from her reclined position, visibly puzzled.
"I get it's absurd. But hear me out calmly first? Then chase me off or whatever. If it sounds like nonsense, I won't complain if you kill me."
I fetched a nearby toppled chair and sat.
At the sight, Metatron's expression turned one of sheer disbelief.
Oh dear—I'd been rude.
"Sorry, not very gentlemanly toward a lady."
I grabbed another chair and offered it to her. Unable to restrain herself, Metatron finally let out a "Ha!" of incredulous laughter.
"It's not that that's absurd. Just where does that gall come from?"
"Well, I've faced you so many times, it feels casual now."
"You're the first to call facing me 'casual.' Even the great archangels shunned this body. But more than that—what do you mean 'faced many times'? I can't make sense of it."
She settled lightly onto the chair and asked.
I felt a twinge of regret at the sight.
"I'd hoped you'd remember. Too much to ask?"
Sensing my disappointment, she fell silent. Then she spoke.
"Actually, I do remember."
"What? Really!"
I half-rose in shock, only for her to reply blandly.
"A lie."
"...Did an archangel just lie to me?"
Absurd. Utterly absurd.
"I only lie to the naive. The fooled party is at fault. For me, lying's easier than breathing."
"What? Really!"
"Naturally a lie."
I couldn't tell up from down. I protested with my expression, and she cleared her throat awkwardly.
"You're prattling on about having met before, me not remembering—such bizarre nonsense. Isn't this just it? Anyway, sorry for the mischief. Truth is, I rarely lie."
With that, she jutted her chin—go on, explain.
This one had a quirky personality. She'd started with wary glares, yet now slipped in jokes. Undeniably a rare breed. Oh well, no matter.
I nodded lightly and laid it all out.
The shield. The five successive time loops. Our meetings and agreement with Metatron. The foes we'd pledged to repel together.
I recounted every single thing she'd told me, without omission.
Metatron's expression turned grave at once.
There were no contrived inconsistencies in my tale. And the shield served as the clincher. I presented the Solar Deity Shield.
"You said it in the last phase: only 0.1 to 0.2 energy remains here."
She accepted the shield and examined it meticulously.
"Indeed. The shield once brimmed with vast energy. Inconceivable. Yet from calmly opening the barrier onward, everything corroborates your claims."
Doubts lingered, however.
So I smiled lightly.
"There's one more. Perfect proof."
For this very moment, I'd hounded the previous-phase Metatron for the intel.
"What might that be?"
"You told me this: 'Tell the post-loop me this point, and that me will bolt upright from her seat and shout: You're insane! I must've lost my mind!'"
I'd added that her cheeks would flush with embarrassment, prompting Metatron to smirk openly.
"Hah! Such hubris. Who do you take me for? I am Metatron, rank one archangel. Though a wandering exile severed from the host of angels, I've always kept frivolity at arm's length. And you claim I'd suddenly leap up, declare myself mad, and blush like some bashful maiden?"
Her clear laughter rang through the auditorium.
"Kyahahaha! What imagination!"
She laughed for a good while before sobering, eyes narrowing.
"I nearly believed your entire tale. But you overreached at the end. I haven't the foggiest how you breached the barrier or concocted a scenario to fool even me—but now the truth stands bare. You're a charlatan!"
She seemed ready to draw her sword any instant.
I remained utterly unfazed, legs crossed as I tossed out a line.
"Wanna bet?"
"What?"
"If I'm wrong, my neck's yours right here. But if right, I claim recompense for your suspicion."
Her teeth ground with an audible crackle.
"Fine! You're desperate to die. What is it?"
"From now on, address me as 'the esteemed Yu Je-a-nim whom you revere.'"
"What!"
Metatron burst into laughter that echoed thunderously through the auditorium. Who knew—she was far more emotionally vibrant than I'd imagined. I'd pegged her as an ice princess from the first impression.
After her prolonged mirth, she settled calmly into her seat. Her chin jutted once more—speak.
The air screamed that any nonsense would end with my head rolling.
"Metatron. You..."
"You?"
As she furrowed her brow and echoed me, I pointed at her nicely swollen bosom.
"That chest is padded, in fact. I heard it plain as day. Originally barely an A-cup, yet you stuff it with homemade padding. 'Since the fool's dying soon anyway, spilling this secret's fine,' you said all smug?"
Metatron's complexion drained to a ghastly pallor. Her small mouth gaped, refusing to close.
I pressed the attack.
"Then you said: 'If it's a true time loop, tell this secret to the next me. No proof could be more ironclad. For no one knows I pad my chest.'"
This was the airtight, undeniable evidence of the time loop.
Should our triumph echo down the ages as epic saga, I'd rather the padding bit stay hushed for posterity.
Reality lacked the romance of ancient tales, alas. Tired tropes had their charm—birth secrets and such. Claiming Metatron and I were secret siblings would doubtless draw higher "ratings."
Anyway. Convinced yet?
As I wore an expression of vindication, Metatron trembled faintly from head to toe.
Her face was that of one whose soul had fled.
Then came the sense of something on the verge of erupting, fiercely suppressed—like a child desperately holding back tears.
Perfect. Time to lend a hand.
"It happens. I get it, Metatron. Even a rank-one angel might fret over such things. Born a girl with a chest like that—I sympathize."
"Kyaaaaah!"
Metatron finally detonated. Clutching her head, she wailed.
"You're insane! I must've lost my mind! Even for proof's sake!"
It was a protracted scream, evoking Munch's Scream stretched into eternal, slow-motion repetition.
It took far longer than expected for her to regain her composure.
I waited patiently. The wait for assured victory was ever sweet. As that honeyed satisfaction lingered, all that remained before me was a Metatron blushing shyly, cheeks aflame.
Her snow-white, pristine skin offered no refuge for the flush. Color bloomed for the first time on her monochrome form. Only now did the oddity I'd sensed in her fade. She no longer resembled a doll—just an adorable girl of about sixteen.
And so, I issued my command.
Chin propped arrogantly, like a lord addressing his maid.
"Come now, say it. Metatron. Address this body as 'the esteemed Yu Je-a-nim whom you revere.'"
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
The rank-one archangel quivered in humiliated fury, glaring at me with eyes full of resentment.
Well, tears wouldn't save her now.
***