Chapter 265
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: The Archangel's Rampage
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Busy days without a moment to catch my breath due to Holy Kingdom affairs.
High Priest Diablo let out a sigh and pressed firmly on his furrowed brow with his hand.
"That's why I didn't want to get involved..."
"High Priest, here are the documents for approval."
"Just leave them there."
His eyes looked so fatigued that it was obvious at a glance.
Alone in the now-quiet office, he let out a short sigh.
"I just want to drop everything and rest."
But with the Saintess working so diligently, he couldn't just abandon it all and walk away.
He wished something would happen so he could make a clean escape.
He gave a bitter smile, thinking thoughts he wouldn't normally entertain.
That was when it happened.
Whoooosh...
A faint breeze could be felt beyond the window.
At the same time, he shot to his feet.
"What was that just now..."
It couldn't be. It shouldn't be felt here.
It had only been for a split second, so he could dismiss it as an illusion.
But the sensation from moments ago had been far too vivid.
"No way. Remiel should be sealed away. Why would her power..."
Wait. Wasn't the temple where she was sealed located near Coral?
And the ones in Coral right now... Leon Cascadia. And Luna Basilyn Raphaelria.
"This is too perfectly timed. It's giving me chills."
He immediately donned his ceremonial robes and placed a bowler hat on his head.
"High Priest?"
"I have somewhere to go for a bit."
With another sigh, he left the office.
If Archangel Remiel had truly broken free from her seal, he had to check her condition.
The Archangel Remiel he remembered had possessed empathic abilities from birth, unlike the other archangels, so he couldn't predict what trouble she might cause.
The moment he stepped outside and took a stride forward, the scenery around the spot where his foot landed began to shift.
She, who had been blankly looking around, slowly took me into her view.
Then her gaze shifted to Luna beside me, and her face showed surprise.
But it felt oddly subdued.
"Luna Basilyn for real..."
"It's been a while."
"The first time since I disappeared?"
"Something like that."
Noticing something different about Luna, who answered calmly, she widened her eyes.
"Luna. You've changed a lot."
"What of it? I'm just a fallen being who defied the will of the gods."
At those words, Remiel's eyes widened further.
"My god... You, one of the three greatest archangels most loyal to the divine, turned against them..."
She nodded repeatedly, seemingly shocked.
Then she glanced at me.
"By the way, Adam? No. Something's a bit off..."
She looked me up and down as if appraising me.
"It's strange. Your appearance and aura are exactly the same, but..."
"What are you talking about?"
As I furrowed my brow at her puzzled expression, Luna suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Enough."
"...I don't know the reason, but fine. Just let go, please?"
The atmosphere flipped in an instant.
Startled by the ominous vibe, Luna stepped back, and Remiel slightly lowered her gaze.
"Sorry. I don't think highly of the archangels. I understand you've changed, but it'll take time to accept it."
Luna felt the same way about archangels, but this felt even more distant and alien.
"I see. You resemble her, but you're fundamentally different. What should I call you?"
"Call me Leon."
"Got it. Leon. I'm grateful you freed me from the seal. If you'll allow it, I'd like to stay by your side and repay the favor."
Narrowing my eyes at her pretty smile, I wondered.
What's going on here? Did I really unseal the wrong one?
I wanted to ask the librarian for confirmation, but even she wouldn't know everything.
In the midst of that bewilderment, a new presence was detected.
"Well, this is awkward."
My eyes narrowed at the sight of the massive priest in pure white holy robes and a bowler hat.
At the same time, Luna shot forward like a bullet toward him.
Boom!!!
Her overwhelming strike slammed straight into him.
"Gah!"
"What the hell did you plant in my body, you bastard?"
"Grr... But I got here fast, didn't I?"
"Wanna die?"
"I just attached a tracking spell in case you caused trouble. I couldn't predict what you might do."
What kind of guy is this?
Diablo spat out a mouthful of blood but didn't lose his smile.
He'd spoken casually to Luna before, but now he seemed back to his usual demeanor, maintaining a single persona.
In an instant, he regenerated his body and slowly stood.
Looking perfectly fine as if the attack never happened, he turned to Remiel.
"I detected an enormous holy power surge. I knew right away it was Archangel Remiel's. And thinking who could unseal her, the answer came quickly."
He slowly approached Remiel.
Remiel tilted her head and looked up at him.
"Devil Diablo?"
"Please call me High Priest Diablo here."
"Wow. I've always thought your decisiveness was unique, Diablo."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
With that, Diablo swiftly reached out and gripped Remiel's cheeks, fixing her head in place.
He turned her face this way and that, coldly examining her as if verifying something.
Then he spoke in a voice laced with doubt.
"Hmm... Hm... Her eyes don't look quite right..."
"What are you doing?"
At my question, Diablo released Remiel's cheeks and turned to me.
"That's what I want to ask. What exactly did you do to unseal an archangel?"
"Is that a problem?"
He shook his head at my question.
"...No. Just... A seal strong enough to bind an archangel... Well, with Luna and you, maybe it's not so surprising."
Shaking his head, he snapped his fingers, and light enveloped all four of us—him included.
"Let's move for now."
"Wait. There's something here I need to find first."
As I tried to stop Diablo, Luna grabbed my hand and shook her head.
"The compass lost its reaction. No point searching more."
I considered searching anyway, but Luna's darkened expression left me unable to say anything.
Using Diablo's spatial transfer, we arrived at what looked like an underground altar. At the back of the altar stood a massive statue of a god.
Of course, it wasn't modeled after the god's true form, but it was a divine relic blessed by the divine upon a statue born of human imagination.
And flanking it like guardians were statues of the archangels.
These weren't mere statues.
Each one was infused with the power of its respective archangel and the divine power.
Statues containing such dense power were a first for me. The Holy Kingdom lived up to its name.
"Where is this?"
"The Sanctuary of Prayer beneath the Grand Temple of the Holy Kingdom. The divine power is strongest here..."
"The Lord God, Michael, Raguel, Uriel? Pathetic."
That was when it happened.
With an unexpected chilling voice, Remiel lunged at the statues in an instant.
Luna and I reacted first, followed by Diablo summoning something like a black shadow that swiftly restrained her.
"Ah, let me go! I just want to smash those damn things! Come on?!"
Her previously cute and lively demeanor seemed like a complete lie as she thrashed wildly toward the god's statue.
Remiel's physical strength couldn't compare to Luna's, but an archangel was still an archangel. The immense power emanating from her three pairs of wings felt like it was crushing the entire area.
Remiel's sudden rampage continued for quite a while.
As a fully powered archangel, she couldn't be contained so easily.
But then.
Clank!!!
Golden chains shot out from all directions, binding her like restraints, and only then did her power gradually subside into silence.
"Ah... So close."
Her atmosphere had completely changed from moments ago.
Luna looked shocked at Remiel, who growled like she was facing her mortal enemy.
"Phew... Good thing I brought her here just in case."
"Do you know something?"
"Let's head out first. I'll explain what I know."
Luna stared at Remiel with a stunned expression for a long time before slowly following me out.
"Hey! Let me go! It'll just take a second, I swear?!"
Her appearance, like a switch had flipped to full rage mode, was nothing like the image of the archangel who sang praises of divine prosperity that I'd heard from Nadia the Saintess before.
Once we exited the altar under Diablo's guidance, he clapped his hands together forcefully, unleashing powerful holy power that formed a massive sacred magic circle centered on the altar where Remiel was.
Then he let out a sigh of relief.
"That altar is a place infused with potent divine power. The location itself is practically a divine relic. It's meant to suppress powerful heretics, but it's never actually been used before."
And the first time it was used, on neither a heretic nor a demon, but an archangel.
It was absurd.
"First, we need to talk. Leon, it's natural you wouldn't know. Luna, you couldn't know either."
With a weary face, he led us both outside the suppression circle.
As long as we weren't within the suppression circle's range, there was no issue.
"To start with the facts: Archangel Remiel once annihilated an entire kingdom long ago."
He glanced at Remiel, who was bound in chains inside the circle, still struggling.
"Hey, Diablo, Luna. Can you let me out? I'm calm now."
Her previous rage was gone, replaced by an innocent smile, making us pause our conversation to look at her.
Diablo sighed.
"Can I trust you?"
"Please believe me. It flared up for a moment, but I'm all calm now."
Clank.
The chains vanished in response to Diablo's holy power.
At the same time, Remiel's eyes bulged, and she charged at the god's statue at tremendous speed.
Clank!!! Crack!!!
Of course, she was rebound instantly.
"Hey! Let me go! I said let go!! Damn it! I just want to smash that one! For real!! I'll leave the other damn archangels the hell alone!"