Chapter 103
Translator: uly
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Prison of the Angels
I was overwhelmed.
I gave up on counterattacking before our swords even clashed.
My enemy felt like a giant, and every time his blade came crashing down, it was like lightning striking. That gracefully flowing strike amid his movements turned into a gale, making the giant seem like an even greater being.
A great archangel with a halo like the first Hero from myth. No, perhaps like that first Hero-or even Or, the god himself.
Pierced by the power of a god, I died in the end.
That moment stretched out slowly. The instant became eternity, savoring the pain. I'd never felt this powerless since first meeting the Demon King. Not since he killed Elis. Yeah, maybe my friend had been right, and dying like this was for the best.
No, the source of his power and mine is the same.
I could become like him too.
In the future where I gained Or's will, surely... But I was dead.
"Gasp!"
It'should have been that way, but Bulki was alive.
Bulki hurriedly checked his wounds, but without even his armor on, there wasn't a single scratch. He looked around. The place was filled with blue light reflecting off water, yet it was indoors. Where the hell was this? It looked like a secret chamber in some ancient castle.
"You're awake."
"Ah, Lilit."
Bulki hadn't even noticed Lilit behind him, but for some reason, seeing her face brought an inexplicable calm. Was this the power of a healer? No, now wasn't the time to think about that. What about the others? The archangel? Bulki asked her what had happened.
"What happened? And where are we?"
Lilit, who had grabbed his hand, glanced around before answering Bulki's question.
"This is inside Or's corpse. It's a jumble of celestial civilization that flowed in haphazardly. Do you see that blue river flowing across the ceiling? That's the holy blood keeping this space intact. Celestials probably don't have prisons, so they isolated us here. They said this is around the waist area, so there might even be demon marks around."
Following Lilit's explanation, Bulki looked around as well.
A blue river called holy blood flowed across the ceiling, but it never dripped to the floor-it just cast a blue glow.
The stairs and pillars visible in the light showed no regularity. From the walls-indistinguishable between collapsed and intact sections-it seemed like spaces used by the ancient celestials had been mashed together. Bulki asked Lilit again.
"Why am I... Did you heal me, Lady Lilit?"
"No, Hero. I took off your armor to check for treatment, but there were no wounds. The celestial power is your power too... I think that's why you weren't injured."
Having roughly grasped the situation, Bulki nodded and picked up his scattered armor, putting it on.
"So how do we get out of here?"
"We can't escape this space with our own power, but your sword might find a way. The others are probably trapped in spaces under this holy blood too, so we should find them and discuss it. How about heading down there first?"
Following Lilit's words, Bulki checked the stairs leading down from the altar-like space he was in. Fortunately, it was close to the ceiling, so he could go straight down and survey the whole area.
"Yeah, sounds good. I'll take the lead. Stay close behind me, Lady Lilit."
"Oh, and... that archangel is probably wandering inside with the angels, searching for the kin of sin called Fear. If he's right, Fear might be... You need to be careful."
Bulki adjusted his armor and hurriedly sorted out the situation. He'd been overwhelmingly defeated by the archangel, the group was trapped in this bizarre space below the waist, and the others were scattered.
Amid that, the archangel was hunting down Fear's host to kill it, and Fear itself might be aiming a thousand arms at them from somewhere like that Saar. They had to hurry. Hurry to regroup and find a way out.
But why? Where had the Mir gone?
"Do you know what happened to Yam or Cheret after that?"
"I don't know."
Bulki nodded bitterly at Lilit's answer. He was the Hero meant to lead everyone on the right path, and even he found this absurd-there was no way Lilit, uninvolved in the cause, would understand. But of course, Lilit knew everything. Her role now was to truly guide the Hero who would lead them all. To aid his trial and help him realize the truth.
"Then let's go."
Bulki held his sword in one hand, illuminating it with light. With the other, he reached out to Lilit. She took his hand-entwined with strange emotions-and they began descending the stairs.
***
Meanwhile, just as the witch and the Hero started walking this underground passage again.
"Deciding to escape first was the right call, but I'm worried about the others."
"Don't worry, shorty. When we came here, didn't we see the others boarding the Hoshekh Hatar? The Mir vanishing like it was waiting, sending only us here, and moving that kid here too-there's a reason. Some celestial scheme we don't know about. We just need to hurry, find the Hero, and uncover it."
Shainelius remembered their arrival, nocking her bow at every alley. The non-combatants had followed the celestials onto the Hoshekh Hatar, and since they were inspecting for kin of sin, they were probably still safe.
Of course, Captain Dayagnel had caused a fuss when the celestials took only his son Dapbagnal, but they had no choice but to follow now. That overwhelming power suppressing the Hero-it felt even more threatening than the Demon King's.
"That's what makes it all the more suspicious."
Beings with that much power, closest to the gods after the god's death-why were they trapped in this inverted world? And under the pretext of inspecting for kin of sin, why spare them instead of killing them outright?
There seemed to be someone who could explain it all... but it wouldn't come to mind, so Shainelius assumed it was Yam the Mir and gave up, walking on.
"Wait."
"Wh-what is it?"
And then, in the distance of the vast cavern ahead, a golden light bloomed. The elegant glow rising languidly didn't reach Rondnel's eyes, but Shainelius the sun fairy immediately knew it wasn't the Hero's light.
"Looks like an archangel."
She shouldn't nock first. They couldn't win-they had to evade. As she thought that, the golden light flickered briefly.
Boom!
Lightning-like, it appeared right before their eyes.
"Damn..."
"Get behind me!"
As Rondnel charged with shield raised, the archangel reached out. No, was he bringing his hand to his mouth?
Shainelius lowered her bow and examined him closely.
This was a different being from the archangel Tehila they'd seen upon arrival. Larger build, disproportionately huge upper body compared to legs, face covered by a mask-like thing, wielding a halberd with a shining halo-an archangel.
"There's no time. We must escape quickly. Trust me, don't worry. I am Jeker, Archangel of Judgment. I've come to help you."
***
"Wait. I hear crying..."
Bulki stopped and extinguished his sword's light. It was muffled by the sound of holy blood flowing, but clearly, a child-a boy-was sobbing.
Bulki immediately turned that way, putting a finger to his lips to signal Lilit to be quiet. She nodded, having heard it too, and followed silently.
It was dark without light, but the blue ceiling made scanning every corner of the underground passage easy. And then-swish-something moved swiftly around Bulki. Like a shadow, it crept toward Bulki and Lilit, stalking its prey.
Bulki noticed it too, but as the crying grew closer, he couldn't stop. Grimacing silently, he put Lilit ahead toward the sobs. Now that she could hear the frail weeping too, it was so he could strike if that shadowy thing attacked.
Swish-
Not the archangel or the others. This ominous aura was definitely the sensation of Fear seeping in. The kin of sin had found them first.
"Hic, sob."
"Dapbagnal?"
Finally, the crying boy appeared. And at that moment, the kin of sin crawling in the darkness revealed itself too.
Swish-
"H-Hero?"
"Ah, damn..."
When the cowering Dapbagnal turned his head, his face had only one eye. It was unmistakably like Saar's burning eye.
"Why of all people. Haah, please..."
Bulki aimed his sword's light. Then, like a creepy insect crawling, Dapbagnal's shadow split into countless hands, stretching out to fill the walls.
"H-Hero, what happened to me?"
Dapbagnal trembled as he asked. No-Fear, the kin of sin embodying gluttony, trembled before the Hero and asked.