Chapter 30
The Apostle and the Angel (2)
The moment the two transcendent beings—the Apostle and the angel—clashed, everything around them would be devastated. The backlash, comparable to a natural disaster, would ravage the mountains and rivers and extinguish countless lives.
There was only one option if they wanted to survive.
They had to flee.
The instant the battle began, Johan took flight.
Ignoring the explosions roaring behind him, he focused solely on escaping.
He was not accustomed to flying at full speed, so he grew exhausted more quickly than expected.
‘I should have practiced more.’
Just then, Ilea spoke from within Johan’s arms.
“This should be far enough.”
When Johan looked back, he saw that they had traveled a considerable distance from the battlefield.
The sounds of explosions continued, and fragments of debris occasionally flew toward them, but nothing posed an immediate threat to their lives.
Johan stopped flapping his wings and slowly descended.
They reached an open meadow. Before Johan could even touch the ground, Gaf pushed himself free and jumped down.
“What a disgrace I am.”
It had been humiliating enough to cower beneath the Apostle’s presence, but he had also fled while being carried in a demon’s arms. It had been an unbearably shameful day for Gaf.
Ilea, on the other hand, remained pressed against Johan.
She looked up at him with a mischievous expression.
“You’ve grown even taller.”
“You can let go now.”
“You’re the one who decided to carry me.”
“The situation was urgent.”
Johan pulled the giggling Ilea away from him.
“What a shame. I wanted to feel you a little longer.”
When Johan frowned, Ilea smiled and waved her hands dismissively.
“Don’t misunderstand. It was merely part of my research. More importantly, your body is quite sturdy. It feels more like a carapace than skin.”
Ilea’s gaze traveled up and down Johan’s body.
“White horns, black skin, red markings, bipedal movement, and a body covered in a carapace. Hmm… Even with this information, it’s difficult to determine your species.”
Johan clicked his tongue.
“If a simple touch were enough to identify me, I wouldn’t have been agonizing over it.”
Ilea gave him a peculiar smile.
“Whatever the truth may be, I’ve learned one thing.”
“What?”
“You don’t know what you truly are either. Am I right?”
It was true.
“That’s right. I had no particular intention of hiding it.”
“Then we know where to begin. Let’s investigate your birth first.”
Her eyes were sparkling like those of a child who had discovered a new form of entertainment.
‘I feel as if I’ve been reduced to a laboratory frog. Was agreeing to this a mistake?’
When Johan’s expression became uneasy, Ilea gave him an innocent smile.
“I’ll say it again: nothing you’re worried about will happen.”
Just as Johan was about to respond, Gaf spoke.
“The situation hasn’t even been resolved, yet both of you seem far too relaxed.”
As he said, the battle was still raging.
Explosions continued to echo at every moment, while trees, rocks, and other debris flew endlessly through the air.
Gaf had spent his entire life as a mercenary and could not comprehend how they could peacefully chat amid such a war zone.
Johan said,
“Remaining tense won’t change anything. Our work is finished. All we need to do is wait quietly for news of victory.”
“…Whose victory?”
“Who else? Shaperia’s. The winner of this battle was decided from the beginning.”
Gaf frowned. He could not understand Johan’s words at all.
“Didn’t you release the Apostle to kill Shaperia? Yet now you say you’re waiting for Shaperia’s victory. That makes no sense whatsoever.”
Ilea nodded in agreement.
“I think this does require an explanation.”
Johan opened his mouth.
“As you know, I had two primary objectives: stealing the fragment of the Great Saint’s corpse and eliminating Shaperia. The first has nearly been resolved, so I’ll explain the matter concerning Shaperia.”
The father and daughter silently stared at Johan.
“Shaperia’s authority is lethal to demons and witches.”
The Eye of Judgment possessed the power to see through the true nature of its target. It was an exceptionally troublesome ability for Johan and Ilea, who had to live while concealing their identities.
“She had to die. That’s why I used the Apostle’s power to deal with her.”
Beris had clearly said that he had torn Shaperia in half and killed her.
Ilea tilted her head.
“Not only is she alive, but she has awakened as a transcendent being. She’s fighting the Apostle even now.”
“Shaperia has two lives. She would have resurrected immediately after the Apostle killed her. It is a blessing from the Great Saint.”
A select few people in this world were born possessing a blessing of the moon.
Shaperia was one of them.
Lunar Anastasis.
The blessing she had received possessed the power to resurrect its bearer from death once in their lifetime.
“Furthermore, immediately after her resurrection, she can draw out the entirety of her latent potential. It will last for only a brief moment, but the current Shaperia is an angel—a being close to a demigod.”
“A blessing that powerful must naturally come with a price.”
Johan raised the corners of his mouth.
“Exactly. Shaperia will soon lose all her power—her divine power, the Eye of Judgment, and even her future potential. In other words, she will return to being an ordinary human.”
Ilea let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.
“You used the Apostle to steal the Great Saint’s remains, then arranged for Shaperia to eliminate the Apostle once he had served his purpose. On top of that, Shaperia will lose all her power and potential. You arranged the board beautifully. It certainly is a scheme worthy of a demon.”
Gaf looked at Johan.
“So Shaperia had two lives. Is this what you meant when you suggested killing that girl?”
“More or less. My true objective was to eliminate the threat she would pose in the future.”
The resurrected Shaperia would soon return to being an ordinary human.
A powerless commoner without any authority or special abilities could not harm Johan.
Shaperia the Valkyrie would no longer exist.
He had completely deRailed the original story.
‘I’ve brought forward an event that wasn’t supposed to happen until the very end of the story.’
With the Valkyrie’s future actions prevented, many changes would follow. The demons she was supposed to slaughter would now survive, producing an endless series of new variables.
That was something Johan would have to endure.
If he acted passively out of fear of changing the story, he would merely follow the original plot toward the same conclusion.
‘The story has already changed. If I respond properly, I’ll survive. If I fail to control it, I’ll die. Let’s keep it simple.’
Johan reaffirmed his resolve.
Gaf spoke.
“So you deceived the Apostle. There was never any possibility of you becoming his subordinate.”
Ilea tilted her head.
“You deceived the Apostle? And what is this about becoming his subordinate?”
Johan answered,
“I made a contract with the Apostle. The moment Shaperia was completely erased, I would become his subordinate.”
“The current Beris cannot defeat an angel. It might be different if he were complete.”
An Apostle divided into ten fragments could hardly defeat an angel.
“Correct. The outcome was decided from the beginning.”
“You toyed with Beris—and he is the Apostle of Contracts, no less.”
Ilea wore a strangely satisfied smile.
Gaf let out an incredulous laugh.
“I don’t even know what to say.”
Johan shrugged.
“That assumes everything proceeds according to plan. We haven’t seen the outcome with our own eyes yet, so we can’t be certain of anything.”
Unexpected variables could arise at any moment.
For instance, there might be a timeline in which the Apostle won, even if the probability was only one in several trillion.
It was a possibility Johan did not even want to imagine. There could be no greater disaster.
Ilea said,
“Shall we go and check? Things have become rather quiet.”
Silence was descending over the mountains.
Debris had also stopped flying toward them.
Just as Ilea was about to mount her broom, Johan spoke.
“I’ll go alone. You two look for the horses.”
They had been in such a hurry earlier that they had failed to retrieve Rael.
He was a useful chess piece, so it would be a waste to abandon him now.
Johan spread his wings.
“We’ll meet again in front of the Great Saint’s coffin.”
With that, he flew into the night sky.
***
Her armor felt unbearably heavy.
She could not put any strength into the hand gripping her sword. She did not even have enough energy to remain standing.
Shaperia knelt in the middle of the wasteland, which had been devastated and flattened by the battle.
Her pupils trembled.
‘I can’t feel anything. My divine power, the Eye of Judgment… Everything is gone.’
Overwhelming weakness struck her entire body.
Just as her awakening as an angel had come without warning, her regression had arrived equally abruptly.
She instinctively understood what had happened.
‘The Great Saint has taken away all my power.’
Was it because she had abandoned her convictions and submitted to the Apostle?
No. She had immediately regained her resolve and defeated the Apostle.
She had corrected her mistake and upheld her convictions.
Why, then, had her sacred mark disappeared?
She could not understand the reason.
She was utterly bewildered.
As she struggled with her confusion, unpleasant laughter echoed around her.
“Margiel’s blessing has disappeared. How delightful. You are an angel with nothing but an empty shell remaining. Now you are merely a pathetic human. How did it feel to wield omnipotence, however briefly? What of the loss you felt when it was taken away again? Tell me! I wish to hear you wail!”
The malicious ridicule shook the mountains and rivers.
Shaperia raised her head.
Beris lay sprawled on the ground, his upper and lower body separated and his face crushed, yet he was still laughing wildly.
“My subordinate will arrive soon! He will tear you limb from limb and restore my body to its original state!”
Shaperia did not answer. The Apostle’s words did not even register in her mind.
She merely wanted to deny reality.
“I shall inflict agonizing deaths upon every human associated with you! I will flay them alive, use their skin as contracts, and sign them with their blood instead of ink! I shall embed their bones in the rafters of my palace!”
Pitch-black demonic energy surged upward.
It was evil given physical form.
Only then did Shaperia regain her senses.
Regardless of everything else, she had to finish what she had started.
She tore a strip of cloth from her clothing and used it to bind her hand to the sword’s hilt.
She no longer possessed enough strength to hold the sword on her own.
Beris snickered.
“Do you truly believe you can touch so much as a hair on my body without your blessing?”
Shaperia struggled to her feet and trudged forward.
“I sentenced you to death. Even if I must strike your neck a hundred times and shatter this arm in the process, a holy knight never takes back her word.”
Life returned to her eyes.
Still lying on the ground, Beris shouted,
“Very well! Strike me with your feeble strength! Swing your sword a hundred or a thousand times and engrave your helplessness into your bones! I look forward to watching you slowly destroy yourself!”
Shaperia raised her sword with every last ounce of strength.
“I’ll beat you to death, you filthy abomination!”
Just as she swung it down, a sharp sound tore through the air.
The earth shook, and clouds of dust billowed upward.
Red eyes flashed through the swirling dust.
A chilling voice rang out in a low tone.
“How disappointing. You failed to kill him.”
Johan was gripping Shaperia’s blade with one hand.
Startled, she tried to withdraw and create some distance, but she could not overcome Johan’s strength.
Without divine power to reinforce her body, Shaperia’s physical abilities were no greater than those of an ordinary person.
Unable to move from the spot, she muttered,
“A-A horned demon!”
As though the appearance of an Apostle had not been enough, a horned demon had now emerged as well.
What in the world was happening in the South?
A horrible sense of dread surged within her.
Beris shouted,
“It was because of you that I failed to kill her! Had you given me information about that wench, this would never have happened!”
Johan frowned.
“I wasn’t speaking to you. I’m disappointed in Shaperia. Why did you fail to kill Beris?”
Lunar Anastasis elevated its bearer’s abilities to their absolute limit.
With Shaperia’s potential, she should have been able to slaughter an Apostle divided into ten fragments with ease. Yet for some reason, she had struggled.
Johan could not understand it.
Beris roared,
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Be quiet.”
Johan stomped on Beris’s head.
Black blood erupted like a fountain.
His already mangled face became even more grotesquely deformed.
Beris was too stunned to utter a word.
Being trampled beneath a mortal’s foot was something he had never even imagined possible.
Johan said,
“No. Now that I think about it, this worked out rather well. Shaperia, I should thank you.”
Shaperia looked completely bewildered.
“I found a way to make use of Beris. It’s all because you left him alive.”
Having said that, Johan looked down at the Apostle.
“According to our contract, the deadline for fulfilling the condition was midnight. Your failure is approaching. You couldn’t even fulfill a contract with a mere mortal, so you will undoubtedly pay a price. I look forward to seeing what form it takes.”
In truth, Johan already knew what would happen to Beris.
Beris’s expression gradually stiffened.
Johan smirked and released Shaperia’s blade.
“I have no further business with you. Run away or do whatever else you please.”
Johan grabbed Beris by the hair.
He then began dragging the Apostle along the ground.
“Y-You wretch! What do you think you’re doing?! Release me at once!”
Beris had existed for eternity, but never in his life had he been treated this way.
Shaperia stared blankly at Johan and Beris.
‘What in the world is happening…?’
She slapped herself hard across the cheek.
‘Get a hold of yourself.’
Taking action was more important than understanding the situation.
She could not allow the two of them to leave.
Shaperia limped after Johan.
“Don’t run away! Stop right there!”
She somehow managed to catch up and thrust her sword at him, but it failed to reach.
“You’re becoming annoying.”
Johan clicked his tongue and casually swung his arm.
A heavy impact rang out.
Shaperia’s body was lifted into the air and hurled into a nearby rock face.
“Guh…!”
Red blood trickled from her mouth.
“Why are you simply leaving?! Fight me! If nothing else, kill me before you go!”
Her voice sounded as though she were grinding a blade between her teeth.
Johan picked at his ear and looked back at her.
“Why would I?”
“Because…!”
“You have no value anymore. Killing you would only dirty my hands. If you’re so desperate to die, kill yourself. I won’t stop you.”
He resumed walking.
He intended to steal the Great Saint’s remains and leave this place.
“Stop! I told you to stop!”
Despite her desperate cries, Johan did not look back.
He merely disappeared into the darkness.
“Damn it!”
Shaperia was powerless.
Despite her indomitable fighting spirit, her body refused to move.
She did not even possess enough strength to push herself off the ground.
Her trembling hands could do nothing but clutch fistfuls of mud.