Chapter 161
Noon.
The sun is at its zenith, marking the halfway point of the day. In ordinary terms, one could simply see it as the time when daylight truly begins.
However, for an angel in the heavens, this moment is extraordinarily special and meaningful. There exists a powerful archangel who can only exert his strength while the sun is shining.
Crack!
As the archangel clenched his fist, the neck of the black knight snapped in an instant. This was a completely different sight compared to the earlier encounter when his attacks had been thwarted just as the sun was setting.
Samygina grimaced at the scene.
‘How many death knights have been….’
Around her, the corpses of the death knights were incinerated, leaving only armor rolling about. The stark contrast in results was simple to understand.
Noon, when the sun is highest, is the time when Mikael can wield his full power. Thus, as noon approaches, it would be safe to say that Mikael was growing progressively stronger.
“To think they planned to invade the human realm with such a puny force… is the Demon King’s faction really this foolish?”
Mikael felt an overwhelming sense of arrogance and stupidity. Not only did they abandon the battlefield of the Demon World, which was advantageous for them, but they also hadn’t brought any forces from Hell like the Great Demons or demons.
Samygina observed Mikael silently, then smirked as she spoke.
“To think you believe you’ve won just because you’ve eliminated a handful of death knights.”
“Are you suggesting there are stronger beings than this?”
“Could this even be called a full force?”
Generally, the endgame of necromancy is known as the death knight. Even deploying just a few death knights can yield powers that rival a well-trained elite legion. Samygina von Seos was commanding not just one or two, but dozens of such death knights.
With that capability, she was able to realize the theoretical pinnacle of necromancy.
The pinnacle of necromancy.
The ultimate of necromancy.
“I, Samygina von Seos, shall declare.”
Samygina’s magical power surged forth. In tandem, a giant red sigil unfolded on the ground.
Mikael, unwilling to allow her to concoct something, summoned holy fire. However, astonishingly, the remaining few death knights blocked the flames with their bodies.
In the meantime, Samygina’s formidable magic was fully returned to the red sigil.
“According to the contract, reveal your power.”
Once the returned magic was completely absorbed, the red sigil began to glow brightly. Samygina concluded her lengthy incantation.
“Primordial Fear.”
【Necromancy: Primordial Fear】
As Samygina finished her chant and stepped back, something colossal surged from the glowing magic circle.
It was bigger than most high-rise buildings. Its head resembled a giant goat’s skull, and ominous flames glowed in its empty eye sockets.
While its body was covered in dark blue fabric, one could tell from its exposed hands that its form was nothing but an emaciated skeleton.
“…Summoning something bizarre.”
Mikael commented lightly, appearing unfazed, but the angels and Valkyries accompanying him felt the pressure to the point of breaking into cold sweats. Even the human soldiers alongside the heavenly hosts were fainting in sheer terror.
It was truly fear, manifesting right before them, and the angels and Valkyries began to tremble in fright. Samygina could distinctly sense that the tide of battle had surely shifted.
The goat-skull-like head moved, glancing at the summoner, Samygina, as if inquiring what it desired. Samygina simply replied.
“A path.”
Hearing the summoner’s wish, it turned its head and focused on the front. It took note of the nearest obstructions to both itself and the summoner.
Stretching out its skeletal hand, a massive sword formed from intertwined bones appeared.
Even Mikael felt a flicker of discomfort upon witnessing it.
“It seems not so trivial as it appears.”
Mikael acknowledged it. Up to that moment, he had dismissed all the powers of the Demon Kings he had defeated as weak.
“It has the confidence to show itself.”
However, even as Mikael declared this, he showed no signs of tension. Intense holy fire began to blaze from his sword.
“Yet, I doubt it thinks the opponent is in poor condition.”
The Primordial Fear swung its weapon. With a sharp and elongated sword, it took a stance as if to strike down from above, and then it fell.
Though the upward motion appeared greatly sluggish, the downward strike was incredibly swift. Other angels momentarily lost sight of its movement.
Simple yet undeniably powerful and fast.
However, the battle that commenced in the morning had continued until the sun reached its zenith, and finally, the moment had come when this resilient archangel could fully unleash his strength.
The heavenly flames burned fiercer than before. The ferociously burning fire collided head-on with the bone sword.
Boom─────!!
The clash of powerful forces sent forth a tremendous impact. The shockwave alone generated strong winds that swept through the surroundings.
Samygina, holding onto her hair that was swept away by the wind, surveyed the situation. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her.
“!!”
“It was indeed the most useful of what I’ve seen yet.”
The sun was directly overhead. As if ignited by the sun’s heat, the Primordial Fear was ablaze.
“Retreat… Retreat at once! All of you, hold them off!!”
Mikael had just shattered the strongest army of summons that Samygina boasted of in a single blow. Realizing this fact, Samygina commanded her entire army to withdraw. She had intended to buy time, thinking of sacrificing all her summoned legion, but…
Noon had not yet passed. What would typically feel like an extremely brief minute had not yet completely elapsed. Mikael swung his flaming sword widely at the summoning legion trying to bar his path.
「Heavenly Blaze」
Whoosh!! Boom─────!!
With a powerful horizontal slash, the holy fire spread in all directions. The flames imbued with divine power were exceptionally lethal to the undead, who are beings that defy reason, and the user being a formidable archangel only added to that lethality.
“Already…!?”
Samygina’s summoned spirits were halved in an instant. This resulted in the worst possible scenario for those handling necromancy. The path to the summoner had opened.
“I won’t let you escape.”
Mikael targeted the retreating legion of Samygina.
“Protect the Monarch!”
“Buy us even a second longer!!”
There was nothing Samygina’s relatively small summoning legion could do against Mikael. They were cut down with ease, and by the time the legion was nearly decimated, the ghostly horse Samygina rode dashed away, creating a sufficient distance.
“…Damn it.”
Samygina bit her lip. Although Mikael chose not to pursue further, it was already clear that victory or defeat had been determined.
The vanguard, Barbatos, and the supporting Lezargie, both fell incapacitated at Mikael’s hands, and thereafter, while the main force of the second army collapsed, many Demon Kings were defeated by Mikael.
Finally, even Samygina herself was defeated.
The second army…
The forces of the heavens… or rather, they had lost entirely to Mikael alone.
#
Having returned to the Demon World early were Seere and Nahun. Along with their allies, Citri, and Gremony, they were also in a retreat state. Upon leaving the human realm and returning to the 72nd floor, they donned slightly enigmatic expressions.
“…Is this really okay?”
“I’m a bit worried too.”
Citri and Gremony were concerned about whether they could simply escape like this. On the contrary, Seere and Nahun…
“I’m hungry!!!!”
“Alright, I get it. Let’s hurry back to the castle and eat something.”
“No castle.”
“Oh.”
The castle on the 72nd floor had collapsed two years prior during a preliminary battle. Since it had yet to be rebuilt, it was an open field.
“Let’s just eat here! The soldiers are all starving to death!”
“…Alright, I understand.”
“Leaders! Hurry and distribute food to the soldiers!”
At the command to ration food, the faces of the disheveled soldiers brightened. Nahun felt a bit guilty about being too harsh, blushing slightly.
In truth, Nahun’s intention to head towards the castle was due to its proximity to the portal. What if they ended up being forced to retreat quickly while eating?
‘Still, Agreas’s personality…’
Perhaps even if others told him it wouldn’t work, he would try to push through. That’s the kind of Demon King he was. Thus, Nahun agreed with Seere’s opinion. Then he addressed the allied Demon Kings accompanying them.
“Your Majesties Citri and Gremony. Please ensure the soldiers are well-fed and prepare for battle.”
“You intend to fight here?”
“It won’t be near the portal, but we will battle on the 72nd floor.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to go to a layer with a castle and lay siege there?”
“No.”
Nahun asserted firmly.
“The 72nd floor is the best.”
“How can you assert that so confidently?”
“I can assert it.”
Nahun looked at Gremony with meaningful eyes. She tilted her head in thought, reading that look and remarked in a voice of disbelief.
“Nahun, you don’t mean….”
“If I utilize my power, a battle of attrition is much better than a siege. Moreover, the 72nd floor is mostly flat terrain. While that has little significance during defense and is mostly a disadvantage, it will likely be favorable now.”
Nahun glanced sideways. He gently brushed away grains of food stuck to Seere’s cheek as she hurriedly ate combat rations.
Seere, not even noticing Nahun’s sudden contact, was focused on her meal. Having starved while being pushed around by Nahun, she didn’t have a choice.
“Is it good?”
Nod, nod.
Seere, subconsciously nodding in reply like before, didn’t realize and refocused on her food.
In fact, Seere was not exaggerating in her demeanor.
Aside from the Great Demon Nahun and the progenitor of bloodlines along with the 8th Army, which comprised primarily of bloodlines, and perhaps Veronica, everyone else had their faces buried in their rations.
Observing this pitiful sight, Citri, concerned, asked Nahun.
“Hey, but you can’t stop the entire heavenly army, right? What’s your plan?”
“Why can’t I stop them?”
“…Huh?”
At that moment, taken aback, Nahun’s golden eyes brimmed with confidence.
“I can stop anything that comes. It won’t matter even if an archangel comes directly.”
Nahun gently pet Seere’s hair. Receiving the affection while eating, Seere felt a strange sensation and stared at that hand.
‘Does he pet me even while I’m eating…?’
Do I look like a child who craves compliments that much?
As Seere was lost in such thoughts, Nahun briefly summarized his reasoning.
“I will make it that way.”
#
In the main army, Agreas bit her lip. This was because she had just received news of the downfall of the second army.
“When is Belzebut coming!?”
Though she assigned the role of commander to him, he had clearly said he would join them in the meantime. However, it was a problem that they had yet to catch a glimpse of him even as the war was nearing its end.
“If we return to the Demon World like this…”
It would undoubtedly turn into a sea of flames for the Demon World. They had come to the human realm to avoid that, but if they returned like this, they would suffer losses in the human realm and again face losses in the Demon World while fighting.
“We can’t narrow the gap with the heavens!”
Bam! Agreas slammed her hand on the table. Even applying only a little force, the tabletop imploded. Seeing that, her aide, Azazel, spoke to her.
“Your Majesty, please calm yourself.”
“Am I supposed to hold my temper in this situation?”
“Belzebut may not be returning because he is likely persuading the Great Ones of Hell.”
“What?”
“The Great Ones do not venture to other worlds beyond Hell or the Demon World. Just as archangels rarely go to other worlds besides the heavens or human realms. There are no such instances of archangels going to the Demon World or great demons going to the human world.”
This is because the Tree of Life, Sephirot, and the Tree of Evil, Klifirot, impose restrictions on archangels and great demons, respectively. Just as Mikael is conditioned to exert his strength in the human world.
These conditions become even more severe when an archangel visits the Demon World or a great demon goes to the human realm. Thus, they cannot help but be reluctant. Each side prefers to fight on battlegrounds that are favorable to themselves.
“Convincing them will naturally take time.”
“…Yes! But what about the war? At this rate, we will return home before we can call anyone!”
“That is…”
Azazel fell silent. While the first and third armies had not yet collapsed and only the second had fallen, once Mikael moved, it would only be a matter of time before the other two would also fall.
It might indeed be wise to retreat the two remaining forces that were relatively intact and return to the Demon World to preserve their strength. Thinking long term.
‘If I say this….’
But Agreas was not the type to easily accept a proposal to flee. Her very nature was such that if she were inclined to run away, she wouldn’t have come to the human realm in the first place, as Azazel knew well.
“…Is retreating the answer?”
“Yes?”
Surprisingly, retreating was the first thing that came from Agreas’s mouth. She urged Azazel for a response, who nodded slowly after considerable thought.
“…Yes, that is the best course of action. If Belzebut returns with the Great Ones, the situation might change, but that is not guaranteed.”
“Hah, that bastard Belzebut… I’ll make him pay when he gets back.”
“Once you give the order, I will dispatch messengers to all the armies at once.”
Agreas sighed deeply. Then, she commanded Azazel.
“Convey to the entire Demon World Alliance. We too shall return to the Demon World. Fighting here has no further meaning, and only leads to losses.”
“Wise decision.”
Ultimately, Agreas decided to retreat as well. This indicated how strongly she had faced the heavens.
However, Mikael was not a being who would simply let them escape just because they wished to run. He was currently moving swiftly towards the main body after repelling the second army that was occupying the Bismarck Empire.
On the other hand, Agreas was incapable of taking any action while the first and third armies retreated.
“…I need to at least hold them off once.”
“In that case, we must wait until after sunset.”
“I know. But they will know that too. They won’t push themselves.”
Thus, it followed that ultimately, there must be an attempt to hold them off in the daylight if they were to retreat safely. Agreas wore a serious expression for a moment, pondering, then abruptly smiled.
“The archangel Mikael… I’m curious just how strong he is.”
Like any extreme martial artist of a Demon King, she was somewhat eager at the thought of facing Mikael.
