Chapter 265
As Kamael and Nahun revealed tremendous power in the human realm, the shockwaves made every nation tense. Especially the Holy Kingdom, which became the main stage…
“Wasn’t the angel supposed to have descended?!”
“What on earth is happening?!?!”
The citizens of the Holy Kingdom, who were delighted by the descent of the angel messenger of the divine, could not contain their shock at the sight of vast territories of the kingdom ablaze, with people evaporating into nothingness.
“The divine is angry!!”
While some claimed that the divine was angry.
“What divine?! Those famed angels are clearly not concerned about us!”
There were those who voiced their distrust of the divine. Particularly, those who had just lost family and friends in the recent flames felt it more acutely.
However, for them, there was nothing Sernius III could do. He knew all too well that they could not stop the powers of such overwhelming beings with mere human strength.
“Please, have mercy…”
All they could do was pray.
On the other hand, the Bismarck Empire, whose religious fervor had waned under the newly ascended Charlotte over the past few years, was interpreting the situation more pragmatically.
“Great Mage, did you find anything from that explosion?”
“So far… there are two causes for the explosion. Nothing special. It was simple ‘divine power’ and ‘magic power.’ But the sheer amount colliding caused the explosion.”
Mircella, the head of the imperial mages, quickly analyzed and reported the cause of the explosion to her ruler, Charlotte von Bismarck.
Upon hearing this, Charlotte deduced one fact: whether they were angels or whatever else, the nature of the powers they wielded was similar, differing only in magnitude.
“For now, it seems impossible, but…”
“Yes?”
“Prepare for the fight that will occur someday. Now that we know that the nature of power is not greatly different, I hope the tower can come up with corresponding countermeasures.”
“Are you suggesting we develop new magical weaponry?”
Charlotte did not feel the need to answer specifically. Mircella bowed her head at her lord’s reaction.
“I will comply.”
Charlotte was in no rush. Since the empire was not currently suffering damage, it was not the time to act.
Kuwaaaang!!!
Before the impact of the explosion had even faded, two powerful forces clashed again… they could not act without preparation to claim dominion over this land.
“…Next time, I won’t just watch quietly.”
Charlotte no longer wished to allow residents of another world to fight in human territory. The empire, which had become a major battlefield in the previous Celestial War, had suffered colossal damage, and those scars still remained throughout the empire.
“I will definitely make it known who the true ruler of this place is.”
With that determination, Charlotte ordered to contact the Holy Kingdom.
“Find out if they need support.”
In her mind, a plan had already formed. She intended to leave the Holy Kingdom indebted and slowly gnaw away at it from within.
After all, the true rulers of this land were her and the Bismarck Empire, not the Holy Kingdom.
—
Kuuung!!!
The second clash similarly resulted in an explosion in the sky, seemingly perfectly countered as if both forces were of equal strength. Nahun squinted.
It seemed finishing this situation alone would be impossible. He would either need to incapacitate Kamael or kill him to resolve the situation, but right now, it felt as if he and Kamael were nearly on par.
He needed an element to turn the tide. And Nahun had such a card.
“Behemoth, Gize.”
─────!!
Two of the masses, excluding Leviathan who was with Seere, manifested on this land. The roars of the two massive beasts reached the skies, prompting Barakiel and Ramiel to draw their weapons.
“Lord Kamael, we will handle those beasts.”
“No need to overdo it. Just don’t die; buying time is enough.”
“Understood.”
Meanwhile, Kamael looked at the master directing the gigantic masses.
“I’ll end this situation.”
As Gize and Behemoth moved, Barakiel and Ramiel also sprang into action. Nahun commanded them.
“Get rid of the trash.”
Nahun’s golden eyes gleamed sharply.
“Deal with them quickly.”
As if understanding Nahun’s command, Behemoth and Gize roared ferociously and crashed into the two angels. Barakiel and Ramiel, being direct subordinates of Kamael, were quite strong among angels. Particularly, Barakiel, while not quite on the level of Uriel or Zeruel, was among the top fighters.
The lightning angel, Ramiel, summoned divine power into his grip. The holy energy concentrated in his hand transformed into the form of lightning.
“Thunder.”
「 Fierce Lightning 」
A powerful bolt of lightning shot forth from Ramiel’s palm. An ordinary mass would struggle to endure such lightning, and even if they did, the shock might have been overwhelming.
However, their opponents were beyond that. Each individual was a doomsday mass equating to a grand angel or grand demon.
Kawajick!!!
“Gah…!”
The body of Ramiel, who had launched the lightning attack against Gize, was suddenly severed by Gize’s sharp beak. It happened in an instant. Gize, having split Ramiel in two, roared wide.
─────────!!!!
Gize’s roar. Anyone under its influence felt their muscles stiffening. Consequently, Barakiel, who was clashing with Behemoth, began to lose strength as well.
“…We don’t have much time.”
Ramiel, who promptly fell, and Barakiel did not seem capable of holding out much longer. Kamael lifted Muspelheim and fluttered his wings.
“Let’s finish this quickly, Nahun.”
As Kamael flapped his wings once, he changed positions in the blink of an eye. He had been high above the Holy Kingdom but had now reached the path Nahun was taking.
Nahun appeared to have anticipated Kamael’s arrival, as his gaze was already directed toward him. Realizing this, Kamael abandoned his ambush. Instead, he chose one of his strongest techniques.
“Divine Blaze.”
「 Eternal Blaze 」
Sacred flames engulfed the axe. Unlike before, the color of the flames turned green, like eternal fire.
Seeing this, Nahun quickly drew up his magic power. The swirling magic around him soon imbued his magical sword. The magic manifested in the form of a colossal blade.
“Sword of Cataclysm.”
『 Cătăclýsmos Ensis 』
As Kamael swung his arm, Muspelheim came crashing down. Nahun raised his arm high and swung the magical sword with it.
Kwaaaaaaaang──────────!!
The impact swept across the ground, a magnitude of force that altered the environment. While previously, the forces had clashed at a considerable height, the shift in positions made a significant difference.
The collision of two massive forces, not far from the ground, erupted just like before. The aftermath of the explosion affected the surroundings, completely obliterating the forest where Nahun had been.
However, amid the destruction of the forest, Kamael and Nahun remained unscathed. The explosion was the result of their powers being entirely countered, so it was natural that their core forms would not incur damage.
‘…This isn’t good.’
Nahun furrowed his brow. This was not the demon world but the human world. In a place where external magic would be nearly ineffective, he was exerting considerable strength using only his available magic power. Naturally, he too had a limit to his magic.
Having continually consumed extraordinary amounts of magic power, he might deplete it within a few more rounds. On the other hand, he had no idea of the limits to Kamael’s divinity…
Dragging this out would be disadvantageous for Nahun.
“Gize.”
Having taken care of Ramiel moments ago and intending to assist Behemoth deal with Barakiel, Nahun invoked Gize. He ordered.
“Climb up.”
Upon receiving his command, Gize charged at Kamael with unexpectedly agile movements for its gigantic form. Kamael quickly raised his axe to parry the sharp beak, but the sheer force emanating from such a large body was not something even a grand angel could easily handle.
Gize seized Kamerel and ascended into the sky. Then Kamael grasped the axe with one hand while using the other to grip Gize’s beak.
“Let’s not go too high. At this rate, we’ll reach the heavens.”
With a swift motion, Kamael forced Gize’s jaw open with raw strength. Gize attempted to channel magic power to resist Kamael’s action, but Kamael was faster, delivering a strike.
「 Blaze 」
Kwaang!!
A holy fire erupted from within Gize’s beak. Gize let out a short scream, feeling compelled to extinguish the fire in his mouth. Of course, in doing so, he had no choice but to release Kamael.
Throwing Gize away quickly, Kamael planned to incapacitate Gize completely before resuming his fight with Nahun. He couldn’t ignore the creature left unchecked, nor could he risk giving it an opening by dealing with it later.
‘Having expended that much magic power, he must need a moment of rest.’
In truth, Nahun was momentarily doing nothing. He was simply watching Gize fight. Kamael felt he had to eliminate Gize before Nahun could fully gain the time he needed.
“The Star’s Flame.”
「 Flare 」
Holy flames blazed. As Kamael swung Muspelheim heavily, flames surged in the direction he faced.
“Beeee!”
Gize hastily dodged, but the flames ignited the feathers covering his body. To put them out, Gize had to concentrate magic power there.
In that moment.
“It’s over.”
「 Blaze 」
At some point, Kamael had approached. Gize flinched in surprise and roared, but that level of response was insufficient to prevent Kamael’s axe. The flaming Muspelheim.
Zzeoook!!!
Splintered Gize’s body in half.
—
Having landed a decisive blow on Gize, Kamael suddenly felt something odd.
“…?”
His hand tingled. It felt like striking something incredibly hard. Initially, he thought it was simply that Gize’s hide was tougher than expected, but that was not the case.
───────!!
Gize, whose torso had been split, roared robustly as if nothing had happened. Kamael, startled, stepped back.
“…Unscathed?”
That couldn’t be right. No matter how much of a doomsday mass it was, being directly cut by his axe should have ensured it wasn’t fine. At that moment, he heard something thud onto the ground.
Kamael looked down. There, Nahun was picking up his magical sword, which was stuck in the ground. Kamael, belatedly understanding what had occurred, realized.
“Did he throw that…?”
It was an act bordering on miraculous. To have timed it precisely meant Nahun anticipated that Kamael would act and threw it on that account.
“I don’t wish for the Celestial War to reignite. It will happen eventually, but now is not the time.”
Caught in Gize’s roar and rendered stiff, Kamael was unable to act. Nahun summoned Gize and Behemoth, who was almost crushing Barakiel, and called them back.
“Return.”
“Grr.”
“Beep.”
Nahun concluded that it would be better not to kill Kamael here. Killing him would mean a grand demon had slain a grand angel, which would naturally spark conflict between the heavens and hell.
Thus, it was most likely that another Celestial War would ensue. That was untimely. With Seere, Citri, and Gremony in the midst of their conquest, they could not afford to expend troops on another celestial conflict.
Especially since Seere, Citri, and Gremony had ascended the ranks significantly, they might be deployed to perilous battlefields unlike before.
And whether Kamael was killed or spared, it wouldn’t avoid complications for future art ventures. With a grand angel already having descended, the endeavor was practically rendered impossible.
Ultimately, Nahun decided that killing Kamael would lead to more problems and sheathed his sword. He then offered advice to the stiff and immobile Kamael.
“There is something else within you.”
“…What?”
“There exists something similar to your own divinity, but of a different kind.”
With that remark, Nahun called back the two masses into the dark mist and added one last statement.
“If you return, it would be wise to investigate that first.”
“…….”
“I don’t spare you out of mercy.”
Nahun stated.
“I believe you understand how to consider the situation.”
With those words, Nahun stepped into a portal to leave. Even as he departed, Metatron’s voice continued to whisper to Kamael, yet he could not move.
No, he didn’t truly want to move. He thought there was nothing wrong with what Nahun said. In fact, he thought this situation had turned out well. Only after Nahun completely vanished did Kamael finally move.
“What have you done to me…?”
Kamael looked up at the sky.
“I must confirm this, Metatron.”
