Chapter 30
Micheal leaned against his chair with his eyes closed and took long, deep breaths for a minute.
His chest rose and fell in a calming rhythm, almost hypnotic, the kind that could soothe even the most restless soul.
His cherry-like red lips and soft expression took on the shape of a truly relaxed smile before returning to what it was.
"Now, where was I?" he asked himself as he manifested a magical circle and called for Gabriel. He told her to come to him and that he had a mission he wanted her to do.
Gabriel, from the other side of the circle, told him she would be here shortly, just after supervising the last cargo that was being delivered to Heaven. While she was saying that, Michael could hear the faint bubbling in her polite words, conveying that she was quite excited.
And he, on the other hand, returned to his work; after all, work wouldn't just magically disappear—though he could make it disappear, but it wouldn't accomplish anything except waste paper.
His hands reached out and grabbed a single paper from the stacks of paper, and his gaze glazed through its content in a matter of seconds.
[Request for reinforcements to recover lost Holy Maiden, Celestine Reinhardt.]
[On the night of January 28, 2010, from one of the nurseries located in Italy, specifically the one on the edge of the city of ...., the case of Holy Maiden Celestine Reinhardt's disappearance happened.]
[During the investigation of her disappearance, some exorcists found traces of demonic energy and sightings of devils in the nearby area. The investigator who was assigned to this task, Don von Krein, reported to have seen a blonde-haired, red-eyed ...]
Micheal continued reading without his expression changing or his eyes flickering, from the smallest of dots, until the very last letter. An expression that in the ancient past he would never have imagined he would wear as he read one of theirs—a loyal nun being kidnapped.
After which, he wrote some simple instructions, such as to continue investigating, and if any more leads aren't found, leave it.
A cruel yet cold decision, many would think, but it was the only way for angels—no, Heaven—to continue to exist.
During the Great War, thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of beings had fallen. The faction that suffered the most damage was Heaven.
At the very beginning of the war, the two factions—specifically the devils and fallen angels—mostly attacked Heaven due to the fact that Heaven was the strongest. If Micheal were to be honest, they were probably the strongest in the world at that time.
There were a few strong factions besides them, like Muslim, Norse, and Greek, especially Muslim. But they were still a head taller than all of them.
The God at that time had just created the [Heavenly System], and with it, he started creating angels much more efficiently. Every day, several angels were born, and during that time, God even started creating sacred artifacts.
Sacred artifacts, more commonly known as sacred gears, were created with parts of ancient monsters or fallen gods to display the miraculous powers they had once wielded—though that did piss off quite a few pantheons. But God did not care, so neither did he as his son.
But then, the Great War started, with most of the firepower of the other two factions focused on Heaven. The devils and fallen had used despicable trick after trick, disgusting tactics that even the other supernatural factions frowned upon, such as planting explosives on one of their own or using soul manipulation to force other weak neutral forces to take part.
As for fallen angels, while they used many disgusting tactics, the most notable would be male fallen angels mass-breeding with other species to create an expandable force. A tactic that wouldn't have worked if not for Azazel's machine.
A machine that massively increases the possibility of conceiving children by sacrificing the vitality of the mother and speeding up the growth of the baby to adulthood by also doing that, along with planting memories that make them loyal and experts in combat.
However, the expert part might have been a joke due to the fact that they could never grow from the expert level, and they were much weaker than those who earned their strength through hard work or talent. But still, Azazel's trick seemed to have no end as he used equipment to supplement the lacking area.
Halfway through the war, all the cultivated expandable forces started dying.
At that time, Michael thought God had created something that would counter them, but instead, in reality, the life span of the new ones was so short that they were even inferior to humans—a race that was on the lower side of life expectancy.
Heaven, on the other hand, mostly fought using only normal tactics and deception, as God refused to do an action that goes against His very teaching.
The other factions that they had offended in the past didn't let this chance go by, as some aided the devils or fallen angels, and some even outright attacked them—the strongest faction in the world. The most notable who attacked them would be vampires, who just couldn't stop pestering them like a moth that saw the blazing sun for the first time.
Whenever God turned His attention to them, they would disappear like shadows that saw light. Discarding everything they had built and hiding in a small private dimension that they had fortunately stumbled upon.
However, after a few repeated attacks, their dimension, along with most of their first-generation Elden vampires, was killed and annihilated by God in a fit of annoyance.
Despite all this, Heaven should have still emerged victorious regardless of what those filth had done, but Father God—one of the strongest, if not the strongest gods in the world—had sacrificed a significant portion of His strength to seal Thixeria, the apocalypse beast, preventing it from causing any more destruction.
And those filth, those who were left behind, did not appreciate His sacrifice. Instead, they only saw what a weakened God meant.
MEANT.
Micheal's fingers tightened around his fountain pen, cracked it, and almost pulverized it despite the magical enhancement that was placed on it. His thumb wrapped around the top part as it slowly divided into two.
Crk
With the cracking of the pen, Michael finally snapped out of his daze as his consciousness returned to the present.
The present in which God had fallen.
The present where they are regarded as a second-tier supernatural force that other pantheons like Greeks and Norse could defeat.
A present in which they don't even have full control over their own church.
Suddenly, a faint tapping of footsteps sounded from outside the room along with the swishing sound of wings as a being approached from beyond the door.
Tap
Tap
Tap
When the owner of the footsteps got closer to the door, the footsteps disappeared in their place, and profound silence descended.
Micheal heard the slightest bit of wind that was seeping through the door and the quiet breathing of the person who stood outside.
But it didn't continue long, as just a few seconds later, a knock was heard.
Toc Toc
"Enter," Micheal said without missing a beat, already knowing who was outside the door.
With a click, the door opened, and the owner of the footsteps and the gushing wind came inside.
And that person was Gabriel, one of the four great seraphs and sister of his.
"Brother," she said, her voice crisp and pleasant, akin to a piece of music to one's ears.
And her appearance, much like her voice, was just as beautiful. With golden, silky hair that flowed down like a waterfall and mellow, golden yellow eyes that looked like they just melted, along with a body that not even a single devil could hope to have—for it was pure and untainted.
Micheal's soft smile widened further as he addressed her.
"Gabriel, how are you? Did anything interesting happen recently?"
Gabriel smiled in return and talked a bit about how she spent the day. How she spent the morning playing with the kids on the First Heaven and some information that she received from the spies on the human world that Michael currently wasn't aware of, also updating him on certain projects.
They didn't talk long, as they both knew that Michael was busy and that they couldn't spend the day just talking about some meaningless things, so after about fifteen or so minutes, they both tactfully stirred the conversation to important things.
"Sister, I want you to go to Japan, Kuoh City, and retrieve a brother of ours. Possibly newborn, but in the Ultimate class."
Gabriel nodded with a serene smile on her face—a face that was akin to a loving mother with her wings flapping in joy, for another of their brethren would soon join them. However, there was a hint of steel in the depth of her eyes that told Michael that she understood the mission and would accomplish it without fail.
"Although it might just be one of Leviathan's antics, she told me that brother of ours doesn't look like the rest of us. However, she didn't specify in which part." Micheal continued.
Gabriel in turn just giggled softly with her eyebrow falling like a waterfall with a soft expression.
"Ufufu~," her voice echoing like the lapping of a small creek in a peaceful landscape. Peaceful and calming.
Then she gently turned her head to Michael, her gaze locking onto him.
"Brother, he is one of ours; it does not matter."
Micheal in turn just awkwardly smiled as he nodded back.
"Yeah, you're right. He or she, what or it, does not matter, for we are a family."
(Orb of light) (Low Mid-Class)
The world around the orb of light was cold and distant, akin to an eternal winter or the deepest reaches of the sea.
Yet his creator—the one who gave life to him—was warm and cozy.
Warm to the point the orb of light just wanted to destroy everything other than it so that only the warmth of his creator and he remained.
Cozy enough that he just wanted to stick to his creator and eternally sleep beside him, not caring if the world itself burned to asunder.
At least that was the thing the orb of light wanted, but it could not—due to a certain green abomination who was trying to separate him from his creator.
"You have already stuck to him for over an hour; don't you want to do something fun?"
A disgusting nuisance who was named Katu uttered for the fourth time this hour—making him just want to burn this wench to the ground and be done with it.
But he could not.
As for some strange reason, his creator was keeping these beings as servants for unknown reasons.
A reason that his little mind could not possibly fathom, but despite his meager wisdom, he had a faint guess.
A guess that he, for some reason, was quite sure of.
Which is that his mighty creator was keeping these disgusting things around himself for him, the first creation of his.
To help him grow stronger and to familiarize himself with the world so that he would be of use to his creator as fast as possible, as currently the knowledge he possesses and the power that he has are pitiful to the point he might as well just not exist.
Nevertheless, no matter how sure he was—unless he was absolutely certain or his creator specified—he would not kill them.
So his thoughts returned to the present, which was that the repulsive green thing was trying to separate him.
"Silence! You shall not sever the holy connection between me and my Lord, the Everlasting One! Go to your filthy hole, you rat!"
The young, crisp voice of the orb of light cursed as he pushed himself even deeper into his creator, almost like he was intending to become one with him.
Meanwhile, Katu just looked on with a frown, the sides of her mouth tight.
"I am not filth," she muttered as she sat.
After a few minutes, she got up, grabbed a gauntlet weapon from one of her bodyguards, and took hold of the orb of light.
The orb of light was at first confused, then angry, and then downright furious as he felt her hand and realized he was growing apart from his creator.
"YOU, YOU—"
Only to be silenced by the next few words Katu spoke.
"Would Sir Moon have liked it if he knew that you were sticking to him instead of training or doing anything fruitful?"
The orb of light stilled and stopped resisting as he let the filthy abomination carry him, his radiant form losing its fiery glare and becoming more tame as he grew more and more distant from his creator.
(The Occult Research Club)
Rias, a young high-class devil, sat upon a luxurious chair with a deep frown upon her face as she talked with her parent—specifically her mother—through a magical version of a video call that used a simple magical artifact like an orb.
"Mom, I am not going back!" Rias said as she locked gazes with a well-endowed woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties.
The woman on the other side just sighed.
"I know that you don't want to, but I'm just worried. I have a bad feeling about that angel staying in your territory. Just come and stay in the mansion for a few days, Rias, please."
Rias's sharp gaze, upon hearing her mother's reasoning and pleading tone, quavered and dulled slightly.
"I understand, Mom. It's just that I don't want to."
Her head lowered, and her hand clenched into a fist.
"I have a feeling that if I were to step foot into the house, Father would force me to be wed the next day."
Venelana Gremory's eyes, much like her daughter's, dulled for a few seconds before lighting up again.
"But Rias, I—"
She tried to reassure her that she would make her husband stop forcing her to marry that waste of space. But she stopped in the next second as she realized she probably wouldn't be able to sway him this time.
She had swayed and changed her husband's decisions many times throughout the centuries they were married. But through it all, the number of important decisions she truly changed was few and far between.
And the decision of marrying Rias into the Phenix family was a very important one—one that her husband would not give up on easily, especially considering how tight the friendship between him and Lord Phenix was.
So she did not insist further and sighed heavily.
"Okay. Be safe."
Rias's head bolted upward, her eyes a bit shocked yet warm and soft as she smiled.
"Thank you."
Venelana Gremory just nodded back as she cut off the video call.
(Gabriel POV)
"La laalaariaaa~"
A gentle hum, akin to the softest of waves, came out of Gabriel, Seraph of Heaven, as she flew out of the Celestial realm.
Her twelve white wings spread in full glory as she glided between the clouds and the sky.
Her pearly-white hands brushed the clouds as she scooped some up—something only possible thanks to her magic. Her pearl-like eyes briefly glazed over them before she let the cloud go.
Beneath her, she saw some angels flying like her—though much lower and far slower.
"Wh... Good afternoon, Archangel Gabriel," a young angel greeted, eyes wide and confused as he looked up. He had probably only caught sight of her blurred figure by pure luck, looking in the right direction at just the right time.
Almost all angels don't usually notice her at high speed—most can't even fathom the velocity she travels with.
A greeting he gave, and a greeting she returned.
"Good afternoon, Kariel," she said, before vanishing from the young angel's view.
After passing through several layers, she arrived at the second layer—Second Heaven, also known as the Cosmos Layer. This was where most angels traveled when heading to the human world.
Just as she intended.
She reached the central area of the realm, where the portal to Earth was located, and summoned a magical circle to teleport her to a sea area near Japan.
The Japanese Pantheon disliked unannounced teleportation—especially from powerful beings—into their territory.
Whoosh
Whiiish
A sea of white adorned her vision for a moment before she appeared above the sea—a vast expanse under a brewing storm, raging relentlessly.
When the cold, unfeeling water splashed toward her, a faint yellow shield materialized, halting it midair. Gabriel's magic kept her pristine.
"Let's see… where is Japan?" she murmured as she spread her senses outward, detecting the direction.
"West," she said softly, and in a blur to lesser eyes, she shot across the sky, a trail of dim yellow light behind her.
A few kilometers from Japan's coast, she flared her holy power and sent a message to the Japanese Pantheon, explaining her reason for arrival. Only then did she proceed toward Kuoh City.
After around ten minutes—and pausing twice to assess her surroundings—she finally reached Kuoh.
A not-so-small city nestled in a relatively flat valley with rolling hills and distant mountains. And from the edge of her vision, she saw it: a rising sun signaling morning's arrival to the human world.