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[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 174
As she shouted as if scolding, she forcibly began to control her divine power, causing it to surge violently.
It was as if it were a child resisting her.
However, surprisingly, with her limits shattered, she started to forcefully take control of her divine power.
"Listen to me! You bastard! Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?!"
Fortunately, the only ones who had witnessed her like this so far were me and the Holy Knight Commander, Rehelon Ban.
The other holy knights and priests had mostly collapsed, seemingly unconscious, and Diablo had been nowhere to be seen along with Luna for some time now.
"Luna, where are you? Things are getting a bit messed up here."
But beyond the artifact, there was only silence.
I didn't think anything had happened to her.
Still, I couldn't help but worry.
"Fuhuhu... Fuhuhuhuhu..."
In the midst of this, the saint—who had seemingly been driven mad—began to laugh, as if she had become obsessed with performing miracles, all while controlling her divine power.
But did performing a large-scale miracle require such immense power?
That couldn't be.
The pure white light surging from her entire body had already spread across the entire capital of this holy kingdom, overflowing with enough force to purify all the strange energies writhing within the people.
A large-scale miracle?
She had already performed one and was now emitting even more power beyond that.
"Ah... Aah! I feel like something is coming... It's coming... It's coming!"
"Wow... That crazy woman."
Regardless, she spread her arms wide, laughing in pure ecstasy.
Her long hair was whipped around mercilessly by the violent wind, yet her beauty remained untouched.
"Haa... It's here, it's here! It has come!"
And with those words—
KUUUUUUNG!!!!
Before her, a pillar of pure white light, at least three meters in diameter, descended from the heavens to the earth, radiating an overwhelming presence.
And then—
As if all the sounds in the world had vanished, there was an instant of complete silence.
Immediately after, countless white feathers, like those of an angel, exploded into the air and floated down gently.
"Oh... Ooooh..."
The Holy Knight Commander, Rehelon Ban, fell to his knees, his eyes wide with awe.
"To think I would witness such a sight in my lifetime..."
The real shock came after that.
The unconscious holy knights, priests, and even the citizens began to rise blankly, as if they had regained their senses.
Then, as if by instinct, they all fell to their knees and clasped their hands together in prayer while gazing up at the sky.
What were they looking at?
Following their gaze, I looked up at the sky.
And then I understood why they were reacting this way.
So that’s where she had gone.
Floating in the sky, radiating an overwhelming presence of holy light and scattering pure white feathers—was a being unlike any other.
I knew that person better than anyone.
Her long, pink hair flowed freely, as if released from all restraints, and in her eyes, a galaxy shimmered, as if they held the entire cosmos within them.
And behind her—
To my astonishment, three pairs of pure white wings were spread wide.
An Archangel.
It was said that one or two pairs of wings signified a regular angel, but from three pairs onward, they were considered archangels.
Though the third pair of wings was not fully formed and appeared as a mass of light rather than solid feathers, the mere fact of its existence proved she was far beyond an ordinary angel.
But why were her halo and wings pure white?
The radiant light emanating from her spread as if alive, making it difficult for most to even take in her full form.
Those who could see her were too busy lowering their heads in prayer.
Thus, I was the only one who could fully witness her appearance.
And—she was making a rather smug expression.
"Ah... Aah... That form... That halo! There's no mistake! There's no mistake!!"
At that moment, an elderly priest trembled as if he were having a seizure.
"A messenger of God!! An angel has descended!!"
"Oh... Ooooh... The... the angel has descended..."
"The prophecy has come true."
There was no one who doubted the existence of angels.
After witnessing such an overwhelming manifestation of divine power, no one could possibly consider it a lie.
Even Diablo had once remarked that while visual effects were just that—effects—this was on a completely different level.
So that’s what he meant.
After all, Luna was an angel.
And based on everything I was seeing, she was something of an archangel.
The Seven Archangels?
No, she had been sealed away for so long that it was uncertain whether she was counted among them.
But at the very least—
It was undeniable that Luna possessed the wings of an Archangel.
“Saint… The Saint has summoned an angel…”
“Oh… Oh, Saint.”
The people who had called her a witch and a heretic just half a day ago had changed their stance remarkably fast.
Some might not be pleased with this turn of events, but ultimately, there was no longer anyone who could question the Saint’s legitimacy.
That aside, Luna had never been particularly fond of using an angel’s power, yet her expression didn’t seem all that bad.
Though Luna was powerful, I didn’t think she was capable of releasing such an overwhelming force.
Silently, she raised one hand high.
At that moment, a massive surge of divine light erupted, embedding pillars of light throughout the entire capital of the Holy Kingdom, Laphel.
As a result, the lingering foreign presence that had remained within the people of the Holy Kingdom was completely eradicated.
Even things that could not be entirely erased through large-scale miracles were now entirely gone.
A vast divinity enveloped the entire area, blessing it.
“Ah… The angel has descended to convey the will of God, and that will has taken the form of seven pillars, purifying the sanctuary.”
Someone murmured, reciting scripture.
Listening to the people collectively chant verses from the holy text sent shivers down my spine—it was like watching a congregation of fanatics.
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“Oh, right.”
I suddenly thought of Saint Nadia and turned to look at her.
She was gazing blankly at the sky, as if drained of all strength, before collapsing powerlessly.
“Oh, dear.”
I quickly moved to catch her in my arms.
The soft sensation that met my hands momentarily caught me off guard, but that was all.
However—
Vwoooong…
Boom!!!
Luna, on the other hand, seemed to have a different reaction.
With just a flick of her hand, one of the pillars of light crashed down on me, sending a dizzying surge of energy through my body.
Seriously?
I glanced up, glaring at Luna, who was floating high above the sky, exuding an air of aloofness.
She let out a small huff and turned her gaze away.
If only everyone else could see this.
This is the so-called divine messenger, the angel you all worship with your lives.
Then again, her jealousy was oddly endearing, so I handed Nadia over to a nearby priest.
“She must have exhausted a great deal of her energy.”
Nadia had not summoned the angel on her own.
To begin with, the angel—Luna—had already descended, and the power just now seemed to be something she had triggered through some means.
In truth, the reason Saint Nadia had collapsed was because of a suggestion I had placed on her.
The suggestion had caused her to lose control, and in that frenzy, she had successfully manipulated divine energy in a way she normally could not, resulting in a backlash.
Of course, there was no need to reveal that truth.
As if her role had come to an end, Luna wrapped herself in light, and in an instant, she burst apart into thousands—no, tens of thousands—of feathers.
All of that was just theatrics.
“Oh… Oh… Holy feathers!”
“The divine messenger has completed her task and is returning!”
The people had no idea.
A lie, when mixed with truth, becomes flawless.
The descent of an angel had always been a performance, but when a real angel was mixed into it, it became impossible to distinguish the truth from the illusion.
And this wasn’t just any ordinary angel with two pairs of wings—this was an archangel.
Leaving behind the mesmerized crowd, I made my way to a quieter area.
There, I found Luna standing silently, gazing at the sky, her robe draped over her, and beside her, standing guard without a word, was Diablo.
“Shh. Leave her be for a moment.”
As soon as Diablo saw me, he led me a short distance away.
“She needs time to stabilize.”
“What did you do? Why was Luna suddenly there?”
“She wished for it. She wanted to help you.”
“Did Luna even have that kind of power?”
At my question, he shook his head.
“Do you see the bracelet on her wrist?”
“I don’t recognize it.”
“It’s something she originally owned. I had been keeping it, but I returned it to her now. Normally, Saint Nadia would not have been able to summon an angel like this. But her devotion was sincere.”
However, the divine energy she had was far too weak to summon an angel.
In other words, summoning an archangel, let alone a high-ranked angel with two pairs of wings, was impossible.
But with Luna present, and with her regaining a bracelet that contained some of her past power, answering the Saint’s desperate—no, almost crazed—prayer was not difficult.
Right now, Luna was calming the divine energy she hadn’t used in so long.
Normally, this wouldn’t be necessary.
But since she had fallen from grace and was now a tainted existence, pure divinity must have been burdensome for her.
“Did you plan this from the start?”
“To be precise, she does not like using an angel’s power. But more than that, she wanted to help you.”
I took in the sight of Luna, still lost in thought.
She had fallen and become corrupted for reasons unknown, and I had heard more than once that divine energy was something she did not particularly welcome.
I would have to console her soon.
But before that, there was something I needed to check.
A new entry had appeared in my status window.
[Fusion] – Resonates with the power of various domains, merging two normally incompatible abilities within a single body. The effects remain unknown until tested.
* * *
Due to the angelic descent ritual, the seven pillars of light embedded throughout the Holy Kingdom’s capital, Laphel, emitted a massive wave of divine energy, completely purging the foreign presence that had infiltrated the kingdom.
The scheme of those who had sought to expel Nadia had now completely collapsed.
However, as long as those people still remained, this was not a fundamental solution.
“Saint, please take my head.”
The captain of the Holy Knights, Rehelon Ban, knelt before her, presenting his sword.
“This unfaithful fool was blind. I failed to accept the will of God and was deceived by heretical hands, doubting you.”
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[Translator - Night]
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