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Chapter 266

The target of Remiel’s wrath right now wasn’t a human, or a mere angel, or even an archangel.

It was the source of her very being.

Her god.

The one who could be considered her parent—her fury was directed at them.

“To be honest, she’s been sealed twice.”

“What?”

“These are erased records, not even known within the Holy Kingdom… But a long time ago, after she destroyed the Kingdom of Ression, she was punished. Luna, you probably know about this.”

“I know she disappeared.”

“But later, she was released from her seal. The humans she had tried to kill were already dead, after all.”

It was time for the world to return to its original order—that’s what it said.

But Remiel’s rage didn’t stop there.

“I don’t know the exact details. But apparently, she lost her mind halfway and caused another incident. That’s when she was sealed again. It was an incident involving the descent of the archangels… I don’t know the full story, but it must’ve been a massive accident.”

“Did she rebel or something?”

“That would make sense, but she wasn’t even branded with the Mark of Corruption… just sealed.”

At this point, it was getting hard to tell who the real fallen angel was.

Luna, though outwardly corrupted, still gave off the feeling of kindness.

But Remiel—still a fully intact archangel—was acting in a way that seemed utterly depraved.

Of course, it was already known that the concept of “corruption” differed from how it was traditionally understood.

Luna, a fallen angel who had been sealed, versus Remiel—an unbroken archangel whose warped nature could rival that of the damned.

At this point, a strange thought occurred.

“Luna, from your perspective, Remiel could be your greatest ally. But she could also become your worst enemy. We need to be certain.”

“Certain?”

“Of who she’s trying to take revenge on—whether it’s Michael, Raguel, Uriel, and the Creator Himself.”

Or… if it’s all the archangels.

If it’s the latter, Luna would end up facing Remiel—the archangel she had thought best of—as an enemy.

“Haa…”

Luna let out a sigh filled with bitterness.

To her, Remiel might have been a somewhat special figure.

Before Luna’s ego awakened, Remiel had seemed like nothing but a bizarre anomaly full of variables.

But after awakening her sense of self, Luna came to see Remiel as the most proactive of all the archangels.

Maybe it was because she felt the strongest sense of camaraderie with her that she had even suggested unsealing her.

But…

If what Diablo said was true—if Remiel bore hatred toward the archangels and even toward God Himself—then there was no reason for her not to become hostile toward Luna as well.

A shadow darkened Luna’s expression.

The white-winged mad dog, with her three pairs of wings, wore an utterly innocent smile while casually declaring she would tear to pieces anything related to God.

This wasn’t mere resentment or hatred—it was pure, unfiltered loathing.

No one knew exactly how an archangel ended up this way, but in hindsight, maybe it was inevitable.

In terms of raw power, Luna—once one of the Three Great Archangels—had the upper hand over Remiel.

But currently, Luna had lost much of her power as an archangel.

She was still strong, but nowhere near the level she had once been.

Remiel, on the other hand?

Though her long period of sealing might have weakened her slightly, her maximum potential had never changed.

In other words, if she became an enemy, she would appear with the full might of an archangel-level threat.

Put simply—

Barring outer gods, she was the most dangerous enemy they had encountered so far.

“Still haven’t found the ring… and the one person I thought I could connect with turns out to be like this…”

Looking at her dangling from chains, giggling as if she were imagining something amusing, it was hard not to think: Isn’t this what a madman with pure eyes would look like?

“Maybe this is her true nature. We just didn’t notice when she didn’t have a sense of self.”

Trying to ease Luna’s guilt, I offered some words in defense.

But she shook her head.

“Remiel wasn’t like that. I just… don’t want to hurt her.”

What Luna feared was a situation where Remiel directed her hatred at her.

It’s understandable—but still painful to experience firsthand.

So, I told Luna to rest and requested a private meeting with Remiel.

“Adam.”

“I’m not Adam. It’s Leon. Leon Cascadia.”

“Hmm… You kinda are~ but kinda not~”

The reason I asked to meet with her alone was because there was something I wanted to ask her directly.

But first, I had to start with this.

“Do you hate God?”

“Yes.”

No hesitation whatsoever.

“Is it not just hate, but full-on hatred—something like wanting to tear Him apart one day?”

“Yes.”

Again, no hesitation.

“Why?”

“Leon, have you ever lost someone precious to you?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Did it hurt?”

“It was painful.”

She smiled brightly at my response.

“What if that number became hundreds?”

“…”

This just got heavy.

“What if it became thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?”

Now that’s really heavy.

“You had that many people you considered precious?”

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“As you might’ve guessed, I was an archangel with the power of empathy. Even without a sense of self, I could empathize with people. I could feel their pain and their joy. Even if I didn’t want to.”

For a very long time, she must have been empathizing with countless lives—against her will.

“When they cried out in despair and called for God… When the wicked went unpunished… and I had to watch without being able to act—how do you think I felt?”

“But that was when you had no self-awareness, wasn’t it?”

“Just because I lacked a self doesn’t mean I lost the memories. Isn’t that the same with Raphael?”

She may not have known how it felt at the time, but once her self-awareness formed, those memories would’ve become unbearable.

She was angry.

Angry that she had been given empathy in the first place.

“If that’s what God is—if He’s not a just, omnipotent being, but a rotten system that needs to be erased…”

Maybe, just maybe… she had a point.

For the flow of the world.

And for order.

Even if a cold-blooded decision was made for those reasons, there is no reason for the ones who suffered from it to understand.

Now, it's time to do what I must.

“How is Luna?”

“You mean Raphael?”

Depending on her answer, I would erase her right here.

Even if she possessed the immense power of an archangel.

She tilted her head, as if pondering.

“Right. Raphael. She used to be a bitch just as insufferable as that bastard Michael.”

This bitch?

The moment I drew my cursed sword in a flash, she grinned.

“Calm down, Adam.”

“My name is Leon.”

“Sure, whatever. How much do you actually know about her?”

“……”

“Do you know what she did a long time ago in the name of God?”

“I do not.”

“That’s why you can say that. All archangels are the same.”

“Aren’t you an archangel too?”

Why are you pretending you’re not?

“Which is exactly why it has to be me. I’ll bring down the Lord, destroy the archangel system, and make sure those living on this land no longer suffer under God’s cruel dice games.”

But she didn’t seem particularly hostile toward Luna.

“To be honest, the ones I really want to kill are the archangels Michael, Raguel, and Uriel.”

“Why?”

“They killed my dearest friend.”

Is this about the story of the demon and the girl?

The three archangels who descended to slay the demon in that tale were indeed those three.

“You mean the story of the demon and the girl?”

“That’s right. Eligos and Melli.”

As I thought.

I didn’t mishear it back then.

She continued speaking.

“Do you know what revelation God gave me?”

The smile faded from her face.

“‘You will do nothing.’ I understood. That as long as I lived, I’d eternally keep torturing myself.”

That’s what you say to your child who’s suffering because of what you made them do?

After saying that, she stared at me with cold eyes.

“The other archangels are the same. All of them are hypocrites. I’d love to cut them all down too... but Raphael’s position is a bit ambiguous.”

“Why is that?”

I asked, my cursed sword aimed at her throat.

Even under threat of death, she smiled faintly.

“A long time ago, I received a request. Of course, I doubt they expected a situation like this. And when I was released from the seal and raised my rebellion against God, the only archangel who didn’t intervene was…”

Luna.

Naturally.

By that time, Luna had already been sealed away.

“Is that answer good enough for you?”

“That was vague. You didn’t really answer anything.”

“I’m conflicted too. I don’t like her. But I don’t particularly hate her either. If you’re asking whether I’ll jump at the chance to tear her apart right now, then no. Not at the moment.”

Then, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

When I turned my head, Luna was looking up at me with a gloomy expression.

“Leon.”

“What is it?”

“I want to talk to her alone for a moment.”

“…Alright.”

Leaving Remiel alone with Luna might be dangerous, but Luna wasn’t someone so weak she’d go down easily.

* * *

After Leon and Diablo left, only Luna and Lispa Elde Remielia—Remiel—remained in the silent altar.

“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Even if your position is ambiguous, the fact that you’re still an archangel hasn’t changed.”

“I’ve already been stripped of the title of archangel.”

“You think that makes a good excuse?”

To Remiel’s mocking tone, Luna calmly continued.

“When I awakened my sense of self... I actually thought you of all people would be in the same position as me.”

“Keep going.”

“Because we shared the same pain, I thought we could get along. Even if I hated the other archangels, I didn’t hate you for that reason.”

Unlike the other archangels who remained blindly faithful to God even after attaining self-awareness, Luna and Remiel had taken the opposite stance.

So, she thought they could understand each other and form a good relationship.

Remiel giggled at that.

“Ahaha. Our dear member of the Three Great Archangels, Raphael. You’re so naïve.”

“……”

“Luna Basilin Raphaelia. You bitch.”

Luna didn’t even flinch.

“Understanding and sharing pain? Why do you talk like you’re the victim? There isn’t a single archangel who’s clean. You’re just like the rest. Got it?”

Remiel didn’t hold back her harsh words.

“Do you think none of the people you executed in the name of ‘judgment’ were good?”

The Lord, to begin with, cared more about the flow of fate than concepts of good or evil.

“Back then, there was a child who wanted to stop a war, and used forbidden magic. You erased her.”

Luna flinched.

“Did you know? That child cared for the sick, spent time with orphans, and wished for a world where no one had to cry.”

“……”

“See the reality now? You killed someone like that. All because fate demanded it. That her death would prevent future indiscriminate witch hunts from erupting in her name.”

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