Chapter 68 Arc 2 - Eden

When Lucas entered the portal, he quickly noticed a beautiful forest filled with trees and golden fruits. The place was so serene that he felt like he was in paradise. "Is this Eden?" he questioned himself as he looked at the beautiful picturesque scenery. He then looked up and noticed a beautiful golden apple hanging from a large tree nearby. He also noticed that two huge angelic-looking creatures had guarded the tree.

"May I take one of those fruits?" asked Lucas, as he pointed toward one of the golden fruits.

"Of course, they are quite delicious." said Araniel while flying upward's the large tree and picking up one fruit, "Try it, tho I am warning you; They are a bit sour, so eat it slowly." she said while giving it to Lucas with a sweet smile.

Lucas smiled as the thing he loved the most on Earth was lemons, so he thought he could handle 'a bit sour apples'. He took a bite, and his face immediately scrunched up at the powerful punch of citrus flavor. Acid was so strong that it quickly started burning off his taste buds, making him spit out the blood. However, he still swallowed the juice in his mouth.

"A bit sour is an understatement..." Lucas exclaimed, his face still distorted by pain and acid. "You could probably melt metal with this."

Araniel giggled before she replied: "You're right. It's because this was a ripe apple!~ The sooner you pick them up, the sweeter they are."

"I like citrus fruit, but this is too much," he exclaimed as he spat out blood from his tongue that slowly started healing.

An angel girl chuckled at his expression. "Just drink water, and you'll be fine," Salathiel told him as she conjured a jar filled with water. She stared at him with a warm look.

"Thank you." Lucas replied after drinking the water, but then he suddenly remembered something. From what he heard, angels shouldn't be able to create things gods do.

"Wait, how did you do that?" he asked.

"It's no big deal." the blond angel shrugged, "Anyone powerful enough can conjure items. The difference between angels and gods is just mana's nature." She held her hands up into the air and created some red fruits for herself in mid-air. "Gods have holy mana; we have cursed."

"Wow!~" Lucas blinked as if impressed by their demonstration. He felt a bit jealous at Araniel's ability to make items appear out of nowhere without any preparation. He also saw that Salanthiel casually ate two golden apples.

Suddenly, two girls grabbed his hands and said in unison, "Fly with us." as they started pulling him into the air.

"W-Wait, I can... Wait!" Lucas didn't even have time to manifest his wings as the girls pulled him off the planet into the air. The sensation made him panic since he was anxious to be in the air without wings. A strong gust of wind blew past them while he looked down at earth before looking back up at heaven.

He floated in the atmosphere in awe of the sweeping panorama before him, stretching out for miles and miles. Soft, fluffy clouds buoyed across the horizon like a never-ending parade of cotton candy. His mouth remained agape, eyes wide with wonder. This was a sight he had never seen before, and words seemed to fail him. It was as if his soul were being filled with an unexplainable warmth and joy, so strong it almost hurt to keep silent. He finally mustered a quiet whisper, "This is...?" His voice echoed across the sky, "Beautiful!"

Angel girls smiled sweetly as they held Lucas. "Do you like this word?" one asked him as she pressed her cheek against his head again.

"Yes..." Lucas replied softly. "It's beautiful."

"Glad to hear." Araniel giggled, showing off her pearly white teeth.

"Since it's clear you like this world..." another girl told him in a friendly tone, but something threatening in her voice still made him feel uncomfortable. The dark-haired angel kept her arm wrapped around Jacob as the blonde angel continued speaking to him: "How about becoming a ruler of it?" Araniel created a portal and pushed Lucas inside.

"Huh?" Lucas exclaimed in shock, and the next thing he knew, he was back on the ground as Araniel let go of his hand. She closed the portal and walked in circles around Lucas, with Salathiel trailing closely behind her.

"What do you think?" Salathiel asked as she raised her hand and released a shock wave, destroying dozens of kilometers of forest. "This could be your realm... your kingdom..." Her smile was sinister as she grinned maliciously. "I can create new portals between this world and other worlds so you can play around in Lightburn, creating your army of Nephilim." she said seductively.

Lucas stood frozen for several seconds before shaking his head to dispel his thoughts. "T-That's not what I want!" he shot them both a defiant glare. "I just want to give the victims a chance for revenge."

"We know, silly!~" girls said in unison, their eyes glowed maliciously. Both of them started moving toward him simultaneously, almost as if they were performing synchronized movements. They glided down from the air with wings that flapped slowly like butterflies' wings. Suddenly, they disappeared within the portal that appeared out of nowhere. And the next moment, they appeared in front of him with a child's dead body. They placed the body in front of Lucas and said;

"We can help you with raising the dead." Girls said in unison and grabbed Lucas's hands, absorbing his mana.

Then they placed their free hands-on kid's forehead, and with a warm smile, Salathiel said, "We can even find a soul that already went into the reincarnation cycle."

The kid's eyes flew open, and he gasped, a loud scream echoing through the small room. His body shook with fear-driven adrenaline, unlike Jacob's slow and labored journey from unconsciousness to the world of the living.

Girls asked him in unison, "Jimmy Rells. Would you like another chance in life? A chance for revenge?"