Chapter 72 Arc 2 - Inconsistencies In The Story

Lucas sat on the stone throne while Salanthiel stood by his side. They were waiting for Araniel to return with Jimmy.

"This was a success. You convinced me." Lucas told Salanthiel with a smile on his face. He couldn't help but shake from excitement over the thought that now he had the power to revive the dead to take vengeance for themselves and serve him as his personal army.

"Thank you, my king," Salanthiel said. Her face was a little flushed as she was happy to be accepted by Lucas. "Araniel and I will serve you well."

Lucas's lip corners lifted up in a slight smirk as he thought about what his new army would look like. "Do you think you can get more vengeful souls?

Salanthiel was taken aback by the question but answered quickly, "Yes, we'll be able to gather them all. There is nothing that we can't accomplish together." The blonde-haired angel beamed with pride.

"I'll need the plan to gather them all at once and release them onto the Holy kingdom. I'll leave that to you," Lucas replied. He figured that he might need to find a way to transport them to the place where he would be raising them.

"But sir... Why the Holy kingdom."

"Since you can teleport, you can choose wherever you collect souls and bodies from," Lucas replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "and I have a personal grudge against that kingdom." He sighed, "Besides, that's not important right now." Lucas waved his hand dismissively as he stared out at his newly constructed castle. "You two girls are amazing." he exclaimed while standing up from the throne. "You two are the best thing that happened to me ever since I reincarnated."

Salanthiel was startled and blushed at the compliment. She decided not to question Lucas and instead created a hot chocolate drink with her magic.

"D-Drink for my king." She presented it to Lucas, and he smiled at her as he took it from her hands. He savored every sip and noticed how the drink soothed his weary mind. The warmth of the hot chocolate filled him like an embrace from the heavens. "Thank you for your kindness." She smiled softly, and then she looked at him with a serious expression.

"They're back," she exclaimed when she saw a white portal and two figures walking out of it.

Lucas' eyes lit up as he glanced at them. His lips curved into a warm smile, and he sweetly greeted them with a gentle "Welcome back."

Araniel and Jimmy approached him. Araniel bowed, but Jimmy stood frozen in front of Lucas; Araniel pushed Jimmy's head down into a bow. "Mission success. Jimmy has all the necessary angelic powers to serve as a Nephilim. He also has an angelic sense of justice towards the sinners." Araniel explained.

"I see. I see." Lucas muttered with excitement as he looked at Jimmy with wonder. "I suppose you haven't completed your vengeance yet?"

Jimmy stood, his shoulders sagging, as Araniel stepped closer and placed her hand gently on his back. Her eyes were filled with understanding, and she nodded slightly, giving him the courage to say what was on his mind.

"N-No, sir. Lady... Uh..." he stuttered as he glanced at Araniel, not knowing her name. "Uh... This lady picked me up from a fight against the Holy kingdom's adventurers."

Lucas sighed as he awkwardly exclaimed, "You'll get your chance. Don't worry."

Araniel cast one final, regretful glance at Jimmy as she spoke. She gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder as if trying to transfer some of her strength and courage to him. Her voice was soft and understanding as she said: "It's not your fault, Jimmy. You did your best. But," she added in a reassuring tone, "the king's right; you'll get your chance to punish them soon enough."

"P-Punish..." Jimmy muttered. He wondered how to punish was a weird way to call 'murder.' But he didn't mind; he was happy that he could finally do something useful and have a purpose again. He stood straighter and faced Lucas with pride in his eyes. "My king..." he knelt on one leg as he pledged his loyalty to him.

"T-That's a little excessive..." Lucas awkwardly chuckled. "There's no need..." Lucas started speaking, but seeing Jimmy's serious expression, he decided not to continue. He nodded and said to Jimmy, "Serve Eden well."

"Yes, my king..." replied Jimmy as he rose back up with his hands clasped before him as if he were praying.

Lucas turned back to Araniel, who was beaming at Jimmy with an expression of pure joy. "Assist Jimmy in settling into the heavens. Make sure that he exchanges places with Jacob within a couple of hours so that my castle in the Snowlands remains protected."

"Yessir." Araniel nodded. She stared at Lucas in awe as she was finally happy that Lucas had finally started acting as her king.

"Salanthiel..." Lucas exclaimed, looking at the blonde girl. "I will need to return to Lightburn."

"Y-Yes..." Salatiel said in a disappointed tone. Her expression changed as she looked at Lucas with sad eyes, "Why don't we stay together for a bit longer?" she asked sweetly while gently rubbing his shoulder. "It would be fun." she purred.

"I still have some unfinished business to attend to." Lucas's face turned serious. "This world has inconsistencies that were not supposed to happen."

Salathiel raised her brows as she asked, "Like what?"

"There were a couple of inconsistencies. Like, king Thomas never meeting his past life's lover..." he said as he stood up and walked in circles. "Another one was demon king Dorian, being comatose..."

"D-Dorian?" Salathiel frowned, she knew that name from somewhere, but she just couldn't grasp where. However, that name was making her angry. "Dorian..." she muttered to herself again, but because she couldn't remember where she heard it, she gave up trying and allowed Lucas to continue.

"Last but not least, Sarah," Lucas said as his brows furrowed. "I don't understand where she fits in the story."

"Story?" Salathiel exclaimed.

Lucas waved his hand rapidly, exhorting Salathiel to drop the line of questioning. In spite of the anxiousness that had settled in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't help but smile. He was grateful to have her in his life and felt a strange, indescribable bond with her. She had become his closest confidante.

"Isn't that a good thing? Having friends and stuff?" Salathiel asked.

"Of course it is, but what matters is that she is inconsistent in the story. In my life," he said and shook his head. "But I just can't figure out how this can be a bad thing..."

Salathiel leaned in closer, eager to make sure he heard every word she said. Her heart felt full of a sense of pride and accomplishment as she slowly guided Lucas to the realization that what he thought was incomprehensible could actually make sense. She paused and looked into his eyes, waiting to see if he had any questions.

"Mhm?" Lucas gazed at her with questioning eyes. "What's wrong?"

Salathiel started acting awkwardly, even stuttering. "R-Remember we mentioned... that we had a sister?"

"What does that have to do with it?" Lucas asked, startled. But suddenly, he came to a realization. "Wait... Do you mean..."

Salathiel stood in the vast throne room, her gaze glued to the polished white stone flooring. Her hands were balled up in tight fists, her knuckles turning white as she struggled to hold back her voice. She cleared her throat and cautiously looked up at the figure seated on the throne. "Y-Yeah…" Salathiel murmured, her voice trembling. "Could it be that you already found our sister? Or… our sister found you?"