CH 170

“What do you think you’re doing?!” El screamed.

Gi-Gyu looked down and found the pure white tip of a sword poking out of his chest. As blood poured out of the wound, Gi-Gyu realized that this wasn’t Raphael’s sword.

“This man has blasphemed against God. He has impersonated God during a holy ritual. Does anyone object to his immediate execution?” the voice from behind Gi-Gyu announced.

Gi-Gyu grabbed the sword poking out of his chest and slowly turned his head. The culprit had a familiar voice, so he had to see who had stabbed him from behind.

“Gabriel!” El shouted the culprit’s name. Gabriel smirked as he looked down at Gi-Gyu.

El seemed confused, but Gabriel protested, “I can’t understand you, Michael. You suggested the ritual and were leading it, so how could you defend this interrupter?”

Gabriel looked up at El and repeated, “I can’t understand you at all.”

“But…! This man just used the power of Life on me!” El yelled.

Before Gabriel could respond, Raphael shouted, “What?”

Raphael was slowly standing up, but El ignored him. Instead, she continued to face Gabriel and explained, “Gabriel! You saw this man using the power of Life just now! But you still stabbed him from behind!”

“W-wait!” Raphael yelled in confusion, and chaos soon took hold of the area. “That’s not possible! To be able to use both Death and Life… That’s…”

Raphael and the other archangels whispered in surprise, but Gabriel remained determined. He yelled, “Why does that matter?! God is dead! Everyone knows this, right? So are you claiming that this man is our dead God? Have you all become so corrupt that you can’t even recognize our father?!”

A heavy silence fell, but Raphael broke it hesitantly.

“But… Only God can use both Death and Life. Death was given to the hell king while Life was granted to our king. Each king could only use one of these godly powers, so if this creature can use both…”

Raphael touched the handle of Gabriel’s sword. The sword was still stuck in Gi-Gyu’s chest. Gi-Gyu thought that no one could remove the sword from his body; surprisingly, the white sword slowly left his body.

Raphael gently placed his hand on Gi-Gyu’s back. The warmth streaming from his hand lessened Gi-Gyu’s pain, and Raphael announced, “This creature must have a close relationship with our father. That must mean…!”

El wept as Raphael continued, “Perhaps our queen may not have to sacrifice herself.”

“Father… Our father…” El sobbed. After treating Gi-Gyu’s wound, Raphael walked up to El. It appeared that he wanted to remove the seven swords stuck in her as well.

But…

“You can’t undo what we have started.” The other archangels who had been watching silently until now stopped Raphael.

“W-what do you mean?!” Raphael asked in confusion.

Ignoring him, the other archangels surrounded El and called out to Gabriel, “Gabriel!”

Gabriel declared, “Whatever happens, the ritual must continue.”

Stepping past Gi-Gyu, Gabriel continued, “Hear me!”

He raised the white sword covered in Gi-Gyu’s blood and shouted, “Raphael has betrayed us angels!”

Gi-Gyu, El, and Raphael’s eyes widened.

Gabriel continued, “He has sided with the hell king to interrupt our ritual! He has sinned, so we shall execute him immediately!”

Gabriel’s dazzling wings opened, but they didn’t look pure to Gi-Gyu.

‘They are dark,’ Gi-Gyu thought in surprise. Two of Gabriel’s wings looked cloudy.

As if time had stopped, Lou spoke slowly,

-I see. This is the ritual of the holy sword. It was the first one Michael carried out to seal away something. Afterward, many other angels followed Michael’s footsteps to become holy swords. They then scattered themselves inside the Tower.

After a brief pause, Lou continued,

-I didn’t know the exact details, but… I’m surprised to learn that it was Gabriel who betrayed the angels. I guess the others can’t see it, but I certainly can. Those black, corrupted wings… Only angels who have betrayed their father have them.

Disgusted, Lou muttered,

-Wings of a fallen angel.

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Gabriel rushed toward Raphael as he screamed, “Kill Raphael and continue the ritual!”

The other archangels simultaneously attacked Raphael. Although shocked, Raphael still had the sense to throw himself toward El to protect her. In the blink of an eye, dozens of cuts appeared on Raphael, but El remained unhurt. Like a shield, he stood before El and protected her.

Gabriel yelled, “Even you can’t last long, Raphael.”

“Gabriel! Why?! Why would you betray us like this?!” Fury filled Raphael’s eyes as he asked.

“Because God acted like a fucking bystander.”

“What?”

Gabriel explained, “Do you really think that they could have completed the Tower by themselves?”

“Are you trying to say…” Raphael gasped.

“The angels have the duty to scout the world and maintain order. So how do you think they built the Tower without being discovered by us? The Tower that killed God!” Gabriel seemed to believe he had already won the battle because he gave up the information easily.

El seemed to have lost consciousness from losing too much blood. Disbelief filled Raphael’s eyes as he whispered, “Y-you’re saying that you helped them build the Tower…?”

“That’s right. And that’s enough info for someone about to die. Think of it as a farewell gift. Now die,” Gabriel replied and prepared to attack again with the other archangels. Raphael seemed ready to accept his death as he grasped his sword with both of his hands.

Da dun.

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed in the area, yet nothing physically changed. His legs shaking, Gi-Gyu rose and mumbled, “This is ridiculous. How dare you underestimate me like this?!”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Gi-Gyu. Pointing his finger at Raphael, Gi-Gyu yelled, “Hey!”

Raphael’s eyes widened in confusion. Up on his feet, Gi-Gyu announced, “I’m going to save El, so stop acting all gallant. Got it?”

Suddenly, Gi-Gyu’s eyes turned gray.

***

Fwoosh.

With a flash, Gi-Gyu disappeared and reappeared before El. Then, he lifted her gently in his arms.

Fwooosh.

The others couldn’t see it, but Gi-Gyu was connected to El with a fragile link. Slowly, this connection became stronger and deeper; simultaneously, Gi-Gyu felt strength filling his body.

“El,” Gi-Gyu called out to her quietly.

Shocked, Gabriel and the other archangels rushed toward him to attack, but Raphael stood in their way. Even if they managed to pass Raphael, they quickly realized it would be impossible to reach Gi-Gyu and El.

Bright light formed a barrier behind Gi-Gyu, preventing them from moving forward.

“A halo…” Gabriel whispered in disbelief. “This can’t be…”

The other archangels seemed just as confused. They whispered, “It’s a halo.”

A halo.

The angels had only witnessed the halo twice despite having lived seriously long lives. The first time was when Michael was appointed the queen of all angels by God himself.

The second time was…

“Father…” the angels whispered in awe.

When God, his form hidden, talked to the angels directly.

All the angels kneeled, but Gi-Gyu didn’t seem to even notice. He only kept whispering El’s name, “El…”

After a while, El’s condition changed. The swords stuck in her slowly fell out of their own accord. Her injuries healed, her face regained color, and her lips turned pink and shiny.

All the angels were kneeling on the ground except for one—Gabriel. Still standing, he screamed, “This doesn’t make any sense!”

Gi-Gyu grinned and murmured, “Of course.”

Nothing in this simulation made sense anyway.

“Master…” El finally opened her eyes and whispered.

Looking down at her with a gentle smile, Gi-Gyu replied, “Don’t worry. I will protect you.”

Gi-Gyu placed El down on the ground. She recovered enough to move but still sat down and gasped. Her injuries had mostly healed, but she appeared to be mentally exhausted.

Gi-Gyu turned around and asked, “So you’re Gabriel, huh?”

The halo behind him was gone, but the angels didn’t get up and remained quiet.

“It’s time for you to get punished, don’t you think?” Gi-Gyu rushed toward Gabriel.

***

“Haa… Haa…” Covered in blood, Gabriel panted on the ground. No one stopped Gi-Gyu when he grabbed Gabriel’s head. The other angels were still kneeling on the ground respectfully.

Gabriel continued to mumble, “But God is dead… God is… dead. I’m sure of it…”

“Shut up.” Gi-Gyu put more pressure, but not enough to crush Gabriel’s skull. Instead, he placed a piece of Death between Gabriel’s opened emotions.

When Gabriel stopped breathing, Gi-Gyu turned around and walked away. All the angels maintained their kneeling posture except for two.

El and Raphael.

Ignoring Raphael, Gi-Gyu walked up to El and murmured, “El… I’m sorry you had to go through that. Are you okay?”

El nodded and replied, “Thank you.”

A mysterious smile appeared on her face as she whispered, “Master.”

[You have passed the test.]

Gi-Gyu smiled, and a barrage of system announcements flooded his head.

***

[You have passed El’s test.]

[You have completed the hidden mission of stopping Gabriel’s treason.]

[You have acquired El’s data.]

[You have acquired the remaining piece of El’s physical body.]

[There is data left in El’s physical body.]

[You will be given a reward.]

[You have obtained Gabriel’s Holy Grail.]

[A short rest will be granted.]