CH 317

“Ackkk!” Alberto screamed.

Even Sung-Hoon, who had watched plenty of Gi-Gyu’s fights, exclaimed, “What kind of battle is this?!”

A storm was raging inside the Colosseum. The fight between the two angels was beyond anything conceivable by a mortal mind.

“Isn’t it more like a natural disaster?” Alberto mumbled and hurriedly used his skills. If this storm reached outside, it would be problematic. Normally, Alberto couldn’t have contained a battle of such colossal magnitude alone. However, he had the Colosseum—where the Italian association headquarters was located—on his side. Here existed countless protective barriers and mechanisms, and Alberto knew how to expertly and efficiently use every single one of them.

Moreover, several dozens of wings, which were previously aiding Alberto and Sung-Hoon, were flying around the outer walls of the Colosseum. They were El’s wings, which had formed a powerful barrier to help Alberto do this job.

But, of course, Alberto still needed further help.

Clunk!

“Are you okay?” Sung-Hoon had just deflected a piece of some wall that had been on its way to Alberto.

“Thanks!” Alberto replied haphazardly, utterly focused on executing his skill.

The area outside the Colosseum was safe for now, but Alberto and Sung-Hoon were still inside the storm. While Alberto was busy using his skills to contain the battle, it was Sung-Hoon’s job to protect Alberto.

“This is…” Sung-Hoon mumbled. Blocking pieces of broken walls, debris, and such seemed like easy work, but he was already at his limit. After all, they weren’t simply broken bricks—they were broken bricks swathed in incredible energy. Blocking them took a lot of his power.

“I thought only Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu could fight like this, but…” Sung-Hoon whispered, realizing that Gi-Gyu’s creatures were also very powerful.

‘But…’ Sung-Hoon knew that although Gi-Gyu’s creatures were strong, they still couldn’t compare to Gi-Gyu himself.

“Because Ranker Kim is…” Sung-Hoon knew that Gi-Gyu was so powerful that he wouldn’t even have to fight like this. Gi-Gyu was efficient and an expert at centering his power to prevent collateral damage.

Gi-Gyu would never fight the way the battle inside the Colosseum was going.

“This is basically a dogfight,” Sung-Hoon muttered. The two powerful figures were showing off everything they had. They didn’t care about anything or anyone around them. They had only one thing on their minds: Kill him.

“Ugh.” Sung-Hoon groaned while blocking another fragment. He felt weak; suddenly, he felt a burst of energy running through his arms as if he had been hit by lightning.

“Heal.” It was Alberto who had used his healing skill on Sung-Hoon.

“Thanks.” Sung-Hoon was glad Alberto was a talented support player with decent healing power.

Now energized and relieved, Sung-Hoon begged, “Please let this end quickly…”

Above him, a giant beast crashed into a dark cloud.

***

Becoming corrupt was almost the only way for an angel to become powerful suddenly. There were other methods, such as God descending himself to bless or promote them, but this rarely happened. Most angels were left to become stronger on their own.

And choosing to become corrupt was one of the easiest ways for an angel to grow.

Hamiel smiled bitterly as Castro’s horns rammed into him.

Kaboom!

The attack resulted in a destructive energy burst, which was so powerful that it gave rise to another storm. As the debris flew around like missiles, Hamiel used his wings to protect himself. Castro’s horns weren’t strong enough to pierce Hamiel’s wings, but this didn’t mean they didn’t cause any damage.

“Ugh,” Hamiel groaned in pain. ‘He’s even stronger now.’ 

Unlike at the beginning, the amount of power Castro could utilize was growing. He was using corrupted divine energy, and it was devastatingly destructive.

‘If I couldn’t use Death…’  Hamiel would’ve died if his master hadn’t granted him this power. Death could only be used by one hell king; however, Hamiel could also use it because he had been granted the power. It helped him survive until now against Castro.

“Kwerrrk!” Castro roared from the satisfying energy that filled his body. Becoming corrupt meant giving up being an angel. It meant denying your very existence to gain power beyond what God had given you. This was exactly how a corrupt angel could become strong instantly, but it also came with a dire price.

‘He is losing his mind, and the corrupt divine energy is slowly swallowing him up,’ Hamiel thought grimly. By denying God’s existence, an angel could obtain much power, but this energy usually transformed into something foreign and fatal. The power was a double edge sword, as it could hurt the enemy and the user. This was the price of corruption.

‘But I…’ Hamiel didn’t know what would happen to him. His corruption wasn't normal. Gi-Gyu had an unprecedented, mysterious power. Hamiel had an idea of what his master was, but he didn’t speak his thoughts.

Suddenly, Castro backed away. Floating in the air, he asked, “Why did you abandon God?”

“...!”

“Do you know the truth as well?” Castro, now a black deer, asked. The divine white deer was no more. Castro’s voice sounded ominous and dark.

Hamiel stayed back and asked, “The truth?”

Hamiel needed to take a breath as well. One of the reasons Castro was suddenly winning the battle was that Hamiel was trying to protect Alberto and Sung-Hoon. When the battle paused, the two humans looked relieved.

Castro patronizingly said, “I learned the truth, which is why I was stigmatized with this corruption.”

When Hamiel didn’t respond, Castro chuckled, “Kekeke… So you don’t know anything. That’s why you’re romping around this place.”

“...”

“Did you ever ask why those two angels of yours died?”

When Castro mentioned the two angels, Hamiel’s face twitched. If Alberto and Sung-Hoon weren’t at their limits, Hamiel would have attacked Castro just now.

Castro whispered, “It’s because I pitied them.”

“What…?” Hamiel’s face crumpled in anger. He was losing his patience.

Castro continued, “They didn’t know the truth, and they weren’t even real angels. And I guess… I wanted them to die without knowing the truth.”

“...”

“Do you know my name?” asked Castro.

Hamiel didn’t have the answer. He had no memory of Castro. It was partly because he had been reborn after syncing with Gi-Gyu, which was why he barely had any memories from his past. But he had to admit that it was strange that he had zero memories of someone as powerful as Castro, a high-ranking Cherub.

‘He’s definitely at the commander level.’ Hamiel felt certain that Castro was among the most powerful Cherubs.

“I…” A wide grin appeared on Castro’s lips.

“...!” Suddenly, Hamiel enveloped himself with his wings. It appeared that he wasn’t the only one who wanted to buy some time. Castro had been doing the same to collect energy subtly. Hamiel hadn’t noticed it. And now, Castro was done with his transformation.

Corruption had a huge effect on the angels, especially on Cherubs. Therefore, it was no wonder Castro’s second form was also influenced.

The change didn’t only involve Castro’s body turning black.

Crack.

First, Hamiel heard the sounds of bones and joints twisting, and then he heard something giant galloping toward him. Hamiel couldn’t see anything because his wings covered his vision.

Kaboom!

A giant explosion took place, creating another storm. When the dust settled, it revealed Castro had transformed into something even more grotesque than a black deer.

“My name is Jofiel. I was the head of the Cherubs fighting at the forefront against hell,” Castro announced. His previous form, although black, had a shiny hide. But now, he looked dull, and the energy he gave off was now closer to being sorcerous energy than corrupted divine energy.

The problem was that everything had commingled into one. Castro no longer crawled on the floor like an animal. His long arms and short legs looked scary, and like a Cactus plant, his horns were covered in thorns.

“You should also join your friends without knowing the truth,” Castro continued.

He has become even more of a monster now. Castro looked down at the ground and murmured, “I guess they got lucky and survived.”

He had probably thought the recent explosion would kill the two humans below. Perhaps they were lucky, or maybe there was another reason. Of course, this didn’t mean that Alberto and Sung-Hoon were in a good state.

“Maybe I shouldn’t even bother taking care of them.” Castro decided that these two humans would die soon anyway. There was no reason for him to dirty his hands. He might be a fallen angel, but he still used to be the head of the army of Cherubs.

Fwoosh.

The wind cleared the dust further. By Castro’s estimation, Hamiel should have been pulverized by his last attack.

“I guess I don’t have much time left. ” Castro’s back ripped open, and a wing made entirely of bones popped out. Just as he had said, he didn’t have much time left. Soon, the true leader of the Cherubs would descend to this place.

But to Castro’s shock, he heard Hamiel’s voice, “You asked me why I abandoned God.”

“H-how…?!”

Hamiel was supposed to die by now. Castro turned quickly to see where Hamiel was, but suddenly, he felt a sharp pain around his neck, followed by it bleeding black and blue blood.

“Listen carefully,” Hamiel said from an unknown place. Castro tried to find Hamiel, but he couldn’t see Hamiel anywhere. To be more precise, the entire world had darkened around him.

Stab! Fwoosh! Whoosh!

Before Castro could even react, someone riddled his body.

“H-how did this…?” Castro gasped in shock.

In a low growl, Hamiel whispered very close to Castro’s ear, “The reason I abandoned God and became a corrupt angel is that God himself asked me to do so.”

“...!”

Crack.

Hamiel’s voice was the last thing Castro heard before his long life as an angel ended. The darkness was lifted from the world, and one could see the burning Rome again.

When Sung-Hoon saw what filled the Colosseum, he whispered, “It’s a dragon…”

But when the darkness disappeared completely, he realized that he was mistaken. Hamiel now had even bigger wings and two horns on his head. With his long black fingers, it was no wonder Sung-Hoon thought he was a dragon.

“The one who never abandons his followers and takes care of them…” Hamiel mumbled blankly. “That is my true God.”

The system announcements began.

[You have satisfied the conditions for your evolution.]

[The hidden evolution will begin now.]

Gaia’s voice continued.

[Hamiel’s evolution is complete.]

[Final evolved form has been reached. There will be no more evolution.]

[The evolution was a success.]

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

[Hamiel has…]

Hamiel heard the name.

[...successfully evolved into Diablo.]

Boom!

Hamiel, who had been barely standing, fell to the ground. Alberto had lost consciousness a while ago, and Sung-Hoon, who had injured his leg, dragged himself toward Hamiel.

***

“Hamiel,” Gi-Gyu mumbled.

The world that had been completely white was no longer bright. The ground was filled with blood and bloodied feathers. Dead angels, in piles, could be seen everywhere.

Gi-Gyu had heard the system announcements as well, along with Hamiel.

“I guess he did it in the end.” Gi-Gyu had felt Hamiel almost dying during the battle. But when he had felt the sudden change in Hamiel’s energy, he was so shocked that he lost his focus for a moment. He believed Hamiel had already become powerful, so he never expected Hamiel to become even stronger.

But in the end, Hamiel managed to succeed all on his own.

“Final evolution…” None of his Egos had reached their final evolved state yet. Hamiel was the first to achieve this. Gi-Gyu could feel that Hamiel had survived the battle.

“Master.” After killing another angel, El walked up to Gi-Gyu. She had a cold look on her face. It was hard to believe that she had just killed so many of her kind.

“We have arrived,” El announced.

“Yeah.”

They had arrived at the giant white castle. It was an odd building, and Gi-Gyu and El stood on top of the dead angels as they stared at the structure.