CH 323

Gi-Gyu’s shout rang in the world of lies.

“Master…” El quickly returned to Gi-Gyu.

“...” Gi-Gyu became quiet, and silence fell. He had read Michael’s memory, so he knew he needed to move quickly, but he couldn’t say the word.

El’s clothes were ripped in various places, and he could even see some cuts on her. The blood and cuts on her told Gi-Gyu just how arduous her battle with the archangels had been.

However, he hadn’t gone quiet because of her injuries—it was her expression that was concerning.

“El…” Gi-Gyu asked, “Are you okay?”

He knew he had no time to dillydally; he had to act fast. However, the first thing he needed to do was make sure El was okay.

“Ah.” El seemed to have realized the gravity of the situation. She summoned her Life, and her wounds slowly healed.

El put on a fake smile and replied, “I’m okay, Master.”

‘That’s not what I was asking…’ Gi-Gyu almost said this out loud, but he chose not to. He was actually concerned about her heart more than her body. He had called her just now because he knew she had killed all the archangels.

‘And it means that El no longer has any…’ El no longer had any kin left in the world. All the angels were dead.

Well, not all of them. Gabriel was still alive.

“El, we must hurry,” Gi-Gyu announced. Unfortunately, he had more important things to do right now than consoling her. Gabriel, an insane being, had a plan, and Gi-Gyu needed to stop it. So he decided to ignore his feelings and concerns for El for now.

El nodded in determination, “I know. I heard that too,”

Seemingly, the archangels had told her the truth before dying. Gi-Gyu was about to say something when suddenly, the world began trembling.

Dun dun dun dun dun.

“...!”

“...!”

El and Gi-Gyu looked at each other.

Michael announced, “We must hurry up…”

“Michael.” Gi-Gyu turned to Michael.

Michael continued, “We must hurry… Gabriel took even the power maintaining this world… This palace will collapse soon…”

El and Gi-Gyu nodded in understanding. Apart from the power maintaining the Vatican, they knew Gabriel had also taken something else.

“Michael, are you okay?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“I-I’m fine.” Michael’s voice cracked. It looked like he was about to faint, so El began healing him.

“Ugh…” Michael groaned while being treated by El. Ultimately, he didn’t lose his body, but Gi-Gyu knew that Michael had still lost something valuable.

‘He lost the Holy Grail—the foundation of his power,’ Gi-Gyu thought grimly. Michael had resisted till the very end, but Gabriel had still succeeded in taking the Holy Grail.

And this had ultimately led to the worst-case scenario.

“Dammit,” Gi-Gyu swore. Michael had actually been a trap to derail Gi-Gyu. Gabriel had made it look like he had taken over Michael’s body, which he accomplished by placing part of his memory over Michael’s consciousness using magic. And to ensure Michael had enough strength to keep Gi-Gyu engaged for a while, Gabriel had forced the power he had stolen from the angels into Michael.

“Ackkkkk!” Michael screamed. Without the Holy Grail, Michael was very weak. It was a surprise that he had lasted this long. Even if Michael had exploded at that very second, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“Master…” El shook her head, indicating that Michael wasn’t doing well. “And you need to be treated as well, Master.”

Indeed, Gi-Gyu wasn’t faring well either. Gabriel’s trap had worked. Gi-Gyu had tried his best to avoid such a situation, but this was something no one could have had predicted. Therefore, Gi-Gyu didn’t feel angry at himself.

“We don’t have time for that,” Gi-Gyu declared as the shaking worsened. “We must get out of this place first.”

Gabriel’s plan hadn’t succeeded completely yet. It was at its last stage, so Gi-Gyu still had a chance to make everything right.

“Open,” Gi-Gyu shouted, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, El didn’t stop trying to heal Michael.

When his gate didn’t open, Gi-Gyu muttered, “I guess it doesn’t work here.”

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They were in a completely different dimension, and he suspected Gabriel had blocked the path.

‘I’m sure he destroyed all the ways out of here.’ 

All communications were down, so his gate not opening made sense.

“There is a way, but…” If Gi-Gyu used all of his power, he could force open the gate, but the problem was that there was no time. He was also severely drained at the moment.

Michael tried to stand up and whispered, “Give me divine energy…”

El refused, “No, you can’t. Your body can’t handle that right now. If you force it, you will…”

El didn’t have to finish her sentence because they both knew the answer. If Michael forced himself to accept the divine energy, he would die.

Michael insisted, “We have no other choice. I was born and raised here, so I know how to open the door. Even Kim Gi-Gyu can’t learn something like that. This place only opens the door for certain beings. I’m your only option.”

Michael had finally managed to stand. He raised his hand and continued, “Whether you give me divine energy or not doesn’t matter. I’ll do this. So, it’s your choice.”

Michael pursed his lips and seemed ready to summon his power. In the end, El readied herself to inject her divine energy into him, but at that moment, Gi-Gyu touched Michael’s hand.

“Huh…?” Michael looked confused.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Are you saying you’ll die to open the door?”

It was a sudden and strange question, but Michael promptly replied, “That’s right. I’m going to stop him. He pretended to be my father… My whole life was just a lie… He…”

Michael was badly injured, but his eyes were filled with unwavering determination. Gi-Gyu smiled at him and announced, “I’ve heard your resolution; now, I can open the door too.”

As Michael stared at him in confusion, Gi-Gyu raised his hand.

Fwoosh.

The door suddenly opened.

***

“Ugh…” Lou moaned. “I guess I’m at my limit now.”

Lou’s Death and the unknown energy from Hamiel, who had become Diablo, had covered the entire Colosseum to contain the divine energy. But unfortunately, they were nearing their limits.

“Thank goodness.” Surprisingly, Lou looked relieved. It was because he had received a message from Tao Chen a moment ago.

-Everyone has been evacuated. We’ll join you.

Lou ordered,

-Run.

Lou didn’t welcome the others’ help. If they joined them now, they would only get in the way. This light beam was essentially a natural disaster. In fact, it was something beyond. It was meaningless for humans to try to face it.

Lou asked Hamiel, “Hey, do you think you can move?”

“...” Hamiel, his lips bleeding, shook his head. He was at his limit already. They knew from the beginning that they couldn’t stop this light beam. It was surprising that they had lasted this long.

Death and Hamiel’s unknown energy slowly became faint.

“It won’t be long.” Lou warned, “It’s not too late. You should run.”

Hamiel bit his lips again and shook his head.

“Stupid angels… You guys are so stubborn,” Lou muttered. Hamiel was a corrupt angel now, which meant that he was an utterly different individual, but he had seemingly retained his old stubbornness.

Hamiel whispered, “I must… repay the grandmaster…”

“Fine, fine. I won’t tell you to run,” Lou replied in frustration. “But I can’t protect you, so just make sure you survive this on your own.”

Pshhh.

Death became fainter even faster. It wasn’t because the amount of divine energy from the light beam was increasing but because Lou was retracting Death. Hamiel did the same, and the light beam began to expand again.

Fwoosh!

Now that the duo was no longer suppressing the divine energy, it expanded with a blast. It illuminated the whole world. No one could even open their eyes because it would be akin to glaring at pure light.

“Does he think he’s God or something?” Lou smirked at the arrogance of his enemy. “Doesn’t he know he’s just one of the pigeons…?”

Based on what he knew and what he had heard from Gi-Gyu, Lou had no doubt who it was that was descending from this beam.

“Gabriel!” Lou yelled. “Let’s do this!”

Back when he was the hell king, he used to lead millions of demons—each one more nightmarish than the last—and reigned over numerous powerful beings. So what if he had been dethroned and betrayed? He was still a mighty being. Lou knew he was being childish in trying to taunt Gabriel, but it seemed to be working.

The sky shook, and something changed. The giant light beam no longer effused divine energy. Instead, an even brighter light appeared with a figure descending from the sky.

“Is that you, Lucifer?” a young man's arrogant and annoyed voice asked. There was no way Lou could forget this bastard’s voice.

“So it really is you, Gabriel,” Lou muttered. As the light’s intensity lessened, Gabriel could finally be seen. He was standing in the sky and looking down at everyone.

Lou sniggered and ordered, “Stop your nonsense and come down from there.”

“...” When Gabriel didn’t move, Lou reached upward. He muttered, “If you refuse to come down, I better drag you down myself.”

Lou didn’t have enough power to battle Gabriel at the moment. He had become more powerful recently but still hadn’t regained his full power. Moreover, his current body was just a Frankenstein-like combination of Satan's and the other hell kings’ bodies.

This was why Lou had to fight with something different. He announced, “I guess I finally get to summon you.”

He wasn't as powerful as before, but he had regained his “Emperor of Evil Swords and Black Magic” title. Also, even though he had gifted various body parts of Satan to other hell kings, he had kept the most important part for himself. He had Satan’s carefully-collected essence.

It was a symbol of the king and betrayal.

“Harmageddon,” Lou summoned the greatest sword named after Armageddon. A strange-looking cane appeared in his hand. It looked like a worn and broken tree branch, but its power shook Lou’s hand.

‘I still don’t have enough strength for this.’ 

Lou hadn’t planned on using it until he regained his full power, but he had no choice now.

Lou ordered, “Bring forth Armageddon.”

Harmageddon cried out and transformed into a sword. Its new form looked like it had been carved out from a sharp horn.

Lou swung it in the air.

Slice!