CH 330

It was an incredible story.

Many people had seen Gabriel. Even when Gi-Gyu had plunged his sword into Gabriel’s chest, many players were nearby dealing with the monsters and angels.

Sung-Hoon explained, “It wasn’t his outer appearance that triggered their memories—it was his mysteriousness and overwhelming energy.”

Gi-Gyu had been searching for the Hundred Sword Player for a long time. Ironshield’s two holy swords, Nine and Calleon, had incredible powers. El could absorb holy swords to become stronger, so Gi-Gyu had been on a quest to find holy swords for her. It wasn’t an easy task, so Gi-Gyu had never stopped looking for the Hundred Sword Player.

Along the way, Gi-Gyu had met other players with holy swords. These swords, however, liked their current masters. And El would then always request the same thing: “Those holy swords really care about their masters, so could you not forcibly take them away?”

And Gi-Gyu would always agree in the end. El had already become powerful by then, so there was no reason for him to steal these swords. And if he ended up needing the swords, he could just return to these players and ask for their swords.

‘Of course, another reason why I didn’t steal them was that none of them had special powers like Calleon and Nine,’ Gi-Gyu thought.

All these players had claimed they had received their holy swords from a player they had met inside the Tower.

‘Their descriptions of this player were all different. They also couldn’t provide any special features of this player.’ 

None of these players could clearly recall the Hundred Sword Player. They all remembered him differently. Some even remembered the player as a female. And they had all met this player on different floors of the Tower. This was why Gi-Gyu had ordered Haures, who was most likely busy eliminating the Red Players inside the Tower, to search for this player.

“So he must’ve changed his appearance…” Gi-Gyu trailed off.

Sung-Hoon nodded. “Yes, that would be my guess too. And the energy they felt from the Vatican pope, they claimed it was the same as the one from this player.”

Many of the players with holy swords had come to Rome to help, so they had confirmed Gabriel’s identity.

“That makes sense…” Gi-Gyu whispered. All the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. Gabriel, using the Hundred Sword Player alias, had likely given the players their holy swords. That explained where all those holy swords had come from.

Of course, there were still two unanswered questions.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Why do you think he did something like that?”

Why would Gabriel make an effort to give away his swords?

‘And what were his criteria for selecting a player to give a sword?’ Gi-Gyu directed the second question to himself. Only one thread connected all these players: They were all powerful. And considering what Gi-Gyu knew about Ironshield, it didn’t look like Gabriel had cared much about the morality of the recipients.

Then, Gi-Gyu thought of one man who also had a holy sword, but he never got the chance to talk to him.

‘Lee Sun-Ho.’ 

Lee Sun-Ho, a powerful player, had given Gi-Gyu some time to become stronger. But after being defeated by Ha Song-Su, Lee Sun-Ho had disappeared.

Lee Sun-Ho was the head of the Angela Guild, a symbol of Korea, who was somehow acquainted with Soo-Jung.

Just then, Gi-Gyu remembered Kronos’ warning not to trust Soo-Jung.

***

Gabriel’s intention was still a mystery. He had tried to destroy the world and obtain God’s power. He had even tried to kill the entire angel race.

“But when you think about it, he…” Gi-Gyu said to El, “Definitely left some angels behind.”

Gi-Gyu never realized this until now, but those holy swords were actually angels.

‘Perhaps Gabriel wasn’t trying to end the angel race after all.’ Gi-Gyu didn’t voice this thought out loud, as El was already confused enough.

“Could it be…” Gi-Gyu said hesitantly.

“Please go ahead, Master.”

“Have you ever… met with Michael—I mean, Raphael. Umm… Have you ever met with him without telling me?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Michael had woken up days ago. However, Gi-Gyu had been swamped with work, so he hadn’t even gotten a chance to visit El, let alone Michael. So Gi-Gyu wondered if El had gone alone to Michael for a chat.

“What do you mean?” El didn’t seem to understand what Gi-Gyu was asking.

“It’s just…. Michael wanted to talk to you only, right? So I was just wondering if you saw him alone.” Gi-Gyu looked away.

“I did go to see him and have a talk, but he was very hesitant to see me.” El had a mysterious smile on her face. “Except for that time, this is my first time visiting him. And we’re going together now.”

“Ah, really?” Gi-Gyu seemed relieved.

“Please don’t worry. I’ll always remain faithful to you and you only, Master.”

“W-what?”

“It’s nothing.” El gave Gi-Gyu another mysterious smile.

The duo stood in front of Michael’s room. It had been a long time since he awoke, but Michael hadn’t left this room. He had only allowed Gi-Gyu’s creatures to bring him food.

Then yesterday, Michael communicated with Gi-Gyu through their sync for the first time.

-I want to talk to you.

This was why Gi-Gyu and El had come to visit him today. They chatted outside the door for a while before they heard Michael’s voice from inside.

“You can come in.”

***

Michael’s appearance had changed a lot. It wasn’t just his outer appearance but also his aura.

‘He looks more like Raphael now…’ Gi-Gyu had seen Raphael in the Tower’s memories.

He looked giant now and sat on the side of the bed, watching Gi-Gyu and El.

“It’s a long story, so why don’t you sit down?” Michael suggested.

Gi-Gyu and El sat down, and Gi-Gyu asked, “Who… are you?”

“What is your intention behind that question?” Michael answered with another question. But Gi-Gyu nodded as if he had gotten the answer he was seeking.

Gi-Gyu replied, “So you’re definitely not Michael. If you were, you wouldn’t have said that.”

“Michael…” The man with an unknown name looked at El. “Yes, the owner of this body used to call himself Michael. And that name is…”

The man’s eyes wavered in confusion. He continued, “It was a name given by Gabriel. I suppose I better introduce myself.”

Looking gaunt, he licked his dry lips. “I am Raphael, commander of the great kingdom of angels, and… the queen's loyal servant.”

Raphael’s eyes never left El. There was an unreadable look on his face.

‘Dammit,’ Gi-Gyu swore silently. He was still synced with Raphael, but Gi-Gyu couldn’t read his memories and emotions well. Perhaps it was because Raphael was very powerful. Or maybe because Gi-Gyu had synced with Michael, not Raphael.

Gi-Gyu could tell that Raphael felt a strong emotion toward El, but he didn’t know what that emotion was.

Raphael rose and bowed. “Firstly, I would like to thank you for awakening my consciousness.”

“In addition…” He bowed even deeply toward El. “I thank you for reuniting me with my lost queen.”

Raphael finally sat down. “I am appalled that he used the name, Michael. But anyway, I read the man named Michael’s memories.”

Raphael hid the confusion in his eyes and continued, “And… I’ve also read Gabriel’s memories. I know you are curious about that.”

Gi-Gyu asked in an unnecessarily sharp tone, “Then are you only Raphael now? No one else?”

“No, that’s not the case.”

“...”

“I’m not complete yet. My consciousness woke up because an immense power forced it to. My mind is my own, but it’s not complete yet. This body is not mine, and inside this body, there are…”

Confusion, resentment, hatred, sadness, and a volley of other negative emotions filled Raphael as he continued, “The countless angels who have died.”

“...”

“But I genuinely want to thank you for waking me up like this.”

“Are you saying that your consciousness might disappear again?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Raphael nodded. “But it’s a little different from before. My consciousness won’t be forced to disappear.”

“...”

“I will kill it myself.”

“What?” Gi-Gyu gasped.

“Raphael!” El, who had been silent until now, yelled.

Raphael slumped and explained, “Gabriel may have had his reasons, but I cannot forgive him. And I do not wish to maintain my consciousness inside my enemy’s body. In addition, this man named Michael has a strong presence, which means I cannot destroy his consciousness to steal this body. And most importantly…”

Raphael bitterly added, “There is no more reason for me to exist in this world.”

***

It was a while before Raphael got his emotions in control; still, he looked calm only on the surface. Deep inside, he wasn’t well.

‘Just maintaining his consciousness must be painful for him.’ Gi-Gyu understood how Raphael must feel. His entire race had been annihilated, and Michael’s psyche was now inside the body of the one responsible for the annihilation.

‘And his beloved queen is now…’ El was serving another master. Gi-Gyu didn’t believe Raphael used to follow El faithfully solely because she was his queen.

But as expected of an archangel who had lived a long time, it looked like Raphael had his feelings under control.

“My consciousness is… E-El… Is that how I should address you now?”

When Raphael asked hesitantly, El nodded. “Yes, the queen named Michael no longer exists. I am El now.”

“All right… Just as El advised, I will put my consciousness in a dormant state,” said Raphael. El had succeeded in convincing Raphael not to annihilate his mind.

Gi-Gyu asked, “So does your real body exist somewhere?”

Raphael had explained earlier that he suspected his physical form likely existed somewhere. In Gabriel’s memory, Raphael had seen that Gabriel had retrieved Raphael’s consciousness and body when he had escaped Chaos.

Raphael answered, “Yes, my physical body still exists. Now that my mind is awake, I can feel it. Before I go dormant, I will tell you the possible locations of my body.”

Raphael wanted Gi-Gyu to find his physical body, if possible, so that they could transfer his consciousness to its rightful place.

Gi-Gyu agreed, “All right.”

Gi-Gyu was surprised at how well and easily Raphael had accepted this situation. He didn’t believe Raphael would do anything to betray them.

Raphael promised, “The day my mind enters my own body, I will swear loyalty to you.”

Raphael had promised that he would allow Gi-Gyu to sync with him if he became complete. He had also put forth another condition.

“You must save the angel race,” Raphael had demanded while holding a piece of the Holy Grail. Despite being a single fragment, it had looked strangely complete.

Raphael explained, “My consciousness held this piece of the grail. Gabriel believed that placing the Holy Grail in his body would wake my mind and make the Holy Grail whole again. But it didn’t happen. So, he ended up using the fractured grail and failed.”

However, when Raphael had finally woken up, the Holy Grail had become complete.

The Holy Grail vibrated. It held the souls of countless angels, and reviving the angels would become possible by using it.

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Gi-Gyu accepted the grail from Raphael. Unlike before, it no longer felt foreign to him. Gi-Gyu could also sense that Raphael was becoming more stable. One after another, all the stuff troubling Raphael was getting resolved.

Raphael said quietly, “All right. Now, on to Gabriel’s memories…”

Gi-Gyu nodded. The real reason why Gi-Gyu wanted Michael to wake up was to get the information on Gabriel. The fact that Raphael had woken up was just a bonus.

“Then…” Raphael smiled bitterly. “You should talk to him yourself.”

“...”

“...!”

Both Gi-Gyu and El were shocked. Suddenly, something changed in Raphael’s body. He closed his eyes and reopened them. When Gi-Gyu glared at him, black wings sprouted from Raphael’s back. Gi-Gyu and El tensed, but they didn’t move because they didn’t feel any hostility.

“I suppose I better thank Raphael for allowing me this opportunity to talk,” Raphael’s lips opened.

Gabriel had lost the Holy Grail, and his current body was synced with Gi-Gyu. Therefore, he couldn’t harm them in any way.