Chapter 83: The Angel Who Creates a Style (14)

Episode 83

‘Soya must have went back to the waiting room. That’s a relief. She’d probably burst into tears if she saw me all beat up.’

Leffrey smiled.

And then, with a cold expression, he looked up at the sky.

‘But… This world is doomed.’

This world is doomed.

Leffrey couldn’t shake that thought from his head.

Look at those who are trying to protect this world.

Those who have already lost once to the demon king.

People who would do anything to defeat the Demon King, those called protectors who can’t be called saviors.

Hexi, who is already broken,

Park Jin-ho, who is willing to do anything,

Rebecca, who has despaired,

Klein, who is obsessed,

And now…

Lusa, who is going to save her younger sister, facing the cruelty of the World Tree.

While the other protectors were confronting the Heavenly Kings at Mariana, Lusa was also fighting her own battle.

‘If they really cared about the students… this final exam shouldn’t have even started. To pretend that the academy is functioning normally to hide the Heavenly King’s attack. The professors valued the world’s gaze more than the students.’

‘No, wait, they probably thought this was a chance to catch the demon army’s spy. Without considering the sapling that would be sacrificed and the students who would be subjected to an unfair exam.’

‘They… don’t know any other way.’

Smirk- Leffrey, while bleeding profusely from his wounds, smiled cruelly.

‘They’re sinners. They need to be judged.’

Now, there was no one left to protect the students.

So this world is doomed.

Leffrey couldn’t shake that thought from his head.

Look at those who rule this world.

Those who are no different from the demon king.

Powerful beings who would do anything for their power and wealth, they were the strong, but not heroes.

The large guilds, colluding with the government.

The superhuman families, dancing above the law.

And the superhuman gangs, no different from thugs.

And lastly, their subordinates, who weren’t even Awakened, bullying other non-Awakened people.

‘This world was so cruel to the non-Awakened. They’re human, yet they weren’t treated as such.’

‘I was always hurt.’

‘In a world that has always treated me cruelly, is there any reason I should protect it while suffering like this?’

Now there was no one to wipe away the tears of a crying child.

“This world is doomed…”

Leffrey, intoxicated with Angelic Power, muttered while looking up at the sky.

“Judgment… mission…”

The arena was in a state of chaos. The student council healers were trying to stop Yu Si-hyun’s bleeding, and The Seocheon Yu scholarship students were trying to protect her and take her to the infirmary.

So many students caught up in the chaos.

But Leffrey, ignoring them all, continued to mutter to himself,

“Judgment… That is salvation…”

‘Time of Bonds’, where he uses his titles to their limits, borrowing the power of the heroes he protected.

Time of Bonds was too much power for Leffrey, and as a result, he had to pay a heavy price.

Power always comes with a price, after all.

Leffriel, who had been crouching down, slowly got up and approached the boy.

[Now, let’s go fulfill our mission.]

Leffriel stopped looking up at the sky and slowly looked around the arena.

Students groaning in pain, injured during the final exams.

Students mocking those who had lost.

Students intoxicated by fighting, reveling in their strength.

And students gritting their teeth, consumed by inferiority.

And lastly, most of the students, looking at all this chaos with indifference.

Leffriel clasped his hands.

“Ultimate Skill.”

A holy light began to appear on the boy’s hair.

“Leffrey.”

Leffriel opened his eyes.

Just who was calling out to him?

A girl stood before the archangel. The girl, taller than Leffrey, was caressing his wounds with a worried expression.

Long, black hair resembling ‘her’, a small horn.

And the cold touch unique to a dragon.

Beauty.

Leffrey felt beauty.

Leffriel felt that she was truly beautiful.

‘Right. She was beautiful…’

At that moment, a memory came back to Leffrey.

A memory from the time he soared through the sky.

The higher he flew, the colder his body became.

His breathing became ragged, his ears went numb, and voices seemed distant.

‘I learned in science class. That if you go even higher… you’ll reach the stratosphere, where your body will warm up.’

Was what the textbook said really true?

Leffrey couldn’t believe it.

But there was one thing he was certain of.

That there were countless wonders in this world.

Leffrey slowly stopped in midair.

He looked up at the endless blue sky, watched the belt of clouds stretching endlessly beyond the horizon, and took in the scenery unfolding on the ground.

A blue ocean, a forest lush with summer foliage.

The sparkling cities of humans.

And the sun shining from afar, illuminating us all.

All these cruel facts. Even though a sorrow too great to be called mere sorrow filled the Earth, even so…

This world is beautiful.

“This world, to judge this world…”

“Leffrey? Leffrey! Healer! Quickly, over here… Hurry!”

Someone was crying.

Was it Leffriel? Or Leffrey?

Or both of those foolish angels?

“No, I want to protect this world…”

Leffrey’s body, cradled in Yumari’s arms, slowly lost its strength.

He had endured Yu Si-hyun’s powerful attack countless times, recklessly borrowed power by using Sanctus to manipulate the laws of the world,

And exhausted all his Angelic Power using his various Angelic Abilities.

Just as plants needed sunlight, and mages needed magical power…

Angelic Power was essential for an angel’s survival.

“Leffrey! Leffrey!”

Yumari, clutching Leffrey, desperately cried out.

Leffrey raised his head and looked at Yumari’s face, filled with worry.

“Please don’t give up on this world…”

Yumari, you also soared through the sky and felt the beauty of this world.

Just how painful was it that you had to abandon everything and run away?

It’s sad. It’s really sad.

Leffrey, his mind slowly fading, caressed Yumari’s face.

The face of the girl he wanted to protect, so lovely.

“This world is beautiful…”

Leffrey shed tears.

* * *

Beep- Beep-

A monotonous machine sound.

Leffrey felt a strange tingling sensation in his arm and his nose was filled with the nauseating smell of medicine.

“Ugh.”

Then came pain.

First of all, his chest was killing him.

His ribs, shattered by Yu Si-hyun’s strike. He tried to heal it with the Healing of the Seraphim, but for some reason, his healing magic didn’t work well against Yu Si-hyun’s attack.

‘It’s not just… broken ribs, is it?’

The throbbing pain in his chest suggested that some of his internal organs had been damaged.

‘The organ protected by the ribs is the heart… it can’t be…’

Leffrey, feeling anxious, slowly sat up.

“…Leffrey?”

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice next to him.

“Professor Lusa.”

“Leffrey!”

“Sis, don’t shout so loud in front of the patient!”

Two people were sitting next to Leffrey. Lusa, who seemed to have been crying, her eyes swollen, and a cute girl with green hair. The World Tree sapling, Lime.

Leffrey hurriedly asked,

“Professor, w-who was the top student?”

Lusa, without a word, handed her smartphone to Leffrey.

And the footage of the final match played on the screen.

With Yu Si-hyun and Leffrey withdrawing due to injuries, the final match ended up being between Yumari and Soya.

And the battle that unfolded…

At first glance, it seemed like an equal fight between the two girls… but now Leffrey, who understood fighting styles, could see who the real winner was.

‘Soya is much stronger than she was in the past. She formed a contract with Tantalus’s dog, received intensive training from Professor Klein, and is pushing her talent to the limit.’

In the Magical Studies Department, excluding Yu Si-hyun and a few other monsters, no mage could stand against Soya.

However,

‘But Mari is still stronger than Soya! If Mari had really tried to win, she could easily have crushed Soya.’

Mari had thrown the match.

Ignoring the Seocheon Yu’s intentions, only for the sake of Leffrey.

“Mari…”

In the end, Yumari pretended to be defeated and collapsed in front of Soya. And Soya, with a smug expression, looked down at Yumari and shouted,

“Raise your head, Yumari!”

A really annoying and arrogant voice.

“There is no shame in losing to the strongest black mage!”

Soya, with an expression overflowing with arrogance, declared to all the students in the arena.

“The Strongest! Huhuhuh! The Strongest Black Mage. Let it be known to everyo…”

“The-The winner is Han Soya, a first-year from the Magical Studies Department! Q-Quickly, get her off the stage!”

Why am I always the one who feels embarrassed?

Leffrey hid his burning face and ignored the boos from the students.

“And so a Black Mage won. Her name was Soya, right?”

“Yes, she’s a very cute little witch.”

Leffrey nodded slowly, relieved.

“Then what happened with the Heavenly King’s attack?”

“They retreated. It seems they can’t easily break through without Drewmark.”

“Really…”

Leffrey smiled.

This world was heading in a slightly better direction than the previous one.

“Thank goodness…”

“…”

Lusa, seeing that, muttered in a slightly choked voice,

“Thank you. Really.”

“Yes…? Did you say something?”

“…Ahem.”

Seeing this, Lime giggled and poked at Lusa’s side.

“Sister Lusa cried so much when she saw that Brother Leffrey had collapsed… Look at this.”

“What? What? Why would a woman like me cry? You saw wrong.”

Suddenly, Lusa’s face turned red, and she started pulling on Lime’s ear who was sitting next to her.

“Hey, stop saying stupid things.”

“Ow, ow, it hurts!”

“Leffrey, see you later.”

And in a small voice,

“Let me say it again… Thank you, I’m truly grateful.”

She left those words and disappeared.

[Saving innocent lives is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[Fulfilling your duty as an angel is a truly angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

[Guiding the world in the right direction is a truly angelic act!]

[You have gained a large amount of Angelic Power.]

“Haaa…”

Once again, Leffrey saved the world in his own way.

Leffrey, feeling the immense Angelic Power coming in as a reward, slowly closed his eyes.

‘Time of Bonds. Using this technique to its limits like that can bring about irreversible consequences.’

Leffrey was terrified.

If Leffriel had gone berserk…

Destruction of the Central Academy, the death of his friends.

If that had happened, Leffrey would be walking through hell on Earth.

‘I have to be careful. Really…’

Leffrey’s shoulders trembled.

‘But why…’

Why did Leffriel give up on the judgment?

Bang crash- Thump Thump-

A loud commotion came from outside the hospital room.

“Leffrey!”

A mage girl, shedding tears, rushed towards Leffrey.

“Why, why are you injured like this!”

“Ouch. Soya… don’t cry.”

Soya, at those words, finally stopped crying.

Soya started muttering and saying scary stuff like “That damned student council president… I’ll show her the true meaning of a curse…”

Leffrey stroked Soya’s hair and closed his eyes again.

‘That moment when I flew through the sky…’

Thus, the only angel remaining on Earth finished his first semester at the academy.