Ch.67Apostate (3)

“Your Excellency. We have selected the final warriors. What would you like to do?”

“First, send all the wounded to their quarters. After they’ve been treated, I will personally check on them.”

The commotion at the training grounds had settled.

Those who remained standing until the end would be given the honor of becoming commanders of the fortress.

It would have been better to hold the appointment ceremony right there after the battle to satisfy the demons’ more effective desire for honor, but this was a special situation.

“The angel takes priority. From now on, make sure no one enters the punishment room.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Spranches received the command and withdrew.

Three demons remained in the punishment room.

Durin, the regent who would interrogate the angel.

Rudmila, the highest sorcerer, prepared for any unforeseen situation.

And finally, a judge to compare the scriptures with the current situation to create a more definitive justification.

“I suppose it’s time to begin.”

Rudmila casually set the mood. The atmosphere in the room, which had been relaxed until now, grew heavy once more.

At the center was Durin. The regent was staring silently at the angel before him.

“……”

The angel stared back at him. She had no choice but to endure the pressure from the very person who had promised her a rest period.

Though her body was battered, she forced herself to rise. Gritting her teeth, she continued to face Durin.

She clearly didn’t want to appear weak before saying anything.

“Impressive.”

Durin offered his assessment with his arms crossed, his tone dispassionate.

It wasn’t admiration. His emotionless voice was like cold steel.

“I was curious about an angel who comes to the demon realm without being betrayed by Heaven.”

“…About what?”

“Will. At least someone who intends to oppose God must have a motive.”

The angel’s appearance was quite unexpected from the demon king’s castle’s perspective.

Fallen angels weren’t beings who moved by simple change of heart. As emphasized before, they needed to harbor strong hatred toward Heaven.

The blade of the betrayed.

Without intense malice, they couldn’t strike at angels who were once their comrades. With love for God and the sorrow of abandonment coexisting, they reached the end of contradiction—each one was out of their mind.

“Go ahead and speak. You’ll need to explain how you differ from the fallen angels I’ve seen before for me to accept you.”

“Does it need to be so grandiose?”

Yursael showed genuine confusion in response to Durin’s question.

Her immediate answer surprised even the judge examining the scriptures. Rudmila’s eyebrows twitched, clearly showing her discomfort.

“Grandiose? You’re not here to play games, are you?”

“It’s truly not, so I have nothing to say.”

“What?”

Rudmila immediately growled, but Yursael remained calm.

She paid no attention to the angry one. Looking only at Durin, she slowly began to speak.

“I thought I could fulfill here what Heaven couldn’t give me.”

“Demons are all about slaughter.”

“And there’s honor built through that.”

“Didn’t you see everything at the training grounds? Do you think you can build a golden tower in that wretched scene?”

“Of course.”

The angel nodded without hesitation.

“It was rougher than I expected, but I became certain at the end. Those 600 who survived just now became commanders and members of the demon king’s castle, didn’t they?”

“The rest became Durahans.”

“That’s the fate of those who fail, as is the law.”

“Doesn’t Heaven’s God always embrace the weak with love?”

“You called yourself a regent, right? I’ll just call you ‘Your Excellency.'”

She paused briefly. Then continued.

“There’s something Your Excellency should know.”

“What is it?”

“I am the daughter of Rakael, the commander of the angel garrison that opposed you.”

“Is that important to me?”

“Of course. The commander who was stationed in this land hundreds of years ago made his nest in the demon realm, not Heaven, and formed a family.”

It roughly matched the timeline of the painful history that had continued since the period of decline.

While there was no immediate way to prove her birth, Durin listened quietly. The content was interesting enough that he saw no need to silence her.

“As you know, the demon realm is a land where Heaven’s light doesn’t enter. I receive the teachings of scripture but have never seen its essence.”

The angel said this while spreading her hands. Apart from the calluses formed from gripping a sword, they were ordinary.

“Tell the sorcerer beside you to check. Verify whether I have divine power or not, and you can immediately prove my words.”

Durin looked at Rudmila.

Like the regent, the sorcerer who had been listening to the interesting story immediately unleashed her demonic energy.

No answer was needed. The demonic energy shot out and scanned the angel’s body.

When the energy quickly returned, Rudmila nodded.

“It’s true. There’s no trace of light in that body. She just has wings—she might as well be considered human.”

The confirmation from the highest sorcerer made other procedures unnecessary.

The judge admiringly hurried to note this information in a corner of the scripture transcript.

“So, angel. Are you saying you are not a being of Heaven?”

“They gave me a beautiful body, but nothing else. I could only handle the divine power given to me.”

“The power of God wasn’t enough?”

“Your Excellency. Does a being who only borrows someone else’s power truly have value?”

The angel’s eyes shone intensely. Unlike her gentle appearance, her will was strong.

Though she was suffering in pain, at this moment, she was facing Durin with dignity.

“As a warrior, as a commander, as a being living in this world, I want to prove my worth.”

“As a commander, you’ve already failed. You were eliminated in the test, so there’s nothing to say.”

“Then I’ll present one value for why I must be here.”

“Can you entice me?”

“I have information about Heaven that the demon king’s castle doesn’t possess.”

The angel didn’t stop speaking. She continued to press forward, constantly striving to imprint her existence on Durin.

She was like a starving beast. One could see her struggling to take even a sip of sweet water.

“You know well that Heaven is pursuing the Demon King.”

“Continue speaking.”

“They’re getting closer to her while gathering information from the human realm.”

“Anyone could say that much. I could dismiss it as a bluff.”

Rudmila received the angel’s words with skepticism. The sneering tone might have easily provoked anger, but the angel remained calm.

Instead, she sent a cold smile and glanced at the sorcerer.

“Would you like to hear the same way that they’ve identified someone in the human realm as the Demon King and are preparing for subjugation by selecting a new hero?”

“What?”

“Heaven has almost completed its preparations. The reason for the endless crusades in the human realm—surely the demon realm wasn’t unaware of this fact?”

The chaos that came to the human realm at the moment of the Demon King’s arrival was something they had heard many times through the sorcerers.

However, they still didn’t know the details. If not for the angel, they might have continued believing that Heaven had not yet found the Demon King.

Of course, the sorcerers could have eventually acquired this information with continued effort.

But it might have been too late to take action by then. The demon realm had just occupied the gate and was reorganizing its forces.

Rudmila, who knew this fact better than anyone, swallowed her sigh beyond her throat.

The bewilderment that rose before her resentment held her in place.

“I see.”

The angel wasn’t the only one who remained calm.

Durin accepted this fact calmly. He was so composed that the angel, who had been telling her story calmly, tilted her head in confusion.

“This too must be a flow of fate.”

He recalled the great flow of the world that the prophecy witch had once spoken of.

She had asked how he would act within events that could not be resisted.

The regent was certain that this was that moment.

“As we were planning to head toward the human realm anyway, the timing is good. Based on this, we can accelerate our growth and strike at a time Heaven doesn’t expect.”

“You’re looking at this too positively.”

“Either way, the moment we fail, the demon realm has no path but destruction. We can only look to the solution.”

“Then have I proven my value with this information? I have more such stories that will help the demon king’s castle on its path.”

“I won’t deny it. You are certainly helpful.”

Durin acknowledged the angel. He indicated that he would believe what she had said.

At that moment, her halo sparkled. Pure joy flowed from the angel. Her sparkling eyes turned to Durin.

An intense desire for recognition emanated from her.

“Does this mean I can be a pillar of the demon king’s castle?”

“Not yet. Not to that extent. While your strategic value is clear, you haven’t yet revealed your true intentions. I will look into your heart.”

Durin said this as he rose from his seat. His heavy footsteps reached right in front of the angel.

Seen up close, the angel’s body was covered in wounds. Only her halo and the wings gently resting behind her back shone purely.

The regent looked at the angel and asked a question.

“State your name, angel.”

“My name is Yursael. A traitor who turned her back on Heaven’s light and threw herself into the demon realm for her own safety.”

A solemn ceremony took place. The judge immediately knelt and opened the scripture.

Rudmila sent out demonic energy accordingly. The demonic energy that filled the surroundings enveloped the two.

“Can you feel the demonic energy?”

“It’s full of killing intent. It feels like a being born to kill someone.”

“It is as you see. That’s also why demons love battle. We live in struggle and feel the greatest ecstasy atop a tower of corpses. If you wish to become a member of the demon realm, you must accept this habit.”

“I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t prepared. I am deficient, wanting recognition from someone. Neither God nor Heaven chose me, and I’ve been living a wretched life, so please save me.”

Yursael begged desperately. She threw her aching body to the floor.

Unable to properly control her body, she raised her trembling hands with all her might. She craved recognition from Durin.

She wanted to feel alive, as any being, not just an angel.

Yursael expressed this feeling.

“The moment the archangel was defeated, Heaven’s light became meaningless to me. They are not looking at me.”

“Your father would lament if he saw you like this.”

“He would eventually accept it if the settlement and his family were safe. Let Yursael the fallen angel become a symbol of the demon king’s castle, so please accept me without worry.”

“I’ll ask one last thing.”

Durin drew a small sword from his waist.

“I will not entrust you with an important role. Nor will I ask you to devote everything to the demon king’s castle. You will receive only one command.”

“……”

“Kill angels. Simply kill them and prove your worth.”

Clang!

He threw the sword. The angel stared down at her face reflected in the sharp blade.

“Opposing and taking revenge on Heaven is my duty to bear, so you just need to fulfill your desire.”

“Your Excellency.”

“Will you accept?”

There was no hesitation. The angel crawled on her knees.

She picked up the fallen sword, received it respectfully with both hands, and offered it to him.

“As you wish.”

“I permit it. From now on, you are a demon.”

Durin grabbed the halo floating above Yursael’s head.

The white light instantly turned black. At the same time, it began to absorb everything.

Her pink hair turned white.

Her jewel-like eyes were scorched as if burned by flames, and her wings were dyed crimson.

“Haa…”

The moment a small breath escaped, she was freed from all pain.

A fallen angel consumed by demonic energy was reborn.

“Receive all of me. My master.”

She worshipped, feeling Durin’s demonic energy.

The regent’s power dwelled in all places where the angel’s light couldn’t reach.

She felt ecstasy at the fullness she experienced for the first time.

“Rudmila.”

“Yes?”

Rudmila, who had been watching the scene in a daze, came to her senses at Durin’s call.

“When His Majesty returns, we will immediately begin reorganizing the military system.”

“So you were waiting for the angel prisoners to return.”

“Of course, as the day has come to complete the final piece of the legion.”

He smiled as he looked at Yursael.

“Dark Knight. It’s time to rebuild the army of apostates.”