Chapter 107: The Angel Goes to Sea (6)

Episode 107: The Angel Goes to Sea (6)

There’s a thing called path dependence.

Path dependence describes the foolishness of people repeating an action, even when the odds of failure are high.

There are other terms to describe this human foolishness: habit, the slang, “The old ways are the best,” inertia, custom, and… (TL Note: Social inertia, Social Custom.)

…Longing, in other words, Nostalgia.

There are many ways to describe this human foolishness.

And this foolishness was something even an angel, once human, possessed.

[Healing a wounded warrior is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Leffrey had resolved many conflicts. He had stopped many fights. There were many such instances.

He had made the world a slightly better place by healing people, sharing his blessings, and showing them that good still existed in this world.

Perhaps because of that…

Leffrey believed that, once again, he would be able to resolve this conflict. That he would be able to make them all friends…

“…Don’t touch me, Academy brat.”

Leffrey was roughly pushed away. Confused, he asked the soldier again,

“Why? You’re hurt badly…”

“Stop feeling sorry for me!”

The injured soldier shouted at Leffrey, then glared at him with hatred.

“Stop acting so kind, it’s disgusting.”

“I just…”

Leffrey, watching the soldier leave, tried to hide his confusion.

‘He’s just… a bit of a prickly person, that’s all.’

That must be it. Who wouldn’t want to be healed when they’re hurt? And it would be the start of a great friendship.

It had always been that way.

This time it’ll work out somehow.

“Fighting!”

Leffrey, now the Positive Angel, cheered. But the situation didn’t change much.

“Don’t heal me. Just go away.”

“Get lost.”

“What are you doing? Don’t touch my body.”

“Damn it… now you’re even feeling sorry for us?”

As he was continuously rejected, it didn’t take long for the Positive Angel to turn into the Negative Angel.

“Hiii…”

And Leffrey’s other objective, the heroes’ party training, also wasn’t going well.

“Hey, Hongwol! Why the hell did you jump that way?!”

“You were too slow, Witch.”

“…Haah.”

Ultimately, the purpose of this hunting festival was to collect as many core stones as possible. That meant that in the end, there could be only one winner, and… even the future heroes had to compete with each other.

The most ridiculous sight was Soya and Mari arguing. Fighting over who should get the core stone from an ogre they had defeated.

Yumari fired the first shot.

“By the way, I think I was the one who killed it.”

“Wh-What?! Are you serious? How can you be so shameless?! I was the one who bound it, weakened it with magic, and blinded it! All you did was come in and land the final blow!”

“But I was the one who killed it.”

And then, while those two were arguing… Hongwol stealthily approached and stole the ogre’s core stone. It was a scene that could easily be in a painting.

Perhaps the title of that painting would be, ‘The Collapse of the Heroes’ Party’.

Leffrey had no choice but to scold Hongwol, give the core stone to Soya, and ask Mari, who at least had a lot of patience, to be understanding of Soya, who was still young.

Mari nodded obediently, but…

…her horns had grown slightly larger.

Lately, Mari had been looking at Leffrey with yearning eyes, and whenever he sided with Soya instead of her, her expression would become a little… crumpled.

Mari was changing, too.

For better or worse…

Where did it all go wrong?

Leffrey didn’t know.

But one thing was certain: Leffrey had run out of Angelic Power and could no longer fly.

The only way for Leffrey, who had lost his wings, to fly was to expend a significant amount of Angelic Power…

Leffrey, collapsed on the sandy beach, his face covered, let out a sigh.

‘I couldn’t even farm Angelic Power… couldn’t properly create a hero’s party… and couldn’t even make Mariana Camp and the Central Academy become friends.’

Angel Fail.

He was a failure as an angel.

And if this continued, it would mean the fall of an angel.

And eventually, the destruction of this world.

Leffrey, lying on the beach, collected his thoughts.

‘Right, this wasn’t a fight, it was war! Not a competition, but a struggle for survival.’

Fighting and war are inherently different.

Fights have rules, and the consequences of defeat aren’t too severe. But war is different. A war between two groups… it’s a chaotic battlefield with no rules, where anything is allowed.

This wasn’t a mere struggle within the Central Academy, but a war between the Central Academy and Mariana Camp. He didn’t know how this event, which started as a festival, turned into something like a war, but… it wasn’t something this young angel could stop.

At that moment, his Silver Shoes rang.

[The Silver Shoes have detected a wave of karma.]

And then he heard a booming sound. It sounded like a whale’s cry.

[The Silver Shoes have detected a wave of karma.]

The whale was continuously emitting its sound towards this world.

No, wait, did whales that could even wield karma exist? Why did he think of this sound as something a whale would make?

‘Angels are the only ones who can manipulate karma! And the only angels left in this world are Iriel, the Revived Angel; that evil Luciel… And lastly, me.’

Was Demon King Luciel a whale? No, Leffrey had seen Luciel on TV before and could be certain that he didn’t look anything like a whale.

Then just what on earth was this sound?

‘An ability. It’s the sound of a certain ability.’

Leffrey, springing to his feet, quickly asked Leffriel,

‘Leffriel, do angels have an ability to create wars?’

And Leffriel, with a somewhat shaky voice, replied,

‘Have you heard of the Valkyries?’

‘Valkyries? The ones who took valiant warriors to Valhalla?’

‘Yes, humans in the past called certain angels Valkyries. Angels who descended from Heaven, flapping their wings and igniting wars…’

Angels that ignite wars?

Leffrey tilted his head.

‘Wait, why would angels even start a war?’

‘They had to change the direction of the world.’

‘But war is a bad thing. Why would they do something like that?’

Leffriel, ignoring Leffrey’s frantic question,

naturally changed the subject.

‘Angels have an ability to ignite wars. The name of that ability is… The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets.’

‘The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets.’ (TL Note: I’ll explain at the afterword.)

‘Yes. An Angelic Ability you have yet to unlock. If you didn’t have the Silver Shoes, you, as well as I, wouldn’t even be able to hear those trumpets.’

To think that even he wouldn’t be able to hear it without the Silver Shoes… It seems that even angels were quite lacking in their ability to perceive karma.

Leffriel, his injured body straining, looked at the depths of the sea.

‘And the Seven Trumpets was also the ability Luciel used most often. Actually, he was a master of all Angelic Abilities, but…’

Leffriel, as if he was exhausted, slowly closed his eyes and started disappearing.

‘Little angel, you won’t be able to stop this ability. But…’

Leffriel’s voice was sorrowful, and even pitiful, so Leffrey couldn’t bring himself to ask any more questions.

‘But you have to stop it…’

Leffrey nodded in agreement. Leffriel, seeing that, smiled as if relieved and fell back asleep. As Leffriel completely disappeared, Leffrey, feeling a sense of loneliness, got up again.

“I’ll stop you.”

Leffrey shouted.

Booo—The sound of trumpets, audible only to Leffrey, echoed throughout the world, and Leffrey felt the war escalating.

An Angelic Ability powerful enough to engulf an island, a quarter the size of Jeju Island. The difference between him and a ‘true angel’ was truly vast.

“I’ll stop you, Demon King!”

But Leffrey couldn’t give up.

* * *

Thus, the first day of the Monster Festival ended. The rift between the heroes grew even wider, and the Central Academy and Mariana Camp started to view each other as enemies…

Leffrey secretly went to the shore.

‘If this keeps up, they’ll actually start fighting. To fight among themselves when the demon army is right before them… That’s the worst.’

Leffrey, his heart full of anxiety, looked at the darkening South Sea.

“First of all, I have to stop that trumpet sound from the sea…”

Actually, the method was simple. Conquer the demon king’s castle gate, located deep within the Mariana Trench, the one that humanity had declared invincible, and close it.

That way, the trumpet sound from the gate would stop, and the demon army would lose a path to invade this world. Two birds with one stone.

‘…But it’s impossible.’

Then was there no other way?

Leffrey, waiting for the trumpet sound again, calculated the odds of success of the other methods he had considered.

‘Why would the demon king even use an ability like this in the first place? If he could use it, he could just use it on those dangerous countries that have nuclear weapons, right?’

Humanity possesses the terrifying weapon of nuclear missiles, and if those were unleashed, then it would mean humanity’s doom… Why would the demon king not do that?

‘It’s because he *couldn’t*! To properly unleash this ability, he probably needs to be as close as Mariana Camp is, and besides, to be using it now… means that this ability consumes a tremendous amount of Angelic Power… No, I mean, demonic power.’

So now, when the Central Academy students had arrived for the Monster Festival, when that hated group had arrived… he was showcasing this secret weapon he had been hiding.

‘Surely, just like Headmaster Iriel, the demon king is locked away in the demon castle, diligently blowing on those trumpets…’

So Leffrey took out the Inquisition Sword.

The Inquisition Sword that had even burnt Leffriel, the Angel of Judgment… just how powerfully would it burn against that demon, the very embodiment of corruption?

And Leffrey combined his Angelic Abilities using Sanctus. First, Martial Arts of the Archangel Who Tramples Dragons. To defeat a flying dragon, you needed javelins, and naturally, that meant there was a javelin technique.

‘Well, this is more of a sword throwing technique…’

And an Angelic Ability to enhance the power of his strike, the Blessing of the Power Angel who Graced the King. The Inquisition Sword was now much stronger than before.

Next was Steps of the Fallen Angel Walking Through the Night. The moment the ability was activated, the sword became blurry, making it difficult to perceive. Surely, even the Demon King would have a hard time recognizing this sword…

Lastly, the Light of the Ruling Archangel That Illuminates the World. As the great Einstein-sensei had said, “Speed is weight”, so this sword would now be hurled with the weight of light. (TL Note: I think the author is referencing a korean meme but… I don’t know…)

“I-I’ve used up so much Angelic Power!”

Leffrey’s eyes were watery.

Just how much Angelic Power had he spent for this one attack? He even lost a level.

“This is a combination of four Angelic Abilities…!”

Leffrey, quoting a famous line from a webtoon he used to read, took a javelin-throwing stance, his trembling hand aimed towards the sea. (TL Note: I’ll give the references below.)

Or rather, it was more like a throwing sword stance, but…

Well, it didn’t really matter.

What mattered now was that the sound of trumpets was echoing from the depths of the sea again.

[The Silver Shoes have detected a wave of karma.]

[The Silver Shoes are tracking the flow of karma.]

[The Silver Shoes have determined the source of the karma wave.]

[The Silver Shoes have identified the origin of the wave!]

And the Silver Shoes, shining brilliantly, had pinpointed the location of the trumpets, even though no one else could even hear them.

“So, Demon King, stop causing noise pollution…”

Leffrey, with a perfect throwing stance,

“Stoooooooop!!!”

…Hurled the Inquisition Sword.

****

TL Afterword: So the original literal translation is “the Breath of the Left Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets.” What ‘left’ probably means is Gabriel which symbolically represent the left hand of god (For some religious text) who also happens to blow a trumpet, but the text also meant the seven angels who blows a trumpet when the world ends. Eh, it doesn’t matter, but I thought it was a cool little detail. So I’ll just simplify it and translate it as such. ‘The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets.’

And also the reference for the webtoon is this. https://www.webtoons.com/en/sf/denma/chapter-2-2-kuans-fridge-98/viewer?title_no=921&episode_no=630

It took me Waaay too long to get this reference, but worth it. Also, not a bad webtoon, good taste Author-nim!