Chapter 126: The Angel Who Trains (4)

Episode 126: The Angel Who Trains (4)

In truth, there was always this thought in the back of Leffrey’s mind.

‘If things get messy, I’ll just use Time of Bonds…!’

Time of Bonds. Leffrey’s strongest technique, it allowed him to fully borrow the powers of the three heroes he protected. No, he could even surpass their strength.

‘Besides, those kids are getting stronger every day. Time of Bonds must be much more powerful now, compared to when I first used it.’

But great power always comes at a price.

‘Last time I used it, my mind was completely fried. If Mari hadn’t stopped me, I might have even wiped out the entire academy.’

Leffrey recalled the memories of that time.

‘This world was so cruel to the non-Awakened. Even though they were human, they weren’t treated as such.’

‘I was always hurt.’

‘Why should I protect a world that has always treated me so cruelly, even if it means suffering like this?’

So, he decided to judge this world.

Just like the Black Leffrey who’s rampaging now.

‘But I had no choice.’

It was the only way he could win. The Black Leffrey could use every single skill Leffrey knew, and was even more powerful due to the demon king’s support.

But he knew nothing of sacrifice. He was a selfish and greedy being, so he would never be able to use Time of Bonds.

Time of Bonds could only be used,

By the real Leffrey.

“Hahaha.”

The Black Leffrey, shocked by the situation, still couldn’t bring himself to activate Time of Bonds, even though he knew about it.

“You chose the worst path, Foolish Angel…!”

Thus, the two Leffreys clashed once more.

The Black Leffrey, supported by the demon king, and the White Leffrey, aided by the bonds of friendship. Both were Leffrey, and both believed in their own righteousness.

But the one who was slightly stronger…

…was the White Leffrey.

As soon as he created some distance, black magic, even stronger than Soya’s current abilities, would come flying at him. And if he tried to close the distance, he would be caught by that flexible and alluring swordsmanship of the Mooncat Tribe.

And even if he tried to use the demon king’s power to attack from his blind spot, the transcendent combat sense unique to dragons would easily dodge it.

Every time he created distance, every time he closed the distance, every time he attacked… the damage piled up.

The Black Leffrey’s form,

…began to crack.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

But the Black Leffrey smiled as if it didn’t matter.

“I’ve already won.”

Leffrey didn’t answer. He just kept attacking his opponent with an expressionless face.

“You’ll lose your mind and end up judging this world, just like a beast bound by Heaven.”

Leffrey, silently, severed the Black Leffrey’s arm, then plunged Flabellum deep into his chest through the opening.

The boy, like a true judge, didn’t hesitate.

“You’ll judge everything.”

The Black Leffrey, engulfed in flames of purification, spat out those words, full of malice, then slowly collapsed. And as if falling asleep, he closed his eyes.

The flames began to scatter.

Amidst the embers, a beautiful boy with a cold, blank expression looked around the world. He muttered in a monotone,

“I haven’t lost my mind yet… My willpower isn’t that weak. Even when I was fighting Yu Si-hyun, I endured for quite a while.”

It was true. The Black Leffrey was weaker than Yu Si-hyun, so he could endure a little longer, but…

“But I probably won’t last more than a few dozen seconds. Probably…”

His voice was faint. His eyes were unfocused, and tears, for some unknown reason, streamed down his face.

But Leffrey didn’t despair.

“But you’re the real idiot. Did you think I would use Time of Bonds without any preparations?”

The reason why Leffrey could endure.

It was due to the unique properties of Lecture Hall 0.

Lecture Hall 0, which created a perfect copy of the one being trained, for them to overcome themselves. Here, ‘perfect copy’ meant that even their items were replicated.

After all, they had to provide the copy with the same items to give them an advantage and make them stronger than the original, along with the unique buff of the lecture hall, right?

And wouldn’t that be the only way for real training to happen? That was Headmaster Iriel’s thought.

‘The reason why all the classes in our academy are so difficult is because of a tradition that started with the Headmaster…’

Anyway, Leffrey exploited this characteristic of Lecture Hall 0. The fact that, within this space, items were replicated.

‘In other words, it means that there are two Sanctus gloves…’

Leffrey, with trembling hands, removed the Black Leffrey’s Sanctus, then put on the Sanctus that still held a lingering warmth.

He could manipulate an Angelic Ability once with a single Sanctus. And Time of Bonds was activated by manipulating an Angelic Ability. In the end, Time of Bonds could also be considered an Angelic Ability.

Then couldn’t he use the other Sanctus to change the effect of Time of Bonds?

‘No time to think. I’m almost at my limit.’

Before the Angel of Judgment, Leffriel, went berserk, before he completely loses control. Leffrey altered the power of Time of Bonds.

[Angelic Ability manipulated by Sanctus!]

[The effect of the Angelic Ability has been temporarily altered by Sanctus!]

Almost no power borrowed,

And in return, almost no side effects.

As the saying goes, with no great power, there’s no great responsibility. Thus, Leffrey endured.

‘…My tears won’t stop.’

Leffrey looked at the collapsed Black Leffrey with tears in his eyes.

Leffrey, pushed to his limits. Right now, he wanted to just collapse and fall asleep. He didn’t even have the strength to move a finger.

Moreover, if you add the mental strain he had endured to activate and maintain Time of Bonds… for Leffrey to be conscious was practically a miracle.

“So there was a way like this.”

The collapsed Black Leffrey muttered, as if in disbelief.

“Yes, there’s even a way like this.”

“To think you used Sanctus twice. You created an angelic power called Time of Bonds with one, then weakened that power with the other, to avoid the side effects.”

The Black Leffrey smiled.

“I’m incredible, aren’t I? My cunning is truly something else.”

Leffrey still couldn’t stop crying. Perhaps that was why the Black Leffrey started to cry as well.

“We’ll always have nightmares for the rest of our lives.”

“I know.”

“You’re finally admitting it.”

The Black Leffrey’s voice was also choked with tears.

Leffrey, crying, muttered,

“But that doesn’t mean we can make others have nightmares…”

“I know.”

“You’re finally accepting it.”

Thus, the Black Leffrey slowly began to fade away. The boy’s hair was now a faded gray, as if bleached.

The Black Leffrey spoke one last time,

“Yes. I knew it from the start, that’s the right answer.”

With those words, the Black Leffrey disappeared. All that was left was a single boy, his body broken, his eyes swollen from crying, and yet… still standing.

The boy looked at the messages that appeared.

[You have overcome yourself.]

[You have developed a technique that allows you to overcome yourself.]

[Ultimate Skill Acquired.]

“Ultimate Skill.”

===

Ultimate Skill: Ain Soph (Infinity)

You have discovered a way to transcend yourself, through a battle against yourself. That method is your Ultimate Skill.

To face a version of yourself that is stronger than you, you were able to manipulate your Angelic Abilities and gain overwhelming power for a short time.

If you could gain such great power by reducing thirty minutes of an Angelic Ability to just one, what would happen if you reduced it to just one second? A tenth of a second? A ten-thousandth of a second?

You might have been able to gain power close to infinity.

Reach Ain Soph.

And offer your prayers to Ain Soph Aur.

Passive Effect:

You can now restrict not just guardian angel titles, but also other Angelic Abilities. The restricted Angelic Ability will be greatly enhanced in a specific direction. This passive effect can be activated without Sanctus. However, it won’t last long without Sanctus.

Active Effect:

Push all your Angelic Abilities to their limits, momentarily reaching Ain Soph.

===

“Ain Soph…?” (TL Note: Ain Soph, in simple terms, is god’s power that he used to create everything, from the famous quote ‘let there be light’)

Leffrey wanted to tilt his head and try to figure out what language Ain Soph was from, but his neck wouldn’t move.

‘Wow, my body is a mess.’

And he didn’t have enough Angelic Power to heal himself. With the little Angelic Power he had left, he couldn’t even leave Lecture Hall 0.

‘Lecture Hall 0 is one of the most important barriers in the world. That’s why this secret has remained hidden until now.’

So, naturally, it was a sturdy barrier. There was no way to escape unless he left on his own.

‘Besides, this barrier was made for the copied Leffrey. Perhaps if someone else entered, a new barrier specifically for that person would be created.’

No one could enter this barrier.

This was a space for Leffrey, and Leffrey alone.

‘So, in the end, I’m trapped here unless I leave on my own…’

Twitch twitch—

He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t obey. He was probably paying the price for overexerting himself. If he wanted to at least crawl out of this space…

‘I have to recover at least a little bit.’

But he had no Angelic Power left. To be more precise, only a tiny amount remained.

‘I want to gain Angelic Power by lowering my level, but I don’t even have enough to activate Sanctus.’

He had to activate Sanctus to lower his level, gain Angelic Power, and then use that Angelic Power to heal himself.

But what if he didn’t have enough Angelic Power to even activate Sanctus?

Well, there was no answer.

‘This is really dangerous.’

Fear washed over him.

Trembling, trembling—He had become Leffrey, the Trembling Angel.

And soon, he might even turn into the Crying Angel.

At that moment, the description of his Ultimate Skill came to mind.

You can now restrict not just guardian angel titles, but also other Angelic Abilities. The restricted Angelic Ability will be greatly enhanced in a specific direction. This passive effect can be activated without Sanctus. However, it won’t last long without Sanctus.

To be able to restrict Angelic Abilities?

Leffrey immediately placed a restriction on Healing of the Seraphim that Heals All Creation, which he desperately needed.

‘All creation? That’s too much. Let’s narrow it down to just humans.’

But by restricting it to just humans, he could greatly enhance it in a specific direction. He could either enhance its healing power, or reduce the amount of Angelic Power consumed.

Naturally, Leffrey chose to reduce the Angelic Power consumption. Now, even with his meager amount of Angelic Power, Healing of the Seraphim that Heals All Creation was usable.

But it still wasn’t enough.

‘No, then what if it could only heal angels?’

To be able to heal only angels. If it became an angelic ability that could heal only three, the only three angels remaining in this world…

Healing of the Seraphim would practically consume no Angelic Power.

Thus, Leffrey regained his vitality, mended his broken bones, and stitched his wounds. He finally regained the strength to walk.

Of course, his mental state was still a mess.

Trudge- trudge-

Leffrey slowly walked towards the exit of the lecture hall.

Leffrey, exhausted, could only mutter,

“Another day, another survival for this angel…”