Chapter 193: The Angel Who Receives Observation Class (16)

Episode 193: The Angel Who Receives Observation Class (16)

“But surely you didn’t think that I wouldn’t have prepared anything for dealing with you demon kings?”

The demon king smiled ominously.

Then, shrouded in darkness, he began to transform.

“Surely you didn’t think that I hadn’t prepared anything for the heroes all this time?”

And as the darkness cleared, the demon king greeted them again.

The Demon King, now holding the hem of a flowing chiffon dress, bowed his head ever so gently.

“Hello.”

It was an old-fashioned greeting, like one that might have been used by medieval ladies.

‘What is he suddenly doing?’

Leffrey cocked his head at that strange behavior. Why was he acting like that out of the blue?

Leffrey, barely holding his crumbling body together, stood up, taking a stance.

To him who had already fallen, Angelic Power was no different from poison. Even so, Leffrey could not stop gathering that Angelic Power.

He knew full well that the Angelic Power was burning his body, as though it were passing judgment.

[Using Angelic Power with a body that has begun to fall…]

Because Leffrey was a guardian angel.

[…is an angelic act!]

And to protect someone, he had to use all the power he could muster.

“Now then, ahem, hello.”

Finishing his medieval greeting, the demon king then began clearing his throat as if about to start singing.

‘Why is he giving such an old-fashioned greeting? In what situation have I seen such an old-fashioned greeting before?’

Leffrey’s mind began spinning rapidly.

The angelic power that was burning his blood vessels to purify his fallen body was incredibly painful, but even so, Leffrey had to focus on thinking.

‘Right.’

He had seen it sometimes.

How opera singers or musical performers might do such an old-fashioned greeting before starting their performance.

Then he recalled what Leffriel had once said.

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

The ability to create a Song of Karma.

The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets.

In that instant, Leffrey realized exactly what technique the demon king was trying to unleash.

“Ahhh—”

Just like a professional singer, he placed one hand on his chest and the other out toward the audience, thus, the Demon King began to sing.

The surrounding karma resonated with the demon king’s song, revealing itself in a form similar to the real world.

“Tsk. Is this some kind of illusion magic?”

“No, this isn’t an illusion.”

Soya denied Hongwol’s question as she surveyed her surroundings.

“The reality check test, as well as all senses I can feel through mana, no, through karma, is telling me that this is reality.”

“I know. I’m sensing the same thing. But then what is this?”

The reality of this world was unfolding before their eyes.

A reality more hellish than any hell, something one would desperately want to hide.

A hell created by a corrupt government.

A nightmare brought about by powerful beings who were above the law.

And the song of people suffering within them.

The two hero girls couldn’t help but tense up, overwhelmed by the dark karma that flooded in.

“I don’t know what the demon king is doing, but.”

With those words, Hongwol began to vanish bit by bit.

“The first strike always wins.”

“Wait, Hongwol!”

While Soya liked the saying ‘the first strike always wins’ as much as the next person, she didn’t think that was how it worked in this kind of situation.

‘Even if Hongwol’s hero technique is a broken skill that can completely erase her existence from this world…’

No, it could make one not remember that Hongwol existed, it was truly a skill worthy of that saying.

‘Wait, then it might be possible?’

Just as Soya’s heart was filled with a faint glimmer of hope…

…A question suddenly flashed through her mind.

‘Hold on, no one should be able to perceive Hongwol’s existence at all, so why am I still aware of her right now? Could it be a Karma technique that nullifies other Karma techniques?’

Leffrey was thinking the exact same thing.

“Wol! Get out of there!”

“It’s too late.”

Just then, the Demon King, who had been singing, snatched Hongwol’s wrist with effortless grace and twisted it.

“Kgh, h-how?”

“How? Is there a magician who reveals the tricks to their own magic?”

And without hesitation, a black claymore aimed for Hongwol’s throat.

“You’re the reason Leffrey is walking down this wrong path. Die.”

“Stop!”

Soya and Leffrey shouted in unison.

But the black claymore didn’t stop.

‘My remaining Angelic Power is meager. And my body is on the verge of collapse.’

In order to protect Hongwol in this situation, Leffrey had no choice but to use absolutely everything he had left.

‘I should have gathered more Angelic Power.’

Just before the True Demon Sword reached Hongwol’s fair neck, Leffrey could only mutter a single word.

‘I should have built up more Angelic Power in time to increase my chances.’

“Ain Soph, activate.”

That word was Ain Soph.

Leffrey’s Ultimate Skill that held infinite light.

Even Leffrey himself didn’t fully understand what this skill was. He only knew it was powerful and could serve as a last shred of hope.

And so, Ain Soph was activated.

* * *

White can hold two meanings.

The white of light, so full that it cannot be filled any further. And the white of purity, empty, and yet to be tainted.

‘Where is this…?’

And this place was a place where both meanings of white were overflowing.

A place so saturated with infinite light, yet displaying an unspoiled purity, an untainted innocence that has yet to begin.

“This place…”

A girl (?) with black hair, who looked every bit an angel, moved her lips in disbelief.

“This is the world before creation.”

“The world before creation?”

“Yes, the moment before the world had any meaning, when only infinite light existed.”

Her expression blended fear and awe, a face that seemed to want to reject the light, yet reached out instinctively.

“Little Leffrey, so this is your Ultimate Skill. It’s similar yet different from mine.”

The demon king’s Ultimate Skill.

At those words, Leffrey felt a hint of despair. Yet, he still looked at the Demon King without wavering.

“But you can’t use your Ultimate Skill now, can you?”

“Why do you think so?”

“You said it yourself when you were summoned. That coming to this world took a lot out of you. If you could use your Ultimate Skill, you would have used it immediately instead of dealing with Soya and Hongwol.”

“Hmm, you’re half right.”

The demon king’s eyes showed a hint of sadness.

“I also didn’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s a needless kindness.”

Leffrey looked around this space once again. He wasn’t even sure if it was right to call it a “space”, but…

This ‘meaningless’ space where only infinite light existed.

‘That infinite light must be the karma of light.’

Leffrey, staring into that infinite light, couldn’t help but have a blasphemous thought.

‘I’ve heard of this before. A story about how this world was created by light. That the world was created when god said, ‘let there be light’.’

But this world seemed far more steeped in darkness than in light. He had thought the world was created alongside the words ‘let there be darkness.’

‘How could this world, created with such an infinite light, become so dark?’

He wanted to ask the Demon King, but instead, Leffrey bit his lip to stifle that desire.

“So, Leffrey, what do you plan to do?”

The Demon King asked with a completely relaxed attitude.

“Are you going to get rid of me? Me? Your only kin?”

“…Yes.”

“Fufu, that’s the answer I didn’t want to hear, though I expected it.”

She pulled down her bonnet, hiding her expression. For a second, Leffrey thought how she looked just a bit like Soya in that moment.

“Then stop hesitating. Use that infinite light.”

The demon king said.

“You can just kill me, right?”

“That’s what I’m going to do. I’ll judge you.”

Even if it’s just for a moment.

If he could borrow the power of that infinite light, then even the demon king wouldn’t be able to survive.

Yes.

If he could just kill him, then it would all be over.

Murderous intent, bloodlust, killing intent, he didn’t care what anyone called it.

“I will judge you.”

As long as he could kill him, he didn’t mind the label.

So Leffrey stretched out his hand toward that infinite light. He believed it would respond to him, who had not completely succumbed to the dark.

Believing that it would choose him, who hadn’t completely fallen, over the demon king.

* * *

“…Why did you stop?”

The Demon King, his dress swaying lightly, asked casually. Without looking back at her, Leffrey spoke with his lips barely parted.

“This isn’t right.”

“What isn’t?”

“My desire to kill you, that feeling, isn’t something that light would accept.”

Haa- The demon king, hearing those words, let out a deep sigh.

His face revealed genuine disappointment.

“How unfortunate. It was an opportunity for you to fall, much like Icarus.”

“This killing intent, this desire, after all…”

Leffrey opened and closed his hand.

In response, a faint dark karma began to gather.

“…belongs in the darkness.”

“Yes, that’s right. It is darkness.”

And so, Leffrey began carefully experimenting with the Demon King’s techniques, things like the True Demon Sword, Absolute Solitude, Smearing. One by one.

With every action, the darkness around him grew thicker.

The Demon King, as though Leffrey had crossed a river of no return, clapped his hands, unable to contain his delight.

“And that’s how you use darkness…!”

But the demon king’s joy didn’t last long.

Clearly, Leffrey was using darkness, and more of it kept gathering around him. Yet somehow, Leffrey’s hair was becoming brighter, radiating a golden light.

His uniform, which had darkened, was now returning to its original white color, as if bleached, and his Silver Shoes, which had turned black, began to regain their shine.

At this incomprehensible phenomenon, the demon king’s face hardened.

“How?”

“I’ve acknowledged the darkness in my heart. Yes, there are many I want to kill, and there are times I resent the world. And I have many evil thoughts.”

The boy nodded readily.

Leffrey, his golden hair restored, continued with a mischievous grin.

“But the feeling I have when I see Soya’s pout and think she’s cute, or the desire I have for Mari to be free from pain, or wanting to spend time with Wol, those aren’t darkness.”

At last, the Demon King grasped how this was possible.

‘No, he can’t stop the fall just because of a few nice feelings. Sin can’t be erased. Not unless there’s an infinite, infinite reservoir of light karma…’

Once you’ve fallen, it’s not something that can be easily undone. That’s the nature of corruption.

But if there is a power great enough to halt even that corruption…

‘Infinite light…! The infinite light is responding!’

A power faster at lifting Leffrey’s heart than the darkness was at dragging it down. It wouldn’t respond to the desire to kill, but to the wish to protect someone. Yes, to that, it surely responded.

That infinite light that created this world, was creating this impossible phenomenon.

“Leffrey, if that’s how you’re going to be…”

The demon king’s tone became serious.

It was like the voice of a parent scolding a whining child.

“Then I guess I’ll have to seize you by force, even if that means hurting you.”

“Try it if you can.”

Leffrey, the golden-haired boy, declared while holding a dark claymore.

“I’ll show you the might of a Fallen Power Angel.”