Chapter 28: The Angel Who Drew the Holy Sword (5)

Episode 28: The Angel Who Drew the Holy Sword (5)

What is your true identity?

It was a short question, but one that contained a lot of meaning. Could it be… No way…

‘Did… she notice that my race isn’t human?’

Leffrey realized that the situation was taking a serious turn. Could it be that she had figured out that he was an angel who had fallen to Earth? If she did, he would be taken away as a research subject along with his suspicious energy called Angelic Power.

He absolutely had to avoid that.

“My identity? My parents weren’t from the other world or of a different race, they were just Koreans. It’s true.”

That was the safest answer. It was a fact that his parents from his past life, Leffrey, were human and Korean.

Naturally, if he had such parents, the conclusion would be that he was also an ordinary human. This was, Leffrey, the logical angel’s answer.

And naturally…

The bead remained white.

Because it wasn’t a lie.

“Hmm. That’s not what I’m asking. To be more specific… I’m curious about your past.”

The past, huh.

Why was she asking about that?

Leffrey roughly guessed Rebecca’s intentions.

‘…Rebecca sees me as a divine power user that’s pure and filled with faith in the heavens. That’s why she’s asking about my identity and my past. She’s probably trying to prove that I’m full of faith through those answers.’

So Leffrey had to show her that his faith was so worn out that even if he couldn’t draw the holy sword and received divine punishment, his heart wouldn’t be hurt.

So he had to talk about his past.

‘My past…’

Naturally, he didn’t want to talk about his private life.

And Leffrey’s past…

‘Is there really no other way but to tell her… I don’t want to…’

In the end, the boy hesitated to talk about his past. Professor Rebecca was the first to speak.

“It’s not fair to only ask you to talk about your past. I understand.”

She slowly reminisced about her past.

“Then I’ll talk about my past first.”

The initial part of the story was just as Leffrey knew it. Rebecca, a saint from the other world, was born in the rural countryside of the empire and became a nun at the cathedral due to her immense divine power. And she gradually built up achievements, eventually reaching the position of being called a saint.

“And then the demon king’s invasion began.”

After the demon king’s invasion began, Rebecca did everything she could as a saint. Divine power was more dangerous than any other magic or power, and even though it was constantly eroding her body, Rebecca never rested for a moment.

“But it wasn’t enough.”

However, even with Rebecca’s efforts, she couldn’t prevent the empire’s collapse. And as with any world and any civilization that’s on the brink of collapse, people become consumed by madness.

The empire was no different.

“People wished for a hero who could draw the holy sword to appear. They wished for it like crazy.”

In their madness, they wished for a hero to appear. They desperately wished for a hero who could draw the holy sword to appear.

So they did everything they could.

Rebecca revealed the deep burn scar hidden beneath her nun’s habit.

“This is the price of receiving divine punishment. When I failed, my mother was next, then my younger brother, and then my baby sister who couldn’t even speak yet, all burned to death by divine punishment because they thought there was at least a chance since they were related to me by blood.”

Rebecca muttered as if possessed,

“Ah, I never want to see that again. Even if they were my enemies, I never want to see them like that…”

It was a story so sad that it pained Leffrey just by listening to it. But Rebecca continued speaking calmly.

“That’s why I don’t believe in anything anymore.”

And she smiled gently and grabbed Leffrey’s shoulders.

“And I will never use divine power for the sake of people again.”

A distorted smile.

There was madness in her expression.

“Never.”

Hearing all of this, Leffrey felt something was strange. It was a gut feeling. The feeling that there was a huge misunderstanding.

‘Wait, this story doesn’t add up.’

Rebecca had clearly said earlier, “Ah, I never want to see that again. Even if they were my enemies, I never want to see them like that…”

That meant his previous assumption that Rebecca had voluntarily opened the door to the sanctuary ‘to watch the Mooncats fail at drawing the holy sword’ didn’t make sense.

Then why did she open the door to the sanctuary?

‘I see. It wasn’t Rebecca’s intention to open the door, it was the intention of the other professors. Probably the principal or Vice Principal Park Jin-ho…’

Why would the other professors order Rebecca to open the door to the sanctuary? What were they planning to do if the Mooncats actually succeeded in stealing the holy sword?

‘As I expected… no matter how talented Soya is, there’s no way Klein wouldn’t notice her opening a gate inside the Central Academy. And no matter how skilled the Mooncats are as informants, they can’t beat the Central Academy’s information network. It’s safe to assume that their entire operation has already been exposed.’

This was something he had already speculated about before.

Then…

He could draw a simple conclusion.

‘This is a trap. The professors must have thought that the Mooncats, cursed by the demon king, would inevitably fall to corruption, so they’re planning to wipe them all out this time.’

And judging by the professors’ ruthlessness, perhaps they would even… the entire Old Citadel…

It finally made sense. Why the proud Mooncats immediately joined the demon king who had cursed them after failing the mission… why Hongwol in his past life had hated the Central Academy…

‘The ones who truly failed the mission weren’t the Mooncats, but the professors! The professors succeeded in killing the chief, Jeokwol, and the elders… but they ultimately failed to kill Hongwol.’

Hongwol probably survived because she didn’t participate in the holy sword theft mission. Why didn’t she participate? Was she injured or something?

There was no way to know now.

‘But in this timeline, Hongwol has entered the Central Academy, and so she’s naturally participating in this operation at the forefront.’

Then Hongwol would die at the hands of the professors. And Soya, who was involved, wouldn’t be safe either. And if Hongwol, the chief’s bloodline, died, the Old Citadel would be finished.

The hundreds of thousands of people living there would be massacred as well.

[It is an angel’s duty to preserve all creation.]

Leffrey had a duty to stop it.

“…I’ll be going now.”

There was no reason for him to stay here any longer.

The door would already be open.

The door leading to their death.

“Where are you going? Didn’t you need my key?”

“The door to the sanctuary is already open, isn’t it?”

“As expected, you’re quite something. To have already noticed our professors’ plan.”

However, the door to Professor Rebecca’s room didn’t open.

“Professor!”

“You haven’t spoken about your past yet.”

“Professor! Open the door!”

“Why should I open it? If I open the door, you’ll be burned to death like my brother with your foolish faith.”

This was the true meaning of Professor Rebecca’s words, “I can’t see that happen… ever again.” She couldn’t bear to see Leffrey burned to death trying to draw the holy sword, even if it meant risking the failure of the professors’ plan.

Rebecca reached out

and grabbed Leffrey’s hand.

“Leffrey, don’t go.”

Clatter, clatter, clatter- No matter how hard he tried, the door wouldn’t open.

‘Soya… Hongwol…!’

And his vision gradually blurred.

The boy choked back tears and turned around.

There was no more hesitation.

“My past is similar to yours, professor.”

“…What?”

“I… I also desperately wished for a hero to appear.”

Leffrey slowly spoke about his past. The story of when he had black hair and knew nothing about the Central Academy or Angelic Power.

“Do you know the concept of an illegitimate child?”

“…Yes.”

“I was the illegitimate child of a rich young man from a conglomerate(Corporation) family.” (TL Note: In the original translation it was Chaebol. Which means that it’s essentially a group of large corporations like for example: Samsung, Apple, Google, and Honda being under the control of a family. Like, each CEO of that large corporation is related by blood to each other CEO.)

It was painful.

Talking about this was really painful.

But…

“That man treated my mother like a toy, not even a human being. Then what would I be? A byproduct created from playing with a toy. An insignificant existence…”

It was so hard to recall those memories from that time. But…

“But my mother and I still believed in that man. That someday…”

Someday…

We could become a normal family.

The young boy had that kind of faith.

“And then an incident happened.”

“An incident?”

“Yes, I don’t know how many years you’ve lived in Korea, but conglomerate families marry each other. Like nobles. The time came for that young man to have such a marriage for his power and wealth.”

Leffrey closed his eyes and muttered,

“That young man tried to get rid of the leftover toys before getting married. Because leaving them behind could cause problems.”

The rest of the story was the same as the nightmares that always haunted Leffrey.

His mother hurriedly hiding him under the sofa, the fight, the screams. Her refusing to tell them where her son was until the very end.

A young boy prayed to heaven dozens, thousands of times. Please, save his mother.

And he waited for a hero like those he saw in cartoons. Please, defeat those villains.

But his prayers didn’t reach the heavens.

The room fell silent…

A small crack where light shone through, blood flowing through the gap. The boy struggling to hold back his tears with all his might, the boy who could never sleep peacefully again.

“Do you believe me now? That I don’t have a heart to be hurt anymore? That I don’t believe in anything?”

‘Yes, for the sake of saving those children… I’ll tell you about this past as many times as you want.’

[Enduring pain to save others is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

And the bead was still white.

Rebecca muttered with a surprised expression,

“You really are similar to me.”

Tears welled up in Rebecca’s eyes.

“Then why… why are you trying to draw the holy sword? If you don’t believe in anything, if you’re disappointed in this world like me, why are you doing this!?”

“Because I can’t wait any longer.”

“…For what?”

Leffrey said with his back turned,

“For a hero.”

Leffrey had vowed to stop reading fantasy novels. He didn’t want to have hopes for a hero like those that might appear in fantasy novels anymore.

Leffrey no longer believed in a hero chosen by the heaven. What he believed in was…

‘If the heavens won’t send down a hero… I’ll raise one myself. That’s who I am, the guardian angel of heroes… Leffrey.’

Click-

The firmly shut door opened. Professor Rebecca had finally decided to let Leffrey go.

She couldn’t help but dwell on the boy’s words.

‘He said he can’t wait any longer… for a hero… so he’s going to sacrifice himself in the hero’s place…’

Of course, it was a misunderstanding.

That wasn’t what the boy meant.

“Such a… such a kind child… I had vowed to never use divine power again, but…”

Rebecca lowered her head.

“I can’t help but protect him…!”

In the end, Rebecca couldn’t hold back her tears. They were the first tears she had shed in over a decade.