Chapter 80: Heaven

No one dared to stop the king’s carriage.

Pulled by the kingdom’s eight finest horses, the magnificent carriage passed through the gates of the capital, Neje, and shot forward like an arrow cleaving the wind.

The guards didn’t even check who was inside.

They were too busy hastily opening the gates at the sight of the golden carriage emblazoned with the royal crest.

From inside the carriage, I watched the scenery unfold outside the window.

The night sky was particularly beautiful tonight.

The sparkling stars, like diamonds scattered on black velvet, seemed to flow along with the carriage.

And on the ground, the endless plains were bathed in silver by the moonlight.

“If you look at this constellation…”

Ryandel said, pointing out the window.

“Hmm~ I don’t know~ and I don’t care~”

I replied, burying myself in the plush cushions.

The stars were pretty, but after staring at the same scenery for over two hours, boredom was creeping in.

No matter how comfortable and luxurious the king’s carriage was, what good was it if there was nothing to do inside?

Lotte was playing, slowing down and speeding up her levitation as she circled the carriage ceiling, while Glasia had long since fallen asleep in a corner of the carriage.

It was funny to see the giant hornet twitch its legs occasionally, as if dreaming of something.

Cecilia sat on my lap with her wings slightly spread, and her warmth felt like a lovely heated floor.

Only Miel was flapping her wings excitedly, bathed in the moonlight pouring in from the window.

Her blue ice wings shimmered as they reflected the moonlight, making it seem as if a small star was flying inside the carriage.

“You said it takes about ten days to get to the Hecsht Empire, right?”

Ravy asked with sparkling eyes, perhaps reminded of her hometown.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Just as Ryandel answered, my status window suddenly pinged.

[「Authority – Deathmark」 Available]

‘Ah! Deathmark!’

‘The cooldown is over!’

‘I completely forgot about it!’

‘This status window even tells me when the cooldown is over!’

‘What a surprise!’

My heart pounded for a moment.

The last time I used this authority, I was able to meet Mikal-nim!

And Mikal-nim took care of the demon in an instant, right?

If so… if I use this authority now, can I meet Mikal-nim again?

A hot excitement coursed through my body.

Instead of enduring a boring month-and-a-half carriage ride, it would be awesome to go play with Mikal-nim and then come back to the carriage!

“Heehee! If I go play with Mikal-nim, I’ll lose track of time!”

I exclaimed in a small voice, overcome with joy.

“Pardon? Did you call?”

Ryandel asked with a puzzled expression.

‘But wait… to use this authority, I have to take someone with me, and last time it was a bad demon, right?’

‘There are no monsters around now…’

‘No, Mikal-nim is there, so she’ll probably send anyone I take back safely!’

‘So who should I take? Ryandel? Ravy? Or one of the Ace Four?’

My eyes scanned everyone in the carriage.

‘Ryandel and Ravy… hmm, a huge opportunity like this should go to my Bugs, who have been with me for a long time, rather than humans.’

‘Hmm… if I only take one of the four, the others might feel left out…’

‘Hmm… Mikal-nim…’

‘Ah!’

‘Miel’s name was inspired by Mikal-nim!’

‘It’s perfect to go with Miel!’

‘I’m sure Mikal-nim will like it too!’

“Miel, do you want to go see Mikal-nim with me?”

Miel stopped flapping her wings in response to my voice and looked at me.

Curiosity shone in her small eyes.

“I’m going to see Mikal-nim with Miel! Deathmark!”

As soon as I shouted, a mark began to form on Miel’s small head.

The Deathmark on the little butterfly’s head looked like a small crown.

“Huh?”

“What?”

Ryandel and Ravy stared at me simultaneously with dumbfounded expressions.

But the authority had already been activated.

The mark was complete, and my vision began to spin.

The scenery inside the carriage blurred and gradually turned black, and before I knew it, we had arrived in a vast, circular colosseum.

“Heehee! We’re here!”

I shouted in an excited voice.

Looking around, it was the same colosseum as before.

High spectator stands, majestic pillars, and a red moon hanging in the sky.

Miel, excited by the new sight, flew around the colosseum with vigorous wing beats, looking around in wonder.

Flap, flap!

The sound of her wings echoed faintly in the empty colosseum.

Before long, a secret door on one side of the colosseum began to open.

As the door opened, a dazzling golden light poured out, and a figure appeared within the light.

【Mikal】 

‘Mikal-nim!’

‘The ever-so-beautiful Mikal-nim has appeared!’

Her golden hair, which seemed to have a slightly deeper pink hue than before, shone under the moonlight, and her outfit, made of thin fabric…

‘It’s still so revealing!’

The thin fabric fluttered, revealing Mikal-nim’s perfect figure, and I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks flush.

But strangely, another person entered after her.

【Solaris】

‘Who’s that?’

‘Another goddess…?’

Looking at the status window, the name Solaris appeared.

She was a woman with fiery red hair like the sun and the same golden eyes as Mikal-nim.

Judging by her name, she was probably the goddess of the sun.

‘But… her clothes are also too revealing.’

‘No, even more so than Mikal-nim’s!’

Her appearance was as hot and dazzling as the sun, and I was flustered, not knowing where to look.

Especially her chest and buttocks, which seemed as large as the sun, were overwhelmingly aggressive.

‘As expected of the sun goddess!’

‘Mikal-nim suddenly looks modest in comparison!’

I darted my eyes around, unsure where to look.

The walls, the floor, the ceiling…

‘Ah, there is no ceiling, so the sky then…’

I tried to look anywhere but at Solaris-nim.

Miel, on the other hand, was flapping her wings at an incredible speed, staring intently at the two goddesses, looking very excited.

I never knew a butterfly’s eyes could shine so brightly…

It was amazing how she wasn’t intimidated at all in front of these divine beings.

“Licorice! You’re back!”

Mikal-nim ran over with a bright smile and hugged me.

Her embrace was so warm and soft.

“Hehe… Mikal-nim…”

I mumbled in a small voice, feeling too shy.

“To think you actually came to the celestial realm…”

Solaris-nim said, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Her voice was low and deep, but at the same time, it had a clear, ringing quality.

“See! I told you she really came! When have you ever seen me lie!?”

Mikal-nim said, glaring at Solaris-nim.

“It’s just… it’s so unbelievable, that’s all…”

Solaris-nim mumbled, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly.

It was fascinating to see that even gods could have such awkward moments.

“Um… who is this…?”

I asked, cautiously looking at Solaris-nim.

‘Ugh!’

‘That size is still unbelievable!’

“…What? You don’t know me?”

“Pfft! Pwahahaha!”

Mikal-nim suddenly burst out laughing.

Her laughter echoed throughout the colosseum.

‘I know her name thanks to the status window, but I don’t know anything else…’

I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud and just looked at Mikal-nim, silently pleading for her to explain.

“This is Solaris.”

Mikal-nim said, suppressing her laughter.

“She’s the goddess of the sun. She’s very famous in the human world too. As one of the oldest gods, there are sun temples everywhere.”

“Ah, hello, Solaris-nim!”

I quickly greeted her politely.

Hearing Mikal-nim’s words, it seemed she was a goddess I really should have known.

‘So there were sun temples…’

‘I thought there were only temples of light until now…’

‘I should go pray at a sun temple next time…’

“But how on earth did you get here?”

Solaris-nim asked with a curious expression.

“With the authority Mikal-nim gave me!”

“The authority I gave you…?”

A question mark appeared on Mikal-nim’s face.

Then she tilted her head in confusion.

“Deathmark! I used it and came here!”

Solaris-nim also looked at Mikal-nim with a puzzled expression.

“You have an authority like that?”

“Deathmark… Deathmark…”

Mikal-nim mumbled.

“When did I ever…?”

‘Huh?’

‘It wasn’t an authority given by Mikal-nim…?’

“Ah!”

Mikal-nim suddenly exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

“It must be an ability I gained when I became New Mikal! Woo-hahahaha!”

“Here we go again…”

Solaris-nim sighed and mumbled.

She looked at Mikal-nim with a weary expression.

“New Mikal was born because of you, well… thanks to you.”

Solaris-nim said, suddenly looking at me.

“Huh? Me…?”

‘New Mikal…?’

‘What’s that!’

‘Does it mean Mikal-nim has been renewed?’

‘Or could it be…’

‘Is the current Mikal-nim mk.2…?’

Flap, flap!

Suddenly, Miel began to circle me frantically, flapping her wings.

She kept fluttering in front of me as if trying to tell me something.

“Oh right! This must be Miel! Her name is similar to mine!”

Mikal-nim exclaimed, having noticed Miel.

“Yes! That’s right! I named her that on purpose because I wanted to think of you, Mikal-nim, every time I see Miel!”

“Wow! Really? I’m so happy!”

‘Hehe.’

‘I’m glad you like it!’

Mikal-nim’s face lit up.

She circled around Miel, rejoicing like a child.

Solaris-nim watched our joyful display and shook her head in disbelief.

“To think a god who’s tens of thousands of years old can be so purely happy…”

Miel continued to flap around me, then suddenly flew to my hair.

Then, with her small feet, she plucked a few strands of my hair and went down to the colosseum floor.

“Ouch! Why did you pull it?”

I frowned in pain.

‘Why my hair!’

But to my surprise, Miel began to write something on the floor using my hair.

She dragged the hair with her small feet, carving letters on the floor.

‘What!?’

‘You can write!?’

– Can we go back?

“Huh?”

‘Wait a minute…’

‘Mikal-nim didn’t seem to know much about the authority, did she…?’

“Huh? You went back just fine last time, but you can’t this time?”

Mikal-nim asked with a puzzled expression.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘Could it be… that one of us has to die for us to go back…?’

Back then, when I fought the demon, I returned to my original place right after the demon died…

Now, it’s just Miel and me…

‘Are we trapped here…?’