Chapter 267 [End] [He Who Shouldn't Exist] [9] [Sabaoth's Avatar]
Chapter 267 [End] [He Who Shouldn\'t Exist] [9] [Sabaoth\'s Avatar]
An eerie silence lingered, accompanied by the occasional shaking of the island.
Woosh!
At the epicenter of the island, just below the shattering sky, the wind rushed abnormally.
A golden light illuminated the place as if making way for someone to descend.
Another wind howled, turning into a young man wearing a white robe.
His white hair fluttered around, his expression sharp, his eyes closed, \'gazing\' up at the sky.
El mentally analyzed the time it would take for "him" to descend.
And he quickly concluded:
...Enough.
...Enough for him to talk with her.
"Are you going to hide as always?" His deep, calm voice echoed in the place.
He slowly turned around, lowering his head, and whispered softly, "I can sense your presence, Lady Sophia."
A striking blonde woman with long, braided hair slowly appeared in front of him.
She wore a purple gown that covered her entire body, a golden engagement ring on her left hand.
Her expression was one of sorrow and exhaustion, with visible battle marks on her hands.
A silence lingered between them.
El tried not to \'look\' at her, while Sophia\'s golden eyes crucified him.
"...How have you been?" Finally, El whispered with a tired sigh.
"Why are you doing this?" Sophia asked, her voice laced with anger and sadness. "...Why are you making him go through all this once again?"
"...."
El\'s lips parted to answer her, but no words came out of his mouth.
"Answer me, Ishmael," Sophia said, the mana around her trembling at her words.
"Why are you dragging him into this matter once again?"
"It\'s inevitable," El replied calmly, shaking his head. "...He needs to—"
"He has already lived a painful life once," Sophia cut off his words. "Why do you want to make it even more painful?"
"....Don\'t you want to see him again?" El asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Sophia clenched her fist as she whispered, "....He isn\'t my Qais."
"He is—"
"My Qais is dead," she interjected sharply, glaring at him. "....That boy is nothing but a shadow of what he was."
El let out a deep breath, his body trembling slightly at her words.
Sadness and regret hammered his mind as he remembered things he tried so hard to forget.
"...Sabaoth won\'t let him live peacefully," El whispered softly, the sky above him almost broken as golden lightning radiated from it.
"....He will drag Qais\'s soul again and again until he achieves his goals."
"..."
Sophia could only glare at him without replying.
She also knew that it was impossible to remove Sabaoth\'s influence.
The only way to truly free him was to kill Sabaoth.
Crack!!
The sky above them completely cracked as a pressure soon started to bear down on them.
El \'gazed\' up, his lips curling into a small smile.
"Can you handle him?" Sophia asked, gazing up as well.
"I can," El replied without \'looking\' at her. "But it will take a lot of time to recover from it."
Sophia turned around without a word.
"I will take care of Qais," El softly whispered. "It won\'t end like last time."
Sophia\'s body vanished from the place.
"Sigh."
El sighed as the space around him expanded, a white plain blocking the path between the sky and the ground.
A spot within the plain lit up as pure light descended on it.
"Rumble!!!"
In an instant, thousands of lightning bolts collided with the white plain, turning the place chaotic.
At some point, the spot of light began to ripple like an illusory ocean taking shape.
The ripples slowly coincided, taking the shape of a young man with golden-white wings adorning his back. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The young man\'s presence alone bent the space around him.
The "world" immediately started to reject his presence.
His divinity flared up to resist it.
The young man\'s gaze moved towards El.
El\'s eyelids fluttered, his bright purple eyes filled with divinity opening up.
El smiled. "We meet again, Michael."
"Indeed," Archangel Michael said, staring at him. "Heaven\'s traitor." His body blurred the next instant.
.....
.....
"Tch."
Christina clicked her tongue in annoyance as Esmeray completely ignored her presence.
The place where she floated once blurred before her body vanished.
"I hate that bitch."
Christina grumbled as her gaze turned towards the sky that somehow returned to normal.
Turning around, she slowly walked towards the center of the island while she drew in deep breaths.
"Everything will be alright," she whispered, trying to calm herself down. "...He will understand."
Her hand moved as she gently squeezed the necklace she wore.
A wind rustled past her.
Her steps halted as a lady stood in her path.
"...What are you doing?" Sophia asked, glaring at her.
Christina\'s lips curled up in a smile. "The coward finally showed up, huh?"
"Answer me." Sophia stepped closer, her voice threatening.
"It\'s none of your business," she replied while pushing her aside, resuming her steps.
"You are trying to trick Anastasia, aren\'t you?" Sophia asked, making her halt. "Playing with a Primordial Goddess won\'t end well."
"We will see about that," she replied calmly without looking back.
"...This is madness."
She turned around to glance at Sophia, her lips parted as she whispered, "...Anything for him."
"Why are you letting her do this?" Sophia\'s body blurred as she appeared in front of Christina. "Answer me, Inarhia!"
Christina cocked her head to look at the tall woman.
She could faintly see concern in Sophia\'s eyes.
...Not for her, though.
She quietly walked past her.
Sophia grabbed her wrist, her lips parted. "...Answer me, sister."
.....
.....
SWISH!!
The Naraka left Azariah\'s hand, lodging itself deeply within the chest of an angel rushing at him.
The weapon glowed crimson before engulfing the angel within itself, making him an eternal slave.
"Argh!"
Azariah\'s gaze slowly turned down. An angel lay below his feet, screaming in pain.
He grinned as he grabbed both its golden-white wings tightly.
Tear!
The sound of flesh tearing echoed within the place as he ripped both its wings, throwing them away.
The pool of blood below him engulfed the angel\'s withering body, corroding its entire being.
"Huff... Huff..."
Azariah struggled to breathe as he gazed around him.
A huge pool of blood covered the entire place, mutilated bodies of angels floated on its surface.
His hand raised up as Naraka returned to his grip.
Without any delay, he turned his body, throwing the axe at the nearing angel flying towards him.
The angel raised his hand forward to grab the axe\'s handle.
"Foolish."
Azariah whispered as the instant Naraka touched his hand, his body incinerated, burning to a crisp, leaving nothing.
...Only beings that are related to Sabaoth can hold Naraka.
Naraka floated in the air before it slowly returned back to his hand.
Azariah\'s gaze slowly observed the place.
The golden light that descended some time ago was completely removed from reality.
The forest was destroyed, and the monsters that lived here cowered in fear, hiding away.
Only blood remained in the place.
And the angels...
...None of them was left alive.
The angels that descended to kill him were nowhere to be found.
He lowered Naraka along with his gaze to the pool of blood.
And there they were.
The oh, so mighty beings.
"Hahahaha."
Azariah let out a hysterical laugh as, for some reason, he found it funny.
Madness from using her divinity was corrupting his mind.
Those arrogant fools, they died painfully to protect such a worthless being.
Thinking about him, Azariah\'s gaze finally moved towards the end of the place.
A boy came into his view.
...Ethan sat in the corner, with a broken expression, his body trembling in fear.
Azariah slowly walked towards him, dragging Naraka along.
Making sure to take his time.
The screeching sound of the weapon grazing the ground made Ethan turn to look at him.
...And all Azariah saw was fear in his eyes.
Azariah walked out from the pool of blood.
His gaze remained fixed on Ethan.
Walking closer, he halted just in front of him.
Raising his hand, he aligned Naraka along his neck.
Tilting his head, Azariah asked coldly, "Any last words?"
Ethan glared at him with hatred, his entire body fighting against the fear he felt right now.
"I will kill you," he snarled, clenching his fist till they bled.
"I will destroy everything you love, I will kill everyone you care about—"
"Maybe in your next life." Azariah whispered as he raised Naraka high.
Ethan forcibly shut his eyes as the crimson axe descended.
"Hm?"
But it didn\'t reach his neck.
Azariah slowly gazed at his arm, which was now entwined with a branch of a tree, glowing in crimson.
His instincts screamed as he felt the ground beneath him tremble.
He propelled himself back, just as the land where he stood quaked violently, tearing open a huge hole in a bid to devour him.
The mana around the place soon started to behave strangely.
The mana particles danced around like beings happy to be in someone\'s presence.
He blinked—and there it was.
A huge tree, engraved with crimson markings, looming behind Ethan.
Azariah immediately recognized it.
The blood pooling at Azariah\'s feet flared up, mirroring the seething rage boiling in his mind.
His grip on Naraka tightened as he raised it high.
Without any delay, he hurled it towards Ethan.
A figure materialized in front of Ethan.
"He" raised his hand.
Naraka rushed towards him at threatening speed.
And just as it reached close, it came to an abrupt halt as "He" caught the weapon effortlessly by its hilt.
A silence lingered in the place.
"He" had striking long red hair cascading behind "His" back and glowing golden eyes holding captivating spirals that looked at Azariah.
"He" wore a dark robe with intricate gold patterns, and "His" long elongated ears marking "His" high elf lineage.
Mana danced around like a child in "His" mere presence.
Anger swelled in Azariah\'s chest as he looked at "Him."
The name ripped from his throat, his voice echoing as Azariah prowled towards "Him."
"RAGNAR!!"