Chapter 285 – REUNION (4)
Since it’s pretty much confirmed that Solari is female, I’ve changed ‘sun G.o.d’ to ‘sun G.o.ddess’ in all previous chapters.
Since Leisegang was a powerful boss monster, there were quite a variety of items he left behind in the place where he disappeared.
Half of it were already expected, but the other half were not.
“So this is where it came from.”
Cordelia grinned while Jude did not hide his smile either.
Because it was a really pleasant surprise.
‘Leisegang’s Essence and Demon Prince’s Soul also came out in the game.’
In Legend of Heroes 2, the battle against Leisegang was between the middle and late stages of the game, so the battle was completely different from what it was now.
The battle wasn’t against a sealed Leisegang but a Leisegang who had been freed because he broke the seal on his own.
‘That’s why it has changed.’
Because the place where they fought and Leisegang’s condition were different.
There were two unexpected items.
One was Paladin Gallus’ sword.
As a champion of Solari, he was said to have wielded two swords. One was the Solar Blade, sun G.o.ddess Solari’s sword that Landius was now using, and the other was the demon killer greatsword, Demon Bane, that was in front of them now.
“Wow, it still has some divine power.”
Cordelia touched the Demon Bane’s blade and widened her eyes in admiration.
And Jude was surprised too.
It was made from Mithril, which was also called Truesilver, so the power he felt from the silver Demon Bane was really amazing.
‘No, that’s not all.’
There was a sense of discomfort that he found hard to explain.
Or rather, a sense of familiarity.
Is it because I’ve already seen it a few times in the game?
But that would be the same for the other items as well.
“Jude?”
“Uh, yes. That’s amazing. Let’s give this to Lucas.”
“Huh? Uh… okay.”
Cordelia seemed to be momentarily bewildered at Jude’s words, but soon nodded her head.
‘Because Jude has Sword Origin.’
Sword Origin had been upgraded into an Awakening-Myth dragon equipment, so it was better than Demon Bane.
And it was not a waste to give it to Lucas who was using Ascalon now since he didn’t have a Dragon Factor.
Because the Holy King’s Cross Sword of Lucas used divine power in the first place, it was more efficient for Jude to hand him Demon Bane, a divine sword, than for Lucas to use Ascalon.
‘However..’
Lucas needs to become strong too, and I’m quite proud that Lucas is getting stronger.
But Jude should always come first.
My Jude should be given all the items to become stronger.
“Cordelia?”
“Huh? Uh… It’s nothing.”
Cordelia shook her head and cleared her thoughts.
Because there was the right person for the right job.
And if Jude would have gotten stronger from using Demon Bane, he wouldn’t have told her in the first place that he was giving it to Lucas.
“Good, yes, okay. Let’s give Demon Bane to Lucas.”
As Cordelia nodded again, Jude held back his laughter.
Because he knew what Cordelia was worried about since he could see her wriggling her fingers.
‘Cute.’
No, she’s adorable.
When we come back later, I’ll work hard to make her pretty again.
If Kajsa had heard of Jude’s thoughts, she would have frowned again. Jude then turned to Lucas and said.
“Lord Lucas, this is the demon killer greatsword, Demon Bane, the sword Paladin Gallus used. I think it would be better for Lord Lucas to use this.”
Lucas was immersed in the lingering feelings he felt after having defeated a great demon, so when Jude spoke in a fairly loud voice, he widened his eyes in surprise.
“Uh… can I have a sword like that?”
“Of course. Because we defeated Leisegang together. Lord Lucas deserves this sword.”
Jude offered Demon Bane after he spoke strongly again, and Lucas rushed like Cordelia, accepting the sword with trembling hands.
“This is the demon killer greatsword, Demon Bane… the sword of punishment that destroys evil!”
His words seemed to be a mix of some lines from Biltwein the Hero, but anyway, good things were good.
Jude left Lucas who was immersed again with his role playing, and picked up another unexpected item.
“Solari’s Eye.”
This divine item from the sun G.o.ddess Solari was like a set with the Sun’s Necklace he had previously acquired.
A brilliantly shining golden gem was embedded in a round frame made of platinum.
“I will take this.”
“Yes, yes, it would be good if you combine it with the Sun’s Necklace. It will make your Yang energy grow stronger, right?”
It was as Cordelia had stated.
Even he felt that the Sun’s Necklace wasn’t enough these days, so adding Solari’s Eye would let him amplify the power of the Black Sun more than before.
“Hey, can I have this?”
When he turned his head at the voice, he saw Kajsa holding the chains that were used to bound Leisegang.
Each chain was quite thick that the size of each chain link was comparable to Kajsa’s waist, but it seemed like she liked it very much.
‘It wouldn’t be impossible with Kajsa’s superhuman strength but…’
It was too big though. So Jude made another suggestion.
“I’ll give it to you after we’ve reprocessed it in our fief.”
“Reprocess?”
“It’s too big now. We’ll make a new chain for you after melting it. Wouldn’t it be better if it’s in a size that you could handle properly?”
“That’s good then.”
With a smirk, Kajsa hugged the chains as though she was really satisfied.
‘Because it’s an amazing object.’
These chains had bound a Demon Prince, so one could say that it was an amazing treasure in itself.
“Unnie, oppa. What is this? It’s pretty.”
Red Wind had been squatting and looking at the items before she raised her head and asked.
At her feet lied the last unexpected item – Heaven Genealogical Record.
The item had drawings and letters painted in gold on a plate made of Mithril, and as its name suggested, it was a kind of divine relic that could tell the genealogy of Heaven.
“It’s the Heaven Genealogical Record. It tells what angels are in Heaven and what their positions are.”
At Cordelia’s explanation, Lucas and Kajsa who had been engrossed in their own items also raised their heads.
“Unnie, are you here then?”
“I’ve just become one, so… Eh?”
The Heaven Genealogical Record was quite large as it measured around 1 meter in width and length, so only angels above a certain rank were recorded, but they were able to find Cordelia’s name in a corner because she was of the 5th rank.
“Wow, is this a real-time recorder?”
In the game, it was nothing more than a divine item that emitted divine power.
At the time Cordelia had spoken in surprise, Jude also narrowed his brows and said.
“You’re right, it must be real-time. Lena’s name is also there.”
Lena’s name was not far from where Cordelia’s name was written.
Both of them were angels under Solari’s lineage, so it was easy to find their names.
“Unnie. I wonder what the black letters mean.”
“Huh? Uh… they’re probably the dead angels who no longer exist now.”
Cordelia said at Red Wind’s question as she ran her fingers through her flowing hair.
It was the first time Cordelia had seen it, but this was a fact she could easily infer.
‘To begin with, there are seven archangels, of which three are black and four are gold.’
Of the seven archangels who were said to be the highest ranked in Heaven, there were only four left. Among the letters painted in black was the name of Archangel Solari, the sun G.o.ddess who came to the human world.
“But it’s not all of them… I think only the names of the important dead beings remained.”
Cordelia continued her slightly uneasy explanation and glanced at Jude.
She seemed to be asking for confirmation if what she said was correct, so Jude nodded his head.
“It is as Cordelia said. If it really recorded all the names of the angels, close to half of the Heaven Genealogical Record would be black.”
“That’s interesting. So you’re saying that there are still four beings like G.o.ddess Solari?”
Kajsa asked as she squatted down next to Red Wind, and Lucas replied with shining eyes.
“Yes, there are seven archangels in Heaven. Among them, three came to the human world and helped us, and G.o.ddess Solari was the brightest, wisest, most beautiful and most benevolent of the three.”
Lucas appeared to be excited because he liked these kinds of stories rather than being a believer of Solari.
One could say that he had seriously researched the settings for his role play.
“According to legends, Solari was the youngest of the seven archangels. But she was the strongest in terms of power.”
“Yes… that is true.”
“The Golden Dragon King is also strong.”
At Lucas’ explanation, Kajsa admired it, Red Wind retorted back, and Cordelia turned to Jude.
[What do you think?]
About what Lucas had said just now.
Realistically speaking and not from a religious perspective.
[Well, I’m not exactly sure.]
At the time when Solari descended, the world was completely different from what it was today.
Because a part of h.e.l.l was also connected with the human world, numerous demons descended on earth.
There were many theories about Solari’s death, but the most popular theory was that Solari sacrificed herself rather than being killed.
She destroyed the connections of Heaven and h.e.l.l to the human world. As a result, the human world became independent again.
The Great Summons the demon followers had longed for was to somehow restore that broken connection.
If the human world and h.e.l.l become connected, it would be possible for demons to cross over the human world without using a h.e.l.l Gate.
‘The problem is that it would also restore the connection to Heaven.’
Jude looked again at the four archangels at the top of the Heavenly Genealogical Record.
Among them, the most notable was Auriel, the Archangel of Judgment.
She was the creator of Heavenly Judgment which had been their trump card several times, but she was also a very important figure in both the game and the background setting of Legend of Heroes 3.
‘Heaven’s leader. The archangel who declared the beginning of Armageddon by fighting against Asmodeus, the overlord of l.u.s.t who was the leader of h.e.l.l.’
She was one of the reasons why humans were able to survive in Legend of Heroes 3.
Because she brought together into one place the humans who had nearly been annihilated by the series of disasters.
‘Among the archangels, Raguel was one of the two most popular.’
Raguel, the Archangel of Justice.
Since Auriel was like the commander-in-chief of an army, the players felt a sense of distance from her, but not for Raguel who was the archangel that appeared in the beginning of Legend of Heroes 3 and gave help and quests.
Her tone of voice was friendly and gentle, so it was inevitable that she became popular.
[Moving on… Neither Heaven nor h.e.l.l are connected with the human world now. It’s good because we’re not getting directly attacked by h.e.l.l, but neither are we getting direct help from Heaven.]
[Yes, that’s right. But who do you think is stronger, Solari or Auriel?]
[That’s not what’s important.]
[Hmph. I just want to know who’s stronger.]
As Cordelia hmphed, Jude smiled and shrugged before sending magic again.
[I don’t know who is stronger. Anyway, whether it’s Auriel or Raguel, it would be better for us to not meet them and only know of their existence.]
[And the overlords of h.e.l.l?]
[Same situation.]
Jude nodded and glanced back at the Heaven Genealogical Record again.
The remaining four archangels of Heaven.
And Cordelia’s name that was added at a corner of the Heaven Genealogical Record.
Jude looked at Solari’s name one last time.
The benevolent and great archangel who sacrificed her own life for the humans of this world who had nothing to do with her.
She was no longer just a background setting.
She certainly existed in this world, and it was because of her that Jude and Cordelia could live in the present.
So Jude closed his eyes and offered her a brief prayer.
He grieved for the G.o.d who was now gone.
***
Raguel, the Archangel of Justice, closed her eyes and looked down the world.
The world that Solari loved.
The world that she gave away her life to protect.
That was why Raguel loved the world.
She loved the human world and the humans as much as she loved Solari.
“Solari…”
Murmuring the name of her gone sister, Raguel held the Heaven Genealogical Record. Her long, slender and white fingers slowly stroked the record as her long black hair covered it.
Cordelia.
The newly engraved name of an angel.
A child who inherited Solari’s blood.
A child who was very similar to Solari.
“I want to meet you.”
Raguel muttered unconsciously without opening her eyes. She continued to close her eyes as she looked into the world.
***
Auriel, the Archangel of Judgment, stood on a higher place and looked down on earth.
She intuitively realized that Asmodeus, the overlord of l.u.s.t, was looking up the ground.
Her long-time opponent.
The war between Heaven and h.e.l.l had already lasted for more than 10,000 years, and during that long war, Auriel had confronted Asmodeus several times.
But more than a thousand years had already pa.s.sed since their last war.
Because the connection between Heaven and h.e.l.l was cut off in the aftermath of the connection to the human world being suddenly severed.
“Solari.”
The name of the child she loved the most.
The seventh archangel.
She sacrificed everything to protect the humans and the human world.
Auriel looked down on earth.
She stood from a higher place and blankly stared down.
***
The witch of the west forest smiled brightly.
An empty and fake smile, but Asmodeus, the overlord of l.u.s.t, loved that smile of hers.
[How interesting. You’re seriously crazy. Out of everyone else, you want to borrow my power.]
“Because it’s very important. Shouldn’t I use everything I can use? And isn’t that why you like me?”
Asmodeus smiled again as the witch of the west forest shrugged. For her, the witch was a woman worthy of saving from Belial.
[Demons follow contracts if they would be paid a price. That would be the same for me, an Overlord.]
“Pretending to be fair, huh? Aren’t you a scammer?”
Despite the witch’s accusation, Asmodeus did not lose her smile.
Sitting on the throne of h.e.l.l, she spoke to the witch who was watching via magic goggles.
[I’ll lend you my power.]
The price would be knowledge.
Asmodeus said and the witch of the west forest agreed.
Helena looked into the world with the power of the demon that she hated.
To confirm the ident.i.ty of the sense of discomfort and déjà vu that she felt.
***
Time flowed.
As the archangels gazed upon the earth, the witch peeked at the world, and the overlords of h.e.l.l longed for the earth with greedy eyes, the dizzying flow of time did not stop. It just kept flowing.
A week after Leisegang’s defeat.
Unexpected news was delivered to Jude and Cordelia who were about to begin their journey to the empire.