HUNT FOR ANGEL BEGINS
It had been two weeks since we returned from the Blood Kingdom.
For now, everything was stable.
Nemesis hadn't appeared, and Sacred Soul had agreed to stop the war. Peace had finally returned—or at least, something close enough to peace.
Unfortunately, I still had no leads.
Neither on Nemesis...
Nor Angel.
Ruken had called himself the Fourth Ruler of Heaven.
Which meant there were others.
How many?
And more importantly...
Where were they?
“Grim, did you find anything about Angel's whereabouts?”
Grim didn't immediately respond.
For the past two weeks, he had barely moved from his workspace. He spent almost every moment analyzing the blood samples I had collected from the strange stones in the Blood Kingdom.
Instead of answering my question, Grim suddenly looked up.
“Tell me something, Erik.”
“What?”
“What do you think the Blood Tyrant's true power was?”
I frowned.
“Where is this coming from? Wasn't it those strange red trees?”
“No.”
Grim shook his head.
“The Blood Tyrant's true power was the ability to give someone a new life.”
I stared at him.
“A... new life?”
“Let me explain.”
Grim placed several notes on the table.
“Only a few people survived after consuming Ruken's flesh. Have you ever wondered why?”
“Because they were stronger than the others?”
“No.”
He immediately rejected my answer.
“In terms of strength, they weren't particularly different from the other survivors.”
Grim paused for a moment.
“The difference was what they had left to live for.”
I remained silent as he continued.
“Imagine two people.”
“Person A survived the war with his entire family. He still has a home. He still has people waiting for him. He has a life to return to.”
Grim raised one finger.
“Now imagine Person B.”
“His entire family died during the war. His home is gone. Everything he cared about disappeared.”
He raised another finger.
“Both of them consume the Blood Tyrant's flesh.”
I could already guess where this was going.
“Person A would be rejected,” Grim said.
“Because he already has a life.”
I slowly nodded.
“And Person B?”
“The flesh accepts him.”
Grim's eyes narrowed.
“It gives him another chance.”
A new life...
“That was the Blood Tyrant's true power.”
Grim looked back at the blood samples.
“It wasn't simply about strength. Ruken's flesh chose people who had nothing left.”
My eyes widened.
“Kiro and Kenon...”
“Exactly.”
Both of them had given up on their lives.
Both of them had lost everything.
“And Ruken's flesh gave them a new life,” Grim said.
“That must be why they were able to consume so much of it.”
“But they consumed an entire arm.”
“That is probably because of their relationship with Ruken.”
Grim tapped one of the papers.
“They were closer to him than ordinary survivors. Their connection allowed them to accept more of his flesh.”
I couldn't help but stare at him.
Amazing...
He figured all of that out from blood samples alone?
Then, as if nothing important had just been revealed, Grim casually changed the subject.
“So, back to the main problem.”
His expression became serious.
“Where is Angel hiding?”
I blinked.
He really changed the topic that quickly?
“Angel is a Supreme Devil,” Grim continued. “He can't simply hide anywhere.”
I thought about his words.
“He must be somewhere nobody would notice him.”
“Exactly.”
Grim nodded.
“That narrows our possibilities.”
“Either one of the Heretic Kingdoms...”
“Or the Elven Kingdom.”
I immediately shook my head.
“I doubt Angel is hiding in the Elven Kingdom.”
“Why?”
“It's too close to the Holy Kingdom of Croalia.”
Croalia.
The main base of Sacred Soul.
“If Angel is hiding from Sacred Soul, staying that close to their territory would be dangerous.”
Grim remained silent for a moment.
Then something suddenly occurred to me.
“Hey, Grim.”
“What?”
“Something doesn't make sense.”
His expression immediately changed.
“What happened?”
“Angel is a Supreme Devil.”
I looked directly at him.
“Why is he hiding from Sacred Soul?”
Grim narrowed his eyes.
I continued.
“Why doesn't he simply start an all-out war?”
“Even if the Sages possess countless contracts, they're still humans.”
I clenched my fist.
“They shouldn't be able to overpower the real thing.”
For a few seconds, Grim said nothing.
Then he slowly nodded.
“I thought about that as well.”
“And?”
“There is only one possible explanation.”
His voice became quieter.
“A contract.”
“A contract?”
“Between Angel and Sacred Soul.”
My eyes widened.
“A contract that prevents Angel from harming Sacred Soul.”
Everything suddenly began to make more sense.
“That would explain why Angel used Ruken.”
Grim nodded.
“Exactly.”
“If Angel couldn't directly fight Sacred Soul, he needed someone else to do it for him.”
Ruken.
The Blood Tyrant.
A weapon powerful enough to challenge Sacred Soul without Angel ever appearing himself.
But something still bothered me.
“Then why didn't Sacred Soul attack the Blood Kingdom?”
Grim looked at me.
“The reason they stayed out of the conflict was because they wanted to avoid fighting Angel.”
I crossed my arms.
“But if Angel couldn't fight them directly... what stopped Sacred Soul from launching an all-out attack?”
Grim fell silent.
For the first time, he didn't have an immediate answer.
“Maybe...”
He slowly spoke.
“Maybe the contract only prevented Angel from making the first move.”
I looked at him.
“A first-attack contract?”
“Yes.”
Grim nodded.
“If Sacred Soul attacked first, Angel might have been allowed to retaliate.”
That...
Actually made sense.
Or perhaps we were simply trying too hard to make sense of something we didn't understand.
I stood up.
“Where are you going?” Grim asked.
“Out.”
There was no point sitting here any longer.
In the end...
Everything we discussed was nothing more than speculation.
We had no proof.
No information.
No idea where Angel was.
As I turned toward the door, Grim spoke again.
“Remember this, Erik.”
I stopped.
“In the future, you will have to fight Angel.”
My body stiffened.
“Because of your contract with Ikalgo.”
I didn't turn around.
Grim continued.
“Remember... Ikalgo possessed your body for only three minutes.”
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
“And during those three minutes, he made the Blood Tyrant look weak.”
My fingers tightened.
“So imagine what will happen when you face the real thing.”
Angel.
A Supreme Devil.
The being hiding somewhere in this world.
I would eventually have to fight.
I said nothing.
Not because I had no answer.
But because...
I was afraid.
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