Chapter 45

[Hey, young god. Wanna make a bet with me? If you can stand firm after seeing her directly, I’ll give you my night. Of course, I’ll help with the seal too. No conditions. Just stand bravely in front of her.]

[…What?]

[Let me show you. Like a piglet squealing, begging for her life.]

Quietly, I placed my hand on Freya’s shoulder.

Deep, black mucus slowly seeped out, lightly covering her pale neck.

“Hic, hic…”

“Calm down.”

Just like I did with Zeus.

Just peeling off a bit of divinity. It won’t hurt or harm.

Holding Freya, who was convulsing like a cafe vibration bell, I gently pulled out the divinity.

“Huh?”

But the divinity I pulled out didn’t last long and crumbled away.

Hmm. Weird.

There shouldn’t be any issues.

Let’s check.

“Kid.”

No response.

I spoke clearly and precisely into Freya’s ear, who was trembling with her head bowed.

“Child. Explain. What did you do to the divinity?”

With each breath, her body shook.

“I, I should go now…”

I let the pale Freya go.

The conclusion was bland.

I sighed.

“Boring.”

It was a simpler reason than I thought.

Just a natural phenomenon because she was born with divinity.

Freya’s consciousness itself was fused with divinity.

That’s all.

Meaning, like me, she couldn’t separate divinity from self-awareness, and divinity was her very existence from the start.

Thus, her body was born perfectly aligned with the nature of divinity.

As I kicked the gem-like tears Freya shed to clean them up, I suddenly thought.

Nothing special.

After all, black divinity flows through me instead of blood now.

Shedding gems instead of tears was just a different type of divinity.

Regardless of disappointment, closed thoughts are dangerous.

Let’s reflect.

After finishing, I saw Miho, who was at the end of healing, vomiting black blood.

If it’s coming out, she’s almost done.

She’ll be up and about after a week of rest.

I sat beside Miho, placing my hand on her pale forehead.

It was burning hot.

Her original body temperature was high, but after becoming accustomed to a human form, she maintained a slightly elevated temperature.

She must be really unwell.

Feeling sorry, I nagged.

“You should carry protective talismans.”

Miho coughed and whispered.

“I had one… but it broke…”

Ah. Sorry.

I was at a loss for words.

I closed Miho’s eyes and looked at Belva.

Black tears were flowing down her cheeks.

Her sticky, mucus-like wings seemed somewhat decadent.

It might be rude, but she looked like a fallen angel who had committed a great sin in heaven.

“…Not wrong. The Watcher broke the law and descended directly.”

Belva sighed.

But there was a faint smile on her lips, which felt a bit off.

“But now is much better.”

“Why?”

“I really hated it. Being born as a Watcher, living without any freedom. It was suffocating. Now that I say it, I actually disliked everything.”

“What?”

“Everything around me, the environment.”

Belva, after a moment of thought, muttered sharply.

“…Even the god who made me.”

─Thud!

With those words, tears flowed from Belva’s eyes again.

Red droplets falling down her cheeks.

Pure, clear blood tears.

Belva clutched her chest, exhaling a painful breath.

Simultaneously, I felt a more fundamental change occurring within Belva’s divinity.

Crackle-

The last connection to that god, which I thought was severed, tried to self-destruct Belva as she spoke.

And at that moment, my divinity swallowed hers.

The pain was probably the aftermath.

I frowned.

It seemed like she was designed to explode if she denied herself.

Too cruel for a god.

Like having a bomb necklace without her knowing.

But thanks to that, the last remaining connection was cleanly severed.

With the sound of bones crunching, another wing unfolded, now with a complete structure instead of gooey mucus.

I looked at the shiny black wings.

Hmm.

Just by speaking, she almost died.

An absurd situation where she ultimately succeeded in evolving.

Pondering what to say, I decided to just compliment her.

“Looks cooler.”

Black wings are indeed stylish.

With a small tear pattern under her eyes, Belva quietly examined her hands.

She looked a bit bewildered.

A bit happy.

At the same time, her face seemed relieved.

“As expected, I wasn’t wrong.”

“Am I better now?”

“Of course. More than that, I feel much more at ease. With the annoying divine energy gone, my body is finally adapting. Miho’s treatment will also end sooner.”

Shortly after, Belva, making a fuss, spoke again.

“Oh my! Not only has the nature of the Divine Power changed, but its concentration has also thickened! At this level, it’s like a mid-grade angel… no, even at the level of Virtus?!”

Before I could blurt out, “What the heck, nerd?” Belva, who knows me well, preemptively explained the hierarchy among Watchers.

Usually, Watchers are born as 9th-grade Hapcheon Angels, known as Angelus. They receive education at the Sanctuary and gradually rise to the 8th-grade, Arcangelus, before they start monitoring dimensions.

It takes 10 years to reach that point. Meaning, they have to start running right after birth.

After that, every 10 years, they are evaluated based on the level of the dimensions they manage and their achievements, deciding whether they get promoted or remain. However, promotion to the next rank is never easy.

It takes at least 500 years to rise to the mid-grade angels, which are the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Belva, who reached the 5th grade before even turning 50, has grown unprecedentedly fast.

Of course, it’s meaningless to dwell on that now. She’s no longer a Watcher.

Realizing this, Belva closed her mouth again. Perhaps due to her changed appearance, a strangely gloomy atmosphere lingered. Leaning back and scratching behind her ear, she looked more decadent than the angelic figure she once was.

Leaving the emotionally complex Belva behind, I went outside. The mountain where Miho resides is called Tengeok Mountain (Heaven’s Horn Mountain). Aptly named for its protruding, horn-like shape.

After releasing all but one of the stifling Sealing Orbs, I left my swordsmanship gear and outerwear behind and slowly walked down.

It feels like hiking after a long time. Though I couldn’t feel the pain of blistered feet, trembling legs, or the suffocating breath up to my chin, the scent of trees and the spotted leaves on the ground reminded me of the now unreachable Earth.

If asked if I miss it… not particularly. There wasn’t much to hold onto. Still, back then, my life had its joys and sorrows. Though just a fleeting moment faded by time, it was enough to reminisce for amusement.

Walking further, I found a small lakeside. There, a seemingly dull girl, wearing a robe painted with mountains and rivers, was crouching and petting something resembling a rabbit.

I pondered for a moment. There’s nothing wrong with the girl, but the situation itself is problematic. From the rabbit she’s petting, I sense an alien divine energy. It’s the divine energy of the Milky Way eyes still watching from above. Probably planning to implant her divine energy into a small, weak-willed animal to exert influence.

Hmm… If I blatantly approach and kill the rabbit, it would be a huge shock. Let’s think of a way to approach.

“Hello?”

As I softly approached and greeted her, the girl glanced at me and quietly muttered.

“Go away.”

“…Huh?”

This was unexpected. Quite an impressive first remark.

“You’re all black. Even the dead from madness weren’t this pitch black. But you, sister, are entirely black.”

I couldn’t understand a word the girl was saying. Perhaps that’s why I started to get interested.

Black, huh… It seems the girl sees something different. Not trained, but born with a related divine energy.

But, usually, wouldn’t they just leave if told to go? Silently, I approached the girl, making her turn her head towards me. I wasn’t harboring any thoughts, but the girl’s divine energy seemed to sense a strong threat from me. Is there something special about seeing colors?

Questions kept piling up. Why did this result occur? It’s not like she sensed killing intent, so what’s the difference?

In this casual mountain stroll, it seems I might gain something new. There’s a lot I want to ask, but let’s start with this. With a small smile, I asked the girl.

“What’s your name?”

The girl, slightly avoiding eye contact, softly replied.

“…Kirin (麒麟).”