[The Heavens Have Fallen Silent]
The battlefield still burned.
Smoke coiled into the heavens where divine feathers had rained, shimmering as they dissolved into the wind. The world lay split open, trembling from the clash between mortal vengeance and divine decree.
Hayate stood amidst the ruins, his sword buried in the ground beside him.
The mark of Heaven's Bounty still glowed faintly on his arm, a symbol of eternal pursuit.
[System Notice: Combat Log – Victory Confirmed.]
[Warning: Energy levels unstable. Recommend immediate recovery.]
He ignored it.
His chest still heaved from the aftershocks of battle, his mind echoing with Seraphel's last words.
"You've been marked by fate now…"
The words replayed like an echo in his skull.
He looked toward the horizon — where the black mountains stood like silent witnesses — and muttered, "So this is what it means to defy heaven."
The ground beneath him quivered again.
Only this time, it wasn't divine backlash.
It was something else. Something… alive.
[The Crater of Light]
A faint pulse rippled across the wasteland — like a heartbeat buried beneath the earth.
Hayate's gaze sharpened. He could feel it now: a warm, rhythmic pulse of energy calling out through the ground. It wasn't hostile — it was mourning.
He stepped forward cautiously, his boots crunching over cracked stone until he reached the epicenter of the fading golden fire.
There, half-buried in ash and celestial dust, was a figure — wings torn, robes charred, her body motionless.
A woman.
Her silver hair was matted with dirt and blood. Her wings — once radiant — hung limp and broken, the feathers blackened at the tips. Around her lay shattered fragments of divine sigils, glowing faintly like dying stars.
Hayate crouched beside her, his hand hovering over her chest.
Still warm. Faint heartbeat.
"An angel?" he muttered. "Or another hunter?"
Then the System flared.
[Identification: Seraph-Class Entity Detected.]
[Status: Fallen / Condemned.]
[Title: Exiled Saint – Lirael.]
"Exiled Saint…?" Hayate's brows furrowed. "So even heaven casts out its own."
He hesitated. Every instinct told him to finish her — to end anything connected to the gods before it could rise against him again.
But something about her face — serene even in ruin — stayed his hand.
Then she stirred.
[The Awakening]
Lirael's lips parted with a faint breath, her voice a whisper carried on trembling air.
"Why… why did you stop him?"
Hayate leaned closer. "You mean Seraphel?"
Her eyes fluttered open. They were unlike anything he'd seen — glowing faintly gold and blue at once, as if heaven itself had wept inside them.
Her gaze found his. For a moment, silence — heavy, sharp, electric.
Then she spoke softly, "He was not meant to die."
Hayate straightened, his tone cold. "He was meant to kill me. I just returned the favor."
She winced, pain flashing across her face as she tried to sit up. "You don't understand… he was my brother."
That stopped him.
He froze, eyes narrowing. "Brother?"
She nodded weakly, tears streaking down her face. "The First Deity Hunter… Seraphel. He wasn't your enemy, not truly. He was bound by decree — by the Seraphic Code. Once a divine bounty is declared, the Executors have no choice."
Hayate's grip on his sword tightened. "So you're saying heaven sent him to die?"
She looked at him, voice trembling. "Heaven doesn't care who dies, only that its laws remain unbroken."
[The Revelation of the Exile]
Hayate exhaled slowly. "And you… what are you doing here, fallen from your precious sky?"
She smiled faintly, though pain twisted it. "I chose to fall."
That made him pause. "Chose?"
"Yes. I refused to execute heaven's orders centuries ago. I spared a mortal child once — a child destined to become something greater than heaven allowed. For that mercy, I was stripped of my wings and cast into the mortal plane."
Her broken feathers flickered dimly, light fading with each heartbeat. "And now… the child I saved has become the curse heaven fears most."
Hayate's eyes narrowed. "You're saying—"
She met his gaze directly, the last light in her eyes unwavering. "Yes, Hayate. The child… was you."
[Shock and Memory]
For a heartbeat, silence fell over the broken world.
The wind stopped. Even the system's hum faded.
Hayate blinked. "You… saved me?"
She nodded slowly. "When the Revenant Monarch's final battle tore through the lower heavens, his dying essence fell into the mortal world — into a newborn child. Heaven ordered that infant destroyed."
Her voice softened, sorrow thick in it.
"I disobeyed. I sealed your aura and sent you to the mortal lands… hoping the world would forget you."
He stood frozen, the memories clawing at the edges of his mind — fragments of nightmares, flashes of fire, voices whispering his name from beyond.
All this time… the curse, the mark, the power — it had always been meant to die before it even lived.
He clenched his fist. "So that's why the gods want me erased."
She smiled weakly. "Yes. You are the continuation of what heaven fears most — free will given divine power."
[The Sky Cracks Again]
A thunderclap ripped through the silence.
Both their heads turned toward the sky as fissures of golden lightning split the clouds.
[System Alert: Incoming Celestial Rift Detected.]
[Threat Level: Cataclysmic.]
Hayate cursed under his breath. "They're already sending another?"
Lirael's face went pale. "No… not another Hunter. Something far worse."
From the rift above, something massive began to descend — a shape of light and chains, roaring with divine fury.
A voice thundered across the heavens, shaking the mountains.
"Exiled Saint Lirael! You defied Heaven's Edict once — now you die beside the anomaly!"
Lirael struggled to stand, her broken wings flaring weakly. "It's the Archon of Purity. They've sent him to cleanse this realm."
Hayate grabbed her arm. "You're in no condition to fight."
Her voice came firm despite the pain. "And you cannot face him alone. His strength eclipses Seraphel's by a thousandfold."
"Then we fight together," Hayate said flatly. "Heaven started this war — it's time someone made them bleed for it."
[The Second Descent: Archon of Purity]
The light grew blinding as a colossal figure emerged from the rift — towering, armored in living gold, with six halos orbiting his head. His wings were made of pure flame, his face hidden behind an ornate mask carved with divine runes.
Every word he spoke rippled with divine authority.
"Two fallen stars defying heaven… pitiful."
He raised his hand, and the land beneath them turned to molten glass. Rivers of light snaked toward Hayate and Lirael, burning through stone and shadow alike.
[System Notice: Celestial Entity Rank – Archon Tier Detected.]
[Suggested Action: Flee Immediately.]
Hayate smirked. "System, you always underestimate me."
[Override Denied: Power Output Unstable.]
[Warning: Risk of Core Collapse – 89%.]
He ignored it.
Drawing the Revenant Sword, he stood before Lirael as golden lightning rained down. His blade caught each strike, the world exploding around them in waves of black and gold energy.
Lirael pressed her palms together, chanting in a forgotten celestial tongue. Her broken wings began to glow, feathers burning away as sigils formed in the air.
"By the light I once served… and the darkness I now protect—release!"
A seal shattered beneath her feet. Her aura burst outward — a storm of white and red flames twisting together.
Hayate's eyes widened. "You—you're burning your wings?"
She smiled faintly. "Wings are meaningless if I can't protect what I once saved."
[Combined Strike: Revenant + Saint]
The Archon roared, his golden spear descending like judgment itself.
Hayate leapt, his sword crossing the heavens in a streak of crimson. Lirael followed, wings of pure fire trailing behind her as she chanted her final hymn.
"May freedom sing where obedience once ruled—!"
[Skill Fusion Detected: Revenant Protocol + Saint's Hymn]
[New Skill Generated: "Heavenbreaker Requiem"]
The sky ruptured.
Light and darkness spiraled together, swallowing the Archon's form in a cataclysmic explosion.
The blast tore through the clouds, splitting the rift above them into fragments. The world went white.
When the light faded, the Archon was gone — his armor reduced to ash scattered on the wind.
[Aftermath: The Last Feather Falls]
The battlefield was silent once again.
Lirael collapsed into Hayate's arms, her wings gone — nothing but faint ash on the wind. Her breathing was shallow, but her expression was peaceful.
"Why…" Hayate whispered, "why did you sacrifice yourself?"
She smiled faintly. "Because I wanted to see… the child I saved… become more than heaven ever allowed."
Hayate clenched his jaw, voice low and trembling. "You didn't have to—"
She placed a hand on his chest, her fingers glowing faintly. "I'm not dying. Just… returning to where even heaven can't find me."
Then her body turned into light — gentle, warm, and calm.
[System Notification: Divine Essence Absorbed – Lirael's Blessing Acquired]
[New Passive: "Saint's Echo" – Heals the soul when on the brink of death.]
Hayate stared at the glowing feather left behind, whispering, "I'll make them pay for this… for all of it."
He sheathed his sword, eyes burning with new resolve.
"The gods wanted war… they'll get one."
[System Log – Update]
[Main Quest: "Heaven's Bounty" Updated]
Objective: Seek the Celestial Core – Destroy Heaven's Gate.]
Allies Remaining: Unknown.
Blessings Acquired: 1/7 (Saint's Echo)
Threat Level: Universal.]
Hayate turned toward the distant horizon where light still flickered in the clouds. "One saint down… six more to find."