Chapter 2
A Horrifying Past....¡
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Araki, now seventeen, a young man with white hair and heterochromatic eyes—one red, one blue—stared at a photograph of himself with his family.
His eyes welled up as he recalled the day he first met his adoptive parents and the last time he set foot in the orphanage where he had been raised since childhood.
Araki gazed sorrowfully at the family photo displayed in the center of the room, tears streaming down his face.
"Why did they leave me alone so quickly too?" He whispered, his voice heavy with grief.
Ever since Araki had been adopted into the Kazuma family, he had finally experienced the parental love he had never known, except for the kindness of the aunt who cared for him at the orphanage.
Araki felt a happiness he would never forget, until the day he lost everything.
Araki clenched his fists tightly as the memories of that bloody night resurfaced in his mind.
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|•Flashback to 5 years ago.•|
That night, torrential rain lashed the region where Araki and his family lived, accompanied by thunder that cracked across the sky.
"Go to sleep, Araki." Kazuma Clara said, gently stroking his hair.
Araki slowly closed his eyes as he drifted into slumber.
"I have a bad feeling, Arthur." Clara murmured to Arthur.
Arthur, who had been staring intently out the window, slowly turned to face Clara.
"It's just a feeling, nothing more." Arthur replied, walking toward Clara, who was sitting beside the deeply sleeping Araki.
Arthur gently stroked Araki's hair as he gazed out the rain-soaked window.
Arthur continued to stare out the window with a wary gaze. Clara, noticing his unease, gently patted his shoulder.
"What's wrong, Arthur?" Clara asked, her voice filled with concern.
"I think... Now I have that bad feeling too, Clara." Arthur replied, turning to look at her.
"Pray to Lord Michael that the bad feeling will disappear." Clara said, gently stroking Arthur's face.
"You're right, Clara." Arthur said, smiling at her.
Suddenly, the wall of their house shattered, and a man in a black robe strode into the room. Arthur was stunned to see the figure now standing before him.
"So, you're hiding here..." The man said, his origins unknown, but a sinister smile spreading across his face told why he's here.
Arthur swiftly summoned his holy sword from his palm and pointed it at the man before him.
"Kokabiel..." Arthur murmured his name, his gaze lethal.
"Arthur, huh... I never expected you'd been hiding here all this time." Kokabiel replied, slowly advancing.
Arthur swiftly swung his sword, a beam of light erupting from the blade toward Kokabiel.
But Kokabiel casually sidestepped to evade the attack.
"Heh... Is this how Angels greet their guests?" Kokabiel sneered.
"Why have you come here?!" Arthur demanded, maintaining his guard.
Kokabiel paused for a moment before picking up a glass, pouring water into it, and drinking it.
"I came here as a guest and to meet you." Kokabiel replied with a sinister smile.
Arthur flinched, immediately raising his guard to the highest level. He knew the man before him was no ordinary opponent.
"I don't want guests like you, Kokabiel!" Arthur retorted, immediately revealing four Angel wings on his back.
"Heh... I see. I guess this won't be a gentle one." Kokabiel replied, displaying ten black Angel wings on his own back.
Kokabiel swiftly conjured a spear of light from his hand and aimed it at Arthur.
"Haven't you seen the difference between us? It's vast, isn't it? You only have four wings, while I have ten! Accept your death, Arthur!!" Kokabiel roared proudly, spreading his ten wings even wider.
"Heeh... I know you're stronger than me. But no matter what, I'll fight to defeat you." Arthur replied, his eyes burning with battle lust.
Kokabiel's smile twisted into a terrifying glare as his eyes turned crimson.
"Very well, I'll kill you, that woman, and the child too." Kokabiel replied, swiftly hurling his spear at Arthur.
Arthur parried the spear with his sword, successfully deflecting the attack. However, his sword was knocked from his hand and immediately seized by Kokabiel.
Kokabiel grinned, gazing at the sword now in his grasp.
With a swift teleport, he appeared before Arthur, aiming to stab him directly in the chest.
Thanks to his Heavenly Sense ability, Arthur evaded Kokabiel's attack and retaliated by conjuring a spear of light, thrusting it toward Kokabiel's chest.
Kokabiel evaded Arthur's attack, but the spear pierced his left shoulder, drawing blood. With a mocking grin, Kokabiel slowly brushed his shoulder, and the wound vanished instantly.
"I-impossible!" Arthur stared at Kokabiel in utter confusion and astonishment.
"You think I came here without a plan? I've acquired healing gear that can mend any wound!" Kokabiel replied, laughing uproariously.
Seeing this, Arthur immediately ordered Clara to take Araki away, as the situation had become far too dangerous for them.
"Clara! Take Araki and get as far away as possible!" Arthur shouted.
Clara swiftly scooped up the sleeping Araki and fled with all her might.
"All your efforts will be in vain." Kokabiel sneered at Arthur.
Kokabiel immediately teleported near Clara and Araki as they ran, intending to impale them both.
"No!!" Arthur roared.
Arthur teleported instantly to intercept Kokabiel's sword, which was hurtling toward Clara and Araki.
Arthur was stabbed through the chest, right in the center. Golden blood seeped from beneath his tunic.
Kokabiel grinned widely as he stared at Arthur's face before yanking the sword from his chest with a swift motion.
"See? Everything you did will be in vain." Kokabiel sneered.
Kokabiel immediately teleported to Clara and Araki's location and brought them back to Arthur's side.
"C-Clara!!" Arthur shouted with all his might as he saw Clara and Araki standing before him with Kokabiel.
"I'm sorry, Arthur..." Clara said in a sorrowful tone, tears streaming down her face as she gazed at Arthur.
"How pathetic..." Kokabiel sneered, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"You'll pay for all of this, Kokabiel!" Arthur roared with all his might.
Araki jolted awake at Arthur's shout, finding his father kneeling, blood seeping from his chest.
"F-Father!" Araki whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling as he stared at Arthur, kneeling in a pool of blood.
Arthur slowly turned to face Araki, a gentle smile on his face, as if telling him that nothing had happened.
That was the last time Araki saw his father alive. Kokabiel swiftly decapitated Arthur right before his eyes.
Araki was shocked and terrified as he watched Arthur's head roll beside his headless body.
But it wasn't over yet. Araki watched helplessly as his mother was strangled to death right before his eyes. A profound sorrow welled up within him.
Kokabiel paused, his gaze fixed on Araki, who was weeping hysterically beside his mother's lifeless body.
Araki could only sob uncontrollably as his eyes began to glow, his pupils shifting into an unnatural shape.
Kokabiel, witnessing this, was utterly stunned by what unfolded before him.
"C-Creation! I-impossible!" He gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Kokabiel immediately rushed toward Araki. But as he reached out to touch Araki's body, a barrier suddenly materialized around him and exploded directly in front of Kokabiel.
Kokabiel was thrown dozens of meters away, while Araki collapsed unconscious beside his mother's corpse. The explosion Araki had triggered had stripped Kokabiel of all his Fallen Angel powers. He knew this was the effect of the blast, and as he felt his strength slowly fading, he realized it would take him a long time to fully recover.
Kokabiel knew that continuing to pursue Araki would be suicidal. Angels or Devils would inevitably converge on the site of the explosion, and now he had already lost all his power. He would be nothing more than a punching bag for them, reduced to the level of a powerless human. Ultimately, Kokabiel decided to retreat until he regained his strength, at which point he would resume his hunt for Araki.
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(Time skip.)
Araki woke up to find himself in a hospital. His body ached all over.
"You're awake?" A man's voice said from beside him.
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