Forbidden Realm (4)
Uriel asked again.
"Longing…?"
Asraiker recalled Heaven's history.
"You could have ended the war. When Ikael took your side. Only you could have ended it. Yet you did not annihilate Ikael. Even if you could destroy Ikael, as long as a concept exists, angels are reborn from the sun as pure spirits."
"You could destroy Ikael, but you could not destroy the longing for Ikael. That is why Kariel became obsessed, and you remained silent, isn't it?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"You, archangel of destruction who cannot be destroyed, are more human than Kariel. And you can still end this war. Don't be toyed with by divine providence."
"That could be so."
Uriel did not deny it.
"But even if I fought God, what would change? Wouldn't that just make you the one being toyed with?"
"You love Ikael."
Even from the abyss, Uriel's presence could be felt.
"That is love. The thing you deny to the end, the thing you still endlessly agonize over now—that is love. Different from Kariel's love; a love only for her…"
As the Judicial Radiant Wheel—Ragnarok—accumulated, the darkness dispersed and Uriel revealed himself.
"Soul‑White Dragon, do not insult me."
In that moment he was the archangel of destruction who could end all wars in an instant.
"Or, simply say no."
Really?
Asraiker had never imagined the archangel of destruction could love someone.
He assumed such a function simply didn't exist.
"I—"
He wanted to say no, but Uriel could not bring himself to utter that single denial.
"You think Ikael won't know?"
Asraiker said.
"You deny it yourself and merely pretend others don't know. Perhaps someone has already seen your weakness."
One woman came to mind.
'Miro.'
Was that why the Arcline's gaze turned him inside out every time they collided?
"Master Mudeungpyeok said: When you can truly destroy, Uriel will end the war. Stop refusing. That is your real fight."
The effects of Abyris's Breath and the Shadow of the Abyss gradually faded, and the landscape came back into view.
The forest swept by the Wrath of the White Bones lay withered, as if irradiated.
Uriel had annihilated Ragnarok.
"Don't agonize."
Wings of light unfolded.
"If God seeks to use me, then destroy God and make a new God. If longing shackles my feet, then I will destroy even that."
With those words he became a flash, leaving only the grand echo of vibration where he had flown.
Asraiker lowered his gaze and muttered.
"…Stubborn, aren't you."
Indeed—perhaps it was precisely that stubbornness that made Ikael rely on him even while knowing everything.
"Now."
Asraiker rose.
"Resume the war?"
The eleven apostles waiting in the sky also confirmed the Shadow of the Abyss lifting.
Many fairies had aged and perished; the angels' faces were drained.
Phaeton, the Radiant Dragon, said, "The forest was blown away, but it worked. What do we do? Keep pressing with Breath? Or—"
Poine, the Venom Dragon, said, "Don't show all your cards at once. It doesn't feel like the war will end like this. What are we missing?"
Argan, the Wind Dragon, asked, "Do we really have to be missing something? It feels like assuming we might lose."
Blitz said, "That's the nature of this fight. The outcome of this war will be decided by the Messiah, not us. But so far there are no special variables. It's dangerous to assume we'll win just by fighting well."
The Twelve Apostles watched the forest in silence.
What are we missing?
With the Shadow of the Abyss gone, elves and fairies were fighting again across the vast wasteland.
"Huff! Huff!"
One elven woman crawled out of the rotted marsh, her filthy body dragging over the ground.
"Please, please spare me!"
"Erin!"
One of the elves who had been firing arrows at the fairy units recognized her.
"Cover her!"
An elf dropped his bow, charged forward, grabbed Erin's arm, and dragged her into allied lines.
"What happened? We thought you were dead!"
Erin wept.
"They dragged me to Crown's barracks. I should have died, but Grid—he did it for me… ah, aahhh!"
The elf who knew their relationship stopped asking and held Erin.
"It's okay. Calm down first. Let's report to Eknox."
Supported by the elves, Erin's expression went cold as she entered the forest.
'Hong, is this finally meeting?' The Twelve Apostles watching from the sky only looked away indifferently.
What is happening in this forest?
No one knew.
Shing and the others—both of light and shadow—looked at the man appearing through the body of mystery.
"Argones?"
The first human, Gaia; the dragon before that; the source of every creature that had existed—the origin itself.
Ba'al approached with cold eyes.
"Yes, we've even heard of him in Hell. But I heard the administrators move independently of human purposes."
Taesung was puzzled too.
Why?
By cosmic mechanics they were set as a pair, but their minds were different.
'I am the program that protects humanity. But he… once tried to exterminate humanity.'
He had trespassed into the gods' domain.
'Perhaps… to protect humans?' Taesung shook his head.
'Impossible. To me, humanity is a unique result, but he can create life in any system.' That was why Taesung felt a motherly love for humanity.
Yet—
Argones had given the first humans the name Gaia, and at Taesung's plea he had forgiven that Gaia.
Ba'al said, "Unlike Lete, you two are complementary. Are you seriously thinking of protecting Taesung?"
"Yes."
"Hmm?"
Taesung blinked. "If a planetary program malfunctions, the repercussions reach me too. Besides, I won't be undone by a mere creature—not by someone like you who wouldn't even recognize their parent."
"That's hard to accept."
Ba'al frowned. "You made humans, not us. Well, demons sprang from human emotion, so maybe we're like your grandchildren, but that doesn't make you superior to Lete."
"Why did you come?" Taesung couldn't quite believe it. "You said you wouldn't interfere in human affairs. Weren't you going to give them a chance?"
Ba'al feared the Celbuster Argones might unleash something worse than his own extinction.
"It's not just a human problem. The Drimor program, the Underworld program—they can't perform their duties properly right now. At this rate, the balance of the five systems will collapse."
Argones turned his head. "I'll give you one last chance. Return to Lete. We'll handle things here."
"Kuk." Arrogance crept into Ba'al's eyes. "Like that would happen."
Argones's blow left Ba'al's chest aching, but he felt exhilarated—he had reached an unprecedented peak in demon history and wanted to test his strength.
'The end of the world. It felt too easy and empty.'
Fortunately, 'I can swing properly now.'
In the next instant Ba'al and Argones collided, and the ivory tower's outer wall scattered like dust.
"Grrr!"
Everything not fixed by the Law—except Taesung and Shing's party—was being destroyed.
Shing thought this might be the final battle of the world.
The Administrator isn't all that, he thought.
Argones, his upper torso sliced diagonally by a blade of the Law, balanced on the remaining arm as if doing a handstand.
Then that arm became a leg, his top and bottom reversed, and he returned to his original form.
Ba'al rested his sword on his shoulder. "So you still can't be killed?"
Unlike the Mystery, Argones could achieve infinite cellular proliferation—he was a true immortal.
"But I won. Dealing with an enemy you can't kill is just a bother."
That was true.
Ba'al twisted his waist with all his strength, gripped the hilt with both hands, and said, "I am the pinnacle of demonhood."
It was a strike that could have cut down Argones—and even Taesung and Shing's party—in one blow.
"Stop it."
A familiar voice.
Taesung and Shing's expressions changed; veins began to stand out in Ba'al's eyes.
"Grrr."
Even when mimicking a swordsman, he was still a demon.
"Yahweh."
Ba'al's face contorted toward the center as he tore his lips; he looked like a fiend.
Shing couldn't believe it. "Shi—Shirone."
This sight, drenched in demonic blood, wasn't the Shirone he'd seen a moment ago.
"Heh heh, so you came too? How pathetic. In the end you protected nothing. And that demon blood—after all, you're only human…"
"Shut up."
Shirone said curtly. "Don't talk to me." Ba'al's body half collapsed under the pressure.
When he returned to normal he was already streaking through the sky at incredible speed.
Ba'al braked with a pulled strike. "Grrr!"
But his body didn't stop; an oppressive force threatened to shatter him.
"Uaaah!"
He became a heavenly body in the sky.
"…Aaaah!"
Moments later he slammed back with terrifying speed, vomiting blood as he cursed Shirone.
"Detestable Yahweh!"
"No."
Ba'al should have remained composed.
"Even if you call me detestable, even if you call me a hypocrite…"
Losing the pride of having reached the pinnacle of demonhood was a bitter thing.
"You have no right to say such things."
He shouldn't have returned without understanding how he'd taken the first blow.
"Photon Cannon."
A single tiny photon was born.
Imbue it with mass and fire it at 99.9999 percent of light speed—
There would be no sensation, nothing to feel.
"Aaah!"
But the atoms composing his being twisted.
And then—
"Infinity."
They multiplied into an uncountable number.
"Huuuurk!"
It felt less like an impact and more like sheer terror, as if the soul itself were being pulled out.
As Ba'al's front grotesquely crumpled and his body flew back again—
"Come here."
Shirone reached out. Like a current, it pushed Ba'al forward.
Taesung realized: a wave of particles.
This was the highest state a human—a mage of light, not a god—could reach.
"Uuurk! Uuurk!"
Ba'al collapsed to the ground, limbs convulsing as if melting in heat.
Shirone straddled him, looked down, and gently pushed with his fist. "Photon Cannon."
Ba'al shook his head like a madman. "Uugh! Uuugh!"
"…Infinity."
"Aaaaah! Aaaaah!"
Showering down an immense number of light‑speed particles, Ba'al's body writhed in spasms.
It felt as if the birth and death of the universe were passing through his mind alone.
"Does it hurt?"
Words failed; Ba'al merely writhed and shed tears.
"This isn't revenge. The dead don't return because I torture you. Do you understand what this means? It's irreversible. You killed them; you committed those acts, but the one who did it—the one responsible—cannot bear the responsibility!"
"Hrrrrr! Hrrrrr!"
Shirone looked down at Ba'al with sad eyes and said, "I hate that so much."