The Angel of Radiant Wings that the cultists summoned looked uncannily identical to Karnak’s. Anyone would believe that it was the exact same spell from its outward form.

But how...?

Karnak frowned. It would’ve made more sense if they had summoned the Demon King of Chaos instead. If Tesranach was a version of himself from another time-space, then it wouldn’t be strange for him to know the Demon King of Chaos.

According to Demphis’ explanation, Tesranach was likely Varos who had devoured Karnak. In that case as well, Tesranach would have inherited Karnak’s knowledge as well.

But what they summoned wasn’t the Demon King of Chaos. It was the Angel of Radiant Wings.

Isn’t that something Tesranach shouldn’t know?

The Angel of Radiant Wings was a technique Karnak developed after his regression through time and space. Unless Tesranach had also thrown away all his powers just to go back in time and have a meal like he did, there was no logical reason he would know this technique.

And even if he did, why now?

It was a technique intentionally weakened and reconstructed to fool the eyes of others. In terms of sheer power, the Demon King of Chaos was far superior. And cultists had no reason to fool anyone.

They should have just used the Demon King of Chaos. Why did they choose this?

***

There wasn’t much time to ponder. All the while, the Angel of Radiant Wings was radiating deadly killing intent toward Karnak’s group. The Angel of Radiant Wings filled the forest skies with blinding brilliance, singing as it soared. And then, it unleashed a barrage of radiant spears.

Serati and Leven both stiffened, faced with the onslaught of destruction.

Ugh!

It’s too fast!

They didn’t even consider trying to counter it. All they could do was focus every ounce of their strength on dodging. Their quick decision paid off. The spears of light grazed past them by a hair’s breadth and slammed into the ground, shaking the earth in a thunderous explosion. Amidst the thick haze of smoke, purple aura surged upward.

"Haah!"

A sharp aura blade cut in from the angel’s left. It was Lapicel. Her strike had found a perfect opening and caught the angel off guard. The purple blade slammed into the armor of light, and slid right off its surface.

She had found a gap, yes, but lacked the raw power to pierce its defense. Instead, she was repelled and sent flying backward.

"Agh!" Lapicel groaned.

The angel turned its head and leveled its spear of light at her. At that rate, she would be skewered on the spot.

"Lapicel!" Varos rushed to shield her.

Two aura chains flew toward the angel, but even they bounced harmlessly off the armor. Varos’s face darkened. Damn it...

Aura chains, though intricate and flexible, lacked raw destructive force. They were ineffective against an opponent with high defense.

Time for a different approach. With the thought, Varos dismissed the aura chains and gripped his longsword in both hands. Then, tightening his grip, he shifted it into one hand mid-swing and poured all his momentum into a single strike

—Compact Strike!

It was a secret technique of Dreltein, Martial King of Kretas. The Angel of Radiant Wings took the full brunt of his attack, and the blast tore through the forest air. The shockwave alone shook the surrounding trees, and their leaves cascaded to the ground.

The angel was pushed back several meters. But it didn’t fall. It merely staggered for a moment before spreading its radiant wings and regaining its balance. Then it launched a devastating counterattack—this time aimed at Varos.

With its song, dozens of blinding beams tore through the air toward him. Varos twisted and dodged desperately, but the assault was far too fast. In the blink of an eye, his body was drenched in blood.

"Echo of frozen destruction! Frost Impact!"

At that moment, a streak of white light wrapped around the angel. It was an eigthh circle ice spell cast by Karnak.

He hadn’t been able to use the Angel of Radiant Wings spell himself. The conditions weren’t met. So while the others held the front lines, he had taken the opportunity to complete a high-level incantation of his own.

A mist of frost spread outward as the angel of light became encased in massive ice.

Varos, who had barely dodged the earlier assault, let out a flustered gasp. "Yikes, that was close!"

Karnak gave him a sharp glance. "Stay focused. It’s not over."

Sure enough, despite being sealed in ice, the Angel of Radiant Wings hadn’t dimmed in the slightest. In fact, the radiance surrounding it only grew brighter. The magical ice shattered into a thousand shards, sparkling like gemstones as they scattered. The angel rose once more It lifted its spear of light and took aim.

Serati clicked her tongue as she caught her breath. "Wow... that thing’s really strong."

Then her expression shifted slightly, something uncertain flickering behind her eyes. Yeah, it’s strong, sure... but...

She wasn’t the only one thinking it.

Something feels... off.

Is it weaker?

It wasn’t that the angel felt weak. After all, they’d all taken a beating. There was no doubt it was formidable. But this angel simply didn’t measure up to the one Karnak had summoned before. That version had possessed power on par with a martial king.

Even though future Leven had held back somewhat during that battle, there was no mistaking it. The angel Karnak had unleashed back then had been far more overwhelming.

In contrast, this one felt... middling. It wasn’t weak, but certainly not overwhelmingly powerful either. If anything, it sat somewhere between a silver knight and a martial king. The fact that both Serati and Leven could dodge and defend against it if they went all out was proof enough that it didn’t match the level of a martial king.

Strange. Is it different from my own spell somehow? Karnak thought.

Still, if this was the extent of its strength, then maybe it was manageable. Varos tightened his grip on his sword and sent a mental message.

—What now, young master?

They had held back to observe the enemy’s abilities, but their side still had reserves of strength they hadn’t revealed yet.

—Go for it!

—Aye!

The moment Karnak gave the word, Varos spread his arms wide. With a shout, he unleashed his full aura. Silver flames of energy erupted from his body, and his aura surged to a terrifying height. The pressure of his power became a storm, shaking the trees of the surrounding forest.

Harbert’s jaw fell open as he watched from a distance. "Si-Silver Aura?"

He had already been stunned when a teenage girl revealed a purple-tier aura earlier. But to his absolute surprise, this man, still in his early twenties, was revealing the might of as silver knight. Someone so young had managed to become a powerhouse strong enough to be counted as one of the top ten warriors on the entire continent.

That’s impossible!

Wreathed in gleaming silver, Varos aimed his aura blade toward the Angel of Radiant Wings. "Honestly, I’m not confident I can solo it one-on-one just yet..."

The angel lowered its spear and shifted into a defensive stance, clearly wary of Varos.

"But with all of us together, I don’t think it’ll be that hard," he continued.

It sounded arrogant, but he wasn’t exactly wrong. The others’ eyes gleamed as they readied themselves for the next round.

Harbert muttered under his breath. "Well, it’s a good thing I planned for this."

Truthfully, he held Karnak’s group in extremely high regard. And how could he not? They were the ones who had defeated Death Knight Gellard, a former martial king, and even brought down the Pope of Death, Jedex.

No matter how powerful the Angel of Radiant Wings was, it wouldn’t compare to those two. There was no way this spell alone could be expected to bring Karnak’s group down.

"Even so... you won’t be able to defeat the Angel of Death, Karnak Zestrad!" Harbert raised his voice in a defiant shout. "Because we know your weakness!"

***

All this time, Karnak hadn’t paid Harbert much mind. He figured whatever secrets the man held could be extracted from his soul after death. Why would he waste any effort listening to what a living enemy had to say? But the shout he’d just heard was impossible to ignore.

He frowned. "My weakness? What weakness?"

Truth aside. He was genuinely curious.

—What’s he on about? Do I even have a weakness?

Serati, Varos, and Leven chimed in that order.

—Glutton? Scatterbrain?

—Abrasive personality? Black-haired beast?

—Wow, harsh. I thought he was at least vaguely human.

It felt like they were insulting him to his face, but regardless, those were flaws, not weaknesses.

—Right. So this is how you guys see me.

So what weakness is he talking about?

Suddenly, the angel’s helmet fell away, and the face of a young girl was revealed.

The moment she saw it, Lapicel cried out in shock. "Sister Milia!"

The Angel of Radiant Wings had been summoned using Milia as its catalyst.

Harbert spun his bone staff toward the angel, toward Milia within, and declared triumphantly, "Do you see now?!"

Karnak tilted his head. Yeah, I see it. So what?

The angel’s true body was Milia? Honestly, he had already suspected as much. They’d chased the necromancers who kidnapped Milia, saw them setting up a ritual circle, and then—boom—this angel was summoned.

It had to be either a sacrifice or a catalyst. And since her corpse wasn’t on the altar, that ruled out the former. So she’s the core of the summon. But what does that have to do with my so-called weakness?

"Karnak Zestrad!" Harbert shouted with a meaningful gleam in his eye. "You are incapable of abandoning your comrades! That is your weakness!"

For a moment, Karnak’s expression went blank. Me...?

Serati, Leven, and Varos looked equally stunned.

Him?

This guy?

The young master?!

Incapable of abandoning comrades? Who? Karnak? Everyone stood dumbfounded, unsure whether to laugh or be offended.

Harbert continued in the silence, "As long as we hold this girl, there’s nothing you can do!"

Even nonsense was amusing only up to a point. But this situation was so absurd that everyone ended up feeling bewildered instead.

Is this some kind of bluff?

What kind of game is he playing now?

Only Lapicel seemed to take Harbert’s words seriously. "You cowardly fiend!"

Panicking, the silver-haired girl turned to Karnak. "What do we do, Lord Karnak?"

Karnak blinked. "What do we do?"

He had been thinking, Milia is the angel’s core, which means her vitals are still intact. That makes her easier to kill. It’s more convenient.

But then it struck him.

If he killed Milia now... What would happen to the silver-haired girl looking up at him with those big, worried eyes? Chances were alarmingly high she’d revert from innocent girl back into the century-old martial king.

Wait. Crap. That really is my weakness.