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Chapter 469

Shameless.

Never in my life had I seen something so shameless.

“It feels different from the Archangel I know.”

“Same here.”

“This matter… let’s keep it from the world if possible.”

Letting out a sigh, Melissa watched the back of the Archangel walking through the garden with Elpiria on his back.

The Archangel who protects the heavens—was it Kamael?

From Melissa’s perspective, it was utterly absurd.

Not long ago, the ones who had kidnapped Elpiria had somehow become her most loyal attendants.

Thanks to that, the former Archangel and avowed Archangel-hater, Lispa, had tried to charge at them in a frothing rage—but Luna had stopped her.

The reason was simple.

Elpiria was learning faster than expected, so they were told not to show violence recklessly.

“Now that I think about it, the Saintess from the Holy Kingdom contacted me.”

“The Saintess?”

“Yeah. She said she saw a future where you die in the heavens.”

“I’m alive, though?”

At my question, she nodded.

“Right. The revelation changed once.”

“That kind of thing… ah. Don’t tell me.”

“Yeah. The Book of Genesis. It proves that even though that was originally a place where you were fated to die, that no longer applies to you.”

For some reason, Isna’s shoulders seemed to puff up slightly.

“So? The proposal I made—wasn’t bad, right?”

“Seems like it.”

After grabbing one of the Archangel bastards offering tribute to Elpiria and confirming it, apparently the remaining two cores hadn’t been taken.

They had almost been stolen if we had been any later, but thanks to Elpiria, they were able to push them back.

During that process, Yog was caught off guard by an unexpected counterattack, suffered serious injuries, and retreated—so, though brief, peace had been achieved.

After that, starting with the news that Gabriel’s preparations were complete, Isna began visiting the heavens periodically.

Using the power of the heavens, they had begun tearing out the remnants of the Outer God, Yog, that had taken root within her.

Fortunately, though the process itself was somewhat painful, it proceeded quite smoothly.

Separate from the corruption of authority, it had become impossible for the Outer God Yog to take control of Isna’s mind any longer.

However, because the power of the heavens had not yet regained its former status, awakening the ultimate state and improving her condition could not be carried out simultaneously.

There was no need to even consider which was more urgent.

“Mortal. The time has come.”

Before long, Kamael—having finished offering tribute to Elpiria—approached and urged Isna to depart for the heavens.

Isna nodded, glanced at me once, and slowly stepped toward the gate leading to the heavens, following Kamael.

“Is it okay to send her alone like that?”

“Probably.”

There was nothing certain, but that was enough.

“I’ll go too.”

“Where are you going?”

“A walk.”

I answered calmly and stood up.

If it were up to me, I’d want to make the divine artifact Pragarach stronger.

But unfortunately, Pragarach didn’t strengthen well like Blossom or Utopia.

The only weapon that could be enhanced relatively well was the demonic sword—but attempting it recklessly was risky, since failure could shatter it.

The Book of Genesis was close to guaranteed enhancement as long as you had the materials, but…

“Ow!”

Seeing me, Elpiria forgot all about the butterfly she had been watching and came running over, throwing herself into my arms.

I smiled faintly.

The occasional changes didn’t seem to have any negative effect on her, so lately I hadn’t been too worried.

As I watched Elpiria playfully pressing her hands against my cheeks and rubbing them around, I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Hmm?”

Somehow, her body temperature felt higher than usual.

Could it be a cold?

I thought—but to begin with, Elpiria was extraordinarily sturdy for a child.

The fact that even Archangels would get tired keeping up with her play threshold and endurance meant her body was that strong.

But her temperature had risen?

For a child, body temperature was practically an indicator of health.

“Elpiria. You’re not hurting anywhere, right?”

Of course, she wouldn’t answer. She wouldn’t even understand.

Still, I felt I couldn’t just leave it alone, so I picked her up and went to find Luna, who was struggling with a fishing hook at the fishing spot set up in one corner of the garden.

Hearing my explanation, Luna was startled and immediately picked up Elpiria to check.

“Strange. No abnormalities in the body… but as Leon said, her temperature has risen. 38.8 degrees. Not only higher than usual, but for a normal person, it would be a high fever…”

Of course, since she wasn’t a normal child, that might not apply—but from everything we had seen so far, aside from being sturdy and possessing special power, she was no different from an ordinary child.

Luna and I fell into serious contemplation as we looked at Elpiria sleeping in her arms.

The one who resolved our concern was an unexpected figure.

“The young body cannot yet fully accept the power it holds. There exists a disparity.”

At the calm, flat voice, Luna and I quietly glared at the speaker.

Other Archangels might have acted under orders, but this bastard was shameless beyond belief.

“Who do you think you are, barging in here!”

Paaang!!!

In an instant, a blade of melody flew toward the Archangel clad in full plate armor, but Lispa’s attack—no more than that of an unstable former Archangel—was blocked and scattered in midair before it could even reach him.

The Archangels Lispa particularly despised were Michael, Raguel, and Uriel.

Among them, the one she most wanted to kill was, of course, Michael.

“Lady Elpiria has fallen asleep. Be quiet, Remiel.”

“You son of a—”

Lispa, about to curse, clamped her mouth shut upon seeing Elpiria.

Having once already mimicked Lispa’s curses, she suppressed her anger and stepped back.

“Continue what you were saying. Her body can’t accept it?”

“Lady Elpiria’s body appears no different from that of a normal human child, but the power she holds is undeniably a portion of the power of the Creator God. A miracle of creation and transformation that no being could dare covet.”

“So. What do we do?”

At my question, he fell into quiet silence, then his eyes glowed through the gap in his helm.

“I do not know. For now, all we can do is feed her precious things so that her body may grow stronger.”

With that, Michael held out the basket he had been carrying.

Inside were herbs and fruits I had never seen before.

“With Uriel’s help, their taste has been improved. Their efficacy will be reduced, but they should still help strengthen Lady Elpiria’s body.”

Luna seemed to recognize them.

“Oh… the Hundred-Million-Year Blossom Fruit, the inner core of a Divine Beast, and even Gargant’s magic stone.”

Oh.

So that’s what these were?

I had seen them as samples, but this was the first time seeing the real things since coming here.

Each one was a treasure worth tens of millions of gold—something that whether warrior or mage, one might only glimpse once in a lifetime.

“Where did you get them?”

“Humans cannot find these anyway. So I obtained them myself.”

“The inner core of a Divine Beast—you hunted one directly? Is that okay for an Archangel?”

“Lady Elpiria’s importance surpasses that.”

Yeah.

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That’s the kind of bastard you are.

Still, if it helped Elpiria, it was good news.

After that, he turned his gaze toward me.

“I heard from Gabriel. You intend to break through your limits.”

The Grandmaster—the peak of the sword.

And beyond that, the ultimate state.

Michael spoke.

“It will not be easy to find an opponent capable of pushing you beyond your limits. We are preparing a special barrier in the heavens. Come when it is ready.”

He had a point.

If I tried that method here, there was no telling how much of the map would be destroyed.

The method itself was simple.

The way I knew was to fight to the death over and over, pushing myself to the extreme.

The only ones capable of making that possible were Michael or Gabriel—but having only one life made it a process not easily achieved.

Moreover, I had to disrupt the balance of my current body with a special power.

Unlike during the Labyrinth, my current body was stabilized by numerous powers balancing each other’s instability.

Breaking that balance, and in an extreme situation, burning my life away to surpass the limit.

That was the only way I knew to reach the ultimate state.

“Ah. Tin can. As for Lucifer—”

“Unless it is an extreme situation, I will respect Mother’s will. If that is what Lady Elpiria desires.”

As if a child who couldn’t even speak yet could express what she wanted.

After saying that, he quietly looked at the sleeping Elpiria, then bowed his head before dispersing into light.

In his place, a small crack-like fissure remained.

Now that I thought about it—ever since going to the heavens, weren’t these things descending a little too easily?

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed like it had started from then.

“Because Elpiria restored the heavens.”

That sounded about right.

“Leon. How long will it take?”

“Not in a short time. Like Isna, I’ll have to go back and forth several times.”

“I’ll take care of Elpiria, so just go and come back.”

At her words, I quietly reached out, brushed Luna’s cheek once, then stroked Elpiria’s forehead as she slept in Luna’s arms.

Then I turned my body and stepped through the fissure, heading to the heavens.

“I’ve been waiting, Leon Cascadia.”

“Where do we do it?”

“This way.”

Waiting for me was Uriel, the Archangel of Knowledge.

“I cannot understand it. Do you not already possess power beyond human limits?”

“Not yet. I haven’t found it all.”

At my words, Uriel looked at the scripture of Kalidel in his hand as if he couldn’t comprehend.

“I cannot understand. Your words make it sound as if you once possessed such power, yet according to Kalidel’s scripture, you have never experienced that.”

“If you don’t know, then you don’t know.”

Following his guidance, I arrived at a massive plaza set up in one corner of the heavens.

It hadn’t been here before.

Did they create it as the heavens began moving again?

That thought had barely formed when a massive barrier spread out, centered on the plaza where I stood.

Shriiiik!! Kwaaang!!!

At the same time, a spear of light imbued with incomparably greater power than before shot straight at my life.

Dodging instinctively and drawing Pragarach, I raised my head.

There stood Gabriel with a sword of light—and Michael, wielding a spear of light, looking down at me.

“If you wish to break through your limits, there is no better method than this.”

While Michael spoke briefly, Gabriel smiled gently.

“In this place, you will not die. So… we will fight you to your heart’s content so that you may break through your limits.”

It didn’t feel like they were doing this solely to help me.

“Is there another reason?”

“As Lady Elpiria’s power awakens, the heavens have begun to move on their own. As a result, we Archangels have also grown stronger than before. Even so, considering the power Luna currently holds, it would be difficult to call this our full strength.”

In other words, while helping me break through my limits, they were also getting used to their own strengthening power.

“Yeah. Better than receiving kindness with no price.”

If it was a deal with mixed intentions, I felt more at ease.

I formed the divine artifact Pragarach into a sword in one hand, and in the other, held the demonic sword Elekstra.

“And Adam’s sword.”

At that moment, Michael, who had been looking at the demonic sword, spoke.

“Hmm?”

“We have found the whereabouts of its key.”

“The key?”

“Raphael said it is called the Fate Lord. Raguel is currently tracking it. Originally, it was an object with no power, but we believe Adam did something to it.”

He continued.

“Once we retrieve it, we will help you confirm Adam’s legacy.”

They had been enemies and now allies—reliable, sure.

But even so, they were shameless beyond belief.

Kwaang!!!

After that, without another word, we began a two-against-one battle.

Amid explosive shockwaves, sword strikes that tore space apart without pause, and the pressure of overwhelming aura, I died repeatedly like an idiot.

Even in perfect condition it would have been difficult—but deliberately throwing the balance inside my body into chaos and forcing extreme situations made the outcome obvious.

I didn’t properly use Pragarach, nor did I use any buffs or debuffs like before.

The only thing I used was a single sword.

Moreover, the two higher Archangels—now stronger than before—attacked without the slightest hesitation to kill me, so compared to how often I neutralized them, the speed at which they cut off my breath was faster.

Whether sword or magic, breaking through limits only required it once.

And the process I was most familiar with was the sword.

On top of that, the blue sphere I had seen before played a major role.

Using that immense and sacred power, I shattered the balance within me, causing the many powers sleeping within my body to lose their forms, mix chaotically, run rampant, and collapse my body once more.

In a way, it was very familiar.

Forgetting death and fighting endlessly.

Though it wasn’t perfect immortality like in the Labyrinth, and it took time to revive after dying, it still meant I could train in the method I was most accustomed to.

And so—

The battle among the three ended when the sky of the heavens, which had seemed frozen in time, began to darken.

“Maintaining the barrier ends here. Beyond this, even I cannot continue.”

“When’s next time?”

“I will contact you when the time comes. It seems the signal is already arriving.”

The ultimate state.

The final realm of the sword I had reached in the Labyrinth—and effectively the ultimate realm of the sword that I knew.

The process felt as though everything was being completely rebuilt from the inside, collapsing entirely, which made it all the more satisfying.

“A word of caution—just because it’s a barrier doesn’t mean it’s perfect. For the time being, do not use excessive force under any circumstances.”

At Gabriel’s advice, I nodded.

At that moment—

From afar, Uriel, the Archangel of Knowledge with three pairs of wings, flew quickly toward us and landed.

“Uriel.”

“There is something to report regarding Lady Elpiria.”

Speaking calmly, he took a short breath and continued.

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