Lee Seong-jun stood in the middle of the camp, his sharp gaze sweeping across the defeated angels. The air was thick with divine tension, and yet, his mind worked coldly, dissecting the situation with precision.
'What should I do with them?' he thought. The easiest solution would be to kill them all—but that would only delay the inevitable. If these dispatched angels didn't return, more would come. Sooner or later, Heaven would send another search party.
And if word spread about what had happened here, the Celestials might descend in full force.
'As Ramiel said, the angels may rush in with all their might.'
He didn't know the exact limits of their power, but from his long experience dealing with the infernal and divine alike, he could estimate it well enough. They were on the same level as the Demons—similar powers, similar arrogance.
If mythology was to be trusted, the Celestials' strength rivaled that of the Demon Lords. This wasn't a conflict he could simply ignore.
A war between Celestials, Demons, and Humans… and he would stand at the center of it.
'I'll be the one to win,' he thought, lips curling faintly. But victory in such a war would come with unimaginable loss—millions dead, cities in ruin, families torn apart. He wasn't a monster who found joy in slaughter. Even as the Blood Demon who once ruled the Blood Cult with an iron fist, every war he waged was one of survival, not cruelty.
And if he miscalculated, his own family could be caught in the storm.
'No, I need to handle this quietly—erase all traces.'
His eyes hardened. He needed a way to monitor the angels without letting Heaven suspect a thing.
'If I use Ramiel as a spy, I can achieve everything at once.'
It was a cunning plan. The Celestials' hierarchy was powerful, but not omniscient. With Ramiel under his control, he could feed them false information while keeping their eyes away from Earth.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Then first," he murmured, "I suppose we begin with education."
Using his shapeless power would be quick, but too risky. If the angels were anything like demons, their superiors would notice any unnatural tampering with their minds. So he'd have to use an older, more painful method.
A method he had perfected.
'Even angels bleed.'
He struck with invisible precision, fingers dancing across Ramiel's body in a blur. The air trembled. The blood within the archangel's veins churned violently, his body convulsing in sudden agony.
"Ugh…!" Ramiel's confident expression shattered. He tried to hold back, conscious of his followers watching—but the pain was too much. His body hit the ground, writhing.
"AAAAAARGH!"
The other angels froze, horrified at the sight of their proud archangel screaming, stripped of all dignity.
Lee Seong-jun's voice cut through the chaos, calm and cold. "Why are you standing there? Get in line."
"W–Wait! I've never disrespected humans!" one stammered.
Another raised trembling hands. "Please, forgive us just this once!"
"So?" His tone was emotionless.
"Please!"
"No."
Pain and fear would teach them faster than words ever could. One by one, the angels fell, crying out as the Blood Demon's technique coursed through them.
When the screams finally dulled, Lee Seong-jun pulled out his phone. The moment the call connected, Anna's cheerful voice came through.
—Hello?
"Could you spare some time for me?"
—W-What!? Of course! Anything!
Her voice brightened instantly.
"Good," he said, glancing down at the floor where angels still twitched and groaned. "I'll send the location."
Celestials. A race of divine predators who ruled countless dimensions. Born with immense power, they had always believed themselves superior to all other beings. Especially the Archangel Ramiel—submission to a human was unthinkable.
But this pain… this pain was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
The Blood Demon's technique had awakened every nerve in his body, forcing him to feel the agony in excruciating detail. His blood burned like molten iron, his organs twisting as though they were melting from within.
He wanted to lose consciousness—to escape into oblivion—but the cursed art kept his mind awake, forcing him to endure.
"AAAAA—STOP! STOP!"
Five minutes felt like an eternity before the torture subsided. Ramiel lay shaking, tears streaking his face.
Lee Seong-jun walked toward him, each step deliberate. Ramiel grabbed his ankle desperately. "Please… stop…"
"You're still speaking so casually."
"I—I'm sorry! Please, I beg you!"
Lee's finger lifted slightly. "I don't feel any sincerity. Shall we go again?"
Ramiel's entire body jerked. "No! Please!"
At that, Lee's cold gaze softened slightly. "Good. Then remember that sincerity. If you forget it, you'll experience this again."
"I'll remember! I swear it!"
"Hmm. But forgiveness…" Lee's expression darkened. "That's harder. You tried to kill my man. If I'd arrived a minute later, he'd be dead."
He raised his hand again. "A little more education, then."
"Please, no—!"
The camp echoed once more with screams.
When it was finally done, the angels stood trembling before him. Lee Seong-jun clasped his hands behind his back. "Now that we've finished your lesson, let's talk about a contract."
"Contract…?" one of them muttered weakly.
"Yes. You'll report to your superiors that there's no intelligent life left on Earth. You'll tell no one what happened here. If you break this pact, your heart will burst instantly. Simple enough."
Murmurs spread among the group, some of them glaring defiantly. One angel stepped forward. "This is absurd! You're forcing us—!"
Lee tilted his head. "Blood dispersion?"
Silence fell immediately, but the defiant angel still trembled with anger. "No matter how much you threaten me, I won't accept such an unfair—"
He didn't finish.
Ramiel moved in a blur, slamming a fist into the angel's face. "You idiot!" he roared. "You've only been hit once! Try three times and see how it feels!"
The angel crumpled. Ramiel, panting, turned and bowed low before Lee Seong-jun. "Please forgive me. I'll make sure this kind of fool never appears again."
Lee watched him in silence, a faint, satisfied smile curving his lips.
The angels had learned their place.
And the Blood Demon had found his spies among the stars.