After becoming an angel, my human emotions had dulled considerably.
Starting from feelings like loneliness, all the way to intense ones such as sadness or anger.
These hadn't completely vanished.
But compared to my human days, they approached me in a dry manner now, like taking a step back to observe the situation.
However, right now...
Unlike the other members whose average karma hovered around 100,
the moment I saw Eva—who alone had a karma of -4—stabbed by her subordinate's betrayal,
and while gazing at the black-masked humans presumed to be behind it all,
for the first time since taking on this body,
I was gripped by a starkly vivid emotion.
Anger.
A clear hatred directed at those foolish creatures who dared to touch what was mine.
Driven by that emotion, I descended straight to the ground from my vantage in the sky.
However,
even as I acted on this rage, my mind remained firmly rational.
I might have chosen my actions based on anger, but that didn't mean I could handle the situation on blind impulse.
In any unfolding crisis, you always had to come out ahead.
On that note, since I already had a few ideas brewing, I decided to test them out right here.
Of course, this was merely the process.
The outcome had been set from the start.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Vera.
Bishop of the glorious Baal Church and leader of the secret organization Sodam.
He had been assigned a special mission by the Pope's decree this time.
To eliminate Eva Gillion, the Knight Commander of Kanan Kingdom and a Holy Knight.
Eva, who at the tender age of just twenty-one had already become the youngest Knight Commander ever.
She possessed talents beyond reproach for being hailed a genius, and her fame across the continent was such that...
rumors swirled she might be the next hero candidate to slay the Demon King. Yet the upper echelons of the Baal Church, the Pope included, viewed her with disdain.
Part of it stemmed from her allegiance to Kanan Kingdom, which spurned the Baal Church. But above all, there was an ominous prophecy tied to her.
The prophecy that Kanan's Holy Knight would change the world.
No one knew exactly what or how it would unfold, but from the Baal Church's standpoint, preemptively removing such an unnecessary threat was the wise course.
True to form, Vera had led Sodam's battle clerics into action.
At this moment, though it had been a struggle, he believed everything had wrapped up neatly.
Eva had proven slippery as an eel, every bit the subject of that prophecy.
But in the end, she'd taken a traitor's blow to the back of the head from Edom and met a pathetic demise.
And at the same time, Edom—the spy planted in the Eden Knight Order, whose usefulness was waning—was finished off right there by Vera's own hand.
The target and any potential evidence eliminated in one fell swoop. A clean conclusion, leaving no noise or traces.
Vera mused that whenever he took the field personally, the Lord was surely with him. A thick smile crept across his lips.
However.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, it appeared before Vera.
"Gasp!"
"W-what... is that thing...?"
Right above the fallen Eva.
A colossal being manifesting in midair.
Six wings. Grotesquely twisted arms.
And countless red eyes.
Even Vera, seasoned by countless monsters, had never beheld such a horrific form.
The instant he laid eyes on it, a name surfaced automatically in his mind.
"D-dae...mon?"
Yes, that had to be a demon—no mistaking it.
That instinctively repulsive visage could only belong to some cursed spawn crawling from hell's abyss!
As it fixed its myriad red eyes upon them, Vera felt a crushing dread and barked orders at his men in a panic.
"W-what are you lot doing? Attack it now!"
"Y-yes?"
"B-but..."
His subordinates, faces drained white with terror.
Toward those paralyzed by overwhelming fear, Vera forced a resolute shout.
"Fear not! It's merely an evil demon at best! Legends say that no matter how mighty, demons are powerless before the Lord's might!"
Tales abounded of fearsome demons butchered by wandering clerics.
Fairy tales, perhaps, but facing this unprecedented "demon," Vera's men—church shadows steeped in dirty work yet still bearing the cloth—mustered a shred of courage and began priming their spells.
"Come! Purge this foul demon with the Lord's power! All of you, attack!"
"Holy Light!" "Holy Thunder!" "Heaven Fire!" "Turn Undead!" "Shining Road!"
⟨ Holy Magic Barrage ⟩
A barrage of spells launched the moment the command rang out—everything from basic strikes and elemental assaults to undead purges and even illusion cleansers.
Against this "demon" they'd never seen before, they unleashed what they judged most effective.
This onslaught would pulverize all but the toughest monsters, demon or not.
Factoring in its evil nature, it should've been obliterated—or at least crippled badly.
It should've...
"Huh?"
"Wh-what...?"
But it stood unharmed.
Despite eating their full-powered spells dead-on.
The massive demon hadn't so much as faltered, glaring back unscathed.
"Uwaaaah!!!"
One cleric, screaming in abject terror, bolted for escape.
Weaker of nerve than the rest, he could no longer bear that horrific gaze and fled blindly.
But...
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥
-INSTANT DEATH
Body exploded without warning
"!?"
"Gasp!"
Before he could take a few steps, his body erupted in a gruesome blast.
No presence detected.
No warning whatsoever.
Yet in that instant, like a burst tomato, he sprayed blood and chunks, reduced to an unrecognizable pulp.
Witnessing this, Vera and the clerics' faces twisted further into utter terror and despair.
Their attacks couldn't even scratch the monster.
And fleeing? They'd end up just like their comrade—body ruptured in a heartbeat.
No retreat viable. No battle possible.
Negotiation? Not even a fleeting thought.
Who could converse with that abomination?
"V-Vera-nim..."
"W-what... do we do...?"
Sodam's clerics stammered questions amid their despairing tremors.
Veterans of shadowy deeds, even regicide—yet now, they were like helpless children, paralyzed for decisions.
They didn't want to die.
Didn't want to end like this.
They'd claimed countless lives, but not theirs. Not like this.
At that moment,
beholding his men mired in hopelessness,
Vera reached a resolve.
"Everyone, stay calm and hold formation! I'm summoning Heaven's Messenger now!"
With that, he drew a small gem from his robes.
As pure white light—brimming with holy power—radiated from it, the clerics' eyes gleamed with renewed hope amid their despair.
"Ooh!"
"Heaven's Messenger!"
"The legendary one that slaughtered ten thousand troops back then!"
Vera smiled at his men's fervent cheers.
However,
in this instant, among Sodam's clerics present, only one harbored doubt unspoken.
Deep in Vera's heart lingered an anxiety he dared not voice.
Could even Heaven's Messenger defeat the ludicrous demon before them?
No... it's Heaven's Messenger, after all... no mere being! Its power will surely...
Forcing down his inner turmoil, Vera channeled his holy power into the gem, shattering its seal.
"Behold, you foul demon! Face the Lord's glory itself!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The humans fell into terror the instant they saw my form.
Black robes and masks aside, the [Eye of Truth] revealed their profession at a glance.
Clerics.
And their karma averaged -150.
Serial killer tier for clerics—hell-bound for sure, a disgrace to the calling.
Beats me how they racked up that filth, but they were unequivocally scum. Killing them warranted no guilt.
Thus, utterly unburdened,
without even bothering to converse,
I proceeded with my plan against the vermin before me.
Gauging their offensive power. Whether it could meaningfully harm me.
And if my strikes landed effectively on them.
The brief "experiment" yielded a swift verdict.
Weak.
Pathetically so.
Even accounting for the holy attribute,
their assaults inflicted zero damage on me.
Conversely, a casual blow—holy power barely concealed—popped them like overripe fruit without issue.
They seemed competent in their circles. But to me now? Mere insects beneath my heel.
Sure, the world might hold stronger foes unknown, so no reckless complacency. But for the moment, no cause for alarm.
As I wrapped up the test and moved to end things,
What the...?
One pulled a pristine white object from his bosom.
Vera Sextus—karma -197, viler than the rest—shouted in ecstatic fervor.
"Behold, you foul demon! Face the Lord's glory itself!"
The gem erupted with intense holy power alongside his words.
In that moment, I sensed it.
A presence so familiar despite our first encounter.
Emanating from that gem, it was unmistakably...
An angel!
"Emerge! O great Archangel, exterminator of demons!"
An unforeseen clash with "kin."
As it began manifesting amid blinding light, I felt true bewilderment for the first time.
And if that wretch spoke true, appearing before me was none other than a Great Seraph...
In other words, my equal.
Tension I hadn't anticipated gripped me as I watched the emerging angel with tangled emotions.
And then.
...Huh?