Sigh, so in the end, I just went along with that angel Raziel’s little game.
What on earth do they think humans are?
“Hey, Victor.”
“…What?”
“Did you know about this and bring me here on purpose?”
“Of course not. I’m telling the truth.”
Well, I doubt Victor would try to pull something on me at this point.
When I noticed something in my left hand, I checked and saw it was a necklace given to me by Lies. It’s a necklace that heals the wearer—a fitting item for royalty.
I ended up acquiring it through Raziel’s trial, but to think I could actually take it out of there.
“It’s an artifact.”
Sepia, who came over and saw the necklace, commented as much. Her eyes were red. She had probably been crying during the trial.
“If I’d cleared the trial properly, would I have gotten something too?”
“Who knows. I’d never want to go through a trial like that again.”
“True, it was terrifying.”
I put the necklace away.
I wonder if that princess managed to escape successfully. And if she’s been safe since then.
Throughout history, when a kingdom collapses, it’s often the royal family who face the harshest fates as examples.
If that trial was a reenactment of a real tragedy, it might be pointless to pray, but I offered a silent wish for her good fortune.
Mastema is descending toward me.
I could see from here that she had been talking with Raziel.
It seems Mastema drove him away.
“Hmph.”
Mastema handed me the angel’s core. So this was what she’d received from Raziel.
“Is this Raziel’s core?”
“Apparently not.”
“I see.”
It looked just like Victor’s.
Victor himself appeared and eyed both the core and me.
“What do you want, Victor?”
“Of course, you’re giving that to me, right?”
Hmm. Well, if it means he can get stronger, I don’t see why not.
“With two cores, my rank and output will improve! Come on, come on!”
Victor started pacing around, clearly excited by the core, acting differently than usual.
When we first met, he had seemed like a more dignified, quiet angel.
“Mastema, what do you think?”
“Why not?”
She didn’t seem particularly interested, responding while munching on a sandwich Arnella had packed for her.
“All right, here.”
“I knew you’d come through, partner.”
Victor took the core, then slightly opened his chest area. As he pressed the core to his heart, it slowly sank into his body.
“Hm… Ah.”
With a strangely sensual sigh, Victor absorbed the core.
A change quickly became visible: his wings increased in number.
He now had four wings, just like Raziel, and even his attire had subtly transformed.
His power was visibly enhanced.
“Whew. It seems that core belonged to a long-vanished angel, so I could absorb it easily.”
“I see.”
I could feel the power surging through my divine sword, confirming that something had indeed changed.
“So, now who’s stronger, you or Mastema?”
Sepia asked, looking between the two of them.
I hadn’t voiced the question myself, but Sepia clearly still had much to learn about tact.
“Obviously, me.”
“In this form, I don’t intend to lag behind.”
The two began glaring at each other, and the surrounding mana started to distort from the intensity.
Being at the top of the tower, at least no one was watching…
“Knock it off. Arnella’s going to be furious if you keep this up.”
“I’d hate that.”
With that, Mastema dispersed her mana, and Victor also relaxed his combat stance.
In truth, Mastema’s power was about 70%, while Victor’s was around 30%. Currently, Mastema’s mana was at full strength.
Under normal conditions, they’d probably be well-matched, though I’d rather they didn’t fight, as Victor would end up drawing mana from me.
Noel and Arnella approached us.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
“Is that what angels… really look like?”
Though Victor was an angel too, this was the first time they’d seen a fully manifested angel. Normally, encountering one means preparing for death.
My fatigue finally faded as I stood up.
The battle with that apostle had been grueling.
With Victor now, I’d probably win.
With Mastema, victory would be certain.
Not that I ever want to encounter it again.
Since parting ways with Kasugal, it feels like there’s been even more trouble.
I thought he was the real troublemaker…
It was tedious to descend the Sky Tower step-by-step again.
So, I decided we’d fly down.
Mastema carried Arnella, while I held Noel close.
I sent Sepia ahead to clear out any monsters lurking nearby.
Noel clung tightly to me. She had been a bit childish when I first bought her, but she’d grown quite a bit since then.
“U-um, Master, please take care.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Though both Noel and Arnella could use flight magic, they lacked confidence in their self-defense if airborne monsters attacked, so I decided to carry them.
Mastema descended first.
Then I followed.
I adjusted our descent speed with flight magic, enjoying the wind with Noel.
It had taken a long time to climb the Sky Tower, but the descent was much faster.
We reached the ground.
Nearby, a village lay eerily deserted.
Just how much of this was orchestrated by that angel…?
I set Noel down.
The magic carriage looked bored, idling away.
Sepia claimed it was in “waiting mode.”
What does she mean by “mode”?
