Chapter 69 - [Bonus Chapter]Abandon: Stage...!

"Oh, man, that's good! I like you—you've got some spirit!" The Angel jabbed his finger against his own chest, "I'll let you know my name then, the one given to me by the Holy Father! I am Radueriel, the "Destroying Angel", burn it into your memories!"

Bestowing his name to their ears, the beige-haired, golden-eyed man spread his seraphic wings wide just as he did his arms, holding an excited smile.

"So, you really are an angel, then," Korain said with an unmoving, confident smile.

An angel…? I thought we drew our power from angels–so why is one fighting us like this? He questioned.

"In the flesh," Radueriel smiled, holding his fist up, "So…Who will it be? The first to fight me, that is. Or, would you all like to come at me at once? It doesn't make much of a difference."

Against all five of them, the winged-man didn't seem to care one way or another, simply goading them into a fight.

"...He really does want to fight us, huh?" He muttered.

"Hah! Cocky bastard really thinks he can take us all on?! I'd like to see him try!" Yeong-Un held both of his swords up.

"Don't rush in, dumbass!" He said, holding his wild-haired friend back by his arms.

"Hey! Let go!" Yeong-Un barked.

Eunji assisted in trying to sway Yeong-Un's impatient, one-track mind, "...Jeong-Hui is right…we shouldn't jump into a fight with somebody like this without everybody being here."

"Not just that…have you actually checked the status of that man?" Moon added, scratching the stubble on his chin.

Now that it was asked, he realized he didn't try to obtain the status of the self-proclaimed angel, letting go of Yeong-Un as they all seemed to do the same thing.

["Destroying Angel, Radueriel" | Level 50]

"Tell me I'm seein' things here…" Yeong-Un muttered.

"Is that right…? It's not, is it?" Eunji asked worriedly, holding her hands close to her chest as she gulped.

"Level fifty–why is something like this appearing right in front of us…?" He asked, beginning to sweat.

As if noticing that they've seen his strength, the angel smiled, tilting his head, taking joy in the dread inspired by his very presence.

"If you all are too scared, then leave it to me!"

–Korain announced, still standing closest to the angel without looking back, tapping the dull side of his blade against his shoulder.

"Korain…" Eunji mumbled.

"Hey! Who said I was scared, huh?!" Yeong-Un contested, but was held back by the red-haired ally of his, "What's the big idea, fire-head?! Are we just gonna let him fight that bastard alone?!"

"...'Course not! Well, for now–! We have to leave things to Korain–don't you understand what he's doing for us?!" He asked, holding Yeong-Un back from jumping straight into battle.

"Huh?" Yeong-Un looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

It was the silent, dreary-eyed man with lengthy, unkempt locks that explained, standing beside them:

"Out of all of us, Korain possesses the best chance of surviving an encounter with an enemy of that level. He knows that," Moon explained, "If we all jumped in together, there is a chance all of us may be killed by that angel in one fell swoop. This way, Korain plans to obtain information through combat and buy time for the others to arrive."

"--" Yeong-Un gritted his teeth, knowing well what was said was true, "Still…!"

"Yeong-Un…please," Eunji pleaded.

At last, it finally seemed the scar-covered adolescent understood, pulling away from the hold that Jeong-Hui restrained him in, "...Just don't you dare fuckin' die, Korain…"

–

Korain didn't pay any mind to what was said behind him, instead meeting eye-to-eye with the angel who stood without any guard raised.

"You're quite the brave one, aren't you? Or would foolish be a more apt way to put it? I wonder," Radueriel cracked his knuckles without touching them.

"Why don't you stick around and find out?" Korain coaxed with a smile, pointing his lengthy blade directly towards the heaven-descending being.

A smile that in no way hid the malicious excitement of the angel stretched across his lips as he simply gestured with his hand for the human man to come at him.

Korain drew a calm breath through his lungs, fixing his expression into one of frivolity into cautious intensity.

One wrong move here and I might just bite it–that'd be pretty damn embarrassing in front of my students…so let's try and look cool, Korain thought.

"Cast: Abandon: Stage Two."

The moment the invocation left the lips of the tall, burly man, veins protruded across his skin as his complexion began to heat up, shifting from a slight tan to a strained red.

Watching this sudden shift from Korain, he was left perplexed at what he was seeing as the man seemed to bulken, redden, and produce a slight steam from his body.

"What's that?" He asked in surprise.

Eunji answered, "...It's a unique skill that Korain possesses as a warrior-class: "Abandon". It's a dangerous technique…it puts a massive strain on the user's body, but in turn grants them immense physical bonuses. There are five stages total to it, but…"

"But?" He looked at Eunji.

The meek, glasses-wearing woman fell silent for some reason, holding a hesitant, glossy look in her eyes as she looked down.

"But…Korain has only ever used up to stage four," Moon answered in her place, "...because stage five is certain death for the user."

"Certain death–?!"

It was just then their conversation was cut short as Korain launched towards the angel with a kick from the ground, cratering the asphalt beneath his boot as he moved at an amplified speed.

So fast–! He thought.

It almost seemed as if the large man had used a [Blink Step] to break the distance between himself and the angel, but it was just his raw speed itself.

With a single hand, Korain wielded his claymore, swinging it without form or grace in a downwards slash, though it missed the nimble angel who sidestepped it without any worry present on his expression.

"Not bad," Radueriel complimented casually with a smirk, "You're fast–for a mere human."

The Destroying Angel was an entire head above the already tall man, choosing not to counter with an attack of his own as he instead displayed the speed he possessed, appearing behind the man whose strike slammed into the asphalt.

The missed sword strike had struck the street with a booming impact, sending a cobweb of cracks throughout the asphalt while Radueriel stood behind him without any guard raised.

"Still, it won't be enough to reach me," Radueriel leaned back, whispering his taunt directly to the reddened man's ear.

"--"

Korain didn't respond, instead attempting a swift, viscous spinning strike that once again missed its target as the winged being flipped over him while the sheer wind pressure unleashed from the strike pelted against the sea of abandoned cars.

"Close, but not quite," Radueriel smiled, keeping his arms folded across his chest as he landed behind the black-and-white haired man once again.

This time, Korain stomped his foot down with enough force to cave in the dark asphalt beneath his boot, gripping his claymore with both hands as his veins seemed to press against his skin in a rage, rearing his blade back before spinning around to slash it directly against the angel.

–However, the smiling, patronizing angel remained unmoving, not evading the strike this time.

"No way…!" He let out in surprise, spectating the clash.

The blade, backed by immense physical prowess from Korain, stopped against the raised forearm of the angel, who wasn't even damaged in the slightest by blocking it with his own flesh.

"Are you beginning to understand? The efforts of a mere human cannot reach one of Heaven such as myself," Radueriel explained to him, opting to grab the blade directly clenching it with his vice-grip, "...It was a valiant effort, but it will amount to nothing."

"That's funny…" Korain spoke quietly through his strained voice, breathing heavily as sweat left his pores.

"Hm? "Funny"? What's funny here?" Raduerie raised an eyebrow, looking down at the man with his radiant, golden pupils.

Korain looked up, huffing and gathering his breath, "...I haven't even given it everything I have yet, and you're already talking as if this battle is decided! That type of arrogant bullshit really gets my blood pumpin'--so I'll have to thank you for that!"

"What?" Radueriel asked in utter confusion.

All at once, a whirlwind of energy swirled around Korain as his complexion reddened further, with his pupils beginning to be lost through the utter pressure imposed on his body, "Cast: Abandon: Stage Four–!"

Sliding the blade back, managing to overpower the hold of the angel, the man drew his blade back, managing to leave a cut against the divine man's palm as a trail of blood left the path of the cobalt blade.

"Grgh…?!" Radueriel seemed more surprised by the wound than actually pained, looking at his slashed palm in shock.

"Stage four?!" He noted in surprise.