Chapter 309 - Was It Rakiel's Doing?
"Kargh... Hurgh!!"
"Lady Gaia!!"
A woman, lying down on an altar in the middle of a giant castle made in a space filled with white light, grimaced in pain. Her brown hair, wet with sweat, slid down from above the altar. The faint light flowing out of her shook greatly.
"Gather the gods immediately! Divinity... we need Divinity!" anxiously shouted Uranus, the man with red hair akin to a lion's mane.
The nearby servants lowered their heads.
"W-We apologize. All the gods from Olympus, Valhalla, Takamagahara... Their Divinities have all reached their limit. If we borrow any more Divinity from them, they will also..."
"Shit! Are you suggesting we just stand by and watch as Lady Gaia is annihilated?! This world is over as soon as she disappears!" Uranus angrily shouted.
The Earth losing its head god would mean that there would be no one left who could manage the Gaia System, a portion of the providence granted to Earth. If that were to happen, otherworldly invasions would be permitted, and the restrictions binding the gods would completely disappear. All that would await them after that was the end. Unless a being with at least the same level of Divinity as Gaia took control of the system, Earth's destruction would be inevitable.
"Cough! Cough! Do not... get agitated... my child."
Just then, Gaia slowly got up from the altar.
Uranus's eyes widened. "L-Lady Gaia!"
He knelt on one knee and lowered his head.
Gaia clenched her chest in agony. She said with a heavy voice, "Contact... my incarnation. There is something... I must tell my children."
* * *
"Urgh."
Oh Kang-Woo got up, feeling the rays of sunshine beaming on his face through the window.
'There's more than usual.'
Kang-Woo tilted his head as he looked at the red marks that had appeared on his body.
It had been three days since he stopped Han Seol-Ah's fall from grace. He was still sticking to her all day to give her unstable mind proper care. Of course, they also slept together.
He had first thought about avoiding sleeping with her since he didn't know how his demonic energy would influence her, but he changed his mind as soon as he noticed her extreme sorrow when he brought it up to her. He couldn't afford to take the immediate risk to avoid a risk that he wasn't even sure would happen or not.
"My demonic energy control shot up again," Kang-Woo said with a smile.
Other than the fact that he got to sleep with Seol-Ah, there were too many other benefits to it for him to give it up.
'My stamina goes down, but...'
It was an extremely easy price to pay, considering how much his demonic energy control improved with each session.
"Darling~"
"Oh, good morning, Kang-Woo."
As he came out of his room, Seol-Ah approached him with a smile. She was trotting toward him when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She lowered her head in sadness as if remembering something.
"Uhmm... I-I'm so sorry about back then. I still have no idea why I acted that way."
"Haha. How many times are you going to say that? I told you it's okay."
"But still..." Seol-Ah blushed.
She still could not understand what had come over her to bind Kang-Woo in chains.
'No matter how much I wanted to be with Kang-Woo...'
She was swept with regret for having gone too far. Kang-Woo thankfully forgave her, but if he had come to avoid her due to what had happened, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.
'But thanks to that...'
Seol-Ah touched the white ring on her left ring finger.
"Hehehe."
Although she'd touched, stroked, and licked it hundreds of times already, she couldn't help but smile every time she looked at it.
She recalled what Kang-Woo had said to her while holding her hands when they had first met.
"Three kids sounds good."
She said, "I'll do my best, Kang-Woo."
"Hm? On what?"
"I've been practicing super hard!"
"...?"
"Oh, yes. I was very happy."
"Hohoho. You shouldn't monopolize the king too much. From time to time, I will also..."
"Of course. Oh, but in exchange, please teach me the technique you told me about..."
"Oh my, already?"
The two women had made some kind of deal without Kang-Woo knowing. He paid it no mind and asked, "Are you here to eat?"
"Oh, right. I was planning to, but something came up."
"What happened?"
"I will explain on the way. We will have to go right now." Lilith opened a Gate that led to the Hall of Protection in the middle of the living room. "There is something off about Gaia."
* * *
A woman with brown hair was lying on a bed in a room with almost no other furniture. Anyone could tell from just looking at her that she was in terrible condition: her cheeks were hollow, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she was panting heavily.
"Haaa, haaa, haaa."
"Gaia..."
Next to her bed, Si-Hun held Gaia's trembling hands and lowered his head as if he were praying.
It had been 30 minutes since Gaia's condition had suddenly worsened. Si-Hun was becoming more and more anxious with each second. He raised his head to look toward the middle-aged woman across from him, Grace McCubbin. She was publicly the leader of Guardians, but she had been Gaia's caretaker since before Si-Hun had taken over that role for her.
"Grace, what should we—"
"There is nothing we can do. This... is not the first time this has happened."
"... It's happened before?"
"Yes." Grace gently swept back Gaia's hair, which was drenched with sweat. "It's exactly the same as back when... she received the revelation about the Demon of Prophecy."
The Demon of Prophecy...
Si-Hun frowned aggressively when he heard those words, and an immense bloodlust poured out of him.
Slam!
"Si-Hun!"
"... Hyung-nim."
Kang-Woo slammed the door open and entered the room.
"Hey! What happened?!"
"I came as soon as I was contacted. What's wrong?"
Cha Yeon-Joo and Tian Wuchen arrived shortly after. And...
"I heard the news. The incarnation of Lady Gaia is in a weird condition?" Uriel also entered the room.
All the super elites of Guardians and an archangel were gathered in one place. A nervous atmosphere filled the room.
"Haaa, haaa."
"Are you okay, Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked as he walked toward her.
Gaia nodded with great difficulty and tried to raise herself into a sitting position, but she collapsed to the side.
"Gaia!" Si-Hun helped support her.
"... Thank you, Protector Kim Si-Hun."
Gaia faintly smiled and sat back up.
"I received... a new revelation."
A heavy silence overtook the room.
Kang-Woo listened to her words with caution.
'Just what is it about for her expression to be this dark?'
"I do not know the exact time frame, but..."
Gaia shut her eyes tight and bit her lip. The nervousness in the room worsened.
"Lady Seraph's soul... has fallen into... the hands of darkness."
Wham!!
Kang-Woo slammed his fist down as soon as Gaia finished her sentence. He then spoke without hesitation...
"Was it Rakiel's doing?"