Chapter 227 Fake Hero [1]

-(Present || Moments before System descended; Location: Somewhere in Great Universe)-

A man was standing in front of a massive glass pane and watching the night sky outside. He was adorning a white and golden archaic armor, his silver hair extended to his waist and his blue eyes reflected the destruction ongoing outside as two races clashed against each other.

Despite his human-like appearance three pairs of unfurled white wings were attached to his back.

"Archangel-nim, we've reached the enemy doorsteps. With our current progression, we'll quell the rebels in a few weeks."

Another man with one pair of white wings and slightly inferior armor spoke while dropping to his knees.

"Good work. You should go."

At the words of the archangel, the trooper left. A small sigh escaped Michael's lips, finally, after months of constant strifes he would be able to return to the great lands.

He closed his eyes and hummed in contentment but suddenly he sensed an otherworldly presence descending in the Great Universe.

With a snap, he opened his eyes and muttered with quivering lips.

"S-system…? Oh, lord!"

It was only for an instant but he wasn't mistaken about the sensation.

His tiredness vanished in an instant, replaced by great elation.

"I need to return Seraph-nim and report to him!"

The archangel turned around and was about to leave when his feet abruptly halted. He looked at the war that showed no signs of ceasing, with displeasure.

"I can't leave my post without finishing the matters here."

For the past months, he had never entered the battlefield himself. But today he would have to.

His figure disappeared and reappeared outside.

Millions of battleships, each at least a hundred times larger than the sun of the solar system, were firing beams at the enemy side. Far behind the enemy lines was a green planet, protected by a gigantic transparent blue sphere.

The archangel opened his mouth.

"Rebels of Kaneriah! I'm Michael, one of the archangels under the Great Seraph. On his behalf, I will give you one last chance to surrender. If not, be ready to be annihilated here and now."

Like a booming thunder, his voice reached every last corner of the battlefield.

Suddenly, from every small skirmish to the clashes between commanders of both sides stopped. Everyone was thrown into turmoil.

"Why is Archangel-nim entering the battlefield?!"

"Oh lord, it looks like the war will end today itself!"

"Archangel-nim! Please don't let yourself burden with such trivial matters! Such a battlefield is beneath your excellence!"

"C-commander, that is…? Is he really an archangel?"

"Those blue eyes and pure silver hair! It's an archangel! Run!"

"Why is an archangel here?!"

The commander of the rebels was swarmed by his quivering troops. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the levitating six-winged figure that was emitting a holy aura in the middle of the battlefield.

Straining his throat, he thundered.

"Men is this the extent of your love for the home! Tell me, are you cowering because of one enemy warrior! Are you going to let them plunder your motherland!

Did our years of struggle amount to only this much! No, they don't! We are proud citizens of Kaneriah, the land of warriors! "

The archangel waited for the enemy to finish.

"Even if we breathe our last today, we will fight! For it is to protect everything precious to us!"

The enemy commander had six arms, and black flames were covering his head. He pointed his axe at Michael.

"Sir Archangel, we've made our decision. We will fight!"

"So be it."

Sometimes one must continue moving forward even if there was no path ahead. Michael understood that.

A bow appeared in his hands and he pulled the bowstring with another hand.

At that moment, a white flame extended from his fingertips and formed an arrow. The troops of the angel race clasped their hands unconsciously at the presence of Divine Flames.

Xiu!

The white arrow flew at unimaginable speed. Before anyone could react, it grew larger than the warships and was already upon the battleship of the enemy commander.

BOOOOOOOOMM!

The arrow tore the hull of the ship without resistance and continued moving toward the planet.

Just as the planet was about to be blown to smithereens, the six-armed commander, who was gravely injured, appeared in the path of the arrow.

"[Aura Gate] !"

Bellowing pressure spread and he swung his tyrannical axe.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Blue blood burst from his veins, his bones creaked, and cracks spread on the blue barrier protecting his home. He relentlessly struggled and, ultimately, at the cost of half of his life, managed to stop the arrow.

"Huff! Huff!"

As the greatest warrior of the Ululu race, this was the first time he was brought to this state.

The damage dealt by Michael's arrow was astronomical. Almost 60% of his troops had been annihilated.

"Commander!" Suddenly, a troop from his side shouted.

Michael's hand blurred, and... hundreds of arrows shot out in the next second.

***

-(Present || Location: Floor 15 Dungeon of Trials)-

Opening my eyes, I scanned my surroundings.

"Can you come out?"

-I'm trying, hero

Caim's words resonated from deep inside my soul. The chains binding him had disappeared, though he didn't know how it happened.

Suddenly, the Nether from my nether core surged and was sucked by the black ouroboros tattoo on my left arm.

[Nether: 19000 (Dormant) --> 9000 (Dormant)]

Fwosh-

Black smoke gushed out, and an apparition appeared in front of me.

-Caim A M Mongre greets the hero

"There is no need to act stiffly."

We had spent a few years together, yet Caim always acted formally. As he stood straight, I spoke to him.

"Explain to me everything when the chains disappeared, down to the last detail."

Caim also reverted to his serious expression. The disappearance of [Authority] was so a small matter.

It took him 5 minutes to recollect every detail.

According to him, a few hours before, a grey arm suddenly invaded my soul and later disappeared. Although the grey arm went back, a major portion of my soul had become grey too, in other words, it had been eroded.

It was then that Eth left, saying he would do something about it. Caim could tell that a precarious situation was happening outside in reality, but he didn't question Eth.

Nevertheless, Eth never returned and a few hours passed. Slowly, the eroded portion of my soul mended on its own. At that time, the chains also disappeared abruptly.

'Judging by the timing of events, the chains disappeared when my evolution was completed.'

Both were related, but the problem was how.

'Evolution, huh?'

It reminded me that there was a notification saying System had found a way to deal with me. After the notifications about insufficient energy, such notifications came but I was unable to read them.

'Either way, the only thing I can do is prepare.'

We then proceeded to check Caim's capabilities. Although he wasn't as strong as the original Caim, he still had a Royal Demon bloodline. I wanted to see how strong he was.

The results were apparent quickly.

The Caim in front of me couldn't touch anything. No, it was correct to say he had zero combat ability. His attacks passed through monsters when he attempted to attack them, and he couldn't use Nether to conjure his curse or any other ability, for that matter.

That said, the monster couldn't also harm him in any way. This made Caim a perfect scout. As for the duration, he could stay outside my soul, it depended on the amount of Nether I used to conjure him. One point of Nether roughly amounted to 5 seconds.

"Caim, please scout the floor and search for a silver-haired girl. She has blue eyes, and will mainly use a sword."

Giving him a detailed description of Susan, I asked him to bring Susan here.

Nodding, he flew away to search for her.

I had a very limited amount of time left inside the Tower. Utilizing that time was of paramount importance. Since there was a chance Goliaths now knew about my identity as Mr. Pepe, I had to analyze all the abilities I gained and where I stood in terms of combat ability before going out.

The reason I told Caim to bring Susan was that I wanted to know if she would follow me. With her dying once, the oaths binding her have been erased. If she wanted to leave, this was her chance.

"But before that."

Closing my eyes, I entered my soul again.

*

Standing before the lightless veil, I opened my mouth.

"It was you, wasn't it? The one who 'advised' Eth to sacrifice himself."

Eth didn't know about his childhood because of his partial memories. No matter if he wanted to save me or not, he wouldn't know how to do it.

The only way was for someone else to teach him. And there was only one person who could do that.

The one inside my soul.

Huuuuuu-

Exhaling deeply, I reaffirmed my decisions. I won't ignore the truth in front of my eyes any longer.

"What are you trying to do, Eth? Or, should I say, 'real' Eth?"