After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Wh-What is that?"

Uriel, who had been wandering around the fortress with Kang-Woo in search of Raphael, found a grotesque object in a secret room. It was a sphere that looked like a cocoon a pupa would emerge from in its mature form.

Seeing the sphere radiating with suffocating demonic energy, Uriel's hope that he had been desperately holding on to was becoming drastically weaker. He wondered at first if it could be the Embrace of Light based on how it looked, but the sphere enveloped in green tentacles did not look like the Embrace of Light in the slightest.

Crack.

The sphere was starting to break.

"H-Huh?"

"Get back!" Kang-Woo shouted as he unsheathed Del Lain.

Kim Si-Hun also gripped his holy sword as he stepped back and lowered his stance.

Breathtaking anxiety hung in the air.

"Please, please…"

Uriel bit his lip and clenched his fists. His face was full of desperation as he stared at the sphere.

'Please… let Raphael not be in there.'

The uneasiness that he had felt when he had first come to be aware of the incident ran down his spine. He extended his hand in desperation. His fingers trembled as he thought of the future he did not want to imagine.

'N-No.'

Uriel held back his rising instinct.

An angel's instincts were completely different in nature from those of normal living beings. They were immortal, so they, of course, had constraints that allowed them to retain their sanity.

Just like how a demon's body amplified desires, an angel's body brought out obsessions. The obsessions were different between each angel; for example, Raphael was obsessed with eradicating demons. To be more precise, his entire army was. If it was for killing demons, they would sacrifice humanity and their own allies without a hint of remorse. They only thought about and acted on killing demons.

"Kuh…" Uriel grunted.

If Raphael was obsessed with eradicating demons, then Uriel was obsessed with affection.

Uriel was obsessed over relationships with others: between lovers, friends, subordinates, brothers, and others. His obsession with affection was why Uriel could live for eternity, and it was also the constraint that he could not escape from as an angel.

'It's dangerous.'

Not being able to control his instincts was extremely dangerous.

Just as a demon became a demonic beast if they were unable to control their desires, an angel's wings would turn black and the angel would end up falling from grace if their obsession turned into madness.

And once an angel fell from grace, it was irreversible.

'Raphael…'

Uriel looked at the sphere in desperation. He feared that the relationship he had built with Raphael as comrades-in-arms would crumble.

Uriel wouldn't despair so much if Raphael had been killed in honorable combat, but this was different. He would have to kill his traitorous comrade—his fallen friend—with his own hands. It completely went against his instincts. His fear and desperation went far beyond what a human could possibly imagine.

'Please.'

Crack.

As if crushing those hopes, what emerged from the black sphere was… a black-winged Raphael.

"RAPHAEEEEEL!!!"

A desperate cry spread.

"Uriel?" Raphael tilted his head. "What is going on? What in the world is…"

"Th-That's what I want to know, Raphael!! Just why… why did you become like this?!"

"Huh? What do you—"

"You said you despised all demons! You said that everyone who had been tainted by the demonic had to be killed! So why… why have you of all people become a demooooooon?!"

"What in the world have you been talking about?"

Raphael looked down at himself.

He was exuding a thick demonic energy. It was as if there was a filter made of demonic energy covering him. The energy within him was no doubt sacred power, but the moment he drew it out, it felt like demonic energy.

'No way…'

Raphael's eyes widened. The gears in his head started to turn once again after having been halted by the confusing situation.

"N-No!!" Raphael quickly shook his hands. "There has been a misunderstanding!"

Wham!!

At that moment, the floor exploded.

The golden hero Oh Kang-Woo, the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes, glared at him with a frown on his face.

"I… believed in you."

"What?"

"When we read the notes detailing your fall into madness, even when we saw your subordinates turned into Chimeras… I still believed in you."

"Notes? Chimeras? What are you talking about?"

"I…! I believed that you wouldn't have fallen!" Kang-Woo cried.

"Just wait a damn second."

Kang-Woo was the only one who defended Raphael when Cha Yeon-Joo was certain of his fall and when Uriel had no idea what to say, so everyone knew why he was acting this way.

"Ra… phael…"

Transparent tears flowed down Uriel's cheeks.

He'd spent thousands of years with Raphael.

Although they'd fought many times due to differences in their personalities, Uriel had always cherished his relationship with Raphael. No, he couldn't not care about it, considering his obsession was affection.

"…"

Uriel stood still while biting his lip. If Raphael had fallen, there was nothing he could do about it. It was his duty to send Raphael to eternal rest.

"Thanks… for everything," Uriel muttered.

"W-Wait, Uriel! You are being deceived! I have not fallen from grace!"

"… Okay." Uriel smiled lifelessly. "Thanks for saying that, at the very least."

Crackle!

Blue lightning gathered between his eight wings, and he weakly spread out his arms. He lightly bent over and then quickly leaned back. His eight wings, infused with blue lightning, spread out.

"Shit!!"

Raphael quickly moved back in dismay; bolts of lightning struck where he had been standing.

"Uriel!! You are being deceived!!"

"…"

Uriel clenched his eyes shut and slowly raised both of his lifelessly hanging hands.

"Argo • La • Fulmine."

A huge amount of sacred power rose from him. His specialty was divine magic based on sacred power.

Blue lightning gathered in his hands and launched toward the sky.

"F A L L !"

He imbued power into his voice, just like dragons using dragon tongue magic.

Once that happened…

Crackle!!

Raphael raised his hands and unleashed his sacred power to create a spear of light.

'What the f—!'

Raphael's eyes widened. His spear, Luperien, which contained far thicker sacred power than Holy Sword Ludwig, had been dyed black. It was also exuding suffocatingly thick demonic energy.

'What the hell is happening?!'

He couldn't understand why the energy coming out of him felt like demonic energy.

'There is no demonic energy within me.'

He looked through the energy within him, but as expected, he could not feel even a drop of demonic energy. In other words, the demonic energy covering him was being exuded by someone else.

'How?'

Before he could keep thinking, bolts of lightning poured down on him.

"Kurgggghhhh!!"

He spun his spear to block the bolts. The demonic energy pouring out of Luperien stormed to protect him like a shield.

Tsssss.

The searing heat from each bolt burned his hands.

'He is serious.'

Raphael bit his lip. He could tell from that attack that Uriel was truly trying to kill him.

'Since it has come to this…'

Raphael looked around. He saw that the protectors of Guardians were glaring at him with weapons in their hands.

'I will subdue Uriel first.'

He couldn't understand why he'd become a fallen angel after ten days of treating his wounds, but if Uriel, of all people, was attacking him, that meant it was already too late to convince him with words.

"Haap!"

Gripping his spear, he rushed toward Uriel, who was in the midst of casting.

Uriel used non-casting magic, causing lightning to spread out like a net and block Raphael's path, but Raphael swung Luperien and tore the net apart.

Clang!

Raphael struck the ground with the tip of his spear and used the force generated to launch himself into the air.

"Argo • La • Fulmine."

Uriel used that short time to finish his chant. He spread open his eight wings and crossed his arms to make an X.

"S U R G E !"

Crackle!

Thousands of lightning bolts rose from the floor as if a dragon were ascending into the sky.

As Raphael was about to raise his spear to block the attack…

"Yeon-Joo!"

"Got it!"

Slide.

Dozens of red chains surrounded Raphael and wrapped around him. He grimaced.

"Mere chains will not—"

"Si-Hun!"

"Okay, hyung-nim!"

"Kuh?!"

Following Yeon-Joo's red chains, the two heroes rushed forward.

Despite running on chains as thin as two fingers, neither Si-Hun nor Kang-Woo lost balance. Raphael quickly broke the chains wrapped around him, but Kang-Woo jumped, aiming to kick Raphael's head before he could fully free himself.

Thunk!

A barrier of demonic energy formed around Raphael, blocking Kang-Woo's kick. Si-Hun caught up to Kang-Woo in the meantime and swung his holy sword.

Clang!

"Kuh!"

Si-Hun's sword bounced off the thick demonic energy wrapped around Raphael.

"Hyung-nim! The demonic energy barrier is too thick!"

"Shit."

Kang-Woo bit his lip in anxiety.

Like Si-Hun had said, the demonic energy surrounding Raphael was too thick.

"What the…"

Raphael's mouth fell open in surprise. Although he hadn't done anything, the demonic energy around him had moved on its own to block their attacks. Raphael clenched his hair as if he were going insane.

'Now that it has come to this…'

He could only take a gamble.

"Uriel! You are being deceived by a demon! Think of all the battles we have fought together!" Raphael shouted.

"Ngh…"

"Do you really believe I have fallen from grace?! You know the power of obsession better than anyone!"

"Sh-Shut up! Shut up!"

"Get yourself together! I have no intention of attacking you!"

"…"

As if he were trying to prove that, Raphael raised both of his hands.

Clatter.

Luperien fell to the ground.

"Ngh…"

Uriel's eyes shook.

Hesitation, doubt, and hope intertwined.

He closed his eyes.

'No.'

It was a trick.

He looked at the black wings and the suffocatingly thick demonic energy emanating from Raphael. It was obvious that Raphael had fallen.

'No.'

He bit his lip. His overwhelming obsession and yearning swayed him. He had spent thousands of years with Raphael. They had fought on many battlefields and tasted countless victories and defeats.

Raphael was more his comrade-in-arms, whom he had gone through life and death with, than just another archangel.

'He isn't the Raphael I know anymore.'

The blue-haired young man shed tears, grabbed his hair, and shook his head.

'But…'

Deep inside his consciousness, Uriel still…

Pierce!!!

"… Huh?"

Red blood spattered.

Uriel slowly opened his eyes.

"Cough! Cough!"

A black spear had suddenly shot out of Raphael and pierced a young man trying to protect Uriel.

"Y-You…"

"Lord… Uriel…"

Kang-Woo, who had protected Uriel from danger, collapsed and leaned on Uriel, embracing him.

"Be… caref…"

"H-Hey! G-Get a hold of yourself, human!!"

Kang-Woo vomited red blood and lost consciousness.

"O-Oh Kang-Woo!"

"Hyung-nim!"

Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun screamed.

"Ra… phael."

Uriel turned his head in anger. He looked at Raphael, who had his mouth agape and his two eyes wide open.

"N-No! Th-That was not me!!"

Raphael quickly waved his hands and looked down at the black spear that had suddenly appeared out of thin air. He cast aside the spear and quickly flapped his wings, summoning the sacred power within him.

Rumble!!!

Pitch-black darkness burst out of him.

"No!"

Dozens of spears materialized from the darkness and shot out at random like cannons.

"I did not do this, goddammit!! I swear!!"

"…"

Uriel carefully placed Kang-Woo on the floor. His short blue hair spiked all over. Any sign of hesitation was gone from his beautiful face; all that was left was a deep resentment toward demons.

"Those tainted by darkness…"

Crackle!

An enormous amount of lightning wrapped around Uriel.

"Receive the judgment of light."