Chapter 68. Mikhail (1)
Michael hoped that his guess was wrong. If he was right, Marbas was planning to create a fish trap.
"AAAAARGH!"
Screams erupted from the priests who had gone underground. Startled, Jungon rushed downstairs, and Sia followed him. However,
"You'd better not go."
Michael grabbed Sia's wrist and stopped her.
"Let go of me."
"You'll regret it if you go."
"I'd regret it even more if I failed to save someone I could have saved."
Sia pulled her arm free from Michael's grasp and hurried downstairs.
Tap, tap, tap!
A short while later, Sia came rushing back, her face completely pale. She had seen the scattered remains of Matsumoto.
"Urgh! BLEEEARGH!"
As Sia leaned against the wall and retched, Michael scolded her.
"I told you not to go."
"If something like that was down there, you should've told me beforehand!!"
"Whine, whine."
The animals licked Sia as though trying to comfort her while her head was spinning.
The animals have been communicating with her for a while now. That means her ability to connect with them has improved considerably.
It was a sign that her awakening wasn't far away.
At that moment, one of the lines connected to Michael's senses was severed.
Did they notice it?
The Guidance of the Holy Spirit that he had secretly attached to the fly had vanished.
Since the Guidance of the Holy Spirit was made of faint aura, it was usually transparent in the light and difficult to see. Only someone with exceptional detection abilities or sharp instincts would be able to notice it.
At least a high-ranking demon.
It wasn't Marbas. If Marbas had discovered the Guidance of the Holy Spirit, he wouldn't have simply destroyed it. He would've extended his power all the way to Michael, who was connected to it. That meant the culprit was a high-ranking demon or someone even stronger.
It could be one of Marbas's subordinates.
Or perhaps it was a trap.
It doesn't matter. If I can meet him, even like this... I might finally be able to give those people some peace.
Michael had believed he had successfully suppressed his emotions at Myeongdong Cathedral, but memories of the past caused him to clench his fist without realizing it.
He now needed to investigate the location where the connection had been severed.
"Hey."
"Haa. Yes?"
"Go to the veterinary clinic. Stay there and look after the kids."
This was the most important period for Sia, and the time when she needed the greatest protection. If even Myeongdong Cathedral could be infiltrated so easily, she would probably be safer beside the Divine Beasts.
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Something urgent has come up. Stop arguing, go to the clinic, and look after Samsik and Jeomrye."
Without waiting to hear Sia's response, Michael pushed off the ground and rushed away.
The clouds carrying the colors of sunset disappeared toward the east. Meanwhile, clouds bringing the night gradually spread across the sky from the same direction. As clouds lighter than storm clouds took control of the heavens, darkness finally arrived.
The streets of central Myeongdong were crowded with people who had come out for dinner and others who hadn't yet finished work.
Tap, tap!
Shadows occasionally passed over their heads, but nobody noticed them.
High above the enormous crowd, Michael, who had changed into a cassock, was racing forward while releasing waves of white aura.
Following the line left by the Guidance of the Holy Spirit, Michael leaped from one rooftop to another. He was running across the rooftops partly to avoid being seen, but also because it was the fastest way to reach his destination.
Whooooosh!
His hair fluttered as he cut through the wind. Michael's eyes were as cold as the wind rushing past him.
During an Omen that had occurred long before the incident in Lourdes, France, Michael had lost every one of his companions. All of them had died because of a single Great Demon, Marbas.
They hadn't even died in battle. If they had, Michael would've at least been able to give them proper funerals.
His gaze grew colder.
They had died from disease. Worse still, it was a pandemic that had been completely incurable at the time. People had sometimes called it the Black Death.
I still can't forget his face.
After annihilating the twelve knight orders Michael had prepared, Marbas had worn a radiant smile, as bright and beautiful as a basket of flowers.
Michael had thought Marbas had disappeared after that incident, but now the demon had revealed himself once again.
This was an opportunity.
Perhaps because Michael's boiling rage was affecting his Crosses, the flames burning around him grew even fiercer.
CRUNCH!
Michael pushed off with his legs. He used so much force that some of the transformers and solar panels he stepped on were crushed or shattered. There had been a transformer on the rooftop of the building he had just passed, and it was now so badly crushed that electric currents could be seen flowing from it.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Click!
The lights inside an office repeatedly flickered on and off. Complaints erupted from the employees who were already suffering through overtime. The person who appeared to be the most senior employee checked the lights, but couldn't find anything wrong with them.
"Haa. Working overtime is already pissing me off. What's wrong with the lights now? Somebody check the circuit breaker."
At his instruction, the youngest employee went to examine the circuit breaker.
"There's nothing wrong with the breaker."
"Haa. Nothing's going right today. Hey! Then call the electric company."
Because of the accidents Michael caused as he passed, several buildings were experiencing problems with their electricity supply.
Crunch.
Completely unaware of the trouble he was causing, Michael stepped on a ventilation fan and reached his destination.
With Namsan Tower visible in the distance, Michael landed on the high brick guardrail of a steep slope. The guiding line didn't extend any farther.
"Is this the place?"
Standing beneath the yellow light of an old streetlamp, Michael shook the White Flame from his body.
It's too quiet. Far too quiet.
There was no sign of human activity, and he couldn't even hear the faint sound of insects in the grass. It was so silent that it was hard to believe he was still in Seoul.
Grab.
Michael reached behind his back and drew Durandal. As he moved his hand, the cloth wrapped around the sword slowly came loose, revealing the blade beneath.
Durandal, which glowed faintly under the moonlight, rested in Michael's hand.
"...Stop hiding and come out. I've already found you."
Rustle, rustle!
He heard the sound of an insect crawling.
Step, step.
Then he heard someone's footsteps.
A man accompanied by an insect emerged from the shadow of a building.
The first thing Michael noticed was the insect's hard, brown chitinous skin, which resembled armor. The cockroach kept flicking its long antennae as though they were its most attractive feature. It was nearly fifty centimeters long.
"Another disgusting thing has appeared."
The man's mouth had rotted away. Since he hadn't stepped completely out of the shadows yet, everything above his upper lip remained hidden in darkness.
"Are you the insect handler?"
The way he stroked the enormous cockroach resembled an animal trainer caring for his pet.
"I am. Not Insect. I am. Cell. One of Lord Marbas's five loyal kin."
When the man opened his mouth, his gloomy voice sounded as though it were coming from deep inside a basement.
Step.
The man took another step forward and emerged completely from the shadows.
"Furthermore. Lord Marbas. Said this. Was a gift."
The man couldn't speak properly. His words came in broken fragments, like a carriage repeatedly striking stones on a rough road.
"What kind of idiot did he send this time...?"
The moment Michael saw the man's face, he stopped speaking.
"Mikhail... How? How are you here...?"
Michael's eyes trembled violently, as though an earthquake had struck.
The man tilted his head.
"Mikhail? Why. Do you. Call me. That? I'll say it. Again. I am. Cell."
Crunch.
Hearing Mikhail's response, Michael nearly lost his composure and bit down on his lip. Before any blood could flow, the wound had already regenerated.
Although he hadn't drawn blood, it was enough. He had managed to regain control before losing his reason.
"Did they alter your memories?"
Having calmed himself, Michael looked directly at Mikhail.
There was a straight surgical scar across Mikhail's balding head. It was probably a mark left during the process of altering his memories.
Below it, a long trail of decay stretched from his forehead to his chin. His rotting, softened flesh looked as though it might melt away at any moment. Even so, his distinct facial features showed that Mikhail had once been a handsome man.
Although his appearance had changed considerably since the past, Michael had never forgotten the face of the holy knight who had followed him.
"When did this happen to you? Was it the day everyone died? Or did he awaken you long afterward?"
Squish!
Finding no importance in Michael's questions, Mikhail pushed his index finger into his melting chin. The damaged area quickly returned to smooth skin.
"I don't. Understand. What you're. Saying. If you're. Trying to. Confuse me. Give up."
"...Haa. Right. Your memories have been altered, so that's what you've been programmed to believe. That's exactly the kind of bastard Marbas is."
Marbas always acted indifferent and noble, as though he stood above everyone else. He wore the mask of a spectator.
If someone treasured something, he had to destroy it before he could smile. If someone had a dream, he wouldn't be satisfied until he had crushed it.
Now, by taking away one of Michael's precious subordinates, Marbas intended to force them to kill each other.
I won't let things go the way he wants.
Michael decided to subdue Mikhail and take him away.
I need to find that rat bastard as quickly as possible.
Although Mikhail was now almost indistinguishable from a demon, Valefor might know a way to save him.
Michael lowered Durandal diagonally and gathered his aura.
"Kafka. Eat."
In response to Michael's battle stance, Mikhail stabbed his index finger into the back of the cockroach named Kafka.
Gurgle, gurgle!
Something suspicious flowed through Mikhail's finger and entered Kafka's body.
Kafka's brown chitin began turning almost pitch-black. New antennae grew from its head, and its previously thin antennae became much thicker. The wings hidden beneath its shell grew large enough to become visible, and its entire body doubled in size.
"Engrave. Fear. Into him."
Bzzzzzz.
Cockroaches didn't possess any particular cry, so Kafka answered by vibrating its wings.
"Durandal still hasn't awakened, huh?"
Michael gathered his aura to respond, but Durandal showed no reaction.
"That's probably for the best. Gather as much strength as you can for now. You only need to wake up when we fight Marbas."
BZZZZZZ!
Kafka's wingbeats grew louder. Instead of simply answering, it took flight and charged toward Michael. It moved so quickly that it resembled a hummingbird.
SHRAAAK!
In an instant, Kafka reached Michael and extended its folded front legs. The two legs had become as sharp as sickles, and they swept toward Michael's neck from both sides. If they connected, his head would be sent flying.
Of course, that was only if they connected.
CLANG!
Before Kafka's legs could reach Michael's neck, Durandal appeared between them at the exact point where the two blades would have crossed. The attack had stopped less than a hand's breadth from Michael's throat.
Startled, Kafka desperately tried to pull its legs free.
CLANG! GRRRRIND!
Michael refused to allow that and twisted Durandal to lock them in place.
"Just because an insect grows some blades doesn't mean it becomes a beast."
Fwoooosh!
White Flame rose from Michael's hand and spread along Durandal's blade. The white fire was so beautiful that it was easy to forget how hot it was. However, to Kafka, the flames looked like the fires of Hell.
HISSSSS!
Kafka's shell had become harder than iron, but it was useless against White Flame, the natural enemy of demonic energy. The flames wrapped around the blade began burning Kafka's front legs.
Snap. Snap!
As its burned legs broke off, Kafka spread its wings. It also opened its jaws wide, apparently intending to create some distance and release disease-causing germs.
However, Michael had no intention of letting it escape. Holding Durandal straight like a rapier, he thrust the sword directly forward.
SPLURT!
As Durandal pierced Kafka's mouth, a foul, rotten smell emerged, like food that had been stuck between someone's teeth for far too long.
Crunch! Crunch!
Kafka flailed its four legs and desperately tried to push Durandal away with its small jaws. At the same time, Michael sensed it preparing to release germs made from demonic energy deep inside its mouth.
"Your breath stinks. Get away from me."
CRRRRRUNCH!
Michael rotated Durandal from a horizontal position to a vertical one. The sound of the shell cracking was accompanied by a spray of the distinctive white blood of a cockroach. Michael wouldn't even tolerate that. He waved his White Flame-covered hand and evaporated the blood.
"ignícŭlus [Igniculus]."
A stream of White Flame surged along the Durandal embedded in Kafka's mouth, forcing its way into the insect's body. The flames immediately destroyed the germs and spread throughout Kafka's insides.
GUEEEEEGH! BOOOOM!
Unable to contain Igniculus, Kafka let out a grotesque noise as its head, thorax, and abdomen exploded one after another.
Michael stepped on Kafka's shattered remains and looked toward Mikhail.
"Subduing you might hurt a little, Mikhail."
