Chapter 64

Chapter 64, The Order (9)

At Delta's words, spoken with a smile full of amusement, I hurriedly looked toward Eriel.

Eriel was still sleeping soundly.

She breathed evenly, and she still looked sacred and wondrous.

“That Eriel is a fallen angel?”

A fallen angel meant an angel who had fallen into corruption.

It was a concept I first learned about when I had been researching angels and divine power through the Gallery.

If an angel committed more than a certain amount of evil deeds, they would fall and become a fallen angel.

Once that happened, they would lose their overwhelming healing authority, and even their appearance would change.

Their radiant pure white wings would turn a deep black that seemed to absorb light.

Their atmosphere would also change.

Anyone who saw a fallen angel would feel uneasiness rather than reverence.

Still, it wasn't entirely a bad thing.

In exchange for losing their healing power, fallen angels could wield destructive power instead.

Because of that, there were even people in the Gallery who deliberately became angels first, then committed sins to turn into fallen angels for efficiency.

I recalled everything I knew about fallen angels and examined Eriel.

Then I dismissed Delta's words.

“Nonsense.”

Eriel was still such a sacred existence that simply looking at her naturally inspired faith.

Her wings were a purer white than an empty sheet of paper.

They carried a warm light like sunlight.

According to everything I knew, there was no way that Eriel could be a fallen angel.

So I tried to dismiss Delta's words as nonsense.

Delta continued without caring about my rejection.

“Why do you think she isn't? Unfortunately, Eriel has committed more than enough evil deeds.”

“What evil deeds?”

He laughed.

“Think about it. Divine power should only be usable by those who have been chosen. It is proof and a mark that one has been chosen by God.”

“...”

“Yet she gave that sacred power to those who were never chosen, even to people who had each committed all kinds of evil deeds. How could that not be a sin? And she didn't give it to just one person, but to nearly a thousand!”

As he continued speaking, Delta pointed toward the sleeping Eriel.

His gaze swept over her as though looking down at something beneath him.

“I know why you thought she wasn't a fallen angel. Her energy! Her atmosphere! Her characteristics! Those things, right?”

The circular halo floating above her head.

The four wings on her back, along with the great and sacred radiance they contained.

Those were all traits that a fallen angel couldn't possess.

They belonged only to pure angels untouched by corruption.

“You're correct. Strictly speaking, she isn't a fallen angel yet. If someone gave her just one more push, she would become one, but for now, she's still standing at the boundary of angelhood. What I'm saying is that she is no longer a completely virtuous being.”

“...Fine. But what does that matter?”

“It's a shame, that's all. Killing her in her current state would still count as a considerable virtuous deed, but if I killed her after she completely fell, the amount of virtue I could accumulate would be on an entirely different level. Yet you stopped me before I could.”

Those words made me realize that Delta's goal was probably very different from what I had assumed.

Originally, I thought Delta's goal was to infect us with Agape and turn us into people who acted for the sake of the Order.

I had been certain that was his objective.

But judging from what Delta was saying now, that didn't seem to be the case.

Sin.

Virtuous deeds.

Those kinds of words.

If he were only trying to confuse me, his words wouldn't be overflowing with this much sincerity.

There was no way he had fabricated that much genuine emotion.

Then Delta's real goal really was different from what I had thought.

What exactly is it?

I thought back over everything Delta had done and reviewed it from the beginning.

First.

Delta had invited Lee Yeonhee, a Seraph, here.

He had been desperate enough to bring outsiders like me, Hwa-ryeon, and Arlin along as well.

Second.

Delta had brought me to the cathedral on the first morning.

Then he had specifically told me not to visit the cathedral at night.

The reason was probably Eriel.

During the day, she remained frozen like a statue, but at night, she could move freely.

...Wait.

“Delta. Did you tell me not to come to the cathedral at night because Eriel could move freely at night?”

“Yes. More or less.”

“Then why couldn't Eriel move during the day? Why could she only move at night?”

“...”

A hint of confusion surfaced in Delta's eyes.

It quickly disappeared beneath the surface, but I didn't miss the brief moment of hesitation.

He kept his mouth shut even under my steady gaze.

Only when I drew my sword as a threat did he finally speak.

“H, haha. That's because of a Mystery, of course. This cathedral contains a Mystery related to rules. Rules such as, ‘While an angel remains inside the cathedral, they must continue praying.’ The reason it only applies during the day is because of that radiance at the top of the cathedral. You know the one, right? It acts like an eye. So as long as the eye is present during the day, she must continue praying. At night, when the eye is gone, she can move around freely.”

The moment I heard Delta's explanation, I knew.

That was a lie.

His behavior alone was enough to make me suspect it.

And I also had actual evidence.

Ever since arriving here, I had been checking Lucy constantly.

Among every Mystery added to Lucy, there hadn't been a single one even remotely similar to what Delta just described.

Both the evidence and my instincts said Delta was lying.

My blade gradually pressed deeper into his neck.

“...Urgh! That hurts!”

Even as a thin red line appeared across his neck and blood began flowing, he pretended to remain relaxed.

Still, he refused to tell the truth.

I kept applying pressure and moved my hand.

My blade continued cutting deeper into his neck.

Even when it had gone halfway through, Delta still refused to speak.

In the end, he coughed up blood and died.

I knew he was dead because his heart had stopped beating and his lungs were no longer breathing.

The pool of blood that spread across the floor until it almost rippled made it even clearer.

“Make sure he's dead.”

If Delta had been an ordinary person, I would have stopped there.

But this was someone who had survived after taking Arlin's lightning head-on and being reduced to ash.

So I made absolutely certain.

I engulfed him in flames.

Arlin struck him with lightning.

Just like before, he was reduced to ash.

And just like before, he died leaving behind a large fragment of divine power.

Since he had even left behind a fragment, he was clearly dead.

“...This still feels wrong.”

Even so, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.

It felt like leaving the house without being sure I had turned off the gas stove.

Annoyed by the uneasiness I couldn't resolve, I approached Eriel and checked her condition.

Until just moments ago, she had been unconscious and alone with Delta.

It wouldn't have been strange if something had happened.

Feeling uneasy, I carefully examined her.

There were no obvious wounds on her body.

Even while asleep, her expression remained filled with benevolence.

But...

“Yuhyeon... doesn't it look like she has less divine power than before?”

“It definitely dropped quite a lot. Even if five days have passed since we first saw her, more than ten percent seems to be gone. Yuhyeon, was she like this yesterday?”

“...No. Yesterday, there wasn't much difference from when I met her on the first day.”

Her divine power had decreased.

More than ten percent of her total power seemed to have vanished.

Her wings, which had once been pure white, now looked closer to simply white.

The feathers seemed slightly duller and less radiant.

Even her halo looked more transparent than before.

No matter how I looked at it, a significant amount of her divine power had disappeared.

But I couldn't understand why.

I felt confused.

Then I heard someone moving behind me.

I turned my head.

My face twisted with undisguised disbelief and surprise.

A familiar voice and familiar face approached me.

“Haha. I told you earlier that it hurt, didn't I?”

Delta.

Even though his entire body had turned to ash just like when Arlin killed him the first time, he approached us in perfect condition and stopped in front of me.

The heavy fragment in my hand suddenly felt strangely unsettling.

Delta casually glanced at the fragment I was gripping tightly.

“Oh. Isn't that my fragm...”

I swung my sword again and cut off his head.

His head fell and rolled across the floor.

A moment later, his headless body collapsed as well.

I poured flames over his body.

Once again, a fragment appeared.

It was identical in size and brightness to the one already in my hand.

I stared at his corpse.

Then I heard the exact same familiar voice behind me again.

“Wait, at least let me fini...”

“You really should stop doing th...”

I cut him down again.

When he got back up after that, I cut him down one more time.

By the time I was holding a total of four fragments, Arlin shouted.

“Yuhyeon! Look at this!”

I followed the direction of her finger.

Eriel was still asleep, but now she was visibly suffering.

Her radiance had weakened even further.

A pained groan escaped her lips.

As I hurried toward her, Delta appeared behind me yet again.

This time, he was sweating.

“Haha... I told you that you should stop, didn't I? You seemed to feel rather sorry for Eriel... If she dies, wouldn't that make you a little sad?”

“She'll die?”

I stared at Delta's smiling face.

Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be lying.

So this is the trick Delta was relying on?

I started thinking, trying to figure out exactly what he had done.