“—Commander Shin, this is not the time to be saying such things, and from your position, it’s an inappropriate statement—”
“—Yes, yes, thank you for the cliché response. But, isn’t this situation beyond arguing? Get it together, Principal Art.”
“…”
Commander Shin, perched on the windowsill, was now stating the obvious, despite having initiated this conflict herself. As one who stands above all adventurers, her words and actions were unrestrained. Well, whether one chooses to emulate her is a different matter.
“Now, this is a serious discussion. While Kelvin was in his match, I was also investigating suspicious individuals. I caught about a dozen or so and tied them up. They’re probably all fallen angels, though likely low-ranking ones.”
“Tied up…?”
“Haha… B-but, how were you able to capture so many in such a short time during a single match? Frankly, your work is tremendous!”
“Y-yes, it is. Rion and I searched around too, but in the end, we only found Kuromel and the others.”
“That’s right! I and Ri-chan even ran down the hallway, picking up speed like lightning, right?! There’s no way it could have been more efficient than that!”
“Ah, that’s simple. The others were apparently inferior in skill to that big guy over there, and more importantly, I didn’t have to rely on legwork.”
“Hm, hmmm? What do you mean?”
As Rion and the others tilted their heads, Commander Shin suddenly pulled out a gun from her pocket. It was the same weapon she used in her match against Art.
“Because I just thought, ‘May you hit those who intend to do evil!’ and fired this gun randomly. Then, the special paralyzing bullets went off on their own and hit the terrorists. The only other thing I did was follow the aura of the bullets and wrap up the unconscious ones. It was easy work.”
“Y-you fired randomly…?”
“That’s insane!”
Everyone could only stare in disbelief at the commander’s nonsensical explanation, delivered with a laugh. Still, the ability to automatically hit a target by firing bullets randomly… The match against Art was impressive, but does the commander possess a luck-based skill like Sera or Touya?
“More importantly, Commander Shin, what were the results of your interrogation?”
“Ah, they said the same thing as that big guy over there. They heard a prophecy about a demon god and an archangel being resurrected, and they were working on a great purge of the world before their descent.”
“Demon god and archangel, purge… Ugh, so much new information is coming out, I’m getting confused…”
“Ah… I’m sorry, Suzu is confused too, so could you explain it so we can understand?”
The Underworld—having directly visited the ‘Heart of the Evil God’ on what is now the Northern Continent, I had a slight opportunity to gain knowledge of the demon god, but it was only superficial information. I want to reacquaint myself with the relationships between demon gods and fallen angels.
“Even if you want me to explain in detail, I’m not that knowledgeable myself. It’s a myth from when this star was born.”
“That long ago!?”
“There’s even a theory that this star was born as a place to seal the demon god who was defeated in the war of the gods. The heart of the destroyed demon god and the body of the archangel were sealed somewhere in the world, and their followers, after having their angelic status and power confiscated, were also imprisoned in this world.”
“Hmph, so for the gods, this world itself was a prison. By the way, do you know that all other beings who sided with the demon god, regardless of their race, were treated as demons and pushed to the Northern Continent? Even though their angelic rank was revoked, they were able to integrate into society afterward, so fallen angels were probably treated better than demons, right? Honestly, it’s a bother for us.”
Bell says spitefully. Demons and demon kings, wars within the Northern Continent—Bell grew up directly affected by them, so her anger is understandable. However, despite understanding, I wish she would stop kicking my legs. My shins hurt, they hurt a lot.
“It’s a real pain. The fallen angels captured this time are, after all, not the fallen angels from that era, but their descendants. To be honest, they don’t seem to know the details of what happened in the mythological era.”
“They caused such a big incident without knowing the details? Their planning is dubious, aren’t they?”
“A purge, you say… If it’s indiscriminate, it’s troublesome. By the way, who are the targets of this purge?”
“According to Horas, it’s individuals with enough power to oppose or confront the demon god. It seems to be targeting individuals rather than countries. And the very first target was—”
“—Me?”
While I’m honored and not unwelcome, I wonder why it’s me again.
“Well, even if it wasn’t Kelvin-kun, many S-Rank adventurers gathered for this Versus Match. It’s possible that I, Commander Shin, or others might have been targeted as well.”
“Despite that, their assessment of combat power seems to have been lacking, eh?”
“Yes, yes, what about this Archangel whose name hasn’t come up yet~? Judging by the name, is it a high-ranking fallen angel?”
“Whether they are high-ranking or not, that’s generally correct. These Archangels were apparently once called the ‘Ten Authorities.’ They were the direct execution squad of the gods, acting as the demon god’s hands and feet in the mythological era.”
The ‘White Wing Land,’ a sky-high realm floating in the sky. This land where angels dwell is, in normal times, a completely closed-off state, with no entry or exit from either inside or outside, even for angels. However, today is an exceptional exception. Even the angels, who are said to prefer peace more than elves, appear somewhat, no, considerably agitated.
“The day has finally come.”
“Indeed. A new Reincarnated Goddess is about to descend. I never thought I’d be able to witness such a glorious day…”
“Her accomplishments in both skill and inner character, and her complete lack of blemish, have been judged satisfactory by the Chiefs. An announcement will likely be made soon.”
“Goddess, please bring new light to this world…”
This is how it is. However, it cannot be helped. After all, today was the day Gordiana would be officially recognized as a god, the new Reincarnated Goddess, the new Goddess. Incidentally, only the Chiefs of Angels know the appearance of the next Reincarnated Goddess, and it has not yet been revealed to the general angels. That’s right, it hasn’t been.
Therefore, Gordiana, the pink goddess, using a special method, transferred to the ‘Chamber of Wisdom’ where the Chiefs gathered, without revealing her appearance to the angels. This was not the first time she had visited this place, and she was accustomed to this transfer. …However, on this day, it was not the usual Chiefs who awaited Gordiana in the Chamber of Wisdom.
“Oh my, did I make a mistake with my transfer destination?”
“No, you haven’t made a mistake. However, that’s… I wish it were a mistake that a god, even a false one, looked like that… Well, times change. I shall permit it.”
Before Gordiana, who had transferred, stood ten unknown angels. The halos and wings of the angels were dyed black, and a strange aura that could only be described as evil permeated the air.
“Nice to meet you, current false god. My name is Eld Aster, the leader of the ‘Ten Authorities.’ Oh, you don’t need to remember it. Instead, I’d like you to be destroyed soon.”
The moment the red-haired man in the center spoke, the Chamber of Wisdom was enveloped in a dazzling black light.
After Chapter 1 ends.
