Chapter 165: Reveal (5)
After making her resolve, Loriel left the room and immediately went to where the Five Swords were, opening her mouth to speak.
“We need to get the items right now.”
“What is it?”
“…Something like…this.”
When Loriel spoke quietly, they all went, “Oh”, murmuring in astonishment as they discussed it.
“Does the type matter?”
“We should probably get something that suits the occasion, right?”
“It’s likely that Lartania would have something like that. Back then, maybe not, but now it’s developed so much.”
As the Five Swords nodded in agreement, Loriel nodded back.
“Let’s split up and start looking right away. Just in case it’s not here, I’m thinking of visiting other territories too.”“Got it.”
“Let’s do it.”
With those words, Loriel turned and started moving. As they watched her for a while, Ruin spoke.
“Well, shall we get started too?”
“Sure, but…by the way.”
“Hmm?”
“While we’re at it, should we get something for Loriel too?”
After hearing one of the Five Swords’ suggestions, Ruin paused, looking a bit dazed.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Nodding in agreement, the Five Swords immediately sprang into action.
To find ‘that’.
“…Wait, right now?”
“Right now.”
When River asked as if to confirm, Kim Hyunwoo answered without hesitation.
Of course, it wasn’t that Kim Hyunwoo thoughtlessly suggested launching the missile immediately.
He could easily imagine what the state of the territory would be like after the missile struck.
Even though he could predict the aftermath, Kim Hyunwoo didn’t hesitate in his decision.
‘There’s no reason to bother with useless morality.’
The Eastern Clan Alliance would not bow down even if Lartania showed them the missile. In fact, they would likely escalate their attacks.
The demons’ and celestials’ ultimate goal – more precisely, the goal of those trying to achieve something in this world – was the destruction of the world.
In short, showing a missile to those with such goals offered no chance for negotiation.
From their perspective, he was someone they absolutely had to kill.
Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t slow to grasp the situation, nor was he naive enough to hesitate when launching a missile while holding onto useless morality.
‘It’s best to wipe them out before they’re fully prepared for battle.’
Although Lartania’s strength had been reinforced by the return of its heroes, Kim Hyunwoo still didn’t know the full extent of the celestials’ power.
What if the celestials’ strength was similar to that of the heroes?
Even if their strength wasn’t the same, there was still a chance that the heroes could be gravely injured or killed in battle against the celestials.
And to Kim Hyunwoo, launching the missile seemed the better option compared to risking such chances.
What mattered most to him were Lartania and the heroes who had returned to his territory.
Therefore,
“I’m asking. Or will it take more time to launch?”
When Kim Hyunwoo asked, River thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“No, it won’t take long. We just need to make some basic preparations, but there isn’t much to do.”
She smiled and answered.
“Got it, just wait a moment…! We’ll need Shadra to launch, though…!”
With that, River told him to wait a moment before running off somewhere. A little while later,
“Hello, Dad…”
“Shadra…huh? You’re not wearing your usual clothes today?”
Kim Hyunwoo noticed that Shadra, looking a bit moodier than usual, was wearing tight black leather clothes instead of her usual wizard-like robes.
“Yeah, just a simple change of mood?”
Shadra spoke, glancing at River with a slightly displeased expression but quickly brushed it off and continued.
“Are you planning to launch it right now?”
“Yes.”
“Got it. If you’re not changing the target, the preparations won’t take long. It’s still aimed at the Eastern Clan Alliance, right?”
“That’s right.”
At Kim Hyunwoo’s confirmation, Shadra nodded slightly, raised her staff – despite the leather outfit – and began chanting an incantation.
And then.
Wooooooong-!
The missile in the underground of the Blacksmith Guild began to resonate.
The office of the Eastern Clan Alliance.
“So, they gave this to you?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmmm…”
There, Durandor and three angels were staring at the Void stones held in the palms of their hands.
“…It’s unmistakably the Void, without a doubt.”
“Yes, it’s not an illusion.”
“It’s certainly the same force that defiled Him.”
The three angels sitting across from Durandor were cherubim, part of the second tier directly under the orders of the archangels.
The angels, named Selaim, Pallar, and Curian, each wore expressions of amazement as they looked at the Void, then turned to face Durandor.
“Was there any other deal besides this?”
In response to the question from Selaim, the leader of the cherubim, Durandor shook his head and replied.
“There was none. The Abyss merely said that we share the same objective for the time being.”
“The same objective… You mean dealing with the Outsider?”
“Yes, they said we should cooperate until the Outsider is dealt with.”
At Durandor’s words, Selaim fell silent for a moment, thinking, then spoke.
“Do you believe that?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
“Not at all, but as you can see, the power the Void gave us is real.”
As Durandor said this, he suddenly conjured a sword of light in his hand.
Woooooong-!
The sword emitted a sharp resonance, glowing with divine light.
In that state, Durandor crushed the black gem in his hand with force.
Crack-! Crackle-!
The power from the shattered gem began to seep into the sword of light in Durandor’s hand.
As the once-black light infused the sword, turning it into a grayish hue, the cherubim expressed their astonishment. Durandor extended the now-gray sword and spoke.
“…This is truly the power of the Void. The same force that defiled and brought down our Lord.”
As Durandor dismissed the sword of light, the gem he had crushed just moments ago, which had turned to dust, slowly reformed, as if time were reversing. Pallar, observing this, commented.
“…It’s definitely the power of the Void.”
“Is it truly alright to use this?”
Curian asked with a serious expression.
But Selaim, after silently observing the situation for a moment, replied.
“…But surely, with the power of the Void, dealing with Lartania wouldn’t be difficult.”
“Exactly. Unfortunately, it seems the heroes protecting the Outsider have gathered in Lartania. Thanks to the demons’ failure, the situation has become troublesome. But with this Void power…”
“We’ll be able to handle them with ease, then.”
“You all know, don’t you? The Void erases anything it touches, as if it never existed. That includes even our Lord. If we wield such power, no matter how strong the heroes of the mortal realm are, we can deal with them.”
“That’s true.”
Selaim nodded in agreement and began to speak-
“…Then, we’ll get permission from the Archangel soon and – shall we prepare for another holy war…?”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because.
“…What is that?”
Selaim suddenly mumbled, his expression dazed.
Seeing Selaim’s dazed face, Durandor and the other two cherubim turned their heads in confusion.
“…?”
They saw something flying through the sky, creating a straight white trail that divided the blue sky.
“…What is that?”
“What is it?”
The angels wore puzzled expressions.
But a moment later,
“…Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
“That…doesn’t it seem like it’s heading this way?”
Selaim, still staring at the object soaring through the sky, made this comment. The other two angels observed it carefully and nodded.
“Certainly…”
“It does seem like it-”
As the two angels spoke in agreement-
“-But?”
They suddenly realized that the object in the sky was now flying directly toward the terrace.
“…!”
The moment Durandor realized this and tried to act-
KABOOOOOM-!!!!!!
The angels were engulfed in a brilliant white light.