Sagrakrak──Sagrarak──
An unpleasant noise echoed in her ears, grating on her nerves like the crunch of fallen leaves in autumn.
The searing heat of flame energy surged through her body, stabbing into her head like needles.
Ziffnel, the angel of mercy and love who had been struck by Julius’s spear, forced her eyes open and slowly lifted her heavy body.
This was the final moment.
The sight reflected in her eyes, having just barely avoided destruction by shifting the heart of her incarnated form to the right, was Telmere silently walking before her, her face calm and composed.
No—it was a corrupted heretic inquisitor.
That was the unwavering belief of a man named Julius Tapnel.
“…I don’t know anymore. I guess it’s truly impossible to disrupt the predestined harmony.”
She had been so confident at the start.
A prophecy had foretold that she would be defeated by Heretic Inquisitor Julius Tapnel. She had even given a revelation to Renelle, a swordmaster clad in a ragged outfit, in case of defeat. Yet she believed that if she wielded the holy sword in battle, she could overturn that fate.
“Could you have done it, Telmere? Or… was I simply not enough?”
The angel curled up, burying her head in her arms like a child.
Ziffnel recalled the bald-headed saint who had once lectured her with such arrogant certainty.
“If you had forsaken your humanity and ascended as a divine being, we could have been together now. Because you’re not here… nothing can be resolved.”
Sniff—
To the angel of mercy and love—one who regarded both humans and devils with equal indifference, Saint Telmere was the only friend she had on this earth.
When she looked at Julius—who shared his strong gaze, who was equally enamored with a woman and acted just as foolishly—she found herself missing her old friend deeply.
Sagrakrak──Sagrarak──
“Please, Telmere… tell me. Did I go wrong somewhere? Was it wrong to try and punish those who would plunge the world into chaos for nothing more than love?”
Was love really so precious? She still didn’t understand.
In his youth, Telmere’s hair had looked like molten gold, cut short. He had always cared for the sick and prayed for the heretics who were condemned. He had laughed at her foolishness all his life… yet now, unlike in the past, he no longer offered her any answers.
Sagrakrak──Sagrarak──
“Without you, I feel like I’m lost in a labyrinth… but I keep hearing this strange sound.”
That irritating noise continued.
Ziffnel slowly turned her head toward the source of the sound and locked eyes with a pure white spirit.
── Gulp.
The moment the archangel’s gaze met hers, the neck of the divine beast—frozen like ice—twitched.
And the angel of mercy and love was momentarily rendered speechless by the unbelievable sight before her eyes.
“…My feather…”
Her wings, once proudly displayed with dignity and care, had been scorched completely when she was struck directly by Julius Tapnel’s radiant spear.
They were burnt to a crisp.
Unable to resist the tantalizing scent of roasted feathers, Francis had plucked out the dimmed feathers that remained and eaten them, one handful at a time.
── Hi.
The unicorn slowly stepped back and bowed her head, feigning innocence.
Ziffnel stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the sheer incredulity of the situation, before slowly regaining her senses.
As her expression twisted with growing rage, Francis suddenly remembered something it had heard before.
“Oh, I had an accident.”
The Immortal Priestess’ habit of speaking, echoed in the unicorn’s head.
The perverted unicorn, sensing an unusual energy, bolted away from the angel with all his might.
“You…Dare, you dare, you dare! How dare you pluck out my precious feathers and eat them? Today, I will cut off your head, boil it, and eat it!!!”
Her wings—those precious wings she had always carefully trimmed before bed—now had feathers violently plucked out. They trembled as she forced her weakened legs to chase after the damned divine beast.
Just then, an even more irritating voice reached her from behind.
“…Ugh.”
“Pfff…pffft!”
Who would dare show such disrespect to the great pillar of heaven?
Ziffnel, more furious than when she had fought Julius, whipped her head around. Her gaze locked with the silver-haired priestess, who was giggling while kneeling with her hands raised like a child being scolded.
They had run into each other.
A strange moment of déjà vu.
Feeling that familiar sensation and a sudden sharp pain in her neck, Ziffnel grabbed it and scolded Priestess Emily, who was acting like a clown.
“…What are you doing there again?”
“Ah… well, that. I didn’t think an angel would be this flustered because of my son, so for now, as his mother, I’m asking for forgiveness on his behalf.”
“I ask for forgiveness.”
Even as she said it, Priestess Emily couldn’t hold back her laughter and kept giggling.
Why is she smiling so annoyingly?
Ziffnel, a woman who now looked like a fully fried golden-brown chicken, tried to say something to the heretic in front of her but simply shut her mouth.
Anyway, that woman was her father’s favorite.
There was no one in the world who could kill this insignificant creature.
The angel, drained of all strength to fight against the endlessly resurrecting, cockroach-like being—and whose mission to save the world now felt meaningless—collapsed into a sitting position.
Shashak──
The Colossal Serpent of the Nightmare had finally been destroyed.
After briefly savoring the warmth of the sunlight shining down on the once-empty land, she turned her head to take in the scenery around her.
Julius and Cecil were nowhere in sight.
All she could see was her representative, Thalia, collapsed on the ground, crying bitterly with her head down.
“Ha, the situation is really messed up.”
The angel frowned as if she had a headache, touching her lips a few times. Then she spotted the Colossal Serpent, secretly watching them from a distance, and shouted loudly at Liliana.
“Stop making annoying noises and get the hell out of there!”
“Hee, hick!”
The beautiful woman flinched at the angel’s shout and let out a strange noise. She hastily gathered her skirt and dashed toward the lord’s castle.
Yes, that was one of the 24 devils.
It must be caught and killed swiftly…
‘Well, please have mercy! I’m with a child!’
Looking down at the earth from heaven, she recalled a scene she had once witnessed in passing.
“…Ha, I feel dirty. It’s hard to live as an angel.”
Should she let her live until the baby was born?
If it had been Telmere, he definitely would have.
She needed to eliminate the devil—but first she needed to rest.