Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The cool breeze from the Alps blew through the Sacred City, lifting the cloudy mist lingering above the city like a veil away and revealing the clean city with golden lights under the clear night sky. The luxurious palaces, brightly lit streets, unique buildings, and glowing towers that resembled a network of blood vessels when looked down upon from above were brimming with life.

To the east, the Sacred City was leaning against a mountain. The tall peak resembled the back of a dragon, and allowed anyone upon it to enjoy the night view of the entire Sacred City.

Normally, the walls of the mountain would have some reflections of the lights in the Sacred City, but the mountain was currently pitch-black and had blended with the empty night sky, as if it had been devoured by something!

More shockingly, everyone in the Sacred City could clearly see the outline of a figure on top of the mountain, although they could not see the silhouette of the mountain itself!

Many people on the busy streets were staring at the top of the mountain.

They initially thought it was an illusion because of the dark, but after confirming the sight with others, they realized there was indeed a figure on the mountain. It stood tall under the night sky, projecting an eerie aura!

“It’s really a person!”

“I told you. My eyes aren’t trying to trick me.”

“I saw lots of Judicators gathering at the Sacred Residence. Did something serious happen?”

Lots of discussions were taking place on the streets.

The security of the Sacred City had never been so tight. Many Judicators and Great Judicators were on the move. Was the figure standing on the mountain the reason?

—

“He’s here.”

A man with blond hair and beard waiting up on a tower slowly rose to his feet. He looked past the luxurious city and focused on the figure on the mountain.

“Head Angel, are you sure he won’t do anything reckless? He’s… an Emperor-level existence after all,” the Angel Raphael looked up and asked respectfully from where he was standing below the tower.

“Yes, an Emperor!” Head Angel Michael exclaimed. For some reason, his emerald eyes flickered with passion.

Emperor-level, how many Emperors were there in this world?

The Sahara Desert, the Bermuda Triangle, the South Pole, Mount Kunlun, the Amazon, and the Pyramid…

Each Emperor occupied a huge portion of the world and monopolized the rich resources there, while humans were trapped in their cities like caged animals.

How much of the world did human cities occupy? Less than one percent!

The rest was divided among the demon creatures. Weren’t the Emperors the main reason humans were forced to stay in their cities, since even Forbidden Mages did not dare to challenge them?

Right now, an Emperor who had been asleep for a few thousand years had risen. He had started the War of the Underworld!

“I, Michael, shall take over if the God of Darkness isn’t willing to intervene,” Head Angel Michael declared.

“But the War of the Underworld isn’t necessarily a threat, compared to the crisis along the coastlines…” the Angel Raphael went on.

“The undead can roam freely among us, but they are the God of Darkness’ puppets. We should purge this Emperor of the Undead before he eventually turns into the sword of the God of Darkness. He will slowly lose his human nature over time to the darkness, yet our descendants still need a place to live for the next hundreds or thousands of years. Do you really think the temporary peace that the War of Underworld is giving Egypt and China is in mankind’s favor?” Michael scoffed at the other.

“It’s true that such a powerful existence will bring us unimaginable disasters if he can roam freely among us. Even Forbidden Mages will bring us doom if they are not under control, let alone an undead who is gradually losing his human nature!” Raphael had to agree.

“People always focus on the difficult situation in front of them and ignore the potential calamities further away. If we lose the coast, we still have the plains, the mountains, and the plateau. We might be able to live on the oceans too, but the undead can never coexist with humans. If the darkness continues to grow, the dead will banish us and recruit us into their ranks,” Michael declared firmly.

They could not afford to have another Emperor in the Dark Plane!

One Undead Emperor was enough! If the War of the Underworld kept going, the two Emperors of the Underworld would keep recruiting soldiers from the world of the living. The War of the Underworld would only bring them a temporary peace. Once the undead armies suffered enough casualties, the living would become sacrifices for the war!

The darkness would grow stronger as more deaths, killings, and slaughter took place. The God of Darkness would eventually grow strong enough to break through the barrier between the planes and set foot into the living world. No land would be livable by humanity then!

It was the reason Michael had decided to step forward.

He did not care about the Undead Emperor’s standpoint. He only knew that the Emperor was never meant to exist in this world. Even if he was doing everything to protect a country, he would eventually drag the whole of mankind into the abyss!

“Then why didn’t we pick on Khufu instead?” Raphael questioned him.

“I don’t believe Khufu is as much of a threat as this Emperor,” Michael replied solemnly.

“That’s true. He has only woken up recently, yet he almost brought a bloodbath to the Ancient Capital’s millions of lives. However, my only worry is…” Raphael stopped in the middle of the sentence.

He was worried if the Sacred City could endure the Emperor’s wrath, knowing he was a bigger threat than Khufu!

—

“Let’s begin. The one thing I can do today for the future of mankind is by killing the infant of darkness under the brilliance of the Sacred City!” Michael yelled.

Raphael raised a beam of light with golden edges. It soared into the sky above the city and turned into two sacred swords crossing one another!

The sacred swords transformed again. Colorful lights spread through the night sky and shone over the Sacred City.

The lights hung in the sky. To everyone’s surprise, they began to form objects. The streets of the city rapidly appeared in the lights, as if the hand of God was drawing a picture. The buildings with unique shapes were gradually appearing in the twisting colors. It was only their silhouettes at first, but even the tiny details like the carvings on the windows were soon rendered precisely.

The night sky above the Sacred City was replaced by an enormous canvas. The whole city was projected on it, and it all happened in front of the crowd.

A city on the ground and a city in the sky. A complete reflection!

“I feel like I’m looking down at the city while hanging in the sky, but I’m clearly standing on the street.”

“I began to wonder if our world is real!”