Chapter 67

The angel, resting her knees atop the snow-veiled ground, was sending a silent prayer to the souls of the deceased.

Jae turned his gaze from the winged girl to their surroundings―a peaceful, soundless burial ground. As the elegant white flakes fell endlessly around them, an atmosphere, strange indeed, was created.

“...”

Next, he looked at the thing just in front of her. They were in the centre of the graveyard―a place far deeper than where Jae and Bailey exited the Gluttony Dungeon―and this appeared to be what everything else was built around.

Its appearance was nothing more than a sturdy, white tree, but Jae could feel vast amounts of magic embedded within it. The thick trunk, stretching branches, and spreading roots were all just as pale as the snow that surrounded it.

Jae didn’t know what its purpose was, or if it symbolised anything, but he refrained from touching it―both out of fear of Samael’s reaction and out of the immense Holy Magic that saturated its every square inch.

“...”

Without anywhere else to go, he moved his eyes to look at Samael again. Jae was standing behind her, so it was at the back of her head. Additionally, she was still kneeling and praying with her hands clasped together and her eyes closed.

Still, he felt like an odd pressure was washing over him. The only reason he ignored it was because Bailey seemed unaffected, assuming that it was because he was classed as Undead.

In any case, his gaze became attached to the back of her head as he passively thought.

Because of her, our pace has slowed down considerably. We still need to find the next Dungeon. It should still be around here somewhere, but even just this place is so damn big...

And, as he did so, an idea came to him.

...Would she be willing to show me around? So far, she’s been friendly―probably because her virtue is unrelated to any of the sins I’m the Ruler of―so the possibility isn’t zero.

Unlike Ariel, Samael wasn’t so bloodthirsty for Jae. For that, he was ever-thankful.

She said it herself, that she doesn’t care even if a country is destroyed... If I were to guess, she’s probably an odd one out for the angels. So, it should be fine to be with her while we’re here―as long as we’re with her, she might protect us... Then again, she said that she doesn’t care if a country is destroyed, but here she is, praying for the dead.

That part was something odd that stood out to Jae, but by this point, he already understood that the angel was most likely one of the more unusual of the bunch. Still, it isn’t something for him to complain about, as her being unusual is the only reason she might protect him in the first place.

...Anyway, he thought as his glance then moved to the boy who stood closely by his side, it’s not a bad thing for Bailey to experience things like this.

The boy, reminded by the fact that he was merely a kid, looked a little nervous as he stared at Samael’s back, intimidated by her powerful aura.

It’s good to experience a lot of the world, right? These kinds of things are important, anyway. Seeing someone pray for the dead like this... I don’t know if it was practised in Bahgwud, but at least, by seeing things like this with his own eyes, he’ll learn that life is something to be cherished... I don’t know if I could teach him about that. He shouldn’t become like me.

Comforted by Jae’s presence, Bailey’s apprehension eventually died down. From that point, he watched Samael’s actions with gaze, curious, yet tinged with sadness―perhaps because he sensed the mournful atmosphere or because he knew that her actions were for the peace of the already-dead.

No one knew how much time had passed since she started, but with the continuously darkening sky as an impetus, Samael suddenly broke her kneeling position and stood up.

“Are you finished?”, Jae asked.

Turning around to face him, she replied in a face just as expressionless as before.

“Yes, that is all. It is late, will you two be staying as guests?”

“A guest...?”, startled, his eyebrows raised.

I hoped to at least gain some kind of guaranteed protection while I was here, but to be treated as a guest... No, surely they wouldn’t allow that, right?

“Is it alright for us to be guests?”

“Is it not? In this Holy Country, few hold more authority than I.”

―Ah.

He had thought so before, and with great certainty in his belief, but now it was confirmed. The place in which they stood―it was at the heart of Theosse, the Holy Country of the North, also known as the Blessed or Divine Land.

So I was right. And the magic that fills this graveyard, and that tree―it’s all Holy Magic.

Jae recalled the scene just earlier, where he had touched a grave and was shocked by golden electricity. Even though it wasn’t even designed to be an attack, it still caused a lingering pain and scarred his hand.

He couldn’t imagine anyone else who would have the power to create places like this, flooded with such potent Holy Magic.

It only made sense to assume that the seven Seraphim were the ones who held the highest authority in the Holy Country; they are direct servants of one of the most revered human Gods, after all.

Thinking about it now, he wasn’t yet sure if it was a fortunate or an ill-fated event that he ended up here.

“...You do know what my Title is, and yet you can continue to say, with confidence, that we’ll be safe while we’re here?”

As Jae spoke, his voice perfectly transmitted his worries to the other party.

“You know exactly who I am and what I’ve done, so how can I trust that? And anyway, you know as well as I do what’ll happen if people find out I’m here. There’s no way you would do this for free, so what do you want?”

In fact, Jae’s last point was what he was betting on since the beginning. After all, what was the chance that a God’s messenger would protect an existence like him, and for nothing in return?

Considering Ariel’s reaction when they first met, he couldn’t simply believe that Samael wasn’t hostile to him purely because she was ‘unusual’.

“...”

Samael, in response, only stared back at him in silence. Then, as if to indicate that she was thinking, her steady gaze blurred slightly.

No matter her answer, we will not stay here for any longer than necessary, he told himself.

This was the Divine Land. If nothing strange happened to her since they last talked, then Ariel should be here―That, by itself, was alarming to Jae. However, that isn't all.

Besides her and Samael, there are 5 other Seraphim somewhere in this world, and it wouldn’t at all be unlikely for them to be here in Theosse. Assuming that they would only be hostile to him if he was the Ruler of the equivalent Sin, then, at the very least, three of them would want to kill him immediately.

However, it would be safer to assume that they all want to kill him, with Samael being the exception. Still, even that may change depending on his actions―for better or for worse―so he had no choice but to act with extreme caution.

Eventually, Samael opened her mouth.

“......Death―it is rather unfair.”

As she spoke, she slowly spread her arms and turned her head to gesture around her.

“This, here, is a land of the dead. All of the souls of the people buried here have moved forth to a better place, however, their physical bodies remain.”

She lowered her arms and looked Jae in the eyes with the same deadpan face.

“Be it a messenger of God, a Dragon, or even an Apostle of Death―there is not a single being on this planet that can escape the fate of death, and it is a burden that everyone shares equally.”

The tone of Samael’s ice-cold voice was strong, yet not overbearing.

“This has been one of the fundamental rules of existence, ever since the first life was birthed.”

She was not loud, yet not quiet.

“This law fundamentally cannot be broken, and not even a God can defy this law.”

She spoke in such a way that her voice could be clearly heard by both listeners, and as she continued her speech, the two of them found it harder and harder to know what to say.

“Although I say this, death is not inherently a bad thing. On the contrary, death is necessary to allow weary and expired souls to move on to a higher place. Furthermore, if there was no death, then life could not develop properly. Death is what sustains life, and therefore, it should not be defied.“

Samael, after a quick moment of silence, said only one more line.

“...It is a universal law that ‘death cannot and should not be defied’.”

Her hand then moved to point at Jae.

“You have broken this law.”

“......”

He had nothing to say in response. Well, what could he have said after all that?

With the feeling that anything he says will lead to a bad outcome, Jae’s only action was to gulp anxiously.

“...This place is a sanctuary for all the souls around the world that have nowhere to go. If, for one reason or another, there is a soul that cannot move on to a higher plane, it instead resides here.”

Perhaps it was good that he didn’t open his mouth, as Samael began to resume speaking.

“To answer your question, ‘what I want from you’, I would like you to grant me one request.”

“...And, what might that be...?”

There was no point in asking. Jae already knew what she wanted, and with the darkening sun beginning to set over the western horizon behind her, the sky soon turned twilight.

“Jae. Tell me.”

Staring into her crescent eyes that reflected his own, it felt like staring into an abyss. In that terrifying state, her voice―apathetic and dispassionate as always―crept into his ears.

“What gives you the right to defy death?”

He gulped. The way it was worded caused shivers to run down his spine, although he knew the reality was that she held no hostility...

...Nevertheless, it was an impossible task to rid himself of the image of a blood-smothered, snowy burial ground.

“―Well. I would not say I am ‘dying’ to know, but I am curious. You will tell me, will you not?”

Interrupting his disturbing thoughts, Samael seemed to be asking Jae for an answer. In response, he kept his silence―it was a result of simply not knowing what to say.

Fuck...

Still, he knew he had no choice but to say something.

“.........I...”

After a while of deliberation, he barely managed to come up with a response.

Standing at his extravagant, terraced balcony, an elderly yet dignified man gazed towards where the sun had set over the horizon.

His name was Julian, and his position was one of the highest in all the lands, being the official ‘Saint’ of the God of Light.

“...Another day reaching its end. One day closer to redemption.”

Bringing his hands together, Julian was about to pray when suddenly, there was a knock at the door behind him.

*knock, knock*

“Your Holiness, there is an urgent message from one of His Servants.”

Hearing the familiar woman’s voice from beyond the rich wooden door, he answered without hesitation.

“You may enter.”

Not a moment later, a youthful lady draped in white priestess clothes came through the door, which opened without a single creak.

“Excuse me.”, she spoke as she closed the door behind her.

Not wasting any time, she opened her mouth while bowing towards Julian, who only wore a friendly, smiling expression.

“Your Holiness, the Angel representing Humility, ‘Gravekeeper Samael’, has made a request.”

“...”

Julian’s smile froze for a second upon hearing the word ‘request’, but he remained calm and asked the young priestess.

“...My... From the Keeper of the Divine Graveyard herself...? What could it be?”

It couldn’t be that time already, could it?

“Yes, Your Holiness. The Gravekeeper wishes for a resting room to be prepared for a guest. Additionally, she asks that this be done in utmost secrecy and with caution to ensure not a word is spoken about the matter.”

Following the priestess’ words, Julian placed a hand on his chin in thought.

“...A secret guest...?”, he mumbled to himself. The Saint did not expect this kind of thing from Samael at all, especially since the word ‘request’ was spoken.

Usually, a ‘request’ from the Gravekeeper would mean... However, this time, it’s a different kind of request? A guest, and at that, one she wants to keep a secret―presumably from the other angels...? Hm...

“Priestess. You may relay that the request has been granted. Please inform the Keeper of the Divine Grave that there are private rooms on the ground floor of the Lesser-winged Quarter of the monastery, sector three―her guest may use any one of those.”

“Yes, Your Holiness. Please, have a good evening.”

With a final confirmation, the priestess bowed and left the room. Following her exit, Julian wondered.

“The Keeper of the Divine Grave has a secret guest... For someone who is usually so quiet and who keeps her distance, it is indeed peculiar.”

He then chuckled, “Haha! How interesting...!”, and returned straight back to prayer.

The Saint had no intention of interfering with Samael’s actions by doing something like meeting her guest or inviting them to chat. It was her personal business after all, and as she seemed to want to keep the existence of the guest private, of course, he would respect her wishes.

Most of all, though, it was because this was the first time Samael has ever made a ‘request’ of the Saint. She was a member of the Seraphim―a messenger directly under the God of Light―and boasted a level of authority higher than even he.

There was simply no need for her to make a request. However, she did. To the Saint, that signified it was more than just ‘something important’.

Well then. I can’t help but wonder what will come of this mysterious event.

He suspected the sudden arrival of the angel’s guest would lead to something unimaginable.

Upon arriving at a great hallway with many identical rooms branching off on each side, Samael turned to her two guests, Jae and Bailey, and spoke.

“Any of these rooms are available.”

Still being a little dazed after what happened earlier, Jae vacantly replied.

“There’s a lot. Are they really all free?”

He was curious, but he didn’t care. The only reason he asked was to know if there were going to be any other people in the area that he might have to avoid. Whatever the case, Samael answered his question properly.

“For certain events, all the clergy from around the world gather here in the capital. It only involves those who follow the God of Light, but there are still a lot of them even if you narrow it down, so that is why there are many vacant rooms in the monastery. These rooms are the farthest from any other in the building, and there are few that approach this section of the monastery. Staying here should provide you with the largest amount of secrecy.”

Jae nodded, “I see. That’s good.”

He frustratingly watched as Samael casually opened the door to one of the rooms for the three of them to enter. It was a clean, large enough room with two expensive-looking and comfortable beds, like a five-star hotel.

But what he was concerned about wasn’t the quality of the room.

If only I wasn’t classified as a fucking Undead...

It was about the building itself―almost every little thing inside of it had been blessed with Holy Magic. Sighing quietly to himself, Jae knew that he would need to finish business here as quickly as possible and return to Leila’s Castle.

At least the rooms haven’t been ‘blessed’ with that god awful magic...

As he was thinking such things, Samael opened her mouth to say farewell after seeing the two get familiar with the room.

“...It is late. I shall return in the morning.”

Jae reflexively looked at her in surprise and mustered a smile, “Ah, alright. Thank you for the help. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then, Bailey, who was in the middle of unequipping his weapons, suddenly stopped and gave his gratitude as well.

“Thank you for the help.”

Watching the boy imitate his words, a warm smile quietly appeared on Jae’s face.

After that, Samael left rather awkwardly―perhaps due to the two of them giving a sincere thank you to her―and now, Jae and Bailey were left alone in the room.

As she said, it was already late into the night, so they quickly prepared to go to bed. But, before Bailey could fall asleep, Jae called out to him.

“Bailey. Since the situation has changed, I’ve adapted the plan.”

“Okay. What do we have to do now?”

“Well, the top priority is finding a quick way to exit the country, be it through a Dungeon or otherwise. At the moment, that’s all that matters.”

“But aren’t we going to clear a Dungeon here?”

To the boy’s question, Jae shook his head.

“There is no guarantee that a Dungeon is here in the first place, but even if there is one, it will be extremely difficult to locate since it’s hard for me to use magic in this place.”

Right. Using a magic search radar to find the Dungeon might work, but this place is so fucking big that it would take more than just a short while. As well as that, using magic would alert others to my presence, which is something I can’t risk doing at the moment.

“Sure, we have Samael’s ‘protection’ for now, but we have no idea how long that may last for, or if she’ll even actually protect us if another angel comes.”

...Although, from her reaction earlier, she may be more on my side than I thought. Still, since it’s an unknown factor and something I can’t really control, I can’t rely on her at the moment because of the risk that comes with it.

He thought back to the answer he gave to Samael’s question earlier, as well as her reaction to it.

〔.........I...〕

After a while of silence and deliberation, he barely managed to come up with a response.

〔...I know.〕

He struggled at first, but the more he spoke, the more comfortably Jae could speak.

〔I know that defying death is wrong and unnatural―it isn’t something that should be allowed for anyone.〕

The words flowed out of his mouth like a river, and it was as clear as day to the two people listening, that they were coming straight from the heart.

〔And... I don’t know why, or how, I have that right. It isn’t a right I should have, I’m aware of that.〕

As he continued, Samael only listened in silence―her expressionless, deadpan face, never changing.

〔But I have it, and it has allowed me to accomplish a lot.〕

However, Jae could tell that she was listening intently.

〔It gave me another chance--no, multiple other chances. It has allowed me to meet people I’d do anything for, and it has allowed me to make the lives of those people better.〕

To Samael, many of his words were unexpected.

〔So, to me, it doesn’t matter what it is, because whatever it is, I’m thankful for it.〕

Many of his words spoke of a story she never imagined could span from such a frightening power.

〔Well, of course, I would like to know what it is. I would like to know why I was given the right to defy one of nature’s fundamental laws.〕

Nonetheless, nothing he said was insincere.

〔I swear that I will find that out.〕

Despite her abyssal eyes piercing his own, his words never faltered.

〔You asked me because you want to stop anyone from having this power in the future, right? I agree with you that no one should have this sinister power, even if it’s me.〕

Eventually, her ears perked up slightly. Just now, were his words a bit odd? To her, it certainly seemed so.

〔Once everything is sorted out, I will find out how to get rid of this power, and I will make sure that no one ever gets the right to such a thing again.〕

He made a promise, and for the first time, an expression appeared on Samael’s face as she replied simply.

〔...Thank you.〕

After concentrating on nothing but the sounds leaving his mouth, Samael’s focus began to shift.

〔I understand your intentions, Jae.〕

It was nothing more than a slight uplifting of the edges of her lips, but no matter how minute the movements of her facial muscles, he could feel the pure emotion within it.

〔As the one that has the right over your own death, I trust that you will put an end to what defies nature.〕

―A smile.

〔I shall wait for the day you finally die, so that nature’s balance is restored.〕

......After that, she called for a priestess and requested a room for two... Maybe she really will be on my side until everything is over.

Glancing over to the other bed in the room, Jae noticed Bailey sleeping. Making sure to be quiet, he leant back, sinking his head deep into the high-quality pillow.

It could be alright to rely on her while we’re here...

Recalling the sight of Samael’s almost unnoticeably tiny smile, Jae’s image of her completely changed.

...I think... My answer to her question... was a good one.

Though there were some parts of it he felt a little uneasy about when he thought back, Jae couldn’t deny that everything he said was genuine. It was what he truly believed.

As Jae continued to reflect on not only his meeting and subsequent conversations with Samael but also on the rest of his day, his thoughts slowed down, and his eyes shut.

Soon, he fell asleep.

He expected to see one of two sights when he woke up―either the brightly shining sun peeking through the bedroom window, or a downfall of snow.

However, the thing that entered his vision when he next opened his eyes was neither of these. No, what Jae saw...

―Was a boundless place, akin to the void, along with a pitch-black mist.