NIGUN GRID LUIN:
I wasn't sure what to make of the newcomer. Moments before we had achieved victory, moments before Gazef was skewered to death on the blades of a dozen angels, his life was saved. Right as the angels were closing in, dozens of angels simply…appeared… above the battlefield. There wasn't the usual flash of light that came from summoning an angel. It was as though they were waiting there the whole time, invisible. I recognized what type of angel they were in a heartbeat. They were Archangel Blazes, one of the most superior angels. They could be summoned with a fourth-tier divine spell. I didn't have much time to dedicate myself to training these days, but they were the next type of angel I was planning on learning how to summon. This was secretive knowledge, but one of the members of the black scripture could summon them in a small group with a sixth-tier ritual spell. The volume of angels before us far surpassed anything that that member could, however.
The moment the archangel blazes appeared, they quickly began dispatching the archangel flames. This was easy work for them, they were the direct superior of archangel flames. Our summoned angels were killed within a quarter minute. Worse, several of them formed a wall around Gazef, so none of us could launch a spell to finish him off. Only two members of the Sunlight Scripture could cast Lighting, and I had them stationed on the far edge of the village to make use of the spell's impressive range, should Gazef attempt to flee away from us. After all of our angels were killed, a divine presence, unlike anything I've ever felt before engulfed us.
It wasn't just me who felt it. The entirety of the scripture present tensed up. It was precisely because our scripture was composed entirely of priests that we all knew how powerful this divine presence was. Has one of the gods descended to walk among us once more?
The archangel blazes formed an aisle, bared arms, and from the far end of the aisle emerged the source of that divine presence. An angel unlike any I had ever seen slowly floated through the aisle of angels showing their respects. As captain of the Sunlight Scripture, I had been granted access to read through a translated tome of the Six Great Gods. The tome was a bestiary, describing all sorts of unimaginable monsters. While the Pontifex Maximus had permitted me to idly flip through it for a moment, I was required to read and memorize all of the angels within it. I had a good memory. I had memorized every single angel of all eight tiers they could be summoned from. I could recite them all, their powers, their descriptions, their purposes, word for word by memory. And the angel descending towards Gazef, holy spear in hand, didn't match the descriptions of any of the angels in that divine tome. Unease spread through me.
AURORA BOREALIS:
I landed next to Gazef and took in his physical condition. I had been watching the battle from afar, life essence active, and observed his HP getting lower and lower. When he took that critical hit from that sneak attack, I decided to act. My angels, which were lying low to the ground from behind the house, moved in unison in response to my mental order. I renewed the Greater Invisibility before ordering them to get into position. As soon as the Sunlight Scripture ordered the execution of Gazef, I ordered the death of all of their archangel flames. My angels simply stat-checked theirs. They formed a fancy aisle for me and bore arms. I cast a simple magelight and dispelled my invisibility.
Only after landing did I reflect on what I had done. That was extremely dramatic. I once had a theater phase. It was, upon reflection, a very embarrassing time of my life. I had thought it dead long ago, buried and forgotten. But perhaps not. Putting the mortifying issue of my dramatic act aside, Gazef was close to death. A single stray spell could end him. Time to fix that. I released my grip on Longinus. Rather than drop down as it reasonably should, it floated in place. It rotated vertically, blade pointed to the sky. It hovered to my right, available to grab at a moment's notice. I place my now open hand on Gazef's shoulder.
Lay on Hands
Divine energy poured through me into him, restoring his HP. Visibly, I could see his bruises vanish and the color return to his face. According to Life Essence, he had max HP. He fought well. Those powers he used were completely unfamiliar to me. When I first saw him use them, excitement exploded in my heart. The exploration of the unknown excited me greatly. I would have to ask him about them later. But for now, the Sunlight Scripture.
"You've done well, holding out this long," I told him. "Now, leave the rest to me."
I grabbed my spear and began to walk toward the main group of the Sunlight Scripture. I ordered the angels to spread out over the Warrior Band and to guard them. If the casters from behind were to try anything, they would be quickly killed. They were visibly shaken, throwing nervous glances towards their leader, Nigun. His face exuded unease. He was scared. Good.
"H-Honored Angel, for what purpose have you come here? Why do you interfere with our work, the will of the Six Great Gods?" He asked.
"I have come to kill you all to the last man, zealot who worships false idols." My stride did not break while I answered.
"W-What? What are you saying?"
I continued marching forward, only stopping when I was about twenty meters from them. Silently, I stared them down.
"Honored Angel, are you not a servant of the Gods? What do you mean, false idols?"
"Exactly that. False idols. I am an angel of the highest order, who has encountered many Gods. Yet these Six Great Gods possess not a scrap of Godhood within them. They are merely powerful mortals. False idols."
My words seemed to cause a short circuit within his brain. He stared at me dumbly, mouth slightly open.
"I-Impossible. A lie, it must be a lie! You can't be an angel! You must be a liar, a deceiving snake!" He shouted all the reason he may have once had now lost. "Attack, Principality of Observation!"
The Principality of Observation moved into action instantly. In response to its incoming attack, I released my hold of my spear and caught its incoming mace with my hand. While I could have used my shield, the Principality of Observation couldn't pierce my passive defenses. It was no threat. This sent the message better. It tried to pull its mace back from my grasp, but my strength was superior.
I activated Aura of Despair I in the shape of a cone in their direction. The visible waves of red darkness emanated forth. Fear blossomed in the hearts of every single one of them. Several of them fell on their asses, many dropped down to a single knee. One of them even got down on both knees, clasped their hands in front of them, and began praying. I then deactivated Aura of Despair I to activate Aura of Despair II in a small radius in front of me, affecting only the Principality of Observation.
While Aura of Despair I activated fear in the targets, Aura of Despair II activates panic. Fear provides a debuff that provides a penalty for all of your actions. Panic ensures that the affected targets will flee from the source of the fear at all costs. It becomes impossible to take any offensive action towards the source.
The Principality of Observation released its hold on the mace, turned around, and flew away as fast as it could from me. Many of the casters, NIgun included, followed its flight path, even as it passed over their heads. I allowed it five seconds of fleeing before grabbing my spear and pointing it directly at the angel. In YGGDRASIL, you could cast spells with your bare hands. The spell would do damage correlating to your magic attack stat. It was possible to boost the power of the spells with equipped items. The spell would use the item you had equipped as a conduit. The most popular spell-casting items were wands, staves, crystal balls, and such. You could also cast spells with a weapon in hand. Many spellswords or arcane knights used enchanted weapons that also provided a bonus to spells cast through them. While it was a viable option for dedicated gishes, the bonuses dedicated conduits received far surpassed anything weapons could do.
It was possible to use weapons as conduits despite them providing no bonus to spell casting. Doing so actually provided a minor penalty. The spell would be five percent less efficient, but it was still an option. Longinus provided no such spell-casting bonuses. If I were to use it, all my arcane spells would be slightly inferior. I still used it as a conduit.
[Triplet Maximise Magic: Flame Wheel]
Fire burst out from the tip of my spear. The flames quickly launched forward, coalescing into the three sharp wheels of fire, all of which shot forward in the direction of my spear. All three flame wheels struck the angel within the same second, each one cleaving right through the target. The angel split into several pieces, severed wings and limbs, before dissolving away. Despite my weak magic damage stat, I was still a level one hundred player. The strength gained through levels grows exponentially. The difference between a level one-hundred and a level ninety-nine was far more vast than that of a level one and a level two. There was a similar logic to the strength in tier spells. If I were to cast the first tier spell, firebolt, it's possible the Principality of Observation might have survived with half to low HP. The second-tier spell, ember, would have left the thing on death's door if it had survived. I harbored no doubt that fireball would have killed the thing twice over. The fifth-tier spell, Flame Wheel, which dealt both slashing and fire damage, was overkill. Three of them were me showing off.
The men all turned to stare at me, their fear palpable. I could hear the whispered prayers and chattering teeth. Nigun was panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face. His eyes were shaking erratically. He looked at me, then his men, and then at me once more. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"MEN!" He shouted, the action returning some confidence to him. "Defend me with your lives! I'm going to use our trump card, an angel of the highest order!"
My brow furrowed beneath my helmet. What exactly was this angel he was going to summon? And how? He should be a caster of the fourth tier. The only way he could do so was with the support of an item. He confirmed my suspicions by bringing out a spell-sealing crystal. It was a one-time use item that could hold any single summon within it from the low to high tier. It was impossible to hold a grand-tier summon. He raised the crystal above his head. While I stared at him procuring the item, the rest rained down spells upon me.
Charm Person
Iron Hammer of Righteousness
Hold
Fire Rain
Emerald Sarcophagus
Shockwave
Confusion
Charge of Stalagmite
Open Wounds
Poison
Fear
Word of Curse
Blindness
Not a single spell surpassed the third tier. All were blocked by my High Tier Magical Immunity III. One of them pulled out a sling and shot a metal ball towards me. It too was reflected. I simply waited for them to summon forth their ninth-tier angel. A foe I would have to take moderately seriously. I cast a few silent buffs from my wizard spells, their durations unfortunately hamstrung by Omnipotent Endeavour's penalty.
Greater Full Potential
Greater Luck
Draconic Essence
Freedom
Penetrate Up
I then cast a few more powerful buffs from my paladin classes.
Armor of Agathys
Stoneskin
Wrath
Iron Monger
With my preparations complete, now I merely had to wait. When the group in front of me had begun attacking, the small group behind began flinging spells at the warriors. The archangel blazes had tanked the spells for them, before killing the few casters back there. They now eagerly awaited orders. As soon as the summoned angel appears, I'll have them dispatch the mooks. For now, they would be on standby.
Nigun broke the crystal and light descended over the land. Ethereal feathers floated in the sky, each emitting a bright light. A great light glowed above Nigun. From it, numerous wings burst forth. Two large wings emerged from its back, while several smaller wings emerged from its waist and curled down, wrapping from its torso. Two metal arms emerged from a metallic breastplate, and it had a glowing sigil in place of a head. A grand golden mace was equipped in both hands.
"Behold, Dominion Authority!" Nigun shouted triumphantly.
The men cheered and shouted, eager for salvation.
"I didn't think I'd have to call on its greatness for this mission, but you've proved powerful enough to face its might. In the past, a Dominion Authority once killed a demon god." Upon seeing my silence, he continued.
"Regretting your folly, false angel? I wouldn't blame you if you were."
I still said nothing, a mixture of disappointment at the situation and disappointment at myself pooling within me.
"No final words? Very well then. Dominion Authority! Smite him at once!"
The angel responded to his order. The Dominion Authority's mace shattered within its grasp, the shards circling and orbiting it. The same one-time use skill they possessed in YGGDRASIL. The shards glowed bright. And then the Dominion Authority cast its spell.
Holy Smite
Despite sharing the name with Smite, the trademark power of the paladin, this was a different power. It was a seventh-tier divine spell, dealing holy damage in a small AOE. It was a spell I possessed, courtesy of some of my angel levels. Bright light rained down from the sky, surrounding me. I felt pain throughout my whole. It wasn't a lot of pain, but it was more than anything I had experienced in my time on Earth. Despite the pain, my head was clear. Would I have reacted the same on Earth? Or was my composure thanks to my change?
I had begun to laugh, despite the situation. The spell ended, yet I was still laughing. It wasn't just the humor of their trump card being laughably weak. It was also the nervousness I felt towards my situation. I truly was in another world, no longer a human, with a divine vow branded onto my soul. I had understood and accepted it on a rational level pretty quickly. Life on Earth was dull enough that I quickly gave up all attachments I had to that place. But now it was registering on an emotional level. The Holy Smite had ended, yet I continued to give a deep laugh.
The sight of me laughing while within the attack of the Dominion Authority had shattered any composure they clung to beyond repair. They began sobbing and begging. I didn't think Nigun was saying anything, just making noises. The Dominion Authority prepared for another Holy Smite. Light gathered in the sky above me.
"You were given one free strike," I said. "No more."
I raised my shield above my head. A blue light in the shape of a dome enveloped me. The Holy Smite struck, but it didn't pierce my defense. The energy from the attack flowed from my shield into me. I felt myself slightly strengthened, gaining temporary stat buffs from the absorbed spells. The Dominion Authority prepared for a third attack, but I acted first. I drew my arm back and angled my spear. A bright fire erupted around it. I threw Longinus with all my might.
Searing Smite
The spear struck the Dominion Authority. The fire from the spear spread throughout its entire body, burning it to a crisp. Longinus teleported back into my hand with a bright flash. With the Dominion Authority dead, the Sunlight Scripture all collapsed to their knees, like puppets whose strings have been cut.
"What sort of monster are you?" Nigun quietly asked.
"An angel of the highest order," I responded.
I then drew upon three charges of High-Tier Angel. Three Dominion Authorities appeared by my side. They all flew forward, surrounding them from all directions. I could have killed them with a single fireball now, but I did this as a display of power. Not for the dead men standing before me, but for the Warrior Band behind me. More specifically, for Gazef Stronoff. I wanted him to relay to Re-Estize what I was capable of. To relay my strength to the king.
"A-Are the gods truly…false idols?" Nigun asked, in a weaker voice than before.
"Yes. Or more accurately, there were likely individuals akin to myself. Entities possessing supreme power, but not true gods. They performed the grand deeds you know them for, but they hear no prayers and don't perform any blessings. They're dead now."
Nigun's head simply hung in despair. I transmitted a command to my angels.
Thousand holy lance
Each Dominion Authority shattered their mace. The shards orbited them, glowing. Contrary to the name of the spell, only a few dozen glowing spears appeared around the trio. A moment passed before all of the spears launched forward, A single spear would be enough to kill one of the men thrice over. Instead, each man was pierced by at least four.
I dismissed all of the angels. Without the light from the Dominion Authorities, the surroundings felt dark. I hadn't noticed that sundown had started throughout the battle. A rich word to use, but not entirely inaccurate. Still, enough light radiated from my wings alone to make me brighter than a bonfire. I turned around, to where Gazef was staring at me. No, he was staring over my shoulder, at the corpses of the Sunlight Scripture. I dismissed my shield and spear and began walking forward. My action seemed to have prompted him out of his daze.
"Lord Borealis…I…" He didn't seem to know what to do or how to respond.
"I trust this fulfills the terms of our agreement?" I asked. Partially to remind him of our agreement, and partially to remove the onus of initiating dialogue. Instead, all he had to do was respond with a simple "Yes" instead of coming up with something to say. Given his near-death experience and my display of power, he ought to be mentally exhausted. Being considerate of his current state was the least I could do, especially because I contributed to it in the first place.
"Yes, thank you for your aid today. Were it not for your efforts, all of our lives would have been lost." He replied, a genuine smile on his face. He turned his gaze to his warriors, and his smile dropped. Of his forty or so soldiers, eight had died in the fight. Almost a quarter. Some of the main were on their knees, clutching the hands of their fallen comrades, shoulders shaking in despair. I could tell by the drop in Gazef's shoulders that he harbored the same sentiment on the inside.
I began walking toward the injured and dead men. Gazef followed behind me, boots crunching the grass. As I neared towards the fallen, my view of them got better. I was staring at one of the dead's faces. He looked…troubled. His final moments were stressful combat, which ended with a peak of agony. And it reflected in his face. My body moving before my mind, I knelt before the corpse and touched his forehead with my middle and forefinger.
Raise Dead
The fifth-tier resurrection spell removed five levels from the target whenever they were revived with it. For that reason, it was extremely unpopular. No one in YGGDRASIL would ever accept the resurrection. No one ever had it cast on them when they died. Far superior alternatives existed in the higher tiers. I could use such resurrection spells. However, I chose Raise Dead. The reason was because I wanted there to be a consequence, both for the men who died here and for myself. This may seem presumptuous to even think, but I felt as though life should hold some value. That death wasn't something to simply be waved away. Perhaps hypocritical of me, given that I felt like a divine nepo-baby, granted supreme powers and thrust into a world filled with the weak. In YGGDRASIL, death's only inconvenience was the loss of gear. Here, though, it was truly life. These weren't game avatars or static NPCs. They were people. Living, breathing people.
The man's eyes shot open, and he gasped for breath. I heard gasps of awe come from the surrounding men. I stood tall and walked over to the next corpse.
Raise Dead
His eyes shot open, and he began breathing. The warrior who was holding onto his corpse had a grievous wound across his shoulder. I could make out sinew and bone beneath the blood.
Lay on Hands
With a touch, the skin was shiny and clean, as unmarred as the day he was born. The man looked at me with wide eyes before bowing his head.
"Thank you, Lord Borealis. Thank you."
I moved on. Whenever I came to a corpse, I resurrected it with Raise Dead. Whenever I noticed a significant wound, I healed it with Lay on Hands. By the time I was done, all eight corpses were now breathing, getting their bearings, and touching the holes in their armor where they received mortal wounds. Not a single man clutched an injury in pain. Their gratitude was as palpable as the fear of the Sunlight Scripture's. Gazef's eyes shone with barely suppressed emotion.
He took a breath, wiped his eyes, and walked towards me. He moved to kneel before me, but I stopped him with a gauntlet on his shoulders. I spoke first.
"For you and your comrade's bravery and valor, and your willingness to defend the residents of this country, I have returned your fallen men to life. While I'm aware the locals here capable of such deeds charge steep prices for it, you needn't worry about such a thing with me."
He took a moment to digest my words before nodding.
"Words cannot even begin to convey my gratitude, Lord Borealis." He looked at his warriors, assessing their situation with a sharp eye. The ones who weren't badly injured from the start had begun to gather their horses. "I think my men and I will recover in the village for the night before returning to the royal capital. Would you care to join us? Even if you did your deeds for our agreement, I'm sure His Majesty the King would be glad to meet you and personally offer you a reward."
I considered my circumstances for a moment. As appealing as meeting this King sounded, I decided against it for now.
"I'll take a rain check on that for now." It was a mistake to use that phrase. I felt like I could physically see the three red question marks floating over Gazef's head.
"Er, I'm willing to meet with him, but I won't be traveling with you." I moved to clarify. "I'll take my time getting to the Royal Capital, so the meeting won't occur right away."
Gazef nodded in understanding.
"Very well then. Whenever you arrive in the city of Re-Estize, please don't hesitate to seek me out." He said.
"This is farewell for now then, I suppose." I stuck my hand out to him. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Warrior-Captain."
"Likewise, Lord Borealis." He replied, firmly shaking my hand.
"Aurora. Call me Aurora."
His eyes widened for a moment before creasing into a smile.
"Only if you call me Gazef."
I released the handshake and spread my wings.
"Farewell, Gazef."
"Farewell, Aurora."
GAZEF STRONOFF:
The angel flew into the night sky, wings glowing brilliantly. As I stared at the glow growing ever-distant, I considered the strange circumstances that brought us together. The Slane Theocracy had colluded with the corrupt nobles to plot my death to collapse the kingdom. To save the kingdom, my men's lives, and my own life, I had entered into a deal with the strange angel. He claimed that the debt I owed wouldn't impede my service to the king or country, and I felt inclined to believe him. His power was unimaginable.
I instinctively knew the moment I had laid eyes on him that he was extremely dangerous, but the power he displayed went above and beyond my wildest expectations. That man, the captain of the Sunlight Scripture, claimed that the supreme angel he summoned had killed one of the demon gods. Aurora killed it in one attack and then summoned three more.
That kind of power was unbeatable by humans. If he were to become a foe of the Re-Estize Kingdom, then the nation's status would go from "unstable" to "doomed beyond salvation" instantly. Fortunately, he seemed like a reasonable individual with a positive disposition toward the kingdom or at least the people within it.
And even more, he resurrected and healed all of us without wanting us to pay. The healing could be understood as generous, but resurrecting the dead? Insane. If the churches heard of an individual granting healing and resurrections for free, they would throw a fit. Or perhaps not. Is an angel exempt from such things? Even if he wasn't, what could they do about it? The churches regulated the rates of healing magic, Even the leader of Blue Rose, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, the only priestess in Re-Estize capable of resurrection, had to follow their regulations for her magic. But the angel? He wasn't a normal angel, whatever the hell that meant. He possessed autonomy and could speak. He had claimed he was an "angel of the highest order" but was that just empty boasting? I didn't think so.
I could feel my exhaustion deepen from mere thinking. Despite the healing he provided restoring my stamina, I was still mentally exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to lie down and close my eyes. Hell, doing so on the cold dirt felt tempting. Looking at my men's faces, I could tell they felt the same way I did.
No, Gazef, I told myself. We have some dignity. I told my men to gather their horses and return to Carne Village. We were going to return to E-Rantel first thing in the morning. That meant going to bed as soon as possible. We returned to the village, where I spoke with the chief. I told him what had occurred and requested food and shelter. I offered to pay thrice the asking price the food would normally cost, but the chief negotiated me down to twice. Normally it's the other way around. With a hot meal in my stomach and a soft bed to lie in, I felt happy, despite the stressful week. As sleep began to overtake me, I realized that waking up first thing in the morning was extremely ambitious.