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HP9999999999 Chapter 31




It was exactly two days ago that the lesser angelic horde had been vanquished by Anri and Peta. Within a certain room built into the Luminous Fort of the Seven Stars, four people had been gathered together in the exact same manner as they had before. These were Ceal, Gabri, Micha, and Raphae – four of the Seven Angels of the Stars.
“Ieg’s absence is entirely forgivable, given that the Demon Hand Mirror has yet to be destroyed. But what of Khiel? Has he still not come today?”
A wrinkle twisted Ceal’s brow as she spoke.
“Oh please, that knucklehead wouldn’t come unless he got fired from his part-time job or somethin’. But forget about him. Why’d ya call us here again, Ceal?”
No sooner had he finished his sentence when recollection dawned on his face.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. We totally ordered those lesser angels to take lil’ Anri hostage, didn’t we? I get it, so this is some kinda celebration. So? Where’s the minx now?”
“…Their mission to capture her ended in failure. She massacred them all alongside another of the High King’s subordinates. Someone named Peta.”
This time, Ceal forced her words through a face contorted by complete loathing.
“Whaddaya mean, they failed?! Come on; you’ve gotta be yankin’ my chain! Do you have any idea how much I was lookin’ forward ta torturin’ her, do ya? I got all excited for nothin’, damn it!”
“How dare you, Gabri! How can you just act so callous when a thousand lesser angels have been sent to the slaughter?!”
Gabri met Ceal’s enraged roars with a collected expression, and brought his hands together behind his head.
“Come on, Ceal, don’t let it out on me. Aren’t you the one who decided to go with the idea in the first place?”
“Kuh…!”
“And ‘sides, they’d be better off gettin’ crushed by the High King. But by his underlings? How weak can these lesser angels get, huh?! Like a thousand of ‘em faced off against two people! This is startin’ to sound like some major punchline, don’t ya think so?! Ahahahahah!”
Gabri’s laughter dismissed any gravity to the situation, and Ceal could only keep silent as her clenched fists began to quake. She finally took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
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“…You are indeed correct. I should take the blame this time. I was the one who underestimated the High King’s followers as much as I did.”
“Woah, would ya look at that, Ceal’s bein’ all meek. What’s next, is it gonna snow tomorrow?”
“We live above the clouds. It never snows.”
Micha had stopped reaching for her candy, just for the sake of retorting with a comedic quip.
“What was that? It was a damn joke, couldn’t ya tell? You can’t just pitch in whenever it suits ya, Micha!”
“…”
Micha returned to her silent ways and continued dutifully gorging herself on her sweets.
“So what’re we gonna do now, huh? Still gonna send lesser angels out to capture our lil’ Anri?”
“L-Let’s not do that, I’m begging you! If they wind up being killed again, then…!”
Raphae’s voice was shaking.
“…A good question. Now that we know full well that the High King’s subordinates boast enough power to wield their position, we would only be adding to a pile of already meaningless sacrifices. That said, we can hardly remain idle and wait for the High King to execute humanity down to the last man.”
“Keheh. I see where this is goin’. All we can do now is break the seal on the Gate of the Beast of Legend, huh?”
The very atmosphere inside the room seemed to warp itself upon Gabri’s statement. After some time, Raphae rose from his seat. His face was white as a sheet.
“Are you listening to yourself, Gabri?! You’re just joking, right?!”
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“Not even close. There’s probably nothin’ else out there that can take on the High King. The Beast of Legend is our best shot.”
“But removing the seal on the Gate needs sacrifices! A thousand human souls! There’s no way we can just let that happen…!”
“Not quite… There is some truth to what Gabri says.”
“C-Ceal?!”
Raphae stared at Ceal disbelievingly.
“It is no stretch to assume that the High King’s power dwarves our own. I can see no other option if we wish to see him vanquished but to break the seal. All we know is that it was, allegedly, this very beast that struck down the High King so long ago.”
“So I’m guessin’ that means we’re on the same page, huh, Ceal?”
“…”
Ceal folded her arms and closed her eyes. Finally, she gave a small nod that showed just how bitter the decision must have tasted to her.
“Hahah, so it’s decided! So? Who’re we gonna get to hunt us some human souls? Gonna leave it to the lesser angels again?”
“…I believe this may be too much for them to handle. To make matters worse, what happened to them occurred only two days ago and is fresh in their minds. Their morale has been gravely injured as well. Therefore, we must leave this soul hunt to our own hands.”
“Alriiiight! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Thing’s are finally gettin’ steamy over here!”
“Gabri. This is by no means a game. Never forget that.”
“Sure, whatever. I got it.”
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“No, please! Wait!”
A change overcame Raphae, his voice rising to a scream.
“Ceal, you told me, remember?! You told me that the Seven Angels of the Stars have a duty to protect humanity! And now we’re supposed to go out and hunt for human souls?! That’s just putting the cart before the horse!”
“…I completely understand how you feel on the matter. But it is as I have said. We do not have the leisure to decide what methods we use to destroy the High King. Or do you have any other ideas that might help us?”
“That… That’s just…!”
“We will offer a small number of sacrifices. Then the High King will be defeated, and humanity would be saved. Or would you rather sit back and gawk as he eradicates all of mankind? I do not think I need to tell you which is the better option.”
“…!”
Raphae, finding nothing to say that might counter her point, simply bit down on his lip and was incapable of anything else.
“What of you, Micha? Do you have anything to say on the issue?”
“…”
Micha just shook her head from side to side, her mouth working on grinding her sweet treats to bits and pieces, seemingly without a care in the world.
“Alrighty, let’s get goin’! On to the human lands!”
“Wait, Gabri. If we wish to do this as quickly as we can, then the cooperation of humans is indispensable. Before we can do anything else, we must negotiate with those humans of higher social standing.”
“Aw come on, that ain’t fun. Fine, I guess. I’ll just get down to the negotiatin’ then.”
“Leave negotiations to you? You must be joking. I will be the one to take care of that.”
“Ohoh, so the esteemed leader of the Seven Angels of the Stars is gonna take this on directly, huh? Well, not that I care.”
“I will be taking my leave. All of you must stand by until I return.”
And so, Ceal headed towards the human realms, ready to turn their plan to hunt human souls into practice.