Chapter 017 — Haagenti (2)
An Omen.
It was a calamity.
A curse cast upon the world by someone—a disaster destined to bring about the destruction of the world.
From ancient times until now, they had faced dozens of Omens.
And every single time, it had ended with Helena’s sacrifice.
If this is real, I don’t have any more time to waste.
Perhaps Mikael’s impatience amused him, because Haagenti remained completely relaxed.
“Don’t take it so seriously. You should find some peace of mind.”
A chair and table rose from the ground, followed by a teacup.
At some point, the cup had even been transformed to contain coffee.
Slurp.
Haagenti sat down and slightly lifted the cup before drinking, careful not to spill any coffee on the bull skull covering his head.
On the surface, he looked completely full of openings.
But in Mikael’s eyes, Haagenti was prepared to counterattack at any moment.
“Even without me, many servants have already begun establishing themselves in this world.”
Haagenti casually swirled the cup as he brought up the subject.
Mikael had already heard something similar from Johan.
“There are free-spirited ones like me, of course. But surely you already know? Most demons obey the Sins absolutely.”
Even Mikael still did not know what the Seven Deadly Sins were planning.
There was only one thing he knew.
Whenever an Omen appeared, the Seven Deadly Sins were always interested in it.
Which meant—
“There must already be demons who have completed their Descent under the orders of the Sins. So, what will you do now?”
Haagenti asked with obvious amusement in his voice.
He sounded almost like a priest asking whether Mikael was capable of overcoming a divine trial.
“Without the Saintess, can you truly face the Seventy-Two Demons?”
Mikael fell silent at the question.
Realistically speaking—
No.
It was impossible.
Even the incomplete Haagenti standing before him was already difficult enough to deal with.
Even if Mikael somehow managed to overcome Haagenti, there would still be the enemies who came afterward.
With this half-assed level of power, I can’t accomplish anything.
Thinking about the enemies he would eventually face, his current strength was nowhere near enough.
He had to find Helena.
He also had to recover the power and tools he had used in the past.
And with the situation suddenly becoming this urgent, recruiting knights or priests had become nearly impossible as well.
The real question is why this bastard is asking me something like this….
The fact that Haagenti wanted to talk meant he wanted something from Mikael.
Especially with the way he spoke about the Sins.
There was a clear sense of disloyalty in his tone.
It felt like Haagenti was planning to cause one hell of an incident.
“Stop dragging this out and just say what you want.”
“You already know, don’t you? No matter how many hundreds or thousands of times you try, you fail.”
Haagenti continued calmly.
“Hell is the same. There are demons like me who wish to put an end to this endless cycle.”
Mikael’s pupils widened at the new information.
Now that he thought about it, Mikael was not the only one trapped in this endless cycle.
If he changed his way of thinking and considered that even demons might have grown dissatisfied with it—
A completely new possibility emerged.
Internal conflict among the demons.
The battle for hierarchy between demons that had been settled long ago could begin again.
“So, I shall make you an offer.”
Haagenti put down his cup and extended his hand.
“Instead, serve me.”
“Believe in me.”
“The world calls me the Demon of Transformation. Some call me one who seeks to become a god, while others call me a sage.”
He held out his hand toward Mikael.
“If it is me, I can surpass the Seven Deadly Sins and become the god who grants whatever it is you desire.”
“Will you take this hand?”
For a moment, Mikael’s mind went blank.
Serve him?
Surpass the Seven Deadly Sins?
Had he heard that correctly?
He repeated Haagenti’s words several times in his head.
But the hand Haagenti continued holding out proved that Mikael had not misunderstood.
At this point, Mikael seriously wondered if Haagenti had begun genuinely believing he was a god.
“Pfft—Puhahahahahaha!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Mikael grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter.
“…So negotiations have failed? I thought it was quite a good proposal.”
Mikael’s laughter abruptly disappeared.
A bitter expression appeared on his face.
“You chose the wrong offer.”
“If you’d suggested an alliance instead of asking me to serve you, I might’ve at least considered it.”
He looked directly at Haagenti.
“Because no one but me can fulfill my wish.”
“Well, fine.”
Haagenti shrugged.
“If you refused, I was planning to force you to follow me anyway.”
Rumble—
The table and chair sank back into the ground.
Haagenti began transforming his body.
Crack—crack.
Of his two pairs of arms, one pair shrank and twisted inward before expanding again around his waist.
Another transformation was about to begin.
“Harmonía.”
Deciding there was nothing to gain from dragging this out, Mikael concentrated his aura into his right arm.
The newly formed flames, along with the White Flames already scattered around the area, began gathering into a single point.
Using it again is going to be rough….
But this was the time to push himself.
It was the technique that had defeated Taedeung.
Even Haagenti could not simply ignore it.
Whoooooom!
Haagenti looked at the sphere made entirely of White Flame and gave an incredulous laugh.
“You’re acting more like the villain here. Can’t you at least wait until I finish transforming?”
“Why the hell would I wait around just to make things easier for you?”
The moment Mikael finished speaking—
His enormous mass of fire surged toward Haagenti.
Haagenti watched the approaching sphere with a completely dry expression.
“Pointless.”
Just as he had done when blocking Libertas, Haagenti swung one of his shell-covered arms.
BOOOOOOM!
The sphere exploded.
A violent storm erupted from the collision.
Even in the face of the backlash created by both forces, Haagenti still had enough composure to sweep his arm through the flames and extinguish them so the followers behind him would not be harmed.
“Ohhh! Father! You are watching over us!”
Ignoring the followers who cried out in emotion, Haagenti searched for Mikael.
Blocking the powerful attack had obscured his vision, even if only for an instant.
Which meant Mikael had been planning something.
And there was only one thing nearby he could possibly be aiming for.
Crack. Crack.
Haagenti bent forward into a four-legged stance.
His body expanded, tearing through his clothes, while his arms and legs began transforming into those of a hairless beast.
Then—
Tap!
He leaped toward the place where Noah and Enoch lay collapsed.
Moving on all fours like a cheetah—the fastest animal on land—Haagenti closed the distance in an instant.
BANG!
Haagenti swung his razor-sharp claws.
But his attack stopped in midair.
A precisely formed barrier of aura around Mikael’s arm had blocked the claws.
“Sharp bastard.”
Mikael had used the strongest technique currently available to him.
It had not been enough to seriously damage Haagenti.
But that’s enough.
He had stopped Haagenti’s movement for just a moment.
That alone had accomplished Mikael’s objective.
“Noah. Enoch.”
Mikael had reached a position where he could protect the Divine Beasts.
“You can relax now.”
Perhaps because so much of their energy had been drained for the Descent, the two Divine Beasts did not respond.
They simply panted heavily with half-unfocused eyes.
“Risking yourself for Divine Beasts that are already half-dead. You’ve gotten soft.”
“Still better than saving a bunch of worthless insect followers.”
Crackle—!
