"Azazel?"
Raon narrowed his gaze, scrutinizing the sphere of red fluff that claimed the title of Archangel.
"Was there actually an agent of heaven with that name?"
Back when Uriel had first manifested, Wrath had listed the names of the various Archangels. Since this particular name hadn't been mentioned then, Raon tilted his head, his expression clouding with skepticism.
[Ha! You truly don't recognize me?]
Azazel flicked out a long tongue, her expression one of sheer disbelief.
[To be ignorant of me, the most prominent among all Archangels—what a bottomless pit of human stupidity you are!]
She stared at Raon with a look of profound pity and let out a sharp snort.
[Then again, perhaps it is only natural. If a common mortal were to truly behold my majesty, their vision would surely be extinguished!]
Azazel continued to chatter incessantly like a restless bird, claiming that failing to recognize her was practically a cardinal sin.
"My ears are starting to throb."
Darkan gave a rough shake to Azazel’s tail, which he was still gripping.
"Would it be simpler if I just crushed her?"
He scowled, clearly finding the high-pitched vibrations of Azazel’s voice unbearable.
[Crush me?]
Azazel erupted into a hollow, mocking laugh.
[A pathetic human thinks they can destroy me? Let us see if you maintain that arrogance once I’ve cast you into the eternal pits of fire!]
She snarled at him, daring him to make a move.
'Do you have any knowledge of this angel calling herself Azazel?'
Raon shifted his focus toward Wrath, gesturing toward the red creature with his chin.
-Hah!
Wrath let out an exhausted, irritated sigh.
-Why of all things is that creature present here!
Judging by the way Wrath stared at Azazel, it was clear there was a history between them.
'What exactly is that red puff of wool?'
Raon pointed directly at Azazel, who bore a striking resemblance to Wrath’s own appearance.
-That thing...
Wrath clicked his tongue in distaste before explaining.
-An entity that was cast out of the heavens due to her own depravity. A fallen angel!
He shook his head firmly, clarifying that Azazel was no longer an Archangel but a disgraced exile.
"A fallen angel?"
Surprised by Wrath’s revelation, Raon repeated the phrase aloud.
[Fa—Fallen?!]
Azazel let out a sharp, indignant shriek.
[I am merely down here on a brief sabbatical! I am absolutely not a fallen being!]
She protested violently, shaking her head as she tried to distance herself from the label.
"Raon Zieghart."
Darkan wrinkled his nose in annoyance while staring at the squirming Azazel.
"The noise is excessive. Shall I cut through her?"
He shifted his grip on the heavy sword he had been leaning on, looking ready to silence the creature permanently.
[Fine! Try your luck at striking me!]
Azazel lifted her chin defiantly, acting as though she were untouchable.
[The moment your blade leaves its sheath, I will tear your very limbs apart!]
Her eyes glowed with a predatory light, suggesting she possessed some hidden trump card.
"Hold on."
Raon held up a hand to de-escalate the tension between Darkan and Azazel.
'Wrath. What led to her being cast out?'
To navigate the current situation, Raon needed to understand Azazel's background, so he pressed Wrath for more details.
-Azazel was, in human terms, a specialist in intelligence gathering.
Wrath clicked his tongue while observing the creature's crimson eyes.
'A spy?'
-To put it plainly, she was a sentry dispatched from the celestial realm to monitor the world and observe the lives of mortals.
He explained that Azazel was an observer meant to track the spread of corruption among humanity. It sounded remarkably similar to the roles played by members of the Shadow Agents or those within the Black Market.
'They assigned an Archangel to simple reconnaissance? That seems like a poor use of such power.'
Raon wasn't dismissing the value of information, but he found it odd that someone of such high standing would be relegated to simple monitoring.
-Because the risk of falling to earthly temptation is high.
Wrath muttered darkly.
-The lures of this world are far more treacherous than you realize. Aside from <Wrath>, <Greed>, <Lust>, <Pride>, <Gluttony>, <Envy>, and <Sloth>, there are a million other cravings waiting to ensnare you. It was decided that only someone with immense mental fortitude could withstand it.
He shook his head, noting how difficult it was for extra-dimensional beings to keep their purity while on the continent.
-However, that one, despite her rank, succumbed to the base desires of this realm. She didn't just fall; she went as far as summoning lords of the underworld and ruining innocent lives—she is a complete menace!
Wrath snorted, clearly disgusted by her lack of discipline.
-Eventually, she was apprehended by Uriel and the other Archangels. She was thrown into the deepest, most isolated abyss, but by then, the number of lives she had corrupted was beyond counting.
He sneered, viewing the story as a prime example of the hypocrisy found within the celestial ranks.
'Why was such a significant event never recorded in history?'
Raon found it strange that the tale of a high-ranking angel spreading evil hadn't been passed down through the ages.
'Why do you think? Those arrogant Angels scrubbed the records to save face!'
Wrath dismissed the question with a wave of his hand, as if the answer were obvious.
'I figured as much.'
Raon gave a small, cynical laugh. The behavior of the heavens was exactly as he expected; there truly wasn't much of a moral gap between Angels and Demons.
-The heavens were fools. A simpleton like her was never going to resist the lures of this world!
Wrath shook his head, convinced the mission was doomed from the start.
-You would need the iron will of someone like this Great King to remain untainted!
He smirked, boasting that he himself was immune to such weaknesses.
'...Right.'
Raon allowed a faint, knowing smile to cross his lips.
'I think I understand the situation now.'
Despite being a Great Monarch of the Devildom, Wrath had completely surrendered to the allure of earthly cuisine. Using Wrath as a reference point, Raon could see exactly why the heavens felt the need to send high-ranking entities just to handle basic spying.
-W-what?
Wrath’s eyes flickered with unease.
-Why are you looking at me like that! This Great King is nothing like that degenerate!
He bared his teeth, insisting he would never succumb to temptation.
'Of course you won't.'
Raon dismissed the claim as impossible and turned his attention back to the fallen angel.
"Azazel, the Outcast."
With the necessary information in hand, Raon projected an authoritative tone to bring the red puff of fur under his control.
[Wh-what!]
Azazel flinched, visibly unsettled by the sudden weight in Raon’s voice.
[I told you, I am not a fallen being! I am a glorious Archangel!]
She denied it frantically, refusing to accept her status.
"You've been rotting in the most desolate pit of the abyss, haven't you?"
Raon looked down at her, his nod confirming his knowledge.
[You... how could a mere mortal know of that place!]
Azazel’s lips trembled in shock.
"Do you have a desire to reclaim your former title?"
At that moment, Raon’s eyes became clear and piercing, reminiscent of his persona as the Sage Doraen.
[Gulp.]
Azazel swallowed hard, staring up at him in a mix of fear and curiosity.
[A—a lowly human has no right to speak of such things...]
"I have the means to assist you."
Raon spoke softly but firmly, suggesting he could help her return to her former glory.
[Wait... what?]
Azazel stared at him blankly, blindsided by the offer.
-You... surely you aren't!
Wrath gasped, sensing Raon’s impending scheme.
-You're going to weave another web of lies!
He ground his teeth, silently begging Raon to stop his deceptive ways.
[How could a human possibly help someone like me!]
Azazel waved her paws dismissively, treating the idea as a joke.
"There are seven seats for Archangels. If enough of those positions are vacated, the heavens will have no choice but to reinstate you to fill the void."
Raon offered a chilling smile, implying he would be the one to create those openings.
[You honestly think you can eliminate Archangels? Don't be absurd!]
Azazel snorted, refusing to believe a human could pull off such a feat.
"Observe this."
Raon raised his hand, releasing the lingering essence of Archangel Sariel—whom he had previously slain with his Soul Sword—and letting it drift toward Azazel.
[Th-this is...!]
Azazel froze, her eyes widening in horror as she recognized the fading traces of Sariel’s spirit.
[You... how did you obtain this...]
"I ended him."
Raon replied simply, making the feat sound trivial.
[What...]
Azazel was rendered speechless, her entire form trembling as she looked at him.
"Currently, only one seat is empty, which isn't enough for your return."
Raon closed his hand, making the remnants of Sariel’s soul vanish.
"But if a second seat opens up—specifically Uriel’s—they will be forced to look to you."
[That would mean...]
Azazel finally caught on to Raon’s plan, her tail twitching with nervous excitement.
"Uriel hasn't arrived yet, has he? If you assist me in taking him down, I will ensure you are restored to your rank."
Raon extended a hand toward her, proposing a dark alliance.
[Hmm...]
Azazel let out a low, conflicted sound, staring at his hand as she weighed her options.
"Uriel was the one who cast you into that dark hole, wasn't he? Don't you want the chance to pay him back for your suffering?"
Raon gestured for her to come closer.
[Wait... you said you didn't know who I was at first, so how do you know all this...]
Azazel narrowed her eyes, suddenly suspicious of his earlier confusion.
"That was merely the vessel of this Great King speaking."
Raon released a faint ripple of Wrath’s Authority while lifting his chin with practiced arrogance.
[Th—this Great King?]
Azazel felt the shift in his presence and recoiled instinctively.
[You... it can't be!]
"Indeed. You stand before the Monarch of Wrath."
Raon perfectly mimicked Wrath’s haughty demeanor, nodding with cold condescension.
[Wrath! It's you!]
Azazel bit her lip, finally convinced.
-Aaaaaargh!
Wrath clutched his head in agony.
-Not again! You're exploiting my name again! You absolute swindler!
He wailed, desperate for Raon to stop using his identity for his schemes.
"...."
Raon ignored the internal screaming and looked over at Darkan.
"Yaaaawn!"
Darkan was mid-yawn, clearly bored by the conversation with a creature that wasn't a warrior. Raon was glad for the lack of interest, but he knew he needed to wrap this up.
"This is your final opportunity."
Raon leaned down, bringing his face level with Azazel’s.
"Help me kill Uriel and reclaim your throne. Or stay here as a disgraced outcast until the other Archangels decide to consume what's left of you. The choice is yours."
He withdrew his hand, leaving her with an ultimatum that was essentially a foregone conclusion.
[Grrrr!]
Azazel chewed her lip in deep thought, but eventually, she looked up, resigned to the path he had laid out.
[Fi—fine! But what is the plan!]
She panted slightly, eager to hear how they would proceed.
"First, explain how the Archangels are able to exert power here that defies the Law of Causality."
Raon sought to understand how they maintained their presence on the continent for so long.
[It is just as you suspected.]
Azazel pointed to herself, her eyes flashing with resentment.
[Those bastards are using me as a Barrier Axis to anchor a connection between this world and the heavens! Through me, they channel divine energy directly, allowing them to act without restraint!]
She gestured wildly, cursing the arrangement.
"And why do they keep coming to this specific temple?"
Raon prompted her to continue.
[They manifest here to siphoned off portions of my soul. Once they've absorbed enough, they can maintain their divine power even away from this temple.]
Azazel ground her teeth with such force it echoed, clearly pained by the memory of her soul being harvested.
"I see."
Raon gave a small click of his tongue.
"Then the ideal time to strike is when Uriel attempts to take another piece of your soul."
Just as he was finalizing the plan in his mind...
-Look behind you!
'What...?'
Raon spun around at Wrath’s desperate shout.
Whoooooooosh!
A man of impossible beauty appeared, draped in robes of holy fire. With golden hair that seemed to radiate sunlight and piercing blue eyes meant to judge the wicked, he stood atop a celestial pine, looking down at Raon and Darkan.
"I shall turn you to ash to prevent your filth from staining this hallowed ground."
Archangel Uriel. The divine executioner of the heavens had arrived, his eyes burning with hatred for the mortals below.
"Insects."
