“This cunning bastard...!” Auriel growled while staggering backward. “Thanks for the compliment,” Siegfried said with a grin. Thud... Thud... Thud...! Siegfried walked with overwhelming confidence in his steps, grinning from ear to ear. This was the World of Despair, which was a realm ruled by the Lord of Despair. The Lord of Despair had no reason to waver, even if he was up against a Grandmaster, as long as he was within his realm. Even when up against an archangel, he had nothing to fear. ‘This guy’s scared of me right now,’ Siegfried realized after noticing the archangel cowering and trembling in fear. The realization only emboldened him further, as Auriel, who had always been talking down on him and called him a vermin, was now ghastly pale with fear written all over his face. “Hey, let me ask you something,” Siegfried asked while advancing toward the archangel. “W-What is it...?” Auriel stammered in response. “The same question I asked you earlier.” “What happens if I kill you in here? What will happen to your body in the Celestial Realm?” Auriel did not respond to the question and remained silent, his face turning even more ghastly pale. “A body without a soul will... crumble on its own, right? Or does it turn into some lifeless mannequin? Or does it end up brain-dead and in a vegetative state?” “You son of a bitch...!” Auriel growled. “Oh? I guess I must be onto something since you’re not answering me,” Siegfried said with a grin. “S-Shut your mouth, heathen! I’m going to—!” Siegfried cut him off, “So I am right. You’re fucked if you die in here.” “What do they call it again? Meeting an untimely end? Kekeke!” Siegfried said with a chuckle, making him sound like a predator toying with his prey. “Do you honestly think you can kill me? My current form can’t be destroyed with physical force. Do you truly believe a pathetic mortal like you can harm a superior being’s soul? I hope you’re not kidding yourself into thinking you can defeat an Archangel!” Auriel exclaimed, his voice filled with forced bravado. “A primitive monkey like you can only wish to scratch my soul.” Auriel started regaining his composure after remembering that his soul was immune to physical attacks. “Hmm... Well, I guess you’re right,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. He agreed with Auriel’s argument that an angel’s soul couldn’t be destroyed through physical force, so it was impossible to harm their ethereal body in the Celestial Realm. What about divine power? It could do some damage, but it would not be enough to kill an archangel like Auriel. “What about this?” Siegfried asked with a grin as he slowly raised his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. A dense, multi-colored energy had gathered in the weapon. The energy was so overwhelmingly powerful that it was distorting the space around it. The sight proved just how devastating a blow Siegfried’s most powerful offensive skill, Touch of Death, could deal. “T-That’s...!” Auriel gasped, his face drained of all color. Siegfried charged up Touch of Death with every ounce of Divine Power he had within him. What would happen if an offensive skill capable of disintegrating its target to the molecular level and dealing lethal damage to their soul was charged up with Divine Power? Auriel instinctively knew that if he got hit by that— ‘T-That thing is dangerous!’ —He wasn't confident that he would survive the blow. “N-No...!” Auriel gasped in horror. Panic took over him, causing him to run away. The archangel realized just how screwed he was after seeing the dense energy around the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. Unfortunately, regrets were always too late. “Hehe~ And where do you think you’re going?” Siegfried chuckled and asked as he pursued his prey. He was casually walking, as there was no need to rush. He could still maintain the World of Despair for a long time, and in this realm, there was nowhere for the archangel to run or hide. A rat trapped in a cage. Archangel Auriel was facing that reality. ‘T-This crazy bastard...!’ An overwhelming sense of dread washed over Auriel after finally grasping the situation he was in. Cold sweat drenched his back—no, his back would be drenched in sweat if he still had a body. Even in his spiritual form, he felt sheer terror gripping him. “We’ve met quite a few times now, haven’t we? But I don’t think we’ve settled things between us, have we?” Siegfried asked in a calm yet menacing voice. “Well, I guess we can finally put an end to this today?” “D-Don’t come any closer! Get away from me!” “Nah, I think I will.” “Y-You filthy heathen—! No, wait! S-Siegfried van Proa! That’s your name, right? Just hold on for a second! Listen to what I have to say!” Auriel shouted desperately, his voice trembling. Then, he tried to reason, “Is this really necessary? What difference does it make if you kill me?! Your world is doomed one way or another!” “Why is it not necessary? I finally get to kill the bastard who’s been pissing me off. At the very least, I get some satisfaction out of it, right?” Siegfried said, flashing a grin that sent chills down the archangel’s spine. “Isn’t that enough? I mean, what more could I ask for? If the world’s going down anyway, wouldn’t it feel nice to send a piece of shit like you down first?” “Y-You’re a lunatic!” Siegfried’s logic utterly dumbfounded Auriel, making him realize that he had underestimated just how much of a lunatic the human before him was. “W-Wait! Let’s talk this out!” “Nope, don’t want to.” “You damn heathen...!” “Hmm... You know what? Maybe I’ll reconsider if you answer a few of my questions.” “A few questions? What questions? I’ll tell you everything I know!” Auriel exclaimed, desperately latching onto the offer. “Tell me. How did you angels set foot in this world? I just can’t understand how you’re doing it. How is it possible for you to appear in this world?” “T-That’s...” Auriel stammered. He couldn’t reveal this secret no matter how dire his situation was. “I apologize but... I can’t answer that—” “Then I guess you’ll die here,” Siegfried said with a shrug. Then, he added icily, “I’m not wasting my time on someone useless.” “P-Please! I can’t reveal it even if I wanted to! Ask me something else!” “Talk or die. You have ten seconds to decide.” “I have my own circumstances—” “Just ask me about something else then I will—” “Listen to what I have to say first!” “Why the fuck is it three after eight?! You said ten seconds!” “I feel like I don’t know how to count today. Two...” “You crazy son of a bitchhh!” “F-Fine! I-I’ll talk! Just stop coming closer!” “Start talking. How do you bastards keep descending upon this world?” Siegfried asked, pressing the archangel further. There was a reason Siegfried was rushing for answers. [Alert: World of Despair has 30 seconds remaining!] Time was running out. The World of Despair’s duration was not infinite, and he only had thirty seconds left to pry the truth out of Auriel. Auriel finally spoke, “T-The truth is... Among the cults that serve the false gods... there are those who still revere us, the followers of the Creator. They are called the Illuminati.” Auriel nodded and explained, “Yeah, that’s right. They were once worshippers of the One True God, and they have been mingling with the people of this world, working tens of thousands of years in secret.” “So there were rats hiding among us.” “Through their efforts, we were able to descend once again onto this world. The Illuminati found a way for us to harvest the faith that humans offered to their false gods.” “The Illuminati infiltrated each of the cults and they—” Auriel abruptly halted his explanation. Then, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Wait a second... Why are you in such a rush?” “You hold an absolute advantage over me right now... and yet, you seem impatient for some reason. Why are you pushing me ? Could it be... is it difficult for you to maintain this realm?” “Sigh... So you figured it out?” “This is why I really hate sharp bastards like you.” The moment Siegfried said those words— He swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, imbued with the charged-up Touch of Death, mercilessly at Auriel’s soul. There was no point in dragging this out any further. The World of Despair would soon end, and hesitating risked letting Auriel’s soul slip away. Rather than taking that gamble, it was better to end things right here and right now. The Touch of Death struck the archangel’s soul. For a brief moment, Auriel’s soul seemed to freeze in place. The spiritual energy that formed Auriel’s soul began to dissipate. His very soul, the fundamental core of all sentient creatures, was breaking apart from the sheer destructive power of Touch of Death. “You... damn... bastard...! How dare... you...! I, a noble... Archangel...! Being erased by... the likes of... you...!” Even as he faded, Auriel snarled at Siegfried. However, that was all he could do, as his soul was crumbling away to nothingness, and his very existence was getting erased from this world. The archangel who clashed with Siegfried time and time again, the archangel who sought to use Brunhilde as a vessel and offer Verdandi up to Lucifer, had met an untimely end. [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have leveled up!] [Alert: You have reached Level 337!] [Alert: You have reached Level 338!] [Alert: You have reached Level 339!] [Alert: You have reached Level 344!] [Alert: You have reached Level 345!] Siegfried leveled up nine times after killing Archangel Auriel and wiping his soul from existence. As expected of an archangel, Auriel, true to his title, granted Siegfried an absurd amount of Experience Points. When the World of Despair ended, the darkness dissipated, revealing Siegfried. Hamchi scurried over and eagerly asked, “Kyuu! Is it over?! Did you take him down, owner punk?!” “I sure did. I can’t believe it actually worked. I had a feeling it could, but still,” Siegfried replied with a grin. “Kyuuu! Good job, owner punk! You really pulled it off!” “I know, man. I did a fucking good job.” “Kyu...?” Hamchi flinched and narrowed his eyes. Before he could say anything, Siegfried looked around and muttered, “More importantly...” The thick fog covering the Altar of Resurrection had already long dissipated, revealing the area around them. “I guess the operation was a huge success,” he added while looking at the dead angels strewn all over the ground. The angels guarding the Altar of Resurrection had been annihilated, as evidenced by their remains strewn all over the place. On the other hand, Siegfried’s comrades were still alive and well, standing triumphantly over the foes they vanquished. In short, this was an overwhelming victory for Siegfried and his comrades. “Time to go and free that little phoenix,” Siegfried said. “Kyuu! Let’s go!” Hamchi exclaimed in response. With that, Siegfried and Hamchi set off toward the final step of their mission, which was to destroy the Altar of Resurrection. Once the altar was destroyed, he could destroy the Holy Sword: Phoenix, rescue the baby phoenix, and recruit the Dragonkin Warrior, Draculis. All three quests he had to complete in Mount Among would be completed subsequently. However, rather than celebrating, there was something else on his mind. “That bastard said they were the Illuminati...” As he walked toward the Altar of Resurrection, he muttered the name Auriel had mentioned. This piece of information he had extracted from the archangel at the last minute was an invaluable asset. They were the masterminds behind everything happening in this world. They were the followers of the angels and had been hiding in the shadows for tens of thousands of years. At last, they were starting to make their move.