The moment Siegfried put some distance between himself and Archangel Raphael— A deafening explosion, louder than thunder, erupted as a terrifying storm of energy burst forth from the archangel. Just as Siegfried expected, an immense explosion occurred right afterward. The explosion was so powerful that Siegfried was sent several hundred meters flying through the air. This powerful explosion was the result of the Wave of Annihilation colliding with Archangel Raphael’s divine energy. Unable to withstand the explosion that erupted from within him, Archangel Raphael crashed to the ground. Yes, Archangel Raphael was a Level 700 NPC. However, who could have known that he would survive the explosion of Wave of Annihilation within him? Anyone else would have been obliterated from the inside; they would have been ripped into pieces or completely disintegrated. ‘If this is him in a weakened state... then just how powerful would he be at full strength?’ Siegfried wondered. He couldn’t even begin to imagine just how powerful an archangel truly was. If an archangel was on par with a demon lord, then it made sense that they would be incredibly powerful. After all, even the dragons scattered all over the continent would immediately gather together if a demon lord descended in their true form. ‘Is he only using a tenth of his full power right now?’ Siegfried remembered once again that Archangel Raphael was in a weakened state after forcing his way through the Celestial Gate. However, he did not have the luxury to dwell on that right now. ‘I can’t waste this chance.’ Seizing the moment while the archangel was down, Siegfried dove down in a rapid descent. The distance between them spanned hundreds of meters, and it would take time for him to close the distance. ‘Time to end this!’ he charged up Touch of Death as he closed in on the archangel. Though he had closed much of the distance, he was still several meters away. Thus, he had no other choice but to use the Flying Sword to strike the archangel. ‘Focus! Three... two... one... zero!’ Siegfried hurled his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, which was imbued with the destructive power of Touch of Death, sending it hurling toward the crashing archangel. ‘He shouldn’t survive this one, right?’ he thought. However, there was a lingering sense of unease deep inside him. If, by any chance, Archangel Raphale managed to withstand this attack, then Siegfried wasn't sure if there was anything else he could do to kill the archangel. Just as the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp was about to hit the archangel— —Archangel Raphael suddenly opened his eyes and snatched the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp from the air. Siegfried was stupefied. His most powerful offensive skill, Touch of Death, had never been blocked so easily as Archangel Raphael had done. “You dare... a mere insect like you... dares to...! You dare... You dare... an insignificant creature like you dares to... disgrace me, an archangel? You dare...?!” Archangel Raphael growled before unleashing a roar. He hurled the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp with such monstrous force that it traveled like a bullet—no, a ray of light toward Siegfried. ‘T-That’s gonna kill me!’ Siegfried twisted instinctively the moment he saw the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp ripping through the air toward him. If that thing hit him, then there wouldn’t even be bones left to bury, as he would be disintegrated into particles that would scatter into the wind. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp grazed past him, missing him by less than an inch. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp shot past him and obliterated a building in the distance. ‘P-Phew...! That was close.’ Siegfried let out a sigh of relief after narrowly avoiding dying by his own weapon. A sharp burning pain flared from his side, the part where the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp had brushed past just now. “Huh?” Siegfried muttered as his vision spun, and he started falling to the ground. [Alert: Status Ailment!] [Alert: You have been stunned!] Even though Touch of Death had merely grazed him, the sheer force of the skill was enough to stun him. But that was not the worst of it... He lost a huge chunk of his HP—no, he lost most of his HP bar and was now on the verge of death. Siegfried plummeted straight down. [Alert: Status Ailment!] [Alert: You have been knocked unconscious!] [Alert: 4 minutes 59 seconds until you regain consciousness!] [Alert: 4 minutes 58 seconds until you regain consciousness!] [Alert: 4 minutes 57 seconds...!] As if things couldn’t get any worse, the sheer impact of his fall knocked him out cold. Siegfried—no, Han Tae-Sung muttered after his screen became pitch black. His character had lost consciousness, so he no longer had control of Siegfried van Proa. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that Archangel Raphael would counterattack in that way. ‘Please... Just hold on until I come back...’ The only thing he could do was pray that his comrades could keep Archangel Raphael at bay until his character regained consciousness. If they failed to stop the archangel, and he somehow managed to regain his full power, then the world would be doomed. Meanwhile, Archangel Raphael’s eyes gleamed with rage after striking down Siegfried. He had descended into this world in a weakened state, but the fact that a mere mortal had managed to push him to the brink roused his anger. However, his anger was not the only thing roused by Siegfried. His divine power, which was sealed due to his forceful descent into the continent, slowly began awakening. “I will kill you all!” Raphael roared, his voice thundering throughout the city. Consumed by rage, the archangel started killing every single creature in his vicinity. “W-What the hell is—gah!” The Adventurers tried to stop the archangel, but they couldn’t even put up any resistance as they were one-sidedly slaughtered. The combat prowess of the frenzied Level 700 NPC was so overwhelming that he couldn’t be stopped by those who had not even stepped foot into the realm of Masters. In Archangel Raphael's eyes, these Adventurers were no different from goblins. “Please... Please be safe...” Han Tae-Sung prayed desperately while his character, Siegfried van Proa, lay unconscious. He could only hope that his teammates held out against Raphael for as long as possible while his character was passed out. At the same time, he prayed that his character was still alive and would soon regain consciousness. Time continued to pass. [Alert: 3 seconds until you regain consciousness!] [Alert: You have regained consciousness!] Han Tae-Sung’s vision slowly returned after his character, Siegfried van Proa, regained consciousness. “Kyuuu! Are you awake now, owner punk?!” Waiting for him was, of course, his soulmate, Hamchi. “Kyuu! That’s right! You’re still alive, owner punk!” “Kyuu... Everyone’s dead. Raphael killed them all...” “Now’s not the time to just sit there and mope, owner punk! We need to run! Hurry and get up! Kyuuu!” Hamchi exclaimed and hurriedly tried to help him to his feet. The reason he was rushing was simple. In the distance, Archangel Raphael, who was now drenched in blood, was slowly walking toward them. Behind the archangel was a backdrop of utter carnage. There were corpses littered all over the place, bodies of Adventurers strewn everywhere in piles. But that was not all... Even the elite comrades of Siegfried, such as Yong Seol-Hwa, Gosran, Daytona, and several others, were dead as well. They were brutally torn apart, and their remains were scattered all over the place. A complete annihilation. In just five minutes, thousands of powerful Adventurers were annihilated. “This is unbelievable...” Siegfried muttered, shocked by what he was seeing. He knew things would be tough for his comrades, but he hadn't expected that they would lose so easily. “Kyuuu! What are you doing, owner punk?! We have to run!” “Kyaaak! What do you mean you can’t?!” “I don’t have the strength to run.” [Stamina: □□□□□□□□□□] [Divine Power: ■■□□□□□□□□] Even though Siegfried regained consciousness, he was still on the brink of death. Forget about escaping; he did not even have the strength to stand on his own two feet. “Kyuuu! Hamchi will carry you! Let’s get outta here, owner punk!” “Forget it,” Siegfried shook his head. Then, he mustered his remaining mental strength to use the Flying Sword. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp flew back into his hand. “I’ll fight until the end.” “Kyaaak! Have you lost your mind, owner punk?! Do you have a death wish?!” “Who said anything about wanting to die? If we can’t escape anyway, then we might as well fight until the end.” “Besides...” Siegfried pulled out the Infinite Flask from his inventory and chugged it down. Then, he said, “We have a chance now.” “Kyu? What do you mean?!” “Look over there,” Siegfried gestured with his chin. Hamchi turned his head and... “K-Kyuuu?!” he shrieked, eyes widened in shock. “Your Majesty! Are you all right?!” The former Chief Archangel of the Celestial Realm, Archangel Michael, and the son of a demon lord, Metatron, appeared together. “Kyuuuu?! What the hell is Michael and Metatron doing here?!” Hamchi exclaimed, baffled by their sudden arrival. He knew they were traveling the world in search of Michael’s wings, so he hadn't expected them to come here of all places. “The signal flare,” Siegfried replied. “Kyu? What signal flare?” “The one I fired earlier. Our signalmen were instructed to contact Michael or Metatron the moment the flare was shot.” “Kyuuuu! So that’s what that random flare was?!” “Yup,” Siegfried replied nonchalantly. Then, he leaned on a pile of rubble and said, “Ah, I need to rest a bit. I can’t move my body at all.” “Kyu! Go ahead! Rest for a bit, owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed, his face beaming. He finally looked relieved after reinforcements arrived. Michael approached them and said, “You’ve done well holding out, Siegfried.” “I’ll take over from now, so just rest.” With that, Michael walked toward Raphael. “Please rest for now, Your Majesty,” Metatron said with a bow before walking right behind Michael. “Phew...” Siegfried let out a sigh of relief. Now that his reinforcements were here, he could finally take a break. He focused on recovering his HP, Mana, and Stamina while observing the battle about to unfold before him. While observing the situation, something caught his attention. “Hey, Hamchi. Doesn’t this scene look kinda strange to you?” Siegfried asked. “Kyu? What do you mean, owner punk?” “I mean, just think about it. One is a former Chief Archangel, and the other one’s the son of a demon lord. Both of them are teaming up against an archangel... does that look right to you?” “K-Kyu?” Hamchi tilted his head in confusion and blinked a few times. He looked visibly bewildered after realizing the irony of it. Just as Siegfried said, Michael and Metatron were joining forces against an archangel, which painted quite a bizarre picture. “Tsk... Whatever. It looks like they’re about to fight, so let’s watch.” “Kyuu! Hamchi agrees! Let’s watch!” With that, Siegfried continued recovering while observing the battle. Even with Michael and Metatron joining forces, there was no guarantee they could defeat Archangel Raphael. Thus, he decided to recover his HP, Mana, and Stamina up to a certain level and join the fray as well.