Laguel entered the space. Chi-Woo had seen her a couple of times now; he felt like something was off about her, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. During their first meeting, she had appeared like an untouchable, otherworldly being, but now she didn’t look so much like an angel anymore. Nevertheless, Chi-Woo was trying to sneak past her when Laguel caught him.
“Could I see your bag, sir?”
“Why?” he blurted out. Realizing that his response came out more sharply than he intended, he cleared his throat. “I already finished my inspection and received permission from Archangel Raphael.” He tried to keep his voice steady, but his tone was still prickly. After all, he had almost been forcefully expelled from the Celestial Realm with his memories wiped out by her. Whatever Laguel’s reason may be—he never found out since she didn’t tell him—she was simply acting as a hindrance. Seeing that Chi-Woo felt uncomfortable by her presence, Laguel hesitated.
“I’d really appreciate it if you show me your bag, sir.” Her tone softened. “I’ll only look at the items and not touch anything.”
“…”
“Please.”
Chi-Woo bit his lips, thinking, ‘How bothersome. The matter has been resolved already. What are you bothering me for?’ And his expression made his feelings clear. In the end, though, he backed down. Laguel went inside and exclaimed in surprise when she saw all the items that had been carefully laid down.
“This is…” She turned around to look at Chi-Woo with equal parts shock and admiration. This was beyond her expectations. “Did Archangel Raphael really give you permission?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get such precious items?”
“I received all of them as gifts. The people I served all took pity on me.”
“Ah, so you received them. But this one.” Laguel’s response wasn’t different from Raphael’s. She couldn’t suppress her surprise when she saw the blackish club. “How would you take something like this…ah.” While tilting the club back and forth, Laguel came upon a realization. “You’re using your family’s inheritance.”
“Yes, I am.” Chi-Woo had already settled the discussion, and he had no intention of keeping the deal a secret, so he readily replied. “Archangel Raphael told me that there was a method for me to bring my items and suggested using my family’s inheritance. There’s no one who would use it anyways.”
“I see. That’s true.” Laguel agreed. Her response took Chi-Woo by surprise because he had been fully expecting her to attack him, yelling things like, ‘What?! How could you use your family inheritance however you like?!’
“Ah. This is—” Laguel’s eyes shone when she saw something else: the chips and other snacks that Raphael had thought were emergency foods and was stunned to hear that Chi-Woo also planned to take them. “These are snacks that your brother likes.”
Chi-Woo looked at her in surprise, and Laguel asked, “Are you planning to give them to him?”
“How did you know?”
“I saw him eating those in the waiting room sometimes,” Laguel said. Chi-Woo was surprised that Laguel knew what these snacks were exactly, but what surprised him more was that she wore a slight smile on her face, as if she was reminiscing about some fond memories. He hadn’t expected her to know his brother’s little quirks. He felt complicated feelings as he watched her fumble with the snack boxes for a while. He wasn’t pleased by her actions. However, he didn’t feel any sense of animosity from her. To put it simply, he didn’t know what to think about her actions when he didn’t know her reasoning behind them.
“I’m surprised,” Chi-Woo said, feeling awkward about the silence. “I thought you’ll try to stop me again.”
“…It’s impossible now,” Laguel softly said. “You arrived through the proper process, and you also passed the test.”
“Yes, that’s also true.”
“Of course, I hope you turn away even now, but…” Laguel made a bitter smile. “I guess it’s too late.” She let out a deep sigh and fixed her posture towards Chi-Woo. “If I may take the liberty, I have a request to ask of you.”
“A request?”
“Please take this.” Laguel took out something from her pocket and politely pushed it towards Chi-Woo with both hands. A fist-sized lump of pure light was placed on Chi-Woo’s palm.
“What is this?”
“It’ll be helpful in various ways. You may use it as the situation necessitates, since divinity can be used for many purposes everywhere.”
“Divinity?” Chi-Woo tilted his head. “Does everyone get this?”
“Sir Chi-Woo, I’m only giving it to you.”
Even though he was getting special treatment, Chi-Woo wasn’t too keen about accepting Laguel’s gift because his suspicions were not completely gone. “If I may, could I check this with Archangel Raphael?”
“She probably already knows.” Laguel continued with no strength in her voice, “Since she takes care of the prophecy, there’s no way she doesn’t know. Her silence is as good as her approval.”
“When I met her just before, she didn’t say anything about this.”
“Since this is an independent action from me, she didn’t intervene.” Laguel continued with a slight strain in her voice, “But if you are still worried, I’ll do as your wish and try to bring Archangel Raphael here immediately.”
Chi-Woo pushed aside his suspicions for now and asked, “Could I really take this?”
“Of course. Just as you used your family’s wealth, I’ve separately mobilized the energy I can use to support you.”
“But it’s a bit too much. Why so suddenly…”
Laguel looked a bit hesitant as she said, “I just…” After a short silence, she continued, “This is a way for me to repent since I couldn’t fulfill Sir Chi-Hyun’s wishes. Moreover, I’m also personally wishing for his survival more than anyone else.” Laguel looked at Chi-Woo with desperate eyes. “So, despite my past actions, I sincerely ask you to help him. Please return safely back with Sir Chi-Hyun.”
Chi-Woo didn’t immediately take her gift. He didn’t know why, but his hands couldn’t move towards it easily. He felt like he was being indebted to her. Then his gaze moved towards Laguel’s back.
‘Huh? Her wings…?’ Her wings were gone. Her fluttering, four pairs of wings were all gone. Chi-Woo realized belatedly why Laguel felt different to him than before. Her elegant and noble aura was also completely gone; she now looked like a normal person, lesser than even a gatekeeper angel.
‘That’s what happened.’
From what he had seen so far, the attitude and rank of an angel were dependent on the number of their wings. Chi-Woo finally realized what Laguel had done to supply him with more energy. To be more specific, he realized what she had to sacrifice to send him away with a bit more support. She had given away everything she had achieved so far.
Chi-Woo was puzzled as he asked, “Did you seriously have to go this far?” He had no idea that Laguel would risk so much.
“If I can see him again, I’ll have no regrets.” Laguel pushed the sphere of light towards him as if telling him to quickly take it.
Chi-Woo said nothing for a while and sighed. “I got it.” Even though he felt like he was now indebted to her, he accepted it. “I’ll definitely come back with my brother.” As soon as he touched it, the sphere of light completely disappeared, but Chi-Woo was able to clearly see what happened. The soft light had spun around like a swallow and flowed into his wrist.
“W-what happened?”
“I stored the divinity inside the device.” Laguel smiled furtively. “Even though usually only those who have proved their worth can get this…given the circumstances, I guess it’s meaningless for us to talk about if you’re worthy or not. You’ll need it.”
“By device, are you talking about that hologram-like thing?”
“Yes. Since you’re from Earth, I’m sure you’ll get used to it fast.”
In order to talk to the natives in Liber, he needed her gift. “…Thank you.” Chi-Woo bowed with an awkward face. A strange silence flowed between them.
Laguel’s face turned expressionless again as she began stuffing the items back into the bag.
“Archangel Raphael told me to leave those behind.”
“I’m doing this because it’ll be easier for you to take your belongings if I organize them inside the bag.”
“Ah, then I’ll organize them.”
“It’s all right. But more importantly, you need to be careful.” Laguel refused Chi-Woo’s offer and continued talking while stuffing items into his bag. “Even though I did my best to do everything I can, it’s not much. It’ll probably be like dropping a few drops of oil in a completely soaked log.” While carefully wrapping the snacks in a cloth so that they won’t break, she said, “There have only ever been two galaxy-scale events throughout the entire Celestial Realm’s history…so even if you are extremely careful, it’s still not enough.”
Chi-Wo watched Laguel skillfully organize the items into his bag and scratched his head. “Well, yes. But there’s something I’m really curious about.” He watched Laguel close his bag and coughed. “Perhaps, do you like me?”
“You must never let your guard down…wait, what?” Laguel was so surprised that she whirled around to look at him. Her eyes became wide as saucers, and she stared at him as if she just saw a car ram into a building. “W-What did you say?”
Chi-Woo nodded at Laguel’s startled face. “You don’t. Well, of course that can’t be true.” Then he changed his question. “As expected, you like my brother.” Her reaction was completely different this time.
“!?”
Chi-Woo was definitely sure that Laguel liked his brother. Laguel’s face immediately froze, and her body also became stiff. She had stopped moving altogether.
“I almost misunderstood.” Chi-Woo smiled. “Ah, please give that to me. Thank you so much for organizing my bag.” Chi-Woo put his bag over his shoulder as Laguel blinked her eyes like mad. “Don’t worry too much. I will definitely, without fail, bring my brother back for you. And…” Chi-Woo raised his left wrist and tapped it with his thumb. “Thank you for caring about me. I’ll use the divinity well and return it to you.”
“It’s nothing much…no, wait a bit.”
“Please stay healthy until we meet again, Sister-in-law.” After saying this, Chi-Woo quickly turned around. He heard strange sounds coming from behind his back.
“Wait! Wait a bit! Please wait a bit! Sir Chi-Woo! You misunderstood…hey, Chi-Woo!” Laguel tried to catch him in a frenzy, but Chi-Woo swiftly stepped outside. Even though he heard her quickly follow him behind, it seemed that she was concerned by the gazes of other heroes as she loudly huffed without saying anything.
But then he soon heard a voice. “No! It’s not like that! Ah! I said nooo!” Laguel’s shrill cries burst out from behind him, but Chi-Woo simply laughed and walked forward in search of the transmission point.
It wasn’t difficult to find the waiting place. After finishing most of the preparations, the majority of the heroes were gathered inside the transmission point’s gigantic circular structure. Chi-Woo joined this group and found a familiar face. There was Giant Fist, standing by himself. When Chi-Woo approached him, Giant Fist felt his presence and turned around.
“Ah, you came, sir?”
“Yes. I just finished everything.”
“I see,” Giant Fist replied blankly and closed his mouth. Giant Fist had always made a big fuss whenever he saw Chi-Woo, so it was strange that he was quiet as a mouse now.
“Are you nervous?” Chi-Woo asked. Giant Fist blinked a couple of times and made a bitter smile.
“Yes, I am,” unexpectedly, Giant Fist responded truthfully. “I’m relieved…but nervous at the same time…” What did he mean by this? “To tell you the truth, I couldn’t believe it,” Giant Fist said in a low voice. “When I saw an announcement, saying that there will be a second recruitment process after Sir Choi Chi-Hyun went to the first one, it was hard for me to believe it—especially since I knew how amazing he was better than anyone else.”
Chi-Woo felt a sense of detachment and curiosity while hearing Giant Fist’s statements about his brother. To him, Chi-Hyun had been like any normal older brother; whenever he came back home to rest, Chi-Woo often saw him lying on the couch with only his underwear while watching TV. It was baffling how everyone he met regarded his brother with the utmost respect and was careful to even utter his name.
‘It’s like they are talking about another person,’ Chi-Woo thought. Of course, it might be because he had lived without knowing anything.
Meanwhile, Giant Fist continued, “But when I heard how dire the situation is, I felt relieved. I suppose even he couldn’t help it in a situation like this…”
“Well, the most important part is that you want to help him. Isn’t that all that matters?”
“Yes, I do want to help him. My heart hasn’t changed in that way, but…” Giant Fist sighed deeply. “Now that the situation has come to this, I wonder if anything will change simply because someone like me is going…”
“Come on. Don’t say that. You are a hero, too.”
“In a place where the World is extinct, a hero is just like any ordinary being. Besides, heroes are just mere mortals in the end.”
“Mortals?”
“Yes, they are mortals whose ultimate fates are to die in the end. When they use up all their lifespans, they will return to dust.” Giant Fist chewed on his lower lip. “It might sound strange, but think about it, sir. If everyone on your planet united under one mind and force, how far do you think their influence would extend to in space?”
Chi-Woo couldn’t answer right away. “I suppose the Earth as a whole at most. United, people would be able to doom the planet, but no matter how hard they try, I doubt they would be able to make an impact on the star cluster at large or what lies beyond that.” Chi-Woo tilted his head.
“Yes, it is as you say, sir. That’s the way it is not only on Earth, but everywhere you go. That’s how insignificant mortals are. No matter how much they struggle, they could only impact a planet at most.”
Chi-Woo’s face darkened. He grasped what Giant Fist was trying to say. “Then Liber is impacted by…?”
Giant Fist stretched out his thumb and pointed up in response. Chi-Woo raised his chin and said, “A god?”
“An immortal,” Giant Fist replied succinctly. “Of course, we’ll only know once we’re there…but.” He folded his thumb back down and slowly dropped his arm. “We might be getting thrown in the middle of a battle between gods.”
—Preparation complete.
An announcement interrupted their conversation.
–Transmission is starting soon. Please gather inside the circle as quickly as possible.
Chi-Woo fell into deep thought. He had heard about a war of the gods such as Ragnarok. But for some reason, he didn’t feel much after hearing such terrifying news. He had the same feeling as he did when he left home like he was leaving to attend to some unfinished business. Giant Fist took a deep breath when he noticed how calm Chi-Woo was. If his speculations were right, they wouldn’t be able to do much even if they went to Liber. Far from normalizing a World, they could be too busy surviving day by day. Of course, it wasn’t like Giant Fist felt completely hopeless. He looked to Chi-Woo, who looked more unperturbed than other heroes after having lived an ordinary life, and gulped.
Giant Fist believed it would be different this time. The seventh recruitment would be different from all the other ones. He didn’t know what kind of place Liber was, but they also had a formidable figure on their side: the being who had stomped one of the top angels said to serve God’s will like a bug—the unpredictable delegate who had a monumental immortal backing him up.