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Chapter 277

Ding!!

Crash!!!

But the moment Lyra, who had been spinning midair, was sucked into Remiel's hand, a chilling spear of light shattered the shield in an instant with a beautiful melody, sending us flying backward.

“Guh!”

“Damn it. Are we supposed to kill her or not?”

I’d rather not kill her, especially because of Luna.

If Luna saw her like this, she might eventually choose to eliminate her.

But I know well that’s not what she really wants.

As the smoke cleared, we saw Remiel floating in midair, her cold gaze locked on us.

Around her, the air began to ripple like a melody.

Instinctively, both Diablo and I realized we were in serious trouble if we got hit, glanced at each other—and bolted.

“Wait, are we really running away like this?”

“Says the one who’s also running.”

“Aren’t you a great demon? Running from an angel?”

“That’s demon discrimination.”

“You said we just need to stall for time. Then we run—no other choice.”

“What if she loses interest in us?”

In response, I conjured a thunder spear in my hand.

Without hesitation, I hurled it at the pursuing archangel.

Crack!!!!!!

Of course, Remiel blocked the 7th-circle spell Astrapē, but that was just a decoy.

From another direction, I hurled two shots of the 8th-circle thunder magic Keraunos.

She was forced back, staggering as she glared at me with an expressionless face.

“Got her attention?”

“Let’s run. I can still work while sprinting.”

“If we fail again, I swear I’ll say we’re just glorified donation collectors.”

“If we don’t want our brothers and sisters to starve, we better give it our all.”

Without wasting more words, we nodded to each other and dashed off.

“Ahh...”

Melissa groaned, clutching her aching head.

Whenever she tried to keep him from causing trouble, disaster erupted at home.

When she sent him away to stay quiet at a mountain cabin, he returned with an elf in tow.

Wherever he went, he somehow managed to trigger nation-scale disasters.

Her brother Leon was becoming a serious burden.

And yet, not only did he always clean up the mess, he somehow did it so well that all the credit ended up going to Cascadia—and by extension, to Melissa, not Leon.

She was losing her mind.

“I’m not even that amazing. Please stop hyping me up.”

In the social circles, she was now being called the indomitable duchess, a figure worthy of being immortalized in the histories of several nations.

Is this for real?

Even at the academy, people treated her like a legend—so carefully, as if they were meeting some divine being.

And it wasn’t just the students anymore—even the professors had joined in.

Once labeled a failing student, those same individuals now treated her like family to a lifelong benefactor, showing her extreme respect.

Even the freshmen, usually brimming with arrogance, were cautious and polite—at least to her.

“I’m not that impressive... Please, make it stop...”

And at this very moment, Leon was surely causing some huge mess again.

The Holy Kingdom and the elves were moving their forces once more.

How was she supposed to explain this to the royal family?

The most infuriating part?

Leon had somehow handled all the groundwork so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed with paperwork—before running off again.

“Arsha, how do you feel about your brother refusing to become a duke, even though he clearly has the ability?”

“I like things the way they are now.”

Smiling brightly, she stroked the small golden monster, Radon, nestled in her arms like a cat.

Melissa could only shake her head.

Yeah... if Leon’s going to go through that much trouble, maybe it’s better she handles these matters instead.

But the real source of her annoyance...

“Does this woman really think she’s a fitting match for Leon, sending things like this?”

Proposals—again, from all sides—just kept coming in when she least expected it.

She didn’t even have time to think about dating herself, and here was her brother, already engaged and still gallivanting about with all these women?

“He’s involved with how many women now?”

Of course, she knew Leon didn’t have any romantic intentions, and that the only one among them who genuinely liked him was the imperial princess.

But still—it was irritating.

Some even tried to approach her just to get closer to Leon.

She was a duchess, for heaven’s sake. Was this really how it should be?

But given how brutal the noble daughters’ political games were in high society, she forced herself to brush it off.

“That’s it. I’m going to publicly announce that Leon is engaged.”

She opened a hidden drawer and took out a box.

Inside was a beautiful, pure white dress made from the jewels Luna had given her in the past.

“I hope Luna likes it.”

“Waaah! Is that yours, big sis?”

“Yup. And one day, Arsha, you’ll wear a dress like this too.”

“I hope that day comes soon!”

Well... that was...

She wished Arsha would stay her cute little sister forever.

A small, selfish wish.

* * *

Boom!!! Boom!!!

The castle’s underground was far wider, quieter, and more desolate than expected.

Thinking back, the moment they entered the castle, the view outside the windows had looked like a completely different world.

It made one wonder: was this even a normal underground?

“Yikes.”

Crashhhhh!!!!!

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A pure white spear of light pierced precisely where I had just stood.

Even one hit from that would be fatal.

The light spears Luna occasionally showed me in training didn’t come close to this—it was laced with so much power it made my blood run cold.

Still, thanks to drawing her aggro, she hadn’t noticed whatever Diablo was preparing.

Counterattacking wasn’t easy either.

Every time I saw an opening, her surroundings would fill with rippling melodies, spinning orbs of light into radiant spears that tracked me with frightening precision.

No matter how fast I was, if there was no room to dodge, the only answer was to block.

If even one hit was lethal, I had to deflect or intercept all of them before they reached me.

Elekstra.

BOOM!

The moment I reached out into the air, the space in the distance tore open.

A sword was sucked into my grasp as if drawn by a vortex.

At the same time, a shockwave scattered outward, infused with an overwhelming amount of aura.

[Nameless Sword]

[Delayed Manifestation]

[Extreme Divine Radiance]

As I grasped the hilt, beams of light emerged and vanished in rapid succession from the lance of light that had pierced right into close range.

CLANG!!!

And when those beams disappeared—

The lances of light shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.

[Will Manifestation – Strength]

[Enemy]

A crimson slash imbued with will flew toward Remiel, but it clashed with the barrier of melodies she had cast and couldn’t advance.

Of course, I hadn’t expected much from it.

To defeat her as she is now, I need to draw out a power even greater than this.

Reaching the 9th Circle or Grandmaster level isn’t something I can just do instantly…

Hmm.

For now, the priority isn’t defeating her, but drawing her attention.

There’s only so far I can run, after all.

Even when I closed the gap in an instant and unleashed a flurry of attacks, she blocked them with unwavering poise and countered with strikes that weren’t to be taken lightly.

Is it not time yet?

With a slight shift of my eyes, I looked toward Diablo.

I could see him drawing in a strange flow of energy with both hands, continuing to chant an unknown incantation.

Looks like he’s ready a bit earlier than expected.

–Lord Leon. I’m ready. Please open a path for me to reach her.

At those words, I instantly created five or six bolts of lightning magic, Astrape, aiming them at her from all directions.

The Astrape spells pulled back like arrows on a drawn bow, then launched like bullets.

ZING!! CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE!!!

Of course, even enhanced, a 7th-circle lightning spear spell couldn’t break through an archangel’s defenses.

But the lightning bolts weren’t a one-time gift.

As more and more spears emerged from thin air, she was distracted for just a moment.

Taking advantage of that, I concealed my presence and moved rapidly, circling her perimeter.

She sensed me at times and stayed wary, but that only widened the openings.

Even Remiel couldn’t just sit there and take the growing storm of lightning spears.

The lyre in her hand began to glow, and soon transformed into a massive harp.

And the moment her graceful white fingers plucked the strings—

The gentle flow of melodic aura rippled violently and elegantly, shredding the rain of lightning spears along with the magical circles in the air that summoned them.

She gazed at the scene with a dull, detached look… and then, as if realizing my approach, suddenly reacted and stretched her hand toward me.

In an instant, threads of multicolored light spread from her palm, twisting and entwining into a massive orb, which then launched toward me.

Thinking you can fend me off while distracted?

You’re underestimating me.

I took a sharp breath and charged straight into the incoming beam.

As I pierced through the beam, it split apart like hundreds of threads of light unraveling wherever I moved.

She probably didn’t expect me to break through so directly—her gaze flickered to me for a brief moment.

CLANG!!!

My spirit sword Elekstra clashed against one of her folded wings, which she had brought up to defend.

Though the wings looked soft on the outside, the energy surrounding them was enough to block even a sword imbued with manifest will.

Was it a foolish decision?

Doing this left me completely exposed to her counterattack.

But I didn’t care.

I let go of my sword and grabbed her outstretched hand.

“Now!”

CRACKLE!!

At that exact moment, Diablo—who had been hidden away, preparing something—moved to the opposite side of Remiel, gathering colorless energy in his hands.

SLASH!!

The blade of sound created by her melody grazed my arm, leaving a wound—but for an archangel’s attack, it was surprisingly shaky.

BOOM!!!!

Finally, the moment Diablo’s hand touched her back, a violet current surged through her entire body.

Not a single scream.

Right, the archangels I’ve fought were always like this.

Without changing her expression, her body just staggered from the impact.

Then she reached out and struck the strings of the harp still floating in midair.

Compressed air exploded into a shockwave, blasting me away.

THUD!!!

And then—

She extended her hand like a flash of lightning and pierced Diablo’s heart.

“Guh…!”

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