Chapter 319: How to Corrupt an Angel (2)

Song.

The art of producing a variety of sounds and melodies through the respiratory and vocal organs.

At times, it transcends the realm of skill to become a high-level auditory performance that moves the listener’s emotions and stirs their soul.

Left-Rank Angel Raphael was a lover of such auditory art.

Tough and strenuous official duties.

The monotonous administrative work devoid of creativity.

In such an environment.

Raphael’s only solace was the celestial music and song.

‘I always felt fortunate and blessed because of it.’

It was natural.

The heavenly songs were always beautiful.

The melodies of the Celestial Realm were always in perfect harmony.

Being born in the Celestial Realm and being able to exist as an angel felt like the greatest blessing in the world.

After a tiring day of work.

Sitting quietly and listening to music brought him unparalleled happiness and peace.

Today was no different.

Earlier, when he descended to the Lower World for the first time in a while, he made a promise to himself.

That after demolishing the Jewel of Truth, he would return to the Celestial Realm.

And listen to his favorite Symphony No. 2 of the Celestial Harmony.

To wash away the day’s fatigue with its pure and clear tones.

He had set that reward for himself.

But reality?

It was a hardcore cesspool!

“…What?”

Raphael was in the midst of a fierce battle with Javier.

The human Grand Master’s skills were far superior to what he had anticipated.

Despite possessing the flaming rings.

He couldn’t afford to be careless.

He was gradually pressing Javier.

He was confident.

Just a little more pressure.

And he would soon be able to overwhelm his opponent.

He swung the mace of judgment with that conviction.

But then, out of nowhere.

A relentless cacophony pierced his eardrums.

“You were born to be loved↘! And your life in this world↗! You are being loved right now↘↗!”

‘…What the hell.’

Raphael instinctively flinched.

He nearly dropped the mace of judgment in a ridiculous manner.

Or unconsciously plugged his ears.

It was an unbearably horrible tune.

The pitch, rhythm, none of it matched.

Even the voice was entirely distorted, cracked, and twisted, as if boiling a chicken alive!

‘What kind of noise is this?’

Could this even be called a song?

Maybe it was a devil’s wail from hell.

Or a dying curse from purgatory.

Raphael struggled to regain his composure.

He turned his head towards the source of the horrific song.

The top of the Jewel.

There he saw Lloyd singing.

“From the beginning, God’s love-! Through our meeting↗ It bears fruit↘! Because you exist in this world↗→↗! What great joy it brings to us↘→↗!”

“…”

Enough.

Please stop.

Raphael was at a loss for words.

He wanted to pray sincerely to the human in the Lower World.

No, he wanted to erase his eardrums!

“Urgh… Ugh!”

Boom-!

Perhaps because he lost his focus due to the horrible song.

Javier’s sword sliced through the air like a flash of lightning.

It aimed to cut his neck.

The flaming rings deflected the sword just in time.

Raphael shuddered involuntarily.

‘Damn it!’

He wasn’t hit.

But he lost his grip on the offensive.

‘I was pressing him so well.’

It was an effort to catch the tricky Grand Master Javier.

But the pressure was undone by a moment’s loss of focus.

The result was a reversal.

Boom-! Thud! Clang-!

‘…!’

Freed from the pressure, Javier’s sword flashed relentlessly.

It rushed to slice Raphael’s entire body into pieces.

The flaming rings, the absolute shield of the 3rd-Class Angel.

Even they seemed to be penetrated by the force.

‘Damn it!’

Raphael’s movements grew frantic.

No matter how absolute the defensive capability of the flaming rings was.

If he was pushed to the one-sided defensive, they would eventually break.

He couldn’t rely on the rings alone.

He couldn’t just stand idly by.

Left-Rank Angel Raphael tried to keep his composure and raised his head.

“You, human of the Lower World, Lloyd Frontera?”

Blocking Javier’s sword with the mace of judgment.

He sincerely and politely requested.

“I understand your desire to sing. But your song doesn’t seem to suit my taste. Could you please stop singing for a moment?”

With such a request, Raphael thought.

He had asked with goodwill.

He had asked politely.

So the other side would surely comply.

They would understand his predicament.

But that was Raphael’s own misunderstanding.

Lloyd’s response came immediately.

“Put forth your withered hands-! Jesus said! If you firmly believe in those words↗!”

Once upon a time, in the military.

When he would sell his soul for a Choco Pie.

He sang hymns at the Sunday morning religious service.

He sang with all his heart.

He didn’t intentionally try to sing badly.

In fact, he tried to sing well.

But the harder he tried, the more his neck veins bulged.

His vocal cords resonated with his esophagus, giving high-fives.

His voice split, cracked, and wobbled, dancing the hula.

Thanks to this, the angel had to suffer even more listening to the hymn.

“Please… stop…!”

Raphael shook his head, trembling.

How had the day turned out like this?

He had planned to listen to beautiful music and wash away his fatigue after completing the demolition order.

But now…

‘This song, no, this noise… I won’t forget it even after a thousand years!’

He felt a chill.

He wanted to cleanse his ears immediately.

He raised the mace of judgment with a more desperate heart.

He swung it roughly at the approaching Javier.

Boom-!

Javier, who blocked the mace, slid back.

In that gap, Raphael raised his head.

He demanded in a trembling voice towards Lloyd.

“Please! Human of the Lower World, Lloyd Frontera! Do not desecrate the value of beautiful songs and music!”

Then Lloyd responded more fervently.

“Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu! Namu Daiseishi Bosatsu↗! Namu Senju Kannon Bosatsu↘! Namu Ruyirin Bosatsu↗↘↗!”

“…”

The veins on Raphael’s forehead bulged.

Always fair and strict, Raphael.

Even a peaceful angel of the Celestial Realm almost lost his temper and cursed.

But he barely restrained himself.

He kept his mouth shut.

‘No cursing. Or I’ll lose my purity.’

The pure heart representing the will of the heavens.

That was the source of his power.

But if he couldn’t suppress his emotions and started cursing?

Even briefly, it would taint his purity.

He would lose the source of his power.

Recalling this, Raphael clenched his mouth shut.

He tried not to think of curses.

And he made a resolution.

He had to forcibly stop the human’s horrible singing.

“Ugh!”

Boom-!

Raphael’s foot stomped the ground.

Shaking the earth as he leapt.

Diagonally upward.

Towards the top of the Jewel of Truth.

He rushed straight at Lloyd, who was singing.

But Lloyd did not stop singing.

Even as the enraged Raphael charged.

He continued to sing calmly.

Thanks to a new ally joining the fight.

Whoosh- Boom!

A gigantic tailbone swept through the air.

It struck the ascending Raphael.

Although the flaming rings blocked the attack.

So it couldn’t inflict significant damage.

But it was enough.

Because it sent Raphael flying dozens of meters like a home run ball.

It was the Bone Dragon, Yongyongi.

Creaaaak! Creak!

Yongyongi, who gave Raphael a home run experience, stood tall in front of the Jewel.

As if declaring that no one could pass.

He showed his might to protect Lloyd.

The Skull Soldiers joined in.

Tap, tap, tap! Tap-tap-tap-! Tap!

Two hundred Skull Soldiers made a cacophony of bone noises.

They all creaked in unison.

They added a beat to Lloyd’s song.

But all the rhythms were different.

And seriously off-beat!

It further disrupted Raphael’s concentration.

Making him want to go insane.

‘Please… stop!’

Raphael’s face twisted.

This was a harsh endurance test even for an angel.

But the situation turned even more dire.

Javier, who had rushed in again.

His offensive poured down.

“…!”

Clang-clang-clang-!

A relentless barrage from above!

Thousands of strands of aura pressed down.

Most were blocked by the flaming rings.

But not all were completely deflected.

“Ugh…!”

Raphael’s feet sank deep into the ground.

Like a nail head struck by a giant hammer.

He couldn’t move and was crushed by the continuous offensive.

“Damn it! Ugh…!”

An overwhelmingly strong offensive from above.

No matter how much he blocked the attacks.

No matter how much he created shockwaves with the flaming rings.

Javier neutralized the shockwaves with his sword.

He channeled the neutralized shockwaves into his sword and struck even harder.

‘This is bad. At this rate, I will fail my duty.’

A sense of crisis flashed in Raphael’s eyes.

Because he thought he would be defeated?

No.

‘I can’t leave a blemish on my perfect record!’

He ground his teeth.

He had handled everything perfectly so far.

Thanks to this, he had achieved rapid promotions unprecedented in Celestial Realm history.

That was his pride.

Working hard and perfectly.

Being helpful to the Celestial Realm.

And contributing to maintaining the order of the world.

He believed that was his purpose and reason for existence.

But now, that pride was about to crumble.

He couldn’t let that happen.

‘So… if I can just stop that singing!’

He would regain his focus.

He would be able to exert his full power.

Then he could subdue the most troublesome silver-haired knight.

And demolish the illegal building, the Jewel of Truth.

Through perfect execution of his duty, he could maintain his pride.

So, just this once.

“…Argh!”

Thud!

Gathering all his strength, he rose.

He shouted with heartfelt sincerity towards Lloyd.

“This is my last plea and earnest warning! Human Lloyd Frontera! Please stop that horrendous singing! If you do, I will overlook all your actions today! I will forgive you and dismiss the charges of obstructing official duties!”

He was truly sincere.

He even wanted to compromise.

If only he could stop that damn singing.

He wouldn’t punish Lloyd Frontera.

He would demolish the Jewel, but he wouldn’t charge him with obstruction.

Raphael made this earnest and sincere vow.

He waited, hoping.

He had shown such generosity.

He had expressed his willingness to compromise.

Surely the human would understand his sincerity.

And stop that bizarre and awful singing.

Showing that humanity still had a simple kindness left.

He harbored a faint glimmer of hope.

Lloyd’s response soon came.

It mercilessly crushed the last glimmer of his faith in humanity with a yodel.

“Yodelayheehoo↗! Ayo↗→↘ho↗ho↘oh↗ho↘oh↗ho↘oh↗ho↘oh↗ho↘oh↗ho↘horia↗heehee↗!”

“…”

“Oorlleehi↗↗ayolehi↗rurruruhyoho↗horehi↘orleehee↗!”

“…”

A cacophony of screeching sounds mercilessly tore at his eardrums.

Brazenly oblivious to his plea.

Producing even more complex disharmony and sending sly winks.

The moment he heard and saw it all.

Raphael felt something snap inside.

“I… I… begged so earnestly…”

Boom! Boom-!

Even as Javier’s relentless sword rained down.

Leaving the defense entirely to the flaming rings.

The genuinely furious Raphael charged.

“I begged so earnestly!”

He saw nothing else.

Only Lloyd singing up ahead.

Only that insufferable face.

He charged with all his emotions, ready to smash that face with the mace of judgment.

With all the anger of a raging bull.

Or an unstoppable tank.

Charging forward with nothing but rage.

“For mocking my earnest plea!”

Boom-boom-boom-boom-!

The distance to Lloyd closed rapidly.

With the flaming rings still burning.

Enduring all of Javier’s attacks momentarily.

He raised the mace of judgment.

20 meters.

10 meters.

Finally, 5 meters.

Lloyd was within range of the mace.

He swung down.

With a shout full of sincere rage.

“Was it fun! You damn human!”

As soon as the word ‘damn’ left Raphael’s mouth.

Whoosh? Boom…!

The two flaming rings around his back extinguished.

The flames vanished.

The rotation stopped.

“Huh?”

Surprised, Raphael hesitated.

At that moment, Javier’s sword flashed from behind.

Slash!

Through the extinguished flaming rings.

The aura storm swept through Raphael’s entire body.