742. The Result
An uncertain amount of ti ago…
Edithe hadn’t known how much ti had passed since the process began.
All she knew was that she had been subjected to an unimaginable pain— a burning sensation that was unlike anything she had ever felt before. And she had been on the cusp of death many tis, with the closest being when she was kidnapped by the Lich of the Plaguelands.
But this was different. It wasn’t like her body itself was lit ablaze. She felt like her entire being… her mind, her body, and her soul were all on fire. It was a scorching, searing pain that engulfed her entirely.
And she could only scream as she tried to resist what she thought would’ve been her eventual demise.
However, as this sensation dragged on, sothing else seed to take its place. Edithe didn’t understand what it was. But everything started to grow numb— not in a good way, but like she was drenched in the deepest depths of an icy cold lake, left to freeze to death on her own.
Until a voice echoed around her. A familiar voice. And it drew all of her attention to it.
“Ridiculous. I cannot be serious, right? I have got to be kidding myself!”
It was the voice of the Archangel— the sa angry voice that had cursed out the Spirit Lord. And it wasn’t alone. It was accompanied by a secondary, also familiar voice. But this second voice was much calr, unlike the first, despite the similarity between the two.
“It was the only way. Otherwise, she would not agree to saving your life. And without her agreent, her soul would have rejected you, and you would be dead.”
“That is stupid! I can’t believe I’d ever agree to such terms! I should have let die!”
It was a strange conversation to hear. The second voice was the voice of the remnants of the Archangel’s essence, and it spoke with the sa calm clarity that it had spoken to Edithe with. The first voice was the true voice and mind of the Archangel, and its words were barely even coherent enough for the redhead to understand.
“If you died, the Arcraem will—”
“If the Arcraem didn’t sohow bring back to life, then who cares! I would rather the entirety of existence itself crumble to dust than be trapped inside the body of so… so… so Human girl!”
For a minute, there was silence.
Edithe wondered what was going on. Earlier, the remnants of the Archangel’s essence ntioned the possibility of her soul rejecting them. Now, she feared it was possible that the Archangel’s soul was going to reject her.
If that happened, what was going to happen to her? What was going to happen to her friends?
Her thoughts— her concerns— were interrupted as the second voice spoke up after a mont’s hesitation.
“...is this because of Tianna?”
And even though there was no air around Edithe— even though she barely could perceive existence— it felt like the air around her changed. The atmosphere suddenly grew colder. Or perhaps, her body grew colder. Like she could slip into the cusp of death at any mont.
“You— HOW DARE I NTION THAT NA!”
The first voice scread, and the second voice replied simply.
“My mories are incomplete. I do not know the full gravity of your history with her. However, you cannot let your past attachnts—”
“SHUT UP! I WILL KILL ! I WILL REJECT THIS VESSEL, AND I WILL DIE IF YOU KEEP TALKING!”
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If Edithe could wince, she would have. The first voice was yelling, its voice reverberating in her mind again and again.
But the second voice just spoke calmly in response.
“Iudex, I am simply asking you to calm your emotions. Do not let it get in the way of making sound judgnt. Rember your position.”
“I—”
The first voice started, and the second voice cut it off.
“You are [The Judge Ordained By The Arcraem]. How can you cast your judgnt upon others if you cannot even think clearly, Iudex?”
Edithe didn’t think that was going to work. In fact, she thought that would have only upsetted the Archangel. But, sohow, that wasn’t what happened.
“I am right. I need to be rational. Even if I dislike this outco, this has to be. For I am [The Judge Ordained By The Arcraem], and I cannot die here.”
The first voice grew calr, almost morphing with the second voice as it continued.
“I accept this contract.”
The Archangel finally declared, and Edithe felt her senses slowly returning to her. Like she could feel her body moving— her fingers twitching. Both the burning sensation and the freezing sensation faded away.
And…
—--
Present…
And that was how Edithe ended up like this. A stupid, idealistic part of her thought she would inherit the Archangel’s power, just like that. So she would be able to arrive in Mavos Academy and save the day. Unfortunately, that was not what happened.
Instead, she found herself trapped in her own mind— inside what appeared to be a temple, surrounded by a devastated landscape of what appeared to be a warzone. But she paid no attention to the world of her mind right now, focusing on the sky.
Because that was where she could see what was going on in the outside world. Where she could see through her own eyes, and know what the Archangel was doing with her body.
“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ! I AM STRONGER THAN YOU— I AM THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD!”
The Archangel scread as it flew straight at the Matriarch Centinel, swinging its scythe with enough force to send the giant monster flying back. But that was not enough to win.
“Iudex, can’t you use that Skill—”
Edithe started, calling out to the sky. But the Archangel flew to a halt, before raising a fist at its eye— at her.
“I told you not to call that! Call the Judge— the Archangel! Do not use my na against !”
“Right…”
Edithe pursed her lips. She watched in the distance as the Matriarch Centinel flew up into the air, its entire body glowing, spreading a pair of wings made from the corruption.
“Uh, Mr Judge…”
“Don’t add that— I am the Judge! I am the Archangel! I am nothing else!”
“Sorry, Archangel… but can’t you use your Skill to—”
But before Edithe could even finish talking, the Matriarch Centinel shot forward, crashing into Iudex. In response, the Archangel just cursed, creating a spherical barrier to block the attack.
The redhead winced, even though the Matriarch Centinel’s attack didn’t connect. The Archangel simply flew back, protected by the barrier it created. It picked itself up and whispered so expletives, before raising its scythe.
“I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU NEVER LEFT THE END OF THE WORLD!”
And the Archangel shot back up, clashing with the Matriarch Centinel. Edithe bit her lower lip as she watched the battle unfold.
It was a one-sided battle. The Archangel was very handily winning this fight. Which was to be expected. Edithe had seen the Archangel completely slaughter a group of Supre Spirits just earlier.
Which begged the question—
“Why aren’t you using those sa Skills you used earlier? You could end this battle in an instant, Iu— Archangel.”
Edithe called out once again. But the Archangel didn’t give an imdiate response. It was too busy swinging its scythe madly at the Matriarch Centinel, shredding her corrupted giant form apart. But each ti that happened, the Matriarch Centinel quickly regenerated, and it was charging at the Archangel again.
It was almost a strange sight for Edithe to see— a monster that she previously thought was unstoppable was easily being beaten right before her very eyes. But the fact that it was not defeated yet… it unnerved her slightly.
“Archangel?”
Edithe repeated herself, and Iudex sighed as it flew back away from the Matriarch Centinel’s regenerating body.
“What?! Can’t you see I’m fighting here?”
“Why aren’t you—”
Edithe began to repeat herself, and the Archangel scoffed.
“I heard your question the first ti!”
Then why didn’t you just answer it? Edithe thought, but caught herself. Instead, she waited for the Archangel’s answer. Which ca soon after.
“I…”
The Archangel hesitated for a long mont, before closing its eyes, which blocked out Edithe’s vision of the world.
“I cannot use my Skills. There, are you happy?”
“What?”
And Edithe’s eyes grew wide.
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