CHAPTER 45 -HIS PLAN-

ALTER VIOLET

The more this duel dragged on, the more his emotions began to be clearer to me. Michael. The Saint Angel, the righteous one out of the god’s archangels. That was what he was described back in my old world, but all of that didn’t fit the current Michael.

This Michael was hell bent on killing me, his honesty and righteousness wasn’t in sight. Why… was it because of me? Because of what I had said?

The Saint Angel had lost any common sense. His eyes wide opened, looking for an opening that I would make. I didn’t let it happen, instead I contoured every attack every movement that he threw at me.

His sword contained a large amount of mana. He’s planning on unleashing that amount of mana in here with all these people? I thought to myself, looking at my surroundings and fearing what Michael would then regret later on.

“Michael, stop this madness. You will kill everyone here!” I yelled, grabbing both of his arms making him unable to attack.

I once more said his name but I injected the strong force I once had in my old world. “Michael, snap out of your second phase. Before I kill you.”

The golden-haired Angel looked into my eyes, he knew that I wasn’t kidding but he still chose to ignore the warning. Releasing all the mana that was accumulated in his sword, looking like it had fire over the blade. I felt the divine mana that was around the air come to his will, holding on his left hand a spell that the divine mana surrounded. This isn’t good.

He loosened my grip with an anomaly of sudden strength, seconds later he violently swung his sword to my direction. What came after were slashes that were created by the mana in the sword, the slashes were powerful enough to destroy and open holes on the structures that hold the vicinity.

How can someone have this much power?

[Alter, you have to end this battle.]

My concern grew even bigger. I had forgotten that they were holding him back.

I hesitated to ask the most obvious question. My throat felt dry, but the current that I was on didn’t make me feel this way. There wasn’t a response right away, no. My mind was clouded with many possibilities that weren’t any good.

‘Come on Alter, you are better than that. You know that with their power they can’t beat me.’ His chilling voice brought fear into my heart and mind.

If he is talking then that means…

‘Yes, I have beaten them in their own game.’

In that moment my consciousness went into another place, it was a different world. My old world. The tall buildings that had many windows. The bright yellow sun hitting my skin felt like summer.

"Yes it is summer in this world, or alternative should I say.” I turned to the source of the voice, he only stayed in one spot looking around like it was his first time here. Then his brown eyes landed on me. “It’s been a while since I've seen you… weeks? Months? Or probably even years. Well no matter,” his eyes were closed but then slowly opened up to see my face.

If I was here then that meant that we were using real time. My concern seemed to have leaked out of me that even he had a puzzled look. The sound of fingers snapping changed the scenario, we were in a third person view where I could see my body along with many others.

What is going on? I questioned, looking around the room—temple. “Scared?” He said in an amused voice. Coming out of the crowd, just below where Michael and I were fighting. The boy whose age was the same as mine continued walking out of the crowded floor to the center of the temple dome, with his eyes staring at both Angels.

“You seem to not understand the situation right now. I will explain—“

I cut his sentence off, “No need, I know you used Abeyance to stop time but used your own mana instead of mine.”

The black haired boy had a nonchalant expression before snapping his fingers again, changing the scenario to where Onyx and I had our conversation during the academy’s invasion.

Only one difference was that the thrones had been switched. The golden and white one was behind me and the dark obsidian was behind him.

He was the first to sit down, as for me my body felt out of place like I wasn’t in control any more and sat down without my command.

I was in suspicion as to why he would be here. Wait… where are the others?

Struggling to unleash myself off the throne, it felt like it had a high spell of gravity engraved on it.

“You have gotten…weak.”

He said in a disappointed tone.

The brown eyes had disgust, like he was looking at a bug, an inferior being that was in front of him.

“Like you are one to talk…”

“Last time we saw each other you were able to control this body without a sweat, however you now lack the power you once had.”

I wasn’t about to take a disrespectful statement from someone like him!

Expecting a harsh comment back, I excelled the magical feeling that surrounded the fake imagery. Since it was made by mana there should be leakage of mana around here somewhere.

“I see that after you’ve reincarnated, you've gotten a little more reckless. Especially with your words but you are in truth. I lacked the power I once wielded, the power that even rivaled the gods themselves.”

His tone and expression shared a common thing, crestfallen. It was the same face that I had in my other world… after I had lost them, then her.

In spite of the fact that I shouldn’t feel sympathetic towards him, I technically went through what he went through. The betrayal of fate and time. Emotions that were cut off one by one as time went on.

The decisions we had to take to overcome and advance through just to watch it all fall once again. Seconds and minutes, hours and days, weeks and months. Just to come up with things that would call us demons, a disgrace to the world. The reason why I was nicknamed the angel sent from hell. To The Angel Of Death.

Yet, now we both don’t have the power and will to fight like we used to.

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My eyes that were once facing the cold and dark floor, looked into the direction of the one who knew what I went through, whether it’s on this world or on Earth–only he knew.

I opened my mouth but was cut by him.

“...but that is not the case of this ‘meeting’ that I have summoned you here. No. I’ve come to tell you that I won’t back down from my goal, Alter. I will have each and every single one of these gods that cursed my fate dead at my feet.”

His aggressive tone told me that he was serious about his goal, but I didn’t need that to tell me that he was serious. The determination that his eyes had were the same as they were before when he knew that he was cursed by gods back on Earth.

I needed his power control over the Halo. Sammael can only do so much but he can do more, his infinite mana supply means that I can use ‘that’.

“Have you forgotten? I still can read your mind, we are in my world after all and we are the–”

I yelled, cutting him off.

“Don’t…don’t say that!”

Pushing my body to the utmost limit against the gravity force that pulled me down into the throne. Then I recited the words I muttered when I fought the Angel marshal.

If this place has mana then there must be a way for me to use this power infinitely. I just need to use the mana in the atmosphere to run through my ring into me, then I will subdue this mistake of a human scum.

“...in adamantine chains and penal fire, Sore Halo.”

Upon finishing the phase activation words, mana flowed into my ring onto my body releasing the white wings on my back, supplying me with the mana that withheld the world he called his own creation. The more source of mana I had the better my strength became, soon overcoming the gravity force that held me down to the golden throne and stepping forward into his gaze.

Nevertheless, he didn’t flinch or become surprised by this. This was odd, by now he should have activated his phase but didn’t?

What is going on through his head?

Before I even began to stretch my line to connect the dots, the annoyed and disturbed being rose from his throne. He scoffed before letting a hopeless sigh out as he observed my power, the Halo power. Then he motioned with his right hand a pull like he pulled back an embedded sword into a wooden door. A sword came to his hand, I knew this sword no less and so did Onyx.

The ancient symbols that it had in the middle of the blade, the cross guard being in the shape of dragon horns with a dark colored gem in between them, the hilt being the same color as the night sky.

The soul blade…

“How?”

“It’s quite simple you see, the soul blade which was called back when I was fighting the girls—you raised and trained just for them to end up as weaknesses —when things got a little too tricky. I got the idea of using Onyx’s manipulation over mana while using your aether phase to call the family’s heirloom of the Millguards.”

He inspected the sword, putting the tip of the sword up and following his eyes that were dragged on each detail there was on the sword.

As he did this he continued.

“In that moment, the presence of the higher beings was known. I’m sure you noticed it as well…or probably not. I honestly don’t think you had the power to sense them, well since you still barely held on to that promise you made to them and even her.

“Continuing with the story, things got a little out of hand I would say. The beings that are considered Stars are now aware of your existence ever since the academy, but the question here is that if they had reported that you were alive?”

The more he babbled, the more annoyed I became to hear his wicked thoughts. But this was something I didn’t even think about, I knew that he had used divine mana because Onyx told me about it. He had called the soul blade to fight Julie, why?

Using his hands was more than enough to finish her off, hell he would even consider using one of his fingers handicap. So why? Why would he call a weapon that uses divine mana to call it against a human girl?

“You seem lost, Alter Violet…you still can’t understand why I did what I did can you?”

I looked towards him. Yet, the answer that I wanted was in his mind. It was already thought before he even took over my body back in the continent of Afreon.

It was because…

“That’s right, I thought about this since my time on Earth. A way for me to kill the gods and make them suffer like I did.”

[Alter, ]

You’re okay?!

[Yes, yes I am and so is the rest but that isn’t what is important right now. Alter we found out his plan…]

His plan?

[Alter, he plans to start a war between the 12 races.]

My eyes widened, as I faced the being in front of me with nothing but a malicious smile that reached his eyes. I had forgotten that he could read and hear anything that goes through my mind.

I subconsciously called for the dark sword in my mind, gripping my fist like I had a sword on it. On my right hand, the dark yet simple sword appeared but this time a little more different than it was. The cross-guard and the hilt were completely back while the blade had a glass–crystal look, like obsidian. The candles that surrounded us and the room lightened the obsidian-like sword.

Gripping the obsidian-colored sword, I looked into his eyes, dead center.

Yet, he only stared back.

He had no intentions of fighting me right here or now, he had something else up his sleeve. However, that didn’t matter, now that I know what he plans I will make preparations for its stopping.

His plans stopping might be a way for my growth in power and understanding of this form. Using his own planning for my own personal development and excuse for my plans.

“Hoo, that doesn’t sound like you at all, dear Alter Violet. Or is it that your old self is getting back at you?”

What?!

Since I was lost deep in thought I never questioned my thoughts. Yet he questioned them without a doubt, almost like…

I was cut off, the next set of words his mouth let out left me speechless that the time in the outside world unfroze.

Michael’s spell unleashed and clashed with me without any warning. Forgetting about it, my halo form seemed to have taken such a serious damage that even my wings were internally and externally damaged by the attack with Divine mana.

My wings that were considered divine back in my old world now looked like a chicken’s wing after a ranch fire.

“Healing Dome—“

An icy surging pain came across my mind and body the moment I muttered those words. Was I mentally exhausted? Or have I used too much Divine mana in that imaginary world?

Why is the Halo giving me a toll on my body?!

Merging with Sammael should’ve given me full control over the Halo!

I couldn’t even think straight that the pain began only to get worse, my head felt like it was about to explode in a million pieces. My limbs felt like they were being ripped, limb by limb.

A maniac chuckle sore from inside my head, echoing as my head was spinning with mental pain.

The chuckle turned into a full fledged laughter for fifteen seconds before stopping.

‘You sure don’t understand anything do you, Alter Violet?’

[Alter…you are currently going into overdrive.]

Overdrive?!

I thought that only worked for people with mana cores not mana rings! Just what is happening right now?

[He sucked up Sammael’s angels power, and is overwhelming it with his otherworldly mana.]

How is that possible?! He can’t, he doesn’t use any skills that allow him to absorb other’s power. I know this because of his power to know and adapt to everything he is fed.

Unless…

Michael’s powers unleashed a pressure like ‘he’ did back in his prime. The Angel of Saint’s overwhelming authority mixed with his aura, it was telling me that his power as an Angel was stronger than normal. Michael had more capacity than most and was stronger than most.

Yet, his foolishness in pride will be his downfall in this world.

‘And so will yours.’

Suddenly, I wasn’t in front of Michael any more. I was in a darkish room, surrounded with candles that lit the two only seats in the room.

The throne room.