Chapter 382: The Demon and the Archangel

Half of the archangel’s body was rotting away. Flesh once flawless had decayed into uneven patches, and the face exposed half of the skull beneath. The decay reached all the way to his heart; it pulsed there, blackened. His chest, covered in scraps of cloth and shards of stone, split with glowing crimson fissures under the hall’s pale light.

“Not so beautiful now, am I?” he said, letting out a rough laugh that broke into a dry cough. It grew harsher, echoing through the stone columns. Blood seeped from the hollow in his chest, thick and dark. Then something inside him began to move, stone pushing through flesh.

Organs reformed amid the crack of growing rock. The rotted parts were slowly replaced by mineral layers, molding themselves to fill the void. Even the left eye, once an empty pit, became a dull stone sphere.

“The stone… it’s not for show,” he murmured, laughing weakly between coughs that soon faded. His face was complete now, half flesh, half stone, a grotesque fusion of the living and the lifeless. When it was done, the creature stood as a hybrid, a living monument of skin and rock.

“There,” said the archangel at last, his voice steady again. “Where I was imperfect, I fixed it.”

He laughed once more, a low, humorless sound.

Then he sat upon the throne and stared at them with unblinking eyes. “Now you’ve seen my problem. This body is sick, terribly sick, with an ancient curse, one that consumed even the brightest minds of the realm I came from.”

The archangel rested an elbow on the throne’s arm, the sound of stone grinding against stone filling the hall.

“I survived by sealing myself in stone. But…” He drew a slow breath, his voice faltering for a moment. “I’m dying. It may take centuries, yes, but we don’t have that long.”

Erza glanced at Allison, then back to the king. Luke watched Evangeline in silence. He knew that if things came to a fight, he’d need her to trigger her epic ability; they’d all have to act together before he could charge the arrow with mana. But there was a problem: the creature was sitting on the throne.

If he blew the monster apart… would the throne go with it?

“That’s why I chose to speak with you seven,” said the Midnight King, his voice carrying a natural authority that filled the chamber. “So we can reach an agreement.”

Seven?

Luke frowned. The others exchanged puzzled looks. There were him, Charlie, Allison, Jack, Mason, Evangeline, Erza, and Anne.

Eight.

“What kind of agreement?” Erza asked, her tone neutral, almost polite.

The archangel’s gaze shifted to her, heavy and measuring, as if weighing every word.

“I’ll give you two options,” he began, rising slowly from the throne. The stone groaned beneath his movement.

“Now that I’m fully awake from my slumber, I can grant you free passage. No deaths. My army of the dead will halt their assault outside, and your allies will cross the portal safely. No battles. No losses.”

His voice deepened, filling the hall.

“You wouldn’t want to face someone at my level. Even weakened from what I once was, I am still a level 137 being. Against mere level 50 humans, it would be… unfair, don’t you think? One strike from me and you turn to dust.”

The floor shuddered as he rose to his full height. The creature’s presence seemed to compress the air itself, not a show of power but a natural force, like the sea pressing against a swimmer’s chest.

“The system has been cruel to you,” the archangel said as he walked forward. Each step echoed through the hall.

“Therefore I offer an alliance. Accept my terms and you may pass freely. Refuse and I will begin by slaughtering you. Then I will slaughter everyone outside until I have what I want.”

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He smiled, and the sound snapped the silence like a glass struck.

“Nothing holds me now. The seals are gone. You will die here, in front of the exit you have been chasing. Tragic, isn’t it? You fought so hard… and then to lose your freedom at the last minute.”

Erza watched him without rush.

“I like deals,” she said.

“Perfect,” the archangel replied, inclining his head slightly. “So do I.”

“This deal will keep everyone in this hall safe, right? All of us?” Erza pressed.

“Yes, all of you.”

Erza narrowed her eyes.