The radiant host of archangels lit up the darkness. <Eden>’s archangels, each one approaching the level of a great-personage constellation. The archangels of ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) <Eden> who commanded them revealed their outlines in the void.

As expected, most were archangels I knew.

[Constellation, ‘Lily Bloomed in Aquarius’ looks at you.]

Archangel Gabriel.

[Constellation, ‘Guardian of Youths and Travelers’ looks at you.]

Archangel Raphael.

[Constellation, ‘Friend of Justice and Concord’ pities you.]

[Constellation, ‘He Who Faces God’ looks at you.]

Archangels Raguel and Camael.

[Constellation, ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos’ looks at you.]

Killer King’s backing star, Archangel Yophiel.

[Constellation, ‘Savior of the Fallen’ glares at you.]

Even Michael, called the strongest archangel.

I steadied my pounding heart and checked, and checked again, the faces of the archangels.

Uriel wasn’t there.

A belated worry surged up.

Had he perhaps overexerted himself when he saved me last time? Or had he received some kind of threat from <Eden>?

「 Get a hold of yourself. 」

As if it weren’t the time to worry about Uriel, the Demon King of Salvation warned me through [The Fourth Wall]. I swallowed and nodded.

The only reason I could endure even while facing archangels boasting such majestic dignity was thanks entirely to the naked guy (wearing clothes) who stood in front of me and blocked them.

Sovereign Slayer Jaehwan.

Anew, I realized just how tremendous an existence he was. Even if you searched all of <Star Stream>, it would be hard to find a star that wouldn’t be cowed while facing a single great nebula.

What’s more, he looked utterly nonchalant, as if this level of threat were laughable, as he reached for his sword hilt…

“Wait a second!”

“What is it.”

Jaehwan shot me a fierce glare. Regret hit me a beat late.

Come to think of it, why did I do that?

Why was I stopping Jaehwan?

“They may not have come to fight.”

Right. That was my reason.

While I was with the “Demon King of Salvation,” I’d been chased by great nebulae more than once.

<Asgard> and <Olympus>. Or mid-sized nebulae like <Jade Abyss>.

But not once had <Eden> chased me.

“Let’s at least talk first.”

“Why should I?”

For reference, another nickname of “Sovereign Slayer” Jaehwan was “God Slayer.”

“There’s no need to harm opponents who hold no hostility.”

“Someone called Yu Joonghyuk told me this: there is no such thing as a harmless star in this world.”

Joonghyuk, what on earth did you say to him.

“No, I mean, stars are mostly harmful, sure.”

I had no idea why I was defending stars.

But to stave off a catastrophe, there was no other way. If Uriel, whom I hadn’t spotted, happened to be among them, that would be a disaster.

I sucked in a breath and let the words fly in one go.

“That’s by Yu Joonghyuk’s standard, and your standard is different. Look at those fluttering, pure-white wings. Do they look like evil constellations to you?”

At my words, Jaehwan cast another glance over the archangels. Perhaps the Sovereign Slayer was a human you could reason with to a degree.

Just then, one archangel who had received his gaze stepped forward. It was the very archangel who should never step forward.

[So you’re the ‘Sovereign Slayer’—]

Before archangel-stabbing could activate, I stepped in front of Jaehwan.

“Hey! Just a moment! Hey, you!”

[……?]

“Savior of the Fallen! Do not finish that sentence right now!”

Michael glared at me, who had stepped in front of Jaehwan, then spoke again.

[And what are you.]

Michael the Savior of the Fallen was a Narrative-grade constellation. Not merely Narrative-grade, but an archangel who, when he activated “demon-king-ification,” approached myth-grade. There was probably only one incarnation across all of <Star Stream> who could wag his tongue at such an archangel.

“Me? I’m Kim Dokja.”

Damn it, why am I Kim Dokja.

Michael stared at me in silence, then asked in a dull voice,

[And?]

“Let’s all get along.”

A terrifying silence swept the surroundings. I heard Raphael’s sigh, and I could see Gabriel putting a hand to his head and shaking it side to side. Yophiel stared at me as if I were a bizarre creature.

And then,

Rrrrrrmmmmble!

Michael began to mercilessly emit his dignity.

[Constellation, ‘Savior of the Fallen’ reveals his dignity.]

Watching Michael approach step by step, I quietly slipped back behind Jaehwan again.

Honestly, it wasn’t like I didn’t want to watch.

Michael versus Jaehwan.

Savior of the Fallen versus Sovereign Slayer.

Especially if it were Michael with “demon-king-ification” activated against Jaehwan, it would be a spectacle you couldn’t see even for a pile of gold.

But that was the sort of thought rlaehrwk41 might have; it wasn’t the kind of thinking I should be doing right now.

If a myth-grade constellation clash broke out right before our eyes, Yu Joonghyuk and I would be swept up by the Narrative maelstrom and have our limbs torn apart.

“Um, Mr. Jaehwan. Actually, he alone is the bad guy. Could you kill just him?”

While Jaehwan looked back at me as if I were absurd, other archangels were gathering at Michael’s side.

I shouted in a hurry.

“Hold it right there! Stop! You know how terrifying this person is!”

Fortunately, it seemed the archangels had heard of Jaehwan’s reputation; they didn’t look like they’d act rashly.

I quickly added,

“And this person isn’t wicked! Rejecting evil and revering good! Isn’t that <Eden>’s banner? Please don’t judge solely by appearances! Look, he’s even dressed so neatly!”

“You.”

I ignored even Jaehwan’s growled word and kept yelling.

“He saved me and Yu Joonghyuk. He saved us from the constellations of that terrifying <Olympus> and <Asgard>—from the divinities of another realm!”

The sword that had been half-drawn from its sheath halted for the first time. It felt like he’d at least hear what I was saying.

“When I got indigestion from swallowing Narrative fragments, he even patted my back. It hurt bad enough to die, but I didn’t die and lived, so you could say I owe him a life-saving grace.”

“……”

“Is that all? For fully eleven days he skewered and killed every outer god that came near. While great nebulae were hunting me, who else would show us such goodwill. Hm?”

Coming to my senses, I realized I was parroting what the “Demon King of Salvation” had argued. But saying it out loud, it felt like he’d been right.

The Sovereign Slayer wasn’t a villain. At least, not to me and Yu Joonghyuk.

But Archangel Yophiel seemed to think a little differently.

[That one is evil.]

An ominous light flowed from Yophiel’s eyes. Her stigma, [Eyes of Sin], had activated.

When Jaehwan met her stare as if to say what now, with a chchchit— sound the light of [Eyes of Sin] went out. As expected, when you’re an absolute being from another universe, it seems you can extinguish a stigma just by glaring.

Even so, it seemed Yophiel had witnessed something in the meantime.

I preempted her before she could speak.

“Yes. Of course, depending on one’s point of view, it could differ, but—”

[That one has slaughtered over a million gods.]

I turned to look at Jaehwan.

This bastard really is a villain, isn’t he?

But I feigned composure and replied,

“Isn’t it possible all the gods he killed were bad guys? I’m sure he did it with good intentions. Right? Obviously to make the world a better—”

“My goal was to destroy the world.”

“Yes, so, to put it in simple terms, with the purpose of killing evil gods and purifying the world—”

“They got in my way, so I killed them.”

I wanted to tell him to please shut up, but protagonists never shut up just because you tell them to.

In the meantime, another protagonist who had come to his senses spoke to me.

—Kim Dokja.

Kid Yu Joonghyuk was pushing himself up on the floating stone. It looked like he’d grasped the rough situation.

Receiving my look begging him to stop this somehow, Yu Joonghyuk opened his mouth toward the archangels.

“I want to kill them all.”

At Yu Joonghyuk’s words, Jaehwan nodded and muttered,

“There are times our opinions align.”

The situation was rapidly turning into a mess.

I was just thinking this wouldn’t be easy to resolve even if the Demon King of Salvation came himself, when Jaehwan’s expression changed for the first time.

“Interesting.”

Ever since I met him, the phrase “interesting” sounded a bit different.

With a bad feeling, I followed Jaehwan’s gaze. Then the angelic ranks parted, and from the rear an archangel walked forward.

A myth-grade constellation of <Eden> was there.

The controller of the archangels, and the number two of <Eden>.

[Constellation, ‘Scribe of Heaven’ stares at you.]

Scribe of Heaven, “Metatron.”

I never thought I’d see him here.

Unconsciously, I bit down hard on my lip. His descending in person meant <Eden> was that serious about this incident.

[Pleased to make your acquaintance.]

A characteristically courteous, calm voice.

The first place his gaze went was kid Yu Joonghyuk.

[Marionette of the Oldest Dream.]

Next he looked at Jaehwan.

[Sovereign Slayer.]

Lastly, he stared at me.

[And……]

He kept his eyes on me for a long while, then continued with a faint, lit smile.

[Lamb, you are afraid.]

Of course I am. Even my backing star would be scared if an archangel legion descended. All the more so if the opponent was the master schemer “Metatron,” who made even that Kim Dokja shudder…

[Do not worry. Neither I nor <Eden> will harm you. We have no intention of changing the contents of the ‘Revelation.’]

I immediately revised my evaluation of Metatron in my head.

What sort of place was <Eden>? A nebula of angels. Angels are generally kind. If he was the representative of such angels, wouldn’t he, naturally, be kinder than anyone?

For a moment, I even hoped he might mediate this entire affair.

[However, we cannot tolerate an existence that breaks the balance of this worldline.]

A vain hope.

The moment Metatron’s and Jaehwan’s gazes crossed, Jaehwan drew his sword hilt with a bloody smile.

“Your tongue is long. If you’re going to attack, do it quickly.”

At that arrogant tone, the archangels guarding Metatron quietly raised their dignity.

Even so, Jaehwan continued to provoke them.

“You really think the likes of you can stop me?”

The strength to stand alone against a single great nebula.

As if acknowledging such a Jaehwan, Metatron nodded.

[Absolute from another worldline. I know you are strong. If we tried to eliminate you, we would not escape unscathed, either.]

“You’re all going to die here.”

Metatron gave a small shrug and a wry smile.

[It seems you’ve forgotten that this is not your ‘worldview.’]

It was then that I felt an ominous magic from behind us. A dignity with a nature the exact opposite of the archangels.

Existences that shouldn’t have been here were there.

[Demon King, ‘Lord of Serpent Hell’ descends into the void!]

[Demon King, ‘Demon King of Sonic’ descends into the void!]

[Demon King, ‘Demon King of Temptation and Barrenness’ descends into the void!]

[Demon King, ‘Merciless Hunter of Reverse Heaven’ descends into the void!]

……

[Demon King, ‘Ruler of the Eastern Hell’ descends into the void!]

Demon kings.

It was unbelievable.

Why on earth had they appeared here?

It wasn’t as if they intended to stage a Holy–Demonic War here.

Wait. Holy–Demonic War?

“Run. Right now.”

Jaehwan glared at me as if to say what nonsense was that.

“Are you speaking to me?”

“Yes! Take me and Yu Joonghyuk and run! Now!”

I did not think Jaehwan would lose. Even if they were myth-grade constellations, even if it was the renowned <Eden>, taking on Jaehwan wouldn’t be easy.

「But if it’s ‘sealing’ him, that could be a different story.」

Two pitch-black, swirling spheres had settled into Metatron’s hands. I already knew what those spheres were.

[Leave this story. Wraith of a perished universe.]

Once, Han Sooyoung had employed that forbidden technique to seal “Yu Joonghyuk of round 1,863.”

[Myth-grade Narrative, ‘Apocalypse Dragon’s Sealing Orbs’ begins its story!]

So long as this was <Star Stream>, there was no one who could break that seal.