Chapter 168 – The Three Tests (5)

‘Michael!’?

Gi-Gyu shouted in surprise. The man who had barged in and declared God's death was Michael.

Gi-Gyu couldn't hide his shock, and even Lou seemed speechless.

-...

‘Why is Michael here? Could it be… Was he also an archangel?’?

Gi-Gyu wondered. Did Michael lose his memory and ended up on earth?

El was the queen of all angels, yet Michael had barged in without knocking. He also talked to her and Raphael without formality. These facts alone proved that Michael had a high rank in this place, so he was most likely also an archangel.

‘

So why didn’t El recognize Michael when she saw him?’?

-You keep forgetting that El has also lost most of her memories like me.

Gi-Gyu remained quiet as Lou continued,

-I haven’t seen all the archangels either. Raphael is a famous one, and I’ve even fought him a few times, so I recognize him. But the other one… I’m not sure about him. It could be that he just looks like Michael and nothing more. But, the Vatican Michael and this guy are most likely one and the same.

Only El could confirm their hypothesis, but this obviously wasn’t the time. As Gi-Gyu and Lou chatted, El replied to the man with Michael’s face, “You came…”

“Hmph.” The man with Michael's face acted arrogantly, just like the Michael Gi-Gyu knew.

“Gabriel! How dare you act so rude?!” Raphael screamed.

‘

Gabriel?’?

It appeared that the test Michael’s name was Gabriel.

-Gabriel…

Lou mumbled.

The bulb went off, and various information from Lou’s data popped up in Gi-Gyu’s head.

‘

Gabriel was one of the archangels and the most influential one after El. He was known to be powerful and skilled but rarely appeared in public.’

This was all the information Lou had on Gabriel.

Gi-Gyu thought in confusion, ‘

This is so complicated.’

The test Michael looked like the Vatican Michael, but the test Michael was actually called Gabriel.

Eventually, Gi-Gyu accepted the reality created by using El’s data, but he still felt a bit confused. Meanwhile, he heard Raphael and Gabriel arguing.

Raphael yelled, “Blasphemy! How could you say something like that about our creator!”

“But is it not the truth?” Gabriel smirked. As Raphael and Gabriel’s argument escalated, Gi-Gyu and Lou gained an understanding of what was happening.

Gabriel added, “God is dead. The problem is that no one is accepting this.”

Gabriel turned to look at El, Raphael, and…

‘

Huh?’?

Gi-Gyu thought Gabriel glanced at him, but…

-I’m sure you’re mistaken.

Gi-Gyu agreed, ‘

Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.’

This simulation was created by using El’s data. So was it at all possible for Gabriel, a part of this data, to recognize him?

‘

Wait, is it actually possible?’?

Gi-Gyu’s confusion was mounting, but he decided to stop thinking about it. There was no point in trying to make random guesses. For now…

‘

I just have to find the clues in this part of El’s memories,’?

Gi-Gyu thought. This could be his chance to learn El’s secret. Perhaps he could even learn the secrets of the Tower and the different worlds.

-God’s dead… I guess it’s true then.

‘Huh?’

-Look.

When Lou said that, Gi-Gyu turned toward El and Raphael. They had their heads down, unable to deny Gabriel’s claim.

Gabriel suddenly screamed, “Why must you suffer like this? You’re doing this to fix all the problems that arose from his death, aren’t you?”

When neither El nor Raphael answered, Gabriel roared, “Why won’t you answer me? You’re the queen of all angels and the biggest worshiper of our lord! Yet now you have to sacrifice yourself like this! It’s all because he’s dead, isn’t it?!”

Suddenly, Gabriel called out to El in a frustrated voice, “Answer me, Michael!”

***

‘

Michael?’?

Gi-Gyu's confusion peaked. The test Michael was called Gabriel, and the test El was called Michael.

‘

Her old name is Michael?’?

Suddenly, more information popped up in Gi-Gyu’s head, which confirmed that El’s old name was Michael. Since there was some information on El in Lou’s data, it appeared that Lou knew her before.

Michael was the very first angel who had an audience with god. In fact, she was God's very first creation.

The shining ruler of all angels.

Michael.

‘

And that was El’s real name…’?

-

That’s why I thought that Vatican Michael was special. He used the name Michael and even had an aura similar to the test Michael/Gabriel. I knew he was someone notable.

Gi-Gyu finally realized why Lou had deemed Michael special.

At this point, Gi-Gyu wondered if even his name was Gi-Gyu. All he could do now was watch what was unfolding before his eyes.

El nodded and replied, “It’s true. God… no longer exists.”

“Michael!” Raphael screamed.

El remained calm as she protested, “How could we deny it any longer? God doesn’t exist anymore. I’m certain of it. And just as I can feel his absence…”

El looked at Raphael and Gabriel before asking, “Can’t you two feel it too? All the archangels must know! In fact, aren’t all angels aware of this?! He… doesn’t exist anymore.”

“...”

“...”

Gabriel and Raphael remained quiet, confirming El’s claim. El continued, “Gabriel is right. Things are happening because he doesn’t exist anymore.”

El slumped before adding, “Don’t you think it is my job and of all the archangels to take care of the impending crises to prevent chaos?”

The two male angels remained silent. Looking up, El murmured, “The Tower…”

‘

The Tower?’?

Gi-Gyu became alert.

The Tower was the center of everything that occurred in this world.

El continued, “When the Tower was completed…”

Gi-Gyu couldn’t hide his interest and surprise when he heard this new information.

El added, “God died.”

When they heard that, there wasn’t a single emotion on El and Michael’s faces.

And…

‘

Huh? What’s going on?’?

Gi-Gyu noted his surroundings were slowly changing.

***

Before he could hear the rest of El, Raphael, and Gabriel’s conversation, he found himself in a different space. He was now surrounded by complete darkness and couldn’t tell where he was, but he didn’t panic.

‘

I’m sure this is just a part of the test.’?

He was disappointed that he couldn’t hear the rest of El’s story, but he needed to concentrate since the test was far from over. Gi-Gyu suspected he would get another chance to hear about the Tower’s secret.

Gi-Gyu organized what he had learned just now.

God didn’t build the Tower? The Tower had incredible power. There was like a whole different world inside it. Gi-Gyu wondered if the Tower wasn’t one of God’s creations.

And…

‘

El said that god died when the Tower was completed.’?

What did she mean? Gi-Gyu was now certain that there was a close relationship between God and the Tower. But he still couldn’t figure out the answer because he didn’t have all the puzzle pieces.

-Hmm.

‘

Do you know something?’?

Gi-Gyu asked Lou, who didn’t answer. He quickly realized that it was a silly question because had Lou known anything, the relevant information would’ve popped up from Lou’s data.

‘

So I guess it’s really true that god is dead.’?

And it seemed that all the changes in the world began around this time. By the time he finished organizing his thoughts, the surrounding space had brightened, and the darkness had disappeared completely.

‘

Hmm. Is the test giving me enough time to organize the new information given to me?’?

Gi-Gyu wondered. It seemed that this test was showing kindness to him. Feeling the area brighten even further, Gi-Gyu opened his eyes to see vague figures in front of him.

Slowly, Gi-Gyu opened his eyes even wider to see where he was.

“Worship him.” Someone ordered, and a loud thud followed it.

Countless angels stood on the floor. There were more angels here than the giant herd of monsters that had attacked Gi-Gyu in the first test. Gi-Gyu turned to see that El was heading all these angels.

Someone ordered again, “Worship him.”

Gi-Gyu turned to watch the group. All the angels, including El, wore a veil to hide their faces. They obeyed and kneeled without a word.

“Worship him.” When the order was repeated, the angels prostrated in submission. The only ones still standing were the seven archangels. They stood elegantly and looked down at the rest of the angels.

Some time passed before El announced, “Today, we experienced a big change.”

Her voice sounded solemn and beautiful as she continued, “Because of the misfortune God experienced, our… home will be facing a huge change.”

El’s voice turned sad when she declared, “Soon, this place will collapse.”

Her shocking announcement made everyone turn rigid. Hundreds of thousands of angels barely breathed as they concentrated on El’s voice. It appeared that they already knew about what was to come.

“We must fix this chaos,” ordered El. “The world will lose its order and balance, and it will collapse as a result. We must follow our great god’s will and…”

After a short pause, El added quietly, “We must obey his sublime will.”

Step.

El slowly walked up and stopped in front of an altar. The other six archangels quietly surrounded El. She kneeled on the altar and announced, “I shall be the first.”

Gi-Gyu silently watched and listened. All he could do was gather as much information as possible.

Drip

.

Teardrops rolled down Gi-Gyu’s cheeks, and he felt his heart breaking into a million pieces. He groaned as he felt the despair El must have felt. Was this how El felt at that moment? Or was this how El was feeling right now as she kneeled on the altar? Gi-Gyu wiped away his tears and continued to watch.

“The Tower”—El brought her hands together—“must be destroyed.”

Stab.

Suddenly, the six archangels plunged their swords into El’s body.

‘

No!’?

Gi-Gyu screamed.