Chapter 313: Exchanging Secrets
“Fine, don’t show me then, stingy!” Adele clutched her head, looking indignant. The “Profiling” ability, when used on people, was more like a mental connection. Seraph’s sudden disconnection reminded Adele of forcibly shutting down her computer when it froze. Although the computer seemed fine and could restart normally, who knew what was going on inside?
So Adele had reason to suspect that Seraph had damaged her precious brain. Therefore, she couldn’t care less and tearfully questioned the angel girl, “Seraph, you have to compensate me!”
“Waaah, if I become stupid, you’ll have to take care of me!”
“I’m easy to take care of…I don’t eat much, I’m just a bit of a homebody, I love buying games…N-No, why am I saying this!”
“Am I really becoming stupid!?”
“…” Seraph silently stared at the girl before her, thinking that she must have been overthinking. No matter how she looked at it, Adele was carefree. Such complicated matters couldn’t possibly be related to her.
But undeniably, Adele’s act of peeking into Seraph’s memories also made Seraph recall those ancient events that even she now found moving. Among them, one girl was almost the most crucial key figure. She was the strongest witch in history…or perhaps the first witch. She single-handedly orchestrated many falls, including the fall of the Archangel Lucifer, said to be created by the “Lord” in his own image. Lucifer was also the first angel to fall. Afterward, many angels had the idea of approaching that girl, and all of them fell without exception, becoming traitors to the heavenly kingdom.
Chacoco was one of them. Her real name was Maiyami. Angels far stronger than her died in the great war that marked the end of the Mythical Era. Lucifer was also taken back to the kingdom of God by the “Lord” as a sinner. What happened to Lucifer afterward wasn’t something Seraph could know. Lucifer never appeared again, so Seraph guessed she had been killed by the “Lord.”
Unexpectedly, Maiyami survived. She didn’t seal herself away like Seraph and other angels in the ancient temples built by humans to worship God, waiting for the “Lord’s” return after his departure. Instead, she used her long lifespan to play in the human world. Chacoco should be Maiyami’s most recent identity, a retired idol singer.
When she met her, Seraph was surprised to find that her first reaction wasn’t anger or concern for the endless feud between them, but rather a sense of melancholy and emotion. But the angel Seraph hid this well, not letting Maiyami discover it.
As for that girl’s ending, she and her city were destroyed by divine punishment. That marked the end of an entire mythical era. Actually, Seraph didn’t understand her, never understood her, only watching from afar, listening to other angels tell her stories and legends. But for some reason, Seraph vaguely saw her shadow in Adele.
It must be…an illusion. Because thinking of that girl, Seraph only felt a sense of unattainability. But looking at Adele before her, she only felt the urge to get closer to her.
“…Okay, I’ll take care of you.” Seraph promised the pouting Adele. Money meant nothing to an angel. Because it was originally something that didn’t exist, a consensus. Only when people truly believed a banknote could buy something, and the seller also believed it had the value to exchange for their goods, did it become money. Otherwise, it was just waste paper.
Seraph couldn’t create real money, but if it was waste paper, or older currencies like gold and silver…Seraph could give Adele as much as she wanted. She could easily search her memories and find the royal treasures buried underground after the destruction of many ancient kingdoms.
As for the time it would take to care for Adele, Seraph also had plenty of that. Although she wasn’t sure how long her lifespan was, taking care of a human, whose lifespan ranked as medium among various races, shouldn’t be a problem. No, Adele was also a half-blood vampire, so add a few more decades.
But that was insignificant, only a few dozen days for Seraph. In the past, angels had no fear of death itself. As for now, Seraph thought carefully and found that she didn’t want the thought of parting with Adele, of being separated by life and death, to enter her mind.
So Adele saw the angel suddenly shake her head vigorously. It was more strange than cute.
“What’s wrong, Seraph?”
“…Nothing.”
Despite saying nothing, Adele saw a trace of panic on Seraph’s face. She didn’t know if it was an illusion or something. But if it wasn’t, it would be quite interesting. Because it was on Seraph’s face. What happened? What surprised her so much?
But soon, Adele would tell the angel girl something even more surprising. The reason she told her was because, in Adele’s heart, Seraph was already someone she deeply trusted. She was always so unguarded with the girls she trusted.
“How about this, I’ll tell you one of my secrets!”
“But in return, Seraph has to tell me one of your secrets!” Adele proposed a trade.
Seraph tilted her head, seeming puzzled. But after a while, she agreed to the girl’s request. Because a strange emotion, a desire to understand Adele, was at work in her heart. Not just because Adele could peek into her distant memories with her “Profiling” ability, but also because the girl herself was worth caring about.
“Okay…I agree.”
Chapter 314: Seraph’s Loss of Control
The secret Adele wanted to tell Seraph couldn’t really be hidden. As long as Seraph continued to observe Adele, she would eventually discover it. So, as a “secret,” it was rather unworthy of the name. It was practically a cunning trap laid by the girl to trick Seraph into revealing one of her secrets. But Seraph didn’t have the ability to read minds, so how could she see through Adele’s true intentions? Even if she did, with Seraph’s personality, she probably wouldn’t be angered. She would indifferently accept it and still fall into Adele’s trap.
“Then I’ll tell you!”
“This incredibly precious secret!” Adele said dramatically. Even Seraph, the emotionless angel girl whose face usually lacked expression, showed interest, her eyes flickering like faint stars in the silent night sky. Having stars was better than the previous boundless, deep blue.
Then, Adele took out the jade-like blood droplet, Xiao Ai’s transformed state, from her spatial ring. Although Xiao Ai herself couldn’t enter the spatial ring, she could be stored inside when transformed into a blood droplet. It was undeniably magical, reminding Adele of Schrödinger’s cat. You couldn’t be sure whether the cat was alive or dead, meaning it was in a superposition of both states. Just like Xiao Ai, she seemed to be in a certain superposition.
“Ta-da! This is the most powerful treasure of the Vampire Clan, and also my precious daughter!” Adele showed it to the angel girl.
“…Daughter? Does it refer to the human concept of a girl born with a spouse or lover?” Seraph was too rigid and serious! What was with this textbook definition!?
However, after blinking, Adele hesitantly nodded, then shook her head vigorously. Meaning, “daughter” did indeed have the meaning Seraph described, but “Xiao Ai” was special, not belonging to any of the aforementioned situations. Adele didn’t want to explain further, so she silently called Xiao Ai back to her usual form.
As expected, Xiao Ai complied, revealing her true form as a young girl before Seraph. Even more surprisingly, this little girl’s facial features were almost identical to Adele’s! Perhaps not as clever and cunning as Adele, but if you said she was Adele’s daughter, no one would doubt it!
“…” After seeing Xiao Ai, Seraph fell into an unprecedentedly long silence. She and Xiao Ai looked at each other, their eyes filled with appraisal. Gradually, Xiao Ai began to avoid Seraph’s seemingly emotionless gaze. She whimpered and hid behind her “mother” Adele, clutching her mother’s skirt tightly with her small hands. Her tiny body trembled slightly, as if Seraph before her was some terrifying monster…
“Seraph! You scared the child!” Adele expressed her displeasure angrily. Xiao Ai had been wronged in front of Seraph. She wouldn’t consider the complex possibilities, only feeling that Seraph’s silent staring could easily frighten a child.
“I don’t understand.” Seraph murmured in a daze. It was unclear whether she didn’t understand why Xiao Ai was scared of her, or…she didn’t understand Xiao Ai’s existence. Didn’t understand why “she” existed. Didn’t understand what “she” was. Like herself, a…”creation”?
Because Seraph felt a similar aura to her own on Xiao Ai. Not a scent, but a vague feeling. If asked for proof, Seraph couldn’t provide any. Seraph instinctively sensed that Xiao Ai might not exist in this known world, but was born from the unknown. Just like herself and all the angels. But logically, only the “Lord” whom Seraph worshipped, that once real God, could do this. But why would the “Lord” create Xiao Ai in Adele’s image? It was completely illogical.
But if it wasn’t the “Lord,” then who could have done such a thing? Another “God”? With Seraph’s faith, she couldn’t acknowledge the existence of another God. That could only be a “false god”!
Thinking of this, Seraph’s gaze towards Xiao Ai suddenly turned hostile. Because she felt that the creation of a false god should be eliminated. Memories and combat instincts from the ancient times, loyal to God, began to resurface in Seraph’s soul.
Adele watched as Seraph’s eyes gradually filled with hostility. And that hostility…was completely directed at her “daughter” Xiao Ai, whom she had sworn to protect and cherish. Even knowing the power gap between herself and Seraph, even knowing that she might not be able to stop the angel’s desire to “cleanse,” that it might lead to a terrible outcome, or even… Adele still called out Seraph’s name, trying to wake her up, and then threw herself at her without hesitation.
She pushed Seraph to the ground, gripping her wrists tightly, nose to nose, forehead to forehead.
“Don’t be like this…Seraph!”
“Please! Wake up, Seraph!”
“Please…”
The girl’s voice was weak and helpless, filled with sincere pleading. Her whole body trembled, her instincts triggering a defense mechanism against the intense, aggressive aura emanating from the angel. Her witch form manifested, a pair of pink membranous wings almost enveloping both her and Seraph, forming a nearly transparent cocoon. At the same time, Adele’s thin tail tightly wrapped around Seraph’s legs.
This couldn’t be called an attack. It was more like a moral defense. But there was no other way. The power disparity between Adele and Seraph was too great. Besides gambling on Seraph’s unwillingness to hurt her…what else could she stake everything on?
Xiao Ai’s eyes reddened, tears welling up. Although innocent and naive, unfamiliar with this world, and even with limited human language, she could only helplessly call out, “Mama…Mama…” Xiao Ai didn’t even know what she could do for her mother. This wasn’t the Secret Realm; she couldn’t control even a single speck of dust here. Perhaps, like First Snow, she possessed astonishingly powerful magic within her body, but the little girl couldn’t use it through magic. She could only watch helplessly as her mother struggled to protect her, standing there crying.
Fortunately, Adele’s luck was excellent…or perhaps it was the bond between her and Seraph that moved the nearly out-of-control angel girl. Seraph actually calmed down gradually in Adele’s embrace, abandoning the destructive desires from the ancient mythical era. Her eyes became unprecedentedly clear, like the night sky after a rain.
“…I’m sorry, Adele.”
“I worried you.”
Seraph was clumsy with words and couldn’t offer any explanation. But it allowed Adele to finally lower her worried heart.
“Waaah, Seraph!”
“You scared me to death!” The girl’s tears fell onto Seraph’s face one after another. The wet sensation made Seraph’s chest tighten. She didn’t understand why she felt this way. But according to human terms…could this be called “sadness”? Was she feeling “sad” because Adele was crying? Was she feeling distressed for her?
For an angel who shouldn’t have emotions, this was truly the most surprising thing, even more so than Xiao Ai’s existence.
“…I’m sorry.” She apologized sincerely again, thinking she must have lost her mind. The final battle of the Mythical Era had ended so many years ago. How could she still have that desire to kill heretics…?
But Seraph then sensitively realized, could this be a sign of the “Lord’s” imminent return? So, even after thousands of years, the “Lord’s” command still bound her, and its power was increasing?
But until the day the “Lord” truly returned, Seraph probably wouldn’t want to harm Xiao Ai. Because it would make Adele sad. But then, another problem was starkly presented before Seraph, leaving the angel’s brain, or rather her “processor,” almost unable to find an answer. That was…
If, at that time, the one who truly clashed with the “Lord” was Adele…what should she do?
The image of Lucifer resolutely falling from the sky, becoming a “Fallen Angel,” replayed continuously in Seraph’s mind…
Leave a Reply