Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Principatus demanded Henry’s right leg with the widest grin on her face. But contrary to her expression, Henry could tell that she was being serious. Realizing this, he stared at her without saying a word.

As the silence persisted, Principatus, feeling Henry’s gaze, cocked her head and asked, “Why? You don’t want to give me your leg?”

Henry was baffled by her arrogance, but still, he was contemplating on what to do. Given how bold Principatus was, he had a feeling that his right leg wasn’t the only request she would make.

Henry maintained his silence and looked directly into her eyes. But then, as if she had read his mind through his gaze, Principatus held onto her stomach and burst into laughter.

“Pff-! Phahaha! You have doubts about me, don’t you? You’re thinking that I’ll just run off after I get your leg, right?”

Just like earlier, Henry didn’t say anything and merely kept staring at Principatus. Having finished laughing, Principatus wiped away her tears and said, “Don’t you worry. I always keep my promises. I just need your right leg. I swear to the Heavenly God.”

Seeing her swear on the name of her god, Henry decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, she couldn’t possibly make such an oath and break it.

Nonetheless, Henry couldn’t help heaving a sigh, finally understanding the hypocrisy and deviousness of the heavenly beings that Ganisel had warned him about.

He sighed again as he murmured, “Sword on.” With that, a golden light surged around his hand until his Colt Sword fully materialized.

This angel was well aware that Henry was a god, which was why Henry was dumbfounded by her audaciousness. For a moment, he thought that she was simply enjoying this moment because she would never get another chance to blatantly insult and mock a god like this.

All sorts of unpleasant scenarios went through Henry’s head, but none of that mattered. Even though he found Principatus’ attitude revolting, he would at least get to meet the Heavenly God, even if with just one leg.

Henry fixed his grip on his Colt Sword, and as he looked at its blade, he couldn’t help thinking how ironic this was, being cut by the sword made specifically for him. If Vulcanus saw this, he would most certainly weep.

Henry infused magic into his blade and swiftly cut his leg in one go, just like he had done earlier with his left arm.

Swoosh!

Given that his thigh was way thicker than his forearm, the pain was significantly worse. But just like before, Henry managed to prevent any bleeding, not giving Principatus any satisfaction.

Henry’s trousers were now torn, and his right boot flew off along with his leg. He could endure the physical pain, but he was disgusted by the fact that he was being humiliated by a bunch of angels he had never seen before.

No matter how many times he told himself that it had to be done and that it was worth it, Henry couldn’t shake off this feeling of utter repulsion. He bit his lip in frustration and anger and proceeded to heal his wound.

Just as he had done with his left hand, Henry infused magic into his wound, creating a magical leg that glowed a dark green hue.

“Whoa!” Principatus exclaimed, clasping her hands at the marvelous scene. She seemed ecstatic.

Henry didn’t understand why she was so delighted. He assumed she found a sick pleasure in watching a god amputate his own leg in one move.

All sorts of assumptions and scenarios went through Henry’s head as he put away his leg into the subspace. He stood up straight, supporting himself with his new magical leg.

“This is good enough, right?”

If anger had a color, Henry’s would be a venomous purple, and it wouldn’t be long before it turned black.

“Yes, yes!” replied Principatus as she nodded. She then took a feather from her wing just like Virtus and Posla had done. She had three pairs of wings that wrapped around her like silk.

Henry assumed that each rank had an extra pair of wings over the preceding one.

‘Ganisel had eight in total, right…?’

He took her feather with a cold expression, and right after he did so, Principatus flashed him a smile.

“Good job! Now there’s only one other angel left for you!”

Principatus treated Henry as if she were training a puppy. However, Henry stoically endured her mockery.

Without saying a word, Henry cast divine power on the feather and made sure to etch Principatus’ face in his mind. He promised himself that if he ever got the chance, he would gather all the angels by rank, including this damned woman, and punch all of them in the face until he was satisfied.

Instead of a howling wind, Henry was met with a blinding ray of light after infusing his divine power into the feather. Just as Principatus had mentioned, there was only one angel left for Henry. He wasn’t sure how this one would humiliate him, but he was determined to endure whatever he had to in order to reach his goal.

The scenery changed once again as the blinding light faded away. The sky was no longer light green; it had a golden hue akin to a sunset.

As Henry fully opened his eyes, he noticed that the maroon ground had been replaced by lush green pastures that stretched out into the horizon, making it impossible for him to tell where he was exactly.

As Henry looked around, he saw someone sitting on a rather unique-looking chair that seemed to have formed naturally from the branches of the tree behind him.

“Hey there.” The individual sitting on the chair waved to Henry.

With four pairs of wings on his back, Henry naturally assumed that he was an archangel just like Ganisel, an eighth-rank angel. He glared at the angel as he tried to remember his name.

“Angelus, Chief of Archangels…”

Angelus had been the Number Two among the archangels, and after Ganisel was exiled, he naturally became the new chief. However, his appearance didn’t fit his position, as he looked like a young man who had just turned twenty.

Angelus was slumped back into his chair, sitting with his legs crossed, exuding sheer arrogance. He was slowly putting down his hand which he had waved to Henry, and he was pouting as if disappointed that Henry wasn’t greeting him back.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Angelus, and as you know, I am an eighth-rank angel and Chief of the Archangels.”

With this, Angelus offered to shake hands, but Henry frowned at his gesture. The angel extended his left hand instead of his right, a clear act of mockery.

However, given how close he was to meeting the Heavenly God, Henry brushed it off, as he knew that all the humiliation and mockery would soon come to an end.

Henry extended his magic hand and shook Angelus’ hand.

Spark.

Faint sparks flew from their hands when they touched. Angelus wasn’t holding onto skin, but a mass of dark green energy, so this phenomenon wasn’t necessarily surprising.

“Ah, so this is what they were talking about,” said Angelus with a smirk on his face. It was clear that he knew what Henry had been going through. After all, it had only been a few minutes since Henry had cut his arm off, but it seemed that rumors spread like wildfire in the heavens.

But then…

“Argh!”

Bzz! Bzz!

Just as Henry was about to take his hand away, Angelus grabbed it even more tightly, causing more sparks to fly left and right, more violently than before. After a few seconds, the angel let go.

Henry’s hand was covered in marks, looking almost disfigured, and as Angelus stared at it, he said, “Ah, sorry, sorry. I was curious what the magic hand of a wizard would feel like, but it seems there’s nothing special about it.”

Henry was so infuriated by the angel’s audacity that he felt dizzy. His eyes twitched, and he was one step away from exploding.

It didn’t really matter to him if his left hand was disfigured. After all, it was just a mass of energy, which meant he could easily regenerate it by infusing more magic into it. He just couldn’t believe that an archangel, and the highest-ranking one at that, was disrespecting him like this.

Seeing Henry frozen in place with his maimed hand still held up, Angelus smirked and said, “What’s the matter? It was just a joke, so don’t get so serious.”

His audacity was out of this world, and Henry desperately wanted to retaliate, but his rational side was keeping his anger in check. He kept telling himself that he could endure this, that he was almost at his end goal, that the archangel in front of him was the last angel he had to face before meeting the Heavenly God.

He barely kept himself under control as he reminded himself of what he was here for. He heaved a sigh and lowered his trembling hand.

Seeing this, Angelus smiled in satisfaction.

“Let’s see… So they took your left arm and your right leg… They took everything that’s useful.”

Angelus spoke like a butcher dividing the meat of a dead animal. Henry was impassive to his remarks as they didn’t compare the shocking audacity he had displayed earlier.

As Henry swallowed his anger, he looked directly into Angelus’ eyes and asked, “You know my situation, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You want to meet the Heavenly God, right?”

“Tell me what you want.”

“What I want? Hah, you make it seem like I’m some sort of merchant or something!” Angelus, who had been hitherto jolly, showed indignation.

Henry was doing his best not to lunge at this angel, but he couldn’t also speak respectfully to him, not after how he had treated him. He tried to keep the conversation short and to the point, but Angelus seemed almost offended by his curtness.

He was clearly irritated, and he started acting like a punk from a gang of bandits would.

"Didn’t you hear me?! I said that you’re making me look like some merchant with the way you’re talking! Who even told you that you’d get permission to see the Heavenly God if you just offered us what we want? Posla? Principatus? Or was it Virtus?”

Angelus was now blatantly mocking Henry, who was standing still, wryly tilting his head left and right as he spoke. It seemed that he felt completely entitled to continue ridiculing Henry.

Of course, Henry knew better than to give him any satisfaction. He was certain that anything he said would backfire, which would only fuel Angelus even more. However, he wasn’t aware just how awful Angelus’ temper really was.

“Hmm? Keeping that mouth of yours shut isn’t gonna get you anywhere! I bet you’re planning to act like this in front of the Heavenly God as well, right? Let me tell you something. If you think you’re getting permission from me, you’ve got another thing coming. I have no intention of allowing someone like you to see the Heavenly God, haha!”

Angelus sneered at Henry, hoping to get him to snap.

Henry clenched his jaw, and he eventually said, “Indeed, I believe I have crossed the line for a moment. My sincere apologies. Please forgive me just this once.”

In stark contrast with Angelus’ hopes and prediction, Henry calmly apologized, realizing that he realistically had no other choice. He knew that everything he had endured up to this point would go to waste if he snapped at Angelus’ mockery.

He was one step away from meeting the Heavenly God, so giving in to his anger was the last thing he wanted to do.

However, his apology only managed to motivate Angelus to continue with his mockery.

“An apology? You think words alone can make this right? How can I trust you or your apology? No, no, I won’t take your apology.”

“Then, what can I do to appease you?”

“Appease me? Hmm… Appease me… Alright, let’s do this. If you rip your ear off with your own hands, I will forgive you just this once.”

Angelus wore the same bright smile he had when he first greeted Henry. But unlike his expression, his words were as cold as ice.

Henry sighed softly but didn’t hesitate.

Tear!

He ripped off his ear instantly, an eerie sound ringing in his head. Just like before, he prevented any bleeding with his magic. He didn’t hesitate to do this because he didn’t want to give Angelus any satisfaction or amusement.

He quickly threw the ear in his subspace and turned at Angelus, glaring at him with venomous eyes.

“I hope this has assuaged your anger.”

Angelus was frozen for a moment, as this wasn’t what he had envisioned. He was stiff in his chair, but it wasn’t long before he relaxed.

“Yes, I can feel my anger going away. Then shall we start negotiations again?”

“Thank you… Then may I ask how I could receive permission to meet the Heavenly God?”

This time, Henry paid attention to his tone as much as possible in order to prevent this devil disguised as an angel from going into a frenzy again.

“Alright. I see how sincere you are, tearing off your ear at once. On that note, I also want to see how strong your will is.”

Henry almost snapped after hearing the word “will” again. He was sick and tired of these tests, but he managed to maintain his composure.

“So? How can I prove my will to you?”

“I want your head.”

“What…?”

“You heard it right. You already threw away an arm and a leg. I’m not interested in something that others already have. That’s why I want you to give me your head.”

With that, Angelus burst into a diabolical laughter as if he were the Devil himself.