Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

A gust of wind swept through, but Henry kept his eyes wide open. He knew that the landscape was going to change again. However, what caught his attention was the color of the sky—the sunset hue was replaced by a light green glow.

“Hmm?”

He rubbed his eyes after seeing the green sky, trying to remember which area in the heavens was supposed to look like this.

But then…

Zoom!

Henry was interrupted by a sharp sound coming from nearby, and he instantly extended his magical left hand. A split second later, green sparks flew from his hand. He looked at his hand, only to see an arrow stuck in it.

Given that this hand was just a mass of energy, it didn’t hurt at all, which caused Henry to feel rather uneasy. He brushed it off and turned to where the arrow had come from.

To his surprise, Henry found himself facing a group of angels, all of them holding bows as big as themselves. At their forefront stood Principatus, the chief of the Principalities.

“How is he…!” exclaimed Principatus, surprised to see Henry here.

Henry already knew that she was the one who had shot that arrow at him, given her posture and the way she was gripping her bow. He couldn’t help smirking at her appearance.

“Huh, I guess that damn archangel was loyal after all.”

Henry had thought that the archangel he had incinerated earlier had betrayed Virtus right away, but it turned out that they had given him the feather that led to Principatus instead, sending him into a trap.

In their dying moments, that archangel had managed to quickly devise a plan to take care of Henry by sending him to the second strongest angel in the heavens.

However, Henry was rather grateful for this. He had forgotten about Principatus, and many other important things, because of the Lyra of Defiance, and now he was happy that he got to meet her a second time.

After all, they had unfinished business.

Henry effortlessly broke the arrow in his palm and turned it to ash instantly. He then cracked his neck side to side while flashing Principatus a smile.

“I wouldn’t have expected any less from you guys. It’s the Sisibabas, right? Seems like news travels fast even in the heavens.”

“Shut your filthy mouth!”

Whoosh!

Another arrow flew at Henry, aimed directly at his mouth. He remained still, but to the angels’ surprise, the arrow stopped mid-air. Henry then walked toward the arrow and touched it before speaking to Principatus.

“So, you knew I was coming, and yet you came up with… some arrows?”

“How in the world…?!”

“I have to say, I’m rather disappointed. It looks like you’ve brought everyone under your command to stop me, but do you really think this is enough?”

“Yo-you…!”

Not too long ago, Principatus had mocked and ridiculed Henry, thinking that the Heavenly God would protect her. But now, she was so scared that she couldn’t even get her words out. Henry wasn’t glaring at her or letting out a murderous aura, but Principatus still had chills going down her spine.

This was a perfect example of karma. All the fear that Principatus had instilled in others had come back to overwhelm her.

Henry took a step toward Principatus.

“Is this…”

He took another step.

“...the extent of your will…”

And another step.

“... to stop me?”

“Wh-what are you all doing?!” shouted Principatus at her subordinates. “Get him already!”

Henry had merely taken three steps toward her, and there was still a lot of distance between them. However, Principatus was scared as though Henry were right in front of her. This caused her to wail out orders to her subordinates, fear and desperation evident in her voice.

Such weakness was unbecoming to an angel who was supposed to command the Principalities.

“Kill him!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The archers drew their bows instantly, launching a volley of arrows. Those weren’t just ordinary arrows; they were imbued with sacred energy that increased the damage they would inflict exponentially.

But despite that, Henry kept walking forward without a care in the world. The arrows flew at great speed, producing an earring-splitting whirr. However, just as they were about to hit Henry, they froze mid-air as though they were also terrified of him.

“Shoot! Keep shooting! I said, SHOOT!”

Seeing that none of the arrows were hitting Henry, Principatus shouted even more frantically. The arrogant angel who had demanded Henry’s right leg with a straight face was nowhere to be seen at this moment. She had been reduced to a pitiful angel who seemed to have gone mad with fear, swinging her bow and shouting desperately.

Principatus was at her lowest point, and Henry couldn’t believe how drastic this transition was.

The angels attacked even faster as Principatus bellowed out more orders.

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

They were now shooting arrows at a speed that humans couldn’t possibly match. But regardless of their speed and numbers, none of the arrows that formed a parabola in the air managed to touch Henry.

Henry kept moving forward, him and Principatus still far apart from each other. The arrows kept stopping right before hitting him, forming a long trail on the ground as he advanced. It was a remarkable scene, unlike anything seen in any wars before. Only Henry could ever accomplish something like this.

Eventually, Henry got close to Principatus, and at this point, she was on the verge of fainting. In stark contrast to her terrified expression, Henry maintained his smile.

But before he could do anything to her, the angels around them all unsheathed their swords and were about to lunge at Henry. However, Henry looked at them and said, “From now on…”

The angels froze.

“...anyone who attacks me will die.”

Henry gave the angels a concise final warning. Even though his tone was neutral, all the angels were frozen in fear, unable to move. They were all trembling, partly because of the fear and partly because they felt ashamed at not being able to protect Principatus.

As Henry took another step, all the angels instantly retreated, making for yet another spectacular scene.

“Tsk… You’re worse than demonic beasts.”

In a way, Henry was right. In a situation like this, demonic beasts would lunge at their foe instantly. Of course, they would do that because they lacked the brains to know when to retreat, but looking at it from another angle, one could consider that they would die for their master.

On the other hand, these angels were quick to retreat, abandoning their leader and putting themselves first.

Indeed, that was what Ganisel had meant back then…

“A bunch of hypocrites…”

To Henry, they were no more than that. He strolled through the path made by the angels and stood right in front of Principatus, who was still frozen in fear. She was gripping her bow tightly as though it were a talisman that would miraculously protect her from what was to come. She was also trying her hardest to not faint.

Seeing her in such a pitiful state, Henry actually felt a bit bad, but on the other hand, this was exactly what he had longed to see ever since she had asked for his leg.

Henry lowered his gaze and looked straight into Principatus’ eyes.

“You want to live?”

She was so terrified that she couldn’t even speak, but her last remaining shred of sanity allowed her to nod slightly.

Seeing her reaction, the corners of Henry’s lips curled up even more. He would make her a proposal, just like she had made him.

“Then let’s see it. Your will to live.”

“Y-yes…?”

“I shall spare you if you give me… your legs?”

With that, Henry swiftly summoned his Colt Sword and threw it at Principatus’ feet, causing her to shriek. She hesitated to pick up the sword, so Henry flashed her a slight smile and urged her to pick it up.

Realizing that she had no choice, Principatus slowly crouched down and picked up the sword.

The Colt Sword was one of Vulcanus’ great works. He had carefully chosen the materials and put a lot of effort into making the sword as light as possible. In fact, it was so light that even a toddler could probably lift it.

However, at that moment, the Colt Sword felt like the heaviest thing in the world for Principatus.

“Hurry!” urged Henry, clearly losing his patience.

At that, Principatus’ face darkened even more. Besides Henry’s terrifying presence, there were also hundreds of angels around her, all staring at her. Their gazes felt like needles stabbing her in the chest, rendering her unable to breathe. Her head was spinning, but she had to make a decision, or else she would surely die.

Principatus could see her reflection in the blade of the Colt Sword as though it were a mirror. She was shocked to see her face contorted in fear like that. She never would’ve imagined that she would be reduced to such a pitiful state.

She locked eyes with the terrified angel in the blade, her mind going back and forth between keeping her dignity as Chief of Principalities and saving her life.

She wavered between those two options, unable to decide which was more important to her. But after a few moments, the realization that she had mocked a god pushed her to sacrifice everything in order to survive.

Her hands trembled on the handle of the Colt Sword. She stretched out her legs and prepared to maim herself. The blade seemed so incredibly sharp that she wouldn’t have to put much effort into it. After all, it wasn’t just a magic sword, but a holy relic blessed by the god of magic.

After taking a deep breath, Principatus closed her eyes tightly and swung the sword.

Swoosh!

“GHAAA!!!”

A burning pain, as if she had sizzled herself with fire, surged through her thigh. The indescribable pain forced her to open her eyes, and she was terrified at what she saw. Her swing hadn’t been good enough, and the blade was stuck in her thigh.

“Aagh…! Ghh…!” She yelped like a wounded animal.

Henry was losing his patience, so he put his foot on the blade and firmly pushed it through her thigh.

Chop!

“GHAAAAAA!!!”

At Henry’s stomp, her leg came off cleanly. Principatus had to do the same thing with her remaining leg, but she dropped her sword.

Henry, not wanting to let her get away, swiftly picked up the sword and looked her in the eye.

“The sin of insulting a god… Do you get it now?”

“P-please spare me! I’ve made a severe mistake by insulting such a noble being! Please!”

A puddle of blood quickly formed on the ground, and Principatus lay in it pitifully, begging for her life. She smashed her head against the ground over and over again, desperately trying to prove her sincerity to her executioner. Her once beautiful face was now hideous, bloody and disfigured.

Seeing her like this, Henry frowned while still smiling. He couldn’t help chuckling. It was truly exhilarating to get revenge like this, making this angel go through the same things she had made him go through.

He was so ecstatic that he didn’t even care if the Heavenly God turned back time and he couldn’t remember anything.

“Hihi, do you want to live?” Henry giggled.

“P-please… PLEASE SPARE ME! I’LL DO ANYTHING!”

“Anything?”

“YES! Sob… YES, ANYTHING!!”

As she frantically begged for her life, she heard some of the other Principalities sigh. Then, she heard Henry snap his fingers.

Spatter!

The heads of some of the angles exploded, gore splattering into the crowd.

“How dare those spineless bastards sigh after backing away like cowards?”

Thinking how despicable they were, Henry snapped his fingers again, causing the tens of thousands of arrows on the ground to rise in the air and point their tips in one direction.

Snap!

With that, the arrows flew back to their owners.

“GWAAA!”

“AAAGH!”

“KHAAA!”

Angels were falling left and right, their death cries echoing through the area. Some of them were pierced by arrows, and some were shielding themselves with the corpses of their companions. In a matter of seconds, everything was plunged into chaos.

Henry turned away from the massacre and pulled Principatus toward him.

“I need a feather. I need the one that’ll take me to Virtus.”

“Y-yes! Of course!”

Principatus desperately pulled out a handful of feathers and swiftly handed them to Henry. After grabbing them, he kicked her away.

Despite tumbling over and hurting herself even more, Principatus laughed maniacally as though she had completely lost her mind.

“I-I’m alive… Hihi! HAHAHA!!!”

She was overjoyed at the fact that she had gotten away with sacrificing only one leg. However, there was something she wasn’t aware of. The blade of the Colt Sword was coated in the most potent and terrifying poison in the world.

“Agh-! Ghaah! Wh-what is happening?!”

Her pearly skin slowly turned dark, her whole appearance eventually changing to look like a demon.

It wasn’t long before she succumbed to Henry’s poison, her death marking the end of all the angels in this area.

Death silenced the seventh-rank area of the Principalities, and the sharp sound of a tempest signaled Henry’s departure.