Re: Player

[Harik's POV]

.

I sighed in relief as I could finally take out that monstrous bastard. Just what the heck was he?

'Now. To deal with that bitch who fooled me,' I thought as I looked at the blue-skinned girl standing in front of me. She was strong, I must say that… but that was only after she fed me with that strange liquid and I lost control over my body.

But before I could even take a step, I felt the presence of someone who I was damn sure that he was dead.

"That itched a little," I heard the nonchalant voice of that guy, that monster, as he walked out of the smoke. His body not having even a single scratch, he stood there with a furiously joyous smile as he looked at me.

"…"

Words failed to come out of my mouth. That attack contained about 10% of my life force. It was enough to kill any god below the 12 Higher Gods.

Are you telling me that this guy… is on par with the Higher Gods?

'No! I can't give up! I have to save Raphi! I can't give up now! Never!' I couldn't let my determination waiver even for a moment. I have come too far to walk back now…

I then prepared my sword again as I was ready to sacrifice at least half of my life force if I want to win against this monstrous person. This is regrettable that I have to waste so much of my life force even before I found Raphi, but… I guess this is my shitty fate, too.

"Can you calm down for a moment? Why are you always on an edge? Not like gods and angels are out for your wife or something," he spoke, trying to pick on my nerves as usual.

Calm down! I shouldn't let him distract me. Now… since the same trick won't work again, I need to create an opening of some sort.

'Huh?' I then saw him putting his sword back into his storage. Is he underestimating me? No… he has the right to do that.

"I will save your wife. Nope… let me rephrase. I will help you save your wife. All you need to do is follow my words. You are a wise guy, Harik. What do you think about this proposal?" He then spoke of something that could only be qualified as absurd.

But since I need to stall for time until I find an opening, let's entertain this…

"And why would you be doing that? What's in it for you?" I asked the obvious question.

"Something something. All right. Let me tell you something that you may either know or don't know but… nobody, neither me, nor the angels or the gods, are here for your wife. Your wife just happens to be the key to something they are looking out for," he said something absurd again. Enough to make me curious what exactly he means by that.

"According to the Rules of the Heaven, if one has enough reason to descend to the mortal realm. They can descend. But if the intentions do not match with the actions, the angel is stripped off of their power and the heavens turn its back on them," he narrated one of the rules of Heaven about the Fallen Angels.

"What are you getting at?" I was still focused on finding a way to attack him, but his next words took all my attention away from my planning back on him.

"Your wife and you haven't fallen yet," he spoke with a smile, while I asked,

"What are you… talking about? The All Father already declared Raphi as a fallen angel."

"You have never met a Fallen Angel before, have you? It's not the gods, but the heavens decide that… I don't think you know much about it. Well… if I were to give a proof then your Angelic Power. They aren't gone yet, are they? If you were to be a fallen one, you wouldn't be able to use even a dime of it," he smiled as he walked closer to me.

There was no way to confirm what he meant by that. There was no way to tell if he was lying or not… but… I wanted to believe that.

'If Raphi… has still not fallen, then there is still a chance to get back home…' I thought of a possibility. I wanted to bet on that possibility.

"Are you telling the truth? Then why is everyone searching for her? Why are there so many angels and gods looking for her?" I asked for reasons, hoping he would answer them.

Please answer them…

"You tell me," he spoke, making me widen my eyes a little as he continued," it's just a 'Fallen Angel' who has lost all her powers. Why are the Higher Gods themselves descending to the mortal realm? Why are there so many angels for one powerless angel? Even you could sense something odd about it, didn't you?"

And my heart skipped a beat as I thought about what he just said. Perhaps the thought of saving Raphi consumed my mind so much that I never looked at it from this point of view. Indeed, why was there a reason for the gods themselves to interfere?

"But then… why?" I looked at that guy in blue hair, observing me with a calm face as he spoke.

"Like I said. Your wife just happens to be the key to something that the Higher Gods want. She just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time."

With a deep look, as if a messiah, he observed me with a humble gaze.

"Pledge your allegiance to me. I will tell you everything that is there to tell you. And I will also help your wife out of this mess. All you need to do is just follow my words."

"Will you… really help me?" I asked, clinging to this strange new hope that I found in this strange atmosphere.

"Let me start by telling you what a Fate Weaver is," and

then he began telling me things… that shook my entire core.