Angel Monarch

It took a bit longer for the scouts to track down Sera's unconscious body. Luckily, they never need to worry about monsters attacking her while defenseless.

Monsters had little self-preservation, but they still had an inherent fear of angels. It also helped that Sera laid covered in their gore, amidst an endless sea of corpses.

After taking her back to the Village, Faith diligently cleaned off all the disgusting blood and monster flesh. Then she used a pair of tweezers to clean the fur and other monster parts out of her teeth and nails.

Finally, she put her Goddess under the warm covers and let her sleep in peace. She didn't wake for nearly an entire day, and even then, it wasn't by choice.

Sera's eyes snapped open as she felt her bed shake violently. With quick moves, she jumped to her feet, summoned her armor and a pair of curved, silvery blades.

"Yikes! I wasn't expecting you to be so grumpy! You can put away those weapons. Nobody's going to attack you… Anyway, did you bring me more food? I'm starving!"

The Angel sighed, and let her weapons dissolve into specks of light. She turned around and glared at the terrified person standing in the corner.

"Dammit, Sabyr! Why the fuck are you shaking my bed?! I was having a nice dream with my… You know what, never mind…"

She took a deep breath, calming her swiftly beating heart. With the hint of a blush, she glanced at her bed, where she saw a wet spot. Quickly, she pulled the cover over, hiding her embarrassment.

Slowly, she walked to her wardrobe and, while dismissing her armor, she began putting on her clothes.

"I do have more souls for you, but don't think I'll give it to you for free!"

The Tree just rolled their greenish-brown eyes as they kept tapping on the wooden floorboards with their bare feet. Like an addict suffering from withdrawal.

"Okay, fine! What do you want in exchange?" They asked, with a relatively even tone, but also full of hidden stress and frustration.

A cunning, satisfied smile spread across Sera's face as she pulled on her bra and tunic.

"Not much. Since I was originally human, I don't know much about my angelic ancestry. I would like you to enlighten me about Aerin and the angels. What were they like before the Fall, a few thousand years ago?"

Sabyr scoffed, clearly annoyed, but she didn't refuse Sera's deal. Instead, she made herself a chair and sat down facing the Angel.

"Do I really look that old? I was barely a few hundred years old when Aerin fell! I only went there to consume some powerful souls! I was basically a scavenger, eating the corpses!"

Sera also took her usual seat and crossed her legs while continuing to smile at the Tree.

"Well, human civilization didn't even exist back then, so please enlighten me with your vast knowledge! You must've learned something about the angels before they fell… By the way, yes, you look that old!"

Unlike what Sera expected, Sabyr didn't get annoyed at the remark about their age. In fact, the exact opposite happened.

A wide smile spread across the Tree's face, and they seemed to blush a bit. At least, that's how it seemed to Sera.

"Really? Do you think I'm old? Well, I am a fair bit over ten thousand years old, but no one ever told me!… Anyway, what are your specific interests in Aerin. Its history spans over millions of years, and I wasn't alive for that long!"

For a moment, Sera stared at the happy, androgynous Tree. It seemed while humans used old age as a curse, Sabyr acted like it's a compliment.

"Since I know nothing from the millions of years, I can't specifically ask for anything… Let's start with some general knowledge questions. How many angels were alive before the Fall? Also, what was their Realm like?"

After hearing her question, Sabyr looked away thoughtfully. They began counting on one hand while mumbling words under their nose. A few seconds later, they turned back with happy smile.

"There were about a hundred quintillion angels alive before the Fall. Aerin was gigantic. For example, Heaven's Knowledge was an enormous library containing all the knowledge of the past!"

"Its size was similar to Asia, except that the building's height spanned about a few hundred kilometers into the Endless Light above Aerin!"

Sera's mouth fell open hearing that number. Before the Apocalypse and Last War, at the height of humanity, there were maybe a hundred billion humans alive all over the Solar System… There were a billion times more angels!

Also, the size of Heaven's Knowledge. Sera couldn't even imagine a building so enormous. For her, even these great trees felt unreal and gigantic, and they didn't even reach one kilometer in height, much less a hundred times that!

She really wanted to take a moment and realign her thoughts, but it seemed when Sabyr began explaining something, they couldn't stop easily!

"The librarians were responsible for attending and protecting Heaven's Knowledge. Their leader was someone named The First Librarian, a Celestial with enough power to kill most Empyreans! Everyone was surprised when Algorith, the Demon God, managed to kill him."

Another headache quickly approached Sera, as she tried to wrap her head around everything.

"The Demon God?… What does that even mean?… Is there a Rank above Empyrean, or God is just a term for the leader of demons?"

Sabyr stared at the Angel, like she just asked the stupidest question.

"God or Goddess isn't a Rank. It's what everyone uses as the progenitor of a species, or at least the strongest and oldest surviving member. Algorith is the strongest and oldest demon, so he got the title Demon God! Similar to Rehael, the Angel Goddess!"

Sera groaned in annoyance. The Tree acted like Sera was an idiot because she lacked knowledge, which was extremely frustrating.

"Okay, does that mean, since I'm technically the Last Angel, that I'm a Goddess too?"

"That's such a stupid question! I'm pretty sure your Shadow already calls you her Goddess, and you somehow still not sure? I thought angels are supposed to be smart, but you're clearly an exception!"

The Angel's murderous gaze made Sabyr sweat. An awkward, fearful laugh escaped the Tree's lips, and they quickly changed the subjects.

"Are you curious about something else? You can ask me anything! I'm here to help!"

Sera stopped trying to kill Sabyr with her eyes, and instead she smiled at them cunningly

"That's great to hear! I would actually want to hear more about Rehael, the Angel Goddess, more specifically a supposed prophecy she had made before her death."

Sabyr's eyes went wide upon hearing Sera's words. That prophecy was something they never took seriously, even though most other factions immediately became terrified… However, now remembering it sent a shiver down the Tree's spine…

"H-how do you know about that?… This place is supposed to be sealed away from the other Realms!… The locks are still mostly intact, even after the Apocalypse! Only a couple of them managed to escape!"

The Tree began glancing around frantically, as if some terrifying creature hid in every shadow.

"What locks? What do you mean it's sealed away? And what's the prophecy?"

A strange silence stretched between them, as if Sabyr didn't want to continue this conversation. With a roll of her eyes, Sera held out her palm and summoned the crystal orb with a soul trapped inside.

"Just answer these questions, and you can have this delicious Horror of the 2nd Tier!"

The conflict became evident in Sabyr's hungry gaze. Eventually, she just sighed and began answering Sera's questions.

"When Rehael died at the Fall of Aerin, she spoke her prophecy. I don't remember the exact wording, but she said: The Last Angel will avenge Aerin and kill every living being!"

"For obvious reasons, the larger factions instantly became scared and sent out their agents to every unconquered Realm, including this one…"

Sera leaned forward in her seat, curious about Sabyr's story. Her hands absently played with the orb, which the Tree continued looking at with famished eyes.

"I was one of these agents, too. Me and a few other Stellars and Transcended arrived to inspect this place. However, many agents used their supernatural powers to get worshipped as gods by the local primitive humans…"

"They loved the attention and even fought against each other, to earn more fervor from humans. But, thousands of years ago, for seemingly no reason, a barrier rose around this Realm. Every agent got locked away, and only recently did a few of us manage to escape!"

The Tree didn't really have to continue, since Sera could already guess what caused the breaking of the locks. Even so, she continued listening to Sabyr silently.

"The Apocalypse caused the break of a few locks, like mine and the owner of this great forest, for example. Sadly, even though the barrier is still intact, the locks are continuing to break open, especially after that giant explosion that echoed all over the planet!"

Sera glanced at the orb in her palm as Sabyr finished answering her questions. A lot more questions appeared in her mind, but she made a promise, which she intended to keep.

She tossed to orb to Sabyr, who snatched it out of the air. The Tree's hands trembled from starvation, like they hadn't eaten for years.

After a few chewing sounds, Sabyr melted into the wooden floor without another word, leaving only the empty orb behind.