Chapter 66: ARIEL
With a smile, Eriksen tapped Azrael on the shoulder.
"My love for testing people is just too uncontrollable. Hope you are not getting annoyed yet?"
"I am," Azrael replied, rising from his position.
Then his gaze lingered on the person standing beside Eriksen.
The person wore an equally wide smile, if not wider.
He had cyan hair that stretched to his back and deep cyan eyes.
From his head, two short cyan horns protruded from both sides.
Noticing Azrael’s gaze, Eriksen stepped forward.
"This is Ariel Everfall, a heir of Clan Everfall, the ruling clan of the Envy demon lineage."
He paused, expecting the weight of those words to show on Azrael’s face.
He had expected shock. At least some visible reaction.
But Azrael remained utterly composed, as though none of it was new information.
After reading through the clan library’s books, he already knew the signature colors of each demon clan.
Eriksen sighed.
"Also, he was the one you just fought."
Azrael’s brow twitched.
He wanted to ask how that was possible, but thinking it through, he could already see how it made sense.
Envy was the desire to possess what belonged to someone else.
It was inevitable that their racial abilities would be tied to that.
"You do not need to introduce us. We have shed blood together and become brothers in arms," Ariel said, stepping forward with his hand outstretched.
Azrael received it calmly.
Then he thought back to what Zuriel, or rather Ariel, had said during their fight.
"About that speech on not trusting anyone. Were you serious?"
He asked it with a straight face, as though his answer genuinely mattered.
Ariel looked at him for a moment.
Then nodded.
"That was the second thing Eriksen asked me to test in you."
He slowed slightly as he continued.
"Whether you could truly bring yourself to kill a comrade who betrayed you. You passed."
’Well, considering you took on Zuriel’s form, I was barely holding myself back from going all out,’ Azrael said inwardly, directing it toward the system so the barrier would block the thought.
[You are using me as a filter. Shameless.]
The system said in his mind.
Azrael did not acknowledge it.
"What was the first test then?" He asked.
Ariel glanced at Eriksen.
"How you would fare against an opponent who outmatches you in every way," Eriksen said.
"Especially if that opponent was someone you believed was beneath you."
Azrael exhaled slowly.
"So many schemes just to test me," he muttered. "I hope there is a reward or something."
Eriksen frowned.
"Seems like you have a greedy little brother," Ariel said with a grin, leaning forward and wrapping an arm around Eriksen’s neck.
"Stop that," Eriksen said, pushing him off.
While doing so, he glanced at Azrael.
"Expecting a reward for something like this?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Azrael shrugged.
’I learned from the best.’
[You are welcome.]
The system winked at him.
"That is..." Eriksen dragged the word before finally letting it go.
"Brilliant."
He looked around once more, then smiled.
"Do not worry. I will get you something when you visit me. The expedition ends in about ten minutes."
Azrael’s pupils dilated.
He had never had any intention of visiting this particular brother.
’Seems like I have no choice now.’
"And the second reason I came here."
Eriksen paused, then looked forward into what appeared to be nothing.
But the way he looked at it, it felt like something was there that only he could see.
"I know you are all curious about what I am about to say," he smiled.
Ariel noticed Azrael watching Eriksen.
"You will get used to it. He always does that, talking to some invisible audience he claims is watching us."
Azrael nodded slowly.
"Anyway. I came because the Patriarch asked me to give you this."
Eriksen held out a white envelope with a deep crimson stamp.
Azrael looked at it for a moment before taking it.
"Okay."
He dropped it into his spatial ring without a second glance.
When he looked up, Eriksen and Ariel were already gone.
"A pair of weirdos who think they can just make cool exits whenever they want," Azrael muttered as he began walking toward the agreed meeting point.
"Wait until I need to make an entrance someday. That is when everyone will learn the true definition of cool."
He said it with a smirk.
Then he nearly tripped over a broken piece of charred rock.
He stopped.
Looked around.
The entire area had been reduced to ruin.
It looked like a battle between gods had been fought here.
Burnt air, choking dust blending into the atmosphere, the earth split and scorched in every direction.
Everything looked like a scene pulled straight from an apocalypse.
He kept walking, and as his mind drifted back to his previous world, he could not help but wonder what someone with power like this could have done there.
[Do not go there. You are not even qualified to threaten Earth at your current stage.]
The system said in his mind.
Azrael froze.
"What do you mean I am not qualified to threaten Earth?" He asked.
"Earth does not have anything resembling superpowers, you know that, right?"
The system replied with a thumbs up.
Azrael nearly burst.
Not because of the emoji, though that was also a problem.
It was because the system was clearly hiding something and using the thumbs up to deflect every attempt he made at getting to it.
[You will understand in time. Do not worry about it now.]
Azrael shook his head.
And so began the longest and most stubborn persuasion attempt of Azrael’s life.
"Do you need SP to tell me?"
[Not enough SP in existence.]
"I could find you a companion. You know I could, right?"
[Find one for yourself first.]
Azrael nearly spat blood at that.
"I was only trying to help," he muttered.
Before long, the gathering point had begun to come into view.
"Wait, I never harvested the soul cores from that area," Azrael suddenly remembered, turning back.
"Here they are," a voice came from behind him.
"Thank you," he said to Ariel, checking the contents of the ring quickly.
"Also, Eriksen asked me to tell you that..."