A stampede of boars bore down on them, kicking up a wall of dust.

  Mina snatched up kitten Nox, rushed to Arc’s side, and pressed her hand against the ground.

  “Earth Wall!”

  A thick slab of earth rose beneath her feet, lifting all of them to higher ground.

  From her elevated vantage point, Mina’s breath caught.

  This was no herd of a hundred or two hundred. The boars blanketed the entire plain beyond the forest—at least ten thousand strong.

  “Some present—you miserable bastard!”

  She stamped her feet in a fury, but no amount of rage was going to make the boars turn around.

  “All I can do is wait for them to pass.”

  That was her plan—until the herd drew close enough to see clearly. These boars were enormous. Each one was roughly the size of an elephant.

  Elephant-sized boars. Ten thousand of them.

  Mina looked nervously at the earth wall beneath her feet.

  “This… will hold, right?”

  Growing anxious, she began raising additional walls around her position as a defensive barrier. She arranged them carefully—shaped like the prow of a ship, with the point extending roughly five hundred meters outward. The idea was that the boars would split to either side, like waves parting around a hull.

  “How’s that? I adapted the technique from Instant Maze—pretty clever if I do say so myself!”

  Mina was brimming with confidence, but watching the massive boars thunder closer at full speed shook it considerably. Even knowing she was probably safe, the sight of elephant-sized hogs barreling toward her was genuinely terrifying.

  “It’ll hold… right?!”

  Her anxiety spiked. The boars showed no sign of slowing. Were they even aware of the walls? They were charging head-on.

  “Hey! Can boars even turn? Are they going to just—crash into it?!”

  Mina watched, pale-faced.

  The rumbling grew deafening as the herd reached the point of the earthen prow.

  BOOM!

  Dust erupted on impact.

  “WHAT?!”

  Incredibly, the collision cracked the wall. As boar after boar slammed into it, the earth wall finally shattered to pieces.

  “You’re kidding.”

  Mina frantically raised more walls.

  “Harden! HARDEN! HARDEN!”

  But the boars kept smashing through at full speed. She looked around—every large tree in the area had been flattened by the stampede, the landscape scraped clean as if by a landslide.

  “Please—don’t break!”

  She kept building walls with desperate, prayer-like focus. But it was like stacking stones on a riverbank—built and destroyed, built and destroyed. Her remaining foothold was shrinking fast. Tears welled in her eyes.

  “What am I supposed to DO?!”

  Sweat poured down her face as she raised wall after wall, each one smashed apart by the charging boars.

  “Do I have to fight to the death?!”

  She clutched the Regalia tightly.

  Arc and Nox were both still unconscious. Mina held kitten Nox close and squeezed her eyes shut.

  The boars began ramming the wall beneath her feet. It lurched violently, and Mina dropped to her knees. The impact sent Arc’s body sliding toward the edge. Mina reached for him.

  “ARC!”

  Just as the ground was about to give way, bundles of white thread coiled around both Mina and Arc, lifting them into the air.

  “Wha—?! What is this?!”

  The sudden weightlessness startled her, and she looked up. Hovering above her, wings spread wide against the sky, was a tall blond man.

  His white wings and silken white garments were dazzlingly bright.

  “I-Isarfe?”

  He smiled warmly. He reeled in the threads, pulling Arc and Mina close. He tucked Arc under one arm and held Mina against his chest.

  “You remembered me.”

  Mina stared at him. He was the same blue-eyed, handsome man she’d met before. But this time, brilliant white wings spread from his back, and a halo gleamed above his head.

  “Of course I remember! But how—why do you have wings?!”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He smiled gently.

  “That story can wait. For now, Mina—put your arms around my neck!”

  “Huh?”

  “Hurry! We’re taking off!”

  “O-okay!”

  The moment Mina wrapped her arms around his neck, Isarfe spread his pristine white wings and soared skyward.

  “KYAAH!”

  Mina clung to him as she was carried higher and higher. Looking down, she saw her earth walls crumble as the boars surged past like an avalanche beneath her feet.

  She stared at the stampede in stunned silence.

  “Those are migratory boars.”

  “Migratory boars? They’re enormous…”

  Isarfe nodded seriously.

  “This time of year, they migrate in search of food.”

  Mina sagged against Isarfe, utterly spent.

  “I can’t… take any more of this.”

  What kind of being could lure a herd like that to this spot? Who was the man in the black clouds?

  As the rumble of the stampede faded into the distance, exhaustion hit Mina like a wave, and she lost consciousness.

  ◆

  When she came to, Mina was lying in an oasis on the grasslands.

  In a space roughly the size of a baseball field, a small pond was surrounded by trees. At the center of the pond sat a large rock, with water flowing from a crack in its surface and trickling into the pool.

  A small white flower bloomed atop the rock. It had six delicate petals that swayed gently in the breeze.

  Mina gazed at the tranquil scene with quiet wonder. The air was dry enough that the breeze felt cool on her skin.

  “You’re awake?”

  Mina sat up and turned toward the voice. Isarfe stood there, a halo floating above his head. His wings were hidden.

  “Um… where are Arc and Nox?”

  “Ah, they’re…”

  He turned and pointed. Mina followed his gaze and saw the two of them sleeping peacefully in the shade of a tree.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve applied healing magic.”

  “Th-thank you…”

  Mina dipped her head slightly, then studied Isarfe.

  “You’re an angel, aren’t you? Why are you helping us?”

  He smiled.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because angels killed my parents.”

  Isarfe struck a thoughtful pose.

  “Hmm—you’re Japanese, right? Even among Japanese people, there are good ones and bad ones. Like the men who attacked you. Angels and demons are the same.”

  “So you’re a good angel?”

  He shrugged.

  “Who knows? But I don’t believe all angels are righteous or all demons are criminals.”

  He looked at Mina steadily.

  “And I’m not one of Seraphim’s people. I wasn’t sent to help you on his orders—you can rest easy about that.”

  Mina nodded.

  “I sort of figured.”

  She studied him.

  “You’re the one who shot those threads to help me during my fight with Canconel, aren’t you?”

  Isarfe laughed.

  “You noticed?”

  “When I saw you using threads earlier, it clicked.”

  “I see.”

  Isarfe walked quietly to the edge of the pond. Mina watched his back. The water’s surface sparkled beautifully. He turned to face her.

  “Would you believe me if I told you that this world—currently split into the Celestial and Demon Realms—was originally one?”

  “I don’t know enough to believe or disbelieve that.”

  “Then can you understand that the two realms are currently in conflict—that they’re on bad terms?”

  “That much I get. But let me ask you—were they on good terms before?”

  “More than good terms—they were a single world. At some point, a sudden conflict arose, and a catastrophic event split them in two.”

  Isarfe smiled. A breeze stirred his hair.

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “The ancient schism between the Celestial and Demon Realms—your parents understood why it happened. That’s what allowed them to believe in each other and love each other across that divide.”

  “My mom and dad? How?”

  Isarfe turned to face Mina and looked directly into her eyes.

  “Mina. That secret is hidden in Lucariel’s ruins. The place you’re heading—the answers are there.”

  Mina was bewildered.

  “Secret? I don’t know anything about that. I was just told to find a treasure, and that’s what brought me here.”

  Isarfe nodded.

  “The treasure is surely there. But the reason Seraphim’s people are searching for it has nothing to do with material riches. It could be called evidence of the schism between the Celestial and Demon Realms.”

  “Evidence of the schism?”

  Mina fixed Isarfe with a hard look.

  “You’re saying my father had this evidence?”

  Isarfe nodded. Mina stood and walked to his side.

  “Are you telling me my parents were killed because of this secret?”

  At that moment, Arc appeared behind them and lunged at Isarfe. Isarfe dodged nimbly, leaping far back. But Arc kicked off the ground, changed direction, and charged again.

  “Arc! Stop!”

  Mina’s shout made Arc pull back.

  “Why?! He’s an angel!”

  Mina shouted back at the snarling Arc.

  “He’s the one who saved us!”

  “Saved us?”

  She pleaded with the skeptical Arc.

  “Don’t you remember? We were hit by over ten bolts of lightning—you and Nox lost consciousness! Then we were attacked by over ten thousand migratory boars! He rescued us from all of that and even healed you!”

  Arc stood in silence.

  “Then WHY would he help us?!”

  Isarfe spoke to Arc in a calm voice.

  “I came because I had something to tell you. When I arrived, I happened to see you under attack, so I lent a hand.”

  Mina tilted her head, studying Isarfe.

  “What did you want to tell us?”

  Isarfe nodded.

  “You’re heading for Lucariel’s ruins. But don’t approach from the front. Seraphim’s subordinate Batanel has set traps and is lying in wait.”

  At the name Batanel, Mina went pale.

  “What do we do? We can’t even reach the ruins…”

  She hung her head. Arc placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’ll be the decoy.”

  “What?”

  Mina looked up.

  “No! Absolutely not!”

  “But we HAVE to get to those ruins!”

  “I don’t care—your opponent would be Batanel!”

  Isarfe chuckled.

  “You might want to hear me out first.”

  He smiled at both of them. Mina and Arc exchanged a glance.

  “Are you saying there’s another way?”

  Isarfe nodded.

  “There’s a secret passage on the north side that leads into the ruins. About eight hundred meters northeast of the site. Search that area carefully.”

  Arc glared at him.

  “How do we know THAT isn’t the trap?”

  “Arc… don’t say that.”

  Isarfe met Arc’s hostile gaze with a serious expression.

  “If you’d rather not trust me, go through the front. They’re fully prepared and waiting. A head-on assault won’t end well for you.”

  He looked at Mina and Arc in turn, speaking quietly.

  “Listen—I have no intention of following Seraphim’s agenda. Arc, if you don’t want to put Mina in danger, you should hear what I have to say.”

  Arc squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head.

  “But you’re an angel and I’m a demon. Why would an angel offer help—and why should I believe it?”

  Isarfe raised his voice sharply.

  “Arc! You were Lilia’s familiar—how can you not understand this?!”

  Arc’s head snapped up. Isarfe continued.

  “Whether my words are true—see for yourself. If you insist on viewing everything through the lens of Celestial versus Demon, you may miss what’s truly right.”

  Arc fell silent. Isarfe turned to Mina with a smile.

  “Well then, Mina—I’ll take my leave. I pray for everyone’s safety.”

  He spread his wings. Mina leaped in front of him.

  “Wait!”

  Isarfe tilted his head curiously. Mina touched her hair ornament, and the angel halo rose above her head.

  “How do I use this halo?”

  Isarfe touched his own halo, pinching it between his fingertips.

  “The halo you possess belonged to Lord Lucariel. Only the five Archangels carry these special halos. It automatically deflects attacks from behind—a truly invaluable artifact. Of course, you can also use it offensively, but that requires touching the halo and focusing your intent. The tricky part is that it won’t respond the way you want until you’ve gotten the hang of it.”

  Isarfe beckoned Mina to the edge of the pond.

  “Mina—the angel halo moves in response to your consciousness. Practice so you can wield it at any time. See the white flower on the rock in the middle of the pond? Watch closely.”

  He stepped back and gently flicked the halo from his fingertip. It shot toward the rock at the center of the pond with incredible speed, sliced a single petal from the white flower, and vanished into the sky above.

  “Oh!”

  Mina gasped.

  She spun around to look at Isarfe—but he was already gone.

  Mina and Arc searched the sky, but Isarfe was nowhere to be seen.