11 Raizel Adeus Astra

A black and gold divine light engulfed the area, momentarily blinding Marek. As the light faded, it coalesced into the form of a woman in her late teens.

The light cracked open, revealing her alabaster white skin and a cascade of raven black hair that fell loosely to the ground.

Her face was so stunning that it seemed sculpted by the gods themselves.

Kneeling on one knee, with her right hand placed over her chest, she bowed slightly, her head lowered in silent reverence.

"My Emperor, my King, my Sovereign, Lord Marek," her voice rang out, accompanied by a beautiful smile that graced her lips.

"You can rise, Raizel," Marek said.

Raizel stood up, her captivating dark gold eyes fixed on him. Marek hadn't anticipated that she would be summoned without clothing, her perfect proportions on full display.

"Perhaps you should consider dressing, Raizel," Marek suggested, meeting her gaze.

"Do you truly wish it, Milord?" Raizel's blush deepened as she took a step forward.

Because of her mature physique of a late teen woman, she towered over Marek, yet her eyes still held that dark, obsessive glint toward Marek who despite his different appearance was undoubtedly the person Raizel loved more than anything in the world.

"I... was afraid. But I trusted that Milord would emerge victorious. For us," Raizel said, reaching out her arms. "May I?"

Marek gave a quick nod.

Raizel's smile widened as she leaned over and gave Marek a firm hug. 

Restraining his masculine inclinations, Marek wrapped his arms tenderly around Raizel's velvety waist.

Marek felt the force of Raizel's lovely, bouncy breasts pressing on his chest. 

Marek remained silent despite being able to feel the buds. First of all, he wasn't upset, and second, he was accustomed to Raizel's flirtatious ways.

Rather, Marek gave way to the thrilling, nostalgic scent of Raizel. 

After Marek released his hands, Raizel still remained close, her warm, ragged breath still tickling his ears. Her moistened lips dangerously traced his cheeks, igniting a spark of desire within him.

"Enough, Raizel. Put on some clothes now," Marek intervened quickly, halting any further escalation. Despite inhabiting the body of a teenager, Marek wasn't sure he could resist Raizel's charm, especially with his mind clearer now, thanks to his memories of Earth.

"Yes," Raizel complied reluctantly, stepping back and swiping her hand downward. With a flutter, a beautiful black dress appeared, covering her body.

Raising a brow at Raizel's expression, Marek approached and touched her cheeks.

"Ahn!" Raizel moaned softly, her cheeks flushing bright red.

"You seem to be in a weakened state too, Raizel," Marek observed, noting that the Raizel he remembered possessed even greater beauty and divine presence.

"I-I... am sorry!" Raizel stammered, her panic evident as she knelt again.

Marek shook his head. "I'm not reprimanding you. I am also in a much more weakened state than you. I suppose the seal and summoning take quite a toll on you all."

He knew that even God-Rank Spells came with consequences but the spell he just created for the seal and space-summoning was something even breaking past the Divine Realms of Spells. 

"It might take time to recover," Marek mused. "But we have time." Grasping Raizel's hand, he raised her to her feet.

"Hm! Lord Marek!" Raizel chimed happily, tightening her grip on Marek's hand. Blushing, she looked down at their intertwined hands and began to fidget cutely.

[Lord Marek. Lady Raizel, Lady Anastasia might wake up.]

"..." Raizel's smile froze and then vanished completely.

A dangerous aura seemed to emanate from her as she gritted her teeth. "Prometheus was summoned before me? And... what is that girl's name?"

"Raizel, calm down," Marek said.

"B-But Milord! Why didn't you summon me first?" Raizel's voice quivered with anger as she glared at the orange mass that was Prometheus. "D-Don't tell me, Serena, Sittrys, and the others were summoned before me too?!"

"Raizel."

"Pardon m-me…" Raizel's voice trailed off as she knelt once again, clearly consumed by jealousy.

She was sulking.

Marek couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of Raizel's expression. It had been a while since she had shown that side of herself, or perhaps he hadn't noticed it before because of his obsession.

"Prometheus was summoned at the same time as I appeared here. Without him, I couldn't have summoned you out of the seal."

"Yes…" Raizel's cheeks puffed up slightly in response.

Marek reached out, gently brushing Raizel's silky black hair aside and tucking some strands behind her ears.

"...and you are the first Apostle I summoned on my own."

"R-Really?!" Raizel's sulk vanished, replaced by a beaming smile.

"Yes. Now, before we discuss Anastasia, can you do something for me?" Marek's tone softened as he caressed Raizel's cheeks.

"ANYTHING!!!" 

Marek smiled. "There are some people I want dead."

Raizel's eyes gleamed with twisted delight as she stood up, placing her right hand over her chest. "Leave it to me, Milord. I will slaughter the puny beings who dare to bother you, right away."

"Good. Prometheus, accompany Raizel and show her the tavern. Kill everyone including the witnesses, and leave the blood and bodies as they are," Marek ordered.

[Yes, Milord.]

"Come, Prometheus. We shouldn't keep Lord Marek waiting," Raizel declared, grabbing the now-small orange mass strongly.

[L-Lady R..aizel…your hand…]

Once they both vanished, Marek observed for a moment.

It's clearly overkill to send Raizel but whatever.

He wasn't stupid enough to not catch the eye signals and all the facial expressions between the barman, the woman and Godan. Or perhaps they were quite difficult to catch on but–

I guess Edward's sessions didn't serve for nothing. I learned a lot through him.

In any case, he couldn't tell how much Raizel was weakened but in her current state she was stronger than him by miles away—no.

She might be among the strongest people in the whole Empire and that was in her weakened state.

"Now." Marek's gaze landed on the blood and bodies around. 

There was no way he would let any blood, flesh and bodies here with Anastasia right above so for the next twenty minutes, he dumped all the bodies in the pit, buried it and cleaned the blood with simple spells.

***

"They're taking their sweet time..." Clastor muttered, his frown deepening.

It had been over an hour since Godan left to retrieve the kids, yet there was still no word from him confirming that the job was done. Normally, Godan would send a message within minutes of completing a task, especially when it involved something as straightforward as grabbing kids from a rundown house near their tavern.

"You've been worrying all morning, Clastor!" Shosa scoffed, tearing into a piece of meat.

"Maybe..." Clastor replied, though his instincts told him otherwise. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease, unlike anything he'd experienced since he started working for his boss, and it all seemed to stem from that boy.

Clastor's gaze drifted to the broken glass in his hand, lost in thought.

"Oh, I know!" Shosa suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Clastor asked, snapping out of his reverie.

Shosa grinned. "I think... Godan couldn't resist the silver-haired girl after all. He's probably having his way with her as we speak."

"I told him not to," Clastor shot back, his glare sharp.

"You know how he is, Clastor," Shosa chuckled.

"If he can't control himself, he's not fit to be with us," Clastor retorted.

-Thud!

"Hey Boss!" A voice interrupted from behind the bar, one of their men bursting into the room.

"What is it?"

"Y-You need to come!" The man's grin was unsettling.

Clastor and Shosa looked at each other before following outside and froze. 

There was a very young woman whose beauty seemed to transcend humanity. For all of them present here, there was no doubts that she was the most beautiful being they had ever laid their eyes upon. 

Raizel's golden gaze was extremely cold and there was an unhidden contempt as she looked around. A stark contrast to her blushing appearance a few minutes ago with Marek.

She was floating above the ground bare-footed. She was about land but upon seeing the place, she covered her nose before summoning two black boots and landed on the ground. 

"Is it here, Prometheus?" She asked.

[Yes, Milady.]

The others couldn't understand since Prometheus was invisible for all the others.

"B-Boss! What do we do?!"

"I-It's obvious idiot! We capture her!!"

All the men and women seemed completely enthralled by Raizel's appearance. Even Clastor was slowly losing all his reasons but the murderous aura emanating from Raizel kept him from entirely succumbing.

He wanted to voice out his words but Raizel's aura was so palpable covering the whole place easily that he couldn't even speak properly.

He was certain that Raizel wasn't human, and it boded nothing well.

Raizel, on other side, felt disgust rising within her as she sensed the lascivious gazes fixed upon her. Extending her right hand, a dark aura stretched out.

"Monarch Rank Spell."

"...!" Clastor and the others instinctively stepped back in fear.

They had never heard of a 'Monarch Rank Spell' before, as the spells in their world were categorized by Star Tiers, but they could all feel the ominous aura emanating from Raizel.

"Twilight Blade."

A perfect, dark blade sliced through the air at frightening speed, and nobody could dodge it.

-SPURT!

-Thud -Thud -Thud -Thud

The last thing Clastor saw was his decapitated body.

The dark blade was so powerful that it cleaved the building in two, leaving a thin, dark line in the middle without even causing it to crumble.

The ground was littered with blood, severed heads, and headless bodies.

"Already?" Raizel muttered, her expression indifferent, before she left the tavern.