Others from the village were invited to the box seat too: the Nine children and Azur, Cake and Leon, and Kyon and Momo—as representatives of the Bunnies. The Madam and her entourage watched from a balcony of the Hot Springs Resort, eagerly anticipating a spectacular climax to Descension Day.
Sam’s family stood among the crowd with Hummer, and so did Warlkin—who used to oppose them as a Satanist—shrouded in a thick robe.
“I never expected to bear witness to an archangel...” Warlkin ran his pen along a paper, sketching the golden temple as part of a dutiful report of the summoning for Fuji.
The only invitees who weren’t in attendance were Queen and Yu. The former had volunteered to remain in the Holy Castle, and the latter prioritized gathering more Holy Coins.
Harts gazed up at the towering golden temple, in disbelief that such extravagant architecture and culture had thrived in ancient times. “So this is the temple everyone spoke of...?” he asked.
“This wasn’t here when I last came to this village,” Sambo said. The other militant nobles—who had never so much as set foot in Rabbi before—were blown away by the series of bizarre and mystical facilities. If Descension Day were a sort of magic show, the audience was already hooked, mind and body.
Soon, the golden temple shone brighter than ever, its beam of light blinking with a rhythm in a light show against the night sky. Projections were cast on the wall of the Casino to add more dancing lights. A majestic hymn blasted from the loudspeakers placed around the village. The crowd seemed stunned at first, until they erupted in cheers as the light show climaxed...and the Fallen Angel alighted on the Casino’s rooftop.
“Lord Lucifer... You’re incredible,” White breathed. She was gazing up at the roof with her fingers twined as if in prayer, watching a scene unfold that was truly a myth come to life.
Luna huffed beside her sister. “H-Hmph! Okay, that was...kind of cool.”
Eagle sat entranced by the images being projected on the Casino walls. In all her wandering throughout the continent, she’d never seen anything like this. “Maybe this is why they called him the Ruler of Night...” Eagle sighed. She was way off the mark, but many in the crowd would have agreed with her. Who among them didn’t make a connection between the spectacle of light and sound and the Fallen Angel’s moniker?
Weeb and the Trinary were no exception—they watched the magical display, completely speechless, wondering who else but the Ruler of Night could pull off such a spectacle.
Basking in beams of light of all colors, the Demon Lord greeted his adoring crowd like a masterful actor onstage—let the farce of a lifetime begin. “Ladies and gentlemen... You are the chosen. Welcome...to my world!”
That was the opening line that played every time an arena opened in the game. To the Demon Lord, it had only ever been a simple announcement, but uttered in this context, plenty of inferences were whispered and exchanged.
True enough, the Nine children were ecstatic to hear the line.
“Azur, what does he mean ‘the Chosen’?” one of the children asked.
“It suggests some special qualification and privilege,” Azur explained.
“So...we’re ‘the Chosen’?” the girl asked.
Azur remained calm, wanting to convey how close proximity to power also meant close proximity to danger and ruin. “...That is true. But do not forget that we can lose that status for any reason. Those with power are always fickle and heartless.”
“No! I never want to be apart from Lord Lucifer!”
“I’m the one who’ll serve by his side! Not you!”
While the children bickered, the Fallen Angel posed on the rooftop with cheeks rosy from alcohol. A stupid idiot got stupid drunk and decided to say something stupid with a stupid light show. In reality, this was a farce on the grandest scale. Fortunately for the Demon Lord, no one there knew his true colors. The divine beast rode on his shoulder, creating a veil of white mist around the rooftop, concealing exactly how drunk he was.
Let’s get this started...! the Demon Lord told himself. If I’m going to feel stupid anyway, I may as well have fun with it! He downed the bottle of fire spirit and smashed it. A flickering glance at the ring on his finger showed that it was brimming with power—more than enough to pull off this miracle.
A vignette from a short story he’d written long ago flashed in the Demon Lord’s mind—Tahara and his sister wandering the streets, having left their parents. They were penniless and starving, but those were also the happiest days of their lives.
With their smiles on his mind, the Demon Lord spoke these fateful words: “Now... I summon Manami Tahara—the Grand Angel!”
Miracle of the Still Angel—Blessing of Chaos!
As soon as his hand sliced through the air, a blast of light came from his ring, lighting up the entirety of the village in divine light. Everyone there seemed convinced that they were witnessing a true miracle...because they were. The Demon Lord’s ring was left behind by the Still Angel after using the last of its strength—a bona fide miracle.
Now, Bedwarmer! Cover the entire rooftop with cold fog! the Demon Lord silently commanded. Thanks only to a bellyful of carrots and a whispered request from Aku before the show, Mimi did as he was told. The Demon Lord immediately ducked into the fog and took out a pair of angel wings, ready to slap them on Manami to make her into a fake angel. Someone needed to put the fear of god in this man.
However, when the young girl summoned by the Still Angel’s miracle emerged, a halo glowed above her head, angelic wings fluttered behind her back, and she even carried a golden trumpet on her belt. She was nothing short of the Grand Angel.