“Huh. Now that you mention it, I don’t know when the last time I sat down for a meal was,” Natalia mused. “No matter. I didn’t really have a goal, and all in all, I lived a pretty decent life.”
She may have been the world’s strongest alchemist, but she’d perish without food; she was only human. She had forgotten all about such menial things. Once she became engrossed in her research, she’d forget to eat and sleep. It was a bad habit of hers.
Until now, she managed to snap back to reality in the nick of time and quickly hydrate herself or munch on an energy bar, but it seemed she ran out of luck. Natalia sighed and decided to turn defiant. If she was dead, there was nothing more she could do. She had no lingering wishes and had no one important to her. She had no regrets.
“Natalia, I have a request,” the woman said.
The alchemist cocked her head to one side. When a person died, their soul would head to the Otherworld. The sinful ones would fall to the underworld, while the good souls would go up to the heavens. The soul would then start a new cycle and a new life.
Angels managed the Otherworld while selecting and guiding souls. Or so I thought. An angel making a request? She’s just like a human. Indeed, the woman was much more expressive and humanlike than the man with six wings behind her.
“What kind of request?” Natalia asked.
“I want you to save my daughter,” the angel replied. “I cannot go to the mortal realm anymore and can only watch over her. I shall return you your life. In exchange, for even just a short while, please allow me to be within your body as well.”
The angel’s eyes grew misty, clinging to hope. Natalia was amazed that even angels could cry. The alchemist expected angels to be more heartless and expressionless, simply existing as tools of God.
“I’d like to save my daughter, Chloe,” the woman said.
Daughter? Chloe? Who’s she talking about? Do angels have daughters? I had no idea. But if she’s gonna make a request of me, I’d better get a suitable reward for it. Natalia Báthory was still the strongest alchemist in the world, even in death. That fact never wavered. She’s making a grave mistake if she thinks a human would obediently listen to whatever an angel says!
“I don’t quite understand, but I can do that for you,” Natalia replied. “But I’m not the type to cling to life, you see. So, if my only reward for helping an angel is my life, I don’t think that’s quite fair.”
“There’s nothing more valuable than life,” the six-winged man said, finally breaking his silence while glaring at the alchemist. “What more could you want?”
His thick, burly arm was etched with a pattern that looked like a thin dragon coiling around it. His physique and face were absolutely breathtaking, as though he’d stepped right out of a painting. His flaming red hair and golden eyes hinted that he was likely one of the angels of Seraphim—one of the highest-ranking angels.
Natalia wasn’t scared, and she certainly wasn’t willing to pay her utmost respects. She was a human and she was talking to an angel. There was no hierarchy here.
“Well, if you’re willing to revive me, this must be a very special case, I take it,” Natalia said. “There aren’t any records about an angel with a child. And reviving the dead must certainly be taboo. Yet, you’re willing to take that risk; protecting your daughter must be very important to you.”
“Indeed,” the woman replied in a beautiful voice. “This is my selfish request. But protecting that child will lead to protecting the world.”
Her tone was pleasant to the ears, reminding Natalia of the spring breeze brushing against her cheeks.
“Do you really have a daughter?” Natalia asked.
“My name is Celestia. Celestia Sagrid. Chloe is my daughter, without a doubt.”
I’ve never heard of that name before. But Natalia had isolated herself from societal affairs. Ever since she left Astria and wandered around various nations, she’d holed herself in her room for her research. Natalia likely had no acquaintances left in the royal capital of Astria. She never liked socializing much anyway, but she didn’t even have a family or people she could call friends when she was growing up.
“Well, even if you revived me, I wouldn’t know who Chloe is,” Natalia said. “All right, I can lend you my body for a while, Celestia.”
“Really? You will?!” the angel called Celestia gasped. “Thank you so much!”
She clasped her hands in front of her chest and gave a deep brow. Natalia wasn’t at all interested in saving the world, but she wasn’t so cold-hearted as to abandon a person who turned to her for help. However, she still wanted something in return, and a worthy reward at that; she was helping an angel.
“I don’t mind lending my body, but since I’ve died once, I’d like to meet someone,” Natalia said.
“Who could it be? The abbess of the church whom you were indebted to?” Celestia asked. “Or your parents, perhaps?”
“I don’t really care about my parents. And I don’t need to meet the abbess granny. Humans die. That’s the law of nature, and I don’t wish to meet her again. I don’t want to live a life where I’ll have regrets like that.”
“Then who?”
“I want to meet God, the primordial deity who made this world. Your father.”
“I see…” the angel of Seraphim replied with a nod. “You do know our father’s name.” He didn’t seem at all angry. In fact, there was a hint of amazement in his tone.
“Sāgara, the divine dragon,” Natalia said. “I want to meet that God. Since I’m gonna revive anyway, might as well pick up a souvenir while I’m at the Otherworld. And I want to form a contract with him. I want to borrow his power.”
“That power is too great for a human,” the six-winged man said while shaking his head. He believed her endeavor to be an impossible one.
“It’s what I need, or else I might not be able to protect Celestia’s daughter,” Natalia reasoned. “The stronger the better, don’t you think? I’m the world’s greatest sorcerer, and a noble, first-rate alchemist, but a stronger Natalia Báthory will be good for the world.”
“Lord Michael…” Celestia said to the man as though she was begging.
Michael gave a small nod. “Very well. Under the name of Michael, I shall lead you to Father. You will agree to Celestia’s request, won’t you?”
“I knew you were an angel of Seraphim, but Michael is the name of the one who’s the greatest of them all—an archangel,” Natalia mused. “If you’re personally here, I presume Chloe is a very important existence.”
“Angels and humans cannot create a child. It’s taboo, and Celestia did precisely that,” Michael said sternly. “However, the child hasn’t sinned. Chloe is the child of Celestia, and is our child as well. She is a unique existence, holding the blood of an angel and a human.”
“In other words, Chloe seems to have several meddling, troublesome fathers.”
“We cannot directly interfere with the world beyond the gates. That’s also taboo and can destroy the logic of the world. And so, Celestia had requested to borrow your power. I have simply agreed to that.”
“Fine with me. But once Celestia leaves my body, I’ll do what I want then. Is that all right with you?”
“Of course. Thank you, Natalia,” Celestia said, a tear spilling from her shimmering eyes.
Even Natalia, who generally seemed unconcerned with the world, gulped in awe at the angel’s beauty. And this was how Natalia Báthory managed to meet with the creator of the world, Divine Dragon Sāgara.
This was before she went to save Chloe, who was being surrounded by men in the slum alleys.
As promised, Natalia had been revived with Celestia inside her body. The angel, wearing the suit of the alchemist, managed to act perfectly like Natalia while rescuing Chloe and bringing her home. Natalia hadn’t been completely kicked out of her body, however—perhaps she was partly responsible for saving Chloe.
Natalia couldn’t understand herself quite well either, but she didn’t give up and write everything off as being troublesome like what was typical of her. She wasn’t willing to abandon Chloe and flee. A few months passed as she taught Chloe the basics of alchemy. One day, Celestia suddenly vanished from Natalia’s body like a puff of smoke.
I guess this means I can do as I please. Natalia was now all by herself. It was then that she started to find her apprentice adorable. Chloe was precious to her, but she still found it troublesome to take care of others and live together.
Chloe was diligent. She was so hardworking that Natalia found it a burden to keep watching over her. She couldn’t quite understand why.
And so off Natalia flew on her broom to once again set out on another journey.