Chapter 205: The Alliance
Beneath the azure sky, vibrant red flowers flourished abundantly, creating a tapestry that seemed to merge with the heavens. Tempted by their beauty, people would want to touch them, only to discover that these captivating blossoms were perilous flames capable of engulfing them instantly.
"Tsk." Lee Shin clicked his tongue and looked at the sky.
The reason for displaying the Grand Flame Burst upon arriving on Earth was obvious.
"Come forth," Lee Shin said.
[Successor of Spirits]
You are a successor who can control the power of all spirits.
# You can summon spirits from anywhere.
# No spirit can defy your command.
# All elemental resistances are increased by 50%.
"Erkis, the Grand Spirit of Water," Lee Shin said.
The space before him was sliced open following the mana trace in the air; from within, cerulean water gushed out.
"I heard that you went to the 80th floor, but it seems like you’ve been to the Underworld,” Michael said and frowned when he saw Erkis.
Erkis looked back at Michael after taking his true form.
"Is he the Great Angel? Wow! This is so cool!" Erkis exclaimed in astonishment.
"Erkis, block him." Lee Shin ordered.
"Got it!" Erkis replied innocently and unfurled a watery barrier in the air.
“Do you really think you can stop me with this Grand Spirit? He isn’t even in the Underworld right now!” Michael laughed at Lee Shin and Erkis and shouted.
Michael’s Grand Flame Burst fell onto the barrier like meteors.
Boom!
Sizzle— Sizzle— Sizzle—!
The collision of the Grand Flame Burst and the watery barrier created billowing white steam. The fog completely obscured the view, making the challengers panic, but a strong wind blew from somewhere, dispersing the fog.
"Hehe, it's exciting to be out of the Underworld after so long!"
A green whirlpool-like being with a hazy form stirred up a hurricane with his arms crossed.
"What is that?"
"Is that also a Spirit?"
"Why is he so big?”
The challengers were puzzled over such a phenomenon. Michael ceased his attack and approached Lee Shin.
"Did you even make a contract with the Grand Spirit of Wind? Hmm… making a contract with two Grand Spirits? The rumors didn’t lie. You are quite remarkable,” Michael, the Great Angel, said.
"But how come a Great Angel like you isn’t living up to the hype? You are giving up quite earlier than I expected?” Lee Shin mocked.
"I apologize for the sudden attack. There was a reason for it. I am hoping we can have a brief conversation. Are you open to that?" Michael replied with a stoic expression, seemingly indifferent.
Michael's abrupt shift in demeanor left the previously tense challengers bewildered, their gazes filled with surprise. Lee Shin still had a stern expression as he slowly observed Michael, but he eventually nodded.
"All right. Let's hear what you have to say," Lee Shin replied.
"Follow me," Michael said to Lee Shin.
Michael cleaved through the air with a few swift strokes of his sword, creating a rift. Stepping into the newly formed portal, Michael swiftly disappeared, and Lee Shin followed him into the void. The remaining challengers continued to face off against dozens of Combat Angels, unable to relax until the end.
"How long do we have to stay like this?"
"I don't even know."
Meanwhile, Sami Harrison was once again broadcasting the situation live.
"All right, I will try to conduct an interview,” Sami Harrison said.
# Haha, she is crazy.
# I can’t believe she is trying to interview the Angels, even in this situation.
# Wow, this is why we like Sami Harrison.
Sami slipped through the crowd of challengers and climbed a building secretly. Then, she held out her microphone toward the Angel floating in the sky.
"Hello! My name is Sami Harrison!" Sami Harrison introduced herself to the Angel. "W-who are you?" The Angel was taken aback.
"I was wondering if I could interview you. Are you okay with that?” Sami Harrison asked.
"Interview? What is that? I have nothing to say to you," the Angel replied coldly.
"It will just take a moment! We can just chat for a bit and..." Sami Harrison muttered.
Woong—! Swish!
"Oh my!" Sami shouted in shock.
The Angel swiftly chopped off Sami’s microphone in half and indifferently flew away to another location, leaving behind a dejected Sami.
"I guess these Angels are not great communicators. It looks like I won’t be able to do the interview," Sami Harrison said with disappointment.
Normally, Sami Harrison would not give up so easily like this, but if one Angel reacted like that, it was likely that the others would do the same. Therefore, she gave up.
# But an interview with the Angels would have been a real scoop.
# Even Sami Harrison can't make that happen.
The viewers continued to provoke Sami Harrison, but she just shook her head and waited for Lee Shin to appear.
***
The room was spacious, with elegant tables, chairs, a carpeted floor, and fancy lighting fixtures on the ceiling.
"This room is tailored to human tastes," Michael said, looking at Lee Shin.
"It's not really to my liking, but well, I don’t think you care anyway,” Lee Shin replied.
"Is that so? I tried to consider it, but oh well," Michael muttered.
The next moment, Michael brought a cup of tea to Lee Shin from a teapot placed on one side.
"I heard that you like tea. Is that right?" Michael asked Lee Shin.
"Yes, thank you," Lee Shin replied.
Was Michael always such a meticulous person? This was a far cry from his fiery temperament and the image of him spreading flames.
"Since we don't have that much time, let's talk straight," Michael said.
"Sure," Lee Shin replied.
"The heavenly realm wants to ally with Earth," Michael said earnestly.
"An alliance… Quite a change from your last proposal, won’t you say?" Lee Shin asked.
Before, they had treated Earth as a vassal state of Heaven; now, they wanted to form an alliance on equal terms.
"Your presence adds value to it, Lee Shin,” Michael said.
"You say you want to ally with Earth, but your actions are quite contradictory,” Lee Shin replied as if he could not understand their intention.
"It was a mistake on Sikael’s part. Allow me to apologize on his behalf."
Michael humbly bowed his head in apology. Revealing this vulnerable side was no small feat for the esteemed Great Angel, which explained why he had created this separate space to talk to Lee Shin.
"But it wasn’t just Sikael. You also appeared out of nowhere and spread your red flames without warning." Lee Shin pointed out.
"I had my reasons for that as well," Michael said.
"And what were they?" Lee Shin asked.
"I had to know your skills and limits, Lee Shin,” Michael explained.
Michael took a sip of his tea and continued.
"The Heavenly God commanded us to ensure that Earth doesn't join hands with the other realms, especially not with the Demon World and Astria," Michael said.
“Well, okay. I can understand Demon World, but why is the Heavenly God against Astria, too?” Lee Shin asked with a confused look.
The divine realm Astria practically ruled and managed the Tower. The more high-ranking individuals Lee Shin met, the more he heard about Astria's influence.
"All I know is that Astria is eyeing Earth. I don't know the exact details, but the Heavenly God warned us that they must never take possession of Earth. He said that could disrupt the balance between dimensions," Michael explained.
Lee Shin could not understand what Michael meant by dimensional balance. If they were talking about all the dimensions, Earth seemed like too small a piece to disrupt the balance. Thus, the assertion that targeting Earth would disrupt the balance of dimensions left him perplexed.
"I can’t tell you everything now, but know that the Heavenly God suspects that Astria is borrowing power from the Demon World," Michael explained.
"Hmm… Astria and the Demon World," Lee Shin muttered.
Lee Shin abruptly remembered what he had seen in Belial’s memories on the 21st floor. She had intervened in the Tower, and Baal had allowed her to hide in Isocia. Astria had built the world of the Tower, so did their close relationship make Baal take action?
Baal, the owner of the first throne of the Demon World, undeniably symbolized the entirety of the Demon World. However, the idea of Demon God joining forces with Astria was hard to imagine. The notion alone made Lee Shin uneasy.
"Demon World will soon invade Earth, and I can't stay on Earth forever. And it’s not like I can use all my power here," Michael explained to Lee Shin.
"Was your power sealed when you attacked us earlier?” Lee Shin asked.
"Yes. But it seems that soon, all the constraints on Earth will disappear. Earth’s dimensional energy is increasing abnormally fast," Michael replied.
The dimension energy was indeed increasing quickly, so Micheal hadn’t been lying. As Earth's combat power grew, so did that of its enemies. Therefore, bolstering combat capabilities alone would not guarantee Earth's complete safety. Precise information regarding the enemy's ultimate intentions and objectives was critical to prepare adequately. "All right. From this point on, Earth is an ally of the heavenly realm." Lee Shin accepted Michael’s proposal.
"That was a wise choice,"—Michael stood up from his seat—“I should get going. The Combat Angels are here just to honor you."
"Aren’t they here to flaunt the might of the heavenly realm's combat power?” Lee Shin asked a sharp question.
"Haha, you're right." Michael laughed for the first time since the start of the conversation. He performed a slicing gesture in the air. "Angels will come over to help, and soon the demons will launch a large-scale invasion. Maybe even the divine realm of Astria might join in as well, so prepare well in advance," Michael said to Lee Shin.
"All right, I got what you mean,” Lee Shin replied.
The background shimmered as Michael entered the torn space and returned to its original state. Lee Shin then addressed the Korean government agents and challengers present alongside the Angels, informing them of the alliance he had just formed with Micheal and the need to include this in the WCA’s agenda. Since a formal alliance had already been established with the heavenly realm, a formal meeting was necessary as part of the process.
* Wow, did we just ally with freaking Angels?! Amazing!
└ Guess what! I actually saw an Angel up close not too long ago.
└ So what? I even shook hands with an Angel!
└ Angels seem nicer than I thought.
└ Don't you guys remember when they stopped us from helping Mayotte? You guys are idiots.
└ Bro, that was then, and this is now. We are allies now, plus the situation is different. Do you have to be so negative?
.
└ Well, I can say what I want for the mean things that they have done.
The news of the alliance with the Angels spread rapidly worldwide. Interestingly, the Angels paid no attention to people's complaints. They simply performed their duties like machines. The people began to see the once-disliked Angels in a new light; it was then that the demon invasion occurred.
- I am Samuel Campbell, the Chairman of the WCA.
The WCA’s official statement was broadcast worldwide, coinciding with heightened public anxiety caused by the vibrations from the gate detectors around Earth.
- I believe you all remember the Mayotte massacre that happened recently.
During the Mayotte massacre, Astaroth's subordinates had come to Earth and mercilessly slaughtered nearly 200,000 people.
- This time, more than 50 gate detectors around the world have detected dimension energy. There will likely be a large-scale invasion soon.
The mere mention of the Mayotte massacre made everyone shudder. Ronaz, one of the worst threats Earth had to face, had almost put Para McMatain in danger. A few months had passed since the incident, and Earth’s dimensional energy had gotten stronger. Consequently, even stronger demons would invade their planet this time, so they needed comprehensive preparation.
- WCA has decided to command all challengers from WCA-affiliated countries for the duration of this large-scale demon invasion.
Chairman Samuel's declaration was quite groundbreaking. Essentially, every country’s military forces would unite under the WCA’s banner. The unification, though temporary, carried great weight in its implementation.
* Is that the right thing to do? They are basically taking away all our South Korean challengers!
└ That’s why those people are scoundrels.
└ I know! I used to think Chairman Samuel was good, but after learning more about him, I think he is out of his mind.
└ You guys need to think big. Even Lee Shin said the whole world must unite.
└ Are you a fan of Samuel or something? What nonsense are you talking about! He is basically saying that small countries should sacrifice themselves for the strong, big countries.
└ Just hold on for a second. Let's wait and see. The story isn't over yet.
- Until now, countless gates have opened, leading to unnecessary and inefficient battles. Those battles forced us to sacrifice many lives.
Samuel was determined, and he seemed ready to enforce the decision even if the public opposed it.
└ Looking at Samuel’s face, it feels like he will do it. Whenever he had that expression, he did what he said.
└ Yeah, you’re right. I definitely agree with you.
└ But has anything that he enforced failed before? It's a fact that Samuel is a competent person.
└ He could do well 99 times, but if he messes up even once, he will be considered incompetent. Ugh… Is he seriously going to enforce it?
Strong reactions reverberated among the populace, and it wasn't limited to Korea. China and even Samuel's home country, the United States, shared similar concerns because the monopolization of challengers was a significant issue.
- We will act fair and square. Renowned dimension researcher Mr. Sevrino, hextech mage Mr. Vian Stiger, and other researchers worldwide have tirelessly advanced gate research, achieving remarkable results.
Samuel tried to persuade the audience slowly.
- We can use gate detectors to measure dimension energy levels, estimate gate opening timings, and gauge potential enemy strength. Our goal is to prevent this massive demon invasion effectively.
└ But is that theoretically possible? More than 50 gates are going to open.
└ Of course, it’s impossible.
└ Nope. It can never work out.
└ Ugh! This is exactly why we should just protect South Korea, don’t you guys think so? How will we protect the other countries if ten gates open in Asia alone?
└ Didn't you guys hear it last time? South Korea has many strong challengers, so dimension energy is concentrated there, resulting in more gates appearing there.
└ I’ll kill them all if they take Lee Shin from us.
└ I know! Same here! I’m going to protest if they take away Lee Shin.
└ Agree!
However, many people's opposition faded when they saw the person Samuel had called.
Clomp, clomp, clomp…
The footsteps echoed, and a man with violet hair appeared onstage.
- Nice to meet you, everyone. I am Lee Shin.
Lee Shin revealed himself for the first time at the WCA press conference.