DSB 159

Beneath the vast, blue sky, rows of white, magnificent buildings floated in the air. Angels with outstretched white wings moved back and forth between them.

This was the Celestial Realm, inhabited by angels who, called gods by humans, received the will of the Celestial God to maintain the balance of the world.

Clouds that humans could never reach, no matter how far they stretched their hands, were close enough to graze fingertips, and the stretching blue sky was clear. Within that blueness, nothing but peace filled the air. The angels spent long hours flying within it.

However, there were those who did not cease their training to protect that peace. In the desolate field, only one person was diligently swinging his sword. Those who had completed their training hours had long since packed up and left, yet he alone remained serious about his practice.

“Yutis, don’t you ever get tired? You are the only one left.”

“Because you never know when something might happen.”

“Do you think anything would actually happen? Especially since this is one of Lord Michael’s residences. Most demons wouldn’t even think of approaching.”

The wars with the Demon Realm had become a distant legend, something young angels only encountered in fairy tales.

That was not to say there were absolutely no demons invading the Celestial Realm. Since there were occasionally those who disturbed the Celestial Realm or descended into the Middle Realm to cause trouble, preparations were necessary. However, their numbers were small. Furthermore, training was mostly focused on wielding divine power.

After all, divine power was more effective against demons than swords.

However, they were angels under Michael. Michael was exceptional in martial prowess, and they trained in swordsmanship in accordance with his will, an angel who lived by the saying that a healthy mind resides in a strong body. Yet, it was rare to see someone cling to training as tenaciously as Yutis.

“Your passion is truly remarkable.”

For a long time, there had been almost no battles, and the angels, accustomed to peace, generally approached their training carelessly. After all, their desire to play and skip work was the same as everyone else’s.

“Were you a knight when you were human?”

“…Maybe. It felt familiar from the moment I first held a sword.”

Yutis looked down at the hand holding the sword.

His first memory was of Michael smiling, congratulating him on his rebirth as an angel. He became his ally the moment he was born and immediately took up the sword.

His body moved instinctively first, rather than his mind understanding how to hold and swing it or how to move his body.

Yutis was not a soul born as an angel.

He was originally human, but he accumulated virtue and was reincarnated as an angel in recognition of his merit. Such a case was said to occur only once every few hundred years, to the point that angels even came just to see him. Many tried to [unauthorized copy]approach him out of curiosity, but Michael usually blocked them.

Moreover, this was one of his residences. No angels dared to come and go, and Yutis lived among the others, training his sword.

“Don’t just stay here; go out and play. There are plenty of angels who are curious about you.”

“…I’m fine.”

Yutis refused. Perhaps because he was a human who had become an angel, receiving so much attention was burdensome. In particular, a few angels would give strange glances. If asked what it felt like, he couldn’t explain it in detail, but it was uncomfortable.

The gazes were too strange to be mere curiosity. The stares from the angels who had made a name for themselves were especially peculiar, to the point where he wondered if he had truly accumulated enough merit when he was human.

What kind of person was I when I was human?

He had asked Michael a few times out of curiosity, but he only told him he couldn’t tell him. He simply said that Yutis would know everything when the time came.

“Lord Niel, do you know what I was like when I was human?”

“I don’t know. If I did, would I ask you? I wasn’t very interested in the Middle Realm.”

Niel was lost in thought. However, there were some angels who were very interested [stolen content]in the Middle Realm. There were even angels who were treated as gods there. It was certain that a few knew, though not all of them.

“It seems there are some angels who knew you when you were human… but they absolutely refuse to tell me. It almost feels like they’re afraid.”

That was especially strange.

It was rare for a human to reincarnate as an angel, but for Michael to step forward to protect him and for other angels to keep his past life a secret was certainly not a normal occurrence.

In the peaceful Celestial Realm, there was nothing more interesting than rumors. So, Niel approached Yutis with goodwill, and as a result, they became close.

“Anyway, you must have been an incredible fellow. Enough to be promoted to angel. Perhaps a hero who saved a country? You’re good with a sword. I think you could’ve done something like that.”

“…A hero?”

“Right. Like saving the Middle Realm from demons. Around that time, Lord Mikael was dealing with a lot of trouble there.”

Niel’s eyes lit up.

Why hadn’t he thought of that before? Although there was a slight difference in timing, if Yutis had lived a long life, the timelines would align.

“Lord Michael likes you. You might have been promoted to angel thanks to his influence.”

The moment he heard those words, Yutis’s expression turned slightly rigid.

He knew that Michael liked him. Yutis also felt grateful to Michael. After all, it was Michael who taught him all sorts of things when he was like a blank slate.

But why?

Sometimes, he disliked hearing praise directed at Michael. There was no particular reason, but it grated on his mind. The fact that Michael had lived a long time, that he was loved by the Celestial God, and that he was strong yet kind to others, all of it. It was a feeling that always arose whenever others praised Michael, to the point where he seriously worried whether he harbored feelings toward Michael that he shouldn’t dare to. But that was not the case. He would immediately scoff at the thought.

…There were times when he felt he couldn’t stand the sight of him, so that feeling couldn’t possibly be right.

However, one thing was certain: he had to become stronger. Perhaps even stronger than Michael. Not for him, but for someone else.

That thought struck him strongly. He didn’t know exactly who that person was yet. He only assumed it was related to his memories from when he was human.

“You still don’t have any memories of when you were human?”

“No. I don’t remember.”

“Hmm… It’s not that there [unauthorized copy]are absolutely no cases, but it is rare for memories not to return for this long. It’s already been over a hundred years.”

Seeing Yutis’s grim expression, Niel patted his shoulder.

“Well, they’ll come back eventually. We aren’t beings that die quickly like humans. And we don’t necessarily need memories of a past life.”

“It is necessary.”

Niel’s eyes widened at Yutis’s uncharacteristically serious remark.

“…I feel I must remember.”

“What do you need to do with remembering? Everyone you knew back then must be dead.”

Yutis’s lips twitched slightly. For a moment, he almost shouted that they couldn’t be dead. Who would dare say that?

However, he had to swallow those words. He couldn’t even remember the face or name of the person he needed to recall. Yet, he was certain.

Deep within his mind, a blurry figure kept rising to the surface of his consciousness, only to sink back before he could even reach out. Each time, his heart reacted first. It ached, and anxiety overwhelmed him.

This was someone he must remember. Someone he couldn’t leave alone. Someone he must not make cry.

His instinct continued to whisper, as if it were a promise etched into his soul long ago.

Yutis unconsciously tightened his grip. It wasn’t to grasp the sword. It was a gesture to grab ‘that someone,’ whose form was unrecognizable.

Seeing this, Niel shrugged. He was a good guy, but sometimes he acted so frustratingly. He would be stubborn about things that couldn’t be understood and just shoulder the burden alone without a word.

He was only a little over a hundred years old.

…Ah, if you include the time he lived as a human, is it two hundred? He was just a kid.

“Anyway, don’t just stay here; look around other places. The only places you go are the training grounds or the gardens. You’re going to have to live in the Celestial Realm for a long time, so you should make some friends.”

“…I do have friends.”

“Who else besides me? Ah, no. Who else besides the angels under Lord Michael?”

“…….”

“You shouldn’t get bored with life already, young fellow. That’s a disease. There are many who have lived for thousands of years who say the world is boring. That’s why they go down to the Middle Earth to play the role of gods. I’m only five hundred years old, so I don’t know what that feeling is like.”

Leaving those words behind, Niel flew away into the distance. Yutis stared at his retreating figure. Whenever he saw someone spread their wings to their heart’s content and fly, a strange sentiment would often arise.

Yutis reached out and stroked his own wings. The well-groomed feathers were fluffy and warm. The thought that the sensation had never felt like this before crossed his mind, and at the same time, he felt as though he had to spread these wings and go somewhere.

Even though he had nowhere to go.

That was why he had rarely spread his wings until now. Wandering outside only made his heart feel empty. Perhaps he deliberately chose not to leave this place because he didn’t want to feel that emotion.

Suddenly, Yutis spotted a small flower blooming in the field.

“Should I stop?”

He lowered his sword. But he didn’t let go of it. He spread his wings and flew away somewhere.