Song and Dance Drama

Up to this moment, I finally had the first clue: Tom Ellis must be connected to Lucifer in some way.

If he is Lucifer, then he has definitely become Satan, the fallen Lucifer. But if he truly comes from the underworld, then the "Your Majesty" he mentioned must refer to the Devil. In this case, it is likely that the regime has been overthrown, and he has become a lackey of someone else. After all, it should be a long time before Lucifer becomes king in the 21st century, and history might have changed.

I was certain I wasn't dreaming, at least not an ordinary dream. Perhaps he brought me here to the past with the intention of altering history after Lucifer's regime was overthrown, like preventing Lucifer from falling or increasing the number of angelic troops accompanying him in his descent. But it didn't make sense to send me here without any explanation. Or perhaps he had been prepared but didn't have time to brief me before sacrificing himself to go back in time. In that case, Michael would have died forever in the 21st century, and as Isar, the angel resented by numerous other angels, my future might involve dying in some accident... I thought my logical thinking was relatively clear, but thinking about this made my mind run wild once again.

"Isar, why do you always look at Lord Lucifer like that every time we come here?" Carlo gazed up at the statue, pointing at it. "You get into so much trouble because you have too many fantasies."

"What am I fantasizing about?"

Carlo responded with a question, "Are you planning to attend classes tomorrow, which is Monday?"

"Classes?"

"Yes, don't tell me you've forgotten all the course material..."

Carlo looked at me, lowering his head slowly. "We are both prayer angels, primarily focused on learning magic. Do you remember?"

I nodded.

"We're Four-Wing Angels, so we should attend the Fourth-Level Prayer Academy. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Heavenly Language and Divine Numbers are mandatory for angels at every level of the Prayer Academy. Heavenly History is a new subject. You've been studying Fire Magic all along; you haven't forgotten that, right?"

I nodded.

"Besides magic, we take classes together. The books for Heavenly History haven't been purchased yet, so let's go buy them now."

Carlo headed toward a charming little white building, and I followed him inside.

Heavenly bookstores were indeed different from those on Earth. Shelves covered in white feathers displayed books, each one wrapped in velvet, giving them an exceptionally precious appearance. They were all pure white at first glance, and all had hardcover bindings, reminiscent of medieval manuscripts. The text on the covers was exquisitely designed, making it difficult to discern the contents.

Among the bestsellers, there was a book Carlo had mentioned earlier, "The Crimes of the Imperial Seductress," authored by Sandalphon.

Carlo disappeared somewhere, and my curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to flip through the book. The author's preface took up dozens of densely packed pages. Surprisingly, the table of contents was on page forty-nine. It listed chapters like "King of Angels, Metatron," "Dark Angel, Uriel," "Vice Lord of Heaven, Lucifer"... Following these were academic texts. The first four books were all titled "Grand Magic," distinguished by colors—red, yellow, blue, and purple, representing fire, wind, water, and thunder elements. The authors were Metatron, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel, respectively. A set of these cost thirty-five gold coins, a price I couldn't afford even if I sold myself.

There was also a book titled "The Sword of Judgment," authored by the one who had lost his wings.

The next row consisted of legal codes, and the thickest, most prominently placed book was "The Codex of the Gods." The author? Lucifer.

No wonder Lucifer was so audacious; he had even authored the legal codes. Who else but him could be so brazen?

Buried at the bottom and not prominently displayed was a book with an eye-catching title, "Indecency." I checked the translator's name and nearly sprayed blood again—Lucifer.

Carlo's voice came from behind, "Lord Lucifer had several unpleasant disputes with the Gods over this book, and the fact that they eventually allowed him to publish it is quite surprising. However, this book is restricted to those with at least four wings or more."

"That's called class discrimination."

"It's because, when they initially didn't have restrictions, many Two-Wing Angels who read this book fell from grace. Comparatively, those with four wings or more are less susceptible to temptation."

Was this one of the signs of Lucifer's fall?

I quietly placed the book back.

Carlo handed me two books, and I reached into my bag for money. When I checked the prices, each book only cost eighty-five copper coins; textbooks were indeed the cheapest. I tossed two gold coins to the shopkeeper, and he returned my change. Carlo looked at me with a strange expression.

I patted his shoulder. "Consider it a token of gratitude."

Carlo didn't say anything but had tears in his eyes.

Meanwhile, there was a commotion at the entrance. I turned to see what was happening. "What's going on?"

Carlo shrugged. "Metatron is preparing a celebration for Genesis. Lord Metatron plans to hold a stage play, and they will select roles in all the capitals of the Seventh Heaven. Now it's Jerusalem's turn."

As soon as we stepped outside, the radiance of Heaven illuminated the night sky of Jerusalem.

All the angels looked up.

Four-Wing Angels flew in a square formation from above, with angels in short robes and long robes interspersed. They looked like drifting clouds blown by the wind, each angel wearing either a short sword at their waist or carrying a longbow. The procession was highly trained, with their wing flapping frequencies perfectly synchronized.

As everyone looked into the distance, two carriages pulled by Pegasus and unicorns approached from the horizon.

In the night sky, millions of stars shone like burning silver flames, illuminating the city of Jerusalem for a brief moment.

Petals of lilies and roses, red and white, fell from high above, washing over the tranquil night sky. Eight celestial horses flapped their wings, and eight unicorns raised their heads, pulling carriages that descended gracefully through the air.

The Four-Winged Angels turned in unison toward the unicorn-drawn carriages, where several angels approached to open the doors. Two long, snowy legs extended, stepping lightly in mid-air, and the angel who emerged had no wings.

She closed her eyes, her snow-white silk gown clinging tightly to her chest and waist, adorned with a string of lilies. Her skirt billowed out, delicate as if it would shatter with a gentle breeze. Golden curls cascaded down to her hips, shimmering with a radiance that rivaled the stars.

Then, she clasped her hands in front of her chest, slowly opened her eyes, revealing deep blue pupils, while six golden wings unfolded slowly from behind her.

With a purely feminine appearance, a well-defined figure, and a sanctity that even I, as a man, dared not entertain impure thoughts about, she left me awe-struck. Perhaps it had something to do with gender; when I saw Raphael, I felt he exuded an angelic aura, but now, it was as if my breath had been stolen.

"...Who is this?" I couldn't help but ask.

Carlo waved his hand in front of me and rolled his eyes. "Just an ordinary angel. Why do you look so dumbstruck?"

"Ordinary angel?" Clearly, she had six wings...

I immediately recalled that among the Archangels, there was someone Carlo didn't like—Gabriel. I was increasingly baffled by Carlo. He was obviously a man, so why did he have such an aversion to a beautiful woman?

Another angel from the carriage emerged.

Raphael wore a gentle smile on his lips, leading Gabriel by the hand as they landed on the ground. The Four-Winged Angels followed suit.

Meanwhile, a voice came from the carriage again, "You guys go ahead, I'm not getting off." The voice was melodious but carried an air of arrogance, with an irritating self-importance.

However, the face that appeared from the carriage didn't quite match the voice. He had chiseled features, deep-set eyes, and hair that fell somewhere between light coffee and honey. The slightly tousled bangs on his forehead shimmered beautifully. Although the other two golden-haired individuals looked more like Archangels, it was quite evident that this one held a higher position. He leaned against the carriage, nonchalantly swinging his flamboyant crimson boots outside, acting as though he couldn't care less about anyone. I was getting a headache from those boots swinging in front of me, and Carlo added to my misery:

"Isar, look, your Lord Metatron has arrived."

I glanced at him and silently turned my face away.

Although Metatron looked younger and more handsome than I had imagined, I couldn't help but dislike him. He continued to dangle his leg outside the carriage, "We're just missing two roles now. One is the antagonist, a fallen angel turned into Satan. The other is a supporting character, a little elf named Kebi, killed by the Demon King. If you want to play Satan, please stand in line on Raphael's side. If you want to play Kebi, please stand on Gabriel's side. Each person has one to ten minutes to perform, and you can freely express yourself. Only by acting with heart can you do well. Don't use your behinds for acting, haha."

"Act with heart, don't use your behinds for acting, haha." This joke was just too cold. Was this the latest trend in humor?

Suddenly, I remembered a joke my eighth girlfriend had told me. I couldn't help but burst into laughter, even though it wasn't funny. It had left me cold for days: "A male deer runs along the road, running and running, and in the end, it turns into a highway."

Since then, I had learned how to laugh out loud when someone told a lame joke.

So, as everyone looked at each other in confusion, I laughed uncontrollably, with my laughter getting drier and stiffer.

As a result, I became the center of attention for everyone. As my laughter grew dry and forced, Gabriel also glanced at me and smiled faintly, "To be able to laugh at Lord Metatron's jokes, I guess there's no one in the world like you, except Your Excellency."

Metatron had a thick skin and was unfazed as he continued to swing his leg. I had finally achieved my first opportunity to communicate with a goddess, but it was spent in endless regret and imagining ways to end my own life.

Raphael clapped his hands, "Alright, everyone, please line up."

I immediately grabbed Carlo, who was about to run over. "What are you doing? Planning to audition for a role?"

"I don't care about the roles; the key is Lord Raphael."

"Why do you keep going to Raphael's side? It's like you're making your same-sex attraction too obvious."

Carlo's face turned pale, and he rushed over to cover my mouth, lowering his voice in anger, "Didn't I tell you not to tell anyone? Do you think everyone wants everyone to know they like men?"

My mind buzzed instantly. I said slowly, "You...everyone knows about me?"

"As long as they've heard of you. Especially the part where you imitated Michael pestering Lord Lucifer. That's like the best joke for tea time in the entire Heavenly Realm."

Carlo's overly direct and confrontational approach made me uncomfortable. Forgiveness for non-principled mistakes was the most important aspect of friendship. If friends couldn't forgive each other's past mistakes, or worse, mocked each other for things unrelated to themselves, how could such a friendship endure?

It seemed that Carlo and Isar were two people with girlish personalities who had come together. Or rather, Isar, abandoned by everyone, had no friends and was making do with Carlo, leading to a habit of letting him get away with things.

"To be honest, Michael was born into nobility, and back then, he was just a child. Lord Lucifer watched him grow up, so it's normal for him to pester Lord Lucifer. But look at yourself, what are you? Not content with Lord Metatron, you even want to cross boundaries. It's embarrassing, and you want us to accompany you in your embarrassment..." Carlo seemed to have a lot of opinions and continued to talk incessantly.

I interrupted him, "I'll wait for you back there."

Carlo looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I hadn't guessed wrong; Isar's problem wasn't what he had done, but that he lacked backbone. I was about to leave when Carlo grabbed my arm and said, "Stay with me in line."

"No, it's not a good idea to be discovered here."

I pulled my veil tighter, originally planning to be a bit more assertive to rebalance our relationship. However, he unexpectedly grabbed my arm and shook it back and forth. "Please, Isar, I'll be really scared by myself."

A man speaking with a high-pitched, coquettish voice was certainly a unique and terrifying experience. I shook him off and said, "Fine, I'll stand behind and watch, you go ahead."

At this moment, a cross-eyed angel was portraying Kebi. With a burly build huddled into a small figure, they were visibly nervous. Gabriel clapped twice and waved.

A smaller angel was playing Satan. Satan was the protagonist, and there were other angels who could play supporting roles. The angel brandished a sword, pointing it at the sandbag angel, saying, "I represent the forces of evil, and I shall vanquish you!" The sandbag angel leaned backward, fully immersed in the act. Raphael rested his chin on his hand, gave a faint smile, and signaled the end of the performance with a yellow card.

Carlo chuckled, "They're overacting a bit, aren't they?"

"They must be somewhat nervous, performing in front of the Archangels."

"Yeah, Raphael... I mustn't get nervous." Carlo pondered for a moment. "What if I get more nervous? What if I fail?"

"True strength comes from adversity. Even if you fail, consider it an opportunity for Lord Raphael to refine you."

"Ugh, you're just talking nonsense!" Carlo playfully patted me as if I were a girl.

I blinked, repeatedly pondering where I went wrong with those words that turned his face so red.

At this moment, a vast expanse of whiteness approached from the sky. Everyone turned their heads in unison.

This time, the display was even more magnificent. Dozens of golden four-winged angels, eight celestial horses, eight unicorns, and four griffins.

The griffins were twice the size of the celestial horses, with eagle heads, lion bodies, sharp talons clasped tightly, and wings like billowing waves. They pulled a chariot of holy light and descended from afar. The giant beasts lifted their heads, moving in unison, blending with the clouds and radiance as if descending from the sun.

I squinted and looked up. "Who's that? Do we need twenty sacred beasts to pull the chariot? Is it Lucifer?"

"Lord Lucifer rarely leaves the temple. It should be the Almighty."

The grand carriage stopped opposite Metatron, and a white six-winged angel opened the door, but the person inside couldn't be seen.

Metatron, Gabriel, and Raphael all instinctively placed one hand across their chests, inclining slightly in greeting.

All the angels knelt together, the four-winged angels on one knee and the two-winged angels on both knees. I stood there foolishly alone. Metatron glanced at me, then squinted his eyes for a moment. Just as I was about to run away, Carlo forced me to crouch down.

A hand extended from the luxurious carriage.

White gloves with two silver chains around the wrist. Four fingers aligned, raised upward.

The angels stood up again.

"Please continue," Metatron said and smiled at the angel in the opposite carriage. "Why get off?"

However, my attention was stolen by the silver chains on that person's wrist. If I wasn't mistaken, Isar, who transformed into an Archangel in the mirror, also wore the exact same silver chains. Were these chains a symbol of higher-ranking celestial beings? Looking at Raphael, Gabriel, and Metatron, none of them had chains on their hands.

The person in the carriage spoke softly.

From birth, I had never thought anything related to males could attract me. It was like how they all said Tom Ellis was handsome, but I only found him affected and annoying. However, this voice was undoubtedly that of a young man, and I couldn't even hear what he was saying, but I involuntarily stared for a long time.

Four other individuals approached Carlo.

Many angels were participating in the casting, but none of them wanted to compete seriously except Carlo. They rushed up to vent their frustration, grabbing the sandbag angel and beating him up. Raphael and Gabriel knew better than to mess with angry angels and turned a blind eye. The sandbag angel was having a really tough time.

At this point, a blue four-winged angel walked over, drew the sword from his waist, lightly ran his finger across the blade, and then smirked sinisterly. He slowly walked up to the sandbag angel, brandishing his sword. The swordlight was like lightning, aimed straight at the sandbag angel's throat.

Everyone couldn't help but gasp.

The sandbag angel was also taken aback and took a few steps back.

The blue-winged angel approached, pressing the sword against him, and chuckled malevolently, "I shall slay all the angels, for it is the glory of the demons." Then, he symbolically swung his sword, and the sandbag angel fell to the ground.

Seeing a decent actor for once, Raphael promptly asked him to join the line. Metatron smiled from above, "Oh, well done, you resemble Satan, not at all like a monkey, ahaha."

An invisible raven flew across the sky.

While the angels remained silent, even Jesus sitting across from Metatron fell silent.

In front of Carlo, the angry angel once again took out his frustration on the sandbag before it was Carlo's turn. Upon seeing another powered angel approaching, the sandbag angel immediately requested to be excused from Raphael but was naturally denied.

Fortunately, Carlo wasn't an angry angel.

However, the fact remained that Carlo's comedic skills were more than a match for Metatron.

I patted Carlo's shoulder, which was almost in tears, and dragged him to a less crowded area. But from above, Metatron's voice floated down in a leisurely manner, "What about you, masked little friend? Don't you want to give it a try?"

I squeezed my voice and said, "I'm not feeling very well, so I won't try."

Inside the carriage, Jesus said a few words to Metatron, who smirked and nodded while pushing aside his honey-colored bangs. "This is an order, I'm afraid you must comply."

"..."

In a moment when the atmosphere was tense among the crowd, I inexplicably wanted to fly up and headbutt Metatron before overturning Jesus' carriage. However, I couldn't be such an irrational person. Those who did great things naturally understood the art of patience. I gently smoothed the veins that kept pulsating on my forehead and turned to the two henchmen with a slight smile.

Gabriel returned my smile with a gentle one. "Don't be afraid; just treat it with a calm heart."

I was certain I could hear my own heartbeat. Initially, I thought that since no one knew who I was, there was no need to make much effort in the performance; I could just go through the motions and retreat, then find another way to make it to the sixth or seventh heaven. However, after seeing Gabriel's smile, I strangely felt the thought, "I must not disappoint her."

At this moment, Metatron exchanged a glance with Raphael. Raphael nodded and gently pointed at me. The veil on my face flew away with the howling wind.

The crowd gasped when they saw my face.

Metatron exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, it's Isar! How did I not notice that before? I'm genuinely astonished!"

I could vividly feel the reprimands coming from all directions. I walked up to the sandbag angel, gently touched his forehead with affection, and then, when he looked puzzled, I suddenly bumped my head into his. I gently laid the fainted sandbag on the ground and turned to Raphael with a loving smile.

"Lord Raphael, may I begin?"

"Metatron, do you have any other angels to cast with?" Raphael awkwardly touched his forehead and looked up at Metatron.