Chapter 296 (3): A Hardworking Angel

(Seraph Perspective) (Memorize)

I was born with the sole purpose of guiding warriors along the path assigned by beings superior to my own comprehension.

In my home world, I was created as the tool of the gods and I accepted that position with pride, my job as a guide was my reason for living so I did my best to search for talented individuals.

In the time when I was a mortal, I saw all kinds of talented warriors, even meeting a particular warrior whose attitude and feats caught my eye.

My curiosity to see the growth of that individual had exceeded my loyalty to my creators, I wanted to see how far that man could go, and I even wanted to live next to him while witnessing his exploits.

That was the first time I knew the emotion called love.

From what I have understood since I became a Higher Entity, that man was the one chosen by the Will of the World. Sometimes called a hero, other times called a protagonist, those chosen by fate go by many names, but they are the lynchpin of a World's destiny.

That man was supposed to achieve great deeds and I would be by his side as one of his wives, that was the path of fate that ruled my home world, but as I have already learned, fate can fail and be wrong.

The base of my home world was a tower filled with tests to encourage the evolution of thinking beings. It was an artifact created by the gods of my World, and while it wasn't perfect, it was supposed to be tamper-proof.

Just like life itself, nothing is perfect and mistakes will always show up at unexpected times.

One day, a human appeared without warning.

The sudden appearance of a thinking being could be an irrelevant mistake, even when I reported that incident, the gods ignored me and said that such things were irrelevant. I believed those words and ignored the anomaly, after all, the gods couldn't be wrong, that was my belief.

I was so foolish and naive.

The human evolved at an abnormal speed, not even the protagonist of the world was his rival.

Powers that didn't match the configuration of the tower, an abnormal ability for growth, and a charisma that could attract most women even when that man's attitude was disgusting.

When the gods noticed the abnormality it was already too late.

The human had become intoxicated with power, murdered every person who disobeyed him and subdued every woman he liked, including me.

The gods were turned into that man's food, or in that man's words, they became experience points.

That was the first time I met a system user.

Everything I knew was destroyed and turned into that man's playground, even the protagonist was turned into experience points.

That man had a twisted and cruel mind, he had put a seal of slavery on my body, but he left my mind intact. He was amused by my hateful expression while my body was used as his toy.

I thought my life would be an eternity of suffering and humiliation, but then I knew salvation, I knew hope.

In the darkest moment, golden light descended from the sky, and the most beautiful figure ever seen had come to save that ruined world.

My home world was a mid-level world, so high-level Higher Entities couldn't enter with their real bodies, but Lady Auriel only needed to project a fragment of her consciousness to cover the World with her grace and benevolence.

The system user tried to subdue the beautiful woman who lit up the world with her smile, that man was an invincible monster who had destroyed all the gods with ease so I thought he was an invincible monster.

I wanted to alert the beautiful woman to escape, but her soft smile made all my fears vanish.

With a single wave of her hand, all the seals of slavery were destroyed, all pain disappeared, and hope-filled the hearts of the inhabitants of the entire world.

The system user attacked the woman and managed to destroy her, but that was just a consciousness projection, she didn't even have 1% of Lady Auriel's real power.

Lady Auriel could not enter the World, but her troops could enter.

As if by divine decree, a majestic golden gate appeared in the heavens from which millions of soldiers in golden armor emerged.

The system user tried to destroy that holy army, but in a matter of seconds his body was destroyed and his soul was imprisoned with golden crystal chains.

My world had been salvaged, but the damage caused by the system user had been irreparable.

The male population was almost non-existent while most of the women had lost the will to live. The world no longer had a future.

Lady Auriel's soldiers began to help the survivors, it was at that time that I managed to talk to a soldier and begged to meet Lady Auriel, I wanted to thank the woman who had destroyed the monster that destroyed my home.

Due to security concerns, the soldiers prevented me from meeting Lady Auriel, so I continued to beg for a hundred or two hundred years, losing track of time.

Lady Auriel's soldiers built a base of operations to try to rebuild the World, so I knelt before the entrance to the base.

Lady Auriel heard about a woman who didn't eat or sleep, she only knelt before the soldiers seeking an audience. She took pity on me and allowed me to meet her.

When I met Lady Auriel, I cried with happiness.

I was created by the gods from an accumulation of magical power so objectively I don't have parents, but Lady Auriel's presence seemed to be what people call motherly warmth.

At that time I felt guilty because my sullied and abused body was not worthy to be in the presence of such a noble existence, but Lady Auriel showed me that kindness has no limits.

She had not only saved me, she even helped me to be reborn to have a clean and pure body.

At that moment I swore eternal loyalty and devotion to her.

Lady Auriel was a little uncomfortable with my desire to be her slave, so she allowed me to be her attendant.

Since then I have devoted my entire existence to the welfare of Lady Auriel.

My motivation to become a Higher Entity was to be useful to Lady Auriel, that's why my Concept is 'Assistant'. My reason for living is to help the woman who gave me back hope.

When Lady Auriel faces entities corrupted by selfishness and cruelty, she shows her determination to face evil without hesitation, but her nature is gentle and kind, perhaps too kind.

Through the long time that I have spent together with Lady Auriel, I noticed that she has one big flaw, she is so pure and gentle that her innocence can be compared to naivety.

Lady Auriel is kind and believes that all entities are good by nature, but I understand that intelligent entities are mad dogs that bite the hand that feeds them, especially nasty system users.

Tens, hundreds, thousands, millions... The number of people who have taken advantage of Lady Auriel's kindness is countless.

Tyrants who seek immortality, strategists who wish to control Lady Auriel's military might, there are even perverts who covet Lady Auriel as if she were a trophy.

The amount of trash that surrounds Lady Auriel is endless so I must protect her, I can't let someone take advantage of her kind heart.

Despite my efforts, I encountered many problems.

For starters, Lady Auriel doesn't listen to my warnings and she continues to believe that all people deserve respect and hope.

There are intelligent people among Lady Auriel's troops who wish to protect her, but even they are so loyal to Lady Auriel that they are willing to forgive the pieces of trash who wish to take advantage of Lady Auriel's kindness.

Whether it is the Absolute Paradise or the Harmonious Paradise, they are all rubbish who only thinks of Lady Auriel as a miraculous elixir.

Lady Auriel's healing power is the strongest in the entire multiverse, so her own allies view her as a tool regardless of her feelings.

Despite the fact that Lady Auriel is innocent, she is not blind either, she knows that everyone sees her as a tool and that makes her feel alone, but at the same time, she accepts this since her greatest desire is to help all people, even if she herself must suffer.

It's painful to see her use her blessing to absorb the wounds of all the Paradise troops.

When Azathoth attacked Paradise, it was Lady Auriel who blocked all of her attacks, causing her to feel endless suffering that left her in a coma for two thousand years.

Despite all her sacrifice, despite all her suffering, despite all her tears, no one thanked her.

She is happy to suffer to help others, it is blasphemy to pity her as she wishes to help everyone, she feels no pain… Those are the words I always hear about Lady Auriel.

Therefore, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

With all the pain in my heart, I abandoned Lady Auriel and joined the rival faction.

The Absolute Paradise faction possesses the best resources, information, and territories. From that side, I was able to steal resources and talented warriors who could help Lady Auriel.

Every day I receive scornful looks and derogatory comments as I am seen as a piece of trash who abandoned her savior to gain greater wealth, but none of that matters, Lady Auriel's well-being means everything to me.

Regardless, people who want to take advantage of Lady Auriel's innocence are becoming a problem that I can no longer deal with on my own, so I searched for a sharp sword capable of protecting Lady Auriel.

Hero of Harmony, a boy who does not fit in with Lady Auriel's teachings.

He is selfish and only thinks about the well-being of his loved ones, he does not hesitate to sacrifice innocent lives in order to fulfill a greater good, he has no mercy with his enemies and kills them without giving them the opportunity to reconsider, he does not know the honor and uses dishonest tactics, he makes alliances with cruel people without morals… He is just what Lady Auriel needs.

Swords are not to protect but to kill. A sword used as a shield is only wasting its edge, swords must cut and stab without hesitation.

I chose the Hero of Harmony because I saw his determination, resourcefulness, and lack of compassion, he was the perfect weapon to destroy Lady Auriel's enemies.

Even if he was weak when I met him, his potential came from his willpower and not from his brute strength.

The most important Heroes were not the strongest, but the ones that showed the best results, and someone with brains can be more dangerous than someone with strong arms.

Time proved me right.

The Hero of Harmony not only displayed cunning and fierceness, but his willpower is also something I haven't seen in any other Hero, though his bad luck is just as baffling.

Saving two worlds in less than a year as a complete rookie, facing the army of Absolute Paradise, living in one of the most coveted Worlds in the multiverse, being kidnapped by one of the strongest Buddhist cultivators in the multiverse, getting involved in one of the Azathoth's insane attacks, discovering cultivators' cruel experiments to use Madness, facing an Ancient One and being willing to sacrifice himself to help his comrades-in-arms, surviving a system user's attack with the power of the Outer Gods…

The Hero of Harmony's track record is enough to make him a legend, most veteran Heroes haven't seen such chaos throughout their lives.

The greatest miracle of the Hero of Harmony is not staying alive, but staying sane without having attempted suicide.

Without a doubt, his greatest strength is his willpower.

The Hero of Harmony's growth was excellent for his purpose, he was becoming the best meat shield that could protect Lady Auriel.

So…

Why does my chest hurt so much when I hear about his fights?

I'm not innocent or in denial, I just can't understand how I fell in love with a man I've never seen in person.

The Hero's recent feat caused me enormous anguish.

When I heard that he started a relationship with an Outer God, I felt great anxiety, I even thought of talking to Lady Auriel to mobilize an army and kill Daoloth while she is weak.

Despite my anguish, I decided to trust the Hero, which is not like me.

Love has been clouding my rational judgment and it worries me.

As if that wasn't already a big problem, the Hero was caught up in an event that could be classified as a mid-level apocalypse.

A powerful Higher Entity managed to influence within Gaia and rewrote the structure of reality.

The entity that did that must be close to Lady Auriel's level so the Hero was in great danger, but luckily he made it out alive, he was even able to save his home world.

When the phenomenon called Lostbetl ended, the Hero immediately contacted me to give me a report.

The Hero did not seek to rest after facing that disaster, his first action was to contact me so that I would not feel worried.

It was hard to hide the happiness in my voice when we talked, but I managed to keep my composure.

From what I've seen of the Hero, he is a man who knows no fear of death and can be very impulsive when it comes to protecting the women he loves.

I have seen that he developed feelings for me, and although that makes me happy, it also brings me a lot of worries.

I am a double agent and a traitor, I know that one day I will be discovered and my soul will be destroyed.

When that day comes, I don't want the Hero to get involved, I want him and Lady Auriel to live long and happy lives.

I even thought of making the two of them meet, if the Hero falls in love with Lady Auriel then he will protect her from any swindler, and if Lady Auriel falls in love then she won't feel lonely anymore.

If the Hero knows that I have accepted my fate, he worries me that he wants to invade Paradise since it will only cause his death.

The fact that the Hero is a magnet for Madness users causes me a lot of concern, but it also gives me a subtle sense of relief.

When I disappear, the Hero will have powerful companions who will help him face any danger, they might even help Lady Auriel if she has to leave Paradise.

The Hero not only informed me about the Lostbelt, but he also revealed the identity of the system user called Harem King.

When the Hero told me that Daoloth lives in his soul, I prepared for him to get involved with troublesome entities, but I never imagined that he would befriend the second strongest Outer God, Nyarlathotep.

Seriously, the Hero is a magnet for overly troublesome entities.

I was grateful that the Hero was willing to reveal such an important secret to me, his trust in me reinforced my feelings for him, but this also brought me new worries.

If someone finds out that the Hero is forming a group with the Madness users then even Lady Auriel won't be able to protect him.

On the other hand, Lady Auriel has long wanted to make peace with the Madness users, so she would be happy to hear this, although she doesn't know how to keep secrets so it's better not to tell her.

All these problems give me a headache, but the Hero's displays of affection make it impossible for me to get angry.

Sitting in my office, I looked at the gold ring on my ring finger.

I sent Daedalus as the Hero's servant to help him with logistics, military support, and anything where technology could intervene. Even though everyone in Paradise thinks that the potential of science is limited, I know that the integration of science with magical materials is the basis of alchemy.

Even though I know the potential of Daedalus, I never imagined that the Hero would use that woman to forge a wedding ring...

The Hero mentioned that this ring was made with the best treasures of the Ichijo legacy, the family that gave birth to one of the greatest legends of Paradise, the Unbeatable Hero. That Hero was a true legend, but his personality was unpleasant so I prefer not to think that this man and the Hero share a last name.

Even so…

Seraph Ichijo…

Ahem, I need to stop thinking about nonsense things.

I wanted to refuse this gift, but the Hero's kind words forced me to accept the wedding ring.

With resignation, I can't stop smiling as I look at the ring on my finger.

I can sense that there are different spells and spirit formations in the ring, the Hero put a lot of effort into forging this ring.

Although I am a traitor, my position is high in Paradise so I have many suitors who offer me all kinds of legendary treasures and ostentatious artifacts, but everything is rubbish compared to this intermediate-level ring.

On my level, this ring has no use, but just seeing it on my hand makes all my worries melt away.

I had already forgotten what love felt like, it's a nice and sweet feeling.

"What the hell?! When did you get married?!"

I sighed and stopped looking at the symbol of my bond with the Hero. – "Eriko, I told you not to appear like that in my office, it will be a big problem if someone finds out that you are here"

"Answer my question! Why didn't you invite me to your wedding?!" – I heard the cry of indignation from one of my only two friends in the entire multiverse.

She is Aichlikkwadrou, although she now goes by the name Eriko Takeda. Her home world is called 'YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world'.

Like Daedalus, Eriko is a scientist, but there is a big difference between the two women.

While Daedalus clung to the belief that science can surpass alchemy, Eriko accepted alchemy's superiority and became an alchemist.

Actually, she is not a simple alchemist, Eriko is the best alchemist in the multiverse, she being the only entity capable of using Azathoth's body parts to create weapons that can destroy souls.

I met her when I joined Paradise.

At that time, she was just a member of the technology development team after her homeworld was colonized by Paradise.

Eriko, Sword Maiden, and I met when we were still mortals, so we remained friends when we became Higher Entities.

Only the two of them know the truth about my supposed betrayal of Lady Auriel, although I still haven't told Eriko about my relationship with the Hero of Harmony and only Sword Maiden knows.

It's not that I don't trust Eriko, it's just that she's been insisting on introducing me to a friend of hers. She keeps repeating that at this rate I will become a lonely old woman with no family and ten cats, although I can't even grow old...

I sighed. - "I'm not married"

"And that ring?!" – Eriko pointed at my hand in an exaggerated way.

I sighed. – "My… well, boyfriend gave it to me…"

"…." – Eriko sat across from me and she looked at me with extreme seriousness, it was the first time I'd seen her make that expression and I felt a little uncomfortable. – "Who is your boyfriend and when did you meet him?"

"Eriko, please don't insist, it's a complicated topic" – I sighed again.

"Nothing of that! I already told my friend that I would introduce him to you so don't tell me that you have a boyfriend!" – Eriko was being irrational, as always. – "Wait… Does Maiden know you have a boyfriend?!"

"... I have the right to remain silent" - I looked away, her eyes are causing me discomfort.

"I thought we were best friends!" – Eriko pretended to cry, but she's not a good actress.

I sighed and smiled softly. – "Eriko, I really love you as if you were my sister, but you are bad at keeping secrets, remember that I had to use a Contract for you to keep the fact that I am helping Lady Auriel a secret"

"Tch" – Eriko pouted angrily.

I sighed and took her hand to calm her down.

"It's not fair...............…" – Eriko remained in a deep and disturbing silence.

"Eriko?" – I started to worry.

Eriko didn't answer me, she just stared at the ring in my hand while her hands began to touch it as if trying to decipher the magical inscriptions on the ring.

Eriko is passionate about research, when she finds something interesting, she goes into a trance and forgets everything around her.

Outside of sentimental value, I don't see anything special about the ring the Hero gave me, but maybe Eriko could see something I can't.

I tried to pull my hand away, but Eriko held my hand tight as her gaze never left my ring.

I frowned. – "Eriko!"

"Nani?" – Eriko came out of her trance and blinked several times.

Something is strange, Eriko's confused expression made it seem like she didn't know where she was.

Even when she loses track of time in her investigations, it's the first time I've seen her act like this.

"Seraph?" – Eriko looked at me with confusion as if she hadn't seen me in a long time.

There's definitely something off about her.

"Eriko, let's go with Sword Maiden, you're acting strange so it's better if she checks you out" – I stood up, but Eriko held my hand and smiled at me.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, I just got lost for a moment when I saw something interesting in that ring" – Eriko smiled calmly.

She's a lousy actress so her expression looks completely sincere, but somehow I feel like there's something strange with her.

Eriko has always been weird, but this situation is too abnormal even by her standards.

"Oh, right, I have some pending projects" – Eriko stood up quickly and went to the door.

She's always busy, but she usually doesn't act so hasty, it's like she wants to run away from something.

"Eriko, is everything alright?" – I spoke with concern, she is one of my only two friends and she worries me that she has a problem.

"Yes, everything is perfect, better than ever" – Eriko showed a bright smile that reminded me of the time we met.

Although she is always cheerful and jovial, before her smile used to be more radiant, just like the smile she is showing right now.

"Although I'm really curious" – Eriko looked at my wedding ring curiously. - "Who is your boyfriend? I promise that I will not tell anyone, I will even sign a confidentiality Contract"

I sighed, her curiosity is insatiable.

I had Eriko sign a contract and told her about the Hero.

"So your boyfriend is the super rookie I've heard so much about" – Eriko smiled at me mockingly. – "I didn't know you liked teenagers"

"... Don't say it like that, you make me look like a pervert" – I sighed.

"Hehehe, you're a shotacon pervert" – Eriko continued to tease me until she reached the door. – "Seraph…"

Her voice was strange so I frowned. – "What's wrong Eriko? You're acting strange"

"Nothing, I just want to congratulate you on finding a boyfriend who loves you..." – Eriko's voice was strange. – "Please, thank your boyfriend for me"

"I thank you for keeping me from becoming a lonely old woman?" – I tried joking to avoid the uncomfortable environment, but Eriko's presence seemed strange to me.

"Also for that, but mainly, for freedom" – Eriko said something I couldn't understand and left my office.

Eriko's attitude made me feel worried, but I can't follow her since it would be a problem if I go to visit her workshop.

I'll have to send a message to Sword Maiden so she can see if Eriko has any problems.

I'm not sure, but I think I saw a blue flash when Eriko touched my wedding ring.

Maybe I'm just tired from so much work.

For now, I need to focus on my responsibilities.

The Tower of Awakening is in the process of being rebuilt and I need to help the Hero cover up his relationship with two Outer Gods, especially since the Buddhists are trying to spread the rumor that the Hero is a follower of Yog-Sothoth, they even want to hold him responsible for the invasion from Azathoth to the territory of Eternal Heaven Immortal.

I have so much work that my head hurts, but the ring on my finger gives me the motivation to push myself.

Love is wonderful. I hope that the Hero can feel the same happiness that I feel now, even when I cease to exist.