Youngest on Top - Chapter 282

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 282

* * *

Inside the Temple of Artemia.
The Five Angels sat within it with solemn dignity.
Their appearance was no mere metaphor—they were sacred art incarnate.

Artemia’s Temple Priests and Priests all sat beside these holy angels, eagerly seeking their words.

“So, what was Sae like at that time?”
“To think he itched so much when his baby teeth fell out! I wish I could have seen that sight!”

In that moment.
The angels all lifted their heads in unison.
The gazes of the Temple Priests and Priests naturally followed them.

Asquiel, seated at the head position, held his palm open with a stern expression.
The Temple Priests and Priests tensed without realizing it.

Asquiel was no ordinary being.
The firstborn of the Five Angels, the most renowned among Artemia’s celestial servants.
His weight and presence were truly formidable.

While the other angels chattered and boasted about their youngest brother, Asquiel alone maintained a heavy silence.

‘…Have we been too frivolous?’

Come to think of it, five angels had descended, yet all they had discussed was….

‘Just things like how soft and fluffy Sae’s wing feathers felt when they first sprouted.’
‘But that’s incredibly important, isn’t it?’
‘That’s true.’

As the Temple Priests and Priests exchanged glances in agreement while remaining cautious.
A brilliant light burst forth from Asquiel’s hand.
And.

“Behold.”

A tiny pearl-like object floated above my palm.
Wrapped in sacred light.

‘A sacred relic?’
‘No, it’s not just a sacred relic. There are multiple layers of the highest-tier protective magic surrounding it.’
‘At that level, it must be incredibly—.’

“Saelika’s baby tooth.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

A long silence fell.
The Temple Priests and Priests looked up at Asquiel with bewildered expressions.
After maintaining such solemn silence all this time, what in the world—?!

“You’re saying our precious little angel had such a tooth when she was an angel?!”
“Our beloved had teeth like this back when she was a young angel…!”
“So small and precious!”

The Temple Priests and Priests eagerly thrust their faces forward.

“Ahem, I have my daughter’s baby tooth as well….”
“It’s only natural as a father.”
“This old man has one too.”

Kaiser, Randel, and the High Priest proudly produced Saelika’s baby teeth from their bosoms.
The eyes of all three men gleamed sharply.
They would not lose!

At that provocative gaze, Asquiel chuckled softly.

“Artemia entrusted me with raising Saelika.”
“…!”
“I still remember vividly how Saelika, unable to properly spread her wings, crawled along and clutched at the hem of my robes.”
“…!!”
“I raised that child as precious as gold and jade, in my own way.”

Jealousy ignited in the eyes of my fathers and grandfather.
Asquiel wore the smile of a victor.

My other brothers regarded Asquiel with disgruntled expressions.

‘Precious as gold and jade?’
‘Who, Brother Asquiel?’
‘If the child had heard that, she’d have grabbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.’

* * *

Crash! Bang!
Brilliant flashes flooded the vision.
Then a pitch-black abyss consumed the world.
Within the small shrine, forces capable of annihilating existence collided.

‘How on earth did it come to this?’

Saelika clutched her throbbing head.
They had been arguing over who was more beautiful, and it had escalated to this disaster.

Saelika spread a barrier to prevent the shockwave from escaping the shrine, yet confusion gripped her.

‘How can the world’s most beautiful women be throwing punches at each other?!’

That was when it happened.
Something suddenly emerged from Behemoth’s shadow.
It was Keimos, Behemoth’s attendant, and Cesare in the form of a young demon.

Clang!
Cesare’s tail deflected Kaishurit’s attack.
Kaishurit furrowed his brow.

“Unable to manage alone, so you’re cowardly summoning your retainers?”
“Unable to manage alone? How arrogant for a human. These are merely my limbs and extensions.”

Black energy erupted from Behemoth’s body.
What I had just said was the truth.
There was no way I would struggle against a mere human.

‘…But it’s true that this creature is stronger than I anticipated.’

A human could never defeat me.
The tales of heroes slaying the Demon King were merely stories.
Whenever I withdrew from the human realm, there was always negotiation with the gods.
However.

‘…Perhaps that creature’s assessment might be correct after all….’

But now was not the time to concern myself with such matters.
Behemoth had a separate reason for summoning his retainers.
Following their master’s will, the retainers approached Saelika.

“It has been a long time, Saelika.”
“Long time no see, Saelika.”

Saelika, who had been preparing a formation to banish Behemoth, flinched.

“My, you remain as spirited as ever.”

Keimos spoke while burning the formation pitch black.
Cesare spun through the air and poked Saelika with his nimble tail.

“Let’s have some fun. Yeah?”

Saelika let out a deep sigh and swatted away Cesare’s tail.
She couldn’t complete the banishment formation while being interrupted.

“Cesare, still in that form? You really have terrible taste. An old man who’s lived over a thousand years and yet….”
“You think I chose this form because I like it?!”

Cesare huffed in frustration.
He had merely stated the facts about the relationship between Saelika and Behemoth, yet he received such punishment for it.
Not long ago, he had suggested that Saelika was being unfaithful despite not even dating anyone, and nearly ended up reverting to a state before his birth.

“If we leave her unattended, there’s no telling what she might do, so we’ll keep her entertained to prevent boredom.”
“Let’s have fun like we used to!”

Saelika’s brow furrowed.
Despite appearances, both of them were legion commanders among the Demons.

“Are you truly going to bind my hands and feet?”

She meant she wouldn’t even give them the chance to interfere in the fight between Kaishurit and Behemoth.

‘…This is troublesome. Shuri has nothing to gain from being exposed to the miasma right now.’

The seal had been broken.
If he were stimulated by Behemoth’s power—the very one who had inscribed the curse mark—then….

Whoooosh!
Holy power erupted from Saelika.
But.

“You truly remain unpredictable, don’t you?”
“That’s Saelika’s charm. Unlike the boring other angels, she always strikes first.”

The holy power was immediately blocked by Keimos and Cesare.
As if coordinated, blades of dark miasma erupted from them, rushing straight toward Saelika.
An astonishingly swift exchange of offense and defense!

In that instant.

Boom!
Kaishurit stepped in front of Saelika.
The miasma blades were devoured by the aura radiating from him.
But.

“Shuri!”

Drip, drip-drip.
Crimson droplets of blood fell from Kaishurit’s body.
His defense just now had been flawless.
Yet the wounds he bore were not from that defense.

“My, what a devoted Crown Prince you are.”

Behemoth chuckled wickedly.

“I never expected you to take my attack head-on just to rush to your darling’s side.”

Kaishurit had neither dodged nor defended against Behemoth’s assault.
He had no time for such things—he simply rushed straight to Saelika.

“How disgusting.”

Behemoth’s eyes gleamed with cruel delight.

“You fool!”

Saelika cried out toward Kaishurit.
Kaishurit stood firm before her without so much as a groan, his body shielding hers.

“Move. I won’t die from taking hits like that.”
“I know. You’re strong.”

You know?
Saelika couldn’t comprehend it.
Then why did he step in front of me?
Without even protecting his own body.

Kaishurit spoke.

“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“…”
“I’m better looking than that bastard, aren’t I?”

Saelika was utterly flabbergasted.
Was he really asking that at a time like this?
But watching Kaishurit grin wickedly, she found herself at a loss for words.

Kaishurit’s blade blazed a brilliant blue.
A ferocious aura howled savagely.
Just as that concentrated power was about to detonate—

Whoooosh!
Saelika deployed a barrier.
A restoration-type barrier enveloped Kaishurit’s body.

“…?!”

Trapped within the barrier, Kaishurit stared at Saelika.

“Shuri, you could shatter this barrier in one blow.”
“…”
“But if you forcibly break it, the backlash comes straight to me as the caster. And that hurts quite a bit.”
“You…!”
“So don’t break it, okay?”

Saelika grinned wickedly and stepped forward.

‘When I think about it, Shuri has always been the one saving me.’

Saelika was unaccustomed to being rescued by anyone.
If someone cursed at her, she’d hit them back twice as hard. If they struck her, she’d retaliate threefold.
No one had ever come to save Saelika when she found herself in peril.

Even after arriving in the mortal realm, it was no different.
Saelika had always been the one doing the saving.

‘But Shuri was different.’

Kaishurit had always, continually, saved her countless times.

Behemoth’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I’m not fond of this picture. Well, it doesn’t matter. My darling is looking at me.”
“Why don’t you stop stalking me already?”
“Coming directly to the human realm was quite the surprise on my part. I never expected you to be so unimpressed.”
“You left such a spectacular mark on the day of the Sacred Maiden’s coronation.”

That day, I understood.

“From the beginning, you didn’t send a mirror demon with your power to the human realm.”
“….”
“It was you who crossed over back then.”
“That’s right. After crossing into the human realm, I had the mirror demon copy me.”
“…So there were many prices paid beyond the 666 retainers.”

Saelika’s eyes grew cold and sharp.
Of course, Behemoth paid no mind.

“I’ve made quite a few contracts in the meantime. All to meet my darling.”
“So you bloomed demonic flowers, polluted the land, and lent the demons your power? According to your contract with Beatrix?”
“Wrong.”

Behemoth laughed languidly.

“I’m simply overcoming obstacles to meet my love.”
“You’re truly… truly a psychotic, perverted stalker.”

Behemoth trembled with ecstasy at her disgusted gaze.

“Don’t look at me like that. It excites me.”
“Madman.”
“Yet in the end, I did find my darling’s family for her, didn’t I?”
“You merely fulfilled the contract conditions with Shuri.”

Saelika clenched her fists tightly.
No further conversation was necessary.
Saelika and Behemoth had never needed lengthy exchanges between them.

Behemoth licked his lips as he watched Saelika assume a complete combat stance.
This was his favorite version of Saelika.

“You all stay out of this. This is my date time with Darling.”

* * *

“You raised her like precious treasure?”

Anakin, the most hot-blooded among the Five Angels, opened his mouth.
The fact that his other brothers were too afraid to mention tumbled out from his lips.

“But didn’t she lose a tooth because of you, causing all sorts of trouble?”
“…I merely removed it after hearing that baby teeth must be extracted for new ones to grow.”
“….”
“….”

The expressions of the Temple Priest and the Priests observing Asquiel became subtle.
Was he somewhat odd?

“Saelika’s…well, her growth process was different from the other angels, after all.”
“True, there are no angels who grow baby teeth.”
“The youngest had a different growth pattern from angels born from the branches….”

The brothers nodded in agreement.
The expressions of the Temple Priest and the Priests became even more subtle.

‘They’re accepting that explanation?!’

“Saelika would smile brightly whenever she saw me from infancy.”
“…She did smile well. For survival.”

This time, Enrik muttered under his breath.
Being the one most compatible with the youngest, he had a tendency to speak his mind candidly.

“What?”
“Well, Asquiel was particularly strict with Saelika. Unlike us, who were incredibly lenient with the youngest.”

It was a statement that would have been absurd had Saelika heard it.
She had never once thought her brothers were lenient toward her.

“I had no choice. I knew the truth about that child’s origins. If you had known as well—.”

That was when it happened.
The angels suddenly sprang to their feet.
Their faces hardened like stone.

“What is it?”
“The heavens have opened.”

With those words, the angels vanished.

* * *

I staggered through the air, struggling to regain my balance.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve flown, and now my wings are torn to shreds….’

Flying with my former grace was no longer possible.
My left wing’s feathers were completely tangled.

‘Of course, Misa’s condition is worse than mine.’

Misa’s right wing membrane was completely torn.
He gazed at the wing I had shredded with an enraptured expression and spoke.

“Ahhhh, how I’ve missed the touch of my darling’s hands.”
“You perverted bastard!”

Golden sacred power gathered in my palm.
Just as I was about to unleash it.

“I don’t understand. I’ve been watching over you for a thousand years.”

Misa tapped the barrier containing Shuri and spoke.

“Say it plainly. You were stalking me.”
“You avoided me so desperately, yet now you dare confront me directly to save this wretch.”

Tap, tap tap.
Sharp nails scratched against the barrier.

“Of course it was enjoyable. But yes, I suppose I’m in a foul mood, aren’t I?”

Crack!
The barrier shattered.
A crimson murk seeped into the fractured barrier.
Threatening to engulf Shuri.

The moment I witnessed that sight, my vision went white.
If.
If the murk took root within Shuri.
If I could never lift his curse eternally because of this.

Thump, thump.
My nerves ignited as though they would shatter.
An immense power erupted from my body.
A power even I had never known.

And then, whoosh.
All sensation vanished.
No, it swelled.
No, it disappeared.
It filled me completely.

When I finally exhaled.
A longed-for landscape unfolded before my eyes.
A vista I had never dared dream of.

The landscape of the Heavenly Realm!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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