Youngest on Top - Chapter 286

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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 286

* * *

The earth burned with murky flames.
Even the children struggled to draw breath.
Earthquakes shook the land, and tsunamis rose from the seas.
Hundreds of lives vanished in a single morning, and thousands more in a single night.

An age of desolation where even hope and expectation were luxuries.
An angel fell from the heavens.

‘How strange.’

Saelika thought as she gazed upon the man before her.
This was her first time seeing a human directly.

‘He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?’

It was surprising.
She had believed that no being in this world was beautiful except for Artemia, yet here he was.

‘When viewed from the Heavenly Realm, they seemed unremarkable, but are humans such a beautiful race?’

Saelika drew closer with these thoughts in mind.

‘His eyes are so lovely.’

Saelika was an angel with insatiable curiosity.
Whenever she found a box, she simply had to open it—even if she had to break it in the process.
The moment she reached out her hand toward this human she had never seen before.

“…!”

Suddenly, the man stripped off his robe and draped it over Saelika, concealing her completely.
So that her wings would not be visible.

“Run away.”
“…?”
“Hurry. Now.”

Seeing Saelika’s bewildered expression, the Priest furrowed his brow.
She gazed at this stranger she’d never seen before with such fascination.
She reached out her hand to touch him without hesitation.

Even among humans, it was a world where people guarded against and despised one another.
An era where they stole each other’s lives for a handful of grain.
In such times, what becomes of an innocent and curious wild creature?
And if that creature were an angel?

“If someone like you exists, people will certainly never let you go.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re all… desperate.”

Saelika couldn’t understand.
What did it mean to not let go because of desperation?

‘But more than that—.’

Cling.
Saelika grasped the Priest’s collar as he tried to distance himself.

“What’s your name?”

She was curious about this man.
He looked reluctant to answer, but eventually he opened his mouth.

“…Shuri.”
“Shuri.”

It was a name that rolled off her tongue so naturally.
Saelika broke into a bright smile.
The Priest’s gaze lingered on her for a long moment.

* * *

“So, Saelika descended to the mortal realm through a gate?”
“Yes, Parmanace.”

Parmanace smiled at the angel’s response.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.

“But… why concern yourself with someone like Saelika? She’s somewhat strong, but she’s a mutant without even proper divine authority.”

All angels awaken some form of divine authority, whether great or small, upon reaching their full potential.
Yet Saelika had grown to full maturity without awakening any authority at all.
This circumstance became the catalyst for Saelika to be even more scorned by the other angels.

Rather than answer immediately, Parmanace spoke of something else.

“What has Perpidian been doing lately? It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen her.”
“Ah… I’ve heard she remains secluded and rarely ventures outside. For someone who once enjoyed such attention…”
“And Shubatole?”
“That one’s strength has waned, and she sleeps without waking. It’s been quite a while now.”
“Shubetole once summoned Saelika and made her kneel, then whipped her.”

Parmanace’s angel gazed at him with a puzzled expression.
What did that have to do with anything?

“Any deity who scorns and humiliates Saelika as a mutant always encounters problems.”
“…!”
“Not immediately, perhaps, but eventually, problems arise.”

The angel opened her mouth to speak. “But—”

“Attributing causation to Saelika seems rather excessive, doesn’t it? She’s merely a mutant with slightly greater strength—a lowly angel among the lowly who hasn’t even properly awakened.”
“That much is true about Saelika.”
“What you’re saying is—”
“Have you forgotten whose angel Saelika is?”
“…”

Artemia.
The angel lowered her head.
It had long been the case that her master grew particularly sensitive whenever the goddess Artemia was mentioned.

“Saelika is undoubtedly connected to Artemia in some way. There’s always a reason why she keeps hovering around her.”
“But Parmanace, did you not witness Artemia’s reaction when Saelika was in grave danger long ago?”

Centuries past.
Parmanace had once deliberately placed Saelika in peril.

“…She showed no concern whatsoever. Remarkably so.”
“Yes, which is why—.”
“But that’s precisely what made me suspicious.”

Parmanace spoke with a chilling expression.

“For centuries, I paid Saelika no mind. I mistakenly believed she wasn’t worth my attention.”
“….”
“I should have found it strange when that cunning Preytsha treated Saelika with such special regard….”

I dismissed it as mere coincidence and left Saelika be.
But recently, I witnessed something.
Artemia tenderly caressing the sleeping Saelika.

Fearful of waking her.
Holding even her breath with utmost care.
Her hands shielding the sunlight, summoning gentle breezes with such delicate grace.
An unfamiliar smile blooming across Artemia’s face.

It was precisely—

‘—the gaze one bestows upon a child. Like mortals do.’

The eternal gods, unlike humans, bear no offspring.
But if.

‘If Saelika were Artemia’s child!’

There exists only one being for whom this could be possible.

“…How long has it been since the Creator vanished?”
“My apologies, I am uncertain….”
“Ah, that would have been before your birth.”

The Creator, who made all things, created order as the final act.
Witnessing the chaos of the world, the Creator staked their own soul to establish that order.
Because of this, the Creator’s immense power became constrained.

‘What a foolish being.’

Thanks to that, humans—mere insects—were able to flourish.
Gods and demons could no longer seize humans at will and enslave them.

‘If I possessed that power—I would never have done such a thing!’

I would have wielded it far more effectively.
It was an eternal regret that such power belonged to someone as soft and foolish as the Creator, not to me.

But it didn’t matter.
Gods could never defy the Creator, but the Creator had long since vanished from sight.

‘Yet why.’

Crack!
The goblet shattered in Parmanace’s hand.

‘Why do I feel this irresistible unease every time I face Artemia…!’

This was precisely why Parmanace had become so sensitive about Artemia.
Artemia was the last god the Creator made before withdrawing from sight.

‘She should naturally be far beneath me!’

“…Now you will understand.”

Parmanace gazed coldly at the liquid soaking his hand.
Drip, drip.
The thick, crimson liquid flowed down like blood.

“Who must be killed.”

A god can never defy the Creator.
But what of her daughter?

* * *

“Kaishurit.”

Kaishurit’s Adjutant, who had been approaching, furrowed his brow.

‘A woman?’

Standing before Kaishurit was an unidentified person draped in a reversed robe.
Judging by the frame, she appeared to be a woman.

“Be cautious, Kaishurit.”
“Who are you?”
“What is your purpose?”

The Retainers immediately drew their blades, standing alert.
One could not afford to be careless simply because she appeared fragile.
Any stranger demanded vigilance.
Whether human or monster.
Such was the world they inhabited.

“Stand down.”
“But Kaishurit!”
“Let her go.”

The Adjutant’s brow deepened with concern.
His lord, who understood better than anyone how dangerous an unknown entity could be, was speaking such words.

‘Could she have bewitched him?’

His lord, who had shown no interest in women whatsoever?
And was that robe not his lord’s own robe?

‘Then all the more reason I cannot let her leave like this.’

The likelihood that this woman was not human but a monster was considerable.
He had to uncover exactly what she had done to his lord!

The retainers exchanged glances and in unison stripped the robe from the woman.
Kaishurit flinched.
Yet contrary to his concern, the woman bore no wings.

“…!”

Unlike the reassured Kaishurit, the men involuntarily gasped.

Hair that gleamed with brilliant gold.
Her blue eyes were as clear as if reflecting her own image.
It felt distant, when last I had beheld such crystalline skies.

The woman possessed an otherworldly beauty that made one question whether she could truly be human.
The men stood frozen as if ensnared by sorcery.

The woman tilted her head curiously.

“Kaishurit? Is that your name?”
“…Yes.”
“Then why did you tell me it was Shuri?”
“….”

Only then did Kaishurit’s Adjutant, regaining his senses, furrow his brow.
There was something peculiar about the woman’s question.
He soon grasped the reason.

‘Could it be that this woman does not know our lord’s name?’

A world as dark as pitch, stripped of hope and expectation.
Yet even within that darkness, an ember refused to be extinguished.
It was the name of the hero Kaishurit.

A name that commanded renown among humans and infamy among demons.
A name that rallied people and granted them tomorrow to believe in.

‘Yet she does not know our lord?’

Shhhhring—
The Adjutant drew his blade and pointed it at the woman.
The air grew heavy in a way incomparable to when the other men had drawn their weapons earlier.
A tremendous killing intent!

“Step back, Kaishurit.”
“Eidan.”
“That woman is suspicious.”

That was when it happened.

Kiiiieeeeee—!
A massive monster descended from the sky with an ear-splitting shriek.
It was so enormous that an ordinary person would be blown away by a single flap of its wings.

“Damn it, of all times…!”
“So you really did summon that monster!”

As the Retainers cried out.

Thwack!
The monster struck by Saelika’s punch flew backward.

Crash, boom-boom-boom, crash!
Its massive body slammed into the ground with a deafening cacophony.

The men stared at Saelika with eyes about to burst from their sockets.
Saelika was flustered.

‘Oh, was I not supposed to do that?’

There seemed to be rules when descending to the mortal realm…
Though this wasn’t a formal descent.
I had hidden my wings just to be safe.

That was when it happened.
Kaishurit’s Adjutant, who had been radiating killing intent toward her moments ago, approached with a terrifying momentum.

‘What, what is this?’

Thump!
The Adjutant grasped Saelika’s hand.
And then.

“You must be a noble!”

He smiled with a cunning grin, as if releasing a murderous aura.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Eidan Ekellan.”
“….”
“And what is your name, noble one?”

Saelika blinked, then glanced sideways at Kaishurit.

‘The gate is already closed anyway.’

Spending some time in the mortal realm until her brothers’ anger subsided didn’t seem like a bad idea.

‘Since this isn’t an official descent, I might get scolded for coming to the mortal realm. I should hide my identity.’

Having made her decision, Saelika opened her mouth.

“I’m Lika.”

* * *

Time in the mortal realm passed swiftly.
Saelika had grown quite fond of life in the mortal realm.
Even when she destroyed everything in her path, the people only praised her.

“You’re truly amazing, Lika! Today’s victory was entirely thanks to you!”
“Of course it was. Who do you think I am! I am a devoted follower of Artemia…!”
“A devoted follower of Artemia?”
“Ah, as a devoted follower of Artemia, it’s only natural that….”
“Haha, you certainly have remarkable faith, Lika!”

Eidan Ekellan clinked his cup against hers.
Just as Saelika was about to drink deeply.

“Don’t drink too much. You’ll ruin your health.”

Along with that quiet voice, my cup was taken away.

“What? Our Lika can hold her liquor just fine.”
“That’s just your opinion. Have you forgotten how you suddenly claimed you could fly and tried to jump off a cliff last time?”
“But I really can fly!”

Watching the two bicker, Saelika rose from her seat.
That stern man was the head of the Noishurahel family.

‘Noishurahel… Strangely resembles my brothers, doesn’t he.’

Not strangely—he looked remarkably like them.
Especially in how much he nagged.

Stepping away from the noisy gathering, Saelika poured herself a drink alone.

“Ahh! The liquor of the mortal realm is quite delicious, isn’t it?”

It was at that moment I murmured to myself.

“Is it alright for an angel to drink like that?”

I already knew who it was.
Saelika smirked and swirled the bottle.

“I happen to like drinking.”
“I’ve never heard of an angel who likes drinking.”
“Come on, everyone likes it. You mortals tend to sanctify gods and angels too much. We live the same way as everyone else. Of course, our Artemia is the exception.”

Kaishurit chuckled softly.
Did she realize it?
Whenever she spoke of Artemia, her expression became incredibly gentle.

“Among all spirits, the liquor of the Heavenly Realm is the finest. Well, the mortal realm’s liquor isn’t bad either.”
“This is cheap liquor.”

Kaishurit sat down beside Saelika and spoke.
Saelika found the taste of the wine becoming more pleasant.

In truth, the wine of the human realm was merely hot and bitter, with no real flavor to it.
Yet strangely, she found herself drawn to it.
Especially when sitting like this beside this man, sipping slowly together.

The surroundings were dark.
Partly because night had fallen, but mostly because the air was thick with haze.

They celebrated today’s victory with raucous revelry, yet the truth was they could not see even an inch ahead.
Among those clinking cups inside, half might be dead by tomorrow.

“Leave.”

Kaishurit spoke.

“You’ve already helped me greatly. If you remain here any longer, I will never let you go.”
“It seems like they won’t let me go either.”
“No.”

Kaishurit shook his head.

“I.”

Red and blue golden light.
Eyes of mysterious hue met hers at close range.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to let you go.”

—————
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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