"Zadkiel is dead, but not entirely dead," said Metatron.
Like a huge ma.s.s of cotton floating in the air, seemingly a huge, light, pitch-black ma.s.s, never revealing his true form, Metatron was the Path of the Flaming Sword's observer.
"What?!" Michael's azure blue eyes widened as he stared at Metatron in disbelief.
All of them knew that the true form of Zadkiel was the law that controlled the price and return of everything; an immortal existence. Metatron said that he was dead but not entirely dead, meaning that he must have been reduced to his original form.
"Argh!" Michael sighed with regret as he stomped on the golden beach. "I said it long ago to not confront the bookstore owner head-on!"
Michael stared straight at 'Haniel,' who appeared as a young man with a slightly different personality, as he said that.
'Haniel' ignored Michael's questioning, pretending not to understand Michael's accusation and acting as if he didn't instigate the Path of the Flaming Sword and Boss Lin to go against each other.
"Metratron, how did Zadkiel die? Did you see it clearly? How strong was the bookstore owner?" Michael asked, frowning.
Yet another compatriot had been lost.
As the leader of the ten angels with extraordinary ability, Michael knew that now wasn't the time to blame his comrades.
In his floating non-humanoid form, Metatron said softly, "Zadkiel didn't even meet with the bookstore owner. Instead, he was killed by the bookstore owner's subordinate, Joseph."
Michael's breathing nearly ceased when he heard this conclusion.
He could no longer hold it in anymore and turned to 'Haniel.' "Didn't you say you witnessed Joseph die with your own eyes?"
'Haniel' raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply.
"Rather than this, shouldn't we be discussing how the bookstore owner doesn't seem to even care about us?" Raphael, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up.
Of the Path of the Flaming Sword's ten angels, eight were left. Amongst them, Raphael, Metatron, and Kamael hadn't ever met the bookstore owner.
"The purpose of sending Zadkiel was to deliver our declaration of war and, in a certain point of view, he was just an envoy of the Path of the Flaming Sword. He didn't care about us at all, which is why he killed Zadkiel.
"I cannot tolerate this insult," Raphael said calmly.
"Don't be hasty," muttered Michael.
"This is not rashness but a necessary decision. Have you forgotten?" Raphael calmly gazed at the void s.p.a.ce sculpted by Zaphkiel and continued, "Heaven, Eden, G.o.d, Angels, the Kabbalah Tree... the realm above the material world... the path to becoming a G.o.d through the dream realm!"
Michael's blood ran cold as he clenched his fists once again. The reason he persisted on this path to the dream realm, and how he believed it was the only right way, was all because of a book he found in the Lower District.
That book depicted a world unheard of, a world of truth where there was only one G.o.d—the Almighty.
Michael had unwavering faith in everything that was depicted in that book. Even the aliases of the Path of the Flaming Sword's ten members were derived from that book.
"You tell us not to act impulsively, but in truth, it was your caution that killed Zadkiel," said Kamael all of a sudden.
"Alright." Michael seemed to suddenly recall that book of truths. All his dreams and efforts seemingly came back to him once more, and he found the strength to clench his fist even tighter. "Let's find an opportune moment, and we'll head to the bookstore together."
"No need to wait," Haniel interjected. "Let's go now."
——
Duan Xuemin... Mom's name is Duan Xuemin...
Franca repeated the name over and over in her mind. She immediately wanted to tell her father and grandfather about her mother's recovery.
But according to her now sober mother, it seemed as if she didn't belong here and came from another world.
Franca wiped away her mother's tears. In the process of coming to this world, she paid a very painful price, so much that she went insane over a decade...
Years of sadness and loneliness ate away at her mother as she constantly relived the experience of being trapped in that underground palace all those years. In her head, she was still the fresh academic that had just entered and was writing the first line of her journal.
But what she didn't know was that hundreds of years had pa.s.sed, and she could never ever return to her home.
After a long time, Duan Xuemin finally accepted the current situation reluctantly. She had already been Professor Lin Minghai's best student and had an incredibly strong will.
She knew that everyone survived by eating each other, as well as the fact it never rained in that underground world; that so-called rainwater was actually the blood from the many corpses.
And more importantly, she was aware of that unknown horror growing inside the belly of her teacher's wife...
That's why she left Professor Lin Minghai and his wife before becoming food for the evil G.o.d.
She secretly kept all the moldy dry food, refused to drink the so-called rainwater, and never ate the corpses of her own kind. She wanted to maintain her sanity and survive, but when she finally escaped from the underground palace using all her all, what she saw was another world.
Duan Xuemin couldn't bear it any longer and went utterly insane.
—Till today.
"Are you my child...?" Having regained her sanity and realizing the current situation, Duan Xuemin unexpectedly reached out to touch the golden-haired, blue-eyed, yet somewhat similar-looking face of Franca.
"I am, Mom." Franca pursed her lips, tears swirling in her eyes. Duan Xuemin turned to look at the cupboard door beside her, and reflected on the gla.s.s panel was the face of a woman who had aged and lost her youth.
All of her memories came flooding back, and Duan Xuemin gradually understood the current circ.u.mstances. It seemed that her time in the underground world, which lasted for several months, had yet to end, and danger, death, madness, and slaughter still floated around here.
"Don't tell anyone about me regaining my sanity," Duan Xuemin, who hadn't yet adapted to the current circ.u.mstances but had already started thinking of countermeasures, said, "What's your name?"
Franca pouted, feeling slightly aggrieved. "My name is Franca Curtis, Mom."
"Curtis..." Duan Xuemin repeated the name.
Although she seemed to know nothing about the outside world all these years, some memories within her still remained vivid, and thus, she asked Franca about the name of this world as well as everything about the Curtis Family.
Duan Xuemin's mind revolved rapidly as her memories during this crazy period of time became more defined.
Just like the 21st century expedition team she was from, the Curtis Family on the Azir continent was also studying that underground palace in the Lower District. And she herself had come to Azir through the 'door' that connected the two worlds.
The Curtis Family, however, didn't enter that 'door.' Perhaps they were researching something different and already knew what was beyond the 'door.' As for Duan Xuemin who came out of the 'door' alive, she was the best experimental subject for them, regardless of the state she was in.
"Franca," Duan Xuemin gazed at her child and asked, "How did you know how to make this dish?"
White cut chicken was the specialty dish of Duan Xuemin's father, which he had also taught to her. In their single-parent family without a mother, Duan Xuemin honed this dish to perfection, and it was also her younger brother's favorite.
"I bought a recipe book from an auction, it was sold by a bookstore owner called Boss Lin."
"Let me see it."
Franca nodded and quickly brought the recipe book from her room. Familiar Chinese characters enter Duan Xuemin's eyes as she flipped through the pages quickly, revealing her first smile in over ten years.
"Mom, can you understand it?" Duan Xuemin didn't answer that question but instead looked at Franca and uttered, "Lin, Boss Lin?
"Where is he?!"
"I'm not sure, but I can ask around. He seems to be quite famous," answered Franca, who was still a little confused.
A glimmer of hope ignited in Duan Xuemin's heart. The fact that the man could sell such a book meant that he might be someone she knew. The only person with the surname Lin on the expedition team was Professor Lin Minghai.
No... there was one other.
Suddenly, Duan Xuemin remembered the kind smile of her mentor, Zhang Caiyong, as she gently caressed her protruding belly.
A chill ran down Duan Xuemin's spine.
The child conceived in the underground palace was definitely not human!
But she couldn't give up on the other possibility. She needed to know who the bookstore owner was. Duan Xuemin turned to Franca and said, "Give me paper and pen. I'll write a letter, and you can take it to that Boss Lin for me."