David arrived in High Heaven together with Sherubiel and Mendicore. He took out his compass again and looked toward the north. Mendicore glanced at it.
"The needle is pointing toward the highest mountain, where You and Johann continued the journey alone without us."
"So we have to walk there, Mendicore?" Sherubiel asked.
"Yes. You already know my portal ability has been completely disabled here. I don't know whether they and Geriel will try to stop us again from reaching that place..."
"Let's continue." David began walking.
Sherubiel and Mendicore remained silent for a moment before following David. They walked along the golden mosaic pathway. After some time, just as they were nearing the center of High Heaven, a large group of figures suddenly flew toward them.
David stopped and glared angrily at the group of angels. Sherubiel became frightened and immediately clung to Mendicore. They noticed that the largest angel was being carried through the air by several servant angels and immediately recognized him as Geriel.
Geriel and his servants landed on the ground, while Marsiel's soldiers remained hovering in the air, aiming all kinds of weapons at David.
"H-Haven't you learned your l-lesson from d-destroying the balance of this universe? Y-You've just l-lost the one who belongs to you... a-and you still dare to destroy everything again??? Y-You'll lose e-everything else that m-matters to you..." Geriel stammered as the wound in his chest from David's pistol shot had not yet healed.
"R-Remember this!!! W-We'll do e-everything we can to keep you h-here! Y-You must n-not take h-him away! H-He m-must responsible... f-for what h-he has done! I-If you intend to d-destroy us... t-the soul of the one you l-love after death... w-will be g-gone f-forever!" he threatened.
Still glaring furiously at Geriel's words, David then looked toward Sherubiel and Mendicore, who stood some distance behind him.
"Keep holding each other and stay still!" he ordered. Sherubiel simply nodded, still tightly clinging to Mendicore.
Crimson energy accompanied by crackling red lightning immediately appeared around David's right hand. He pointed it toward Sherubiel, and a spherical crimson energy barrier formed around them.
"T-This... This is the energy shield Lord David created during the great war in Grivendal! I never imagined You could create it without the Spear of Grunginus!" Mendicore's light in its disc shone.
David then extended his right hand forward before raising it toward the sky. Every soldier of High Heaven prepared to fire the moment David made his move.
"T-This is m-my final warning!!! S-Stop and r-return to where y-you came from!!!" Geriel shouted.
David didn't even flinch. Instead, he looked up toward the sky while rotating his raised right hand until his palm faced upward.
Suddenly, an immensely powerful wind descended between them. The angelic armies were instantly slammed onto the ground. Geriel and his servants dropped to their knees beneath the overwhelming pressure of the wind. He could hardly believe David was doing this to them again. Sherubiel and Mendicore, however, remained standing thanks to David's crimson energy sphere.
"G-GET AWAY F-FROM HERE...!!! H-HE'S THE C-CALAMITY OF THIS U-UNIVERSE...!!!"
Geriel shouted as brilliant yellow light burst from his body, enveloping all of his servants and soldiers. They immediately rose back into the air and flew away at low altitude, abandoning their master.
***
In a certain cosmos, upon one particular planet among countless others, there stood a gigantic crimson pillar whose handle was shaped like a tightened helix.
The pillar suddenly glowed red, releasing flashes of light and violent tremors that shook the surrounding land like a massive earthquake. The lightning intensified until they erupted in a tremendous explosion that devastated nearly half the planet.
The pillar then shot across the cosmos like a gigantic crimson comet, accelerating faster and faster until it nearly reached the speed of light, eventually piercing into higher realities. Every celestial body in its path—asteroids, planets, even stars—exploded upon contact.
The pillar gradually slowed, and the surroundings transformed into a sky filled with golden light. Astonishingly, the gigantic pillar shrank, transforming into a spear of normal size.
David saw a tiny crimson point of light growing larger and larger in the sky. Sherubiel shocked, wondering what was hurtling toward David at such incredible speed.
"I-I never imagined...!!! T-The Spear of Grunginus... has returned to Lord David...!!!" Mendicore equally astonished.
Grunginus continued plunging downward without losing any of its speed, even as it neared David. Then something utterly impossible happened. The spear came to an instantaneous stop, floating directly above the palm of David's hand. The violent winds vanished just as abruptly.
Mendicore, Sherubiel, and even Geriel stood frozen, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. The Archangel slowly rose to his feet once again. David grasped his Grunginus with both hands.
"W-What are you g-going to do n-next??? D-Destroy all of us... w-with that spear??? I-I... truly regret... h-helping you... b-back then!!!" Geriel pointed to him furiously.
David fixed him with a cold stare, drew back into a throwing stance, and aimed the spear directly at Geriel.
"No. I'll make sure that you never interfere with our path again..."
After speaking those cold words, David hurled Grunginus. It shot forward with overwhelming force, like a gigantic cannon being fired.
Geriel had no time to react. Relying only on his still-sharp reflexes, he caught the spear with both hands by the shaft near the blade. Violent winds erupted around the spear as it relentlessly drove him backward. Geriel desperately struggled to hold back Grunginus, but it continued dragging him along. Both of his hands began to burn from the spear's immense energy. He also began to vomit yellow fluid.
In the end, Geriel could no longer withstand Grunginus's overwhelming force. The spear finally pierced through his chest. He was hurled toward the center of High Heaven, heading straight for a building. Geriel crashed through the building's entrance, shattering the door until Grunginus finally stopped after embedding itself deep into a wall.
David, Sherubiel, and Mendicore walked toward the place where Grunginus had come to rest. Sherubiel and Mendicore were shocked because this was the place where the Archangel Marsiel had once been laid to rest.
Upon entering, David saw Geriel pinned upright against the wall where Marsiel had once rested, with the Grunginus impaled through his chest. Geriel was still alive. He struggled with all his remaining strength to raise his right arm toward them, but it fell back down again without a single word. The two beings of High Heaven were left speechless by what had happened to their former master.
David stared at Geriel for a moment before walking back outside, followed by Mendicore and Sherubiel. There, they stopped once again as all of the angels approached them. David glared at them once more, but unexpectedly, they knelt before him.
"Forgive all of us, Your Majesty, Heir of Marsiel... We shall obey every one of Your commands now." said one of the angelic soldiers standing at the very front.
David then turned to face Sherubiel and Mendicore. "I'll leave all of this to you. What will you do next?"
Mendicore fell silent, never having imagined that the two of them would one day lead High Heaven. Sherubiel stepped forward, with Mendicore following beside her.
"Actually, even before all of this, I already had a mission to reform High Heaven, Lord David." Sherubiel said.
David told her to present it before all the angels. With confidence, Sherubiel explained her vision. The angels stood and bowed respectfully before her.
"We'll carry out your command at once, Lady Sherubiel."
They began carrying out the mission. First, they selected an enormous area. Then they worked together to build countless dwellings complete with every facility needed for comfort and enjoyment, along with beautiful gardens. David, Sherubiel, and Mendicore watched as they built the place.
"So this is what's called the 'Great Garden of Eden.' This place will be perfect for them. I remember what Johann said back then—that he wanted to free the human souls imprisoned within that tower."
"That's right, Mendicore. Lord David, do You still wish to remain here? Johann has been waiting for You for a very long time. I can take care of everything here, My Lord." Sherubiel said.
David looked once again at his compass. Its needle still pointed toward the highest mountain.
"There's still time..."
After some time, the Great Garden of Eden was finally completed. Sherubiel also ordered the construction of eight tall towers surrounding the area according to the directions of the compass.
The angelic servants then released the human souls from within the great tower and escorted them to there. Sherubiel welcomed and told them that this was the true High Heaven that had always been promised.
The souls were overjoyed and began living as the inhabitants of Heaven. They received eternal happiness, while the angels continued serving them. Their bodies became increasingly solid, though they remained enveloped in brilliant golden light. Mendicore observed the unusual phenomenon, while Sherubiel was delighted that everything she had planned had succeeded.
"I understand now. Your hypothesis was that their eternal joy is actually the greatest source of energy sustaining all of High Heaven. That golden energy radiates into the air, and those towers capturing and converting it. At last, both human souls and angels can truly care one another..." Mendicore explained.
"Yes. I'm deeply grateful for that. However, there are two human souls who contribute more than anyone else. Both are women. After learning about their past lives, I discovered that one was a mother who devoted her life to love and protect her son. The other was an aunt who continued raising that boy after his mother passed away. Perhaps that young man would be happy to know that the people he loved most have found eternal happiness in High Heaven." Sherubiel explained.
From the hilltop, they saw those two women sitting upon luxurious chairs while the angels served them all kinds of exquisite dishes, surrounded by an incredibly beautiful flower garden.
David found himself thinking of Johann once again when Sherubiel mentioned that young man.