The moment Rod saw that sword, he understood what this was about.
So this was another one coming to bribe him.
Still, Rod had a kind heart. Besides, unlike in the original story, Heaven had specifically sent Gabriel to see him this time.
Clearly, they had already asked around about his preferences.
If it had been Michael instead, Rod obviously would not have been so easily moved by material things. But now that it was Gabriel, all he could say was that Heaven really had a good eye for people.
And when Xenovia and Irina saw the Holy Sword Gabriel had drawn from the void, both of them widened their eyes slightly.
Although this sword was not the Sword of the King, it was still one of the Holy Swords ranked just below it, a peer of Durandal.
"This sword is called Ascalon. Its original owner was the widely known Saint George. While its special abilities cannot compare to the Sword of the King, and its destructive power cannot match Durandal, it is a Holy Sword specifically meant for dealing with dragons."
"If the enemy is a dragon, then perhaps there is no Holy Sword stronger than Ascalon."
"This is a gift from Heaven to you."
"You really didn't have to bring a gift when you came. You're being too courteous."
As Rod said this, he took Ascalon from Gabriel's hand, checked it with the system panel to confirm it was the genuine article, and then tossed it into his storage space.
"..."
Seeing Rod complete that whole sequence of actions in one smooth motion, Gabriel could not help lifting her brow slightly, but she still kept her gentle smile.
"I'm glad you like it."
After saying that, she turned to Xenovia and Irina.
"Next, there are some things I would like to discuss with Mr. Rod in private. Could you two wait outside for a while?"
A Seraph had spoken, so the two girls naturally hurried to agree. As they went out, they even closed the door behind them.
Now that no one else was around, Gabriel's expression grew solemn.
"Michael and the other Seraphs, including me, believe this meeting is a precious chance for the three factions to understand one another. I know it may be hard to accept at first. For a very long time, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils have opposed each other…but things are no longer the same as they were before."
At this point, Gabriel paused, and her expression became extremely serious.
"Although you are not one of our believers, you are still one of the living beings of this world, so what I am about to say concerns you as well. So please… do not be afraid."
"I'm a professional. I won't be afraid."
Looking at Rod's gaze behind those sunglasses, steady and unwavering as it remained aimed at her chest, Gabriel let out a faint sigh and continued,
"The truth is… the Creator of Heaven, God, already perished in the last great war."
After saying that, Gabriel closed her eyes.
Even though this matter had already happened a thousand years ago, whenever she thought of it, tears still gathered uncontrollably at the corners of her eyes.
All angels had been created by God's hand. To them, God was not merely God, but their Heavenly Father, their mother as well.
In the Bible, God was described as an eternal, indestructible, omniscient, and omnipotent being.
And yet even such a God had died from exhaustion in the war.
When Gabriel, Michael, and the other Seraphs first learned of this news, they could not believe it at all. Their minds had nearly collapsed. Fortunately, Michael had reacted the fastest. After stabilizing the emotions of the other Seraphs, he immediately sealed off every channel through which the information could spread, preventing the news of God's death from reaching the ears of the ordinary angels.
After all, in terms of faith in God, even ordinary angels were incomparably devout.
If news of God's death leaked out, a mental collapse would have been the least of their problems.
Suicide, falling from grace, and all sorts of other disastrous consequences were absolutely not something Michael and the other Seraphs could bear.
Fortunately, God had never appeared frequently to begin with, and aside from the Seraphs themselves, no ordinary angel in all of Heaven had ever seen God's true form with their own eyes.
That was how Gabriel and the others managed to keep the secret firmly hidden.
But at the same time, they had worried whether the fallen angels and the Underworld might deliberately spread the news to strike at Heaven.
Yet it was obvious that whether it was Azazel or Sirzechs and the others, they were all far-sighted enough.
If they had actively spread the news, it would indeed have thrown Heaven into chaos and perhaps even caused it to collapse. But if Heaven collapsed, it would inevitably affect the powers of the Underworld and the fallen angels as well.
After all, the three great factions had long stood in a tripartite balance. If even one of them were removed, the still relatively stable situation would collapse.
What was more, they also had to be on guard against outside forces profiting from it.
No one had forgotten just how aggressively the Church had once expanded. If other forces learned that God was dead, who knew whether they might not settle old and new grudges all at once?
At that point, all three great factions might have been destroyed together.
So, even though the three factions had only just ceased hostilities back then and relations were still tense, all of them still tacitly agreed not to leak a single trace of the information.
Gabriel opened her eyes, having expected to see shock on Rod's face.
But Rod was completely unmoved, and his gaze remained incomparably steady.
The emotion Gabriel had just gathered up suddenly stalled.
Even if you were not a believer, hearing of God's death should have been enough to leave you shocked… shouldn't it?
For him to show no reaction at all was a little surprising.
Of course, Gabriel did not really take issue with Rod's reaction. She simply continued,
"Since Heaven chose to entrust this sword to you, gifts of equal value have also been given to the fallen angels and the Underworld."
At this point, Gabriel's meaning was already obvious.
In other words, Heaven had placed Rod on the same level as Azazel and the Maou of the Underworld.
That was undoubtedly treatment of an extremely high order.
Even if Rod stood alone.
Then, without warning, Gabriel stepped closer. Her two huge breasts shifted with the movement, and she grasped Rod's hand with a sincere gaze.
"Gabriel, we've only just met. Isn't this a bit too soon?"
Rod was genuinely startled.
And because he was so startled, his eyes widened a great deal.
"In the past, when the three great factions defeated the White Dragon and the Red Dragon, they were once able to join hands. So now, we hope that, just like before, we may stand together once again. That is why we are placing our hopes in you."
If it had been the two girls outside, or anyone else, they might already have been completely worked over by Gabriel's sincere and moving speech.
After all, whether it was genuine or not, the Church had always been very good at this sort of thing.
Rod did not know whether Gabriel was speaking from the bottom of her heart or simply trying to work him over the way the Church did with believers. But whichever it was, he still had to admit that Gabriel truly was holy and innocent. The radiance this close to him felt as though it could purify a person's soul. And so, in order to purify his own heart, Rod chose to stare at Gabriel without blinking.
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