In this interstellar era where the long-lived races have all but perished, how could anyone still exist alone in the vacuum of space?
And according to the intelligence provided by the inhabitants of this star system—not a single threat like this should be possible.
There shouldn’t be any living being capable of harming him.
The Archangel didn’t think that these people in this star system were lying—they were a thoroughly screened, utterly broken group, truly low-dimensional creatures in the eyes of the Angel Realm, each eager for its favor.
Such people couldn’t possibly lie.
Otherwise, the Angel Realm’s gateway to the universe never would have opened.
Nor would he have risked coming here to hunt for Chu Zao, the one who could stimulate the Angel Source. Of course, one can only act within the bounds of one’s own cognition, and as the one who had once seized the Angel Realm, usurping the true angels to become master of the Angel Realm, even if the Archangel got Chu Zao back this time, he would never let him truly grow.
He would only suppress him further—giving him at best a little room to breathe; for all along, his claim to power was illegitimate, and he remained anxious that Chu Zao might become another version of himself.
However—
Reality left the Archangel ever more bewildered.
This truly was different from what he had imagined.
Angels stationed at gateways to the Angel Realm scattered throughout the star system sent back updated reports—
Not only had these warships appeared here, they’d shown up everywhere, as if precisely locked on to them. Moreover, people from these warships were swiftly arriving and attacking.
Those appearances, those attributes, everything confirmed one thing.
These were the Crown Clan for the Angel Realm.
And as one who had replaced the angels—a counterfeit—
He himself was no match for the Crown Clan.
Not to mention, being in such heavily polluted regions, how had the Crown Clan overcome the effect of pollution on their psionic force just to get here? Even so, these Crown Clan…
The Archangel’s heart pounded with dread.
How could this be?
His eyes were filled with the scene before him.
Starships were targeting the aberrant beasts, holding them at bay and attacking, while the Crown Clan’s chains, long spears, and psionic weapons followed like shadows, destroying and crushing all before them as they advanced.
One Crown Clan, wielding a silver-black longsword, was advancing on him at great speed. The Archangel gripped his angelic staff, ready to open a passage and retreat to the Angel Realm, hoping to avoid a direct confrontation.
But a silver-black crossbow bolt shot toward him.
Just as fierce, just as merciless—
Behind all the Crown Clan, Clansis raised his arm and brandished his composite crossbow. With a light pull of the trigger, the fierce force of the arrow flew out again, successfully delaying the Archangel’s attempted retreat.
Standing behind Chu Zao was Frey.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Chu Zao.
“We’re about to breach the Angel Realm. Want to go see?”
This was the shadow in the little one’s psyche.
And the best way to dispel a shadow was for the little one to resolve it himself—but for little Chu Zao at this moment, such a challenge was still too great.
So another method would suffice—watching with his own eyes as his protectors destroyed the place.
“Breach the Angel Realm?”
Chu Zao was still watching the screen.
“Can we get in? The angelic staff is very powerful.”
“Of course.”
Frey was calm and confident.
Holy Cas had always had a reputation for unwavering resolve—and always followed through.
Not to mention—
A silver-black sword had already been thrust forcefully into the entrance.
The youthful, brash Crown Clan member’s slightly curled black hair was blown by the shockwaves of force; below, his eyes were a cruel, bloody red.
“Trying to run?”
That force slammed right in front of the Archangel, making him widen his eyes instinctively.
He saw that, as powers collided, the immense force almost ripped and twisted space itself.
And Amos gave him a look—arrogant, cold—
“So you’re the one who bullied my child?”
Your—child?
A massive explosion; the Crown Clan’s powerful psionic force forcibly tore open the still-unclosed space, ripping open an even more dangerous rift.
Amid the Archangel’s astonishment, he witnessed, for the first time, the fierce power of the Black Tyrant he’d only ever heard about.
Impossible!!
The angelic staff in the Archangel’s hand cracked with countless fissures.
Amos glanced back toward the starship—almost as if he were also looking at his own child.
—He’d said before.
Your father is truly powerful.
There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Thus the Angel Realm, which had been extending outward in search of more interstellar resources, was assailed from all sides by the Crown Clan of Holy Cas—in unprecedented numbers.
Nearly a “descent of the kingdom of gods.”
The Angel Realm was dangerous, and its connection to the real cause behind the pollution was all too clear. So Chu Zao, the youngest in the clan, was kept under Frey’s watch and not allowed to take part in such a perilous battle.
Although with the Crown Clan’s power now—so long as they could enter the Angel Realm, dealing with the angels there was more than doable.
And after his recent psionic growth, Chu Zao could see another side of the Angel Realm—
After the angelic staff began to fracture, he saw the wandering of countless psionic forces.
Greetings from angels, echoes of hazy memories past.
A moment earlier, Frey had led Chu Zao away from the starship, and when he was certain the area ahead was safe, they advanced steadily toward the Angel Realm.
Armed with this information, stepping once more onto the lands of the Angel Realm—
“Angels? Nothing special.”
Anya fiddled with the chain wrapped around his wrist, laughing with a snort.
“Weak—far weaker than we’d imagined.”
He was still smirking, while behind him stood Feiman and Solan, just finished with their section of the battle.
They waved to Chu Zao as they raised their hands.
“Although Third Brother is probably fuming by now, ha—”
If anyone was going to get beaten up, it’d be Feeney, but Feeney never made it in time for the real payback.
“They’re not real angels.”
Chu Zao landed, saying, and as he neared Solan, he paused, suddenly stretching out his arms for a hug.
“Grandma—”
Oh?
Solan’s eyes contracted a bit.
What was this?
Wasn’t this a bit like being spoiled?
Solan stroked Chu Zao’s hair, smiling gently. “Does Zao Zao want a grandma kiss?”
Feiman, watching on the side, was envious: “Can Auntie have a kiss too?”
As the mood shifted, Chu Zao backpedaled several steps, heading toward the direction where he seemed to sense Amos’s psionic force.
He remembered his father had gone after the Archangel.
Chu Zao quickly called out: “I’m going to find Dad.”
Leaving the remaining Crown Clan where they were—
Their psionic force still holding down the fully armed angels vainly trying to resist—
So-called angels.
“Just look at these creatures—once they were interesting, but now with the black mist swirling around them, there’s no difference between them and monsters.”
Anya spoke up.
“Uncle Lien’s reputation’s been ruined by association. I’m telling Uncle Lien.”
Feiman responded quickly.
Anya: ?
“I suppose they’re not even the same batch of angels—the way Father saw it.”
Frey chimed in.
“The Angel Source Stone is supposed to be crucial to the Angel Realm, but its actions differ from those of these angels. And as Zao Zao just said—the real angels were probably replaced.”
“Replaced?”
A faint retort—but one that made people’s spines tingle.
Hey—this meant an entire species.
How could a whole race be replaced so easily?
Wouldn’t that mean that angels, at least before Chu Zao was born, had already been wiped out?
Yet this seemed both the creepiest and the most convincing conclusion.
“Is it safe to let him go off alone?”
Anya snapped back to attention, no longer dwelling on it, looking in the direction Zao Zao had gone.
“It’s fine, Clansis is keeping watch up above.”
Solan answered, casually pointing upwards.
Clansis, armed with crossbow and standing in the air above, was like a 360-degree, no-dead-zone, super long-range turret; his bolts swept through the skies, raining terror down on each battlefield.
“A ranged build—so convenient.”
Feiman looked up, spinning her psionic spear through the air, catching it with a flick of her leg before getting a good grip again.
“But I still prefer—”
Her scarlet eyes flashed. In an instant, she flashed before an angel and struck—
“The direct thrill of the stab.”
And the downfall of the Angel Realm, of course, drew the attention of that so-called god in the background.
A sea of tiny red dots appeared in the sky—creepy, like countless staring eyes.
With the density of Crown Clan present, even a “god” as powerful as this had to steer clear of their might.
Tidal waves of polluted energy surged into the Angel Realm.
The Archangel was cut down by Amos.
He had been shouting madly that the Crown Clan would never have a future, that destruction was inevitable, that he didn’t know what had brought them here—only to be swallowed by the “god’s” power.
Amos didn’t land the final blow, nor finish him off in time.
He watched impassively. He could already imagine how Solan, once she heard of his actions, would talk his ear off.
Ah—there was no corpse left, so what was the use of a finishing blow?
Well, they really didn’t know how they’d gotten here.
But in one thing they weren’t wrong.
These sorts who only attacked from behind were too weak for a real fight.
Their extinction hadn’t been the work of these cowards; perhaps they’d never dared face them at all.
“Rats in the gutter.”
Amos said arrogantly.
He eyed the surging forces of pollution.
The pollution was too great; the delay in the progress of coronet shattering, achieved through Chu Zao’s efforts, was nearly at its limit.
Psionic force was starting to destabilize.
Clansis’s voice came through: “Withdraw from the Angel Realm.”
Amos turned to go.
But in another direction within the Angel Realm, a sudden burst of pure white light erupted.
That light struggled valiantly against the encroaching pollution. Noticing them, its brilliance flickered, but it still used the last of its strength to forcibly drag Amos into a vision—
That vision encompassed the years of history since: the ruin of the Crown Clan, the extinction of the Angels, and the truth behind the so-called god.
That being was not invincible, that pollution was not invincible either—including the very beginning of the corruption.
The original Crown Clan perished in the darkness of pollution.
Through it all, the Angel Source Stone tried to show Amos everything.
No one else was suited to this as much as the Crown Clan at the height of their powers—back then, Holy Cas was hamstrung by the pollution’s heavy toll on the Crown Clan, and as each fell, they collapsed first in spirit, but now things were different.
So long as this continued, pollution could never take hold—either fleeing in panic, or being utterly wiped out.
Given the degree to which pollution had now overrun this star system—ten years earlier, the so-called god might still have had a chance to escape, but now, it was impossible.
“Angel Source Stone?”
Amos put away his psionic longsword, rapidly memorizing all the information.
But he didn’t accept it blindly—he’d sort and judge later.
Still, the bulk of that work would fall to Clansis.
As a father, it was his role to take this on.
Amos thought.
The Angel Source Stone’s consciousness flickered.
‘That’s right, these creatures are not angels; the angels have been destroyed, only Zao Zao remains. I am the consciousness of a special power, connecting all places—I also have another parallel timeline, which went a completely different way—though I don’t know how useful it is, I’ll tell you anyway.’
Amos saw—a world where he’d found Chu Zao at age five in Holy Cas.
With much clearer and more definite information about the force behind it all and those arrayed against Holy Cas—and—
He wasn’t quite sure.
Desmond?
Was that Desmond?
A grandfather he barely remembered.
Having absorbed the information, Amos found himself lagging behind the other Crown Clan—he had to get out of here—
But before that, he decided to try prying out the Angel Source Stone.
After all, from what Zao Zao had said, Zao Zao seemed to care about the Angel Source Stone.
The power of the Angel Source Stone was very weak.
Amos saw a little one in that other timeline, big-eyed and toddling up close to them.
Small hands stretched out for a hug, softly calling for daddy, asking for candy.
‘Isn’t he adorable?’
Amos walked as he looked again and again—unable to help himself—
Adorable indeed, that little one’s growth.
But—
“My child is still the cutest.”
For once, Amos betrayed a trace of rivalry.
The Angel Source Stone seemed to laugh.
“You two really are—always wanting to pry me away—but I do have more to do—”
The Crown Clan’s homeworld had yet to recover, and it still wanted to see that so-called god die; it had much yet to settle—
“Dad!”
At that moment, a slightly childish but already adolescent voice shattered the vision, as the little one broke through from the direction of the little toddler, and the illusion faded away.
A pair of wings flapped, a bit bedraggled, hands clutching a small stone, trailing after him several angels—with Anya and Frey hastening to help him, rushing over.
“Zao Zao, fly slower, or Grandpa won’t see you and will shoot you down with his crossbow.”
Anya called quickly.
“Feeney’s gone, and you’re at it again, aren’t you?”
Clansis’s voice came from the communicator.
Stop doubting his battle skills, especially not in front of his cute little grandson!
“Want me to shoot you instead?”
“Uh—Dad, I was wrong Dad.”
Of the five small fry under Clansis, Anya was obviously the youngest, the most adept at changing his tune; he even begged pitifully, calling him Dad and not Father.
Clearly, Clansis was “delighted as a dragon,” so Anya’s slander was temporarily ignored.
By this time, Chu Zao had already charged into Amos’s arms, looking up and panting softly.
“Dad, I just learned a lot—the angels aren’t the real angels. They’re counterfeits, the real angels are gone, all buried beneath the Angel Realm. I can see their psionic forces flying out.”
Amos came to his senses.
He was still a little dazed after the vision, until interrupted by the little one.
He was a bit bedraggled, still holding onto that glowing white stone.
“Dad, can we take the Angel Source Stone with us—”
“Of course.”
Amos answered.
Meanwhile, Clansis gave the order again.
“The pollution’s too strong—our goal is achieved. Withdraw now from the Angel Realm.”
All the Crown Clan who had come for payback withdrew quickly and in order.
On the way out, they didn’t forget to kick the panic-stricken “angels” scrambling for the exits back inside.
Chu Zao too was whisked away.
The entrances to the Angel Realm they’d found all exploded with violent booms—as they left, it seemed endless screams echoed in their ears.
But it was only a moment—then vanished utterly.
Like a fit of impotent rage before disaster.
Chu Zao clutched the Angel Source Stone, Amos holding his other hand.
Amos watched it all.
He also vaguely saw gleams of light fly out, bidding farewell to the little one, merging into the coronet atop his head—Zao Zao was a key part in resisting the pollution.
Amos wasn’t surprised.
But his little one still needed to grow.
“Let’s go home.”
Amos said.
Now, everything was all right; they now understood all the problems, and all that remained was to execute their plans one by one.
Chu Zao’s eyes had been brimming with tears, on the verge of spilling, but at Amos’s words, he looked up and nodded hard.
“Mm.”
“Dad—”
Chu Zao returned to the starship.
He could naturally now understand the Crown Clan’s actions.
But for now—
“I’m not afraid anymore.”
Chu Zao told Amos.
Amos patted his youngling’s head. “Mm.”
See, little one, isn’t there nothing to fear?
Chu Zao was still led by Amos as they walked back.
Some of the starships and Crown Clan remained to handle the battlefield, but those with younglings were eager to return as quickly as possible to their identified safe zones.
So those ships started heading home fast.
Clansis, meanwhile, messaged Amos a few times, reminding him to come report and collate information.
Amos didn’t answer much, bringing the little one into a certain room—a storage room, maybe.
Amos let go first and went in; Chu Zao peeked outside, curious.
“Dad?”
What were they doing here?
“Found it.”
Amos said offhandedly.
Before Chu Zao could react, Amos had ripped open some packaging, turned, and suddenly stuffed something into Chu Zao’s mouth—
Sweet, fragrant.
“You like candy.”
Amos held the bag, watching Chu Zao’s expression.
“Right? Feeling any better now?”
Of course, Amos also had other important results from this operation—for example—
Chu Zao looked at Amos, his cheeks puffed a bit with the candy inside.
The sweet flavor burst in his mouth—
Chu Zao gave a couple of choked sobs, and with the candy still in his mouth, flung himself into Amos’s arms.
“Dad—the angels—they, they said goodbye to me—they said they were sorry—”
The little one clung tightly to Amos’s black uniform jacket.
“They said they were sorry for everything I went through as a child, that they were powerless—but that, by then, they’d already been like that—how could a species like that ever be replaced, it’s not fair—Dad—”
He seemed to be crying for the angels’ sorrow, and for his own.
Amos said nothing, only reached out and gently embraced his child.
Cry.
It’s all right.
In Dad’s arms, you can cry as much as you want.
*
Two days later in Holy Cas.
“So all the information summarizes to this?”
Clansis stared at all the intel Amos had provided.
“Mm.”
Amos tossed everything to Clansis, then stood in satisfaction, pushing his chair back.
“Where are you going?”
Clansis didn’t even look up.
“To be with Zao Zao.”
Amos responded frankly.
Yesterday they’d found the remains of a candy factory, produced some samples to send over, and Amos wanted to see if Zao Zao would like them.
Clansis looked up at Amos, then finally shoved his work aside.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Father, you still have work.”
Amos said evenly.
“And you need to find Grandpa.”
Grandpa Desmond might still be waiting somewhere.
Clansis: …
“I have things to do too, namely training Feeney.”
…
As Feeney was thrown out by Clansis yet again, he thought his big brother Amos was absolutely right—this old man just doesn’t want to work! He’s slacking off, using him as a punching bag—
“How come I never get to be the one to blow off steam?!”
Feeney lay sprawled on the ground.
He stretched out his hand—reaching toward Zao Zao.
“Zao Zao—”
He needed outside reinforcements.
As Zao Zao’s favorite family member at present—
But over there, Amos sat by a bench, making a silent gesture for him to hush.
The little one who had been watching Feeney just now was already lying quietly on Amos’s lap, the flickering sunlight pooling on his hair and face, a bag of candies beside him, fast asleep.
All right.
Feeney lay back down—
He watched as Clansis came over, kicked him, and said, “Up.”
Feeney: “No!”
“Why are you bullying the kids?”
Solan laughed nearby.
Anya was poking Feeney with a twig.
Off to the side, Feiman was staring at the peacefully sleeping Chu Zao.
And Amos was thinking—even if that child is lovable, it doesn’t concern him; he already has the cutest child in the world.
Everything seemed both quiet and noisy at once.
“Lien and the others say they’re coming, and I heard they’ve found a little Soul Clan member—supposedly one of Zao Zao’s friends. Then they’re preparing to look for the Dragon Realm, see if Desmond is really there. It might take some time, but with our manpower now it’ll be all right.”
Solan said, reaching out to take Clansis’s hand.
“To come more than a thousand years into the future—a remarkable turn of fate.”
It was tough on Clansis, to have so much suddenly to do, Solan thought, stifling laughter as her fingers caressed the palm of his hand.
“Yes.”
Clansis replied.
“But I’ve been thinking—”
“What?”
Solan asked curiously.
“I’ve heard Amos handles state affairs capably, kept Holy Cas glorious for centuries, until his fall—”
“So?”
“So, I’m considering letting Amos ascend the throne early.”
Solan: …
The slightly rowdy wind brushed through Chu Zao’s curly hair. He stirred and murmured softly the lessons Hel taught him that day.
The royal court of Holy Cas Imperial Star was as lively and noisy as ever.
Crown Clan members all over the star system were acting on their leader’s word, coming and going, or returning to Imperial Star, longing for a glimpse of the little one who’d once cried so heartbreakingly.
The Holy Cas starnet was as bustling as ever.
There was still much to do in the future.
But it didn’t matter.
Now, we are all still here.