"You—"
A crushing aura rolled over her!
Azril reflexively stepped back half a pace. Her wings spread slightly into a defensive stance.
Rei Ao smiled and drew his presence back. "No need to be tense. I'm just putting a little bargaining power on the table."
"What… do you want?" Azril asked warily. Realizing his existence was stranger than she'd thought, she firmed her tone. "The Flügel obey only the War God's will."
"Even a creator who sees you as tools—something to toss away at any time?"
His voice stayed calm, but the words stabbed into Azril's heart like a blade.
"That's nonsense! The War God—"
"He's never truly cared about you, has he?" Rei Ao cut her off. "To Artosh, you're pieces to help him seek out worthy opponents—pawns to prove his title of 'the strongest.' Once you lose your use, you're cast aside. Even if you call him 'father.'"
"You—!"
Azril wanted to argue, but no words came. Deep down, she knew he was right. The War God Artosh pursued strength above all else. He felt nothing for his creations. Even when he called them his 'daughters,' his eyes held only an obsession with power itself.
"I can give you more," Rei Ao said, voice softening. "Not just strength—meaning. A true will of your own."
"Azril," Jibril said quietly. "I've never been more sure of a choice. Rei Ao-sama offers possibilities beyond imagination—not only an increase in might, but a transformation in how we exist. And becoming stronger is exactly what Artosh-sama desires of us, isn't it?" She had never forgotten her mission: to be a god-slaying Flügel—gods included the War God himself.
Schwi suddenly added, "Data analysis indicates that following Rei Ao-nii increases survival efficiency and evolution probability by 437.6% over maintaining the status quo."
"Don't think you can make me betray him!" Azril stood firm, unmoved.
Jibril's plan had been to persuade Azril to choose as she had and follow Rei Ao. She knew the Flügel's nature defined their behavior. As beings created by the War God Artosh, they were almost incapable of betraying their creator.
But Jibril was an exception—driven by a stronger thirst for knowledge, independent thought, and a rebel's will to slay gods. That's why she could break free of the Flügel's limits and follow Rei Ao.
Azril was different. As the first of the Flügel, her bond with Artosh was the deepest—almost truly that of father and daughter—so loyalty to her creator was etched into the core of her being.
Jibril had anticipated this and, in secret, had asked Rei Ao to tweak Azril's thoughts so she could pledge herself to a new master as Jibril had. It would have been easy—but Rei Ao had no wish to alter the minds of living beings.
Faced with Azril's refusal and ironclad loyalty to Artosh, Rei Ao only smiled faintly and praised her faithfulness. "Your devotion to your creator is admirable."
Azril lifted her chin slightly, heterochromatic eyes shining with pride in her own existence. "The Flügel were born to fulfill Artosh-sama's will. That is our reason to be."
"But your loyalty is meaningless."
Azril's expression froze.
"Yes, the Flügel are Artosh's creation. But he doesn't care about the Flügel."
She frowned. She couldn't fully deny it. As their leader, she knew better than anyone how cold Artosh was toward his creations. He made the Flügel to seek worthy foes, not out of any affection or concern.
"Even so," Azril answered firmly, "the Flügel were born to obey Artosh-sama's commands and crush every obstacle. I see nothing wrong with that."
Rei Ao understood why she didn't waver. The Flügel's thought patterns were preset—etched into the core of their being like code. Words alone wouldn't change her stance.
So, short of rewriting their minds, the simplest way to win the Flügel's allegiance was to resolve the source of it all—the War God Artosh.
He stepped forward, gently pinched Azril's smooth chin, and made her meet his eyes. He grinned. "You serve the War God. If he dies, problem solved… right?"
"…!!!"
Jibril and Azril both froze, eyes narrowing.
A moment later, Azril scoffed. "Heh… Artosh-sama is the strongest there is. No one can defeat him—much less kill him."
"Oh? Is that so?" Rei Ao shrugged. "If you believe he's invincible, I'll let you watch him die with your own eyes."
He snapped his fingers.
Crack—!
The spatial barrier shattered.
Back in the village outside, the humans saw no trace of Rei Ao and the others.
Riku stared for a long moment at the spot where they had vanished, then could only pray for their safety. After that, he did his duty as leader of the humans, organizing people to calm the frightened crowd.
Avant Heim—
the Flügel's floating city. It looked like a colossal palace suspended among the clouds. It was usually alive with Flügel in flight, but today it was eerily quiet.
Inside, an open, silent hall rose by countless stairs to a platform, and on its far end stood a majestic throne.
A solitary figure sat there, as if fused with the very space.
It was the War God—Artosh.
~~~
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