"My relationship with Gabriel is actually not bad." Hearing the seniors say that the newcomer Su Mo didn't seem troubled at all. Since Gabriel worked at the same part-time job location as him, Su Mo had given her quite a few pointers when she first started. Besides that, whenever Gabriel was struggling to make ends meet, Su Mo would often lend her a hand. Because of that, his relationship with Gabriel was fairly decent. If it was her, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
"But what exactly do you all want me to do?" he asked them. If it was something like asking for the Apocalyptic Trumpet, then even Gabriel probably wouldn't hand it over so easily. Of course, considering Gabriel's questionable integrity—and the relationship he shared with her—if he was willing to spend a bit of money, borrowing it might still be possible.
"Why not just ask Gabriel for a blessing?" Su Mo from the Index world suggested. "It doesn't need to be anything too powerful—just something that's clearly from her." It was a common trope for angels to bestow blessings upon humans. Su Mo didn't need a high-tier blessing; as long as it came from Gabriel, it would suffice. The spell formula used by the Right Seat of God required characteristics associated with the Four Great Archangels, but only the presence of those characteristics—it didn't demand high purity. Overall, it wasn't too picky. Otherwise, the Right Seat of God wouldn't have been passed down for so many years. So, by all accounts, this request should be relatively simple. The only thing that needed to be considered was—
"I'm just not sure if Gabriel still remembers how to grant a blessing." The Su Mo from the Slice-of-Life world didn't have much confidence in that regard. There was still some time before the new semester started, but judging from Gabriel's current lifestyle—staying up late every night—she had likely already fallen quite far from grace. Whether she still had the capability to bestow a proper blessing was something he couldn't be sure of.
"I'll go give it a try." After a brief discussion, the newcomer Su Mo decided to give it a shot.
...
...
As he exited the Mist space, he returned to his own world. Gabriel, meanwhile, was still happily eating the fried rice he'd given her earlier. Chino, with her typically light appetite, had skipped the rice and instead treated Su Mo's handmade dessert as lunch. He wanted to ask Gabriel directly, but Chino was right there next to them. Then again, based on what he knew of Chino, she had little to no exposure to the supernatural. As far as she was concerned, the most mysterious thing in her life was the fact that her grandfather was a rabbit. So, it was best not to involve her in this kind of thing. Su Mo decided to wait until after work to speak to Gabriel.
Work at the café was rather laid-back. Most of the coffee orders were handled by Chino herself. Only the more complex blends and the desserts required Su Mo's involvement. After coasting through a leisurely afternoon, closing time finally arrived. In the evenings, Chino's father would take over the café and turn it into a quiet jazz bar. After tidying up, Su Mo and Gabriel called it a day.
"Gabriel, there's something I'd like your help with." Since the two of them lived close by, Su Mo drove her home. While driving, he got straight to the point with the girl in the passenger seat.
"What is it?" Gabriel asked curiously. Usually, it was Su Mo helping her. This was the first time he'd ever asked her for help, and that alone made her just a little happy. But that happiness quickly turned into shock when Su Mo said—
"Gabriel, you're actually an angel, aren't you?" He said it as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.
"What?!" Startled, Gabriel instinctively tried to leap to her feet—forgetting entirely that they were in a car. Her head slammed right into the ceiling.
"Ow!" She dropped back into her seat and rubbed her forehead.
"Su Mo-senpai, when did you find out?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. According to angelic law, they were not supposed to reveal their identities after descending to the human world. Not that Gabriel hadn't already broken more than a few celestial rules by now—but she hadn't expected Su Mo to see through her.
"I've known for a while," Su Mo replied nonchalantly. He had actually recognized this lazy, shut-in angel the very first time they met. But the moment of confirmation had come later.
"It was that one time when you stayed up all night gaming, didn't eat anything, and nearly collapsed. I happened to catch you when you were half-unconscious, and you accidentally let your wings show." Gabriel usually tried to be careful, but all that went out the window the moment she started gaming. To Su Mo's surprise, she didn't even look embarrassed.
"Strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to let a human know I'm an angel," she muttered, scratching her cheek, "But since it's you, I guess I'll let it slide. I've already broken half the rules anyway." Whether it was laziness or just not caring anymore, Gabriel decided it wasn't worth fussing over.
"Su Mo-senpai, the thing you want my help with… it has to do with me being an angel, doesn't it?" Gabriel quickly picked up on the underlying implication. For all her slothful habits, she was still sharp when it counted.
"Yeah," Su Mo nodded. He never intended to hide it. With her personality—and their current relationship—it was better to just be upfront about it. It was just a blessing, after all. It wasn't like he was asking for anything too outrageous.
"For certain reasons, I need a blessing from an angel."
"And more specifically—it needs to come from you, Gabriel." He didn't beat around the bush. Hearing that, Gabriel's expression shifted slightly.
"A blessing? And it has to be mine?" She looked at him, as if double-checking.
"That's right." Su Mo parked the car—they had arrived at Gabriel's apartment. Once the engine stopped, he glanced over at her and asked, "What's wrong? Is it going to be a problem?" If she wasn't willing, he wouldn't push. There was always time to think of another way.
"No, no problem," Gabriel quickly replied, shaking her head. "It's just a bit of a hassle. But if it's what you want, Su Mo-senpai, I can give it to you right now."
"Right here?" Su Mo asked in surprise. Even if it didn't require any elaborate ritual, the car still seemed a little cramped.
"This is fine." Gabriel yawned, looking a bit sleepy. "It's not that big of a deal anyway." Saying that, she brought her hands together in a prayer-like gesture.
A soft, holy light began to radiate from her back—pure and serene, like the descent of a true angel. Behind her, a pair of pristine white wings unfurled, their gentle glow filling the confined space of the car. For a moment, Gabriel looked every bit the holy being she was supposed to be. Until her halo materialized. The moment that black, lightless ring appeared above her head, the divine atmosphere around her collapsed. The surroundings turned heavy and dark, the once-pure presence now muddled by an overwhelming shadow. It wasn't just dim—it was pitch black, absorbing all light. Anyone seeing it would've assumed it was some kind of demonic force.
"…Are you sure you're not a fallen angel at this point?" Su Mo asked, his mouth twitching at the sight. Even a fallen angel probably didn't have a halo as dark as Gabriel's.
"You talk too much! It still works fine once it's wiped off, doesn't it?!" Hearing Su Mo question her, Gabriel immediately grabbed the pitch-black halo from above her head, then caught Su Mo's hand and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe it clean. The jet-black ring instantly returned to a shiny golden hue.
"…" Su Mo glanced at the black smudge now staining his sleeve, genuinely starting to wonder if that halo had just been coated in paint. After cleaning it off, Gabriel placed the now-sparkling halo back on her head. Holy light shimmered once more, her wings glowing pure and radiant behind her. With her preparations complete, she began to pour divine light over Su Mo, attempting to bestow her blessing upon him.
But—
"Huh?" Halfway through the process, Gabriel opened her eyes and stared at Su Mo in confusion.
"Why isn't it working?" She had followed the textbook process exactly. But as the blessing reached Su Mo, it was as if something bounced it back, leaving no effect at all. That was when Su Mo remembered—he now had the physique of a God Slayer. The vast magic power flowing through his body made him nearly immune to conventional magical interference.
"My constitution is... unique. I have very strong resistance to external magical influences," Su Mo explained simply. Gabriel quickly realized the truth. She could sense the immense magical energy surging within him and immediately understood why her blessing had failed. Still, as the top graduate of the Angel Academy, this kind of issue was far from unsolvable. The reason the blessing didn't work was simply that her power wasn't strong enough to penetrate Su Mo's dense magical field. In that case, she just needed to raise the output. Without hesitation, Gabriel once again took off the halo from her head—then placed it directly on Su Mo's. Under Su Mo's astonished look that practically said "Wait, this is allowed?", she reinitiated the blessing.
A halo was the core of an angel's power—essentially the crystallization of their divinity. It held a power equivalent to divine authority. With that much power, Gabriel forcibly pushed her blessing through Su Mo's magical defenses and embedded it within him.
"There, it's done!" Finishing the process, Gabriel clapped her hands together as if proudly presenting a completed task. Su Mo returned the halo to her, and immediately, he could feel the divine power of Gabriel's blessing settle deep within his body.