— Noon - Royal Palace —
Within an extravagant room, built with high-grade white marble, the furniture was adorned with gold and silver on a wooden structure made of golden wood. Everywhere in the room, there are pictures of a beautiful mixed-race girl, Koyuki, before she met with her calamity and became Wrath.
A man in a silver suit walked into the room, announcing his presence. It was Victor Justius, the current king of Tessia Kingdom.
Despite his extravagant lifestyle, this room lacked servants or slaves to cater to his whims and vanity. The only person present was a black-haired maid with pale red eyes, whose beauty was a mirror image of Koyuki. No, she has the exact same face as Koyuki.
"I'm back, Yuki," Victor sighed wearily. "Today was so messed up. No one respects me."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Your Majesty," the maid responded. "While I may not be able to offer much assistance, I can listen to your troubles. It might make you feel better." The maid spoke in a soft and gentle voice, and her words seemed to soothe Victor's mood.
Victor sank into the plush white sofa, exhaustion weighing heavy on his shoulders. The maid, Yuki, approached and sat beside him. He lay down and rested his head on her lap, closing his eyes and enjoying the gentle touch of her fingers running through his blond hair.
As he opened his eyes, he gazed dreamily into her pale red ones. "Your eyes are as beautiful as always," he murmured softly.
The maid blushed slightly and replied, "No, Your Majesty, this is a normal characteristic of us Homunculus. It's nothing special."
"Even so, I still like it," Victor said with a smile. He hugged the maid gently, his demeanor surprisingly different from his usual self.
"I'll not lose you... I'll not lose you to anyone, not even Magitek. Koyuki... you are my Koyuki," he repeated her name until he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
The room served as a sanctuary where Victor could let down his guard and reveal his true self.
Koyuki, the idol, had been his first love, and still was. However, after being repeatedly rejected by her and learning that she was going to marry someone else, Victor's patience vanished along with a shred of his humanity.
In an attempt to get back at Daniel and claim Koyuki's body, Victor had taken drastic measures.
Victor had hoped that after Daniel's death and taking Koyuki's body, she would gradually warm up to him. But that hope quickly evaporated as Koyuki fought back fiercely, refusing to be tamed. In a fit of rage, Victor attacked her, but she retaliated by biting off his third leg, causing him immense pain and anger.
But the worst was yet to come. One of Victor's guards shot Koyuki in the head, killing her instantly. Victor was overcome with grief and anger, and he took matters into his own hands by killing the guard himself, driven by a desperate need for revenge.
Despite his rage, Victor couldn't bear to let go of Koyuki completely. He took some of her blood and kept it with him as a memento, before burying her remains in a remote location where no one would find her.
Victor brought Koyuki's blood to the Alchemont clan in Europe, commissioning them to create a Homunculus for him using Koyuki's genetic material.
He desired a perfect partner who would love him unconditionally, trust him completely, and be devoted to him through thick and thin. He was tired of being viewed as a source of wealth by women, and wanted someone who saw him for who he truly was.
The gentle homunculus, named after Victor's first love, was fully aware of her programming and origin. Although created to love and trust Victor unconditionally, she possessed a sharp mind and thought like a human.
She often pondered what might have happened if Koyuki had accepted Victor's love. Would he have become a great king or remained pitiful? Yet, she knew such speculation was futile.
Instead, she was grateful for Koyuki's refusal, as it had led to her creation and the opportunity to meet her originator. In her world, Victor was her one and only, and she felt a deep sense of loyalty and gratitude toward him.
— Noon - Daniel Safehouse —
Within the safe house filled with various strange contraptions and equipment of the Artificer. Daniel stood before what could only be described as a clearing in the room. A one-meter circle amidst the cluttered mess of items and machinery.
As Daniel gazed upon the sparse clearing for the last time, his mind entered into his mindscape.
In the mindscape, before him, appeared the image of a card that he had acquired on his first visit to the Miracle Card Shop: "Michaela - The Defender of the Faith." The card, with its intricate design and powerful abilities, had been a prized possession of his ever since.
He checked the mana accumulation within his mindscape and saw that the mana he gained from converting the mana from the assailant he killed last night was considered the mana generated by the real world and could be used to actualize the sentient creature.
Daniel's excitement skyrocketed as he started to actualize Michaela.
Suddenly, a flurry of holy light particles began to emerge from thin air, gradually gathering and intensifying in the clearing. The purity of the holy elements caused a figure of a woman with three pairs of angelic wings to take shape.
As the process reached its final step, the concentration of holy elements grew so dense that it caused a powerful explosion, sending ripples of angelic and holy atmosphere throughout the area, which could be felt by anyone nearby, including the priests in the city.
— Meanwhile - Vatican - Vatican Grand Cathedral —
Within the room in the Grand Cathedral, that is enveloped in a sense of grandeur and magnificence where the pope resides.
As the Pope was in the middle of his meditation, his eyes shot open wide as he felt the impact of a high condensation of holy elements descending to the world below.
The pure and condensed holy element was far beyond the holy element found within the Vatican Grand Cathedral. If the Grand Cathedral had a condensation as deep as the sea, then the condensation he had felt on the other side of the world was as deep as the Mariana Trench.
The Pope's curiosity was piqued by the unusual occurrence and he couldn't help but wonder about its origin. Based on the intensity of the sensation he had just experienced, he surmised that it must have originated from the Southeast Asia region.
As the Pope rose from his seat, his eyes fell upon the vintage telephone nearby. He strode over and deftly dialed a number, waiting patiently for the connection to be made.
"Hello, it's me. Did you feel it as well?" he inquired, his tone urgent. "I need you to send someone to investigate the Southeast Asia region."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line as the Pope listened intently.
"Yes, send a Grandmaster Paladin at least. We cannot risk any meddling by Those mage heretics" he instructed, a hint of animosity creeping into his voice.
It was common knowledge that the Mage and Priest factions had a long-standing animosity toward each other. While they could maintain a veneer of civility in each other's presence, given the opportunity, they would not hesitate to turn on each other.
After issuing instructions to his subordinate, the Pope returned to his meditation, deep in thought about what they might discover regarding the sudden appearance of the pure holy element in the Southeast Asian region.
The grandeur of the Vatican Cathedral's interior seemed to fade away as he focused on the task at hand, his mind consumed with questions and possibilities. What could this mean for the Church and its followers?
What secrets lay hidden in the depths of the holy element? The Pope knew that he had to wait patiently for answers, but he couldn't help feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation.
—
As Daniel waded through the cluttered mess of his safe house, he realized that it had become overwhelming again, nearly burying him in its chaotic heap.
Thankfully, he had released his metal scarab to help clear the piles, or else he might have been trapped beneath it all.
As dust and ash from the mess invaded his throat, he couldn't help but cough a few times.
"Are you alright, my lord?" A melodious female voice called out, capturing his attention and drawing his gaze toward its source.
Before him stood a woman of unparalleled beauty, with silvery hair and clear golden eyes that seemed to peer deep into one's soul. Her silver-white plate armor boasted intricate designs that only served to enhance her feminine charm, as if she were a living embodiment of a holy maiden.
In her presence, Daniel couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and reverence, as if he were in the presence of a divine being. No… she is an actual divine being.
"Michaela?" Asked Daniel.
"Michaela?" Daniel asked, uncertainty lacing his tone.
The archangel tilted her head in confusion, wondering why her lord would question her identity after summoning her. Had he perhaps summoned the wrong angel?
"Yes, my lord, I am Michaela," she replied, her three pairs of wings wilting slightly as she demonstrated her status as an archangel and her potential usefulness to her lord in terms of strength.