24 Hearts

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Chapter 3-1. ‘Black Tree’ Tribe

Heaven, the third layer. Gabriel’s Sanctuary

A beautiful temple filled with the scent of lilies. A place made of pure white marble. Tranquil like an entire field of snow.

Clean, fragrant, quiet.

The temple matching these depictions was of the third holy monarch, Gabriel. Her symbol, the lily flower, was always in full bloom, waiting silently for a visitor. No one had visited Gabriel’s temple since the last visit of the first Queen Jopiel. The main reason was that she herself did not want to invite someone to talk with her.

As she quietly observed her middle ground with her wings floating over the spring at the innermost part of the temple, she felt that someone had entered the temple.

“…?”

‘What now…’

It was a critical time. She mumbled and tilted her head for a moment. She didn’t know who came to her, but she thought of kicking them out after finding out. She could only hear their footsteps, feeling nothing from it.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of walking on the marble floor was heavy, so it seemed like it could be a single man. Then there came a sound that she shouldn’t hear.

Ringggg…

It felt like her whole temple was ringing. Gabriel’s eyes widened. He was closing the door of the temple, which he shouldn’t be able to do without Gabriel’s help. Nor was there any possibility that the first and second holy monarchs would close the door without asking for her permission. Anxiety began to slither in as she spread her wings, covering her, and then wearing a dress over her body. Her divine powers gathered, and then she draped on a white cloth of purity.

Woosh!

The divine power that was spreading in the temple gathered around her body and shone. The sound of the footsteps gradually approached, and she prepared to attack. It was ridiculous that she felt anxious and vigilant in her celestial chamber, but she believed in her intuition. The sound of the footsteps paused, and her unfamiliar visitor rose to the fountain where she was. The moment her opponent’s face came up from the bottom as they ascended the stairs, she immediately attacked without hesitation.

Dozens of beads with her condensed divine power emitted rays with a dazzling light. The streak of light that shot out was powerful, but with a shake of the hand from the man who appeared, the chastity temple around him turned to gray. The ray of light that reached for him was no exception. Everything that entered his realm was frozen in time.

“What a harsh welcome. I came from the entrance of your temple for your consideration.”

“…Why did you come here?”

Gabriel said, staring at him with displeasure. It was Xian, the 1st monarch. Like her… No, this was an influential person who had gone through the repeated fate of this world much earlier than her. He could be seen as a colleague because he knew the world’s contradictions, but she wasn’t happy with his appearance. Xian walked as if he hadn’t heard Gabriel, removing all the rays of light that were blocking him.

In his world stained with gray, the attacks made by her divine power were wiped out in vain with one flick of Xian’s fingers. She had no choice but to watch it helplessly. Having erased all her rays of light, he sauntered and looked up at Gabriel in front of her, as there were no more obstructions to face her.

“I don’t like that someone is looking down at me, but oh well, it is my fault that I came without notice, so I’ll understand you this time.”

“That’s rude.”

“That’s why I said I would give you a pass this time.”

As Xian tried to sit in the empty space, then, he popped out a simple chair to rest on. He sat down and snapped his fingers, and the gray world returned to its original state. Xian looked up at her, crossing one leg and clasping his hands together with a friendly smile. Of course, he was laughing at her, but he continued to speak.

“It’s been a long time. I believe our casual first encounter was at a temple?”

“Yes. Naturally, we don’t cross paths often, and we have no reason to see each other either. So, what purpose did you come to me for?”

“Straight to the point. How cold. Discussing our common goals… Maybe as friends, we could share a cup of tea and talk about chess.”

Gabriel laughed astonished.

“Hah! That’s ridiculous even to the ears of a passer-by. Friends? Tea? Chess? That’s absurd. Do you think a demon lord and a celestial monarch would do that in a good way? Do you think that’s possible?”

It was a remark that might feel insulting depending on who would hear it. Gabrielle told Xian how absurd she found his statement to be. Xian nodded his head as if it was not a big deal, and he replied eloquently.

“Well, you can think like so, but it’s not impossible. Our case is very special. That’s not strange, is it? Since we have the same purpose, we can be regarded as co-workers in terms of cooperation. You are a queen, and I am a monarch. Is a cup of tea bad?”

Chess was nothing wrong. It was a peaceful game.

Xian muttered as if there was no problem with it at all. Then he looked up at her and smiled.

“However, if you don’t accept that we are equals, our relationship will have no choice but to be that of a king and a servant. A superior and an inferior.”

At the moment, Gabriel glared at Xian’s smile. The pressure over her skin made her body tremble.

“You see, do you think you can beat me with strength? Or experience? What can you do if I have risen above the line of repeating fate? Do you believe the other monarch of the heavens can equal me? There’s Metatron. He is indeed a great monarch. But, by my standards, he’s not strong enough. Or… Jopiel?”

“…”

“Sorry. Either way, whether you bring Metatron in front of me or Jopiel, no one in this world can beat me. I am chosen by Him. I am the most powerful in this dimension. I don’t know, but maybe if you can bring together the lords, you will kill this avatar. Ah, would you like to hear something good?”

“…?”

“He’s tough to deal with, but you could try to get the 6th monarch, Bel-Therja, to get rid of me. He can easily kill my avatar.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. He held no regard for the monarchs of the celestial realm. He was nasty, but she couldn’t argue. She deserved it, and he had the power to justify such remarks. She couldn’t even compare with Queen Jopiel’s power, so what else did she need to say?

In the heavy atmosphere, Xian laughed gently and clapped his hands.

Suddenly, a table and a chair appeared in front of him.

“Now. If you understand, come down and sit here. You know how to play chess, right?”

On the table were black and white horses carved out of jewels, a chessboard, and refreshments to enjoy. When she looked down at the empty teacup, it began filling up with cocoa, steaming lightly.

There was no option.

She slowly descended from the fountain, folded her wings, and sat in front of him.

“Okay, you made a good choice. Let me use black and Gabriel, you are white to suit each other’s disposition.”

At Xian’s command, Gabriel sighed and reluctantly moved her pawn. As always, the first start was quick without any hesitation. The white knight moved, and the black pawn moved forward. Their pace grew faster. The knight caught the bishop, and then the pawn took revenge on the knight.

“You’re very belligerent. It’s scary.”

“Are you here to play chess?”

“No, not at all.”

Xian sipped a cup of cocoa, picked up his pawn, and sat it in front of her. A knight immediately executed the major who ate the pawn. Oops, he muttered bitterly.

“I just came to stop you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Pretending you don’t know, I see. Didn’t you know that your destiny wouldn’t change? Do you think I am unaware that you pushed a boy named Kain according to your own wishes?”

Gabriel’s fingertips holding the knight shook slightly. Xian smiled a little while looking at it. She picked up a cookie, chewing loudly.

“No matter how it goes, you’re here trying to get fragments under the expectations that you are going differently from the fate you know. It’s funny. It’s also useless. Did you think I didn’t know?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Why did I appear at this moment? Why don’t you think about it first?”

With laughter, Gabriel rubbed her fingers and spilled crumbs on the floor. She saw the dirty marble floor, flickering her fingers to clean away the crumbs into nowhere. Gabriel didn’t know what he spoke of, so she closed her eyes. Her vision crossed the celestial world and fell into the middle world. Quake, the owner of the fragment she had her eyes on, tried to hand it over to Kain.

“The boy will soon be stained with the madness of the fragment, unfortunately.”

Gabriel tried to get up from her seat to prevent the future, but she couldn’t move because of the invisible pressure on her shoulder. Even her divine power didn’t work according to her will.

“Oh no.”

She muttered unconsciously. She saw a terrible vision that would soon take her by surprise. Kain, who received the fragment, attacked his companions that came to congratulate him.

“How?! This is horrible!”

Seeing her reaction, Xian sat back and relaxed as he ate their snacks. Gabriel held her knight chest piece, and at a moment of shock, she unconsciously turned the jewel into dust. The moment it was done, she opened her eyes and stared at Xian.

“What was that…? What was that?”