LIGHTNOVELONLINE The White Tower soared high enough to pierce the sun above the sky.
Below the cloud-covered White Tower, there were 3-meter-tall beings with pure white feathered wings on their backs gathered. Their expressions varied, but the greed shimmering deep in their eyes was the same for all.
Among them, a middle-aged man with a stylishly grown white beard raised his voice in joy.
"Without a doubt, Supreme God Krielia holds us Celestials in dear regard!! Hahaha."
As the middle-aged man laughed, the wings on his back moved up and down, expressing his joy. The others standing beside him nodded their heads, unable to hide their excitement.
"It is truly a bizarre creature. It's nothing but a senseless beast, yet I've never seen such a wondrous life form before."
"That is right, absolutely. If it weren't for the gathering of the Archangels, it could have been dangerous."
"...It was so tough and sturdy that even watching it made me nervous."
"Haha. To be nervous in the presence of the great Archangels. Your jest goes too far."
In the center of their circle, a creature with a humanoid form, less than 2 meters tall, lay collapsed. Although it had a human shape, its limbs were not properly formed and its facial features were jumbled, leaving no doubt it was not human.
"If such a creature had appeared earlier, we would not have had to offer humans as sacrifices."
"It is a pity, but what can we do? There are no humans left to offer as sacrifices now, but hasn't the Supreme God sent us a gift to use as a sacrifice?"
"That is right. It is the will of God."
"Just this one alone should extend all of our lifespans by about ten years. Is that not so?"
"That's something to look forward to. Humans are too frail and inefficient. It was better when the Demon Race was still around."
"That is right. All those mere humans amount to is their excessive noise. It would have been much better to just eradicate them. That's why good things like this happen."
"Haha. Lately, it seems only good things have been happening. We even found clues about the ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ a passage to the Upper World, and now even this gift has fallen to us."
They recalled recent events.
The Stairway to Heaven, known to be connected to the Gate to Heaven where the Supreme God resides.
The entire Celestial Race had gathered their Divine Power and fired a Divine Spell toward where the passage to the Upper World supposedly was.
Perhaps it had some effect, as a crack formed in the sky and a life form fell, carrying massive energy.
Couldn’t we... someday... achieve Immortality by even offering a god as a sacrifice?
Although no one spoke it aloud, it was clear from everyone's glittering eyes that they all harbored this thought.
Altar of the Celestials.
Beneath the endlessly high White Tower, an altar was set up.
The Altar of the Celestials was a unique relic capable of extending the power and lifespan of all Celestials depending on the sacrifice.
Thanks to this altar, the Celestials eventually came to reign over all races in the world. Of course, all races had been offered as sacrifices, and now only senseless beasts remained, leaving no more sacrifices to offer.
Yet under the guidance of the Supreme God, a new sacrifice had fallen into their hands; how could they not rejoice?
I don't know why that last bastard was connected to Heaven, however.
It hadn't been long since they found clues about the ‘Stairway to Heaven’. It was purely by chance that an Archangel had gone to observe a convict and discovered it.
It is all because the Supreme God watches over us.
They truly believed this.
Though they didn't know what was in the Heavenly Realm, with the Holy Relic, the Altar of the Celestials, they did not fear anything. The Upper World, known as the Heavenly Realm, would also kneel before them!
Whether it be a god or anything else.
Perhaps even the Supreme God will fear their might.
***
At the top of the White Spire.
Inside a room densely filled with Divine Power shaped into characters of white light.
In the center, a man with disheveled hair and a wretched appearance was kneeling, his arms raised.
The chains made of light were connected to his heart and limbs, rendering him immobile. A few sparse, downy feathers sprouted on the man's back and shoulders.
A half-breed born between a Celestial and a human. However, as his Celestial blood was diluted, he had been banished to the earth below as a prisoner.
And he had been humanity's Final Hero, resisting the Celestials to the end.
He, the only human who had survived to the finale, had even lost his sight and could barely see in front of him.
Creak-
The door opened and footsteps, heavier than those of a human, roused him from his stupor.
"Human characteristics are truly troublesome. A race that must eat such mere organic material to survive."
Accompanied by the voice, a Low-Grade Celestial, who was a jailer, entered the room.
Thwack-
"Kuhp! Keuk! Eup!"
The Low-Grade Celestial slammed the food directly into his face, forcing it into his mouth. Thick, fetid gruel slid down his face.
The food, if it could even be called that, was nothing more than a beast thrown whole into a pot and boiled carelessly. Even that had been done lazily, cooked in a mishmash once and then fed with that very same grub for a month.
He resisted swallowing the food that didn’t seem like food, but the Divine Power of the Low-Grade Celestial made it impossible.
Woooong-
Gurgle- Gurgle-
"Kuhk..."
"Ha… Do not resist so tiresomely. You yourself already know you cannot die even if you want to, don’t you?"
The characters of Divine Power filling the room forcibly extended his life, who was now devoid of any strength.
A faint trace of Celestial blood in his veins was forcefully infused with Divine Power. It was a Divine Spell that clung to his life, powered by the force from the altar.
The Celestials prattled on about blessings and such, but to him, it was merely a curse that prevented him from dying.
Ah… O’ God.
Are you merely watching their atrocities with folded arms?
Despair filled his unfocused eyes.
He couldn't even hate his own kind since his mother was also a Celestial.
It was all the more so as he knew his mother's intentions, who had advocated for coexistence and harmony until her death.
He could only lament the misdeeds committed by the Celestials.
Rather, it was his own powerlessness to stop their evil deeds that shattered his heart.
The Celestials, called Apostles of God.
Humanity had revered the Celestials, never sparing their loyalty. Humans, who had been the spearhead and sword of the Celestials, had slaughtered minions of the Demon Race and other species.
He had taken up arms against humanity to stop the meaningless slaughter of these species, but there was a reason he came to be known as the Hero of Humanity.
When the Celestials turned their blades on humanity following the Day of Salvation they had always proclaimed would come after the defeat of the other species…
He grasped his sword anew for the few remaining humans and other species.
Life was correct by its mere existence.
Knowing the weight of life well, he had aimed his sword at the Celestials.
However, he could not oppose the Celestials alone, who had grown strong by consuming half of humanity and the other species.
Deep in such thoughts and filled with regret, he was snapped back to reality by the voice of the Low-Grade Celestial.
"Ah, do you perhaps remember that time? Even your noisy mouth was quiet then."
"Re…pent. Salvation... will not... discriminate… among you..."
Grin-
The corners of the Low-Grade Celestial's mouth stretched into a chilling smile.
“….”
At that smile, the Final Hero, a half-breed of Celestial and human, shivered.
For the sake of interrogation, this fiend had brought one of his acquaintances at a time, torturing them in front of him before brutally killing them.
-Honey, I'm okay. In the next life, together we.... freewebnoveℓ.com
-KYAHHHHH!
His wife, who had stayed by his side whether he opposed humanity or fought against the Celestials.
-Stay… strong. Do not… break down.
-KEUAAAAAH!
A beastkin who had lost his parents to humans, yet had joined him in his belief in harmony and peace.
-KEUHAAAK!
-You're different from those bastards! So do not blame yours…
-Cough.
Everyone he had even the slightest connection to had died before his eyes.
The screams were still vivid in his ears.
"Be thankful. The reason we go through the trouble of keeping you alive is because of the 'Stairway to Heaven'."
As expected... Was that the case?
The Hero had connected to something through the letters that appeared before his eyes just as he was about to be killed by the Celestials, thus allowing him to preserve his life.
However, he couldn't be grateful, as his circumstances were nothing more than being a ‘test specimen’ who had been ‘captured alive’.
Trapped in the Spire and subjected to various experiments, he had not been able to end his life. He couldn't because of the curse known as the Celestial Blessing.
While subjected to the Celestials' experiments and torture, he was unable to even understand what was being done to him; he wondered if he should have died back then.
It was his eternal regret, an agony that still remained unresolved.
If he had died back then, he at least wouldn't have had to witness such a sight. He might have closed his eyes in eternal sleep, unaware of the devil-like ugliness of the Celestials, more demonic than Devils themselves.
Their behavior, who even went as far as to mock death, was truly heart-breaking.
"Still, thanks to you, we have found clues about the Upper World, so I shall let you off today."
Usually, after being forced to eat, he would undergo interrogation accompanied by torture.
"God... Almighty."
He spoke of God, but his heart no longer stirred. It was because he knew now.
That there was no salvation in this world.
A dark, sticky emotion, like a melting pot, surged from deep within his chest.
Salvation?
What is salvation?
Life?
He didn’t need it.
Why remain in a world where everyone but the corrupt Celestials has perished? What can one do alone in a world with nothing left to protect?
It was no longer a world where one could live with their sanity intact.
No. I would rather...
He felt his wits flickering with instability.
After a long period of harsh torture and experimentation, he had become utterly wretched.
Perhaps deep within, he actually wished for an existence that could tear off their wings and rip them apart.
This miserable world, left with only the Celestials.
I would rather... He might have been unwittingly hoping for it.
Something then caught his blurred vision.
Even through his hazy sight, he could see the color of the clouds beginning to change.
What… is that...? It was an indescribable, bizarre sight.
A sphere? No, an explosion?
Could this be what it looks like when the sun explodes?
From the top of the White Tower where he was, a powerful light began, stretching to the horizon and covering the sky. The sky, tinged red, began to ripple and twist.
Ah, ah...!
Soon, the sky, filled with a swarm of light, began to crack, and 'that' began.
He closed his eyes and prayed.
Repent.
Salvation does not discriminate among you.
True salvation shall descend if there is not a speck of shame.
If one does not recognize their own falsehood and folly, then the flames of judgment, illuminating ugliness through the truth, will come.
He did not cease his prayer.
The terrible death cries of the Celestials resounded. Screams filled with terror and astonishment spread like a hymn.
The world was crumbling.
And around that time…A colossal entity noticed the turmoil among the Celestials and unleashed its fury, shaking the heavens.
And on the Integrated Dimensional Community, an announcement from the Oradge was /genesisforsaken