Aɳɠҽʅιƈ Hυɳƚɾҽʂʂ σϝ Bʅσσԃ αɳԃ Sƚҽҽʅ

Chapter 32: When does a Man become a Monster~

[Heaven]

[God's Heavenly Palace]

[Seven Years Ago]

She had done it...

After what seemed like decades of training under the merciless Warbringer, Maria has finally realized her technique.

An impressive milestone, to say the least. But Maria is far from done.

To unlock her full potential, she will need to discover it. The pinnacle of magic, a singular spell that determines one's worth in this world of strength...

Domain Expansion.

And Maria knows only one person who can give her the answer she needs...

The Archangel of the Swift Hunt finds her target quickly. Walking through the halls of the holy palace, she enters a massive room dedicated solely to housing the collection of text and literature Heaven has in its possession.

From the realm's extensive and ever-growing history to the in-depth description of magic spells and techniques, this library has it all. But it doesn't have what she's looking for, nor the person in question.

Maria soon sees him. Located in a nearby room inside the library, he tinkers away at a stock-filled workbench. Filled to the brim with books and glass beakers of unknown liquids, its contents leave the young woman internally grimacing at the sheer volume of it all.

But that isn't what unnerves Maria...

That would be the man before her. His back turned to her, unaware of Maria's presence. Or is he? Wearing dark religious robes that appear similar to a monk's, his long raven-like hair falls down past his shoulder-blades. Where his six Seraphim wings would be, had they been unfurled.

Currently working on an operating table, the man is elbow-deep in a bloody eldritch corpse. Its bluish alien skin is cold and slimy, a horrible squelching sound every time he shifts his hands.

Maria watches as he removes half of a brain from its exposed skull. And with careful precision, he reapplies it to his own head. Pulling the threads that hold his head loose, he removes the top half of his head. Twisting it off as if it were a jar of pickles and adding it to his own brain, which she notices is already split evenly in half.

'That's not the corpse's brain,' Maria stares in disbelief, watching the man conduct his own surgery like he's done countless times before. 'It's his own...'

Joining both pieces together, he casts [Reverse Cursed Technique]. Sealing his brain back together before facing the Archangel in his doorway.

"Hm?" The man hums in greeting. "Yes, girl?"

"Excuse me, my Lord, for the intrusion." Maria bows in greeting. "But I've come by the order of my father, to ask you about the method of [Domain Expansion]."

"Learn [Domain Expansion]?" The robed monk repeats, turning to her with an amused grin on his face. "Hahaha! Humans never cease to amaze me!"

Both the mouth on his face and the one on his brain break out in laughter. Finding the Archangel's request utterly hilarious. And reminding Maria instantly why she loathed conversing with him in the first place.

Similar to her father, he believes that humans are nothing but garbage. Beings unworthy of his respect. But unlike Michael, he still sees Maria for her mortal origins. Regardless of her ascension to Archangel.

Thus, making every interaction they've had either offensive and condescending or strictly to the point. Such is the case for someone who sees the world strictly through strength.