Alluring Secret : Black Vow

Chapter 1 : Part 1 : Apple

Chapter 1, Part 1 - Apple

Gran Dios Temple, during the Round Table. The sacred place of oracle, closest to God.

The neatly-kept young man, with deep wrinkles formed between his eyebrows, was tapping his fingertips against the table in a repetitive, displeased way.

The archangel meeting that had started a while ago, continued to follow a perfectly parallel line without proceeding at all. Growing tired of feeling that there was no end in sight, he stood up from his seat with a clunk.

"What is it, Archangel Kaito?" Casually asked the old man sitting in a remarkably regal chair at the other end of table. The man called Kaito answered without hiding his irritation.

"I've grown bored of this discussion that hasn't progressed at all since earlier. I have other things to attend to, so please don't mind me and continue."

After he'd risen from his seat and said this, a young man with long hair in the adjacent seat tried to calm him.

"Now now, the meeting has only just begun, Lord Kaito, so won't you stay with us a while long longer? There's still time before the three o'clock tea."

With a benevolent face and a gentle smile, the man who had rebuked Kaito, named Gaku, looked up at the giant clock engraved in the ceiling of the temple. The time was two o'clock. There still remained one hour until his important "tea time."

Being unsuited for the orderly meeting, and after being remonstrated by the leisurely Gaku, Kaito sighed and sat down in his seat once more.

Today's topic of discussion was the situation of the prolonged war in Heaven.

The Great War of Heaven——

From now, it dated back about five thousand years. When the conflict between angels and demons intensified, there was a fierce battle where roughly half of Heaven was lost. The angels that guarded Heaven were reduced by more than half, and the half of the sacred paradise that was lost fell to the ground. The surviving angels desperately tried to nurture the source of all life, the "Tree of Life," costing the energy from the circulation of lost souls. Since then, the main battlefield for the battle between angels and demons was moved to the human world, and still continued today. The faith in God from humans serves as the power that supports the entire "world" consisting of Heaven and the human world. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this power, known as "divine power," is what forms the world.

On the other hand, the world's hatred— negative sentiments born from obsolete, empty hearts, becomes the source of "dark power" for demons, and amplifies the power of the Devil, who rules over the demons.

Heaven and Hell seek to expand each of their own forces by controlling such emotions and actions of humans, all in order to prepare for the next direct confrontation, like that of the previous Great War, that would one day come.

Roughly speaking, angels are entrusted with three tasks.

Supporting the circulation of life of the people living in the human world in various ways is Raphael (angels of divine protection).

Caring for the "Tree of Life" that is the source of all life, Gabriel (angels of circulation).

And finally, fighting the demons that oppose Heaven, Michael (the army).

Within these three duties, one is given as a mission. For them, this "mission" is a duty, but also their "life."

The archangel Kaito, also, left a glorious military record in the battle against demons, and for the sake of that destiny, continued to fight as one of Michael's angels.