Debuff Master-Chapter 1060

Chapter 1060
‘
To think that Master will test me personally... I will have to prepare for it,’
Siegfried thought. He resolved to put his all on the line to overcome the wall.
Deus had emphasized the importance of his preparation for the test, so Siegfried decided to take it seriously. Of course, the test would be taking place a few months later once Siegfried was finally Level 449.
”But what kind of test will it be, Master?” Siegfried asked.
”Who knows? Even I have no idea what your test will be,” Deus replied nonchalantly.
“H
-Huh?
Pardon me, master?”
”Why should I bother thinking about it now when I can just think about it later?”
”
Hahaha... Haha...”
Siegfried laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head in response. Then, he thought,
‘Yeah, he has a point. There’s no reason for him to think about it now.’
Deus was the most powerful being in the Middle Realm, so coming up with a test for Siegfried was a piece of cake for someone as omnipotent and omniscient as him.
In fact, he could come up with a test on the spot, and that test, created on a whim, would prove to be the most difficult trial Siegfried had ever faced in his entire life.
“Why are you so curious? Do you want to have a taste of it now?” Deus asked with a smirk.
”N-No, sir!” Siegfried exclaimed in response, sounding like a scared private responding to a mischievous drill sergeant.
He was a Master, the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal, and an emperor, but he was still nothing but a foolish disciple in Deus’ eyes.
”
Tsk...
That’s too bad.” Deus clicked his tongue in disappointment. Then, he grumbled, “I wanted to see how tough you kids these days are. Such a shame...”
”I-I will gladly do it later on, Master!” Siegfried exclaimed at the top of his lungs.
”As you wish,” Deus said dismissively. Then, he asked, “So then, what kind of teachings do you want from me?”
”The former Chief Archangel, Michael, is currently fighting for his life after getting struck by the Scythe of Repose.”
”What’s this Scythe of Repose you speak of?”
”That is a weapon used by—“
The Demon King, Baal, interrupted, ”The Scythe of Repose is a weapon used by one of the Archangels and...”
Baal was the Demon King, so there was nobody more well-versed with the affairs of the Celestial Realm than him. In other words, he could explain things far better than Siegfried could.
”I wasn’t aware that such a weapon actually exists,” Deus said after hearing the details from Baal.
He waved his hands and—
Whoosh!
—
A bed suddenly appeared out of thin air, and Michael was on it.
With just a single wave of his hand, Deus had summoned Michael along with his bed.
”Hmm... It seems his soul is trying to separate from his body,” Deus muttered while observing Michael. Then, he added, “He’s the former Chief Archangel, so he’s hanging on somehow. But he will only last a wing further. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“What can I do to help him, Master?” Siegfried asked.
”Nothing too difficult. All you have to do is find another one of his wings, and he will get up in no time.”
”Thank you very much, Master,” Siegfried said, bowing low to the ground in gratitude.
“
Bah!
Why are you thanking me for telling you something so obvious?” Deus balked in response.
”Not at all, Master! As expected, your wisdom is as vast as the oceans!”
”Good that you know!
Kekeke!”
While Deus was cackling in delight after getting buttered by his disciple...
”
Tsk...
That guy is too soft for his own good. He hasn’t changed one bit since the beginning of time. That stupid kindness of his has only made others take advantage of him,” Vulcanus clicked his tongue and grumbled.
The First Red Dragon had existed since the beginning of time, so it was inevitable that he would be acquainted with the Chief Archangel of that time, Michael.
”
Sigh...
How did you end up like that, Chief Archangel?” Baal let out a long sigh.
As the Demon King, he, too, was bound to be acquainted with Michael.
He couldn’t help but pity the one who once ruled as the Chief Archangel of the Celestial Realm and struck fear into the hearts of all demons.
The former Chief Archangel was branded a traitor by his own brothers and sisters, losing all of his wings and falling from grace. As if that was not enough, he was now fighting for his life after getting attacked by one of his own brethren.
‘
Just hang in there, Michael. I’ll save you,’
Siegfried swore as he turned on his heel.
His priority now was to find another one of Michael’s wings in order to save his life. After all, he had to find Michael’s wings to clear the quest, and he would gain five levels every time he found one wing, so he was technically not wasting his time.
***
The Holy Alliance lost control over Zerachiel, turning him into an archangel on the loose.
After failing to eliminate Michael, Zerachiel went to the other cities of the Marchioni Empire located near Angela. Then, he killed every single living creature. He slaughtered them mercilessly to turn them all into wraiths.
In other words, the descent of the Archangel of Death didn't affect the war between the Holy Alliance and the Allied Forces, aside from the massacres occurring in the Marchioni Empire’s territory.
“Instruct our forces to focus on defending for now. It will be difficult to continue with this war when it’s snowing so heavily. If anything happens, tell them to look for Captain Hansen.”
The continent was experiencing the worst blizzard and snowfall in a hundred years, so Siegfried decided to stop waging war for now. This lull in the war gave him some time to search for Michael’s wings while coming up with a way to get rid of Zerachiel.
After giving his instructions to his commanding officers, he immediately went to contact Shakiro.
— I was starting to wonder about what happened to him.
Shakiro was on a journey with Michael in search of the missing wings, and he was bewildered by Michael's sudden disappearance.
”What happened to him was...” Siegfried proceeded to explain everything that happened.
— I see... So something like that happened...
”That is why we have to find at least one wing as soon as possible.”
— I just happened to find a clue on a wing’s whereabouts.
”Really?”
— Yes, I think this is a solid lead.
”I will be there right away. Please tell me your coordinates,” Siegfried said, intending to move right away.
— Okay.
Shakiro immediately shared the coordinates with Siegfried.
”I will leave immediately.”
— Good. I will be waiting.
Siegfried rushed over to a warp gate and warped to where Shakiro was. He was alone this time, as Hamchi was currently exhausted after transforming into his true form and required around a week’s worth of rest.
Shakiro was waiting for him at a small coastal village in the eastern region of the continent. Despite being located within the territory of the Holy Alliance, it did not seem to be particularly dangerous for them.
No, it was in fact quite peaceful. This village was so rural that it was a million light years away from whatever was happening on the continent.
In fact, this village even had one of Siegfried’s statues, yet nobody bothered to come all the way here to bring it down.
”Hello, Master,” Siegfried greeted Shakiro. Then, he immediately cut to the chase, “Where is the wing?”
”I am not certain.”
”
Huh?
”
”Michael left while we were searching this village. According to him, his wing is somewhere around here.”
”
Ah...
Does that mean we will have to search this whole place to find it?”
”I believe that is the case. But I’ve been searching for two days now, yet I haven’t found anything that remotely resembles a wing. I really hope that it didn't move somewhere else.”
”That would be quite a headache if it did...”
Siegfried activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and scanned the entire village. The village was so small that its entirety fit right into Siegfried’s mini-map, but...
‘
I don’t see anything that particularly stands out...’
he thought while checking the mini-map. He looked over and over but couldn’t find anything that resembled a wing. As a matter of fact, nothing in this small coastal fishing village stood out at all.
The NPCs going about their day were all ordinary people, and not a single one of them exceeded Level 10.
The only thing that was particularly interesting was the fact that the village’s chief was having an affair with the wife of his next-door neighbor, Mr. Bob, in the storage shed.
Siegfried shook his head in disgust after seeing how even the chief of such a small village was using his authority to philander around.
”I do not see anything out of the ordinary here, too,” Siegfried said after scanning the mini-map.
”It was the same for me. I searched high and low, but I couldn’t find anything,” Shakiro replied.
“This is a problem...” Siegfried muttered under his breath, a shadow casting over his face.
Michael was the only one capable of sensing his wings, so they couldn't make any progress without him.
’
What should I do? Should I ask for help from Cheon Woo-Jin?’
Siegfried wondered.
However, he realized just how absurd it was to use a "satellite' to search for a single wing, so he quickly abandoned all thoughts of it.
”I guess we have no choice but to roam around this place,” Siegfried said.
”Let’s do that,” Shakiro agreed.
In the end, both Siegfried and Shakiro decided to roam around the village in hopes of finding any clue, or perhaps anything that was out of the ordinary.
***
Around two hours later...
”I did not find anything,” Siegfried said, shaking his head.
“Yes, I don’t think there’s anything here,” Shakiro agreed.
Both of them were walking along a dock that reeked of the stench of fish.
Siegfried even used Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to search thoroughly, but he couldn’t find anything.
”I think we should go search the neighboring villages too,” Shakiro said.
”Yes, I agree, Master,” Siegfried replied with a nod.
Both of them decided to leave the village and search elsewhere. They had searched for nearly two hours, yet all they found were a handful of seagull feathers.
Just as they were about to leave the village...
“
Ugh...”
Siegfried grimaced and groaned after seeing a light glaring straight at his face.
The light was the same as someone’s watch reflecting light against a person’s face.
’
Where is that coming from?’
Siegfried looked around to check if any mirrors, glass, or objects were reflecting light at them. Then, he found something far off in the sea, sparkling brightly.
‘Is it some sort of sea creature’s crap or wreckage?’
he wondered before looking away, disinterested.
Just as he was about to walk away, Shakiro stopped and looked at the object floating in the distance.
”Wait, Siegfried,” he said.
”Yes, Master?”
”I think I found it.”
”Found what...?”
”Over there,” Shakiro said, pointing into the horizon. Then, he added, “I think I found Michael’s wing.”
“
Eh?
Really?” Siegfried muttered. Then, he squinted his eyes and tried to look at the sparkling object.
“A-A whale?!”
Siegfried was shocked to see a single shining wing sticking out from the back of a sperm whale.
Who would have thought that Michael’s wing would get stuck in such a place?
“Does that mean... we have to go whale hunting?” Siegfried muttered.
“It looks like it,” Shakiro replied with a nod.
“I haven’t had my whale done yet...”
“
Hm?
What do you mean by that?”
Shakiro was an NPC, so there was no way he would know what
having his whale done
would mean.[1]
“
Haha!
I was just talking to myself. Please ignore me,” Siegfried said with a chuckle. Then, he spread out his wings and soared into the sky, “I will go hunt that whale.”
“I’ll go with you,” Shakiro replied, summoning an aura blade and riding on it.
Siegfried was thrilled at the fact that they easily found one of the wings.
‘
Just hang in there a bit. I’ll bring you your wing, Michael,’
he thought confidently.
After all, it couldn't be that hard to deal with a single whale, could it be?
1. Having his whale done/caught in Korea means getting circumcised. ☜