Chapter 15: The Devil Wears a Bracelet

“This vile aura! It could only be you!”

A woman’s voice emanated from the bracelet.

It sounded oddly familiar.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten the great Lucifer?”

Lucifer?

Bisus recalled the image of the great demon Lucifer from his dream.

That Lucifer?

“Are you pretending not to know me?!”

“Are you… really Lucifer?”

In Eclipse, the bracelet sealing the great demon Lucifer appeared, but its true nature and mysteries were never fully resolved.

The novel never even clarified whether Lucifer was male or female…

Could the events in my dream… actually have happened?

“…Huh? Bisus, did you hit your head or something? This disgusting holy power could only be yours. Why are you acting so dumb?”

It’s certain.

That voice.

The demon I faced in the dream.

The great demon Lucifer.

It wasn’t just a random dream.

…Were Artoria and I really angels in a past life?

“Lucifer, I have a question for you.”

“A question?”

“Yes. How did you end up sealed in here? I want to know the reason.”

“…Hah. You’ve really gone weird. No way.”

“No way?”

“Why should I satisfy your curiosity? What’s so special about you?”

“…I see.”

Bisus paused to gather his thoughts.

“Fine, I suppose I could tell you if you knelt and swore to be my eternal servant, licking my feet.”

She’s probably just testing me.

Despite sounding like a typical girl, she’s the great demon commanding countless fiends.

She wouldn’t give a straight answer even if I did that.

In that case…

“It must be hard to talk about your pathetic defeat.”

“…What did you say?”

“You overestimated your strength, challenged me one-on-one, and got crushed without landing a hit. Am I wrong?”

“You and your big mouth…”

The playful tone in Lucifer’s voice turned to anger.

Yes.

Nothing works better than provocation.

“If you hadn’t hidden that domain so cowardly, it wouldn’t have happened! If I hadn’t fallen for your trap, I would’ve won!”

Bisus focused on Lucifer’s outburst.

Domain. Trap.

It all matched the scene from his dream.

If that dream was real, then in a battle between angels and demons, I must have turned the tide in the angels’ favor.

To stop me, Lucifer, the demons’ commander, came alone to assassinate me, only to fall into my trap.

Since sealing her alone would’ve allowed her to escape, I trapped myself in the domain with her.

It became a contest of whose reinforcements would arrive first, but the angels got there before the demons, and Lucifer was sealed alone.

That’s how it went, right?

“Hmph. You just got lucky that those pigeon girls arrived first. If my minions had gotten there, you’d be the one sealed here!”

Lucifer grumbled, clearly frustrated.

It’s really her.

“Foolish.”

“…What!”

“It was my domain, set up in advance. Of course I arranged for reinforcements.”

“…Grr!”

Isn’t that obvious?

If I planned to trap us both, I’d have told the other angels to come help.

Betting on whose reinforcements would arrive first? That’s absurd.

Lucifer might be dumber than I thought.

The Lucifer from the dream, wielding a demonic sword, was terrifying, radiating overwhelming demonic energy that made his heart race.

But now, sealed in the bracelet and unable to do anything despite her anger, she seemed almost… cute.

“Tch. I thought you’d lost your memories and got my hopes up! Were you pretending to trick me?”

I didn’t mean to trick her.

It just happened while trying to confirm things.

More importantly…

Recalling the warm sensation from earlier, Bisus channeled holy power again.

A radiant light burst from his hand.

“Ugh, that disgusting light! Turn it off!”

It’s certain.

This is holy power.

I can wield it now.

Bisus grinned, clenching his fist.

Holy power, attainable only by those who dedicate themselves to a god through years of training and divine selection.

Ordinary people, not priests or paladins, couldn’t use it.

Though rare, its ability to purify evil and heal made it more coveted than mana.

To think I can use it.

With Artoria, the continent’s greatest holy power user, around, he didn’t need healing abilities, but the fact he could wield holy power filled him with excitement.

And it was clear now: Each dream grants me the powers I had in it.

These dreams must be tied to the heroines.

If I have another dream, could I gain more of those powers?

If I fully inherit the Archangel’s strength, survival would be a breeze.

“You brought me here to mock me, didn’t you!”

She’s loud.

Clang

“Argh!”

As Bisus bathed the bracelet in holy power, Lucifer fell silent.

The bracelet was temporarily purified, putting her to sleep.

…This could get addictive.

Bisus’s steps toward the academy were light.

Despite the many eyes on him due to his growing fame, unlike yesterday, he didn’t care.

Who am I?

A holy power wielder.

A hero descended from an Archangel.

No wonder they say status shapes a person.

Gaining holy power and realizing he could grow stronger through dreams made him so exhilarated that the passing academy students’ stares didn’t faze him.

“My lord husband!”

On his way to the academy, Artoria spotted him from afar and waved enthusiastically.

Oops!
Realizing her slip, she covered her mouth.

As a saintess, she usually called him Bisus in public to maintain her dignity, but the term “lord husband” slipped out.

“Good morning, Bisus,” Sofia said with a light smile beside her.

Their greetings sent the hearts of passing male students racing, though Bisus was oblivious to it.

I thought they didn’t get along… but they’re waiting together?

Did yesterday’s events bring them closer?

Unbeknownst to him, Artoria and Sofia had made a pact to wait for him at a designated spot, each wary of letting the other get too close to him alone.

“Oh? Bisus-nim, you seem…”

Sensitive to holy power, Artoria noticed a change in him.

“Did you… have a dream?!”

Clasping her hands, she exclaimed, thrilled at the thought that he might have dreamed of their shared past.

Finally!

If Bisus-nim saw the sweet love story we shared, he wouldn’t even glance at that barbaric woman!

Sofia, on the other hand, grew anxious.

A dream tied to her?

Knowing Artoria had also shared a past life with Bisus, she found the situation far from pleasing.

Bisus will come to me eventually, but this is annoying.

“So, what was the dream about?”

“Well, in the dream…”

Just as Bisus began to speak,

Creak

A sleek but not overly ornate carriage sped toward them and stopped nearby.

A carriage?

What’s this?

“Why…?”

Sofia’s eyes trembled violently.

She hadn’t imagined her father could be this much of a doting parent.

Knights set up a staircase by the carriage door.

It opened, revealing a middle-aged man with an impressive mustache.

“Are you doing well, Sofia?”

He twirled his mustache as he addressed her.

“Why is Father here?”

Father?

Everyone around was stunned.

Sofia’s father could only be one person—the president of the republic.

“I have something to check on.”

Adolf, Sofia’s father and the republic’s president, turned to Bisus.

Shiver

A chill ran down Bisus’s spine.