The news reached Hyun-Ah almost immediately that a mad angel had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caused a massive uproar.

“Going right away?” Hyun-Ah asked Davey.

“I have to. I need to capture that bastard alive.” That way, Davey could figure out exactly what it was.

However.

“You shouldn’t go in right now,” she suggested.

“What?”

“It’s another country’s territory. You shouldn’t step in until they ask for help.”

Chris backed her up. “I agree with that.”

Like they pointed out, there wasn’t any real international agreement in place. The deal they’d made to fight against terrorist groups was only temporary, on a group-by-group basis.

In other words, he couldn’t just barge into another country and turn things upside down whenever he wanted.

“You think so? You think they’ll change their stance with me now?”

“Well, think about it. They might not say anything because of everything you’ve done in the past, but if it were any other country, it wouldn’t be strange if a war broke out right away, you know?”

According to Willow, the mad angel that showed up was far too strong for ordinary Awakened individuals to handle.

They still didn’t know why something that strong existed inside an Awakened, or why it could only use that much power, but one thing was clear. Once freed from an Awakened individual, the mad angel was practically a humanoid typhoon.

Of course, that only applied in the ordinary cases.

“Huh? Is that true? Got it.”

After finishing another call, Hyun-Ah muttered in disbelief, “Davey... the Gourmet Research Society...”

“Yeah? What about them?”

“The monster showed up in the middle of their punishment. Some kind of unknown howling knocked everyone inside unconscious, so it looks like they’re fighting against it.”

“What about the French Awakened fighters?” he asked.

“They say some weird barrier is blocking them from getting inside.”

That changed things.

Once he stood up, Perserque quietly grabbed his hand. “You’re going to go? You know that’ll be illegal entry, right?”

“Thankfully, the French government is pretty friendly toward me.”

“Alright, Mr. Worldwide.”

Crack!!

He tore open a rift, and Chris abruptly stood up. “I won’t interfere, but do you mind if I come along to see it myself?”

“Hm?” Davey certainly hadn't expected that.

“Well, that monster can show up on our side too, so I’d like to see how strong it is firsthand.”

Davey thought for a moment, then nodded. He figured that making Chris owe him a favor wouldn’t hurt.

On top of that, having him around could help avoid unnecessary casualties.

“Suit yourself.”

“Haha. You really are a good person.”

“Hey Davey,” Hyun-Ah said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“Make sure to stay safe.”

“Yeah.”

He tore open a rift made of divine power and leapt through space. Since he’d recently been to the Eiffel Tower to hang up the Gourmet Research Society, getting there wasn’t difficult.

“What the hell...?” Once they arrived, Chris tensed at the thick purple fog filling the area. “The air’s incredibly heavy...”

Even if the enemy showed up right now, they wouldn’t be able to interfere. Of course, since the Gourmet Research Society was already caught up in it, it probably wouldn't matter as much for them to hop in too.

Boom!! Boom!!

A massive crash echoed from afar, and something came skidding toward him with a sharp screech.

“Master Davey, Rinne evaluates the opponent’s capability as considerable.”

“How so?”

Rinne, who had been pushed across the ground, paused to think. “Rinne reports extreme regenerative ability.”

That was something he had already heard. “Hold out. Even if we don’t interfere directly, we can’t let people get hurt.”

“Command accepted.”

“Don’t kill it. Leave it alive. I’m capturing that thing.”

“Confirmed.” Rinne shot up and flapped her wings once. A spear of light appeared, and she vanished back into the purple fog.

Boom!! Boom!!

“Oh my! Gracious Savior, you’re here?” Soon after, Yuria appeared from the fog with several earth spirits.

“Hmm. I’m starting to think that monster might not be that dangerous,” Chris muttered awkwardly at her calm demeanor, but judging by the cold sweat on his face, everyone could tell he wasn’t being serious.

“No, seriously, how can you be so relaxed in a situation like this?”

“Relaxed? No way. I’m so scared that my hands are shaking. Can’t you see?”

‘Yeah, right.’

Casually using the earth spirits to set down the unconscious people, Yuria turned to Davey. “Gracious Savior, Marky said we need to capture it alive.”

“Good call.”

“Right? Then that means we get credit, doesn’t it?”

‘This sly bitch...’

“...Fine. I’ll take it into consideration,” he relented.

“Nice. Then I’ll join in too.” She disappeared back into the fog.

Chris stared blankly into the fog for a moment. “Ummm. I don’t mean anything by this, but Tionis, no, Heins Territory... Did you just gather a bunch of monsters over there to be citizens?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Davey calmly replied before waving his hand, forcing the purple fog to start clearing.

However, it didn’t clear completely. Only certain parts of it faded, leaving the outer area still thick with dense purple fog, like a donut.

Nonetheless, he could see what was inside.

He spotted a massive dome-shaped barrier. Countless people lay collapsed on the ground within. Marky and Rinne were still busy luring the monster away and holding it off so it wouldn’t harm the countless innocents.

Off to one side, Yuria stood cheering, holding balloons she’d pulled from who knows where.

The mad angel’s attacks were dangerous, but if all they had to do was hold out, it seemed like they thought Rinne and Marky would be enough.

Or perhaps, unlike the one Evangeline fought before, the one in front of them just wasn’t that strong.

Davey couldn’t tell.

While Rinne continued wearing it down, a sudden impact shook the barrier.

The French Awakened individuals who had entered from outside had started breaking it to get in.

“Doesn’t look easy to enter. Shouldn’t we lend a hand?”

As Davey observed the situation, Perserque raised a hand.

Crack!!!!

At the same time, cracks began spreading across the barrier.

“Hm?”

“For now, breaking the barrier’s the right choice.”

People’s lives were on the line. They couldn’t just stand by and watch forever.

Soon, the barrier shattered, and the purple fog began to spread outward. The monster realized its barrier had been destroyed and grotesquely widened its massive eye again.

“The howling!” Marky shouted urgently, but it was already too late. The mad angel let out a horrifying scream.

“Kiaaa!!!”

At the same time, the purple fog exploded outward like crazy, shaking the air as it slammed into the Awakened fighters rushing in.

“Something’s coming! Get ready!!”

Booom!!!

The high-ranking Awakened individuals tried shouting, having suddenly sensed the danger, but the shockwave had already spread out in a wide circle from the monster.

“Gaaaah!!”

More than half of the Awakened individuals trying to form up collapsed to the ground. Some bled from their ears. Others coughed up blood and dropped unconscious.

It was indeed horrifying.

Mid-level Awakened individuals without enough resistance stood no chance against the enemy’s howling.

However, the strange part was that it didn’t seem to affect those who had already lost consciousness.

“More precisely, it seems to have a stronger effect on Awakened individuals,” Perserque added as she checked on a civilian Yuria had rescued.

Just as she mentioned, a shockwave like that should’ve crushed a normal person’s head without question.

Perhaps because it was even stronger than before, Yuria’s expression began to tighten.

“Ummm. Gracious Savior? I think it’s getting more dangerous.”

If the mad angel had Evangeline dealt with before used disintegration beams, then this one’s hidden move seemed to be that massive howling.

Letting out a huge roar, its wings started moving even faster. Rinne quickly formed dozens of spears of light in the air and drove them into it.

Boom!! Boom boom!!

With massive explosions, the spears pierced its wings and pinned it to the ground.

Yet, they still weren’t able to completely suppress it.

“Damn it! What the hell is this...”

Among the collapsed assault team, the high-ranking Awakened individuals stared at the monster with pale faces.

“Oh... my... God.” 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The monster, thrashing like it had lost its sanity, locked onto them and charged toward them. They couldn’t counterattack. The howling had drained all the strength from their bodies. They tried to ignite flames in a desperate counter, but the power they unleashed was pathetically weak.

Tentacles shot out from the monster’s mouth and wrapped around everyone in the area, including the fallen Awakened individuals.

It then began draining something from them as it roared.

Davey could tell something big was coming.

“Incomplete energy is flowing through it!!” Perserque yelled.

Her warning was simple—it was about to trigger a massive explosion.

At this rate, not just Paris, but the surrounding regions of France would also be wiped out.

“Gaaaah!!!”

There was no way it could produce that much power just by draining the Awakened individuals. In other words, the monster was using their power as a trigger to draw out its true strength.

Vmmm!! Vmmm!!

Right then, someone called Davey’s phone. He smirked and stepped forward. The scenery around him blurred, and he instantly appeared right in front of the monster.

Without hesitation, he swung his hand upward from lower right to upper left, like he was slapping its cheek. A massive amount of divine power flowed into his palm, and he felt his body go through divine manifestation on its own.

As Goddess Freya said—

“Into the Room of Truth.”

Boooom!!!!!!!!

With an enormous roar, the surrounding space shook violently, and both the monster and Davey vanished into the void.

* * *

“Are you alright?” Perserque approached Rinne and Yuria, who were sitting on the ground.

“Rinne is recovering. Requires three minutes.”

“And you, Yuria?”

“I’m fine. But it looks like the spirits are out of power, so I won’t be much use for a while.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself... Still, I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

Yuria giggled, looking like nothing could shake her expression.

Marky, who had been staring at where Davey and the mad angel disappeared, staggered over. “That thing... It's not just its recovery that makes it so difficult to apprehend. The power it has is too bizarre. It’s not about how strong it is.”

“It’s like mismatched gears,” one of them added.

Even though it was the same kind of power, the difference in effect was enormous.

“Ugh. I never want to fight that again.” Marky shivered as she looked around at the unconscious people. “I really don’t want to clash with that again. What the hell was that thing?”

Chris, who was also sitting on the ground, asked nervously, “Hey... I hate to say this, but isn’t the Saint of Tionis facing that thing alone right now? It seems like it’s not something ordinary...”

He was indirectly asking if it was really okay to leave the two alone together, and if anyone else was worried like him.

Perserque gave a faint smile and shook her head. “It’s far too weak to injure Davey.”

“God... damn.”

“Rinne evaluates Chris to be very weak. Rinne evaluates America’s hero lowly.”

“Give me a break! You’re just strong, I’m not weak. More importantly... that thing is way too lethal against Awakened individuals. This isn’t something we can ignore.”

Awakened individuals fought monsters normally all the time. Yet now, they were facing a monster that could truly kill them all.

If the world found out, it’d cause chaos.

However, Chris was too exhausted to think any further, instead opting to just lay flat on the ground.

The howling had clearly affected him too.

It wasn't long before the purple fog cleared, with emergency teams and additional Awakened individuals deployed shortly after. They evacuated the fallen and treated the injured.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Emas, President of France.”

She shook his hand. “I’m Perserque von Rowane.”

“I’m aware that you are the wife of the Saint of Tionis. We couldn’t delay any longer and requested your cooperation. What’s the situation?”

Chris let out a short laugh. “Apparently, he got dragged into the Room of Truth. Not sure what that is, though.”

Craaaack!!!

At that moment, space tore open, and a massive figure fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Everyone stared in silence.

The blood-covered mad angel no longer moved. It barely kept its massive eye open as it gasped.

Space opened above it, and a young man lightly dropped down.

It was Davey.

“According to current Awakened law, the one who captures it owns it, right?”

President Emas stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly spoke, “W-well... perhaps we could conduct joint research with our teams—”

“Come on now. For free? The Gourmet Research Society already helped contain the damage.”

“Ahem. Let’s not be like this, Saint. Let’s keep things friendly.”

“Then let’s settle it another way and do joint research on this. How about it?”

“...Agreed.”

Seeing his smile, Emas’s expression turned bitter, but he carefully asked, “What... is that thing?”

Davey smirked and answered quietly, “A failed angel.”

“An... angel?”

“You can think of it that way.”

Emas seemed focused on the word angel, but Perserque realized he wasn’t telling the truth.

[Davey. Is it not an angel?]

[It’s not something that simple.]

Willow instinctively called it a mad angel, but what he saw was different.

[Then?]

[I need to confirm, but... it’s definitely a higher existence than Reina or the zenoen.]

Something above an angel?

That could only mean—