Chapter 29: Angel is back

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Angel is back

How long had it been since Angel was last seen in public?

Everyone in the capital thought Angel was too afraid and ashamed to show his face. But that was entirely wrong.

You see. To break through each Wave doesn’t only require Mana Points.

Yes, it requires Mana Points, but it also requires .....recognition. Especially Powerful Waves. From the Third Wave upward, each Wave requires its own unique sacrifice before it is actually opened

The System will ask for something in return for what you want.

Angel took the holy step. And now he is right at the door of the *Sixth Wave*. A Wave that has never been reached in human history.

Right now, Angel is just walking on the holy steps.

But before it does, Angel has been living a calm and quiet life.

A guy with white silk hair, in casual clothes with a cap on his head, could be seen in a mall shopping. Beside him was his wife, with a little kid in her arms. And a big belly. She was pregnant.

That was the enigmatic Angel, living a normal life.

She was talking to him while he laughed and made gestures of surprise at her words.

When they reached the counter, the worker couldn’t help but smile at them with pure admiration.

"You guys... seem like such a lovely family," she said sweetly.

"Thank you, dear." Tabitha held onto Angel sweetly as well.

The entire moment seemed perfect. Everything was...

BOOOOM!!!

A sudden explosion made everyone fall to the ground. Glass shattered. People screamed and dropped in an instant.

In the smoke and rubble, a guy with a mask walked out with a rocket launcher on his shoulder.

"Y’all better calm down in here. I don’t want to kill tonight," the guy said as he slowly walked toward the counter.

Angel pulled his wife down. They both bent low like every other civilian.

When he reached the counter, he dropped a bag on the table.

"Load this up."

The girl behind the counter was shaking. Frozen stiff with fear.

"NOW!!"

That shout snapped her out of it. She began frantically stuffing money into the bag.

Jerry, Angel’s little son, stood up and kicked Calamity’s leg. An act that shocked everyone watching in the store.

Calamity looked down at the boy and smiled beneath his mask.

"I like you. You’re feisty."

"My dad will beat you!" said Jerry, with not an ounce of fear.

The cashier and the people in the store started shushing Jerry.

"I’m sorry, sir... it seems we don’t teach our children manners," Tabitha said as she tried to grab Jerry and drag him back. But the Calamity stopped her with his hand.

"Who’s your dad, kid?"

"My dad is the strongest hero there is."

Angel was also lying down with his hands behind his back. On any other day he would have crushed this Calamity.

But what was worse was that after touching the Deified steps, he lost all his powers. He barely had his First Wave.

And this Calamity he was facing had to have at least unlocked his Fourth Wave.

*Guner*. That was his name. And he was no weakling. Everyone in the Capital knew him as one of the most resilient calamities there is.

"Oh yeah? What’s his hero name?" asked Guner.

"His hero’s name is Angel!"

The entire store gasped. The boy was going to lose his life, they thought.

"Oh really?" Guner turned fully and faced Jerry.

"Let’s see if he comes and saves you now."

Guner raised his long, huge gun and pointed it at Jerry’s face.

The gun itself was bigger than Jerry. With a single shot he’d shatter the boy to pieces.

"NO!!" Tabitha grabbed the barrel of the gun. An act which surprised the Guner even more.

"Please, sir. He’s just a kid..."

"He inherited his fearless yet foolish attitude from you I see"

With his other hand, Guner pulled out a second gun and pointed it at her head.

One gun on Jerry. The other on Tabitha’s head.

"No! Stop!"

The girl behind the counter jumped at Guner. She was a weak, frail sixteen-year-old girl, but that didn’t stop her. She thrashed and slapped Guner on the head.

"You crazy-ass bitch," Guner said.

The guns in his hands vanished. Then he grabbed the counter girl by the head and slammed her into the store shelves.

The girl moaned in pain. But before she could react.Guner placed both guns to her head.

"Die."

*BANG!!*

Her head shattered like a smashed tomato. Blood and brains rained across the store.

When Tabitha saw it, she closed Jerry’s eyes and started moving backward with him. Inch by inch. Praying Guner wouldn’t turn and face them.

She also knew Angel couldn’t beat Guner. Not like this. Not while he’s ascending the holy Steps

She desperately suppressed the urge to scream and cry.

The same couldn’t be said for the people in the store.

Most of the women fainted instantly at the sight of blood. The men started screaming. Others were vomiting and crying violently.

Tears prickled down poor Jerry’s cheeks. His eyes were wide open. Was it fear? Was it shock?

No one knew. And no one had the time to think about it now.

Guner, without even turning around, chuckled lightly.

"Who are you, woman? The sight of blood doesn’t scare you at all, huh?"

Tabitha turned her head and glanced at Angel. He was completely quiet, but he gestured for her to walk out slowly through the back door. Quietly.

"But sadly, you’re not getting away from me."

The instant he turned, he did so with both guns aimed directly at Tabitha.

She turned and bolted for the door. The entire moment slowed down, like time had frozen.

He smiled slowly, then fired.

The bullet flew toward her, slow and inevitable.

At the most critical, breath-taking moment, Angel stood up.

His wings tore out of his back in an instant.

His clothes ripped.

Feathers plucked from his wings and gathered in his palm. Twelve of them, twirling in the middle of his hand.

He threw them at the incoming bullet.

*BANG!!*

The collision sent shockwaves that made the shelves collapse. Every single one.

When the dust cleared, Angel stood in front of Guner, radiating with that holy aura again.

But that didn’t frighten Guner at all. In fact, it made him happy.

A wide, unsettling smile spread across his face, and he said:

"ANGEL!!!"

"Guner. You dare touch my family!!"