"What does this mean?"
"Only the kind-hearted may enter the new world?"
"Hey! Lord God, what do you mean by that?"
"Are you saying you'll kill us too?!"
Panic spread as all of humanity gazed in terror at the divine figure standing against the cyan-colored sky.
Amidst the uproar, a priest clutching a Bible did not join the others in shouting. Instead, he calmly recited a hallelujah.
"Barbatos… One of the seventy-two demons summoned by King Solomon, ranked as a Grand Duke. Originally a Seraph who served the Almighty in Heaven, but he succumbed to worldly temptations and fell to Hell, becoming a fallen angel."
"…Ah, I see. I finally understand!"
The priest stared up at the angelic figure of Barbatos, spreading his arms in frenzied worship. His voice drowned out the clamor of those around him.
"O Grand Duke of Hell! Fallen Angel! No… You are the Seraph Barbatos, aren't you?!"
"You mean to purge this sinful world, just as the Great Flood did ten thousand years ago?!"
"Has the Almighty—our great Creator—finally grown weary of humanity's wickedness?!"
The bystanders, hearing the priest's words, began to connect the dots.
The Gastrea Virus had only fully erupted within the past twenty years. In that short time, much of human history and mythology had remained intact—preserved as remnants of civilization's legacy.
"The Great Flood? Isn't that a complete annihilation?!"
"What's happening?! Lord God!"
In both America and Europe, order had been maintained not just by directing public hatred toward the Cursed Children, but also by placing hope in the divine.
In an apocalypse, survival alone was not enough—people also needed spiritual salvation.
"Angel Barbatos!"
"Oh, Almighty God!"
"Is this truly salvation?!"
Those familiar with Christianity recognized the name Barbatos. Now, as the truth became clear, terror consumed them.
"The Great Flood!"
In the story of Noah's Ark, did God not witness humanity's boundless sin and decree that all life on Earth should be destroyed by a flood? Only those chosen by Noah—along with a select few animals—were spared to repopulate the world.
Barbatos listened to the cries of humanity.
Of course, he had read the Bible before. If he was a Seraph, then it was true—the Lord Heavenly Principle was indeed akin to the Almighty.
After all, the Creator and the Lord Heavenly Principle both governed the fabric of existence.
[In two days, I shall begin the purification of this world.]
[Until then, humanity, I will answer your questions fairly. However, I will only respond to inquiries directly related to the impending cleansing.]
By this point, every major city on Earth had descended into chaos. People flooded the streets, their eyes locked onto the angelic figure from scripture—this so-called Fallen Angel, this demon from the Key of Solomon.
Fear, despair, and anger twisted their faces into grotesque masks.
Some demanded answers, some pleaded for mercy, and others wailed their innocence.
Not a single person could remain unaffected by the looming divine judgment.
When confronted with such terror, humanity was capable of saying—and doing—anything.
Tokyo Region—Sanctuary.
Seitenshi, lifting her dress to keep from tripping, sprinted to the rooftop of the Sanctuary, her breath ragged with panic. She gazed up at the celestial being overhead, clasping her hands together in desperate prayer.
"Lord Angel Barbatos, I have a question! Please, I beg you, answer me!"
Barbatos lowered his gaze to the young girl below him.
[Seitenshi, ruler of the Tokyo region, I will answer three of your questions. Ask them now.]
At the same time, Barbatos used his divine power to broadcast their conversation across the entire world.
Seitenshi clasped her hands together, resembling a saint as she asked her first question.
"Lord Angel, you said that only those with kind hearts may enter the new world. What is the standard by which kindness is judged?"
Though she was still young, her training as a ruler allowed her to immediately grasp the most crucial aspect of the situation.
The entire world, which had been filled with voices of protest, questioning, and desperate pleas, fell silent.
This was the question that mattered most to everyone.
Barbatos spoke: "As I have said before, I have come under the decree of the Heavenly Principle to save this world."
"Yes, your assumptions are correct. The Heavenly Principle is the Creator, and He is displeased with the current state of human civilization. He is angered by humanity's descent into depravity."
"Thus, when He commanded me to save this world, He established a standard."
"That standard is based on the treatment of the Cursed Children."
Hearing these words, Cursed Children across the world blinked in confusion.
Those who had been trained as Initiators looked up at the celestial angel speaking to the ruler of Tokyo with blank expressions.
Seitenshi's eyes widened slightly. She felt as though she understood something, yet she couldn't fully grasp it. All she could do was continue watching the divine being before her.
"The Heavenly Principle has divided humanity into three categories: Kind, Neutral, and Chaotic."
"Those who have aided and treated the Cursed Children with kindness are deemed Kind."
"Those who neither helped nor harmed the Cursed Children are considered Neutral."
"Those who have harmed the Cursed Children are classified as Chaotic."
"Only those who are Kind or Neutral will be spared from the purification alongside the Gastrea."
Barbatos continued.
"The Creator despises the corruption of humanity. He loathes the darkness within men's hearts."
"If the Creator looked down upon the world and saw humanity united—supporting one another, resisting disaster together, displaying the purest aspects of human nature—"
"Then not only would He have saved all, but He would have also blessed you."
"But alas, that was not what He saw. Instead, He saw a civilization drowning in filth, slaughtering its own most innocent souls."
"Children are the future of humanity. Their hearts are the purest of all."
"And yet, you rely on these children's strength to fight your disasters while selfishly continuing your civilization. Worse still, you vent all your hatred upon the very children who protect you."
"This alone has sealed humanity's fate. The Creator has decreed the end of this world and the restart of human civilization."
As Barbatos spoke, he recalled the many times Phanes had destroyed corrupt human civilizations throughout history.
Lord Noah was no different from Phanes, except that Noah was far more merciful.
Yet, the more merciful one is, the more terrifying their wrath will be once they are disappointed.
All across the world, humanity stood frozen.
No one could have imagined that this was the reason.
Seitenshi, staring at the angel who had stopped speaking, felt a deep, unbearable chill seep into her bones. She murmured to herself,
"So that's how it is… So that's how it is…"
As humanity processed the revelation, emotions surged forth in an even greater explosion.
"Why?! Just because of this?!"
"They're not even human!"
"My family was taken by the Gastrea!"
"The Cursed Children are nothing more than Gastrea in human form!"
"Why should the judgment of humanity's good and evil be based on these creatures?!"
"Fighting for humanity is just their chance to atone for their sins!"
"You're no angel! You're a demon!"
All over the world, people screamed and cursed at Barbatos, their faces contorted in fury and fear.
But terror had already begun to consume their reason. After all, divine judgment had arrived, and they were the ones condemned to perish.
Some militants, wielding firearms, opened fire on Barbatos. "Die, you damn angel!"
Ratatatatata—!
Even those without weapons hurled cans and debris toward the sky while hurling insults.
The cacophony of curses echoed through the cities, blending into an indistinguishable uproar.
Yet, among the sea of hatred, a few remained silent, hands clasped in prayer, offering their devotion to the divine.
Barbatos' face remained emotionless. He did not care about their curses. He simply continued speaking to the world.
[I shall grant a mark to those who are pure of heart. This mark will protect you until the arrival of the new world.]
As Barbatos finished speaking, the cyan sky rained down golden lights, glowing like fireflies.
The contrast between the divine spectacle and the frenzied, depraved masses below was striking.
A girl with sleek black hair, dressed in a black school uniform, raised her hand. A golden light descended into her palm.
The moment it touched her, the light merged into her body, leaving behind a wind-element sigil on her forehead.
Originally, Barbatos had considered marking the wicked for elimination.
However, by the Heavenly Principle's decree, the number of wicked far outnumbered the good—by more than twice as much. Thus, he simply chose to protect the righteous instead.
Kisara Tendo touched her forehead, pressing her lips together. "I… I was chosen…"
"Am I truly kind?"
No… She hadn't harmed the Cursed Children.
In her eyes, they were just infected humans, nothing more. But she had never gone out of her way to help them either.
Helping the Cursed Children meant bearing the weight of societal pressure.
Her body had suffered since childhood, after a Gastrea attack destroyed her kidneys. She barely had the strength to sustain herself, let alone others.
More than that, she had a vengeance to fulfill. Every day was dedicated to honing her swordsmanship. There was no time for anything else.
"The Creator will cleanse the world… The Tendo family surely won't be spared. A shame—I won't have the chance to personally take my revenge."
Kisara scoffed bitterly at herself.
Born into the Tendo family, yet her sole goal was to exterminate those within it who had murdered her parents.
That was why she had abandoned them—why she had dedicated herself to relentless training and refining her swordsmanship, earning the title of the Phantom Blade, the master of the Tendo-style Battojutsu.
One day, she had hoped to personally slay her enemies.
As the celestial rain fell, those chosen for the new era received their marks. The ones left without them began to panic.
"Damn it! I didn't get a mark! Why?! I never hurt any of those monsters—I only had the police chase them away!"
"Damn you, God! Why do I have to die?!"
"If I can't live, then no one else will either!"
"Kill everyone with a mark!"
Barbatos had already spoken: only those with a mark would survive into the new era.
And so, in an instant, the marked and the unmarked found themselves in opposition, a divide deeper than any before.
Those without marks descended into madness, their fear turning into rage against those who had been chosen.
This world had its own martial disciplines—swordsmanship techniques that could generate sword energy, with the strongest capable of slicing through half-meter-thick walls from a distance.
If these people lost control, the casualties would be catastrophic.
Barbatos had, of course, anticipated this.
A markless Promoter, consumed by fury, raised his gun and fired at a Cursed Child who bore the divine mark. "You were just a tool to me! Why do you get to live? Die!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He emptied his entire magazine within seconds, but the golden bullets failed to penetrate the protective glow emanating from the divine mark.
Those under Barbatos' protection could not be harmed—not even by a nuclear explosion.
A nuclear bomb might destroy a city, but Barbatos could sink an entire nation with a single strike.
Even with millions to protect, no conventional weapon could breach the divine defense.
The celestial rain of light ceased.
Chaos erupted.
Every human city descended into rioting, arson, and mass shootings. Even armed militants rampaged through the streets, indiscriminately gunning down civilians.
With their impending doom looming over them, humanity's most depraved instincts surfaced in full force.
Seitenshi stood on the rooftop of the Sanctuary, overlooking her city as smoke and fire rose from the once-thriving metropolis.
Explosions, screams, and gunfire filled the air in a symphony of destruction.
Glancing at the divine mark on the back of her hand, she trembled in fear, yet she knew—this outcome was inevitable.
Barbatos regarded her and spoke once more. "You still have two questions."
Seitenshi gazed up at the angel and forced a bitter smile. "Lord Angel, my second question is one that weighs on my heart… Was the Gastrea Virus a test from the Creator?"
Barbatos replied, "No. The Gastrea Virus was born from human greed—humans created it themselves."
"The pursuit of immortality led to the virus' creation, and ultimately, its outbreak."
"Humanity destroyed its own civilization."
As a ruler, Seitenshi had some knowledge of these matters, but she had never known the full truth.
She shook her head and whispered, "I have no more questions, Lord Angel."
Across the world, other rational minds stepped forward, seeking answers from Barbatos. With patience, he answered each question.
He needed these two days to regain his divine strength.
Blanketing the entire world with his power had already drained much of his energy, and granting divine protection to millions had consumed even more.
During this time, he would draw upon Teyvat Universe to replenish himself.
Until then, he would tolerate humanity's questions as a final act of mercy before their inevitable end.
…
Tokyo was divided into forty-three districts, with the higher numbers indicating sparser populations.
District 39, near the massive Varanium Monoliths, was a war-torn wasteland, reduced to ruins in the struggle against the Gastrea. The only viable shelter was the underground sewer system.
This was also the district with the highest concentration of Cursed Children in Tokyo.
Noah walked along the abandoned streets, glancing toward the burning skyline of the once-prosperous city.
He smirked. "Barbatos is efficient when he gets serious. Not bad."
Lowering his gaze, he knelt down beside a manhole cover and tapped it lightly three times.
Knock, knock, knock.
Moments later, the cover was slowly lifted, revealing a small, timid girl with wide, innocent eyes. She cautiously peeked out, scanning her surroundings.
Sensing no malice, she hesitated before blinking and asking in a soft, childlike voice,
"…What do you want?"
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