"Has the conduct of angels really fallen this low?"
Watching Pekora hide behind him, Li Mo couldn't help but mutter.
Killing your former boss over something like benefits—is this really an angel and not some kind of monster?
**Boom!!!**
An explosion rang out as Poporon lowered the rocket launcher from her shoulder and sighed. "Honestly. After finally reacting, Pekora-sama hides behind some ordinary human? That's completely pointless… Huh?"
The smoke from the rocket launcher obscured the two figures, but as it cleared, they stood there completely unharmed.
Li Mo pressed a hand to his forehead, muttering to himself, "I thought there'd be some kind of mystical element in that attack. Thororm's spell should only neutralize part of the damage. But it really was just a normal rocket launcher?!"
**Thororm's spell** could negate observable, understandable damage. For example, it could nullify an incoming arrow, but if the arrow carried a curse, the curse would still get through.
In this case, since Poporon was an angel, he assumed her rocket launcher would be special—maybe blessed or something. But no, it was just a regular rocket launcher! Do angels just bulk-order weapons from human arms dealers?!
"You—you're completely unharmed!" Poporon exclaimed in shock. "Aren't you just a normal human?!"
"You used a rocket launcher on a normal human?"
"Worst case, we'd just revive you."
Right. Trying to reason with a gag manga character was just asking for a headache.
Li Mo sighed. "Miss Poporon, have you considered the possibility that if I were just a normal human, I wouldn't be hanging around Pekora, an actual angel?"
"Whoever you are, just hand over Pekora-sama!"
"Li Mo."
"Got it, got it. I won't betray you." Li Mo rolled his eyes.
He stepped forward—**Instant Step**, a spatial movement spell—and appeared behind Poporon in a flash. His hand shot out, aiming to grab her angel halo.
But his fingers passed right through it.
Li Mo blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Why did he miss?
That shouldn't be possible.
While he was still puzzled, Poporon finally reacted. In the span of a second, this man had crossed several meters and tried to snatch her angel halo?!
"You're just a human, how dare you—**Wha—?!**"
Before she could pull out another weapon, his hand shot out again—this time, successfully grabbing the halo.
Holding it in his grip, he could feel the sacred energy radiating from it, pure and divine.
So why was Poporon so… scummy?
Weird.
"I'll take this angel halo as compensation for you blasting me with a rocket launcher. Sound fair, Poporon?"
Li Mo spun the halo on his finger like a toy, speaking casually.
He wasn't about to let her attack slide. Besides, according to the story's progression, Poporon was supposed to stay in the human world anyway. He was just nudging things along.
Not that he needed to rely on foreknowledge. To him, it was better to keep strengthening himself than to cling to vague predictions.
"You—you're a dark mage?!"
"Close enough. So, are you leaving, or do I have to tie you up and throw you into the ocean?"
"Li Mo, was it? Poporon won't forget this!"
With that half-hearted threat, Poporon wisely chose to retreat. She knew she was outmatched—no point in sticking around for more humiliation.
Watching her vanish into the empty park, Li Mo turned to Pekora. "Pekora, I think Poporon's doing better in the human world than you."
At the very least, Poporon would eventually land a stable job—heck, she even became an idol. Two incomes had to beat Pekora's… situation.
And Pekora…
"Why are you looking at Pekora with such pity?!"
"Never mind. Anyway, since things are settled, I'm heading back. Hope I can catch the last train."
With a wave, Li Mo left Pekora alone in the now-silent park.
Staring at the quiet surroundings, Pekora replayed the events in her mind.
To Poporon, she was considered "missing." That meant Poporon had taken her place in Heaven—her comfortable bathhouse, her delicious meals, all stolen!
Could she even go back?
Pekora looked up at the sky, its stars dimmed by city lights.
She wasn't optimistic about her chances of returning.
Then it hit her—
Wait, didn't Li Mo take Poporon's angel halo?
Pekora spun around, but Li Mo was already gone. Only the glow of streetlights remained.
The park was empty. With a sigh, Pekora bundled herself tighter in her coat and crawled back into her cardboard home.
Meanwhile, Li Mo, now far away, had no idea what Pekora was thinking.
He made the last train—not that it mattered much. The distance between Chiba and Tokyo wasn't far, and he could've easily walked.
But trains were convenient.
The carriage was packed, most men keeping their hands raised in classic Japanese fashion—better safe than accused. Not that it mattered to him. If someone tried anything, he could always settle it the old-fashioned way.
No room to study the halo in this crowd. Once off the train, Li Mo pulled out Poporon's halo again, spinning it idly on his finger.
Poporon's halo seemed ordinary, nothing like the grand names in scripture. Its essence was just "angel." Later, he'd absorb it into his fourth tail.
That tail, after merging with the Stigmata from a certain magic-heavy world, had become a vessel for all Cross Faith mysteries. Any related power could be stored there.
His five tails were spiritual foundations. The mysteries within him fell into two categories:
1. Spiritual Foundations—powers taken from others through arcane means. These were like authorities, existing independent of human belief.
2. Pseudo-Simulated Star Chart—mysteries born from collective thought, evolving over time.
"Eventually, I'll need to link these two together."
Tossing the halo into his inventory, Li Mo hummed a tune as he walked home.
There was still plenty of time to relax.