Merka fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
Sweat poured down his face, his cheeks clamped tight, and he grimaced as he clutched his still intact right leg, slowly rolling on the ground.
A large pool of dark red blood spread on the ground, his face contorted in agony. He could only feel his buttocks swelling fiercely, as if a man-eating baya crocodile lurked in the shallows of his mind, viciously clamping down on his phantom limb with its ferocious long snout, refusing to let go.
"How does it feel, facing death for the first time?"
A deep, magnetic voice came, very close.
The enormous round eyes of the night owl god seemed to flicker with a hint of disdain. He stepped in his dignified old shoes, with a clacking sound of footsteps, as if trampling on the remaining shreds of Merka's sanity.
Merka's face turned ashen. He had clearly seen the night owl god at the entrance of the botanical garden... but in the blink of an eye, he had already walked halfway towards him.
Merka couldn't believe the inhuman speed emanating from a creature with such disproportionately long limbs that it seemed to walk clumsily.
"Damn... damn damn damn!"
"Damn nobles, look at the horror you've created!"
"Each and every one of you deserves to be torn to pieces by the curse and retribution of the angels, living in fear and trembling!"
Merka cursed uncontrollably.
Despite always playing the role of a gentle and lovely boy, he was now unable to maintain his usual good manners.
Something seemed to have snapped in his mind, causing him to feel a rush of fear, making everything around him unspeakably horrifying.
"You know, Merka. For humans, death is like mating with someone they dislike."
The night owl god, seeing Merka in such a vulnerable state not far away, laughed.
"You need to stay calm, embrace it, enjoy it."
"Only then can you have peace and go to paradise."
Merka didn't pay much attention to the night owl god's nonsense. He clung tightly to the gushing wound on his thigh, gathering white flames from all over his body, desperately trying to heal himself.
It felt like his wound had been sprinkled with salt and dabbed with iodine, then rolled in a container of disinfectant, causing Merka to grit his teeth in pain and sweat profusely. But thankfully, the granulation tissue finally began to visibly grow.
But even with such a rapid healing rate, repairing his injured leg would take at least seven to eight seconds.
That was enough time for Merka to die several times over.
In the midst of his pain, Merka furrowed his gentle eyebrows and looked around.
He noticed the researcher's observation room that he had entered earlier, lying not far away.
Although the building had fallen from the sky and been completely smashed to pieces, the door still stood tall.
The space behind the wooden door seemed to twist, as if leading to an unknown realm.
Merka didn't know if the door was still usable, but now, besides fleeing to Lillith's place, he seemed to have no other choice.
"Power Angel... it's time to test your sincerity and strength!"
"Help me stop it!"
"Delay it until I enter that door..."
A gigantic humanoid angel, towering three stories tall, appeared abruptly next to Merka in a domineering posture.
It reached out and grabbed Merka directly.
Merka felt as if he was being enveloped by a fortress wall.
"Power Angel...?"
Merka was puzzled, yet suddenly felt a wave of dread, as if sensing something bad was about to happen.
"Wait, Power Angel, don't... Ahh!!!"
The Power Angel stood firmly on the ground, lifting Merka into the air and effortlessly spinning him around before hurling him towards the door left behind in the observation room.
Merka was like a small missile fired from a 160mm mortar, soaring straight ahead.
As he flew through the air, Merka felt like his head was about to catch fire, tears welling up in his eyes.
