Shadow of the Beautiful World

We conquered the vampires of Vitruvius~ and chopped up the tauren of Misanok Plain~

We hacked the manticore in its lair~ and freed the poor servant from chains~

Two wingless angels wrecked it in the mud~while all its mean friends insulted its name~

Yo~ Anyway, this is better than temple asceticism~ (ps.1)

In the special deserted melody of the banjo, Angela's hoarse voice sang a song.

The sound of waves from the sea seemed to cater to Angela's singing.

She sang repeatedly, and only sang this section. According to Merlin's shallow understanding of music, either Angela forgot the following lyrics.

Or, the song itself was never written.

Whose song is this?

On the lighthouse, Merlin with his hands behind his back, when Angela sang the fourth time, he asked with great interest:

Is it your husband? Or your friend?

Angela didn't answer.

Just as silent as when Merlin asked her if she wanted to go home, maybe she didn't bother to answer, maybe she didn't want to answer.

All in all, the lighthouse was quiet.

After several minutes of silence, Angela picked up the tuned banjo again, plucked the strings, and was about to sing a cappella.

Merlin behind her suddenly said:

What's her name? Your soul mate, Sera, the love you miss?

shut up!

The girl in the linen robe heard the name hidden deepest in her heart, she was like a lion that suddenly erupted, the banjo in her hand was clasped by five fingers, and slammed fiercely at Merlin behind her.

But she missed it.

Merlin was there, but it was like a phantom surrounded by black mist.

The musical instrument cut into Merlin's body, causing the black mist to drift, but it did not harm the majesty's projection at all.

It's annoying to listen to people's minds.

Between the movements of the lips of the shattered head, the faint voice of the Maharaja resounded in the guarded lighthouse.

He said:

I am very aware of this, but there is no way. You know, Angela. Many times, I come to communicate with strangers with good intentions, but what I get is always ignorance or malice.

I can only talk to you in this way, now you can't ignore me, Odin's eldest daughter!

I have to say that although you don't recognize your own blood, your arrogance is truly inherited from your father's generation. It's exactly the same as it was carved out of the same mold.

Angela glared at Merlin.

She felt ashamed and angry because the secret in her heart was being told, but after a while, her expression became dead and indifferent again.

She took back the banjo in her hand, and ignored Raven Lord who was waiting for an answer.

she says:

I have nothing to talk to you about.

I follow a rule. There is no free lunch in the world. Everything in the world has value. I also want to go home. Maybe you can help me, but I know that I have nothing to repay your kindness.

I'm so broke that I can't afford another debt.

And I don't want to lose myself, so no matter what you want, I can only choose to refuse.

This attitude surprised Merlin, he said:

Are you people from the kingdom of angels so sensible?

In that extremely realistic world, reason is necessary.

Angela waved the strings, and she said:

We have believed in the principle of trading since we were young. I have also seen the end of many people who rashly ask for a deal but can't pay the price. That end is worse than death. Those memories are enough to keep me sane.

Well, good value.

Lord Raven nodded, he said:

But back to the previous topic, I didn't intend to provoke you, Angela, I know you still have lovers in the kingdom of angels, Sera, a not-so-sincere monk and a charming witch.

After you encountered a fantasy journey, she should still be waiting for you to return in your manor. She should be loyal. Don't you want to go back and meet her? Don't you want to take her out?

Leave from the kingdom of angels, return to Asgard, or start a new life elsewhere.

hum

Merlin raised his finger lightly and projected a picture in front of Angela's eyes. He said:

Before you answer that question, I want you to take a look at these things.

Angela raised her head, and she looked at Merlin's projection.

What appeared in that projection was a hell of steel.

Under the dark and hazy sky, there is a hell covered with silver-white metal. On the plain full of strange buildings, there are some strange figures walking around.

As the projection zoomed in, Angela saw

Those wingless angels from the same place as her.

Those angels in robes are walking in a world full of robots, and they are working collectively somewhere.

They have free time, and occasionally draw some paintings to pass the time, and in those strange paintings, Angela can see the familiar scenery painted with paint.

The landscape of the kingdom of angels.

These

Angela raised her head, her white eyes squinted, and she looked at Merlin, and the Raven Lord with his hands behind his back had a mysterious smile on his face.

He seemed to know what Angela wanted to ask, he said:

They came from the same place as you, the mysterious kingdom of angels, the tenth world. But unlike you, they left that world after death and fell into the hell of the Asgardians, where they suffered a lot .”

I rescued them, promised them I would free their people, and they turned their allegiance to me.

Merlin says:

At that time, I didn't understand why they agreed so simply, and why they adapted to the new environment so quickly.

I didn't understand your customs at that time, but now I know that you advocate fair trade. I gave them a promise, so they gave me loyalty, which is very reasonable.

Yes, Angela, don't look at me with your strange eyes. Before I met you, I had already started looking for a way to the kingdom of angels. Meeting you was just an accident, or a surprise.

Lord Raven leaned down, looked at Odin's eldest daughter sitting on the edge of the lighthouse, and said softly:

You came from that world, and you have a void beacon leading to the kingdom of angels left on your body. If you are willing to cooperate, it will save me a lot of time searching, so I ask you if you want to go home.

You can treat it as a deal. You give me the specific coordinates of the Angel Kingdom in the void, and I will take you back to that world.

In your words, Angela, fair trade.

Merlin stood up straight, he waited for Angela's answer.

From the newly awakened Rocket Raccoon, Merlin already knew the scene where he met Angela for the first time on the abandoned planet on the border of the Kree Empire.

According to Merlin's guess, Angela should have accidentally stepped on a trap with the ability to teleport through the void during a certain battle in the Angel World.

Or activated something wacky enough to be teleported from the void into the real world.

But that must be a random teleportation, otherwise, according to the position of Angel Kingdom on the World Tree, she should fall into the stars in the World Tree territory, rather than fall into the other end of the galaxy.

Odin's eldest daughter was lucky.

You must know that things like random teleportation are too dangerous. From the perspective of the span of stars, the subject can easily be teleported to some inexplicable places.

The worst luck is to be directly sent to a star like the sun.

Unless Angela has the perverted physical fitness of Clark Kent, she will definitely die.

But how Angela came to the real world is no longer important. For Merlin, with such a human-shaped beacon, he does not need to risk being discovered by Odin, struggling to find a way through the ruins of Asgard. The way to the kingdom of angels is over.

The premise is that Angela must cooperate voluntarily.

Why are you looking for the kingdom of angels?

Angela thought for a while, she raised her head, looked at Merlin, and said:

You are a king of hell, right? A creature of hell, what is the purpose of looking for those angels? Could it be that our queen, Her Majesty Haven, once offended you, so you want to take revenge on her?

What about this?

Merlin pursed his lips, he didn't intend to explain too much to Angela.

He said briefly:

You can understand that I made a deal with the owner of the Archangel Haven. I released those angels from the void, and then I got rich rewards.

We have no master!

Angela snorted, and she said with disdain:

Angels have no master. Freedom is our most precious property, an innate bargain. No angel will hand over this precious bargaining chip to a so-called 'master'.

No, it's not 'us', it's 'they'!

Merlin shook his head, he corrected:

You are an Asgardian, the daughter of Odin and Frigga, the sister of Hela, Thor and Loki, whether you want to admit it or not, you are not one of those angels.

Also, those angels who claim to be free lied to you, Angela.

I guess, they definitely didn't tell you the history of the angel kingdom before it sank into the void, nor did they tell you about their relationship with heaven.

Lord Raven said softly:

They have masters, and they are born masters. That kind of unconditional obedience is engraved in their souls. They just call themselves 'freedom'.

This is a deception, poor child. You have lived in a deception all your life. Let your twisted angels cultivate you into a weapon, and then severely hurt your biological father and mother at the right time.

I often laugh at Odin's family education as a failure, his sons and daughters all want to kill him and get his throne but you, your failure has nothing to do with Odin, you are just unlucky and fell into the hands of a bunch of lunatics inside.

Merlin shook his head and said:

You really hurt poor His Majesty Frigga's heart, and Odin is tolerant enough to you. You almost murdered the king, but he just imprisoned you here and tried his best to protect your life.

I do not believe!

Angela didn't believe what Merlin said at all, she said stubbornly:

That's what your family says!

You can see with your own eyes. If you are willing to accompany me to the kingdom of angels, I will prove it to you.

Merlin waved his finger casually, and he said:

In short, Angela the Wingless, I have proposed a deal, you can choose to accept or decline.

But you'd better hurry up. Once Odin wakes up, I want to take you away. It won't be that easy.

After finishing speaking, Lord Raven left a burning orange light in the air, which turned into black mist and disappeared into the sea breeze of Asgard Island.

It was like smoke being blown away by the wind, as quietly as when he came.

Angela sat on the edge of the lighthouse.

Holding the banjo in her arms, she looked at the orange light floating in her hand, her white eyes were full of hesitation.

After going through all this, how could she not doubt her own life experience?

To become the leader of the high-ranked hunters in the Angel Kingdom, she did not rely on her agility and strong strength. Although she often behaved like a reckless woman, she also had her own wisdom.

How should I choose?

Do you want to accept the deal of this dangerous hell lord, go back to explore your own life experience, and go back to fetch Sera back?

But what if what they said was true?

Is he really the daughter of Odin, the king of nothingness whom he hated since childhood?

in case the nightmare comes true

How should Angela accept all this calmly? -

Let me ask for the last time, Odin really decided to let me take Angela away like this?

Outside of Asgard, on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, Merlin stood on the beach with his hands raised.

At his fingertips, the small raven Mu Ning still had that cunning and restless look.

Facing Merlin's inquiry, Odin's little bird tilted its head, jumped up and down, and screamed:

Of course! That's what the boss said. Before he fell asleep, he purposely found us and told us that if you come again, let us tell you all about it.

I probably understand what he means.

Merlin says:

He felt that the persuasion of him and Tianhou could not make Angela turn back, so he planned to let me take Angela back to the kingdom of angels, let her use her eyes to discover the truth, and when she saw the truth, Angela would naturally make a choice .”

But what I'm wondering is, how did he know that I was looking for the kingdom of angels, and, doesn't he hate those angels very much? Why did he suddenly become so magnanimous?

Because Heimdall saw the changes in Hades!

Mu Ning explained endlessly:

The wingless angels on the north wing of Hades suddenly disappeared, and with the secret agreement you and Hela reached, the boss is not an idiot, so he can naturally guess where those angels have gone.

As for hating or not, you see, this is actually a very simple truth.

The boss hates the angel because the angel killed his daughter, but now his daughter is still alive.

Mu Ning moved his wings like a bird and shrugged.

it says:

The boss said that he still hates those shameless angels, but they are the ones who kept Princess Audrey alive, and made her as strong and free as the real eldest daughter of Odin.

So, if those angels are alive, let them live.

As long as they no longer step into the territory of the World Tree, the boss can pretend that he has never seen them.

Okay, I see.

Merlin stretched out his hand and flicked Mu Ning's head, he said:

Go back and tell Odin, I will find a way to let Angela see the truth, but I don't guarantee that she will definitely choose to return to Asgard.

After all, I'm not his children's nanny, and he didn't pay me.

ps.1:

This song is a ballad written by Angela's girlfriend, the wingless angel Sera in the comic Angela. Queen of the Underworld. Adventures in the kingdom of angels.

As for Sera, Angela's girlfriend, she is a former nun and witch, and her status in the kingdom of angels should be quite low. She said that she was born in a caste society.

In short, she was also an ambitious woman, and she was a good match for Angela.

Some details in that comic are quite interesting, but it's a pity that it's already a eunuch.