Azekiel felt as if he was being overwhelmed by hunger. He struggled a lot to keep himself in control because he knew that he still wasn't strong enough to take out those guards.
"If I can have a weapon of Sin, I might be able to scare them."
He opened the screen again by pressing a small floating symbol on the rightmost corner of his vision, opening the main menu again.
He straight tapped on the option of Weapons.
The screen changed. Another screen appeared in its place. On the new screen, there was only one name... One weapon only. However, no matter what Azekiel tried, he couldn't read that name. It was as if there was a thin layer of mist on the name, which made it impossible to understand what was written.
At the end of the name, there was a black sign that seemed like a lock.
Azekiel pressed on the name, hoping to get something. However, deep down, he had a bad feeling.
Tap~
As soon as Azekiel tapped the screen, a small warning sign appeared before him, surprising him.
[Warning: Weapon of Sin is not unlocked yet. Please try later.]
"What is this? With Michael, it was unlocked from day one! I saw him use his Spear of Pride on Floor One! How could it be sealed for me? Don't we have a similar system? Wait? Could it be...?"
As Azekiel thought of something, he went back to the main screen. In his haste, he had missed something really important previously.
Back on the main screen, Azekiel's eyes roamed over one specific option, which he had ignored previously due to being in a hurry to eat.
[Welcoming Bonus]
"How could I forget this? This must be something good. Michael must've received his Spear of Pride from here!"
Without thinking twice, he pressed the option.
[Three Welcoming Bonus Cards available. Each Card contains something unique to you. Only one can be selected. Please select wisely]
Three Colorful cards also appeared before Azekiel, floating before him. There was no name on the cards, just a color.
The first card had a blood-red color. The second had dark green, while the last had a pitch black color.
On the new screen, Azekiel read the note, which made him slightly annoyed. There were three bonuses, but he could only select one? Does that mean two would disappear forever as soon as he selected one? The worst part was that he couldn't see what was in each option. All he could see was their colors.
"Select wisely, my ass. How can I select anything when I don't even know what's in each Card? Isn't it just blind gambling at this point? What wiseness can I use?" Azekiel rolled his eyes.
He was sure that one of these cards had a weapon he needed. As for the other two... He wasn't sure what could be behind them. Maybe something better than weapons? Maybe something worse?
He could easily take as much time as he needed before selection, but he knew that it wasn't going to do anything. In the end, the choice was going to be between the colors.
"The dark red color, it reminds me of my own blood as I was beaten daily... So many bad memories with it. The dark green... The color of the fruit I ate... What started it all. And the pitch black, my life in the dark room where I waited in agony, waiting for death..."
"I can forget what I ate or how much I bled, but I will never forget that darkness and that hunger! That darkness will always stay with me."
Azekiel slowly raised his hand toward the pitch-black card. As soon as he touched the black card, the other two cards disappeared, leaving only the black one. Moreover, the illusory black card became real, something which Azekiel could feel. It was just like an actual card.
"Please be a weapon... Please be a weapon..." Azekiel kept repeating as he slowly turned the card around, wondering what was on the other side.
He could feel his hand trembling in anticipation and excitement of what this card was going to hold? Was he also going to get an amazing weapon like Michael possessed?
"What is this...?" He blankly muttered as soon as he saw the face of the card. There wasn't much on the card except what appeared like a drawing. The drawing depicted a man... A man with two pitch-black wings on his back and a lush red apple in his hand as if he was a man roaming in the garden of Eden to eat the forbidden apple.
There were three words written on top of the card.
"Raphael," Azekiel repeated that name.
As soon as he repeated the name, the pitch-black card started shining in a blinding light. Amidst that light, even Azekiel was forced to close his eyes. He had lived in darkness for so long. This much light was too much for him suddenly.
Fortunately, only he could see the card and the light. No one else on Floor Zero could.
As the light of the card disappeared, so did the card. Azekiel opened his eyes swiftly as soon as he felt the card missing.
"Where did it go?!" He exclaimed to find the card missing. It was neither in his hand nor on the ground before him. There was also no way that someone could've taken that from him. So, where did it go?
"Are you looking for me?" A calm voice came from the back, forcing Azekiel to turn back. Did someone catch him? How could someone get so close to him without his knowledge?
As soon as Azekiel turned back, he saw a man sitting on one knee behind him. The man... He didn't look human from any angle. He looked... more like what was depicted in the drawing.
The man had a slim figure and looked to be in his mid twenties, slightly older than Azekiel. His beautiful black wings appeared like the darkness of night had come to life. His long silver hair... As pretty as the moonlight.
The man was sitting on one knee before Azekiel, looking up into his eyes.
"W-who are you?" Azekiel inquired, stunned. Did the card come to life?
"I am Raphael." The man introduced himself in his calm voice. "The General of Gluttony and the faithful servant of the King of Gluttony."
"You... Are you my servant?" Azekiel asked again, just to be sure.
"Yes. You are the King of Gluttony. I can sense it..." Raphael respectfully stated.
Even though Raphael was sitting calmly and talking respectfully, his aura was just so powerful that Azekiel was amazed. His voice had some long of a devilish charm that was filled with authority.
"Don't call me King," Azekiel responded. " I don't want to share the same title as that bastard, King of Pride."
"I see, so the King of Pride is here as well. That is certainly interesting," Raphael muttered, seemingly thinking of something. "What should I address you as?"
"You can call me Azekiel. Or if you really want to use a title... Call me anything that's not King like he is called. You can call me… Monarch... Monarch of Gluttony!"
