Chapter 607 – Koltama

Otaros had just ducked into his sanctuary and taken out a Lush Luminance Marshmallow to unwrap when he heard Koltama’s call—a sound like the corrupted tones of a fallen angel.

He hurriedly popped the candy into his mouth, then hid the rest of his stash before finally opening the sanctuary door.

“What do you want?”

Koltama spread his wings right in front of him. “My feathers have grown back! Come with me to the Holy Arena!”

His gaze drifted past Otaros. “Huh? How did your wing feathers grow back too?”

Otaros grabbed him and pulled him into the sanctuary, sealing it shut before speaking. “Obviously it’s because of the candy I gave you—that’s the only reason they grew back so fast!”

“Candy?” Koltama clapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh no, I’ve been found out!”

“Drop the act! That was magical candy that makes feathers grow back thick and full in no time! And it was made from rare pure light-attribute materials!” Otaros said.

“I only tried it because I sensed the light elemental force on the candy. I was just curious,” Koltama said, trying to cover his tracks.

“Sure.” Otaros didn’t believe his excuse for a second.

“Oh come on, none of that matters! My feathers have grown back now, and they’re even fuller than before. So you can accept my challenge, right?” Koltama said.

“In your dreams. The effect only lasts half an hour!” Otaros said. “After thirty minutes, you’ll be right back to being that bald angel who needs white rock powder just to hide his bare skin.”

“What?” Koltama suddenly felt a draft on his wings. He looked—his pristine, soft feathers had vanished again!

“See?” Otaros said. “Time’s up.”

“Quick, quick, quick! Otaros, do you have any more of that candy? Give me another one!”

“I don’t even have enough for myself! If you want some, go buy it in the lower realm!” To make Koltama experience the same frustration he’d been feeling, Otaros deliberately gave him the full address. “I bought them at a magical candy shop at the Intersection of Eternal Radiance Road and Nightless Road in the Holy City. They’re called Lush Luminance Marshmallows.”

“How precious can something from the lower realm be? And it’s in the Holy City, no less. All you have to do is stand in front of those zealots and they’d offer up everything they own,” Koltama said dismissively.

“It’s a shop run by a witch! There’s no way they’re zealots!” Otaros said.

“A witch!” Koltama frowned. “Witches are certainly tough nuts to crack, but it’s not like you’re going there to proselytize. It’s just some candy—just send a sprite messenger to steal her entire stock!”

“Go ahead and try it yourself!” Otaros snapped.

If stealing were an option, would he have been so polite about it? This guy ranked seven or eight positions below him, and clearly there was good reason for that.

“Fine, I will!” Koltama split off a thread of his consciousness, projecting it into his sprite messenger and dispatching it to the magical candy shop at the Intersection of Eternal Radiance Road and Nightless Road in the Holy City.

“Lush Luminance Marshmallows… found them!”

“Hm? Why can’t I phase through?”

“A spatial barrier? Well, well—she really spared no expense!”

“Oh? There’s candy in there too!”

“Light-Shadow Sprites and thieves prohibited from entering? I’ll break in and clean you out anyway!”

“Wh… what is that?”

“Help—”

Koltama’s vision went black as his consciousness snapped back to his body. “Is she insane?! Security that tight just to guard a few pieces of candy? My sprite messenger! That cost me a considerable amount of origin power! How long will it take to nurture another one?!”

Otaros watched his pitiful state and felt the rage from losing his own sprite messenger subside somewhat. “If you want candy, you’ll have to go down to the lower realm and buy it yourself. Oh, and you still owe me one piece of candy. Don’t forget to pay me back!”

“Looking like this, if I go to the lower realm it’ll damage the faith of the angel race!” Koltama said. “Give me two more candies and I’ll make it a quick trip!”

“I’ll lend you one more. When you get back, you pay me back that one plus the one from before. Otherwise… I’ll plaster your bald photo on the Holy Arena as a cautionary example!”

Otaros had produced a camera from somewhere and aimed it at him—click—capturing the shot.

With his shameful secret firmly in Otaros’s grip, Koltama took the candy Otaros lent him and flew toward the Gate to the Lower Realm.

Meanwhile, at the magical candy shop, Mo Lan had just swatted dead a Light-Shadow Sprite that had tried to steal from her.

Killing a thief felt great in the moment, but facing a Hermit’s accusations and nagging afterward was a different story entirely.

The Hermit said, “That was a spirit of light! How could you kill it? The Light will blame you for this!”

Mo Lan replied, “It wasn’t a spirit of light. It was just a thief.”

The Hermit said, “You shouldn’t let those false rumors make you misunderstand the Light-Shadow Sprites!”

Mo Lan replied, “If it wasn’t a thief, why was it trying to sneak in instead of queuing up to buy candy like the rest of you?”

The Hermit said, “It was just being mischievous!”

Mo Lan replied, “Relax! The Light reveals all darkness—nothing can hide from it. If I truly did something wrong, I’m willing to face the Light’s judgment. But the fact that I’m perfectly fine right now—doesn’t that prove I did the right thing?”

The Hermit said, “…I still don’t think you should have killed it!”

Mo Lan replied, “I merely returned it to the Light’s embrace.”

The Hermit said, “You killed it!”

Mo Lan replied, “Are you going to exchange for Candy Coins or not? If not, get going! It’s almost closing time!”

The Hermit fell silent.

“If you won’t leave on your own, I’ll see you out!”

Mo Lan couldn’t be bothered wasting any more words on the Hermit. With a gust of wind, she sent him sailing out of the candy shop. She was in a hurry to sort through the angel’s memories!

“Good thing that Light-Shadow Sprite showed up near closing time. There was only this one witness—otherwise I’d have been nagged to death!”

Mo Lan counted her blessings as she used magic to slowly close the shop door.

Before it could fully shut, yet another four-winged angel descended outside her shop.

Koltama had been holding his chin high with haughty pride, finding the lower realm filthy. He couldn’t even bear to let the tips of his toes truly touch the ground.

Having just lost his sprite messenger, he gazed at the shop with a mix of irritation and scrutiny—only to see nothing but a sliver of a gap in the door.

A gap that was about to disappear entirely!

His embarrassing bald photo was still in Otaros’s hands! If he didn’t return with candy today, that photo would be plastered all over the Holy Arena!

His haughtiness vanished without a trace. He jammed his foot into the gap. “Wait!”

“It’s 5:01. I’m off the clock. Please come earlier tomorrow,” Mo Lan said, standing at the entrance to the candy exchange counter.

“It’s not easy for me to make a trip down to the lower realm. Just give me a few more minutes!” Koltama pleaded.

Mo Lan would have been more than happy to collect another batch of angel memories, but one mustn’t seem too eager in business. “One Gem Coin per minute, thirty minutes maximum. Agree to the terms and you may enter.”

“Deal!” Koltama said.

Once he got inside that shop, every last candy would be his. He wouldn’t leave her a single Gem Coin!

Mo Lan turned and walked into the candy collection area.

Koltama stormed in after her.