Devil Slave (Satan system) Chapter 1407: Betrayal hits different.

Michael witnessed the scene, still reeling in shock from the unfolding events. Yet, upon seeing Gabriel poised to commit the unspeakable act, he cried out.

"NO..."

Gabriel swung the sword downward.

Yet it missed Raphael’s neck entirely.

In the final instant, the blade veered abruptly, driving directly into the archangel’s chest and stabbing right through the precise spot where his core—his heart—glowed like a trapped star.

Raphael’s eyes snapped open wide.

Silence hung for a single heartbeat.

Then the blast erupted.

A dazzling surge of holy power burst from the impact site, expanding in a flawless orb. It ravaged the arena, demolished the leftover shields, and continued surging—speeding through the emptiness, beyond the blue sun, beyond far-off worlds, beyond whole star clusters. All realms sensed the shockwave. Every observer throughout the cosmos witnessed the heavens blaze gold for one horrifying instant.

A Midnight Star had perished.

An event like this was impossible.

Such an entity surpassed countless gods in might.

Invincible.

Yet, he fell as easily as a fowl being butchered.

This defied all precedent.

Raphael’s form spasmed once, fissures of gold cracking across his flesh like a web. His wings crumbled to dust in flames. One last fractured cry escaped his lips before his body slackened.

Gabriel rotated the sword with a twist, then ripped it out amid a slick rasp. He knelt on one knee next to the body, plunged his hand into the torn cavity, and extracted the core.

It resembled a sun.

A flawless, raging tiny sun—scorching white in its core, encircled by swirling bands of gold and red fire. Even lifeless, it throbbed with fearsome energy, throwing stark illumination over Gabriel’s features.

Gabriel gazed at it for an extended moment.

Next, he grinned.

The grin stretched broader.

Then he tilted his head skyward and burst into laughter—ferocious, demonic, unchecked guffaws that reverberated through the ruined arena and into the vacuum.

The noise boomed like thunder, brimming with victory and insanity.

Stunned quiet gripped the spectator areas.

All Earthlings observing—be it from the arena or via screens at home—went rigid. Billions worldwide gaped in utter astonishment as the golden radiance of Raphael’s demise clung to the skies. Jaws dropped slack. None cheered. None stirred.

Father Black appeared taken aback too.

He was aware of Gabriel’s hidden agenda.

That precise knowledge had prompted his initial consent to the scheme.

Indeed.

Gabriel had secretly conferred with him over the past century, plotting against his siblings in the shadows.

Initially, Father Black resisted involvement, until word arrived from Lenny.

Indeed. The king had approved it.

Father Black couldn’t fathom the reason, yet he refrained from probing.

Lenny’s decree was absolute law, after all.

Father Black anticipated some wild occurrence—

Yet he hadn’t foreseen the Herald truly executing it.

Raphael was his sibling.

His own kin.

And Gabriel had slain him without a second thought.

Clearly, Angels interpreted the term ’brother’ quite differently.

Distant on the lifeless sun, Lucifer hurled his head back in laughter.

The outburst rang out boisterously, savagely, overflowing with sheer glee. He smacked his throne’s armrest, his wings quivering from mirth.

"This is beautiful!" he bellowed amid the chuckles. "I never thought Gabriel would actually go through with it! I gave him the conditions — kill Raphael or steal Michael’s sword — never believing he would do both! This... this is impressive!"

He brushed a tear from his eye’s edge, still snickering, before leaning in and gesturing indolently at the arena with one hand.

"Gabriel," he summoned, his voice traversing the void with casual authority, "bring me both Raphael’s core and Michael’s sword. Do that, and I will let you join my ranks."

His golden gaze sparkled with malevolent glee while awaiting the wayward Gabriel’s reply.

Gabriel let out a quiet chuckle, deep and derisive, as he shifted his sight to the remote dead sun and its occupant Lucifer.

"You think I’m a fool, Lucifer?" he declared, his words projecting sharply through the void. "Now that I hold Michael’s sword and Raphael’s core... it can only mean one thing."

He raised the pilfered sword a bit, the tiny sun-core aglow in his opposite grasp.

"I am going to be the leader of Heaven. Wasn’t that what you always wanted? To see someone else sit on that throne? Well now, it shall be me."

Gabriel pivoted gradually to face the gathered angel legion. His wings unfurled broadly, his pale golden horn still vibrating with energy.

"All of you," he ordered, tone steady yet commanding, "bow."

No angel budged.

Hundreds of golden stares fixed upon him—brimming with horror, revulsion, and blatant loathing. Wings stayed tucked. Chins remained lifted. The hush was overwhelming.

Michael’s features contorted in raw fury.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he thundered.

The archangel charged ahead, conjuring a colossal blade of sheer holy radiance in his fists. He unleashed a mighty sideways cleave with every ounce of leftover power, potent enough to bisect peaks.

Gabriel scarcely reacted.

He effortlessly hoisted Michael’s taken sword to parry the blow. The weapons collided in a thunderous ring. Bursts of sacred flames sprayed out, yet Gabriel stood firm without shifting.

He smirked—a chill, contented smirk.

"Bow."

The command issued from his mouth as an edict.

Michael’s eyes bulged. His frame seized abruptly, legs folding like an unseen peak had slammed onto his back. He crashed heavily to the floor, his light-forged sword crumbling in his hold. Golden ichor dripped from his lips while he fought the crushing force.

At this instant, Gabriel commanded the fused potency of his personal Midnight Star strength, Raphael’s seized core, and Michael’s sacred blade. In this fleeting span, he outmatched Michael’s former peak.

The whole arena—angels, mortals, Lucifer included—gazed in awestruck quiet as Heaven’s second mightiest archangel unwillingly genuflected before his traitor kin.

Alexander shook his head. "It would seem that Heaven indeed has a new ruler..."