Rise Of The Hoarder

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

An electrifying surge coursed through my body as I sharply descended from the sky.

Rushing to my targets in a blur, I stretched both hands and covered their faces with my palms.

"Mmph!"

"Heuk!"

I ignored their stifled expressions of protest and forcefully grasped their heads with my hand.

Since they were still recoiling from the damage dealt to them, the Archangels couldn't resist my strong grip... and what came after.

>GRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUU<

Dragging their bodies on the earth, I flew at top speed.

Their heads remained rooted to the ground, and their helpless—previously pure flesh—became one with dirt and debris.

"Hahahahahaha! Struggle some more!"

It was insanity, but I didn't care.

Drowning myself in the rush of power I felt, though childish, was necessary to let out the frustrated energy that was pent up within me.

>WHOOOOSSHHHH<

Once again, I took to the sky, lifting the two Archangels from the rubble.

In a fast twirl, we left Earth's atmosphere, which, of course, did not bother me in the slightest.

'Down we go!'

>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM<

Causing a seismic storm in my wake, I returned to earth, still strongly gripping the two struggling Executioners.

"Hup!"

>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM<

Another round of destruction spread across the area.

I could have sworn that the entire area—as large as a city too—was done for with the amount of destruction caused.

And, it was glorious.

"Haa... isn't this the stuff?" I smiled at the two Archangels who looked like shit.

"Uriel and Raphael... you guys don't look too good."

Only groans could escape their twisted jaws and ruptured lips.

They indeed looked terrible.

"You know, I can guess you guys think you have it bad. But, I'm honestly just having fun here."

Yep, I was scum.

When powerless, I was nothing more than a pathetic coward who would do anything to survive—though that apparently didn't get me anywhere.

But, once power came into play, the coward known as Jeremy Lewis would grow fangs and become a sadistic maniac.

"I'm a hypocrite, but who cares! I just want what I want."

My perspective was now much broader, so my goal had naturally transcended the limits of simple survival.

"Y-you... Guark..." Raphael coughed, writhing in pain.

A lot of his bones had been broken, after all. He was also covered in burns and blood.

"Don't look at me that way. I mean, you did worse to me."

The army that I painstakingly made with a great amount of pain and effort—all of them whom I could have had fun adventures with—was turned to dust.

That was unfair.

"Compared to this, what you did was far worse. But, I'm already bored of beating you guys."

Once I let out my pent-up frustration, it was basically meaningless to do anything further. Besides, the System would soon interfere since the whole Patch Update stuff would stabilize any moment now.

"Sariel, return to me—preferably with the other one," I murmured.

Of course, I was using our telepathic link to communicate. I probably wasn't used to speaking to her with my mind, so I simply blurted it out.

"URGHH..." Using the groans of my vanquished opponents as music to my ears while witnessing the devastated landscape around us, I waited for my dear partner.

And then—

>WHOOOOSSHHHH<

—She arrived before even ten seconds elapsed.

With a heavy thud, Lemuel collapsed on the ground, even more beaten up than my opponents.

To be honest, even though I roughened them up quite a bit, it seemed the one who fought Sariel had been worse off.

He couldn't even speak. Unintelligible sounds simply emanated from his swollen body parts, and his naked body throbbed in what I could only imagine to be unimaginable pain.

I took my eyes off his miserable body and stared at the beautiful face of the one who was responsible for such merciless torture.

"Hm?" Sariel gave me an innocent look, as though she wasn't aware of her cruelty.

Despite her calm demeanor, she was able to wreak this much damage on her former colleague...

'Makes me happy she went easy on me that time.' I laughed awkwardly.

Still, despite how gruesomely it was done, the work was complete. All Four Archangels were present.

"What now?" Sariel's voice gently filled the air.

Shrugging, I looked at the three half-dead angelic entities on the ground.

"They no longer have any definite use, and it's going to be stressful trying to bring them over to my side."

If the Supreme Being was around to speak to the three, it would be helpful, but the guy had gone off.

I also didn't want the hassle of having to deal with three extra subordinates.

"I'll take them to Subspace and merge their Essence with yours."

"W-wha...?! You mean—?"

"Yep. You'll be the amalgamation of the three. Got any problem with that?" My eyebrows were raised as I stared at the stoic-faced Angel.

She looked away for a moment, appearing hesitant.

And then—

"N-no... it's nothing."

"Yeah, right. I know what this is about, but don't worry. I won't erase your consciousness, neither will I merge that aspect. You'll remain yourself."

"A-ah!" Sariel appeared surprised that I had figured out the reason for her hesitation.

Despite appearing emotionless, I could tell that the Archangel was slowly developing as an individual.

It would suck if I forcefully made her a collective instead.

Besides...

"I like you the way you are, Sariel. It would be weird adding the minds of three other guys... don't you think?"

"A-ah, I see..."

For a moment, an air of awkwardness swept the devastated area.

There was something left unspoken, but I wasn't going to be the one to bring it out in the open.

'I really wish I could numb these rabid feelings right now...'

Unfortunately, none of my past stuff was going to be of any use to me—even if I had them.

I still didn't have my Skills and Titles. Most of my Items were lost as well, and my Stats were in their base form.

'I'll be needing specific Items that go well with my current state. I'll also need to craft my Skills and Titles myself.'

To do that, though, I needed more (G) Essence.