Life As Hikigaya Hachiman

Chapter 552: Who Exactly Is the Angel?

With Shizuka's cheerful announcement, the entire activity room came alive with excitement.

A school-wide dance—just thinking about it was enough to make anyone thrilled.

At that moment, Hachiman's voice rang out in the activity room.

"Alright, everyone, let's not get too carried away. Now isn't the time to celebrate. Since the school has approved our proposal, it means they trust us, and we need to work even harder to live up to that trust."

"None of you want to disappoint that trust, right?"

He smiled slightly as he looked around the room.

"So, let's make history together, shall we?"

Hearing his words, the student council members couldn't help but feel their hearts swell with determination.

That's right—we're making history.

Looking back at the history of Sobu High, there had never been a graduation ceremony on such a grand scale. If they could pull it off successfully, it would surely leave a significant mark on the school's legacy.

The thought of such a moment filled everyone with excitement, even Yukino.

If this graduation ball could be executed perfectly, it would undoubtedly surpass her sister's achievements and prove her abilities to her mother.

Although Yukino no longer cared as much about competing with her sister, if she could achieve such a milestone, why not go for it?

After all, the dance was happening regardless—why not strive to make it as perfect as possible?

With this thought, Yukino couldn't help but glance toward Hachiman. Noticing her gaze, Hachiman met her eyes and smiled as he spoke.

"In the days ahead, things might get a little tough for everyone, but these challenges are merely stepping stones on the path to success. Like I said before—"

"We're making history here."

His words reignited everyone's spirit, filling them with energy as they threw themselves back into their respective tasks.

And so, the entire organizing committee began working at full capacity, like a well-oiled machine running at its peak.

...

Saturday.

Hachiman woke up early as usual, got himself ready, and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Though everything seemed normal, Hachiman couldn't shake off a strange feeling in his body—something he couldn't quite put into words.

"Could I be getting sick?" he wondered, puzzled.

However, he quickly dismissed the thought.

After all, he possessed the powerful healing ability of Holy Light.

Illnesses had long since ceased to trouble him. Even without the Holy Light, his max-level Physique module made him practically immune to all ailments.

To be cautious, Hachiman used Holy Light to thoroughly scan his body inside and out, but he found nothing unusual.

"Maybe it's just psychological," he thought to himself.

Shrugging off the distraction, he focused on making breakfast.

Not long after, the smell of his cooking lured a little girl into the kitchen—it was Komachi.

"Good morning, Onii-chan!" Komachi greeted him cheerfully.

"Morning, Komachi," Hachiman replied with a smile and a nod.

Now that her entrance exams were over, Komachi had plenty of free time on her hands, reminiscent of Hachiman's early days after arriving in this world.

But unlike him, Komachi was lively and outgoing, surrounded by friends at school. With the pressure of exams lifted, her middle school peers had also let loose, spending their days having fun.

As a result, Komachi had been spending much of her time out of the house lately.

Thankfully, Hachiman had placed numerous protective blessings on her, or he wouldn't have been able to rest easy.

With his Holy Light module leveling up significantly, Hachiman had become adept at using it, and granting blessings to others was no problem at all.

It wasn't just Komachi—Yukino, Yui, Yumiko, Shizuka, and others had also received many blessings from him.

These blessings weren't subtle, either. Angels like Gabriel and Raphiel, both bona fide celestial beings, could easily detect them.

And when they noticed the blessings on the girls, both angels were utterly dumbfounded.

"Who's the real angel here?" they couldn't help but wonder.

Why did Yukino and the others have more blessings than they did—and seemingly of higher quality, too?

Gabriel and Raphiel weren't fools. It didn't take them long to realize Hachiman was behind it all.

After all, if Heaven had dispatched new angels to this world, Gabriel and Raphiel, as stationed angels, would have been informed.

But they hadn't received any such news.

Aside from angels, the only one capable of using Holy Light for blessings was Hachiman, the hero.

Realizing this, the two angels fell silent, overwhelmed by a mix of awe and disbelief.

During the previous Christmas, when Hachiman gave them protective charms, Gabriel and Raphiel had already noticed that the Holy Light possessed by this hero had surpassed their own, even as bona fide angels.

At the time, the Holy Light infusion was simple and lacked any technical complexity.

But now, things were different. The blessings on Yukino and the others were advanced, requiring skilled mastery of Holy Light to execute. Some of these blessings were so intricate that even Gabriel and Raphiel, as natural-born angels, couldn't replicate them.

This is the terrifying power of an S-Class Hero.

In such a short time, Hachiman had surpassed the two of them, natural angels by birth. At this point, Hachiman was likely comparable to mid-ranked angels such as Powers or Dominions, perhaps even higher-ranking Principalities.

The Hierarchy of Angels

Upper Three Ranks: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones.

Middle Three Ranks: Principalities, Powers, Dominions.

Lower Three Ranks: Virtues, Archangels, Angels.

According to records in Heaven, most heroes, after successfully being transformed, could only reach the level of an Archangel or Virtue at best.

Only a select few exceptional heroes could reach the middle ranks, and most of those would only attain the level of Dominions. Heroes like Hachiman, capable of breaking into the ranks of Powers or even Principalities, were exceedingly rare.

As for the upper-level angels, Gabriel and Raphiel didn't even dare to imagine.

In all of Heaven, upper-level angels were few and far between. For instance, the legendary Four Archangels—Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel—were all among the highest ranks.

Even Gabriel's elder sister, Zelel, who was hailed as the leading figure of the new generation of angels, had only reached the level of a Principality.

But the two angels had still underestimated Hachiman.

Hachiman had undoubtedly already reached the level of an upper-ranked angel. If one were to consider the sheer volume of Holy Light stored within him, he could rival, or even slightly surpass, the mightiest of Seraphim.

After all, the near-maxed-out Holy Light module was no trivial matter.

And that wasn't all—Hachiman didn't only wield the power of light. He also possessed an equally terrifying power of darkness.

If the two forces were combined, Hachiman's true combat strength would be unimaginable, even to himself.

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