Seraphim is a Bystander

Kushiki Minato
 
Now then—this is sudden, but I’m currently in a bit of a panic.
Why, you ask? Because I’m aware that I’m dreaming right now.

When an Archangel like me dreams, time passes extremely slowly.
Even normal people have probably experienced dreams that feel longer than the six hours they slept.
In my case, it’s far more extreme—once, a mere 15-minute nap in Heaven turned into a dream that spanned years.
And as for how long I’ve been in this current dream…
From my memories as a human to the time I’ve spent as an angel—
That is, over 5 billion years have passed in this dream.
Even if an angel's cognitive capacity is vast and dream-time is accelerated, once you’ve experienced five billion years in a dream, you lose all sense of how much time has passed in the real world.
I've never slept this long since becoming an angel.

    “I didn’t set any kind of alarm, either…”
Normally, if I tell myself “Wake up at this time” before sleeping, I wake up exactly then.
But this time, I just dozed off without thinking about anything.
So I truly have no idea how long I’ve been asleep.
    “How long is this gonna go on…”

I muttered as I continued watching the dream hazily.
Right now, the scene had shifted—from when I returned from shopping with my mother and fell asleep like melting wax—to something I had never relived in my dreams before.
    “Did you see that video that went up yesterday?”

…This was the final moment of my life as Kushiki Minato.
I was walking side by side with a friend, in my now-nostalgic male body.
That friend, though a different gender, shared similar struggles in life—but worked hard and, through sheer willpower, managed to grasp their own happiness.
Compared to my gloomy existence, they were living a life of real value.
A scream rang out.
I looked away from the smartphone my friend was showing me and turned my eyes toward the road ahead.

There—
A person with their hood pulled low, charging at us with a knife.
The word “random attacker” surfaced in my mind.
Still, I didn’t think they’d actually target us…
But I instinctively stepped in front of my friend, shielding them.
    “Hey… what’s going on…?”

I didn’t turn around.
I just said “It’s okay” and kept my eyes on the attacker.
We were on the side of the road. They’d probably just pass us by…
So I thought—until the attacker met my eyes.
A chill ran down my spine.
This person lives to take from others—without cause, without mercy.

Even knowing I might die, I found myself strangely calm.
There’s no way I can win against someone with a knife.
…Trying to fight is a mistake in itself. But still—
    “Eek…”

The sound of my friend collapsing behind me.
No good. I can’t run away anymore.
There’s no way I could ever leave this friend behind and save myself.
    “Uwaaaaahhh!!”

The attacker’s scream echoed right in front of me—
And then, thud, a dull impact hit my body.
I got stabbed, I thought dimly.
I saw the attacker’s face, close enough to touch.
    “…Huh?”

The attacker who stabbed me was now staring past me.
At my friend, frozen behind me.
I felt the knife slide out of my body.
In the same moment, I grabbed their hand—and the knife—with my own.

    “Wh-What are you—?! Hii!?”
What the hell were you planning to do?
Don’t screw with me.

If it was just me, I wouldn’t have minded dying.
If it were only me, I would’ve let myself be your victim.
I’m worthless enough for someone like you to take out.
But that—
I can’t forgive.
    “Let… let go! Gah?!”

I tightly grabbed the attacker’s hand with ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) my left,
and used my free right fist to punch him square in the face.
He said something, but with all the adrenaline, my brain wasn’t processing it.
I just kept hitting him—driven by pure instinct.
At some point, I was straddling him, beating him without end.
Punching. Punching. Punching.
Even after he stopped moving—punching.

Kill. Kill. Kill.
Even if I die, I’ll kill you.
Destroy. Destroy. Destroy.
Even if I lose myself—I’ll destroy you.
    “…Huh?”
At some point, I found myself surrounded by multiple versions of the attacker.

Each of them was looking at me in horror.
But I didn’t care.
Someone like you, who tried to take everything from a beautiful soul—
I’ll kill you.

Somehow, I’d returned to my angelic form.
Even that didn’t matter anymore.
Whether it’s a dream or not—
As long as I’m me, I will never forgive scum like you.
More tools to kill? All the better.
I swung my constructive power with full force, creating a field of force.

I smashed the attackers around me—one by one—into pulp.
Pulverize. Pulverize. Pulverize…
Until not a trace remains.
    “……”
I kept swinging, mind blank…
Wait?

A flicker of noise disrupted the monochrome storm inside my mind.
Something entered my vision, stirring my thoughts back to clarity.
    “…A meteor?”
A flaming mass fell from the sky, threading through the gaps in my force field.

No… that’s not just a fireball—that’s…
Aoi?
The moment I realized that, I remembered—

This was all a dream.
    “…This is bad, isn’t it?”