Ablackwing

In Eden, this ability was plainly useless. But at Gaia, this ability of his turned out to be more than useful. That old b.a.s.t.a.r.d gave every angel on Gaia a question, "Do you know what happens when an angel spreads his wings?" and its answer, "Eden knows".

Only an angel could ask that question and only an angel can answer that question. If someone else, for say demons, asks that question, the angel won"t be able to reply the answer. If someone else could guess the answer by some means, they will never be able to copy it exactly and the asker will know!

Some demons could change how their origin looks and masquerade as angels. But this little ability of Don has made the Gaia core of angels absolutely immune to infiltration by demons. Unless they all move to capture the Don himself and force him to submit, they can"t mess up anything at Gaia core. And Don might look very old but by no means he is weak. He can surely last a few seconds against me.

Back to the point, for the betterment of security, Don allowed only a few higher angels could ask that question. I was one of the angels who could ask this question. Back then, I didn"t think that I"d need to use that old man"s ability some day.

I would have to try some other means if the two kids hadn"t met old Don before but they did meet him and they did understand the significance of the words I spoke to them.

Their eyes shone. The little boy"s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. That girl had a milder reaction but still surprise was written all over her face. I guess they both didn"t expect a friend to pop out of nowhere to help them in their desperate times.

"So be good kids and let me help you out."

"Okay... Thank you so..." The boy was agreeing happily but that girl put her hands on his shoulder and stopped him.

"Mister... Thank you for being generous but I think you shouldn"t try to come in this matter." By that time, the surprise on her face had faded. Solemness had taken over her face and she continued, "The demons following us are strong, very strong. In fact, you should go as far as you can from this city. This city is not safe for us anymore."

The boy"s happiness vanished as if he realized something. Before I could say anything I heard the little boy murmur something I couldn"t unhear and ignore.

"d.a.m.n... Why did we fell in the same city where that monster fell? If not for him, we probably wouldn"t need to worry about our life."

"Hey. Stop whining." The girl stopped her brother but I could see that she still silently agreed on her brother"s statement.

Anger took over my mind when I heard that boy... I hated to be called like that. I killed. But only demons. I hurt but only bad guys. Was that such a bad deal? But...

I must be out of my mind to still think of helping them.

If I look at it in a different way, that was the truth. That was the fate of the people around me. The girl"s ability was strong but the demons that had come for me were even stronger... Even though it was indirectly, I did cause those two children harm... I consoled myself with such thoughts.

"Looking down on me, are you?" I asked. By no means it was easy to continue on as if nothing happened. But I think I was always good at keeping things to myself. The anger I felt didn"t appear on my face or voice. I sometimes wonder if disguising emotions was an ability of mine I somehow learned unintentionally, unknowingly. I guess I"ll only know about it on the day I lose all my powers.

"No... It"s just that... they"re beyond your powers," the girl refused in a hesitant manner.

"What are your names?" I asked.

"I"m Jeanne and he"s my brother Jean." the girl replied.

"So Jeanne and Jean, you don"t have to worry about anything. I"m very strong."

"How strong are you?" This time, Jean asked curiously. He was like a young chick who was out of the nest for the first time and everything fascinated him. I wondered what I should tell him as an answer. It was hard to quantify strength. Those ranks among angels were used by almost everyone but after all the rank system was made by someone who was bored and decided to do something fun.

After pondering for a while, I replied, "Strong enough to come back after visiting Gehenna."

When I had descended to h.e.l.l, I had almost slaughtered everyone inside their central land. My killing spree was short-lived because mother summoned me back. But I still managed to kill a few thousand of devils. I wasn"t the only one who had tried visiting h.e.l.l after losing some friends or family. Before me, many did it. But h.e.l.l turned out to be the graveyard for most of them. Only a small fraction could return back but they too were gravely injuries. Only I and I alone returned unscathed.

Jeanne looked at me without any expression, pondering if what I said was true or not. Jean on the other hand fully believed me. He was looking at me as if I was his idol.

It didn"t matter to me if they believed me or not. If they kept insisting on going their own way, I"d knock them up and take them away. Later I"d have to pack them in a box and send them to that old man. He would whine for a while but I was sure he would take good care of them. What else can he do? He is too good to send the kids back to me.

When I felt Jeanne"s skeptical gaze, I started getting ready to make them unconscious. But she sincerely replied the next moment, "Then please help us, good sir."

I was dumbstruck for a moment. What was that skeptical look for then? Girls really are very hard to understand. But nonetheless, I wouldn"t make trouble for them just for the girl"s gaze. I turned around towards the exit and asked them to follow me.

Though hesitant, they still followed me. I was their best bet at life.

"The demons are outside you know. I can make us three invisible for a short while if you want," Jeanne said.

"There"s no need for that." Jeanne was not in good condition. Even though her ability is heaven-defying, it was still too much to handle for her tiny body. She needed more time to control her ability to perfection. I needed to bring these kids to Eve"s car. They"d be safe once there. After the last time I got careless, I had learnt my lesson and made that black car untraceable. And I wouldn"t mind meeting some demons on the way. I needed some release.

When I was walking on the side of the road, I saw a girl, a bit older than Jeanne, wearing not so well clothes. She was asking the pa.s.serbys to buy her flowers but none gave her a second glance. There was a small flower shop a few hundred meters ahead and I could see she was reselling the flowers to earn money. Even though she was not successful, her attempt was noteworthy.

What caught my attention was that single purple coloured lily in her hand, hidden among a bunch of various types of flowers. That unusual colour instantly reminded me of Eve"s eyes. That Lily had almost the same colour as my angel"s eyes. The two violet oceans inside my Eve"s eyes were too much enchanting that I lose myself in them. They were too ferocious.

How great would it be if I could one day make a garden with such lilies everywhere!

I walked near that girl and picked the flower in her hand. That little girl was fearful that I would steal it but she didn"t say a word. Well, that was inappropriate of me.

"How much for it, dear?"

"Only... Only one..." She was having difficulty speaking. Was I really that scary? I couldn"t help but sigh on my misfortune.

I took out my wallet and saw I had no cash with me. I regretted that I never used cash. The card I got from the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d was enough for all of my needs till now. I pa.s.sed the little girl my card and a paper slip containing the pin of the card and our address.

"Buy me all the purple lilies you can and send them to this address. You can take out the money you need and the money for your services from this card. But remember to return it."

It might appear careless of me for giving my card to a total stranger but I trusted her. Her lifestream was pure and untainted just like the morning dew on the little blades of gra.s.s. The money would not corrupt her.

The little girl was too surprised to say anything. I could understand her feelings. I just tugged her, pat her head and asked her to go. It"d be meaningless to say or explain anything more.

And at the next moment, I felt a tug on the sleeves of my left hand.

When I turned my head, I saw Jean was holding my sleeve and he was pointing ahead with his finger. Jeanne too was looking in that direction with a solemn expression. My eyes followed to the direction Jean was pointing at.

Standing ahead was the same man in a yellow dress that entered the store in search of these kids. He was the same demon who was chasing them. He looked a little decent. I don"t want to sound narcissist but that demon couldn"t hold a candle to me in looks.

That yellow demon"s expression was smug and somehow sinister enough to induce fear in common mortals. I was much scarier. That demon curled his lips in a smile. He then turned around, walked a bit ahead and turned to the left in a small alley. He appeared to be giving us the invitation to follow him. Little did the demon know that the darkness belonged to me... I was ready to follow him but the kids weren"t.

"We should run as soon as we can," Jeanne suggested.

"Do you think you can? Do you think he is alone?" I questioned her. I had already sensed the area nearby. There were three devils lurking in the shadows. Jeanne shuddered because or my warning. She had realized that I might be right.