My Guardian Angel (Utapri)

《Chapter 03》

This place is nice. Akari thought as she looked around the large living room. Akari had arrived at the angels' manor. It was a huge two storied building far away from the bustle of the city. It turned out that some sort of barrier was set up to keep it hidden from the public's eye.

A big mansion with no other buildings in sight, it's almost like a horror movie setting. And as a fan of horror movies, she liked the place. 

"Here you go." Kira made a cup of tea for Akari.

"Thank you." She looked at the people present, or maybe angels would be the right term. She was sitting on a single sofa. Kira, Eiji and Yamato were sitting on another sofa while Van, Nagi and Shion were on another. Akari couldn't help smiling when she saw Shion hugging Nagi and the latter protesting.

Cute. They don't seem any different than human children.

"Let us start the discussion," declared Eiichi, once entering the room and taking a seat across from her.

.  . .  . . .  . 

"In short, what you told me is. . . . ," Akari started, "Before my birth, my soul was one of the loved souls of the king of heaven. He blessed those souls many times. That's what makes me a 'beloved soul'. And then, out of all those souls, I was chosen to have this 'healing' power. My soul and the holy power make me very special. And that's why the king of hell, who was sealed thousands of years ago, wants me in order to rule this world and heaven. The darkness and hatred inside people's hearts gives him strength and if he takes my soul and power, he will become undefeatable."

She took a moment to catch her breath. "In order to protect me, the seven of you have been sent to earth by the king. Your job is to protect me until the dark king is defeated..... That's the gist of it, right?"

"Yes," replied Kira with a nod.

All this makes me seem like a feeble, helpless female protagonist….I don't like it.

Something else didn't sit right with her. A frown took place in her features. "But, why was I chosen? If the king of heaven knew that the dark king would be after this power, why did he bestow it to me?" ….It makes me look like a sacrifice. 

 "Apparently, you were the most compatible with this strength," Nagi reasoned.

"Then, why would there be any need to bestow this power to someone if the king of hell is after it? Wouldn't it be better if no one had this special power?" She asked again.

"That…. is something only….. his majesty knows," answered Kira.

The woman decided to ask a question that had been sitting in her mind for the longest time. "Say…. I had this terrible headache last night. It felt like my head was being ripped apart. It went away after a few seconds though. However,when I looked outside, the whole city was shrouded by black shadows and mist…. It also happened tonight right before those beings attacked me."

"It must've been because of your powers. It alerted you of the dark energy," Eiji explained.

"Yeah," joined Yamato, "the black shadows that you saw were definitely the negative emotions of people's hearts. When the dark feelings increase, humans suffer more. And this is what gives the dark king strength."

Negative emotions....Is that the reason for the increasing casualties? She remembered when she heard about the car accident and fire breakout while returning home the previous night.

"That brings us to the next topic," Eiichi spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him.

Eiichi looked at Akari. "We have to protect you. One of us will stay with you all the time. So,I suggest you stay in this manor from now on. This place is safer than your home and most of us will be here at all times."