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"You can't ever win if you're always on the defensive. To win, you have to attack!"
– Light Yagami, (Death Note)
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<(Atem POV)>
"So, you are the infamous Angela? I have heard a lot about you. Your Queen talks highly of your talents, and by the looks of it, she was quite right to have such high expectations of you too. You definitely did not let her down." I praised the beautiful wingless woman standing in front of me before taking a peek at the Queen of Angels who was sitting patiently beside me with a graceful smile on her face. Noticing my gaze on her, she quickly nodded, thus confirming my words.
"Indeed, you completed your mission long before I expected you to. I knew you could handle the Hierophants, but I never thought you would be able to deal with them so easily and efficiently. Honestly, I was even prepared to participate in the battle myself if things turned sour. So, this definitely calls for a reward. Tell us what you want, and as long as it is within our power, we will most certainly grant it to you, you have my word." Michelle, the Queen of the Angels offered. She knew about my intentions and was aware of what I wanted from Angela since I had already told her about my... family background and who I truly was. So, she was actually doing me a favor by trying to ease her up about it.
"Thank you, my Queen. But I hadn't achieved this victory alone. It was a team effort, and I couldn't have done this without the help of the other angels, especially Cecilia and Adelaide." She politely answered before pointing at the two angels standing a few feet away from her.
"As a reward, the very fact that my achievements were recognized by the royal palace is enough for me. However, if you still insist on rewarding me, then I have a small request." Angela said before gesturing to a wingless angel standing behind her to come forward. "This is Sera, she is an Anchorite. But after a Hierophant priest cast a spell on her a few days ago, she was forcibly transformed into a female angel although she still doesn't have wings just like ordinary anchorites... and me." A look of sadness etched on her face after mentioning her lack of wings. "Anyway, as I was saying, she doesn't have anywhere to go now since she is neither a full female angel nor a full anchorite. So, I would like to ask the Queen if it is possible that she may remain with me instead of going back to the temple."
"You think we are going to send all the anchorites back to the temples after everything that happened? Hahaha. No, they are all free to live however they want. From now on, the anchorites will have all the rights as any other female angel. They are free to do whatever they want with their lives except for joining the military, that is. The truth is we would have allowed that too, but we all know that their numbers are quite limited. We can't have anchorites dying in battle amid the already declining population of the angels. But fear not, we are working on a more permanent solution. Once we can solve the declining population problem of the angels, we will gladly allow them to join the army as well." I declared before the Queen could respond, subtly making it clear that I had more authority in making decisions than her.
However, I noticed that not all of the faces in the throne room looked too thrilled at the possibility of the anchorites getting the same rights and freedom as the rest of them... Correction, most of the faces didn't seem happy at the fact that the Anchorites would no longer be regarded as "inferior" to them. I guess they were the same as humans in that regard. After all, almost every self-aware living being likes to have someone to hate and consider beneath them. That's just how society operates, they need someone to look down on so that they can vent the frustration and hatred of their daily lives on someone else. That is why some amount of racism, classism, or sexism will always exist in society.
