The Guardian Angel (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #1)

Chapter 11: The Angel of Death

Lily was still coldly watching the adversaries, who now were fearfully trembling:

"What the heck of a fiend is that?!"

"Lilith..." a deep, horrendous, demonic voice spread out of the blackened hood. Hearing such a monstrous sound, the boys who earlier stood tall now shivered and stepped back. Doriel's brown eyes expressed concern as well. He spread his golden wings to cover his host Sheldon and his friends and clutched his sword in his hands to be ready to defend himself. "Lilith..." the same ominous voice of the blackened reaper repeated, and the dark angel turned back to Lily, "What kind of execution would you desire?"

"Eh? What execution?! I only called you here to defend that poor kid and his angel! And by the way, what kind of a scary costume is that? This is not a Halloween, you know! Turn back into that boy. In that form you were at least handsome," she crossed arms, and her cheeks flushed as she realised she had just called him 'handsome'.

Johan and Amiel blinked in stupefaction - she dared act so bossy with this dreadful fiend she had just called 'the Lord of the Underworld'?! Sheldon angrily clenched his fists:

"Enough with the chit-chat! I see you're mere clowns! Doriel, finish them!"

Doriel roared and rushed towards the reaper.

"Well then," the horrendous voice spoke again, now irritatedly, "if you don't have a desire for any specific execution, then I shall place my judgment upon him myself," he clutched his black-handled, silver-tipped deadly scythe, "My judgment is - death!" 

Doriel halted, and just as he got confused for a moment, the deathly reaper's black scythe ran through his body, slashing him in half.

"Ah!" Amiel shrieked in horror and closed eyes not to see this brutality.

"Doriel!" Sheldon screamed in a girly voice - he killed his angel?! Doriel spat out divine blood, and shimmered in the golden light, dissipating in thin air. Sheldon helplessly stretched his hands towards the light: "No! Doriel!"

"Sorry, master, I... failed you. I was corrupted by your evil thoughts... Farewell..."

The voice silenced and the light vanished.

"No!" Sheldon dropped to his knees and began crying like a toddler. The three other boys got terrified and ran off as fast as they could.

Seeing he had already gotten rid of his adversary, the deathly reaper wrapped up in black smoke, and his scythe, as well as his torn black clothes, hood, and wings, disappeared, making the same handsome black-haired, blue-eyed boy appear that Lily had earlier met in her bathroom. The girl, seeing how brutally he resolved this matter, furiously yelled at him:

"You moron, I didn't ask you to slaughter this guy's angel!"

"I'm not only an angel of judgment and testing. I'm the angel of destruction and death. My judgment is absolute, and always right. Doriel was already corrupted by this shameless host," Samael coldly kicked off whimpering Sheldon and walked towards frightened Johan who had leaned against the stone wall. "That kind of an angel had a big chance of getting weakened. Then there were two options - either leaving one's host or changing into a demonic being. I saved him from that - severed his ties with this fool," he disgustfully gazed down at Sheldon who trembled and sobbed and then darted off with all his might. "Doriel will have time to gain back his light power and serve the High Forces again. After all, he's an angel of war, he'll make it... Oh, and speaking of which, I am really surprised my brother let angels of war become guardians. Really a stupid move..." 

He walked up to shivering Johan, who stared at him in dread:

"Don't kill me..."

"Jo...han..." Amiel weakly stretched her hand desperately towards him. She had lost a lot of blood and couldn't even move a finger, yet she still fought with all the inner strength she had left, to selflessly protect her host... Samael turned towards her now, and advanced, a frown covering his face. Tears gushed from Amiel's eyes: "Angel... of death..."

Lily got scared at Samael's such strictness:

"Don't touch them, they're nice!"

"Hush human! You are not to judge..." Samael knelt beside Amiel and touched her forehead with his two fingers.

"Ah!"

"Amiel!" Johan shrieked - what was this demon doing with his angel?!

"No! Leave her alone!" Lily now regretted calling upon this weirdo. Ugh, he's such a pain!

In all of a sudden, Amiel glowed bright and all of her injuries vanished. She stood up, astounded - she could move! She was healed!

"Amiel! You're okay! Amiel!"

"Johan!" Amiel rushed to her host and hugged him tightly, "Oh, Johan, please forgive me for not being able to protect you!"

"What are you saying?! You're the best angel!" Johan squeezed her, so happy he was to have her back safe and sound. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Samael watched them with a cold face. He put his hands in his pockets, turned back, and walked away. Lily smiled:

"You're a good guy".

"I only do my job".

"Miss!" Lily heard the boy's voice from behind. She looked back to meet Johan's grateful eyes as he bowed down to her: "Thank you!"

"Ah," she blushed, "that was really nothing... I'm glad to help!"

"Anyway..."

"Huh?" they all glanced at Samael.

"If you do have an angel, why the heck are you walking around in this rats' den?"

The boy sighed. Amiel put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"I... I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was young. They both had lost their angels so they lived here. I remained here because I had nowhere else to go... I'm a beggar now like my parents were before me".

"Aww..." Lily put hands to her chest, "I'm sorry, Johan..."

Samael watched him, though his eyes showed neither pity nor remorse. They stayed icy cold like always.

"Speak of a living hell..." he muttered through his teeth and walked back to Lily and the little boy, "Come".

"Huh?"

"Let's go to a restaurant... My treat..."

"Eh?" Johan's eyes brightened like the shimmering sun.

"What?" Lily gasped.

Samael furrowed his brow and looked away, but Lily could still notice his blush. She chuckled:

He's ashamed to do something entirely good... He's actually really cute...

Thus, all four of them went out of the dark alley together.