The Guardian Demon (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #3)

Chapter 9: Lily and Johanne Depart

Johanne took many lessons of Spirit Arts with Mei. Soon, she began to grasp her powers and was able to deepen the bond with her guardian spirit. One day, Lucy told her:

"Well, I guess you're ready."

"Yes, Mei and I have gotten much more powerful together!" Johanne jumped in happiness, "Now I can return to West Land and show off my new powers!"

All four - Lucy, Lily, Mei, and Yuehong laughed.

"Sure, little one!" Yuehong caressed her on the head. "If ever the need arises, you can call for us too. But with Mei beside you, I don't think it'll be necessary." He smiled with pride, exchanging glances with his daughter.

Thus, soon, Johanne and Lily bade goodbye to their spirit relatives and departed to West Land with a train. Mei remained in Huli Palace together with her parents. She and Johanne had strengthened their spirit bond quite a lot, so Johanne could freely summon her from any distance, thus, it didn't pose any problem for either of them.

The train clunked on the rails, towards the famous land of Angel Hosts. Lily and Johanne sat together in a coupé, at a table near a window. For some time, neither of them spoke, but then Johanne couldn't remain so quiet anymore and broke the silence:

"So, Auntie Lily, how did you meet Lord Samael?"

Lily started and blushed, being reminded of her beloved. She pressed her hands to her chest with affection:

"It was long ago, when I was about your age."

"Not so long ago, then..." Johanne shrugged. "It's been only fifteen years."

"It's not too short, is it?" Lily chuckled. "In fifteen years an infant turns into a fair young lady."

"Hehe, I guess you're right." Johanne laughed. "So, how did you meet him?"

"You might think I was born an Angel Hostess, just like everyone in our family and the whole West Land..." Lily bitterly smiled. "But you're mistaken. Even though I'm your mother's sister, and you know well that she possesses one of the strongest angels - the guardian of Creation and Birth, Michael - I was still nothing compared to her. I had no angel at all. I wasn't born with one."

"Wait, literally?!" Johanne gasped in shock, "How come? Maybe you're mistaken? I heard from my father that there's no way one can be born without an angel. Angels guard everyone since they're born. Even I had an angel, he just abandoned me!"

"No, dear. It is not as simple as you think." Lily shook her head. "You know I am Lilith, the first female human of the world, reincarnated, don't you? Well, as I was Lilith reborn - the first sinner of this world and the one who had mated the infernal angel of Death and Destruction back in the distant past - angels feared to become my guardians. They thought I was beyond salvation. Even my reincarnation was the result of Samael's heavy labours. I am eternally grateful to him... He has been going against his nature, all for my sake." An affectionate beam covered her face as she remembered her beloved one. "However, when I was reincarnated in this life, I had no memories of my past, so I knew nothing about Samael. I thought of him as everyone does even today - as of the devil, the main enemy of humans, the fallen angel, and the archdemon. But then, when I turned fifteen, he appeared before me..." 

She began retelling Johanne of her past adventures with Samael and Incubus, of how she befriended them and regained her memories with the help of Incubus - the demon of dreams, nightmares, and illusions, thus the linker of people's minds with their soul memories of the subconscious. Johanne listened to her tale with excitement, and in the end, asked:

"So, Incubus has the power to manipulate people's memories?"

"Not exactly 'manipulate'." Lily chuckled. "He can surely manipulate with their dreams, that's true, but as for memories - he can just link a person's mind to their subconscious, making them remember their past lives. He was one of the main figures in helping humans regain the path towards heaven, once they fell as sinners."

"Wow... So, due to Incubus, people were able to reconnect with their souls?" Johanne grasped the meaning of her words.

"Exactly."

"Amazing..."

Johanne cast her eyes down, going into deep thoughts as she gazed at her Skull Bracelet - the Bond Item of Incubus.

Incubus is so powerful... No wonder he's the prince of the underworld.

Silence fell for some time, but then, Johanne broke it again:

"I wonder what my past lives were like."

Lily started and glanced up at her.

"You know, I've always felt like my being abandoned by my angel... should have a certain reason too."

"Oh? What reason exactly?" Lily raised an eyebrow, pretending she was quite surprised, but in fact, she was rather alarmed.

I knew it - Incubus hasn't just casually been visiting her in her dreams. He sensed that she has begun to connect with her soul... independently from him.

She frowned. Johanne's starting to have such strange thoughts meant only one thing - her soul was regaining the enormous spiritual strength she held, which rendered her quite peculiar among other human souls (for, humans generally didn't have this much spiritual power, unlike angels and nature spirits). 

"You know, Auntie Lily, I've been thinking..." Johanne muttered, "If my angel left me even before I was born, what if, like in your case, it was rather... afraid of my soul?"

Lily widened her eyes - yes, exactly as she had suspected, Johanne had begun to realise the truth.

"I don't know, dear..." She gave her a warm smile. "But I'm sure that, eventually, he'll pay for what he's done."

Johanne sighed and put her forehead to the window, looking out at the beautiful landscapes the train passed by.

"Still, I wonder who my past lives were."