3 A Fallen Angel

"I'm not lying…"

A voice almost broken by emotions pierced the air as he clamored with pearls of tears in his eyes.

"...I'm innocent!! Please believe me!!"

With shackled hands and colossal wings hanging lifelessly to his sides, Requaniel made a plea to the deities and angels around him while slamming his hands against the ground.

His white astral dress was ripped as if someone had beaten him to a pulp, his fair face was ragged in dust, and his silver hair was awry.

Only his crystal-blue eyes were flashing around in search of redemption.

He had been accused by the Gods for the death of Lady Celestia.

"Why don't you believe me?! Why would I kill her?! She means a lot to me! She's my everything! There's no way I could even think of something like that!!"

Screaming from the top of his lungs, Requaniel glared at the deities and his fellow angels with his teary eyes, still wishing for them to understand.

However, the loathing that they had developed toward Requaniel in the past was enough for them to ignore his plea.

After becoming the only successor to the position of Angel of Protection, a position that every angel in the land was desperate to get, Requaniel opened up his way to loathing from the angels.

The Supreme Angels, the Celestial Asuras, and even the new angel attendance—everyone in the land of honour, even the young innocent children, were looking at him with eyes filled with disdain and anger.

"You bastards..."

Witnessing their demeanor, Requaniel gritted his teeth and lowered his swollen eyes as tears continuously streamed out of them because of the loss of his beloved Lady Celestia.

"?!"

Yet suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, dilating his eyes as his gaze darted around hysterically in search of a certain person.

"D-Demenisis!!"

He called out as a little smile shaped his face after noticing his only friend in the crowd. Despite Requaniel's impressions of others, he believed that perhaps his friend might help him.

"You believe me, right?! Please tell them that I'm innocent! You know how much I admire Lady Celestia, right? You know I won't do such an abhorrent thing, right?!"

Hearing Requaniel's utterances, his friend, Demenisis, bit his lips and lowered his gaze with an apologetic expression as if he were trying not to get hated by other angels and deities.

"D-Demenisis…? Why even you now?"

Requaniel's eyes, which were filled with hope a minute ago, turned enraged as he noticed the betrayal of his friend, whom he helped a lot in the past.

"Why?! Have you forgotten how much I have helped you become an Angel of Light?! Is this how you're gonna repay me?!"

He yelled, but to no avail, as Demenisis just averted his eyes.

The death of the goddess had already deeply shocked him, and now the betrayal by his friend has left him gobsmacked.

'Poor thing.'

"?!"

Requaniel's eyes dilated again as he heard a familiar voice in his head, and his gaze sharpened as he glanced to his left at a certain angel named William, who was looking at Requaniel with a dark grin.

"You…"

Requaniel gritted his teeth after seeing William's smile.

William was Requaniel's rival and always hated Requaniel for having more achievements than his own.

'To think you'll get accused of something that you'd never dreamed of. Heh, you have my condolences, poor Requaniel.'

Hearing William's voice in his head through telepathy, Requaniel's fists tightened in anger, but there was nothing he could do about it.

'Don't worry, Requaniel. After you get exiled, I'll be the next Angel of Protection, my long-lost dream will finally come true. Thanks to the one who killed Lady Celestia. Though I wonder, who has done so? After all, killing a goddess is not a small feat, no, Requaniel? But it's good that she died; hmph, because there's no way I can be her aide, you know?'

Hearing that scandalous statement boil Requaniel's blood as the veins appeared on his forehead, his enraged eyes glared at William. He roared,

"You bastard!! How dare you–Ugh?!"

Unfortunately, his words got interrupted by one of the Supreme Angels as he slammed Requaniel's head against the ground, saying with a grimace,

"You vile creature! Not only have you committed the carnal sin by killing Lady Celestia, but now you even dare to use foul words against your fellow angels!"

"I…I didn't…do anything…"

Requaniel uttered while trying to stay conscious since the fierce pressure that the Supreme Angel was putting on him was way too much for him to withstand.

The Supreme Angel was none other than his father, Michael.

"Liar..."

With a revolted look, Michael lifted Requaniel through his head, and looking straight into Requaniel's eyes with his oceanic eyes, he questioned,

"Then, why were you the only one in the room when Lady Celestia died? Why were her fragment found around your body? Even though the Holy Judgments have found you guilty, are you saying that they're wrong? Do you think they get this position just for the show?"

The anger and frustration were seen in Michael's voice.

"Why don't you just believe me for once…father…?"

Requaniel uttered it in a broken yet enraged voice as he continued,

"You know…how much I…cared about her…. don't you? I…I actually loved her!! Even at the last moment of her life, I was trying my best to heal her because she was…coughing blood. Why don't you believe me?! I'm your son, ain't I?!"

Requaniel's testimony softened Supreme Angel's eyes for a few minutes as he spoke after gritting his teeth.

"Why Requaniel…? You…you shouldn't have done that. No matter what you say, the result of the Holy Judgements was never considered wrong, and now, even in your case, nothing can be changed."

At the time when it felt like Michael was about to cry, a stoic look shaped his face again, and he started dragging Requaniel towards the Holy Water.

Upon arriving there, around a few footsteps away from the crowd, Michael raised his arms towards the sky, exclaiming,

"Oh, Holy Water of Honour, I call upon the Judgement itself to sanctify the water of this divine lake and accept the sinner of the Land of Honour!"

As his voice pierced through the air, the blue water in the divine lake started turning red.

"It's time to end him."

Another Supreme Angel commented.

"Yes, he's no longer an Angel of Protection, and by the carnal sin he had done, he has already become a fallen angel."

An Angel candidate blurted out.

"Yes, kill this monster!"

"Yes, that's right!"

Sooner, the cry of the blood-thirsty crew grew louder and louder with the cry of "Kill him."

"No…"

Meanwhile, Requaniel's actual focus was the lake water. He noticed the change in the lake's water, so he tried to drag himself back because he knew that once he fell into that water, his story would end without a doubt.

"Wait!" Suddenly, a cry was heard, and a blond-haired boy was seen rushing towards Requaniel.

"You're not allowed to go, Sir Zephyr."

But unfortunately, the guards stopped him from going towards Requaniel.

"No, hear me out! There's no way Requaniel will do something atrocious like this to my sister! He cared a lot for her! There must be some misunderstanding!" Shouting from the top of his lungs, Zephyr, the only trusted friend of Requaniel tried to protect him, but to no avail.

"Zephyr."

"?!" Unexpectedly, Zephyr's eyes widened as he heard a deep voice from the front and noticed Michael glaring at him as he intimidated him, saying, "You do know that saving a criminal is a death warrant, right?"

"B-but Uncle Michael…Requaniel can't…" Lowering his golden gaze in fear, Zephyr tried to protest, but the glares of other deities and angels silenced him.

"Zephyr…" Requaniel finally smiled after seeing him as he blinked his eyes as if thanking him by gesture, but before he could say anything, Michael picked him up, ready to throw him into the divine lake.

Regardless of Requaniel's attempts to free himself, Michael snatched him with his shackles and raised him above the ground.

"Don't! Damn you! Father, I really feel ashamed of calling you...my father. You don't deserve it!!"

As if it were his last moment, Requaniel screamed for the last time, but upon noticing his anger, Michael opened his mouth, whispering,

"Hate me all you want; I don't care. But...no matter what…don't ever come back here."

"?" His words confused Requaniel because it was obvious that once he fell into the lake, he would be completely erased from existence.

Then what does the supreme angel even try to say?

Michael grasped the shackles tightly and unseen to others; a blue-coated aura surrounded Requaniel's chest, and in the next moment, he tossed Requaniel into the lake, mumbling finally to his fellow student, his son.

"Goodbye…Requaniel."

"Requaniel!!" Zephyr cried in dismay but it was for nothing.

*Splash!*

Requaniel fell into the lake, and he felt as if his body was burning. He screamed at the top of his lungs in agony. It appeared as if every fabric of his body had been torn apart by the divine liquid.

"Damn…it…fuck it all…"

He gritted his teeth so tightly that even the blood started streaming out of his gums, and soon, his remaining consciousness started to fade.

In his last moment, he only saw the face of an incredibly beautiful lady with golden hair and golden eyes, spreading her arms towards Requaniel as if signalling him to embrace her.

"Lady…Celestia…"

He mumbled with the last ounce of his energy, and ultimately, he lost consciousness and vanished into the water.

****

"Ummm…"

After a while, a faint sound was heard amid an evergreen forest.

Slowly opening his eyes, Requaniel noticed an ethereal forest around him with many varieties of trees and plants and lovely birds gliding around in the sky.

"What…?"

He was left flummoxed as if he didn't understand why he was even alive.

He noticed that the shackles, which were surpassing his angelic energy, were gone.

He touched his cheek and realized that his body was tangible.

"I…I'm...alive…?"

He mumbled with a bemused tone, but suddenly his attention shifted towards his chest. He noticed the blue-coated aura over his chest started to vanish.

"This is…"

He called out.

"..." In the next moment, he held his peace, realizing what had actually happened.

"You saved me…?"

He raised his gaze towards the sky with a cold look.

"So, you finally act like a father by saving me, huh? To be honest, I'm truly disgusted by you. You didn't give me the justice I deserve but just saved me because I'm your son, hmm? You should better learn something from Zephyr."

Requaniel sighed, adding,

"Fine then. As your son, I, too, will give you one life. One day, I will return to slaughter every single entity on the land of honour that has made me suffer all these years! Mark my words! That time, don't stand in my way...because I...won't be merciful!"

With a deep sigh, he finally calmed down and sat against a tree, wiping his tears. He wondered,

"Hah, being sentimental won't help; since I'm alive, I should better find a way to get stronger first."

Then he gazed around and pondered,

"But first of all, where exactly am I?"

*Rustle* *Rustle*

"Hmm?"

Immediately as Requaniel heard the rustling of leaves from the bushes, he got alerted as his eyes sharpened.

He glared at the bushes, thinking of who it would be.

Then, suddenly, a person slowly walked out while removing the dust from the clothes.

Seeing that person, Requaniel raised his right eyebrow, calling,

"Wait…you are…"