New Chapter in Highest Tier (May 2021)

*******************************************

Archangel Uriel (Flame of God)

First Guardian of the Garden of Four Seasons

*******************************************

"What brings you here, knight?"

"Are you a Watcher?" The Fae's voice was muffled since she was determined not to take off her helm and show her face to him.

She wore heavy full plate armor, totally encasing the wearer.

He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the light sword in her hand.

She was a perfect vision of a knight riding atop his horse with the clear blue sky in the background.

As he crossed his arms over his chest, Archangel Uriel wondered if the medieval knight was a real knight or was she showing off in hopes of intimidating him?

She moved no further, appearing like she had no plans to get off her malnourished horse.

It was clear that the knight was waiting for his reply, so he humored her.

As he scanned her from head-to-toe, Archangel Uriel replied warily, "I am Angel of the Earth."

Raising her sword in front of him, the lady continued talking down on him with a haughty chin. "You are a watcher, then."

Archangel Uriel blinked. "Not a watcher." This was going to be a long talk. "Don't make me repeat myself, Fae."

Folding his wings, he tilted his head at her, not knowing where to look.

"I am the guardian of this forbidden place." He said calmly, "Who are you?"

"A Fae cannot give you a real name." She replied in a deeper voice, insisting on pretending to be a man. His lips curved upward as he fought a snort. Did she think he wouldn't notice? "Even if you are an Archangel I cannot be enslaved."

Uriel shrugged without care, shifting his gaze to the pink blooms of the cherry tree near him as he touched the nearest branch with his fingers. "Then, tell me what people call you by."

"You can call me Merle."

Archangel Uriel blinked in surprise. "That did not sound like a female name. And you can quit deepening your voice now, young lady." He said rather sharply. "I am not a fool."

Without warning, he threw the sword she pointed at him with his mind, and it pierced a dark trunk that stood starkly from the evergreens behind her, making her gasp.

Breathing hard, both of her arms held the lead rope tight as if she was ready to flee from there. "But you are not one of the Fallen Angels who disrupted our village and abducted our women to be their wives to produce Nephilims to fight other angels. With the right training and strategy, they could be strong enough to defeat an Angel."

Giving her a cool glance, Archangel Uriel snorted this time."Angels are stronger than the Nephilim, knight. Get your facts straight."

"I know." She said, and he could sense the quiet desperation in them. "But the numbers of the Nephilim in the Faerie Realm are growing—"

"And the Angel Kind have done a good job killing them to make them stop from dismantling the your world—"

"But the Nephilim's souls were bound to this Earthly Realm, Angel." The knight said, and Archangel swore she saw her limbs quiver with anger and frustration, "They have turned into demons and it is harder to defeat them. We have no weapons against these spirits. The esoteric knowledge from the Fallen Watcher passed down to the Fae he was obsessed with made a quick expansion to the Fair Folks. But it was a limited type of sorcery which wouldn't work all the time on demons. It is a hit and miss. They can possess the Fae who were weaker than them like parasites controlling the mind and body of their hosts."

His brows knitted into a scowl, "Why are you telling me this?"

"It is your duty to protect the different races in this Earthly Realm, Angel."

"Not necessarily." Archangel Uriel shook his head. "Sometimes, a guardian angel is only the witness to the birth of the people whose lives he will oversee."

"The guardian angels fly so high as to beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us." The knight said cryptically, but it was easy for Uriel to perceive it as an insult. "Are you not going to do anything for the Fair Folk when you actually lived in the heart of the Realm, Angel of Salvation?"

He abruptly put his guards up. "I see you know who I am."

She said as a matter of fact. "Archangel Uriel."

"Who sent you here?" Without looking at her, he pulled out a dagger from his forearm sheath and twirled it around his fingers. "The entire garden of the Four Seasons was placed under a heavy glamour. Only those who have the purest heart and purest intention can see the gates like what you have done."

"Archangel Ariel showed herself to me in my dream and left me this." Rummaging from a small string sack settled in front of her stomach, the knight pulled out something and showed Archangel Uriel an earth-toned feather. It was true. He can recognize it as Archangel Ariel's! "She gave me a mission to save the Fair Folk and this will guarantee me and my pony for safe passage."

"Now that you are here in my ward? What do you want to achieve?" He made his tone ruthless—similar to the sharp edge of his angel blade as he ran them lightly across his skin. "What kind of mission did my fellow Archangel gave you?"

He made sure that she perfectly understood that he was suspicious of her appearance.

Sighing, the knight replied. "I am here to gather fruits from the Tree of the Four Seasons."

Archangel Uriel clicked his tongue. "No, young lady. There is a reason why an Archangel like me is guarding this tree to protect the fruits from getting into the wrong hands."

"I have Archangel Ariel's feather in my hand because she have bestowed it to me." The knight insisted. "Your fellow Archangel trusted me. You just have to believe that, Angel."