Archanghel: Tale of the Universe

Chapter 11

“Are you really sure about this?” I looked back at Janus when I heard his voice.

Janus and I go back to the library as the archangel goes to aide Mary Ann. We were to wait for them in this room for further instructions about our mission that was interrupted earlier. Janus was sitting on the sofa while I busied myself looking at the row of books, even though I didn’t understand anything written on the title. I inspected one book that piqued my interest and inspected it more closely. It had a card cover that felt like wood and a big green diamond in the center.

“Do I look like hesitating to you? If you would only know me, when I say something, I always mean it.”

My mind shifts from the book cover of one of the moments I had with Janus. We share a lot of memories and happiness, but it turns out that he was not the real Janus. Everything was just fake. How is Mamang doing right now, I wonder. Kate and Jake? How are they coping with my death? It’s a pity that I may have a chance to be revived, but I won’t be able to see them again just like before.

“Xandriel?”

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Janus called my name. He was expectantly looking at me. Did he ask me something? I blushed in embarrassment and when I did not say anything, Janus sighed.

“Are you really sure you’re alright? I was asking about the book you’re holding but you are not answering me.”

“I’m fine, really. I just remember my life back then.” I gave him a small smile as I still felt the blush on my cheeks.

We both fell silent after that. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air that was waiting to be torn down. I was grateful when the angels entered the library, because whatever tension it was earlier was now broken. Raphael was quick to explain to us what we had gotten ourselves into. When he finished talking, he grabbed the jar on the table from earlier and dipped his finger in it. He brushed the oil on my head, all the while muttering a prayer.

“○Et c*m de sanguine diaboli. Benedicta tu in meam. Et tu mixtisque boni et mali. Sit lux propontida trucemve habes voluntatem domini velamen amplexantur lapides. Hoc oleum benedicta erit in omni verbo dei et fulserint velut frenos animo tuo bellator et sanguinem suum esse et suam portare missio.”

+++

“Will she be fine?” Janus worriedly asked the angels.

“Let us hope that she can reach the earth without any mishaps.”

Raphael was looking at the door when he said that. His tone was serious and quiet. Gabriel took this time to get near Janus and placed his arms on the boy’s shoulder. He gave Janus a meaningful smile and asked in a joking tone.

“Why? You missed her already?”

Janus stared at the angel wide-eyed. He was in shock. Why would Gabriel have said that and where did it come from?

“Don’t worry too much because you’ll be following soon. And it looks like you need to get going now.”

Gabriel removed his as around Janus and left. Leaving a very disturbed and bewildered Janus.

+++

I’m in the middle of nowhere again. The last thing to remember about the ritual was the heat I felt when Raphael put the oil on my forehead. It traveled all over my body like wildfire. And the prayer, although I did not understand a word of it.

I’m now standing at… where is this place again? The bridge to the Cosmos, the dimension. Yeah, the dimension. I started to walk again, but this time, gone was the fear and uneasiness I had felt before. I am more relaxed now. Maybe it's because of the oil that Raphael puts on her. But the thought of seeing a demon here popped out of my mind.

And I was right! Not a minute passed, someone appeared in front of me. From nothing, it slowly materialized to form a body. When he was done and I got to finally see his face, I was confused. He looked like a normal person.

Is he human? Do humans emerge like that? Is it possible for humans to do that?

My hypothesis was soon dismissed when the man released black smoke. It quickly went into my nose and something punched my inside. I felt dizzy and darkness started to envelop my vision.

What is happening? Help! Janus! Gabriel! No, no!

+++

“Mom! I’m just going to the computer shop with my friends!” A teenage boy shouted at the front door of their house.

“It’s already late, Joshua! Is what you’re doing that important that it can’t wait for tomorrow? It’s dangerous outside!”

Joshua peeked at their front door and gave his mother a wide smile when their eyes met.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be careful. I won’t involve myself in a fight.”

Joshua promised while he flexed his muscles jokingly to his worried mother. He ran to the shop; it was not far from their house. This is where he always goes to spend some hours playing with his friends. It was always packed with teenage boys who paid and watched games with their peers.

Before Joshua got near the shop, a few boys around his age stopped him. Joshua instantly recognized them upon seeing their faces. They were the ones he had battled last week and defeated.

“Look who we have here. The jerk who dared to humiliate us.” Said the one who seemed to be the leader.

“What do you want? We already had a deal. You will never set foot on this place again if I defeat you. And I did.” Joshua retorted.

Joshua was confident enough to treat them like that. He knew that they were just full of talk and no action. But he was wrong.

One by one, the boys attacked him. They had caught Joshua off guard and landed a few heavy blows on him. When he finally got his composure again, he fought back. Joshua did his best to fight back but he was outnumbered. The squabble only ended when they heard the sirens of the police. One of Joshua’s enemies was quick to put something on his pocket.

Beaten, Joshua tried to get up but the police were quick to catch him. Others ran past him and followed the other boys.

The police picked him up from his shoulder and took him to the station without even bothering to call his worried mother.

“How was the kid?”

The chief officer when they arrived at the station. Joshua was not getting any better, aside from getting beat up, the police who transported him handled him carelessly. He was being thrown from the back seat and was being pulled and pushed here and there. His wounds were getting worse and he was becoming more and more numb.

“We saw some meth in his pocket.” The one handling Janus threw him again on the sofa of the station.

“Is that so? You know what to do with that. Judging from his face, he will not last long.”

Joshua didn’t have a slightest idea of what was happening. He did not know where and what was wrong. He remembered his mother. He should’ve listened to her. Now, she was worried sick at home and probably worse, she was looking all over the place for him. Joshua regretted everything.

The next morning, news broke out and stirred the whole neighborhood. A body was left in the dumpster, a body of a teenage boy. His hands and feet were bound and there was a bullet hole on his forehead. His body was also covered in bruises and his eyes were still wide in fear. It was Joshua.

Pain was not enough to describe what she was feeling right now. She had just seen her precious son’s dead body. She can’t help blaming herself. If only she had been a little strict in scolding him last night, this would not have happened. But it was already too late.

“…It was approximately eight in the evening when the boy died. It was said that he was the victim of a drug addict. But his family and friends were stating otherwise. They were shouting for justice as their precious son was a victim of an Extra Judicial Killing.” – BABS TV

“Justice is what the family is looking for and justice is what we will give them. We will do our best to reach that end goal.” – Public Lawyer