"So, I am Huoltaja and you are the Angel that resides within me in the form of a spirit?"
"Yes, it is true."
"Haaa~..." I let out my breath.
This is the second time I've met her. The first was unintentional, but the second was intentional. I asked myself to come here, in the world of my mind, and meet her.
The reason I came here is not without reason, I have a lot of questions for her. Plus, her figure made me want to see her in person because she had such a striking aura of kindness. I think she is not evil and wants to help me in various ways.
"How did you know that I am Huoltaja?"
"Because I'm here."
"... Oh, I see."
She answered it as simply as possible, making it easy for me to agree.
She had told her earlier that the demons in question were beings, to be more precise, Astral Being. The demons turned into beings in various forms, from dogs to mythological animals, namely dragons.
The devil does not have the strength and mind before eating human souls. Therefore, they invaded humans and ate humans to regain their form, mind, and strength.
The remaining angels, the angels who survived the battle against the demons in the earth's core, shared their power with the humans to prevent the destruction of the world due to the demons' invasion.
They happily let go of their bodies and turn into spirits just for the sake of mankind. They also felt guilty for what they could not do, preventing the demons from escaping from the earth's core and appearing on the earth's surface. Therefore, as an act of their guilt, they took the risk and cooperated with the humans to exterminate the demons from the surface of the earth.
And among them, there was one angel who chose me as a Huoltaja.
"Why should I? Why not just Fujitora?"
"Umm… simple, because you're kind."
"That is it?"
"Yes. Even though you can't tell the difference between your stupidity and your kindness, your intentions are good."
"Why am I stupid? I'm not stupid!"
"No, you idiot. Do you remember when you helped an old couple down the street?"
"Which one?"
"Okay, I'll show you."
This place turned into a busy street, and in front of me, I saw myself carrying obaa-chan across the street.
"See, you're separating them instead."
"Eh? I didn't separate them."
This place turned again into a place where I sued ojii-san to the police station.
"You separated them."
"No, I didn't separate them. That ojii-san was indeed lost, so I took him to the police station."
"He is not lost, he is shopping with his wife. You separated the two of them."
"..." I fell silent knowing that.
"Well, your intentions are indeed good, but you can't tell the difference between kindness and stupidity. You're too quick to make up your mind before you know what's going on."
"Forgive me."
"No need to apologize to me, apologize to yourself. If you can, you apologize to those two people."
"Sorry..."
I paused and realized my mistake for a moment. What I did turn out to be separating the two couples, that's not good. I have to be more careful in making decisions so that something like this doesn't happen again. I am truly sorry.
"Putting that aside, there's something I need to tell you."
"Hmph?"
This place turned into a white void again, and I sat and watched it.
"You already know that you are a Huoltaja, right?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"My presence within you makes you a Huoltaja, as well as other humans."
"Another human?"
"Yes, you are not alone in being a Huoltaja, because some of my remaining sisters have already entered into a human body and made them a Huoltaja, and some are still looking for the right human."
"I see."
"So far, I estimate there are 3 people who became Huoltaja, including you; Huoltaja of Flame, Huoltaja of Case, and you are Huoltaja of Eye."
"Huoltaja of Eyes?"
"Yeah. Look at my eyes."
When she pointed at her left eye, the left eye she had closed, I immediately looked at her with each other.
"What about your eyes? What's the glint? Is there dust in here?"
"Hmph~…" she shook her head, "that's not it. I have given my left eye to you."
"Eh?"
"You know why your left eye sometimes hurts and bleeds?"
"Not."
"That's because your left eye is being implanted with my left eye. This process takes a long time, so you will often have pain in your left eye."
"..." I was silent for a while holding my left eye. "Then why does my head hurt too? Did you also transplant my brain into me?"
Well, it's not just my eyes that hurt, but my head too. This pain is so painful, I don't even want to feel this. No matter how much I endured the pain, in the end, I still couldn't stand it.
"That's because I called you to protect the humans, but you didn't respond. So that's why your head hurts."
"Oh, I see. Oh, I see. My head hurts because you called me. Damn."
I tried my best not to look like I was in pain because of her, but it was all just because she called me? Seriously!
Even though I want to be angry because of her, but I can't do it. I'm not fit to be angry, I'm more suited to be a patient person.
"Then, after the grafting process was completed, what happened to my left eye?"
"You will be able to see well. You can easily find out where the monsters' hearts are. Not only that, but you can also see a picture of the future that will be happening."
"Future? Was it like before?"
"Yes, true."
My first time here saw the little girl and her mother being eaten by the two men. And if what she meant was true, then that was the future that would happen to the little girl and her mother.
"Keep in mind, it's just a picture of the future. Anything that could change it would make the future untrue. It can be said that this is not destiny, but rather an incident that anyone can change."
She provides an example of her speech. She gave an example of a squirrel whose future is certain. If I don't do anything about the squirrel, then the squirrel's future life will be fine. But if I destroy the house, the squirrel's life will change, whether after that it will be okay or not.
The image of the future that I was shown was of a little girl who was eaten by that man. If I don't do anything about it, then that girl's future will happen. But if I act on just one thing that can change the picture of her future, then that little girl's fate will change.
"Your power is in your eyes. I give my left eye to you for you to protect this world from those demons. My sisters also do the same, but their strengths are different. I'm just an angel who doesn't have a body, who can help humans in giving my strength to protect this world. I am a spirit, a spirit that resides in your body. If you die, then I die too. If you suffer, then I suffer too. If you're happy, then I'm happy too. So, I beg you, protect this world, Akio!"
Previously, she explained that her body had disappeared because it was her and her sisters' decision. The angels turn into spirits and roam this world while looking for suitable humans to protect this world. She is not sure how many of her sisters are still hanging around and only knows that her sisters are already residing in human bodies, namely 3 Huoltaja; including me.
They were responsible for their defeat against the demons and causing Mount Rfuka to erupt due to the demons' release. Their power is divided into a crystal called Hyogon, humans use it to survive. So indirectly, they have helped humans without the need to reside in someone's body.
Whatever they regret, it will not change. The past is still the past, no living thing can return to the past. But... the future is bright, there's still hope for humanity.
"So as long as I live, you will always be inside me?"
"Correctly. Your life is mine too, so if you die, I will die too."
"Oh, is that so? Hahaha, bad luck for you. Too bad you chose me."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because I get killed easily. Hahaha."
This is based on my life experience. Since childhood, I was always in danger. Several times my life was threatened by being bitten by a venomous snake. When I was 12 years old, I was almost killed by being rammed and trampled by a buffalo while I was planting rice. And now, my life is in danger because Astral Being is after me. So, she was wrong in choosing humans.
"This is..."
"Rin, my name is Rin."
"You have a name too?"
"Of course."
"Cool. Okay, Rin. I don't know if I can keep this life of mine or not. But clearly, your presence here makes me want to protect my life and yours. You've lived and protected humans for a long time, so from now on, humans will protect you."
"Eh... that's not necessary."
"Why do you need it? However, whether you are an angel or not, you are still a woman. So, I was a man who should be able to protect your life."
"... Oh, I see. You're such a nice person, Akio. Thank you."
"You're welcome. From now on, I will protect this world."
When she smiled, I woke up from my sleep and saw Fujita was pushing me.
"Oi, wake up! It's morning. We have to go to school."
I was in my dormitory after that night, when they were worried about me fainting, and when the Astral Beings invaded the city. I went straight back to the dormitory with Fujita without saying anything to Karin, Shiva, the bald guy, and Andre. The reason was simply that I didn't want to let them know that I was a Huoltaja. Because Rin said, I have to take care of myself so the demons don't realize that I'm a Huoltaja before the process of transplanting my left eye with Rin's left eye is complete.
"Ah~ I'm awake. Thanks for waking me up, Fujitora."
"Fujita, desu."