Yeah. Those words stuck to me. Under the forest canopy, watching the rustling of leaves as the wind passes through, the morning sunlight that lands on my face, I lay there, not relaxing, but thinking deeply, about something.
My thoughts were a mess—I didn't know what to think or elaborate on, all these ideas, plans, and random thoughts were too much for me to handle all at once. I'm trying to create a foolproof plan to try and get closer to my subordinates. That's all.
It might seem a little simple, but for me, it's not. I don't know the reason why. It's just... hard. Is it my pride getting in the way? That's unlikely because I have little to no pride at all, still, when I even merely try to think about spending some with my subordinates, there's this unexplainable feeling down in my stomach... to explain it to the best of my ability, it's like having butterflies in your stomach, and it's not a pleasant feeling.
But... give me some time. I'll figure this out eventually.
"I should go back to where Valentyn is waiting..." I mumbled. I yawned and stretched my arms and legs. Then, I stood up and stretched out my wings. They're covered with dirt and green leaves, but nothing major. With a little flap—there we go, all clean!
As for my dress, it's all clean due to my barrier protecting it from the forest floor. It's just that my wingspan when lying down or stretching, is far longer than my barrier's diameter, so it breaks through the barrier and is exposed to the elements. To be honest, I wish my wingspan was smaller, I think four metres is too long for someone who's one hundred and twenty-five centimetres. Sure, I could just change my height to something much taller like one hundred and sixty centimetres, but anything above that would be a nightmare.
"Now, let's see... if I remember correctly, Valentyn should be..." I scanned my surroundings. There is not much, just tall trees with large and bulky trunks and the earthy, autumn smell of dead leaves on the forest floor. It's only been less than two months since I arrived in Arula, and that wouldn't be enough time for a seasonal change... was it?
Well, that wouldn't matter. I must focus on making my way back to where Valentyn is. I'm not sure how patient he is with humans, the main reason being humans—well, the "first hero" had essentially made them go extinct. Maybe he has already dealt with the human. It doesn't concern me either way.
I rolled my shoulders to stretch them and got prepared to fly at high speeds. "Valentyn should be over..." I went through my memories and tracked down the route that eventually led me to where I was now. "there..." I recalled, pointing a finger, south. "Yeah, that sounds correct."
With a hard push, I soared high into the air, the earth under me screaming under my jump's immense force and pressure. But that wasn't the end of it. Once I determined I was high enough in the sky; when the sky darkened and when the trees seemed like helpless ants to a giant, I gathered some divine energy.
What was I going to do with that divine energy? Well, this might seem unexpected, but I figured I'd fly at high speeds—to crash into where Valentyn is, to test his abilities to respond and see what abilities he has gained. Impractical? Yes, but since I'm flying to him anyway, why not?
It would be a great experience to see his growth without him telling me, so I could grow closer to my subordinate.
It's like a win-win. I then allowed some of the divine energy I'd gathered to flow into my wings. They glowed faintly and expanded to three times their normal size. Larger wings mean more lift and force, and that's what I needed for a sudden acceleration. Hm?
I stretched to a sudden halt. On the horizon, just barely, the morning sky suddenly burns a bright flame.
Tens of black smoke columns rose to the sky, a portion covered in ash, and dust, blocking out sunlight. That wasn't normal. It definitely wasn't there earlier this morning. Suddenly, a quick jolt passed through my body. It felt like being electrocuted but for a brief moment.
"A message sent through divine energy?" I said aloud. "I wonder who sent this to me... Hm... hm... seriously?" I could not believe what Iona had sent me. As the Overseer of Arula, Iona could see or observe every inch of the world he manages, and the Underworld-looking landscape was caused by a battle between Valentyn and the heroes in Orth—is what he'd sent me.
But Valentyn is so "loyal" to me—why would he stir up trouble now? I sighed. Fine, I'll go check it out. I didn't want to attract the attention of these ten or so heroes based in Orth, and I merely wanted to know the location of Valentyn, so I decided to be more stealthy. As I got closer, the stench of blood became stronger. I had to cover my mouth and nose to block the smell, but that didn't work well. But the stench of blood is not the primary concern. I need to know Valentyn's reasons for fighting... and destroying Orth's capital while I was gone.
"Someone please help!" I heard a faint cry of desperation from the ground below me, followed by "Dear God, I ask for your assistance..." and those two cries caught my attention. My dress was also desperately being tugged by a small and rather young child—like me. If it weren't for the obvious pair of small wings on her back, I would not have listened to her.
It turns out—this child was a Guardian Angel. They are a type of Angel like me, Iona or Miriel, but they are more like "half-angels" if that makes sense. Technically, any living being could be a Guardian Angel if they have enough willpower at death to protect someone or something, and cannot enter the Imaginary Realm or the Overworld, so they are not counted as divine beings.
Although I figured it would be fun to save the person crying out for help despite the desperate attempts of his Guardian Angel trying to get my attention. The one who was crying out for help was a man in his early twenties (based on voice), with brown hair... but he was half-bald like his hair was like a laurel, but the top of his head had no hair.
Is this what they call premature balding? Anyway, this man looked like someone important; he had a dark green robe with a hood covering his face, body and legs so I couldn't make out his facial features when I was still in the air. It was only after I had landed with such immense speed (and power), that the resulting wind blew off the man's hood and the wolf-like monsters that surrounded him.
I crossed my arms, satisfied with the result, and folded my wings. They changed back to their original size as I stopped the flow of divine power to my wings as there was no need for that at the moment. I turned to the important-looking man, who was in shock from my landing (I think), but quickly regained his posture.
But I assume that he saw my halo above my head and immediately got on his knees and bowed down.
"Oh... O'... O' Messenger of God, this lowly priest thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving the innocent and children from the grasp of death," he stated, with a deep sigh of relief type of tone. "Thank you so much."
I turned around and looked at the priest bowing on the ground. Then, my eyes scanned behind him, revealing a small group of young adults and children. They were around thirty in number, varying from an infant, probably less than a month old, to a young adult, probably in her early twenties.
Since the terrain around them was flat plains, there was no choice but to stay together, with the older children acting as a barrier to prevent the wolf-like creatures from harming the much younger portion of the group, with the priest acting as the main bait for the wolves to attack.
"Not bad, kid," I complimented him after surveying and collecting enough information. "You're not much older than the children in the group over there, are you not?" I asked.
"Ah... O' Messenger of God, there was nothing more I could do other than make myself bait for the hungry Grey Wolves that attacked us. I do not feel I deserve your praise." he replied.
Oh, man, he's this type, huh? The humble one—which is generally good, but very annoying to deal with. If I say you did a good job, just take it! Just take the compliment!
But if Iona is considered the "god" in whatever religion Arula practices, then as a co-worker, I must maintain his dignity as much as possible. "Well, that's okay. I believe your actions proved yourself worthy of the praise. After all, it takes courage to do what you have done." I answered him (unwillingly).
"Thank you..." the priest stood up and faced me in the eye. A tear rolled down his face, with another soon following. He's crying now... what did I do this time? I thought, but unexpectedly, I didn't make him sad or anything, he was just crying tears of joy.
I don't get human emotions, and I cannot understand them properly, but I simply said, "Good job. I'm proud of you."
It just felt like the most natural thing to do. It was merely six words, yet, I felt the change within the young priest, like a sudden spark of electricity. Not wanting to ruin the atmosphere, I secretly took out the surviving members of the Grey Wolf pack, who attacked the group of humans. Hm. I wonder why?