Shiki contemplated the shattered wall with a mixture of irritation and resignation. His golden eye, with the clock hand spinning frantically and dangerously, was a mirror of his growing fury. Every turn seemed to scream for him.
'Idiot! How did I not put a barrier for these situations?' he cursed internally, clenching his teeth.
With a snap of his fingers, he released a torrent of spiritual power that enveloped the room like a furious wind, impregnating the walls, ceiling, and floor. In the blink of an eye, the room was surrounded by an invisible barrier.
Shiki activated the power of his Angel [Michael] and used his ability to manipulate and control the concepts of "sealing" and "barriers" at an advanced level.
By using this ability, Shiki created a space barrier around the room, meaning that he had closed and completely isolated the space inside. This "seal" implied that no one could enter or leave the room, and any attempt to cross the barrier would result in failure.
'Surely there will be noise, so it's better to put a barrier now so as not to alert the neighbors, since it would be annoying to explain,' he thought while watching the drama of the pursuers and the princess.
The guards, not realizing that they had been trapped in an impenetrable barrier, continued to completely ignore Shiki. His eyes were fixed on Lala.
The guard with a scar on his eye and blond hair spoke condescendingly:
"Lala-sama, you are a very problematic lady. Maybe, to avoid more inconveniences, we should tie your hands and feet until we leave the Earth."
Lala, frustrated and angry, threw a fulminating look at her robot, which had now been transformed into her clothes.
"Peke... didn't I tell you to make sure no one followed you?" she demanded, with a frown and her arms crossed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am..." Peke replied, helpless and a little embarrassed. The truth was that he had lowered his guard.
"You're a stupid robot! Now they're going to separate me from Shiki just when we started to get along!" Lala exclaimed, trampling the ground with a force that resonated despite the barrier that protected them.
Her anger was palpable, and every stomp seemed to shake the walls of the small apartment.
Shiki watched the scene with a mixture of resignation and relief. 'Uff, thank goodness I put a barrier,' he thought as he watched the floor resist. 'If I hadn't done it, my apartment would have been completely destroyed by the physical strength of this princess.'
"It's time, Lala-sama. Now come with us," said one of the guards, his voice firm and with no room for discussion.
Peke, still feeling guilty, whispered to Lala:
"Lala-sama, can't you wear your bracelet?"
Lala shook her head, explaining:
"It's impossible. After using it, it takes a whole day to recharge... Besides," she looked at Shiki with a mixture of sadness and determination, "I don't want to separate from him so soon."
She didn't know exactly why, but there was something in the presence of that earthling that made her feel comfortable, safe, as if she were at home.
Although at first everything had been an accident, she couldn't ignore what had happened. They had kissed each other on the lips, and somehow, Shiki had also ended up touching and caressing her breasts. Two of her first times had already been stolen by him.
Lala took a hand to her chest, her heart beating fast when she remembered those moments.
'Shiki has already claimed two of my first times,' thought Lala, her mind full of a mixture of determination and nervousness. 'There is no other choice... I'll have to marry him, right?'
If Shiki had listened to those thoughts, he would surely have vomited blood from disbelief.
Lala's logic was so absurd that it would leave him speechless. But, as surprising as it was, a part of him could not deny the truth behind her thoughts.
After all, he had also stolen her first kiss, and in his own crooked logic, that meant he had to take responsibility.
The guards, for a moment, felt a little guilty when they saw Lala's expression. But the king's orders were clear, and they couldn't ignore them.
"We have our orders, princess. Please don't make it more difficult for us," said one of the guards in a firm voice.
Shiki, observing the scene, decided to forgive Lala for almost destroying her apartment. Her adorable way of clinging to him had melted his anger, although he still had that nervous tic on his forehead.
Wrapped only in a towel, Shiki stepped forward, his golden eye shining with fierce resolution.
The guards felt a wave of pressure emanating from him, as if they were in front of an unstoppable beast.
"It's okay," he said in a firm voice, "no one is going to take her away from here as long as she doesn't want to leave."
Lala watched with astonishment as she murmured:
"Shiki... why?"
Shiki answered calmly:
"There's no reason, I just want to help you," he said, although in his mind, he added: 'In addition, I have to give them a couple of blows for breaking my wall.'
"Don't get involved in this, brat!" one of the guards shouted.
"Don't get involved in this earthly one, this is between the princess and us."
Shiki, undeterred, closed his eyes and murmured in a low voice:
"Adonai Melek..."
Shiki's body began to shine brightly. The light enveloped his figure and materialized the Astral Armor.
Suddenly, his body began to shine brightly, the light enveloping him as the guards retreated, covering their eyes.
The light materialized into a majestic armor, a mixture of dark purple with gold and white details that highlighted his powerful figure.
The wide shoulder pads decorated with gold edges shone under the light of the room, and the gauntlets that covered his arms looked like stylized wings.
The guards, paralyzed by the pressure emanating from the armor, began to sweat nervously.
"What... what the hell is this pressure?" one of the guards murmured, trembling.
"Shiki..." Lala, hypnotized, murmured, "How beautiful..."
Shiki, already wrapped in the impressive armor, took a brief and calculating look at the guards.
Without warning, Shiki disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only a trail of flashes.
The guards barely had time to react before he appeared behind them, moving at a speed impossible to follow.
One of the guards, trusting in his instincts, threw a rotating kick in an attempt to reach Shiki. However, Shiki dodged the attack easily, and the force of the kick generated an air pressure so intense that it messed up and destroyed the furniture in the room.
"Tsk," Shiki snapped his tongue as he concentrated on the guard in front of him. After dodging the rotating kick, he slid to the side and struck him with a strong blow to the stomach.
*Blot
"Gah!" The guard groaned in pain as his eyes rolled and he spat saliva, being thrown against the wall by the force of the blow. He fell unconscious on the ground.
'How fast!' the other guard thought, cautiously observing Shiki. He assumed a combat posture and threw himself forward, leaving behind a sound of air breaking and his residual image.
The guard appeared in front of Shiki with his fist near his cheek. Shiki, without haste, dodged the attack effortlessly. He had to admit that these guards were quite competent; if he had to classify them, they would be middle-class, like demons of the underworld, only because of their physical strength.
*Explosion
The punch that Shiki dodged hit the wall, which resisted the blow due to the protective barriers. However, the shock wave continued to destroy the interior of the apartment.
Shiki, after dodging the blow, appeared next to the guard and threw a blow to his neck.
"Wait—" The guard tried to dodge, but...
"Too slow," Shiki murmured with a smile.
With lethal precision, he hit the guard's neck with a quick and accurate movement, leaving him unconscious without even giving him time to react.
The room was silent, except for the soft echo of Shiki's movements. The armor, still dazzling, shone as he returned to calm, observing the chaos he had caused in his home.
'Well, I wanted to hit them harder..., but well, I can repair the walls and furniture easily. After all, these guards were not bad; despite following orders, they felt bad for Lala, according to their expressions,' Shiki thought as he observed the unconscious bodies of the guards.
Lala, still astonished by the recent demonstration of power, felt that her heart was beating hard. Without thinking, she ran to Shiki, wrapping him in a sincere hug.
"Shiki... thank you..." she whispered.
Shiki, surprised, looked at her with a warm smile and stroked her head tenderly.
"I told you, didn't I? I won't let them take you if you decide to stay here," he said with a comforting smile.
Lala felt an enveloping heat in her chest, remembering the talks with her mother about those feelings she would experience when she grew up.
Without thinking twice, she got up on her toes and, with a gesture full of emotion, kissed him on the lips.
Shiki was paralyzed for a moment, his eyes opened with surprise.
'Isn't it too early for this?' he thought to himself as he looked at Lala's beautiful eyes.
The expression of happiness on Lala's face was contagious. Although they had known each other for only a short time, Shiki felt an unexpected warmth in his heart, as if his lonely life had received a ray of sunshine.
'This is a little embarrassing...' Shiki thought but didn't move away.
The moment was full of unexpected joy, and a soft blush appeared on his cheeks.
He couldn't help but smile as he reciprocated the hug, wrapping Lala in his arms. The kiss deepened, reflecting the genuine connection they had found in such a short time.
Peke watched the scene and thought to himself: "It seems that Lala-sama has grown up..."
After a while of kissing, they separated, leaving a thread of saliva connecting their lips, which shone in the dim light of the room.
They both remained hugged, as if they didn't want to break that moment.
"Shiki... are you going to marry me? My mother always said that the person who stole my first time would have to marry me," Lala whispered, looking directly into his eyes, with a mixture of innocence and seriousness.
Time seemed to stop for Shiki. Have you just proposed to me? I got a girlfriend in less than 10 minutes, and now she's already proposing marriage,' he thought, while his mind was filled with images of what had just happened and what could come.
But the purity in Lala's expression, her radiant smile, and her sincere look completely disarmed him.
Before he knew it, the words came out of his mouth.
"I'll marry you," he replied, feeling the blush starting to dye his cheeks.
Lala, excited, kissed him again, her lips meeting with more passion, as if they sealed an eternal pact.
After kissing for the third time, they both stopped, letting the tension in the air slowly dissipate.
Shiki looked around, seeing the disaster that his apartment had become: overturned furniture, scattered papers, and the wall with a huge crack that crossed the room like a scar.
"Stay a moment back, Lala," Shiki said in a calm but firm voice. Lala, although curious, obeyed without hesitation, stepping back a few steps as she watched him.
Shiki raised his hand to the sky, as if he were calling something from the depths of his being.
"Come to me, Zafkiel," he whispered.
Suddenly, a dark and enveloping energy began to manifest around him. His astral armor, which had previously been of a metallic and bright tone, changed shape, adopting a gothic appearance, with details in black and dark red.
It was as if the very darkness had decided to dress him, giving him an imposing and terrifying air.
Behind Shiki, a giant clock materialized, its hands spinning slowly as it emitted a mysterious 'tic-tac' that resonated throughout the room.
The atmosphere became denser, as if time itself had decided to stop to observe what was about to happen.
With a determined gesture, Shiki extended both hands forward, concentrating the spiritual power in his palms, which shone with a reddish light.
"Dalet," he pronounced with authority, and the hands of the clock behind him began to turn backward, each movement accompanied by a deep echo.
Tic Tac
Time itself seemed to obey him. The crack in the wall began to close slowly, the broken pieces joining as if they had never been separated.
The furniture, which was previously scattered around the room, began to move on its own, returning to its original positions.
The books flew back to the shelves, the chairs straightened, and even the curtains hung again perfectly aligned.
Lala looked with her eyes wide open, amazed by what she was witnessing. It was as if the room was being rewound, returning to a state of perfection that seemed almost unreal.
When everything was over, the giant clock disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and the room was left in a sepulchral, impeccable, and orderly silence, as if the chaos of before had been just a bad dream.
Shiki lowered his hands, breathing deeply, before turning toward Lala with a soft smile.
"Ready, everything is in order," he said, as if what he had just done was the most normal thing in the world.
Lala ran towards him, hugging him tightly. "That was incredible, Shiki! You were so great, more cool than when my father conquered planets."
Shiki's lips twisted slightly as he processed what he had just heard.
'Conqueror of planets?' he thought, still surprised by the revelation.
"Wait... is your father a conqueror of planets? Does that mean I'm going to have an intergalactic father-in-law?"
Lala giggled, "Don't worry! My father is very understanding... although... maybe you should be prepared for a duel."
Shiki let out a sigh and murmured to himself, "I think I just became the protagonist of a romantic science fiction anime..."
Lala, laughing happily, patted him on the back. "That would be great! Imagine, Shiki, we could have a wedding in space, with shooting stars like fireworks and a wedding cake the size of a spaceship."
Shiki raised an eyebrow, trying to process the idea. "A wedding cake the size of a spaceship? And who is supposed to eat it?"
"Oh, don't worry about that! We have whole planets full of guests," Lala said.
Lala kept talking with the same overflowing energy, without giving him time to reflect too much.
After talking for a while with the lively Lala, Shiki diverted his attention to the two guards who were lying unconscious on the ground.
With an elegant gesture of his hand, he murmured softly, "Michael... Rātaibu."
Instantly, a purple space crack began to form under the bodies of the guards, a dark and spiral vortex, similar to a black hole.
With an almost imperceptible whisper, the bodies of the guards were absorbed by the crack, vanishing in a matter of seconds, as if they had never been there.
Lala, who watched the scene with a mixture of curiosity and concern, approached Shiki.
"Shiki... where did you send them?" she asked, her voice full of a slight restlessness.
Although those guards had been annoying and had chased her, they were still her father's soldiers, and she couldn't help but worry about their well-being.
Shiki smiled softly and stroked her head, his fingers sliding through her hair tenderly.
"Don't worry, Lala. Although I sent them to the other side of the world, they are not in danger or anything like that. At most, they will wake up confused in some park, surrounded by children playing."
Lala let out a laugh of relief. "Then it's fine!" she responded with enthusiasm, her concern disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.
"From now on, I will live with you, since you are my fiancé. Ah! And I also have to contact my father so that he can stop looking for candidates to be my husband," she added, grimacing when thinking about how to convince her father to control her mother.
Shiki raised an eyebrow, amused by Lala's enthusiasm. "Yes? Well, you can stay with me; there's no problem with that. Perhaps this way, this place will become more lively," he replied with a casual tone, hiding the small spark of emotion he felt at the idea of not being alone.
"Perfect! Although... I need to look for my things in the spaceship. Peke, where is the ship?" Lala asked, looking at her little robot with curiosity.
"Lala-sama, the spaceship is about 10 kilometers from here. It is hidden in the vegetation with the camouflage function activated," Peke reported in his metallic voice.
"I see! Shiki, wait for me here. I'm going to bring my things!" Lala exclaimed, jumping out the window without warning. The wings of her hat began to move quickly, carrying her through the air as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Shiki blinked a couple of times, surprised. "E-Wait, Lala!" He sighed as he watched her disappear into the sky. "She left just like that," he murmured, almost laughing at how unpredictable his fiancée was.
With a calm movement, Shiki hit the ground slightly with his foot, and a past version of himself emerged from the shadow (time clone, a Zafkiel ability). "Follow her and keep her safe if she gets into trouble," he ordered, while his astral armor dissolved into a shiny powder, exposing a more casual outfit.
The time clone nodded and disappeared with impressive speed, reaching Lala in a matter of seconds. He immersed himself in his shadow without her noticing, ready to intervene in case of need.
Lala, flying at high speed, looked at the landscape with emotion. "The Earth is so fun! You never know what you'll find!"
She sang as she zigzagged among the trees, barely dodging branches and rocks.
"Shiki is so serious, but he's so great!" Lala thought out loud, laughing to herself.
"Perhaps I can surprise him with something special... What will he like?" Her mind began to digress in ideas, forgetting for a moment the mission of collecting her things.
Meanwhile, Shiki's clone, hidden in the shadows, could only sigh internally.
"This girl is a whirlwind... How did she manage to survive so long alone?" he wondered, remaining alert in case any danger arose.
Time flew by, and when night finally fell, Shiki was sitting in his room, absorbed in the light novel he had previously bought. Suddenly, the window opened abruptly, and Lala entered flying without warning.
"I'm back! Everything is already stored in the D-Dial," Lala announced with a smile as she sat next to Shiki in bed.
Shiki, without looking away from his book, raised an eyebrow. "D-Dial?" he asked, glancing sideways at the device in Lala's hand that looked like a simple cell phone.
"Yes!" Lala responded with enthusiasm.
"This phone allows me to store many things, from my inventions to my clothes and other accessories. It's like having an infinite closet in the palm of your hand."
Shiki blinked, surprised. Is it like a dimensional storage? he thought to himself, intrigued by alien technology.
"That's a very useful invention," he admitted, closing his book and looking at it with curiosity.
"I have to keep things in my shadow," he added, murmuring almost to himself.
They remained like this, talking and getting to know each other, just hanging out together, sharing that moment of tranquility. Finally, Lala let out a small yawn and curled up closer to Shiki.
"We should go to sleep," said Lala, already half sleepy.
Shiki nodded, moving carefully so that both could accommodate themselves better in bed. "Yes, it's time to rest," he replied, turning off the light in the room.
Lala curled up under the sheets, closing her eyes with a smile. "Good night, Shiki," she murmured softly.
"Good night, Lala," Shiki replied, as they both let themselves be carried away by sleep, sharing the warmth of being together in the stillness of the night.
— — —
(A/N: I tried to correct the spelling errors with a page. How about now? Are there still many errors? Remember that I don't speak English, so I can't know).