Zelel had only just begun scolding Gabriel when her gaze suddenly tightened—then snapped to Rei Ao, who'd come in with Gabriel and was standing off to the side as relaxed as if he were in his own backyard.
To Zelel's senses, the black-haired boy looked ordinary. But his very existence felt like a bottomless vortex, radiating a vast, unfathomable depth that made even her heart tighten. What shocked her more was the faint aura on him that seemed to share a source with the powerful barrier blanketing the human world.
She set her lecture aside at once. Her blue eyes fixed sharply on Rei Ao, and with a gravity and a hint of uncertainty she asked:
"You… who exactly are you, sir? That aura—are you the 'First Awakened' people have been talking about in the human world lately?"
"First Awakened?"
The unfamiliar term left the Nakano quintuplets, who were there to watch the show, completely puzzled.
Rei Ao wasn't surprised she could sense it. He smiled, still perfectly composed. "Zelel-san, sharp eye. But 'First Awakened' is just something people call me. I'm Rei Ao—and as you can see, an ordinary student."
"An ordinary student?" Zelel clearly didn't buy it. Feeling that star-wide, perfectly restrained presence on him, every alarm bell rang in her head. A being on this level could never be summed up as "ordinary." His power was immeasurable—perhaps beyond many high ranks she'd met in Heaven.
"The powerful ward covering the human world now—blocking outside prying and disrupting the descent paths of angels… was that your doing?" she pressed, seeking confirmation.
Rei Ao neither admitted nor denied it. He only said mildly, "The human world has its own order. Too much outside interference isn't good for the beings who live here. Setting up a filter to keep out the uninvited or ill-intentioned is necessary, don't you think?"
He said it lightly, but in Zelel's ears it crashed like thunder. That was as good as admitting that the vast barrier—troublesome even for her and the reason her descent had gone off course—was indeed set by this seemingly young student.
What terrifying power—and command over rules.
The quintuplets didn't grasp the details of "ward," "awakened," or "outside interference," but they caught the key point: that impressive "barrier," serious enough for an angel to treat solemnly, had been placed by Rei Ao to protect the human world?
Yotsuba's eyes lit up at once as she looked at Rei Ao with open admiration. Ichika, Nino, and Miku also stared, startled and impressed. They'd thought he was merely a top student—who knew he carried a hidden, noble role: a guardian of the human world.
Gabriel and Satania traded looks. They'd known he wasn't simple, but they hadn't expected something this big—enough to affect Heaven's gateways.
Zelel glanced over everyone's changing expressions, then back at Rei Ao's calm face—as if he'd done nothing more than flick a speck of dust away—and felt a tangle of emotions. On one hand, anger and disappointment at her sister's decline; on the other, a being this powerful in the human world, seemingly benevolent toward its order—a huge variable that Heaven would have to reassess. And because of this ward, she wouldn't be able to take her sister back so easily.
The air grew subtle and complicated. The reunion-turned-intervention had been interrupted by this bombshell, and now everyone's attention was on the black-haired boy with the faint smile.
Yet amid this delicate mood, one person was doing everything she could to shrink into the couch cushions—Gabriel. From the moment she walked in she'd kept her head down, moving as little as possible, hoping all her sister's attention would stay fixed on the bigger problem named Rei Ao.
No such luck. Zelel, famous for her rigor and thoroughness, hadn't forgotten why she was here. After that brief face-off with Rei Ao, her gaze swung back like a spotlight to her sister.
Gabriel's evasive eyes, guilty posture, and the lazy aura so unlike a holy angel's only stoked Zelel's doubts and anger. She studied Gabriel closely—from the rumpled uniform, to the slightly messy blond crop that looked like she'd just rolled out of bed—wait.
Zelel's eyes locked on the crown of Gabriel's head. There, at the swirl of hair, she caught the faintest, almost hair-colored… off-tone dark sheen. That was not the brilliant gold an angel's halo should cast.
A stunning suspicion flashed through her mind.
"Gabriel!" Zelel's voice leapt, stern and incredulous in equal measure. "Lift your head and let me see your halo!"
"—!!"
Gabriel went rigid, her face going chalk white. The thing she'd dreaded had arrived.
"S-Sis… the halo… there's really nothing to see…" she tried one last plea.
"Now. Immediately." Zelel's tone left no room to wriggle. The pressure of a higher angel rolled out unconsciously, making the air in the living room feel heavy.
The quintuplets and Satania held their breath, nerves taut—they'd never seen Zelel this angry.
Gabriel knew she couldn't escape. Grimacing, dragging her feet, and under her sister's near-sparking glare, she reluctantly willed her halo out of concealment…
A ring—a halo that should have shone with pure, warm gold—wobbled into view above her head. But the light wasn't gold. It was… dim, as if buried under a thick coat of dust—a dull gray. Look closer, and the rim even bled a trace of ominous black.
~~~
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