The Angelic Authority

“Because you are currently giving off divine radiation,” Akira-sama calmly replied.

"Ohh." Yuto, nervously swallowed.

“And that is the reason we were able to find you in the burning university building,” Chihiro added, subtly adjusting her sitting position. “I also believe it’s why you recovered so quickly—”

Knock... Knock...

The knocking sound cut her off.

Yuto, Chihiro, and Akira-sama all turned toward the door at the same time.

“Pardon the interruption,” a masculine voice spoke out from the doorway. “Akira-sama, I have the preparation document ready.”

“Very well,” she said, in an audible

 tone. “Bring it in.”

The person at the door—a young male attendant in a gray uniform—stepped inside carefully, holding a large folder...

Chihiro shifted slowly, leaning forward to get a closer look... Yuto’s curiosity piqued up too; he couldn’t help but stare at the folder, wondering what kind of preparations were so important that they required this much urgency.

“Everything is documented, Akira-sama,” the attendant said, bowing low before placing the folder on the floor in front of Akira-sama.

Akira-sama reached out and opened it, carefully, reading the contents inside with a high concentration level. Her eyes narrowed slightly at one section...

“Interesting,” she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. “It seems we may need to adjust our plan...”

“What’s going on?” Yuto asked quietly, leaning closer to Chihiro and lowering his voice.

She hesitated for half a second before answering him. “We recently discovered the location of Akira-sama’s angelic brothers.”

Yuto’s eyebrows pulled together. “Really… where?”

“Central Tokyo.”

Yuto’s body reacted before he spoke. His eyes widened, and for a brief moment, his pupils changed color to a deep blood red before fading back to normal...

“…Minato,” he bit down on his lips...

He pushed himself up from the tatami, placing one hand on the floor for support as he stood.

Chihiro immediately noticed his change of mood. “Sato-Kun,” she said, standing up as well. “Where are you going?”

He didn’t look back at her...
“The bathroom,” he replied nonchalantly...

Yuto slid the door open with more force than necessary and stepped into the hallway. Seconds later, the Shoji door violently closed behind him...

He walked down the hallway with an uncontrollable rage and urgency, to the point that his steps became uneven. He briefly raised a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes hard before dragging his palm down over his mouth. Then he entered the bathroom...

Inside, he locked the door and turned on the sink's cold water; it started rushing out. Yuto bent forward and splashed the water onto his face a couple of times, before gripping the edge of the sink with both hands, staring at his reflection in the mirror—

"Fuck."

He punched it...

The mirror violently cracked on impact, the noises of the act, echoed throughout the small bathroom... Lines were spread across the mirror from the point where his fist hit, and several glass shards broke loose, falling into the sink below.

Yuto sucked in a huge amount of air and pulled back his hand. Blood immediately covered his knuckles, before dripping down and mixing with the water still running from the tap... He stared at it for a moment, his chest was rising and falling fast, then clenched his injured hand, forming a fist despite the pain and irritation...

“…Damn it,” he muttered to himself.
He shut off the sink and leaned closer to what was left of the mirror. His reflection was now broken into multiple pieces, each fragment showing a different part of his face, his expression, and his interpretations...

Minutes later, Yuto walked back into the tatami room, still holding up his injured hand tightly against his chest...

“Ah, Yuto Sato, you’re back! We were just about to—” Chihiro started talking, but her voice was caught up in her throat as she noticed his bleeding hand. “Ahhh! Sato-kun, what happened to your hand?”

She rushed forward, pulling out a clean white handkerchief from her pocket. Carefully and delicately, she began dabbing at his bloody knuckles.

“What happened?” Chihiro quickly questioned him. “How did you get injured again? Your hands were fine before you went to the bathroom—” She kept talking without stopping as she wiped away the blood.

Due to his recent sour mood, Yuto ignored all her questions. Instead, he lifted his head past her shoulder and turned toward Akira-sama, who had been speaking quietly with the attendant in a gray uniform who was holding the preparation folder.

“Ma’am,” Yuto called out to her in a serious tone, even as Chihiro continued tending to his hand.

Akira-sama turned, blinking twice, her golden eyes softening slightly. “Yuto,” she said gently, “I told you there’s no need to be formal with me. You can just call me Akira.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded once...

“…Akira-sama,” he exclaimed. “I want to participate in the rescue of your brothers in Central Tokyo.”

Chihiro’s hands froze mid-gesture. The handkerchief dropped to the tatami floor.

Akira-sama watched him for a few minutes... She did not answer immediately...

“I don’t know how you came to learn about that information,” Akira-sama finally exclaimed calmly, “but I’m guessing Chihiro told you.”

Chihiro stiffened up, before looking downwards nervously...

“But I’m sorry,” Akira-sama continued. “I can’t allow you to participate...” She folded her hands in her lap. “This mission took us months of preparation—resources, planning, and intelligence to e—.”

Yuto exhaled through his nose. “Hm. That’s fine,” he said nonchalantly. “Then I’ll take my leave.”

“I’m not stopping you from leaving,” she said immediately. “But at least let me finish.”

Akira-sama continued, her golden eyes were fixated on him. “Yuto Sato… angels can see human emotions.” Her tone remained the same. “And I can tell—no matter how hard you try to hide it—you’re filled with rage.”

He remained silent...

“It intensified the moment you returned from the bathroom,” she added.

Chihiro quietly watched the two of them, her hands on her chest...

“You’re carrying an unresolved grudge,” Akira-sama continued... "Isn’t that right?”

“And because of that,” she said, “I can’t let you go. At least not until you’ve let go of that rage."

“Well, once again, thank yo—” Yuto started talking, already made up his mind, to go alone...

“Wait…” Chihiro interrupted, stepping forward. She bowed to Akira-sama, her hands were tightly in front of her. “Please… let him join. I’ll make sure he stays under my division.”

“Chihiro… you do understand what you’re asking of me…”

Chihiro tilted her head slightly, a small smile on her lips. “Yes, I understand… but please, reconsider."

Akira-sama slowly exhaled, before looking at Chihiro for a long moment; then her shoulders relaxed slightly. Sigh… "Fine.”

"Really"

“Yes,” Akira-sama replied

Immediately, Chihiro rushed forward and hugged Akira-sama briefly, before regaining her mature composure...

While all this was happening, Yuto couldn’t care less anymore; all his mind was on seeing Minato again and getting his revenge...

“Yuto,” Akira-sama’s voice broke through his thoughts, “kneel before me.

"Huh?"

"To join, you must be granted angelic authority.” Chihiro gestured to him...

Without hesitation, Yuto dropped to his knees in front of her. Even though he wasn’t sure if it would work—given his pact with Morphetous—he had to try anyway. He needed more strength; he couldn’t rely solely on the fallen archangel’s powers, which he could not use at the moment.

Then suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew through the tatami room, rattling the sliding doors and slightly raising the hem of Akira-sama’s yukata... Then a golden symbol appeared on Yuto's left hand, glowing and pulsating, with every breath he took.

Yuto stared at it, astonished...

“Welcome to the Divinity Squad,” she said with a teasing smile.

“O—okay…” Yuto muttered...

“Come on. Let’s go meet the others,” Chihiro said, taping him on the shoulder...

Akira-sama let out a soft sigh, waving her hands, "Now go on, I want to rest."