The Timid Angel’s Potential

The lizardman glanced down at my jaw before turning back to the corrupted hero. He pulled out a scepter from his sleeves and said, “Leave him to us, Your Majesty!”

“Hmph, I can take care of this pest on my own,” I said.

He glanced at the dark waves still approaching the ocean and clashing with the water tides before scratching his head. “But… you can’t handle holy magic, right?”

As much as I hated to admit it, he was quite right. Holy magic was a massive nuisance. Everything under its light would burn away, and not even I could resist it.

I didn’t answer them, but as if they took my silence as a “yes,” the lizardman and the girl turned to the angel, who flinched in realization.

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” he stammered. “I-I never have any real battle experience, r-remember? I agreed to the job just to support from the sidelines!”

“Who else can resist holy magic better than an angel though?” the girl mentioned. “Not to mention, you’re the only one who can fly here.”

“You’re asking a desk clerk intern to throw hands with a hardened warrior here! I don’t see how this is going to be fair!”

Well, since they were bound to be rediscovered anyway, I suppose I should give up concealing these three.

With that thought, I carved open my eye and opened the world back to the passengers, but they took reluctant steps toward it.

“Yeeeeaaaaah, no. This battle ain’t for me,” said the girl, staring at the distant ground. “I’m crazy, not stupid.”

She quickly whipped toward the angel with a mischievous grin. “The honor’s all yours, Caelo!”

The angel blinked. “Eh? Wha—”

She kicked him forward. “Break a leg, haha!”

“Waaaauraugh!” he screeched, frantically flapping his wings as he fell. He gripped his staff and quickly cast a golden light brighter than the sun, blinding the scene.

And to be honest, that unnecessary flashbang hurt me more than the sword scratching my throat earlier.

There the angel floated, now holding a spear designed with sharp edges and otherworldly geometric patterns that could terrify demons.

I narrowed my eyes.

It was the same type of weapon I’d seen back in that war…

Another old memory flashed before my eyes, one where the sea was dyed in crimson, yet the skies remained bathed in gold, burning everything in its light…

I closed my eyes shut with a growl.

No, now wasn’t the time to reminisce…

I opened my eyes back and focused my attention on this odd angel, who hadn’t projected a single shred of self-confidence up until now. Perhaps I’d underestimated him after all.

The other two had mentioned his name… Caelo, was it? That name certainly didn’t ring any bells. He must've been a pretty young angel then.

I wonder if his might could make up for his pathetic cowardice.

The angel looked down at his spear and gripped it tight. “Uuuugh, I’m not paid enough for this,” he groaned. “Why did I get chosen for this?”

The puppet swiftly redirected his sword toward the masked angel, who in turn flinched and fumbled with his spear. He pointed it back to his opponent, albeit shaking it so much it rattled like a toy.

…On second thought, maybe this young one still had a long way to go. Could he even handle it?

I opened my jaw and prepared for a follow-up attack.

But as if sensing my doubts, the lizardman said, “Despite him being… you know, that, Caelo managed to survive this long for a reason, Your Majesty. He’ll be fine!”

I paused and hesitantly closed my jaw.

The puppet lunged for the angel, who immediately raised his spear and blocked the hit right on time, generating brilliant, golden sparks on impact.

The angel briefly faltered in his flight before finding his composure again. He took a deep breath and finally took a swing with his spear.

Lo and behold, the angel unleashed a massive wave of light, easily slicing the puppet in half. The surge continued to cut through the air until it struck the ground, splintering the Eldran in its wake and the earth along with it.

The lizardman pumped his fist. “Hell yeah! You see that?! He… he… uh…” He cleared his throat and lowered his shoulder. “S-Sorry, I got carried away for a moment…”

Huh. It wasn’t every day to see that sort of power from a wimp like this.

I inched my head closer. “You.”

“Yes?!” the angel screeched, straightening his back straight as a pole.

“Which god do you serve?”

“Huh? Uh, th-the storm god, Syclos.”

Syclos… That name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite peel off all the barnacles in my memories to remember everything. No matter.

“Did that storm god train you to wield that spear?”

“Actually, I, uh…” He shyly looked away, took off his mask, and scratched his cheek. “I… kind of self-trained.”

Huh. Curious.

I’d never heard of an angel training themselves to reach this level of power up until now, especially with his unusual self-doubt.

Very curious indeed.

“Your name is Caelo, correct?”

He meekly nodded, practically bowing at me in the process. “Y-Yes, ma’am… That’s my name.”

It wasn’t often that I’d care enough to remember names. As a matter of fact, I almost never did, but I started to wonder how much potential he and the other two possessed.

That said, I wouldn’t be able to observe them properly if they remained inside my eye throughout the journey. As such, I lowered my head back down at ground level and dropped the other two out of my eye socket.

They tumbled down like crabs, wobbly and stumbling around. It didn’t take long for them to get back up on their feet, though. While those two groaned and dusted their clothes, Caelo descended and stood alongside them, confused.

I placed down one of my legs and began swelling it from within. The three all immediately froze and gaped at me in silence.

First, a scaly hand burst out of my skin and began tearing open a bigger hole, exposing the inner, abyssal veins writing inside. A head with pink coral horns emerged next, followed by some struggle to yank off some hair stuck to the skin.

At last, I let out a sigh of relief and opened my smallest, one and only pair of eyes on this small, two-legged body of mine.

I was reminded once again that the world… looked far more massive from the perspective of a landwalker.

The sky, the mountains, and the looming dark clouds all seemed so incredibly far to reach, and it felt like they could crush me under their weight. A fascinating perspective.

The look on those three faces was also priceless, I must admit.

“Y-Your Majesty?” the lizardman stammered. “You… you have a human form?!”

I looked down at my webbed hands and feet and swished my tail. “It would be a hindrance if my main body keeps attracting unnecessary attention,” I said. “Thus I shall make do with this form for now.”

I continued brushing off some shed skin and muttered, “It’s been eons since I’ve used this form, though…”

Caelo awkwardly looked away while the lizardman frantically took off his cloak and approached me. “Well, if you’re going to look like one of us, you need to wear something! Cover yourself with this! Quickly!”

“Hm?” I paused and tilted my head. “I don’t need to wear such clothes—”

“Just think of it as a way to blend in better with us! Trust me on it!”

Eyes covered, he rushed toward me and wrapped his cloak around my shoulders.

I blinked down at the cloak, unsure how to react.

“Phew, all good,” he said, patting my back. He blinked and quickly retracted his hand. “S-Sorry! I-I didn’t mean to hit you!”

I looked back up at him. “I’m not that short-tempered,” I said.

“Well, you were when you woke up,” Caelo whispered under his breath.

“Of course I would get angry if intruders suddenly break into my room, wake me up out of nowhere, and destroy it in the process.”

“You heard that?!”

“Yes, I did. I’ve already forgiven you as per the earlier deal, so calm down.”

“O-Oh, okay…”

“She has a point, you know,” said the girl, her hands on her hips. “You guys already know how cranky I get when you all wake me up too.”

Caelo shuddered. “Ugh, right…”

I shifted my gaze to the lizardman next, who twitched at eye contact. “You. Your name is Aestus, correct?”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And you.” I turned to the girl. “Your name was mentioned. Denaya, was it?”

“Yep, that’s me!” she confirmed with a thumbs up. “Most sane hero, at your service!”

The other two gave her skeptical looks, including me.

I looked back down at this borrowed cloak and curiously brushed my hand through the fabric.

It was slightly bristly, worn from weather and battle, yet it didn’t fail to remain soft. There was also a lingering warmth along with the faint scent of wood and spice.

Caelo. Aestus. Denaya. What a truly odd yet curious group of adventurers.

Normally, I’d never care enough to remember names, especially landwalkers, but it wouldn’t hurt to continue this chain of first experiences.

So, I let out a quiet sigh, tightened the cloak around my shoulders, and said, “I’m just as uncomfortable as all of you, so let’s make haste eliminating the Eldran. Until this war is over, I’ll be in your care.”