Angel Monarch

The soldiers stayed silent while escorting Thea into the principal's office.

The lavish room stood empty. Only a steaming cup sitting on the desk's edge marked the principal's quick departure, leaving his office free for the interrogation.

They pushed her into a chair while keeping the handcuffs on her hand. Out of reflex, she tried moving her hands and feet, but the handcuffs held strong… Unnaturally strong…

From curiosity, Thea glanced down at her legs, and her eyes widened in surprise. The legcuffs glinted in the bright room. The silvery metal seemed like a perfect mirror as it reflected its surroundings.

But Thea's shock didn't stem from the metal's strength. It was obvious where the silvery metal's inner hardness came from… It would be quite embarrassing if The Angel's own metal couldn't restrain an Ascended…

Thea or even any other Angelic Order resident could've recognized the material. All their city-states had gigantic walls built from the exact same silver metal.

While she wandered about the metal's origin, or how the handcuffs were made, the unit leader opened up a holo-screen and began talking to Thea.

"Hmm… Miss Thea, is it?… A prospering student from a prestigious and rich military family… Acquired Evolved status in February 16th 29 ATA… Acquired Ascended status in November 24th 29 ATA… Dreams of joining the Angelic Order's military, like your family…"

The unit leader read everything out in a monotone voice. It made all of Thea's hard accomplishments seem trivial and boring… Nothing special…

She wanted to feel offended, object to his remarks, or defend her honor in any way, but when she opened her mouth, a soldier placed her hand on Thea's shoulder. She glanced up and saw the soldier shake her helmeted head once.

Thea understood the warning and took the shaming seriously… Not like she didn't deserve it…

"Nearly perfect grades, excellent training results, and high knowledge of warfare and politics… Your Ascended powers are strong and useful… The emotional chart is not the best, too competitive and not loyal, with a sever lack of close connection to fellow students…"

The last part caused especially lot of shame to Thea. She knew her problems, but until confronted, she never thought of them as a genuine issue.

"All-in-all, you would've needed a psych evaluation and maybe a few social classes, but you could've easily joined the military with no issues… So tell me, Miss Thea… Are you fucking retarded?!"

The unit leader nearly screamed the last words, his face turning red from anger.

His reaction took aback Thea. She it was stupid. A dumb mistake. What made the unit leader so angry about Thea fighting with some random girl?

As this thought appeared in her head, did Thea begin to realize… Viola wasn't normal at all…

She couldn't have been a regular girl. The kick and movements she performed, while lacking in strength, were still much faster than any thirteen-year-old girl could've physically been capable of delivering.

Viola also survived her kick with only a few broken limbs. A regular human girl would have been near death after hitting that pillar, but Viola even tried getting up afterward.

"Who's Viola? Who are her parents?"

Thea's words cut through the silence, and soon the unit leader's laughter echoed in the room.

"So you still have some sense left… Good! Her identity is a secret, and she hadn't given permission for us to reveal it… Let's just say she is from a powerful family, with lots of influence… A person you shouldn't make an enemy of!"

The unit leader's words didn't help in calming Thea's already miserable emotions. In fact, it only agitated and worried her.

She already knew hitting Viola was a big mistake, but she never imagined something like this. If they kept her identity secret, then she didn't just belong to a regular, rich family, but from a truly powerful one.

As thoughts moved through her mind fast, Thea recalled Lydia's attack. They also failed to introduce her as an Evolved, which was illegal except for those above the law.

Thea's entire body trembled as she felt death closing on her again. Tears leaked from her eyes as her breathing became frantic and her heartbeat irregular.

The unit leader lifted the principal's smoking cup of coffee and took a sip. He then chuckled at Thea's state…

"Oh, for the Goddess! Are you going to piss yourself from fear? We hadn't even told you everything and already given up?… With this attitude, you would've never made it into the military!"

Sadly, these words did nothing to calm Thea down. Her anxiety continued growing until she was on the border of a panic attack.

As her breath quickened, the female soldier behind her flicked the side of Thea's head. Her gauntleted finger's sharp end bit into Thea's skin, ripping it open.

A few drops of blood fell on her lap, but soon the wound closed seamlessly.

The sudden jolt of pain brought Thea out of her self-pity, and she continued awaiting the unit leader's words with newfound composure.

"Much better!… Now let's talk about your sentence! In my opinion, you and your entire family should be executed for insubordination, but since our Goddess always valued fairness, I would be fine only killing you!"

Thea's eyes widened, but she kept the panic from showing on her face. It would be useless anyway, but she also felt a bit of hope, because of the unit leader's word usage… He said 'would', not 'will'…

The man watched Thea for any reaction, and when he found nothing obvious, a satisfying smile grew on his face.

"But, luckily for you, it's not my call to make… As you saw, I already spoke with Viola, and asked for her sentence… I tried convincing the girl, but she was adamant on letting you go with no reprimanding."

Thea's eyes widened even further from shock. She either had bad hearing, or the unit leader was stupid, since there was no way Viola would've let her go without causing any issue.

"B-but… But there must be evidence of my actions… Don't you have an obligation to arrest me, even if she disagrees?"

The training hall had dozens of cameras aimed at the dueling mats, so there should be plenty of footage of Thea beating Viola up.

The unit leader took another sip and pointed at Thea with a wide grin.

"You are correct! Even though she could resist our arrest, we would be lawfully obligated to take you in… However… Mysteriously, every camera, which could've recorded your fight, was destroyed before the fight began… Convenient, isn't it?"

The man narrowed his eyes, gauging Thea's face, looking for signs of guilt, but only confusion marred her.

"And what about the others? The girls? They would've confessed everything!" Said Thea, but the unit leader just waved his hand in the air.

"They did, but their testimonies contradicted each other. Also lawfully, we can't prosecute somebody with only witnesses as evidence… Anyway, as I said, you are free to go!"

Thea continued, staring at the unit leader, waiting for him to laugh at his own stupid joke. But as seconds passed, reality began to dawn on her.

Suddenly, both hand- and legcuffs clicked. They fell to the carpeted floor without any noise.

With slow movements, Thea looked down at her trembling hands. The cuffs left purple marks, since they were much too tight, but as the moments passed, the bruises healed.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at the unit leader. He leaned back in his chair and yawned from boredom.

Thea pondered her response, but at that moment, only one issue interested her.

"Is Viola okay?… I didn't mean to harm…"

Before she could've finished, the unit leader's eyes snapped open, and he angrily shouted at Thea.

"Shut up, you stupid girl! For now, 'Viola' insisted we write off this event as an accident, so it doesn't appear on your record… But, if you bring it up again, and even admit to causing harm, then all her work becomes worthless! We would be obligated to arrest you! So shut the fuck up and get out of my sight!"

For a second, Thea continued shaking in her place, then she quickly stood up, and ran towards the exit. But just as she reached out, someone grabbed her shoulder… The female soldier…

"Before you leave, Viola left this letter for you!" She said, while pulling a golden envelope out of her pocket.

The woman then leaned in closer and whispered into Thea's ear.

Viola is a delightful girl who overcame much trauma. If you are kind to her, she will repay it tenfold… But if you try hurting her, you won't need to enter hell, since she will bring it right to your doorstep… Good luck, and don't be stupid!"

The female soldier giggled at Thea's terrified expression, then she walked out of the room alone.

Thea went after her and saw the woman's armor turn glass-like. The light coming from above broke on the glass armor, creating a rainbow shininess around it.

The beautiful soldier took one step, then, like a mirage, she disappeared.

Before leaving, Thea took one glance at her pink, playful eyes. She felt her face burn and heartbeat quicken.

Despite Thea being strictly straight, the woman's eyes were captivating enough to ignite a deep desire in her. Luckily, this feeling vanished with the woman.

Thea stood in the corridor alone, trying to calm her feelings and the inexplicable heat of her body.

When she felt her emotions normalizing, she glanced down at the envelope in her hand.

A divine golden paper formed its exterior and a single red seal kept it closed. On the seal, the Angelic Order's seven-pointed star marked its origin.

With shaking hands, Thea broke the seal and opened the letter. There wasn't much written inside, but even the few sentences shocked Thea to her core.

'Dear Thea,

I, Viola and my boyfriend Hayden decided to invite you and your entire family for dinner tonight. I already made reservations to the Empress's Joy. As you are probably aware, it's the most prestigious restaurant in New Athens, so please dress accordingly!

I understand if you can't make it, or feel uncomfortable meeting me, but if you seek answers I could explain more, and introduce myself properly!

Anyway, a car will arrive at your home at 9 pm to pick you up, and bring you to the restaurant. Please be ready by then.

Yours Sincerely,

V. and H.

PS: There aren't any repercussions for lack of attendance, and your record will remain clear either way!'

Thea read the letter a few more times, then sighed to herself.

While walking towards the school's exit, she mumbled under her breath, "Now you did it Thea… You had to play stupid games, and now you have to spend the night in a stupid dress… Why does the Goddess hate me so much?…"