The Laughing Swordsman

Panic immediately arose among the people when the guards said the word 'fallen angel'. Most of the people were still on the ground, holding onto their injuries. As such, it wasn't the easiest for them to move.

"Fallen angel?"

"There is an angel?"

"But angels are unable to come down to our earth! They simply provide blessings!"

Eden seemed to be in shock, unable to process the situation. Apollo started looking around, searching for this 'fallen angel'.

As for Suki, she quickly surmised that the guards appeared to be talking about Apollo. She understood what angels were, but had no idea what a fallen angel was.

Suki wanted to ask, but felt the situation was a little too tense for that. She didn't want to stand out in any way.

Among the guards was a little boy. He was shivering in fear.

One of the guards shook the little boy and pointed at Apollo.

"Is that the fallen angel?"

The boy looked up at Apollo, who similarly looked at him. One of them had fear in their eyes, and the other was curious. The boy simply looked down at the ground, unable to decide if he should speak.

There were a few seconds of silence.

Pretty much everybody looked at each other awkwardly, some wondering what was happening, and some trying to find an angel.

The guard noticed that the boy had no plans of speaking up soon. So the guard shouted.

"Speak! Is he the angel?"

The boy cowered, unable to take the pressure.

"Y-Yes!"

With that, the guard looked forth.

"On the stage is a fallen angel, move away now!"

The people on the ground dragged themselves away, but were still confused. Someone muttered to themselves.

"What is a fallen angel?"

The guard that spoke heard this. He took a peek at the person before announcing to the people here.

"Some of you do not seem to understand the severity of the situation. A fallen angel is one that was originally part of the angels."

The guard raised his sword.

"However! There are some that have simply done terribly despicable deeds, and are thus banished from heaven! The chances of an angel turning bad are unbelievably rare, but when it happens, they are the epitome of evil!"

Fear immediately began to spread within the crowd.

"T-That's why he was able to do that strange attack!"

"But why didn't the fallen angel kill us if he is the epitome of evil?"

"The fallen angel must be trying to convert us to become evil!"

Although it was painful, many of the crowd pulled themselves away from the stage, now fearful of Apollo. The only person left standing awkwardly in the middle, was Eden.

Her mind was currently in turmoil. Countless thoughts raged within.

Was Apollo really a fallen angel?

But he seemed so innocent!

...Then again, angels weren't supposed to fall from the sky. Not to mention, Apollo didn't seem to want to return to heaven.

The reason he wanted to check out the city must've been because he wanted to survey the new place he was going to live in!

Eden trembled violently. She slowly looked down to the figurine in her hand and parted her fingers. From what Eden could tell, this definitely represented a person. She thought it was too specific to be anyone random.

As such, Eden came to the conclusion Apollo met someone that looked like this before. However, angels were depicted as beings with halos and wings. There were no halos or wings on this person.

Instead, there were horns.

Eden quickly realized she might be holding onto a statue that represented some evil being. She was oblivious to it earlier as she didn't even consider the possibility that Apollo was evil.

Eden tensed up.

She had to throw away the statue. It was evil.

But for some reason, Eden just couldn't let go of it. She wasn't even exactly sure why.

Once the crowd got out of the way, the guards slowly moved forward. They all had their swords out, taking each step forward carefully and even taking on a formation.

The guard in the lead turned to Eden, who still wasn't moving.

"Get out of the way!"

Eden jumped, then hurriedly ran away.

The guard at the front then turned to Apollo.

"Fallen angel, are you willing to surrender now? There's no way out for you."

Apollo turned around, then looked back at the man. He tilted his head to the side.

"Who are you talking to?"

The guard let out a contemptuous scoff.

"Who else could I be talking to?"

Apollo laughed.

"Then why did you call me fallen angel? My name is Apollo!"

The guard narrowed his eyes.

"Well then, Apollo. Will you come with us peacefully, or make things difficult?"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Mm... I don't like difficult things. Can it be easy instead?"

Although there was a metal helmet on the guard's face, obscuring most of his expression, it was still clear he was confused. The guard did not expect this situation.

"If you wish for it to be easy, then come with us."

Apollo blinked a few times, then nodded.

"Ok!"

He stepped down on the stage then began walking towards the guards. The guard did not trust him. After all, who wouldn't even try to run away?

The guard yelled out to his group.

"Surround him!"

The guards immediately went forth, circling around Apollo and all pointing metal swords at his neck.

It looked a little strange, especially with the fact Apollo was a child and how he was smiling casually. Apollo looked around himself.

"What are you doing?"

The leading guard narrowed his eyes.

"This is the only way to safely transport you."

Apollo pouted.

"What! You guys value safety too much. I don't need to be protected."

The guard's eyebrow twitched.

"Too bad. This is how it has to go."

Apollo let out a soft sigh.

"Ok, ok.. Just don't be too slow."