Angel [Arc 2: Prologue]

[Yasumichi Ito. Morning.

Ussera. Elisbonear]

"Papa! Over here! That man is selling candy on the boat!" My lovely daughter called out, pulling me and my wife with her.

"Ahaha! Slow down, Aki-chan!" said my wife, Yasumichi Hiko, with a soft chuckle. We all laughed our way towards the candy seller. Passing through the small block of Minka houses, their blue-tiled roofs gently curving upward to ward off any evil spirits.

There were no streets in Ussera. In fact, there was hardly enough land in all of Elisbonear to have streets. So people usually traveled in their small canoes. Walkable bridges connected one block of land to another, though. But a car could never pass those. From what I read, our lord. King Elisban had his ministers make this land with a mixture of 'Venetian' and 'Nihon' styles, the architecture of the ancients.

My life was so jovial. Our days were so peaceful... How did it come to this?

It was like any other afternoon. I was at home with Aki while my wife had gone out to buy some groceries, but she never came back...

A couple of hours passed when worry overcame me. After asking our neighbors to watch Aki, I searched for my wife. On every block, from the vendors to the boaters, I checked every corner. The pubs, the alleys, the corners. She was nowhere. I kept checking back home, just in case she was back. But my Hiko was nowhere.

It was only the next day that word of her reached me. She was in the hospital... Haha... Magic-related accident; they said... The company I worked for created barrier tools that kept any aquatic monsters away. One of those went out of control and exploded when my wife was next to it.

When the word reached my company, they laid me off as a scapegoat to take responsibility. It did not end there, no. Magical treatment was the only way to save my wife, expensive magical treatment. I sold my house and all my savings, only to afford a treatment that may or may not work.

It was tough. For days, my wife lay in the hospital bed. Unmoving. Aki cried next to her bed every day while I racked my brain to make money.

Looking back, that may have been my biggest mistake...

While I was gone, another accident found its way to us.

The floor above my wife's caved in. A spell went wrong, and it fell. Right next to her bed. She would have been safe, but my daughter was right below it... It was a miracle, they said. My wife moved, she pushed and shielded my child...

Aki lived but lost one of her hands... And her mother...

Here I am, drunk to death in a filthy alley...

Who should I blame, what should I do? Why did this happen? How did this happen? What now? My wife is gone. My child is hurt. What caused it?

"Magic." A sweet voice rang out... alluring, like flowers. Captivating.

I looked up. Beautiful purple eyes met my own. A beautiful young man crouched in front of me. His hand slowly moved toward my face. Like a snake. Like a butterfly. He softly caressed my cheek.

"Magic took your wife from you. Magic took your wealth from you. Magic took your happiness from you. It's all because of magic. Because magic exists, you are in this situation..."

Who was this man? How did he know? Magic... Yes... It's all because of magic. Because magic exists, all this happened. The man leaned in closer. His mystifying voice resounded like a harmonious piano playing the finest tone possible.

"It's not over yet. Your daughter is still alive, magic will take her too..."

NO! NO! Not my daughter!

"No! Wh.. what should... I do?" I asked, shaking the man in front of me. I couldn't lose my daughter. Anyone but her. I wish to protect her, from this world. From magic.

"I'll show you the path... You are not alone... You never were... Lend me your strength. Help me... remove magic from this world"

Remove... magic?

"Who are you?" I asked in a shaky voice. Who was this man in front of me?

"Me? I am a mere guide." He said.

A guide. God had sent his child to show me the path. An angel was here, on a noble mission. How could I, a mere mortal, go against his wishes?

"I'll do it. Please, let me help you. Let me serve you! O! Angel!"

Let me protect my daughter.

Let me remove magic from this world.