Lightside Realm

Jaejoong couldn't hide his surprise when Archangel Tae-hee handed him the golden crossbow of his mother, Archangel Na-young.

"Do not fear this, Jaejoong. You are now a full angel. This weapon could never hurt you. You are the son of my sister, Archangel Na-young, her direct descendant and thus has every right to own and use this weapon.

Jaejoong took the crossbow. It was solid and had weight, unlike the illusion crossbow he often created when he had to fight. He also felt the flow of power and energy from the weapon to his body.

"Our weapons make us stronger because these weapons become an extension of our own body, it becomes part of what we are," explained Archangel Tae-hee. "But this crossbow is not the only weapon you would be able to summon and use when you fight Kim Soo-hyun." She took back the crossbow from his hands. "Now then, raise both your hands and call your own weapons."

Jaejoong was baffled.

"I have no other weapons," he explained.

"You are now a true angel, Jaejoong. Even your spirit is pure. Justinian, the best weapon maker of the Armory had taken part of your pure spirit when you were sleeping and created weapons from it."

"Weapons? What kind of weapons are these?" Archangel Tae-hee smiled.

"You will find that out once you have summoned them. Now then, summon your weapons with your heart!" she insisted.

Whenever Jaejoong would use his powers of illusion, he often concentrated on what he wanted to create. He had never used his emotions to call up anything. Seconds passed, his hands remained empty. No weapon had appeared. He had failed.

"You are still using your mind, Jaejoong." castigated Tae-hee. She placed a hand on his chest. "Feel your heart. Summon your pure emotions. Think of the innocents you would protect as you call to your weapons. Because that is how we angels use our weapons, to protect, never to harm."

Jaejoong took a deep breath. He studied his emotions. Strong emotions or desires were needed in order to summon a Lightside weapon. But was his desire to protect humanity strong enough? Dara's face appeared in his mind. He felt the need to protect her, to keep her safe. A powerful emotion engulfed him!

His two hands simultaneously grew bright. A golden sword appeared on his right hand, while his left hand now held a large, silver shield, enough to cover his whole body.

Tae-hee  nodded, pleased at his accomplishment.

"Those are yours now. Only you could summon and use those weapons. And only your future children would be able to inherit such weapons," she smiled beatifically.

Children... Jaejoong knew how a nephilim was born. When an angel possessed the body of a human, he temporarily became human and could become intimate with a human female. But as to how true and pure angels were born, he remained clueless. That intimate part of an angel's life was never discussed or taught to him during his apprenticeship days in Lightside. And he barely remembered his apprenticeship with Midnight though he had an inkling that he was able to discover the kind of reproduction practiced by Lightside. Despite his curiosity, he knew it was inappropriate to suddenly ask Archangel Tae-hee about this. Angels by nature were prude.

Looking at the weapons created from his spirit suddenly made Jaejoong realized that unlike before when he still had his demon-half, he now had a spirit! A spirit, Dara could use to create their child. But the appearance of their child in this world also signaled Dara's death. His jaw clenched. He would never let that happen!

He felt Archangel Tae-hee's eyes on him. Was she capable of reading his mind? He quickly set aside thoughts of Dara. He focused on the weapons on his hands.

"What kind of powers does this sword have?" he asked.

Jaejoong remembered the soul sword that had become his after slaying Prince Teddy  last year. The sword had remained in the armory of Midnight Corp. The sword was very dangerous. It absorbed all life force that its blade cut. No one would dare stop him if he would take the sword and bring it back to his and Dara's house. But the presence of the sword could put humans and Siesmyres in danger. There was also the fact that in order for him to use the soul sword without his life force being by it, he needed to go through a dark ritual. A ritual that demanded the sacrifice of a human life.

"Each of our weapons is unique, and only the owner would be able to summon the powers these weapons possessed," explained Tae-hee.

Jaejoong once again felt the power of the sword flowing into him. The sword was created from his spirit and holding them made him feels they had become part of him again.

"Those weapons were created by Justinian. Take care of your weapons, Jaejoong, because they are an extension of yourself. Familiarize yourself with their powers and abilities. Tomorrow, you will use those weapons during your training in the amphitheater. The best warriors of Lightside will train you so you would be able to defeat Kim Soo-hyun."

"Thank you for all of these, Archangel Tae-hee. But are you really going to simply give me these powerful weapons? Lightside had once ordered my death. I was even called a monster."

"We don't hold grudges, Jaejoong. But I will not ask forgiveness for what I did to you in the past. You had demon blood then. But the situation has now changed. You are now one of us. And because you are now a part of Lightside, we welcome you with open arms. We will support your fight and duel against that abomination who calls himself Kim Soo-hyun," she said, her voice rising with righteous conviction.

"What if my demon blood returns?" Archangel Tae-hee's face turned serious.

"Then you can never use those weapons. If you try using those weapons, you might even die. You will feel pain worse than what you felt when Sean's spear struck your shoulder before."

Jaejoong could never forget that pain. Sean speared him to teach him a lesson. A lesson he never learned.

"I will leave you now, Jaejoong. I have other duties I have to attend to. Tomorrow, we will meet in the amphitheater. That is where your training will begin."

Jaejoong bowed with respect to the Archangel as she left him.

His eyes stared at his weapons. He would need to learn how to use them. This was the first time he had ever had such weapons. He was also much more experienced in using his hands and talons when fighting.

Jaejoong tried to carry all three weapons. The crossbow had a sling, so he slung it on his shoulder while his hands continued to carry the sword and shield.

Lightside had given him weapons. Yet he wasn't allowed to have wings. He couldn't fathom the logic behind that. Maybe he would still need to earn his wings? Those wings were also created from other materials while weapons were formed using part of an angel's spirit.

Though he was now a true angel, a part of him had begun to miss his powerful batwings that could take him anywhere. His batwings were quite useful since he could make them hard as steel to shield him from attacks.

Hopefully, after all of his training, he would be given his angel wings. He would need wings to fight off Kim Soo-hyun who could fly even without wings.

He started slashing the air with his sword. Despite its large size, it was light and easy to manipulate. Even the large shield was almost weightless. He could easily swing and maneuver the shield to stop an attack.

"All you need is a silver armor and you would look like a knight from the middle ages," laughed a familiar voice.

Jaejoong suddenly smelled fresh flowers. He turned and saw Dara. Pain gripped his chest as guilt flooded inside him. It had been more than a week since he fought Soo-hyun. He never wanted Dara to worry or even believed that he was dead, but he had no control of the situation when he became a full angel. Hyesun brought him to Lightside, and he remained unconscious as the angels healed him.

When he finally awoke, days had already passed. Archangel Tae-hee also made it clear to him that as a pure angel, he could never go back to Dara. That his marriage to her had become null and void. An angel could never be married to someone not belonging to his own race.

"Dara..."

"You remember me!" Happiness showed on her beautiful face.

He nodded. He couldn't forget her. It would be impossible for him to forget her, the days they spent together and their intimate moments.

"You need to remove this mark from me."

"What?" She was surprised.

"I am now a true angel. It is forbidden for someone like me to have a relationship with someone like you."

Her eyes became slits. Her temper was threatening to explode.

"Because the high and mighty Lightside Inc. thinks of the Siesmyre as mere animals? Like vermin that needed to be crushed? Is that how you see me now, Jaejoong? Does your skin crawl with disgust when you look at me?" Anger and pain was in her voice.

He shook his head.

"My respect for you remains, Dara. I will never look down on you, and neither will I treat you as some vermin. But I need to follow the rules of Lightside. And as an angel, those rules had been carved into my spirit. I cannot disregard or simply forget them."

Dara's eyes turned green as she looked at him with anger. She was in her human form, but Jaejoong noticed that her skin was starting to turn green.

"I am truly sorry," Jaejoong said quickly. "But I need to break up with you. I cannot be your husband. I am annulling our..."

"You need a witness to divorce me!" she snapped.

Jaejoong felt chagrined. The only witness he could call in this place were angels. And if they found out about Dara's presence, she would be in big trouble. It was highly prohibited for non-employees to enter the realm of Lightside. Dara was not just a trespasser, she could also be called the Queen of the Siesmyres. A dire punishment awaited her if the angels became aware of her presence. Jae