The circumstances about why she hadn't been in my life for so long were now clear. However, as much as I understood them, they were hard to accept. Even if I get it, the damage was already done, I can't really see someone that was so absent in my life like a motherly figure. For even if the justification is here, it's hard to call someone you barely know anything about and have not seen for a majority of your life a retive.

  In the first pce, for what it's worth, we just met as far as I was concerned.

  Still, I have questions.

  I gently removed myself from her embrace.

  "I see, humans emotions are quite hard to understand. You know, being forced to live in this body for so long, I've started to get more human little by little. Your father was a lovely guy, if not a little bit weird. I still remember the first time we met. It was the first time a human managed to see me. I can remember what he said, even now, like how lovely he thought my wings were."

  "Lovely guy my ass!"

  She dissipated into light, restraining me in the process.

  "Well, Greenie, I think I'll go outside for a bit to let you have this moment."

  Unbothered, Jessica left the bar, grabbing Aria's hand, indicating her it would be better if she did the same as well.

  "Miss Jessica, what are you doing?"

  Alma shrugged, expining to Aria what Jessica was trying to do here.

  "Just follow her, Aria, don't worry about it for now."

  Jessica snapped her finngers, the ustentils that were trapping Maria transforming into red carpets.

  "You owe me now, Granny."

  Maria breathed a sigh of relief, finally delivered from the wall.

  "What a weird power. What are those tongs made of anyway?"

  "Oh, that? I know what you do, Child of Fire, I simply applied the information that they can absorb UV rays into them."

  "(I should be careful not to get on her bad side but that could be useful if I want to get rid of that priest.)"

  "Sorry, Child of Fire but I can't help you with that."

  "(I forgot she knows what we think...)"

  "Even though he's severly misguided about the intents of Father, I can't deny he's right about the fact he chose to bless him."

  Maria was a little bit shocked.

  "You mean to tell me that... No, that can't be right..."

  "I'm afraid I'm not trying to tell lies here, you shouldn't throw your life away trying to kill him. The reason the Child of Outer World can partially resist his influence is because she stopped being only a human after getting her powers. The outer god inserted a part of themselves in her, stunting her growth and transforming her into something more akin to a demi-god than a human. The process is different for the other apostles, it doesn't happen like that."

  "I don't care! I'll kill him even if it's the st thing I'll do!"

  "I'm afraid he can't be beaten by a human..."

  "What do you mean?"

  "His authority as an apostle is over humanity itself. Do you understand what I mean now?"

  "..."

  "It doesn't matter if you're an apostle, as long as you keep being human, this fight you're searching for will only end badly for you."

  She looked straight at me.

  "Still, I don't like his vision for the world and refuse to it pass. Father doesn't like to intervene too much when it comes to humanity so even though he gave him those powers, I doubt he's guiding him like he makes his followers believe it. That's where you come in py, Honey. Since you're fifty percent human, you have more chances to beat him than your friend over here."

  "Not my friend."

  "Hey!"

  "Regardless, what will you do?"

  "To be frank, it's not like it concerns me what that man she's talking about does, I'm just worried for a friend of mine right now."

  Her expression became serious.

  "I suppose I have to tell you what that man ideal world entails. First of all, the group this man lead is called "Creature Hunt", an organization whose intent is to remove life that does not belong to humanity from this pnet. He has targetted your friend in the past, that Child of Fire over there was going after the witch on his orders."

  "..."

  "Do you understand what I'm saying? If you let him roam free, the chances that he'll catch that little witch will increase. He doesn't care about the fact she fifty percent human genes, to him, it's more so an aboration of nature than anything else."

  I looked at Maria, anry about what I just heard.

  "I have no right no say anything right now but just remember that I wasn't the one in control of my body until recently."

  I suppose she has a point.

  Gabriel continued to look at me.

  "What are you gonna do, Sweetie?"

  "After hearing that, there's not much choice left."

  Wings sprouted from her back, blinding our eyesight, they were way too bright.

  "Then, stop being scared of what you are."

  She put a finger on my forehead, my singur bck wing and my half halo manifesting themselves.

  "What are you doing?!"

  Maria was quite shaken, it was the first time she saw me transform after all.

  "I'll teach you how to keep this power under control, that's the least I could do as your mother."