Angel of Sanctuary [Block B]

Chapter 26

I groaned, "I heard you and I came to you, so don't complain." A smile pricked at the corners of his mouth as he stared down at me. He gave a slight, amused shake of his head at my stubborn attitude and then carefully pulled me to my feet, allowing me to lean all of my weight on him. "What's going on?"

He sighed and the signs of a smile immediately dropped from his face. "Hyorin, this is the Angel Council," he explained quietly, gesturing to the eight men towering over us. "These are the Archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel, and Saraqael." Each Archangel nodded once as their name was listed. I stared curiously at the towering man in the center and U-Kwon murmured, "Today, Saint Christopher is overseeing the trials."

I nodded slowly in understanding and then jolted in shock. "Trials?" U-Kwon fell into an awkward silence as he supported me and I turned to the towering Council in front of me. "I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, but why is U-Kwon on trial?"

"He has failed to protect you since his dispatch and arrival on Earth," Saint Christopher stated bluntly as I stared at him with owl-like eyes. "We were deciding what his fate shall be given that he has overstepped his privileges as a Guardian and has even displayed human-like emotions towards you, the one he must protect."

"With all due respect, U-Kwon watches over me very diligently, and I must implore you to not make any rash decisions against him because of my choices," I begged quietly. U-Kwon hung his head shamefully and I felt a sharp pain in my chest when I saw the terror and misery on his face. "If someone must be punished, then please punish me instead for my poor decisions."

Archangel Raphael cleared his throat and the others turned to look at him. "This human risked her life to save a child and was injured in completing her actions."

Archangel Gabriel murmured, "This still does not constitute as a viable reason for this Guardian to continue his work without harsh punishment."

"All in favor of punishing this Angel for his negligence?" Saint Christopher inquired, looking around at the Archangels. Raphael, Saraqael, and Michael kept silent as the others raised their hands. "Shall we listen to this human's defense of this Angel?"

With a huff, Archangel Michael stood and then harshly chastised the others with, "Shame on you all for taking such a grave decision without even once considering how the human who this Angel protects must feel. Please, do give a defense before these boorish Archs make such a life-changing decision for your Guardian without fully probable reasoning."

Saint Christopher sighed in defeat and then waved for me to begin speaking. "U-Kwon is far from a perfect Guardian Angel," I began before I was interrupted.

"If you're going to defend me, at least properly defend me!" U-Kwon protested with a pout while he supported me. I sighed under my breath and he apologized through his timid stare.

Gabriel leaned towards Saint Christopher and whispered, "Can we sentence him to death now?" Saint Christopher sighed and rolled his eyes at the question while Raphael stood up with a groan.

"I'm getting a coffee- this is going to take a while." With that, he walked out of the court room and I was left swallowing hard as I stared up at the remaining Archangels and Saint Christopher.

They gestured for me to continue and I nodded and then mumbled, "He may not be perfect, but since I've been all alone with my friends in military service, he's done so much for me. We go shopping together, he teaches me how to drive, we go on walks together, and he works with me so that I'm never left alone. Even though I said such terrible things to him when we first met and didn't even let him anywhere near me, he still watched over me and still took a huge amount of effort to make sure that I was safe."