"Did you really have to build literally every facility into the towers?"

My question was entirely rhetorical, yet the burly Celestial by my side felt obligated to answer anyway. Not that I really minded; we were heading to the ground floor, just the two of us in the cabin, and the elevator was taking its sweet time, and the bland background music was starting to get on my nerves.

"The Seraphic Safeguard has its own headquarters in Migdál Leukós, but due to the insistence of Internal Affairs, we had no choice but to erect temporal facilities in Migdál Glaukós."

Kane's response was straightforward and polite, but there was just a hint of something else underneath it. It wasn't quite hostility, but something vaguely adjacent, a sense of coldness that told me he didn't appreciate my presence at all. At first, I thought it was only the after-effects of the unnatural irritation I felt towards the female director that rubbed off on him, but on further interaction, the antipathy seemed to be genuinely coming from him. Or, at the very least, that was my hunch; admittedly, his wide, stern face was hard to read. Did Mike inherit his looks from his mother's side, I wondered?

Anyhow, the silence in the wake of his words was getting heavy, so I uttered, "That didn't answer my question."

Even as I said that, I was trying to interpret his words. Jaakobah already used the word 'migdál' before, so figured the term referred to the spiral tower. If so, 'leukós' and 'glaukós' were most likely the designations of the individual buildings. Just how many of them were out there, I wondered?

"The twelve True Migdáls were constructed as the seats of the Seraphs, so it is a given that they contain all the necessary facilities and amenities required."

Oh. That was a quick answer to my unstated question, wasn't it?

"Twelve? Were they built over the Mana Wells?"

"That's correct."

I nodded along and drew yet another parallel with the Abyss. There were twelve Abyssal Houses, each responsible for a Mana Well, and there were apparently twelve of those in the Elysium as well, each corresponding with a spire made for the Seraphim.

"What's a 'Seraph'?"

The question slipped out without much thinking, and for the first time, Kane gave me a sideways glance that was equal parts incredulous and critical.

"Seraphim are the bearers of the purest Celestial bloodlines, and the inheritors of our civilization and culture." Ignoring both his expression and his tone, I gestured for him to continue his explanation, and he did so, even if through gritted teeth. "Chief Director Savir, as well as Mensah and Tsephanyah, are all prestigious Seraphim."

"Does it have something to do with the number of wings then?" I asked the first, obvious, question that came to mind, and Mike's father looked at me as if I asked if the pope was Christian.

"Of course. How could you not know of this?"

"How could I?" I asked back and glared at the man, and even though it was only part of my 'cold and aloof' persona, he reeled back like I just hit him on the nose. I didn't want to outright antagonize him, so I quickly softened my expression and let out a forlorn sigh. "How many such 'Seraphs' are alive today?"

 "One hundred and eighty-seven," he responded in a level voice.

"What about the rest?"

"The majority are Malakim, with Cherubim, like myself, being a minority."

That non-explanation earned the man another sideways glance, but we were too close to the ground floor to ask for a proper explanation, so I opted to just sigh, shook my head, and utter, "These truly are dark times."

He didn't have a response to that, or even if he did, he kept it to himself as the elevator cabin came to a soft halt and the doors opened, revealing a small contingent of guards lined up in two rows.

"Are these your men?"

Kane shook his head at my question.

"No, just the regiment protecting Migdál Glaukós itself. The squad I tasked with your protection should be on standby in the training halls."

"In that case, lead the way."

I didn't need to say it twice, and as Kane stepped forth, the small guard contingent formed a loose defensive circle around the two of us. It kind of reminded me of the way the Dracis bodyguards were acting whenever my in-laws were around. Maybe they were using the same manual?

Still pondering about useless things like that, we quickly made it to our destination. Due to the shape of the spire, the ground floor was the largest of all the storeys, so I expected that we would have to walk for a while, yet we reached the so-called 'training hall' in just a few short minutes.

The sight that welcomed me was rather peculiar. The structure of the area was nothing out of the ordinary. Plain white walls, minimal ornamentations, same old, same old. What really surprised me were the under-construction parts. By the looks of it, this area used to be multiple adjacent rooms in the recent past, and they were being remodelled into one large hall literally in front of my aching eyes nearly blinded by all the swirling magical lights in the air.

Construction workers, by a loose definition of the word, dressed in bright yellow overalls and wearing round helmets, were running all around the place with instruments that looked like large oboes, furiously playing music at the walls slowly retreating into the floor and ceiling. It kind of reminded me of watching sped-up footage of a plant growing from a seed, except played in reverse.

Behind them, other workers were using large zithers to coax new walls and arches into existence, growing strings and then weaving them into structures that felt organic, rather than cold mortar and stone. Then, once they were done, yet other workers showed up with a mixture of drums and other percussion instruments, smoothing out the surfaces and giving them their final contours. There was even a guy who was carrying a brass tool the size of a tuba, except with multiple bells, and was in charge of smoothing out the ceiling with it.

Strangest of all, despite the presence of a small orchestra, the room was strangely quiet, to the point I could clearly hear the boots of the Celestial guards stomping the ground as they formed a line in the middle of the spacious chamber.

"At ease."

Despite Kane's orders, the men and women in front of me remained decidedly uneasy as they watched the two of us (plus a dozen guards) walking over, ignoring the construction workers around us and making a beeline for them right away.

On closer inspection, they were all relatively young Celestials, in their late twenties to early thirties at most, and wore a mixture of outfits still in line with the vaguely Ancient Greek theme of their military- and service uniforms. One of them wore heavy brass armour that covered most of his body, and his face could barely be seen behind the front plate of his helmet, while the man right next to him wore no armour at all, opting for sandals, shorts, and an equally short-sleeved white tunic instead.

To my surprise, I actually recognized one of them, and it was precisely because of her outfit; she was the woman from Jaakobah's squad, and the only one with an 'armour' that actively showed off her midriff. She wasn't wearing any headgear at the moment, and while she was generally attractive, she had a simple bowl cut without anything extra, meaning she probably wasn't particularly important, I if not for her outfit, I would've probably never even noticed her.

But speaking of the outfits, were these their 'natural' combat gear? It wasn't just an idle question; Celestials were unique in the sense that they could bring out their wings without fully transforming and engaging their Barrier, which was well known to shred normal clothes, so these outfits could be just their fashion choice, yet the faint glow surrounding them told me otherwise.

I already knew that, unlike the case of the Draconians, whose physical changes were due to their physiology, the transformed outfits of Celestials and Abyssals alike were individualized and heavily dependent on their personality, outlooks, and ability to visualize their appearance. Once set, it wasn't easy to change though, and while repeated practice (at my subtle insistence) allowed Snowy to shift her Abyssal form into something slightly more sensible than just a dozen leather straps stuck to her body with magical two-sided tape, the end-result still looked more fitting for a BDSM dungeon than the battlefield. As for Angie, the less said about her bedsheet by any other name, the better.

But back to the point: considering these were elite Celestial soldiers we were talking about here, I expected a bit more standardization, yet their outfits were all over the place.

"You have been individually selected by the Board of Directors from across all branches of the Celestial Military," Kane broke into a speech, inadvertently answering my unspoken question in the process. "You are the best of the best, chosen to serve, protect, and if necessary, lay your lives down in service of Archon Polemos."

At this point, he gestured towards me in a way that could be interpreted as rather rude, but I didn't pay him any heed and concentrated on the people in front of me instead. If I understood that right, they looked like such a hodgepodge of characters because they were hand-picked from all the various service branches. I didn't even need to ask why; it was not just to 'look after me', but to keep each other in check as well.

"As you must all be well aware, the Second True Archon had recently returned to our side, and as such, your role carries both enormous esteem and untold weight. As such, Archon Polemos deemed it important to personally witness your prowess, and prove yourselves to him."

While Kane was talking, the construction workers all stopped their tasks and moved to the side on their own, leaving things half-finished. I wasn't entirely sure whether leaving things half-finished like that was safe, but I never got the chance to raise my concerns.

"Sir?"

The fully-armoured man spoke up, drawing my attention back to him.

"Yes, Optio Greer?"

"Sir. How are we meant to prove ourselves to the Second True Archon, sir?"

"That is a good question. Let us hear what he has for you in mind."

Mike's father passed the ball into my court, and based on the startled faces and surprised gasps, some of them apparently just realized who I was supposed to be.

"We greet Archon Polemos!" Taking advantage of the others' inertia, the woman with the bowl cut used the fact that she already knew me, in a sense, to step forth. "Please, command us!"

The rest of the gaggle of eclectic guards were quick on the uptake, and they followed suit one after the other, all of them holding an arm with a clenched fist horizontally in front of their chests and declaring their intent to follow me. Their salute vaguely reminded me of the way the Fauns used to greet me, but I didn't have time to dally around, as Kane soon retreated out of the conversation by literally taking a couple of steps back.

Feeling ever-so-slightly irked by the manner he dumped this situation on me, I rewarded him with a frown that implicitly said 'I'll remember this', and then I turned back to the men and woman in front of me. Speaking of which, she was the only female officer on the squad, so did that make her a token teammate? I think it was called the Smurfette Effect, or something.

Once again aware that I missed not having Judy about to ask if I remembered right, I let out a soft groan and waved at the group to be at ease.

"Stop prostrating yourselves. I'm your Archon, not your god." That strategically placed comment caused a bit of a commotion, and I only continued after it died down. "I'm not going to mince my words, nor am I going to repeat myself, so listen closely. You are ordered to be my guards, implying that there are elements within this realm that could pose a threat to me. I'm rather doubtful of that, but even if there are such threats aiming at my life, I wonder just how much use you could even be in such scenarios."

"Sir!" The armoured Celestial called out, and when he remained silent afterward, I belatedly realized he was asking for permission to speak. The moment I nodded, he continued with, "Sir, you must not underestimate the danger Bel of the Abyss and the other Abyssals could pose to you, once the news of your glorious return spread."

Slightly narrowing my eyes, I simply uttered, "Unorthodox, right?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the man responded with a puffed-up chest.

"Is there a problem with that?" Kane asked from the back, and after some consideration, I shook my head.

"No, I was just curious. As for your comment, I believe you're the ones who underestimate Bel of the Abyss." I paused here, for nothing else but dramatic effect, and then solemnly declared, "Unlike you, I had met the man in person. If he were to show up here, right now, the only person in the room capable of surviving, the encounter, let alone fending him off, is me. And yes, that includes you too, Primus Kane."

"With all due respect," another guard, a relatively short but muscular man in a skin-tight white wetsuit right out of a superhero comic cut in with a displeased expression. "We are all professionals here. Between the twelve of us, a Lord of the Abyss should pose little danger."

"Is that so?" I locked eyes with the guy, and he remained steadfast in his denial, but I didn't mind, as he just gave me the perfect opportunity to put one of my plans into action. I casually reached for Teeny with my left hand and raised it in front of me, roughly at chest level. Then, before anyone could react, I forced my still throbbing fingers on my right to make three snaps. On the third, I Phased right behind the man, and just by readjusting the position of the sword in my hand, I could place it right against his Adam's apple. I waited until everyone in the room realized what just happened, and then asked, in a soft yet at the same time icy voice, "Tell me, how are you going to defend against something like this?"

The man in the wetsuit remained stock still, petrified by the sudden development. In fact, he was so stiff that things were getting awkward, right until Mike's father finally regained his wits and exclaimed, "You… I mean, Lord Archon! How… How did you…?"

Well, fine. Saying 'regained his wits' might've been an overstatement, but let's not sweat the small details. Instead, I pulled the blade away from the neck of the hapless soldier, stuck it back into the hoop on the side of my belt, and then walked around the still-startled group to stand in front of them again.

"A simple trick using illusions and simple spatial substitution, and you're already this rattled…" My words were harsh, but nobody could argue back, even though the way the bearded military leader in the back's mouth kept opening and closing like he was pretending to be a carp out of water. "It was but a crude approximation of Bel's ability. The real deal is much, much more terrifying. Are you still certain you have what it takes to face off against a foe like that?"

The group in front of me remained silent, though I couldn't help but notice that my scheme wasn't completely successful. Since these guys' unspoken purpose was to keep me under surveillance, I planned to get rid of them as soon as possible, preferably before they even entered service, so to speak. The simplest way to do this was by demonstrating that I didn't need their help, that they wouldn't be able to help, and on top of that, I also used the opportunity to re-contextualize my Phasing ability yet again, so that I could use it in a pinch.

All things considered, this should've been a slam dunk, yet most of the eyes staring at me weren't discouraged. If anything, they looked downright respectful.

"Lord Archon? Is… this an ability that many possessed in your time?" Mike's father inquired as he sidled back to my side, sounding borderline reverent.

"It's not that complicated, so there should've been a number of individuals who could perform the same feat," I answered off-handedly and was just about to return to the eclectic honour guard squad in front of me, but Kane pushed on.

"So the Celestials of old were capable of even more outstanding feats?"

"Of course," I answered, still on autopilot, and was about to rub the fact into the wounded pride of the people at the front, if not for the bearded man's insistent interruptions.

"What about Bel's power?"

"The ability to command time itself is a power that was as troublesome to deal with back then as it is today, but unlike you, I have my ways to counteract it," I stressed, and quickly addressed the rest before he could speak up again. "Hence, while I do not doubt your eagerness to serve me, I sincerely doubt your presence or absence would make a difference were I to encounter Bel of the Abyss once again."

"That's not true, sir!" the fully armoured man, whose name I didn't know but should've really asked for ages ago, exclaimed in a hurry. "We may still provide support on the battlefield!"

"Yes," midriff-woman followed him up with clenched fists. "We could secure the area and make sure your fight won't be interrupted."

"We can also help prevent collateral damage!" short-tunic-man added with altogether way too much enthusiasm, and armour-man nodded like it was a profound statement.

"That's also true. We might not be able to face foes only you can fight, Sir Archon, but we can still help you, sir!"

Now it was my turn to flinch as a torrent of enthusiasm washed over me from nowhere, and I could only matter an uncertain "Can you?" in response.

"Sir, yes, sir!" armour-man exclaimed and beat his own breast plate with a glowed fist, clearing a dull sound as it impacted on his own Barrier. "Even if I have to stake my life to do so!"

"So do I!" the previously silent wetsuit-man also joined him, along with midriff-woman, hoplite-guy, half-tuxedo-half-greaves man, and… and at this rate, I'd seriously have to learn all of their names, wouldn't I? That just wouldn't do.

"Very well. I acknowledge your spirit," I spoke as I crossed my arms and directed a challenging glare at the group. "However, spirit is meaningless without the ability to back it up. Show me what you're capable of, and I will judge you, one by one."

I thought that would make them think twice, but instead, it just ignited their fighting spirit even further. Oh well. This whole conversation went in a different direction than expected, but I was still half-successful in introducing my newest cover to my Phasing ability, and while they were strangely eager to enter my service, I figured roughing them up a bit could help to cool them down a notch. I needed to let off some steam anyway, and what harm could be in combining pleasure with business, right?