IV

Seoul, South Korea (June 1909) 

Around 2005, they already went through three storms. Minho flipped his wet hair back, annoyed. Traveling back in time was always messy as the weather could be unpredictable. Minho avoided it as much as he could. But the Celestial Police always met in the past, as tradition dictates. So he didn't have a choice. 

"Of all the times that you can screw up, you had to do it when all the Asian Principalities are here," Minho told LJ. The latter was sitting on the elevator floors, looking miserable. They could not use their wings to go further than the third celestial sphere as mere warriors, so they also had to be in such a confined space. 

"Stop making him feel worse. It wasn't his fault." Haneul replied, nervously pulling at his coat.  

"No, it was my fault." LJ countered, hanging his head back on the elevator walls, presumably to ease his misery.

"Damn right, it was," Minho responded, still bent on berating LJ. "You had one job--"

"Ugh. Can you not fight? The negative energy is making this head vibrate so bad. I feel like vomiting." Amara Khatri, Minho's partner from the Indian Principality, said from the other side of the box. She was new to the force and had just assumed a body., but she never could glean how a body was supposed to work. Amara had her nails close to her face, inspecting them as if they could grow tiny heads in a second. 

Minho scoffed at Amara, "You're one to talk. Where were you? I have been looking all over for you. We were supposed to--" 

The elevator doors dinged, opening towards the expansive lobby of the second celestial sphere. Amara was the first to get out of the elevators, purring something about the empyrean architecture of the building, before floating towards a group of angels in the corner, talking animatedly with them. Minho rolled his eyes. Amara was vicious in fighting demons, but he found her distractibility unpleasant. Not for the first time, he thought about asking for another partner.

"Hey, brethren! How's the hunting?" Javier Santos from the Filipino Principality greeted them as they walked towards the hall. Javi wore a plump little body with a kind face. He was a part of Haneul and Minho's squad, with Mikazuki Yamazaki from the Japan Principality as his partner. 

"You caught any foxes lately?" Smiling, Javi put his arms around Haneul, awaiting a response. But the latter just looked at him wearily.

"Bad day, huh?" getting the hint, Javi let go of Haneul. "Okay...Well, whatever it is, there's always next time, right?" he said, a blatant attempt to lift his brothers' spirits. 

"Tell that to the Principalities, who are known for giving benevolent second chances," Minho replied bitterly. 

"Wow, was that sarcasm? You finally got it down." LJ said in a moment of cheerfulness. But he was quickly shot down by Minho's glare.

"Don't mind him. He's just as nervous as we are." Haneul commented. 

Minho gritted his teeth but chose not to reply. There wasn't time to argue. They were already in the Divine Coliseum, where thousands of angels had gathered for the event.

"I better get back to my flock, then. I promised I'd sit by them this time. See you guys later." Javi said, waving at them and heading in the Filipino angels' direction. Minho and the others earned a few glances from some of their brethren. They nodded in recognition at some of them before quickly settling themselves at their assigned section. 

LJ, back to being miserable, squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. All forty-eight Asian Principalities sat on their thrones, on a stage above everyone else at the center of the theater. Their wings, longer and more delicate-looking than that of mere angels, sprang up from their assumed bodies, touching the ground. They didn't need subtlety to do their mandate as rulers of nations, hence their elaborate wings. But if one were to ask LJ, The Principalities were as spoiled and cruel as the human politicians, and he both feared and loathed them. 

"Oh, thanks for saving me a seat. You're such a dear." Amara sashayed inside, insinuating herself between Minho and Haneul without warning.   

"Stop disappearing," Minho muttered, annoyed. Amara was not helping all of their nerves. 

"Chill, boys. It's going to be fine." Amara said, sensing the tension emanating from her companions. Minho ignored her, scanning the stage for their immediate superior Akira, who was sure to be among his closest kin, The Powers. They were the highest-ranking officials of the Celestial Police and were every bit as strict as The Principalities. But seeing as he worked closely with their squad, Minho hoped that Akira, at least, would be sympathetic to their case.

"You're late." the familiar sonorous voice of the Archangel Michael suddenly hung above them, and the angels scrambled, genuflecting in front of their superior. Haneul, in particular, bowed his head lower than usual. If there was one being in the room that Haneul cared about disappointing, it was Michael. 

"Our apologies, Sir. We ran into some trouble." Haneul answered, keeping his head down. 

"Trouble. That certainly is the word to use, warrior. Are you perhaps referring to the incident at the German Principality?" the South Korean Principality interjected. His body was that of a haughty-looking man in his thirties, which wasn't far from his true personality. 

"Yes, the German Mirror did expire on our watch. We are very sorry, Sir. " Haneul reported, head still bowed. 

The SK Principality scoffed, "So the Celestial Police's golden boy does make mistakes." he said in satisfaction, looking at Haneul jeeringly. 

Adjusting his robes, he then turned his attention to Michael. "What are you going to do about this, Michael? Do you know how hard it is to recover a soul that's terminated its own contract? The Cherubim will be on my case for millennia. Millennia, Michael. Are you even training these creatures properly?" 

"Sir, if I may speak." LJ bravely intervened. "It was all my fault. My companions, Minho and Haneul, did nothing wrong." 

"No, it was my fault, Sir," said Haneul, contradicting LJ's claims. "I was there first. I took too long to convince the Mirror to come with us." 

"Well, whoever made the mistake, we can't let this happen again. The European Principalities, inevitably, got a whiff of what happened in their lands. They're now threatening to take over the hunting of the Archdemoness' children from us." the Chinese Principality declared. "And I should remind you that this is a mandate that has been given to us because we were great at it. We can't afford to lose it."

"The situation might not be as bleak as we think," Michael answered, turning towards Haneul and his squad."What's the status of the other Mirrors?"

Thinking if he should answer, LJ looked at Haneul for permission. The latter gave him a tight nod. "Uh... the British and French Mirrors are still at large, so is the Russian one. We just found out that the British and French Mirrors hate each other, so I wouldn't worry about them joining forces, which is good because they're the strongest ones so far. Now, the French might contact the Russian instead. Which is funny, by the way, because during the human wars, the Russians actually--" 

LJ stopped. His brethren were all looking at him weirdly. Just as well, he didn't know what he was saying anymore.

"I'll take over from here." Haneul sighed, looking at LJ in disappointment. "As Li Jie said, the British, French, and Russian Mirrors are still at large. The Cuban Mirror remains incarcerated in The Pocket. As for those who haven't descended yet, the German Mirror, as you all know, has expired. While the American and Filipino Mirrors are continuously being monitored within their respective principalities."

"Any news on the Filipino Mirror, then?" Michael asked in the direction of the Filipino Powers.

One of Powers nodded at Michael before turning to her subordinates, "Kenneth, do you have anything to report?"

A dark-skinned angel seated among the Filipino Celestial Police stepped forward, identifying himself. "Yes, Ma'am. Just a few hours ago in the current timeline, there seems to be a disturbance involving the Filipino Mirror." 

"What do you mean?" the Power asked. 

"It's getting harder and harder for us to sense her. It's as if something is diluting her demonic imprint." Kenneth replied. 

"Well, look into that. She might have someone lurking around her. I bet it's that bothersome lass who used to be the South Korean Mirror." the SK principality said, purposely looking at LJ. The angel tensed at the attention.

"What is she doing these days, by the way? She's still under surveillance, I hope." the Filipino Principality asked. 

"She was long released from surveillance. Owing to her tremendous help in locating the Mirrors and in her assistance in other angel matters as well. She's now working under the Virtues." Akira answered. 

SK principality scoffs again, "So she's playing faerie then? As if someone like her could be one of us." 

"Come on, now. I like her. She's funny." the Chinese Principality said. 

The Japan Principality waved her hand at her brethren, impatient. "We're getting out of topic," she said.

Michael turned to Kenneth, "You are to fix this matter with your Mirror as soon as possible. If you're too incompetent to deal with the archdemonesses, then you better make sure that you're keeping a close eye on the ones who haven't descended yet. Coordinate with the US Principality and gain information about their Mirror too." 

"Yes, Sir," Kenneth replied, bowing his head and returning to his seat. 

In the ensuing silence, Amara elbowed Minho, and the latter looked at her threateningly. Smirking at him, Amara raised her hand in front of the congregation, "Minho has something to share." 

Minho gave her another dirty look, quick enough so only Amara would notice. But it was too late. The spotlight was on him now, so he squared his shoulders to address his brethren. "The Filipino Mirror is here," he announced somewhat reluctantly.

As expected, gasps arose from the legions of angels behind him, and those on stage sat astounded in their seats. Even Michael, who usually didn't get fazed, was taken aback. 

"Minho found her by accident," Amara reported. 

"That's impossible. I didn't sense her in my domain." the SK principality said. 

In a panic, LJ closed his eyes, briefly tried to catch the Filipino Mirror's imprint, to no avail. "Wow. We really can't sense her. And it's not just because I'm terrible at tracking these days." LJ murmured to Haneul, who also looked uneasy at the prospect of a powerfully veiled Mirror being in the same Principality as them. 

"Why did you not report this sooner?" Michael's booming voice addressed Minho. 

"I was awaiting my turn, Sir," Minho replied, with a slight flinch in his tone. He wanted to keep the information to himself for reasons he could not even begin to explain. That was why he desperately needed Amara to stay quiet. 

"Kenneth, we're counting on you for this one." the Filipino Power said to Kenneth, who nodded promptly at his superior. 

"If I may intervene," Michael spoke up. "I would like to delegate this task to Li Jie and Haneul." 

Caught like deer in headlights, the angels in question stared at Michael in apprehension. Minho could not hide his disbelief either.  

"Are you kidding me? They messed up on the German." the SK principality argued. 

"We are not giving them the case." the Japan Principality added. 

"I think it's a good idea. Their mishap should make them desperate enough not to lose this one, right?" Michael said, his razor-sharp eyes still trained at LJ and Haneul. "And this way, no one can say we don't give second chances in this court. 

"Yes, Sir." Haneul was the first one to recover, bowing his head again in Michael's direction. "We are grateful for your trust. We will not let you down." he elbowed LJ, who took a while to follow suit, dumbfounded.

A bit affronted of Michael's behavior but unable to counter it, the Principalities nodded at the Powers, giving them the final decision. It was clear that they were hoping for the Powers to disagree with Michael's judgment. But the Powers had always been on good terms with Michael, so Michael's proposal was promptly followed by a series of ayes.

"Very well." the Japan Principality said bitterly, running her fingers through her hair. "You always have your way, Michael."

There was a tense silence before a Filipino Power spoke, "Kenneth, hand the intel over to them."  

"Man, I am so scared. She's heavily cloaked. What if she's already descended, and we didn't even know about it?" LJ whispered to Han as Kenneth walked over to them, reluctantly handing a bunch of files over to Haneul.

"Relax. We'll be fine." Haneul assured his friend, flipping over the pages of notes given to him. They were blank, so Haneul had to lend his essence into them for the details to appear. Staring at the paper in surprise, Haneul sucked in a breath. 

"What? What's wrong?" LJ asked upon seeing his friend's expression. 

"Nothing," Haneul replied in a suspicious tone, and Minho narrowed his eyes at him. Something was definitely wrong, and Minho was going to get it out of Haneul.