"Arch Guards are exceptionally rare, so obviously they enjoy a greater range of benefits."
"In terms of permission to stay on Ammamora, they are allowed up to 10 years, so far they remain in service and do not commit any bannable offence."
’Sounds better,’ Ryuk thought.
"Secondly, they get the Arch Guard Halo."
"The Arch Guard Halo?" He asked, as Radiant Aveia nodded, and he watched as a golden halo—that of an outstretched wing, placed above a golden circle—appeared on her head.
It was the same one he had seen from the previous Seraphim Initiate, but it seemed Radiant Aveia was capable of bringing out hers when she wanted.
"Yes. The Arch Guard Halo is something similar to mine."
"Makes others aware of your status and identity, with a gaze."
"And I believe by now, you should be understanding that status determines everything here on Ammamora." She said as Ryuk’s brows silently hmmed.
"If you’re not a Fallen Angel, or an Angel, and it’s clear you’re just an ordinary foreigner, you would be seen as less than the animals we ride."
"Huh,"
"Actually, you’re like the animals we ride, except not of much personal use and therefore no need to be looked at with goodwill." She said, watching with satisfaction as his expression further plummeted.
"If you’re a Fallen Guard, you have a card which has a faint, almost invisible golden aura around you and signals to everyone that you’re as important as a Fallen Guard, earning yourself some bit of dignity and respect."
"At that level, you will be looked on just as any True Fallen will be looked on."
"If you become an Arch Guard, you will be looked on like me..." She said.
"You will be above the True Fallens in hierarchy and be seen as an Angel, which you already know gives you a lot of respect around these parts..." She explained, to which Ryuk nodded.
He truly had seen how the Fallen Guards had treated previous Seraphim Initiates, and he had seen how the colleagues of the one before him had acted towards her.
It was clear they viewed her with absolute respect, but whether it was genuine wasn’t something he could easily say.
"But what’s even better is this—" she continued, her tone softening just a little, "—if you gain the Arch Guard Halo, those closest to you become wrapped in its aura too."
"A faint golden shimmer covers them, acting as a signal to the world that they’re someone protected by an Arch Guard and therefore gain quite a bit of respect themselves."
"At least, those who might have wished to cause them trouble will leave them alone,"
"Really?"
"Yes. So if you have a family, your family can be respected and treated with dignity by all Fallen Angels. Something I think is good for you, based on the report I’ve been given..." She said, as a light gleamed through Ryuk’s eyes.
That alone made being an Arch Guard more than appealing to him.
"But then, you’ll be ordinary before an Angel like me..." She said, drawing him out of it.
"To the Fallen, you’re something."
"To me? You’re just a guard."
"I might stay to hear what you have to say—but expecting me to wave at you or say ’thank you’ after a conversation? That’s expecting too much."
"An Arch Guard is impressive... to Fallen Angels. But not to an Angel."
"Still, it’s quite a good starting point in Ammamora." She said, watching Ryuk inhale before he nodded.
"I’ll take the Tier 2 test..." He said, as a light crossed in her eyes.
"There’s still a ton of other benefits. Are those two benefits, or to say, just having the Arch Guard halo, enough to change your mind?" She asked, and his silent stare was enough of an answer.
She nodded before she raised a hand, and Ryuk watched as a golden card soon appeared on the top of her palm, which she instantly flung forward.
The card traveled forward for 100 meters before it dropped to the ground, and the instant it landed on the platform, which had already repaired itself from its cracks.
A golden revolving portal appeared in an instant, and soon enough, something stepped out of it, and Ryuk felt his spine tingle.
The being before him wasn’t a Fallen.
It was an Angel.
Humanoid like Radiant Aveia, but he was a male, standing at 3 meters in height, his body coated completely in golden scales, with hands ending in golden claws.
Behind him, four wings were outstretched, also covered in golden scales, their tips elongating and portraying a sharpness which seemed better than the best swords he’s ever known.
The figure’s eyes were fully golden, holding an unreadable expression on its face as it stepped out of the portal, its gaze never once rising to meet Ryuk.
It was focused on the ground by its side.
At the top of its head, it held a similar golden halo.
But its own was substantially different, as instead of an outstretched wing hanging above a golden circle, it had the image of a sword running across the length of the wings, like a body on it, all resting on the golden circle.
"The requirement to become an Arch Guard is simpler. Defeat an Arch Angel..." She said, as Ryuk’s eyes gleamed.
’An Arch Angel, huh,’ he silently mused.
"If you wish to give up, then you know what to say," she said, and in an instant after, she was out of the place.
____________
Elsewhere — The Golden Void
"Now, let’s see just how much you’re hiding..." Radiant Aveia mused as she appeared in the void, with a glassy platform beneath her, below which the image of Ryuk and the Arch Angel could be seen.
She had watched his previous fights with those Fallen Guards, and she was quick to notice that throughout the fight, he was barely trying, as he never even got his clothes shredded at all from all the collisions.
And after the fight, his breath wasn’t even ruffled at all.
It wasn’t satisfying to realize how truly ’interesting’ he was, based on what had been stated on the card she had received.
But this—his fight with an Arch Angel— would be more than enough to make her understand how truly interesting he was.