Iluvia did not hesitate. She immediately focused her mind and directly connected to the channel of faith representing Selby.
The moment her vision shifted, she saw the burning flames, the dense crowd of skeletal undead, and Selby and the others facing off against the skeletal cavalry.
“...Undead?”
Iluvia's eyes narrowed slightly.
From Lilith's memories, she knew that the Undead Scourge had once erupted on the continent of Aenoria.
But normally, if they were just wandering undead, their levels wouldn't be so uniform, and the strength of ordinary undead would certainly not reach Level 11 or above.
Yet, all the undead in the scene had reached the Bronze Rank, and the leading skeletal cavalry had even reached the Silver Rank peak.
There was only one possibility: these undead were special summoned creatures.
As for the one who summoned them...
“A necromancer,” Iluvia said with certainty.
“Who is targeting me? No, who is targeting the believers of the former Goddess of Light...?”
She tapped her index finger gently against the armrest of her Divine Seat, her mind racing.
The enemy was hiding in the shadows and refused to show themselves. This meant they either lacked strength or didn't want to expose their identity.
Whichever it was, it played to her advantage. She just needed to wipe them out directly.
“Hmm... Sending the players... is too far. By the time they run fifty kilometers, the fight will be long over.”
Iluvia thought for a moment, and a suitable candidate came to mind.
With a thought, she sent a gentle divine message across the channel of faith, echoing in a certain young girl's mind.
...
Meanwhile, the undead continuously battered the translucent white divine barrier.
Although the divine barrier was sturdy, being trapped here indefinitely was not a solution.
Selby looked at the undead fully exposed in his field of vision, secretly alarmed.
There were hundreds of undead, and every single one of them had reached the Bronze Rank!
“That necromancer... it seems he has no intention of letting us leave just like that.”
Shiruya's voice came from behind, carrying a worry she tried hard to suppress but couldn't entirely hide.
Hearing this, Levinel sighed and rubbed his aching shoulders.
“There's nothing we can do for now. Anyway, while the barrier can still hold for a bit, let's recover some stamina first.”
With that, everyone nodded.
But how could Elys, hiding in the shadows, make things easy for them? He clearly had no intention of giving them any breathing room.
After all, the longer things dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.
There was a time limit on the summon; once time was up, the undead would vanish.
Thus, the group inside the divine barrier watched as the undead began to attack the barrier even more frantically.
The divine barrier instantly dimmed by a noticeable degree.
The six of them instantly tensed up, pointing their weapons at the undead outside.
But just as the divine barrier was wavering, looking as if it would shatter completely in the next second...
A crisp, soft shout rang out from midair!
“Angelic Judgment!”
The voice was pure, holy, and majestic, yet it also carried the crisp, melodious tone of a young girl, booming through the entire forest!
In the next instant, a beam of pure white sword light that pierced through heaven and earth fell from the void!
A blazing holy light instantly covered the entire battlefield!
Boom!
A deafening explosion swept through the entire forest!
The white light instantly swallowed everyone's vision.
Selby squinted his eyes instinctively. He felt a pure, warm white before him, like the midday sun of winter shining directly onto his eyelids, turning even his eyelashes golden.
When the light finally dissipated, he slowly opened his eyes—
Outside the barrier, there was nothing.
The hundreds of dense undead, who had been frantically slamming against the barrier just a moment ago, had all vanished.
The ground was completely clean, with not even a single bone fragment left behind. Only a massive, radially cracked, scorched crater remained, proving that some power beyond reason had indeed manifested.
Everyone was stunned.
The air was so quiet it felt as if all sound had been sucked out.
Then, in unison, they raised their heads and looked in the direction from which the sword light had fallen—
Under the moonlight, a beautiful figure was slowly drifting down.
She had snow-white, silver hair and clear, bright pale gold eyes.
Most shocking of all was the pair of holy, pure wings spread out behind her back. That was—
An angel!
The legendary angel!
Elys, hiding in the shadows, looked on in utter disbelief. He could not believe his eyes at all.
What was he seeing?
That was actually an angel?!
How could there be an angel here?!
Hadn't the angels retreated a thousand years ago following the fall of the Goddess of Light?
Then what was this before his eyes?!
At this moment, he had absolutely no mind to deal with those six. His head was filled with only one question: why did an angel appear here?
But he quickly snapped out of it. Upon realizing the other party's strength, intense fear gripped his heart.
He would die! He would definitely die!
Terror instantly seized his heart.
Elys didn't even care to clean up the scene; he turned and fled.
His elderly body burst with unprecedented speed as he scrambled wildly toward the outside of the forest.
Ricks, that damned vampire!
He clearly knew there was a tough opponent inside and set him up on purpose!
...
On the other side.
On the ground, the divine barrier had already been deactivated.
“An... angel...” Levinel muttered to himself, standing frozen in place, his heart filled with shock.
Although he had seen the miracle of the Goddess of Light's descent from afar in Windhaven Town, seeing a living angel standing right before him still brought an indescribable impact.
“Is this the legendary angel...? She's so beautiful, so amazing...” Shiruya's eyes sparkled, her expression full of admiration and curiosity, an indescribable feeling bubbling in her heart.
Because of Lilith, she naturally believed in the Goddess of Light as well.
Phelin and the other two young knights were also dazed, their eyes wide and their minds blank, remaining silent for a long time.
Selby was the first to snap out of it.
Although he was equally shocked, he was, after all, someone who had "seen the world," so he composed himself first.
He lowered his head slightly and pressed his right hand to his chest in an extremely solemn and devout posture.
“Believer Selby thanks the Lord Angel for saving us!”
Seeing them all so shocked, Mikael in the air couldn't help but smile, her eyes curving. She gently flapped her wings and slowly floated down to the ground. Her tone was gentle and friendly, without any of the aloofness one might expect from a divine servant.
“You don't have to call me 'Lord Angel.' Just call me Mikael.”
She tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “I was commanded by Her Goddess's oracle to come and save you.”
Her Goddess?!
These few words were like a clap of thunder exploding in everyone's ears!
Everyone's pupils contracted, and a tempest raged in their hearts!
So!
The Goddess had been watching over them all along!
This realization sent a warm surge of emotion and piety through everyone's hearts, and even their breathing involuntarily became more solemn.
“That's right.” Mikael's voice was crisp and carried a soothing warmth. Though she had the face of a young girl, it made people instinctively believe every word she said.
She checked on the six of them, then looked around at the night that had completely quieted down. She said cheerfully, “Alright, alright, is anyone hurt?”
“Nothing serious,” Selby shook his head.
“That's good.” Mikael nodded, then turned her head, looking into the depths of the darkness in a certain direction. “I still have to deal with that necromancer. I can't let him escape.”
Hearing this, everyone instantly understood the gravity of the situation.
Currently, only they, the believers, knew about the Goddess's revival. If other factions found out, it would likely bring unpredictable risks.
Selby's expression turned solemn, and he asked seriously, “Is there anything you need us to do?”
Mikael waved her hand and flashed a reassuring smile. “No need! I can handle it alone. Just stay right here, and I'll take you back once I'm done.”
With that, she didn't linger. Flapping her wings, she transformed into a streak of white light and shot toward the depths of the darkness, vanishing from their sight in the blink of an eye.
...
On the other side.
Elys ran for his life, pushing his body to the limit.
His elderly body was already exhausted. Clutching his wildly beating heart, he panted heavily, looking extremely disheveled.
He bolted all the way, yet he didn't sense any aura of pursuit behind him.
Elys finally dared to stop. Still shaken, he looked back into the pitch-black depths of the forest.
“They... they didn't pursue... I survived... I actually survived!”
The relief of surviving flooded his mind, but in the next second, utter confusion and fury completely overwhelmed him.
An angel... actually appeared in the Starfall Forest?!
A thousand years ago, the Goddess of Light fell, her Divine Kingdom collapsed, and the angel race completely vanished. This was an established truth recognized by the entire continent!
But tonight, an angel actually appeared?!
Just what was going on?!
He suddenly recalled his previous transaction with Ricks. The more he thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.
When he had demanded the Bloodrace's secret magical texts, the usually stingy and cautious Ricks had actually agreed incredibly quickly, without any hesitation!
So it was a trap from the very beginning!
Ricks clearly knew there was something wrong with this place and had intentionally lured him here with the secret magic to use him as a scout.
“Damned vampire!!”
Elys's old face twisted completely, his eyes filled with towering rage and lingering fear. He gritted his teeth and growled,
“Ricks! You dare scheme against me! Setting me up to die!! Once I get out of here... I will make you pay in blood!!”
Just as he was filled with resentment and swearing his silent oath—
A sweet, soft, and completely harmless girl's voice suddenly rang right next to his ear:
“Escape? What are you going back for? Can't you stay and keep me company?”
“!!!”
The hairs all over Elys's body stood on end instantly, as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue!
An extreme suppressive force stemming from the holy aura of light firmly locked down all the mana in his body!
His entire body went stiff, his scalp tingling with terror as he turned his head stiffly—
Under the bright moonlight, the angel girl stood quietly behind him.
Mikael blinked her clear, innocent gold eyes, tilting her head with an air of pure innocence, her smile gentle and sweet.
Rate on N.U.
