"Of course, I'm going to check out what's happening in this area!"
I glanced back at her,
"Did you forget what I told you about my experiences in the Dark Continent? This is likely related to monsters, so I want to confirm."
"Then I'll go with you..."
Cyra immediately stood up, indicating she would follow me out the door.
"Hey, wait!"
Norma didn't expect us to make a decision so quickly on what to do. She looked at me, then at Cyra, unsure what to do.
"I'll...I'll go check somewhere else. There's probably other angels still asleep."
"Of course."
I nodded, thinking her suggestion made sense. While the drop in light essence wasn't enough to make all Edenmere's angels sleep, the nightmare threat still wasn't eliminated. If the monster took advantage now, the damage would be huge.
After leaving Tivi Palace, Cyra and I flew up high to survey the situation. Surprisingly, the forest outside the city was unchanged, even in the far distance. The lush, thick trees remained as usual.
"Strange, could the spatial transfer have not happened? Or is the affected area so large we can't see the boundary from up here?"
I looked around, confirming there were no signs of monster invasion as imagined. With that threat seeming gone, I felt some relief.
"I don't see anything abnormal or clear boundary lines like you said."
Having lived in Edenmere longer than me, Cyra was very skeptical.
"Don't tell me you're being paranoid about this spatial transfer. I don't see any signs of it."
"Okay, maybe I was mistaken..."
I pouted, having no choice but to admit I misjudged. With no direction, I didn't know where to investigate next.
"What caused the light elements to drain away?"
An endless amount constantly fell from the sky above, replenishing the surroundings. Yet not long after, it completely disappeared. Sensing carefully, it seemed the air's light elements slowly moved north, as if sucked away.
Before long, Cyra also noticed this issue. Circling above, we could feel the south had a slightly higher concentration.
So the attraction had limited range, not affecting all Edenmere as first thought, but at most covering the city.
"Why are they all moving one way? No wonder the light element is so scarce. Is someone gathering it on purpose?"
Cyra looked curiously north, where the root of all problems lay, not too far from us.
To the north was a place we knew well - the library.
"Could it be..."
Recalling Reed's insistence on extracting light elements from the environment for air compression, I quickly made the connection.
"This is big trouble!"
I felt a surge of anxiety. Below, many angels had woken up and sensed something wrong. They flew up in groups to investigate, quickly focusing north.
"Let's check out the library first."
These angels wouldn't find it too quickly, but also couldn't take too long. If it was Reed and Nicola, I hoped to notify them to stop before it was too late.
But pretending nothing happened was unrealistic. The library was in an uninhabited area, with light elements flowing that way. It would be easy to trace.
"It's really them?"
Seeing where I flew, Cyra guessed some of what was happening. But having not gone to the library much lately, she didn't know about those two secretly conducting nuclear experiments in the corner. So she still didn't understand the exact situation.
"Not confirmed yet..."
I shook my head. I hoped I was wrong and this was fixable.
But the reality is often disappointing. The closer we got to the library, the less light elements remained, down to the Dark Continent's levels.
"The flow seems to have stopped. Maybe they already stopped." Just entering the main hall, Cyra sensed the change.
The large, empty hall was devoid of people, even the librarian Mona missing from her post.
"Then they definitely did it! And we're probably too late..."
I smiled wryly. Did Reed not consider the impact? They'd woken up nearly all the city's angels. I wondered how Elara would handle this.
Sure enough, reaching the outdoor training grounds, an enormous magic circle occupied the space. Though inactive now, Reed and Nicola at the center clearly caused this.
As expected, two other angels had arrived first. And they are Elara and librarian Mona.
"Lady Elara..."
Cyra was shocked to see Elara discovered this and froze, unsure whether to bow.
"You're here too?"
Seeing us, Nicola smiled and waved, fiddling with the gas containers.
That girl! So casual even caught red-handed...
I was furious. Even Reed beside her didn't look remorseful, focused on the floor's magic circle instead.
"You two are so thoughtless! This is hard to resolve!"
Elara seemed angry. Seeing no reaction from us, she turned to continue scolding them.
"It's just some light elements. Edenmere won't be lacking." Nicola sounded impatient, not understanding their strong reaction.
"The conservatives are always looking for chances to oppress us. Your chaos justifies them. Light elements are fundamental to angels, and Edenmere's has remained for centuries. If I hadn't noticed and stopped you quickly, you'd likely be deemed heretics and detained for deliberately causing mayhem!"
Elara patiently explained the serious situation. Losing light elements had given her much trouble.
"Is it that bad?"
I was shocked. I'd expected a small punishment like admonition, not charges this severe.
"Just taking some light elements makes us heretics? Isn't that overreacting?"
Nicola was also bewildered about provoking such treatment. She kicked the magic circle on the ground. "The most damage is to this ground. It's just dirt that can be cleaned, leaving no trace."
"Haven't you noticed the whole city is affected? Many angels will sleep without light essence replenishment, causing panic!"
Unable to refrain, Mona interjected, seeming they didn't know the unrest already brewing outside.
"These are concerning times with the nightmare not found yet. Though I said it targets you and Feliciana, that's unconfirmed. And other angels are unaware!"
Elara also seemed frustrated.
"Without light elements, the 'no sleep order' can't continue."
"The whole city's elements were absorbed here?"
Nicola's expression changed. She turned to Reed doubtingly.
"Didn't you say it would only affect the library's vicinity?"
"It should be so in theory..."
Reed took a container from Nicola's hand, examined the magic circle, then admitted reluctantly.
"Looks like we miscalculated the range. This world has several different measures for units, and something is wrong with the allocation of elements. Most of the light elements probably enhanced the attraction force."