"Feliciana? I'm glad you're okay!"
Elara was holding a long sword that shone with white light. She was also surprised to see me, but quickly regained her composure and didn't say much more. She then turned her attention back to the pile of rubble below.
"Be careful, Elara. Michelle is down there too!"
I hurriedly warned her, afraid she would be ambushed.
I wondered how Elara was here when she had left early this morning to attend the comprehensive competition.
Looking up at the sky, it was still filled with dark clouds. This meant Edenmere City and the lake of the Dark Continent had not switched back.
"Michelle?"
Hearing my words, Elara glanced at the ruins below in surprise.
"That can't be... How is that possible..."
"Watch out!"
In the next moment, a familiar red beam shot out from the rubble, heading straight for Elara in the air.
Although my warning came too late, the Hephaestus sword that was fired was still barely blocked by Elara at the critical moment.
"Not bad, that weapon of yours!"
Michelle's voice came from the rubble, followed by a huge explosion. Countless stones were blasted into the air as the Fire God's figure finally emerged completely from the ruins.
"Twelve wings, red wings?"
Seeing Michelle's true form, Elara was stunned, though her reaction wasn't as strong as the other angels. She quickly narrowed her eyes and regained her composure.
"And that appearance, this weapon..."
"What, did you mistake me for Cyra again?"
Having been mistaken several times before, Michelle seemed used to it now. She elegantly retrieved her weapon and suddenly recalled something.
"I'm surprised there are still so many ancient angels surviving in Edenmere. So as the clan leader of the angels Elara, you should know who I am, right?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you shouldn't be a creature of darkness?"
Elara's expression was a bit strange. She looked Michelle up and down for a long time before finally answering.
Indeed, in her twelve-wing state, there was no trace of light elements left on Michelle. But similarly, there was no aura of dark elements either, making it hard to define what state she was in now.
"That's it?"
Hearing this, Michelle seemed a bit disappointed. She stretched her arms and asked,
"Why don't you think I'm an angel? Don't I look very similar to an angel, moreover with twelve wings!"
"How dare you! Although I don't know why your wings look so much like an angel's, you absolutely cannot be one, because an angel's wings can only be pure white!"
Elara's expression changed as she angrily pointed at the other party and shouted.
"Besides, if you claim to be an angel, why are you mingling with demons? And even daring to attack my Edenmere sanctuary?"
"Of course, it's to kill you personally!"
With a cruel smile again, Michelle had just finished speaking when she flew straight up and slashed at Elara with her sword.
Although Elara had one pair of wings less than the opponent, she was still the clan leader. She barely managed to block Michelle's attack, though unable to steady herself in the air and was knocked down to the ground.
"She's...she's so strong! Is this the power of twelve wings?"
A trembling voice sounded behind me. I looked back to see Councilor Meg had gotten up from the ruins at some point, and more angels were gradually emerging from below. It seemed the collapsed roof didn't pose too big a threat after all.
At the same time, in another corner of the rubble, there was also a figure coming out, similarly a ten-winged angel.
"Jeanette?"
I recognized her at once. After all, we had just met last night, leaving a deep impression.
"Lady Michelle? Lady Michelle has finally shown herself in person!"
Jeanette's reaction was quite unexpected. Seeing the figure in the sky with twelve red wings, her first reaction was to immediately kneel and worship. This made all the other angels present unable to stand it.
"Jeanette! Do you know what you're doing? How can you bow down to the enemy leader!"
Councilor Meg scolded first.
"She has long betrayed our angel clan! I had already tricked the truth from her earlier. This whole disaster was caused by her!"
It seemed Elara had been dealing with Jeanette before seeing us. Though looking a little messy from the ground, she didn't seem to be seriously injured.
Her next words further explained why she was still here.
"Jeanette came to see me early in the morning deliberately to keep me from leaving the city. After we switched to the Dark Continent side, she would collaborate with Michelle! Also, because of the comprehensive competition finals, most of Edenmere's combat force was intentionally kept outside the city."
"Hmph! Of course, I wouldn't let you go outside. Because there were others I had arranged on the other side to meet you. If you had gone over it would have been completely ruined."
Michelle chimed in from above, clearly they had been planning this for a long time.
But in my opinion, their goal in keeping Elara back was more likely to prevent the control terminal of the Galadra Eye from being taken away.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Yvonne and the commander Josie of the 2nd Legion right? They are both members of the conservative faction! No wonder they suddenly told me yesterday they wanted to attend the comprehensive finals together!"
Having guessed their internal spy at once, Elara spat out a mouthful of blood and spoke as she flew back into the sky.
"Hah, I don't know anything about conservatives or reformists..."
Michelle shrugged her shoulders. Suddenly her eyes froze as she instantly blocked a sword swung at her from Elara.
"Looks like you're not bad as the clan leader, you've got some skill. Maybe this fight won't be too boring!"
"Thanks for the compliment..."
Elara gave a wry laugh. The two separated in an instant and started fighting again.
Although on the surface they seemed evenly matched, even I as a beginner could see Elara was far inferior to her opponent in all aspects. Her defeat was only a matter of time, perhaps Michelle was only toying with her...
"Jeanette, I know you conservatives have always been at odds with Elara, but why go as far as betraying? Have you forgotten the glory and mission of the angel clan?"
Councilor Meg seemed to see it too. She must have wanted to fly up and help, but was stuck dealing with the similarly ten-winged Jeanette below, forcing her to temporarily give up support.
"Glory and mission? Are you joking? In my eyes, you are the ones who have forgotten the origins of our race."
Hearing this, Jeanette snorted disdainfully with contempt.
"Let me ask you, do you still remember who the deity is that our angel clan worships?"
"Deity? You mean our founding ancestors right?"
Her expression changing, Councilor Meg looked up involuntarily, as if recalling something.
"That's right! Apart from the two founding ancestors, our angel clan has not given birth to any twelve-winged angels in nearly ten thousand years. All the angels summoned through the angelic descent formation, without exception, were capped at ten wings. This just happens to prove that twelve wings is a height that only gods can achieve!"
Having said that, Jeanette's gaze moved to Michelle in the sky, her eyes full of fanaticism.
"So you see, Michelle's true form is precisely the twelve wings. Everything points to her being the true god of our angel clan!"
"Sophistry! How could the god of our angel clan have red wings, plus she's mingling with the demons attacking Edenmere? This is intolerable!"
Councilor Meg seemed a bit shaken but argued loudly based on her usual stance.
"Then let me ask again, when have you ever heard that our two founding ancestors had white wings?"
Jeanette gave a cold laugh. Her words made Councilor Meg's whole body tremble. But she didn't intend to end it there, and continued persuading.
"As for why I stand on the side of the demons, it's related to the mission I mentioned earlier. I'm sure you understand..."
"You..."
Hearing her words, Councilor Meg's expression changed greatly again. She shook her head in disbelief.
"No! This cannot happen. I absolutely will not allow it!"
Just what was this so-called mission of the angel clan? Why did Councilor Meg react so strongly when Jeanette brought it up again?
Standing on the side, I naturally felt more and more confused. But Elara seemed anxious seeing this happen in the sky while fighting Michelle, and couldn't help calling out to us.
"Don't listen to her! She's just spouting nonsense. As Elara the third, how could I not know who the founding ancestors of the angel clan are!"
"Daring to be distracted while fighting me, now just go die!"
Michelle said sinisterly. Taking advantage of her distraction, she suddenly exerted force to hack down. Just as it seemed she was about to hit the unprepared Elara...
A huge pillar of light suddenly fell from the sky directly at her head.
"Magic?"
Her expression suddenly changed, Michelle fiercely looked up at the sky. The Paradise Lost Shockwave was cleanly split into two halves in midair, barely avoiding the target in the center and striking the ground.