After that, everything went as usual. Luckily, Adrian and the others managed to deal with those three Apostles before they left. The "Judgment of Light" arrived as expected.
This time reset not only successfully saved all the members, but also helped us confirm another thing - the condition for the reset!
The condition for the reset had never been fully clear. As expected, it should be death, right?
But there is a contradiction - the time of everyone's death is not the same. If I die first, after death, do the others continue their actions or do they all start over from the beginning?
After exchanging information with Adrian, I got the answer - the reset only happens after the entire team is wiped out.
Last time, in front of the Saint Angel Cyra, Adrian used his Battle qi to shrink himself down to the size of an ant, successfully evading the sword array. As a result, only he survived to the end.
Unfortunately, this transformation didn't last long, and he couldn't hurt the enemy at all, not even able to escape very far. As soon as he returned to normal size, Cyra immediately killed him.
On his side, he felt the reset happen immediately, and on my side, the reset also happened immediately, without any waiting period. This clearly indicates that the perceived time after death is completely stopped, until the total annihilation.
The only regret is that knowing this does not provide any help for the upcoming battle for now.
The only useful thing is the memories of me and Adrian, who won't be reset. We can tell the others what Cyra might do at the start of the battle, what kind of moves she might use. We can only convey this through language and drawings, along with constant demonstrations and explanations.
Call it a "strategy guide" if you will.
After a series of familiar yet arduous battles, we all finally stood before the Saint Angel Cyra once again. We must defeat her to see the Light God Beluto, and Beluto is our only hope to leave this endless time loop.
"No need for more talk, let me take care of this demonic beast!"
Judith took out a scroll and unfurled it, summoning a giant stone golem in front of her. But this time, a strange expression suddenly appeared on her face.
"... Huh, this line sounds strangely familiar, as if I've heard it somewhere before?"
Of course, it's what you said yourself!
I couldn't help but sigh. Seeing Cyra extend a finger towards us, I immediately realized what was about to happen.
"Everyone, gather up! This is a powerful area-of-effect light elemental attack!"
But this time, the newbie member Vivianne made a mistake, reacting too slowly and failing to enter the "Light Sanctuary" in time, getting left outside the protective barrier.
However, the battle is not over yet, the remaining people can continue to fight.
Next comes the sword array!
Based on my memory, I kept jumping left and right, successfully avoiding the first few long swords, but ended up getting skewered by the last two.
No matter, there's always the next time!
Suddenly, I realized that dying so many times has become somewhat familiar... This is such an unpleasant experience!
Continue resetting.
"Cyra, no need for more talk, let me take care of this demonic beast!"
Reset again.
"Gather up, it's an area-of-effect fatal attack! And Vivianne, get over here!"
Reset, reset, reset...
"Wow, thanks Ron! If it weren't for you, I would have been skewered to death!"
"No problem, I also had Feliciana's help."
With my and Adrian's assistance, after who knows how many resets, we finally managed to get past the sword array. Next up is...
"The upcoming move Mike can't handle, Feliciana, give him a protective shield so he can get close and keep Cyra occupied! The rest of you focus on long-range attacks!"
Adrian has lived longer than me, so he naturally has a better understanding of the enemy's upcoming attacks. Based on his memory, the next move should be a personal attack specifically targeting Mike. But to our surprise, Cyra, seeing that we were all still alive, narrowed her eyes and unleashed another large-scale light elemental bombardment, not sticking to the script at all.
Fortunately, we've already seen this move, so it's just a matter of dealing with it.
Of course, the enemy's moves are not limited to just a few types. Soon, new variations appeared, like physical light barriers and various deadly light beams, all sorts of strange and wondrous things, interweaving with each other. Getting close to Cyra is extremely difficult.
To subdue Cyra, getting close is the only way, as her hand-to-hand combat doesn't seem very strong. How to create the conditions for Mike to rush up to her is the only goal we need to focus on right now.
It's no wonder she's the wife of the Light God. Every light elemental attack Cyra unleashes reaches or even exceeds the power of source magic. She's tapping into the light elements in the environment, without any sign of using magic from within herself. In comparison, the source magic doll Elara gave me is practically child's play.
Fortunately, Cyra can only use light elemental area-of-effect attacks. Whenever I can't dodge, I can rely on my "Light Sanctuary" to solve the problem. The trouble lies in the physical attacks formed by the materialized weapons, the margin for error is too low.
Before long, I died again, as expected, but was revived quickly. However, these efforts are not in vain, the progress is visibly advancing, as everything will repeat.
Now, the primary goal is no longer to defeat Cyra, but to observe all of her moves.
"... Cyra, no need for more talk, let me take care of this demonic beast!"
"... No need for more talk, let me take care of this demonic beast!"
"... Let me take care of this demonic beast!"
...
I don't know how many times we tried, tens or even dozens. Finally, after sacrificing Judith and Ron, we managed to break through the enemy's obstacles and successfully pin down the Saint Angel Cyra.
"This time, can you tell us where Beluto is?"
Due to the opponent's attire being so dazzling, I could only tilt my head and use my sword to poke at Cyra's neck, demanding an answer. To exert a threatening effect, the sword tip pierced her neck, drawing crimson blood.
"Impossible! How can you perfectly evade every single one of my attacks!"
Stunned by our various excellent maneuvers, Cyra seemed oblivious to the wound on her neck, asking in disbelief.
"What's there to ask? You should know, in our eyes, those were just small tricks."
Of course I wouldn't tell her the truth.
However, Cyra's response made me feel a little heavy-hearted. If she said that, does it mean she doesn't know about the reset either? Does that mean we really have to face Beluto directly?
"Hehe... I admit you're quite impressive, but that's as far as you can go. My husband has arrived, and he'll be the one to take care of you."
Cyra sighed, then suddenly looked up and smiled.
"You wanted to see Beluto, didn't you? I'll fulfill that promise now!"
"He's here?"
Adrian and the others also looked up, and we saw the sky, which was originally covered in radiance, suddenly became even brighter. But this was different from the "Judgment of Light", it was just the airspace above the "Cloud Palace".
Then, those lights formed the shape of a human face, speaking to us.
"How dare you harm my wife, I will not forgive you!"
The voice sounded strange, as if the words were being directly transmitted into my mind, similar to the "Spiritual Convergence" magic used when Elara communicated with me from a distance.
"Are you Beluto? I thought the Light God Beluto was incomplete, like lacking intelligence or something, but you don't seem that way."
Through the application of "Spiritual Convergence", I inquired directly with my mind, looking at Adrian and the others, and it seemed only Ron could hear Beluto's voice.
"How dare you harm my wife, I will not forgive you!"
"How dare you harm my wife, I will not forgive you!"
"How dare you harm my wife, I will not forgive you!"
...
Okay, I take back what I said, it seems this guy's intelligence is indeed quite low. He simply considers us enemies.
"Honey, quickly destroy them all and avenge me!"
Within Beluto's established spiritual network, I heard Cyra's urging voice. My heart instantly tightened.
So we have to fight again? But this Light God is only showing a "face" in the sky, how are we supposed to attack? At least he should materialize a body on the ground!
Cyra's urging was shouted out simultaneously in the real world and the spiritual network. Hearing this, Adrian and the others, including Mike, immediately took up defensive positions, their attention focused on the sky above.
"Are we sure we have to fight this 'face'?"
Vivianne couldn't help but make a snarky remark. As soon as she finished speaking, I suddenly felt a darkness engulf me, and I lost consciousness.
...
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