"You got switched back, and now we're under enemy attack!"
I impatiently reminded her, tossing aside the rock. Cyra was already on alert, so knocking her out again seemed pointless. I didn't know how to deal with those two monsters above us either.
"Well, well, you're awake. I must say, I'm impressed a two-winged angel could beat Arick that badly!"
Mirium and the red-haired demon had finished their chat. Noticing our arguing down below, Mirium clapped in amusement.
"Huh? Me? What just happened?"
Hearing her words, Cyra looked utterly confused, turning her head between Mirium and me.
"Who is she? Too far to see clearly, but she looks like a demon? Could she be that succubus you mentioned before?"
"Neither! Just be prepared to flee at any moment!"
I glared at her, suddenly recalling her resemblance to Michelle. Who knew how the enemy would react after getting a clear look at her face - it definitely wouldn't bode well.
"What?!"
However, the situation took an unexpected turn after their hushed exchange. The red-haired demon Arick shouted incredulously at Mirium.
"You want me to just leave these two angels and go back?"
"Exactly, don't forget our true mission here!"
Mirium glanced our way, seemingly not regarding us at all, before continuing.
"Guarding the Chromos Tower is the urgent priority we must focus on. These two angels are just small fry. Moreover, most of the angel forces are held up in the Northern Barren Lands, they can't pose any real threat."
"But that guy just beat me up like that, how can I not get payback? And furthermore..."
Arick clearly felt aggrieved, pointing at Cyra as he tried to change Mirium's mind.
"That one looks almost identical to Lady Michelle. For her to reach such strength at just the two-winged rank, there must be some trick involved. Leaving her be will only cause future trouble!"
Just as I feared, Cyra's appearance ended up catching their eye. I thought we might have a slim chance to escape, but the red-haired demon's words likely doomed us.
"Oh? Are you sure you're not lying?"
Mirium suddenly seemed interested, flying closer to scrutinize Cyra from all angles before remarking with some disappointment:
"They do look very alike! But I don't see anything unusual besides her being a common angel. It's probably just a coincidence..."
"Feliciana, did I get targeted? She's not going to do anything unspeakable to me, is she?"
Cyra fearfully shrank behind me, anxiously asking.
"Shouldn't you be feeling happy instead? A dragon lady!"
I couldn't help giving her a wry smile. Who could say what would happen? Though Mirium looked quite meek on the surface, judging from her earlier conduct and Arick's deference, her strength must be formidable. If she acted against Cyra, I really doubted I could fend her off.
After all, dragons generally ranked sixth tier or above. Mirium was at least seventh tier baseline.
But just then, several consecutive bell tolls suddenly rang out from the central Chromos Tower. Mirium, who had been focused on Cyra, startled at the sound before turning to leave with Arick.
"No more delays, we must hurry to the Chromos Tower!"
"But..."
Though Arick heard the bells too, he remained reluctant, glancing back at Cyra without moving.
"I'll let you off this time!"
Seeing our dumbfounded expressions, Mirium seemed to reconsider and explained:
"To be fair, my ancestor did have some history with your angel kind. Consider this returning a favor! But I also hope you'll pass a message to Elara - don't meddle further in Parristol's affairs. This situation doesn't really concern the angels. Otherwise, next time I won't be so courteous."
"The nerve, barging into our home then shamelessly telling us to butt out!"
Cyra couldn't help muttering sarcastic remarks from behind me.
"Don't say anything for now, we'll discuss it later!"
I hurriedly shushed her, afraid she might let something slip for the enemy to hear. Cyra did have a point though - humans and angels were allied partners. Logically and ethically, we couldn't just ignore demonic interference in human kingdoms. Especially with the Parristol rebellion having suspicious elements, things changed the moment monsters got involved.
However, now wasn't the time to directly provoke trouble! Moreover, that wasn't our original objective here.
We watched Mirium and Arick's departing figures until they entered the Chromos Tower, only then letting out a relieved breath at narrowly avoiding conflict.
"You totally screwed me over. How did I end up switched back with Cysper again?"
I couldn't help but complain. We were originally winning decisively, but nearly got unexpectedly wrecked simply due to the enemy lacking killing intent.
"Hey, I'm the biggest victim here! I was just sleeping soundly in my tent, only to wake up in this crazy place..."
Cyra protested indignantly, glancing around before suddenly asking in bewilderment:
"Wait, is this inside Parristol City? Why is everywhere reduced to ruins?"
"There was a massive earthquake earlier, didn't you feel it?"
I impatiently answered, gazing at the rising morning sun. Thankfully the city folk weren't home, otherwise the devastation could have been far worse!
"I didn't...wait, no! It was like I vaguely felt some shaking in a daze, but not this dramatic..."
Cyra pondered and recalled her sensations before slowly explaining.
So she didn't feel much of the earthquake's impact from outside the city? That shouldn't be the case...
This earthquake was quite bizarre, conveniently striking at such a critical juncture. Coupled with Mirium and Arick's hurried departure, I couldn't shake a nagging sense that something was amiss.
"Reed contacted me. She wants us to return immediately. She mentioned some monsters suddenly appearing north of the city, around the mountain where we're camped."
I stuck my head curiously into one of the ground fissures, faintly detecting some glimmers of light from within. But before I could investigate further, Cyra alerted me.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's retreat!"
Indeed, Reed had Mia's protection, and Cysper himself should be there too. For her to urgently summon us back, they must have encountered quite the emergency. Hearing this, I immediately spread my wings and flew towards our original path out of the city.
"Hey, wait up!"
Cyra flew after me. With the sun already halfway risen, we could survey the city's devastation from above.
"Damn, practically every building is destroyed, including the outer walls. Just unbelievable earthquake cracks everywhere! Only some low, sturdy houses withstood it. This earthquake must have ruined Parristol overnight. Rebuilding could take decades!"
So Adrian's rebel activities amounted to nothing in the end. Was it really worth it? But based on the demonic side's reactions, the situation didn't align with our assumptions. The rebel organization seemed undeterred by the earthquake, still operating according to some plan...
"Let's make a detour to check one place first!"
Of course, I hadn't forgotten about Alfreed's group's temporary hideout. But upon arriving, we found the place half-collapsed without any human trace, suggesting they had evacuated ahead of time.
Relieved, I led Cyra back to our original mountain camp.
To avoid being too conspicuous, the temporary tents had been taken down. Only Reed, Judith, Brennan and Yulanda remained to greet us.
"What, where are the others?"
Strangely, our strongest fighters were all missing. This immediately rekindled my anxieties after just letting my guard down. Nothing serious happened, right? No wonder Reed so urgently summoned us back.
"Mia flew off on her own, some errand or something..."
Yulanda trailed off uncertainly, glancing towards Reed.
"I sent her to Crescent City to handle something. She won't be back for a while," Reed answered without looking up from her book.
"Crescent City? Even so, why not bring Judith along since you could just drop her off there?"
What a baffling decision! I couldn't help but be dumbfounded. Mia was our greatest combat asset! To dispatch a seventh-tier expert as a mere courier was an utter waste, wasn't it? But Reed remained engrossed in her book, clearly uninterested in entertaining me. So I curiously leaned over to sneak a peek.
"The History of Eldorian Civilization! When did you switch fields again?"
I could scarcely believe it. Wasn't she studying physics? Changing to magic was one thing, but now she was venturing into historical research too?