"Don't rush me, the reinforcements you wanted are coming right now!"
Reed waved her hand impatiently, then nodded at Judith before saying something strange.
"The other side is ready, you can open the portal now to bring the goods over."
Goods? What "other side" was she referring to? I stood dumbfounded, but Judith immediately unfurled a scroll she had prepared, laying it out on the ground.
I recognized this - it was the "DIY transfer array" Reed had shown us recently! Supposedly used to send Cysper back to the holy capital, while their return relied on the church's own portal.
But what use was taking it out now? Surely she didn't expect reinforcements to come through this small array? Its limited size and duration could at most allow a few people through, nowhere near enough to transfer whole armies.
However, what happened next completely blindsided me. When the scroll activated, what emerged from the other side wasn't any "people", but a rather large and very familiar object.
"The Eye of Galadra!?"
Cyra and I exclaimed in unison, neither expecting to see this. If the Eye of Galadra was here, then logically the other side of the spatial gate must be...
Realizing something, I quickly used Spiritual Convergence magic to verify my hunch...
Sure enough! Though not high noon, I could still access Elara's spiritual network. No sooner had I entered than I overheard her conversing with Reed.
"I've sent the 'Eye of Galadra' over as you requested, but it took overriding many objectors in the council to make this happen. You must return it promptly after using it! Letting it remain outside risks far too much..."
"Rest assured, I'll give it back shortly. Actually, my plan is safer than deploying angel troops unnecessarily which would cause casualties. Plus Edenmere can't muster enough forces in such short time, and we can't even contact Nicola deep in the Arid Lands, so this may be the best option!"
Then Reed's voice, apparently having discussed this arrangement with Edenmere beforehand. Transporting the Eye of Galadra seemed just one part of her plan.
"I hope so! That's probably the only reason the council approved this resolution. What worries me more is how obsessed Nicola has become with Aria - I'm not sure revealing Aria's trail to her back then was wise. She's led two legions charging recklessly into enemy territory, even skipping our routine noon calls now. This Aria..."
Elara sighed, but seemed to sense something and suddenly shouted.
"Feliciana! Still eavesdropping shamelessly? Didn't I tell you to take Cyra back to Edenmere urgently? If not for your foolishness, I wouldn't have to juggle two concerns like this!"
Dang, busted already! Yet it was Elara's domain, it made sense she detected me fast.
I shrank back without responding. Returning to reality, I saw Cyra tugging my sleeve urgently, pointing upwards.
"Look at that, what is it?"
The aerial battle had completely overturned - the griffin knights and church airships, unable to withstand the allied assault, had started falling back step-by-step. But the Ilandra Dominion Empire ships refused to relent, pursuing them beyond the city limits. Just as the Kingdom-Church alliance seemed unable to hold out, a brilliant light ball flashed into existence high above New Parristol's altitude, plummeting at blistering speed to the empty space between the forces before detonating in a tremendous blast.
The shockwave was earth-shattering, far louder than any Ilandra airship's cannons - utterly cataclysmic and terrifying! Even I on the ground instinctively shielded my eyes from the searing flare.
Though too far to see the combatants' specific reactions, both Kingdom and Empire forces immediately ceased firing, indicating they were significantly affected. One nearby Ilandra airship was even blasted out of the sky, only regaining altitude perilously close to crashing.
This dramatic shift finally brought a lull, with both sides reverting to their previous standoff positions.
"So that's the legendary 'Divine Punishment' huh? Quite the apt name!"
Cyra remarked in awe, before frowning in puzzlement.
"But it's really weird...for New Parristol, the Kingdom-Church alliance should be the enemy, so why did this attack seem to be helping them instead?"
She made a fair point - the Dominion Empire had already gained the upper hand, with no apparent need for this sudden bombardment. Unless they really missed their target?
"Yeah, it doesn't make much sense!"
Judith quickly agreed.
"I've heard Parristol's 'Divine Punishment' has limits - though immensely powerful, at most one or two blasts can appear each time. So they're usually reserved for critical moments to turn the tide, wasting one like this is pretty rare."
"It must be because of Adrian! He probably didn't want the Kingdom forces taking too many losses, so he intervened with Divine Punishment. I told you he had a reason for doing this!"
A flash of insight hit me and I excitedly explained to everyone. Every Divine Punishment so far avoided causing casualties, Adrian must be deliberately holding back.
"But don't get too optimistic, this whole situation still arose because of him in the first place! Even if that's the reason, not many would believe it said out loud. Rather than that, I'm more curious why Divine Punishment didn't come from inside the city, but from much higher up..."
Reed glanced up at the skyborne city, apparently too preoccupied to dwell on that point now. Muttering to herself, she turned and placed the newly transported Eye of Galadra at the center of the array on the ground, beginning the activation process.
I was quite familiar with this magic circle's effects - absorbing surrounding elemental energies to power it. But surprisingly, I sensed not just the expected light elements being rapidly drained, but water elemental traces as well, who knew over what vast area it drew from?
"Considering the low light concentration here compared to Edenmere, we made some adjustments so all elemental types could be absorbed to charge the Celestial Weapon."
Noticing my confusion, Judith pointed to the sage stone mounted on the massive Eye's mainframe with some awe.
"Though Reed described this Celestial Weapon extensively, actually seeing it in person is still hard to believe. I wish we could keep studying it for a few more days!"
Most of the Eye's functions ran on earth elemental power, something we learned when first acquiring it - but back then it had suffered major damage, already completely drained. I never imagined Reed spent all that time in Edenmere successfully restoring part of its capabilities!
Though the expected holographic screens didn't manifest, the low rumbling from the Eye indicated it had started operating, which excited those of us present.
"Research will be impossible, I promised to return it to Edenmere immediately after using it, so... maybe not next time either..."
Reed absently responded to Judith as she crouched adjusting the array. Then within about half a minute, she stood and approached the artifact.
"That should be enough elemental mass! A one-off regional exchange doesn't need too much earth energy anyway...as for the radius..."
She surveyed the surroundings including overhead, pondering for a while before deciding.
"Maybe 1000 meters or so, this height is still distant from the city..."
Watching her operate the control buttons, I suddenly realized I had forgotten to ask the most crucial question - I knew the Celestial Weapon's purpose well enough, but what exactly did Reed intend by going through so much trouble to transport it here? An exchange? Exchanging with where?
Could there really be reinforcements coming? Until now, I remained completely clueless about Reed's supposed plan and supposed reinforcements. Simultaneously within Mia's spiritual network, her voice finally piped up after a long absence.
"Everything is ready on my side, just waiting for you to begin over there."
"Wait, wait..."
I called out in utter bewilderment, feeling overwhelmed. But before I could finish speaking, I noticed the sky overhead had drastically changed - the previously clear blue suddenly overcasted with dark rain clouds. And the skyborne New Parristol city had vanished without a trace.