Nobody expected that when the country was about to fall, the old king of Parristol, who had been ruling for decades, would get kicked out by some secret rebel group!
But news also said the rebel leader was actually a royal family member who had been living outside. When they got rid of the old king, they said they were cleaning up a bad ruler and saving the country.
Too bad they had to face the monster army that even the big Astralrealm kingdom couldn't stop! All the nearby big countries were shocked that Parristol had a rebellion at such a dangerous time. Even though the old king was really useless, everyone thought Parristol would surely fall.
But soon, these people got a big surprise...
The day after the new king took over and changed the flag, a bunch of crazy things happened that shocked the whole continent.
Using some unknown method, the whole city of Parristol suddenly flew up into the sky! Where the city used to be, there was now a huge, bottomless hole.
But that wasn't all - when Parristol city went up in the sky, it triggered the legendary "Divine Punishment" power that existed only in old stories!
People who saw it said they just saw countless pillar of light falling from the sky. It hit the enemy camp with huge power, scaring away all the invaders. The whole battle took less than an hour.
A big disaster for humans was avoided so easily? Sadly, Cyrae couldn't find out more details because the angel legion kept coming back.
But rumors in Edenmere city said Michelle went back to the human world because of this.
"If things keep going like they say, won't there be trouble again? What should we do?" a group of angels were playing cards in a library room, looking worried. Feliciara finally couldn't help asking:
"I think Elder Meg looks like she can't sit still anymore. With Michelle gone, it's a great chance for her to fight back. It might happen any day now!"
"Maybe not. After failing a few times, the angel resistance Elder Meg leads is almost falling apart. It'll be hard for them to get organized again," Reed said, looking up from her book on the floor. She seemed interested in this topic too.
"Don't worry about that. I already said no to them clearly!" Nicora's voice suddenly came from outside. She walked in with quick steps, smiling coldly. "That old witch Meg thinks she can trick us into being her cannon fodder? No way!"
"That's good, that's good! Our goal now is simple - stay neutral and don't cause trouble. To survive in this world, we need to keep our heads down and not do anything stupid!" Astrid said, patting her chest with relief, still holding her cards.
Many people agreed with her. The mood in the room got much better, not so gloomy anymore.
"You can't do this..." Only Norma, sitting in the corner, looked like she wanted to say something. But in the end she held back.
After all, she was alone. Almost all the other angels here were from another world. A "local angel" like her didn't really have a say.
Cyrae played cards happily with everyone on the surface, but she noticed Norma.
But she didn't say anything either. She just sighed softly and threw down her strongest cards:
"I win again! Pay up, everyone! Accept your loss!"
For the past few days, the mood on Edenmere's streets was very tense. Even though everyone was ready for something to happen, the big fight they thought was coming didn't actually happen.
The reason was simple - soon Edenmere itself was in big trouble like never before.
That day, when any angel looked up, they could see the huge golden magic circle in the sky kept flashing between bright and dark.
This golden magic circle was said to be part of what made up Edenmere. No one knew exactly how it worked, but people thought it kept this small world running and connected to the outside.
Since angels existed, this golden magic circle never had any problems. Almost all angels just thought it was always there, like the endless bright sky. Now everyone was panicking. Even Yvonne, who was in charge for now, had no idea what to do.
But the guessing and rumors didn't last long. Michelle soon came back from the human world and told everyone why the golden magic circle was acting weird.
"The Ilandra Dominion Empire secretly built a huge magic thing in their southern area. This thing is a tool to force open the entrance to Edenmere!"
All the angels were gathered around the ruins of Tivi Palace again. Just like last time, the Fire Angel spread her twelve red wings and floated in the air, announcing loudly.
"See? This is what the humans you've been helping are really like - mean, greedy, and not grateful at all! I just didn't want angels to get hurt for nothing by helping them. These humans turned against you right away. They even want to invade your home. How can you stand for this?"
Hearing Michelle's angry words, most angels looked shocked. Some didn't believe her, some were shocked humans would do this, and some who already didn't like humans used this to support what they always thought. They raised their arms and shouted:
"What are we waiting for? We must attack now and destroy that magic thing to save Edenmere. We can't let those humans step foot in Edenmere!"
"Is it true?" Cyrae quickly asked an angel next to her. She knew this angel - he was in the Sixth Legion that just came back with Michelle from outside. He should know what's really going on.
"It's true! When we left the human world, that thing had been running for several days already. Our human friends in the Sage Council think if we do nothing, it'll open the entrance to Edenmere in about half a month!"
This angel was much calmer. He didn't really believe Michelle's "humans are the worst" talk, but he looked worried too.
"Too bad we never had much to do with the Ilandra Dominion Empire. Their magic thing is in the south of the empire, far from the human countries we're friends with. So they probably can't help much right now."
If Parristol hadn't surprisingly beaten back the monster army, the Ilandra Dominion Empire, which neighbors Astralrealm kingdom, would probably have been next. Right at this time, the monster leader Michelle invaded Edenmere and took over the angels. She ordered all angels helping humans fight monsters to come back. So it kind of made sense that the Ilandra Dominion Empire saw angels as enemies too.
But no one expected that so soon after the monsters lost in the north, the empire would try to invade Edenmere so quickly. Clearly this was a plan they had for a long time. No wonder even people who didn't like Michelle were shouting to fight back.
What happened next was easy to guess. They quickly decided to fight back. After Michelle left, the square was busy with war preparations like recruiting soldiers.
But Cyrae didn't leave with her friends. She decided to act alone. She had already decided her next target would be Michelle!
Since she saved Elara from Michelle last time, Cyrae felt that even though Michelle was very strong, she didn't seem to be good at sensing light magic.
For example, in Edenmere where light magic was everywhere, Michelle couldn't even spot the simplest illusion magic. So while Michelle was going back to the government hall, Cyrae turned invisible and followed her from far behind.
The government hall was not far outside Tivi Palace. This is where the three elders and some council members usually handle angel affairs. Luckily it wasn't destroyed when the monsters attacked, so Michelle was using it as her temporary base.
"Your Excellence Lady Michelle, are you really sending the angel legion into the human world?"
But soon after she got back, Yvonne rushed in and asked Michelle urgently what she really planned to do.
"Is there a problem? Isn't this what all the angels want? I'm just going along with it!"
Michelle was confused. She turned to look at Yvonne, then pulled out a big crystal ball and threw it to her, sighing.
"Take it. This is the 'Eye of Galadra'. The magic Galadra stored in it probably only works once or twice more. After that, we probably can't put more magic in it."