"Let me go, you nasty humans! Just wait till I recover, I'll wipe you bastards out!"
The net must have been enchanted with special magic. With her remaining strength, Michelle couldn't break free. She could only watch helplessly as the imperial airship carried her away.
"Haha, we'll see about that when the time comes! I even suggested an alliance to fight the angels together, but you refused. Looks like that won't be necessary now!" Fernando's smug laughter echoed in the sky, completely dismissing Michelle's resistance.
"Leave a few men behind to clean up. After multiple Beta Shock Bombs, there shouldn't be much resistance left in the area!"
Though he didn't appear in person, Fernando seemed to notice Cyrae lying nearby. The airship didn't stop but gave orders to the imperial soldiers on the ground.
"Yes, sir!"
Three imperial soldiers saluted as the airship flew away with Michelle. Then they approached Cyrae, holding their magic guns.
"This angel's body is half-blown away, but it's still quite intact compared to others."
After briefly examining Cyrae's injuries, one soldier's face twisted into a lecherous grin.
"Look closely, she's pretty cute. It's a rare chance! Why don't we have some fun while she's still warm..."
"Don't you dare!"
Cyrae couldn't believe she'd face such humiliation. She blurted out a threat.
Unfortunately, her words had no effect. Missing limbs and with most of her magic used for healing, she had no strength left to resist.
"What nonsense are you talking about? The others aren't far, and the premier can monitor us with magic. We've got a job to do!"
Luckily, another soldier rejected the idea. They raised their magic guns, all three aiming at Cyrae's head, about to pull the triggers...
"Stop!"
A sword suddenly flew over, piercing one soldier's chest. It was Feliciara's voice. She appeared like a heavenly warrior, pouncing from afar. The remaining two soldiers hurriedly turned their guns towards her, firing frantically.
"Paradise Lost Shockwave!"
A thick white light beam precisely covered the enemies. When Feliciara reached them, only two barely living bodies remained, collapsing with a light touch.
"That's great! You're okay! How did you manage it?"
Saved at the last moment, Cyrae couldn't help but express her joy and gratitude. However, she was puzzled by how Feliciara seemed barely injured from the Beta Shock Bomb.
"It's simple! Ever heard of 'Light's Sanctuary'?"
Probably seeing her attack succeed for the first time, Feliciara turned back with a bright smile.
Cyrae knew about this high-level magic from Elara's memories. She was surprised that Feliciara, with only four wings, could learn it! But suddently, Cyrae got it.
High-level magic consumes enormous amounts of energy. A four-winged angel could only cast it once in a short time. No wonder Feliciara wasn't seen after the explosion; she must have hidden to recover her magic.
"Wait, you're shot?"
Feliciara was crouching to check on her, but she suddenly collapsed to the ground! Only then did Cyrae notice several horrifying bullet wounds on Feliciara's body.
"It's nothing! I'm not human now, so it's fine. Besides, I've already used pain-relief magic!"
Feliciara knew she was shot but tried to act tough. However, it wasn't as easy as she claimed. Looking down, she realized a bullet had hit her left chest, near her heart. Feeling her strength fading, she collapsed beside Cyrae.
Angels' bodies are similar to humans in some ways. Once the heart is damaged, without immediate healing magic, death comes quickly.
The problem was, both Cyrae and Feliciara had completely exhausted their magic. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been humiliated by those soldiers earlier.
"Ugh, I'm done for... Looks like my rank was too low, couldn't dodge successfully. What a pity..."
Thanks to the pain-relief magic, Feliciara didn't seem to suffer much as she was dying. But as she lost blood, her life kept fading. Soon, she seemed to lose the strength even to speak and slowly closed her eyes.
"Feliciara, hang on! Don't give up!"
Unfortunately, there was no one else around. No matter how Cyrae screamed, crawling onto Feliciara, it was useless. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as Feliciara's body slowly turned into white light dots, dispersing into the night sky.
This angel expedition ended with the Ilandra Dominion Empire's complete victory. Due to the earlier Beta Shock Bomb, the angels were either dead or fled, whether it was the main force or other divisions. For surviving remnants like Cyrae, without self-healing abilities, death was the only outcome.
After around one hour of continuous effort to recover, Cyrae finally felt she had accumulated enough magic to heal. However, at this moment, a voice came from afar.
"Feliciara... She's really dead, isn't she?"
It was Nicora, limping slowly towards them. She probably just managed to walk and rushed over! Of course, this was the six-winged Nicora who had been kicked away by Michelle earlier.
Cyrae looked up at her but didn't respond. Everything was understood without words.
"Actually, I heard everything that happened to you earlier from a distance. I barely survived the explosion too, but like you, I couldn't move afterward. Half-buried in the ground, I could only wait to recover until now..."
"It's all too late!"
Nicora also showed deep sorrow for Feliciara's death, but she seemed to control her emotions. As if she had more to say, she sat on a broken tree trunk next to Cyrae and asked,
"Do you know why I left you earlier and insisted on staying behind while you escaped?"
"Why?"
Cyrae didn't want to talk much, but hearing this, her curiosity was piqued.
"It's because I suddenly heard two voices talking in my mind. Although I had never experienced it before, based on some memories inherited from the Angel Descent Formation, this seemed similar to someone speaking in the Spiritual Network!"
After pondering for a while, Nicora, perhaps not entirely sure, could only explain it this way.
"Of course, later I realized this wasn't actually a Spiritual Network, and I had never joined any Spiritual Network. This should be the voice of the Earth Angel Galadra speaking to another me through the soul!"
"Another you? Oh..."
Cyrae was confused at first, but she quickly remembered the fleeting appearance of the eight-winged Nicora and understood.
"Probably because of the soul affinity, I accidentally intercepted their conversation. Although I couldn't intervene between them, I gradually learned that their purpose was to capture the Fire Angel Michelle. That's why I could later find the specific location of their battle. Of course, you experienced what happened after that..."
This refers to when the six-winged Nicora and Feliciara burst into the space maze after Michelle started fighting with the eight-winged Nicora and Galadra. At this point, Nicora suddenly stood up from the ground.
"After the explosion, the eight-winged one disappeared, and her soul's voice vanished completely! Later, Galadra had no choice but to contact me directly. He told me that Fernando, for some reason, had mastered ancient technology, which led to this explosion and even capturing Michelle. He also revealed some huge secrets about my past and even granted me partial control over the Cycle of Rebirth to help me resist Fernando's threats in the future!"
"What secrets? And what control?"
Cyrae was stunned, never imagining that Nicora had such experiences. However, Nicora didn't answer her questions but spread her six wings, as if preparing for some magic.
"You've always said you missed the Earth, right? Among the Cycle of Rebirth controls I received is the ability to send you back to Earth. Conveniently, this area still has a lot of Earth element residue after the Cycle of Rebirth descent, making it possible!"
"Wait a moment!"
Suddenly feeling the space around her start to distort, Cyrae hurriedly tried to stop her. However, she noticed that Nicora's wings had somehow turned a misty gray, completely losing their previous snow-white color!
Of course, Nicora didn't stop the spell. Cyrae felt herself twisting along with her surroundings. Finally, she heard Nicora's voice in her ear before disappearing into darkness.
"This world is really cruel. Even with Elara's inherited powers, your strength is far from enough. Since we crossed over, everyone has been suffering. Feliciara even died. I don't want you to end up like her, so I decided to fulfill your wish—to send you home!"
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a desolate world. However, it was her former home—Earth!