Chapter 75 - Time Travel?

"Vivianne, did you manage to find out any useful information in this village?" 

Thinking about her earlier attitude towards those children, I quickly checked.

"Like, did you ask those kids?"

"Isn't it the same as what the Star Glory knights said, they completely ignored me!" Vivianne responded with some annoyance.

"Alright..."

If the adults were cold and dismissive, that was understandable. But there was no way children would act that way too!

Not giving up, I wanted to try again. But as I approached those kids, I suddenly sensed something amiss. At some point, the concentration of light elements in the surrounding air had increased significantly.  

"Look out!"

Not just Ron the light mage, but Mike and Vivianne also noticed it at the same time. Of course, not because they felt the light elements, but due to the changing brightness in the sky above.

Dazzling rays of light surged over like fog from the distance, instantly enveloping the entire sky. Even the villagers on the ground looked up, sensing the abnormality.

"What's going on?"

No one had ever seen such a phenomenon before. The children who were just playing in the open area immediately stopped, slowly turning to return to their homes.

"No way?"

But to my eyes, it wasn't so unfamiliar, having gotten used to being enveloped by brilliant light already. Just not in the main world, but in Edenmere.

Of course, I didn't think this was Edenmere, because humans could never appear there, let alone human villages.  

But conversely, if this was the main world, why would this be happening?

"Over there, what's that!"

Vivianne had sharp eyes. Following her voice, I saw a few dark specks flying towards us from the direction she pointed. Before long, they arrived above us.

"Angels?"

Mike and Ron looked at me in surprise. I never expected those dark specks to be angels! But they didn't seem highly ranked, with only one having four wings while the rest just had two wings each.

From their organized movements, it was clear these angels were likely dispatched from Edenmere on a mission. Although I didn't know what was going on with the lights in the sky, if I could contact Edenmere through them, I should be able to confirm our location. Maybe there was even a chance to return to Volcano Sulide through Edenmere!

However, things didn't develop as I had imagined...

"From now on, you must all submit to my lord and accept his rule, or else face merciless suppression!"

The four-winged angel descended lower, hovering in mid-air to address the entire village.

"Huh?"

I was completely dumbfounded. What kind of twist was this? How could angels possibly make such an arrogant declaration? That was way too domineering!

"Lord?"

Hearing this, Vivianne glanced peculiarly at the two Star Glory knights, before shifting her gaze towards me.

"What's their relationship with the True Church?"

It's well known that the angel race usually doesn't acknowledge the True Church's related teachings about them, let alone refer to Yawee as "lord." This was something I confirmed after visiting Edenmere once before.  

Of course, during this period when we came to the holy city Jethrobaines and interacted with the Pope, relations between both sides had further improved. But it wasn't publicized, and not many common folk were aware, let alone Vivianne who had been trapped in that cave.  Even if relations improved in the future, Edenmere would never easily convert to believing in God.

So the attitude of these angels clearly made Vivianne wonder if this could be some True Church conspiracy plot, instantly implicating the two Star Glory Guardian Knights and me by association.

The blame fell squarely on us from out of the blue, leaving me utterly bewildered...

"Don't tell me you're in cahoots with them?"

My so-called explanation about time slowing in the cave was just my own words. Vivianne hadn't fully understood it. Now with this sudden development, she doubted my identity again.

"You might not even be Feliciana at all. Maybe you and these two church knights have just been deceiving me the whole time!"

"Wait, let me go ask them to clarify!"

I was at a complete loss, quickly trying to placate her. I never expected this situation. I didn't know these few angels. Even if we assumed they were some angels stranded in the main world who later joined the True Church, they shouldn't be making such an excessive declaration, right?

"Excuse my ignorance, but who exactly is this 'lord' you speak of? I don't recall the True Church ever accepting your kind!"

Before I could fly over and communicate with those angels, Ron on the ground had already shouted out in questioning towards the four-winged lead angel. He clearly didn't approve of their arrogant attitude, seizing on that key point in their words.

"Insolence! You haven't even heard of the God of Light Beluto? How dare you compare him to some heretic organization like the True Church!"

Hearing this, the lead four-winged angel immediately turned her head towards us, harshly rebuking.

"The great lord has graced this world, and all things shall become his possessions to command."

Her words were quite pretentious, but what shocked me most were the word "Beluto" - their implications were self-evident.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

Since my wings were still visible, the four-winged angel quickly noticed my distinct existence as she approached, becoming puzzled.

"Could you be another apostle summoned by the Holy Angel?"

"Apostle?"

I frowned slightly, quickly following up to ask, "Who is this 'Holy Angel' you speak of?"

"Why, it is Lady Cyra of course! As the consort anointed by my lord, she is his sole voice in this world, forever loyal to my lord. We are merely servants assisting her in shouldering worries."  

"What?!"

Everyone exclaimed in disbelief. Except Vivianne, who looked utterly confused, glancing between us and the four-winged angels overhead. The only part she understood was the name Holy Angel Cyra, but she also sensed it differed from common knowledge.

First, the so-called "lord" they referred to was not Yawee, but Beluto.

Secondly, Cyra, the wife of Yawee in legend, had now become Beluto's consort.

And who was Beluto? The God of Light from nearly ten thousand years ago! Based on the situation, it was highly unlikely to just be a shared name and surname. Of course, since humanity had long forgotten that ancient history, apart from me, no one else understood the significance behind the name Beluto.

So did I get it wrong again?

It wasn't actually a case of slowed time flow in that cave, but that we had "traveled" again!

Except this time, it was a travel through time - we had passed through that cave back ten thousand years into the past!

This was an extremely bold conjecture. There were still some unclear points and many logical gaps, not to mention the absence of Nicola who was always involved in time-related incidents. But everything happening before my eyes kept pointing to the high likelihood that this was indeed that long-forgotten era of history.

In Edenmere's Cloud Palace, Elara showed us glimpses of the past from the ancestral memories of Liana. But those were just fragmented memories. Although the psychic magic reconstruction felt immersive, it was still an artificially constructed scene. We never truly experienced everything palpable from that age.

In theory, a world flooded with light elements must have a high concentration present in the environment. This aligned completely with my initial sensations after leaving the cave entrance, not to mention the changes preceding the appearance of these "apostle" angels.

"I may not understand what's going on, but insulting our Holy Angel is one thing. But to actually call the True Church a heresy? Unforgivable!"

Mike angrily refuted. As someone Cysper described as devoutly faithful, he immediately drew out a pair of boxing gloves and put them on.

"Since you call yourselves 'apostles', then you have nothing to do with the servants of my lord. Please forgive this rash action..."

Unexpectedly, he was also a martial fighter, the same profession as Blanche. A monk capable of battle qi - I couldn't help but wonder what kind of level that would be? I found myself oddly looking forward to it...

"So you wish to defy us?"

The four-winged angel snorted coldly, drifting back. As her words trailed off, the other two-winged angels hovering above immediately descended in front of her on cue, forming an angelic barrier.

"Just puny two-winged angels!"

Mike naturally wouldn't take them seriously. At best, two-winged angels could only reach the fifth rank, far below his sixth rank level. I saw him leap up from the ground, appearing in front of them in the blink of an eye to unleash a flurry of strikes. The angels were instantly pummeled to the ground, dissipating into light elements.

"So powerful!"

Although fellow angels, I felt no sympathy at all, openly praising instead.

Befitting a sixth rank expert who enhanced his physical abilities through battle qi, unlike Cysper who lacked innate power and relied on magical trickery in combat. Mike's approach was straightforward, completely dominating with overwhelming superior strength.

As a fighter, this profession perfectly suited his forte, not overly reliant on weapons.  

I thought angels from ten thousand years ago would be impressive, but they didn't seem that different from my perceptions. They were still just like that! Dealing with the remaining four-winged angel shouldn't be too difficult then.

Wait...didn't the angel race not exist back then? Why did this feel a bit different from what I expected?