Chapter 84 - "Compensation" Under "Judgment"

"Feliciana!" 

The sky burst with Adrian's call, and once again, I saw Adrian's anxious face as I lay on the ground.

"Why did you take so long to come..." 

I couldn't help but complain, then immediately coughed up fresh blood. The dazzling light in front of my eyes made everything blurry, so I obediently closed my mouth and focused on using healing magic to treat my wounds.

Adrian paused for a moment upon hearing my words, but soon realized that I was not in mortal danger, and he heaved a sigh of relief, looking up at the sky. 

Next up was the much-anticipated "Judgment of Light" segment. Of course, I knew that! If I didn't have this injury, I would have loved to try being a "prophet" as well.

"You two, come with me quickly!" 

Seeing the light above getting brighter and brighter, Adrian quickly picked me up in a princess carry and said to Ron and Mike.

Hey, hey, hey! What's going on, this is a princess carry! 

I felt a bit embarrassed, but since my abdominal injury had not yet fully healed, I couldn't move, so I turned my head and pretended not to know anything, feeling my face getting a bit hot.

Although I was severely injured this time as well, at least the outcome was slightly different. Mike's life was saved, but the price was losing Vivianne's trail. 

I hope she can survive safely under the "Judgment of Light"...

On the way, Ron kept asking about various situations, and Adrian casually responded to him. Finally, we arrived at the familiar building.

I was carried into the house, but I didn't see anyone coming down the stairs.

"Judith, is the preparation work done?" 

Seeing the white light outside getting brighter and brighter, Adrian called out to the upper floor.

"It's almost ready! You've only been gone for a while, how come you're back so soon?" 

Judith's voice came from the second floor.

"The situation has changed, the 'Judgment of Light' is slightly ahead of schedule!"

Adrian answered while walking into the inner room and gently placing me on the bed.

Indeed! Thinking back, this time we directly confronted the four-winged angels, while last time, before facing the four-winged apostles, we had experienced Mike being hit by the beam of light and checking on his injury, and so on, which caused the four-winged apostles' death time to be slightly advanced.

So is the activation time of the "Judgment of Light" judged based on the death of the four-winged angels? If that four-winged apostle hadn't died, does that mean the "Judgment of Light" wouldn't have occurred? I suddenly understood.

"Ahead of schedule? Can the prophecy scenario also undergo changes?" 

Judith's voice sounded clearly surprised. Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, she was coming down the stairs.

"It's done! The brightness has indeed increased a lot, looks like you were right again."

"What does this 'Judgment of Light' mean?" 

In the other room, Ron couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Strange, I feel like the aura of light elements in the air is still rising rapidly, even though it's already far too much..."

"And who are you?" 

This was Mike's deep and steady voice, followed by introductions among the few of them.

"You heal yourself first, I'll go outside and help!" 

Adrian instructed me, then left the room.

In fact, my injury has almost healed after some treatment. But I also know that he is eager to go and coordinate the covering of the windows, so I didn't stop him.

Surprisingly, Adrian didn't forget that there is also a window in this room, and soon he came running in with a large tablecloth.

"You don't have to do this..." 

I said uncomfortably, feeling a bit flattered by his "thoughtfulness".

"The Judgment of Light won't actually cause any substantial damage to me, as long as I don't stare at the sky." 

"It's fine, it's just really glaring, let me go see how they're doing outside."

He smiled, then ran out the door. However, just as he was about to reach the door, his steps suddenly froze.

"You... how did you know?"

"Because you said it was the Judgment of Light yourself!"

I couldn't help but feel amused, and deliberately didn't reveal it.

"But I didn't mention what the Judgment of Light would look like, how did you know it wouldn't hurt you? And besides..."

"Because the name has 'light' in it! Since it's the Judgment of Light, it must be related to light elements, and you know that any light element attacks are ineffective for me."

I continued to argue. Of course, this reason was a bit far-fetched, but at least it was passable.

"No! Even if you know it's a light element attack, you couldn't be so sure about what's going to happen!" 

Adrian pointed at me, his voice starting to tremble.

"And moreover, you asked earlier why I took so long to come, you couldn't have said that for no reason..."

"Okay, okay, you win!" 

I pursed my lips, of course a too clever guy like him wouldn't be easy to fool. Actually, in the previous loop, even without him telling me, I had already realized what was about to happen, but the reasons behind it were rather complex, not suitable to be discussed now.

"I originally wanted to settle the score with you, since you blasted me to pieces before, this grudge has to be repaid, right? But killing you would just result in you being revived again, so it seems a bit unsatisfactory..." 

Thinking for a bit, I decided it would be more fun to just scare him a little.

"So how should the compensation be handled, comrade Adrian?"

"I'm sorry, I had my reasons for that. But don't worry..." 

Adrian lowered his head, his voice sounding a bit choked, then clenched his fists and slowly raised his head.

"I'll do my best to make sure you're satisfied with the compensation!"

At the same time, a violent flash of light suddenly appeared outside the window, and both Adrian and I instinctively raised our hands to shield our eyes. However, in that split second of raising my arm, I clearly saw a tear slip from the corner of his eye.

He cried? I was a bit dumbfounded. The words I originally wanted to continue teasing him with could no longer be spoken.

Unfortunately, due to the dazzling light outside, I couldn't see him clearly, but repeatedly mulling over his just-made promise, I felt a sense of heaviness.

"How many times have you reset?" 

The situation seemed to have exceeded my expectations, so I quickly asked.

"Not that many, maybe dozens... or even hundreds? Not too many, really!" 

Without leaving any traces, he wiped his eyes, Adrian answered casually. But he didn't notice that the area around his eyes was slightly reddened.

"That's not 'not many'!"

I was shocked and directly sat up from the bed. Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze on my abdomen. Looking down, I realized the clothes that were pierced by the four-winged apostle were now leaking air.

Helplessly, I sighed and waved at him.

"Could you step out for a moment, I need to change my clothes..."

"Oh, okay!"

Adrian didn't dare to delay, quickly walking out.

"Hey, by the way, thank..."

Suddenly remembering something, I quickly called out to him. But the words got stuck in my throat, feeling a bit inappropriate.

I originally wanted to thank him a little, after all, Adrian had been helping me in the forest before, and if I hadn't been afraid of getting dirty, I wouldn't have ended up like that later. But then again, he killed me, so why do I still need to thank him? There's no need for that, and I've already been merciful enough not to beat him up.

"No, it should be me saying thank you! At least with you, I'm not so... alone in experiencing the resets!"

Adrian seemed to have misunderstood, and he said that while facing away from me. Then he retreated out of the room and closed the door.

"Lonely, huh..."

Looking at the closed door, I suddenly felt a bit heartbroken. I had thought he had only repeated a few times, at most a dozen, but I didn't expect it to be as tragic as the protagonist of a certain animation.

Thinking about it carefully, it really must be lonely, right? Putting myself in his shoes, if I was the only one who knew the time had been reset, and it happened numerous times, I would be quite distressed as well.

Fortunately, it's not a problem, he can tell the others, right? It's not like he can't say it out loud, how come Adrian doesn't know such a simple thing? Well, I guess his brain must have become a bit sluggish after so many loops.

But in that case, the timeline doesn't quite add up. Vivianne aside, Adrian entered the cave only about 4-5 days ago, how could he have looped so many times in between? From his reaction, I don't think he's lying, so the only explanation is that the overall time flow is different from the outside world.

Of course, this is based on the assumption that we haven't time-traveled ten thousand years into the past. If we factor in time travel as well... I'm getting a bit dizzy!

After changing my clothes, I really couldn't figure out the reasons, so I just opened the door and walked out.

Adrian was explaining the details of the "Judgment of Light" to everyone. Probably because he found me as his "fellow", his mood seemed more positive than last time, and his explanation was also more detailed.

"So where are we exactly, and why does Beluto, an ancient deity, exist here?"

Although everyone had already roughly understood the Light God from the "Judgment of Light", there were still many unanswered questions, like the one Ron asked.

"Hehe, there are basically two possibilities!" 

Judith, whose eyes were still observing the window, couldn't help but answer first.

"One, we've traveled through time, and arrived about ten thousand years in the past. Two, we've traveled through space, and been transported to a little-known place. The previously deceased Light God has revived and is hiding here, even colluding with the long-disappeared Saint Angel Cyra! Of course, I'm more inclined to the first option!"

She already knows the Light God might have revived? This senior researcher of the Sage Council seems to be quite extraordinary...

Just like last time, Judith turned her head to look at me when she heard the sound of me opening the door, but didn't show any surprise. Clearly, she is quite familiar with angels and has seen them many times before.