The archangel jumped down from the ruin and gently floated down onto the ground. As he landed, a slight mist started covering the place, giving it a mysterious and almost heavenly vibe. Caught off-guard, I opened my mouth to ask him what he had just done but Leo put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look at the blonde in surprise. He shook his head and gave me a small smile.

"It's just an archangel thing. Think of it as them converting this place to an area that ensures no unwanted intruders can hear or see anything happening inside," he explained.

So it's similar to what mages do, huh? With a frown, I nod my head and turn my attention back to the newcomer. Now that I can see him better, I noticed that his outfit consisted of a dark blue and white coat with blue linings and white fur, dark blue straps, a gray turtleneck, dark blue pants and gloves, two white straps on the pants with guns in their holsters hidden because of the coat, and black boots.

Guess I'll assume he's friendly. There wasn't any malicious or killing intent behind his actions. Besides, if he wanted to kill us, he would've done so instead of announcing his presence. Plus, he seems to know Rex and from what he said, it seems like Rex told him of my arrival... I thought as he walked towards us. Out of curiosity, I glanced at Leo, who was now eyeing the archangel with a frown.

"Anyways, what's this about 'save the world'? The higher-ups never told us that the world was in a crisis..." Leo commented, causing the archangel to stop and turn his attention to the blonde.

[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fl0zuT2aMAAH5Nj?format=jpg&name=4096x4096]

"Ah, right. That's because the regulators are left in the dark regarding that," he explained as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning onto the ruined pillar nearby. "Their responsibilities are in Heaven, not down in the real world. However, for an Archangel like me, we are to ensure everything is alright down there. If it's not and it reaches a certain point, we are to intervene. That's the mission we're tasked with."

Unable to help myself, I barged in to their conversation. "You're working with Rex, right? Do you know anything about him? Anything at all?"

The young man glanced at me, unfazed, and then let out a sigh. "Well, yeah but he's pretty reserved. Whenever he visited Heaven, his conversations were always short and to the point," the archangel replied with a shake of his head. "I asked about his past once. He looked depressed and said he would rather not talk about it. Even if Rex wanted to talk about it, he said he was sworn to secrecy until a certain situation happens."

I wonder if his past is connected to me...? After all, he looked so conflicted when I asked his name. That look of sadness and happiness... I look down at my feet, feeling my heart ache in pain upon remembering that. ...but I'm sure I never met him before. ...unless...?

"Anyways, before we continue any further, my name is Vincent Sagitta, but I prefer being called Vin. Got it?" he announced, pulling me away from my thoughts. "I'm a mage with the affinity Metal, a summoner that utilizes that trait to use guns as summoning tools and combat weapons. I can also enchant weapons, armor, accessories, and other stuff if they're metal-based. The latter is the services I offered to Rex since the situation wasn't bad enough yet before."

As expected, he's a mage. However... I glance up at him and note that there was no sense of fear from him at all from being near me. That means he knows how to deal with troublesome foes like me, huh? He's also not exhibiting the behavior most mages would have towards Devourers like me. Then I'll have to make sure I don't make him an enemy or sour his view on me. Not wanting to seem like I was ignoring him, I decided to speak up.

"Right, so if you don't mind, what's up with these ruins? They seem really out of place here in Heaven."

Leo flinched and averted his eyes elsewhere, causing me to look at him in confusion. Eh? What's with that reaction? I thought to myself, then suddenly recalled the paper that he was reading. Ah, that! Judging from his reaction, it's definitely about this place! I opened my mouth to say something but Vin beat me to the punch.

"That's considered confidential info for now until it's deemed necessary for you to know," the archangel stated matter-of-factly.

I let out a sigh and looked away in disappointment, not surprised that he would say that. What he said next, however, caught me completely off-guard.

"However, I'll be lenient and sate your curiosity, even for a little bit. A great conflict happened up here in Heaven, causing quite the upheaval. It triggered a change in some of the laws of Heaven because of that. As a result, this realm got better but knowledge of that conflict was buried away in the distant past, now only known by a select few. The Restricted Sector is one of the few remaining proofs that it happened."

I wonder if it was a rebellion. From the way he described the event, it sounds like it could've been that. Deep in thought, I glanced at the wrecked ruins near me and frowned. ...yet, that feels wrong too. Would it really cause this much wanton destruction? Whatever it was, it must've been pretty bad for Leo to react so strongly. I took a peek at the blonde, who seemed to be gazing at the ruins with a melancholic expression. I wanted to cheer him up but I was aware that Vin was standing there, waiting. The ones causing trouble aren't going to wait for us so I bit my lip and forced myself to continue talking to the archangel.

"Thanks for the info then. At the very least, it's something rather than nothing," I replied with a small smile. "...anyways, what should we do next? Rex didn't give me much instructions other than to go learn more about this world and figure out the truth behind the strange incidents. I have no idea where to start..."

"Since something happened in the Astrum kingdom, we're starting there. It'd be a waste to go somewhere else and ignore that otherwise," he answered, then got off the ruined pillar. "Besides, we have no business staying here in Heaven, in all honesty. Nothing happened here yet and I doubt anything will for a long while."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"So Stella will have to make use of her eyes then?" Leo asked, causing me to jump in shock when I hear how close he was. "Ah, sorry, sorry! Caught you by surprise, huh?" He added in with a laugh as I glared at him, pouting.

"Oh? You sure recovered faster than I thought you would," he commented with a smirk as he glanced at the blonde. "Strong-willed, huh? Good because I'm sure a lot of stuff will happen in our adventure so it's not particularly reassuring if you remain hung up on that for too long."

The angel merely laughed it off but I gently nudge him on the side, worried that he might be putting up a strong front. After all, I had to do that a lot during my times in the Academy regrettably when dealing with most mages. It...wasn't a pleasant experience so if I can help him as he did for me then...

He looked at me in surprise, then gave me a sad smile. "I'll be alright, no need to worry," Leo reassured me as he pats me on the head, ruffling my hair to my annoyance. "There's no point in dwelling on the past any further since there's nothing I can do to change it anyways. ...thanks, though."

When he puts his hand away, I return my attention back to Vin as I fix my hair. "So he's gonna come along? Is that alright?"

"Yeah, his circumstances are special so he was bound to go on a journey sooner or later," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest. "The archangels in charge wouldn't tell me the reasons behind it but I assume it's connected to his past."

I peeked at the blonde near me, who seemed slightly upset at the mention of his past and muttered to himself about how he figured as much. ...so far, there are two people that I met that have mysteries surrounding them. I check on the other male, noting that he was looking at the shrine. Not sure about the newcomer since I barely know him. Most likely, he has some secrets too. Honestly, what's up with everyone I'm meeting having so much mystery surrounding them? At this rate, how am I going to unravel all these mysteries when there's so much? With a dejected sigh, I walk toward the shrine, not wanting to think about it any further as I tried to ignore the burning sensation in my eye.

"By the way, that shrine was put there as a safe spot by past users like you to use for traveling between realms. Don't ask me how long it's been there though because no one knows," Vin remarked.

Makes sense, especially since my uncovered eye keeps getting affected by it. I stopped in front of the shrine and Leo stopped beside me. Vin, on the other hand, went straight towards the altar in the middle, then leaned his back onto the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. ...is he quietly suggesting to us to hurry up? With a sigh, I go to the altar with the blonde following behind. As I got closer to it, the burning sensation got stronger and stronger, to the point that it was difficult to even look at it. I averted my eyes elsewhere and ended up seeing someone's gloved hand extended out to me. Blinking my eyes in surprise, I look up and see that it was the archangel, who dismissed his wings away.

"Physical contact is necessary to bring us along with you and holding hands will ensure we won't get separated." He explained nonchalantly, not particularly caring that I blushed at the aspect of having to hold hands with someone. "You'll also need to remove the eyepatch to commence returning to the real world. The eyepatch that Rex gave you has magical enchantments on them so you can just say 'Code: Release' to use of one of the enchantments to make the accessory disappear."

...well, this is gonna be awkward for me but it seems to be the safest option. After all, it'd be bad if we end up being separated because I couldn't do a simple thing like this. With an internal groan, I hesitantly put my hand into his. Upon hearing Leo laugh nearby, I couldn't help but pout. Before I could turn around and retort something in response, the blonde held my other hand, making me blush harder and avert my eyes elsewhere.

"It's not that bad~! It's only for a bit, right~?" The blonde teased with a chuckle. "If it's that embarrassing, then just say the magical words and we'll be in the real world in an instant. Once we're there, we won't have to hold hands anymore."

Realizing he's got a point, I immediately said the incantation and the eyepatch disappears. At that moment, my vision got blurry and then everything around me quickly became so distorted that I had to close my eyes. I heard Vin say to Leo that he should close his eyes too, making me wonder if they're experiencing the same thing. They're coming along with me so it probably makes sense that they do. ...maybe I should've warned them ahead of time. Oh well, too late now. The angel seemed clearly disgruntled by the experience from the groan of annoyance that he let out. The archangel, on the other hand, was completely quiet after the command he gave Leo. Wonder if it's because Rex warned him beforehand...? Before I could think any further, the sensation stopped and was immediately replaced with an overwhelming fatigue. Forcing myself to remain conscious, I opened my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was that I was in a room that had a white smooth wall, brown wooden floor, and brown wooden ceiling. Glancing around, there was practically almost nothing in this room, other than my companions, the same altar that the shrine in Heaven had, and the brown wooden door. ...where are we...? I was about to vocalize that thought but stopped upon hearing a snort from Vin.

"Rex didn't bother decorating this room, huh? Probably for the best but it's anti-climatic to be entering the real world only to see something so plain and empty." He commented as he let go of my hand, then walked towards the door. "Anyways, he should've gotten some clothes for you, Leo, because I doubt you fancy going around the world in those exercising clothes. He got clothes for you too, Stella, because you going around in that Academy uniform is going to jeopardize our mission."

"Yeah, that would be too embarrassing, in all honesty." Leo admitted while I let out a sigh of relief, glad I'm not going to be stuck in these clothes forever.

I forced myself to take a step forward to follow the male but the instant my foot touched the floor, I suddenly started falling forward. I tried to stop the fall but my body refused to listen to me. Crap, don't tell me that used all of my magical energy...! Thankfully, Leo quickly caught me before I faceplanted onto the ground.

"Stella?! Are you alright?!" He exclaimed in shock.

I opened my mouth to say something but my consciousness was slipping faster than I could keep up. Crap. Not this...again... Before I knew it, I was knocked out, just like last time.