On the ground, Elara turned around to see the big demon fall, rushing over to plunge her sword into its head to end its life. But the two-winged angel Reed did not stay put, instead rushing towards the collapsed watchtower.

"Be careful!"

I was wondering what Reed was doing when I heard Aetina shout a warning, raising her sword to block a skeleton griffin's attack on us.

"On the battlefield, you must always be aware of your surroundings and prioritize your safety, don't get too distracted and overlook hidden enemies!"

With that she swung her sword in fierce strokes, hacking the skeleton griffin into pieces.

"Got...got it!"

I swallowed and quickly acknowledged my mistake.

Since coming here, Aetina has been like a different person. Gone was the friendly girl, now she was like an Amazon warrior!

Speaking of which, that move just now was so cool! No wonder Nicola is so obsessed with swordsmanship, it made me itchy to try learning the "Angel Sword Techniques" too.

But I'm self-aware enough to know my swordsmanship can't match up. That doesn't stop me from showing off in other ways though, like with that Ghost Stinger flying at us now!

"Lost Paradise Shockwave!"

This was my strongest move, and the Ghost Stinger didn't even twitch before the beam pillar blasted it out of existence. It fell silently into the lake below and disappeared.

"A complete waste!"

But instead of the praise I hoped for, Aetina scolded me harshly.

"The Lost Paradise Shockwave is an extremely light element-draining high-level spell. Using it on a level 5 Ghost Stinger is overkill when a simple Purification could easily take care of it. With six wings, you can only cast it twice at most, and in the Dark Lands, light elemental recovery is slow. What will you do next? Cast it again and you'll probably have to wait for other angels to carry you back!"

"Using a cannon to shoot a mosquito?"

Cyra mockingly defined my actions.

"Okay, I'll be more careful from now on!"

I pouted and admitted my mistake somewhat aggrievedly. The teacher was right, a simple Purification would easily take care of a lone Ghost Stinger. I just got too reliant on the Lost Paradise Shockwave after taking out three vampires in one hit last time.

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"Though you are getting more proficient with that move, you probably just need some more practice before you can fire it instantly... "

Seeing my expression, Aetina softened and gave me some praise. With the airspace clear, she led us down towards the ground.

"Reed, are you okay?"

We landed next to Reed and asked before even touching down.

"I'm fine, but come help me move these rocks!"

Reed didn't even turn to look at us, immediately ordering us to work.

"What are you doing?"

Cyra frowned.

"We came to rescue you, and you want us moving rocks..."

"There's something important buried here, the control terminal for the 'Eye of Galadra' that Nicola mentioned. We must retrieve it!"

Reed patiently explained. Though only a two-winged angel, the weight of the rocks was nothing to her, easily grabbing and tossing aside massive boulders with one hand.

"It's probably smashed beyond repair under all this though?"

I rolled up my sleeves and started helping.

"Doesn't matter if it's broken, we may still find parts to fix it. Even if it can't be repaired, it has great research value."

As expected, whenever the word "research" was involved nothing else mattered to her.

"How did that arch demon get out?"

Nicola was more concerned about safety, worried more monsters might suddenly pop out and catch them off guard.

"Don't you remember? Yvonne 'voluntarily' confessed earlier that the button-like 'locator terminal' can teleport the user directly next to the 'Eye of Galadra' main control terminal here."

I impatiently reminded her.

"So that Archdemon must have been sent to backstab you. Thankfully Reed wasn't in the tower then, otherwise it may have succeeded."

"Wait! So that means Aria also teleported here? Reed, did you see her inside the tower?"

Nicola was slow on the uptake, only reacting now.

"Unfortunately I only found out later that the teleport destination was this place... "

Reed dispassionately explained over her shoulder.

"When Aria teleported away we were still at the tournament grounds. She must have hid in some corner of the tower and got transported with me to the Dark Lands, probably long gone by now."

"Grr...this pisses me off!"

Nicola smashed a rock fragment to dust in frustration. She had missed several chances to capture Aria.

"I definitely won't let her get away next time!"

Undoubtedly Aria had come here multiple times before Reed was exchanged to the Dark Lands. She could have even been hiding overhead in the tower itself.

"Oh right, there's one important thing I must tell you."

Reed suddenly recalled something and raised her head to speak to me.

"Besides some unimportant fallen angels teleporting in and being intercepted, a red-winged angel looking exactly like Cyra, with the same red hair, also appeared. She was severely injured, covered in blood stains and missing an arm. Though she only had one pair of wings left, from the remnants it was clear she originally had at least eight wings or more. I believe it may have been that 'Michelle' you encountered before."

"Holy shit!"

Cyra's rock fragment fell from her hand as she stared in disbelief.

"She's still alive even after a nuke? Did you guys manage to stop her?"

I also reacted anxiously, hurriedly asking for details.

We should have expected this! If even Aria and Yvonne carried "escape teleport" items, of course, Michelle would prepare one for herself too!

"Couldn't stop her!"

Reed shook her head, giving us the most despairing answer.

"Even heavily wounded, that red-winged angel was very powerful. She fled too quickly before we could react, already escaping outside the tower. We had no way to stop her and could only watch as she vanished into the depths of the Dark Lands."