"Just the two of you, are you sure there won't be any issues? The guards around that temple seemed quite numerous."

Since this mission prioritized stealth, only Cysper and I would go. Alfred's group would not follow. Even though they now knew our angel identities, Valerie still didn't quite believe we could successfully complete this task, as our previous clumsy actions left too deep an impression on her.

"No worries, Feliciana and her friends can fly, more than capable of self-defense. Moreover, her friend's strength definitely can't be too weak either, they can watch out for each other."

Eleanora expressed full confidence in us, smiling as she reassured the other. However, after saying that, she turned and pulled me aside to the corner, whispering:

"Your angel friend seems rather peculiar! Not only does she constantly mention some 'Lord', but also frequently draws a cross on her chest to pray. I heard your angel clan's relations with the Jethrobaines church have improved recently, could she really want to join and become a priestess?"

"Uh, probably not to that extent, just a personal hobby." I thought it over and could only explain with a wry face. For the Pope, such behavior is quite normal! If he didn't pray to her god regularly, how could he be considered diligent? We've just gotten used to it along our journey, plus the original Cyra acted similarly. So it didn't seem strange to us, but to the uninformed like Eleanora, it appeared very odd.

"Alright, there's a lot about the angel clan I don't understand anyway..."

Though not fully convinced, Eleanora didn't pry further, kindly reminding us again:

"Still, you two should be extra careful this time. The temple area may not have major issues, but you absolutely must not alert Chromos Tower nearby. That tower is quite abnormal, there's no telling if they possess some special defensive means like the Divine Punishment! The Astralrealm Kingdom did some research on it, finding Chromos Tower is constructed entirely from solid Mithril, exceptionally sturdy! Even intentional damage is very difficult!"

"Mithril, what's so impressive about that?"

Hearing her words, I suddenly recalled the various rumors about Mithril, including from back on Earth and in this world. Things like Mithril being extremely powerful, obtaining it was equivalent to getting a celestial weapon. Or that weapons made of Mithril could unleash strength far beyond one's innate abilities and so on...

After delving deeper through books and explanations from senior angels, I realized all these claims grossly exaggerated Mithril's effects.

This world's Mithril differs greatly from conventional silver people are familiar with. The only commonality is perhaps just the silvery-white metallic luster.

Mithril is a magic alloy, supposedly requiring long-lost ancient techniques plus elemental blending to synthesize. Since moderns cannot replicate the production methods from scratch, the amount circulating remains limited, mostly taken from disassembled ancient artifacts or building materials.

In this world, apart from being slightly sturdier and lighter than iron, Mithril's main practical use seems to be its excellent elemental conductivity, widely employed as array materials for magic formations that can even be recycled! So despite the scarcity, demand isn't particularly high either.

Some do buy it at exorbitant prices to forge weapons after believing the hype, only to find the claims completely overblown with no combat enhancements! The sole advantage is making decent wands, but the continent has too many substitute materials, not really lacking Mithril. Hence in this world, Mithril is somewhat of an appendix - take it or leave it, makes little difference.

"You must not underestimate Parristol's history - Chromos Tower is undoubtedly the oldest structure in this entire city, unmatched! The kingdom's army occupied Parristol for so many years, yet still hasn't fully uncovered the tower's secrets. Now that the Divine Punishment has resurfaced, who knows if the Loren royals possess any other hidden trump cards. I think the rebels have been acting quite abnormally since taking control of the city these past few days. You two must stay extra vigilant!"

Alfred also chimed in at this point, seeing I didn't seem too concerned about Eleanora's warnings. He immediately followed up persuading:

"Moreover, Adrian now as king surely resides inside. The protection around him must be extremely tight. Those high-tier monsters mentioned earlier could also be hiding in the tower - you may not be their match!"

"Alright, we'll be careful..."

I nodded helplessly, not really intending to correct his notions. Though Alfred didn't know I'd attained 6th tier certification, and Cysper using Cyra's body was potentially even stronger than me, I still felt he made sense. After all, our purpose here was mainly investigation - best to avoid unnecessary incidents.

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I just couldn't help feeling a tinge of disappointment that Adrian didn't seem so easily accessible these days. This guy's really getting too arrogant...

Not cool, not cool at all!

"When you return, remember to tell Brennan that if they want to enter from the border, they can first head to the Astralrealm border outpost west of Parristol to find us. All the kingdom's legions have withdrawn there. As long as nothing unexpected happens, we'll be back there before dawn."

Before leaving, Alfred finally remembered Brennan traveling with us, casually leaving these words.

"Tsk tsk, you haven't been an angel for very long, yet you've already got quite a few networks."

It was only after we had spread our wings and traveled far into the city center that Cysper turned back to give me a meaningful look.

"Those two young ones should have at least reached the 6th tier, though not that common in the Astralrealm Kingdom. And both being in the military, as long as they can survive on the battlefield, their prospects are certainly unlimited. The kingdom has indeed been infiltrated thoroughly by Edenmere's influence..."

I couldn't help feeling indignant at his audacity to bring this up. I immediately countered, "How impertinent for you to say that! Don't forget, even King Galahad himself has joined their church. What relationship do they have with your order?"

"Well, it's not like Galahad shows much devotion. Perhaps his joining was more for political interests, like making connections through the church to have sway over other nations' leaders."

True Church being the only orthodox faith across the continent, with its influence spreading to every corner through churches in every land, Cysper saying this wasn't that unreasonable.

"What should we do ahead? Should we fly over it?"

Finally, as we gradually approached the city center and the route by rooftop came to an end, we could see a vast plaza stretching out between us and the temple, with few people but many of the rebel soldiers patrolling the edges illuminated by magic spotlights. Clearly not possible to charge through on foot.

This was a circular plaza surrounding Chromos Tower. Within the plaza were also constructed some other buildings. Apart from the temple housing over a thousand local residents, there was also a massive library situated at the other end. Most of the illumination in the entire city came from this area, indicating just how tightly guarded it was.

"Then let's fly a bit higher!"

Seeing many magic spotlights occasionally sweeping across the sky, I thought this plan through as the only option. The rebel forces had no means to field griffin or dragon mounts for aerial defense. Their air combat capabilities likely depended entirely on monster support. But those monsters were currently stationed at Moon Lake to the south, beyond effective range to pose a threat to us, so it was completely worth attempting!

"I still feel this intentional exploit is somewhat risky...would the enemy really leave such a glaring hole?"

Midway, Cysper cocked his head doubtfully.

"Can you think of a better way then, invisibility?"

I shot him a look. Confirmed the enemy lacked air forces, this approach was far superior to directly phasing through with invisibility spells, as we couldn't be sure if those patrolling humans could sense light elements. If only Adrian were here, his "Stealth" arrows could perfectly circumvent this weakness. Unfortunately...

Fortunately, events proved Cysper's worries excessive. We quickly traversed the plaza successfully, descending onto the temple rooftop behind where patrols were slightly fewer, with a few idling in the shrubbery beside clearly slacking off.

"Strange...there really isn't a single person inside this building, just some burning torches!"

With feet dangling off the eaves, Cysper poked his head through a window to scan inside before flying back up to me.

"Where exactly were the local residents taken?"

Having mentally prepared somewhat, I wasn't too surprised, just unable to make sense of it. Could this really involve spatial teleportation? But where would those people be sent?

"Forget it, since we've confirmed no one's inside anymore, never mind the reasons. Our mission is accomplished, let's head back and rest. We can figure it out after daybreak!"

Stifling a yawn, Cysper found it even harder to stay up late inhabiting Cyra's body. Seeing such lacklustre progress at the temple, he naturally lacked motivation to linger.

"Hahaha, you think you can get away so easily? I've finally caught two big fish. How could I possibly let you swim off just like that!"

At this moment, a booming maniacal laughter suddenly rang out from the pitch-black sky overhead! Before the voice faded, a dark silhouette reeking of an intense dark elemental aura plunged down rapidly towards our heads.

"Who's there?"

The dark elemental aura was far too obvious. Before I could warn him, Cysper swiftly retreated to the side, evading. The temple roof was instantly smashed with a huge crater, the thunderous sound drawing the attention of nearby patrolling soldiers who swarmed over in a flurry encircling us.

Fortunately, this temple was built exceedingly tall, so they couldn't immediately climb up. They seemed aware someone was dealing with us too, so didn't take further action - just standing below gawking up at us two.

"Damn it, let's escape first!"

Judging from the intense dark elemental aura, the enemy was definitely a high-tier monster, ranking no lower than that vampire who injured me before. Before he could crawl out of the crater again, I reflexively tried pulling Cysper to flee.

"No need, I was getting drowsy anyway. Such a great chance to battle a high-tier monster, I absolutely can't miss it!"

To my surprise, Cysper actually refused to leave now. He shrugged off my grasp on his clothes and shook his head excitedly.

"Excellent, I love it!"

At the same time, the monster finally emerged from the hole, with red short hair, pointed horns on the forehead, and a pair of bat-like wings on the back.

"Didn't expect the angel clan to still have gutsy fellows like you these days. Very well, keep this geezer entertained for a while!"

Gripping a long sword wreathed in black flames, I heaved a sigh of relief sensing the massive dark elemental aura pouring off him - definitely not Michelle! Though too dim to make out facial features clearly, I could confirm this was unmistakably a male demon.

Was this the crazy demon Alfred mentioned?