After the long questioning, we finally managed to enter the shelter by claiming to be "family members". However, the origins of these so-called "family members" were quite curious...

"How did you guys actually sneak in here?"

Following behind Cysper, I couldn't help asking. The shelter entrance seemed inconspicuous, just a concealed small door built into the underground passage wall. But the interior space was tremendously vast - as far as the eye could see were scattered flames, candles lit by the local Parristol residents for temporary lighting, giving a sense of the huge crowd gathered inside.

"Impressive...this is at least as big as several soccer fields, right?"

Cyra couldn't help exclaiming in admiration while casually caressing one of the gigantic stone pillars that would take several people's arms to encircle. These pillars were visible everywhere in the shelter, spaced about every ten meters or so. If we hadn't just entered from outside, who could have guessed we were actually inside the sky city, thousands of meters above the real ground surface.

"Although this place is being used as a shelter, I believe its original purpose was probably just part of the city's sewer system. There are quite a few entry points - we actually came in through a different entrance..."

Mike still looked composed, introducing the surroundings as a "single father with three kids". Apparently the two had secretly landed in the city using light element invisibility magic even before the Crestvale Republic's airships arrived. However, unlike our experience, shortly after landing they happened to encounter locals in the midst of evacuation and simply blended into the crowd to make their way here.

"You're really bold! An actual Pope personally coming to the battlefield is one thing. But you didn't even stay behind - just a single bodyguard and you infiltrated the enemy camp solo. What were you thinking?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help criticizing. Cysper had been trapped in the holy city for thousands of years, so his roaming tendencies weren't incomprehensible - he had just been "released" not long ago after all. If he could resist sticking his hands into something lively like Parristol, that would be the real surprise!

But infiltrating the city interior was another matter entirely. I didn't think even his skills could guarantee full safety, and the same applied even with Mike present. Recklessly carrying on like this would inevitably lead to major trouble!

"Oh? I didn't expect an angel to actually care about me! What, are you starting to worry about our church's safety too?"

Unexpectedly, my words seemed to genuinely surprise him. Walking ahead, Cysper gave a light chuckle and glanced back at me, then at Cyra, meaningfully asking in a low voice:

"What about you two then? What were you angels sneaking up here to do? Can you really claim to be guaranteed safe here?"

"Uh..."

I was instantly speechless - wasn't he asking when he already knew the reason? But then again, having lost that powerful helper Adonis, Cyra and I also lacked any real sense of safety.

At this moment, I suddenly wavered on whether we should truly proceed deeper. Even if I could push through relying on superior strength, Cyra might not be so lucky. She only had two wings - if she ended up sacrificing her life accompanying me, that...didn't seem quite right.

"Actually, I do have a reason..."

Seeing my hesitation, Cysper unexpectedly gave a rare sigh instead of pressing further, stopping to continue speaking.

"You should remember I've lived for a very long time, right? Over these thousand years, I've constantly been pondering one question - what is my true mission?"

"Huh?"

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Cyra and I were both dumbfounded hearing this. Why suddenly bring up missions? Does the Pope even have missions? But now that he mentioned it, I vaguely did recall him saying something like this before.

Although Mike accompanying us didn't explicitly indicate anything, the way he unconsciously slowed his pace showed the General of Star Glory Knights was clearly also very interested in this topic.

"The earliest memory I had upon coming to this world was simply to revive the True Church..."

Not waiting for our reactions, Cysper paused briefly before continuing to say in a low voice.

"But that goal was more or less achieved over a thousand years ago. Yet I didn't just set it aside. I always had this indistinct feeling that something was still missing, as if there was some vastly more important matter that only I could personally handle. But I was at a loss for leads until her appearance..."

"Who?"

I reflexively asked, then realized - of course he didn't mean me. But it wasn't hard to guess from the series of recent events. It must be referring to Cyra.

None of us could reach a satisfactory conclusion about the unknown secret between Cyra and Cysper. Even experts like Reed and Judith were clueless. But I recalled Reed once mentioned that Cysper's physical condition was rather special, seeming not to be a typical elemental embodiment like angels, but more akin to magic...

"When I first laid eyes on this majestic city floating in the sky, I had this strong premonition that entering would allow me to successfully recover my past and truly fulfill the mission that has confounded me for a thousand years. But..."

Gazing up at the shelter's blackened ceiling overhead, Cysper shook his head, temporarily stopping his personal reflections. He then shifted his gaze back to Cyra with a puzzled look.

"Strangely, the moment I set foot in this city, I felt the light elements within my body dissipating, to the point my disguise magic nearly failed to sustain! It only stopped after entering this shelter, barely clinging to life. So what's actually going on - was my premonition mistaken?"

"Haha...maybe, how could it be that extr-"

Cyra started sweating bullets, shifting her gaze awkwardly to the side. As for me, I could only give Cysper a sympathetic look. Who could have guessed Cyra and I had flown back and forth between Parristol and Crestvale Republic just minutes ago, nearly costing him his life?

"Lord Cysper has been suspecting if there are special array enchantments under this shelter that can gather elements to prevent dissipation. So we don't dare leave casually now!"

Mike hurriedly joined the complaint, making Cyra even more embarrassed as she waved her hands to change the subject.

"Cough...let's talk about something else! From what you're saying, it sounds like you can freely leave here? Shouldn't the shelter strictly prohibit going out?"

"Well, you two follow me!"

Bringing up this topic immediately brightened Cysper's eyes as he turned to lead us towards a corner of the shelter.

Since the underground space here was so immense, even with many ordinary civilians gathered, it still appeared quite spacious with many dark nooks unable to be illuminated.

Along the way, we passed countless resting areas of the locals huddled in groups - some chatting while cooking meals, others simply lying down to sleep. But there was no sign of any hardship from fleeing for their lives.

In fact, many faces were flushed with excited expressions, discussing the outside war situation and little rumors heard from the guards. They didn't seem to doubt at all that the resistance allied forces could lose. With the mighty Ilandra Dominion Empire and monsters as backups, plus the sky city itself, their confidence was through the roof.

However, the sudden appearance of the Crestvale Republic didn't seem to be widely known. Even the rare few whispering about it mostly dismissed it as perpetual losing war to the Empire, not worth fearing.

"These are almost all locals supporting Parristol's independence. Those opposed were already dispersed from the city days ago. It's not that I'm against them, just the deal with the monsters...sigh..."

Cysper shook his head, not wanting to hear more chatter from around. Hastening his pace to leave the crowd, he arrived at a corner wall.

"There's a small passage behind this wall. Because of the airflow through the cracks, I accidentally discovered it. The Parristol resistance group just got here too, so they definitely wouldn't know as strangers. If we want, we can secretly slip out from here!"

Instead of the metallic walls we were used to seeing, this wall at the shelter's edge was made of regular brick! Of course, the surroundings were mostly the same. Seeing this, I suddenly recalled what those two soldiers who led us here had mentioned - the underground tunnels were interconnected, possibly even one leading to the base of Chromos Tower. I immediately felt excited.

"Have you actually explored it? Where does it lead?"

"No, we only discovered it recently. Lord Cysper's condition has not been very good until now, so I had to focus on taking care of him, and I also did not dare leave this place rashly, so..."

Mike shook his head in response, then hesitated and looked towards Cysper, seeming eager to try going forward. Even if he mistakenly thought Cysper could not leave due to some special reason, now with me and Cyra, two trustworthy companions present, Mike could safely leave temporarily to investigate.

"Hmm... it's not out of the question..."

Upon hearing this, Cysper pondered for a moment, and was about to nod in agreement, when the voice of a guard shouting loudly came from the other side of the shelter.

"Everyone attention, the king is coming to inspect, immediately maintain silence!"