Michelle's unusually "polite" attitude felt strange to me. Normally, wouldn't she start swinging the moment she disagreed with someone? Since when did she become so civilized—actually trying diplomacy before resorting to force?
"Lady Elara is an important guest of our Astralrealm Kingdom. If you have something urgent, you can tell me directly. I can relay it to her on your behalf."
Although the Gryphon Knights' commander had never seen Michelle in person, he had surely heard of her reputation and recognized the distinctive traits. He knew exactly what kind of opponent he was facing. But duty was duty—no matter how terrifying the enemy, he could only brace himself and hold his ground.
"In that case, we'll take her by force!"
Seeing that the Astralrealm Kingdom still refused to yield, Michelle clearly didn't want to waste words. She raised an arm, about to order the robot soldiers behind her to attack.
"Wait!"
At the critical moment, just as I thought a battle would erupt, Elara suddenly flew out of the royal castle with more than a dozen attendant angels and stopped the confrontation in time.
"Flame God—we haven't seen each other in quite some time." Elara's voice was cold. "Didn't you just shout that you had to find me? So what is it for? Wasn't the lesson you learned in Edenmere last time painful enough? You want to experience it again?"
Michelle had once led monsters to invade Edenmere—an old score that still hadn't been settled. Naturally, Elara had no reason to show her any kindness. There was even an unmistakable edge of mockery in her words.
"A lesson? What a joke." Michelle gave a cold laugh and flatly denied Elara's claim. "I've never been to your so-called Edenmere. Stop spouting nonsense."
Then, without hesitation, she summoned the Sword of Hephaestus, pointed it straight at Elara, and asked again:
"So—you're Elara, then?"
"…Huh?"
Her reaction caught everyone off guard. Even I—watching from a distance—froze for a second, almost wondering if I'd mistaken her identity.
"Yes. Of course I'm Elara." Elara answered crisply, seemingly convinced Michelle was just refusing to admit her past defeat. "Unlike you, I don't deny what I've—"
Before she could finish, Michelle attacked without warning, lunging at her with weapon raised.
"Then hand over your life!"
At the same time, the robot legion that had been lined up behind Michelle—silent until now—seemed to receive an instant target directive. Like a lightning strike, they surged forward and launched an attack on all the angels present.
The Gryphon Knights, despite being the local hosts of the Astralrealm Kingdom, were completely ignored. Not a single blow was directed at the human side.
"Move in—support them!"
The Gryphon Knights' commander quickly realized the enemy's true target was the angel faction alone. He immediately ordered his troops into the fight.
Fortunately, every angel accompanying Elara was a high-ranking angel with at least six wings. Even caught off guard, they didn't panic. With human support, they managed to block the initial ferocity of the assault.
But the robots were simply too many. Almost every unit possessed strength above Tier Six. The Gryphon Knights had numbers, but in a battle at this level, they were barely more than cannon fodder. Before long, they began to falter—one after another, riders and mounts were knocked out of the sky, crashing into the lake below.
The angels weren't faring much better. While a few eight-winged angels could barely stabilize the front, they were also the primary targets of the robot legion—and naturally bore the greatest pressure.
And don't forget: those enemies were made entirely of metal—almost impervious to blades and arrows. They relied purely on physical combat and didn't cast magic at all. The angels' proud energy defenses were nearly useless here. If it dragged on, any isolated, weaker six-winged angel would inevitably be beaten down and killed.
"Lost Paradise Scatter Wave!"
There was no way I could stand by and let the situation worsen. In an instant, dozens of thin blue beams dropped from the sky. At least half the robots had their heads and bodies pierced through—losing power and tumbling out of the air.
But the other half either dodged in time, or weren't struck in vital areas. The Scatter Wave only punched through noncritical parts. For robots that felt no pain, that hardly mattered.
"Go help Lady Elara!"
Just as I was about to cast another wave to clear the field, someone in the angel ranks shouted the reminder.
I scanned the area—and only then noticed: as the leaders of both sides, they'd already moved away. Elara and Michelle were fighting fiercely near the angel statue atop the highest point of the royal castle.
No question—Elara's strength couldn't compare to Michelle's twelve-wing might. Yet before I even arrived, someone had already forced their way into that duel—
Cyrae.
"I won't let you succeed again! I won't let the tragedy I witnessed repeat itself in this world!"
Having personally watched Elara die before her eyes, Cyrae could never stand aside. The moment she saw Elara get hurt from afar, she rushed forward without hesitation and placed herself between Elara and Michelle.
"What are you doing? She's the legendary Fire Element Angel! Even if you inherited part of my memories, you only have six wings—"
It was obvious that after their meeting in the office, Elara already had a basic understanding of Cyrae's situation. She tried to pull Cyrae back—but Michelle's next assault was already crashing in, leaving no time. Forced by circumstances, Elara raised her weapon and defended together with Cyrae.
Cyrae's rank was indeed far lower, but her experience and combat technique were inherited from another Elara. In the chaos, she didn't drag Elara down at all. In fact, with their coordinated rhythm, the two of them actually held their ground against Michelle—trading blows back and forth.
"Who are you?" Michelle finally snapped, staring at Cyrae. "Why do you look exactly like me—and you're a six-winged angel?!"
Only now did Michelle truly notice how similar Cyrae's appearance was to her own. Shocked, she seemed to recall something—her force faltered slightly, unintentionally giving Elara and Cyrae the perfect opening to counterattack.
A sharp rip sounded.
The Flame God's sleeve was sliced open. Dark-red blood seeped out and began to drip. It was the first time I had ever seen Michelle wounded in direct combat.
"Bastards! Enough—I don't care anymore!" Pain jolted her temper into rage. She kicked back and retreated, flying backward dozens of meters. A massive, dazzling fireball rapidly condensed in her palm.
"Not good—get out of the way!"
Others might not have understood right away, but I could see at a glance: this wasn't ordinary fire magic. The energy packed inside was on an entirely different level. Even if there were ten Elaras here, they might not be able to withstand it.
"Hahahaha—finally, the mission can be completed!"
In my memory, if that fireball hit, it would flatten an entire hill.
Just as I reached Elara and Cyrae and placed myself in front of them, Michelle—hovering above—hurled the fireball down at us with a crazed delight.
And behind us… was the entire city of Norvale.
If it were anyone else, maybe there would've been room to gamble. But facing a Fire Angel's full-force strike, even I couldn't be completely sure. There was no time left to think of other options. I could only grit my teeth, thrust out my arm to block, and try to convert that savage incoming energy into another form of existence.
"…Why? How is this possible?" Michelle stared in disbelief as the fireball vanished into nothing. "Who are you? How could you stop that so easily?!"
The consecutive shocks seemed to crack her certainty.
"You don't recognize me?" I asked, suddenly feeling I understood. "So you aren't Michelle—or you've lost your memory?"
That blow hadn't been anywhere near as terrifying as it should've been. Compared to the Michelle I fought in Sefer, this one's power was separated by an unthinkable gulf.
More precisely: this Michelle possessed the physical qualities of a twelve-winged angel, but she clearly hadn't truly mastered the Fire Angel's most crucial energy authority. The fireball looked impressive, but the caster was like a newborn infant—holding power she didn't know how to use. She was unleashing less than ten percent of what she should've been capable of.
"Impossible! You're saying I'm not Michelle?" Her voice shook. "I am Michelle… then why do you feel familiar? What is going on? Is this some kind of conspiracy?"
Her conviction wavered, replaced by confusion. But unable to make sense of it, she pinned the blame on me. Without another word, she gripped the Sword of Hephaestus and charged at me again, refusing to believe.
"Yes—this must be your conspiracy. I won't fall for it!"
"You're not my opponent anymore."
Whatever had happened to Michelle after Sefer, it clearly wasn't simple. But my strength was no longer what it used to be either.
I only needed to move a finger.
Several beams of Lost Paradise Scatter Wave dropped from above—instantly disabling the arm that held her sword.