After transferring energy to create two more angels, his current energy count dropped to 1.4 units of primordial energy.
He wondered how long it would take to create a complete army at this rate; he had to find a faster way. But how?
While he was lost in thought...
A faint cracking sound echoed.
First, the black cocoon. Tiny cracks began to appear on its luminous surface, spreading rapidly like a spiderweb.
The light within grew increasingly strong and dazzling.
Then, with a distinct "Crack!", the cocoon shattered into countless tiny light particles, which then dissipated into space.
From the lingering mist of light, a slender, graceful figure gradually emerged. It was Celestiel, the Space Angel.
Upon her appearance, she slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were like two cosmic black holes, deep and captivating, seemingly containing countless secrets of infinite space.
When she blinked, tiny constellations shifted within her pupils.
Celestiel's attire was a deep blue-purple evening gown, woven from luminous threads, clinging to her soft figure.
Behind her was a pair of black energy wings, shimmering with tiny light particles like sparkling stars.
Not long after, the golden cocoon also began to crack.
Golden fissures, like lightning bolts, tore through its shell, and the light within surged out powerfully, accompanied by a sound.
"Tick... Tock..."
Regular as the beat of time. With a small "Boom!", the cocoon crumbled into golden light particles and vanished.
From the remaining stream of light, an elegant, graceful silhouette appeared.
This was the second angel he created today, Chroniel, the Time Angel.
If Celestiel's appearance was like the vast, overwhelming expanse of space, Chroniel conveyed a sense of ancientness, the ebb and flow of time. With long, smooth hair, shimmering silver like rushing sands of time.
Her eyes resembled an exquisite clock, gleaming golden like clockwork gears, always reflecting the profound secrets of time. In her eyes, one could feel the ceaseless flow of time.
Chroniel's attire was a long, flowing dress the color of sand, graceful and gentle, woven from delicate threads of light.
The dress embraced her perfect figure. Her wings were golden ribbons of light, swirling like the currents of time, with tiny, ceaselessly running clocks within them.
First, Chroniel turned to look at Celestiel, who was created at the same time as her, then turned back to look at Ventair, her creator.
Celestiel also looked at Chroniel first, then at Ventair. Both knelt.
The first to speak was Celestiel, placing a hand on her chest and saying:
"My Lord, Ventair Kirizato... I am Astraiel, the Space Angel. All space is a conduit for Your command, and I pledge my existence to serve You to the ends of the universe."
Chroniel also spoke in a clear voice:
"My great Lord, Ventair Kirizato... I am Chroniel, the Time Angel. All flows of time are within Your sight, and I pledge eternal devotion to guard and obey You through all eras."
After hearing their words, Ventair was not overly embarrassed, as he had heard this four times already and was accustomed to it.
He told them to stand up, then introduced the angels behind him.
The angels introduced themselves:
"I am Seraphiel, the angel of light." She said gently.
"I am Abyzarai, the angel of darkness, also known as the fallen angel." She introduced herself coldly.
"I am Mechaniel, the angel of technology." She replied impassively.
"And I am Belloniel, the angel of war." She said seriously.
"We look forward to everyone's help in the future." x2, Chroniel and Celestiel said softly.
Towards their own kind and Ventair, their attitude would be respectful and gentle, but when facing enemies, it would likely be different.
Ventair watched with satisfaction as the angels harmonized with each other.
This was what he wanted to see in his own race: treating each other like family, with no internal conflicts.
He would stop creating angels for now, as his goal for tonight was to visit that suspicious church to investigate the strange phenomenon behind the divine statue.
After the angels had gotten acquainted, he and the six angels reappeared in the inn room.
He wanted to ensure maximum safety and certainty, so he called out all the angels he had. Seven people standing in the room didn't feel too cramped.
It was already late at night outside, the perfect time to act. Otherwise, he would have to wait until tomorrow, which would waste time.
Everyone quickly put on their cloaks and masks.
Then he looked at Celestiel and asked her to create a spatial rift outside the inn. With her current power, she could control space within a 100-meter radius around her.
She quickly stepped forward and used her hand to cut open a spatial rift large enough for one person to pass through.
Then she stood next to the rift, gesturing for Ventair to go first.
He nodded and was about to go ahead when Belloniel said from behind him:
"My Lord, please allow me to lead the way to ensure safety. You and the sisters stay behind me."
Ventair looked back at her and nodded, letting her lead, as he didn't refuse their kindness and knew how important he was to them.
Belloniel breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't refuse her. Then she went first, with Ventair behind her, flanked by Seraphiel and Abyzarai, and Mechaniel and Chroniel behind them. With his position, he was almost invulnerable; it would probably be very difficult to reach him.
Then, the six of them passed through the portal. After everyone had gone through, Celestiel went last.
100 meters from the inn.
Whoosh!
A spatial rift suddenly appeared, and from within, a cloaked figure with a winged mask on her face stepped out. It was Belloniel.
Once outside, she looked around and, seeing no danger, signaled for everyone to come out.
Then, six more cloaked figures, all dressed identically, appeared. If anyone were to see such a mysterious group appearing at night, they would associate it with some clandestine activity.
If they were discovered, the most they would face would probably be leaving the village, so Ventair wasn't too concerned.
He and everyone else then followed the direction of the church that Abyzarai had pointed out.
And according to Abyzarai's findings, the children and priests would sleep in the house behind the church, so there would be no worry of being discovered.
A short while later, they saw their target. In front of the church door, they saw two knights guarding the entrance.
From behind him, Chroniel created a yellow area from her hand to the two guards, after which they both stood motionless.
This was Chroniel's ability to control time; she could create an area where any creature weaker than or equal in strength to her would have their time stopped, but only for 5 seconds.
Then Belloniel ran forward and knocked them unconscious.
When the time-stopping ability ended, they slumped to the ground. Everyone approached the church door and found it locked.
They couldn't destroy it; doing so would alert others to an intruder. But if this door couldn't be broken, there was another way.
From behind Ventair, Mechaniel stepped forward and used one of her eyes to look inside the lock.
Then, a blue light beam shot out from her eye and scanned the inside.
After scanning, she stood up and pointed one of her fingers out, which transformed into the shape of a key.
She inserted it into the lock and turned it.
Click.
A unlocking sound rang out.
Everyone quickly went inside. Belloniel also brought the two unconscious guards in to prevent anyone passing by from discovering them lying on the ground.
She leaned the two against the wall and closed the door.
Inside the church, it now looked quite eerie, shrouded in darkness with a standing statue of a god.
This time, Mechaniel acted again. She began to use her eyes to scan the room. After a moment, she said:
"My Lord, according to my scan of this room, there is a secret passage behind the statue, just as Abyzarai had surmised."
"And I have also seen the mechanism to open that door."
Then she looked at the adjacent room.
"To open that door, we need to activate a hidden button concealed in this room."
Hearing this, everyone quickly went to the room and opened it. Inside was a library with thick and voluminous stacks of books arranged on shelves.
According to Mechaniel, the button was probably one of the books here. With so many books, it would be very difficult to find the switch, but fortunately, Ventair had Mechaniel, a technology angel with high intellect and thorough analysis; these hidden mechanisms wouldn't trouble her.
Mechaniel impassively looked around for a moment, then went to the sixth stack of books and pointed to a book.
On it was written 'Blood and Flesh', a strange title. It was written by someone named David. Ventair reached out and pulled the book from the shelf.
At that moment... Nothing happened.
He looked puzzled, wondering if it was a mistake, when Mechaniel pointed a finger into the empty space where Ventair had just taken the book. She inserted her hand, and her finger touched the wood of the shelf.
Surprisingly, her finger pressed a switch, and then suddenly...
Click-clack... Clank-clank...
Sounds like gears turning indicated that something had opened in the hall.
Ventair quickly put the book back in its place and rushed to the hall, the angels following him. In the hall, what everyone saw was the statue.
It had now moved to one side, revealing a secret passage behind it.