Despite defeating her opponents one by one, she was puzzled when the energy surges she craved didn't occur. She needed the mysterious strength and quick reflexes to end this fight. "Hey mysterious man's voice? Now would be the right time to turn me on."
Aery kept her live feed on. The battle became hope of freedom for the victims, at least for a few, while for others, it was nothing but a source of entertainment, which would end after the death of an idiotic human who had dared to go against the angels.
'Celeriots incoming,' Arey said.
"Cele, what?"
The sky's formation, acting as the gateway to outer space, transformed into a massive square. It opened the way for a spaceship, matching the size of an aircraft carrier.
They began shooting, but Aery prevented the attacks using the platform, which suffered a 10% decrease in durability from one round of attacks. The surrounding angels remained idle, waiting for the celeriots to eliminate her.
"Are they idiots? Destroying their own land," Manya said.
'The surface below exhibited a coating exceeding the strength of our gained platform by a factor of 1000.'
"Aery, how far is your medical team?"
'ETA 1 hours.'
"1 hour?" she said. "But it was 28 minutes!"
'The Revivification Land is altering its position at intervals of 19 minutes.'
"How can a land this big fly so fast?"
'Would you like a complete description of this terrain, aeronautics?'
"You are getting better. And no, thank you." Manya searched for Ira, and discovered her near the stairs to Archangel Trishark, standing with Karulsh and giving her a smile. "So, you are back to be a mean angel. Don't worry, I'll hit your head hard enough that your previous self will scream out from your soul!"
Manya's head spun around. With a gasp, she reached out for support, but her legs gave out. "Aery… what's happening?"
'You are experiencing weakness and fatigue because of significant blood loss.'
She pressed her temple. "W-Weren't SL preventing it?"
'It had delayed the symptoms to a certain extent, but it's unable to cure them.'
"Don't stress," she gasped. "You are trying your… best." SL controlled her shortness of breath, but couldn't ease the intense chest pain. Aery was fighting the angels with one ariot and platform as fast and affectively as she could. Stopping every attack aimed at Manya.
The surroundings transformed into a chaotic blur of movement and sound. She was struggling to track the movements of the battle, the rapid exchange of blows and bursts of energy overwhelming the senses. Losing her balance, she stumbled backwards; her legs entangled and fell to the ground. She lay on her back, looking up at the sky, watching Aery fight with all her might.
"Don't sad. It will heal," the mysterious male voice said.
Sooner, the long-awaited impulse surged through her, flooding her body with a stabilising force. Once again, it saved her from the edge of danger. However, alongside the relief, an intense, piercing pain centred her heart. All the visible veins in her limbs turned golden. Despite feeling uncomfortable, she remained focused on the urgent situation.
"Aery! We don't have much time! Help me get to those celeriot above!"
Aery swiftly moved an ariot closer to her, and without hesitation she climbed onto it, gripping its edges for stability. Closing in on the target, she propelled herself off the ariot and onto the celeriot. Aery used the platforms as Manya's aid to create a space between the celeriot, allowing her to swarm inside.
Manya admired the seamless chemistry between her and Aery, as Aery effortlessly summoned the platform pieces at precisely the right moments. When she hurried into more distant areas, obstacles emerged in her way, barriers deflecting Aery's strikes. Still, Manya destroyed them all with just her fist emitting golden discharge. Golden blood—golden energy—I am definitely a royal!
The angels who underestimated her as a peasant or weak mortal were fleeing for their lives, with many being expelled from the celeriot and plummeting to the ground.
'More celeriots incoming,' Aery announced.
"Let them! I will destroy each one of them!"
Aery assisted in the quick dismantling of the massive celeriot, reducing it to scrap metal in minutes. In a single, decisive move, she sent the debris hurtling downwards.
"Why are they all in sports mode?"
'Because of certain individual wielding profound and mysterious strength.'
She smirked. "Don't talk human. What about that legendary archangel? Has she made any move?"
'There is no sign or activity observed in that area.'
Guided by Aery, she entered another celeriot's control room and crashed it into a near one, creating a symphony of destruction. All the victims and animals below looked up in admiration. "Do animals have social media accounts?" Manya said.
'Yes, but not the ones currently present on this land.'
The ache in her heart grows stronger with each passing minute. However, she knew she had to overcome them in order to save Ira—who's ordering the angels to attack her. The angels hurried to rescue their land from the onslaught of debris.
"Weren't their land strong enough to handle hundreds of nuclear?"
'Because of fresh construction. Areas beyond the central region exhibit poorer endurance levels.'
***
On her way to the nearest celeriot, she came across a challenger. One who she was concerned about, one who didn't have her memories intact and who also aimed a weapon at her. Ira's weapon was unique, resembling a spear. Despite its basic metrics, the weapon's design was astonishing, with its small and adorable moving white wings and golden head.
Next moment, a gunshot hit Manya straight in the chest. It wasn't a fatal attack, but it sent shockwaves of pain coursing through her body. Grasping for breath, she stumbled backward, clutching at the wound with trembling hands as blood seeped through her fingers. "Beautiful," Manya smiled. "Can you believe, I=I have golden blood… so that's why they say a death from a true enemy is greater than the death by a close friend." Her eyes rose to meet Ira's gaze. "Still don't remember me?"
"In the annals of our memory, we hold close those with whom we have shared fleeting moments, and in my existence, I have never engaged in mortal affairs." A group of angels rushed forward and bind Manya. "All that lingers within my essence is the echo of my brother's solemn words. He extracted from me a sacred oath—a promise to exact vengeance in his name."
"Brainwashing skills of angels are scary." Ignoring the pain in her chest, Manya clutched the short sword Aery had thrown to overcome the resistance and pushed forward. "It's enough. I can't handle this bullshit anymore."
Ira charged at her with full force, but blocked by portions of the platform. "That's all you've got?" Manya said. With a smile, Ira vanished, leaving Manya feeling bewildered. Manya heard a vibrating sound, and as she turned back, a sword glowing with a white aura pierced a platform fragment and then her abdomen.
"Wasting so much strength on a mere mortal?" Karulsh said. "You were strongest among all I have encountered, but your strength was just a portion of an angel's true power."
With great force, he slammed Manya against the steps of the archangel's residence. Gasping in pain, an intense wave of agony coursed through her body, drowning her senses. She took a seat, leaning against the stairs for support. And clutched the hilt of the sword that impaled her. With each passing second, the sword's size grew, expanding before her eyes, but at a slower pace thanks to SL. Blood splattered across the SL and her body drained of energy, unable to remove the sword.
The temporary boost she got, which helped her vitals to stabilise, vanished again. Her ears were buzzing with alerts and warnings, and Aery had even predicted she'd be dead in 5 minutes. The medical team was still ages away.
"An earthly soul," Ira said. "Misguided in belief, who dared to deem an angel as a comrade, envisioning the power to undo the very world born of our Lord's decree. Never have I encountered a mortal of such folly as you."
"Bring her!" A chilling female voice sliced through the air of the battlefield. Carrying an aura of authority that seemed to freeze the land itself.
Karulsh looked at Ira. "Did she? Did the esteemed one… summoned us?" he acted like an adult, who finally got the recognition he deserves after a decade of suffering in a toxic firm. Ira nodded with a wide smile. They cleaned off the bloodstains on their clothes with feathers, without a single drop staining the feathers.
Their excitement shattered when a celeriot crashed at the battlefield's edge, revealing that the archangel hadn't summoned them, but the girl who was near death. Anger and disgust filled their face after seeing Manya. The sword inside her vanished and sooner, Karulsh created a barrier to transport her.