Chapter 31: "Old Friend" in a Foreign Land

I heard a loud "Bang!" 

The roof of this inn was really not sturdy. It cracked open a big hole when I crashed down from the sky. Luckily no one was using the second floor at this moment, so I only fell into an empty room. 

But things were not over yet. I had just climbed up from the floor enduring the pain, when I saw the hole in the roof above me flash red. I immediately felt something was wrong and quickly covered my whole body with a layer of light element.

"Hoo - !"

A huge fireball dropped down from the sky in an instant. Bathed in the fierce firelight, I was secretly glad that I reacted in time, otherwise the wings on my back would probably be gone...

"Where did this lizardman come from? He can even cultivate in both martial arts and magic!"

I was totally puzzled. I just wanted to find a comfortable inn in the city, how did I get targeted by a monster! To be honest, I really didn't expect that such a high-level monster, at least sixth-order, would be hiding in this inconspicuous inn. 

Previously, because I had folded my wings, my perception had also decreased. Later, although I spread my wings again, my attention was all on Nicola who had been taken away. If the opponent's sneak attack had not been so close, I would probably have been in big trouble!

I took out my weapon from the storage ring, and was about to fly up and rush out of the roof hole. But then I saw another fireball dropping down from the sky, forcing me back inside.

...There was no other way. Since going up was blocked, I could only find another way out! 

By now the room was already in a sea of flames. I charged out of the second floor through the window. Below in the courtyard I saw many people looking up at me.

"Hey! Quickly help put out the fire!" 

I shouted loudly at them, but of course no one had any thoughts about fighting the fire. They all swarmed outside to escape.

"The great fire in the prophecy is here! Everyone run!"

"Wait wait, it's just a few rooms on fire, no need to exaggerate it, we should still be able to save it..."

Just as I tried to stop them, the lizardman standing on the roof suddenly threw another fireball at me.

Clearly, this was a monster with intelligence. Its goal was to hold me back, and it had succeeded at least in that - 

When I dodged the fireball and flew back up into the sky, I had completely lost sight of Nicola in the vast night.

"I'll take care of you first!"

Anger welled up in my heart. I threw a "Lost Paradise Shockwave" straight at the lizardman.

"Che! Missed..."

The white light pillar descended from the sky, but the opponent reacted quickly, barely avoiding it with a sideways leap. But his speed was still a little slow, and he was grazed by the residual light wave.

Although it was just a tiny bit, under the powerful might of the "Lost Paradise Shockwave", the lizardman still suffered heavy injuries and stumbled kneeling on the roof.

"Now's my chance!"

I flew over with my sword raised to deliver a slanted strike while he was weak. It looked like he had no strength left to resist, and was about to be killed with one hit, when he suddenly raised his head and asked me a question.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"..."

What kind of plot twist is this? My long sword was at his neck, and I didn't know whether I should swing it down.

"Do we know each other well?"

I suddenly felt a little ridiculous. An angel and a monster fighting on a roof, but then suddenly trying to build rapport in the middle of it.

Although I wasn't too surprised that this lizardman was intelligent, I didn't expect him to say something like this to his enemy. 

To be honest, even though he asked me this, I really wasn't sure if I had seen him somewhere before. To me, lizardmen basically all looked the same. If there weren't any particularly distinctive markings, I generally couldn't tell them apart.

But since we could communicate, perhaps I could interrogate him about Nicola's whereabouts instead of killing him?

This made me feel a bit conflicted. Even though I knew he might just be stalling for time, I still had to take the risk and try.

"The tavern in Val City, do you still remember it?"

Upon hearing this, the lizardman immediately blurted out a key piece of information. When I heard this, I finally remembered.

"Ah! You were the one from back then..."

Although it had been a long time since I was transported to the Dark Continent, I still vaguely recalled being caught by a lizardman right outside the tavern when I first entered Val City. Luckily he was drunk then, so he mistook me and Selene for dark elves infected by the light elements...

Although a lot of things happened afterward, this lizardman was quite righteous in some ways, so he left a rather deep impression on me.

"That's right, I'm Kurnel..."

Seeing my reaction, he immediately reported his name, as expected. 

"So you're trying to build rapport and beg for mercy?"

Knowing his identity didn't make me relax my guard. My sword was still held steadily against his neck.

Just because we had some history didn't mean we could become friends now. We were still enemies at the moment!

"I guess so..."

After hesitating for a bit, Kurnel gave a vague answer! I couldn't help frowning slightly and started interrogating him.

"Can you tell me where Nicola was taken just now? If you honestly confess, I'll let you go!"

"The other angel?"

Upon hearing this, Kurnel glanced in the direction Nicola was taken and answered me very readily.

"They should be at the Sildenga Bridge in this city right now. The tunnel under the bridge is our rendezvous point."

"..."

He confessed so quickly? I almost wondered if I had misheard. He didn't seem like the type to fear death. 

Or was it because of our previous encounter, so he was giving me special treatment? But no matter how I looked at it, it seemed he was the one at a disadvantage last time?

"How can I be sure you're not lying to me? That place could be some kind of trap you guys set up!" 

I couldn't help questioning him.

"There's really no trap, this was just an accidental situation!"

Kurnel actually defended himself quite honestly.

"My companion was staying at this inn and accidentally discovered you two angels, so she specifically called me over to help abduct you... "

"Who exactly is your companion, and how did she see through our identities? I'm guessing she's not a monster but a human, right?"

I pressed for more details. If that "fake service girl" was also a monster, even if she hid it well, Nicola and I would have noticed right away.

"I'm not clear on that either..."

Whether intentionally holding back or not, Kurnel shook his head and replied.

"I was just sent to assist her infiltration into the human kingdom. I don't know her identity or purpose. Because I let you two escape last time when I was drunk, Camille reported and exposed me. This is a chance for me to make up for that mistake..."

"How can I believe everything you said is true?"

I pointed my sword at his head. My mind felt a little chaotic. If I didn't believe Kurnel, then I would really lose Nicola. I didn't even know what would happen if she fell into the monsters' hands.

But if I were to believe him, he was obviously a monster, so why was he cooperating with my interrogation so readily? His attitude was just too honest...

"You'll find out when you go to the meeting place I mentioned, right?"

Kurnel raised his head to look at me fearlessly. 

"Fine, I'll trust you this once!"

I had no choice but to make this decision! By now the fire in the inn had spread to beneath my feet. I could already hear intermittent shouts for help with the fire.

I was too anxious to save Nicola to care about the fire. Since I had promised to let Kurnel go, I didn't want to break my word. I flew up into the sky, leaving him behind.

"Where exactly is this Sildenga Bridge?" 

But after flying for a bit, I turned back to ask, since this was my first time in Makaran City and I wasn't familiar with the place.

"I'll take you there..."

To my surprise, Kurnel readily agreed to show me the way. Dragging his injured body, he slowly tried to jump down from the roof.

"Nevermind, I'll carry you there. You guide me from the sky!" 

I frowned slightly, really having no patience to wait for him to drag his feet like that. I grabbed him by the scruff and lifted him into the sky.

By now because of the big fire, more and more people had gathered around the inn. The scene of me carrying a lizardman flying away was probably seen by quite a few people.

The Sildenga Bridge stretched across a river in the northern part of the city. Following Kurnel's guidance, we soon arrived in the airspace above it.

"Put me down here..."

Kurnel suggested below me, though I was already thinking of doing just that. Monster bodies were just too heavy! Especially big guys like lizardmen. Thankfully I was a six-winged angel, with three pairs of wings to provide lift. If I still only had two or four wings, I might not have been able to carry him at all!

"I don't expect you to help me, but don't try to drag me down either!" 

I purposely dropped him off at a spot farther from the destination, casually warning him as I swiftly flew toward the Sildenga Bridge. To prevent any changes, resolving this quicker was naturally better!

But a sudden change occurred once again. I had just flown halfway when a huge black shadow suddenly rose from under the Sildenga Bridge and fled north, flying out of the city at considerable speed...

What was going on? Had she noticed my approach ahead of time? 

I was baffled. Wasn't she just a human? How could she sense me coming? From her movement skills she didn't seem like a light mage either?