Chapter 89 - Reset Again

"My husband will unify the entire world, he has no time for trivial matters like you. There's no need for him to see you!"

Cyra bluntly refused without hesitation.

"But if you can hurt me, he'll surely show up immediately!"

In other words, to see the God of Light, we had to defeat her first. These villains really liked to make things difficult.

"You dare challenge all of us alone, not afraid of being beaten up?"

I raised my voice, warning her. Something was off - with the enemy forces closing in, her casual attitude made me uneasy.

"Hehe, why should I be afraid?"

Cyra suddenly laughed, slowly turning around to face us.

"You kids think you can talk big? I said I'd give you a response, so now let me show you what that means!"

"This..."

"Sss—"

"Damn it!"

"Huh?"

Seeing the situation, all of us were dumbfounded, uttering strange sounds.

But it wasn't her words that shocked us, it was...her face!

"Hehe, cross-dressing? I never expected the legendary Cyra to look like this, how thrilling!"

Judith pushed up her glasses, looking quite excited.

Something's wrong with you!

"Pope...Cysper? How can it be, why are you here too?"

Mike and Ron exclaimed, pointing at Cyra in disbelief. But seeing her wings, they quickly realized their mistake.

"No, you can't be him!"

They were right - the Cyra in front of us had Cyrus's face! It felt like a herd of wild beasts were stampeding through our minds.

"You know her?" 

Adrian quietly asked me, furrowing his brow.

"Looks familiar, but so unsightly."

After the initial shock, we could still make out some clues. At least the figure was female, so it was likely just the face that resembled him, the gender still...probably female.

"She looks just like the True Church's pope!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. After all this anticipation, the Saint Angel turned out to be this...I needed to wash my eyes with water magic, at last putting that skill to use!

"Hmph! One last chance - if you're willing to submit, I'll reluctantly let my husband take the women as concubines, and give the men Apostles as rewards!"

To our surprise, Cyra was even trying to persuade us at this point. If I hadn't seen her face, I might have thought Beluto was a lecher, but now, seeing Cyra, I could only say "Respect, respect" to Beluto - this was on a whole other level of weirdness!

"Spare the nonsense, I'll take care of you, evil creature!"

Judith pulled out a scroll, summoning the stone golem in front of her.

"So you're still not giving up, huh? All your efforts are futile in the end!"

Seeing us all in battle stances, Cyra sneered, raising a finger and pointing it at us.

"What's this?"

I quickly looked up at the sky. A tremendous pressure was bearing down, so I hurriedly activated "Sanctuary of Light" to protect the others.

"Everyone, get in here quick!"

As soon as I spoke, a blinding white light rained down from the heavens. Very similar to "Judgment of Light", but the area of effect was just a circle around us, and the power was even stronger, though the duration was shorter. If I hadn't noticed in time to set up the defense, everyone except me would have been done for, maybe even Ron.

"Oh? How interesting, to emerge unscathed. This shield is quite remarkable!"

Cyra didn't seem surprised, almost as if she had anticipated it. She casually waved her finger to the side.

"Then how about trying this?"

Suddenly, dozens of swords made of solidified light elements appeared in the air around us, all pointed at each of us.

"Magic can't block these!"

I was helpless against this technique, seeing the swords homing in on us. The only thing I could do was dodge around.

How infuriating! What a terrifying ability!

The swords didn't even attack all at once - they divided into groups, locking onto one target at a time and striking in succession, giving us no time to react.

Unable to hold out long, the lowest-ranked Judith was the first to fall, killed. I also got distracted for a moment and was swiftly impaled in the abdomen, collapsing to the ground.

Ugh...

Before losing consciousness, I glimpsed only Mike breaking out of the "sword array" and charging towards Cyra, but he was quickly blown away by a light element shockwave.

"Wiped out?"

Seeing the swords piercing me, I finally understood why Cyra was so confident taking us all on alone.

Though, if given another chance, perhaps I could dodge those swords. 

I hoped so, because who knows what other monstrous techniques she had up her sleeve...

When I came to, I was back at the entrance of the village again.

"So it's a reset?"

I wasn't surprised anymore. I knew this would happen.

Even though it was only the second time, I already felt rather weary. It was like playing a long game, only to get thrown back to the beginning without the ability to save.

Knowing what was about to happen next, I calmly walked into the village like before.

The woman coming out of the house, the children playing in the central square - everything was exactly the same as last time. What was coming next would be...

"Feliciana?"

Vivianne, approaching from the other side of the square, paused and then shook her head.

"Oh no, sorry...you must be one of the villagers. You look a lot like a friend of mine. Do you know where we are?"

"..."

Seeing Vivianne's slightly apologetic expression, I suddenly felt resigned. The words I had wanted to speak didn't come out.

In the previous cycle, we had found Vivianne's "body" in a yard after leaving the house. She hadn't managed to survive the "Judgment of Light", left in a vegetative state like Mike. So we had no choice but to leave her behind.

But this time, I couldn't let that happen again.

"Of course!"

With that in mind, I quickly put on a smile.

"You don't look like you're from around here. This place is called Newbie Village, on Sailful Island. Do you have any other questions?"

"What strange names...how did I end up on an island? I don't see the sea anywhere..."

Vivianne muttered under her breath, but thankfully didn't dwell on it, continuing to ask.

"Do you know how I can get to the coast and leave this island? I want to go to the Eldoria Continent."

"Lucky you, you asked the right person!"

I nodded with a smile, pointing in a direction.

"My friend over there runs a boat business, you can go talk to him."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

Hearing that, she gratefully bowed to me, then hurried towards the house I had pointed out.

That, of course, was Adrian's two-story "refuge" specifically prepared to withstand the "Judgment of Light". We had already agreed that if Vivianne came, he would be the one to explain the situation to her. If she still didn't believe, he could use forceful means to keep her in the house, ensuring she survived the "Judgment".

With the many "miracles" she'd witness later, even Vivianne's skepticism would have to accept our true identities.

As for why I didn't go with her, it was mainly because I had to wait here for the other two.

"Lady Feliciana? I didn't expect you to be here in the cave ahead of us."

Just as expected, the two Star Glory knights soon spotted my spread wings and approached me.

"It's a long story, you'd better be prepared..."

Dealing with these two was much easier than Vivianne. As long as I avoided the potentially deadly paths in the upcoming "plot", I could gather all our forces and charge straight up the mountain.

"You got here so fast?"

However, when we stood at the door of the two-story house, Adrian looked at Mike and Ron behind me, his expression suddenly changing.

"Those three Apostles who arrived first in the village must be killed. Otherwise, Beluto and Cyra won't notice us, and the Apostles on the mountain top won't be lured down. We have no chance of breaking through the defenses to see Cyra with just us!"

"Ah..."

I was dumbfounded. To prevent potential losses, I had simply brought the two Star Glory knights to the "refuge", not realizing it was crucial for the upcoming battle.

"From now on, you must all submit to my master's might and accept his rule, or face merciless suppression!"

The shouts of the four-winged Apostles in the sky had already begun.

"No time left, Mike! Come with me, and watch out for the light beam from that four-winged Apostle!"

Adrian had no choice but to rush out of the house towards the three Apostles.

"Huh, how do you know my name?"

Though I had already explained on the way, Mike still looked surprised that the unfamiliar Adrian addressed him by name. But with my continued prompting, he hesitated briefly before agreeing.

"...Okay!"

After all, the appearance of those three Apostles further confirmed my previous statements.

As for me and Ron, we didn't need to join the fray. Through the open door, I saw Vivianne tied up on the floor, feeling a bit exasperated.

This was a problem that needed treatment! Her psychological issues were way too severe.