"It was the Sacred Gear within your body. Because of a certain special energy, it unexpectedly resonated with this place, which is why you appeared here."
"Welcome to Heaven, Miss Asia!"
The blonde woman named Eli lightly lifted the hem of her skirt and gave Asia a curtsy.
"This should be the correct way to do it, right?"
"Sorry. I only woke up recently, so I'm not very familiar with human etiquette."
Only then did Asia notice that although Eli's movements were perfectly proper, her face was filled with confusion, as though she did not understand why she was doing it.
"H-Hea... Heaven?"
Seemingly having caught a particular word in Eli's speech, Asia's voice immediately became tense.
What kind of place was Heaven?
Any believer who asked such a question in the Church would undoubtedly receive a thorough lecture!
Moreover, just as Eli had said earlier, reaching Heaven was something every member of the Church dreamed of.
"Since this is Heaven, then you... you are...?"
Asia looked at Eli nervously, even retreating several steps as her tone became respectful.
Asia knew all too well what kind of place Heaven was. It was the dwelling place of God!
And if this woman was here to receive a nun... then the identity of the being before her was obvious!
"I'm an angel!"
Eli revealed her identity with a smile. Although Asia was somewhat flustered, she was not particularly surprised.
Other than an angel, who else could receive her in Heaven? Surely the Lord Himself would not personally come to welcome her.
Asia knew her place. Having an ordinary angel come to receive her was already the greatest blessing imaginable.
"Praise be to You, my Lord!"
Before she knew it, Asia had begun praying again, and a familiar energy emerged from her body.
"Yes, yes! This is exactly what we need right now!"
The instant Eli saw the energy spreading from Asia's body, she recognized it.
There was no mistake. This was the power of faith!
The Lord's transformation had reached a critical stage and required an enormous amount of faith, while the nun named Asia could produce exceptionally pure faith!
That was also why Asia had been drawn into Heaven.
"Asia, keep praying just like that!"
Eli stepped around Asia and came up behind her, wrapping her arms around the girl from behind. As she leaned in, the full, gentle weight of her ample chest settled against Asia's back, and she rested her head against Asia's neck as well.
Feeling the soft pressure behind her along with the breath brushing past her ear, Asia became completely flustered, and her face turned bright red.
"Lady Eli... you're too close! You're really too close!"
"What does it matter? Aren't we both women?"
Eli paid no attention.
As a nun of the Church, Asia had been taught from childhood to preserve her purity. Forget the opposite sex, she had rarely even interacted physically with other women.
And now...
She was being hugged from behind by an angel?
"So warm..."
Having grown up without a family and regarded the Church as her home, Asia experienced such warmth for the first time.
It did not merely warm her body. It felt as though even her soul was being purified!
"Oh? Are you enjoying this, Asia?"
"An angel's embrace is very warm, isn't it?"
"Would you like to keep feeling it? Then offer up your prayers!"
As Eli spoke, she tightened her arms around Asia's waist slightly, making Asia's face grow even redder.
It was not because of pain. Rather, the two soft mounds pressing against her back were simply far too noticeable!
Truthfully, this method of temptation was rather similar to something a devil might do, yet the one doing it was an angel... It was difficult to know what to say.
However, the innocent Asia naturally understood none of that, especially since the other party was an angel...
"Yes! I will pray to the Lord!"
The poor nun had been thoroughly won over so quickly...
Although Lady Eli was standing extremely close to her, Asia did not find it unpleasant at all...
What a joke. How could a nun possibly dislike physical contact with an angel?
More than that, Asia even found the sensation intoxicating and wished she could remain here forever...
"No! I must pray to God!"
Regardless of what had happened before, the moment prayer began, everything became sacred.
"O Lord..."
The instant Asia recited the opening words of her prayer, she recovered from that strange state, and a faint white light even began shimmering around her body...
Eli stared at Asia in silence for a long time.
"That's rather impressive..."
Others might not have understood what had just happened, but Eli herself certainly did.
Charm!
While embracing Asia, Eli had used the power known as charm.
To help the Lord complete His transformation sooner, she needed Asia to pray with complete devotion, so she had used a small amount of charm.
What she had not expected was that Asia would forcibly break free from the charmed state through prayer...
Although Eli had not used much power, the fact that a mere human could accomplish such a feat was enough to make her see Asia in a new light.
"My understanding of humans is still far too narrow..."
"Learning from information alone clearly has its limitations. I need practical experience before I can truly understand."
"Humans really are fascinating!"
"As an apology, let me give you something, Asia."
Perhaps because her interest in humans had been awakened, Eli's gaze toward Asia softened considerably.
Of course, the main reason was still that the nun before her played an extremely important role for the Lord.
As she watched the blonde nun praying with her eyes closed, Eli gradually closed her own eyes. The same power flowing from Asia began gathering toward the highest point of Heaven...
At the same time, a vast expanse of white suddenly spread from Eli's back...
No, those were wings!
Every one of them was covered in pure white feathers. Upon careful counting, there were an astonishing thirty-six wings in total!
What did that signify?
An ordinary angel possessed only two wings, while a Power had four. Dominions, Thrones, and Cherubim each possessed eight wings.
Only the highest-ranking Seraphim possessed the greatest number of wings—twelve!
Yet this angel who called herself Eli possessed three times as many wings as a Seraph!
The strength of Heaven's angels was determined by the number of wings they possessed. Did that mean Eli was more than three times as powerful as Michael and the others?
No one knew the answer. Ever since her birth, Eli had never taken so much as half a step outside Heaven. Other than the Lord, only Asia, who stood before her now, had ever seen her...
"May You awaken soon, my Lord!"
In a certain sense, the power of faith emanating from Eli was even more overwhelming than that of the devout nun Asia!