The scene returned to the present.
"Asia! Asia!"
In her haze, Asia seemed to hear someone calling her name, so she tried to open her eyes and see what had happened.
To her surprise, although she could feel her body, she could not muster even the slightest bit of strength. She could not even open her eyes.
What happened?
Asia remembered that she had been praying in Heaven... and that a beautiful angel had been beside her!
But when had...
Such darkness appeared before her?
No, perhaps it isn't darkness. Maybe my eyes are simply closed?
Unable to understand what was happening, Asia immediately began to panic. She had never encountered anything like this before. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not exert any strength.
"Asia!"
"Hurry and wake up, Asia!"
The voices beside her ears grew louder, and sensation gradually returned to her body. It seemed someone was patting her.
Move! Hurry!
Asia gathered every ounce of strength in her body and desperately tried to open her eyes. Only when a beam of light entered her vision did she finally awaken.
"Everyone..."
Although she had successfully woken up, Asia had already exhausted all her strength. She was utterly spent, and even moving a finger was difficult.
"Thank goodness, Asia! You're finally awake!"
The girl with twin tails clutched Asia's hand as tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
"We thought something had happened to you! No matter how much we called, you wouldn't wake up. I'm so glad you're awake now!"
"What exactly happened just now?"
As she listened to the girl, Asia's pupils slowly contracted. She seemed to understand what had happened...
She had fallen asleep, and so deeply that her companions had been unable to wake her no matter how much they called.
Could everything that happened just now have been a dream?
As a nun of the Church, Asia was naturally an honest and well-behaved girl. Aside from matters she knew nothing about, she had practically never lied.
However, had her encounter with the angel truly happened, or had it been false? Asia had no way to tell.
If it had been real, she would certainly tell her companions what had happened. She had successfully been guided into Heaven and met a legendary angel.
But...
What if everything that had happened had merely been a dream?
Then telling everyone about it would be lying!
Lying was wrong. That was what the elderly nuns at the Church had always taught her.
And so, Asia was now confused. Should she tell everyone about it or not?
While Asia was struggling with her decision, an unusual movement from somewhere on her body successfully caught her attention.
Her chest!
There seemed to be a strange fluctuation coming from her chest.
And it felt rather warm...
Although she desperately wanted to see what it was, casually undressing in front of so many people was definitely not a good idea. Everyone would surely mistake her for a witch!
"I'm sorry, everyone."
Although Asia temporarily could not move her body, her face revealed an apologetic expression.
"I don't really understand what happened just now either. Could I tell everyone after I've had time to think it through?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood that something must have happened to Asia. Otherwise, such a kind girl would never have acted so guarded.
"Asia, did a demon who can manipulate dreams do something to you?"
"Damn demon! We absolutely won't let you get away with this!"
After all, this was demon territory. It would not have been strange at all to encounter demons with bizarre and unusual abilities!
"Um..."
Seeing everyone filled with righteous indignation, Asia did not know what to do. If this continued, she had the feeling that matters would develop in a very bad direction.
'Asia!'
Yet at that moment, a voice reached Asia's ears, causing her eyes to light up.
Asia would never forget that familiar voice!
There was no doubt about it. It belonged to the angel named Eli whom she had met when she went to Heaven!
As Asia listened to Eli's words in her mind, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Everyone!"
At last, beneath everyone's uneasy gazes, Asia told them everything she had experienced earlier.
Although her explanation was not particularly detailed, it was enough for her companions to understand what had happened.
"No way! You were actually summoned by an angel?"
"As expected of a saintess, Asia!"
"I'm so jealous! It would be wonderful if I could be guided into Heaven too! I really want to see with my own eyes just how beautiful Heaven is..."
After hearing about Asia's experience, no one doubted her much. Asia was not the kind of child who enjoyed lying, and many people had already vouched for her character.
Even so, they still showered Asia with envy.
After all, that was Heaven!
The Lord's dwelling, a paradise beyond the mortal world!
They knew better than anyone what kind of people were qualified to enter Heaven...
Yet Asia, who was not even an adult, had already received such treatment.
Did that mean Asia already possessed status comparable to the Pope?
For a moment, everyone surrounding Asia looked at her with an indescribable hint of reverence.
Even the priest leading the group nearby had a face filled with gratification, as though he no longer held the slightest concern for the Church's future.
After all, someone who had already qualified to set foot in Heaven at such a young age was bound to have limitless prospects.
Unlike the others, however, something seemed hidden in the leader's eyes... Perhaps he had already known that Asia would be guided into Heaven?
Thinking about it that way, it was not particularly strange.
Before Metatron guided Asia there, she had already summoned many devout believers.
Moreover, the timeline of this world was already in the modern era. Although smartphones did not yet exist, basic cell phones and similar mobile communication devices certainly did.
With a single phone call, information could easily travel great distances. Many senior members of the Church had probably already learned that an angel was summoning humans.
It had been easy to obtain an answer from the believers who had been summoned. The Lord currently needed His followers to pray devoutly.
Without another word, the Church gathered a large group of nuns and had them pray inside the cathedral.
As the leader of this exorcism team, the unnamed priest naturally knew about it. They simply happened to be in the middle of a mission. Otherwise, they certainly would have been summoned back directly.
He merely had not expected Asia to be chosen so quickly.
"As expected of the Lord! Even under these circumstances, He can still see through the enemy's plans in advance!"
...
"Now that everyone is present, we won't waste any more time."
The priest extended a finger and pointed toward a village not far away.
"Do you see it? That is our destination and the final target of our mission. Once we clean that place out as well, this operation will be complete."
"Everyone, let those demons and fallen angels witness our strength!"
Upon hearing the priest's words, several people immediately drew their weapons and fixed their gazes on the village below.
Some of their weapons were even shining!
A rather aloof blue-haired girl also drew her sword, but hers was completely different from everyone else's.
Although it was a two-handed sword, it was only slightly larger than an ordinary blade, not as enormous as the greatswords found in certain games.
At the very least, it looked quite suitable for the girl.
The surrounding exorcists, however, did not see it that way at all.
Over this period, they had come to understand the girl quite well. They knew her name and personality, so naturally, they also knew exactly what sword she held!
Although her sword was a holy sword of the Church just like theirs, there were still differences in quality between holy swords.
That brilliant blue holy sword could not be mistaken. Its name was Durandal!
During this time, they had all witnessed Durandal's might. Using it against weak demons was nothing short of a massacre. Some stray demons could not even withstand a single strike from her!
The difference did not lie solely in their swords. There was also a gap in strength between them and this swordswoman.
"There's no time to waste. Let's move out!"
At the leader's command, the group began walking toward the distant village.
However, the closer they came, the more they sensed that something was wrong. Only when they truly entered the village did they realize what had happened.
They were wrong. They had been wrong.
Completely and utterly wrong!
Because the energies were too similar, the Church could not distinguish their sources within a short period unless they experienced them at close range like this.
Although the aura was filled with corruption, it was definitely not something a demon could possess. Unless something unexpected had happened...
"Fallen angels! And they seem to be fairly high-ranking ones!"
"Fallen angel territory is very far from here, isn't it? Why would they come all the way here?"
There was no longer any point in considering those questions. Not only had they discovered traces of the fallen angels, but the fallen angels had also discovered them.
Before the eyes of the Church's ten-member group, several figures gradually emerged from the darkness.
"You are... priests?"
The members of the Church stared at their clothing in surprise. There was no mistake. They were definitely dressed as members of the Church!
However, wearing the Church's clothing did not mean they truly belonged to the Church. The same applied to exorcists.
"They're stray exorcists!"
"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
Since their opponents were not demons, methods specifically designed to counter demons would have no effect.
Thus, everyone shifted formation and carefully maintained their distance from the enemy.
"Fallen ones, our Lord will never forgive you!"
Xenovia gripped her sword with both hands as an unimaginable torrent of light erupted from the holy sword Durandal!
Clearly, she intended to unleash something devastating!
However, how could her opponents simply stand there and watch her gather power?
Upon seeing the enormous power accumulating around Xenovia, the stray exorcists launched their attacks at her.
Had Xenovia been alone, she naturally could not have withstood so many attacks. But one must not forget that they were a team!
Clang!
The girl with twin tails stepped in front of Xenovia and blocked the attacks with her sword, shouting, "Leave stopping them to us, Xenovia! We'll leave the decisive blow to you!"
"Leave it to me!"
"Everyone, maintain formation!"
At that moment, everyone sprang into action. The swordsmen rushed forward and engaged the stray exorcists in close combat, while the magic warriors and spellcasters provided support from behind.
This both kept the stray exorcists suppressed and bought time for their companions.
Their coordination was so exceptional that the stray exorcists had no way to break through their attacks.
As time passed, more and more stray exorcists fell to the ground. In contrast, the Church had not lost a single person.
After all, Asia was among them, a gifted healer capable of mending even severe wounds within a short period. They had no need to worry about anyone's life being in danger.
Even so, the expressions of the Church's members did not improve. They knew these stray exorcists were nothing more than small fry. The true enemy was still hiding nearby!
"Argh! Damn hounds of the Church!"
Inside a dark room within the church, several fallen angels watched a magical projection displaying the battle above.
They had never expected that despite gathering so many stray exorcists, they would still fail to defeat even ten people...
Forget defeating them. After all that fighting, those people were not even injured!
As for the fallen angels themselves...
Three had two wings, and one had four. They would have had no trouble dealing with ordinary Church exorcists, but their opponents possessed holy swords!
Even if they attacked together, how much of a threat could they truly pose to those holy sword wielders?
More importantly, that was not why they had come here!
"We only came here to investigate Heaven. Why did the Church suddenly dispatch so many people?"
"Could they have discovered us that far in advance?"
"What should we do? They already know we're here. Even if we remain hidden, they'll definitely find us."
"Why don't we charge out and fight them to the death?"
"No. Even if we do, our chances of surviving are extremely low..."
For a time, the four fallen angels all fell silent, and the surrounding atmosphere became still. Until...
Beep! Beep!
Something began to ring. The four-winged fallen angel immediately pulled a communication device from his bag.
He had no idea what the call concerned until he answered it. The instant the connection went through, astonishment overtook his expression, followed by wild delight.
"We're saved! We're saved!"
An important fallen angel was about to arrive here!
When that happened, those hounds of the Church would be annihilated!
Unless an archangel personally intervened, no one would be able to stop them!