At the Church of Revelation army camp—
"Why aren't we pursuing them?"
A girl with orange hair braided into twin plaits, wearing a knight's armored skirt, stormed toward Rvy, demanding an answer.
"Zofia, do you have any objections to my decision?" Rvy looked up, her gaze calm as she met the young girl's eyes.
The war between the Church of Revelation and the Crusader Church had drawn many people opposed to the latter to join their cause. Zofia was one of them.
"Yes! We've had several opportunities to annihilate them completely—to end this war!" Zofia exclaimed angrily. "But you refused every single time!"
Once or twice, she could dismiss it as caution. But after it kept happening, she realized something was off—Rvy was deliberately prolonging the war.
She knew the angelic soldiers didn't need food or supplies, so a prolonged battle favored them. That part made sense.
But purposely dragging things out when victory was within reach—that she couldn't understand.
"..."
Rvy stayed silent. To outsiders, she appeared to be the one commanding all of the Church of Revelation's forces, but in truth, some of the angels' soldiers acted entirely on their own.
Before the campaign began, Incarnation had told her: Just pretend to be commanding. That will be enough.
At the start of each battle, Rvy could still issue orders to the angelic soldiers—but once combat began, they entered automatic mode, fighting on their own.
Chaos ensued.
When it came to military capability, Zofia was far superior.
She had managed to unite the scattered volunteers into an organized, effective fighting force—her leadership was exceptional.
"What exactly are you thinking?" Zofia pressed, staring hard at Rvy.
She had once been a commoner oppressed by nobles and the Church, born with far greater strength than ordinary people—and branded a witch because of it.
Just before she was to be burned at the stake, she had seen a purple-haired girl who looked like an angel. That angel had granted her power, and she survived the flames.
When she later heard that the Church of Revelation had descended with two angels, one of whom had purple hair, she immediately joined their army to fight against the Crusader Church.
What do you think I'm thinking? Rvy sighed, rubbing her temples. The war wasn't going the way she wanted at all.
The Crusader Alliance's supply lines were clearly strained.
They had begun forcibly requisitioning goods from nearby towns and villages—in plain terms, robbery and plunder.
This left the commoners unable to survive, and more and more of them began joining the Church of Revelation's army.
Yet the Church of Revelation's logistics seemed limitless.
The more recruits they took in, the more food, weapons, and armor arrived—almost as if it had all been planned in advance.
Rvy had never once requested additional provisions from Incarnation.
Whoever had planned all this had to know everything happening on the battlefield—and even control the angelic soldiers.
Incarnation might have been capable of that.
But Rvy had the feeling it wasn't her—it was the angel she spoke of.
Perhaps the Crusader Alliance's raids on the nearby villages were part of that angel's design.
Driving the desperate commoners into the arms of the Church of Revelation—toppling both the Crusader Church and the kingdoms behind it.
It was only a theory.
But so far, the flood of new commoner recruits had made little real difference to their combat strength—if anything, it had slowed them down.
At that moment, Cain hurried over, his expression excited. "Lady Rvy, she's here! She's come!"
"Bishop Incarnation?" Rvy frowned. "Why are you so excited? It's not like I haven't seen her before."
"N-no, not Bishop Incarnation—a true Angel!" Cain stammered.
"An angel?" Rvy froze. She knew that two angels had descended upon the Church of Revelation, but she hadn't expected one to visit in person.
The moment she heard the news, Zofia spun around and ran outside.
And there, she immediately saw the purple-haired girl floating in midair.
It really was her.
"Move aside, make way!"
Pushing through the crowd of onlookers, Zofia came to the front.
"Meeting again so soon, my adorable servant."
Sirin descended slowly, lowering her altitude as she approached Zofia, reaching out to cup the girl's cheeks gently in both hands.
Before descending into this world, Sirin had sought out girls condemned as witches—those about to be burned at the stake—and granted them Honkai energy.
Zofia was one of them.
She had thought the girl had perished in the flames.
To her surprise, she was still alive.
"Angel, did you come here for me?" Zofia asked, her eyes bright with joy.
"Yes."
As Sirin gazed at her, she couldn't help but notice something familiar in Zofia's eyes—they resembled Bella's.
Seeing the sorrow flicker in Sirin's expression, Zofia panicked a little and asked hurriedly, "Angel, did I do something to upset you?"
"No," Sirin shook her head gently. "I'm just happy you're still alive."
She looked Zofia up and down, taking in her valiant figure. Because of the short time, the limited Honkai energy, and the uncertainty of how well a human body could withstand it, Sirin had given Zofia only a very small amount.
Just that tiny bit had been enough for her to survive the flames.
Her adaptability to Honkai energy must be incredibly high.
"Your name is Zofia, right? I'm Sirin."
Sirin smiled warmly and patted the girl's head.
"Yes, Lady Sirin."
Zofia gazed back at her—the little angel who had saved her life.
Rvy approached along the path as others stepped aside.
"Angel, I am Rvy, captain of the Revelation Knights."
Sirin's golden eyes paused on Rvy for a moment, then she gave a small nod.
She looked briefly at the soldiers around her but said nothing more. Taking Zofia's hand, she led her away.
If she had said something like, "Brave warriors, fight for our Lord and you shall enter Heaven," it would have greatly boosted morale.
"..."
Rvy watched Sirin's departing figure thoughtfully. This angel seemed indifferent toward everyone else.
So Zofia had met an angel long before Incarnation did?
That explained why her power far surpassed the others.
The power of an angel.
"I didn't see any angel wings!" someone whispered.
"So Lady Zofia is that strong because she and Bishop Incarnation were both blessed by an angel?"
"I saw her once—she swung her sword and took off the heads of several men at once!"
...
Voices filled the air with gossip until Rvy turned and said sternly, "Don't gather here! Disperse!"
The crowd quickly scattered.
In a secluded area, Sirin injected her own Honkai energy into Zofia's body.
Having one's flesh infused with Honkai energy was normally agonizing—but Kiana Kaslana had refined the process.
It temporarily altered the recipient's perception of pain.
Though the body might still collapse from overload, at least the person would not feel suffering.
Zofia trembled as though her very soul was vibrating, her body filling with Honkai energy.
Sirin tilted her head in confusion.
Mom had said this method would prevent the recipient from feeling pain—but Zofia's reaction... seemed very strange.