"...Cap...tain?"
"...?"
"Captain!"
"Hah!"
A faint voice echoed in her ears.
The moment it sharpened into clarity, Eva's eyes snapped open.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Her breaths came in ragged gasps.
But her gaze quickly shifted to the people around her.
To those staring at her.
"Are you alright, Captain?"
"Thank goodness. We were so worried since you wouldn't wake up..."
Eleven Holy Knights wore expressions of relief.
Bram, Sera, Isaac, Liv, Edom, Jay, Hela, Rare, Judia, Joe, Eb.
As Eva scanned their faces one by one, a deep sense of relief washed over her, mingled with a touch of bewilderment.
Unlike the scenes etched in her memory, not a single scratch marred these Holy Knights.
Watching them—worlds apart from the blood-soaked figures screaming in agony as they died—Eva felt a profound confusion settle in.
'What... what is this? Could everything up until now have been a dream?'
It was a possibility that crossed her mind.
The Undead assault.
The confrontation with that terrifying being called Seraphim—angel or demon, she couldn't say.
Maybe it had all just been a bad dream.
But then...
"Huh? C-Captain. What's wrong with your eyes?"
"My eyes? What's wrong with them?"
"Well... here."
One of her subordinates spoke up in sudden concern.
She handed Eva the bronze mirror she always carried.
Her reflection stared back.
Her overall appearance was unchanged.
Except for one thing.
Her once-blue eyes had turned red.
'...What... what is this?'
Red irises gleaming with vivid light.
The instant she saw them, a scene flashed automatically in Eva's mind.
It was...
Countless red eyes staring at her.
-[Don't forget, Eva. You are mine.]
"Kuh!"
A clear voice reverberated in her head.
A chilling sensation gripped her all at once.
With that soul-shaking voice, her mind flooded with an image: innumerable eyeballs fixed on her...
The Great Seraph Seraphim, vivid as if standing before her.
"C-Captain?"
"What's wrong, Captain?"
"N-No... it's nothing."
Eva forced down her emotions amid her knights' worried reactions.
She hurriedly checked the mirror again, and her eyes had returned to blue.
It felt like the earlier moment had been an illusion.
However.
That fleeting instant had made it crystal clear.
The nightmare lingering in her mind wasn't a dream at all.
Her comrades had truly returned from the brink of death.
And her body and soul now fully belonged to that being... Seraphim.
Yet despite this horrifying truth, Eva's heart soon found peace.
"What are you talking about, Liv? The captain's eyes look fine. See?"
"Oh, no... I must've seen wrong."
"You both look exhausted. Rest for now—we'll scout the area."
"Where the hell did those Undead go? I thought we were done for."
"Maybe not? The necromancer controlling them must've been some massive pervert..."
Her subordinates checked the situation among themselves, leaving Eva be.
Though an invisible chain now bound her neck, she didn't regret her choice.
'It's okay... this is fine... I sacrificed myself and saved everyone.'
She had been prepared to die for her knights anyway.
Whether torn apart by Undead or enslaved by a self-proclaimed angel—an unidentified monster—the burden felt much the same.
Of course, some unease lingered deep down.
It was a being that wielded holy power, but its grotesque form—condensed human terror incarnate—made it impossible not to worry as a person.
She knew better than to judge by appearances, but this went far beyond that.
Even as the beneficiary of its aid, Eva couldn't help harboring ongoing fear and anxiety.
What if it used her for some horrific scheme?
Or, like in some shady tome, did unspeakable things to her female body...
'I've heard angels don't marry or bear children... but I can't believe that right now...'
Her understanding of "angels" grew more muddled by the second.
Eva gathered her wits and stood.
She had no time to dwell on unhatched futures.
The Undead had been annihilated by Seraphim, but who knew when more might appear.
They had bought time, but to avoid repeating that hell, withdrawal was the answer.
With her decision made, Eva led her knights away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Eva and her Holy Knights moved swiftly.
I floated leisurely through the sky, keeping pace while watching them.
She'd never suspect it, but I hovered directly above her head.
At an altitude of 300 kilometers.
A distance even I, an angel, couldn't spot normally.
Much less a human—she'd never find me, dead or alive.
Yet I tracked her movements perfectly.
Not just her—anyone walking beside her, every step, word, glance, I captured it all if I wished.
This was the result of our 'contract.'
Dedicating body and soul meant I shared all her senses.
No risks like sharing her pain, of course.
Activating [Eye of Truth] in this state let me read the names, alignments, and details of people around my 'terminal,' Eva.
Honestly, I'd prefer to scout directly without this hassle...
But exposing my cosmic horror visage to the public? Impossible.
Descending on a city or village without precautions would brand me a hellspawn monster, angelic claims be damned—an official extermination order would follow swiftly.
Prophets in scriptures met angels on mountaintops or in isolation for good reason.
For me, it was a convenient ability, regrets aside.
Lazing through her viewpoint, observing her surroundings at ease,
I pondered my next moves.
'First, I need to see how religion works here. Heaven's a mess, so theirs probably isn't normal either...'
I couldn't jump to conclusions without details.
But I'd get hints on how Heaven ended up like that.
Curiosity and interest growing, I decided to wait patiently until Eva reached the castle.
Then.
[Hm? That's...]
Something caught my 'eye.'
All the eyes on my body scowled at once.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Deep in a dense forest.
A lone bird crossed it.
With pristine white feathers and a small tube on its leg, it dove into a cave in the mountainside.
It landed naturally.
Called a rock dove elsewhere and reviled, here it served as a swift messenger pigeon.
Some insist it's different from that pigeon, but biologically, it's the same bird.
Anyway, a note was tied to its leg.
The one who grabbed it handed it carefully to a middle-aged man nearby.
"Here you are, Bishop Vera."
"Heh... news at last."
Tall and muscular, clad in black priestly robes, the stern-faced man was Vera Sextus.
Smiling in satisfaction, he unfolded it.
But...
"! N-No...?"
A bold red X marked the note.
The moment he saw it, Vera's face twisted.
"That damned pest! H-How did she survive that?!"
"Pardon? That can't be, can it? We threw so many Undead at her... Even Eva couldn't..."
"Impossible! Unless she can fly, how could she escape that hell?!"
"Unbelievable. What a wasted opportunity..."
An impossible outcome.
Subordinates gripped by shock as their surefire plan crumbled.
After a brief chaos lasting seconds,
Vera fixed his subordinate with a cold, furious glare.
"No choice... I wanted no traces, but better than failure."
"You mean...?"
"No way..."
"Everyone, prepare to move out now. Before they reach the castle, I'll slaughter them all myself!"
"Yes!"
"Understood, Bishop Vera!"
His men scattered to prepare.
Left alone, Vera ground his teeth at the red X still in hand.
"Slippery eel. Must be sheer luck. But that's over. She slipped through Undead once—won't happen twice."
His words dripped with venom.
Then Vera carefully drew an item from his robes.
A small gem pulsing with white holy energy.
Palm-sized, throbbing as if alive, radiating intense holy power.
Confirming it, he tucked it away securely.
'I'd rather save it... but if needed, the angel from heaven...'