Angel Monarch

For the next few hours, nothing changed. Waves crashed against the rocky coast below the giant branch, where Sera's group rested. Sometimes, the roars and screams of beasts echoed from the great forest. Thankfully, no beast came close to bother or force them to leave.

After a while, Sera got bored and began building an entire house made of Angelic Metal. She tried pushing her understanding of the mysterious material by putting hardening challenges before herself.

First, she built sturdy one-room buildings with sloping tile roof. The walls had a metallic feel, while she made the tiles to resemble actual ceramic. She also left holes for the windows and the doorway.

This challenge took her barely a few minutes, which was surprising. She felt that something had changed, like her understanding of Angelic Metal increased a lot more after leaving her memories.

"I wonder if I unlocked some new ability... Maybe I completed my Evolutionary Challenge!"

With excitement, Sera pulled out her watch and went into the Evolutionary Path application. Sadly, she still hadn't completed the mission.

She sighed in disappointment and opened her status out of curiosity. Nothing seemed different at first glance, but soon she noticed a change since the last time.

'Heritage: <Virtue>'

"Did I unlock my third Heritage?"

Indeed, as she clicked on the Heritage line, a familiar window appeared.

'Angelic Heritage 3/7: Evolved – Principality, Ascended – Power, Transcended – Virtue, Stellar – N/A, Ethereal – N/A, Celestial – N/A, Empyrean – N/A'

Her curiosity became overwhelming once more, and Sera soon read the description of her new Heritage.

'Virtue: You receive a better, almost inherent understanding of Angelic/Divine Metal. The property changes become much easier, and you can summon a lot more Metal simultaneously.'

"Well, that's a bit disappointing," said Sera. "Whatever, it's probably very useful, but still... Compared to <Power> it's not that great. To be honest, <Principality> wasn't the best either, even though it saved me from the Seed of Madness influence and gave me a fighting chance..."

Sera shook her head and stopped talking. It wasn't worth thinking more about this matter, since she can't control what the Heritages give. Instead, she tried utilizing her power to continue building her house.

She built a door next. The hinges weren't easy to make, since she needed to use liquid Angelic Metal as a lubricant.

Next came the windows, which she worked on for half an hour. However, eventually she managed to make the Angelic Metal transparent, like glass but much stronger.

Upon finishing the outside, it was time to venture into the building. The place looked utterly barren, but she fixed that fast.

First, Sera made a kitchen in one corner. She made cabins full of utensils, plates, cookware, etc. Each time she made something, she changed the Angelic Metal's properties so the surfaces would feel different.

The cabinets were wood, the utensils metals which didn't conduct heat, while the cookware were the opposite. They conducted heat well, so cooking with them was easy.

Sera was most proud of the working sink. She made a long pipe running through the great tree's branch into the actual trunk, then it entered the roots below until it reached the sea.

She even designed a filtration and pumping system, so it wasn't salty but refreshing. There was also a boiler, where the warm water rested, waiting for usage.

Next, she made a bathroom area. It had flimsy walls and a door. There was also a working toilet and a wide shower... She made sure multiple people could fit inside...

There was also another sink inside and even a mirror above, which wasn't difficult to create.

After the bathroom, she created a lounge and dining area. She easily made the tables and chairs, but the sofa took nearly an hour. It wasn't easy to create a soft material from metal, but somehow she managed.

This latest discovery made creating a bed much easier. She also created pillows, bedcovers and blankets. While the sofa's material felt like velvet, the bed's was similar to silk.

With the bed done, there was nothing else to build. Sera also decorated the building, and as a final touch, added a hot tub in the corner... Also for two people...

She used the boiler for hot water, then placed tiny Angelic Metal air bubbles inside, which kept the water moving and bubbling.

After she had done everything possible for the house, it was time to bring Bea inside. She laid the still-sleeping woman on the bed and changed her armor's material.

The silvery metal around Bea's body liquefied for a few seconds. When it solidified again, the armor was replaced by a light, sleeveless dress made of silk-like Angelic Metal.

Sera nodded in satisfaction at the clothing she created for Bea. She then moved to the couch, where she lay down in boredom and exhaustion.

On a summoned piece of paper, made of Angelic Metal, she began drawing and designing new objects. She also wrote multiple properties and materials she could try making. However, after a few minutes, she dismissed the paper and stared at the ceiling while yawning.

A sudden wave of tiredness washed over her body, and she could barely keep her eyes open.

"It would be so nice to sleep now... But I need to keep watch..."

Her voice sounded groggy, and her vision swam with exhaustion. A horrible feeling grew in Sera's heart, and she quickly jumped to her feet... Well, quick wasn't the best word, since she couldn't stand straight without leaning against some furniture...

She walked towards the window overlooking Kastral and Alyrine. They were both sleeping soundly, which wasn't a good sign... Kastral would never fall asleep while guarding his mate!

Sera turned around, towards Bea, and fell to her knees. Her eyes kept trying to close, but she saw a glimpse of a dark appendage dragging Bea's unconscious body through the doorway.

"No!" shouted Sera, yet her legs didn't react.

With all her effort, she tried standing, but the feeling of exhaustion became worse with each passing moment.

Eventually, Sera ran out of both choices and time. The dark appendage returned and grasped Sera's feet.

It began dragging her towards the doorway, but in that moment Sera had enough. She summoned an Angelic Metal dagger and, after taking a deep breath, she stabbed it through her own eye socket.

She died and in the next second resurrected. There was no explosion or overwhelming heat. Throughout the past year, Sera learned how to resurrect much faster and without environmental destruction.

The dark appendage released her leg immediately. It looked quite surprised as Sera jumped to her feet with an angry expression and ran out the door. Before the appendage could've left, Sera forcefully shut the door, cutting the dark vine away.

Three pairs of wings spread behind Sera as she saw Bea and the hippogryphs getting dragged into the dark forest.

Sera flew into the great forest. Angelic Metal armor covered her body, and she summoned a pair of long, curved silver blades, burning with golden flames.

Her eyes pierced the darkness, yet the further she ventured, the worse her sense of danger gotten. She felt millions of gazes on her body, but she couldn't pinpoint any, as if the forest itself watched her movements.

"Faith, could you help me scout?" asked Sera from her shadow, but she didn't receive any answer.

A bad feeling took hold of Sera's heart. The connection between her and her Shadow felt shrouded, as if something was blocking or interfering with it.

"Whatever. I'll just save them alone!"

Sera's wingbeats got faster as she tried closing the distance between herself and her unconscious friends. However, soon the dark appendages began attacking her.

She brandished her curved blades and cut away any vine that came too close. The six wings gave her incredible maneuverability.

The Angel spun around while keeping her momentum. She cut away a dozen vines trying to grab her legs, then dodged right to evade a spiderweb-like pattern made of the dark appendages.

Her wings propelled her faster, and she began spinning while keeping her arms far from her body. Like an extremely sharp drill, she slashed through any obstacle that tried blocking her path.

The vines gradually grew denser, yet Sera's progress didn't slow. Bea and the others were barely in her sight as the appendages dragged them around great trees, trying to hide them from Sera.

Sera grew more annoyed with each passing second. Golden flames danced along her armor as her frustration reached unprecedented levels. She couldn't even feel the powerful sense of danger anymore, as her body began changing.

She felt as if her bones, muscles and skin grew much stronger. The Angeli Metal armor didn't feel like separate equipment. It felt as if the armor became her skin; even the swords felt like they were part of her body.

This change felt strange and unexpected, yet for the moment Sera didn't care. Instead, she used her imagination and intuition to push herself past her previous limits.

When the vines dragged Bea behind a great tree again, Sera stopped caring entirely.

Headfirst, she flew towards the tree while screaming at the top of her lungs. One more pair of arms grew from her sides, each carrying its own curved sword.

They moved fast, and in perfect tandem, each one cutting and stabbing through the great tree.

A moment later, Sera appeared on the other side, leaving a broken tree trunk behind. She didn't even slow down as she smashed through the great tree.

The distance between her and the others significantly decreased, but that's when Sera laid eyes on their destination...

An enormous tree, taller than anything Sera had ever seen. It stood alone in a wide clearing.

Sera was certain upon gazing at the beautiful tree... This was the great forest's heart!