Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Excuse me, Miss Angel, how may I address you?" Selene's tone suddenly became very respectful. "I'm a priest from the True Church. Please forgive my rudeness earlier."

"Huh, are you asking me?" The four-winged angel seemed a bit surprised and hesitated for a long time before answering. "You can call me Nicola."

"Then Miss Nicola, do you know what happened here a few days ago?" Selene directly asked the question that was the purpose of their trip here. Upon hearing this, the others' expressions became serious as well.

"There should have been a great battle between angels and monsters here, like the minotaur we just encountered was from the monster side, but I don't know the specifics either. I had thought all the angels here were killed except for me..." Nicola rubbed her nose and looked over with a wry smile.

"So you participated in the battle?" Adrian keenly caught the implication in her words.

"That's right, I did participate in the battle..." Nicola pondered for a moment before admitting. "But I still don't understand exactly what happened regarding the whole affair."

I was a little disappointed then. I had thought we had finally met another angel who could help resolve my doubts and understand what had happened here. But in the end, she knew nothing about it either.

"Actually, I want to ask you all too - does this little missy angel know anything?" She then suddenly turned the questioning on me.

"You're asking me?"

I was caught off guard, not knowing how I should respond.

"She's lost her memories, so she doesn't know either. That's why she's following us." Brennan answered for me when he saw how flustered I was.

"I see, so the investigation is back to square one then?" She looked thoughtful upon hearing this.

Just then, everyone vaguely heard the roar of a beast from very far away. Nicola immediately flew up halfway to get an overhead view and carefully surveyed the surroundings.

"It seems there may still be other dangers around here." Adrian looked around with solemn eyes. But the four-winged angel flying high overhead could see further away, and that sound also seemed quite distant, so no one was particularly worried.

"Speaking of which, it is suspicious. Feliciana, did you really lose your memories?" Vivianne suddenly leaned in close, staring at me with great suspicion. "That you would hide your identity as an angel without telling us."

"Uh... of course it's true!" I was startled and took a few steps back to explain. "It was just that I had to put away my wings to wear clothes..."

That much was true, I hadn't lied to them about it.

"I believe Feliciana." Adrian very cleverly took my side. "From her reaction when she first arrived on the scene, it seems clear she truly knows nothing about what happened here."

"That's right, and an angel that doesn't even know basic angel knowledge like their death, can only be explained by amnesia." Selene readily agreed with him. "That's the only explanation."

I suddenly felt a little embarrassed to be trusted by them so much.

"Speaking of which, Feliciana, you must be very old right? I heard angels can live almost eternally." Vivianne suddenly thought of a question and said wryly, "Who knows, maybe thousands of years already."

Can angels live that long? I had never considered this question before.

"I don't think I'm that old..."

I could only dodge the question, as I couldn't directly state my real age.

"If you're willing, you can be my big sister too..."

I had originally meant to humble myself to gain trust. But then I suddenly remembered my circumstances. Since I had transmigrated into this world, the actual age of this angel body was hard to say.

"Really?"

Vivianne seemed a little incredulous upon hearing this. She thought it over briefly before becoming excited.

"If that's the case, having an angel little sister wouldn't be bad either. I might even be able to show off a bit."

"Uh... sure, if you like."

I twitched my mouth. No need for showing off please, I'd rather keep a low profile.

"It should still be safe around here, but I think it's best we leave this place soon."

Just then, Nicola descended from the sky.

"Now that it's getting late, who knows if we'll encounter other monsters again after dark. What's more, we need to hurry and find a place to stay."

She made a lot of sense. So after some discussion, we prepared to clean up the scene and head back.

"Feliciana, I think you should change into another outfit." Selene suddenly noticed my back and suggested to me.

With her reminder, I now realized that although the clothes I had burst through with my wings earlier were not completely torn, there was a huge rip along my back. With my wings hidden away again, it would still be exposed.

"Alright."

I nodded. These clothes really couldn't be worn anymore. So I looked at the two guys pleadingly.

Yet a few minutes later, I shyly emerged from behind a boulder, awkwardly holding down my skirt.

Wearing women's clothing for the first time felt so weird, and it was even a dress. Knowing of my identity as an angel now, they had thoughtfully made two slits in the back like Nicola's outfit for my wings to extend through. But what made me feel most uncomfortable was the bottom - it was just like a draft was constantly blowing up inside, making me unable to stop holding the skirt down to prevent it from suddenly billowing up.

"It suits you perfectly!" Vivianne's eyes lit up as she dove at me, only to be nimbly dodged.

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?" I glared displeased at the two guys whose eyes were glowing again. "How come you just happened to have no other clothes left?"

"There's none left..." They looked away in unison, not daring to meet my eyes. "That was the only extra one."

Anyway, it seemed suspicious to me.

"You look so beautiful and cute." Nicola had an expression of awe as she praised me. "I knew it, that awkward outfit from before just wasn't right for you. This is clearly the most suitable."

"No... I think the previous one was better." I stubbornly objected.

"Impossible. If you don't believe me, ask everyone!" Nicola immediately pushed the question onto all the people present. They immediately nodded in agreement like chickens pecking at rice, with Adrian and Brennan's heads bobbing especially vigorously.

I was in despair. I suddenly felt something in my heart that had been holding on beginning to crumble. It seemed this might all have been a conspiracy after all. If I'd known I wouldn't have changed at all.

"So Miss Nicola, will you be joining us?"

When we had left that place, reminiscent of a graveyard, Selene suddenly asked. She hoped very much to be able to walk alongside the angel she admired.

"Of course, it's better for everyone to help each other right?" Nicola answered matter-of-factly, then looked to me and said, "What's more, you have Feliciana with you. As fellow angels we should naturally act together."

"Feliciana is with us because she lost her memories and doesn't know where to go." Selene noticed from her words that the other seemed to have nowhere to go. "Won't you stay here to meet up with your angel comrades?"

"Yeah." Brennan also jumped in at this time and said to me, "I think if Feliciana wants to find others of her kind and wait here with Nicola for reinforcements, that's not a bad option either."

"No need!" To their surprise, Nicola decisively rejected this proposal. She also didn't seem to want to stay in this forest. "I think it's better if I go with you all. It's already been nearly two days, and waiting here doesn't necessarily mean other angels will come. It's better to go elsewhere and take a look."

"I also agree with her, and I still want to go with you all to see that city, Norvale."

I nodded in agreement with Nicola. She made a lot of sense. If reinforcements were coming, they would have arrived already.

From a personal standpoint, I should avoid contact with those so-called angel comrades as much as possible. After all, my transmigration seemed connected to them somehow. If I was brought away by them, who knows what would await me. To give the simplest example, I might be imprisoned and forced to work for them or used as cannon fodder.

At least I still had freedom now.

"But it still seems a bit strange." Adrian seemed to have noticed a loophole. He furrowed his brow and raised a question. "If you can't get other angels to come here, why don't you return yourself to the angel's realm, Edenmere?"

"Edenmere?" Nicola looked briefly surprised, then smiled wryly and answered, "Can I say that I actually have no idea how to get there?"

"Even you don't know?" Now even Vivianne felt shocked.

"I think it's very possible." Selene expressed great understanding. As a church member, she knew a lot about these things regarding angels. "It's said Edenmere lies beyond the Nine Heavens, and the entrance is extremely hidden. And Miss Nicola is only a four-winged angel. It's normal she wouldn't know if that's the case."

"Then isn't it great we have another angel with us? Nicola is so powerful. With her, we should be even safer." Vivianne felt hitching a free ride on such a connection wasn't a bad thing at all. She had suffered heavy injuries in that last fight, and still felt lingering fear.

"That makes sense." Brennan readily agreed as well. Although Nicola hadn't actually fought much, just the power of that sword of hers left a deep impression on everyone.

And so it was settled without further objection.