Just like in the usual Hero settings, Kroso also had all kinds of absurd cheat abilities in the game. By the late game, some of his stats were even higher than Sylvia at her peak.

But right before Sylvia's defeat—in other words, right now—Kroso had only just been summoned. He shouldn't have been strong enough to fight an Abyssal Lord yet.

At that thought, the excitement Sylvia had just felt immediately sank again. Still, a Hero was a Hero. Maybe if she told him about her current predicament, things might somehow turn around.

"Archangel, here's the situation. A few days ago, when the main force of my Seventh Army Corps launched an offensive to reclaim lost territory, we were ambushed by the Abyss demon legions. Casualties were devastating. Commander Gio was struck by a deadly poison and has remained unconscious ever since. Ordinary healing magic no longer works at all. So I beg you, Archangel, have mercy on the warrior who protects mankind. Please grant your holy light and save General Gio's life!"

The moment he heard Sylvia's question, Kroso immediately gripped his sword with both hands and dropped to one knee. He performed an extremely standard and solemn knight's salute, his expression returning to the same stern seriousness as before.

To be honest, if the situation hadn't been so urgent, Kroso, as the temporary acting commander of the Seventh Army Corps, would never have left Chelost City on his own initiative.

But General Gio, the soul of the entire corps, had already been unconscious for many days. During that time, Kroso and the other officers had tried every method they could think of, yet none of them could wake him. On top of that, the letters asking for aid from the Third Army Corps—the area where The Church's Archangel of Supremacy was stationed—had gone unanswered the whole time. Watching the first true mentor he had met after arriving in this world slip closer and closer to death, Kroso had truly panicked.

Ignoring the other officers' attempts to stop him, he insisted on taking a transport airship alone to the Third Army Corps' territory, planning to personally ask the Archangel for help.

Only after landing did he discover, to his shock, that it wasn't because the Archangel was too busy to come. The plea for help he had sent had actually been intercepted by the Archangel's attendants. It had never reached the Archangel's hands at all.

When he learned the truth, Kroso had nearly exploded on the spot from rage. If the officers of the Third Corps hadn't held him back with all their strength, he might already have stormed over here with sword in hand, burning with fury.

The imperial army and The Church had never been on good terms, sure. But this was the critical moment when both sides were supposed to be standing together against the Abyss demon army. It would've been one thing if The Church hadn't sent its main force to support the battle. But to actually try to stop the Archangel from saving an imperial officer?

No matter how he thought about it, Kroso simply couldn't accept such vile behavior, behavior that was practically a betrayal by allies. So under cover of night, he quietly made his way here. And that led to the earlier scene.

"I see? Mm... come inside first. Then we'll talk."

Hearing Kroso's plea, so full of hope, Sylvia immediately felt a bitter smile rise in her heart.

She couldn't even cure the poison inside her own body right now. How was she supposed to save someone else?

Still, if she rejected him on the spot with some excuse, she'd seem far too cold. It also completely wouldn't fit the holy, compassionate image she had in her followers' eyes. So after a moment's thought, she invited Kroso inside to talk.

But how was she supposed to explain her situation to the Hero?

Especially when he had come to her for help first, and not only could she not answer that plea, she actually needed his help instead? That made no sense at all.

Sylvia was genuinely troubled now.

"Archangel!"

The moment Sylvia said that, Kroso hadn't even responded yet before the surrounding nuns immediately started trying to stop her.

"What is it?"

Sylvia had been frowning in thought. Hearing them, she froze for a moment.

"The Church elders..."

In front of the Hero, the nuns didn't want to state the conflict between The Church and the imperial army too bluntly, so they could only lean in and remind her in hushed voices.

Heh... The Church elders?

Those few disgusting old snakes who had lusted after Sylvia's body all through the early game, yet didn't dare approach her? Then, after the Hero rescued the girl from the Abyss demons' nest, they immediately declared her stripped of her angelic status on charges of corruption, and then violated her however they pleased?

Give me a break.

Those old freaks with heads full of twisted fantasies and filthy tricks—once she recovered her strength later, she was absolutely going to beat them so badly even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.

"It's fine. Let him in."

Even though she hated them so much her teeth itched, Sylvia remained perfectly calm on the surface.

Out of reverence for the Archangel, the nuns didn't dare keep objecting. As for Kroso, he suddenly felt a little vindicated, and more than half the anger in his heart instantly faded.

As the Hero summoned by the imperial royal family, he naturally understood the conflict between The Church and the imperial army perfectly well. And besides defeating the Abyss demons and saving humanity, his other world mission was to overthrow The Church's rule over the Holy City and restore the former prosperity of the human empire.

So deep down, he had always been hostile toward The Church. But toward the Archangel before him, at least from this moment on, he could no longer bring himself to hate her at all.

Still, the fact that the Archangel hadn't responded to his plea for help on the spot left him deeply anxious.

But just as Kroso was about to remove his sword and hand it over to the nuns for safekeeping, the whole world suddenly darkened. Everyone present was startled.

What was going on?

Sylvia, who had already walked back to the steps, looked up. She immediately saw that the night sky, which had been glittering with countless stars just moments ago, had turned pitch-black in an instant. Especially with that oppressive, evil, invisible pressure descending from above, together with the fierce cold wind that suddenly swept through the area, Sylvia instantly guessed what was about to happen.

So it really came.

Though her heart trembled with fear, Sylvia still forced herself to raise her head and watch with a calm face.

"It's an Abyss demon lord. But it's fine. I'll handle it, so nobody panic."

That shout of hers was actually quite effective. The surroundings quickly fell silent. Even Kroso pressed a hand to his sword hilt and looked toward her, as if waiting for her orders.

Feeling everyone's expectation and worship focused on her, Sylvia kept her face calm and continued looking up at the sky. She seemed completely confident. But only she herself knew that her legs were already trembling slightly, and her heartbeat was so fast it almost felt ready to burst out of her chest.

What do I do? What do I do? Even the Hero can't save me now, so what else can I do?

As she watched the pitch-black night sky, it seemed a gigantic demonic claw had already begun to form within it, reaching down to seize her. Sylvia was truly on the verge of going mad with panic.

She absolutely did not want to be dragged into the Abyss demons' lair and become the once-in-ten-thousand-years supreme breeding vessel in the Elder God's words!

Help!