Angel Monarch

It took early an entire day for Sera to finally walk again. With the restoration of her essence pool, her regeneration increased as well. However, while her body mostly regained its strength, her mind stayed exhausted.

She and Faith began moving inward to the continent, away from the shore. They had no particular destination in mind.

Most of North-America didn't survive the Last War, and it seemed nobody managed to survive the Apocalypse.

The exact reason for the missing human presence wasn't obvious. The giant monster population was probably the most important factor, but Sera felt it wasn't the core problem!

"It's quite annoying that we'll probably never know," Said Sera, while using a random stick to help her walk.

"There is nobody here! No survivors! Which means nobody can tell us exactly what went down 28 years ago!… Dammit, I'm so curious, because this isn't normal!"

The angelic woman waved her hands around the gigantic forest surrounding them.

Previously, Sera sent Faith up into the sky to look around. Because Faith was her Shadow, she also turned into an Angel. Her black wings propelled the woman up through the enormous trees.

Each tree was some kind of pine variant, but the width of their trunks reached ten meters, while their height climbed a few hundred at least!

It plunged the foliage below into eternal darkness. No plants could survive the sunless environment, but with the increase in monster corpses, the mushroom population thrived!

Faith spent a few minutes flying above the trees, then returned with some bad news… There was only the forest…

They were at least twenty kilometers from the shore, and the giant forest just stretched on endlessly!

"Indeed," Said Faith, "I haven't seen trees grow this large in the wild, and there aren't any records of them in the archives. At least Henry said there wasn't!"

Sera snorted with amusement while a small smile stretched across her face.

"Well, if Henry said it, there's no doubt about it! That boy's way too thorough to miss anything inside those documents!… He'll grow into an amazing leader, I just know it!"

The shadowy woman nodded beside her. She had to walk extremely slowly, so her Lady could keep up.

She tried coaxing Sera into getting carried by her Shadow, but the stubborn woman adamantly declined. It wasn't like they had any destination, so taking their time wasn't an issue.

Lots of monsters tried to get close, but Faith still kept up her kilometer long dome of darkness. She killed most of them at the shadow's border, but let a few tastier ones get closer.

The Angel's appetite hadn't decreased, and her Shadow continued providing the best cuisine!

They stopped multiple times each day to have lunch, dinner, breakfast, a second breakfast since the first one was always lackluster!

As Transcended, neither women required sleep to survive. However, since Sera was still recovering, she slept through most of the days.

Luckily, each day she needed less and less sleep, until after another week, her body finally normalized.

They walked about forty kilometers inland by that time, but with Sera's recovery, their movement speed increased tenfold, since both of them could fly!

However, on the first day they tried flying, they quickly realized the skies weren't safe either. They came across a few hordes of monsters, which they killed without much issue.

On that day, their progress inland more than doubled, reaching a hundred kilometers. The trees still stretched far up into the sky, and the forest continued endlessly.

The next day, they continued their journey. The battles in the sky became easier the more time Sera had to recover. Her maneuvering in the sky still didn't reach its original levels.

She also tried not straining herself too much, because of the possible baby growing inside her. It still wasn't certain if what Fate told was the truth, however, she tried not taking risks, just in case!

Sadly, she had no way to check her pregnancy, since Evolved didn't have monthly periods. Her body didn't feel any different, and she wouldn't have any bump for the first few months.

The second day's flight proved much more fruitful than the first's. While the forest still stretched endlessly, faraway Sera finally spotted a landmark… Mountains!

"Hmm… Judging by the area where Vicky took us, those are the Appalachian Mountains. They don't stretch too high above, and it seemed these enormous trees took them over as well. I think it's a nice place!"

Said Sera while munching on a piece of bone, breaking it with her teeth and sucking the marrow within. Faith glanced at her with veiled disgust and gulped down her vomit.

"So, Faith? What do you think? Should we set up a nice base in the Appalachians?"

For emphasis, she crunched down on the bone again. This time, however, there wasn't any marrow… She was eating the actual bone!

"I think it's a good idea… And I think I need to take a walk to clear my head…"

Sera just giggled with blood and bone fragments between her teeth, as her Shadow stood up and nearly ran away!

Not long after she left, Sera heard the sound of vomiting nearby. She felt kind of bad, but not enough to lose her appetite, so she continued eating meat and bone, leaving nothing behind!

By morning, they set out with an actual destination in mind! The mountain range stretched for a few hundred kilometers towards north and south. While its average height reached nearly a kilometer.

If you add all the great trees, the top of said trees reached well above a kilometer from sea level.

On the final day of their journey, they flew the last 20 or 30 kilometers pretty quickly, with little fighting. They only stopped upon finally reaching a suitable spot atop the mountains where they could settle for now.

The height of the mountains provided the perfect place to set up base. They built their camp right next to a cliffside, then hid everything in Faith's shadows.

This way, there was one less direction from which monsters could attack, while they can still light fires since the shadows hid everything.

When they chose the spot, Faith took out all their camping supplies from her shadows. After eating a quick lunch, the monsters near their chosen base began closing in.

Sera climbed to her feet with a wide smile, grease dripping from her face. However, her Shadow gave a stern look, which left no room for argument.

"You're pregnant, my Lady! We talked about this. I can handle them alone. There's only a few Horrors, lots of Corrupted and some weaker stragglers! You should just rest and eat in peace while I exterminate them!"

The Angel plopped back against the nearby great tree while mumbling under her breath, like a spoiled child not receiving her most wanted present.

Faith couldn't help but giggle upon seeing Sera's faked angry expression. She took a deep breath and glanced down at Sera with a small smirk.

"If you behave nicely, I'll ask Vicky to bring salt and spices when she comes to visit next week!"

Sera snorted, but couldn't hide the smile on her beautiful face. She nodded towards her Shadow with understanding, and without another word, Faith stepped through her darkness.

Soon, the sound of fighting and the cry of dying monsters echoed throughout the mountaintop. Sera leaned back against a tree with crossed arms and a grumpy expression.

Eventually, she let go of her dumb grudge and returned to her meal. After eating her fill—which was close to 20 kilograms of meat—she looked to the side where the sun was slowly moving downward.

A small smile stretched across her face while one hand absently stroked her belly. She still wasn't sure about the baby's existence, but just the chance of bearing Bran's child brought happiness to Sera.

While she wasn't paying attention, a monster managed to sneak up the cliffs. A lizard-like creature with six grappling legs, a mouth full of razor-sharp, venomous teeth, and two leathery wings meant for gliding.

It moved slowly, smelling the cooked meat in the air. When it reached the top, the monster glanced up and saw a beautiful angel staring down at it.

Sera looked at the creature curiously, trying to determine its danger level. She soon realized how weak the monster was.

Without waiting a moment longer, she summoned a gauntlet and punched the lizard in the face, breaking its skull, exploding its brain.

She watched with a confident smirk as the corpse fell down the cliff. However, soon confusion appeared on Sera's face…

"I thought Faith kept up the shadow barrier, so this weakling shouldn't have snuck through!"

Suddenly, Sera heard fast footsteps approaching. She turned around to find Faith covered in gore. She held onto her shoulder, which bent unnaturally to the side.

The trees broke behind the Shadow as she ran… Something gigantic was chasing her!

"RUN! IT'S AN ABOMINATION!" Shouted Faith, while sprinting towards the cliffs.

Sera prepared to jump off. However, the great trees turned into splinters, falling atop the running Shadow.

For some reason, Faith didn't turn into a shadow, and instead she struggled to push the giant log away.

There was no time to wait! Sera, instead of jumping away, ran back towards her friend. Faith tried to protest and push Sera away, however the angelic woman didn't care.

With one gauntlet, she punched the tree so hard it broke instantly. She then lifted her companion and ran towards the cliffs.

Behind them, an enormous roar shook the foundations of the earth, shaking the angels to their cores.

Sera felt the creature close in, but didn't dare look back. She took a few more stumbling steps before finally reaching the cliff.

While still holding Faith, she jumped away. That's when the monster finally caught up and reached out. Its claws barely graced Sera's pristine white wings, and still it broke part of it.

The Angel screamed in agony, while falling downward. However, soon two more pairs of wings grew from her back, and she managed to glide away from the mountain.

The monster roared its farewell before moving back behind into the destroyed forest.