["Oh? Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, are you enjoying yourself, or are my eyes deceiving me?"]
[“Leave me alone, please. I don’t want to talk with you. Also, just call me Hestia, instead of cluttering my mind with that long name.”]
[“Hmm, fair enough. I shall respect your terrible mood.”]
Haaa, what a prick…
Frankly, I shouldn’t be acting so mean to Asterios but it honestly irked me when I thought about playing “nice.” Technically, this was a kidnap and why should I be nice to somebody who kidnapped me, right? Of course, it would be more sensible to deceive him by being friendly and eventually finding an opening to escape but… Nah, my soul was screaming not to.
After saying our goodbyes to lizardmen, our trio continued flying with the wyverns a bit to the south until it was completely dark, forcing the wyverns to land in the forest to rest for the night. During our night with them, we were served seven dead skorrs one of the ice wyverns hunted down.
Saori and I wanted to cook it but for some ungodly reason, the wyverns were adamant about us eating it without spicing it up. Asterios said something like “You would ruin the flavor” and “Eat it fast, otherwise, it will be snatched away”.
Snatched away by whom? The wyverns? Nope, those guys simply hunted their own meals and the amount of meat was enough to satisfy them.
Then what about Tasianna? I was kidding, of course, but even if she were starving, she was more of a fruit person than a meat-lover. She simply picked one from the surrounding trees and considering her size, that was ample enough.
That leaft the animals from our surroundings, but which monster was idiotic enough to come close to us? If you excluded my party, three B rank wyverns surrounded us like bodyguards which should be enough to scare off even the dumbest monsters.
However, as much as Saori and I wanted to continue complaining, we had to eat. Asterios lectured me on how a “hatchling” I needed to eat more to grow. Well, it made sense. I was a growing girl and I’d fallen into some gluttonous phases before, so more food is good.
The problem was just the taste. We had to deactivate [Humanize] as our taste buds differed between forms or to be more exact, our true forms could endure the unpleasant stench of blood better. To be honest, even as a dragon, the iron did make me lose my appetite pretty quickly, but I just kept eating through it. Bland and disgusting, what a nice dinner.
Still… disregarding the fact our relationship wasn’t too good, watching the wyverns groom and stuttering around did make me find them cool.
Asterios already looked incredibly awesome with how rough and edgy his scales were, sending me into a bit of a trance when he shook his body to loosen it up. The crazy amount of fantastic monster and enemy designs in video games already made me say “oooooh,” but seeing the real deal was something else.
The two ice wyverns also didn’t disappoint. On Asterios’ command, they cleaned me up for the night using their tongue. While getting licked wasn’t pleasant, it did give me a good look at their shining beige and navy-blue scales. It was beautiful to the eye as if you were taking a glimpse into a wonderland of snow-white gemstones.
Sleighbells ring, are you listening?
Cold in the air, winter is coming
When will the snow fall
The fall of year’s end
Flying in a winter wonderland
["Oh, what is that sound you're making, Princess? What is that humming?"] Asterios asked, noticing how I was writing a song in my head.
[“S-Shut up!”] I responded, flustered.
[“Hmm, your hostility has increased again. It makes it uncomfortable for me not knowing if it’s you or a threat from above who is directing their bloodlust at me,”] Asterios said with a slight frown.
[“Can you blame me? I’m still angry that you had to ruin everything. I fulfilled one promise but now my other will have to be left unfinished, for an unknown amount of time. Ahh, this is frustrating,”] I snapped at him with clenched teeth and tightened my grip on Asterios’ scales while he flew with me on his back.
The second promise I mentioned was the one I made to the lizardmen kids to perform for them. I wanted to let them hear my voice and watch me dance, entrance them in what made me so addicted to idols. Without the parasocial nature of Earth’s idol culture, they would be able to enjoy the pureness of it.
But that enthusiasm iwas now replaced by a creeping pain in my chest, gnawing on my guilt. Everything was set, the stage was near, and the music was about to play… but three wyverns just had to ruin everything.
I was in this shitty situation ‘cause of them and if it weren’t for me feeling a bit of kinship, due to them being the first dragonkin I could speak to, then I would have honestly hated them as a way to vent this frustration inside me. Sadly, it would just feel wrong. Aside from Asterios, the snow wyverns have been pretty nice to not only me, but also the other two.
However, Asterios on the other hand… I had [Featherfall]… I didn’t need to worry about my landing. I personally wanted to slice his throat, right about now, but I also understood it would’ve been impossible.
I was sitting on his back in my dragonewt form with only half of my original stats. If I couldn’t do anything in my dragon form, then my dragonewt form would have even more trouble. I was even trying to scratch his scales with my claws right now, but it wasn’t even leaving a scratch. Granted, I wasn’t trying nor was I empowering it with either buffing spells or [Spark Claws] but it was the principle that mattered here.
[“Hey, Hestia are you alright? Want some stew? I think I still have some in my storage,”] Saori offered while she rode on the female ice wyvern.
[“Ooh, would tea be to your liking also, Lady Hestia?”] Tasianna offered before realizing she couldn’t make any while sitting on Saori’s shoulders. [“On second thought, that might cause too much of a mess.”]
[““Yeah,””] both Saori and I responded.
Not only would it prove hard for Tasianna to make tea when we were this far up from the ground, but it would also be difficult for her to hand it to me when they were a couple of miles behind us, flying on the ice wyvern's back.
That was the sorta formation that the wyvern agreed on. Asterios would lead with me on his back, while the two ice wyverns would flank on his side a couple of miles behind us. It was to ensure they would be ready for combat, but I thought it was more to keep me away from my two friends.
I knew they wanted to cheer me up, but it was just empty words at this phase. Saori found it difficult to use [Shadow Dash] while the wyverns were flying this fast. It was the thoughts that count but I was in a bit of a bad mood to appreciate it.
As we continued flying through the day my boredom grew more and more. Flying should be exciting but I was kinda getting fed up with it.
“Urghhaaaaaa…” I sighed, almost falling over from how annoying everything was.
["Please, bear with it a bit longer, Princess Hestia. We are already flying at a fast pace but any more and there will be a risk that you might be blown off me,"] Asterios informed, noticing my unenthused mood.
He was right about that. Now that they’ve found me, they didn't have many reasons to slow down and search for me which meant they could speed up as much as they wanted. We were skating through the skies like a Ferrari at top speed, making all the effort of our party to go north null in a matter of hours.
While my hair was fluttering from the wind, the sight of mountains could be seen before us. If north were the Belzac mountains, then this had to be the Avitor Peaks mountain range.
[“Yo, Asterios. Don’t tell me those mountains in the horizon are Avitor Peaks. Are you seriously telling me you made it this far just in a single day?!"] I asked, flabbergasted at this crazy thought.
We had started out at dawn and we had been flying without any breaks since then. I could already see the sun starting to set and the sky turning orange which meant evening was coming, but this was still unbelievable. How were these wyverns able to do this? Was flying actually this fast?!
[“It is all a matter of experience and having to live in an environment that forces you to know how to fly. Still, I must admit we’ve been straining ourselves a bit too much as you can see my Stamina having dropped below 50%”] Asterios admitted which was quickly confirmed with an [Identify]. [“I do not believe it is wise to actually enter the mountain ranges today. My subordinates will not be able to keep up any longer and with all the griffons there, we will need our full strength to outmaneuver them.”]
With a simple nod of his head, the two ice wyverns behind us understood his intention and were slowing down drastically with Asterios, [“You will learn this once you stay up in the sky for a prolonged time, but your wings will start to feel strained. If you start feeling it, never attempt to continue flying at that state, otherwise- Evade!”]
“Wooooooaaaaaaaah!” like somebody suddenly twirling a car around, Asterios jerked his body to the side at high speed, causing me to nearly lose balance.
Before being able to complain, a large, blue ball shot right past us.
[“Huh?! What in the hell was that?!”] I let out in surprise.
[“Hostile located! Spread out and retreat! We retreat with the dragoness!”] Asterios shouted a command, bringing the snow wyverns into action as they began flanking us from the side.
To get away from what was attacking us, the wyverns had to twist their bodies mid-air like a snake, killing their forward momentum in the process. However, before we could actually fly, my [Prediction] suddenly noticed an attack, no, multiple attacks coming from below.
From within the foliage of the trees, hundreds of projectiles shot up and flew towards us. However, instead of clashing against Asatalos' body, they were instead reflected by an invisible barrier surrounding his body. Considering static was affecting my hair, I believe this must be his [Electromagnetic Barrier].
While we didn’t have to avoid those attacks, the same couldn’t be said about the snow wyverns.
While the male one could freeze his body to protect his body from the attacks, the female one couldn’t do that as she had Saori and Tasianna on her. She was only able to freeze her underside and belly, but it wasn’t enough as she was dodging erratically, devoid of the elegance she showed during our fight.
As I was looking in their direction, I suddenly noticed the form of the projectiles. Instead of magic spells or toxic spit most animals in the Belzac forest used to attack us, these were instead something man-made — arrows.
[“Insolent beings! Know your place, know thunder’s fury!”] with a loud shout, three purple magic circles appeared in front of Asterios. Whilst chanting his spell, lightning suddenly started flowing from these circles, intersecting each other as a ball of lightning grew from this joint union. The ball’s shape suddenly began to break off into three pieces, joining each magic circles to create an even larger magic circle.
[“Ramuh!”]
With that single word, the giant purple circle glowed a lilac glow as the static became louder and louder, forming a singular, condensed mana concentration in the middle of it. With the sound of numerous thunderstorms raging at the same time, a massive beam of pure magical electricity shot out from the circle and into the forest.
The shockwave of the impact caused Asterios and the other wyverns to be blown backward, closer to the mountains and the canyon that separated the Belzac forest from Avitor Peaks. However, even from this distance, the aftermath of the explosion could be clearly seen.
The howling thunder ravaged the trees and ground, evaporating anything organic while singing the very ground they stood on. With one single spell, Asterios was able to wipe out a whole area of its vegetation while also scorching the ground, leaving embers behind in its wake.
[“Lesser beings should stay down and respect the rulers of the skies. Their arrogance have— Huh, what is this?!”]
While gloating at his victory, shadowy tendrils sprouted out of my shadow and entangled Asterios’ wings in a solid grip, preventing him from moving in the skies. Before he could free himself, another blue ball shot through the skies, crashing against him and sending him tumbling through the air while I was launched off his back.
“KiieieeaaaaaaAAAAAAH!”
HEILIGE SCHEIßE- Oh wait, why am I worried about falling? Remembering I had measures to protect myself from fall damage I chastised myself for panicking. While spreading my wings to slow down my descent, a sudden chill ran down my spine as I heard Asterios’s bone-chilling roar.
That ball… there is no doubt about it! Wasn’t that the same thing which hit me back then? That’s a [Warhammer Mana Cannon]!
Directing my eyesight towards the direction of that mana ball, I was able to spy the exact location of the cannon and the ones who were wielding it. In my memory, the cannon was manned by giant grimgarians called trolls, however, this time it was a wide range of beings.
This was my first-time encountering goblins and ogres, which was surprising considering how large the Belzac forest was. I’d witnessed tribes of kobolds and also a few orc groups, but never have I seen all four of these grimgarians in the same place.
From how they were fidgeting with the cannon, I could assume they must be the ones who shot it. Quite interesting… but very helpful.
[“Hestia! Use [Featherfall]!”] finally having caught up, Saori called out mid-air while clutching Tasianna in her hand.
After quickly casting [Featherfall] on myself and then transferring another to Saori, she then grabbed me around my waist and sped up our fall. Protected by my spell, Saori landed with a loud thud at the bottom of the canyon, leaving an indent of her feet behind.
With me under her arm and Tasianna sitting in her hand, Saori looked around for a second before speeding up to the nearest… cave?!
[“Saori, hey! What are you doing?!”] struggling in a panic, I questioned Saori’s action.
[“I am sorry, but we have to. Please, bear with my plan for the moment, alright? While the wyverns have to deal with those attackers, we have to get out of their sight,”] Saori stated, pointing at the loud cannon fires bellowing above us. [“The cave is our only hope! If we can escape there, we can either find an exit or come out of the entrance when everything settles. In any case, we need to disappear!”]
Urgh, what a turn of fate… I mumbled to myself, realizing how ironic it was we were back here after spending nearly three weeks walking north. How crazy was it that we’re back in the canyon where we met Tasianna?
Entering the cave, Saori sprinted through it without a bit of worry, with the sole goal to get us away from the wyverns before checking out the situation. Igniting a [Light], I held onto our only light source with a fierce persistence as [The Light]’s side-effect made me feel unwell inside the darkness.
Suddenly, our [Prediction] sounded its alarm simultaneously, directing our attention upwards. With the sound of streaming electricity, a bright light appeared as it cleanly sliced the cave’s ceiling and floor.
The effects of that attack caused the cave to quake, crumbling as rock and sand fell onto us. Casting both [Haste] and [Swift Winds] on Saori, she quickly caught my intention and turned back into her monster form, throwing us on her back.
With improved speed, my cadejo friend sped through as the ceiling began collapsing, eventually blocking our way back out. Once the shaking stopped, we heaved a small sigh at nearly being buried under the mountain.
[“What the hell… I don’t think [Sanctuary] would be able to stop a whole mountain from falling on us.”] I shivered at that thought and looked at all the fallen chunks from the ceiling.
[“Haaf, paaaf… that wyvern is a menace. He nearly killed us,”] Saori breathed heavily, complaining at the culprit of this accident.
[“That was definitely lightning, and my wings could still remember the same static that happened on the day we met him,”] Tasianna pointed out. [“That had to be his [Boltreaving Blade]… What frightening power.”]
Nodding at her statement, our group then turned our heads towards the depths of this cavern.
[“Well, I guess we can only go forward, right?”] I shrugged, feeling kinda blessed we managed to get away from them so suddenly.
With another nod, our trio continued onwards after barely escaping the wyverns, certain what lay ahead of us would probably bring us away from this whole mess. The question was, where exactly were we heading?
AbyssRaven Accidentally rescued by a huge grimgarian army. What a buncha nice guys, right, people? Surely, they won't turn into real antagonists further down the lane.
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Thank you for reading this chapter.
["Oh? Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, are you enjoying yourself, or are my eyes deceiving me?"]
[“Leave me alone, please. I don’t want to talk with you. Also, just call me Hestia, instead of cluttering my mind with that long name.”]
[“Hmm, fair enough. I shall respect your terrible mood.”]
Haaa, what a prick…
Frankly, I shouldn’t be acting so mean to Asterios but it honestly irked me when I thought about playing “nice.” Technically, this was a kidnap and why should I be nice to somebody who kidnapped me, right? Of course, it would be more sensible to deceive him by being friendly and eventually finding an opening to escape but… Nah, my soul was screaming not to.
After saying our goodbyes to lizardmen, our trio continued flying with the wyverns a bit to the south until it was completely dark, forcing the wyverns to land in the forest to rest for the night. During our night with them, we were served seven dead skorrs one of the ice wyverns hunted down.
Saori and I wanted to cook it but for some ungodly reason, the wyverns were adamant about us eating it without spicing it up. Asterios said something like “You would ruin the flavor” and “Eat it fast, otherwise, it will be snatched away”.
Snatched away by whom? The wyverns? Nope, those guys simply hunted their own meals and the amount of meat was enough to satisfy them.
Then what about Tasianna? I was kidding, of course, but even if she were starving, she was more of a fruit person than a meat-lover. She simply picked one from the surrounding trees and considering her size, that was ample enough.
That leaft the animals from our surroundings, but which monster was idiotic enough to come close to us? If you excluded my party, three B rank wyverns surrounded us like bodyguards which should be enough to scare off even the dumbest monsters.
However, as much as Saori and I wanted to continue complaining, we had to eat. Asterios lectured me on how a “hatchling” I needed to eat more to grow. Well, it made sense. I was a growing girl and I’d fallen into some gluttonous phases before, so more food is good.
The problem was just the taste. We had to deactivate [Humanize] as our taste buds differed between forms or to be more exact, our true forms could endure the unpleasant stench of blood better. To be honest, even as a dragon, the iron did make me lose my appetite pretty quickly, but I just kept eating through it. Bland and disgusting, what a nice dinner.
Still… disregarding the fact our relationship wasn’t too good, watching the wyverns groom and stuttering around did make me find them cool.
Asterios already looked incredibly awesome with how rough and edgy his scales were, sending me into a bit of a trance when he shook his body to loosen it up. The crazy amount of fantastic monster and enemy designs in video games already made me say “oooooh,” but seeing the real deal was something else.
The two ice wyverns also didn’t disappoint. On Asterios’ command, they cleaned me up for the night using their tongue. While getting licked wasn’t pleasant, it did give me a good look at their shining beige and navy-blue scales. It was beautiful to the eye as if you were taking a glimpse into a wonderland of snow-white gemstones.
Sleighbells ring, are you listening?
Cold in the air, winter is coming
When will the snow fall
The fall of year’s end
Flying in a winter wonderland
["Oh, what is that sound you're making, Princess? What is that humming?"] Asterios asked, noticing how I was writing a song in my head.
[“S-Shut up!”] I responded, flustered.
[“Hmm, your hostility has increased again. It makes it uncomfortable for me not knowing if it’s you or a threat from above who is directing their bloodlust at me,”] Asterios said with a slight frown.
[“Can you blame me? I’m still angry that you had to ruin everything. I fulfilled one promise but now my other will have to be left unfinished, for an unknown amount of time. Ahh, this is frustrating,”] I snapped at him with clenched teeth and tightened my grip on Asterios’ scales while he flew with me on his back.
The second promise I mentioned was the one I made to the lizardmen kids to perform for them. I wanted to let them hear my voice and watch me dance, entrance them in what made me so addicted to idols. Without the parasocial nature of Earth’s idol culture, they would be able to enjoy the pureness of it.
But that enthusiasm iwas now replaced by a creeping pain in my chest, gnawing on my guilt. Everything was set, the stage was near, and the music was about to play… but three wyverns just had to ruin everything.
I was in this shitty situation ‘cause of them and if it weren’t for me feeling a bit of kinship, due to them being the first dragonkin I could speak to, then I would have honestly hated them as a way to vent this frustration inside me. Sadly, it would just feel wrong. Aside from Asterios, the snow wyverns have been pretty nice to not only me, but also the other two.
However, Asterios on the other hand… I had [Featherfall]… I didn’t need to worry about my landing. I personally wanted to slice his throat, right about now, but I also understood it would’ve been impossible.
I was sitting on his back in my dragonewt form with only half of my original stats. If I couldn’t do anything in my dragon form, then my dragonewt form would have even more trouble. I was even trying to scratch his scales with my claws right now, but it wasn’t even leaving a scratch. Granted, I wasn’t trying nor was I empowering it with either buffing spells or [Spark Claws] but it was the principle that mattered here.
[“Hey, Hestia are you alright? Want some stew? I think I still have some in my storage,”] Saori offered while she rode on the female ice wyvern.
[“Ooh, would tea be to your liking also, Lady Hestia?”] Tasianna offered before realizing she couldn’t make any while sitting on Saori’s shoulders. [“On second thought, that might cause too much of a mess.”]
[““Yeah,””] both Saori and I responded.
Not only would it prove hard for Tasianna to make tea when we were this far up from the ground, but it would also be difficult for her to hand it to me when they were a couple of miles behind us, flying on the ice wyvern's back.
That was the sorta formation that the wyvern agreed on. Asterios would lead with me on his back, while the two ice wyverns would flank on his side a couple of miles behind us. It was to ensure they would be ready for combat, but I thought it was more to keep me away from my two friends.
I knew they wanted to cheer me up, but it was just empty words at this phase. Saori found it difficult to use [Shadow Dash] while the wyverns were flying this fast. It was the thoughts that count but I was in a bit of a bad mood to appreciate it.
As we continued flying through the day my boredom grew more and more. Flying should be exciting but I was kinda getting fed up with it.
“Urghhaaaaaa…” I sighed, almost falling over from how annoying everything was.
["Please, bear with it a bit longer, Princess Hestia. We are already flying at a fast pace but any more and there will be a risk that you might be blown off me,"] Asterios informed, noticing my unenthused mood.
He was right about that. Now that they’ve found me, they didn't have many reasons to slow down and search for me which meant they could speed up as much as they wanted. We were skating through the skies like a Ferrari at top speed, making all the effort of our party to go north null in a matter of hours.
While my hair was fluttering from the wind, the sight of mountains could be seen before us. If north were the Belzac mountains, then this had to be the Avitor Peaks mountain range.
[“Yo, Asterios. Don’t tell me those mountains in the horizon are Avitor Peaks. Are you seriously telling me you made it this far just in a single day?!"] I asked, flabbergasted at this crazy thought.
We had started out at dawn and we had been flying without any breaks since then. I could already see the sun starting to set and the sky turning orange which meant evening was coming, but this was still unbelievable. How were these wyverns able to do this? Was flying actually this fast?!
[“It is all a matter of experience and having to live in an environment that forces you to know how to fly. Still, I must admit we’ve been straining ourselves a bit too much as you can see my Stamina having dropped below 50%”] Asterios admitted which was quickly confirmed with an [Identify]. [“I do not believe it is wise to actually enter the mountain ranges today. My subordinates will not be able to keep up any longer and with all the griffons there, we will need our full strength to outmaneuver them.”]
With a simple nod of his head, the two ice wyverns behind us understood his intention and were slowing down drastically with Asterios, [“You will learn this once you stay up in the sky for a prolonged time, but your wings will start to feel strained. If you start feeling it, never attempt to continue flying at that state, otherwise- Evade!”]
“Wooooooaaaaaaaah!” like somebody suddenly twirling a car around, Asterios jerked his body to the side at high speed, causing me to nearly lose balance.
Before being able to complain, a large, blue ball shot right past us.
[“Huh?! What in the hell was that?!”] I let out in surprise.
[“Hostile located! Spread out and retreat! We retreat with the dragoness!”] Asterios shouted a command, bringing the snow wyverns into action as they began flanking us from the side.
To get away from what was attacking us, the wyverns had to twist their bodies mid-air like a snake, killing their forward momentum in the process. However, before we could actually fly, my [Prediction] suddenly noticed an attack, no, multiple attacks coming from below.
From within the foliage of the trees, hundreds of projectiles shot up and flew towards us. However, instead of clashing against Asatalos' body, they were instead reflected by an invisible barrier surrounding his body. Considering static was affecting my hair, I believe this must be his [Electromagnetic Barrier].
While we didn’t have to avoid those attacks, the same couldn’t be said about the snow wyverns.
While the male one could freeze his body to protect his body from the attacks, the female one couldn’t do that as she had Saori and Tasianna on her. She was only able to freeze her underside and belly, but it wasn’t enough as she was dodging erratically, devoid of the elegance she showed during our fight.
As I was looking in their direction, I suddenly noticed the form of the projectiles. Instead of magic spells or toxic spit most animals in the Belzac forest used to attack us, these were instead something man-made — arrows.
[“Insolent beings! Know your place, know thunder’s fury!”] with a loud shout, three purple magic circles appeared in front of Asterios. Whilst chanting his spell, lightning suddenly started flowing from these circles, intersecting each other as a ball of lightning grew from this joint union. The ball’s shape suddenly began to break off into three pieces, joining each magic circles to create an even larger magic circle.
[“Ramuh!”]
With that single word, the giant purple circle glowed a lilac glow as the static became louder and louder, forming a singular, condensed mana concentration in the middle of it. With the sound of numerous thunderstorms raging at the same time, a massive beam of pure magical electricity shot out from the circle and into the forest.
The shockwave of the impact caused Asterios and the other wyverns to be blown backward, closer to the mountains and the canyon that separated the Belzac forest from Avitor Peaks. However, even from this distance, the aftermath of the explosion could be clearly seen.
The howling thunder ravaged the trees and ground, evaporating anything organic while singing the very ground they stood on. With one single spell, Asterios was able to wipe out a whole area of its vegetation while also scorching the ground, leaving embers behind in its wake.
[“Lesser beings should stay down and respect the rulers of the skies. Their arrogance have— Huh, what is this?!”]
While gloating at his victory, shadowy tendrils sprouted out of my shadow and entangled Asterios’ wings in a solid grip, preventing him from moving in the skies. Before he could free himself, another blue ball shot through the skies, crashing against him and sending him tumbling through the air while I was launched off his back.
“KiieieeaaaaaaAAAAAAH!”
HEILIGE SCHEIßE- Oh wait, why am I worried about falling? Remembering I had measures to protect myself from fall damage I chastised myself for panicking. While spreading my wings to slow down my descent, a sudden chill ran down my spine as I heard Asterios’s bone-chilling roar.
That ball… there is no doubt about it! Wasn’t that the same thing which hit me back then? That’s a [Warhammer Mana Cannon]!
Directing my eyesight towards the direction of that mana ball, I was able to spy the exact location of the cannon and the ones who were wielding it. In my memory, the cannon was manned by giant grimgarians called trolls, however, this time it was a wide range of beings.
This was my first-time encountering goblins and ogres, which was surprising considering how large the Belzac forest was. I’d witnessed tribes of kobolds and also a few orc groups, but never have I seen all four of these grimgarians in the same place.
From how they were fidgeting with the cannon, I could assume they must be the ones who shot it. Quite interesting… but very helpful.
[“Hestia! Use [Featherfall]!”] finally having caught up, Saori called out mid-air while clutching Tasianna in her hand.
After quickly casting [Featherfall] on myself and then transferring another to Saori, she then grabbed me around my waist and sped up our fall. Protected by my spell, Saori landed with a loud thud at the bottom of the canyon, leaving an indent of her feet behind.
With me under her arm and Tasianna sitting in her hand, Saori looked around for a second before speeding up to the nearest… cave?!
[“Saori, hey! What are you doing?!”] struggling in a panic, I questioned Saori’s action.
[“I am sorry, but we have to. Please, bear with my plan for the moment, alright? While the wyverns have to deal with those attackers, we have to get out of their sight,”] Saori stated, pointing at the loud cannon fires bellowing above us. [“The cave is our only hope! If we can escape there, we can either find an exit or come out of the entrance when everything settles. In any case, we need to disappear!”]
Urgh, what a turn of fate… I mumbled to myself, realizing how ironic it was we were back here after spending nearly three weeks walking north. How crazy was it that we’re back in the canyon where we met Tasianna?
Entering the cave, Saori sprinted through it without a bit of worry, with the sole goal to get us away from the wyverns before checking out the situation. Igniting a [Light], I held onto our only light source with a fierce persistence as [The Light]’s side-effect made me feel unwell inside the darkness.
Suddenly, our [Prediction] sounded its alarm simultaneously, directing our attention upwards. With the sound of streaming electricity, a bright light appeared as it cleanly sliced the cave’s ceiling and floor.
The effects of that attack caused the cave to quake, crumbling as rock and sand fell onto us. Casting both [Haste] and [Swift Winds] on Saori, she quickly caught my intention and turned back into her monster form, throwing us on her back.
With improved speed, my cadejo friend sped through as the ceiling began collapsing, eventually blocking our way back out. Once the shaking stopped, we heaved a small sigh at nearly being buried under the mountain.
[“What the hell… I don’t think [Sanctuary] would be able to stop a whole mountain from falling on us.”] I shivered at that thought and looked at all the fallen chunks from the ceiling.
[“Haaf, paaaf… that wyvern is a menace. He nearly killed us,”] Saori breathed heavily, complaining at the culprit of this accident.
[“That was definitely lightning, and my wings could still remember the same static that happened on the day we met him,”] Tasianna pointed out. [“That had to be his [Boltreaving Blade]… What frightening power.”]
Nodding at her statement, our group then turned our heads towards the depths of this cavern.
[“Well, I guess we can only go forward, right?”] I shrugged, feeling kinda blessed we managed to get away from them so suddenly.
With another nod, our trio continued onwards after barely escaping the wyverns, certain what lay ahead of us would probably bring us away from this whole mess. The question was, where exactly were we heading?
AbyssRaven Accidentally rescued by a huge grimgarian army. What a buncha nice guys, right, people? Surely, they won't turn into real antagonists further down the lane.
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