Rustle.
Within the tall grass –
Hid a figure, yellow pupils gleaming in the darkness.
Scales covered his skin, and his pupils were vertically slit like a reptile; he was the chief of the dragonkin tribe.
He was Philo Cut-Tail.
“Aldo, you know, even just thinking about it…”
“I know what you mean.”
“Isn’t this discrimination?”
“It can’t be helped. We aren’t as light as Serena.”
True.
The Wings of Leteti were made of iron.
And the inscriptions engraved on it made the artefact capable of controlling the winds.
But it had its limits.
Made by an ancient tribe that originally lived on a mountain cliff, the ancient relic operated on the principles of a glider, and flew on strong winds.
It didn’t allow freeform flight, and operated under a weight limit. And Serena was under that.
Aldo or Philo, both weighing over a hundred kilograms, were not.
“If I were Callis, I also would’ve taken Serena with me. Rather than a stinky man, it’s better to fly with a fragrant woman. That’s what you call romance! Haha!”
“Sheesh.”
Philo bit his tongue, but couldn’t deny it.
Those two were really a well-matched couple.
When viewed from the outside, at least.
In addition, Callius’ choice was also reasonable under the circumstances.
“That should be the direction.”
Towards where they’d seen Callius fly.
“Let’s get some rest first. Even the princess will have to give up on the chase after a few days. We have to take this guy along, too, so it’s better to rest now.”
– Growl.
The thunder wolf dragon with a sword in its mouth interjected.
Philo plopped back down on his seat with a sense of reluctance.
Good luck, you two.
Aldo pulled something out of his pocket.
It was a metal flask. Philo at first thought it was filled with water, but one the lid opened, he could smell the strong scent of alcohol.
“What’s that?”
“Alcohol. Callis told me to take my time to savour it.”
“Ah…”
“Aurora’s Tears. Apparently, it’s made by double distillation, but anyway, it’s very strong and very flavourful, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Aldo’s eyes lit up as he drank the bottled liquor.
The intense taste that seemed to scald the tongue and the throat, and the mellow scent that accompanied it, were truly excellent.
“Wow! Alright! Now this is what you call alcohol!”
It was as strong as the flower wine that the dwarves were proud of, strong enough to be called fire-water.
As expected from a drink from the North.
The natives of that frozen hellhole drank this to overcome the cold, and indeed, it was strong enough to heat up the body and deaden the senses in an instant.
“Hoh, what a nice present.”
Aldo was a wandering pilgrim, but even in his experience, such a strong liquor was rare.
Most of them were either tasteless or smelled like rotten potatoes, but this northern liquor was different.
Aurora’s Tears, huh?
I’ll definitely visit the North when I next have the chance.
“C’mon, give me a taste too.”
“Here you go.”
Philo took a sip right away.
“Kahak!”
And started coughing, trying to soothe his burning throat.
Laughing, Aldo sipped a few more drops of Aurora’s Tears, and then lay down flat on his back with a contented grin.
“The world is spinning! Kahaha!”
“Ugh, it feels like my tongue is on fire.”
While they were enjoying their time, crying or laughing out loud –
Brrrrrrrr.
– A soft vibrating sound made itself known.
“Hm?”
Philo’s tail twitched.
He immediately looked up.
“Aldo! Aldo! Wake up!”
“Ugh, why… and here I was enjoying myself…”
“Get up and look!”
Aldo rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky.
“Is it morning already?”
The sky, which had been full of stars and the moon, had suddenly turned bright.
As if it were morning.
A moment’s worth of dawn.
“That’s –!”
Aldo recognized the source of the light, Serena’s arrow!
They’d journeyed together for so many years, how could he fail to recognize it?!
“The imperial princess has started moving.”
“They were flying smoothly, so why –?”
“No idea. But we can’t sit here idle.”
Aldo took up his hammer.
Philo, his spear.
Vivi’s jaw clamped tight upon his sword.
“Let’s go!”
Three shadows rushed out of the forest near the border, but the Imperial Army didn’t notice, having bigger concerns.
Craaaashhhhh!!
The high peak that’d stood unbowed for centuries, crumbled without fanfare.
Not from the roar of a mighty dragon, nor from the wrath of the demons.
A few tiny arrows achieved this miracle, collapsing the peak that’d stood tall surveying the surrounding mountain range for so long.
Booooommmm!!
‘That was far too flashy.’
Callius had had no idea that Serena would exert such power with her strike.
Thanks to that, Lutheon withdrew temporarily, but on the flip side, it drew others’ attention.
Callius glanced back and quietly clicked his tongue.
The troops deployed near the border were converging upon them.
Some were riding horses and shooting arrows, some throwing the spears in their hands.
He’d tried to quietly pass through, but Lutheon messed it all up. But on the other hand, this was also a good situation to take advantage of.
“Selena, hold him in check. I’ll break through the cordon.”
“Yes!”
Callius didn’t have any idea of making a stand here.
If he tried to fight Lutheon in this place, the pursuing troops would catch up, and he’d inevitably be put on the defensive.
Of course, finishing off the fight with Lutheon was important, but the timing wasn’t very good.
It’d only be a waste of time and energy.
And with the possibility of dying a dog’s death on the side.
“Just keep on like this. Carry on like this while I fly us both away!”
Frang! Frang! Frang!
Serena kept shooting like a veritable jet bomber.
Lutheon could not find no succour among the crumbling mountain peaks.
Forests burned and hills crumbled. Lutheon did a great job keeping his skin intact, leaping between the falling rocks while avoiding arrows, but that was his limit.
“That bitch…!”
With Serena’s skill at archery, her arrows flew as if anticipating his movements, and it was tough for him merely to keep his balance.
No matter how much of a genius he might be –
Humans couldn’t fly.
“Callius!!!”
Lutheon’s anger-filled scream echoed through the mountains. Finally, one of Serena’s arrows struck him on the shoulder, and he fell.
But not without a last counterblow.
The man, roaring, threw the last spear he had remaining.
‘That’s the Explosive Spear, Ames.’
That guy really threw it?
“Serena.”
“It’s not a problem.”
Once again, Serena’s bow lit up. The arrow split in an instant and intercepted Lutheon’s spear midflight.
But –
“Ames!”
With Lutheon’s roar –
Booooommmmm!!!
The spear exploded.
A strong wave of air surged in all directions.
Perhaps the intention was to throw Callius off and drag him to the ground.
It was a crisis, but –
“As expected.”
Callius, who’d fought with Lutheon once already, had already expected this after seeing him throw out his last trump card.
The Explosive Spear that’d given him so much trouble in the past –
He wasn’t fool enough to have forgotten it.
“The Three Beliefs – Venerating Heaven –”
Callius’ eyes were dyed purple, and the magical energy that bloomed around him like a haze overlaid the surrounding.
Callius folded Leteti’s Wings.
As he inscribed runes upon the air, Callius’ lips curved up at the corners.
As the pitch-black explosion bore down upon him like a stygian flood, the Sullivian-style sacred art was completed in an instant.
“Heavenly Church.”
Crackackackackack!
Hundreds of transparent chains, as if made of the very air itself, appeared by his side and wrapped around him and Serena.
Boooommm!
As the shockwave stirred the air, the forms of Callius and Serena were blown away.
And as they fell in a parabolic arc –
Snapppp!
The wings spread again.
“Damn you, you bastard.”
Lutheon spat out a curse as he fell.
He’d failed to drag Callius down to his death.
“Let’s finish this the next time.”
Swoooosh!
Callius flapped his iron wings, and caught an updraft. Laughing at Lutheon, he quickly left the mountain range.
Clatter.
Lutheon, who’d escaped the avalanche relatively unharmed, pulled out the spear lying on the ground.
“…”
After standing still for a while and replaying the battle inside his head, Lutheon let out a bitter laugh.
Truly, things had gone almost as he’d expected.
He’d heard in the North that Callius had returned to the battlefield with a winged flying artifact. So he’d lain in wait here expected him to pass by, and his guess had been on the money.
However, the problem was that –
“To think he’d be with an elf.”
The eyesight of a superhuman approaching the realm of Masters was beyond what ordinary human beings could imagine.
So Lutheon had noticed right away.
The misbegotten Callius, laughing at him while holding a beautiful elf in his arms.
Creeaaak.
Lutheon’s face, as he clutched his spear tight, was filled with rage.
“He’s still the same asshole. Why, still…”
Why was he still getting stronger?
Lutheon felt this was absurd.
Callius had originally been a talentless dullard.
Since somebody like that had grown stronger, Lutheon had thought he must’ve stripped some part of him away and discarded it.
Because he himself had been the same.
However, that guy was still the same.
Still holding a woman in his arms, with arrogant eyes that seemed to look down on everything.
And yet –
He was getting stronger? Without loss? Without sacrifice?
“And what was that divine art?”
The strange aura it exuded was more majestic than anything he’d seen before.
‘I’m sure it’s not a demonic force.’
Did Callius chance upon some strange power from the Light Dragon?
Lutheon couldn’t figure it out.
But what was certain, was that Callius had acquired not only a sword art, but also a divine art.
A powerful sacred skill that could stand against his spear!
But Lutheon’s anger soon turned into ridicule.
“Looks like you’ve reached your limit. So you’re looking into other avenues to keep up.”
There had to be limits to his swordsmanship.
It wouldn’t have been easy for Callius to overcome that.
Hence the need to look elsewhere.
That was the narrow-minded way of thinking of a dullard.
Even if a guy like that, who used to not know one end of a sword from another, gained great power and performed divine magic –
He’d soon reach his limit.
But not him. Not Lutheon.
Because he was solely devoted to his spear, with singleminded focus on breaking the wall in his path.
It was just a matter of time.
“If we meet next time –”
Callius wouldn’t find escaping as simple as today.
And surely, surely –
“On behalf of her, whom you’ve abused so sorely, I will take revenge.”
The scene after leaving the mountain range –
“Wow.”
– Was the Red Desert, Sahara.
The Tower of the Holy Land stood tall at its centre.
It was the Saharan Sanctuary.
Callius and Serena, forgetting about the previous battle, leisurely enjoyed the vast landscape as they floated in the sky.
How many could take in the Sahara from so high a place?
Callius and Serena silently watched the painting nature had created for a while, and felt their hearts expand.
The Red Desert was wide.
Huge by any metric.
And the Tower was indeed majestically grand.
But there was something else that was really great.
“What strong spiritual power…”
“After all, this is the world-famous Holy Land.”
The energy they’d consumed was quickly being replenished.
Serena was surprised by the strange sensation, and even Callius was amazed.
‘How many times higher is the spirit power here compared to Fatalite’s sanctuary?’
The red-hued desert of the Sahara was the cemetery where innumerable dragons and demons had fallen.
How could such pure divine power permeate the air in a place like this?
They could only admire and be in awe.
The divine power they’d consumed in the previous battle was already refilled.
Just by feeling the sacred power of the Saharan Holy Land, Serena realized something, and the aura surrounding her began to change a little.
Callius flew a little slower so as to not disturb her. His eyes were busy scanning the desert.
Traces of Saint Stella could be found here.
And the person who’d turned himself into a sword was also probably still here.
So if he found them all –
Callius would surely be able to cross over the wall.
Breaking out of this wretched human form and transcending it, able to confront the dragons and demons.
A true Transcendent.
Able to carve out mountains and cleave the seas with one blow of his sword.
One sword, dividing heaven and earth.
A Sword Master.
He was going to escape the shackles of humanity.
Editor’s Notes:
None for this chapter.
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Ashen Clouds 