“In the end, how have the Devils been able to discover us?” Soraya asked, feeling puzzled. “Both the hot air balloon and the basket are painted with sky camouflage. Furthermore, at the height of two thousand meters, it is hard to identify us even by using an observation mirror.”
“There was a colossal Devil,” Sylvie said while knitting her brows. “It crouched on the top of one of those black spires, it had a head that was larger than its body. Its head was covered with countless eyes. Even though I merely gazed at it… it immediately turned all of its eyes towards me. And hundreds of Devils came rushing forth from within the ground, it was as if the whole area had started boiling.
“There really exist such a monster?” Soraya gasped in shock.
“There is still more, those two flying mounts were also very strange,” Anna voiced her thoughts, “After getting hit by the bullets, the blood flowing out of them wasn’t black as you would expect, but rather a deep blue — this is entirely different compared to the demonic beasts and mixed species we’d encountered during the Months of Demons.”
“But on the contrary, it is similar to the Devils,” Soraya replied, “I saw that the first Devil Nightingale shot, also had blue blood coming out of its wounds.”
“In the end, aren’t they demonic beasts?” Sylvie asked.
“That I do not know… but it is great that Maggie can change her appearance into theirs,” Wendy exclaimed. “If it hadn’t been for her saving Nightingale, we would all have been in danger.”
“Her ability has evolved,” Nightingale, having stayed silent until now, suddenly opened her mouth. “I saw that the magic source inside her body no longer had the form of turning cyclone, it has turned into a fixed shape instead — a pair of outstretched white wings.”
*
While holding His Highness’ arm, Lightning’s heart was filled with endless guilt.
To bravely step forward and protect one’s companion is the unshirkable responsibility of an explorer. Whenever Thunder went on an exploration in the Fjords, he would always take the lead whenever they encountered any danger. Taking everyone along so as to break through all incoming crises, whether it be against pirates or a monster from the deep sea, he never took a step back.
For the first time, Lighting realized that she had still a huge distance to go before she could call herself a great explorer.
But her father had also mentioned that while fear can be fought off by acknowledging and becoming familiar with it, skills could be mastered through repeated training.
She made a firm resolution that she would wait until His Highness’ injury was fully healed. And would then beg him to give her a specialized pistol and request older sister Nightingale to teach her how to shoot and fight.
“How is His Highness,
The little girl clenched her fists and turned around to fly back to Maggie.
Only to see that Roland had closed his eyes, his lips were pale, and together with his messy gray hair, he even seemed to be somewhat lifeless. The blood on his clothes had already solidified, while the black burn wound looked like a spectacle which was too horrible to endure. She gently placed her hand on his neck, feeling for a weak beat to prove that His Highness was still alive; only to feel the skin under her fingertips was frightening ice-cold.
“How much magic do you have left?” Lightning estimated the rest of their journey, “We will have to go at full speed.”
“
When the two witches arrived at Border Town, the little girl’s vision already became faint and blurred. Flying at high speed not only quickly deplete her magic, but it also put a great burden on her body. She gritted her teeth, using the last bit of her strength to directly fly into the castle front courtyard, while shouting to the guards, who had come over to investigate the noise, “Quickly call Miss Nana, the Prince has been wounded!”
Roland opened his eyes. He was lying on a soft bed, with the familiar ceiling above his head, matching every crack in his memories.
He turned his head and at his shoulders on both sides — whether it was the left or right one, they both looked to be in a good condition. And as he tried to move his hands, he also didn’t come across any problem.
