High above the forest, Akari hovered within the heart of the storm. Her enormous wings beat steadily, each movement generating powerful gusts that tore through the surrounding clouds.
RUMBLE!!
The dark-gray clouds began spiraling around her once again. Blue lightning flashed endlessly within them, illuminating her massive sapphire body.
Then Akari’s eyes suddenly glowed brighter.
ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!
Her roar shook the heavens and the storm answered.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Dozens of lightning bolts converged upon her from every direction. They didn’t simply strike her. They remained connected.
Continuous streams of lightning wrapped around Akari’s wings, horns, scales, and enormous body as though the dragon were forcibly drawing the entire storm into herself.
Her sapphire scales began glowing from within. Every second, more lightning poured into her.
Far below Noah was still falling. His wet white hair whipped violently above his head as gravity dragged him toward the forest. Yet his eyes remained fixed on Akari.
’She’s... absorbing the lightning again? But it’s too much this time.’
For a moment, amazement overwhelmed him. Then Noah’s expression changed.
’This isn’t the time to be impressed!’
He twisted his body in midair until he was facing downward. The forest was approaching quickly.
Noah stretched out his hand. His frost-blue eyes glowed.
"Come on..."
Mana poured from his body.
CRACK!
Cold mist erupted beneath him. Ice rapidly condensed in the empty air, expanding outward until an enormous three-meter-long sword formed below his falling body.
Noah had been practicing this for only a few weeks. Flying using his Ice Creation. Until now, he had only practiced under controlled conditions.
Trying it beside Akari’s enormous dragon form would’ve been suicidal. The wind generated by a single flap of her wings could easily destroy his balance.
But right now he didn’t have another option.
THUD!
Noah landed heavily on the broad surface of the ice sword. His knees bent from the impact, and both hands slammed against the frozen surface to keep himself from tumbling off. The sword immediately dropped several meters under his added weight.
"Whoa!"
Noah poured more mana into it. The descent gradually slowed. Then it stopped.
"Hah..."
Noah slowly stood.
"It’s still difficult..."
Controlling thirty floating weapons was one thing. Controlling a single object while standing on it was completely different.
His own weight constantly affected the sword’s movement and balance. Every small shift of his body changed its center of gravity.
And the storm made everything worse. Wind pushed against him. Rain made the surface slippery. Even a sudden turn could throw him off.
Noah solved at least one problem immediately.
Crack!
Ice spread over his boots, temporarily fastening them to the sword.
"This is better."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Alright... move."
The sword accelerated.
Whoosh!
It was not particularly fast. But it was fast enough for him to reach there.
Noah kept his knees slightly bent, lowering his center of gravity while continuously adjusting the sword with his Ice Creation.
Behind him, the entire forest flashed blue as Akari continued absorbing an unbelievable amount of lightning.
Noah didn’t look back again. His attention remained fixed on the crimson light ahead. The closer he got, the worse the feeling in his chest became.
’Something is wrong. Very wrong.’ He thought tensely.
Finally, the clearing became visible.
Noah’s eyes widened.
"Shit."
The circular platform was no longer merely glowing. A massive crimson portal had formed above it. Red energy rotated violently within its center, resembling a vortex of blood-colored light.
And things were coming through. Creatures continuously crawled and leaped from the portal onto the platform.
Noah recognized them immediately. His face hardened.
"No fucking way..."
The pale, grotesque bodies. The unnatural limbs. The same horrifying appearance.
’They’re the monsters from the dungeon in Novaris city.’
The same creatures he and Damien had encountered. Fear crawled across Noah’s skin.
"Why are they coming out here?"
Then he noticed something worse. Thin streams of crimson energy were leaking from the portal. One touched the grass.
Hisssss
The grass blackened almost instantly. Another strand brushed against a nearby tree. Its bark cracked. The leaves withered. Within seconds, an entire section of the trunk began decaying into a dark, lifeless mass.
Noah’s expression turned grim.
"What the hell is that energy?"
Whatever it was, he had absolutely no intention of touching it. He remained more than forty meters above the ground.
SCREEEEEECH!!!
Several monsters looked upward. Their distorted faces locked onto Noah. Then one of them screamed. The others immediately followed.
SCREECH!
SCREEEEEECH!!
"Great."
Noah raised his hand.
"You noticed me."
The monsters gathered beneath him. Noah’s eyes glowed frost-blue. Mana surged outward. Cold mist suddenly filled the sky.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
One ice weapon appeared. Then another. And another.
Swords, spears, daggers and axes. More than sixty weapons formed in the air around Noah, suspended above the clearing like a frozen arsenal.
Months ago, controlling this many would’ve demanded his full concentration. Now his control was considerably better. Noah lowered his hand.
’Fall.’
The weapons descended.
WHOOSH!!!
Sixty blades rained from the sky.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Ice spears punched through shoulders and chests. Swords pierced skulls. Several creatures were pinned directly against the stone platform. Others managed to move at the last moment, suffering deep wounds instead of fatal ones.
But Noah wasn’t finished. His hand closed into a fist.
"Break."
CRACK!!!
Every embedded weapon shattered. The fragments didn’t scatter harmlessly.
Noah maintained control over the ice. The broken pieces rapidly reshaped themselves into dozens of razor-sharp spikes before exploding outward.
SHRK! SHRK! SHRK!
The monsters were torn apart from within and around. Blood splattered across the ground. Bodies collapsed one after another.
Noah watched from above, breathing steadily. But his expression didn’t relax.
Because behind the corpses.
SCREEECH!!!
More creatures crawled through the portal. Then more behind them. And more. Noah’s eyes slowly narrowed.
"...They’re not stopping."
The portal continued rotating. Crimson energy continued leaking into the forest. And somewhere above him, the Storm Dragon continued gathering lightning.
Noah tightened his fists.
"This is getting worse by the second."
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