Chapter 447: Falling
Elion and Aria reappeared inside a spacious oval room.
The space was about the size of a standard bedroom, though far stranger than any bedroom Elion had ever seen.
The floor and ceiling were a sleek white, the lighting bright and vibrant. Smooth glass-like panels curved around the walls, and a row of plush, white seats lined both sides of the room.
At the front was an interactive platform that reminded Elion of the screen-like devices used in some academy facilities, only far more advanced.
Aria stumbled slightly the moment she appeared, and Elion caught her by the waist. For half a breath, panic flashed across her face.
Not because of the room, but for a moment, it was as though she feared he had vanished again.
Elion’s expression softened; he had noticed the fear flash across her face. "I am here," he said, and she responded with a light nod.
They both began to look around, and Elion did not care to immediately explain things to her. This was his first time here as well, and he was just as curious as she was about the vessel’s interior.
[Welcome, Master Elion Nova.]
A mechanical female voice echoed around them, and the glass panels on the sides brightened.
It was funny how Aria began to look around in confusion, looking for the source of the voice. The outside world appeared on the panels, and a view of the sky stretched around them, with Grimholt and the surroundings below them.
Because the view was so vivid and expansive, Elion could not be sure if this was merely a projection or if they were actually looking through transparent windows of some sort.
"W-What..." Aria looked around in disbelief. "What is this?"
Elion grinned, "Welcome to the Ark of Infinity!" he declared dramatically. Aria just looked at him, clearly waiting for more answers than just an absurd name with no particular meaning.
Elion chuckled, "Well, I do not know how to explain it well myself. I was in a trial of sorts for the past month, and this was one of the rewards from that mysterious trial. It is a transport vessel that you can use to move around. I guess it’s also a house, though it’s not big enough right now."
He pointed around them, "Remember the round sphere I was holding? This is it."
"What!?" Aria gasped. "That small thing!?" She screamed dramatically while pulling at his arm.
"Yeah, and it is flying through the city now, I guess..."
Elion looked around, "It is really odd. This is actually my first time using it."
"Ohhh."
Aria nodded.
She did not understand a single thing he had said. She did not understand what this was, but that did not matter. She opened her mouth and turned around in a circle with a look of wonder, "Wow! This is amazing!"
She noticed that there was also a narrow corridor at the back of the room. The edges of the room were raised all round, with concentric steps for ease of movement, or rather, the area with the row of seats was slightly lower than the rest of the space.
This had been Elion’s backup plan for moving around if Zenith had not found him quickly enough after leaving the trial. That, or his draconic wings would have worked as well.
Generally, he was happy with this particular reward.
He did not exactly need it, but his girls certainly would. Most of them were not as powerful as he was, nor would they ever be, and this safe space would be useful for them until he found a proper place to call home.
It was odd that with a simple mental command, he had told it to take the two of them in, become invisible, and fly toward a certain direction, and all that was executed instantly, and now it was showing them a nice, circular view of the city through the panel screens.
’A flying, invisible, self-powered moving house.’ The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it became, and this was only Tier One.
Elion’s smile widened slightly. He was definitely going to study formations after this. However, that thought only lasted for a moment; his attention returned to the matter at hand.
"Elion?" Aria questioned as he stepped up toward the interactive platform at the front of the room.
A glowing map-like image shimmered above it, though it was incomplete. The Ark was not tracking Mira by itself. It was simply following the direction he mentally provided, but there was a blimp on the map for him to look at.
"Ark," Elion said quietly.
[Awaiting command, Master.]
His eyes narrowed, "Increase speed."
[Confirmed.]
The hum beneath their feet deepened, and the city outside began to move faster across the glass-panelled walls.
Looking at the blip on the map, Elion frowned when he noticed it moving away from the edge of the island that was supposed to be Grimholt. That meant one thing: Mira had taken a mount and was now leaving the city.
"Go faster," he commanded the vessel.
[Confirmed.]
Vrooom!
The view of the city around them became nothing more than a blur of motion. It seemed they were going to have to enter a confrontation in the sky. Before long, the Ark zoomed across the edge of the island and began closing in on Mira’s target.
It wasn’t long before Elion spotted a group of winged beasts flying through the sky across the horizon. His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight; however, among the riders, his gaze easily focused on one person.
There she was.
But the moment he saw her situation, he almost burst out of the vessel in anger.
’The audacity of these people!’
Mira sat on one of the mounts with her legs swung to the side. A rope bound them together. Her hands were in a similar state, tied securely in front of her, and she was being watched carefully by a rider on the same mount.
Perhaps he was mad because only he was allowed to tie her up like that in the bedroom. However, she looked rather calm for someone being treated like a prisoner.
Her gaze was distant, as though some part of her mind had retreated elsewhere. Elion stared at that scene for only a moment.
His expression went cold, "I will be back." He gave Aria a small smile.
Aria’s eyes widened, "El—"
Before she could finish calling his name, Elion was gone.
Outside, Mira and her father’s entourage were flying silently through the sky when, suddenly, a winged humanoid figure appeared in the sky in front of them.
"Halt!"
The leading rider shouted.
The entire entourage came to an abrupt stop, their mounts flapping their wings with heavy gusts as the riders immediately raised their guards.
For a moment, none of them knew what to make of the figure before them. He looked mostly human, but those wings...
Those scaled black wings were not only beautiful, but they were also enormous. Each one stretched out with a span easily matching the man’s height, if not surpassing it. And the man himself was tall, towering, and imposing in a way that made his presence feel oppressive.
"Is that a Beastman?" one of them asked uncertainly.
There was a clan among the Beastmen known as harpies, famed for their wings. But harpies had talons instead of feet, and their wings were feathered, not scaled.
These wings looked darker, sharper, more majestic, and far too unsettling. Unless this man was some sort of hybrid, they had no idea what race he was supposed to be.
The leading rider tightened his grip on his weapon, "State your purpose, or else we will cut you down."
However, one person in the group gave the figure a slow, almost lazy glance, more out of curiosity than anything else.
However, the moment Mira laid eyes on him, it took her only a moment to recognise that handsome face, those changes would never be able to fool her from recognising her beloved; her mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Elion!?" The name came out in shock.
Perhaps out of excitement, or perhaps because she forgot that she was currently on a mount in the sky rather than standing safely on the ground, Mira leaned forward.
No, it was more appropriate to say that she threw herself forward, as though doing so would somehow send her straight into his arms.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Mira’s bound body slipped from the mount. For a breath, there was silence as she began falling from the sky.
"Mira!" one of the women shouted.
The rider behind Mira reached out too late. The ropes around her wrists and legs made it impossible for her to catch herself.
Mira gasped.
Her cloak whipped violently around her body as she fell from the skies, the wind swallowing her startled breath.