Chapter 635: Falling through the sky

Outside the gate, Elion’s rather scandalous exploits had naturally not gone unnoticed.

While the Vampires waited for their turn to enter, Dimitri went straight toward Edmund and Valentina to complain, his already sharp and sunken eyes looking even gloomier than usual.

"Elder Edmund! He dares to act so familiar with other women, knowing that we’re here! Is the Princess not enough for him!? Is he not aware that his actions tarnish the princess’ reputation!? How dare he!"

"Calm yourself, young one," Valentina said.

Dimitri looked toward her.

"We were already informed about this. Elion had other women long before becoming betrothed to the Princess, and forcing him to break those relationships was completely out of the question."

She paused briefly.

"But make no mistake. I am certain that he loves and cares for the Princess dearly, and it isn’t particularly unusual for someone of his stature to have a harem. I’m sure you understand that."

Dimitri gritted his teeth.

He did understand.

It was more that he had simply been caught off guard.

Having started to look up to Elion, Dimitri would never have expected the younger human to possess such a lustful side.

The almost perfect image he had slowly built of Elion in his mind had already been ruined!

Without saying anything more, Dimitri huffed in anger and turned around, returning to lead the younger Vampires.

Not long afterwards, their group climbed the shimmering platforms and jumped through the gate as well.

Edmund watched them disappear before letting out a sigh.

"He is right, though."

"Regardless," Valentina replied calmly, "we both know there is nothing we can do about it. We can only hope that Elion truly turns out to be the great talent we believe him to be."

She glanced toward the dark gate.

"Up to now, he has more than lived up to those hopes."

Edmund slowly nodded.

"I hope that continues to be the case."

...

"What! You can fly!? How!?" Mayumi exclaimed through the roaring wind.

Elion smirked and pulled Yaana closer toward Mayumi, making sure the two of them had a secure grip on each other.

"I’m going to let go!"

Once he was certain they were holding on properly, Elion lifted himself slightly above the others before releasing their hands, allowing everyone else to continue falling beneath him.

"I’m not very good at using them yet, but don’t sweat the details!"

WHOOSH!

His wondrous dark, leathery wings ripped out from his back with violent force, their monstrous span catching the air and bringing his free fall to a vicious halt.

The others stared at him in shock as they continued dropping lower while Elion remained above them, gliding steadily through the sky.

Now that he had a better view, he finally realised that the enormous lake below was actually sitting inside a caldera at the summit of a massive mountain.

And even beyond the caldera itself, there was still an enormous amount of land covering the mountaintop.

This mountain was gigantic.

"Okay... let’s see how we go about this." Elion slowly let out a breath. "Wooo..."

He closed his eyes for a brief moment and forced himself to focus. When they opened again, he immediately dived.

His wings clapped once behind him as he shot downward after the others.

His reasoning was simple.

He would pick them out of the sky one by one.

Of course, time was of the essence, so he had to be quick.

They were still incredibly high up, perhaps several thousand metres, but the surface of the lake was approaching quickly.

’Wait... maybe I should take two at a time.’

He was certainly strong enough, and none of them had a stature that would give him much trouble.

His wings beat again as he rapidly caught up with Yaana.

Elion reached for her waist.

"Let go!"

Yaana obeyed without questioning him even though she had no idea what he intended to do. Elion pulled her tightly against his side before reaching toward Mayumi as well.

"Hold on! Both of you!"

The two ladies quickly clung onto his imposing frame with all their strength, and then Elion dived with great speed, far faster than either of them expected.

He even released a burst of mana to increase his speed, and for a brief moment, the three of them became little more than a blur cutting through the sky.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Yaana and Mayumi screamed from either side of him, both hiding their faces from the violent, whipping wind into his chest.

At this point, they could only sincerely hope Elion knew what he was doing. Before long, the nearest stretch of land came into view.

Elion immediately snapped his wings outward, changing direction toward it. Once he was close enough, he snapped his wings again, dispersing their momentum so that they could land.

BOOM!

The sudden resistance cracked through the air as his descent came to an abrupt halt. Elion winced when the muscles across his back screamed in protest.

’Too rough!’

He quickly adjusted himself and descended more carefully toward the grassy bank. The moment his feet touched down, he lowered Yaana and Mayumi onto the ground, both of whom immediately fell to ground.

Both girls were visibly trembling.

Elion didn’t even stop to check on them. He looked back up, and his eyes widened.

"Oh, shit!"

WHOOSH!

He shot into the air again.

Far above, he could already make out four faint silhouettes still falling rapidly from the sky.

Elion beat his wings again, forcing himself higher as the four figures rapidly grew clearer against the sky.

The four had already lost hold of each other’s hands, so they had already separated by a short distance.

Uta and Nora were the closest to each other, and he immediately turned toward them, though the sudden change in direction sent an uncomfortable pull through the muscles in his back.

’Alright, gently this time,’ he reminded himself, adjusting the angle of his wings as he approached them.

He was beginning to understand that being strong enough to use the damned things did not necessarily mean he knew how to use them properly.

"Uta! Nora! Reach for me!" he shouted, extending both arms as he drew close enough to see their faces clearly.

Neither needed to be told twice; their hands immediately reached toward him as he slowed his ascent and allowed himself to begin falling alongside them.

Uta caught his arm first. Elion wasted no time pulling him against his side, his other arm reaching around Nora’s waist before the distance between them could grow any wider.

"Hold on tightly!" he said, securing his grip on both of them before tilting forward.

Their arms wrapped around him, and a moment later, the three were diving toward the bank where he had left Yaana and Mayumi.

The wind roared around them, swallowing whatever Nora tried to say as she pressed her face against his shoulder.

Uta was no better; his eyes squeezed shut, and his grip tightened with every passing moment, though Elion was far too focused on the rapidly approaching ground to offer much comfort.

At least this time, he knew where he was going, and more importantly, he had a rough idea of how to stop without nearly tearing the muscles out of his own back.

His gaze settled on the grassy stretch beside the first pair, and he began spreading his wings well before they reached it.

The violent rush of air gradually eased as their steep dive became a shallower glide.

There was still a considerable strain on his back, but it built steadily instead of striking all at once, allowing him to adjust his wings without wincing in pain.

’There we go!’

A pleased grin appeared on his face as he guided them toward the bank, passing low over the water before lifting his chest and angling his wings once more.

His feet brushed the grass, and he bent his knees as he landed powerfully, taking two quick steps forward before coming to a stop.

’Much better!’

Elion lowered Uta and Nora onto their feet, though both continued clinging to him for a moment, seemingly unwilling to believe that they were finally on solid ground.

He loosened his arms around their bodies and glanced between them, unable to stop a little satisfaction from slipping into his voice.

"You can let go now. We’re down."

Uta cautiously opened his eyes, looking toward the grass beneath his feet before finally releasing Elion’s shoulder.

Nora followed a moment later, her poor legs wobbling slightly as Mayumi hurried forward to help her.

Elion would have loved to enjoy his successful landing for a little longer, but there were still two people falling from the sky.

He stepped away from them and spread his wings again, launching himself upward with a powerful beat that sent the grass whipping flat beneath him.