Chương 95: Chapter 62:”The Floating City Edel”

Barely breaking through the barrier, we tried to proceed through the sky as we were. But when we approached the sky above the urban district, suddenly, a terrifying weight was placed on my body. This painful sensation that feels like I'll be crushed if I relax my guard... I've tasted this before in the Magic Tournament against Argus.

"This is...!" Gravity Magic! Looking around, it wasn't just me. Everyone was suffering from the sudden load as well. Is it cast over the entire area!?

"Aln! Hang in there!" Distorting her face in agony, Alice calls out desperately. Aln and the other large birds were also targets of the effect without exception, raising painful cries. Eventually, they began to fall as if their wings were broken. Bad! At this rate, we'll crash!

"Tch! [Granselribit]!" Argus's Anti-Gravity Magic is cast on us and all six birds. The weight disappears from our bodies, and Aln and the others somehow regain their posture.

"I can't keep it up forever. We're going down nearby!"

"Over there would be good." Milia pointed to a relatively large street visible nearby. When Alice gives instructions, Aln proceeds unsteadily towards it. Other large birds followed from behind, and somehow everyone was able to land safely. Since we can no longer go through the sky, we decided to make Aln and the others wait in a seemingly safe place.

"Good work, Aln. We'll do the rest, so rest well." Alice gives words of appreciation and strokes Aln's head. Milia and I also stroked its head together next to her. Really, good work. Without Aln's power, we couldn't have come this far. If it hadn't avoided the enemy's attacks so skillfully, the four of us might have died long ago. Aln cried softly, kyururu, worriedly. This intelligent child probably understands that Alice and the others are heading into a further death ground.

Looking casually, Karla-senpai is standing with her arms crossed. She seemed to be staring at the other side of the endless street with a fed-up face.

"Does this mean we have no choice but to walk from here?"

"We're in trouble. As far as I saw from above, this town has a quite intricate structure." It was as Ketty-senpai said. From the air, Edel looked like a maze. Most of the streets are only wide enough for a single car, and the rest are small paths intricate like a mesh. I said a car could pass, but this street is strange. It's definitely a road, but not one I know. There are no lane lines, and no signs at all. Maybe it was a culture where cars weren't needed.

Also, if you think it's a futuristic city, you'd be wrong. Looking closely, old-fashioned buildings reminiscent of the era before Sacris were scattered in some parts. They do not blend in at all with the round private houses or the skyscrapers. Stolen novel; please report. A city as messy as spaghetti. That was my honest impression of Edel up close. This lack of unified aesthetic might be worse than Tokyo. It's a city that developed quite distortedly.

"Isn't that over there transportation or something?" Milia pointed to a transparent tube-shaped structure floating in the air. It's large enough for a train to pass.

"Maybe so. But even if it is, you'd better stop using it. We'd just be an easy target for the enemy." When Dreet-san admonished her while stroking his long beard, Milia dropped her shoulders. Listening to them, I realized why this looked familiar. Long ago, I watched an SF anime with my friends. It looks exactly like the Sky Tube from that show. A floating lift that takes you wherever you want. Well, it doesn't matter now. This isn't the time for nostalgia.

"Well, it can't be helped. Let's go according to the plan." Everyone nodded at Argus's words. We had discussed the plan for Edel in advance. Our purpose is twofold: to drop Edel to the ground, and to defeat Tor and Clam. According to Karla-senpai, Edel collects Magic Element from the atmosphere to stay afloat. The surplus is sent to the moon. If we drop Edel, the supply to the moon should drastically decrease. But how to drop it? Karla-senpai mentioned that Tor collected eight Anti-Gravity Orbs from ancient ruins.

Edel must be floating because of them. If we find and destroy those orbs, Edel will lose its buoyancy. We don't need to destroy all of them—just enough so it begins a slow, controlled descent. Searching for eight small orbs in a city vaster than Sacris with only twenty-four people is a daunting task. We had no choice but to split up. We divided into twelve pairs. Each pair would search different districts and cooperate via communication devices Karla-senpai provided.

These devices are degraded imitations of Edel technology and only last a few hours, but they are enough for now. Small groups are better for stealth. Tor likely hasn't anticipated intruders, given that the only way in was using the Black Dragon's flame. So far, the city remains eerily quiet. Now is our chance. I paired up with Argus. Alice and Milia paired together, as did Karla-senpai and Ketty-senpai. At Argus's signal, everyone scattered.

When we were far enough away from the others, I transformed into my male form.

"Oh. Finally back to a man, huh?"

"This form is more agile for combat." I immediately applied Qi Reinforcement.

"I'm going fast. Don't fall behind."

"You too." With [Falspeed], Argus follows without delay. His mastery of the spell has surpassed my own. We run through the streets, avoiding Magic Soldiers and other strange sentries. Tor's decision to discard his subordinates has backfired. Without people to operate its systems, Edel's true power isn't being utilized. He underestimated the strength of human cooperation. After proceeding for a while, I spoke.

"Argus, can you cast [Arlcumber] on me now?" Argus understood immediately.

"Sure." A veil of light covered us both. With this, we can perceive the world even if time is stopped. Our target is Clam Celenberg. I've been tracing his Qi. We are heading for the central district. I believe the others can handle the orbs. But Clam is different. Argus and I chose to face him alone because we are the only ones who have experienced his Time Manipulation and survived. I didn't want to risk Alice or Milia being killed in a frozen moment they couldn't even perceive.

Argus and I are prepared to risk our lives. If we die, but Clam falls, Tor will have no protection. Then, the others can finish the job. I trust the people of this world to handle the rest, even if I'm not here.

"Let's win this, Argus. Let's win and go home to everyone."

"Yeah." Argus nodded powerfully. We navigated the vast city, sometimes getting lost or taking detours to avoid patrols. During the trek, we received word: Dreet-san's team and Karla-senpai's team had each destroyed an orb. Good. The sun began to set on what might be the world's final night. Finally, we arrived in front of the Royal Palace. Before the long stairs of the white and red building, the False Hero stood waiting.

"I've been waiting. I didn't think you'd survive to reach this place."

"I came to defeat you."

"And I'm here for revenge," Argus added.

"Hoh. Then—" Clam drew his sword. A piercing pressure washed over us.

"What can you two, who couldn't even move against me before, possibly do? Show me."

"I'll show you." I transformed back into my female form and immediately cast [Falspeed]. In this fight, everything is decided in the first few seconds. It all depends on whether I can land [Arllivine] on him. Let's go. Betting everything I have.