Chương 304: Free fall

Vale's hair whipped violently in the wind, black strands lashing across the edges of his mask as Illu tore through the sky with monstrous speed. The raven flew faster than any natural creature had the right to move, its colossal wings beating against the air with enough force to distort the clouds around them. Vale held tightly to the beast's bladed feathers, his reinforced gloves scraping against the sharpened edges as the current battered his body relentlessly. Even breathing became difficult at this speed.

Behind him, however, something far worse approached. A deafening roar split the heavens apart. Vale twisted around just in time to see the crimson wyvern closing the distance once more, its massive body carving through the air like a living catastrophe. The vice commander stood atop its back without the slightest hint of instability, cloak and silver hair whipping behind her as though the storm itself bowed around her. Beneath her, the wyvern opened its jaws wide. Crimson light ignited deep within its throat.

Vale's eyes widened beneath the obsidian mask.

"Incoming!" He yanked hard at Illu's feathers. The raven reacted instantly. Illu folded one wing inward and dropped sharply through the air. The inferno screamed past overhead only a heartbeat later, a torrent of spiraling crimson flame so intense it illuminated the stone labyrinth around them like daylight. The blast struck a towering rock formation behind them and reduced it to rubble.

Stone shattered apart in an explosive collapse, fragments raining through the sky like meteors while smoke and molten debris erupted outward in every direction. The sound alone nearly ruptured Vale's ears. Yet Illu never slowed. The raven surged forward through the chaos, weaving between falling boulders with terrifying precision. Massive slabs of stone crashed around them, each one large enough to flatten entire city blocks, but Illu twisted and dove through the destruction with uncanny agility.

Vale grit his teeth, keeping himself low against the creature's back as shattered debris thundered past mere inches from him. Then his eyes widened. One enormous boulder collapsed directly in front of them. At their current speed, there was no possibility of avoiding it.

"Damn it-!" For the briefest instant, despair clawed into Vale's chest. But Illu did not hesitate. The raven spread its clawed wings and slammed into the falling mass head-on. Its talons dug into the boulder with monstrous force, using the momentum of the collision itself as leverage. Stone cracked apart beneath its grip. Then, like some colossal predatory lizard, Illu vaulted off the collapsing rock, twisting its body midair and launching itself through the surrounding debris field in one fluid motion.

Vale held on desperately as the world spun around him. They burst free from the collapsing avalanche of stone. Vale exhaled beneath the mask, relief flooding through him as he looked back toward the destruction. Massive chunks of rock continued to rain downward behind them, swallowing the narrow pathways entirely. For several seconds, he scanned the chaos, searching for any sign of the crimson wyvern. Nothing. His expression tightened.

"… Why isn't it following?" The vice commander was relentless. There was no chance she had given up, not after chasing them this far. Vale narrowed his eyes. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Something felt wrong. Illu continued forward, gliding between towering stone pillars while the ocean roared far below them, but Vale's instincts screamed louder with every passing second. The wyvern should have torn through the rubble by now.

It should have burst out behind them like a force of nature. But there was only silence. A terrible silence. Vale's pulse quickened. Then he made a decision.

"Screw it." His eyes snapped open wide beneath the mask. He activated Nirvana. Pain detonated through his skull instantly. It felt as though molten needles had been driven directly into his eyes and brain at once. His vision distorted violently as the world around him expanded beyond normal perception. For a single fractured second, Vale sensed everything: the movement of air, the flow of Atum, the shifting vibrations within the stone labyrinth itself. And then he felt it. Next to them. Far too close.

Agony ripped through him, but Vale forced himself to scream despite it.

"UP!" Illu reacted immediately. The raven blasted skyward with explosive force, and at that exact moment, the crimson wyvern erupted through the stone next to them. Its massive jaws snapped shut where they had been a fraction of a second earlier. Vale's heart skipped violently. The wyvern roared in fury as it burst from the rock formation entirely, shards of stone cascading off its armored body.

The vice commander remained perfectly balanced atop its back, her cold gaze fixed directly upon Vale as though she had anticipated every movement he would make. Vale grimaced through the lingering pain of Nirvana.

"That was way too close…" But the clouds loomed ahead now. If they could reach them, visibility would collapse. They might finally have a chance to escape. Unfortunately, the vice commander had already reached the same conclusion. Crimson fire ignited within the wyvern's throat once more. This time, there was no hesitation in its movements. The creature intended to kill them. Vale's focused. The situation had changed. Bringing Illu back alive was no longer the objective of the royal guard.

The vice commander had decided the raven was too dangerous to recover peacefully. That meant there were now only three possible outcomes left. Escape, kill, or die. The flames erupted. A spiraling inferno tore through the heavens toward them with catastrophic force. Vale reacted a split second too late.

"Illu, move!" The raven twisted violently, barely avoiding the attack, but not completely. The edge of the flames clipped Illu's right wing. A horrific shriek echoed through the sky. Smoke exploded from the raven's feathers as black embers spread across its wing. Illu convulsed midair in agony, nearly losing control entirely before stabilizing itself again. Vale's expression darkened instantly. The fire hadn't fully caught, but the damage was real. And if this continued, Illu would die.

"We can't drag this out any longer…" The clouds finally swallowed them whole. Cold mist enveloped the battlefield, visibility dropping to almost nothing in an instant. Illu disappeared into the storm like a phantom. Vale inhaled deeply beneath the mask. Then he let go. He threw himself off the raven. The world vanished beneath him as he plummeted through the clouds in freefall. Wind screamed past his body while gravity dragged him downward toward certain death, but Vale's expression remained terrifyingly calm.

Below him, the crimson wyvern burst through the clouds. Its jaws opened wide, attempting to swallow him whole. Vale extended one hand calmly and pressed against the creature's snout, shifting his trajectory just enough to slip past its maw by inches. A grin spread beneath his mask as he spiraled downward toward his true target. The vice commander. Her body shifted. She reacted immediately, hand darting toward the blade at her waist, But Vale was faster. He slammed into her body like a cannonball.

The impact tore both of them off the wyvern's back.

"You lunatic!" the vice commander shouted as they plummeted together toward the ocean far below. Vale laughed. A deep, wild laugh echoed from beneath the obsidian mask. The vice commander snarled and drove her boot into his chest, kicking him away. Vale spun violently through the sky before stabilizing himself. Then he noticed the wyvern diving after them. Fast. Far too fast. It intended to catch its rider before impact. Vale focused. A grin slowly returned to his face.

The vice commander angled herself downward, clearly intending to reach the wyvern first.

"Not happening." Vale accelerated. The ocean surged closer beneath them. Then— Vale caught her boot. The vice commander looked back in shock just as the crimson wyvern surged beneath them. Both landed violently atop the creature's back, the sheer impact shaking the beast mid-flight. Neither wasted a second. The vice commander rose, her blade flashing from its sheath in a deadly arc aimed directly for Vale's throat. Vale reacted. His metallic arm shot upward beneath his armor, catching the blade mid-strike.

Then Vale drove his foot into her abdomen. The vice commander staggered backward several steps across the wyvern's spine before stabilizing herself once more. Vale exhaled slowly. Silver flashed as he finally drew both of his blades.

"I'd say you're pretty quick," he said calmly, lowering himself into stance.

"You didn't even give me time to draw these earlier." The vice commander said nothing. But beneath the demonic mask, Vale could feel her gaze narrowing. The wyvern roared beneath them while clouds spiraled around the battlefield, the ocean stretching endlessly below as both monsters and riders tore through the heavens together. Vale steadied his footing atop the moving beast. His blades lowered slightly.

"I'm done letting him get hurt in my place," he said quietly.

"So if I have to cripple you to stop that from happening…" His stance shifted.

"Then don't blame me for what comes next." A faint grin spread beneath the obsidian mask.

"Be careful, vice commander. I'm not the same person you fought before."