Chapter 110: Up and away
Heteromorphic Steeoxolocus, the seahorse-like winged creatures pulling the giant airship, are far bigger than one may imagine while seeing them from the ground.
They are almost ten to twelve meters tall, have a wingspan of almost one and a half of their size, and they are creatures who can both fly in the sky and swim in the ocean.
These magical beings are of (SSR-rank) when completely mature but even as younger beasts, they are powerful enough to overpower the beasts of the same rank from the mainland.
When one looks at them from the ship’s deck, they don’t see simple creatures, they see the outlines of the giant beasts that are moving so fast that it simply does not make any sense to common minds.
In this space, dominated by the winds so fast they can cut a well forged sword in two, the ship that becomes a force of nature at its top speed gets protected by a powerful, aerodynamic barrier of a teardrop shape.
There are few people on the desk because of the possible dangers, but things do sometimes go the way one wishes for them.
Much like how Sam and his group were able to fly high above and land on the deck in secret, there were chosen people who greeted them there, people who also got to enjoy the beautiful outside scenery.
"We might experience some turbulence above the waters right before the continent so, please take care."
"You too, captain."
The one operating the ship was out here right now, someone who needed to look after at least a hundred different components of the airship at all times.
He was given special orders by the Headmaster and so, the special guests were received and given permission to stay on the deck.
It was a fun experience so Sam and the party did not shy away from it. He enjoyed the scene, somehow communicated with the great creatures of the sky, and became friends with the birds who flew faster than even their ship in this sky.
It took only a day to reach Stanox from any point in the world. The eastern end of Topaz was one of the faraway locations, but the time remained the same.
If there were no turbulence in the sky, the ship would travel at an unbelievable speed to reach the destination in the sky. Sadly, there was going to be some turbulence during this flight since it was rerouted to accommodate the guests from Sungrade.
The ship was not made to entertain the nobles or the wishes of the rich. Throughout the world wherever there existed a station for the Airship, any person, regardless of their background, race, or financial status, can get on the airship and come to Stanox.
The Academy gave everyone a fair chance, and while that meant those of a higher status would have to be stripped of their position and those who have never seen any kind of basic necessities would be given more than what they had ever known.
’My first time was like that...’
As he looked down from the high sky, the deck around him was pretty empty, he thought back to the first time he boarded an airship.
After he ran away from Sungrade city at the time of demon invasion, had nothing.
He boarded the ship in his torn clothes, ate what he got after being hungry for six days, and even when he reached the academy, his life didn’t stop being miserable right away.
For years he simply learned and studied and got punched around and was cursed at, looked down upon, and even outcast from every academic event.
He managed to climb the ranks thanks to his thoughts and ideas born from all that suffering.
’I remember all the people I met there as well...’
The headmaster once told him how he was one of the smartest people to ever be born, one that was wrongfully given a curse like the Energy Decay Syndrome.
She knew he would become a force of nature if he could tame beasts or even use the most basic of the energy manipulation.
He did not have that in the past but things were different now. As he stood here, on the deck where few could maintain their balance and stomach, he looked at the distant sky.
It was a day when he left the continent and now, the night was ending in a new dawn.
He was restless all night and ended up spending most of it out here, his three beasts roaming the airship on their own, Felix staying by his side, looking at the things that he was looking at.
She wasn’t curious like Nyx or keen on discovering more about the humans like Art, but she surely loved her master.
So, she stayed by him, watching things that most of the passengers of the ship will miss out on.
"Do you see those fishes?"
"Meow?"
"They’re a Pod of Scaled dolphins, one of the most desired creatures of the sea."
Below them was an endless ocean.
They were looking down there, watching the pretty things, seeing what one might not catch with their eyes thanks to the special glasses he was wearing right now.
Felix saw what her master was showing her, and she loved these scenes.
Lexie and Rainin would come back out here now that they were going to reach their destination soon, but for the time being, it was only the two of them up here.
"Meow?"
{ "Master?" }
And since it was only the two of them here, they noticed something in the faraway sky before anyone else as well.
"What is..."
There was something resembling a black cloud in some distance.
Seeing how fast they were moving, it should only be a few minutes away from them right now.
At first glance, it resembled a black cloud, nothing more. But, as a few seconds passed and he looked closer with his glasses, he saw some movements within the cloud.
And, as a few more moments passed... he saw a vague form resembling a multi-legged entity.
"...!"
And he knew what that thing was in an instant.
[ "Nyx! Art! Get Lexie and Rainin to alert the crew! Quick! Move!" ]
Sam immediately called out to his two partners that were inside the ship through their bond connection.
Right after that, he took out a different communication device resembling a bracelet and slid it on his hand.
{ "Lexie! Rainin! This is an emergency! We have just spotted a Cloud of Hate!" }
{ "What?!" }
{ "I’ll go get the captain!" }
While the disturbance on their path was confirmed, the captain had failed to mention it was an unidentified disturbance.
Today’s technology did not have the means to detect these specific creatures. In fact, there was no way to deal with them even if one does detect them.
In his past life, the people from the future called them the Calamity of Sky, the vestiges of a fallen dragon.
Their origin may be traced back to the grand dragons but, the kind of dragons in question was far different from what we see as the ’dragons’.
They were closer to the true demons of their time than any noble being of nature. And, left behind after their fall was a strange mass of creatures that terrorize anything that gets in their range.
"Shit. Shit shit shit. We don’t have enough time!" The ship would fall right in their domain if they kept going the way they were going. Sam had already calculated just how little time they had left.
"Felix, stay there!"
He knew they would all die meaninglessly if they were caught by those gluttons.
The others weren’t aware of the level of danger they were in, and they would not know that until it’s too late.
-Oooooooooooooooooooong!
But Sam knew just what kind of calamity they were. And so...
"Meow...!"
He did not hesitate to jump off the ship while he still had the time.