Chapter 834 To Nokisi Point (2)
Chapter 834 To Nokisi Point (2)
Erik looked at the man in the eyes, determination flickering in his gaze.
In the month Erik had been in New Alexandria, he and Fischer had forged an unexpected bond, and Erik felt sad about leaving him and the others.
Despite his past beliefs, they were good people.
"I need to leave now," Erik said, his tone weighted with urgency. "My men are going to move soon, and I have little time left."
Fischer nodded, his expression reflecting both gratitude and a hint of sadness.
"If you ever need something, don't hesitate to contact us. Words can't express how grateful we are for your help."
Erik's smile widened, a glint of appreciation gleaming in his eyes. "I will." Then Erik turned to leave, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
With that, he and June left the apartment where Fischer and the others made their war room. As they stepped onto the bustling streets, Erik's mind buzzed. They were going to have a long travel ahead.
"Are we heading to the breach?" June asked.
"Yeah. We can't use the usual exit. You'll transform into a Galewing, and we'll fly until we're clear or we reach the Eldraith mountain range. Then switch to something swift but on foot," Erik said, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger.
"Got any ideas?"
"Some."
The two then boarded the train bound for the northern district. It took them a while, but eventually they arrived at the wheat field.
While traversing the sprawling camps of golden, and heading to the breach, Erik contemplated this potentially last visit to New Alexandria.
Strangely, a melancholic feeling washed over him, fate playing its enigmatic hand.
Upon realizing that the chaotic situation in Frant resulted from the actions of the Blackguards, something within Erik shifted.
He made a firm decision to let go of all the negativity that had plagued him, opting instead to forgive.
The devastating losses suffered during the parasites and Heniate attacks in New Alexandria further solidified his resolve.
To hold on to grudges seemed futile and only threatened to overshadow his life with bitterness.
Thus, Erik chose the path of forgiveness, recognizing that harboring resentment toward a nation and a city, ruined by conflict and ruled by a tyrant, would serve no purpose in moving forward.
As Erik and June reached the barrier's breach, they stood before the gateway that would mark the beginning of their journey outside the city limits.
In a matter of moments, June underwent a swift transformation, morphing into the majestic form of a Galewing, signaling his readiness to embark on a flight.
Erik mounted June, his grip firm. The clone flapped his wings and soon they were in the sky. They soared, leaving the familiar skyline of New Alexandria behind.
As they traversed the open expanse, Erik's keen eyes spotted many Thaids below.
Though weak individually, their presence was a little unnerving.
He also thought about his experiences in the forest below, the thaids killed, the experience gained, the things he saw.
He grew stronger since then, those thaids didn't scare him anymore. Then his thoughts drifted to Shade.
The figure who served the Blackguards consumed Erik's mind.
He saw himself confronting Shade, the architect of so much chaos and suffering, and the anticipation stirred a storm of emotions within him.
<I swear. I will kill you, Shade. >
Rage coursed through Erik's veins as he reflected on the tribulations he had suffered at the hands of the Crystal Cross Gang. Since they were under Shade's employ, his determination to eliminate him only intensified. Revenge consumed Erik's every thought.
The wind whipped around them, carrying echoes of distant cries and the whispers of vengeance.
As they soared toward the Eldraith mountain range, Erik steeled himself for the inevitable danger that will wait for them inside that hellish place.
…
…
…
It took some time before Erik and June arrived close to the Eldraith mountain range.
The place was like the last time they saw it. A dense forest that climbed the tallest mountain of the entire continent, and that housed the Wyverns.
The forest exuded an aura of darkness and foreboding, its ancient trees shrouded in shadow.
Twisted branches reached out like skeletal fingers, casting eerie silhouettes against the dim light filtering through the dense canopy above.
The air was thick with an oppressive silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant cry of unseen creatures.
Erik told June to land, but it was weird, they were still relatively far from the mountain range. Wyverns should have been far from their position.
"Do we switch to foot traveling?" June asked, after having morphed into a human.
"Yes. I feel something."
"Is this your Instability Brain Crystal Power?"
"Yes."
Erik was nervous. It was the first time he felt feelings so primal. But they were weird, very similar to those of humans, but much more intense. It was rage that Erik was feeling.
In an instant, a piercing screech shattered the tranquil air, its sharpness slicing through the silence like a jagged blade.
A deep, guttural growl accompanied the screech. It was so strong and deep that the reverberations it made enveloped him, making his whole body tremble and filling the air with a palpable sense of tension and foreboding.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Hide, June!"
The feelings Erik was sensing grew more intense. He and June dashed behind the looming trees, their movements urgent and rushed.
Erik's muscles were taut with tension, his every nerve on edge as adrenaline surged through his veins.
June mirrored Erik's unease, though his confusion added an extra layer of apprehension to his demeanor.
He didn't know what was happening, but based on Erik's reaction, his master knew.
Uncertainty clouded his features, his eyes darting anxiously.
"What is happening, Master?" June asked, his voice tinged with concern.
Erik turned to June, his eyes serious. "Keep your head low and hide as much as you can. They are fighting."
"Who?" June's brows furrowed in confusion.
"Them," Erik gestured towards the direction of the commotion. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
As Erik and June hunkered down, the scene unfolding above them was nothing short of mythical.
The air was filled with the tumultuous sounds of the battle, the powerful whoosh of wings, and the clashing of talons that sounded like swords in combat.
A colossal bird, with cerulean feathers shimmering like a piece of the sky itself, moved with an elegance that belied its immense size.
Its wings cut through the air with such force that it created gusts of wind, sending leaves swirling around Erik and June, who felt the rush of air brush against their faces.
Both of them had never seen a Thaid so massive, or better, they never saw it with their bare eyes.
The bird was fighting another massive creature, but this time, the fiend wasn't an avian terror. No, it was another kind of creature from the nightmares.
A massive wyvern, enveloped in flames that danced along its black scales, while emitting a smell of brimstone and ash that was slowly enveloping the fresh scent of the surrounding forest.
The heat from the wyvern's fiery presence could be felt even from their hiding position, and the wind fluttering around the colossal bird it was facing was only spreading it.
The sounds of their battle were earth-shattering; the bird's cries piercing the sky like thunderclaps, while the wyvern's roars reverberated through the trees.
Each time the creatures collided, it was accompanied by a cacophony that echoed throughout the forest.
Erik and June watched, spellbound, as the bird pecked viciously at the wyvern, its beak striking with the precision and force of a spear.
The wyvern, in turn, snapped at the bird with its massive jaws, aiming for a lethal grip on its neck, its teeth gleaming dangerously in the sunlight.
The aerial combatants circled and dived, but it looked like they were in a stalemate.
"What the hell are those?!" June asked.
A jolt of recognition shot through Erik as he took his time to look at the bird. The wyvern, Erik had seen a few, but the bird, he saw it only one time, through the lens of his biological supercomputer system when he decrypted the White Desert's plane's black box.
"I've already seen the bird!" Erik said.
"Where?! Where would you possibly have seen this thing?"
In a certain sense, it wasn't hard. That thing was gigantic. The real question was how it was possible to fail seeing it. But that wasn't what June was asking to his master.
"The cargo plane. The black box. That thing is the bird that attacked the plane flying over the White Desert!"
June's eyes narrowed, and he searched through the memories he inherited from Erik to understand what was happening. Not that it would help them in this situation.
"What do we do, master?!" June asked as the deafening sound of battle was going.
"Keep your head down and don't let these things see you!"