Riding on Angelica's back was like being in the backseat of a family car, with a careful, if slightly overcautious driver in the front seat.
She understood what her speed ant for her passengers, adjusting her wings to shield us from the wind and other hazards. She cared about our comfort, gliding gently and guiding us through views she thought we'd enjoy.
She was truly an angel, through and through.
Because of her, I thought riding dragons was fun and safe.
Flying on the North Dragon's back, I quickly realized how much Angie had spoiled .
The beast was unruly. Its movents were sharp, reactive.
It flew so fast that the wind could cut my skin, despite my level and the defense Anna granted
through her Gift.
Worse, all the other passengers had wings of their own and dozens of levels over , leaving
the only one calculating my chances of surviving a fall with every dive and evasive maneuver.
Elizabeth: "Careful. It'd be a tragedy if you were to fall."
I sat a few ters behind Liz, who had insisted on taking the front so she could better "steer" her pet dragon.
She caressed the neck of the North Dragon, her fingers buzzing with lightning as each crack forced the beast to speed up.
Looking back at , she hid her joy with a thin guise of concern. Even though the booming sound of the air crashing against the dragon's massive body drowned her giggle, the slight movent of her lips exposed her wickedness.
Miwen: "You're right. Guess I should hold tight then."
I slowly crawled forward, fighting against the wind that tried to blow
away.
Once all I could see was the black leather of her uniform, I wrapped my arms around Liz, helping myself to a much more stable spot.
Elizabeth: "Hmph. Your ability to find depravity no matter the circumstance might not be admirable, but it is impressive... Your Majesty."
While she wasn't thrilled about it, Liz didn't protest with more than an occasional sigh as I pulled her closer and hugged her tightly.
She lowered her head, pretending not to be bothered while I searched for a comfortable position for us.
Miwen: "Tsk, tsk. It's not depravity. There's a good reason for this."
Liz didn't answer imdiately.
At least, not verbally.
But her ears perked up, however slightly.
She then caught her breath, turning to
only to find that my face was much closer than she expected.
After a brief hesitation...
Elizabeth: "I doubt it, but... Do I dare ask why?"
The way she looked up at , her eyes filled with nothing but suspicion as she braced for disappointnt, was too adorable not to let linger.
I made sure I'd never forget it.
Miwen: "We'll be facing a small army. While I know you're confident, I'd like to make use of what we can. Since most of their weapons should do little to no damage, I thought we could keep the North Dragon in the sky. You know, to draw fire..."
Liz seed surprised.
She took a second to consider it, but before she could voice any complint or concern, I continued...
Miwen: "You're always saying I should act like a king, right? Since the dragon isn't landing, we'll have to drop off, and I don't want to waste mana to soften my landing with magic. So... That left
with two choices. I could have Skuld and Eir carry
by my hands, like Papa and Mama taking their kid to the playground, or... I could hug you~"
Once again, Liz didn't have ti to voice her opinion.
Skuld asked
why she was the "Papa" and why Eir was "Mama" in this scenario, while Liefdis asked what that would make her.
The answer to Skuld's question was obvious: Since neither Liefdis nor Eir could pass for a man, she was the only option. Besides, Skuld was almost as tall as I, so that also worked in her favor.
As for Liefdis... She was opening up faster than the other two. She didn't feel as distant anymore, so she'd been demoted to the older sister role.
Elizabeth: "You promised
a good reason. But even if I were to accept this, why is it that you don't hug Skuld instead?"
I knew exactly what to say to make her happy.
Of course, I also had a good idea of how to tease her further, but...
Since I had already savored one victory, I wanted to let her have this one. If for no other reason than to see another side of her.
Miwen: "Hm? You're our strongest mage, and you have infinite mana to protect us. I know carrying
on your back won't an a thing to you."
Seemingly unimpressed, Liz turned away from , facing forward once again.
Without saying anything, she shifted her position a little to the right.
Perhaps sothing had made her slightly uncomfortable.
Elizabeth: "Hmph. I suppose that's fair. Though I must remind Your Majesty that, regardless of how close or distant to
you find yourself, I'll still prevent any harm from reaching you."
Miwen: "That's right. Then you can think of this as an early reward for a job well done-"
For a mont, I thought I had heard a series of rapid, sharp cracks behind us.
I glanced back and imdiately tightened my grip on Liz, shielding her with my body.
At the sa ti, I infused my right leg with [Lightning Magic] and kicked the dragon's neck.
The beast made a sharp turn to the right, evading the thin lines of fiery light that burst towards us.
But a single turn wasn't enough. The bullets adjusted faster than we turned.
Thankfully, the Valkyries standing behind us returned fire, buying Liz enough ti to send the dragon into a dive.
Elizabeth: "Oh... I rember these flying machines. They are quite interesting. Should we capture one?"
She asked
with a slight smile, her eyes telling
the answer she was hoping to hear.
To the Demon Queen, destroying strong or interesting enemies was a waste. Like Nissa and the North Dragon, she'd much rather conquer them.
As much as I'd like to spoil her, though, there'd be no point in capturing the fighter jets chasing us.
If not for the Toymaker, the AOTG wouldn't have enough planes in stockpile to match the governnt.
With his arrest, it wouldn't be long before interceptions like these beca a waste of a precious resource.
Miwen: "You take the wheel, Liz. I'll give the Valkyries a hand."
Using [Wind Magic] as armor, I stood and pushed my way towards Skuld and the others.
The situation wasn't looking pretty for them. We were fairly outmatched.
Because of the jets' speed, their relatively small size, and their sudden, unnatural shifts in direction, the Valkyries couldn't hit their targets.
Their bullets, however, didn't lack speed.
They did little, if any, damage to the North Dragon, but the Valkyries and I weren't at the level where we could tank them so easily.
Miwen: "Alright... Eir, you take the backseat. Lief, you're in front. Skuld, choose a side, I'll take the other."
I told Skuld that she didn't need to focus on the strength of her [Lightning Magic] so much as its speed.
Any strike should be enough to fry the pilots' control and bring the plane down.
However, I was wrong.
The jets turned out to be stronger than I thought, and after the first hit, the pilots inside the jets used their own magic to protect the planes.
Thanks to Eir's barriers, we were at a standstill, but...
The mission required us to reach Adriarch's base as fast as possible.
Miwen: "Liz... Fly upward. As high as you can go."
As we made our way up, the jets closed in.
Overwheld by their fire, cracks began to form on Eir's barriers.
She focused them into a single, thicker one, but when they fired their missiles, her last barrier shattered.
The Dragon also seed to struggle, and I was about to fall.
Miwen: "Sorry about this, Lief..."
As she turned to face , I pulled her close.
Her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her lips.
Within that sa motion, I used all of my strength to push her away.
Skuld and Eir looked at
with the sa shock-filled expression Lief had as she vanished from their sight, falling off the dragon.
I wanted to reassure them, but Liz's opening was too narrow for
to waste even a single second.
Before anyone could say a word, I pulled Cassandra out of her sheath at my side and jumped off the dragon as well.
Seemingly understanding what I was going for, Cass turned into two greatswords.
On my way down, I coated them with [Lightning Magic], slashing and destroying the barrier of one of the planes.
With the barrier gone and the jet within reach, I focused the crackling thunder at Cassandra's tip, aiming for the cockpit.
After being hit by the lightning bolt, the plane spiralled down.
Miwen: "...Lief!"
Still processing what just happened, Lief had not spread her wings.
When she heard my shout, finally, they snapped open, breaking her fall.
Just in ti for her to grab Cass' extended blade.
Miwen: "Throw !"
Without a second thought, Lief swung Cassandra and launched
straight into the remaining jet.
With Cass' sharpness and the montum of Lief's throw, I pierced through the plane and its barrier without needing to fire any lightning.
Miwen: "Cass... You can fly in your sword form, right?"
Cassandra: "Sure. But doesn't the idea of pounding
into the ground excite you~?"
I waited a second, thinking she was joking.
She wasn't.
Cloud after cloud passed before my eyes as Cass turned into her humanoid form.
Shifting her body during our freefall, she wrapped herself around .
Arms around my neck, legs around my waist, and a bone-crushing hug later, I blasted [Fire Magic] underneath my feet, breaking our fall and thrusting us upward.
She had positioned herself perfectly to enjoy the violent stop, coquettishly asking for more.
Thankfully, I only had to buy us a couple of seconds for Liz to get us.
Miwen: "If you were wondering why I never suggested riding Cass-"
Cass: "I'd much rather ride you instead~"
I couldn't tell who Liz disapproved of more, Cass or , but while she scolded Cass, I took the opportunity to apologize to Lief and the others.
She wasn't at any risk, of course, but the surprise was so big that she got paralyzed for a mont.
I was also counting on that, though...
Thankfully, aside from the initial shock, the Valkyries didn't seem to mind, and the AOTG didn't get the chance to send more fighters after us before we reached their base.
If anything, they probably only attacked us because of the signal emitted by the governnt-issued trackers we had.
They were useful to identify us within governnt-controlled territory, but... One step outside, and they beca an imdiate problem.
Elizabeth: "Your majesty... We've arrived."
Just as planned, we dropped off the North Dragon near Adriarch's base.
A couple of ters from the first gate, under fire from all sides...
Our invasion began.
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