The Blue Lightning Over the Sea
It was a corner of the garden in the Elf Kingdom. Two attendants approached quickly, setting a small table and chairs upon the grass. As Nox took his seat, Caelion and Liandrea sat opposite him. An attendant poured tea—a liquid with a pale, golden hue. Taking a sip, the fragrance spread softly through his mouth.
'Smells good.'
Caelion took a sip of his own tea and set the cup down slowly. "Nox, the envoy should return within a month at the earliest. Until then, please rest comfortably in your nest."
"Yeah. I'll stay in the nest, then. I'll leave it to you."
Caelion hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Nox. You approached the outer perimeter of the barrier with magic power far denser and more violent than usual. It was enough to shake the royal palace's barrier. Did something significant happen?"
"Ah, I guess that happened because I flew a bit too hard."
"……I see."
Beside them, Liandrea gently pushed a small plate of refreshments toward him. Small, golden-brown toasted bread slices were spread with a light jam. "Please, enjoy these while you rest."
"Thanks. I'll eat well."
Biting into a piece of bread, the sweetness and saltiness spread together. It paired perfectly with the tea. 'Surprisingly delicious.'
Caelion and Liandrea continued to discuss the envoy's schedule and palace affairs for a while longer. Since the content didn't particularly interest him, he simply chewed slowly on the bread, one piece at a time. By the time he popped the last piece into his mouth, the plate was empty. It felt like a good time to get up.
"That was good. I'm heading back to the nest."
"Yes. Please take care on your way."
Caelion and Liandrea rose from their seats and bowed their heads briefly. Nox walked to the edge of the garden and released his Polymorph. A black mist rippled once, and his body returned to its true form. Spreading his wings, he soared upward, passing rapidly between the branches of the World Tree. Upon landing in the nest, he cast Polymorph again.
Kar lifted his head from his spot. "Have you returned?"
"Yeah. I'm back."
Nox settled onto the Turaka hide and called Kar over. He felt he should briefly tell him about what happened in the human territory yesterday.
"Kar. You know how I went into that ripple yesterday?"
"……Yes. I remember."
"It turned out to be a beast summoning ritual by humans. They tried to bind me with chains, so I cleaned things up a bit before coming back."
Kar’s scales bristled all at once. "……Are you saying there were humans who dared to do such a thing to you, Master!"
His tail struck the floor violently.
"Did they dare to try and bind you, Master!"
"Mm."
"I will go there right now and crush those humans! Which family is it!"
As his scales bristled even further, Kar rose from his spot, preparing to spread his wings. "Just tell me the location, and I will blow the roof off that house!"
"……."
"Daring to treat you like that!"
Nox watched him quietly. It didn't seem like a place worth visiting anymore. When he had transformed into his true form, his magic had been released all at once, and the building had collapsed because of it. From the sky, it had felt like watching bugs struggle; it was almost pitiful.
After Kar shouted for a while longer and noticed Nox’s silence, his tone gradually subsided. "……Ma, Master?"
"Yeah?"
"……May I really go and crush them?"
"Mm. Forget it. I already finished it. Their house collapsed, too."
"……."
Kar’s scales began to settle slowly, and his bristled tail curled into a round shape. "……I see."
"Yeah."
"……Then that is fine. I am just glad you are safe."
A red aura rippled between his scales once before fading away.
It was the next morning. Lying on the Turaka hide, Nox watched the sunlight filtering through the leaves. The refreshing sensation he had felt while flying at high speed yesterday kept lingering in his mind. It was that feeling of having his chest blown wide open.
'……Should I go fly like that again?'
He rose from his spot. Kar lifted his head from his place. "Are you going out again?"
"Yeah. I’m going to fly a bit."
"……."
Kar half-spread his wings before folding them back. Perhaps remembering how he had shouted in anger yesterday, the tip of his tail tapped the nest floor lightly. "……Please take care on your journey."
"Yeah."
He returned to his true form, spread his wings at the edge of the nest, and soared. Once he was a short distance from the nest, he infused his wings with magic and began to fly rapidly. As the wind grew fierce between his feathers, his body was propelled forward in an instant. He also released the magic he had been suppressing deep within his core. Since he had held back in front of Caelion yesterday, the flow he released now was much more intense. His chest felt clear, and magic began to flow deeply from the tips of every feather.
The sense of liberation he had felt when he first reincarnated, flying freely over the mountain ranges before settling in the nest, filled his chest once more. He did not control his magic. Once he moved far beyond the outskirts of the World Tree, the colors of the forest blurred rapidly behind him. Below, the magic of the beasts subsided all at once. The entire herd went quiet for a moment. It wasn't something he needed to worry about.
When he infused his wings with magic once more, the energy at the tips of his feathers grew even darker. Blue lightning split and scattered in long streaks between his feathers, and the clouds above his head were sliced through as if by a blade.
BOOM—!
A roar followed belatedly. The mountain range ended, and a plain unfolded. The plain, too, disappeared behind him in an instant, and forests continued beyond it. After passing the forest, another plain appeared, and he could see human territories dotted across it. Blue lightning split and scattered between his feathers more frequently.
After traveling for quite some time, the mountain range appeared once more, and beyond it, a vast blue surface began to unfold.
'……Oh, the sea.'
It was a landscape he hadn't seen in a long time. The endless blue surface stretched out beneath his feathers, and sunlight was shattering into tiny fragments upon it. As he descended closer to the water's surface, the salty wind blew between his feathers. Because magic was densely condensed at the tips of his feathers, the water surface split in unison every time he flapped them. Massive waves rose and fell in the wake of the splits. He caught the magic of sea beasts sinking into the deep.
'……There are beasts here, too.'
He was getting hungry. He found a wide, flat rock and landed. He pulled out one of the beasts he had caught and stored in his sub-space and swallowed it quickly on the spot. He wanted to eat fast and fly again. He didn't even think about grabbing spices. He spread his wings and soared again. As he accelerated, the seawater trembled minutely at the blue energy at his feather tips. The sea stretched endlessly beneath his feet. The wind swirled more fiercely between his feathers.
'……This is great.'
Then, the scenery before his eyes changed. Darkness without a single point of light spread in all directions. Even in the darkness, the terrain was clearly visible. In the distance, a massive World Tree stood tall.
'……Huh? Something is different.'
But something was off. There was a deep crack in the World Tree. The branches that usually stretched endlessly into the darkness were shortening, and the massive trunk was gradually shrinking. The magic flowing from the World Tree was being slowly sucked into the dark night sky. The World Tree was trembling quietly, as if obeying that flow.
The darkness dissipated. The sea unfolded beneath his feet once more. When he stopped flapping for a moment, he hovered in mid-air, and the flow of magic at his feather tips also ceased.
'……What was that just now?'
He hovered in that spot for a long time. His chest felt a little heavy. He didn't know the reason, but it wasn't a very good feeling.
A small meeting room in the Waldenfelt mansion of the Verdan Empire. Walter von Waldenfelt sat across the desk. Reports were piled high on the desk, and the head of the intelligence department was kneeling opposite him.
"……These are the reports that came in this morning."
"Read them."
"Reports have come in that a giant bird shadow, a roar, and blue lightning were witnessed simultaneously in three territories of the Hayden Kingdom. The testimonies of the farmers in the territories are consistent."
Walter tapped the desk with his fingers before stopping. "Anything else?"
"There is a report that some farmland in the plains of the Canaria Kingdom beyond that was bent by strong winds, and reports have also come in that a similar shadow passed by the coast with a time difference of about two hours."
"……Even the coast."
"Yes. And there is one more thing."
"Speak."
"Reports have come in that beasts in the territories near the beast domain have all hidden deep in the mountains in unison. Hunters are returning without catching a single animal, and some beast contractors are stating that their contracted beasts are trembling in an unusual way. Unrest is beginning within the territories as well."
Walter clasped his fingers together and breathed quietly. Since immediately after the incident at the Rosenberg main house two days ago, the intelligence department's tracking range had expanded. Thanks to that, reports that would usually have taken a long time to arrive were already piled on his desk.
'……It is Nox.'
The aftermath of that incident hadn't even been settled yet, and he was moving again. There was no accurate tracking of where he had gone after soaring from the vicinity of the main house, but if magic of the same stature was passing over the human territory again, there was only one answer. Collateral damage was following him on his path as he headed somewhere rapidly. Including the unrest in the beast domain, it meant that magic was flowing out at a level beyond what he usually restrained himself to.
"Submit this report to His Majesty immediately. And send a request to the Elf Kingdom side to share the facts through diplomatic channels."
"I will carry out your orders."
The cup Walter had lifted was already cold.
A small fishing village on the eastern coast of the Canaria Kingdom. Fishing boats that had set sail early in the dawn were returning to the harbor one by one, but there was something different from usual. The nets on every boat were empty.
One captain walked down from the deck toward the harbor master. "We didn't catch a single one today."
"……What does that mean?"
"It's strange. Before we even lowered the nets, the sea went quiet. The sky went dark once at dawn, and after that, I didn't see a single one of the usual ones rising."
The captain looked toward the sea. "That's not all. Go to the coast. Dead beasts have been washed ashore."
"……What?"
"There are small ones and big ones. They all washed up belly-up. The villagers from the coast are gathered in front of them."
The harbor master's expression hardened. "……I must report this to the village elder immediately."
The captain nodded briefly and turned his steps back toward the fishing boat. The wind swept through the harbor. The water below the pier was still shaking strangely. The large waves had already passed, but the sea was unable to settle, as if surprised belatedly. The sound of people murmuring on the coast could be heard faintly on the wind. Silence settled over the sea once again.
When he returned to the nest, the sun had tilted quite a bit. Upon landing in the nest, he cast Polymorph. Black mist rippled once, and he shrank into his human form. He pulled a fish out of his sub-space and began to prepare it. It was one he had caught in the lake on his way back.
Sizzle—!
As the oil popped, a familiar aroma spread through the nest. With spices added, it couldn't be compared to the one he had swallowed quickly on the rock earlier. Kar lifted his head from his spot.
"Have you returned?"
"Yeah. I'm back."
Kar groomed his scales and rested his head back on his spot. Today, even his tail was quiet. Nox settled onto the Turaka hide and lay down. The sunlight coming through the leaves was falling in long streaks. He felt like he had traveled quite far today. That scenery flashed through his mind for a moment.
'……Well, whatever. Where should I go tomorrow?'
He became curious about what might be beyond the sea.