Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Eagle's Flight
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Whoooosh—
The sound of rushing wind was deafening.
Even with Convection protecting his entire body, the wind that seeped through was enough to make his eyes sting.
That was how fast he was moving—the result of being launched with tremendous force.
‘I wonder if Commander Garcia is all right…’
The force of the launch held a destructive power Loan had never experienced before.
It felt as if even Commander Magda’s Meteor, condensed into a single point and detonated, wouldn’t compare.
The box, the device, Garcia’s will, and his remaining energy had combined to unleash a power beyond imagination.
‘It was like he poured out all the strength he had in one go.’
A resolve to leave no regrets.
The desire to protect someone precious must have driven him to it.
So it was no surprise that the back end of the arrow he was riding had been completely destroyed.
Even so.
It was more than large enough for him to sit on alone.
Loan bound himself and the arrow tightly with Convection and endured the velocity.
‘This feels strange.’
It was less like flying and more like being shot into the sky.
The clouds were almost within reach. Behind him, the sunset was slowly painting the sky.
While the feeling was exhilarating, a part of him was also a little worried.
For now, he was moving on the power of the explosion, but at some point, he would begin to free-fall.
Since this flight had begun rather spontaneously, he would have to stay tense and focused to reach his destination safely.
If he fell from this height, not even he would survive.
‘I should give up on the idea of standing on the arrow to draw a Narrow Path.’
He had expected to soar high into the sky and travel incredibly fast, but he hadn’t thought it would affect his body this much.
The wind and pressure made his eyes and ears feel unlike their usual selves, and his mana supply was also unstable.
That was why he had bound himself to it, to keep from falling off.
Still, he couldn’t stay like this forever.
The moment he reached a sufficient altitude, he would have to immediately enact some measure to travel as far as possible without losing his direction.
The only thing that mattered was arriving in Felsina as quickly and safely as possible.
Just then, he noticed his ascent was gradually slowing.
‘It won’t be long now.’
The situation was unfamiliar, and the outlook was somewhat bleak.
In that case, rather than forcing something to happen, he would have to approach it in the most natural and efficient way.
Loan first established a fundamental premise.
‘I have to see the arrow as one with my body.’
It couldn't stop at simply assuming it to be so.
He had to elevate it beyond ‘understanding’ to the level of ‘perception,’ and even further into his subconscious. As if they had been born as one body from the very beginning.
Naturally, he started by thinking about what the arrow was. What was it made of? Not wood. Right now, it looked like white stone. It might be more accurate to call it bone.
A demon’s bone. That was it. It was a device created by demonic power from the start. Could it be the original body of that eagle-headed demon? It would be easier to think of it that way…
‘An eagle?’
The thought came to him naturally after calling it the bone of an eagle demon.
‘So I’m riding an enormous eagle right now. No, I *am* the eagle.’
The flight of a bird.
From Aul, who was always nearby, to the various birds he had seen coming and going, images of them filled his mind.
Each flew differently, but birds like eagles displayed a particularly unique method.
The sight of them gliding for a very long time from high places, wings spread wide without a single flap.
Right now, it was only bone, but what if he were to add flesh and give it wings?
If it was a matter of manifesting something that didn't exist, wasn't that something he, a mage, could do well?
One thought led to another, pulling the next one in its wake.
Then, suddenly.
“…”
After running through hypotheses and mental proofs several times, just as he had clarified his direction and what he needed to do.
Loan knew he had reached the highest point he could climb.
Just as he would extend a Narrow Path along the optimal route, he now extended a stream of Convection the size of an arrowhead from the front of the arrow.
As if an eagle’s head were gazing straight ahead.
It didn’t use much mana, and without particularly resisting the flow of air, it simply set the direction of travel.
‘It’s working.’
With just that, the previously shaking projectile stabilized.
Immediately, the next step.
Loan slowly spread the Convection surrounding him and the arrow out to the sides.
He continuously checked if it was working properly while forming a clear image, but extending Convection and finely adjusting its angle amidst the powerful wind pressure was no easy task.
The Circle in his heart began to spin furiously, as if straining with all its might.
It might have been because he still lacked the knack for it, but it was as difficult as when he had first struggled to manifest magic.
“Ugh…”
Just as he felt overwhelmed,
Loan recalled Garcia’s will.
Suddenly, he felt that this much pain was nothing.
He had to overcome this so that Richa could live and Garcia would not grieve.
‘Not yet.’
But that didn't mean he should try to overcome it with brute force.
If it were that difficult and painful, an eagle wouldn’t be able to fly for so long.
He shouldn't resist the wind; he should ride it. He tried to gently receive it instead of stubbornly enduring.
Fortunately, the attempt was effective.
Before long, the texture of the air touching the Convection was transmitted directly to Loan. He could feel a strong resistance, a sense of lift, pushing up from below.
Now, he closed his eyes and tried to see more deeply.
It was similar to when he had first tried to see mana.
A sight just as beautiful.
A dazzling corona of light enveloped the large arrow and spread out to the sides, scattering glittering mana into the world.
Loan spread the wings wider.
“Whoa…”
It was an incredibly smooth flight—no, a glide.
He wasn't short on mana. Just slightly adjusting the direction was enough.
It was very comfortable, pleasant even.
He flew like that for a while without any turbulence.
He simply headed toward his destination, occasionally correcting his course by observing the terrain far below.
Maintaining a consistent reference point wasn't too difficult.
This was partly because it was a path he had already traveled, and partly thanks to the spatial awareness he had always trained.
His habit of perceiving locations and spaces as if looking down from the sky, flattening them into a map since he became able to see mana, proved helpful.
As he assessed the situation,
‘I’m much faster than I expected.’
His altitude was decreasing slightly, but at this rate, he might be able to reach Felsina in one go before morning.
He might even have to lower his angle to land at his desired spot.
And indeed.
As time passed and Felsina became visible to the naked eye.
‘I should start descending slowly now.’
He adjusted his angle of descent by slightly raising the back of the Convection wings, and he plunged downward a little faster.
However, if such a large arrow were to suddenly crash into the city, it could cause significant damage.
Subtly adjusting his speed, Loan positioned himself high above Felsina.
It was still far too early.
To the naked eye, Felsina appeared to have no major problems.
Since the incident was expected to occur when the council convened, he had several hours to spare.
But Loan didn’t attempt to land right away.
‘It’s still too soon.’
Loan circled high above Felsina, thinking about what he had to do today.
Simply revealing the relationship between the Basini and the Nostra wouldn’t solve the situation.
He couldn't just throw accusations around based on suspicion without evidence.
With Ferrara just taking its first steps toward stability, he couldn't just announce that demons and the Grave had infiltrated its ranks.
Furthermore, treating the Basini, a representative family, as part of the Nostra would have repercussions that would be difficult to handle.
And would bringing the black box solve everything? Not quite.
More important than having proof was actually preventing the incident planned for today and dealing with those who aided it.
Moreover, there was a lot of information he needed to find out.
He still didn’t know how deeply the Grave Union had infiltrated Felsina.
What kind of influence they had exerted on the election of the chairman.
Or how the ‘carnival’ they were planning had been prepared.
However.
‘What is that…?’
As he continued to circle one area, lost in thought, something strange began to catch his eye.
The place the Union’s responsibility division used as its headquarters, as well as the posts where Felsina’s guards and Ferrara’s royal guards were stationed, all showed the characteristic corona of light that appeared when people with mana gathered.
Awkwardly, however, he could glimpse murky mana at the council hall where the assembly would be held, and at specific locations in the civilian districts to the east, west, south, and north of Felsina.
It wasn't dense enough to suggest a gathering of demons or Grave members, but it was definitely unnatural.
Furthermore, when he looked at the pattern from high above, it seemed even stranger.
When he viewed Felsina as a whole, like a map, connecting the locations to each other and with the city's layout, it felt strangely like a magic circle.
Though much smaller in scale, it looked vaguely similar to when the Grave Union had turned the entire duchy of Schwerin into a magic circle.
‘This… is an unexpected discovery.’
Unexpectedly, his current circling had helped him deduce how the carnival would be activated.
‘I need to check those places first.’
Then it was time to descend.
He chose a landing spot where the noise and impact wouldn't alarm the city.
He turned and adjusted the angle of his wings to descend.
Controlling his speed.
Krrrr-CRASH—
He tried to make a relatively soft landing in a vacant lot, using Convection until the very end, but he couldn't manage a perfect slide.
Still, the anxiety he had felt since first encountering the black box was now significantly relieved.
He had saved time and had already identified the places he needed to investigate. He was even feeling a little proud.
And just then.
Vmmm—
He felt a magical vibration from the notebook in his breast pocket.
Opening it, he saw it was a directive from the Management Bureau.
It seemed that after Loan sent his message, the situation had been further reported by Sienna, and Richa in Felsina had acknowledged the contents and filed another report.
The key points were—
1. To prepare for the potential threat in Felsina, the responsibility division stationed there has decided to strengthen the outer perimeter during the council session and block any suspicious individuals from entering.
2. All Union members currently residing in or near Ferrara are to provide support during the session.
The first decision meant that they intended to contain the damage within Felsina.
Loan could feel Richa’s anguish in that decision, and even his willingness to accept sacrifices.
Furthermore, it hinted at an intention not to prevent the council from convening, but rather to use it as an opportunity.
If that was the case, he had to make sure it happened.
Loan hurriedly extended a Narrow Path and headed for Felsina.
He headed for the nearby eastern civilian district, just as he had observed while circling, deliberately aiming for a place with sparse security.
Since it was hard to know how far the Grave’s influence had spread within Felsina, he chose to infiltrate secretly.
Fortunately, it was the dead of night, when the perimeter was somewhat relaxed and all was quiet.
The guards’ skill level was also laughably low compared to the Union’s, so it wasn't difficult to enter Felsina while monitoring their mana.
Loan followed the map he had memorized in his head toward the place where the murky mana was concentrated.
The streets were silent, and Loan, armed with his Narrow Path and Convection, added no sound to them.
The place he reached was a block with several shops clustered together.
Among them, the one Loan was looking for had a sign that read ‘Tailor Shop.’
Loan carefully examined the mana inside.
He could feel an especially murky mana coming from the basement.