As the light surrounding the airship dimmed, Lucya and the others inside were shaken by a wallowing blizzard that hit them strongly.
However, thanks to the captain, the ship stabilized, and Lucya could see the view from behind the window glasses.
The world was dominated by white stretched endlessly as far as her eyes could see, and dark weather coiled around with its massive storm, hurling them with an oppressive weight and slowing down the airship's pace.
"Is everyone okay?". Sir Ryan's composed voice rang in the space, twisting their attention toward him.
"Yes, we are," replied the knights and crew, who regained their balance and fixed their center of gravity to balance their hold.
Lucya is no better, but she soon shifts her attention toward Lady Midnight, whose eyes are closed. A faint mana leaks from her body, spreading it thinly across the area around and outside. 'This is a detection spell?'
Like a ripple on the pond, the mana wave thinly spread as it conjured a large range outside—however, Lady Midnight, whose expression tightened in deep wrinkles, flinched and jolted backward by a rebound.
"Marina!?".
Lord Midnight caught her into his embrace and looked toward her palace face with furrowed brows. Using his hand, he wiped the sweat that streamed down her forehead.
"I'm sorry for forcing you like this,".
"No, it's okay." Lady Marina shook her head, took a vial glass filled with blue fluid, and downed it in one go. She wiped her lips and focused on activating the spell.
"Here I go".
Lucya, who felt the whistling mana that passed her, blinked as her eyes widened after realizing what Lady Marina had done. For someone hailed as a witch and formidable mage, there is no way her mana reservoir could be depleted in just a second if she used a detection spell.
A dawn of realization hit her like thunder, tightening her expression. She gulped her saliva and murmured, 'Lady Marina not only spread it like a wave but rained down her mana to detect the heat signal on the land beneath! This is madness!?'.
Her body shivered for the reckless behavior of a mother searching for her son's whereabouts. 'I guess, A Mother is that kind of person.'
She shook her head, pushing the nostalgic memories of her own mother deep, and closed her eyes, reciting the spell she had learned from Granny.
All mana in her body flowed gently as it condensed into her eyes. Lucya snapped her eyes wide and chanted the spell, 'Manifest, eye of foresight'.
Lucya's blue pupils trembled and shrank, and her vision pierced through the thick blizzard and saw the white horizon.
The spell helped her see a hundredth of kilometers away or even further, depending on how well the caster mastered it.
Because of her relentless pursuit of magic, Lucya could see a thousand kilometers away, and her eyes swept sideways, looking for a trace of the people she recognized.
However, searching for only two people on a continent proved hard, like pinpointing a needle in a grass field.
'Come on, where are you, Jin, Silvia!? ' Lucya gritted her teeth, prying her eyes open. Her brows slightly twitched, feeling a searing agony in her eyes, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Lucya never stops twisting her face sideways as if like a beacon in the middle of the ocean, gritting her teeth and prevailing in this torturous experience.
"Kuh".
"Marina!?".
A moment later, Marina spurted blood on her seven orifices, and Ryan's knuckles turned red from the trailing blood; the knights and crew grew intensely tensed, seeing the woman keep a relentless search with life on the line.
As the airship passed the mountain's formation, Lucya's eyes turned red from excessive use, and she flinched when she saw something northwest of the tallest mountain.
'Formation of Ice? No, it is not. That is'. Lucya, a thousand kilometers away from the site, witnessed a massive beast with four limbs spitting a blizzard from its mouth, trying to destroy a barrier magic made from ice.
A tiny dot, a shadow of people standing still facing the beast, her silver hair sprawled by the gust of winds, undeterred.
"Silvia, aakh!?". Her eyes shut down as scorching heat burned her retina, and she fumbled to the floor.
The commotion from Lucya's scream drew everyone's attention toward her. One of the knights close to her detached from his formation and helped the girl regain her footing.
"Lady Lucya, your eyes".
His outburst drew the attention of others as they saw blood trickling down Lucya's eyes.
"I found them?".
Lucya's voice halted the commotion that happened as they drew a cold breath; she lifted her gaze, eyes covered in blood, and opened her mouth.
"I found Silvia's whereabouts".
Soon, upon hearing her words, the atmosphere in the room shifted with urgency, and everyone's expression tightened.
"Tell the captain to change our course; proceed Northwest from that tallest mountain."
Lucya stood up and roared her order as the crews began to run toward the commando deck.
***
The howling wind subsided, and Jin lifted his gaze to find a colossal beast. Its blue scales shone under the dim light, impenetrable by any means of weapons. Four strong limbs with protruding claws and spikes could sever even a mountain.
Its predatory eyes scanned the entire room, exhaling a white mist from its elongated mouth filled with jagged teeth. A pair of horns grows from its skulls as it emphasizes its dominance over the world.
The beast tilted its head sideways, searching for something that was supposed to be here but wasn't. It turned toward the two mortals and let out a thunderous roar.
*Roaaarr! "Human, you dare!".
Jin's body stiffened upon hearing infuriated words that shook his eardrums coming from the dragon's mouth.
'It talked!? Kuh!?'. Jin's vision blurred, and he shook his head. On his side, Silvia was on the floor, paralyzed by the existence of the mighty beast.
"You dare take something from me! The ruler of this land, unforgivable!". The dragon inhaled, showing its bloating throat.
The atmosphere in the room shifted as the hair on Jin's back stood, and tingling goosebumps crawled over his skin. He turned to the side and kicked the ground, wrapping his hand around Silvia's waist and dodging the breath spewed from the dragon.
A storm brewed, bringing a chilling wind that pierced their skin. Jin unconsciously tightened his hug, seeking warmth from the girl in his chest.
It lasted a moment, but the impact felt like an eternity as Jin lifted his gaze and looked back, seeing a wall of ice twisted into a straight path.
'Don't tell me!?'. Jin's eyes widened upon realizing the fact he was familiar with the way the structure was built around this place.
The mountain formation and its massive spiral cave were none other than the dragon's lair; it was not built by nature.
His body shuddered, thinking just how reckless and impulsive his action was, bringing danger toward him and Silvia. He gritted his teeth and stood up, tensing all the muscles around his body.
He cast his sight toward the girl; her body was trembling, and her eyes were devoid of any light. "Get a grip, Silvia".
Silvia's body flinched, feeling the tight grip on her waist and the tension of the boy beside her, and she lifted her eyes forward.
"Hmph, you were still alive? It doesn't matter; I will kill you all just like my ancestor who tried to massacre all humans".
The dragon snorted and again inhaled deeply, focusing all its power in its throat.
"Silvia, hold on tight!".
Jin cries, prompting the girl to snuggle close and wrap her hand around the boy's neck. His body glowed green, and a magic circle emerged beneath his feet. 'Elemental Enhancement, Airwalk'.
The place shook, and Jin kicked the ground, soared above the far ceilings, and tried to escape through the gaping hole above.
"Hmph, you foolish human. This time, I will surely end you".
However, before the dragon spits its breath, its eyes widen, seeing a golden coin scattered like rain. "My treasure".
'This is my chance'. Jin exhaled sharply and tapped the primal mana in the atmosphere, seeping into his pores. His breath stopped as he felt a thousand cold needles pierce his flesh, eroding his senses.
He gritted his teeth, enduring the lost feeling of his senses, and flew like an arrow escaping the dragon's lair.
A snow blizzard hit him like a tsunami, pushing him away from his straight path and stranding him toward the left.
His Jade eyes flickered for the intense blast of the chaotic mana above the land surface. Jin shook his head, getting rid of the throbbing pain in his skull, and proceeded forward.
"Jin!?".
The hand on his neck gripped tight as the girl noticed Jin's body temperature had dropped significantly in such a blink.
"I'm okay; let's search for a place to hide first."
"Um, understood. What!?".
A sense of weightlessness wrapped around both of them as they fell, but when the ground was in sight, Jin's face crumpled while biting his lips. A magic circle appeared on his feet, and they soared through the sky once more.
"Jin, that's enough, we can walk…".
"No, we can't. Don't worry; I'm fine." Jin swept his hand under the girl's knees and carried her in a princess carry.
The boy's voice cracked. His stubbornness hit Silvia's chest like a hammer, destroying her last remaining defense and flooding her mind with guilt and apologies.
"I'm sorry, Jin". Silvia pressed her tear-stricken face to his chest.
"It's okay; we are going to be alright."
His words turned into sharp blades that further scraped her mind, pushing her into the abyss of self-blame, 'I'm sorry. It was all my fault.