Going non-stop for a day, Cirrus arrived at the emergency camps a few miles from the city of Ukhara.
“Is anyone of the Al-Kutba Familia here!!” he shouted.
“T-the Uncrowned!” said a citizen.
“He’s here to save us!!” another said.
They all began to say similar things and beg him to help when Jane arrived.
“Boss! You here!!”
“They sent me to deal with the dragon. Do you know where it is?”
“Sorry, but we couldn’t keep track of it. We focused on getting the people to a safe distance.”
“That’s more than fine. These people are from Ukhara?”
“Yes, we haven’t gotten one from any of the cities from Israfan, Shalzard, or Warusa.”
“Fuck… very well, keep protecting the people. I will go and hunt it.”
“Do you need a hand in traversing the sand, boss? It’s the least we can do.”
“I like the offer, but I can’t get you involved. This is far, far more dangerous, and I couldn’t guarantee any of the crew’s safety.”
“That bad, huh? Well, if anything happens, Nox here would tell us.”
Nox raised her right wing.
‘Of course! Jane always was rather quick on singles!’
Traversing through Ukhara, Cirrus could see the damages it did.
“Fuck… Nox, Circe, do you see anything from on top?”
‘No, it’s all sand from here to the horizon.’ Said Nox.
‘Same here. Looks like we have to go into the desert and find it.’ said Circe.
“Damn… very well, come back.”
Cirrus arrives at the docks where he saw some of the ships being damaged or destroyed.
‘What luck that Corrupted Spirit fucked up some of the ships!’ said Nox, looking around.
“We have the Rider I’ve been working on. It may not work on the air yet, but it’s more than good enough for the sand.”
Nox comes back and gets into the hood of the Salamander Wool Cloak while Circe stayed in the bag with her head sticking out.
From his shadow, a board came out with two thin pieces embedded with magic stones and another on the board itself.
Cirrus runs and jumps, landing on the board and:
Voom!
The board began to slide across the sand, leaving behind a thin-lined trail.
“(Swords of Damocles).”
Lightning covered the board, and its speed quickly increased.
Whoosh!!
Whoosh!!
Whoosh!!
‘Ah!! It's been forever since we came here!’ Nox said, enjoying the warm breeze.
‘I would enjoy more if not for the target of the quest, Nox. And also the sand.’ Circe said, bothered by the sand.
‘True, but it’s best to enjoy things so you aren’t so wound up!’
“…”
Cirrus said nothing as he simply kept his eyes straight ahead as his heart thumps away.
He decided to take a break and stay in Nox’s temple to rest, seeing as they have been traveling for a while and night was approaching.
“So this is where you were sealed, huh?” Circe looks around. “This explains a lot, actually.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I just mean you're very loyal, is all.”
“That’s what I like to hear! Say Cirrus, you’ve been quiet for most of our time searching? Anything on your mind?”
“Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“It’s the black dragon, right?” Circe said, sitting down.
“Yeah… now that I have so many people I love… I guess I’m a bit more scared of death the older I get.”
“I guess back then you really didn’t have many people.” Said Nox. “But you still had Fels, Leona, Eupheme, and Ouranos.”
“That’s true… I guess back then I really wanted to prove myself and get stronger, I mean my mom had a lot of enemies and I couldn’t be sure if my life wouldn’t be targeted by some Familia for a petty grudge, especially back then.”
“I guess back then you feared humans more than monsters, huh?” said Circe.
“It seems so.” He said with a wry smile. “Is this what they call growth?”
“I would say so.” Nox said, putting her arms around him. “Both in character and size! Even I grew alongside you! Remember how I used to talk all proper and stuff!”
“…Huh?”
Cirrus just realized how different Nox spoke from how he first met her.
“Well, with age comes responsibilities. I am just happy you have a very fortunate life. I am sure you burned a few of your future reincarnation’s luck with marrying two women.”
“Haha! And one of them was the famous virgin goddess Artemis!” Nox added. “I guess our next go at life together is gonna be a rough one, huh?”
“Well, I like to think I simply made my future a lot more luckier with what I have done. Artemis would make sure she finds me again and you will be with me, Nox. I say that’s very lucky.”
“And what of Ai?” Circe asked.
“I like to think Artemis would bring her along as well. Anyway, that’s enough talking about mortality. It’s bad juju to talk about it when we are hunting a Corrupted Spirit with the body of a black dragon.”
“Then let's head to bed! It had been ages since we slept in these sands and under these stars!” Nox said enthusiastically.
Cirrus went to sleep a bit better with the warm wind and the sounds of the slow-shifting sands lulled him to sleep
In the same sands, far, far away.
“Haa!! Haa!! More!! More!!”
Xuanlong desperately seeks to fill their hunger.
Thanks for the chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it!
@NotOriginal
@rayan2302
