When I shifted, the area was pitch black. The cries of beasts could be heard.
Without even activating my detection skill, I could see that the area was swarming with demons. It seems that the demons are on the lookout for our sudden appearance. None of them are moving a muscle.
We can hear the roar of a dragon in the distance. It seems to be a very dangerous place at night.
I head out of the forest with Ilimo. Just then, Sidhi tugs at my sleeve.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't think we should let them see too much of us."
"Oh, yeah. Even though it's nighttime, it's probably best not to let them see us flying in the sky. Besides, it would be troublesome to be attacked by demons. Okay, okay."
I'll put wards around everyone so they can't see us. Of course, we also make sure that their presence and magic are undetectable.
"What?"
When I came out of the forest, I saw someone. A voice leaks out. To my surprise, it was Julia. She was standing with her arms crossed, staring at us.
"...... You're not waiting for us, are you?"
"I'm sure you're right."
Sidi opens his mouth from behind. It's a shame for a woman to be standing alone in such a pitch-black darkness. Daredevil is the word for it.
But she had put up a ward. She called herself a fire mage, but she must be a very good magician to be able to set up wards as well. She is not perfect, but she is so good at hiding her own presence that it would be quite difficult to find her in this pitch black darkness. This is probably the reason why she can keep staring at the forest.
"Shall we go to ......?"
I climbed onto Ilimo's back, leaving Julia where she was. Sidhi got on too. Escalina nodded her head. It seemed that the water had already been stretched.
Without a sound, Ilimo jumps up. Julia's figure is getting smaller and smaller. Her magic will soon be depleted. When that happens, there will be no more warding. She is no fool. She will break the wards just as she is about to run out of magic. Then we'll have no choice but to retreat.
I took out an emergency rice ball and fried dragon meat from the infinite storage and put them on the plate I took out at the same time.
"Sadakichi!"
"Take this plate to the woman on the ground. Just put it at her feet."
Sadakichi then disappeared.
"What?"
An indescribable voice came from the ground. Of course, that would surprise me.
As if the voice was a signal, Ilimo took off toward the west.
On the way, he saw many bonfires. It was the Karza Castle. I guessed that they were in a buoyant mood after having taken the castle. Somehow, I don't feel any sense of urgency from ...... the castle. I tried to detect any signs, but there was no sign of soldiers posted around the castle. I was told that the water supply to the castle has been cut off. If this is true, it would be a good idea for the soldiers to move to secure the water supply. ....... I wonder if they think they can just use the water from the river in front of them.
While I was thinking about that, Ilimo stopped moving. It seems that he has arrived at the place I indicated. However, the area is so black that I can't see anything.
"Could you please go downstairs for now?
Before I knew it, Escalina was right beside me. I was so startled that my body trembled, but I tried to keep my composure.
At the sound of my voice, Ilimo began its slow descent.
We were in a deep forest. As we descended, we heard a thudding sound. It was as if all the demons in the area had started to flee at once.
Escalina looked around with a scurry, and then she started to walk slowly. She was soon lost in the darkness. I activated my presence detection, but somehow I could not catch any sign of her.
"Mr. Linos, I think I can send out a light.
Sadie says so, and I immediately magically produce a light in my palm. The light illuminates the area around me, but I cannot see Escalina.
It is only when the light is brighter that I realize that there is a small river flowing nearby. I hear the sound of the river, but I had not noticed it until a few minutes ago. I looked down and saw footprints on the ground. They were human footprints, so they must have belonged to Escalina. I take Ilimo and follow the footprints.
After walking for a while, we saw Escalina a few meters ahead. She is standing there with her back to us. I was about to tell her to shut up and leave when Irimo bit my shoulder.
What?
I turn around. Just then Sidi's voice rings out.
"Mr. Linos! Down! Down!"
I looked down, and to my surprise, I found myself on a precipice. If I had taken a step forward, I would have fallen headlong to the bottom of the valley. I backed up in a panic.
Escalina was floating in the air. I wonder what kind of ability she is using. Perhaps she has tied a string of water somewhere.
"Here it is!
Escalina mutters to no one in particular. Upon closer inspection, the cliff on the other side of the river is very close. It seems that the least amount of effort is required to block the cliff here.
She turns her body around while floating in the air. She raised her hands horizontally, and a few spurts of water came out from her fingertips.
"......Please step back, it's dangerous."
Following Escalina's words, I moved away from the spot and took a short distance. Water continues to spurt from her fingertips. At first glance, it looks as if she is performing some kind of water trick.
After a while, an indescribable sloshing sound is heard. It sounds as if something is unraveling. And right after that, the place where we were standing shook violently.
"Whoa!"
This is what we call a vertical shake. It was the first time I had ever experienced such a tremor, and I almost fell on my buttocks, but I held on desperately. Sadie was clinging to ...... my waist.
Soon the shaking stops. Escalina turned to face us and walked slowly back to us in the air.
"...... is over."
He was expressionless and spoke in a matter-of-fact manner. Fearfully, I went to the edge of the cliff, but it was pitch black and I could not see anything. On the contrary, a strange smell was wafting from the bottom of the valley. I put a ward on everyone to muffle the strange smell.
Since I can't see anything from here, I decide to get on Ilimo and go down to the bottom. As I descended slowly, Ilimo stopped moving at a certain point. I shined my light on it and saw what looked like a wall of earth.
However, I could not see the whole view with the current light, so I concentrated my magical power and produced an oversized light to illuminate the surrounding area. To my surprise, there was a wall of earth of an unbelievable height. It must have been several tens of meters high.
I ask them to go down to the bottom of the valley for the time being. The wall seen from there was very impressive.
It was soft to the touch. It contained a lot of water. This is going to collapse if it is not smelted soon. Once it collapses, it will collapse at once. If I were to take a bite of such a thing, I would surely go to the other side.
I put my hands on the mud wall and concentrate my magic power on it. I imagine that the water is drained out at once and the soil is hardened. Then, I activate .......
The ground shakes. This time it was a sideways tremor. Immediately after that, something like smoke billowed out from the mud wall, and the surrounding area turned white. After a while, there was a hard, pitch black wall that looked as if it had been solidified with concrete. .......