Leca cautiously scanned the surroundings before speaking.
"There's a barrier in place."
"So that's why... I couldn't find an exit no matter how hard I looked."
"Hmm… Breaking through the barrier…"
Leca closed his eyes, lost in thought, prompting Mia to ask,
"Can't we just teleport?"
"Teleportation doesn't work within a barrier. We'll have to create a small breach and pass through it physically."
"So we really are trapped like rats in a cage."
Leca brought his hands together and murmured something under his breath. Then, his eyes snapped open.
"I've found the weakest spot in the barrier. To the east..."
He and Mia began walking eastward. After a while, the trees and flowers began to thin out, and in their place appeared a small pavilion.
"Fairy-kind's mana weakens in areas with fewer trees."
He pointed toward the pavilion as he spoke. It was built beautifully, all in white, and looked like a peaceful resting spot—perhaps for sheltering from the rain. Leca stepped inside, sat cross-legged, and began chanting once more in a low voice.
"It's open—this way!"
"Huh?"
In an instant, Leca transformed into a small, blazing wyvern and shot up into the sky. Mia swiftly followed. She felt as if she had passed through a slick membrane, like a film stretched across the air.
"Hah… hah…"
Suddenly, the air changed. As if they had been inside some massive dome, the air before had been stiflingly hot and humid, but now it was cool and dry.
"Are you all right, Lady Mia?"
Leca, in his wyvern form blazing with crimson flames, looked at her with concern. Mia nodded slowly, staring at him in astonishment.
"You're a wyvern?"
"…Spirit beings in human form can take on wyvern shapes."
He was smaller than a typical wyvern—more or less the size of a human, just shaped like one. But being a fire wyvern, his proximity radiated heat. Mia instinctively stepped away.
"From here, we'll need to fly a long distance."
She nodded and took to the sky again. But the lack of proper sleep and the loss of blood had left her dizzy and hazy. The Fairy King's warning to get absolute rest floated into her mind.
How much blood did he take from me? He's less of a Fairy King and more of a Mosquito King.
Her wings flapped feebly. She kept lagging behind. The wyvern that was Leca glanced back, his voice tinged with worry.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay… How long do you think it'll take?"
"At least half a day, if not more. But I can't carry you."
He was a fire wyvern, so riding on his back wasn't an option. Mia forced a smile.
"If we slow down a bit… and take breaks along the way, I think I'll be okay."
All she could do was hope Roy wouldn't be in danger before they arrived. Honestly, this was harder than she expected. Maybe she should have explained things to the Fairy King and asked for a more legal way to escape.
"Do you think… if I'd told him everything, he would've helped us?"
Leca shook his head.
"He might have, but he would have demanded something in return."
Yeah, that figured. He had taken her blood in exchange for the wings. Not that she even knew when the wings were going to grow in. He's a king—surely he wouldn't stoop to lying like Mithys. Still, a strange unease lingered. Ever since her transformation into a fairy, her intuition seemed sharper…
"By the way… What did you two talk about in there?"
"…He gave me his wings."
"What?"
"In exchange, he asked for my blood. So I traded it. But now that I think about it…"
"Yes?"
"I forgot to learn the concealment magic for the wings. Without that, I can't hide them in Sibareth."
Leca looked visibly startled—even in wyvern form, his surprise was palpable. Mia briefly considered telling him the rest of the conversation, but decided against it. What use was it now?
"Well, for all I know, he might've been lying about the wings altogether."
"He's never broken a promise before. I don't believe that's the case... As for the concealment magic, we could always ask about it in a letter later."
The two of them continued flying beneath the night sky—through thick black clouds, past enormous stars. The vast and eerie darkness seemed endless. Eventually, as dawn broke on the horizon, Mia was completely exhausted.
"We've crossed into Sibareth's territory. Just a little further."
"I can't keep flying… Let's rest for a bit—"
"Lady Mia! Watch out!"
A shadowy monster shot down from the sky, aiming straight for her. Leca rushed in and shielded her. The creature's talons struck his back.
"Leca!"
Mia caught a glimpse of it—an enormous bird, probably the size of an elephant. But as its claws touched Leca's blazing body, the bird let out a deafening screech and recoiled. It had been burned.
"Urgh…"
Leca let out a strained groan, his body twisting in pain as his wings flapped erratically. The massive bird turned its head, ready to strike at Mia again. She barely dodged, but one of her wings was grazed.
"Ahh!"
It wasn't a serious injury, but the wing was torn just enough to make flying difficult. Leca charged at the bird, and in response, it let out a hideous shriek before fleeing into the distance.
"Lady Mia, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. What about you, Leca? Are you badly hurt?"
The flames that once engulfed Leca's body had vanished. Instead, he was rapidly turning a dull gray, like a lifeless statue.
"Leca… your body… it's changing!"
He breathed heavily, clearly in pain, blood trailing down his gray-stained back.
"We should stop and rest... I think we'll need to camp."
"Of course we do. But... where are we exactly?"
"This is Nakil—my former place of exile. I know it well, thankfully."
They flew slowly at low altitude. A haze of pale dust rose in the faint dawn light. Despite the pain, Leca guided them to an abandoned area, far from human activity.
Land development here was conducted zone by zone, so this section had long been deserted—perfect for resting undisturbed. Leca landed heavily and shifted back into his human form. With effort, he summoned a small flame and set up camp.
Though the bleeding had stopped, the pain in his back lingered. Mia sat beside him, worry etched into her face.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
"I'll manage... It's not too bad. But Lady Mia, your wing..."
He gestured toward the damaged membrane of her wing. Mia gave him a crooked grin.
"I'm fine, really. Just a scratch—barely touched."
"It doesn't… look fine. If you don't treat it… it might tear worse…"
"The king said my new wings would grow in soon, so I'll just wait. But you're the one in real trouble."
Mia's voice trembled slightly. Leca gave her a faint smile.
"I'll be all right... It's nothing serious…"
He began murmuring a quiet incantation, and a vial filled with blue liquid materialized in the air.
"I hate to trouble you, but… could you apply this for me?"
He lay on his stomach, his back exposed. Mia tore the bloodstained fabric open and examined the wound. It was worse than she'd expected—thick streaks of dark red covered a wide area.
She carefully applied the blue salve to the injury. It must have been some kind of disinfectant—Leca hissed in pain as the pungent scent filled the air.
"Sorry… I know it stings. Just hang in there."
Once she emptied the vial, Leca finally seemed to relax.
"Can I use some of this on my own wing?"
"…."
No reply. He had fallen asleep.
Mia rubbed her eyes and lay down beside him. It was her first time sleeping on bare ground without even a blanket, but she was too tired to care.
She closed her eyes.
Just as she was drifting off...
She thought she heard the low breathing of a beast nearby. Since undergoing fairy transformation, her senses—including hearing—had become hypersensitive. She tried to ignore it and return to sleep.
But then...
Frrr…
There it was again. Definitely a beast's breath. Mia sat up and scanned the area. Slowly, she reached for her earring. In an instant, it transformed into a massive sword that settled into her grip. Her anklet, meanwhile, unraveled and reformed into a sturdy shield, attaching itself to her other arm with a soft click.
"Whatever you are, come on. I'll take you this time…"
Frrr…
The sound was getting closer.
Mia held her sword and shield at the ready, eyes sharp. Her body was still weak, but with these invincible items in her hands, she wasn't too worried.
Then—
Something approached from a distance, stirring up the dust. Not at a run, but at a slow, steady pace. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Walking?
Mia blinked and looked again.
It was a horse. A large white horse, its entire body glowing with a silvery light—so bright it illuminated everything around it.
Whinny... whiiinny.
The horse didn't look aggressive at all. In fact, it almost seemed… happy to see her. Still cautious, Mia stepped back and raised her sword.
The horse slowed, stopping a short distance away when it noticed her stance. Then it let out a soft, forlorn sound. Whinny?
"Wh… Who are you?"
The horse tilted its head and looked at her with eyes that seemed to say You know me, as if it recognized her. Mia froze, confused.
"What's going on? Do you want something from me?"
"…Frrrr…"
It blinked its beautiful brown eyes, quietly watching her, as though it understood every word she said. But it didn't—or couldn't—speak. Mia slowly lowered her weapons.
Then—
"Gaia! Gaia!"
A voice rang out in the distance.
That voice—
Mia stood frozen in place.