"Kawashima is... walking on air?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's wine-red eyes widened in shock as she watched Kawashima Toya slowly approach, stepping through the empty void as if it were solid ground.
"Can humans really walk on the sky without any equipment?"
"They can."
From the sky, Toya heard Utaha's murmur and projected his gentle voice toward her.
"But to achieve that, one must become strong enough."
Moments later, Toya boarded the aircraft. The cabin door sealed shut, and the jet accelerated toward the distant mountain range.
Not far from the plane, Tohru and Kanna roamed freely in the sky, chasing and playing with each other amidst the clouds.
"What a beautiful dragon..." Kasugano Sora's large eyes sparkled with wonder. "Onii-chan, her name is Kanna, right?"
Toya stared at the two dragons dancing in the sky. "That's right. She is a Spirit Dragon."
"I don't know if there are even more beautiful dragons out there, but clearly, the Spirit Dragon's aesthetics are top-tier."
When he first saw Kanna in her true form, even he was momentarily stunned by her appearance.
Fortunately, remembering Kanna's goofy, gluttonous behavior in her human form reminded him that her elegance as a Spirit Dragon was merely skin-deep.
At her core, she was just a pampered child.
The sight of two giant dragons soaring through the sky was truly captivating.
Sora, Utaha, Eriri, and even the "Evangelist of Evil," Hanazono Yurine, couldn't tear their eyes away from the spectacle.
"You guys enjoy the view. I'm going to get some rest."
Toya stifled a yawn and turned toward the rest area.
As a high-tech fighter jet worth a staggering 2,000 Origin Points, the interior was spacious and divided into various zones, resembling a flying luxury mansion.
Sora watched Kanna for a while longer but eventually grew restless. "Jashin-chan, let's go explore the ship!"
"Explore the ship?" Jashin-chan's blue eyes flickered with interest. "Sounds fun! Let's go on an adventure!"
Utaha watched the young girl and the demon leave, then silently followed them.
"I'm just going to supervise Jashin-chan to make sure she doesn't do anything bad."
"Yes, exactly. I am supervising. I am definitely not curious about the secrets of this high-tech aircraft."
Deeply asleep in the rest area, Toya had no idea that Jashin-chan was leading Sora on a puzzle-solving adventure through the plane's systems.
BANG!
After an unknown amount of time, Toya suddenly felt the world turn upside down.
"What happened?"
Toya opened his eyes instantly, his gaze sharp as he scanned his surroundings.
By the time he focused, the room had returned to its normal orientation.
"An illusion?" Toya looked at the slightly disheveled room. No, he was certain—the plane had physically flipped over.
Just then, the aircraft rolled again.
Fortunately, Toya was fully awake. He grounded himself, his body remaining perfectly steady even as the plane performed a three-hundred-sixty-degree barrel roll.
"Who is playing with the plane?" Toya looked out the window.
Tohru and Kanna hadn't approached the hull; they were still playing in the clouds.
There was only one answer: someone was messing with the controls inside.
As soon as he stepped out of the rest area, Toya saw Yurine storming down the corridor, her face dark with rage.
"Yurine, are you heading to the cockpit too?"
"Yes." Yurine's voice was icy. "Jashin-chan and Sora went to 'explore' earlier. It has to be them."
"Let's go check together."
Just as Toya and Yurine prepared to head for the cockpit, the plane flipped again.
Caught off guard, Yurine stumbled, thrown toward the wall by the sudden shift in gravity.
Toya reacted instantly, grabbing her arm to steady her. He teased lightly, "Yurine, you should be prepared for anything at a time like this."
"Thank you." Feeling Toya's hand on hers, Yurine blushed slightly. "I'll be careful."
"Let's go." Toya discreetly released her hand, and the two walked toward the cockpit together.
The journey down the hall was turbulent, with the plane flipping and rolling intermittently. No matter how the aircraft turned, Toya remained firmly planted on the floor, moving as if gravity didn't apply to him.
Yurine, however, felt like she was trapped on a dizzying roller coaster, nauseous but unable to vomit.
After a struggle, they finally reached the cockpit.
Through the doorway, Yurine clearly saw Jashin-chan sitting in the pilot's seat, treating the flight controls like an arcade game joystick.
Remembering how miserable she felt just moments ago, Yurine's anger—and killing intent—skyrocketed.
"Toya, let's catch Jashin-chan and kill her."
"I suggest we restrain her first," Toya said, a faint, humorless smile on his handsome face. "We're on a plane. If we kill her, there's nowhere to dispose of the mess."
"Fair point. We'll deal with her once we reach our destination."
Yurine marched into the cockpit, grabbed Jashin-chan by the tail, and dragged her out.
Seeing Yurine's icy expression and the unreadable smile in Toya's eyes, Jashin-chan's heart sank.
"Yurine! Toya! I was wrong! Please forgive me!"
Toya let out a chuckle devoid of any warmth.
"Forgiveness is God's domain. Your punishment is Yurine's."
He had finally managed to fall asleep, spared from Merlin's training in Avalon for once. A rare holiday rest, and it had been ruined by this snake.
If he didn't feel a sliver of hesitation about dirtying the plane, he would have already drawn his blade and ended her himself.
Once the plane stabilized, Toya looked expressionlessly at Sora and Utaha, who both stood with their heads lowered like children caught stealing candy.
"Utaha, you're an adult. Why didn't you stop Jashin-chan?"
"And you, Sora."
"Luckily, this isn't an ordinary plane, and you two were wearing seatbelts. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
"As normal humans, do you really think you could withstand the G-force of the plane flipping like that?"
"I'm sorry, Onii-chan." Sora hung her head, apologizing sincerely. "I won't do it again. Please forgive me."
"Sorry, Toya..." Utaha's exquisite face flushed with shame.
A grown woman getting carried away by curiosity and causing trouble like a child... it was truly embarrassing.
Toya waved his hand helplessly. "Alright, stop looking like I'm bullying you."
"Next time, no dangerous behavior."
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to punish Sora.
"Okay." Sora nodded obediently. "Onii-chan, I know I was wrong."
"I definitely won't do anything this dangerous again."
Just then, the plane suddenly began to vibrate violently.
The shaking lasted only a few seconds before stopping abruptly.
"Again?" Toya frowned and looked toward the cockpit.
This time, it was empty.
"Is it from outside?"
At that moment, Kanna's childish voice transmitted through the hull. "Toya, you're flying too slow."
"Tohru and I will tow you!"
"Don't! Just fly slowly like this!" Toya sighed, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. "Isn't the point of a trip to enjoy the scenery along the way?"
Outside, Kanna reluctantly released her claws from the aircraft's fuselage.
"This trip really is full of little troubles."
Once everything returned to calm, Toya looked out the window. The snow-capped peaks of the mountain range were finally coming into view.
"We're finally here."
"I hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly."
.....