It was actually quite funny: among the people present, there was an Angel (Sankta), a bird (the Liberi, Gin), and a Dragon (Lung), yet not a single one of them could fly! They were truly bringing shame to their ancestors who could roam the heavens freely.
Jeanne looked at them, thinking silently to herself. Even though she knew they hadn't inherited the flight capabilities of their archetypes, at this moment, she couldn't help but complain inwardly. Left with no other choice, everyone turned their gaze toward Jeanne, the only one capable of creating a miracle. Jeanne didn't keep them in suspense and prepared for the next move.
"Spread out a bit. I need some space for what I'm about to do!"
After speaking, Jeanne closed her eyes. Ch'en and the other two moved toward the edges, leaving ample room. Just as they were wondering what kind of trick Jeanne was going to pull this time, a pitch-black, winged giant beast appeared directly before them.
"Is this... a Draco? No, though it looks similar to the symbol of a Draco, it seems to be missing two forelimbs!"
For Ch'en, who had read extensively about Victorian history due to her family background, she recognized at first glance the similarity between this creature and the Draco heraldry. However, by comparison, the beast in the Draco scrolls she had seen felt more powerful, possessing a more majestic aura than this one. But that didn't mean this fellow was mediocre; one only had to look at its powerful limbs and razor-sharp teeth to guess the combat potential contained within its body.
"Is this... the creature rumored to have easily captured a landship?" Gin stared at the creature that had suddenly appeared, carefully observing its appearance and pondering silently. He had long heard of such creatures from his superiors—how just a few of them could easily take down Ursus's most advanced landships. How could he not pay attention? Now seeing the real thing, he could only say its reputation was well-deserved. He had previously tried to find a weakness in the beast, so that if a conflict ever arose in the future, he could bring out a weapon to counter it. But now it seemed that while it wasn't perfect, there were no obvious weaknesses to be found.
"What are you standing there for? Get on! Otherwise, this place really is going to collapse!" Jeanne urged them. What time did they think it was, just standing there doing nothing?
Hearing Jeanne's words, Ch'en and Gin snapped out of their shock. They saw Lemuen had already found a secure spot on the beast, so they hurriedly climbed onto its back.
"Are you sitting tight? We're taking off!"
As her voice fell, the Wyvern flapped its wings under Jeanne's command, soaring into the massive hole above like a cannonball. If not for Jeanne's order, this big fellow might have stayed underground for a while—the place was quite comfortable for it, especially with the warming fire.
Ch'en closed her eyes, feeling the powerful wind pressure. She didn't even dare to open her mouth, gripping the beast's scales tightly to prevent herself from falling.
CRACK—
Perhaps her grip was too strong, as she unintentionally pulled something off. But in the sky, Ch'en didn't have time to think much; she could only try her best to grab onto something else to stay on.
"Snap out of it! The dash is over, you can relax a bit."
Hearing Jeanne, Ch'en slowly opened her eyes. The Wyvern was now flying very steadily in the sky. Below them was the blazing ruins of the Rhine Gold Company. They were currently about three hundred meters in the air. Aside from the pillar of fire nearby, there was nothing else around. Flying from deep underground to high altitude had taken less than ten seconds... this creature was truly worthy of its connection to the Draco.
Ch'en looked at the steady beast beneath her, thinking silently. Only then did she have time to look at what was in her hand: a black scale. She must have used too much force and accidentally plucked one. Ch'en looked at the dragon beneath her with an apologetic expression. She hadn't expected to do such a thing; it probably hurt quite a bit, didn't it?
As a Dragon herself, Ch'en knew exactly how much it hurt to have a scale ripped out. Even now, remembering that feeling made her hair stand on end.
"I have to say, you and Talulah really are sisters! Even your scale-plucking techniques are identical, and you plucked them from the very same dragon."
Jeanne turned and saw the scale in Ch'en's hand, unable to stop herself from teasing. Back when Talulah rode this dragon, she had also accidentally plucked a scale. That thing was currently being worn as a pendant. Who would have thought that in just this short time, this young hero would manage to get one for herself too? Are you two sisters fated to be a curse to this creature?
"If I said I didn't use much force and it just came off on its own, would you believe me?" Ch'en looked at the scale, trying to figure out a way to explain herself.
"Forget it, it's not a big deal. This guy has been shedding scales pretty badly lately anyway. Keep it as a souvenir."
Jeanne finished speaking and steered the Wyvern toward an open area. She needed to find a place to drop them off; flying in the sky forever wasn't an option. Furthermore, it was best not to land amidst the LGD ranks; a Wyvern's intimidation factor was quite high for ordinary people, and it would be bad if they were provoked into opening fire.
"Officer, what do we do now? Are we just going to watch?"
Regarding the giant beast in the sky, the officers had no way to counter it for the moment. But they couldn't just sit idly by while such an unknown creature loomed. Moreover, the dragon was too far away; with the naked eye, the nearby police couldn't see the people on its back at all. Everyone stood aside, waiting for Swire's order.
"Wait a moment, let me see what's happening. Don't rush me!" Swire raised her binoculars toward the circling Wyvern. She could vaguely see figures moving on the beast's back, but they were obscured. Swire shifted through countless angles until she finally saw a familiar flash of blue! Wasn't that the Pink Sausage Dragon's hair?
"Attack?, my ass! If you want to make a move, I'll pretend I didn't see it, but the Pink Sausage Dragon is up there, so you do the math."
Seeing that Ch'en was safe, the stone hanging in Swire's heart finally dropped. She spoke to the nearby officers in a half-joking tone. Hearing that Officer Ch'en was up there, the officers also relaxed, relieved they didn't have to fight that big fellow. Besides, what would they use to fight it? At that height, it was a question whether they even had weapons that could hit it, and they didn't have anti-aircraft shells.
At the same time, the news of Officer Ch'en's safe return spread among the crowd. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief for their superior.
The beast in the sky didn't linger for long and soon flew off in one direction. Shortly after the Wyvern left, they heard a series of low rumbles accompanied by tremors throughout the area. Finally, after a dull thud, the earth that had been scorched by fire for so long lost all its support and collapsed like a landslide.
In a surge of dust and flame, the once-famous Lungmen branch of Rhine Gold disappeared in the blink of an eye, turning into a bottomless pit like the maw of a deep-sea beast swallowing all things.
"Well, this is great. It looks like your crimes have increased by one. Even in Columbia, your prison sentence should reach six thousand years by now."
Looking at the massive collapse, Vodka, who was guarding the two masterminds, spoke with a gleeful tone. The expression on his face was borderline provocative, making the two captives flare up with rage.
"Talk less. Have you forgotten your habit of leaking secrets whenever you open your mouth? You still dare to talk nonsense."
Behind Vodka, a cold voice drifted over. Hearing this voice, Vodka instinctively snapped to attention.