Though it wasn’t exactly difficult, heading to Megalomesembria early was the same as inviting a considerable amount of trouble for themselves. The Megalomesembrian Senate wasn’t known for being reasonable, so, unless they intended to get wrapped up in politics and bureaucracy, there was no particular reason to rush over. At best, they would be able to get in contact with Ala Rubra, but, at this point in time, convincing them without revealing the truth would be difficult.
As Arika had pointed out numerous times, it was very likely that the people supporting Ala Rubra were either directly related to Cosmo Entelecheia or the Mage of the Beginning personally. At this point, she was thoroughly convinced they were the ones who had motivated her to basically turn her son into a weapon. After all, people like Nagi didn’t just spontaneously appear out of nowhere. Megalomesembria had a nigh-absolute monopoly on the rearing of young mages back on Mundus Ventus; yet, despite Nagi having attended one of their schools, they were unaware of his monstrous talent?
Reaching the pinnacle through one’s own efforts wasn’t impossible, but, far more often than not, it required you to have capable teachers. More importantly, you needed a strong network of support to prevent your talent from being quashed early on. Even Vahn hadn’t been able to get around this, and, without people like Tsubaki, Hephaestus, and Scathach, it would have taken him a considerable amount of time to reach his current level.
The only way to reasonably increase your strength over a short period of time without support was if you were simply ‘fated’ to become that strong. Even then, you would need to either be a machine or a literal sociopath, as, unless you had the mentality that sacrificed everything for power, even the most talented individuals would be limited by their connections and bonds. These very same things were the key to obtaining ‘true’ power, but, until you had experienced hardship and overcome your natural limits, most bonds were a burden to progress.
For someone like Nagi, who had literally dropped out of school due to his airheaded nature and apparent ‘lack’ of talent, the only way he could have become so powerful while remaining hidden was if monstrously powerful individuals protected and guided him. He would have needed a place to train in absolute secrecy, as, with his type of character, it was impossible for him not to stand out. Not only was he supposed to be relatively handsome, but, rather than hold himself back in at all, he was known to, quite literally, do whatever he wanted…
The penultimate reasons behind Vahn’s decision not to approach Megalomesembria, other than his own self-awareness, was due to the fact that Eva actually knew Albireo Imma. Though they had very few interactions in the past, he had apparently been around for thousands of years as a few of Eva’s associates were also familiar with the mysterious mage. This made him even older than the Mage of the Beginning, as, according to Eva’s oldest associate, a Vampire Noble who had lived for more than twelve-thousand-years, Albireo Imma had been present prior to the collapse of the Venus’ ancient civilization, a time when mankind had still been living in caves back on Earth.
Vahn wasn’t particularly worried about the true power of Albireo Imma, as he had ultimately failed to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, but, as he had learned several times in the past, it was better to overestimate people, rather than underestimate them. Thus, during the discussion regarding their next course of action, he agreed to go with their original plan of visiting the various sacred lands. Before that, however, he wanted to visit Elfenhof, as, during the early stages of the war, they were one of the first places that had been razed to the ground.
Though the Elves were protected by one of the four Sacred Dragons, a Wood-Elemental Dragon named Yggdrillia, they were constantly victimized by other nations. The reason for this was rather simple, as, despite all of her power, Yggdrillia was largely immobile. She was similar to Terra in that regard, so, if you targetted the periphery of her territory and ravaged the land, her only real option was to shore up her defenses and protect those closest to her.
Despite being four of the most powerful beings in Mundus Magicus, the Sacred Dragons suffered from a pretty major weakness. Not only were they relatively slow, but, the moment they moved to the frontlines, they would leave their territory completely exposed. They were also relatively massive creatures in their true forms, so, even if their resistances made them immune to most physical and magical attacks, they could still be overwhelmed and temporarily pinned down. During the previous war, Vrixho had even been sealed away for nearly six months, forcing Hellas into a defensive battle until they were finally able to free him…
Vahn had already decided to protect the Elves, so, before they could become victims in the early stages of the war, he intended to move them into the Diorama. This would undoubtedly garner a great amount of attention, but, when it ultimately came down to it, Vahn didn’t particularly care. He still intended to become a deterrent, so, rather than hide away, he would continue to act in an open and above-board manner. The conspiracies of his enemies didn’t matter in the slightest. Rather, the moment they tried to slander him or place a bounty on his head, Vahn wouldn’t hesitate to expose, punish, or outright eliminate them…
—
Though it would have been possible for the Custos Rosea to fly directly to Elfenhof from Ariadne, it was better to keep the capabilities of Arika’s modified Airfish a secret. Thus, rather than fly through Empire controlled airspace, they decided to head North towards Zephyria, a nation that served as a central trading hub between the Empire, Ariadne, Sirenum, and Granicus. It was strategically located in a region that served as a land bridge between the continents of Elysium and Noachis Terra, two of the four major continents of Mundus Magicus.
While not nearly as famous as Granicus to the North, Zephyria’s location made it a gathering place for Merchants, Scholars, and Mercenaries. It was considered the third wealthiest nation in the entire world, and, as the name ‘Zephyria’ implied, it was also one of the nine sacred grounds. As for how it was able to maintain its sovereignty in such close proximity to Hellas, this was largely attributed to the Great Spirit of Wind, the self-proclaimed ‘Great Spirit of Freedom’, Brave Enlil.
As the most whimsical and ‘vindictive’ of the Great Spirits, very few people were willing to make an enemy out of Brave Enlil. He had even flown all the way to Megalomesembria before, teaming up with the Great Spirit of Water to create a series of massive hurricanes that devasted the continent of Tempe Terra. If not for the intervention of the other Great Spirits, primarily the Great Spirits of Light and Fire, the nations surrounding Megalomesembria might have been completely wiped out in the wake of Brave Enlil’s vengeance.
Though Megalomesembria had prepared several countermeasures to deal with Great Spirits since then, the event served as an effective deterrence against all nations. This was one of the reasons so many people gathered in Zephyria, but, perhaps even more important than Brave Enlil’s presence, it was the unique geography and the mentality of the people that kept them there.
While it wasn’t nearly as impressive as Ostia, a nation that floated gracefully through the sky, the ‘Free-Nation’ of Zephyria was located high atop a unique mountain range. It was a region heavily populated with ‘finger mountains’, and, while thousands of bridges had been created to connect the unique structures, the most popular methods to get around included Airfish, Air Bikes, and, as could be expected, Magical Brooms. It was the only nation built in the center of an Air Stream, and, as a result, it was possible to fly around with considerable ease.
Over time, Zephyria had literally become known as the ‘City of Freedom’, and, as a result of nearly every resident having the means to fly around, it had become the central gathering hub for those aspiring to become Sky Pirates or Skyfarers. It was also the birthplace of competitive Airfish racing, so, if you wandered to the edge of one of the finger mountains, it was all but guaranteed that you would find a race in progress. There were even night races, and, though crashes were common, it didn’t deter hundreds-of-thousands of adrenaline junkies from flocking to the legendary city above the clouds…
—
Though she did her best to conceal it, everyone aboard the Custos Rosea could tell that Arika was excited to visit Zephyria. It was one of the places she wanted to visit the most prior to starting her journey, and, while it wasn’t at the top spot, it was still her number two. The only place she wanted to visit even more was the Noctis Labyrinthus, as, despite people exploring it for hundreds of years, there were always new Artifacts emerging from within its depths. Some of these items even seemed to originate from other worlds, or, at the very least, originated from civilizations that predated the creation of Mundus Magicus.
Even though her family had records that dated back to the origin of Mundus Magicus, there were absolutely no records related to the origins of the Noctis Labyrinthus. It was simply discovered at some point, and, since then, those aspiring to make a name for themselves and test their fortunes had probed its seemingly boundless depths.
What made the Noctis Labyrinthus truly mysterious was the fact that it seemed to be ‘growing’ at a slow but perceptible rate. This made some people believe it was alive, but, after tens-of-thousands of expeditions and hundreds of years of exploration, this had largely been proven false. Rather, by some unknown means, the Noctis Labyrinthus seemed to subsume the ruins of various civilizations all over Mundus Magicus. It seemed like the expansion of the mysterious region was the same as the natural encroachment of nature, and, after an uncertain amount of time had passed, ruins that had vanished from the surface would simply reappear inside or around the Noctis Labyrinthus…
Arika was eager to explore the Noctis Labyrinthus, but, knowing there were more important things to attend, she wasn’t in a particular hurry to probe its depths. She was more concerned about the state of Mundus Magicus and its peoples, so, unless it somehow became necessary to explore the Labyrinth, the odds she would ever enter it were slim. There were a number of better places to train, and, with Vahn able to produce and create virtually any kind of Artifact, the strange region lost a lot of its appeal…
—
As the Custos Rosea drew ever-closer to Zephyria, the number of Airfish traversing the Air Stream gradually increased. This marked a notable increase in the number of Sky Pirates targetting them, but, even without support, Arika was more than capable of outmaneuvering even the most skilled pilots. Her strength and focus had increased by a rather ridiculous amount of the last four years, so, even without Fenrir manning the weapons terminal, she was able to eliminate entire squadrons of Sky Pirates without any assistance whatsoever.
While Arika was enjoying the thrill of piloting the Custos Rosea, Vahn was reclining against the base of its dorsal fin with Eva nestled next to him. A few meters ahead of them, Asuna, who seemed to be searching for her ‘identity’ these days, was now wearing a grey tunic with a dark-blue haori. It was a rather casual look that loosely resembled the clothes Vahn wore, and, if not for her decision to wear beige hot pants, she would have given off the impression of a rather adorable swordsman from the Orient.
Despite her age, Asuna was able to stand atop the Custos Rosea without being affected by the wind pressure in the slightest. Even when Arika performed ridiculous maneuvers like barrel rolls or flying upside down, she was able to remain stable without any discernible difficulty. Rather, as a result of her aura and burgeoning mastery over the state of Nothingness, Asuna could outright ‘ignore’ the effects of the tempestuous wind. Though her hair was still buffetted, it flowed gracefully at its own pace, and, though her clothes weren’t particularly thick, they only lightly rustled as she wielded the pitch-black Kyo, cutting down enemies hundreds of meters away without moving from her starting position.
Asuna wasn’t able to freely use her Zanpakuto’s ability just yet, but, if it was within three-hundred meters, she could create pressure waves and sword beams capable of slicing through reinforced magical metals. She had already reached the rank of Swordmaster, and, though she had a long way to go before reaching Grandmaster, the only thing holding her back was a lack of opponents. She was unable to go all-out against the people she cared about, so, despite being surrounded by some of the strongest people in the Record, Asuna had reached a slight bottleneck.
As part of her current training, Asuna was tasked with disabling any enemy ships that managed to approach within her effective range. She was prohibited from killing anyone directly, but, if the Sky Pirates ended up crashing after losing control over their Airfish, that was their own fault. It was their own bad Karma that pitted them against one of the Record’s Protagonists, but, unless it was a ‘real’ threat, Vahn didn’t want Asuna killing anyone directly. Instead, she was tasked with cutting specific cables or disabling the Airfish by severing one of its wings. This left the destiny of the pilots in their own hands, and, unless they made a serious of grievous mistakes, even a novice would be able to guide a partially disabled craft into a safe landing…
With her degree of skill, Asuna had no problem accurately hitting her targets. Thus, to kick things up a notch, Vahn had asked Arika to disable the Custos Rosea’s shields. This meant any stray attack could cause serious damage to the hull, but, despite some of the attacks moving close to the speed of lightning, Asuna was able to accurately predict them. Her spatial awareness was amazing, so, the moment she noticed an enemy Airfish lining up to try and fire its weapons, Asuna’s [Shunpo] would leave behind a perfect after-image as she appeared within the attack vector. This was generally all it took to prevent the attack, as, even without proactively deflecting it, her [Magic-Cancel] was able to harmlessly disperse the magical energy just by being in proximity to the attack.
Without needing to block the attack, Asuna focused on her counter, her pitch-black Tanto cutting through the void to disable the enemy vessel as pillars of lightning harmlessly smashed into the invisible membrane that surrounded her body. Then, before her afterimage began to disperse, she would reappear in her original location with a neutral expression on her face. Despite this, Vahn and Eva could both tell that Asuna was trying to show off, knowing smiles appearing on their faces as they continued to leisurely observe the aerial battle until its conclusion…
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘Colonel Sanders is a sneaky old fart (UwU)…’,’Don’t fuck with the Great Spirit of Wind xD…’,’Asuna takes after her Master (o 3 o)…’)
(A/N: Airfish don’t rely on lift and drag forces to fly through the air. It would be more accurate to say they ‘float’, so, even if they lose an engine, they would gradually list through the air like a boat that lost its propulsion.)
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