Chapter 318: Swallows and Reunion

The rest of the group watched in complete silence as Lise quickly disappeared among the high gray clouds in the sky, carrying Ryan and Beatrice on her back.

Ryan looked down closely as they flew at high speed. During the turbulent flight, he was able to observe a large part of the immense Kowarre territory that he had not seen before with his own eyes.

Ryan noticed the presence of large dark stone mountains and a lot of wild vegetation scattered across the broad landscape. He was surprised to see that, despite being a snowy and extremely cold continent, the place had several well-kept forested areas.

But what caught his attention the most during the long journey through the skies was how empty the entire vast territory was. To Ryan, a place so immense should be much more populated and full of life.

’The only town nearby is really the one at the foot of the mountain,’ Ryan thought, analyzing the bleak landscape of his new nation.

After a long moment of observation, Ryan was abruptly pulled from his deep thoughts by a strange magical event right before his eyes.

He saw some kind of black cloud the exact size of a wooden chair. The strange dark mass began to float slowly right in front of him, completely defying the strong high-altitude wind.

Ryan turned his head to look around with great curiosity. He quickly noticed there were many more of those clouds floating in the air above the beast’s broad back.

Almost all the dark magical masses were exactly the same irregular size. The clouds moved in a very clumsy, trembling manner due to the swift wind.

"Darkness manifestation?" he murmured very quietly, recognizing the type of energy forming those unstable floating clouds.

"Tsk, this is very annoying," Beatrice commented from her position on Lise’s enormous back. The young infernal was sitting right behind him, frowning with obvious frustration on her pale face.

"Ever since I’ve been able to manifest darkness, I have a hard time giving it a concrete shape," she complained with a clear pout on her small lips.

Beatrice waved her right hand in obvious annoyance, dismissing the bothersome clouds of darkness surrounding them in the cold air.

Ryan turned around slowly to face her. Both were sitting comfortably on Lise’s immense back while the dragon continued flapping her wings toward their destination.

"Mastering darkness isn’t something you can achieve in just a couple of days, little demon," Lise said, raising her strong voice a bit so they could hear her easily over the roaring wind. The dragon completely downplayed the young girl’s situation.

"I think Lise is right. Being able to achieve this is already a major breakthrough for you," Ryan said, supporting the white beast’s logical words. He crossed his arms and stared at Beatrice.

"But what shape were you trying to make exactly?" Ryan asked curiously, wanting to know the young infernal’s ultimate goal.

Beatrice didn’t answer his direct question immediately. She looked down for a few long seconds, placed both hands on her thighs, and let out a very heavy sigh.

"Among demons with authority over fire and darkness manifestation, they usually manifest their immense power in the shape of animals," the young infernal said, staring at Lise’s broad, scaled back.

Then, Beatrice looked up and met Ryan’s eyes directly.

"Some demons use enormous birds for their attacks, and others shape them like giant wolves..." She paused briefly to take a breath, recalling the combat techniques of the strongest beings of her feared race.

"The demon king Lucerys manifests a huge minotaur. So I also wanted to give a shape to my darkness. But I can only manage to make it come out in that hideous shape, and I can’t think of anything I can actually use that would be unique to me."

Beatrice squeezed her hands on her thighs in total helplessness.

’I see. Her main problem might just be that she wants something distinctive for herself,’ Ryan reflected, understanding the girl’s deep need for identity and pride.

’Although trying to shape such large and complex animals also gives her severe control issues. In that case...’ Ryan finished his quick internal analysis and looked directly into her eyes with a highly calm expression on his face.

"Why don’t you try swallows? I think it could be a very interesting and entirely unique manifestation for you," Ryan proposed his idea calmly.

"Swallows?" Beatrice asked, looking somewhat thoughtful and very confused upon hearing that particular name.

’Maybe those birds don’t exist in this world?’ Ryan thought upon seeing her slight reaction of doubt. He raised his right index finger to try to explain it better and give her the creature’s visual details.

"Yes, swallows are..." Ryan didn’t finish his explanation.

"I know what they are," Beatrice quickly intervened. A huge, genuinely beautiful smile appeared on her face. Her violet eyes shone intensely with a clear mixture of excitement and deep interest in the concept.

And before Ryan could say anything else about it at that moment, an immense flock of swallows made purely of darkness manifested out of nowhere.

The swift magical birds surrounded the three travelers in the air. The swallows flew freely around them without losing their complex shape. Ryan counted at least twenty-four perfect birds at a glance.

"Wow, she did that so easily," Lise commented aloud as she kept flying in a straight line. The dragon sounded very surprised by the young infernal’s mental agility.

Beatrice was smiling openly. She watched as the agile swallows she had just created from her darkness manifestation flew without any problems, perfectly formed.

"They look great, I like them. I can think of many ways to use them," Beatrice said, looking Ryan straight in the eyes, feeling immense appreciation for her leader’s brilliant suggestion.

Beatrice added, highly excited about her new dark creations.

Ryan smiled warmly at her obvious happiness. He congratulated her on her good work and incredible magical control. She maintained her darkness manifestation much longer, enjoying the synchronized flight of the black birds.

After that productive moment, Lise accelerated her flight pace even more through the wide skies. Soon, the dragon informed Ryan that they could already see the massive city in the distance.

"Young master, we have arrived."

The city of Perishing Plains was very large and spread across the white, snow-covered valley. Lise descended quickly from the clouds, maintaining her massive dragon form.

She landed with tremendous force right in the center of the large city. The landing spot was a fairly wide, round stone plaza.

The demons walking around the area were greatly surprised to see the sudden arrival of the immense dragon. They widened their eyes and backed away in fear toward the edges of the plaza.

After Ryan and Beatrice carefully climbed down from her broad back, Lise glowed and transformed back into her elegant human form in front of everyone present. At that exact moment, a firm voice called out to them from behind.

"It has been a long time since you visited us, Lady Lise."

Ryan immediately turned toward the exact source of the voice in the stone plaza. He saw an adult demon standing in front of them.

The demon man had sharp horns on his forehead and wore highly elegant dark-colored clothes. He was flanked closely by two more demons.

The three men present in the plaza were infernals. And the same elegant, black-haired man continued speaking with deep respect.

"Welcome to our city, Demon King Ryan."