I’ve never thought about being afraid of flying.
I had ridden a plane in my previous life, and even after coming here, I had no aversion to riding an airship. If I had to stand in a place as high as a building rooftop without any safety measures, my legs would definitely shake, but generally speaking, a “plane” or “airship” is a vehicle designed to transport people safely.
So, there’s no need to suddenly worry that I might drop down to the ground while inside. Unless, of course, something catastrophic happens that causes the vehicle itself to fall.
Planes have large wings and fly in one direction, making them relatively stable, and airships hover in the air, so unless there’s extreme weather, they don’t shake excessively.
But the Gryphon… the thing with the Gryphon is different.
That’s right. The wings of the Gryphon are attached to its ‘back.’ And I’m sitting right on that ‘back.’
Every time the Gryphon flaps its wings to stay airborne, my body swayed up and down accordingly. Not to mention, the Gryphon didn’t just leave the area between my shoulders and its back alone. Every time I heard a flapping sound, my eyes bobbed up and down. I can’t say for sure, but I’m sure the height of my seating position is substantial.
Fwyoooon!
Normally, it would look majestic, like it was poised with its front paws lifted in the air, but to me, it was just a terrifying position where I might roll off backward.
Also, is there really a need to strike such a pose while floating in mid-air?
And a moment ago, when coming down from above, it completely disregarded the laws of physics and didn’t move its wings an inch. Why is it flapping its wings like this now?
Of course, it seems the knights below can’t see my expression very well, as they all had their mouths agape while looking up at me.
Even if I looked like ‘the one who controls the Gryphon,’ they wouldn’t suddenly drop to their knees. After all, that kind of story only comes from myths. There isn’t even a tale in legends that says, “In distant future, the true Fanggriffon will appear leading the Gryphons.”
In this world, power follows the law. So, even if the situation is a bit odd, the knights are still serving under the Emperor for now.
Once more, an ear-piercing eagle cry echoed, and the Gryphon tilted its head down, descending.
I clenched my teeth. To be honest, I wanted to praise myself for not screaming. It was obvious now that there would be no turning back, so it would be better to avoid such mistakes.
Thud, thud, sounded something colliding. I even heard someone bravely shout something like a battle cry followed by a thunk.
The Gryphon didn’t even bother swinging its claws. Just by flying low and sweeping the ground below, knights were falling off.
Charlotte, who took a bit of a scrape, was really something else.
In that situation, discovering something falling overhead was pure luck.
Maybe it was because the Gryphon cleared the area below and landed, giving me a little clarity. A rifle dropped towards my face.
I hastily caught the rifle. In a reflex, I checked and found bullets inside.
With squinting eyes, I looked at the Gryphon.
The Gryphon, having slightly turned its head towards me, had an expression that seemed to say, “Heh,” which kind of pissed me off.
…Right, just don’t sit back there and slurp honey or something, will ya?
The space, once filled with silence, started to swell again with the sounds of clashing blades. Even with the Gryphon’s appearance, the battle was far from over. The Emperor was still standing firm, and Lucas had yet to be knocked down. Though, if he fought the Sword Saint one-on-one, Lucas might actually have a greater chance of winning, so I should commend the Sword Saint.
I tightened my grip on the rifle with both hands.
And I pressed my legs together with all my strength.
Without a saddle or anything, my legs honestly hurt. The Gryphon’s feathers looked incredibly soft at a glance, but upon touching them, they were stiff enough to hurt.
So, it would be better to finish this battle as soon as possible.
Once again, letting out a majestic cry reminiscent of a fierce bird of prey from a Western movie, the Gryphon took to the skies.
*
It was truly a scene fit for a painting.
Sitting behind the Gryphon, Sylvia couldn’t possibly look like a Fanggriffon. Though there’s no proper record of the Fanggriffon’s gender, it was generally depicted as male in illustrations.
And it certainly wouldn’t be portrayed in a haphazard manner like the tales. Ignoring the saying, “Born in chaos with a misshapen body,” the images of the Fanggriffon depicted in art showed a proud, muscular white figure.
So it didn’t match the myths or the paintings. Not that it should.
The Gryphon raised its front paw while casting a spell, and light shone down along its wings.
Sylvia, expressionless, was reloading her rifle while perched on the Gryphon’s back.
Seeing that sight, it would be no wonder if one thought of the term ‘Fanggriffon.’
Ha.
Alice couldn’t help but smirk at that moment.
Her head was still overflowing just trying to keep up with the situation.
It wasn’t because Sylvia had seen things that she hadn’t.
Starting from that moment when Claire and Sylvia activated the device together, an overwhelming amount of information had flooded her mind.
It was like memories of “something she seemed to have experienced before” suddenly surged forth.
Similar situations, indeed… but somehow unmistakably different ones kept pouring into her head, just like forgotten facts suddenly springing back to life.
Clearly, the same moment and same place, yet eerily different memories.
And within those memories, Sylvia’s face was included.
Alice hurriedly scanned her surroundings. For just a moment, it felt like the familiar faces of those who knew Sylvia had paused, too. If it weren’t for the Gryphon distracting the foes, something significant would’ve happened.
“…….”
Claire, who locked eyes with Alice, nodded slightly.
And Alice understood.
Ah, I see now.
This memory is—
…….
Got it.
Alice clenched her sword firmly with both hands. Finally gathering herself up, she swung at the knight charging towards her.
The knight, who didn’t seem like a novice, raised his sword to block Alice’s strike.
And with that sight, Alice shook off her distractions.
Alright. For now, let’s focus on what’s happening right in front of me.
There’s a lot I want to ask, but that can wait until after this is all over.
I’m also a bit curious about how that happy ending is going to pan out.
Alice thought as she dashed forward.
*
Okay, the skills are starting to kick in.
Maybe a lifetime of shooting has its effect, surprisingly enough, the shots fired from the Gryphon were hitting just fine. In fact, the more I shot, the better the hit rate seemed to increase.
How the Gryphon managed to gather the spent bullets every time I shot them, I had no idea, but it flung bags and ammo belts filled with bullets my way.
…To be honest, I couldn’t help but think, shouldn’t you just go rampaging on your own? But for now, I decided to hold my tongue. It seemed the Gryphon was enjoying this situation in its way.
Could it be that it couldn’t distinguish between Papal State and Empire people? Is it just differentiating between ‘the one who saved me’ and ‘the rest’ and simply running wild?
Well, thinking back to its expression when looking at me, it didn’t seem entirely like that, but still…
Fwyoooon!
Maybe after being cooped up for so long, it was just thrilled to finally be able to run wild. The fact that this resulted in people dying was a tad frightening, though.
Swinging its claws, stirring up winds with its wings. Even from close range, ice spears and fireballs would form and fly off in all directions.
When I saw how tedious it was not to have all kinds of statuses in turn-based games, I might have thought it to be bothersome. But in the current non-turn-based scenario, it was terrifyingly overwhelming.
But even so…
“Sylvia!”
The Gryphon wasn’t invincible.
Because in the ‘original,’ it had been possible to bring it down.
Far off, a blade of energy came flying from a direction the Gryphon didn’t seem to notice.
The Gryphon hastily lifted one wing.
Psschh! Blood sprayed from my face. From the right wing that raised up protectively, the Gryphon was bleeding.
As the wing descended, I could finally see who had slashed at me.
It was Lucas, wearing a grin.
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