Searching and...?

Lowell stood on the empty road.

The wind stopped. Not naturally, but suppressed and stagnated by some more essential, pervasive "existence." Even the floating dust particles were suspended in mid-air, maintaining the posture they had been in a moment ago when they were swept up by the airflow, solidifying into a tiny, hazy floating island.

He lowered his head, his black, tousled hair falling down and obscuring his eyes, while the pair of dark, curved horns on his forehead revealed an inhuman, eerie luster.

Centered on his footing, the solid road surface silently sank, forming a shallow pit with neat edges. Cracks spread out like a spider web, extending to the roadside, where a few nearby weeds maintained the arc of being blown down by the wind, but the tips of their leaves had already begun to slowly curl and turn black.

The momentum is building.

The air emitted a faint, almost tangible hum, as if it were about to collapse. The light that fell around him seemed to be deflected and swallowed up by something invisible, casting a blurry and distorted shadow.

Then, he opened his eyes.

His dark eyes held no intense emotions, only a deep, unfathomable calm. He slowly exhaled, his breath hot, condensing briefly into a white mist in the cold air.

He turned his head, his gaze falling on a grove of fallen trees beside the official road. It was a remnant of some battle or natural disaster; the trunks, as thick as a bowl, were broken at the base and lay horizontally among the bushes, their branches and leaves already withered and yellow.

He walked over, raised his right foot, and kicked the middle of the tree trunk.

The massive tree trunk instantly transformed into a blurry afterimage, flying horizontally and crashing into the depths of the dense forest hundreds of meters away. The muffled thud of the impact was delayed for a moment before being heard, followed by the cracking sounds of trees snapping one after another, the thunderous roar of soil being violently plowed, and dust mixed with startled flocks of birds shooting into the sky. Half of the forest's canopy was tilted and collapsed, stirring up a rustling rain of falling leaves.

Lowell didn't look at the cloud of dust. He withdrew his foot, his face expressionless.

Then, he turned around and faced the direction he had come from—the direction of the Imperial Capital.

The next instant, the ground where he had been standing suddenly sank and exploded a second time! His figure had transformed into a black streak tearing through the air, shooting out toward the Imperial Capital! The speed was so fast that a milky white shockwave formed by the extreme compression of air stretched straight out on the official road behind him, violently swirling up and scattering the gravel and dust along the way, like an invisible giant plow scraping the ground.

"Calm..."

The sharp wind pressure from high-speed flight was easily dissipated by the force field around him, and the sound echoed in his mind, overpowering the howling wind in his ears.

What am I angry about?

"Is it because he thinks he's the Demon King, so he should be invincible, but now things have gone beyond his control, and he's angry at his own incompetence?"

The scenery on both sides of his field of vision blurred into elongated bands of color. He forced himself to focus his attention on the analysis.

"No, calm down."

"Frieren isn't weak. Neither are Fern. They were just transferred away in some way, yes, that must be it."

"We've only been away from the Imperial Capital for half a day. I can fly at full speed and arrive in the blink of an eye. Now, the first thing to do is return to the Imperial Capital and see if anything has happened. If not..."

He pursed his lips, and his flight speed unconsciously increased again, making the shockwaves beneath him even more pronounced and violent.

"Go look again... go look again..."

My thoughts abruptly stalled here. Something cold and viscous welled up from the depths of my heart, quickly overwhelming the newly erected dam of reason.

"Go find it!!"

"Hateful!!"

A silent roar exploded in his chest.

"Frieren! Frieren! Frieren!!"

That name pounded wildly in my mind, each strike bringing with it a sharper burning anxiety and rage.

"Which bastard dares to touch Frieren!"

"Asshole!"

"Brute!"

"Rubbish!"

"Dross!"

"A stinking rat in the gutter! filthy thing!!"

Vicious words rolled uncontrollably, but they could not extinguish the burning sensation that threatened to burst my chest.

"Come at me!!"

Speed once again broke limits, and the air around them, compressed to its extreme, even began to ripple abnormally, emitting a low, booming sound. Below, a deep furrow, plowed by the high-speed wind pressure, pierced straight towards the horizon, tearing up and shrubs along its path.

In this insane speed--

At the edge of his field of vision, in a clearing in a valley below, a discordant sound suddenly caught his attention.

A flash of magical energy colliding. A massive shadow. And... a familiar figure.

Lowell's figure came to an abrupt stop and veered in mid-air in a manner that almost defied the laws of physics, plunging down towards the valley. The violent shockwave from the sudden stop and turn caused the canopy of a grove of trees below to bend down in unison.

In the valley.

Fern stood in a wrecked clearing. Her black mage robes were torn in several places, and there was blood on her arms and shoulders, but her grip on her staff remained steady, and her pale purple eyes were fixed on the front.

Her opponent was a dragon. Not the colossal dragon of mythology, but still enormous, over fifteen meters long from head to tail, covered in hard, dark blue scales, with menacing bone spurs growing along its back. It stood upright, one of its forepaws slamming down with a vicious gust of wind, barely blocked by a semi-transparent, honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic that extended from the tip of Fern's staff. With a muffled thud, the magic shield flickered violently, Fern's feet sank, and the ground cracked open.

The dragon's other claw swept down, sealing off all her escape routes. Fern's eyes narrowed, seemingly preparing to take the hit head-on.

Just then--

A dark shadow crashed down like a meteorite!

Lowell didn't aim deliberately; with the momentum of his dive still lingering, he swung his right leg out like a battle axe, slamming the instep heavily onto the dragon's flank scales.

A dull, teeth-grinding thud exploded!

The dragon's massive body twisted and deformed instantly, like a rag doll struck by an invisible giant hammer, before flying off the ground! It didn't even have time to let out a complete roar of pain; it only managed a short, whimpering wail from its throat before tracing a pathetic parabola and crashing heavily into the valley wall dozens of meters away!

Boom--!

The rock face trembled violently, large chunks of rock collapsed, and dust mixed with shattered scales and a little blood foam spread out. The giant dragon was softly embedded in a depression in the rock face, slowly sliding down to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, and then it lay still.

Lowell didn't even glance at the dragon.

He landed, and before he could even fully regain his balance, he had already taken a few steps to Fern. He suddenly raised his hands and pressed them hard on Fern's shoulders, his fingers unconsciously tightening.

"Fern!"

His voice was fast and urgent, with a kind of hoarseness that came from extreme tension.

"See Frieren?! Frieren! You two should be together! Where is she? Where is she?! Tell me! Tell me now!!"

Fern seemed startled by his sudden appearance and violent movement, feeling a sharp pain as his shoulder was gripped tightly. She frowned slightly.

"It hurts..."

Lowell seemed to be burned by those two words, abruptly releasing his grip and even staggering back half a step. He raised his hand and pressed hard against his temple, his breathing somewhat erratic.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Fern..."

He spoke in a low voice, slowing his pace as he tried to steady his voice, but the last syllable still trembled slightly.

"I'm a little flustered... not quite calm."

He lowered his hand, his eyes fixed on Fern.

"Sorry, sorry... Anyway, tell me first, where is Frieren? Where is she?"

He leaned closer, emphasizing each word.

You know that, right?

Fern raised his hand and rubbed his shoulder, which had been pinched so hard, looking somewhat bewildered.

Then, she blinked gently, and in her usual calm tone, with a hint of confusion, she spoke:

What are you saying...?

"Frieren... who is she?"