The gale howled furiously.
It was as if the whole world were roaring.
Rain swept through like blades, weaving an impenetrable net through the air. Amid this chaos, a Raven flew against the wind, its black feathers snapping in the storm.
"This obviously isn't normal weather."
Ian kept his wings tight against his body to minimize air resistance, his sharp eyes fixed on his direction through the darkness. His claws were clenched tight, every feather stretched taut.
He cut through the gale in the most streamlined posture possible.
Anyone who had studied aerodynamics knew how to fly the fastest. Magic and science could complement each other at times. Ian's pitch-black wings sliced through the rolling thunderclouds. Violent air currents battered him relentlessly, trying to overturn him, but his body remained steady, like an arrow shot from the bow.
He broke through layer after layer of obstruction.
"This storm feels more like a barrier, as though it's separating whatever lies at the center from the outside world. Could this be considered the earliest form of Protective Magic?"
The Raven Ian had transformed into continued through the raging storm.
He could indeed sense traces of magic.
Yet it differed from the magic he knew.
It could continuously control nature itself.
He just did not know what powered this magic.
"Rumble~"
"Rumble~"
"Rumble~"
Thunderbolts kept flashing past.
Blazing white light illuminated the entire sky, exploding almost directly above Ian's head.
The sky seemed to have been torn open by a massive wound. Purple-black storm clouds boiled like a furious sea, while lightning danced wildly between them like silver snakes. Every blast turned the entire sky a ghastly white. The howling wind carried torrential rain and hail, which hammered against the Raven's feathers with sharp crackling sounds.
A thunderbolt suddenly struck down, purple light