Sensitive wings

"Gabrielina, are you all right..."

"Look up there! What is that?"

Paimon's startled cry drew Lumine's gaze upward.

A sky-blue behemoth with six wings swept directly over their heads.

Lumine's golden hair whipped wildly in the gale. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she couldn't speak.

The Dragon of the East Wind...

Gabrielina calmly folded her wings, smoothed her wind-tousled pink hair, and watched the departing dragon thoughtfully.

If the story follows its course from here...

"Hm?"

A tingling sensation, like an electric current running through her body, suddenly shot from the tips of her wings up her spine. Gabrielina spun around, her hair tracing a graceful arc through the air.

"S-sorry... I..."

Lumine hastily withdrew her hand, only to see the angel's face reddening visibly. Even the tips of her ears turned an adorable pink.

"...Ahem. What is it?" Gabrielina forced herself to look composed, but tucked her wings tightly behind her like a little animal guarding its food.

"You were standing in front of us, so I was worried." Lumine looked at the angel's suddenly odd behavior in confusion. After checking her carefully and confirming she wasn't hurt, she added, "...I'm glad you're all right."

...I'm not all right.

Just a light brush, and I reacted like that! Isn't this a little excessive!?

Normally, even with elemental (spirit) circuits inside your wings, it certainly wouldn't go this far. But... for you, certain people will provoke a stronger reaction~

A bead of cold sweat slowly trickled down Gabrielina's forehead.

Even without the system saying so, she could probably guess who those "certain people" were.

And the girl who had inadvertently found the Flügel's weak spot was standing right beside her, looking utterly innocent.

"Traveler... let's get going. What if it comes back in a bit..."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Gabrielina declared loudly, as though trying to regain her dignity. She patted her rather ample chest. "It absolutely cannot beat me!"

Dvalin: True.

"R-right!" Paimon looked proud too, as though she were the one about to fight the dragon.

"...All right, let's see what's going on first. We'd better not start a fight with a dragon without good reason."

Gabrielina could only suppress her eagerness and follow behind Lumine as the three continued deeper into the Whispering Woods.

Before long, from behind a large tree, they spotted the dragon lying on a rocky slope.

"Let's hide first," Lumine whispered, then pulled Gabrielina behind the tree. Paimon hurriedly floated over as well.

After barely managing to conceal her wings behind their "cover" and doing her best to avoid Lumine's touch, Gabrielina poked her head out slightly.

Sure enough, there was...

Barbatos!

The sky-blue dragon from earlier stood in a clearing, its head lowered as though it were talking to someone dressed in green.

The boy wore a green hat, his hair arranged in two neat little braids, and his slender legs were clad in white stockings.

"She's talking to the dragon!?" Paimon stared at the scene in shock.

They were too far away to make out much of the conversation and could only get a rough idea of what was happening.

"...That person has to be a girl, right?"

"Probably. They're quite pretty, and they're wearing stockings."

"No." Gabrielina shook her head at Lumine and said with considerable certainty, "Someone that cute has to be... a boy!"

"Really..."

Suddenly, the ornament on Lumine's chest burst with a cyan glow, faint patterns seeming to flicker across its surface.

That thoroughly startled the dragon.

ROOOAR!!

"Who's there!?"

The dragon opened its gaping maw, its tremendous roar sending a massive gale sweeping outward. Everyone except Gabrielina, including Venti, hurriedly raised their arms.

What was Gabrielina doing, you ask?

She was watching Dvalin hiss... She'd never seen it before. How interesting.

Seeing that Venti was about to turn around, Gabrielina became a rainbow-colored blur before Lumine or Paimon could react, teleporting in front of them.

And so, just as the Anemo Archon was about to deliver his most intimidating moment in the entire main story, this was what he saw.

An angel-like being appeared out of nowhere. Blackness steadily seeped into her halo and the wings behind her, while the cross-shaped pupils in her molten-gold eyes locked onto him. Even the air around her seemed to warp.

Venti's gaze gradually shifted from anger to traces of shock and confusion, and he even took an involuntary step back.

Gabrielina: I was only trying to scare him.

Without lingering another moment, Venti darted away, turning into a gentle breeze and vanishing on the spot.

Likewise, the dragon chose not to stay. It beat its three pairs of wings and immediately flew out of the forest, leaving a somewhat disappointed angel behind.

If it had dared to hiss again, Gabrielina wouldn't have minded giving it an early "cupping treatment."

"That was close. I almost thought we'd have to fight it~"

Reining in her aura, Gabrielina dusted herself off and smiled casually at Lumine and Paimon.

"It's all right now, Lumine."

Only then did Lumine slowly open her eyes and let out a long breath.

Honestly, when Gabrielina had entered that terrifying state again just now, she'd really been ready to fight... to flee.

Fortunately, no fight had actually broken out. The dragon had merely skimmed over their heads as it flew away.

"...Is talking to dragons normal in this world?"

"Not exactly common," Gabrielina muttered.

Paimon still seemed a little dazed. She floated unsteadily beside Lumine and pointed toward a nearby slope.

Where Dvalin had just been, a dark-red crystal now rested, constantly emitting an eerie glow.

"Let's take a look."

"Be careful. It gives me... a really bad feeling," Paimon warned softly from the side.

Lumine nodded as she followed Gabrielina up the slope.

The closer Gabrielina came to the stone, the more clearly she could sense the sorrow, despair, and anger contained within it.

...Looks like the poisonous blood really is having a major effect. Poor hissy dragon... If I'd known, I'd have given him a neck massage with a single Heaven's Strike.

While the angel silently considered how much power she should use, Lumine and Paimon reached the stone as well.

"What a strange stone. Paimon's never seen anything like it... What about you, Gabrielina?"

Gabrielina shook her head without hesitation. "I don't recognize it, but it looks dangerous. Do you want me to dispose of it? Or... should we keep it? It might come in handy."

Lumine studied the stone hovering in midair, gently rubbing her chin.

"Hmm... let's keep it for now. We can ask someone about it once we reach the city."

The girl reached out, grasped the teardrop-shaped red stone, and safely stowed it in her backpack.

"We should... gulp, get going," Paimon said, nervously surveying their surroundings as though afraid the dragon or the "green person" might double back.

"Little Paimon, I told you... there's no need-"

"No fighting!"

"..."