At the same time, dozens of kilometers away from Shinjin Lake, fierce winds howled across the sky.
These were no ordinary gales—they were the violent gusts stirred by a supernatural creature moving at extreme speeds.
The source was a wyvern.
A single wyvern streaked across the sky at tremendous velocity, each beat of its wings unleashing torrents of wind, creating a spectacular and imposing sight.
On the wyvern's back rode two figures.
None other than Rozen and Yukina, who had flown all the way from Itogami Island to reach this point.
Rozen knelt on one knee atop the wyvern's back, his gaze sweeping across the landscape below.
By now, there were no longer any signs of human habitation beneath them.
All that stretched below were towering, overlapping mountain ranges.
Slopes densely covered with evergreen trees were everywhere.
Mist drifted between the peaks like steam rising from hot springs.
In the distance, the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji was faintly visible.
Such scenery would never be seen on Itogami Island, the ever-summer artificial Demon Sanctuary.
Rozen had finally reached the mainland, and his destination was now within reach.
However...
"Ugh..."
A pained groan came from within Rozen's arms, drawing his attention away from the view.
His expression turned slightly exasperated as he looked down at the girl nestled against him.
There, Yukina lay with a sickly pallor, shivering uncontrollably as if on the verge of passing out—completely unlike her usual composed self.
Seeing her like this, Rozen had the sudden urge to sigh up at the sky.
"How could I forget about this girl's fear of heights?"
Indeed.
Yukina suffered from acrophobia.
Back when they had first met, atop the Keystone Gate, Rozen and Yukina had clashed—and in the end, he had left her stranded there. Due to her fear of heights, she had been unable to descend on her own, trembling in place for an entire day. If Rozen hadn't gone back to retrieve her, she might have starved up there.
Now, after riding a wyvern across the ocean all the way to the mainland, Yukina had long since been tormented by her acrophobia.
Of course, she still insisted otherwise.
"I... I scored full marks in aerial combat training... I-I don't have a fear of heights..."
She weakly protested, her voice barely audible.
"Do you really think saying that in this state is convincing?"
Rozen rolled his eyes.
His stubborn kouhai seemed unwilling to show weakness in front of him—not out of pride, but because she didn't want to appear as though she was holding him back on their journey.
Even when Rozen offered to use magic to alleviate her condition, Yukina had firmly refused, resulting in her current miserable state.
"Just hang in there a little longer. We're almost at Shinjin Lake."
Rozen could only console her like this.
His words seemed to give Yukina a small boost of energy.
"Are Nagisa and Avrora really there?"
She mustered her strength to peer into the distance.
A little further ahead lay the Tanzawa mountain range, and beyond that, the Shinjuto region—leading straight to the skies above Shinjin Lake.
"I hope we're not too late."
Rozen also gazed toward the horizon, his eyes flickering with streams of light as he used his Wise Eye to observe their surroundings.
And indeed, he had already noticed something.
"The spiritual veins in this area have become extremely active. There's also an increasingly powerful surge of magical energy up ahead—likely caused by the remnants of the Holy Annihilation in Shinjin Lake."
Rozen gathered as much information as he could with his Wise Eye.
"Also, all the roads leading toward Shinjin Lake are blocked by dense concentrations of spiritual energy—probably the Self-Defense Forces setting up checkpoints. There are also layers upon layers of barriers covering the area. Most are just for deterring intruders, but some are actual sealing barriers. The Lion King Agency has really gone all out, sealing off such a vast region."
The sheer scale of this operation spoke volumes about how seriously the Lion King Agency was taking this—and just how dangerous the spiritual artifact in Shinjin Lake must be.
Because of this, Rozen couldn't use his Space Manipulation Magic to teleport directly. He had no choice but to fly the rest of the way.
"Senpai, once we get there, what's your plan?"
Yukina looked up at Rozen and asked.
Rozen had already considered this.
"First, we need to confirm Nagisa and Avrora's location. Right now, we're still a bit too far, and the magical energy radiating from Shinjin Lake is saturating the atmosphere, making it hard for me to see their spiritual signatures. We'll have to get closer."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"If nothing goes wrong, we'll head to the Kamioda Shrine first. The person in charge of this operation is probably there, and Nagisa and Avrora are likely there as well."
Thus, the Kamioda Shrine was Rozen's primary target.
But it wasn't absolute.
"If whatever's in Shinjin Lake is really dangerous, then dealing with it first might be the better option."
He set that as his secondary objective.
"Please don't act recklessly, Senpai."
Yukina could only offer this warning.
After all, if Rozen summoned a Beast Vassal and simply blasted Shinjin Lake, not only the lake but the entire region might vanish.
Thus, Yukina had to remind him.
"I'll try."
Rozen replied in a tone that did little to reassure her.
"ROOOAR!"
Just as the two were bantering, the wyvern suddenly let out a fierce roar.
Its cry was filled with hostility.
"What's wrong?"
Yukina blinked in confusion.
But Rozen's eyes narrowed as he focused on a particular mountain below, a glint of cold light flashing in his gaze.
"Be careful," he said calmly. "Something interesting is coming."
"Something interesting?" Yukina was puzzled.
The next moment—
"Here it comes."
At Rozen's composed words, a dark figure suddenly shot up from the forest below at incredible speed.
"ROOOAR!"
The creature let out a thunderous roar of its own.
"ROOOAR!"
The wyvern, as if provoked, roared back defiantly and abruptly changed direction, charging straight toward the newcomer.
The two collided midair with a resounding—
"BOOM!"
A deafening crash echoed as the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, forcing both creatures apart.
"ROOOAR!"
The wyvern bellowed in fury.
"ROOOAR!"
The other creature responded with equal aggression.
Rozen and Yukina steadied themselves on the wyvern's back, finally getting a clear look at their opponent.
"That's...!?"
Yukina's voice trembled in shock.
Before them, the dark figure revealed its full form.
A creature with massive wings spanning fourteen to fifteen meters, armored in scales like plate mail, its hind legs armed with thick, blade-like talons, a whip-like tail, and a ferocious, reptilian maw.
It looked almost identical to the wyvern they were riding.
"A wyvern?"
That's right.
A second wyvern had appeared.