Gloria dashed through the skies, easily becoming the fastest beast in open air. She moved from attacker to attacker, breaking down their defenses to allow Mrita to bolt them dead.
Jakery continued to laugh, sounding almost maniacal as he directed his beast through a dance only few could reproduce. Laughter distracted Jakery enough to make him forget some beasts would target him.
"Okay, they are coming!" Mrita called out.
Understanding this was his cue, Jakery grinned even wider. "Wrap a leg or two around me, arms would work if you don't feel comfortable enough. Just know you'll need to hang on!"
Not wanting to risk falling to her death, Mrita followed through with the orders. Wrapping an arm around Jakery's torso and waiting to see what would happen.
Right as an incoming rider prepared to drive their lance into their backs, Gloria barrel rolled. Turning their world upside down as their attacker flew right below them.
Before they could pass each other, Jakery challenged death itself and used one hand to deliver a perfectly placed bash against their head. Dazing the rider on the spot.
When things came back to normal, Mrita realized this was her opportunity to contribute. She got on one knee and stabilized herself by using Jakery's head as a place to rest her elbow.
She took aim, drew a deep breath, and down a rider went. Mrita quickly retreated her arm, getting ready to thoroughly apologize for using Jakery like that.
"I'm sorry, I just -"
"Don't feel sorry, Mrita. You're helping out, that's what matters. Get ready for more targets," Jakery cheerfully chanted.
Finally realizing her leader's brother was very relaxed, Mrita gained more confidence with him. She smirked, returning to placing her back against his.
Gloria reared her flight path towards two enemy Sky Beasts who were following an allied beast. Seeing them try to injure allies enraged Jakery, motivating him to take matters into his hands.
"Keep an eye behind us, I'm going to tail one of them!" he yelled over the thunder.
All three flyers dashed right in front of the two enemies, catching of their attention's. They gave chase, trying their best to catch them and throw them off Gloria.
Mrita reached over her shoulder for an arrow, then placed it against the bowstring. Like before, she pulled back, drew a deep breath, and fired. Except the rider was a lot wiser.
He suddenly halted his beast, prompting it to flap all four wings at the same time. Causing a powerful burst of air to throw the arrow off course.
"Curse that guy! He blocked it," Mrita notified.
Upon hearing the news, Jakery continued to scan the dark horizon for any possible ways to counter them. Somewhere off in the distance, a lightning strike impacted a beast.
Sending them and their rider tumbling to Koroth while being set aflame. He grew giddy at his new idea, shifting his attention over his shoulder.
"Take Gloria!" Jakery got up, then leapt off. "Bye!!"
Despite being trained for aerial combat, the opposing rider was not trained to react at another Variant barreling towards him. So he tried the same tactic as before.
Except his reaction was too late, allowing Jakery to drive an elbow straight into his lower jaw. It shattered on impact, and the force was enough to throw him off.
"Wooo hooo!!!" Jakery cheered.
His hands came down for the Sky Beast, resuming control of the creature. While flying it, he glanced up to see Gloria and Mrita flying overhead. She came closer to ask for instructions on what to do next.
"Follow me. When I jump, you'll catch me. Okay?!" Jakery howled over the rapid winds.
Mrita's facial expressions twisted with uneasiness. "But why are you trusting me so much with that?!!"
"Because you're my ally! Now let's do this," Jakery concluded.
Not wanting to back out, Mrita followed close behind him. Jakery guided his Sky Beast towards the ground, falling faster than a raindrop.
By now, the creature realized what was happening. But because Jakery was applying pressure to its wing joints, it was near impossible to move away.
When the beast was allowed to take control of itself, it was already too late. Jakery had leapt off, getting caught by Mrita's unsure hand. Reeling the young Zesher back into his beast.
However, the ride he borrowed crashed onto the ground. Causing a dent in the battlefield as Variants from both sides got crushed under the impact.
"That was amazing! Did you see that?" Jakery said, hysterically. "I want to do it again... but, I won't test my luck. Mrita, ready to... Mrita..?"
"Please, never do something like that again. I do not want to be responsible for your death if that happened," Mrita begged.
Shame replaced adrenaline, Jakery nodded. "Okay. Let's let our boys on foot claim Onum. Get ready for an extra passenger."
Gloria danced through the skies like before, except this time she was not dancing for enemies. Her flight path scanned the field below for Ether. It didn't take long until they found him taking on four Zegi.
Her wings parted, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that knocked everyone down, including Ether. Jakery dropped off, helping his older brother back on his feet by pulling him up.
"Get on, I'm bringing you to Valentine and Hizentre. They need your help most likely," Jakery said.
There were no other words exchanged, Ether was focused on getting through this conflict. He and his brother jumped on Gloria's back then darted towards Onum.
Lightning washed the skies, making Gloria seem like a flying reaper. She got low enough for Ether to land without being impacted too much by gravity.
Allowing him to drop off directly on Valentine. Who, by now, was completely soaked in crimson blood. Using it to fight back forces and lay siege to the city.
"You're finally here. I've been trying my best to keep them alive, we could use the numbers. But that's your call, should we kill them?" Valentine asked.
"Keep them alive. As for now, Onum is what we came here for. Let's take it by force!"