Up in the air, an unknown distance away, a large dragon was flying brazenly. On the center of its dark purple body was a bright red diamond-shaped crystal. It was a pretty big and an obvious weakness, but a seemingly impossible-to-hit target.
"Damn it! It's definitely that thing that called for the side quest!" Yinuo cursed as she pulled the seatbelts off her body.
Since the Doppel was lying down on its back, Melody was above Yinuo's head, making it harder for her to reach her. "Melody, are you alright?"
She tried to tap Melody's shoulders, but she didn't respond. Not even a moan escaped her lips. Worried that she was dead, Yinuo placed her finger before her nose and mouth. Fortunately, she's still breathing.
"..."
The dragon stayed in the sky, looking down on them. As if it were a predator playing with its new toy and prey. Although Yinuo wasn't sure why it behaved like that, she noticed that it was a chance to save Melody.
With quick movements, Yinuo detached all the sensors around Melody before removing the seatbelts that held her body in place. As soon as she finished, about to pick Melody up and move out, the dragon suddenly moved.
*GRAAAAAHHHH!*
A brain-numbing roar echoed before a big ball of energy gathered near its mouth.
"...!"
Yinuo wasn't sure what it was, but one thing was for sure: they'd be goners if they got hit with that.
*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*
Yinuo hit the upper part of the cockpit, but it remained shut tight. Even when she used Qi, only a fist mark remained, and the cover remained in place. "Shit! What a tough metal!"
Yinuo wanted to try and search for a different exit, but they were already out of time!
The gathered ball of energy flew toward them faster than the speed of sound. As it became faster, it slowly disappeared, as if turning invisible. Not only can't it be seen or heard, but even Yinuo couldn't detect the powerful energy comprising it!
'So that's what hit us before!'
Yinuo's back was covered in cold sweat. Earlier, they were flying, so the impact was mostly lost. However, now that they were prone on the ground, the blast would definitely turn them to shreds, just like what happened to Gregory.
"...!"
For an instant, Yinuo noticed that something connected with her mindscape. She didn't resist it, and she let it glance at her surface thoughts. It was such an instinctive action that even she herself had no idea why she did it.
*FWIP!*
Sylveria rolled to the side before doing a forward roll. As soon as this happened, the spot where the cockpit was before had turned into a large crater!
"Ugh...!"
However, since the ones inside the cockpit weren't on seatbelts, the two of them bumped all over the place and ended up in a precarious position. No, it's more like a "lucky" position. Melody's breast was pressed tight against Yinuo's face, while her hand slid down the back of Yinuo's pants.
Of course, since the one inside is also a woman, Yinuo didn't feel anything from their current position. Rather, she quickly pushed her to the passenger seat and roughly clasped the seatbelt back on.
"Looks like I can also control this thing!" Yinuo noticed this, albeit a little too late.
The reason why Yinuo could do this is because the cockpit they're in is a Neuro Cockpit. It detects the brainwaves of those inside it, chooses the information coming from the one sitting in the pilot seat, and uses it as input.
Of course, if the main pilot becomes unconscious, the command priority automatically transfers to the other active mind inside the cockpit. In other words, Yinuo should've been able to control the Doppel even without even moving from her seat!
After making sure that Melody was strapped in, Yinuo jumped to the pilot seat and grabbed the seatbelt, making sure that she was not going to fall off no matter how violently the Doppel moved.
Sylveria's eyes glowed as it slowly stood up.
The dragon, up in the sky, was glaring at it with intense anger and killing intent. After all, it dodged its supposedly undodgeable sure-kill attack!
Yinuo quickly got used to controlling the Doppel's movements. It was as if she were doing a simulation of her own movements in her mind, and the Doppel replicated it completely.
"... But how can it fly?"
Yinuo was clueless about that part. Even if the Doppel's sword were wide enough to be stepped on, she doesn't have enough Qi to allow such a huge mass to fly in the sky yet.
Having no other ideas, Yinuo decided to improvise. "If I can't fly, then I'll just drag that damned dragon down!"
Yinuo readied the two plasma cutters on both hands, crossing them so they pointed on opposing sides, before slowly rotating them, drawing two arcs, one above and one below, as if drawing an incomplete circle. "[Heaven and Earth Inversion]!"
As soon as she completed the technique's motion, a powerful force started to pull on Sylveria and the dragon-shaped Echo in the sky. If they were on equal elevation and of equal weight, then they would be pulled toward each other and meet in the middle.
However, Sylveria is made up of heavy metal, while the dragon is a living organism. It may be bigger than the Doppel, but it was a lot lighter and was even flying in the sky where there was nowhere it could anchor against.
Like a fly swatted by a flyswatter, the dragon fell straight to where Yinuo was. Seeing that it couldn't control its body, it then started to panic. Halfway down, it gave up on regaining its balance and decided to do a preemptive attack instead. After all, it had the advantage of range!
*GRAAAAAGH!*
Another ball of energy formed in its mouth and rapidly rotated before flying straight to Sylveria. Yinuo smiled, seeing the same attack from before. "Petty tricks! I've seen through it already, you dumb lizard!"
Yinuo swung the two words, dispersing the power from the soundwaves and causing the ground on both sides of Sylveria to explode from the redirected energy.
Yinuo then drew the swords back, raising them up above her head and smiling fiercely.
"Now, my turn!"
The dragon finally came within the sword's range. Yinuo didn't delay and slashed, causing a large gash on the dragon's thick scales. Although Yinuo was aiming for its crystal, the dragon actually managed to dodge it! The sword was a mere inch away from its target!
"...!"
After the sword missed, Yinuo jumped back, dodging an incoming claw attack. The swing was fast, but Sylveria was faster!
The dragon crashed but quickly regained its stance. Yinuo, on the other hand, remained vigilant against further attacks. The two were staring at each other, at a distance where their attacks could reach each other easily. They were now on even ground!