in the cold blue skies, large bird-like creatures glide through the air. Riding atop the creatures is Crimson and his allies, split into groups of two excluding Lilca who sits on the same one with Fuuten and Crimson.
Crimson: (So Lilca's proposal was actually more like an offer of help. We helped her do a bit of investigating and she summoned flying archens so we could head to where we were going. She had to head this way anyway so its fine..)
Marigold: Crimson I don't want to be up here, its really frightening!!!
Fritz: How bout you hold your dress down instead of holding onto me? If one of my traps malfunction you're dead meat..
Crimson: Someone's up ahead, be on guard!
The flying creatures slow down to see three larger blue winged creatures with people on each of them. They fly close and inspect Crimson's crew before finally speaking up.
???: You're Lilca huh? You have flown through our sky land twice now, so we ask that you peacefully move downward and take a different route!
Lilca: Heh..? Sky dwellers...
Crimson: I say we just move lower then.. No point in starting a meaningless fight.
Fuuten: Agreed.
Fritz: Marigold's too scared to fight anyway..
Suddenly a fire ball hits the back of one of the sky dwellers and they fall straight down.
Sky dweller: They're launching a surprise attack!?
Lilca: No you idiot, that was from a--
Another ball of fire swiftly hits the archen that Fuuten, Crimson, and Lilca sit on, and they begin falling.
Crimson: A dragon!!
Flipping through the air, Crimson is caught by a chain that wraps around his body. Fritz pulls and throws him toward the back of the dragon which he immediately reacts to by striking down with his dagger. The blade gets caught on the scales doing no harm to the dragon, but instead, causes the dragon to go shooting straight down with him still on it.
Fuuten: I have to try it here.. Listen for the wings, then Crimson, then the others in the area...
He closes his eyes, his katana drawn in hand, and a strange noise begins ringing out from his blade, like that of steel grinding against steel.
Fuuten: (Two sky dwellers to the right, Crimson just underneath my aim, Fritz is falling to my left while preparing an attack.. There!!) An opening!
With that, Fuuten's katana swipes gracefully through the air, the wind glowing a faint golden around it. In an instant, the dragon gets a huge gash in it's wing, and starts falling in a less controlled manner, letting out a loud screech as it goes down.
Crimson: (His katana can release such a powerful strike, even while he's falling through the air, and decently far from his target? I didn't sense any magic though.. He just pulled the wind..?)
Just as Crimson starts to feel a little better about the situation, the blue monsters known as the sky dwellers come flying on their blue birds, attacking the dragon with spears, and just barely missing Crimson himself. Riled up by the pain of it's newly broken wing, and the endless assault from the dwellers, the dragon begins jerking around, trying to bite anything it can reach.
Crimson: (This isn't good.. Even Fuuten probably can't get me out of this one..)
Fritz: Crimson, let go!
Crimson: ...!?
Without a question, he lets the dragon go and Marigold catches him on a ball of water just fragile enough to penetrate with a simple punch.
Fritz: I am not supposed to feel emotions and yet you're really making me angry dragon, so eat this!
She extends her arms outward to her left and right, before glowing red chains begin flowing from her body.
Fritz: These are the chains of regret, welded together by blood, flames, and human tears...
The chains all swiftly strike like snakes, but faster. Before the injured dragon could retaliate, it gets sliced through like butter and split into seven different pieces, including the head which flips away and hits a sky dweller, knocking her off of her bird and causing her to fall to her doom.
Crimson: (She had tricks like that up her sleeve? I heard living dolls were dangerous but.. Should I even ask where she got human tears from, let alone the blood..?)
Fuuten: Good work Fritz!
Marigold: We still have trouble everyone!!!
Fritz and Crimson look to where she's facing as she frantically tries to keep her belongings together while falling, and they see the last two sky dwellers flying toward them at full speed.
Fritz: I can't reach them with my remaining traps unless I want to kill you in the process Fuuten and Crimson!
Fuuten: (I don't think I can use another attack like that without hitting Marigold either..)
Lilca: Hey so you finally need my help!? About time!
She finally gets out of her resting position she was in while she watched them fight, and a green aura flashes underneath her before a giant pitch black serpant, the size of the dragon they just fought, eats the remaining sky dwellers and catches everyone one by one on it's back.
Crimson: Our fall is slowing..?
Lilca: Don't worry about Princess, she may be a baby, but she's still the manifestation of nourishing wishes, so she can totally float! Ahahaha!!
She places her hands on her hips in a prideful and arrogant manner, before breaking into even more uncontrollable laughter at absolutely nothing. Meanwhile the rest of these travelers stand there dumbfounded, aside from Fritz.
Crimson: Manifestation of nourishing wishes..?
Marigold: If I'm correct, there are about twelve manifestations of different wishes, but they are so well disguised or hidden, no one can tell if they're talking with one.
Lilca: Wrong!!! Ahahaha!!
Marigold sits down, sulking about the fact that she was apparently wrong. And then Lilca finally speaks up.
Lilca: As of today, there are twenty known manifestations of different wishes. But those are what is recorded, meaning there could be even more! I have obtained Princess through very difficult choices and paths that lead me to being her master.
Fuuten: Let's stay focused shall we? I don't believe the sky dwellers have any means of figuring out who we are since there wasn't communication between them and their kingdom..
Crimson: I say we just focus on getting to Lilium no matter how tough our path gets..
The snake slowly and gently lands on the ground safely, and everyone hops off before it vanishes like a shadow in the night. Lilca begins confidently marching forward through the trees without a second thought, and the others begin to follow.
Crimson: I take it you know this area in and out based on how you walk with such purpose. We're close to the station you work at correct?
Lilca: That's right! We're about to pass through the animal breeding ground, AKA my training grounds where I usually teach the students to fight at! Pretty brilliant idea having them learn to navigate such terrain right!? Hahaha!!!
Fuuten: I smell different magical elements, you fight here often it seems..
They walk through and Marigold makes sure to study the creatures they pass carefully for any new knowledge she can get. Once they reach the entrance however, they get cut off by a short girl in a large baggy coat, who holds onto a brown cain with a light blue bulb glowing above it.
Girl: Who's your friend Lilca?
Marigold: Wait I feel like my existence has been denied twice now, but I don't remember who did that last...
Lilca: This is the legendary Crimson!! He helped with my investigation and I brought him to the west in return!
Girl: Ah I was expecting you..
Crimson: Hm? Do I know you?
Girl: Headmaster Lily, the owner of this station. You are in need of Lilium's wisdom I take it?
Fritz: Hm maybe being small and adorable is normal for humans.. I guess we dolls were based on them for a reason...
Fuuten: Is she small? How tall is Lilca actually?
Crimson: Please take us to her.
Lily: Unfortunately I can't do that so easily.. She is a traveling wreck you know... But she did leave a message with me for you. And she won't be far..
Marigold: What is it..?
Lily: ...Its better if I show you.. Follow me.
*End Of Chapter 7*