The vehicles in the hangar were all in good working condition. And at that, it meant they could be used without having to tune up anything... not even the weapon systems.

"Don't blame me if you run dry of mana...!"

As such, Mimir followed his command without dallying.

When she was done, the cockpit welcomed a small change. Just before the windshield up front, a small hologram screen with a green reticle appeared. The image within that hologram showed the sights of the main weapon below the fuselage of the plane.

Then, a moment later, four more holographic reticles and displays appeared in pairs, both left and right. Those were the ones that armed both wings, able to target above, front, back, left, and right.

With all these weapons at the ready, the aircraft was practically without a blind spot!

Axel grabbed a secondary lever to his right. It was quite simple, able to move the same way as the control lever, plus a push-and-pull option. Up front, where his hand rested, two triggers could be seen. Then, at the top, a single red button.

Without hesitation, Axel placed a finger over all three before pulling the upper trigger twice.

Doing so, the holographic display changed. A green outline moved from the main display to one of the displays on the right!

From there, he moved the lever, adjusting the aim until a Wyvern was locked in the middle, before pressing the button on top.

The next moment, a powerful beam blasted forth, incinerating the monster's head.

It was killed in one hit!

"YEAH!"

As he cheered, he pressed the trigger a few more times, then moved the reticle and fired another shot. He continued doing this until all the wyverns nearby were shot down. None were allowed to even get close to them!

It wasn't without a drawback, though. Each shot of the powerful beam consumed roughly 100 points of Axel's mana. Basically, that light-speed beam attack was equivalent to five to ten mages firing spells using all their mana at the same time!

Of course, the power density and speed of the projectile weren't something they could imitate.

After clearing the first wave of wyverns... more arrived.

This time, they were moving faster and more irregularly, enraged upon seeing their fellow beasts killed without a fight.

"Fuck...! Stay still...!"

With their erratic movement, Axel couldn't target them well.

After all, he was controlling two things at once—the aircraft and the turret!

If he focused too much on gunning, he might lose control of their altitude or direction. If he focused on piloting the plane, however, he'd risk the wyverns reaching them and possibly damaging the aircraft.

Neither was acceptable!

"Navi!" he called for help. "You control the plane. I'll focus on the guns for now!"

[Understood!]

Without any hesitation, the little penguin agreed instantly.

He moved to the space between Axel's legs, just between him and the control stick, and began "moving" it around.

Of course, it wasn't through physical contact. Navi was a spirit without a body, after all.

Instead, he used something similar to telekinesis, moving the stick as if he were truly touching it.

With Navi taking over piloting, Axel could finally focus on the weapons. He quickly aimed the reticle at the closest Wyvern and fired!

One shot, one kill!

Seeing their mates die before them, the remaining Wyverns became vigilant.

They spread out, moving in erratic patterns, trying to make it as hard to lock on to them as possible... all while flying faster than the speed of sound.

But even with their vigilance heightened, they were no match for Axel.

With his kinetic vision, he caught up to each Wyvern and fired the moment the crosshairs aligned with the target's head. One shot, one kill, then switching targets. He repeated this nonstop until no more monsters appeared on the holograms.

It felt long, but barely a minute had passed during their transit.

And with that much time...

"We've almost reached our destination, stupid Master!" Mimir shouted, alerting Axel to their arrival.

Looking ahead, Axel could already see the giant fortress below. Seeing it, he felt relief. This time, they weren't being used as hostages by Vulcanus!

"Rescue... success!"

Axel grinned to himself before looking behind him through the rearview mirror.

Toward the battle that, despite the great distance, could still be faintly seen.

Seeing that, Axel couldn't help but frown.

"You'll be fine... right?"

...

At that moment, however, Fenrir crashed into the ground. Like a discarded, broken doll, she lay on the cold, icy floor without moving an inch.

"Ugh...!"

But she didn't have time to rest.

A stomp followed, crashing down where she had been. Had she not moved, it would've been a heavy hit—if not fatal!

Mid-jump, she raised her head and gazed at the enemy before her, wiping blood from the corner of her lips. The damage accumulated in her body wasn't severe, but it wasn't something she could ignore either.

[DIE...!]

Vulcanus didn't give her time to rest or think.

With his body burning with golden flames, his speed had more than doubled. Despite his gigantic figure, he now moved faster than a mosquito!

Of course, after exchanging a few blows, Fenrir already understood what those golden flames were.

The flame of a soul.

Vulcanus was literally burning his life just to reach a state where he could overpower Fenrir!

With each passing second, he grew stronger and faster, making it increasingly difficult for Fenrir to hold on.

"However, you can't keep that state forever...!" Fenrir growled.

An image of a large gray wolf bound in golden chains appeared like a phantom behind her—fangs bared, claws ready to rend flesh.

But Vulcanus moved as if he no longer cared for his own life.

A fist flew straight at Fenrir, which she met with her own. Two fists, contrasting in size, yet packing nearly equal power!

The ice between them cracked, evaporated, and exploded in a flash as a deep crater formed between them. The impact was enough to carve the earth, as if a meteor had crashed down!

"Kuh...!"

But just like before, Fenrir was pushed back.

Vulcanus's strength had already surpassed hers!

And with their speed evenly matched, she couldn't even use her special move—Devour. She had tried several times already, but every attempt was dodged before it could land!

'This is bad...!'

Fenrir knew that at the rate Vulcanus was gaining power, the situation would soon become dangerous for her.

She needed something to balance their strengths out...

Something she could use!

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