Arthur's Point of View

Over the Middle Ocean

A bell was rung as shields went up over the airship. All the Elves aboard focused solely on defense while I made my way to the helm. Both the Captain and his Sergeant were present, along with Alwin. The rest of my little group had followed me as well.

"What is it?" The Captain inquired as he took over at the helm.

"Demons of some sort, but they're still a ways off. They'll be here in a moment, I would imagine." I frowned as I looked off to the side. "Surprised they're not here already, to be honest."

"How do you know they're Demons?" Allen inquired as he stood slightly behind the Captain.

I gestured to my eyes. "These aren't just for show. I can see different magical signatures of people. Demons have red and black magic. For the most part anyway." Then I gestured to Lucia. "High Elves each have white magical auras." Shrugging, I continued. "It all just depends."

Lucia looked at me. "How should we proceed?"

Quirking a brow, I turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"Should we fight or flee!?" Lucia asked as if it was obvious.

Shrugging, I crossed my arms as we waited. "Ghouls aren't exactly an issue for me, and I doubt there is anything that strong just wandering around out here." Looking back to the Captain, I asked, "How near is the closest shoreline or island?"

"Days!" He huffed. "How anything is flying out here without an airship is beyond me!"

That was a good point. Have these Demons been tailing us this entire time, or were they merely a scouting party? Where could they land so they wouldn't have to fly for a few days to get back to shore? Something about this entire situation felt off. I expected to meet resistance leaving Lestrania or arriving in Vithari, but not in the middle of the ocean.

Scratching some of the scruff on my face, I examined the surrounding area. "Bring us to a halt." I ordered the Captain.

He immediately frowned. "Sir, I must poi-"

"Do it." I ordered more firmly.

"Why are we stopping?" Alwin instantly questioned as he stepped beside me.

Rolling my neck as I walked down from the helm, I moved to the side of the airship where the Demons were. "I'm going to go say hello."

Someone grabbed my arm out of shock and concern about what I just said. "You're what!?" Ziah looked flabbergasted. "Sir, it's not safe-"

Giving her an amused look, I patted her head before launching off the side of the ship once she let go. Using my eyes to keep me afloat and propel myself forward, the Demons started squawking when they finally noticed my rapid approach. The pure elation I felt when I realized it was nothing more than a group of Skelds was indescribable.

Lucia's Point of View

Stopped over the Middle Ocean

The Captain, Sergeant Allen, Sergeant Ziah, Alwin, and the two boys were all next to me. Along with a large chunk of the rest of the crew, as we looked in the direction Arthur flew off in. We were silent as we expected to hear something. After all, none of us saw the flyers that Arthur was talking about.

"Anyone want to bet he just left?" Alwin asked the group, and many of us glared at him, including myself.

Before any of us could respond, horrid screeching could be heard throughout the sky. Many of us looked out to the horizon in surprise and fear from how horrendous it sounded. Like the dying cry of wild beasts. It didn't take much longer for us to see a wave of flames shoot down to the ocean below. My eyes widened, along with many of the others.

"I had a feeling that it was him." Ziah commented and continued upon my looking at her. "That night during the Festival of Lights, the giant eruption of flames that shot above Helmsforth was Sir Arthur."

"The Priestesses informed us it was a group of Elves honoring their fallen." I stated.

"No, it wasn't." Austin spoke up and pointed out towards Arthur. "It was definitely Arthur. Ah was standin there when he did it. So was Cass." The boy informed us in a simple, but factual tone.

The flames quickly died out, and so did the screeching. Everything became eerily quiet as we all listened, but there was nothing. No victorious bellow or signal that Arthur had been victorious. My heart jumped into my chest when something slammed into the top of the shield around the Drunken Cloud. It was a creature; unlike anything I had ever seen before.

"What is that thing?!" Adam asked as many of the crew backed away from where it was above the mast. "I've never seen such a hideous creature…"

It twitched for a moment before its elongated wings tried to flap but were horribly broken. "Lower the shield." Arthur commanded as he appeared suddenly next to the creature.

As was instructed, the shield came down, and Arthur grabbed the creature by one of its wings before floating down to the deck. He tossed it carelessly across the wood as it sprawled out almost helplessly. We were even more surprised when he gently floated down with one foot on the back of the creature's neck before landing. His foot was now planted firmly on its neck as he glared at the creature.

In a tone that sent a chill down my spine, I watched as he started to press down on its neck even more as he leaned down to the creature. "What is a Skeld doing all the way out here?"