"Is it safe here?" Aya, who had ran several kilometers in one breath, stopped at a cliff near the mountaintop and gently placed the girl she had rescued from the chaos onto the grass.

Although she had run for kilometers, the town was not as far as she had imagined.

The town of Haixi was nestled amidst the mountains, developed within a crescent bay on the coastline. The cliff where Aya was standing was on one of the surrounding mountains. Looking down, she could see the brightly lit buildings and streets clearly.

In addition to the fixed lights, there were several moving lights on the streets, indicating the presence of guards holding torches.

She regretted it a little. It seemed that she had lost her mind and impulsively snatched the girl away from the town. Why did she have to be so foolish?

But then again, as a dragon, she had finally done something that dragons were rumored to do. There was a slight sense of satisfaction... No way! She didn't want to be seen as the kind of dragon who kidnaps princesses! Is it really so hard to be a peaceful and handsome man?

"Thank you very much for your help, beautiful miss." The girl, who had passed out after asking for Aya's help to leave, slowly regained consciousness, barely stood up, and bowed solemnly to Aya in gratitude.

"Miss..." Ah, so tired, so exhausted. Aya, who was tired and didn't feel like explaining the situation, tried to explain again, "I am a man!"

"But your clothes..." The girl obviously paused for a moment, half-opening her mouth and pointing at Aya's attire with a bewildered expression.

Clothes? Aya looked down at herself - despite the intense aerial chase and the impact of landing, it was clear that she was wearing a well-made gothic dress.

Aya silently gestured the universal hand gesture to the sky and cursed Yuan again in her heart.

The girl seemed to realize that her expression and words were impolite to her lifesaver, and quickly waved her hand and said, "Please don't mind. My name is Hirari Hoshizaki. If it's alright, could you tell me how to address you?"

"Aya." Aya replied briefly, feeling annoyed by the whole dress incident and even contemplating tearing it apart.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Aya!" The girl bowed again earnestly.

"I don't really care about the gratitude. Instead of that... Hirari..." Aya's mind went blank for a moment, after all, this name had more than three characters, and she had never heard such a strange name in both West Land and East Land.

"Just call me Hoshizaki." The girl responded quickly.

"Well, Hoshizaki." Aya sighed and pointed to the moving lights below, "Rather than gratitude, I'd like to know if those guys down there are after you."

"Yes."

"Excuse me, I have to go." With the seal on her body and ending up in an unfamiliar place, it was already good enough to be able to protect herself. Taking her out was already an act of kindness.

"Huh? Wait, Miss Aya... Mr. Aya! Besides Haixi, the nearest village is outside those four mountains... It's almost impossible to find it on your own!" Aya's steps came to a halt midair, and then she silently returned to Hoshizaki's side, who was barely standing.

If it were any other time, it would be fine. But now, she was only a warrior with decent strength, unable to fly or use magic. It would be almost impossible for her to navigate through unfamiliar territory and find a way back while being watched by the guards of a town.

"Come on up, I promise you won't be caught by those guards. In exchange, tell me about the situation here and the way back to Milanía."

Aya turned around and squatted down, reluctantly facing her back to Xuanzi.

"Milanía...?"

Xuanzi hesitated slightly and concealed her past before Aya noticed, "No problem."

Gently lifting Xuanzi on her back, Aya heard a soft sigh from the girl behind.

"Are you injured?"

Aya asked as she took two steps forward. Even if she was actually injured, she couldn't do anything about it when her magic was sealed.

"Don't worry, it's just a scratch," Xuanzi pursed her lips and shook her head. After roughly assessing the direction around them, she said, "After bypassing the rocks ahead, continue downhill."

"Understood, we go down this way?" Aya asked while jumping a few times with Xuanzi on her back, confirming the weight and showing a eager expression.

"Indeed, there is a small path used by woodcutters about a hundred meters down there, it will be much easier to walk downhill along it," Xuanzi said.

"But it will be a detour, right? Tell me the general direction," Aya jumped a few times with Xuanzi on her back, confirming the weight and showing a eager expression.

"As for the direction, straight ahead is... What do you plan to do, Mr. Aya?" Xuanzi pointed in the completely opposite direction from the one she initially pointed. Suddenly, she had a bad feeling.

"Of course, I'll use a faster method!" Aya said as she started running at full speed, towards a cliff.

The next second, Xuanzi felt a sense of weightlessness as her feet left the ground, experiencing a free fall that she had never experienced in more than ten years of life.

"Qi Scale Release!"

At the moment before landing, Aya released her Qi Scale again. The intense airflow even blew the trees that had grown for many years, successfully using the reverse thrust to land.

"It works." Aya gave her evaluation after landing steadily.

"Um..." Xuanzi couldn't help but groan on Aya's back, "Mr. Aya, can you...remind me next time?"

Aya, who had acquired the new ability [High Speed Descent], was like a child with a new toy, with a look on her face saying "one more time."

"Oh, sure." After confirming that this skill was okay, Aya continued running in the direction Xuanzi had originally indicated.

High-speed descent couldn't be used anytime, after all, it was essentially just jetting airflow. It couldn't compare to real flying and had to be attempted in suitable terrain. More of the journey had to be covered on foot.

Of course, even when running, Aya's speed was quite impressive. At least those ordinary soldiers couldn't catch up, so she should be completely safe.

After a series of exaggerated surprises and bumps, Xuanzi couldn't hold on anymore. At first, she tried to be dignified by using her hands to prop herself up slightly and half stand up, but after Aya jumped, she completely collapsed onto Aya's back.

On the other hand, as Aya continued running, she could feel two soft masses firmly pressing against her back... Um, how should she say it?

... Bigger than Princess Tiran?

How pitiful, Prince Tiran.

"Mr. Aya..." Xuanzi also felt a little embarrassed, but her physical condition didn't allow her to prop herself up, so she blushed and transformed into a steam-powered lady.

"Um...Miss Xuanzi has developed quite well..."

After saying this, Aya felt like slapping herself. What was she even saying!

"Thank you...?"

Xuanzi, who was also baffled by Aya's strange thought process, was momentarily caught up in the rhythm, but luckily she had experienced many things during her time managing Haixi Town, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Aya, you're very skilled. Are you a 'Dark Chaser'?"

"Dark Chaser? What's that?"

Wait, haven't I heard Miss Tiran mention it before? Isn't that a sword?

"Huh? You don't know? They are warriors who fight against the 'Dark Forms'. Each of them can hunt down the Dark Forms alone... You're so strong, I thought..."

Why do I know even more unfamiliar terms now? What is this Dark Form thing? Are we really from the same world? I can't have crossed over, right?

On the surface, Aya maintained her composure while silently criticizing in her mind.

"What are these Dark Forms...? Sorry, I really am an outsider and haven't heard of such things."

There was another puzzled "Hmm" behind her, making Aya break out in a cold sweat.

Why does it seem like this is common knowledge for you? But I really don't know!

However, before Aya could hear Xuanzi's explanation, a sudden gust of wind swept in from the side.

The sense of crisis arose almost simultaneously, and Aya jumped sideways with Xuanzi, landing on a tree. When she looked back at where she had just stood, a small pit had been smashed into the solid stone surface.

Aya found it hard to describe what it was. It looked like a gorilla at first glance, with large elephant-like tusks at the corners of its mouth, standing over three meters tall... Most importantly, this thing was not an ordinary creature, but a collection of dark elements summoned by a black Elf wizard.

"That's the Dark Form."

Xuanzi behind her had clearly seen this thing before, but her nervousness could not be concealed. "Appearing in a place like this... Haizhongyue is definitely in trouble."

"Why are there more terms I don't understand? Coach, I want the information that can be publicly disclosed right now!"

The Dark Form, which missed its attack, jumped up again, but this time Aya narrowly avoided it again, only to see another tree fall victim to its attack.

"By the way, what kind of feng shui treasure land is this? How could such a creature be generated in an area with normal levels of dark elements?" Aya stared at the Dark Form in front of her.

"Mr. Aya, we should hurry and leave. Even a team of soldiers would have trouble dealing with a Dark Form of this size, but with your speed, it shouldn't be able to catch up."

"Run?"

Aya was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly felt a subtle desire to show off.

At that moment, the Dark Form launched its third attack.

This time, Aya didn't dodge, but calmly waited for its heavy body to press onto her.

"Mr. Aya?!"

"Don't worry, I've got this!"

Sidestepping, stepping back, using her left foot as the pivot, releasing Qi Scales—

Triple Speed·Knight Flying Kick!

Aya lifted her leg and kicked sideways, delivering a swift, accurate, and powerful kick to the face of the Dark Form, completely dispersing the monster that had moments ago been so imposing.

So this is what a difficult-to-deal-with Dark Form looks like? It's really laughable.

Aya silently thought to herself, feeling that she looked pretty cool.

"Um, Miss Aya, your skirt is torn..." Xuanzi whispered.

"...I just made too big of a movement earlier! Don't worry about these details!"