Unbeknownst to Arcturus, Nova could see through the darkness, for it was one of his and Souhait’s many abilities. His vision had him seeing the dark as a teal hue. He did his best to guide Arcturus in order for them to not meander off their destination. He’d tell him to stop when another tank passed by and then commanded him to proceed when the coast was clear.

As Arcturus walked, Nova could help but to feel how broad his back was. It was a lot more muscular than his own back; in fact, he barely had any muscles in his body. He felt envious in a way; he no longer could gain muscle because of his immortality; he had to remain as his current state forever. Fortunately, borrowing Souhait’s draconic limbs allowed him to bulk up for a bit, even if it was temporary.

Through his night vision, he saw how long Arcturus ponytail was; it had reached down to his shoulder blades. He couldn’t see the ends because his chest was pressed against it. The way Arcturus held him was firm, but gentle. He couldn’t help but to be moved; he also felt nervous.

You are quick to swoon over this, Souhait remarked. Nova could tell from his voice that Souhait was amused.

Quit teasing me! I’m already embarrassed with how creepy I am. He felt his cheeks burning up.

Arcturus quickly asked, “Are you okay? You feel warmer than usual.”

“I’m fine!” Nova quickly clammed up.

“If you say so…”

He felt rather awkward. Souhait was snickering in his head, which was annoying him. He cleared his throat. “Am I heavy?”

“Not really. You’re a lot lighter than I expected.”

“Really? Is carrying me on your back burdensome?”

“Not really. I don’t mind at all. I get reminded of the times I carried my sister on my back when I was younger. She tended to be a brat at times and wanted me to carry her whenever she was tired. Your weight reminded me of her back then.”

Nova knew Arcturus was just being nice; he knew reminiscing wasn’t a bad thing at all. He had recalled several instances where Arcturus carried his sister on his back in his childhood memories. The last one he had recalled was when Arcturus was thirteen and Ariel was eight; it was a memory right before they had left for Lamina, yet he couldn’t help but to feel a bit devastated.

An average eight-year-old girl weighs somewhere between 44 and 80 lbs… The fact that he was most likely as light as an eight year old got him flustered. He didn’t even know how much he weighed.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

How does it feel to know that you weigh as much as a child in their single digits? Nova narrowed his eyes; he could definitely imagine a smug expression on Souhait’s human mug.

Don’t say anything, please.

Arcturus suddenly stopped, which caused Nova’s current thoughts to be put on hold. He looked at the direction Arcturus was looking at. There was a giant airship that was seen through its back lights. Soldiers were stationed. A few were getting inside the tanks while others were scouting the area.

“You’re right, Nova. There’s an airship. The next question is: how do we barge in? It’s crawling with soldiers and Shifties.”

“I think we should just barge in and steal the airship. That’s all we can do.”

“That’s true. Every alternative I think of will only lead to constant fighting and possible death for me.”

Nova stared at the people outside. “Should we get rid of the people on the outside before making our way inside?”

“Let’s go.”

Nova could sense confidence in Arcturus. He jumped out of his back, reverting them back to their visible self. Arcturus prepared his knives while he prepared his talons. They both looked at each other and nodded. They then charged towards the soldiers and tanks like madmen. The soldiers were definitely confused about the whole situation as they hastily prepared their weapons.

They split up. Nova aimed for the tanks first. In a flash, he teleported himself on top of the commander hatch and stomped on it, destroying the entire tank.The people slumped onto the ground with their heads bleeding out, turning the snow red. He jumped onto the other tank and did the same. He had no regrets killing the soldiers because their souls would eventually enter the Spirit Realm. He could talk to them and grant their wishes there.

“Lavender eyes, golden hair. It’s the Charlatan!” A soldier yelled. “Fire your guns at him!”

The remaining soldiers in Nova’s vicinity shot bullets at him. Nova summoned his tail to deflect the bullets that came in every direction. He jumped, flipped and then aimed a flying kick straight for one soldier. The kick landed and the soldier fell back. He used his tail to knock back the other soldiers.

After knocking them out, he went over to Arcturus’s side to help him out. Arcturus was no slouch in combat despite his inexperience. He had knocked out five soldiers, but was struggling with one soldier who had dropped his weapon to fight him barehanded. Arcturus was struggling because the other armed soldiers were backing him up. Dodging bullets had been more of his priority than deflecting punches and kicks; when it looked like someone was going to pull a trigger, he’d try to use his opponent as a shield to hold them off.

Nova barged into the battle by knocking out the armed shoulders, helping Arcturus in finishing the last blow against his opponent. He was out of breath as he knelt down to catch it.

“Thank goodness you came to help out.” Arcturus said once he caught his breath, reverting his composure back to its default state.

“I’ll always help you out.”

Arcturus stood up. “We’re lucky they didn’t call back up.”

“This means we can infiltrate the inside of the airship now. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

The two ran towards the airship.