“Eura, we have orders to lead a scouting mission inside the Aiyan Typhoon. I know it is a bit risky for us to head inside the storm let alone demon territory, but we need to know what else the demon lord is in store there. Can I count you in this?” older sister Aru gives me a request, no, more like an order since I knew me and my scouts are the only ones who are best and ideal for day operations. Aru then puts her hand on her head and scratches, supposedly questioning the letter that recently arrived from the Toratoga Empire.
“Finally, some scouting and exploring as well! Yes, older sister Aru! I shall rally my best scouts and head out immediately.” I turned around facing the door ecstatic, leaving her to ponder what else was there in that letter. I wish I could have seen what is written there. My sister takes most of the night battles, diplomatic missions, and whatever is other than fighting. I was merely the tool, all hands on and on the field rather than sitting on a table signing every paper in existence. I envy her rule and her power over the assets of the empire but at the same time, the writing and preparation for such power are too… difficult for me to handle. If only everything could be arranged and dealt with by a sword and not a pen, I would have been leading everything over the vampire nation.
“Before you leave, have a look at this letter. There is a drawing there of what appears to be something you would see inside the storm. Make sure you brief your scouts with it as well, we do not know what it is but we should tread carefully if you manage to encounter it.” Aru swipes the letter from her fingers to her wrist and throws it in my direction. It would be too fast for someone like an elf or a human to see but it is how we pass letters and messages to each other. Swift Message Lvl. 5 is an instrument skill that I know has these effects but I believe the other empires have their form of fast communication. The letter is thrown at high speed and I catch it with two fingers. Of course, these letters are folded for better traveling and receiving.
I opened the letter and ignored all the parts containing words as they were too complicated for me. I'm sure Aru briefed most of it for me, so I trust her with anything paper-wise. Confusion entered my head as I looked at the image drawn on the paper.
“A floating fortress?” I uttered with disbelief as I would imagine the demon empire having something massive that could turn the tide of the war in their favor. I later showed this letter directly to the Dawnbreakers, the 15-man squad who are hard trained from the battles they fought. Even they would assume we are looking for a fortress, something like the report in the letter described. Well… If only everything could not be worse than described!
“Hero Eura! Look, there is a tower directly at the center of the typhoon.” one of my subordinates relayed to me while flying in bat form. Our bat forms are massive and are the size of a young human. From the perspective of any demons that might be on that island where the tower is standing, they would mistake us for large birds migrating to other continents despite we are flying higher than the storm itself.
“Everyone, head for the center of the cloud formation and stay over that tower. We need to use a Cartography Lvl. 10 on that center. Prepare the map papers as soon as we go below the storm." Everyone agreed and answered in unison to the command I just gave. The tower in front of us pierced the heavens; it was so enormous that even the storm could not even reach it. Our bat formation followed the clouds and dived directly to the base of the tower. My crew reverted to vampire form, but we still retained bat wings on our backs.
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“It is massive!... How could the demons even build such a thing?!... Something is ominous about this tower being here… We should hurry up now before they see us!” Chatter from among the group increases as we float in the sky while I cast a Cartography Instrument Spell on this paper. This spell takes a long time to cast as it creates a map painting of whatever is behind or around the paper, so I could really use a shut up here!
“Ohh stop all your bickering. We will just have to throw a magic beacon on that tower to tell everyone back in the fleet where to head inside the storm.” I open my pocket and pick up the Magic Beacon, a cylindrical glass that is imbued with a dark magic spell. This spell radiates a magical signature that could be seen even through the thickest storm or wall. Anyone above level 20 could see it from afar, much like a star in the sky except this one is on the tower.
“!?...” the beacon that I threw did not activate as soon as it hit the tower. I even saw it blinking while it was in midair heading straight for that tower!
“What the?!... What is happening?! Why are all the clouds now encircling us? When did that even happen?!” Terror filled my body as the eye of the Aiyan Typhoon, where the clouds are barred from entering now encircle us. Everyone is now in a panic as I begin to order them.
“Everyone! Scatter from the area and fall back into the fleet!” As we begin to return to fully bat forms, several streaks of light are seen from the island and the tower. It was… beautiful that I could bear to stop right there and watch these lights move. It was mesmerizing until one of my colleagues screamed.
“It is heading straight for us! Move! MOVE!!” It was too fast for everyone to see what happened after those lights approached us. The only thing I last saw that was imprinted into my fears was that we were all falling from the sky like dead ravens. I felt a sharp pain in my leg which made me fall from the atmosphere as well. “Hey! hey! Get a hold of yourself!” I told one of my scouts while we were falling to the sea. None of them responded to my calls as we were rapidly falling and losing height.
“BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT….” The sound after we fell made me panic in despair as we fell from the sky. More lights are coming from the island and more of them appear to be heading toward us. These lights were, I might guess, pure magic as they were in streaks of yellow and gold color. Another ominous and loud sound pierced my ears and through the thunder and lighting.
“BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT….” The noises of the lights hit my dead scouting group as their bodies began to break from whatever spell it was. I managed to limp out from the center of the storm's stillness and away from the tower. I activated Invisibility Lvl. 5 on myself and returned to the fleet. Even if they spotted us, they wouldn't be able to penetrate the Invisibility Skill, but their firepower would be sufficient to destroy the majority of the fleet. I don't want to go back there. That tower is a strategically placed trap! and the entire fleet is en route to it. I must alert Aru and escape from the Toratoga Fleet before it becomes too late.