It was after they had almost reached the east when Alea contacted Heike.

Contrary to Heike’s expectations, Alea’s group had escaped the barrier.

But there was a reason Alea hadn’t contacted her immediately as promised.

‘If the temple had come into contact with the barrier, it means Heike and Antiol couldn’t stop them.’

That meant they might be in danger.

‘They might even have been captured.’

Alea’s brows furrowed. This wasn’t just worry.

They had experienced the best and worst situations in succession in the Forest of Roots. It wouldn’t be strange if something went wrong outside.

‘Heike is resourceful, but the temple must have focused all their efforts on the sacred barrier.’

All contact with Heike was cut off the moment they entered the Forest of Roots.

If Alea tried to contact Heike while she was captured, it could put her in more danger. They still didn’t know about Alea’s existence.

‘I’ll try when we reach the east.’

Alea concluded. But before reaching that conclusion, there were many things to worry about. Igrelle had definitely slowed down.

She couldn’t complain to Igrelle, who was flying with an incredibly heavy load, but Elaga, who desperately missed the ground, didn’t care at all and scolded Igrelle.

[How can you say you’re going to soar through the skies of the world outside the Forest of Roots at that speed?]

[Shut up! You were trembling until the last moment! And besides, this is…]

According to Igrelle, the atmosphere of the Forest of Roots felt like there was almost no resistance when flying.

It wasn’t because Igrelle was a demonic beast, but because the atmosphere of the Forest of Roots itself was special.

So in this situation, where they had to fly feeling the faint holy power in this airspace that had been cleanly purified by the sacred barrier, it was difficult for Igrelle to maintain its original speed.

The load on its back was heavy, and Igrelle had used a lot of demonic energy to break through the barrier. Keeping them from falling off was a testament to its sense of duty.

[Don’t speak when you don’t know what you’re talking about!]

When Igrelle snapped irritably, Elaga realized one fact and shut its mouth.

It was true that Elaga was stronger than Igrelle, but the situation was different now.

If Igrelle twisted its body and made a fuss, Elaga might fall onto the sacred barrier and die.

Since demonic beasts have no loyalty, Elaga shouldn’t rashly provoke Igrelle here.

Unlike Elaga, Alea, who was grasping the reality of the situation, opened her mouth.

“We appreciate your efforts, Igrelle. Please, just hold out a little longer.”

[Yes, human. Unlike someone, you speak nicely.]

After that, the argument subsided. They flew quietly towards the east.

To lower the altitude slightly, they were flying in a gentle curve towards the east, turning slightly to the south, but the air was freezing cold.

Although demonic beasts like Elaga and Igrelle don’t feel the cold, the other humans had to shiver, so Alea installed a barrier to block the wind and preserve the temperature overall after lowering Elaga’s weight.

Unlike Sian, who had used up all his strength to lift Igrelle, Alea still had some energy left.

Using magic became much easier after leaving the sacred barrier, as if shackles had been removed.

‘It should be fine at this height, but if we go lower, we’ll definitely be noticed.’

Alea also had to cast invisibility magic to conceal the size of Elaga and Igrelle.

Once the necessary preparations were done, Alea thought again of Heike.

‘She must be worried. I didn’t contact her as planned.’

Heike often spoke as if it were her responsibility to help Alea. Though she never displayed any affection toward Alea, she might have assumed Alea had failed to escape the barrier.

‘Well, it’s a relief if she isn’t fighting Antiol.’

Alea cut off her worries with that thought.

Anyway, the flight was stable. As night fell after the day passed, everyone forgot about their fear of heights and fell asleep tied to ropes. They were all tired from being so tense.

Even Elaga was snoring softly at some point.

The demonic energy it had depleted was slowly replenishing, despite the absence of demonic energy in the surrounding environment.

It seems that a demonic beast of Elaga level could recover strength even in the most hostile environments.

While Igrelle apparently couldn’t sleep, there weren’t many who remained awake.

Alea turned her head towards Helmut. He wasn’t asleep, but lost in thought, staring ahead. As if there was something there.

“Helmut, what are you thinking about?”

“I never thought I’d leave the Forest of Roots again.”

“Have you thought about what you’ll do from now on?”

Helmut didn’t answer this question for a while. His black eyes met Alea’s purple ones.

After a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.

“What if… I seek revenge?”

Otaku_Tensei

I'm currently Translating the following novel: Helmut: The Forsaken Child. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

•