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Time rewinds to one day earlier.
The moment of the fall.
Allen and Sylphie, without the support of Rudy's wind magic, plummeted rapidly through the air!
The two were close—so close that the fierce winds of the valley blew Allen's long hair loose. His glasses had already shattered during the first round of breaking through the monster swarm, and the hair tie that held his hair had been snatched away by the howling winds.
The wind roared like a mournful dance, and the slightly coarse brown strands of Allen's hair intertwined with Sylphie's soft, smooth green hair, as if dancing a tango.
Twisting and tangling in the wind.
In this moment of freefall.
The two, so close they could feel each other's breath, locked eyes in the darkness.
Allen's brows furrowed in shock, unable to comprehend why Sylphie had done this. How had she reacted so quickly and grabbed his hand?
Meanwhile, Sylphie squinted her eyes into crescent moons, her fearful expression tinged with a hint of stubbornness. Her youthful face, with its reddish-brown eyes, stared directly at Allen, mirroring the intense gaze he often used when observing others.
At this moment, there was no bridge in the air.
But the two of them were falling together, as if from a collapsing bridge!
The wind howled past their ears.
Light and shadow flashed before their eyes.
Their hearts pounded against their chests, racing uncontrollably.
Allen only froze for a moment before snapping back to reality. His eyes widened in anger as he tightly held Sylphie in his arms, instinctively shouting.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
There was no time to hear Sylphie's response. At the same time, his 'Flow Sense' technique was pushed to its limits.
Sylphie, meanwhile, clung tightly to his bloodied back. A faint green glow flickered in her hands, but she couldn't concentrate enough to complete her silent healing spell.
Sylphie frowned, giving up on the healing spell. Tears of fear welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly shouted something.
The wind tore at her words, rendering them incoherent.
"No!"
"Let!"
"Go!"
Allen couldn't make out what Sylphie was saying. In the darkness, his pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, darting rapidly as he processed the environment. Years of training in the Water God Style allowed him to gather information in an instant, like lightning flashing through his mind:
'To the right is the open valley. In the darkness, I can't see far, but the wind sounds hollow, with no echoes. The same goes for straight ahead. The wind behind me is smooth, with no obstructions. To the left...'
The wind was chaotic!
'That's the sound of wind scraping against the cliff wall. The darkness there is "thicker" than in other directions!'
'The cliff wall!!'
The moment the thought formed, Allen, with one arm holding Sylphie, swept his other hand in an arc from above his head to his side. A burst of aura shot from his fingertips, pulverizing the rocks above them. With precise control, he directed the aura to his left, using it to "push" against the airflow.
Sure enough, in just an instant, the chaotic wind provided feedback.
'About two meters!'
His thoughts raced. With 'Flow Sense' overloading his brain, Allen completed this series of judgments in less than a second. He flung his hand in the opposite direction, releasing a 'Snowfall Drop.' The aura surged, propelling him through the air.
Then, using the momentum, he slammed his sword into the cliff wall!
The high-speed impact caused sparks to fly as the blade scraped against the rock, leaving a long trail of light.
The blade lodged into the cliff, and the two abruptly halted in mid-air, the immense inertia pulling them back.
The blade bent into a sharp curve, sparks flying around Allen's pupils!
But his expression remained grim.
In his vision, the slender blade was bent at nearly a 90-degree angle and still bending further.
Then.
The blade snapped!
Allen's preferred weapon was a thin, long sword. At this moment, without aura reinforcing the blade, it couldn't pierce the cliff wall.
But if he reinforced the blade with aura, the flexible sword would become brittle.
This was something Allen had anticipated, but he didn't dare to wait until the last few meters to stab the blade into the cliff. How could he accurately measure the time it would take for the blade to stop them? What if the cliff's soil, damp from the valley's moisture, didn't allow the blade to pierce immediately? Would there be time to adjust?
So he took a preemptive strike, slashing the blade into the cliff.
Fortunately, it worked on the first try.
Now, they were briefly suspended in mid-air. Allen looked at the broken blade in his hand, feeling the weight of their impending fall. A fierce determination flashed in his eyes.
'Based on the time we've been falling, the valley floor is still at least several dozen meters below. A direct fall would be fatal!'
'If I use the Four-Limbed Form with its "adhesive" aura properties, it might cause fractures in my arms and legs, but there's no other choice... Intermediate healing spells should mitigate some of the damage. As long as...'
'Sylphie is safe!'
In his overloaded state, Allen's thoughts raced. He quickly assessed the situation and made a decision. The moment the thought formed, he shouted!
"Hold on tight! Don't let go, understand?!"
"No!!"
"Just listen to me—huh???"
Allen had already prepared to touch the cliff wall with his hands and feet, but at that moment, a sharp refusal came from the girl in his arms. Since arriving at the Greyrat household, Sylphie had never "refused" him before. Stunned, he looked down.
In that instant.
The wind picked up.
It wasn't the wind from their fall, but a gust released from the palms of the girl in his arms. At some point, Sylphie had wrapped her legs around Allen's waist like an octopus. She stretched out her hands, closed her eyes, and focused her mind, finally releasing a wind spell!
Mana surged wildly from her palms, the roaring wind striking the air beneath them, desperately trying to slow their fall!
Allen felt the soft skin of her legs rubbing against his waist, the friction causing a burning, stinging sensation.
In that brief moment, as the caster of the wind spell and the focal point of the force, Sylphie could no longer hold onto Allen.
Allen's mind was in turmoil. This wasn't the outcome he wanted, but there was no time to communicate with Sylphie and adjust their approach. If they hesitated any longer, the acceleration of their fall would increase, and they would either die or suffer severe injuries.
Allen quickly used the 'Flow Sense' technique to carefully grip Sylphie's waist, pressing their bodies tightly together. He merged their forms into a single, cohesive unit using the 'Flow Sense' technique.
Their bodies stabilized, but they were still falling!
Allen's initial judgment wasn't wrong. The point where they had paused was 74 meters above the valley floor. How long would it take to free-fall that distance?
3.89 seconds!
But with the wind spell slowing them down?
7 seconds!
In those brief 7 seconds, Allen quickly adjusted to the most suitable posture.
Nearby, the thunderous echoes of monsters hitting the ground reverberated, like water balloons bursting on impact.
It was the sound of monsters falling like rain, splattering into mush.
The 7 seconds passed in a flash.
With a "thud," a shockwave spread from Allen's feet as his knees bent and slammed into the ground, his joints creaking.
A faint, almost imperceptible green light flickered around him.
The injuries to his back and knees instantly healed.
He straightened up, Sylphie's soft hair tickling his cheek. Feeling their hearts pounding in unison, he let out a long sigh of relief.
'Sylphie's wind spell was incredibly powerful... It felt like we only fell from a height of ten meters. The kinetic energy was mostly negated, allowing us to land safely. This minimized the damage... She really saved us.'
Allen ruffled Sylphie's hair and took a step back, looking down at her face.
But instead of the relieved, joyful expression he expected, Sylphie looked exhausted, her eyes filled with tears. She pouted, her lips trembling as she stared at Allen's face, unable to speak. Her lips twitched, rising and falling.
Finally, as if confirming that Allen was unharmed, she broke into a tearful smile.
Over the past year, she had been imitating Allen's expressions. But now, she couldn't hold back, revealing the natural, emotional demeanor of a young girl.
But Allen's gaze froze. His expression shifted from joy to shock, then to blank astonishment.
The sun had set behind the mountains, and the moon hung high in the sky.
The clouds had parted, and the moon naturally emerged from its veil.
A silver moonbeam fell from the heavens, landing before the two of them.
At this moment.
In Allen's wide, horrified eyes.
Sylphie's soft hair floated in the moonlight, strands of it catching the glow. Snowflakes drifted in the air, like stardust falling.
The moonlight outlined her hair, reflecting in her eyes.
Her soft hair shimmered with a gentle radiance, like the moon itself.
Or perhaps, like the moonlight.
Pure and flawless.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 130 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 70 power stones I will publish the next chapter.