Since the other side was not moving, it suited him just fine. If their actions were aimed at his allies, then their next goal would definitely circle around those two little ones far away. No matter what they planned, as long as it revolved around those two, they would leave traces for him to follow.
"Good, they are not too far. The distance is a bit long and I will probably have to fly back north again, but that does not matter." "I already threw an eye over there earlier. That should be enough to keep them alive."
"…"
"Ham… huh? Senior Ancestors, what are you trying to do?"
Sylvia stared blankly at the already closed spatial Rift, her lips pressed together. Then she felt a storm-like surge of air beside her as Belial spread his wings. The mountain-sized Black Dragon let out an angry roar, unfolded wings that could block out the sun, and shot straight into the sky toward the northeast.
Seeing this, Sylvia quickly transformed into a Silver Dragon and chased after him. "Please wait for me… hey…"
Was he rushing off to find someone, or did he have another purpose? Sylvia could not quite understand, and the direction bothered her as well. "Isn't that the eastern side of Faris Empire and the war front against Demonkind? Several Demonkind races are there. Is it really okay to go now?"
The thought made her uneasy. If those two unlucky kids had fallen into that area, it would definitely be bad news. As she worried, her attention drifted elsewhere.
Sylvia had always carried a faint sense of inferiority, because her strength really was not impressive, especially after witnessing an odd genius like Ham. Even after inheriting the Authority of the Silver Dragon, there were not many who had just risen that she could confidently defeat. Yet she never felt that way in front of Belial, because when the gap became too large, such thoughts stopped mattering.
Looking at the appearance of this Ancestors, Sylvia felt that she was indeed still just a five-thousand-year-old youngster. What she was seeing now was something she had never encountered in all those years. "…Were flights of the old Dragonkin really like this?"
She shifted back into human form and stood on Belial's massive palm. She could not help glancing at the blurred sky rushing past, the enormous wings stretching as far as the horizon, and the long, steady white airflow trailing behind them with a faint hum. The energy hidden inside looked beautiful, but she had no doubt that if she were caught in it, she would be reduced to something she could not even scrape together.
It had been said long ago that given the proportions and weight of a Dragonkin, flapping wings alone could never make them fly. That was one of the differences between dragon beasts and a True Dragon. A Dragonkin flew by relying on inherited flight Magic within the Dragon Soul, with wings acting as a medium that worked even without air.
Sylvia remembered that when Ham was just born, she could not even use that flight Magic and needed to be taught. But watching this Ancestors fly now, something felt off. No one flew by stuffing bombs behind themselves.
After evolving, Belial's control over energy and other aspects had risen to another level. The fusion reactor flight engine he had once worked on with Lilith was naturally put to use. This new flight Magic had stronger output and higher safety than any previous version, and its speed had long surpassed first cosmic velocity.
Vast energy turned into light and heat as it poured out behind him, forming a thin and brilliant white trail. If the lightning storms and other passive Magic around Belial were removed, the sight would actually look quite beautiful, like a black-and-white shooting star. The only condition for using this Magic was having the ability to survive even if it lost control during early use and did not explode from elemental fusion.
Feeling those energy fluctuations, Sylvia was stunned. This was clearly the same reaction as that world-destroying super bomb from before. Using two massive dangers as flight engines was no different from using a Magic Fusion Bomb to generate power.
That was why she had been forced to switch from escort to passenger. She could withstand the storms and lightning for now, but she could not keep up with the speed and still had to watch those two engines while flying. Her heart was not that strong.
Once she had settled in, the sense of absurdity only grew. Belial could maintain that speed while precisely controlling the engines, and within a certain range around his body, everything was perfectly stable. One could probably eat hotpot there without a single shake.
"So just who exactly is this Ancestors among the historical Dragonkin? Why can't I find anything in the Dragon Soul?"
Sylvia had lost count of how many times she used the Silver Dragon's authority to search the Dragon Soul System. She had flipped through all records related to the Black Dragon and high-ranking Dragonkin, yet found nothing. Even trying to communicate with the other party's Dragon Soul through Authority brought no response at all.
Was the other side unwilling to answer? That did not quite make sense either, since there was no need to carry her along if that were the case. "What exactly are you… huh?"
The silver-haired girl felt something under her foot that was not the texture of Belial's scales. She looked down and picked up a dark Shard fragment. It was the Ham Eggshell she had once brought along and somehow lost, still carrying traces of her own Magic.
"That child's eggshell… why is it here?"
She felt confused. She had forgotten about the eggshell before, but why was it here now? Looking closer, it faintly glowed red, as the dragon blood taboo spell was still active. But why was it reacting here as well?
Had the Magic malfunctioned? It had acted like this before, glowing nonstop in that mountain range and forcing her to search for a long time. Even here, it was still glowing.
Wait. The mountain range? Glowing nonstop?
Sylvia frowned and turned to look at the massive body beneath her. Something clicked in her mind. "Back then, Ham said this Black Dragon might be her Ancestors. Judging by talent alone, it does seem possible."
Taking a deep breath, Sylvia canceled the Magic on the eggshell and reset it, pressing it close to Belial's scales. It lit up with the same bright red glow as before. She slowly lifted it, her face going blank as her thoughts spiraled.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? Oh right, I am testing dragon blood Magic.
"What is this result even supposed to mean? Isn't this a bit too ridiculous?"
She was not confused because she did not understand. It was precisely because she understood that she was stunned. Such a bright reaction was almost equivalent to the person themselves. Even parents would never trigger this kind of response.
Dragon blood detection Magic was designed to be very precise. Otherwise, any dragon could make it glow a little. Since many Great Dragon might share distant ancestors, the system was limited to direct bloodlines within three generations.
Judging by this reaction, it could not be a parent. That meant the same generation. The same generation?
She subconsciously compared Ham with the unimaginably massive Great Dragon beneath her feet. Calling this an ancestor would honestly sound more reasonable. "No, impossible. The Magic must be malfunctioning. This is just too absurd."
Just from size and appearance, no one would believe they came from the same mother. Even a mutation could not be this extreme. Those scales looked like cliffs carved by time, paired with terrifying power. One could believe this was an ancient Dragon God sleeping underground before dying.
She restarted the spell several more times. Each result was perfectly consistent, to the point that she became convinced the spell itself was broken. "Looks like this spell needs fixing. There is room for improvement."
She fell silent.
After staying on his palm for a while longer, Sylvia remembered there was still another way to verify things. It would be slightly impolite, though. She would check bone age.
She climbed up his massive arm like a mountain trail, passing crystal-like back spines that resembled a forest. Even she could not help glancing back, because they were truly beautiful, and she could not recall any Dragonkin in history growing such things. She ran all the way to his head and looked at the crystal dragon horns, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Please forgive the offense."
She pressed her small hand against them.
The twin horns of a Dragonkin were extensions of the skull and could be used to measure age. Although Great Dragon usually lived hundreds or thousands of years, making precision difficult, it could still be narrowed down to within a century. With Sylvia's skill, it could be refined even further.
The result came out smoothly. He was indeed an adult. In human terms, around twenty years old.
"..."
"…?"
"Ham… isn't she only about forty, maybe fifty years old?"
Sylvia sat down heavily, staring blankly at the twin horns piercing the sky. "Yeah, something must be wrong with me."
She laughed weakly, then fell quiet.