She couldn't help but move closer, until her reason told her the closest place she could be. Jibril stared intently at the dust and smoke that had not yet been blown away by the magic-summoned wind. It was as if some invisible thing was being pulled in her heart.
"Do you still remember this place?" When Jibril came to her senses, Azril had quietly landed by her side and was also looking at the city below.
"!!!" She didn't speak, but Jibril was inevitably horrified.
"It was this Elf city... You led a small team to erase the delusions of those weeds who had no reverence for power. And it was here, you led others for the first time to defeat a Phantasma and became the beloved pride of everyone...", Azril's words were filled with a nostalgic tone for a moment. But when she heard what she was saying, Jibril finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Ah, that's right," Jibril agreed curtly. Only then did she realize that Azril was talking about this matter.
Even she herself found it strange. Decades ago, she had attacked Think here, completely shattering that weed's delusion of controlling a life composed purely of energy. She also conveniently took the books from this city, including that weed's notes.
And in the same place, decades later, she once again met the owner of that foolish note, and she became acquainted with a new and strange existence whom she considered a friend. She had also gone through a series of interesting things that even she herself found hard to believe when she looked back. It was a wonderful adventure that she would never forget. She had even lived here like a mortal for two years, without any boredom or monotony.
And now, she had come here again, but this time it was by no means out of goodwill...
Thinking of this, the smile that had unconsciously appeared on Jibril's face disappeared.
"But for you, the meaning of this place might be more than just that, right?" The words that Azril said next made Jibril nervous again. Even she herself couldn't say why she was nervous.
"It was here that I saw you, whose power had become weaker, and those weak and powerless guys laughing... You didn't even return to Avant Heim."
"..."
Azril's words were met with nothing but silence. Jibril acted as if she had heard nothing. She should have been shocked at hearing these words, which suggested that they had been discovered a long time ago. However, Jibril found that there was nothing to be shocked about.
She should have thought of it long ago. How could that person who was always clinging to her, the person who even secretly followed behind her every time she went to challenge the Dragon, turn a blind eye to this and allow her to continue wandering outside?
In fact, if Jibril were to look back now, she would even have to thank Azril for the decision she ultimately made back then—even though she did not approve of those weak existences, she did not directly annihilate them. Instead, she let Jibril continue with her actions.
This was thanking the strong for their tolerance.
After the God of War issued the command, without even needing to think or discuss, Azril set the destination for this trip. And what she was going to do was also completely in line with the God of War's command—it was just a greeting.
The magic-summoned wind blew, and it swept the scattered dust and smoke to the uninhabited wilderness.
It was not purely relying on the city's automatic defense incantations. When Azril's previous attack landed, these Flügel could clearly see the light that was shining from the center of the city. It was those spells that deflected Azril's attack.
The raised dust and smoke disappeared very quickly. It didn't take long for the Flügel floating in the air to see everything in the ruin city that was no longer covered.
"Oh, my~, what good luck?" Leaning forward a bit, Azril was happy with the scene that appeared in the ruins of the city. "I found you... little rat~"
The dense and countless tiny cubes of a lead-gray steel wall were constantly stacking and shrinking, and when the dust and smoke completely disappeared, they had turned into a huge double-edged sword. What it was protecting was a Dwarf with a single red eye, along with the rest of the Dwarf behind that Dwarf.
And across from this Dwarf, another shield made of steel also disappeared. However, it was a huge shield made of bright blue and white metal. At this moment, it was shrinking and deforming because the attack had temporarily stopped. It was a very mechanical deformation. In the entire world right now, besides the Dwarf, the only other race with this level of mechanical ability was that race—the Ex-Machina.
Her vermillion hair flowed freely all the way to her ankles. The retracted giant shield had once again transformed into a fair arm, but her entire right arm was a single, huge, crimson cannon with a thick muzzle. Two pairs of asymmetrical, slightly glowing mechanical wings were spread on her back. There were obvious mechanical constructs on her body. A light circle of machinery was spinning at high speed on the side of her forehead. Four small floating cannons were also interspersing around her, constantly orbiting her as a central point of alert.
They were standing on a small island in a lake. The lake that Jibril was so familiar with had now been stained with a murky gray due to the collapsed rocky dome and the dust that had landed. Between the gaps that were submerged by the rubble, she could still see a few magical plants that were unwilling to die and were struggling to pop their heads out. A corner of the lakeshore was also torn open by the deformed ground, and a large amount of dark green lake water was pouring out from the gap.
"Let~ Me~ See~ Nyaa~" Playfully placing one hand above her eyes, Azril dragged out her voice and looked out. To the left, to the right. Finally, she put her hand down and looked at the vermillion-haired Ex-Machina below with a malicious look. "None~. Poor little rat... Are you all alone?"
"I can't find any other Ex-Machina reactions in a radius of almost two hundred kilometers. It's basically confirmed, isn't it, Nyaa?" Azril seemingly rubbed her forehead in distress. "The rat that has been constantly appearing around Lord Avant Heim and imitating our power to attack the outside world all this time... is that you, Nyaa?"
A certain feeling that had existed for a long time made this emerald-haired Flügel look very unhappy. The hand that was forcefully rubbing her forehead seemed to be about to drill a hole in it.
"Even though we were attacked, we couldn't retaliate because of a command. The culprit of all this has finally revealed herself, Nyaa~" Azril laughed in a strange way.
"Are you... ready?"