The massive inflatable airship, towed by griffins, hoisted its cabin and was about to detach from the landing pad.
At that moment, two golden figures suddenly descended from the sky!
They were a pair of majestic griffins.
A young man leaped from the back of one of the griffins and hurried toward the airship.
"Human traffickers! Don't even think about escaping!"
"Huh?!" Captain Ethan's expression changed slightly.
The circus members surrounding him also changed their expressions.
"Joker, are those six little guys okay?"
"They're all in the prop cabinet, sound asleep."
"Strange..." Ethan frowned. "We shouldn't have left any holes."
"Why did that guy know we took six children from the city?"
"Captain, should we get rid of him? We'll avoid any future trouble."
The strongman rubbed his palms, grinning.
"That guy's carrying two griffins, he's no ordinary man!"
Ethan smiled strangely.
He suddenly turned and stared at the beast tamer standing in the window.
"Tamer, you've just joined our team and haven't made any progress yet."
"Now, you have a great opportunity."
"Take your two companions and disembark to stop that nosy fellow."
"Shut him and his griffins up forever!"
"Take care of this, and I'll recognize your strength and loyalty."
The tamer hesitated, then asked, "Captain! You'll wait on the boat while I go down to sort this out, right?"
"Excuse me, the airship must take off on time. This is an agreement between the pilot and me."
Captain Ethan smiled wryly.
"You know I'm always punctual and trustworthy."
"No..." The beast tamer suddenly became anxious. "You all left on the airship, so what about me? What should I do?"
"You... you're not planning to leave me here alone, are you?!"
"We don't need to worry," Ethan said calmly. "I believe in you, beast tamer. You'll find a way to return to the mushroom garden safely."
"Captain! Can you please be reasonable?" The beast tamer's face turned pale. "You're deliberately trying to embarrass me! I'm sorry, I can't do that!"
Ethan's smile faded, his eyes cold.
"You can try and see what the consequences are for refusing my orders."
The beast tamer's beautiful face twitched.
Gritting her teeth, she managed to hold back her anger and walked down the gangway.
The two cloaked monsters also followed the hostess off the boat.
Behind her, the troupe members erupted in laughter.
"Tamer, relax! This is a test new members must endure!"
"What's it called? An obedience test, right?"
"Hahaha! Good luck, Tamer!"
"I hope I see you again!"
The troupe's face flushed red with anger at the sarcastic remarks.
She spun around, looking up at the circus crowd, angrily demanding:
"Are you just going to watch?"
"Aren't you my companions?"
"Anyone will do!"
"Is there no one... just one person who can speak up for me?"
But all she got in response was more laughter and sarcasm.
...
The troupe was left alone at the airport terminal.
Beside her, two loyal monsters followed. Across from them, two golden griffins descended.
A young man stood in the middle of them.
The beast tamer's eyes narrowed slightly.
A faint silver, magical glow shone in her pupils.
Her gaze swept across the two griffins, a look of understanding on her face.
"Atavistic transformation, children of the Griffin family?" she muttered to herself, then turned her gaze to Alan. "Haha, crude disguise skills, still a beginner."
The beast tamer's gaze penetrated the illusion. She saw Alan's true face clearly and was stunned! "Huh?! How could this face be..." Alan, standing across from her, didn't notice the change in her expression.
"Felin! Julie! You two try to stop the airship from taking off!"
"I'll take care of that woman in the tights across the way!"
"No problem!"
"Be careful!"
The Griffin siblings spread their wings and prepared to take off.
They planned to rip the airbags and force the airship down.
Seeing this, the trainer suddenly came to her senses, remembering her mission.
She took a deep breath and raised her right hand, palm facing up.
A ball of black flame erupted from her palm.
In mid-air, it condensed into a black fireball.
The blazing black flames contained the evil magic of Hell.
This was the legendary "Hellfire"!
The trainer's red lips curled slightly, and suddenly, with a wave of her hand, she unleashed the Hellfire.
In an instant, the black fireball soared seven meters above Allen's head.
With a loud bang, a violent explosion erupted!
Black flames splattered the sky!
Allen himself was only relieved of the false alarm.
Felin and Julie, who had just taken off, were the victims!
The infernal fireball sent them tumbling through the air, looking utterly miserable.
Julie, sturdy and strong, managed to glide through the turbulent air currents.
Felin was a bit weaker than his cousin.
Unable to withstand the shockwave from the explosion, he was forced to land.
He suffered multiple burns on his body, and black smoke billowed from his body.
His golden feathers emitted a charred smell.
Besides the burns, what horrified Felin and Julie even more was the strange magical power contained in the black fire!
It continuously eroded their wounds, preventing their flesh from healing.
It seemed like a vicious curse...
The heat wave from the explosion roared across the tarmac.
The beast tamer's long, wavy black hair fluttered in the scorching wind.
It added a touch of wildness to her gorgeous features and fiery figure.
The blast also ripped the cloaks covering the two beasts, revealing their terrifying true forms.
Following the beast tamer were two wolf-like monsters.
One black, one white.
The black wolf was slender.
Its length from head to tail was approximately three meters.
Its pitch-black fur was shiny and oily.
Its eyes were like dark red embers.
Its mouths and noses belched black smoke, carrying a strong odor of sulfur.
This was a hellhound, a fire-type monster native to Baator.
The white wolf was taller and more robust, comparable in size to a brown bear.
Its pale blue eyes were beautiful yet cold.
From its mouth wisps of cold air condensed into frost on this warm spring evening.
This was a winter wolf, a cold-type monster born from the polar glaciers.
The trainer untied the whip from his belt and swung it casually.
Crack!
The whip cracked in the air, creating a crisp sonic boom.
Ice and fire, the two monsters, roaring and leaping forward in response to their mistress's command.
They bared their fangs, attacking Alan and Felin respectively.
Meanwhile, Julie steadied herself in mid-air, pursuing the airship alone.
The trainer looked up at the sky.
Her slender, snow-white neck resembled an elegant swan.
His gaze met Julie's griffin form, and a chilling look crossed her.
"Still giving up?"
Muttering to herself, she tossed a hellfireball into the air.
Boom!
The black fireball exploded in the air, raging in flames.
Julie had been wary of attacks from the ground.
She caught a glimpse of the black flames rising from the trainer's palm, sensing something was amiss, and immediately dodged!
She narrowly avoided the hellfireball's bombardment.
However, before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, the trainer's follow-up attack arrived!
"Lumbor!"
The trainer pointed to the sky and calmly chanted the spell symbolizing "smoke and cloud."
The spell wasn't aimed at Julie.
Instead, he locked onto a small flame beside Julie.
Using the flames created by the exploding hellfire ball as material, he unleashed the second-level spell "Fireworks"!