In a matter of minutes, the massive Griffon had been saddled and was now rearing to take off. Commander Kadmus had pressed a sigil on the wall that had opened it up like some kind of fake barrier.
A gust of wind rushed into the sixth floor, sending Astaroth's long hair flitting around him. He could tell they were at the top of the tree by the lack of branches blocking the exit.
Mary jumped on her Griffon, giving a stern look at Astaroth, before sending the beast galloping out of the opening, wings beating furiously as it took off the ledge.
Astaroth ran behind her, simply jumping off the platform, making the stable hands shout in panic, before he rose above the level of the platform, wings behind his back.
He quickly caught up to the commander, who was flying off toward the north.
Astaroth could feel the cold numbing his limbs as he flew away from the tree palace. But it wasn't as bad as he had expected.
But that thought wouldn't last, since the commander directed her Griffon upward, sending it piercing through the clouds.
Astaroth followed suit, passing through the misty clouds, feeling the water vapour in it cling to his clothes until he was above them. The sun in the sky was high above, with no more clouds impeding its shine.
The view was breathtaking.
Astaroth noticed something, though. The air was very thin at this height.
He quickly used some wind magic to send some oxygen into his lungs before it started making him dizzy and scrutinized the sky for Commander Kadmus.
He couldn't find her, either because she was still inside the clouds, or she had used something to cloak herself. But a tingling sensation on his back suddenly put him on high alert.
A whistle in the wind caught his ear from above, and he looked up. The sun's glare blinded him temporarily, but he knew he needed to move.
With a quick flap of his wings and a burst of wind, Astaroth slipped sideways five meters, and a silver blur flashed where he had been.
Astaroth growled, before tapping the earpiece on his ear.
"Commander! What is the meaning of this?!"
He heard a chuckle in response, along with the whistling wind, before Mary's words reached his ear.
"The sky is our domain. Ours, the Griffin Scouts. You speak of regiment power, but you forget that the conditions of battle were never in our favour, to begin with, my king. The Sentinels wouldn't last a minute against my Griffons and their riders if given the right battlefield. And I will show you why!"
A piercing screech echoed in the sky, and Astaroth knew Commander Kadmus had just sicced her Griffon on him.
But instead of feeling threatened, Astaroth only felt elated.
He tapped his earpiece again.
"You think the sky is your domain, Commander? You are mistaken. Everything in, above, and under these lands is mine. I will show you why you don't challenge a dragon with a bird!"
Releasing the earpiece, Astaroth reached into himself.
"Shegror. I know you have settled in. Now is the time to answer my call. Show this arrogant bird who truly rules the skies."
Astaroth felt the eagerness of the dragon rise inside of him, as an enormous chunk of his mana sapped away.
Summoning Shegror was much more costly than any other soul companion. He assumed it was because he was borrowing power from a still-alive being.
But he had mana to spare aplenty, so he couldn't care less.
A guttural roar echoed through the clear skies, pushing away some clouds under him with sheer pressure. The dragon he took power from may only be a fledgling, with a low level, by draconic standards, but it was still a dragon.
Silverwind, Mary's Griffon, suddenly jerked away from his direction, having been revealed by the parting clouds, and screeched loudly.
The Griffon reacted on instinct, to a creature who was by all accounts above it on the food chain. But with a few soothing words from its rider, Silverwind circled back, keeping its head now locked on the massive, black dragon.
Astaroth heard his earpiece activate.
"Where in the nine hells did you get a black dragon?! I thought they were extinct!"
Astaroth snickered before tapping his earpiece.
"Does it matter where I got it? It matters only that I did. Now, we could battle it out, and prove who deserves to call the sky their domain, or you could put away your pride and listen to the offer I came to give you.
"I won't be mad either way, but someone will get hurt if we fight. I doubt you want to injure your partner for something as petty as pride."
The only sound that cut through the following silence was the whistling of the wind, and the flapping of three sets of wings.
Astaroth heard a sigh in his earpiece, and he knew he had touched the right chord.
"Fine, Your Majesty. I will listen to your offer. But it will be in the air, where I feel most at ease. My Griffon still needs his exercise."
Astaroth tapped the earpiece.
"That is fine by me, Commander. I will fly with you, but I will send the dragon away. I don't want to send the kingdom into a frenzy at the sight of this apex predator."
Astaroth turned his head to Shegror, who was expecting an attack command.
"Go hunt in the mountains to the north. Try not to hurt anyone who isn't a monster. Can you do that?"
Astaroth heard a loud huff in his mind.
'Who do you take me for, mortal? I'm a dragon, not some stupid wyvern or wyrm. I'm smart enough to know the difference between monster and person.'
The dragon beat its wings once before looping down into a dive through the clouds. It then disappeared into the distant north, its beating wings getting further and further.
Astaroth flew closer to Silverwind and its rider, giving out a smile.
"After you, Commander."
Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com