Day Two, above the southern skies of the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains.
“Wow! Is this the latest version of the flight wings designed by Miss Eilush? It feels so different from the previous ones!”
As expected, soaring joyfully in the clear blue sky, Theresa exclaimed in amazement.
Violet, Xiao Guang, Leila, Rene, and several other girls accompanied her closely to prevent any mishap that might cause the young girl to fall, as the four of them could all fly freely without external assistance. They naturally didn’t need to use Eilush’s latest development, the 【Artificial Flight Wing 1799】.
Yes, the 1799.
After the girl flight test more than half a month ago, and a series of subsequent iterations, tests, and improvements, Eilush finally developed a finished product with the help of Violet and the others. This version had excellent versatility and performance, making it easy for even a novice like Theresa to master and use.
Although a certain doll lady was reportedly still tirelessly working on improvements, the current version was perfectly ready for official use.
Thinking of this, Violet glanced at the thin silver-white metal wings flapping behind the blue-haired girl. Compared to the initial version tested by Little Blue, the 1799 was significantly smaller, about half the size of the original. Its design had also evolved from a complete imitation of Violet’s 【Divine Feather】 to a more nimble and lightweight form after some adjustments.
For aesthetics, Eilush applied a special coating of colorful paint, suggested by the priestess, which reduced the mechanical harshness and added a layer of magical resistance. This coating, made from a blend of magical alloy powder, also significantly slowed the internal components’ rusting process.
One particularly commendable point is...
Although the overall operation is not significantly different from before, the most important part, the energy source, has undergone major improvements.
It still uses solar energy, but its method of capture has been changed to a completely different approach, based on Violet’s suggestion.
Magic crystals, or rather, pure light element crystals personally condensed by the priestess.
In this world, various so-called magic crystals are mostly formed from large amounts of magical elements in the earth veins, compressed and gathered over hundreds or thousands of years. Therefore, magic crystal mines typically only appear underground or are exposed through natural phenomena like earthquakes.
Condensing concentrated magical elements into a solid form is not difficult for the priestess. The 5th-tier “Radiant Source Crystal” seen at the “Universal Emporium” in the underground black market of Demon Suppression City was likely formed from the residual energy after she used the 10th-tier magic 【Radiance of the Holy Light】 in her battle with Southern Calamity.
On the way to Spirit Butterfly Peak, when she was continuously charging the prototype flight wings for Little Blue, she considered that since only adequate sunlight was needed, it didn’t necessarily have to be provided by Violet herself. Furthermore, could this process be carried out by an item rather than manually?
Thus, the idea of using light element crystals as the power core naturally emerged.
Now, in the flight wings behind Theresa, there are two 5th-tier pure light element crystals made by Violet herself. Each wing contains a hidden slot with one crystal, allowing the wings to absorb the light energy continuously released by the crystals and convert it into power.
Preliminary estimates suggest that it would take at least a thousand hours of continuous high-speed flight before the energy in the crystals would be depleted. The status of the crystals is also monitored by a detection device made by Eilush, providing real-time feedback to the control panel so that the user can be prepared in advance.
It’s not that the priestess finds it difficult to create higher quality light element crystals. However, since 5th-tier crystals are already sufficient for the long-term operation of the flight wings, inserting crystals of higher quality might lead to situations where the core value far exceeds that of the machinery itself. If discovered by someone with ill intentions, this could result in troublesome situations like the saying “a valuable item invites trouble.”
Violet hadn’t forgotten the exorbitant three million gold coin price tag on the “Radiant Source Crystal” at the Universal Emporium. Recently, she had given Eilush several hundred similar crystals to be used as spares.
Of course, in exchange, the flight wings made by Eilush were provided to the priestess for free.
Incidentally, a few days ago, when Edwinna received an urgent message from her family in the Holy Empire and had to rush back, the priestess also provided her with a similar set of flight wings to save time.
Although Eilush’s finished products were limited, she still gave Violet four or five sets, which Violet stored in her backpack. The allocation and use of these items could be decided as needed. After all, you can never have too many of such good things.
With the matter of the flight wings settled for now, Violet and her companions were headed to a place called the “Portal Grounds,” guarded by the gatekeeper Minchen for years. This is the only entrance to the “Illusionary Realm” apart from Spirit Butterfly Peak.
Thanks to everyone’s efforts and some precautions left by the demon god, Silvina and Aileen were unable to seize the demon god’s authority, which is the true source of magic power. Therefore, with timely intervention, the Illusionary Realm did not fall into complete collapse as prophesied.
That being said, the current situation could hardly be considered optimistic.
The World Gate has been closed again, but the source of magic power, having absorbed too much power of faith over the centuries, is inherently unstable. With this recent disturbance, the situation can now be described as going from bad to worse.
The method of dividing and carrying part of the power is no longer feasible. The former division was absorbed by Silvina and the others, then destroyed by a certain priestess with a single shot. Now, Novia, as the true source of magic power, has become the sole pillar supporting the existence of the Illusionary Realm.
This also means that if the situation in the Illusionary Realm continues to deteriorate, Novia may have to spend a long time in close proximity to the Portal Grounds to maintain its stability, or even... become the second gatekeeper.
For a young wolf cub born just a few years ago, and her mother, Vanessa Moon Shadow, this is undoubtedly a very cruel choice.
Violet’s purpose on this journey is naturally to resolve this matter.
“Oh, we’re here.”
Looking down at the towering mountains that closely resembled the descriptions, Violet exchanged glances with the other girls in her group and led the way down.
The “Portal Grounds” are a space squeezed between the Illusionary Realm and the real world, inaccessible by conventional means. Therefore, they need to find the entrance that leads there first.
“Miss Violet, and everyone else, I’ve been waiting here for some time.”
As the girls landed on the platform at the summit of the mountain, a young woman with bright green long hair, dressed in a strange battle skirt woven like green leaves, and pointed ears, was waiting there. She folded two curved blades that could be combined, slightly bowed her head, as if to greet the priestess and her companions.
Violet smiled in return and greeted her. She then scanned the surroundings with her silver-blue eyes, finally focusing again on the twisted door behind the green-haired woman.
“Miss Berta, you’re too kind. By the way, has Walter still not returned? How come you’re still guarding the Southern Peak?”
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.