Inside the aircraft, Shima sat beside Adrin, her mind in complete chaos. It was as if she were drunk on knowledge, far too much for her to process all at once. Her thoughts spun, her eyes fluttered, and her head swayed side to side throughout the flight. Her round eyes were wide open.
She should've looked strange, yet with her sweet, innocent face, the sight somehow came off as… adorable. Adrin had to lean her gently against his broad shoulder before the girl's head could drop onto the deck. The pale woman in battle armor, sitting across the cabin, raised one brow as she watched the two of them, her expression caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief.
"What's wrong with your girl?" the woman asked.
"Well, I just uploaded every language on this planet into her head. But apparently, her brain can't handle all that knowledge at once."
"Why would you even do that to her?"
"She's my travel companion. Since we'll be meeting people from many nations ahead, I thought it best if she could understand their languages."
"For someone like you, maybe processing that much data instantly isn't a problem. But humans on this planet are weak. You should've let her learn the normal way instead of forcing it in. Look at her, she's practically drunk."
"I—I'm not drunk!" Shima jolted upright, raising a finger for no reason, then immediately slumped back against Adrin's shoulder.
The armored woman flinched, speechless. For a moment, she thought Shima was about to attack her, her body automatically shifted into a defensive stance.
"See what I mean?" she muttered, lowering her guard again.
"It's fine. Just a temporary side effect. Maybe it would be best if she sleeps during the trip." Adrin brushed his hand against Shima's cheek. From his palm, a soft warmth radiated, soothing her until she fell sound asleep.
The woman rolled her eyes. "I invited you and your girlfriend onto my ship, not to flirt in front of me."
"She's not my girlfriend," Adrin replied flatly.
"Maybe not to you. But I bet she wishes she were. I mean, look at her, so happy sleeping on your shoulder, smiling nonstop and mumbling nonsense."
"I want strawberry candy…" Shima murmured, giggling faintly in her sleep. She looked like a child.
"Would you rather she wake up," Adrin asked dryly, "or keep sleeping like this?"
The woman didn't answer. Instead, she leaned in toward Shima's face and gave her a few light pats. The girl's right cheek turned a little red.
"No use. She's completely out."
Adrin sighed. In his mind, the woman wasn't much different from Shima, both were impulsive and immature.
"By the way, I still don't know your name," he said.
"You can call me Vurtalna. And what was your girlfriend's name again?"
"Shima, from the Trunka tribe. And once again, she's not my girlfriend."
"Trunka, huh? People say they're savages, brainless, living like beasts. I never expected someone as beautiful as Shima to come from them. She's like a flower blooming in the middle of a mud pit."
"Well, you'd be surprised if you actually visited her tribe. There are many as lovely as she is."
"Yeah, well, forget it. We're too busy at war to go sightseeing through forests filled with werewolves and uncivilized tribes."
"You're at war with the Brodella, aren't you?"
"Yes. We've been fighting them for years. Our people die every day battling those giants. I'm telling you, Adrin, those creatures are brutal and merciless. Their manners are nowhere near as big as their bodies."
"Really? From what I know, the Brodella are pacifists. They dislike violence. They can't even harm a fly."
"Where did you get that idea? Did you forget what happened at the shore earlier? You nearly got crushed the moment you faced them. And you call that pacifism?"
Adrin fell silent. He didn't want to argue. Something about all this felt off, but he swallowed his thoughts and kept them to himself. He had learned from his mistakes in the Trunka tribe, it was better to observe first before acting.
Outside, the sky had turned dark. Thunder snaked through the clouds like wild serpents. Strong winds and rain lashed against the aircraft's hull. Adrin turned to the window, three other ships were flying behind them in a perfect compass formation, each dragging a massive steel net carrying an unconscious Brodella above the sea.
Soon, the ocean below transformed into a red, rocky landscape. Jagged coral peaks shattered the waves, keeping them from reaching further inland. Once past the reefs, the ships entered a dense forest of enormous, twisted trees. The ground was carpeted with dark gray, thorny grass.
From the pilot's monitor, a warning light began to flash red, sirens blared throughout the cabin.
"What's going on?" Vurtalna asked the pilot.
"This is not good! There's a storm ahead!"
"At this time? You've got to be kidding me! Get us out of this forest before it's too late!"
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind and a thick purple fog swept in, blinding everyone aboard. The pilot fought to keep control, swerving desperately to avoid the massive trees. Thankfully, she was experienced enough for maneuvering through the storm even with zero visibility.
The other two ships weren't as lucky. The steel cables carrying the Brodella cages snapped loose. Twin explosions flared to their left and right, scattering sparks through the fog. Only one ship remained behind them.
Distracted by the blasts, their own pilot failed to notice a massive branch ahead. It tore through the top of the ship, shredding the metal.
Adrin knew this had gone too far. He had to act.
As the pilot completely lost control, the ship spun and plunged toward a colossal tree trunk. The alarm sounded nonstop, causing a ringing in the ears. Adrin summoned a thick blue energy shield, enveloping everyone inside. The ship crashed, bursting apart into a storm of burning debris followed by the last ship behind them, triggering a chain explosion.
Shards of steel rained through the air, and the enormous Brodella body fell with a thunderous crash. Adrin and the others were thrown to the ground, but thanks to his barrier, not a single one of them was hurt.
Everyone from the other ships, however… perished in the wreck.