Lancelot's first-stage abilities gave Shane only three skills in total.
He was already very familiar with the first two.
One was [Eternal Arms Mastery], which he'd previously grasped through the Noble Phantasm—allowing him to stay perfectly clear-minded and maintain his combat skill in any situation.
The other was [Dragon Reactor Core], now pounding powerfully in his chest, continuously supplying him with boosted mana.
The last one was [Peri Dancer].
At first glance, it sounded like a random, unfamiliar name.
But in fact, "Peri" comes from Persian mythology—a kind of fallen fairy.
It refers to a superhuman female being, originally described as the vicious offspring of fallen angels, and later regarded as an angel-like fairy.
"A fairy, huh…"
That discovery sent Shane's thoughts racing.
"If [Eternal Arms Mastery] represents Lancer's ultimate human knightly martial skill…"
"And [Dragon Reactor Core] symbolizes her nonhuman 'dragon' aspect…"
"Then does this clearly fairy-related [Peri Dancer] represent the part of Lancer that's 'fairy'?"
Shane linked together the scattered clues he'd picked up before:
"A dragon's heart, a fairy by race, and a legend of a human knight…"
"Human, dragon, fairy…"
With that many traits mixed together, he couldn't help forming a bold suspicion:
"Lancer might not just have 'two true names.'"
"Maybe… there's even a third name—one corresponding to human, dragon, and fairy respectively?"
If he'd had this thought in the past, Shane would have scoffed at it.
But now, when something as ridiculous as "the Round Table's greatest knight turning into a white-haired dragon girl" could happen…
His way of thinking had to evolve too. He couldn't stay trapped in common sense—he had to expand into directions he'd never dared consider before.
"Hah…"
Shane let out a slow breath, temporarily pressing down the mess of thoughts.
"Anyway—let's test this ability first!"
He closed his eyes and tried to draw on the concept behind [Peri Dancer].
There was no earthshaking surge of mana—only an incredibly light, liberating sensation, as if shackles were falling away.
That feeling matched perfectly with the ghostlike, untouchable presence Lancer had shown when she toyed with Deliora in the vision.
"Shff—"
With a flick of intent, Shane spread his dragon wings again.
After the true name's release, those wings—once pitch-black, rigid, and metallic—had subtly changed.
The lines were softer. They were still huge and powerful, but no longer looked vicious or feral—now they carried the sleek, flowing beauty of a work of art.
Since he wanted to test speed-related power, he might as well use it to travel.
He'd already wasted plenty of time by passing out. Ul was still waiting in the northern blizzard—he couldn't afford any more delay.
"Let's move." Shane turned and opened his arms to the girl not far away.
But Ultear didn't move.
She simply stood there, those deep black eyes fixed on him, her brows faintly knit.
"What's wrong?"
Shane blinked, reflexively touching his own face.
"Big change—can't recognize me?"
Then he realized it was probably his suddenly long silver hair getting in the way. After all that mess, the loose strands were blocking his vision and making him look pretty pathetic.
"Riiip."
Shane lifted a hand and pulled out a piece of clothing from his Requip space, then tore a strip of fabric from his shirt cuff.
Since he'd tied Erza's ponytail before, the motion came naturally.
In a few quick moves, he gathered the troublesome hair behind his head and tied it high into a neat ponytail.
With the silver hair bound up, his face was fully visible again.
"Better?" Shane asked.
"…Sigh."
Ultear let out a long breath as she looked at him, utterly unamused.
Just like Shane could never fully read her, there were times she genuinely couldn't tell whether he was truly clueless or just pretending.
"What I'm asking is…"
She pressed her lips together and stepped closer.
"Do you really not need to rest more? That backlash… it must've hurt."
That pain had looked soul-deep. Even watching from the side, she'd felt it in her own chest.
Ultear was irritated—he'd only just woken up, and he already wanted to fly at high speed again?
"Honestly? I feel terrible."
Shane forced an ugly smile.
"It's like someone's sawing at my brain with a few hundred blades."
The backlash from deciphering a true name hit the soul directly. Even though his Endurance had risen from Arash's A to A+, sheer physical toughness still couldn't negate spiritual pain.
Still, the true-name deciphering had only "failed halfway," so the backlash was only "half" as well.
After resting into the night, he'd barely recovered enough mobility.
He rolled his shoulders. "But if it's just flying, I should be fine."
"…"
Seeing him stubbornly push through, Ultear had nothing more to say.
She moved in without a word. If he insisted on showing off, then fine—let him.
Shane reached out, naturally wrapping an arm around her slim waist and pulling her into his chest.
Noticing the stiff look on her face, he asked, confused, "Are you mad? Why?"
The instant the words left his mouth, Ultear gave him a deadpan "are you stupid?" look.
And then Shane finally got it.
His mouth fell open as he stared at the cold-faced girl in his arms, the realization hitting him late but hard.
"You're… worried about me?"
"Yes," Ultear said flatly. "Congratulations. Want a medal?"
She closed her eyes like she regretted ever bothering. Then, full of resentment, she reached out and pinched a sensitive spot at his waist—hard.
"Sheesh—ow ow ow!"
Even in Heroic Spirit form, Shane yelped dramatically on purpose, playing along to soothe her mood as he carried her up into the air.
"Hmph."
The exaggerated "pain" didn't fool Ultear—but it still made her feel better, because…
He was awkwardly trying to comfort her.
Even an idiot can learn, little by little, she thought.
The corner of her lips rose, her mood visibly improving.
Shane stole a glance and confirmed it: the "show weakness" trick worked.
You're still too young, kid, he crowed to himself, tightening his hold a little.
Once he finally suppressed that smugness, he returned his focus to [Peri Dancer].
A thought—
"Vmm…"
The moment he sank into that concept, the world seemed to change.
A strange ripple spread from the dragon wings.
No violent airflow. No sonic boom.
Shane's figure vanished from the night sky, leaving only a lingering streak of silver-black light.
"!"
Ultear in his arms felt the scenery stretch into blurred bands of light.
It was a deeply unnatural acceleration.
Normally, whether you fly with biology or machinery, you're bound by gravity, air resistance, and inertia.
You need a run-up to accelerate. You need a turning radius to change direction.
But under [Peri Dancer] and the "dragon body," Lancer's flight was completely other.
She didn't flap the wings to generate lift.
She used the ambient mana in the atmosphere—everywhere, omnipresent—as a foothold, "jumping" and "accelerating" through space itself.
The dragon body provided raw speed.
[Peri Dancer] provided something fairy-like—light, untouchable, and also repulsive.
A repulsion that rejected the planet's gravity, rejected incoming air… and, to some extent, rejected space itself.
Under that repulsive force, the resistance that should have crushed them and the screaming wind that should have ruptured eardrums simply didn't exist.
"This feeling…"
Shane's eyes gleamed.
It meant that even at the extreme high speed the dragon body enabled, he could ignore inertia and make right-angle turns—he could even stop dead in midair.
His freedom of movement in the sky was beyond absurd—far beyond even a hummingbird.
"Shff—"
After only a brief taste, Shane couldn't hold back.
One moment they were a few hundred meters above the ground.
The next, they were thousands of meters up in the cloud layer.
The speed was so extreme it was basically teleportation.
Just from that first sensation, Shane understood how terrifyingly different these wings were after the true name release.
Before, his top speed was roughly 300 km/h—about high-speed rail.
But now…
He glanced at the mountains and rivers streaming backward beneath them like flowing water.
"Speed… at least 900 km/h."
That was almost the cruising speed of a Boeing 737.
And the scariest part wasn't the raw speed—it was the maneuverability that flat-out violated physics.
Even at a velocity nearing the speed of sound, Shane found he could still brake instantly, pivot sharply, even reverse or hover in place at will.
His freedom in the air was hundreds of times more ridiculous than anything living.
The temperature overhead seemed to drop further—they were getting closer to the northern lands.
Shane carried the girl through the clouds, his heart surging.
With this kind of speed and agility… in this sky, who could even touch the hem of his clothes?
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!