"Want to fly it?" Keith smiled at his daughter, who had decided to accompany him on this journey, and Minami, who was eagerly looking forward to flying the airship, happily nodded her head.
"Yes!"
She sat down in the Pilot Seat and then wore the Command Pendant, which soon linked her to the ship and all its controls.
Closing her eyes, she focused on seeing through the magical eyes of the Beast, whose Core was being used to run this ship, and then she used her Mana to start the operations.
The airship, which was hovering in the air, slowly started ascending, gaining momentum as it went higher and higher, and as soon as it was a thousand metres above the ground, it shot off towards the south, where the Frozen Wasteland was situated.
An infectious smile crept on her face at the speed, which was crazy fast for even Martial Kings, and there was still some room to accelerate. However, she was aware that if she pushed the Beast Core to its limits, it would run dry much faster, so she kept it at the speed that was the most efficient for their long journey.
Westesia, which was just a continent of Amaya, was bigger than Gaia, the Isolated World where she was born, and their destination in the Frozen Wasteland, situated in the heart of Westesia, was more than 30,000 kilometres away from Crystal City.
Since they were not in any rush, Minami decided to have some fun as she did some fun manoeuvres in the air, and started testing the flight capabilities of the ship under the current Beast Core of the Lightning Hawk.
Keith walked out on the deck, which was covered by a Firmament, and he too curiously looked at the wings, which flapped now and then, just like how a living Lightning Hawk would flap its wings during the flight. The metallic sheen caught the sunlight in fleeting glimmers, and it was a sight to behold.
Subconsciously, he started formulating all the runes and crafting techniques that were used to create this airship, and then spent a good hour observing every detail of how it behaved during the flight.
Once he understood the mechanics, he returned to the cockpit and sat down at the table.
Keith took out some stationery from his Storage Ring and then asked the System to provide him with the blueprints of Silvertail.
For the rest of their journey, he stayed engrossed in his work as he drew a new design, inspired by the airship they were riding on.
They reached their destination in a little over ten hours, and Minami guided the ship to land on a snowfield, which was connected to the Frozen Forest.
She had already taken a round around the settlements of the groups who were present there and decided not to land close to them.
A lot of other airships did the same, and one of them was already stationed a few kilometres away from their landing spot, on the same snowfield.
There was a bright smile on her face when she opened her eyes and took off the Command Pendant.
It was truly an exciting experience, and she wished Kiara was here to share her excitement.
The drain on her Mana was not as bad as she had been expecting, and even though she felt a slight headache, she was in a good mood. The dizziness merely lasted a couple of seconds before it disappeared.
Flying was fun, especially when you had a machine that seemed alive and could do whatever you wanted it to do.
Minami became a little curious when she found her father sitting at the table with dozens of pages scattered over it, and when she went over to take a look at them, her eyes widened in surprise.
One by one, she went through the designs that he had created and scrapped and then looked at the one he was currently working on.
The beautiful Thunderbird design made her heartbeat quicken with excitement, and then she picked up the blueprints of Silvertail and the pages that held the details on every Rune that was used to create it and kept it functioning.
"How about now?" Keith asked in his mind when he was finished creating the latest design.
{7-Stars, Host. You can do better. However, the design is very good for the Heavens, perfect in Lower Heaven. If you improve on it, you will find it difficult to recruit the right people to create it for you.}
"But it isn't perfect." He shook his head, and then stared at the design, brainstorming to find any room for improvement.
Minami was curious when she saw him frowning at what he had just created.
She was not an expert in the field, but what he had just designed was already far better than Silvertail. Also, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Is it not perfect?"
"No." He smiled at her question and then raised his head to meet her eyes. "Like it?"
"Yes." She happily nodded her head. "It's beautiful."
"It is." He agreed on that part and then glanced at the design. "Name it. We will get it created for us."
Hearing his words, she became excited and then accepted the paper before intently looking at it.
"Perun? Zeus? Or maybe... Silverstorm?" She mischievously said as she came up with slightly silly names.
"Silverstorm?" Keith chuckled at the name and when she smiled at him, he nodded his head.
"It's perfect for it."
"I know. But we will come up with a better name once it is ready." She sweetly said, and he found her excitement very adorable.
Leaning in, he captured her lips in a soft kiss and then stood up.
Minami changed the half mask she was wearing and then wore a black cloak to cover her head.
It was bone-chillingly cold outside, but the wind that kissed their faces and ruffled their hair did not bother the two in the least.
Keith took out the Ship's Cube from his ring and then stored the ship inside it, a process which only took half a minute.
And then he summoned his beautiful black horse.
"Hey." He smiled as the beast nudged its face against his and then bowed to his daughter in a greeting.
Minami lovingly ran her fingers through its mane before she called out her own ride, a beautiful Silver Zaverian horse, which also nudged its face against her and then happily neighed when she planted a kiss on its head.
The two spent a minute saddling up and armouring their horses, and once they were ready, they rode towards the Forest, which was on slightly higher ground than the snowfield.
Their destination was the temporary settlements on the territorial borders of the two Ancient Clans, who had stirred up all this trouble around the Key to the Prison Realm.
The Silver and Black Stallions, coursing through the knee-deep snowfield, cast a very poetic image for the scouts at the edge of the Forest, who were entranced by the scene.
What almost everyone found strange was how only two people had come out of the ship, and it made them apprehensive.
Most people had come here in groups of a dozen or more, and only the mad ones or the ridiculously strong Aurors dared come alone or with just a couple of companions.
This place was not a playground, and given that these two strangers were riding horses that were more expensive than their lives, it meant that they were not normal people.
When the scouts conveyed their messages to their leaders and then tried to scan Keith and Minami for their strengths, they discovered that they were unable to look past their defences, which tensed them up even more.
No one dared to bother them as the two climbed up the slope and entered the Frozen Forest, where every tree was frozen and had no leaves on it. However, even with just their branches, these trees created beautiful crowns that covered the sky, and thanks to them, the ground did not have a lot of snow covering it.
It took them nearly two hours to finally reach the settlements, which were established around a large depression in the ground. And right in the centre of the crater was a blinking Pillar of Red Light, acting as a pedestal for the Key which was floating over it.
There were clear signs of destruction around the place, and a large section of the Forest was missing.
A few airships were parked inside those patches in the forest, and Magical Beasts could be seen everywhere, guarding the temporary lodgings of the Forces.
Keith and Minami guided their horses to the edge of the crater and stared at the Key, and both narrowed their eyes when they suddenly caught a transparent barrier blinking around the red pillar of light.
This barrier was the reason why no one had been able to claim this Key yet, and to inspect it closely, they entered the crater, guiding their horses down into it.
Seeing what they were doing, some people gathered around the depression, but no one stopped them.
A few even wore amusing smirks on their faces, and they looked forward to seeing them make a fool of themselves.
"It's unbreakable." An old man, who was likely a Sealing Master, was inspecting the barrier, and he informed them when they stopped behind him. "It will open on its own in a few days."
"I see." Keith smiled as he got off his horse and then proceeded to place his right hand on the barrier.
He sent out a few bursts of Aura into it, testing its limits, sensing them being reflected right back at him.
A wry smile crept on his lips as he placed his other hand on the Barrier and started utilising the Second Disc of Demise, the Reverse Mirror, and all the Aura Bursts that were being reflected to him were again sent right back at the barrier.
His action created a chain reaction, and with every second, the intensity grew.
The barrier started shaking a little, alarming the people, and the smiles on the faces of those who were waiting for him to make a fool of himself froze.
"Step away." He suddenly said, and the old man, without any question, immediately stepped away.
Minami did the same as she guided the horses to the side, and when the barrier started trembling furiously, Keith pulled back his right hand, clenched it into a fist, covered it in Lightning, and disguised the Space Law inside it.
The moment his fist smashed into the barrier, an opening appeared, and all the chained-up Aura Bursts passed through it, smashing into the pillar of red light, which strangely had cracks appearing on it now.
As soon as people saw what was happening, everyone gathered around the crater and in the sky, hoping that the barrier would break, and just when it seemed like it would finally open, Keith disappeared from his place and appeared right next to Minami.
The hole inside the Barrier healed up before anyone could even react, and they all glanced at his shaking hand, which seemed fine, but was definitely not fine.
"What happened?" Minami asked, whispering the question, and Keith did not mask his voice as he answered her.
"There's something inside that pillar of light, something beyond the limits of this world. And it was about to attack me." He clenched his hand tightly, bearing the pain, and then loosened it before getting on his horse. "Let's go."
Minami silently followed him out of the crater, and then the two of them headed towards the south, away from the settlements, inside the woods.
Once they arrived a good distance away, they got off and created a small house out of Wood. They spent some more time creating the defensive barriers, laid down some Runes, before entering it to get some rest.
"How long before it opens?" The black-eyed Demiliore asked.
"Two days." And Keith smiled at her before walking towards his room.
"Did it really hurt?" She curiously asked and heard him chuckle at her question.
"Yes." He answered her and then smiled at her. "Come."
Minami obediently followed him inside the room, and then got into the bed with him, intending to take a nap.
She planted a sweet kiss on his hand before she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep, not in the least worried about getting attacked in this dangerous place. Perhaps, it was the quiet hum of the protective Runes lulled her into a sense of safety, but that would prove not to be true if one asked her about it.
Even if Keith asked her to sleep in his arms in the middle of a battlefield, she would never hesitate to do it. In his embrace she felt the safest, and in his embrace she wished to live.