After cooking the rabbits, the three of them ate until their hunger was completely satisfied. The aroma of roasted meat still floated in the air while the forest remained calm.
Kira dropped onto the ground with a satisfied expression.
"I'm full!"
"That's because you ate eighteen rabbits," Jotaro said with a slight smile.
Kira replied without shame.
"They were delicious."
"Well, that's true."
Jotaro lifted his gaze toward the sky between the tree branches.
"I think we should continue our journey now."
"I agree," said Aiko.
Kira opened her eyes in surprise.
"What?! But we just finished eating! We should rest!"
Jotaro calmly stood up from the ground.
"We've already rested for quite a while. We shouldn't waste any more time. Besides, the road is long—it's better to keep going now so we can arrive sooner. Unless there's a way to get there faster, we won't rest… unless it's necessary. Understand?"
"No, no, no!" Kira replied with resignation.
Aiko also stood up and lightly dusted off her clothes.
"Actually… there is a way to reach our destination faster."
Jotaro raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Really? And how?"
"All we have to do is use an advanced spell."
"And what spell is that?"
Aiko smiled slightly.
"I'll show you… but first…"
Aiko raised her arm toward the sky, opening her hand as if trying to grab something invisible.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then, among the trees, something could be heard moving at incredible speed.
Leaves shook violently.
Jotaro and Kira looked at Aiko in confusion.
"What do you think she's doing?" Kira asked while standing up.
"I have no idea," Jotaro replied.
Suddenly, Jotaro looked behind Aiko.
Something was coming straight toward them at an astonishing speed.
"Watch out!"
Jotaro moved immediately, barely dodging it. Kira, startled, fell to the ground as the object brushed past her.
The object kept going, made a turn in the air, and came back as if it had a will of its own.
Jotaro took a defensive stance.
"What is that…?"
But when the object passed in front of him again, it simply ignored him and flew straight into Aiko's hand.
She caught it effortlessly and gently planted it into the ground.
It was… a staff.
Jotaro blinked in confusion.
"Is that… just a staff?"
Aiko smiled proudly.
"Yes. It's my staff. Don't you think it's cute? I decorated it with the prettiest accessories I found in the kingdom."
Jotaro observed it for a moment.
"Well… I guess it is cute."
Kira stood up, brushing the dirt off herself.
"Seriously, that's a staff? It didn't look like one with that speed. For a moment I thought it was a monster."
"Sorry about that," Aiko said with a small laugh. "I had left it at home, and since we were already far away, I decided to call it using a bit of my magic."
Kira tilted her head.
"Well, whatever. But… what are you going to use it for?"
"I'm wondering the same thing," Jotaro added.
Aiko raised her staff.
"You see… since I'm going to use an advanced spell, I need my staff. It helps me control the magic so the spell doesn't go out of control."
Jotaro looked at the staff more carefully.
"So… if you didn't use it, would you send us to different places?"
Aiko smiled.
"In short… yes."
Kira jumped onto Jotaro's back, resting her head on his shoulder.
"So that means to use advanced magic we need a staff?"
"Not exactly," Aiko replied. "Some mages can use advanced magic without a staff… but most prefer to use one to control it better."
"Oh… I see," Kira said.
Curious, Jotaro asked:
"So… what's the spell?"
"This one."
Aiko extended her arms, holding the staff in front of her.
The wind in the forest stopped for a moment.
The air seemed to become completely still.
Suddenly, something began forming beneath their feet.
A circle of energy slowly appeared on the ground, tracing itself as if an invisible force were drawing it.
Inside the circle, ancient figures emerged: snow-covered mountains and glowing symbols that seemed to belong to a forgotten language.
The bluish light illuminated the faces of the three of them.
Then Aiko spoke with a firm voice.
"Infinite space, open your path…time and distance obey my will…Teleportation!"
The moment she pronounced the final word, the circle shone with blinding intensity.
A beam of energy shot from the ground into the sky.
The world disappeared in a flash.
In snow-covered mountains, a beam of energy fell from the sky.
When it struck the ground, it exploded into a bright light… and then faded away.
Aiko looked around with curiosity.
"Wow… it's been a while since I used that spell. What did you think?"
Jotaro and Kira were lying on the ground.
"Very… bright…" Jotaro said, dizzy.
"I feel like… my head is spinning…" Kira murmured.
Aiko quickly approached them.
She knelt in front of them with a nervous smile.
"Are you okay? I suppose it's your first time using teleportation."
"Yes… we're not used to this," Jotaro replied while slowly standing up.
Kira also stood up, wobbling slightly.
"That spell is really cool… but also really bad. It made me dizzy."
"Don't worry, it'll pass," Aiko said.
Jotaro looked around.
White mountains stretched in every direction. In front of them was a massive frozen lake shining beneath the sky's light.
"Well… it seems we've arrived at our destination."
Kira looked at the scenery in amazement.
"Are we really doing the mission in a place this beautiful? We should always do missions in places like this."
"I agree with you," Aiko said.
Jotaro crossed his arms.
"We'd better find that egg quickly. Who knows if the dragons are nearby… though since it's their egg, it's more than obvious they are."
He looked around.
"The question is… where is their nest?"
At that moment, a roar shook the sky.
The three of them raised their heads.
Several white dragons were flying among the clouds.
And in front of all of them was one much bigger… more imposing.
It was heading straight toward them.
At incredible speed.
Jotaro sighed.
"Well… if we survive this, we can follow it to its nest."
The leader dragon opened its jaws.
An icy breath descended like a storm.
Jotaro extended his hands.
"Barrier!"
A magical barrier appeared in front of them, completely blocking the attack.
When the icy breath ended, the barrier disappeared.
At that same moment, Aiko raised her staff.
"Fireballs!"
Several blazing spheres shot into the sky.
The dragons dodged them, flying even higher.
Then the leader dragon roared furiously.
It dived downward.
The others followed.
All of them unleashed their icy breath at the same time.
Jotaro, Kira, and Aiko managed to dodge.
But when the ice touched the ground…
Enormous ice crystals burst from the earth.
Kira's leg became trapped.
"Kira!" Jotaro shouted.
"Get out of there quickly!" Aiko yelled.
Kira struck the ice with all her strength.
She broke it just in time and jumped toward Jotaro.
The dragon landed where she had been a second earlier.
The impact sent snow, ice, and dust everywhere.
When the dust cleared, the dragon spread its gigantic wings.
It was enormous.
Much bigger than the dragon they had faced earlier in the forest.
Jotaro frowned.
"Only he came down?"
The dragon roared furiously and opened its jaws.
But before it could attack…
A fireball exploded behind its head.
The dragon turned around in rage.
Aiko was behind it, her staff extended.
The dragon raised its paw and slammed it against the ground with brutal force.
The tremor made Aiko fall.
The dragon unleashed its icy breath.
But Jotaro reacted instantly.
"Barrier!"
The barrier protected Aiko from the attack.
Jotaro extended his hand.
"Water Chains!"
Seven chains made of water emerged from his hand.
They wrapped around the dragon's legs, wings, and neck.
The monster was immobilized.
"Kira! Now! Hit it!"
"Y-Yes!"
Kira ran toward the dragon.
She jumped with all her strength.
"Take this!"
But the dragon reacted.
It blasted her directly with its icy breath.
Kira covered herself with her arms.
The impact sent her flying.
"Kira!" Jotaro shouted.
Kira crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of snow.
When the dust cleared, Jotaro saw something worrying.
Kira's arms were frozen.
At that moment…
The dragon broke the chains.
Aiko reacted immediately.
"Bubble!"
The ice of the nearby lake shattered.
Water shot upward and wrapped around the dragon's head, forming a bubble.
The dragon began to suffocate.
Jotaro seized the opportunity.
He extended his arms to the sides.
Sky-blue magic circles appeared around his hands, crackling with energy.
"Take this!"
The energy concentrated in front of him.
"Lightning Arrow!"
The lightning merged, forming a massive arrow of energy.
The attack pierced through the dragon's heart.
The monster died instantly.
The roar faded.
And the dragon's gigantic body collapsed onto the snow.