228 - - the point at which a wing is directed

"Good morning. I've been waiting for you!"

The morning after the feast.

A woman of the Midoriwa tribe, who had been standing by the flying dragon, greeted Thor and the others as they left the fort with a languid greeting.

She was dressed in a rather heavy jacket and a snakeskin hat with only her green feathers showing.

She was dressed as if she was about to embark on a journey in the sky.

"Issatsu, isn't it? Good morning, Ne-chan!"

Good morning. Mr. Chita.

Good morning. It's a beautiful day for flying, isn't it?

Good morning. What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

When Thor lifted his eyebrows at the words he had been waiting for, Chita replied with a wan smile on his face.

"I'm going for a quick flight, but I wasn't sure..."

"You mean Ryu's is good!　That's a big deal."

"Yes, that's right. We have time, and it would be impolite to refuse your kind offer.

The two flying dragon lovers responded immediately, and it seemed that they had decided to go out with each other.

Thor, who made eye contact with Sora and scratched under his chin, quickly lifted Moo and pushed him into the small boat on the belly of the flying dragon.

He lifted Moo and pushed him into the small boat in the belly of the flying dragon to prevent him from begging to sit in the cockpit at the base of the dragon's neck.

Thor then watched as Yuril and Sora climbed aboard, and asked the pilot, who was trying to climb up the ridge of the scales with his feet.

So, what are you going to show us today?

"Well, you know, the one I've been keeping a secret from you..."

These familiar words reminded Thor of the time when Chita had invited him to see a witch deep in the swamp.

He had said that he was acting against his brother's way of doing things, but there was more to it than that.

"Another reason for showing us the witches?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, I can finally fulfill my wish!"

Chita switched to a mischievous grin and waved his hand as he ran lightly up the back of the flying dragon.

"Here we go! Come on, get in!

"What are you doing, To-chan?　You can't just stand there and look at the ballroom door!"

"Mr. Thor, if you don't hurry up, we'll leave you behind."

Chuckling at their haste, Thor quickly climbed into the small boat.

The wind gathered by the magic power pushed up the wings, and the huge body of the dragon slowly rose into the air.

As he gazed outward, he was already in the sky, savoring the familiar feeling of floating.

Moe, who is shouting excitedly, and Yuril, who is standing by his side, appear from the edge of the small boat together.

A young man standing on the ramparts waved to them as if he had noticed them.

Moe and Yulil waved back in unison.

After circling three times above the fort, the flying dragon turned its snout toward the rising sun and flapped its wings.

Immediately, the wind is at our ears and the scenery changes as if we are being swept backward.

The morning mist drifts across the swamp, creating a vivid contrast of black and white.

Thor let out a long and deep breath, remembering the fact that he had been covered in mud there yesterday.

Sola, who was sitting next to him, extended her hand to him as if she was trying to help him.

The two of them looked out at the changing scenery below them with their hands clasped together.

The flying dragon, paying no heed to the thoughts of Thor and the others, leaps over the mud with ease and soon arrives at the abandoned prison.

But without a sign of resting its wings, it easily leaves the angular roof of the building behind.

The depths of the swamp seemed to have been left empty without a master.

The mud-poisoning giants that had been there for so long have disappeared, leaving nothing but a sea of mud.

The flying dragons continued to soar above it.

It seems that Chita's destination is still ahead.

The scenery continued to be the same for the next 30 minutes or so.

However, it seemed to be exciting enough for Mu and Yuril, who were watching it from the bow for a long time without getting tired of it.

Suddenly, the scenery changed from black to brown.

The swamp had come to an end, and what lay beyond was a completely dry wilderness.

The blackish clumps that could be seen in places were probably thorny bushes in the wasteland.

The vein-like streaks running in all directions were not roads but remnants of rivers that had evaporated, judging from the way they undulated.

We also saw a herd of black beasts the size of cattle, with twisted limbs.

Looking further into the distance, we could see a strange, twisted chain of wavy mountains in the distance.

Thor muttered in agreement as he looked at the new scenery.

"...... I see. So you couldn't come here before because of the noxious fog?"　

Thanks to the defeat of Thor and the witches, the nasty fog that had been blocking the sky had disappeared, and we could finally go further into the miasma.

The flying dragon, oblivious to the desolate land below, continues to gain speed.

Thor and the others watched with interest as the ground passed by.

After about an hour of traveling, a voice suddenly came down from above.

"It's going to lean a little bit, so be careful. We're almost there.

The next thing I knew, the mountains, which had seemed so far away, were close at hand.

The rugged, rocky, and barren mountain surfaces were clearly visible to the eye.

Between the mountains.

The body of the flying dragon was sucked into the valley, which was cut off on both sides.

A roaring, ear-splitting sound echoed through the air, and he felt a rapid lifting sensation under his buttocks.

A gust of wind blows from directly below, and the flying dragon accelerates toward the zenith.

Its huge body suddenly turned upward, and Mu let out a joyful shriek inside the slanted small boat.

The two men at the bow of the boat slide down and hit Sora.

The three of them stayed together, and this time Thor was forced to extend his arms.

When I grabbed the edge of the boat to hold them off, the girl and the child looked at each other and started laughing loudly.

Unusually, Yuril also burst into laughter.

The scenery on both sides of the boat is flying backward like an arrow.

A swirling wind ruffles my hair and I can feel my cheeks being pulled back.

Thor finds himself unknowingly smiling.

A few seconds, maybe tens of seconds later.

Suddenly, Thor and his friends emerge from the shadows of the mountains and are suddenly illuminated by the light of day.

At the same time, the boat regains its level with a peculiar feeling that softly shakes the inside of the boat.

Blinking in the glare, everyone's gaze naturally turns forward.

The laughter stopped at once.

Beyond the mountains, a vast scene awaited Thor and his friends.

Gray hills undulating like waves.

Plains of strange reddish-brown rocks.

Lush green trees, densely covered like a forest, could be seen moving across the ground, kicking up dust.

A thick river meanders between them, red as blood.

But it was not these that caught the eyes of Thor and his friends.

Beyond them.

Something pitch black covered the area leading to the horizon.

Nothing.

What covered the land as far as the eye could see was what could only be described as a vast void.

But at first glance, it was clear what it was.

It was an enormous hole.

Unable to move their bodies, Thor and the others stare silently into the black abyss that opens its mouth.

No, they cannot take their eyes off it.

No matter how hard they try, their gazes are drawn to it as if they were being sucked into it.

The four of us remained silent and continued to stare at the huge void as if in a daze.

Just when it seemed as if their souls would be sucked into the void...

The boat now tilts sharply to the side.

A beat later, Thor realized that the flying dragon had forced the boat to turn.

When he came back to his senses, he found that the boat had turned in the direction from which he had just come.

Thor exhaled from the bottom of his lungs and let out a small mumble at the sight he had just seen.

"............ it really happened, didn't it?"

"Wow, that was amazing! That was amazing."

"Yeah, it was big. What's that?　Tor-chan."

That was the Coma Hole. Mr. Mumm.

The Great Coma Hole.

It is said that the gods of the dead drilled this hole in the world.

It is said to be the source of all the miasma.

When I was a child, I used to hear this story in my sleep.

But in the village where Thor grew up, no one had ever seen it firsthand.

Even after he moved to the border town of Dadan, no one had ever heard of seeing it.

This is probably because they were too dangerous to go out of their way to see them.

Chita's words about her longing to see it echoed in Thor's heart once again.

It seems that she was one of the adventurers who wished to see what was ahead.

"It was so black..." she said. I thought you were going to get knocked out..."

"That was a close call, Moo-chan."

The child looked up at Sola's answer, fell silent for a moment, and then pushed the girl's body away with her small hands.

Then, after forcing her way through the gap she had created, she climbed onto the legs of Thor, who was sitting behind her.

She turned her body around and settled her buttocks completely in the middle of the bed.

The child, who turned his head to look up at Thor, continued to speak happily.

"If you're going to have s*x, you'll have to go in there, Tochan."

"Oh, that's not fair. I'd like that too.

"Well, I think it might get stuck in Sora-neechan's buttocks. I don't want to move here.

"Oh, no, that's not true!"

"Ms. Sola, would you like to sit on my lap?"

Sola turned around at Yuril's words and fell down with a happy smile on her face.

She rested her head on the pillow and shouted in surprise.

"So soft!　You're so fluffy, Thor!　Your thighs are amazing!"

Thor, who already knew how it felt, remained silent and scratched under his chin.

Unlike the outward journey, which was in a hurry, the return journey was relatively slow.

Perhaps the density of the miasma in the backcountry had something to do with it.

Three hours later, Thor and the others return to the fortress on the bank of the swamp without incident.

After getting off the boat, the group sniffed the stench of the swamp air, and looked at each other with a look of relief.

"Good night. That's it for today!"

"Is that what you wanted to see?"

"Yeah, I guess I have to see it at least once..."

"...... I see. Maybe?"

Chita's face was bright and cheerful, as if he had lost all his regrets.

However, the Midoriwa maiden gave a small shake of her head in response to his question.

"Well, I was planning to return to my country (Reginalia) in the near future once I feel better..."

"What!　Are you retiring, Mr. Chita?"

"What do you mean by 'wantai'?　Grandma You."

"It means you're quitting your job as an adventurer, Mr. Mumu."

Mu, his purple eyes wide open, scurried over to compare Chita with the flying dragon next to him.

Then he said cheerfully.

"I see. I guess I'll have to take him in then. Nice to meet you, Ryusuke!

"Don't name it anything you want. And I'm not retiring!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. There's a little situation. I'm going to keep doing this for a little while longer.

I wonder if the feud with his brother is still unresolved.

Thor silently took Chita's hand in his own and returned it.

His hand was stronger and warmer than he had expected.