Release That Witch

The surrounding noise suddenly faded out and she desperately wanted to help him up, but her body was cold and stiff, leaving both of her hands trembling slightly. Other than her internal exclamation, she was not even able to take a step towards him.     

She was afraid that Roland would freeze in her arms.     

She was also afraid that he would never wake up again.     

Simply thinking about it made it hard for Nightingale to breathe.     

She had not been this overwhelmed since she recovered her memory.     

Anna was still the first to react, rushing over she squatted and covered his entire wound with a mass of Blackfire. It started to smoke under the lightless fire, which was emitting a buzzing sound. Roland's broken arm was charred once the Blackfire dissipated.     

The trickling blood had stopped.     

"Oh yeah, this was the emergency measures he was talking about during the first aid class. What to do next? Wrap up the wound, and quickly send him to the hospital for Nana..." Nightingale swallowed her saliva and looked around the basket. "No, they can't, Nana isn't in the hot air balloon but back in Border Town."     

We'll have to go back.     

We must go back as soon as possible!     

She slowly turned her head to the southeast, in the direction of the town.     

Suddenly, the ferocious image of the demon's bared fangs and claws flashed through Nightingale's mind, bringing her thoughts back to the basket.     

All at once her hearing returned and Nightingale could hear a cacophony of shouts from the panicking witches, the sound of gunshots, and the roar of the enemy. Once the cold had subsided she was able to arrange her thoughts into a sentence.     

There's no way to return to Border Town in time, without first defeating the demons.     

"Lightning!" Anna anxiously shouted, "Protect the hot air balloon so it can land!"     

Although the little girl looked pale from seeing Roland unconscious, she nodded and clenched her teeth as she floated up from the basket.     

"No," Nightingale thought, "Look at her appearance, she won't be able to take on a demon, like most of the witches, she's never experienced combat with a real enemy before."     

The only person here, who could defeat the demons, was Nightingale herself.     

Taking a deep breath, she pushed all thoughts of the injured Roland from her mind. The two demons were still attacked them from the front and rear, fortunately, their spear-throwing arms were dry and thin like fire kindling, which indicated that it would take them a while to recover. The demons were about 50 meters away from the hot air balloon. This distance was not enough for her since she could easily fall while spreading her Mist in the air. The further her distance was from the ground, the fewer flashing "lines" there were, and if she stayed on the same line for a long time, she could easily be torn into pieces during the change of direction and the up-and-down.     

The enemies realized that the battle would become harder for them once the hot air balloon touched down on the ground. One demon was shouting something while waving its left hand that had only three fingers. And, then it pulled up on its mount, flying straight towards the hot air balloon.     

While the other demon kept pouncing towards Lightning. The demonic beast, with the gigantic flapping wings, was stalking her just like that an eagle hunts a squab, wearing her out by forcing her to constantly dodge. As Nightingale expected, Lightning could avoid taking damage due to her flexibility, but she was unable to aim and fire. Even the other witches were afraid of hurting the little girl and had ceased their fire.     

The demon that was flying towards the hot air balloon commanded its mounts to bite and scratch the airbag. Luckily, Soraya's special coating was tough enough to withstand the claws and teeth of the demonic hybrid, and it could not get a grip. Realizing that it was having no effect, it roared and flew further from the balloon, which appeared as if it were going to knock the balloon off kilter.     

Nightingale saw her opportunity.     

She spread her Mist and stepped forward without hesitation as a slightly glowing thread appeared above her head. She stood directly on the airbag as the silhouette of the hot air balloon started to change. Although her body was parallel to the ground, she felt like she was walking upright and quickly climbed to the top of the balloon.     

At this moment, the demon was rushing back.     

In the black and white world, Nightingale was surprised to find that there was a mass of magic, a magic cyclone, that was slowly rotating within the demon's body, and a sparkling stone that was embedded in its thin arm.     

Even they have magic power?     

However, now was not the time to worry about this, and it was time for her over 10-meter sprint. Nightingale jumped out from the Mist and appeared behind the demon, just as it was about to hit the hot air balloon.     

The body of the demonic beast with the gigantic wings began to sink due to a sudden increase in the weight it was carrying. Realizing something was wrong, the demon quickly turned back, but it was greeted by the roaring 12-millimeter pistol.     

"Go to hell."     

The bullets rushed out of the barrel, flames and the smoke surrounding it, before instantly penetrating the demon's headpiece, blowing a bowl sized hole out of the back of its head. There was a thick spray of blood, followed by a pungent smell that permeated the air.     

The enemy fell down, still twitching, and the demonic beast rolled across the hot air balloon. Unfortunately, while Nightingale was trying to return to the top of the airbag, the falling body pulled the reigns to the side and the mount flipped pulling her with it.     

She did not have time to react and was not able to return to a safe distance on her own.     

Although the balloon had been descending, it was still over 100 meters away from the sea. Entering her Mist during a fall would be akin to committing suicide, she would be cut in half if she hit any thread during the uncontrolled fall.     

"Nightingale!"     

She heard her sisters screaming in horror, but there was no helping the situation. Lightning was fighting with the remaining demon and Maggie would not have enough strength to pull her up, even if she transformed into a sea eagle. Nightingale was sure of her impending death.     

The speed of her fall was increasing, Nightingale looked down, seeing that the original blur of the ocean had revealed its true appearance, and she could clearly see the rolling water and waves. It was almost as if she was not the one falling, but it was the sea that was rushing towards her.     

Her mind became clearer the closer she was to the sea.     

Nightingale closed her eyes and remembered when she had met Roland, replaying the memory fragments behind her closed eyes. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing with the dagger in her hands, waiting for the gray-haired Prince Roland to come in. The swaying fire, the door, and the bedroom were gradually fading, and finally, she was only left with Roland's smiling face.     

Her only regret was that she would not be able to accompany him to the end of his days.     

"Coo, coo, coo, coo!"     

Suddenly, she heard a continuous loud tweet. Nightingale opened her eyes and saw a white figure heading straight downwards, rushing towards her chest.     

It was Maggie.     

As she was about to say something, the pigeon produced a blinding white light and instantly expanded in stature, producing gigantic wings from her back as the previous feathers fell off. The birds head was ferocious and it looked just like the demonic beasts!     

"Owh...!"     

Maggie was roaring loudly as she caught Nightingale with her claws and threw her forcefully upwards. Nightingale flipped up and then fell straight onto the giant bird's spacious back.     

"What's going on?" Nightingale was completely shocked.     

"Owh! Owh!" Maggie turned around and roared again as if she was trying to tell her something.     

This time she understood Maggie's words without needing translation. Although, she was not clear as to how Maggie transformed into this beast, defeating the demon was a more important matter to address.     

"Let's go!" she exclaimed.