Chapter 91: Thunder Ice Pixie
Lane pressed a yellow button on the control panel, and the lights covering the ASUV turned red, bathed in a soft red glow as it tore toward the dreamgate.
Screech...
The ASUV’s wheels screeched as it took a sharp turn and increased the speed even further.
Jaden leaned back in his seat with a hard look as he thought.
’An Expert ranked Dreamgate, huh... This will be my first time seeing a B rank. I wonder how strong they are compared to C rank...’
Soon, the ASUV slowed down as it moved towards a damaged building. Jaden looked out of the window. His eyes fell on panicked civilians and arcane knights. He looked to the front. A large hole in the space where vibrant colours spiralled in a dreadful rhythm was located in the abandoned building.
Suddenly, he saw something or someone near the gate. He channelled mana into his eyes, and his vision became much sharper and clearer. He could now see a few arcane knights, their faces pale as they stared at the dreamgate in fear.
"Are they planning to enter the dreamgate?" Maria questioned, her voice heavy.
Lane leaned back slightly and responded, "It appears so."
Maria clenched her fists and took a deep breath before asking, "What are they waiting for then? How much time until it breaks?"
"Looks like they reported it too late... Maybe they wanted to use it for gains, but after finding out that it was an Expert-ranked Dreamgate, they reported it to Imperial Command. About thirty seconds till it breaks..." Lane replied darkly as she shook her head.
Dreamgates were the main reason for the high rate of death. But, at the same time, it was an opportunity. Dangers and opportunities have always been together, after all. By selling the carcass and spirit cores of nightmares, they could gain a wealth they normally would not even dream of.
That is why many at the outskirts do not want to report the gatebreak unless it is of a rank they can not handle.
"Let me take part in the first wave," Jamie suggested as he folded his arms across his chest.
Maria turned and sharply looked at him as she retorted flatly, "No, you will not. You will sit here till I and Lane finish this mess."
Jamie unfolded his arms and opened his lips to argue, but Lane cut off his words.
"She is right, James. You have to join the academy so you cannot get injured here."
Jamie looked at her for a moment before murmuring in displeasure, "Fine..."
Jaden also had the same idea as him, but he could not voice it anymore, so he simply leaned back in his chair and looked at the outside world as the ASUV stopped.
’No point in asking the same thing twice... also, I want to see how these two fight,’ he thought as he glanced at Lane and Maria.
Maria, who felt his gaze on herself, spoke playfully, "You do not have to be so secretive. What is it you want to ask, little Judy?"
Jaden displayed a wry smile before letting out a forced cough as he asked, "What realm are you, Big sis?"
Everyone raised an eyebrow at his words as Jamie questioned with a puzzled look, "You... don’t know?"
"Hmm? How am I supposed to know if she never told me?" Jaden replied with furrowed brows.
Jamie facepalmed himself and thought, ’You could have asked her or someone else...’
Maria chuckled softly as she opened the ASUV’s door and stepped out.
"Why don’t you try guessing?"
Lane also stepped out and walked towards the dreamgate. She raised her hand, and silver sparks appeared and took the form of a brown grimoire with silver embroidery and seven silver stars.
Maria also raised her hand, and a silver blob that looked like flowing silver appeared on her open right palm. She channelled mana into her vocal cords and shouted, "EVERYONE GET AWAY! WE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT."
The arcane knights turned to look at her, and their eyes turned wide before one of them shouted. "W-War Princess! The War Princess is here!"
The one beside him asked, "Do you mean Maria Bannister, The Silver Maiden?"
"Of course! Who else is worthy to be called the War Princess?"
"Indeed! Indeed!"
"Who is that with her?"
"You fool, don’t you know about Thunder Ice Pixie? Who always accompanies the War Princess?"
"I-I d-do of course."
"Tch. You have eyes but can not see Mount Tai."
Jaden raised an eyebrow and nudged Jamie before pointing at Maria and questioning, "Why is she not summoning her grimoire?"
Jamie looked at him before pointing at the silver blob and answered flatly, "That is her grimoire... once one reaches Master rank, their grimoire takes a unique form based on its holder."
Jaden nodded at him before looking back at Maria and asking in a low voice.
"I see, so... Big sis is at Master rank?"
"She is. She is also the youngest to reach Master rank..." Jamie paused and looked at him from the corners of his eyes before mumbling to himself, "or... was."
However, Jaden couldn’t hear him as it was just a mere whisper.
Crack... Crack... Crack...
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed everywhere and soon it turned into the sound of a beating heart.
Ba-dump... Ba-dump... Ba-dump...
The area around the dreamgate suddenly turned heavier, and the gate darkened before a black tentacle shot towards Lane.
Lane calmly looked at the tentacle and raised her other hand as she muttered, "Iceon’s Wind."
The speeding tentacle stopped as it froze until the end and crumbled into pieces before the nightmare stepped out of the gate.
The nightmare’s lean, hunched body was pale; It had dark, fly-like eyes, tentacles instead of arms, two hole-filled leather-like bat wings that dwarfed its body; its legs were like those of an eagle, and it had two large fangs dripping with a black liquid, stone melted upon coming in contact.
It opened its mouth to scream, but before it could, it froze. More nightmares poured out from the gate, but before they could even walk a few steps away from the gate, an icicle crackling with blue lightning struck them, and their bodies froze as the current ran through their profane bodies.
"Beings of dreams who dare walk the land... forsake your worthless lives," she added, and lightning streaks left her palm, piercing the nightmares one by one.