- Squeak, squeak.

As night fell in the nameless forest, strange birds with compound eyes flew over the heads of a five-man team, making a strange cry like a mockery.

"Uh...... It's weird, I think it's going to be this direction......"

Touching the back of his head, he muttered to himself, and finally realized that something was wrong, and Yuri's back began to sweat profusely.

You know, the journey from Harugion to Magunoria should have taken only three days, but even excluding the first day of departure, their team had already been in the forest for four days.

“…… This is the one, right? ”

"That's it."

"The old man really regrets it......"

"Hehe, just treat this as the fun of travel~"

“……”

At the back of the group, with the exception of Mebis, who was curious about everything, Zela and Volod all looked at the person leading the way with indifferent eyes.

The harsh reality has proven the fact that the blonde youth led them astray.

At first, this guy volunteered to rush to the front, and if there was no problem, he was sorry for his face that 'said I was stupid'......

“...... Ay!!! What do you mean by that!! ”

The feeling of the edge on his back made Yuri fidget, and he couldn't help but complain out loud.

Although he also knew that this time it was probably really his problem......

"Look like this, I'm going to camp in the forest again today."

Floating in the air, the brown-haired girl who had changed her way of movement shook her head and held her forehead.

Everyone was surprised at first by her flying magic, but they were soon relieved, and only occasionally looked at her with curiosity.

Of course, Zela has no interest in taking her uncle to heaven, and she is the only one who is qualified to experience it.

But it would be a different matter if it was used in another way, for example, now she really wants to blow up the golden retriever in front of her to relieve her mood......

"Ah, as before, the construction of the camp will be left to the old man and Precht."

Putting down the strap and skillfully removing the tools from the luggage, Volod began the preliminary preparations on the spot.

Precht seemed to have given up, and looked around without saying a word, presumably looking for a place where a bonfire could be made.

“…… Then I'll go and explore the neighborhood with Mebis and bring some fresh wild fruit and food back. ”

"Good~"

"Well, I'll leave it to you."

After the suggestion was confirmed, Zela lowered his height, allowing the excited Mebis to sit back on his seat.

Everyone tacitly ignored the pale guy with his hands outstretched in front of him.

“…… That, everybody, what about me......"

Raising his right hand with a smile, Yuri would rather have everyone scold him than being marginalized like this.

“……”

However, tens of seconds passed, and no one was willing to deal with him.

“…… It's just a slight mistake, don't be so exaggerated......"

The cold wind blew, and Yuri lowered his hand in frustration, and his back was indescribably 'desolate'.

……

***********************************************************************************************************************

"No matter how many times you try, it's great to be in the air like this! That's right, Zela! ”

Stretching out her hand to feel the flow of the air in the sky, the feather-eared girl smiled and sighed to her friend.

After all, flying is also a dream for most people.

“…… That's true, but you'd better hold on to me, Mebis, it's not the sea, and it hurts to fall down. ”

After controlling the speed and feeling good, Zela did not forget to remind the girl behind her.

"It's okay! At that time, I'm sure Zela will catch me before I fall! ”

With a chuckle, Mebis expressed his trust without hesitation.

Because since she was a child, her friends have never let her down.

"Really...... Don't let it fall as a premise......"

"Hee-hee-hee......"

(That's a little, just fly for a while...... ）

With this in mind, Zela flew further away from the camp with Mebis in tow.

And at this time, the brown-haired girl didn't know that it was this whim that allowed them to save the lives of three people, and they also met the person Zela didn't want to meet in advance in all aspects.

It was a legendary existence in the wizarding world, and the ancestor of the Dark Magi.

……

**********************************************************************************************************************

"Ahh Look, Zela! There's no tree in sight over there, maybe it's the end of the forest! ”

After flying in the sky for a while, Mebis pointed to their right in surprise, and with good eyesight, she saw a wasteland in the distance, like the end of a forest.

"Huh? Hmmm......"

After subconsciously responding, although Zela was a little strange, she still reversed the direction of her flight, ready to find out.

It's just that when she paid attention to the past again, the brown-haired girl frowned slightly.

If she remembered correctly, the outskirts of Magunolia weren't wastelands like that.

(That's ...... ）

And as she got closer to the wasteland, the stranger feeling in Zela's heart intensified.

It seemed to resonate with another kind of magic she had.

（…… Wrong! This feeling of magic——!? ）

With a swept wind, Zela's expression changed, and she suddenly stopped in the air.

"Wow!"

The sudden 'brake' caused Mebis to hit his head on Zela's back, letting out an exclamation.

“…… What's wrong......"

Covering his forehead, the little guy poked his head out from behind with a puzzled face.

It's a pity that at this time, Zela's attention has been all focused on perceiving that strange magic.

(This magic and the direction of action...... ）

Estimating the speed and trajectory of the 'other party', Zera, who was looking backwards, already had a bad premonition.

(Oops!) ）

It's not good to scream, if she is not mistaken, the place where Yuri and they camped should be right in the way of the 'other party'.

Those three people don't understand this, what if they ......

"Tsk, hold on to Mebis, we're going back!"

“……？！”

The next moment, before the feather-eared girl could come back to her senses, the strong wind pressure blew the hair of the two of them, and the burst of magic left a streamer in the sky.

“…… It wasn't the end of the forest. ”

Immediately afterward, Mebis's ominous explanation echoed through the air.

"If my feelings are not wrong, it should be ...... that caused this wasteland"

"Dark magic 'Death Hunt'."

“——！！！”

……

Zela didn't really know who the owner of this residual magic she was feeling, but she knew that there was only one person who would use or passively use this level of black magic in this era.

A man named Jelf Doragnier.

（…… Hopefully, we can catch up. It's not safe there...... ）

……