The fans hummed from flight, vibrating the seat underneath me.
That…had been quick. Not the worst, I told myself, squeezing down the bile and dizziness from that last tumble.
Life doesn't wait for anybody, and neither does death as I'd learned. The harpies were already circling as I opened my eyes and looked where I knew they'd be.
Just like you'd expect, a century old airplane didn't appreciate being handled roughly. But maybe I didn't have to.
This part of the route had a little cover, if I used it right. A cliff to one side and a dip at its foot should limit how they could come at us even if we couldn't land outright.
"Enemies, get ready," I said to Kyouya. Calling back to get Yunyun in position too, I started the process of closing up the outside like before.
If we couldn't run for it, we'd have to fight it out. There were two advanced classes and two more fighters to back them up, that had to be worth something.
The first fireballs streaked out moments later as I cut forward speed and let them overshoot.
My part in the fight was simple, keep us from being a complete sitting duck. So I bobbed and weaved as much as I could with a ten ton machine, and tried to keep the belly covered so nobody could burrow in from below.
The first scream was high pitched enough it could've been anyone.
"Fio! Dammit COME GET SOME!" Clemea screamed in reply to a triumphant shriek.
Steel clashed then a wet gurgle and thump.
"I-I'm gonna sit down a minute…" the swordswoman said weakly.
No.
"Hang on! I'm…" a screech of metal. "I'll be right there! Where's your bandages, we can patch this…"
A searing flash from up above, like a fireball detonated right on us, buffeted the Dragonfly and nearly flipped us completely.
"Yunyun!" I called. "What happened?!" Silence, just more scrabbling and scraping metal from Kyouya as he fought.
Not again.
"How many?!" I asked, not taking my eyes off the cliff face just outside as I spun us in place to bring the open cargo bay door Kyouya had been guarding towards it and reversed slightly.
"Enough," Kyouya choked out.
Risking a look back, I saw him at the cockpit door standing over Clemea. She was trying feebly to wrap a roll of bandages around a stab wound through her right thigh. The amount of blood slicking the floor around her said that was probably not going to work.
Not like this.
Filling the rest of the cabin was an even dozen harpies, joined by another half dozen that would never threaten anyone again.
The rest had formed up, one of them giving a shriek of challenge, and Kyouya charged to meet them.
I cut power to the lift fans.
—
The fans hummed as we flew at treetop height, and I was having a quiet panic attack.
Nothing worked. Nothing.
I can't push the Dragonfly too hard, or it'll come apart around us. I can't just have us play Flying Fortress, or we'll be overwhelmed. I can't try to out climb them. I can't even land, they'd just attack us on the ground even if it was flat enough to set down safely.
I'd tried four different ways to get us out alive, and I was running out of ideas that didn't involve praying to Eris for divine intervention.
Though I did that anyway, just to be safe.
Death was still coming, I could tell without looking by now. Whether I was ready or not.
Kyouya looked over at me as I gave a hollow laugh. "You ok?"
Of course not, but he couldn't know that.
"No, I just saw an air patrol. Yunyun was right," I said. "We're going to have to run, there's too many."
He nodded grimly, like he thought we had a chance if we just did our best and believed in ourselves.
For my part, I decided to make a greatest hits album. Nothing worked so far. But maybe the right combination would. I didn't see any sign of a 'mercy mode' in this level, and I was out of any better ideas.
Gently, carefully, I started increasing power and retracting what I could. My old friend the cargo door jammed open again, but for now I was willing to leave it.
"Kyouya, get ready to cut it loose," I said tensely. Louder, "Yunyun! We've got enemies coming in! Clemea, Fio, keep her on that ladder and hang on!" Just like before our wizard went straight for the top hatch without a word, two more sets of feet clattering after her.
Once again, the harpies disappeared as they folded their wings close and started their dives.
"Three…two…one…" I grunted, and mashed the rudder and engine controls to skid us to one side. This time we didn't have the incredible bad luck to eat one of them, and Kyouya charged back to free the stuck ramp as soon as we straightened out.
Meanwhile, fireball after fireball streaked past the canopy bubble as Yunyun started in on them as they climbed back to altitude. One of them tumbled with a burning wing as she caught it wheeling to come after us again.
"You're clear, punch it!" Came the report I'd been praying for, and the chase was on.
The capital was right out, knowing what I knew now I'd never trust our ride that far. Arcanretia didn't even bear thinking on, but the navigation system had the Crimson Demon Village listed for some reason and that was close enough I'd chance it.
Taking a wide turn to keep our speed up, I tried to keep us low and still build up enough speed they'd be forced to come at us from behind, hopefully narrowing the area Yunyun had to defend without breaking something from the speed.
Threading needles was a specialty of mine, but not usually in this sense of the word though.
Another string of fireballs blazed out, leaving a glare on the glass bubble around me. I gingerly added a little more speed, seeing a trio of harpies flapping hard just outside of range trying to overtake us. I could see the lead one start flapping even harder as I started overtaking again, its head over one shoulder soundlessly berating its subordinates to get a move on as I started to pass them in turn.
After possibly making a rude gesture through the glass at them I won't show you kids, I turned back to my job.
The land flattened out a bit as we went further, fewer hills, rock, and hardy trees and looking more like a forest preserve the further we got from the old border. I took us lower still, relying on gamer reflexes backed by my Class to dodge taller than average trees as the ones trying to overtake us gave up and tried for one last pass before we got away completely.
Wind noise was getting bad enough I couldn't hear myself think anymore, never mind giving or hearing any instructions or warnings. The glowing on the canopy bubble from behind was the only way to know that our wizard turret was still in the fight.
Meanwhile some truly ancient trees reared above the canopy often enough I had to juke us around one only to find another seconds ahead. I didn't dare go higher, it might slow us down enough for them to catch up or pincer us from both sides. The lesser of two evils, but at least one I could control directly.
Finally, after what couldn't have been more than a few minutes but felt like days the fireballs became fewer. Risking a peek behind through the door I saw through the open rear where the ramp used to be the harpies getting left behind.
'Thank you,' I said fervently, taking us up a bit but trying not to drop speed just yet.
The navigation system chimed not long after, followed by a clearing steadily becoming visible in the valley mouth ahead.
My first look at the Crimson Demon Village wasn't all that impressive really. Just some thatched stone or wood framed houses along a dirt road down the middle of it, with a big public square with somewhat larger buildings around it roughly at the center of it all. A few dozen houses total at a glance. With Yunyun and Megumin as examples I could see it going anywhere from shared bedrooms to individual houses per person so who knew how many there were actually down there.
The vegetable fields in between the village itself and the forest edge looked like as good a place as any, so I steered us towards the flattest looking one and hoped nobody shot at us as the villagers started boiling out of the buildings and pointing dramatically as we descended.
As I shut down the fans, I started hearing the awful creaking and groaning of the Dragonfly settling after we touched down in a field of just sprouted beans. Also, the thump of armored footsteps.
"This isn't the capital, what are we doing at Yunyun's village?" Kyouya demanded from behind me.
"Because it was the same distance here as to Arcanretia, and if you think I'm landing at the City of Bathwater and Psychos you're crazy as they are," I snapped back.
"What's wrong with the capital, that was the whole point of flying out to begin with?! We're not even 30 minutes away now!" He shouted back. "Get us back in the air!"
I saw red, and I don't mean that metaphorically as I unstrapped and went nose to nose with the twit. "If you think for one damned second I'm going to fly this winged coffin another meter you can fuck right off! We died over and over…nearly!" I hastily amended, "And…"
"Both of you, s-shut up!" Another voice interrupted sharply, and I saw red again.
Yunyun was leaning on the hatch opening, sweat sticking bits of hair to her face and scalp, her ribbons and ornament nowhere to be seen. Soot stained her exposed skin, it was nearly black on both hands and her robe sleeves where it wasn't black already. Breathing quickly and shallowly, her eyes glowing dangerously bright, she went on: "The Demons make air patrols, I said. You ignored me. The Dragonfly is unsafe, I said. You still ignored me. The salvage value will make us rich enough for anyone with no extra risk, I said. You ignored me again. I refuse to power this 'winged coffin' one meter further, I say one last time." Eyes brightening still further, she levered herself off the hatch rim and stood upright, staring down everyone in the compartment in spite of being the shortest one there.
"I dare you to ignore me now."
After a long moment of silence, Kyouya nodded in agreement. "I'll contact the guild," he growled back. "Maybe they can arrange transport." With that, he stomped back into the cargo bay and rounded up his cheerleaders from where they'd been waiting by the ladder to the top hatch. After a quick word and several glances between the two girls, the three left together, making their way past the first few locals coming to gawk at us. Before long I watched one of them leading the trio to the village, and hopefully out of our hair for good.
Sighing heavily, I turned back to Yunyun, who had collapsed into the other pilot seat, her head leaned all the way back against the rest and eyes closed.
"Hey, so…"
"D-don't, Subaru." Without moving she cut me off sharply as a knife in spite of the stutter. "I s-said one other thing, right at t-he start. Do you remember?"
It felt like months ago, before we even set out from Axel, but I did. Have her back against the others, basically, because we'd be so far from home.
"Yeah," I answered softly, heart sinking into my boots.
"And d-did you?" She pressed, her voice cracking a little.
What else could I say? "No."
"G-get out," she replied, softly. One eye cracked slightly open to glow ominously at me as I passed. Maybe it was a trick of that light that made it look watery, or the squeak of my footsteps on the floor plates that sounded like a sob as I stepped outside.
Maybe.