CHAPTER 151: MEET AGAIN

"Why the hell are you here?" Bob shouted, glaring upward from the leg of Plump.

Phoenix immediately pulled herself free from my hold and turned toward me. Her brows furrowed, and to my surprise, her face flushed red.

"Kiwi, what are you doing here?" she asked when she noticed Linus.

"Hey, answer my question first!" Bob barked from down below, his voice annoyingly loud.

I glanced at my hands, flexing them as if still gripping something. And then it struck me, what I had just been holding a moment ago.

Phoenix’s breasts.

Cluck, cluck, cluck!

Plump squawked and wobbled, struggling to keep steady with three people now crowded on his back. He spiraled downward, wings flapping frantically.

"Oii, oii! We’re crashing now! This woman must be really heavy!" Bob yelled.

"Say that again and I’ll cut you!" Phoenix snapped back, her tone sharp enough to kill.

"Save it for later. We need to focus on those monsters up there," Linus said firmly, slicing away a piece of falling debris. He then glanced at me. "What’s your plan, Alan?"

"Huh? What?" I blinked, startled out of my daze. The memory of that first-ever touch was still looping in my head, refusing to leave.

Linus let out a long sigh as he blocked another chunk of rubble. "I asked, how are we getting up there?"

"Oh, right." I straightened, forcing myself to think. I avoided Phoenix’s burning glare, instead looking at Linus and Bob below. Then my eyes rose to gauge the distance left above us, the height we had to climb, and the fight still waiting at the top.

I shouted down to Bob, "Bob, can you glide while carrying someone?"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you think I’m Plump?" Bob snapped back.

"It’s the only way and our only choice! You’ll carry me, while Linus and Phoenix ride Plump. It’s now or never!" I yelled.

"Linus?" Phoenix frowned in confusion. Clearly, she had never heard that name before.

"Okay, okay, fine! Then what do I need to do?" Bob finally gave in. Normally, he was the one tossing plans around to mess with me. But now the tables had turned, it was my call this time.

---

At ground level, Beltimore was struggling as he summoned ice shards to protect himself and the others. He shaped the shards with a special design, embedding them into the ground so they could serve as anchors. Each shard had a carved hole beside it, made for hands to grip onto. But the wind grew stronger, and their grips began to weaken.

"Hold on! Don’t let go or you’ll die!" William shouted. He had never experienced anything like this before. It felt as if they were fighting against the very force of nature itself.

He glanced to his side and saw Evelyn, Maya, and Selene clutching onto the shards with all their strength. Lunar was being held tightly by Blackburn, who used his skill to increase his weight, keeping them both grounded. None of their faces showed signs of surrender but only pure determination.

As they fought to endure, William’s eyes suddenly caught movement above. Two figures were spiraling upward, carried by the raging winds of the tornado, climbing higher and higher.

’What... is that?’

---

"Swear to me that you’ll never tell anyone about this! Especially Yui!" Bob shouted over the roaring wind.

"Yeah, I swear! How many times do I have to tell you?" I snapped back, annoyed.

Right now, we were in the most awkward position possible. I was hugging Bob from behind while he extended his arms outward, gliding upward.

The scene felt absurdly familiar, like that one movie where the hero and heroine stood on the deck of a ship, arms wide, gazing at the sunset. Except... this wasn’t romantic at all. It was one man clinging to another man’s back, surrounded not by sea and sky, but by storms, howling winds, and thousands of debris smashing around us.

As bizarre as it looked, it was surprisingly effective. We were gliding faster and faster, circling upward.

Meanwhile, Phoenix and Linus were perched on top of Plump. Neither spoke a word, their focus entirely on the plan ahead.

After several minutes of riding the wind, we finally neared the top. The storm began to thin, and at last, our target came into full view. Three massive lions with wings, circling endlessly above.

’Don’t they get dizzy doing that?’ I thought.

"Get ready, Alan! We’re diving straight at them!" Bob yelled.

I made an "okay" sign with my hand, and Bob pulled us higher and higher until we reached the very peak of the tornado. The air here was calmer, but only briefly. Without hesitation, Bob folded his body forward and dove.

"Redwing Dive!"

We plummeted at incredible speed. And then, right on cue, one of the winged lions cut across our path.

I immediately pointed at the lion, preparing to unleash the archer’s skill while amplifying it with Indra’s passive.

"Charged Shot!"

A glowing blue array formed at the tip of Indra, and after a brief charge, I fired.

Boom!

The bullet struck one of the winged lion’s heads cleanly, blasting it backward before it crashed into a building below.

At the same time, the tornado began to weaken, spinning slower and slower until it finally dissipated into nothing.

The two remaining lions froze in shock, their skill suddenly broken. One of them glanced toward its fallen kin, lying broken in the ruins. It tried to dive down to aid it but before it could, searing pain ripped across its back. The beast twisted its head around and saw a flaming rooster claw raking across its flesh.

It roared, intent on retaliating, but before it could move, a devastating strike crashed into its skull as Linus and Phoenix striking together with perfect timing. With its head shattered, the great beast plummeted like a downed jet fighter, slamming into the earth below.

Now only one remained.

The last winged lion roared furiously, its mane whipping wildly in the wind as its amber eyes burned with rage. It looked between Linus and Phoenix that still mounted on Plump and then fixed its gaze on me and Bob.

With a furious snarl, it chose its target and charged straight at us.

"That monster just chose the worst opponents," Linus muttered with a confident smile.

Phoenix shot him a puzzled glance before turning her eyes back to the impending clash.

"It’s coming, Bob!" I shouted as the king of the jungle hurled itself toward us.