Chapter 78: Chapter 077 A Sudden Change!
The dusk was quietly fading, the last of it hanging like a thin veil over the wilds; when this veil would fall, the day would have arrived.
In the sky, a vast Black Shadow swept past, flying swiftly. Occasionally it would flap its wings to adjust its height—it was Gregory.
Even in his dragon form, Gregory could not hide his exhaustion and haggardness. He had been searching and evading something for a long time, especially recently, as a certain premonition had urged him to greatly accelerate his pace.
But no matter how hard he tried, he found his efforts fruitless. It was as if an invisible rope had already been tied around his neck, tightening bit by bit, suffocating him to death.
Flapping his wings and slowly descending in altitude, Gregory looked toward the distance. He knew there was a hill there, and atop that hill stood the Black Castle, where his daughter and a human boy named Richard lived. Thinking of these, waves rippled in Gregory’s heart.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he abruptly looked up toward a direction in the darkness. His body halted midair, seemingly trembling.
A sense of danger grew stronger within him.
For an instant, Gregory truly wanted to turn around and flee, but he eventually suppressed the urge. He flapped his wings again, descending at an even faster pace, sweeping over the land toward the hill.
Meanwhile, in a corner of Mansman Island, a Wizard shrouded in a black cloak was moving swiftly.
The black cloak veiled his body and face, almost integrating him with the dim night, skimming over the ground like a ghost.
Occasionally, he would stop, as if sensing something. A hand extended from his hood, slowly rotating a black iron ring on his index finger. After a moment of confirmation, he resumed his haste, skimming the land at an even greater speed, slightly adjusting his direction.
Richard stepped out of the castle and glanced at the sky, noting its overcast state, which hinted at the possibility of snow.
This was not good news.
He wanted to leave, and a snowstorm would certainly cause complications en route.
With that in mind, Richard felt a gaze upon him from the side. Turning his head, he saw Pandora, who had apparently gotten up already and was standing in the courtyard of the castle, staring straight at him.
Wherever he moved, her gaze followed. Pandora remained silent, staring at him somewhat “menacingly.”
Richard couldn’t help but give a wry smile. Surely she didn’t think that by simply doing this, he wouldn’t leave?
No matter what, he would still have to go.
Even if a massive blizzard fell upon them today and stalled his departure, once the snow melted, he would still leave.
The entire forest couldn’t possibly be snowing forever, could it?
If that was indeed the case, he would genuinely be interested in studying the mechanism of such weather.
As Richard pondered this, the sound “flap flap” rang out. Turning towards the noise, he saw Gregory returning, after having been gone for many days.
What was different this time was the unmistakeable urgency in Gregory’s demeanor, one of dire immediacy.
Gregory landed in a hurry, not even bothering to change into human form, buzzing, “Richard, get on my back.”
“Huh?” Richard’s eyebrows slightly raised. “What for?”
“No more talking, I’m in a hurry, get on my back first,” Gregory said without explanation.
Richard frowned, thought for a moment, and still climbed onto Gregory’s back. Although he hadn’t had much contact with Gregory, Richard knew that Gregory’s nature wasn’t bad and that he wouldn’t harm him.
And just as Richard had climbed onto Gregory’s back, Gregory turned his head and shouted to Pandora, “Dear daughter, Pandora, come onto my back too.”
“What?” Pandora voiced her confusion, why?
“You’ll know once you’re up here,” Gregory said.
Pandora frowned, but in the end, she complied and climbed up as well.
As soon as Pandora was on his back, Gregory shouted “Hold tight,” and with a flap of his wings, he took off into the air, flying rapidly toward the distance.
Richard frowned, watching the flying Gregory, puzzled by his actions. Yet he didn’t ask why because he knew that Gregory would eventually provide an explanation.
Gregory was flying extremely fast, covering miles in no time, then descended like a dive bomber, landing in a clearing in the forest, knocking down several trees in the process. After a gentle shake of his body, he signaled Richard and Pandora to dismount.
Richard and Pandora jumped down.
As soon as they landed, Richard heard Gregory buzz, “Richard, haven’t you been talking about leaving for a long time? And I too said, long ago, that I would eventually send you away. Well, now is the time. I have brought you here; you can leave on your own.”
There was a flicker in Richard’s eyes.
“Right, and Pandora too, she enjoys playing with you, you can take her with you. I have other matters to attend to, I must leave now.” After those buzzed words, Gregory stood up, ready to ascend to the sky.
Pandora, on the other hand, knitted her brows and reached out to grab Gregory’s tail with such force that it even drew blood.
Gregory was acting strange, clearly, Pandora could feel it and wanted to clarify the reason.
But Gregory didn’t talk her down with soothing words as before, nor did he attempt to coax her; instead, he forcibly flicked his tail and shot straight up into the sky. Circling once in mid-air, he glanced at Pandora, who was slowly getting up from being knocked over by his tail flick. Her face bore a mix of surprise and fear; Gregory’s vertical dragon pupils showed a hint of reluctance, but ultimately he flew back the way he came.
“Be good…” Gregory said, only to have flown too far away to continue.
At that moment, Pandora felt very afraid because Gregory was behaving so differently. Gregory was also afraid, and his fear or rather terror, was even greater.
How many years had it been? The help he was always searching for had never come, but danger had been lurking and following like a shadow.
He might escape this time, or he might not, but even if he escaped, it didn’t mean he was safe—he would still have to hide in fear, waiting for the next pursuit.
What can’t be escaped will eventually catch up, so it might be better to face it head-on.
So, let’s face it then.
Gregory thought to himself as he rapidly flew back towards the hill.
Pandora, left behind, looked at Richard and couldn’t help but grasp his hand. Although she possessed formidable combat abilities and felt she was stronger than Richard, at this moment she felt deep panic and helplessness, just like a child abandoned by their parents—she had never seen Gregory act like that before, which both shocked and scared her.
Holding Richard’s hand and looking at him, Pandora spoke out, “Gregory, he…”
Richard shook his head without answering, also puzzled as he watched the direction in which Gregory had departed. Gregory’s explanation was almost as good as none at all.
Indeed, Gregory had previously said he would send him away, and Richard had indeed been talking about leaving. In fact, he had packed his bags and was ready to leave today. But without any notice, Gregory had brought him here and even asked him to take Pandora with him.
This seemed not like a farewell, but more like… entrusting care?
Richard’s brow furrowed deeply as a slew of fragments flashed through his mind, from his initial contact with Gregory to the memories of just moments ago.
Although he often neglected Gregory and Pandora due to being busy with his research, that didn’t mean he completely overlooked their behaviors. The details of their interactions had been specially recorded in his brain using specific memorization techniques, ready to be retrieved quickly when needed.