"This... demon isn’t staying anywhere near me," he said, his voice flat and unyielding. The proximity of the creature’s vile, suppressed nether, combined with the biting aura of Noah’s domain magic, was clearly testing his patience.

He shifted in discomfort, adjusting his posture on the midnight-black feathers while pointing a finger directly at the iced demon.

"The cold is one thing, but I have no intention of sharing a saddle with a three-horned abomination for the entire flight back to headquarters."

Noah’s brow raised up in genuine confusion beneath his mask.

He looked from the massive block of reinforced ice to the wide expanse of the eagle’s back, finding the complaint somewhat impractical given the circumstances.

"But then... where else are we going to put him?" Noah asked, his voice even and detached. "We can’t exactly leave him behind, and he needs to remain completely secured if we want him arriving at the guild house alive."

Ayu’s dark blue eyes suddenly sparked up with a flash of inspiration, the stylized red and black petals of the tattoo on his face shifting slightly as he grinned.

"I have an idea..." he said, his tone carrying a sudden, mischievous weight that offered no room for argument.

*

A few minutes later...

The sky had become a blur of rushing air and shifting clouds.

Goldie Neckie was now flying through the air at a rapid, breathtaking speed, its massive wings cutting through the high-altitude atmospheric pressure with effortless power as it soared high above the jagged landscape.

Down below the majestic creature, however, a completely different scene was playing out.

There was a long, heavy-duty deployment rope securely connected to the eagle’s left leg, trailing far down into the open sky.

Hanging precariously from the very end of that rope was the frozen, heavy figure of Yaroth, suspended like a piece of unwanted cargo in the empty air.

The transit was anything but smooth. As the high-grade wind-element mana beast flew, performing sharp maneuvers to navigate the turbulent upper currents, the rope whipped violently from side to side.

The movement caused Yaroth to be bounced around roughly through the sky, spinning uncontrollably in the air.

The situation reached a peak of absolute brutality when Goldie Neckie suddenly swooped down to clear a high-altitude ridge; the rope swung wide, and the frozen supervisor slammed his head forcefully against the jagged stone face of a mountain with a dull, resonant thud before the bird ascended again.

The thick ice caging him only made the entire experience infinitely worse.

The deep blue frost didn’t offer any protective cushioning; instead, it acted as a perfect conductor for the extreme climate, filling his fractured body with a biting, agonizing cold that seeped deep into his bones.

This internal freeze was only worsened by the strong, freezing wind blowing past him at hundreds of miles per hour, roaring against the tattered black cloak and freezing the dark blood that still lined his face.

Yaroth had never been humiliated this much in his entire hundred and thirty-eight years of life before.

For a proud supervisor of the demon kingdom—a scientist and warrior who answered only to the upper echelons of his world—to be tied to the foot of a bird like a common piece of hunting game was a disgrace worse than physical flaying.

He kept wishing to die, screaming inwardly for his core to simply fail or for the rope to snap, yet Kael’s absolute draconic command anchored his consciousness firmly to his broken body, forcing him to experience every single agonizing second of the flight.

Bound, frozen, and completely helpless, he could only glare blindly through the thick layer of ice at the distant blue sky above, his mind burning with a toxic, unbridled fury.

’Humans... fucking humans... I’ll kill you all!! I’ll make sure you pay for this!! every single one of your cities will burn to ash when the Lord arrives!!’ he thought.

As he was fuming in a silent, toxic rage, the rope whipped wildly through the air once more, and his head suddenly slammed into another rocky hill with a concussive thud.

The impact sent a jar of raw agony straight down his spine, but his frozen jaws were clamped shut by the unyielding frost.

Yaroth was absolutely sure the eagle was doing this on purpose, intentionally angling its flight path to scrape him against the terrain, but he couldn’t even grunt in pain.

The Dragon command and the suffocating pressure of the ice completely locked his vocal cords, leaving him unable to vent even a fraction of his misery.

The utter helplessness of his situation finally broke through his fanatical pride.

A single, small tear dripped from the corner of his bloodshot eyes, leaking out onto his porcelain skin before immediately getting frozen solid in the deep blue ice surrounding his face.

Up above, oblivious to the demon’s internal breakdown, the group was currently flying through a vast, breathtaking valley of huge hills and mountains, having already gone far past the border town of Ter.

The landscape below had transformed into a sweeping tapestry of jagged ridges, deep ravines, and towering stone monoliths that blurred together into a continuous streak of green and grey.

Noah looked down at the rapidly receding terrain, the atmospheric pressure whistling harmlessly past his traveling cloak.

’This Goldie... huh... Necky is really fast!’ he thougnt.

Predictably, the mental comparison did not sit well with the proud entity residing in his shadow.

Kael scoffed deeply in his mind, his rumbling, draconic voice dripping with an almost childish indignation as he chimed into the mental link: ’I’m faster, master! When I achieve my full growth, my wings will tear through the spatial fabric itself! That overfeathered chicken wouldn’t even be able to see my silhouette, humph!’

Noah couldn’t help but find his dragon’s persistent jealousy a little funny, and he chuckled inwardly.

Currently, he, Ayu, Varis, and Yuan were all seated comfortably in a single file line along the wide, muscular back of Goldie Neckie.

The two vanguard mages had finally relaxed their defensive stances, their expressions a mix of lingering exhaustion and awe as they watched the horizon expand.

There was no physical saddle or leather harness fastened onto her midnight-black plumage, but strangely enough, they were all completely stable on her back.

Despite the extreme speed and the sharp, tilting angles the giant bird took to navigate the mountain peaks, none of them felt the slightest bit of vertigo or instability.

This was due to a specialized elemental passive ability inherent to the high-grade creature.

There was a gentle, swirling wind pressure continuously surrounding them like an invisible dome, acting as a localized gravity matrix that kept them firmly anchored to her back without falling off as she flew past the huge hills and mountains.

The artificial current perfectly neutralized the violent drag of the upper atmosphere, allowing the riders to sit in absolute comfort while the world rushed by below them.

This was a unique trait of the golden neck eagle race, which was precisely why they were considered across the continent to be great for long-distance travel.

Unlike other avian mana beasts that required their riders to be physically strapped down with heavy leather harnesses to survive the brutal of the upper atmosphere, these majestic predators naturally crafted a localized airflow that ensured total safety.

Noah looked down at the seamless integration of wind mana beneath them, thoroughly impressed.

He still didn’t know exactly how Ayu was able to get his hands on such a rare, high-grade mana beast—especially one so perfectly tamed and loyal—but given that the man was a arch magus at the top of the guild, he was sure he had his ways.

Wealth, status, and raw magical power could open doors to black markets and hidden taming sanctuaries that ordinary mages couldn’t even dream of accessing.

After a many more minutes of continuous, high-speed flight, they finally arrived above a large building, spanning massively across the ground.

The sheer architectural scale of the complex was breathtaking, featuring towering white-stone ramparts, sprawling training courtyards, and massive, interconnected spires that looked like a fortress within a fortress.

Goldie Neckie halted in the air for a few seconds, her massive midnight-black wings beating rhythmically as she hovered under the midday sun, staring down at the sprawling layout of the grand adventurer headquarters.

Yuan was the most excited person on her back, his previous exhaustion completely forgotten as his eyes kept shining in unadulterated glee.

His hands tightly gripped the feathers beneath him, his gaze darting from one majestic spire to the next as a broad, awe-struck smile split his face.

As an adventurer, he had always wished to go to the headquarters at least once in his lifetime.

To anyone in the profession, this place was the holy land, the ultimate symbol of prestige and legendary contracts.

Even after his recent promotion to guildmaster, the chances of him ever stepping foot inside this central sanctuary were still incredibly slim. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He was only positioned in the small, remote city of Eidbale, a quiet frontier post where adventurers weren’t very popular and high-tier guild politics rarely reached.

To be brought here now, riding on the back of an arch magus’s personal mount, felt like an absolute dream come true.

Ayu exhaled a long, steady breath, the sharp black and red petals of the tattoo on his face shifting slightly as he turned his head back to address his passengers.

"Welcome... to the guild headquarters," he said, his voice carrying a proud, authoritative weight.

He leaned forward and patted Goldie Neckie gently on the side of her golden-furred neck, giving the silent signal to land.

The eagle emitted a sharp, low trill and immediately swooped down towards the central courtyard of the building, cutting through the lower air currents with practiced ease.

It flew past the towering, heavily fortified front gates at a spectacular speed, the sudden gust of wind from its massive wingspan instantly catching the attention of many adventurers below.