Chapter 41

Ironwood City. The Guest House.

Night had fallen. Clyris lay in her bed, staring at her own hand.

In the moonlight, her wrist looked like carved crystal—pale, delicate, and flawless.

There was no mark on her skin, yet she could still feel it—the phantom heat of Charlo's grip.

It had been so hot, scorching enough to melt her resolve.

In that moment, her consciousness had blurred into chaos. She had agreed to his help in a daze, overwhelmed by his intensity.

"Honestly... why did he have to get so close...?"

She covered her burning face with her hands and rolled around on the bed, kicking her legs in embarrassment.

She couldn't even remember exactly what he had said. All she remembered was being enveloped by his blazing aura. Just recalling it made her shame explode.

Wait.

Miss Demon Lord sat up abruptly.

What am I thinking?

How can I be like this?! Acting so... shy... over a man?!

"No, no, no... Impossible! How could I possibly like a man?!"

Clyris pressed her hands against her temples, forcing herself to calm down.

I am Clyris. I am the Demon Lord! The sworn enemy of humanity!

I am the existence loathed, cursed, and feared by all!

Black flames began to spread from her heart once more. They burned furiously, yet they emitted no warmth. Instead, waves of bone-chilling cold washed over her body, freezing the confusing emotions into silence.

A few days later. A newly paved runway in the southeast of Ironwood.

A gargantuan aircraft sat on the tarmac.

It was vastly larger than Flyer One. Standing next to it, Clyris felt as though she were standing at the feet of a sleeping dragon.

"The 'Griffin' Four-Engine Heavy Bomber," Charlo introduced the beast, walking beside her. "Length: 24 meters. Wingspan: 38 meters. Height: 7 meters. Empty weight: 30 tons. Maximum takeoff weight: 65 tons. Range: 10,000 kilometers. Top speed: 750 kilometers per hour. Service ceiling: 16,000 meters."

"Sixty-five tons?!" Clyris looked at the metal titan in disbelief. "That is twenty times heavier than Flyer One. Can it really fly?"

"Of course. It uses the 'Vulture' Aero-Engine, an upgraded version of the 'Skybird.' Each engine delivers 2,500 horsepower, and there are four of them!" Charlo said proudly.

He had every right to be proud. From the first flight of a small monoplane to this strategic bomber in just a few months? It was a miracle. Even if it was the only one in existence, built by Freya, Speer, and an army of mages and engineers working overtime, it was a masterpiece of the late propeller era.

"The control system is an evolution of Flyer One's. You shouldn't find it unfamiliar."

Clyris took the thick operation manual he handed her. Flipping through it, she saw that the controls were indeed what she knew.

"Can you fly it alone?" Charlo looked at her, reluctance visible in his eyes.

Clyris looked back at him. For a moment, she hesitated.

Do I really... have to go back?

Leave this place—which isn't safe, but feels so secure—to return to that land of despair and eternal war?

But the hesitation lasted only a split second. Her resolve hardened.

Go back.

Because she was the Demon Lord. The demons trusted her. They were willing to charge for her, to die for her. She could not abandon them.

"Of course I can fly it alone... However, once I take this plane, I won't be bringing it back! Is that really okay?" Clyris smiled at him, masking her inner turmoil.

"Building a big guy like this... it wasn't cheap, was it?"

"Indeed, it wasn't cheap. But I won't regret it!"

Charlo smiled gently. "No matter how precious the machine, it is not more precious than our friendship. This plane is yours. Consider it a testament to our bond!"

"Friendship... is it?"

Clyris chewed on the word. For some reason, she felt a sense of loss, yet also a strange joy. She didn't understand it herself.

"Alright. You should go. Time is short."

Finally, Charlo smiled and bid her farewell.

She nodded. But before boarding, she turned to him. "I apologize. I haven't solved the problem of the detector yet."

"It doesn't matter. I understand the difficulty. It's normal not to solve it in such a short time. I was mentally prepared," Charlo shook his head, waving it off.

"However, I have a hypothesis," Clyris said, leaving him a final gift. "Pure, single-element mana crystal constructs might be sensitive to specific mana attractions. If you use crystallized elements instead of electromagnetic waves... maybe it will work? ,You will have to verify it for me!"

With that, she turned and walked toward the plane.

Charlo paused, processing the hint, then shouted after her. "I understand! Thank you, Clyris!"

Miss Demon Lord did not look back. She simply waved her hand over her shoulder and climbed into the cockpit.

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The Departure.

Moments later, the massive Griffin bomber began to move.

Aided by the Levitation Arrays on its underside to reduce effective weight, it roared down the runway. After a run of only 1,500 meters, the giant lifted off the ground, climbing steadily until it vanished into the clouds.

"Eight Hundred Imperial Gold Coins, just flew away like that," Lawrence remarked, walking up to stand beside Charlo, both looking at the empty sky.

"Yes. It's so expensive I want to vomit blood," Charlo laughed.

"You don't look like you're bleeding."

"That's because I gained something far more precious."

"Is... that so?" Lawrence looked at his Lord strangely. Why does that sound so ambiguous? Is it just my imagination?

_________________________

Clyris piloted the plane to an altitude of 15,000 meters, heading due west.

At this height, even Ninth-Rank powerhouses wouldn't bother flying up.

For Seventh and Eighth-Rank entities, the typical flight ceiling was between 500 and 2,000 meters—high enough to ignore arrows and low-rank magic. Flying higher was a waste of energy for no gain.

Ninth-Rankers might fight at 5,000 meters to avoid collateral damage to the ground, but 15,000 meters was the domain of the gods... and now, machines.

She flew this high primarily to avoid accidents. Although Demon intelligence claimed the Morris Empire had no Saints, she couldn't take the risk.

Demon intelligence was... hard to describe.

Trapped in the northwest corner of the continent, it was incredibly difficult for demons to gather intel. They relied on Succubi smuggling themselves across borders to extract information via hypnosis. The results were often riddled with errors, mixed with the victim's hallucinations and fantasies.

So, she had to assume a Saint might be watching.

Fortunately, she crossed the Morris Capital without incident. Clyris breathed a sigh of relief.

After flying west for a long time, the Dragonspine Mountains finally appeared in her vision.

With an average altitude of over 5,500 meters, they looked like a colossal wall erected by the gods to divide the world.

Dragon Peak, standing at 9,253 meters, pierced the clouds, arrogant and solitary.

But in the middle of this range, the wall seemed to have been chipped away. A massive gap.

The Fortress of the Western Reach.

It sat at an elevation of only 1,500 meters. Compared to the surrounding 4,000-meter peaks, it looked like a child standing amongst giants.

Finally, the Griffin roared over the peaks of the Dragonspine Mountains.

Below her lay the gray, desolate lands of her people.

She had entered the Demon Realm.

Goodbye... Ironwood.