“Master…” A voice came distantly. “Master!”
My eyes opened, and I could feel the wind blowing against me. Faeyna was on top of me, her arms wrapped around me, her feet up in the air, the wind blowing wildly. I blinked, and then the rushing wind finally clicked in my mind. We were falling. I reached out and grabbed Faeyna. Looking back, I was floored to see that we were falling from the sky. We were above Chalm!
How the heck did we get up here? My eyes landed on the mana fountain. That hole I had jumped toward… that must have been the exit to the mana fountain! I went in the dungeon, and then blasted out of the mana fountain like a whale spout. Ah… I might have used a bit too much force because we ended up in this situation.
“Faeyna, you’re free from the dungeon!”
“Master, you’re alive!” Faeyna grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss.
When she broke it off, I gave her a guilty look. “I’m not sure if we will be for long.”
“That reset sucked out all my mana, and I’ve taken a lot of wounds. I don’t think I can cast a spell if I wanted to.”
Even trying to access the dungeon store hurt. This was ridiculous. I had broken through the invisible wall, snatched Faeyna, changed the lore, and saved her, all so that the pair of us could fall to our deaths.
“You’ll think of something.” She smiled, snuggling against me.
She wasn’t worried at all! She could be a little worried. I was worried. My best bet would be to desperately force myself to cast spells to try to slow us down once we got close to the ground. Whether I could manage or not was anyone’s guess. I let out a sigh. If we survived out not, I had done it. I had changed the lore. I pulled Faeyna from it without taming her like a monster or doing something ridiculous.
“Faeyna…” I lifted her chin so that she looked up at me.
“I love you. I’m not going to let you go from now on.”
Faeyna shook in my hand. Tears fell from her eyes, but they flew away almost as soon as she cried. “Mm!”
The pair of us kissed one last time. If I had to face a sudden death, there were worse ways to go than with the feeling of a beautiful elf maid in my arms, her chest pressed against mine as she cried tears of happiness.
“MMMMaaaaassster!” I heard a screech.
“Huh?” I looked up just in time to see something flying at me. “Ah! Bird feet!”
“Ahh!” Faeyna cried out.
Talons came down, one grabbing her and the other grabbing me. They seemed to yank us apart fairly aggressively. Then there came a beating of wings, and our falling speed started to drop.
“Master!” She beat her wings excitedly.
The pair of us had been caught by a Sirin. I had no clue when she had chosen to leave the dungeon, but she was now flying us above the city.
“Aiiii! Ahhhh!” I looked over to see Faeyna in distress.
Selena had caught Faeyna by her ankle, and she was now dangling upside down. She was desperately trying to keep her dress from falling up and revealing everything. Meanwhile, she grabbed me by the back of my clothing and had me sitting quite comfortably.
“Um… Selena, could you perhaps…” Selena shot me a look. “I guess… it can’t be helped. Please bear with it, Faeyna!”
It seems like I couldn’t protect her from everything. Some battles she’d need to handle on her own.