Chapter 302: Wings of Freedom (3)

Blizzard looked behind them and said, "Master. He is still following us."

"Yeah, I noticed," Kai replied.

Just as Blizzard said, Icarus was persistently following behind them. He probably thought he was being secretive, but against Blizzard and Kai, his attempts at hiding his presence were far from effective.

"That’s strange." Kai tilted his head, puzzled by Icarus’s behavior.

Gust clearly said that the birdfolk fear leaving the forest.

Yet, Icarus showed no signs of fear, continuing to follow them even as they reached the forest’s outskirts.

"What would you like to do?"

"Just leave him be for now. Once we leave the forest, he’ll give up and turn back on his own."

"Understood."

The two resumed walking. The forest they were in was vast, which was no surprise, considering that most of this large island was covered in dense trees.

"From here on, I’ll take the lead," Blizzard said.

"Go ahead."

Blizzard drew a curved blade and took the lead. The outer regions of the forest weren’t visited by anyone, and were overgrown with bushes and vines, occasionally showing traces of wild animals.

Blizzard cut through the vines, clearing a path through the rough terrain, but suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at Kai.

"We’ve arrived."

"

Oh

." Kai’s face lit up, and he quickly approached Blizzard. "Wow, this really is the edge."

The two of them stood at the forest’s boundary, where a lush green meadow stretched out before them. The ocean breeze swept across the open field, rustling the grass back and forth.

"Even with the dark clouds overhead, the view is breathtaking."

"

Yeah

. I wonder if the birdfolk have ever seen this meadow."

Just as Kai was about to step out of the forest’s shadow, a loud shriek came from behind. "Y-you can’t go out there!"

Icarus flew toward them, grabbing onto their hands and desperately trying to pull them back.

As if he had been nailed to the ground, Blizzard didn’t budge and asked, "Master. How should we handle this?"

"

Hmm

. Let’s hear him out first."

Kai allowed Icarus to drag him back into the forest.

Once he confirmed that they were safely inside, Icarus let out a sigh of relief before looking at them with an expression full of concern.

"Of course, I understand your fear. You'll have to live on this island your whole life, unable to leave the forest—I know it's going to feel suffocating. But isn’t throwing away your life a waste when you still have so much time ahead of you?"

Kai, who had been silently listening, said, "Blizzard, translate please."

Blizzard’s eyes sparkled as he answered, "It seems he believes that we were planning to take our own lives by leaving the forest."

"

Hmm.

Why would he think that?" Kai asked, clearly confused.

In response, Icarus blinked. "Didn’t the elders and the chieftain tell you? If you leave the forest, you die."

"Who’s going to kill me?"

"Harley, or its subordinates."

"If I leave, they will kill me. But if I stay inside, they won’t? Why would it go through such a hassle?"

"Because... we are Harley’s pet birds." Icarus lowered his gaze and said in a sorrowful voice, "If we step outside, it will kill us. But as long as we stay inside its cage, it won’t bother us. That’s what it told the chieftain and elders long ago. It sees us as nothing more than pets."

"A cage,

huh?

That actually makes sense."

"D-don’t mock us!"

"So you’ve been obediently following its orders for the past few centuries?"

"W-we had no choice. Defying it means death..." Icarus trembled as he muttered.

"Master, he is currently experiencing extreme fear."

"I can tell that much even if you don’t tell me.”

Seeing the overwhelming terror directed at Harley, Kai furrowed his brows.

So this is what Gust was talking about.

Kai fully understood his frustration toward the younger generation of the birdfolk.

And on top of that, this is a problem for me too.

Right now, Kai couldn’t use teleport scrolls to evacuate the birdfolk. No matter how he thought about it, the only solution was a direct confrontation.

But that’s not something I can do alone.

While he fought Harley, the birdfolk needed to fly and escape the island on their own, but in their current state...

Their fear of Harley is too deeply ingrained. Even if I open the cage, they won’t be able to leave.

Fear had taken root in their very bones. Kai realized that he needed to uproot that terror completely.

"So, does that mean you and the birdfolk have never left the forest in your entire lives?"

"Leaving? I’ve never even come to the forest’s outskirts before."

It was only then that Icarus seemed to realize where he was, and his body began to tremble like a leaf in the wind.

Watching him, Kai shook his head and muttered, "And this coward is supposed to be the biggest rebel of his people..."

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Coward?!"

He sure had good hearing though.

Kai smiled and stepped aside, pointing at the cut vines. "If this is your first time here, want to take a look? See what’s beyond the forest?"

"Beyond the forest...?"

"

Yeah

. Even if you’ve never been here, you must have imagined it before."

"Well..." Icarus nodded unconsciously.

The outside of the forest had always been something in his imagination, alongside the vast blue sky and the bright sun.

"What exactly are you so afraid of?"

"W-who said I was afraid..."

Kai gently placed his hand on Icarus’s trembling shoulder. At the same time, the Cure skill activated.

Icarus suddenly felt his nerves calming, his heart steadying, and he looked up at Kai with wide eyes.

"Feeling a bit better now?"

"H-how did you...?"

"I just happen to have a lot of skills." Kai shrugged and lightly patted Icarus’s back. "Now, see for yourself, what’s beyond the forest. Is it just like you imagined?"

With Kai’s repeated encouragement, Icarus’s heart wavered.

J-just for a moment...

The elders had always told them that beyond the forest lay an endless cliff. A hell-like place where fierce winds blew, making it impossible for birdfolk to fly.

That’s why they warned us never to come here.

It was a lesson drilled into every birdfolk since childhood.

Painstakingly slowly, Icarus walked toward the vines, and the moment his eyes took in the world beyond them his pupils dilated to their absolute limit.

A strong wind crashed against his face, and beyond it, an endless ocean of lush, green grass swayed under the force of the breeze. For the first time in his life, Icarus saw a landscape so vast, so refreshing, that it seemed to clear his mind completely.

As he stared at it, a single tear unknowingly rolled down his cheek. "

H-huh...?

"

Kai watched the confused boy who didn’t even understand why he was crying, and gently stroked Icarus’s hair.

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it? This is what they call a meadow."

"Mea... dow..." At a loss for words, Icarus stared blankly at the landscape before finally saying, "It's beautiful... I've never seen anything this amazing in my life..."

"The outside world is different from what you imagined, isn’t it?"

Icarus eagerly nodded his head. "To think such a beautiful place existed outside the forest... It feels like I’ve been missing out on so much."

"You’re still young."

At Kai’s sudden comment, Icarus turned his head to look at him.

"Books and the words of elders hold wisdom, of course. But that’s not all there is to the world." Kai stepped into the lush meadow, leaving footprints behind as he continued, "Only believe in what you see, hear, touch, and experience for yourself."

"For myself..."

As if entranced, Icarus lifted his foot. But just as he was about to step out of the forest, it was as if something was holding him back, and he couldn't bring himself to take the final step.

"Of course, if you don’t want change, if you’re content living in a cage, then there’s no need to force yourself. But remember this, if you decide to change, I’ll take responsibility for what comes after."

Hearing the sincerity in Kai’s words, determination slowly filled Icarus’s eyes.

"I... I want to change. I don’t want to call myself a coward anymore, and there are so many things I want to see. I want to fly higher than the forest, I want to see what’s beyond the dark clouds. I want to see the sun."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Kai smirked mischievously and pointed toward the sky. "See it for yourself. Find out what your cage truly looks like."

The place where he had been born and raised. A place that even the elders, far older than him, had never left. Yet, there were few who truly knew what it looked like.

I want to know.

With resolve, Icarus flapped his wings, and his body slowly lifted off the ground.

When he reached a height of over a meter, Kai decided to give him a small gift.

"Gravity Field."

"

Aaaaah!

" Icarus screamed as his body suddenly felt weightless, launching him higher into the air.

He had never flown this high in his life, but that unfamiliar feeling lasted only for a moment. Something stirred within him, an instinct belonging to hawks, an instinct belonging to the birdfolk.

Wow

...

It was freedom. A tingling sensation ran through his entire body, his heart pounding with an overwhelming rush of liberation.

"I-I’m flying! I’m higher than the forest!

Hahahaha!

"

Overwhelmed by the intense exhilaration, Icarus spread his wings wide and soared freely through the air. Then, he looked down at the cage he had spent his entire life in.

"

Oh... oh...

"

The cage that had bound him, was it really this small? Had he spent all these years trapped, just because he was unable to do something this simple?

Clenching his eyes shut, Icarus shouted, "I’m...! I am flying!"

As expected of someone born from the strongest lineage among the birdfolk, Icarus’s flight speed was very fast.

"Wow. What do you think?" Kai asked Blizzard.

"I believe he’s faster than Mimic in wyvern form."

"I thought so too. See? He could do it all along. He just had to—

hm?

" Kai had been watching Icarus with a satisfied smile when his expression suddenly hardened. "Blizzard. What is that?"

"

Hmm

... I believe it’s a gargoyle, Master."

Just as he had said, three gargoyles broke through the dark clouds and charged straight at Icarus.

"

Aaaaagh!

"

For the first time in his life, Icarus was being attacked by monsters. Panicked, he flailed his wings and began to plummet.

I’m going to crash!

Icarus had never been taught how to regain control after losing his balance mid-flight. After all, there had been no adults to teach him.

A-am I going to die like this?!

As the rapidly approaching meadow filled his vision, Icarus squeezed his eyes shut. However, the pain he expected never came.

Instead, a gentle voice reached his ears. "I don’t go back on my word."

Kai used Gravity Field to gently catch Icarus, keeping him from hitting the ground.

As Icarus looked up at him with a dumbfounded expression, Kai let out a chuckle. "I told you, didn’t I? If you put in the effort to change, I’ll take responsibility for what happens next."

"Responsibility...?

Oh!

Right! We have to run!" Icarus hurriedly looked up at the sky and shouted, "Th-those monsters...!"

Then Kai cut him off mid-sentence. "Blizzard."

"Yes, Master."

"Get rid of them."

"Understood, Master."

The aura emanating from the twin curved blades Blizzard pulled out was concealed as they faced the winds of the meadow.