Chương 51: Earn your wings

King suddenly raised his hand.

"Hey! I know what we should do while we wait." Benkay looked over.

"What?" King grinned.

"How about we spar? I really wanna see what the Voyagers can do!" Krystal tilted her head.

"Oh? That actually sounds pretty fun." Amelia immediately shook her head.

"Hold on. Do we have to? I'd rather not fight." King chuckled.

"Aww, come on. You're not chicken, are you?" Amelia frowned.

"I'm not chicken!" Ace smirked.

"Alright then. I'll fight you." He looked King up and down.

"I must say, I've never fought a fairy before. I wonder how strong they are." King's grin widened.

"Well, since your friend doesn't wanna fight, I guess we'll just have a one-on-one. Sound good?" Ace nodded.

"Yeah." King pumped his fist.

"Alright then! It's settled!" He turned toward Krystal and Max.

"Sorry, guys. Looks like you'll be sitting this one out." Max shrugged.

"Too bad." King suddenly paused.

"Wait a second." He looked at Ace and Amelia.

"Can you two fly?" Ace blinked.

"No." Amelia shook her head.

"Me either." King looked genuinely surprised.

"We fairies can, obviously. You know... wings." He pointed toward his wings.

"But what about you guys?" Ace shook his head again.

"Nope." King placed a hand on his chin.

"Hmm... then let's change that." Amelia tilted her head.

"Change that?"

"Flight is incredibly useful in this day and age. Especially in combat." King began explaining.

"If you can't fly, what happens when your opponent goes airborne? They can attack you from an angle you can't reach." Ace nodded slightly.

"Sure, you could use long-range attacks..."

"But you still wouldn't have the advantage." King snapped his fingers.

"Exactly!" Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He looked at them both.

"So let's see... What kind of magic can you use?" Amelia raised her hand.

"I use Cracker Magic." King's eyes widened.

"Ah! A Cracker Angel!" He looked fascinated.

"I've never actually seen one before, but I've heard that Cracker Angels can fly for sure!" He pointed toward Amelia's back.

"I'm guessing you can sprout wings because angels have wings, right?" Amelia looked uncertain.

"I... guess?" King nodded.

"Try focusing your magic into your back." Amelia took a breath.

"Alright... I'll try." She closed her eyes. Her magic began flowing through her body. A faint blue glow appeared across her back. Ace watched carefully.

"What's happening to her?" The glow intensified. Then.. Two sharp, white wings slowly emerged from Amelia's back. They continued expanding until they were fully formed, their feathers glistening brilliantly beneath the sunlight. Amelia opened her eyes.

"Woah..." She slowly looked over her shoulder.

"I have actual wings!" King smiled.

"Exactly! Now try flapping them. They should feel like they're part of your body." Amelia hesitantly moved them. The wings twitched. Then.. Amelia's feet lifted slightly off the ground.

"Whoa!" Another flap sent her higher.

"I'm going higher!" Another.

"And higher!" She began rising rapidly. Ace looked up.

"Amelia!" King immediately shouted.

"Control it! Don't go too fast! Keep yourself steady!" Amelia panicked for a moment before taking a breath.

"Right... steady..." She slowed herself down. The frantic movements of her wings became smoother. Soon, she was hovering comfortably in the air. Amelia smiled.

"I think... I got the hang of this." She tilted forward. Then suddenly— WHOOSH! She blasted through the air. Krystal's eyes widened.

"Incredible." Amelia flew around the area, rapidly gaining control over her movement. Krystal stared in amazement.

"That took hardly a minute." King nodded.

"Not bad. She adapts quickly." He crossed his arms.

"She has a lot of potential." He sighed.

"It's a shame she doesn't want to fight." Amelia heard him from above.

"Hey!" King chuckled.

"Just saying!" He turned toward Ace.

"Now, for you..." Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Me?"

"Humans don't have wings like us." King thought for a moment.

"But maybe if you use your fire magic..." He pointed toward Ace's feet.

"You could use it like rocket boosters." Ace looked down at his feet.

"I mean... sure." He shrugged.

"Let's see if that works." Ace concentrated. Blue flames erupted from his feet. For a moment, nothing happened. Then.. BOOOOM! Ace shot straight into the sky.

"WHOA!" He rocketed upward at ridiculous speed. King's eyes widened. Ace's expression quickly changed.

"HOW DO I SLOW THIS DOWN?!" Amelia looked up.

"Ace?!" She immediately spread her wings. WHOOSH! Amelia blasted upward after him. Ace continued climbing. Higher. And higher. Amelia finally caught up to him from above and grabbed him.

"Got you!" The force of Ace's momentum nearly dragged them both higher. Amelia gritted her teeth.

"C'mon..!" She struggled to slow him down.

"C'MON!" Eventually, the two of them began slowing. Far below, King squinted into the sky.

"I can hardly see them!" Krystal looked up nervously.

"They went so high... Do you think they're okay?" Max shrugged.

"Probably..."

"I dunno.." Meanwhile, high above the forest... Ace looked at Amelia.

"... Thanks." Amelia smiled.

"You should really watch how you use those flames." She glanced downward.

"You could've launched yourself into space!" Ace stared at her with a completely deadpan expression.

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed.

"It was a mistake, okay?" He looked down.

"Now please put me down." Amelia blinked.

"Oh." She suddenly realized she was still holding him.

"Right." She blushed slightly and released him. Ace immediately used a tiny amount of fire magic beneath his feet. Instead of shooting upward, he gently hovered in place. He looked down at his feet.

"So that's how you do it..." He slowly adjusted the flames.

"I see." Amelia smiled.

"You got the hang of it?" Ace nodded.

"Yep, all good." He looked around.

"Or that's what I think."

"Seems high speeds are off limit for now though.." The two began descending back toward the others. A few moments later, King, Krystal, and Max flew up to meet them. King smiled.

"I see you two can fly now." Amelia nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! We got it handled in no time at all!" Ace casually hovered beside her.

"Pretty much." King grinned.

"That's great!" He cracked his knuckles.

"Now let's go." His eyes lit up with excitement.

"I can't wait to fight and see what you guys are made of!" Ace smirked.

"Neither can I." The two descended toward the forest floor. King followed.

"Let's see what the Voyagers are really made of!" Amelia and Ace followed King, Krystal, and Max through the forest. After several minutes, the trees began to thin out. Ahead of them was a massive open arena surrounded by tall stone walls. The ground was covered in patches of dirt and grass, with several large rocks scattered around the battlefield. The group landed in the center. King looked around and nodded.

"Alright then... here we are." He turned toward Ace.

"I'm sure you already know the rules. Just a simple one-on-one." He cracked his knuckles.

"Don't hold anything back, kay? I need to see everything you've got!" Ace's grin widened.

"Alright." He lowered his stance slightly.

"Your funeral." King laughed.

"I like that confidence!" Amelia, Krystal, and Max moved toward the edge of the arena, giving the two fighters plenty of space. Amelia looked slightly nervous.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Krystal smiled.

"King knows what he's doing." Max crossed his arms.

"Yeah. But this should be interesting." Amelia looked toward Ace.

"I'm more worried about him." Ace stood calmly across from King. King began stretching his arms and shoulders.

"Alright..." He rotated his neck.

"This is going to be interesting." Ace waited patiently. After a few seconds, his eye twitched.

"You done yet?" King paused mid-stretch.

"Hmm?" Ace smirked.

"Because I don't think I can wait anymore." King laughed.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm done." He stepped forward and lowered his stance. His smile widened.

"Alright..." His wings spread behind him.

"BRING IT!"