Over the Sky | Image Gallery | Artbooks | Fam Aerial Log | 067
"Di ... o ..." The girl's lifeless hand fell to the floor.
"Lucciola!" Dio's trembling fingertips stretched out, his heart pounding faster, eyes opened wide. "I killed him ... I killed Lucciola!" In his lost, panicked state, Dio began clutching and clawing so harshly at his chest that his nails tore through and at his skin. He thrust his knife into the floor of the stage, over, and over, and over... Debris fragments chipped off the ground, flying and cutting at his skin. Shocked, Lavie couldn't take her eyes away from the scene.
"A vanship?!" Alvis called out as she stared at the sky. In the air, a silver aircraft glittered in the light of the sunrise, as the sound of its steam-type-machine-gun being shot echoed. The machine-gun shells ricocheted off the ground just near Dio and Ros body. The bullets cut through the floor, and debris scattered all around the stage.
Dio looked up, his eyes locking on the vanship. He had found the {enemy}.
Chapter 8
Dio will definitely come after me.
Claus' aircraft left the venue and began to head through the Calgray forest, toward the empty town of Norkia.
"...I found you." Dio narrowed his eyes as the silver vanship moved forward through the narrow valley. "I won't let you get away." Having moved to his own vanship and immediately taking off after Claus, he pulled the throttle. The hum of the liquid claudia could be heard as he accelerated, as the white aircraft pushed forward in chase.
"He's coming," with visual confirmation of the pursuing aircraft, Claus raised his speed, inviting Dio to keep dogging him. The two vanships swept through the valley of the city, Dio's unit firing off machine gun bullets that hit and shattered some roof tile on a house. Claus dodged by rolling his aircraft to the side, and descended until the very last moment to break out of the alleyway at breakneck speed. The aircraft grazed the stone pavement below, sparks flying.
There's a t-junciton ahead. The dangerous area that a lot of pilots get frustrated by in a vanship race.
"4 ... 3 ... 2 ...1 ..." Claus' machine began veering to the left without compromising the vanship's speed, as Dio gave chase effortlessly. "He's still remarkable, after all." Claus smiled.
"There!" Alvis cried, spotting the two of them. Claus' machine looped into the reservoirs below, Dio's still chasing behind him. At that sight Lavie understood immediately that they were about to enter the underground waterway.
The sound of machine gun fire echoed in the underground water canal. It shot at the water, splashing up and blocking visibility. As Dio's shooting accuracy increased, Claus' machine continued to bear the scars of it.
"I am with you, everyone." Sophia spoke gently as the venue began to regain its composure. "The Grand Lake will nurture all of our lives with its abundant waters."
Even though he was layed out on a stretcher, Vincent continued to keep watch around him.
The two vanships exited the waterway and began to ascend, unfurling their wings as the dogfight continued. Dio kept shooting without mercy, Claus timing to dodge each shot at the very last second. The violent clash was reminiscent of the Horizon Cave endurance race. A bullet grazed Claus' machine, the duralumin alloy tearing apart.
I'm almost out of fuel.
Though he figured he did pretty well for having made an enemy out of someone like Dio. Would Lavie praise him for doing this best? The image of Dio's machine approaching began to fill the rear-view mirror. Claus pulled the throttle, lowering the flaps on the wings of his ship. He suddenly drew upward, tracing a beautiful turn in the air as the silver aircraft shone beautifully under the morning sun.
"An Immelmann Turn ... but, you can't get away. You won't escape because I know that move." Dio made the same move without effort, angling his ship's nose to directly face Claus' machine.
"Lucciola, we've won." Dio pulled the trigger slowly.
"Immelmann Turn!"
"I've never seen such a beautiful turn!"
"Immelmann is Immelmann."
The very moment that Dio pulled the trigger, the image of a boy and girl flying a silver vanship flashed into his mind. Dio Eraclea's cloudy, glassed over eyes suddenly regained their clarity.
"Immelmann?!" Dio shouted.
