"Everyone, shut up!"
Wayland, hovering a meter above the ground, instinctively channeled his magical energy. His voice boomed out with thunderous authority, instantly drowning out the chaotic cacophony. Every crow in the vicinity fell silent, their bead-like eyes turning toward him in unison.
Wayland didn't flinch. He stood tall, his small chest puffed out, even as his mind raced at a mile a minute. In this moment of crisis, his strategic intellect seemed to reach its absolute peak.
His voice dropped, becoming low and resonant--a tone of absolute command. "I am the one who serves the Supreme Sovereign... Crows! Our kin have always been known for our ferocity, our aggression, and our relentless spirit. But we are also known for our intelligence and our discipline. This is precisely why the Supreme Sovereign has chosen us to be her familiars!"
He swept his gaze across the assembled mass. "And yet you, the chosen ones, are acting like panicked children. Your performance is nothing short of a disgrace! Do you not wish to prove your worth? Do you not wish to ascend to a higher existence as the Sovereign's true shadow?!"
The crows looked at one another, a heavy silence hanging over the clearing for a heartbeat. Then, as if triggered by a single spark, a chorus of unified cries erupted from the swarm.
"I do!"
"Yes!"
"We will!"
"Excellent." Wayland landed on the highest point of the slope, raising his right wing in a gesture of approval. "I am pleased by your resolve. Now, let me show you how to truly satisfy the Supreme Sovereign. First, we must design an entrance--something grand, something imposing. We must uphold the Sovereign's dignity while maintaining the unique character of our kind."
"Boss, can we just fly in a formation like we normally do?" one particularly observant crow asked.
Wayland offered a small, approving nod to the clever bird. "A logical suggestion, but far too common. Every murder of crows in the world flies that way. It lacks... presence."
"Then how should we do it?"
"Yeah, Boss, give us a plan!"
"What are you even thinking about? With our brains, do you really think we can come up with something better than the Boss?"
"Exactly! The Boss has it covered!"
A wave of supportive cawing rippled through the crowd as thousands of eyes filled with anticipation turned toward Wayland.
"Since you are so eager, I shall oblige," Wayland said with a dignified tilt of his head. "I have a design in mind. We shall manifest as a black tornado."
"What's a tornado?"
"Hmph. It seems you are inland birds."
Wayland paused to think, then hopped down from the slope. Using the sharp tip of a primary feather, he drew a series of spiraling lines in the dirt, forming a towering, swirling pillar.
"Boss, I get it!"
A crow stepped forward, spreading its wings. It tucked its right wing over its face and swept its left wing toward its tail feathers, beginning to spin in a rapid circle.
"Like... like... this?" It immediately stumbled, clearly dizzy.
"Where is your common sense?!" Wayland's expression soured. "We are a communal species. Our strength lies in our unity! Our individual power may be small, but together, we can become a force of nature. Now, listen to my command! Those with exceptional flight skill--the ones who are always pursued during the mating season--step forward. I don't want your personal opinions; I want those who are acknowledged by all. Understand?"
As Wayland spoke, a flurry of activity erupted in the swarm. The hierarchy was quickly established.
Roughly a third of the crows moved to the front.
"Good!" Wayland nodded. "Those in the back will form the storm clouds at the top of the funnel. You, the elite with superior mastery of the air, will form the spinning pillar of the wind. Now, begin the trial! Take flight!"
With a sudden, explosive sound, the crows spiraled into the sky.
According to Wayland's precise instructions, the majority of the murder maintained a broad, rotating formation in the air. A smaller, more agile group tightened their formation, diving from the center of the massive swarm and sweeping downward. As they neared the surface of the sea, they suddenly banked upward, spiraling in a tight, rising arc.
In an instant, a massive black tornado formed between the heavens and the sea, blotting out the sun.
Wayland let out a sharp, exhilarated cry.
After leading them through several more maneuvers, he finally signaled for the descent. "Everyone, return!"
"How was that, Boss? Did we look imposing?"
"Imposing? It was magnificent!" Wayland looked at the thousands of eager faces. He thought for a moment, then tapped his head. He spoke a single, strange, and mysterious syllable that sounded like a discordant chime to the other crows.
A shimmering screen of light manifested before them.
It displayed a clear recording of the black tornado they had just formed.
"Whoa!"
"That is so cool!"
The swarm was in an uproar once more.
Wayland waited several minutes for the excitement to die down before continuing. "But a grand entrance is not enough. The Supreme Sovereign has summoned us to deal with her enemies. Some of you might find this strange--surely her power is so great that we could never hope to match her foes.
"But! As I said, there is strength in unity. We are no longer mere birds; we are familiars imbued with magical energy! Even the slightest contribution from each of you will coalesce into a terrifying force. We will use the advantage of the air to conduct a masterclass in aerial warfare. A single pebble dropped from a great height can be lethal.
"We will shroud our bodies in magical energy and descend from the heavens like a divine judgment! Our name will be spoken alongside the Supreme Sovereign's throughout the world of man!"
The swarm erupted in another feverish cheer.
"However! We must not be reckless. A stone thrown against iron will only shatter. Our individual strength is not great, so we must learn from the ocean, not the stone. There is an ancient wisdom: the greatest good is like water. We will crash over our enemies like a tidal wave, blending into the mass like droplets in a sea. We will use the momentum of the swarm, slipping away like fish through a net to ensure we remain unbroken. Now, I will teach you the only magecraft you will need: Flowing Water.
"Every crow, follow my movements precisely. Slowly channel the magical energy within your bodies across your skin. Let it flow through the gaps in your feathers until it forms a series of interlocking rings. Then, whisper the activation key: 'Caw'."
While Wayland was teaching the crows his specialized magecraft, the "Supreme Sovereign" appeared on the hillside, watching him in silence.
From beneath her black hood, her emerald eyes flickered with a hint of genuine interest.
She couldn't understand the language of the crows, but she could see exactly what they were doing.
"What a peculiar bird. Is it a king among its kind?"
As she mused, she was suddenly startled by the simultaneous ascent of the entire swarm. She watched as the magical signatures of thirty thousand crows began to harmonize, weaving together into a single, unified fluctuation. It felt as though they were merging, the raw potential of a massive power beginning to brew within the storm.
Her calm expression finally fractured, replaced by a look of sheer astonishment.
This crow was truly something else.
"Captain, the twelfth team is in position. Awaiting your command."
Hishiri Adashino finally snapped out of her trance. She keyed her headset, her voice tight and focused. "Activate the weapons systems!"
"Understood."
As Amelia Morse, the captain of the twelfth team, responded, the gargantuan cruise ship began to vibrate.
The upper deck suddenly split open, sliding aside to reveal twelve quad-mount 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns, their barrels gleaming with a cold, metallic luster.
These were the same weapons used on the HMS Warspite of the Royal Navy. While their design was decades old, after being reinforced with specialized magical processing, they were absolute instruments of destruction.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]