《Demon Princess Magical Chaos》


 Chapter 1 - I have no mouth, and I must eat (v2)

    I look in the bathroom mirror and can feel my sanity points dropping.


    People have called me many less than pleasant things such as tomboy or possessing no feminine qualities, but never have I been called ugly. Alright, it may be true that I have short, disheveled hair like a boy''s and my body is on the athletic, muscular side since I''m a member of the track and field club. My interests have been aligned with those of boys ever since my grade school days, I''m only reading Manga directed at a young male audience, and I get overly excited during hot-blooded tokusatsu shows and events, even though I''m already in my second year of high school...


    Now that I list everything one after another, I feel depressed. But I''m not ugly! In fact, several people already confessed to me during middle and high school, even though they were all, without exception, cute female underclassmen. In other words, I''m sure I''d be considered handsome.


    ... but the fact that I can only use an adjective exclusively utilized to refer to the male half of the population to describe myself, rather than say "beautiful", somehow hurts more than it should have.


    I sigh, and the gurgling noise that comes out instead shakes me awake from my self-loathing inner monologue. I look into the mirror again and nearly scream at the thing that looks back. It''s something that would be blurred out by mosaic when shown on TV, but even that would be an understatement.


    Actually, why is this mirror framed in gold? I don''t remember my bathroom having something this gaudy. Did my dad bring a souvenir from one of his business trips again? In fact, this doesn''t look like my bathroom at all! Everything here looks really expensive all of a sudden. The floor and wall tiles are of beautiful black marble with white veins; I think I''ve seen something similar to this in a TV show about a luxury resort. The bathtub changed into a stand-alone cast tub made of solid bronze, with fittings of gold. How did this happen overnight?


    With this, I successfully avert my eyes from the main problem~


    Now that I think about it, I can''t remember last night too well. I came back from an inter-high marathon - of course, I placed first, who do you think I am? - and was completely exhausted, so I had dinner, took a bath and... hm?


    I don''t remember going to bed, but I did wake up in a bed just now. Well, I guess I was just so tired that I wasn''t really conscious at the time. Maybe I slept longer than a day? But why would my bathroom change in that time? It''s not like my parents are affluent enough to just do a quick upgrade as a surprise to me. For now, it would be best to find my parents and ask them; I can''t make sense of this situation on my own.


    But when I walk into my bedroom, it has changed, too. I admit, I did sleepwalk out of my bed into the en-suite bathroom and didn''t take note of my surroundings at the time since I''m unexpectedly the type to be weak in the mornings.


    Hey, it''s a cute trait, alright? I''m sure there are people out there who can appreciate someone who isn''t perfect!


    Really though, why do I have a canopy bed? And why does my entire room look as gaudy as the bathroom? Actually, it would seem my small room has expanded to more than five times its size, too. The high-quality red carpet dampens the sound of my steps as I walk past a dresser made of mahogany and look up. A golden chandelier hangs from the ceiling with dimmed lights, but it doesn''t seem like it uses electric lamps.


    I move around to the side of the giant canopy bed and look down at it. There are signs that someone has slept here, but somehow I can''t picture myself in my current form lying tucked in under the sheets. After all, I''m only vaguely humanoid, and as far as my appearance goes, it feels like I should be leaving behind a trail of slime wherever I go...


    "Chaos-sama, excuse me." A knock and a girl''s voice coming from outside derails my train of thoughts. The heavy-looking wooden door opens, and a maid with short ash-gray hair enters without waiting for a response. She sees me and her neutral face changes to a grimace of horror for a split second before she quickly bows before me. When she straightens her back and looks up again, her expression is strained and she has her eyes fixated on a spot slightly right of where my face is.


    Haah... I''m ugly, aren''t I?


    Wait, did she just call me Chaos-sama? I''m not a chuunibyou who would get happy at being called that, you know?


    I''m really not!


    At least I''m assuming that Chaos-sama refers to me since nobody else is in the room. But I don''t know why she would call me that in the first place, I have a proper name.


    "I-I shall be cleaning your room. T-the queen is having a meal in the dining hall. P-please head there immediately." Stuttering while avoiding eye contact, the maid speaks of the existence of a dining hall. This really isn''t my home anymore, is it? And what does she mean by "the queen"?


    I stand frozen in place as the maid passes me by and I spot something that shouldn''t be there, coming out of a triangular hole at the base of her back: A scaly tail. It''s curved downwards and presses against the wide skirt in a gesture I can only identify as one of fear. No wait, this isn''t the time to analyze animal behavior.


    This maid has a tail!


    Let''s not think about it too much. This must be cosplay. Yep, let''s leave it at that.


    I exit my room and walk into a large hallway that matches the gaudy decorations in my room. At this point, I''m convinced this isn''t my house, and that something happened to me tonight. In either case, I''m supposed to head to the dining hall to meet this "queen", and since I''m quite hungry, it''s two birds with one stone.


    Now, I need to find this dining hall first. I realize that this must be a giant mansion from how the hallway extends in both directions for a fair bit, but something about the architecture is bothering me: There are windows here, but there were none in my room. Normally, you would construct a building in a way which allows light to fall into the rooms you stay in most of the time so that you don''t have to use lamps all the time.


    When I look outside the window in the hallway, a sight beautiful and terrifying at the same time greets me. This mansion must be located on a hill, because a sprawling city extends below me, just beyond a thick defensive wall, consisting of a foreign architecture completely unlike any I''ve seen before. It''s of a dark beauty, with sloped roofs and black tiles, dark gray walls and darkened windows. Actually, what''s with all these dark colors? It''s depressing!


    The sky filled with black clouds seems to be looming right over me, as if ready to unload a lightning storm on my head - and that beyond the city''s fortified walls is a barren wasteland with black rock formations jutting out of the ground, all seemingly pointing in the same direction


    The terrifying part is the fact that none of this looks familiar. Actually, this isn''t even Japan anymore, oi!


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    Is it that? Where you get transported to a different world in your sleep? But then why would my appearance change? Wait, don''t tell me I died in my sleep and reincarnated instead? Then how am I fully grown already? I mean I can walk and all, and I''m taller than that maid with the tail, who looked reasonably adult-like. If I was reincarnated, then shouldn''t I start out as a baby? I don''t have any knowledge or memories about this place at all, but if I''m at the same age as I was in my previous life, I''ll be facing a lot of difficulties.


    At least I don''t seem to have a problem with the language. And speaking of which, it certainly isn''t Japanese, but somehow I can understand it as if it''s the most natural thing.


    Let''s go see this queen first. Maybe she can explain my situation somehow.


    I find a staircase while walking along the hallway in thought, and wonder whether I should go up or down here. The maid never told me where the dining room was and I have absolutely no knowledge about this place. I pick downstairs with the reasoning that a dining room is usually on ground level, though I have no idea if this doesn''t just lead to the cellar. If it does, I will look pretty dumb.


    But luckily for me, I find myself at the edge of another hallway with lots of doors on one side and large windows on the other. Will I appear odd if I start opening doors at random to find the right room? I''m sure it will...


    Then again, since it''s a dining hall, the door should be appropriately large, right?


    And as I think that, I come upon a double-winged door that looks suspiciously like it could lead to where I need to go. I push it open accompanied by the sound of hinges creaking under the heavy weight of the wood, and find a large hall with a long mahogany table in the center. Countless chairs with tall backrests stand in perfect order, reminiscent of those seen in the meeting rooms of evil organizations in movies.


    At the very end of the table sits a woman in a layered frilly white dress with golden trims, which reveals a lot of cleavage. She has bluish-gray skin, long flowing purple hair and a huge pair of horns curved upwards coming from her forehead. The white of her eyes is black, while the irises are a bright yellow, giving her a piercing gaze even though the corners of her eyes are sloped down. That''s the appearance of a gentle woman, if not for the fact that she doesn''t look human.


    That''s definitely a demon, right?


    "Good morning, Chaos-chan. It would seem you have gained a consciousness." Her voice possesses an undeniable allure, paired with the dignity of the rich and powerful. "You have come at the right time to partake in breakfast. We have just gained a large stockpile of food yesterday."


    Yes mama, I''m actually quite hungry.


    For some reason I know that this is my mother; I can feel it the moment I lay my eyes on her, even though I''ve never seen her before. But why are our appearances so different? I''m something I don''t even want to begin to describe, but she''s a real beauty. Do I take after my father or something? That aside, she just said something bizarre and interesting. "Gained a consciousness" suggests that I didn''t have one before this morning. So does this mean I was just born? Then I guess I won''t have any troubles with lacking knowledge of this world.


    I''m having difficulties choosing where to sit, but my mother gestures to the seat right next to her, so I make my way there. Just when I sit down she rings a small bell, and several maids enter from the side doors of the hall, pushing in carts carrying silver trays with corresponding covers. Every single girl looks inhuman, with some having horns, wings or strange skin colors including blue and green.


    A petite and very slender maid with a pair of black bat wings in place of her arms pushes a cart up to me. Her short reddish-brown hair is cut in a bob, but where a human''s ears would peek out from normally, two huge pointy ears covered in fur stand up almost vertically from her head. Eyes that are completely black, a small pointy nose and a slightly protruding pucker complete her image. That''s a bat girl, huh?


    Another maid, one with long brown hair, large horizontal pupils and a full mouth, picks up a big covered tray with webbed hands that feature bulbous fingertips. Her skin has a greenish hue with a glister, as if she''s wet, and there are black markings on her face and the back of her hands. I''m not really sure, but I''d say that this is a frog girl.


    The tray is placed in front of me, and I eagerly await it being opened - then I remember that I have no mouth and I must eat. Before I can turn around and ask my mother how I''m supposed to consume any food, the cover is lifted. What greets me is a small plume of steam and underneath it the face of a man. The eyes are rolled back in their sockets, and the skin is the pinkish color of steamed but still rare meat.


    It''s a severed head.


    And as if to add insult to injury, the bat maid lifts the head''s skullcap with the single finger she has on her wing to reveal the brain within before the frog girl places a large spoon next to me.


    I have no mouth, and I must scream!


    After the shock of seeing a human head and its contents being presented to me on a silver platter, all my wonder at the inhuman maids has been blown away. I have to say, all this looks really well-made, almost like they''re real. Wings for arms, webbed hands, and now a severed human head with a steamed brain inside. Not like I know what the real thing actually looks like.


    It''s that, right? A cake shaped like a human head, like one of those novelty birthday cakes that you can order online.


    "Please enjoy your meal, Maou-sama." When she speaks up, I finally notice the presence of the giant maid standing behind my mother. She looks like a normal human compared to all the other people here, so she didn''t even enter my vision before. Easily standing at a head taller than me, she towers above everyone else and has the physique of a man rather than a woman, with broad shoulders and thick arms. The only reason I can identify her as female is that her face looks quite ladylike, albeit clearly unfamiliar to smiles.


    Wait, Maou-sama? Leaving aside the fact that this is clearly a Japanese expression, which is being mixed with this completely foreign language that I somehow am able to understand, this makes it clear that she''s the demon queen.


    No no no, there''s something wrong about this situation!


    The pattern for these reincarnation stories is that I''ll be reborn as the fated hero or something, and live a life like the protagonist of a harem Manga. This is just a crazy dream brought on from a mixture of exhaustion due to the marathon yesterday, and having read too many of those trending reincarnation web novels, isn''t it? Time to wake up by pinching myself.


    If only I had fingers to do so.


    I''ve been putting it off since the beginning, but my appearance is something I preferred not to describe. However, now that it''s come to this, I have to; you see, I do have an overall humanoid appearance, with all the extremities you would find on a human. But my arms and legs are composed of countless tentacles, ending in tentacle fingers which don''t have nails at their ends to pinch with. Furthermore, the face I''ve seen in the mirror is one even a mother couldn''t love - unless that mother is the demon queen of course, what was I thinking?


    Rather than ugly, it''s just that it''s something I can''t even begin to describe, but at the very least I can say that it lacks eyes, a nose and a mouth.


    "Chaos-chan, you must be wondering how you can eat without a mouth, right?" The demon queen asks in an understanding tone. Before her is a plate with the same content, but rather than a man''s, it''s a woman''s head. After all, it looks far more elegant in shape - and it still wears large earrings.


    Actually, those ears seem kind of long and pointy. Is that an elf?


    "You could choose an appearance, but I will teach you the basics first. Here, mama will show you how you eat as you are now." And without further ado, the demon queen lifts the elf''s head and hugs it to her cleavage. In the next moment, the head begins to disappear into her body.


    What? A magic trick?


    "Ah, quite delicious." Wait, please give me a step by step breakdown. Else it''ll end like one of those situations where people get some important body part stuck in some awkward place because of unclear instructions. "But I do not like this." From her chest, the bare skull of the elf pops out and falls into her palm, along with the earrings. She places the leftovers on the tray, and a servant immediately collects it, while another brings a new tray.


    This one contains a pair of small and delicate hands placed like wings, over which a light brown sauce is spread out.


    I bring my eyes down to the head in front of me. Maou-sama, if you have me eat heads, at least give me the one of a beautiful elf, too. Well, I have to admit that this one is quite handsome if it weren''t for the fact that he looks like he was in agony right up to the moment of his death.


    Still, no harm in trying out eating a human head, right? After all, this is a dream... right?

 Chapter 2 - Saving Private Parts (v2)

    Papa, mama, I''m sorry. Your daughter has become a cannibal. Then again, I''m not a human right now, so that shouldn''t have been cannibalism, right?


    To be honest, it was a sensation unlike any I''ve felt before. Having a man inside me for the first time was a little scary at the beginning, but it started to feel really good soon after. When I pulled him out after his essence melted into me, it felt really hot inside.


    "For my cute child, I left only the best parts. That was a self-proclaimed human king who dared to challenge me at my gates yesterday." When the Maou-sama notices my satisfaction - despite the fact that I have no face, and therefore, no facial expressions - she comments.


    Thank you Maou-mama!


    Pfft- wait, what?!


    I would do a spit take if only I had a mouth.


    It would appear that I just ate a king. So what was that elf''s head? Don''t tell me it belonged to the elven queen?


    "Although I have to admit, the elven queen was unlike anything I have tasted before. Next time I shall leave some for you." She continues.


    Argh! Don''t answer as if you read my mind!


    Really, eating their leaders will only draw the wrath of the humans and elves. Well, considering we''re quite obviously the demon folk, they already see us as their bitter enemies. But the king''s head looked quite young, so I have to wonder about how humanity works in this world. All the monarchs I know from my world are old and appear torefuse to die and pass on the torch. Same for politicians.


    I have so many questions popping up in my head, but for now, I''ll just go with the flow. I mean, this is a dream, and I''ll wake up soon, right? Right! I''ve never had such a lucid dream! Everything feels so real!


    Yes, I still believe this is all just a dream from which I''ll wake up any second now.


    I''m just a normal high school student - one not even especially good at my studies, with my only redeeming feature being that I''m great at running - so if someone were to tell me that this is my new reality, I think I''d break down crying.


    "Now that you had your first conscious meal, what do you say about taking on a form that will cost fewer maids their sanity?" The demon queen asks when I finish taking the stuffed and baked torso into my body. This one also belonged to the king, considering its physique.


    Stuffed with what, you ask? What other than the organs already in it?


    By taking on another form, I assume our kind can shapeshift. In other words, we must be doppelgangers, or however the fantasy race that can copy other people''s looks and abilities are called in works of fiction. Now that I consider it, I''m quite excited at the prospect of learning how to change my appearance. I could turn into all kinds of things that I had imagined I wanted to look like before, including changing into a more delicate and ladylike girl.


    "There are two ways for us Crawling Chaos to change form." She begins to explain.


    Crawling Chaos? It feels like I''ve heard of something similar before. I think it was a certain Outer God in moe girl form.


    "The first is through consumption. It will get dissolved inside us, and the information contained in their flesh will enable us to replicate their physical bodies perfectly." And my beautiful mother''s shape changes into the equally beautiful elven queen she ate earlier. I look at where her supple cleavage was only moments ago and notice the lack thereof. So elves have such pitiful appearances in this world? Or was it only this particular individual?


    Wait, doesn''t this pattern lead to her expecting me to change into the human king next?


    "Now you try it. Transform into the one you just consumed."


    I knew it!


    But I can''t betray her expectant eyes, especially when she looks like a cute elf. I stand up and focus my mind, go into myself and draw on whatever I can grasp, finally taking hold of a strangely clear image before my eyes. It''s that of the male human''s body before it was chopped up and made into my meal.


    And it''s naked.


    Ah, wait!


    But it''s already too late. I come to my senses and look down at my hands. They are human ones. Then I look further down and see a thing dangling between my legs.


    Oh, my!


    "Great, you did it." The demon queen is back in her previous appearance. She looks me up and down, her eyes stopping at my groin for a split second longer than anywhere else. "Now, the other method is a little more difficult and requires some imagination, as not all the information is as readily available as it is with something we consume."


    With this, her body changes into a copy of mine. That is to say, she is now a handsome but rather muscular man, wearing a revealing dress. Before the image burns itself into my mind, she quickly morphs back into her previous self.


    "I do not have any interest in the male form unless it is absolutely necessary." Her expression shows that she didn''t like doing that, and I agree doubly in that matter. You shouldn''t transform into a man when you''re wearing a silken dress that reveals more than it hides, and I don''t really like this appearance myself, it just feels wrong. "Then, please do it."


    I decide to try and morph into my own actual appearance. Even though I''m obviously familiar with the female body, I can''t visualize any other than my own to the degree that I could replicate it from memory. The image is quite clear, but once again, I realize my mistake too late.


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    Now I stand in front of a bunch of strangers in my original appearance, wearing nothing but my birthday suit.


    "That is incredible. I expected you to copy one of the servants or me, but you created an appearance from imagination alone." Looking at me in prideful astonishment, Maou-mama praises me.


    "Thank you, eheheh..." I answer with a shy smile.


    Wait, I have a mouth, I can talk! And I just spoke in this language that isn''t Japanese, even though I wasn''t able to get a basic grasp of English in school. Am I a genius?


    "Oh my, you already learned how to speak?" Widening her eyes, she looks amazed.


    Crap. I shouldn''t be able to speak yet? Am I an idiot?


    "You are so gifted! Then we shall get to your training as soon as possible." It appears that it didn''t cause reason for concern or even suspicion, and I breathe an internal sigh of relief.


    Training? Will I have to wear a heavy turtle shell on my back and do all kinds of activities with it on? Or maybe learn to focus my inner energies to walk up trees and conjure balls of electricity from my hands?


    "Come with me." Gesturing for me to follow her, the demon queen goes ahead and walks towards the door I entered the hall through. The other maids stay behind and begin to clean up after our breakfast.


    I''m reluctant to walk through the castle while naked, especially while I''m in my human form. I gathered from the fact that Maou-mama didn''t change her outfit while morphing into different appearances means that actual clothes can''t be created from our bodies, but I guess a simulated skintight outfit works. Like body paint?


    Thus, I visualize my school''s sports uniform, which consists of a white shirt and dark blue bloomers. This should be much better now, but in reality, I''m still naked.


    Huh, isn''t this actually worse?


    Am I some kind of pervert? Everyone will know that I''m actually naked since I did this transformation in plain sight. Well, at least I had the presence of mind not to include my name tag. Otherwise, it would really look like I''m working at a questionable establishment.


    Though somehow I can''t help but feel excited... I''m really a pervert, aren''t I?


    "Are those clothes? That is quite curious." The demon queen looks me up and down with a finger on her chin. She doesn''t seem to be bothered by the knowledge that I''m actually naked, and I feel like an idiot for over-thinking this.


    Then again, this transformation is a stroke of genius, if I may say so myself. I removed some features of the human anatomy, such as the important parts on my chest and down below. From my own point of view, I can say that it''s a great disguise, though I don''t know about anyone else looking at it.


    I look around to take in all the sights of the castle as we walk through its interiors. From the lengths of the hallways and the large windows in some of them, I can tell that this place is huge. I''m sure I would get lost in it easily if I were alone, but that just makes it so much more of a miracle that I found the dining hall where I was supposed to go on my first try.


    We walk down several flights of stairs, and the windows have disappeared. This must be underground now, most likely part of the dungeons. Don''t tell me training involves me fighting against some captured humans or something like that? But I can''t find it in me to ask where exactly I''m being taken. Not like I can just refuse even if it''s somewhere I don''t want to go.


    Finally, we come upon a heavy metal door at the end of a hallway. Pushing it open effortlessly with a single hand, the demon queen leads me into a small antechamber directly connected to a large circular room with bare stone walls. The circular portion is elevated by two steps, which somehow makes me think that it''s missing another door right there.


    When I walk up these two steps and look around, I find that there are cuts and claw marks in the walls. Either a battle between people with weapons took place here, or a thrashing beast with sharp claws was confined in this room. Considering this looks like a small underground ring where people are forced to fight to their death against monsters or each other, both explanations seem very likely.


    "Now, step up into the circle, my child." Maou-mama''s voice sounds gentle as she gestures for me to stand in the center of the room. I somehow can''t help but think that she can be trusted.


    When I walk up the two steps and look down, I realize that there are markings on the ground which remind me of something I''ve seen hundreds of times in fantasy games: This is a magic circle. So this must be a teleportation circle or something like that.


    "Concentrate. If you do not, you may get torn to pieces." I hear from behind me when I reach the center.


    I understand, mama. I just need to concen-


    What?!


    In the next moment, before I can turn to her and see what kind of expression the demon queen has on her face, the magic circle begins to glow blue, and I feel an unseen force tugging at every fiber of my being. Then my surroundings disappear and are replaced by a stream of violently flashing lights, inside which my body seems to be thrown around helplessly, like a wet cloth inside a washing machine.


    It feels like I''m being torn apart!


    "Riiip."


    That sound just now doesn''t bode well.


    Wait, that came from my body! I just lost my arms! Come back to meeee!!! Ah, they disappeared into the light.


    Waaah, it feels like I''m being pulled apart by my waist!


    Ah, my lower body is gone, too.


    Now I''m floating in space, only a limbless torso with a head. And somehow, I don''t feel any pain. Did I die? Is this the end of my dream?


    Yes, I still believe this is only a strange dream, and I''ll wake up either when my alarm clock rings, or when I die in here. Like in that movie about a group diving into a person''s dreams. Though in that one you wouldn''t wake up when you died, you would go deeper and be trapped forever.


    Well, that was only a movie, and this here is reali- no wait, it''s not.


    With a splat, I land on solid ground face-first, and I feel my previously pristine seventeen-year-old Japanese high school girl face changing into something that needs to be hidden with mosaic - again.


    The fact that I''m still alive is a testament to the fact that a Crawling Chaos must not worry about injuries or even loss of limbs. Even impacting on the ground face first caused it to turn into an unsightly mess, but it consolidated into a solid form immediately again. That''s mighty convenient, especially when considering that I can''t feel any sort of discomfort in this form, which is what makes people wake up from dreams most of the time. I guess I''ll be stuck here for a while longer.


    I morph into a humanoid form using the mass I have, but since I lost half my body, only a loli version comes out. And I''m in a white t-shirt and bloomers, which are practically nothing more than body paint. If I were a character in a certain thin book, a van would drive up now and some sweaty, balding ota-


    Let''s not go there...


    Finally, I stand up on my two short legs and look around. It seems that I''m in a forest. I already suspected it, but that magic circle was a teleportation circle. But when I look down, there is none under my feet, only dirt, and dead leaves.


    In other words, this was a one-way trip? Was I just abandoned in the woods under the guise of training?


    Um, mama?

 Chapter 3 - Who Let the Wolves Out

    My first thought is to go and find my missing parts, but I have no idea where to start. It''s not like I was in a train and they fell out of the window, so I can backtrack my route. In other words, I''m stuck in this loli form for now. A loli in a white shirt and bloomers, which are actually nothing more than body paint.


    Fortunately, this is a forest, so there are no wild beasts around who could be enticed by my appearance and attempt to eat me up. In the sexual sense. Unfortunately, this is a forest, so there are bound to be wild beasts that could be enticed by my appearance and attempt to eat me up. Not in the sexual sense.


    Of course, all of the above was a red herring, because I''m actually staring into the eyes of one such beast, a wolf-like creature with a row of spines on its back, its shoulders about as tall as I am in my current form. Why is the first monster of these kinds of stories almost always a wolf? For now, neither of us is moving, but as if realizing that I''m alone, the beast sneers. At least that''s how I perceive it, as it bares its sharp fangs and approaches me slowly.


    Maou-mama, you didn''t teach me how a Crawling Chaos fights. The image of the maou in elven queen form floats into my mind, looking away, closing one eye and sticking out her tongue. "Tehepero~" I flip a table in my mind in response.


    I run away. There''s nothing I can do with my small stature and little mass, and against a monster that seems more likely than not to be a member of a pack no less. If I kill it, it will most likely call out to its companions in its death throes. At least I''m confident in my running.


    Obviously, I was wrong.


    As if my short legs could outrun a canine''s four legs! In fact, even if I were at full size, a wolf can still run faster than a human! It catches up with me in no time and pushes me down. Ahn, I''m gonna get ravished!


    Sorry, now is not the time to make such jokes, I''m seriously in a pinch here. With a front paw on my back I''m completely pinned and unable to move. Its saliva drips on the ground next to me. The ground is sizzling and dissolving, oi! Acid saliva on a hunter-predator... why? Only the god of fantasy knows. Now it''s sniffing me. I''m seriously going to get eaten! The story of Chaos-chan is going to end here, maou-mama. I''m sorry to disappoint you...


    With a whimper, the wolf takes its paw off of me and runs away with its tail between its legs.


    I cry. You made me cry with that attitude of yours! Take responsibility and eat me!


    So that''s how a Crawling Chaos fights in the wild? By being unpalatable? I''m sorry I was born, world. Nobody would want to eat something that would take precedence to a cockroach when getting a mosaic applied, right? Even though right now I look like I did when I was ten... I feel like crying some more...


    With the immediate danger averted, I have time for such idle thoughts. Maou-mama, you sent me here for training, you said. Does that mean I have to survive in the wild on my own for a certain amount of time and you''ll come and get me when the time passes? Or will I have to find my way back to you on my own? It would appear that at least I''m not a member of the natural food chain. Or so I hope. There may always be a monster that eats even things that look unappetizing or inedible.


    Like me.


    I''m so hungry, I could eat myself. It should have been only an hour since I had the human king as breakfast, but I''m starving. There''s no cute rumbling noise from my stomach. Instead, it feels like I''m actually eating myself from the inside out, dissolving my body to create energy to keep me going. That''s not the case, is it? Regardless, I have to find food, this is a really uncomfortable feeling. Is that how it feels to starve to death? I''m not exaggerating, that''s how bad it is.


    There the wolf is again. It''s eating a small furry animal it just hunted. Noticing my approach, it moves around to keep me within its line of sight. I won''t fight you over that small thing, alright? Since it won''t satisfy me. I''ll just take you instead!


    Dissolving my appearance, I change into the shape I had earlier this morning. My arms and legs are made of tentacles, so if I unwind them, they should be longer than they appear. It''s really strange, I instinctively know what I''m capable of, how to move all these individual appendages and use them to their full potential. This must be is inborn instincts.


    Unraveling my leg tentacles explosively, they expand like a spring and I lunge forward. Taken by surprise, the wolf flinches and appears unable to respond in time, but I already latch onto it with my whole body, making sure to seal its mouth so that it can''t call out to any potential friends. Time to eat.


    It''s only been around two hours since I''ve come to this world. If this is a dream, it''s quite the long one. Still, within this time, I had a man inside me, and now I''m taking in a beast. Mama, papa, your daughter is so naughty, I''m sorry.


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    A living being is a completely different sensation from a steamed head. My body seems to be bigger on the inside, so I had no problem taking my prey in, even though it''s more than three times my size. Since a Crawling Chaos seems to be very malleable, the beast''s struggles are invisible on the outside, even though I can feel him stirring up my insides a lot. But it doesn''t take long before it dies of suffocation or the pain of being dissolved alive. In either case, its movements stop and I can feel my strength returning.


    So I''m actually quite strong? If I were a human, this wolf beast would have mauled me to death without me being able to even put up a fight. But now, anything that I can somehow put inside me can end up as food. Swallowing the entire wolf did not make me look fatter, so I really have a pocket dimension inside me, kinda like an RPG backpack space.


    Now that the immediate danger of starving to death has been averted, let''s gather some information. Even if I could wake up at any moment, let''s enjoy the ride for as long as it takes. It''s an adventure after all!


    First things first, I need to find out where I''ve been transported to. It''s not like I know any landmarks other than what I saw from inside my mother''s castle, but I guess you could say that the barren landscape with the jutting jagged rock formations would indicate a certain proximity to the castle. In other words, I need to see how extensive this forest is first.


    Therefore, I climb the tallest tree I can find. Halfway up I realize that using my tentacles to climb would be faster than doing it in my loli human form. But it''s strange how quickly it naturally comes to me that I can utilize a method I wouldn''t even have dreamt of using previously. Well, I guess now I am dreaming of it. Same for accepting that eating with my body rather than through my mouth is not only normal, but also more efficient.


    Ah, this is bad. When I reach the top, all I can see is a sea of dark green, surrounded by mountains on all sides. This is most likely a valley inside a mountain range. Maou-mama, why did you send me somewhere this far away without even a return transportation circle for when you come to pick me up? Hah, don''t tell me you just abandoned me here? Did I do something to anger you?


    Hm, what''s that? A huge cumulonimbus cloud is moving really quickly behind the mountains. Oh, it stopped, and now it''s moving back to where it came from. That''s no cloud... I have a bad feeling about this.


    Now I notice that it looks more solid than fluffy, more like a mountain rather than made of condensed water vapors. So that''s a living being? That''s scary! I know which direction I will not be going in. But really, if those mountains are as tall as I think they are, that monster must be as tall as Mount Fuji. Actually, this is a dream, so why don''t I go and check it out? Yep, I''ll laugh danger in the face and rush headlong towards it. I''m sure that''s the most fun way to spend an adventurous dream.


    When I descend the tree, I''m surrounded by wolf beasts. I''m sorry I ate your friend, please accept his bones as a gesture of goodwill. It''s not because they don''t taste good and don''t dissolve too well, alright? Here, I''ll lay them out for you carefully, so you don''t mix up a femur with a humerus. You''ll eat him, right?


    They growl in anger and tighten the circle. I''m sorry I laughed you in the face, danger-san! I can''t fight this many at the same time! Back up the tree it is. I''m sure they can''t climb. Ok, for now I''m safe, and I have time to think of a way to get out of this. Oh, I''m beginning to feel hungry again.


    Maybe it''s time to explore the limits of how my body works. I can feel that my teeth while in human form are actually as hard as the real deal. This means I should be able to create claws or even blades? Kind of like a certain alien race that takes over humans through their heads, I guess? Ah, it came out well. My hand changed into a curved blade. Doesn''t look too sharp, but that should be up to training. Ah, I understand my mother''s plan in throwing me out into the wild now. Then again, would somebody without the knowledge of the real world have come to the same conclusion as I have?


    Let''s refine this blade a bit. I test it on a nearby branch and it makes a clean cut. Wow, this is really sharp. Okay, time to work on my besiegers. How about extending my arm like a whip? I don''t need my other arm right now, so I''ll use its mass to make it even longer. Now, only need to make sure I don''t fall off the branch I''m sitting on, like a moron. I can feel the strength of the muscles (?) in my newly formed blade whip, and I snap it down towards one of the wolves. It leaves a deep gash in its flank, causing it to whine and jump back. The others also take some distance and look up at me. Are they fearful or angry?


    One of them jumps up and tries to reach me, but I''m too high up. I swing my arm just as it lands and cut off one of its legs. This is going really well!


    Without warning, all remaining wolf beasts leap forward and bite at the trunk of the tree I sit on. Have they gone crazy at their impotence? No wait, acid saliva! Large sizzling holes open up in the tree where they bite into the bark and my base is shrinking. With the weight above the trunk, it''ll topple soon. I''m sorry I got ahead of myself!


    Now that it''s come to this, I can only try and quickly finish them off before the tree falls over. Swinging my arm all over the place, I open large wounds in the wolves'' bodies, but it''s already too late. Snapping sounds emerge from the trunk and I can feel the world tilting. Before I get entangled in the branches, I jump off, right onto the back of one that lost a leg from my attacks. It''s unable to flee, after all, and I pull it inside my body. Ah, some extra nourishments for the battle.


    At the same time as the tree hits the ground, the unlucky wolf beast is fully absorbed. The remaining ones are mostly wounded, but it doesn''t change the fact that I''m surrounded. And without hesitation, they all lunge at me with their fangs bared, ready to bite down on helpless old me!


    They run into countless blades. Like a hedgehog, I changed my entire body into sharp spines, onto which the beasts impale themselves. Leave alone affecting me with their acid saliva, their mouths can''t even reach my main body. When I retract the spines and change back into my loli self, a circle of carcasses surround me.


    Itadakimasu!

 Chapter 4 - I eat, therefore I am

    This is where I should have leveled up if this was a game-based setting. The fact that I didn''t means it doesn''t rely on statistics. In other words, resourcefulness beats raw parameters. As seen with these beasts, I could defeat them with very simple yet effective methods. If the attacks with my transformed blade had been based on stats, surely I wouldn''t even have penetrated their skin. I''m a newborn after all.


    I said bigger on the inside, but my body is like a bottomless pit. No matter how many I consume, it doesn''t show on the outside. Is it possible that I have a black hole stomach? Are glutton characters still considered cute these days? It''s not like I want to, but I think my constitution requires me to eat constantly, so I can''t help it.


    That aside, these wolf beasts don''t have much taste. I say taste, but I''m not really using any taste buds. The sensation they give me while dissolving inside me is nowhere as good as the one I got from the human king. Maybe because he was my first after all? In either case, I learned something new about the inner workings of my species. I should be able to sustain myself on this dozen of bodies for a while.


    Hm, I feel heavier. Well, admittedly, I ate about half a ton of wolves just now, so I''m bound to be dragged down by it, but I thought the space inside my body was a different dimension. Must be my imagination. But I do feel like I have more mass to work with now. After losing the lower half of my body and my arms in the transportation circle, my bodily matter has been limited. But now that I consumed so much, I should have grown some of it back. I guess a Crawling Chaos regenerates quickly after eating, or something like that.


    In the first place, getting my limbs torn off didn''t really hurt, and I didn''t bleed. So rather than malleable, I''m actually like a slime? But I''m nowhere near that weak. I mean, if I was like that, the story would have ended with me getting hit once by a human I just cause a mild inconvenience to somewhere on a field, who will later grow into the hero. Instead, I fought a bunch of monsters that seem more like midgame content. Ok, enough about games, I''m not really good at them either way, aside from fighting ones that is.


    Now, let''s aim for that huge cloud-like mountain-sized monster over there. Come what will, I''m invincible as long as I can change my body into the shape of a hedgehog with spines as hard as human teeth. Sea urchin? I have no idea what you''re talking about, it''s a hedgehog!


    I got carried away again, I''m sorry.


    Hearing the rumbling of heavy footsteps, I hid in a brush and waited. What approached was a giant Tyrannosaurus-like monster that could flatten me with a single step of its huge feet. Those feet look like they''re covered in metal, so surely, they''re harder than whatever I can produce. Furthermore, its jaws are made of metal, so even if I''m in hedgehog mode, those can crush me easily.


    As if to mock my thoughts, the dinosaur bites into the trunk of a tree and the sound of a machine whirring starts up inside its jaw. Splinters of wood fly everywhere and the tree is sawed down. That''s one of those tree-felling machines I saw on TV once! But it''s alive and walking on two feet. Well, it seems like a herbivore, so it shouldn''t pose a threat to me. With it being so loud, there''s also no way to be surprised by it, so it can''t be a predator.


    A metal foot slams down right next to my hiding place and my body jumps into the air a few inches. Turning my head, I look into the maw of another such mecha-dinosaur. The inside looks impressive, but are you brushing properly? I feel like I''m seeing some pieces of fur and meat stuck in there, you know?


    Rolling on the floor in an unsightly fashion, I dodge the jaws of death. The brush I just occupied is crunched and disappears into the dinosaur''s stomach. That was too close for comfort! Wait, why are you looking at me like that? I''m inedible, so don''t even think about it! Don''t drool, oi!


    The other one also notices me and is approaching. I can''t fight these, they''re practically cyborgs! They''re only missing a pair of torn purple wings and a metal arm, and they could be the ultimate evolution of a certain digital companion and flagship monster. If they shoot rockets from chest cavities, I''ll call plagiarism! Oh wait, it''s my dream, so I''m the one who...


    I''m on the run once again, chased by these two huge cyborg dinosaurs. Saying it like that sounds like a gag in a trashy movie, but when their jaws are humming with buzzsaws and their metal soles create small earthquakes with every step, I can''t laugh about it at all. What''s with the sharp increase in difficulty of this area? The wolves are in a completely different league!


    Speaking of wolves, why am I running in my human form? It''s far less efficient compared to a quadruped, especially since the footing in a forest is not so good for a human. With this, I morph into one of those beasts still dissolving inside me. Since I acquired their genetic material, it''s even less of an effort than recreating my real form. Hah, I''m fast like the wind! They can''t catch up to me at all. Ah, they gave up pretty easily.


    Still, how am I supposed to fight them? I don''t think my small hand blade is enough to seriously hurt them, and even though they look slow, getting hit by their tails or ending up between their jaws spells certain doom. If I had more material to work with, I could create a bigger blade, but there''s no point to it if I can''t swing it. Well, as a part of my body, it should be alright, I guess?


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    For now, I''ll just try to find more material so I can grow bigger. A cup of milk a day keeps the need of pads away! My chest has always been quite big, so I couldn''t really understand the pains of small-breasted girls. Don''t lynch me for these words, please. Now that I acquired enough material to gain in size, I finally understand what they must go through. I''ve gotten close to my previous appearance, but for that I had to give up on recreating my breasts in their full glory. Just wait, I''ll get more of those wolf beasts and become more splendid than I have ever been. Ah, but I don''t need these bones, get out of me. Ptoo, ptoo.


    Leaving behind a trail of scattered bones, I make my way towards the cloud-mountain thing again. Oh, if I can absorb that, what would happen to me? I mean, was able to take in half a ton of wolves, but I can move around normally and my body shows no outwards signs of having consumed so much. I need to find my limits before I attempt that. I mean, even if I reach it, I have no idea where to start when I try to eat it.


    Somehow this has become a journey about eating various kinds of monsters. But I''m not a master fighter cook who travels the world to get rare ingredients. I just swallow them whole with no room for the enjoyment of taste. That doesn''t seem to make for a great adventure, though. Let''s work on that for now.


    I spot a lone wolf beast again. Without hesitation, I lunge at it and wrap my body around its mouth, before taking it into my depths. This is getting easier and my hesitation has basically completely disappeared. In only a few hours, I''ve become a participant in the struggle for survival in the wild. There''s no room for thinking about the sanctity of life if nobody else around you does it. See, there''s an ape-like creature with a muscular frame, sitting over the carcass of a wolf beast and ripping flesh from it with its hands. Wait, are these wolves just small fry? Ah, it saw me.


    Well, it doesn''t look like this ape has metal skin, and it''s only barely larger than a human, so my offensive and defensive abilities employed against the wolves should be enough to handle it. It stands up and looks at me curiously. I''m still in my sports outfit slash body paint bloomers, so it should be something nobody has ever seen in this world. It sniffs the air and grimaces, then pumps out its chest and beats it a few times, like a gorilla. Even if you do that, I won''t be impressed, you know?


    It runs towards me on all fours and throws up both arms to let them crash down on me. Ending it with the hedgehog move would be the fastest, but it''s boring, isn''t it? I instead extend my right hand into a blade once again, dodge the muscular arms and slash at the ape''s exposed abdomen. Feeling it connect, I spin around myself and cut open its belly, from which a bunch of organs falls out. Okay, that was more effective than I thought it would be. It''s too gruesome to show!


    Grabbing at its own intestines to push them back into the gaping wound, the ape collapses forward. Well, that was too easy. The pattern would be that it will call its friends, but when it dies silently moments later, I''m disappointed. They''re indeed stronger than the wolves, but I''m still at a different level. There has to be something between these and the cyborg dinosaurs that I could get a little more thrill from without it looking impossible in the first place.


    Actually, I''m really interested in seeing how I would fare against a human warrior. But from above the tree, I didn''t see anything resembling manmade structures, so I guess that''s something for the future. I mean, Maou-mama did say that the humans, and evidently the elves, attacked her gates yesterday. So if I don''t suddenly wake up, I will get to experience a war between a human-elves coalition and the demons eventually. Yes, this is all a dream, I refuse to believe otherwise!


    Well, I won''t take this half-eaten carcass of a wolf, but the ape goes inside my pocket dimension of a stomach. And there, out with the bones again. I''m getting faster at dissolving them, so I wonder if I can also slow the speed and keep something alive inside me? I''ll experiment a little next time I come across something living.


    That just happens to be another wolf beast. This is getting boring. I quickly ensnare it and absorb it, while willing myself not to outright digest it within seconds. I can feel its heart beating inside me, but I''m sure its breath will run out sooner or later. I haven''t been inside myself, so I can''t tell whether it''s filled with air or just nothingness, or even the matter my body is composed of. Regardless, this is an experiment I can conduct while on the move.


    Still, to reach that cloud-mountain monster it should take a pretty long time. How many hours have I been here now? I think at least half a day of walking and eating has passed, but I don''t feel tired at all. Must be part of my constitution. But mentally, I start to feel exhaustion creeping up. I''ve been on my toes since coming here and I''ve done things I would have been either grossed out by or never even considered in reality. Just earlier, disemboweling the ape came naturally to me and I didn''t bat an eye at it, but when I think about it from the point of view of a high school girl from peaceful Japan, I have to shudder.


    Actually, that''s not the worst thing I''ve done since coming here. I''ve even eaten a human head, dammit! And there are still wolf beasts dissolving inside my body. But when I think about it, it''s all been for the sake of survival. Aside from the last one, which is an ongoing experiment to understand this body better, I''ve only killed in self-defense. Uhh, I''m feeling sick. What would happen if I threw up now? Of course, a sparkling, rainbow-colored fountain of half-digested animal parts would come flying out. I won''t waste food like this though.


    I stop and heave a sigh. I never knew being surrounded by nature could be so taxing on the nerves. I enjoyed running in the fields and on the forest paths when at my grandparents'' home near Aomori, but real nature is completely different. Here, I don''t have a way to retreat to humanity. Actually, I don''t have a place within humanity here either way; I''m a monster... I wanna go home...


    Now that I can pinch myself, I can wake up, right? Right?


    I do so and nothing happens. It didn''t really hurt though, rather, my skin just extended a little more than it usually does. Don''t tell me, this isn''t a dream? I really died and reincarnated as the daughter of the maou? I ate a human''s head and other body parts by inserting them into my chest? I absorbed half a ton of wolf carcasses? The heartbeat of the wolf beast I tried to keep alive inside me stops.


    Sparkling, rainbow-colored fountain of half-digested animal parts it is.

 Chapter 5 - Take Two

    Even if I don''t like to waste food, I won''t be eating that anymore. All around me are the bits and pieces my body didn''t digest yet, and its sight is enough to make me want to throw up again. The shock of learning that this is reality was just too big. I don''t want to believe it, but my instincts tell me that everything that happened so far has been real. I really ate a human and killed dozens of animals...


    I died somewhere between the bath and going to sleep. Don''t tell me it was actually in the bath? Did I fall asleep and drown? Or slipped and hit my head? Either death would be more than lame and not even be funny as a joke. So this means I can''t go back? I can''t meet my parents again? Unlike those protagonists who cross over to other worlds, who are all hikikomori or NEETs, seemingly without parents, I led a fairly normal life. Granted, I didn''t have a boyfriend and never even kissed... I died a virgin!


    It''s been less than half a day, and my adventure has turned into a nightmare. Only, it''s not a dream, it''s reality! At least I wasn''t dumb enough to just try out dying in this world, to see if it wakes me up. I don''t know if dying here will allow me to reincarnate somewhere else, or would just end my existence. Ahhh, this isn''t something a high school girl should be thinking about, dammit! Well, I guess I''m not one anymore, I''m something like a slime.


    I hold my head. This is all too much. What should I do now?


    My body''s shaking. Haha, of course... I did so many dangerous and horrible things, thinking it''s just a strange dream. Even if they were animals, I took their lives without batting an eye. But it was for survival, so I should be forgiven, right? Except for that lasts one... it''s still inside me, in a different part of my insides that I didn''t vomit out. It''s dead. I have a dead animal inside me...


    The noise of a nearby buzzsaw derails my train of thoughts. It''s one of those cyborg dinosaurs! It must have been attracted by the smell of raw, half-dissolved meat. Cutting a path through the forest with its massive jaw, it approaches my location. I have to run. I can''t fight that, and now I''m scared of dying. I don''t want to die here!


    The tree line breaks apart to reveal the beast, its massive head turning slightly sideways to see me with one of its eyes. I can see the life in them. This is a living, breathing animal. Now that I know this, I feel like I can''t just kill it...


    It''s coming right at me. I don''t know what to do. Before, I would have either tried to find a way to fight it or just run away, but now that I know I can die, my legs won''t move. I''m afraid of messing up and dying. What if I''m not strong enough to kill it? What if I get caught by surprise by some other monster while running away in this unfamiliar land?


    A rift in space slashes through the air and goes through the neck of the dinosaur. It walks a few more steps before the head comes off cleanly, then it falls and slides across the ground before coming to a stop right in front of me. The buzzsaws in its mouth slowly spin out and cease, too.


    "Ah, there you are, Chaos-chan!" A familiar voice remarks and I look to the side. There, the maou stands, accompanied by someone wrapped in heavy dark blue robes. She walks towards me, an apologetic look on her face. "I''m so sorry, Chaos-chan. Are you unhurt?"


    I look at her blankly. Why is she here? Did she come to get me? Is it meant to be a daily training thing rather than a journey? Or was this just a test? Regardless, maou-mama is like a bastion of hope. Ah, crap, I think I''m tearing up.


    "Mama!" I finally shout and jump into her arms. Surprised, she lets it happen, then embraces me softly. I''m seriously crying here.


    "It must have been scary, right? I''m sorry that I put you through this..." She actually sounds apologetic. Huh, this feels off.


    "Wasn''t this training?" I separate from her and look her up and down. She seems a little fidgety and her eyes are swimming around. What''s going on?


    "Well, it was meant to be training, but mama made a mistake, you see... I sent you to the wrong place, ehehe." She looks away with a sheepish smile.


    Look at me, oi. I''m not amused.


    "This is a place only the most elite warriors of our kingdom come to for training. While I do expect you to easily surpass them very soon, sending you here was not my intention. I am really sorry!" She clasps her hands together and finally looks at me. So this gesture has the same meaning in this world as the one where I''m from.


    "Oho, I see... a mistake, huh?" I''m actually pissed.


    "Tehe~" She sticks out her tongue and winks.


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    Snap-


    I''m back in the palace. I actually didn''t expect to see this place for a while, since I was meant to be on this long training journey. But since a certain demon lord made the dumb mistake to send a level 1 character to a level 80 area, I''m back here for now. By the way, the person in the dark blue robes was a magician who could open a transportation circle on the spot, and that''s how we returned. In other words, I would have had no means of returning on my own, unless I actually found clues about the location of the demon lord''s palace and walked there. Incidentally, I didn''t lose any body parts during the return trip. It felt much more stable when the magician activated it than when Maou-mama did it.


    "You did well in surviving in a forest on the Dark Continent for so long. Even well-trained soldiers sometimes overestimate themselves and get eaten by the Vularen or Harvesters." The Maou comments as we step out of the transportation circle. I suppose Vularen are the wolf beasts and Harvesters are the cyborg dinos. So, I killed a whole bunch of the wolves, but normally they would be considered pretty dangerous? Aren''t I amazing then? I''ll keep that to myself for now.


    "Now, Mithra will send you to the right place for your training." Already? I just came back! Let me at least take a bath or something.


    "Uhm, mama, I''d like to rest a bit."


    "Mama... aah, what a great child! All your siblings were so cold to me when they come back." Oh, I wonder why... "But this is training, after all. Normally, you would not return to the palace for about three years." Three years???


    "... three years?" I ask cautiously. I''m sure I misheard. I don''t want to go through three years of the same things as today. Well, I guess it''ll be some easier place this time, but still. Living out in the wilderness for three years...


    "Yes, you are meant to return to the palace within that time. Those who do not, have no right to the throne." I don''t care the least bit about the throne! I just want a warm bed and be able to take baths. But wait, how am I supposed to return if I get sent into the depths of the wilderness? Or was there a city nearby and I only needed to find it? "But the Dark Continent was a mistake. There is only one city and the rest is wilderness. And you happened to be sent right into its center. Coming back to civilization would not have been a matter of three years, but rather three decades." Wow, you goofed quite a bit there, Maou-mama. "Also, I forgot to give you the basic survival kit with a map. Oops."


    Oi.


    "Since you already have a little experience in surviving in the wild, I am sure you will make it back really quickly." Do I really have to go? I kinda just want to lie in bed and lament the fact that I died and reincarnated into some monster''s body. But I admit, this body is quite convenient, I can try out all kinds of hairstyles and clothes simply by imagining it. Still, I died!


    Maou-mama hands me a backpack with food and some tools, and a leather bag filled with water. Alright, I''m ready... not really, but I have to be. This time I''ll make sure not to lose parts of my body during transit, though.


    Either way, if I''m sent to an easier place and even have a map, I should be fine in getting back. I''ll just treat this as an adventure. I mean, I already died once, what could possibly happen that''s worse?


    "See you soon, Chaos-chan."


    "See you, mama..." I don''t know why; I just can''t help myself but keep calling her mama.


    And I''m sent through the transportation circle again. It''s done by the magician named Mithra, so it''s much calmer though, and it feels like I''m in the eye of a storm. No being thrown around, no being pulled apart. Mithra has much better control over the magic behind the transportation circles than my mother, it seems. In other words, the first time was entirely because Maou-mama failed. And you expect your children to be happy when they see you after you put them through such things? Then again, maybe what happened to me doesn''t happen to everyone.


    The lights disappear and I''m at the edge of a forest. Lush grassy plains extend into the distance before me, and a deep forest lies behind me. Under my feet is a magic circle, its light fading away and leaving behind only faint marks on the ground. Since I don''t know any magic, I can''t activate it, but this means one can travel between distant places really quickly from here. In either case, a choice right away? Forest or plains?


    I''ve been in a forest before, so no thank you. Even if this area is of a lower difficulty, I know my luck and will surely encounter a boss-type monster. I can easily overlook the plains and see if something dangerous approaches. Also, I will be able to spot settlements from afar.


    Ah, I forgot to ask Maou-mama about the giant cloud-mountain monster. It''s bugging me now... Well, if I have to live in this world for a long time, I''ll surely find out about it sooner or later. And I intend to live for a long time. The pattern should go that my species is incredibly long-lived or something since I''ve already been reincarnated as a monster. If that''s not the case, I want a refund.


    Now, let''s first check where we are. The map supposedly has the position I''m in magically marked, so I can just walk in the direction of my destination if I really just want to get back quickly. I look through my backpack. This really is just a basic survival kit; it comes with a lot of things you''d find in a disaster survival kit from Japan, aside from the pieces of technology they don''t have here. Actually, I don''t think I''ll need a knife or saw, I can recreate those with my body. These look like matchsticks, and there are some bandages. I haven''t been hurt yet, but I feel like my body can just fill out any wounds with matter from the inside. Ah, the obligatory rope, some sheets and a large piece of tanned leather, I guess to make a smalle tent or something.


    There''s no map.


    I go through everything again, then empty the bag on the ground, putting things back inside one by one.


    There''s still no map.


    Maou-mama?

 Chapter 6 - Legend of the Land Selkie

    No map means no understanding of where I am. I remember the sight from the castle window. The surrounding landscape outside the city was a barren wasteland as far as the eyes reached. Seeing all this greenery and even hearing birds sing in the trees gives me a strange feeling. I don''t think this is the Demon Continent...


    With all the things Maou-mama has failed me in, I''m kinda expecting that this is the human continent - if there''s something like that. That would put me smack in the middle of enemy territory. I still don''t have any clothes, only my body paint-like solution, but if it comes down to it, I can always wrap myself in the blankets from my survival kit. Appearance-wise, I should be able to pass as a normal human being, as long as I don''t absorb things through my skin for all to see. I mean, I can eat normally, but after learning of this convenient way, I don''t feel like chewing and swallowing anymore.


    While she didn''t specify where I''d end up in, I expected it to be somewhere on the Demon Continent. Still, if this isn''t it, that''d be pretty bad. Even after all that happened, I doubt she''s going to make a mistake like that though, right? No point in thinking about it by myself, time to find some clues.


    But really, starting in such an idyllic looking place is more like it for the beginning of an adventure. This properly looks like a level 1 area now. Then again, I think I''m strong enough to challenge harder content, although I''d rather not. Peaceful is best after all, especially now that I know this is reality.


    So, I guess this is a test for those children who want to sit on the demon king throne one day. They''re thrown into an unknown place and have to find their way back, overcoming hardships and traveling the world at the same time. Those who can''t make it back are not fit to be rulers. I can understand that; it''s done by people in the positions of power to strengthen their children''s characters. After all, power breeds complacency, especially over generations of abundance. A king who doesn''t know the hardships of life will drive his kingdom into ruin.


    But this doesn''t have anything to do with me. I don''t really want the throne, especially if there are competing siblings. Actually, I forgot to ask, but Maou-mama mentioned my brothers and sisters as if there were a whole bunch of them. Considering the fact that there''s no father... does a Crawling Chaos reproduce asexually or what? From her appearance, I would have guessed that she''s a succubus rather than the same thing as I am - if it hadn''t been for her showing me how to eat.


    I''m walking while thinking about all the things I''ve experienced so far. The sun is setting, and I''ll have to find a place to sleep. Now I realize my tactical blunder. These plains have no trees, and it''s quite windy. In other words, where do I pitch my tent and seek shelter from the elements? While it doesn''t look like it''ll rain, I''ll catch a cold if I sleep out in the open. Then again, does my constitution even allow me to get sick? In either case, I''ll have to find a solution to this problem.


    Ah, fur is the best. It''s warm and really cozy, and my tail is so fluffy. I''ve found a boulder behind which the wind is less severe, spread the tanned leather sheet under me and changed into a Vularen. I didn''t realize before, but these wolf beasts have pretty soft fur. Now, this is comfortable, and I should be able to get through the night without a problem. And if I''m to trust Maou-mama''s words, Vularen are quite dangerous beasts, so if this is an easy area, monsters will keep away from me.


    Time to sleep, then. Although I''m hungry, I''ll have to bear with it for now. I still have the undigested one inside me, so I''ll start dissolving it while I sleep to keep my nutrients going.


    I wake up to the sound of thunder. Wow, why am I not surprised? Of course, when I sleep out in the open, it''ll be a lightning storm. Ah, I just felt a drop. It''s started to rain. And now it''s pouring. Luckily, I stored the backpack inside my body. I thought about it and understood that if I consciously will a part inside me to not dissolve its contents, it can do just that. Doesn''t mean it will keep living things alive, though. I''m sorry, wolf beast whose form I''ve taken.


    So now it''s just me that''s getting wet. I''m feeling heavier and heavier by the second. My fur is soaking in the rain and dragging me down. Damn, this is inconvenient, it''s not the type that repels water.


    My eyes can see in the dark. I guess it''s my species that gives me night vision. I can see my surroundings quite clearly. So this is how cats see the world at night? There''s nothing I can use as shelter in sight. I''m thoroughly awake now, so I might as well just start moving again. I won''t go back to the forest entrance though, that''d be wasting all the progress I made during the remaining few hours of the day. Still, having no clock is quite inconvenient during night time. I can''t tell how long I slept or how long it''ll be until sunrise.


    Then again, I don''t really need to know, I guess. I have nothing planned for the next day, after all. No school, no club activities... damn, I''m starting to think about my previous life again. It''s still hard to accept that it''s all over, and so abruptly, too. I didn''t even have a chance to say goodbye to all the people I cared about.


    I walk through the rain, in human form and consciously naked. There''s no point in expending mind and energy in maintaining modesty by creating the outward appearance of wearing clothes. I''m wrapping myself with the tanned leather to block the rain, but it''s not big enough to cover all of me. It''s not like anyone''s going to see me here anyway. I thought about it before and made my hair into a single sheet, something I learned from certain body-manipulating parasites, covering my head and shoulders. At least I won''t have to deal with wet hair then.


    Oh, there''s a lone tree on a hill, and it''s huge. I''m sure I can find shelter from the rain underneath. I quicken my pace and run towards it, wrapping the leather around my body tightly. I guess it''s a lucky break.


    There''s already someone here. Not just someone, but a lot of living beings surround the trunk of the tree, huddled together against the winds. Leaning against the trunk is a person in a cloak, seemingly asleep. The other living beings are sheep of some sort. They look and sound the same as the ones I know from my world, except for a few small details. Their fur grows in various colors, including unnatural ones, such as pink and dark blue, and they have tails that stand up like those of happy dog''s.


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    When I approach, some of the sheep-like creatures bleat at me, and this, in turn, wakes up the person who is most likely the shepherd. It''s a boy wearing a straw hat, only in his early teenage years. He looks around cautiously, before spotting me in all of my barely covered and wet glory. I''m already getting used to being seen naked, and if I can get some shelter here, I don''t care anymore. The boy looks at me with round eyes, as if he saw a ghost. Never seen a naked girl before? I''m mostly in my appearance from before my death, be it nostalgia or a lingering regret, but my breasts still haven''t been restored to their full glory. So this isn''t even my final form.


    I walk towards him, and he presses his back against the tree, lacking a path to back away on. I won''t do anything; I''m just finding a dry spot to sleep in. Walking straight past him, I sit down on the other side of the trunk and prepare to change into a Vularen again, when I reconsider my position. I''m surrounded by sheep and their shepherd, so if I turn into something that very clearly looks like their predator, it will cause them to panic. Is there such a relation between wolves and sheep in this world? Guess I''ll have to wrap myself in the leather and spend the night like this. It''s not like I actually feel cold. I just hope the boy will leave me alone...


    "Are you... a fairy?" A voice asks me. Obviously, it belongs to that boy. What part of me looks like a fairy? I''m practically wearing only a piece of tanned leather, hugging my knees, wet from head to toe. My hair looks inhuman though, so maybe that''s what he''s referring to? Do fairies have head-wings here or what? "You must be cold. Here, take this." I look up to see that he''s holding out a coat made of sheep wool. Oh, what a nice kid. But I''m not cold; I just don''t like the sensation of being wet. Maybe I can use it to dry myself, but that would be a little disrespectful. Thus, I shake my head. "But you''re only wearing so little. You must be cold." Now he''s bothering me. I just want to sleep.


    I look into his eyes. He''s blond and has blue eyes. Everything about him looks human, so I can''t help but think Maou-mama really messed up and didn''t specify to Mithra where to send me. He seems entranced by my appearance, and I hear him swallow. Ah, if only you knew my real appearance. You''d run away screaming, kiddo.


    Putting my head on my knees, I ignore him. I''m too tired to start a conversation now. And I can feel that the Vularen inside me has been fully digested. Only need an opportune time to shed its bones. I won''t do it here, though; not in front of someone else. While I don''t claim to be an idol, and I don''t ever feel the need to pick flowers anyway, having someone watch is a no-no in any world.


    He seems to be standing in front of me, unsure of what to do, but soon I hear his footsteps as he rounds the tree and sits down on the other side again. Good, I''ll have my peace now.


    I wake up to the sound of birds. When I look up, the sheep are still around. In fact, the sun isn''t up yet. Well, I''m not sleepy anymore, so I get up and walk away, trying not to disturb the shepherd boy. He''s still sleeping on the other side of the tree with his hat pulled deeply into his face. I''ll leave no signs of my presence behind and make him think I was just a wet dream - literally. Over the ridge of a hill I change my shape into that of a Vularen, pull the leather sheet inside my body into the same space as where the backpack is, and walk towards the sunrise.


    I would only later learn that the shepherd boy must have been awake and seen my transformation, as a legend was formed around this encounter. A beautiful naked woman carrying an animal''s hide visiting a lonely shepherd and spending the night with him, then running away just before dawn and using the hide to change into a wolf in the sunlight.


    What do you mean, spend the night? As in, sexually? No such thing happened! But beautiful, huh? Not handsome? Beautiful... hah- I''m not happy to hear that at all! So praise me more... ehehehe.


    Incidentally, there''s also a continuation, which I must have missed, and only heard of much later. The shepherd followed my tracks and found a pile of bones clearly belonging to a canine animal near a river. Since it was so clean, but also fresh, he thought I must have shed them, too. Well, I did shed them, but they weren''t mine. The tracks disappeared in the river, so he assumed I had turned into yet another something and swam away. In reality, I was washed away a little downstream and thought I would drown... but that doesn''t make for a good legend.


    I''m walking in the direction where the sun came up from. I messed up! I should have asked the shepherd boy for directions to the next town or something. But I already walked pretty far, and I was even washed away by a river since I underestimated its depth and slipped. I don''t want to experience that again. Well, it''s only been a day, I still have a thousand more before the deadline to return home comes around.


    For now, I''ll just enjoy the lease on a new life, even if it''s in a world filled with dangers and unknown things. Being born the child of the demon lord should come with its own perks when I get back to her eventually. If we''re at war with the humans, I''ll just have to find a way to end the war. I mean, we''re all people, aren''t we?


    Oh, there''s a village. No walls, only one street, a collection of a few houses. I actually see some people working on the fields surrounding the houses. They look like normal humans, all with hair in shades of blond and light brown. Those look like pumpkins, and that''s... wheat? So they have things I recognize in this world, too. For now, let''s go and see if my appearance will cause suspicion.


    What am I thinking? Of course, I''ll cause suspicion, I''m naked, aside from the leather sheet. At least my hair can be turned back to normal, and just in case, I color it blond. I make my eyes blue, or at least I will them to be, but I''m not sure if it happened since I have no mirror. Now, I can only wrap myself into the linen sheets from my backpack. At least they look more normal than leather, I think. Actually, is this a sewing set? But I can''t sew at all, so there''s not really a point, I guess. I can only try.


    "Look at that girl, she''s in rags."


    "Did something happen to her? Her clothes look like she was attacked..."


    I can hear you... Your pitiful gazes and words of suspicion hurt my heart. I did my best, you know? I mean, ever since coming here, this is the first time I''m properly wearing something one could - with a lot of goodwill - identify as clothes. If I was in the wild, I''d walk around in my birthday suit. That''s how desensitized I''ve become, especially considering I''m actually a monster with a completely different appearance.


    "Hey, are you alright?" A good looking young man asks me. Before, I would have felt nervous, being talked to by a handsome boy. Maybe I''m being affected by what I''ve become? I''m indifferent to being approached by him with a concerned expression.


    "I''m fine." I say flatly. Wait, if I talk like this, I won''t be able to get any information. Playing on my vulnerability and female charm, I should be able to get men to do things for me. Ah, this thought wouldn''t even have crossed my mind before, but it just came to me naturally. How did this happen?


    "You don''t look fine. You''re in rags and don''t look like you have any belongings on you. Were you robbed by highwaymen?"


    Leave me alone about my clothes already! And my belongings are inside my body, but I can''t let anyone know. Actually, coming into a town without any belongings and then suddenly having some might cause misunderstandings, so I''ll have to keep them inside. Alright, I''ll play the damsel in distress and act as if I''ve been robbed blind.


    "Actually... yes, all my belongings have been stolen. I managed to escape in the night." I don''t think I''m a good actress, but saying it with an empty expression should be good enough? I sustained some trauma and lost my emotions. That''s the story I''ll go with.


    "I see. Poor girl... My name is Rolan. Come with me. I''ll give you a warm meal and a change of clothes at least."


    Score!

 Chapter 7 - Normies Should Just Explode

    They''re totally staring at me.


    So what if this is my seventh loaf of bread and tenth bowl of soup? My body needs nutrition; I''m a growing girl! Actually, I shouldn''t fill out my breasts yet, since a sudden size increase will cause suspicion. But I want to return to the way I looked before. Well, I do have blond hair and blue eyes now, and my hair is longer, so I can''t change that either, as long as I''m with these people.


    These people, incidentally, are a group of travelers around Rolan. He''s a self-taught swordsman and gathered a few people who share his sentiments of eliminating dangerous beasts that emerge from the wild across the country and attack human settlements. That''s totally an adventurer, and this is totally his party. If I had been reincarnated in the typical setting, I would have been in his position! Then again, I would have been a baby still, since this is only the second day since I came here. A Crawling Chaos grows up fast, huh?


    We''re in the only tavern in this tiny village, a farmer''s pastime when outside of sowing and harvesting seasons. I''m sure he''s also eyeing me with a blank look. I''m eating away a lot of his stored food.


    "You must have been really starving, little girl." The guy with the needlessly loud voice comments with a laugh. He''s one of Rolan''s companions, a giant man with an equally giant shield strapped on his back. His body is robust, and I wouldn''t be surprised if he could lift me with one hand. So this is the tank of the group, huh?


    "Leave her be, Gram. The lady just had a terrible experience." The guy with the needlessly flowery language stops the giant man from patting me on my back. I would have choked if he did that. Actually, what''s up with that name, Gram? You look like you weigh a ton! This other guy is carrying a lute. A bard in this day and age? Oh wait, this is a fantasy world, after all. I''m sure his existence has a justification here. "Hm, are you perchance falling for me, fair lady?" He might be good-looking, a little slimmer than Rolan, but this behavior is plain annoying. I turn my gaze to the fourth member of their party.


    "What, do I have something on my face?" Unfriendly. It''s a girl, quite pretty, with light blond hair and sapphire blue eyes. By the usual pattern, she''s in love with Rolan, who doesn''t know about her feelings. I glance at the man in question and then back at her. She looks at me in bewilderment. Oops, I think I just smirked a little. "If you have something to say, just out with it!" She clenches her staff nervously. So she''s a mage? That robe makes it quite obvious, I guess.


    We have the whole clich¨¦d adventurer party together. A swordsman, a tank, a mage, and a bard. Actually, I still don''t think the bard fits in too well and should be replaced with a healer or an archer, but I''m sure his existence has a justification here. Hm, I think I just repeated myself. That''s how little faith I have in this guy''s profession. "What a hot gaze, you must be interested in my humble self." I think I''m about to throw up. A pitiful, doubtful gaze is one filled with affection in your eyes, huh? This guy is the densest of them all.


    "Now that you had your fill, I''ll introduce everyone." Rolan seems quite forceful about this. I must be hurting his wallet with my seemingly endless hunger. What do you mean, had my fill? I could eat ten times this amount. At one point I ate literally a ton of Vularen in one sitting - or maybe even more? Admittedly, I had to rebuild half my body at the time... " The big guy is Gram Vestegard, he usually just drinks a lot, but can be quite reliable when the situation calls for it. The flirty guy is Sigurd Nurmi, don''t pay him too much attention, he does that with all girls."


    "Hey, that''s not true. I only flirt with the most beautiful ones."


    "... the one with the attitude is Runa Sigint, she''s the only one who knows magic in our group. And once again, I''m Rolan Helt. I''m the one holding this ragtag bunch of ne''er-do-wells together." He ignored the bard''s interjection. This tells me volumes about their group dynamics in regards to his behavior. Also, Luna? That''s such a common fantasy name! And a mage''s no less. Ah, she''s glaring at me. I''m sure I didn''t let my thoughts become visible on my face though... "So, what''s your name?"


    "Ku-..." I was about to say my real name out of habit. In this world, I''m Chaos. "Cha-" Wait, these are very clearly humans, and I feel like Chaos is a demon name. I mean, even I know what the English word chaos means. "Kuroe Makoto." No harm in giving my real Japanese name, then. I can''t come up with a random fantasy-sounding name on the spot, I''m sorry.


    "Chloe Marcott?" Ah, of course, they wouldn''t pronounce it right. I''m not going to correct them, though. "That''s a strange name. Maybe it''s from the Mineva Republic?"


    Leave my name alone, oi! You''re really rude right now, useless bard. Oh, he just mentioned a place called the Mineva Republic. Makes sense that humans have various countries with their distinct cultures, where people''s names are different. Many fantasy settings just have humans as a monolithic entity fighting against the evil demonkind.


    "Were you traveling alone?" Rolan asks me. I was, but I can''t really say that, or else they''ll think I''m either very strong or plain stupid.


    "I was with my parents, but they..." Are still alive and well in the world I came from, or so I hope, but to me here, they may as well be dead. Ugh, it''s depressing to think about it, but at least it''ll bring out the proper emotions in me. Oh wait, when I consciously think about it, it won''t...


    "I see... I''m sorry." The leader looks empathetic. "What were you doing in these parts? If you''re from the Mineva Republic, you''re quite far from home." I never said I was, but at least now I know that this Mineva place is far away. Actually, I''d like to see a map of the world, don''t you happen to have one? Hm, maybe I can act like an aristocrat''s sheltered daughter who doesn''t know the world. Ah, but for that, my eating behavior was not good enough. Don''t sweat the small stuff; the setting is that I almost starved to death and I can always play on being a more rebellious, tomboyish child. Well, I was really hungry though.


    "I was traveling with my parents. They were showing me the world for the first time, but then..." I leave the rest to their imagination once again. It''s more effective than saying it yourself. A construct of lies works best when a large part of it is provided by the person you want to lie to. I didn''t say that I was from the Mineva Republic, but I also didn''t deny it. They will now think I''m from there, but I can always change that part of my background story later. That''s depending on where the republic is in relation to the Demon Continent though.


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    "Poor girl..." Gram says with a grimace. He''s been the friendliest one among them without being overbearing. Actually, he''s a pretty nice guy, despite looking so fierce. Arms as thick as my waist, a magnificent mustache but a bald head. I would have avoided him if I saw him on the streets in my world, but here, he seems like someone you can depend on. "What shall we do with her? We can''t just leave her in this little village."


    He''s being nice by calling this collection of a few houses a village in the first place.


    "Why don''t we bring her along with us to the capital? The republic''s embassy will take care of her then." The bard''s making a good point. If I go to the capital, I can gather a lot of information. I won''t be going to the embassy though since I''m not a citizen of any human nation in the first place. They might even see through me that way.


    "I object." Of course, Luna disagrees. Now, let''s hear her reasoning. "She will only drag us down if a fight breaks out." Well, if I could show my full power, I wouldn''t. But I can''t very well do that when I''m acting like a weak aristocratic daughter. "And she doesn''t have any money on her. If she always eats like this, we will run out of all our funds pretty quickly."


    Alright, that''s a point I can''t deny. I really have nothing of any value on me, including inside my body, and I do eat a lot of food. And since I can''t show my powers, I can''t very well go out and hunt for myself.


    "Uhm, if you could point me in the direction of the capital, I can go there myself." Being surrounded by people I can''t show my true self to is too tiring. If they could just show me a damn map already, I could make my way there alone...


    "No, we can''t let a young lady fend for herself in the harsh wilderness. She was lucky to survive a bandit encounter, and you want to send her out there without protection?" My argument was ignored by the bard, who stood up against Luna in my stead. I''ll keep quiet and watch this unfold.


    "So are you telling us we should babysit her?" Why does she hate me so much? What did I ever do to her? I guess because I''m female and got a lot of attention from her beloved Rolan.


    "You''re being harsh, Runa." That Rolan finally speaks up, and it earns him a glare. Yep, he''s the dense type. "We found her, so we will have to see things through to the end."


    "You found her. I didn''t want anything to do with it. In the first place, you always..." I stop listening. This is a lover''s quarrel if I''ve ever seen one. Both Gram and the bard are staying out of it and look to me with apologetic expressions. I don''t really mind; I just would have liked not to be the spark that ignited this argument between the two. I''m sure it was a long time coming, too.


    "Just do as you like!" Luna stands up abruptly and slams her hands on the table. The tower of bowls I stacked up topples but Gram and I barely catch the ones that nearly drop to the floor. Storming off, the mage leaves Rolan speechless.


    "What''s with her?" He actually dares to ask that. Ugh, I can''t watch this.


    "Follow her! You don''t understand a woman''s heart at all!" I know I''m meddling, but I''m a girl, too. I can understand her frustration. Confused, the leader is taken aback by me raising my voice. He''s still not moving, though.


    "What-"


    "GO!" I shout, and he finally reacts. Jumping up, he runs after Luna. I sigh. One good deed a day, huh?


    "There they go again... let''s go drinking tonight." The bard suggests to Gram. It seems they know something I don''t. What?


    "Yeah, I don''t want to be anywhere near their room tonight." Gram responds with a knowing nod. What what?


    Don''t tell me these two are already a couple and I was really just pointlessly meddling? Even I''m not dense enough to not understand what these two mean. They''re going to have make-up sex tonight, and it''s going to be loud. Ugh, I didn''t want to know that. How much of this was an act on his part to make her jealous, how much was it an act on her part of being jealous for no good reason? Ahhh, normies should just explode...


    Ok, I''m not that socially inept and had my fair share of confessions (from girls though), so I shouldn''t be one to talk about normies. But those who get all lovey-dovey in a way that bothers people are so annoying. I would never make it a public thing. Well, I haven''t had a relationship yet, so I can''t make a definite statement about that. Now that I''ve become a monster, I don''t think my chances will improve in that regard.


    In either case, I will not be anywhere near them tonight, either. Maybe I should go drinking with these two. I never had alcohol before, since it''s for twenty and up in Japan, but this isn''t Japan anymore. Well, I''m also not a human anymore, so those rules don''t apply to me either way. I''ll drown my sorrows in drinks tonight.


    "Let me join you..." Huh, why do you look so surprised? Ah, the image of me being an aristocrat''s daughter is crumbling already, I guess? How do I save this? Nothing good comes to mind. Then, understanding creeps onto the bard''s face. What? What did you understand?


    "Alright. But before then, there is a task we have to complete." The bard stands up with a determined expression. What are you going to do?


    "Miss Marcott, please remain here until we return. You''ll be safe here." Gram is trying to reassure me, but I feel like I''ll be missing out on something if I don''t go along with them now.


    "Where are you going?"


    "We''re out to fulfill the request we came here to do. Recently a rogue Wulfar has been attacking livestock in this area, and the people fear that it''ll attract more of its kind that way." That name... sounds like a wolf? Maybe it''s similar to the Vularen. Well, if this is a starter area, it can''t be something at a similar degree of danger.


    "I want to come along." I know I''m being selfish, but I''m really curious. If it''s actually a Vularen, just called differently in another country, I want to assess the capabilities of this party of adventurers. From that, I may be able to gauge the strength of humans in this world. Especially Luna''s powers as a mage is a big mystery to me. I''ve only seen Maou-mama''s and Mithra''s magic so far, but they must be on an exceptionally high level.


    "Now look here... this is a dangerous beast that requires all four of us to fight. We won''t be able to protect you, Miss Marcott." Scratching his head, Gram seems to be at a loss. I don''t need protection!


    "I won''t get in your way, I promise!" I look at the bard with upturned eyes. I know he''s the type to fall for that. And surely enough, his expression changes as he turns to the big man.


    "It should be alright if she stays near me. Your protection is flawless either way, big man."


    Gotcha! I can see the large man''s resistance fading at the flattery. I see, weak to flattery. This should be useful in the future. Ah, damn, I''m doing it again. Why am I being so calculating? Is this body affecting my mental state? I''m not such a cold-hearted person normally... Well, I don''t think I even have a heart at all with this body.


    "Let''s go find the quarreling lovers..." Gram sighs. I don''t want to, but well, the whole party is needed after all.


    - Chaos has joined the party -

 Chapter 8 - After All, Its Only at That Level, huh?

    Since this is only a collection of a few houses, it''s quite easy to find someone. Especially someone who stands out as much as a couple that''s quarreling. Or so it should have been. Instead, we find them kissing behind a barn. Ugh, just explode already...


    When they notice us, they quickly separate and act as if nothing of the sort happened. Either they''re consciously putting up an act, or really think they''re getting away with keeping their relationship a secret. Whichever it is, both are equally annoying to me.


    "Wh-what is it?" Luna asks with a flushed face. She wipes her moist lips on a sleeve and tries to maintain her countenance. But we already saw it, dammit!


    "We wanted to get moving." Gram says while acting as if he didn''t see it.


    "Yes, we want to get back before nightfall." Rolan, more composed, quickly takes the opportunity to divert attention away from his girlfriend. I''m standing next to the bard, just behind Gram, to be out of sight. They will be the ones to tell their leader about me wanting to come along, so I better not initiate the issue with my noticeable presence.


    "Miss Marcott wishes to join us on this request. She is too scared to remain alone in the village. After all, she only knows us here." I didn''t expect the big man to be able to make such a nice argument. Usually you''d think the tanks are those with muscle for brains. But reality doesn''t have min-maxing stats, so it makes sense.


    "We should be fine. As dangerous as a Wulfar may be, if it is us four, it will not even have the freedom to consider attacking the lady." Flowery language as usual. But at least he''s contributing. Good job, playboy bard.


    Really though, you guys should be more concerned about protecting yourselves. If it comes down to it and I have to show my full power, you won''t be getting away. I don''t want any witnesses to my identity in the human territory. It''d only make it harder for me to get back home. Or rather, back to the place I woke up in after reincarnating, where I only stayed a couple of hours.


    So, we walk for a few hours and come upon a forest. While I did say these were rolling plains, there''s more forest than plains for the most part. It looks like Central Europe. Of course, I never went there, but I''ve seen photo books and paintings before. Actually, I always wanted to visit it, and maybe an opportunity would have arisen eventually if I hadn''t died. When I think about it, this is basically a second chance at seeing the world. A world filled with fantasy and no smartphones to take pictures with. But wait, isn''t this actually better? I can take pictures with my mind.


    "Gram, prepare the bait. We''ll be setting up camp here." Rolan sounds like a proper leader. Well, he is actually the leader, and I''m sure there''s a reason he could gather these people around him, other than with just his good looks. Well, aside from Luna, that is, I''m sure she''s mostly here because of his good looks. "Sigurd, try out your suggestion, we never know if it might work." Hm, he''s trusting the bard to do something. Let''s see how that pans out.


    Gram places his massive shield on the ground, then takes out something wrapped in leather. It''s the severed leg of a lamb. Classic bait material. I approach the shield and realize that it towers above me. This thing must be extremely heavy and will require two hands to carry. So the tank is really just a shield?


    "What is your weapon, Mister Gram?" I''m curious how he fights when carrying that shield, but somehow I should have expected the response.


    "My shield is my sword, Miss Marcott." He sounds proud. "It''s enchanted to repel magic and most elements, and it''s thick enough to block even ballista shots. I leave attacking to those I protect with it." So, just like a tank in MMORPGs, he''s just there to soak up the damage in the squishy damage dealers'' stead.


    "And just in case, he can bash someone over the head with it." Rolan adds while setting up the camp with Luna. That girl''s glaring at me for some reason. Ah, maybe you shouldn''t be too friendly with another woman in the presence of your sweetheart. At least I''m not wearing my makeshift clothes anymore, which would stir any man''s libido because it resembled a naked shirt look. The bard was kind enough to buy me a set of clothes from a farmer, and while the material is rough and somewhat itchy, I''m not naked anymore. Then again, I wouldn''t really mind; it''s society that minds.


    The howling of a wolf interrupts us. Already here? That was fast. But it''s really close. I look around and find that the sound came from the bard. He notices my gaze, smiles, and winks at me. Ugh, annoying. So he can imitate the call of a Wulfar. I hope that was actually its mating call and it''ll come running to mount him.


    If it was me alone, I''m sure it would have already found me and attacked me. Knowing my luck, it would have been in a pack, too. I already had such an experience before, so I know how to deal with it. Hedgehog Mode is waiting to be unleashed again someday! But for now, I''ll have to play the helpless girl who can only watch as the humans go about their business. Maybe I can use this time to try out controlling the inside of my body. If my outside is so malleable, my insides should be, too. Aside from designating one part for storage and others for varying degrees of dissolving speeds, I should be able to make certain motions, too. Such as taking out objects from inside the backpack while it''s still inside me.


    An hour passes while I seemingly sit still, and the adventurer group finishes its preparations around me. I''ve been successfully taking various objects out of the backpack and put them back in. But since I can only separate them by touch, I can''t be sure whether I guessed right or not without taking them out into the open. I''ll leave that to when I''m alone.


    Gram has set up the meat in something like a bear trap, while the bard has tried various interpretations of the howl. None got an answer yet, but maybe it''s approaching? I want to believe that he serves a purpose, else I''d have to question Rolan''s decision-making process in choosing his group. Unless it''s because they''re childhood friends or something. I seriously doubt that a predator is going to fall for a trap involving a piece of dead meat, and I''m fairly certain a wolf should be able to notice that the sounds are made by something that isn''t a wolf, so the party will have to begin actively searching for it.


    "How did you get to know these people?" I ask Rolan directly about his relationship with the other three. It should be interpreted as small talk, but I want to know why the bard is in this group. Yes, it''s bugging me, anything wrong with that?


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    "Well, Runa is from the same village as I. We were neighbors before we decided to venture out." So that''s how long they go back together. No wonder. It''s the childhood friend route. My childhood friend thought I was a boy until the end of middle school, then he moved away with his family, and we lost contact with each other. I think he said he wanted to come back for university, but now I''ll never know. "We met Gram and Sigurd during our travels. They accepted the same request from a village as we did, and it proved to be quite difficult for us individually, so we grouped up. We''ve been a team since then."


    "It''s been two years now. Time really flies..." Gram comments. He sounds like an old man. Well, he kind of looks like one, too.


    "We''re only getting started. We aim to take down the demon lord one day so that his corruption of this world stops and we''ll have peace from monsters." Rolan, you just dropped a bombshell there. Careful what you say, you have that demon lord''s daughter in your presence. So this guy wants to be the hero? Should I kill him and his party here right now?


    "I do not think we will get the chance. The Alliance army under King Uther and Elven Queen Lillian should have reached the demons'' capital a few days ago, and I am sure it has fallen by now." Makes sense that information doesn''t travel that fast here. The bard just named the two people who I know for a fact are dead already. After all, a ''human king'' was cooked and served to me, the ''elven queen'' to my mother. Of course, I don''t say that out loud. But how pitiful, these people believe that whatever army they sent would be able to do the job. From Maou-mama''s behavior, I could tell that she only saw it as a minor inconvenience.


    "Yeah, you''re right. Well, I can''t complain if that''s the case. Even if we''re out of a job then, it''s better than having to live with this constant danger." Rolan seems quite easygoing about giving up his adventurer lifestyle. Must be because he can always choose to settle down with Luna.


    From this conversation, I can gather that the humans and demons are irreconcilable in their existences. As long as demons exist, humans will face dangers in their lives. Not that that wouldn''t be the case without demons; then they would just start tearing each other apart. During my previous life, I would turn a blind eye to such news when they appeared on TV, but I knew that the world was far from peaceful, and people suffered in wars for resources, ideologies, and profits.


    "Shh, something is coming." The bard must have pretty good ears. I didn''t hear anything. The party is instantly in alarm mode. Wow, they''re quite disciplined in that regard. I act nervous since that''s all I''m good for right now. We''re behind a fake brush, created to camouflage the camp, and can overlook the clearing with the trap in the middle.


    And there it is. Not far from us, it''s approaching the trap. Hm, that''s a Vularen. Or so I''d like to say, but relative to the severed lamb leg, I''d say it''s smaller than the ones I know. Also, the color is different. While the Vularen I encountered were mostly dark brown with silver backs, this one has dark green fur. The forest on the Dark Continent consisted of taller and older trees than the ones here, and there was less undergrowth. I guess this one''s better adapted to live in these parts. Must be a subspecies then.


    In other words, humans are weak. If they consider one of them dangerous even when they''re a party of four, then they wouldn''t be able to fight a Vularen from the Dark Continent. Then again, Maou-mama also mentioned that they''re dangerous to even well-trained soldiers among the demons. Wait, does that mean I''m just strong?


    The Wulfar is almost in range to step into the trap but hesitates. Then it smells something in the air and turns its head towards our hiding spot. Ah, I''m sorry, it was me. It seems I have a very special smell about me. One that beasts hate. But actually, I''m not sorry for being born the way I am, so screw that.


    "We''ve been spotted. Change of plans." Rolan whispers. Gram and Luna spring to action. Now, let''s see their capabilities! Actually, what''s the bard doing? He''s not readying his lute or anything. Wait, is that a crossbow? Don''t tell me he''s an archer... I''m not sorry for doubting you since you acted like a bard all along! I won''t stop calling you a bard, either!


    Setting loose the bolt, the bard fires at the Wulfar. It hits the wolf square in the shoulder, causing it to yelp from the pain. That looks easier than I thought it would. How can this beast be considered dangerous even for a party of four? Well, compared to the wolves from my previous world, these would be regarded as huge. This one''s almost as big as a lion. In other words, the Vularen of the Dark Continent are as big as brown bears. And if they have acid saliva as well, getting bitten anywhere should be quite dangerous. I still wonder what''s up with a hunting predator having acidic saliva, but that''s a fantasy world for you!


    Gram jumps forward, shield at the ready, and Rolan follows behind him. Luna whispers words in a language I don''t understand. Oh, so magic requires an incantation in an arcane language or something? Hm, it''s taking a while for her to chant. The bard readies another bolt while the two melee guys engage in close combat.


    The Wulfar attacks, but Gram bashes it with his shield. Oh, that was a nice hit. But it doesn''t seem too affected, as it jumps back and circles around. Another crossbow bolt flies at it, but it dodges it. Using the distraction, Rolan jumps in for a two-handed slash with his sword, but the cut is shallow, as it''s able to move out of the way. It lunges at the swordsman, but Gram''s shield blocks its jump. Clearly, the tank is the MVP!


    And what''s up with you still chanting, Luna! A magician who takes a minute per spell is just useless in actual combat. Even the bard is more useful than you by at least providing a distraction with his crossbow. Actually, he doesn''t seem to be a great shot, so he isn''t really an archer after all?


    Oh, that cut was nice, Rolan. It''s bleeding profusely now. Ah, Luna seems to be finished with her preparations, as energy orbs swirl around her. One of them lights on fire, another creates sparks, one more turns into a sharp-looking icicle, and one more distorts the air around it. Four elements? Are you amazing, after all?


    "Elemental Overload!" She''s calling her attack! That''s so embarrassing. But the power is real. The four elements fly out in arcs, each with a different effect, and attack the Wulfar. The sparks hit first, electrocuting it and causing its muscles to contract, so it can''t dodge what follows. The fire sets its fur on fire, which is then fanned by the wind, causing its whole body to burst out into flames. As it draws back from the pain and stands on its hind legs, the icicle pierces its chest cleanly, ending its life almost instantly.


    This is bad. I''m sure if I get hit by it, I''d not fare better. Well, then again, I wouldn''t give her the time to chant in the first place. Still, they have pretty good teamwork. When she called out her spell, Rolan attacked it from the side to make it dodge towards Gram. Then the big man bashed its flank with his shield, causing it to try and fall back - stepping right into the path of the spell.


    But they wouldn''t stand a chance against me. I know that I don''t need to dodge crossbow bolts since I can just take them inside my body. Furthermore, I would eat up the sword along with the human wielding it, and then the shield-bearer as well. Lastly, I would dodge the spell if it''s even ready at that time.


    I''ll travel with them for a while. I think I can gauge their abilities compared to those of the average humans in this world this way. If I only use them as a reference and they''re only rookies, I''d be getting a wrong picture of the war potential of humans. On the other hand, if they are considered strong, then humanity would be nothing to fear. I mean, I surely can''t even be counted among the strongest of the demons, right? Maou-mama is obviously up there, but there should be others that are almost as strong as her. I mean, there''s always a Four Heavenly Kings or something.


    Hm, did I just call humans "their kind", as if I was apart from them? Is my mind slowly becoming more and more that of a monster? Well, I am a monster, so I am apart from them, but my mind should still be human...


    Oh, I just realized something. The bard was quite useless, after all.

 Chapter 9 - On the Road

    It''s about to get dark when we get back to the village. Gram is carrying the carcass of the Wulfar like it''s no big deal, even though it''s almost as big as him. And he still has that massive shield strapped to his back, too. Just how much strength does he have? Rolan and Luna disappear into their rooms upstairs of the tavern. They both gave the very obvious excuse that they were tired after the fight and wanted to hit the sack early. Oh, I''m sure they''ll be hitting the sack... repeatedly and loudly.


    Gram, the bard and I stay downstairs, celebrating with the villagers who heard of our exploits. That means, all thirty or so people living in the area. We''re loud enough to drown out whatever sounds may come from upstairs, I hope. Well, Gram''s booming laughter is making sure of that in one corner, while the bard''s singing - which is pretty good, I admit - can distract from the world in another.


    I''m in the middle, with a massive jug of beer in front of me. This will be my first time drinking alcohol. I''m underage and shouldn''t, but screw laws. Well, I guess there''s no such law in this world since I see a few youngsters in their mid-teens lifting jugs to the big man''s jokes. It''s alright for me to drink, right?


    I take up the jug with both hands - that''s how big it is - and begin to chug away. I need to drown my frustration at being sent to this world in alcohol. Hm, I might have gotten ahead of myself with this amount. If I were a human, my belly would have swollen up comically, but now, nothing is visible on the outside. I down the whole jug and suddenly a wave of cheers run through the tavern. What?


    "Wow, the lady is quite the drinker, isn''t she?"


    "That''s incredible, young lady!"


    Uh, everyone was watching me. How embarrassing.


    "You seem to be able to hold your liquor, Miss Marcott." Gram approaches me with a jug as big as mine. "What say you we have ourselves a little contest?"


    Hey, are you seriously inviting a girl one third your weight to a drinking contest? If I weren''t a Crawling Chaos, I''d explode after two of those. Those are buckets, not jugs! But you make them seem normal-sized...


    "Alright." I don''t know why I accepted, but I did, and it''s too late to back out now. Another jug is placed in front of us each, and we drink on three, downing it all before putting it down.


    "Whoo, that hits the spot." Are you a middle-aged single salaryman or what? "You''re not half bad, either. Starting to feel the effect already?"


    I''m actually not feeling anything from the alcohol and have to wonder what the alcohol content of this is. Or am I just secretly drinking the kiddy version? I look to the tavern keeper, but he''s filling our jugs from the same barrel.


    Four jugs later, accompanied by loud cheering, Gram retires. He''s holding his belly, and his face is flushed red from the alcohol. I still don''t feel anything though? Don''t tell me I can''t get drunk?


    "Where is she storing all that beer?"


    "This lady is a drinking goddess!"


    Thank you, thank you.


    "Miss Marcott, are you even human?" Gram asks, and I freeze up. He doesn''t know, does he? I mean, it does look quite suspicious how I just drank what may as well have been my body''s weight in liquids, and my stomach didn''t even grow. "That''s drinking you''d expect of an elf!"


    Saaafe... Well, I might be as beautiful as an elf, but my ears aren''t pointy. And an elf can defy the laws of physics by storing such a huge amount of alcohol in their bodies without it showing? That''s interesting to know.


    "You jest, Mister Gram. I''m just a normal human girl." Ah, that was such a bald-faced lie, I''m surprised at how I can keep a straight face. The villagers look at me unbelieving, but since there''s no other indicator to my inhumanness, nobody suspects anything. Note to self: Don''t do things humans can''t. But I won''t give up eating a lot. I''ll just take the beer for food tonight.


    The party slowly trickles out, and everyone has their fair share of alcohol. Over time, I actually started feeling its effects, but it took a considerable amount. The tavern keeper had to scratch his head when the barrel was emptied relatively quickly but opened another one with a shrug. Phew, I''m lucky everyone seems to be so accepting of my abnormal physiology.


    Gram is lying on a bench, the bard is playing some relaxing tunes, and everyone is either heading home or falling asleep on the spot. This feels like how a party in a fantasy world should be. I wouldn''t know about any in the real world; I was only seventeen when I came here.


    I regret my decision of accepting the drinking contest. My head hurts, and I feel like hurling. Why is it affecting me now? Ah, maybe because it dissolves slower inside my body than it does in a human''s? Where''s the detox spell when you need it? Ugh...


    Gram doesn''t look much better this morning. The bard didn''t drink much, so he''s as annoying as ever. Rolan seems tired, and Luna looks refreshed. What did those two do, I wonder... not. I don''t even want to know how long or how often they did it, I''m happy we didn''t have to hear anything downstairs. Ugh, I feel like throwing up even more now.


    "We''re departing in an hour. Get ready until then." Rolan announces to his party. So, what should I do?


    "Where are we going?" I just shamelessly included myself, but it was kind of already in the talks, about how they wanted to guide me to the capital. Taking me to somewhere less backwater would be a step in the right direction, and I might find my own way from there then.


    "We''re going back to Hovsgaerden to get our reward for this request." Rolan is the one to answer. That name sounds so fantasy!


    "Where is Hovsgaerden?" Maybe you could show it to me on a map, you know? Oh, he''s actually taking something out of his backpack. What''s this, a piece of leather? Don''t tell me you''re going to draw it for me...


    "Kortid!" He chants and lines appear on the leather. They form a map! Wait... don''t tell me...


    I want to repeatedly hit my mother over the head with a paper fan. She didn''t tell me this incantation for making the map appear on the large leather piece I have in the backpack.


    "This is where we are." He points at a small red spot. "And this is Hovsgaerden." He points at a black spot to the north-west, not too far from it. Ah, the upper corner of the map says "Kingdom of Lares". So that''s where I am. Doesn''t tell me anything in the way of geographical relation to the Demon Continent, though.


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    "How far is it?" I can get an idea about the distances with this.


    "About three days away." Gram joins in on our conversation. He has packed his belongings and is drinking a large jug of water. "If we had horses, it''d be a distance we could do in one day."


    "So we are going to walk?" I''m not too keen on walking long distances on my human feet since I know the luxury of running as a Vulfar, but I''ll need to travel with them if I want to get to the capital. At least until I learn to operate maps myself. I''ll have Rolan teach me along the way, and in the process give Luna more reason to be jealous. She''s just too fun to play with, and I can''t leave that alone.


    "Horses are very limited in these parts, so they''re really expensive." So you''re poor. Got it. "Even this request won''t get us enough money to buy a single horse." And the adventurer job doesn''t pay much. Got it. "We''re far from the Demon Continent, so the effect of corruption isn''t that strong. We don''t get that many incidents here." This place is far from the Demon Continent. I already suspected that. "In case Uther''s expedition doesn''t bear fruit - and we certainly don''t hope for that - we plan to move to the empire so that we can eventually join the cause against the demon lord." I see, I see. But before you can do that, I''ll kill you.


    "When do you plan to do that?" From their response, I can gauge the confidence they have in their abilities. If it''s really soon, it means they are strong. Well, they aren''t really, but it means they think they''re considered strong among their human peers.


    "Within the next two years. The journey alone will take a while, but it''s our funds that are important." I don''t know how far it is, but two years is a pretty long time in my books. I''d have been finished with high school and already entered university at that time. Well, I guess moving to a different country takes time. "Alright, let''s go. We''ll be camping out during our journey, so I hope you don''t mind, Miss Marcott."


    "You can call me Chloe, Rolan." I glance at Luna and see a murderous gaze. Hee hee, I''ll have so much fun along the way. If she attacks me, it''ll be legitimate self-defense, too, so that''d be a bonus.


    "A-ah, yeah. Miss Chloe." Oh, now she''s glaring at Rolan for actually accepting that proposal. Will they start arguing here again? This is going to be entertaining.


    An hour later, we set off. Rolan sets the pace, although he pays attention to whether I can keep up or not. This will be the longest distance I''ve ever walked in my life. Gram explained to me that it''s about one hundred kilometers. At least that''s my estimate, converted from the numbers he gave me. He had to explain the relation between a league and a pace, and I think I earned strange looks for not even knowing that but I played it off with being a sheltered noble daughter who was brought up to be married off one day, so there was no need for knowledge, only etiquette. Not that I have any of that, though.


    The bard already explained to me that it would be an uneventful journey since the roads are well maintained, and there are no monsters around for the most part. There aren''t even many bandits since the kingdom is quite peaceful. So, a dull, backwater country that''s far from strife and doesn''t know many hardships. Hm, my story about being attacked by bandits seems a little unbelievable when I hear that there have been very few incidents in recent years. For me to be attacked near that village seems quite strange. Luckily, nobody is thinking that... I hope.


    And thus, the first day passes without a hitch. Well, I indirectly teased Luna enough for her to become so angry that she stopped talking to Rolan. I wouldn''t have ever done something like that in my previous life, but for some reason, I''m really into it right now. That''s what you get for making me misunderstand your relationship in the first place! Serves you right!


    Uh, I''ve become such a bitch.


    The next day, the same continues. I learn more about the people I''m traveling with, as expected. Rolan wanted to be a baker before, but seeing the suffering brought about by the corruption of the demon lord, he decided to change his dreams. Gram grew up as the son of a lumberjack, so it explains his big body. He was meant to take over the family business, but when his father and his crew were killed by a wild beast affected by corruption, the business was practically destroyed. Therefore, he decided to become someone who could protect those dear to him. Luna... doesn''t talk to me. The bard... is a bard.


    I feel like it''s a waste of time to remember all their stories. When we part eventually, we''ll either never see each other again, or be enemies at the time. Rather than their dreams and aspirations, I''d like to know their weaknesses. But they are actually weak, so I don''t really need to learn them, either.


    The journey remains uneventful; we pass by or through a few small villages along the way, none larger than the one we stayed a night in, and buy supplies. I''m feeling really hungry, but I suppress the feeling. Last night, I couldn''t simply steal off to hunt something for myself since someone was on watch, and the meals I''m provided with may be enough for a human, but not for a growing Crawling Chaos. I still don''t know the right balance for my food... but I need something soon.


    Finally, on the second night, an opportunity provides itself. Gram has guard duty for the first shift, but I had some alcohol with him, and he fell asleep. I guess the area is safe enough for someone to let their guard down like this even when on night watch. We''re beside a pasture used by these multicolored sheep for grazing. I steal away from the camp and quickly transform into a Vularen once out of sight. Following the scent of the sheep, I find the farm they belong to and sneak into the barn. I''m greeted by nervous bleating. Ahhh, so many little sheep, ready for the slaughter.


    Itadakimasu!


    I''m back before Rolan takes over the second shift, a dozen sheep inside me, slowly dissolving and satisfying my craving for sustenance. Sorry, farmer, but I left you a few. I''m sure you won''t go out of business over this, right? Nothing connects to me and this group of adventurers since the farm was sufficiently far away. It took me quite a bit of time in the form of a Vularen, which runs as fast as a horse. And even if someone tracked the footprints, they could only be attributed to a giant Wulfar in these parts. Well, have fun chasing this ghostly wolf beast. You''ll never find it though.


    When we wake up in the morning and have breakfast, I may appear weirdly satisfied with only a single piece of bread and some dried ham. Rolan and Gram look at each other with questioning expressions. Hey, I''m not a glutton, alright? Stop judging me by your first impression of me. Well, they dismiss it with a shrug. It''s easier on their funds after all.


    The bard shows me our position on the map. We''re very close to our destination, and he says that we made significant progress, against all expectations. Basically, he means I could keep up well, while they had expected me to require breaks all the time. I may not look like it now, but I was in the track and field club. I can run an Olympic-distance marathon in a little under two and a half hours. That''s the best in Japan at my age.


    Thus, we reach Hovsgaerden in the early afternoon. It''s a small city with walls, although they don''t look very well maintained. I guess national peace and distance to international aggressors does that to a country. There''re gate guards, but they don''t seem to pay much attention to the people going in and out of the city. Gram greets them in a friendly manner, and they wave back. He seems to be famous as many street vendors greet him, and some even give him things for free.


    When I think about it, he''s the most interesting person in this whole group. Rolan seems just like the average Gary Stu protagonist of a fantasy story. Luna is the typical mage in love with the hero. The bard is a bard. Gram doesn''t look like the typical secondary character, has an outgoing personality that makes him endearing even to me - who has no reason to become friends with these people - and he has the mentality of a gentlemanly protector. The fact that he wields a shield and no weapon reinforces that image. Don''t tell me, that''s my type? That can''t be! But neither is Rolan... What about the bard, you ask? Hahahaha... no.


    "Alright, I''ll go to the Guild and get our reward. You guys go stock up on supplies. Then we meet in the Dancing Dragon to discuss our next move." Rolan has the head of the Wulfar wrapped up and strapped to his backpack. It serves as evidence for the kill. It''s obvious that Luna''s going to join him at the guild, even though it doesn''t require two people. So, who do I go with?


    Going with the couple might become interesting if I can mess around with Luna, but I''ve done a lot of that during our journey, and getting the same responses are becoming tiresome. I''ll need to break the habit with something more extreme soon. Being alone with the bard would be plain annoying, so that''s out, too.


    With the big and handsome mustached bald man, it is.

 Chapter 10 - Going for All Character Routes

    From Gram, I learn that the party is constantly staying at inns and taverns in this city, and they don''t have a permanent home anywhere anymore. They sold most of their possessions to begin the life of adventurers. I guess that comes with the occupation. No secure job means no stable income, so renting a place isn''t an option. Well, considering one can just camp anywhere, I don''t see a point in having a house. But I still want to get home to the demon castle. I actually don''t know why I do, but I think it has to do with a warm bed, servants, and free food.


    We walk around town and buy various items necessary for life on the road. Our conversation grows increasingly casual, although it''s usually just him talking, telling me about the kingdom''s history and other knowledge a traveler might enjoy. My setting is that I don''t know much about where I''m from since I''ve only seen it through my window. That''s so close to the truth, it hurts. I didn''t get to see anything about the country I''m from in this world.


    "This concludes our shopping trip. Is there anything you want, Miss Marcott?" Gram is so nice to me; I could fall for him. Actually, isn''t this like a date right now? I''m a high school girl, and I''m on a date with a middle-aged man. Enjo kousai? Nothing of that sort is happening or going to happen! Hm, this might be an opportunity to get a map.


    "I would like to taste the specialty of this town." Yep, my stomach is going to win over this. I have a map from my mother, so when I get the chance, I''ll try it out. I learned the incantation from Rolan on our way. When I''m ever alone, I can see if that one is sufficient. And this is a date. No wait, it''s not!


    "As you wish." He complies with an exaggerated bow, but I don''t mind at all. Ah, we could actually become friends...


    The specialty of Hovsgaerden is a puff pastry called Cajin. It''s filled with a red jam, but it doesn''t taste like anything I''ve ever eaten before. Ah, this is the first time I''m eating something sweet here. It''s pretty good, and I want more. But I can''t just play on his goodwill and make him buy me several more servings. If I ever make money, I''ll come and buy myself some. I should have gone with the bard; I wouldn''t have had any reservations to ask him to buy me a heap of them. And I can picture him complying, too.


    I slowly enjoy the Cajin while we make our way to the meeting point. Dancing Dragon, was it? This world has dragons, then. And that''s one fantasy-sounding name again. This world is slapping its fantasy-ness into my face on every corner; I''ll tire out if I comment on it each time. It''s a typical tavern, as you''d expect from a world that seems like medieval Europe. Everything is made of wood, and it''s quite dark despite it being the middle of the day. Don''t tell me this is a shady place?


    "Hey, there they are." It''s Rolan who notices us and waves us over. The bard is already there. There are plenty of seats, but I sit down right next to the leader, just to mess with Luna. Ah, she''s so cute when she looks frustrated.


    "So, I found a request to escort a merchant to the capital." That''s mighty convenient! Just where we wanted to go, and now there''s even a quest for it. Is this world a game after all? Am I following the questline ever since coming to the Kingdom of Lares and meeting this party? "It''s pretty good pay, but it seems the merchant has reason to believe that he''ll be attacked along the way. Apparently, he''s carrying some really important goods."


    "Do you know what kind of goods these are? I do not want to become involved in something outside of the law." The bard is the voice of reason. If this were a game, I''d be careful about this quest, too. It would hide an event that requires a higher level than written on the surface. But here, I''m not the one deciding it.


    "It''s not disclosed, but we still have time to think it over, departure time is the morning of the day after tomorrow. The merchant wants five groups to guard his caravan since it''ll be a total of ten carriages." Rolan grins. "But the bonus is that we''ll be getting horses to ride on during the journey, and large tents will be provided for camping." I don''t mind camping out in the open. "What do you think, big man?"


    "I think it''d be best to find out a little more first." Gram is going about it the right way.


    "Alright, then let''s scatter and gather information about this merchant. His name is Sveinn Itkonen, and he seems to be pretty well known as someone buying things in large quantities at reasonable prices. We''ll meet back here at nightfall." Rolan stands up and motions to leave, but then realizes something. "Oh, what do you want to do, Miss Chloe?" Ah, he actually called me that again in front of his sweetheart. Ohhh, she''s glaring at his back.


    "I think I''ll go with Miss Luna." Let''s have some girls talk. She''s looking at me like I''m an alien. Close your mouth; it''s unbecoming of a lady to make such an expression.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "You alright with it, Runa?" This guy has the gall to ask her that. Of course it''s not alright with her, but somehow she nods. Okay, I didn''t expect that. Must be because she''s still in shock and just answered without thinking. "Then let''s go."


    I depart with Luna, who has gathered her composure again and is stomping off quickly. She wants to lose me in this crowd, doesn''t she? But I''ve thought of something interesting: Transforming only a part of my body. The interior of my nose changes into a Vularen''s! It was pretty good that I was sent to the Dark Continent the first time. I gained a handy body template there. I can follow Luna''s smell - it''s quite sweet, and I could just eat her up - no, wait, there''s something wrong with that... Ah, I also smell Rolan on her. As expected.


    So, what are you going to do, now that you know you can''t lose me? She gave up and is walking normally again. Let''s see where you''re going to gather information. We walk silently, but she steals glances at me from time to time. Is there something on my face? Don''t tell me the Vularen nose is showing on the outside? That can''t be, I can''t be messing up something that important.


    "Uhm..." She initiates a conversation with me? That''s new. "Do you like Rolan?"


    Woah?! Where did that come from? I''ve only known them all for three days. Ah, must be my fake advances on him, just to see her freak out. So that''s the impression I gave her. Tell me you''re a done deal and any sensible person would back off. But I know you can''t just do that; you''re too shy. Let''s mess with her.


    "Yes." Ah, that''s a nice reaction. She''s staring at me with her mouth hanging open again. "He was the one to talk to me when I had lost everything in my life. He gave me a meal and a warm place to be while I was starving and alone. Could anyone not fall for a man like that?" I think I just outdid myself there. Oh, there seems to be understanding in her expression. Is that how you react to your rival in love? Not that I really love him or anything.


    "I... I see. But I won''t lose!" In what? She doesn''t explain further and continues walking. Ah, I wonder how old she is. She''s like a kouhai having a misunderstanding about my relationship with her beloved senpai, who happens to be in my class and seems friendly with me.


    "How old are you, Miss Luna?" I do want to know. From that I would be able to tell how old Rolan is.


    "I''ve seen fifteen summers." That''s young! She''s two years younger than I? But aside from how she acts around her sweetheart, she has her act together. Now I''m depressed. She''s much more mature than I am, even though I''m supposed to be the senpai. She also has experience in bed, while I haven''t even kissed yet! There''s something wrong with this world... it''s not me; the world is at fault! "And you, Miss Marcott?"


    Ahhh, don''t ask a lady her age!


    "We are the same age, then." Another bald-faced lie. Not like there''s any way to check.


    Hm, wait, while we were talking, we somehow walked into a shady area. It''s the alleyways, and it''s dark and dirty here... why did you bring me here, Luna? Do you want to get rid of me here?


    "There it is." She points at an inconspicuous door. There''s a wooden board with faded letters above it. That''s a store, huh? So she didn''t try to do something she would come to regret. Luna pushes open the door, and the smell of mold and decay waft into my face.


    - Emergency shutdown of Vularen olfactory systems -


    I thought I''d die! I still had the Vularen nose, with its enhanced smelling capabilities. Even for a human nose, this is unbearable. Where did you bring me? Is this the back of an abandoned slaughterhouse?


    "Lady Nightwane, it''s Runa." She announces herself. My night vision allows me to see in the dark and I notice that it''s a place full of strange items, such as small wooden statuettes, dried pieces of roots and other unidentifiable things, and jars filled with liquids in various shades. Ah, there''s one filled with eyeballs. There''s one with a wrinkly hand. That''s one with a fetus. What''s this one? Looks like huge worms. Why am I reminded of that one time I transformed into the human king? Let''s not think about it...


    This is that, right? An occult store. Well, I guess in this world, it''d just be considered a store. Considering I have a mage standing right next to me who''s able to conjure elemental attacks out of thin air, magic is very real. So using strange things as catalysts would not be that strange.


    "It''s as creepy as ever in here." Oi, don''t deny my acceptance of these things so easily! "Why do dark elves like such things...? Lady Nightwane, where are you?"


    Dark elf? So these exist in this world, too. It would explain why this place is so dark, I guess? But I can spot some hanging oil lamps, although they''re out.


    Alright, I just found the creepiest item in this place. There''s a life-sized doll of a young girl sitting on a chair, and its pale skin is stitched up all over. But it''s wearing a proper frilly dress, which makes it even creepier. Its eyes stare into space, but it''s like I can feel life in them. Hah, the pattern would be that this doll is Lady Nightwane transformed, and she''s preparing to scare the hell out of us.


    "Hm, customers?" A male voice from the back of the store asks. That''s certainly not Lady Nightwane. "What''s our watchman doing?" And this sounds like trouble.


    "Who is there?" Luna asks, her tone trembling a little. In response, two men come through the door that most likely leads into the storage room. They look like thugs. No, really, those are textbook thugs: Bandanna, a scar on the face, evil eyes, vests that were made by ripping off the sleeves to show off their tattooed arms. One of them even wields a wooden club. Yay, we stumbled upon an event!

 Chapter 11 - Breaking Minds and Fourth Walls

    "Who are you? Where is Lady Nightwane?" Luna sounds quite scared.


    From the back of the store, one more man comes out, much smaller and thinner than the first two thugs. This one looks like he took all the brain matter reserved for the other two during their creation, but traded in his muscles as compensation. His eyes are those of a dead fish, as he stares at Luna with a grin. If that''s not a rape-face, I don''t know what is.


    "Ohhh, that one''s a half-elf!" His voice is quite high-pitched, fitting for such a textbook ringleader. Wait, half-elf? Luna, you''re half elf? Now that I think about it, I never saw her ears under her hair. How can this guy tell, though? "Grab her, too."


    You just gave away some valuable information about yourself there, brainiac. They''re here for this Lady Nightwane, who''s a dark elf. By wanting to take Luna, who''s a half-elf, he basically announced that they''re after elves.


    "Stay behind me, Miss Marcott, it''s dangerous." Oh, how dependable. But if your spells take minutes to chant, how do you want to protect me? Ah, she''s holding her staff like she wants to fight with it. Stop it, girl, we''re in a cramped space, and you''ll just hit a pillar or a wall.


    A thug rushes forward; it''s the one with the club. That weapon is much more fitting in such a space. Luna swings and obviously, her staff gets stuck on a crossbeam. Then the thug is already right in front of her and swings down his club.


    "Not her face you idiot!" The brainiac yells frantically.


    Yeah, he really is an idiot for aiming at a cute girl''s face with a heavy wooden club. If that wouldn''t knock out a few teeth at least, I''d doubt its apparent material. But his reflexes are good enough as he stops himself just in time and instead punches Luna in the gut. She folds over, falls to the ground and is out cold. Wow, so weak.


    "And what do we have here? You have such white skin; you must be a noble." I do? Well, I guess I did brighten up my skin tone a bit since my actual body would be quite tanned from running around outdoors all the time. "Even though you don''t dress like one... a disguise?"


    Oi, leave my clothes alone! At least I''m wearing some.


    "Take her as well. She doesn''t look like she wants to fight, so you don''t have to knock her out. Just tie her hands and feet. And gag her." Hm, do I want to fight here or let them bring me along so I can see what kind of thing they''re running here? Maybe it''ll be more efficient if I ask them directly.


    "W-where do you want to bring us?" My voice came out just right. Innocent, slightly shaking. I''m getting better at this. "My mother is a very powerful woman; you won''t get away with this!"


    "We just got a request for kidnapping elves, but taking you is a little bonus for ourselves. But say, who is your mother?" Thank you for telling me that. Hm, I actually don''t even know her name, only her title. Well, I call her mama anyway.


    "She is the reigning demon lord." I say with confidence. For a moment, the three thugs are stunned. Oh, I know what''s coming next. They start to laugh their asses off.


    "The lady says she''s the daughter of the demon lord! She must have gone crazy from fear!" The high-pitched voice is quite annoying. But I start laughing as well. This goes on for a bit until they finally realize that I''ve joined them. "W-why are you laughing? What''s so funny?"


    Ah, he''s suddenly nervous.


    "Crazy from fear... you gave me a great idea." I think my mouth just split into a grin wider than possible with this human anatomy. Then I cancel my transformation.


    For a moment, the three look at me with big eyes and jaws ajar. Then the first starts to scream. It''s the thug that didn''t move so far. Oh, he wet himself. I''m not going to eat you anymore... The other two join in on the screaming. This is like music to my ears. Why am I reveling in their fear so much? Ahhh, I can see madness growing in their eyes.


    "Hahahahahaha!" I practically rip open my face with that laugh since I don''t even have a mouth in this form. This sound is not something human, and if I didn''t know what I am, it would have grated on my spine. But knowing that, I''m sure these three are feeling its full effect. Maou-mama did say that this appearance drains the sanity of those who see it. I think I can see that happening right before me. Let''s see what their individual madness looks like.


    The thug with the club thinks he can do something because he has a weapon. He rushes at me and tries to bash me over the head with it. It connects, but I let it slide into me. Without resistance, he stumbles and falls forward. Haha, come into my embrace! I split apart my arms into their individual tentacles and grab him. He screams like a gutted pig as half of his body begins to disappear into my own.


    "Hahaha, that can''t be... it''s a nightmare. Yes, I''m dreaming..." The brainiac claws at his own face and laughs madly, trying to explain this away with rationale. I guess you humans don''t know about us Crawling Chaos.


    "Yes, this is a nightmare you will never wake up from. This is your reality now." I say in a gleeful tone, and he screams. Ahhh, this feels great. The thug with the club is completely inside me now; there isn''t a single part of him poking out. The other one who pissed himself has fainted, his eyes rolled back in their sockets. Wait, it doesn''t look like he''s breathing. Wow, that effective? His mind shut his body down to preserve itself. "Now, tell me who hired you, and I will ease your suffering."


    "He-is-a-merchant-called-Sveinn-Itkonen-he-is-a-black-market-slaver-who-smuggles-elves-and-other-rare-species-into-the-capital-for-nobles-to-buy." He rattles it down without taking a breath. Sveinn Itkonen, huh? Jackpot. This was quite convenient.


    "Thank you very much. You can rest now." I grab him and stuff him inside me. He doesn''t even try to fight back and closes his eyes as if welcoming my embrace. Madness does that to you, huh?


    This dead one... honestly, I don''t want to eat him, but I also don''t want to leave behind any evidence. I''ll have to take him in, too, but I''ll put him in an isolated section. It''s not like it makes a difference whether his filth is outside or inside his body, though. It all dissolves inside me anyway.


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    "Hey."


    AHHHHH! Whose voice was that!? I nearly breathed out my soul! I turn around but don''t see anyone. Wait, don''t tell me...


    "Yes, it''s me, the creepy doll."


    Oh, so you have self-awareness of the fact that you''re a creepy doll. That doesn''t help me at all! Why can you talk? Are you actually a human who looks like a doll?


    "Can you give me some blood?" Nopenopenopenopenope! That''s the prelude to a curse! "But preferably not yours, I don''t think I''d like what will happen to me if I ingested your blood..."


    "Hey, that''s rude." But I can understand where she''s coming from. Wait, if you''re a human, why aren''t you going mad at seeing me? Don''t tell me you really are a ghost possessing this body? "What are you?"


    "That''s rude, too. I''m a proper human, you know? Well, maybe not anymore, but I used to be." The doll responds without moving. Is that voice really coming from her? And didn''t she basically just admit that she''s a ghost? "I''m just... out of juice. Give me the guy with the club''s blood. I need someone who''s still alive."


    "How do you know he''s still alive? I ate him, you know?" He is alive, though. I want to try the experiment about keeping something alive inside me again - this time with two separate test subjects.


    "Because you''re a Crawling Chaos, and your kind prefers to make them suffer as long as possible." She states in a matter of fact tone. Is that how it is? I didn''t know. I''m kind of a newborn, you know? But she knows what I am and she''s not afraid. "So, give me some of his blood, and I''ll be able to move again."


    "And what makes you think I want you to be able to move?"


    "Because I can give you a lot of information you might want to know. You''re not the first of your kind I''m meeting in this world." In this world? Don''t tell me you''re also from my world? "Ah, this is so difficult... it was much easier when it was a third-person omniscient narrator..."


    You what?


    "Anyways, give me some blood, and I''ll tell you something good." Consider me interested. She just used a term I''m sure nobody in this world should know about. Furthermore, wasn''t that fourth wall breaking? I look around, but I don''t see anything like text bubbles. I''m not in a comic, am I? In either case, I make the hand of the thug peek out from my stomach, turn one of my tentacles into a blade and make a cut. I let the blood flow into the cleanest container I can find and put it to the doll''s mouth. For a moment, I don''t feel any response.


    Then the thug inside me dies.


    "Hey, what did you do?" I''m not really angry, just surprised. She must have done something, because the brainiac is still alive, and they should have the same conditions within my body.


    "I just took his life force." She slides from the chair and stretches. I hear creaking in her joints. She''s properly using her lips to speak now. That''s much better than her unmoving self from before.


    "Oh, is it like a voodoo curse?"


    "I wish... I''m sure you will understand if I tell you it''s a certain Ninja technique that shares your wounds with someone you are connected to through the ingested blood. And yes, that''s how lame my setting is." She rolls her eyes while explaining. I understand, but I also don''t really. "But in this world, it changed a little to be more convenient for the plot."


    Please don''t break my fourth wall any more than that...


    "My name is Ootsuki Senka. I''m the cheap knockoff of a Kuchisake-onna."


    That''s a Japanese name! And the Kuchisake-onna is a Japanese urban legend about a vengeful ghost-


    "Ahhhh, you''re a ghost after all!?"


    "That''s what you have a problem with? And you''re a Cosmic Horror. How can you be afraid of ghosts?"


    "I''m bad with horror stuff..."


    "So, what''s your name?" She dismisses my worries and continues the conversation.


    "I''m Kuroe Makoto. My name is Chaos here."


    "Chaos... how original." She looks away from me and seems to speak to somebody invisible. "What if I told her that her name isn''t based on the concept but on the amoeba of the same name?"


    Wait, my name comes from an amoeba?


    "Uhm, who''re you talking to?"


    "Not important. What will you do about this situation? I''m sure you don''t want that girl to know about your identity. I mean, this is a human nation after all."


    "If I make her disappear, it''s going to cause a commotion... any idea?" Somehow I can talk to this doll-like girl so openly. She''s not afraid of my appearance and doesn''t care about me practically just killing three people. Well, two. She killed one of them. Oh, we''re partners in crime, then.


    "How about this..."


    Luna wakes up moments later, and I''m back in my human appearance. I hope I''m making a slightly concerned face; I can''t tell. She looks up at me, then realizes the situation and sits up abruptly. Luckily I wasn''t leaning over her since that would have been a head butt.


    "Where are the three men?" She''s panicked, but when she doesn''t see them in the store, a questioning look appears on her face. "Huh?"


    "I do not understand either, but that doll over there went off and scared them away. They ran out of the store." When I think about it, this excuse is so lame... I glance at the doll in question.


    "The doll?" Luna stands up and walks towards it. "What do you mean, went off?"


    Ah, at least this part is going to be fun.


    Senka snaps her head towards the mage, eyes wide open and staring just past her, a creaking sound emerging from her neck in the process. Then she starts to laugh mechanically.


    "Kyaaaaah!!!"


    Bonk!


    Luna just hit Senka over the head with her staff, causing her to fall from the chair. Wow, you''re even worse with horror than I am. And now, as agreed...


    "I want to keep her." I''ll bring her along, as requested. She''ll keep acting like an automaton for the time being, until we''re in a place where her appearance, coupled with her talking and moving about naturally, will no longer be considered the work of demons. She did say her body requires a lot of energy to stay active, so she prefers to remain unmoving unless absolutely necessary. There are also supposedly no detectable bodily functions in her. Her breathing and her heart are completely stopped. I wonder how she''s alive, but I guess that''s more like a zombie. Oh, and she did say she was immortal.


    "Why do you want to keep this creepy thing?" Luna moves to step on Senka''s face. Uh-oh. I quickly pull her away and into my embrace. Ah, she''s so light and soft, and kind of smells sweet, too. In this room of mold and decay, she''s the only good-smelling thing. I hug her closely.


    "I like this design." I do, indeed. Call me crazy.


    "You must be crazy!"


    Ouch.


    - Cursed Creepy Doll has joined the party -

 Chapter 12 - Girls are Discussing

    I think Luna hates me even more now. And she thinks I''m crazy. This afternoon was quite fruitful. Aside from a companion I inexplicably feel I can trust, I gained some insights into the human world, though mostly about its shady side. Now, how do I explain the situation to the party without appearing suspicious for knowing too much?


    "I think these thugs wanted to kidnap me for what I am." Nice deduction, Luna. "So as a dark elf, Lady Nightwane was already their target." And the next step is? "She must be still here since they had not left yet when we came." Pin pon! You''re (most likely) correct.


    "Maybe she is in the storage room?" I motion to go and take a peek, but Luna stops me for some reason.


    "Let me go first. There might still be someone else in there." Yeah, since it worked so well last time. If what I did didn''t make whoever may have been hiding in the back come out, it means there isn''t anyone there.


    "I don''t want to meet the lady..." Senka whispers to me. Someone who isn''t afraid of my true appearance doesn''t want to meet a person. I have to wonder just how bad she must be. "She... is a lonely woman... and there aren''t many life-sized dolls available in this world, even if it''s one as small as me."


    Speak no further, I can somehow picture what you mean, even though I don''t want to.


    "Ah, Lady Nightwane!" Luna seems to have found her. Senka makes an expression of annoyance mixed with disgust. Hey, that looks familiar. Something involving a certain holy sword on a journey to California. "I found her!"


    Senka''s expression returns to a blank one when Luna turns around to announce it to me.


    The lady in question is lying on the ground, tied up, gagged and out cold. So, that''s a dark elf. She has long pointy ears, just like the elf queen''s head Maou-mama ate. But her skin is a mauve purple, and her hair is dark blue. Camouflage for the night? She kind of looks like a sullen mature woman, with the hair falling over her eyes.


    Luckily, she''s unconscious, so she most likely didn''t hear any of what happened earlier. I did something risky there by exposing myself. But then again, it''s only those inside the store, and I could have erased them from existence if needed be. Furthermore, nobody would believe that cute ol'' me could be a monster. Cosmic Horror, was it? I''m reminded of a certain silver-haired girl with an incredibly long ahoge, wielding a crowbar against aliens.


    "Are you alright?" Luna shakes the woman. If she had an injury to the spine, you would most likely have paralyzed her with that. What''s with people shaking the unconscious without bothering to look for external injuries first? Then again, I doubt there''s first aid in this world. "Ah, she''s breathing."


    What part of kidnapping involves dead bodies, Luna-chan?


    "Uh... Hmmph?" She wakes up, notices the gag, and begins to struggle. Then she spots us, and her eyes fill with hope. Luna takes off her gag and begins to untie her. "Ah, thank you so much, Runa!"


    Her voice is somewhat alluring, and her tone is soft. But knowing what she does with Senka, I can only see her as a mature looking woman who actually doesn''t have any real experience. How pitiful. Also, this is very obviously an M.


    "Are you hurt?" Too late to ask that, you already shook her and all. "Did they do something to you?" Somehow I see disappointment flash over her face before she responds by shaking her head. Seriously? I look at Senka, but she doesn''t move.


    "Ah, who are you? And what are you doing with my... with the cursed doll?" Were you about to slip up and say sex toy?


    "She saved our lives. I want to buy her." I see a questioning look on Lady Nightwane''s face. Luna looks at me, unbelieving.


    "You really want that creepy thing? And it''s even cursed!" Have you seen my actual face? That''s beyond creepy; one can practically see the curses in it.


    Ahhh, why do I do these things to myself?


    "How much do you want for it?" Clearing my mind of negative thoughts, I return to the topic at hand.


    "You have money?" Bursting out with this question, she undermines my attempt to appear like a strong buyer.


    Luna-chan, would I be asking about the price, if I didn''t have anything on me? Well, her doubt is understandable, since I didn''t earn any money ever since I met her, and I was penniless from the start. But it must be my lucky day because I found a pretty fat purse in the brainiac''s belongings inside my body. I can say he dropped it when he ran away, just like in an RPG.


    "Is this much enough?" I pull out the bag of money. I don''t know how much is in it, but I''ll just let the sound of coins talk. Hey, your eyes are sparkling, Lady Nightwane? She jumps up and snatches the bag away, going through its contents with an increasingly excited expression. No poker face at all, huh? Also, it''s evidence her business is going badly. Well, considering the smell in this place...


    "I can refurbish my store with this much..." Well, I think this isn''t just line, hook and sinker anymore. The whole fishing rod went with it on this one. Now, let me hear your obvious answer. "But... it''s a cursed doll. I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to you. Great misfortune will befall you if you keep it close to you."


    "She means to say she modified a part of my body and great misfortune will befall her if you find out." Senka whispers, only audible to me. I don''t want to know which part... don''t tell me, please.


    "I''ll add this." Luckily, the thug with the club also had a purse, albeit much lighter than the brainiac''s. It should still add a great weight to the scales inside her mind. Luna has been looking at me dubiously, but now she''s giving me a gaze filled with bewilderment. You think I''m crazy for wanting to buy this doll already; now your opinion is being reinforced by how much money I''m willing to spend on it, right?


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Where did you get all this money from?" I was waiting for this, but...


    "I''ll tell you later." I don''t need to tell the dark elf that her assailants left some money in her shop because of her sex doll. Else she''ll claim ownership over it since we technically didn''t contribute. It was all me, but I can''t tell them that.


    "I..." She''s seriously considering it. Now, for the finisher.


    "Then I shall add a little more, but that is my final offer." I take out one more bag of money. It''s the purse of the guy who died upon seeing my real appearance. The amount is about the same as the one with the club''s, but at this point, it should make the scale for selling Senka hit the floor.


    Lady Nightwane makes big round eyes at the sight of three bags of money. Going through the contents of the last one, something inside her mind clicks. Her demeanor changes a little, and she''s no longer hesitant. "I accept the offer. It would be rude not to if the customer is so adamant about it. But I must warn you. It is a cursed doll, after all. It has caused the deaths of countless previous owners who... changed its dress and attempted to modify its appearance."


    Ah, good one. You can''t say no to the money, but you still don''t want me to find out about the modifications you did to her body. Now I''m actually curious to see, even though I can picture it.


    The jar of "worms" comes to mind. I shake my head to get rid of the image and suppress a shudder.


    - You have obtained Creepy Loli Doll -


    "I cannot believe it... Miss Marcott, you have terrible taste." Hey, that''s rude, Luna. I''m not saying anything about your robe, either. About how it makes you look slightly fat, and that''s a taboo even for a girl. "Lady Nightwane, do you know anything about these kidnappers?" She''s reverting to her adventurer self.


    "They didn''t say much when they attacked. The small and skinny one said not to hurt my face..." That idiot with the club wanted to hit this dark elf''s face, too? For trying to ruin a girl''s beauty twice, he should have died a more horrible death.


    What do you mean, there couldn''t be anything more horrible than getting absorbed by me? Senka was the one who killed him instantly.


    Well, he is slowly dissolving inside me now, so at least he gets desecrated after his death.


    "But I have heard rumors about slavers targeting our kind in these parts of the kingdom lately. After the ban on slavery last winter, it has become increasingly difficult, but there are some underground groups prospering in this business." Lady Nightwane continues.


    "When you were knocked out, the skinny one with the big head did say something about how their client would not buy damaged goods." I''ll have to make this up as I go. "I asked him who his client was, and he actually told me. I think because he thought I would not be able to tell anyone after they kidnap me as well." I look at Luna, and she seems to buy it. "Their client is none other than the merchant Rolan is considering to offer his services to, Sveinn Itkonen."


    "What?" Luna, too loud. "He said that?" Well, the circumstances were different, and he was under duress, but... yes. "We have to let Rolan know."


    Um, hello? What about telling the authorities?


    "Should we not tell the guards first?" I don''t know whether the concept of police exists in this world, but I saw gate guards, so I assume there is something like an organized crime-fighting institution here.


    "You are right..." Why do you look like you didn''t want to admit that? If you didn''t, just come up with an argument against it. "But we have to let the others know before they run into trouble."


    Spoke too soon. That''s a pretty good argument.


    "We will be meeting at nightfall, and we do not know where they are right now."


    "The town is small, and I can imagine where they are." That doesn''t make sense. We''re only two people, and if you consider Luna''s strangely protective personality, she won''t leave my side even if she dislikes me. We can only search one place at a time. It''s very likely that we pass Rolan and the others on parallel streets - for enhanced irony.


    "What if they are not there anymore?" Let''s see you find an excuse for that.


    "Then we will continue searching." Not even trying anymore, huh? Ok, this isn''t going anywhere.


    "How about we split up? I return to the Dancing Dragon and wait for them there. Maybe someone will return earlier, and I can tell them what we found out here." That seems like a sensible proposal.


    "No, I cannot leave you alone." Why? "I''ll come with you. We check back at the Dancing Dragon, and if nobody is there yet, I will leave a message with the tavern keeper, and we head out to search." Alright, that is a pretty good idea. And I kind of don''t want to leave her alone, either. I''ve taken it this far to protect her, so I''ll see it through until the end. Unless, of course, there''s reason for me not to anymore. "Leave that doll behind; we need to hurry."


    "What? No, I want to take her with me. She''s really light." So light, I have to wonder whether she''s stuffed or just hollow.


    "Ugh... fine." Aha, you wanted to make me leave the doll behind and then hope that I forget about it. I hug Senka firmly.


    "Please don''t be a raging lesbian..." I hear her whisper. Tough luck, little one.


    "Let us go." Luna prepares to leave but then turns to Lady Nightwane. "Please be careful and close the shop for the time being. They might return to get you after they figure out that the doll was only an automaton."


    "Automaton?" Lady Nightwane tilts her head in surprise.


    Oh crap. I thought your alibi was perfect, but you never moved in front of her?


    "Don''t tell me... it''s a cursed doll, after all!" Well, Luna is not going to let this slide.


    "I told you, did I not? It is a cursed doll that sometimes moves on its own." Nice save, dark elf. No wait, that''s not really helping.


    "Leave it behind!"


    "No, never! I bought her with my hard-earned money!" I did have to put some work in, it''s true!


    "Rolan will hear about this!" Are you a kid or what? Oh wait, you actually kind of are.


    Lady Nightwane looks at us questioningly, but I think she''s happy with the payment she got. I don''t know how much it was, but maybe I gave away a lot of money? Not that I have any need for it... or don''t I? Wait, I wanted more of those puff pastries. Well, I got something else sweet instead.


    "This is getting out of hand... go on already." Senka whispers. Yeah, I know what you mean. We''re spending too much time here; we need to get going before something happens.


    "We have to go. Time is of the essence. Let me deal with the doll; I have experience in these things." That''s a bald-faced lie.


    This back and forth continues a little more, but eventually, Luna gives in, seeing as how stubborn I seem to be. I just want a little companion who appears to see the world the way I do, to a certain extent. And she''s not afraid of my true appearance, so that''s a bonus.


    We finally depart to return to the Dancing Dragon. I carry with me two corpses, a still-living brainiac and one loli zombie doll who is both dead and alive.


    I feel like it''s going to be much more fun from now on.

 Chapter 13 - Side Quest Accepted

    When we return to the Dancing Dragon, the bard is already there. He''s chatting with a needlessly cute waitress. As expected of the playboy, she''s quite taken with him. If only she knew how useless he is.


    "You have me already, but you still try to pick up other girls?" Let''s mess with him. I know, it goes against the flow of the situation, in which time seems to be of the essence, but I can''t let such a golden opportunity pass. I approach him with a pout and cling to Senka.


    "Huh, you already have someone?" The waitress looks at me, then looks down at the doll I''m carrying with fear and disgust. The bard is taken aback by my words but shares her sentiment upon seeing Senka. Why does everyone feel such aversion toward her? Can''t you see how creepy-cute she is? I guess that concept doesn''t exist in this world.


    "I was not aware of such a relationship between us, Lady Marcott." The bard is speaking the truth, but that''s only going to add oil to the fire.


    "What? Now you act as if nothing is going on between us! Even though you were so forceful every night." Watching the bard''s confusion and the waitress'' growing contempt for him is so fun. Time for the finisher. "Now that I am with child, you want to wash your hands of me?"


    Oh, I see a switch being flipped in her eyes.


    "You''re scum!" The waitress slaps him across the face and stomps off, leaving behind a completely bewildered bard.


    "Miss Marcott, what..." Ah, Luna is also looking at me strangely, but there''s doubt flickering in her eyes when she looks at her party member. Wow, she has so little faith in you, it''s almost pitiful.


    "I was just joking. It seems it was not apparent enough." Or my acting got much better.


    "Please, Lady Marcott, do not scare me so." Strangely enough, the bard looks relieved. What? Do you think you forgot something happening that didn''t really happen?


    "Anyway..." Luna tries to bring the situation back on track. Right, we came here for a reason. "Where are Rolan and Gram?"


    "They are not back yet. I found some interesting information and returned early, in case someone was here already." He looks proud of himself. Let us hear what you found out, and see if it can compare to my information. "It appears the merchant Sveinn Itkonen used to be a slave trader up until the ban on slavery. Since then he has changed his business and is dealing in luxury items for nobles in the capital."


    So it''s only superficial knowledge, even though the slave-trading part is quite significant.


    "No, he has not quit that trade. We learned from an encounter with a group of kidnappers aiming for elves that Sveinn is turning them into slaves and smuggling them out of the city. They were in the process of taking Lady Nightwane when we found them." Luna''s leaving out the fact that she was knocked out cold during the most important part and that I gleaned that information from them, but I won''t complain. She has more persuasiveness within the group.


    "If that is true, I wonder why he needs to hire so many security guards from the outside? Would it not be better to hire members of the underground slave ring?" The bard falls into thought.


    "Maybe the guards employed from the guild act as camouflage?" Luna makes that point. I thought so, too. Seeing as how Gram was all friendly with the gate guards, it wouldn''t be surprising for them to let the caravan through upon seeing their buddies escorting it.


    "But how does he intend to transport ten carriages full of slaves and not let the escorts know? It''s impossible to keep that many people silent for such a long journey." The bard brings up something that has been bothering me, too. Frankly speaking, how does he intend to keep such a big thing under wraps? Of course, on the surface, he can be trading in luxury goods, but having ten carriages means he has a large number of kidnapped elves to transport. It would need them to remain entirely still during the journey, locked inside hidden compartments inside the wagons. I''d think that some of them would scream for help when they hear voices not belonging to the slavers outside.


    Additionally, if they kidnap established people in this town, such as Lady Nightwane - no matter how badly her business is going - it will cause suspicion, too. Maybe he doesn''t intend to return here after the job.


    "I think it is possible that the slaves are put under a Stasis spell for the journey, and are then simply stacked up inside wooden crates." What''s that spell? It sounds sci-fi. Luna seems to have found a plausible explanation. You''re quite the detective, aren''t you?


    From then on, I just kept listening until their discussion seemed to draw to a close. The question in the room now is what they should do about it. If it''s an organization, not knowing how far it reaches could be dangerous when trying to expose it. After all, adventurers don''t have any social standing to speak of since they''re considered drifters - kind of like part-timers in Japan.


    "Oh, you''re back already." It''s Gram''s voice, with Rolan walking next to him. So the party is back together.


    - Adventurers are sharing information -


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    "I see... we have to do something about it. To think such problems still existed in this kingdom." Rolan states with a grim expression. I knew he was the righteous type from the very beginning because he "saved" me from the streets and wants to slay the demon lord to make life better for humans. If I had been reincarnated as a human, I could see myself joining him in his endeavor.


    "I think it''d be best to let the guild know about this. We can have someone adept at stealth search his carriages to see if there really are slaves on board, then deliver him to the city watch on departure." Gram''s suggestion seems quite solid. I''d vote for you if I had a say in this matter. I''m not a proper member of the party, so I keep quiet.


    "Yes, that sounds good. Let''s go and find the three that attacked Runa. If we capture them, we can get them to confess." Rolan is getting ahead of himself. That might be quite dangerous. Actually, please don''t try to search for them; they''re all inside me. But even if they weren''t and you found them, what would you do if they belonged to a large group with an extensive underground network that includes skilled assassins and mercenaries? At least that''s how these things usually go in these stories.


    "I don''t think we should do that. If they have powerful people backing them, then we''re at a disadvantage." Yes, listen to Gram. "If the slaves are being delivered to the capital, it can only mean they''re being sold to the nobles there. Running afoul of them would be quite dangerous."


    Is it just me or is this whole thing getting bigger and bigger? I''ve stumbled into something outrageous here. I just wanted to get to the capital and learn more about this country, but now I''m with a group that''s talking about breaking up an underground slave ring that might be operating on a national scale. You''re only four people! Oh wait, maybe with the whole adventurers guild, they also have quite some reach? But what makes you think they don''t have their finger in the pie, too?


    "What do you think, Miss Chloe?" Oh, interesting. Luna isn''t glaring at Rolan for calling me by my given name.


    "As a noble, I believe it would be my duty to act in the interest of the people." I''m spouting some typical idealistic nonsense I learned from manga. Either they dismiss my idealism and continue to think that I''m pure, or they are inspired by it - no loss for me either way. "We cannot leave slavery alone. Individual freedom is the most sacred right one has."


    I don''t mind going to war against these slavers, but I''ll abandon ship if it takes too long. I have to be somewhere within three years, and at this point I don''t even know how many days make up a year in this world.


    "Miss Chloe..." Rolan looks at me in astonishment and a hint of admiration. Oh, did you fall for me? "If only all nobles thought that way, the kingdom would be a much better place." Praise me more! "Yes, I believe it is our duty to stop these unlawful machinations. As a matter of fact, they attacked Runa and could have taken her, too." I can smell an ulterior motive called revenge.


    Ah, the topic is going to head in that direction now.


    "But... you say this doll saved you?" He points at Senka with an unmistakably displeased face. So even you dislike this design? Well, it makes sense; her appearance is quite harrowing if you were to think of her as an actual human being.


    As if in response, Senka''s neck makes a creaking noise, and she turns to face Rolan. Her mouth moves and she laughs mechanically. Wow, you even got the perfect angle, the same as the one you used on Luna earlier. This way you''ll look consistent and you being an automaton will be more believable. Hah, even he is freaked out by you moving like that.


    "That is... quite the doll." I know, right? "You really want to bring it along?" Yes, anything wrong with that?


    "Yes, anything wrong with that?" Oops, I said it out loud. And in my usual tone, too.


    "Ah? Well... no, it''s alright." He''s surprised but doesn''t comment on it, but instead gives in. Hah, what a pushover.


    "Actually, I almost forgot about it, but where did you get the money for the doll from?" I''ve been expecting that question from Luna for a while now.


    "The kidnappers dropped their purses and some other items when they ran away." It may be unbelievable, but I have a few other items to show if you want more evidence. "I thought it was only fair to use their money to free our savior from that awful store."


    There, I said it, the store was awful. Luna has a sympathetic expression on her face when I say that. So even you think it''s awful. Why do you even know it in the first place? Must have something to do with magic, I guess.


    Nobody questions it any further. In fact, Gram laughs heartily at the explanation. Good, Senka was accepted by the others, so there''s no problem anymore. Luna has also resigned with a sigh and doesn''t try to resist me carrying the creepy doll with me anymore.


    "So, our next move is to contact the guild." Rolan is entering his leader mode. "Gram, talk to your friends in the city watch. Only those you really trust. We don''t know if the governor is in on it. Sigurd, you accompany him. Runa and Miss Chloe come with me to the guild. We may need you to tell how it happened again."


    Ah, a flower in each hand for you, huh?


    With this, we split up again and quickly head in the direction of the guild. I wasn''t there earlier, so I''m interested in how it looks on the inside, and what kind of people are frequenting it.


    "Phew..." Senka makes that noise after a while. "I couldn''t talk with the bard around. I''m sure he has incredibly sharp ears." You''re right on the mark. Lucky that you''re so perceptive. I''m walking a few steps behind the adventurer couple so that we can whisper to each other. "So, you intend to stick with them for the time being?"


    "Yes, they''re quite interesting. I have to be back in the demon castle within three years, but I have enough time for a small adventure like this." It''s refreshing to be able to talk about my true goals. For some reason, I fully trust this horror doll-like girl; there must be a good reason for it. I''m sure of it.


    "I can see that. These two in front of us make the perfect targets for messing around with. The bard, too." A kindred spirit~ "That Gram guy reminds me of my foster father from a different era, though. Only that this one has no hair on his head, but a magnificent amount in his face, while my foster father was the other way round. Their height is similar, too. I want to climb on his shoulders..." Please don''t do that; I feel like he''ll have a heart attack from that.


    "What do you think about this whole slavery affair?"


    "Very textbook for such a fantasy setting."


    "I know, right? At least the demons really do some evil stuff and the humans aren''t the actual bad guys, as is often the case when one is reincarnated on the demons'' side." I''ve read a lot of such stories. Escapism? No such thing.


    "Just don''t trip over that trope later on. Don''t let your sympathy with the humans cause you to hesitate, when the time comes."


    "That, I won''t." I think I''m having a pretty sinister grin on my face. "Human lives don''t matter to me."


    Ah, the brainiac inside me just died. That was quite a bit longer than the first time when I tried to keep the Vularen alive inside my body. I''m getting better at this. I''ll need to find more to practice with soon.

 Chapter 14 - Saint of Luminosity

    We arrive at the adventurer guild. It''s a hall, as expected, with a reception area on one side and several long tables on the other, where several people in attire similar to Rolan and his party''s are seated, chatting, eating and drinking. So clich¨¦.


    "I''d like to talk to the guild master, is she in?" Oh, so the guild leader is female. That''s fresh.


    "Yes, she just returned from the mayor''s office. I shall ascertain her availability." The receptionist, a woman in her late twenties, is wearing something like a maid outfit, just without frills and a hat instead of a bow. That reminds me of a game involving hunting dragons with oversized weapons...


    "Did she say mayor''s office? Rolan, are you sure we can trust the guild master?" I''m just playing devil''s advocate here, you make the decision, leader. It''s an understandable concern, although I doubt a woman is going to engage in business that involves the enslavement of other women. Then again, you never know.


    "Yes, I''ve known her for a long time. She''s like an older sister to me." His expression is a warm one. Are you a siscon? But Luna doesn''t have a jealous reaction and instead does an understanding nod. Guess you know her, too, then.


    "Rolan!" A firm female voice resounds through the guild hall and all necks snap around at it. "You haven''t come to greet me in a long time, you rascal!" A woman approaches us with a wide grin. She''s about as tall as I am, but her presence is much larger than even Rolan''s. She is wearing a long sleeved top and a long skirt in earthen colors, but I can feel strength underneath it all. It''s like a rule for guild masters to be secretly really strong, and I don''t doubt that in this case. She is quite beautiful though, and guessing from how the party leader thinks of her as an older sister, she must be still young.


    "Ingrid, there''s something we need to talk about." He''s being quite serious, so her expression changes in response.


    "Must be something important. Let''s go to my office." She leads the way.


    It''s on the second floor, behind a plain wooden door. The office itself is overly decorated with various personal belongings and trophies. That''s some beast''s head, there''s a jaw of something I would identify as a shark''s, those are old tools and weapons. It looks like an archeologists'' office, but I guess that''s what an adventurer in this world is like. The sofa is overloaded with piles of files and papers, wooden and stone figures, and several leather bags.


    In all honesty, it looks really cozy in here. I like these kinds of rooms, my own one was like that, too. My father always brought souvenirs from his overseas business trips, and he actually had pretty good taste in those things. Never anything like an Eiffel Tower keychain or a Statue of Liberty lighter.


    "Take a seat anywhere. Sorry, but I''m not sorry for the mess." There aren''t many places one could sit. I find one spot and Rolan gives another to Luna, remaining standing himself. "If you do the work I do, you''ll begin to understand that tidiness just means your work is going badly." That can be said about any job that can keep you away from home for days on end. Just like my father''s did.


    Ah, why am I thinking back to my parents in the previous world? I will most likely never see them again, and I don''t really want to recall those memories...


    "So you''re saying that Sveinn Itkonen is secretly smuggling elven slaves?" Oh, the conversation has already progressed that far? "Where''s your evidence?"


    "We need to find hard evidence, but there''s enough reason to believe that it''s true. Runa and Miss Chloe here were attacked by three men who wanted to kidnap Lady Nightwane. Miss Chloe heard them mention Sveinn''s name." She''s staring at me and then at Senka. I feel like I''ll be belittled for supposedly having bad taste.


    "Hm... I''ll send Vigi to check on Sveinn''s cargo." Rolan and Luna seem relieved by that response. I''m just relieved that she doesn''t make a rude comment about Senka. "And where''s Lady Nightwane?"


    "We told her to close her shop for the time being." Yeah, I think that might not have been the best way to deal with that. Especially considering that in reality the three guys didn''t return from the job, so maybe they''ll send more people this time, and be more persistent. I doubt they''ll be stopped by a locked wooden door at that time.


    "If it''s true that they''re targeting elves, then they''ll try to get her again. A locked door won''t be a problem." Our thoughts are aligned, I see. "I''ll send someone to bring her under the Guild''s protection for the time being. Even if Sveinn turns out to be a slave smuggler, the slave trade ring isn''t going to stop, if he''s captured. They''ll find someone else." So we''d need to get to the core of things, and that is to break apart the organized underground crime.


    Wouldn''t I be helping the humans consolidate their focus, if they succeeded in stopping such domestic problems? Not good... but maybe I can gain something out of this in another way. Some of the slavers could disappear along the way and I can eat my fill- I mean, gain more templates for different physical appearances.


    "For now, get some rest in the guild hall. Leave this matter to me." What a dependable older sister.


    We have a meal in the guild hall, but I''m holding myself back for the sake of Rolan''s wallet. After all, I''m still a freeloader who doesn''t do any work. Luckily I can sometimes get food for myself and stockpile it. The sheep are still not used up, and I gained three more bodies earlier, too.


    "I want to learn how to fight." I finished my normal-sized meal and waited a bit before saying it. I wanted to make it seem like I made up my mind or something. "I do not wish to be protected forever, and I want to earn money for myself." Considering my setting is a noble''s daughter, that should come as a hard decision. In their eyes, I must have led a life without hardships. For someone like that to decide it''s time to do some work must have been the result of much deliberation.


    "... I can understand your sentiment, but have you ever wielded a weapon in your life?" Rolan sets down his knife and fork. He is having his serious face on. Well, my body is a weapon, but I can''t say that. My only combat experience comes from fighting beasts you would consider as very dangerous, but even then my physiology made up for my lack of experience. I shake my head in response, because that''s what you expect me to respond with. "Have you ever killed someone?" I should hesitate a little here and act as if the thought is foreign to me. Then I shake my head again. I see Senka giving a thumbs up under the table, only visible to me. "Do you think you could kill a person?" Hat-trick. I have to be the frail girl in front of Rolan, but also show determination. I shake my head again.


    "I do not want to take any lives, but I still want to help you. You saved me when I had lost everything in my life. I want to be able to repay that debt." I act desperate. I''m really getting better at this, it''s scaring myself. How easy it is for me to lie into a person''s face. Before my reincarnation, I used to be the straight-laced type who hated lies the most. It must be this body. But I''m also strangely fine with this change. As long as I can live here, everything is permitted.


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    "I am sorry, but I overheard your conversation." A woman dressed in a flowing white robe with her eyes closed approaches us. "My name is Arcelia Crux, I am a priestess of the Lady of Brilliance." Uh, sounds like the archenemy of us demons.


    "You are Lady Arcelia Crux, the Saint of Luminosity? It is an honor to make your acquaintance! My name is Runa Sigint." Luna is the first to respond, as she holds a hand to her chest and performs a bow. Rolan follows her example. So there''s religion in this world. And this woman is a saint? Well, she does have a saintly aura, and her closed eyes must hold some meaning. "What brings you to our table?"


    "This young lady appears to have a pure-hearted wish to help you. I can feel the compassion in her words and believe that she has the aptitude to learn the magic of light." I have to hold back my laughter with everything I can muster. She completely fell for my acting, huh? Pure-hearted wish to help this party? Compassion in my words? Not a shred of it in my heart, though. It would be the height of irony, if I could perform magic of the light attribute, considering my true form is more like something from the darkest reaches of hell.


    "Really? Even Runa doesn''t have that." Rolan seems to be amazed. Well, to me, Runa is a black mage, since she can control the elements, so I didn''t expect her to be able to use white magic. But me a white mage? No no no, that can''t be.


    "I can ascertain it by holding your hand, young lady. If I may?" I''d rather not, since I feel like she might see through my transformation when she touches me. But refusing now seems to be a bad move, too. What should I do? I look to Senka, but she only responds with a thumbs up. What do you mean by that? That it should be fine?


    "Please do." I''m quite nervous. I hold out my slightly shaking hand. This is quite risky, actually. Why did I agree to it? Because Senka signaled me that it was alright? Arcelia takes hold of my hand with both of hers and a warm light surrounds them. This feels pretty nice, is this like healing magic?


    "U-unbelievable." In shock, she lets go and I prepare for the worst. If she announces that I''m a demon, I''ll have to act quick. "You have the aptitude for all elements. How can this be?" Huh? In other words, I''m amazing? I look at Luna, who''s stunned by this announcement.


    "I... I command only fire, water and wind. Ice and lightning are combinations or advanced techniques of these three." She explains.


    "What other elements are there?" I''m genuinely interested to learn more about magic. But I can kinda imagine that there must be at least earth for the typical fantasy elemental magic types.


    "The elements are fire, water, wind, earth, space, light and dark." Arcelia responds in Luna''s stead. Wait, space? Like teleportation? Oh, I guess the transportation circles are a form of space magic then. "Most people have one element, some have two, but three are already considerably rare. Even among these, space, light and dark are exceedingly rare, to the point that this kingdom only has twelve people that command the magic of light." That makes you quite amazing, too. "But being able to wield all elements is unheard of."


    "Does this mean I can be of help to you, Rolan?" This is the perfect opportunity to show my pure-heartedness (hah).


    "What is your name, young lady?"


    "I am Chloe Marcott. A few days ago bandits killed my parents and Rolan helped me after I escaped from them."


    "I can recommend you to the Royal Academy at the capital. You will receive the highest quality training in the arcane arts. Of course, there will be no tuition fee." She''s basically trying to sell me a university placement. I''d be tempted, if I didn''t have a deadline to fulfill. Who knows how many years I''d have to spend there, and most important of all, I''d most likely be under surveillance because of how rare my existence is. Then again, maybe I can gain something from it in a short amount of time. Such as taking part of its library into my body and disappearing to the Demon Continent with it?


    "That''s great, Miss Chloe!" Rolan is strangely excited.


    "You... do not want me by your side anymore, Sir Rolan?" I look at him with upturned eyes and a sad expression. He''s shocked by this and can''t respond. You''re too weak to women, party leader.


    "I... I think it''s a once in a lifetime opportunity. With us, your potential could never be realized." Damn, he''s actually considering what''s good for me. I don''t want to leave this party just yet, though. I won''t let myself get swept away by more side quests. Ah, but this could be a main quest.


    "Can we not stay together? Could you not attend the academy, too?" I turn to Luna for help. "Is the command over three elements not also considered rare?" I''m acting like a middle schooler who doesn''t want to go to a high school where she doesn''t know anyone from her old class.


    "Miss Sigint, was it? If it is true that you command fire, wind and water, then you are eligible for a stipend at the academy, too." Hah, pulled you in with me. Now let''s see how you choose and how Rolan reacts to this.


    "I..." She turns to her sweetheart for help, but he''s making a difficult face. This really shouldn''t be a hard decision. If you don''t want her to go, just say so. Then I''ll be able to cling onto that, too. When you just think about it a little, you''re an adventurer without any roots, so you could just move to the capital with her. It''s not like the academy doesn''t allow you to lead a normal life beside it... or does it?


    "I think you should go, Runa." Alright, he answered this way.


    "What about you... what about us?" Lalala, I don''t want to hear this. I''ll mute them in my mind until this is over and you have something constructive to say again.


    "Can we... think about the decision?" Finally, Luna turns to Arcelia and asks for more time. With a graceful nod, the saint agrees to it.


    "It is not a pressing matter. Your magic aptitude will not wane with age, so you can come after you have completed your immediate plans for the future. However, learning capabilities do wane, so please do not take too much time." She''s saying that when you''re older, you won''t be able to make as much progress anymore, even if you have the talent. That''s a pretty obvious concept where I''m from, to the point where children in the single digit age range are made to attend cram school to get a head start in life.


    "I understand. Thank you so much, Lady Crux." Luna is relieved that she doesn''t have to make a decision right now. I''m riding on her wave in this one and will make the same decision as she does. Because we''re friends (hah).


    "But you can start with this, Miss Marcott." Arcelia hands me a small book. Don''t tell me these are your holy scriptures or something. "This is the scripture of the Lady of Brilliance. From it you can nurture the mindset required for light magic." So I was right. "I can teach you an incantation right away, to grant your wish to help your friends." She holds out a hand to my forehead and chants a single word. "Sano." A light shines around her hand and I feel slightly refreshed. "This is a basic healing spell that can alleviate pain and close smaller wounds. Depending on your aptitude and command over your magic power, it can have a wide range of effectiveness. Please practice it whenever you can, and you will be able to train your focus and control."


    "I am indebted to you, Lady Crux." I say and hold the small book to my chest. I don''t really need this, but the spell should be quite useful. I already know that I can use some sort of magic through the spell that activates maps, even though it feels more like a voice command to unlock a phone. "Sano." I hold my hand out to Rolan and a faint light surrounds my palm. I can do it! My first spell in this fantasy world!


    "You''re really casting light magic, Miss Chloe!" The target of the spell is overjoyed at seeing me doing it right away. Does this mean I''m talented?


    "Well done, Miss Marcott. Then I shall excuse myself. If you wish to speak to me again, you can find me in the church of this town for the next three days. After that, I will return to the capital. There, you only need to ask for my name at the Cathedral of Light. Under the guidance of the Lady of Brilliance we shall meet again." With this, Arcelia takes her leave. We all bow to her in gratitude. Hey, I''m actually grateful! She even taught me magic I learned some really useful things from her. Such as the fact that even a saint couldn''t see through my acting and transformation.


    "Rolan, come here!" The voice of the guild master resounds through the hall. It appears she has news. Perfect timing!

 Chapter 15 - Slavery Doesnt Pay

    We''re back in Ingrid''s cozy office. From her expression, I can judge that things didn''t go as smoothly as they should have. I think it''s evident that the merchant isn''t going to have the slaves inside his carriages already.


    "Vigi found Sveinn''s carriages and inspected them. They''re empty, but there are large hidden compartments that are not visible from the outside. With ten carriages, those compartments could hide over thirty people. Of course, we can''t make any judgments yet, since he could as well be using those to store the more expensive goods to hide from bandit raids." The guild leader immediately gets to the point. "But there''s something else. Lady Nightwane has disappeared. The door''s lock was broken, and there were signs of a struggle."


    "So they came back after all!" Luna is upset. Yeah, we did kind of just leave her there, you know. She was already captured the first time, did you think the second time would go any better?


    "I have my best trackers on their trail. We don''t have many people in at the moment, because of the advanced hour, so we need all available hands." Ingrid tries to calm Luna down. Oh oh, are we going to raid the slave traders'' base right away? I can help, I have a healing spell now! "Once we find where they''re bringing her, we''ll raid them."


    Yay!


    "Gram is contacting his friends in the city watch. We should wait for word from him." Rolan argues. I almost forgot about him. What about the bard you ask? There was a bard?


    "Only until I get word from my trackers. Time is of the essence. We don''t want them to escape under our noses." The guild leader states with a grave expression. But you said you needed all hands available; now you want to leave behind a capable tank? Well, it makes sense to rush, since three of their people disappeared trying to get Lady Nightwane. They should be on alert, although nobody here besides Senka and I know about this. Rolan doesn''t seem too happy about that decision since it''s an essential member of his party, but he can''t overrule the decision of the guild master.


    Luckily, Gram and the bard came to the guild only moments later. Wait, there was a bard... right. The big man brought good news from the city watch. Those he trusts would take over the night shift with some trickery and bribery, and close the gates firmly so that no rats can escape. I''m sure an organized criminal group will have some hidden pathways running underneath the walls, but at least the more obvious escape routes have been closed.


    "Who else is going to be part of the raid?" Rolan finally asks when his party is gathered.


    "The groups under Halfdan, Arni, Inga, and Kori. Vigi and I will be coming, too. We''ll be thirty-four people altogether." Ingrid announces. Seems like a sizeable group, considering you said there weren''t many in at this hour. If I assume that they''re all at the level of Rolan''s party, and when I compare them to the thugs that attacked us in the creepy store, then this should be easy. And if push comes to shove, I can always do a full cleanup or just get out of there on my own. Ah, of course I''d be taking Senka with me.


    "Miss Norling, reporting in." A man in a wild leather outfit comes up to us. Who''s he referring to? Oh, Ingrid responds. So her full name is Ingrid Norling, huh?


    "Go ahead."


    "We followed the trail to an abandoned building complex in the slums. They likely have their base inside it. The problem is that we don''t know how many entry points there are, and we can''t tell if there are any hidden underground passageways." So even a town this small still has slums.


    "Halfdan should be able to deal with the passageways with his earth magic. But we might be too few to surround the place as well as raid it. I''ll need a layout of the complex, but the slums are notoriously hard to grasp because of how much of it is constructed in a half-assed manner." Ingrid seems troubled.


    "Umm..." I make, and everybody turns their heads to me. Ah, being the center of attention is a little daunting after all. Running in front of a crowd is no problem, but speaking still makes me nervous. "Miss Luna can cast ice magic, right?"


    "Yes, but what of it?" Well, Luna-chan, if you would let me finish, I would tell you. This was a rhetorical question because I know you can.


    "Could you not use it to freeze the outside of the complex?" Judging by everyone''s looks, I just dumbfounded them with this suggestion. What, is it so out there? "This way nobody gets out on street level. Then we could use an underground passage to take them by surprise."


    This might be easier said than done since I don''t know the concept behind magic in this world, and where it comes from. If it requires something like mana, then I''m sure she''ll run out of it quickly when using it this way. At least that''s what I know from game logic.


    "I could do it, but if they have someone proficient in fire magic, they can just melt it away." The typical rock paper scissors of elemental attacks, huh? But I feel like you''re forgetting the fact that the building here are mostly made of wood, as far as I can tell. If you use fire magic inside a building to melt ice on the exterior, it''s the easiest way to burn the house down.


    "Of course we would still need lookouts on street level. But I doubt they''ll be having a lot of fire mages, so their exit points should be very few. If we concentrate our forces there, it creates a bottleneck." Ingrid rides on my suggestion. It seems you don''t need me anymore; I''ve made my point.


    The discussion heats up over how to best go about the building''s lockdown and raid, based on Luna''s ice magic and Halfdan''s earth magic. In the end, it was decided that the group would be split up into two, the parties under Rolan, Arni, and Inga performing the raid, while Halfdan and Kori''s parties would guard the perimeter, watch the raiders'' rear and provide medical aid in case it''s needed. Incidentally, Luna and I were meant to be put under Halfdan''s command, but she refused very adamantly. I joined in on it because I didn''t want to miss out on the fun, as well as potentially nabbing a few bodies along the way.


    "Alright alright, but can you guarantee that your ice magic will hold out for that long?" That''s my concern, too, Rolan. But questioning your girlfriend''s capabilities like that is not a smart thing to do.


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    "I''ll just make it a glacial prison if you think an ice prison is not enough." Are those actual spell names or are you just giving comparisons? I can''t tell. But it seems to convince Rolan, so it must hold meaning.


    We set out after it''s decided, splitting up along the way to ensure that we''re not too suspicious. I finally have an official reason to be there since I can now use healing magic. I''m carrying Senka like I''m a certain black mage in a fantasy RPG who uses dolls to channel magic through. But I''m a white mage, and she''s a cursed doll. Haha, the irony...


    "Ah, I wanted to ask... can you fight?" I whisper to Senka. I know she can use something like a life-draining curse when she ingests someone''s blood, but that''s very situational. Her body looks very frail, and the stitches don''t help in the least to alleviate that impression.


    "Well, for starters, I have a fear factor going for me. Similar to your real appearance, when people see me move, they get scared." That''s psychological warfare, but it doesn''t kill people. Oh wait, it does. Someone did die upon seeing me. Still, that can''t be reliable. "Also, I can attack people''s souls directly. Any damage done on the soul is reflected in the body it occupies." That sounds scary, oi! That''s like that demonic being that can kill people in their dreams. "But do you want me to move about?" No, I don''t. At least not yet.


    "We won''t show ourselves unless there''s nobody around to witness it."


    "Thought so."


    "It''s just for future reference."


    We soon converge on the complex, led by one of Ingrid''s trackers. The man with a brown, lion-like mane for hair and a thick beard must be Halfdan. He''s touching the ground with both his hands and chanting something.


    "Once the underground passages are located and sealed, Runa can seal the exterior of the building. We will begin the raid at the same time." Ingrid is already here. We''re remaining a distance away from the complex and in the shadows of the surrounding buildings, as not to attract any attention. She uses her thumb to point upwards. "Vigi is on the lookout from above."


    "I found four hollow spaces underground that run in the direction of the complex." It seems Halfdan has finished his part. "I sealed all except for the one that''s right underneath us. I can make an opening here, and you can move into position."


    Luna begins chanting right away. Again, it''s like gibberish to me, but I''m sure I''ll learn the words used in due time. It takes several minutes, but it also gives Halfdan time to make an opening leading underground.


    "We have been spotted." A man in dark blue attire appears right beside Ingrid and speaks with a muffled voice. Ahhh, a ninja! No wait, when I look closely, he does wear a mask, but his outfit is mostly made of black fur. In the darkness of the night he''d be pretty much invisible if it weren''t for my night vision. "There is movement inside."


    "Too late for them." Luna seems to have finished, as the air around us grows colder. I look at the building, and it becomes encrusted in a thick layer of glowing ice that illuminates the surroundings. Oh, this is quite convenient for those on the lookout to spot anybody who might break out from there since it lights up the street around it as well.


    "Move out!" Ingrid bellows and party after party climbs inside the opening created by Halfdan''s earth magic. Luna and I are among the last to enter, and once again, I''m grateful for my night vision. It''s dark in here, but it''s unexpectedly wide. Two people can stand next to each other without problem, and the ceiling is high enough for even Gram to stand upright. The walls are naked stones and remind me of castle walls. I guess it''s an old escape tunnel or part of the city''s catacombs?


    "Ignis." Luna whispers beside me, and the air above her staff''s tip lights up with a flame. Similar to her, others create lights of their own inside the tunnel, and soon it''s brightly lit. The parties begin to move in the direction of the complex.


    Soon after, we enter a section that looks like a cellar. We must be inside the building now. And two doors are leading out of it, so the raiding party splits up. Two people are left behind to guard the exit, wearing heavy armor and wielding a shield and spear each. Perfect for holding a bottleneck like this. Not that they''d get out since people are guarding the exit above ground, too.


    There are sounds of battles breaking out all over the building. Hm, I don''t think any of us shouted something like "POLICE! FREEZE!", so if it turns out these are just civilians defending their homes from intruders, it will make everyone involved a huge laughingstock. That''s just me musing though. If the trackers found this location by following the trail left behind by those who took Lady Nightwane, there''s no doubt as to the nature of those who occupy this building.


    Luna and I are mostly in the back since we don''t have any fighting capabilities in a direct confrontation. Well, officially, I''m just a healer. Healing magic is quite rare in this world. Considering there are only twelve light mages in this kingdom, thirteen with me, people don''t commonly get to be healed in a battle. Then again, I don''t know how big this nation is and how many people live in it, so I can''t tell yet.


    We happen upon a corpse, someone who looks more like a thug than an adventurer. Must be one of them. Things seem to be progressing well for our side.


    "We found some of the kidnapped elves!" Someone shouts through the hallway, and Rolan rushes towards the location. It''s a room filled with bunk beds, but there''s a group of beautiful young women huddled up in one corner of it. Every single one of them has long pointy ears. There are eight of them, with two being dark elves, but Lady Nightwane isn''t among them.


    "Do you know where the others are being held?" Luna walks up to them and lifts the hair over her ears. Ah, they''re slightly pointy after all. Seeing this, the slaves seem to be relieved, and one of them begins to talk. I''ll administer some healing magic on those that seem to have been mistreated. Even though I don''t really care about their lives, I do feel angry at seeing such treatment of fellow girls. Under my palm, small cuts close up quickly and leave no scars behind. Without my healing, wouldn''t those wounds result in scars? How can you do that to a girl''s skin?


    "How many of you are there?" I ask the one I just finished healing.


    "Thirty-two..." She whispers, barely audible. It''s obvious she''s scared, even though we''re here to save them. No wait, she''s looking at Senka. Can nobody understand the charm of her appearance, dammit? In either case, I relay this to Rolan.


    The whole thing seems to be going smoothly. I guess they didn''t have anyone strong enough to fight against adventurers in here? I haven''t heard of any casualties on our side yet, and most only have minor injuries.


    By the way, I learned that those who can use water magic can also heal, but it only speeds up the body''s regenerative capabilities. In other words, light magic is true healing? This is incredibly useful to have! Oh, so Luna doubles as the healer in her party, then. Well, she can''t compete with me anymore now. Uh, I think my nose may have just stretched towards the heavens a little.


    On the other side, the slavers have been fighting a losing battle since the beginning, and several isolated members have surrendered already. Very few have died, and most have opted to stay alive rather than try and fight their ways out of this. Slavery doesn''t pay after all - in many ways. At this rate, we''ll be done pretty quickly.


    It''s going too smoothly...


    Suddenly, the sound of an explosion shakes the very foundations of the complex. There it is, the unforeseen circumstances of somebody strong showing up. I''m excited now!

 Chapter 16 - The Raid and Redemption

    It''s obviously always the best course of action to run towards the sound of an explosion inside a cramped building like this one. If it''s caused by someone''s magic, it''s the best way to get taken out in a large group. I hope you can do the same when you choose to attack the demon castle one day.


    We come upon a room with a big window. Rather, a big hole was blown into the side of the building from the inside and the scorched room, with several charred bodies, is what remains. They''re pretty much unidentifiable, but I can see one of them has pointy ears. Must have been one of the kidnapped slaves. The others have remains of weapons on them, so I guess they must have been adventurers. It seems at least someone is able to fight back.


    But when we look outside, there''s no fight. The lookouts are in their positions, and some of them point towards us. Whoever blew this hole into the building is still inside? Why would they do that, when they could just break through the encirclement with this firepower and escape on their own? There must be something of value here.


    "Spread out and find whoever did this!" Ingrid''s voice is filled with anger. Yeah, good idea. This mage burned a bunch of adventurers with an explosive spell, and you think it''s best to send people after them? I''m not sure I could withstand that kind of magic. Actually, the same goes for this glacial prison that Luna created. If she cast it on me, I''d most likely freeze solid and become unable to move - if I don''t just die right away.


    The offer for the academy sounds very enticing now - even if only to learn countermeasures against magic. I doubt everyone is like Luna and requires minutes to chant a single spell. In fact, this mage must have been able to use an instant spell. Otherwise, it doesn''t explain how they could overcome several adventurers carrying melee weapons.


    I follow Rolan and Gram, making sure to stay behind the latter''s enchanted shield. Rolan seems fearless despite the danger from this mage, and Luna doesn''t seem especially alarmed either. Are you just that confident, or is there something I don''t know?


    Another explosion shakes the floor under our feet. A wave of scorching air blows through the corridor but is mostly blocked by Gram. Good to have you here, big man. The mage must be close.


    We soon enter a large hall, where the slavers seem to be making a stand against the adventurers. Several people with shields, although none as big as Gram''s, on the adventurers'' side are encircling half a dozen thugs wielding daggers, axes, and clubs, hiding behind a makeshift barrier made of crates and tables. Among them is one who stands out. He''s wearing a dark red robe with a red feathered collar. He has reddish-brown hair and tan skin. This must be the mage. He''s even wielding a cane-sized staff with a ruby laid into its handle.


    "Ignis!" He chants this single word. A fireball the size of a grown person''s head appears above the tip of his cane, which he takes into his palm and throws at the adventurers in a single fluid motion. Upon contact with the ground in front of them, it goes up in a fiery explosion. Hey, isn''t that just an illumination spell?


    "He must have a double fire affinity!" Luna exclaims. A double what now?


    Luckily, it seems several of the adventurers have enchanted shields as well since they don''t seem to break under the fire explosions. However, nobody dares to approach the fire mage. Luna, do something with water, it should be super effective, right?


    Another fireball directly hits one of the shield bearers, who didn''t brace himself in time. The explosion flings him through the room, and he hits the wall. The opening he creates is immediately used by the fire mage, as the exposed party members of that unlucky guy become the targets for the next spell.


    Gram jumps in front of them and blocks it with his shield, causing the flame to disappear completely on contact. What level of enchantment does your have shield, oi? Look, the fire mage is also baffled. But in the end, it''s just one broad shield, and there are still enough targets in the room to choose from. Also, Gram can''t see ahead when he wields his shield, so the flame mage can throw attacks right next to him, too. At least that''s what I would have done in this situation.


    Now that I look closely, there''s a large cage behind the slavers, which they seem to be protecting. It''s covered under a sheet, so I can''t see what''s inside. Must be some especially expensive slave that''s worth fighting over, huh?


    The thugs surrounding the mage don''t have much to do, but they are quite vigilant, making sure nobody comes closer during the downtime between spells. What do we do here?


    "Protect me while I prepare my spell." Are you sure, Luna? You will become the target for a fireball when you chant right in front of the enemy. Rolan stands in front of her as if to shield her with his body. Woah, this isn''t some final battle where you have to sacrifice your life to get the win. It''s just a side quest boss. Didn''t you want to defeat the demon lord?


    "Ignis!" There, I knew it! A fireball flies towards us. But Rolan jumps forward and slashes it with his sword. The fire is cut in half and dissipates harmlessly. Oi, are you for real? You never showed some skill like that before! Okay, I admit, we never fought a mage before. I guess I need to reevaluate this party''s strength. By the way, where is the bard?


    A crossbow bolt hammers through a wooden table and hits the thug hiding behind it. Ah, he''s with the group behind Gram now. There''s another archer with him who fires arrows in an arc, to hit the mage. I follow one with my eyes and see it burning up and turning to ash before it reaches him. This fire mage must be extremely proficient in his magic.


    "Tri-natura!" Luna is finally done. This spell took longer than with the Elemental Overload spell she used on the Wulfar. But that was four elements; this one sounds like three.


    An unnatural breeze picks up and whips her cape around. From the tip of her staff, water and fire form and mix, against all laws of physics, and create a glowing sphere. A barrier of wind holds it in place until the orb glows as brightly as the sun. Don''t tell me this is fusion?


    The fire mage sees it and his eyes expand in shock, and he dives behind a crate. So this must be quite the powerful spell. Luna swings her staff in the direction of the opponent and from the sphere a single beam emerges. It''s faster than my eyes can follow, and it cuts right through the crate the mage is hiding behind. That''s a freaking laser!


    A scorching hole remains in the crate, and from behind it, the mage falls to the floor, clutching his shoulder. The laser went right through him, too. If I get hit by that, I won''t fare better. I don''t have a conceptual defensive shield that I can summon to block this positron sniper rifle! And Luna is still keeping the sphere up, meaning it can fire at least one more time.


    "If you do not surrender, the next one is going to hit a vital spot." She proclaims. So I was right, and this spell can be used repeatedly.


    "We surrender!" The thugs behind the barricades stand up with their hands in the air, dropping their weapons in the process. Their leader was just sniped through cover, so obviously they won''t feel safe anymore behind their own. The fire mage seems unable to fight with that wound. Magic requires concentration, I guess.


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    "I... surrender..." He presses out between his teeth, visibly hurting.


    This concludes the raid.


    "But really, why would someone with a double affinity become a criminal?" Luna wonders while the slavers are bound and taken away. "The academy offers great incentives for such a talent."


    Apparently not as great as what the slave trade ring has to offer. In either case, that''s the same everywhere. Crime is the easy and fast way, high-risk high-reward. It''s like gambling, with one''s future at stake. But there''s no way out; you have to keep at it until the day you lose. Some lose earlier, some later. Those thugs who died here or were captured just lost at this simple game.


    "What is a double affinity?" I ask Luna curiously. Sounds like having the affinity to a single element twice.


    "It means someone who would normally have access to two elements having both of them be the same element." She begins to explain, but it doesn''t make much sense. "These mages can greatly enhance even the most basic spells. You saw him cast Ignis, right? No matter how talented one is, the flame cannot grow bigger than a torch fire. But he could use it to create explosions. Fire is an unstable element, to begin with, so enhancing it causes its power to run rampant."


    I think I get it now. It means greater control and output in the particular element, which is like inborn talent. It''s another layer to the affinities themselves.


    That aside, let''s see what''s so important that they made a stand here. The cage is big enough to hold a bear. Might be some rare animal rather than a slave. Somehow nobody else in the room seems to pay it any attention. Am I the only one who thinks they were defending this place for a reason?


    I approach the cage and unhesitatingly pull off the sheet that covers it. Inside is a girl, maybe in her early teens. It''s a dark elf, with mauve skin and hair colored the blue of the night sky. Not Lady Nightwane, that''s for sure. Then I spot the reason why she''s being held separately and in a steel cage with very thick bars. She has a body befitting her age, her face is beautiful, and her faintly glowing violet eyes are mesmerizing, but her right arm is deformed. From the middle of the upper arm down, it morphs into the claw of a crab. Unlike her skin color, it''s a bright red, and it''s incredibly huge. If she stood up, the tip would reach the floor. The asymmetry in limbs reminds me of a fiddler crab.


    "She''s been affected by the demon lord''s corruption before her birth. This is the result of the curses spewing forth from the Demon Continent." Rolan walks up next to me with an expression filled with anger. But then he looks at her with pity. Hey, what''s with that face?


    I turn to look at the girl who''s trying to hide her arm behind her as she backs away and into a corner. But the deformed arm is practically bigger than her body. I actually think it looks pretty cool.


    "What happens to her now?" I have the feeling that she''s an outcast in the world of humans and elves alike. I''m sure nobody on the Demon Continent would mind, though. I mean, beings like me exist there. Uhh, why do I always take jabs at myself...


    "I don''t think anyone is going to come and claim her as family... it''s even possible that she was sold into slavery before the ban." Rolan explains in a quiet tone. That''s really cruel.


    I gaze at her, and our eyes meet. At that moment, I''m overcome with a feeling.


    "I want her."


    "Miss Chloe? But slavery is forbi-"


    "No, not as a slave. I want to free her. I want to give her a place to be." I look up at Rolan, silently adding ''just like you did for me'' with my eyes. He blinks in surprise and embarrassment at my upturned eyes. When I look back at the dark elf girl, I can see real despair. There''s only a tiny hint of life in her eyes; everything else was taken by cruelties at the hands of humans. Hers is a gaze on the verge of giving up on life. She''s too young for that.


    In other words, my motherly instincts awoke. Even though I''m only seventeen...


    I round the cage to find the door. It''s obviously locked, but Rolan is looking at me dumbfounded and doesn''t follow me, so he can''t see what I''m doing from his angle. I stick my finger into the keyhole, turn it into a tentacle, and pick the lock. If they ask me, I can just say it was already unlocked, and that the slavers might have been in the process of taking her out of there to run away right before they were confronted by the adventurers.


    "Wait, that''s dangerous, Miss Chloe!" At Rolan''s agitated voice, others turn around to us. I''ve entered the cage and am walking towards the girl. While her eyes don''t really show much of any emotions, her body reacts as if she had many painful experiences with people coming into her space. Luckily, I left Senka behind outside since her appearance surely won''t do any good in such a situation. "Please come out of there. You don''t know how strong the cursed can be!" He''s not shouting, but his voice carries a certain urgency.


    Others have approached now, and an adventurer with a bow is even aiming an arrow at the little dark elf. Stop it, or I''ll get mad! I''m ready to take you all out to save this girl if I have to! To me, she feels more like kin than any human does. I circle around to block their view on the girl. If you shoot and hit me, I''ll be mad, too, just so you know.


    With my arms outstretched, I slowly step forward, and I see her slowly raising her crab arm in response. From this close, it looks quite scary. There are spikes on the outer ridge, and the inside is filled with sharp teeth. The color makes me think that it''s been drenched in blood, too. But I''m not one to be discouraged by that. We''re now both in range to touch each other, but I stop.


    "There is nothing to fear, child." I hope I''m making a relaxing warm voice; I can''t really tell. Ah, a little life returned into her eyes. I smile at her as best as I can, but she gasps and tries to retreat further. Was it an evil smile after all? Damn, are my true colors showing? But maybe it''s because she doesn''t let herself feel hope, in fear of it being betrayed? Maybe me smiling seemed dishonest to her, and she thinks that I will only hurt her in the end, too?


    No point in thinking, it''s do or die! I move forward quickly and get slapped by the huge claw. Ahhh, of course, that''ll happen. I''m crying here, little girl. Onee-san is crying over your rejection of her kindness.


    "Miss Marcott, are you alright?" Luna is the one to be concerned about me. You of all people? But the slap was unexpectedly light, and it was the side of the claw, which is entirely smooth. Either way, I don''t think physical attacks work on me that well. At least none on this level. But now that you attacked, and it didn''t have any effect, I''m in your range!


    "Everything is alright now..." I hug her to my chest. She''s shocked by this action but then begins to struggle. I won''t let go, now that I got you. "I will not let anyone hurt you ever again." I whisper to her. Of course, that''s a very arbitrary promise since I can''t guarantee that. But at least it sounds reassuring.


    And she bites me in the shoulder. Are you a wild dog? I heard that when a dog bites you because it''s afraid of you, and you don''t show any hostility afterward, it will lick the wound as if to apologize. Well, I don''t expect a humanoid to do that, but I endure it. Not that it really hurts, since she doesn''t have much strength behind it. It doesn''t even pierce my skin.


    "Sano." I cast it on her, not because she''s injured, but because of the warm and fuzzy feeling it gives. Finally, she stops struggling and lets go with her teeth. I separate from her and look into her eyes to see the fear fade, replaced by sadness. Tears begin to form in their corners, and she buries her face in my chest. I did it.


    "You''re a real daredevil, Miss Chloe..." Rolan sighs behind me. I turn around and see the tension in the room dissipating. Gram''s even making an approving gesture. I can see him befriend wild animals humans would consider dangerous, too.


    "What is your name?" I speak softly after she finally calms down and we separate.


    "... Kamii..." Her voice is frail. That name sounds a lot like kami. I pet her hair and smile to her. I look at Senka from the corner of my eyes. Two lolis in one day. But they''re just too cute!


    Bad taste? Whoever says that will get an eternal ride inside the part of my body that dissolves the slowest.


    Oh, right, Lady Nightwane was found in another room later. She was tied up and blindfolded but seemed to be enjoying it. I guess all''s well that ends well.

 Chapter 17 - A New Dawn

    Eventually, every corner of the building complex was scoured, and in the end, more than forty slavers and almost sixty kidnapped elves were found and secured. It appears they weren''t all meant to be transported this time and that there were other operations planned for the future. There was enough evidence pointing to Sveinn Itkonen, the merchant of whom Rolan wanted to accept the request for escorting him to the capital. Ingrid immediately sent some people to apprehend him at his inn. Well, the aftermath doesn''t interest me too much, though. I gained a new companion, someone whose loyalty lies with me. It was a great evening for me.


    The best part? Kamii seems to have taken a liking Senka. Finally, a kindred spirit on the party. Yes, I told Rolan that I officially wanted to join his group of adventurers and that she will be joining, too. We''ll accompany them on the quest to take down the demon lord. If I keep watch on them, I can measure their growth. But really, there must be other people just like him, who also have that goal. I can''t be that lucky and meet the one party destined to fight Maou-mama, right?


    Really though, we make for a strange appearance. I, carrying around a creepy doll, with Kamii hanging onto my sleeve like a scared little sister - who happens to have a huge crab claw as her right arm. Onee-san is here for you, though. I''ll protect you from the evil humans. Although I don''t even have money to buy you clothes. But Gram was kind enough to offer to buy her some out of his own pocket the next day. Kamii-chan, call this man oji-san, alright?


    It''s late at night when we finally get back to the tavern. Rolan reserved two rooms when we arrived in the city, one with three beds for the men and the other with two for the women. Kamii hadn''t been within his calculations at the time. There are no other rooms available, so we''re short one bed.


    "Well, we can swap rooms, and I can sleep on the sofa." He was kind enough to offer thus. There''s a sofa chair in the room with the two beds, but it doesn''t look very comfortable. Not that I care whether he''s comfortable or not, but there''s a reason for me to refuse it.


    "No, do not worry about us. Kamii-chan will sleep with me." She''s clinging to me, and I pet her head. It''s quite obvious that she wouldn''t want to leave my side for the time being. But the beds aren''t big enough for Senka to also fit. Well, it may be cold of me, but you''ll be sitting on the sofa through the night. I''m sorry.


    After a bath, where I wash the former slave girl thoroughly, we finally go to bed, and Luna blows out the candle with a "Goodnight, Miss Marcott, Kamii."


    Hm, I don''t feel sleepy at all, though. Luna fell asleep right away, and her rhythmic breathing can be heard from her bed. I look down to find that Kamii is looking up at me with her mesmerizing violet eyes. They glow a little in the dark. Do you have night vision, too? I hug her and kiss her hair. Ahhh, it smells good. Crap, I might get addicted to this.


    Suddenly I hear a noise inside the room, and my eyes are wide open. I can see in the dark, so nothing can escape my view. I turn my head to look in the corner where Senka is and almost scream.


    She''s sitting there like a puppet with its strings cut, eyes wide open, staring right at me. Stop it, that''s creepy! Is that resentment in your gaze? Do you hate me for not letting you sleep on the bed as well? But it''s already quite cramped with the two of us. I''m sorry, please don''t curse me! And stop looking at me like that!


    "Senka, can''t you at least close your eyes?" I whisper to her. She doesn''t react. Damn you, you''re actually mad about me leaving you out in the cold, aren''t you? "Please, I can''t sleep, if you stare like that..."


    I''m not sleepy, but if I don''t sleep, I''ll regret it in the morning. I''m sure Senka is laughing at me on the inside, about how I''m scared of her, while my real appearance can literally cause people to die upon seeing me. But I''m still not good with her kind of horror...


    Kamii''s grip on me relaxes, and I can hear her breathing calm down to that of someone sleeping. So she''s feeling safe enough in my embrace to fall asleep. Ah, I''m sure my smile right now is quite motherly. Or rather, like an older sister''s. I''m not old enough to be a mother. And I have zero experience, too.


    I must have fallen asleep thinking about idle things of my past. When I wake up, Kamii is still asleep, and I hear Luna breathing lightly, too. The room is in the twilight of dawn, and I turn my head. Damn it, Senka! You''re still staring at me like that. I sit up and look down to realize that my bedmate is holding her right arm behind her in a really awkward position. That doesn''t look very comfortable, but she did it so it wouldn''t bother me - what a sweet girl. I lightly touch her hair, and she stirs a little but doesn''t wake up. This is giving me a fuzzy feeling.


    So, I sit on the bed and review the things that happened so far. I was reincarnated as a monster. A Cosmic Horror as Senka called it; a special kind of slime, as I would call it. And I''m the daughter of the demon lord. I ate a steamed human and actually enjoyed it. I was accidentally sent to a place called the Dark Continent, where monsters are considered deadly even by demon standards. I was brought back to the castle, given a starter kit as if I''m in an RPG game, and sent to somewhere in the human territories - most certainly by accident once again. I met Rolan, and his party in a human village, learned that I''m in the Kingdom of Lares, and joined his party. I watched them kill a beast similar to a vularen, but weaker. I traveled with them to this town called Hovsgaerden. I learned about the fact that slavery exists, met a cursed doll-like girl who seems to have come from a different world as well, although she has a Japanese name - Ootsuki Senka. I helped in a raid on an underground slave trade ring and freed a cursed dark elf child called Kamii.


    All in five days.


    That''s more eventful than I can say about the last five years in my previous life. I can''t really say I''m grateful for this experience, but if I had to choose between nothingness after death and this, then I''m grateful for this experience. I had to fear for my life, and I''m still not out of the woods, but this life is fascinating. I''m meeting interesting people and beings, and I''m living an adventure - although it''s quite different from how I would have envisioned it.


    "Creepy smile..." I hear Senka whisper. Am I smiling? And damn you for pointing it out like that!


    "I don''t know where all this will lead me, but I think I like it here." I say to nobody in particular. Yes, even while surrounded by people who would turn hostile against me, if only they knew what I really am, I''m feeling happy.


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    "You''re quite lucky with what you were reincarnated as. Imagine you were completely powerless. Or you only had the power to reset to a seemingly arbitrarily set save point if you died. As a simple high school girl, you would have faced despair a lot." Senka rains on my parade. I''m aware of that. If I had been reincarnated as a powerless and talentless human in a world filled with magic and monsters, I don''t know what I''d have done. I wouldn''t have been able to meet this creepy-cute doll or Kamii. The second example was weirdly specific, but I don''t know what she''s referencing there.


    "But that''s not what happened." Ifs, would haves; none of that matters. Only the present is of importance. I''m a powerful being, I have innate talent in magic, and I seem to be quite lucky sometimes.


    "Yes, it''s not what happened... Just don''t become too optimistic. Reality likes to slap these kinds of people in the face when they least expect it." I understand that. I understood ever since I was sent to the Dark Continent. I could die at any time, to something completely unknown. That''s why I''ll make the best out of this, live a long but exciting life, and maybe do something about this world. Who knows, maybe there''s a way to reconcile humans and demons? Ah, I''m on about this again. Well, if push comes to shove, I''ll unhesitatingly side with the demons, that''s for sure. After all, I''m one myself.


    "I know. I''ll just give it my all and live in this world the way I want to."


    "Hm, Miss Marcott? Who are you talking to?" Crap, Luna woke up. Kamii stirs as well, and when she doesn''t see me right in front of her, she quickly sits up in a panic. She does notice me right away though and hugs me tightly as if telling me not to go anywhere without her. I pet her hair.


    "I''m just talking to myself..." Well, Luna looks half-asleep, so I can just gloss over it. It''s quite risky for Senka to be speaking while there''s someone else in the room. I don''t mind Kamii finding out since I can ask her to keep it a secret - and I''m somewhat sure that she''ll listen to me - but I know for sure that Luna won''t be keeping quiet about the cursed doll being able to speak normally.


    "Okay..." Ah, she fell asleep again.


    "How about you, do you want to sleep some more, too?" I ask the dark elf girl clinging to me. She looks up to me with sleepy eyes and nods. Well, no harm in that, let''s rest for a little more. We don''t have anything planned for today anyway.


    The second time I''m awoken by Luna. She''s leaning over me and shaking my shoulder softly. Apparently there was something planned after all. Uh, now I''m feeling quite sleepy. I''m weak in the mornings after all, but only when I''m woken up unnaturally.


    "We are having a meeting about what to do next, Miss Marcott. Now that you are part of our group, you should attend." If I had known I needed to wake up early, I wouldn''t have wanted to join the party. I look at the window and see that the shadows are short. Don''t tell me it''s almost noon?


    Kamii wakes up as well and rubs her eyes with her one good hand. That''s quite inconvenient when I think about it. She must have had a harsh life even outside of being treated as an outcast and a slave. Onee-san is here for you from now on. The rags she''s wearing only covers her practically nonexistent chest, and a loincloth sits on her hips tied with a string. Nothing underneath them, either. Gram did say he would pay for an outfit, so we should choose something for her quickly. I mean, I don''t mind this, it has a "fewer clothes equals more armor rating" feel to it. Especially coupled with that huge crab claw of hers, which makes her look like a fighter type. But she is a young girl after all, so something cute would be more fitting.


    The party meeting takes place over brunch. As always, Kamii is clinging to me, and Senka is acting like a doll, sitting on my lap. Now I''m the one with a flower in each hand. Everyone''s eyes are on the three of us. Especially the dark elf''s huge claw is the center of attention, with the creepy doll coming in second. You''re really rude, staring at girls with those expressions.


    "Since the request from the merchant has been canceled, we''ll have to look for something new. But there''s something really important I want to run by you." Rolan looks serious. "I''m thinking of relocating to the capital." Ah, I know what''s coming next. "I''m sure we''ll find plenty of work there, and Runa and Miss Chloe can attend the academy on the Saint of Luminosity''s recommendation." Yep, I think that''s a good suggestion. We were meant to go to the capital either way. "However, our funds are quite low right now, and the journey will require plenty of supplies." I''m sorry I''m a glutton. And Kamii, looking as slender as she does, is unexpectedly also the gluttonous type. There are two freeloaders in the party now. At least Senka doesn''t need to eat.


    "Well, Lady Marcott can work as a healer." You can say some good things sometimes, bard! "But you will have to work for Kamii''s part, too."


    Don''t remind me of it! But as the older sister, and with our only mother in a far-away place, I have to carry the weight of the family. Don''t worry, Kamii-chan, your Onee-san will make sure you can afford to attend a good middle school, high school, and university! Or we''ll find mother and make her pay for it.


    Jokes aside, I intended to do that from the start. I don''t know about her fighting capabilities, but her strength is a joke. Her slap felt like that of someone her age, even though she used the huge crab claw. I did learn that it''s incredibly light, almost the same as her normal arm''s weight. Well, she''s still young, and I''m sure we''ll discover her talents yet.


    "Yes, I intend to see this matter through to the end." I give a determined expression, as I pet Kamii''s hair. I think this is my new favorite pastime. But don''t feel neglected, Senka. I''ll keep carrying you and hugging you.


    "Is it really alright?" Luna voices her concerns. What, you don''t believe I can earn money to support my family? "Leaving Hovsgaerden behind for who knows how long... are you fine with that?"


    "Think of it as the first big step towards the Demon Continent and defeating the demon lord." Rolan pumps his fist. I want to punch him for always talking about wanting to kill my mother. "We would have eventually moved to the capital, and then beyond anyway. We''re just moving ahead with it earlier than planned." He looks at Luna warmly. "Don''t you want to go and improve your magic as quickly as possible?"


    "But what about going on requests?" That''s a concern since I don''t think we''d be able to stay away from the academy for several days. The subjugation of the wulfar took a whole week, considering the journey from the village to Hovsgaerden already took three days. I don''t know how the academy functions, but I''m sure that won''t be allowed.


    "I don''t think the capital will have many subjugation requests in the surrounding area, so we''d be mostly staying in the city and do our work there." Good answer. "Don''t worry, Runa. Our group will be even stronger after your graduation, and taking down the demon lord should be a piece of cake." He''s boasting. I''ll seriously kill you one day.


    "I understand..." Luna finally admits that Rolan has been selling his case well. So this means we''re going to the capital.


    "Big man, Sigurd, you''re fine with this, right?" Oi, you didn''t ask those two yet?


    "Of course, I''ll follow you wherever it takes you." That would have sounded quite romantic if Gram weren''t the one saying it to Rolan.


    "I bet the girls in the capital are really beautiful." Go die, you shitty bard.


    Well, the decision has been made, and we''ll depart after some members of the party go and fulfill a simple quest. More specifically, Rolan and Luna are going, while the bard will go about another business for the day. I feel like it''s an excuse for some alone time between the lovebirds, but apparently, the funds are low, and they''re going on a quest that requires Luna''s magic.


    This leaves Gram, Kamii and I - and Senka. We were meant to go clothes shopping either way. I think I''ll get Senka something more fitting, too. Time for "A Date with the Big Man, Episode Two."

 Chapter 18 - Pretty Old News

    Nothing changed within the town, even though there was such an intense battle during the night. Just goes to show how little effect it had on a bigger scale. Surely, soon there will be another group to take up the underground slave trade. As long as there''s demand, someone will find a way to provide the supplies.


    Thinking such idle thoughts, we walk through the streets, doing some window-shopping along the way back to the adventurer guild. We already finished shopping for clothes, and it was quite eventful.


    Kamii was allowed to select her own outfit, and she eyed a simple white sundress. However, since her claw wouldn''t fit, she couldn''t wear it. She was quite dejected to realize it, so I bought it anyway and asked the tailor to make some modifications to it. Instead of putting it on over the head, it could be pulled up from below, with a fixed strap over her left shoulder and a buttoned strap on her right. Since she''s so slender, it works out. Incidentally, she''s wearing it now and looks a little happy. Her eyes have regained their light, but she still clings to me at all times.


    Senka also received a new outfit since the old one was in bad taste for her appearance. In fact, she also chose it herself, although Gram doesn''t know that. Her frilly dress was replaced with a dark blue one with a simple white trim that goes down to just above her knees. A capelet with a white fur trim, coming in a set with the dress covers her shoulders. While changing her clothes, I noticed that she has stitches all over her body, not just in the corners of her mouth. The cuts they hold together look like they never healed. I was gripped by fascination and stuck my finger into the one on her stomach without thinking.


    I still regret that decision. I touched a part of a girl nobody should ever touch from that side.


    "The copyright claim will be my revenge..." She said at that time and gave me an annoyed expression. What did she mean by that? She asked for bandages instead of gloves for her battered hands afterward and selected a simple dark blue hat. For some reason, she picked out high leather boots that had to be meticulously tied, too. It doesn''t fit the rest at all. But I''m really scared... what did she mean by copyright claim?


    It''s been almost half a day, and the sun is nearing the horizon when we reach the guild. You forget the passage of time when you have fun. The bard is already there. He''s always already there, it seems. But Rolan and Luna are still out on their quest. Guess we''ll wait. I take out the little book I got from the saint.


    This isn''t Japanese, but I can read it. I''m even aware of the fact that the phonetics are different, I''ve been using it all the time so far. It''s really strange how I simply knew the language in this world the moment I came here. I mean, because of that, I didn''t notice this until a while ago. I can read everything in here, but I''m most interested in spells under the light magic category.


    Well, these are just the holy scriptures of some religion. It starts with a genesis story - skip. There''s a prophet - skip. Some moral lessons - bookmark - it might become useful for future reference to see the moral values of the humans in this world. Ah, there''s a section on light magic and incantations. There are some with really ambiguous effects, such as "grants vitality," "strengthens the mind" and "increases resistance to the dark arts." I''d interpret the last one to be a buff to dark magic resistance, but I don''t know if this world works this way. Rock paper scissors elemental systems only exist in videogames after all. Reality is quite a bit more complicated.


    But there are also some really interesting sounding ones, like "Sivalta." It''s a short incantation used against the weakest of undead, which frees their souls and destroys their bodies. First things first, there are undead in this world. I inadvertently look down at Senka. Secondly, this makes it sound like the people here have figured out the secrets behind souls, something my previous world, with all its science, couldn''t. I guess magic does that to a civilization.


    There''s a spell with a two-word incantation, "Ohnd Spyd," which summons a spear of light to strike one''s enemies. It doesn''t specify how big or how fast it would be and how strong it is. Guess I''ll have to try it out eventually. I don''t find anything about mana or the likes, so I think this means magic in this world doesn''t use it? That''s quite the broken system.


    Well, there''s no point in learning these now since I can''t test them. I''ll forget them soon anyway, so it''ll only be useful when I actually train them - most preferably on targets. I close the book and put it away.


    Let''s take a look at the quest board. Yep, this is basically like a fantasy game, and they have a bulletin board where quests are pinned for adventurers to take to the reception desk and sign up for under their names. Time to learn a little about the organization of the adventurers in this world. There seem to be quite a few people who do this line of work, after all.


    The majority of quests involve escorting merchants or gatherers on their jobs, very few subjugation quests for various beasts are available, and there are some about retrieving lost pets. That''s a staple of any beginner adventurer''s job, huh? The interesting part is that there are no difficulty levels specifically written out on the posted quests. Everyone is to judge their own strengths and weaknesses and see whether they''re capable of doing it or not.


    One quest catches my eyes: Annual Cemetery Dungeon Clearing. There are dungeons in this world, huh? Should have expected that. There''s a difficulty level posted on this one. Only an experienced party with enchanted weapons, preferably with a fire mage, to combat the masses of undead. Wait, isn''t that the perfect opportunity to test these light magic spells? Coincidence? I think not!


    "Ignis." I mutter, and a small flame appears above my hand. In case the light magic fails, I can use some fire at least, right? I grasp the flame, and it disappears without burning my hand. How about trying this out with the members available here? If I went alone, I''m sure I''d have no troubles, but I doubt they''d let me. I might be getting ahead of myself though.


    "Anything caught your eye, missy?" Gram''s attitude towards me changed a little over the day. He used to call me Miss Marcott, but ever since I officially joined the party, I must have become more familiar to him.


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    "I am quite interested in this Annual Cemetery Dungeon Clearing request." Trying can''t hurt. I earn a nervous laugh from the big man.


    "Ah, the yearly undead clearing. We never had the chance to try it before, but I hear it''s quite dangerous." He looks a little nervous. This sounds like the first dungeon one is sent to on a quest in action RPGs. The boss in those games is always just a slightly stronger version of the mobs that run around the map and can be done with the basic equipment and only the starter skill. Does this mean it''s considered difficult in this world?


    "Do you think with the members here, we could do it?" I look up to the big man to gauge his opinion of the bard. I think he''s quite useless, since he''s just an average ranger, using a crossbow with pretty long reload times no less. What about him is a bard, other than when he sings during parties? There''s no hint of his songs being able to give buffs or the likes, though.


    "I don''t think so. We don''t have anyone who can decisively strike them down with us right now. Both the leader and Runa aren''t here, after all."


    Heh heh heh, you have a light mage right here! Demonstratively, I put my palm on his arm and whisper "Sano." A light surrounds my hand.


    "You forget I can use light magic, and the Scripture of the Lady of Brilliance has great knowledge on improving this talent." I hold up the small book Arcelia gave me.


    "Haha, don''t overestimate yourself, missy." Ah, of course he would react this way. "You only just started on the path. It took Runa many years to get to her level of mastery, and she''s incredibly talented, too." Fair enough, he needs a demonstration, it seems.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" I chant out loud, and light gathers above me, shaping into an oblong, spear-like form. Gram''s eyes widen at the sight. Um, what do I do with this now? How do I fire it? Maybe I need to grab it and physically throw it? No, that doesn''t seem right. Even the double fire alignment slaver didn''t actually touch his fireballs. Then I''ll just will it to move in some direction. Luckily, there''s a perfect target: An actual target board, hanging at one end of the guildhall.


    The spear flies, faster than Gram''s eyes can follow and hits the target dead center. Then it goes in, leaving behind a scorching hole the size of a volleyball in the wall behind it, and blow a hole into the wall of the building next to it. What''s with this destructive power, oi! This is marked as a low-level spell, and it only requires two words to chant! Luna''s spells are of a higher level and require a much longer incantation, to the point where it takes up a whole minute, and it''s almost at the same level.


    Everyone in the guildhall is dumbfounded by the sight, alternating their gazes between the wall and me. Yep, this spell is bad news. If I carelessly throw these around, it''ll cause a lot of collateral. I won''t be able to keep living in this society if I accidentally kill some people this way. But for now, poker face.


    "I believe I am not overestimating myself." I think that might have come across as too arrogant. I only learned how to use magic yesterday, and today I throw a spell that seems to be armor-piercing. And apparently without any effort, too. "Let us try the quest." I look up at Gram with upturned eyes. I''m sure this melts anyone''s heart.


    "Well, the leader and Runa are going to return soon, so we could just go with them, then..." He looks away. So it was effective after all. His shock at my display of incredible magic was blown away as he didn''t even comment on that part.


    "Actually, the leader told me that they would return to the tavern right after the request is finished since it will continue very early tomorrow, too." The bard was listening all the time and finally dropped this piece of information. Perfect timing, although I think it would have been better if you had told us earlier. We waited for quite a while now.


    "Ah..." Gram scratches his nose and averts his gaze further.


    Wait, you knew about it? But now you have no more excuses, big man. The bard can join in, too, and gain some levels along the way. Oh wait, there are no levels in this world, so you''ll stay a useless bard forever. I''m not sorry to think that way about you.


    "Is this not best completed at night?" Not scared, you ask? This is a kind of horror different from Senka''s. The influx of zombie games and movies have served to dull the senses, and they''re in no way scary anymore. Especially when I have these powerful light magic spells at my disposal now. I''m itching to test out Sivalta, too.


    "The big man is actually afraid of the undead." The bard exposes his comrade with a grin.


    What, really? I look at him unbelieving, and he looks away while scratching his nose in embarrassment. Well, it wasn''t nice of you to point it out, useless bard, but that''s quite an interesting piece of information. At least it''s not associated with a past trauma, or his reaction would have been different.


    "He was told many stories in his childhood and has never faced up to those fears. There are not many opportunities normally, and we have usually been absent during the season when the annual clearing takes place."


    "The clearing takes a big group to complete. It''s not something we could finish on our own within a night." Why do I have a feeling that we could?


    "Let us go!" I say with a decisive expression and take the note to the front desk. Yes, I''m forcefully becoming the leader during the actual leader''s absence. Usurpation? Just consider me the one in charge when he''s not around. Gram and the bard are both not the types to take command after all.


    Maybe I can facilitate us getting separated from these two and test out Senka''s combat capabilities. I''ll also be able to teach Kamii about my true appearance there without having to fear for anyone else witnessing it. I won''t overdo it and show her all of it right away; I don''t want her to go mad.


    "Excuse me, but we cannot let a beginner take this dangerous request." The receptionist doesn''t know me, so it''s only natural that she has her reservations about me doing this quest. Did she not see my magic just now? Do I have to demonstrate it to her again?


    "Gram!" The voice of Ingrid echoes through the guildhall, and I turn around. She sounds alarmed.


    "What happened?" The big man reacts with a bracing expression.


    "Where''s Rolan?" Uh oh, seems like bad news. "I got word from the continent. The Alliance army was wiped out. King Uther and Queen Lillian are dead." Oh, those are pretty old news. "The old transportation network will be used for an attack anywhere around the world now. We have to suspend any further requests and call back everyone." No no no, don''t do that, I want to go into the cemetery dungeon. "The retaliation from the demons will come swiftly." It''s been a week since then; I wouldn''t call something coming now swiftly. Either way, this is the scenario Rolan subconsciously wished for.


    Rejoice, Rolan Helt. Your wish will finally come true.

 Chapter 19 - State of Emergency

    I doubt I''ll be so lucky to see the armies of my mother coming to such a remote region. I mean, this town is quite small; nowhere near the size of what I saw from the demon palace window. There''s absolutely no reason for her to strike such a place in retaliation for being invaded by the human armies. But if she really did, I don''t know what I would do.


    I look down at Senka and hug her tight. I lower my mouth to her ear and whisper as quietly as possible. The bard isn''t around right now, but I still don''t want to risk anything. "What should we do if the demon queen strikes this region?"


    "That''s up to you. You have a deadline for returning to the castle, not returning to her side." She''s right. I doubt she''d lose against the humans here, so I don''t think I''ll have to rally to her side at that time. I should just run away with the current party to keep up appearances. After all, I still want to attend the magic academy at the capital. "I doubt she will, though. There are many better transportation network points in this world where she could strike. And the thing is, she will most likely not come herself." Yeah, why did I think she would?


    "K-Kuroeh?" Yes, that''s how Kamii calls me now. She knows that I converse with Senka, but I don''t think she''s aware of the fact that the doll I''m hugging is alive. I turn to look at her and find that she''s giving me an expression that''s filled with a hint of jealousy. Oh my, how cute. But there''s also unease in her eyes. Our hectic surroundings are denoting that something bad is going on.


    "Everything is alright, Kamii-chan." I pet her hair. "I am here for you." She snuggles into my side.


    We''re standing in the adventurer''s guild, where many people have gathered on the bequest of the guild master. Even Rolan and Luna are here, although they supposedly already retired to their quarters. I spot another person I didn''t expect to see: The Saint of Luminosity, Arcelia Crux. She notices me and gives me a saintly smile. At least I think it was directed at me, since her eyes are closed, so I can''t tell who she''s looking at. I return the smile anyway. Secretly, I wonder how strong she is. If the spirit spear I threw earlier is considered a low-level spell, and she''s one of only twelve light mages, then she must be able to cast the highest level ones.


    "The news was brought by the sole survivor of the Alliance army. He was tortured for several days and sent through the old transportation network with the message that there would be swift retaliation." Ingrid is standing on a podium and speaking to the people gathered. I can see those who were present during the raid and a lot more I haven''t seen before. "I don''t think the demon army will hit us here, but just in case, I want everyone to prepare for an attack."


    "The Alliance army numbered half a million... and they were completely wiped out?"


    "If half a million soldiers couldn''t win, what can this little town hope to achieve?"


    "Why would the demon lord attack Hovsgaerden? We''re only a small town far from the capital."


    "There''s no hope for survival if they really come here..."


    Whispers among the people grow louder as Ingrid scratches her head with a complicated expression. She seems to share their sentiment, but she also has to fulfill her duty.


    "I''m not telling you to stand up to the demon army if they come. I want you to speak to the townsfolk and tell them to prepare their belongings. In case the demon army does show up anywhere near here, we''ll evacuate towards the capital." That makes a lot more sense.


    "But the capital is a thousand and four hundred leagues from here. That''s a journey of nearly thirty days!"


    "If the demon army were on our heels, it would turn into a death march."


    That far away, huh? It''s about the distance between Tokyo and Nara. I wouldn''t ever have dreamed of walking that distance in my previous life, but my new body doesn''t seem to tire, so I could try it now.


    "Therefore, nobody is to leave the city on requests that take longer than a day. We have to wait until the attack on anywhere within the dominion of man has been confirmed before we can lift the state of emergency. This has been agreed on with the mayor, and the city watch is also on high alert. There will be increased patrols, and we were asked to help out with scouting the surroundings." I think the situation is slowly sinking in because a blanket of despair is gradually descending on the people in the hall. I hear people still whisper about the half a million dead and how impossible it would be to fight the demons. I guess that was a pretty big army by human standards, huh? "This is a request from the Guild. Everyone here is aware that we aren''t a strict organization like the military, so these aren''t orders. Think of this as a request with the survival of our people as payment. Dismissed."


    Way to go to motivate them. Some regained their composure, but others look like they want to run away as quickly as possible. Well, cowards are useless anyway, so it''d be better if they weren''t around when the situation turns dire. Those are the ones most likely to mess up a formation or to give themselves in to betrayal.


    "The Alliance army had half a million soldiers?" I turn to Gram and ask. His expression is one of determination rather than fear, and while he''s not relaxed, he doesn''t look like one to run away. Rolan, Luna, and even the bard are the same.


    "Yes, that was the first expedition in two decades. I was still a little boy when I heard that Emperor Lucianus IV personally led an army to the Demon Continent. Back then, everyone was paying attention to the progress reports." Considering the fact that there had to be another expedition, he obviously failed back then. "His army was routed, and he perished, but he killed the previous demon lord in the final battle. He brought more than three hundred thousand troops, although the war was fought differently then."


    Then it makes a lot of sense that losing almost twice as many came as such a shock. And the demon lord didn''t even die this time.


    "A year later, the current demon lord came to power and sent an army through the old transportation network to punish the humans for the expedition. As a result, the Khurut Sultanate bore the full brunt of their invasion." The bard takes over the recounting of the tale. "The sultanate has never been in the alliance but was attacked nonetheless. It showed how indiscriminate the demons are and that they view all humans as their enemies."


    Why do I have the feeling Maou-mama just messed up the transportation spell''s destination and decided to roll with it anyway? For some reason, I think that''s very likely what happened. The image of her sticking out a tongue with a mischievous laugh makes me want to bop her over the head.


    "Miss Marcott, I heard that you wish to accept my offer for a seat at the Royal Academy as soon as possible. Along with Miss Sigint, of course." Arcelia approaches us. Kamii hides behind my back upon seeing her. Don''t tell me the church here persecutes cursed people? Well, she has her eyes closed, but I''m sure she noticed the little girl behind me already. No reaction from her, so no need to worry for now. "Because of this disturbance, I am expected to return to the capital right away. If you want to, you may travel with me."


    It makes sense that one of the only twelve light mages and someone called a saint would have to be in the capital city during such a time of crisis. Even then, it''d still take a month to return, right? I can''t make this decision so quickly, so I turn to the other party members.


    "You should go, we''ll come after things have calmed down around here." Rolan is the one to respond to my gaze. No, that''s not what I wanted to hear. But I guess it was to be expected. He can''t just leave this town, now that it might be in danger. And if he doesn''t leave, neither will his party. I just joined them this morning, so getting separated now kind of defeats the purpose. Maybe I can score some points with selflessness here.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "I will stay here with you until the state of emergency has been lifted." And maybe I can do the Cemetery Dungeon Clearing in the meantime since it''s within the city''s boundaries. "I am now a member of your group, after all, Rolan."


    Hm, I think Luna looks a little disappointed that I''m not leaving now. You have no faith in your boyfriend, do you? Rolan sighs in resignation and turns to Arcelia with an expression that basically asks, "what can I do?"


    "I understand your sentiment, Miss Marcott. I shall await your arrival at a later point, then." From within her robe, she takes out a sealed scroll of paper. "This is a written recommendation, signed with my personal seal. You only need to show this to the headmaster, and you will receive all the promised benefits, once your aptitude is verified once again." So I''ll have to do the elemental affinity test again. I doubt it''s going to change until then, so I should be fine. "Miss Sigint, here is one for you. You will have to pass an aptitude test as well as a practical test, as I am led to believe that you already have experience with magic." What a difference in treatment right there. Well, this academy seems to be a meritocracy after all. "I wish you all well. Under the guidance of the Lady of Brilliance we shall meet again." So that''s like a common phrase used by believers of her religion instead of a farewell, huh?


    "So, what do we do now, leader?" Gram asks after Arcelia walks away.


    "We don''t have any belongings to pack, and there''s still the request we''ll have to continue tomorrow, so things don''t really change for us."


    "I would like to try the Annual Cemetery Dungeon Clearing request." Before Rolan can disband the party for the day, I speak with a definitive voice. He looks at me strangely for a moment before realizing what I just said.


    "Wait, isn''t that a pretty dangerous one?" Rolan turns to look at Gram.


    "The missy said she can use light magic now, and that it should be easy... Well, she did throw a spear of light and made that hole over there." The big man points at the wall where I threw the Ohnd Spyd spell as a test. I hope the owners of the houses beyond won''t come to complain and ask for compensation.


    "What do you think, big man?" Oh, he''s considering it.


    "I heard that the undead are really slow, so..." Even he''s considering it now!


    So it was decided that we would try it out and descend into the dungeon under the town cemetery. It was obvious that Kamii wouldn''t leave my side, and I carried Senka with me, so we''re still making a very out-of-place sight. Especially since Kamii is wearing her new outfit, which is utterly unfit for combat. I don''t have any gear myself, but it''s similar to Luna, who''s a mage, and only carries a staff. But I don''t even have a staff.


    Well, let''s see what these undead are like. Gram is our front line, and the bard is carrying a crossbow, but I don''t know how useful it''ll be against skeletons or zombies. Especially since it''s so slow in reloading. I wouldn''t mind seeing one of those scenes where he gets surrounded and fumbles his reload, then gets eaten alive. Ah, but that would make for a bad start for my party career.


    The underground dungeon is made up of the mausoleum of the city''s founder, which is needlessly big, and a rather large natural cave system. Inside the caves, when you look up, you can see limbs sticking out from the ceiling. That''s the result of those buried above coming back to life, in a way, and burrowing downwards to get into the cavity below. There are some holes from where the moonlight can fall in, but it''s far from enough to see in the dark. I have night vision, and so does Kamii, so we have no troubles. I feel like Senka has it, too, although I wouldn''t have an explanation for why she does. The bard is carrying a torch, and the Gram''s enchanted shield apparently has a flashlight function, which illuminates the ground in front of him in a bluish-white cone.


    "Uurhhh..." Yep, that''s the sound of a zombie''s breath. I also hear clattering bones, which denote the presence of skeletons. A year is more than enough to reduce a human corpse to that in nature. Well, the inside of my body can do that within minutes. Gram points his shield in the direction of the sound, and there''s a half-decomposed zombie. It smells awful, but at the same time I don''t mind it too much. Must be because of this body. Now, time to test the low-level spell Sivalta. I should make it look like it takes some effort, and chant it out loud as I did with the spirit spear spell.


    "Sivalta!" I lift my one free arm - since the other is carrying Senka - and speak the incantation loudly. Wait, isn''t this doll-like girl I''m holding also an undead of some sort?


    Oops, too late. My chant echoes through the cave systems, and a holy light gathers above me before spreading out in all directions in a wave. The illuminated surroundings show us that a considerable number of undead have already encircled us, but the moment the wave hits them, their eyes begin to glow and their bodies burn away in holy fire. The smoke each one of them leaves behind is ethereal and bright, disappearing in an immaterial gust of wind. I feel like I hear whispers of gratitude in them. That was really effective!


    Senka was unaffected, so it''s alright. Phew...


    We exit the dungeon only minutes later. I''m unsatisfied. That one Sivalta was enough to clear the entire dungeon. What''s with the efficiency of my spells, oi? Gram and the bard are looking at me like I''m a prodigy or something. Kamii doesn''t seem to understand how amazing it was, so she keeps clinging to me as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. She didn''t even really notice that we were surrounded by the undead and that if my spell had failed, the humans would have been in a pretty bad spot. I didn''t even have a chance to test out Senka''s abilities or teach Kamii about myself.


    When we return to the tavern, I''m told that Rolan and Luna have taken a room for themselves. Normies should- enough of this. In either case, that means Kamii, Senka and I have the room I shared with Luna before to ourselves. How convenient.


    "How convenient." Senka says as she stretches her body the moment the door closes behind us. Kamii looks at her with big eyes while hiding behind me. If you do this too much, it''ll become your defining character trait, you know.


    "Kamii-chan, Onee-san has something to tell you."


    "Kuroeh?" Ahhh, if you say my name like that and look at me with those eyes, I can''t help but cuddle you!


    "Um, you see... I am not what I seem to be." I separate from her and look her deep in the eyes. I can see confusion in them as she looks me up and down. "I am not a human. I am a demon. I... am... a... Crawling Chaos." She doesn''t seem to comprehend my confession. I think I know a way to make her understand without also making her lose some SAN points in the process.


    My right hand morphs into the same crab claw that she has. Seeing it, she stumbles backward in shock, but I catch her with my other hand. I revert the transformation and turn my entire arm into its original appearance - that of tentacles wound together into a vaguely humanoid limb. They unwind and wiggle individually, to show that they''re not just a trick of the light.


    "I''ve seen enough hentai to-"


    "Shut up, Senka." I transform it back into my human arm. From inside my palm, I take out the survival knife that was included in my starter kit. I press it into my other palm, and it disappears in a slight ripple, without leaving a wound. "What do you think, Kamii-chan?"


    "Kuroeh... is not... a human?"


    "That is right." I spared her my actual face... I''ll leave that for eventually?.


    "But... Kuroeh is... still Kuroeh." Oh, what a sweet child. She understands, no matter what I am, I was the one who saved her, the one who''s been kind to her. Well, it''s only been one day, but I''m sure I gave her more warmth in this one day than she experienced in a long time. She hugs me tightly, and I return the gesture.


    "Worked out perfectly, didn''t it?" Senka comments as she watches us.


    "Jealous?" I smirk at her, and she rolls her eyes. Yeah, that''s better for our relationship. Senka isn''t a child after all, even if she looks like one. We can talk eye to eye, although she sometimes loses me with statements that seem to be directed at somebody invisible watching us.


    "What... is that?" Kamii points at Senka and sounds a little scared. Ah, so you aren''t afraid of me, but of that creepy-cute doll, huh? I look at the one in question with a triumphant expression.


    "I think that''s only because your horror is of the kind that isn''t simple to grasp. People don''t shut down their minds when they see ghosts or living dolls, after all. They only scream or run away." Always an explanation, huh?


    "That is Senka; she is a friend."


    "Friend...?" It''s hard to accept, right?


    "Yes, but this is a secret between the three of us. Can you keep it a secret, Kamii-chan?" I look her in the eyes intently. I see no hesitation or fear in them, as she returns the gaze. She nods in response. Good girl. I pet her hair.


    One big thing out of the way.

 Chapter 20 - The Path to the Capital

    Five days later, Ingrid announced that the attack had occurred on the Fatas Triarchy - another unfamiliar name. Apparently they were neutral, choosing to only defend against the demon lord''s corruption within their borders, but never actively participating in attacks on the Demon Continent''s shores. Either maou-mama is trying to unify humanity to wipe them out in one go, or she really can''t tell apart the various human nations and just indiscriminately attacks them. Or she just messed up the transportation location.


    In any case, the state of emergency was lifted, so we departed Hovsgaerden the following day. Now I have a lot more leeway on the journey, since I''ve been entrusted with night watch duty. I have a few hours every night to do whatever I want, as long as it doesn''t wake up anyone. I used it to stockpile on livestock I found in the surroundings most of the time.


    During a conversation with Senka one night I was reminded of the fact that I should check the map inside the backpack I was given. Rather, she mentioned geography and I remembered that I still had it stored safely inside my body. But I''m half-expecting it to be a map of just the Demon Continent, and most likely not even a very detailed one.


    "I just hope it actually is a map..." It wouldn''t be funny, if it was just my misconception, associating the large piece of leather with an actual map. "Kortid." Oh, lines are forming! It''s actually one, after all. I apologize for thinking you didn''t give me a map, maou-mama, but I still want to hit you for not telling me the incantation to make it work. Let''s see...


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Snap


    No good, I need to calm down. I would have flipped the table, if we had been sitting at one. The red dot shows my location and basically nothing else is written on it - except for a black dot on a place called "Demon Continent". It''s the only named place of the map, and it also happens to be on the other side of the known world. At least that''s what I gather from it. There''s no legend for the map, and no indicator for ratios of distance, but I do have Rolan''s map of the kingdom for comparison. We''re about one thousand leagues from the capital by now, and about nine times that is the distance, in a direct line, to the black dot on the Demon Continent, which is hopefully the location of the demon palace, at least.


    In other words, if I were to walk that distance in a perfectly straight line, and assuming it''d be all flat land, then it would take me at least ninety days. That''s only if I were to walk at the same pace as I''ve been traveling so far. Of course, there are two seas to cross, and the journey will in no way be going in a straight line. That doesn''t seem too bad at first, but I''m not traveling alone, I don''t intend to just be on the move all the time, and I do want to see more of the world.


    Actually, maou-mama, three years seems quite reasonable for such a distance. Now I have to wonder whether she deliberately sent me to such a faraway place, or it was really just an accident. I wouldn''t have met Senka and Kamii otherwise, so at least I''m grateful for that. I think you redeemed yourself in my mind. Still, it''s the other side of the world, as far as I can tell from this huge map.


    "Is it just me or does this shape look familiar?" Senka says with a completely unamused expression. I don''t know what she''s referring to when I take a closer look. "You, of all people, should know what I mean..." I''ve never been good at geography, you know? I shrug.


    "But really, it''s a long way after all..." I sigh and look up at the stars. Hm, why are there two moons? I snap my neck around to Senka. I don''t remember seeing this the last time I looked up into the sky the previous night? "Two moons?"


    "Ah... yeah, no." She doesn''t answer directly. What do you mean by that? Is it something you can''t talk about in this world? "Just accept it as it is..." If you say it like that, I''m even more interested!


    "Don''t leave me hanging, oi!" Oops, I just raised my voice a little. Kamii wakes up and looks around sleepily. "Everything is alright. Go back to sleep, Kamii-chan." I pet her hair and she puts her head back in my lap. I turn to Senka, but she doesn''t seem to want to touch further on the subject. I look up again and just can''t shake the feeling that there''s more to these two moons than meets the eye. Don''t tell me they''re actually eyes of a gigantic monster or something, haha...


    "Just so you know, tonight is a new moon." Ahhh, don''t drop such a bombshell on me right after my mind comes up with such an absurd explanation! I focus on the moons but just can''t tell. Not that I could do anything if that was true. If those are really the eyes of a monster, it''d be big enough to accidentally destroy the planet by sneezing. There are stars between them. No, that can''t be... Let''s leave that matter aside, there''s no point in thinking about it now.


    That night I dreamed of galaxy-sized robots fighting each other while defying all laws of physics.


    Along the way we passed through two towns of similar size to Hovsgaerden, and stayed a night in each. Since we were rushing, we didn''t take on any requests at the adventurers'' guilds there and only stocked up on supplies for the journey. While we did get many weird looks from the townspeople, especially Kamii and I, for carrying Senka, I never once thought of hiding her crab claw from sight. I think that it''s a badge of honor and a status symbol, and anyone who thinks otherwise can come and take it up with me!


    We finally enter a mountainous area six days after our departure from Hovsgaerden, and the reason for why the journey is meant to take a month becomes apparent. The distance between Tokyo and Nara can be walked in about ten days, when one takes it at a reasonable rate. But there''s negligible elevation to cross and the roads are all paved and well-maintained. That''s not the case here. While we were walking on a gravel road up until now, the path ahead of us is turning into a simple dirt road.


    "The problem isn''t the road, but the length of it. Because the mountains are quite steep, it''ll be winding a lot." Gram explains as we slowly ascend. "The Kongensgrad is the mountain range that runs along the entirety of the Kingdom of Lares. We need to make for the King''s Pass, which is the easiest way through the mountains."


    "But not the fastest?" I''m curious!


    "Well, you see..." I think he dreads my asking. There must be a faster, but more dangerous route, I can feel it. "There are other routes, but it''s better if we don''t take any of those paths. They are very dangerous." Oh, now you''ve done it.


    "Why not? If they are dangerous, it is a means to test our strength. I am sure that they do not even begin to compare to the demon lord." This is directed at Rolan and his hot-headedness. He''s the hero-type after all, so it''s very likely that such words will entice him to take action. I turn to look at the man in question.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Chloe is right." No honorific. Rolan got quite comfortable with me these days. Even Luna is calling me just by Chloe now, and the bard has settled with a "lady" in front. "If we can''t overcome such a trial, we won''t be able to challenge the demon lord within the next two years." I doubt you''ll be able to even in twenty, unless you have a cheat-like growth potential.


    "What routes are there?" Let''s pick the one that sounds the most difficult.


    "The King''s Pass, as mentioned earlier, is the easiest and best maintained route. It''s frequently used by travelers and merchants." I don''t care about that one. "The second fastest route is the Himmelensveien, which is more treacherous and takes one across the tallest mountains in the Kongensgrad. But it takes nearly five days off the travel time." That sounds better, but it''s still just a hike in the mountains. Doesn''t seem too dangerous to me. "And the fastest, by seven days, is The Maw." That''s it!


    "No, we really shouldn''t... it takes us too close to the troll kingdom." Gram, you''re not making it easier for your case. That''s just even more of a reason for me to wish to go that way. "It may take the least time, but if we cause a disturbance, the entire troll kingdom could come down on us." Sounds like a feast.


    "The troll kingdom?" I see an uh-oh expression on Gram''s face, but pay it no heed. By now he knows that when I ask like this, I want to hear all of it, and then I will propose to go that way, if it interests me.


    "Trolls are a race of demi-humans the size of children. They''re quite strong, despite appearances, and they eat anything. That includes human flesh." Rolan explains. "Every year greedy merchants are lost in The Maw, because they encounter the trolls during their passage. But there are still daredevils who try to shave off travel time by going through there. Of course, there are people who succeed, but it''s usually just pure luck."


    "We should try ourselves on that route, Rolan." I''m determined to go that way, and you won''t get me to change my mind on this. I cross my arms in a defiant pose. This should give all the necessary signals for my stance. Gram buries his face in his palm and the bard chuckles. I think Luna doesn''t particularly care about which route we take, and I can feel some excitement in how she seems to be listening intently while acting like she''s doing something with her equipment. I''m sure everyone here would really like to test their limits, most of all the leader himself.


    "Dangerous?" Kamii suddenly asks and slightly lifts her crab claw. I doubt she''s going to be of much help in a fight, but I appreciate the sentiment. I pet her hair.


    "Do not worry, I will protect you." She gives me a smile that could melt me away on the spot.


    "I think we should be alright, big man. We have two outstanding mages with us and your shield is unbreakable." Rolan doesn''t mention the bard. That''s quite sad. Seriously though, there must be some justification to his presence in this party, maybe it''s just something I haven''t seen yet. A certain set of circumstances or specific conditions that have to be fulfilled for him to be of use... yeah, no, I have nothing.


    "So it is decided then?" I think my smile is really radiant right now.


    "Yes, we''ll be going through The Maw." Yay!


    It still took us another four days to reach the entrance to The Maw. Along the way Senka told me that in this world, one month equals twenty six days and that a year consists of thirteen months. If my high school math doesn''t fail me, it means I actually have less time than I thought I do. Well, common sense dictates that a year has three hundred and sixty five days, right? Still, it''s only about three earth months of time less, but that shouldn''t be a problem.


    In either case, the name of this place is well deserved. On the side of the mountain a large, jagged rift opens like a giant mouth with sharp teeth. The wind slowly blows fog in and out of it, making it look like it''s breathing. I wouldn''t be surprised if it actually was a living being and we walked through its entire digestive system... uh, I don''t want to think about it like that after all.


    "Now, this is a sight to behold." The bard seems quite intrigued and takes the lute into his hands.


    "The widow descends into the netherworld,


    To reclaim her lover''s long lost soul.


    Returning the dead bears a divine toll,


    In the form of a goddess'' pure tears impearled.


    Unbeknownst to the lady that blessing is gone,


    Given in whim and now taken in spite.


    The lovers reunite in feelings reignite,


    In the land of the living she wakes again, alone."


    Kinda sounds like the story about Izanagi descending into hell to bring back Izanami, but it''s also different. I have to admit that his voice is great, though.


    "How ominous..." Luna comments. "That may not have been the best poem for the occasion." Yes, I agree on that part. We''re about to descend into the netherworld, and it makes it sound like we''re going to come out one person short or something. Kamii holds onto me tighter. Senka''s in my embrace, so she won''t be going missing. If there''s ever a reason to believe that things are going south, I will stuff them both inside me and make a run for it. I can keep a living being alive inside my body for several hours now - at least the sheep can live for that long, but I haven''t tried it with humans, or dark elves, yet. That should be enough for me to find someplace safe, even if it''s only a temporary haven.


    "We''ll descend tomorrow." Rolan announces. The sun is hanging low, and while it doesn''t matter for an underground exploration, we marched all day and everyone is tired. Well, I''m not, but Kamii isn''t used to these long treks. She''s actually the main reason our progress has been slower than when I first joined the party in that starting village, but I can''t blame her.


    We use the time to gather wood to prepare torches, fill up several water containers just in case there isn''t any fresh water in the cave systems, and in general just rest before descending into a place where we may have to run for two days without sleep, in case things go wrong. But I do feel like meeting those trolls to see how dangerous they really are. Maybe I can facilitate something...


    I should be able to provide great magic backup with the light spear spell, and Luna has been teaching me the way to meld magic. Along the way, I came to learn that this half-elf girl must be an exceptional prodigy. The spells that take a long time to chant are all creations of her own rather than ones she learned from books. While she does have some basic knowledge of lower level spells, all the higher level ones she knows are melded together from her imagination. I think she has quite a bit of potential.


    Does this mean I can just create spells by imagining their effects, too? I can''t just test that out in front of everyone though, since I''m trying to not stand out too much with my seemingly overtuned abilities. I did enough with the spear that pierced through half the city and the one low-level spell that cleared the entire cemetery dungeon in an instant. I guess I can just test the shielding spell I found in the holy scripture, which "protects the devout and innocent". Quite vague again, but I''m sure that if I can use it, I won''t be excluded from its effect.


    Tonight, the night watch is doubled, with Rolan and Luna taking the first shift. Since we''re that close to the troll kingdom, and it''s possible that there may be some scouts or foragers coming out from the caves, it''s best to have more attentive eyes and ears. For some reason I feel like they won''t pay much attention to their surroundings, though. Senka did tell me that she never sleeps, so she can wake me up if something happens.


    But I''m too excited to sleep... like an elementary school kid going on a field trip the next morning. How would it feel to be surrounded by a large number of goblin-like creatures - because the description of these trolls sound like goblins from many games I''ve played - and fighting in a party with sword and magic? Wouldn''t it be awesome, if we had to fight our way through hordes of enemies with the light at the end of the tunnel just in sight?


    I''m so excited!

 Chapter 21 - Through the Belly of the Beast

    The Maw derives its name from the fact that it seems to lead into the belly of the mountain. The ancient name for the southern part of the mountain range would be translated to "Two-Headed Titan". In the age of the gods, there were two titanic beasts that fought here and ravaged the lands. They killed each other and their remains turned into the mountain range that runs across the entire kingdom. The bigger one had two heads, becoming the southern part, while the smaller one fell towards the north. Both are now collectively called Kongensgrad. The space between them became what is now named the King''s Pass.


    We''re now descending into one of the Two-Headed Titan''s supposed heads, the side that''s called The Maw. The bard told me that the other side is called The Whisper, because the entrance is quite small and hidden when viewed from afar. I''m a sucker for such lore, and in reality I was a real nerd. One wouldn''t take me as such when seeing me, but outside from track and field, I buried myself in pop-culture. Please tell me more!


    "The dwarves used to live here until two centuries ago. They dug too deeply and too greedily, and came upon the troll kingdom." There are dwarves in this world! "Trolls shun all forms of light. They live in the bowels of the world, most likely existing everywhere, hidden from view. Normally, they would never come into contact with people from above ground."


    The caves look man-made in some places and natural in others. It goes to show that the dwarves didn''t have the time to finish everything before they met the trolls. The path we''re taking is quite wide and continues on into the depths of the mountain in an almost straight line. There are marked stones to denote the right path and it would seem that the trolls don''t understand their meaning to consider removing them.


    "The troll kingdom is an unknown force, since its numbers are unfathomable. Survivors speak of a sea of bodies. The kingdom estimates that there were at least a million, since they were able to almost annihilate the technologically advanced and well-equipped army of the dwarves, which numbered in nearly a hundred thousand. The Kingdom of Lares only has very few dwarves left, and most of them live among the humans as craftsmen." I do want to see a dwarf someday. Are they really all small, stout and beardy like fantasy would want to make one believe?


    "Since trolls don''t like fresh air and light, they won''t be anywhere near the two entrances, but the further we go in, the more dangerous it becomes. It''s a journey of two days, and the less time we spend in here, the more likely it is we make it through without a hitch." Rolan doesn''t seem that nervous, but I think he doesn''t really want to face an army of a million with just us six - seven, if I count Senka. If there was a spell like the one that purified the entire cemetery dungeon in one go, but for trolls, it''d be no problem at all. But even I think a million is a little much.


    Still, I want to see a troll.


    The bard seems to be the one keeping the time, since he calls for breaks periodically. We''re slowly entering an area where the air is really stale and it becomes harder to breathe. While Gram, Rolan and I are fine, the less sporty types - Luna, the bard and Kamii - are having a harder time.


    "If keeping up the flame tires you out, I can take over." I suggest to Luna, but receive a strange look.


    "How are you going to cast the magic, you do not have a staff." She finally says and I''m dumbfounded. I thought you didn''t need a wand or staff to cast magic in this world.


    "I have been casting magic without a staff all this time, though...?"


    "That is because light magic can be cast as long as there is light, even if that means only that from the moon or the stars." Luna shows me her staff and the three small crystals embedded in its tip. "This garnet is for invoking fire, the blue beryl is for channeling water, and the almost transparent quartz is to control the wind. You need a medium for every type of element you wish to cast." I see, although I feel like wind should be everywhere...


    "Ignis." I mutter and a small flame appears above my palm. Luna''s eyes go wide and she gasps. I don''t have any crystals, or does an organic body also work as a medium? I''m not quite human after all, but she doesn''t know that.


    "How did you do that?" She raises her voice and the others turn to see what''s going on. This is a sensitive area after all, so her suddenly speaking out loud is cause for concern.


    "I do not know. It just happened this way." I shrug and grasp the flame in my palm, making it disappear. "I have not tried any other type of magic, but maybe I have a special affinity with fire?" I doubt that, but if that can serve as an explanation to calm Luna down, it''s worth coming up with such a theory.


    "You surprise us on every turn, missy." Gram comments and shows a resigned smile. "With your talent in our group, I think the demon lord isn''t a problem at all." I don''t think maou-mama would be weaker than I, especially since we both have the same type of body, and she had more time to experiment with hers than I did. Even if I happen to be more talented, experience is not something overcome so easily. Especially if it''s at least twenty years more - judging by Gram''s story about how she came to power that many years ago. And I will stand against you rather than with you, if you ever come to face my mother...


    Ultimately, I could start acting like a torch, too. Ugh, I shouldn''t have proposed this. Luna''s staff is long and the flame at its tip is quite high up. The fire on my palm is too low, and I don''t want to walk around with my arm raised all the time. If only I could borrow her staff... but of course, she refused.


    The first day passed without incident and the bard signaled us that it was pretty late already. We found a room, most likely a guard house, which could be used for camping. There are remains of tools and I think those are skulls in the corner. This is really a death trap, but with the narrow doorway we should at least be able to defend, in case the trolls show up at night. Gram can almost block it completely with his shield - this place was built by dwarves after all.


    This time, half the party takes over night watch while the other rests. I have the first watch with Gram and Kamii, although I wouldn''t count her as a proper member. She can''t really contribute after all. And she''s actually sleeping in my lap, as usual.


    I listen to the big man''s stories and learn more about this kingdom. I don''t know much about the previous world outside of Japan, but what I hear about this one really sounds a lot like Norse mythology - or at least the one I know from games. A pantheon of very human-like gods, the world tree and layered worlds, and many other things. It''s quite intriguing, and I wonder whether I would have learned these, if I hadn''t been sent to this kingdom, or never even had the chance to see more of the world if I had been only sent somewhere on the Demon Continent.


    I wake up to Luna shaking me lightly. Apparently it''s just morning, and not an emergency. I sit up and look around. Senka is wedged between Kamii and I, and somehow I feel like her expression is one of annoyance, even though it''s her usual empty one when she poses as a doll. I stroke the dark elf''s hair before bending down to her ear and whispering "wake up". Her eyes flutter open sleepily and she looks up at me in slight confusion, before giving me a bright smile. Aww~


    "The hardest part lies before us still." The bard comments. It''s like he already went through here before, but that can''t be... right? "But we should be out by the evening today."


    "Then let''s go." Rolan leads the way with a torch, and we''re back on the move. The bard comes second and is effectively the one who guides the party. Luna is in the middle, shining a light in our center. Kamii and I follow, while Gram is at our rear, the shield strapped over his backpack to defend against possible attacks from behind.


    We walk along endless seeming abysses and through low tunnels barely tall enough for the big man to stand upright in for the better half of the day. Shortly after our lunch break we finally come upon a place that seems more like the habitat of the dwarves. The bard asks Luna to increase the intensity of her light, and it illuminates a seemingly impossibly tall cave, held up by pillars cut from the very mountain itself. But the most impressive part is the amount of skeletons lying about. They are all small of stature, smaller than Kamii or even Senka, and it''s obvious which belong to whom.


    The armored dwarves and the naked trolls. There are many more bare skeletons than armored ones, but you can practically see where the last stand took place. Crunching pieces of bones with every step, we walk through this glorified tomb. I wonder why these haven''t turned undead yet. Just as I ask this, I hear the clattering of bones not caused by our feet.


    "Undead? But why now?" Rolan looks around in confusion. "There have never been any cases of them here before." I turn to look at the source of the noise and find that it''s just a few, and they are tall - human. So I guess, humans are more likely to turn than other races?


    "Sivalta!" I chant and a nova of light expands with me at the epicenter. It hits the skeletons and burns them away without a trace. The nova continues on as much as it had when I used it in the cemetery dungeon, and in its light I see bodies that aren''t decomposed in the far off distance. Wait, don''t tell me.


    A high-pitched, nerve-grating scream echoes through the halls.


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    "What was that?" Gram is alarmed and looks around. The acoustics of this place makes it hard to pinpoint where it came from. The scream is answered by others and settles into a chatter that seems to expand in all directions.


    "The trolls have been alarmed." The bard mutters with fatalism in his voice. It was an accident!


    One slightly deeper voice bellows something and we hear the sound of metal and the rattling of bones from all around us. That must have been a troll chieftain or something - or maybe even the king himself. This doesn''t bode well...


    "RUN!" The bard shouts, and we spring into action at the same time as the trolls begin to run towards us from all directions. The entire mountain seems to be shaking under their feet. With my night-vision I can only see an uncountable number of figures moving in the dark, coming at us from all sides.


    We run through the streets of the ruined dwarf city, the trampling of thousands of feet and boots coming after us. When I look up, there are trolls pouring out of cracks in the pillars and out of the windows in the houses. The circle is closing in around us, but the road in front of us is already blocked by a mass of trolls.


    "We need to get to the Bridge of Enleith, quick!" Shooting his crossbow towards the front while running, the bard exclaims. With so many enemies, I don''t think a single bolt is going to do much. But he hits a troll and the others around it shy away from their fallen companion. Into that opening, Rolan plunges with his sword.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" I shout, and a spirit spear forms. In its radiance, the trolls that come from our sides back away. Illuminated by its light I finally get a good look at them. They''re basically goblins from games I know, just with completely black, scaly-looking skin, and gigantic eyes for seeing in the dark. The spear shoots forward, right past Rolan, and pierces through the encirclement and into a house, disappearing from sight. At this, the trolls in front of us open up a path in fear and scatter.


    "Quick!" Rolan shouts and runs forward, cutting a troll''s head off in passing. These small critters are many, but they''re cowards.


    Then the deeper sounding troll bellows something and the encirclement tightens again. That''s the one we''ll have to take out, or this won''t ever end. I look back and find that Gram has activated the light on his shield and is using it to keep the light-sensitive trolls chasing us at bay. To our left side many are closing in and running towards us, wielding clubs and slabs of metal that look more like tools or unfinished smithy products than weapons. They have pieces of armor here and there, most likely scavenged from the dwarves.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" The radiance gathers and shoots towards them, killing several and scattering the rest. Because of the angle, the spear disappeared into the ground without hitting too many. This spell isn''t too good for close targets. I look forward and see that Luna is chanting a long incantation. I just hope the party can hold out long enough for that to pay off...


    "Kuroeh!" Kamii shouts behind me and I spin around. A troll wielding a dull but pointy dagger jumps at me. The dark elf throws her crab claw around and hits it in midair, sending it off course. It''s confused but doesn''t seem hurt, as it quickly gets up. Kamii hits it again and it''s knocked away. Wait, that hit just now looked stronger?


    Another troll gathers its courage and jumps forward, but her right arm swings down on it and the hit beats the small creature to the ground. One more hit and its head is split open. Don''t tell me...


    Kamii begins to seriously swing her arm and every hit seems to gain more weight behind it. At one point the enemies are flung through the air with their entire bodies broken or are practically smashed into a pulp against the ground and the walls. Wow! I remember her hitting me once before, but it was only once. There seem to be conditions attached to that strength.


    "Catastrophe!" Luna''s voice resounds through the entire cave. This spell took even longer than the laser one, so I hope it''s good. Oh, she''s floating, an eerie wind lifting her up into the air. Everyone else forms a circle around her in the center, as her staff begins to glow in the colors of the crystals embedded in it.


    Then a ball of light flies up high into the air and explodes in a bright flash. From it, fire balls rain down on our surroundings. So basically a firestorm spell? But then I see that trolls hit by it don''t catch on fire, but rather seem to have the affected parts melted away. Oi, that''s scary! Her staff forms an umbrella of water over our party and none of the fire balls hit us. So the wind was just to make you fly up into the air in a flashy move?


    Spoke to soon, again. When the ball of light is used up, an upward draft pulls in all the fire balls that fell from it earlier and gathers them back. A multi-use spell? I have to admit, you have the most destructive potential on the team, like a true glass cannon, Luna.


    After the second deadly rain of fire balls the encirclement crumbles and the trolls run for their lives.


    "Now''s our chance, make a run for it!" Rolan shouts and carries Luna. It seems she''s exhausted after this. So there''s something like mana after all? The bard runs ahead, since he seems to know the way. I shoot another spirit spear at the routed trolls for good measure and pull Kamii along. Gram follows behind us, the shield over his shoulder.


    The angered voice of the troll leader resounds through the caverns and suddenly I hear whirring sounds from behind us. Several impacts on Gram''s shield confirm that they are arrows. I think now''s the time to test out this shielding spell. But it''s really a mouthful and I feel like I''ll just bite my tongue if I try to speak it in the original language. Maybe saying the words in the normal language works, too?


    "Soul''s light, protect mine charges!" A shield of light forms around me and expands to encompass Kamii next to me, too. It worked! Say goodbye to this arcane language, I can just say it in... whatever this language is!


    So, this bubble doesn''t encompass the whole party on its own, but it''s big enough for them to come in and find shelter underneath. And it stays up while on the move. How convenient. I look up and see arrows coming at us. Just in case, Gram keeps his shield up, but the arrows are blocked by the bubble of light. I don''t know how strong it is, but it doesn''t seem to break under the constant rain of arrows and other projectiles that follow. This is mighty convenient!


    "The bridge is ahead of us!" The bard shouts and points forward. Indeed, there is a bridge only wide enough for a single horse-drawn cart to cross. It''s a choke point and we won''t be surrounded. The other side is a small open stretch before a large gate, which most likely leads on the path towards the exit. There are no trolls on the other side.


    The trolls are coming from all sides and the path to the bridge keeps getting narrower. I don''t think I can cast another spell while keeping up this shield, and Luna seems to be out of commission. If we get surrounded again, I don''t think we''ll be getting out of it that easily this time. Well, I could, but the humans wouldn''t.


    Suddenly the light bubble breaks and scatters into particles of light. It has a time limit? Well, I can use spells now,and the projectiles mostly come from behind. Gram does his best to block them, but if the trolls start shooting from the sides, his shield won''t be enough to protect us all. The trolls are really quick on their feet, and the black rolling mass of them coming from behind is quickly gaining on us, too. Even if we make it across the bridge, they''ll catch up in no time.


    Rolan can''t swing a sword right now, since he''s carrying Luna. I shoot a light spear through the ranks that try to close before us, causing them to scatter a little. It''s just enough to let us enter the bridge. At least now the enemies don''t come from all sides anymore. I look back and see that they''re practically already gnawing at Gram''s heels. When I turn my head towards the front, someone passes me by. What?


    Almost all the way across the bridge, the bard turned around and came to a stop at the middle, shooting a crossbow bolt into the mass of trolls following us. It deters them only for a moment, but seeing him make a stand, they stop just a few steps away. What''s he trying to pull? The rest of the party has crossed the bridge now and we look back. He drops the crossbow and takes up his lute, playing a tone. At the sound, the trolls flinch as they stare at it in fearful curiosity. Don''t tell me he''s actually really powerful and is going to use some sound-based spells to stop them from crossing the bridge?


    "Go, my friends! I shall stop them here." He plays another note, a fearless smile on his lips. Wait, are you saying you want to sacrifice yourself so we can make it through? He turns to the trolls. "You shall n-"


    "Nope, not gonna happen." I won''t let him look cool here, by doing something so dumb. "Spirit spears!" I make it plural - since I didn''t know the plural form in the arcane language, but now that limit is lifted - and it works. A whole row of large spear forms and shoots forward, piercing the bridge from the side, just in front of the bard. It''s enough to practically cut the rock it''s made out of in half, and the part where the trolls stand on crumbles under their weight. Squealing like gutted pigs and grasping at each other impotently, they fall into the darkness below. "Now come on!" I yell at him and he seems to grasp what just happened. We leave the great halls of the dwarves behind us, their screams from across the abyss unable to harm us.


    A short while of running later we make it into an area where a small breeze blows and the air smells fresher.


    "We made it..." The bard comments while out of breath. "It is just a short way from here to The Whisper." He doesn''t look like he just had a brush with death and he wears his usual smile. I feel like hitting him over the head, but Rolan already does it for me.


    "What were you thinking?" Oh, he''s angry. "You''re not supposed to do that in such a place." Huh, what do you mean by that? Are you actually saying he shouldn''t sacrifice himself in such a place, but some other place instead?


    "Well, the situation looked quite dire. I was not aware that the lady was capable of using her magic in that way." Neither was I, up to that moment, though. "I understand, though, Rolan. I apologize."


    I sigh and shrug at his nonchalance. My two priorities, Senka and Kamii are both safe, so I''m happy. Well, I think Senka would have been safe either way, but Kamii looks quite exhausted from the fighting and running. I learned something about her today, and now I know that she might have quite some fighting potential in her. Luckily, it seems nobody among the humans has noticed it.


    That was quite the adventure. I can''t suppress my laughter and soon the entire party joins in with me. Huh, why are you all laughing, too? I''m laughing because I absorbed some of the trolls along the way, without anybody noticing. Mostly the dead that were left behind and ended up under our heels. I''ve stocked up on quite some food for a while again.


    "This was really an experience. I don''t think anyone has ever survived such a close shave before. We''ll have another story to tell." Gram comments with a wide grin. Yeah, I think it was incredible.


    We soon move forward. There''s no sign of the trolls following us, so the bridge must have been the only way across the chasm, huh? I seriously doubt that in a cave system like this one, but for now we seem to be safe. It''s only a short way to the opening after all, and the trolls won''t be chasing us out into the open, apparently.


    This shortcut was really worth it.

 Chapter 22 - The Journey Continues

    It''s the light of day again, although the sun is about to disappear behind the mountain we just came out from. The Whisper is a cave similar to The Maw, but much smaller and with stalactites and stalagmites seemingly closing in on each other. With a lot of imagination, it could look like the nearly closed jaws of a massive beast. The other side is a lush forest and the sound of birds can be heard from inside it. It''s peaceful.


    We weren''t attacked by trolls after we crossed the bridge, and we''re truly safe now. Nobody was lost, even though the bard tried to act cool as if to sacrifice himself for our survival. Everybody is breathing hard, except for me, but that''s mostly because of my physiology and because I didn''t have to carry a lot. Rolan had Luna in a princess carry, Gram had his shield and a lot of luggage, and the bard just isn''t very fit. Kamii exerted herself quite a bit and is really exhausted, but she seems fine. When she notices me looking, she gives me a tired smile. I pet her hair.


    I''m really interested in Luna''s condition, though. Why did she get tired from casting magic? Rolan is tending to her, but he doesn''t really seem alarmed. So this is normal? I sit down next to him and take a closer look at her face. She did regain consciousness along the way but her face is quite pale and she''s sweating quite a bit.


    "What happened to her?" I''m quite curious. If there''s mana in this world, then I''ll have to learn my limits, too.


    "You know Runa''s a half-elf, right? Elves have an affinity with the wind and the woods more than anything else. But she used a very high level fire spell while deep underground, which doubly goes against her nature as a forest-dweller." That explanation doesn''t sound very satisfying. In other words, going against your "nature" causes your body some strain? Then why would she have a fire affinity in the first place? Also, she didn''t seem tired at all after the laser spell, which also incorporates fire. At the academy I''ll look into the matter of where the energy for magic comes from.


    "The journey from here on out is going to be a lot easier. We will go to the trade city of Norst, where we can continue by boat. Kongenssoevn lies downstream, within two days from there." The bard explains and points downhill.


    "How far is it to Norst?" I want to make a calculation.


    "We have to leave the vicinity of The Whisper just in case, but we cannot make much progress today. The sun is going to set very soon. Starting tomorrow, it will take us about two days to reach the town." Looking up into the sky, the bard calculates.


    "We''ll have to rest first. Keep an eye on the cave exit, although I doubt the trolls will come out, even if we did kill a lot of them. They''re vengeful creatures, but they''re still very scared of any form of light, especially the sun." Rolan says and gestures at Luna. It''s understandable that she''ll need to rest before we can continue. Since she wouldn''t let him carry her anymore and she isn''t capable of walking right now, we really need to take a break here.


    Rolan makes a fire and the bard begins to cook dinner, while Gram and I are to watch The Whisper for any activity. I also doubt they''re going to follow us, but if something comes out, I''ll just blast it with spirit spears.


    "You really showed us some power, missy." Gram comments and hands me a cracker. He bought a lot in the last town, along with half a wheel of cheese, and the party''s been snacking on it since. "But with the Bridge of Enleith destroyed, there''ll be need for charting the underground anew." Yeah, I feel like whoever comes after us from the other side is going to get killed by the trolls there now. I don''t really care though, we made it through and I don''t think we''ll need to go back through it anytime soon anyway. It''s the same mentality as that of a certain American archeologist, slash adventurer, who just triggers every trap in every ancient ruin he comes across and eventually even brings down the entire ruin on his journey.


    We have dinner and set off soon after. Luna seems to have mostly recovered, the color having returned to her face. Maybe it really had to do with her being underground for so long. I''ll make a note of that as a potential weakness for the future. Since we''re on the other side of the mountain, the sun has already disappeared behind it. It gets dark really quickly, but we''re making good progress away from The Whisper.


    "I think this is far enough." The bard eventually says and the party stops. It''s already been dark for a while, but it doesn''t compare to that of the underground world we walked through for two days. The stars above are bright, and although there''s only a waxing moon, it''s enough to illuminate even the faces around me. A world without light pollution is so refreshing. Same for air pollution, the air is really clear out in the wilderness. I think having smelled the stale air of the underground for so long, I can appreciate the nature around me much more.


    Gram and the bard are on the first night watch duty, but Rolan told me that the girls should sleep for the whole night. I guess he''s being considerate for Kamii, too, since she showed quite some fatigue during the last part of our march. I''m quite alright, though. But most of all, Luna is the one to need the rest. Being in contact with the forest ground supposedly recharges her need for nature.


    The next day passes without any incidents, as we walk through a forest seemingly untouched by human hands. Towards noon on the second day we come across an area that is clearly used for woodcutting activities. There are felled trees and an open area with many stumps sticking out of the ground. We''re close to a human settlement.


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    "Does the wood fall well today?" The bard calls out into our surroundings.


    "It does indeed!" A rough voice responds. The sound of heavy boots crunching the forest ground can be heard approaching and from behind some trees a large man approaches. A magnificent beard covers his face and connects seamlessly to his short shaven hair. He has a physique similar to Gram''s and his tanned upper body is bare. His chest is full of hair, and so are his forearms. I look between the two big men. Guess all lumberjacks look like that. "What brings you here, travelers?"


    "Greetings. We came through The Maw and would like to know how long it is before we reach Norst." The bard''s been the guide all along, so he speaks for the party.


    "You lucky daredevils! I would never even think about approaching The Whisper, let alone enter it..." The lumberjack looks up into the sky and estimates the sun''s position. "It''s noon now, so... you''ll reach the town before the clouds turn red." No concept of hours in this world? I never paid attention before, but realized just now. Any time estimates have been in relation to something real that can be observed in one''s surroundings. It feels much better that way, than to move according to the ticking of a clock.


    "We thank you, good man. I wish you great logging."


    "You''re welcome. To you a safe journey." Ah, so friendly. Even though we''re an armed group that just came out of the forest. These parts must be really peaceful.


    Continuing in the direction the lumberjack pointed us, we enter a clearly visible forest trail. So far, we had been traveling in untainted nature and there was no path to follow. I guess the bard really is the navigator in the group. That''s actually quite useful for a party, although I have to wonder whether the others are incapable of path finding, or are just separating the workload. If I had been alone, I think I''d have been completely lost. In the capital I''ll also learn about finding my bearings in nature... so much to learn.


    From afar we hear the sound of a river and the bard tells us that this is the Aengerleien, of which the spring we would have seen, if we had crossed the mountains on the Himmelensveien path. Starting from the city of Norst the river becomes calm enough for boats to travel on. Logging is one of its main sources of trade income, since it supplies several major towns along the river, and mostly, it connects to the capital itself.


    The water is really clear and one would be able to see the bottom, if it wasn''t for the light reflexes caused by its rapid flow. Following the Aengerleien, we soon come upon a town, surrounded only by a wooden palisade. It seems that this area hasn''t seen any wars in recent times, and it looks more like it''s to protect against wild animals, rather than human attacks.


    There are no gate guards and the overall atmosphere in this town seems to be more laid back than the one in Hovsgaerden. Judging from its size, it''s slightly smaller, maybe with a population less than four thousand. We''ll stay in the town for the night and continue on the next morning, as we did before.


    Apparently this town doesn''t have an adventurer guild. Rolan made sure to check in at the guilds in every town we stayed in so far, but this time we went straight to the tavern. Rolan and Luna got their own room, Gram and the bard share one, and I get one with Kamii and Senka. Of course, Senka doesn''t get her own bed, but since Kamii likes to sleep with me, there''s one free bed for her after all. No more resentful stares in the night.


    We meet back downstairs and everyone gets a list of things to buy. For some reason I''m given free time to explore the town. Discriminating against me for being the daughter of a noble who must be ignorant of market prices and the concept of haggling? Well, I don''t really mind, since that gives me some alone time with Kamii and Senka.


    I earned my share of money for the Cemetery Dungeon Clearing, and I didn''t spend any of it yet. Taking out the bag, I look at the coins again. There are three silver ones, which are very rudimentarily pressed into shapes that are barely circles, as well as a handful of copper ones, that are in all kinds of forms. I think I''ll buy some clothes, since these are still the same ones I got from Rolan when I first met him.


    While I did buy something cute for Kamii, the preferences I have for my own clothes are ones that are easy to move in and are sturdy. Especially since we''ll be walking a lot and might move through the wilderness, it has to cover me properly. Not that I''d get cuts from branches or tall grass, since my skin is malleable, to say the least, but I have to keep up appearances. Furthermore, I need new shoes. Yes, yes, the typical "women and shoes" thing. But it''s for a simple reason: We walk all the time, so the soles get worn out pretty quickly. I''ll buy a new pair for Kamii, too.


    In the end I went for something like suspended overalls made of brown leather. With a long-sleeved padded shirt underneath and heavy leather boots, I basically look like a girl from the countryside. A straw hat completes that image, since I don''t want to get tanned. Well, I can control the colors of my pigments, but to the humans around me it''ll seem strange that I don''t ever gain color.


    Kamii also got a new outfit, since the sundress doesn''t suit her needs, when she''s fighting. She can wear that in her free time, when there''s no danger of combat breaking out. It''s a wonder it didn''t get damaged during the battle in the mountain. She got a long, single-sleeved shirt with a leather lamellar vest on top. It''s kind of armor, but also not really. Cloth pants cover her legs, with leather cuisses for her thighs that almost looks like a skirt. I''m giving her at least a little protection, although all I know about armor comes from games.


    "You can''t really call that armor, but at least it''s better than going naked." Senka commented when she saw my choice of items, but when I asked her to help me out, she ignored it. Maybe because I''m not buying her anything this time. But I think she doesn''t need any armor, since she claimed that she''s immortal.


    What I''m really proud of, and what Kamii seems to love more than anything else, is the silver chain I gave her as a present. I put it around her crab claw, as a sort of decoration, because it looked so naked compared to the rest of her body. She''s touching it with her other hand on every turn and is looking really happy. If I can help her forget about the grotesqueness of her cursed arm - even though I think it''s really cool - I''ll do whatever''s in my power.


    When we return to the tavern, the sun''s already about to set. I''m satisfied with this shopping trip and the clothes we gained from it, even though my wallet is practically empty again.


    Ah, I forgot to ask Kamii about her fighting capabilities...

 Chapter 23 - Row Row Row Your Boat

    When we return to the tavern, the party members meet up for a light dinner and then retreat into their own rooms for the night. I can see it in Gram''s eyes, he wants to drink some beer, but since we''ll be continuing on our journey the next morning, he can''t get himself drunk. I learned my lesson from last time and don''t ever want to drink again. And I have to be a good role model for Kamii, since I don''t want her to become a delinquent later on, who can quote my behavior as the sole example she had.


    Thus, we''re upstairs, in the quiet room. It''s been seven nights since I last slept in a bed. As there''s no concept of cold foam or springs in this world, taverns with older beds tend to have indented mattresses. But they''re still preferable to sleeping somewhere with gravel under your blanket - and the occasional insect that crawls over your body.


    This tavern doesn''t have any bathtubs. The bathroom doesn''t even have a sink, and obviously no running water either. It''s less developed, as compared to Hovsgaerden - and especially the demon castle - but we could get a large wooden tub inside which one can sit to rinse down. My body doesn''t seem to secrete any sweat, but I can still get dirty from dust and the dirt off the street. The same is true for Senka, who doesn''t have any bodily functions and doesn''t even need to eat.


    Kamii is very normal in that regard, so I wash her whenever I get the chance. But out in the wilderness, you don''t get the chance much. She''s sitting in the tub, her crab arm with the silver chain wrapped around what I''d say is the wrist, stretched to the side. I''m wiping her down with a wet towel and notice again how smooth her dark purple skin is. Apparently elves don''t easily get dirty either, but camping out and not being able to properly clean up out in the wilderness still takes its toll.


    She looks up at me with her mesmerizing violet eyes. Ahhh, I could lose myself in them every time. There''s a light in them that just pulls you in.


    "Kuroeh?" She tilts her head questioningly. My hands have stopped and my face is really close to hers.


    "It''s nothing." I pet her head with a smile and continue.


    When we''re both finished washing up, we go to bed together. It''s still quite early, so I can talk to Senka and Kamii a bit longer. Most specifically, I''m interested in the latter''s fighting capabilities, and especially the strange power she displayed in the fight against the trolls.


    "Kamii-chan, do you remember what you did under the mountain? When the trolls surrounded us?"


    "Hm? I hit them." Alright...


    "Hit me with your right arm." It''s a gamble. If that strength stayed since then, I''d either be ripped apart or flung through the room. But I doubt that''s the case, else her attack when I first met her couldn''t have been that weak. If my theory is correct, that is.


    "Hit... Kuroeh?" She looks confused, then shakes her head hard enough for her hair to whip around. "No, I will never do that again!" Aww, what a sweet child.


    "It''s a test, to see your strength." But she keeps shaking her head. Well, can''t force her to hit me if she doesn''t want to. "Then hit Senka." I point at the girl who''s sitting on the other bed, watching us. The new target blinks her eyes for a moment, then her jaw drops.


    "Wait, why me?"


    "You said you''re immortal, didn''t you? So why not?"


    "There''s a huge difference between immortality and invulnerability!" Oh, she''s actually angry. "I may be quite sturdy, but if my body gets blown into pieces, immortality is more like a curse at that point. I don''t have a healing factor that can regrow lost limbs or regenerate my whole body, you know?"


    "Che."


    "Hey, you just clicked your tongue! Are you thinking that I''m lame now or something?" She''s pretty mad actually. Yeah, I thought you were this indestructible murder doll that keeps coming back no matter how often it''s destroyed...


    "You just compared me to some supernatural possessed horror movie doll in your mind, didn''t you?" I have no idea what you mean~


    "Well, we can find out slowly, it''s not that pressing right now. But it''s good to know that you do have some fighting potential." I pet Kamii''s hair as she eyes Senka weirdly. Wait, don''t hit her now, she''ll explode - in anger. "Let''s go to sleep."


    We lie down with Kamii. It''s already become really natural for us to sleep together, as she nuzzles into me with her back towards me. This is called spooning, right? It''s better for her, since she can stretch out her crab arm naturally this way.


    "I must say, you do make a cute couple." Senka comments with a hard to grasp expression. I''ll take it as sarcasm for now.


    "She''s just a child."


    "So you see yourself as her mother then?"


    "I''d prefer older sister... In any case, she''s much better now, compared to when I first found her. If this closeness is the cause for that, I should be giving her more of it." I kiss Kamii''s hair and whisper in her ear. "Good night, Kamii-chan."


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    "Good night, Kuroeh."


    The next morning, we''re on the move again. The bard has negotiated for a trade ship to take us on basically for free - with the condition for us to tell some stories of our journey. Well, we have stories to tell, so it''s good if it can serve as payment. In either case, we have our means of transport now and the continued journey will be rather laid back.


    The river isn''t very wide and apparently also not very deep at this point, but still deep enough for Gram to be completely submerged, if he were to fall in. The boats that travel on this stretch to the first town are mostly ones with shallow drafts, and tree trunks are often floated downstream as they are, bound together using chains. We''re on a small ship with a crew of seven. Since they just delivered their goods, the ship is mostly empty, save for a few barrels of beer they just bought, and food for the journey.


    Apparently the first station will take us half the day to reach, where the traders will be taking on some goods to carry further downstream. Since this ship isn''t going all the way to the capital, we''ll have to switch to another one on the second day. In either case, there''s not much to do and we enjoy the scenery as it passes us by rather quickly. The bard is playing his lute and telling the story of our journey through the mountain, slightly embellishing our exploits in the process.


    I find Gram playing a game of dice with two sailors and watch them. It seems to be quite simple, but I can see that it''s not as easy as it looks. Everyone has five dice and has to guess the amount of dice that have the same number of eyes in the whole game. Apparently it''s a gambling game, but I''m not into that kind of thing. I can''t understand the charm of playing something where you can lose a lot of money really quickly, even if the lucky can also win a lot in the same way. I haven''t exactly been blessed with luck, so I won''t try it.


    "If only she knew..." Senka whispers to nobody in particular. Did she just read my mind?


    The scenery remains mostly the same, and once out of the town of Norst, has been untamed nature again. An endless forest in which I would have lost my way long ago. I''m lucky to be with people, after all. I mean, I did kinda lose my sense of direction in the forest on the Dark Continent, although I did find a landmark - even if it was a moving creature the size of a mountain.


    One thing I realize, now that I have the time to look around, is that we''re generally moving in the direction of the sunrise, but judging from the map, it looked like we''re supposed to be heading north. Wait, don''t tell me I''ve been holding the map wrongly... I''ll have to learn about the directions as they''re called in this world, too. So much to learn. I feel like I''ll forget about the things I want to look up if I don''t take notes. For now, it''s mostly about magic, but also some world history.


    Wait, am I actually thinking about studying? This old me who preferred to run around in the streets wearing a white shirt and bloomers - describing my club activities badly - or play games whenever I''m home? Unthinkable. Well, my grades were in the lower average, reflecting that kind of behavior. Didn''t matter too much to me, an athletic scholarship was pretty much guaranteed for me, since several marathon associations already came to scout me... ah, why am I thinking of my previous life again? One thing leads to another, I guess.


    "Ahhh, peaceful is best, after all." I don''t dislike a life filled with action, but when experiencing such peaceful times, I can only be grateful that I wasn''t reincarnated into a war-torn country where I''m forced to participate in a war that will eventually turn into a world war. As a simple girl, I wouldn''t have been able to survive, just as Senka said before.


    We reach the first town, called Gravenborg. It''s about the same size as Norst, but its walls are made of stone, although they aren''t as thick as the ones in Hovsgaerden. I guess the closer we get to the capital, the better fortified the cities will be again. After all, one war or another must have led to this specific city becoming the capital, and people tended to build walls especially in times of war during the middle ages.


    The traders quickly finish their business and take us onto the next part of the journey, to the city of Skurso. This one is actually bigger than Hovsgaerden, and it''s walls are actually better maintained, too. But the guards look like they don''t seem particularly concerned about anything, either. It must be because of how close it is to the capital. The likelihood of bandit raids diminishes, the closer one gets to a powerful city, after all.


    It''s the early afternoon, but we won''t be continuing anymore, since the traders whose ship we traveled on have finished their journey here. We''re going to stay the night and continue first thing in morning. There''s an adventurer guild here, so Rolan goes to visit it with Luna. Most likely to inform them about our journey through the mountain and the fact that the Bridge of Enleith is broken. I learn from the bard that this city is about a day''s walk away from the capital - the same time it takes by ship - but it''s less tiring that way.


    As in the last city, we separate to buy various things for the journey. I don''t have any money, so all I can do is go window-shopping with Kamii and Senka. This city is quite prosperous, since the people wear clothes of good quality and the roads, including even the alleyways, are properly paved. It''s really clean, too. This is a preview of the capital, I guess.


    One thing I noticed is that all towns we''ve passed through so far have a castle, although they differ in size and structures. It''s really medieval after all, even though there''s magic that can blast holes into walls. I guess not all mages have that kind of capability, but it feels counterintuitive to build large structures that are basically huge immobile targets. The same is true for the demon king castle, but I guess the surrounding cities of these fortresses act as the first barrier to be overcome.


    We spend a night in Skurso, before moving on the next morning. This time, the ship taking us on is a large freighter that''s hauling many different goods, and we have to pay for being allowed on board. It''s a non-stop journey to the capital now, which we''ll reach by early afternoon, according to the captain. Of course, it''s a stout old man with a white beard and wearing a cap pulled deep into his face, covering his eyes in its shade.


    The journey ever since we started traveling by the river has been quite relaxing, as we watch the scenery pass us by, the forest being replaced by rolling plains as the elevation changes to that of flatland. A lot of it is used as farmland now and I can spot windmills and farmhouses from afar. There are many small villages, although none are built near the large river. Maybe it experiences seasonal floods?


    "We should be able to see it now." The bard says to me as he passes by me.


    "See what?" I follow him towards the bow of the ship. We walk up the set of stairs and the view opens up before me. A magnificent wall and a sprawling city beyond it stands in the distance. It''s impressive, even when compared to the city I saw from the window of the demon castle, although it is much smaller. A beautiful white castle towers above the rest of the city from atop a manmade hill.


    "The capital of the Kingdom of Lares, Kongenssoevn."

 Chapter 24 - The Royal Academy

    The city of Kongenssoevn is magnificent, to say the least. We docked a short distance in and I can already tell that this place is made to last. All houses are completely made of stone, unlike the cities we passed on our journey, which had many buildings made of wood, too. The streets are paved and clean, and most of all, I can see that they have a sewage system judging by grates covering holes in the ground. It''s something I haven''t seen in any other town so far.


    It looks like an old European city. Of course, I''ve never been to Europe, the furthest I ever traveled was Okinawa. But I''ve obviously seen photos, and this city reminds me of those. Now I can say I''ve been there, kinda. I expected the castle or palace to be all fantasy-like, but it looks quite normal. No impossibly tall towers that nobody would want to climb, no needlessly bright colors, just stone walls painted white. It''s visible from everywhere in the city, since the streets seem to be arranged in a radial pattern around it.


    The first stop of our journey is to go to the adventurer guild and register our move from Hovsgaerden. We walk through the orderly streets and the people stare at us strangely. Well, it''s to be expected, since Gram is towering above most people by almost two heads. But their eyes obviously also stick to Kamii and her right arm, as well as on Senka, who I''m carrying in my arms. The little dark elf is clinging to me again and seems really intimidated by the many people in the streets. There are indeed more than in the towns we''ve been in so far.


    "Kongenssoevn has a population of nearly a million." The bard explains when I ask him. It''s really little, compared to what I''m used to from my previous life, but for this world, it''s a huge number. Considering Hovsgaerden had somewhere around eight thousand, this is a gigantic leap. And that makes the loss of the entire Alliance Army of a million soldiers just so much more significant. It was a number equal to this entire kingdom''s capital city''s population. "The kingdom has about fourteen million people."


    I''ve always been bad at geography, but even I know that the kingdom is much larger than Japan. So fourteen million is quite little. Judging from living standards, I guess mortality rate is higher, though. I also haven''t seen too many really old people, so the average age is much lower, too. They don''t have the same level of healthcare as the modern world does, after all - even if they have magic that can heal wounds almost instantly. Must be because not everyone has access to it. Our party is privileged to have two mages, then.


    The adventurer guild is much larger and looks much more impressive than the ones I''ve seen so far. It''s like an official government building, with a set of stone stairs leading up to its two-winged door. The inside is also more lavish, with a hotel-like reception area and the actual guild hall on one side. Apparently it has housing facilities for adventurers, too, and we sign up for the night. The food is also on a different level, with a large variety on the menu and great service. I''m looking forward to the rooms and possibly a proper bathtub.


    "So, when do you want to go to the academy?" Rolan asks over dinner.


    "I think it would be best to go tomorrow morning." Luna answers. I think that''s reasonable. Even though the journey has been quite relaxing these last two days, taking a bath and sleeping over it for a night would be better than rushing over there right before nightfall.


    "I agree. We should get some rest today and go first thing in the morning." The leader looks to me for my opinion and I follow Luna''s example.


    "Alright. We''ll go with you tomorrow." I feel like it wouldn''t really be necessary, but it makes sense for the whole party to come along. They are kind of a family after all.


    After dinner we say our goodnights and go into our separate rooms. It''s not that late yet, but there isn''t much to do at this time. Well, I think Gram did say something about going down to the guild hall later and getting a drink with the bard, but I won''t be joining that. I need to make some preparations for tomorrow.


    Most specifically, the situation around Kamii and Senka. If I enroll at the academy, I don''t know what will happen to them. Of course, I''m sure I can bring personal belongings, so Senka should be fine. But what about Kamii? I can''t have her clinging to me during class. So I need to talk to her about it. While I haven''t even enrolled yet, and it''s not completely guaranteed, getting her to understand that I won''t be able to stay with her all day long like I have so far is better done sooner than later.


    "Kamii-chan, you know that I''m going to join the magic academy, right?" She was there when the saint gave me the letter of recommendation, but I''m not sure she understood what it meant at the time. "We won''t be able to stay together all the time, then."


    "Kuroeh is going away? I don''t want that!" Uhhh, don''t look at me with those puppy eyes, I can''t resist them.


    "No, I''m not going to go away. At least not for more than half a day - I assume." I''m not sure about how long classes take, but if it''s anything like school in modern times, it''ll take the better half of the day. But I do wonder what Kamii would be doing during the time I''m not with her. I''m worried after all.


    Actually, I''ll see if she could be enrolled, too. Maybe she also happens to have amazing elemental affinities or something. One can only hope. In either case, if I get a stipend, it should be enough to cover accommodations, right? Then I can still live with her, even if she can''t get in.


    "We''ll have to see tomorrow, maybe you can come, too." That''s all I can say now. She doesn''t look like she wants to accept it, but it''s nothing final yet. If I told her I wouldn''t be able to spend any more time with her starting tomorrow, she would surely complain more. I pet her hair with a smile. I don''t want to leave her either, but it''s quite important to me, too.


    The next morning we ask the receptionist of the guild for directions to the academy and learn that it''s within the citadel, right next to the royal palace. Now, that''s interesting to know. That means security will be rather tight around the academy itself, and people won''t be able to just enter or leave as they please. So maybe there''s housing inside?


    The bard still acts as a guide, as he seems to have the best sense of direction, although even I could have found my way through the city. After all, the castle is towering above the city and unless one walks into the perpendicular side streets, it''s visible from all main streets - which also all lead towards it. After the days spent walking from Hovsgaerden to here, the short trek through the city is just a simple stroll in comparison.


    The citadel is separated from the surrounding city by a deep moat and four stone bridges on every corner. Seems like it''s quite easy to defend, judging from the fact that both sides of each bridge has a gate house. We are stopped by the guards, who are doing their jobs properly and stand watch vigilantly - completely unlike the ones in the towns we''ve been in so far. Luna and I show the letters of recommendation we received from Arcelia, and are allowed inside. Of course, we had to leave behind our weapons - although Luna was allowed to keep her staff - and we were assigned three guards, one to lead us and two to watch over our every step. I think the main reason is Kamii, as they keep their eyes on her crab claw. Guys, she''s just a little girl...


    The inside of the citadel is a masterpiece of planned building, even when compared to the almost symmetrically circular city built around it. It''s separated into two halves, with the academy on one side, with a large open field and a small forest-like garden, and the palace in the other half, separated by a moat. The castle doesn''t look like it''d ever fall to a conventional enemy attack. If I were to keep bombarding it with spirit spears, it should break apart eventually though. Ah, not good, I shouldn''t think of such things.


    The academy itself is an old looking building that reminds me of a certain university in England - of which I only ever saw photos, of course. The guards leave us when we go through the two-winged entrance and a woman in a heavy robe approaches us. She looks to be in her late thirties and has the air of a mage.


    "Welcome to the Royal Academy. How can I help you?" Her voice is quite relaxing and her demeanor is friendly. I would have expected a stuck-up elitist attitude from such a place, but that''s not the case. Well, she does look at Kamii for a little longer than I liked, but she doesn''t say anything about it.


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    "We come with a recommendation for enrollment." Luna is the one to respond, holding out her letter to the woman. She takes it and skims through it, finding the seal at the bottom.


    "My, the Saint of Luminosity recommended you!" She''s quite surprised. Must be something special, to be recommended by Arcelia. Well, I won''t take out mine just yet, unless I''m asked. I feel like it''ll detract from her reaction to Luna''s if she sees the note in it which says that I have an affinity for all elements. That''d be quite sad. "Please follow me."


    "We''ll wait here, Runa." Rolan says. "Else it''d be too many people turning up at the principal''s office." I look at Kamii, but she doesn''t look like she''ll leave my side. It''s alright, I can try to ask the principal directly about enrolling her. Luna is slightly reluctant to part with her sweetheart, but agrees with a nod.


    "See you back here soon." She says. Gram and the bard wave to her with encouraging expressions.


    The woman leads us through the empty hallways of the academy building and up two staircases. All buildings I''ve been in so far only had two stories, so this is quite refreshing for me. But the castle next to here is much taller. There''re no students around, but I guess they''re all attending classes or something. We walk silently and soon reach a room at the end of a long hallway. The woman knocks and a man''s voice beckons us in.


    "Master Eklundstrom, I have brought you a student with a recommendation from the Saint of Luminosity herself." Only Luna gets announced. Well, I understand that mistake, since I didn''t tell her about myself.


    The principal is basically the stock example image of a wizard that I nearly laughed out loud upon seeing him. Long pure white hair, an extremely long white beard that reaches almost to his knees, and a wizened face that speaks of age and wisdom. He''s wearing dark purple robes that make him seem very large, and to top it off, a purple cap. When he stands up, I can see that he''s actually quite tall - not as tall as Gram, of course, but almost a head taller than Rolan.


    "Thank you, Astrid. You may leave us." His voice is so comforting. "Please, sit." He points at the couch before us. The room is much cleaner than the guild master Ingrid''s, but there are still many signs of his line of work lying about. "I am Thorvadis Eklundstrom, the principal of the Royal Academy." He introduces himself while rounding his desk, filled with paperwork and some magical trinkets, and sits down across from us as we follow his invitation.


    The principal glances over Kamii''s arm, but his eyes stay on Senka for much longer. Don''t tell me he suspects something? She''s not moving. But he doesn''t say anything about the two and accepts their presence.


    "I am Runa Sigint. This is Chloe Marcott, she also has a recommendation." Luna holds out her letter of introduction and I take out mine. Grasping them with long and thin fingers, Thorvadis looks over her letter first. Unlike the rest of his appearance, his eyes have a youthful inquisitiveness about them as he reads carefully.


    "An affinity for fire, water and wind, I see. The combination of water and fire is quite rare, even among those with three affinities." He looks into Luna''s eyes for a long time, until she averts hers. "A half-elf, too." Without even seeing her ears, impressive. Much like that brainiac guy when we went to find Lady Nightwane.


    He then proceeds to read the other letter and I keep close attention to his expression. One eyebrow raises up, followed by the other. "All elements?" We make eye contact, but I''m not really comfortable with his piercing gaze. It''s like he could look into my soul. I have to give Luna props for being able to hold it for so long. I look away almost immediately.


    "I would like to ascertain your affinities right away, Miss Marcott." Thorvadis stands up and rounds the table. I follow his example and stretch out a hand. Grasping it lightly with his almost skeletal fingers, a light surrounds our hands. "Indeed... you do have every affinity." He sighs as if in resignation. "In the long history of magic, there has not been a single case like yours, Miss Marcott." Why does it feel like it''s not amazing anymore, when he puts it in a way that sounds like a disease. "This is an irreplaceable talent that has to be fostered well. You have the potential to become the greatest mage in history." That sounds better.


    "Thank you, Master Eklundstrom." I bow to his assessment of my talents. So this is what it feels like to be considered a gift from god, huh? He turns to Luna and ascertains her affinities.


    "Indeed, fire, water and wind. The saint mentions in the letter that you have some experience in magic, so I would like for you to undergo a test." Thorvadis turns back to me. "As for you, Miss Marcott, I am told that you are learning light magic, but have no training in any other element."


    "That is correct." He doesn''t need to know that I can cast magic without speaking the arcane language incantations.


    "We will have to devise a lesson plan tailored for your needs. If you do not learn all elements equally, it would be a waste of your potential. This will require some time, so you are to attend the class for those with the nature elemental affinities for the time being." He means fire, water, wind and earth magic. The one I''m most interested in is space, though. If that one really is the domain of transportation magic, then I may be able to simply teleport right back into the demon castle when I need to. "You will be given accommodations within the academy dormitories, and you will be granted a stipend. Of course, your tuition fee and all expenses will be covered." He turns to Luna again. "Your tuition fees and accommodations will be covered as well, but we cannot grant you a stipend based on your merit." Wow, so straightforward. In other words, Luna will have to pay for everything outside of classes and housing.


    "Master Eklundstrom, I would like you to assess my companion here." I gesture at Kamii. He lifts an eyebrow at the suggestion, but complies with the request. I hold up her left hand, as she''s too shy to do it herself.


    "A cursed child." He simply comments as he grasps her left hand lightly, as to not scare her. "... the dark element. It is very rare for cursed ones to retain their original elemental affinities, as the darkness from the corruption of the demon lord overwrites everything." Not a problem for me, I''m that demon lord''s child. "While it is a rare elemental affinity, we prefer not to teach it lightly." Oi, that''s supposed to be my main affinity, what with what I am. "I am afraid, I cannot enroll her." Kamii looks at me with her head tilted and a questioning expression. She doesn''t know what this means.


    "So she cannot stay in the academy dormitories with me?" I ask, just in case. I think I already know the answer to that.


    "Outsiders not enrolled at the academy are not allowed to remain on its grounds."


    "Then I shall not enroll either." I won''t let Kamii get separated from me. Luna stares at me with an expression that seems to be a mixture of unbelieving and wanting to shout at me that I''m being stupid. "This child is precious to me, she will not leave my side." I demonstratively hug her to me. Thorvadis seems to have anticipated that and doesn''t seem taken aback at all.


    "... but in light of the facts, we can make an exception to the rules. I can see that she is very dear to you, Miss Marcott. If her absence is a hindrance to your studies, then we have to grant you this much leeway." He''s showing a warm smile. While I certainly am very special in the humans'' eyes, he isn''t groveling just to keep me here. What a cunning old man. But I don''t dislike that. I would''ve been disgusted, if this wise-looking man acted like a starved businessman and changed his attitude completely just to get what he wants.


    "Thank you." To complete this farce-like exchange, I have to show gratitude.


    Thorvadis walks behind his desk and rings a bell. There is a knock on the door almost immediately after and Astrid enters. She must have been waiting outside the room all this time.


    "Would you please be so kind to take Miss Sigint to the testing grounds? I still have a little matter to discuss with Miss Marcott here." Why is it that I don''t really like what''s going to come next? I just have a bad feeling about it, is all.


    Luna leaves with Astrid, looking back at me one more time. Our relationship hasn''t been the best, so she isn''t smiling to me in encouragement, but as a fellow party member, she does seem to be worried about separating from me. I wave to her with a reassuring expression, although I don''t think I can be too sure about anything that''s going to happen next. The door closes and Thorvadis sits back down across the tea table.


    "Miss Marcott, I have reason to believe that you are not from this kingdom, is that right?" Damn, I knew it. I don''t know much about this world and its nations, and the only foreign country mentioned to me was the Mineva Republic, where my name seems to come from - according to Rolan. I can''t even name a single city from that place, so I''m kind of in a bind right now. "While we do accept any talent into the academy, we have to know your affiliation. If you aim to return to your own country after the studies, it would be a great loss to us." That''s an angle I can work with.


    "Indeed, I am not from this kingdom, but I have lost my family and a home to return to. Miss Luna is from the group that saved me in my time of need, and I joined them and became a member of the Guild." Apparently the profession of adventurers isn''t really called that here, and the adventurer guild is just "The Guild". "The goal of our group is to eventually challenge and bring down the demon lord." Not mine, though.


    "Bring down the demon lord?" Thorvadis raises an eyebrow. "Hahaha, youth is a great thing." He seems amused and laughs heartily. I think I was able to successfully change the subject. Now, I need to- "But do tell, what is your real goal, demon?"


    I stare at him blankly. What did he just say?

 Chapter 25 - Like a Rat

    "Excuse me?" I tilt my head. What did he just say? I think I must have misheard.


    "I said that I would like to know your true goal, demon." Thorvadis'' tone doesn''t change, but he puts emphasis on the last word.


    How does he know? The saint wasn''t able to tell when she assessed my affinities, and we both had about the same amount of physical contact. Ah, good thing I didn''t stupidly blurt out that question. Can I play dumb? No, he said it as if he knows for a fact that I''m a demon. But why? I didn''t let anything slip, I even said I wanted to take down the demon lord with my party, which seems to fire up anyone in this world. Could it be that he saw through my lie? That I didn''t put all my heart into it?


    What should I do? This guy looks like he''d be able to fire some high level spells without even chanting. Luna''s spells already look like they could kill me, unlike physical attacks from human weapons. I don''t want to face someone like that without any proper knowledge of magic. This came at the worst timing ever. I might be strong, but there''s still too much I don''t know about counter-magic battle. I mean, maybe the light shield is strong, but I don''t think it''ll be able to block all kinds of spells. If I fought, I''d drag Kamii into it, too. Even if she has some fighting capabilities, this is without a doubt beyond her.


    Senka? Maybe she can help me? But I don''t know what she''s capable of, and whether she''s the offensive or defensive type. If she could protect Kamii so that I don''t have to worry about her... but no, even then, I still don''t know how strong this old man is. What if he takes me out in an instant? Kamii would lose her mind and surely try to attack him to avenge me. Then she''d be killed, too.


    Even if I was able to beat him, what then? Even if he''s the strongest mage in the kingdom, I''m still in enemy territory and far from the Demon Continent. Let''s say I kill him, then I''d still have to get out of here. There are surely a lot of talented mages in this academy, and if they find out, they''ll all come down on me with their full power. Quantity, in that case, will beat quality. Even ten mages on Luna''s level would pose a problem - even if they took a while to chant - and it feels like there''re going to be far more than that here. And then it still comes down to the problem of protecting Kamii.


    But wait, if he hated demons as much as normal humans do, he wouldn''t have given away the fact that he knows about me. He should have blasted me away with a spell before I could react. There must be a reason for him to go out of his way to tell me that he knows what I am. Or is this a bluff and he''s just testing me? If I answer in the affirmative, he might just outright kill me right here and now. But if I play dumb while he actually knows, he might do the same. Damn, I feel like my head will start to overheat, if this continues.


    What do I do? My grip on Senka intensifies and I look to Kamii. It''s not just my own life, it''s hers, too. I can only make a gamble, and if things go wrong, I will have to give it my all to fight my way out. I won''t let it end here!


    "My personal goal is to lead a peaceful life, and give this child a warm home." After what felt like an eternity in thought, but was really just a few seconds in reality, I finally respond. I''ll have to go with this old man not being a xenophobe who hates all demons and wants to eradicate them on sight.


    "Ah, a truly relatable goal." He strokes his beard and laughs a typical old man laugh. "I can see that she is very precious to you. What is her name?"


    "Kamii..." I respond cautiously.


    "Your compassion for her is commendable, especially coming from a demon." Ugh, I can''t tell what he''s thinking at all. He doesn''t seem fazed by my admittance, so it means he actually somehow knew that I''m a demon.


    "Knowing that I am a demon, what do you intend to do with me?" I ready myself, in case I have to fight. I''ll take Kamii and Senka inside my body, cast a volley of spirit spears at him, transform into a Vularen and run for our lives.


    "No need to be so tense, Miss Marcott. You are scaring her." He points at Kamii, who looks up to me with a worried expression. I must have made a scary face. Damn you, old man. "As I said before, we accept any talent into the academy, but we need to know your affiliation. I can tell that your response was truthful."


    Wait, what? Well, it was the truth, I prefer peace over war, and I want Kamii to be happy. But how can he tell? A hunch or is there more at work?


    "How did you know that I am a demon?" I need to know, although he doesn''t have any obligation to tell me. And even if it''s already too late, I still want to see whether it''s his personal experience or skill, or an acquired ability that others could have, too.


    "I simply have the talent to see things others cannot." He leaves it at that. That''s really vague, but somehow sounds really overpowered. "Now, as for the reasons I am even talking to you, and have not killed you - they are simple." That was straightforward... "One, your elemental affinities. Demons generally have the dark affinity, and maybe one or two nature elements." He looks into my eyes intently, his expression indiscernible, but filled with a feeling I don''t like. "Having all affinities is unheard of. Even among the gods, there is not one who is said to have that." I''m more amazing than the gods of this world? Doesn''t change the fact that I feel like a rat frozen under a snake''s gaze. "It is my duty as a mage to learn more about you." Lab rat frozen under a scientist''s gaze.


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    "I feel honored..." A snide remark doesn''t hurt here, I hope. I don''t want to just lie down and do nothing, even though I know it''s futile...


    "Secondly..." He ignored me. "... your love for that cursed child, Kamii, is real. An existence that humans shun in the best cases, and will persecute and kill in the worst case. For a demon to show such compassion, you cannot be considered evil." I''d also like to think of myself as good, but I think it just comes down to points of view. To the humans, the man-eating demons are evil, while to the demons, the humans that attack their homes with large armies are evil. Ah, did I just have a very profound realization about the world there? Aaand it''s gone.


    "Yes, she is very important to me, and I will do everything in my power to make her happy." Why does it sound like I''m asking Kamii''s father for her hand in marriage? Please give her to me, father. Who are you calling father?! Uh, I shouldn''t be thinking about jokes in this kind of situation. While he''s saying that he won''t outright kill me, it''s very possible that he''ll just lock me up in a dungeon and experiment on me.


    "There is one thing I would like to know, however. Why are you in our kingdom? It is a long way from the Demon Continent. And for a spy, you are too incompetent." Ouch.


    "I have been banished by the demon lord." I''m practically telling the truth here. I was randomly thrown somewhere in this world, and it just happened to be here. "I was sent through the transportation network without even clothes on my back, left to die in the human territories. It was the kindness of humans that saved me from starvation and certain death." That''s an alternative truth.


    "I see..." What do you see? "In either case, I will approve of your enrollment at the academy. However, know that you will be kept under close surveillance." Wait, does that mean I won''t be locked up in a cell and used as a lab rat?


    "Why... are you letting me live?" What are you asking, me???


    "You are not the only demon enrolled at this academy, Miss Marcott. They each have their own circumstances, but none of them have a home to return to on the Demon Continent." Thorvadis stands up and walks to the large window behind his desk, to look into the distance. "I like to think that the majority of demons and humans are not so different from each other. Aside from the physical characteristics, of course. We are both born from parents, have people who are important to us and value life in our own ways." Ahhh, this guy''s an idealist. "Of course, there are evil demons, but the same goes for humans." I think maou-mama is one of those evil ones, even though she''s a ditz.


    "So, I am allowed to attend classes normally?" I feel like I shouldn''t be thinking about school under these circumstances, but rather about how I can get out of here as quickly as possible. But I''m intrigued by the prospect of meeting other demons at this academy, too. I''ve only ever seen the anthropomorphic animal maids, maou-mama - who is the same as I - and whatever Mithra is. And learning magic is still important to me.


    "Indeed, you are. Remember, that your behavior will be judged, and any transgressions, whether that be against humans or fellow demons, will be punished." Go figure. But that''s pretty normal, only that they''re watching me more closely than other students, I guess? "Do you have other questions?" He turns around to me with a smile.


    "... I would like you to keep my being a demon a secret from the other students." I don''t want to receive any special treatment, and most likely discrimination from the humans - also, being accused of betrayal by Luna and her party, when they learn about it.


    "That, I cannot guarantee. It will be up to your behavior. My students are all very perceptive and will most likely see through you almost immediately." It can''t be? My perfect disguise isn''t something so weak that any child can see through! Well, it was easily seen through by this old man, but that''s because he must have had a lot of experience with demons - and most likely a cheat-like ability to see a person''s stats or something. "Know, though, that we do not tolerate discrimination among each other. Everyone is here in pursuit of knowledge and mastery in the arcane arts."


    I know from my previous life that schools are a breeding ground for bullying. It''s always been a reflection of society in its most raw state. Teachers had no power to supervise the students at all times, so they would find a target to let out all their pent up stress and pressure on. There were even those who would bully outside of school, by harassing their targets every waking hour. I''m proud to say that I stood up against it in my class and that it declined to the point where I didn''t notice it anymore. It''s one of those things I can''t forgive. After all, a friend of mine nearly committed suicide in her first year of high school due to bullying... Ah, my thoughts are moving into a direction I don''t want them to again...


    "You will find that I am the first to condemn discrimination, Master Eklundstrom." How did our conversation come to this from me being found out as a demon? Not that I''m complaining about there being no repercussions to it. At least no apparent ones right now.


    "Is that so? That is good to hear." He is genuinely happy to hear me say that. I can say that he is at least a good person. "Really, though. Your existence is fascinating, Miss Marcott." And now he''s staring at me intently. Ahhh, you''re undressing me with your eyes! Sexual harassment right after I praised you in my mind! It''s like I''m an office lady working at a black company! "A demon with an affinity for light magic is just as unheard of as having all elemental affinities. I hope to learn much from you." Why do I feel like he means from my body, after he puts me in formaldehyde? He takes up the bell from his table and rings it once.


    A knock on the door almost immediately after announces the person that enters without waiting for a response. A man in a black robe, with long, straight black hair and pale white skin enters. His eyes are a piercing crimson, with eyebrows that seem to be curled up in an eternal frown. He seems to have a prideful disposition, since his posture is very straight and he''s literally looking down at Kamii and I with his chin held high.


    Everything about him screams vampire...


    "Basarab, please give the ladies a tour of the academy." I can finally get away from Thorvadis. "Be advised, they are more than meets the eye." He''s smiling at these words. I guess that''s the code expression for saying that I''m a demon.


    "Understood." Basarab''s voice... I think I just felt something in my nether regions... "I am Basarab Laiota, instructor for defense against dark magic. Please follow me." Ahhh, I think I''ll melt away, if you speak any more~

 Chapter 26 - Schools Starting

    Kamii clearly doesn''t like Basarab. She''s hiding behind me and looking at him with suspicious eyes. Yeah, I also don''t really like him. His voice is enchanting, and I feel like I''d fall for him because of it - but he''s not my type at all... Also, it feels like he could turn around to bite me in the neck and suck my blood at any time. Then again, I don''t know what my blood is like, and if I even have any in the first place. Haven''t been wounded even once in this world.


    "The classrooms are on all three floors, and consist of normal and various specialized rooms for certain courses." A shiver runs down my spine each time he speaks. "The third floor houses the staff faculty rooms and is otherwise reserved for classes on superior elemental magic and unique skills, the second floor is for nature elemental magic and alchemy, and the first floor consists of simple lecture rooms." With every further sentence, my hairs stand on end more. I feel like I won''t be able to maintain my real form if this goes on for too long.


    On the first floor he guides us into a large hall with four incredibly long tables. This must be the canteen. Richly decorated chandeliers hang from the impossibly high ceiling, making me wonder whether some space magic is at work or it''s just an illusion. It looks like it''s higher than the building is tall.


    "This is the canteen, where you will have your meals during their proper times." Why does it make me think that this guy''s a stickler to regulations? "You will be handed a book on the rules and regulations later. Make sure you learn them all before starting class." And there it is. But with your voice, I''ll do whatever you ask of me~ Ha, wait! Old man Thorvadis, you''re too cunning, making this man my guide...


    "This is the library." Before I know it, we''ve walked quite a bit and are in a separate building. It''s connected by a walkway. Beyond the heavy wooden door is what I associate with a fantasy library. There''s a receptionist to one side and a notice board on the other. Beyond that is an immense space spanning several stories, filled with an immeasurable number of book shelves, stairs and walkways to allow access everywhere. This must be as big as the main school building. A reading area can be found in its center, with a long and dark wooden table as well as comfortable looking couches with small tea tables. There are quite a few people of all ages reading or doing research while taking notes on paper. "Of course, you are expected to be quiet in here." Basarab whispers close to my ear, the sound sending another wave of shivers down my spine. I think this is even worse than when he speaks normally! Don''t do that again!


    We go back the way we came from, then exit the main school building on the other side from where we entered, and walk out onto the grass fields. There are people here, all wielding some forms of staves. It looks like this is the wind magic class, since I can see some people floating up into the air while others summon gusts of wind to blow sheets of paper around. Wait, there''s a girl with angel wings. There are angels in this world? I want to know more about that person as soon as possible.


    We walk past the class and I notice that they are all wearing something like a school uniform. Of course, it''s nowhere like modern clothing and there''s no concept of plaid skirts and thigh-highs for girls. There are more girls than boys, and they''re all around my real age, or younger. Many are in Kamii''s age range. I hope she''ll be able to make friends here.


    Some stop what they''re doing and stare at us, with most looking at Kamii''s arm. I''m getting used to it, but it doesn''t mean I like it. If you have a problem with her awesome cursed form, take it up with me. I dare you, I double dare you! Ah, the angel girl is looking here, too. That face is clearly of the submissive type. I think I know who I''ll be chatting up first~


    "These are the training fields for practical application of nature elemental magic. The open areas are for wind. The area over there is for earth magic." He points at a field of dirt, with rock formations. But I can''t really follow what he''s saying, his voice... "Water magic is usually performed at the pool or the moat. Since fire magic is volatile, it is always trained on a field separated by walls." He gestures in the direction of a walled-off section.


    We leave the class behind, all eyes on our backs, and go towards a collection of two-story buildings. I can only guess that they''re the dormitories, since I can see clothes hanging to dry on lines in the gardens between them. The weather today is quite nice, so many windows are open. I finally realize something: All windows in the academy are made of glass. That''s the first time I''ve seen glass in the human territories. The demon castle had proper glass windows, but all the towns we''ve passed through so far only had wooden shutters. Well, better than paper, right?


    "The buildings are separated by gender and age groups. Those before twenty summers stay in these two." Basarab leads me to the ones in the front. They''re the biggest, too. Well, judging from that class I saw earlier, young people must be much more numerous than older ones. "The female dormitory where you shall live is on this side. I will introduce you to the dorm mother." A dorm mother? I''ve only ever seen them in manga! What kind of person will she be? I hope it''s not somebody scary...


    There are students looking out from their windows and I spot a handsome boy with a distant look, staring at the sky deep in thought. He must be around the age of Rolan, but looks much less mature. The leader has much more experience in life - in many ways. In either case, I can''t get excited about seeing any boys, for some reason. I can''t ever imagine myself being with one. Wait, what am I thinking? I''m not here for that, I want to study. Crazy, right?


    "Mistress Ninlil, I have brought new students." Basarab calls out towards the clotheslines where bed sheets are swaying in the wind.


    "I''m coming~"


    !!!???


    That voice! If it was in Japanese, I would have said that the person who''s going to appear is a certain scientific teleporter!


    But the person it belongs to is even more outrageous! It''s a little girl, around the size of Senka. And she has cat ears! Thank you, god, for letting me reincarnate into a world where I can witness this! Her ears are even twitching and moving according to the sounds of her surroundings. No, I have to control myself, I can''t be disrespectful to her and start playing with them.


    "Thank you for bringing them here, Basarab." She''s not addressing him with any honorifics, making me think she''s older than he is. Uh, why is she staring at me like this? "Don''t start thinking about people''s ages when you only just met them." Wait, I... what, how? "In either case, I''m Ninlil, the dorm mother. Nice to meet you."


    "My name is Chloe Marcott, and this is Kamii." I straighten my back in reflex and introduce myself with a bow.


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    "A demon and a cursed child, huh?" Why...? Did my transformation come undone somewhere or why is everyone seeing through me so easily? I didn''t accidentally leave an arm in tentacle form, did I? "Your smell. Even though you''re hiding it really well, you can''t hide it from my nose." But I took a proper bath last night...


    "I shall take my leave, then." With a nod, Basarab turns around and goes back towards the main building. Ah, one last shiver, but now he''s gone.


    "His voice is so annoying..." You, of all people, are saying this?! Well, that voice would have been annoying, if it came from a grown person, but it somehow fits perfectly with her appearance. "Anyhow, I''ll show you to your rooms."


    "Excuse me, Mistress Ninlil, but Kamii and I would like to stay together in one room." I point at the little dark elf holding onto my sleeve.


    "There are twin rooms, so that can be arranged." Perfect, that way Senka can have a bed to herself. Since Kamii will always sleep in the same bed as I, I think. "But what''s with that creepy doll?" Wha, don''t just come right out and insult her like that! Although I have to admit, she really is creepy, but also cute. And it seems at least she''s been able to keep her identity hidden from everyone so far.


    "I like it..." I mutter.


    "Well, I''m not one to judge someone''s taste, but it''s quite big. Must be heavy."


    "No, she is actually really light." Even though she does seem to have internal organs. I have to suppress a shudder remembering how I found out about that fact... "Do you want to try holding her?" I think this is the perfect opportunity for Senka to remember that she''s acting like an automaton. Not good, shouldn''t laugh, not yet.


    "What do you like about this?" Ninlil takes Senka and looks at her face with a dubious expression.


    "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." Senka suddenly snaps her head up and laughs mechanically. The dorm mother''s eyes go wide and her pupils turn into slits. She throws the doll girl to the ground, scrambles away and climbs onto the nearest tree at an incredible speed. Wow, just like a cat.


    "I forgot to tell you that she is an automaton and sometimes does that. I still do not know the rule behind when she does that, though." I try to look and sound apologetic while picking up the dropped Senka. Kamii is grinning openly and I need to suppress my own laughter.


    "Don''t do that again! My heart almost stopped!" Ninlil jumps down from the tree but keeps her distance from me now. "It won''t suddenly start walking around at night, right?" I think I know how to control this cat girl now. Of course, I can''t be carrying Senka everywhere, it is unhandy sometimes, but I can play pranks on her that way~


    Ninlil leads us to the second floor of the dorm building and through its long hallway, to the very end. The room is at the outer corner of the building, and thus has windows in two of its walls. It''s actually quite spacious, with two pretty large beds and nightstands. There''s a large wardrobe for each inhabitant, too, so that the clothes can be kept separate. I''ll have to buy some more clothes for Kamii and myself. And maybe Senka, too.


    "Students, depending on age, are required to wear uniforms. Those with special requirements..." She looks at Kamii''s crab claw while saying that. "... will need to get their measurements taken, so a customized uniform can be provided." We walk into the room and look around. Yep, I think this is pretty nice. It''s really clean, the big glass windows let in a lot of light, and the beds look soft. "Any questions?"


    "Is there a curfew?" That''s quite important to me.


    "There isn''t, but students can''t leave the academy grounds without a permit from the principal anyway." Wait, really? I feel like I won''t be getting one, ever. "You''re allowed to spend your nights in the library or in classrooms, if you''re so inclined. Some will train in the specialized rooms all night long to improve themselves. Of course, you''re not allowed to be out on the fields and use noisy spells after nightfall and before dawn. But other than that, things are pretty lax around here." Ninlil walks up to one desk, opens a drawer and takes out a book. "These are the rules and regulations. Most of them are common sense, but it''s better to know them than not." It looks needlessly thick...


    "Thank you for everything. I will make sure to study them." If I really have to. "I would like to return to the entrance, where I have friends waiting."


    "Well, I take that the procedures for your enrollment aren''t finished yet, but they should be done before the evening. You''re free to do as you like until then." That''s what I wanted to hear. I excuse myself and we make for where the rest of the party is waiting. I assume that Luna is either still in the middle of her test, or already there. I''m sure she would want to get back first before going on a tour of the academy.


    On our way back, we go over the grassy field, but the wind magic class isn''t there anymore. Guess they finished and moved inside or something. But somehow the building is still empty. Maybe the noise insulation is so good or classes are just that quiet. In either case, I still know the general direction and make my way to the entrance hall.


    Oh, Luna''s there already, talking with Rolan and the others. She''s happy, so it must have been a success. I walk up to them and am greeted with congratulations. My face must have shown the result of the conversation, but I''d have thought that my mind is quite jumbled at the moment. The fact that I''m a demon was found out today. The dorm mother is quite obviously a demon, too, so I don''t care too much about being seen through by her. Still, I had thought that my disguise was perfect, after Arcelia didn''t find out.


    "What did the principal want to talk to you about?" Luna asks the big question. Damn, I didn''t come up with an answer for that.


    "Ah, just some things, you know..." Japanese dodging response! She seems to understand that it''s something I can''t or don''t want to talk about and doesn''t press further. Thank you...


    "So, you''re both enrolled now? I''m proud of you!" Rolan says with a grin. Well, we don''t know the details yet, and how long we have to stay here. If I can''t learn teleportation magic within two years max, I will have to leave, to return to the demon continent.


    "We will not be able to go on any requests with you for a while..." Luna sounds dejected. Rolan takes her face into both his hands and looks into her eyes.


    "Don''t worry, just think about improving your magic. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Runa." And they kiss, for the first time openly in front of the rest of the party. I guess this isn''t the time to try and keep it a secret, even though everyone already knows.


    "Missy, good luck and have a great time." Gram says to me and pets my head. So that''s how it feels when one''s on the receiving end... it''s not bad. The bard stays silent and only winks to me. Uh...


    "We can get a permit from the principal to go out into the city, so we will come and visit you from time to time." I say, although I doubt I will get one. With me having all affinities and being a demon, the cunning old man won''t just let me move as I please. All the more reason to learn space magic, if it allows me to teleport wherever I want to.


    The farewells are a little dragged out, as if we won''t meet each other ever again, but in the end, we go our separate ways. The men leave the women behind, as if going to war... What''s with this image? Luna is genuinely sad, with tears in her eyes. We''re still in the same city, and it''s not like we''re in a prison. Well, it''s not like you''re in a prison, I might as well be. But at least it''s a school prison. With angel and cat girls. Crap, I think I''m having a really stupid grin on my face right now.


    Let my school days in a different world begin.

 Chapter 27 - Blazing Transfer Student

    My preliminary timetable was delivered to me by a raven that afternoon, shortly after I finished unpacking and setting my new home up. Apparently this is the method used within the academy to send messages quickly and efficiently. I was expecting that there''s a spell which can make letters fly on their own, but apparently there isn''t. I still have a lot to learn, and a lot of misconceptions to get rid of first.


    "This is a lot..." I lie down on the bed and look at the sheet of paper. There''s no concept of weekends here. I have classes five days a week, and apparently a week has five days. But it feels strange, considering a month has twenty six days. Five weeks every month, but one day is extra. Maybe that''s a day off?


    In either case, I have to attend the beginner classes of all elemental affinities, three elements a day. Apparently a day is separated into morning, afternoon and evening classes, with noon being reserved for lunch. There is a concept of timekeeping here, after all, but it doesn''t separate the day into twenty four hours. It''s in six parts with abstract names: Time of Enlightenment, of Ascension, of Radiance, of Luminosity, of Fall, and of Darkness. I can guess what they refer to, but I can''t associate set times with them. I think that''s among the first things I''ll have to find out about in the library today.


    Since class starts for me the very next day. I guess there''s no concept of school terms, either. Kamii was enrolled as well, but her schedule looks much less complex. Every other day, she has to attend Defense Against Dark Magic and Application of Dark Magic classes, with one day a week being reserved for Magic History. For some reason I don''t have that, though. Well, it''s only a temporary timetable for me, so things will change.


    I try to get up again and head for the library, but Kamii is lying on top of me, asleep and in a state of half-undress . She''s like a cat who will find a cozy spot and just take a nap, regardless of where it is. Senka is sitting on her new bed and dangling her legs idly, seemingly in thought. Ah, this is really comfortable, just lying about and doing nothing.


    But I''m sorry, Kamii-chan, onee-san has to do some research, so I don''t look like a complete fool when I can''t find the classroom the next morning. Well, it does say that the first class is Basics of Wind Magic on the field, which is visible from my window. Still, I need to know the exact time, else I''ll most likely be late.


    I lightly pinch the little dark elf''s cheek and she stirs a little. But it doesn''t wake her up. I poke her in the side, but she lets out a small groan, twists her body a bit, then her breathing relaxes again after a moment. Hm... I touch her practically nonexistent chest and draw a circle on her breast through her thin top. She squirms a little and a shiver runs down her body. My finger moves down, across her exposed midriff and circles around her belly button. A slight giggle escapes her lips, but she''s still asleep. With this, my hand moves deeper...


    "What are you doing?"Senka''s voice shakes me from my trance. Really, what am I doing? "I don''t mind you doing that, but you should tell me next time... I''d leave you two alone then." Her expression doesn''t reveal what she''s thinking about my actions.


    "Um, Kamii-chan?" I shake her lightly and she finally wakes up. Looking around slightly confused, she takes note of her surroundings and smiles at me. Your innocence is hurting me! I''m sorry for playing around with you while you were asleep! "I have to go to the library to do some research. Do you want to come, too?" This is directed at Senka, since I know that Kamii won''t leave my side either way.


    "I''m fine, I have sufficient knowledge about this world." Senka refuses with a distant look out the window. Wait, why didn''t I consider asking her about these things?


    "Then explain this timekeeping method to me." I hold out the timetable and point at the words on the side.


    "You heard the bells earlier, didn''t you?" Now that she mentions it, there were two times when the bells rang, once when we had the tearful goodbyes with the other party members, and once a while after I returned to my room. I didn''t pay too much attention to it, though. "The first was to denote that it''s the Time of Radiance. Basically lunch break. The second was the signal that lunch break is over and that the day entered the Time of Luminosity - which is simply the afternoon." Wow, that''s really vague. "Yeah, it seems very irregular. Apparently proper timekeeping is a rare ability in this world, especially since they don''t have the concept of clocks here. I mean, is it that hard to make a sundial?" That reminds me of the bard, who seemed to know the time at all times. "Time of Enlightenment is for sunrise and Ascension is when the sun is in the process of rising. Fall and Darkness should be self-explanatory then." Fall for when the sun is nearing the horizon, and Darkness for when it''s completely dark - so the night, I guess.


    "So there''ll be a gong for when the separate times begin and end?"


    "Convenient, right? Almost like a school!" Her sarcasm isn''t lost on me, but I ignore it. "But I think that''s only here in the academy, or have you heard bells elsewhere so far?" Now that she mentions it, I haven''t. Even though this world has churches - and we went into the cemetery dungeon, which was behind a church. But that one didn''t have a bell tower, as far as I could tell.


    "Then I don''t have to worry about getting the times wrong?" I''m relieved. But still, I''ll have to keep my current sleeping rhythm up, where I go to sleep soon after the sun goes down, and wake up at the first light of the day. I just hope I won''t have too much homework so that I''ll have to stay awake until late. I''m not a morning person, after all. "Do you have an alarm clock setting?"


    "I see what you did there. Very clever." Her smile is really fake, before her expression changes into an annoyed one. "But yes, I can wake you up if you want me to. I don''t sleep anyways. At least not very often." The heavy dark rings under her eyes are a testament to that. Although I wonder how they even formed in the first place, if she doesn''t have any bodily functions.


    "Can you wake me up for sunrise each day?" Sunrise should be about seven in the morning and nightfall around the same in the evening. Well, guessing by the climate, the days should be shorter and the nights longer in this country. "I do want to be a model student, after all." At least I want to make a good first impression tomorrow.


    "Alright." She has quite an amicable attitude and can be reliable in that regard, despite being so sassy all the time.


    So, what now? There''s not much I can do in the dorms right now. Actually, I think I need some writing materials like paper and pens. I know that paper exists here, since the rulebook is clearly a work of print. Which reminds me, I should take a look at the rules, too. I pick it up from the table and open the first page, for the index. Apparently it''s over two hundred pages long and is written like a legal code. Ugh, I can feel my motivation vanishing...


    I toss it back onto the desk and lie down. I''ll read it some other time. Kamii takes this as a sign that she can snuggle up to me again. But before she can, I sit up. No, I can''t just laze about. If anything, I could just take a walk around the school, maybe visit Luna in her room, or find out more about the demons enrolled here. Aside from that, I might want to grab something to eat, too. The trolls inside my body are mostly gone, and I''ve done my best to dissolve their bones as well. While I don''t like them, I can''t just spit them out, since disposing of them might be a problem within the academy.


    I take out a clean skull from my chest area and look at it closely. With big eyes, Kamii watches the action and looks between the skull and my face. She should know that I can put things inside my body at will, from the time I demonstrated it to her with the survival knife from my starter kit. But I guess it''s always wondrous to watch.


    The skull features a set of sharp teeth and long canines, while the space for the brain seems quite small. It could be mistaken for belonging to a monkey, but at one glance, anyone can tell that it''s not human. Maybe I can use this as decoration in this room. In my time here, I''d like to make it feel as crowded as the room in my previous life was. Much like the guild master of Hovsgaerden, Ingrid''s office. I put it on the small shelf above my desk. The first sign of individuality to this room, and evidence of me living here.


    A knock on the door takes my attention. I guess it''s alright for others to see the skull, I can always make up the excuse that I found it when we went through the mountain. "Yes, come in." The door opens and Luna stands there with a curious expression. She spots Senka lying on the other bed first and a grimace flashes over her face, but then she looks around.


    "This is a pretty nice room. I''m sharing mine with someone, too, but she isn''t back from classes yet." She comes in and sits down on Senka''s bed, but makes a point to stay away from the cursed doll. "How does your schedule look like? Master Eklundstrom did say that you would get one tailored for your needs, but will temporarily join the classes for other elements, right?"


    "It is quite packed. I will not be having much free time." I show Luna my timetable. Reading through it quickly, a hard to understand expression plays over her face. "So you will be mostly attending beginner classes." Wait, is that your smug face?


    "That reminds me, how did your test go?"


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    "They say that I must be a genius for being able to meld elements so well, but my incantations are very inefficient. I did teach myself, after all. That''s why I''m attending classes on advanced and master incantations." Hey, aren''t you being really cocky right now? I''ll overtake you in no time, just you wait! "But it seems we do not have any classes together." Oi, you looking for a fight? "I am really looking forward to tomorrow."


    Well, so am I. I''ll make a huge impact for having impressive mastery over magic and go into the master classes as quickly as possible. Then I''ll be able to pay you back for that smug expression.


    "So we will only see each other during noon break and after school, then. Good luck on your first day." She does show me a genuine smile at this and my irritation is blown away. I have to admit, she''s quite beautiful. She''s a half-elf after all. Leaving my room with these words, I''m back to being idle.


    Soon after, another knock on the door interrupts me doing nothing. It''s the dorm mother, Ninlil, who hands me three sets of academy uniforms. They''re all for me, to cycle through during the week. Laundry will be washed for the students, as long as we leave them in the basket beside the door. "Kamii''s uniform will be done by tomorrow morning."


    Then she takes out a handful of crystals from the pocket in her apron and puts one of them in each of the lamps on the desks. She looks up to the small hanging lamp in the middle of the room. It''s too high up even for me, so is she going to fly up there with wind magic or something? Nope, she jumps and at the apex of her ascension quickly puts in two crystals, before falling back down and landing softly on her feet. Agile and dexterous like a cat.


    "In case you don''t know, the incantation to turn on lamp crystals is Limino. To turn them off, it''s Bice." At the words, the crystals switch on and off again. Their light is quite bright, too. "They recharge using natural light, so don''t leave them on during the day. And they won''t last you the entire night, so don''t use them that way, either. Any questions?"


    "Thank you. We''re fine, Mistress Ninlil." I have to hold myself back from touching her ears and can''t think of anything at the moment.


    "Remember that dinner takes place during the Time of the Fall, and breakfast will be served during the Time of Enlightenment, and only then. Go to sleep early today. It''s your big day tomorrow." With this, Ninlil leaves.


    Big day, huh? I try out the uniform and look at myself in the wardrobe mirror. A white shirt with a long-sleeved sweater over it - much like high school uniforms in Japan. Of course, the clothes style is different, as the shirt doesn''t have a collar or uses buttons, and the sweater is tied with leather straps. It''s not really fashionable... I think I might want to suggest some improvements eventually.


    And the skirt is really long. It reaches all the way down to the ankles and it''s not so easy to move around in. The underwear in this world is obviously nothing like the modern ones, although Japanese fantasy would like you to believe that girls in a medieval setting such as the one I''m in right now all wear cute panties. The uniform has bloomers, but that makes me think of old lady pants.


    How about changing this up a little? For one, I''ll make the skirt shorter and plaid it. Luckily, it''s tied with a string and there''s a lot of extra fabric to create folds. I work pretty quickly and sew it up - although I''m pretty bad at it. Still, it''s not hard, so the result is pretty good. It''s only one of the three sets, but I''ll use this as an experiment, to see how people in this world take this look.


    As for thigh-highs or knee-socks, I''ll use my body paint technique until I can get real ones. After all, a skirt has to have a zettai ryouiki. If someone were to touch my legs, they''d realize that it''s just body paint, so I''ll have to be careful until then. Panties? I don''t need them, since I can discreetly change my private parts to be nonexistent. But when I wear a skirt, I''ll just do it the same way as the socks, until I can get a tailor to make real ones for me.


    I''ve been keeping my hair rather long since coming here, but I can go back to the style I had in my previous life. In the mirror my hair shortens. It''s still blonde and my eyes are still blue, so it''s a strange feeling, since my face is still Japanese. Handsome, if I may say so myself... I look even more like a boy now...


    But with a skirt and black thigh-highs, I''m more like a cool onee-san type JK. Kamii looks at me with huge eyes when she sees my transformation. Well, she only saw my arm turn into tentacles, but didn''t know that my entire body is basically a playground for my imagination.


    "High school girl outfit... why does it not surprise me that a high school girl is doing this in an alternate universe?" Senka gives a sassy comment.


    "Leave me alone. I feel most comfortable this way." But when I think about it... "Actually, I feel most comfortable without any clothes on... no wait, that came out wrong." The doll girl is giving me her Glasgow grin. "This body doesn''t require protection from clothes and I can erase the traits that make a human feel shame in walking around naked." I already feel myself being apart from humans.


    "You''ve become a proper pervert alright." From a human''s perspective, that may be true...


    "Anyways, I''ll make an impact on my first day."


    I forgot about dinner that evening...


    A shaking wakes me up and I open my eyes too quickly for my own good. Really close to my face is that of a horror movie monster. Dark rings under eyes with a piercing gaze, stitches on wounds running across a pale white face. I would have screamed, if I didn''t know this is just my third, secret roommate, Senka.


    "Rise and shine, Miss Marcott. Rise and shine." She says with a weird accent. "The right girl in the wrong place can make all the difference." I have no idea what you mean.


    Ugh, I can''t get up. This bed is really comfy and the outside is quite cold. The sun is just barely peeking out from the horizon. I knew it, waking up unnaturally messes with my rhythm and I become my normal lethargic morning grouch self. Ah, now I know why I can''t seem to move. Kamii is under my sheets and her crab arm is draped over me, weighing me down.


    "Kamii-chan, you have to get up. You have classes, too." The dreaded moment of truth is approaching. Will she be able to go on her own, or more specifically, will she be able to leave my side? I''m sure it''ll take some convincing.


    It took a lot more than "some convincing". She even cried, until I assured her that we would see each other during lunch only a few hours later. I taught her pinky-swearing and told her that I would swallow a thousand needles, if I broke that promise. I think I can even make good on that, if something really happens and I can''t meet her then. The advantages of an amorphous body~


    Still, I''d prefer not to let her down the first time we separate since I freed her from that cage I found her in. It''s actually quite emotional for me, too, seeing her leave my side after all this time. If there''re any problems, let onee-san know, alright?


    After dropping her off in the lecture room on the first floor of the main building - after we had breakfast in a corner of the large canteen together - I go to the field where the wind magic class is going to take place. The sun is up enough to display its full radiance already, and showers the grassy field in its rays. It''s a nice day to be outdoors. I almost feel like running a few laps as a warm-up exercise, but this body doesn''t seem to need that - no muscles means no way to pull one from strenuous activities.


    There are already a few students gathered, and I''m really happy to see that the angel girl is among them. So she''s only a basic learner, huh? When I approach them, all eyes are on me, and some are looking at my short skirt with either shocked or slightly indecent expressions. The former are the girls, the latter are the boys. How obvious.


    One girl, looking to be around my actual age, comes forward. Drill hair... she actually has blonde drill hair! She has another one in tow, and both of them look like typical bullies. The other girl beside her has quite a forgettable face. They''re obviously approaching me to make the pecking order clear. Perfect for me, I''ll show them that I''m not someone they can mess with.


    "Who are you?" The blonde one asks. She actually has pretty white skin and could be considered a beauty, if not for her haughty expression. Her clothes somehow look of a higher quality than mine. Don''t tell me she''s a rich little princess who has a custom-made uniform? Her companion, who has brown hair, has a gleeful grin on her face, as if she''s expecting a good show. "And what is wrong with your clothes? Not enough money to afford a proper skirt?" Wow, she''s actually playing the money card, in a place that is clearly based on merit rather than wealth. Well, maybe some people can make it in based on that alone. She''s the oldest of the students in this beginner class after all.


    "My name is Chloe Marcott, and who are you?" I won''t play her game.


    "That is quite the stupid name. I am Svanhild Tofisdottir. My father is the Master of Arms of the kingdom, Tofi Haroldsson." And she takes out her father card. What are you, a little child?


    "Nice to meet you, Svanhild. So, what are you doing in this class?" I look around demonstratively, but I think my tone is quite innocent. "You seem older than everyone else here." That''s gotta sting.


    "Wha-" Yep, that did indeed hit home. She''s grasping for words and it looks like she''s going to explode already.


    "Umm, please don''t fight..." A voice from the side takes our attention. It''s the angel girl. Seeing her from up close, she looks to be around the same age as Luna. Her skin is really white and her hair is silver. She has an ethereal air about her, especially with those light blue eyes. And her expression shows that she''s the type to be bullied. Then I notice that her chest is bigger than mine, despite her being smaller than I. For some reason I feel like bullying her even more now...


    "You stay out of this!" Svanhild swings her arm to backhand the angel girl and I catch it before it can hit.


    "You should not raise your hand against the face of a girl, you know?" Her mouth is hanging open at the speed of my reflexes. Her target didn''t even realize what was about to happen just now. "Oh, is that the teacher?" I look behind Svanhild and her unimpressive companion with an exaggerated stretch of my neck.


    "Uhhh, I will remember this." Drills girl, you just raised the flag for you to become the stock bully who will always fail and whose plans will always backfire. Not that I care. She walks away without even ascertaining whether the teacher is really coming or not - which is not the case.


    "Are you alright?" I turn to the angel girl, who seems confused about the situation.


    "Ah, th-thank you..." She suddenly expresses her gratitude to me. And now she''s looking up at me with a blush. "My name is Hestia. I-it is a pleasure to meet you."


    Flag get?

 Chapter 28 - Angel and Demon

    "I am sorry if it is considered rude to ask, but... what are you?" Obviously, Hestia is not a human, but I can''t imagine her being a type of demon, either. It would be the height of irony for an angel to be counted among the demon kind in this world.


    "I-I am a Fata." That doesn''t tell me anything. "A... noble from the Fatas Triarchy." Oh, I remember. That''s the place maou-mama attacked in retaliation against the invasion by the human army. Does this mean that rather than humans, that place is filled with angels?


    "Do all people in the Fatas Triarchy have wings?" Depending on her answer, I can picture that country in different ways.


    "N-no, only we Fatas have them." So, this means that the Fatas Triarchy is made up of humans and Fatas? Basically a heaven-like place? I want to know more about that country.


    "Your wings are so pretty." I feel like touching them - the feathers look so fluffy. They''re pretty huge, but I guess it makes sense, if they are functional and can let her fly through the skies. Not so much her needlessly huge breasts, they don''t serve any function. Well, I do feel like touching those, too.


    "Hueh?" She''s really shy, much like Kamii, but at the same time well-articulated. Her shyness doesn''t come from bad experiences, but is simply her personality, it seems. Ah, she wrapped herself in them and her face peeking out from between them is flushed. How cute~


    "Everybody line up, class is starting." A firm female voice announces and I turn around to look at its owner. The teacher has arrived, and it''s a woman in her early twenties, I''d say. Her short hair is of a blazing red, and her eyes are a piercing golden. She makes me think of a dragon, for some reason. The staff in her hands is of a beautiful red wood, with the shape of a winged dragon carved out of the upper part. "We have a new student today, an irregular enrollment due to special circumstances."


    Wait, there is the concept of terms after all? And I just joined the class in the middle of one? I look around and obviously, all eyes are on me. That''s my chance for a lasting first impression, but I think I''ll just keep it simple. I don''t want to embarrass myself by making some stupid mistake, like biting my tongue while speaking too much.


    "Come forward and introduce yourself." She''s looking at me, not the hint of friendliness on her face. Alright, you''re that type of teacher, huh?


    "I am Chloe Marcott. It is an honor to be able to enroll at this academy. I am looking forward to learn magic with everyone here." There, I didn''t trip over my words and did a quick introduction that doesn''t say anything about myself. I look over the gathered students, only twelve overall. All, except for Hestia, look fully human. I think it might be harder to spot the demons among the students, although I did already find one - or two, when counting Basarab, who just looks like a vampire - among the staff and teachers.


    "Alright, you can introduce yourselves to her during lunch break. Class is starting." And that''s all the time I get to shine. She looks at my clothes disapprovingly, but doesn''t comment on them. Seems like the uniform code isn''t so sacred that one has to adhere to it perfectly. Well, I did leave enough of an impact among the boys in the class with just my appearance that way. "My name is Dregana Tarragon. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." Quieter, she talks to me directly. Even while saying something nice, she isn''t smiling. I guess that''s just how she is.


    Everybody forms a circle around Dregana and the lecture begins. I find myself between drills on one side and Hestia on the other. Between a hollow and a soft place, huh? Hm, where did they get staves from? They weren''t carrying them before. As expected, drills'' staff looks expensive, but is clearly in poor taste. Too much gold plating...


    "You do not even have the money for a staff? How pitiful." Drills says to me with a sneer. Still throwing around insults based on money, huh?


    "If only money could buy talent..." I shake my head with a sympathetic expression.


    "Wha-?! How dare you-!"


    "Is there a problem, Svanhild, Chloe?" The teacher obviously hears her outburst. "Would you care to perform the spell I was in the process of teaching you, Svanhild?" Lucky it wasn''t me, since I couldn''t pay attention at all.


    "I am sorry, I was unable to hear your lecture, because this peasant was distracting me." Yeah, put it on me alright. You started it, and now you reap it.


    "The spell is Ventus, which creates a quick gust of wind." Dregana ignores drills'' jab at me. A quick gust of wind? All the girls wear skirts here, don''t teach boys such a dangerous spell! Look, two of them already realized the perverted application for it and are showing indecent smiles. Wait, they''re looking at me. I have the shortest skirt around here!


    "Ventus!" Drills shouts, clearly aiming her staff in my direction. You''re looking for a fight, aren''t you? But... huh? Why is the result just a disappointing breeze? It only causes my skirt to sway a little. I can''t even laugh about it, it''s that pitiful.


    "May I, teacher?" Payback time, doubly so.


    "Hm, you have no staff? Wait, I will give you-"


    "Ventus!" I speak firmly. The result is an immense gust of wind that blows everyone''s skirts upwards and reveals their underwear - aside from drills'' silk lace, everyone else''s is the standard uniform one. And Hestia is blown off her feet, since her wings give her a larger surface area. My much shorter skirt is obviously not spared either and the forbidden fruit underneath becomes visible to all. Well, I''m not wearing any underwear, so it''s not embarrassing at all!


    Everyone stares at me with awe and disheveled hair. The teacher is surprised for several reasons, as she remains speechless.


    "Th-that was amazing, Miss Marcott!" Hestia exclaims while getting back on her feet. Her feathers are ruffled and she''s a little unsteady, but her eyes are glowing with excitement. "How did you cast magic without a staff?" Well, for one, I thought one only needs a catalyst, so holding a crystal with a wind affinity should be enough. But obviously, I don''t have that either. I still think the air around us is enough of a catalyst, you know?


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    "I did hear about you having all elemental affinities, but not that you can cast magic without a catalyst." Way to tell the gathered students about that, teach... Now everyone''s looking at me like typical anime haniwa figures. "You are clearly beyond this class'' standard." And that''s something you should never say in front of your class.


    "I do not have much knowledge about magic. I only learned this spell just now, teacher." Ah, crap. I think that may have made things even worse. Now she joins in on the class'' collective haniwa figure impression. Drills and her lackey are speechless as well, but I can see that she''s frantically searching for a way to prevent my sudden rise to stardom. I think you should stop, or you''ll hurt yourself thinking too hard.


    In the end, the teacher proceeded to practically teach me various spells one on one. That''s really not great education, since everyone else gets left behind. Or so I thought, but apparently they already know these spells as part of the basic course and are practicing them on their own. They''re all, without exception, spells of the lowest level. For most of the time, it''s just me performing them to a degree stronger than they''re supposed to be, and the other students watching in awe, though. With every further spell, Hestia seems to idolize me more, while drills is falling deeper into despair.


    I have absolutely no explanation for why the spells are so much more powerful when I use them, but seeing drills fail to produce proper results when she casts the same ones makes me think that there is a factor in magic that I haven''t learned about yet.


    "Teacher, can you explain to me why the same spells yield such different results between Svanhild and me?" Ah, it looks like drills felt a sting in her heart at these words; she''s glaring at me as if she wants to kill me. Ohhh, scary scary~


    "You... you have not learned about the ''flow'' of this world?" The teacher is looking at me with an astonished expression. I think I might as well try and step it up now.


    "No, I only started learning magic less than a month ago." Bam! Again, the entire class is shocked beyond belief. I feel like asking how long they''ve been learning, but I think that will shatter a lot of people''s prides.


    "I did hear that your current timetable is only temporary, so I am sure that you will learn about it when you receive the proper one." Upon hearing that I''m only attending this class temporarily, Hestia is having a disappointed expression while drills seems to be relieved. From what I''ve seen, I really don''t know why she seems to be the class leader, whom the others fear and respect. Her skills are really lacking and there are no redeeming features in her personality. "For now, try to practice spells without putting too much force into them." That''s a pretty vague advice, but I''ll try by not speaking the incantation as loudly anymore - if that''s all it takes...


    Time passes quickly until the bell announces lunch break. I didn''t even notice, but apparently classes are not separated into hour-long sections and there are no regular breaks. Half a day of morning class, half a day of afternoon class, every single day. At least it was quite relaxing, as we were outdoors and could take little breaks between practicing spells whenever we wanted to. Dregana looks strict, but she is a teacher at heart after all - someone who likes to be surrounded by children, and pass on knowledge to them as one from the previous generation. She also seems quite impressed with me and kept coming back to me while making her rounds to see everyone''s progress at learning certain spells and their various applications.


    Speaking of which, apparently spells can be controlled with one''s mind. Especially wind, the most malleable of the elements, can be used to achieve effects similar to telepathy. Since it''s invisible, one can affect things from afar without being seen. That''s really not something you should be teaching those boys at the height of their puberty. They''ve basically been trying all class to lift my skirt with wind magic, and I''ve been doing my best to foil their plans by holding it down with my own spells.


    Although I''m not one who should talk, since I''ve been doing the same to Hestia on the side. But she somehow didn''t really hate it. Do I smell an M?


    Of course, everyone surrounds me on my way to lunch break and wants to speak to me. Drills can only watch in impotence as she''s practically pushed aside and forgotten. At least her even more forgettable lackey still remains loyally by her side, for whatever reason. Maybe she''s a servant in disguise, sent by drills'' father?


    Everyone gives me their names, but I can''t really remember them all. I don''t really have any interest in the humans, for some reason, and least of all these young boys. They''re actually quite annoying. Hestia is quietly following behind us, looking at the people surrounding me with jealousy.


    At the canteen someone runs directly into me full force and almost knocks me off my feet. Night-blue hair and a nice smell are enough to tell me who it is. Kamii is clinging to me with all her strength, as if we haven''t met in a long time. I pet her hair and she looks up to me with tearful puppy eyes. Ahhh, if you look at me like that, I''ll melt away~


    "Kuroehhh, don''t ever leave me alone again!" She snuggles into my chest and sounds quite desperate. Was your class that bad? Was it that scary to be separated from me for half a day? Well, I should have expected it.


    I hear the sound of wood snapping behind me and spin my head around. The circle of people surrounding me has distanced itself, most likely because they''re scared of Kamii''s crab claw. But one person is still very close, looking at her with an expression I can only see as hateful. It''s Hestia. She broke her staff with her bare hands. Wait, were you that kind of character? I thought you were the type that''s easy to bully, but that''s a really scary look in your eyes.


    "Who are you to Miss Marcott?" Hey, are you a birdbrain, Hestia? Have you forgotten that you already saw her yesterday on the field? But it seems she remembers. "Why are you always clinging to her?" The people around us are taken aback by the angel''s sudden change in tone. Apparently they also weren''t aware of her having this kind of side.


    Kamii realizes that she''s the one being addressed, looks at her opposite for a moment, before holding onto me even more firmly with a defiant expression. I think Hestia just popped a vein there. They''re glaring at each other. Sparks are flying! Am I the protagonist of a harem story or what?


    "Stop it, you two." I push Kamii away and hold onto her shoulders, before turning to look at Hestia firmly. Her expression changes from anger to shock, as she notices my disapproval. Then she seems to realize how she was acting.


    "I-I am so sorry!" She takes a few steps back, as if shaken to the core, then turns around and runs away.


    "Kuroeh?" Kamii looks up at me with a questioning expression. This is the first time I refused her embrace like this and I''m sure it''s confusing her.


    "Everything is alright, Kamii-chan." I pet her hair and sigh. Ahhh, how sinful I am, having two girls fight over me on the first day of school. In my previous life I would have been pretty down over it not being two boys, but here I don''t really care. They''re both cute and I could eat them both up~


    Wait, what am I saying? I shake my head to dissipate these strange thoughts.


    "Go get us a seat in the canteen, Kamii-chan. I will be right back. I have to go and bring her back." After all, I am kinda the reason she ran away. I have a strange feeling in my gut, but can''t really tell what it is. Maybe I''m just hungry...

 Chapter 29 - Pride and Prejudice

    Yeah right. As if Kamii would just let me go alone. She''s obviously running after me, as I go in the direction Hestia disappeared into. Since the academy building''s roof is a tiled one, there''s not going to be a typical high school rooftop confrontation scene. Instead, I catch a glimpse of her wings as she runs down the stairs.


    She''s clearly not the physical type, as she''s quite slow on her feet. Well, compared to me, few in this world could be considered fast. Running techniques developed through idleness and world records have changed greatly since the beginnings of their records. I catch up to Hestia quickly, but since there are many students around, I don''t stop her yet. She doesn''t even notice that I''m almost right behind her.


    Kamii is actually keeping up pretty nicely. I did expect her to be the physical type, else that cool crab claw would seem wasted. She didn''t lose me in the crowd and is now catching up again, as I slow down to begin tailing Hestia. I''m interested to see where she''s running to.


    Apparently towards the wall surrounding the citadel. She climbs the stairs and I can see her getting out of breath. Why aren''t you flying, angel? Or are those wings only for decoration? Really though, at this point you should have noticed that somebody''s following you. She clearly still hasn''t, as she walks up to the battlements slowly and stops to look into the distance.


    "... I want to die..." She sighs and turns her gaze downward. Wait, don''t be hasty! Ah, she jumped off. Waaah!!! I run up to where she stood only a second ago and peer over the battlements.


    Accompanied by a gust of wind, Hestia flies upwards with her wings spread wide. She glides through the air with her eyes closed, as if enjoying the sensation of freedom. Ahhh, she didn''t kill herself... I feel my knees going weak from relief. Dammit, don''t say such dangerous things and then do something that will give people the wrong impression.


    But really, she''s really beautiful, as she soars through the skies. I stretch out an arm towards her, when she stops in front of the sun and is basked in its radiance. Those wings... I want them, too.


    "M-Miss Marcott?" Ah, she finally noticed me. Landing right in front of me, she folds her wings and her figure seems to shrink under my gaze. I won''t feel satisfied if I don''t punish her for this. I grab her cheeks and pull on them. They''re pretty soft. I squish them together, then pull them apart again. How fascinating. Her weak struggling can''t peel me off of her. After a while I let go and she rubs her reddening cheeks with tears in the corners of her eyes. "W-what...? Why...?" She''s confused. I bop her over the head.


    "Don''t ever talk about wanting to die again." Even if she didn''t really go through with it.


    "Y-you heard me?" She''s shocked as she holds the place I hit her. "I... I am sorry. For earlier, too..."


    "I''m not the one you should be apologizing to. Kamii-chan." I call out to the little dark-elf who''s been hiding behind me. "And you, you should also learn to accept that I''m not yours alone." I chastise her. All this time, I''ve been coddling her too much . Oh, I think I just realized why parents have to be strict with their children sometimes. Else they turn out too dependent.


    Still, they both look reluctant to speak to each other. Kamii looks at Hestia defiantly, prompting her to frown in response. What are you, kindergarteners? They glance at my face and see my annoyance, flinching under it, before turning to their opposites once again.


    "I... I apologize... for my outbreak earlier." There''s no concept of bowing in this world, it seems. But it does sound sincere at least. Now, for the actual problem child.


    "Sorry..." I guess I was worried for no reason. It also sounds sincere. While she isn''t very articulate, she''s a good child at heart.


    "Alright, let''s go back for lunch." I pet both of them, each eliciting a different reaction. Kamii is obviously used to it and hugs me in return. Hestia, however, blushes furiously and looks at me as if I just touched her in an indecent way. Was that a social faux pas among your people or what? But she doesn''t say anything and when I stop, she seems disappointed. Oh well, just her then.


    "Um, Miss Marcott?"


    "You can call me Chloe." Even though that''s technically my surname.


    "M-Miss Ch-Chloe..." She seems embarrassed addressing me in such a familiar way. "Your speech... seems different."


    ... crap. I fell into my usual speech pattern, when talking to Senka. I''ve adopted a more formal way to speak with everyone else so far, although I''ve neglected it quite a bit with Kamii recently. Well, she''s like family already, so that doesn''t matter. But letting it slip in front of Hestia is a misstep.


    "When I talk to people I feel close with, I''m less formal." I''ll just roll with it. It earns me a joyful expression, so I guess all''s right.


    By the time we return to the canteen, most people already finished and left. We pick up our food and sit down together. It seems Kamii followed my example and went for the set that sounded like it had the most to it. A meatloaf with what I assume are steamed potatoes and other vegetables I can''t really identify. It''s interesting to see that the setting of another world isn''t just a carbon copy of the world I''m from, just with fantasy elements and different names - as lazy writers all over Japan would make one want to believe. The meat has a taste I''ve never had before, and it''s certainly not ground beef or pork - but I like it. The things I thought were potatoes taste quite similar, but are less starchy and slightly sweet. All in all, it''s a pretty hearty meal. Hm, why are you looking at me eat like that?


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Are you fine, eating so much?" Hestia''s amazed at the amount stacked on my plate. I did ask for an extra large serving. I look at her plate and find that she''s having scrambled eggs, and quite the small amount at that. Leaving aside the strange image of a person with bird wings eating eggs, she seems to have a pretty small appetite. Where did those large breasts come from then, huh? "Uh, if you stare so much, it''s embarrassing." Oh, I was staring at them, huh?


    "I''m a big eater. When I get the chance, I can eat a lot more than this." My record was a dozen Vularen, but I shouldn''t say that out loud. I turn to look at Kamii and find that she''s already dug in, eating in large bites. There''s some sauce on her cheek and I wipe it with the cloth handkerchief provided along with the cutlery. I hear a gasp from my other side. Yep, as expected, Hestia is looking jealous.


    Really, what did I do for her to fall for me like this? There''s no other explanation for her behavior than that she actually has. But I''m very obviously female in appearance? I mean, I do prefer girls - I''ve become quite aware of that only yesterday - but I didn''t think that there were such cases in this world, too. For that, the general sense of shame and decency is too... well, medieval.


    The remainder of the lunch break passes in silence as we finish our respective meals. I feel like eating some more, but Hestia''s watching me closely. If I got any more, my stomach should visibly bulge, but with my body being the way it is, that would never be the case. I could simulate it, but I''d appear unrefined then.


    Kamii took a lot of convincing before she would separate from me again. I told Hestia to go ahead, because with her going along with me, Kamii would have never agreed to it. I already expected it, so I left enough time between lunch and the start of class for just this. Only when the bell rang did we finally go to our own classes - and once again, the little dark elf was close to tears over our separation. I think I''ll have to coddle her a little again when we''re back in our room after classes.


    Afternoon class is Application of Wind Magic, taking place in one of the lecture rooms on the first floor of the main academy building. It appears it''s the same class as before, including the teacher, Dregana. Apparently this class is on how wind magic can be applied in everyday life, where it can find use in various fields of work, as well as in special ways one would normally not think of. Unlike the morning class out on the fields, we don''t practice any actual magic, and instead focus on something like a seminar, with conversations between teacher and students.


    Drills is a failure in everything, it seems. Not only is she bad at actual magic, but she apparently isn''t very bright either. When asked questions about how to apply the gale spell we learned earlier, she actually answered that it could be used to knock people over. Only because my spell''s power was so strong and blew Hestia off her feet...


    "It can be used to clean streets." That''s how a boy responds. You, of all people, who tried to use it to peek under my skirt! He notices my glare and looks away quickly.


    "That is such a peasant way of thinking." Drills mutters. That''s just digging a hole for herself. Not only could she not answer properly, now she''s bashing proper answers. I think with my arrival, she''s been completely dethroned. Nobody is taking her seriously anymore. I mean, why was she even taken seriously in the first place? Because everyone feared her attitude and the power of her father? Bring it!


    In either case, this class is much more like how I imagined school to be. While it''s not a lecture per say, it''s all about theory and gaining knowledge from books. We were actually provided textbooks for the class, which we have to return after class. Apparently the academy runs a system where students don''t have to buy any books, but also won''t have any books to study with outside of class -unless they go to the library. This is a means to ensure that we don''t slack off on our notes during lessons and will be forced to go to the library to study for exams, rather than stay cooped up in our rooms at that time.


    Writing utensils, though... I had to ask Hestia too borrow me some, since I completely forgot about them yesterday afternoon. They actually use fountain pens and ink to write on unbleached paper. With the proper calligraphy, it looks like one is writing historical texts to be unearthed by future generations.


    "What are these runes, Miss Ch-Chloe?" I look down and realize that I''ve been subconsciously writing in Japanese. Drills immediately picks up on that and quickly leans over to see what Hestia means.


    "You are not even able to write properly? Are those not simple doodles? What an uneducated peasant life you must have led so far." Wow, she''s beginning to piss me off... It was entertaining the first few times, to see such a textbook wannabe bully, but it''s getting on my nerves now.


    "This is a short form I developed to make notes quicker." Might as well use this opportunity to gain a few more stardom points. "These ''doodles'' are more efficient when fast writing is required." I never even practiced the letters used in this world, and although I can read them, it certainly wouldn''t come easily to me to actually write them out. Even now I somehow instinctively understand what they mean when lined up, but I can''t tell at all how most of them are read individually. I think they are actually runes and work in syllables, much like hiragana and katakana.


    Everyone immediately surrounds me and looks at my notes with great interest. I find that the teacher is actually among them. Sigh... You''re shaping up to be a pretty bad teacher, you know? Must be because education science doesn''t exist in this world. This is clearly favoritism, Miss Tarragon. In my previous life, the teachers would have called for order in the class and told the students to sit back down, since it interferes with class, no matter how interested they themselves are. But having a lot of time for class might give teachers a bit more leeway in digressing from the lecture more often here, I guess. At least she doesn''t ask me to teach the students my short form.


    There is the sound of a bell and the class is dismissed. The teacher actually asks for me to stay behind and I must have made an impatient expression at that, since she looks at me disapprovingly even after I comply. Kamii will surely become worried, waiting for me in the canteen. Hestia is sent to wait outside and the heavy wooden door of the classroom is closed in front of her nose.


    "I have been informed that you are a demon, Miss Chloe." The teacher finally says. Uh-oh, why does this feel like it''ll be a bad conversation? "You do not have to be alarmed. I will not change my way of treating you because I know this. However, I cannot approve of the way your relationship with another student is developing." Ah, this must be about the friction with drills. "Miss Hestia is a noble of the Fatas Triarchy."


    I blink.


    "Fatas are extremely pure existences and very susceptible to the corruption spread by a demon''s aura." It seems to be a difficult topic for her to breach. "While only the demon lord has the ability to corrupt the entire world with his presence, all demons have some form of that aura to their bodies. It cannot be detected normally and it is an unconscious effect. Of course, the Fatas have means and rituals to protect themselves against it, but she does not have access to them while at this academy." Uh, this hurts. It''s like telling me that I have a bad smell about me, and then playing it down by saying that it''s something I can''t help but have. "I will have to ask you to keep your distance from her."


    Ahhh, this sucks...

 Chapter 30 - Cue Romantic Music

    When I exit the classroom, Hestia isn''t there anymore. Don''t tell me she overheard my conversation with the teacher. Damn, that puts a huge damper on my mood. But it makes sense, doesn''t it? A demon and an angel becoming friendly with each other doesn''t work anywhere, not even in a fantasy world. I really like how pure she is, so if she were to lose that aspect about her , it wouldn''t feel the same.


    But at the same time, I feel an urge to corrupt her well up from deep within me. Ravage her purity, destroy her innocence and drag her down to hell-


    I shake my head. Is this the result of having this body? If it''s an instinct, I can control it with my consciousness. I''m not a simple beast that gives in to its basic urges! I feel like screaming, but I suppress it. Suddenly, my rose-colored school life seems to have turned pretty gray...


    At least there is one sanctuary for me to return to. At the door to the canteen I''m greeted with a tackle-hug from Kamii again. I return the hug and kiss her hair. If someone were to tell me that I can''t see this girl anymore either, I''d snap. I look around but can''t find Hestia''s distinct winged figure anywhere inside the canteen. Makes sense that she''ll keep her distance from me now and prefer not to be in my presence at all.


    I can''t help but think about this aura of corruption that I supposedly exude. Why did Arcelia not notice it? She''s supposed to be a saint with mastery in light magic. Additionally, how can I use light magic, if my existence is one of darkness and filled with curses? I''m lost in thought during the meal, so much that I already forgot its taste while on the way back to the dorms.


    "Nya? If it isn''t Chloe with Kamii. Perfect timing, I have Kamii''s custom-made uniform here for you." Did I just dream it or did Ninlil really make a cat sound just now? She hands me a stack of school uniforms. "But I have to say... that way of modifying your uniform is... interesting." She''s looking at my shortened skirt and the fake thigh-highs. "It really suits you, though."


    "Thank you, Mistress Ninlil." I don''t have much presence of mind to enter a conversation with her, even though I enjoy her distinct voice and accent. I excuse myself and we return to our room.


    I shut the door behind me and am greeted by Senka lying on her bed sprawled out like a broken doll. Did she run out of energy? Will I have to bring her some blood again? But she sits up like a puppet on strings and looks at me with her piercing, emotionless eyes.


    "What happened? You look terrible." Thank you for being so frank with me...


    I fall onto my bed and bury my face in the pillow. Kamii nestles into my side right after, so I turn to face her. I think even if she knew that my presence might cause her curse to worsen, she would still remain by my side. Now I appreciate her even more than just as a cute and clingy companion.


    "Do you know anything about the corruption spread by my kind?" This is directed at Senka.


    "Yes." She doesn''t say any more than that and sighs. Is it something I might not want to hear after all? "I think this is not the right time to speak about that yet..." Apparently that''s the case. "... it would be too big of a reveal at this point." What do you mean by that? "Does it have anything to do with the girl with the angel wings we saw yesterday on the field?"


    "You''re really perceptive, you know."


    "Hestia?" Kamii asks with a questioning look and I pet her hair. I don''t have to tell her about how Hestia left after most likely hearing about me being a demon. It''ll only cause her to dislike her unnecessarily.


    "Your mother spreads corruption around the world with her sheer presence. Normally it can''t be detected until it''s too late, such as when babies or beasts are born with cursed bodies." She looks at Kamii at this. "But Fatas... their wings are like those pH test strips." I think I''m the only one who could understand that comparison in this world. "They will get discolored and gain gray spots. In extreme cases, black feathers will start to appear." Reminds me of a certain alliance of girls with small gray angel wings.


    "What happens to those with gray or black wings?"


    "That''s unknown, since the Fatas have secret ways to counteract the effect of the corruption. None of them ever got to the point where all their feathers turned black, so nobody knows what really happens in the end. But I''m sure you can understand the psychological fear of having pure white wings turn black. Some will lose control of their emotions, become susceptible to sickness and even outright die, when not treated in time - even long before the discoloration becomes extensive. Well, it''s possible that''s just Nocebo, but it has a measurable effect on them."


    "That does sound pretty bad. Really though, why do you know so much about this world? How old are you?"


    "Haven''t you learned not to ask a lady her age?" The sarcasm is almost tangible. "I can only say that I''m older than that principal." So over a hundred, huh?


    I touch Kamii''s crab claw softly and consider what I''ve learned so far. Humans fear and hate demons because their kind spreads corruption and kills humans. There have been expeditions with the sole purpose of killing my mother, whose aura can reach all the way across the ocean. Fatas are a race of angels that are most susceptible to that aura and will go mad or become sick, and even die, when affected by the corruption for too long. And Hestia doesn''t have access to the methods to stave off its effects here at the academy.


    Wait, but doesn''t maou-mama''s aura still reach all the way here? Wouldn''t she still be affected by it, even if I''m not around? Furthermore, I''m the same as maou-mama, so my aura should also be stronger than that of other demons. Then again, I''m not as powerful as her, or so I''d think. In the first place, why was Hestia sent here without a means of protection against the corruption, if Fatas are so easily affected? A lot of things don''t add up...


    Don''t tell me they just want to keep me away from her because I''m a demon, not because I''ll affect her body. Maybe they think I''ll corrupt her pure mind with demonic knowledge or something like that? But that sounds really childish. You can''t be sure in this more or less medieval world, though. Whatever the case, she herself has decided to keep her distance, and I won''t be running after her to clear things up. It''s her decision after all.


    She seemed quite taken with me though, so why would she leave without a word? Is the fear of demons, or the preconception so strong that her kind won''t hesitate to cut off all relations to someone they are friends with or even love, just because they found out that person is a demon? Although we only know each other since today, so I guess saying that we''ve become friends is a little premature. Her feelings must have been the same as those in the female kouhai who wrote me love letters in the first week of my second year in high school - a way to show affection to an older sister they respect and look up to.


    "K-Kuroeh..." Kamii''s heated voice takes me out of my thoughts.


    "Eh?"


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Now you''ve done it." Senka comments with an expression that''s clearly not amused. "This will have to be put into the adult section now."


    "Wha-?" I look down and realize what I''ve done.


    Apparently I''ve been playing with Kamii''s body while deep in thought and she''s become a real mess because of it. Even over her dark purple skin can I see that she''s flushed, and her body is drenched in sweat. She''s leaning against me weakly, shivers of pleasure running through her weak, sprawled out limbs. I lift my hand from between her legs and find it equally drenched. Her eyes are unfocused and she looks like she doesn''t understand what happened to her. Those glowing violet pupils, coupled with her defenseless expression stir something deep within me. I lick my fingers absentmindedly and look down on Kamii.


    "Alright, that''s my cue to get out of here..." Senka says but I don''t really hear her.


    I think the taste of this meal will be much more memorable than dinner was...


    Now I''ve really done it. That''s the first thought I have after waking up in the morning. The outside of the windows is still dark, but I''m wide awake. I''m naked in bed, and so is Kamii beside me. There''s a thick smell of unmistakable origin in the room. And Senka''s not in her bed.


    I can remember everything I did clearly, but I wasn''t myself when I did them. How could I do such things to such an innocent little girl? The silver lining is that I at least didn''t turn my arms into their real form... I feel that would have put me past a point of no return.


    Kamii stirs and wakes up. I can''t face her! She turns to look at me and there''s a blush on her cheeks as she smiles to me. Ahhh, a look of afterglow in the morning after! There''s a glint in her eyes different from before. She looks more... mature. We climbed the stairway to adulthood together, although it felt more like I was just playing with her.


    "Onee-sama~" She murmurs and nestles into my chest.


    I... I did teach her to call me that several times, whenever my mouth was free. And she started to do so when she was able to have enough breath to speak from time to time. I think something about our relationship has changed profoundly tonight, and it''s too late to take it all back. I''ll have to be an adult and take responsibility.


    But first, we need to take a bath, and clean up the bed. I don''t want the dorm mother to find out. I doubt what we did was acceptable within the rules and regulations, although I''d have to read through them in the first place to be able to know for sure.


    Somehow I have a feeling that I''m forgetting something I''ve been worried about yesterday, but I can''t recall it at all.


    "I don''t mind you doing such things, but please keep it down." Ninlil confronts us when we leave our room. Ahhh, this is so embarrassing! Kamii was quite loud, but I didn''t care about it at all. I should have! I feel like punching my entranced self from last night.


    I apologize profusely and am let off the hook with a warning. But really, this school is quite lenient in that regard, huh? Well, there are adults enrolled here, too, so it''d be strange if that never happened. Still, we''re in a girls-only dorm building and it''s the one for the younger generation, too. I''m sure there were a lot of students too young to know about such things listening in on us, too. So embarrassing!


    Breakfast is quite awkward, with a not-as-clingy but steamier Kamii beside me. A lot of girls'' eyes are on us, most likely those who have rooms neighboring ours. Some are blushing, others have disapproving looks and some are whispering to each other. This story will make its rounds within the school in no time at all.


    Strangely enough, it didn''t take any convincing for my previously so clingy little dark elf to separate from me for class. Well, she does seem more mature now and understands that we''ll see each other during lunch break and after classes. They grow up so fast. Sniff~


    My class is Basics of Water Magic, but I can''t concentrate at all. It''s not that I''m constantly thinking about what happened last night, but rather about what I forgot over it. I just can''t seem to recall it, but it''s nagging me.


    "The basic spell we learned yesterday, do you all remember?" The teacher, whose name I''ve already forgotten, is a middle-aged man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He''s the scholarly type and wears an ultramarine robe over his slender body. Not my type, so not really interested.


    "Yes, Inebriat. It is a spell to summon a small ball of water that can be molded for various uses." An overeager boy answers. The girls in the class aren''t really listening either and all glance at me from time to time. I made an impact on the first day alright. Or rather, first night. At least there seems to be separation between girls and boys, since none of the latter have heard about what happened in the girls'' dorms... yet.


    "Miss Marcott, I have heard that you have an immense command over the flow, so could I ask you to perform the spell for all to see?" The teacher asks of me and I''m taken aback for a moment. Damn, I need to start focusing, my goal in coming to this academy was to learn magic first and foremost, so I shouldn''t let other things get in the way of that at least.


    "Inebriat!" Oops, I think I said it out too loudly. A school swimming pool-sized ball of water forms above the class, covering the sky. Everyone looks up in astonishment. I forgot to keep my mind on it, oh shi-


    Luckily, the teacher has greater control over water than I do and stops it from falling and drenching the entire class, before channeling it into the nearby moat. But he looks really shocked at the immense difference between his own version of the spell and mine. The water he summons is just enough to fill a barrel, while that of beginner students range from a pitcher''s to a bucket''s in size.


    This teacher is certainly better than yesterday''s, though, as he doesn''t just devolve the class into a private session to teach me various spells. We''re taught to practice the beginner spell and use it to create various forms in the air, but since my control in output is pretty poor, I don''t do it too often. I fear I''ll flood the citadel, if I create too much water and make the moat spill over. The class passes quickly, as I absentmindedly work on trying to achieve some semblance of modesty in my spells.


    Lunch break with Kamii. She doesn''t tackle me upon seeing me anymore, but still hugs me tightly. I respond by petting her hair. Yep, our relationship can''t go back to the more innocent way from before anymore. A lot more girls are staring at us during lunch, and certainly not because we''re eating huge portions again. I can spot some boys whispering to each other. It''s making its rounds among them, too, alright...


    When I turn to my side I finally realize what I''ve forgotten. A certain big-breasted girl with angel wings and an aura saying "bully me" is missing from the seat beside me. It was completely gone from my mind after last night. She wasn''t in the water magic class, so I guess she either skipped it or doesn''t have an affinity for it. I don''t spot her in the canteen, either, but with the rumors going around about me by now, I''m sure she must have lost all faith in me being a good person despite being a demon.


    "Uhm, are you Miss Marcott?" I turn my head around to see a girl around the age of Kamii looking at me with an uneasy, almost scared expression. Oi, I''m not some kind of sexual predator who''s going to push any girl she sees to the ground. You don''t have to look so uncomfortable talking to me.


    "Yes?" I''m being a little more careful about my demeanor, so as to not give her a reason to suspect any sudden actions on my part. Kamii actually doesn''t seem to mind that another girl is talking to me. Well, that there last night was a sign that our relationship is something special. Damn, I need to stop relating everything that''s happening today to it.


    "Someone would like to talk to you behind the library building right now." Don''t tell me... a confession? Considering it''s a girl bringing me this message, the other person must be a girl, too. I turn to look at the dark elf, but she watches me without a word. Is that approval or non-understanding?


    "I will come right away." I''m done with lunch anyway, and it would be rude not to answer the request. Is my school life going to turn back to rose-colored after all? Kamii follows me, as expected.


    Along the way I tell her to stay back when we reach the place, and she agrees quite readily. I''m feeling a little lonely over her change in attitude, but her smile is filled with more warmth than ever. It used to be mainly affection towards her savior and the person closest to her, but this is clearly love now. It''s... different, but I don''t dislike it.


    I round the large library building and see the person waiting for me a few steps away. Pure white angel wings, silver hair and an almost ephemeral air about her presence.


    It''s Hestia.

 Chapter H1 - Dying Embers of Hope

    "One chaos replaced by another. Go forth, young hero... or should we say, empty husk? It is your duty, your responsibility, to reclaim that which we lost." An old crone in a robe of jet black feathers sitting cross-legged under a withered and charred black tree speaks, a toothless grin and milky blind eyes mocking the man before her.


    Once a knight in shining bronze and silver, now rusted and shattered. A face once filled with the radiance of youth, the unwavering conviction in the righteousness of his own actions, now darkened and sunken by the harshness of reality. Heroism and genocide go hand in hand. When the enemies are not faceless soldiers hiding behind the anonymity of shields and helmets, but living, breathing beings with families, friends and aspirations, heroes learn of the errors of their ways.


    "Go, and rekindle the fire that once burned within your eyes. Bring back your shield, bring back your voice... bring back your love. Kekeke..." Rustling black feathers resound all around the husk, a murder of crows caw along with the cackling of the crone. "Hold that pure blade high, as you did when you banished the chaos. Hold it high as you did when you ushered in the new chaos. Maybe this time, it will return order. Or will it only be ruin yet again? Only the gods will know." Her toothless grin wider than ever, she stands up to reveal her almost skeletal frame, before the crows come down on her, a storm of wings and beaks and claws. "Go forth, empty hero! Kekekekeke..."


    Alone he stands, once again. The wind carries off the last feather, belonging to the crone or the crows, nobody knows.


    The sky hangs thick with the smoke from countless fires. Soot covers the crops and renders them inedible. Still, nobody remains to harvest them, nobody remains to douse the flames claiming ever more empty homes. Simply, nobody remains. The only testament to life is the evidence that it was snuffed out only recently. Burned bodies, charred into oblivion, litter the land. Piles of people, twisted pyramids of limbs, extinguished pyres, emit the stench of unjust death.


    Wandering through this world of embers and ashes is the young husk, every further step weighed down by the hellish sight, the result of his selfless sin. A layer of the remains of the people once alive and grateful for his deeds, rains down and clings to him like the final accusations towards their savior turned traitor, the source of their malady, their murderer.


    Still, he places one foot before the other, a definite destination before his mind''s eye. Not all is lost in this world; sanctuaries remain, the last vestiges of the peace granted by the chaos he banished so innocently, so unwittingly. His righteousness was repaid with ruin, rapture replaced with regret. Will his sin ever be forgiven?


    Only the gods know.


    Leaving behind the remains of another city he once defended against the forces of evil, now destroyed by those he considered allies, the empty hero continues on towards the mountains in the distance. He follows a rumor, a murmur on the wind, that speak of a former comrade''s whereabouts. Joy and dread are mixing in equal parts inside his mind at the expected reunion.


    How did things go so wrong?


    The landscape changes, and rolling fields of ruined wheat is replaced by an evergreen forest, now gray and heavy from the ashes of the world he helped burn. A path once treaded by many, now overgrown by weeds, ugly but at the same time pure and uncorrupted. His deeds banished that aspect of the world, but the curses were replaced by the darkness within the heart of man.


    Finally, a place not ablaze, a broken haven of torn walls and shattered gates. Life still exists, clinging to the world in all its wretchedness. Streets filled with rubble and withered husks, formerly humans, now little more than skin and bones. War and famine, pestilence and death, are passing through the lands, bolstering their ranks with ever-growing numbers and riding with unhindered swiftness.


    Still, the empty hero remains well-nourished, and he is not the only one. Cities have governors, and these governors are the scourge of the times. Never has the class distinction been as exacerbated as his actions have caused them to become. The poor serve as fuel for the bonfire of a war that threatens to consume the world, while the rich warm themselves at its side, oblivious to its volatility.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The power is in his hands, the symbol of purity lost, a blade that stands for glory and righteousness, but was lifted against those it was meant to protect. Those he had vowed to protect, even as he was unaware of that vow''s implications. The victims are not always innocent, the aggressors are not pure evil. A distinction he had been unaware of, but had to experience first-hand to understand.


    "The Wandering Pariah has been sighted nearby. It would be better to get out of here before it''s too late." A man, his soul not completely lost yet, speaks to one that is but the shadow of a human being.


    "Where should we go? Everywhere is the same." The shade responds, lifeless eyes looking at the sick and dying strewn across the streets. "What use is there to run?"


    The husk, once hero, approaches them with definite steps. He wishes to hear more about this Wandering Pariah. The one still retaining the embers of life replies as the shadow barely registers his presence.


    "It''s said to pass through this forest very soon and the governor has already evacuated to his winter residence." These words elicit an angry look in his eyes. "He''s just leaving us to die out here." Yet the anger soon subsides into an impotent frown. Nothing can be done by the powerless masses, when numbers are meaningless before the power of magic. The empty hero would have stood up against this injustice before, but he is aware of his hypocrisy now.


    Taverns have long since closed their doors, the guild has all but disappeared in the absence of the corruption and in the presence of military needs. Men and women, once working for the common people, now answer to those who trample their former patrons underfoot. Unquestioning, unwavering, only selfishly thinking of their own less than guaranteed survival.


    Even in a city, he can only camp out in the streets, his sheathed sword leaning on his shoulder. Sitting at a small fire barely adequate to banish the darkness and less so in providing warmth, his eyes close to see the images of death and destruction he sowed in the name of righteousness. Sleep does not come easily to him these days, as the voices of his fallen comrades, of those who trusted him, haunt him in his dreams, accuse him of betrayal. Betrayal of his own ideal.


    The morning greets him with cold fingers and thick mist. The fire has quickly died with nobody to tend to it. Exhaustion has ushered in a dreamless night, the only form of rest the empty hero is granted these days. A noise is responsible for waking him up. The sound of the town alarm bell. Someone is still fulfilling his duty even in these times.


    Some people run, most remain listlessly on the ground. They have given up on life and welcome the sweet release that death promises with dangerous whispers. He would have raised his sword towards the sky, rallied their hopes and spurred them to action in times past, but now he is close to becoming one of them himself. The little hope that remains in his heart is something he can no longer share without risking to extinguish it for good.


    "The Wandering Scourge was sighted at the western gate!" A man screams in passing when asked by him. "Get out of here quickly!"


    However, he walks towards the calamity those who still care flee from frantically. He moves towards it as if looking forward to its ruinous embrace. Hope is reflected in his eyes, the same hope a young man feels while looking forward to be reunited with a long lost lover perhaps. Yet there is also dread. The doubts and fears about finding out that the lover has changed her mind, or even found someone else in their long separation.


    Empty streets save for the simply existing - no longer living - human husks, greet him at the western gate. Those who still hold onto life have fled, the bell has ceased, and silence blankets the city. Only the sound of something like a hammer hitting the closed gate announces that the one he has been waiting for has finally come.


    One, two, three. The sound grows louder, the wall shakes and the heavy steel gate bends. Another one, and another, and another. Hinges break, bricks shatter. Then the entire gatehouse is blown away and thrown into the air. Its pieces rains down on the city behind it as a deadly shower of steel and stone. A cloud of dust explodes from where it stood firmly only moments earlier and wafts through the streets.


    The empty hero walks towards it fearlessly, his arms hanging slack at his sides, the sword resting in its sheath untouched. The dust begins to settle and silence begins to return. Then, the sound of slow footsteps can be heard coming from where the gate once was, belonging to someone who is smaller and much lighter than he is.


    A female figure emerges, shoulders slouched and the head hanging down. Just another husk. Seeing her, the man''s expression is filled with affection, sadness and joy, and a hint of hope but also despair. He walks forward defenselessly, and the female continues on her path without noticing him.


    Finally, only steps away from each other, she looks up. Night-blue, shoulder-length disheveled hair, dark purple skin, and violet eyes once possessing an enchanting glow, now empty and dull. She does not recognize him, but he smiles a smile full of despair. If he still had tears, he would be spilling them now.


    "What happened to you..." He steps forward to embrace her, but she lifts her right arm, a grotesque deformity that radiates violence and power. "... Kamii..."

 Chapter 31 - Purity and Corruption

    Hestia is looking at me with red rings under her eyes. She must have been crying. Furthermore, she does look quite tired, too. Maybe she didn''t get any sleep? Don''t tell me her room is somewhere within earshot of mine and we kept her awake all night? That''d be the most awkward thing to talk about now...


    "Miss Chloe..." Her eyes dart around a little and she seems at a loss for words. Finally, she looks at me directly and there''s conviction in her expression. "P-Please corrupt me!"


    ???


    I expected words of anger, hatred, or expressing a wish to still remain friends despite me being a demon. Maybe even a confession. But certainly not this. I think my face is showing my complete bafflement, since Hestia blinks at me, before realizing what she just said.


    "Wait, no, I-I mean... uhhh." She must have phrased it wrongly there. I look at her wings. There''s no sign of gray spots or even black ones. She''s still as pure as she was when we first met. "I-I want to remain friends with you, Miss Chloe. And I do not care that you being a demon will corrupt me." Hm, that puts it into relation quite a bit. Since I could think of many ways to go about directly corrupting her... I figuratively shake my head to rid myself of the one particular method that comes to mind the easiest.


    "But aren''t demons like poison to you Fatas? You may even die."


    "I have been sent to this school because I am unwanted in the Fatas Triarchy." She drops this bombshell. "We Fatas do not kill our own, and it is a blemish if one''s actions causes the death of a kin. But sending me here without any means to purify myself does not qualify as such. The academy has a barrier against the corruption spread from the Demon Continent, so if I die, it is my own fault, and nobody will shed a tear over it..." Her expression is one assumed by the downtrodden. It may not seem as excessive as how Kamii was when I first met her, but as a human being with a heart, I can''t watch it without feeling empathy. Oh wait, I''m not a human being and I don''t have a heart - I think. I can still feel empathy for her, though.


    "You are the first friend I ever made. Everyone else has put me on a pedestal or kept their distance from me... Nobody ever touched me the way you did." Wait, what? In what way did I touch you? "It gave me a warm feeling... for the first time since I can remember." I think she means petting her hair. Yeah, what was I thinking? "My life has been meaningless so far, so even if I die when I stay beside you, it would make me happier than living the rest of my life alone."


    "Don''t talk about dying!" I chastise her and she flinches. Bridging the few steps separating us quickly, I hug her to me. She''s a little smaller than I, but not as small as Kamii. Her body is trembling at the sudden embrace.


    "Miss Chloe?" Looking up to me with an unsure expression, tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes.


    "I won''t let you die, you hear? I will find a way to keep you alive, even if those wings turn fully black!" I think black wings would look pretty cool, actually.


    "I..." Tears begin to run down her face as she''s overwhelmed by emotions. Burying her face in my chest, she begins to cry like a little child. I notice Kamii peeking around the corner with a questioning face, and when she spots our embrace, she puffs up her cheeks. That''s seriously cute, oi! "Th-thank you..."


    Well, this would conclude the situation with Hestia from her side. Now I''ll have to deal with how the teachers will treat this outcome. Still, I''m sure they''ll have to let her be, if she herself wishes to be by my side. She just has to make that clear, and not leave any room for people to think that I brainwashed her into it.


    "So... ummm... a-about what y-you did last n-night..."


    Hm?


    "C-can... I know the d-details?" In what way are you pure?! Your mind is quite filthy already!


    In the end I told her that I''ll explain it some other time, because we have to get to class. With perfect timing the bell for the afternoon classes rings. Literally saved by the bell. As we round the library together to return to the main building, Hestia notices that Kamii is waiting for us with a pout. She feels embarrassed, realizing that everything we talked about was overheard by her, but the little dark elf doesn''t seem to really understand how significant our conversation has been.


    We each go to our own classes with the promise to meet again at dinner. I''m really looking forward to have a long talk with Hestia during and after dinner, now. Of course, I can''t really concentrate on the afternoon class, the water magic version of the same from the previous day. Application of water magic is much more extensive than wind, so the class is also more condensed. I doubt I''ll retain much, though...


    Dinner couldn''t arrive any later. When I come to the canteen, Kamii and Hestia are waiting for me outside. Strange, I thought I hurried over, but why are they already here? The same as Kamii during lunch break yesterday and today. Maybe their classrooms are simply closer.


    A sideways table at the front of the hall is reserved for teachers, although they''re rarely there during mealtime. However, today a lot of them are seated with their meals and watch over the students. Thorvadis is actually among them, too. Some of them look at us disapprovingly, but none take any actions... yet. But my eyes are on the principal. His reaction is the most important one.


    He looks at me, then at Hestia, noticing her happiness while walking alongside me. Closing his eyes for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts, he opens them again and our gazes meet. Time seems to slow down and a connection is made. A smile plays across his lips, barely visible under his beard. Is that approval? He turns his attention back to his meal and the moment is over.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    In the end, the three of us sit down together with our food and chatter the time away unhindered. Apparently the teachers quietly reached a decision on their end soon after. I''m sure they must have heard from Ninlil regarding what went down in my room last night, too. I think that''s an even bigger issue than me being around Hestia. But not one teacher comes to talk to me about it. We''re left alone even when we leave the canteen and return to the dorms together.


    "Please come in." I invite Hestia into our room. I did use wind magic to dry the sheets in the morning, but apparently the entire room''s been completely cleaned in our absence during the day, and I think even the mattresses have been changed out. I''m impressed. I spot Senka on her bed, again sprawled out like a puppet with its strings cut. Her eyes are staring at the door, and most specifically at the angel, but she obviously doesn''t say a thing. "You can sit anywhere you like."


    "W-who is that?" Hestia points at Senka with a fearful expression.


    "That''s just a doll." I walk to my bed and naturally, Kamii follows me. "Isn''t she cute?" I think her expression says otherwise, but she brings herself to nod and even sit down next to Senka. Well, you''ll have to get used to her presence in this room. This reminds me, where did she disappear to last night? I''ll have to ask after Hestia leaves.


    "Ummm..." Yeah, she didn''t forget about the topic she wanted to ask about at noon. Her face is red, so it''s obvious she already knows what the details entail. She''s a closet pervert, huh? Well, I think I can work with that. "A-about..."


    "I know. You''re that interested, huh?" The distance between the beds is already quite small so I lean over to Hestia and use a hand to lift her chin. "Do you want me to teach you?" What are you saying, meee?! The pure-hearted Kamii last night, this pure-bodied angel tonight? Did the dam called reason break inside my mind after what I did with the little dark elf? Please refuse... if you agree now, I don''t think I could hold myself back.


    "I-I..." Her face is flushed but she''s clearly interested.


    "The room is ripe with the stench of bitches... and that''s my cue to step in." Senka suddenly says and sits up. Hestia sees the unnatural movement from the corner of her eyes and as she turns around, she''s greeted with a Glasgow smile.


    "Ah..." She fainted. "What''re you doing?"


    "She''ll forget about me. At any rate, I did say I don''t mind you doing it, as long as you tell me beforehand. But I think this might be getting out of hand. You''re letting your body control your mind. That''s a problem a Crawling Chaos has to deal with eventually." Senka looks at me disapprovingly. "I get that it surely feels good to corrupt what''s pure, and the purer it is, the better it''ll feel. But get a hold of yourself. Did you come to the academy to create a harem or to study magic and countermeasures against it?" Her words shake me fully awake. Damn, I said I wouldn''t let myself be controlled by this body''s instincts, but here I am, trying to seduce the second girl within two days.


    I turn to look at Kamii, but she seems more interested in the fainted Hestia. That defenseless unconscious form... no no no, that''s rape!


    "Yeah, thank you, Senka." A part of me is unsatisfied, but another one is relieved. I think the latter one is the humanity left within me. "Still, if she wants it..." And that''s the former part.


    "Well, I think she will come out with it eventually, but please keep it in moderation. Also, remember that she''s a Fata and you''re a demon."


    "I think we''re past that point, now." I sigh. I did talk big, but I have no idea how to go about the problem of her wings turning black. So far, they don''t show any signs of darkening, but it may be a delayed effect. "In either case, I''ll have to keep from doing it until I learn more about how her body works."


    "How about asking her directly?" Nice suggestion, but a suggestive one it is. I look at Hestia''s heaving chest. Oh, I could get behind asking her body dir- dammit!


    "Are you sure she won''t remember you?"


    "I may not have any magic in this world, but I still retain my skills from the previous one. I won''t go into detail, because it''s just too dumb when said out loud." She seems annoyed at something invisible again. "Trust me, you don''t want to know. You''ll pull your own hair at the stupidity of it." Alright, if it''s that bad, I won''t ask.


    Eventually, Hestia wakes up again and Senka lies back down into her previous pose. It''s really remarkable that she can replicate it so well, I couldn''t tell that she moved at all, if I hadn''t seen it actually happen. The angel looks around in confusion but it seems she really doesn''t remember why she fainted. Don''t tell me you have some memory-erasing powers, Senka...


    "Wh-what was I...?"


    "You must be tired. You should go to sleep early tonight." She does indeed look quite tired, especially since she most likely really didn''t sleep last night. Kamii has also laid down in bed already and her eyes are beginning to fall shut. No wonder, after the almost sleepless night. "You can sleep on that bed, if you don''t mind keeping the doll company." It''s a joke.


    "Eh?" She looks at Kamii beside me and then to Senka. "Is this not your bed?" Makes sense to think that, right? I think I should be frank about this.


    "Kamii and I sleep together in this one." I don''t feel any embarrassment at stating this fact. I mean, the rumors should make it clear who was involved in those activities - or does everyone think some boy climbed up to my window at night? There was only one girl''s voice, so it''s possible...


    "Eh?" Hestia makes.


    "Eh?" Wait, really?


    "You... and Kamii?" She looks between us with a blank expression. "Two... girls?" Can you do something about this, Senka? Maybe cut this from the final product or something? She''s not moving, though. My own mess, so I should clean it up myself, huh?


    "Yes, I have no interest in boys."


    "Tell me more." Huh, did your personality just change? Hestia''s looking at me with a serious expression of anticipation. I feel like I won''t be sleeping anytime soon tonight, but for another reason than the last.


    "Onii-chan, it''s time to wake up! You''ll be late for school!" A girly voice wakes me up in the morning. My eyes are wide open, because it belongs to someone I don''t know. I sit up and find Senka leaning over me with a deadpan expression. "You''re finally awake, onii-chan!" Her voice is completely different from her normal one. So it was you! Can''t you just wake me normally? And what''s with the onii-chan?


    I turn around and find Kamii beside me. Alright, that''s normal. But I seem to recall that Hestia stayed in our room until very late. I look at the other bed and find her there, lying on her side, covered by her own wings. Phew... nothing happened between us tonight. She''s facing our direction but is still asleep. Well, I doubt Senka would slip up like that and let someone see her move and talk.


    I kiss Kamii on the cheek and lightly shake her awake, then I get up and walk up to Hestia to wake her up as well. I stop dead in my tracks and my hand moves forward. She lost a single feather in her sleep and it''s lying next to her. I pick it up and stare at it.


    It''s pure black.

 Chapter 32 - Every Story Needs One

    "Hm... Miss Chloe?" Hestia wakes up and rubs her eyes. Senka collapses on my bed without a sound.


    "Good morning." I pull the feather inside my body through the palm and dissolve it right away. No need to cause unnecessary concern right now. I''ll bring up the issue during breakfast, but for now, it''s time to go and take a bath. The dorm rooms have their own bath tubs, and ours happens to be big enough to fit both Kamii and I. But now that we''re three people, it''s insufficient. There''s apparently also a community bath in the dorm, though. Something I wouldn''t have found out for a long time, if not for Hestia mentioning it.


    This is a part of this world I find quite surprising. The rich apparently have access to some really anachronistic equipment for hygiene, such as proper bathtubs, sinks and toilet seats, with running water from taps. Then again, this world also has magic. But our journey so far has taken us through places that seem positively medieval. Bath tubs were basically wooden barrels or large and flat wooden tubs in which the water barely reached one''s ankles. This academy is quite luxurious in that regard.


    When we enter the changing room together, everyone''s eyes turn towards us. Of course, there''s new fuel for the rumors circulating about my room now. While Hestia clearly thought it wasn''t between Kamii and I, others are apparently not so innocent. With the angel girl on one side and the dark elf on the other, I must look like a minx. And now it must seem like I''m expanding my hunting grounds into the bathroom.


    "How shameless..." I hear someone whisper, but neither of my companions seem to notice it.


    "Ahhh, I''m jealous..." Someone else whispers. I have to keep myself under control not to spin my head around to spot who said it. It would be my loss, if I let such words sway me like that.


    Kamii and I both readily undress and we don''t even bother to hide our nudity with a towel. She copies me in hanging it over one shoulder and standing with a hand on her hip. Hestia is more reserved and she is slow in taking off her clothes, even hiding around the corner of the shelf for the clothes. When she''s finally done, I''m given a glimpse at her breasts, before they disappear under her towel. So she''s the type to look smaller under her clothes, huh? That''s almost on the level of maou-mama, and she''s clearly the younger one.


    "What did you do for them to grow so big?" I''m genuinely interested. There must be something special about her diet.


    "P-Please... not in front of other people..." Oh, so you''d be fine if we were alone, huh? Well, she did show clear interest. But I''m not looking for that, I really want to know. Then again, I could always enlarge mine, if I felt like it. Just wouldn''t look very natural for me to suddenly grow bigger overnight.


    "Miss Chloe?" A familiar voice calls out to me. I turn my head and find Luna in her birthday suit, covering her front with her towel in a quite natural pose. Among the four of us, she''s the only proper one. I''m like an exhibitionist and Hestia is too prude. Kamii doesn''t know better, so she''s excused. But wait, I haven''t seen Luna for a while, not even during the meals. Where has she been so far?


    "Good morning, Luna." I greet her in a nonchalant manner. Ah, she looks between Kamii and I and then shows a disapproving frown on her face.


    "I... heard a bad rumor about you." Thought so. "I did not want to believe it, but had no chance to talk to you since then." Is our appearance giving you reason to believe them now?


    "They are true." I pet Kamii. I''m someone who stands for my actions, and denying it now would leave a bad impression of me on both my companions. I can hear some people gasp and Luna''s frown deepens.


    "I thought you... liked Rolan." Oh, that''s what this is about? You think I''m being unfaithful to my feelings and don''t even care about the fact that two girls are... yeah, I''ll tire of that, if I keep thinking that this world has the same kind of apprehension as the one I''m from - even if it was in the process of changing in a good direction while I was there, albeit only slowly.


    "Then you misunderstood me." I say plainly, my expression as relaxed and neutral as can be. This is a simple statement to me, not a lie I need to come up with first. It''s obvious that she understands from my tone. "I look up to him as my savior, but there is no room for love between us." That first part isn''t that true, though. He just looked easy to fool with a little act. Luna is astonished. I give her a reassuring smile, even though I don''t feel obliged to humor her in that way. "He has you, and I trust that he will never betray you." Ah, that was very effective. She is blushing now and seems to be at a loss for words. "Care to join us in the bath?"


    "I... I just finished." She does have a rosy gloss to her skin, although her hair is dry. I guess she used magic to dry it quickly.


    "Then I will see you around." Waving to her, I go into the bath. Kamii follows my example and Hestia turns her head back and forth between us, before quickly catching up to us, leaving behind a slightly baffled Luna.


    The inside of the bath is more or less just a hot water pool, with a fountain in the middle, with some faucets in the walls on the sides. This is paradise! The fountain of youth! So many naked girls, I can feel something stirring inside me. No, I need to control myself...


    I observe proper bath etiquette and move to first wash myself off before entering. I would have expected Kamii to just jump in, but she''s been behaving much more refined since our fateful night. She is observing me closely and learning my every move. However, I find that apparently soap is an expensive commodity that students have to bring themselves. It was never provided in the taverns we stayed in and we had to simply wash with warm water, and while dirt never proved a problem for me since I got this body, it still leaves a psychological impact when I can''t wash myself properly. And even here at this rich academy, all there is are bottles of perfumed oil.


    Yes, oil.


    "Shall I wash your back, Hestia?" I hope I''m not having a perverted look on my face as I say this. It''s obvious what''s going to happen when she agrees. Seeing her nod with a little blush, I pump my fist in my mind. What follows is a chain of three girls, Hestia at the front, me in the middle and Kamii behind me. I''m really wondering how she''ll efficiently wash my back with only one hand though, but she seems to be doing a pretty good job at it. I turn to look at Hestia before me.


    I completely forgot to consider the fact that she has wings. It''s really fascinating, seeing how they''re connected to her back. They sit underneath her human shoulder blades and there''s a patch of feathers spreading onto her back where they connect. She actually has some really sturdy back muscles, almost like a gymnast''s. The most interesting thing, however, is the fact that she seems to have the vestiges of a feathered tail. Apparently birds use it for balance while gliding and making sharp turns, but an angel might not need it as much, since they most likely don''t hunt prey in midair. But this means that rather than an angel, she''s a bird person.


    The tail is quivering a little when I touch her almost translucent white skin to apply the oil. This is too cute! Her wings are half spread, so that I can access her back without problems. When I think about it, those are really impractical for everyday life as a human. My hands move across the spaces free of feathers, but I wonder how she washes those that are covered in them. Well, birds don''t have a very distinct smell, so maybe it''s like that for her, too.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I notice a gray spot near the base of her wings. Damn, it''s actually spreading. She had already lost that one black feather, but I can''t do anything about an entire patch of them that consists of still connected ones. At least it''s in a place she normally can''t see, and as long as I don''t point it out to her, it''ll be alright...


    That aside, I''m finished, but I obviously can''t let it end like this. I move my hands up her back and feel goose bumps breaking out on her shivering skin.


    "M-Miss Chloe?" She''s squirming a little as I guide my touch towards her front.


    "Just for a littl-eahhhahaha!" I lose control of my voice as Kamii suddenly tickles me. I''m really weak in the sides! "Kaha-mihihihi-chahahahahah?!" She''s relentless in her assault. Don''t tell me that''s payback for the night before the last? Ahhh, everyone is looking in our direction and Hestia has turned around, to see what''s going on, too. Nooo, I''m dying from laughteeer!!!


    We sit in the bath and I''m exhausted. It''s still only morning! Kamii is sitting in my lap and I have my arms around her to keep her from trying to tickle me again. I hope she won''t make that a habit. Then again, I could always harden my skin or something, so that I can''t feel her fingers. But I think that''d be a betrayal of her sentiment. And what fun is there in life if I can''t feel anything anymore?


    Hestia is only sitting halfway down the stairs, so that her wings aren''t in the water. Well, if they''re anything like hair, they''ll soak up a lot of water and become really heavy. And they most likely don''t get dry as easily, either. She''s actually wrapped in her towel, but since it''s completely wet, it only helps to accentuate her large breasts. I feel like diving into them right away, but for now I''ll make do with Kamii''s nearly nonexistent ones.


    "Payback!" I lift up Kamii''s hair and nibble on her long and pointy ear while grabbing her chest.


    "Hwah?!" She lets out a cute yelp and struggles, but can''t escape from my grip. "Onee-samaaahn!" Ahhh, if you call me that in such a tone it makes me want to do even more to you. Hestia stares at me with round eyes and a flushed face. Crap, everyone''s eyes are on us again.


    I let go of the little dark elf and lean back with a sigh. I need to control myself better. Kamii calms down as well and leans against my chest naturally. If academy life continues like this, I think I can really enjoy it here. I peek at Hestia, who seems to be jealous of my closeness with Kamii, and I sigh again.


    The issue with the corruption''s effect on her. The pH test strip that are her wings, as Senka put so aptly, is already showing that I''m affecting her with my presence. It''s actually progressing faster than I thought it would. The principal seemed to approve of me being in contact with her, but I don''t know what he''s basing it on. A student dying at this academy is surely going to put a blemish on his name...


    No, I won''t let her die. We just became friends, and will most certainly become more in the near future, so I won''t let her suffer and die only because I''ve been born the way I am and she the way she is. I will overcome this problem.


    "Is something the matter, Miss Chloe?" It must have shown on my face that I''m bothered by something.


    "First things first, just Chloe is fine." I look at her with a smile. "How are you feeling?"


    "The water is really nice. It is unfortunate that I cannot enter all the way because of these wings, but..." She blushes. "Just being near you is enough for me." That''s such an embarrassing thing to say out loud!


    "And being near me, do you feel any effect from the corruption?"


    "No, not a thing. I cannot believe that you are a demon at all." She''s giving me a fearless smile in response. But I feel that she might be straining herself to say this. It''s impossible that she doesn''t feel anything, unless the deeply ingrained fear of the corruption can really be forgotten as easily as she seems to suggest. Senka did say that it might be a Nocebo, so if she associates the corruption coming from me with the positive image she has of me, it won''t have a negative effect on her psyche - and thus, on her body.


    But that''s only a theory.


    "That''s good to hear." At least I won''t give her any reason to be concerned for now.


    We hear the first bell announcing the Time of Enlightenment. At least judging by the fact that the sky only just started to be dyed in the colors of dawn, as seen through the small windows of the bath house. It''s the signal for us to get out of the bath and get ready for breakfast. We dry ourselves and get dressed. I''m paying close attention to how Kamii and Hestia put on their clothes.


    Kamii wears her one-sleeved shirt tied on the side, similar to the padded vest I had specifically made for her. But I''m more interested in Hestia''s outfit. I turn to look at her, since I didn''t see it earlier - she was more reserved and changed out of sight. Even though she''s still embarrassed to be completely naked, she at least doesn''t make a point in hiding behind a corner anymore.


    She''s basically wearing a neck-tied version of the standard school uniform shirt, with an almost completely exposed back. The sweater is the same. Actually... isn''t this that famous so-called virgin killer sweater? Her robe has more folds than the standard one, and there are two large cutouts at the back through which she can easily slip her wings. The holes are completely hidden by the many folds, so it looks as if they are perfectly fitting.


    I will make her wear that sweater - and only that sweater - someday. Her figure is perfect for it, too. We each return to our own rooms for now, to bring back the bath towels we took from there. Hestia apparently has to get something for her class today, so we agree to meet at the entrance of the dorms "soon". I don''t really know what soon means, but I''d say if it''s just to put back and to get a few things, it shouldn''t take too long.


    "You got the bath house episode out of the way now, huh?" I''m greeted by this line from Senka, when we enter the room. Now that she says it, I''m reminded of all the anime with an episode set in bath houses that all seem to have a problem with ventilation and all build up an excessive amount of steam. Those episodes generally never contributed to the plot, either.


    "Are you implying that what we did was pointless?" If this was an anime, it might appear as such. But for me, it was an important opportunity for some skinship. I think we all grew closer over this. And I got a misunderstanding out of the way with Luna, too. "Anyways, we''re going to have breakfast and then go to class."


    "Have fun~" Senka''s voice and expression are completely different. She''s not very happy. I guess this isn''t much different from being confined in a shop as a doll and used by the store owner for a purpose she was not intended for. Well, it''s different in that the latter part doesn''t happen anymore. If her identity was to be revealed, she would be counted as an outsider and would have to leave the academy or become a student. But she said it herself, that she doesn''t have a magic affinity, so she can''t be enrolled here.


    We leave the towels on their rack in the bathroom and go back downstairs. Kamii has a relaxed expression and it elicits a smile from me. This is how a girl her age should look like, not the almost dead eyes she had when I first met her. At the entrance I look around, but Hestia isn''t here yet. Well, it might take a little longer on her end, although I don''t know where her room is.


    But when she doesn''t appear for quite some time, I''m beginning to wonder. Ninlil comes out from inside the dorm, carrying a broom. How clich¨¦d of a dorm mother to be sweeping around the entrance area. She spots Kamii and I and comes over.


    "Class is starting soon, what are you still doing here?" Really? I don''t have a proper grasp on time and how fast it passes here. Now I''m worried.


    "Can you tell me where Hestia''s room is?"


    "... it''s the room next to the one right below yours, on the first floor." She hesitates for a moment, but in the end decides to tell me. Wait, her room is so close to ours? That means she actually heard everything first-hand. I want to bury my face in my hands at the thought, but it''s more important that I find out why she''s so late.


    "Thank you, Mistress Ninlil." I bow in gratitude and run where she points. I have a bad feeling about this.


    It takes me very little time to reach her room and I knock on the door. There''s no response. She can''t have left yet, since there''s only one entry and exit to the dorms, and she wouldn''t leave before me. I try the door and it''s not locked. Throwing it open, I step into the room and see Hestia lying on her bed.


    She has lost consciousness and her breathing is rugged and strained. Her face is red and it looks like she has a high fever.


    Her wings have several large gray spots, and their tips look like they were dipped in ink.

 Chapter 33 - End of Innocence

    "This is a troublesome development, Miss Chloe." Dregana comments with an almost hostile expression. "I told you not to associate with her too much, and on the next day you are seen together again. There is even the rumor that she stayed a night in your room and you touched her in the bath just earlier." She was the teacher who took it upon herself to warn me of my influence on the pure winged girl. Me ignoring her the very next day must have made her really angry.


    "Now now, I heard from one of Miss Hestia''s classmates that she approached Miss Marcott on her own the day after." Thorvadis steps in with his calm voice. He saw me with her in the canteen last evening but seemed to approve of our relationship. But he is certainly not coming out and saying that right now. "Seeing as it was Miss Hestia''s decision, we cannot put any blame on Miss Marcott." Damn right!


    "She should have pushed Miss Hestia away then. She''s collapsed with a high fever and a good portion of her feathers have become discolored. This is already very dangerous for her kind." She''s really worried about Hestia. I can''t help but admire her attitude towards her job and how she regards the students'' wellbeing. She seems like the straight-laced type that prefers action over thought.


    "Madam Idunn is tending to her right now, but we do not have the means to purify her." Another teacher I don''t know remarks. I guess this Madam Idunn is the nurse of this school. "We have called in the Saint of Luminosity. Maybe she knows a way to combat the demon''s corruption." He''s referring to me as if I''m not in the room. That''s very disrespectful, but I can''t really argue against anything right now.


    Arcelia is going to come, huh? I haven''t seen her since the time she gave me the recommendation, although we''ve been in the same city. How will she react when she hears that I''m a demon? I''m sure she''ll be shocked and angry. After all, she''s a saint of purity who is one of the only twelve people in the kingdom that has command over light magic. Well, thirteen, when counting me.


    "The Saint of Luminosity has arrived, Master Thorvadis." Basarab enters the room and announces. He keeps his voice neutral, but it still sends a shiver down my spine. How can a person''s voice carry such an incredible effect? But now''s not the time to be affected by it. I have some troublesome things ahead of me.


    "Can I... see her?" I know it''s a selfish request, but still... she is a friend.


    "What? How dare you ask for that after what you did to her." Dregana raises her voice and her expression is filled with anger. Yeah, as expected.


    "Please, Miss Tarragon. Yes, I can let you see her, but you may not come too close to her." Thorvadis steps in once again and pacifies the hot-headed red-head. "You may have heard about the barrier surrounding this academy. Madam Idunn has cast the same barrier around Miss Hestia, so no outside corruption will be able to harm her now." His eyes are fixed on me, as if to gauge my reaction to these words. No, I''m not going to show any wistful hope or come up with strange ideas. "But it only prevents new corruption to accumulate - it does not revert the one already eating away at her." Thought as much.


    We go to the infirmary, which is located in a separate building, featuring a church-like hall filled with rows of beds. They are all empty, except for the one at the very back. It''s surrounded by a barrier of light, similar to the one I learned from the book Arcelia gave me. Speaking of the saint, she''s already here, alongside an elderly woman in a black and white nun habit. That must be Madam Idunn. I can see even from here that she''s the one casting the barrier - meaning she''s one of the twelve only light magic users.


    "Up to here, and no further." Dregana stops me about halfway into the hall. I can barely see Hestia''s face from here, but I can''t really ask for more under the circumstances.


    I feel really helpless. I talked big about saving her or not letting her die from my corruption, but in the end I couldn''t do anything for her. Casting all sorts of light magic spells from the book that sounded like they could heal Hestia had no effects on the color of her wings. In the end, I had to tell Ninlil, who quickly darted off and called the other teachers. It''s frustrating to be so powerless, even while I have so much power in any spells I cast.


    "Miss Marcott..." Arcelia has stood up and comes towards me. Her eyes are closed as always and her face looks relaxed. "Thank you for coming to see her." No words of accusation or reprimanding. She''s a saint, through and through. "I am at a loss as to what to do. The Fatas have a method to cleanse the corruption, but it is their closely guarded secret. Miss Hestia has not regained consciousness yet, so I cannot ask her about it. Even then, I believe that she does not know, either." Yes, Hestia told me that this academy is her exile, and that she was basically sent here to indirectly facilitate her death.


    "So even you cannot do anything to help her?" Dregana asks with a bitter expression. It seems like she''s really protective of Hestia for some reason.


    "I am really sorry. Without the right method, there is nothing I can do. I can only alleviate her pain and suppress the symptoms for now, so that we can move her back home." Oh, so she doesn''t know that Hestia''s been exiled.


    "I am afraid that is not an option." Thorvadis states with his eyes cast downwards. "Miss Hestia... is no longer welcome in the Fatas Triarchy."


    "What do you mean, Master Thorvadis?" Arcelia frowns, the first time she has shown a negative expression since I first saw her. Her eyes remain closed, though. "Please elaborate."


    "She has been exiled due to political reasons that I am not free to divulge." But the cunning old man practically already gave it away. Simply put, she must be the illegitimate child of someone with great, but unstable power. I know that all too well from scandals involving politicians in Japan. They have a child with a mistress, and it comes to light. The media tears itself apart in a frenzy, the enemies of the politician jump on it to oust him, he has to resign and it puts a great blemish on his party. Even as someone not interested in that, I couldn''t help but hear of several such stories throughout the years.


    "I see..." The saint''s beautiful countenance reflects a hint of anger. Yes, leaving a child to die because of political reasons is wrong in any world. "I can only continue to do my best, but I cannot promise anything."


    "Thank you, Lady Crux. I wish you the best of luck..." I bite my lower lip in impotence. "And please tell Hestia that I am sorry." I turn around and leave, before anyone can say any more.


    Who cares about classes... Today I should be having fire magic class, but with things as they are, I won''t be able to concentrate at all. Aside from that, I''m sure I''ll just blow everyone up when I cast the magic wrongly. I lie in my bed and look up to the ceiling, ceaselessly trying to come up with something that I could do for Hestia.


    "I don''t think there''s a point in being depressed. If my theory holds true, it''s just a psychogenic effect. And I''m not just saying stuff, I''m making a very educated guess here..." Senka seems to be trying to lift my spirits. "You just need to find a way to make her associate the corruption with something positive." Yeah, you make it sound so easy. I never had much interest in psychology, so I don''t understand how the human mind works. Hell, I don''t even know how my own mind works properly since I got this body.


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    Kamii is lying next to me, but normally she would be trying to cuddle. Now, she seems just as concerned about Hestia as I am, and looks at me worrying with a helpless expression. I did try to talk her into attending classes, but she refused and expressed her desire to be with me. I pet her hair and smile, but I can''t really do so from the bottom of my heart. And she''s aware of that. As if trying to take my mind off the matter, she moves up and suddenly kisses me on the lips awkwardly. Yeah, that really took my mind off it for a moment.


    "Thank you, Kamii-chan." I hug her to my chest. "Yeah, you''re right, Senka. I just have to keep on studying and maybe I''ll learn something along the way." I can only hope. There''s no point moping around and doing nothing. I''m sure Hestia wouldn''t like it if she saw me like this.


    Several days pass without hearing a word about her from any of the teachers. I''m not allowed to go into the infirmary, and neither is Kamii. Another whole week goes by during which normalcy returns to my life, even as the feeling of an angel-shaped hole remains. A raven knocks on my window after dinner one evening, bringing the completed customized timetable promised to me on the first day I came here.


    My schedule is much more diverse now. Apparently I also have an overlapping class with Kamii, which is Magic History. Onee-san can watch over you directly now. Rather than any of the beginner classes where one is taught spells, I only need to attend the advanced versions of Application of X Magic now.


    But the class I''m most interested in is Magic Combat Training. The cunning old man actually thinks it''s a good idea to teach a demon with all elemental affinities how to use them for combat? Well, not that I wouldn''t be able to think of how to use the various spells I learned so far during battle without someone teaching me specifically. But having a proper sparring partner may prove to be quite useful, and I can learn ways to counter spells.


    There''s also Basics of Superior Elements, so I will learn light, dark and space magic? Same for Multi-Elemental Magic class. Will I be taught by several teachers at the same time, or is there one teacher for each class who possesses the corresponding affinities? I have to admit that the staff seems to consist of very talented mages, and even if their output is not as powerful - or rather, excessive - as mine, their control is far greater. Well, considering this is such a prestigious academy, that was to be expected.


    My first class for the next morning is Basics of Melding, same as what I had yesterday. It''s the most important basic skill for me to learn in magic right now. While I may be able to cast more powerful versions of the single elemental skills, the melded skills consisting of several elements, such as the ones Luna is able to cast, are still one step above those. A single element spell and a multi-element spell on the same level have a huge discrepancy in power.


    Maybe there''s a melded spell that can do something for Hestia? After all, no known light elemental magic is able to help her, and I learned that all Fatas have the light affinity. I did talk to Arcelia once more afterwards and heard from her that Hestia apparently doesn''t count towards the twelve in the kingdom, as she has always been treated as a guest from the Fatas Triarchy.


    Incidentally, Arcelia has a double affinity in light magic, but she''s being really humble about it. Judging from the output of the double fire affinity mage among the slave traders, this means this saint can throw around light spells with their powers amplified immensely. Don''t tell me her spirit spears are even stronger than mine? I can''t ask her to randomly demonstrate them to me, though. But now I think I don''t ever want to fight her.


    "Good night, Kamii-chan." I speak the incantation to switch off the lights in the room. "Bice." I''m looking forward to see what the advanced application class for nature magic in the afternoon tomorrow will be like. Kamii''s sleeping next to me, but she doesn''t cling onto me that much anymore, even when I don''t hug her. She did it to be able to ascertain that I''m still by her side, but that fear seems to have subsided. Ahhh, onee-san is feeling a little lonely, but at the same time I''m proud to see that she isn''t completely dependent on me anymore.


    I close my eyes and prepare to sleep, but for some reason I can''t. Am I a grade school kid looking forward to a field trip or what? Yes, I have a new schedule, but that shouldn''t cause me to be unable to fall asleep...


    Suddenly I hear the window to my room opening and I my eyes are immediately open. With my night vision the room is almost as bright as day, and I see a figure standing by the bed, staring down at me. Two large wings of a gradient between white and black are spread out, almost filling the entire room. There is no doubt as to this person''s identity.


    "Hestia?" I mutter, as I look at her face.


    "Chloe..." She breathes, her cheeks flushed and a fevered smile on her lips. Sweat covers her forehead and her hair is disheveled. She''s only wearing the nightgown from the infirmary which is almost translucent in the moonlight falling into the room from the window behind her. Without warning, she grabs my arm, pulls me up from the bed and embraces me tightly so that I can feel her breasts. Then, in an instant, we''re out of the window.


    I can see the ground below my feet growing distant as we ascend into the skies on her powerful wings. The wind is pretty cold, and even though my body isn''t really affected, I can only think about Hestia''s wellbeing. She''s wearing so little, but I can feel the heat of the fever ravaging her body. This can''t be good for her.


    We land on the roof of the library and the moment my feet touch the ground, I''m pushed down. Hestia mounts me and looks down at me with rugged breath and unfocused eyes, her tongue flickers over her smiling lips. There''s an indescribably lusty look to her. Something stirs inside me.


    "Finish... what you started... Chloe." She says with a heated voice, before roughly pulling off her nightgown. Her almost translucent white skin is shining under the moonlight in all its glory. Sorry, I won''t be able to hold myself back if you say that and then show me something like this. This is a sight reserved for the gods. "Corrupt me." And this time she means it the way she said it. As you wish!


    I grab her shoulder and push her down, before taking hold of the breasts that are even bigger than mine. If I had a heart, it would be beating really quickly, but my breath is much faster. I can''t keep the excitement down now! My transformation comes undone, although I still have enough presence of mind to keep my face untouched. Hestia gasps and shows a shocked expression for a moment, before a mad smile plays over her face at the sight of my real body - and the tentacles that form it.


    God created angels to be ravished by tentacle demons!


    I make good of that idea born from the Japanese adult pop culture entertainment industry. My hands move all over her body as I lock my lips with hers, bringing my tongue into play, too. It grows longer and I wiggle it deeply into her throat. I can hear her choking, but it only spurs me on.


    From the corners of my eyes I can see her white feathers flaking off and turning into dust that disappears in the breeze, revealing black ones underneath. Yes, she''s being corrupted at an incredible rate. Knowing that I''m the one doing it very nearly causes me to lose my mind from the thought. I separate from her lips and let her breathe, instead beginning to nibble on her neck and collarbone. My entire body is separating into individual tentacles and those around my abdomen find the hottest place on her body. I mercilessly thrust them into every crevice I can find. Hestia squeals and her back arches, but I hold her down with my weight.


    With Kamii I didn''t do this. I was using my human body to its fullest, most specifically my fingers and mouth. But this is something else entirely. Our bodies seem to have melted together as I can feel waves of pleasure run through Hestia''s body, transmitted to me as if my nerves are connected to hers. Her eyes are rolled up as her voice becomes incoherent the more I move about. It''s filled with gasps and moans of pure rapture. Her entire form convulses in an unimaginable climax.


    "We''re not done yet~ I won''t let you rest until I have corrupted every inch of your body~"


    "Y-yesh... do it... give me... mooooreeee!!!"


    "Hahaha, calm down, Hestia-tan~ Now is not the time to lose your mind~" I get my tentacles back to work and thrust several more in, wriggling them into the absolute depths of her body. She convulses and let out a lovely voice. "That comes later~"


    I will have you do an ahegao double peace yet.

 Chapter 34 - Spread Your Wings

    There''s no going back from this. I look down at Hestia, who''s unconscious rather than asleep. Her wings are jet black, without even the sign of a gray left, let alone white. I couldn''t help her before, when she suffered due to the effects of her wings becoming discolored, and I haven''t learned anything new since then. I don''t know what I''ll do if she starts to show such symptoms again...


    But for now, I''ll have to do something about the way she looks and our location. She''s a real mess, sticky all over, and the nights are still cold. We''re on top of a three story building, though, and I don''t know how I can get down with her. Since she doesn''t look like she''d be able to fly anymore after this.


    Well, I have her genetic material right here. This will be the first time in quite a while that I''m doing this. Not counting the sheep, humans and trolls I consumed along the way, it''s been since my time on the Dark Continent that I last consciously used this ability of mine. I take a sample from Hestia - not telling from where exactly - and begin my transformation. I have more than enough biomass to replicate the wings, and for solidarity''s sake, I''m turning them completely black, too. I look like a perfect copy of her. At least the parts I can see, especially when looking down on my enlarged chest. If I had real muscles in my back, I''m sure they''d start to hurt pretty soon.


    Now, for a test flight. I was able to run on all fours perfectly after consuming the Vularen, so this shouldn''t be a problem, either. But I still don''t want to crash with Hestia in my arms. Spreading my newly grown wings I swing them around and feel their air resistance. This is such a strange feeling, it''s like having four arms. Flapping them, I try to fly upwards directly, but realize that I can''t seem to generate enough lift that way. What''s going on? I try to remember and realize that whenever she flew, she did so by falling off somewhere first. This means that''s the way to fly. Well, the bigger the bird, the harder for it to take off from a standing position, I think.


    I jump up into the air and try again, but it''s not enough of a drop to actually take off from. So I will actually have to drop off the roof. I''m a little scared of heights. But I''d rather not have to call out to someone to bring a ladder or something, and I think asking Hestia isn''t an option, either.


    There''s no point in wasting any more time. I let myself fall from the edge of the roof and spread my wings. My instincts tell me what to do exactly, and I begin to fly, in the same way as I''ve seen Hestia do it. This feels so liberating, I can''t believe that flying out of your own strength can be this nice of a sensation. I ascend, higher and higher into the sky, towards the clouds. Wait... I''ll have to look down to descend. I don''t wanna!


    I flap my wings and fly in circles, refusing to look down, but I will have to do so eventually. There''s nothing to it, I can fly. I turn my eyes downward and realize that I''ve already risen quite a bit. I can overlook the entire citadel, and Hestia is just a tiny spot on top of the library building, which looks like a child''s building block. Crap crap crap!


    Maybe I can glide slowly, descending without looking. No, I can''t do that. I have to get over this fear. I close my eyes and visualize the flight path with my newly gained instincts, before folding my wings to my body and falling towards the ground, faster with every passing moment. The rooftop of the library begins to fill my vision and I pull up at the exact timing to come to a perfect stop right beside Hestia.


    I think I''m over my fear of heights after this, but my heart would surely have been beating incredibly fast, if I had one.


    Now, to do the same with someone in my arms. Someone who also has large wings that may create air resistance. Well, I''ll somehow manage. Just that I won''t be able to hold her in a princess carry due to her wings. What a shame. I wrap the nightgown around her body and hug her to me. Unfortunately, we both have large breasts and it only gets in the way in carrying her. So that I won''t accidentally drop her... yes... I have to commit the blasphemy of making my breasts go away almost completely. Sniff...


    After some struggle, we''re back in my room. Kamii didn''t even notice that I was gone and is sleeping on her side of our bed. That''s kind of sad. Senka apparently never sleeps, as her inquisitive eyes are fixed on me the moment I enter through the window. She obviously has night vision, too, as I can see her eyes going over my newly attained wings and an eyebrow going up at the sight.


    "At least you didn''t do it in the room..." She frowns at the sight and smell of Hestia''s body. But most of all, she''s looking at the black wings. "No turning back now, you went all the way." Yes, literally. And I''m proud to say that I achieved my goal to get the legendary ahegao double peace - several times. Oh wait, she''s talking about the corruption.


    "Now we see what happens to a Fata when her wings turn fully black." She''s clearly not dying, even though she might have sounded like it earlier. I can''t feel her fever anymore, either. Sometime along the flight her breathing became calmer and unconsciousness turned into sleep.


    I carry her into the bathroom while turning myself back into my normal appearance. Two winged people will not fit in there. Putting her down into the bathtub, I shake her lightly. Her eyes flicker open - the light blue irises have turned a bright, faintly glowing crimson - and the first thing she sees is me. A warm, affectionate smile fills her face as she breathes my name softly. "Chloe..."


    "Hello, sleepyhead." I pet her hair. "Let''s give you a bath." I don''t need one myself, since I just took everything that covered my body during the transformation inside me. I''m perfectly clean. Even psychologically, I don''t feel the need. Maybe doing too many transformations will remind my psyche of the fact that I''m not human? In either case, it doesn''t bother me at all whether I take a bath or not, as long as I know that the surface of my body can be clean whenever I want it to be.


    I let in the water and wash Hestia down. She can only move weakly due to the exhaustion from our strenuous activities earlier. Despite that, she has a very tranquil expression and doesn''t seem to be in any pain from the corruption. She looks at her black wings but doesn''t look alarmed at all.


    "How''re you feeling?" I''m still worried.


    "I... have never felt better." She smiles and I can see that her crimson eyes are filled with something I''ve seen many times before, as they lock onto mine. That''s madness. They''re the eyes of someone so madly in love that she would commit genocide to be able to remain by my side. It''s an incredible sensation to be at the receiving end of them.


    "That''s good to hear." I return her smile. "Can you notice whether something changed about your body or not?" Aside from her wings and her eye color, I can''t see any other outward change.


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    "I am no longer a virgin." She says while looking at the trails of red in the bathtub. Fair enough... I''m sorry. Kamii''s still technically one, but you weren''t so lucky. "And I no longer have any fear of the corruption. I welcome it." Her eyes turn to mine again. I will give you lots of corrupting, whenever you want it~


    Perverted thoughts aside, she''s not a proper Fata anymore. Her purity is gone, in more ways than just the physical sense, and I can only assume that she received some sort of curse from this, similar to Kamii. I''ll have to keep an eye on her for the time being, to see in what way she was affected.


    Also, I''m sure the teachers won''t be pleased to learn that she has turned into a fallen angel overnight. I''m sure some will even directly accuse me of intentionally corrupting her or brainwashing her into letting herself be fully corrupted. For that I''ll have to deal the first strike tomorrow morning and go to Thorvadis with Hestia in tow, so that she can explain that it was out of her own free will.


    "You monster! What have you done?" Dregana throws this in my face first thing in the morning, her face a grimace of anger. She reminds me more of a dragon than ever that way. It looks like her flaming red hair is standing up more than usual, too. Kamii, Hestia and I were in the process of leaving the dorm building but we''re stopped by a group of teachers. Ninlil, Arcelia and even Madam Idunn is there, and her expression is one of disapproval, too. Several of the teachers look outright hostile, and it''s all directed at me.


    "It was my will." Hestia steps forward firmly, her wings half spread to shield me. Their pure blackness is in stark contrast with her pearl white skin and silver hair. Her bully-me aura is completely gone in this tense situation and she appears really dependable. At the sight, Dregana''s expression of anger mixes with despair at the realization that there are no known means to revert Hestia''s purity at this academy. Well, I doubt the person herself wants that either way. "I will not forgive any disrespect towards Chloe."


    "Why did you do this, Miss Hestia?" Arcelia asks with a concerned expression. "Do your kind not fear the influence of corruption?"


    "I am no longer one of that kind you speak of." She fully spreads her wings and shows off the depths of their blackness. They are just as beautiful, if not even more so than the pure white ones she had before. Yes, I''m the type to prefer sleek black to eye-catching white. "The process may have been painful, but now I feel like I have reached perfection." Her expression is filled with affection as she looks back at me. Sorry that it hurt...


    "How can this cursed form be called perfection?" Dregana doesn''t believe it and looks at me with murderous intent. "You''re controlling her heart, aren''t you?" Hey, don''t look at me, I don''t have that kind of ability. She looks close to unleashing her magic on me or something...


    "I am not being controlled. If you display any more aggression towards Chloe, I shall not forgive you." And there it is, her madness is surfacing. The air around her is swirling unnaturally and her voice is carrying a weight unlike anything I''ve heard before. At the sight, Dregana is taken aback.


    But really, I''d rather we don''t begin a battle right now, because I''m sure the teachers will apprehend Hestia together and then attack me. Kamii is standing by my side with a defiant look, too. And the last thing I want to do is drag her into a situation where she might get hurt or even killed.


    If push comes to shove, I have several options. Either try and take everyone here out with a volley of spirit spears - which depends on whether the spell can really just penetrate everything or not. Or I''ll transform into a Vularen and make a run for it with Kamii and Hestia inside my body. I''m sure nobody here knows that I''m able to transform, so seeing it will surely cause them to be shocked for a moment - enough to gain a head start. There''s also always the option for a physical attack using the special characteristics of this body. Mainly by swallowing the teachers before us whole and suffocating them, so that they can''t cast any spells.


    I''m not very confident in any of these, since I have way too little information on everyone''s abilities here. If Arcelia decides to fight as well and hits me with a spirit spear of her own, I doubt it''ll leave only a scratch. This is a really dangerous situation. What should I do?


    "Cease this foolishness right this moment." An even more powerful voice booms across the heads of the gathered. It belongs to Thorvadis. He walks towards us with Basarab and Astrid by his side. His expression is filled with strictness, as if reprimanding a child that won''t listen. Dregana backs off while shooting me another glare, but Hestia remains undaunted. "Miss Hestia, I see you have recovered from your fever." He doesn''t say anything about her wings.


    "Yes, thanks to Chloe." Hestia smiles softly. She takes on a more ladylike demeanor again. "It would seem that I lost my white wings in the process, but she was able to save my life." Of course, she doesn''t say how exactly I did it and I''d like to keep it a secret, too. I don''t think anyone observed us on top of the library''s roof. Then again, one never knows what kind of magic exists for remote viewing. I have a feeling this cunning old man may have peeped on us through a crystal ball or some other fantasy-like method. "I wish to extend my thanks to the Saint of Luminosity and Madam Idunn for tending to me all this time."


    She aggravated the situation on her own and now she practically defused it herself. I''m impressed. And so are the other teachers. But there''s still one who isn''t happy with this. Dregana looks like she still wants to kill me. What did I ever do to you?


    "Everything is alright now." Hestia says with a calm voice. "I relieve you of your duty, Dregana."


    What?


    "Miss... Hestia?" Dregana looks at her in shock. "What... are you saying?"


    "I no longer require your service." She delivers this with an almost cold-hearted look. Even though Dregana is taller than her, it looks like Hestia''s looking down on her while saying this. Wait, these two have a history with each other? I look at Thorvadis, but he appears to have known about this, as his face doesn''t reveal anything. He remains quiet, though.


    "... please, don''t do this..." She has an expression of anguish, realizing that Hestia is serious.


    "You can return to your home now." That was the final blow. She collapses to her knees and tears begin to roll down her face as her expression goes blank in disbelief, staring into space with unfocused eyes. Hestia turns and approaches Thorvadis. "I apologize for causing everyone so much trouble, but I have no need of the protection of the barrier anymore."


    "It would appear that Chloe has found a solution, albeit a very counterintuitive one." The cunning old man''s gaze shifts to me for a moment. "You are the first of the Fatas to have completely black wings. Since we do not yet know the full extent of the effects from this... transformation, we would like to keep you in the infirmary a little longer."


    "As you wish." She turns to me and gives me a warm smile. "Do not worry, Chloe. I will be back soon." Oh, I''m not that worried that something will happen to you. I''m more worried about the teachers attacking me in your absence. I think Dregana seems to have lost the will to do anything right now, so at least that''s one issue out of the way.


    "Now, I believe you have classes to attend to." Thorvadis claps his hands and the gathering of teachers begins to disperse. Well, there''s still time and I want to have breakfast, first. I did use quite some energy last night, so I have to get an extra large portion.


    "Raaaaaah!!!" Dregana suddenly screams and her voice turns deeper. I spin around and the place she knelt in only a moment earlier has burst out in flames. From within a dragon with a red body and golden eyes emerges. It roars and from the spaces between its armored plates streams of fire spew into the sky. Turning its head around, it looks at me with hateful eyes, but Hestia steps in front of me as if to shield me. Flaring its nostrils in impotent anger, it turns away and runs across the field. Accelerating up until the wall of the citadel, it performs a mighty leap and spreads its wings, taking off and flying into the distance.


    My mouth is agape. Dregana was actually a dragon?

 Chapter 35 - Revealed or Safe?

    "Um, was that alright?" I''m referring to Hestia sending Dregana away like this. "She seemed to really care for you." We''re on our way to the canteen, as initially planned, before we were confronted by the staff. There won''t be much time to grab something to eat before classes start. Yep, I can return to normalcy after everything that happened.


    "Dregana was sent by my father to keep an eye on me. Along the way from the Fatas Triarchy to the academy she began to get strange ideas about our relationship." When she looks at me, her demeanor changes completely. Gone is the dependable girl who can stand up to the entire teaching staff and face them down on her own. Instead, submissive eyes of mad love shine through her otherwise calm exterior. "She is a Dragonkin whom my father bought as a slave and freed, when I was still very young. Her loyalty lies with him, not with me."


    This is the first time she mentions anything about her family. Also, I guess Dragonkin is Dregana''s species. Are all of her kind able to transform into dragons at will? That''s a pretty cool ability. And there''s slavery in a place governed by angels...


    "But she really looked desperate when she saw that your corruption has been completed."


    "Maybe she had hoped that I would die from it rather than achieve perfection." Wow, that''s a harsh thing to assume. To me, Dregana really seemed to care a lot for Hestia, but maybe that just means I was fooled? "She is no longer here to bother us anyway." That''s a nice lovey-dovey expression she''s showing me.


    Kamii pulls on my sleeve and I turn to look at her. She''s pouting at me giving all my attention to Hestia. I''m sure she already suspects that something happened between us last night, because of how the angel has changed her behavior towards me, aside from the most visible aspects that are the colors of her wings and eyes.


    "Do not worry, Kamii. Chloe has enough for the both of us." Hestia gives a radiant smile. What are you referring to? And for some reason, the little dark elf is accepting that explanation.


    We make a huge impact in the canteen. Even though it''s late, there are still some students around. Seeing Hestia''s black wings, everyone stares in awe and disbelief. Some are actually genuinely sad or anguished over the sight. I guess Fatas are a symbol of purity among the common people, huh? Still, it didn''t feel like she was treated like that by her fellow students before, and now some are clearly avoiding her.


    I think at this point everyone knows that I''m a demon, so I''m not making a point in trying to hide it anymore. I''m really hungry and there isn''t much time left before class starts. Therefore, I simply eat through my palm, by absorbing the contents of my plate directly into my body. Kamii''s looking at it in wonder while shoveling down her portion, and Hestia''s smiling at the display.


    "That is really handy." She says as her refined mannerisms remain unchanged in face of the time constraints. I don''t know if what she said was an intentional pun or not...


    "All these gazes on us... tell me if anyone dares to do something to you." I say to both of my companions. I doubt anyone will against Hestia or me, but Kamii is small and may appear weak. If I hear of anyone bullying her for being associated with me, I don''t care whether I''m up against the whole school or the entire nation. I will find him, and I will kill him - or her.


    "That should be my line, Chloe." Hestia''s eyes look like they''re filled with glowing hearts as she responds to me. Aren''t you the protective-obsessive tsun-yandere now... I guessed it from her behavior earlier, but she might really be that. While a yandere madly in love with you might sound awesome at first glance, people neglect the fact that they are quite volatile in nature and may hurt or outright kill everyone around them just to be with them.


    The thing here is, I actually still believe that it''s lovely. There''s something wrong with me, too. Well, she did make it clear that she approves of Kamii, so I don''t have to fear anything in that regard. At least I hope so. I look to the little dark elf and then smile at Hestia, but I think I might have just made a pretty scary face. She reacts with a mixture of fear, anticipation and arousal in her expression. Yep, the M part of her is clearly still intact. So, if something does happen after all, I have my ways to keep her in line.


    Basics of Melding is a subject that teaches the ways to combine elements to achieve different effects. The class consists of fewer than ten people, so the teacher has a lot of time to come around to everyone individually. It''s an elderly man with a short white beard, a bald head and a slightly voluminous body. He was among the teachers who confronted us this morning, but his attitude is unexpectedly still very professional when dealing with me.


    After all, I apparently suck at melding. I simply can''t envision how wind and water creates ice, even though I''m aware of the fact that fantasy does this all the time. Furthermore, water and fire apparently creates steam if the control is bad, and plasma, if it''s good. In other words, Luna must have incredible proficiency in melding, since two of her large scale spells utilized plasma. I have enough knowledge of physics to understand that it''s utterly unscientific. Well, so is summoning a pool of water out of thin air by chanting a single word, which I have no problem of doing, so...


    For some reason it feels like my classmates are relieved that I''m not a master at everything. You think you got a chance if you want to fight me? Come at me! Well, maybe their relief stems from the fact that I may seem more approachable this way. I noticed that nobody seems to know for sure that I''m a demon yet, and it''s simply a rumor circulating around the school at this point. Hestia''s transformation isn''t being associated with my doing, and the incident in front of the dorms wasn''t witnessed by many people, and fewer understood what exactly happened.


    I think I should tone down on the eating through my palm, until I''m sure that everyone knows for a fact.


    "There is a nasty rumor going around that you are a demon, Chloe..." Luna confronts me during lunch break. It''s rare to see her in the canteen. "And that you are responsible for her... corruption." She glances at Hestia next to me, who responds with a smile.


    "What do you think about them?" I keep my expression neutral. I want to see how much she believes in them and if I should just come out and say it. But this question actually takes her by surprise. Did she expect me to deny them or admit to them straight away?


    "... I do not care about what you are..." Luna finally says. Now I''m the one who''s surprised. "You are a member of our group." She actually said it in quite the reluctant manner, so I can be sure that she means it.


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    "You truly are Rolan''s beloved." I finally smile and earn a blush from her. I may have quipped about their relationship and messed with her a lot, but in the end, I still endorse it. They''ve grown on me during our trip, and I realize it only now that I''ve been separated from them for a while. I still won''t hesitate to fight them, if they attack maou-mama, but until that happens, we can be friends. "All of you accepted Kamii into the party, despite the fact that she is a cursed child shunned by everyone else. None of you ever showed any apprehension in her presence. For that I am quite grateful." I pet the little dark elf''s hair at this.


    Luna looks at me with an astonished expression. Indeed, much of my thoughts regarding the party under Rolan revolves around Kamii. I''m quite fine with people hating me or avoiding my presence, since that''s how any world works. I''ve faced quite a few problems in the track and field club due to my seniors insisting on their superiority based on that seniority, rather than skills, and other club mates being jealous of my talents. I never cared much and simply did my thing. But when someone else, especially someone I care about, becomes the target...


    "As for the rumors, they are true." I have to grant her that much. "I am a demon." I make sure to keep my voice down while saying this.


    "... I see..." She''s making a difficult face. "But you are here. That means you do not eat humans... right?" I actually did that, with her unconscious right beside me, but she doesn''t need to know that.


    "I do not." Not at the moment. I''m satisfied with the salt of maidens right now. "As you can see." I gesture at the plate in front of me. It''s a huge load of food, but it''s obviously not human flesh. Well, I''m satisfied with anything, as long it''s filling. I''ve always been like that. "I would like you to keep my identity a secret for now. While you may be accepting, others are not so much."


    "I understand. I really appreciate your honesty." Luna shows a reserved smile. "I will not treat you any differently from before. You are still Chloe, nothing changed about that." You''re right about that.


    "Care to join us?"


    "Oh, sorry, I just finished my meal." Well, she''s always been a light eater. We did take our time getting food and finding a seat, so no wonder she''s already done - especially since she must have been here before we arrived. "And I still have some research to do in the library before afternoon class." I already expected that she''s a model student, unlike me. I haven''t been there since the tour on the first day. The rooftop doesn''t count.


    My first Advanced Nature Magic Application class has quite a few students, and several are middle-aged people, too. There are three teachers, of whom I recognize the one I had for my Basics of Water Magic class before. Obviously, there are no teachers who have control over all nature elements, so it''d be impossible for this class to be taught by one alone.


    I expected it to be another academic subject with more theory than practical use of magic, and I was right in doing so. But what I find exciting is that it teaches various ways to apply melded magic in everyday life, instead of for combat use. I think this is testament to the fact that this kingdom is quite peaceful and attacks by corrupted beasts are rare. After all, if war was on their minds constantly, the academy would be teaching application for militaristic uses, rather than civilian ones.


    We learn about the uses of various combined elements and spells for all kinds of situations, including house-cleaning and the preparation of food. I did learn that elements combine into several different forms from the previous class, such as fire and water creating steam or plasma. But apparently there''s a system to some of them. Water and wind can create ice or mist, depending on the casting order. Same for fire and wind, which can become either a tornado of flames or a scorching burst of air.


    Well, if my melding was better and I had any semblance of control over my flow, I could actually practice those like the other students are. So for now, I''m just doing image training while watching the others. After all, if I really mess up, I might cause the whole city to go up in flames, get blown away by a storm, become flooded with water or get leveled in an earthquake.


    Still, it''s quite useful to see how other mages are performing - especially those the teachers treat with special attention. Those are usually the ones that are a cut above the rest. Seeing what they can do, I can gauge the average level of mages at the academy. Well, I''m being treated really carefully, too, but at this point most likely because they know I''m a demon, rather than because of my unique talent.


    I''m looking forward to learning more about the superior elements of space, light and dark, though. Especially space is up there in my priorities. I need that failsafe for returning to the demon castle, in case my tenure at this academy takes longer than anticipated.


    "Hey, I''m Akyna Requin. I heard you''re a demon." A boy with grayish pale skin and combed-back ultramarine hair chats me up at the dinner table. Why did I never notice him before? I mean, he''s clearly a demon of some kind. His eyes are inverted, with the sclera being black and the irises being white. He looks to be about my age and his demeanor is very relaxed. Of course, being a fellow demon, he thinks he found a kin in me.


    I don''t like his expression, though. It''s like he''s trying to pick me up or something. And he also looks at Kamii for a moment, slight disappointment in his gaze, before it moves onto Hestia. They hang on her chest for long enough to be noticeable by anyone, and a lustful glint enters his eyes. Yep, this guy is actually looking to pick someone up, and thinks that a cursed girl, a corrupted Fata and a rumored demon girl are easy targets.


    "If that was so, what would you do?" I give him a fake smile. I expected Hestia to show hostility, but she is watching quietly. Kamii doesn''t really care and is eating her meal. Stay this innocent forever, Kamii-chan~


    "I''d say we can become friends." Akyna grins and reveals two rows of shark-like teeth. If you want to pick up a girl, you should do something about those, Sharkface. Nobody will want to kiss you.


    "I feel like you are looking for more than that."


    "That depends on you ladies." Wow, he actually addressed all three of us at the same time. You think you have the Charm ability or something? I''ll show you my true face, if you dare to suggest something indecent. I''m not interested in boys, even if you''re a demon. "How about a nice walk under the stars?" He''s still addressing all three of us.


    I turn to look at Kamii, but it looks like she isn''t even taking note of his presence. Hestia looks at me with an expression that seems to suggest that she''s waiting for me to give the signal for her to deal with this annoying gnat. No, violence is bad.


    "We happen to have a prior engagement. Just the three of us, if you understand what I mean." I lick my lips suggestively and earn a blush from Sharkface. How innocent. And he was trying to pick us up?


    "Th-that''s a shame. I was hoping to introduce you to the Demon Mages Society." The what? He actually looks genuinely down. Hm, he''s the type that wears his heart on his sleeve, it appears. So was he trying to pick us up, or did he just not have any control over his facial expressions while actually having a noble motive to talk to me?


    "Please explain." Color me interested.


    "I would prefer to do that in a more... private place." Way to go in being misleading. "After all, it is a secret society." The chuunibyou in my figurative heart is awakening at these words. Now I''m really interested to know what this is about.


    "I believe we can take a look, right?" I turn to Hestia, knowing Kamii is going to follow anyways. She gives Sharkface a murderous smile, before turning to me.


    "If you think it is a good idea, I will come with you." The expression she shows me is much more lovely.


    Time to join a secret society~

 Chapter R1 - The Lost Tombs

    It has been over two weeks since we moved to Kongenssoevn. I have been in constant contact with Runa, regularly sending letters and meeting her at the citadel''s outer wall a few times. The last letter she sent me contains an unexpected development and I had to reread it several times to fully grasp what the words mean.


    "Chloe Marcott is a demon." I mutter, causing the big man and Sigurd to turn around.


    "What did you say?" Gram was unable to hear it, but I know that Sigurd was. He is looking at me in astonishment. Indeed, if he was unable to tell, then she must be a very special kind of demon.


    "Chloe is a demon. Runa just sent me a letter, saying that there was a rumor going around that the resident Fata at the academy became corrupted after interacting with her. When confronted, she admitted to being a demon." I do not want to believe it, but if Runa is the one saying it, it must be the truth.


    "... did the missy do something bad?" I expected that question from the big man and I have to smile at it.


    "Well, if you consider corrupting a Fata and turning her wings completely black something bad, I suppose you could say so." While Fatas are beautiful winged people whose presence can inspire awe and give a sense of divinity, this kingdom is far from the Fatas Triarchy, their native home, and only ever had few interactions with them. The common folk will most likely never even get to see one in their lifetime, and they have become something like legends. The Empire of Terminus, which shares a border with the Triarchy, reveres them as the messengers of their one god. So hearing that one was corrupted may cause an outrage there, but not here.


    "Completely black?" Sigurd shows interest in that part. "Do Fatas not become sick and die long before that can happen?"


    "I thought that, too. But Chloe has proven everyone''s ideas wrong. Apparently the Fata is really happy that way, too." I hand him the letter from Runa. "Also, Kamii seems to be doing well."


    "The missy is something special, alright. All elemental affinities, incredible magical powers, a straightforward attitude and a heart of gold." Gram is speaking of her in high tones. "Her being a demon changes nothing, as long as she doesn''t do anything bad."


    "I think spreading corruption is plenty bad... but she also shows great love for Kamii, a cursed child, and the Fata is not lamenting her fate." I agree with the big man on this part. Demons are a plague upon mankind, that is what I have always thought. Chloe has now taught me that there are exceptions, but I will reserve judgment for the time being, as it has only been a short time since we have known her.


    "Yet, we have to be careful." Sigurd says with a rare serious expression. "I was unable to see through her disguise." That is saying a lot. He possesses a special ability even he does not fully understand, which allows him to see through such disguises under normal circumstances.


    "I think Runa is in the best position to judge what she''s up to, so I''ll tell her to keep an eye on Chloe." I do not like the notion of suspecting a member of our group, but it is just to be sure. I really hope that she does not turn out to have a sinister plan while being nice on the surface.


    "Yeah, I think that''s good." The big man agrees, but he also is not happy that we have to resort to such a thing. He is the one who has spent the most time with Kamii and Chloe, and has taken a liking to the latter especially. I am sure he has seen sides of her we have not, which is why he has such a high opinion of her.


    "On another note, what do you think of my proposal to attempt the Lost Tombs?" Sigurd mentions. He is referring to the immense labyrinthine catacombs underneath the city and the standing challenge of mapping it. There have been many expeditions in the past but many became lost and returned to the entrance, despite following in the footsteps of their forebears.


    "I know I can trust in your sense of direction and intuition, but we did promise Runa not to do anything dangerous."


    "My intuition whispers to me that there are no dangers on the path that I shall find us." He says with a confident smile. It is in times like these that his demeanor will instill a sense of security in me, so that I cannot help but trust him. Indeed, he has led us through many dangerous situations, based on that intuition alone.


    "Alright, I get it. But we''ll hightail it out of there if something bad happens." We are short on funds and there are not that many jobs for a group focused on combat in the capital. Runa''s excellence has netted her a full scholarship, so even her expenses are covered now, but we still have to make a living in this expensive city. The tomb and the riches that supposedly can be found within its bowels are very enticing right now.


    "There haven''t been many injuries or even deaths in recent years, so it should be fine." The big man agrees.


    "I take that you''ve already found out everything about the tomb''s dangers and traps?" Sigurd responding with a smile is all the confirmation I need. "Then we shall have ourselves a go at the Lost Tombs tomorrow."


    The catacombs'' upper levels are considered a tourist attraction and many merchants and peddlers are selling their goods in the area. There is no clear starting point, since several entrances lead into its depths, but there is one place, which is the deepest someone is willing to set up a tavern in, that has become the unofficial base camp for exploration parties.


    This is where we start, carrying enough food for almost a week of traveling. After all, there have been cases in which expeditions nearly starved to death, unable to find the exit again. I trust in Sigurd, but being prepared has never hurt anyone. Gram is carrying his shield at the ready, since we aim to go where nobody has gone before - and while many of the traps in the charted areas have been triggered or disposed of, there will be many untouched ones where we are going.


    Sigurd is taking the role of the navigator and cartographer, marking our path on a map while making sure to point out to those who come after us traps that have become functional again or have caused the path to become blocked completely. It is at these times that I really appreciate the magical map. I heard that before its invention, people had to draw maps by hand and were unable to account for elevation and depth. In these catacombs, where the path may sometimes continue downwards in a spiral, creating a proper map using the old method would be an impossible task.


    Gram sometimes blocks poisonous darts and even entire volleys of arrows, while I cut down the occasional undead explorer. At one point Sigurd informs us that we have reached uncharted territory and should proceed with more caution. There have been many explorers who did not mark their progress, so this area is well within the range of individual daredevils who come to find quick riches. In other words, there is most likely nothing left to find here, yet.


    Under Sigurd''s guidance we avoid the nastiest of traps, such as bladed pendulums, rolling boulders and trapdoors leading into pits filled with spikes, which we heard about from various sources. On one occasion I accidentally activated one such trapdoor but Gram was able to grab hold of me before I fell. Within I saw several sets of bones from people less fortunate than I.


    The catacombs were created by the legendary first king, meant to become his tomb. He is said to have died overseas and his body was never recovered, causing the construction to be abandoned and never seeing its intended use. This explains many dead ends and unfinished staircases. Throughout the ages, many kings had their bodies laid to rest in its depth, many with slaves and mountains of wealth to accompany them in death. Rumor has it that the slaves who died during construction were buried where they fell, turned undead eventually and are even now continuing to expand it mindlessly, until one day the entire world will be hollowed out and collapses.


    While impressive, the craftsmanship of the tombs cannot be compared to that of the dwarves in their underground city under the mountain. The grandeur of the dwarven masonry is in stark contrast with the almost claustrophobic experience that are these catacombs. It shows that one was built to serve the living, while the other was made for the dead. But ultimately, both now share the same purpose.


    "The air in this area is very stagnant..." Gram comments and shines the light from his shield ahead. It does not penetrate the darkness beyond a few steps and the dust particles dancing in the brightness are testament to the fact that there are going to be many skeletons lying in wait someplace near.


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    "There may be hidden rooms with risen servants, walled in with their dead kings." Sigurd says and pays close attention to the details on the ground and the walls. "We do not want them to get out, so take care in your step and where you touch."


    "I wouldn''t mind some action, but I''d rather not face a horde of undead while the air is so hard to breathe." I cover my face with a cloth. The copious amounts of dust come from the bodies of which only bones are left. While we encountered some undead with meat on their bones, preserved by the corruption of demon lords past and present, most are just brittle skeletons.


    "This is a switch leading into a tomb room." Pointing at a pressure plate in the wall, Sigurd explains. "The door is still closed, so nobody has been here since it was first sealed."


    "In other words, we might find some treasures in there?" I certainly am not a greedy person, but this is the sole reason we came here, so not attempting to achieve anything would mark this entire expedition a waste of time. "What do you think, big man?" I leave the final decision to Gram. He has a fear of undead, but the ones so far have been wandering individuals, so there was no reason to be afraid. If we open this door and an army of skeletons streams out, it is an entirely different matter.


    "Well, that''s what we came for, right?" He gives me a resigned grin. Skeletons are weak, even when they are numerous. Especially very old ones are so brittle that he could simply walk through them with his shield at the front, breaking them on impact.


    "Then be ready." I hold my sword with one hand and press the plate once Sigurd gives me the signal that his crossbow is prepared. It will not make much of a difference against great numbers, but it can serve to stop undead who still have not fully decomposed. With a loud noise and great shaking, the wall in front of us is lifted upwards and an opening barely wide enough for Gram''s shield to fit through opens.


    However, what greets us is a large open hall featuring two rows of pillars. Eerie pale green light from countless crystals come to life on our intrusion. At the end of the hall is a throne, and upon it sits the gigantic full plate armor with the crowned burgonet of a king. It is slouched down which means that the armor''s contents have long since turned to dust. In front of it stands a massive battle axe in a mount, like a tombstone. Around the throne are piles of gold, jewelry and various luxurious objects, glittering under the light.


    "I believe that should be enough." Sigurd comments with a sarcastic smile. We could never carry all of it.


    "We did it!" I shout out and jump into the air.


    Then we hear the clatter of bones and immediately go on alert. From behind the pillars and out of many hidden alcoves skeletons pour. Pieces of armor still hang onto their bodies and they are wielding rusted swords and shields. It would appear that this king had himself buried alongside his dead warriors.


    An unnatural wind starts up within the room and streams towards the armor on the throne. Its pieces are lifted into the air, assembling into its intended shape before it stands on its greaves. Gauntleted hands take the axe from the rack and the burgonet''s eye slit shines with an eerie bluish green light. That is a lich king.


    "We just woke up something terrible..." Gram says and is clearly intimidated. The lich king stands almost a head taller than even he, and its weapon looks like it could cleave right through his shield. "What do we do, leader?" I have to make a call here. We can still escape through the way we came in, as the skeletons are slow and have not surrounded us yet. The animated armor, as if understanding what we may be thinking, points an armored finger at the opening in the wall behind us, and it drops shut. We are trapped.


    "I think the decision has been made for us." I say and ready my weapon. Runa and Chloe would have helped greatly in this situation, as they both have the firepower to take this undead of the highest order out in a single hit. My weapon is imbued with magic that enhances its cutting power, but that is completely useless against plate armor, beyond which lies only hollowness.


    Sigurd gives me a look. I understand what he means, but I shake my head. If we cannot defeat this opponent, we can never hope to defeat the demon lord, as Chloe would put it in this situation.


    "A lich has a phylactery, a talisman where its soul is bound." Sigurd says and signals with his crossbow. He suggests that one hit with it should be able to destroy whatever that talisman is, and now we only need to find it.


    "What if it''s the entire armor?" Gram makes this terrifying suggestion.


    "Then we have to destroy it." I turn to the skeleton warriors that are approaching from one side. They look very brittle, so I don''t even need to hit them with my blade. I kick the first one''s shield, causing the arm holding it to shatter under the impact, before it stumbles backwards and the legs break away as well. The second takes the broad of my sword and the skull is pulverized. I look to see that the big man is using the edge of his shield to scatter those on his side. Sigurd shoots a bolt at the lich king, who is staying still and watching over our battle, hitting him right in his eye slit. It looks completely unaffected, so the armor really is empty on the inside.


    But that causes it to take action and walk towards us with slow steps. If it is really that cumbersome, we should have a good chance at defeating it. Swinging the axe in a wide arc, it attacks Gram. By angling his shield and ducking, he lets the giant weapon scratch along its surface and glide off without doing any damage. I take the opportunity to rush forward and round the iron giant''s body, to get to its back.


    There are no indications as to where the phylactery is, but maybe we can just break this whole thing apart. In the front, the big man bashes the armor with his shield, while I stab at the pit of its knee, where it is only protected by chainmail. The sword penetrates the mail but underneath it is nothingness. This will not work out.


    The lich king spins around and swings the axe at me. I cannot block it or I will die. I roll towards him and avoid the massive blade, while stabbing my sword into the eye slit where Sigurd''s crossbow bolt is still stuck. The impact causes the helmet to fly off, but as expected, there is no body inside the armor.


    "The axe!" Sigurd exclaims and points at the weapon, now stuck inside a pillar. There is a large square emerald embedded in its side, the only thing that looks out of place on this animated suit of armor. As if it realized that its weakness has been found out, the lich king''s movements become faster. The surrounding skeletons may not pose a danger, but they can block our movement ever so slightly with their numbers and cause a fatal distraction.


    "Big man, take care of the skeletons, I''ll keep this one busy." I lunge forward and hit the chest armor with the broad of my sword to get its attention; there is no point to slash, as it will only dull my blade. One arm comes down on me, attempting to grab me, but a crossbow bolt hits the palm and penetrates the gauntlet, causing it to swing off course. I take my distance again.


    Its giant body can block bolts aimed at the axe, and since it is constantly on the move, it is a hard target to hit. We need to hold it down somehow. I jump backwards and dodge the massive blade of the axe. If that hits me, I will be cut in half even through my chainmail and padded vest.


    Another bolt hits the elbow portion of the armor, lodging into the joint. It is blocking movements to a certain degree and helps me with my hit and run tactics. But of course, my attacks cause no damage and are all but pointless, unless we destroy the phylactery. Gram''s cleanup is progressing quickly, as he smashes the skeleton warriors with a single bash of his shield.


    The lich king seems to realize that his brittle army is falling apart, as an eerie wind swirls around his armor and a green glow begins to cover him. They may be the souls of the fallen, gathered to amplify his powers. If he cannot hit me, that will remain a useless effort.


    Suddenly the armor lunges forward with its spiked pauldron aimed right at me. Its speed has been greatly enhanced and it takes me by complete surprise. Gram jumps between us and blocks it with his shield, his entire frame shaking on impact. This is the first time I have seen the big man being pushed back by an attack.


    I do not let this moment go to waste, as I round him and jump right onto the axe while at the same time slashing at the thumb of the gauntlet. While a sword cannot penetrate plate armor, it is able to cut through the weaker armor around the finger joints. The axe drops to the ground under my weight and the loss of the thumb. As if shocked by this, the lich king ceases all movements for a split second. Then it swings its other fist around, ignoring the bolt lodged inside it.


    I barely dodge it but have to separate from the axe. In that moment Gram rushes forward and slams into the side of the iron giant, staggering it. I take the opportunity to hack at its supporting leg''s knee pit, causing it to fold under the weight of the armor. The lich king falls on its back. The big man immediately runs to the axe and lets the corner of his shield come down on the emerald with all his strength. It cracks the jewel.


    The sound of a voiceless scream rides on a storm swirling about the iron giant, which is attempting to stand back up and stretches its arm out towards the axe. It shakes, the green lights surrounding it being sucked away and dispersing into nothingness. Finally, pieces of the armor fall off as if the invisible wearer inside is disappearing, one part at a time. Lastly, a mass of darkness escapes through the neck portion, before it contracts into a tiny point and ultimately vanishes completely. The armor falls apart and remains unmoving.


    The skeletons that still remain, as if being stripped of the magic that lets them move, crumble and their rusted pieces of equipment turn to dust. With horror I watch as the piles of treasures lose their shine and the fake gold turns into rusted iron scraps. It was all an illusion, sustained by the lich king for all this time, in case an unwitting grave robber comes along.


    However, among it all something shines and attracts my attention. I walk up to it and find that there is a metallic sheen within a pile of bones. Digging it out, I find a rusted sheath with the naked hilt of a sword sticking out from it, as the leather that bound it has long since rotted. However, the hilt itself is in perfectly pristine condition. There are ancient runes carved in it, which I am incapable of reading.


    "Roshanee." Sigurd reads out loud as he stops by my side. "... the legendary Sword of Light?"


    I draw it, revealing a radiant blade filled with a pure and holy glow.

 Chapter 36 - Demon Mages Association

    Waku waku~


    I can''t believe I''m so easily swayed by the words "secret society", but apparently I am. With Kamii and Hestia in tow, I follow Sharkface out over the field and towards the dorms. Don''t tell me he''s going to ask us to enter the boys'' dorms with him? Well, the rules do say that in such a case the boy is at fault, so I can just blame it on him if we''re found out. Incidentally, if a boy enters the girls'' dorms, he''s still at fault, so it''s a win-win situation for me no matter how I look at it.


    But he leads us past the dorm buildings, to an area with several warehouses. I didn''t even know this existed within the citadel, but obviously there has to be a place where all the food for the meals are stored, among other things. Still, this looks quite shady. I give Hestia a look and she seems to understand; she''s on guard now. Well, I doubt this straightforward guy is going to lead us into some kind of ambush, but it''s always better to be prepared.


    We follow Sharkface between two warehouses, towards a mountain of barrels and crates that seem to have fallen into disuse. He knocks on one of them in a certain order, and it opens inwards, revealing another boy, around his age. This one looks human, although his eyes are shaped to have an eternally evil gaze in them.


    "You brought all of them?" He asks as he notices Hestia and Kamii beside me. "You were only supposed to bring her." Obviously, he''s referring to me.


    "I don''t think they''d let her come alone." Sharkface responds with a shrug. "Doesn''t matter, they''re basically demons, too." That''s quite half-assed. For all you know, Hestia could, despite her corruption, still be of the faction that ardently pursues demons. Well, considering she''s associating with me, I guess not. Kamii''s case is self-evident from how she used to behave around me, and how she still follows me wherever I go.


    "Alright, come in quick." The evil-eyed boy makes way and we enter through the crate. It''s barely enough for Kamii to stand upright in, so both Hestia and I have to duck. Especially with her wings, she has some trouble entering, but when the other side is opened, we''re led into a spacious room. Apparently many crates and barrels were hollowed out and nailed together, so that it''s invisible from the outside. This is almost the size of our dorm room.


    "Welcome to the Demon Mages Society." Sharkface states proudly. Within the room eight people are already gathered. Two girls, five boys and one familiar face: Basarab, the teacher. Wait, secret society, but a teacher is aware of it? I think ya dun goofed right there...


    Well, I always thought this guy was a kind of demon, most likely a vampire, so maybe he''s actually the one who created this gathering of demons. In either case, to me it feels more like he''s here as an overseer, to make sure that they don''t do some dangerous activities, such as dark rituals or plotting against the establishment.


    "Welcome, Miss Marcott, Miss Hestia, Kamii." Basarab''s voice is as shiver-inducing as ever. He doesn''t address Kamii with a honorific, but I suppose they already know each other, since she greets him with a smile and he returns it. I didn''t know he could show such an expression, I thought he was the prideful, "I''m better than you all" type. "Let me introduce you to the members."


    He goes through each of them, but I can''t really retain much of what he''s saying. Either I''m really susceptible to such a thing, or his voice is filled with magic, but whenever he speaks, I''m like enchanted. But it would appear that the other girls are also affected to a certain degree, as they hang on his lips at every single one of his words. Only Hestia shows defiance and is looking at him with almost hateful eyes.


    "And finally, I am Basarab Laiota, but you know me already." Yes, I do, but I want to know more about you~ No wait, that''s just the effect of his voice! Don''t let it control you, me!


    "This is a society for the demons within the academy to speak about what sets them apart from humans." The evil-eyed boy says. I think his name was Elestair or something. Not important, he''s Evil-Eyes from now on. "Urges we may feel, discrimination we may experience, or how to best keep our secrets." So basically a support group for demons. I seriously don''t think you can call this a secret society at all... I look at Sharkface with an expression that shows how not amused I am with him misleading me like that, but he actually smiles an innocent smile in response.


    Sigh...


    "Um, it is nice to be able to talk to you." The two girls come up to me when we begin to mingle. The one who speaks first has translucent bluish skin and purple eyes. I think her name is Vitalis. Is she a slime? She has really a cute smile... no wait, I already have Kamii and Hestia. The fact that I''m considering both mine should bother people normally, but I wouldn''t have it any other way. I''m going for the harem route! Oh, then I could include her, too~


    "I really admire you!" The other says. I think her name is Lenoly. This one''s so bubbly and cute, too. Wait, do I know you from somewhere? Ah, take away the goat eyes and horns, and I think I recognize her from the Basics of Fire Magic class last week. So she must be using some kind of magic to disguise herself normally. "We both do." As the two only girls in the society, it was to be expected that they''re friends with each other.


    Admire me, huh? Does that mean they knew that I''m a demon from a while ago? What''s with everyone seeing through my disguise so easily?


    "Now that we know you are a demon, we can talk to you much more freely." I spoke too soon.


    "Do tell, what do you admire about me?" I give them a smile, but apparently it intimidated them a little, as they shrink under my gaze.


    "You are really cool." Vitalis says while fidgeting a little. "I... thought you were a boy at first." Thank you for being so honest with me. What part of me looks boyish, though? Aside from my short hair, I guess. "But... I cannot shake this feeling..." Here it comes. I turn to look at Hestia, but she''s not showing any signs of being ready to pounce on her, as I expected a yandere to be by this point. "... I may have fallen for you." Oh boy, high school all over again...


    "Vitalis really worked up her courage to tell you that~" Apparently Lenoly doesn''t harbor the same feelings for me. But she is clearly supportive of her friend. I really have to call into question the acceptance of such things in this world, but at this point I don''t even really care anymore. "What do you think?"


    "Thank you, I really appreciate your sentiment, but you should learn more about me before you can say that." After all, we never even talked before. I''m quite interested in what Vitalis really is. I can tell that Lenoly is a kind of goat demon, but nothing beyond that. By interacting more, I will eventually learn more about them, too. Now, the problem may be how Hestia takes the possible additions to my friends with bene-... I mean harem... no wait.


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    I turn to look at her, but there are still no signs of the strong jealousy she displayed before. Don''t tell me she completely lost that trait about her after becoming fully corrupted? Her personality did change quite a bit, after all. Maybe it''s similar to how Kamii didn''t mind Hestia as much after our special night together.


    Speaking of Kamii, she seems pretty friendly with Lenoly. Maybe they have a class together, but seeing them like this brings a smile to my face. She''s making friends at this school and can be relaxed around people I didn''t personally introduce to her now. I think at this point I don''t have to worry about her that much anymore. I pet her hair and she looks at me with a questioning expression. "Hn? Onee-sama?" I can''t help myself to cuddle her when she acts like that!


    "Ah, that reminds me. What does Oneh Sama mean?" Lenoly asks. It''s a strange language to them, but the pronunciation is unexpectedly proper. "Kamii has been referring to you like that whenever she talks about you." So she talks about me, huh? I''d like to hear what she''s saying.


    "It means big sister in the language from my... hometown." I can''t very well say country, since we''re all from the Demon Continent here. "It is used to address someone you look up to like an older sister." And now I''m reminded of the first thing anyone in this world said to me. It was that maid with the lizard tail, when she entered the room in the morning. She addressed me with Chaos-sama. Don''t tell me...


    "Is it alright if I call you that, too? Onee-sama?" Vitalis says to me with upturned eyes. It was super effective! My mind is blown away at the sight. You, my room, now! I will make you call me that with a melting expression on your face~


    No no no, I can''t let these instincts control me! I need to stay strong...


    "Everyone, let us begin." Basarab''s voice brings me back, and immediately sends me flying off again.


    It turns out that the Demon Mages Society really is just a support group for the demons studying at the academy. Everyone gets a turn for talking about their everyday problems and experiences from classes, presenting things they may see as problems. The others then respond to it with suggestions and encouragement.


    Sharkface is basically just saying that it''s hard to keep his urges under control. He feels like pulling humans underwater and rip them to shreds whenever he''s at the pool with his class. This guy is actually a shark demon?


    Evil-eyes is a chuunibyou and isn''t ashamed about it at all. He speaks of the darkness in his heart telling him to prey on the weak and ignorant masses in the city. The lights at night entice him to swoop down and suck their blood, to create an empire of thralls at his beck and call. Wait, he''s a vampire? He does look a little pale, but Basarab seems so much more like one.


    When Vitalis expresses her wish to speak up, I have mixed feelings. Especially since she gave me sideways glances before making up her mind. Don''t tell me you''re going to tell everyone in class about your feelings and ask how she can make it so I reciprocate them or something...


    "I... I think I am in love with Onee-sama." That was a critical hit! My heart can''t take many of these! But obviously everyone other than those in the know are confused as to whom she''s referring to. "I mean, Miss Marcott." Realizing her mistake, she corrects herself. She actually had the courage to come right out with it in front of so many people. Hey, you know I''m right here. If you want to begin a discussion about it, please do so when I''m not around.


    "Love between two girls?" One of the boys, whose name I''m not the least interested in learning, says with an almost disgusted face. "That''s unnatural!" I feel Hestia freezing up beside me. When I shoot her a glance, I notice that she''s not shocked but rather angry. It doesn''t really show in her expression, but she''s clenching her fist. Calm down, it''s just a stupid boy saying this. Now, if the teacher were to say that...


    "That is a wonderful thing, Miss Vitalis." Basarab encourages her. "We are not here to judge each other''s preferences, no matter how weird they may seem to us." Oi, you picking a fight? "But for those who grew up among humans, know that on the Demon Continent, it is very natural for those of the same gender to fall in love with each other." Are you for real? The Demon Continent would be a utopia for like-minded people from my previous world!


    Hestia is listening intently. I didn''t expect her to feel the need for any sort of confirmation that our relationship is accepted somewhere in the world. I put my hand on hers and she twitches at the sensation before turning around to me with a questioning look. I think my expression is a confident smile, and in response her eyes display a mental meltdown - all the while her face keeps up her usual facade. She''s too far gone for me...


    I turn to Kamii and see that she isn''t even paying attention. As expected of her, I doubt she''d let anyone tell her that we shouldn''t be having such a relationship. They''d get her crab claw in the face as a response.


    "I doubt it''s only between two girls." Another boy remarks and earns a snigger from his friend - the guy who disparaged Vitalis'', and in extension Hestia''s feelings earlier. Are you actually consciously trying to get on our bad side? That can be arranged. "The rumors say that indecent voices can be heard in their room at night." It was only once, though. Well, the other time wasn''t in our room, so it doesn''t count. In either way, that''s how rumors are blown out of proportion over time, so I should have seen it coming...


    "That is entirely up to those involved to decide and work out together." Are you a saint, Basarab? Even though you look like a vampire, your words are like music to my ears - and I don''t mean your voice''s effect on my mind. This guy is a role model for generations to come, please learn from him properly, kids. "As long as everyone is happy, who are we to criticize them?" I totally agree!


    "So, what can I do to get Miss Marcott to like me back?" Vitalis asks shyly. Hey, I''m right here. You could ask me directly, if you really want to know. In any case, why is this session becoming about me? Everyone seems quite involved, in one way or another.


    Although I do spot a boy who seems uneasy where he sits and he glances at me from time to time with fear in his eyes. He has blonde hair and green eyes, and is unexpectedly cute, but unfortunately, I''m not into boys. Noticing my gaze, he quickly looks down and stares at his own toes as if trying to avoid the eyes of a predator. Am I looking that depraved that I''m going to assault you for staring at me?


    "I believe that question is best answered by Miss Marcott herself." Basarab throws me the figurative ball. Well shit, I did think she should ask me, but I never expected to actually answer. I find her plenty cute and I''d like to know more about her in various ways, but it''s obviously a different feeling from what has been built up between Kamii and I over time, or what experience binds Hestia to me. There''s no quick way to someone''s heart, after all.


    "I cannot really tell you, but just interacting with each other should provide more opportunities to get to know each other better. Such things develop naturally, if the circumstances allow it." My answer is unexpectedly mature. I didn''t think I could think that way. Hey, this is about me, too. Why did I just reply as if I''m some bystander?


    "That was a very well thought-out response, Miss Marcott." Basarab praises me. Ahhh, praise me more~ "Indeed, the best way is to first become friends with someone. If you wish to grow closer to someone, you will have to do so gradually, through natural interactions in everyday life." He''s a teacher at heart after all. Using this specific example, he''s making a general statement to serve as a life lesson. "Yes, Flann?"


    Oh, the boy who seems scared of me has raised his hand and wants to speak. His name is Flann, huh? Don''t tell me he''s going to fire shots at me as well...


    "C-can we p-please address the f-fact that M-Miss Marcott is..." He''s actually terrified. Do I really look that dangerous to you? "... a Crawling Chaos?"


    Everyone''s eyes turn to look at me in shock, with some of the boys fumbling backwards to get away from me. Basarab''s expression is also filled with astonishment at this revelation, and while he doesn''t show his horror openly, it''s clear that he''s feeling it, too. Even Vitalis and Lenoly are scared, huddling together and shaking in terror. Sharkface'' expression is filled with fearful hostility and even Evil-Eyes isn''t in control of his emotions, as he tried to act like he was before. Hestia and Kamii look around in confusion, as they both clearly don''t understand what just happened.


    Really though,what''s going on?

 Chapter 37 - Chaotic Revelations

    Twenty-two summers ago, on the Demon Continent, there was an outbreak of an unknown biomass threatening to swallow the entire countryside. It was a rolling mass of unidentifiable flesh that covered an area greater than the capital of the continent, and it exuded a miasma that killed all plant life ten leagues around it, caused nausea and sickness in those near it and could induce madness in those who laid their eyes on it. Nobody knew where it came from, only that it indiscriminately devoured what it touched, save for the earth it moved across itself.


    Demon scholars generally cite its emergence as the reason for why demon king Aldeath would lose against the human expedition two summers later. He led a massive offensive against this monstrosity, which was unofficially dubbed "Crawling Chaos", using thousands of mages to bombard it with a grand ritual, while the demon army of nearly a million held it at bay. In the ensuing battle, Aldeath lost five out of seven soldiers from his army, before the ritual was finally completed and the enemy was expelled into space.


    When Aldeath scoured the battlefield, searching for survivors in the space the Crawling Chaos occupied only a short while ago, they found a naked, unconscious woman who was identified as someone who had been swallowed weeks before the final battle. She was the only survivor that was ever found. When she awoke several days later, she had lost all her memories. Since she was the sole survivor of her entire clan as well, the demon lord himself took her in.


    She was very beautiful and his lustfulness was not a secret. However, since he possessed an enormous body, it was dreaded by those who would be called to attend to him at night. Many thought that she would be broken and tossed aside soon enough, but she surprised everyone by giving him all the satisfaction he needed on her own. Just a month later, she would be wed to him and became his first wife.


    During the summer that followed, remnants of the Crawling Chaos were found all across the Demon Continent, but the biggest ever discovered was one that had been given free reign at a remote farm and grew to the size of its barn. These remnants could usually be destroyed with few to no sacrifices; however, the incident surrounding their progenitor remained in everyone''s minds and seeped into the depths of their most basic fears over time.


    Emperor Lucianus IV from the Empire of Terminus attacked the Demon Continent the following summer, bringing an army of half a million. Aldeath had not been able to return his army to its former glory in that time and had to face this onslaught with less than half its strength. Severely outnumbered, he was surrounded and defeated.


    What happened afterwards historians are divided over. Some sources say that Aldeath, in his final moments, activated a previously prepared spell that annihilated the empire''s army alongside the few that remained by his side - an act of self-sacrifice to ensure the survival of demonkind. Others say that his wife, the one that had been retrieved after the battle against the Crawling Chaos, came down upon the empire''s army with a burning vengeance, decimating it single-handedly through unknown means.


    The truth of the matter is that no bodies could be found after the battle, neither from the empire''s nor the demon lord''s side. The signs of a fierce confrontation were clear and there is evidence for the activation of large-scale magic, but not a single hint as to what exactly happened remained. Following the loss of the demon lord who had ruled for seven centuries a power vacuum developed among the aristocracy of the continent. A bloody battle for the throne was inevitable.


    However, at the gathering of leaders from the various large demon clans, the widow of Aldeath announced that she would reign in her late husband''s stead. It faced laughs from some and opposition from others, but when she declared that she would not mind fighting against all of them at once over the matter, it was decided in an instant. Their pride as powerful clan leaders was at stake, so many immediately took her up on the offer.


    They all disappeared behind the closed doors of the demon castle''s audience hall, never to be seen again. Only the demon lord''s widow walked out from there, alive and unharmed, proclaiming her hegemony over the Demon Continent. None would stand in her way henceforth.


    It was soon discovered that this woman was a sentient scion of the Crawling Chaos, her existence a slow but steady poison on the entire world. But it was too late. She had solidified her position as the new demon lord, disposed of those who may organize an uprising against her, and gathered the hearts of those bereft by the empire''s invasion the previous summer, by ordering an expedition to punish the humans that caused it all. On the surface, she may act in the interest of demonkind, but all who know her true identity fear for their future.


    She is the thirty-fifth demon lord, named Pelomyx, The Cradle of Chaos.


    And that happens to be my maou-mama. Of course, I didn''t learn that until later. For now, I''m wondering why everyone is so terrified of me. One of the boys even took out a stick with a red crystal on its tip - a wand - and is pointing it at me while stuttering something. I don''t think you''ll be able to cast any magic like that, you know.


    "Wait, do not be hasty!" Basarab commands and lowers the boy''s arm before he can commit a grave mistake. Hestia next to me has turned into protective murder-mode, her eyes filled with killing intent at the one who would dare attack me. I deliver a chop to the back of her head and she''s completely taken out of the moment.


    "Wh-what?" She turns to look at me in confusion, holding her head even though it shouldn''t have been that strong a hit.


    "You were about to kill someone."


    "M-me?" So she wasn''t even aware of it herself. I sigh and stand up, causing those near me to slide backwards in fear.


    "I do not really understand why you are so afraid of me being a Crawling Chaos." Yep, right after I say that I realize that I could have denied it until evidence was provided, but now it''s too late to backtrack, since this was clearly admitting to the accusation.


    "Are you a scion of the demon lord?" Basarab asks cautiously. Huh, why do you think that? I mean, I am maou-mama''s child, but why did he immediately assume a connection between us two? Unless maou-mama is an one-of-a-kind demon and there are none others like her. Well, besides all the children she''s sent out into the world over the years.


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    "Yes, I am her child." I state simply. He looks at me awestruck. Oh, maybe he was testing me, to see whether I knew her gender or not. After all, humans still believe that the demon lord is a he. Then again, maou-mama can change her gender at will, so it''s hard to say for certain.


    Hm, why do the kids look even more terrified now? Actually, Vitalis and Lenoly look at me in newfound admiration, even though they''re still shaking. Make up your minds already! Hestia''s gaze is one of pure reverence, now that she knows I''m the child of the demon lord. Yep, she''s fully corrupted and beyond help already. Kamii is still wondering about the situation and doesn''t seem to understand too well.


    "But now that you know it, what are you going to do about it?" I spread my arms into an open and defenseless gesture, but now that I think about it, it may also be suggesting that they should come at me, if they dare to. Now I''m being misleading.


    "Let us all remain calm..." The only adult in the room is also the one acting the most sensible. I have to give him props for that at least. His voice is still very enchanting, and it serves to calm the other students down at least a little. "Why did you come to this academy?" Oh, is this going to be a question and answer session now?


    "I was exiled to this kingdom." Like I''m gonna tell you the truth here. My story has to be consistent with what I told everyone else so far, or people will begin to poke holes into my motives for being here. "But in my exile, I am free to do as I please."


    After all, I''m learning magic for my own convenience, so I can return to the demon castle within three years. I did say I''m not really interested in the throne, but for some reason I keep thinking about wanting to return in time. Maybe I am interested, after all. It makes my chuunibyou heart quiver in excitement, thinking that I can sit on the throne of the bad guys and command endless armies of dark minions to reclaim my lost trinket... no wait, wrong setting.


    "Why have you been exiled?" Basarab inquires. Now that''s a good question. I need to think of something...


    "Because I rebelled against my mother." Once again a collective gasp runs through everyone present. I must appear like a hero for standing up to this universally feared demon lord.


    "You..." Flann suddenly comes forward. I can see that he''s about the same height as Hestia, now that he''s standing before me. "W-were you sent through the transportation circle by... t-the court magician?" Hm, how do you know? That''s quite suspicious...


    "What if I was?" He clearly knows something, but I can see that he wants to hide it in front of everyone. "Why do you wish to know?"


    "... no, never mind." Well, I''ll be keeping an eye on him, and confront him about this when we''re alone sometime.


    But I think this should calm everyone down a bit. Still, I''m sure Basarab will tell old man Thorvadis about my identity as soon as he gets the chance to. Being outed as a Crawling Chaos and more specifically the daughter of the ruling demon lord might cause me some trouble, but nothing has changed from the day I enrolled. My goal on the surface, and part of my overall goal, is to provide Kamii with a peaceful life. That now includes Hestia, too. If to that end I need to eradicate all those opposed to letting demons live, so be it.


    "So... you will not eat us?" Lenoly asks sheepishly. Is that what you''re being told by your parents? Let''s see...


    "Only if you have been naughty." I wink and her eyes go wide in surprise. And I mean it only in the sexual sense.


    The situation has mostly been defused, but I think my position at this academy has been irrevocably damaged by what happened today. With Hestia fully corrupted and my identity exposed now - although I did admit to a lot on my own - I feel like people will doubt my motives no matter what I say. It''s only been two weeks, dammit.


    Basarab may act like he believes me, but I have to think about a countermeasure for when I''m called to Thorvadis'' office and the teachers suddenly attack me in a group. I will need to hit the library - not with someone''s body between me and its roof, but figuratively - and study up on spells and their countermeasures, short forms for casting and most importantly, melding.


    "I believe we have had enough excitement for today. I hereby adjourn the meeting of the Demon Mages Society. The next meeting will be in five days." The teacher is making the right call. If more people question me and potentially drive me into a corner, I might show my true colors and the situation could end in hostilities. Every single child is a potential hostage at that time, so it''s better for him to separate me from them. I''m not going to do that, though.


    In either case, I will have to talk this over with Hestia and Kamii, and tell them the truth about my motives. Also, I need to discuss it with Senka, and see what she thinks my next course of action should be. They''re the only ones I can trust, after all.


    "To not arouse suspicion, the students will leave in pairs with space between their departures." I have a feeling Basarab will keep me for last, so that he can talk to me in private, or maybe even try and take me out. One after another the pairs leave, until only he, Hestia, Kamii, I and Flann remain. Why Flann, though?


    "From your relationship with these two I can gather that you have absolute trust in them?" He suddenly says upon closing the side of the crate that leads outside.


    "Yes, I do." I pet the two in question, earning an affectionate cat-like mew from Kamii as she hugs me in return. Hestia looks ecstatic at me saying this. Yes yes, good girl. I''ll give you lots of affection later.


    "Then I would like to discuss with you a matter of utmost secrecy." Apparently Flann is included, since he wasn''t sent away before these opening words. "Regarding the plan to end the demon lord, Pelomyx''s reign of terror." My eyebrows twitch, but luckily he was letting his gaze sway over the gathered people dramatically. Do consider me interested in hearing the details of that plan~


    "The court magician, Mithra, is my father." Flann suddenly says. What? "He has served under the previous demon lord, and believes that he was killed by your mother." I feel like that''s the natural order of things among a people like demons, but I''m sure there''s something sinister about all this that you''ll tell me in a moment. "She killed everyone that opposed her and is now ruling with an iron hand of terror." I didn''t expect anything different. Is that it?


    Really though, they trusted me with all this quite easily. Is deception not an issue in this world? I''m not even acting too well, and they believed everything I said. Now I''m going to learn a lot of insider information about this plan to topple maou-mama. When I get back, I''ll have you praise me a lot for this.


    "Pelomyx is rumored to be incredibly strong, capable of single-handedly crushing thousands of soldiers on her own with little effort. The loss of the last expedition force is proof of that." Basarab shows a serious expression. Can''t you switch off the effect of your voice somehow? I can barely concentrate on what you''re saying, even though I find it so important. "You are proof of that." I''m flattered.


    "There are factions within demonkind that wish to see her rule ended, too. The corruption she spreads is far greater than that of any demon lord before her. There have been far more cases of cursed people..." Flann looks at Kamii at these words. "... in the past two decades than there have been in centuries before." If they''re all as cute as this little dark elf, I don''t see the problem?


    "Our network now includes the Saint of Luminosity." Thank you, Basarab, for telling me that. Now I know against whom else I have to take specific countermeasures. "And the Lady of Brilliance that she can call down into the mortal realm." Huh?


    "Yes, the gods themselves are lending us their power!"


    The gods...?

 Chapter 38 - The Conspiracy

    Did I hear them right? They''re talking about gods as if they exist and can interact with reality. I turn to look at Hestia, and throw my preconceptions out of the window. Of course gods can exist, this is a fantasy world where angels, demons and intangible corruption with actual effects are very real. The problem that this opens up is that when I think of a god, it''s an existence with powers a mortal being could never hope to match.


    The fact that such gods are beginning to move against maou-mama is bad news, to say the least. While I may not have spent much time with her, and my memories of her generally involve bad parenting, and she''s a real ditz... I don''t remember anything involving her that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling - beside my first meal in this world.


    Actually, where does this feeling of loyalty I have stem from? Could it be programmed into my genes? In either case, I wouldn''t ever have considered raising my hand against my own mother in my previous life, and I won''t change that now. She''s my mother, and I won''t abandon her.


    "Are you sure you can trust me?" I want to know where their confidence in telling me this information comes from.


    "Master Eklundstrom said that he saw no falsehood in your wish for a peaceful life. You show no ambitions and your every action so far has supported that wish." Basarab says. I may not seem ambitious, because there''s no goal in sight for me. I have this convenient body, a good position within the academy, cute companions to spend my time with and the potential to learn all the magic in the world. What more could I wish for? Well, I do want to return to maou-mama''s side within these three years, but what happens afterwards I don''t know.


    But wait, this means that the cunning old man has some sort of ability that lets him detect lies? I''ll have to be really careful around him, then. It worked out in our first talk, since I never explicitly lied, but if he asks the right questions, I won''t be able to escape being seen through.


    "We will have you sign a Vala, if you decide to join our endeavor. It will keep you from telling anyone who has not signed the same. If not, you will be made to forget about everything we discussed here." I wouldn''t like to lose all this progress I gained here. But I don''t want to sign whatever this Vala is, since I feel it might be quite the dangerous magic. The conditions sound like some sort of curse will be applied to me.


    "I will have to discuss this with these two." I need some time.


    "Go ahead, but we will not be able to let you leave until you make a choice." Basarab is quite confident of himself that he can deal with the three of us. I doubt Flann is going to make any sort of impact during a fight, since he clearly still seems scared of me. But if this does devolve into a battle, it won''t be contained within just this room. And even if these two disappear quietly, I''m sure I''ll be the first to be suspected after just a tiny bit of investigating.


    "Personally, I''d prefer not to get involved." I lead Hestia and Kamii aside and whisper. "I don''t want to risk your lives over something like this." In truth, I''d like to know more about their plans, but if that means I can''t warn maou-mama about them, it''d be pointless. I mean, they must be really confident in that Vala thing and its power to keep this secret.


    "I will act according to your decision, Chloe." Hestia states with a serious expression. She understands what''s at stake here.


    "Onee-sama decides." Kamii says with an innocent grin. To protect that smile, I''d do anything. And becoming irrevocably involved with these rebels is the surest way to destroy the life we''ve built up here.


    "Everything will be alright." I hug the little dark elf and give Hestia a confident expression. "Trust in me."


    "Yes, always~" She breathes to me with a love-struck expression. Hey, I think I''m getting pretty good at this. I turn to Basarab and Flann to announce the decision we have come to.


    The three of us are allowed to leave the Demon Mages Society secret base together, since apparently it would be more suspicious for us not to be seen together. Basarab''s wishes for a good night sound more like an encouragement for some sexy times. I''m actually horny. His voice has such an effect on me when I''m not careful. I think I''ll have another meal with one, or maybe both, of my companions tonight.


    When we reach the dorm room I notice that something feels itchy about my body. And no, not that part. We enter and are greeted by Senka sitting on her bed as usual, with her eyes fixed on the door. She''s acting like a doll, but I think it''s now fine to tell Hestia about the fact that she''s actually kinda alive.


    But first, this itch... I reach inside myself and pull out the survival kit backpack given to me by maou-mama, which I''ve practically forgotten about. Damn, I was in the process of slowly digesting it and the metal survival knife was poking out! How could I make such a mistake? Well, there aren''t any important things inside... except for the map of the world! Oh no, I hope it''s still intact.


    Hestia and Kamii watch me curiously as I rummage through it and pull out the piece of leather. Ah, it''s fine, only a corner is slightly singed from my digestive fluids or so. Hm, what''s this? There''s something written on its backside, using the ink from the writing set I store inside my body just in case. It''s in Japanese and quite badly scribbled.


    "Old man lie detector, Basarab, Flann, Arcelia, gods, rebellion against mama." I read it out loud. Huh? "Flann is Mithra''s son, sign Vala and can''t tell or memories erased." What...?


    "Your mind was tampered with." Senka suddenly stands up and speaks, causing Hestia to squeal in shock. Even after your personality changed you''re still that scared, huh?


    "Wha-what are you?" She asks the cursed doll while pointing at her, keeping a defensive stance with a bewildered expression.


    "That''s not important right now." Senka says with slight annoyance and turns back to me. "What you did there is a technique I''ve used many times. A message addressed to myself, when I faced those who can manipulate memories, with a sort of timed alarm so I find out by the time I''m either alone or in safety. What do you remember last?" She suddenly has a very reliable atmosphere about her.


    "We went to this support group calling itself the Demon Mages Society. There, someone noticed that I''m a Crawling Chaos and everyone was afraid. They found out that I''m the demon lord''s child, and Basarab, the overseer of the society, adjourned the meeting. Most likely to keep the other children from me. The others were sent away in pairs so that the society won''t be found out by someone passing by. Hestia, Kamii and I were kept until the very end, when he told me to be careful about my nature. Then we were also allowed to leave." I recall everything perfectly. No hint of memories being erased. But this message I wrote to myself suggests otherwise. I can''t even remember when I wrote it.


    "This means that something happened between when everyone else had left and when you were allowed to go." She takes the piece of leather and looks over it. "Bad handwriting aside - I guess you did it blindly inside your body - this message suggests that there''s a rebellion against your mother brewing, and it names those who are involved."


    "Can you get our memories back?" She did say that she has some skills regarding memory manipulation.


    "No, I can''t. Rather than a book where pages are ripped out from, imagine a folder where some papers are taken out from carefully. There won''t be a hint of these pages having been removed in the first place, so there''s nothing to work with to restore them." Her expression suggests that she''s well versed in this topic. "But I''m impressed that you were able to think up something like this. I thought you were a simple high school girl before."


    "I didn''t even know that such a method existed..." I''m actually dumbstruck by my own resourcefulness.


    "Regarding the ''sign Vala'' part... it''s a sort of curse that controls one''s actions according to the contract." Senka points at the words. "They must have given you the choice to either sign a Vala which would have made you their accomplice and restricted you from telling anyone, or have your memories erased. You made a really smart choice, really impressive." I can''t even feel proud over this achievement, since this is a pretty nasty situation.


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    "We can''t let anyone know that we have this information." I look at Hestia and Kamii. Especially the latter is a dangerous case, since she''s still like a child. As if noticing my concerns, she puffs up her flat chest and shows a determined expression.


    "I won''t tell anyone, Onee-sama. I promise!" Now that''s a good girl. I pet her cheek and she nuzzles into my hand. I turn to Hestia, who shows a supportive expression.


    "I understand, Onee-sama." She says with a lovely smile. Apparently she decided to call me that, too. I don''t mind - rather, I actually like it, since Chloe sounds more distant to me. It''s my last name after all. "But the issue now would be how to get this information to your mother." She brings up a good point. Who knows when they''ll initiate their plan. It might be before I can get back to tell maou-mama about it, so I''ll have to do some proper research into space magic now.


    "Assuming that they''re confident in their memory wipe, we should have the freedom to do as we have so far." In other words, no changes in our behavior should be the best camouflage. "For now, I''d like to know your affinities of magic and how good you are with them." I start with Hestia, since I already know that Kamii only has the dark affinity.


    "I have the wind and light affinities. I am only a beginner in wind magic, but I can cast up to advanced light magic." She responds. I somehow doubt that she still has light, considering she is now fully corrupted, but trying it out won''t hurt anyone.


    "Have you performed any light magic today?"


    "No, I have not... oh." Yep, she realizes what my question implies. "Sano." She holds out her palm towards me and speaks. A warm glow surrounds her hand and I can feel its effect on my mind, if not on my body. So she actually retained her light affinity. The old man did say that the cursed will gain the dark affinity but lose their inborn ones most of the time, but not all the time. This reminds me...


    "Also, I have reason to believe that you have gained a curse due to the corruption. Do you feel anything strange about your body?"


    "My eyes have been feeling a little strained all day now." She actually points something out immediately. But I can''t tell if that''s from a curse or lack of sleep after what we did. In the first place, I think Kamii isn''t really aware of the power granted by her curse, either. We''ll have to get some training in for that.


    "Have you ever felt something similar before?"


    "No, never... am I going to go blind from the curse?" Her expression is one of fear. Yeah, losing one''s vision is a scary thing alright. "I would not be able to see you anymore, Onee-sama." That''s what you''re afraid of?


    "Let''s observe the situation regarding your eyes for the time being. If it gets worse, you should see Madam Idunn about it..." I have no idea how curses work and the rules that govern them. In other words, if she really is cursed and something will happen to her eyes, I can''t help her at all. I hope it won''t, though... "Now, for you, Kamii-chan." She looks at me questioningly. "Regarding that arm of yours."


    "This?" She lifts her crab claw. It''s as intimidating as ever when seen from up close and lifted above her head as if it weights nothing. Well, it actually really weights only slightly more than her normal arm. Its bright red is in stark contrast with the dark purple of her skin. But it''s cool~


    "Remember what you did under the mountain? When we were surrounded by trolls and you hit some of them with your claw? I believe that your curse allows the strength in your arm to be increased every time you hit someone with it." As for the detailed conditions for how it stacks, we''ll have to work that one out in due time. Kamii clearly looks surprised, so she didn''t even know that she had such an ability. Strangely enough, it fits her.


    "I feel like I know something similar to that..." Senka comments and suddenly Hestia remembers that the creepy-cute doll was moving just earlier.


    "Before we continue, can you explain this to me?" She clearly refers to Senka as if she was an object. Yeah, I do owe her an explanation.


    "She''s Senka. You can trust her, simply for the fact that she''s very much like me." Maybe I phrased that wrongly, because the doll in question is not too happy with being compared to me based on the image I''ve shown of myself at this academy. "We both come from the same place, in a way." I correct myself.


    "You put an awful lot of trust in me, you know?" She says with a sarcastic smile. I pick her up and cuddle her in response. The fact that she doesn''t struggle and her expression softens shows that she actually likes it. You''re not being honest, Senka-chan~ "You could bring me along from time to time..."


    "Awww, are you sulking?" Even though she may seem very mature, despite appearances, she''s still quite childish in some parts. "If you want, we can have some fun tonight?" I say it jokingly and she rolls her eyes.


    "Maybe some other time. You should be thinking about the situation at hand." Wait, are you for real? I''m gonna take you up on those words for sure! "Especially how you''re going to warn your mother, as Hestia brought up earlier."


    I think I already have an idea. But I''ll leave that for tomorrow, since it might be suspicious if I already take action tonight. Now the question is what to do until it''s time to sleep - the Demon Mages Society meeting didn''t take that long, and I''m wide awake due to our situation. We are four girls in one room, so I''m sure there''s something...


    In the end, we simply talked about what we should do about this brewing conspiracy against my mother. There''s too little information to be able to say what the specifics of the plan is, but considering that gods - most likely beings with such immense powers that humans and even demons call them that - are involved means that my mother is posing such a significant threat. With Senka on my lap we listened to her speak about the rumors surrounding maou-mama''s ascension to power and why the demons fear us Crawling Chaoses so.


    I didn''t even know that maou-mama was called Pelomyx, and her title - Cradle of Chaos - sounds so cool! I want one like that, too!


    We went to sleep a while after, when I cooled down from being subjected to Basarab''s voice for so long. As always, Kamii and I went to sleep in the same bed, but Hestia announced that she would remain in my room, too. Of course, all three of us - especially with her huge angel wings - wouldn''t fit into the same bed, but the conundrum was that she still had an aversion to Senka''s rather gruesome appearance. Eventually, I decided to bring the creepy-cute doll over onto our bed and things worked out. Hestia did look jealous, though.


    The morning after, Senka nudged me awake rather than calling out to me as she has been doing all this time. She had a slightly sullen expression, but wouldn''t say why when asked. Don''t tell me I did something to her in my sleep? But there are no signs of that...


    My class after breakfast is Multi-Elemental Magic. Since I suck at melding, I doubt it''s going to help me much, but the afternoon lesson is something I''m more interested in: Flow Control. Basically the one thing I need the most. Maybe I can also learn about where the energy for magic comes from in that class. If nothing else, I can always try to ask the teacher during or after class.


    As expected, I simply can''t cast any multi-elemental spells, even if I know their incantations and the elements that are their components. I''m basically just watching the other students slowly improve themselves and create all sorts of impossible seeming spells from the specified elements.


    Thus, I''m slightly frustrated during lunch, and both Hestia and Kamii notice it. With their pampering I revert to my usual self, and by the end of lunch I''m rearing to go for afternoon classes. I think Hestia was quite proud of herself afterwards.


    Flow Control, the one thing I lack the most. My spells always come out more powerful than they''re supposed to, and while I may not feel any effects such as mana deprivation or fatigue, there has to be something negative associated with it. Thus, the first order of things is to ask the teacher directly what activates magic. Incidentally, this is the same teacher as the one for the Basics of Water Magic class. I guess water and wind may require the most minute control over the flow, so he must be a master at it.


    "Well, the flow is what gives a mage his power. It''s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the world together." That''s a very vague way to explain it.


    "Can it be depleted?" It''s the one thing I''m most interested in.


    "Think of the flow like the ocean. Imagine that when you cast a spell, you take a cup of water out of it and use it to create a cloud." That''s easier to understand. Even I know that as long as it''s within a closed system, the cloud will rain down, feed a river, which will flow back into the ocean. In other words, there aren''t any drawbacks to letting out too much power in magic. That is very good to know. "Think of an individual''s control over the flow as the cup. Whether you fill it to the brim or only part of it is entirely up to you. And that is what this class teaches."


    "Is the cup size determined at birth, or is there a way to make it bigger?" Because that would mean I could cause even the most basic spells to be as destructive as high level ones.


    "Training can indeed make your cup bigger, but it would then be easier to simply weave a larger spell." He smiles at me. "But you already have a large enough cup size, Miss Marcott." I think there''s never a "large enough" when it comes to that... wait...


    The remainder of the class is me trying to put less flow into my cup while casting basic spells. Everyone else is adjusting perfectly fine, but whatever I do is always blown out of proportion. At one point I very nearly drench the whole class in a pool''s worth of water, when I cast Inebriat again, trying to make the volume smaller this time. Again, the teacher prevents that from happening just in time. Well, this is only the first class, so there''s still a lot of time to learn... I hope... haha...


    And then, dinnertime arrives~

 Chapter 39 - Night at the Library

    Well, I did look forward to dinner, but even more to what comes afterwards. For the first time, I''m heading for the library to actually study. The opening hours apparently run between the Time of Illumination until an internal bell announces the closing time. Really, timekeeping in this world could be improved greatly with just a sundial, as Senka said before.


    Of course, Hestia and Kamii are with me, and while I believe that the former might actually have something useful to do, the latter is most likely just there to be by my side. In fact, I doubt she can even read, considering how she was a slave for as long as she can remember. No education, no warmth from parent figures for all her conscious life - what a sad life. I won''t ever let you go through something like that again. But I can''t get tempted to read a fairytale book to her now... Stay strong, me!


    The library is simply impressive. On my tour through the academy I came here once before, but only got a glimpse at it from the entrance area. Now that I''m walking through the rows of shelves, I can begin to get a picture of just how many books are in here. There are quite a few people in the designated reading areas, but many can be found standing or sitting in the aisles between shelves, too.


    The majority are adults who seem more like researchers than actual students, with very few model student-looking ones in my age range. I never gave people an impression that I could be counted among them, so coming to the library may seem a little suspicious. If asked, I''ll say that not being able to meld elements or control the flow is frustrating, so I want to improve myself. That''s actually the truth, albeit not all of it.


    As expected, there is a restricted area in the library, which require a teacher''s permission before it can be entered. Furthermore, even within that area there is one more that can only be accessed with the principal''s signature. I''m really interested about that one, but I can''t make any suspicious moves for the time being. By the way, all books on dark magic are in that area...


    Luckily, the other two superior elements are accessible to all students. After all, if someone doesn''t have the affinity, it''s useless for them to try and learn it anyway, and those who have the affinity are more than welcome to improve themselves. Thus, I carry a stack of books on melding, flow control, elemental strength and weaknesses, and most importantly, space magic, and sit down on one of the reading couches.


    Kamii immediately flops down on my lap and leans into me. Well, as long as she doesn''t want to play with me, I guess it''s fine. Hestia sits down right next to me with a book on wind magic, and leans against me as well. Is this what you call drowning in-


    Let''s start with space magic right off the bat. I''ll have to work out the correlation between flow control and how it affects teleportation later, but for now I need to learn the basics. As far as I could tell from maou-mama sending me to the Dark Continent, she used a transportation circle etched into the ground, but where I arrived, there was no hint of one. But when Mithra, the court magician, sent me here, he seemed to need a pre-constructed one for the destination. Maybe it does come down to the cup size - and I''m pretty sure that maou-mama''s cup size is immense.


    What I didn''t expect was to find that space magic includes gravity manipulation. Basically, it can be used like telekinesis, to move objects through gravitational pull. I now understand why space, light and dark are called superior elements. They can achieve the true form of what nature elements try to mimic. Wind magic, with great control, can achieve a similar effect to telekinesis, but it will remain an imitation and is very easily detectable by those nearby because of the breeze it creates. Same for water magic being used for healing, which manipulates the water inside the target''s body to achieve something like regeneration - at the cost of energy expenditure from the target itself. Light magic is true healing, enhancing self-regeneration to the maximum without any drawbacks for the target.


    So the grand ritual the demons used to shoot the original Crawling Chaos into space was most likely a gravity spell. I did learn in the Theory of Rituals class that only the principal mage in the ritual needs to have the affinity, while everyone else involved basically act as amplifiers. In other words, a grand ritual for light magic could be cast with thousands of mages, but it would only require one with the light magic affinity. That''s a pretty scary thought, considering how strong the spirit spear alone already is.


    I pet Kamii''s hair absentmindedly while reading through the principles behind space magic and the three main branches of it. Transportation is the one I''m most interested in, gravity is something I want to learn eventually, and the last is space manipulation - which I don''t really understand. Isn''t everything within space magic space manipulation?


    Looking through its description, I get a better picture of it: It''s the creation of pocket space, and the addition and subtraction of space. In other words, I can create a stash with infinite room, huh? But that''s what I already have within my body, it seems, although I never tried its limits. Wait, don''t tell me that''s why I have the space magic affinity? Maou-mama has it, too, so maybe all Crawling Chaoses have it.


    But I''m here for the transportation branch. The book doesn''t go into much detail regarding how it''s cast, but apparently there are two ways to do it. One is using a preset transportation route, a magic circle on both ends. This is the one used by Mithra. The other is to not rely on any set coordinates and teleport to a place you have been to before. I feel like that may have been what maou-mama used to send me to the Dark Continent, but now that I know her history, I wonder when she ever went there since ascending to the throne.


    Picking up another book on space magic, I skim through it quickly. This one specifically speaks about the gravity branch, so it''s not very useful for me right now. I''ll remember it for later, though. There''s one on the history of transportation circles, so maybe I can glean some locations from it, but it doesn''t specify how to use them, either. Another on space manipulation... this is all good and interesting, but why is there none on transportation? Don''t tell me it''s in the restricted area? But I can''t go asking for access right after learning of the conspiracy...


    I lift Kamii off of me and move towards the superior elements section once again. The books on space magic are contained to only a single shelf, so my suspicions that the rest is in the restricted area might really be true. Going over the spines of the books, I can''t find any on transportation.


    This means I''ll have to sneak in at night. I hope there aren''t any countermeasures in the restricted section like the books growing faces and screeching loudly. For now I''ll read the books on melding and flow control, since that''s something I need to work on as well. Even though I don''t intend to fight a magic battle anytime soon, it''s always good to be prepared.


    We leave the library with the sound of the bell. I think it''s pretty late, since the moon is already halfway up in the sky. On our way back to the dorms I play around with Kamii and Hestia, to appear normal on the surface. Once in our room, I immediately undress.


    "Wha-?" Hestia makes in shock. However, her expression quickly changes. "I-I have not prepared my heart for this right now, Onee-sama~" It''s obviously not one of aversion. She''s actually really looking forward to it...


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    "That''s not what I have in mind." I turn to Senka, but from the corners of my eyes I see a disheartened expression from the angel girl. "I need to do a little experiment."


    "Hey, that expression... you''re scaring me..." She says and tries to back away. But I grab hold of her and hug her to my bare body. I''m sure that for a second both Kamii and Hestia will look on in envy, but not when they see that I''m pulling her inside my body. "Wait, what are you-" Her mouth becomes submerged and her voice disappears. Of course I put her in the storage section where she won''t be dissolved. Now, for the actual experiment.


    I stand in front of our bathroom door and put my finger in the keyhole. Concentrating my entire body into it, I push myself through the tiny hole and into the bathroom. This is the first time I''ve tried this, and I''m already doing it with a semi-living being inside me. Well, she''s immortal, so she should be fine. I grow myself on the other side of the door and then immediately collapse the empty shell that I leave behind outside, before pulling it into my body through the keyhole.


    It was actually really easy to do, although the action should have sounded completely absurd to the me of my previous life. I''m inside the bathroom now, without a hint of the door having been opened. As for Senka... I take her out from inside me and she''s fully intact. In fact, the moment she resurfaces, she struggles and punches me weakly. Yeah, I kinda expected that level of strength with that tiny body, but it''s still surprising.


    "Why did you do that?" She''s really angry. I apologize, hug her and give her a kiss on the forehead, and she immediately calms down again. Wow, that was effective. But now she''s sulking a bit and looks away. How cute~


    "Now that I think about it, I didn''t have to take off my clothes... I could have just pulled them inside my body as well." But the experiment was a success. I can now sneak into the library without even having to pick the lock, like I did when I freed Kamii from her cage. "In either case, I can bring you along tonight. We''ll have some quality time, just the two of us." I nudge Senka''s cheek and she looks at me, before averting her eyes with a pout. Is she the legendary kuudere?


    "Onee-sama?" I hear Kamii''s and Hestia''s worried voices from outside. Oops, I didn''t consider how it''d look to bystanders, and not warning them beforehand wasn''t the best move either. Without giving a signal that it worked from the other side, of course they''d get worried. I open the door and step out in one piece, with Senka in my arms.


    "Tadaah!" I make as I emerge.


    "What did you do?" Hestia asks in astonishment. Kamii looks at my finger with a wondrous expression, most likely unable to grasp what I just did. Well, up until last night I had thought that my body''s actual appearance was a mass of tentacles, but after hearing about maou-mama''s origins, I understood that I''m completely amorphous.


    "I just learned that my species are natural talents at space manipulation." Whatever''s inside my body is like in a separate dimension, so no matter what happens on the outside, it won''t affect the inside. The matter of fact is that I pulled my entire body through a hole into which my finger barely fit, and Senka was completely unaffected. "In either case, I''ll be going to the library with Senka and stay there for the night."


    Of course, it was hard to convince Kamii not to come with me, since it''d be the first time that we''ll be separated during sleep time - not counting that one night with Hestia, which she didn''t notice. I''m sure she won''t be able to sleep until I''m back, either way. But at least she''s not alone...


    "Where do you think you''re going?" Ninlil''s voice stops me at the dorm entrance. I already expected to be spotted by a teacher or someone else from the staff. She''s looking at Senka with suspicious eyes, but doesn''t notice anything about her, it seems. "There''s no curfew, but what are you going out to do at this hour?"


    "I am going for a walk under the stars. There is something about the night, I simply cannot fall asleep."


    "Be careful. Your position is quite unsafe because of what you did to Hestia. We have students from the empire here." She warns me, although I don''t really understand. I pity the fool who attacks me away from prying eyes, though. I wouldn''t mind eating some humans again.


    "I understand. Thank you for the warning." It was unexpectedly easy to convince Ninlil to let me go out. Then again, she did say there''s no curfew, so I guess they don''t really care when students wander about the academy grounds at night. I''m sure guards are posted at all entrances and exits to the citadel, so it''s not like someone can just up and leave.


    "What did she mean by students from the empire?" I ask Senka after we take some distance from the dorms. I''m walking across the field and moving towards the wall, to first see if there are any people following me.


    "The Empire of Terminus is filled with zealots. They have this new religion with a single god, and all other gods have been relegated to be either his subordinates or avatars." She explains. "It''s also mighty convenient that Fatas are their neighbors and look exactly like this god''s messengers are described in their holy scriptures. Since Fatas are so pure and refined, and lead very secretive lifestyles, people can actually believe that." Her cynicism is almost tangible. "It''s become the empire''s narrative in the past century, and history was rewritten to fit it. After all, two centuries ago they were at war with each other."


    She''s a treasure trove of knowledge, as always. So the Fatas Triarchy was at war with the humans from the empire, huh? I can''t imagine humans with their current level of technology fighting against an enemy with clear air supremacy. Considering they all have the light affinity, they should be able to rain down spells on the earthbound humans while their maneuverability would put them out of range of any counterattacks.


    On top of the wall I look back and scan the surrounding area. It''s an open field and I have night vision, so if there''s anyone following me, I''ll be able to see it. I make sure there isn''t, before I take Senka inside me and transform into a dog-sized version of the Vularen. This way, I can move on top of the wall and hide from view behind the battlements. The library is located near the outer wall, so I can get quite close to it before having to come down again.


    Making sure that there aren''t any people watching, I descend the wall by letting myself down through prolonging my arm. It''s like a dam broke when I squeezed through the keyhole, that I now have no qualms about using my body in ways that would have seemed really creepy or strange to me before. At the bottom, I transform into the small Vularen again, to stay close to the ground, and rush to the library''s outer wall.


    I peek inside and see that the lights are off. The librarian has left after finishing up everything, and there''s only darkness inside. I round the building and move to the back door, which is locked and never used. It has a keyhole even bigger than the one in my bathroom door, so I easily get inside. I take Senka out straight away.


    "Ugh, I really don''t like this means of transportation..." She mutters with a disgusted expression. I pick her up and carry her along, since in an emergency I have to put her back inside me and hightail it out of here. "Cue infiltration music~" Well, her mood is good enough to make such jokes, so I think she''s not too unhappy right now.


    My destination is the restricted area, which is on the third floor, at the very back of the library. Climbing the staircase, I make sure to be careful in my steps. I''ve pulled my shoes inside my body and actually grew Vularen paw pads to deaden any sounds my feet could make. I''m really thankful for that short trip to the Dark Continent, since I gained such a useful template.


    As I walk through the main aisle, suddenly from around a corner, a person holding a lamp crystal walks out and we collide. Crap, someone was here! I immediately drop Senka, put my palm on the other''s mouth and push her against the shelf. I realize it''s a girl because of the bulges in the chest area that boys obviously lack. The lamp crystal falls to the ground and I hiss "Bice" to switch it off.


    Then the girl melts away under my grip. What??? Her form comes back together beside me and she runs off. Huh, what just happened? Another Crawling Chaos? No, it felt more like water...


    "Vitalis?" I call out to her and she stops dead in her tracks.


    "... Onee-sama?" Hnnng, my heart!

 Chapter 40 - Not Like One in a Book Off

    Most evidently, Vitalis has no night vision. Else she wouldn''t have needed a lamp crystal, even running the risk of being discovered from the outside. That''s why she didn''t notice it was me right away, but now that she knows, she''s calmed down and turned around to me.


    "What are you doing here?" She asks timidly, looking in my general direction since she can''t really see me. She''s in her human form, with normal skin color and brown hair.


    "That should be my line. Why are you at the library late at night?" Counter-question, so she has to explain first. I''m sure it''s something simple like wanting to improve on some magic secretly, without anyone knowing.


    "Um..." Fidgeting a bit, she doesn''t answer. I can''t really tell in the dark, but I think she''s actually blushing. What mechanism allows for a slime to blush? I guess her disguise is just that high-quality, huh? In either case, it''s something she has to blush over, so it''s fishy. Don''t tell me there are indecent books in the library? I look at the section and find that it''s one on alchemy and potions. The logical conclusion will come to me in three, two... any second now... aaaany sec-


    "Don''t tell me you were looking for the recipe to a love potion or something like that?" Jackpot, she flinches and her eyes are swimming as she gasps for an answer.


    "N-no, I would never think of using a love potion on you- ha!" How nice of you to even name the obvious target, Vitalis-chan... Realizing too late that she babbled out the truth, she looks around as if searching for a hole to disappear into. I sigh and walk up to her to pet her hair. She twitches under the sensation but doesn''t try to escape.


    "You don''t have to be so hasty. You''re plenty cute and I happen to have a voracious hunger." Her eyes just went completely round in shock. Ah, very poor choice of words, me... "I mean, I have enough love to share with everyone." If I had said this in my previous life, people would have called me a slut. Let''s see what people in this world think.


    "Y-you mean, it is a-alright for me to be in l-love with you?" She stammers with her cheeks flushed. Well, you can be in love with me all you want, doesn''t mean I have to love you back. But stay so cute and I''ll take you home and give you lots of love~


    "I guess there is no need for a love potion anymore, huh?" I take my hand off her head and give a resigned smile. Not that she can see it.


    "Ah, that reminds me. Why are you here at this time of the night, Onee-sama?" Good thing she''s not asking whether I also want to make a love potion or not. Very evidently, I don''t even need to, since people are falling for me left and right. Cough... that''s irrelevant right now.


    I can''t tell her I''m here to sneak into the restricted section. In fact, I can''t trust her yet. She might be in collusion with the rebels and only act like she''s in love with me... Argh, I shouldn''t start getting paranoid. There''s a much easier method to check this.


    I turn around to Senka, who I carelessly dropped when I crashed into Vitalis, and who''s been acting like a doll since. Her eyes are looking in my direction so I mouth the words I want to say to her. The slime girl can''t see in the dark, after all. Understanding what I want, she nods.


    "Vitalis-chan, say... do you know about the plot to kill the demon lord?" I ask her straight in the face and in a very serious voice. At the sudden shift in tone, she looks confused, then realizes what I just said.


    "... K-kill the demon lord? Your mother?" She looks genuinely shocked at the idea. Well, I would be surprised if the humans didn''t have at least a dozen ongoing plots to kill maou-mama. But the real shocker comes next.


    "Yes, and even Mithra is involved in it."


    "...? Who is Mithra?" And now she''s genuinely surprised. Not a hint of knowing that name. Two perfectly acted fake reactions in a row are highly unlikely, especially since if she was involved in the plot, she would know that my memories were supposed to be erased. Just to be safe...


    "How about you join our cause?" Depending on her reaction, I can safely judge whether she knows or not.


    "J-join your cause to kill your mother? Why would you do that?" There''s slight disappointment, and some fear mixed into her expression, but the prevailing component is condemnation at being asked to help commit matricide. I think her love for me just up and disappeared in a figurative puff of smoke.


    "That''s all the answers I needed. Thank you, Vitalis-chan." I relax and hug her, and she freezes up in confusion.


    "M-Miss Marcott?" Ah, I feel like crying. She''s back to taking a distance from me, after all this. Even though it was all just an act. Well, next up it''s Senka''s turn, to erase her memories of our meeting in the library. I don''t want her to tell anyone that she met me here at night. I let go and turn to the cursed doll lying on the floor.


    "You''re up, Senka." I say and with a creaking sound as if her joints are made of wood, she stands up in an unnatural motion. Sometimes I really have to wonder if there are invisible threads attached to her limbs and she''s actually a puppet being controlled by some higher power. But I think it''s just her brand of theatrics. They''re bad for the heart of anyone who knows the trope of cursed dolls, though...


    "Are you sure about that?" She suddenly asks.


    "W-who is there?" Vitalis stutters in fear at the voice in the darkness. She looks around with her eyes opened wide, but of course, she''s unable to see anything. For some reason she can''t think of shouting out "Limino" to switch on the crystal lying on the ground again.


    "What do you suggest, then?" I ask her, ignoring the distressed slime girl behind me. Whatever we talk about can still be erased after all.


    "Considering how much she seems to idolize you, wouldn''t it be easier to bring her to your side?" With a slightly annoyed expression, she adds a line I wouldn''t have expected coming from her. "And one more member for the harem should always be welcome, no?" I take that expression as clear jealousy, but at the same time it doesn''t have any aversion to the idea to join in. Your facade is crumbling, Senka-chan~


    "Fair enough." I pick up the lamp crystal. "Limino." It lights up but I partially cover it with my hand as to limit the light coming from it. We''re on the third floor, but I still want to minimize the risk of it being spotted from the outside.


    Now, how to go about this - I need to get my priorities straight. I came here for the restricted section, but now I have the chance to introduce someone new to my camp. Not thinking with the lower half of my body for once, I can say that having more people on my side will always be useful for the future. But if they commence the plan tomorrow, I''ll have wasted the opportunity to stop it.


    All the while, Vitalis is looking at me in fear. No two ways around it, I''ll have to take her along for the ride and force her into joining my side. Thus, I glance over her body, upon which a shiver runs through it. She should be able to do it, too, but just in case, I''ll ask.


    "How did you get into the library?"


    "L-like this." She lifts her finger and it extends into the shape of a key. It''s the method I would have used, if my body wasn''t so convenient. Considering she wears her clothes and was carrying this lamp crystal - all things that couldn''t fit through a keyhole - it''s very likely that she doesn''t have an infinite dimension inside her, into which she can pull them while pressing her body through that small space. Well, she is from a different species after all.


    "Then excuse me." I grab her shoulders and pull her inside me along with my own clothes. She could have escaped, if I hadn''t surprised her, but now it''s too late. I have to hurry, I don''t know how her body holds up inside me since she has no heartbeat. While I can keep something alive for a few hours, I''d rather not approach that record with her, since I can''t tell whether she''s dead or alive. "Stay here and keep watch, Senka. If there''s some sort of alarm going off or the whole building is put on lockdown... well, think of something when that happens." Yep, I''m just that irresponsible, but she agrees with a sigh.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I run up to the door leading to the restricted area and immediately squeeze my body through the keyhole. I can feel the structure of the lock and realize that it''s a lot more complicated than any other I''ve felt before. Maybe I wouldn''t have been able to pick it. I''m sure nobody thought that anyone, even a Crawling Chaos, is capable of doing this, so they didn''t just put some magic code on a blank door as the means to lock it.


    The inside of the room is basically the same as the outside, just a continuation of the library. But even just from the entrance I can tell that the books here are different. Not only are many of them really old looking, but there is a shelf filled with ones that have black spines, and most likely completely black covers, too. Those must be books on dark magic. How clich¨¦...


    Unfortunately, the shelves aren''t labeled, so I have to look over the spines of the books to be able to tell what they''re about. And there are a lot of books without anything written on the spines, either. Compounding onto the difficulty to find what I need is the fact that the restricted area is quite big and the books aren''t necessarily sorted by elemental affinity. Scanning them, I walk through it quickly. Every second counts, as I can feel Vitalis body inside mine.


    I find a book on the transportation circles network. If it''s here, it means that there''s some restricted knowledge in this. Flipping through it I see a very detailed instruction on how to draw circles for various uses, such as pure entry points and exit points, circles for changing directions within them, and ones that go both ways. But I don''t have a photographic memory - I will have to actually copy it down right here and now.


    Still, this book doesn''t specify how to actually use them for teleportation. I will need to find another one. Before I copy this, I''ll have to do that first, else the circle alone will be useless. Looking over the books near this one, I see that there are some on gravity and even space manipulation, and finally, I find one that says "Transportation Magic". If this isn''t what I''m looking for, I''ll seriously despair. I mean, it''s quite a general topic, but there should be instructions for how to activate the spells in here...


    Bingo! Finally, here it is, it''s a pretty old book about how to perform transportation magic. Apparently, it doesn''t require an incantation to work, but it needs the right mindset, or one''s body could get ripped apart and scattered across the world... Maou-mama, was your mindset wrong when you teleported me? The first time you did it to me it hurt so much... Well, actually it didn''t really hurt, it just felt like my body stretching and then the stretchy feeling disappearing - along with the sensation in the limbs that went missing. I''m still a little traumatized from that.


    And the right mindset is to have a clear picture of where one is headed, as well as an idea of the distance to it. In other words, it''s to know where one wants to end up in. It does specify that a transportation circle at the starting point is required, so it''s good I kept the other book on how to draw them with me. Now, to copy it down.


    Taking out the writing kit I hold out my palm and let some ink drop onto my skin. Then I shape the surface of my palm into the shape of the circle as described in the book. Lastly, I press it onto the sketchbook to create a print, pressing the ink through the page to mirror it. With that template, I readjust the shape of my palm and turn it into the proper template.


    I create several copies that way, put one on the ground, and store the rest inside my body. There''s need for an experiment, I can''t just leave without ascertaining myself of the fact that it works. For now, let''s teleport within this room. I stand on top of the paper, barely big enough for me to balance on one foot, and get myself into the mindset for the teleportation. In the next moment I''m surrounded by a stream of light, which lasts for only an instant.


    Darkness returns and I''m still inside the restricted section of the library. I look down, but the paper with the circle is not there. It''s several steps away, to my right. My body shivers in excitement at what I just did. I have to consciously hold myself back from shouting in triumph. Apparently having no control over the flow doesn''t impact transportation magic at all. Now I know, even a circle drawn on a simple piece of paper can be used for teleportation, and that it doesn''t get used up in the process.


    Time to get out of here. I put the books back into their previous spots, then quickly making sure I don''t leave anything behind, including any ink spills, before returning to the door. On the other side I''m greeted by Senka, who shakes her head when I give her a questioning expression. Good, no alarm or any strange movements caused by my infiltration. That was almost too easy.


    "No defense mechanism like a book growing a face and screaming?" Hey, I thought about the same thing!


    "I feel like there may have been a hidden alarm, but I won''t stick around to find out. Let''s get out of here." I pick Senka up and pull her inside me, into a space separate from Vitalis. She must be scared out of her wits inside me, so she doesn''t need company from a cursed doll looking girl with a snarky attitude.


    I''m not taking the stairs down and instead lower myself down the main hall by prolonging my arm - just like I did from the wall earlier. Sprinting across the reading area, I reach the back door and press myself through the keyhole. While I''m hurrying, I do it in a controlled manner, so as to not make any mistakes. I''m safe, nobody knows I''m here, so there''s no need to rush and destroy my achievement by slipping up.


    Outside, I transform into the tiny Vularen, run to the nearest staircase of the wall - since I can''t get up there without one - and take several steps at once. From atop the wall I look around to make sure that nobody is following me. Again, no rush... I just observing silently and without a single motion, for any kinds of movements. One minute, two minutes... nothing.


    But this isn''t over before I''m back in my dorm room. In fact, I think it''s not even over before I deliver my knowledge of this plan to maou-mama. Running along the battlements I return to the spot where I ascended in my human form. I take out Senka and signal to her that she needs to act like a doll from here on out, then I openly walk down the stairs without a care in the world, across the field and back to the dorms. I think the entire trip didn''t take longer than an hour, but for the specific amount of time that has passed I''ll have to ask Senka once we''re back.


    At the dorm entrance, I''m greeted by Ninlil. So she was keeping a lookout for when I would return.


    "Welcome back. Now back to your room, you''ll be really tired for class tomorrow." She says in a scolding tone. That''s like music to my ears. In other words, she doesn''t suspect a thing.


    "Good night, Mistress Ninlil." I give her a charming smile and she shoos me along with a good night of her own. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I''m beginning to relax again. The corridor is well illuminated and presents a huge contrast to the darkness I just stayed in for a seemingly very long time.


    "Wait." Senka mutters when we come to a stop in front of my room. "Just to make sure, check before entering." I wouldn''t have even dreamt of the possibility that something happened in my absence, but now that she mentions it, I''m fully alert again. After all, the cunning old man did say that I would be put under close watch, so maybe this covert operation wasn''t that covert at all.


    "Do you suspect that someone''s going to ambush me in my own room?" That would mean that Hestia and Kamii have been taken out, and I really don''t want to consider such a scenario.


    "It''s just a precaution. Home is where people lower their guard the most. And while it may not be the easiest, it''s the best place to set up an ambush." She speaks as if from experience. It''s a really good point, I was getting relaxed and ready to enter without a thought in the world.


    But now I press my ear against the door to try and hear voices, maybe even breathing or just complete silence. The last would be the most unnerving condition for the room, but it also happens to be exactly what I find. Alright, I don''t like this. Time to take a page out of some big espionage movie, and look into the room without being seen.


    I turn my finger thinner than a pen and slide it through the gap under the door. Recreating a tiny eye on the tip, I can see the room inside. It''s dark. Alright, I like this even less. The beds are empty from my vantage point, whereas Hestia''s large wings should have been visible even from here. I turn my eye up and it very nearly jumps out of its socket at the sight.


    I''m looking up someone''s skirt, and there''s nothing underneath. Judging by the skin tone, that''s Hestia... I look to the side and find another pair of legs - Kamii''s dark purple skin. So these two are trying to ambush me, huh? Were they waiting at the door ever since I left or what?


    "Let''s spring this trap then..." I retract my spy eye and straighten myself. Senka looks at me curiously, but since I don''t look alarmed, she isn''t either.


    "Welcome back, Onee-sama~" I open the door and am greeted by these words and a tackle-hug from both of the girls. Wow, I''m so surprised... And then comes the unexpected: They pull me into the room and begin a relentless tickle attack.


    "Ahahahaha, stohohohohop! I don''t hahahahave time fohohohor thiiis!" I harden my sides, turn my right hand into its real form, before jamming it up Hestia''s skirt. She''s making a glorious expression at that and her body goes limp. Kamii sees it and backs off, but I turn to her and wiggle my fingers in a very distinct manner before her face. She falls to her knees with a shiver running down her spine and her face flushing red.


    Really, what brought this on? I thought they would be tensely waiting for my return and welcome me with open arms. Instead, they assault me - in a sense. Whoever came up with this will be punished later. For now, there''s something urgent I need to take care of first.


    I try to pull Vitalis out of my body, but what comes out is a mess instead. She''s half-dissolved and has an expression similar to the one Hestia had that night on the rooftop, her body twitching every so often while slowly turning into a puddle on the floor of our room.


    Ummm... what?

 Chapter K1 - I Love Onee-sama

    Last night was incredible.


    Onee-sama touched me in places I didn''t know could feel like that. I''ve fallen in love with her all over again. I think she was lost in thought at first, but when she concentrated on it, it was so good that my mind was blown away. I couldn''t form a single thought, other than wanting more. It went on a long time and at the end, my mind went completely blank.


    In class I can''t really concentrate after what happened. Lenoly asks me what it is, but I don''t think I should talk about it. I mean, it''s not something other should know about, right? It''s something between just Onee-sama and I. Lenoly looks unhappy when I don''t tell her, but another girl whispers to her. I think her name was Vitalis? Then Lenoly''s face becomes red and she doesn''t ask anymore. What happened? What did she tell you? Now I want to know...


    At lunch I greet Onee-sama with a little more dignity. Lenoly told me that I shouldn''t jump at her every time I see her, because it''s really childish. But I still long for her smell, it calms me down. I hug her tightly, but I always have to be careful with my right arm... Ahhh, I love it when she pet my head like this, it gives me a warm feeling all over my body.


    After lunch, Onee-sama is called to the back of the library by someone. She tells me to wait around the corner when we get there, but I can''t help but want to know who it is. I peek and see that it''s that girl with the wings. She was mean to me the first time we met, and she looks at Onee-sama in a way I don''t like...


    It looks like Onee-sama and her have become friends. But what we did last night has a much deeper meaning than just a hug, I know it.


    Last night, the girl with the wings, Hestia, stayed in our room. But Onee-sama and I still slept in the same bed, and she didn''t bother us, so everything is alright.


    We go to take a bath in the big bathhouse together in the morning. In the changing room we meet that girl we traveled with. I think her name is Luna? They talk about some rumor about Onee-sama, and then about the one named Rolan. I''m not really interested. I want to go and take a bath already.


    It''s my first time in a place with such a big bathtub! Onee-sama is washing Hestia''s back, so I''ll wash hers. This cursed arm, I hate it, but Onee-sama said she likes it, so I''m happy... With only one hand it''s really difficult, but I have to endure it, for Onee-sama. She seems really fascinated by those wings, though... uhhh... I can''t take it anymore! I tickle her to get her attention. Ah, she seems really weak against it. This is great to know~


    Onee-sama washes my back before we get in. She takes me in her lap, the place I feel most at ease in. Onee-sama really knows what I like.


    "Payback!" Onee-sama tightens her hug, bites my ear and tickles my chest.


    "Hwah!" I thought I was safe, but it was an ambush! "Onee-samaaahn!" It begins to feel hot in that place... but Onee-sama stops. Uhhh, you''re too cruel.


    Hestia and Onee-sama talk about something and the word corruption comes up. You mean like what caused me to be born like this? I look down on my right arm as they talk. It''s lighter than it looks, but it''s still inconvenient. Onee-sama said that it looks "cool", but I don''t really understand what she means. As long as she likes it, everything is fine, but I''m still afraid to hurt her with it. Even if Onee-sama is a demon and has a strong body, I don''t ever want to hurt her...


    After the bath we each go back to our rooms. In ours, the strange doll named Senka greets us. Sometimes she''s not moving at all for a long time, and sometimes she''s talking about difficult things with Onee-sama. She has a bad attitude, but Onee-sama seems to like her. She was with Onee-sama first, so I can''t complain. Still... our relationship is something special, right?


    We wait for Hestia at the dorm entrance for a long time. Onee-sama looks worried and she asks the little girl with the animal ears for where Hestia''s room is. I still don''t know who she is, and even though she''s smaller than I, Onee-sama is realyl respectful around her. What''s with that?


    When we go to Hestia''s room, we find her collapsed with large gray spots on her wings. They were so beautiful and white before, but that looks really ugly. She seems to have a fever, and Onee-sama looks alarmed. I''ve never seen her like that before... would she do the same if it was me?


    No, I shouldn''t think like that. Onee-sama is the first person to give me so much warmth... I''m sure she would do the same for me...


    Onee-sama was called to the principal''s office after telling that girl in front of the dorm about Hestia''s state. She tells me to wait for her return, but a teacher tells me to go to classes. I don''t listen to him. Onee-sama will come back and I''ll be waiting for her. So I wait with the doll girl, who''s sitting on the bed and not moving at all. I can''t tell what she''s thinking.


    When Onee-sama returns, she seems to be in a bad mood. When she sees me, she tells me to go to class, since I''ll fall behind in studies, but I want to be by her side when she''s like this. So Onee-sama lies down in bed and doesn''t want to do anything anymore afterwards. I lie next to her, but I know not to bother her while she''s thinking. Senka is talking to her and using difficult words I don''t understand, but I think it must be something important.


    I feel Onee-sama''s hand on my head, but it feels different than it usually does. It''s like she isn''t really here. Uhhh, I don''t want Onee-sama to be like this... ah, I remember. When she did that, I was really happy, so maybe I can do it for her.


    I touch Onee-sama''s lips with mine, but I don''t really remember how she did it that night so I don''t know what to do. But it helped. Her moods seems to get better and she smiles at me. Ahhh, I''m happy when Onee-sama is happy...


    Over a week has passed since Hestia was taken away. Onee-sama''s mood has improved a lot, but I can feel that she still thinks about her. It''s clear that she likes Hestia very much. She hasn''t done anything like that night with me since, but I can''t blame her. At least she''s attending classes normally and when a raven came today to deliver her new schedule, she looked really interested in it.


    "Good night, Kamii-chan." She says and switches off the light with a chant. I still don''t understand what the chan behind my name means, but she only calls me that way. Just like when I call her Onee-sama. I''m really happy that there''s something between us that nobody else seems to have.


    When I wake up in the morning, Hestia is in the room. She has changed. Her wings are completely black and her eyes are red. It''s a little scary. Her expression when looking at Onee-sama is really scary, too. But it seems Onee-sama knows what happened, since they talk to each other normally. What is this feeling in my chest... it''s tight...


    We leave the dorm and a lot of people, maybe all teachers, are waiting for us outside. Some are angry and they all look at Onee-sama. The woman with red hair shouts at her in an angry tone. I don''t like this... it reminds me of when I was still in that cage...


    Hestia stands up to defend Onee-sama. Isn''t she scared? She''s spreading her wings to cover her, while I''m only hiding behind Onee-sama''s back. No, I can''t always be the one to be protected. It doesn''t matter if I''m scared. If they attack Onee-sama, I won''t run or hide. I fought for her under the mountain, even if only for a little. I will do it again, no matter against what kind of enemy.


    But the principal comes and stops the teachers. Hestia and he talk to each other, and her attitude is completely different now. She seems like a real adult... Uhhh, I hate to admit it, but I should learn from her. Then she speaks to the woman with the red hair. I think they know each other really well, because when Hestia tells her to go home, the woman is really sad and begins to cry.


    I think everything is alright now. The principal tells everyone to go to their classes and the teachers begin to leave. But suddenly the woman shouts and explodes in fire. She turned into a dragon! The dragon looks at Onee-sama, but Hestia steps between them without any fear. I don''t think I would''ve been able to do it...


    The dragon flies away without attacking. I''m really relieved, but I can''t show it, since I''ll appear weak. I don''t want to feel so helpless...


    On our way to the canteen, Hestia and Onee-sama are talking to each other as if nothing happened. Hestia''s attitude is completely different from when she told the dragon woman off. I can see that she really likes Onee-sama... uhhh, I like her more! I grab Onee-sama''s sleeve.


    "Do not worry, Kamii. Chloe has enough for the both of us." Oh, is she saying Onee-sama will give us equal attention? I hope that''s true...


    In the canteen everyone stares at us. But it''s a strange feeling, because they aren''t looking at me. They stare at Hestia''s black wings. For the first time, someone else is taking away all the attention from me. This is such a strange feeling.


    "All these gazes on us... tell me if anyone dares to do something to you." Onee-sama says during breakfast. She means if someone is bullying us? I was expecting it to happen, but not only has nobody done that to me here, some are even really friendly. Especially Lenoly. Onee-sama has found a great place in this academy, for her and for me.


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    At lunch, the girl named Luna comes to talk to Onee-sama.


    "All of you accepted Kamii into the party, despite the fact that she is a cursed child shunned by everyone else. None of you ever showed any apprehension in her presence. For that I am quite grateful." Onee-sama pets my head when she says this. Yes, the humans in her group were the first to not look at me like I''m a monster or a curiosity. For that I have to thank them, too.


    Then Onee-sama tells Luna that she is a demon. Maybe there was no way to hide it anymore. While Luna doesn''t show anger or fear, she is nervous... I don''t like that attitude. When Onee-sama invites her to eat with us, she makes excuses and quickly leaves. I think she is actually afraid after all...


    "Hey, I''m Akyna Requin. I heard you''re a demon." At dinner a boy comes to us and speaks to Onee-sama. He looks really strange, with inverted eyes and sharp teeth. He must be a demon. But I don''t really care, as long as he''s only talking.


    Still, I''m listening to what he says on the side. He wants us to become friends with him or something. And then he mentions a Demon Mages Society. A meeting place for demons? Onee-sama seems interested now, so I pay more attention. It''s decided that we go there after we finish dinner.


    We follow this boy called Akyna Requin and go past the dorms, to a place with several warehouses. I don''t like it here, I have bad memories with warehouses. I''ve been left in those for days, all alone or surrounded by cages filled with wild animals and beasts, many times... But we don''t go into one. Instead, there is a pile of crates and barrels, and a hidden door opens into a room as big as the one we live in.


    Lenoly and that girl called Vitalis are here! And my teacher is here, too. I don''t like his voice, but the girls in my class do, so I can''t show anything. And I think Onee-sama likes it, too. Her expression changes whenever she hears it.


    I don''t really understand the introduction, but I think this is a group where you can talk with other demons about your problems at the academy. Since everyone is a demon here, they share similar troubles. But Hestia and I aren''t demons, so there isn''t much we can say. I''ll just chat with Lenoly. Ah, there she comes.


    "Um, it is nice to be able to talk to you." Vitalis says to Onee-sama. Hm?


    "I really admire you!" Lenoly adds. I told them a lot about Onee-sama, but to think they would begin to feel that way. I never thought that would happen.


    "... I may have fallen for you." Vitalis confesses to Onee-sama. What? Does that mean that... she loves Onee-sama? But she never met her before, right? When I look to Lenoly, she doesn''t seem the same. So it''s only Vitalis?


    "Ah, that reminds me. What does Oneh Sama mean?" Lenoly asks. Ah.


    "It means big sister in the language from my... hometown. It is used to address someone you look up to like an older sister." Onee-sama explains like it doesn''t mean much... I thought it was something between just us two...


    "Is it alright if I call you that, too? Onee-sama?" Vitalis immediately begins to use it. No, don''t call her that... only I''m allowed to call her that...


    Before Onee-sama can say anything, the teacher speaks up and everyone goes quiet. I can''t understand anything he says because I''m thinking about the relationship between Vitalis and Onee-sama now...


    "I... I think I am in love with Onee-sama." W-what? Vitalis says this in front of everyone. They look confused, but I know who she means... no, stop! My chest hurts...


    "Love between two girls? That''s unnatural!" One of the boys says and my heart drops. I love Onee-sama, too. Is that unnatural? Is it causing problems for her?


    "That is a wonderful thing, Miss Vitalis." And the teacher is encouraging her now. I don''t like that he thinks it is a good thing when it''s about Vitalis and Onee-sama, but I trust his words over those of a stupid boy at any moment. It is a good thing, right, Onee-sama? You love me, too, don''t you? I look down at my cursed arm and I feel my heart wavering...


    My mind begins to wander. I can''t begin to doubt everything up until now. Onee-sama rescued me and even if she doesn''t actually love me, I love her more than anything. I''m happy as long as she doesn''t throw me away. I don''t care what she does to me, I will always love her...


    "C-can we p-please address the f-fact that M-Miss Marcott is a Crawling Chaos?" A gasp running through the room brings me back. What happened? Everyone looks really scared all of a sudden, with some even backing away - and they all stare at Onee-sama. Even the teacher is afraid.


    "Are you a scion of the demon lord?" He asks her, and she says she is. Does that mean... Onee-sama is the daughter of the demon lord? People said that the demon lord is the cause of my curse, for my right arm to be like this. But now... I''m confused. Onee-sama says she was exiled by the demon lord because she rebelled against her. No, she doesn''t have anything to do with what happened to my arm...


    The teacher quickly stops the meeting and sends the others away, leaving only Onee-sama, Hestia and I. Also, the girl who pointed out Onee-sama''s identity is still here. I don''t like her for causing trouble for Onee-sama...


    "From your relationship with these two I can gather that you have absolute trust in them?" The teacher asks. He means Hestia and I.


    "Yes, I do." Onee-sama answers without a moment of doubt. My heart skips a beat. She pets my hair and I hug her. I shouldn''t have ever doubted Onee-sama. She said that she would never abandon me... how could I ever doubt her? I-


    We go back to the dorm after the meeting has ended. When we arrive, Onee-sama suddenly sticks her hand inside her body and pulls out a leather bag. From inside, she takes out a piece of leather, the map she showed Senka and me before. There are words written on it, but I can''t read them.


    Onee-sama''s expression becomes confused, and Senka begins to move even though Hestia is here. But Onee-sama said that she trusts her, so knowing about the doll girl should be no problem. Onee-sama and Senka begin to talk about complicated stuff again. Memories, conspiracy... I don''t really understand, but I can see that they are tense. It seems to be something really important, so I don''t want to interrupt them.


    "We can''t let anyone know that we have this information." Onee-sama looks at me and I understand what she means.


    "I won''t tell anyone, Onee-sama. I promise!" I need to show confidence.


    "I understand, Onee-sama." Hestia responds as well and my heart drops again. No, don''t you start calling her like that, too... ahhh, but I need to be more like an adult. Jealousy is really childish, they said in class. For Onee-sama''s sake, I need to become more mature.


    Onee-sama speaks about Hestia gaining a curse. Does it mean she has become the same as I? They did talk a lot about her becoming corrupted. So that''s what those black wings and red eyes mean?


    "Now, for you, Kamii-chan." Onee-sama turns to me. Hm? "Regarding that arm of yours."


    "This?" I show her my right arm.


    "Remember what you did under the mountain? When we were surrounded by trolls and you hit some of them with your claw? I believe that your curse allows the strength in your arm to be increased every time you hit someone with it." Onee-sama says and has a serious expression. She means when I hit those little monsters that attacked her. Yes, it felt like I had more strength in my arm whenever I hit one.


    She asked me to hit her before... was it to see if what she just said is true? Then that means I have some power? I can be of help to Onee-sama? I have to test it, learn it and master it, so that I can help her and protect her, like Hestia did this morning. Then Onee-sama will love me the most.


    After a while of talking, we prepare to go to sleep. Hestia is staying the night, but she doesn''t like Senka, so Onee-sama has to take the doll girl into our bed. Uhhh, she''s between us and I can''t feel Onee-sama''s warmth...


    The next day Onee-sama seems really restless during the meals. She finishes quickly and takes several servings so that I can''t keep up with her at all. Her body is really mysterious and it''s completely different from mine, after all.


    After dinner we go to the library. I can''t read, but Onee-sama is still taking me along, so I can''t be a bother to her while she''s reading. But I won''t give up my place on her lap to anyone, not even a book! When Onee-sama picks up her books and sits down, I sit in my spot. She pets my hair while reading, and I enjoy the silent time with her.


    But it seems Onee-sama doesn''t find what she wants in the books she has with her, so she picks me up from her lap to go back to the shelves. I follow her and watch her look over the books restlessly, without finding what she wants even there. She''s a little unhappy when we leave the library, but there is a hint of a plan in her eyes. I''ve seen it before a few times. I think it''s when she becomes a little childish.


    When we''re back at the dorms, Onee-sama suddenly takes off her clothes and hugs Senka. Ahhh, not fair, me too-ohhh no, never mind...


    Onee-sama swallowed the doll girl into her body and walks to the bathroom door. She sticks her finger in the keyhole and stops moving for a while. Then, all of a sudden, her body shrivels up and disappears through the keyhole. Onee-samaaaaa!!! What happened to you?!!!


    But I hear her and Senka''s voice muttering on the other side of the door.


    "Onee-sama?" Both Hestia and I ask towards the door. She comes out a moment later with Senka in her arms. They''re both fine. But how did she do that? How did they fit through that small keyhole? Is it magic?


    "In either case, I''ll be going to the library with Senka and stay there for the night." She says. You''re going and want to let me sleep alone? I don''t want to sleep alone ever again, Onee-sama! Of course I protest, but... I can''t beat her in the end, as always. I have to be a good girl and listen to Onee-sama.


    Sitting in the room with Hestia is really dull. I don''t have anything to do and I don''t want to sleep without Onee-sama. I''ll wait for her return, even if she only comes back in the morning and I don''t get any sleep at all...


    "Kamii, what do you say we surprise Onee-sama when she returns?" Hestia suddenly says. "Remember what you did to her in the bath?" The tickling that was very effective? "Let''s do that as punishment for leaving us both behind like this." She winks to me. I don''t want to do something like "punish" Onee-sama, but I''m a little unhappy that she left me behind. Maybe it''s a good idea after all.


    A long time goes by until I hear footsteps in the hallway. I have really good ears, so I hear them before Hestia does. We switch off the light in the room and take up our positions at the door. At this time, only Onee-sama could be the one coming down the corridor, towards the very end of the building where this room is. She stops in front of the door for a long time and I hold my breath. Did she see through us? Then she finally opens it.


    "Welcome back, Onee-sama~" Hestia and I say at the same time and tackle her. Then we pull her into the room, causing her to drop Senka. Punishment time!


    "Ahahahaha, stohohohohop! I don''t hahahahave time fohohohor thiiis!" I feel Onee-sama''s body hardening under the clothes and see her right hand turning into tentacles. That''s her real appearance, which she showed me once on our travels. I watch as she puts it under Hestia''s skirt, causing her to make a really strange face and collapse to the ground. Wh-what just happened?


    Onee-sama wiggles her hand in front of my face and I recognize the distinct motion. Ahhh my entire body tingles just seeing it and my knees go weak. Uhhh, I think my important place just became wet...


    Then I watch Onee-sama reach inside her own body and pull something out. When it falls to the floor, all thoughts of pleasure are blown away. What''s this mess... wait, there''s a face. Is this... Vitalis? What happened to her?

 Chapter 41 - Detour with Benefits

    So, err, what do I do about this now? It''s a completely unexpected development. I look to Senka, but she just shrugs. Thank you for not being helpful at all in such a situation.


    "Um, Vitalis?" I try to speak to her, but she''s completely out of it. When I look at her intact clothes, I know that I didn''t accidentally dissolve her. Then it''s something caused by herself? I turn to Hestia, but her expression is one of disgust. Not at the mess that Vitalis is, but because of her perceived relationship with me judging from this situation. Could you please not go yandere when I''m trying to figure out whether this is a situation of life and death or not?


    "Bring me a mop, Kamii." Hestia suddenly says with a determined expression. Does that mean you know what''s wrong? "I''m going to clean this up." Her tone leaves no room for doubt that she''s going to dump her in the toilet and also flush.


    "Wait, Hestia-tan, don''t be hasty." I have to stop her or I''ll also be marked as a murderer. Since whatever bad happens these days is always going to be my responsibility in the eyes of the people at this academy...


    "Whatever could you mean, Onee-sama?" Oi, that smile is just reeking of fake innocence, and you''re note even trying with that monotone voice! "I will throw the trash out and then you can tell us all about what happened at the library~" Stop it!


    "Oneeee... samaaa..." Vitalis finally cries weakly. Her voice is as hot as she looks, and her eyes remain unfocused. Please don''t say something like I''m at fault here or so. "Mooooreee~" I look at her blankly, my mouth a straight line. Yes, I''m sorry...


    "Well, what do we do about this?" I''m at a loss. I think mopping her up is very undignified, but we can''t just leave her on the floor like this. Especially since I''m about to teleport to maou-mama''s side to tell her about the brewing conspiracy. Considering the circumstances and how she seems to have hopelessly fallen for me, I think it doesn''t really matter whether she sees it or not, though.


    "Like I said-" Hestia begins.


    "You shut up for a moment." Huh, why does she look happy at my scolding tone? "Hm, no other way to go about this." I sweep Vitalis up inside my body by expanding my hand, then go to the bathroom and put her in the bathtub - with the plug left in, of course. Closing the door behind me, I return to the room. Out of sight, out of mind.


    "So, are you going to do it here?" Senka asks right away.


    "Yes, the sooner the better. If it wasn''t for this, I would be enjoying a nice bath right now..." In Vitalis, that is. I''ll have to put that off for later, when I return. I pull out a copy of the transportation circle from my palm and lay it on the ground. Such a small thing is my gateway back to the demon castle, and into the race for the throne of the demon lord. Well, I intend to return here right after, so it should be alright.


    I stand on top of the piece of paper and begin to visualize the demon castle, more specifically the bathroom where I first properly woke up. Full circle, huh? But when I activate the spell, it feels different. Instead of a soft stream of bright lights, it''s a space filled with dark purple and red.


    "Onee-sa-" I can hear the voice of Hestia through it, but it''s cut off before she can finish. In the next instant, I feel like I''m falling, the world around me dyed in streaks of dirty colors. This is clearly wrong, it''s not a proper teleportation. But it doesn''t feel like I''m getting ripped apart like when maou-mama did it. Instead it just feels like I''m falling at an incredible speed.


    I''m reminded of a certain game that worked with portals. "Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out" was one of the lines the computer told me and I think my face is going really white here. If I''m really falling I''ll splatter at my destination. Luckily, I have Hestia''s template, so I quickly pull my clothes inside my body and grow wings, using them as a means to slow my descent.


    Really though, I can''t see where I''m falling towards at all. And this journey through the portal has been going on for pretty long, compared to any I''ve been through before. I do see a correlation between distance to travel and time spent in here, since it took only an instant to teleport a few steps away inside the library, but much longer to reach the Kingdom of Lares from the Demon Continent.


    And then I''m out, in a place surrounded by brightness. It''s morning here, so this is a completely different time zone. Since I slowed down my fall considerably, I''m gently floating down. It looks like I''m above an open field and surrounded by what seem to be rows of stone plates. Before me kneels a girl with dark brown hair, younger than Senka looks, and is staring up to me with large round green eyes.


    "A-a-a-a..." She stutters. "... a Fata..." Her voice is little more than an awed breath. Ah, I forgot to turn my wings black - in solidarity with Hestia - and her genetic template has white feathers. The girl clasps her hands together and closes her eyes in prayer. I land on the stone plate before which she kneels and look around to get an understanding about where I am.


    This is very obviously not the demon castle, and most likely not even the Demon Continent. I didn''t think my control would be as bad as maou-mama''s, that I''m thrown into a random place in the world, but I am her child after all. I sigh and look down at the girl again. She looks dirty and is dressed in rags. A bunch of randomly picked flowers lie in front of her. Oh, this is a graveyard. I''m standing on the gravestone of whoever this girl came to visit.


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    "Great Fata... does something displease you?" She looks up almost fearfully at the sound of my sigh. Her weak smile is trembling and only now do I notice that her eyes appear really sunken and lifeless, with dark rings surrounding them. She''s clearly malnourished and too thin to be healthy.


    I step down from the gravestone and lower myself to her to examine her. I''m a real sucker for tragic children, aren''t I...


    "Hwa, Great Fata!" She prostrates before me, clearly intimidated. What is this place that a young girl like her will show such fear before me in the appearance of a Fata, while at the same time sounding like she''s worshipping me? Something feels wrong. I''m reminded of what Ninlil told me about the empire and how they see Fatas as the messengers of their one god. But apparently people of the empire most likely never see one in their lives, while this girl sounds like she''s met others before. Maybe that''s the reason she was afraid of my displeased-sounding sigh.


    "What are they doing here..." I grit my teeth. I think this may be the Fatas Triarchy. Hestia did say that the Fatas are nobles and I know that they live apart from the general population. Don''t tell me they''re the type of scum aristocrats that looks down on commoners, even going so far as to mistreat them out of spite or for their own amusement. This would clearly explain this girl''s attitude.


    "I-I am visiting the grave of my parents, Great Fata!" She answers without looking up. Apparently she thought I was asking her. Damn, my mood is growing sour really quickly. Not only do they engage in power games and exile a (formerly) innocent girl like Hestia, they rule over their nation in a way that children like this one exist.


    I lift the girl up and notice how light she is. Under my palms I can feel all the way to her bones with little resistance between them. She did say her parents died, so I guess she''s an orphan. But in a peaceful nation, orphanages are able to provide for the children in their care. I was led to believe that humanity was mostly at peace, with the very rare incident surrounding invasions by maou-mama.


    And then I see it. This girl has no lower legs. They end in stumps below her knees. Where I thought she kneeled before is a small wooden board with wheels attached to the sides -practically a makeshift skateboard.


    "G-Great Fata, I-I am dirty, you should not lower yourself to touch someone as lowly and filthy as myself!" Her voice is cracking in anxiety, but when she sees my expression her face goes white in terror. "I-I-I-I-I am so-so-so-so sorry!" I''m very irritated now. If this really is the result of the governing of the Fatas Triarchy, I''ll give it my all to bring it down!


    I hug the little girl and mutter Sano repeatedly. She stiffens up like a mouse caught in the snake''s gaze, but when she notices the warmth spreading to her body, she softens up. I really am a sucker for these kinds of things...


    "I''m not a Fata." I say as I put her back onto the skateboard. With this, I retract the wings into my body and her eyes grow even bigger at the sight, as her mouth hangs open.


    "Y-your wings are gone? A-are you... a goddess?" She looks at me with even more reverence now. That''s a first. This girl''s innocence, so similar to Kamii''s, is even more heartbreaking due to the fact that she seems so much more articulate and aware of her own situation. Of course, Kamii knew she was being held as a slave, but she has no understanding of social circumstances - endearingly so - due to it.


    "... yes, maybe I am." I''m acutely aware of my current situation, being in a foreign land that I''m only guessing is the Fatas Triarchy, and with no idea why I ended up here in what should have been a normal teleportation. I have absolutely no means to save this girl. But I''ll damn well try.


    The little girl has gone back to prayer, so I can do this; from inside my body I take out the fruit pie I stored for later consumption from dinnertime. It was so good that I just had to. "Here, have something to eat." I may not be able to save every orphan in this world, but those I come upon, I can show some kindness and give some warmth at least.


    She look up and her face reveals a fascinated expression, but there''s some apprehension at taking this from what she seems to seriously consider to be a higher being. Well, I do have some really godlike abilities, if I may say so myself. And to her, it must seem like I just created this out of thin air.


    "What''s your name, child?" I''ll be disappearing from here soon, so I want to give her the illusion that I really was a goddess to give her my blessing, just so she can live on with a stronger heart.


    "My name is Diana, Great Goddess." She says with a radiant smile. Her eyes were faking life earlier, just windows to an empty husk of a human being mimicking the motions that are expected of one in her situation, but now a spark of light has returned to them. Whether that is newfound devotion in the gods of this world, gratitude to me as an individual, or something else, is not important to me right now. To see her like this is filling me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. "Thank you so much! I will share this with the other children."


    "I see. Yes, do that." And even in her misery, she still has the magnanimity to share with those equally poor as her. With these words I grow my wings again. "Ventus." I mutter and create a gust of wind underneath them to give me lift. I don''t want to run to gain speed in front of Diana, since I think it''d look pretty lame. I take to the skies and look down at her with a smile, as we grow further apart. I will be using a transportation circle to return, but far from anyone who could witness it.


    From high above I see that there''s a church-like building nearby - most likely the orphanage where she''s living. Further beyond is a village without any defensive walls, so this place is most likely located near the core of this nation. I fly towards the wilderness, away from human habitation, so I''m undisturbed in trying to get to the demon castle. Yes, I still want to get there, before returning to the academy. It was my primary goal after all.


    I find a glade, retract the wings and place down a copy of the transportation circle. Just to be sure, I light one corner of it on fire with a tiny Ignis flame, so that I don''t leave behind any evidence that I was ever here. If it causes a forest fire, I''m sorry... but it should be far enough fromwhere humans live.


    This time, it feels very stable, the same way it went when Mithra sent me to the kingdom. A smooth ride through a stream of lights, the soft sensation of floating, before the scenery around me appears again. It''s the overly gaudy room inside the demon castle, where I first became aware of myself. I did it!


    And in the mirror I see that I''m naked. Growing wings would have ripped my clothes, so I had pulled them inside my body. But it had felt so natural without them, that I forgot to put them back on. I was naked all the time while talking to Diana.


    At least she thinks I''m a goddess, so it should be alright...

 Chapter 42 - The Demon Queen Pelomyx

    Really, this place is too gaudy. I mean, I can understand wanting to splurge when you''re in a position like a demon lord''s, but what''s the point in having so much gold in a bathroom for a being that doesn''t ever need to take baths? The bed is another thing, though. It looks so soft and fluffy and I want to drop into it... hah, wait, I''m here for a reason. Well, it''s usually sleep time now, but here I am, traveling around the world.


    But before I can open the door leading to the corridor, I stop myself. Wait, Mithra is in on this conspiracy, so this means he most likely knows everything that happened in the Demon Mages Association. In fact, it''s even possible that he sent me to the kingdom so that I can make contact with his son. I don''t know based on what he thought I would ever betray maou-mama, but since I declined the offer, I can''t randomly walk into him here. It would seem too suspicious.


    The thing is, I''m actually afraid to face him in battle. Judging from his position in the demon castle, he''s a high-ranked mage who is also proficient in space magic. The fact that he has better control over it than maou-mama also shows that his magic capabilities are most likely on par, if not better than hers. In other words, I would be facing someone who''s as strong as my mother, if not stronger. And according to what I heard about her from Senka, she most likely jumped into a huge army of humans and single-handedly wiped them out. When I think about it... she most likely single-handedly wiped out the one million strong expedition army that came knocking at her gates just before I came here.


    There''s one way around this: A disguise. At this point I have so much control over my physical form that I can surely pull this off. I change my appearance to have a very unremarkable face, then stretch my body and change its color to look like a maid uniform. Now, just add some common demon traits... gray skin, horns, inverted eyes... and I''m done. The perfect disguise, a maid working in the castle. I open the door and walk out, keeping my back straight and putting on a neutral expression.


    I very nearly walk into a person right away and we both separate in shock. I look up and it''s someone in thick robes. Mithra???


    "I am so sorry, Master Mithra!" I apologize and bow deeply so that he can''t see my face - not like that matters. Damn, the person I least wanted to meet is the first one I bump into. This is such rotten luck! I quickly walk away in the opposite direction of where he was facing, so that we don''t start walking alongside each other.


    "Wait." His voice stops me dead in my tracks. Please-don''t-suspect-anything-please-don''t-suspect-anything-please-don''t-suspect-anything. "What were you doing in that room?"


    "..." I turn around and only now realize that it''s dark outside. So, yet another time zone then. Judging by the lack of lights in the city it''s either deep in the night or they don''t have access to lamps, whether that be lamp crystals or fires. Since I doubt the latter is the case, it''s safe to assume that it''s in the middle of the night. Why would Mithra be walking in front of my room in the middle of the night? Because he noticed my transportation magic! "I heard a sound from this room and came to take a look." I report with a neutral expression. I can''t show anxiety or fear. Luckily I stopped reproducing sweat glands after learning that I can regulate my body temperature as I wish.


    "And did you find anything?" I can''t see his face so I can''t tell what he''s thinking. I pay close attention to the large diamond in his staff, to know when he''s going to use magic. I noticed in the academy that there''s always a glow in them before magic gets activated, so I can use it as an indicator to either duck and cover, or summon up a defensive shield.


    "Unfortunately, I did not. Maybe it was just my imagination." This tension is killing me. "If you would excuse me then, Master Mithra..." I bow again and move to leave. He doesn''t say anything and I round the corner. This would be bad for my heart, if I had one...


    I make sure to scout every corner of the castle before rounding them from then on, using my spy eye tentacle. I don''t want to run into someone else who''ll hold me up - or into Mithra again. The biggest problem I have now is that I don''t know where maou-mama is. It really looks to be the middle of the night, since there aren''t any maids walking around. Maybe I need to start looking into rooms at random?


    But considering how many rooms are in this castle, I think that''s going to take a really long time. Is there any way for me to find out where maou-mama is without having to walk all over the place? The first thing that comes to mind is to cause a commotion, to attract everyone within the castle into one place. I''m sure that will include maou-mama. But that''s quite risky, since it will include Mithra. I need to talk to her in private first.


    There''s another option, although it''s something I''d rather not do. That would be to wait in the hall where we had a meal until morning, where she''ll very likely turn up eventually. It''s a very passive choice though, and it''s still possible for Mithra to spot me there before maou-mama comes around.


    I walk around some more in hopes of being lucky and find a kitchen. It''s a large space with several fireplaces and metal stoves, as well as huge pots. The lights are off, so the morning must be still a ways off - else there''d be cooks already preparing for breakfast. It could be considered lucky... If I wasn''t in this situation, I''d be sneaking some food, but I don''t have the time for it.


    Clang.


    I immediately duck behind a shelf and look through the darkness. I didn''t spot anything before even with night vision, but there''s someone or something here. If it''s a mouse, I''ll eat it for scaring me like this... But it''s clearly a person. He''s pretty far away so I can''t really see what he looks like, especially since he wears a hood. But he''s sneaking in the darkness with a clear destination in mind. I stay in my hiding spot and keep observing.


    He opens a large metal door and the smell of dried meat and smoked ham wafts out from it. Wait, is he here to sneak some food? I move silently and approach the intruder from behind. My appearance is that of a maid, so I can put on a little play and scare him. Also, then I''ll go and get some of that meat for myself. It''s not because I want to eat, alright?


    "What are you doing here?" I speak up in a flat and professional maid-sounding tone.


    "Hyah!" My, what a cute voice. The person flinches hard, dropping a pile of food, and spins around. I finally see who it is.


    "Mama?"


    I transform into my pre-death form to rub the bridge of my nose and sigh. I wouldn''t have expected maou-mama to be the one to try and sneak food in the middle of the night.


    "You''re the maou, why do you have to sneak around your own castle at night?" I''m looking down on her, who''s kneeling in seiza before me, with irritation. So this is how our long-awaited reunion goes? Me literally finding her with her hand in the cookie jar.


    "B-but the maid leader will get angry..." She''s actually acting like I caught her doing something really naughty. All poise is gone from her and I have to wonder whether she''s even the real maou-mama or not. But that ditzy attitude really is her, there''s no two ways around it.


    "Why would you be afraid of the maid leader in your employment? In the first place, you''re the maou, everybody should be afraid of you!" My irritation grows and she shrinks under my gaze.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "See, I told you, every child that returns hates me!" Maou-mama is actually pouting. Wow, so childish!


    "Alright, alright. I was feeling so tense earlier, but this just blew it all away." I sigh and hold out my hand to her. She takes it and I pull her up.


    "... but now that I think about it, why are you here already? I did not expect you for at least a year." She puts a finger to her chin and tilts her head. That''s seriously cute, but because of such a behavior I have to consciously remind myself of the fact that this is my mother. Where did her dignity from our first meeting go? Well, it did die a slow death after all that happened and all that I heard about her. "And how did you get into the castle?"


    "Yes, I almost forgot! I''m here to warn you of a conspiracy to kill you!" My mind immediately returns to serious mode. "I learned space magic and teleported into the castle directly, but that''s not important right now."


    "A conspiracy to kill me...?" Maou-mama looks at me in surprise, before a radiant smile lights up her face. "Oh, there are many like that at all times. I strike them down whenever they crop up." She''s saying this with so much joy, all my tension escapes me. In face of her reaction, I just can''t keep serious...


    "I... don''t know what to say to that..." I thought it would be a much more dire situation, but she doesn''t seem to have a care in the world. Still, maybe this time is different, since Mithra, who seems like her right-hand man, is involved. "But your court magician, Mithra is involved."


    "... Mithra?" Her expression immediately changes. "How do you know?" She has entered serious mode now, even though I''ve kinda lost it.


    "I met Mithra''s son-"


    "Mithra has no son." Maou-mama interjects.


    "-at the... wait, what?"


    "At least when I came to this castle, Mithra did not have a son. He has been here ever since, and with no spouse, no children were born to him." So, what about Flann? I know that maou-mama came here around twenty years ago, and he looked to be around the age of Hestia, so...? Unless Flann is quite a bit older than he looks. Well, with demons you never know. Incidentally, when I think about it, maou-mama isn''t even much older than I am, and surely not old enough to be my mother...


    "Then he must have left the castle before you came. In either case, his son, Flann told me that-"


    "Oh, you mean Flann-chan~" Her face lights up in recognition. "She is Mithra''s daughter." What, daughter???


    "Wait, Flann is a girl?" I was sure that she was a he... the legendary reverse trap? "No, wait, that''s not important... Flann told me that Mithra is involved in this conspiracy, along with the gods!"


    "That is a grave accusation, Chaos-chan." She somehow doesn''t look like she trusts me. Damn, I have no evidence other than the note I wrote to myself and the conjecture I drew from it. "Mithra has been serving me faithfully for twenty years."


    "But they went so far as to erase my memories, so it has to be true." Wait, that was a contradictory statement. Maou-mama is looking at me with her head tilted slightly. I knew it, she thinks I must have hit my head or something. "They wanted me to sign a Vala or have my memories erased so that I can''t tell you. I wrote down the important parts of what they told me inside my body and then chose to have my memories erased, so that I won''t be affected by the Vala and can still tell you." Ugh, I''m beginning to get frantic. Her expression is still serious, but I can feel the mistrust growing inside her.


    "Why do we not ask Mithra directly, then?" Maou-mama says and touches my shoulder with a reassuring expression. I think I lost her with this. There''s no point in asking him, since he''ll just deny the accusations and that''d be the end of it. When it comes down to my word against his, if not of equal weight, his would most certainly weigh heavier than mine. After all, I''m like a newborn, while he has been with maou-mama for two decades.


    "Chaos is accusing you of scheming and conspiring with the gods to facilitate my downfall. What say you in your defense, Mithra?" Maou-mama announces while sitting on her throne, with me standing beside her. On her other side stands a maid with a very straight-laced face and posture, wearing a serious but neutral expression. This must be the maid leader. She does look scary.


    The hall is filled with maids, some of them trying to hide their yawns and sleepiness by lowering their heads or looking away. This is still the middle of the night and even demons need to sleep. Still, there are so many cute ones among them... ah, this isn''t the time for that.


    Mithra is standing in the middle of the hall. He''s still holding onto his staff and remains hidden underneath the heavy robes. I can''t tell what his reaction is, but he doesn''t seem too shaken.


    "What are you saying, Great Demon Queen. I would never dare to oppose you." His voice is clear and straight, no hint of unease to be detected in it. But of course, it''s not like he''ll crack under such accusations. "In fact, I have to report to you that the plan to topple the gods is progressing smoothly." W-... what is he saying? Don''t tell me this was a plan she knew about all along?


    "Well done, Mithra." Maou-mama turns around to me with a smile. "See, there is no reason to worry." Now I feel really dumb. Are you telling me that Mithra is a double agent, acting as if he''s working with the gods to kill the demon lord, but in reality working for maou-mama to bring them down instead?


    "I must say, I never expected Lady Chaos to return so quickly. So the disturbance caused by the transportation spell I felt earlier was because of you?" Mithra''s voice is quite neutral, but he sounds like he''s praising me. Ugh, that''s adding insult to injury. "You are indeed the Great Demon Queen''s child, having a mastery over space magic after such a short time."


    "But tell me, Mithra." Speaking up with a much less serious voice, maou-mama looks at him with an innocently questioning expression. "Why did you send Chaos-chan to the Kingdom of Lares?" Her lips break into a smile that causes a shiver to run down my spine. "I am sure I told you to send her to the Empire of Terminus."


    "Wha-" Mithra''s facade cracks and his body language clearly shows that he''s shaken. Wait, maou-mama clearly seems to know the geography of this world, even if her retaliation strikes against humanity seemed to have been completely random. I thought they were because she really didn''t know better, and apparently so did Mithra. Don''t tell me...


    "Mithra, do you take me for a fool who does not even have the ability to read a map of the world?" Um, to be fair, I thought you were... sorry. "Now, I will give you a chance to explain yourself." The maids in the room ready themselves to attack on maou-mama''s command. So they''re combat maids? That''s so cool!


    "I-I assure you-"


    "Actually, there is no need to speak any more." Maou-mama stands up and in the next instant her body expands explosively, ripping apart her clothes. A massive appendage rushes forward to swallow Mithra. He completely disappears within it.


    She pulls herself together - literally - and reforms her body in its usual appearance, but remains naked. Yep, that''s a huge cup size indeed... I stare at her unbelieving for a different reason, though. She acted so quickly that even this mage that I thought was terrifyingly strong had no chance to react.


    "He escaped..." She mutters with a displeased expression as she casually waves to a maid to bring her a change of clothes. He escaped? Don''t tell me, he was able to teleport out in the last moment even in such a situation? "Gatekeeper demons are really slippery after all. But now we know for a fact that he was really a tripleagent."


    "So... you believed me?" I ask maou-mama hesitatingly.


    "Yes, when you mentioned Flann, I understood that something was wrong. She was sent to the Royal Academy of the Kingdom of Lares as a spy under Mithra''s suggestion. I was not told that she relocated to the empire, so you should not have been able to meet her." That was unexpected perceptive of her, I have to admit. I would never have thought that she was capable of such a deduction. "Muh, you just thought something very rude about your mother, did you not?" She pouts and blows away her previously reliable image with this. But really, she can be so cute sometimes.


    "Thank you for believing me, mama!" I jump into her arms and hug her, and she looks at me surprised.


    "My, what a good child. You really are the first among all your siblings so far to really treat me like your mother~" She sounds quite happy as she returns the hug. Ah, that reminds me. I would have expected some of my siblings to be gathered in this hall in such an important situation, but there were only maids. Were they disguised as maids and hid among them to ambush Mithra, should maou-mama''s attack miss and he attempt to fight back?


    "Actually, where are my siblings, mama?" I separate from her and ask while looking over the faces of the gathered maids.


    "They were rebellious so I ate them." Maou-mama responds in a matter of fact tone while putting on her new set of clothes.


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 43 - Return to the Academy

    "Huh?" Wait, what did she just say? "... huh?"


    "Hm?" Maou-mama looks at me questioningly, with a very innocent expression.


    "I... I may have misheard you, mama..." I rub the bridge of my nose, shake my head and look at her again. "You said you-"


    "I ate them." Once again, a simple statement without a single hint of malice in her expression. That makes it even scarier than it actually is! Then she seems to realize something and smiles mischievously. "Not in the sexual sense, silly~"


    Ahhhhhh!!!


    Wait wait, I''m not in any danger of being eaten (not in the sexual sense) right now, so there''s no need to panic. So maou-mama is a true cannibal, eating beings of her own race. I stare at her with some apprehension.


    "Why are you looking at me like that, Chaos-chan? I will not eat you." She laughs and waves off my thoughts. "Only if you have been naughty~"


    So this is my punishment for making that joke at the Demon Mages Association! I''m sorry for making fun of your fear of me, Vitalis-chan!


    "... so, how many of my siblings are still alive?" I doubt they knew about this when they were thrown out into the world, so those who returned and were disrespectful towards maou-mama were all eaten.


    "Those who returned were all eaten by me. Like I said, you are the first to not betray me." Alright, I think that''s pretty sad in its own way... "I have my eyes keep surveillance on every single one..." Wait, she was watching me all this time? As in, everything I''ve been doing? There are some things parents should never do to their children. Especially with children whose nature seems to tell them to ravish girls... cough. "... those who never returned all died due to one reason or another."


    "In other words, I''m the only one left? How many did you even send out?" This is pretty disheartening to hear.


    "One every two months, since any more is too difficult to keep track of. But you are the only one right now." I''m an only child, huh? But haven''t you been pumping out children too quickly? I think it''s safe to assume that Crawling Chaos reproduce through something like cell division, so I guess she could have produced many more over an even shorter period of time. She was actually holding back in her own way, huh?


    "... wait, you mean to say you had a child every two months since twenty years ago?"


    "Yes." She blinks as if she doesn''t understand why I''m asking. If my simple arithmetic skills haven''t forsaken me, that should be around two hundred and fifty children. You mean to say you''ve eaten so many living beings that you yourself produced? Maou-mama is scary!


    "Why... did you eat them? Why not punish them and try to reeducate them?"


    "Because that is too much of a hassle. And it returns the energy I spent on giving birth to them." Once again, she says something really scary so easily. Our values are completely different! But... it''s not like I can''t understand her, from a certain angle.


    "Speaking of eating... Maou-sama, I have heard that you were trying to sneak food again." The maid leader walks up to her with an emotionless face. She''s more than a head taller than I am, who is already slightly taller than maou-mama, so when she doesn''t lower her head in front of us, it looks like she''s looking down on two lesser beings. Her dark red eyes show that she''s clearly not amused and it only reinforces that impression.


    "Eek!" Maou-mama lets out this completely undignified yelp as she flinches under the gaze and immediately hides behind me. "W-who did you hear that from?"


    "That is of no importance." And she was shut down in an instant. I have to admit, she''s really intimidating when seen from up close. She looks completely human, but her height is on par with Gram''s. "We talked about this before, Maou-sama." Her face remains expressionless, but the pressure from her words is almost tangible. "As punishment, the amount of your breakfast will be reduced this morning."


    "Nooo, anything but that! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Maou-mama sounds really pitiful as she comes forward from behind me and pleads to the maid leader. I understand that she''s really scary and all, but where''s your dignity as the demon lord? You''re meant to instill fear in everyone...


    "You have yourself to blame, Maou-sama." The maid leader''s expression doesn''t change despite seeing her pitiful appearance.


    Oh, this reminds me... I had that thought during that demons support group meeting. They''re clearly using Japanese honorifics here, both maou-mama and those under her command - aside from Mithra. I have to ask her about this, when we get the chance to talk. She looks ready to fall to her knees, so now doesn''t seem like the right time...


    "Mama, stop it, it''s disgraceful..."


    "Buuut..." She looks close to crying. I can''t muster any sort of respect for her when she''s in such a state.


    "I''ll bring you something good next time I come here." I sigh in mental exhaustion.


    "Hm? What do you mean, next time you come here?"


    "I have to go back to the Royal Academy, or they''ll suspect that something''s wrong." And I obviously want to reassure Kamii and Hestia of the fact that I''m alright. Also, I need to deal with the half-dissolved Vitalis in our bathroom.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "I think it would be best not to go back there." Maou-mama''s expression has turned serious again.


    "Huh, why not?"


    "Now that Mithra has shown his true colors, his first course of action will be to contact all his co-conspirators and inform them of the fact that he has been found out. And that you are the cause for it." She makes a difficult face. "I know for a fact that Mithra has been conspiring with the cunning old man that is the principal of the academy, so it will be dangerous." Oh, she''s calling him cunning old man, too. Wait, that''s not important right now! "You may have friends there, but it is better if you do not return there."


    "... they''re more than friends." I turn the maid clothes back into my skin and change my appearance to the one I have at the academy - I don''t care that I''m temporarily naked, since I have to consider the possibility that I will have to bring out the Fata wings when I fall from a great height again.


    "Oh, your clothes were made from your body?" Maou-mama looks at me with big eyes. I would have assumed that you''re able to do it, too... but she did express surprise at seeing me do it the first time - albeit not to this level of control.


    "That reminds me, one thing before I go." I have to get it off my chest, otherwise it''ll nag at the back of my head.


    "Yes?"


    "Are you a reincarnator?" I ask directly. All evidence points there, including the use of Japanese honorifics, in a world where even the Japanese language doesn''t exist.


    "... let us leave that for another time, Chaos-chan~" She puts a finger over her lips, winks and smiles mysteriously. But her use of -chan basically confirmed it once again. "Do you not have to hurry?" I hate to say it, but it''s true. If she doesn''t want to tell me right now, I don''t want to waste time to try and convince her. I pull out a piece of paper, on which I printed a copy of the transportation circle, and place it on the ground.


    "Why are you using physical transportation circles for your space magic?" Maou-mama suddenly asks when I step onto the paper. "Why not make a circle with your body?"


    "Huh?"


    "Like this." She shows me her palm and there''s a circle in it. Wait, that works? Isn''t our entire existence a cheat, then? I would still have to memorize it though... "I will show you." She disappears from in front of me. And in the next moment I feel two hands grabbing my chest from behind.


    "Hyah?!" Oh my, did that voice just now come from me? But I don''t have time for this. "Stop it!" I bop maou-mama over the head and she lets go. I shape the interior of my palm into a transportation circle. "... thank you..." The last thing I see is maou-mama looking up to me with a playfully hurting expression while holding her head, before she shows me a smile filled with motherly love. My heart skips a beat. Yes, this is my mother, even if we''ve known each other for only such a short while. Even if she''s a cannibal...


    The next moment I''m in a stream of lights again, and there''s nothing strange like the first time when I teleported out of the academy. What brought that time on? It''s like something - or someone - messed with my magic and sent me to some random place in the world. The second time when I jumped directly into the demon castle, there was no hint of any interference, though. Maybe it has something to do with the academy itself. Like... maybe a barrier to prevent transportation spells from functioning?


    But if that was true, I would run into that same barrier on my way back in! I don''t know how to cancel the teleportation! There''s still time left, so I have to prepare myself for either hitting a physical barrier, or to be flung into some other random part in the world. If it''s the latter, I can always choose to teleport outside of the academy and sneak in, but if it''s the former, I might actually get splattered for real this time.


    Uh oh, I see a splotch of darkness in the distance - and in an instant I''m surrounded by the streaks of ugly dark colors like when I first teleported out. I immediately bring out the Fata wings, even before the sensation of falling begins. Damn, where will I end up this time? But apparently time is distorted once again, since I keep falling for a very long time without an end in sight. The only thing I can do is slow my physical velocity while inside here.


    Then the space around me is replaced by darkness. Below me is a vast expanse of nothingness and I''m surrounded by stars. Wait, don''t tell me I was actually flung into space? No, there''s clearly wind here, and I''m still having a sense of direction, as I retain spatial awareness. Then I hear the sound of waves very close below me and I frantically beat my wings to move upwards.


    Below me is the ocean, a field of pitch black that is unable to reflect the stars above as it stirs in the strong breeze. Alright, something clearly interfered with my teleportation and sent me somewhere else in the world. The first time was clearly very lucky, since I arrived in a bright place where I even had a little fateful encounter - I think. But this could have ended pretty badly, if maou-mama hadn''t taught me the option to use the surface of my own body to create a transportation circle. If I had fallen into the ocean, I most certainly wouldn''t have been able to use the paper circles, as the ink would get washed out. I would have been stuck here, with no land in sight. That was really dangerous...


    I teleport once again, but this time the destination is far above and slightly next to the citadel in which the academy is located, near where I took my virgin flight. If I physically fly in rather than directly teleport in, I should be fine, right? I''m sure the cunning old man will notice the intrusion, but I''ll be in and out immediately. I''ll take Kamii, Hestia, Senka and Vitalis inside my body and teleport out, even if it throws us into a random place in the world. Anywhere is better than the academy at this point.


    Surrounded by a stream of lights, I notice that the spell is taking quite a while again. Apparently I was thrown somewhere incredibly far, so even a teleportation is taking a long time. But there''s no hint of interference this time and I arrive, falling from high in the sky. The city of Kongenssoevn, with some of its lights on, is so small that it looks like a drawing on a map. This is how the world looked when I flew with an airplane from Tokyo to Okinawa. The sun is rising at the horizon, but its rays are still far from the city. I''m at an altitude where I can see the curvature of the planet. This is a true HALO jump!


    Folding my wings and turning my head downwards, I gather speed, hit terminal velocity soon, and become like a bullet. The city grows larger within my view with every passing second. I become able to tell where the citadel is located - in the very center of the city. The buildings of the academy become individually distinguishable soon, and then I''m at the height where I remember looking down and seeing Hestia lying on the library as a dot. Not yet, I have to get closer to the ground to avoid being spotted easily.


    When I see Ninlil sweeping in front of the dorm building, I open my wings slightly to adjust my angle, drastically reducing my speed in the process. Gliding in a circle I soon enter an almost horizontal flight path, as I soar across the rooftops of the dorm buildings. By now someone must have spotted me with their naked eyes, if they haven''t already, through some magical means such as noticing my entry into the barrier surrounding the academy. I reach the end of the girls'' dorm building and land on the windowsill of our room.


    "I''m back!" I announce when I pull up the window, remove my wings and make my clothes come back out over my body.


    "Welcome back, Miss Marcott." A familiar voice greets me. It belongs to Thorvadis, who is standing in the room with several other teachers, and looking at me with a friendly smile. They are surrounding Kamii and Hestia, their staves at the ready and pointed at me. "It is indeed a pleasure to see you back so soon."

 Chapter 44 - School Days

    My mind is racing. It feels like time is slowing down as I work my amorphous brain to its maximum potential to find a way out of this situation. Kamii and Hestia are surrounded by teachers, eight of them, all of whom I can believe are masters in their own rights. They''re wielding staves with embedded crystals, and I can tell by their approximate colors what their elements are. I spot Basarab among them standing close to Kamii, but he doesn''t seem to wield a catalyst. Thorvadis is holding a small wand encrusted with crystal dust, which rests in his relaxed hand, as if he doesn''t have a care in the world. In one word, he''s very self-assured and understands that this situation is clearly to his advantage.


    Senka is lying on her bed unmoving, most likely waiting for me to give a signal or for an opportune moment to jump up and help me. I have to assume that Vitalis is still in the bathroom, but judging from how much time has passed, she might actually have gathered herself and left for her own room. In either case, these two are not my immediate priorities, as neither of them are in any danger even when I''m not around. Well, I''m sure Senka will be angry with me if I leave her behind, so I''ll try my best.


    There is no aggression in the air just yet, but some teachers are looking at me in obvious hostility. None are making the first move so I think I shouldn''t either. In any case, Arcelia is not among them, so at least that danger is out of the way. The cunning old man''s eyes are looking at me without even a hint of fear, but also no anger or hatred; either he thinks I''m not a threat at all and simply doesn''t harbor such feelings for what he may perceive a lesser being, or he''s actually still opting for a peaceful solution to all this.


    I weigh my options under the current circumstances: Now that I can teleport, I could jump into their middle, pull Kamii, Hestia and Senka inside me and then jump out. Although there''s a barrier surrounding the academy, I broke through it before, and even if it sends me to a random place in the world, anywhere is better than here. Another choice would be to try and talk things out, but I think Mithra obviously informed Thorvadis of my actions at the demon castle. If I waste time, they may prepare spells under their breaths and throw really big ones at me somewhere down the conversation. The best chance I have is to act quickly, since casting something big takes time.


    There''s also the fact that nobody here should know that I have the ability to shoot multiple spirit spears at once. At least I think it''s something that shouldn''t be possible normally, so I have that going for a surprise factor. I don''t know how strong my light barrier is, since I never had the chance to test it against someone''s spells. Damn, this is really bad timing. I still haven''t learned enough magic to know how magic battles are fought.


    My physical mass isn''t enough for me to pull something off like maou-mama did against Mithra in the throne room. But I think against anything other than space magic, that''s probably the most effective move to fight mages. Acting at a speed that doesn''t give them time to chant is the best way to shut them down, no matter how strong they are. After all, I think Mithra should be at an incredibly high level, if he could be employed as the court magician of the previous demon lord, and remained so even under maou-mama.


    Still, I want to see what they intend to do with me, and if it''s to eliminate me, what will happen to Kamii and Hestia afterwards.


    "My, what a surprise to see so many teachers in my room so early in the morning." I say with a sarcastic smile while lifting my hands in a peaceful gesture , showing off my empty palms. I''ve already transferred the transportation circle imprint to a different spot on my body, so I can teleport at any time.


    "I was notified of the fact that you have learned about the plan to bring down the demon lord two nights ago, but that you chose to have your memories erased and not to join the endeavor." He speaks in a friendly tone, as if chatting with a friend about the weather. "I am really interested to know how you were able to resist Basarab''s magic." It''s like he doesn''t feel any tension in our standoff - as it can''t be described as anything else - and is really curious. Everyone in the room knows that I don''t require any catalyst to cast magic, and that my destructiveness is on an unprecedented level. I could be throwing a spell at them at any moment, but this old man must be really sure of his superiority.


    "You will find that I am full of surprises, Master Eklundstrom." I smile mischievously while saying this, but I''m prepared to teleport the moment things go sour. "But please, why do we not go to your office and sit down for a talk, instead of standing around here?" I''d prefer it if he actually took me up on that offer.


    "Unfortunately, I will have to decline." He shrugs his shoulders. "Without these two, I fear you would not hesitate to-"


    "If you touch them, I will not hesitate to kill every last one of you." My expression changes immediately when he suggests that Kamii and Hestia are his hostages. I glare at the gathered teachers with a murderous expression, and I can see some of them falter. But unsurprisingly, Thorvadis doesn''t seem fazed in the least. What kind of trick does he have up his sleeve that he can be so confident of himself?


    "Onee-sama, do not worry about us, save yourse-" Hestia begins, but a male teacher I don''t know slaps her face to shut her up. He must have been acting under the impression that I was just barking without any bite to back it up, and he just sealed his death warrant.


    Without even giving anyone an indication of what I''m about to do, I teleport into their midst, most specifically right behind the man who dared to raise his hand against Hestia. I hug him and pull him inside my body; I''ll make sure to give him a slow and painful death, and dissolve him over as long a period as I can keep him alive.


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    Then all staves are pointed at me and several shout out incantations. Please consider the time and place for your actions. I''m right in your middle, so if you shoot something at me, you''ll hit each other even if I don''t dodge. But obviously I won''t give them any time to chant. Hedgehog Mode, full activation! With more mass to work with, I explosively expand into a ball of spikes in all directions, making sure not to hit my two prot¨¦g¨¦s in the process.


    Several teachers are able to put up barriers, but two were unlucky or possibly incapable of casting any protective magic, as they''re pierced to death by countless spikes. I see surprise in Thorvadis'' expression for the first time when he turns around and creates a barrier to defend against my attack.


    I retract the spikes, turn my arms into their real forms and add blades to every individual tentacle. There will be no time for you to chant your spells, I won''t let you get out a single word! Swinging them around wildly and seemingly randomly, I keep everyone occupied with casting defensive spells. But I see that they''re grouping together, so that one can keep up the shield while another can cast offensive magic.


    "Kamii, Hestia!" I call out to them to come to my side. I don''t know if the transportation circle on my body is enough to teleport several people, so it''s better to pull them inside to be sure.


    "Exacuere!" A teacher yells the chant for a low level wind blade spell and it cuts through the air between my two girls and I. Don''t interfere with our reunion!


    "Spirit Spears!" I didn''t really want to show my hand here, but I don''t have any other directional spell with a short incantation at my disposal that has the power to punch through their shields. A whole bunch of them appear above my head and I see several teachers looking at me dumbfounded, interrupting their incantations in the process.


    "Do not try to defend against them, dodge!" Thorvadis shouts as he swings around his wand. "Eterna Spaco Krei Malliberejo Gustatempe!" He chants quickly as my spears shoot out in every direction. One teacher is too slow to react and get out of the way, while another trips over Senka''s bed. The former is pierced through his chest as his barrier is completely ignored, and he dies on the spot. The latter is less fortunate, as the spear, aimed at his chest, grazes his face instead and practically melts it away without killing him immediately. He rolls around on the bed with cries of pain, knocking Senka off of it. The others all manage to dodge in time.


    Then I feel like the world around me distorting, with the voices of the teachers sounding like a tape being sped up. Hestia jumps into my arms at normal speed and I immediately pull her inside my body. But I watch in horror as someone grabs Kamii and speeds away before my tentacles can reach them. This must be the spell Thorvadis just chanted! It must have slowed down time in the area around me. In the next moment, it returns to normal.


    Kamii was taken by Thorvadis himself, who is pointing his wand at her as she struggles weakly to get to me. She must have forgotten what she''s capable of in the direness of the situation, but I can''t blame her. I''ll shoot another rounds of spirit spears and-


    "-La Malamikon!" Basarab seems to finish a chant and I see the tip of his staff burst out into a cross-shaped energy blade made of pure darkness, which he prepares to swing down on me. It''s clear that this is a big spell, and I have no idea what effect it has, other than looking very dangerous.


    "-Viajn Brakojn." Another teacher finishes his chant at almost the same time and the ground around me forms pillars that reach all the way up to the ceiling, surrounding me like bars in a cage. This won''t hold m-


    The pillars suddenly come closer at a crushing speed. I see Basarab''s blade coming down at me at the same time as the pillars completely fill my vision. There''s no way around it, I''ll teleport right behind Thorvadis and take Kamii back. When I reappear, I''m greeted by Basarab standing only centimeters in front of me, his eyes locked onto mine. When did he have the time to-


    "You shall forget-" He speaks in a commanding tone and my mind blanks out for a moment. When I gather my thoughts again, I find that I must have taken a few steps back in shock. I can see that Thorvadis has his wand at the ready, while Basarab is taking care of Kamii now, grabbing her crab arm and twisting it behind her back. She looks like she''s hurting, and at the sight anger overtakes my thoughts.


    "How dare you!" I consolidate my tentacles into arms again, swing my right around and grow it longer explosively, aiming it at the teacher with the mesmerizing voice. I like that voice, but I will crush his throat, if that''s what it takes to get Kamii back.


    "Exacuere!" The same teacher as the one who previously used that spell chants again and a blade of wind hits my arm, causing it to veer off course. The spell only leaves a deep cut rather than sever my arm, and the wound quickly closes itself without even bleeding, but it means that I can''t use the same technique again immediately, as I have to retract my arm. That leaves me with magic, since my balance is awkward now.


    "Cereus-" Thorvadis begins to chant, but whatever spell that is, mine is faster!


    "Spirit Spears!" I shout again and summon even more spears this time - I will saturate the whole room with them and leave no space to dodge.


    "- Iste Horribilis." He finishes and my spell just vanishes.


    I look around me blankly. What did he just do? Don''t tell me he has an ability to erase spells! That''s cheating! Then I''ll use my final resort and expand my body to its limits, to fill out the entire room and swallow everyone at the same time.


    "Goodbye, Miss Marcott." Thorvadis suddenly states and waves his wand at the ground upon which I stand. I realize only when it''s too late; there''s a transportation circle drawn under my feet, which begins to glow. If I get teleported out of here, I won''t be able to get back. I haven''t learned any space magic at this academy yet!


    "Kamiiiiiiii!!!" I scream, but my surroundings disappear in a stream of light.

 Chapter 45 - Checkmate

    "Aaaaaarrrggghhhhhh!" I scream in impotence as I''m surrounded by the streaks of dark colors again, meaning that I''m being teleported outside of the academy. This time will take me to yet another random place.


    Wait, why again? Why another? Ugh, it feels like something''s wrong with my memories. Why do I think I''ll be transported to a random place when I see these dark colors? How did I get out of the academy in the first place? How did I get transported to that graveyard with the little girl missing her legs? How did I get to maou-mama?


    As I travel through this undefined space with a feeling that I''m falling, I bring out Hestia''s wings template, to make sure that I don''t splatter on arrival. But wait, why does this feel familiar? I''m having an incredible sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu and it''s causing me a headache, even though I shouldn''t even have a physical brain...


    This must have to do with what Basarab did to me. He commanded me to forget, but I can''t remember at all what it included... Damn, that ability of his is clearly the most dangerous one among all of them, even when compared to Thorvadis'' cheat-like spell to cancel my magic. Next time I see him, I''ll blast him with a volley of spirit spears from afar.


    The moment my surroundings become real space again, I look around and try to orientate myself. I''m above a desert, sand as far as the eyes can see. The sun is just rising above the horizon, so this must be in around the same time zone as the academy. Considering the completely different climate, it must be much farther south, though. It took quite a long time after all, so I must be really far from the academy. Once again, I''m basing this on a feeling, but I know it to be true. How much did that vampire-like guy mess up in my memories...?


    I land on the sand and immediately bring out Hestia, along with the map I got from maou-mama. While it may not have any border distinctions or markings of the world beside where the Demon Continent is located, I can at least find out where we are, and use it to know the approximate distance to the academy.


    "Onee-sama...?" Hestia gasps for air, looks around and asks upon seeing that we''re alone. "... where is Kamii?"


    "Kortid!" I ignore her and shout at the piece of leather, which displays the map of the known world.


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    I remember the approximate location of the academy on the map, and know the distance to the demon castle from there. Compared to our distance to either of the two destinations, it''s almost the same! If we walked, it''d take more than three months. While I can fly or run as a Vularen, it''s still a considerable journey, and there''s an ocean along the way. The bigger problem is that I''m in a desert, and I don''t know how far the next human settlement is. If I can''t find food, running day and night will take a huge toll on my body. After all, it will feed on itself if it hungers.


    "Hestia, take to the skies and see if-" Before I can finish my sentence I feel heat expanding from inside my body. In the next instant my stomach begins to bulge outwards, extending up to my chest, before my entire torso bursts open and an explosion of fire belches outwards. Wha-


    From the opening a man jumps out, his skin melted in some parts and scorched in others. He''s holding a red crystal in his hand and breathes hard with a deranged expression, compounded upon by the fact that his face is barely more than a skull with eyes in the lidless sockets. It''s the teacher I swallowed and kept alive for a torturously slow digestion, for hitting Hestia.


    "Ignis!" He shouts and throws a small flame at the map on the ground before me, causing it to burst into flames. He then falls to his knees, unable to support himself due to the damage his body has sustained, and breathes hard. I extend my arm towards the map, but it''s disappearing in the fire. No, that''s our only means to find the way back!


    "You..." I can''t speak... it hurts... it really hurts badly! It''s the first time I''m feeling pain since coming to this world, and it''s unbearable. My insides are scorched and the huge hole in my torso is blistering and bubbling in an attempt to alleviate the burns. The damage must be even more extensive inside the space of my body.


    "How dare you!!!" Hestia screams, an expression filled with murderous rage on her face. Her crimson eyes begin to glow in hatred.


    "Mico Corus-" The half dead teacher begins to chant and lifts the fire catalyst in our direction, but suddenly stops dead in his tracks. All life vanishes from his eyes and his body begins to disintegrate in the breeze, falling apart and disappearing into the dust of the desert. Only his clothes and the red crystal he was holding remains, lying in the sand silently.


    "Onee-sama!" Hestia turns around to me and I can see that her eyes are no longer glowing. Was that an effect granted by her curse? I don''t have the presence of mind to try and analyze it, though. I''m in serious pain here.


    "Sano..." I mutter, but it does little for such a huge wound. In this situation I can''t recall any of the longer spells that I read in the book Arcelia gave me. I look down at myself and find that my body is practically ripped open and my scorched amorphous insides are convulsing as they try desperately to repair the damage. If I was a human, I''d be long dead... but I think I might actually be dying...


    I hear Hestia chanting, but I cannot make out anything familiar about what she''s saying. In fact, the sound of it seems to elude my mind completely. I turn to her and see that she has spread her arms and wings, and a halo seems to have formed above her head. However, it''s shaped like a ring of thorns, with blackness forming into drops and flying up towards the sky. Truly, a fallen angel whose existence is an affront to the gods themselves. A dark and murky aura surrounds my body and I begin to lose the sense of pain. I watch in surprise as my wounds begin to close and the burnt parts revert to their natural state.


    "Thank you, Hestia..." I rip off the remains of the academy uniform and toss it aside carelessly. With one look at my regenerated body I can tell that not a single burn remains. My insides feel healed as well.


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    I look down at the ashes that was the map and anger wells up. The mages may have underestimated me in our clash, but I didn''t expect them to pull something like this. Their teamwork, once realizing that I couldn''t be dealt with using the remaining members, was spot on, and they banished me to some place far away from it. I should have killed the teacher who was inside me right away, but now he was able to nearly kill me and destroy our only means to navigate the world. If I hadn''t taken Hestia out, she might have died inside my body, and I would have been killed by him afterwards.


    "I am so sorry!" Hestia kneels down before me with an anguished expression and asks for my forgiveness with her hands clasped together. I takes me by surprise.


    "What''re you apologizing for?"


    "I... I did not take Kamii with me and saved myself alone." Her mention of the little dark elf causes a sting in my figurative heart. Indeed, she jumped towards me and left her behind, but it would be unfair to blame her for it. Still, an ugly part of my mind is thinking why it was Hestia and not Kamii who was closest to me at the time. But I''m also reminded of the fact that Kamii most likely wouldn''t have been able to help me against that teacher and heal me afterwards. I look at the pile of clothes swaying in the desert wind with a hateful expression.


    "We''ll have to make our way back as quickly as possible." But I have no idea where to go. While I may be able to orientate myself using the sun, there''s the issue that the maps of this world seem to use a different means of coordinating than the cardinal directions I know.


    I have a rough idea that the academy must be north from here, but doubt at that fact is nagging at me. We could very well be on the southern hemisphere of the planet, which means that the north will have a warmer climate - certainly not what the Kingdom of Lares is like. If we move in one direction for long enough to find out that it''s the wrong one, we would waste a lot of time.


    "Can you not use space magic?" Hestia looks at me with a questioning expression.


    "... what do you mean?" My headache is acting up again. Damn, Basarab really messed me up.


    "You... you used space magic to leave the academy last night, did you not?" I suspected it before, but now it''s certain. He must have really erased my knowledge of space magic. I have all these contradictory memories from last night. Of me sneaking into the library, arriving in the place I think was the Fatas Triarchy due to what was most likely a defensive mechanism of the academy, and then teleporting to the demon castle and meeting maou-mama afterwards. I couldn''t have gotten there without knowing space magic myself. I returned, but couldn''t get through the same defensive mechanism that hampered with my first teleportation, so I dropped myself from a really high place, flying in physically instead.


    I should know space magic, but I simply can''t recall how it works. I think the fact that I''m not that strongly affected by Basarab''s magic means that it''s not as all-powerful as it may seem to be. But he pinpointed the one thing that hurts me the most right now, and it''s causing more than enough damage. If he had even more time to mess with my memories, I might even have been made to forget about everyone I care. At the thought I shudder. Yes, I won''t even let him speak a single word next time I see him.


    "Do you not have another one of those spell circles you drew on the papers you store inside your body?" Hestia looks up to me with a concerned expression. I have those? I try to search through my body and empty everything inside my storage space onto the ground, but all that appears are the scorched remains of a backpack, a blackened knife without a handle and ashes. That mage did a real number on me here. I really shouldn''t have let him live just to torture him. It was really my own complacency...


    Analyzing my battle with the teachers, I realize that there are many things I could have done better. From the start I should have simply expanded my body to its full size and filled out the room. It was the perfect opportunity, since we were in a really confined space. If the same confrontation had happened on the open field outside, the situation would have been much worse for me. I think I had enough mass to fill out the room at the time, but not to cover enough of the field to hit everyone simultaneously, if they scattered. But now a lot has been burned away and I''ll need to recover my mass.


    I should have fought the same way maou-mama did against Mithra, hitting him with a huge mass of her body so that he couldn''t dodge. That way I could have swallowed everyone in the room at the same time and immediately dissolved the teachers, while saving Kamii and Hestia. The only reason I didn''t do that can only be ascribed to my own foolishness in thinking that there was a possibility to talk things out.


    What do we do now? Hestia and I can both fly, so we can scout the area pretty quickly. But transforming and flying without any perceivable sustenance in sight will take a lot of energy, and I''m already feeling hungry. At least magic can provide us with water, so we won''t die of dehydration.


    "Hestia, can you fly up and take a look at our surroundings? A settlement, wild animals, anything that can be of use, report it." She does as asked, jumping up and casting a gust of wind underneath her wings to help her lift off. As expected, that''s how Fatas do it when they have no ledge to jump off from.


    I look around once again, to take in the surrounding scenery. This looks like photos of the Sahara desert that I''ve seen. The sand underneath my feet is very fine, more like dust, suggesting that this is not somewhere near the ocean. From what I can see, this scenery goes on in every direction with no end in sight. But since dunes can pile up really high, they may hide things farther away, so I''ll have to see what Hestia finds.


    For now, to save energy, I reduce my surface area. In other words, I return to the loli size I had on the Dark Continent, but this time I don''t care at all about faking clothes. There''s no need for me to act like a human around Hestia, and even if I do find a human settlement, in my current mood I think I''d slaughter them all for food rather than try to blend in. I can always get information out of one or two I leave alive until the end...


    "Onee-sama, I can see- woah!" Hestia returns from the skies and lands before me, making a surprised sound. I look up to her with a brow raised, but she already lunges at me. Wh-what? In the next moment I''m lifted up into her arms and my face is buried in her chest. So this is how Senka feels, huh? "Onee-sama, how cute you have become! Can this lowly corrupted Fata ask to share your bed tonight? Haa, haa, Onee-samaaa!" Her breathing grows wild. Alright, I didn''t take her for a lolicon, but maybe it''s also because it''s me she''s holding. She moves in to kiss me but I look up to her with a slight frown.


    "... Report what you have found." I mutter in annoyance. This isn''t the situation to go into heat; all I have on my mind is thinking of a way to get back to the academy and rescue Kamii, and so should Hestia. As if realizing what she has been doing just now, she immediately stops and places me on my feet, before kneeling down before me. I think she doesn''t know the concept of seiza, but what she''s doing is pretty close to it.


    "I am so sorry, Onee-sama!" She lowers her head in prostration. "In that direction, I have seen a collection of large animals, although I could not tell what they are from such a distance." Pointing in the direction, she raises her head a little again to see my reaction.


    "Very well." I''m not giving her the satisfaction to absolve her of the blemish from her actions just now. She''s an M, so I''m sure she''ll find a way to take pleasure from this treatment. I walk away without telling her to follow, and she looks at me in confusion, before getting up and running after me.


    Wait for me, Kamii-chan. Onee-san... no, mama bear is coming to save you!

 Chapter A1 - Peace of Mind

    "This was a huge miscalculation." Thorvadis mutters as he lets his gaze sway across the room. Taking in the aftermath of the battle against the fledgling Crawling Chaos, his expression grows grim. "And we have paid dearly for it." They came with nine people, and five were dispatched in a matter of moments. And the demon was not even vanquished, only temporarily exiled.


    If Thorvadis and Basarab had not been among them, not a single one would have survived this battle. It goes to show how dangerous the existence of a sentient Crawling Chaos is, even if it is just an individual as young as the one they faced today. There have been sightings of similarly intelligent ones over the years, but none had been as resourceful as Chloe Marcott. She knew that she lacked physical mass, so she fought using a combination of spells and physical attacks, and she put her recently learned transportation magic to such unexpectedly masterful use.


    "Onee-sama!!!" Kamii screamings at where Chloe had been standing only moments ago. Basarab lets her go and she stumbles forward, before falling to her knees on the spot her beloved older sister figure vanished from. She turns around with a hateful glare. "What did you do to Onee-sama?!" Her body is quivering in fear and anger, and her cursed arm is clattering against the ground.


    "Lost child, we saved you from that monstrosity." Wind magic instructor Stigand comes forward, holding his bleeding left shoulder. He had been too slow to erect a shield to cover his entire body in time, and one spike from the Crawling Chaos'' first attack had pierced his flesh. He walks over to the dark elf with his open palm held out in front of him, as if trying to calm down a wild animal.


    For an instant, Kamii looks like she is actually calming down, as tension escapes her body, but in the next she jumps up and swings her deformed right arm at Stigand''s head. He flinches and tries to avoid the crab claw by leaning backwards, but because of the belated reaction and his wound, he cannot avoid it and it approaches his face.


    "Limit Break." A whisper on the wind speaks and in the next instant, it is as if the world has frozen in time.


    Senka stands up from between the beds, where she dropped due to the struggling of the instructor whose face was melted off by Chloe''s spirit spear. She licks her lips tainted in his blood; he could have been saved but his life force was taken to power her for this moment. An annoyed expression appears on her face as she looks around to take in the situation. In reality, it is not that time has stopped, but that its perception was slowed down to a minimum for her. She walks over to Kamii, who is floating in midair and moving towards the instructor in incredible slow motion, and sighs. How should she deal with this, she wonders.


    "... you made me use this without even knowing how to continue from here? You know that this costs a lot of energy, right?" Her annoyance grows even more intense as her eyes focus on an empty spot in the air. She sighs again and her expression softens as she looks at Kamii''s face. "You really love that cosmic horror, don''t you?"


    Senka slowly pulls Kamii backwards by a tiny bit while she is still in midair, moving her as if she is just an object floating in space. Then she rounds her, jumps up into the air and looks into the dark elf''s eyes, while her own grow completely black. The infinite darkness extends to the skin surrounding her eyes, creating a void into which one''s soul could seemingly be swallowed at any moment. For an instant, even within the slowed down perception of time, it seems to stand still completely. Then she lands on the ground again, dispels the darkness in her eyes and walks back to the position where she lay in acting like a doll earlier.


    "I hope you know what you''re doing..." She mutters towards the invisible entity she seems to be convinced of must exist, before lying down on the ground, relaxing her body and becoming lifeless again. The moment she turns into a doll, the flow of time normalizes again.


    Kamii''s swing misses by a hair''s breadth as her momentum seems to have run out in midair. She lands on the ground awkwardly and falls on her bottom, allowing Basarab to restrain her once again.


    "Do not struggle, Kamii. It is for your own good." Basarab speaks softly and the dark elf unexpectedly stops moving. For a moment he is taken aback, since he did not use his ability to command her. Maybe it was just a final outburst, and now she finally realizes the situation she is in. "What shall happen to her now, Master Eklundstrom?"


    "Bring her to the infirmary. I will send a raven to ask the Saint of Luminosity for assistance." Thorvadis looks down on Kamii with a pitying expression. "We have to do our best to save her from the Crawling Chaos'' influence."


    "Come, child." The man with the mesmerizing voice whispers, trying not to agitate her again. He is not keeping hold of her, instead only gently guiding her along with his hand on her back. However, when they are about to pass Senka lying on the ground, Kamii suddenly breaks away from him, picks her up and hugs her tightly. Scratching his chin, Basarab looks to Thorvadis with a hesitant expression.


    "Let her have the doll, if it calms her down." The principal says with a warm smile on his lips. She is only an innocent child, after all.


    Kamii Side


    "I''m speaking into your mind directly." A voice in my head says. I know it, it belongs to that living doll that Onee-sama likes. "Don''t look around, don''t say anything. Answer by thinking what you want to say."


    "Do not struggle, Kamii. It is for your own good." My teacher for dark magic, Basarab, says and grabs my shoulders.


    "What... is this?" I ignore him and think to Senka.


    "... I put a spell on you. We can now talk without anyone else hearing us." Her voice answers.


    "Bring her to the infirmary. I will send a raven to ask the Saint of Luminosity for assistance." The old man principal responds when asked what to do with me. "We have to do our best to save her from the Crawling Chaos'' influence."


    "Pick me up and take me with you." Senka quickly says when my teacher begins to guide me towards the door. I do as she tells me and take her into my arms. She''s only slightly smaller than I, but she''s really light. Like a stuffed toy. "... that''s rude, I''m not some toy." Hm, all my thoughts are transmitted now? "No, but I can tell what you''re thinking anyway..."


    "Let her have the doll, if it calms her down." The principal looks at me with an evil smile. He must be really sure of his superiority. But it seems he doesn''t know that Senka is a living doll, so he isn''t as smart as he thinks he is.


    "Do you know what happened to Onee-sama?" I look down at the doll, but obviously she doesn''t move as to not reveal herself.


    "She was most likely teleported out of the academy. That guy behind you must be the one who has the ability to erase memories, and erased it when you were at that support group meeting. He commanded Chloe to ''forget space magic'' when he looked into her eyes earlier." Her voice answers in my head. "Of course, if such a vague command was enough to have a really profound effect on someone''s mind, the battle would have been over before it began. There must be conditions attached."


    "I... I don''t really understand." She''s using some difficult words, so I have no idea what she means.


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it. What I can say is that you''re not in any danger right now. I don''t know what they mean by saving you from Chloe''s influence, but if it''s memory wiping, don''t worry." She sounds confident. "I''m in your head now. As long as I''m near you, nothing will happen to you." And I believe her. "You''re that chaotic girl''s favorite after all..." Her voice somehow sounds lonely.


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    "... Senka?"


    "... nothing." She simply says and stops talking for a while afterwards.


    Basarab leads me to a church-like building, and the inside is filled with white beds. An elderly woman with a friendly face comes to greet us. She looks at my teacher behind me and then sees the wounded one that has been following us. Her expression changes into a frown.


    "What happened?" She asks, her soothing voice warming my inside.


    "We fought the demon lord''s scion." Basarab responds with a solemn look. "Five masters are dead."


    "By the gods!" The old lady covers her mouth and looks at him in shock.


    "Please take her in for now. We await the Saint of Luminosity to help us remove the demon''s taint on this child''s soul." He''s clearly talking about me. I don''t have any taint, I simply love Onee-sama because she was the first person who was nice to me and has promised to stay with me forever. But now they took her away and think they can separate our hearts, too! I don''t say anything, because I understand it''s better not to cause any problems right now.


    "I understand..." She still has an expression of disbelief at the news. "Come, my child. Sit here and rest for now." The old lady lightly pushes me along and directs me towards a bed. I do as I''m told for now. I''ll wait - wait for Onee-sama to return for me, or to find a good opportunity to run away from here and find Onee-sama myself.


    Gram Side


    "I can''t believe it... the missy..." I''m shaken to the core. Rolan just received a letter from Runa, detailing what went down earlier this morning. It was revealed that Chloe is the daughter of the demon lord, so she murdered five instructors, kidnapped the Fata she corrupted, and was ultimately transported away with space magic, because she proved impossible to kill.


    After all we went through together, I now have to believe that she is of such evil? Was her clumsily direct attitude, her sometimes haughty behavior, her compassion for Kamii, her actions that saved us all when we passed through The Maw, her wish to join us in the endeavor to vanquish the demon lord... was everything just a facade? I can''t believe it.


    "I don''t want to believe it either, big man. Let''s go and meet up with Runa, she''s waiting at the citadel gates. They have Kamii in custody and I would like to ask for them to hand her over to us." The leader says and stands up from the table while putting down the coins for our breakfast. "I believe we can hear from her what really happened."


    "But remember not to let your emotions cloud your judgment." Sigurd warns us with a serious expression. I''m sure he doesn''t really want to admit that he feels the same as us, since he flirted with Chloe at every turn, even after being rejected repeatedly.


    We depart and go towards the citadel silently, each of us deep in our own thoughts. I replay my memories forwards and backwards, but I can''t find any indication that the Chloe I know could ever do something like they say she did. I mean, the corruption of the Fata can be considered bad, but Runa said that she seemed really happy being with Chloe afterwards.


    What would I do if everything was an elaborate lie? That every single action she ever took was a means to deceive us, so that she could enter the academy just to capture the Fata? No, I shouldn''t doubt her before learning more from a witness to it all, first. Kamii is the key to understand what really happened in the academy. While her opinion will certainly be biased, she is a child, so I''m sure she will tell the simple truth without trying to hide things. I want to believe that she at least will not lie.


    Reaching the entrance of the citadel, we spot Runa waiting on the other side. She signals to the guards to let us through with a stamped permit from the Royal Academy, so we''re granted passage. Inside, we walk towards the main building, while she begins to explain what she has heard about so far.


    "Miss Chloe did not show any strange movements right after the corruption of the Fata, Miss Hestia, was completed. However, she, Miss Hestia and Kamii were approached by a male demon during dinner two days ago and they went to the warehouses behind the dorm together." Runa explains her observation of Chloe. "They disappeared between two warehouse buildings, so I do not know what happened afterwards. But not long after, pairs of students came out from there and returned to their dorms, with Miss Chloe''s group being the last to leave. They were in a good mood and returned to their room together." She seems a little shaken, too. It''s understandable, someone we were considering a friend all this time turned out to be the child of the demon lord and has killed five people.


    "She went for a walk towards the wall last night, carrying that creepy automaton with her. I could not follow her without being spotted, but there were no signs that she did anything strange before returning to her room soon after." Runa gathers her thoughts, and it would seem that the complicated situation comes next. "I was awoken by the entire dorm building shaking from the battle between Miss Chloe and the instructors. But by the time I could try to see what was going on, it had already ended. I saw Kamii being escorted away by two instructors, one of whom was injured. I went to take a look in her room, and it was devastated. I... saw the corpse of one of my instructors and could not go in..."


    So the fact that she killed someone is irrefutable. The fact that she kidnapped the Fata but left Kamii behind doesn''t add up, though. I simply cannot believe that her compassion for the cursed dark elf was all just an act. Then again, Runa did say that she was transported away with space magic, so she might not have had enough time to take Kamii to her side? And maybe the instructors confronted her about her origins and drove her into a corner, so she fought back. But even then, that is no justification to kill five people.


    "Please follow me, the principal is ready to see you." The woman that greeted us the first time we came here allows us into the academy this time, due to the special circumstances. She guides us through the building, up the stairs and to the principal''s office. With a knock on the door she announces us, before opening the door and entering.


    "Thank you, Astrid." The principal is standing by his window and looking outside. He turns around after a moment of contemplation and his gaze goes over every single one of us. It rests on Sigurd for a little longer, but it may have been just my imagination, as he gestures to the couch in the middle of the room. "My name is Thorvadis Eklundstrom. Please take a seat." Someone is already occupying one spot.


    "The Saint of Luminosity!" Runa exclaims in surprise. It really is the saint we met in Hovsgaerden, who assessed Chloe''s elemental affinities and found out that she possesses all of them. She is the sole reason the missy and Runa were admitted to this academy. But I have to wonder why she didn''t notice that Chloe was a demon back then. She even touched her hand.


    "I have asked for her assistance in purifying Miss Kamii''s mind from the influence of the demon." Thorvadis states in a matter of fact manner. I don''t like how he is referring to Chloe as an irredeemable demon already, despite the fact that he seemed really intrigued by her the first time they met - according to Runa.


    "We would like to talk to her before you do that." Rolan says in a definitive tone. "While it may be true that Kamii was influenced by the de... by Miss Chloe, I want to see it with my own eyes first." It''s exactly what I wanted to say, too. I find once again that I chose to follow the right man, and my lips curl into a smile.


    "... very well." Stroking his white beard, Thorvadis scrutinizes the leader for a moment before responding. "If you would follow me, please." He gestures at the Saint of Luminosity as well as us.


    We are led through the academy once again, towards an annex with a bronze plate at the entrance, denoting that this is the academy''s infirmary. Its interior looks like a church, repurposed to be a hospital. An elderly lady in a nun habit comes to meet us and lead us further in, towards a bed with a curtain drawn around it.


    Upon opening the curtain, Kamii and the automaton Chloe was always carrying with her come into view, sitting on the bed and seemingly sulking. A man with long black hair, pale skin and red eyes is sitting on a chair beside her. He stands up to greet us with an enchanting voice - although he more specifically addresses the saint first.


    "Thank you for coming, Saint of Luminosity." He bows his head before her, suggesting that they know each other already. "My name is Basarab Laiota, the instructor for defense against dark magic." He turns to announce his name to us afterwards.


    "These are the people who traveled with the demon before coming to the capital. They wish to speak to Miss Kamii before we begin the purification." Thorvadis explains to Basarab with a neutral expression. If he thinks that it''s an exercise in futility, he''s not showing it. "But we will have to insist in staying here while you talk. Please understand."


    "Yeah, I know..." Rolan mutters, clearly unhappy about being treated like a possible collaborator with a demon. "Big man, I think it''s best if you talk to her first." He pats my arm and whispers to me. I understand what he means. I was the one who spent the most time with both the missy and Kamii on our travels, be it taking the night watch or going shopping together. She should open up to me more readily.


    "Kamii, how are you feeling?" I sit down on the bed next to her and speak to her softly. She looks up with an expression that clearly shows that she feels abandoned. "Can you tell us what happened?"

 Chapter A2 - Sanctity of Will

    Runa Side


    Upon Gram''s question Kamii remains quiet and looks around, her eyes going over the faces of the gathered one by one. It stays on Basarab''s for a tiny moment longer than anyone else''s. There must be something about him that she wants to tell us but cannot do in his presence.


    "Where is Kuroeh?" She suddenly asks, her expression as innocent as ever. Gram shakes his head in response and she hangs hers in dejection for a moment. Then she looks up again with determination filling her eyes. "Kuroeh learned space magic and went somewhere. They came into our room this morning..." She points at Thorvadis and Basarab. "... and wanted to take us away. Kuroeh came back and it became really scary. One of the teachers hit Hestia, so Kuroeh was really angry and ate him... and then... I don''t know... it all happened so fast."


    So the instructors attacked first. While killing the first instructor for just that, and murder in general cannot be so easily justified, it is clear that Miss Chloe did not do so out of pure malice. It would seem that the announcement from Ninlil was biased towards the instructors being the victims. Still, the fact remains that Miss Chloe is a demon; I simply cannot take her side in this matter. She is the daughter of the dreaded demon lord who spreads corruption across the world, which causes wild animals to turn into rampaging monsters, creates cursed people like Kamii who cannot live a normal life, and sends armies through the old transportation network to attack human nations indiscriminately. I think given the chance, Miss Chloe might be capable of doing so as well.


    "Please don''t let them do something bad to me." Kamii looks at Gram with pleading eyes. She seems terrified at the prospect of being subjected to what they are planning to do. I also find this idea of purification dubious, considering the fact that she has already been corrupted before her birth. That deformed arm is not going to go away no matter what they try, as it such an act has been tried many times before. Else there would be much less misery for cursed people in this world.


    "What do you plan on doing?" I turn to Thorvadis and ask. I am sure there is concern written on my face, but he gives me a reassuring smile.


    "We will conduct a ritual of purification, to remove any mind-altering effects that the demon may have cast on this child." He explains and gestures towards the pale instructor. "Basarab has a unique gift that grants him control inside the mind of a person. As for detecting the influence of a demon, it shall be left to the purest human in existence." As if on cue, the Saint of Luminosity steps forward.


    "You praise me so, Master Eklundstrom, but it is in part my fault that things have come to this. I did not realize the first time I met Miss Marcott... since I have never heard of a demon possessing the light affinity. No... I never considered it a possibility. That is why, when I felt corruption from her body, I thought it may have been because she was merely cursed." Arcelia''s brows are furrowed as she speaks. "I have to apologize to you all for that."


    "No, if anything, I should be the one to apologize. I knew the moment I saw her that she was a demon, but I still granted her enrolment." Thorvadis says with a sigh. "But what is done is done..." I am sure he is blaming himself for the deaths of the five instructors, but is not showing it on the surface. After all, they died in his presence, and he is hailed as one of the strongest mages in history, and the most powerful one alive. "Do you have any more questions for her before we begin?"


    "What will happen to Kamii after the ritual?" Rolan asks the principal instead.


    "I am afraid we can no longer keep her at the academy. She was enrolled as a condition set by the demon, but unfortunately, she has no talent in magic." His reply sounds like he is hinting at something, and it is obvious that Rolan will grasp his thinly veiled implication.


    "We will take her in. She was part of our group anyway." Gram is the one to speak up instead. Of course, that would be my wish as well, since the only other place she would be able to go to is an orphanage, and I doubt she would ever find happiness at one.


    "I understand." Thorvadis says and closes his eyes, saying no more. It is the signal for Basarab and the saint to approach Kamii and begin their work. Seeing them, her expression fills with fear and she inches backwards as she hugs the creepy automaton tightly.


    "... I don''t want to forget Kuroeh!" She pleads, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. I can see that Gram is being swayed by her defenselessness, and even I can feel a twinge of guilt at subjecting her to this treatment. However, if she really is under the influence of the child of the demon lord, it is possible that she will someday turn on those around her without warning.


    "You will not forget anything, Kamii." Basarab says with a soft smile. He is trying to comfort her, but she is obviously scared. "It is only to see whether that-... whether Miss Marcott has done something bad to you." He sits down on the chair next to her bed an speaks to her at eye level. She appears to calm down a little at his words, but defiance against his words show in her expression. Clearly, she dislikes that Miss Chloe is being mentioned in a bad light.


    "Excuse me..." Arcelia comes forward and asks Gram to move aside. "... please do not be afraid, child." Her soothing voice, directed at Kamii, has an influence on my own peace of mind. No wonder she is called a saint, an existence at the pinnacle of humanity, whose presence alone can inspire greatness.


    "Please try to relax." Focusing his eyes on the dark elf''s, the instructor speaks in a reassuring tone. It causes a tingle to run down my spine; his voice has something that touches a part deep inside me that I can never show before people other than... I look to Rolan from the corner of my eyes and swallow. It has been so long since our last time...


    The Saint of Luminosity holds out her hand to Kamii''s forehead and mutters what is undoubtedly an incantation for light magic. It is of an incredible length and I have to wonder what grand magic she is going to cast.


    From the past month at the academy I learned that all my incantations so far have been very inefficient in their length. While I had been following the principles of melded magic by combining the incantations of several spells that make up the new one, I could have left out many words and verses to achieve the same effect. My casting speed has increased significantly and I am sure to be much more effective in combat now. In other words, a spell of a single element that requires an incantation that long must be something far beyond even the melded spells I have been chanting so far.


    "I cannot detect any alterations to her mind..." Basarab mutters as he does not break eye contact with Kamii. That is what I wanted to believe from the beginning. Their relationship seemed so pure that there should be no reason to suspect any mind control from Miss Chloe. In other words, the compassion she showed after saving her was real.


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    "... Discute Tenebras." Arcelia finishes her incantation and for a moment a sensation of elation fills my heart, as heavenly bells ring in my mind. It feels as if the Lady of Brilliance herself has descended into our midst to grant her blessing to us mortals. The moment lasts for only an instant and appears to have been shared by everybody present. Rolan, Gram and Sigurd each look around in confusion, while Kamii seems to have completely calmed down.


    "... the only corruption I can detect is the one surrounding her cursed arm." The saint finally states as a faint light surrounds her outline. Retracting her hand, she turns to us, her eyes closed as always, but now her expression completely relaxed. "It would appear that this child feels genuine love for Miss Marcott."


    "I have seen into her memories and I can understand the reasons for it." Basarab adds as he closes his eyes and sighs. "She was freed from a life in slavery, given the warmth even her own parents never gave her, shown compassion rather than fear or disgust. For a young mind such as this one''s, that can leave an irrevocable impression. To her, Miss Marcott was an older sister figure, maybe even a mother figure."


    "Yes, I saw no falsehood in the demon''s compassion for this child when I first admitted her." Thorvadis states while stroking his beard in thought. "There must have been an experience at this academy that changed her plans for a peaceful life." He looks at Basarab for a moment, a glint in his eyes the meaning of which I cannot discern. "What do you think, Lady Crux?" His gaze moves to Arcelia.


    "There is no doubt as to the fact that her will is free and under no control of a demon." The saint responds. "The murder of five instructors is a grave sin, but I am led to believe that Miss Marcott is not inherently evil." That is what all among our group would like to believe, it appears, as their expressions turn into ones of relief.


    "So, we can take Kamii with us now?" Gram asks, looking at her with a reassuring expression.


    "I believe that is up to the child herself to decide now." The principal looks into the dark elf''s eyes with a warm smile. At these words her slightly confused expression changes into a radiant smile of her own. Carrying the cursed automaton, she slides off the bed and bumps into Gram''s embrace.


    "We can go?" She asks while looking at him with her head put back. The big man lifts her up easily and carries her on his arm. If she was a human, they would have looked like father and child.


    "Yes, we can go now." He says and pets her hair.


    Thorvadis Side


    "Your gambit failed, Basarab." I chastise the instructor against dark magic when we return to my office. "I warned you that a strand of Miss Marcott''s thoughts was always directed at the Demon Continent. It was clear that her connection to Demon Queen Pelomyx is unlike what she told us."


    "I cannot apologize enough..." Basarab hangs his head in shame. I am not trying to cause him grief, but the death of five instructors at the master level is a great loss for the academy. If he had not acted on his own accord and attempted to win over Miss Marcott, she would not have learned of the plans to vanquish her mother. While it is still a mystery how she could break through Basarab''s memory wipe, the fact that she did so remains. Therefore, his gamble was ultimately the reason for everything that happened.


    "The danger of the demon queen has to be reevaluated. She is much more intelligent than reports from Mithra Aforgomon have suggested, and with an ally as resourceful as Miss Marcott, she will pose a much larger threat in the near future." I sit down on my chair and sigh. My body is not the same as it used to be. While a youthful state of mind, daily exercise and magic have kept me from the darkness of old age, I can no longer be called the most powerful human mage. "Our plans may have only experienced a minor setback, but we need to tread much more carefully from now on."


    "I understand, Master Eklundstrom."


    "I am sure that the demon queen will be making preparations. We need to know what they entail." I realize that I have fallen into my old habit of stroking my beard whenever I am considering various scenarios and their feasibilities. It cannot become an obvious idiosyncrasy, or else people will be able to discern my state of mind. "Please call Miss Flann. I need to get into contact with her father." There is need for careful planning once more.


    Vitalis Side


    I witnessed something incredible!


    After Miss Marcott swallowed me, her immense aura of corruption and feeling her all over my body nearly drove me crazy from pleasure. I never felt anything like it before, and I think I will never be able to forget her now. When she took me out again, I showed her a very shameful side of me, and I wish I could undo it from the bottom of my heart.


    Then she put me in the bathtub of her room and I had time to consolidate my thoughts, feelings and body. I am sure that I will not be able to live without Miss Marcott anymore. Mother, father, your child is so shameful, but please understand that she is the daughter of the demon lord, and our kind cannot go against theirs, once we experience their power and influence.


    I thought I would wait until Miss Marcott came to get me again, but instead I heard many people entering her room and speaking to Miss Hestia and Miss Kamii in excited voices. Peeking through the keyhole I saw that they were instructors. But Master Laiota and even the principal were among them, and they seemed upset about something.


    I heard Miss Marcott''s voice from the side of the room where the windows are, and then things became dangerous. A battle broke out and I witnessed how she killed several instructors, pulled Miss Hestia inside her own body, used an incredibly destructive spell that pierced the bathroom door and the wall behind me, nearly hitting me.


    She fought against so many masters and seemed to do so without any problem. A Crawling Chaos is incredible after all, and seeing what just the daughter of the demon lord is capable of has reminded me of the reason why her mother is occupying the position she is in. One such as I could never hope to oppose her, although I would never even consider doing so. But watching her has caused my entire body to tingle from excitement. I understand that I am a naughty child...


    Then Miss Marcott disappeared. I believe it was space magic. Even after so many masters, including the principal himself, fought against her, they were unable to hurt her. The only way to survive against her was to transport her to a place that is very far from here. In the aftermath, Miss Kamii was really angry and tried to attack an instructor, but in the end was taken away by Master Laiota.


    Later, another instructor came to take a look in the bathroom, so I went through the drainage system of the bathroom to avoid detection, and returned to my room.


    "What do you think?" I ask Lenoly, who is watching me with her mouth hanging open.


    "... you had sex with Miss Marcott?" Is the first thing she asks.


    "A-a-a-ahhh?! Wh-what are you saying, Lenoly!" I feel my body heating up and bubbles forming inside me. How can she say such things so calmly? "... but that is not what I mean!" And she brought up the least important part of what I told her, too.


    "Yeah yeah, I know." She leans back against the wall next to her bunk bed and looks at me with a mischievous smile. "But is it such a surprise that Miss Marcott is so powerful? She''s a Crawling Chaos after all, you know?" She sighs and looks out the window. "So, what do you intend to do now?"


    "... I want to go see Miss Kamii."

 Chapter 46 - Cruelty in the Desert

    I reach the top of the dune behind which Hestia said she saw the animals. Considering that this is a desert and nothing grows here, I''m sure they have moved on a bit already, but we can surely follow their trail. Looking down, I see a collection of light and dark brown furry beings. Huh, wait, something feels wrong about that...


    The "animals" Hestia saw were a collection of seven tents covered in fur. I turn around to her with an annoyed expression and she returns the gaze with a blush. Oi, why are you blushing? What kind of face do you think I just made?


    "... one question..."


    "Anything, Onee-sama." She smiles at me in expectation. What is it that you might be expecting, Hestia-tan?


    "... is your eyesight bad?" I point towards the other side of the slope. She gasps at the question and comes up next to me, to look at what I mean. Seeing the tents, her expression changes into a worried one, as she blinks her eyes.


    "We... we Fatas always have perfect eyesight..." Her voice is trembling as she gazes into the distance and back to the tents. I guess being an airborne race, having good eyesight is a prerequisite. Sorry about that, bats. "... mine have always been perfect..." She actually seems pretty shaken.


    "I think it may be the result of your curse..." In fact, I have a pretty solid idea what exactly caused it. Her eyes clearly have some kind of power in them, as she was able to disintegrate the teacher with a glare alone. But it''s obvious that it wouldn''t be a cursed ability, if it didn''t come with a downside. In her case, it must be weakening eyesight, although whether it''s only temporary or actually permanent remains to be seen. "Remember when you turned the teacher to dust? I''m sure that this is the price you have to pay for using that ability."


    "... if it is for Onee-sama, I cannot complain." She gathers her feelings and states with a slightly resigned smile. While I appreciate that blind love for me, it''s alright to be angry with me, you know? I''m the one who corrupted you after all, and I''m actually feeling a little bad for it.


    "From now on, hold back on using it, until we can learn more about its dangers and limits."


    "I do not even understand how it happened. I only felt unspeakable rage at that scum for hurting you, and suddenly it seemed as if I could see his very soul. When I thought that it deserved to be erased for what he did, it came true." Well, she just explained how it works. Apparently it''s connected to her anger, and then she simply has to will it. In either case, that is a seriously scary ability, and I have to make sure that she doesn''t accidentally use it on people close to me but whom she might perceive as enemies.


    "I''m telling you to rest your eyes... and your anger." I sigh and begin to descend the slope. The tents were built near the valley and are still steeped in the shadows of the dunes surrounding it. There aren''t any movements, but I can tell that they''re not fully abandoned from the fact that several of them haven''t been covered by any dust yet. In the ever-shifting sands of a desert such as this one, even a day without anyone cleaning up would make a huge difference.


    "Anyone here?" I shout out without a care in the world. If they''re hostile, I''ll immediately blast them with spirit spears or swallow them. I''m not in the mood to play nice right now.


    But there''s no answer - maybe they''re asleep, since the day has basically only started. I walk towards one tent fearlessly and round it to find its opening. It''s a round construct with a hole in the front, covered by a cloth fixed in all corners as to not allow any sand inside. But it''s obvious that the tent isn''t meant to be used permanently, as it looks like it can be taken down pretty quickly.


    I tear away the cloth and peer inside through the child-sized door - perfect for me in my current state. It''s dark, so my eyes have to adjust from the brightness of the desert first. What greets me is a curved dagger, pointed at my face. I stare at it with my eyes nearly crossed, then I close them and sigh. The person behind it is just a boy, around the age of Kamii, with the tanned skin one would expect from someone living under the desert sun.


    "I''m not here to harm you, so drop that thing." Accompanying my firm voice is an expression that won''t take a no for an answer. "If you touch me with it, you may lose it... along with your hand." But he doesn''t seem to understand what I''m saying. Apparently the world isn''t as convenient as I thought it was. While the language I spoke on the Demon Continent is the same as the one used in the Kingdom of Lares and the Fatas Triarchy, it doesn''t apply to everywhere. I should have considered this possibility.


    But I don''t have the patience to waste even a second. I grab the knife with my hand and it sinks into my body. Upon the sight, the boy''s eyes go big and he lets go of his weapon in shock. He inches backwards and tries to block my view on something behind him. I step into the tent and take the knife out of my body once again, while standing in front of him in all of my naked glory.


    Now I see what he''s trying to hide, or rather, shield from harm. It''s a little girl, looking no older than six, crouching on the ground with a fearful expression on her face. She must be his little sister. Both children look at me like I''m a monster, and while it may be true, I don''t have any interest in harming those who can''t fight back. Still, it''s pointless to try and ask them for directions, if our language is different.


    I look around the tent one last time, but there''s no indication to the presence of an adult or a map, so I leave again, throwing the knife I took from him to the ground carelessly. These things can''t harm me - is the message I''m giving them, and it''s a warning for them not to test me.


    "Keep an eye on them, Hestia." I order her and she nods in silence.


    When I look into the next tent I understand why this camp has been completely quiet. I''m greeted by a wave of flies and the stench of decomposition. My body immediately shuts down the function of smell as a countermeasure - my nostrils close up on the inside, sparing me from the torture. Inside the tent I see three bodies, covered with crawling maggots and already hatched flies. Their state of decomposition has progressed to the point that I can''t tell them apart, but two are clearly adult-sized and one is child-sized. This must have been a family.


    I don''t know what killed them, but considering that they''re in their tent and no signs of a struggle can be seen, it must have been a disease. I check the other tents, and they''re the same. The only survivors are the two children in the first tent. While I wonder about the luck of me finding the alive ones on my first try, I return to their abode, the final untouched sanctuary within this circle of death.


    "Hestia, can you check for diseases on these two?" I point inside the tent with the two children, of whom the boy has been peering out from the door to see what I''m up to. When the black-winged girl comes into sight, he falls backwards onto his bottom in fear and awe. She makes a much more impressive figure than I do, I have to admit.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "Infernal Flames." My hand describes an arc in front of me and a wave of fire spreads out, consuming all the tents with the dead and the masses of insects that swarm their bodies. Damn it, I shouldn''t be spending so much time here, but no matter what, I can''t just leave children to die like this. I turn away from the blaze and go towards the one remaining home. "So?"


    "They are perfectly healthy now." Hestia says with a reserved smile. So she used a spell on them, huh? In either case, they seem to have calmed down now and maybe I can glean some kind of information from them.


    "Just in case, you don''t happen to be able to speak their language, right?" I ask Hestia, but she shakes her head with a crestfallen expression. Hey, don''t be so down, I won''t be disappointed with you over something like this. I expected it, since she did say that she was exiled from the Fatas Triarchy and ended up at the academy, so I''m sure she didn''t take any detours along the way. "Then this is going to be pretty hard..."


    I walk into their tent, upon which the boy moves back in fear, protectively standing between me and his sister. He''s being a good older brother, but it''s just annoying at this point, and I think it showed on my face, as he flinches. Yes, I''m really short on patience right now, even though I know that going back to the academy will take a long time from where we are. Unless I''m lucky enough to happen to come upon a book on transportation magic out here...


    "Do you know if there is a city nearby?" I ask the boy with a straightforward expression, trying not to look mean in the process. I''m trying to make it appear like it''s something important. However, he obviously doesn''t understand, and it''s clearly written on his face, as he stares at me with a questioning look. I change the skin tone of my stomach and recreate the map of where we are as best as I can remember on its surface. The siblings look at it with huge eyes.


    "Here." I point at the approximate spot where I believe we are and then at the ground. Then I change the map to the picture of a walled city with many houses. Since I''m using my imagination to color my skin pigments, I can actually make it look really realistic. Wow, today I discovered another use for this convenient body, which I would have never thought of before. "City." I point at it. "Where?" I think no matter the language, a question will always have the same kind of tone, or so I hope. The image changes back into the map.


    The boy looks at me dubiously, then at the map, as if he''s never seen one before. I think that''s not going to work. I walk out of the tent and gesture for him to follow me. He does so reluctantly and carefully, watching out for any strange movements from me. Outside, I point in several directions, then point at the picture of the city drawn on my stomach again.


    "Onee-sama, what..." Hestia begins, but I put a finger to my lips to shut her up. Clearly, she''s surprised at the drawing on my skin, but it doesn''t help for her to confuse the matter with her questioning.


    "City?" I ask once again and show him my palms. I hope that this gesture has the same meaning in this culture, too. Finally, I see understanding in his gaze and he looks closely at the image of the city. For some reason I feel like he might be staring at my practically nonexistent bare chest, but I don''t care, as long as he gives me an answer.


    "Trad." He points in the direction of the rising sun, which is showing itself over the dune. Yep, I don''t understand what he''s saying, but his gesture is unmistakable. Now I need to know how far away it is, and whether I can get away with doing it in one burst by transforming into a Vularen or even fly with Hestia.


    "Day." I try out a moving image, and it works as intended. Apparently our race can, to a certain extent, act like a living TV screen. If I ever have the chance to meet one of my kind that doesn''t feel rebellious against maou-mama, I will ask him or her to play a movie for me. For now, I make an easy to understand slideshow for the sun moving across the sky, coming up from one end and going down the other.


    "Endom!" The boy exclaims and looks at it in wonder. I point at the sun, then at my belly, then move my finger across the sky while the display shows a circle of white skin move from horizon to horizon on the image.


    "Day." I hold up my fingers, showing one, two and then three, before holding up my palms again in a questioning gesture. This should get the message across. And finally, he shows realization again and thinks for a moment.


    "Nem." He says and shows me one finger. So one day, huh? That''s doable with a transformation that requires a lot of energy, like flying. In fact, flying should be faster, so we can reach it even sooner than within a day. The first step towards getting back to the kingdom has been completed.


    "Let''s go." I say to Hestia and she follows me wordlessly. But a twinge of guilt hits me when I think of these two kids. Clearly, they have been staying here for days with their clan or family dead just a few steps away from them. As expected, I can''t just leave them like this. Maybe they aren''t even aware of the fact that they will die out here themselves. But at the same time, I have no means to take them along without wasting a lot of time. I can''t carry them inside my body, since I think that''ll just break their minds, even if they won''t suffocate. I turn to look at Hestia and she seems to understand my dilemma. With a smile, she looks at me and nods.


    "Please go on ahead. I shall take care of them." Her expression is innocent, but I can feel something dark lurking underneath it. Wait, don''t tell me...


    "What do you plan on doing?" I don''t let it show on my face and ask in a neutral tone.


    "I shall put them to rest painlessly." She actually said it directly and so shamelessly. Does she think that only because I''m the daughter of the demon lord I''m ruthless enough to allow the murder of innocent children who even helped us by showing us the way?


    I approach Hestia and look up to her with my diminished stature. Then I pull on the front of her shirt and bring her down onto my level, causing her knees to buckle from my strength. Even if I have this body, my mass still easily exceeds hers after all. We are eye to eye and anger flashes over my face. This is a good opportunity to set clear limitations for her yandere tendencies.


    "You will never talk about killing innocent children in front of me again." My voice is low and menacing, so much that it surprises even myself. But this is one thing I won''t forgive, even if I''m not a human. "Or I shall no longer have you by my side." At these words Hestia''s face twists into one of shock and fear. I let go of her and she falls onto her bottom.


    "... p-please, Onee-sama. I-I... I am so sorry... for suggesting... something like that." She has tears forming in her eyes and is beginning to crawl towards me in desperation. "Please, do not abandon me..." That is entirely up to her, but I don''t say anything, before walking back towards the children''s tent.


    "Come." I gesture to the boy who watched us and his little sister hiding behind him, but he shakes his head in denial. Does he actually intend to die here with his sister? I can understand that the despair from losing everyone close to you might make you think that, but choosing death is never an option.


    I grab the doorway of the tent and pull at it. With the sound of ropes tearing and dried bones breaking, the entire tent comes down. I pull its twisted remains along and throw it into the still burning fires of the other ones, accompanied by the screams and shouts of the boy as he protests against it. There, I destroyed your shelter, your turtle shell into which you hid yourselves. What will you do next?


    "Come." I gesture one last time, before walking ahead. I won''t be doing something as forceful as pulling on their arms, but I think they understand my intention. They look at each other, and finally, begin to reluctantly follow into the little footsteps I leave behind in the sand. I stop when I pass by Hestia and look at her. She''s shaking and tears are rolling down her face. Maybe I overdid it a little.


    "You little dummy." I hug her to my chest and she returns it, burying her face in my nonexistent bosoms. Damn, I want to get some mass back as soon as possible.


    "I... am sorry... Onee-sama..." She sobs between her words, but it seems she has learned her lesson. Still, I understand that I''m the reason for her newfound ruthless and murderous nature, so I have to be the one to bear the burden, keep her in check and teach her properly. Even if she''s a yandere, she''s not the type that''s already departed the realm of common sense completely. I kiss her on the forehead and separate from her. I think that just did the trick, as a surprised expression, followed by a smile, flashes over her face.


    I''m sorry, Kamii-chan, one day longer for you to wait for my return. But know that if the worst case scenario has happened to you, I will make sure that the Kingdom of Lares disappears from the face of the world...

 Chapter S1 - Hyper-Dimensional Loli-Doll

    "Now, for something different." Senka says and waves towards the screen only she can see. "While I may not condone this, it is such a day after all." Her expression is a strained smile, tearing at the stitches that hold her cheeks together. Since the material used for them was something flexible, they are not doing a very good job at it. "... in other words, this is shameless promotion for a spinoff starring yours truly."


    Sitting on her bed in the darkness of the otherwise empty dorm room at the Royal Academy, the doll-like girl has free reign over the time whenever the others are not around. On this day it may be because they encountered something that is furthering the plot, but to her it is all the same.


    "Free reign, you say, but it''s you who controls my every move." With a sigh, she stands up and begins to pace through the room in an almost mechanical-looking manner. It is one of her hobbies, to actually act like a living doll from time to time, even when there is nobody to see it. The cause may be her inability to grow up both physically and mentally. "Hey, you created my setting and I''m an avatar of you, so it''s you who can''t grow up!"


    She is staring at the invisible screen with an annoyed look, but there is no answer. In all the years, she never received a direct answer, although she will most likely never stop trying. But unlike a certain anti-hero clad in red, there is not second or third voice that only she can hear in her life. Her thoughts are her own and she walks alone.


    "You call this being alone?" She is sulking. "I never have any alone time... even during my most intimate moments, you''re there!" With a sigh, she stops her pacing and flops onto the bed, her body slackening and turning into a doll again. "... but I guess whenever you don''t write about me, you''re not watching me... that may count..."


    Remembering what this whole thing is about, she suddenly sits up again, and looks at the screen and those sitting on the other side of it. Her expression is strained, but for a promotion, it is a necessary evil. She usually does not smile from the bottom of her heart, unless it is towards someone who has touched upon it. Few have done so over the years, although A Certain Shape-shifting Cosmic Horror? has succeeded in it. Her face suddenly grows red.


    "... that''s because you''re saying such embarrassing things..." She mutters and looks away. "And what''s with that title? It sounds so much better than the one you have for it now!" Her criticism goes unnoticed. "As always... You don''t even listen to yourself, how do you ever intend to become successful?" Cynical as always, but to no avail.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "In either case, this is a promotion for a spinoff featuring little ol'' me. The setting is going to be... apparently no idea what it''s going to be like." Senka shakes her head in exasperation. "As for the name... same as for the setting. Although it could be something like ''A Certain Cursed Doll''s Misadventures Through The Multiverse?''..." She scratches her head and thinks about it one more time. "Could it be that your creativity has run dry? That''s a really lame title, even if it does represent what the story is going to be about. And it''s not copyrighted yet... or is it?"


    Her mind wanders for a moment as she looks beyond the screen that always keeps the perfect distance to her to get the right shot of her facial expressions or body language. Her eyes are fixed on a particular spot and then realization hits her.


    "Um, are you going to introduce a sidekick for me?" She asks, saying it as if she does not have all the markings of one herself. "Oi, don''t joke around! If the spinoff is about me, I can''t be the sidekick!" There have been stories where a character is seemingly introduced as the protagonist, but then falls into obscurity for comedic effect. "Hey hey, don''t you dare do that to me!" Thus, if the situation calls for it, the same may happen to Senka, even if it is her own story. "Don''t mess with me you shitty human!"


    - Please wait a moment -


    "... third time''s the charm, am I right everyone?" Senka wears an innocent and cute smile that stands in stark contrast with her appearance. Her eyes are overly starry and seem to reflect the galaxy itself within their dark blue irises. "So, this is a promotion for the new spinoff of Maou Shoujo Makoto Chaos, starring me, Ootsuki Senka, as the heroine." She tilts her head and the sound it makes is like a badly oiled, rusty door hinge, as her smile becomes even more radiant. "While the setting isn''t set in stone yet, it will most likely be about me dimension-hopping, traveling through time and space, and experiencing many strange adventures in unknown worlds. Since time has no meaning for me, I can do that at the same time, or before as well as after participating in Maou Shoujo Makoto Chaos. Of course, it will have no impact on the main story whatsoever."


    Her body suddenly goes limp and she falls back onto the bed. A moment later she begins to tremble and her teeth begin to grind in building anger. Sitting back up in an unnatural motion, as if she is drawn on strings, Senka''s expression is filled with rage. Her eyes are fixed on someone behind the screen only she is able to see, and tears begin to form in their corners.


    "... this humiliation... you... for making me do this... I''ll... I''ll kill you... I''LL FUC-"


    <hr>


    The spinoff, tentatively titled "A Certain Cursed Doll''s Misadventures Through The Multiverse?" is coming to your online reader soon?.


    "You can''t trademark the word ''soon''..."

 Chapter 47 - Operation Desert Sweep

    As expected, the children are slowing us down. We''re moving at a much slower pace than we could have, leaving aside flying all the way. And walking in a straight line in the desert is easier said than done, since dunes can pile up to a hundred meters at times. The slope leading down from them are not as problematic, but climbing up with the legs of my reduced size is proving an arduous process. In other words, it''s as hard, or even harder for the two kids.


    Or so I thought, but after all, they grew up in this desert, so I don''t see them showing any signs of tiredness as they follow into our footsteps, a few paces behind us. By the way, we introduced ourselves with lots of gesturing, and now I know that the boy''s name is Hanif and the girl''s is Fayza. Their names sound completely different from the ones in the Kingdom of Lares, and it drives home once again that we''re far from it now.


    The two children don''t need any help climbing or descending, but while Hestia oftentimes motions to help me, I can see that she is actually the one growing the most exhausted in our group. I think the main reason might be dehydration and the scorching sun that''s moved to the zenith of its path by now. I think at the rate we''re going we won''t be reaching the city within the day.


    "Inebriat." I chant and form a ball of water above my head. It''s much smaller than when I cast it at the academy. When I think about it, it''s highly likely that my magic uses what''s available around me as the catalyst, similar to light magic in general. In other words, because there''s little water in the desert, what I can create from the air is also much more limited.


    I turned my hair into a single sheet earlier, like I did the first time I arrived in the Kingdom of Lares, to shield myself from rain, but this time to counteract the rays of the sun. While it seems that my body isn''t as easily affected by environmental effects, my mind still is to a certain extent. The water comes down on me and drenches my entire body, cooling it off. I suck the water inside me through the skin and am completely dry within a few seconds.


    When I look at the kids, they stare at me with round eyes and mouths, speechless at what I just did. Guess they''ve never seen magic before, and least of all being able to summon water out of thin air. In a desert, a water magic affinity would most likely be considered a godlike gift.


    "Inebriat." I mutter once again and keep the resulting bucket-sized ball of water afloat in the air. "Water." I point at it and speak to the children. They look up at it and then at me again. Hanif seems to understand what I mean.


    "Resav." He answers. Apparently that''s the word for water in their language. But there''s not the hint of trying to pronounce the language I''m using coming from his side. Not that I''m trying to teach him, though.


    "Drink." With one hand I gesture towards the ball of water and a cup-sized amount separates from it, which I bring to my lips and suck out of the air. It''s a strange feeling, but I''ve seen videos of astronauts drink like that in space.


    "Neknirt." Hanif says and from within the folds of his robe brings out a leather bag. From it I can hear the sound of liquid splashing, so it must be a container to hold water. I''m actually quite curious about how someone thought of using leather like this, but of course there''s no plastic in this world and wood or metal would be too heavy to carry around all the time. He pulls off the cork cap and brings it to his lips to drink from it. Guess he doesn''t need my magic yet. I watch as he holds it to his sister''s mouth and feeds her.


    I pour the remaining water over my body and let it soak in, before turning around to continue our journey. However, my eyes catch onto Hestia looking at me with an expression of desire. Oh, she did say her affinities are wind and light, and most likely dark, now that she''s fully corrupted, so she can''t cast any water magic to quench her thirst. She should have brought it up sooner.


    "Come here." I wave her over and her face brightens. How to best make this fun? Ah, I know. And I would make Senka frown at this idea. "Kneel."


    "... Onee-sama?" She looks at me in wonder but does as told, kneeling in the sand before me. I hold her face with both my hands and kiss her on the mouth. Her eyes go big in surprise, but I immediately follow up by parting her lips with my tongue. Then I feed her the water I just ingested. I''ve been feeling the sexual frustration building inside me since seeing Vitalis'' ahegao last night, without actually doing anything, so this is a little bit of an outlet. For a long time water flows from me into her and I hear her gulping it down greedily.


    When we finally separate, Hestia gasps for air and her face looks like she reached a little climax. I lick my lips and revel in that expression of hers. I turn to the kids and Hanif is holding his sister''s eyes closed while looking at us with a blush. He must be interested, and I give him a suggestive smile. Of course, I have no interest in boys, so it''s just light teasing. He blinks and a defiant look fills his face as he shakes his head. My, that is quite cute though.


    This should do to suppress my urges for now; I won''t be going all the way as long as we''re on the journey to get Kamii back. But when we do, I''ll be taking my sweet time with both of them. After I punish the humans for taking her hostage, that is. Senka is with her, and even though I haven''t seen her combat capabilities, I somehow believe that she''s really dependable. At least dependable enough to protect Kamii until my return. A part of me is thinking that this is pretty wishful thinking, but there''s no point worrying myself sick while I''m unable to do anything.


    "Onee-sama..." Hestia breathes hotly and her wings tremble. I guess her knees are weak from our exchange of bodily fluids just now, so she can''t stand up. Wait... why didn''t I think of this earlier? I remember that she carried me out of my room that fateful night on the library rooftop, and I carried her back without any problem. So she should be able to fly with Hanif in her arms, while I take the smaller Fayza. It''s not like my mass has been diminished to my current stature, and I could still take on Hestia''s size if I wanted to - although it does feel like I''d be hollowing myself out a bit to achieve it.


    "Hestia, how are your eyes?" I ask her after she calms down a little.


    "I think they may be better now." Of course, since all that surrounds us are dunes of the same color, it''s hard to test out one''s eyes to determine the acuity of distant objects compared to closer ones.


    "Do you think you have enough energy to fly for half a day?" I''m not sure I have enough myself, but I''ll feed on my own body''s mass if I have to. In a city I can surely find a market and just steal all the food I need - or maybe a shady alleyway with people who''re looking to mug us. Either of these options are fine with me.


    "Yes, I use very little energy when I am flying, since I can glide for long distances." Hestia responds with a confident expression. For some reason I feel like she might be thinking that we''re finally leaving the two kids behind, but she should understand me by now.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Then carry Hanif. I''ll take Fayza." Without awaiting her answer, I transform into a full copy of her, including the black wings. I walk towards the two kids, who look at me in awe and fear. It must be clear to them that I''m a demon, but suddenly Hanif begins to speak for the longest time since I met him.


    "Nenez ri id elif-tednirgeg niteg?" He sounds excited. I have no idea what he''s saying, but he doesn''t look like he''s cursing me or trying to tell me to keep away. His eyes are sparkling and I feel like he''s coming to a strange misunderstanding about me. Maybe there''s a local legend about a shape-shifting being or something.


    I squat down in front of them and stretch out my arms towards Fayza, as if to ask for a hug. Her innocent expression of awe at being given attention from what she may think to be a mystic existence is really endearing, and she leaves the safety of her brother''s back.


    "Fayza!" He tries to hold her back, but I gaze at him firmly, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. She stumbles into my embrace and I pick her up from the ground, hugging her to my bare chest - not enough matter to copy the heavy robes, and I don''t really care about it. Nestling into it, Fayza seems really calm and I feel my motherly instincts awaken. "Sav utsliv nhut?"


    "Don''t worry." I say, knowing that he doesn''t understand. But words have power - as seen in magic - and the reassuring tone I deliver it in should serve to calm him down a bit. I jump up, spread my wings and mutter "Ventus", causing a gust under my wings to carry me upwards. Of course, I forgot that it''s going to blow up a lot of sand, and it causes Hanif to get a face-full of it. Sorry...


    I soar up into the sky and look back at the path we''ve taken so far. Apparently we actually went in a really straight line. While I can''t see farther than where we have been around maybe ten minutes ago, since the winds have already erased our tracks, I think we''ve been on the right path. I look down and align myself to keep going in the right direction, before nodding to Hestia, who''s picked up Hanif and is spreading her wings to follow after me.


    Thus we begin to fly. Damn, we should have done that much earlier, why didn''t I ever consider the possibility to carry them, rather than take them inside my body? Is it because I''ve become too reliant on the special feature of mine that I''m starting to forget the basics? I only started using my body to its fullest - within my knowledge - in the past few days, so that shouldn''t be the case. Maybe it has something to do with a shift in mentality because of realizing the potential applications of this convenient body.


    I understand what Hestia meant: I instinctively know that with the large surface area of my wings I can glide for a long time without needing to beat them. She has caught up and is now gliding next to me while making sure that Hanif is in no danger of falling. Fayza is clinging to my neck and looking down at the scenery in speechless awe. Indeed, for a human living in the medieval-seeming times, seeing the ground from so high above is most likely the stuff of legends.


    "Onee-sama, I see something." Hestia calls out to me after a while and points into the distance. She''s holding onto her load with one arm and I''m a little worried about the boy''s safety, but I nonetheless look forward. I should have expected it: My eyesight is as good as a Fata''s in this form, since my body is practically a perfect copy of Hestia''s based on her genes. I immediately see what she means.


    There''s a walled-off city. From afar I can only make out the fact that it''s smaller than Hovsgaerden, and that its walls are sand-colored. It looks like one of those old Middle-Eastern towns that I''ve seen on photos before. So the boy really knew the way to the nearest human settlement, but consciously decided to stay in that rotting camp with his little sister. Maybe he saw no means of survival for two little orphans, even if they did find shelter in a city. No, I won''t think too much. I can''t keep taking care of them on our journey, I''m not a moving orphanage...


    When we approach the town I can see that behind it is a river and that there are fields next to it. Then it makes sense for a human settlement to be here - it would have been strange if there were no sources of water nearby. We set down not far from the gate, since at this point I don''t care about onlookers seeing us. There''s no keeping our identities hidden with Hestia around; unlike me, she can''t hide her wings after all. I transform back into my loli version and put Fayza down on the ground, upon which she looks up to me with a radiant smile. Hng, this is bad for my heart!


    "Knada!" She says with a slight lisp before turning around and running into her brother''s arms. I guess that means something like thanks.


    "There''s no point in trying to keep a low profile with you around, Hestia, so let''s go all out. We find the marketplace first, if there is one." I need to stock up on mass before I can take proper actions. "If there isn''t, we''ll go to the next step and sell you to slave traders." Since I''m really feeling like they exist in this nation.


    "Huh?" She makes as if she didn''t understand what I said. "... sell me?" Her expression changes to one of disbelief.


    "... I mean to use you to find this nation''s slave trade ring. They will surely be able to speak our language, and give us information." I don''t like that she actually needs an explanation for that. Do I look like I''d actually sell you into slavery? At this point I''ll just take what I need, no point in hiding myself. "And if they don''t comply, I''ll have some extra food."


    "I-I see."


    I don''t say any more and walk through the unguarded gates. I guess this nation is quite peaceful if they think they can get away with leaving their wide-open entrance unguarded. But when I step into the town I realize why there''s no need for guards to be posted at the gates. While the streets aren''t necessarily bustling, there are people walking around. And every single one of them has a weapon at their hip, ranging from curved swords to maces, axes and daggers.


    As we proceed through the streets, closely followed by the two children, all eyes are on us. Most specifically on Hestia and her wings, although I can feel some on me, too. Everyone is wearing flowing robes of light colors, which cover almost all the skin on their bodies. It''s protection against the harmful effects of the sun, so someone walking around with little clothes already makes a big impact. But I''m looking like a naked child right now. I could actually be taken in for questioning by the authorities at any moment, I feel.


    There is a marketplace, although it''s already in the process of packing up. The sun is moving towards the horizon and the store owners must be about to go home to prepare and have their own dinners. It''s actually a blessing in disguise, since some of them are moving palettes and not paying attention to their storefront. I turn to Hestia. "Keep these two occupied and stay here." She nods in understanding.


    I begin my work: I walk through the small alleys between the stands and sweep the displayed goods into my body whenever the storeowner turns away. Voices behind me grow louder, as they notice that something is wrong and their goods have been stolen. "Venag!" is the common word I hear from them, so I guess it must mean thief.


    One of them comes after me and grabs my shoulder. I turn around and show him not only that I''m naked, but also that I don''t have anything in my hands. He scratches his head in confusion and looks around again. There is nobody else in the vicinity, though. Ohhh, spooky~


    But I continue this in another alley, resulting in the same reaction from several stand owners and peddlers. None of them find any proof and all they can do is look at the spot their goods disappeared from in confusion. Two of them even start accusing each other of theft and are arguing loudly. That''s the perfect cover for me to make my escape, and I return to the street where I left Hestia with the kids. I''ve stocked up on food of an amount about the mass of a single Vularen, so it''s still a long ways off before I''ll get back to my full strength.


    Now, for the next step.


    "Hestia-tan, come here~" I signal for her to come over while holding up a chain and leather belt I swiped along the way. A blush appears on her face as if she''s expecting some kinky play, and it now makes me think that I want to test it out on her eventually. But for now, there''s work to be done. "Time to make you my slave."


    "Onee-sama, I am already your slave." Yeah, I should have expected that response...


    Although, what to do about the children?

 Chapter 48 - Slavery Does Pay

    Hestia''s clothes have been modified to be more revealing and while it''s impossible to hide her wings, I covered them with a huge mockup backpack - materials I swiped along the way through town - to make it seem like I''m using her as a pack mule on the side. I took her robes for myself, since a slave trader who wears less than a slave might seem really strange in this country, where everyone who can afford it is wearing heavy robes. More so for someone who is so obviously naked as I am - although I did remove the important bits, making it look like a flesh-colored bodysuit instead. Still, it would attract too much unwanted attention when trying to find an underground slave trading ring.


    I''ve transformed into my usual size for this occasion and am holding the chains to the makeshift collar around Hestia''s neck. I made sure not to tighten it too much, but I feel like she would have enjoyed that, too. Her expression keeps turning into a lewd grin from indecent thoughts, and I have to repeatedly tell her to look more lifeless along the way. We''re wandering around a shady part of the town, as the sun is beginning to set.


    Incidentally, I made it so that the kids also appear to be my merchandise, although I''m not keeping them in chains. They''re walking in front while I''m holding onto a bone cane - which I created from my own body - to act like I''m driving them along. That will certainly attract the type of customers I have no qualms about devouring. Not that I have any qualms about devouring those who would enslave people in the first place, regardless of their preferences.


    And sure enough, someone bites into the bait whole-heartedly. Either it''s completely acceptable in this society to talk about keeping slaves in the middle of the street, or he''s really just that dumb to come out and chat me up directly. It''s a skinny looking man who kinda reminds me of that brainiac slaver I pulled inside me the time when I first met Senka. I guess no matter the culture, those who do shady business all follow a certain template in appearance. He''s even flanked by two bulky men that look like they siphoned off the skinny one''s muscle mass to add to their own, most likely in exchange for brain matter.


    "Sov zi ekat khyoh tetilavk hruhks ri tag se!" He says and stares at Hestia, his grin filled with desire. Maybe he''s not a slave trader but an owner.


    "Do you speak my language?" I don''t understand what he said, but there''s no point in trying to establish any sort of deal if he can''t understand me. His brows shoot up at this and he exchanges a look with his bodyguards.


    "A foreigner... here?" His pronunciation is really awkward, but at least I can understand him. I guess this guy will do.


    "That is not important. You speak my language, so we can make a deal."


    "Ah, deal, yes, yes." He''s actually rubbing his hands together and licking his lips, staring at my fallen angel slave in a lustful manner. If I didn''t need information, I''d eat him right on the spot. "She has... strong eyes. You no break her yet?" His expression changes when he sees her defiant face.


    "I am in no habit of breaking my merchandise, that is left for the buyers." I''ll play his game for now and get him to believe that I''m a serious seller. Well, as serious as someone walking through the shady alleyways in a city can be. I can always say that I was only passing through on my way to some official auction or something. "I have learned that some buyers prefer to do the breaking themselves." I give him a lascivious smile and I can see his excitement building.


    "How much?" He asks eagerly. This guy must be oblivious of the principles of haggling. While I never did it myself, common sense would have you making a low offer first. Now I can arbitrarily set whatever amount I want. The problem is, I have no idea about the name of the currency in this country and an appropriate price for a slave. Well, we''re playing a game here, so it doesn''t have to be perfect.


    "Before that, shall we go where we can sit down?" I hope he''s dumb enough to lead me to some underground bar where other slave traders gather. Then I''d be able to choose whom to get information from and also eat my fill. "I have been on the road all day long and I would love to have a drink."


    "Drink? Ah-ah, I understand. Come with me." He beckons me to follow him and I demonstratively pull on the chain while urging the kids forward with my bone cane. I did somewhat explain their role to them, so they''re understanding of my actions and play along. "My name, Jalil el-Hakim." He introduces himself as he gestures down the road so I can walk beside him.


    "I am Chaos." I respond with a smile.


    The place he leads us to is indeed a shady-looking underground bar. It''s not hidden by any means, just literally located underground, where it''s cooler than on the surface. The inside is dark and a small band is playing music that sounds very much like Middle-Eastern pieces anyone may have heard on the Internet - so much I have to wonder if I actually came back to my old world. Then again, there''s no slavery in any Middle-Eastern country, as far as I know...


    The one thing that distinguishes this place is the fact that the whole room is arranged around a catwalk, and at the end of it, in the center of the room, is a pole. Yep, this is basically a strip club. And there''s a woman dressed in a bikini made of small golden beads dancing around it, flirting with the pole as if it was a living being. The men around her are looking like they enjoy the sight.


    I can see that several wealthy-looking individuals are sitting in the booths let into the walls of the bar, where they have hostesses servicing them with food and drink, and things I won''t put into words. But that''s the clientele I was looking for. Perfect.


    "Nsirgab, sobelab el-Hakim." A sleazy waiter comes to greet Jalil. The two guards following the man of the hour split up, with one staying at the door and the other going ahead to secure seats right in front of the pole. For that he taps onto the shoulders of two already occupying those and signals for them to either make way or be made to make way. Of course, the former option is the proposal any sane person would take when faced with someone who has arms as wide as their torsos.


    "Please, Lady Chaos." Jalil gestures towards the freed seats and I take one, looking up at the dancer before me. She''s clearly someone from this nation, as her skin is naturally tanned and her facial structure is different from those in the kingdom. Not bad, but I prefer Hestia''s type - not to speak of Kamii''s transcendental beauty, being an elf. Jalil sits down next to me and his bodyguard takes up position behind him. "What do you drink?"


    "What do you recommend?" I have no idea about alcohol in this world, and while I did drink beer with Gram, to the point where I could get a hangover the next day despite having such a body, I never learned about anything else. And while I know that whiskey is Scottish and vodka is Russian, I have no idea what the Middle-Eastern equivalent is.


    "Ah, only the best. Negnerb zdnua yevst nlirb nuf ekhsma." Jalil says to the waiter and he complies with a large smile and a nod. Now, let''s see if he''s the type to try and poison me to get what he wants. He looks up at the dancer in front of us, then turns to Hestia, who''s standing behind me. The children are next to her, and Hanif is trying to shield his sister''s eyes from the reality that is this place. Stop trying, it''s better if she learns early on that the world isn''t such a beautiful place. "Let us talk... deal."


    "Business." I correct him involuntarily, but he takes it with a smile.


    "Yes, yes, business!" He''s quite eager to seal the deal and get Hestia into his fingers. I''m sure skin so white is rare in these parts. I''m actually pretty surprised to see that she didn''t get a sunburn from being exposed to it all day long. "How much for girl?"


    "How about you make the offer?" Then I''ll get an idea how much he thinks he can get away with. I have a pretty good idea for how I go about things afterwards.


    "I give you hundred Eyebtam." He holds up two fingers, meaning that he''s offering two hundred of whatever the currency in this country is.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "So, the starting bid is two hundred Eyebtam." I mutter and pause for the waiter to bring our drinks. It''s a cup of a milky white liquid that has a very sweet but also strong alcoholic smell. We''ll drink after establishing the contract, and Jalil seems to understand, as he does not touch the glass.


    "Get up there." I stand up and pull on Hestia''s chain. It''s an act, but for some reason she''s actually quite happy about my treatment of her. Just as she climbs onto the catwalk, another waiter comes along and seems to wonder what this is about. The stripper at the pole looks at the newcomer in indignation.


    "Nzol id redmerf not se!" Jalil commands and the waiter waves the other woman away. "What you do, Lady Chaos?"


    "You will see that this girl is worth much more than you are offering." Although I have no idea whether what he offered is a lot or not. "Take off that backpack and do a little dance for us."


    "Um, Onee-sama?" Of course, Hestia has no idea how to pole-dance, and I can''t blame her. Obviously, neither do I.


    "Just wing it." And right after saying the idiom, I realize that in this world''s language, it''s a really atrocious pun. Damn, I want to bury myself in the desert for this one! But apparently the concept of bad puns isn''t so prevalent in this world, so the butt end of it doesn''t seem to realize its meaning.


    Hestia takes off the dummy backpack and stands with her legs spread at shoulder-width. The miniskirt I turned her school uniform into and the lack of underwear is a sight to behold from my angle, but of course nobody else''s eyes are fixed at that area. Her black wings, packed together tightly only moments earlier open up, and the pose she strikes makes her look like she belongs on a heavy metal album cover.


    "Hkrud id gyoa nuf thkil!" Jalil exclaims and looks at Hestia in all her glory. She rounds the pole and holds onto it suggestively. Wow, she may be a natural talent at keeping up appearances, since even I can''t tell whether she''s actually embarrassed or not, at this point. Her wings flap once and a gust of wind blows through the bar.


    "Would you please announce that this is an open auction? The starting bid is two hundred Eyebtam." I turn to my first interested buyer with a triumphant smile. He looks between me and Hestia dumbfounded, before standing up and absentmindedly doing what I just told him. That was pretty dumb, since he could have tried to haggle with me alone; I can''t speak his language at all, so I''m reliant on his help for this, which he could have easily refused.


    Upon hearing his announcement, the bar grows loud with the voices of men outbidding each other at. I don''t understand a word but I look over the people who are standing up from their seats and gesturing loudly while trying to make themselves heard. Jalil realizes his mistake, but it''s already too late, so he turns around and holds up his fingers while shouting numbers in the thousands.


    I obviously don''t have the intention to sell Hestia, and she knows it, which is why she can act like that around the pole - with her eyes fixed on me. I give her an affectionate smile and wink at her, causing her face to flush red from excitement. She can be really cute normally, but now she''s just sexy.


    "Can any of you speak my language?" I gesture for everyone to calm down and then ask into the room.


    "Yes, I give thousand Eyebtam!" One answers confidently in a broken accent and holds up nine fingers. Immediately, another sneers and responds in a much better pronunciation. "I offer ten thousand!"


    "Twelve thousand!" It''s getting out of hand again, but at this point I''m only memorizing faces. After all, this was to round up those I don''t have to feel bad about eating at all, and to find someone besides Jalil who can give me information.


    "Lady Chaos, you wanted sell to me, no?" He implores me with an almost desperate expression. The heat in the room is growing and several men are walking towards our position, potentially with not so legitimate intentions in mind. I think it''s time to wrap this up.


    "No, I just needed to get into this place. Thank you, Jalil." Confusion fills his face when I say this and smile. I take off the robe I''m wearing and throw it up to Hestia behind me. "Protect the kids... and make it so they don''t see anything of what''s going to happen next." She stops her performance and jumps off the catwalk, wrapping her wings around Hanif and Fayza, accompanied by the protests from many voices.


    In the next instant I change into my true form, including my face. Well, not that I have one in my real appearance. For an instant, time seems to stop as people freeze in place with their mouths wide open. Then I can hear the first screaming at the top of his lungs and breaking down on the spot. I extend my tentacles and pull in those who I marked as useless before, some letting themselves taken without even a struggle. I guess their minds shut down from the horror. Yes yes, at this point I don''t even care about that anymore.


    Within the blink of an eye, only six people are left in the room. Aside from me, Hestia and the two kids, there are only Jalil and the one who shouted an offer of ten thousand earlier. The others are either inside me or were allowed to flee the premises. I change my appearance back into my form from earlier, and act as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, as I turn to the man beside me.


    "I see that you understand, now." Then I walk the few steps to the other man sitting in his seat with a blank look. I hope his mind didn''t break completely from seeing my real form. "What is your name?" When I stand before him, I can see that he''s still consciously staring at me rather than into nothingness. That means he isn''t fully gone yet.


    "Basim... Amjad..." The man responds without ever blinking. Maybe he fears that I could turn his world into a nightmare again when he does. "What... are you?" His pronunciation is much better than Jalil''s and he doesn''t look like a sleazebag at all.


    "What country is this?" I begin to ask without further ado, ignoring his question. It''s directed at both men I left alive, and acts as a sort of screening test. After all, having a better grasp of my language doesn''t necessarily mean that he possesses more knowledge that could be useful to me. "And what is the fastest way to the Kingdom of Lares?"


    "This is the Khurut Sultanate." Jalil is the first to respond.


    "You can travel on the Hkyat River and go upstream, all the way to the Mineva Republic. The republic has ships you can travel across the ocean with." But it''s Basim who gives me the answer to the more important question. That''s a plus for him, since he was smart enough to understand where my priorities lay.


    "Do you know what language they speak in the Mineva Republic?" This is directed at both again.


    "They speak your tongue." This time Basim is the first to answer, but that wasn''t too smart of him. Following a river is easy, and having no need for an interpreter means that his existence just lost all worth in my eyes. I think he may have realized that and fear enters his expression. But I have some work for him to do, now that he''s so afraid of me. As for the other one whose worth already ran out moments ago...


    "Basim, I have something I would like you to do for me." I say and look deep into his eyes. A smile creeps onto my lips as a I swing my arm around at Jalil and pull him into my back without even paying attention to it. His scream is cut short when he disappears inside my body. "You see, I like children. And these two..." I gesture at Hestia, who opens up her wings to show the ones in question. "... are in need of a home."


    "I can provide that! They will never want for anything, I give you my word!" He responds quickly, a hint of relief playing over his face. Ah, so he thinks he''s getting out of this so easily.


    I lift a finger in front of his face and grow it to twice its length. Then I pull on it with my other hand and the extra part comes off, wiggling like a worm in my palm. Basim looks at it in confusion, but I can understand him. I just came up with this idea, and I''m sure nobody has ever seen something like this before around these parts, if not in the entire world.


    "Open wide~" I grab hold of his jaw and force it to open, throwing the worm-like growth into his mouth. Then I close his jaw and hold his nose shut, until he swallows, before I finally let go. "What you just swallowed is my guarantee that you will be taking care of them for the rest of your life. It was a part of me that will stay inside you. Through it I will know whether you are keeping your word or not." I waggle my finger in front of his face. "And if you do not..." I transform my hand into a spiked ball the size of a human head. "... you understand."


    Basim nods frantically as his eyes are fixed on my hand while it transforms back into its normal shape. I think that should have left enough of an impression on him to never consider breaking his word to me. After all, what I put inside him is most likely going to get digested soon, and I can''t really remote control it either. The thought counts, and after having witnessed my true form, I''m sure he doesn''t doubt that I''m capable of what I just promised.


    "Let us drink to that." I take the two untouched cups of alcohol from the table I shared with Jalil earlier, and hand him one, before downing mine in one go. Basim follows my example reluctantly and takes a little longer to finish his.


    "You will tell the kids that you''re going to take care of them from now on." I turn around and walk back to Hestia''s side, before squatting down in front of the two. "Goodbye." That''s all I say, and I think my tone made clear what I mean, since they look up to me with slightly sad expressions. They didn''t witness anything from before and could only see my back when I inserted the worm-like growth into Basim, so their innocence is preserved. "Let''s go, Hestia."


    She follows after me wordlessly and we walk out of the bar, to continue on our journey unburdened. Well, I did swallow around two dozen people, but that''s a welcome burden in my figurative stomach.

 Chapter 49 - A Foreign Land

    I''m on a boat.


    I would have preferred simply flying, but Hestia did express her tiredness on our way out of the underground bar. It makes sense, considering we walked through the scorching desert with no rest or food for the better half of the day, and haven''t stopped even once after coming to this city. Still, we couldn''t stop somewhere for the night, since it would mean wasting that much time not getting closer to Kamii.


    I gave Hestia some of the food I took at the market, which I hadn''t begun to dissolve yet. She accepted it with an ecstatic look in her eyes, and I think it may have something to do with the fact that they came from inside my body. Kinda like an indirect kiss, I guess? Heh, to be happy with something harmless like that, even though we did something much more awesome not long ago.


    When I looked through the purses of the bodies dissolving inside me I realized that there were different tiers of currency, such as copper, silver and gold coins. Strangely enough, the gold ones are the most numerous, followed by the silver and then the copper. We asked a dockhand, who knew our language enough to learn that the copper ones are called Repuk, the silver ones are Lakin and finally, the gold coins are Eyebtam. Each tier is ten of the previous one. In other words, I have a huge fortune inside my body right now.


    With him as an interpreter we found someone who was not yet busy with dinner or preparing for sleep. It was an old man, easily over sixty years old, with a very dark tan that spoke volumes about his experience on the river while under the glaring sun. The quote for taking us to the next large town upstream on the next morning was fifteen Repuk, so I offered twice the amount for departing right away. Suggesting such a large sum for essentially the same job caused the elderly man to look at us in wonder. I handed three Repuk to the dockhand, who repeatedly thanked me for my generosity.


    Which brings us back to our current status. The boat is a small sail-less barge measuring no longer than four of me laid out in a line, and it seems to double as the old ferryman''s home. It has a bed and even a fireplace, although I have to seriously question the presence of fire on a wooden boat. We were allowed to use the little cabin he calls his home, while he would be rowing all night - he did say that the offer reinvigorated him enough to easily accomplish that feat.


    I have Hestia sleep on the tiny bed, upon which she lays out her large robe first. While he may be a nice person, hygiene is a different matter, and I can understand her concern. I''m sitting at the bow, staring up into the starry night sky, deep in thought. The gurgling of the water and the sound of the oar create a rhythmic sound into which I lose myself slowly. The river is very wide and flows steadily and gives us a lulling ride, even as we go against the stream.


    My thoughts are swirling around the fact that I was made to forget about space magic with what I perceived as just an order from Basarab. Leaving Kamii with him makes me very uneasy, and while I doubt they''ll be so stupid as to hurt her physically, considering what I did to them after one of them hit Hestia, her mind is another matter. I''ve seen enough stories in which the heroine gets kidnapped and brainwashed, before being pitted against the hero. But I don''t know what I would do, if that was the case upon my return. Senka did say that lost memories can''t be restored...


    "Sov nenez ri nthkart ngev?" The old man calls out to me. I don''t understand this nation''s language at all and wonder why that''s the case. When I first became aware of myself in this world, I was able to speak the language of the Demon Continent, which also seems to be the same in the Kingdom of Lares, the Fatas Triarchy and the Mineva Republic. I have no idea why that was the case with that language, but not with the one from the Khurut Sultanate.


    "I don''t understand." I never bothered to ask his name, since he only has this job to complete for us. When we reach our destination the next morning, Hestia and I are going to fly, and won''t require his services anymore. Waving to him, I signal that I''d rather not be bothered at the moment.


    "Id Rehstav ni id Thkan zi gniyep tyakmazkremfu." He says and points at the sky. I look up and notice the two moons. Or rather, three, since the waning sickle moon is also up there. The two round lights are aligned with it perfectly to make it look like an immense grinning face among the stars. I blink at it, then turn to the old man while gesturing at it.


    "What is that?" I try to make it obvious that I''m asking a question.


    "Rehstav ni id Thkan." He repeats part of his sentence. Maybe that''s the name of that phenomenon? Yes, I still don''t want to admit the possibility that those are the eyes of a living being, since its immense size would be simply illogical. Even if there''s magic, something that large just shouldn''t exist.


    I look at it, but there''s no sign of it moving or blinking. Basically, it''s like there are two full moons and one sickle moon in the sky. However, after a while I notice that the latter is going out of alignment with the others, while they become smaller, as if moving away. At first I thought it was my imagination, since it''s such a slow process, but it became clear when I compared it to the stars around it. While I cannot say whether there''s intent behind it or not, it''s obvious that those aren''t moons.


    No point thinking about it, as Senka put it that time I first pointed it out to her. Apparently it''s not associated with some sort of calamity, if the old man speaks of it in an almost affectionate tone, so there''s nothing to worry about for now. I lie down on the bow and rest, realizing that I don''t really feel tired or sleepy at all. But I''m sure I''ll regret it the next morning, when I have to fly all day.


    I wake up to the ferryman shaking me lightly and speaking to me in words I don''t understand. But I do understand his gesture and sit up while stretching myself. I fell asleep after all. When I look around, I see that the sun is rising over the horizon. We''re at the docks of a bustling city, around the size of Hovsgaerden, the destination he was contracted to bring us to overnight.


    "Knada." I say, hoping that I used the right expression. He looks at me with a bright smile in response, so as expected, this must be the word for thank you.


    But before I give him the money, I go and wake Hestia up. She''s in the fetal position, hugging her robe rather than lying on top of it like the way she started the night. As I approach, I see that she seems to be enjoying herself with smelling the fabric. Must be because I wore that for a while yesterday. Yeah, she''s a full-blown pervert already...


    "Hestia..." I mutter and she immediately sits up in shock.


    "O-onee-sama!" Her face is red and an awkward atmosphere lays itself on the small cabin. Well, I don''t really mind her preferences, since I understand that she''s hopelessly in love with me, and doing such things is considered normal when in such a condition. Not that I can really verify it, I only learned this through stories I read...


    "We''ve arrived." I don''t know what the city is called, but since we''ll be leaving it right away, it doesn''t really matter. "Get ready to leave." With this I exit the cabin and walk up to the bow, where the old man is waiting. From within my clothes - created from my own body - I produce a purse. Opening it, I look inside and count the coins, then hand it to the ferryman, who immediately begins to go through its contents.


    I step onto the docks and help Hestia up, who follows me. When we turn around to leave, the old man calls out to us. At least that''s what I assume he''s doing, as he''s yelling.


    "Ri tah rim ust lif!" He says while pointing at the purse with an obvious question written on his face. I suppose he counted them already and noticed that there''s more than twice the promised amount. It''s really inspiring to see that there are people in this world who will point out that you forgot your change after paying them. It''s not because I don''t care about money, but I thought that he was a nice person, that I gave him a generous tip. I show him a smile and wave goodbye.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Knada! Knada!" The old man keeps expressing his gratitude as we walk into the town.


    Once again, everyone''s eyes are on us, since Hestia isn''t disguising her wings. I spot the occasional shady-looking person, but this isn''t what I''m trying to achieve this time. I''m looking for breakfast - or more specifically, breakfast for my companion. She can''t live on the fruits and dried meat I swiped at the market yesterday, and the longer things remains inside my body, the more likely they will become corrupted into inedible stuff. While I know that she would never complain about something she receives from me, and most likely cherish it like she did with last evening''s meal, it can''t be good for her body.


    Luckily, there are proper-looking restaurants here. But not being able to speak or read the language means I can''t order anything from the menu. While I have so much money which I have not much use of, that I don''t even care if I''m being ripped off, I don''t feel like falling for it that easily either. Thus, our first goal is to find someone who might understand our language and be able to interpret for us.


    I try by entering a tavern and calling into the room, asking for someone who can understand me. All I get in response is confusion, with some indignant expressions at being disturbed during their conversations or meals. Why was I so lucky to find several people in the last, much smaller town? Maybe it''s because they were slave traders who might have dealt with foreigners on a regular basis...


    I try it again and again, but not a single person shows any hint of understanding my language. I purposefully didn''t tell Hestia that I''m doing this for her sake, since I know she would say that everything is alright and we should simply think of moving on. I''d rather not have her break down in exhaustion or with an illness after her immune system grows weak from lack of balanced nutrition.


    "You looking for interpreter?" A man in his late twenties approaches us on the streets. His accent is not much better than the one from the first guy I met, but at least he can help us. I already wondered why nobody else came up to us to offer their services any earlier, considering the fact that we''re obviously foreigners.


    "Yes, we would like to find a good tavern for breakfast." I''ll not mention that price isn''t a problem, since that will just invite an attempt at exploitation. But I do take out a leather purse filled with coins, rattling its content to show that I''m willing to pay for his services.


    Ugh, human relations feel like such a waste of time, when I consider how long it will take before we can get back to Kamii. Impatience is welling up in me again. If only I could cook, then I could just swipe the necessary ingredients and have no need for dealing with people like this to get a meal for Hestia. I currently have no preferences for food, although I do remember that there are some ways to make it taste good for me, too - like the first human I ate.


    The guide leads us to a street cafe where many people are sitting with an assortment of dishes on plates in various states of emptiness. They seem to enjoy their meals and are chatting away while eating, so it seems that this is a good locale. When Hestia and I sit down at one of the tables and the guide waves over a waiter, everyone turns around and stares at us. I miss the academy somehow. People there weren''t so rude as to stare straight into one''s face, even if they found it curious.


    He goes over the menu and orders for us after I ask him for his recommendation on traditional dishes of this area. This should be the first time I''m consciously paying attention to food, since I usually only cared about quantity over quality. Considering I''m kind of paying out of my own pocket and inviting Hestia, I''m a little conscious about it. This is a date, right? Well, since there''s a third wheel standing by, it can''t really be considered one.


    The food that arrives looks delicious. I''ve seen my fair share of culinary imagery in all kinds of media, such as books on cooking, whenever I went to bookstores to get the latest volume of the manga series I was reading, or in films and animation. But seeing it before me like this actually waters my mouth. There is a cheese platter, a plate filled with colorful slices of fruits I''ve never seen before, a large bowl of beans in a reddish brown sauce that smells heavenly and many more.


    There''s enough for the two of us, and we immediately begin to eat. Since the plates are shared, I have to consciously hold myself back from eating too quickly, as Hestia''s table manners are the refined motions of a noble lady. For me, who has been eating Japanese food all my life, and never paid proper attention to the canteen food at the academy - even though it was something foreign - this is the first time that I come to appreciate a previously unknown cuisine.


    And the thing is, all this costs only twenty-two Repuk! So the offers for Hestia at the auction, numbering in the tens of thousands of Eyebtam were a huge fortune! Now I have to wonder why such rich people were in such a shady bar, but maybe it''s considered normal here, and what I thought was shady was just deliberate ambience. It did seem to have great service after all...


    "I wish I could cook..." I mutter while enjoying every bite. Since I grew up in a household where my mother would cook all meals, I never bothered to learn anything myself. I''m not even confident in being able to properly make a cup ramen, since there was never the need for it. Yes, I''m a lazy kid, any problem with that?


    "... I can cook for you, Onee-sama." Hestia suddenly says and I stare at her in the middle of lifting a spoonful of beans to my mouth. She has a light blush and looks at me coquettishly, as if she expects me to say something like "I want to eat your miso soup every day" next. Well, I do want to have her by my side forever in either case, but this just adds a new aspect to things. Her devotion and now the newly revealed skill of being able to cook makes her the perfect wife! I want to taste her cooking skills...


    "Let''s leave that for after we get Kamii back." But we don''t have the leeway to waste time on that right now. I have a lot of money, so for the time being we can just have others do the cooking. And we''re trying to hurry, after all.


    After our meal I pay the guide a Lakin, one of the silver coins. I think he didn''t expect such a generous payment for doing such a small job and thanks me profusely, asking whether I might require his services any further. Since I''m stocked up on food inside my body and Hestia had her share, we''ll be departing and continue on our journey, on which nobody can join us for now. Refusing his offer, I transform into the shape of a Fata on the spot and take to the skies, closely followed by Hestia.


    It''s possible a new local legend will be formed around this, since we did it in the middle of a busy street, but since I don''t really intend to come back in the foreseeable future - even if the meal was really great - it doesn''t affect us at all. Our journey takes us along the river and we fly high up in the sky to avoid overreacting people potentially trying to shoot us down with arrows.


    Going by air is much faster, after all, and we see the landscape steadily change from desert to dry steppe. We stop for lunch in another town along the way, where I also make a visit to the marketplace. This time I actually pay for the things, buying several large sacks and palettes of vegetables, fruits and dried meats. While the stand owners wonder how I''m going to carry it all, I simply pull everything inside my body. This will become another local legend we leave behind, as we fly away once again.


    I can tell from the way the landscape changes from dry steppe to savanna that we''re moving at an incredible speed, especially compared to when I traveled with Rolan''s party. I think we covered a distance of several days worth of walking on foot within the better part of the day. I can see farms and plantations more frequently now and it seems that we''re heading towards a place with a more moderate climate.


    From afar I see an immense structure towering in the distance, featuring a gigantic round surface on top of it. It''s reflecting the rays of the setting sun to the point where it looks like an artificial sun. The fields increase in density and the roads are properly paved, the closer we get. The fields soon make way for smaller plantations as houses become more and more common. Then even the plantations disappear and only small gardens are left as the landscape turns suburban.


    We''re now flying above a massive city, far larger than Kongenssoevn, which has grown beyond its impressive walls. The river flows through a part of it, but countless wide bridges with houses built on top of them make even that space available for settlement. If the capital of the Kingdom of Lares has a million inhabitants, this one easily has three times that number. Even though the surrounding lands look less fertile than those in the kingdom, they''re covered in large fields here, as if disregarding the image of this being a dry country.


    The structures at the center of this city puts the citadel of Kongenssoevn to shame in size and magnificence. It''s a gigantic pyramid ornamented with golden plates and colorful paint on its walls, but the most notable feature is the gigantic disc standing upright on top of it. Even as the day is nearing its evening hours, with that disc reflecting the sun, the city is bathed in light as bright as day.


    This is undoubtedly the capital of the Khurut Sultanate.

 Chapter 50 - The Twin Goddesses

    "The sun disc of the Al-Qahirah Palace has provided prosperity to this city for over a hundred thousand sunrises." Our guide explains as we walk through the city. It''s a man who''s clearly not a native of these lands. His skin tone is quite light and he doesn''t have an accent, but the fact that he''s wearing the clothes of the Khurut Sultanate means that he has somewhat integrated into this society. I didn''t ask him where he''s from since I honestly don''t really care to do small talk - there''s a reason we stopped in the capital rather than find a boat to take us upstream during the night, as we did last time.


    Considering the size of this city, they must have knowledge of magic here. I want to know if there''s a magic academy, and if there is, find information on space magic, so I can teleport back, rather than take the long way by traveling physically. For that, I''ll temporarily play the infiltration game and get close to it without causing a scene. After all, I have no idea about the power of the people in this nation.


    Hestia is covered in a heavy robe, doing her best to hide her wings from view. I''m not so hard-pressed in that matter, since I can just change my outwards appearance. Currently I''m closer to the look I had in my previous life, with black hair and slightly tanned skin from being exposed to the sun - it would seem unnatural not to have that, although Hestia doesn''t seem to get a tan or a sunburn at all.


    "Do you know if there is an academy for magecraft?" I asks directly after the introduction of the palace is finished.


    "Learning magic is forbidden in the Khurut Sultanate, except for those from the chosen caste of shamans." The guide responds and looks at me with a gauging expression. "If you know any magic, you should hide it."


    "Where might I find those shamans?" I ignore the warning, since the moment I have to unleash magic, it''ll be for a life or death battle. At that point I won''t care about whether it''s a taboo or not.


    "The Shaman caste lives in the Qaeat Alrruh, the Hall of Spirits, but you may be lucky to meet one of them as wandering scholars or acting as guides to the most powerful tribes of the Nagirah Desert." There are a lot of foreign names, but at least he''s so kind as to explain what they mean. As long as there''s a gathering place for the shaman caste, I can go and find someone to obtain the info I need.


    "Can you lead us to the Hall of Spirits?" I look up to the sun disc and see that the light of day is slowly fading from it, too. Night is coming to the city and lamps are being lit everywhere, as the man guides us through the streets.


    "The general public cannot enter the depths of the hall, but people can visit it to pray to the spirits in the main hall. With some luck you may see an initiate or even a master making rounds." He sounds excited at the prospect, but I don''t know what I should think about those shamans. They make me think of some fraud new religions that preys on the mentally weak people, but if they''re ingrained into this country''s culture, then that means there must be truth to their powers.


    We pass through a marketplace and I catch myself eyeing the mountains of foodstuff that I could buy. However, we''re undercover now, so I can''t just consume them on the spot, and I have no means of transporting them. Maybe I can find a warehouse full of ingredients and just consume everything in the middle of the night without anyone finding out. At this point I only have becoming stronger in mind, and apparently the one sure way for a Crawling Chaos to increase in strength is to increase in mass.


    Then we come upon the slave trading area. It''s out in the open and there are many people looking to buy, as traders display their merchandise by making them perform certain tricks or household duties. Normally I wouldn''t hesitate to break up this party, but not as I am now. Still, why do humans have to do such things to each other? While I can understand the mentality behind such practice if it''s with other races, such as elves - although I''m still strictly against it - to submit fellow humans to it seems so illogical.


    As I expected, there are no non-humans on display, but it makes sense when considering the fact that this seems like a rather low-quality place. All the slaves are for doing chores and not a single one of them has the looks associated with warriors or sex slaves. I guess the underground bar in that first town was one specialized on the trading of the last one. It''s good that Kamii isn''t with us now, since the memories of her time before meeting me would surely resurface. Then again, the sole reason we''re here is because Kamii isn''t with us.


    We leave the market behind and walk along a main-street looking road that leads us towards an impressive building shaped like a fortress. While it''s certainly large, it''s nowhere near the size of the palace. Our guide almost proudly presents it as the Hall of Spirits, although it makes me think of a government building more than anything else.


    There''s a steady stream of people going in and out of it, passing through the steel gates that remain open at all times. When we enter, I see that they''re intricately decorated with what I assume to be hieroglyphs. They look different from the written language of this nation, which I could catch a glimpse of on many occasions, so this must mean that this temple was built in an earlier time period.


    Indeed, its interior architecture looks unlike anything I''ve seen before. The immensely tall main hall is covered in colorful mosaics depicting all sorts of divine beings and scenes from lore, although I don''t know any of them. Hestia seems quite fascinated by the grandeur of this place, in complete contrast to its simple exterior, and I have to admit that I doubt anything like this exists in my previous world.


    "The decorations were made by the shamans throughout the generations." Our guide says when he sees our expressions. "It is an impressive piece of art and cannot be found anywhere else in the known world." I somehow don''t doubt it. But we''re here for a purpose, so I look around.


    "Can you tell us if you see an initiate or a master?" I request of the guide and try to identify anyone who might fit that description. There are many peasants and even beggars in these halls, and when I look to one corner, I understand why. A line is forming, leading to a group of young men in uniform reddish brown robes, who remind me of monks, that are handing out bowls of food. A smile involuntarily appears on my face. So this isn''t one of those religions that exploit the people by asking for donations while only returning empty promises of heaven after death. Considering the fact that our guide isn''t pointing them out to me means that all those young people are not even initiates.


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    "Luck must be on your side. That over there is a great master who is walking the path between Sky and Earth." The guide gestures to the end of the hall, where a wizened old man with a frizzy white beard and his head covered in a turban is slowly walking among the people while leaning onto his gnarled wooden staff as a walking aid. The two crystals embedded in the staff are clear white and dark brown respectively, denoting an affinity in wind and earth magic. Sky and Earth, huh? Wherever he goes, the people are bowing to him in worshipping gestures, closing their eyes and muttering in prayer.


    I immediately walk over to the old man, aiming to talk to him. However, several young monks bar my way and speak in their language in a heated tone. My movements must have seemed a little too abrupt, so they may be thinking that I''m trying to attack the great master. What should I do here? I don''t really want to cause a scene, but I''m sure going through the normal route will take too long.


    Then causing a scene it is...


    I take off my hood and show off my silver hair. My skin color has changed to be completely white, and underneath my robes - which are made of matter from my body - white wings form. I''ve become a copy of Hestia from before her corruption. Waving over the real deal, I gesture for her to fully reveal herself, just as I shed my outer layer, and we complete the illusion I''m trying to create.


    Twin goddesses of peerless beauty are now standing before these mere mortals, and I can see many pointing at us and whispering. Our guide stares at us in awe, and as a foreigner who surely knows the legends surrounding Fatas, an expression of veneration fills his face. I demonstratively stretch my wings to show that they are real, and several peasants drop to their knees in prayer.


    The old man''s eyes are opened wide, as is his mouth, and there seems to be some form of understanding in his expression, as if he has seen something like us before. He comes over, still awestruck, and falls to his knees before us. This is the final switch for the people gathered around, as they all unanimously do the same and lower their heads. Alright, that was too much of an impact...


    "Gnilivst Zisadag!" The great master exclaims and tears fill his eyes. "Hki nib yoza drena, raf ri nenyahsred redye rim rediv hkno yoza gnal!" I have no idea what he''s saying, and as I turn to our guide slightly, he seems to understand what I want from him. Quickly walking over to us while making sure not to step on anyone along the way, he stops a few paces - a respectful distance - away from us.


    "He thinks that you are The Twin Goddesses and feels honored that you appear before him once more after such a long time." Yeah, I didn''t know that there was an existence such as The Twin Goddesses in this nation, and I sure as hell haven''t ever seen this guy before, so he is clearly under the wrong impression here.


    "Explain to him that I wish to know if any great masters know space magic." I ask our guide to interpret for us. At the same time my brain works in top gear to make up a plausible reason for goddesses to wish to know about such a thing. I didn''t expect him to have history with what he believes us two to be, so it''s becoming quite awkward trying to begin and explain that we''re only Fatas.


    "Grand Shaman Abd al-Malik Karimi is the only one within the Khurut Sultanate to know space magic." Only one person, huh? I hope this isn''t going to be too hard.


    "I need to meet that person right away. Tell him that another demon attack is imminent. I can feel it." I think that should do enough for creating urgency. It certainly does on our guide''s face. While he translates for us, I can see the expression on the old man''s expression change and terror fill it. Luckily, nobody else seems to hear it or understand it, since I would have expected a panic to break out in these halls and potentially spread throughout the city otherwise. "Great Master Mahir el-Amin will bring you to him immediately. Please, this way."


    We''re led through a door in the side of the main hall, through a long corridor, up several flights of stairs, before we finally come up to a door that somehow reminds me of the principal''s office at the Royal Academy. I seriously hope this isn''t someone who has a special ability which allows him to see through my disguise, or I''ll despair.


    After Mahir announces us through the door and a slow and calm voice answers from the other side, the door is opened and we enter a room ornamented in colorful tapestry. There''s not a hint of luxury, however, as they are filled with hieroglyphs that are most likely all religious texts. Sitting on a cushion in the middle of the room in a meditating pose is a skinny old man, barely more than skin and bones. His sunken face and eyes make me think that he might actually be dead, but when we enter he looks up to us I can see that he has an incredible life force in his eyes.


    I doubt that a man this old and wise doesn''t speak our language, so I step forward while holding Hestia''s hand, making sure that she keeps up with me to keep up our disguise a little longer. My eyes meet his and we share a wordless exchange for a while, during which neither of us speaks. Then his bushy eyebrows move up as surprise fills his face. I don''t know what he realized, but I take that as the cue for me to speak first.


    "We are here to warn you about an attack by the demons, and wish to know the extent of your space magic. With your help, we can seal the transportation network that they are using." I say it directly. There''s no point trying to fool this man into believing that we''re goddesses, since I''m sure he won''t fall for it, but I also won''t explicitly state what we really are - even if my identity should be obvious from one look, for those in the know.


    "... how do you know?" Abd al-Malik talks slowly and has an obvious accent, but I can understand him very well.


    "You will have to believe us." I keep eye contact with him, not a hint of doubt in mine. "Time is of the essence."


    "... what is it that you wish to gain from me?" The way he barely moves and the slight strain in his voice makes me worry for his health. If he dies from old age in front of us now, we''d be in a bind regarding space magic.


    "Do you understand how to use transportation magic?" I get to the point. I''m sure teleportation requires magic circles like the one I saw in the demon palace, but there has to be an incantation involved. "And do you have an entrance to the network nearby?" And then I''ll be able to use the incantation to travel through it right away.


    "I am unable to cast transportation magic. All I am capable of is the manipulation of weight." The old man explains slowly. I guess he means gravity, then. There''s one more hope, though.


    "If you have any scriptures about it, I will be able to teach you." And the moment I look through them and find what I want, I''ll break out of this place and immediately transport back to the academy. Still, I keep up a poker-face, as to not show my impatience at how slowly he speaks and my desire to get the knowledge as quickly as possible.


    "Teach me? Hohoho..." Abd al-Malik laughs, although it sounds more like a cough. "It has been ten thousand sunrises since I last had someone tell me that." I can''t read his expression at all, as he smiles and seems to reminisce about something. "But do tell, what is your real goal, demon?"


    I have an overbearing feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Oi, I''m about to cry here! What''s with the old men of this world and being able to so easily see through my disguises?

 Chapter 51 - The Prisoner

    I''m not playing that game this time. Screw my cover, at this range I don''t need magic and I can use a single spike to impale his throat. I won''t make the same mistake again by trying to talk things out peacefully. But the problem is that he''s supposedly the only one who knows space magic in this nation, and killing him here will most likely cause everyone else to clam up and not tell me where I can find the scriptures on transportation magic.


    "I won''t ask how you saw through me..." I say in annoyance and undo my transformation, turning back into my human - and undressed - appearance. Our guide''s expression fills with terror at the realization that he didn''t mishear the old man calling me a demon. "Instead, I want to know where you keep your magic books." I notice a shiver running down Hestia''s back as she sees my face, but I ignore it. Must be another one of those awestruck moments of hers.


    "Hum... We do not keep any scriptures on magic. Our knowledge is transmitted orally over the generations." Abd al-Malik says without a care in the world. There''s not a hint of tension in his voice, chatting as if he has nothing to fear from me. This reminds me of Thorvadis during our first meeting and then our last confrontation, and it pisses me off. "Unfortunately, the knowledge of transportation magic was lost four generations ago, when nobody had the aptitude to inherit it."


    "Then what keeps me from killing you here?" If he was lying, now would be a good time for him to backpedal and admit that he actually knows space magic but is trying to hide it from me.


    "I have lived a long and fulfilling live. Do you think I fear death? Hohoho..." Ugh, that pisses me off even more. Maybe he''s hiding something, but it''s true that he looks even older than Thorvadis, and unlike the principal, this one''s a man of religion. At a certain age, one reaches a fundamental view of the world wherein life and death seem to become irrelevant. Threatening someone like that with death is pointless.


    "That just means we''ll have to continue on our journey as before. Now, is there any reason why I shouldn''t just raze this entire city to the ground?" Still, as a man of religion, I think he won''t stand by and watch his people get slaughtered. This should hold true for anyone in the world who isn''t a complete psychopath.


    "What do you have to gain from doing that?" There still is no tension in his words and it sounds like he''s asking about what I would have to gain from ordering takeout, as opposed to going to the convenience store just around the corner. Is he one of those psychopaths who feel nothing for the people around him? Then this is going to lead us nowhere.


    "Well, leaving now and doing nothing would save me a few hours of time. Razing the city and eating every single one of its inhabitants would means that I don''t have to worry about rations along the way." I''m trying to state it in an as matter of fact way as possible. Even I wouldn''t eat everyone in this town, least of all innocent little children. That much morality I still have left over from having been a human in my previous life.


    "I see..." With a sigh the old man motions to stand up, but his body seems to be very frail from age. Mahir, who wasn''t able to understand our conversation, and therefore, is unaware of its gravity, immediately motions to help him, despite being quite old himself. I ready myself to impale the both of them, should I notice even a hint of magic being cast. "... I have to admit that while I may not fear death for myself, I care deeply about my people." So is he going to fight? I feel like he could die from just walking a few steps.


    "So you feel like talking now?" In the end, I hold all the cards in my hand. While I''m not sure whether it would only take a few hours or several days to raze this city in my current state, and I have no idea about how strong the mages in this nation are, the fact that I said it as if it was just a minor issue for me must have convinced him that I''m more than capable of it. Either I get what I want or I could make my threat come true.


    "Unfortunately, I really do not possess the knowledge you seek." He looks me deep in the eyes and I can somehow tell that he''s not lying. I mean, he must have something else to offer me at this point, since otherwise there''s nothing holding me back. "... however, I may have something else to offer..."


    Color me interested.


    Abd al-Malik leads us through the building, down several flights of stairs, moving extremely slowly while being helped by several other great masters barely younger than him. He deliberately didn''t ask for younger members of the caste, most likely because the danger of me killing him may still exist. The old masters are surely all like him, no longer having a fear of death.


    I have to admit that deep inside me I''m feeling respect for them. While I may have only glimpsed the surface, these men are all great people in their own right, very unlike religious figures from my previous world. Scandals, politics and greed have always played a big role among those, and in the end few had anything real to show within their lifetimes. These men before me seem of a different kind entirely.


    Still, I''d prefer they hurried up, since my patience points have been really low since getting separated from Kamii.


    The arrow-slit like windows disappear from the walls and we enter an area that is unmistakably underground. Holding lamp crystals the size of baseballs, two great masters lead the way down a long straight corridor. It feels like we may have left the Hall of Spirits behind us already, but it still continues on for a long stretch. My sense of direction, normally pretty good, has been thrown into confusion after all the stairs and corridors we passed through.


    Then we come upon a large wall that seems like a dead end. Now, this is reason for concern and I prepare myself for battle. It''s possible that they lured me deep underground to try and eliminate me here, or maybe at least trap me. But I won''t give them any time to do so. The instant anyone makes a wrong move, I''ll go Hedgehog Mode. However, one of the great masters touches a pressure plate on the wall and with a loud roar, the entire dead end moves aside. A hidden passageway, like in those adventure movies!


    What lies beyond is a large cellar-like structure. While it''s nowhere near as vast, it reminds me of the dwarven city under the mountain, with parallel pillars supporting the ceiling above. However, I spot several rows of huge barrels, which must contain wine. In other words, we entered a wine cellar. I doubt he''s trying to bribe me with alcohol though, and sure enough, we continue on through the underground halls towards the large gate at its end.


    "Id Nbyohred tah nemukegna." One of the old men announces through the gate. A sound of confirmation is made from the other side and the gate opens towards us. Four armored guards come into view and welcome us, although their eyes are fixated on Hestia and me. Yes, I know I''m naked, and although I removed the important bits, as always, it leaves quite an impact. And yes, Hestia is an existence that has never been seen before, a fully corrupted Fata with black wings. Still, staring at girls like that is rude.


    Our procession has increased by those four guards now, and while I doubt that Abd al-Malik is going to lead me into an ambush, I''m ready for battle at any moment. I''m holding onto Hestia''s hand as we walk, so that I can pull her inside my body when things become heated. After all, the last thing I want is to get separated from her.


    I think we might be under the huge palace here. The guards look like royal guards, all wearing richly ornamented uniform armor with an emblem of an eye in a sun on their chest plates. I think I''ve seen some soldiers walk around town with that same emblem before, too. What are we doing here? Don''t tell me it''s actually going to be an ambush? We''re even going further downstairs into an area that makes me think of a dungeon, with blank walls and illuminated by traditional torches. Six more guards have joined us.


    We come to an area with prison cells, although they''re all empty. If they think of trying to inter me in one, they''ll have something else coming for them. But it doesn''t seem to be the case, as we go deeper and deeper, making me think that we might enter a huge underground cavern where lava flows. If this was a game, I''d be really excited about that possibility and would wish to explore all of this, but since I have somewhere to be, I can''t just indulge in my fantasies.


    Finally, we reach the end of the dungeon, and stop in front of a single cell separated from every other. With my night vision I can see that a lonely figure is sitting in the darkness inside, hunched over and unresponsive to the sound of so many people approaching. It''s clear from this location that this must be an incredible criminal, so I have to wonder why Abd al-Malik brought me to meet this person.


    The guards stand at the ready, but I can see a hint of fear in their expressions and stances, as their eyes are unable to calm down and dart towards the cell door repeatedly. So this must be an incredibly powerful and dangerous person. Although I have to wonder why someone that can instill such fear would even be here in the first place.


    "You have visitor, demon." One of the great masters say in a broken accent. So it''s a demon, huh? I hear fabric moving and the person on the other side stirs.


    "... hurry up. I don''t want to waste anymore time." I say and step towards the gate.


    "... huh...?" I hear the demon inside breathing in a questioning tone.


    "You''re the alternative offered to me for the knowledge of space magic, so show me what''s so special about you." I''m impatient, but the figure slowly begins to stand up. Now I can see that it''s a girl, around my age. She steps forward and walks into the light of the lamps, and I notice that her hair is black, while her skin is really pale. She lifts her face, which had been hidden by her hair before, and our eyes meet. "Huh?"


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    I''m looking at a reflection of myself.


    Rewind


    The last thing I can remember is the maou sending me through a teleportation magic circle. When I wake up again, I''m in a desert. The scorching sun is shining down on me and I feel... incomplete. I look down at my body and what should have been there isn''t. My breasts are gone! My glorious breasts that were the envy of many members of the track and field club (and others)! They were needlessly large, and I had a lot of trouble keeping them in check during races, since they would bounce so much, though... Oh, and my entire body is quite a bit smaller than it used to be. Ugh, I feel hungry.


    I try and undo my transformation, and find that I can do it. So I''m still the same as when I first woke up in this world. Yep, I''m a Crawling Chaos, so I didn''t die and reincarnate again. Still, I remember getting ripped apart during teleportation, so I must have survived that experience. And I''m really hungry.


    Ahhh, my thoughts are going in circles now! I''m too hungry to think straight. I need to find something to eat first. I''m lucky to have landed in an oasis, otherwise I would have died from dehydration pretty quickly. There''s vegetation and I have a feeling that this body should be able to handle breaking it down. Considering it can dissolve a human''s body within seconds - aside from the bones - organic matter shouldn''t be a problem. And while there may be quite a bit of wildlife in deserts, they''re hard to find during daytime.


    I have to replenish my energy first and then find a way through the desert, to some inhabited place.


    It''s been two days. I left the oasis behind completely dead, every single plant consumed and the water siphoned out to the last drop. And I don''t even feel bad about it: It was for my survival after all. I wandered in the desert for two days, covering myself in a few palm leaves I didn''t eat, but there''s not a hint of any life to be seen. I''m sure I''ve walked in a pretty straight line... I just hope I''m not going diagonally through the entire length of the desert.


    At least the water and food will keep me going for a while, but if this continues, I''ll seriously die.


    Four days later, I finally come upon a very wide river. Along its shores plants are growing and I can see a herd of buffalo-like animals grazing or drinking from the water. Not a hint of hesitation in me: I''ll make a meal of them... all of them! No need for trying to sneak up on them, I''m just a little girl and they won''t be afraid of me. See, I walk into their midst and they look at me for a bit before returning to their previous activities.


    Now, how to utilize this body to its full potential: I think I remember a certain story with parasitic alien life-forms taking over human''s heads and turning them into amorphous weapons. They used organic blades, and since I can reproduce human teeth, I should be able to create sharp bones.


    I undo my transformation and turn into the appearance that drained my SAN points this morning, when I looked in the mirror. My arms, made up of many tentacles, unwind and turn into sharp blades, which I use to swing around mercilessly, cutting off limbs and heads left and right. Within seconds, more than a dozen buffaloes lie dismembered or dying on the ground. Time to feast!


    I can feel them filling me up. I had a man inside me earlier, and now I''m taking several bulls and their heavy meat at the same time. It''s a completely different feeling from a human, but it feels more... fulfilling.


    I want more~


    I followed the river, randomly deciding that upstream is the best option, for the past three days. I could have transformed into one of those buffaloes to travel faster, but I somehow don''t feel like it - they don''t look too great. My appearance is now back to how I used to look before I died. Since I have no clothes, I''m using the hide of the animals I killed along the way, although I don''t really feel the need to hide my body with nobody around.


    But then I come upon a walled off town on the fourth day. I''m sure I can get some information regarding where I am here, and maybe get a map to find my way back to the demon castle. Maou-mama did say that I''d have three years, and while I don''t have the faintest idea how many days make up a year in this world, I think it should be enough time, as long as I''m still on the demon continent.


    Apparently I''m not on the demon continent. Everyone here is human, and they speak a language I don''t understand at all. What''s up with that? I know that the language maou-mama spoke isn''t Japanese, but I could understand it right away. Why isn''t it that convenient with all other languages? And considering all the people here have naturally tanned skin, it''s safe to assume that I''ll stick out like a sore thumb.


    ... and as expected, a group of six shady looking men notice me and begin to surround me. One of them says something but I don''t understand at all. He pauses for a moment and then speaks again. "You lost, lady?" Ohhh, I understand you! But he has an awful accent.


    "... I think so." But I remain cautious. If this is the human continent, I''m sure my kind is to be killed on sight. While I have the edge in surprise factor, I don''t feel very strong. I may be able to overwhelm these and maybe outright kill them, but I will attract a lot of attention. Surely, this is part of maou-mama''s trials for me... even though I don''t even feel like vying for the demon throne.


    "Come, I can show you way." Where to? I didn''t even ask for directions, but he offers me to lead the way. It''s quite obvious that they have some shady business in mind...


    In an alleyway, I can take care of them without people seeing though, so for now I obediently follow along. However, instead of a dark alleyway, they lead me to the marketplace and to a large tent, in front of which people in chains stand, like on display. This is a slavers'' market, and it seems I''m going to become their merchandise. I do admit that my appearance makes me look like a beggar, so surely, nobody would miss my absence - is what they think. Oi, don''t underestimate me!


    Click!


    One of the men behind me puts a steel choker around my neck. I instinctively grab it, but am met with a searing pain in my hand. When I look down, it''s blistering. What''s with this anti-hamper mechanism? That''s a magic item or something, right? I''m so going to kill them now...


    They pull me into the tent, inside which many cages are piled up. Some are empty, while others still have inhabitants. Doesn''t matter, they all look pretty much dead, their eyes lifeless from prolonged treatment as slaves. So I can just show myself in front of them without having to fear breaking some minds.


    I release my transformation, turn my tentacles into blades, and in an instant, the men around me are dead. Their leader only turns around when he hears their bodies hit the floor.


    "Wh-what are you?!" His voice is cracking from fear upon seeing my hybrid human-demon form. Oh, you haven''t even seen my real face yet.


    "Tell me, what country is this? And how far is it to the Demon Continent?" I ask the man, who looks at me in blank terror. "Also, remove this collar, or I''ll remove your head." I demonstratively decapitate one of the already dead in a single motion.


    "Khurut! You in the Khurut Sultanate! I not know Demon Continent how far!" He quickly speaks, his face going white when he sees his colleague''s body defiled like that. "I get key." His hand motions into his robes carefully, as to not aggravate me. Good boy.


    I leave the tent wearing a richly ornamented robe - one I took from the slave traders'' coffers - and about six men weighting me down inside my stomach. Of course, I opened all the cages and signaled for the slaves that they could run away. As expected very few followed that call, while others must have tried and failed before, bearing no more hope to escape and no longer trying. Well, I don''t have the leeway to take care of them, so I leave them be.


    The next thing on my list is to find a place where I can get a map to show my position relative to my destination. I got quite a few purses from this little scuffle, so now I''m walking through the streets of the town while searching for any kind of store which may be selling maps. I see some men in soldier uniforms staring at me due to my expensive-looking clothes and white skin, but since I''m a foreigner, they don''t think anything about it.


    I happen to find a scribe''s store, but since I don''t know the language, it''s incredibly hard for me to communicate. Their language sounds extremely foreign to me, especially considering how I can barely even speak a few words of English, and only with an incredibly bad accent. Of course, I never intended to leave Japan during my lifetime, so it''s understandable. I was forced into this situation due to an unreasonable sudden death last night...


    Finally, I spot a map hanging in the back of the store, although I can''t read the words on it at all. I call over the store owner, gesturing and pointing, trying to bring across my intentions. The elderly man points on the map when he finally understand that I want to know our current location.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    Alright, so that''s the Khurut Sultanate. It has clear borders to its neighboring nation, but is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. Now where''s the Demon Continent? Although, for some reason I have a feeling that it''s the huge blurry spot that occupies a fourth of the map. Considering the humans and demons are at war, they wouldn''t have the leisure to chart the demon lands, so it makes sense. While I don''t know what the distance to it is, I somehow get the feeling that it''s pretty far.


    It took a while, but I learned that if I travel upstream, I can reach the capital of the Khurut Sultanate. I''m sure I''ll be able to find someone who can speak my language better there and then find my way back to the Demon Continent. Thus, I set out on my path to the capital city, by walking along the river. There are boats traveling up and down the river, but since I can''t speak their language, I can''t ask them to bring me along. I could pay them for the service, but I don''t know the worth of the coins I have, either. So walking is simpler.


    I have a lot of food stocked up inside me and there''s as much fresh water as I want next to me. While I do have my reservations about drinking directly from the river, I think my body isn''t easily affected by anything. I mean, I''m dissolving entire previously living beings, including their stomach contents inside me, so there shouldn''t be any problem with hygiene... Ugh, when I think about it this way, I don''t feel so good...


    One thing I notice along the way is that I don''t seem to tire at all. While I used to be in the track and field club, it doesn''t do anything for me in a new body. In other words, it''s the body itself that''s really convenient. After all, I can transform into various shapes with it, including recreating muscles and bones. I''ll practice all sorts of things while traveling out of people''s sight.


    Four days later I spot a gigantic glowing circle in the distance. No, it''s not the sun, that one''s behind me. The circle rests on a massive, pyramid-like structure, and around it is a sprawling city. This is larger than the capital of the Demon Continent, which I saw from inside the demon castle. It''s really impressive.


    I''m sure there''s someone who knows my language here and can point me in the right direction.

 Chapter 52 - The 6th Day

    "... and that''s how I got here." I say to myself. I mean, she says to me.


    "No no no, you skipped the most important part!" I rebut myself. I mean, I rebut her.


    "Two Onee-sama... haaah... haaah..."


    "You''re not helping, Hestia!" I turn around and say in annoyance.


    "Who''s that? She''s really cute! A dark angel?" My other self says while looking past me.


    "Not now!"


    I think my brain is going to overheat. The girl in front of me is a perfect copy of me in appearance, and her personality is exactly the same as mine, too. It''s not just superficial, but tiny quirks I notice about myself sometimes, which I find quite annoying, are ingrained into her gestures and manners. There''s no way someone could just learn it from watching me and do it so naturally.


    Her memories from before awakening in the desert give me a good enough idea of what happened. The problem is that admitting to that fact is denying everything that''s making me a unique human (?) being. This girl in front of me is undoubtedly me, but I obviously don''t have any awareness of her body. In other words...


    Not only my body, but also my entire existence, was split during the first teleportation, when maou-mama sent me through the circle without any proper preparations. Or, maybe rather than split, it was made into two perfectly complete versions of the original, indistinguishable from each other.


    "Next time I see maou-mama, I''ll smack her..." I mutter.


    "Count me in..." The other me says with an annoyed expression. Ugh, please don''t talk in my voice, with the exact same face and gestures as I would. It''s messing with my head.


    From the corners of my eyes I''m keeping watch over the great masters and Abd al-Malik, who are staring as us in confused and wary silence. The fact that they''re not trying something funny means that the old man really thought it best to show me this and then hope that I''m sensible enough to leave the city alone. Well, I won''t do something so barbaric as slaughter the entire city for not getting what I want. But if they want to try locking me into this cell with this other me, I won''t show any mercy.


    "In either case, how did you get in here?" Incidentally, we''ve been speaking in Japanese all this time. It''s one more piece of evidence that she really is me. I mean, another me. Argh...


    "Well... I might have been a little too flashy on the marketplace. You see, there was a harpy girl on sale-" She begins to explain.


    "There are harpy girls?" That instantly piques my interest.


    "I know right? Not only does maou-mama have a ton of cute maids, but there are moe-type fantasy races!" The other me says with glittering eyes. "She was really cute, so I wanted to buy her and then set her free. You see, I have quite some money." Judging by her story, she did loot some slave traders, and I can speak from experience that they seem to carry quite a lot of money around. "But they wouldn''t allow me to, since they said I''m a foreigner."


    "... don''t tell me you attacked them and tried to take her by force?" I wouldn''t ever do something so stupid.


    "No, who do you think I am?" I knew she would say that line with this timing... Somehow I''m taking this whole doppelganger business really well. I mean, she is. But since she''s me, I should be taking it well, too? No, that means she''s actually also quite perturbed on the inside. "I went into an alleyway, changed my appearance slightly to match that of the native people, and tried again. They somehow saw through me..."


    "You didn''t change your clothes, I assume?" I rub the bridge of my nose, because that''s how the pattern goes.


    "... I didn''t change my clothes..." She admits sheepishly.


    "Are you an idiot?"


    "Look who''s talking!"


    "Alright... this is unproductive." I sigh and try to stop this useless argument, gesturing for her to continue her story. Yeah, I have to admit that I could have made the same mistake in the heat of the moment. I am her, after all. I mean, she is me... we are...


    "Yeah, it is... In either case, they called me a demon and attacked me. Obviously, I had to fight back. It got out of hand and some of these old farts over there got involved. They used magic and trapped me in a barrier I couldn''t break out of." Yeah, nowhere in her story did I hear about her learning magic. If it had been me, I would most likely have fared better, though, since at that time I knew the spirit spear already.


    "So you''ve been in here since then?" I don''t remember clearly how many days I''ve been in this world.


    "Yes, since twenty eight days ago..." My other self shows the first crack in her facade. "While this body is convenient and doesn''t require to do what girls don''t need to do either way..."


    "Let me stop you right there." I interrupt her. That''s not something I wish to talk about right now, and she obviously understands my sentiment.


    "... they didn''t let me take a bath. Even though I can just purge all dirt from my skin, it''s causing me a lot of stress... And the meals they provide me with are really lacking. I can feel my body eating itself up from the inside..." Her expression shows a hint of despair. "You... you''re here to free me, right?" She grabs my shoulders and I instinctively brace myself. But she doesn''t try to absorb me or anything. Maybe it''s because I know of maou-mama''s cannibalism, which is why I''m a little scared of touching another Crawling Chaos whose affiliation is still unclear. Even if it''s another me...


    Then again, our thoughts have been pretty well aligned, even if they''ve been out of sync since our split. The current me has absolutely no intention of eating her, since she''s another living being. Well, she''s an alternate me, one that went down a different path in life. I don''t feel incomplete without her, so there''s no urge to try and return her to my body. The same obviously goes for her, else she would have tried just now.


    "What do you think?" Abd al-Malik asks and I turn to look at him. Our conversation in an unknown language must have sounded really strange to them, but its almost comedic nature was most evidently not transmitted through our gestures, as everyone else still remain tense. Except for Hestia, whose eyes are swimming between the two of us, as if trying to burn the details of the sight of two Onee-sama at the same time into her retinas.


    "If you''re asking whether I''m satisfied with her instead of space magic... I have to say that I''m not really." I feel the other me flinch at these words, but I continue. "But if you want to know if she''s enough for me to not eradicate your city... Yes, as long as you promise not to try anything on our way out. Then I will leave this nation peacefully and never return."


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    "... I promise." The old man says, but I can''t really read his expression. However, unlike Thorvadis, this one isn''t overestimating himself and trying to fight us, huh? Well, I have no idea how strong he and the great masters are, but in this confined space, fighting me would be foolish. Although I don''t know whether they even realize that I''m a Crawling Chaos or only think that I''m a shape-shifter.


    "As you heard, we can leave now." I turn back to the other me. "By the way... what should I call you?"


    "What do you mean? I''m Kuroe Makoto." Yep, I expected this response, too. Please consider the situation of there being two of us...


    "I think, since you''re... most likely my lower half, I''ll call you..."


    "Please no!" She seems to see it coming.


    "Asoko." It even sounds like a proper name.


    "Hm, alright. That could have been worse." Asoko says. I stare at her and she looks away at exactly the same moment. Is it because she''s my lower half that she''s more perverted than I am? That one never came to mind...


    "Then let me introduce you to each other. This is Hestia, she''s my-"


    "-slave in body and heart!" The black angel says with an ecstatic smile as her eyes show the conviction of somebody believing in a god above. Good for you...


    "... and this is Asoko. She''s... something like a twin." I don''t want those who can understand me to know that she''s basically another me, since that would most likely give away the fact that I''m more than I seem to be.


    "... twincest... ufufu..." Asoko mutters and has a perverted grin on her face. I have to admit, I''d be equally excited at the prospect, if I wasn''t pressed for time. But now, I slap her over the back of her head. I think there are quite a few differences between us two, after all. She doesn''t seem as smart as I am, but maybe that just comes from the fact that I experienced quite a bit more than she did in the month she''s been interred in here.


    We''re led to an underground tunnel that runs in a different direction from the one we came into the palace from, and which apparently connects to a hidden location in the outskirts of the city. They don''t want us to exit through either the palace or the Hall of Spirit, most likely because both could be considered to be located in the city center. After all, with two dangerous beings freed, we could just destroy the city after all. Even then, I have to question the choice of revealing one of the secret routes in and out of this nation''s royal palace to strangers, but maybe they''ll seal it up afterwards. Whatever, I don''t really intend to return here anyways.


    "Oh, this reminds me." I turn to Abd al-Makir and notice the presence of our guide. Wait, he was still here? He''s been keeping a really low profile all this time, but he must have been strung along by the situation. I produce a purse from inside my body and hand it to him for his troubles. I don''t know how much is in there, but I don''t really care either way. Back to what I wanted to say in the first place. "Could you give me a map? The ones that are activated with magic, that is."


    "... we do not have such magic in the Khurut Sultanate." The old man responds. I don''t think there''s any reason for him to lie about this, since I could just try to find a store in the city and check for myself, if I wanted to. The guide did say that magic is a forbidden practice in this nation, except for those of the Shaman Caste, so maybe nobody actually knows how to replicate what seems to be the norm everywhere else.


    I don''t think I''d be able to find my way across continents using a normal map. Navigation systems built into mobile phones are so convenient that I never even learned reading traditional, non-interactive maps. And I was a track and field runner competing in national marathons... But for that I only had to follow a predetermined route, always marked properly and with no way to get lost. Uhhh, I''m not making excuses!


    "If you would allow me to retreat to the Qaeat Alrruh, then... I can feel my age and it is already late." Abd al-Makir states when the guards open the door to the tunnel. "There are no branches in the path, just follow the tunnel in a straight line and you will reach its end." This will serve as the last test for his will. If he wishes to ambush me, sending me down this tunnel alone is the best opportunity. I can''t glean anything from his expression, but since to him my powers are unknown, if his attempt fails and I survive, he risks the safety of the city he has gained through negotiations. I don''t think he''ll be so stupid as to throw it all away at this point.


    "Thank you for reuniting me with my family." I say with a smile in a gesture of goodwill. While I don''t have to indulge him in showing that I will leave peacefully now, I hope this will dispel all the doubts that may lead to rash actions. After all, I don''t want to risk getting into a battle and waste even more time, either. "Goodbye, old man."


    "I wish you good fortune on your travels..." He says, but I can''t tell whether that''s meant to be sarcasm or from the bottom of his heart. Bringing his palms together in a gesture reminiscent of Buddhist monks, he bows slightly, and all the great masters follow his example. I return it respectfully, even after all the disrespect I''ve shown him along the way.


    With this, we enter the tunnel. Only after the entrance has grown so distant that the people standing on the other side become indistinguishable from each other is it closed off. If they had done so the moment we walked through it, it would have been suspicious and I would have turned around and broken it down.


    Once out of the city he might send an army after me, since leaving a demon unchecked feels like a no-go to me for any human in this world - other than the Royal Academy, apparently. But by that time we''ll just take to the skies and fly away. Even without a map, I know that the Mineva Republic lies upstream of the river, so we can just fly that way. Judging by what I''ve seen so far, they very certainly don''t have an air force to pursue us with.


    Which reminds me... Asoko doesn''t have Hestia''s template.


    "Can you fly?" I ask her directly and she looks over to the fallen angel, who''s been in seventh heaven since she realized that there are two of me. That gaze means that she never absorbed any template of an animal capable of flight, I guess. Then Hestia will have to give her some of her genetic material. Which would mean...


    "Huh, Onee-sama?" Taken out of her daydreaming when I grab her arm, she asks in confusion, but in the next moment I seal her lips with mine. This is the second time within two days that I''m sharing a deep kiss with her. I know that there''s DNA in saliva, which is partially the way I got hers in the first place, so this is a way for me to make it so Asoko doesn''t have to engage with Hestia directly. She''s mine, and mine alone.


    "Wow! She does something I never could, without even blinking! What a girl!" She comments in excitement next to me. What are you saying? You''re me. Given the same circumstances, you would do the same without hesitation.


    I separate from Hestia, leaving her gasping for air and weak in the knees, and lick my lips, as to not waste a single drop of her saliva. Then I approach the other me. If I hadn''t died and reincarnated into this world, I would''ve never had the opportunity to do this. I will explore it to my heart''s content after rescuing Kamii.


    I lock lips with Asoko and steal her first kiss. Why do I know that it''s her first? Because before that night with Kamii, I never kissed anyone before. And there was no indication in her story that this version of me gained any experience in that regard. From the way she struggles at first, I can tell that it''s the truth. Wow, what is this excitement building inside me? In a sense I''m stealing my own first kiss. There''s a hint of taboo in this, too. Twincest, she called it earlier, but it''s something different and at a much higher level.


    This is selfcest!


    When I separate from her, her expression is one of arousal. But as expected of me, she didn''t lose her breath or melt away like Hestia does, and is keeping her composure to a certain extent. Licking her lips with a heated smile, her eyes are fixed on mine like those of a predator. Did something within her awaken? But before she can pursue me for more, I shut her down.


    "I just gave you Hestia''s genetic material. You should be able to transform into her now."


    "Oh, that''s what you were doing. I thought you were going into heat." She says with a surprised expression. Yeah, if I were in her position, I''d think so, too. Well, she is kind of me in her position and... Argh, I should stop trying to figure this out.


    "Let''s get going. I''ll tell you everything that happened on the way." I''m entering serious mode again. Asoko has a lot of catching up to do, and I will be teaching her magic, too. By the time we get back I want us to be on the same page.

 Chapter K2 - This Hand of Mine

    Ever since Oji-san and the others picked me up from the academy, I''ve been joining them on their requests. Runa is remaining at the academy, so I''m with the three men of the group. I want to meet Onee-sama again as soon as possible, to the point that I want to go and search for her. But I don''t know where she is, and if I leave this city and she comes back, we would miss each other. So all I can do is wait for her return. In the meantime, I have to get stronger so that I can be of help to Onee-sama. I''m always being protected by her and hold her back that way.


    Seven days have passed since I was separated from Onee-sama. Tomorrow we plan on going into a labyrinth under the city. Apparently it''s a scary place and Oji-san told me to wait at home, but I want to learn about my own powers. Onee-sama said that if I hit something with my cursed arm repeatedly, my strength grows. I want to learn how to use it properly, since it''s a part of me. And it can become of use to her, too.


    Since I don''t know much about how things work in the city, I only follow Oji-san around as we bought things for our descent into the dungeon. I''m always trying my best to carry some of the things, but I can''t do much because of my right arm. Still, Onee-sama says she likes it, and if it really contains the power she says it does, then I think it''s a fair price to pay for these inconveniences.


    The next morning we enter an underground passageway, which Sigurd says will lead deep below the surface, into a world of darkness filled with undead, but also riches and magical items. This looks no different from above ground, though. There are people around and a lot of shops are opened here, so I don''t understand why Oji-san said it would be scary.


    Then we finally enter the real dungeon. The stores are gone and no torches light up the darkness, as we go deeper and deeper. Since I''m with them now, they say that they will make it a leisured exploration trip instead.


    "No, I want to fight." I say and look up at them while lifting my cursed arm. They stare at me in surprise and then exchange a glance with each other.


    "We can''t make a child like you fight." Rolan says. He treats me like a little kid, but I''ve already climbed the stairs to adulthood, according to Onee-sama.


    "I''m not a child anymore." I won''t give up on this and remain defiant.


    "Yes, you a-" He begins, but I interrupt him.


    "Kuroe has made me an adult!" Upon these words, Rolan stares at me blankly, before blinking a few times. He turns to Sigurd and then Oji-san, who exchange a look of confusion.


    "What do you mean by that?" The leader finally asks cautiously.


    "I... don''t know how it''s called... She touched my body and it felt really strange..." Wait, I think I shouldn''t be telling them this. It''s something between only Onee-sama and I. But it''s too late, and the three men stare at me in shock.


    We continue on deeper into the underground, an awkward silence hanging over us. It was a bad idea to talk about it, but at least now they can''t treat me as a child anymore. Still, I think in these narrow tunnels, Oji-san with his huge shield will have no problems protecting all of us anyway. The air is turning stale and I''m reminded of the days I spent in a cage, inside dark warehouses and tents with little air. It feels suffocating, but I need to stay strong...


    I hear the sound of boots dragging across the floor. Oji-san told me that undead roam the underground sometimes, but most of them are brittle skeletons which can be destroyed with a single hit. However, it seems that one this soon into the labyrinth is alarming, as both Rolan and Sigurd ready themselves for battle. I can see really well in the dark and ahead of us, outside of the light from Oji-san''s shield a single figure approaches.


    It''s a man in chainmail, holding a sword and shield. His skin is very pale and his movements are sluggish. When he takes a step forward and his shield moves aside, I see it. The chainmail at his stomach is cut open and his bowels are spilling out. This is a zombie, only a few days old at best. I remember Onee-sama bringing me into the mausoleum in the town where I first met her, and eliminating an army of them with a single spell. She isn''t here this time, and we will have to fight against it physically.


    "There it is!" Oji-san points forward with his shield and the others see the zombie, too.


    "He must have died a day or two ago." Rolan comments as he draws his sword. Since the last time I met him, before we went to the academy, he has gained another sword, which hangs in its sheath next to the old one that he''s using now. I wonder why he''s not using that one, because its hilt looks much nicer.


    "That wound is from a vertical blade. Be careful of any traps in this area." Sigurd warns the party and aims his crossbow. He releases the bolt and it hits the zombie in the chest, causing it to stagger. Using that opening, Rolan rushes forward and cuts the man''s sword hand off, before fluidly moving his sword through the air and severing the other arm. Safe from counterattacks, he takes off the enemy''s coif and decapitates him swiftly.


    I''m beginning to lose my sense of time, as we walk for a seemingly very long time. The air is unmoving and smells really bad. I remember the stench from the mausoleum, meaning that there are more zombies close by, but in a more advanced state of decay.


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    "A group of twelve entered the dungeon four days ago and never returned. So that''s what happened to them." Oji-san comments when his light shines upon several zombies in different kinds of armors standing around in the corridor. They notice the light and turn around to us, showing that their faces are already black and falling apart. As if on cue, they all begin to walk towards us sluggishly, lifting their various weapons to attack us.


    Their movements are slow and they won''t be able to get past Oji-san, but since they are wearing some heavy armor, it won''t be so easy to dispatch so many quickly. If it was Onee-sama, she could just use that spell to send their spirits away, and even if she didn''t use it, she can take them inside her body and make them disappear that way. It just goes to show that Onee-sama is incredible.


    The first enemy reaches Oji-san and swings his sword slowly. It''s blocked by the huge shield and doesn''t do any damage. With a shield bash, he sends the zombie tumbling backwards. Sigurd shoots his crossbow and hits another one in the head, causing it to fall over and pull the two behind it down. But there are still many more, and those three are already moving to stand back up again.


    "I can fight, too!" I say and walk forward. Since I passed by Oji-san on the other side of where Rolan stands, he can''t hold me back in time. I run up to the first zombie and swing my cursed arm against its chest plate. I know that my strength won''t even be able to cause it to stagger, but that''s not all I have. I don''t let up and hit it again and again.


    After the third hit, my hit shows some effect, as it stumbles backwards, before raising its weapon in response. But something so slow is easily avoided as I step aside and hit it one more time. This time it can''t remain standing from the impact and falls on its back clumsily. I let my cursed arm crash down on its chest plate and see it denting from the hit. With my next attack I aim at its head, and even though he wears a kettle helm, my arm dents it and crushes the zombie''s skull underneath it.


    "Wha-" Oji-san voices from behind me, while Rolan comes up to me and pulls me backwards. Sigurd shoots a crossbow bolt and manages to hold back the whole zombie pack by causing the one in front to fall and pull several others down with it.


    "... how did you do that?" The leader asks me in astonishment and looks at my cursed arm.


    "Kuroe said that this must be an effect from my curse. She noticed when we were under the mountain and the small creatures attacked us." I explain as he pulls me behind the safety of Oji-san''s shield. "She said that when I hit things repeatedly, my strength increases." Or something like that. I don''t really know how it works, just that it does.


    "That... is an incredible power." Rolan says and turns to look at the zombie whose head I smashed in.


    "I hate to interrupt you two, but there are still quite a few of them left." Sigurd comments as he puts on another bolt and aims.


    "Let me take care of them!" I say and round Oji-san''s shield. But right in front of me is a zombie with a large club already raised, ready to attack. Wha-?


    Oji-san rushes forward and blocks the attack, while I fall on my bottom in shock. I made a mistake and nearly paid for it with my life. If he hadn''t reacted so quickly, I might have died.


    "You need to be more careful, Kamii." He says with a concerned expression. Even though I said I would grow stronger, I''m still being protected. This is so frustrating!


    "I''m sorry..."


    Rolan walks by me and draws his new sword. Its blade is glowing in a brilliant white, like the sun during high noon. My eyes are drawn to it in fascination, as it leaves behind a streak of light when it''s swung through the darkness. It cleaves through the torso of the zombie that tried to attack me just now, searing the wound it creates so that it''s immediately cauterized. Moving onto the next, the blade cuts through plate armor like paper and severs an arm, then the head.


    In a dance of death, Rolan cuts his way through half a dozen zombies, before falling back and sheathing the sword. I wonder why he stops, but I can see that his face is strained from exhaustion and his arms are shaking. He sees my concerned expression and turns to give me a tired smile.


    "This weapon has incredible power, but I''m not yet worthy to wield it." His breathing is rugged and sweat is forming on his forehead. "I can only use it for a short time and will be really tired afterwards..."


    "... then leave it to me!" I say with determination, and this time I pay attention when I walk forward. There are only a few zombies left. The closest has a shield and is wielding a short sword, but is in a horrible state of decay that makes its movements even slower than that of the others so far. Oji-san is backing me up and walks by my side, to bring his shield forward when needed. Sigurd shoots his crossbow and it hits the shoulder of the zombie''s sword arm. With so much help, I won''t have any problems.


    Once again, I swing my cursed arm repeatedly, hitting whatever part of the enemy I can. As expected, the first attack is as weak as always, but this time I can clearly feel the power my curse grants me. Every following hit seems to double the weight of the impact, even as I don''t feel any change inside my body itself. So it''s not me getting stronger, but just the force behind my attacks.


    On the seventh hit, the zombie is sent flying against the wall, on which its head splatters into many pieces. I turn to the next one, but first take my time to see whether I may have overlooked something. No, there are only three enemies left and they seem to be moving towards us in a group. I can count on Oji-san and Sigurd''s help, as Rolan is recovering from his fatigue.


    With a crossbow bolt to the knee, Sigurd causes one of the three to take a tumble. Oji-san pushes another one away with his shield, and I assault the last one. When I hit it, I notice that my power from has disappeared. But it increases with every subsequent hit again, and on the sixth hit, the force behind my cursed arm caves the zombie''s head into its torso. This ability is really strong, but stacking it can be difficult.


    I now know that there might be a time limit within which I need to hit something, or I lose the effect. The other possibility is that it only works on one enemy. I need to improve my basic strength, make my hits have an effect without the curse activating. This means I need to train my body to be faster, sturdier and more powerful. With my first attack I need to create an opening for a second hit. These zombies are slow and dumb, but an intelligent enemy won''t take hits repeatedly, especially if he can feel the power behind them increasing. Maybe that''s where the little magic I learned at the academy will come in handy.


    Onee-sama, I will show you that I can fight by your side when you return. I won''t be protected forever. Someday, I will be the one to protect you instead.

 Chapter 53 - The Red Tides

    The change between nations is very evident in both geography and architecture. Buildings in the Khurut Sultanate usually had flowing edges and felt more organic, even though they were made of sandstone. At the border to the Mineva Republic, that quickly changed to a more European style, similar to how it looked like in the Kingdom of Lares. Although there are several differences, it goes to show that their cultures may have the same roots.


    Also, the sultanate is separated from the republic by a mountain range, which seems to act as a natural border. While we fly across the sky, below us savanna changes into a more temperate forest, as elevation increases. The dirt roads leading through the mountains are barred by stone walls and gates, with old, overgrown watchtowers keeping an eye on the surroundings.


    It goes to show that there may have been border disputes between the nations in the past, although the paths are now open to all travelers. I can see caravans traveling through those gates with the guards only watching, not controlling papers or cargo. Having a common enemy, one that poses a threat not to national borders, but to the survival of the entire race, can unify even former enemies like that.


    But there are no borders in the sky, and we fly high enough for those below to surely think that we''re only large birds. Asoko has gained Hestia''s template and I taught her a few basic spells, such as Ventus, to allow her to take off with us. While in the sky we don''t talk much, instead paying close attention to the geography and the river, making sure not to travel up another one that flows into it.


    Since we have reached the Mineva Republic, it''s only a matter of time before we come upon a city where we can find one of those interactive leather maps. Once I get one into my hands, we can finally go towards the Kingdom of Lares in a direct line - even if it means flying across the ocean. We''ve already wasted enough time because my memory of space magic was erased, and Kamii has been in the academy''s hands for four days now.


    With the enhanced vision granted by Hestia''s genetic template, I spot a large elk-like beast in the forest below. Many animals in this world are pretty much indistinguishable from those in my previous world. The laws of physics, climate and air quality are pretty similar - only less polluted from industrialism, but instead affected by corruption sometimes. It''s obvious that generally the same kinds of animals would develop under these circumstances. Except for the cyborg dinosaurs on the Dark Continent. I still wonder what those were.


    "Onee-sama, there is a town." Hestia points forward and I spot it too. Judging by the aerial view, it''s somewhere around the size of Kongenssoevn''s citadel, meaning its population can''t be that large. But from one look I can tell that the cultural standard of the republic is higher than that of the kingdom. Even in such a small town pretty much all buildings are made of stone, and I can see that many of the windows are covered with some form of glass. While it''s not on the level of the practically modern day windows of the Royal Academy, the Mineva Republic must be an affluent nation for common folks to be able to afford such commodities.


    "Let''s set down a distance away from it. I don''t want to cause a scene. We''re looking for a map of the world and a marketplace to buy food." I say and begin to descend. If it was just me, I could make do with animals in the wild. Asoko can even digest trees, and while I haven''t tried it yet, I''m sure I would be able to, too. Hestia is the one who needs human food. It''s slowing us down, but obviously I can''t blame her for being born the way she was - since I was born the way I am.


    The town gate is open and the guards are sitting around playing dice or just resting. I taught Asoko how to change her body so that her skin looks like clothes, and turn myself into my academy version so that we don''t draw too many suspicions as two perfect copies of each other would. After all, twins seem rare enough that I haven''t seen any yet. Hestia''s outfit has changed to a robe from the sultanate, since her school uniform was getting pretty dirty and we had no means to wash it properly. It''s safely stored inside my body for cases in which she might need it, despite its modified appearance.


    Upon our approach the guards barely pay any attention to us. Hestia''s wings are hidden under her robes and a large straw basket I bought in the sultanate for this very purpose. While her black wings attracted a lot of attention in the sultanate, very few of the people knew what she really was, most likely considering her to be a spirit from the desert - or even going as far as to think that she''s a goddess. But I think general education here should be good enough for people to know what Fatas are - just like people of the kingdom do.


    Inside the town, we''re greeted by a bustling main street that leads directly towards the castle at its heart. Even though the inhabitants aren''t numerous, they seem quite busy with daily activities. Permanent stores are opened on both sides of the paved street, with each specialized in certain products, such as a bakery, a tailor and a hardware store. The last thing I want to see is something like a supermarket, because that would mean a huge discrepancy in technologies in this world.


    "Good sir, could you tell us where I may find a store that sells maps?" I ask a passerby, since I doubt they have books on space magic in this town. He stares at me for a moment, then his eyes go over my companions, before returning to look into mine. Don''t tell me he''s a bad guy or something...


    "Right here, milady." The man points to our side and all three of us turn our heads. Huh, how did I miss this? It''s a store selling writing materials, which, according to Asoko''s story regarding the scribe''s store in the Khurut Sultanate, carry maps, too. Makes sense for those leather pieces to be sold here, then.


    "Th-thank you." Waaah, this is so embarrassing! He laughs a little and then waves goodbye, continuing on his way - he was actually a nice guy, too! Sorry for beginning to doubt you...


    We enter the store, which smells of paper and ink. There''s little space to walk in, as scrolls stick out from their shelves and books are piled up all over the floor. We make our way through the cluttered interior and find a reception desk attended by a slim, elderly man wearing glasses. I do a double take at that. Glasses? There are glasses in this world? Asoko and I both spin around to look at Hestia.


    "... what?" She''s confused and blushes at the attention of - from her point of view - two Onee-sama.


    "You''re thinking what I''m thinking, right?" Asoko asks while looking at me.


    "Indeed. Who do you think I am?" Even though she''s been with Hestia for only two days, she has already found out the charm points of the fallen angel. As expected of another me. I always thought something in her was missing, but could never really pinpoint it. I mean, you would expect an old man principal like Thorvadis to wear glasses, so when he didn''t, I thought they didn''t exist in this world. That may have subconsciously let me forget that aspect about Hestia''s appearance. "How are your eyes, Hestia?"


    "Ah, they are back to normal, thank you for asking." She smiles at me radiantly, and I imagine glasses framing her eyes. Perfect! But I have to hold myself back from clicking my tongue when she says that she has no problems with her eyesight anymore. So her curse isn''t like a certain set of red eyes that have powerful illusionary abilities, but decay with use, huh? Still, fake glasses are fine, too. It''s all about the overall appearance anyway!


    "Hellow, dear customah''s? How can ah help ye?" The old man calls out to us when he notices our presence and looks up from his reading material. I can detect an accent, or maybe more precisely, a dialect. As expected, just like Japan has dialects that may sound like completely different languages in locations only a few hours apart with the Shinkansen, the one language that could be considered this world''s standard also has variations.


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    "We are looking for glass-"


    "I would like to purchase a leather-bound world map." I say while pushing Asoko aside. Pleasure comes after work, you idiot! I know... I would have done the same, if it wasn''t for Kamii. But I couldn''t make her understand what I consider to be a grave situation regarding the little dark elf, most likely because she never met her and doesn''t feel connected to her in the way I do. "But first, I would like to ask... can I pay with the sultanate''s currency?"


    I almost completely forgot about this. There are obviously different currencies, and they might not be accepted everywhere. Even if I have thousands of Eyebtam, if they can''t be used here, they might as well be worthless pieces of metal to me. Especially since I don''t really intend to return to the Khurut Sultanate in the first place. I prefer temperate climates and hate the heat - although in this new body, temperature doesn''t seem to affect me as much as it did in my previous life.


    "Normally ye are expe''ted tah exchange it at a bank, but ah can do that for ye, to save ye ladies da trouble." The old man says in a friendly manner as he stands up from his chair and slowly walks into an aisle filled with leather scrolls. My, what a gentleman, and how nice of him to give us such excellent service.


    He returns with a large sheet of soft leather, similar in size to the one I had in the survival backpack - which had been reduced to ashes in the desert. He makes some space on the reception desk and unrolls it before us, muttering the incantation to make it display its contents.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    The first thing I notice is the alignment of the map. It''s at a ninety degree angle from how I used to look at it. Meaning, I was reading the map I had wrongly all this time. The second thing is the inclusion of a huge landmass at the bottom left, which is labeled "Eternal Continent". It didn''t show up on maou-mama''s map. For such a huge place to be absent makes me wonder what the level of knowledge on the demon continent is...


    Another addition to the map, when compared to the others I''ve seen so far, is the fact that it shows rivers. Obviously, those are only major rivers, since any more would clutter up the map. Same for cities. It would appear that the capital of each nation is denoted by a dark dot, while no other towns are marked. Well, it makes sense, since this is a world map after all.


    But for me, the most important thing is seeing that we have closed our gap to the academy - and therefore, to rescuing Kamii - by a fourth of the initial distance. It took four days, but that''s much faster than I had first anticipated. Still, who knows what they already did to her during that time, so I won''t be able to calm down or be able to rest properly until I have her back in my arms.


    "Where do ye plan on travelin''?" The shopkeeper asks in curiosity, considering the fact that we do look like travelers while we have very little luggage on us.


    "To the Kingdom of Lares." I answer truthfully, since I see no harm in doing so, but take control of the conversation right after. "How much is the map?" While I appreciate his friendly attitude, I don''t want to waste any more time here, and pull out a purse from inside my clothes.


    "Ah, that would be two Eyebtam." Woah, that''s expensive! A meal was only twenty-two Repuk, which is basically only a hundredth of the price for this map. While I admit that it''s quite detailed and has the interactive magic cast on it, it''s something normal people wouldn''t be able to afford in the Khurut Sultanate. But now isn''t the time to be stingy with the excessive amount of money that I have. I open the purse and take out the equivalent of two Eyebtam in Lakin, but am stopped by the old man. "In Lakin, it will be twenty five."


    I see no ill will in his words and expression, so I assume that the sultanate''s currency only holds value due to its material, rather than having a set exchange rate. Two gold coins, especially as big as they are, are considered to be worth more than what their equivalent amount in their original currency put in silver would be. Fair enough, I''ll get rid of some weight, then, and pay in Lakin.


    "Unfortunately, I have no Eyebtam, so I will have to pay in Lakin." I lie and put the twenty five coins on the table for him to count. He goes through them quickly, rolls up the map and fastens it with a red string, before handing it to me almost ceremoniously. "Thank you." I take it and motion to leave.


    "Wait, young lady." The old man calls out to me right when I turn away. "The day is nearing its end. If ye do not mind, ah recommend stayin'' da night in da Ebony Stallion." Indeed, the sun is falling towards the horizon, but if we fly, I''m sure we can reach the next town before it''s completely dark. "It is just down da street, at da second cornah on da right."


    "Thank you for your suggestion, kind sir." I nod my head and we finally leave the store.


    "Onee-sama... I know we are hard-pressed for time, but I am not feeling too well..." Hestia says. I can''t really tell from her facial expression or skin tone, since she''s keeping it under control, and her skin is usually quite pale anyway. But her shoulders are a drawn together a little and she has one hand pressed against her abdomen.


    Oh, it''s that.


    Thus, we check in at the Ebony Stallion. Asoko said that she spotted a store she wanted to check out and walked away as we went down the road, but knowing how she''s me, I''m sure it must be something about food. Well, I can understand that she''s less interested in Hestia''s well-being than I am, considering our past together, and there''s no reason for both of us to be around her right now anyway.


    It''s only her period, after all.


    Something that I don''t have in this new body. After all, my biology is completely messed up and doesn''t follow any laws of nature. I can have all the facilities in one moment, and then change to be amorphous, before switching to the opposite gender in the next. There''s no reason for any singular bodily function developed through a history of evolution to take hold in me, when I can make my body move through the entire history of evolution within seconds.


    Now, as for how people in this world deal with these problems, I''ll have to ask Hestia herself. Coming from a world where all the necessary items were available in a convenience store a short walk away, I can''t even begin to fathom what women here use in these circumstances. And this is my first time encountering this problem in someone I know, which makes me wonder about Luna. Maybe I just missed hers, or maybe she was on her period when I just met her, which might explain her attitude problem at the time. An attitude she mostly lost along our travels. Hm... when I think about it this way, it is entirely possible. Or she was already pregnant from Rolan. I shrug off that thought...


    The room upstairs of the tavern, which almost resembles an actual hotel room, is spacious with plenty of light falling in through the large windows despite the time of day. When I walk into the bathroom, I see that it contains a big tub and running water from brass fittings. Now, as for Hestia. She''s laid down on the bed, stomach-first and seems to be experiencing cramps. Well, I''ll start with giving her a massage for now.


    "I am so sorry, Onee-sama..." She says weakly while I push the pressure points I learned from my senpai in the track and field club. The back anatomy of a Fata is different from a human''s, but at least the lower part is still the same; the same muscles mean the same points. I can see that she seems to calm down from it and is even enjoying it a little.


    "Don''t worry about it, just think about getting better." I say and smile. We''ve been hurrying along for the past few days so much that we weren''t able to have any quality time like this. If I had never learned of the conspiracy involving Mithra and the gods - although I still don''t know what exactly the latter are like - we would have been spending our days at the academy peacefully now.


    A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts and when I open it, Asoko is standing before me with a pair of glasses on her nose. She gives me a triumphant grin and holds up another pair, which is the exact type that I imagined would fit Hestia perfectly.


    "So that''s where you went!" I take them into my hands and look at them from every angle. They seem to be fake, with flat glass inlaid into them, rather than convex or concave ones. I turn to the fallen angel who''s sitting up on the bed and leaning overr to see what we''re up to. Immediately, I approach her and without giving her a moment to realize what''s happening, put them on her nose.


    She looks at me in confusion, with a slight blush and the jumpiness of a bullied girl about to be confronted by a bully. That''s the side in her that had disappeared after I fully corrupted her, and now it''s amplified by those glasses. The appearance makes my heart skip a beat and I grab both her shoulders. Upon seeing my face, her expression changes into a mixture of joyous fear and anxious anticipation. I lick my lips as my breathing heats up.


    I heard having sex while on your period can be an incredible experience. For both.

 Chapter 54 - Battle for the Bulge

    When I think about it, it does feel kinda awkward with another me in the room. Before I can do anything, I''ll have to deal with that one first. Turning away from Hestia, who''s shaking in anticipation as her breathing grows rougher, I look at Asoko with an expression that''s wordlessly suggesting for her to take her leave discreetly.


    "Aww, I thought-" She begins, but I interrupt her.


    "No, Hestia''s mine. If you really want it that badly, we can have some later." Even if Asoko''s another me, I won''t be sharing my girls with anyone else. Unless she becomes one of my girls, too, that is. Well, in a sense, she already is, but it feels more complicated than that, so it doesn''t count right now.


    "I''ll take your word for it~" Apparently she''s fine with the offer. I think later she''ll ask me to transform into Hestia and put on glasses for her, but she''ll have another thing coming for her at the time. I''m not going to be on the receiving end - even if it''s from myself. Asoko is my lower half, so I will be using her as if I''m mast-


    "Alright." I shake my head of these thoughts and wave her out of the room. I don''t know where she''ll be going, but I don''t really care, as long as she leaves us alone for a while.


    Turning to Hestia when the door closes, I see that she''s already mentally prepared and beginning to undress. Much like that time on the rooftop of the library, she looks like she''s in heat. But there''s a hint of apprehension in her expression at the thought that we''ll be doing it while she''s on her period. Paired with her glasses, it looks like she''s actually embarrassed. That stirs my libido more than anything else; it''s a throwback to the bullied girl image she had on our first meeting.


    But I can''t go all out - or rather all in - this time... I have to remind myself of Hestia''s physical condition. After all, a tentacle assault would be too taxing. Still, doing it like I did it with Kamii doesn''t feel right under these circumstances. Especially since she''s already naturally prepared for insertion. There is one great option, something I accidentally read in a convenience store before. It was accidental!


    I undo my clothes transformation and go through all templates inside my body, to find what I need. Hm... too small, too curved, too weirdly shaped... too- eww, delete! But there are quite a lot to choose from, since I did swallow quite a few of them along the way... no wait, I mean their bodies! Ugh, that was so misleading... Let''s start with something normal first, though. I''m keeping the other one I found in reserve for later or another time.


    From between my legs an appendage sprouts that normally doesn''t exist on girls. Hestia''s eyes grow big at the sight and her jaw drops slightly in shock. Then her lips curl up in a nervous, almost fearful smile, before her pinkish red tongue licks them in anticipation. She''s not been wearing any underwear ever since her first time with me, so I can see that she''s ready. There''s no hint of blood yet, but that may be because it''s only the onset of her period.


    I step forward and push her down, excitement building as I see her nervousness through the fake glasses. How can something so simple add such a huge bonus to her charm points? If I had to put it into stats, she would have exceeded her already maxed out level. I can feel my unnatural growth stir at her defenselessly sprawled out sight. My hand moves towards her and she flinches slightly, expecting me to go for it right away, like I practically did on our first time. But back then she was practically gushing like a waterfall from... being in heat? And I was in my real form, with some lubricant of my own, which I wouldn''t be surprised of is actually a form of aphrodisiac.


    I lean in for a kiss while letting my fingers run across her collarbone. At the sensation she shivers and I take the opportunity to part her lips with my tongue. Greeting it is her own, as we entwine them in a sensual dance of flesh. Since I''m using a human body with all its facilities, it feels completely different from how it did when I just transformed into a mass of tentacles. A floating sensation fills my head and I have to wonder how Hestia felt being ravaged all over her body at the time, if just a kiss can feel this great.


    My hand moves to the nape of her neck, caressing her backbone, which sticks out slightly from her posture. I move my head backwards, upon which she pursues me with her lips and sucks on my tongue almost frantically. Then I move the fingers of my right hand to her head and massage the back of her ear, while nibbling on her other earlobe. My left hand is creeping downwards to dance over her chest, through her large cleavage and down to her navel, softly touching her skin as if trying to tickle her gently.


    "Onee-sama..." Hestia''s voice is heating up as she bites her lower lip and closes her eyes. It appears that she is unfamiliar with the concept of mutual foreplay, as her hands are resting, grasping the sheets while letting me do all the work. Well, I don''t mind, since I''ll be taking pleasure in seeing hers. My arousal meter is rising with hers~


    The fingers of my left hand trace her individual ribs, which are barely visible on her arched form. It seems she lost some weight on our travels. I lightly bite her neck and suck on her skin, trying to give her a hickey, to leave behind a visible mark on her body that will show others that she is mine. My right hand moves down to her breasts and finally reach their peaks, circling around them like a vulture around its prey, before swooping down to pinch them a little.


    My other hand glides to the base of her wings and massage what correspond to the space between a human''s shoulder blades. All my facilities are slowly moving towards the part where the action is going to take place in soon. I look down to find that she''s practically ready and her folds are glistening wet with hints of blood mixed in. My fingers slide down and begin to massage the mound above it, knowing that underneath this, inside her body, is where I will be pushing into soon.


    I let my tongue run over her collarbone, shower the path downwards with kisses and reach her breasts. I could bury my face between them, but it would feel out of place in such a sensual encounter. Instead, I lick her peak and run my fingers across the inside of her thighs. Waves of shiver tremor across Hestia''s body as she bites onto the knuckle of her index finger to suppress her voice. I don''t mind you letting it out, you know. Rather, I want to hear it. I bite down on the most sensitive spot on her breasts, just as I touch the same down below. Her voice slips in a surprised moan and she looks down at me in astonishment.


    It''s time for the last step before the main course. I move up to kiss her again, while at the same time I try inserting a finger to probe her insides. I''m greeted by soft heat and slippery wetness. It would seem she''s ready to receive my manliness - as strange as that may sound coming from a girl. In either case, I can feel that I''m more than ready, as my entire abdomen seems to be pulsing. Aligning myself, I separate from her lips and let her look down.


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    "Please, give it to me..." She breathes, her eyes, framed by those deadly glasses, begging me in desperation. That expression blows away any reservations and I insert it in one go.


    Wow, this is a completely new sensation. Unlike the time when I was in my tentacle form, which seems to have diminished senses, this body is that of a normal human being''s. I''m basically myself right now, except for that part I never had before. And I didn''t know it could feel like this for a man! Hestia is sucking me in, her inner walls convulsing and massaging me. Uoooh! My hips are moving on their own!


    I push all the way in and hit a dead end. I think I just knocked on the entrance to her womb there. Hestia lets out a little squeal and her expression melts away. All my sensations are concentrated on my nether regions and I begin to slowly pull out. Oh, here comes the red tide, covering my entire length. I let it seep into my body and dissolve it for its nutritional value, because I don''t really want to dirty the sheets too much and not waste a drop of my beloved girl''s essence.


    My hips begin to move rhythmically as I instinctually feel what I need to do. With one hand I grab one of her breasts, while the other seeks a certain sweet spot down below. When I find it, I use my thumb to massage it, sending waves of pleasures through Hestia''s body, causing her inner convulsions to become more frantic, in turn increasing my own pleasure.


    So this is what sex between two lovers is like, huh? My previous times it was me one-sidedly pleasuring Kamii with my hand and tongue techniques, and although I did insert myself into Hestia, it was for the sole purpose of achieving the legendary ahegao double-peace. It did feel great mentally, but it was... strangely selfless in the physical sense as I never had a climax myself. But this time, I''m doing it for myself just as much as I''m doing it for Hestia.


    Speaking of which, she seems to be enjoying it greatly, so I feel quite happy about that. However, she''s still keeping her voice in check, trying not to let others hear us making love. I don''t mind at all and would actually prefer to announce our relationship to the world! Thus, I change to a shallow thrust that mostly stimulates her entrance. She looks down at our union and her face reveals a hint of longing. Apparently it''s not enough for her, but I already expected it. Switching things up is what spices up the game, after all.


    I change the angle and grind into her depth, upon which she throws her head back and lets out an unintelligible noise, a mixture of moaning and trying to voice her surprise. A split second later her insides twist and turn, wrapping around me with a previously never experienced intensity. It very nearly brings me over the edge, but I hold myself back with every fiber of my being. I can control everything about my body as I see fit, but this time, I want to let things progress naturally.


    Time to change it up a bit. I lift my leg over hers and flip her onto her side, before pushing my pelvis forward. This posture lets me kiss the entrance of her womb with every move, and it draws a breathless scream from Hestia as her arms flail in an attempt to get away from me. Wow, that effective, huh? I can see that it''s not because she''s hurting, but rather because the pleasure feels like it could drive her crazy.


    "No, Onee-sama, this... Mmm!" She buries her face in the pillow as I seem to have found the perfect angle. Oh yes, it certainly is, as I can feel my body go numb as well. Her toes are curling up and her back arches. I think that may have been a climax.


    I feel it coming from deep inside me as well, but I want to feel it for a little longer. Considering she seems to have just reached a peak, I pause and withdraw for a moment. I flip her over completely, laying her on her stomach before massaging the space between her wings. Hestia looks back to me with unfocused eyes, wondering what I''m about to do with part of her still conscious mind.


    It''s time for the other template I found. Her eyes regain their focus and open wide in shock at the shape I take. I can see both fear and desperate anticipation mixing on her face as she half-heartedly attempts to crawl away from me. I hold her down with one hand while using the other to stroke it demonstratively. Indeed, if I were in her position, I would have had the same reaction. After all, it''s almost the size ofher forearm.


    "That... that will not fit, Onee-sama!" Hestia says, all the while a senseless grin on her lips. It''s obvious that she actually wants it, even as a part of her refuses to accept that fact.


    "Why don''t we try it?" I whisper into her ear while I align myself down there and touch her with the tip. A shiver runs through her body at my voice and the sensation, and her expression changes as any hint of defiance melts away.


    "Y-yes..." She is ready to accept this challenge whole-heartedly. Good girl.


    I push her apart slowly and see her face go through various stages of emotions, ranging from fear, pain, pleasure and even a split second of unconsciousness, before I reach her limit. However, it''s not the limit for me, yet, and I still have some left to explore with. Hestia turns around to look once more and discovers that truth, upon which her eyes widen in the knowledge that I will not rest before it''s finished.


    "I-I-" She begins, but I go the last stretch in one quick motion, clearly feeling that I have entered new territory. "Ah-ahe~"


    Oops, her eyes just rolled back and she''s clearly making an ahegao, as her body convulses and trembles all over. It''s transmitted to me as well and from the sensation I can understand the height of pleasure she has just experienced. Luckily, there was enough natural lubricant inside her womb, because that''s where I just penetrated into. As I reach around to her stomach, I feel a pretty significant bulge where I''m pushing against the inside. At the realization my arousal reaches a climax of its own.


    I think I won''t be able to last very long under these circumstances, as her insides are squeezing hard in all directions. I begin to thrust, small and slow strokes at first, to get her used to the immense size, before gradually making them larger and speeding up. With every motion, Hestia completely lets go of her voice, no longer capable of caring about anyone else hearing us. I can see that she''s beyond climaxing already, and I feel myself reaching my own. My thoughts are becoming about moving my hips one-sidedly to grind my entire length against her insides. Then my mind goes blank and I can feel a dam about to burst.


    A part of me remembers what this has all been about and I pull out at the last moment, to aim at her bespectacled face, which is twisted in unconscious pleasure. For some reason I feel really accomplished when the sticky white liquid stains her glasses, before I fall onto the bed next to her, and into oblivion.


    "Wow..." My own voice wakes me up and I immediately open my eyes. Asoko is in the room and looking over the aftermath of our lovemaking. Her eyes are fixed on my abdomen and I look down. Yeah, when I look at it again, it''s really grotesque - even more so when it''s not at its full size. But from that alone one can glean how big it would be, if so, and that''s what she was referring to with her expression of amazement. "... you up for another round?" She looks at me with an expression similar to the one Hestia had earlier, when she first beheld the might of this template.


    And she''s also wearing glasses.


    I''m sorry, Kamii. But we will continue on our journey to rescue you tomorrow. I promise!

 Chapter 55 - Time to Return

    "And I thought I''d find you frantically trying to get back..."


    I spin my head around at the familiar voice and look in the direction it came from. Floating in the air behind me is a colorless, translucent version of Senka. She''s staring at our situation with a disapproving frown. What is our situation, you ask?


    Well, a bespectacled Hestia is lying on the bed, sullied, bloodied, and asleep or unconscious from the earlier consummation of our relationship, and I''m leaning over a naked and equally bespectacled Asoko, ready to engage in the absolute height of incestuous relationships. The appendage between my legs is standing at a raging right angle, its length just under a fourth of Senka''s total height. And it seems she spots it upon me turning around, as her eyes go wide at the sight.


    "Wha-" Her mouth flaps open, closes again, then she blinks her eyes and stares at it. "... that''s a murder weapon! Did you kill Hestia with it?!" She inches back from me, then notices who exactly it is that I was about to ravish with this killing tool. "Wait, did you create a clone of yourself because you didn''t have enough bloodshed yet?"


    "Hey, don''t jump to conclusions! Hestia really enjoyed it! And this is Asoko, she''s... another me." Yeah, it sounds like she''s just a clone when put this way, but that''s not it!


    "... who''re you talking to?" The other me looks up to me with a skeptical expression.


    "Huh, what do you mean?" I turn to her and then to Senka again.


    "Hm... the fact that she can''t see me means that she was created before you left the academy." Her expression changes to a contemplative one. "This is one of my special techniques. I finally found a piece of you in your ruined room and consumed it, which allows me to communicate with you over a long distance." The cursed doll explains with a dismissive gesture and glances at Asoko again in curiosity.


    "What''s that ability you''re speaking of? That sounds mighty convenient. Why didn''t you use it before?" If she can use it to talk with me over such a long distance, she could have asked me for a piece of my body much earlier.


    "Because I didn''t think we''d get separated so easily!" Senka''s expression is filled with a hint of loneliness. She''s really awkward in expressing her feelings, and this much is enough for me to know that she''s really missing me. Aww, now I want to hug her. But considering she''s most evidently a spirit of some sort, I won''t embarrass myself by reaching out to her and embracing thin air.


    "When I''m back, I''ll give you lots of love, Senka-chan~" I look at her with a warm smile. She sees it and turns away pouting, but I understand that she''s actually quite happy about it. Then her eyes glance over the situation in the room once more and annoyance fills her face.


    "Like you''re doing to Hestia and yourself, huh? If you do, not with that... thing... but that''s not important right now." She sighs and floats down to come eye to eye with me. "Kamii is safe with Rolan and his party." Upon hearing this I undo my body transformation and become completely serious.


    "Tell me what happened after I was teleported away."


    "I see... So they thought I put some sort of mind control on her, huh?" I sit on the bed beside the sleeping Hestia and clean up the mess I made on her face by absorbing it into my body through my fingers. If I didn''t have this convenient body, it would have never occurred to me to do something like this, and I would have thought the mere idea gross. "Did they do anything to her memories?"


    "I was inside her head during the ritual, and there was no hint of any hampering with her memories. Basarab and Arcelia really only looked for corruption from you in her mind and when they didn''t find anything, they stopped." Senka explains, although I wonder what she means by being inside her head, but judging from her abilities, it must be some sort of control over mind and spirit.


    "Are they taking good care of Kamii?" I''m completely focused on her well-being right now.


    "They''re bringing her along on small requests that only require some legwork. She''s alright now, but she feels lonely at night and will talk to me about you all the time." The cursed doll is floating right above my lap, replicating being held by me, but obviously she''s immaterial and there''s no feeling at all. Still, I guess it calms her down, and it''s somewhat nostalgic, as it''s been a while since we were last like this.


    "And how are you feeling, Senka?" I motion to embrace her after all, and while to Asoko it may look the strangest of my actions yet, I don''t care. Of course, there''s nothing to touch, so I simply hover my arms around her. Upon seeing it, the little doll lowers her head in what I perceive to be embarrassment.


    "... I''m fine..." She mutters and lifts her arm to touch mine, even though she knows that it''s futile. "Just... come back quickly..." Her tone pulls on my heartstrings. So this is the dere side of a kuudere showing itself, huh? It''s incredibly stimulating for me on an emotional level, rather than a physical one. It makes me want to cuddle her tightly.


    "Yes, I''ll do my best. Can you find out how transportation magic circles are drawn?" I ask her, but she shakes her head.


    "Even though I''ve seen the ones you used, I don''t have a photographic memory. And I already pushed my luck when I infiltrated the academy to find a piece of you. I don''t think I''d be able to get away with entering the forbidden section of the library and stealing what you''re looking for... but I could try it..."


    "No, don''t risk your life for this, we''ll get back the normal way." I know Senka''s immortal, but she''s most certainly not invincible. If she''s caught and locked up somewhere I may not be able to reach, immortality would instead work against her and condemn her to a long time of loneliness. I can''t subject her to that. She shows a slightly happy expression at my concern for her well-being, but quickly hides it away. "But really... even though I was able to recall that I teleported out and back into the academy, when I try to remember how, it simply eludes me. I just can''t recall how to draw the circles."


    "That''s because the memory-wipe was a hasty measure taken in the middle of combat and left many contradictions. Just think of it as your short-term memory of how to draw the transportation circles becoming unreliable with time. If he was able to just perfectly manipulate memories within mere moments, I see no reason why there isn''t peace in this world already." Senka has a good point there. I also considered the fact that Basarab wasn''t able to work things out perfectly since there were too many memories left over. Given enough time, he may be able to turn me into a completely blank slate, though... I shudder at the thought.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Next time I see Basarab, I''ll kill him instantly without even giving him the time to speak..." I mutter in suppressed anger. This whole situation is solely because of that teacher with the aphrodisiac-like voice, starting from the moment he told me about the conspiracy.


    "I think it''d be better to leave the academy alone. You took them by surprise last time, but they will be prepared for you now. Don''t think you''ll be able to defeat them again that easily." She says and floats out of my embrace to look me in the eyes. "Just come back, take Kamii and me away from there and find a peaceful place to live in, like you intended to in the first place." Her eyes show worry for me and I understand her sentiment. I was rushing back under the impression that I would wipe out the academy, and potentially the entire kingdom, depending on how they had treated Kamii, but this took the wind out of my sails. There''s no reason to do that anymore, and I can just avoid a confrontation altogether.


    "Yeah... let''s do that." I show her a smile and she returns it with her own. Even with these gruesome scars, it''s really charming when she smiles from the bottom of her heart.


    "I have to go now. This isn''t a technique I can use very often, but if there''s an emergency, I''ll let you know." Senka says and slowly fades away. "Come back soon, Makoto..." I think this is the first time she''s called out my name, and it makes my heart skip a beat. Especially the longing smile she shows at these words, before fully disappearing, serves to give me an incredible motivation boost.


    "I will... see you soon, Senka." I whisper, despite knowing that she''s no longer there.


    "So..." Asoko says after a moment of silence. "... are we going to... you know...?" It''s cute how awkward she sounds, but I''m no longer in the mood.


    "Another time." I say and create clothes from my body. "I''m going out for a bit. Look after Hestia." Stopping to think for a moment, I realize that there''s a condition I have to add to that. "And don''t you dare abuse my absence to touch her indecently." With this, I leave to do something productive.


    My aim is to increase my mass and build up a reserve. I know for a fact that my body needs very little rest, and sleep is only to satisfy my human mind. If I wanted to, I could go without it for a long time, and most likely for long enough to finish the rest of the journey in one go. For that, I need to gain more mass to work with as quickly as possible. Luckily, this town seems quite rich in resources, so that I don''t have to stoop so low as to graze on the surrounding forest. That is, if what I can find here is enough to satisfy my needs.


    I ask my way around and quickly find the bank the old store owner who sold me the map mentioned. The currency in this nation has a much simpler system, consisting of two precious metals rather than three. The lower valued one is made of copper - and named the same - and the ones using silver are called Asimi, with one hundred copper being one Asimi. I don''t have the mind to properly remember all this, but considering the geographical closeness of the Mineva Republic to the Kingdom of Lares, I maybe should, since I see myself returning here someday with a much higher likelihood than I do for the Khurut Sultanate. Two Eyebtam equal five Asimi, while twenty-five Lakin only equal four Asimi.


    Incidentally, the map I bought cost as much as the rent for our room at the Ebony Stallion. I ask the bank clerk for prices of various things and find that exchanging just two hundred Eyebtam should be enough. I made sure to simulate an outfit from the sultanate, which features large robes under which I could hide a large purse - although I''m keeping it all inside my body anyway - so that people don''t look at me strangely when I pull out a large purse filled with an incredible amount of coins from inside the folds of the robe.


    After the bank comes my true aim. I enter a store that sells a large hand-drawn cart - costing me twenty Asimi - and pull it through town, buying all the food I can find in bulk, and loading it onto the cart. I can''t very well eat as I normally do in front of everyone, and instead act as if I''m buying to feed a lot of mouths. When the cart is filled up completely, I go into an alleyway, make sure nobody is around, before consuming it all in one go. Of course, I don''t leave the alleyway the same way I came in, instead taking the cart inside my body and transforming into a different appearance, before walking out as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.


    I repeat this process across town, going through each store several times for differing quantities to not arouse suspicion, until they close down. In the end, I''ve gathered various foodstuffs that easily add up to over a ton in pure mass, but feels like much more in their combined nutrition value. This should be more than enough for what I have in mind, especially since I still have quite a bit left over inside me from the marketplaces during our journey.


    Thus, I return to the tavern and find Asoko asleep in her bed, and Hestia missing. For a moment panic rises up inside me, before I hear the sound of water from the bathroom. Unhesitatingly, I walk in without even knocking, and find the fallen angel sitting in the bathtub with her wings outstretched awkwardly to avoid them getting wet. She stops in the middle of her motion to wash herself and looks up at me in surprise. Then a tender smile plays across her face as her eyes meet mine with infinite love. That expression causes my heart to flutter and I walk up to her swiftly while undoing my clothes transformation.


    No, I''m not going for another round. Instead, I lean in on her and give her a passion-filled but superficial kiss on the lips. It''s not for the purpose of arousing each other, but to respond to her love with my own. If it wasn''t clear in my mind before, it is now. I love Hestia, from the bottom of my figurative heart.


    But still, my love is bigger than that. I have enough for Kamii and Senka as well, and even more to spare. Hestia has been aware of that ever since our night on the library rooftop, and I now understand what she meant when she told Kamii about it. I look into her crimson eyes and see a different kind of expression of love, when compared to the one she shows whenever I display my power in front of others or put her in her place when her yandere tendencies take over. Even if she''s a masochist, she knows that I''d never abuse that to really hurt her.


    I kiss her again while taking hold of her face, and let my passion go, which she returns in kind. It''s a different sort of love-making and it appears we both welcome it whole-heartedly. Today, a lot of things have become clearer about my relationship with two of the girls around me.


    The next morning, we leave the town, refreshed and ready to set off on what I have decided to be the final stage of our journey. We will put the rest of the distance behind us in one go without taking a single break. For that, I have explained my plan to Hestia and Asoko. The latter has the same capabilities as I do, although not as much mass, but she should be able to hold out on sleeping as long as I can. The former understands what I''m trying and looks at me with newfound adoration.


    We travel a short distance, out of sight from the town, and lift off into the skies. When we reach a high enough altitude, I pull out the image I have from inside my memories. An existence that exudes power and violence, with flight capabilities far more powerful than those of Fatas, which seem to be losing various aspects of an airborne race - as seen in their vestigial bird-like tails. What I have in mind is a creature revered throughout the centuries and mentioned in many mythologies of my previous world.


    Luckily, I have all elemental affinities, as I might hurt myself in the process otherwise. I burst out in an explosion of fire and heat, and take the form I only saw for a short moment at the academy. Powerful wings with an immense wingspan, armored skin that would seem impervious to any form of weapon, a mighty roar that shakes the very skies. Emerging from inside is the form of a tyrant, a being born to rule the skies, an apex predator of this world.


    I transform into a dragon, using the image I got from Dregana Tarragon, and supplying the aspects I couldn''t see from all the fantasy games I played before. As the fire around me clears, Hestia and Asoko land on my back and fold their wings, holding onto the armor plates that cover my body. I realize that their weight is completely negligible, as I beat my wings and accelerate to a speed far beyond what a Fata is capable of.


    Now, once again: Wait for me, Kamii. I''m coming back to you without any more delay.

 Chapter 56 - Ace Combat

    I''ve heard of migratory birds traveling distances of several hundred kilometers per day, but what I''m doing now is on another level. While it uses up a lot of energy to fly like this, I can see the scenery underneath me changing swiftly. The Mineva Republic''s geography looks quite similar to the Kingdom of Lares'' in that it''s mostly covered in hills and forests, with some rolling plains and land claimed for fields when near villages or towns. Large cities are similarly rare, generally only reaching the size of Hovsgaerden at their largest.


    We''ve traveled a whole day without rest, and Hestia has taken her meals while riding on my wide back. It seems that she''s actually quite comfortable, once I realized that hard armor is not too great to sit on for long distances, and created a fur cover for her from the template of a Vularen. Once again, I have to thank maou-mama for her mistake in sending me to the Dark Continent, because that wolf-like creature was the single most versatile genetic template I gained throughout my time in this world.


    I don''t feel a hint of fatigue since I mostly glide over large distances and at a constant descent, before having to employ my wings to gain some altitude again. Even the largest of birds don''t dare to approach me, and we make great progress at an incredibly fast rate. Asoko periodically checks the map to see our location, and soon tells me that we have put half the distance behind us, using the last town as a starting point. This means it''ll take another day to reach the capital of the kingdom. The goal is in sight.


    Flying through the night and using night vision, I don''t lose my way, while Hestia falls asleep on my back. I barely feel the weight of the two I''m carrying, but I can tell that she''s lying down comfortably. Asoko remains awake, but due to our speed, we can''t really talk to each other without screaming. Thus, we spend the time silently, concentrating on traveling as quickly as possible.


    I know Kamii is safe, but after Senka''s unexpectedly honest display of loneliness, I can''t even begin to imagine how the little dark elf must be feeling. While it''s true that without imminent danger, it''s no longer a matter of seconds. But for emotions, the cycle of day and night acts like tides of the sea. I picture her shivering in bed all alone, missing my presence next to her, which she has grown used to ever since I freed her from that cage. That thought is what keeps me going as fast as I can.


    When the sun rises to my right, I feel like I''m speeding up further. I want to reach the kingdom and Kamii''s side before the sun goes down again. But then I spot a flying animal in the distance and focus my eyes on it. It''s still far away, but there''s no doubt about it: It''s a dragon. And it appears to be of a different species from Dregana''s, which I''m copying visually. Its carapace is a bluish green, and it has a more pointed head. But... isn''t it coming towards us? Did I violate its airspace or something?


    With a mighty roar that splits the skies, the real dragon is approaching at an incredible velocity, although I can''t really tell whether it''s as fast as I am. In either case, I don''t really want to get bogged down by an aerial battle against a being that''s clearly dangerous. Considering the fact that Dregana''s species can shoot streams of fire out from between its armored plates, I wouldn''t be able to digest her in time before it causes an explosion inside me. If this new dragon is similar in that aspect, I can''t use my strongest asset that is my body


    "We have company..." I announce in a deep growling voice and wake up Hestia in the process. I''d prefer to run, but if it''s faster than I, it may be able to catch up, fly behind me and attack her. I''m not too worried about Asoko, since she should be able to defend herself to a certain extent. And she''s physically much sturdier due to not having a rigid skeletal structure like the fallen angel does. "Prepare for battle and brace yourselves for evasive maneuvers." While they can both fly, they''re slower than me, and therefore, would present better targets, if they should actually fall off my back. I could take them both inside me if I wanted to, but that''d be the last resort.


    The dragon is now close enough for me to see that its armor plates seem more streamlined than mine. It opens its mouth wide and from its depths I see a burning light rising to the surface. It''s about to spit fire at us, but considering the distance, I doubt the flames would hit me. And I''m still a moving target that can dodge something as slow as a breath of fire. But then it closes its jaws again and for a moment I think it may have come to the same conclusion as I regarding effective range.


    Then a stream of light shoots out from a small opening at the tip of its mouth. I can''t even react in time when it hits my tail and evaporates a part of it in the process. It hurts!!!


    One part of me is able to analyze calmly that the reason only my tail was hit is thanks to our different vectors and its miscalculation of my speed. In other words, it will correct that mistake with the next shot. Also, I''ve seen something just like this before: Luna''s laser beam spell, which she used against the double fire affinity mage during the battle in the slave traders'' hideout. And worst of all, fire seems to be a Crawling Chaos'' greatest weakness, since it simply burns away our organic bodies and can cause extensive damage. I''ll fight light with light!


    "Spirit Spear!" I roar and a lance of light, larger than any I''ve summoned before, appears above me. Does this have anything to do with how loudly I chant or is it in relation to my body size? In either case, if that hits, it should be game over for that dragon. When I look at it, it''s preparing to fire another beam while beginning to align its flight path with mine. Oh no, you don''t!


    The spirit spear flies towards it at blinding speed and I''m ready to celebrate when I see it about to hit the target, when the dragon dodges at the last second, causing it to disappear in the distance harmlessly.


    "Spirit Spears!" This time I create more than a dozen of smaller ones arranged in a circular formation, so that they can''t be dodged so easily. I fire them like a shotgun blast, increasing their scattering the further they travel away from me. However, the dragon folds its wings and rolls in midair, minimizing its surface area, so that only a single one of the spears grazes its armor plates. I notice that it doesn''t cause any notable damage, as the light is dispelled instead of erasing everything in its path. Huh? Does that mean dragons have high magic resistance in this world, like in so many fantasy games I played? That''s unfair! I only have magic to fight back with and I don''t have a real dragon''s genetic template which would grant me the same resistance in this form!


    The beam whips towards me and I frantically dodge by folding my wings and diving downwards. It cuts through the air above me and disperses after a distance. While these attacks may not be able to kill me in one shot, I don''t want to risk either of my passengers getting hit by one. Hestia would be melted in an instant by the size of that beam, and even Asoko, in her current form, might get completely obliterated by it, too. Even if I had more than enough mass to grow that tail back, I''d rather not be hit by that anywhere on my body or wings either.


    I need to get close and attack it physically. At a range, I''m at a great disadvantage, as I have nothing to fight back with. My greatest spell is completely ineffective and the dragon can attack repeatedly, seemingly without tiring. The only saving grace is that it''s a pinpoint effect and has a rather low firing rate. I can predict when it''s going to shoot again, and go with a wide dodge.


    Just when I think that, the opponent charges up again, but instead of closing its jaw, it keeps it half-open. A volley of beams appear from between its teeth, spreading out like a shotgun blast, as if in an imitation of my previous attack. I see no way to dodge it and immediately change into the Fata template while pulling both Hestia and Asoko inside my body. With my much smaller size, I weave through the space between beams and tumble towards the ground at an incredible velocity.


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    Surprised by my sudden transformation, the dragon stops in midair and watches my descent. But I immediately take on the form of a dragon again, this time copying its very own appearance. Spinning around, I spread my wings and catch my fall, before speeding away just above the forest canopy. I don''t have any of its genetic material, so I can''t copy its abilities, meaning that nothing has changed about my situation. All I did was delay its pursuit by confusing it.


    A roar from behind me denotes the end of that confusion and I see it readying another attack. I put some distance between us, so it should be the pinpoint long-distance beam this time. At least I can dodge that more easily.


    "Hey, let me out!" A voice inside me says. It''s my own voice and I would have thought that I''ve gone crazy from the pressure of the situation, if I didn''t know that Asoko is inside my body right now.


    "This isn''t a good time!" I reply and dodge the beam, which cuts through the forest under me and evaporates a line of trees in its wake. Hey, you''re going to cause a forest fire in your territory, dragon! Apparently it doesn''t care about that possibility, as it comes after me and prepares another shot - most likely the shotgun version again, as it has closed the distance considerably with a steep dive.


    "I know a countermeasure, so let me out!" Asoko yells and struggles in vain. But I open up a hole on my back, through which she''s able to climb out. "Undo your transformation!" I do as I''m told and she hugs me closely, causing us to roll in midair, before she changes into her Fata template. In that short while she speaks into my ear for only me to hear. "I''m the bait, you attack it!" She lets go of me, spreads her wings while wearing an expression of trust, and salutes me. She casts Ventus to gain altitude, and shoots up into the sky, while I fall towards the forest below.


    I watch as the dragon stops for a moment and looks between the two of us, before deciding that the winged one is the real me and the more important target. Then I cover my body in a shell of bone hardened to its utmost limit, right before hitting a tree and crashing through the forest like a cannonball. Once at rest, I immediately let Hestia out from inside me and change into her template.


    "Onee-sama?" She gasps for air as she looks around and then up to me in confusion.


    "Wait here, I''ll take care of that dragon. Ventus!" I shout and an immense gust of wing launches me into the air before she can try and say any more. Sorry, but I don''t think this is an opponent you should even try to fight, even if we have the numbers advantage. I don''t want to risk you getting hurt...


    Rather than fly, it''s really more like propelling myself forward at the expense of tearing my wings with every subsequent high-powered blast of Ventus. I can see the dragon spewing its shotgun blasts of plasma at Asoko, who barely avoids them by balling up and tumbling through the sky. She''s really lucky, but that will run out sooner or later. I don''t have time to waste on thinking about losing some of my mass and the pain in my wings is nothing special. I grit my teeth and rise up into the sky behind the dragon, flying at an incredible speed as I approach their battle.


    Just then, Asoko''s right wing is hit by one projectile from the scattered beam of plasma, but at its size it spreads to her body and easily melts half of her away. She abandons the burning part of her mass but is unable to purge it all, as she begins to fall uncontrollably. Seeing that opportunity, the dragon pursues, opening its maw fully to hit her with a large-scale blast of plasma. Oh no, you don''t! I employ every last bit of my mass and expand to an unprecedented size.


    "LEAVE HER ALONE!" I roar, the very sound shaking the surroundings in a sonic blast. The dragon looks behind itself and even though its face is more or less rigid, I can tell that it''s completely shocked at my sight.


    I have employed every last bit of my mass and changed into a giant version of myself, almost three times the dragon''s size. And my arm is coming down at it like a massive fly swatter. There''s no way for it to dodge at this range and with my reach, but it still tries to get away frantically, flapping its huge wings as quickly as it can. But it''s too late, as my palm connects with its right wing and in a twist of poetic justice, completely crushes it, before I swat the entire dragon out of the air like it''s just a paper airplane.


    Landing on the ground and skidding across the forest floor, breaking trees with my bare feet in the process, I quickly reach out and catch the falling Asoko, before undoing my transformation. Holding her half-singed form in my arms, I see that she''s showing a strained smile.


    "I knew you could do it." She says weakly as half her body is bubbling to counteract the effects of the burns.


    "... who do you think I am?" I respond quietly and hug her to my body. Damn, acting all cool like this, who do you think you are, Asoko? Looking up into the sky, I see Hestia circling to find us. I know that it should be impossible to miss where we are, due to the destruction my landing left behind, but I still fill up my insides with air. "HESTIAAAAA!!!" With a booming voice, much louder than my body should be capable of, I shout to get her attention.


    "Onee-sama!" She comes down after hearing it and sees Asoko in a state very similar to the one I was after the fire mage burst out from inside my body in the desert.


    "Take care of Asoko. I''ll finish off the dragon." Handing my other self over to the fallen angel, I change into a winged form and fly up into the sky once again. From above I can spot where the dragon crashed into the ground and immediately move towards it.


    From close up, I can see that its body is battered and broken, but it''s still barely alive and drawing pained breaths. One eye has been pierced by a branch, but the other is staring at me in the full knowledge that it''s going to die now. Not a hint of fear or despair can be seen in it, only pride and defiance. It opens its mouth, not to try and attack one last time, but to take a long breath, most likely aware of the fact that it''s the last.


    "... a Crawling Chaos..." A deep, rumbling voice emerges from its throat. "... it was... inevitable... heh..." The last sound he makes sounds like a laugh, but I can''t really tell. His eye closes and I can tell that he''s dead.


    "... damn..." This is giving me a bad aftertaste. I should have known that dragons are sentient beings, considering they can transform into humanoid bodies, like Dregana did. It feels really bad to see such a majestic and powerful creature in this pitiful state. But ultimately, he attacked me and those important to me, and I did everything in my power to stop him. The fact that he didn''t complain goes to show that he was prepared for such an outcome. "Rest in peace..." I offer a little prayer before his corpse.


    Then I expand my body and begin to consume him. I''m sure he would have done the same, if I wasn''t a Crawling Chaos but an actual dragon, so it''s only proper to observe the rules of nature. I notice that he was indeed a he from the genetic material I gain this way. Now I have an actual dragon''s template and should be able to breathe plasma like he was. But I think I found an even better method of transportation from my earlier desperation in getting back into the battle.


    Leaving behind not a single scale or bone, I take the dragon''s existence into my own, before returning to Hestia and Asoko''s side. My other self has been fully healed, but since she just lost almost half her mass, she can''t recreate her actual form properly. In other words, it''s the return of loli-me!


    "What happened to the dragon?" Asoko asks with a childish lisp, and I completely forget myself.


    "How cuuute! Is this what I looked like when I was small?" Lifting her into the air and then cuddling her into my chest, I look to Hestia, who responds with a knowing nod. I can understand her now, her reaction when she saw my childish form in the desert, after I got blown up from the inside out and had to make do with less mass. Asoko looks up at me with the same annoyance that I showed Hestia that time.


    "... what happened to the dragon?" She asks again, impatience filling her voice.


    "I ate him." I respond in a matter of fact way, before realizing that I should have shared some of it with her. I mostly digested the remains already, too, to supplement the energy I lost due to my giant growth earlier. And apparently that''s what she wanted to know, as her expression is basically screaming "why would you do that?" into my face. Umm...


    "Oops tee hee..."

 Chapter 57 - Chaos Returns

    With the added mass and the template of a real dragon, I can properly transform into one now. Continuing on our journey immediately after we made sure that everything is in order, Hestia and Asoko are riding on my back once again. It feels much better, now that I can actually differentiate between every strand of muscle and have a grasp of the inner workings of the organs that produce fire - or in this one''s case plasma. It''s a much more natural sensation, compared to the makeshift copy I employed before.


    And I can practically feel the magic resistance of my armor-like carapace. I understand now that it''s not an absolute defense, not total immunity, but something like a counter-enchantment that dispels magic at a fast rate. The dragon did dodge my spirit spears after all, so it means they would have hurt him, if they had hit at the right angle. Still, Ohnd Spyd is a considerably powerful spell, despite being a two-word chant. I will eventually have Asoko try out various levels of magic on me, to test the limits of this template''s defensive capabilities.


    Furthermore, I gained something far stronger than bone and teeth with this. It appears that, while using the same components as any other organic body, dragons have developed their armor to make it similar to minerals. It may actually be why they have the magic resistance in the first place. I can tell instinctively that this is as hard as steel and should make me impervious to most human weapons, too. Of course, I wouldn''t want to test this theory against a ballista or a cannon, if those exist in this world.


    If I didn''t have Hestia and Asoko as my passengers, I would have tested a new idea that came to me during our battle. But for now I travel normally, by gliding through the air at a moderately high velocity. Thinking back to my burst of speed when I went after the dragon as it pursued Asoko, I think that maybe what I did could be perfected and used to travel over long distances, as an alternative to teleportation. Well, if I get back to the kingdom, I will try to infiltrate the academy and get my hands on space magic once more anyway, so at that point I won''t need it anymore.


    We fly along the coast, and for the first time, I see the ocean of this world - that time when I was teleported randomly and almost fell into it doesn''t count, since I didn''t see much of it in the darkness. The water''s surface is no different from the one I''ve seen many times in my previous life, but I can''t even begin to imagine what kind of creatures lurk underneath it. After all, there are dragons and cyborg dinosaurs, so it wouldn''t be strange to imagine massive leviathans that can swallow ships whole. I''d sure like to try and eat one of them, and increase my mass that way, though.


    According to the map, this isn''t the crossing between continents yet, as we soon fly over land as far as the eyes can see again. Once again, we make great progress on the map, while both Hestia and Asoko pay close attention to our surroundings, so that we don''t encounter another dragon. But I doubt we''ll have the misfortune - or fortune, depending on how you see it - to run into another one. Although at that time I''d try talking to it before attacking...


    The cities become more numerous along the way and Asoko tells me that we''re getting closer to the capital - although apparently we''ll just be passing by at a fairly large distance. In either case, similar to the Kingdom of Lares, people flock to the capital due to its significance as well as the protection it provides. I would have made a stop there under better circumstances, if only just to go sightseeing, but now I''m in a hurry.


    Even Asoko, whose size was diminished in the battle against the dragon, and who would love to regain at least a portion of it, isn''t bringing up the possibility to just swoop down into one of the towns we pass over and appropriate some food. Hestia is sharing some of her provisions, but it''s obviously far from enough to counteract a Crawling Chaos'' metabolism - of which the rules I still don''t really understand, even though it''s my own body.


    The sun is touching the horizon at around the time we reach the open sea. According to the map and the rate we''ve been going at, we''ll be reaching Kongenssoevn airspace by late evening, maybe around midnight. Even if it''s going to be dark at the time, I''ll land outside the city as to not cause an uproar with my dragon form, then enter by changing into a normal human''s appearance. Hestia will, as always, be hiding her wings in one way or another, but Asoko should do fine in her current form.


    This is the moment of truth. If we get attacked above the ocean, I don''t know how well I can fight back. Of course, in my dragon form I feel very strong, but if I were to fall into the sea and there are actually gigantic sea monsters... no, even if I get eaten, I should be able to just blast my way out. But from the fight with the dragon I learned that there are beings out there that can damage a Crawling Chaos effortlessly. My whole body being organic means that strong acids and especially fire can cause extensive damage to me.


    Thus, I decide to gain in altitude and fly just below the clouds, far from any potential attacks from the water''s surface. Who knows, there could be a gigantic sea dragon that can shoot a massive plasma beam from its mouth, which could melt my entire body with a single blast. Maybe I''m over-thinking things, like a child that''s been burned by a hot stove, but it''s better to be safe than sorry.


    But my worries were unfounded, as we approach a landmass on the other side of the ocean soon. I can see a large river flowing into the sea and Asoko explains that it''s most likely the one that runs through the capital, according to our map. If I remember correctly, it''s called the Aengerleien. The sun has disappeared behind the horizon a while ago and the world has become almost completely dark, as it''s a new moon tonight. I employ my night-vision to find the way and pay close attention to the reflections of the stars above us. We''ll be reaching our destination very soon and I can feel my anticipation building.


    "Makoto!" Senka suddenly appears before me, in her translucent and glowing version. I fold my wings and spin sideways instinctively, but her image stays right in front of me.


    "Damn, don''t surprise me like that!" I roar, then realize that the small weights on my back have disappeared. Uh-oh. "Hestia! Asoko?!" I turn around to see that the former has caught herself and is looking around in confusion. Then I spot the smaller me tumbling towards the ground, since she''s currently lacking the mass to create Fata wings. Speeding after Asoko in freefall and catch up quickly, then transform into the Fata template to catch her in my arms, before I break the fall and begin to glide steadily again.


    "Onee-sama?" Hestia comes after me and wears a worried expression at my sudden evasive maneuver. I sigh and reassure her that everything is alright, which she seems to accept with a hint of concern.


    "What''s wrong? I''ll be back in the capital soon." I turn to Senka and say, but she shakes her head frantically.


    "Rolan and his party went into the Lost Tombs with Kamii, and they haven''t come back!" She says anxiously. I''ve never seen her like this before. "She told me that they''d be back by the evening, but they haven''t returned, so... I can''t contact her with my ability!"


    "... wait, what are you saying?"


    "The Lost Tombs are a dungeon under the city, and there are some really dangerous places in its depths... uh, imagine it being a place where you can find enemies ranging from level one to level one hundred." She explains in terms I can understand better, but that just makes me worry instead. "I didn''t think they would risk going anywhere dangerous with Kamii, but when they didn''t return at the promised time, I tried contacting her, and I can''t reach her at all!"


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    "Could it be because they''re deep underground?" I''m holding a hint of hope in my heart that it''s simply caused by a bad connection.


    "You think my ability uses phone signals or what?" A hint of annoyance shows on her face in response to my suggestion. "I was able to communicate with you through the curvature of the planet. It can only be disrupted by an immense distance or..."


    "Or what?" I think I know what the answer is, but I still want to hear it from her directly.


    "... or death." She speaks in a solemn tone. Yeah, thought so. "Considering the fact that the Lost Tombs are under this city, the likelihood of it being caused by distance is really slim..."


    "But not nil. They could have been teleported somewhere far away, like I was." I''m hopeful. I don''t want to believe that Kamii is dead. In either case, I need to find out what happened, so I''ll enter the dungeon and follow their trail. With the Vularen''s nose template, I can use smell to find their location. "In either case, I''m heading there right now. Tell me where to meet."


    "You remember the main road you used to get to the citadel? There''s a large plaza with a fountain, and at the edge of it is the entrance to the dungeon." She speaks nervously. "... I should have insisted that she takes me along... I''m sorry..." Casting her eyes down, she apologizes.


    "Senka." I speak firmly and she flinches, looking up again. I gaze her deep into the eyes and she returns it almost sheepishly. This isn''t like you! "Don''t worry about it. It''s not your fault. I''ll be back soon, so wait at the fountain for me." She forces a smile onto her lips and I respond in kind, before her immaterial body fades away and the connection is cut.


    "Hestia, come here." I command while I pull Asoko inside my body. She struggles weakly, but I don''t have the time to explain to her in detail. The fallen angel does as asked and I do the same with her. I haven''t tried this with living passengers yet, so I don''t know how it''ll affect those inside my body, but it should be alright if I cushion them properly.


    This is the first time I''m creating something completely from imagination, so I don''t know whether it''ll work out or fail miserably. I cover my entire body in the dragon''s carapace while still in human form, create a skirt made from the same material while merging my legs into a single protrusion. Finally I angle the Fata wings downwards, before covering them in a carapace as well.


    "Anima Procursus!" I yell out the spell that creates a localized burst of air used to knock even armored people from their feet, just when my body enters a horizontal angle. I place the spell right under the hardened skirt, causing the air to be expelled backwards due to its shape. My entire body is propelled forward at an incredible speed and I can feel the g-forces affect me. Luckily I properly covered myself in the magic resistant armor, since I think normal skin may have been peeled off by the air friction, if not by the spell itself.


    Still, I tumble through the air almost uncontrollably and have to make adjustments to the angles of my wings several times, before I can fly straight. At one point I very nearly propelled myself directly into the ground, but caught my fall just before that could happen. I doubt this body is sturdy enough to survive such a crash-landing, even with the dragon''s armor. Finally, I get the hang of it and speed off in the right direction, much faster than a Fata or even dragon can ever fly horizontally.


    While this form is fast, I know for a fact that I haven''t broken the sound barrier, yet, since I would have heard and felt a sonic boom from it. The landscape underneath me becomes a blur as I effectively turned myself into a living missile. I shall name this Chaos Warhead! I''ll add Megasonic before it, once I figure out a way to surpass the speed of sound.


    Within minutes, I see the lights from the city of Kongenssoevn. At this point I don''t give a damn about being seen by anyone, since I feel that the situation surrounding Kamii has once again turned into one where every second counts. I don''t know why, but I have that kind of feeling right now. Thus I directly fly into the city with one last cast of the spell, before angling my wings and spreading them out to lower my speed to pinpoint my entry vector. Just above the plaza I spread them out fully and come to a stop in midair, then circle around and land at the fountain.


    People are staring at me in awe, since I''m in Fata form - using white wings - and just landed in their midst. Oh, and maybe because I''m naked once again, but I don''t care at all. Senka is already waiting, even though I traveled at such an incredible speed. She runs towards me with an apologetic expression and I lift her into my arms, hugging her to my chest tightly. Ahhh, it feels like ages since I held her like this.


    "I''m sorry..." She begins and I kiss her on the forehead, upon which she goes quiet sullenly.


    "Stop blaming yourself, it''s not like you." I say and put her down, then bring out Hestia and Asoko from inside each of my wings. The former appears really shaken, with ruffled feathers and disheveled hair, and falls onto her bottom due to her unsteady legs. She looks around in confusion for a moment, before staggering to the fountain and vomiting over its edge. Sorry about the wild ride...


    Asoko seems to have taken it better and stands firmly, looking around to orientate herself. When she sees Senka, her eyes go wide and she lunges at her. For a moment I think she might know the doll-like girl or something, but then loli-me tackles her over and begins to cuddle her. "Waaah, so cute~" Yeah, yeah, I get it. She''s me after all.


    "We don''t have time for this." I peel Asoko off Senka by lifting her by the skin of her neck, and turn to Hestia at the fountain. "You alright, Hestia?" She doesn''t look back and signals me that she needs a moment and I can hear another rainbow-colored waterfall coming out of her mouth. The fallen angel has really fallen... "Show the way to the entrance." I say to the stitched girl and let my gaze sway through the crowd that''s beginning to form. While it''s pretty late, this is one of the main meeting spots of the capital, after all. I''m sure this will reach Thorvadis'' ears sooner or later, but I don''t care about that right now.


    "It''s over there." Senka says as she gets back up. Normally she would have made a cynical remark about the other me''s actions, but it seems losing sight of Kamii has really shaken her. She''s pointing at something I would define as a subway entrance. I can see people with equipment similar to Rolan and his party going in and coming out of it. Apparently it''s a pretty popular dungeon, despite the dangers that lurk in its depths. "The actual entrance is farther in. Here, I brought one of Kamii''s shirts."


    "I see you understand me well." I say with a smile and take the offered cloth. Transforming the inside of my nose into that of a Vularen''s, I take a sniff and immediately memorize Kamii''s smell. Even though it''s a used shirt, I think it smells really nice, as expected from an elf I would say. "Alright, got it... Hestia?" I call out to her one more time, and she looks up from the fountain with a face even paler than usual.


    "... I am fine, Onee-sama..." She says weakly and gets up with wobbly knees. But she shows determination in her expression, so I''m not overly worried about her.


    "Will you promise to behave?" I ask Asoko in my hand, who seems to be taking being lifted by the scruff of the neck pretty calmly. Guess she understands that her actions were a little out of line just now. In either case, she shows a defiant frown but nods silently. Wow, as expected of myself, so cute~ "Let''s go then."


    I put my smaller self down and transform into a full Vularen on the spot. For an instant, the plaza goes silent at the sight. Then someone drops a bag of stuff and as if that was a signal, panic breaks out among the gathered. People scream and run away, while I can see a group of men and women who look like adventurers drawing their weapons and slowly approaching me with fearful expressions. If you''re that scared, why aren''t you running away?


    "Get on." I growl and my entourage does as they''re told. The moment they secure themselves and stop moving, I run towards the entrance to the dungeon, following the smell I ingrained into my memories. This may be getting old, but... I''m coming, Kamii!

 Chapter 58 - No More Mercy

    Why are there so many undead here? Is it because nobody is doing soul cleansing in these parts, instead just cutting them down with normal weapons? I mean, light magic is quite rare, so I can understand that second part, but according to Senka there shouldn''t be that many fatalities each year. Don''t tell me they''re being attracted to me or something...


    "Sivalta!" I roar and a huge wave of light spreads out with me at the center, and moves through the hordes of undead that are blocking the way. They breathe out their souls and their bodies turn to dust, leaving only their equipment in piles. I don''t want to waste any time on this rabble, and while I could just eat them... I''d rather not.


    Kamii''s smell is distinguishable even through the overwhelming stench of rot. Maybe it''s just because I''m that focused on her, or maybe because it''s the only really good-smelling thing inside this dungeon. In either case, it''s like a beacon leading me through the darkness of the catacombs, which is lit up by Asoko using the Circumluceo spell - a light orb that surrounds the user, but can be shrunk to the size of a small ball at will.


    Along the way I can see some zombies that have been slashed apart or completely squashed, which haven''t been eliminated by my light spell. This leads me to believe that Kamii might have finally realized her potential and was fighting alongside Rolan''s party. I would be smiling at her progress, if I didn''t feel like she''s in mortal danger right now.


    But I do notice the zombies that have been cut into pieces despite wearing plate armor. While I know that fantasy and action films like to portray armor getting cut apart by swords as if they''re actually made of paper, I also know that real armor - if it covers the body properly - basically completely nullifies bladed weapons. Considering the members of the party, Rolan is the only one who wields a sword. How did he do it?


    Then again, I don''t really care right now, and speed onwards. I''m sure there''s a simple and magical explanation for this.


    The journey takes us through tunnels and over deep chasms reminiscent of the underground kingdom, and while the construction techniques used aren''t nearly on the same level, the overall feeling is similar. Then again, these are tombs, while the Dwarven Kingdom was made for the living. But the end result was the same: Hostile places where the living are no longer welcome.


    Senka is keeping track of time somehow and tells me that we''ve been here for almost two hours. At the rate we''re progressing, we should be catching up to them soon, since they had to fight their way through the undead and do their best to avoid traps. It seems my Sivalta was strong enough to clean out everything along our path. I did put my all into it, because I don''t care for fighting right now. And as I lunge, jump and sprint through the dungeon, I avoid all the traps by being faster than they can activate.


    Finally, we come upon a place that seems like there''s going to be a boss fight to my trained eye. This is where Kamii''s smell grows the thickest and there is no hint of it continuing beyond here. I''m now convinced that she isn''t dead, but was simply teleported somewhere outside of Senka''s reach. Anything else seems unlikely under these circumstances.


    "Kamii is alive..." I take a breath of relief and signal for my passengers to get down from my back, as I transform into my academy appearance again. "... look for clues of a transportation circle. Basically anything that looks magical."


    The boss room is a gigantic circular hall illuminated by countless lamp crystals, with the ceiling disappearing in the darkness above. It''s basically a coliseum, with rows and rows of seats for spectators. On its far side is a massive portcullis, beyond which undoubtedly the other contestant would be coming from, if there was still life in this place. The ground is simple dirt, but unexpectedly clean - and not a hint of any magic circle can be seen. It''s really large for being underground, but nowhere near as extensive as the halls of the dwarves.


    Just when we all walk through the gateway, a heavy metal trap door closes behind us, and a ghostly whisper runs through the arena. The spectator seats fill with a greenish glow and murmurs rise to the roaring of an excited crowd, as the coliseum comes to life. I look over the spirits that have gathered and find that they all look like simple citizens hoping to see an enjoyable show. Why weren''t they affected by my light spell from earlier? There are two explanations: It didn''t reach this far, or they''re high enough level to not be affected by it.


    This is the place where Kamii, Rolan and his party were teleported away from, and the fact that the pre-bossfight cutscene is still happening means that they didn''t defeat it. But if they didn''t die, it means they might have been sent somewhere as a sort of punishment - for a reason I can''t even begin to fathom, though. In either case, we''ll have to try and replicate what happened to them, so that we can get to where they are.


    "Welcome to the Grand Arena of Castra Legionis!" A reverberating male voice echoes through the arena and the crowd goes wild. It sounds like a trained ring announcer, about to call out the reigning champion with great fanfare, before introducing the challenger with encouraging words. I''m expecting some huge chained zombie beast to come from the other side, and I''m not disappointed.


    The portcullis is pulled up and from behind it emerges an already half-zombified minotaur. It''s at least twice as tall and three times as wide as Gram is, its thick, muscular arms around the circumference of two of me. It stomps its hooves and breathes loudly, swinging a huge metal club that looks like it could cave in an elephant''s head with a single hit.


    "Bull Demon Taurion shall be your opponent. It will test to see if you have what it takes to face the champion. Die a death worthy of applause, challenger!" The ghostly voice announces and the crowd cheers. So this is basically a noob-check? But considering this thing is still here, Rolan and his party failed to defeat it? Is that the condition to be teleported away? But it looks more like failing to defeat it would result in death.


    The minotaur, apparently called a bull demon here, charges forward wildly, its every step shaking the ground we stand on. One of its eye sockets is empty and crawling with maggots, while the other stares at us with the milky-white gaze of a corpse. The rotting hide is spotty and some parts are tearing with every step. I don''t know how anyone could think that a zombie could have the strength to defeat a healthy human being of the same height and build, but this is a pretty huge monster after all.


    I turn my right hand into a small version of the head of a dragon, recreate the inner workings of its throat in the overly convenient hammer space that is the interior of my body, inside my arm, and shoot a large blast of plasma at the minotaur, melting its entire upper body away almost instantly. Its legs perform two more steps, as if unaware of having lost everything else from the waist up, before collapsing to the ground a few paces away from me.


    The entire arena goes silent at this sight and I can feel Hestia''s hot gaze filled with admiration on my back. Even the announcer seems to be speechless and for a moment time seems to have stopped. Then, without warning, the crowd begins to scream and shout in excitement, giving a standing ovation at my overwhelming display of power. For a second I''m taken aback. I thought this was a sort of death trap where unlucky adventurers are lured into and forced to fight against the stars of their own choosing. Cheering for one such adventurer seems really strange to me.


    "That was an adequate performance, challenger, if a little messy." The voice speaks in a judgmental tone. Oi, who do you think you are, to be able to say that my show of incredible might was just an adequate performance? "Yet Taurion was just a measure of strength. Let us see how you fare-"


    "I only want to know one thing." I interrupt him and once again, silence lays itself over the crowd for a moment. Then booing breaks out over my rudeness of not letting the announcer finish his sentence. But I don''t care, as I gather air into my body and easily drown out the noise with my voice, enhanced by easily repairable vocal cords and a huge lung volume. "What happened to the group of adventurers that came earlier today?"


    Once again, silence reigns supreme. Then the voice responds.


    "You may use the wish you are granted when... IF you defeat the champion, to ask that question."


    "Then bring out that champion you''re so proud of. Let''s see how he fares against me." I walk forward and exclaim into the arena. I don''t have time for these games. But somehow the crowd begins to cheer for me.


    "What a feisty challenger, the crowd is in love with you!" The voice speaks with an impressed tone. "But is your passion enough to claim the crown? We shall see..."


    "Oi, you better stop!" Senka suddenly shouts and I turn to her. "I''m sure that''s copyrighted..." What is?!


    "Three cheers for the champion of the arena!" A ritualistic roar runs through the rows of spectators like waves, and it''s clear that they''re really excited for what''s to come. For me, there''s not going to be any difference whether it''s going to be a zombie giant or some kind of ghostly warrior. I will blow them away with a single hit and be done with it. Oh wait, can''t just blow them away, I need answers first. "Make way for Queen Aurelia!"


    The portcullis on the other side opens and a lone figure comes through it confidently. As the name suggests, it''s a woman, completely clad in a gold. Even her skin is a pristine golden, and if I had seen her stand still in a hallway of a palace, I would have thought she was a statue. But her most distinguishing feature is the fact that she seems to be a little smaller than Hestia, and has an almost flat chest, just one order above Kamii''s size.


    "That''s going too far!" Senka says in despair, but I don''t know what she means. Is it because her appearance is too gaudy?


    "Queen Aurelia! Queen Aurelia! Queen Aurelia!" The crowd cheers in unison at her sight, even though she doesn''t wave or even pay much attention to them. But really, she just looks like a normal human girl being covered in golden paint. Maybe she''s a mage and will fling spells at me from afar? There''s quite the big distance to cover after all. What I wonder the most about is the fact that she doesn''t show any signs of decomposition, so does that mean she''s actually alive?


    I can''t outright kill her, but pinning her down should do the trick. Then I can ask her all I want. I have to admit that she does look pretty cute, most specifically of the tsundere type, so I''m looking forward to her resisting me and giving me a reason to tickle it out of her... no wait, I don''t have time for this. Who knows where they are? They could be on the Dark Continent or even the Demon Continent, and be surrounded by dangerous beasts or enemies.


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    Sorry, but I''m not sorry; I''ll be ending this in a single attack. I run forward and transform into a Vularen to cover the distance quickly, aiming to lunge at her and pushing her down. Not in the sexual sense...


    "As expected of someone who would dare bark at the queen, you take on the form of a mongrel." She states haughtily and spreads her arms in a challenging gesture. Then her expression changes to a serious and displeased one. "Know your place!" She points at me and from the darkness above a shower of gold rains down on me. Wha-


    My body is pierced by countless golden weapons that traveled too fast for me to absorb. I''m pinned to the ground by spears and swords, and Aurelia walks forward without a care in the world. The crowd cheers at its queen''s might. Overcoming my initial surprise, as this body is pretty much impervious to physical attacks, I morph into a human shape and run forward once more while changing my arms into their true appearance. She''s still far away, but I whip my tentacles at her.


    "You would dare to extend your filthy appendages towards me, you vile creature?" The queen lifts a hand and an immaterial shield with a golden glow blocks my attack. Was that a sort of barrier magic? "If you wish to approach me so, it is only natural for you to lower your head into the dirt before my presence." A hammer comes down on my back and my knees buckle under the impact, causing me to fall to the ground face-first. If I was a normal human, that would have shattered my spine, and while it actually did so for this body, I can simply reform it. "Yes, that looks much more fitting for a lowly creature such as you." Once again, the spectators shout their support for her.


    Rage begins to build inside me. She doesn''t need her arms and legs to tell me where Kamii has been sent, right? I get up and glare at her.


    "Spirit S-"


    "Who allowed you to speak?" Aurelia asks rhetorically, her tone low and menacing. In the next instant a sword pierces me through my mouth.


    "Ack-?!"


    "Onee-sama!" Hestia screams behind me and spreads her wings. No, don''t come, you can''t handle this one!


    "Ah, what a pitiful form for a Fata." The queen says with a disdainful expression.


    "Don''t you dare touch her!" I pull out the sword and scream, rushing forward to stop her.


    "You were incredibly fortunate to be allowed to bask in my radiance from so close for so long. It is time for you to take your distance again." Aurelia points at me, upon which a boar spear pierces my chest and drags me through almost the entire arena, before I can finally form a hole with my body and let it pass through. "Now, for the corrupted Fata." She waves her hand at the girl almost absentmindedly, now that I''m not close to her anymore.


    In the next instant a single spear comes down at Hestia and pierces her through the stomach, embedding itself in the ground behind her. Senka and Asoko who stood right beside her were completely unable to react and stare at the impaled girl in shock.


    "HESTIAAA!!!" I roar and fully transform into a dragon. I don''t care now, I will evaporate this golden girl! Gathering the plasma in my throat for a moment, I shoot it at her at full power, leaving no room to dodge. However, she doesn''t even seem to feel bothered by it. Once again, the golden shield covers her and the plasma is redirected around its curvature, before hitting the ground and leaving behind a smoldering crater.


    Using the smoke screen it creates to rush to Hestia''s side, I rack my brain for a specific higher level light spell to heal her with. She''s still breathing, albeit only barely, so every moment counts. Of course, Aurelia won''t be giving us any time and attack relentlessly with those golden weapons. I turn to look at the queen, ready to cast a light shield, but she doesn''t seem intent on doing anything while my back is turned to her.


    "I do not attack the back of a challenger, as long as it is in a fair one on one." She notices my glare and states in a matter of fact tone. Clearly, she thinks she has the leeway to do so, and I''ll make her eat dirt for it.


    "Luce Puellam Hoc Gravissimum Vulnus Sanandum!" I shout the instant I pull the spear out of her body. It''s a high level light spell that can pinpoint heal a wound of a certain size, but does nothing for an extensive one, such as what I sustained in the desert and what Asoko suffered in the battle against the dragon. "Take care of her, Asoko, Senka." I say and stand back up after verifying that the spell was effective.


    I turn and walk towards Aurelia, who''s waiting with her arms crossed, a slightly impatient expression on her face. Apparently there''s not a hint of excitement in her actions, despite the fact that this is a battle taking place in an arena in front of a crowd looking for blood. She shows the confidence of someone undefeated in many battles and who never experienced a setback in life. I will be the one to deliver her first loss.


    "Spirit Spears!" I shout and a whole array of lances appear around me.


    "You may yet serve to entertain me." Aurelia says and all the weapons that had been used so far gather around her in the same fashion as my spell. This must be some sort of magic, but she''s not chanting anything, so I have no idea how to look out for it. I''ll stuff that mouth of yours with my tentacles. In fact, when I get them onto you, I''ll fill every single one of your holes with them and make you scream for mercy!


    The spirit spears shoot forward at the same time as the weapons do, and they meet in the middle, deflecting each other or disappearing in explosions of magic. Apparently these weapons are not simply made of gold, but are enchanted in one way or another. Neither of our projectiles even come close to the other, and I begin to run forward, while Aurelia leisurely walks towards me as if she''s on a simple stroll through the park.


    I know my limits and options with this body: Even though I can pull things into my body pretty quickly, the speed is quite limited. That''s what Aurelia has over me with her weapons, which seem to appear out of nowhere and fly at her every whim. While they don''t hurt me much, their destructive power is real. I could expand my body to its full size, but I know for a fact that it''s nowhere near enough to fill out this arena. While it would allow me to take her attacks more easily, my options of retaliating would be reduced.


    Applying the Chaos Warhead template to my back, I aim to do something about the speed advantage she has with her silent spells. My feet become bladed skates and I smoothen my body to become more streamlined. A wave of golden weapons comes down at me and I activate my booster by chanting the corresponding spell. Sliding across the ground at an incredible speed, I dodge sideways and circle around Aurelia.


    Then I slam into the wall of the coliseum, because there''s absolutely no way to make sharp turns with this. And I didn''t consider how to brake at all since there was no need for it in midair! Damn, this isn''t going to work indoors, even if it''s one as big as this arena. Even though I did avoid the attack, I hurt myself more this way than it would have, if they had hit me.


    "That was an interesting display." Aurelia states with a mocking sneer. "If you tried to amuse me, you succeeded."


    "Just you wait..." I mutter while grinding my teeth. Switching templates to the Vularen once again, I lunge forward, knowing that it''ll be a repeat of the first time I tried to close the distance this way. But the moment the weapons come down on me I immediately switch to my loli appearance, causing them to hit the ground around me without a single one even grazing me. Of course, it was more luck than anything else.


    "Never has a mongrel such as you been so entertaining, but I grow tired of your attempts to step into my range. Know the difference of our status." Aurelia states with a musing smile, before spreading her arms once again. From above an unprecedented amount of weapons comes raining down, covering a large area inside the coliseum with gold. I create a shield made of the dragon carapace from my right arm just in time to block those aimed at me, but several still pierce through it and stop millimeters from my face. "Now, to put an end to this play."


    All weapons in the surroundings rise back up into the air and aim at me. A myriad of blades and spikes, all looking to pierce and rend my body, gather around like an inverted hedgehog. I look around and find that there''s simply no way out. The largest space between them is no bigger than a keyhole, and while I may be able to squeeze through it, I surely can''t do it as quickly as they can travel and hit me.


    But this is what I''ve been waiting for. These must be all the weapons in her arsenal, so if I get them out of the way, she''ll be completely defenseless - aside from that shield. Even then, I''ll be able to take my sweet time to peel that one off of her just like another layer of clothing. I explosively expand my body and basically impale myself on the encirclement of animated weapons, taking them all inside my body. Within almost an instant, they vanish into the convenient other dimension that is a Crawling Chaos'' amorphous shape.


    "Wha-" For the first time, Aurelia shows surprise, and her countenance wavers. I pull my body back together and rush forward, while she takes a step back with a hint of fear. But she notices it herself and her face fills with anger. "... to make me back away, you will pay with your life!" Five swords appear around her, but it''s obvious that she doesn''t have any more than those at her disposal.


    One flies towards me and I deflect it by pulling one of her own swords from inside my body. When she sees it, her anger grows and she immediately fires the other four simultaneously. Twisting my body while jumping forward, I spin through an opening between them, just like the dragon did against my spirit spears. One of them grazes my shoulder, but it doesn''t have enough of an impact to slow me down.


    "Y-You mongrel!" Aurelia yells, her golden eyes wide open as I approach within arm''s length. Apparently she forgot about erecting her shield due to exasperation, but remembered it now, as she lifts her hand and tries to do so at the last moment. But it''s already too late, as I grab her wrist with one hand and punch her solar plexus with a fist hardened by the dragon''s carapace. As I thought, her body may actually be made of gold. However, my punch had enough force for her feet to leave the ground and to knock all the air out of her lungs. She gasps for air in pained breaths and begins to collapse forward. The crowd goes completely silent at the sight of their champion and queen sustaining a hit like that.


    I don''t give her any rest, though, as I pull her up by the wrist and sink my knee, hardened in the same way as my fist earlier, into her abdomen - once again with enough force to knock her off her feet. She coughs violently and I let go of her, causing her to collapse to the ground. Holding her torso, she is unable to take a single breath and her face is filled with tears and saliva running from her gasping mouth. There''s not a hint of her previously haughty self left, the facade crumbling from pain and humiliation. But this isn''t enough. I squat down and pull her head up by her golden hair, forcing her to look into my eyes.


    "I don''t know what you are, but if you were ever a human, you kneeling in the dirt before me is the natural order of things." I keep my voice low and neutral, as if speaking to a lower creature, and undo the transformation of my face, making sure that none of the others can see it. Aurelia''s eyes fill with absolute terror at the sight and for a moment she forgets her physical pain completely. My face cracks open to reveal the mouth I shouldn''t have in this form. "The only reason you aren''t dead yet is because I need something from you. Do you understand what I mean?"


    The golden girl nods frantically, even as her breathing has stopped completely. Still, I''m impressed to detect a hint of defiance in her eyes, even under such circumstances. I expected that all humans who see my face literally lose their minds from fear or outright shut down their brains in self-preservation. Then again, I''m sure she''s not fully human. I change my face back into my academy one, let go of her hair and stand up.


    "Now, as for my question from before: What happened to the adventurers that came by earlier?" I ask without changing my tone.


    "T-They fought against the Mercury Demon and killed it. But in its death throes it used its space magic and transported them away."


    "... do you know where to?" I don''t like the way this sounds. At my question she flinches, and I basically know how she''ll answer.


    "I do not kn-"


    I spin around and my right arm changes into the dragon''s head, shooting a concentrated plasma beam into the rows of ghostly spectators. An explosion rocks the underground arena and Aurelia looks on in fear. Once again, Kamii eludes me by a little, and once again I have little to no information to work with in my quest to get her back.


    Alright, I had enough.


    "Senka, do you know the way back?" I call out to the stitched girl. She nods in response, seemingly understanding what I want to do. "Then lead them back outside. I''m going to... make an official complaint to those responsible for this situation." Pulling Aurelia inside me for later consumption, I expel the weapons inside my body right after into a large pile, just to be sure that she won''t try to use them while inside me.


    Then I change into a Vularen once again and rush off as fast as I can - faster than I could with passengers on my back. My destination? You still need to ask? The Royal Academy of course.

 Chapter 59 - The Gravity of the Situation

    I bust out of the subway entrance in my Vularen form, not a care in the world for whether anyone sees me or not. It''s the middle of the night, but the plaza is brightly illuminated, and I find myself surrounded by a large number of heavily armored soldiers carrying tower shields, standing in a close formation around me. Well, they had more than enough time for this, it took several hours to get in and come back out, after all.


    With a quick glance I see that there are some people in heavy robes, who are most definitely mages, but the principal himself isn''t here. They stare at me in determination, not a single one wavering at the sight of a gigantic Wulfar - which is basically what a Vularen is to these people - thinking that they can take me down with their numbers. Well, if I was a normal animal, they would, but it appears the old man either wasn''t informed of my appearance or didn''t inform them of what I really am.


    I have to admit, there are quite a few, and it''s safe to assume that their shields are magically reinforced, like Gram''s is. The mages are protected by rows of soldiers and seem to be chanting, ready to unleash their spells on me. While I''ve had experience in one magic battle and now have the dragon''s template, I''d rather not get hit by those. In fact, I don''t really want to fight here, but I need to clear them away from the dungeon''s entrance, else Hestia and the others will have to face them. I''ll leave behind a pile a bodies for Asoko to regain her mass with, although I still kinda feel like doing something while she''s in her loli form. Guess I''ll just have to ask her for it directly.


    Thus, I expand explosively and transform into a dragon. I whip my tail around and send a group of soldiers flying with no regard to their heavy shields. Their eyes go wide at the sight and I see panic spreading through their ranks, as several mages forget to continue chanting. Once again, they let surprise get the better of them, even going as far as to drop their spells in shock, just like some of them did in the battle against me in my dorm room. It must mean they never had any real combat experience and are basically like scholars being sent to the battlefield.


    Gathering plasma in my throat, I prepare to fire at them, when the first spell seems to be completed and is unleashed on me. It''s a heavy shower of icicles, but they harmlessly bounce off my carapace. This takes the wind out of my sails and I stop to look at the mage in pity. To think he chanted for so long just to achieve such an underwhelming result, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.


    Alright, I''ll end this quickly. I expand to my full size for just a moment, swallowing several dozen soldiers without even giving them time to react. Contracting while spinning around myself, I form tentacles that catch anything living, and stuff it inside me, immediately dissolving the bodies and throwing out the indigestible pieces like armor and weapons.


    Then I harden my body and go Hedgehog Mode Ver. 2. With my increased size I cover the entire plaza with thousands of spikes that leave tiny gaps not even a mouse could pass through. Of course, I''m repelled by shields and armor, but the sheer number of spikes find their ways into gaps between armor, or simply push away and crush those who successfully block them into the walls of the surrounding buildings. Forming hooks, I pull those who have been impaled towards me - a considerable number of soldiers and several mages - and throw them into the entrance to the dungeon. That should be enough for Asoko. The rest is for me. A glutton? Me? Hey, it''s a cute character trait, alright?


    It''s ok if I let some flee, since I don''t want to waste time hunting every single one down. Changing back into my human form, I cover my body in dragon armor, form a skirt and take off into the skies in Chaos Warhead form. My target is the citadel, which is brightly illuminated in anticipation of my attack. As expected, Thorvadis knew about me but must have either underestimated my power or deliberately not told those who came to intercept me about my power. Their blood is on his hands in either case.


    Just as I cross the area above the citadel walls I feel my body hitting something invisible and breaking through a moment after. No, that wasn''t the sound barrier, as I''m traveling nowhere near as fast to achieve that. So this must have been a sort of barrier to keep any aerial intruders out. The fact that I broke through so easily feels like a joke to me. I struggled against this level of magic just a level ago? I can''t even laugh, when I think that my own inadequacy was the reason for Kamii''s disappearance.


    Crashing through the window to the principal''s office with my hardened body, I spread my reinforced wings and stop with a mighty gust of wind. Thorvadis is standing at the door, accompanied by Basarab and two other teachers whom I don''t know, all looking at me in shock. Your facade is crumbling, old man; I used to be unable to read your face, but now you''re showing more and more thoughts directly on your face. Well, it''s to be expected, when the unexpected happens.


    "Wai-" Basarab begins, but I point at him and my finger extends into a spike, piercing his throat without giving him enough time to employ the magic in his voice. He flaps his mouth open and closed, but no sound emerges from it. Looking down at the spike in disbelief, his hands shakily approaching it as if trying to pull it out himself. I retract it and he coughs up a mouthful of blood, staggers backwards to lean on the door, before sliding down against it.


    "I''d prefer you don''t talk." Once certain that he can''t use his throat anymore, I turn my attention to Thorvadis. "Now, let''s nego-" He suddenly has his wand at the ready and points it at me. Wait, I came to nego-


    "Superforta Puson!" He shouts, upon which an invisible force hits me and throws me out of the window, onto the field outside. Apparently that was space magic, and more specifically, a gravity spell. While a lot of it was most likely canceled out by the dragon''s magic resistant carapace, it was enough to push me almost to the middle of the field of the academy.


    "Graviton!" I hear Thorvadis'' voice coming from above. The light of a gigantic magic circle, which covers the entirety of the field, begins to shine under my feet. Oh shi-


    In the next instant I feel an immense pressure coming down on me, which even my magic resistance can''t dispel. My knees buckle and bend, as I fall on all fours, before being pressed flat on my stomach. This is a gravity trap, prepared in the knowledge that I would be coming here sooner or later and that a fight would break out. The fact that this wasn''t used in our last battle means that it takes time to set up, which they didn''t have back then. So, sending me far away knowing that I would return was just for creating this?


    Regardless of the why and how, I think this might be pretty bad. I can see that several teachers rush into positions all around me and point their staves at me while chanting. My skin may be magic resistant now, but seeing as this gravity spell is holding me in place, they can just keep raining down magic on me until I''m whittled away. I need to get out of here somehow, and quick!


    My body is flattened against the ground and I slowly lose my form. Maybe I can extend myself forward and out of the space using a small appendage in the same way as I traveled through keyholes before. Stretching myself out towards the edge of the circle slowly, I strain all of my amorphous muscles to move even a little bit. I can feel the power of gravity increasing slowly but steadily, and if the teachers'' spells don''t get me, this one will eventually. I can''t maintain a solid form while affected by this gravity, so I can''t use the dragon''s carapace properly either.


    "Waaait... dooon''t..." I press out between my clenched teeth, before I let them melt away, fearing they might be torn out of their sockets soon. I don''t think they can hear me through this gravitational field anyway, as I see the mages move their mouths but their sound is overshadowed by the spell''s roaring noise.


    One of the teachers seems to finish his incantation and swings his staff around. A ball of light forms above him, a spell that reminds me of the one Luna used under the mountain. It''s plasma, my biggest weakness! I need to somehow avoid this, and while I may be able to do something about one such spell by shifting my form around, it''s going to be impossible to avoid several such spells.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Just before the mage can shoot the plasma at me, an icicle pierces his chest from behind and he loses control over his spell, causing it to rain down on him and melt his entire body away. Through the distorted space inside the magic circle I can make out two blurry people run towards me from a distance.


    The moment I spot the blue translucent skin, I know who it is. Vitalis is coming to my aid, even going so far as to kill a teacher in the process. I can see her mouthing Onee-sama, even though I can''t hear it. The smaller figure next to her has horns, and by association, must be Lenoly. No, I don''t want to pull you into this! But now they''ve done this much, there''s no going back. It means they made up their mind to stay on the side of the demons - or maybe just my side.


    Alright, I can''t show my cute kouhai such a sorry sight of me struggling against something like this! Increasing the density of my body through muscles and layers of magic resistant armor plating, I slowly return to a humanoid form. For the first time I find it difficult to maintain my form even though I''m concentrating on it so much, but this is nothing compared to what will happen to those two, if I don''t get out of here soon. Pushing myself off the ground slowly, I watch as several teachers turn around to them. I just need a part of me to leave this circle, then I can pull my entire mass out through it even if I have to sacrifice a small piece at the end.


    Lenoly''s clothes begin to burn and I think for a moment that she''s been hit by a spell, but then her horns burst out in flames as well, as she begins to run forward in a blaze. Her steps leave flaming footprints as she swings her arm around and a wave of fire shoots out from her palm. Several teachers'' robes catch on fire and their spells are interrupted as they try to put them out. She seems to be unexpectedly strong, despite being just a student at the academy.


    From the corner of my eyes I see Thorvadis floating down from his window on the third floor, and I know that the two of them won''t have a fighting chance against this old man. They took the teachers by surprise, but he was able to see everything that happened from above and assessed the situation properly, before joining the fray. His expression shows that he''s going to take them out of the equation, in one way or another.


    "Ssstop... iiiiit... Dooon''t... youuuu..." I try to speak, but it''s futile, since no sound seems to escape this magic circle. I see Thorvadis'' mouth moving and his wand points at Lenoly, who happens to be the one in the front. She''s pinned down by a much smaller scale gravity spell, but since her body isn''t as strong as mine, she can''t get up again.


    Vitalis throws an icicle at the old man, but the same shield that redirected my spike earlier still seems to be in effect, as it bends the projectile around him and shatters it against the wall of the academy building. Once again, he chants and in the next instant, Vitalis'' body is blown apart.


    For a moment, I stare in disbelief, before something inside me snaps.


    It seems that several teachers have completed their spells and are throwing them at me, but my body expands explosively to its full size, until one point finally gets outside of the circle. Within an instant, my entire body is flattened by the gravity, but I pull enough of it into the part that''s no longer caught in the spell and separate myself from it. The now soulless matter I leave behind is annihilated by the many spells that rain down on it, as well as by the gravity itself, now that there''s no will in it trying to keep its form.


    But I''m already on the move, as I swing my arm around in a bladed form, and cut apart the closest mage while running towards the surprised principal. There''s no more room for negotiations after what he just did. I''ll kill everyone here and at least save Lenoly. Regarding how to find Kamii without help from the academy... I''ll think about that later.


    "THORVADIIIIS!!!" I roar and transform into the dragon form while coming down on him with my jaws wide open. With this size and the natural state of the magic resistant carapace, he won''t have any means to defend against me in time, and I''ll break through his puny barrier with sheer force.


    Then something slams into me from the side and pushes me away, causing me to tumble into the academy''s wall. When I look up, I see that it was a dragon with a red body and a stocky build - one that I''ve seen before.


    "Dregana!" So she''s returned. Fire explodes from the gaps between her rugged armor plates and she roars at me menacingly, making herself look bigger than she already is. I return the gesture and gather plasma in my throat, aiming to take everything in front of me down with a shotgun blast. She rushes forward and rams into me, her heavier build much more suited for physical combat than the one I have taken on. The impact scatters my breath towards the sky and I''m flung backwards, crashing into the academy building with my back once again.


    "Enough of this!" My rage boils over and I transform into a gigantic version of myself, covered in the dragon''s carapace, making me look like I''m wearing rugged armor. Dregana''s breath explodes into my face just when I do and robs me of my vision, but I swing my arm around and disperse it through the wind pressure. Breaking out of the building, I stomp forward and swing my fist to knock the dragon woman out. But I stub my toe on something painfully, causing me to trip and slam down into the ground face-first.


    When I look back, I see Ninlil standing where I tripped, her tiny frame in stark contrast to the massive hammer she''s wielding. As expected, she''s a strong demon, but I never thought I would get to face her under such circumstances.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" A familiar voice resounds through the night and a gigantic spear of light pierces my chest, gouging out a large part of it and burning a hole into the ground underneath it. I turn my gaze up to the ceiling of the academy and find Arcelia standing there, with her eyes open for the first time since I''ve seen her. They have no irises or pupils, but are glowing a bright white, banishing the darkness around her face. The ardent fervor of a believer is clearly visible in her expression, as she stares at me in righteous fury.


    "Raaaaaaah!!!" This situation is turning out really badly for me and I scream in despair, as I pull my body together to a human''s size, gathering all the density of my mass together into the small frame like I did in the gravity circle. Feeling strength overflowing inside me, I turn to look at Thorvadis, my main target. Dregana''s large front claw comes down on me and I block it with one arm, stopping it in exchange for being pushed into the ground slightly. At the sight, I can see surprise on her dragon face.


    "Anima Procursus!" My back opens like a flower and I shoot forward with my feet shredding the earth underneath. I see a spirit spear flying towards me and dodge it by twisting my body and changing my trajectory. This causes my feet to leave the ground, but due to my increased weight I immediately land again. However, due to the momentum, I flip over and very nearly fall onto my face.


    But I''m in the zone right now!


    I transform mid-flip and my body is inverted, causing my head to turn into my feet and my feet into my new head. With a heavy step, I correct my posture and run forward. Ninlil jumps between me and my target, swinging the heavy hammer at me. But if I can block Dregana''s weight, I can take this on without trouble. I bring my arm around and turn it into a club made of dragon armor, causing our two weapons to impact in midair and repel each other. Using the backwards momentum, I let my entire upper body spin on top of my abdomen in a move that would have completely destroyed a normal human''s spine. My other arm extends and swats the small cat girl out of the way, as I continue on my path once more.


    However, that seems to have been enough of a delay for Thorvadis to finish a spell.


    "... En La Abismon." He speaks the last words of the incantation and points his wand at me. I feel an immense force pulling from behind me and turn around, to see that above the magic circle a black hole has formed. Dregana has transformed back into her human form and is grabbing onto a large piece of rubble, while Ninlil is holding herself steady with her hammer. My feet leave the ground before I can even consider anchoring myself into it with spikes, and I curse my increased density, as I frantically reduce it by returning it into the void that is my interior.


    "Damn you!" I scream and throw my arm around towards Thorvadis, turning it into a large spike to pierce him with. A spirit spear from Arcelia severs it and prevents my final attempt to kill the man responsible for everything. Then I''m caught by the gravity magic circle and pulled down onto the ground, as the black hole suddenly disappears.


    For a moment I think that maybe something went wrong. But seeing the principal''s expression, I can tell that it worked as intended. With a wave of his wand, the gravity within the circle is reversed and I feel weightlessness for a split second, before being throw into the air at the same speed as I was being pulled down earlier.


    I''m reminded of the story Senka told me about how the first primordial Crawling Chaos, the parent of maou-mama, was dispatched, and my figurative heart feels like it''s going to stop. I watch as the ground quickly grows more and more distant, until I can see the entire citadel, then the entire city, before I break through the clouds and move further and further away from the ground. My night vision is unable to keep up with the distance and soon everything goes dark.


    When the light of the sun appears on the horizon and illuminates the outline of the planet before me, I become fully aware of my situation.


    I''ve been thrown into space.

 Chapter O1 - Splinter Cells

    There''s a big pile of bodies blocking the stairs leading out of the underground. They look like soldiers, since their equipment is all uniform. So the commotion caused by my other half during the landing earlier has attracted these forces to stop us from coming out of the dungeon again, huh? But it was quite obvious that they wouldn''t stand a chance, now that she has a dragon''s template as well as a huge amount of mass to work with.


    The circumstances around here seem to be quite complicated though. I get how she can be so passionate about the girl called Kamii, since I know how I can be like. But maybe she''s getting a little too reckless with her actions. Her battle against Queen Aurelia earlier was quite hard to watch, since there were some things that could have been done quite a bit better. I hope she learns from it - I sure as hell did just from seeing it.


    I hope she doesn''t make some huge mistake and gets defeated. Then again, while I know that I can be a ditz sometimes, I''m resourceful and can find a way out of anything. Let''s not mention that I was captured by magicians and put into a dungeon cell where I almost starved to death... Ah, speaking of food, let''s enjoy this treat she''s left behind for me while it''s still fresh. Itadakimasu!


    Phew, that hit the spot. I can take on my normal size with this and more. But it''s not yet enough to try a dragon transformation, for that I''d need more than double the amount. I turn to Senka and Hestia, who had the decency to look away while I took one man after another inside me despite only having such a small body. Yes, it was really troublesome at first, you know? But it stretched out enough after a while, so it became easier to receive them.


    "Let me see how it''s going at the academy." Senka says and her pupils expand beyond the irises, before the blackness spreads out like ink in water, turning her sclera completely black, before even covering the skin around her eyes. She turns expressionless and her body locks into an upright pose, as she seems to lose consciousness for a moment. Then the darkness on her face retreats to her pupils and she turns around to Hestia with a frantic expression. "I can''t reach her!"


    "... what?" Hestia makes and I turn to her, alarmed.


    "There are two explanations for this: She is either very far away - further than where you ended up in when you got transported away - or..." Her tone and the fact that she lowers her head at these words slightly implies that the other explanation is that she''s dead.


    "I doubt I''d have died so easily, so let''s work under the assumption that she was teleported far away, just like Kamii was." I quickly say before the angel''s thoughts get out of control. I''ve been able to see during my journey with her that she''s a yandere, so if I leave her alone, she might do something rash and attack the academy on her own in retaliation. "You two stay here, I''ll go take a look at the academy, to see what happened."


    With this, I transform into a wounded soldier and walk upstairs while holding my bleeding shoulder - the blood of which I''m drawing from one of the corpses inside my body, since my own produces none of its own - acting as if I just barely survived. But when I come out, the plaza is completely empty. It just means that the fight was taken to the academy successfully and all forces were diverted there. Otherwise there would have been more signs of a battle here, and the dead on the stairs would have been cleared away.


    Alright, no need to act, then. I walk into an alleyway and change out of my appearance, switching to a commoner girl''s look to make my way through the city undetected. Making sure nobody saw me, I begin to quickly make my way towards the brightly lit citadel - the place this magic academy is supposedly located in.


    The citadel itself is on full alert as the soldiers at the gate seem to be in a frenzy. I transform into the wounded soldier''s appearance once again and approach them slowly, but out in the open for them to notice from afar. They see me and their expressions change into ones of surprise, before one of them rushes up to me to help.


    "Hallbjorn, you''re alive!" He says as he puts my arm over his shoulder. Thank you for telling me the name of this soldier I''m impersonating, I''ll be able to react properly now, if I''m being called while in this appearance. Getting information here may be easier than I thought.


    "Ugh... what happened to that monster?" I say and put my entire weight on him to show off how weak I am right now and lull them into a false sense of security.


    "Thorketill, help me out here." The one I''m leaning on calls over the other guard at the gate. Why, thank you for giving me his name, too, although I doubt I''ll ever need to use it. "The monster... I''ve never seen anything like it before. It flew through the air and broke the barrier, then attacked the principal''s office. It was cornered by the mages on the field, but was able to break out."


    "But the principal was able to put it back into the magic circle and threw it into the heavens." Thorketill says while taking my other side, careful not to aggravate the wound on my shoulder. I demonstratively let some blood flow out of the wound and grimace at the movement. "Ah, I''m sorry. Don''t worry, we''ll bring you to the infirmary."


    "So... the monster is dead?" I ask, acting surprised. Well, I actually am quite shocked, but I need more information before I can know what really happened. If my other half was thrown into the sky, then there should be no problem for her to return.


    "I''m sure it must be. I can''t imagine it surviving that." The other soldier looks up into the night sky and it''s beginning to dawn on me what really happened. Damn, she got launched into space? I only know that it''s a cold place with no oxygen and no gravity. And returning from it is really difficult, because one can burn up in the atmosphere during reentry. But still, judging from my own biology, I think this body can survive the vacuum of space at least. After all I don''t seem to need any oxygen and I''m impervious to large temperature changes.


    If she really ended up in space, it would explain Senka being unable to reach her, because the distance might be too large. But the possibility that she died up there remains. I need to know for certain that she''s in space now, rather than teleported to some faraway place that the people in this nation believe to be heaven. For that, I''ll need an actual witness.


    We walk across a field and towards a building that reminds me of photos I saw of old English universities. So this is the academy, huh? There are people going in and out from its main gate, but the soldiers guide me along its outer wall, towards a building annex at its far end. That must be the infirmary. But I have no intention of being examined by someone who might see through my disguise.


    "Sorry, you were really helpful, but we''re enemies after all..." I say almost apologetically, causing the two lending me their shoulders to stare at me questioningly. Then I pull them inside my body and quickly look around, to see if anyone witnessed it. It''s pretty dark on this side of the building and I can''t spot anything with my night vision, so I should be safe. Even if I was seen, I''m sure I can run and change my disguise while out of sight and go undercover once again.


    Now, to find someone who witnessed the whole battle from start to finish. Since it''s late at night, the students are most likely asleep. And if they were awoken by the noises of a battle, then they most likely didn''t get to see everything. I don''t want to risk grabbing a mage, since there may be communication spells with which they could warn the others. And trying to ask the principal directly while in a disguise is sure to be a surefire way to end up joining my other half on her trip to the stars.


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    "... Onee-sama?" A tiny, high-pitched voice makes from somewhere around my legs and I look down. What I spot in the grass is something I can only describe as the half-melted head of a blue-skinned girl. If I didn''t have the body I do, I''d have screamed in shock. But under the circumstances and from the choice of its words, I''m led to believe that this is somebody involved with my upper half. Most likely a type of slime. I look around to make sure that we''re alone, then I squat down while undoing my transformation and turning into the appearance I had in my previous life.


    "Can you tell me what happened?" I ask her, trying to give her a reassuring expression to show that I''m somebody she can trust.


    "Y-You are... not Onee-sama?" She inches away cautiously, but her movements are very slow.


    "No, I''m a part of her. I don''t know who you are, but I can tell that she''s really important to you." I hope this is enough to convince her. Shape-shifting and this appearance should be telltale, but showing that I clearly know the other me and may be acting on her behalf will surely calm her down. "Can you tell me your name and what happened to her?"


    "I am Vitalis... Onee-sama... she was caught in a space magic circle... and thrown into the sky..." The slime girl named Vitalis begins to explain but I notice that her face is displaying clear signs of exhaustion and her words are slurred.


    "Is your body meant to be this small?" Normally slimes don''t take on the shape of human heads. Then again, this is a real fantasy world, so anything goes. Still, it doesn''t hurt to ask.


    "No... I went to help Onee-sama... but Principal Eklundstrom nearly killed me... This is all... I could pull together... when I made my escape."


    "How can I help?"


    "... some... liquid..." Is she getting weaker? Don''t tell me she''s seeping into the ground or something!


    "Here, this is all I have." I hold out my hand over Vitalis'' head and she opens her mouth, even though I think she could just absorb it with her body directly. Then I pour all the blood I can squeeze out of the corpses inside me into her. Her expression changes to one of shock, but obviously, beggars can''t be choosers, as she swallows everything I give to her.


    "... thank you..." She seems to have regained quite a bit of her size, although it seems that the blood has changed her color from blue to red. Still, she''s now in a very cute loli form, one that I could just... no, she''s most likely one of my other half''s girls, so I shouldn''t touch her.


    "So, you say she was thrown into the sky? Then there''s nothing we can do until she returns on her own." I look around, paying especially close attention to the windows of the building, but there''s no sign of anyone having discovered us.


    "Umm... I am sorry for not asking earlier, but what is your name?" Vitalis inquires with a bashful expression. Wow, this is seriously cute, I have to hold myself back from hugging her!


    "You can just call me Asoko." I say after a little contemplation. I''d prefer being called Chaos or Kuroe Makoto by other people, but considering that she knew my other half before meeting me, making her call me that would just confuse the matter. Alright, focus. "We should get out of here for now." Checking the path to the gate, I prepare to move, when the slime girl stops me.


    "No, we cannot leave yet. We need to help Lenoly!"


    "... who is that?" I feel like I''m pushing my luck with every passing moment while on the academy grounds. I have no leeway to help someone who may be guarded closely, especially since I don''t have all the useful templates and spells my other half has. And the fact that she was defeated nonetheless just goes to show that I wouldn''t stand a chance as I am now.


    "I... It is my fault that she was involved in it. When I heard the battle and went to help Onee-sama, Lenoly followed me because she knows how hopeless I am on my own..." Vitalis looks depressed at these words. It''s quite apparent that this girl is the clumsy type, and while it is a charm point, in a world where magic and war is very real, that can be quite dangerous. And it''s a fact that she nearly died. Actually, she might have, if she hadn''t met me and I hadn''t given her some liquid to gain back her mass.


    "Do you know where she''s being held?" I sigh. For someone who sounds like such a good friend to one of my other half''s harem members, I just have to try my best... I sigh again at how good-hearted I am.


    "I saw her being moved towards the dorms." Vitalis answers and points in the direction of several two-story buildings across the field. I feel a little relieved at that revelation. From the way it sounds, she isn''t being kept in the deepest dungeon of this citadel and I won''t have to do an infiltration mission through various security checkpoints. I was never good at those types of games after all.


    "Alright, then let''s go." I say and without waiting for the slime girl''s response, pull her inside my body. From my other half I''ve learned how to keep things alive, and I heard that corrupted beings or demons aren''t affected as much by our own corruption - even though it''s better to make things quick to not risk anything. With this, I change my appearance once again, covering myself in the robes of a mage, pulling the hood deeply into my face. Time to save this Lenoly girl.


    I make my way across the field towards the dorm buildings while acting completely natural. I''m just another mage and it''s completely natural for me to be walking around here~ Nothing special about little old me~


    My path takes me past the magic circle Vitalis mentioned earlier, which is glowing and most likely still active. That''s pretty scary, to think that stepping on it will cause me to be launched into space, but I can''t act suspicious by circling around it in an obvious manner. There are many people scurrying around to deal with the aftermath of the destruction caused by my other half. I can see that the side of the academy building features two large holes, and there are deep marks in the ground, gouged out by the claws of her dragon form.


    From the corner of my eyes I see a group of individuals that are unmistakably dangerous. One of them is an old man, the very image of a wizened wizard, who''s talking to a woman whose entire presence seems to radiate light and purity. Sitting on a large piece of rubble is a woman with flaming red hair, listening to their conversation while resting. I can feel on an instinctual level that those three are bad news and that I don''t want to face them at all.


    But luckily, they don''t notice me and I approach the dorms Vitalis pointed out to me. From the letters on the walls I can see which building is which, and I motion to enter the one marked with something best paraphrased as "girls". It''s quite obvious from the fact that this is the girls'' dorm, as there are several of them looking out the windows, watching the situation outside with curiosity. Some actually look quite cute, and I even spot a blonde with drill hair, who''s a cut above the rest. So this is where my other half has been staying while I was locked in that dungeon in the Khurut Sultanate, huh? I''m kinda jealous...


    "Who are you?"


    I stop dead in my tracks at that voice. It belongs to a little girl, but her tone is incredible, reminding me of a certain teleporting girl who''s a member of a law-enforcement agency. Spinning around, I look down to find a girl with cat ears, standing at the same height as Senka. Under different circumstances, I would have immediately jumped at her and rubbed my face against hers while playing with those ears. But the circumstances as they are - and the fact that she''s casually shouldering a giant hammer larger than her own body - are keeping me from doing so.


    This is bad, she''s clearly someone on the academy''s side.


    "... who are you?" The cat girl''s tone changes when she sees my face and becomes a little menacing, as her grip on the hammer changes ever so slightly. Apparently she''s ready to bring it down on me the instant she has certainty that something''s wrong. I scan the surroundings and in a split second decision, take off my hood and show her my face - a perfect copy of the other me. "Wha-?!" She''s surprised, as expected, and nearly lets go of the hammer.


    I use that opportunity to expand explosively, swallowing her and her weapon whole. Of course, once they''re inside me I make sure to separate her from it, in case there''s some hidden power in it. I can feel her struggling, most likely at full strength, but it doesn''t even cause a single ripple on my surface. Considering the size of the hammer, she must be incredibly strong, but it seems that physical strength alone is practically nullified inside my convenient body.


    I look around one more time to check whether anyone has seen it or not. Once I''m certain that nobody has, I enter the dorm building and come to a stop around the corner to let Vitalis out. I need her help to identify this Lenoly girl, after all. The moment I pull her out, I''m greeted by a half-liquefied mess. Huh, did I accidentally stick her in the digestion area?


    Then I see her expression, which looks like one of literally brain-melting ecstasy. Apparently being inside me did that to her... Oh my...

 Chapter O2 - Perfect Dark

    There''s nothing to it, I''ll just have to scoop Vitalis up, put her in some waterproof container and let her rest for a while. As far as I remember what my other half told me about the academy, there''s a large bath house in the dorms, so I''ll just let her clean herself in there as well. Maybe I can make the cat girl tell me where they''re keeping Lenoly, then.


    With that, I basically slurp up Vitalis inside my body and quickly search for said bath. In the meantime, I''ll have to break that cat girl in a little, so she doesn''t struggle or scream when she comes out. She''s been moving quite a lot inside me, and while it doesn''t cause any sort of discomfort, it''s a little annoying to be constantly feeling those motions. I form tentacles inside my body, bind her arms and legs tightly, before ripping off her clothes and caressing her all over. That should do the trick after a while, and I can enjoy myself a little at the same time, too.


    The hallways are dark, but my night vision helps me navigate through them effortlessly. And as expected, there''s a sign denoting where the bath is. At this time of night, it''s obviously empty, and the water has been let out, but for such a medieval-seeming world, it actually has functional taps and running water. Thus, I plug up one of the small side-pools and start filling it with water, before putting Vitalis inside, upon which the water turns red from the blood in her body.


    Alright, now for the other one. Pulling her out of my body while keeping my tentacles tightly wrapped around her small but strong body, I get to see the glorious appearance of a cat girl in bondage. I''ve made sure not to touch her most important parts, but it''s clear that my actions have served to arouse her at least physically, if not mentally. Her face is flushed, her eyes unfocused and she is breathing through her nose rapidly - because I have a thick tentacle plugged into her throat to keep her quiet.


    "So, if you would please tell me where Lenoly is being held, I''ll let you go after we make our escape from here." I say to her with a reassuring smile. From the fact that she turns her eyes to look at me, I can see that she heard my words. "Now, I''ll remove that gag, so promise not to scream. If you do, I''ll have to do a lot more..." Putting my hand against her exposed and completely soaked crotch, I softly slide my finger over her opening in a teasing manner. Her expression suggests that she clearly dreads that idea, and my smile widens into an evil grin. "Nod, if you''re willing to cooperate."


    She does so reluctantly, and I pull out the tentacle serving as a gag. Coughing and gasping for air, her glare of defiance is answered with a sneer. All she could do now is scream for help, since no matter how she struggles, she can''t utilize any strength while in that pose. Not that it would be of any use against my incredibly strong tentacles anyway. Pulling her up so that our eyes are level, I look into them casually, to suggest that I don''t fear anything she could try. It''s clear that she understands it, as her resistance melts away.


    "Good girl." She''s quite cute, so maybe I''ll just keep her around when we make our way out. I''m sure she can serve as a shield, too, just in case we''re spotted and attacked. And she''s the first traditional animal-eared girl I''ve seen, not counting the maids at the demon castle since they were of undefined races. It''d be a waste not to enjoy myself fully, now that I got my hands on her.


    ... ugh, what are these thoughts? Just like with my other self that time, when she grew that massive... thing. Why am I always feeling so horny? Shaking my head, I try to regain my composure. Don''t tell me it''s really because I''m the lower half...


    "Now, where is Lenoly?" I can''t get distracted from the reason for my presence this deep inside enemy territory.


    "She is... in her room... on the second floor... number two thirty-two." The cat girl speaks between breaths. It seems I did quite the number on her there, as her heartbeat is still elevated. Well, that''s only going to continue until not a hint of defiance is left.


    "Any guards?"


    "Yes... a fire master... is watching... over her." Is it really alright for you tell me this? I mean, even if you fear getting raped by a tentacle monster like me, would you normally sell out your comrades that easily? I guess people are just that selfish, when it comes to their own well-being. Or maybe she thinks that I won''t stand a chance against that fire mage. I do have to admit that I''m scared of fire the most, since it''s the one element that seems most likely to permanently damage this convenient body of mine.


    But because this body is so convenient, I can do something rather interesting with it, too. I remember a certain anime where a certain ancient being capable of many transformations was thrown into lava and survived by creating a regenerating layer of bubbles on top of his body. And this is a bath, with lots of water and soap available.


    "Thank you for your cooperation... lastly, what''s your name?" I lift her chin and stare at her from close up. Ah, so cute, I want to do this and that to her right now! No wait, I need to control myself...


    "... Ninlil..."


    "Ninlil-chan, huh? Alright, I''ll let you know if something comes up." With that, I plug her mouth with a tentacle again, which causes her eyes to go wide in surprise. Did she actually expect me to let her go right now? At this point I don''t even intend to let her go at all. When I pull her back inside me, she struggles in vain, and her muffled cries disappear with a last ripple on my stomach.


    I pop my head over the pool where I left Vitalis and a face inside the water greets me. Our eyes meet, then she looks away and the face disappears. I guess she''s embarrassed about basically climaxing just from being inside my body, even though I didn''t even do anything to her. I hope my other self doesn''t get angry when she hears about this...


    "I''ll come back for you when I get Lenoly. If you can, maybe filter the blood out of your system and lie low in the water until I''m back."


    "... okay." I hear a bubbling voice from the pool even though her face doesn''t reappear, and I smile, not knowing whether she sees it or not. With that, I gather some things that could become useful later, put on the disguise of a hooded mage, make my way out of the bath and climb the stairs to the second floor. I just hope Ninlil didn''t try to fool me in that situation and is leading me into a trap where I''ll get surrounded by several mages at the same time. It''s one thing to fight a single mage, and a completely different thing to face many - I''m speaking from experience, after all...


    The second floor is empty and dark as well, but my night vision allows me to see the number plates on the doors. I walk down the corridor, turning my feet into their real, tentacle forms, which allows me to move pretty much soundlessly, and quickly approach the one I''m looking for. Two thirty-two, where Lenoly is supposedly being held.


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    Pressing my ear against the door, I try to hear whether there''s something going on inside. Bingo! I hear a woman''s voice, and judging by its tone, it''s not Lenoly but the fire master keeping watch over her. Concentrating on it, I can make out words and realize that she''s holding a sermon. I look through the keyhole and see a dark robe, which suggests that she''s turned her back towards the door.


    Now, I only need to ascertain whether the door is locked or not. If it isn''t, I''ll storm in and overwhelm the mage, but if it is... I could break the door down physically, but it would surely cause a commotion and maybe leave an opening for a counterattack. And picking the lock with a tentacle will most likely not go quietly, so it''d leave some time for the mage on the other side to prepare a spell. But the problem now is, if I test out whether it''s locked or not, it will most likely also make a sound and alert the person on the other side.


    Wait, why am I over-thinking this? I can just make her open the door for me, by replicating the voice of Ninlil. Inside me, I take a sample of her genetic template from her saliva and transform my vocal cords into hers. Clearing my throat lightly, I knock on the door.


    "Open up, it''s me." Perfectly replicated her voice, including the intonation that sounds so familiar to me from my knowledge of the previous world.


    "It is unlocked." The unsuspecting mage says on the other side, and I react quickly, before she realizes that something is wrong with Ninlil asking for the door to be opened despite the fact that she should know that it''s unlocked. Turning the knob and throwing the door open, I grow in size and collapse onto the woman, who doesn''t even have time to react and only stares at me blankly. From that short glimpse, I can see that she isn''t in my strike zone at all, so I won''t do anything with her. Her body immediately goes into the digestion area and is dissolved quickly.


    "Wha-" The only other person is a girl sitting on the bed, which must be Lenoly. She is about to scream, when I regain my form and replicate my other half''s appearance.


    "Shhh, I''m here to save you."


    "Miss Marcott?" She asks and her eyes go round at my sight. Well, I say round, but her irises are horizontal and almost rectangular. Paired with those horns almost as long as her wrists, I presume that she must be a goat girl. "You''re alive?"


    "Well, I''d like to believe so, too. But no, I''m just a part of her." It seems that this girl might not be a member of my other half''s harem, judging by the way she addressed me so formally. So it''s alright if I hug her, right? She''s so tiny and cute~


    "What do you mean?" Tilting her head, she looks at me skeptically.


    "There''s no time to explain. Vitalis is waiting in the bath." Every moment we dawdle, somebody could come to the dorms and check on Ninlil or see how the prisoner is doing. In a rescue mission, making a quick escape after securing the target is the most important thing. Even if I usually failed the stages in the opening areas, where I would be detected really quickly.


    "Vitalis? She''s alive?" Her expression changes to one of pleasant surprise, but her actions are too slow for my tastes, as she looks at me, expecting an explanation.


    "Excuse me." Maybe I''m just paranoid or needlessly hurrying, but I pull her inside me and immediately transform into the woman I just absorbed, before I speed off through the corridor. Luckily, it''s the middle of the night and I made no sound in saving Lenoly, so it was an unnecessary precaution.


    I return to the bath house and transform into my other self''s appearance to get Vitalis, who rises from the water looking completely refreshed and her body of a nice bluish translucent color. The problem now is, I have to take her inside me once again to escape this place, so her getting so clean seems to have been a waste of effort. Well, at least she should feel better about it now. I''ll scoop up some extra water and keep her inside a bubble, so that she isn''t affected as much... maybe.


    "Wait, we can escape through the sewers." Vitalis stops me when I motion to pull her inside me again. "You can compress your body to a very small size, right?" I don''t know about that, especially with two living beings inside me. She notices my skepticism and looks at me with pleading eyes. "I... I am saving myself for Onee-sama... so..." Wow, must be nice... Wait, don''t tell me, being inside someone else is considered to be sex for slimes? Yeah yeah, being inside someone else in the traditional sense would normally be considered sex, too, very funny...


    "Yeah, we can go our separate ways and meet up outside the city. Let''s say... at the fountain of the plaza where the entrance to the Lost Tombs is located?" I can sneak out with my transformations, so in that regard I should be fine. Furthermore, I won''t be going across the field to exit through the citadel gate, and instead make my way directly to the walls and either glide away in the night or tumble down into the moat, just to be safe.


    "I understand. Good luck." The slime girl says and dives into the water, completely merging with it, before the plug is pulled by an invisible hand. The pool''s contents begin to drain and I''m sure she''s already making her way out. Time for me to do the same.


    But first, I need to check on Lenoly, to see whether I have the same effect on her as I do on Vitalis. I should have taken her out while the latter was still here, but maybe it would have wasted a lot of time, if there had been a tear-filled reunion. The moment the goat girl is out, she gasps for air and looks around in confusion, but it seems that she''s not drunk from ecstasy or even remotely aroused. So, it''s really because slimes are affected by being inside an amorphous body, huh? Still, it appears that being inside a Crawling Chaos causes people to lose their breath, even if I supply the area they''re being kept in with fresh air.


    "Huh, where''s Vitalis?" She notices where we are and stands up to search for the slime girl once her breathing has calmed down.


    "She''s gone ahead. There''s no time to lose, we have to get out of the academy." So, without further ado, I pull her back inside me before she can even realize it and begin to complain.


    Just in case, I take Ninlil out once more and see that she''s doing pretty fine. In fact, she still has enough fight in her to glare at me, but that''s something a few more hours of bondage and teasing might be able to get rid of. I put her back inside my body, before transforming into her and exiting the dorm building. I think this form is a much better disguise - especially since it''s quite small. The female teacher I ate earlier walking around outside might attract unwanted attention, too, when she''s supposed to guard the prisoner.


    With this new appearance, I quickly make my way out of the dorm building and across the field behind it, on the fastest way towards the citadel wall. Looking behind me, I see that nobody is following, and I speed up inadvertently, with freedom in sight. Still, I keep my guard up and ears open for any sounds beside my footsteps across the grass. Usually it''s these moments when something unforeseen happens and everything goes downhill.


    When I reach the top of the walls, I look around again, to make doubly sure that nobody has spotted me. I can see that the light from the magic circle on the field has disappeared and there''s a brightly lit room in the academy''s main building, so I guess those mages standing around have moved inside for a meeting. In other words, nobody suspected anything when I walked past them, and nobody has checked on the missing Lenoly yet. However, I''m sure the fact that Ninlil has disappeared will soon be found out, so I have to hurry and regroup with the others at the plaza. We have to leave this city as quickly as possible.


    I just hope they didn''t do anything rash and move without me...


    I jump off the wall and towards the moat, undoing my transformation and using my tentacles to descend in a controlled manner, before jumping and breaking out Hestia''s wings to glide a short distance. Dropping onto a nearby house''s roof and rolling across it to break my fall and muffle the sound, I turn back one last time. Yep, that was a clean escape, if I may say so myself.


    Running across the rooftops of the city, I disappear in the night.

 Chapter R2 - Look at My Horse

    This is bad.


    We cut down the thousand-eyed beast in a difficult battle, and should have been rewarded with a chance to challenge the champion of the arena. Instead, we were pulled into a stream of light and came out in the middle of an open steppe. Luckily, our group was not separated in the process and we arrived together and unharmed. I have reason to believe that this is considerably far away from the Kingdom of Lares, because the climate of this place, as well as the plant life that fill it, is completely different from what I have ever seen before.


    The demon used a transportation spell in its death throes and brought us here.


    "Can you tell where we are, Sigurd?" I turn to scan my surroundings, sword at the ready in case this is the Demon Continent - which is a real possibility.


    "The map of the kingdom does not show our location, but I am fairly certain that we are no longer within its borders. I have no world map... and I cannot work off the sun alone..." He responds and tries to find any landmarks that could aid him in determining where we ended up in. The landscape is practically a barren wasteland, periodically dotted with patches of yellowish grass, suggesting that the soil is not sufficiently fertile to support more. No animals can be seen as far as the eyes can reach, but maybe our arrival has scared them away.


    "It''s pretty warm here, so we can at least be sure that this is south from the kingdom." Gram comments and seems to be feeling hot under his heavy garments. "How about you?"


    "... I am fine." Kamii says while looking around in restlessness and confusion. It is clear that she has not yet fully grasped what happened after we felled the monster in the arena.


    "It seems that we were transported somewhere far away from the Lost Tombs." I explain to her while sheathing my sword after making sure no hostiles are nearby. Due to having a pretty much unhindered view in all directions, we will be able to spot movements very easily.


    "While I cannot say where we are exactly, I can tell you that the sun is ahead of where it should be." Sigurd reports while kneeling before a crossbow bolt he has stuck into the ground. It seems that he determined that fact using its shadow, but I do not really understand the implications of that discovery. It seems that he notices my confusion, so he pulls the bolt out and stashes it in its quiver, before standing up and turning to us. "The journey through the light took us a while, but it does not explain how far the sun has traveled in that time. We have been transported to a land closer to the sun."


    "What do you mean?"


    "You know that this world is a sphere, right?" He begins to explain, but I stare at him blankly.


    "Yeah, but what does that have to do with-"


    "The world is spinning, and that is the reason why the sun goes up and down each day." He interrupts me and stops as if his explanation has concluded.


    "Wait, I always thought the sun was spinning around the world." Gram interjects, but is denied with an uncharacteristically annoyed glare from Sigurd. I can tell that there is no point in trying to argue on that point, and I trust that he knows better than any of us, considering he is the only person in our group who enjoyed a certain level of education.


    "Because of the sun''s size and movement in the sky, we normally do not notice it. But if you were to take a look at the shadows of towers one league apart from each other, you would be able to see a very small difference. That is, if you look at them at the same time." Sigurd tries to make it simple, but it goes over my head, and apparently over Gram''s, too. Kamii does not look like she is very interested in the topic, instead she seems to be deep in thought, her eyes fixated on some point in space. "At a large enough distance from each other, along the path of the sun, the shadows will point in opposite directions at the same time."


    "... what are you trying to say?" I am growing a little impatient now.


    "In other words, we are so far away from Kongenssoevn that this difference in the position of the sun is clearly noticeable." The bard puts it in simpler terms. "The only places I know that would have the sun in its current position at this time of the day would be around the border between the empire and the triarchy..."


    "And where else?" I press the matter, seeing as he goes quiet with an uneasy expression. But I am already expecting the answer of which the possibility I have been aware of since coming here.


    "Or the Demon Continent. And I know that the former is a large mountain range, in which the tallest of mountains put even the Himmelensveien of the Kongensgrad to shame." Him sending his gaze around us uncomfortably clearly suggests that there is no question as to where we are, then. Not a single mountain is in sight in any direction we look, only an endless wasteland with no hint of human settlements.


    This seems like a really hopeless situation. Our supplies will hold for two or three days at best, but the bigger problem is the fact that we are in a hostile nation with no idea of where exactly we are. The only way to acquire a map is to make one through journeying, or to buy a ready-made one. In demon-held territories, humans are very likely viewed as enemies to be killed on sight, so we cannot use the second method. And hoping to find one in any other way is wishful thinking.


    "The problem is that an ocean separates the Demon Continent from the rest of the world. And the closest land mass is the Dark Continent, which is a vast wilderness filled with dangerous monsters even the demons avoid." Sigurd clearly understands the dire straits we are in.


    "Let''s move. Staying in one place makes it more likely to be discovered." I say and signal for our guide to lead the way. If we come upon any small settlements, we may be able to get some information while posing as demons, but larger settlements should be avoided. My eyes inadvertently move to Kamii''s cursed arm, which may lend some credibility to our disguises.


    "Are you alright, Kamii?" Gram asks her and she turns to look at him. It seems that she has finally come to the realization that this is far from home, whether that be through our conversation or a physical sensation. She did look absentminded earlier, so maybe cursed beings have a means to notice the presence of demons or feel the corruption of the land, to know that this is the Demon Continent.


    "... I want to go home." She looks up to the big man. I expected a teary face, but instead her eyes are filled with determination. It is likely that she still believes in Miss Chloe''s return to the capital, so she wants to get back there as quickly as possible. However, the expedition army from the Empire of Terminus had to travel more than thirty days to reach their destination. We do not even have a clear understanding of where we are, so we will very likely take much longer than that.


    "We all do. Just stick with me and you''ll be alright." Lifting Kamii up, Gram gives her a ride on his tall shoulders. She makes a face filled with wonder, when her point of view becomes so high up all of a sudden, and it seems at least some of her worries have been blown away by that elated feeling. Her bright smile stands in complete contrast to the expression she had when we went to get her from the academy after Miss Chloe''s attack.


    I turn to Sigurd and we exchange a knowing glance. Under these circumstances, we have to protect that smile with everything we have. Protecting the weak and innocent, that is what we vowed to do when we set our aim to overthrow the demon lord, after all.


    But deep in my heart, I am more concerned about getting back quickly, because I know that Runa will be worried. After asking around a little, she would learn that we have entered the Lost Tombs and never returned - which will make it look like we have perished in its depths. I just hope she does not do anything rash and try to find us down there on her own...


    The steppe seems to continue on endlessly, as we march for two days without encountering a single living being. Is it really possible that we have been transported into the middle of the wilderness on the Demon Continent? Whatever the case, I do not know whether it is lucky or not, that we have not yet met any demons or monsters, but it also means that we are far from any settlements. The steppe has not changed in all the time, and although there are hills at times, it is still predominantly flatland.


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    Our biggest concern is our food supply, which we cannot restock in the absence of wildlife or edible plants. And even then, I have my reservations about eating anything that grows in this land, which must be overflowing with corruption. I heard that humans become sick and go mad when exposed to a large amount of it even if they are healthy adults. When I see the effect of ambient corruption on babies in their mothers'' wombs - such as with Kamii - I am inclined to believe these rumors.


    "Attention to our front." Sigurd suddenly warns as my mind is wandering. I look forward and see a dust cloud in the distance, which is clearly artificial. Gram readies his shield and I can see Kamii preparing herself mentally. At the sight, a smile plays over my lips. She has already become a real adventurer at heart.


    "What do your eyes see, Sigurd?" I ask him, since he possesses the best eyesight out of all of us.


    "Horses. There is too much dust, so I cannot tell their exact numbers. But I can see five galloping at the front." He says, but a strained expression on his face tells me that there is more to it. If they were simple horses, he would not look so alarmed.


    "Any riders?"


    "No, they seem to be wild ones. But they are black, with flaming red eyes and manes. They do not seem to be coming directly towards us." With this, he turns to me as if asking how to deal with this situation. We are still on an open plains, so there is no way to avoid them, if they were to stampede in our direction. I cannot feel any excitement in knowing that they are wild horses which we could try to tame or use for food, since they are clearly demonic in nature - or corrupted. There would be nothing to gain from clashing with them.


    "We''ll continue onwards, but let''s keep a cautious distance from them." I state, keeping a hand on the sheath of my sword, ready to draw it when necessary. If they really come towards us and there is a large number, I will most likely have to wield the Sword of Light, Roshanee, to fight them, though.


    We hasten our pace and watch the horses come closer in a zigzag maneuver, leaving us no room to try and navigate away from them. It seems that they are clearly aiming for us in their approach, but at the same time they sometimes distances themselves again, as if carefully observing us. Their speed is much greater than ours, so even if we were to pass by each other, they could easily turn around and run us down from behind. I would rather we do not fight them, since they seem like normal animals; if they were corrupted, they would have attacked without hesitation.


    From closer up I can tell that there are at least ten of them, with five in the lead kicking up dust to hide those behind them. It may actually be an entire herd, because of how much dust remains in the air, even when the leading group slows down to make a sharp turn. While I may be able to do something with Roshanee, I doubt I''d be able to cut down many more than ten in quick succession, before my strength is drained. Still, I want to believe that they possess enough of an animalistic self-preservation instinct to avoid a confrontation.


    However, luck is not smiling on us, as the leading horses suddenly shift their direction to come directly at us, approaching in a straight line for longer than they have before. It seems that they have come to the conclusion that we are not dangerous, so they are finally deciding that attacking us is a viable choice, for whichever reason.


    "Defensive formation. If they still don''t change course at twenty paces, shoot to kill." I do not really have to remind Sigurd of that, but just to make sure everyone in the group is aware of their roles, I do so anyway. My biggest concern is Kamii, who has no defensive capabilities, even as she possesses immense offensive potential. Gram is kneeling at the front, bracing his shield against the ground at an angle, so that in case of a collision, his shield''s alignment does not shift. I draw my old sword, knowing that it may be a mistake to try and hope for them to turn away at the last moment.


    Fifty paces...


    Fourty paces...


    Thirty paces...


    Sigurd shoots his crossbow at the central lead horse when they show no signs of stopping or turning away after crossing the limit I set. The projectile hits above its right front leg and apparently lodged into a tendon, because the limb cramps up and stops moving alongside the others. The horse trips and falls to the ground head-first, flipping over its neck, from which a nasty breaking sound emerges. Two of the following horses are unable to avoid their fallen comrade and get their legs tangled by its death throes. With this, the other horses disperse sideways, no longer aiming for us.


    Yet, there is no time for celebration, as the whinny of one of the remaining four leaders seems to signal for them to regroup, and they run in a large circle around us, looking for an opening to charge forward. They seem quite intelligent, since Sigurd is the only one who can attack at a range, but his crossbow''s loading time limits his usefulness against their numbers. If they wait for him to take a shot at them while they are in a circular motion, he may miss, upon which they could take the opportunity to charge during his downtime.


    "Wait with your shot until they come straight at us." I warn him, and he nods in understanding. The other problem is the fact that Gram''s shield is only wide enough to cover us from one direction; it may be enough when the three of us are cowering behind him, but if we are caught from the side, there is nothing he can do. "Big man, keep your shield mobile."


    "What should I do?" Kamii asks beside me while keeping her eyes on the horses. She is holding her cursed arm to the side and slightly behind her, ready to throw it around like a club when needed. Indeed, I have never incorporated her into our strategies so far, but she has proven herself to be a strong fighter against the thousand-eyed demon in the arena - even if we did have to cover for her weaknesses.


    "Be ready to strike their legs when they pass by, but only if they attack us." I still do not have a grasp on her strange power, which allows her strength to grow exceptionally, but also causes it to disappear without a trace at times. "But don''t stray too far from Gram, you hear?" She nods with a serious expression, and I can see that she is not just filled with over-eagerness. Apparently she has an exceptional gift for combat, since this is only her third time being in an actual battle, and her focus is already incredible.


    The horses charge once more, spreading out to avoid a collision like last time, and maybe trying to maximize their chances to ram us. I can now see that there are at least twenty of them in the dust cloud behind the four leaders. That is not a number I can take on with Roshanee alone. What has them so agitated that they would risk their lives to attack us for seemingly no reason? Did we step into their territory or are they actually carnivorous? Gram braces himself and Sigurd releases a crossbow bolt into their midst, before they are already upon us. My hand is at the hilt of the Sword of Light, to draw it the instant any one of them can get close to me.


    One of the lead horses crashes into the big man''s shield, but is repelled by it. Yet, I can see Gram faltering a little from the impact. It is a four-legged animal more than twice his size, charging at full speed, after all. The fact that he was not simply knocked over shows just how steadfast he actually is. The other horses try to circle around him, but they are too fast to make a significant enough turn to trample Sigurd and Kamii hiding behind the shield.


    The dark elf swings her cursed arm horizontally and hits the legs of one of the passing horses, causing it to trip. Using the same swing to hit its hind leg right after, I can see that it has more strength behind it. However, the momentum causes her to be spun around her own axis, and I fear that she might fall over and into the path of the herd''s hooves. Yet, I find that she instinctively uses her footwork well to keep her balance, while at the same time using the force to bring her arm down onto the head of the horse that comes after. Due to the increased power, it is knocked to the ground and seems to lose consciousness.


    A column of them comes at me and I see their maddened flaming red eyes fixated on me. It seems that they are not just territorial, but were actually enraged by something - aside from us killing one of their leaders, that is. I draw Roshanee and let its magic flow into me, my body feeling light as a feather. My thoughts are perfectly transmitted to my limbs and I move with blinding speed, performing one cut after another while easily avoiding the oncoming mass of muscles and hooves. Every stroke is fatal and within mere moments, nearly a dozen of the horses lie dead behind me, as I step into the safety of the space behind Gram''s back, and sheathe the sword again.


    "I think... that should have been enough... for them." I look behind us and see that the herd is dispersing after my display. My breath is rugged and my entire body feels heavy, as if I just swung my sword for hours, but I can tell that with every subsequent use, I am getting more used to the toll it takes on my stamina. "I''m sorry... I need a rest." Still, it is at a level where I can barely walk straight right after sheathing the blade again.


    "Hey, what are you doing to my nightmares?!" An indignant female voice sounds across the steppe. It is coming from a girl around the age of Runa, but her extremely long fluffy white hair that falls down her back like a wooly cape, and two pairs of large curved horns like those of a sheep show that she is clearly not a human. With the horses and this demon, we basically have confirmation that this is the Demon Continent.


    As she approaches us while stomping her feet furiously, Sigurd points his crossbow at her to preempt any attacks. She lifts her empty hands and looks shocked at the gesture, showing that even if she is a demon, she is most likely a civilian. Still, we cannot let our guard down.


    "Who are you people? What are you doing on my farm?!" The demon girl shouts with her hands still raised, but her tone makes it clear that she is really angry with us. Wait, did she just say farm?


    "You breed these beasts?" I ask in blank wonder, upon which she drops her hands into fists, stomps her foot and shoots me a glare with puffed-up cheeks.


    "Yes, they are really expensive, you know!"

 Chapter K3 - The Nightmare Breeders

    This girl reminds me of Lenoly; her eyes are horizontal rectangles, too. But she has four horns and is as tall as Vitalis, and her hair is really long and looks so fluffy. It seems that she is the owner of these horses, and she looks really angry that we killed some of them. I glance at the two I felled with my cursed arm, but the one that tripped has already disappeared and the other is still breathing. So she can''t blame me, it was all Rolan and the bard.


    "How are you going to pay for the damage?" The girl shouts with her hands on her waist, seemingly having forgotten that a crossbow is being aimed at her. But Rolan motions for the bard to lower his weapon, since it seems that she poses no threat to us. I know that Onee-sama would have started flirting with her, since she is quite cute.


    ... Onee-sama...


    We ended up in this unknown place, which seems to be the Demon Continent, where Onee-sama is from. But if I''m not in the city when she returns to get me, what will happen? I was unable to contact Senka, too, who could have told her that I''m safe. This way, she may attack the academy and fight with all those teachers again. Gram said that getting back may take a very long time, maybe more than a month. I can only believe him, when he says that, but there has to be a way to travel faster...


    "We are really sorry, young lady, but they attacked us." The bard begins to explain, but she shoots him a glare.


    "Nightmares never attack for no reason. You must have attacked them first!" Her unreasonable accusation causes him to exchange an exasperated look with Rolan. The fact that these horses are called Nightmares makes me think that they are actually evil creatures, though. "I know, you must be poachers!"


    "Now look her, missy, we were just walking through here and they charged at us." Gram steps in and tries to reason, but she suddenly opens her eyes wide.


    "You attacked them because they charged at you?!" The demon girl is growing angrier with every attempt at explaining the situation. She puts two fingers in her mouth and lets out a loud whistle. Only moments later, one of the Nightmares, which have settled with observing us from a distance, gallops towards us and I can feel the group tensing up. But it slows down and comes to a stop next to the girl, who strokes its head softly. "They''re highly intelligent but mischievous creatures and just wanted to play with you, but when you started attacking, they retaliated!"


    Rolan and the others watch in astonishment when they see how kind these evil-looking horses can be. They look to each other and back to the girl, whose irritated expression is mixed with a hint of triumph at teaching them otherwise. Finally, the tension in the group lightens and the leader steps forward with a bow.


    "I am really sorry for what we have done in our ignorance... can you see it in you to forgive us?" He says in an unexpectedly refined manner.


    "Rather than thinking about me forgiving you... you should think about how you''re going to recompense me." She looks at us with a skeptical eye, scrutinizing our clothes and equipment, which gives her reason to wonder if we are able to pay her anything at all.


    "Umm... how much is a... Nightmare?" Rolan asks cautiously, earning him an angry look.


    "Two hundred Koura." Her expression makes it clear that she doubts we even have enough to pay for one of them. Turning to count the number of Nightmares Rolan and the bard killed, she calculates for a moment and returns her gaze to the leader, who flinches under its harshness. "That makes two thousand six hundred Koura." She looks at Gram''s bags and lifts an eyebrow, suggesting that even if everything inside them were filled with whatever Koura are, it would still not be enough.


    "... what are Koura?" Rolan actually asks and even I understand that he just revealed himself to be a human.


    "... huh?" She makes and blinks her eyes.


    "So you''re humans!" The demon girl speaks in astonishment after realization hits her. "I''ve never seen any of your kind before." Scratching her chin, she examines the men with her horizontal eyes. "But you don''t look so much different from us demons?" Then she turns to look at me and I instinctively try to hide my cursed arm behind my back. Of course, due to the size of it, it''s impossible to cover with my small body. "But I know you''re a dark elf. Is that caused by a curse?"


    "You don''t fear us?" The leader asks dumbfounded. He isn''t trying to keep up appearances and attempting to hide our identity anymore.


    "Why would I fear you?" Her expression suggests that the question sounds strange. Then she wrinkles her eyebrows in thought. "Oh, but I heard that humans fear demons... for whatever reason."


    At these words, Rolan, Gram and the bard exchange glances and all tension completely disappears as they begin to laugh. I don''t really understand what they find so funny, but I guess they came to some sort of realization just now. The girl looks at them dubiously, as if feeling left out from a joke everyone else seems to understand. Finally, they turn to her and the leader smiles in a friendly manner.


    "As expected, it all depends on the individual." He says and removes his off-hand from the hilt of his sheathed old sword for the first time since her appearance. "Let''s formally introduce ourselves. My name is Rolan, this is Sigurd and the big man is Gram. The dark elf is Kamii."


    "I''m Urial." The horned girl responds to the round of introductions. "I have to wonder, what''s a group of humans doing in the middle of the Demon Continent? Barely anyone lives around here, it''s usually just monsters or herders like me."


    "We were transported here through some kind of magic and are looking for a way back to the Kingdom of Lares." At the mention of the kingdom, Urial raises an eyebrow in non-understanding. Noticing that fact, Rolan tries a different approach. "Can you tell us where the closest city is?"


    "There aren''t many cities on the Demon Continent. Usually you can find some wandering tribes like mine, or small permanent settlements in the more fertile south."


    "Then who do you trade with?" Sigurd asks in wonder.


    "Oh, the members of our tribe are commissioned Nightmare breeders and sell exclusively to the army of the Great Demon Queen." Urial responds nonchalantly. So she has a connection with Onee-sama''s mother?


    "... demon queen?" Once again, the humans exchange a look. As far as I can remember, they always referred to her as the demon lord, but lord suggests a man. I think that''s why they are surprised to hear the ''queen'' part. How could they not know that their most hated enemy is a woman? Well, it may be unfair to accuse them of ignorance, since I only learned about it because I know Onee-sama.


    "That is not important right now..." The bard finally says, since he sees that Rolan seems to be toying with the idea of using Urial''s connections to sneak up on the demon queen to bring her down. "We do not have any money that would be accepted here, and there are no wild animals we could hunt. At this rate, we are going to starve to death before crossing the continent, let alone..." He doesn''t continue, but Rolan knows exactly what the bard is trying to say. Even he is painfully aware of his inability to challenge her at this point.


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    "What kind of money do you have?" The demon girl asks curiously. She hasn''t forgotten that we just killed more than a dozen of her prized horses, yet, but there is a hint of pity in her tone. "If it''s made of silver or gold, it should be worth something at least."


    "This is all we have." Gram is the one responsible for carrying the group''s funds, since he is usually the most responsible person. He takes out the leather purse and shows off the gold and silver coins inside. These aren''t all the funds the group normally has, as the majority was left at home, but in our current situation it may as well be. Urial takes the purse and holds up one of the gold coins, staring at it closely before testing it with a bite.


    "Seems to be real gold." She then proceeds to count the amount inside it, although the number is quite disappointing. "I''ll give you one of the horses you killed for this. As a bonus, I''ll even butcher it for you." Urial''s demeanor becomes completely businesslike as she pats the head of the Nightmare beside her with a little rhythm and it runs off into the distance.


    "Two, and we get to choose which." Sigurd immediately begins to bargain for more than she offered.


    My interest immediately wanes at what follows and I move away from the group, towards the Nightmare I knocked out earlier. It''s still lying on the ground, but I can see its stomach heaving, so it''s breathing and alive. The flaming hair isn''t burning the grass around it, so that means it isn''t hot. Stretching out my left hand, I touch the fire, but rather than burning, it''s cold like water.


    "Oyy, you called?" An elderly man with a goatee and the same type of horns as Urial, just longer and more impressive, exclaims while riding on the Nightmare she sent away over the hill earlier. Upon seeing the carcasses strewn across the ground, his narrow eyes go wide in shock. "What happened here, Urial!"


    "Hey, gramps! They overreacted when the Nightmares came to play with them, and one thing led to another..." The girl explains as her grandfather approaches and jumps off the horse skillfully, despite his apparent age. She holds up the leather purse and rattles its content. "They don''t have enough money to pay for the damage, but they''re starving travelers, so I''m going to give them one of the carcasses."


    "One and a half." I can hear the bard still trying to haggle, but it''s clear that Urial is not going to give in at all. In fact, she is giving him a look that suggests he shouldn''t be asking for more considering the circumstances. Gram seems to feel the same, as he gestures for Sigurd to stop trying.


    "It''s not like we can carry even a whole one anyway." The big man says, and considering the fact that he is the one who is most likely going to be carrying the bulk of it, he has a say in the matter, too.


    A quiver runs through the unconscious horse''s body and I quickly step back, as it wakes up and immediately tries to stand again. Wobbling onto its feet, the Nightmare looks around in confusion, before running away while shaking its head. It seems that my hit didn''t leave any lasting effects, and I breathe a sigh of relief.


    "Alright, one it is. But we can choose which one." With one final attempt at getting his way, the bard states with a natural smile. Seeing it, Urial rolls her eyes and shrugs, and a grin of triumph runs away from his face. Her grandfather looks over the mess the humans have caused and shakes his head at Sigurd''s audacity to try and bargain despite having no leverage.


    "Youngsters these days..."


    We are sitting cross-legged in a tent surrounded by Urial''s family. Her grandfather''s name is Ammon, and her voluptuous and young-looking mother is called Arkali. Hiding behind the latter''s back is a small and cute girl by the name of Vicola. She looks to be around nine summers old and has the same set of horizontal slit eyes, but has yet to develop horns. The twins Koria and Korum, a girl and a boy respectively, are playing with Gram, climbing onto his arms and back as he stoically and carefully makes sure that they don''t hurt themselves.


    "We normally don''t get any guests out here, so excuse us for having only so little to offer." Arkali says and hands each of us a wooden bowl filled with Nightmare stew. She sees the apprehension in Rolan and Sigurd''s expression at eating something that looks clearly demonic, but I don''t have any such sentiments. I have been with Onee-sama for a long time, and I have already been corrupted, so I''m sure there are no problems with a little more. And it seems that Gram has overcome that fear, or is no longer mindful of it, as he takes the offered food with gratefulness and begins to eat unhesitatingly, the same way as I am.


    "Ma, they killed a dozen of our Nightmares, you don''t need to show so much- ouch!" Urial begins, but Arkali pinches her fur-covered, pointy ear, all the while keeping the hospitable smile on her lips unchanged.


    "Have you forgotten the hospitality taught in our traditions, Urial?" She reprimands her daughter in a calm tone. Letting go, the punished girl pouts but doesn''t dare to talk back. "Excuse my daughter, she hasn''t had many opportunities to learn manners in front of guests."


    "Don''t worry, madam. Your daughter is right. We should be the ones compensating you for your loss, instead we receive your kindness." Rolan responds and looks down at the stew in his hands, before gathering his resolve and digging in. After the first bite, his expression fills with surprise. "This is delicious!"


    "I''m glad to hear that, Sir Rolan." Giving him a charming smile, Arkali signals for Vicola to come forward. She does so reluctantly, and plops down in her mother''s lap, staring at our group with big eyes and a hint of apprehension. "Koria, Korum! Leave Sir Gram alone and sit down for your meal, or you''ll go without."


    "Wha? Nooo!" The two children blubber in unison and separate from the big man immediately. He watches them warmly, before his gaze shifts to me. Oh no, I''m not such a child that I would climb all over him. And I would be scared to hurt him with my cursed arm... But I have to admit, it was really fun riding on his shoulders. That was a completely new experience, seeing the world from so high up, while it almost felt like I was standing on my own feet, even if I was a little scared of falling.


    "Hey, big sis. Why is your arm like that?" Koria asks innocently while receiving her bowl of stew from her mother, who looks at her blunt question in shock. Rolan coughs and the bard looks at her with an uneasy expression. Gram does not show any of his thoughts, but his eyes are fixated on me. "It looks strong!" She continues, and Korum nods in agreement while shoveling down his food.


    My heart skips a beat. In all my life, there have been only three people to ever look at my curse in a positive light. Before these two, it has only been Onee-sama, who openly stated that she liked it. Even though I think that Hestia, Vitalis and Lenoly aren''t bothered by it, they also tried to avoid talking about it, as if it''s a taboo. Yet, these children, in their innocent honesty, have brought me much joy with their show of admiration. I feel a smile breaking out on my lips, as I lift the arm and move the claw, producing a clicking sound. Their amazement blows away many bad memories I made due to it before Onee-sama freed me.


    "A curse did this." I explain quietly. I''m still not good at talking with strangers, but I can feel my resistance melting away with these two. "A curse caused by corruption."


    "Corruption?" Urial asks in skepticism. "I''ve never heard anything about corruption."


    "Ahhh, I see. That is what they teach you, huh?" Ammon comments with a chuckle as he strokes his goatee. "The so-called corruption that you humans perceive is a blessing to us demons and it is what gives us our longevity."


    "That''s impossible?!" Rolan interjects with unexpected vehemence and everyone gathered looks at him in surprise.


    "I can understand your disbelief, young man." Producing a pipe from one of his jacket pockets and lighting it with a burning stick from the fireplace, Ammon takes a puff. With this action, the tension in the room seems drop once again.


    "I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have yelled... Please explain." The leader apologizes in slight dejection.


    "Don''t worry, I should have expected such a response, since I denied everything you must have been taught about us demons." With a nod, the old man continues. "I have lived through fifty winters. That is a number humans might consider to be of a solid age, right? But would you believe me if I told you that my natural lifespan should have run out nearly twenty years ago? That my youngest daughter, Arkali, would normally be dying of old age before the next summer? Are you able to tell that little Vicola over here has barely seen four winters?" He pets his youngest granddaughter''s hair at these words. "At her age, I was considered a young adult. Our lives used to be much faster, our time in this world much shorter... before the demon queen appeared in this world, that is."


    I turn to look at Rolan, who stares at the old man in silence, before his eyes move across the other demons gathered in the room and stops on the little child. He lowers his gaze to contemplate what he just heard. But something is clearly beginning to change inside his mind, as he comes to a realization.

 Chapter O3 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

    "Vitalis?" I speak into the water of the fountain, feeling slightly dumb while doing so. I set this meeting point, and I know that she can make herself invisible in water, but if she''s not here yet, I''d be looking really stupid for speaking with myself. The plaza is empty, so at least nobody is seeing me do this.


    "Miss Asoko?" The bubbling voice of the slime girl comes from the water, before I see a face appearing on its surface. It breaks out in a relieved smile and she begins to rise up, forming her body in the process. Stepping over the edge, Vitalis comes to stand before me in all her naked glory. Well, it''s obvious that an amorphous body doesn''t need the important bits, so it shouldn''t be embarrassing at all - just like when I did it. She notices my glances and tries to hide her body. "P-please do not stare so much..." How cute~


    "Come, we need to discuss with the others how we should continue." I say and walk ahead, towards the entrance to the underground. Paying close attention to the windows all around us, I make sure nobody is watching. However, the storm shutters are all closed tightly, so I guess we should be safe. Coming after me, Vitalis also looks around, but I don''t know whether she does so with a plan or just to ease her state of mind.


    I quickly descend the stairs and find the underground path before me empty. Panic builds within me as I stop all movements and let my eyes wander across every single detail before me, to see if I can glean any hint on what happened here from evidence I might otherwise destroy by randomly walking forward. The most logical reason for Hestia and Senka''s disappearance would be that they hid when they noticed someone approaching.


    "Hey, it''s Asoko, I''m back." I call out to them, and to my shock, a portion of my sight distorts, revealing the doll-like girl from thin air. Rubbing my eyes in disbelief, I blink a few times, but there she is, standing before me like it''s the most natural thing. "What was that?"


    "Don''t pay it any mind. Hestia is around the bend." She point behind her, where I see the fallen angel peek out her head from the corner nervously. "I see you rescued someone from the academy." Her eyes are looking past me, to Vitalis. "So what about the other one?"


    "Ah, before that." There''s something I need to do. This is the longest I''ve kept something alive inside me, and it''s possible that every second matters. Pulling out Lenoly from inside me, I set her down on the ground as she gasps for air. Hm, is it just me or are her horns slightly larger than before? And they look a little more rugged... "Are you alright?" She doesn''t look like she''s close to dying, though. And even if she was, Hestia should be able to use some healing magic.


    "Yeah... I''m alright..." Huh, why does her face look flushed? Don''t tell me I''m having a similar effect on her as I had on Vitalis after all? Well, the latter is a slime, so I thought it had to do with both of us being amorphous. "Vitalis!" She notices the slime girl she had thought dead until I told her otherwise, and jumps into her bosom, hugging her so tightly that I fear she might squeeze her in two. "I really thought you had died..."


    "I nearly did die, if not for Miss Asoko here." Vitalis says with a smile as she returns the hug. Ahhh, it''s always endearing to see a heartfelt reunion.


    "Tell me, what happened to Onee-sama?" Hestia asks me in an impatient tone when it appears that I''m not going to speak about my findings anytime soon.


    "I think that''s best explained by these two." I gesture to Vitalis and Lenoly, who flinch at being put into the spotlight so suddenly. With her piercing crimson eyes, the fallen angel''s pressure doesn''t make it any better.


    - Girls are Explaining -


    "And that''s why we have to decide what to do next." I say after the two girls finish, preempting Hestia''s expression of hatred for the people at the academy.


    "You seem to have something specific in mind." Senka looks up at me questioningly. Indeed, there are a few possibilities that I''ve been considering along the way back from the academy, based on the people gathered here. But the delivery of these is quite important, since I know that I''ll be facing opposition, most specifically from the fallen angel.


    "For now, the biggest choice we have to make is whether to stay in the capital or leave for a safer place." I breach the subject carefully.


    "Of course we stay and wait for Onee-sama to return!" I expected that response from Hestia, but I know she can''t think straight when it involves my other half.


    "What do you think, Senka?" I want to know what the others think, starting with the one I consider to be the most sensible of those gathered here.


    "This city is dangerous. While the academy may have put its all into that last battle, from what I hear, none of their people was injured or died. In other words, if they were to find us, we would have to face them at pretty much full power." The doll-like girl states with a thoughtful expression. I nod in assent and turn to the others, before a movement inside my body stops me dead in my tracks.


    "Uhm... wait a second..." I completely forgot about the other person I took with me from the academy. I take Ninlil out while keeping her arms and legs bound with my tentacles, and one jammed in her mouth to keep her from screaming. Upon seeing her delirious eyes, I can feel a very base part of me stirring. But now isn''t the time for this, I have to keep myself in control for a little longer; the time to have my fun with her will come eventually.


    "Ugh, I won''t even ask..." Senka comments while rolling her eyes. Hestia looks at the bound cat girl in shock, as it''s clear that she knows her. However, the ones I would have expected to react the same way as the fallen angel glare at her in anger instead.


    "She fought against Miss Marcott!" Lenoly says with a hateful expression.


    "If she had not delayed Onee-sama, she would have defeated the principal and not been sent to the heavens." Vitalis adds in a voice filled with contempt. Understanding that she''s surrounded by enemies, Ninlil looks away, not in fear or shame, but in regret. I don''t know her exact position in the academy, but she must have been a teacher or something, so I guess seeing her students directing their animosity at her is a disappointing feeling.


    "Now now, she''s being punished for that." I pull her back inside me, now that I know she''s alive and well - and not suffocating. I make a point in doing it slowly, so that she can be fully aware of the impending continuation of her pleasurable torment. Her eyes show horror as she shakes her head and slowly disappears inside me, struggling fruitlessly against my bindings. Yes, that''s it. Your resistance only makes me-


    "What are you going to do with her?" Senka asks, but immediately regrets her question. "No wait, I don''t want to know. As long as you make it so she doesn''t become an obstacle to us, I won''t ask."


    "No, she has to die for her actions against Onee-sama!" Hestia''s yandere temperament is showing again, and I feel the need to reprimand her. I''m still Kuroe Makoto, and while I may not be the one she has hopelessly fallen for, my presence should be on the same level as hers. Transforming into the appearance my other half''s took on during our travels, I turn my firm gaze to her, a hint of irritation in my eyes.


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    "Control yourself, Hestia." I order, and her face switches from anger to dismay.


    "I am sorry, Onee-" She realizes her instinctual response and shuts herself up by covering her mouth. I wouldn''t mind being called Onee-sama, too, you know~


    "Now, let me tell you my thoughts." I start, so that this fruitless argument doesn''t continue to waste our time any longer. "If we choose to stay inside the city, it would have to be inside the dungeon. While I''m sure I won''t care about being surrounded by darkness all the time, I don''t know about you." Most specifically, I''m looking at Hestia, Vitalis and Lenoly. "Another option is to leave for the Demon Continent and get under the protective wing of my mother."


    "So you want to run away?" The fallen angel looks at me in suppressed indignation. It seems she has settled on remaining respectful to a certain degree, considering who I am, but at the same time she is aware of the fact that I''m not actually her beloved Onee-sama. Yeah, I can understand where she''s coming from with that thinly veiled accusation of cowardice.


    "There is one more course of action we could follow." I gather my resolve to speak this proposition, since it may seem wholly counter-intuitive under the circumstances. "That is, to split up and do both."


    "Elaborate." The doll-like girl requests with a skeptical look.


    "One group remains in the dungeon of the capital to wait for my other half''s return. The other travels to the Demon Continent to enlist my mother''s help." Of course, that latter group will have to contain myself, since maou-mama surely won''t even give an audience to strangers knocking on her door and asking to see her. And Senka will have to be in the group that remains, so that she can continue trying to contact my other half, when she returns here.


    "I suppose you would go back to your mother, since that''ll make things easier. I should stay here, then." Senka says while contemplating this option. "Since this city is most likely the first place she would return to, I can try to contact her when she enters the range of my communication ability. The second most likely place is the capital of the Demon Continent, where you can wait for her." As expected of the most reasonable person in this group, she understands my thought processes.


    "I shall remain here." Hestia states without hesitation - which was also the expected response coming from her. Her wings are hard to disguise, so taking her with me would surely cause complications along the way. I turn to the other two to wait for their answers, but I can already tell what their choices are going to be.


    "I will stay here, too." Vitalis says with determination. "I can move through the sewer system of the city and infiltrate the school to gather information." But that was unexpected. I didn''t think she would be making her choice with such a plan in mind. Still, I can''t condone her risking her life like that, and have to warn her in my other half''s stead.


    "Be careful. You got out this time, but there''s no guarantee that the academy doesn''t have some sort of countermeasures against that." My face remains serious, although I want to smile at how dependable she seems to be, when compared to a certain fallen angel. Turning to the last person present - not counting the sweet little prisoner being ravaged all over inside me - I look down at the small goat-like girl.


    "I''m going with Miss Asoko." Lenoly states after a long pause, before she turns to me with a blush on her face. Oh my~ "I don''t know what I can do to help, but... I want to be of help to you." Yeah, it would have been pretty lonely traveling on my own otherwise - once again, not counting the cat girl inside me. While I''m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I still have to make certain that she understand what it means to come with me.


    "Are you sure? I appreciate your sentiment, but the journey will most likely be quite dangerous, maybe even more than staying here." I say, but seeing her determination, I understand that she has made up her mind. "... I see. Alright, then get ready. We''ll depart as soon as possible."


    "I need some blood from you." Senka comes up to me and says in a matter of fact manner. I look at her with a questioning frown and she realizes that this request requires some explanation. "I see, you don''t know the details, only that I can communicate over long distances. For that, I need to ingest the blood of my target... but in your case, it''s more like a piece of your body."


    "Is it genetic material?" I ask with slight anticipation. That''d be an excuse for a deep kiss, like what my other half did to give me Hestia''s template.


    "No, it''s a strangely ambiguous ability that works with the soul. And blood is basically considered the essence of the soul or something." It seems she doesn''t really want to talk about the specifics of how it works. "And I have a feeling I know what you''re getting excited about, but not going to happen."


    "Aww..." I can''t contain my disappointment, but extend my index finger, growing it longer to take a piece from it. No wait, I can still turn this around a bit. "There, bite it off yourself. I don''t feel comfortable severing a piece of my own body." This way I can get to see Senka suck on my finger, if even only for a moment.


    "Thank you." She responds with a smile and approaches me. Oh, this is exciting! How will it-


    Snip.


    With a pair of scissors she produces from somewhere within her clothes, she cuts off the extra length on my finger and tosses the piece into her mouth unceremoniously. Ahhh, you killed my excitement! I watch as she repeats the process of darkening her eyes and their surroundings.


    "Test." Her voice echoes in my mind without any perceivable direction where it could be coming from.


    "I can hear you loud and clear." I respond in my thoughts, and apparently it was transmitted properly, as Senka cancels her technique and the ink-like darkness on her face retreats to her pupils. "How fascinating."


    "Don''t ask me how it works. It just does." With slight irritation, she turns to watch Vitalis and Lenoly speaking their farewells with promises of meeting again as soon as circumstances allow them to. "What would you do, if you ended up in space?" She asks without looking at me.


    "I don''t know much about space, only that there''s no air and no gravity. So getting back would be quite difficult. I wouldn''t be able to chant any spells, and no air means no air resistance for wings to function..." Even though I liked to watch all sorts of anime and movies taking place in space, as expected, they don''t offer much scientific knowledge. Therefore, I can''t really say anything without experiencing it first. Seeing Senka''s face in profile, I can feel a hint of anxiety and loneliness in it. "But know that I wouldn''t rest until I''m back on solid ground."


    "... heh, as I thought." She laughs in resignation. "Good luck on your journey."


    "Be safe down here." With this small exchange, we separate. I go to Lenoly''s side and pat her head, signaling to her that we have to go. "Remember not to leave any witnesses in the dungeon. People go missing or die in here all the time, so worry more about rumors of a girl with black wings spreading, than about an unknown dangerous monster killing everything that enters."


    "I understand, Miss Asoko." Hestia responds with a serious nod. Her attitude has calmed down and she seems much more level-headed, like she was during most of our journey.


    "I will be careful, Miss Asoko." Vitalis reaffirms my image of her being the reliable older sister type - despite looking younger than the fallen angel. She did say that she''s clumsy without Lenoly, but I hope Senka will be able to cover for that part. That doll-like girl is easily the most dependable person I''ve met in this world, so far.


    "Then, until we meet again." I say my goodbyes, before turning around and walking towards the exit. Lenoly ends up inside my body once again, even though she did say that she can disguise herself as a human; she''s as small as a child, so her appearance will attract unwanted attention. I don''t want to take any chances. Walking down the path, I transform into an adult male adventurer covered in cuts and bruises, before rounding the corner behind which Hestia hid earlier. I''ll act as if I''m just returning from a day-long dungeon crawl, and act ignorant of the occurrences above ground.


    As expected, there are already quite a few people on the plaza, and a small barrier has been erected in front of the underground''s exit, to mark it as closed. When I emerge, the guards standing around it stare at me in suspicion first, but upon seeing the state I''m in, not a single person questions that I''m just someone who survived the dungeon and came out moment ago. To cement my disguise, I actually initiate a little small-talk with them, and ask about what happened. They gesture for me to quickly pass through the checkpoint impatiently, as they don''t have the time to chat.


    I leisurely walk down the main street, which grows increasingly more active, and disappear in the crowd.

 Chapter 60 - Space Oddity

    "Welcome to The Daily Battle Review with everyone''s favorite host, Chaos-chan! In our last episode we analyzed the fight against Aurelia, Queen of Gold, where we found out that many things could have been done better. This time, we will be looking at the attack on the academy - which, in all honesty, was not actually meant as an attack, just so you know - and how it could have played out better than it did.


    But before we begin, let me introduce a very unexpected guest! Aurelia herself, the Queen of Gold, who somehow survived unharmed even though I put her inside the digestive area - but her clothes disappeared as normal, so that is a bonus." I move my consciousness into the room-shaped space I formed inside my body and create a life-sized avatar of myself, connected to the rest of the structure by a string extending from the head. This room even has an atmosphere, created using the gases from breaking down the bodies of those I consumed, as well as artificial gravity, since I induced a spin to the inside space of my body. Not that I need the oxygen, but air is what carries my voice out here.


    But I know, right? This is possibly the most creative use of my convenient biology so far.


    Straddling the organic replica of a wooden horse, the girl in question is being punished for... for opposing me, I guess. Her eyes are filled with hostility and resistance, but it only serves to make me more excited at eventually breaking her mind. Strange how that thought comes to me so naturally, and I can even objectively say that it''s morally wrong - from the human point of view, that is.


    Sensually running a hand over her perfectly shaped leg, I wonder at her body''s softness despite how hard it was when I punched her during our battle. She squirms and seems to want to shout something, but I created a ball gag out of dragon carapace and put it on her, so only muffled cries emerge from her mouth. Perfect usage of my powers right there~


    "Everyone, give her a warm welcome! Now, to the question of the day: If there was a rematch, what could be improved compared to last time?" I slide my hand up her thigh absentmindedly. "Well, the short answer: Not kill Basarab right after arriving on the scene, and actually begin with expressing the wish to negotiate."


    My finger teases along the inside of the golden girl''s thighs, avoids her most important bit before moving up to her belly button, causing her to quiver from humiliation and pleasure. Her expression still shows more anger than enjoyment, but I have a lot of time to give her all my attention for the time being. And I think she''s painfully aware of that fact, because if that were not the case, I wouldn''t be spending so much time on teasing her.


    "Of course, that''s just a what-if scenario. The truth is that Basarab had to die either way, and it led to a battle. Regarding the battle itself, what could have been done better? Firstly, stepping into the large gravity magic circle was inevitable, because of its size - but getting out could have been accomplished much faster. I could have reacted to its activation as well as the steady increase in gravitational pull sooner, by either stretching myself out as quickly as possible, or strengthening my muscles and toughing it out at the very start."


    Circling my fingers over her rather small breasts, I play with her body completely unhindered, as she tries to fight her restraints to no avail. To show that I don''t like that attitude, I pull her legs downwards and grind the edge of the wooden horse deeper into her crotch. Her expression shows a hint of pain, but at the same time I can see a bit of wetness down there. Oh my~


    "Secondly, I should have used a physical attack and magic at the same time when I stepped out of the circle to attack the cunning old man. Transforming into a dragon wasn''t the best move at the time, because that way Dregana could more easily push me away. In the first place, why was she even there? Well, regardless of the reason for her presence, the fact remains. So, the third point is that I tried to fight her with plasma, rather than immediately transforming into my giant human form like I did against the dragon I swatted out of the sky."


    Grabbing Aurelia''s breast in irritation at that thought, I squeeze hard and feel the resistance of her skin increasing. Fascinating, apparently her body hardens in response to force or pressure.


    "When I did transform, it was too late - I was already in a bad position. With the arrival of Arcelia and Ninlil, I should have immediately returned to a smaller size, or tried to expand to my full size to pull these two inside me and immediately digest them, if not squeeze them to death at least. Lastly, I charged at Thorvadis blindly, which gave him enough time to finish his spell. If I had gone with magic, such as spirit spears or even just a pool of water to stop his chant, I wouldn''t be in this situation..."


    Anger is rising to my head at the thought that I was bested by them despite my overwhelming physical advantage, and I push Aurelia down, transforming the interior of the room to how it would normally look inside my stomach: Filled to the brim with tentacles wiggling and winding, trying to find their way into every crevice. They play over my avatar and then ignore it, instead going for the golden girl''s body. Upon seeing it, her eyes fill with terror as she twists and turns, trying to get away. But there is no way out of here.


    "Ah, but wait... maybe she has an idea on how to turn this situation around." I stop the movement of all tentacles and Aurelia looks around in confusion, before staring up at me questioningly. Running a finger over her lips and then down her body, I stop just above the place of dreams. "Do you know where we are?" I remove the ball gag.


    "Let me go, you-" She immediately speaks in defiance, but I pinch her sweet spot, unlocking a pained moan from her.


    "We''re in space, and if you don''t help me think of a way to get back to the planet, we''re both going to die out here... eventually." I don''t know if she understands the concepts of space and planets, but her expression doesn''t reveal anything. Still, she sneers at my mention of death.


    "You may be a mortal creature, but I am eternal." Aurelia speaks with confidence.


    "Oh, is that so?" I turn myself inside out, pulling the exterior of my body into the avatar, as the room is exposed to outer space. Of course, I make sure to keep her wrapped with my tentacles, so that she doesn''t separate from me. And of course, I don''t let the atmosphere of that interior go to waste.


    We''re floating in deep space, the sight of the planet now far enough to be completely covered with one outstretched hand. I turn her around to show her the sun, which looks much larger from space, since there''s no atmosphere to diffuse its visible light radius. Aurelia''s mouth flaps open and closed, as she turns her head to me in shock. Apparently she wants to say something, but it seems the air has escaped her lungs. Yet, she isn''t dead and is still able to move, as she puts a hand to her throat, wondering why she can''t produce any sound. It''s fascinating that I don''t feel any discomfort out here, neither cold nor asphyxiation. I pull her inside my body again.


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    "How did this happen?!" Is the first thing I hear from her and I sigh.


    "That''s not important right now. We''re getting farther and farther from home and I can''t think of anything that could get us back right now." Indeed, I tried a lot of things during the five planetary revolutions - in other words, days - since I''ve been launched into space. None of the nature elements work, so I can''t use the air jet boosters. The plasma in dragon form must be a form of magic as well, since that also doesn''t activate at all. Stretching myself as thin as possible to extend my body towards the planet feels like an exercise in futility, since I''m most likely still traveling at the speed at which I was sent up from the planet. Basically, I couldn''t move towards the planet as quickly as I''m being moved away from it using that method.


    "... I do not know..." Aurelia says and lowers her gaze. As I thought, she has no idea how space works.


    Honestly, I considered the possibility to just compress all the air inside my body and shoot it out to propel myself towards the planet. But since I''ve been traveling directly away from it, I have to work under the assumption that the spell is still in effect. Even I know that speed is relative, and when I don''t have any points of reference to know how fast I''m going, haphazardly trying such a maneuver might leave me unable to navigate afterwards, while still moving away from my target.


    But I''m not just sitting back and doing nothing, either. I may not have any knowledge about rocket science, but I trust in my luck, which has pulled me through all my previous situations. Leaving Aurelia behind, I move to my actual body on the outside, and turn to look my new temporary destination. No, it''s not the primordial Crawling Chaos that was launched into space over twenty years ago. Space is vast, you know? Finding it out here after such a long time is an improbability on the scale of me spontaneously getting transported back to my previous life... or something like that.


    What I''m aiming for is the celestial body whose outline I can no longer cover even when using both my hands. For that, I need to keep the air inside me, so that I''ll be able to change my course upon approaching it enough. I now know from experience that size is truly only relative. I could be counted among the biggest living beings on that planet over there, if I expand to my full size, but maou-mama is surely much bigger. And then there''s still the mountain-like creature on the Dark Continent. But compared to the scale space operates in, that''s less than what a speck of dust is to me. Well, maybe more like an atom...


    I''m traveling to the moon.


    "And that''s why I''ll be playing with you until then." I say and push the helpless Aurelia down.


    "What do you mean, ''and that is why''?!" She protests with a perfect tsukkomi and I''m almost impressed - if I didn''t know a certain cursed-doll looking girl who does so on every turn. "Stop it this instant!"


    "When was the last time you could enjoy something like this?" I smirk and let my hand slide down between her legs. She responds by closing her thighs tightly - since I didn''t bind them like I did her arms - but their enveloping softness instead just gives me an unfamiliar nice feeling. I noticed from seeing them earlier, but these are clearly her charm points. Kamii''s would be her petite body and her overwhelming cuteness, while Hestia''s is her shapely figure, especially her breasts. But Aurelia''s thighs are a gift from the heavens!


    Since this is the inside of my body, the forms this avatar can take are the same as what I can, too. Thus, my fingers turn into countless delicate tentacles, as I begin to squirm them between her thighs softly. A squeal of astonishment escapes the golden girl''s mouth and she parts her legs instinctually, to escape the unnatural feeling. Using that moment of carelessness, I put my hand against her crotch and stop demonstratively.


    "Do not touch me with your filthy appendages!" But despite all attempts at maintaining her dignified manner of speech, her expression is filling with despair. With her eyes wide open, her defenselessness is becoming very apparent, as she struggles against the restraints. I can feel a hint of dampness on my palm and use my fingers to spread her flower slightly, causing a little more wetness to emerge. "No, do not do it! I am a virgin!"


    At that pleading cry, I stop dead in my tracks and stare at Aurelia, completely dumbfounded. Her heaving chest and shivering body tells me that her words are the truth. For a moment our gazes interlock and a hint of hope blooms within the golden girl''s eyes. Then a smile creeps onto my lips as I stare at her in newfound excitement, and her expression rapidly changes into one of horror, as she struggles even harder to come free.


    "Don''t worry, little queen..." I lick my lips and bring a hand to her chin, lifting it to force her to look at me. "... I''ll be savoring it with all my heart~"


    "N-Nooo-mgh?!" Aurelia begins to scream, but I plug her mouth with the ball gag, before stretching out my tongue to an unnatural length for her to see and moving my head down towards her other mouth.


    Her muffled cries soon change to heated moans, as we continue to drift through open space.


    "You beast..." Aurelia lies unbound and sprawled out on the ground inside my body, breathing hard despite the fact that there''s most likely no oxygen left in this atmosphere. She has kept her virginity... for now. Seeing her like that, along with the accusing line spoken half in a pleasure-filled moan and half with a defiant tone, has me craving to do more. But before I could get to the good part, something came up outside, so I have to pause her sweet punishment for the time being.


    "Now... that might be a little troublesome." I comment, my consciousness having returned to my entire body again. In the vacuum of space and with no air in my lungs, no sound is produced, but I speak either way.


    Floating in space before me is a woman dressed in wide, flowing dark red robes. She has long night-colored hair and wears what I can only describe as a witch hat. Her eyes are closed, but I can feel a gaze on me. What''s with people in this world keeping their eyes shut, but seemingly still being able to see?


    "I am Juzual. Humans call me the Witch of the End." A female''s voice resounds in my mind, most definitely coming from the one before me.


    "What are you?" I have a bad feeling about this, but her response catches me by surprise.


    "I would be what humans consider a god." She opens her eyes to look at me, revealing pure blackness, which draws me into their fathomless depths. I feel like they are black holes, and my body is unable to withstand the immense gravitational pull they exude. Before I can ask what a god wants with me in this situation, she closes her eyes again and her lips curl into a motherly smile. "I am here to help you."


    "And what do you want in return?" It''s obvious that I don''t trust her, and she clearly knows that fact. However, she''s most evidently the one in a position of power right now.


    "Your help in the murder of all others who call themselves gods." Her eyes open once again, and an infinitely sinister grin appears on her lips, her warm demeanor from earlier blown away completely. I could swear that my surroundings are growing even darker than the darkness of space itself already is.


    This woman is bad news!

 Chapter 61 - Revelation of Divine Divinity

    "What could I do to kill gods? I can''t even kill that one human mage..." I ask in my mind, knowing that this woman floating in space before me can hear it. Thankfully, she has closed her eyes again and her smile has returned to a more neutral expression. Still, I can say with one look that she''s an evil far greater than maou-mama and I could ever be. I feel that this self-proclaimed goddess could cause more destruction than the two of us together, if she put her mind into it.


    "Maybe you cannot do so yet, but your potential is far greater than you imagine." Juzual speaks in an encouraging tone. "There is a reason why the gods are lending the humans their strength to overthrow your mother, after all." I''m a sucker for maou-mama, who just seems to be so helpless without me - even though I know that she''s far stronger than I am right now - so whenever anything involving someone opposing her is mentioned, I can''t help but pay close attention.


    "Continue..."


    "What if I told you that your mother, and in extension, you, are an existence foreign to this world?" The witch begins with a question. Wait, is she aware of the fact that I''m a reincarnator? I mean, I''ve practically come to the conclusion that maou-mama is one as well, since she uses Japanese honorifics. Is this the moment of truth? "The primordial being called the Crawling Chaos, which was banished to the stars twenty two cycles ago, initially came from among the stars." Huh, is she implying that we''re aliens?


    "Are you saying that we''re from space?" Senka did call me a Cosmic Horror, and I know from several experiences that my real appearance seems to induce madness in those who see it, most likely depending on their mental fortitude. Thinking back, I have to give Aurelia props for not going crazy upon seeing my real face, or from being kept inside my body for this long.


    "In a sense, yes." A slightly mischievous expression flashes across Juzual''s face, as she puts a slender finger to her chin and smiles. "More importantly, your kind has the potential for unlimited growth. You must have noticed it yourself." Well, as long as I have stuff to swallow, I can quickly break it down to increase my own mass. And I did notice that there''s a correlation between my physical strength and my size, since I can increase my muscle density practically infinitely, even while I remain at human size. But that''s obvious, and I feel like that it''s not what she means.


    "Do elaborate." Is she saying that there''s more to a Crawling Chaos than just eating stuff and becoming bigger? I mean, it''ll end when I can cover the surface of the entire planet, or consumed every living being, so that could hardly be called infinite growth.


    "You will learn about it yourself, sooner or later." Opening her eyes into slits, similar to those of a Buddha statue, she wears a mocking grin - the air around her is in complete contrast to that of the merciful and compassionate enlightened one. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she continues. "What you need to know for now is that those beings calling themselves gods and what the humans call gods are not one and the same."


    "What do you mean?" There have been people calling themselves gods throughout human history, so if that''s the case, then I could understand it. But in a world where magic and monsters exist, calling oneself a god without having the power to back up that claim seems to be a foolish endeavor.


    "It would appear that you do not know the creation myth of this world, according to current human canon, so I shall give you a lesson about its from the very beginning." Announces the Witch of the End, ironically. Well, be my guest, not like I have much more to do right now, I''m sure I won''t be getting to the moon for a few more days.


    The twin gods, the Lord of the Sky and the Guardian of the Soil stirred the primordial chaos and separated it into the heavens and the earth, defining above and below. The former''s wife, the Lady of Brilliance, placed herself in the newly created sky, and became the sun, her radiance illuminating the darkness that ruled before. The Guide of Tomorrow decided that there would be day and night, so that the Lady of Brilliance could find rest. The Bringer of Winter''s Frost and the Bearer of the Flame created the seasons by splitting the cycle into their respective domains.


    The Mage of the Beginning saw that the world was a lonely place, so he sowed life as he saw fit, finally creating humans in the image of the gods. His son decided to stay among the fierce creations that piqued his interest, becoming the Walker of the Wild, protector of nature. The Liberator of Souls found that life without death holds no meaning, so he decided that all living beings must meet an end to make way for the generations that follow, thus, creating the cycle of life and death.


    However, the final remaining goddess, nameless due to having no domain of her own, considered that if there is a beginning, there has to be an end. The meaning to an existence lies in its eventual conclusion, regardless of the manner in which that is achieved. The Liberator of Souls already governed over life and death, but she would go further beyond the mere concept of the living.


    "She would become the Witch of the End, who would end all of existence one day." Said witch speaks with a charming smile that sends a shiver down my spine. She seems to notice my apprehension, as her eyes open slightly. "Do not worry, that will not affect you, yet."


    "This isn''t helping your case..."


    "The history lesson is not over yet." Her expression looks smug to me, but it must be my imagination... right?


    Two thousand cycles ago, a group of individuals traveled across the ocean from the West, each one of them a sorcerer of great power. In fact, their powers were so immense that they could be considered gods from the point of view of simple mortals. They found a collection of small continents where humans, dwarves, elves and other beings lived in a culturally advanced but technologically underdeveloped society. There were many small nations and one large empire in the process of expanding its influence greatly through both military might and economic success, soon to achieve hegemony over all continents.


    On a whim, several of those sorcerers decided to join different factions of humans and fight against each other, causing severe damage in the population and crippling many of the human nations over the course of the next three hundred cycles. But one day, the twins Zenlith and Exla had an altercation, after which they went their separate ways, their relationship irreconcilable. Leaving the populated continents behind, the latter chose a voluntary exile on an unpopulated island, turning it into the most fertile land through her presence. This split caused the others to separate as well, and one after another, they died on different battlefields or disappeared in the folds of time, to never be heard of again. In truth, they had grown tired of the wars between humans and retreated to their own sanctums, pursuing their studies or hedonistic pleasures once more.


    The individual named Alverost built his very own garden of paradise on a largely unpopulated continent in the east. Experimenting with life itself, he created chimeras with varying degrees of success. He soon achieved a sustainable population of beings completely different from anything the world has seen before and thus, found a new pastime in this research. Retreating into solitary life, he was since engrossed in creating ever more beautiful and bizarre life forms.


    In the meantime, three others introduced magic to the world of humans on the largest continent, where the empire was in the process of regaining control over its provinces and colonies. Serent, Kanundra and Zylos began to propagate the secrets of manipulating the hidden energies of the world, spreading only destructive spells and withholding all knowledge of utilitarian ones for the purpose of pitting humans against each other in battles that would look like child''s play to these godlike beings. Amusing themselves with these little games, they spent their time teaching as wise sages, wandering mages and hermits dwelling in the mountains.


    Sintress, the most compassionate one among them, traveled across the lands disguised as a simple human and gathered spiritual followers, who flocked to her as their savior. Her actions brought salvation and enlightenment to the poor and soon a new branch within the religion of the empire formed. In malicious mischief, Shelnir manipulated the emperor to order her arrest, conduct a humiliating public trial and had her executed by immolation. Of course, she knew that Sintress would not die from that, and it was only a means to alleviate her own boredom. While those actions turned the saintly being into a martyr for the people, it served to create a break in their previously amicable relationship.


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    Another three hundred cycles passed, before the others became aware of Alverost''s machinations. Through his tinkering with life, he had created a new culture, a new force in this collection of continents that operated in a foreign way, compared to human society. The first humans made contact with those and based on their interpretation of religion, gave a very specific name to these new beings.


    "Demons." Juzual states after a dramatic pause, but it was already obvious that she would be saying that. She pouts a little at my lack of shock or amazement at this reveal.


    In reality, I''m seriously perturbed. Does this mean that all demon races were artificially created by this Alverost person? That''s a huge departure from a fantasy setting, oi! Although, admittedly, my existence is something outside of simple fantasy, too. Still, to think these sorcerers brought magic to the humans from somewhere else, too... but really, I did wonder why there was no magic specific to everyday use, with the vast majority only effective for combat. So that was deliberate.


    Ugh, these sorcerers piss me off!


    "However, this is far from over." The Witch of the End continues in a serious tone, as the previous pout has disappeared from her lips and a neutral expression returned to her face.


    Many of these sorcerers reconnected and proceeded to help Alverost, planning how to use the emergence of this new race for their amusement. What followed was three hundred cycles of war games on a massive scale. They created intricate cultural norms and systems among the humans and demons, so that the two races would at times become irreconcilable enemies, while at others coming close to peace - only for the political climate to shift and war break out once more on their whims.


    With the emergence of ever stronger beings among the demons, Shelnir and Serent developed a new idea: The demon lord''s aura. To that end, the two worked with Alverost to introduce a power within all his creations to propagate an aura in their vicinity, which would denote that they are demons. At the same time, Shelnir created a new tradition: A ritual that the demon lord had to undergo to be formally recognized. However, the true purpose of that ritual was to massively amplify that being''s aura, which would cause its existence to spread a blessing to all who shared its wavelength, while possessing a near global corrupting effect on anything else.


    Following that, demonkind slowly became more and more militaristic, while humanity began to rally under one banner to fight this new threat. This happened against all expectations and they saw that to be an incredible success, as the game was beginning to evolve in ways they had never imagined. The project grew in scale and they became completely engrossed in it for the following one thousand cycles.


    Unbeknownst to them, during that time, one demon lord came very close to the power of those sorcerers, and proceeded to rule for nearly seven hundred cycles. Aldeath''s potential seemed limitless and he would have one day been able to join their ranks, if it was not for his lack of respect before these godlike beings. They were amused at his inability to perceive the difference in their strength, and decided to observe him. Only the prideful Zenlith was truly offended, and he secretly plotted to bring Aldeath down without the others noticing. After all, he still did not wish to ruin his companions'' fun.


    Then the primordial being that would be called the Crawling Chaos appeared.


    "Oh, I know that part." I interject prematurely, but Juzual shoots me a glare with her black hole eyes, which immediately shuts me up.


    "You do not know it from this perspective." She says and closes her eyes once again, a slightly grim frown on her face. It feels like the next part might be quite important, so I pay close attention - even though this is space and it''s completely quiet, so there''s nothing to distract me in the first place.


    Not a single one of the sorcerers could have foreseen such a development. Out of nowhere, one day, a large amorphous mass covering the area of a small village began to create a panic on the Demon Continent. It was exuding a miasma many times more potent than what Shelnir''s ritual did for the demon lord, even though it was not one of Alverost''s creations. Curiously, that effect did not spread beyond a certain range around its body, causing the power to circulate and gather within. Those who entered would go mad or simply die from an overdose of the blessing. After all, too much of something beneficial can turn it into a deadly toxin.


    Alverost was overjoyed at the opportunity to study something never before seen. It was as if a child had found a new toy that had been put by his bedside in his sleep. Yet, his joy was short-lived, as he was unable to glean any useful information from the Crawling Chaos, no matter how he tried to research it. It caused him great stress and for the first time, he overtly expressed anger and frustration.


    The others watched curiously as the demons devised a plan to defeat it by throwing it into space. Unknown to anyone at the time, that solution had been proposed by none other than Zenlith himself, who oversaw its success in the avatar of a demon. The plan succeeded and the Crawling Chaos was never seen again. Some believe that it disappeared into the infinite darkness, other say that it was burned up in the sun. What exactly happened to the Crawling Chaos is only known to Zenlith, as he is the one who knows best about space.


    In the process, Aldeath lost a large portion of his armies. That had been part of Zenlith''s scheme to make this powerful demon lord''s eventual defeat at the hands of humanity more believable. He planned to smite him personally, using his avatar, the Emperor of Terminus, who had been set up for that very purpose since his birth.


    However, not a single one of the sorcerers was aware of the existence of a remnant of the Crawling Chaos, which took on the form of a female demon.


    "Yes, that would be my mother." I comment, mulling over the new information I gained. So the banishment of the primordial Crawling Chaos was facilitated by this Zenlith guy. And Aldeath''s defeat, despite how strong he apparently was, was also because of him. He sounds like a real villain... And learning that all this animosity between humans and demons was engineered by these sorcerers makes me angry. Not just Zenlith, all of them have been controlling the fates of the people for the past two millennia.


    "And now comes the most important part." Juzual states almost impatiently.


    This remnant went undetected because unlike the primordial one, it possessed a consciousness and the ability to reason. It consciously hid to gain power and knowledge, completely hidden from the eyes of everyone. They only learned about her existence when Zenlith, having replaced the Emperor of Terminus, sprung his plan into motion and killed Aldeath on the battlefield. The new Crawling Chaos, Pelomyx, appeared out of nowhere and dealt Zenlith a mortal blow, before single-handedly eliminating the human army within mere seconds.


    Shocked and dazed, he retreated to his sanctum to recuperate, where he remains to this day. The others, unaware of their companion''s actions, simply viewed her as an even more powerful being than Aldeath. As with the previous demon lord, they approached her with the proposition to eventually join their ranks, but she refused just the same. This time, Shelnir was angered. She proposed taking the place of the human gods, so that they could become involved in the game while still working within its constraints.


    Wow, maou-mama is incredible! Who would have thought that she fought a god and came out on top? Although, knowing her, she most likely didn''t even know that he was a god. Which makes her refusal to play along with them even more incredible.


    "These self-proclaimed gods still think of this as nothing but a game, because they do not know what a threat Pelomyx represents. They wish to eliminate her within the rules of the game they have created, because she poses a threat to its continued existence. If she were to begin to set her mind on devouring the world, it would break the balance between humanity and the demons that they have created over such a long period of time." She explains, before a disdainful sneer fills her face at the thought. "They do not want to lose their plaything, but at the same time they still restrain themselves. That shall be their downfall."


    I think so, too. If they don''t take her out and continue to play games with her, she may outgrow them eventually. It''s obvious that in their complacency these sorcerers have stopped considering the possibility of anything to rise up to their own level, or even surpass them. But this is still talking of maou-mama, who had two decades to grow stronger. I''m sure I don''t come even near her level of power as of right now.


    "In a battle of such monsters, who think human magic is just child''s play, how can I get a word in edgewise, if I can''t even defeat a few of those humans mages on my own?" Returning to my first question.


    "Because human magic has evolved. These days, to replicate what these sorcerers are capable of, mortals only require time. After all, they were something similar to humans before." Her smile grows sinister once again and an uncomfortable shiver runs down my spine. "They are not immortal, even if their lifespan is infinite." I suspected as much. "And you have someone like that inside your body right now, do you not? She is the one human who has come closest to the sorcerers out of her own power."


    What!?

 Chapter R3 - The Lioness Den

    "The clan leader of the Ajura may know where you can find an access point to the ancient transportation network. Her fortress lies two days from here, in the direction of where the sun sets, as the Nightmare rides." Ammon told us after the meal, when I asked for means to get off the Demon Continent without walking its entire length to find a harbor. "But beware, Chandra is a fickle woman and has a strange grasp on morals and authority. The demon queen killed her father at the Gathering of Clans, but she not only didn''t seek revenge, but instead became a heartfelt friend with her over the years."


    "Are you sure we want to ask someone who''s friends with the demon queen for help?" Gram asks and turns to me. He has a fair point in regards of seeking out this Chandra, who may very well try to kill us on sight. And we are going to meet her in her own fortress no less.


    I have been giving everything I know so far much thought, ever since hearing that the corruption spread by the demon lords throughout history had always been considered a blessing by demonkind. While Chloe did betray the goodwill of humans with her actions at the academy, Runa told me that there were other demons living peacefully among the students. I always understood that the world is not a black and white place, and that humans are not absolute good or the demons absolute evil.


    The fact of the matter is that Ammon and his family live just like any human villagers, which has come to show me that demonkind is simply another culture, rather than this complete other which we could never reconcile our way of life with. Still, this aura coming from the demon lords of every generation is what separates our two people decisively, and will continue to do so until a solution can be found. After all, it may very well be propaganda spread by the demon queen herself...


    No, Ammon clearly said that his people had a much shorter lifespan than they do under the influence of this new demon queen. Denying that aspect of his words would mean to completely disregard everything he said, which I cannot do in good conscience. Not after seeing how open-minded and friendly he was in giving us humans, whom demons should be considering enemies, so much hospitality, which is rarely seen even among our own kind.


    "Leader?" The big man''s voice calls me back to the present.


    "Ah, sorry... what were you saying?"


    "That I feel like it''s a bad idea to ask for help from this Chandra... what''s come over you lately? You''ve been lost in thought since we left the Nightmare breeders." Gram seems to be concerned. I look around to see that Sigurd shares that sentiment, and even Kamii is looking at me questioningly, even though she rarely shows interest in other people''s feelings. Seeing her, I realize that I have been acting uncharacteristically glum.


    "No, we have to get back to the kingdom, or at least to human territories. We may have been lucky in meeting Ammon and his family, but we have neither money nor large amounts of rations for a prolonged journey." I pull myself together and begin to explain. "To avoid staying on the Demon Continent for too long under these conditions, we have to take this risk."


    "Do not be hasty, my friend." Sigurd cuts in and gives me an understanding smile. He knows that I am worried about Runa, and I believe Gram knows, too. "If the Demon Continent is filled with people like Ammon and Arkali, then it may not be such a bad place." I turn to the big man at these words, the one who lost the most among us due to the corruption spread by the demon queen, but it appears that he agrees.


    "Maybe we can learn something about this blessing while we''re here." He uses the word in a skeptical way, but I can see that he has put some thought into the matter as well. It would be all too easy to dismiss Ammon''s words for indoctrination or even malicious lies, to maintain our preconception that demonkind is harmful to the rest of the world. But having seen that they are just people, living their own lives, he can no longer believe what common knowledge in the human territories teaches about demons.


    "Then someone who is close to the demon queen should know more." Yet, I still believe that being able to use the transportation network to return to human territories quickly is worth the risk of meeting this fickle character named Chandra. "I''ll be counting on you, when things get tough..."


    "Got it, leader." Gram responds and shows a resigning smile.


    In the worst case scenario I will have to use Roshanee to its full potential and most likely faint at the end of my strength. At that time, the only one who can carry me away from danger will be the big man. There is one other method, but it would be a last resort. I glance at Sigurd, who seems to be aware of my thoughts. He shrugs with a carefree expression, but it is clear that he would also like to avoid using it here.


    I pray that he will never have to use it at all.


    The fortress of Chandra is little more than a wooden building on top of a small lone butte. The surrounding landscape is still mostly a dry steppe, although there are other, similar rock formations in the distance, and gnarled trees grow sporadically throughout the area. At the foot of the butte, surrounding the fortress, is a walled town of maybe a thousand souls, and it is the first problem we may have to face. Aside from Kamii, none of us could pass for a demon in appearance. And haphazardly disguising ourselves may instead lead to troublesome consequences, if we are discovered.


    "The gates are guarded by men in lamellar armor, and there are archers on the walls." Sigurd acts as our scout, since he possesses the best eyesight in our group. "The town looks to be inhabited by people with light purple and blue skin."


    "Then Kamii would blend right in." Gram comments half-jokingly.


    "No, they all have two or three pairs of arms."


    "As expected of demons, they just look different from humans." The big man says with a shrug and scratches his head. "What''s the plan?"


    "Considering the gates are open, I would say that there is peace in this area. The guards look relaxed and the archers don''t even have their bowstrings braced." With a questioning look, Sigurd turns to me for the final verdict. I turn to look at Kamii, who does not seem to understand the importance of this situation, as she absentmindedly watches a purple butterfly that has settled on her cursed arm.


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    Credit to DanP for the artwork.


    Now that we have come this far and I know that Kamii seems to be very talented in combat, I find it easier to take risks with her around. However, this is the moment of truth; according to the empire''s past expeditions, it is a known fact that there are demons that eat humans. If this is one such tribe, we would be presenting ourselves to them on a silver platter. So I have to make a decision here.


    "Let''s go for broke." I finally say and the others smile in resignation. "We''ll go in naturally, as if we are demons that just happen to look like humans. Avoid a confrontation as best as possible." This may be a very stupid decision, but I think that ship already sailed when we stepped into that underground arena, instead of choosing a different path through the Lost Tombs.


    Descending the hill from where we overlooked the fortress town, our group walks in a straight path towards the gates without a care in the world, despite the fact that we''re potentially heading straight for a fight to the death. The closer we get, the more attentive the guards become, and I can see the archers on top of the walls brace their bows, as they keep their eyes on us. I can see that the guards are all at least around my height or taller, and that the muscles on their bare arms are quite impressive.


    "Halt, who goes thar?" One of them speaks in a distinct accent. I could hear something in Ammon and the others, but this one''s is much more obvious.


    "We are simple wanderers and would presume to ask for an audience with Lady Chandra." Sigurd speaks in a respectful tone. Through the still open gates I can see that there are women wearing armor and carrying several weapons, one for each hand I presume. Several are watching us with relaxed expressions, making it obvious that they do not perceive us as a potential threat.


    "Lady Chandra... huh?" One of the guards scrutinizes our appearance and his eyes stop on Gram, before he lifts an eyebrow. Another one looks at Kamii curiously, but apparently cares less about her and the cursed arm she possesses, than the fact that we look very human. At least I think that is what they seem to be contemplating. "A''ight, come on in."


    Unexpectedly, we are led inside, under the vigilant eyes of the archers and other guards, before we walk through the gate and enter the town. Now that I see it from up close, I can tell that the architecture only looks primitive from afar, but seems to be deliberate due to these people''s culture and traditions. The wooden houses with straw roofs would appear to be the equivalent of abodes of poor villagers in the kingdom, but the dark frames and beams are richly carved with tribal symbols.


    I look around in curiosity, but soon something dawns on me when we approach the butte on which Chandra''s fortress stands: There are no children and elderly. This town is populated by warriors, male and female alike, and there seem to be no stores other than workshops of blacksmiths, and tailors that display gambesons and padded vests rather than fashionable clothes. It would appear that rather than a village settling around the foot of a liege''s fortress, this entire town is part of the fortress in itself.


    We are led into a wooden gondola, which appears to be on a pulley mechanism. The purple-skinned demon inside is about half a head smaller than Gram, but each one of his six arms are as impressive as the big man''s. The guards do not follow us in and wave towards the top, as we are lifted upwards in the elevator using the pulley. The platform of the butte soon comes into view and we are welcomed by four guards, who seem to have been informed of our arrival.


    "Come." The female warrior in front, who is as tall as I am, speaks curtly and gestures for us to follow her. I look back and find that the gondola has descended again, meaning that we are practically trapped here; the butte is tall enough that jumping down would result in instant death. Preparing myself for an impending battle, I exchange glances with Sigurd and Kamii, who both seem to understand. Gram is always vigilant, so I trust that he has realized the situation we are in.


    The fortress itself is a large, single-story house in a horseshoe layout. The courtyard is simple dirt and there are a group of demons surrounding and cheering on two of them fighting each other in hand to hand combat in their center. The relaxed atmosphere shows that these lands are in a period of peace and stability, but the militaristic nature of this town makes it clear that they are a people deeply steeped in warrior tradition.


    "Boss, thar be some humans lookin'' for ya." Our guide announces us and my heart drops. So they knew all along, but did not let it show until we were deep within their encirclement. I hope this is not the worst-case scenario that we have been considering.


    The female warrior walks towards the ring, but does not say any more to not interrupt the fight. One of the two locked in the battle is a blue-skinned topless male with long orange hair tied into a ponytail and six arms, standing at about the same height as the big man. His back is turned to us and reveals the impressive musculature that supports his arms. The purple-skinned woman is wearing armor, but it seems that she is being pressured by the larger one and appears to be losing.


    In a quick motion, the larger one, who has two arms bound on his back to make the fight fair, sweeps the woman''s legs away, spins her around and puts her neck in a sleeper hold, while the other two arms are used to hold hers down. Within moments, she loses consciousness and is let go of carelessly, her body hitting the floor hard. I stare in confusion. Then, the one I had thought was a male turns around to show me the truth of the matter; six shapely bare breasts prove that this large and powerful individual is a woman.


    "Humans?" Her piercing green eyes stare at each of us in succession, as a grin revealing sharp canines fills her face. One of the warriors hands her a towel with which she begins to wipe herself down, while two others carry the unconscious woman away. "I am Chandra, clan leader of the Ajura. Ya be deep in our territory, what''re ya doin'' here?" She has not a single care for being half naked in front of strangers while undoing the bonds on the pair of arms on her back. It seems that her gaze is locked onto Gram all the while, who shows a hint of discomfort at being in the center of her attention.


    "My name is Rolan, these are Gram, Sigurd and Kamii. A demon used transportation magic and brought us to the Demon Continent a few days ago. We are looking for a way to return to the human territories." I feel that a warrior like her may be easier to talk to than a scheming aristocrat, so I go with the simple truth. "We heard that you have information on the ancient transportation network, so we came to seek your guidance." It is quite hard for me to concentrate on her unexpectedly beautiful face, because the otherness of her body keeps drawing me in.


    "The ancient transportation network?" Chandra scratches her chin with one hand, crosses two of her arms before her chests, and puts two more hands on her waist, while handing the towel to someone with her free hand. "You know something about that, Shugra?" She turns to a six-armed bald male with blue skin and a dark red beard, who stares at his leader in slight disbelief for a moment, before sighing.


    "Ya used it last win''er to visit the queen." Shugra speaks with a hint of irritation. It would appear that Chandra is a forgetful person, too.


    "Ah, that. Yeah, thar be one ''round here." Her eyes light up in realization and she looks at us in curiosity. "Then let''s have a match. If ya can make me give up, I''ll show ya the way." Chandra smiles brightly and stands before us in a challenging stance. I watch Shugra bring a palm to his face, while the others cheer for the prospect of seeing their leader fight again.


    I turn to the others, but they are waiting for my decision. Well, that has been made when we first set foot into this fortress. There is no backing down at this point, and I look up to Chandra with a determined expression.


    "Ah, ''fore ya accept, I got terms of my own." The Ajura leader looks at Gram with a mischievous smile. "If I win, I''ll have ya become mine."

 Chapter O4 - Im Flying

    Itadakimasu!


    A barn full of bleating sheep with wool in the colors of the rainbow is before me in one moment and completely empty in the next. This gives me enough mass to transform into a dragon, even if I don''t have the genetic template for it, because my other one was so greedy in immediately digesting it. And because we both forgot about sharing it afterwards... oops.


    The reason I''m going out of my way for the dragon transformation is both the increased speed and the load capacity on my back, since Lenoly is traveling with me. I could keep her inside my body while using Hestia''s form, but even under what I perceived to be one hour, she already seemed to be suffering. On the other hand, I wonder why Ninlil is doing fine despite being kept inside my body for so long.


    Speaking of which, I''m building up a lot of sexual frustration recently, especially after being denied some selfcest by my other half, when we were about to begin but she said that the ghost of Senka appeared before her. I didn''t have an outlet even after feeling all this irritation, so I''ll be letting off some steam on this little cat girl as soon as I can. But at that point I''ll one-sidedly enjoy myself to the fullest, without a care for her well-being~


    "Miss Asoko?" Lenoly asks with a questioning expression when I come out of the barn. I didn''t tell her what I was going to do, only for her to wait outside. Petting her hair, I give her a reassuring smile. She''s still in her human disguise, in which her horns are gone and the horizontal rectangular pupils are normal round ones. I''ll have to ask her how she''s doing that without being amorphous like I am.


    "We don''t need to walk anymore." I say to her as I approach her. We walked for almost the whole day, until it was nighttime again, so that I could eat under the cover of darkness. Maybe I should keep her in the loop more, if we''re traveling together for a while. "From here on out we can travel by air."


    "Umm, Miss Asoko, I can''t fly. My elemental affinities lie in fire and dark." The petite girl says sheepishly as she blushes under the touch of my palm. Wow, so cute!


    "Don''t worry I''ll carry you." With this, I hug her and spread out Hestia''s wings, before muttering the spell that puts wind under my feathers to create lift. Taking off into the air, I make sure to keep her secured to my body, until we''re high enough in the sky.


    "M-M-Miss A-A-Asoko! I''m afraid of heights!" Lenoly screams and closes her eyes tightly. Argh, I need to hold myself back from doing something to her right now, but she''s just way too cute!


    "Don''t worry, it''ll get smoother right away." And right after I say these words, I transform into a dragon, its appearance drawn from visual information and imagination alone. Well, it seems that this is a natural talent of my species, so there is no trouble, even if the body may not be made from the same materials as the real deal. With this size, I should be able to fight an actual dragon, too - even if I don''t have the same amount of magic knowledge as my other half.


    Never before have I felt so much power. So this is how my other half saw the world, huh? Looking down on the small houses and trees, I understand why she got a little ahead of herself and attacked the academy on her own. If I didn''t know about her failure, I would most likely have committed the same error when in the same situation. But I''m learning from other people''s - or in this case, another me''s - mistakes, and keeping it under control. Still, this is an incredible sense of freedom, even more than that gained from a Fata''s template.


    "Wha-wha-whaaaa! Miss Asokoooo!" Lenoly cries while I beat my massive wings and ascend higher and higher. I created a patch of soft fur atop my back, like my other half did. But I also added something like a seat belt, namely a tentacle wrapped firmly around the petite girl''s waist, since she can''t fly out of her own power, unlike Hestia and I back then. If I have to take any dangerous evasive maneuvers, she might fall off and won''t be able to save herself.


    We ascend to a high altitude above the clouds, during which she clings to me with all her might, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Then I steady my flight and begin to glide, causing her to look around carefully. I can feel her shaking cease as she raises her voice in awe.


    "Wooow!" It seems that she realizes that this is potentially a once in a lifetime experience. Overcoming her fears, she takes in the incredible view, illuminated by the stars and the half moon. I feel her let go of my back and spread her arms, and a mischievous streak surfaces inside me.


    Without warning, I fold my wings and enter a nosedive. Of course, I keep her tightly secured with the tentacle seatbelt, but with her hands unable to grab onto the fur on my back due to the speed, Lenoly screams uncontrollably. Breaking the fall abruptly, I perform a rapid turn, dive once more and angle my wings to perform a barrel roll. The world turns upside down for a moment and I can hear the little goat girl''s voice turn into a squeal. Then I dive below the clouds, plummet towards the ground, before spreading my wings to catch myself and shoot back upwards at an incredible speed. Hahaha, this feels great!


    When I steady myself again, I hear a whimper and turn my head slightly to look to my passenger. She''s holding onto my back but has stopped shaking completely, her hair disheveled, eyes wide open and staring into the distance, as her jaw is slack. It''s like her soul has left her body.


    "Umm, Lenoly-chan?" I ask carefully, but then begin to feel something wet on my back. Her eyes begin to tear up as she bites down on her lower lip. Uh-oh, I overdid it...


    "Miss Asoko is a bully!" The goat girl cried when we returned to the ground. There was nothing I could say to that and I lowered my head in apology.


    She is bathing in a small pond, while I wash her underwear in the creek flowing away from it. This situation is wholly my fault; I should have expected that the earthbound people in this world would be deathly afraid of flying, and going on a midair rollercoaster ride the first time is most likely even worse. So it''s only natural that she wet herself because of it. I hang her underwear on a stick to dry next to a fire and turn to look at Lenoly. This may be an opportunity...


    Wading into the pond myself, I undo my clothes transformation. The water is quite cold - although I don''t really feel any discomfort. It seems that the petite girl doesn''t, either, as she is submerged to the neck. She is turned away from me and I notice that the water around her seems to be forming tiny bubbles due to heat. Is this the comical effect of someone growing so hot from embarrassment that it affects the real world? No, that''s a stupid thought, it must be a spell to keep the water warm. When I approach her, she turns around in shock and looks up at me with a flushed face, tears still in the corners of her eyes. Oh, the water really is warm around her.


    "I''m so sorry, Lenoly..." I apologize once more and embrace her. She flinches, but doesn''t try to push me away. I''m despicable for using this to get closer to her, aren''t I? It was my fault that she entered such a pitiful state, so I have to take responsibility for it. And making her mine is taking responsibility... in my own way.


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    "Miss Asoko?" Lenoly looks up to me questioningly and I kiss her rather large forehead. She blinks in embarrassed astonishment and her mouth flaps open at the sudden gesture. Running a few fingers up and down her narrow back, I lower my face so that our noses almost touch. Looking into the eyes of the petite girl, I give her a reassuring look, telling her to let me take the lead. Her face grows even redder and her eyes are swimming nervously, before she finally commits to returning the gaze.


    I go in for a kiss on her slightly parted lips, while bringing a hand to her almost nonexistent breasts. Her body is shaking as she stiffens and presses her eyes shut in fear of the unknown sensation, but I hold her by the waist so that she can''t escape. Suddenly I feel her tongue coming through her parted lips and lick mine awkwardly, causing me to almost stop from the surprise. She opens her eyes and looks at me with a hint of determination, as if to tell me that she is willing to reciprocate my actions, rather than just take it like a doll. I actually prefer it this way, Lenoly-chan~


    "Onee-sama will teach you." I whisper and pinch her nipples lightly, eliciting a heated breath from the petite girl. "Try doing what you think might feel good." Lenoly hesitatingly brings her hands up to my large breasts and touches them carefully. At the same time I lower my own hand and glide it down her body, towards her most important spot, while bringing my mouth to hers once more.


    Just as she parts her lips to receive me, I bring my finger to her lower lips. Her tongue comes forward and I meet her with mine, just as her hands begin to massage my breasts. Then I slide a finger across her slit and her whole body trembles like that of a small animal. Pressing a point on her back, near the spine and slightly above her pelvis, I make her hips jerk forward a little. This causes my finger to burrow into her flower.


    I can feel her whole body convulse from the sensation, and she tries to pull back from my kiss, but I don''t let her. Locking my lips with hers, I play with her tongue the same way as I press my thumb on her sweet spot and begin to wiggle my buried middle finger slightly. Lenoly''s voice escapes from her throat as her hands begin to push into my chest as if trying to get away. Then she brings her arms up and puts them around my neck, presses her whole body to mine and forcefully returns the kiss. She holds onto me desperately while I insert my finger deeper, causing a wave of pleasure to run across her body.


    Separating from me for the first time, her face is flushed and her breathing rugged, as her eyes look into mine longingly. This flips a switch inside me; I lift her up and carry her out of the pond, lay out one of the large robes that I still carry in my body from my time in the Khurut Sultanate, and sit down on it, placing Lenoly in my lap with her back towards me. The air around us is really warm, to the point where our bodies are steaming and drying in the cool night air. However, it seems neither of us feels cold - rather, her body actually seems like it''s burning up.


    Bringing my hands around her chest, I begin by massaging a breast with one hand, while sliding my fingers over her sweet spot, eliciting suppressed moans from Lenoly, as she covers her mouth with her hand. I bring my lips to her neck and shower her hot skin with kisses, then I circle the tips of her near nonexistent mounds with my fingertips and move to nibble on her ear, while inserting two fingers into her sticky and overflowing slit once more.


    "Ahhh, Miss Asoko!" The petite girl''s voice leaks out in a pleasure-filled moan and her human disguise comes undone. Horns sprout on her forehead and I feel something tickling my stomach. When I look down, there''s a tiny tail covered in brown fur coming from the base of her spine, and quivering in pleasure. This is so cute~


    However, my focus lies on her front, as I begin to work harder and roll her nipples between my fingertips, while beginning to bend and spread the fingers buried inside her. She can''t hold back her voice anymore and openly moans, her hands grabbing mine weakly, first trying to stop their motions, then beginning to guide them. I bite her neck lightly and she turns her face to me, looking at me with an infinitely longing expression as she parts her lips and sticks out her tongue slightly. Taking the invitation, we share a hot and deep kiss once more.


    I bend Lenoly forward and push her upper body down with my own, while propping her lower body up with the hand between her legs. I grind my fingers against the top of her inner walls ever faster and she buries her face in the robes to muffle the screams that begin to escape her control. Her hands are grabbing and twisting the cloth, holding onto something as if she fears that she will lose grasp on reality from the pleasure.


    Lenoly''s back arches upwards and I can feel her wetness overflowing, as she reaches climax and her petite body convulses violently before going limp. She turns her head to look at me, tears in her eyes from the overwhelming sensation, a hint of shame on her flushed face from experiencing euphoria on her own. I bring the hand that brought her to ecstasy to my lips and lick it clean, not wasting a single drop of her love juices.


    Seeing it, her eyes widen in surprise, before she squeals when I take her legs and spread them, bringing my own overflowing flower to kiss hers. Holding onto her thigh with one hand and massaging her breasts with the other, I begin to move my hips and grind our important bits against each other. Since Lenoly just experienced climax, she is extremely sensitive; at least she should be, since I know from experience that I would be. What? Where do you think I learned about all the greatest spots from?


    The petite girl openly lets out her voice in screams of pure ecstasy, as her expression melts away in pleasure. Our love juices mix and stain the robes, but hers are overflowing to the point that they begin to splash around with every motion. It seems that she''s reaching orgasms repeatedly, as her cries build up and become more and more high pitched, before breathlessness overcomes her to denote that she has reached another climax. Then I stop my motions to share a kiss with her, to give her a short pause.


    When I see that she is good to continue, I go again, repeating this process so many times that I begin to lose count. It appears that I don''t have such a sensitive body, mainly due to the fact that I''m not actually using a genetic template of a real human right now, and am feeling it through a fake, simulated body. Still, I begin to reach my own high and grind ever harder, causing Lenoly to reach for me and moan unintelligibly as her eyes roll back and her tongue hangs out from the corner of her mouth.


    I grasp her wrists and pull her towards me, while her back arches away from me, causing our connection to become even harder. A familiar but different feeling of orgasm wells up inside me; this is the first time that I''ve done it with another person, and the sensation is much greater than when doing it alone. A wave of pleasure overcomes me and I lose control of my hips, the convulsion changing the angle of our connection as I grind against Lenoly in a different manner from before. She completely lets herself go and sprays her hot juices all over my abdomen, as her toes curl back and she throws her head in her neck with a silent scream.


    It''s the morning and Lenoly is dressing up with her back turned to me. I can see that her ears are flushed, as she steals glances at me. The atmosphere is kinda awkward after all the things I''ve done to her, especially when I started going at it one-sidedly. Still, I don''t think there''s anything to feel embarrassed about, least of all your own feelings. I walk up to her and embrace her from behind, upon which she turns her face away from me. But I can see that her cheeks are really red and she''s pressing her lips together.


    "Miss Asoko-" She starts, but I don''t like that way of calling me after we grew so close to each other last night.


    "Just Asoko is fine." Although I wouldn''t mind if you called me Onee-sama, you know? I''ll have to ask my other half how she made all of them call her that after she returns - and yes, there is no doubt in me that she''ll do it, because I know I would.


    "... Asoko... what we did... was real, right?" She doesn''t look at me, and her body trembles from fear of my answer. Does she refer to our relationship? That I didn''t just use her for some fun and that I actually love her? Well, to be honest, I only know her for about a day, so I can''t really tell. But I know that she liked my other half to a certain extent, so projecting it onto me, she became more receptive to my advances. What I can say with conviction is that I want her by my side - because she''s so cute. I''m sure that it''ll develop into more than just a physical attraction, the longer we''re together.


    I let go of Lenoly and she spins around in shock, thinking that this is my answer. But I grasp her cheeks and smile at her from the bottom of my heart. Her eyes well up with tears as her trembling lips break out into a smile as well. She throws her arms around my neck and jumps up at me, locking her lips onto mine for a kiss shared between lovers, unlike the ones aiming to arouse, which we gave each other plenty of last night.


    With this, my sexual frustration is put to rest and the cat girl inside my body is safe - for now - and my relationship with Lenoly has progressed to a different stage. Our journey can continue once again.

 Chapter K4 - Smackdown

    "We just have to beat her then, leader." Gram says with a casual smile, and the surrounding demons laugh at his words. I don''t like it, but if we have to fight to get back to the capital quickly - it''s the only way right now. I have to do my best, so that the big man doesn''t end up a slave of this beastly woman.


    "There you have it. Then, who do you want to go up against first?" Rolan turns to Chandra and asks, but earns a surprised look. It changes into a wide toothy grin and she crosses one pair of arms, spreads another in a challenging gesture, and casually shrugs.


    "Just all come at me at the same time. Ya can even use weapons, if ya wanna." She says with a confident expression and shows off that she is ready to fight. We exchange looks between each other and agree on our battle plan wordlessly. It will be the same as against that thousand-eyed demon, where Gram would provide frontline cover for Rolan and I, while Sigurd distracts the enemy with his crossbow.


    "... but I shall refrain from shooting at an unarmed and unprotected opponent in a sparring match." Sigurd suddenly states. Even when so much is at stake, he is a man of chivalry. In fact, Rolan and Gram seem to agree, but I certainly don''t. If we lose because he doesn''t provide backup, the big man will end up a plaything for Chandra. Only prideful fools have the leeway to think of honor in such a situation.


    "No, we have to win no matter what. I don''t want the big man to become a slave." I speak my mind firmly, causing the others to look at me in surprise. Usually, I don''t voice my opinion too often, instead leaving the decision-making to the more experienced members of the group. But I don''t want to be separated from Gram. I see understanding in their eyes, because they know that I speak from experience.


    "I don''t mind. That''s not gonna pierce my skin anyway." Chandra interjects and points at the crossbow with a pitiful gaze. "I hope that''s not all ya can do." A smug expression fills her face, as she looks at him. It irritates me greatly, and I plan to hit her with my cursed arm several times to send her flying for mocking my friends.


    "... just a question. What happens if you die?" Rolan asks carefully. If he''s allowed to use a weapon, his glowing sword should be able to win him this battle single-handedly. But it may cost the woman a few limbs, if not her very life.


    "Come at me with the intent to kill, and ya might have a chance. But if I die, Shugra''ll give ya what ya want." She responds while pumping out her bare chest, entering a powerful stance with all her arms at the ready. When I look at her this way, I can tell that it won''t be so easy to overwhelm her even when we have the numerical advantage. I don''t know how well Gram will be able to cover for us, if she can just grab his shield and maybe even wrest it from him, while still having enough free hands to block and catch my arm.


    "Ya ready?" One of the demons asks when we get into our positions. "Let this be a good fight!" And thus, the start of the battle is announced.


    Chandra immediately rushes forward with a wide-eyed grin, aiming straight for Gram, who braces himself and readies his shield. Swiping at him with three arms, the big man''s defense is swept aside through sheer power and she immediately aims to subdue Rolan with her other hands. He barely dodges while slashing at her forearms with his old sword. At the same time, Sigurd releases a crossbow bolt, which hits her shoulder and bounces off with no effect.


    I approach from Chandra''s left and swing my cursed arm against her leg with all my strength, but it feels like I just hit a boulder. She doesn''t even register it and lunges at Rolan, the only person she perceives to maybe be able to hurt her. His sword was unable to penetrate her skin, either, but it hit at an awkward angle and with little force as he was still in the process of avoiding her grasp.


    Gram gets back into the battle and slams into Chandra from the side, sending her off-balance. Using that opportunity, I hit the back of her knee, while Rolan slashes one of her arms. My attack had no effect but I can see that his draws a little blood. His sword is enchanted with wind magic to improve its cutting power, but the fact that it can only cause such shallow wounds even though normally it''s enough to cut hard leather and even chainmail, shows how tough her body is.


    Turning to the big man, she grabs the big man''s shield with three hands while swinging a large arm at Rolan. She has still not registered that I am participating in this battle, as none of her actions are directed at me. One more hit connects with the back of her thigh, and I can feel that the power is rising once again. Yet, she does not seem to notice anything, as she tries to twist Gram''s shield out of his grasp, while fending off the leader''s quick strikes.


    My fourth strike hits the large woman''s waist and she feels the impact for the first time, upon which she lets go of the shield and swings her arms around reflexively. I roll to the side and narrowly avoid the elbows that would have surely broken several bones in my body, if they had connected. Using the same motion as I dodge, I aim for her ankles, but she lifts her foot and avoids it completely. She attempts to step on my arm, but a crossbow bolt hits her in the temple and the surprise causes her to miss. Rolan takes the opening it creates and stabs her flank, but the tip of the blade slides off her skin and only leaves a streak from which a little blood trickles out.


    "That''s interestin'', lil'' one!" Chandra looks at me with a mad laugh and pumps her fists after gaining some distance. The first exchange went in our favor, but she now understands what we''re capable of and will act accordingly. As expected, I have become her new target, and she charges at me with her arms spread, intending to grab hold of me. Gram jumps between us and smashes his shield forward, causing the two giants to clash with an incredible impact - from which the big man emerges the loser. He is pushed back and the arms reach around the shield to grab his clothes, pulling him to her chest in a bear hug, with the slab of metal still between them.


    Rolan rushes to his aid and slashes at Chandra''s back, but she spins around and uses Gram as a shield. That leaves her open to me, and I bring my arm down on her exposed back. However, the curse effect already reset, so the first hit doesn''t even cause her to flinch. She swings her free arms around and I have to take my distance to avoid being hit.


    "As I thought, that arm got a special power, lil'' one." She comments and brings two arms between Gram and his shield, before pulling him away from it. Another crossbow bolt hits her in the back of the head, but once again, only bounces off harmlessly. Turning her head to Sigurd, she gives him a pitiful grin. "I''ll get to you in a moment."


    The big man steps back, lowers his body and lunges forward, pushing right into Chandra''s abdomen with his shoulder while grabbing and pulling at the backs of her knees. Against an opponent with human levels of strength, that would have taken them off their feet and pushed them to the ground, but this muscle demon stands firm and laughs at the attempt. Rolan charges in and slashes at her in what he perceives to be an opening.


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    "Nice thinkin''!" She catches Rolan''s blade with one hand while putting two arms around Gram''s waist and lifting his legs off the ground. Motioning to slam him into the ground head-first, she drops him with a downward motion. Luckily, he let go of her legs earlier and catches his fall in time, avoiding a knockout or worse. Leaving the big man aside since he still takes time to get back onto his feet, she pulls the leader towards her by his sword and punches him with three arms at the same time, each aimed at a different vital spot.


    Rolan lets go of his weapon and steps back, causing her fists to miss. I take the opening to swing at her calf in a backhand motion, aiming to pierce her skin with the grotesque spikes growing from my arm. Since I have not stacked the effect of the curse, it''s unable to penetrate and I bounce back. Using my momentum, I spin around myself and perform a straight punch into her flank, but it''s blocked by an arm. Another one comes down to grab me, but I avoid the hand and slap the wrist to keep the curse running.


    Gram tackles Chandra once again, but she doesn''t even waver. However, his aim is something different this time, as he puts his arms around her waist chest and puts all his strength into squeezing her. With her occupied for the moment, I continue to attack her, reaching the fifth hit in the hollow of her knee. It buckles under the impact and the big man uses the opening to push her to the ground with his own body.


    "Oh my, ya bein'' quite forceful." She jokes as she twists her body, carrying Gram and her own body weight on one leg, before spinning around and turning him under herself instead. "But I prefer to be on top!" Despite being so big, she is really fast, and quickly mounts him, holding his arms down with two of her own while preparing her others to pummel him.


    My sixth strike comes from the side and she blocks it with her arm angled against her flank. But at this point, it has gained enough impact force to cause her body to jolt sideways. Surprised by the force, she turns around to me and takes a crossbow bolt to the forehead, which knocks her head back. In that time, my cursed arm connects with her chest and she is sent flying off of Gram and backwards into the encirclement of her warriors.


    "Thank you, Kamii." He says and sits up. Rolan looks at me in surprise, since that is the first time he has seen a seventh consecutive hit on the same target. Even against the demon in the underground arena was I unable to land more than six at a time, which didn''t have enough force to cause it to fly backwards like Chandra just did.


    "I haven''t had this much fun warming up in a long time!" Speak of the devil. She''s getting back on her feet and cracking four of her hands'' knuckles while rotating the others in stretching motions. Did she just say that she considered what we did warming up?


    Gram and Rolan each pick up their weapons again and Sigurd prepares another crossbow bolt. I stare at the large woman, whose gaze is fixed on me. Among all the people present, I''m the only one who can do enough damage to defeat her, but I only have one method of attacking, while she can grab me with her six arms. But the others in my group have caught onto that fact, reevaluate the plan against this particular opponent, and are now motioning to cover for me.


    "I''d like to avoid using that sword against her, because I don''t know whether or not I''d be able to not kill her. And I doubt we''ll get what we want if she dies." Rolan mutters as he enters a defensive stance. Gram stands at the ready with his shield, to step between Chandra and me, if she decides to come at me.


    "Alright, let''s go for real now!" Running forward faster than ever, the blue-skinned demon comes at us like a charging bull, her arms angled to prepare for both tackling and grappling. Gram heeds her call and moves to meet her halfway in the middle of the encirclement. Skin and metal clashes, and the big man is swept aside by three arms, while Chandra continues on, not slowed in the slightest. "I''ll teach you how to do better than that." This smug sounding remark is directed at Gram and delivered with a youthful innocence, as she comes towards me.


    Rolan rushes forward and sidesteps her, bringing his sword around in a wide slash at her torso while avoiding her hands as she grabs at him. The blade cuts into her flank and draws blood - more than ever - but does not slow her down. She ignores the wound and is upon me in an instant, attempting to put me in a bear hug with all her arms. A crossbow bolt flies at her but she catches it between her teeth. This distraction gives me enough time to avoid her grasp and roll through her legs while delivering a swiping attack at her calf. Since enough time has passed, the curse stacks have worn off and my power is back to its basic level.


    Spinning around on the spot to try and grab me, Chandra is tackled by Gram, who takes her by surprise. I immediately follow up with a hit to her knee, but she does not even flinch and grabs the big man''s arm behind the shield. Rolan stabs at her face but she catches the blade with her palm and deflects it aside unharmed. This allows me to land another hit on her thigh, which seems to be enough to shake her leg slightly.


    Then she wrests Gram''s shield from his hands once more and throws it aside, while putting him into a headlock. Rolan''s blade is caught with another hand and he is too slow to let go as she pulls him in. A heavy punch to his chest sends him staggering backwards. I manage to land one hit to her stomach, but she takes it by focusing her core muscles and breathing out at the time of impact.


    She steps forward and grabs at me with three arms, but a crossbow bolt hits the one closest to actually connecting with me as I jump backwards, causing it to be deflected sideways. In the same motion and taking my distance, I slap her other arms aside and reach the fifth hit on her. Realizing this, she swings Gram around and throws him towards Rolan, causing him to crash into the leader and sending them both to the ground.


    That is when I rush forward fearlessly and deliver a straight punch to Chandra''s exposed flank, which connects and causes her to lurch sideways. Just in time, I avoid my arm being caught by hers, but now nothing stands between her and me. But if I hesitate, the curse may fall off again, and I''d waste the opportunity granted by the other members of the group to stack up to this much power.


    Chandra gives me no time to think and spreads her arms to catch me, but I duck away under them while trying to perform a swing of my own. However, she has six arms and now I''m in a vulnerable position right below her, where she can easily come down on me with her size. As expected, she drops downwards to try and crush me with her entire body''s weight, but I take my chances and perform an uppercut.


    The blue-skinned woman''s feet leave the ground from the impact and all the air is pushed out of her lungs. I follow up on it as she comes back down and give her a backhand strike to the face, upon which she is sent flying through the air and crashes into the roof of her fortress. All the warriors surrounding us stare in disbelief, looking between me and the hole in the roof, through which their clan leader disappeared. Shugra, who has refrained from showing any expressions so far, let alone cheering, is lifting an eyebrow at the sudden turn of events.


    "Wow, that was incredible, lil'' one!" Chandra smashes through the wall of the wooden building and emerges largely unscathed. A bruise is developing on her cheek and she spits out some blood, before grinning like a child who has found a new toy. "That cursed arm, I''ll teach ya how to use its full power." She walks forward with firm and confident steps, returning to the ring where Rolan and Gram are getting back onto their unsteady feet; the last impact has shaken them to their core.


    "Alright, that''s enough." Rolan states and draws his shiny sword. Its radiance puts the murky sun in the cloudy sky to shame and all the demons present stare at it in awe. Rushing forward at a blinding speed, the leader is immediately upon Chandra and slashes at the elbow of one of her arms. He''s not trying to kill her, but break her spirit by cutting off one of her limbs.


    "Oh, Roshanee?" She simply states and catches the blade between two hands. Rolan is completely dumbfounded and blanks out, forgetting that this is a battle. A fist pounds into his chest and stomach each, causing him to let go of the sword and sending him flying backwards. He rolls across the ground and stops on his back, coughing violently from having all the air pushed out of his lungs. "Where''d ya get this treasure of our clan from, human?"

 Chapter 62 - Soul of Gold

    "So, I hear you''re special." I go inside myself and immediately address the golden girl still sprawled out on the ground weakly. When she sees me, a defiant look enters her face again, but I squat beside her and run a finger down her stomach.


    "... I am Queen Aurelia, an existence akin to a goddess!" She presses out between her teeth, even as she can''t move her body and my finger is sliding towards her naughty bit in a teasing manner. "Stop... it... this instant!"


    "Well, let''s make you two acquainted." Putting a tentacle around Aurelia''s waist, I turn myself inside out and we come to float before the Witch of the End. Upon being thrown out into space so suddenly once again, the golden girl looks around in confusion, before noticing the person in front of her.


    "Who are you?" I see her mouthing the words, but she clearly forgot that there is no sound in space. But Juzual transmits her thoughts directly into my mind for ease of communication between the three of us.


    "I am The Witch of the End." She introduces herself and opens her eyes to show that there is more to her than meets the eye. Well, she''s floating in open space not wearing a pressure suit and breathing apparatus, so that should have been obvious already. Then again, so are Aurelia and I. "It has been a long time, queen from the empire." Huh, they know each other?


    "... Juno?" Realization seems to hit Aurelia and her expression distorts into a mixture of disgust and anger. Guess they have history with each other...


    Over one thousand and two hundred cycles ago, the mighty Empire of Terminus was on the path to regain its former glory. The city states of Mineva, Phobio and Deima had finally fallen to the nearly one hundred cycles long campaign, and the colonization of the northern lands was going smoothly. All that remained was to reclaim the western territories across the sea, which had been taken back by the barbarians with the help of the giants, and renamed itself the Kingdom of Lares under their first king.


    In these times of elation and high morale, the empress gave birth to a child over whom the signs of greatness but also ruin loomed. She was named Aurelia, for the piece of gold she clutched in her palm upon her birth, favored over the inauspicious name the death of her mother would have earned her otherwise.


    Aurelia grew up to be a beautiful child with a great talent in transmutation magic. As if fulfilling the omen of a prophecy given through her name, she was able to create gold from virtually any other metal. This girl, barely ten cycles old, achieved what generations of alchemists had failed to accomplish. However, she knew to use her magic responsibly and was taught from an early age not to create excessive amounts of gold to avoid a drop in its value.


    When she was twelve cycles old, her father was on a long campaign against the kingdom, which had crossed the sea and invaded their mainland with a massive army. Thus, she was only ever surrounded by servants and began to develop a rebellious personality due to her loneliness. Stealing away into the forest while on a hunting trip with her distant older brothers, she met the person who would become her most beloved friend and closest confidant. The girl was a savage beast, a child born from the unholy union of a human and a monster from the Demon Continent. Their first encounter was a battle to the death, from which Aurelia barely emerged victoriously. It was the first time somebody dared to stand up to her, so she took a liking to the girl, and ordered the guards she had shaken off earlier to bring her back to the palace.


    Teaching the savage the ways of civilization and human language, they soon grew closer and became inseparable. Aurelia named her Vanadia for her silver and black hair, which she kept open and unkempt due to its bristle-like hardness. They would elude the palace guards and go on many adventures through the capital, at times even escaping into the wild to encounter and fight bandits and demonic beasts. Their exploits became the fabric of legends and the two came to be revered as heroes of their times.


    However, the jealous sorceress Shelnir disliked their relationship and the implications thereof for the future of their grand game. Mankind would learn that humans and demons can come to understand each other through their friendship. She gave Vanadia an incurable disease that caused her to slowly weaken in both body and mind, before it eventually claimed her life.


    The more I hear about this Shelnir, the more I come to hate her. She seems like the type of person who finds fun in destroying other people''s lives, but will end up pleading for her own when retribution comes around eventually. The kind of irredeemable villain that you''d just love to see dead at the end of the story. For that alone, I feel like working with Juzual to kill her...


    I turn to Aurelia and see that she knows about the fact that it was the doing of Shelnir, rather than nature taking its course. Sadness and suppressed anger show on her face as she looks away from the Witch of the End.


    Devastated by the loss of her beloved friend and only equal, Aurelia was made acutely aware of her own mortality. She began to research the magic of life and death, searching for a method to attain the taboo of immortality. As a genius in transmutation magic, she believed that she should be able to achieve what nobody has before her this time, too, and create an elixir that would grant her eternal youth.


    Her research took her to the just recently pacified territories in the West, which still claimed independence under the name of the Kingdom of Lares despite the death of their king four cycles earlier. She had her brother, who succeeded his father as the new Emperor of Terminus, inaugurate her as the new queen of the colony. Her governance would become a cover for her unending search for immortality. It was during her tenure there that she met a sage by the name of Juno, who guided her to the realization that immortality only comes when life and death both become meaningless concepts.


    "I taught her that there are various forms of immortality, of which none are absolute. Anything can cease to exist, and the soul of living beings is no exception." Juzual concludes the history lesson.


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    "You tricked me and made me become this... thing!" She points at her own body and shouts at the Witch of the End. I actually really like this thing she''s referring to - it''s a pretty nice body.


    "You were impatient in your research. Rather than spend more time and eventually reaching the domain of the sorcerers, you took a shortcut. You wanted to maintain your human looks, but neglected to consider that once you reach the pinnacle of what a human can become, you can just create a new, youthful body for yourself." Opening her eyes slightly, the pressure on Aurelia mounts. "Instead, you attained a new body by becoming a lich."


    Huh, is she referring to the highest order of undead? Liches are powerful mages who bind their souls to a talisman or some other trinket, which turns them undead and grants them virtual immortality, as long as the object doesn''t break. Still, when I think lich, I associate it with a skeleton clad in black robes and reanimating dead bodies to employ as servants. I don''t see a talisman on Aurelia anywhere, and I doubt it''s back on the planet, either.


    "It was because you misguided me!" She screams and flails her arms to try and approach the witch, but without a propellant, she''s doomed to stay at the same relative distance to Juzual forever.


    "You misunderstood my intentions." The latter states while looking down on the golden girl emotionlessly. "I tried to dissuade you from this path in the first place, but you could not be stopped. So I wanted to guide you in the right direction." A hint of loneliness shows in her expression for just a moment, but disappears when she blinks and turns to stare at me. It was over so quickly that I can''t be sure whether it was there or not in the first place. "You can learn a particular type of magic from her, which nobody else in the world possesses now."


    "Can''t you just teach me space magic and let me get back to the planet right away?" I seriously hope she won''t say something like ''I don''t know any space magic'', since she clearly appeared before me out of nowhere.


    "So that you can repeat your battle against the humans and this time be flung into the sun?" Juzual says with a disdainful frown. Alright, I have to admit that it might happen... I''m the type to mess up when it''s important, and I have a track record of that happening. "No, you shall undergo some training." Ah, is this the beginning of the training arc?


    "Why should I teach this beast?" Aurelia speaks in indignation and the witch glares at her with her black hole eyes. Even I would have flinched under them, but the golden girl''s dauntless temperament lets her return the gaze without a hint of fear.


    "Because if you do not cooperate, I will let you drift through space until your mind will have consumed itself from loneliness and your very existence will turn into a wish for the sweet release of death. But death will not come to you for a long time - for such a long time that it will seem like an eternity has passed, before you may have the luck to meet your end when you fall into a distant sun." With an oppressive presence and ethereal voice, Juzual whispers dangerously as her eyes narrow menacingly.


    "I would rather suffer an eternity of solitude than have you mislead me one more time." She remains defiant and I''m seriously impressed. I would have caved under Juzual''s threat, but Aurelia gives her answer with a sense of pride, however misguided that may be. It must be quite lonely in the world of royalty, if they are all like that.


    "Don''t say that." I pull her in and hug her from behind, but as expected, she struggles.


    "Unhand me you monster!" Well, she can''t really escape my grasp, since I''m physically much stronger than she is.


    "You''ll regret it." I let my voice resound in her head through Juzual''s connection, trying to use an empathetic tone. After hearing her story, I''m feeling some pity. "I''m sure nothing will be able to replace Vanadia in your heart, but apparently I''m also an eternal being. So I can be with you forever." Upon hearing this, Aurelia stops struggling and hangs her head in silence. She''s quite cute and can be fun because of her straight-laced personality, so I''m sure I won''t get bored from her for a long time. "You have nothing to lose from this."


    "Yes, I do! My dignity will be blemished if I associate with a mongrel like you." The golden girl flares up and I spin her around to face me, while undoing my disguise.


    "You lost your right to ask for any dignity when you lost to me. Make sure to never forget that, little queen." I stare at her with my eyeless, featureless face, and her expression fills with overwhelming dread as she tries to avert her gaze. I force her to face me and she presses her eyes shut while instinctively struggling to push me away, but my grasp on her is as solid as ever. Then I sigh and turn my face back into a human one. "Can''t you see that this is an opportunity to find redemption?" My tone returns to a more amiable one.


    "Redemption?" Her body is shivering as she opens her eyes cautiously and realizes that I''m back to normal.


    "Take revenge for Vanadia." I put a hand on Aurelia''s cheek and stare into her golden eyes. Upon being reminded of her lost friend, they begin to well up with tears, which quickly evaporate in the vacuum of space and turn into tiny ice crystals. I have to admit that the sight is incredibly beautiful. "The Witch of the End wants our help to bring down the false gods, of which this Shelnir is one. I''m inclined to help her in that endeavor. What about you?"


    "... the false gods... Shelnir..." The golden girl''s face goes through several different expressions starting from sadness to realization, before settling on determined anger.


    "So, how do we get back for this training?" I look to Juzual, who has been watching me persuade Aurelia to use logic rather than feelings.


    "You do not." The witch turns away from us for the first time, effortlessly moving in space despite not using any visible propellants. We have come quite close to the moon, but I''m reminded of the relativity of size once again; even so close, it''s still an incredible distance if traveled on the ground. "I will make an exception and invite you to my home." She points at the celestial body before us.


    Wait wait, this is getting into sci-fi territory! A moon base in a world that seems to be completely medieval otherwise is a huge leap. Then again, I''m supposedly an alien, so I guess anything is possible?


    It feels like we''ll take a few more days to reach it, so I''ll go and have some fun with Aurelia inside my body until then. Just when I motion to pull her inside me, Juzual gestures towards us and space distorts. It feels like we just zoomed in on the moon, as it fills my view completely. With another motion of her hand, the Witch of the End uses the same technique once more and there is only white behind Aurelia.


    Then we fall onto the surface of the moon, with me landing on top of Aurelia, as she was still facing me from earlier. In a love comedy, our lips would have locked and we would have shared a (partially) unwilling kiss, but this is reality and we were traveling at the same speed at which I was launched into space. Thus, my face crashes into hers. It seems that her body gets harder the faster something hits her, so it felt like I just gave a metal statue a head-butt. But luckily, my body automatically loses its form, and I splatter all over her and the surrounding ground, before I begin to consolidate myself again, unscathed.


    "You could have warned us!" I shout and look up at Juzual, who descends in a slow and controlled manner. I look down to find that the body of the golden girl I''m mounting is completely undamaged. She did create a small crater around herself on impact, though. Truly, an indestructible body, if my idea about how it works is true. "So, where is your home?" I stand up and hold out my hand to help Aurelia up, who ignores it.


    "You stand on it." With a grand gesture and a proud smile, the witch states. "Welcome to my domain."

 Chapter 63 - Beginning of the Training Arc

    "Wooh... this is so underwhelming. Your domain is just the moon itself?" I shake my head and look at the proud Juzual with a pitiful gaze. "I thought you''d create a palace or something here..."


    "Why would I need that, if there is no weather here? I require neither food nor sleep, so I have no use for a kitchen or a bedroom." The Witch of the End responds with a frown. "Are you not the same? For a creature that can survive in space, you have no need for shelter, either."


    "But I do need food, and I like to sleep and take a bath from time to time, you know?" Patting off the moon dust from my skin, I turn to Aurelia, who does the same. Her golden skin is shining in the twilight of the half-illuminated moon and is quite entrancing despite its otherness, when compared to all the other appearances I''ve seen so far - aside from myself. "And speaking of food... I need some, I''m a growing girl."


    "Why don''t you eat the dirt?" Juzual states in a spiteful tone and sits down in midair.


    "... so, how long do you intend to keep us here?" I''m sure I could just launch myself back to the planet from here; it was my initial plan, even if I had not met this witch. Although I''m not sure how long it would take to fly back, as I have no idea how fast I can move by jumping into space. I know the distance between Earth and the Moon is almost four hundred thousand kilometers, but that may be different here. And even if that distance was true, going at one hundred kilometers per hour would require over a hundred days, if my math is right. I can go much faster if I could use wind magic in Chaos Warhead Mode, but that''s not a possibility here. Also, I heard about something called escape velocity, and I have not an inkling as to how that works.


    "As long as it takes for you to reach an acceptable level of understanding." With a dismissive attitude, the Witch of the End responds and waves at me. "You must unlearn what you have learned about magic. Humans teach a convoluted and ritualistic version of what the sorcerers are able to perform through force of will alone." She points at Aurelia. "You must be aware of her capabilities."


    "Commanding weapons with her will?" I peek at Aurelia, who has her arms crossed and is looking at Juzual with an almost hostile expression. It seems that she still has her apprehension about working with the person who posed as the sage named Juno and apparently misled her in the past. I share that sentiment to a certain extent; I won''t trust this witch at all, but if I can gain something from her teachings that will make me stronger and allow me to overcome those self-proclaimed gods, then I will use that opportunity.


    "Because her mind is still that of a human''s, she limits herself. If she were a sorcerer, her power would put her above all but Zenlith, Exla and Serent... oh, and maybe that muscle for brains Oinos." She explains while musing about the order of power. I''ve learned that power levels are dumb, because in the end, situational occurrences can make all the difference. I mean, I learned it the hard way, by losing against those humans despite being much stronger than they are. Although, maybe I''m just always overestimating myself...


    "What''s the difference between a sorcerer and a human, aside from having stronger magic spells?" Well, and maybe their eternal youth, but I guess that''s also because of magic.


    "They may have withheld many powerful spells from humans, but they do not have the ability to bend the world to their will any more than humans would be able to do. It is a difference in mindset." As I recall, magic has a lot to do with having the right mindset. That was taught at the academy, too. It''s probably the reason why I can cast certain spells without chanting the full or even right incantation, like spirit spear. "Humans believe that the right sequence of words and rituals are what bring about the effect. It is what the sorcerers taught them, after all. But you can ask the queen to teach you. After all, she found part of the truth on her own."


    "That magic doesn''t need the incantations as they''re being taught? Like this? Spirit Spear." I summon one above my head and am reminded of the fact that Arcelia''s are bigger than mine. Guess the title of saint is not just for show.


    "As I said, you must unlearn what you have learned." Juzual responds with a chuckle. Easy, I just have to ask Basarab to manipulate my memories again, right... "Do you know why children have such a vivid imagination and lose it the older they become? Because the world is explained to them by other people who are inadequately informed, and it becomes doctrine." Pausing to open her eyes and look at Aurelia, the witch shows a hint of resignation. "Now you understand why the sorcerers are powerful but inherently flawed. They are still children on the inside - children with the power to destroy entire nations."


    That sounds pretty bad. Well, the fact that they''re playing a millennia-spanning game with this collection of continents should have been indicator enough as to their state of mind. In either case, I actually feel hungry, so I need to insist on getting a proper answer for my inquiry about food.


    "Ok, now seriously: I need something to eat. My body consumes itself when it doesn''t digest anything. And I''ve spent a lot of energy in my last battle." I look at Juzual with pleading eyes, but she returns my gaze while closing hers. It makes me think that I won''t like her response.


    "There is nothing a human could eat here." She states in a matter of fact tone.


    "... you serious?!"


    I never knew bare thighs could look so delicious. And not in the sexual sense. As they move in front of me, they look more and more like two large, meaty pieces of ham, which I could just bite into.


    "Are you listening?" A voice asks in an annoyed tone and the thighs stop. I look up and see Aurelia, as she frowns at the face I must be making. "This is going nowhere..."


    "I can''t help iiit! I haven''t eaten anything for over a month nooow!" My figurative stomach is killing me. The sensation is like that of a black hole inside me, sucking up my mass at an ever faster rate, and it feels like I''ve already lost a large chunk of my body.


    "The longer it takes for you to understand the principles behind sorcery, the longer we have to remain here." The golden girl says and sighs, even though there is no air or atmosphere here. She walks up to me and sits down on the ground in front of me unhesitatingly. I would have expected a queen to be much more refined, but over the past weeks I''ve learned that she is quite similar to me in many regards - mainly quite tomboyish, despite her looks. "Let us try again. After all you are at least able to understand that visualization is the key."


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    Yes, we made one breakthrough, which has allowed me to cast the spells I know without speaking their incantations. But I''m still not able to properly understand how to use magic I have no knowledge about. In this particular case, Aurelia is trying to teach me transmutation magic, a discipline that wasn''t being taught at the academy and is most likely, for all intents and purposes, a lost art. I was never good at the sciences, least of all chemistry, but the common sense ingrained into me from my previous life has taught me that one element can''t change into another, or something like that.


    It doesn''t help that she isn''t good at teaching, either, as she keeps explaining it in a way which shows that she''s simply a genius who knows by instinct. Apparently the story about her clutching a piece of gold at her birth has something to do with that. Maybe she was simply born with the ability to change elements however she wishes, and I wasn''t. I mean, what element does transmuting metals into gold even fall into?


    "I don''t think we''ll be making any progress when I''m so hungry..." I fall forward and into Aurelia''s lap. She used to hit me or push me away before, but our relationship has improved quite a bit recently. I guess being together all the time, with nobody else to talk to in this barren wasteland does that to people. "Why are there no moonmen or something like that for me to eat?" My brain is quite useless right now.


    "But if you give up learning now, it will only become worse." Aurelia strokes my hair and I look up to her in surprise. This is the first time she has initiated making physical contact with me. She realizes what she just did, retracts her hand quickly and looks away with a poker face. "In either case, this is not a matter of memorization, it depends on your imagination."


    "It''s too hard for me to imagine this rock here turning into gold..." I pick up a moon rock and stare at it intently, trying to see it in with a golden color. While I may be able to visualize that, I just can''t do so for the process involved to turn one thing into another. It''s the same with melded magic, turning water and wind into ice. Because no matter how strong or fast the wind is, water doesn''t freeze from that, but rather because of temperature. "I think it''d be better to get back to the planet and continue there..." I bury my face between Aurelia''s thighs, but she does nothing to stop me.


    "You have many established preconceptions about how nature works. Did you enjoy a good education?" She asks and begins to stroke my hair again. This feels unexpectedly nice~


    "Well, I''m not from this world. I come from a place without magic, a place where science is on the best way to explain everything and technology can make magic happen."


    "Technology?"


    "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." I quote a saying I read somewhere before. "Would you believe me if I told you that where I came from, you can..." I try to find an example that is impossible to do with magic in this world, and realize how hard it is to come up with anything. Traveling to space was widely regarded as the pinnacle of technology in my previous life, and becoming immortal through a bionic body was just over the horizon. But here I am, in a fantasy world where technology hasn''t progressed further than the Middle Ages, lying in the lap of a golden girl who has overcome death by putting her consciousness into an artificial body. And all that while we''re on the surface of the moon.


    "You can... what?" That very girl asks curiously.


    "Hm... wait. That''s not quite it." I fall into thought when I reconsider everything I just said. Technology is something accessible to anyone with the right amount of money, but magic has always been set as something only the talented or the chosen ones can wield. However, when reversing the quote, then isn''t magic simply advanced technology that has not been fully understood yet? And regardless of whether I understand how a smart phone works on the inside, I can still use it. "... wait, is this the answer?"


    I sit up from Aurelia''s lap and stare at the moon rock. Basically, I simply have to believe that it works, huh? Once again, I close my eyes and picture it completely golden. But just like with magic, I can''t feel anything happening; there''s no concept of mana, after all. So I open my eyes and look down on the rock.


    It has changed into a dumpling.


    "... huh?" I make and rub my eyes. Then it''s back to being a normal moon rock again. "Dammit, I''m already hallucinating from hunger!" I throw the rock away and lie back down on Aurelia''s lap, who looks at me with a skeptical expression. Yeah, I know. That would have been too easy. If it was like magic and simply believing it to work would make it work, then anybody could do it.


    "You are on the right track." A voice I haven''t heard in a long time speaks in my mind and I sit up quickly. It belongs to Juzual, who has practically abandoned us out here after our initial arrival and disappeared to somewhere. She said she wanted my cooperation, but beyond making our journey to the moon faster by a few days, she hasn''t done anything to make me get stronger so that I can be of help to her. Well, she has been using her mind to channel all my conversations with Aurelia, or else we would have been unable to communicate at all. "Here is your reward."


    The carcass of a massive beast falls out of the sky and lands right in front of us, its impact shaking the ground we sit on and kicking up a cloud of dust. When it settles, a creature looking like a whale lies before me. Without a moment''s hesitation, I jump up and transform into an amorphous blob, realizing that I have barely shrunk during my time here, even though it felt like I lost half my mass to the perceived black hole inside me. I grab onto the creature ravenously, and marvel at its size as it begins to fill me up completely. This is the biggest I''ve ever taken inside me, and it''s a different kind of sensation from anything I ever experienced before. Well, maybe it''s because I''m really hungry. Within moments, it''s completely gone and digesting at an incredibly fast rate.


    "Now, shall I give you a tip? Your imagination has to be stronger than reality." Juzual''s voice leaves me with that and her presence disappears, even though she hasn''t even shown herself. I turn to look at Aurelia, who gives my table manners a disgusted look. It seems she hasn''t heard the witch speak.


    "Imagination stronger than reality..." I feel like I heard that somewhere before. The power to overlay reality with one''s own imagination, or rather, creating a personal reality... Bending the world to my will, through will alone? That''s about as scientific as creating magical phenomena through incantations. "Wait... it doesn''t have to be scientific at all, then." I sit down on the spot and begin to contemplate this issue again. Now that I don''t need to deal with hunger anymore, I can concentrate much better.


    "What is it?" Aurelia comes over, but I don''t answer.


    I stare at a moon rock in front of me and picture it in golden. But rather than trying to do so through my lacking understanding of chemistry or the power of belief, I try to convince myself that it should be so. My imagination is stronger than reality... my imagination is stronger than reality... my imagination is stronger than reality...


    Nothing happens.


    Well, what did I expect? It won''t go so quickly. That only happens in those moments of cheap gratification in fiction, when the hero gets a new piece of information to help him along the way to reach the next level in power, and he immediately succeeds in it with a little bit of extra effort. Reality is different from that, you know? But now that I''m sated for the time being, I''ll be able to further explore this angle.


    I stand up and walk up to Aurelia, who blinks and looks at me with a hint of apprehension, before I hug her and lift her off her feet.


    "W-what are you doing?!" She makes and struggles, but I let her down and keep my grasp on her. Her approach in teaching wasn''t wrong, it was just my lack of understanding. Her strong will is what allowed her to overlay reality with her own imagination, and she has been doing it to a certain extent without even realizing the underlying concept of it.


    "I''ll have you as dessert." I whisper into her ear seductively - although it''s being transmitted directly into her mind anyways - while running a finger down the center of her back, causing a shiver to run through her body.

 Chapter K5 - Difference in Power

    "Give back the Sword of Light!" Rolan shouts and rushes forward to slash at Chandra.


    "What do ya mean, ''give it back''? It''s ours to begin with!" With an almost casual flick of her arm, he is sent tumbling across the ground. I rush in to take his place, but she nimbly avoids my cursed arm, before delivering a palm thrust to Gram''s shield, as he comes from the side to tackle her with it. Although he stands his ground, his entire momentum is gone, and she turns away from him to sweep her arm at me. I dodge it by stepping backwards.


    This has become a daily routine for a month now. We lost our first battle against Chandra miserably, and she has taken us prisoner atop her fortress. Now she allows us to challenge her to sparring matches every single day, in exchange for one promise after another. By now, we have practically lost everything we own, including our freedom, starting with Gram and ending with me.


    Even though I said that I didn''t want to lose anyone I care about to slavery, I myself am back in it. Still, Chandra at least doesn''t lock us up in a cage, gives us proper food and shelter, and is practically giving us free training. But I think I''m the only one who has realized that, aside from maybe Sigurd, who barely even participates in our battles now, as he doesn''t have the physicality to be of use. In the end, we are still prisoners atop her fortress, even if we are getting more out of it than she is. It seems that warriors of her clan are all stronger than any of us, so she shouldn''t even have much fun fighting us all the time.


    "Now for ya, lil'' one." Chandra pushes Gram back and turns to me.


    "Kamii." I say my name in a defiant tone.


    "Sorry, I''m bad with names." She scratches her head and gives an apologetic smile. Yes, she''s not a bad person, I can tell. In some places, she even reminds me of Onee-sama. That''s why I can believe her when she says that she won''t mistreat us. Except for Gram, I think. He would sometimes look really exhausted in the mornings, so she must be keeping him awake at night to do something to him. I don''t know what it is, and he never tells me, either.


    Chandra rushes forward and I meet her with my cursed arm. She takes the first hit and tackles me down, before mounting me and pinning my arms to the ground. It''s her way to show me that I need to build up more strength, to make even my first hit count. Because if the opponent realizes the curse''s effect and the fact that it falls off after a certain time limit, they will no longer fear taking the first hits, if they can stop me from attacking afterwards.


    "Ya gotta be less reliant on that cursed arm." Saying with a toothy grin, she stands up again and slaps aside Rolan''s blade, delivering a punch to his chest. His armor blocks it, but another dent forms in the chest plate. The force is still enough to send him stumbling backwards. Among all of us, he''s the most frantic in battle. Sigurd told me that he wants to get back to the capital to see Luna, but we''re being held up here for so long.


    ... I think of Onee-sama. I have no doubt in my mind that I''m going to see her again, but at this rate it will take a long time before that can happen. Yet, we live for so much longer than humans, that we have much more time in our lives. I was made aware of that by Chandra, too, who told me that her husband had left on journeys for tens of winters, during which they wouldn''t see each other, before he returned with stories and curiosities from faraway places. He''s been gone for eight winters again, and she doesn''t know when he''ll return the next time. But even then, she is sure that they will see each other again, and she isn''t sad about his absence.


    "Ya should learn from the big man." Chandra points at Gram, who has been fighting bare-chested and without any armor pieces for a while now. Not only does Rolan''s equipment not help him, but its shape becomes worse with every battle, until it will eventually hinder his movements. And it helps train one''s body to take the heavy blows sometimes; not that I''ve taken any so far, since I was always able to dodge them. Instead, she would always pin me or hold me down, maybe because she doesn''t want to break my body.


    "Raaah!" I swing my arm and hit Chandra''s calf while still on the ground, then roll away as she tries to deliver a kick to my side. In the same motion, I sweep once more and hit her knee. It doesn''t do much yet, but my basic strength has been steadily increasing. Gram tries to create an opening for me by charging at her with his shield, but she moves forward and tackles him mid-step, sending him off-balance. I land one more hit on her, but that''s all I can do, before she shifts her attention back to me and I have to take my distance.


    This is going nowhere at this rate...


    "What''s the plan, leader?" Gram asks while lying on his back. Next to him is Rolan in the very same pose, and I''m sitting in the dirt before them. We''re all breathing hard after another half day of fruitless attempts to defeat Chandra. She is standing by our side and wiping the sweat and dust off her body while grinning.


    "That was fun. Ya gettin'' better." She teases, but it''s clear that she''s learning our moves and tactics at a faster rate than we can improve on them. But her attitude can''t be taken as malicious, and everyone else already knows. Maybe except for Rolan, who glares at her. I''m sure he will come around eventually.


    "We... we''re not... done yet." Rolan pushes himself off the ground and shakily picks up his sword. Gram follows his example and stands up, but even he looks really exhausted. I''m actually not that tired yet, unlike how it was during the first few days. Maybe I''m growing at a faster rate than the humans because I''m a dark elf?


    "Oh, ya got spirit. But that''s enough for today, I''ll have a visitor coming soon." Shrugging while crossing a pair of arms and pointing one hand at Rolan, Chandra performs several gestures at once, as always. "Ya should look presentable then, too. So get cleaned up." With this, she walks into the fortress, most likely to get washed and dressed. The surrounding warriors, who would come to watch but have decreased over time, disperse again and proceed to do their own things.


    "... dammit!" Stomping his foot, the leader expresses his anger at having lost once again. Due to a lack of strength, he stumbles right after and lands on his backside. Gram holds out his hand and helps him up again.


    "Do you want me to..." Sigurd, who has been settling with just watching ever since he lost his ineffective crossbow to try and get back Rolan''s shiny sword, approaches and asks the leader.


    "No." The latter answers immediately. It seems that the bard has some special power, maybe a strong magic spell, that might bring us victory. But it''s possible that it has some grave drawback, which is why Rolan doesn''t want him to use it. "We''re learning her strength and we''ll eventually defeat her..."


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    I doubt that it''s going to be as easy as he makes it seem. Growth is not limited to just us, Chandra is becoming stronger, too. But I feel like she has yet to show her full power against us, as she''s clearly holding back against me. I look down at my cursed arm, then my normal hand, before clenching it into a fist. Still, I think I''m the one who has improved the fastest, and my right arm feels easier to swing than ever before.


    Suddenly I''m picked up by my waist and as I look behind me, Chandra is the one who has me in her grasp. For a moment, the humans are speechless, and fear runs through my mind at the possible things she could intend to do with me.


    "Let''s take a bath together." The blue-skinned demon says and carries me off into the fortress.


    "Ya have a lot of potential." Chandra states while I sit on her lap in the wooden bathtub. She''s leaning back and relaxing, four of her arms submerged in the water, one adjusting the cold towel on her forehead and another patting my head. I''m not sure what this situation is, but I can only take it quietly for now. I don''t really want to talk to her, so I keep silent. "Ya been growin'' really fast."


    She lifts my normal arm and looks at the muscles that have started to form under my dark skin. Maybe my progress is that fast because I never trained my body before, while Rolan and Gram were already physically quite fit when I first met them. So of course, I''d make more visible progress in this time of daily sparring. But I don''t want to become like Chandra, whose arms are almost as thick as the big man''s. I''m sure Onee-sama won''t like me anymore, if I did.


    "What say ya, stay with me and become stronger?" She lets go of my arm and asks. I know that she seems to have taken a liking to me, but I''ll go where the humans go, until I meet Onee-sama again. "I know I can''t keep ''em forever. They''re humans, their lives are short. But a dark elf is different. Ya can never grow old, just like my kind."


    "I have to go..." I say before standing up from the bath and looking into her eyes. Our gazes interlock for a while, before she looks away with a resigning smile. She understands that there is no way for her to keep me here, other than by force; and the fact that she asks me like this means she doesn''t want to use that method forever.


    "Then ya better work hard and beat me." Chandra says with a grin, while I step out of the wooden tub and leave.


    "So, who is this guest?" Gram asks Shugra as they stand in less than perfect ceremony in front of Chandra''s wooden fortress. I''m interested to see whom she is going through all this effort for, especially since she doesn''t seem to be the type for formality.


    "Dunno. She never really tells us nothin'', ''specially when it comes to these things." The blue-skinned bald man responds. Seeing the two of them next to each other, I can''t help but see a resemblance in them, and suppress a chuckle. "Could be a big shot from the demon army or ''nother clan''s leader."


    The sound of beating wings come from above and everyone looks up. A lone figure with bat-like wings is coming down in a circling descent. Squinting, I can make out that it''s a woman with bluish gray skin, inverted eye colors and curved horns extending from her forehead. Her outfit is a tight black leather suit that emphasizes her curvaceous body, but seems to have been chosen for ease of movement rather than for fashion. She pinpoints her landing into the middle of the court in front of the fortress and when her feet touch the ground, her wings fold into themselves and disappear into her back.


    I understand that she must be an incredibly strong demon, as I can see some of Chandra''s warriors show a hint of nervousness. There are even some who seem to be suppressing their shaking from outright fear.


    "Hello there!" Chandra greets her casually as she moves forward. Her clothes are also not the fashionable type, but at least she''s covering her upper body. "Been a while, Pelomyx."


    "Chandra, good to see you!" The woman named Pelomyx greets the owner of the fortress with a grin and the two approach each other as if going for an embrace. "The usual?"


    "The usual!" And when they''re in range, the six-armed clan leader plants herself firmly and punches Pelomyx with all three right arms at the same time. The latter, despite being more than a head smaller, blocks all of them with her forearm, not budging even the slightest. I stare in disbelief as her feet sink into the ground from the force of the downward swing.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Chandra immediately draws back her other arms to follow up with a flurry of punches. But I feel my jaw dropping as Pelomyx grows an extra two pairs of arms from her sides and meets the six-armed woman''s fists with her own. The two exchange an immensely powerful storm of blows that seem to shake the very air and the ground we stand on, but neither is giving way to the other.


    I have to believe that this is Chandra''s full power, something she hasn''t shown even a hint of in our sparring matches. If she had fought like this from the very start, she could have easily overpowered all of us without trouble. This is clearly on a different level from anything I''ve seen before, and I have to wonder if even Onee-sama would be able to handle it.


    "You are getting better each time we meet." Pelomyx states with a grin, while continuing the flurry of attacks unabated.


    "And ya gettin'' heavier." Chandra responds, looking like she''s having a lot of fun.


    "Do not tell a woman that she is heavy!" With a pout and an immensely heavy punch, she sends the six-armed woman with easily three times her weight flying, causing her to roll across the floor and stop at the feet of her followers. Who is this woman?!


    "Bah, ya not just some simple woman!" Getting up again without a scratch, Chandra rushes forward once again and delivers a devastating straight punch right into Pelomyx'' stomach. The shockwave from the impact can be felt even from where I stand, and I''m sure it would have dented Gram''s shield. But the horned woman doesn''t show a change in her smiling expression even as she took it without bracing herself. "Hah, pushed ya a lil'' bit after all."


    "Oh, you are right." Pelomyx looks down and finds that her feet have skidded back by half a step. "Come here, you big oaf!" She retracts her extra arms and jumps up into Chandra''s arms, and the two embrace like friends.


    "I still wonder how ya doin'' it. When I hold ya, ya so light." The latter comments and swings Pelomyx around like a child.


    This seems to have been the signal for the gathered warriors to disperse, as they speak about the short battle in awe or laughter. Some of them are completely silent at being shown the difference in strength between those at the top and those who serve them. Only Rolan, Gram, Sigurd and I remain, staring at the two women in non-comprehension. Shugra walks up to them and gives Pelomyx, who is set down on the ground again, a slight bow, before they come towards the entrance of the fortress. On the way, the horned woman notices the presence of the humans, but her eyes stop on me.


    "Who are they?" She asks Chandra without averting her piercing white irises from mine.


    "Oh, those are some humans who ended up here because of some demon''s transportation magic. They bet against me and lost, now they''re mine." With a grin, the blue-skinned demon introduces us. "This is Cammy... right?" She points at me, before asking me if she got my name right.


    "Kamii." I say, returning Pelomyx'' gaze without ever breaking eye contact. "Who are you?"


    "Hey, show some respect! Ya talkin'' to-" Shugra starts, but the woman raises her hand to interrupt him.


    "I do not mind. She is a strong child. And I can smell something familiar on her." She steps forward and extends her hand towards me. I don''t waver or flinch, even though I''m a little afraid. Then she pats my head and an incredibly familiar feeling washes over me. "I am Demon Queen Pelomyx. Tell me, have you perhaps met one of my children?"


    Onee-sama''s mother!

 Chapter O5 - How the Other Half Lives

    It''s been eight days since we left the capital of the kingdom. According to the map from my other half, we''re on the Demon Continent now. We stopped a few times along the way for me to refuel and for Lenoly to eat, but generally traveled without making any detours. I feel like it''s a shame that I didn''t get to go sightseeing in the Empire of Terminus, which I passed over in the faux dragon form, but I think it''s better to hurry and get things over with.


    What those things are? Well, making myself known to my mother and asking for her help in bringing back my other half. After all, I''m an existence she most likely doesn''t know about, and it might either cause her trouble or become useful for her later on. Whichever it is, having maou-mama''s support is the top priority.


    Therefore, I haven''t had any time to have any recreation time with either Lenoly or the cat-girl prisoner inside me. I did learn to create a space inside myself and use an avatar body to check on her from time to time, but since it requires my consciousness to move away from the outside, I can''t do that too often. After all, I''m still flying high up in the sky and have to keep my mind on it. Even if Lenoly has slowly lost her fear of heights during our journey, I''m sure she won''t take kindly to me suddenly breaking into a nosedive because I let my mind wander - literally.


    "So, first order of things: Find out where the capital is." With this, I begin to descend into the first town I spot from the skies, one with a population of maybe two thousand, located behind thick walls. Unlike in the human territories, I don''t feel the need to hide my appearance and powers around here. Transforming into my Fata form - I choose black wings for obvious reasons - I land in the middle of the town''s plaza while carrying Lenoly in my arms.


    I look around at the people, who stop and stare at me in curiosity. To me, they''re all much more curious than I am in appearance, though - unless I were to show my real form. Many have differently colored skin, horns and other appendages not found in humans, and some even have entire animal heads or limbs. There''s even someone with a horse''s head, walking through the streets without a care in the world! After a moment, they continue with their business as usual and my presence disappears in the crowd.


    This is a nice feeling. I can be myself without hiding anything around here, truly the Demon Continent.


    First things first: To find a map and gather information about where the capital is located. Thus, I need to find a store like the one in the Mineva Republic, which sells one. However, unlike the republic, this place has much less order in its arrangement. In fact, the streets are dirt rather than paved, and it''s clear that the overall wealth and economic level of the Demon Continent is lower than that of either the Mineva Republic or the Kingdom of Lares, let alone the Empire of Terminus - judging by the few times we actually entered a town to resupply.


    "Hello, can you tell me where I can find a store that sells maps?" I ask the first person coming my way. It''s a bald man with scaly skin and a snake-like face. Taken by surprise, he looks at me and Lenoly for a moment without blinking, before shrugging.


    "I don''t know about any map store, but where do you want to go?" The snake man asks while raising a brow - or rather, the muscle for it, since he lacks eyebrows.


    "To the capital." I respond truthfully, as I see no reason for hiding anything. If it''s a bad call, I can always take to the skies with Lenoly and get out of here.


    "Hm, maybe you can ask a merchant to bring you along for the right coin." He says while forming a ring with his scaly fingers, symbolizing money. I guess that''s a universal gesture, since it has the same meaning in my previous world. "They should be packing up and ready to leave about now, so you better hurry."


    "Thank you." I give him a bow, upon which he scratches his head in wonder, before I run off with Lenoly in tow. I saw the marketplace from the sky, and since this town is so small, it''s just a small distance for me to sprint. I learned that Lenoly is unexpectedly able to keep up with me physically, even though I have this convenient body and was a track and field ace, which has taught me the proper breathing techniques for running long distances. Guess it''s because she''s a goat demon?


    "This is so exciting! It''s my first time on the Demon Continent." Lenoly says while we run. She never told me that she was born outside of demon territories. I guess she learned the magic to disguise herself from an early age, then. "And I get to see Asoko''s mother." She has stopped being so formal after that fateful night, and is calling me by the name my other half has given me. I''m still not sure how I should be feeling about being called "that part", but at this point it''s become a habit and I can''t really think of another name for people to use, without it becoming confusing.


    "Then traveling on land might be a good choice." We''re not really under so much time pressure that we can''t do that. The way up to the Demon Continent was another thing, because it was a rather dangerous territory to be in. Now, there''s nothing but distance keeping us from reaching the demon capital. "You can see some of the continent your parents are from."


    We''re traveling in a very fantasy-ish way; the wagon we''re riding on is being drawn by a large, armored beast that looks like a mix between a rhinoceros and a stag, called a Doruk. It seems to be an incredibly sturdy creature, which is bred specifically as a beast of burden. The cargo consists of crates filled to the brim with salt, which is incredibly heavy, but the Doruk pulls it along without ever tiring.


    The merchant who was so kind to take us on without asking for payment is an incredibly rotund man with a bear-like appearance, going by the name Loen. He is actually a bit smaller than I am and looks to be about as wide as he is tall, but that may just be an illusion due to his fluffy graying brown fur, which is covered with a beige and blue robe that sports plenty of golden ornaments. It appears that his trade is going well, as he can afford such luxuries.


    "This is your first time in the dominion?" He asks us from the driver''s seat. His attitude is friendly and despite having a set of sharp teeth, his smile isn''t intimidating at all.


    "The dominion?" I guess he means the Demon Continent, but I never heard it being called that before.


    "Humans call it the Demon Continent, but that''s not a proper title. The real name is the Dominion of Pelomyx. That''s just a mouthful, so we shorten it to just the dominion. Every generation of demon lord names it after him or herself." Loen explains with a laugh. "Doesn''t matter who''s up there for us simple folk. Dominion of Aldeath, Dominion of Pelomyx - it''s all the same."


    "I see. Yes, this is our first time in the dominion. We are looking to reconnect with family." I pet Lenoly''s head, around the curved horns she''s now showing off openly. I''m actually speaking the truth about our goal, but I keep it vague on purpose. I don''t want to let anyone know that I''m the demon queen''s daughter until I really have to. From my other half, I heard that maou-mama is feared by quite a few people, because they know that she''s a Crawling Chaos, which is a being that could destroy the entire world. I don''t want to cause a panic or needless enmity.


    "That''s good to hear. You two grew up in the human territories, huh?" Loen smiles and looks up into the unclouded sky. "My son went there a few winters back. He told me that he found a good wife and is living a peaceful life now, in the countryside of the empire of Thermes or something like that." He chuckles. "Those foreign places all have such complex names. An old man like me can''t remember them all. It''s not like they have anything to do with our everyday lives."


    "I heard that there was a large campaign into demon territories not too long ago. Did that not affect you here?" I ask in curiosity. My other half told me that the army led by the human king - whom we ate for our first breakfast - and the elvish queen - whom maou-mama ate for the same meal - had been a million strong. That should have had a large impact on those towns that lay in the army''s path to the capital.


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    "They circled around the Cape of Nervis, through the Strait of Griphs. The beaches there are much wider to allow for the landing of a large army. There are only a few small towns along the way to the capital from there, which were evacuated in time." That explains why he can talk about it in such a carefree manner. If the human army had pillaged and slaughtered all demons along the way to the capital, he would have a much grimmer expression while speaking of this. "It''s a shame for those who live there, but houses can be rebuilt. In either case, we have peace now and it''s for the best."


    "Yes, I think so, too." I respond with a distant look. That kind of life is looking to be far out of reach for me. All I can do now is to live to the fullest, take things as they are and try to create a place for myself and those close to me. Hm... wait, did I just realize the profound truth about the powerlessness of an individual in this vast world? Maybe I''m just being too small-minded, though; after all, I think I can make a difference on my own, because I''m a powerful existence.


    The journey to the capital was largely uneventful and took us five days. We spent the nights in three small towns and one larger city, reaching the capital in the evening of the last day. Along the way I got a nice glimpse at life on the Demon Continent; it''s not much different from that of humans. Apparently this part of the continent is more densely populated than the parts beyond the capital, which are mostly savanna and dry steppe. While the coastal regions were grassy plains and small forests, the scenery has changed into a barren wasteland now that we''re at the gates of the capital.


    Speaking of the capital, the demon castle is the very symbol of fantasy world architecture. When I looked out the window from inside it, I didn''t realize, but the castle stands on a large rock formation floating in midair, without anything connecting it to the ground below. The castle itself is a monumental building similar in size to the one of the kingdom, but of a strangely monolithic architecture unlike anything I''ve seen so far. It would tower over the city even if it had been built on the ground. The walls are painted dark gray, much like the rest of the city itself.


    No matter how I look at it, it''s a demon castle. Maybe I should propose an image-change to maou-mama, so that it gives a better impression to visitors. Then again, there''s no point in trying to look better to humans; if they make it this far, it''d be alongside an army, in an attempt to take down the demon lord. And those will certainly not be turned back by a beautiful white city or something like that.


    "Impressive, isn''t it? I heard that no such place exists anywhere in the human territories." Loen speaks with a hint of pride. Being able to show this to people for the first time may instill him with a sense of achievement.


    "How is it floating?" Lenoly asks in wonder. At this point I don''t doubt the power of magic anymore, but I''m also curios to see by what spell it''s staying up there for this long.


    "I don''t know, it''s not a magic us common folk can comprehend." Shrugging with a laugh, Loen guides the wagon through the open gates and into the city. The first thing I notice is that right beyond the gates, pavement starts, even though no paved road led up to it. The second thing is that the city''s layout is not as orderly as the capital of the kingdom; the main street from the gate curves and disappears behind a bend, rather than leading straight through the city and towards the castle. "So, where should I drop you off?"


    "Around here is fine, we will find our way." I say and jump off the wagon with Lenoly. "Thank you so much, Master Loen. I will never forget your kindness. Are you sure you do not want to accept any payment for bringing us along?"


    "Oh no, young ladies. It would have been a lonely journey without somebody to talk to. That''s payment enough." The bear-faced demon gives me a radiant smile and I feel warmth surround my figurative heart. This is how an adventure in a fantasy world should be like, meeting new and interesting people, hearing their stories and becoming friends. Without thinking, I jump up onto the driver''s seat and embrace the fluffy old man. "Hohoho, how lovely." He laughs and returns the gesture.


    We part ways with much waving and continue on, each going after their own business, sure to keep this encounter in a special place in our memories.


    "So, how do we get up there? I feel like we''ll be shot down if I just fly." I think out loud while we move in the most direct line towards the floating castle.


    "My parents come from a place in the southwest of here, and they''ve never been to the capital before, so they never told me about this. But as long as there are people living up there, food has to be transported there somehow." Lenoly responds with a thoughtful look. Well, that''s obvious; I know for that a fact that there''s a small army of maids up there, and I''m fairly certain at least some of them require food. I think what she means is that it can''t be a very complex mechanism, as it would be a huge waste of time and effort to transport large quantities of things up and down on a daily basis.


    "Let''s first get to the place under the castle. If there''s some form of lift, it''d have to be there." The rock formation is pointed at the bottom, somewhat like an upside down mountain, so the point closest to the ground is most likely where whatever can get us up there will be located.


    Thus, we make our way towards the castle, through a bustling city that is no different from the capital of the kingdom. The people hurry along to attend to their own businesses or are on their way home, strolling leisurely and unfettered by time constraints. Much like the Mineva Republic, this place looks scientifically and culturally more advanced than the Middle ages. Well, considering the fact that proper window panes and running tap water exists in some parts of this world and doesn''t in others simply shows that it''s a matter of magic and cost, rather than science.


    The people are all demons, and the vast majority have very obvious inhuman appearances. I spot a cat-eared girl and am immediately reminded of the one inside my body. Oh, I forgot to check on Ninlil for the past few days. I''ll get to it the moment we''re inside the castle, but to remind myself of it, I write it onto the palm of my hand by morphing my skin. When we can finally get some rest there, I''ll have some fun with her, if she''s still alive.


    But speaking of the castle... the space underneath the rock formation it''s built on is a large crater, its shape looking like it can fit the entire thing. In other words, the mountain was literally ripped out of the ground and made to fly in the sky. I just don''t understand the reasoning behind making it float, if the freed space is not used for something. This is just showing off then. Well, at least they have the area cordoned off, so that people don''t accidentally fall into the crater.


    "There''s nothing here... don''t tell me they use the transportation network for logistics?" I mutter while looking up with my head in my neck. Alright, we may not be pressed for time, but I still don''t want to waste any, searching for one such entrance. "Wait here, I''ll go take a look." Saying this to Lenoly, I grow out black Fata wings and take off into the skies.


    Actually, there are other flying demons above the city, but they''re making sure to keep their distance from the castle. As expected, there must be a no-fly zone around here, and I''ve just broken it in the most glorious manner. From one of the castle''s towers, a group of winged beings come down towards me. With my enhanced Fata vision, I can tell that they''re maids with all kinds of wings, such as those of insects or bats, as well as one pair of black feathered ones. And they all carry very long spears, pointing them at me as they approach.


    "Halt, intruder!" The one at the front, an incredibly tall maid with dark red eyes and brown hair tied into a bun, demands. Her wings are demonic crimson ones, with sharp claws at their tips, and stand in sharp contrast with her straight-laced appearance. The only thing she''s missing are glasses, and I can imagine her being the head maid already.


    "I am daughter of Demon Queen Pelomyx, but I would rather not show my real appearance while in midair, so let us set down somewhere, first." I announce. " I seek an audience with my mother."


    "The demon queen is not in the castle right now." The big maid states as she approaches me further. "I can see that you are Chaos-sama." Well, I did take on her appearance, but considering that there are shape-shifters in this world... hm? Did she just use a Japanese honorific? Wait... what did she just say before that just now?


    "... my mother is not here?" I ask cautiously, in case I misheard.


    "Yes, she left for a journey to visit various places within her dominion a day ago." She responds in a matter of fact tone. "As always, she left on her own, without telling anyone about her plans. Whenever she goes on such a journey, she may be gone for several weeks or even moons, and nobody knows where exactly she is." My body slumps and I start to slowly float downwards, followed by the winged maids who look at my reaction in surprise and worry.


    We could have flown all the way here and have arrived much earlier, but I thought that we wouldn''t be pressed for time. Dammit... missed by just a day!

 Chapter O6 - Everyday Life With Monster Maids

    "Ummm, Chaos-sama... it would be better if you got down from there..." A petite maid with a wide mouth and round eyes pleads in a flustered tone. Judging by her webbed hands and bulbous fingertips, I''d say she''s a frog girl. Seeing her nervous like this soothes my heart and I enjoy watching her like this. Apparently her name is Amerega.


    I''m sitting on maou-mama''s throne, my legs dangling over the armrest on one side and my back leaning against the other, in the most disrespectful and casual pose imaginable. Looking over the throne room, I see several other maids looking at me in a similar way. Is sitting on the throne such a bad thing to do? Maybe they think I''m expressing my wish to rebel by doing this, but I lost all my motivation after learning that I missed maou-mama by just a day.


    It''s the morning after we arrived at the capital, just after breakfast. The maid who first came to talk to me was indeed the leader of the maid corps, called Rewera. When we stood on equal ground, I noticed that she''s almost two heads taller than I am, and possesses an incredibly suppressive aura, whenever she looks down on someone. The petite Lenoly shrunk under her gaze to an even smaller size, not even daring to make a single peep during our introductions. Rewera allowed for us to enter the castle and after getting a lavish dinner, I was shown to a room for the night - the one I first woke up in. Of course she agreed to let Lenoly share it with me.


    And of course, we did it. Who do you think I am? She''s still asleep due to exhaustion, so I''m on my own right now.


    Oh, regarding Ninlil, who I''ve been neglecting for a long time... she''s still alive somehow, although quite malnourished and dehydrated - and mentally most likely completely broken. At least she was unresponsive after I took her out of my body. I mean, I didn''t even touch her most important bit, and she looked like she has gone to heaven several times. I had her admitted to the castle''s infirmary, where the demon lord''s personal doctors are tending to her. I''d rather not she dies, now that she''s been sufficiently broken in.


    "Chaos-sama, if you would please stand up from the demon queen''s throne." Rewera''s voice resounds from behind me and I turn to look at her. Towering above me, her intense dark red eyes are filled with an almost murderous glint, even if her expression is a neutral one. A shiver runs down my spine at the sight. I immediately jump up and stand at attention in a completely instinctual reaction, but can hold myself back from apologizing. It would undermine my authority as the daughter of the mistress of this castle. This explains why she''s the maid leader, I guess...


    Damn, I have zero motivation to do anything!


    Well, I can at least go visit the cat girl in the infirmary. Let''s see if she has regained the ability to think or even speak. If she has, I might be able to gain some information regarding the spell circle with which my other half was launched into space.


    By the way, I didn''t tell anyone in the castle about who I am. Well, I am Kuroe Makoto, and I''m very clearly a Crawling Chaos, but I''m not the same Kuroe Makoto that came to visit the castle a while ago. While I hate to admit it, I''m now playing a subordinate role to my other half, in personality, experience and impact on this world. But I can at least act as a decoy, until my other half is able to return - a decoy that is potentially just as strong as the original, because it is actually another original.


    "How are you doing, Ninlil-chan?" I enter the infirmary and casually greet the cat girl propped up on her bed using large pillows, dressed in a white gown. She doesn''t react and her lifeless eyes stare into nothingness. Oops, I might have broken her beyond repair. But still, it may be just an act, so I''ll have to probe a little more, first.


    "Chaos-sama! Umm, she has not moved or said anything since you brought her here." The nurse, a slender girl with floppy dog ears and a fluffy tail protruding from a triangular hole in her skirt, states when she notices my visit. "What happened to her?" That question gives me an idea. It''s something I wouldn''t have ever thought of in my previous life, but somehow comes naturally to me now.


    "I punished her for opposing me." I respond in a matter of fact tone and look down on the smaller nurse with an ice-cold expression. She shakes under my gaze and flinches, when I extend a hand towards her, apparently seriously fearing for her life. Pressing her eyes shut, she seems to expect the worst, but all I do is pet her head in a gentle motion. "Good work."


    "Th-thank you, Chaos-sama!" The dog girl makes with a trembling voice and bows.


    "Leave us alone for a while." I order her, and she immediately complies. If Ninlil can respond and actually talk again, we might speak of things others shouldn''t overhear. "Ninlil-chan, I know you''re in there." I move over to her side and wave a hand in front of her face. However, she doesn''t even blink. With her tiny lips slightly ajar, all she does is stare ahead.


    I bring a hand to her cheek and stroke it gently. It''s so soft and I feel like pinching it, but for now, no drastic or pain-inducing movements. I don''t really know how to bring her back from this state, but I think giving her some warmth might be the right approach. I climb onto the bed and lift her up, before placing her in my lap and embracing her from behind. Throughout all of it she''s like a ragdoll, not even reacting to being moved around.


    "Everything is alright now, there''s nothing to fear..." I whisper into her ears. Now that I see them from up close, I realize that they''re connected to where human ears end, and extend halfway up the skull. I would have been terrified if I had looked under her bob cut to find just a patch of skin or hair where the human ears would normally be, but this is fine. Cradling the petite dorm motherin my arms, I continue to speak to her in a soft voice, but as expected, there is no response. Well, it''ll take some time, I''m sure of it.


    When I leave the infirmary a while later - most likely an hour or so after first coming here - Ninlil''s condition hasn''t changed at all. If it had, it would have been too easy. Right outside the door, the dog-eared nurse is standing in a demure pose, looking down at the floor. Her body is tense and I can see that her tail is lowered and quivering against the backside of her skirt. Is she still afraid of me?


    I bring a hand to her chin and lift up her face, forcing her to look into my eyes. She flinches at the touch but understands that if she draws away from me, she will receive a punishment for being disrespectful to her superior. Now that I see her from so close up, I notice that she''s pretty cute. Her fascinating hazel eyes are swimming, unsure of where to look, and her delightful lips are pursed in tension.


    "Relax." I whisper and she stares at me in confusion. Of course, when I tell her to relax, she''s not going to do it. "What is your name?"


    "Uhm, it''s Ruwl, Chaos-sama." She stutters in her delicate voice. I think I''ll have a snack right here~


    Before she can react, I put a hand on her back, pull her towards me and lock lips with her. In utter surprise, she tenses up completely and forgets to breathe. With a sensual motion, I run my fingers over her cheek and to her floppy ear, before massaging it lightly. From the developing blush and her slightly wagging tail, I can see that she is enjoying that sensation. Soon, her resistance disappears and her lips part, a hot tongue greeting mine, as she closes her eyes and begins to enjoy the sensation.


    However, a snack is only a snack. I separate from her again, leaving her with a melted expression and gasping for air. Then she realizes what happened and blinks in confusion. I put a finger on her lips and show her a charming smile, suggesting that this shall remain a secret between the two of us.


    "Please keep an eye on that girl. She is strong enough to cause even me trouble, so if she begins to show signs of regaining her spirit, report it to me immediately." I request of Ruwl, who nods absentmindedly, completely enchanted by me. I hope she''s not just blanked out and working on autopilot right now. Also, I never fought Ninlil personally, but from Lenoly''s account, I gathered that she is physically strong enough to trip my other half in her giant form and take a hit from her at full strength without sustaining any injuries. While I''m sure there are other powerful demons in this castle, this nurse doesn''t look like one of them. "Do not try to fight her on your own."


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I understand, Chaos-sama!" Ruwl''s attention returns and she answers in a vigilant tone.


    "When your shift is over, you can come and find me... if you wish to continue where we left off." I entice her in a low and seductive voice, upon which she blushes furiously and her tails beats faster than ever. But before she can answer, I walk away while casually waving. Let''s see if she''s courageous enough to take this invitation; she''s clearly interested, though.


    I peek into my room to find that Lenoly is still asleep. Guess it was quite an exhausting journey, and pulling an all-nighter with heavy physical exertion does that to a normal person. This body of mine is untiring and I feel like I could go for days without taking a break. In either case, I''ll let her rest for a little longer.


    Thus, I make an exploration tour through the castle. There''s really nothing else to do right now, and I don''t really have the motivation to try and track down maou-mama. The castle itself is, as expected, enormous. The living area for the family of the demon lord is pretty large already, but considering how many maids and other servants live here, the servants quarters are also incredibly big - even if their rooms aren''t really.


    How I know? Because I''m venturing into the depths of the castle to find them, to see how they spend their time when not on duty. Randomly opening doors without knocking, I get a glimpse of how they live in their private chambers. Some laze around on their beds, others sit at their small tables writing notes, diaries or letters to their families. Of course, when they notice me entering, they jump in confusion, then quickly stand at attention upon realizing who I am.


    Among the maids, of whom all are beauties or cuties - most likely purposefully selected by maou-mama for those traits - there is a bat girl, who leaves her bed untidy and littered with all kinds of personal belongings, and prefers to hang from the roof beam. When I enter, she drops down in shock and hits her head, but still tries to get back on her wobbly feet to show me the proper respect.


    "Are you alright?" I ask, because she looks really out of it.


    "I-I''m fiiine~" She mumbles while swaying left and right dangerously. I catch her when she falls towards me, which causes her to tense up from being embraced by somebody who''s such an important person in her eyes.


    "What''s your name?" I''ll try to make a conscious effort of remembering the names of the people I meet here, although I can''t guarantee it for those that don''t interest me. This one clearly does, as her really thin frame and delicate face stir a bestial instinct inside me. But I hold myself back for now; I''ll leave that for another time.


    "It''s Nezera, Chaos-sama!" The girl responds and quivers like a cute small animal when I pet her dark reddish brown hair. She has giant ears that twitch whenever I brush past them. Kyaaah, so cuuute~


    "From now on, you don''t need to be so formal with me." I whisper into them and watch her blush. I stroke her nose in a playful gesture and help her stand on her own two feet. "I''ll come around again to play with you." Of course, when I mean play, I mean it in the sexual sense. With a wink, I leave her standing in the middle of her room, looking at me with a dumbfounded expression.


    Another room houses the gray stone statue of a naked winged girl with huge curved horns extending from her forehead, crouching on the floor and staring up at the door with a blank expression. I look at it and blink a few times in confusion, then let my eyes wander through the room to see if there may be an actual person in here, but when I don''t find anyone, I just shrug and leave again. Guess they''re out right now.


    In the next room a woman with green snakes for hair is lying topless on her bed and reading a book. Wait a second... is she a medusa? She jumps up with a squeal and covers herself up, but I quickly avert my eyes in fear of being petrified.


    "I-I am so sorry, Chaos-sama!" The woman apologizes among the hissing of her snake hair when she recognizes me. "My eyes do not cause petrification, unless I will them to! Please, it is alright to look at me." She quickly explains in a flustered tone when she notices my reservations. Her tone is really modest, in complete contrast to her incredible body, when I turn to look again. Her eyes are bright green, with vertical slits for pupils, and when I look at her lower body, I realize that it''s that of a dark green scaly snake''s.


    Oi oi, wait... the statue in the previous room...


    "Did you petrify the girl in the room next door?" I ask her with some reservation, turning the eyes in my face into dummies to preempt any attempt at turning me to stone. Instead, I stealthily form an eyeball in my hand and look at anywhere but her face, just to be sure that I don''t miss anything. I don''t know how a medusa''s petrifying gaze works, but it''s always shown to be an absolute power in games, so I''d rather not take any risks.


    "N-No, I did not, Chaos-sama! Szaga is a gargoyle and when off-duty, she turns to stone to rest." There are tears forming in her eyes and she sounds a little indignant at being accused of petrifying one of her co-workers. So Szaga is that girl''s name, huh?


    "I am sorry for doubting you. What is your name?" I give her a relieved and apologetic smile, and she seems glad that I no longer suspect her.


    "Ah, yes. My name is Nesis." She says and gives me a radiant smile. I think that just petrified my heart! Even though she appears to be a beauty, her demeanor can only be described as cute. Making a mental note to give her a visit some other time, I take my leave again.


    After a few empty rooms, I open a door to find a scene I wouldn''t have expected to see within the castle; the cruelest part of nature at work. A large spider web is spun across the dark room, covering it in its entirety. In its center sits a giant spider with a girl''s upper body where its head would be, leaning over a moth-winged girl tied up in what I would have perceived as bondage, if not for the fact that it''s clearly more of a predator on prey situation.


    "Tch. Just when I was getting to the good part." I hear the spider girl mutter in irritation, as she lowers herself down from the web. "Next time, knock before coming into another person''s room."


    Now that I get a closer look at her, I notice that she''s wearing a maid uniform, and the moth girl still quivering in the web is also wearing one - although it''s in a state of half-undress. Her eyes are covered by her straight silver bangs, but tears are streaming down her face, into the fluffy gray scarf around her neck. Wait, rather than a scarf, that''s her own... fur? Whatever it''s called on moths. Looks comfy, though.


    "My my, what is this?" I step forward and the spider girl stares in shock when she realizes who I am. She''s almost as tall as Rewera due to her large lower body, but her human upper body is actually that of a loli''s. That''s a really interesting combination. "Did I interrupt something?" My expression is a cold one, staring right into the spider maid''s two largest purple eyes among her eight ones. Seeing it, she loses any hint of composure and stumbles backwards to take some distance from me in terror.


    "Chaos-sama, I am so sorry!" She cries in a hopeless tone and lowers herself to a more manageable height. Being feared feels so nice, it''s like I''m being rejuvenated... must be because of this body''s nature.


    "What is your name?" I ask her and she flinches.


    "It is Xaggavea. P-please, excuse my earlier insolence!" She responds fearfully and looks up at me with pleading eyes. That expression stirs my sadistic side, especially coming from a girl who very likely belongs to that type herself.


    Turning my gaze to the moth girl trapped and bound in the web, I transform my hand into a blade and swing it in several extremely fast motions, cutting the strings and freeing her. She drops into my arms and I notice that she''s about as tall as Hestia, but only with the chest size of that woman in gold that my other half fought in the underground arena.


    Through her slightly parted bangs I can see her eyes. The sclera and irises are of a uniform dark gray, but upon closer inspection, I realize that they''re actually large compound eyes. That''s quite fascinating and I''m instantly interested to learn more about this girl. But for now, there''s a naughty spider to punish.


    "What were you going to do to this girl, Xaggavea?" I fake a hint of anger in a low and dangerous tone, upon which the spider girl shakes in fear and prostrates herself. My body feels like it''s getting nourishment from her show of terror.


    "I-I-..." Her voice trembles, but she can''t find an excuse for the situation. Alright, it''s settled. I''ll have some fun with her right now.


    "Can you walk?" I ask the moth girl in my arms, and she nods. "What is your name?"


    "A-Anthera." She answers with a delicate voice. Her appearance, with bangs covering her eyes and the huge shivering antennae she carefully raises from her head again after being freed makes me think she''s an M. "Th-thank you for saving me." Sorry to betray your faith in decency, but I''m going to live out some of my S tendencies on you some other time. For now, it''s the spider girl''s turn.


    "Please go ahead and return to your room, Anthera. I''ll give Xaggavea her punishment for what she did to you." At these words, the spider girl flinches and shakes even harder than before, as if she''s fearing for her life. The moth girl covers herself up and nods, before leaving the room. "Close the door behind yourself."


    When it falls into its lock, I turn my attention to the Xaggavea again, who doesn''t dare to look up and stays prostrated on the ground to try and appear as small as she can.


    "Now, what shall I do with you, hm?" A rhetorical question, since I know very well that I''m going to learn an arachne''s anatomy now. She looks up to me just in time to see me licking my lips in anticipation, upon which her face goes completely white. I''ll turn that frown into an ahegao soon enough~

 Chapter K6 - Friendly Monster in Law

    "Mama!" I cry without thinking and jump into Pelomyx'' arms. She looks completely dumbfounded about my strange actions. And so am I; I don''t know why I''d call her my mother, but it just felt right, considering Onee-sama is my big sister.


    "I do not remember giving birth to a little dark elf like you?" The demon queen speaks with a wondrous expression. "But you do have the smell of a Crawling Chaos on you." She''s specifically looking at my cursed arm. I''ve taken a lot of baths since I was last with Onee-sama, though. "Have you, by chance, met Chaos?" I remember that Onee-sama once told me her real name was Chaos.


    "Yes, she is my Onee-sama!" Considering this is Onee-sama''s mother, she should understand that foreign word. However, Pelomyx raises an eyebrow at it and then frowns. W-what did I do wrong?


    "Did Chaos-chan teach you to call her that?" She asks me in a serious tone, and I nod reluctantly. Is that a bad thing? "What is that girl doing..." Muttering this, she pets my head and a familiar feeling washes over me. Uhhh, I''m reminded of Onee-sama here and feel like crying. I miss her...


    "Y-you are the demon queen?" The voice of Rolan comes from behind me and I turn my head. His expression is filled with anxiety and fear, because he''s clearly aware of the difference in their power. He can''t defeat Chandra even when he fights with his full strength and wields the shiny sword, but she was being toyed with by Pelomyx as if it was nothing.


    "Indeed, I am." Her demeanor is casual, as she turns to him and gauges his expression. "Are you one of those humans who want to challenge and kill me?" A condescending smile on her face, she looks up to him - since she''s quite a bit smaller than he is - and appears to be goading him into attacking her. But he knows that he can''t do anything against her strength. Leaving that aside, if she''s like Onee-sama, then he doesn''t stand a chance in a physical contest anyway.


    Rolan wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time, and this time is no different. He clearly shows his frustration but is unable to answer directly. It must be really vexing, to be before the enemy he has hated all his life, to find that he can''t lay a finger on her. But even if he did try to fight her, I wouldn''t help him, as she is Onee-sama''s mother after all; although I don''t know if I would stand against him, either...


    "I suppose you have been made aware of the difference in our powers." She states with an almost disappointed look, and turns her attention back to me. "Come, tell me about Chaos-chan. What has she been doing in recent times?" With this, she leads me into the fortress, walking past Rolan without paying him any more attention. He''s gritting his teeth and balling up his fists in impotent rage.


    "Why don''t ya join us?" Chandra, completely ignoring the tension in the air, invites the humans to come along.


    "You know I am not a great connoisseur of food. As long as it fills me, I will take it." Pelomyx says as she pulls a large bone from inside her chest - the remains of a grilled nightmare leg. The food is full of things I''ve never seen before, including entire animals and strange humanoid plants. But as expected, the Ajura treat this like a party and are being really noisy, drinking alcohol and singing loudly at the other tables.


    "I hear ya enjoy different kinds of foods, so I made the cooks do their best." Chandra''s loud voice echoes through the halls, as she holds a piece of a different dish in each hand and bites down on them one after the other, with the last holding a large mug which she drinks from to wash the food down quickly. It seems she isn''t that particular about taste either. "There''s more where that came from, eat as much as ya want."


    "Are you sure about that? Last time you said that, you later reported that your tribe''s storage ran out of food." The demon queen says with a mischievous expression. Even though they don''t look anything alike, she really reminds me of Onee-sama.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll ask ya for aid again if that happens." The clan leader responds with an equally mischievous grin. I can see from this that their relationship is a really friendly one - even though Pelomyx killed Chandra''s father. I don''t really understand, but there must have been something happening behind the scenes. "Eat, eat a lot, lil'' one! Ya still growin'', so ya need the food!" She grabs a huge piece of grilled meat and puts it on my plate. Lately my appetite has been really big, since I''ve been training a lot, so it''s not a problem for me to eat this much.


    "So, what do you think about my proposal?" Pelomyx turns to me and gives me a warm smile. She asked me to come back to the demon castle with her, after I told her about what happened with Onee-sama and how I ended up here on the Demon Continent. She offered to take me to her castle, so that I can wait for her there, once Onee-sama learns that I''m no longer in the academy.


    I''m actually having a hard time deciding. On one hand, I don''t want to miss the opportunity to meet Onee-sama even a moment earlier, and staying by her mother''s side is safer than traveling all the way back to the kingdom. On the other hand, I feel like it wouldn''t be right to abandon Rolan and the others here. They''re relying on me to defeat Chandra, as I''m the only one who has enough power to potentially defeat her.


    But I don''t think I can ask for them to be taken along, because I know for a fact that Rolan wants to kill the demon queen. If he attacked her now, I wouldn''t know what to do, but I think I''ll forever be on Onee-sama''s side - which means I''ll have to be on her mother''s, too. Maybe I can talk him out of it... but knowing Gram''s past, I don''t think they would stop. So, it''s a real problem for me. I don''t want to abandon them to a life of servitude under Chandra forever, however short their lifetimes are.


    "I see that you care for those humans. Let us bring them along." Onee-sama''s mother suddenly says. She must have noticed my glances at them and come to the conclusion that I''m having trouble to decide because of them.


    "Hey hey, I don''t mind ya takin'' the lil'' one. Actually, I do, but I understand she''s a special case. But those humans are still mine." Chandra interjects and slams the heavy mug down on the table. Her expression is a relaxed one, but her gesture does seem to exude authority. Shugra, who is sitting nearby, goes pale and stares at Pelomyx with a hint of fear. But the demon queen doesn''t take offense and laughs.


    "What are the terms?" She asks, apparently understanding that Chandra has taken possession of us with terms attached.


    "They need to defeat me in battle. Once for each one of ''em, as well as the possessions they put on the line." The six-armed woman responds with a self-assured grin. Yes, there is no way we could beat her anytime soon, especially when I''m not with them, left alone as many times as we have already challenged and lost to her. But what Pelomyx says next completely dumbfounds not only her but the humans and me, too.


    "What if I fought by their side? How many times would I need to defeat you to regain their freedom and all their possessions?" She asks with a mischievous smile. Chandra stares at her with her jaw slack, the mug stopped halfway to her mouth, wordlessly wondering about what she just heard.


    "... hey, that''s unfair..." She mutters with a pout that makes her look like a child.


    "But if I were to lose, I would come into your possession, would I not?" Continuing to egg her on, Pelomyx adds with an innocent expression. "You would gain the entire dominion. Think about it, the Dominion of Chandra!"


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    The woman in question looks at the demon queen, her expression going through several reactions before settling on an ambitions-filled grin. It seems that she has just been convinced to go through with this, even though I think that she most likely doesn''t stand a chance at all. From the battle earlier, I could already tell that Pelomyx was holding back. Maybe they were both holding back, since it was just a friendly spar, but knowing Onee-sama, I have to believe that her mother is hiding much more of her real power than Chandra could have been at the time.


    "Alright, let''s do it!" The latter slams down the mug and exclaims. "But for now, let''s enjoy ourselves with the meal and have more to drink. I''m sure ya not satisfied yet!" She lifts her mug once more and laughs out loudly. "More drink!"


    "Let the fight begin!" One of the warriors announces and immediately runs out of the ring. Rolan, Gram and even Sigurd, are wielding their respective equipment, staring at Pelomyx standing with her back to them. We''re facing Chandra, who looks excited at the prospect of fighting against the demon queen once again, this time with the entire Demon Continent on the line.


    "Now, let me see your strength." Pelomyx says, clearly speaking to us rather than Chandra, even though she doesn''t turn around. It seems she wants to test our powers and see why we would lose against the six-armed demon even with the four of us working together. I can see Rolan''s frown, and I know it must be because he thinks she''s trying to gauge whether the humans could become a danger to her or not. I think that''s impossible.


    Thus, we enter our formation and walk past the demon queen, who just stands by and watches us with a relaxed expression. Rolan makes the first move, rushing forward with his sword. Sigurd releases a crossbow bolt, while Gram moves in second, with me behind his cover. Chandra almost casually catches the bolt aimed at her face and grabs the leader''s sword with another. It''s playing out the same way as always, but before Onee-sama''s mother, I need to give it my best.


    Drawing back his sword before it''s fully within the six-armed demon''s grasp, Rolan pulls away. Following that, the big man tackles Chandra with his full strength, but she stands fast and grabs his shield. I spin around the two large bodies and swing my cursed arm against her open back twice, before Gram''s strength gives out and he''s pushed aside. On my third swing, she''s occupied by the leader''s wild attack once again, giving me room for a fourth.


    A crossbow bolt creates an opening for me to hit her thigh for the fifth combo, sending her off-balance from the force. Chandra is now under pressure to avoid getting hit again, but Gram lunges forward and tackles her abdomen, allowing me to hit for the sixth time. This causes the blue-skinned demon to fall onto her back, upon which the big man quickly mounts her and tries to pin her down.


    "Ohhh, ya taking charge for once?" She asks, joking without a hint of urgency in her demeanor. Pushing Gram up with four of her arms, she slaps aside my sixth attack with one of her free hands. I learned over the past month that this still counts for stacking up my power, since it made contact with her, even if it didn''t actually affect her. With a quick motion, Chandra reverses her position with the big man and mounts him instead, grabs Rolan''s sword as he slashes at her, and pulls him in to deliver a backhand blow to his chest, which separates him from his weapon and sends him staggering backwards. At the same time, she throws several punches at Gram, who can only try to avoid getting knocked out by raising his arms and covering his face.


    I fake a swiping attack, which Chandra anticipates and tries to guide aside, but I draw my arm back at the last moment and lunge forward with a straight punch. I connects with her side, which sends her flying off of the big man and tumbling across the ground. I run after her to keep my power''s effect and try to land the eighth consecutive hit on the same target - for the first time ever. However, the six-armed woman pushes herself off the ground and jumps up onto her feet, preempting my swing with a straight uppercut into my stomach.


    The immense impact presses all the air out of my body and I feel my feet leaving the ground, upon which I become airborne. I can see the sky, followed by the ground and then the sky again, before landing on my back. Coughing in surprise, I stare up into the vast blue above, realizing that she just landed her first hit on me since we came here a month ago. It''s not that I was able to dodge them all this time, but that she was holding herself back from actually hurting me - or anyone else, for that matter - in a significant way.


    "Oh damn, I didn''t want to use so much strength!" I hear Chandra say with a flustered undertone.


    But I''m not hurt. Well, it does hurt, but not to the extent that I can''t move anymore. I don''t feel anything broken or ruptured, even though the punch looked like a really powerful one. Especially with her massive arms, I feel like it should have caused much more damage to my body than it seems to have. Does this mean I''m sturdier than I thought I was?


    "Kamii!" Gram shouts, his voice filled with worry. But then I sit back up and rub my belly. It does hurt after all, but it doesn''t impair my ability to move around at all. "You... you are alright?"


    "There''s more about ya than I thought." The very person who punched me speaks with a wondrous expression on her face.


    "Interesting." Pelomyx'' voice resounds across the open space and everyone''s eyes turn to her. She''s coming towards me, her eyes fixed on my cursed arm, curiosity in her expression. "This is the result of my influence?"


    "Are ya goin'' to fight now?" Chandra asks while tilting her head questioningly, but she''s being ignored for now.


    "I understand the problem now." Pelomyx says and looks at me. "Kamii, I think it would be best for you to come with me and leave the humans here." Her expression is a serious one and she isn''t looking down on them, speaking in an advising tone rather than a condescending one. I don''t understand what she means, but she continues. "You have far greater potential than you can realize here. Chandra will train the humans in her own way, and I will give you training best suited for you. You can come back to get them, when you grow stronger."


    So that''s what she means. I never thought about that possibility before; if I go with Pelomyx, I may even be able to meet up with Onee-sama, and then we could come back here again together and free them. And I also think that Chandra has been secretly giving all of us training, in one way or another, although I don''t know why she would do that. I turn to look at the three men, who are watching the situation and waiting for my answer to the offer. I''m sure they''ll be worried about me going with the demon queen, but they must be aware of my deep connection with Onee-sama, and that I''m ultimately more inclined to side with her than with them.


    "... alright." I mutter and look up to Pelomyx with a determined expression. "But we need to come back here as quickly as possible."


    "You heard her." The demon queen gives me a warm smile and turns to Chandra. "I shall be fighting for her freedom now."


    "I''ve been waitin'' for this!" Cracking three sets of her knuckles, the six-armed clan leader responds and shows her excited, almost maniacal grin, as she sprints forward at an unprecedented speed. This is even faster than earlier, when she fought Pelomyx upon her arrival; this means that she''s actually going to be very serious. "I won''t let ya take her so easily. I think I can train her body the best!"


    "Kamii needs more than muscles, you big oaf!" The demon queen responds in a cheerful voice and moves to meet Chandra while growing out four extra arms.


    The two clash in the middle of the ring and the air shakes around them. Exchanging a flurry of punches and kicks, the two women crack the very ground they stand on with their immense strength, neither giving ground to the other. Their expressions are ones of elation, showing that they are enjoying this spar, although I feel like every single one of their punches could break the bones of humans and even crush rocks.


    The three humans are watching, but I catch the leader turning around to the bard. He gives him a questioning glance, and the latter shakes his head. I don''t know what it means, but they''ve clearly come to the conclusion that they could never hope to best the demon queen in combat, judging by her overwhelming display of power. I hope they give up and don''t risk their lives trying to take her down anymore, since I don''t want to see them die, and I especially don''t want to have to fight them.


    With a loud noise, Chandra is propelled backwards and thrown into the side of her fortress, crashing through the wall. Moments later, she shoots back out from inside, her clothes torn and her body bruised, but the excited grin on her face unchanged. The onlookers are cheering her on, but I see Shugra staring at the damage to the building with an almost despairing look, while shaking his head slowly.


    No matter what she tries, Pelomyx is clearly physically stronger. Furthermore, she should have the same abilities like Onee-sama, so she could instantly swallow Chandra whole and be done with it. The fact that she''s fighting her on equal ground means that she must consider her a good friend, whom she doesn''t want to win against using such a method. The humans don''t know about that side of Onee-sama, as far as I''m aware, but I''m sure they would really give up, if they did.


    I watch the monumental battle for my freedom unfold before me, not even daring to blink, as to not miss anything.

 Chapter Y1 - Out of the Dark

    It has been one moon since Onee-sama has been launched into the heavens. We have been staying in the depths of the Lost Tombs since then, but Senka could not make any contact with Onee-sama for all that time. We stole many long-lasting food products from the underground arcade that had been vacated after we came back out that night, and returned into the labyrinthine bowels of the underground.


    Vitalis has been going into the Royal Academy to spy on their activities and see if she is able to gather news about their continued plans from now on. She has left for two days each time and returned with some useful news. Senka informed her about the person called Runa Sigint, whom she should keep an eye on due to the fact that she will likely be among the first to hear about Rolan and his group''s whereabouts, which will in turn lead to finding Kamii. However, for all this time, there were no news in that regard.


    I am more interested in information about Onee-sama...


    I am the only one who has nothing to do and am simply practicing light magic in an environment of absolute darkness. I used to love the sun, but now that I have gone for so long without it, I realize that I am not missing it in the slightest. In my childhood, I used to fear the dark, to the point where I could not sleep unless there was a light source nearby. That improved the older I became, but only after Onee-sama corrupted me have I lost that fear completely. It seems that I have gained night vision, too, so staying in this eternal darkness is not putting a strain on my nerves as it would have before.


    It is all thanks to Onee-sama...


    Senka never sleeps. I realized that when I watched her for a long time. And since she has very keen senses, I am never really alone, either. In fact, I am relying on her for night watch duty, but sometimes, I wish I had some private time. Ever since Onee-sama embraced me during our journey back from the desert, I have been itching to do more. I am a bad person for thinking about pleasure, when both Kamii and Onee-sama are missing... but it is also Onee-sama''s fault for showing me that aspect of life.


    Onee-sama, please come back soon, I cannot live without you...


    "My report on the Royal Academy''s activities: The reconstruction of the destroyed main building has been completed and classes have returned to normal. They will send an expedition into the Lost Tombs within the week. Still no news on Kamii or Onee-sama''s whereabouts." Vitalis reports after returning from her two days of reconnaissance. When she calls Onee-sama that way, I feel a twinge in my chest. I understand that Onee-sama is not the type to be satisfied with having just a single person by her side, but letting a girl she only met the same day call her in such a familiar way...


    "Thank you and keep up the good work." Senka says while sitting on the ground like a broken doll, not even moving her mouth while speaking. She says that it is to conserve her energy, because she does not have many opportunities to replenish it in the underground. I do not really understand what she means, but it appears that she is not using magic, or at least none known to me. "I think it''s time for us to consider moving out of the city." When she suddenly says this, I stare at her in disbelief.


    "Did you not say that it would be best to remain in the Lost Tombs and wait for Onee-sama''s return?" I feel indignation well up inside me. I have been cooped up in the underground for thirty days without hearing from Onee-sama. While I was able to smite undead and train to fight using a glaive scavenged from the underground arena - Senka said it was the most suitable weapon for when I am airborne - it provided little distraction from the fact that I was unable to help Onee-sama in the time of her greatest need. If I had been there, maybe I could have used my cursed eyes to kill Thorvadis - although I still do not know how to activate them, because they did not work when I tried them out on some undead. Maybe it requires a living target, but I cannot rely on such speculation in a real battle.


    "They are sending an expedition down here to find us. We may be able to hide, but what happens if they discover us?" Rotating her eyes towards me without moving her head, her expression remains a neutral one. "How many will there be? Will we kill them all? What if they quarantine the Lost Tombs? I can survive without food and water, but how about you?" Her piercing gaze seems to bore into my soul and I avert my eyes under the pressure.


    "... what do you have in mind?" I will not concede so easily, but it would not hurt to hear her thoughts on this matter at least.


    "While they haven''t closed off the entrance yet, we sneak out of here during the night and get out of the city in our own ways. That little change of locations doesn''t make much of a difference for my ability to communicate over long distances, so when Makoto comes back here, I''ll still be able to find her." Senka''s line of argumentation is sound and I have to admit that it would be better than to be found and caught down here. Also, I would be able to breathe fresh air and feel the wind on my skin again.


    Maybe I am missing the surface more than I thought.


    "Of course, the chance that they''re distributing false information to make us come out of here exists, too." Her voice is not changing and she is simply listing the various possibilities. "This would mean that they could be expecting us to make our move right now and already locked down the entrance."


    "But what if that is the case? Would we not walk right into their trap, then?" I am skeptical about her reasoning. Of course, the Lost Tombs are a confined place with only one known entrance, so if they blockade it, we would be trapped here forever - or until we either have the luck to discover an unknown exit, or fight our way through the blockade.


    "If we think that way, we''re already trapped. Well, Vitalis can move through small cracks, and I can go through walls, if I have to." Her unmoving eyes seem to suggest that this is for my sake and that I should stop arguing. "In either case, we will leave right away. It''s evening now, but until we''re up there, it''ll take a while. Vitalis, can you scout ahead? But make sure not to be discovered. Give me a detailed report about the number and the appearances of all people in the underground, from the last store still in use up to the exit."


    "Understood, Senka." With this, Vitalis slithers away, with the lower half of her body turned into the shape of a snail. Apparently that is a slime''s true appearance and it can be used to move very fast on any kind of terrain.


    "Alright... since we don''t really have anything to pack, shall we go?" Standing up for the first time in several days, Senka''s limbs creak as if they are hinges in need of oiling. I am still not very comfortable with her appearance, but knowing that she is the one person Onee-sama has the most special relationship with, I can only endure. Adding to that fact is that she can communicate with Onee-sama over long distances using some kind of magic, so I need... for now...


    The only one I really need in this world is Onee-sama, after all.


    "The number of people in the underground arcade is normal for the current time and most of them are regulars. However, above ground I spotted Miss Tarragon sitting at the fountain and eyeing the entrance to the Lost Tombs." Vitalis returns to us halfway towards the surface and brings her report. The mention of Dregana reminds me of how we separated that day, after Onee-sama fully corrupted me. She was an enemy when Onee-sama attacked the academy, and helped Thorvadis in sending her to the heavens. If she is there, it is clear that they are watching the entrance and for me in particular.


    "Thank you for telling us. Keep an eye on her and see if she moves away. Come back to report to us as soon as you can, when she does. We''ll make our way for the third left bend before the last inn." With a thoughtful expression, Senka expresses her gratitude for Vitalis'' work and send her off to conduct reconnaissance again. "The dragon is bad news. We can''t fight her."


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    Maybe there is something I can do here. After all, Dregana and I shared a time of friendship, even if I did send her away when she showed hostility towards Onee-sama. She must still possess those feelings for me, and I may be able to use them to my advantage. I could even try to convince her to serve me, instead of my father, and remove her power out of the equation, from the academy''s side. And if not, I will have to kill her after she transforms back into her human form.


    "Let me lure her away." I propose and Senka turns to look at me with a questioning expression. "No mage can catch up to me when I fly, so I can make sure that only Dregana follows me."


    "Are you sure about that?" She asks me with a serious expression. "What if there are mages with long-range spells that can hit you from the ground?" I considered that possibility, but it is a risk worth taking - especially if I can turn Dregana into an ally. She is also the only one who could catch up to me in midair in this kingdom.


    "It is worth the risk." Is all I say. Her concern is understandable, but I would prefer if she did not question all of my actions. Regardless of the situation, I will get through it all; I will not die before I meet Onee-sama again. In fact, the only person who is allowed to take my life is Onee-sama.


    I feel my heartbeat quickening at the thought of Onee-sama and being back in her embrace again someday.


    "Miss Tarragon is still at the fountain. The plaza has mostly emptied out and the remaining people are clearly mages. But I do not know them from the academy, so it would appear that Master Eklundstrom has called for reinforcements from all across the kingdom." Vitalis reports after we meet up again at the agreed-on location. It is not far to the entrance from here, but people generally take the first or second right bend when coming from above, since the path is easier to start on. Considering the fact that the Lost Tombs are most likely not publicly accessible right now, the likelihood of someone stumbling upon us is miniscule.


    "This means you have to fly out of here. You won''t have the time to take off when surrounded by mages, since that will leave them too much time to chant their spells." Senka turns to look at me. "Don''t worry about me, I can get out of here without a problem. You''re the one who has it the hardest." She seems to have guessed that I am concerned about how she will make her escape, but it is solely because she is my lifeline to Onee-sama right now.


    "I will meet Onee-sama again." I speak with a determined look and we step forward, walking towards the underground arcade for the first time in over a moon. According to Vitalis, the civilian population has been strictly monitored and have a curfew to follow, so it is empty right now; however, we have to assume that there is going to be an ambush. Therefore, I keep my glaive at the ready and hold it in a position from which I can strike in any direction. While thirty days is very little training, Senka has proven to be a good teacher in armed combat - to the point I have to wonder where she learned it despite her small stature - and I am able to handle packs of undead with little difficulty, even in the confined space of the underground passageways.


    "I sense people hiding in the buildings ahead of us. I think it would be best if you take flight now and make an escape before they can react and block the path." Muttering without looking at me, as to not give away the fact that she has seen through the hiding enemies, Senka suggests.


    "Then I shall be going ahead." The underground arcade is just wide enough to accommodate my wings at full spread, and since I can use magic to propel myself forward, it is not such a big problem. "Ventus!" With this, a gust of wind carries me forward and I shoot through the corridor. Holding the glaive like a lance, I quickly travel past the closed stores and stands, straight towards the stairs.


    "There she is!"


    "Halt!"


    "Catch her!"


    "Damn, she''s too fast!"


    There are voices of people around me, but my speed is not something a human could catch up to. However, I notice a man in a heavy dark brown robe standing at the bottom of the stairs and chanting something. Not good, that must be a mage with an affinity for earth magic, trying to close off the exit with an earthen wall.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" I shout and glare in his direction. While my output with this spell is nowhere near Onee-sama''s, it is enough for use in combat. A spear of pure blackness, the color of my corruption, shoots forward and pierces the man''s shoulder, before dissipating moments later and leaving a large hole through which he begins to bleed out. The pain interrupts the mage''s concentration and he stops his chant for a moment, enough for it to completely lose its effect.


    In the next moment, I am out of the underground and fly directly upwards into the night sky. The cool air and the radiance of the full moon greet me with their delightful sensation and beautiful view. Yes, I missed this while I was forced to hide in the eternal darkness of the Lost Tombs for more such a long time. Gaining in altitude, I take in the natural all around me, feeling my spirit replenish after such a long time of being surrounded only by stone and death.


    "Miss Hestia!" I hear Dregana''s voice coming from below and look down on her with a cold gaze. "Don''t attack her. I''ll bring her back myself!" With a mighty roar, her body bursts out in flames and from within, she leaps up into the sky in her dragon form. I immediately speed off, flying in the opposite direction of where we agreed to meet after our escape. I can reach my maximum speed much sooner than she can reach hers, so I need to use that to gain a head start; in her dragon form, she is slightly faster than I am, meaning that she will catch up eventually.


    "Please wait, Miss Hestia!" In a booming voice, Dregana yells after me, frantically beating her wings to increase her speed. "Your father, he wishes for you to return to his side!"


    At these words I very nearly forget my objective for a moment and have to hold myself back from turning around. My father... that man, he wants me to return to the Fatas Triarchy? Even though he was the one who exiled me because I am an illegitimate child... even going as far as not teaching me the purification ritual, so that I would eventually succumb and die to corruption in a foreign land. I am sure Dregana went back to my father''s side to report that I am still alive even after my wings have turned completely black. Now he must be thinking that I may be a curiosity and wants to use me as a research subject.


    No, even if he wanted me to return as his daughter, the Fatas Triarchy is no longer my home. My place is by Onee-sama''s side, and my loyalty is for her alone.


    "He says they can revert the effects of the corruption!" Dregana''s roars and I feel anger welling up inside me. Why would I want it reverted? This is the proof of my connection with Onee-sama! "Your father wants to legitimize you!" I have absolutely no intention to call that man my father ever again, even if he suddenly begins to think of me as his daughter. Therefore, I have absolutely no need for his legitimization.


    "Please, listen to me, Miss Hestia!" Her voice sounds closer now, but still far enough that I do not feel the need to check the distance between us. Instead, I concentrate on flying as quickly as I can, so that we can get further away from the city. We have passed the gate already, and the guards on top of the walls are pointing at me; they will come out chasing after me, for when Dregana finally catches me. Therefore, I need to make it as far as possible, so that I have more time with her alone.


    Thus, we leave the close vicinity of the capital and fly towards the north, Dregana continuously trying to convince me to go back with her all along the way. Finally, when her voice sounds like it is coming from right behind me do I turn my head to look at her. She is a mixed race, the bastard child of a member of the earth clan and the fire clan. The dragon form of earth clan members have sturdy bodies but underdeveloped wings, rendering them incapable of flight, while the fire clan members have a more graceful form made for flight, but lack physical power. Dregana has the characteristic of both sides, possessing the ability to fly, but also having a strong body. However, the trade-off is that she tires more quickly when flying.


    I stop and turn around in midair, to look into her eyes for the first time since I emerged from the underground. Shocked at my sudden actions, Dregana quickly beats her wings to decelerate and comes to a stop in front of me.


    "Miss Hestia! Are you finally willing to listen?" She asks, most likely a hopeful expression on her face; since she is still in her dragon form, her facial muscles are limited and cannot show any emotions. Wordlessly, I descend into the forest below, and she quickly follows me.


    I land on the ground gracefully, but due to her size, Dregana crashes through the trees and lands heavily on all fours. She was always a klutz and would break things because of her brutish nature. For a moment, I feel a gentle smile creeping onto my lips at the memories we shared during the journey from the Fatas Triarchy to my exile in the Kingdom of Lares, in the form of the giant birdcage that was the Royal Academy. Back then, I still believed that she was my friend, my ally, even when she became colder towards me, acting like an instructor at the academy...


    "Dregana..." I mutter, my smile fading as I look into her fiery eyes. Pointing my glaive at her, I issue an ultimatum. "Make your choice now: Follow me or die."

 Chapter Y2 - Into the Light

    Even though her face is unable to show expressions, it is clear that she is surprised. Unsure of what to do, Dregana blinks and looks around herself, then returns her golden gaze to mine. Her massive jaw, filled with sharp teeth grown to rend flesh and grind bones, opens and closes without speaking a word. Her breathing is fast due to the physical exertion of flying through the sky despite the fact that she is not suited for it, though she is slowly calming down. Heated squalls of air are blown towards me, but there are no flames visible between her teeth.


    "... please, Miss Hestia-" She begins, but I interrupt her.


    "No, returning to the Fatas Triarchy is not an option." I am well aware of the fact that if she wanted to, she could easily catch me, now that we are such a short distance away from each other. And if she has the order to kill me if I refuse to cooperate, then a fiery breath could burn me without leaving a trace. There is no hint of my cursed eyes activating, and without them, I stand no chance of defeating her. This is the moment of truth; does she care enough about me to ignore my father''s orders, or will she carry out her duty and use force - maybe even lethally so? "Join me or fight me."


    Staring at me silently, Dregana does not move a single muscle. A blanket of silence lays itself over us and only the wind rustling the trees can be heard in our surroundings. We remain like this for what feels like a very long time, during which I can clearly see the conflict within her eyes, as she works her mind and heart to understand the implications of the choice presented to her. But I know that after hesitating for so long, she has basically made her decision, and is only trying to come to terms with it.


    Bursting out in flames, her dragon form vanishes in a blaze and all that remains in its place is her naked human body, sitting on the ground gasping for air. Whenever she undoes her dragon transformation, she is practically incapacitated for a while due to the strain it puts on her body. While she can remain a pure dragon for a long time, the repercussions simply add up to become entire days of weakness and lethargy. For now, she should not be able to transform again.


    "... I can''t make such a choice, Miss Hestia..." She mutters, looking up to me with tears in her eyes. "I can''t betray your father, but... I can''t kill you!" Her shoulders shake as she suppresses her sobbing. Apparently the pressure was enough to paralyze her completely, to the point that she would simply choose to make no choice at all. So I was right, my father ordered for her to bring me back or, should I refuse, kill me. Her loyalty is commendable, albeit misplaced.


    "My father is undeserving of your loyalty." I state coldly as I approach her, glaive in hand.


    "He saved me from a miserable life of slavery!" Sitting down on her bottoms, Dregana musters her strength to retort. "He gave me a home, treated me like a person..."


    "And that man ordered you to kill his own daughter." I come to a stop before her and let my words rain down mercilessly from above. She looks up at me with a despairing expression. "That is not treating you like a person, but using you as a weapon."


    I am reminded of the relationship between Onee-sama and Kamii. Onee-sama is treating her like family - or a lover - even though she used to be a slave. In fact, Onee-sama is giving her all to protect that little dark elf, and she expects nothing in return for it. She looked so desperate when they were separated after the battle in the dorm room. I feel a twinge in my chest. Would Onee-sama feel the same for me?


    "No, that..." Dregana lowers her gaze, unable to argue my point.


    "Do you think that you should be devoting yourself to someone despicable enough to give the slave he freed and provided with a new life the order to murder his own daughter?" My tone remains harsh, and she flinches at my words. I understand that her loyalty is not so easily broken, but the seed of doubts are sown and a visible crack has formed. The fact that she cannot refute me is proof of that.


    I kneel down before the naked dragonkin and put a hand on her tear-stained cheek. She looks up to me questioningly and I show her a warm smile, pouring my love for Onee-sama into it, knowing that it will be the best expression I can show. This should succeed in endearing myself to her more.


    "I would never make you do something like that, Dregana." Dropping the glaive on the ground next to me, I hug her to my chest. Now that she cannot see it, my face distorts in anger, remembering that she stood against Onee-sama in the last battle; but I hold myself back. This is for gaining a powerful potential ally, so I keep myself from simply strangling her right now. I could kill her easily in her weakened state, but I feel that it would be a waste to do so. She can become useful for Onee-sama, even if only as her food. "If you follow me, you can live in honor, with your head held high."


    "... but..." She separates from me and mutters, glancing at my black wings. I cannot suppress my eyebrow from twitching once at that, but luckily she does not notice it. These are the proof of the depth of my relationship with Onee-sama, how dare she imply that they are something negative!


    "The color of my wings is evidence for the lie that the council of elders has been spinning for centuries." I need to instill more doubts into Dregana. "My father is the council leader, so he must know about the fact that we Fatas do not die when our wings turn completely black. I am alive, and I have never felt as good as I do now. It is as if I have been freed from all fetters that were binding my spirit."


    "But your purity..." This utterance irritates me, but I do not let it show on my face and instead focus my mind on Onee-sama; thinking about her allows me to have joyful thoughts.


    "That is something I gave away willingly, to the person I love." Yes, Onee-sama is my world, and everything I do, I do for her sake. My feelings for her surpass the mere concept of love by far, but in lack of better words, it is all I can use to express them. "I believe it is the most wonderful thing, if you are able to do that." Dregana''s cheeks turn red at my unhesitating honesty, and I realize that maybe she did not mean my virginity but the perceived purity that wings the color of fresh snow represent.


    "Miss Hestia..." Her eyes are swimming and she is unable to look at me directly. Lifting her chin, I force her to return my gaze.


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    "You are still a virgin?" I ask her frankly and she stares at me in surprise. Her entire face flushes red and her lips tremble, making a verbal response wholly unnecessary.


    "Wh-what are you saying, Miss Hestia?" She backs away from my grasp and averts her eyes, covering her nakedness with her arms and legs. Apparently she has become conscious of her lack of clothes now, even though she seemed to be fine before. I believe that Onee-sama would find this endearing and if she had been present, she might have used this situation to its fullest. I am not interested in anyone besides Onee-sama, so I will abstain from doing so.


    "... do you think you can still carry out your orders?" I ask, my expression a serious one. Upon seeing it, the red in Dregana''s cheeks fades away quickly and she lowers her gaze once more, contemplating the question. Of course, the very fact that she needs to think about it means that she is unable to kill me. And that would be the only other option, if I do not go back to the Fatas Triarchy with her willingly. "Come with me."


    I extend my hand to the dragonkin in both a practical and symbolical gesture. She looks at it, then at my expression - I wear a smile conjured by the power of my love for Onee-sama - before hesitatingly stretching out her hand, like an animal scared to trust a human. Finally, she takes hold of it and for the first time since our journey together, she shows me a smile. For her entire tenure as a teacher at the academy, she has maintained her professionalism and refrained from expressing any friendliness towards anyone, including me. But now that I see it again, I can tell that it is as unexpectedly and innocently cute as it is charming.


    I am sure Onee-sama will like this gift.


    "Alright, now I need to ask..." Senka says when she sees me approaching the agreed on meeting place with Dregana in tow, who is visibly naked under my cloak. She was unexpectedly meek and embarrassed along the way, when I carried her through the air, as she is not able to transform into her dragon form, yet. "How did this happen?"


    "Huh?!" The dragonkin stares at the stitched girl with wide eyes. "I heard she was an automaton, but isn''t this more than just clever construction?" Then she notices Vitalis, who looks at her with apprehension and a hint of hostility. According to the slime girl''s report, Dregana was not present when she was nearly destroyed by Master Thorvadis, so she does not understand the meaning of her gaze.


    "I see that she''s not your prisoner, so please explain." Ignoring Dregana''s question, Senka looks at me. I do not know how to do so the best way, without giving away anything about Asoko''s existence and the fact that we all believe that Onee-sama will most definitely return. She is not under my influence enough to let that slide, yet. But I will show her that Onee-sama is not the evil demon she is seeing her as, and just how wonderful she really is.


    "Dregana has decided that she cannot carry out my father''s order to kill me." I say, trying to make it sound like it was her own choice rather than a decision forced onto her through my coercive persuasion. "Therefore, she will remain with us."


    "Fair enough... I guess you know what you''re doing." With a shrug, Senka accepts the situation for what it is. She sits down on a half-buried barrel and looks around. We are inside an abandoned barn, which Vitalis has scouted out as one of several hideouts for when we have to leave the Lost Tombs. Apparently she had been tasked with it long before it was brought up before me, which is why everything has gone so smoothly. This level of foresight and planning is expected of the person whom Onee-sama seems to put the most trust in. "For now, we need to set up our new home."


    Compared to the underground, this place has fresh air and I will be able to see sunlight during the day. However, the roof of the barn has several large holes and the interior is very dirty. This is not a place to stay in for a long time, but my unmistakable appearance is the reason for why we cannot go to any populated regions in the kingdom. If Onee-sama did not praise my wings and called them beautiful, I would wish that I could just shed them, to better blend in with the people.


    Dregana will be considered a fugitive, too, if she does not return to the academy. But I do not want to let her leave my side until I can be assured of her loyalty to me. In fact, if she comes to be treated as an enemy by the academy, she will have nobody but me to turn to. This would make my work to influence her much easier.


    "We''ll be staying here for the next few days. Can I ask you to continue your observations in the capital?" Senka turns to Vitalis, who nods with a determined expression, but shoots her former instructor a sideways glance. She cannot trust Dregana, and fears that the information about her infiltrating the academy may be revealed. But knowing the stitched girl, she will be able to keep an eye on her all the time, since she does not require sleep, so there will not be any opportunities to pass along messages. And I doubt that she will do such a thing at this point.


    I look up into the sky once again, staring at the full moon, wondering where in these vast skies Onee-sama has gone to.


    At dawn I realize that I have really been missing the light while in the Lost Tombs. Basking in the sun''s radiance, I spread my black wings and twirl in an unrestrained dance, all worries forgotten for the time being. Dregana is watching silently, her eyes fixated on me as her thoughtful frown slowly changes into a resigning smile. It seems she has come to terms with something, and I believe I know what that something is; she must have accepted the fact that I am now in this form that the Fatas call corrupted, and understood that if I do not feel bad about it, neither should she.


    I turn to her and return the smile, upon which she looks at me in surprise. Then her expression fills with warmth, as she shows me the face of a caring older sister. This is how we were during our journey from the Fatas Triarchy to the Royal Academy, and returning to that time might not be too bad, after all.


    However, all I do, I do for Onee-sama. I am only getting along with Dregana now, because she can become an asset to us, and in doing so, it is a loss for the academy''s combat potential. Without her, they will be unable to stand against Onee-sama''s full strength - although I think that even with her, they would be hard-pressed to muster any significant resistance. From Vitalis'' report, it seemed that they were barely able to only exile her, even while the most powerful people in the kingdom worked together with all their might. If any one of them had made a single mistake, Onee-sama would have killed Thorvadis and then dealt with them one after the other.


    "What do you intend to do now, Miss Hestia?" Dregana asks, when I walk towards her, intending to return inside the barn. While this may be an abandoned farm, it is still on the edge of a wide open plains, meaning that I could be spotted from afar. It is very early in the morning, but due to the proximity to Kongenssoevn there are many villages nearby, and during this time of the day many travelers move busily to and from the capital. I would rather not jeopardize our current safety and peace for indulging in sunbathing.


    "I do not know." I lie. She cannot learn about our plans, yet. Although, in a sense, it is the truth; when Onee-sama returns, she will be the one to decide what we do. Of course, finding Kamii will be her main priority. But what will we do beyond that, now that we do not have a place to live in? I suppose going to the Demon Continent is the best option, considering the fact that none of us here are humans. As the daughter of the demon queen, Onee-sama will have plenty of influence there. "But I believe that things will get better from here on out."


    Because I believe that Onee-sama will return. And being a member of a long-lived people, I can wait for centuries, if I have to.

 Chapter A3 - Gathering Clouds

    Kamii Side


    "What would you like to eat, Kamii-chan?" Pelomyx asks me and uses the same word at the end of my name as Onee-sama does when talking to me. It seems that it''s something specific to their family, as I haven''t heard any other demons use it among each other. But I like the ring of it, it makes me feel more familiar with her.


    "I don''t know..." I don''t want to be difficult, but I have no idea about food on the Demon Continent. The feast at Chandra''s fortress was very similar to the things in the human kingdom - only cruder - but I don''t know the names of any dishes and I not only can I not read the demon language, but I can''t read overall.


    "Then shall we get one of everything and try it out?" With a wink, Onee-sama''s mother puts down the menu and waves over a waiter. The tall and voluminous demon has dark green skin, large tuskslike a boar and his reddish brown hair is in a Mohawk cut. But he has a friendly demeanor in stark contrast with his fierce appearance.


    "Yes, what shall it be, young lady?" He stands by our table and readies a coal pen to write on a paper note pad.


    "Ohhh, such flattery." Pelomyx puts a hand on her cheek and smiles bashfully. "We would like to take one of every dish." She adds with a nonchalant expression and the demon prepares to write it down, before he blinks perplexedly, looking at her again with a questioning look.


    "Umm, every dish?" He asks again attentively, making sure not to miss her reply.


    "Every dish." With a confident smile, Onee-sama''s mother confirms.


    "I-is that not a little much for two?" As far as I can tell from the number of dishes on the menu, it''s not just a little too much, but I know that Pelomyx has the same constitution as Onee-sama, and is able to take massive amounts of things into her body without ever showing it on the outside.


    "Do not worry about us and just do it." Her smile turns cold at the insistence of the green-skinned demon, and a visible shiver runs down his spine at the sight. If only he knew who she is, he would most likely break down in fear and plead for his life.


    "A-as you wish!" He stutters and leaves, to deliver the order to the kitchen.


    We''re in a city called Kagomor, not far from the capital, making a stop to have lunch and take in the sights. I''m travelling with Pelomyx alone, after she defeated Chandra and won my freedom. The others are still at the Ajura fortress, and I feel bad for leaving them with no hope for victory, since I''m the only one who seemed to be able to hurt that six-armed muscle woman after all. But really, as expected of Onee-sama''s mother, her power is overwhelming, and she beat Chandra without sustaining any injuries.


    At this rate, we''ll be reaching the capital tomorrow, or so Pelomyx told me. Since she''s flying and carrying me in her arms, we''re traveling really fast. Apparently the same distance would normally take almost half a moon when going on foot, but she easily cut down that time to just three days.


    "Here are some of the starters you ordered." The waiter comes by with a tray full of plates featuring various kinds of dishes, such as bread with different dips, slices of ham, baked vegetables and more. I''m quite hungry, and my fast digestion allows me to eat more than my looks suggest, but if these are just the starters - and not even all of them - I doubt I''ll be able to keep up for the main dishes.


    "Let us eat, Kamii-chan." Pelomyx smiles at me gently and I feel an invisible pressure, as if compelling me to please her by digging in. Well, I''m still growing, so it should be alright...


    Thorvadis Side


    Dregana has disappeared with Hestia. If she had succeeded in persuading her to return to the Fatas Triarchy, she would have reported it back to me. However, the fact that she did not means that something happened to her. With both Ninlil and Dregana missing, the success of our plan against the demon queen requires a reevaluation. It is time to call for another meeting of the alliance.


    "Miss Flann, please contact your father and ask him to gather the members." I turn to the blonde girl, a trustworthy collaborator sent by Mithra as proof for his unwavering intent to overthrow the demon queen despite being a demon himself. She nods immediately, closes her eyes and vanishes by seemingly sucking herself into a miniscule hole in the center of her chest.


    No matter how often I see her unique version of space magic, I realize that despite sometimes similar appearances, demons are still a very foreign existence to humans. While I prefer not to generalize and know several examples of demons who can be trusted, there are some with whom we can never hope to coexist due to the differences in our very natures. Through Miss Marcott''s actions I have been shown once more that Crawling Chaoses are beings of the latter category.


    "Do you think we can succeed without Mistress Ninlil and Lady Tarragon?" Arcelia asks with her eyebrows curled into a frown. The Saint of Luminosity keeps her eyes closed due to the power contained within them, giving her a mysterious appearance. Her question is certainly warranted, after our last battle against Miss Marcott has revealed how inadequate mages alone are. Only with Ninlil and Dregana''s intervention was I able to finish the incantation in time; if they had not occupied her for long enough, I would not be able to sit here and speak to Arcelia.


    "We have to assume that they are both no longer among the living, no matter how it pains me to think that way." I stroke my beard and consider the intricacies of this plan, gauging its feasibility against the new insights we have gained into the combat prowess of a Crawling Chaos driven into a corner. We will have to work under the assumption that the demon queen is considerably stronger, meaning that this will be a most daunting task.


    "My father requests for you to move to the king''s audience hall." Flann reappears at the exact same spot as where she previously disappeared from, her green eyes fixing onto mine with an unmistakable hint regarding the company I will have to expect. She is such a good child, giving me a warning without alerting others of that fact, allowing me to sort my thoughts properly instead of entering potentially unfavorable situations blindly.


    "Then, shall we go?" I stand up from my seat and gesture into the room. Everybody present follows my example and we leave my only recently repaired office, for a meeting that may very well decide the fate of the alliance and all of humankind.


    Runa Side


    My instructor of the Magic Combat Training course is leading me through the hallways of the royal palace. I was called out from my morning classes and told that it was an important meeting that I had to attend, although I was not aware that I was involved in anything of such importance.


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    But maybe, just maybe, it is regarding the whereabouts of Rolan and the others. Reports indicate that they went into the Lost Tombs together seven weeks ago, and never returned. According to the principal, on the same day, Chloe and Hestia returned to the capital and also entered the dungeon, most likely in search of Kamii. What happened afterwards is anyone''s guess, but apparently it was enough to enrage Chloe to the point where she attacked the academy on her own. I woke up that night to the sound of a monumental battle and witnessed magic far beyond my comprehension.


    I am still worried for them, but there is nothing I can do about it. Knowing Sigurd and Gram, they will protect my beloved Rolan. Surely, I will see him - them - again. I do not want to think about the possibility that they are dead...


    "Thank you for joining us on such short notice, Miss Sigint." Thorvadis is the first to greet me when two guards open the double-winged door to reveal that it is the audience hall of the king. Within, a long table has been placed, around which many people are standing, waiting for the meeting to commence before sitting down.


    When I see those already present, a shiver of awe runs over my whole body. Among them is Lady Crux, who is already an exalted existence in my eyes, but there are three other people I can instinctively feel are of a completely different caliber: A silver-haired man who is clearly not the king is sitting on the throne atop the elevated platform, gazing at the gathered with a naturally condescending expression; another one is the black-haired woman standing right beside him, wearing heavy robes and holding a gnarled staff with a large sickle moon on its tip. The last one is an elderly man standing next to Thorvadis, featuring long and wavy white hair and a beard even more magnificent than the principal''s.


    "Now that everyone is present, we shall begin the strategic assembly to determine our continued actions in regards to the Demon Queen Pelomyx Elimination Plan." Turning around to the other gathered people, Thorvadis announces. Everyone begins to take their seats, but I stand there, dumbfounded.


    I blink my eyes.


    Did I hear him right? This is a strategic meeting of the most powerful people of humankind, and they are going to discuss how to bring down the demon... queen? I always thought it was a male, since people referred to that position as the demon lord. Leaving that aside, it seems I have been invited into an outrageous situation with incredible people! Of course, the debate that follows goes way over my head; they are talking about how to confront the Cradle of Chaos - the demon queen''s title given by the Empire of Terminus - under different conditions, how to defeat her elite forces and the clan leaders aligned with her, and the contingencies depending on the circumstances at the time.


    "The absence of the dragonkin and the demon traitor is of no significance. Their role will be filled from our end." The woman with sickle-moon staff states in a sleepy tone, her droopy eyes and slight pout suggesting that she is not fully invested in the talks.


    "What about the hero?" A man wearing the uniform of the Imperial Army of Terminus asks while looking to the principal.


    "Do not worry, I have sent my son to retrieve him and his companions. He will be available when we strike." The wise-looking old man sitting beside Thorvadis responds with youthful eyes and a reassuring smile. "So this is Runa Sigint? You spoke of her in tones of the highest praise, my boy." He is addressing the principal, but calling him a boy? Who is this person?


    "Yes, she possesses immense magic potential in ways never seen before. Her melded spells surpass the understanding of the other masters." Singing high praise for my magic, the principal responds with confidence. In that regard, he is more confident about my skills than I am; while my instructor for Advanced Melding did tell me that the way I activate my melded magic is sometimes beyond comprehension, their effects can be achieved through other, more orthodox means. I am not that unique, or so I thought before, but apparently Thorvadis is putting his hopes in me here.


    "Oho, interesting. I would love to see that for myself." The old man strokes his beard and says with a warm smile.


    "If I am allowed to voice such an audacious request, Lord Creator, could you see it in you to take her as your direct apprentice?" Lowering himself in both speech and demeanor, the principal asks of this old man with utmost respect. Really, who is he?


    "Please leave this for after the assembly." The man sitting on the throne speaks with a firm voice, which resounds through the audience hall and seems to vibrate into my very bones. The tone is neutral, but I can tell that he is feeling impatient. My instincts also tell me that this impatience should not be deepened, as it may have grave consequences.


    "I apologize, Your Eminence." Thorvadis bows before the man, but he ignores it and shifts his violet gaze to Arcelia.


    "Will you be able to take decisive actions, when the time comes?" He asks her in an almost disdainful tone. Judging by the fact that he is sitting on the throne as if it is the most natural thing, and that he is talking to one of the only three saints of humankind in such a disrespectful manner implies that he is of a much higher standing than even the king of Lares. Is he Emperor Lucianus V?


    "... I will, Your Eminence." The Saint of Luminosity responds with an almost demure-appearing nod. Even she is showing him the greatest respect, so he must be the Emperor of Terminus. I cannot imagine anyone else who would be able to demand, and then also receive such respect among those gathered here today.


    "Then, shall we move onto the main issue?" The sleepy-looking woman asks everybody around. "When shall be the day we strike?"


    Asoko Side


    I think I''ve been living too much of a lifestyle of debauchery ever since coming to the demon castle. Is this what they mean by "to be corrupted by power"? Using my position as the child of the demon queen, I gorged myself on the monster maids every day, even those that showed apprehension even at my handsome self. Wait, that makes it sound like I forced myself on them or something! I didn''t, really! They liked it after a while...


    In the meantime, Ninlil''s condition hasn''t really changed. She''s being kept alive with an intravenous drip - apparently an invention by maou-mama, a technology that didn''t exist in this world before - but she hasn''t moved a muscle since we arrived almost three weeks ago. Oh wait, my other half told me that weeks here are five days long. So more like around four weeks, then. Whatever the case, I won''t let up and make her regain her smile, so that I can corrupt it once more!


    Ah, I''ve really become a demon...


    Who should I eat today? A demon maid a day keeps the boredom away, after all. Maybe I''ll go and have fun with Xaggavea again; she still has the best reactions when I tease her. And who knew, an arachne''s anatomy is as intuitive as expected; essentially, a full human is attached at the waist to the spider''s thorax in place of where its head would be. I didn''t notice at first, because her human legs lack feet, are colored black and plated with chitin, so I thought they were pedipalps. In other words, that full human body has pretty much the exact same anatomy as any other human would, including the important bits.


    Hm, why is everyone being so busy? The maids usually finish cleaning before noon and only patrol the castle afterwards, but now I see a lot of them hurrying towards the same destination. I grab one of the maids, identifying her as Szaga, when I do. It''s the gargoyle girl with a brisk temper, a rank-defying attitude and a refreshing personality.


    "Whaddaya want?" She brushes me off in a casually abrasive tone, despite knowing that I''m the demon queen''s daughter. Well, it suits her and I wouldn''t want it any other way, especially with that cute backwoods accent.


    "Did something happen?" I ask her, and she looks at me with a frown.


    "You dinn''t hear? Demon queen''s back." With these words, she runs off towards the audience hall, not waiting for my reaction.


    Maou-mama is back from her tour through her domain? Uh, why do I have a bad feeling about this? Well, there''s nothing to it, I''ll have to go and greet her, since she''ll learn about the fact that I''m here from Rewera soon enough. Now, for some reason I feel a hint of regret at having done all these things with the maids. I mean, why else would maou-mama choose them for their looks, if not because they''re part of her harem? And I treaded on that harem quite a bit...


    I feel like I''m going to have a stomach ache from the pressure I put on myself with these thoughts. But I can''t run from this, I need to meet maou-mama and tell her about what happened, including the fact that I''m another Chaos.


    "Onee-sama!" A girl''s voice exclaims when I enter the audience hall, and I look at its owner. A girl with dark purple skin, night-blue hair and a huge red crab claw for her right arm. She rushes at me and before I can react, she tackles me and cuddles into my chest. Wait, this must be the little dark elf called Kamii, as per my other half''s description of her.


    "Umm, Kamii?" I''d rather not make it a misunderstanding, so I''ll ascertain myself of the fact that she is indeed the right person. Furthermore, I''ll have to explain to her that I''m not her actual Onee-sama, although I feel like that''s going to be complicated...


    "... Onee-sama?" She looks at me questioningly, her seemingly glowing violet eyes drawing me into their depths. I could lose myself in them for... wait no, this isn''t the time to be charmed by her cuteness!


    "Oh, Chaos-chan, you returned?" Maou-mama''s familiar voice resounds through the hall and I look towards the throne. There she is, the horned, purple-haired woman with gray skin, black sclera and voluptuous breasts, wearing a tight leather suit rather than a dress like the first time I saw her. Rewera is standing beside her, the only maid to do so, while all others are at attention on the two sides of the hall.


    "Umm, about that..." I pet Kamii''s hair inadvertently and scratch my cheek. How best to start?

 Chapter A4 - Brewing Storm

    Rolan Side


    The battle between the demon queen and Chandra was a spectacle for the ages. No matter how I look at it, no human could ever reach their level, regardless of how long they train their bodies and minds. The only thing that could ever hope to stand toe to toe with their destructive powers would be large-scale magic, but since chanting takes time, mages would be hopelessly beaten down before they could fire off any spells. And just witnessing the two demons fighting leads me to believe that even a whole army of humans could not keep them away from these vulnerable mages.


    "We''re getting nowhere..." Even though I know that everything we try against this six-armed demon is shut down by the vast difference in physical strength, I refuse to give up. But without Kamii, I have to admit that we are weak. Her cursed arm was on an entirely different level compared to what humans can do without magic. If only Runa was here...


    "Oh, ya givin'' up?" Chandra asks with a grin, holding Gram in a headlock and deflecting a crossbow bolt aiming at her eyes almost casually. Sigurd''s combat-shooting has visibly progressed over the past moon, and Gram has become even more steadfast. I am even aware of the fact that my footwork has improved vastly, compared to when I fought the thousand-eyed demon in the underground arena.


    "Never!" I know she is taunting me, but it has the effect of giving me a second wind. I rush at her and wait for the last second before dodging sideways under her lowest arm aiming at my chest with a palm thrust. By doing so, I am putting her own arm between me her others, and stab into the lowermost armpit. It only pierces into her skin but does not even go deep enough to bury the entire tip into her body. Quickly drawing back, I take my distance once more.


    "Not bad, ya gettin'' better." Rubbing the small wound with one of her free hands, she points at me and praises my progress. Against a human opponent, the blade would have pierced into the heart or lungs, but her body is just too tough. Is it even made of flesh and bones? The most obvious weaknesses in her body would be her throat, mouth and eyes, but they are too high up for me to reach. Sigurd is trying his best to hit them, but she can easily intercept crossbow bolts with her impossibly fast reflexes. I know that she is just playing with me, since there is no way she could not block my attack; after all, I am clearly slower than a flying bolt.


    "Hey boss, your husband''s returned." A four-armed warrior with purple skin calls out to Chandra. She has shown to dislike it when people interrupt her during sparring matches, but the content of the message causes her to immediately let go of Gram and turn to the warrior.


    "Really?" The pitch of her voice seems to have jumped up an octave, and she shows a love-struck expression. I never thought that she could make such a face; it must mean that she really loves this man. "How do I look?" She asks while redoing her ponytail, which has come slightly loose in our battle. She sounds like a pure young maiden who is about to be visited by her sweetheart.


    "Fierce as ever, boss." The warrior replies with a grin, and she returns it with confidence.


    "Good, then I''m ready to meet him." Chandra says while showing off her sharp canines. It seems I mistook her demeanor for shyness; in fact, it would appear that she wants to look powerful in front of her husband, rather than beautiful. I am now interested to see what kind of man could ever make this woman his wife.


    Gram Side


    Chandra told me the first day that she has a husband, even when she showed interest in my body. Apparently demons practice polygamy regardless of whether they''re male or female, unlike in the Kingdom of Lares or the Mineva Republic, where monogamy is law, or the Empire of Terminus and the Khurut Sultanate, where only men are allowed to marry several women.


    But then again, rather than ever becoming a husband, I''m just a plaything to her. Among the warriors, there are several others who lie with her from time to time, but when I asked them, they told me that none of them are actually married to her. Therefore, I''m really interested to see who the man is that has the honor of being called her husband among all the men she keeps for company.


    "I have returned, my lovely wife!" The overbearing bass voice echoes up the cliff, and in the next moment the sound of the earth shattering can be heard from below. A figure jumps into the air and crashes down onto the butte on which the fortress stands, straightening his back and shouldering a large bag casually, despite having cracked the ground under his feet with the impact. "Where are you?!"


    He''s a man towering a head above me, topless and wearing a fur loincloth, with a muscular body putting even Chandra''s to shame. His entire body is covered in silver markings that stand in contrast to his dark bronze skin, which he must have gained from constant exposure to the sun. A spiky mane of hair in the color of the leaves in spring extend downwards in thick sideburns that line his square jaw line down to the cleft chin. Lacking irises and pupils entirely, his completely white eyes seem to be glowing from the inside.


    I can instinctively feel that he is an incredibly powerful existence. His appearance may be human to a certain extent, but he must be a demon.


    "My dear husband!" Chandra walks towards the man, reminiscent of the time when Pelomyx visited. What happens next is as expected; she punches him with three fists at the same time, and he blocks them with one arm, as if it is the easiest thing to do. A fistfight of the highest magnitude follows, which I can only watch in silent awe. I''m once again shown the difference in the basic makeup between humans and demons, and I have to wonder why they haven''t attacked and subjugated the human continents one after another with that overwhelming power, yet.


    "Actually, I''m here for a specific reason." The giant man states when they conclude their fight. It seems that Chandra is satisfied with finding that her husband is still as strong as ever, or at least that''s what I took away from their epic clash. "I was told to bring the humans with me." He points at us without actually looking, as if we don''t even register with him.


    "Who told ya to? Was it Pelomyx?" She looks at him with a skeptical expression, an eyebrow raised at his vague wording. "Didn''t know ya had anythin'' to do with her."


    "I don''t. It was my father. He told me those humans are needed or something. I''ll just borrow them and bring them back afterwards, if you want me to." He responds casually under her scrutinizing gaze.


    "Then ya know what ya gotta do to get ''em." Chandra states and cracks all her six sets of knuckles at the same time while taking her distance from her husband. Even though they only fought moments ago, they''re ready to go for another round again. Responding with a toothy grin, the bronze man pumps up his muscles and stands at the ready with a powerful stance. From it, it''s clear that he''s the attack-oriented type, unlike me, who''s better at defense.


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    "I know you, my lovely wife! That''s how it should be!" With this, he rushes forward, at the same time as his significant other, and they collide in the middle of the courtyard, unleashing a blast of air that tugs at my beard. Even I can tell that this man is holding back, while Chandra is most likely going at full power. In other words, he is near the same level as the demon queen.


    "Who is that?" I turn to Shugra, who''s watching with a frown. The entire butte is shaking under the impact of their clash and he must be fearing for the structural integrity of the fortress.


    "That''s Oinos. He came to claim the boss as his wife when nobody else would, and he succeeded in doin'' so." He responds, not looking away from the battle for one moment. Despite his reservations regarding the monumental battle and its effects on the fortress, he''s still a member of the Ajura clan, so he loves to see a good battle. "I think ya humans call him the Walker of the Wild."


    ??? Side


    "Will you not reunite with your brother?" A woman with shoulder-length straight black hair and a single, helical horn emerging from near her hairline on the forehead, asks with droopy, always tired looking eyes. She is holding a sickle-moon staff, facing a petite naked girl with long hair and skin as white as the cloud she is sitting cross-legged on. The latter''s expression is one of irritation, as she regards the question with annoyance.


    "I have no intention to ever speak with him again, Shelnir." She states decidedly, her eyes fixed on the woman''s with a dauntless gaze, before turning away as if there is no more room for discussion. "Now, if you''ll excuse me-"


    "How long will you keep on sulking, Exla?" Shelnir interrupts her with a lazy smile. However, it somehow appears as if it is a sinister one, because of how she appears to look down on her opposite. "It has been nearly one thousand and six hundred cycles. Can you not see it in yourself to reconcile with your only kin?"


    "If he wanted to reconcile with me, he wouldn''t have sent you." With anger on her features, Exla turns around and replies in a low and threatening tone. "You, of all people. Don''t think I don''t know about what you''ve been doing behind the scenes for all this time." Shelnir''s smile widens into a maliciously wide grin, as she leans on her staff and looks down on the petite girl with gleefully glowing red eyes. With a disgusted expression, the latter stands up and faces her down. "Careful, Shelnir. You''re treading on dangerous ground."


    In the next moment, Exla loses her form and turns into vapors, combining with the cloud they are standing on. It begins to move and Shelnir quickly levitates off of it, looking down as the massive cumulonimbus cloud moves away from her, as if being caught by a powerful storm.


    "You will return one day, Exla!" The horned woman proclaims in a loud voice. "This, I prophesize as the Guide of Tomorrow!" At these words, she laughs with vicious joy. The cloud spins around and a massive pillar of vapors rushes towards Shelnir. She seemingly fades out of existence, just before it connects with her, but her mocking laughter lingers in the air for a while longer, resounding across the Dark Continent.


    Chaos Side


    "Soon, the future will be decided." Juzual''s voice resounds in my mind during a break. It''s one of the rare occasions where she actually lets her presence be known, and of course, she speaks of something cryptic. I''d appreciate it if she made things simpler from time to time.


    "Please elaborate?" I ask and drop the gold nugget I transmuted onto the pile I''ve been succeeding in making for a while now. It''s becoming second nature and honestly, it''s boring to be doing this all day long. Then again, I don''t know how many days have passed, since the moon doesn''t circle the planet once a day, but rather at a different rate that I haven''t been able to completely grasp, yet. Compounding onto that is the fact that neither I nor Aurelia need to sleep, so there''s no sense of the passage of time.


    "A battle is about to take place, one that will bring an end to many things." The Witch of the End responds, a hint of joy in her voice at the prospect to see something coming to an end. But I really want to know who''s going to be involved in that battle, since it sounds important. It''s entirely possible that maou-mama is one of the major players in that one.


    "A battle between whom?" I don''t like that I have to pry for more information like this, but I think Juzual is actually enjoying this. She likes to appear mysterious, and all I can think of is a certain chuunibyou girl who also wears a big witch hat and likes to destroy things with huge explosions. "You need to get a little more specific, or I won''t know what you mean." I look at Aurelia, who is listening in on our conversation while examining the gold nuggets I created with a careful eye. She''s the most suited for judging the purity of gold, considering her body is quite obviously made of it.


    "Powerful beings that will shake the very world with their clash." Once again, it''s vague. I mean, gathering from her story, all those sorcerers are powerful enough to shake the world on their own, so does it mean infighting is going to begin among them? "It shall be the moment to shape the next one thousand cycles of history."


    "Shouldn''t we... you know... be there? I mean, didn''t you want me to fight and kill these sorcerers?" I just want to get off this boring rock already. While my relationship with Aurelia is good enough for some casual physical contact, I can''t take it further as long as we''re here on the moon. An environment without an atmosphere doesn''t allow for a lot of the things I''d like to do to and with her.


    "Looking at your progress, you are far from ready. I cannot have you die a worthless death after I invested so much into you ." Leave me alone, oi! Juzual''s voice clearly takes on a mocking tone, but maybe it''s just my imagination, since she sounds the same as always. And what did she invest into me? She didn''t do anything for all this time, only speaking into our minds once in a while. Still, I hate to admit it, but she''s right. I can transmute moon rocks into gold, but that doesn''t do anything for me in a battle. "It is time to move on." She adds.


    "Oh, then we''re going to-" I start.


    "No." Don''t just interrupt me without an explanation and before I even get to the object of the sentence! "You shall learn about manipulation next." Huh, what does she mean by that?


    "Like this." Noticing my questioning gaze, Aurelia picks up several of the gold nuggets I created and makes them float through what I can only perceive as the power of telekinesis. However, she goes a step further and the gold changes form, twisting and seemingly melting, merging together and soon taking on the shape of a dagger. Since she didn''t use a lot at the same time, it''s all she can create on the spot.


    "That''s like Magn-" I exclaim.


    "Your turn." Juzual interrupts me once again. The golden girl makes the dagger float and spin around herself and then shoots it right at me. It pierces my chest and sinks into my body, down to the hilt. I pull it out and close the hole it leaves behind, no blood spewing forth as it would in a human being. I''ll take that as Aurelia being playful, since no harm was done...


    Now this seems like a useful power to have. If I can do this with anything, not just gold, then I could become invincible. I mean, I''d just make the staves or wands of mages fly out of their hands, or just take them apart from afar. Not for a moment do I think it''s unfair to have such an overpowered ability, considering I''ve been fighting alone, while my enemies were always ganging up on me.


    Alright, how do I even begin to visualize this? I close my eyes and just imagine the dagger in my hand changing into a simple ball. Rather than starting with something difficult like shaping gold nuggets into weapons or even making them float, I''ll first try the simplest thing, which would be returning it to its previous appearance. When I open my eyes again, nothing happened. Of course not, it''s not going to be so easy.


    This is going to take a while...

 Chapter A5 - Risk of Rain

    Vitalis Side


    This is bad news. I was able to listen in on the meeting of the alliance to kill the demon queen and found out that they plan on invading the Demon Continent very soon. But I could not stay any longer than I already had, because I instinctively knew that the people who were there are incredibly powerful and very dangerous. I am sure they would have detected me sooner or later, so I did not want to take the risk and be caught in vain.


    "They have already left the academy and are most likely moving towards the Demon Continent. I was unable to determine the route they took, so it is safe to assume that they are using transportation magic." I conclude my report. The moment I returned to the abandoned farmhouse we have made our new base after our escape from the Lost Tombs, I immediately called over Miss Senka and Miss Hestia to tell them this worrying development. They share a serious glance with each other and then turn to Miss Tarragon.


    "It seems that they have decided to make their move before anything else unforeseen happens..." She states and scratches her head. Ever since she was convinced to come along with Miss Hestia, her behavior has been surprisingly casual, considering her well-known strictness at the academy. "Maybe they fear that Miss Marcott is going to return?"


    "Now that it has come to this, I shall tell you this. Chloe will certainly come back." Miss Hestia states with a determined expression and catches Miss Tarragon by surprise. We did not tell her that all three of us are harboring that hope - no, holding that conviction in our hearts, that Miss Marcott will return.


    "... I see..." Miss Tarragon does not say any more than that and looks away in silence.


    "What shall we do now?" I ask, turning to Miss Senka. She has always been the one to make the decisions since Miss Asoko left for the Demon Continent with Lenoly, and she has shown to be very capable in planning our actions.


    "We need to warn Asoko." She states without hesitation and her eyes turn completely black. I shirk back and stare at her in instinctual fear. What is that appearance? The blackness spreads to the surroundings of her eyes in a pattern that reminds me of a butterfly. Miss Hestia is just as perturbed as I am, and we watch the doll-like girl in silence, as she ceases all her movements. A moment later, the blackness retreats towards her pupils and she looks at us with concern. "Damn, she''s outside my range."


    "Then..." I begin, but am immediately interrupted by her again.


    "We have to get closer. Hestia, bring me across the ocean." Miss Senka jumps up and grabs the winged girl''s arm.


    "You want to get farther away from the capital? What if Chloe comes back during our absence?" Miss Hestia makes a good point and while I do not agree with abandoning Miss Asoko without a warning, the same can be said about Miss Marcott, if she returns to find that we are not in the capital anymore.


    "What if Chloe comes back and both Asoko and her mother are dead?" Miss Senka''s harsh rebuttal surprises me, but Miss Hestia is even more taken aback by it. "We can at least make it so it''s not a surprise attack." Her expression is firm, which makes her look even more ghastly than she already does with her scars and the dark rings under her eyes.


    "... I understand. Just in range for you to contact her." Finally, Miss Hestia concedes. Then she seems to realize something and turns to Miss Tarragon. "You carry her towards the Demon Continent, Dregana. You are faster."


    "I refuse. I am following you now, but I will not betray the academy, and jeopardize their lives to save the demon queen." She responds without a moment''s hesitation. "Even if she is the mother of your beloved Miss Chloe, she is still the enemy of mankind." Her piercing golden eyes are clear on the fact that she will not yield on this matter.


    Miss Hestia glares at her, a scary glint in her eyes the kind of which I have never seen before. A shiver runs down my back and I feel honestly glad that I am not at the receiving end of it. Wordlessly, she turns away and rushes out of the barn. Miss Senka stays a moment longer and looks up to me.


    "Please keep an eye on the academy. We may not be travelling too far, but I''ll be concentrating on Asoko, so I won''t be able to detect Chloe if she returns at that time. You''ll have to let her know that she can contact me if she puts her mind into it." She gives me this important task and leaves. I understand and turn to immediately go and perform it, but then stop dead in my tracks.


    What happens to Miss Tarragon then? We cannot just leave her here alone, can we? When I look at her, I see that she has demonstratively lain down on a pile of hay and is preparing to take a nap. For a moment, anger rises up inside me and bubbles form in my body, but I suppress it and quickly leave to carry out my duty. There is no point in worrying about this now, if neither Miss Hestia and Miss Senka are putting any thoughts into it. It just means that keeping the former instructor here is not as important as what each of us has to do now.


    I watch Miss Hestia take off into the skies and fly towards south-east, then I quickly take my true shape and slither towards the north-west, in the direction of the capital.


    Rolan Side


    After the man named Oinos won our freedom, he stayed at Chandra''s fortress for the night. Needless to say, when the husband of a ravenous sex demon returns, nobody will be able get even one wink of sleep that night. I cannot believe that he is the god known as the Walker in the Wild, but judging by his overwhelming power, even I have to admit that it may be the truth. I have never been particularly religious, but he does not look as eminent as I always imagined the gods to be. At the same time, I would never think of doing something that would cause him offence or even outright anger him; regardless of whether he is the real god or not, it is never a good idea to get on the bad side of someone who could very well be able to level an entire city with his bare fists.


    The next morning, Oinos guides us to a transportation network circle, a short walk away, never explaining where we are going. There, he leaves us with a black-haired woman who has perpetually sleepy looking droopy eyes and is wielding a sickle moon staff. She activates the magic circle and transports us to a forest where a camp has been erected and a small army is standing by. I am led into the largest tent in its center, where a group of people are sitting at a round table and discussing what seems to be an important matter. Among them, I spot the principal of the Royal Academy, as well as the Saint of Luminosity.


    "Rolan?" A familiar voice exclaims and I spin around. "It really is you!"


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Runa jumps into my arms. I am surprised for a moment, but at this point I do not care anymore. I strongly embrace her and we only separate to share a deep and loving kiss. How I longed for her all this time. Even before we were transported to the Demon Continent had I not seen her for two weeks, so it has been almost two moons since I was last able to hear her voice and smell her hair.


    "Runa, you must''ve been so worried all this time. I''m so sorry that we disappeared like this, but we couldn''t do anything-" Runa puts a finger on my lips and shakes her head.


    "No, it does not matter anymore. You are safe, and that is all that counts." She says with a lovely expression, and I am overwhelmed by my feelings for her. Before I can revel in another kiss with her, the big man clears his throat right behind me. Runa immediately separates from me, her face flushed when she remembers that we are not alone. "... I am glad that you are all safe." She adds and greets Gram and Sigurd with a sheepish smile. The old group is back together.


    Now that I look around more carefully once again, I see that the uniform ornamental armors of the guards standing at the walls of the tent are of a very high quality and clearly enchanted. Opposite of the entrance sits a man who would be about as tall as Gram if he stood up, wearing a perfectly polished silver armor that looks to be made of the famed dwarven steel only kings are in possession of these days. In other words, this person is royalty, and considering the fact that I have seen the king of Lares and he is not him, it must mean he is from the Empire of Terminus. His facial features are sharp and proud, and it is obvious that he is a straight-laced man.


    "That is the Emperor of Terminus, Lucianus V." Runa whispers when she notices my gaze. I very nearly shout out my surprise, but hold myself back from doing so. There is a young elven girl wearing a crown of redwood sitting beside the emperor, who can only be Princess Evelyn Adrasteia Velia - or rather, the new queen of the elves, after the death of her mother at the hands of the demon queen.


    "So this is the hero?" Lucianus V states and scrutinizes me with a hint of disapproval. I return the gaze, blinking a few times in confusion, before looking around to see that all eyes are on me. What does he mean, I am the hero?


    Runa Side


    I am finally reunited with my beloved Rolan - as well as Gram and Sigurd - but these are not the proper circumstances to express my joy over that fact. After all, we are gathered at this staging post to conduct our attack on the demon queen. I am still wondering why our group has been brought along, considering the fact that eminent figures such as Thorvadis, Lady Crux, Emperor Lucianus V, and even the gods are involved. Our powers could never even hope to measure up to theirs.


    "So this is the hero?" Lucianus V asks when he gazes at Rolan with an almost disparaging expression and I blink in confusion. What does he mean by that?


    "Indeed, he is the chosen one to defeat the demon queen." The woman with the droopy eyes responds with a smile. In a moment when I was able to do so without her hearing, I asked Thorvadis who she was, and he responded that she is Shelnir, the Guide of Tomorrow. In other words, she is the goddess who watches over the future, possessing power over the fates of people. When she says that Rolan is the chosen one, she means that the gods have chosen him to be their champion in this battle against the demon queen.


    "But... I met the demon queen a few days ago. I''ve seen her power first hand, so I know that I would never stand a chance against her." Rolan replies, an expression filled with frustration on his face. I am confused once more; how was he able to meet the demon queen? He disappeared into the Lost Tombs, and then was brought here by Shelnir. "I''ll explain to you in detail later..." Noticing my questioning gaze, he whispers to me.


    "Worry not, for the gods are with you." Lady Crux says to him with a reassuring smile. She is able to convey so much warmth and security with just that, even when her eyes remain closed. I would trust her without a moment''s hesitation.


    "Have more faith in yourself." The old man next to Thorvadis adds. He was introduced to me as Alverost, the Mage of the Beginning, who is the very god who created all life in this world. His voice has a comfortable reverb and it soothes the soul just hearing it. But at the same time, I cannot help but think that the "faith" implies a belief in the gods, rather than what his overt statement meant.


    "The gods, huh? Then why is Lord Oinos not fighting?" Rolan asks, directing his question at Lady Crux. She raises her eyebrows slightly and turns to Alverost, who strokes his beard and laughs heartily.


    "That son of mine does not meddle in the conflicts of man and demons. He is the Walker in the Wild, after all." As if that explains it sufficiently, he leaves it at that. Of course, the very fact that there are even some gods helping us is already a miracle; they would normally have no reason to get involved, considering the fact that this balance of powers between mankind and the demons has continued for over a thousand years now. If they had chosen a side before, it could have ended much earlier.


    But this just makes me wonder why they decided to take to the stage now, of all times. Maybe Rolan has something to do with it. After all, there has never been a chosen hero before. All heroes in history were those who rose to the task at hand and performed deeds befitting of the title, given to them by the people. That means he is different from those traditional heroes, someone who may tip the balance all on his own. So maybe, the war against the demons can finally come to an end?


    "Let us finalize our strategy." Lucianus V interrupts my train of thoughts and gestures towards us, a straightforward expression on his face despite the hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I have high hopes in the hero chosen by the gods."


    Asoko Side


    This is awkward. I don''t want to deny who I actually am, but at the same time, I''m not who they think I am. In other words, I''m actually Chaos, or at least I was reincarnated as the one Crawling Chaos, so aptly named ''Chaos''. But then I split off my other half and now there are two of me; we both have the same memories from before being reincarnated, and we have the same personality in almost all regards. Well, I think I''m a little more promiscuous because I''m the lower half or something like that. I mean, I don''t really mind that I have a sheer insatiable libido, and as far as I can tell, the maids who were able to get a taste of it weren''t averse to it either.


    Alright, my thoughts are going off-track. It''s the moment of truth; I have to tell them now, or it''ll end in a misunderstanding. But I''m having a hard time trying to come up with a way to explain it without it becoming confusing. And how can I even prove what I''m saying?


    "Mama, there''s something I''d like to talk to you in private." For one, I don''t want to let the maids know. Then again, nothing changes about the fact that I''m maou-mama''s daughter, so my relationship with them shouldn''t be any different even if they do know about it.


    "This appears to be an important matter. Leave us." Realizing my seriousness, maou-mama orders the gathered maids to vacate the audience hall. I think it would have been faster and easier to just leave for a private room with me, but I guess as a ruler, one can be selfish like this. I signal for Kamii that it is alright for her to stay with me, and pet her hair again. This could become a habit... "What do you wish to talk to me about that my loyal maids should not hear?" Once it''s just us three in the hall, which now seems really wide all of a sudden, maou-mama turns to me and asks.


    "Do you remember when you first sent me through the transportation circle, on the day I gained my consciousness?" I start at the very beginning. She reminisces for a moment and then nods, ascertaining that she knows what I''m talking about.


    "I accidentally sent you to the Dark Continent and came to your rescue, when a Harvester was about to eat you." So that''s what happened to my other half, huh? Seems to be much more eventful than what I experienced right from the start. Kamii looks between us in confusion, but this is going to get even more confusing in a moment.


    "No." I get right to the point. "That''s not what I-" Before I can say it, Senka''s ghostly form appears before me.


    "They''re going to attack soon! You need to prepa-" She starts, but is cut short by the sound of an explosion coming from outside the castle.

 Chapter 64 - Megasonic Chaos Warhead

    "It would appear that it is beginning." Juzual seems to zoom into existence right before me, just as I''m melding a bunch of gold nuggets into a crudely shaped dagger on the top of my palm. I can neither get the shape nor the edge right, but her sudden appearance causes my manipulation to go haywire and turn into a spiked monstrosity.


    "What started?" I ask and drop my messed up work without a care in the world. Gold is such a beautiful material and surely worth a lot, but when you hold it in your hands every single day for a month straight, you will begin to dream about it. I don''t want to start hating it, since Aurelia is literally made out of it, so I''m trying to not treat it like it''s something special or expensive. Then again, it''s no longer expensive when it can be created out of rocks lying about...


    "The battle for the future of the human world." As mysterious as ever - and as pointlessly vague, too.


    "I assume there''s a war starting, but you''ll have to be more specific so I know between whom it''s waged." At this point I''m happy for any interruptions to my mindlessly mind-numbing mental training, even if it''s as tiring a conversation as speaking with someone who just can''t seem to say certain things straight.


    "The humans and the self-proclaimed gods are about to attack the demon queen." Juzual states with her eyes fully open, staring at the half blue marble of a planet before the backdrop of a starry sky. Wow, that wasn''t too difficult now, was it?


    Wait, what?


    "They''re attacking my mother?!"


    "Indeed." The Witch of the End simply confirms.


    "Bring me down there right now!" I point at said planet and shout at her in my mind.


    "Very well."


    "Now look, I don''t- wait, really?" I expected her to say something like "you are not ready" or "I am afraid I cannot do that", so I already began to argue against her judgment, but her agreeing so easily takes me aback.


    "You are not ready, yet. But even I understand that bonds between a child with its mother. What about you, queen from the empire?" Juzual responds without showing what she thinks of this. She then turns to Aurelia and gazes into her eyes with her black holes. Oh, I doubt she wants to stay on the moon all alone, so she''ll have to come along.


    "I will go as well." She responds curtly. I like how concise the conversation is right now, considering the time constraints we must be working under. The witch closes her eyes with a hint of resignation and seems to sigh.


    "Then I shall transport you." With that, she points her hand at us, and in the next instant, we seem to zoom away from the moon''s surface and find ourselves in space again. None of us actually moved and are still in our relative positions from where we stood earlier. Then, once more, the moon zooms away. I turn to look at the blue planet, which has come closer by a lot. If this was transportation magic, the distances we just put behind us would have taken hours being surrounded by a stream of light. In other words, it''s something else entirely. Several more times, and I find my vision completely filled by the planet underneath me. I can clearly see the collection of continents that I remember from the map.


    "This is where I have to leave you. I cannot enter his domain." With this, Juzual zooms away from us before I can even react - or rather, we zoom away from her and directly into a cloud. For a moment, I completely lose any sense of direction, but then gravity takes hold of me and I can feel that I''m entering freefall. However, since we''re inside a cloud, I don''t know how close we are to the ground.


    "Aurelia?" I shout, since I lost sight of her, but the whipping winds are too loud for my voice to carry anywhere. I''ll wait until I''m out of this cloud and then-


    I hit the ground and lose my form completely, splattering across a wide area. So, rather than a cloud, it was simply very dense mist - what a bad joke. Luckily, it wasn''t from as high up as I thought it was, and I''m viscous enough to quickly consolidate myself again. Damn you, Juzual, for not giving me a warning, just like that time on the moon. I just hope Aurelia is alright.


    "Ventus!" I don''t have the time to search for Aurelia normally, so I just blow away all the mist surrounding us.


    "Hmmm?" A roaring voice booms across the area like a foghorn. "Whaaat iiis thiiis?" The reverb is so loud that I press my ears shut, but it still vibrates inside my entire body.


    A moment later, I feel myself getting lifted by tendrils of fog and flung through the air. Soon after, I''m outside the mist, and thrown into a tree, although this time I had the presence of mind to cover myself in the armor plates of a dragon. Breaking the trunk behind me from the impact, I come out unscathed, and quickly right myself. Next to me, Aurelia suffers a similar fate, but her body allows her to shrug off the impact without trouble, too.


    "What was that...?" I ask her, but she looks just as confused as I am.


    I look around and find that we have come to a familiar place; the trees are very old and their bark is almost black, with gnarled roots growing above ground which can become tripping hazards when you need to run away from certain wolf-like creatures featuring acid saliva. The mist extends upwards into a pillar of clouds, which appears to be moving against the direction of the wind. Yes, I remember this forest, and I sure as hell won''t forget this cloud thing.


    This is the Dark Continent.


    "Dammit, stupid witch! You brought us to the wrong place!" I shout into the sky, but I know that she can''t hear me from up there - or wherever she is now. Our mental link may still be established, but she''s not responding, so I have to assume that we''re actually no longer connected. She did say that she can''t enter this domain, so I guess it means her powers don''t work here, either.


    But this is great! Real great! We''re in the middle of the Dark Continent, I have no map and it''s around noon, so I can''t tell directions from the position of the sun. Even if I could, I don''t think it''d be accurate enough to find the Demon Continent, let alone the castle. And Juzual made it sound like a battle was already beginning, so we can''t just wait until the sun moves to a position where it''s easier to determine where east and west are.


    "Can you tell where east is?" As far as I can remember, the Dark Continent is an island to the west of the Demon Continent, and is large enough so that you can''t miss it, as long as you go anywhere remotely east. The issue will only be to find a populated place from where they can point me to the capital city, then.


    "I am bad with directions, so I do not." The golden girl states as if it''s the most natural thing; there''s not a hint of shame at admitting this. I feel like bopping her over the head, but this isn''t the time for stuff that. What should I do now? Maybe fly up until I can see the outlines of the continents again?


    Oh right, judging by the map in my mind, this should be about as close to the empire as the Khurut Sultanate. In other words, there''s one other possibility that I could try out.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Senka!" I''ve had quite a bit of training in speaking with the mind recently, so I somewhat know how to put my thoughts into trying to contact the stitched girl.


    "Makoto?" Senka''s voice immediately responds, as if she has been waiting for me. I can''t help but imagine a mini version of her sitting in her mind and waiting next to the figurative telephone which I just rang. It would make me chuckle, if not for her words that follow. "They''re attacking the demon castle! Asoko is there right now! Where are you?"


    "I''m on the Dark Continent. I have no idea which way the Demon Continent is." I quickly and concisely explain my situation.


    "How did you-... nevermind. Here, let me help you." She appears before me and immediately spots Aurelia. "She''s still alive? Didn''t you go to space?"


    "Yes, I even ended up on the moon. And Aurelia''s kinda immortal, too." Now that she''s in front of me, I feel compelled to actually speak out loud, since it''s a strange feeling to talk to someone''s face with one''s mouth closed. At my words, the golden girl stares at me questioningly, but I don''t have time to explain it to her what''s going on right now.


    "On the mo-" Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Senka sighs. "Anyway, you have to hurry. Kamii is at the castle, too."


    "Kamii?" So that''s where she has been teleported to. Then there was no need for me to go to the academy back then... There''s no point to cry over spilled milk, what''s done has been done, I need to do my best to stop the next tragedy from occurring. "Come here, Aurelia." I wave her over and she looks at me with a skeptical expression. Yes, she has reason enough to be alarmed, considering what I''m planning on doing, but she still does as she''s told. Good girl.


    Without warning I pull her inside my body. The instant she vanishes inside me, I spread Hestia''s wings and take off into the sky with the aid of a wind spell. I quickly gain altitude, so that I have enough room to take on a more efficient form for fast travel. Looking at the massive cloud being, which is slowly distancing itself from us, I keep it within my field of vision just in case it decides to become hostile.


    "Just follow my directions." Senka says and turns away from me. After a moment of contemplation, she points somewhere around two o''clock in front of me. Not wasting any time, I cover every inch of my body in dragon armor plates, angle my wings and turn my entire shape aerodynamic, before silently activating the incredibly strong burst of air under the funnel-like skirt I create, causing me to leap forward at an incredible speed.


    Only moments later, I feel a shockwave run through my body, and as if heavy shackles have been taken off of me, I gain another burst of speed. Was that the sound barrier? Then it''s finally time...


    Megasonic Chaos Warhead, sortieing!


    Within what must be mere minutes, I see the ocean under me. This is incredible! I''m sure I can go even faster, but for that I''d need to learn a stronger wind spell with similar properties to the one I''m using to propel myself right now. If only I understood the principles of combustion engines, I''d be able to even go to space and come back - now that I know how to cast magic without speaking.


    Not long after I already see a landmass approaching in the distance. A dark cloud is looming over it in its entirety, as if to reflect the dark machinations that are in progress over there. I just hope I''ll be in time, even though I have to wonder whether maou-mama even needs my help or she can just defeat the sorcerers on her own.


    Senka is floating in front of me and correcting my course from time to time, like a humanoid navigation system. Since she isn''t physically here, she doesn''t need to angle her body to match my flight or something like that. Like a three-dimensional heads-up display figure, she is standing on nothing and pointing forward.


    "I''ll be there soon." I say in my mind; I removed all my facial features and covered it in armor plates to become more aerodynamic, after all. "Can you tell me what''s going on there?"


    "The humans have appeared in the middle of the capital and are slaughtering every demon they can get their hands on. A barrier has been erected around the castle so nobody can enter or exit right now." Senka explains. "I don''t have all the information, only what Asoko can see."


    "Can you patch me through to her?" I''m assuming her mental powers work like Juzuals.


    "I can''t do that. All I can do is talk to people I''m connected with, but they can''t communicate through me." The stitched girl responds, a hint of annoyance on her face. It''s the usual Senka and I smile in my mind - since I can''t do so physically right now.


    "Where''s my mother?"


    "She''s being confined inside the barrier, too. No matter what she tries, she can''t break through it. It must be the work of a god."


    That''s their plan? Slaughter all of demonkind while sealing maou-mama inside a barrier in her own castle forever? But that doesn''t sound like what the sorcerers have planned for her, considering she disrespected them so deeply. I''m sure this is just another part of their scheme to bring her down. I mean, they could launch her into space like the principal did with me, but then they would neither have confirmation of her death nor the satisfaction of delivering the final blow. This must be a setup for something grander.


    "Tell Asoko to be care-"


    The instant I reach the shore of the Demon Continent, I feel a powerful blow run through my entire body and I tumble through the sky, losing control of myself. All my muscles contract violently and painfully, and my eyes seem to have gone blind as all I can see is whiteness. In fact, I can''t even seem to transform to take a more defensive shape in the knowledge that I''m about to crash. A moment later, I impact a dune on the beach and feel pieces of my body breaking off, before I skip across the sand like on the surface of water.


    After several more skips and tumbles, I finally come to a stop with my face down in the grassy plains beyond the beach. The paralysis slowly wears off, and I begin to transform, taking on a humanoid shape while lifting myself off the ground sluggishly. My funnel skirt and wings have been torn off completely and must have been scattered across the area. Luckily I have the habit to concentrate all my mass in my core, so the broken exterior was practically just a shell; I learned from the first time I was teleported to the Dark Continent, where I lost half my mass because all of it was evenly distributed throughout my body.


    I have no idea what hit me, but it was strong enough to stop a Crawling Chaos'' transformation abilities temporarily. Don''t tell me the gods put a barrier around the entire Demon Continent?


    "What happened, Makoto?! Are you alright?" Senka shouts at me in worry, as the muscles in my arms and legs are still shaky from the initial hit and the high velocity impact with the ground. Shifting their mass inside and exchanging them with fresh ones, I quickly regain full control over my body. Opening and closing my hand, I ascertain myself of the fact that the shaking has stopped.


    "Something hit me." I speak in my mind and look around silently. I''m alone on the plains and there''s nobody in the vicinity who could have been the origin of this attack. I look at my hand once again and notice static electricity rising up from my fingertips and towards the sky. Oh shi-


    A lightning bolt hits me and the same powerful blow as before runs through my body, causing every single muscle to contract. Once again, I''m blinded by the electric current and lose sight of Senka and my surroundings. Dropping to the ground, I can smell burnt flesh and realize that my human form must have been scorched by the lightning - it didn''t happen before because I was covered in dragon armor plates, which are resistant to fire. I regain control over my body again pretty quickly, but I stay on the ground unmoving, my eyes unblinking, and play dead.


    The fact that lightning hit me twice in a matter of less than a minute makes it clear that this isn''t a natural occurrence. In other words, I''m under attack by an unseen assailant. Making them think that I''m dead will lower their guard and cause them to come out of hiding to confirm the kill - or so I hope.


    Thus, I lie there unmoving for what feels like an eternity, all my senses trained on my surroundings. Just in case, I''m slowly and carefully burrowing my core into the ground, ready to detach it and leave behind a decoy above ground. That case being that my assailant has a stronger and more destructive power at their disposal - in other words, that the attacker is one of the sorcerers.


    The thunderclouds above me cackle with lightning and a single bolt flashes across the clouds. As it fades away, a lone figure is floating in midair, wearing a white leather mantle that seems anachronistically modern for the setting of this world. Long silver hair frame his well-shaped face, in which two arrogant violet eyes glint as they look past his sharp but straight nose, right down on me. He slowly descends and comes to a stop right above me.


    From Juzuals descriptions, I know exactly who this is. Judging by his appearance and the natural arrogance, he can''t be anyone else but Zenlith, Lord of the Sky. According to the witch, he is arguably the most powerful one among the already godlike sorcerers. In other words, the final boss.


    What is with this rapid development?!

 Chapter A6 - Demon Holocaust

    Asoko Side


    Maou-mama screams in rage, as she is forced to watch while the human army is killing the innocent citizens of the capital. There is a barrier surrounding the demon castle, and it''s strong enough to withstand anything we throw at it. She can''t use space magic to teleport herself out, either. In other words, we can''t do anything to help them down there.


    "You cowards, let me out and fight with me!" She roars at the hole she blew into the side of the castle in her impotent wrath, bashing her hands against the translucent force field just outside it with all her might. However, no matter what she tries, it shows no signs of cracking open, and the people surrounding the castle do not seem to take notice of her struggle at all. Sound is most likely being blocked as well.


    I know that some of the maids have their families down there, and I see their desperate attempts to break through the barrier alongside maou-mama. However, considering even the demon queen''s power isn''t enough to do so, they obviously can''t put a dent in it either. I can''t think of any way to get out of here either, and can only watch as the human soldiers walk through the city, killing demons and burning down houses.


    Kamii is holding onto the hem of my shirt and watches alongside me, scorching the sight into her mind with wide open eyes. I can see that she''s trembling, but instead of fear, it seems to be caused by anger. Yes, I''d wager that anyone in their right mind watching this one-sided slaughter would feel that - or at least realize that the humans'' actions are wrong.


    Rolan Side


    This is wrong. This is not how it is supposed to go.


    I stand in the ash-laden streets of the capital of the Demon Continent, watching as the elite soldiers of the Empire of Terminus slaughter every demon they come across. On the ground before me lies a young girl with red skin and a single horn protruding from her forehead, a stuffed doll just outside of her slack hand''s reach. Her lifeless eyes seem to be staring at me, their empty gaze a silent reproach of my inaction that allowed such a young soul to perish.


    This is not what I was fighting for.


    Mustering all my willpower, I look away from the all too young and innocent corpse before me and turn to see a soldier of the empire breaking down the door to a home. From within emerges a high-pitched scream and I immediately run towards it. Inside, the soldier is just in the process of pulling out his axe from the chest of a man with gray skin and silver white hair. With her back against a large wardrobe, a similarly gray-skinned woman seems to be backed into a corner. In her desperate eyes I see the hint of something familiar. Lifting his axe, the soldier prepares to swing it down on the demon''s head.


    "Sto-" I rush forward and try to shout, but the magically enhanced armor of the soldier allows him to move faster than normal. My eyes are fixated on the red bloom before me, as the innocent woman''s blood is spilled. The lifeless body falls to the floor, never to rise again.


    "Mama!" A young boy emerges from his hiding place inside the large wardrobe, which his felled mother tried to shield with her body before being so mercilessly cut down. The soldier reacts quickly and turns to swiftly behead him, but this time I am faster. Drawing the Ajura clan''s treasure sword Roshanee, my strength and speed are enhanced to their limits, causing me to practically zoom between the boy and the weapon coming down on him.


    I cut off the axe''s head, but hold myself back from letting the sword run rampant on the soldier. Kicking him in the chest, I get some distance between us, and quickly sheathe the blade again. The man looks at the handle he is holding with what must be a dumbfounded expression - he is wearing a close helmet so I cannot see his face. The axe was one of the enchanted, and most likely very high quality weapons of the empire, and my blade cut through it as if it was made of cheap wood.


    "What are you doing?" The man asks and drops the handle to draw his sword.


    "No, what are you doing?!" I shout at him and cover the demon boy. "Can''t you see that these are innocent citizens?" Through the visor of his helmet I can see that he stares at me in incomprehension with his eyes wide open.


    "Innocent citizens? Those are demons." He states, showing that he feels neither remorse nor apprehension at killing a child, solely based on the fact that this is not a human. Drawing his sword fully, he moves forward with the intent to kill this little boy. "Step out of the way. If we don''t kill it now, it''ll come back with a revenge."


    I realize that he speaks with a hint of fear in his voice, and his eyes look slightly frantic. It would appear that the fear of demons has been deeply ingrained into the minds of the people from the empire, considering the fact that they are the ones who periodically send campaigns against the demon continent and were historically those to sustain the most losses in the resulting wars. He must have lost family or friends in the last campaign.


    Still, it does not excuse the slaughter of civilians who are clearly not fighting back.


    Gram Side


    I''d say that my hatred for demons and their corruption has pretty much smoldered out over the years. Ever since coming to the Demon Continent, I''ve learned that they''re not much different from humans in their personalities, habits and daily activities, even if their appearances are. One would think that the Ajura clan''s warlike nature can''t be found among humans, but there are mercenary groups just like them. The only difference would be their overwhelmingly more powerful physique and otherworldly strength.


    But the same can''t be said about the men from the Empire of Terminus. Their hatred burns bright, indoctrinated into them by their education, based on experiences with corrupted beasts, many lost campaigns and repeated skirmishes on the sea and their shores. They''re swinging their weapons with an ardent fervor, believing righteousness to be on their side. Yet, when I see their targets, I can''t help but feel horrified.


    They are slaughtering civilians who are barely fighting back, if at all. Young and old lie dead in the streets, their differently colored blood mixing into a black sludge washing around my boots, as I''m rooted to the spot at the sight. The soldiers are neither filled with joy nor coldly methodical, but rather appear to be fearfully careful in their conduct, as they systematically move through the city streets and round up the demons from inside their houses, killing those who show even remote signs of defiance. The mages are walking behind them, setting fire to the emptied houses in case there are some remaining hidden.


    I''m confused. I swore to protect the innocent from the violence of corrupted beasts and evil demons. But before me, innocent demons are being killed by humans who are the origin of one-sided violence. What use is my shield, if I can''t make good of my conviction to use it for those who are unable to protect themselves? I can''t stand against my kind to shield the demons, but at the same time I can''t just watch idly while the innocent suffer.


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    "This is wrong..." I hear myself mutter, my voice sounding strangely distant.


    Runa and Sigurd are speechless, watching as humans spread dread among demonkind in a seemingly twisted act of self-justified revenge. Rolan has already sprung to action and is following the scream of a woman, and I feel compelled to follow him, even if only to see what decision he will come to now. Will we try and protect these innocent demons, knowing full well that they may bring disaster upon mankind if they survive? Or will we avert our eyes from this reality, concentrating on the task we are here for.


    I look up to the castle and see the demon queen standing at a broken wall, banging her hands against the barrier the gods erected. No sounds are transmitted, but her desperation and anger are clearly visible from her movements and features. This is the appearance of a ruler who cares for her subjects'' lives - it''s something I thought was a purely human emotion before meeting Chloe and Chandra.


    I can''t help but think that this massacre in the presence of the demon queen is a show the gods are putting on simply to spite her and break her will. If that''s the case, I can''t in clear conscience call these the gods I prayed to for all my life.


    Thorvadis Side


    I had to accept the emperor''s condition to give his soldiers free reign during our preparations around the castle. It does not mean that I agree with their actions; in fact, I condemn them, because it is clear that the city has no garrison to speak of and those who live here are only civilians. After all, the demon queen and her combat servants are looming over the city, so nobody would be so audacious as to attack it directly. However, the barrier cast by the gods is holding firmly, showing no signs of breaking even under the heavy blows and spells cast by the demon queen, effectively locking her out from helping her people, as they are being slaughtered before her eyes.


    The only thing I can do is hasten our preparations so that the soldiers need to be pulled back sooner. When I think back to the academy and the demons attending it, my mind wanders from the task. While it is true that most demons living in the human territories are those who no longer have a place on the Demon Continent or have fled from the demon queen''s reign, it is still possible that their family and loved ones they left behind are among those who are now being killed.


    However, the ritual we are preparing will take some time, even with the help of the Guide of Tomorrow and the Mage of the Beginning. They neither chant nor use visible catalysts for their magic, making it clear that their powers are far beyond human comprehension. After all, they are gods, and the ones who created magic. Of course, they would possess the most original and pure form of it, which we could never hope to replicate.


    I realize that my awe for their presence is superseding the feeling of apprehension regarding the killing of the demons in the city all around us. But as a human who has experience with some of the most dangerous demons, sympathy and especially hesitation when facing an unknown - and unknowable - being has always been the cause of needless deaths of my brothers and sisters in arms. When I have to choose between the lives of my kind and theirs, the answer is self-evident.


    Runa Side


    The smell of blood and death tortures my nose as I am watching the slaughter unfold before me, speechless at the atrocities man can commit. Even though they are demons, none of them are fighting back, only trying to flee or protect their families as the onslaught of soldiers from the empire rolls through the streets like an unstoppable tidal wave. Elderly, women and children alike lie dead on the ground and houses are burned down one after another, as if the empire is trying to erase the fact that this city ever existed.


    Where are the demon soldiers? Why is nobody fighting back? I thought all demons were physically stronger than humans, and even the women possessed greater strength than any human male. Yet, those who do try to fight back out of sheer desperation are cut down mercilessly without offering much resistance. I fully expected it to be a difficult battle, but even with the enchanted equipment this is nothing but a one-sided massacre.


    "This is wrong..." Gram mutters beside me. The big man is doubting the righteousness in this campaign, and so am I. Rolan runs into a house from which a high-pitched shriek has emerged after a soldier broke down the door. My feet move on their own before I notice and I follow him, running through the pools of blood that are beginning to form in the streets.


    Inside, I see just in time how Rolan stands before a young boy with gray skin, shielding him from the soldier wielding a sword. Witnessing his actions I gain conviction that what the soldiers are doing is wrong. No matter what the history between the Empire of Terminus and demonkind is like, these are civilians that are unable to fight back. This is no different from what I heard the demon armies supposedly did throughout the ages when they invaded human territories. Yet, I always thought we are better than them.


    "Breath of Frost." I quickly chant and point my staff at the soldier''s back. In my time at the academy, the one thing I spent the most time on was to optimize my incantations. The original spells I invented, which are oftentimes more powerful versions of already existing ones, always took too long to take effect, after all.


    An icy wind sweeps through the room and swirls around the man''s legs, freezing them in place so that he cannot move forward to attack Rolan and the boy. Since I am not causing any damage to the armor, the anti-magic enchantment does not nullify the spell''s effects. The soldier tries to lift his leg and take a step, but is unable to do so. Turning his head, he looks at me through his visor and I see his eyes fill with anger.


    "What''s wrong with you?! Why are you saving a demon?!" He swings his sword but is unable to reach Rolan, who has lifted the boy into his arms and is rounding him with a wide margin. "Let me out of here! Hey, come back!"


    We exit the house together and walk towards Gram and Sigurd, who are coming towards us after hearing the commotion inside. I know that saving this one boy cannot atone for our inaction so far, but we will move to save even more people before the battle against the demon queen starts. After all, we are not here to exterminate all of demonkind, but only to bring down its queen and stop her overwhelming corrupting presence across the world.


    "What is your name?" I turn to the boy and ask him. He is shivering and clinging onto Rolan''s chest, his sapphire blue eyes looking downward to avoid making contact with anyone''s. "I am Runa. Everything is alright now, you are safe with us." My voice is a little shaky at the sight; he is just a boy, no different from a human child. I could never imagine that he is one of the beings described as man-eating monsters.


    He turns his eyes towards me, hesitantly and retreating back into staring on the ground several times before finally gathering his courage. I understand that he just witnessed his parents being killed right in front of him, so he must be shaken to the core. All I can do for him now is try to take his mind off of that memory for the time being.


    "My-" Just when he opens his mouth, a light bolt pierces his forehead.


    "Wha-..." I open my mouth and stare in disbelief. The boy''s body slackens completely and Rolan catches him before he falls to the ground, but he is already dead.


    "I made it just in time, huh?" A familiar voice echoes through the streets and I turn around to it. Floating in the air above us is Shelnir, the Guide of Tomorrow, pointing her finger at us. It is clear that she shot the magic bolt. Her sleepy eyes and the nonchalant smile give her a sinister appearance, now more than ever before. "It would have cast a spell and hurt you."


    She is referring to the child as if it was an animal, her tone suggesting that he is a lesser being. I doubt this young boy - and anyone from his family - had any knowledge of magic, because he would not have ended up in a situation where he needed to be rescued.


    "We cannot have the hero become incapacitated before the true battle even starts, now can we?" Her smile widens even further and a shiver runs down my spine when I realize that her eyes remain cold, not a hint of friendliness in their red glow.


    Is this really a god?

 Chapter 65 - Lightning Before the Thunder

    With cold violet eyes, Zenlith peers down on me like I''m nothing more than a pebble in his otherwise perfectly smooth path. Without even lifting a hand or showing a hint of exertion, another lightning bolt comes down on me. Of course, I''m unable to react, because lightning is faster than a human''s reaction time. The electricity courses through my body and paralyzes me once again, but I can feel that its effect seems to be less potent with each consecutive hit I take. It must be my body learning to deal with the damage and automatically coming up with countermeasures. How convenient!


    But really, hitting an opponent who''s down on the ground. That''s not very sportsmanlike. I quickly burrow my core deeper into the ground and then suspend my decoy body from a tiny thread - as tiny as I can make it without completely losing control over the other part. This way, when he does attack again, I can just detach myself completely.


    Yet, no more attacks come. The self-proclaimed god floats down to the ground and disappears from my field of vision. I don''t want to risk exposing myself as being alive by moving my eyes to look at him, so I can only wait until he either shows himself again or leaves. And if he''s close enough, I can expand my body underground to swallow the entire area whole in one go, like a giant maw.


    "Is this all?" I hear Zenlith''s haughty voice reverberate throughout the area. Damn, I can''t pinpoint his location when he uses this theatric effect. I know he landed somewhere to my right, but if he''s outside my reach, I''d be exposing myself to him completely. Leaving aside not being able to swallow him in an instant, if I don''t take him by surprise, he''ll most likely use some kind of spell to burst out of me.


    In fact, I feel like I shouldn''t even try to swallow any of the sorcerers, since I''m sure they can invoke spells without the need of chanting, too. If I can''t stop their magic, I can''t take them inside my body, where I''m much more vulnerable than on the outside - or at least I think I am... However, what I can do is to crush them by encasing them with an outer part of my body covered in dragon armor. Juzual didn''t mention that dragons were created by that mage of the beginning or something, so their magic resistance should work to a certain extent against even the spells of those sorcerers. I can try it out here, at least.


    "I am disappointed. This is the extent of that traitor''s teachings?" There''s no scorn in his voice when he mocks Juzual. Well, I won''t get taunted by that, since she didn''t really teach me anything directly. "Keep playing dead like a good little puppy and I shall overlook your presence here." He appears in my field of vision as he steps in from the side, his eyes looking down on me without even a hint of concern for the chance that I might retaliate.


    And with this he''s within my area of effect. I expand my body explosively from underground and form a giant maw lined with dragon armor. I''ll crush him instantly without leaving him time to react.


    Zenlith doesn''t show any surprise when my body comes at him from all sides, and in the next instant he disappears in a lightning strike, which shoots through my body at the same time. The paralysis wears off almost immediately, but of course, he''s no longer within my reach. I react quickly by pulling myself completely underground, not even leaving a decoy on the surface. Now he won''t know where I am.


    "Futile." His echoing voice comes from everywhere and seems to vibrate through the very ground. In the next moment, that ground disappears and I''m surrounded by flying dirt and uprooted grass. Apparently I was lifted into the air alongside the earth I was in and am now floating helplessly towards the sky filled with black clouds.


    Helplessly? No, I can fly in various ways, after all. I''ll refrain from using Hestia''s template, because the feathered wings make me feel that I''d be pretty vulnerable to lightning strikes. Everybody knows, flying P¡ñkemon are weak to electric attacks. Instead, I turn into a variant of the Chaos Warhead, where I can retain a certain level of mobility. Creating funnels under my feet, in my palms and on my back, and covering myself with dragon armor plates, I practically clad myself in a kind of organic-looking version of a certain billionaire''s armored suit. Since I don''t need to chant anymore, I can create individual bursts of air in those smaller funnels for better maneuvering.


    I immediately dodge to the side, knowing that another attack is going to happen right then - I had no basis for that, only instinct. But that''s not how lightning works, as it strikes me again. Electric currents seek the closest and most conductive target, and in midair that would only be me. Still, the effect is almost completely repelled by the anti-magic carapace. I have to say, it''s really the most useful template I''ve gotten so far. Hm... I think I might have said that about the Vularen one before sometime, but now it''s the dragon''s.


    Shrugging off the slightly prickly feeling in my body, I stay afloat and look around myself. The flying dirt has been cleared away by my burst of air, but there''s no sign of Zenlith. Don''t tell me he can turn his body into lightning? I don''t have any sea stones at hand to counteract that, you know? I mean, leaving aside the fact that I can''t even react to a lightning strike, since I very obviously still have only a human''s mental capacity - aside from certain things such as being able to work with a body that defies all laws of physics - there''s no way to stop electricity.


    Another lightning bolt runs through me, but this time the effect is already so diminished that I don''t really feel bothered by it anymore. If this is the extent of Zenlith''s power, then I feel like I won''t have to be afraid of any of these self-proclaimed gods.


    "Is this all?" I repay him his earlier mockery and spread my arms in a challenging gesture.


    Lightning flashes and my target appears before me, his violet eyes devoid of any emotions. I guess my taunt didn''t do much, even though Juzual made it seem like Zenlith is the arrogant type who won''t let any perceived insult stand unchallenged.


    "Do not get ahead of yourself, mongrel." Huh, I''m having the strangest kind of d¨¦j¨¤ vu right now. But before I can try to remember where I heard this phrase before, the man in white lifts a hand towards me in an almost lazy motion. In the next instant, something presses down on me from above and I''m pushed towards the ground at the speed of freefall. I impact the ground, but because I was able to harden my body, I''m not splattered this time.


    Still, I don''t see anything on top of me, but it feels like a huge hand is holding me down. I''m on both of my feet, but I can see where this is going; he''s trying to make me kneel with this invisible force, and prostrate before him. Typical of his kind of people, they will toy with those they perceive as their inferiors. Reminds me of how my battle against Aurelia went.


    Speaking of Aurelia, I think I should take her out of my body and let her help me fight this guy. I mean, I did kinda persuade her to help me by making her realize that these self-proclaimed gods toyed around with her and her people for all her life. Well, me and Juzual did together. But first...


    I increase my density by pouring almost all of the mass from my non-physical inside out into my physical body, just like that time when I fought against Dregana in my human form. It increases my physical strength manifold and I can withstand the pressure coming down on me. Slowly straightening my back, I make my stand and look up at Zenlith, whose expression simply doesn''t want to change. I''ll wipe that poker face away!


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    Turning my hand into a dragon head, I shoot out a plasma breath and swing it around like a sword. It cuts through the ground and then the air, but misses the intended target by quite a margin. Umm... huh?


    Zenlith''s expression finally changes, but I don''t like that it''s because he''s surprised at the fact that my completely telegraphed attack didn''t even come close to hitting him; he didn''t even need to dodge. Then he begins to laugh, his voice resounding through the area even though he is right in front of me.


    "Was that an attempt to amuse me? If it was, you succeeded." His smile is one of mockery, and it really irks me. Also, this reminds me of Aurelia again, and I think this is the time to take her out from inside me, seeing as we''re not in the middle of an exchange of blows.


    I reach inside myself and pull the golden girl out by her hand. She manages to stay on her feet right after coming out, but it seems that my supersonic travels and tumble across the dunes did a number on her. I still don''t really understand how my insides work and in what way they''re affected by the outside, but I can tell from this that certain extreme movements will be transferred. Since she''s golden, her face doesn''t show whether she''s feeling sick or not, but she doesn''t move for a moment, her eyes focusing on the ground as if to stabilize herself.


    "... what did you do?" She turns to ask me, but sees that I''m in combat mode, looking similar to that time when I fought her.


    "We''re facing one of those self-proclaimed gods, the sorcerer named Zenlith." I point to the man in white, floating up above and looking down on Aurelia with an eyebrow raised. Then realization seems to dawn on him and the eyebrow falls back down to form a hint of a frown.


    "It would seem that you brought the failure." He comments, clearly referring to the golden girl. "What do you hope to achieve with her help?"


    "To bring you down from your high horse." I respond with a fearless grin. I''m sure he still hasn''t shown his true power yet, but so far, he''s not done anything that could seriously hurt me. Aside from high gravity, extreme cold and lack of pressure, now even lightning seems to have no effect on this body anymore. I think the only thing that could damage me would be explosions and high temperatures - since that''s what I gathered from that time with the fire magic instructor I swallowed but didn''t immediately dissolve.


    "Interesting." With this, Zenlith shifts his eyes to Aurelia, and lightning strikes her instantly. Since I stand so close to her, a slightly prickling feeling runs over my entire body, but it barely registers at this point.


    "Hm, do I have something on my face?" She asks with a frown, when I seem to have stared at her for too long. Apparently she didn''t even notice that she was hit with a high voltage electric blast just now. I can''t help but laugh, and turn to look at the sorcerer who cast the spell with a mocking grin. However, he doesn''t look perturbed at finding that we''re both pretty much immune to his attacks. He still has that pressure thing, but it''s not very effective either.


    "Do you think you have me defeated because of this?" He doesn''t smile triumphantly or show anger, and instead just asks in a matter of fact tone. I simply can''t read how strong this guy is based on his reactions; as expected, it''s not as simple as in fiction, where the bad guys are always gloating when they think they have the upper hand, or show obvious fear when they know that they are at a disadvantage. Zenlith keeps up his poker face regardless of what happens - except for mocking laughter that one time when I missed the plasma breath... ugh...


    "Then show us what you got!" I taunt him once again. Next to me, Aurelia is putting her palm on the ground, turning dirt into gold, which she gathers into the shapes of various weapons. The fact that he lets it happen without a hint of worry means that he doesn''t see it as a potential threat. In other words, physical attacks don''t work on him or what? Well, if he can really turn into lightning, there''s no way we could ever hurt him.


    "Be careful not to choke on your self-confidence, girl." Zenlith states with a dangerous undertone and lifts a hand towards me. In the next moment I feel my throat closing up, to the point where I can''t draw breath anymore. What''s this? Is he using telekinesis or something?


    Not that it''s effective against someone who doesn''t need oxygen to survive. I mean, I was in space for more than a month, and didn''t choke there. Massaging my neck, I notice that it''s being crushed by something invisible. Still, with this convenient body of mine, it doesn''t impact me at all. Shrugging, I silently conjure up an array of spirit spears above me.


    Zenlith lifts an eyebrow at the fact that I''m not affected, and lowers his hand again, causing the constricting pressure around my throat to disappear. I fling the spears at him, but he turns into lightning and flashes away in the blink of an eye. I have better aim with magic than with the plasma breath, since the former is based on thoughts and the latter requires actual dexterity and aim. Still, if he can even dodge these spirit spears, I won''t be able to hit him with anything.


    I don''t see the point in Aurelia creating weapons, since her attacks are actually slower than those. Maybe they can act as a lightning rod and cause him to dissipate into the ground or something? That''d be the lamest end to someone who seems like the last boss in this world. I doubt that''s going to work, since he wouldn''t have been able to make it to the point where people could consider him a god otherwise.


    Is it just me or is this battle actually really casual right now? I don''t feel tense at all, unlike when I was up against Aurelia or those times at the academy. Maybe that''s how people who can''t hurt each other behave when they fight?


    "Am I to assume that your mother has the same abilities as you do?" Zenlith flashes into existence right before me, eyeing me with something akin to a collector''s interest. The suddenness of his appearance takes me aback and I almost stumble and fall onto my bottoms. "Then I may have to concentrate on her fully when the time comes." Huh, what''s that supposed to mean? Is he actually that arrogant, to think that he can just half-ass it against maou-mama? Wasn''t he mortally wounded by her before?


    I swing my fist, powered with a burst of air at the elbow - I''ll call this move lovingly "Rocket Punch"! This time, instead of completely flashing out of the way, my fist goes through his face, which creates electric sparks that cling to my skin like a spider web. The electricity runs through my entire body, but it doesn''t have any effect. I''m sure if I was a normal human being, I''d have been electrocuted as if I had grabbed at lightning itself, and my heart would have stopped.


    "I shall make you this offer only once, so be careful how you decide." He starts, ignoring my attack from just now. What''s this, he wants to talk? After he attacked me first and struck me down with lightning? "Join us."


    That wasn''t unexpected. Is he actually making this offer because he has no means of killing me on and tries to talk his way out of things? I mean, I don''t have any means of harming him either, but maybe he doesn''t know.


    This is an opportunity though; I can join the sorcerers and destroy them from the inside. I know there''s at least one of them whose very nature is my bane, and with my powers right now it''d be quite risky to engage that one. I could try to catch them off guard and kill them one after another, though. In either case, this offer is quite enticing, but I will have to attach a condition that will give me more time to prepare.


    I exchange a glance with Aurelia, hoping that she grasps my intentions. Her golden eyes appear to show understanding, though I don''t know whether that''s true or just my wishful thinking.


    "If you cease your attack on Demon Queen Pelomyx, I shall join you. After all, you cannot expect me to fight my own mother." I respond to Zenlith''s offer and look him in the eyes with an unwavering gaze. He should think that the only reason I''m opposing him is because he''s attacking my mother, so it''s quite reasonable. I mean, it''s actually the sole reason for why I was in a rush earlier.


    "You are too late." With his frigid voice and cold violet eyes, he completely denies my hopes. Then his body dissipates, as if he was just an afterimage. Huh???


    Wait, what does he mean... too late?

 Chapter A7 - Castle Crashers

    Asoko Side


    The first mistake they made was to slaughter the demons right before maou-mama''s eyes. She was enraged for the longest time, but at one point her anger seems to have passed a threshold and caused it to loop back into stillness. No longer banging on the translucent barrier, her eyes are fixated on the occurrences below, taking everything in without blinking even once. It means that her revenge will be so much more devastating.


    The maids around her have all stepped back respectfully, fear gripping their very beings at her silently seething rage. Only Rewera is standing beside the demon queen, never wavering from her position as the head maid. Even Kamii, who traveled with her for a few days and learned how kind she can be is hiding behind me, shivering.


    The second mistake happened just now, and was to send a group of people into the castle through the transportation network. Apparently the shield has a one-way mechanism, which allows things to enter, but stops all from leaving. Whoever came through was practically and inexplicably sent to their death.


    Xaggavea, who''s actually only nine years old - that''s demons for you - is the chief of interior intelligence, and she relays that information to us. She has a giant invisible web spun throughout the castle, which she can access from certain hidden places, such as behind large vases or on certain corners of the corridors. From there, she can keep tabs on every movement within these walls. Maou-mama immediately orders a full mobilization there with all the present maids in tow.


    Senka did tell me that my other half is on the way, so when she arrives, all hell will break loose. At that time, I''m sure she''ll find a way to disable the barrier and then we''ll get revenge for all the demon lives taken by the humans.


    When did I start thinking of myself as being apart from humans, I wonder? Maybe when I understood that I''m fundamentally different from them now, but also when I realized that I can be better in many ways - including physically and morally. I mean, I''ve seen enough news in my previous life to know that humans can be cruel towards their own kind. It''s obvious that a perceived common enemy like demonkind won''t be able to expect any mercy. But since I am no longer human, I can say with conviction that when the time comes, I will show them no mercy either.


    "The intruders spread out in the castle." Xaggavea informs us as we walk down a flight of stairs on our way towards the transportation circle room. "There is a group of more than six people, one group of three and another of two." But it seems that her perception isn''t perfect and she can''t tell the exact number when it surpasses a certain amount.


    "Rewera, head for the three. Xaggavea, you guide Chaos towards the largest group. I will head for the two." Her expression leaves no room for any arguments. I''m wondering why she''s aiming for the smallest number herself and even splitting off the head maid. But her voice makes it clear that this is an order, not a suggestion. Well, of course she''s not going alone, as two combat maids follow her in the direction of the throne room, where the two intruders are apparently heading towards. Rewera is bringing four maids herself, while I''m going with Kamii and the rest.


    Now that I think about it, maybe maou-mama knows who those two are, and is going to kill them personally. In other words, they may be the strongest among all the intruders. Rewera, who must be exceptionally strong herself, was sent to defeat the three, who should be the seconds strongest group. And those who stick together in a larger number must be the weakest. In other words, I''m the weakest among our three teams...


    Well, I''m not too confident in my powers in a direct confrontation, since I don''t have as many templates as my other half does. Furthermore, she has much more combat experience than I do, courtesy of not being caught and locked up deep underground before seeing any real battles. But I think working with my mass should be fairly simple, so in a physical confrontation, I should be able to overpower any human.


    "They have entered the infirmary." Xaggavea announces and points forward; just around the next corner is where it''s located. I signal for the group to stop and peer around the corner. The first thing I see is Ruwl lying on the ground in front of the door, unmoving. She is turned toward us, tears in her open and lifeless eyes, and a trickle of red blood flowing from her lips.


    At the sight, my mind goes blank.


    Runa Side


    We entered the demon castle and split up from the others to find Kamii, who Rolan and the others said should be somewhere in the castle. But along the way, a door suddenly opened and a demon emerged. The soldiers who are with us immediately cut her down, and only after the fact did we find that she is dressed like a simple nurse. Once again, an innocent civilian has been killed right before our eyes, and I can see the grief in Rolan''s eyes.


    However, this chance encounter allowed us to find someone we never expected to see here; Mistress Ninlil, who went missing the same night in which Chloe attacked the academy, not long after the battle took place, is sitting on a bed in the room from which the nurse came out of, which seems to be an infirmary. Her eyes are empty and no matter what I say to her, she does not regain consciousness. I cannot explain how she ended up in the castle of the demon queen, but it must have been a traumatic experience that robbed her of her mind.


    "Leave it to me and Lady Crux" The person who says this with a rasping voice is Master Laiota. I had heard that he was gravely injured by Chloe during her attack, and that his voice will never recover. "Please keep watch over the door while we perform the ritual." Similar to that time when they probed Kamii''s mind for any corruption, they will combine their powers to restore Mistress Ninlil''s mind.


    The four elite soldiers who joined us in our infiltration mission stand with their swords and tower shields towards the door, in case someone enters the room. Gram is right behind them, although he would have preferred to be in front. Sigurd nocks a crossbow bolt and takes aim, but I can see that his mind is wandering. I turn to Rolan and find that the same is true for him; he is still shaken from the ruthlessness of the Guide of Tomorrow, Shelnir.


    It seems to have hit Rolan much harder than anyone else, since he had just saved the boy and was carrying him in his very arms. But at the same time I think we all share the same doubts in the righteousness of these gods, even if we know that bringing down the demon queen is unquestionably right. Ultimately, we have no power to sway them or the men from the Empire of Terminus, who have a deeply seated hatred for the demons, to show mercy for at least the civilians. In their eyes, every single demon is dangerous and should be killed.


    "What are you thinking?" I ask him, knowing full well what plagues his mind. My chest is constricting when I see my Rolan so conflicted; he should at least share his pain with me.


    "... are we doing the right thing here?" He asks, his features thoughtful and serious. If it is about killing demon civilians, then I can say with conviction that it is wrong, but if he means bringing down the demon queen, I cannot believe that he would question it. But what he says next surprises me. "The demon queen is the boon that grants life to all demons. Without her, they will wither and die."


    "What do you mean?" Did he hear about that from a demon? But the very fact that he doubts this entire operation goes to show that he has changed since coming to the Demon Continent. He has undoubtedly met many demons that are not only not as evil as they are always described to be, but also showed him kindness in his time of need. However, just by existing, the demon queen''s presence is causing corruption in this world, making people sick or go mad, create mutated beasts that attack humans, and curses unborn children with deformities. Therefore, whether it is right or wrong should not even be up for debate.


    "I''m seeing the limits of my ideal..." Rolan finally states, and I am completely taken aback.


    "W-what are you saying?" I cannot believe that he would question his conviction of saving the helpless and innocent, now of all times.


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    "I-" He begins.


    The sound of wood breaking interrupts him and all eyes turn to the only entrance to the room. In the remains of the heavy wooden door a familiar face appears. The only difference lies in the hair and eye color, but it is unmistakably the person who journeyed with us from Hovsgaerden to the capital. It is also the person nobody expected to see here, since she was supposed to have been banished to the heavens.


    "C-Chloe?" I mutter in disbelief.


    Asoko Side


    There are four soldiers with large shields and armor with runic inscriptions right behind the door, a large bald man with an even larger shield towering behind them, a surprised looking man with a crossbow aimed right at me, a girl with light blonde hair wielding a staff who looks like a mage standing beside someone who looks like a swordsman, and an unnaturally pale man and holy looking woman at the bed with Ninlil. I grasp all this the instant I break down the door with a kick behind which I put all my anger.


    Ruwl is dead.


    I will make them share her fate.


    "C-Chloe?" I hear the mage girl mutter and my eyes shift to her. So she knows my other half, huh? Must be someone from the magic academy. Doesn''t matter, all of the humans who are here are enemies.


    "Onee-sama!" Kamii, Xaggavea and the other maids catch up to me, but I gesture for them to stay away. I''m more than enough to deal with them, and I don''t want to risk any harm coming to them. Even if they are combat maids, it''s clear that none of them measure up to maou-mama or me in terms of power.


    "Kamii?" The big bald man seems to be surprised at seeing her. So this must be that group of humans whom my other half traveled with before entering the academy. I don''t care, they must have killed demons down there as well...


    Two of the soldiers immediately charge forward with their swords at the ready to stab or slash at me, while aiming to lead with a shield bash. Pouring all my mass into my exterior appearance, I increase my density to the maximum and plant my feet firmly, I take their assault head-on. As if running against a wall with full force, they stumble backwards and stare at me through the visors of their helmets, surprise in their eyes.


    Without giving them time to get back up, I step forward and deliver a devastating punch to the one on the right, directly to his helmet. With a crunching noise, I can hear his skull being crushed under the impact, as the helmet is dented like a thin tin can. The other soldier is able to block my second strike just in time, but he screams in pain as my heavy blow breaks the arm behind the shield. I guess the runic inscriptions are only for show, since they don''t seem to provide any defensive capabilities.


    One of the two soldiers who were standing in reserve charges forward with a yell - most likely to fire himself up in face of this overwhelming difference in power - but I expand my hand to gigantic proportions to grab his upper body. Pressing with all my might, I hear metal creaking and bones being ground to dust. Dropping his remains, I leave it on the floor; I won''t give them the honor to consume their bodies.


    "Stop it, missy!" The bald man with a mustache shouts as he stands between me and the others in the room. They know my other half, but I don''t care, as I''m not her. I''m my own person now, and I have no relationship with these people whatsoever. All I know is that they are responsible for the slaughter of innocent citizens down below, and killed Ruwl, who was not even a combat personnel. She was only a good-hearted nurse...


    And I don''t feel the need to tell them that I''m not who they think I am. I''ll let them die without understanding anything, just like how Ruwl must have died...


    I can feel the tears well up in my eyes, but suppress them. I will not show weakness before the enemy and give them the satisfaction of knowing that their actions hurt me, if even only on an emotional level.


    A sword stabs into my side and I look down at it almost casually. It neither hurts nor draws blood, as my body is practically immune to such physical attacks. The soldier whose arm I broke mustered his strength and used his good arm to make a final attempt to retaliate. I walk right towards him, causing the sword to bury deeper into me. He tries to pull it out but I hold onto it so that he can''t do so, purposefully showing him the inevitability of losing his weapon - or more, if he decides to try and hold onto it. Soon, it''s all the way inside me - including his arm, up to his elbow - since he refused to let go of his richly ornamented weapon. His eyes are wide open at the sight and he alternates his gaze between his arm and my face.


    Then he screams in pain as I crush his arm with the power of my convenient body, and sever it at the joint. Drawing back with both arms now useless, the soldier breathes hard and stares unbelieving at me, his despair and fear providing me with pleasure which I ignore; it is part of my nature, but I don''t want anything from them but their lives. From inside my palm I pull out the sword I took from him and stab it straight into the opening of his visor.


    My ruthlessness doesn''t surprise me at all. I can finally understand the motivations of those who would take other people''s lives in retaliation for having their loved ones hurt or killed. When my other half told me about the beginning of her battle at the academy, in which Hestia was mistreated by a teacher, I only thought that it was a dumb reason to start a fight to the death over. But when someone important to you is hurt by someone who isn''t, that difference will allow you to make such a choice.


    The last remaining soldier wordlessly charges at me from the side, but in that moment Nesis ignores my order for the maids to stay back and the hissing of her snake hair turns into an unbearable din for a moment. With an ear-piercing screech, she petrifies the soldier including his very armor. If I wasn''t so preoccupied with anger and sadness, I''d have wondered about the mechanics of her powers, considering the fact that apparently only one person was affected even while there were others looking at her.


    But it seems that her intervention was the signal for those who know me to finally take action. The man with the crossbow shoots a bolt right at me, but I let it sink into my body, completely negating its effect. The bald man immediately steps in front of him and places down his gigantic shield covered with runes, similar to the useless armor of the soldiers. The inscriptions look somewhat different, but I doubt they''ll have any noticeable effect against my strength.


    Whipping my arm around and forming my fist into a heavy ball, I let it crash against the shield. But to my surprise, I''m completely repelled and he barely even shakes from the impact. Well, it doesn''t matter, he''s just more steadfast than those soldiers, but that was obvious judging by his physical appearance.


    Then I will just hammer down on him until he gives way.


    Kamii Side


    Why are they here? They should still be at Chandra''s fortress. And why is Runa here? She should be at the academy. But Basarab is over there tending to Ninlil... and why is Ninlil here?


    I''m really confused, but all I know is that this is a bad situation. Onee-sama became really angry when she found the demon girl outside dead, so it must have been someone important to her. I remember the last time when an instructor hurt Hestia and me, she also exploded in rage and fought for our sake.


    However, this time it''s the companions whom we traveled with before, and whom I fought and trained alongside with for the past moon. I don''t want to see them fight to the death here.


    Onee-sama attacks Gram, but he completely blocks it with his massive shield. He has become even more steadfast ever since training with Chandra, and it''s clear that Onee-sama isn''t as strong as the demon queen. But I know that she doesn''t need to rely on such physical attacks; she can use devastating magic, which can''t be blocked by shields.


    "Onee-sama, stop!" I scream and grab her, before she can go in for the attack again. "I don''t want to see you kill each other!"


    "Kamii..." Gram peers over his shield and looks at me with compassionate eyes. I can''t believe that they would kill any demons after their experiences on the Demon Continent. It must have been the soldiers who killed the demon girl outside the room, not these guys.


    "Petrifying gaze, huh? That little shit is making some unnecessary creations." An unfamiliar voice speaks besides me and I turn my head in confusion. There shouldn''t be anyone else-


    The soldier who turned to stone is cracking. The armor breaks apart and from within emerges a boy, barely taller than Onee-sama. My first thought is that he''s blue. But unlike the Ajura''s skin, his is a pale blue, featuring sapphire eyes and dark blue hair. His purplish blue lips would have made me think that he is a frozen corpse, if it wasn''t curled downwards in displeasure.


    A wave of cold washes over me a moment later, and I see his body producing freezing mist that wafts to the floor like heavy smoke. I can immediately tell that he isn''t a human, but he also doesn''t seem to be a demon. My instincts scream at me to run away immediately, but I only grab onto Onee-sama''s arm with my quivering hand.


    "And who are you?" Onee-sama turns to him and asks without a hint of fear. She must have felt mine through my shaking, and is standing up against him in my stead. But I think it''s a bad idea to try and start a fight against him. He is clearly on a completely different level from even Chandra, most likely an existence similar to the demon queen, if not even above her.


    "I am Zylos." The boy introduces himself with a frigid demeanor. "They call me Winter''s Frost."

 Chapter A8 - Of Gods and Demons

    Asoko Side


    "I am Zylos. They call me Winter''s Frost." The blue-skinned boy states with a perpetually sullen expression.


    "Never heard of you." I simply respond and snap my free arm around at him. He dodges it nimbly and grabs my wrist after it has passed him. Searing pain runs through it as if it has been scorched by fire, but instead of burns, I see my skin turning purple at his touch. A moment later, my entire hand has become discolored and I''m unable to move my fingers, losing all feelings in it. Before it can spread any further, I detach my arm completely.


    Looking at the severed arm he''s holding, Zylos contemplates on what to do with it for a moment, before dropping it carelessly. It shatters on impact with the ground; apparently it was frozen from his grasp. Now I can understand why they would call him Winter''s Frost. What I don''t understand is how he wasn''t petrified by Nesis'' gaze; maybe it has some convoluted rules on its effects, but her usefulness as a medusa has dropped significantly by that display just now.


    I grow a new arm and curse the fact that I never gained the dragon''s template. Their anti-magic capabilities should be able to negate or at least lessen the effect of this guy''s powers, provided they are actually based on magic. It seems to me that it''s his nature, though I don''t know what exactly he is. But one thing is for certain: He''s not a human. And judging by the expressions of the others in the room, they weren''t aware of that fact, either.


    How am I going to fight him? I don''t know that much magic and I don''t have many templates. My strongest point, the weight and density of my body, coupled with the ability to expand and swallow my targets whole, has basically been negated by him. After all, if I eat him up, my whole body might get frozen solid faster than I can digest him.


    "And who are you?" Zylos asks me upon seeing my regenerative capabilities. Should I tell him? He might go all out if he knows that I''m the daughter of the demon queen. Right now he''s observing me and waiting for me to take action first.


    "You don''t need to know." I''ll go with that. After all, it doesn''t matter who or what he is, if he''s on the side of the humans, I''ll have to kill him, too.


    "Very well." With his constantly upturned eyes he states emotionlessly. "If you stand by the demon queen''s side, I do not need any other answer." It seems we had the same thought there.


    Without another word, I immediately produce a spike from my body and stab at his chest. It pierces his clothes, but I can tell that it didn''t go any deeper than that. Before he can grab onto it, I retract the spike and step back, pushing Kamii out of the room behind me. I don''t want her to be anywhere close to this; in the absence of my other half, I have to protect her from any harm.


    I extend my arm and pull out the sword I stabbed into the soldier''s visor earlier, before swinging it around in a whipping motion. I don''t have any training with a sword, but instead I improvise with my convenient body, utilizing its malleability to produce more strength than a normal swing would be able to. Well, I''m physically stronger than any human when I increase my density, so I can brute force a lot of things.


    The sword makes contact with Zylos'' shoulder, but once again, doesn''t cut deeper than through his clothes. I thought that maybe if it was a weapon made of steel, it would be able to achieve more than what I can produce with my body - which is limited to teeth, when going by the hardest organic material I have at my disposal. But the fact that he doesn''t even flinch from the impact shows that his body is practically impenetrable.


    "This is answer enough for me." He states while looking at the sword casually. The moment I feel the grip grow cold, I let go of it immediately. Apparently his coldness is conducted through any material at an incredible speed, even from as little contact as a blade''s edge. How do I beat something like that?


    Then, from the corner of my eyes, I spot Ninlil stirring on the bed, as the two conducting the magic ritual around her return to their senses. They completely missed all the action going on, but it seems they were doing something to return her consciousness, which I accidentally robbed her of by keeping her inside myself for a long time and subjecting her to some sweet torture. She looks around herself, before realizing where she is.


    Then she screams.


    Everybody is startled and turns towards it, but I already saw it coming; I use this opportunity to chant a spell I secretly learned from my other half.


    "Spirit Spear!" I shout and will it to fly right at Zylos, who hears it and immediately moves out of the way despite not even looking in my direction. The fact that he dodges it means that it''s capable of at least hurting him, so all I need to do now is to keep him in place for long enough so that I can hit him with one.


    The spear pierces through the floor and leaves behind a tennis ball sized hole in it. It seems that my output isn''t as strong as my other half''s, but it''s still strong enough to pierce solid stone. But really, it''s such a destructive spell, I don''t want to use it too much inside the castle, or else it''ll turn into a Swiss cheese before long. Rewera would chew me out for it, if not maou-mama herself.


    I wonder how she''s doing.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" The woman in white chants, and above her a massive spirit spear appears. Oi oi, don''t shoot that in here, it''ll destroy the castle!


    "Morkets Skold!" From behind me, I hear the voice of Nezera. A sphere of translucent purple darkness surrounds me, just in time to block the spirit spear that was launched at me. Both the light and darkness seemingly cancel each other out, but the spear wins, shattering the sphere and piercing through my chest. Well, I had enough time to create a hole for it to pass through me, and since it came from an angle, only a wall is behind me right now. The remaining spear pierces through it and disappears from sight.


    Before she can cast another spell, I''ll kill her first. Even though Zylos may be indestructible, if all he can do is freeze on touch, his destructiveness doesn''t even measure up to this woman''s. If she can get a spirit spear off at the wrong angle, it could have devastating consequences for the maids outside the infirmary.


    But just when I create a spike from my body and extend it through the room, the bald man with the shield steps between me and my target. Bone is weaker than steel, so my spike is blocked without even scratching his shield''s surface.


    "Ohnd-" I hear the woman chant again. Damn, I can''t-


    "Do not interfere." Zylos'' frigid voice interrupts her. Huh, he wants to fight me one-on-one? But he didn''t actually commence a battle with me so far.


    "But-"


    "Do not make me repeat myself." It feels as if the entire room''s temperature just dropped noticeably at his words and the emphasis he put in them, despite not really changing his tone. I can feel a shiver run down my back, and I''m sure everyone else present had the same sensation just now. This guy is really bad news...


    Lenoly Side


    The demon castle is under siege.


    I was in the deepest depths of the castle, enjoying a long bath after spending time with Asoko, when I heard a commotion outside. By the time I got out, dried myself up and got dressed, nobody was around and I had to wander through the hallways to find a maid to ask what''s going on. That''s when I passed a corridor with windows towards the outside, and saw that the capital is in flames and human soldiers are walking through the streets, chasing down my kin.


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    Why did nobody tell me about this? And where''s Asoko?


    Did she and the maids head out to suppress the enemy? I don''t see any signs of resistance from the demons below, so that can''t be the case. Unless... they already went out and were defeated? No, that''s impossible. I can''t ever imagine a Crawling Chaos losing to mere humans. Even that time when Onee-sama fought against the principal and many of the masters, she was only banished to the heavens, not killed.


    So maybe something prevented her and the maids from going out there? Then my first bet is to go to the audience hall, where the largest amount of people can gather. I''m sure they''re holding a war council or something like that there right now... I hope...


    As I round a corner, I run into somebody much taller than me and fall onto my bottoms. When I look up, my mind goes blank.


    "Hm? If it is not Miss Lenoly." Master Thorvadis is towering above me, flanked by an old man with an even larger and whiter beard than him, and a female soldier in a richly ornamented runic armor. "What a surprise to see you here. So this is where you disappeared to." His tone is friendly, but considering the situation, I can only feel terrified. What is he doing inside the demon castle?!


    This means that the soldiers in the city below are something like a distraction, and the enemy has already infiltrated the castle. Furthermore, the fact that Master Thorvadis is among them means that this is the alliance for bringing down the demon queen. But the demon queen is currently not here, so it must mean that they seek to occupy the city and lure her into a trap when she returns.


    I need to let Asoko know that they''re already inside here, but I won''t be able to run from the principal at all. He can lock me down with magic immediately, and under the circumstances, it wouldn''t be strange if he just killed me on the spot. I need to talk to him and buy some time somehow.


    "W-what are you doing here?" I can''t keep my voice from shaking, and such a direct question won''t serve as a good distraction. But the very fact that I can even talk given the position I''m in should be commendable; after all, I''m looking death in the face right now.


    "As you may be able to guess, we are here to bring down the demon queen." His demeanor is strangely open and easygoing despite the fact that he''s in enemy territory. Does this mean he''s so confident in his capabilities to defeat the demon queen?


    "She''s not here right now-" I start, but he smiles and interrupts me.


    "Oh, we know that she earlier returned today and is currently in this castle. Maybe you were not informed of it." He corrects me and speaks with conviction; it means that he has absolute knowledge, not just a hunch. "So, what are you doing here?"


    The demon queen returned today? Damn, Asoko knocked me out for such a long time this morning, I missed everything that was going on and now I''m in a bad spot. What should I do now? He doesn''t seem like he''s going to kill me, but considering the fact that he''s here to kill the demon queen, and I''m clearly aligned with her daughters, I can''t just say "alright, go ahead" and turn a blind eye to save myself.


    "I-I''ll have to stop you!" I muster all my courage and ignite my flames, knowing that I won''t be able to lay a finger on him even though I can cast certain fire spells without chanting, due to my nature as a Capra demon.


    "Allvar." The instant my body lights on fire, Master Thorvadis speaks this while pointing his crystal-encrusted wand at me almost casually. Just like that time when I came to Onee-sama''s help, I''m pulled to the ground as if my body has become incredibly heavy. The principal is among the few humans who have an alignment in space magic, but he''s the only one who mastered it, which is why he''s considered humanity''s greatest weapon. It''s not something I, a simple girl from a rural town in the depths of the Dominion could hope to stand up against. "What a shame. You were a promising student, but you have forfeit your own life with the side you have chosen."


    Suddenly the female soldier who has been keeping a distance behind Master Thorvadis is flung across the corridor and into a wall, the impact shattering rock and armor. Spinning around, he and the old man accompanying him behold the attacker. From my position, I can''t really see who it is, but the fact that he or she sent a heavy armored soldier flying like that means that it''s somebody who is physically very strong, to say the least.


    "Have no fear, for I have come." Around the corner steps Rewera, her dark red eyes glowing with an intense anger that doesn''t show on her facial expression. She towers above even the principal, who is already very tall, her gaze one of inspiring confidence.


    "Allvar!" However, the fact that she isn''t immediately attacking Master Thorvadis leaves him enough time to chant the same spell that has incapacitated me. The maid leader''s knees buckle and she appears to fall. Yet, in the last moment, she catches herself and straightens her body with some strain, as if shrugging off the effects of the spell with her strength alone. "Be careful, Lord Creator!" The principal gestures at the old man beside him and points his wand at Rewera like a dagger.


    "Leave her to me, you go on ahead." A rasping female voice speaks and I watch in horror as the soldier who was flung into a wall with such force that she was embedded in it stirs again. The runic armor melts off her body and from within emerges a naked woman with glowing hot skin like molten rock. Her hair is a blazing flame that puts those of my people to shame and her eyes are two orbs burning bright like the sun. When she opens her mouth, the intense glow inside her throat seems to suggest that her insides are even hotter than the outside.


    I can instinctually feel that this is an existence far above me. I have a certain level of immunity to fire, but I''m sure that she can burn me to ashes with a single touch, if she wills it so. The ground around her naked feet heat up with every step she takes forward, leaving behind footprints of melting stone. This person is like a living volcano, a force of nature that can destroy all life around it on a whim. I don''t think anyone could fight her, not even Asoko or Onee-sama.


    ??? Side


    "This is the place." A man in heavy robes with a bandaged face states in a muffled voice as he places a hand on a heavy two-winged metal door richly ornamented with a relief of various demons vying for a massive ruby let into its center. He is floating above the ground and has thus been going undetected by Xaggavea''s spider-web network. Turning to his companions, a woman wielding a sickle moon staff and a massive cloaked figure towering at almost twice her height, the man bows his head respectfully.


    "Are we really doing this?" The woman leans on her staff and looks up to the cloaked figure, who places a gloved hand on her head and pets her hair. She closes her eyes and enjoys it for a moment, before pouting and giving a reproachful gaze. "That''s not an answer, though."


    "I do not share everybody''s enthusiasm about this game, Shelnir. I only wish to make sure that nothing unforeseen happens. To that end, I do not mind if you condemn me for this." With a deep and ephemeral dark voice, he responds and places a hand on the giant ruby. It begins to glow and the wings of the door swing open slowly, revealing a dark circular hall with a single sky window, which casts a beam of light onto a lone empty throne.


    "I would never condemn you..." Shelnir mutters under her breath and looks at the cloaked man''s back with a longing expression, as he walks into the hall. However, he does not hear her response and continues on towards the throne with a clear objective in mind. Every single long-legged step is accompanied by the clacking of metal on stone, and along the way he takes off his glove to reveal a large skeletal hand.


    "Time to remove the uncertainty factor." His voice echoes within the hall and is amplified to a death-like hollow choir.


    "What may that factor be?" A woman''s voice resounds through the darkness of the hall and seems to come from everywhere at once. Stopping dead in his tracks, the giant man looks around slowly, but without a hint of anxiety or even fear.


    "Show yourself, Demon Queen Pelomyx." He speaks in a low tone, slightly menacing and said as if issuing an order.


    "Do you really want to see me? Very well." With a snicker, the darkness around them seems to come alive. "If you would be so kind, Mithra." That line is directed at the man in the heavy robes, who respectfully waited outside the hall. Shelnir and the giant man spin around towards him, clearly surprised at the fact that she appears to trust her former court mage turned traitor with doing something for her.


    "As you wish, my queen." Mithra responds in a tone that leaves no doubts in his true allegiance. In the next moment, the doors shut with a decisive bang.


    "So he was a spy for her all along..." Shelnir glowers in anger, as she bites her thumb, her beautiful face distorting from the ugliness of an uncontrolled expression for the first time.


    "Look at my face, you mighty, and despair." The darkness within the hall wavers and moves to gather in one spot beneath the beam of light from the sky window. The remotely humanoid form it takes on reveals an unholy existence so alien that it cannot be reconciled with the human mind. Tentacles for hair, arms and legs, a body with its dark purple and black skin shifting constantly to never retain a singlular shape for long, it is both repulsive and fascinating, mind-bending and enchanting.


    However, the most remarkable and horrifying fact is that Pelomyx'' face appears to censor itself in the minds of the beholders, and it is no different for these two. Nausea washes over Shelnir at the sight, but she cannot help but keep staring at it, suppressing the urge to scream in terror.


    "You seem to be fine." With an eyeless gaze, the demon queen turns her attention to the giant man, who takes off his other glove to reveal another skeletal hand. Lifting his hood up enough for the little illumination in the hall to fall onto his face, a gigantic skull comes to light. The eternal and empty grin stands in stark contrast to the two yellow orbs glowing in the hollow eye sockets, which give him a grim expression.


    "Death..." He speaks without needing to open his mouth. "... has no need to fear itself."

 Chapter A9 - Mighty Clashes

    Asoko Side


    Zylos is not only too sturdy for weapons and any attacks I can create with my body, but also immune to fire magic, since it just fizzles out the moment it touches his skin. Maybe his power is more akin to heat absorption, and he''ll shoot it all out as an energy blast again - like a certain Fourth Wave. But even if he doesn''t, I don''t think there''s anything I can do against him here.


    Ninlil looks like she''s calmed down again and is cradling her head while the pale man and woman in white talk to her. The adventurer party is looking on in awe as Zylos takes the magic I throw at him without even flinching. I''m reluctant to use spirit spears inside the castle, as it''s too destructive, and magic in general is very telegraphed, but I think it may be the only way to take him down, as physical attacks are out of the question.


    "Let''s change locations." I try to lure him to some more wide-open space, like the top of the battlements or even outside the castle. With more room I can more comfortably keep my distance from his freezing touch, although I doubt it''s the only thing he can do.


    "Very well, if you believe that you have a better chance there." His unchanging sullen expression is ticking me off, but he''s agreeing to it, so I won''t complain. I actually can''t believe that it worked, I thought that was just something that''s possible in fiction. "Lead the way." He gestures towards me.


    I pass by the maids, who make a corridor for me and Zylos to walk through. They look like they want to come with me, especially Xaggavea, but I''d rather not have them in harm''s way. Though I can''t find the right words to hold Kamii back, who walks alongside me as if it''s only natural. She still doesn''t know that I''m not her Onee-sama, but I don''t have the time to explain things to her now. If things go badly, I''ll take her inside my body, and if I should be completely destroyed, I doubt she''ll be safe either way...


    "Keep an eye on the humans, but don''t fight them." I order the maids, knowing that it''s asking much considering what they just witnessed happen in the city below. They swallow their anger and nod in affirmation. I don''t know how strong the adventurer party is, but I''m especially wary of that woman in white; I think she''s quite powerful, considering she wields light magic of a magnitude above even what my other half can use. Maybe I can replicate it with the incantation she used earlier, "Ohnd Spyd" was it?


    "Kamii, wait!" The big bald man with the shield calls out after the little dark elf, but she doesn''t turn around. She wanted to stop me from killing the adventurers earlier, so I have to assume that she''s convinced they didn''t participate in the massacre. But she''s also aware of the fact that we''re enemies now, and she has chosen the person she believes to be her Onee-sama over those humans. Now that I''m not going to kill them straight away, there''s no reason for her to speak to them. I think if it''s true that they didn''t kill any demons, I can just let them go after all this is over, with a warning to never come back again.


    "Onee-sama, I can fight." Kamii mutters beside me and I turn to look at her. She''s actually staring straight forward, her expression one of determination. I don''t know how strong she is, but from my other half I kinda got the impression that she was weak enough for her to be worried about her safety all the time. Maybe she just never saw her true potential in a battle or something. Regardless, I can''t let her come to harm, or my other half will be very angry with me.


    "Thank you, but I''d rather you stay safe." I respond and pet her hair. She lowers her gaze and her face reveals that she doesn''t like that answer at all. Well, if I''m in the middle of battle, I doubt I''d be able to also hold her back from participating. So if she joins the fray out of her own accord and shows that she''s capable of standing her ground, I won''t keep her from doing so.


    I just hope I''m not making a mistake in letting her join us.


    Lenoly Side


    A maid wielding a staff with a large blue crystal on top casts a water spell at the woman of fire, but it evaporates even before it touches her skin. The heat she radiates is so intense that nothing can come close to her. Another maid uses earth magic to launch a massive brick from the castle''s wall at her, but it only causes her to stop in her tracks for a moment to let it melt as it comes in contact with her.


    I don''t think anything physical could ever hurt this living force of nature, but Rewera doesn''t look concerned. Her expression inspires confidence in me, that she can bring this monster down somehow, although I have no idea how.


    Master Thorvadis and the even older man beside him are being held in check by the other two maids, who are using spells with short incantations to keep him occupied. Even though they may be low in power, they can still hurt a human''s body when they hit, so the principal has to use similarly weak magic to shield himself from them. The old man he called Lord Creator isn''t doing anything, but he doesn''t look very concerned with the situation. He must be considerably powerful, too.


    "Go help them, I shall handle her." Rewera orders the two maids beside her to join the others to fight the two old men. They don''t question her decision to take on this burning woman on her own and immediately turn away.


    "You''ll handle me? Aren''t you underestimating me?" Her fiery and ashen voice grates in my ears and a shiver runs down my spine. The spell keeping me locked down has already worn off, and I''m doing my best to not just run away from her overwhelming pressure with my tail between my legs. That much pride I still have, even under these circumstances. The heat is still bearable at this distance, but I feel like I would burst out in flames that I can''t withstand if I get too close to her.


    "No, you are underestimating me." With this, she sprints forward and goes for a right hook directly at the woman''s stomach. Seeing no reason to dodge, the latter stands still, intending to take it and melt off Rewera''s hand in the process.


    However, she is instead sent flying into the wall once again, leaving behind a molten imprint of her back on impact. Dropping to the ground and looking at where she was punched, the woman''s eyes show surprise. A brighter spot the shape of a balled up fist shows that it was enough to scratch the surface of her magma body and reveal the hotter inside. And Rewera''s hand looks completely fine, although her glove has been burned off.


    "Who are you?" The woman of fire asks with intensely glowing eyes.


    "I believe before asking someone else their name, it is custom to give your own." Righting herself, the giant maid states while looking down on her opponent with cold eyes. She removes the remains of her glove and takes off her other, putting them into the pocket in her apron. "Unless, of course, you are of low birth. Then you are excused."


    "Grrr... I am Kanundra, Bearer of the Flame!" The fire on her head flares up in anger at the thinly veiled insult and she responds with a mighty roar. "Name yourself, lowly creature!"


    "I am just the head maid of the castle." Rewera simply says with a neutral expression, unfazed by the display of fiery power. Then, after a short pause, she closes her eyes for a moment, before opening them to show off their intense crimson glow, filled with seething rage and hatred. "But a servant such as I do feel audacious enough at this moment to give my name... I am Rewera Rangatira."


    "Rangatira?" Surprise washes over Kanundra''s face once more at the mention of this name. Then realization creeps onto her features and a hint of alarm enters her countenance. "You can''t be..."


    "I am the sister of former demon lord Aldeath Rangatira." Speaking firmly, the head maid states with a hint of fatalism in her voice, as if suggesting that after hearing this, the only end this confrontation can take is Kanundra''s death.


    Rewera was the former demon king''s sister all along?!


    ??? Side


    "You will find that death will seem like salvation, after you learn what I really am." Pelomyx hisses sweetly, before descending the steps from the lone throne, several spots on her body glowing in the dark as she leaves the light cone.


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    "Death comes for everything equally, but Death itself is eternal." Holding out his hand, the massive skeleton grabs at the darkness surrounding him. It gathers around his grasp and forms a gigantic black scythe that seems like it was made to cut down scores of people, rather than tufts of wheat.


    "You are not Death, Liberator of the Dead, Serent. You are just a being that has become delusional from the powers you obtained." Growing in size, the demon queen extends her arm and from her own biological matter grows a weapon to mirror the skeleton man''s. Then her form changes and she takes on the shape of her opposite, the empty grin of the skull directed at him in mockery. "But I am eternal."


    "You live, so you can die." Swinging his scythe, Serent initiates the attack. His motion appears slow due to his massive size, but the force within it cannot be denied. However, when it makes contact with the demon queen''s body, she loses her form and seems to dissipate like black smoke, before only darkness remains where she stood a moment ago.


    Then, from within that darkness, Shelnir steps forth, a sinister grin on her lips as she leans on her sickle moon staff. Upon seeing this, Serent is taken aback, and he turns around to look behind him, only to find that the real Shelnir is still behind him, busy suppressing her nausea from witnessing Pelomyx''s real appearance. He quickly spins around and readies his scythe in a defensive pose, just to find that the demon queen has changed into her usual demon form without taking the opportunity to strike him.


    "What is the matter, Serent?" A sneer on her face, she looks up at the giant skeleton without a hint of tension in her demeanor. "Were you not going to bring me death?"


    "You are getting ahead of yourself." Serent raises his free hand and dark purple energy gathers around it. "Have you forgotten where we are?" In the next moment, the darkness in the hall begins to shift and move, taking on the shapes of demons of all kinds of appearances. They are the previous demon lords, given form by the Liberator of the Dead''s unique magic.


    "A shame that you did not bring back Aldeath." Pelomyx does not seem alarmed at all and looks around to try and spot her late husband, but there is not a single shadowy demon that fits his appearance. "I would have loved to meet him again..." A hint of longing appears on her face for just a moment, before it loses its features and changes back into her true appearance. Her limbs wriggle and extend in all directions. "And you, have you forgotten what I am?"


    In the next moment, her body expands explosively, enveloping the entire room with her mass. Pelomyx consciously avoids Serent and Shelnir, but swallows the living darkness within the room in one go. When she pulls herself together into a humanoid form, the room is cleared of any wafting shadows and has returned to normal absence of light once again.


    "Your tricks are meaningless before real power, Liberator of the Dead." Her voice is devoid of mockery, only coldly stating the facts; she is done playing around. "Let us put an end to this."


    "I agree." A new voice speaks and all eyes are directed towards it. Just below the sky window a man dressed in a white leather coat is floating, the light falling onto his silver hair looking like a halo from below. A flash of lightning behind him, and a split second later a sonic boom, and the ceiling crumbles away all around the newcomer. The heavy thunderclouds above block out the sun, but it is still brighter than the prevailing darkness that ruled the halls before.


    Surrounded by crackling electric sparks, Zenlith looks down on the demon queen, his glowing violet eyes hiding a murderous intensity.


    Asoko Side


    The sound of thunder rolls through the hallways and I look out the window to see that a storm has formed above the city. It seems that the weather knows what''s about to go down and is playing along to set the mood. If it rains, it''ll at least begin to put out the flames eating away at the civilian houses, so it''s one less thing to worry about. But I don''t feel like fighting out in the rain, since it gives me the feeling that something irreversible is about to happen.


    Then an idea hits me. What if I used water against Zylos? If his body is really so cold, won''t any water coming into contact with him freeze solid on the spot? That would mean that a large amount of it, enough to encase him, could just turn into an ice prison. Of course, spirit spears will be my go-to method of trying to kill him, since it was the only thing he actively dodged, but this way, I might be able to immobilize him for long enough to actually hit him. It''s certainly worth a try.


    We soon climb the stairs to the battlements on top of the castle, not a hint of rain in the air. In fact, the air feels really dry and Zylos doesn''t steam as much as he did inside the castle. In other words, it''s just a lightning storm that won''t turn into a downpour. Regardless, I have magic to alleviate the lack of water, albeit no exceptionally strong spells like my other half doubtlessly has at her disposal.


    When we reach the top, I spot a gigantic hole in the roof of one of the castle''s large halls. If my sense of direction isn''t too far off, that should be the place I walked past several times, with a double-winged metal door featuring a large ruby let into its center. Why did the roof cave in there? I can''t imagine it being caused by the lightning strike earlier, although it''s possible that it was blown up from the inside, either by maou-mama or Rewera fighting their respective opponents.


    I turn to my own, who looks at me with his usual sullen expression. I''ll wipe that look off your face and make you cry!


    "Is this the place?" He states and looks around without turning his head. Apparently he isn''t impressed by my choice, but I picked this place for a reason: I''m standing on a wider stretch of the castle wall, while he''s on a narrow part. I''ll be able to fire spirit spears at him and he won''t have much space to dodge, while I have a lot more room to avoid whatever he can throw at me.


    Of course, I''ll have to make sure Kamii doesn''t get hit by stray shots from either side. She stands beside me and looks ready to attack, lifting her crab arm and clacking the claw as if to perform a warm up. I don''t know what she wants to achieve with that, but if she''s going to grab him, it''ll freeze right off.


    "Don''t let him touch you." I say to her without averting my eyes from Zylos. "He''ll freeze your limbs off almost instantly."


    "Almost instantly... I see." With this, she rushes forward.


    Whaaat?!


    Zylos doesn''t even lift an eyebrow at the attacking dark elf and doesn''t attempt to dodge the crab arm swung at his shoulder. It makes contact with him but seems to be repelled by its hardness. Yet, this doesn''t discourage her, as she spins around on the spot and lowers herself in the same motion, bashing the claw against his knee. Once again, it shows no effect and she is repelled. I see the futility in her attacks, but apparently she doesn''t. Four, five and then six hits connect. Then the unexpected happens: Zylos avoids the seventh attack.


    Huh?


    Kamii immediately takes her distance again and looks at her crab claw. Since she only made contact with him very briefly, there aren''t any frozen spots. However, from the shiver in her arm, I can tell that she was chilled to her bones by his body nonetheless.


    "That power..." Zylos looks at the little dark elf with a glint in his eyes that I haven''t seen before. Then he moves forward with the clear intention of attacking for the first time. Not good.


    "Ohnd Spyd!" I shout and a spirit spear appears above me. Wait, it''s the same size as any of my spirit spears! Don''t tell me it''s the same spell, just with a different incantation? Whatever, I don''t have the time to care about this right now, I need to keep this guy away from Kamii.


    Launching it at the center of his body, I aim to cover the biggest area possible so that it''ll be hard for him to dodge. He sees the projectile coming at him and immediately steps sideways, almost falling off the battlements in the process. But it''s enough for the spear to miss him completely. Without stopping, he continues onward, while Kamii backs away from him. This won''t even slow him down, so I''ll have to activate my plan.


    "Inebriat!" I focus on the space right above where he will pass through in a moment, summoning a large ball of water. My other half could create one large enough to fill a school swimming pool, but apparently I''m not that strong with magic, since mine is only a bathtub''s worth of water.


    It seems that Zylos is having tunnel vision on Kamii right now, because he completely misses my chanting and subsequently steps right under the spell''s area of effect; I figuratively drop the bucket on him. He notices in the last moment, but is unable to avoid it. Splashing onto him, the water almost instantly turns to ice and encases him completely. The little dark elf jumps back just in time to not get caught up in it and have her feet frozen onto the spot.


    This worked better than I thought it would!


    Then the ice cracks open and I immediately take everything back. Damn, it''s not enough to stop him completely! Alright, then I''ll go with my initial plan and pierce him with spirit spears. Speaking the incantation to summon a whole array of them, I send them at Zylos, who won''t be able to move out of the way.


    In the last moment, the ice prison shatters completely and the frigid boy ducks away just enough to dodge the majority of spirit spears. One grazes his temple, another pierces his shoulder and one more gouges out a piece of his left arm. No blood flows from the wounds, courtesy of his frozen body, but that''s undeniably damage, even if his face doesn''t show it. Stop it with that expressionless sullenness!


    "Impressive strategy." He states, although it doesn''t sound like praise at all. But it''s clear that this method won''t work again. And the fact that he doesn''t seem to be in pain means that he''s still very much capable of fighting.


    Without warning, he swings his good arm around as if he''s throwing a slap in my face, but he''s too far away for it to connect. However, I feel prickling all over my skin as a frigid wind sweeps across me. Before I realize it, I''ve been pierced by countless small ice crystals, including on my face and especially eyeballs. Argh, my eyes?!


    Luckily, I have this convenient body, and it seems that he doesn''t really know its capabilities. Pushing the ice out of me, they drop to the ground, shatter and melt away. But in that time, Zylos has already charged forward at Kamii and closed the distance, enough for him to grab her with his freezing touch.


    Oh no!

 Chapter A10 - Cradle to the Grave

    Lenoly Side


    Rewera is holding her own against Kanundra, despite the fact that the latter''s body seems to be made of lava. The maid leader''s fists connect with her body without taking any damage, but it''s obvious that Kanundra isn''t affected by the punches either. The fire woman''s attacks are much slower and she doesn''t look like she''s used to fighting, so Rewera can easily avoid them. If this is how the two of them keep fighting, it''s going to be a stalemate.


    However, it may be broken by Master Thorvadis'' interference sooner or later. While he may still appear to be on the back foot because of being overwhelmed by four maids at the same time, he''s slowly learning their attack patterns. Hiding himself and the other old man behind a barrier which seems to bend space and redirect anything fired at him, he''s most likely waiting for an opportunity to break through with a spell that could incapacitate all four of his opponents at the same time.


    And I''m only standing by, watching. I know that no matter what I try, I''m nowhere near the level of any of these battles. Not only would I get in the way, but I''d most likely lose my life in the crossfire. Unfortunately, they''re covering the only two ways I can go in this corridor, so all I can do is wait until the battle on either side is over. Of course, I''m rooting for the maid leader and her followers, because Master Thorvadis is here to kill the demon queen.


    The sound of an explosion shakes the castle and I can clearly hear rocks breaking and falling. That means there are others fighting somewhere else in the castle.


    "Aaah?!" A maid screams in surprise and I spin my head around just in time to see the staff she was holding get drawn into and crushed by a black sphere barely larger than a human''s head that manifested right beside her. Apparently the principal used the moment of inattention caused by the disturbance to cast this spell through his barrier. She quickly tries to gain distance from the sphere, but its pull is too strong; her feet slide across the ground and then she is airborne, before her body is folded with a crunching sound that chills me to the bones. Then she disappears completely, along with the sphere itself.


    "How dare you!" Lunging forward with her claws extended, the gargoyle maid whose name is Szaga - as far as I can remember - passes through the magic barrier fearlessly. However, the spell slows her down so much that it gives Master Thorvadis time to cast a spell on her before she can reach him. She''s flung backwards and into the wall, and I hear the sound of bones breaking. Apparently it was one of her wings, as she stands back up immediately and looks back at her dangling appendage, before directing her hate-filled eyes at the principal again.


    On the other side, Rewera''s fight with Kanundra is going nowhere. I feel like both sides haven''t shown their full strength yet, but it''s clear that Kanundra has the upper hand so far. She''s not hurt at all despite taking so many hits, but Rewera is dodging all the time, suggesting that the former''s attacks are dangerous enough for her to take such precautions. Her maid uniform is singed in several places, but there aren''t any visible wounds on her body, yet.


    "I don''t have time to play with you. Oy, Alverost!" Kanundra suddenly speaks and turns to the old man beside Master Thorvadis.


    "I know I know." Responding in a very laid back manner despite the circumstances, Alverost puts a hand on the principal''s shoulder. In the next moment, their forms warp out of shape and then they disappear into thin air. It was transportation magic, the highest discipline of space magic that only few are capable of among demonkind, and fewer still among the humans.


    "You are not getting away." Rewera lunges forward before Kanundra even shows any hints of trying to leave, and delivers a devastating cross to the latter''s chin. She was too preoccupied with the two old men to prepare herself for the impact, and for the first time, she wavers. The flames on her head seem to flicker out for a moment, before they burst out vigorously again.


    "That didn''t hurt... at all!" Catching herself from falling onto her knees, Kanundra roars and her intensely burning eyes look up to the maid leader in fiery wrath. "I said that I don''t have time to play with the likes of you!"


    The glow of her body begins to grow more and more intense, soon reaching the level of her eyes, and her flame hair turns bluish white. The heat emanating from her body becomes unbearable even though she''s actually quite far from me. Apparently Rewera realizes Kanundra''s intentions and immediately takes her distance from her, but it seems too late. In the next moment, her glow reaches critical levels and my vision is filled with whiteness.


    Asoko Side


    I expand my body to its utmost in an instant, reaching towards Kamii with my entire mass, and take her inside me a split second before Zylos grabs her with his freezing touch. Blocking him from entering me as well, his palm contacts the surface of my body instead. I can feel the part he touches instantly hardening, but there''s no pain; of course not, all the tissue there died from being flash-frozen.


    Immediately detaching that part, I pull myself back together into the point farthest away from him and take Kamii out again to see if she''s alright. Apparently she''s shaken from the suddenness of my actions, but I was able to completely block his effects on the inside of my body. Still, I lost a pretty large chunk of me there, leaving behind a deformed wall where Kamii stood only moments ago.


    The wall cracks and crumbles to reveal Zylos, his sullen eyes fixed on me with the glint he showed before. I think now I know what it means; he has acknowledged his target as someone worth eradicating. I''m not sure how I feel about that, but I guess I should be honored that this powerful being thinks that way.


    "You are lucky." He suddenly states and looks away, towards the crumbled ceiling to our side. "My presence is needed." With this, he spreads his arms and a frigid wind blows around him, before it lifts him into the air.


    "Wait!" I don''t really want to keep fighting him, but I can''t just let him go and join someone else''s battle. And I have to assume that he''s not the only one with such powers among the intruders. Zylos ignores me and flies away, but I won''t let him go so easily.


    "Spirit spears!" I shout and a whole array of them appear above me. Hearing my chant, he turns around in midair and stares at me in what I can only read as a menacing manner. But I''ve already made up my mind. I launch the spears at him like a shotgun blast, just like how my other half did it against the dragon she fought. I don''t know how well he can control his flight, but it should be harder to dodge this way.


    But he avoids them all by nimbly flying upwards. The spears disappear in the distance behind him, and he looks at me with an intense gaze even though he remains emotionlessly sullen. The fact that the spears didn''t hit the barrier means that it must have been either pierced or taken down by now. I create a spike from my back and extend it behind me without averting my eyes from Zylos. It passes over the battlements and goes through where the barrier would have stopped me before without a problem. That means it has disappeared.


    "Do you really wish to die right here?" He asks me rhetorically, but I''m only thinking of wasting his time and keeping him occupied here, so that he can''t go to help whoever just called him using telepathy - or at least that''s what I gather from his sudden decision of abandoning this battle.


    "Try me." I grin at him fearlessly, but in reality I''m quite scared. My spirit spears can hurt him, but if he can fly like that, they won''t be able to connect at all.


    Wait, huh? When I look at him more closely, it seems like he just regenerated his body. The wounds I inflicted on him have all disappeared without a hint of having ever existed. Especially the chunk I took out of his arm was such a huge visual indicator that I was able to do some damage, but it''s gone as if it never happened. That''s cheating! It''s like a game boss that can only be damaged by a very unreliable spell and then has the ability to regenerate passively!


    In other words, if I can''t kill him in one shot, he''ll just heal straight up again. And considering he''s actually not a game boss who only has a set attack pattern and won''t learn from cheese tactics you can develop against him, I''ll eventually run out of ways to utilize my spirit spears to actually hit him.


    "As you wish." He answers my taunt without changing his expression and holds out a hand towards me. Bracing myself against a storm of ice shards like the last time, I try to shield my eyes. However, nothing happens and I look around in confusion. Then I realize that the temperature around me must be falling drastically, judging by the white clouds Kamii and I are creating with every breath. From the corners of my eyes I notice a flag waving in the wind freezing over and ceasing its movements. A moment later, the top of my head loses all its sensation and I react quickly, doing the only thing I can think of under these circumstances.


    I swing my arm and wrap a piece of me around Kamii, which expands into a soft cocoon. Then I push her off the battlements, towards the city below.


    In the next moment, I can no longer feel my body and I white out.


    Runa Side


    Lady Crux and Master Laiota told us that Rolan is necessary to defeat the demon queen, so we could not stay in the infirmary and waste any more time. Discovering Mistress Ninlil here and saving her was a lucky coincidence, but our real goal had been to find the demon queen and call the other groups to fight her together. Therefore, we attempted to leave, but were stopped by the maids outside the door, who looked like they wanted to kill us. Master Laiota commenced the battle by using mind magic, a unique type of magic apparently only he possesses.


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    He made the spider demon girl fight the other maids, and we made our way through their midst in the ensuing confusion. Those who stood in our way were forced aside by Lady Crux''s light barrier, which could not be penetrated by their spells and attacks. Sigurd is covering our retreat with his crossbow, but Lady Crux'' barrier travels with us, so there is no real need for it; even Gram does not need to use his shield to protect us. In fact, he is carrying Mistress Ninlil, her petite figure that is even smaller than Kamii''s looking like a small child in his arms. She has regained consciousness, but is physically very weak and cannot walk on her own.


    The demon maids are following us down the corridor, but I create an ice wall behind us to stall for time and hold them back that way.


    "What exactly is Rolan''s role in this? The gods are so powerful, they do not seem to need the strength of a human to bring down the demon queen." I ask Lady Crux, since I still cannot understand why we are needed here. My magic is hardly comparable to that wielded by her, Master Laiota and Master Thorvadis, even if my execution is unconventional and different from the norm.


    "I do not know. The Guide of Tomorrow has prophesized that he will be instrumental in the defeat of the demon queen. I do not want to speculate, as it may create wrong preconceptions regarding what you have to do." The Saint of Luminosity speaks without opening her eyes, turning to Rolan slightly as she explains. "I believe all will be revealed in due time." As mysterious as ever.


    "The battle against the demon queen has begun." Master Laiota states as if he knows that for a fact.


    At that moment, the sound of an explosion shakes the entire castle, which tilts slightly from the force. It is still being kept airborne through some unknown magic, but it goes to show that this is a precarious construction that could come down at any time if that magic should cease to function.


    Rolan''s expression is thoughtful and grim, as his words and actions have been subdued since the death of the demon boy. I can understand his confusion, especially considering the fact that he heard about the demon queen''s aura being a boon for the demons from somewhere. Yet, as a human, he should not hesitate to choose his own kind over theirs. I know I would not hesitate, because it is a fact that there are plenty of dangerous beings among the demons whom we could never see eye to eye with. Sparing their queen would only continue to empower them, which in turn would cause suffering for innocent humans.


    But at the same time, I can''t help feeling doubt gnawing at the back of my mind regarding the legitimacy of the gods. Their actions are strange at best and suspicious at worst, with Shelnir''s actions looking to be influenced by sadistic tendencies rather than by wanting to keep Rolan safe, when she killed the clearly harmless demon boy. Or maybe there is something that I do not see?


    When we round a corridor, a cloaked figure floating a little above the ground enters our sight. This is Mithra, who was the court mage of the demon queen and turned into a collaborator in the alliance to bring her down, utilizing his powerful space magic to transport the masses of troops from the empire into the capital. Apparently Master Thorvadis considers him more powerful than himself, and I am really happy to know that he is on our side.


    He is standing in front of a double-winged metal door covered with a detailed relief depicting demons scrambling for a massive ruby let into its center. From the other side of the corridor I see Master Thorvadis approach alongside Lord Alverost. The latter''s expression is grim, which is a sign that something bad happened on their end, considering he has always been incredibly laid back in his attitude so far.


    "What is the meaning of this, Mithra?" His aged voice is filled with anger as he addresses the floating cloaked man.


    "What could be the matter, Lord Alverost?" The muffled voice emerging from the bandaged face is aloof, lacking respect for the god before him.


    "Why is the Hall of Ascension completely sealed off from the outside?" Alverost points at the door, which apparently leads to the hall in question.


    "My, that must have been cast by a considerably powerful mage, if it can hold a god back. I cannot fathom who could have done that." Even I can hear the sarcasm in his voice, and for a moment, I am completely confused in regards to the situation we have here. What is going on?


    "Spare us your lies." From behind us the voice of Lord Zylos resounds through the corridor and I spin around. He has some holes in his clothes, but there is not a hint an injury on him even after fighting Chloe. The fact that he is here must mean that she and Kamii have been killed by him... "Let us inside."


    "As you wish. But you may only enter through this gate." Mithra''s almost aloof attitude stands in stark contrast to the tension filling the air. Why would he put forth such a condition? Is he on the demon queen''s side or is he following his own agenda?


    ??? Side


    Demon Queen Pelomyx, the Cradle of Chaos, is an existence beyond mortal understanding. Her ever-shifting form and unidentifiable face cause nothing short of nausea and terror to all who lay eyes on her. With a voice that grates on the nerves of those who are unfortunate enough to hear it and an aura that spreads dread and corruption, she is horror incarnate. Even a being as powerful as those who claim to be gods is not immune to her presence. And she is aware of that fact.


    "If it is not Zenlith. How is that wound I gave you back then?" She taunts the Lord of the Sky, knowing that the other gods are not aware of the fact that he had been using the previous Emperor of Terminus, Lucianus IV, as his avatar and faced her before. At that time, she had been less than two years old and already been powerful enough to almost kill the god said to be the most powerful of them all.


    Zenlith''s eyebrows twitch at the mention of their previous encounter and a lightning bolt comes down on her. She takes it without even flinching and shakes her head, causing her tentacle hair to swing around behind her. It is clear that she is immune to it, much like how her daughter gained an immunity after taking several in consecution.


    "How pitiful. Is this all?" Pelomyx''s speaks in a mocking tone, but then she lowers her head for a moment, as her body trembles ever so slightly. She raises her gaze and looks at the three gods before her in succession. "You dare to challenge my wrath with the slaughter of my people and then fight me with those puny powers?!" Her otherworldly roar shakes the very air and defiles the notion of sound with its unnatural tone.


    Shelnir is the first to crumble under the overwhelmingly otherness of the demon queen''s existence, as she takes a step back from her. At this point, she has lost her will to fight this unfathomable monster they have so unwisely ignored for so long. The staff in her hand trembles as she attempts to transport herself away from her, to somewhere other than here. However, she realizes that there appears to be a barrier around the hall and her eyes go wide in realization; Mithra, the gatekeeper demon, must have done this. But she would have never imagined that he could be powerful enough to interfere with even her ability to move through space.


    Serent realizes his mistake in underestimating the demon queen. He has been unsuccessful in trying to steal her life energy with his unique magic for a while now, with the only two explanations being that she is either not living or her concept of life is beyond his grasp. The former would offer solace in face of the possibility of the latter being true, and all that it implies. After all, Serent is as well versed in everything regarding life as Alverost is, only that his expertise lies in knowing how to end it. In this world, there should not be anything he does not know about living organisms.


    "Do you really believe that to be my full power?" Zenlith speaks as he looks down on Pelomyx. "Your disrespect will come to an end here." Lifting a hand towards the demon queen, he increases the weight of the air above her, causing her knees to buckle under the pressure.


    However, she catches herself and stands straight again after some adjustments to her mass, in the same way as her daughter did earlier. She raises an arm and extends its explosively, creating a spike aimed at the man floating above. He turns into lightning and dodges it easily, electrocuting his assailant in the process; as before, it shows no effect on her. Looking up, he notices that he was unable to muster as much force as he would normally have, as there appears to be an invisible barrier where the ceiling used to be. It was not there when he first came, so it means it must have been activated right after he cast that lightning bolt on her earlier.


    To test that theory, he calls down another lightning strike from the outside, but it disappears right above him, around where the ceiling used to be. In other words, to affect anything within the hall, he can only manipulate the atmosphere inside it. His eyebrows crumple into an annoyed frown as he gathers all the air around the demon queen to crush her with its pressure. The latter notices his attempt, but increases her body''s density further and withstands it without a problem.


    Ignoring Zenlith''s attack, Pelomyx turns her attention to Serent and swings a mass of tentacles at him, forming a massive fist in an attempt to push him back and crush him against the wall.


    With a mighty slash, the skeleton swings his giant scythe and cuts the incoming fist in two. The halves travel past him and suddenly reconnect behind him. The two parts close in on him from both sides and swallow him whole. However, before he can be digested inside her, he uses his magic of decay to destroy her biological mass and burst out from her arm again. Even though she may not have the life energy he is so used to feeling in living beings, the fact that her body is still made up of cells means that he can fight her.


    Pulling back the tentacles and returning them to their regular size, Pelomyx looks at the arm they form to check if there is any spreading decay left. Apparently she did not anticipate that Serent''s power would work on her, but she immediately adjusts her body so that it can cover any surface exposed to his touch in a layer of inorganic matter, which she keeps inside herself at all times for a similar kind of situation. It was originally meant to guard against acids or other substances that can degrade biological matter, but maybe it can be used to block decaying effects.


    With a glance at Shelnir, she can tell that the goddess is either not the fighting type or no longer has the will to oppose her otherworldly presence. She herself understands best what her true appearance does to others; when she looked in the mirror for the first time, she very nearly lost her mind from the shock, after all. But now it is a weapon, one that can even cause a god to lose morale.


    At that moment, Zenlith uses his control over atmosphere to signal the other gods to come to the Hall of Ascension immediately. While he may not make anything pass through the barrier, the earlier lightning strike showed that he can still invoke his powers outside of it. Making sure that the others, who are locked in their own battles, know that they should wrap up their little skirmishes as quickly as possible, so that they may join them for the main event, the Lord of the Sky floats down to the ground and comes to stand before Pelomyx.


    "Know that this is the greatest honor a lowly creature such as you can receive, to stand on the same ground as I." He states while looking down on the smaller demon queen. Her appearance is grotesque and even his overwhelmingly powerful mental capacity is unable to fully process the visual information of her face, as if it is being censored by the world itself rather than by the mind of the beholder. "And understand that it means you will perish here, for I will muster everything I have to destroy you."


    A moment of silence follows in which Pelomyx looks up at Zenlith with her featureless face behind which a dreadful and powerful intent is unmistakably present nonetheless. Then it cracks open in what could only be seen as a wide, toothless grin beyond which the abyss itself lurks.


    "Just what I was hoping for!" She growls, anger and joy mixing into sinister anticipation.


    Then the metal door to the Hall of Ascension opens.

 Chapter 66 - To Dust

    "Senka!" I shout out loud, rather than inside my mind. The stitched girl appears before me in her ghostly form and her expression suggests that something has happened. "Tell me what''s going on in the castle!"


    "I don''t know... I lost contact with Asoko." She responds with an anxious expression. It''s rare to see her like this, since she''s usually just cynical or sassy, but it just means that the situation over there is quite dire.


    "Come here." I wave Aurelia over and my face must be showing that there''s no time to lose, because she''s actually listening to me right away. I pull her inside my body once again and transform into Chaos Warhead mode. "Guide me." It shouldn''t be far to the capital, now that I reached the Demon Continent, so I''ll make my way over there quickly.


    Blasting off like a rocket, I accelerate more and more, until I feel the shockwave run through me and I reach supersonic speeds once again. I doubt maou-mama is going to lose, but I have an uneasy feeling about this whole situation. Must be because Zenlith talked like the battle''s already over...


    The landscape changes to a wasteland like the one I saw from the window of the castle when I first woke up in this world. Then I see a massive pillar of smoke rise beyond the horizon, before the burning city comes into view - all within a minute of each other. Decelerating quickly, before I fly into a barrier that might be cast around the entire city like the one that was put up to keep maou-mama inside, I come to a stop just outside the walls.


    The scenery below is hell. Piles of dead bodies, soldiers in what must have been formerly shining armors now dyed by various colors of blood, running through the streets and mindlessly chasing down and slaughtering innocent civilians. Little to no resistance is being offered by the citizens of the capital, as they can''t stand against the onslaught of the armored and enchanted human forces.


    Now I know why there was no actual resistance. Apparently there really is a barrier, because I can see three separate demon armies surrounding the city, banging against invisible walls that block the open gates, climbing up siege ladders only to be stopped from getting atop the battlements and some flying demons bashing their fists against thin air in impotence. They''re throwing everything they have at the barrier, screaming and shouting while having to watch the slaughter before them.


    And I realize that the barrier must extend far up into the sky, because the smoke is rising as if inside a gigantic invisible cylinder, unaffected by any winds and unable to escape from the confines of the city walls.


    I fly as closely as I can to where the barrier seems to be, and extend a hand carefully. A little before I completely extend my arm, my fingers come upon an invisible obstacle. The dragon''s magic-resistant carapace doesn''t allow me to pass through it, and I punch it with all my strength. Is this it? I reached the city but I won''t be able to get to maou-mama because of this? No, that can''t be it.


    "Spirit Spear!" I roar, putting all my mind into it. The massive lance of light that appears above me rivals in size that put out by Arcelia, the Saint of Luminosity. I know that this thing can pierce barriers, so it should be able to go through this one as well. Letting the spear loose, it passes through alright, and flies away into the distance. There''s not any visible effect like cracks in glass or the sound of something shattering, so I don''t know whether it worked or not.


    Extending my hand towards where a hole should be, if it really worked, I find that it''s still solid. The light simply passed through it without any effect, which means this barrier isn''t just magic, but something put up by one of the sorcerers. And I have a pretty good idea about who might be the one who did it.


    Zenlith, Lord of the Sky.


    He showed an ability to manipulate air pressure in our battle earlier. He used it to press me down, although it wasn''t that powerful; it''s clear that he was holding back or not really concentrating on fighting against me, considering his body just dissipated as if it was a simple clone. If this is the ability to use air pressure to create a wall of air, of course light would pass through without doing anything.


    Then how can I get through here? Senka said that maou-mama used all kinds of spells on it but there was no effect. While I still don''t understand how a person''s will translates into the physical like this, I know that the sorcerer''s version of magic is actually causing physical phenomena by willing them to happen. In other words, this barrier is actually made up of particles which should follow the laws of physics.


    I never paid much attention in science classes, since I didn''t find it too useful, but even I know about heat expansion. If this barrier is densely packed air, then I should be able to use heat to loosen the density of the air particles and create a hole for me to slip through. And for that, I have the perfect thing that isn''t actually magic, but a physical ability - the dragon''s plasma breath. Really, I might sound like a broken record by now, but the dragon template was the most useful thing I ever got my hands on.


    I transform my hand into a dragon''s head and begin to shoot the plasma beam at the barrier. At first, it''s deflected, creating a bloom of light particles that scatter everywhere; but within seconds, the breath breaks through and then passes the invisible wall unhindered. I was successful in breaching the barrier, but now I need to first see whether it instantly repairs itself when I stop, or the hole lingers for a moment.


    Stopping the plasma breath, I immediately create a spike from my chest and extend it into the hole created by the beam. I get through, but before I can pull my entire body through the spike and get onto the other side, it gets cut off by the barrier closing up again almost instantly. From that I can tell two things: The barrier is most likely only an atom thick, since the spike was cut off cleanly without even a hint of anything being squashed; and that there is a delay in the self-repair function.


    That just means I need to bring out a bigger gun.


    I transform my chest into the maw of a dragon, using my convenient body and its immense size on the inside to replicate everything I need to make the breath work - even though from the outside there''s no space for the actual throat or the organ that produces the plasma. From this maw I shoot a much larger beam than before, which punches through the invisible wall almost instantly.


    From within the continuing beam, I create an extension of my body, covered in dense dragon carapace to withstand the immense heat, and push it through the opening I''m keeping open with the continuous breath, before instantly pulling my entire body into it when it reaches the other side. My form on the outside of the barrier collapses and with it the beam, but I almost instantly reform on the other side.


    Without wasting any time on celebrating my success, I swoop down on the city below and the soldiers pursuing a group of demons running from them helplessly. I won''t be able to help everyone and cleanse the entire city of this human filth, but I''ll kill all those who are on my way toward the castle. Turning my body into a shifting mass of tentacles, I sweep across the main street like a tidal wave, passing through demons without harming them while gathering up all the human soldiers and immediately digesting them.


    And while I feel bad for the bereaved survivors, I also gather all the dead demon bodies. Maybe they can take solace in the fact that they will indirectly help in taking revenge for themselves this way, as they serve as my nourishment and an increase in my mass - and therefore, my power. Leaving behind only living demons, the streets are wiped clean of everything human and dead, as I roll towards the castle.


    I would soon learn that my kindness and gluttony led to the greatest regret in my life.


    I take off into the sky once again to reach the floating castle. I never knew it was actually flying, since from inside it, I could only tell that it was higher up than the city surrounding it, thinking it was built on top of a hill. When I pass over the battlements, the first thing I see is a familiar figure standing atop of it.


    It''s Asoko, seemingly having been turned into a statue. She''s standing there, looking behind herself with her mouth open in what must have been an attempt at saying something to a person behind her. Her empty eyes are glazed over by ice and I have to consider her dead. After all, Senka can''t feel any will inside this frozen body before me.


    "... I can''t believe it." She says when she sees my other half. Neither can I. I survived the vacuum of space, where temperatures are close to absolute zero, and I didn''t freeze over like this. Either, her soul was stolen alongside being frozen, or this is actually absolute zero, in which all atoms cease their motions as if being stopped in time. Is this the power of a sorcerer?


    Unfortunately, I have no idea how to help her.


    Then I see a massive form rise from a broken rooftop, and I know immediately who it is. Maou-mama has just released her entire mass and has become a mountain of tentacles. If she were to turn into her humanoid self, she would be many times larger than what I was able to achieve during my battle at the academy. But she''s clearly not doing that, most likely to swallow all the enemies in the place she''s expanding into. Looking back at Asoko one last time, I fly towards maou-mama.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    What do you mean, too late, Zenlith? She''s alive and kicking, and most likely beating you right now. I''ll go join her and defeat those sorcerers and then we''ll look for a way to bring Asoko back somehow.


    A large amount of her massive tentacles on one side freeze and crumble under their own weight, while on the other side an explosion of fire burns many more to crisps. My eyes widen at the sight and I speed up from my idle flying, to come to a stop right above the broken roof, to behold the scene unfolding in the hall below.


    I spot Rolan and his party, as well as Ninlil and Basarab, protected by Arcelia''s shield. I see Thorvadis casting a black hole into which another portion of maou-mama''s tentacles are pulled and then ripped off, before it disappears again. There''s a naked woman made of lava with burning hair, and a boy with cold steam falling to the ground around him, there''s a huge cloaked skeleton wielding a scythe, and there is Zenlith, floating right above the faltering figure of maou-mama, as she begins to pull herself together into a smaller shape.


    I''m confused. Why are Rolan and his party here? Why is that bastard Basarab still alive? Are these inhuman looking people all sorcerers? Is maou-mama losing?


    But, nothing matters right now, because maou-mama looks like she''s backed into a corner. I immediately fly towards her, but when I pass over the threshold of the hall''s wall, I find myself looking out towards the city behind the castle. Huh? I turn around and find that I''ve ended up on the other side of the broken roof. I move to enter again, but end up where I first arrived to look into the hall. This is another barrier! A teleporting one at that, which must be the work of Thorvadis. But I can''t imagine the principal to have the leeway to cast this spell and also fight maou-mama at the same time.


    When I look down into the hall a cloaked figure warps into existence next to maou-mama and I recognize Mithra. He seems to say something to her, but she waves him off, upon which he bows and disappears again. This barrier must be his doing then! But he was talking to her and listening to her orders... so he was a triple agent all along? Then why isn''t he helping her? He''s the court mage of the demon queen, he should be able to at least help her fight these overwhelming numbers! And why is he barring me from entering?


    Maou-mama takes on her real form, which looks quite similar to mine, only that she has tentacle hair whereas I''m hairless in my real form. She roars at the enemies, the voice seemingly having the intended effect, just like when I showed myself in front of the slave traders. I see Gram backing away and Luna falling onto her bottom, her eyes wide open and unblinking like a deer in the headlights of a speeding car. The bard and Rolan are still standing fast, but their fear is unmistakable. Even Thorvadis is looking on in horror and has stopped casting his magic. If I had done that during our first fight at the academy, maybe it would have changed the outcome...


    But it''s clear that she has lost a huge amount of her mass in this battle. Her movements are slowing down and I see Zenlith holding out a hand towards her. He must be using air pressure to keep her in check, while the other sorcerers prepare to attack her as well. The flaming woman and the frozen boy both seem to be gathering their powers, and the skeleton with the scythe steps forward, most likely aiming to behead her. I know that physical attacks are pretty much useless against our kind, but if she gets pieces of herself chipped away, she''ll lose more and more of her strength.


    I try to go through the barrier again, but it doesn''t work and I appear on the other side of the building. Can I really only watch as maou-mama is killed? I want to scream, but no sound is coming out as I stare at the battle below me without blinking, as to not miss the most minute detail.


    An explosion of fire burns away at maou-mama and she sheds layer after layer of herself to withstand the heat. Then the frozen boy blasts her with freezing wind, which hardens her weakened body. The scythe of the skeleton comes down and severs her arm, from the stump of which black smoke rises up and turns into specters. His grinning jaw opens and the specter disappears into it. I see my mother trying to reform her arm, but it doesn''t work; whatever he did must have been a curse that makes it so that wounds he inflicts can''t heal!


    I watch as maou-mama is battered and bruised, held in place and unable to retaliate, all the while racking my brain to find a way on how to get through this barrier. Senka is with me, but she''s being silent, meaning that she most likely doesn''t know either. I doubt Aurelia knows anything about space magic, or else she wouldn''t have stayed on the moon with me all this time. I used to know space magic, but because of Basarab''s memory wiping ability, I lost it. If only I could teleport inside there!


    All my thoughts cease when Arcelia lowers her light barrier and Rolan steps forth. A woman wielding a sickle moon staff walks up to him and an old man with a beard even larger than Thorvadis'' joins her. They speak to him, but I can''t make out what they''re saying. He walks forward and draws his sword, which emits a blinding light. Raising it above his head, he faces maou-mama, who is still a distance away, with the clear intention of cutting her down.


    The woman points her staff at Rolan''s sword, while the old man keeps a hand on her shoulder and seems to concentrate. The intensity of the light increases, to the point where it''s like looking into the sun. But I keep myself from looking away, so that I witness everything that happens here. I see Rolan enter a stance, as if ready to strike, even when he''s too far to reach maou-mama. Then the sword emits a beam up into the sky, dispelling the clouds above us.


    It went through the barrier.


    I immediately fly forward, and find that I can move through it just fine. Now I can go and-


    The light comes down on maou-mama, who has changed back to the appearance I first saw her in. With her yellow eyes she looks up to me, apparently aware that I''ve been watching. A smile appears on her lips before she closes her eyes in peaceful resignation. What?! NO!!!


    In the next moment, the world is enveloped in light.


    She''s not moving...


    There are no visible wounds other than the missing arm, but she''s not moving...


    I drop to the ground next to her and look down on her face. Her eyes are closed, as if she''s sleeping, but her chest doesn''t heave up and down. She''s a Crawling Chaos, so she doesn''t need to breathe through lungs. Slowly extending a hand to touch her, I hesitate. Gathering my resolve, I continue to inch closer toward her shoulder with my trembling fingers.


    However, before I can reach her, her body undergoes a transformation. From her demon appearance with the gray skin and curved horns, she turns into her true appearance. I''m expecting her to sit up and tell me that everything is alright. That it was just a ruse and that she''ll finish off the enemies now.


    But she isn''t moving...


    I touch her shoulder, and as if that was the trigger, the color of her purplish black skin changes into an ashen gray, rippling out from where my finger came in contact with her. Within moments, her whole body turns gray, and she begins to flake and crumble away. I hear my breath catch in my throat and my thoughts spiral into oblivion as I watch my mother turn to dust and get blown away on the rising wind.


    There is nothing...


    "So you survived." I hear a distant voice speaking, but don''t really register it. My mind is still blank as I stare down at where my mother''s body lay moments ago, now nothing but ashes remaining in its place. "What will you do now?"


    Yes, what will I do now? I don''t know.


    I slowly stand up on unsteady legs, never looking away from the spot where my mother disappeared from. Barely registering in the back of my head is the fact that the sorcerers are still present, and that they will most likely try to kill me as well. But I can''t really think of anything, as silence reigns supreme within my spirit; there is nothing right now, only emptiness.


    "We cannot let her live. She is too dangerous." A familiar voice speaks in a frantic tone. I think it belongs to Thorvadis, who is pleading with the sorcerers he believes to be gods. "You saw how powerful her mother was."


    That''s right...


    "Do not be afraid. We are with you." The voice of another old man speaks in a reassuring tone. He seems to be very confident in the sorcerers and himself.


    "She refused me." Zenlith announces, purposefully wording it so the humans don''t understand what exactly he''s talking about. They can''t find out that he offered me to join the ranks of sorcerers and play the game of being gods. It would shatter the humans'' trust in these self-proclaimed gods and they may even rise up against them.


    "Then there is nothing but death for her." A deep ephemeral voice speaks thus. That must be the skeleton, since it sounds like the voice of death itself.


    Yes... this is fine.


    "... kill me..." I mutter.


    "I see that you have resigned to your inevitable fate. That is commendable." Death praises me, but he misheard what I said.


    I finally look up, my mind as calm as a lake on a windless day. I register every single person in my surroundings. Zenlith in the sky above me, the boy of frost a distance away to the left, the woman of fire to the right, Thorvadis to the right behind her, the massive skeleton that is slowly lumbering towards me with the scythe in hand in the middle, Rolan far behind him, right next to him the woman wielding a sickle moon staff and the old man with the pure white hair and beard, behind them Luna, Gram and the bard, Arcelia and Basarab, Ninlil backed against the wall with her eyes fixed on me in fear...


    Everyone is still here. Good.


    "... just try and kill me." I speak up more audibly and a part of me enjoys the surprise I feel from everyone present. Especially the humans seem to be taken aback by my defiance despite the fact that I''m quite obviously outnumbered and against the most overwhelming odds imaginable.


    "What are you doing?!" Senka''s spirit floating beside me, visible only to me, screams in fear for my life, but I block her out mentally, causing her image to disappear.


    My body changes as I take on my true form.


    "Come at me." You think my mother was the final boss? You''re wrong. I will show you what a final boss is meant to be like. With a voice that resembles the sound of grating shards of glass and the choir of hundreds of tormented souls, I announce towards the enemies before me. I put all my intentions behind it, my hunger for terror, my craving for murder... my wish to destroy everything and leaving only oblivion in my wake. "I will show you despair!"


    "You will not." I hear a familiar muffled voice speak right beside me, but before I can turn to look at its owner, my surroundings change into a stream of light.

 Chapter A11 - After the Chaos

    Hestia Side


    "She''s blocking me out." Senka comments as she turns around to me with a grave expression. "I didn''t even know people could do that..."


    "Then Onee-sama is still alright?" All I care about now is her well-being. I can feel empathy for the death of her mother later, when I know that she is safe.


    "The situation looked pretty dire, and it''s clear that she''s not in her right mind after..." The doll-like girl trails off and looks down in silence. There is no point in wasting any more time here, then.


    "We have to go help her." I state and move towards Senka to carry her once more. She looks at me with a blank expression, then I see a hint of disapproval in her eyes. It is clear that she will argue against flying to the Demon Continent to go to Onee-sama''s aid next, and I already know what my answer will be.


    "You do understand that the capital of the Demon Continent is still at least two days away, right? By the time we arrive, thing will be over already, and-"


    "So you think that Onee-sama will lose." From Senka''s description of what is happening over there, even I - with all my faith in Onee-sama''s strength and resourcefulness - have to admit that she will most likely not be able to defeat them. But what kind of person would I be if I did not try to go to her aid nonetheless? And of course... "I have no doubt that she will survive."


    "... I see." Sighing, the doll-like girl shakes her head with her eyes closed in resignation. "Let''s hope you''re right."


    I hope so, too...


    Rolan Side


    It is done.


    The demon queen is defeated, her remains scattered to the winds. Chloe came moments after, but was taken away by the double agent Mithra, who betrayed the gods and returned to aid his queen in the end. None of the gods seem to care for chasing after them and are preparing to leave with the attitude of a job well done.


    But I feel empty. I cannot forget Chloe''s reproachful glare before she showed her demonic appearance that was so similar to her mother''s. I was reminded of the fact that she is the daughter of the demon queen once again, but her emotions were too human. Just like those of the Nightmare farmers. Just like those of the innocent civilians killed in the massacre. Just like humans...


    "Come, we are leaving. We should return to Kongenssoevn with Master Thorvadis." Runa comes up to me and breaks me out of my downward spiraling thoughts.


    "Oh no, I thought you were coming to study with me, young lady." Lord Alverost approaches her with his usual frivolous attitude.


    "R-right now?" She is surprised by the suddenness of it. "I thought-"


    "The lives of humans are short." A mischievous glint appears in his eyes as he glances at Runa''s ears knowingly. "And those of half-elves are not that much longer." Spreading his arms in an inviting gesture, he continues. "This is an opportunity few have been granted in over a thousand cycles."


    "I..." Runa turns to look at me, as if seeking my decision.


    "I think you should go." I say with a smile, but her expression changes to one of shock. But before I realize what I have just done, she has turned to Lord Alverost without another word and they disappear into nothingness together. Speechless, I open my mouth, but then close it again without making a sound.


    Huh, what just happened?


    "What now, big man?" I hear Sigurd talk to Gram, and turn my head towards them.


    "I think I''ll go to Chandra''s fortress." The latter responds after some contemplation. I''m surprised to hear him say that, but at the same time, I feel that he actually enjoyed his time with her.


    "How will you get there? The journey will be dangerous." Sigurd asks with a concerned expression.


    "Lady Shelnir offered to send me there through the transportation network. I''ll be able to find my way back from the exit." Gram scratches the back of his head and states sheepishly. It seems that he simply cannot get used to the gods walking among us. "What about you?"


    "I shall return to Kongenssoevn, and weave a tale of our journey and its conclusion." Sigurd responds with a difficult smile and lifts his lute demonstratively. I am once again reminded of the fact that we have killed the demon queen - the reason for our group to remain together has disappeared...


    "What about you, Rolan?" Gram comes over to ask me.


    "I don''t know." I respond after a pause. "I think I''ll go on a journey... I need to process everything that happened here..."


    "I see. Then that means our ways part here." Sigurd states with a knowing expression, the shadow of sadness in his voice. The big man turns to him, not taking this farewell too hard.


    "Don''t make it sound like we''ll never meet again. You and Sigurd will forever remain in my heart!" Beating his chest with his fist, Gram booms in laughter. I feel like he forgot something, but I cannot recall it either. "After all, we took down the demon queen together."


    I feel a pang of guilt at being reminded of it once more. Was it really the right thing to do? Will the demons not suffer without their leader? Without her blessing?


    "That we did." I respond and return his grin with one of my own, despite not feeling any joy about our victory.


    What have we done?


    Thorvadis Side


    I was shocked to see that Miss Chloe somehow made it back from the heavens; I believe everyone was, especially Mistress Ninlil, who seems to have been afflicted with a considerable trauma at her hands after her disappearance. Everybody was already prepared to fight another Crawling Chaos who may be almost as strong as its mother, but the traitor Mithra transported her away, utilizing space magic apparently beyond even the understanding of the gods.


    However, it seems that none of them felt any gravity in their escape. The demon queen was incredibly powerful, and only with the combined strength of six gods were we able to bring her down. Miss Chloe can learn from this battle and return with a vengeance one day, possibly far stronger than even her mother. We will have to prepare for that, so I cannot help but not be in the mood for celebrating.


    When I turn to Basarab and Miss Crux, I see that they appear to be of a similar opinion as I am. The former nearly died at the hands of Miss Chloe, so he has all the reason in the world to feel the urge to finish the Crawling Chaos lineage as soon as possible. The latter must be thinking about the corruption that this surviving child of the demon queen can spread from now on, and if she is able to ascend to the throne, we would have a repetition of what we lived through today.


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    Therefore, I wonder why the gods are leaving one after another, to return to their domains, despite the fact that the Demon Continent is still not pacified. Maybe they only perceived the demon queen as a threat to the world, but now that she is no more, the following affairs should be resolved by humans themselves. The truth of the matter is that the Empire of Terminus is preparing another expedition with the sole intention of subjugating and exterminating all of demonkind, so that there will finally be peace for mankind.


    How long that may take, I do not know. What I do know is that it will be a bloody war which will generate many casualties among the humans. But it is a cautionary measure, so that no demon lord may ever rise again and spread corruption and suffering in the world. No matter how fascinating I find individuals among the demons, I cannot let this cloud my judgment when it comes to human survival.


    Lord Zylos and Lady Kanundra have already left, their power made very clear during the battle against the demon queen. Without their help, we would not have been able to hold her back, but it seems that they are either very humble or just aloof about their involvement in this monumental achievement.


    Lord Zenlith, who only appeared for the final confrontation, is floating above the castle, watching over the soldiers still dispersed within the city. He reminds me of Emperor Lucianus V, and it is possible that the latter may enjoy the Lord of the Sky''s blessing in one way or another. It would only be natural for him to look out for the young emperor and his troops.


    Lord Serent is speaking to Lady Shelnir in a language I do not understand; its tone is completely different from any human language or dialect. I was astonished to find that the Liberator of the Dead looked like an undead himself, but his divine presence is undeniable. Lord Alverost takes Miss Sigint with him after a short discussion. It seems that the decision came easily, considering the fact that it was offered by the Lord Creator himself.


    I will return to the Royal Academy and reevaluate my understanding of magic after seeing the feats performed by the gods. It was very instructional to see how they cast effects similar to ones humans have access to without the need for incantations or catalysts. In that regard, I envy Miss Sigint for having the opportunity to learn from Lord Alverost personally. I studied under his previous student, whom I surpassed quickly, but was not able to meet the Lord Creator before I reached an age at which my mind is no longer as quick-witted as it used to be.


    "Come, let us go home." I clap my hands and speak to Basarab, Mistress Ninlil and Lady Crux. Of course, I will help transport whoever wants to come along, although it would seem that Rolan and his partners will not travel together from now on. The hero chosen by the gods wishes to go on a journey on his own, and while I have my apprehensions of letting him wander the Demon Continent, I can only trust in the man into whom the gods put theirs. He should be able to defend himself against any assailant, when he has the power to kill the demon queen in a single stroke.


    For now, the death of the demon queen means that the spread of corruption has been halted. Cursed humans and corrupted beasts will cease to come into existence for the time being. As long as the Empire of Terminus succeeds in preventing another demon lord from ascending to the throne, mankind''s territories will see peace. Yet, when I look towards the future, I cannot help but think that our actions today will have grave consequences.


    I just hope I am overthinking things.


    Lenoly Side


    When I regain my senses, I find that I''m enveloped by warmth. My eyes are still unable to see after the intensity of the light from the woman of fire''s explosion, but maybe it''s because I have died and am in the afterlife now. Yet, I can feel my body and I can certainly move it, and most importantly, I can feel pain.


    It''s the pain of lying on top of hard and pointy rocks, with some kind of weight pushing me down onto them. When I try to push myself off the ground, I notice that this weight is much larger than I anticipated. I groan from both the pain and my labored attempts at moving, but it''s impossible to exert much force from my awkward position.


    "I apologize... I must be heavy..." A familiar voice speaks and I try to turn my head to look at its source. The weight on top of me shifts and then slowly moves away. Light falls into the darkness and I find that I''m surrounded by rubble. When I look up, I see Rewera''s face gazing down on me with a gentle expression. So she was lying on top of me.


    No wait, that''s wrong. I remember now. Rewera jumped before me during Kanundra''s explosion and shielded me from it with her own body. She lifts herself off of me and then kneels by my side, smiling weakly. Her uniform flakes from her body and reveals toned shoulders, well-rounded breasts and prominent abdominal muscles underneath. It explains her physical prowess, but not how she was able to withstand the immense heat that could burn even me, even though I''m a Capra demon.


    I stand up onto unsteady feet and look around me. The entire side of the castle has been melted away in the heat explosion and the molten rock has come down all around us in an infernal rain of destruction. There''s not a hint of the maids who fought against Master Thorvadis and Alverost, but where they had been moments ago, only smoldering slag remains; they must have been incinerated.


    Outside, I can see the burning city. No human soldiers in their shiny silver and golden armor can be seen in the streets, but instead demon warriors swarm in from the open gates and scour the houses for survivors. The fact that there is no battle means that the humans retreated before the demon army arrived. This means that they either succeeded and the demon queen is dead, or they failed and had to leave before they would be routed.


    Next to me, Rewera loses consciousness and before I can react, falls forward and onto her face. Only now do I see the grievous burns on her back. Strangely enough, her hair is still intact and completely unscathed, but these wounds must be causing her incredible pain. To care for my comfort even under these circumstances drives tears into my eyes.


    Why would she go so far for a lowly girl like me? With her strength and speed, she could have avoided the explosion by running out of its area of effect. And she''s the sister of the previous demon king; she''s of royalty, an existence on a completely different level from mine. But she saved my life, so I need to do my best to repay her as best as I can. I need to bring her to the infirmary and have Ruwl look after her.


    Mustering all my strength, I lift her up and carry her on my back, her legs dragging across the ground since I''m much smaller than she is. I''m sorry, but that''s the only way I can even move you at all, so bear with it. Grinding my teeth, I slowly set one foot before the next, walking through the ruined corridor of the fallen castle.


    When I reach the corridor leading to the infirmary, the first thing I notice is Xaggavea leaning against a wall, crying. Around her several bodies in maid uniforms lie on the ground bleeding, unmoving and most likely dead. Among them, I spot Ruwl, her open but lifeless eyes telling volumes about her fate. My heart sinks at the sight and my knees give out under the weight of the situation as well as Rewera on my back.


    Xaggavea notices me and turns around, the corners of her eyes swollen and reddened by her crying. She turns to me and reveals that she is missing her right arm and several of her legs, but even then, she attempts to move towards me, clearly intent on helping me with my load. The sight is so heart-rending that tears fill my vision, but determination fills my body with newfound strength.


    We are still alive. And we will survive.


    Chaos Side


    I''m being teleported.


    And who could, under these circumstances, do that to me? Of course, it was Mithra. He''s actually floating next to me in the stream of light, the bandages and heavy robe hiding his features completely. What kind of face is he making, I wonder. It''s clear that he was on my mother''s side in the end, but she most likely ordered him to not interfere with her battle. Is he sad over her death? Is he secretly celebrating, since he may have been a traitor after all?


    I can''t help but feel a certain disassociation with my situation right now. I just lost my mother, but why am I able to stay so calm? I remember being enraged when I got separated from Kamii, and when I learned that she had been teleported somewhere out of reach when I almost found her again. So why am I not sad right now?


    "Why did you transport me away?" I ask Mithra in a low and calm voice.


    "... do you really need an explanation?" He replies with a question of his own. His tone is as composed as mine, and there''s not a hint of mockery in it, even though his words may sound like that.


    "You think that I would have lost." It''s not even a question and I''m not expecting an answer.


    "No, I know that you would have lost." His response is delivered in a very direct manner, which shows that he doesn''t fear any repercussions for it. I don''t really care for his opinion, though.


    "So, what''s the plan, then?" If he says that there is no plan, I''ll kill him right here, even if it means that I''ll be stuck in this teleportation forever...


    "Gather strength." In what sense? "You cannot defeat the gods on your own." He makes a valid point. I can only imagine how it would have gone, if I had fought alongside my mother. But at the same time, I have to wonder why he didn''t help her. Or anyone else in the demon castle, for that matter. She was alone when I found her fighting a group of more than ten people.


    "Go on." That''s all I say, since I''m curious to hear whom I should enlist help from.


    "Gather those who wish to overthrow the gods. Other powerful beings, both human and demon." Now, I''d only need to find people who are strong enough for that. Easy, right? "And become stronger yourself."


    "Where should I start?" I assume our destination is a place where I can do either of those two.


    "With yourself." Mithra states. The stream of light around us is instantly replaced by a gigantic prairie filled with thousands of cow-like animals. "Eat."

 Chapter 67 - Aloha?

    My Chaos-senses are tingling.


    What, you expected me to become a brooding teen who thinks the whole world should end because I watched my mother die and couldn''t do anything about it even though I''m so strong? That I''d never regain my sense of humor and aloof attitude regarding all the fantastical stuff going on around me because of that? Of course I''d get back on my feet quickly, who do you think I am?


    Well, to be fair, I did brood and have doomsday thoughts for a while, and all I did was gorge myself on all life I could find in my vicinity without doing much else. By now I''ve grown immensely once again, and I might have eradicated an entire ecological system in the process. But what do I care? I''m a Crawling Chaos, I need to grow.


    The Chaos-senses I''m talking about are something I seem to have developed only recently. Apparently I can sense life force or whatever you''d call it, and pinpoint it to a frighteningly accurate degree. That''s why even small animals burrowed underground can''t escape me. And of course, I didn''t even spare insects; after all, they''re no different in that they provide nourishment.


    There, found it! I extend a spike explosively into the ground and feel that it has pierced something living. It''s one of those mole-like creatures that spend almost their entire lives underground. Absorbing its insides into the spike, I practically suck it up from the inside out, leaving nothing behind that wasn''t attached to its body. I thought of doing this when I noticed that I can use considerable force when I want to pull something inside me. On small targets, it works wonders.


    By now I might have reached a mass larger than what my mother showed during her battle against the sorcerers. Of course, I doubt mass is going to make a difference against their powers, it will have to be magic or sorcery. It''s what Juzual tried to teach me, and I learned that it was true the hard way.


    Speaking of Juzual, she sent us down to the planet most likely knowing that I couldn''t do anything to help my mother. Considering her last words, it''s clear that she can''t enter the atmosphere because that''s all Zenlith''s domain. Then again, if that was true, he would be able to find me here and come to kill me as well, so his powers must be limited to a certain range. In other words, I can guess that this is far from the Demon Continent - or any of the human continents for that matter.


    Why I have to guess? Because Mithra just left after telling me to eat, and never came back. I''m sure he''s observing me somehow, and it''s clear that he doesn''t think I''m ready to fight the sorcerers yet. I have to admit, it''s quite lonely though, especially when I kill and eat everything living that I see or sense. Then again, I haven''t found any intelligent life that could try to communicate with me, or else I would have stopped and asked where this place is.


    Aurelia, you ask? It seems Mithra somehow extracted her from inside me. I have no idea how he could do that, but when I arrived here and tried to take her out, she wasn''t there anymore. Dissolved? No no no, that can''t happen. I tried and failed before, after all. And she''s made of gold. You can''t dissolve gold with stomach acid... right?


    Oh, and how much time passed? It''s been at least thirty days...


    Yes, I''ve been here for a month now, wandering this place and eating up things without ever finding any humans or demons. Maybe this is an uninhabited continent and Mithra literally wants me to turn it into a lifeless desert, before letting me return.


    And why I''m not returning myself? Because I have neither a map nor any idea where in the world this is. In Chaos Warhead mode I might be able to just circle the entire planet in a day, but it''s still a planet. Considering how much ground I can cover with my vision and how large a planet is, it''d take me a long time to maybe finally find a settlement, let alone a familiar place.


    Why not contact Senka with her spirit telephone? It seems I''m outside the service area of her network. My own fault for shutting her out and then getting teleported away. That way she didn''t see what happened to me and might be thinking that I''m dead. And even if she somehow realized that I''m not, not hearing anything from me for so long might make her think that I just ran away from everything.


    And a month is a long time. I wonder how everyone is doing. Especially Hestia, who might lose her mind over my absence and go on a killing spree. Senka was there when my mother died, so that means Hestia should know, too. Maybe they flew all the way to the demon castle, although I assume they would take at least a day or two to get there, so hopefully by that time the sorcerers were already gone...


    I feel like I''ve gone astray from my path, whatever that path was. I just wanted to have an adventure while returning to the demon castle, live a carefree life as a princess, have fun with all the beautiful maids there and then... well, I didn''t think about anything after that. But where did things go wrong? Was it when I met Rolan and his party? Through knowing me, he somehow ended up in the demon castle and killed my mother, after all. At least I have to assume that there''s a correlation between me knowing him and his presence during the final battle.


    At this point it''s just another name on a list of people I want to kill.


    I''m in a jungle.


    I''ve passed through a dry steppe with very little life, but it was better than the completely empty wasteland I left behind. But now the landscape is gradually turning towards more vegetation and the further I walk, the denser it grows. I''ve stopped simply consuming everything at one point and begun to explore my surroundings, since they look completely different from any I''ve seen in this world so far.


    The trees are tropical, that much is for sure. The climate is really humid and hot, and I''m grateful for this body, which I can regulate however I want to, so that I don''t have to feel any temperatures at all. Even if I ran outside in the sun a lot during my previous life, as a member of the track and field club, it was only in Tokyo. I really didn''t like the heat in Okinawa when we went there on a school trip, since you can''t stop sweating while it doesn''t alleviate the heat at all. It''s worse than the dry heat in the desert, which I experienced for the first time in the Khurut Sultanate.


    I think I found a road. Maybe it''s just an animal trail, but there''s a path leading through the rainforest, so I decide to follow it. If it''s really manmade, I might be able to find my way back into civilization, try to get a map of this place, find my bearings and then fly back to more familiar lands on my own, instead of waiting for Mithra to show up again at a potentially arbitrary point in the future.


    In the distance I hear a swelling and ebbing sound, but I just can''t put my finger on what exactly it is. I can somewhat pinpoint the direction of where it comes from, and this trail seems to lead there as well, so there must be something at the end of it. Maybe there''s a mill or some other structure that makes a sound periodically. I actually hope it is, since it''s quite lonely all on my own.


    Soon I realize that the sound isn''t anything artificial: It''s waves. It seems that I''ve walked for so long that I''m near the sea now. The trail keeps going in a more or less straight line and I notice that some trees seem to have been chopped down to make way for it. In other words, I''m near a civilization that at least has the technology to create tools with which they can fell trees and maintain roads.


    I walk around a rock formation and the landscape opens itself before me. Salty wind greets me as I peer out at the vastness of the ocean. I''m standing atop a tiny hill, and not far from me is a collection of small houses - a village, if you want to stretch that term to its utmost limit. There are no fields surrounding it and it''s clear that the people here live off the sea, which is only a hundred meters beyond the furthest house.


    Under different circumstances this would seem like a place for a quiet vacation, and I would have felt the urge to jump into the sea as soon as possible. But I have a goal in mind, and while it''s not absolutely pressing right now, I don''t really feel like wasting time having fun swimming.


    Transforming my skin to take on the texture of clothes, I basically return to my academy appearance, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a short skirt and a white shirt. I think I won''t go with the same template as last time, since it''s tiring to act weak when you''re just so much more powerful than everyone else around you. Creating a small backpack from my own matter, I pose as a traveler this time.


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    Descending the sandy hill, I keep my eyes on the village. Unlike the one where I met Rolan and the others in, this one doesn''t look active at all. They must be in their homes right now. Well, I guess it''s mealtime, since the sun is high in the sky, so that would explain it. In the last one, I came along in the morning, when everyone is busy with work. Then again, I don''t know the working times of a fishing village, so I might be wrong.


    Now that I''m getting closer, I find that the buildings look different from any of those I''ve seen in this world so far, but their architecture has something familiar about them. The houses are built on stilts that keep them off the ground by around half a meter, which is similar to traditional beach houses in tropical nations - which I''ve only ever seen on photos.


    In line with the warm climate, the houses have a very open design, with large windows covered only with cloth rather than wooden shutters. The building material seems to be limited to wood, with the roofs being covered in giant leaves. I don''t see any metal, let alone glass, so it must mean that this village is either very poor or it''s part of a civilization that is much less developed, when compared to the ones I''ve seen so far.


    When I walk between the houses, I find signs of life here and there. There is a wooden rack with fish hanging to dry standing in front of one of the houses. Judging by the fact that they look fresh, they must have been caught earlier today. In front of another house stands a basket of fresh fruits, which someone must have left temporarily.


    Picking a random house, I ascend the few stairs to the front door and knock on it, which unlike the windows, are properly covered by a wooden panel. I''m fully prepared to be attacked the moment someone opens the door, but a thought crosses my mind first: What if they don''t speak any language that I know? Also, isn''t this door really tall?


    "E¨¢?" A female''s voice from inside speaks with a very distinct intonation that suggests a question. And of course, I don''t understand the language.


    "Umm..." I have no idea how to answer and suddenly I feel nervous at meeting strangers.


    "¨®k iaw?" With an impatient undertone the voice approaches accompanied by footsteps, before the door is opened and a woman with tan skin stands before me. She is almost a head taller than I am and looks to be around her early thirties. Her dark brown hair is very long and naturally wavy, which puffs up its volume and makes her look like a willow tree. With her piercing hazel green eyes, she looks down on me and blinks in confusion at my appearance. "Ah¨¤?"


    "... hello?" It''s obvious that we won''t be able to communicate, but I still try nonetheless.


    "Ah¨¤?! Rangi, ere¨¢h iam! Rangi!" I would have guessed that she''s shocked, if not for the giant grin on her face. Is she excited to see me?


    "Eh ah¨¤ et eam?" A deep bass voice asks from inside and heavy footsteps approach from behind the woman. Then a giant of a man - even taller than Gram and arguably wider - appears in the doorframe, easily towering another head over the woman before me. He''s topless, revealing an impressive physique that rivals that lumberjack''s we encountered on the other side of the mountains back in the kingdom. There are tribal tattoos all over his chest and arms, and it''s safe to assume that they extend to his back, too. His extremely curly hair is tied back in a giant bush of a ponytail, but he lacks all facial and body hair as if balancing things out. All but very bushy eyebrows, which are raised all the way to their limit upon seeing me. "¨®k iaw ien¨¦t?!"


    "Nice... to meet you... too?" I speak reluctantly, wondering at their reactions.


    "Awhina! Ere¨¢h iam, Awhina!" The man turns and booms into the house. I doubt it''s so large inside that he needs to speak so loudly. Also, judging by context, Awhina is a name and ere¨¢h iam means something like "come here", considering the woman used the same to call over the man, who seems to be called Rangi. "Eh oritok ¨¢m!"


    "¨®nit?" The voice of a younger girl - most likely Awhina''s - resounds from within the house and the two make way for her to see me. I say younger, but she''s barely smaller than the older woman. It''s clear that they''re a family, and this girl has inherited the mother''s beautiful face and figure, and the father''s mane and thick eyebrows. On any other girl they wouldn''t have looked right, but on her it''s just perfect. I''d even go so far as to say that they''re her charm point. "On¨®p, eh oritok ¨¢m!"


    Yeah, I have no idea what they''re saying, though. But the girl named Awhina is looking at me with eyes filled with curiosity and awe. There''s not a hint of hostility in these people, so I feel that I can relax. Sighing, I smile to myself. It''ll be a long and difficult road ahead...


    "Agni¨¢k!" Gesturing at the food, presented to me on a large wooden plate, Awhina speaks in an energetic tone. I suppose it means "eat up!", though I wasn''t given any eating utensils, so I guess I''m meant to eat it with my hand.


    Really, I can''t help but be strung along with her high tension, which must be a unique quality to people living near the ocean. It''s the image I had of the local teenagers in Okinawa, too. But it seems that extends to the entire family, as both the mother and father are looking at me with curious grins, as if waiting for my reaction to the cooking.


    Oh, and it seems like the entire village was invited over to see me, as I''m being surrounded by at least a dozen dark-skinned people with similar appearances. When I look around, all I can say is that they''re most definitely humans. There''s not a hint of any appendages humans normally shouldn''t have, such as tails, horns or wings. In other words, I''m most definitely not on the Demon Continent anymore.


    Well, I already assumed that, since I doubt Mithra would have practically told me to do as I wish with the ecosystem of this place otherwise - knowing what that entails. As far as I can remember, the Khurut Sultanate is the southernmost nation on the central continent, and there''s no other human nation anywhere near this kind of climate. The fact that I can''t understand their language, and that it sounds completely different from the one I heard then, means that this isn''t the sultanate, though. And in turn, that means this is a different continent, potentially even outside the maps I''ve seen so far.


    If anything, this place and culture makes me think of Hawaii, but it''s clearly not just a small island nation, since it''s a large landmass that has different climates and environments...


    I look down on the food in surprise. It''s been a long time since I actually ate something properly, using my mouth and tasting it with my tongue. I think the last time was when we were on our way back to the kingdom, a handmade meal by Hestia. I know that it was something very good, but it''s been so long that I don''t even remember its taste anymore, let alone what it contained.


    "Eh iak, ak¨ªt?" Awhina asks me with a confident expression. She must have cooked it and is asking me if it''s good. I nod in response and her face lights up in joy as she turns to her parents and the other villagers. "E iap an¨¢ ai!"


    I think it''s a dish made with grilled fish, fruits and spices. I never knew you could combine these things to make something so tasty, and I find myself savoring the taste over filling my belly. After all, I''ve been eating tons of biological matter every day since coming here, so I shouldn''t really be so hungry as to wolf this down. Instead, I take the time to enjoy a moment of peace, surrounded by these villagers who have received me so warmly.


    A dark thought crosses my mind: What if they knew I was a demon? Would their excited smiles and friendly expressions disappear if I were to grow horns right at this moment? Would they run away or try to attack me?


    I look at Awhina, whose piercing hazel green eyes - just like her mother''s - are filled with sparkles as she watches me eat. She seems really excited to see someone who looks so completely different from her in appearance, but I doubt she''d give me that expression if she saw me transform into something else right now.


    Of course their smiles and friendly expressions would disappear. Of course they would run away or try to attack me.


    Without thinking, I let the backpack I refused to put aside - since it''s part of my body - break out into demonic wings. My blond hair turns purple, I dispel my clothes and let my skin color change into a bluish gray tone, before sprouting horns like my mother''s and basically turning into a copy of her. It''s the very image of a demon, although I don''t know whether that''s true for the humans in this world or just my preconception from my previous life. Regardless, I''m making it sufficiently clear that I''m not a human with this.


    Everyone is shocked and silence lays itself like a heavy blanket over the room. Of course they would be, this transformation came without any warning, after all. But unexpectedly, no panic breaks out and the villagers look at me in confusion rather than fear.


    "Ah!" Awhina points at me in realization. "Tama, Tane!"


    That''s not the kind of reaction I was expecting at all. A grin returns to her face when she seems to make a connection of her own and recognizes my transformation ability. The other villagers hear her words and their faces light up in realization as well, as they begin to talk to each other while pointing at me. Hey, did nobody teach you that pointing at someone is rude?


    "Etir un¨®t ai ik a uot¨¤r!" Awhina turns to her parents and grins. " Em ogn¨¢t uot¨¢t e ai aik etik ai uot¨¤r."


    I don''t understand a word she''s saying, but it''s clear that this isn''t the first time she has seen someone transform. There''s no sense of fear, and my motivation puffers out completely at their enthusiasm despite my demonic appearance. Returning to the looks I had in my previous life, with short black hair and dark brown eyes, I show off how I looked before being reincarnated.


    "Eh akit uah¨¢!" With this exclamation, the hyperactive girl turns to the villagers, who look at me with expressions of awe. Maybe they now think I''m a goddess or something... "Em ere¨¢h ik ot eno¨¢t o op¨®p¨¢ aik etik ai Tama auar ok Tane." Hm, this is the second time I''m hearing these distinct words that make me think of Japanese names. Maybe they belong to people who have the ability to transform, too.


    Tama and Tane, huh? Sounds like names given to pet cats...

 Chapter 68 - Windwaker

    I wanted to move on after the meal, but through many words that I was unable to understand - and much gesturing - Awhina''s family was able to convince me to stay. They''re going so far as to present me with an increasing amount of food. It seems that this fishing village is far from poor and actually doing really well, to be able to just give out free food to a stranger like this.


    Through the villagers'' interactions with this family, I learned that Rangi seems to be a figure of importance, as they''re quite respectful when talking to him. He does wear a tooth necklace with a dozen large fangs, while the others have one or two at most, so maybe he''s the chief of this village. But at the same time, he doesn''t have an air of eminence as one would expect from someone of high status. His demeanor is casual and he laughs a lot.


    By the way, it seems that being tall is in the genes of these people. But even then, none of them are anywhere near Rangi''s size, with the men only reaching about the mother''s height - whose name seems to be Ruiha. In other words, this family is something special. But leaving height aside, Awhina is really beautiful. Compared to all the other villagers, she''s on a completely different level. There''s something wild about her, and her attitude is really refreshing.


    Maybe it''s because she wears a tiny cloth vest tied with a single string in the front, which is barely able to contain her large breasts - although they''re a little smaller than mine. Covering her lower body is a short skirt made of leaves and adorned with feathers, but it''s practically open on the sides when she moves, showing off her delicious brown thighs.


    This reminds me, it''s been a long time since I last...


    "Ere¨¢h iam! Ak uta¨¤k¨¢hw uah¨¢ ik a eok." The girl in question suddenly plops down in front of me with her face really close to mine, a wide smile on her lips as she speaks to me in words I don''t understand at all. I think I might be able to learn it with time, but I don''t really want to spend too much time here. "Ere¨¢h iam!" She pulls me by my hand and I feel like I''m already learning. These last two words she said to me must mean "come with me".


    It seems that she wants to show me around the village, although I have to wonder what there is to see in such a small place. Awhina opens the front door and jumps down the few steps to the ground below. Since she''s keeping a strong grip on my arm, it forces me to do the same.


    "Aihuta¨¢kahw uta et etu¨¢kahw, Awhina." Ruiha calls after her daughter in a warning tone. "A au¨¢k e ekeh¨¢p." Yeah, I have nothing.


    "Ak oih¨°m!" The latter responds and pulls me along. I guess we''ll go on a little tour, then.


    As expected, the village is just these few houses I saw from the hill, and its sights are limited. But it seems Awhina has more to show me, as she guides me along the beautiful beach, past rows of sailing boats pulled onto the sand so that they don''t drift away. From here I can actually see that this place is located in a large bay, with a long peninsula stretching outward on our right and a small cliff on the left. We''re heading for the latter, which should provide a nice view on the surrounding area. Maybe I can spot a bigger village from there.


    I''m actually enjoying my time here. It reminds me of the journey from Hovsgaerden to the capital, where I could see all kinds of landscapes I might never have seen in my previous life. While the sea seems to be the same no matter where you go, experiencing another culture like this is something precious. I''m finding solace in this encounter, after ending up in this unfamiliar place because Mithra just dropped me off without much of an explanation.


    There is a dirt path leading up the cliff, which leads through a patch of jungle. When I look down, I realize that Awhina is going barefoot, apparently not afraid of stepping on sharp rocks or branches. This makes me consider that these people must be very close to nature and have a fundamentally different understanding of it when compared to those who live in large cities. Maybe that''s one reason for their openness.


    When we reach the top, the world seems to open up before me, even more than it already did when I first got out of the jungle and found the village. This open view on the ocean, being able to see the curvature of the planet and feeling the wind on my body, all works together to make this an unforgettable sight.


    "Thank you, Awhina." I look up to the girl beside me and smile. She responds in kind, most likely understanding what I mean from the context of the situation.


    "Ak ere¨¢h uot¨¤m ik ari¨¦r ik et uat¨¢kahw ai Tama auar ok Tane op¨®p¨¢." The dark-skinned girl says and points towards our left. There''s an island in the distance, which isn''t visible from the village because of this cliff. Judging by the mention of the names Tama and Tane again, I assume they live over there. Is she saying that we''ll go there right now? She didn''t bring a boat, so does it mean she expects me to fly us over there with my wings? I mean, I did show off my wings earlier, so I guess that''s actually an option.


    Forming Hestia''s black angel wings, I approach Awhina with the intention of carrying her in my arms, but she backs away from me and shakes her head.


    "Er¨°ak ien¨¢iani." She says and peers out towards the sea. "Ak atup iam eh ihuput." As if in response to her words, a sharp wind rises and I can see a dark cloud front appearing over the horizon, rapidly moving towards us. So her concern is that a storm is going to be coming soon and we won''t be able to get back afterwards, huh? Well, I don''t think I''ll be having any troubles flying through a storm, if I go in Chaos Warhead mode, and I could take her inside my body. But in consideration of the fact that Awhina is a normal human, I''ll refrain from doing that; she might go insane after all.


    Maybe I should have gone when I had the chance to. The storm has hit hard and has been raging without letting up much for the past five days now. It''s a wonder that no houses have been blown away, but I guess it''s because the winds aren''t as strong as in an actual hurricane. However, the rain is coming down as if the ocean has been thrown into the air, drumming on the leaf-covered roof in a constant din that first grated on my nerves but to which I''ve already grown accustomed by now.


    It seems life comes to a standstill in the village during such storms. There is enough food stockpiled to last for weeks, the windows are all covered with boards and no wind passes into the house, turning it into an isolated island. In the middle of what can only be described as the living room is a fireplace, which is depression walled off with rocks - the only place in the house not build with wood. The fire illuminates the otherwise dark interior of the house, where the family enjoys some quality time together due to being unable to leave the house for all this time.


    Normally this wouldn''t stop me from moving about outside - it hasn''t when I experienced similar storms further inland - but maybe I was just looking for an excuse to rest my soul for a while here. Even though we''re still unable to understand each other''s spoken language, I''ve become quite adept at communicating with Awhina and her family through gestures.


    Rangi seems to like telling stories and the two women in the house hang onto every word he says with sparkling eyes. Maybe it''s simply because what he has to say is so exciting, or because it''s their nature to have exaggerated reactions to everything, but I can''t help but be taken along for the ride, even when I don''t understand anything. Enjoying the mesmerizing effect of his deep bass voice, I feel my body relaxing and sleep coming over me most of the time, even though I don''t need any due to this convenient body.


    I would wake up with Awhina lying beside me and the parents gone to their own room quietly. Seeing her peaceful sleeping face, I can''t help but feel at peace myself. I''m taken back to my time at the academy, when I spent some carefree days with Kamii, Senka and Hestia. Ever since coming to this world, that has been the only place where I could truly relax for some time without being on the move or having to train for a definitive purpose - such as when I was on the moon.


    I wonder what Kamii and the others are doing. It must have been over three months since I''ve last seen her, but her image is still vivid before my eyes. No matter what happens along the way, I will return to her side, and at that time, I will make sure to never leave her alone again.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    On the morning of the seventh day, the storm has finally passed when I wake up in the living room alone. Awhina isn''t by my side, and instead I smell something strange in the air. I think there''s something rotten here...


    "Auk etir et ihi¨²kar¨¢p!" Her voice resounds through the house and I''m fully awake. In the recent days I learned that this phrase means that breakfast is ready, although I can''t tell what each of the words are individually.


    Coming from the kitchen, which is only used when guests are sleeping in the living room - where the food is normally prepared in the fireplace - Awhina carries a huge tray with wooden plates filled with something I can''t identify. It looks to be some kind of cooked sea-dwelling life form, but the stench makes me think it''s actually just a decaying carcass she found outside the house after the storm has passed.


    "Ok et iak otihwat ien¨¦t i ir¨´m i et agna¨¤p o et au." She states with a mischievous grin and places the tray before me. From close up, it does look like something decomposing, the brown and green colors not helping to make it more appetizing. I''ve eaten a lot of things, but I can say with pride that even I wouldn''t consume something that has been dead for long enough that maggots could be crawling all over it-


    Ugh, I feel like throwing up at the thought alone.


    "Iek et onit aih¨¢ih eok ik et ih¨¢m i ien¨¦t, Awhina?" Ruiha comes after her with another tray, but this one is filled with more familiar and normal looking food. Her tone makes it clear that she doesn''t fully approve of her daughter''s actions. "Ak er¨¦r ai."


    "Eh iap, eh iap." Awhina responds while waving her off with a grin. I look around, wondering where Rangi went. Maybe he already ran away from whatever this cooking is. I know that she can cook pretty well, but maybe it''s one of those cases where she has this one experimental dish that always goes wrong, but she thinks it''s actually really good.


    Looking at me with a wide grin, the tan girl who''s half a head taller than me has an expression of giggly expectation. It''s not the kind of smile I''d want to protect, but it somehow really suits her. Guess there''s nothing to it, I''ll try whatever she created here; it can''t be worse than myself, right? And as long as it''s organic, I can break it down inside me, so no harm done, right?


    Taking a piece without knowing what exactly I''m holding between my fingers, I guide it to my lips while sealing my nostrils from the inside, so that I don''t have to smell it. Yes, it''s that bad! And then, when I finally put it in my mouth, the sensation on my tongue has me suppressing a gag reflex. It feels like jelly that slowly but never completely melts away and just sticks around.


    But the explosion of taste has me open my eyes wide. And not in shock, but in surprise.


    What''s this? It''s tasty! I would have never guessed that something with such an awful appearance and smell could taste so good! It... reminds me of a combination of sea urchin and natto! Maybe it''s actually something similar?


    I can''t stop eating, and Awhina looks at me in surprise at first, but then a huge bright grin appears on her face. Apparently she''s really happy that I like it. Ruiha sighs with a relieved smile and takes the tray she''s carrying away again. I guess she was expecting that I wouldn''t like this strange stuff and prepared another meal as a precaution. Now that I''ve shown that I actually like it, there is no more need for the emergency replacement. Well, I could still eat that, too~


    It seems Rangi was out inspecting the damages done by the storm and to see how the other villagers are doing. He really seems like the chief, but somehow it also feels different. If only I could speak their language and ask him directly. I can see him carrying a large pile of logs that look too heavy for a person even of his size, and walking around like it''s nothing. Well, it''s not impossible, so I won''t question it. After all, I''ve seen a tiny cat girl wielding a giant hammer that even a fully grown man shouldn''t be able to swing.


    "Ak ere¨¢h!" Awhina pulls me towards the beach, where tons of driftwood lie around from after the storm. We approach a large flock of seagulls that flap their wings frantically and fly away when we run straight through them, towards a boat on the shore. It seems she intends to take me to the island she showed me on the day I first arrived here, where Tama and Tane live. I could carry her and fly there, but I''ll go along with this little adventure by sea.


    The design of the boat is quite strange. What seem to be two carved tree trunks shaped like canoes - a large one and a small one - are placed in parallel and then tied a distance away from each other using two slightly curved logs. Near the front end of the larger trunk is the boat''s only mast, to which the triangular sail is attached. The sail seems to be operated by pulling on ropes, but it''s folded up right now to avoid the wind carrying it out to sea.


    We push the boat into the water and jump onto the larger of the two canoes. Awhina stands up and pulls up the sail, before turning it into the wind, upon which we quickly gain speed. I don''t regret going the slower way, as I''m able to experience something like this, which I most likely would have never done in my previous life. Feeling the breeze of the ocean on my whole body, I enjoy the surf and spread my arms. Seeing me, the dark-skinned girl laughs heartily.


    Quickly navigating around the cliff from which she showed me the island a week ago, Awhina adeptly avoids large waves and manages to keep a constant speed despite the strong and ever-changing winds. I can tell from her easy-going attitude that she''s using this mode of transport a lot, to the point where it has become second nature, and that she enjoys traveling across the sea like this.


    It didn''t take long for us to reach the island, possibly even less than an hour. If she hadn''t held me back when I wanted to fly us there, it would have maybe taken only a few minutes to reach it. Yet, I don''t feel like I wasted this week doing practically nothing; it was peace and nourishment for my soul, which I had been neglecting in the past two months. I feel completely refreshed and my mind is clear.


    From a distance I can see a small village, similar to the one we just came from. That must be our destination, since Awhina is steering straight towards it. There are some villagers working on their boats on the shore, and one of them notices our approach. It''s a young man, barely in his twenties, topless as is the custom among the men, and featuring a few tattoos on his arms. It seems that the amount of tattoos denotes someone''s rank in this culture, considering Rangi is covered with them all over. The large ponytail he sports seems to be the traditional hairstyle of this culture. He waves to us and I can spot a wide smile on his face. It seems high tension is very normal among these people.


    "A¨¦hep eok, Awhina!" He calls out to my captain.


    "Eh iap u¨¢ha, Kahu!" Awhina responds with an exaggerated waving gesture and we soon glide onto the beach alongside a wave. Jumping off the boat, we quickly pull it further ashore, before finally turning our attention to the villagers that begin to gather at the unfamiliar sight of me.


    I could have changed my appearance to match theirs to avoid any complications, but by now I know that they have no hint of hostility towards the unknown and foreign - which is really strange, considering how isolated they seem to be from the rest of the world. It''s clear they don''t know anything about demons, after all, or they wouldn''t have welcomed me so warmly.


    "Iek aeh a Tama auar ok Tane?" Awhina asks, and I assume she wants to know where these two are right now. "Eh etir ien¨¦t ik a uot¨¢r." She pauses for a moment and then turns towards me with a thick eyebrow raised in a thoughtful expression. "I et ara, eh ah¨¤ uot a¨°gni?"


    I have no idea what she''s asking me and blink at her in non-comprehension.


    "Ok ukot a¨®gni ok Awhina." Pointing at herself, she says slowly. I can understand her sentiment in trying to speak in an easily comprehensible way, but it doesn''t change the fact that I don''t know what the words mean. But I know that she just said that her name is Awhina. "Eh ah¨¤ eok?" She points at me. I see, she must be asking what my name is. I stayed at her home and even slept together for a week, and she never thought of asking me before? Guess she''s kind of an airhead. But then again, I didn''t introduce myself either, so it''s partially my fault, too.


    "... Chaos." I say and point at myself. "... my name is Chaos..." Repeating it to myself under my breath, I feel something heavy weigh down on my figurative heart at this.


    Then my Chaos-senses suddenly begin to tingle. It''s different from when I pinpoint hidden life force, considering there''s so much life around me. Instead, it''s something incredibly familiar, while at the same time I can''t tell at all what exactly it is. All I can say is that there are two special presences among the gathered villagers.


    And they''re coming closer.


    I look past Kahu and see two small girls come forward from among the gathered villagers. They have tan skin like all the others, but their hair is blond and they have blue eyes. But their most distinguishing feature is - ironically - the fact that they look like mirror images of each other. They''re clearly twins, and they''re foreigners just like me.


    And I think they''re Crawling Chaoses.


    I see surprise in their piercing blue eyes when they come closer, before they break into a sprint right towards me. Huh?! Wait wait wait! Don''t come at me like that! I-I''ll attack!


    They each grab one of my arms and cuddle onto them, and I''m struck speechless just like everyone else. Then, as if adhering to the rule of twins, they both speak at the same time, sounding like stereo speakers coming from both my sides.


    "Finally, we get to meet you, mama!"

 Chapter 69 - Its Still a Sex Thing

    "Finally, we get to meet you, mama!"


    ... come again?


    "Hm? You aren''t happy to see us, mama?"


    "Did we do something wrong, mama?"


    They look up at me with tearful eyes and my resistance melts away.


    No, wait! I don''t remember giving birth! And considering the fact that I only ever had a go at it with Hestia... don''t tell me, she got pregnant on the rooftop back then? I pulled out when we did it again on our journey back to the academy, and it''s not been long enough for a full pregnancy in either of these cases. But maybe it''s different for Fatas, and I''m a Crawling Chaos, so apparent age isn''t the same as actual age...


    I can feel my nonexistent brain overheating due to the barrage of thoughts at this revelation.


    "I don''t remember having two kids your age! Actually, I don''t remember having any kids at all!" I try to shake them off, but they hold onto my arms with vise-like grips.


    Hm? Arms?


    !!!


    Don''t tell me they''re my arms that were torn off when my mother teleported me to the Dark Continent back then! I mean, Asoko was formed frommy entire lower half, so her being another me can be somewhat explained that way - even if not really comprehended. But I never stopped to consider that my arms could turn into viable life forms of their own, even after meeting Asoko.


    "Are you... my arms?" I ask them, already sensing that the answer will be an affirmation of my suspicions. After all, their presences feel really familiar.


    "We don''t know what part of you we were formed from, but we recognize you as our mother." They speak in unison and look at me with beaming smiles. Ugh, that''s too cute, my heart can''t take it!


    "E oih¨°m ana eok ihat¨¦t ik ihat¨¦t?" Awhina tilts her head and looks at the two girls clinging to me.


    "Ea, ok ai ot uot¨¢t ae¨¢hw." They respond in their language, free of any accent and in the most natural way imaginable. How are they able to... oh wait, I guess they were stranded here after the teleportation, gained a consciousness and have since lived with these villagers. But that makes me wonder how they''re able to speak my language free of any accent, too; they couldn''t have learned it from the villagers.


    "Ah¨¤?!" Awhina''s eyes seem to pop out of their sockets at their answer. I guess they told her that I''m their mother... Yep, she stares at me with her mouth open, completely dumbfounded by the revelation - just as I have been moments ago.


    "So, what are your names?" I know they''re Tama and Tane, but I''ll need to know who is who. Unlike those typical perfect twins, their appearances are literally mirrored from each other, starting from the hair and going all the way to their clothes and accessories. At closer inspection, I can see that their eyes are actually heterochromatic, albeit only a mild form of it. One has her right eye in a lighter bluish gray, the other has the same in her left eye.


    "The villagers named me Tama."


    "The villagers named me Tane."


    The two speak at the exact same time and their names overlap. But I was able to make out that the one clinging to my right arm is Tama - whose right eye is the bluish gray one - and the one on my left is Tane. That should be easy to remember then, unless they decide to change their appearances using their convenient bodies, just like when I do it.


    "But you are our mama, so you should give us our names." Every time they call me mama, I feel a wave of warmth wash over my figurative heart. So that''s how my mother felt when I called her that, huh? I can see why she was always so happy while talking to me.


    Well, I''m fine with them being Tama and Tane, but it does remind me of pet names. I think it''s safe to assume that Tama was my right arm and Tane my left. While I was left-handed in my previous life, I don''t have any such restrictions now, so the two girls came out exactly the same, except for being mirrored.


    "Migi and Hidari..." I mutter to myself. Right and left. "Your name will be Migi, and yours Hidari." I raise my voice so that it''s audible to them, looking at Tama and then Tane.


    "Migi and Hidari." The two repeat their new names with wondrous expressions.


    "No, wait!" I have an atrocious naming sense. Asoko being literally "that part" for the lower half of my body is bad enough, but she actually rolled with it and I couldn''t take it back when I realized how stupid it was a while later. I can''t do the same again with these two; they don''t know what the words mean, so their joy at being given these as names is genuine. Seeing that will only make me feel bad.


    "Hm?" They look up at me and tilt their heads.


    "Uten and Saten." I correct myself. They''re still written with the characters for right and left, but at least they are proper names. Right Heaven and Left Heaven.


    And this reminds me of Mithra''s words when we were mid-teleportation: Gather strength. Gather those who wish to overthrow the gods. Other powerful beings, both human and demon.


    Did he send me here knowing that I would meet these two? But that can''t be right... I traveled for a long time before coming here and then coincidentally met someone who, upon seeing me transform, was reminded of them and guided me here. There were too many coincidences for this to have been planned by that guy.


    "Uten."


    "Saten."


    The two repeat the names, and their expressions become even more wondrous than before. It seems they like it. Tama and Tane, now Uten and Saten. Since they''re my right and left arms, I''ll be having them join me in my battle against the sorcerers. As Crawling Chaoses and my children, they have to share my goal in this one. After all, their grandmother died at the hands of those self-proclaimed gods.


    "Thank you, mama!" They let go of my arms and nuzzle into my sides, and I just can''t help but pet their heads. Their hair was replicated pretty well, it''s so fluffy~


    Wait, where did they get their templates from? They can''t have eaten any of the villagers, since aside from a tan, they look nothing like these people. Maybe they traveled here and had the opportunity to get the template on their way. In either case, I will have a long talk with them later, when we''re not being stared at by a bunch of people.


    "So first things first... you''re aware of what you two are, right?" I ask my two cute little children. Damn, I''m already feeling like a mother! I''m too young for that! It''ll make people think it was a teen pregnancy!


    "Hm? The villagers say we are gods." Uten and Saten respond in a matter of fact tone. Does that mean these people here also believe in the same kinds of gods as the people on the human continents? Their culture is distinctly different from the ones I''ve seen so far, so they should have their own kind of pantheon. I mean, it seems that even the Khurut Sultanate has a different set of gods from the Kingdom of Lares.


    "Why do they say so?" And does that mean they think I''m a goddess, too?


    "Because we can do things only gods can do." With this, they mirror each other in transforming one arm into a large bone sword. At the sight I can see some of the villagers look at them in awe. Hm, that''s not how Awhina and her family reacted to me? I turn to look at her and it seems that she''s used to the sight, since she only gives them a questioning look, wondering what brought on their sudden display of their power.


    "What do you mean, only gods can do? You''re saying it like you''ve seen some gods." I''m really confused about all this. Is one of these sorcerers living around here? But if that were the case, he or she wouldn''t have overlooked the existence of these two.


    "Yes, we have. Awhina''s father is one." Pointing at the girl in question, they state in a matter of fact tone.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ... huh?


    "So you''re saying that there are many gods living among the people in these parts." We''re sitting in the house that has been constructed for the twins after they were found in the wilderness of the island, and I''m trying to gain clarification in regards to the casual use of the term "god" in this place.


    "Yes, we have met several so far."


    "For example, Rangi is a land god."


    Uten and Saten speak in turns, completing each other''s sentences. If it wasn''t for the fact that I know they came from the same being - to be precise, from me - I would have found it really unnerving. But now it''s actually endearing to see them like this.


    "Eh ah¨¢ om uk¨¢t pap¨¢?" Awhina, who''s sitting with us and has been unable to follow our conversation so far, notices the mention of her father''s name and leans forward with an expression of anticipation. I understood exactly one word in her question, which seems to be a common term even in the different languages of this world - papa.


    "Iek et maramak¨¢hw-" Uten starts.


    "-uot¨¤m eh aut¨¤ ot pap¨¢." And Saten finishes.


    "Eua, ak etik uah¨¢..." Trailing off, Awhina mutters and sits back again, apparently disappointed that there isn''t a way to join in on our conversation. Well, it''s a shame I don''t understand her language, so it can''t be helped.


    "Do you know the god named Zenlith?" I ask the important question straight away.


    "Zenlith? Never heard of one with that name. From which village?" The twins respond in unison and look at each other questioningly. That means I was right in my assumption that their understanding of gods is different from that of the humans I''ve met so far. It seems that beings with special powers are considered gods, and there is no definitive pantheon in this culture.


    "Hm, I guess I understand now." I lie down and look up at the ceiling in thought. These local gods make me think of spirits rather than gods in the sense of Greek or Norse ones. Maybe they''re more like the kami from Shintoism, who are said to exist all over Japan. Well, unlike in Japan, these people being called gods here are definitely real.


    I have yet to see what makes Rangi a god, other than maybe his strength. But assuming a long lifespan and many experiences, I can understand that he has many stories to tell, and why Ruiha and Awhina hung onto every word he told. Really though, marrying a god and having a child with him must have been considered a huge honor. And that makes Awhina a demi-goddess, huh?


    I turn my head to look at her, and she returns the gaze with a questioning expression. There was really nothing divine about Rangi and neither is there about his daughter. It may just be my preconception about gods, but it feels like they need to have a certain kind of aura surrounding them to come across as one. I could feel it with Zenlith and the sorcerers, but then again, they aren''t real gods. I guess the definition is different for people all over the world.


    "... what are you doing?" I lift my head to find Uten and Saten creeping onto me and nuzzling into my sides. I''m not really opposed to skinship, but somehow this doesn''t feel like the right time for doing that. Mama is trying to think about important things here.


    Damn! I''m thinking like a mother again!


    "We want to be with you, mama." They say and lay their heads between my shoulders and my breasts, finding the perfect little niches for themselves.


    "Oh well..." As long as they don''t disturb my thoughts, I''m fine with this.


    "Ak ohiaw e uah¨¢ ik a eok." I hear Awhina''s slightly flustered voice and turn to her. Catching a glimpse of an embarrassed blush before she stands up and leaves the room, I wonder what''s up with her.


    "It was beginning to get boring-


    -with just the two of us."


    Uten and Saten suddenly touch one of my breasts each and look up at me with seductive expressions. Huh?


    "The villagers are too fearful-


    -or respectful of us being gods.


    And because we still-


    -have the bodies of children.


    So they won''t-


    -play with us." Their back and forth is beginning to confuse me, but their actions are even more so. Are they... coming onto me? Their own mother? "Play with us, mama." Play what?!


    How did this happen? I was reunited with my two arms, which had been torn off during my very first teleportation journey and have turned into two living beings since, only a while ago. They immediately recognized me as their mother, and I gave them new names, just like a mother should. Soon, we started talking about the villages and gods living among the humans here.


    Then they came onto me with seductive intentions.


    My clothes are made from my body, which is currently using the genes of Hestia, but with a physical appearance approximated to how I looked like in my previous life. In other words, all the nerves and facilities are there. Their multi-pronged attack on my chest, neck, stomach and lips is leaving me no room to defend myself. And the fact that I haven''t done it in a long time is making me not want to resist at all and simply enjoy it.


    But they''re my children!


    Though actually, they''re my arms, so this would be more like touching myself with my own hands, right? I mean, if I had done it with Asoko, it would have been selfcest, since she''s literally another me. These two clearly aren''t other me''s, but genetically - if a Crawling Chaos even has its own set of genes - they should still be a hundred percent me. So this is also selfcest, right?


    Crap, thinking about that is making me lose any will of stopping this.


    Not that I had any in the first place...


    "Tell us if we are-


    -doing something wrong."


    They have a perfect synchronization rate. Uten, who has been nibbling on my neck, stops to speak first, upon which Saten intensifies her assault on my lips with her own. When the former finishes, she switches places with the latter for an almost seamlessly continued pressing of the attack on my senses.


    This is the first time I''ve been on the receiving end and it feels really strange. But somehow I can''t bring myself to stop them and take the initiative myself; I''m still hesitant because of our connection, even though my body is clearly past that. I can feel the excitement building, at finally being able to do it again.


    The twins'' breaths grow hotter as they begin to feel excited as well, and I think it''s about time that I return the favor. This will be the first time I do a threesome, even though I had several opportunities to do so before. To think my first experience in one would be with my own offspring... the taboo still ingrained into my mind only serves to make this more arousing. I''ll be having not only selfcest, but also twincest at the same time!


    "I can''t take it anymore..." Uten and Saten back away from me and take off their shirts, showing off their upper bodies. Rather than small breasts, I''d say they have none. How old are their apparent ages? I can''t really tell. Still, they are Crawling Chaoses, so age has no meaning. Otherwise I''d be considered way underage myself. I sit up and lick my lips in anticipation, watching them opening the strings to undo their feathered skirts.


    The moment they do, my mind goes blank at the sight.


    There''s something that shouldn''t be there. Reflected in my eyes are two grotesque things, standing upright and pulsating closer to my face than I''d like them to be. Is that how Hestia saw it back when we stayed over at the inn in the Mineva Republic? When I approached her with the sole intention of filling her up?


    These two are male?


    "What''s wrong, mama?"


    "Those..." I point at the poles standing at full mast. "Why do you have those...?"


    "What do you mean, why?" They tilt their heads in unison and ask innocently. "We had them from the very beginning."


    Don''t tell me... that''s the genetic template of the human king I ate? It was the only template I had at the time of the teleportation incident! But wait, when I first woke up, I had no templates at all. I didn''t inherit any from my mother, so why did they? I won''t be able to find the answers to these questions on my own, but with my mother dead, I''ll have to put the pieces together myself and...


    "Mghph?!"


    Something thick was just shoved into my mouth and blew all my thoughts away.


    "Ah! That''s unfair, Saten!" I hear Uten''s voice but only see a tan stomach before me. That must be Saten''s, who just forced himself onto me. As expected, as a former left-handed person, my former left hand takes the initiative!


    "Mama... your mouth feels so good~" Saten speaks and I can feel my heart beat faster at the praise.


    No wait, timeout!


    But since I can''t talk with my mouth full, I don''t get a timeout. Instead, Saten begins to move his hips. He''s forcefully going in and out! I try to push him away, but I''m sitting on the floor and he''s standing, so I can''t muster any strength with my mind completely blank at the sensation in my mouth and throat. Then I feel him hitting my gag re-


    Alright, this is enough!


    "Aaah!!!" Saten screams and pulls back, before falling onto his bottoms and covering his crotch. The large member befitting of an adult''s is no longer there, although he isn''t bleeding; that''s the convenience of a Crawling Chaos body - to not spill blood when wounded. I swallow and absorb the matter I just bit off and wipe the saliva from the corner of my mouth.


    "H-how could you do that, mama?!" Uten is holding his own crotch, apparently sharing in on the pain of his twin brother - even if only in the psychological sense. Neither should be actually hurt. All arousal was blown away and his member is shrinking quickly.


    "Uten! Saten!" I stand up, cross my arms, look down on them with a stern expression and call out their names in a reprimanding tone. The twins flinch at my voice and look up at me in fear. "You can''t force yourself onto people like that!" I don''t really care about other people, but you can''t do that with me!


    "B-but..." Saten looks up at me with teary eyes, but I won''t fall for that.


    "If you want to do it with me, you have to become girls!"

 Chapter 70 - A Real Faux Pas

    "Become girls?" Uten and Saten ask in unison, tilting their heads in mirrored directions. I almost laughed out loud at the sight, but hold myself back, since I have to remain serious and stern right now. After all, they need to be taught a lesson. "How?"


    "I see... nobody was there to teach you what you really are... Well, let''s start with the fact that we''re not gods." Even if by these villagers'' definition, we would be considered something like that. "We are from a species called Crawling Chaos." I hope they don''t ask me what exactly a Crawling Chaos is, since aside from supposedly being some kind of cosmic horrors, I don''t really know either.


    "Ohh~" They make with awestruck expressions.


    "There are two ways for us Crawling Chaos to change form." I remember how my mother taught me soon after I first woke up in this world. To think I can impart knowledge onto my own children using the very same method in which I was taught... "The first is through consumption. Things we eat will get dissolved inside our bodies and the genetic material will enable us to perfectly replicate their appearances in life."


    "What is... jennettic material?" Uten and Saten ask with difficult expressions. Huh, so that''s where I have to start explaining?


    "Genetic material is the basis on which every living being is constructed. It''s the blueprint of life." Or something like that. I don''t really know myself, only what I learned and retained from school. "Here, let me show you."


    I stretch out my hands and shift the surface of my body around, causing my simulated clothes to disappear. I''m actually standing in my full naked glory in front of my children right now, but at this point we''re far beyond such things. Bursting forth from my back are black angel wings, while my body shrinks slightly and my breasts grow bigger; I fully turn into Hestia. Of course, I don''t know my face looks right now, since there are no mirrors, but I used her genetic template, so it should be right. And now that I took on her form, I feel like seeing the real deal again...


    The twins look at me with wondrous expressions. Saten apparently forgot that his member has just been bitten off, but since we Crawling Chaoses don''t really feel much of any pain - aside from when we''re burned, I think - it doesn''t seem to cause him any problems. They exchange a glance and look me up and down, with their eyes clearly stopping on my breasts and the important bits below.


    "Eyes up here." My voice pulls them out of their trance. Is this the nature of a Crawling Chaos? I did have a lot of such urges at the academy, once I was able to settle down in a peaceful environment. Considering the fact that they''re being treated with respect here, I''d say they never had experienced any real hardships and were left alone with their libido. There was nobody to teach them that they had to keep it in check, like Senka did for me. Who knows what would have happened, if I had completely let go of myself back then.


    "I-It''s just that we have never seen a woman''s body before." Their flustered expressions are kinda cute. "How do we do that?"


    "You should know from instinct, when I tell you that you''re now in possession of the template for this appearance." They have ingested Hestia''s genetic material through my saliva, when we kissed earlier. After all, my currently only - and preferred - method of replicating an actual working female body rather than a fake human form is by utilizing her genetics as a base. So they can either use that or try with visual information alone. "You should know how to use it."


    The twins seem to be looking into themselves for a while and come to a realization. Then their bodies shift and their skin tones takes on the same as mine, as they sprout wings and their chest grows out. However, they seem to stop midway; their height is around the same as Kamii''s, their wings are too small to allow for flight and their chests, while larger than Aurelia''s, are nowhere near Hestia''s.


    "It seems that we don''t-


    -have enough mass for it." Uten starts and Saten finishes his line. Or her, at this point. They replicated Hestia alright, but apparently only her form when she was around their own physical age. So this is how she looked when she was younger? "We''re sorry that we couldn''t do it properly, mama..." They look up at me with tearful expressions, but seeing two naked loli-Hestias before me like this is too much.


    I pet their hair in a comforting gesture and lick my lips.


    "We still prefer a male form..." Uten and Saten say as they get dressed. I sit up from the carpet and stare at them in shock. How could my offspring ever want to be male? Especially after the pleasure they just experienced in female forms!


    "Did you not like it?" I know they did, because their voices were quite loud and not at all subdued, despite the fact that the windows are only covered with transparent cloths. In other words, all the villagers heard what we did in here without a doubt. Well, I don''t really care, since I don''t have to justify myself in front of any of these people, and I''ll teach these two that they can do the same. Although, maybe they already think that way.


    "No, don''t get us wrong-


    -we really enjoyed it-


    -and we would love to-


    -do it again with you..." They bounce back and forth, and it''s kinda tiring to follow the conversation that way, but it''s so cute that I can overlook it.


    "But?" I press the topic, since Saten trails off without bringing the big turnaround.


    "... but we still prefer to be on the attacking side." Speaking in unison, they look down at me with an expression that suggests they might want to continue what they tried to do at the beginning. After all, they both turned into their previous male forms while putting on their clothes.


    I see, they must have inherited that from me. I think the same was true for my mother, although she did become the wife of the demon lord, who was known for having a strong libido and a massive manhood that could literally destroy weaker females. In either case, it seems that it''s ingrained into a Crawling Chaos'' instincts to be on the penetrating, rather than the being penetrated end. We are tentacle monsters after all - so we have to fulfill all the associated clich¨¦s.


    "Then you have to find someone else for that." I won''t indulge their urges in that regard. I know it may seem unfair that I got my way this time and put them on the receiving end, but I''m their mother, so they have to listen to me.


    Wait, that makes it seem like I forced myself on them using my status as their senior. Leaving aside the fact that among humans it would have been really wrong to do what we just did, I didn''t force them to do anything! They wanted to do it, so I gave them the condition to be in female forms. That was all.


    Huh, why did I feel the need to justify myself just now?


    "But... the villagers..." The twins start, but I immediately interrupt them.


    "If they don''t want it, go look somewhere else. I intend to leave here eventually. And I intend to take you along." I haven''t decided when to leave yet, since I still have no idea how I can get back to the Demon Continent. These villagers don''t look like they have any contact with larger cities and most likely don''t even know about anything that''s outside their hunting and fishing range. Before I figure that out, I''ll have to stick around here; it''s better than wandering aimlessly and trying my luck at finding a city.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "L-leave?" They look intimidated by the thought of a larger world outside the one they''re familiar with and exchange uneasy glances with each other. It''s cute alright, but I''d prefer if they grew a pa- oh wait... "You only just came here."


    "I didn''t-" Oops, I was about to say that I didn''t come here to find them. It''s true, I didn''t actually know they were here - in fact, I didn''t even know my arms had turned into actual sentient beings. But I don''t think it''s something I should be telling my own children, since it''ll make it seem like I don''t care about them. I won''t be as seemingly heartless as my mother was, who abandoned me to a dangerous place to test my abilities and resolve, and ate all her children that were rebellious. Then again, I don''t want to talk badly about my late mother; she did her best, after all. "I''m from a place where others of our kind exist."


    "Others like us?" Uten and Saten tilt their heads. Wait, they might misunderstand in thinking that there are others exactly like us. Currently it''s very likely that these two and I are the only Crawling Chaoses left on this planet. What I meant was that we''re counted as demons, and that we don''t stand out too much among them, unlike with humans.


    "Not exactly like us, but others who don''t look like humans. They are demons, like us." I explain and they look at me in awe. Unlike with me, being a reincarnated person and all, they shouldn''t have any preconceptions about what demons look like.


    "Dee-mons?" As expected, they don''t even know what the word means.


    "Tell me, do you have a map of this nation?" I change the subject just as I change the surface of my body into clothes. Staring at me in blank amazement, the twins forget to answer. "Eyes up here." Feels like d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    "What is a nae-shun?" They ask innocently, but it just serves to bring my tension down. I kinda expected it, but being told this so explicitly is disheartening nonetheless. Sighing, I try a different approach.


    "Alright, do you know about any cities around here?"


    "What is a city?"


    "Huh?"


    "Hm?"


    In the end, it turns out that these two villages, called Aoranam and Ototawa - Awhina''s and this one here respectively - are the only settlements they know about. In other words, to these villages, the outside world might as well not exist. And they seem to prefer it that way. I can understand their sentiment; seeing a grander picture only results in ambitions and politics. The lifestyle of these people here is very simple and carefree, something I can appreciate; I experienced a week of such a life, and it soothed my weary soul. If I had arrived in this place first, and without the condition of returning to the demon castle within two years, I might have just settled down here.


    "Ok et aw ien¨¦t om et irak¨¢h!" Awhina''s voice at the door rouses me from my deep thoughts.


    "Ea, iek et ere¨¢h iam uot¨¢t." Uten and Saten respond to her right away.


    "Hm, what is it?" I turn to the twins and ask. I really don''t like the fact that I don''t understand a single word while these two are fluent in this language.


    "The feast is ready."


    Huh? Is there something to celebrate today?


    "As thanks to the God of Storm-


    -for not destroying the village-


    -we are holding a sacrificial feast." They do it again and switch between each other while talking.


    Wait, God of Storm? Don''t tell me it''s actually Zenlith, Lord of the Sky!


    "Will the god be attending?" This question would have seemed really strange to me before, but at this point I know that "god" is just a name for some powerful beings in this world.


    "That depends on whether it''s a satisfactory feast or not." Uten explains.


    "But we have never seen the God of Storm before, so it''s unlikely." And Saten adds.


    I guess it makes sense. Unlike what they told me about Rangi, it sounds like the God of Storm is a more universal being with actual godlike powers, such as control over the weather. For a being like that to descend to the mortal plane just because a tiny fishing village is holding a feast in his honor would be asking for too much. I mean, how many villages are doing the same right now? He couldn''t visit every single one.


    "Orohoh iam! Auk eat iam et auta o et up¨²t!" I hear Awhina shout in excitement outside the door, as she bangs on it. The twins exchange a perplexed glance with each other and then turn to look at me.


    "I-it seems that the God of Storm has arrived." What a convenient coincidence!


    Let''s see this one, then. If it''s Zenlith, I won''t even let him raise an eyebrow in surprise and immediately swallow him. I''m sure I have enough mass to survive an explosion from the inside now - and I can layer the dragon armor on my insides - so I''ll deal with that when it happens. The first order of things upon seeing any god should be to stop them from attacking or running away.


    "Let''s go see this so-called god, then." I walk ahead of the twins, who seem quite reverent of him.


    "Iat¨¦hwak¨¢hw eok, auta iun." The villagers repeat this chant as they stand around a large wooden platform, on top of which a lavish feast has been prepared. There are tons of foods and I''ve eaten many of them before when I stayed with Awhina, so I know that those are really tasty.


    On top of the platform sits a woman. So it''s not Zenlith, huh? A headband adorned with ornamental beads and many large feathers keeps her extremely long and voluminous sky blue hair out of her elegant but sharp face. Her skin is white as the clouds and she wears a pure white version of the outfit Awhina wears most of the time. But aside from her hair and skin color, she doesn''t look especially different from the villagers, or even divine. She actually reminds me of Hestia''s color scheme.


    I climb up the steps to the platform, which the villagers are keeping a respectable distance from. They''re treating her completely differently from Rangi, and even Awhina seems to revere her, but I don''t give a flying fish about status in this world.


    "Hawawa?! What are you doing, mama!" I hear Uten and Saten call out to me with flustered voices. That "hawawa" was really cute just now, oi!


    "Hey, do you speak my language?" I stand before the seated God of Storm - though it should be Goddess of Storm - and ask her casually. From close up I can see that her eye color seems to be ever-changing, slowly shifting through the hues of the rainbow.


    "Kakaka! Eh iti¨¢mat ehak¨¢hw." She looks up at me with those mesmerizing eyes and grins. It seems she doesn''t actually mind my way of addressing her, although I don''t know what she''s actually saying; it seems she doesn''t speak my language. " E e¨¢ak¨¢hw ana uah¨¢ ik ot or¨¦w." Holding up a wooden cup filled with an alcoholic-smelling liquid, she seems to invite me to drink with her.


    "You don''t have to tell me twice." Long forgotten is the fact that I''m underage and wouldn''t be allowed to drink normally. I think the last time I thought about this was when Gram offered me a beer in the evening after I met Rolan and his party. I sit down and take the cup, before downing its contents in one go.


    "Kakakaka! Eh iap aik ik un¨®t i et ah¨¤k!" She laughs and comments, so I guess she''s happy that I drank the offered liquor.


    Since I''m currently using all the facilities of a human - or rather, Fata - body, I have proper taste buds and can feel the burning sensation of the alcohol flowing down my throat. This must be some really strong brew, since it begins to take effect almost immediately. Well, I can always just change my body''s composition to completely negate any intoxication, if it becomes too much. But for now, I''ll just enjoy the warm feeling rising up from my stomach.


    Hm, why are the villagers looking so shocked? Awhina seems to be awestruck by my actions more than shocked, though. Uten and Saten are shivering in their... bare feet, I guess. Man up, you two. Aren''t you also considered gods here?


    "M-mama, what have you done!" They ask me in unison and seem to be really scared.


    "Hm, what did I do? She invited me to drink with her, didn''t she? So all is good?"


    "Those who step up to Tahiri, God of Storm, challenge her to battle. If she accepts, she will give the challenger a cup of Oripiaw as a confirmation." They describe what I just did perfectly. Don''t tell me I just unwittingly started a fight with a god? "Once the cup is emptied, you commit to fighting her to the death."


    Huh?!

 Chapter 71 - Time for a Timeskip

    "[Will you ever get tired of challenging me?]"


    "[Never! Not until I win!]"


    "[You know that between us there is no winning or losing. You can''t hit me and I can''t kill you.]"


    "[That won''t stop me from trying! Now stop talking and fight!]"


    "[Hey you two, I prepared some] ignerem."


    "[Yay!]"


    "[Ah, wait!]"


    I sigh and undo my combat transformation before scratching my head. Looking at the defenseless back of Tahiri, I can''t help to feel that it''s an opportunity to hit her. But at the same time, I know that I wouldn''t be satisfied with the outcome, if I''m able to do it only because Ruiha distracted her.


    "[Ruiha, what does-]" I begin to ask, but notice a tray on which slices of melon with yellow flesh stand upright, waiting for us in the living room. I guess that''s what ignerem means.


    "[Rangi, you found yourself a good woman!]" Tahiri calls out to the man sitting at the fireplace. He shows an embarrassed grin and turns to said wife with a tender gaze.


    "[How did it go today?]" Awhina comes out of the kitchen and looks me up and down, checking for any wounds. She won''t find any, since this body is too convenient for that. "[No good?]"


    "[It''s the same as always.]" Shrugging, I sit down in front of the tray and she takes her place beside me.


    Indeed, I''ve been in a deadlock with Tahiri for about a year now - or longer. Yes, I haven''t been able to lay a hand on her even once in so long, but she hasn''t been able to kill me, either. Because of that, we''ve both been sticking around this village all this time, to fulfill the conditions of the challenge I so unwittingly issued that day on the platform in the Ototawa village, when she came down to partake in a feast of gratitude for her.


    That part being honoring the challenger''s bravery with a glorious death in combat. Of course, that precludes that the God of Storm, Tahiri, is an invincible existence that no man could ever hope to match. Yet, the fact that a whole ritual exists around people challenging her means that it''s seen as an immense honor to be granted death at her hands. After all, apparently most people go all their lives without ever seeing her.


    In this one year I was able to learn the language with the help of Uten and Saten. Since I don''t feel like I can leave this place without at least landing a single hit on Tahiri, I''ve practically settled down here.


    "[Next time I''ll get you.]" I point at the blue-haired woman with a half-eaten piece of melon.


    "[You''re a hundred years too early for that, little girl.]" She responds with a grin and tosses aside a cleanly gnawed peel of melon.


    I can''t really refute that. Her height might be about the same as mine, but she has an air of wisdom that belies her young appearance. She must have years and years of experience over me, and it''s obvious seeing how she fights. While I''m constantly improving - or so I''d like to believe - she doesn''t have to change a thing about her actions when facing me; she dodges my every move like a leaf on the wind.


    "[Don''t give up, Chaos.]" Awhina encourages me, wholly unafraid of expressing her support for my victory in front of the God of Storm, whom she used to be quite reserved with. "[You''ll beat her eventually!]"


    "[Rangi, your daughter seems to grow more and more disrespectful every day.]" Turning to the big man with a mischievous expression, Tahiri tries to scare him. However, since he''s a land god, he''s wholly unafraid of the power of storms, and scratches his chin with a smile.


    "[It seems she''s picked her side, doesn''t it? What can a father do about that, Tahiri?]" There''s a hint of resignation in his voice. Does that mean he sanctions my developing relationship with Awhina? I mean, we haven''t done anything yet, but it''s clear that she''s not only not averse to the idea, but also making advances of her own. Relationships among these people are quite easygoing, and there''s no such thing as sanctity of marriage only between a man and a woman. Well, there''s not really marriage at all, for that matter.


    "[Your daughter is going to get taken away by a strange being from who knows where! Don''t you worry at all?]" It''s obvious that Tahiri is just messing around at this point, and everyone''s having a good laugh.


    Per the definition of gods in this village, I''m one of them. Since I can transform however I like and take on various forms, I''m being considered a goddess of nature, just like my two children. I guess it''s one way to interpret a Crawling Chaos'' mighty convenient body. I don''t care what they call me, I know what - or who - I am, and that''s all that matters.


    "[Mama, how did it go?]" Speaking of Crawling Chaos, my two cute children have arrived. Uten and Saten peek their heads through the doorway, their blond hair and blue eyes in stark contrast with their tan skin. It''s their charm point, so I won''t tell them to ever change it, though.


    "[The same as always...]" I want to look good in front of them, but I can''t help it. Tahiri is just so slippery.


    How I''m unable to hit Tahiri? I''ve tried expanding, becoming gigantic, creating countless spikes and tentacles, and even shooting with large scale magic. But she has been able to somehow dodge everything, and it''s like trying to catch a piece of paper drifting in water with your hands. Yes, that comparison should tell you just how hard it is. And I haven''t succeeded to even graze her so far. She''s like a player in a bullet hell game going for a perfect score!


    How Tahiri is unable to kill me? She basically has the same move-set as Zenlith, as far as I''ve seen. Or somewhat less, since she can''t use air pressure or anything. But she''s mostly limited to using wind and lightning, which I''m practically immune against. When she tries to cut me with air blades, I simply increase my density or cover myself in dragon carapace - or mend the cuts immediately after. When she zaps me with lightning, it''s just ineffective, as this body seems to have gotten used to being electrocuted and is able to shrug it off completely.


    In other words, we''re both at an impasse in regards to this battle to the death.


    "[Don''t worry, you''ll succeed eventually, mama~]" Ahh, such good kids!


    "[Come here, you two.]" I pat my thighs, signaling them that they should sit there. Even if they''re in their male forms, their overall appearances are very girly, so it''s like having two cute girls in my lap.


    Ever since Uten and Saten gained Hestia''s template, they fly a lot every day, enjoying the freedom and the ability to discover the landscape around us. I went hunting with them so that they could gain enough mass to grow out proper wings, but made sure to tell them that they should keep their bodies small. Why? Because it''s my preference, of course! And I wouldn''t want two Hestia clones running around, when I can''t meet the real deal for the foreseeable future.


    Why I haven''t just up and left yet? As I said before, I don''t want to leave without having hit Tahiri even once. I know that it''s a dumb obsession, since she doesn''t seem to care about it as much as I do anymore, but it feels like a huge blemish on my record. It''s not like I have a great track record to begin with, what with never having laid a hand on Thorvadis and Zenlith even when I seriously tried to kill them with all I got. So having a third one would look really bad...


    "[Do you have a plan for next time?]" Awhina asks me, not trying to hush her voice at all. "[Want me to help you from the shadows?]"


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "[Ruiha, your daughter is plotting against me!]" Tahiri obviously overhears her and complains to her mother in a jesting tone.


    "[Because you beat Chaos up one-sidedly every time.]" Thank you for pointing that out, Awhina. That hurts, you know? "[It''s time she gets at least a hit in.]" Damn, that wasn''t even my actual win condition! It was meant to be a battle to the death, so the victor should be the sole survivor. But at this point, just hitting her would be a huge achievement in my book. And it''s sad when pointed out so blatantly like that.


    Awhina sure knows how to put her finger on the wound. I wasn''t aware at first, when I couldn''t understand what she said, but once I learned the language, I realized that she has a really sharp tongue sometimes. But the fact that she doesn''t even change her expression when saying those things makes it seem that she''s either an airhead who doesn''t know the effect of her words, or a pretty evil girl who thinks nothing of kicking someone who''s down.


    "[Not my fault that she can never hit me.]" Shrugging, the God of Storm kicks me while I''m down, too.


    I keep quiet and eat the melon. There''s no point trying to argue it, when I really have nothing to show.


    It''s been a long time now that I''ve swallowed things into my body directly; it''d be a waste to do that with the food these villagers cook - not just Ruiha and Awhina, but also the others. They revere me as a god on the level of Tahiri - after all, we fought to a standstill - so they come visit me from time to time to bring offerings in the form of fully prepared meals or freshly picked fruits. Wait... doesn''t that just mean they think I''m a glutton? I can''t deny it, though.


    "[Rangi, come quick!]" Kauri''s voice shouting from outside the house tears me from my thoughts. He sounds alarmed, causing the merry atmosphere in the room to turn cold in an instant.


    "[What happened?]" Rangi quickly walks to the door and opens it, to reveal Kauri, who looks distraught.


    "[There is a man here who claims to be an envoy to some God King of Adanak, and he wants to speak to you.]" It''s strange that he would seem so shaken when a human comes into the village and not bat an eye at seeing gods. But really, this looks interesting, so I''ll go with him.


    "[I''ll have to see this.]" Lifting Uten and Saten from my lap, I stand up effortlessly even with their weight, and set them down on their feet. "[Are you coming?]" It''s a question directed at nobody in particular.


    "[Bring me to him.]" With this, Rangi goes ahead and leaves the house. I quickly follow him, not waiting for an answer to my question. I''m expecting that at least my children will be coming along, but I''m sure Awhina won''t miss this opportunity to see someone from outside this village. And Tahiri is a curious soul, so she''ll most likely come to watch as well.


    Really though, God King of Adanak?


    In the center of the village, where a large totemic wooden statue dedicated to the local patron god - who happens to be Rangi - stands, a man sitting on a horse is looking around impatiently. He has tan skin like the villagers, but the fine robes covering his silver scale armor show that he''s from a different social class. Unlike the people living around here, he has a beard, which makes him stand out even more. And a curved sword rests in a sheath strapped to his saddle.


    "[My name is Rangi. What do you seek from our small village?]" Even atop his horse, the man looks small compared to Rangi, even though he should be a little above my height.


    "[I am Arongi, envoy of the God King of Adanak. All the land under the heavens now belong to His Greatness, and as such, you are required to pay tribute to the crown.]" The man on the horse speaks in a dialect I can barely understand. But considering the contents of his announcement, I have to assume he''s from a large city, and the language spoken in this village here is actually a regional dialect.


    And here I thought this place was free from politics and other such worldly problems. Now, out of the blue, someone calling himself a God King appears and sends his people to demand tribute from villagers who didn''t even know he existed so far. But wait, he said "all the land under the heavens now belong to His Greatness", which implies that it didn''t before. Does it mean there was a war or something, and it''s been concluded recently, freeing up the king''s resources to survey the land and find this remote isolated village?


    "[What is it you want from us?]" Rangi asks in a neutral tone, but his attitude seems to irk the envoy.


    "[Show some respect, peasant! You speak to the envoy of the God King!]" Pointing at the village chief from atop his horse, Arongi says angrily. "[You should all be kneeling before me!]" He directs this at everyone present.


    Uwah, that guy''s so obviously a small fry that it almost hurts to watch this. And he doesn''t know that Rangi is considered a local god, who actually has the power to back up that title. Furthermore, his daughter has inherited some of his powers as well, and there''s also Tahiri, who''s good friends with him. And of course, Uten and Saten, as well as yours truly are here, too.


    I think you came to the wrong neighborhood to talk out of your ass like that, mister envoy~


    "[You should watch your mouth! Rangi is our god!]" However, unexpectedly it''s Kauri who points that out. "[Turn around and see.]"


    "[What?]" Arongi turns his head to peer up at the statue, which looks nothing like Rangi, and then compares it to the real deal. I don''t see any resemblance, since aside from the tribal tattoos its design is overly stylized. But apparently that was enough for this man to make the connection. "[You say this man is a god?]" He suddenly draws his sword and the tension in the surrounding people becomes almost tangible. Bad move... "[His Greatness is the only god under the heavens. The God King''s decree calls for the removal of all other heathen deities!]"


    With this declaration, he swings the sword and cuts through the solid block of wood in a single motion. Wow, I have to admit, he has a strong sword arm, and his blade must be really high quality. However, that was the worst thing he could have done here, with the god whose statue he just defaced standing right in front of him. Rangi may seem like a gentle giant, but I have seen enough indicators for this people''s ferocity in their rituals and traditions, to know that such an action will have dire consequences.


    "[How dare you-]" Kauri shouts at the man with the clear intention of jumping at him, but Rangi signals for him to stop.


    "[If you disrespect me any further, I will have every single person in this village lose their head!]" He just keeps digging deeper and deeper...


    Rangi suddenly steps forward and the horse bucks at the sensation of impending doom, causing Arongi to fall to the ground.


    "[Shhh.]" Petting the horse with his giant hand, Rangi calms it down. Then he quickly rips off the bridle and saddle, before slapping it on its behind, causing it to speed off. Guess that means Arongi won''t be needing it anymore.


    "[What are you doing?!]" The man in question quickly gets up and stands before the land god he just insulted, realizing that he has to tilt his head all the way back to look into Rangi''s eyes. At this moment it dawns on him that he might be in deep trouble. "[Y-you dare to attack an envoy of the God King?]"


    "[... you come to my village, destroy its symbol and threaten my people.]" Rangi''s voice is a low rumbling, like a building earthquake.


    "[This is madness! The God King-mblph?!]" Before Arongi can ramble on about a self-proclaimed god king any more than he already has, the real god grabs his head with a single hand and lifts him off the ground. He swings his sword, but it bounces off the arm without doing any harm. This causes him to struggle and kick his legs, but Rangi remains unfazed.


    "[Your king is not my king.]" With these words, the giant presses hard and a crunching noise emerges from his palm. Arongi''s body convulses and twitches violently several times, before ceasing all motions and dropping the sword from his loosened grip.


    Letting go of the corpse, it falls into the dirt and I get a good look at the crushed skull. There''s nothing of his face left, only a bloody mess of ruptured skin, bone shards and brain matter. I wonder what that brain was good for, if he didn''t use it when it was most called for. In what world could someone walk into a village alone and make such demands, disrespect a god, and think that he was going to walk out again?


    Hm, but this is giving me a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. It''s like I''ve seen something similar happen to an envoy of a self-proclaimed god king before, and the result was some massive war. But seeing as this village has less than a hundred inhabitants, I don''t think that''s going to happen... right? Well, if it is, I''d certainly side with them rather than the troops of someone so deluded to believe himself to be a god.


    Oh wait, gods are a thing in this culture. Maybe it''s actually one who''s acting like a human and trying his hand at politics? Sounds like something the sorcerers would do.


    Whatever the case, I now know that this village isn''t just some isolated settlement out in the middle of nowhere... actually, it''s still that. But at least now I know that it''s considered to be within the territories of a kingdom. And a kingdom means there''s bound to be a capital city, which should have merchants from other countries. This means I''ll be able to find a map and get back to the Demon Continent eventually!


    "[Are you sure that was a good idea, Rangi?]" Tahiri comes up to him and asks while scratching her head casually. She''s clearly not too worried, considering she''s literally a force of nature that even I can''t hit - another force of nature, in a sense. "[More will come.]"


    Lifting the saddle cloth from the ground, the land god wipes his bloody hand on it and tosses it on top of the corpse to cover it up, then turns to Tahiri with his usual expression, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.


    No, not completely the same as always. There''s a hint of boiling anger underneath it all, most definitely due to the destruction of the statue and the insult he and his people suffered here.


    "[Let them come.]"

 Chapter 72 - Aoranam Village Defense

    "[Rangi, what will you do now?]" Tahiri mutters to the giant as we look up the hill behind the village. A company of at least a hundred light cavalry is readying itself for a charge into the village.


    Despite all that, Tahiri seems really relaxed. Same for Rangi and his family, actually. Well, I''m not too concerned, either. I mean, I alone could take them all, but having one more or less universal god with us means this should be a piece of cake. Provided all of these riders are normal humans. With someone proclaiming himself the God King and decreeing the eradication of all other gods, it''s safe to assume that he has some powerful people under him. Most likely, he has minor gods working for him or humans with magic or weapons that can kill gods.


    I''m a wildcard, though. Nobody here should have an idea of what I''m really capable of - not even Tahiri. I mean, I did use all kinds of powers to physically attack her, including magic and elongating my limbs, but I haven''t shown my ability to expand to a massive size or my true appearance to anyone here. Not even to my own children, who should be fine with seeing it, since they themselves are the same.


    In the worst case scenario I can just swallow the entire army by expanding to my full size, which should easily cover this entire village at this point. It would be an irreversible revelation before these people, but I don''t intend to stay here after this anyway. I''ll capture one of those soldiers alive and make them lead me back to where they came from. At the end of that path, I''ll surely find a way back to the Demon Continent somehow.


    "[I will crush them.]" Rangi replies and walks forward. The cavalry moves into formation and readies its wall of spears, to ride down every single person in this village.


    "AAA-aik etir, e et iwi iti! Ak¨¢t om ot et¨¢m!


    EEE-ere¨¢h iam ik uah¨¢, e et iwi iti! Ak utaak¨¢hw uah¨¢ ik a eok i ot agnut¨²m!"


    I''m only seeing him from behind, but even I can feel a sense of awe. His voice and mannerisms are completely different from usual, as he strikes one stance after another, each a display of martial prowess. He chants some words I have never heard before, most likely reserved for occasions such as this. It must be a war dance, meant to intimidate the opponents before the battle commences.


    The horses whinny and some of them buck, as their riders are barely able to control them in the face of this fierce challenge. The animals understand instinctively that they will not survive a direct confrontation, but the humans are still somewhat confident in their victory.


    "[Impressive as always, Rangi.]" Tahiri praises him with a smile, before turning her attention to the soldiers on top of the hill. They are gathering their resolve once again, thinking that it''s only a single man who''s stepping forward to meet them in battle. The advantage in numbers is evident, and this should be a quick slaughter.


    "[Charge!]" I hear someone shout, and the cavalry begins to descend the slope, gaining speed with every step. Rangi stands like a boulder, not a hint of trying to avoid them, as they come closer and closer, a row of spears pointed straight at him.


    The first spear connects with his chest, bends and then shatters, causing the tip to fly off and stab into another rider''s chest. Then the horse runs straight into Rangi''s body and comes to an abrupt halt, as if it charged straight into a wall.


    Within an instant, a multi-horse collision has occurred and riders are flung off the saddles and through the air, as the land god stands firmly without giving any way despite the wave crashing into him. Truly, a steadfast existence like the very earth we stand on. The villagers watching the spectacle cheer as their patron god and chief single-handedly stems the momentum of the entire company.


    Atop the hill I spot two riders who have not followed the charge, standing at the front of a company of foot soldiers. They look completely different from the others around them. The one to the left is female and the right male, albeit with a very flamboyant appearance. And one thing I''ve learned from all the games I''ve played is that the flamboyant ones are either very weak or deceptively strong. Focusing my eyes, I try to discern which type this one is, but obviously, I can''t tell how powerful he is from appearance alone.


    He is dressed completely in orange and red, wearing a feathered headdress that seems to blend into his flaming red hair seamlessly. A tan face which features bright orange facial paint on the cheeks, and reddish brown eyes that peer down at the battle below with a curious glint. His lips are dyed red, as they''re parted and curved up into a wide, excited grin. The cape draped over his shoulders is also feathered and leaves his lean upper body exposed.


    The woman is wearing armor but it looks different in design from the one worn by that envoy, who came to the village and whose head was crushed by Rangi. Although her hair is covered by a bandanna, her piercing blue eyes and white skin stand out among these people just like Tahiri and I do. But there''s a heart-shaped brand on her left cheek. What could that mean? In either case, it''s likely that she or the flamboyant guy beside her is the commander of this company.


    "[Here they come.]" Tahiri says and points at the cavalry that has charged past Rangi and is stampeding towards us. "[Who will go first?]"


    "[I will.]" Awhina steps forward and lowers herself into a stance similar to her father''s. Then she lifts a leg and stomps on the ground, much like a sumo wrestler would before the match begins.


    With a short delay, a row of spikes shoots out of the ground. No, to say they form from the ground up would be more correct. They impale the first wave of the cavalry and causes the following riders to brake hard or quickly steer away. Some audacious ones jump over the spiked barricade and continue to ride at us. Really, no fear of these strange powers at all?


    "[Let us take care of these.]" My two cute little kids rush forward and transform their arms into blades. I taught them quite a bit about the abilities of a Crawling Chaos, and they still choose the simplest of ways to utilize their tools. I''ll tell them off later.


    Cutting their ways through horses and men alike, the two decimate the survivors who came this far. Seeing their comrades being slaughtered by two children with blades for arms, the soldiers on the other side of the spikes begin to show first signs of reluctance and fear. But it''s too late for that now.


    One rider, who made it through all obstacles, seems to have missed the memo and continues to charge right at us, his spear at the ready. Tahiri motions to step forward, but I hold her back by raising my arm. Then I swing it around and extend it into a whip with a bladed end. It cuts into the soldier''s side but is stopped by the light armor he wears underneath. He is knocked off the horse, which avoids us and continues to run towards the beach beyond the village.


    Damn, I wanted to act cool and behead him in one move, but obviously I''m not a trained martial artist and don''t have perfect aim with such a wide swing. The guy is still alive, although the fall knocked all the air out of his lungs, as he coughs while trying to get back onto his feet. I could almost pity him, if it wasn''t for the fact that he was coming straight at me with the intention to impale me on his spear. Walking towards him slowly, I watch as he catches his breath and draws his sword.


    "[I''ll give you one attack. If you can bring me down, I''ll let you live.]" Huh, what am I saying?! This must be the influence of this body...


    The man seems confused at first, but then anger shows on his face. I guess he''s the oblivious type, and didn''t notice that I was the one who knocked him off his horse. Rushing at me with his sword, he brings it down on my shoulder and cuts all the way to my abdomen.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "[My, you went so deep, you almost hit my womb.]" Smiling at him suggestively, the wound closes itself around the sword. Fear finally enters his expressions as he tries to pull his weapon out. Ahhh, this is so nice, to be feared like this! "[Don''t be shy, go deeper.]"


    I impale myself on his sword and grab him with both hands, bringing him towards my chest. At this point, he must be like a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car, because he''s completely frozen in fear. But what comes after causes him to scream at the top of his lungs.


    His hands sink into my chest, followed by his arms, before I begin to swallow his entire body like a bog draws in a careless traveler. He keeps screaming until his mouth is covered by my body, and shortly after, he disappears completely. I savor his despair to the fullest and feel rejuvenated. It''s been a while since I''ve had a meal this way.


    He had a star-shaped brand on his face and I think I''m onto something...


    "[You...]" Tahiri looks at me with a hint of disgust and it interrupts my thoughts. "[You''re not a goddess of nature. You must be an aspect of Mataku, The Primordial Terror.]"


    "[What are you saying? I''m just me, Chaos.]" This is the first time I''m hearing about Mataku, but maybe Primordial Terror could be a pretty nice title for me, too.


    "[Well, I don''t care either way.]" Shrugging, Tahiri turns her hair into something of a floating chair, and leans back on it, letting her feet leave the ground. She''s too relaxed in the middle of an enemy attack!


    Rangi is surrounded by enemies that try to stab him with their spears, but there''s not a single wound on him. Grabbing soldiers and tossing them around as if they''re ragdolls, he steadily decimates their numbers. However, even then, the commanders on top of the hill don''t move the foot soldiers and keep on watching as their troops get slaughtered. It seems they expected as much, and this wave of cavalry was used as a sacrifice to gauge our strength.


    "[Retreat!]" Someone among the cavalry screams and the survivors begin to scatter and move to run away.


    Suddenly, the flamboyant man next to the female commander swings his arm and a line of small explosions occur on the ground halfway up the hill. He motions his horse forward a few steps and looks down on the cavalry that has stopped dead in its tracks from this turn of events.


    "[Those who pass this line shall be treated as deserters.]" His voice is loud and obnoxious, just as I expected from his appearance. Behind him, the foot soldiers make way for a company of archers, who ready their bows. Even from here I can feel their fear, most likely of punishment if they should disobey the order to shoot their own comrades. But that of the riders below, who just realized their situation, is much more delicious.


    It was hard to see before because of their tan skin, but every single one of these men have brands on their faces. They didn''t stand out as much as the heart-shaped one on the woman does, but at this point it finally dawns on me.


    They''re an army of slaves.


    "That leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth." I spit out the remains of the soldier I just swallowed, causing Tahiri to look at me in obvious disgust. Awhina doesn''t seem to be judging me, but even her expression shows that she didn''t expect this side to me. Too bad, if you can''t accept it, love can''t blossom between us, my dear. "Uten, Saten!"


    "Yes, mama!" They immediately return to my side.


    "Protect Awhina and the villagers." Even then, it''s not like I''d just up and abandon her, if she really showed that she can''t accept it. "I have to take care of something."


    "Understood, mama." Responding in a mirrored salute, the twins sound energetic. That''s so cute! But really, their elation must come from the fact that they finally got to kill some people and are getting to feel the rush from it. After all, Crawling Chaoses seem to enjoy ending lives.


    Our conversation was in the common language, so neither Tahiri nor Awhina understood us. Therefore, their expressions show surprise when Hestia''s wings burst out from my back and I take off into the air accompanied by a small gale. They must be wondering what I intend to do, but of course, both of them should know that I would never die to these small fries over there, since the former was unable to kill me when she tried her best, and the latter witnessed that happening all the time for the past year.


    Just as I pass over the riders, who look up at me in awe and fear, a rain of arrows comes down on me. Every single one of them sinks into me without causing any harm, as it doesn''t even serve to slow me down. But a lot of them hit their own allies, whose death screams only serve to elate me further. It''s the perfect entrance song for me.


    As I land in front of the two riders atop the hill, shield bearers come forward and form a defensive wall against me. Really, it''s like they didn''t pay attention to anything I''ve done in the past few minutes. But through the gaps I can see their faces, and each one of them has a brand on their cheek, some star-shaped, others circles with differing symbols in them. But none have a heart like the woman on the horse.


    Now that I''m this close, I can see that she''s quite the looker, maybe around the age of Tahiri''s appearance - which would put her around twenty. Considering she has that brand, she must be a slave, too. Or maybe a freed one, who has come to command an army of slaves. The fact that her flamboyant companion doesn''t have such a brand means that he must have always been free, and most likely a god - in the understanding of the local people, that is.


    "[Hey, what''s your name?]" I ask the woman casually. Right at that moment, the shield wall charges forward and surrounds me. With perfect coordination, they plunge their spears into me, all the way down to the shafts. "[Ahn, so forceful~]" When they realize that I seem to be completely unharmed, confusion and fear fills their expressions.


    Ahhh, every last drop of their fear is pouring into me and filling me up! This is ecstasy!


    "[Are you deaf or mute?]" I continue to address the woman and ignore the soldiers. Some of them begin to realize that they can''t pull their spears out no matter how hard they try. "[Oh, where are my manners? I''m Chaos. Nice to meet you.]"


    With these words, I forcefully pull the spears into my body, causing all of the soldiers to let go of their weapons in shock. I don''t feel like eating slaves. Even though they attacked me, I now have the leeway to choose whom to kill and whom to spare. If they were trying to kill me out of their free will, I wouldn''t hesitate to swallow them all, though.


    "[A slave has no name, even if it''s a former one. Isn''t that right?]" The flamingo man speaks in her stead, apparently still quite confident of his safety even after my display just now. His voice is even more annoying now that I hear it from up close and the way he disrespects her makes me want to kill him instantly. "[And what good does it do to learn of any names? You''re going to die soon.]" He points his hand at me and with a short delay, I feel my forehead bubbling and bursting open from heat.


    Ow. That actually hurt.


    Well, nowhere near as much as when I got detonated from the inside by that instructor from the academy, though. And the wound closes itself up really quickly, since I have so much mass in my body that such a small explosion barely scratches the surface.


    But was that all? Is this guy''s power to make water boil and explode? It''s somehow completely different from his flamboyant image of someone who can throw fireballs and create a whirlwind of flames. Oh well, I don''t know and I don''t care. If that''s all he''s capable of, I got fired up over nothing.


    "[How are you still al-]" I interrupt him with a spike through his throat. Even though my aim with a swing might suck, I''m really accurate with this kind of attack. Last time I did it, it also pierced Basarab''s throat on the first try. But this time, it happened so fast that to the untrained eye, it would have seemed like he was shot.


    Coughing up blood, he brings a hand to his throat and realizes what happened with his last breath. His eyes roll back into his skull and he falls off his horse. I didn''t even get to learn his name, that''s how much of a small fry he was. And here I thought he might be powerful or something.


    I turn my attention back to the woman, whose eyes are widened in shock, as she looks down at her fallen comrade. The sword she has drawn at one point, without me even noticing, leaves her hand as she loses her will to fight. Of course, if her "god" companion died without being able to do anything, what could a simple human do? Be smart and surrender.


    She jumps off her horse and runs up to me.


    Oh, you wanna go at it with your bare hands?


    Then she drops onto her knees before me.


    "[T-Thank you!]" Looking at me with upturned eyes as tears well up within them, she expresses her gratitude.


    Huh?


    The soldiers around me, some of whom had drawn their swords as well, drop their equipment and follow their leader''s example. Kneeling down and lowering their heads, it''s almost as if they''re revering me.


    "[Cease the fighting!]" She bellows the command to the soldiers in the village below, who haven''t witnessed everything that happened up here and are still engaged in combat with Rangi and the others. "[The savior from the prophecy has arrived!]"


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 73 - Prophecies are Bogus

    We''re sitting in Rangi''s home, shortly after the slave troops surrendered and laid down their arms. Outside, the newly armed villagers are keeping watch over the soldiers as they tend to their wounded and clear away their dead. For having lost their comrades, they seem strangely composed - or maybe saying that their sense of loss is dulled from years of witnessing the cruelties of slavery would be more appropriate.


    "[So, tell me what this prophecy is about... umm.]" I finally ask when everybody settles down.


    "[Mereana. I used to have a family name, but it was taken from me when I was little, and I have forgotten it since.]" Her accent sounds different from that of the envoy who came before. She must be from another part of the kingdom, where people are light-skinned, rather than from the capital. It''s quite melodic and I feel like I could listen to it all day.


    Uh-oh, Awhina is looking at me disapprovingly.


    "[The Great Oracle, in the capital city Kairaki, foretold a long time ago that one day a foreign god would appear to free the slaves of this land.]" Mereana says and speaks in a mysterious tone. Foreign, huh? Well, I look nothing like the people in this village, but she''s red-haired and blue-eyed herself, and she''s from somewhere on this continent.


    "[And what makes you think that I''m the one?]" I have an inherent distrust of prophecies; it would mean that the future is set in stone and that all my actions are meaningless, as I would be moving on invisible rails. That can''t be true, so I refuse to believe it.


    "[The prophecy has it that the foreign god has a complete disregard of social standings and abhors slavery.]" That sounds quite vague and a lot of people could have that trait. I''m certainly one of those, and I do abhor slavery. I saved my beloved Kamii from it, and wherever I see it, I punish it. "[She would appear in the form of a pale-skinned girl and come down on black wings, to save our kind from the oppression we endured for centuries.]"


    Hm, pale white skin and black wings, huh? I know someone else who has that.


    "Uten, Saten, transform into Hestia." I say without turning around to the two, who are sitting behind me.


    "Understood." With a word of confirmation, without asking the reason, they do as they''re told and stand up, their bodies changing shape and turning into two loli versions of Hestia. They learned how to shape clothes out of their bodies from me, so they don''t need to wear anything, which in turn allowed them to change into a school uniform with a short skirt, much like how I looked when I first came here.


    Unfortunately, there are more important matters right now, or I would have dragged them off for some fun time.


    "[Huh? Wha-? H-huh?]" Mereana is shocked at the revelation and alternates her gaze between the twins and me.


    "[What do you think of social hierarchies and slavery?]" I ask them.


    "[Everybody is born free, so why should anyone stand above someone else?]" And I didn''t even teach them that. It''s the philosophy of these village people here, who revere Rangi as a god, but are more friends with him than subjects. He himself treats everyone like family, too. That obviously goes both ways to a certain extent, and these two didn''t learn it any other way.


    "[And that''s why prophecies are bogus.]" I cross my arms and rest my case.


    "[B-but you saved us from our overseer!]" Mereana is grasping at straws.


    "[I killed him because he was the commander of the forces attacking this village.]" Reproducing a backrest from my own body, I lean back casually. "[And I was about to kill you, too, if you hadn''t surrendered.]"


    I think that hammered the last nail into the coffin. The woman''s entire world view seems to collapse on the spot. Well, nothing as dramatic as that, since I''m sure there''s more to her than just believing in a prophecy.


    "[... then what will we do?]" She sounds crestfallen, and her expression shows that she doesn''t know what to do next. "[If we return without our overseer and without having subjugated this village, there will only be death.]"


    "[Then just don''t return. Stay here.]" I state without asking Rangi for his opinion on this matter. He looks at me in resignation, knowing my selfish ways all too well. Tahiri laughs at the silent exchange between us and drinks a bowl of Oripiaw, the traditional alcohol of Ototawa village, brewed from a type of root.


    "[But if we never return, they will send an even bigger force. You fought well against slaves, but the regular army is far more powerful than we are and there are many gods commanding it.]" Mereana speaks in desperation, from the point of view of somebody who has witnessed their might first hand. But she hasn''t even seen the beginning of my powers, and Tahiri didn''t join the fight this time around, either. I''m sure we could wipe out any human army with just the two of us, no matter the numbers.


    And when it comes to gods, I''ll just have to deal with it when the time comes. After all they can be as different as Tahiri is to the one I killed earlier.


    "[Then how about this: We go to Kairaki and kill the God King.]" I put out this suggestion to everyone in the room, and I see Rangi looking at me funny.


    "[You''re the best, you know that?]" Tahiri pats my shoulder and laughs heartily.


    "[W-what? You cannot be serious!]" Going pale at my suggestion, Mereana stares at me with wide open eyes. "[Nobody can stand against the God King!]"


    "[And here you were, telling me that I''m the savior from your prophecy or something.]" Shrugging at her, I turn to Rangi. "[They will come again and again, unless we do something about their source. And what better way is there than to cut off the snake''s head?]"


    "[... I see. But I cannot leave this village.]" He says with a thoughtful expression. I assume it''s because he''s a local land god, who either loses his powers when he leaves the sphere of his influence, or because it would leave the village undefended. In either case, I never intended to ask him to come along, and would have just left on my own or with my two children.


    "[Then I will go in your stead, papa.]" Awhina cuts in and grabs my arm in a pointed gesture. She doesn''t want to leave my side, I suppose. Even though she has gained some insight into what I really am, she still feels the same way about me. That''s commendable, but we''ll see whether that lasts or not. In either case, I think Rangi and Tahiri are more than enough to defend this place.


    "[Count me in on the fun.]" The woman in question subverts my expectations and expresses her wish to join us. Well, rather than wish, she just decided on it and I doubt anything will change her mind. "[Will you be fine alone, Rangi?]"


    Oh, so she did put some thought into it. I was thinking that she just completely disregarded the safety of this village for her own enjoyment. Then again, she is the God of Storm, as fickle as the winds and as unpredictable as the weather.


    "[Who do you think I am?]" With a wide grin, the land god beats his chest with one hand and leans forward, towering above the much smaller Tahiri.


    "[We''re coming as well, mama!]" Uten and Saten''s responses were as expected. I mean, I would have dragged them along even if they actually didn''t want to leave this place at all. I''m their mother, and a good mother keeps her children by her side until they''re grown up. Hm, what does that make my mother, who sent her newborn children out into the wide world on their own, and let them face all kinds of perils alone?


    "[I guess it''s decided.]" I turn my attention to Mereana once again, who looks at a loss for words. All these people who must seem like they''re going to throw away their lives on a whim have left her speechless. "[We''ll need a guide, so if you would please.]"


    "[... then at least let our troops come along. We may not be as strong as the regular army, but it is better than nothing.]" It seems she has accepted the fact that we''re recklessly aiming for the capital.


    "[No, they should remain here and help defend the village. They''ll only get in the way with the way we fight.]" Mostly with how I fight, that is. Denying her suggestion without any hint of hesitation, I state the truth. If things turn into a melee, I won''t have the coordination to differentiate between friend and foe, when I expand and swallow everything around me. And even if I don''t do that, large-scale magic would cause a lot of collateral damage, too. When I only have to worry about a few people who can handle themselves in a fight, I can go all out. "[We need only one who can show us the way.]"


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "[B-but-]"


    "[You alone are enough.]" That''s my final word on the matter and I turn away from her to speak to Ruiha, who has been silent all this time. "[Are you sure about letting your daughter come along?]" It''s not like I want her to convince Awhina to remain, but her opinion should be respected in this matter. After all, it''s not a pleasure trip - we''re kinda going to war here.


    "[It is her decision. She is old enough to decide the path she wants to take in life.]" Rangi responds in her stead. I knew he would approve of her daughter proving herself with strength, since he''s quite the muscle-head himself. But I specifically asked Ruiha, who is just a normal human.


    "[And what do you think, Ruiha?]"


    "[... if that is her decision, as a mother, I can only wish her the best.]" She states after a pause and then shows a radiant smile. I can detect a hint of loneliness and fear in it, but it''s such a strong expression that I can''t say anymore. She''s really a good mother, and I can feel a twinge in my figurative heart when it reminds me of the fact that my own is no longer...


    "[Thank you, mama, papa.]" Bowing her head and putting her palm on her chest, she performs the traditional gesture of gratitude.


    But of course, we couldn''t just depart this quickly. The decision was announced to the villagers, who began to collect food to prepare a feast with which they would send us off. A messenger brought the news to the people of Ototawa, who expressed their wish to contribute. Therefore, our departure was delayed for a while.


    In the meantime, the corpses had been cleared away and thrown into a mass grave in the forest to be burned later; there is no tradition of burying the dead among these people, and least of all among slaves. Even though they were serving together, they do not mourn for their dead, as they have witnessed too many people close to them dying to the point where it has become a chore. It''s actually sad to see them like that...


    The surviving troops number in the three hundred, which can''t be housed in the village. They were tasked with building a temporary camp nearby, until more houses could be constructed for them - with their help, of course. This means that Aoranam''s population will suddenly rise by three hundred percent of its previous number, and I''m sure there''ll be difficulties involved. Good thing Rangi is staying behind to watch over everything.


    The former slaves also have to help defend this place in case another army passes us by while we''re on our way to the capital, and attacks here again. But I think they''re happier with that prospect than serving as slaves in the kingdom and having to fight on battlefields they can''t choose. The sentiment "die free rather than live in servitude" is growing strong among them, now that they get to taste freedom. Well, I share that sentiment, although I''d rather fight for freedom than die for it.


    Really, I don''t mind leaving straight away, but for Awhina and my children, this is the first time that they''re seeing more of the world than what they can reach within half an hour''s walk of their respective villages. It''s certainly an event, especially for the former, to leave her parents behind to go on an uncertain quest - and to war.


    "[Take care of yourself out there, you understand?]" I sit and drink with Tahiri as I overhear Ruiha talk to Awhina in the next room over. Rangi is with us right now, but I wonder if he shouldn''t just join them. Seeing his expression, I understand that he has already resolved himself that his daughter is going to be leaving the nest and live her own life, so I keep quiet.


    "[Don''t you worry, Rangi. Your daughter is in good hands.]" Tahiri lifts her wooden bowl of Oripiaw in a toast. Why do I have a feeling she isn''t referring to me with that?


    "[I''m worried about you, Tahiri. What is the wind doing, being pulled along in the affairs of man?]" But he''s not one to talk, being a god and fighting for humans. Then again, his case is different, since he did have his personal beef with them for destroying the statue dedicated to him. And he is the local patron god, so letting his people die would mean he''d lose their faith in his existence. I don''t know if the gods in this place are like Japanese kami, who become powerless and disappear if they receive no faith.


    "[The wind goes wherever it pleases. And this time, it is going with man.]" Responding casually, the God of Storm smiles in reassurance.


    "[Is it really going with man? There is only one human among us.]" I bring this valid point to the conversation. We are six people, and among them, only Mereana is a human. "[One and a half, I guess.]" Since Awhina is a half-human.


    "[You''re right, haha.]" Lifting the bowl to my words, she takes a sip. "[And with someone calling himself the God King, it''s a matter of the gods as much as it is of man.]"


    "[I guess you''re right.]" Downing the contents of his own bowl, Rangi responds with a resigned smile and sighs. "[May Pakangaroa bless your endeavors.]"


    A few days later, we set off on our journey to Kairaki, to topple the God King and bring peace for the village. The former slave cavalry has given us seven horses, one for each and one more for carrying our luggage and rations. Awhina and Mereana are the only ones who have changes of clothes, since neither my children nor I wear actual clothes, and Tahiri just creates her own out of clouds - yes, the pure white version of Awhina''s outfit she was wearing on our first encounter was also actually made from clouds.


    This is my first time on a horse, though. I''m actually not looking forward to it, because I know animals generally don''t like me because of what I am. They can instinctively feel that I''m not a being that should exist in this world, and they fear me. At least my first encounter with a Vularen on the Dark Continent showed that they won''t eat me because they can tell that I''m most likely poisonous.


    I could just transform into a dragon and fly all the way there while carrying the others on my back. And if I knew the way, I could just fly there with my two children and Tahiri in Chaos Warhead Mode. But Awhina and Mereana wouldn''t be able to come along, especially since traveling inside me is not an option for humans, or even a demigoddess. At least I don''t want to risk breaking their minds.


    Thus, we''re going the slow way, on horseback. I don''t really mind either way, since I get to see more of the scenery of this foreign land. I''m sure Awhina, Uten and Saten can also appreciate that, as they''ve never left the vicinity of their villages. They jump on their horses fearlessly, despite the fact that it''s also only their first time riding one. Of course, the twins immediately get thrown off theirs, as they buck under them and try to run away. Awhina''s isn''t showing any such ideas and behaves well.


    I look at mine, who returns the gaze with a hint of fear and most likely disgust. Approaching it from the front, I keep eye contact and take hold of its reins. Horses are supposedly quite intelligent and can understand human words to a certain extent. So I speak to my ride in a whispering tone.


    "[If you throw me off, I''ll eat you.]" The horse freezes stiff and begins to shiver; apparently it understood, or at least noticed my threatening undertone. I put a hand on its head to calm it down, but it has the opposite effect, as the shivering becomes stronger. "[But carry me well and I''ll give you a lot of treats.]"


    With this, I swing myself into the saddle. And lo and behold, it doesn''t buck. Good boy... or girl - I didn''t pay much attention to that part.


    "You need to assert your dominance, Uten, Saten." I call out to the twins who are fighting with their horses while trying not to hurt them. "Threaten to eat them, if you have to." They do hunt for themselves from time to time, but the idea of eating a horse never crossed their minds before.


    "We can eat these beings?" It seems their mouths are actually watering at the prospect of tasting something they have never eaten before.


    "Not yet. First they''ll have to carry us to the capital. Afterwards, you can do what you want with them." I''m sure Mereana won''t mind if they ate the horses, after we overthrow this so-called God King and free all slaves.


    Following my advice, they whisper to their horses the same way I did, and apparently despite their small sizes, the animals show them just as much respect as mine did to me. Finally, everyone is sitting on their rides and we can depart.


    "[I''ll bring some souvenirs from this place called Kairaki, mama, papa!]" Awhina waves to her parents energetically, who are seeing us off alongside all the other villagers and former slaves. Somehow this feels like the start of a real adventure, unlike all the things I''ve had so far.


    "[I promise to bring Awhina back safely.]" With these words directed at Rangi and Ruiha, I set off followed by Uten and Saten, who are waving triumphantly, as if our quest has already been achieved.


    "[Keep the village safe, Rangi. You know I like the brew here.]" Tahiri''s casual farewells are met with laughter by the gathered people. She has her ways of lifting the mood in all situations, that''s for sure.


    Our small procession moves out and leaves the village behind.


    ??? Side


    "[What an unsightly appearance, Felgar.]" Standing atop the yet to be closed mass grave of the fallen soldiers, a cloaked figure speaks with a female voice. She is clearly directing these words at the flamboyantly dressed man, who lies with a hole in his throat among the former slaves he commanded, half buried and no longer looking as colorful as he did before.


    Pointing her staff at the corpse, she mutters some words in an arcane language. For a second, only silence reigns supreme in the surroundings, as seemingly all animal life has fled and is lying low. Then the pit spontaneously bursts out in flames as the bodies are burned to ashes in an instant.


    Moments later, a rustling sound emerges from the pile of crumbling bodies. A hand with orange fingernails covered in ash stretches upwards and seems to grasp at the sky. The flamboyant god called Felgar comes back to life and gasps for air. Sitting up from the ashes, he looks around and spots the cloaked woman before him.


    "[How long was I out?]" Asking her in an annoyed tone, he touches the place where the fatal wound used to be, knowing that no hints of it could possibly remain.


    "[Two days.]" Stating curtly and in a matter of fact tone, the woman turns away from him. "[They have left the village and are on their way to Kairaki.]"


    "[What are they trying to do?]" Surprised, Felgar asks as he stands up and the ashes clinging onto him are blown away in the breeze, leaving his naked body perfectly pristine, as if he had just stepped out of a bath.


    "[Apparently they want to bring down His Majesty.]" Without looking at Felgar, she explains the situation. "[We cannot let that happen.]"


    "[I know. I''ll go back to Uarapo and meet them there.]" With these words, he bursts out into flames once again, and from within the fireball emerges a giant bird with a flaming comb and orange plumage. Its yellow wings and long tail feathers draw a trail of fire behind them as it takes off into the air. Truly, a phoenix rising from the ashes.

 Chapter 74 - Welcome to the Jungle

    It seems that the closest village from Aoranam is called Iatukat, and is three days away when traveling on horseback. That explains why we found rations in the remains of the envoy''s saddle that Rangi had ripped off. And it also explains why nobody in Aoranam knew about the existence of that village. They usually only ever ventured out for a day at most, and since they don''t have horses, none of those short adventures ever got close to allowing contact with Iatukat.


    "[The village is not much larger than Aoranam, but the local god refused to pay tribute as well.]" Mereana explains as we ride along a jungle path. It''s quite wide and couldn''t be an animal trail, and it''s not being maintained by Aoranam village, because this is already outside of their foraging range.


    Actually, it wasn''t a continuous path from there, else the villagers would most likely have tried to see what was at the end of it. We passed through a stretch of open steppe and rode for half a day, before entering this jungle.


    Then again, it''s possible that when the slave army passed through here, they cut this path to ease their progress. After all, there were nearly five hundred soldiers, so they couldn''t have all just walked single file, or it would have taken ages for the last one to reach their destination.


    "[Iatukat was subjugated by our forces on our way to you.]" Mereana continues. "[In a short battle the local god was killed and the villagers surrendered quickly.]"


    I already found out myself that these gods can be killed in the same way humans can. I just wonder why the slave troops never thought of doing it on their own. It''s not like that flamboyant guy could have defeated five hundred soldiers coming at him all on his own. And they could have tried to backstab him on the battlefield, or even just turned him into a pincushion from afar. He didn''t seem especially strong and he certainly wasn''t as sturdy as Rangi is.


    "[Then is it such a good idea to go to that village now that you''re without your army?]" I tease Mereana. Surely, they must still remember her appearance and now that she''s coming with only a handful of people, they could just try to overwhelm her with numbers and lynch her.


    "[The village should have been emptied by now.]" With a grim face, she replies.


    "[What do you mean, emptied?]" I have a bad feeling about this. Somehow, I can imagine what the answer will be.


    "[For those who oppose the God King, only death or slavery awaits.]" Pretty much what I expected.


    "[You mean to say that if we had lost, the rest of the villagers would have been turned into slaves?]" Awhina catches up to us and asks with an indignant expression.


    "[... since your father killed the envoy, it was decided to burn down the entire village and execute every single inhabitant...]" It''s clearly hard for Mereana to say this, considering she would have gone through with it, had I not killed her overseer and fulfilled that prophecy she believed in - and probably still believes in to some extent.


    "[But we would have never lost.]" Puffing out her chest, Awhina states with pride. Well, I don''t know about Rangi losing, but with the overwhelming numbers, the villagers wouldn''t have been safe, if Tahiri and I hadn''t been there as a failsafe. Well, the God of Storm didn''t really do anything, but she would have, if I hadn''t been there. Then again, she wouldn''t have been there, if I hadn''t been there.


    Whatever, the fact of the matter is that we didn''t lose.


    "[It''s getting dark. Are we going to ride through the night?]" I look up, through the canopy of the jungle. It''s quite dark down here already, but the little I can see of the slightly cloudy sky tells me that within the next hour or so, it''s going to be night. Uten and Saten, and of course I, can see in the dark, but I don''t know about the others.


    "[... no, we shall find a place to rest and continue tomorrow.]" Welcoming the change of topic, Mereana sighs and looks at me with a hint of thankfulness.


    "[So, what does that brand mean?]" As we finish setting up a campfire with the help of some magic from me, I ask Mereana bluntly.


    Blinking a few times while staring at me with a blank expression, the question seems to take her by complete surprise. Then she turns away slightly as if trying to hide the brand from my sight, before loosening her expression.


    "[Like Felgar told you, I''m a former slave.]" She starts to explain. That''s quite obvious, considering every single soldier in the slave army had a brand on their faces. What I''m curious about is the meaning of their different shapes. When I got closer to her, I could tell that it''s actually only remotely heart-shaped, and actually seems to be a letter or a rune. "[I was a slave in the lord of Uarapo''s bed chambers.]"


    That''s a euphemism for sex slave. When I still believed it to be a heart, I thought that''s exactly what she used to be, too. Well, I have to admit that I wouldn''t push her out of bed, to say the least.


    "[How did you come to be a commander?]" That should be interesting to hear. From being confined in the master''s bedroom to leading troops into battle. Even if she was freed, that''s a pretty strange step-up in ranks for a former slave. Of course, there was a god as an overseer, but it''s still a pretty huge responsibility.


    "[My former master liked to play Agnihut. It is a strategic board game.]" Mereana begins to explain. Must be something like Shogi, I suppose. "[He taught me how to play and found that I was gifted with a mind for strategy. When he... did not call upon me... he let me read the books in his library.]" Why, her former master doesn''t sound like the typical slaver scum I know from stories. In fact, allowing his slave to educate herself after discovering a talent makes him seem like a nice person - aside from the fact that he was keeping slaves, that is. "[When he died, he set me free. But in the laws of the kingdom, a freed slave is still not the same as a freeborn person.]"


    That doesn''t sound like freed slaves are free at all, then. And it seems to have been in disregard of her former master''s last wishes, too. This kingdom seems to have the kind of system I hate, and I think it''s the right call to destroy it.


    "[Based on my strategic talent, I was drafted into the army and given an education as an officer.]" I take it back. Is this a modern meritocracy? Talented people are nurtured, even if they''re slaves or freed slaves. I guess I have to take a closer look at things before I can judge them, but one thing I''m sure of: Slavery needs to end. "[After three years at the military academy, I was put at the head of a company of the Nameless. They are auxiliary troops, composed solely of slaves and led by freed slaves.]" She noticed my questioning expression at the mention of the "Nameless" and adds a quick explanation.


    "[You sound proud.]" I couldn''t help but hear a prideful undertone in her speech.


    "[Really? I... I guess I was.]" With a hint of embarrassment but also self-loathing, Mereana looks into the flames. "[For a former slave, it was an honor to become a commander in the military.]" I think I can empathize with the sentiment. She grew up being owned and commanded by others, so rising to a position of power must have felt great.


    "[Why did you start putting your faith in this prophecy of a savior freeing all slaves, then?]" If she felt content in her position, why would she ever start thinking about a prophecy that would have led to the dissolution of her troops?


    "[The Nameless were sent to the most dangerous battlefields and I lost many comrades. Even when we achieved greatness, we were never honored and our losses never acknowledged. After all, we were slaves - less than human.]" Touching the brand on her cheek, she looks bitter. It''s clear that she cares for her troops. "[The succession war bled out the slaves of this country. The man who now calls himself the God King used to be a kind man. However, when the first prince - son of the queen, who was a freed slave - was announced as the successor to the throne, he changed.]"


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Mereana goes on to speak of the succession war, but I''m barely able to pay attention since it sounds really convoluted. Basically, the God King turned into a power-hungry and scornful bastard when he - son of the first concubine - didn''t get to sit on the throne. So he started a war against the legitimate king after their father died, rallying all the slave-keepers in the kingdom to his side by promising laxer slave trading laws. This way he gained a decisive financial advantage, which allowed him to gather followers within the palace and plot an assassination.


    It failed, and the king was forced to flee the capital, consolidating his forces at the Awiho Fortress. This turned into a protracted siege, which had such widespread influence that loyalists staged attempts at helping the king, by fighting against the usurper''s supporters across the land. It became a messy civil war that engulfed all of the kingdom.


    "[And you missed this?]" I turn to Awhina and the others. To miss that basically the entire nation went to war is quite a feat, but maybe the Aoranam village really is the most remote of places in the kingdom.


    "[I knew of something going on recently, but I don''t pay attention to the conflicts of man.]" Tahiri comments while leaning back against a tree. Well, I didn''t really expect her to care either way.


    "[So is this God King a human?]" Maybe I should have asked this question earlier, but I basically forgot and simply assumed that he must be some kind of god.


    "[The former king was a normal human... but nobody really knows.]" Mereana must be wondering about that herself. "[But he must hold some kind of power, or else the gods would not follow him.]"


    "[Especially since he apparently wants to eradicate all heathen deities.]" To quote the dumb envoy''s announcement.


    "[The gods that follow him become part of his pantheon. Those who do not are killed or enslaved.]" Turning to look at Awhina, she gazes at her with an almost envious expression. "[You are blessed to have a strong father like that. If mine had been only half as strong, I would not have become a slave...]"


    The conversation dies down. I think that kinda killed the already heavy mood.


    "[Let''s sleep for tonight. I''ll keep watch.]" Since I don''t need to sleep at all. My children have quickly adopted the idea of never sleeping over the past year. They used to waste away almost half the day by doing it, even though they don''t need to, but after realizing that they have more time to play around and explore the world of the night, they now pretty much always stay awake.


    "[Care to join me for a drink?]" Tahiri waves me over. She doesn''t need to sleep either, so she spends her nights either drinking while looking up into the sky longingly - as if wishing to go back up there - or talking to me about various things.


    "[Is there even enough left for the rest of the journey?]" I joke around, as I point at the gourd filled with Oripiaw from Aoranam that she''s carrying.


    "[If it runs dry, I could always go back overnight and get more.]" Grinning, she hands me the gourd to let me drink from it directly. Fair enough; I could do the same in Chaos Warhead Mode, especially now that I''m getting more familiar with the lay of the land.


    In either case, I seem to have turned into an alcoholic. I mean, I started to drink with Tahiri almost every evening not too long ago, and it''s become a routine for us after our daily battles ever since. Really, at this point we clearly don''t want to kill each other anymore, and I would be content with just landing a blow on her during a spar someday.


    "[You two, don''t wander off too far.]" I turn to Uten and Saten, who motion to sneak away without telling me. I doubt there''s anything that could be a danger to them around here, but I''d rather not risk anything in an unfamiliar land. They most likely won''t get lost, as long as this fire is active, so it should be fine in that regard.


    "[You''re like a real mother.]" Tahiri teases my youthful appearance, knowing full well that she herself doesn''t look much older or especially wise, even when she talks like an old lady.


    "[That''s because I am their mother.]" Taking a gulp and handing the gourd back to her, I state with pride.


    "[Wake up, everyone. We got company.]" Sometime during sunrise, we have been surrounded. They haven''t shown themselves yet, so I can''t tell if they''re humans or animals, but I can feel at least twenty large life forms approaching slowly and carefully from all sides. They are closing the encirclement, but nothing can escape my Chaos senses.


    "[W-what?]" Awhina sits up sleepily and looks around while rubbing her eyes, before yawning heartily. She''s not a morning person, just like me in my previous life, and doesn''t seem to be fully conscious yet.


    Mereana, on the other hand, looks alert. Her military training must have taught her to sleep only lightly, since she''s fully awake in an instant and her hand is already on the hilt of her sword. My two children look around with their hands raised and transformed into blades. Tahiri is looking at me rather than her surroundings, as if to gauge how I would know about the approaching potential danger.


    "[Bandits out here?]" Looking around nervously, Mereana mutters.


    "[We know you''re there. Come out and show us your faces.]" I call out to see if they''re people or animals. Surprised rustling can be heard from my right, suggesting that it must be a human who understands what I just said. I won''t attack without knowing their identities and intentions, so I''ll wait and see whether they actually come out or not.


    "[How many are there?]" Tahiri asks me curiously, not at all alarmed by the situation. Well, if she can dodge me, she can dodge bandits.


    "[... twenty-five.]" I take a moment to count them. So we''re outnumbered five to one, huh?


    "[Kakaka!]" Suddenly laughing, the God of Storm stands up. "[You haven''t learned at all, Tokomaha!]" She calls out into the surroundings, not aimed in any particular direction.


    "[... Tahiri?]" From my right - the same direction from which the rustling came from moments ago - a voice emerges. It sounds like a little girl''s...


    Then all other presences disappear in an instant and I''m wholly confused. What was that? I look around but obviously, I can''t see what happened. Then, from the undergrowth a girl just a little older than my two children emerges.


    "[What do you mean, I haven''t learned?]" She speaks with a lisp... so cute! Her hair is a huge green mane that actually looks like it''s made up of leaves. Protruding from that brush are pointy ears covered in light brown fur. Thick eyebrows are drawn together in a frown and her large amber eyes are glaring at Tahiri. Her tan body is completely exposed and full of white asymmetrical markings. In her right hand she''s wielding a giant bone covered in totemic carvings, which has been sharpened on one end.


    "[Outnumbering by five to one. Whenever we meet, that''s how it goes.]" Walking up to the girl, who''s undoubtedly a goddess, Tahiri states teasingly. "[And always encircling your prey from all sides in perfect synchronization.]"


    "[You! How did you know I was coming?!]" Pointing the sharp end of her spear towards me, this girl named Tokomaha asks sharply.


    "[I just know such things, don''t ask me how.]" Shrugging, tension leaves my body upon learning that there''s no immediate danger. Mereana still seems alert, but Awhina has actually gone back to sleep. She''s incredible, really. "[You know each other?]" I turn to Tahiri.


    "[Yeah, she''s Tokomaha, a savage god.]" Tahiri''s introduction sounds very casual. This must mean that this girl isn''t a powerful goddess and not particularly noteworthy.


    "[I''m not a savage! I''m the God of Growth!]" Swinging her spear at the God of Storm, she corrects her angrily.


    "[Why don''t you give that pitiful body of yours some growth, then?]" That was a strike below the belt!


    "[Not that kind of growth!]" Ah, apparently that hit a sore spot, since tears appear in the girl''s eyes as she stomps her feet and shouts. The fact that she isn''t trying to attack even though she has a weapon means that she must be aware of how powerful and slippery Tahiri is.


    "[So, what were you trying to do?]" I ask, still wondering how the many presences earlier are tied to her being called the God of Growth.


    "[I''m not talking to you, ugly!]" Barking at me, Tokohama disregards my question.


    Pop.


    "[You shouldn''t talk to people with such disrespect, little girl.]" I realize that my voice is shaking. No point in getting angry with a child, right?


    "[Stop talking, fat ass!]"


    Pop pop.


    That was the sound of veins popping on my forehead.


    I think she needs some discipline.

 Chapter 75 - Wah! What are we going to do in the brush?

    "[Excuse us for a bit.]" Directing this at the others, I approach Tokomaha with what is most definitely the smile of a killer. She apparently doesn''t understand the meaning behind it and glances up at me with a disparaging expression.


    "[What do you want, white monkey?]" And she seems to lack the proper instincts of the wild animal she looks like.


    Pop pop pop.


    "[Kakaka! Good luck, Tokomaha.]" Tahiri laughs at the situation and waves at the little goddess.


    "[Huh?]" Before the petite girl can react, I grab her and throw her over my shoulder. "[Wah! Unhand me, you brute!]"


    Her struggles are strangely weak, or I''m just that strong. She kicks her legs and hits my chest, but it bounces off my extra layers of protection. The sensation seems to infuriate her, as she beats on my back without any effect. Is this really a god? Must be a really weak one like the flamboyant guy I killed in a single stab, a god in name only.


    "[Shut up. Don''t you understand that you''re going to be punished?]" Growling this, I slap her ass with enough force to make her entire body jump. Apparently that finally gave her an idea of the things to come, as she begins to shiver. "[Wait for me here.]" With these words directed at my children, who are moving to follow me, I disappear into the undergrowth.


    "[Y-you know I''m a god, right?]" Her shaky voice isn''t convincing at all, as she tries to act strong and intimidate me with her god status. I walk silently, not answering any of her questions and threats. She stopped struggling, most likely in fear of getting spanked again, but with every further step, her boldness grows again. "[Let go of me and I''ll forgive you. Hey, you listening? Answer me! You-]"


    I think we walked far enough now, so I throw her down. The ground is covered in soft leaves, so it shouldn''t hurt, and if she complains about just that despite being a goddess, I''ll be seriously concerned about how her body will handle what''s about to come. But of course, she complains.


    "[Hey, what are you doing!]" Trying to stand back up right away, Tokomaha points her spear at me, but I grab it and pull it out of her hand. "[Ah, give it back!]"


    "[You can have it back after we''re done here.]" Looking down on the naked goddess with cold eyes, I stab the spear into the ground and loom over her. "[You''ll need it as a walking stick.]"


    "[W-what do you plan on doing with me?]" Fear creeps into the petite girl''s features as she tries to back away from me. She is stopped by a tree, against which she presses her back as if trying to melt into it. "[Don''t come any closer!]"


    Growing tentacles from my back, I grab Tokomaha''s wrists and ankles, and lift her from the ground. Her weak struggling is wholly useless in the face of my strength, and I bind her tightly, dangling her in front of me in what can only be described as a hogtie. One of my tentacles is digging into her crotch and it seems that the situation she now finds herself in - has run herself into - finally dawns on her. But in that position, she can barely even move, let alone try and free herself.


    "[You fiend, how dare you- mphhhf!]" Taking a page out of Saten''s book, I do as he did to me on our first meeting, and ram something into her mouth. While he may have used something more important than just a normal tentacle, and done it with a different intention, mine is to shut her up.


    "[I''ve been holding back for a while now, since my children don''t like to transform into girls much.]" Tokomaha''s eyes widen when she sees that my clothes seem to dissipate and sink into my body. She tries to bite off the tentacle, but it''s too sturdy for her. "[And as a punishment, I can do some... harder plays with you.]"


    And I grab her pitiful little breasts, which don''t seem to have gained much size despite the fact that she''s being hung with her arms and legs above her head, and her chest sticking out. Twirling my fingertips around the peaks on the tiny mounds, I wait until they become erect, before pinching and rolling them between my thumbs and index fingers.


    She squirms and fights her restraints, but obviously there''s nothing she can do in this shameful position. Transforming a tentacle into a hand, I run it up and down her back sensually, which causes her to freeze up in shock. My two hands are working on her flat chest, so where did that third one come from? Since she can''t turn her head, this question and uncertainty adds a layer of sensitivity to her.


    It''s clear that, just like Tahiri, Tokomaha is far older than she looks. The fact that she shows these kinds of reactions despite appearing closer in age to my two children than to Awhina is testament to that, even if she was acting like a brat earlier. I can feel moistness building around where my tentacle is rubbing against her most important place due to her shivering and writhing. Well, I wouldn''t have done this with her, if she was actually just a kid. But being a goddess makes her legal by default.


    I pull the tentacle from her mouth to hear what she has to say in her current situation.


    "[Stop it! This is disgusting!]" As expected, she immediately spits insults into my face.


    Licking my lips, I work my tentacle bindings to change her posture, hanging her by up by her waist and sticking out her butt. Then I whip my hand down on her buttocks with a loud reverberating slap. Yelping from the pain, the little goddess kicks her legs and tries to wiggle away, but since she''s suspended in midair with her arms bound on her back, there''s no way she can free herself.


    "[Are you learning yet?]" I spank her, alternating between butt cheeks. Her angry voice, interspersed by the slapping sounds, slowly grow quieter, while her squeals grow louder. Then, she finally ceases her verbal abuses, and I stop my hand. At this point, her bottom is already completely red, but I can see a trickle of wetness running down her inner thighs.


    Oh?


    Flipping her over and bringing her face up to mine, I prolong my tongue and run it across her cheek. Her eyes are already glazed over from the pain, but she''s gritting her teeth in defiance. Running my fingers along the white marks on her skin, I move my hands up and down, tracing the shapes all over her body. Of course, I skirt the most sensitive areas, to deny her the pleasure, but even then, wetness runs down her legs from the sensation. Her heavy breathing is music in my ears, but she seems to be recovering pretty quickly, as with every blink of her eyes, she regains some of her senses. That''s quite the strong willpower you have there.


    "[You... won''t... get away... with this!]" She speaks through her panting and focuses her eyes on me in a threatening glare.


    Then I feel several presences pop out of thin air all around me. I turn my head in surprise and find that they''re copies of Tokomaha, all looking exactly like her but lacking any expressions and not wielding her spear. So her god power is to create shadow clones? That could actually be incredibly powerful, if it wasn''t in the hands of this rather dumb girl here.


    "[Hm, do you really think that gives me any reason for concern?]" I pull up the tentacles holding her legs and spread them apart before me, then place my hand against her soaking wet crotch.


    "[Attac-khnn?!]" Before she can finish the command, I ram two of my fingers into her most important part, before bending them and pressing onto the place I found to be the most sensitive among all those I had the pleasure to tangle with. Her voice turns into a soundless shriek, and clear sticky liquid gushes out around my hand. Ohhh, she came from that, huh?


    And the clones dissolve into piles of leaves, as her concentration was completely broken by that. Hm, maybe they''re not that useful after all. I guess ambushing humans with this trick is easy, but she tried that on the wrong person here.


    "Hnnnh!" Tokomaha looks up to me with a flushed face, flapping her mouth open and closed without forming any words, apparently unable to speak properly due to the mind-numbing sensation. Hm, what are you trying to tell me?


    "[Will this help?]" I pull my hand upwards, as if hooking her with my fingers. It seems to be very effective, as another fountain of love juices spill out in the wake of it.


    "Ah-aaahhh!" And now she lets go of her voice. A screamer, huh? But the sound is so beautiful, I want to hear more of it. So I smash the button that produced it - repeatedly and with ever-increasing intensity. The petite girl twists her waist and arches her back from the sensation and I can feel something rise inside me, too.


    Ahhh, this is great~


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    Pulling my fingers out in a quick motion, I grind the tips across her upper walls and then flick her chestnut on the way up. Her entire body convulses and she seems to lose consciousness after a breathless and silent shriek.


    "[Hm, done already?]" I don''t know if she can hear me, but she will wake up soon enough. Lifting her limp head by her chin, I look at her wonderful faded expression. Licking her lips and then forcing my way into her mouth, I stimulate her tongue and gums, upon which she seems to regain her senses.


    I draw back as she tries to bite my tongue off, and immediately flip her over, making her small but well-rounded butt face me. I intentionally give her the freedom to turn her head, so that she can glimpse what is about to happen to her. Looking over her shoulder weakly, her eyes widen in terror at the sight.


    Yes, I''ve grown one again. And it''s the same as the one I used for Hestia. Not the second one, since that would just rip this petite body in half. If I didn''t care about her at all, I would just go ahead, but she seems to be acquainted with Tahiri in a way, so I''d rather not kill her here.


    Oh, and she seems to be fun.


    "[W-what are you...]" Tokomaha stutters and struggles with the little remaining strength that she has, but it didn''t help her before, and it doesn''t help her now. "[No, don''t do it! Stop it, you monster!]"


    "[Is that any way to ask for something?]" I guide my tip towards her entrance and purposefully miss, sliding it across the entire length of her slit and then over her most sensitive spot. At the sensation, she looks down at herself and finds the rod resting against her stomach, pointing at the place inside her that it will be able to reach; it''s around the belly button.


    "[P-please...]" She turns her head to look at me with a pleading expression, a slightly unhinged smile on her face. I guess the fear has broken her mind a little there.


    "[Well done.]" I line it up once more and give her a charming smile. "[Here''s your reward.]"


    And in one steady motion - not too quickly, but also not too slowly - I push all the way inside her, until I hit a wall. Looking down at myself, I see that there''s still a little left to go, but I''m certain I reached her deepest point. In other words, she wasn''t a virgin. Oh well, doesn''t really matter, I''m not a purist in that regard, as long as I can have fun.


    But let''s give her some breathing room first. She is gasping for air as I''m filling up her insides completely, so I won''t move until she gets used to it a little more. I''m not a monster, after all. Technically, I am, but that''s not important right now. I don''t want her to lose consciousness and turn into a simple puppet; where''d be the fun in that?


    "[I... I''ll kill you...]" Tokomaha presses out from between her clenched teeth and I find myself admiring her fortitude, to be able to still say such things in this situation.


    As a reward, I reach around and grab her tiny breasts. Pinching their tips, more forcefully than before, I pull on them hard and stretch them out quite a bit. Throwing her head back and screaming in a mix of pleasure and pain - more the latter, I think - her insides tighten up immensely. Ohhh, that''s a nice reaction.


    When I let go, she looks over her shoulder and glares at me, but no longer speaks. She seems to have finally learned her lesson with this. Now the fun for both of us can begin; it doesn''t feel too great to be showered with abuses while doing it, after all.


    Running my hand across her back and touching the leaves that are her hair, I wonder how those grow. Moving my hand to her head under the bush of leaves, I find that there are actually branches growing directly from her scalp. Sliding my fingers between those, I touch her skin.


    "Hahnyaah..." A shiver runs through Tokomaha''s body and the leaves shake. Oh, apparently that''s an erogenous zone for her. Good to know.


    Pulling back and halfway out of her, the spine-tingling sensation of suction works on my tip. It''s been a while since I last did this, so I''m quite sensitive right now. The little goddess shivers at the sensation and moans with no regard for her dignity, which she had been trying to uphold so far. She''s finally beginning to enjoy it, huh?


    And with that, I split my hand into countless little tentacles and massage her all over the head at the same time as I push into her in one quick stroke. This time, I aim to go all the way to the base so that our bodies touch. Luckily, she is arching her back in pleasure at my multi-pronged assault, and making it easier to find the perfect angle. Pushing further, I find myself nestling into her perfectly.


    "[We seem to have good compatibility.]" I bend forward and whisper into Tokomaha''s ear. "[Can''t hear me, huh?]" Her expression is one of mind-bending ecstasy, even though I haven''t even gotten started yet. Wiggling my hips a little causes her to sigh in pleasure, and when I pull back, she breathes in sharply.


    I begin to move and settle into an increasingly faster rhythm, which elicits increasingly more heated moans from the petite girl. My many-fingered hand continues to work on the head, while I reach around with my other and find her sweet spot. At this point, she has become so sensitive that a single touch causes her to twitch violently and writhe in bliss.


    Soon, I lift her leg and thrust into her sideways, stimulating a new spot while running my prolonged tongue over her inner thigh. I won''t let up and keep her over the edge with different positions. Knowing from experience, girls have that over boys. Well, right now I''m practically a boy, although my convenient body allows me to just reset myself and start from zero, so that I can repeatedly climax myself.


    But there are people waiting for me, so I guess I should go for the end spurt soon.


    Turning Tokomaha over, I make her face me. Her amber eyes are glazed over as she stares into my general direction, no idea of what is going to happen next. Pulling her up to me, I assault her lips while stopping my hips, so that she can savor the moment before I begin in earnest. When we separate, her flushed face has gained a different shade of red, as her eyes seem to have regained some of their light. She still looks defiant, but clearly because she doesn''t want to admit that she''s enjoying it.


    That''s when I pull out almost to the tip, and push back in while grinding along her upper wall until I reach the deepest point. Throwing back her head, Tokomaha loses her breath and her voice fails her. But that was only the beginning; repeating the move, I settle into a quick piston motion that keeps stimulating her most sensitive spot at the start, before kissing the entrance to her womb at the end.


    I can feel it building up inside me and smack my hips against her buttocks ever faster. Every thrust coaxes the most beautiful squeals of ecstasy from the petite girl in my grip. She stretches her arms out towards me and I give in to her beckon, upon which she hugs me close and bites my shoulder to muffle her voice.


    This utterly adorable action drives me over the edge and I explode inside her.


    "~~~~~" Her muted scream shows that she is feeling the heat spilling into her abdomen and spreading out in her entire body.


    We stay like this for a while, during which Tokomaha holds me tight and keeps her face buried in my shoulder.


    "[You beast!]" Sitting on the ground since her legs are still too weak to support her, the little goddess glares at me and snarls. From between her legs my essence leaks out, and I think what a shame it is that it''s getting wasted.


    Really though, she remains a bratty kid through and through, and as expected it turned out to be not much of a punishment, since she clearly enjoyed herself.


    "[Keep this attitude up and I''ll punish you again.]" At my words, she goes silent and her face flushes. Well, I''m sure she would love to go again, after this experience, although I''m also sure she''d never admit it directly.


    I feel the presence of my children in the brush behind me and sigh. I lost control sometime in the middle of it and didn''t pay any attention to my surroundings, so they must have witnessed the end. It''s fine, I''ve done the same with them before, so it''s not much of a problem for them to see it. I''m sure their great hearing allowed them to realize what was going on, and being the curious cats they are, they came to watch.


    "[Come out you two.]" I speak without turning around, and I hear the rustling of leaves.


    "[H-how did you know we were there?]" They peek their heads out from inside the brush and ask sheepishly. I haven''t told them that I can sense living things, and I sure as hell won''t tell them now.


    "[I''m your mother.]" Finally turning to them, the first thing I notice is that they have pitched tents. "[I see, you got aroused by watching, huh?]"


    "[Uhhh...]" Trying to hide it, they bend forward slightly and look away from me in embarrassment.


    "[Wanna have a go at it with her? She can produce copies of herself.]" Looking up at the sky through the canopy of trees, I have reason to assume that it''s not even noon yet. "[And I could go for another round myself.]"


    My gaze falls onto Tokomaha and I lick my lips. She understands what is likely going to happen: If she can''t produce semi-permanent shadow clones, she''ll have to deal with all three of us on her own. Panic enters her eyes as she attempts to crawl away and is once again foiled by the tree behind her.


    "[N-nooooo!!!]" Her cry echoes through the forest.


    When we emerge from the jungle and return to the camp a while later, both my children and I are feeling satisfied. Following behind us slowly, leaning on her bone spear and unable to walk upright, Tokomaha staggers into sight.


    "[What did you do to her? We heard screams.]" Awhina asks me with a skeptical expression. I never did anything with her since... I don''t really know, but our relationship isn''t that clearly defined, yet. It''ll have to be made clear eventually, but for now, I''m amused by her innocence. I can see that Mereana and Tahiri clearly know what just went down, but they''re keeping quiet, so I won''t explain it to her now.


    "[Punishment~]" I respond with a grin and turn to my children, winking at them.


    "[Are we ready to depart?]" Mereana clears her throat and throws the question out. I don''t have anything to pack, so I''m ready whenever the others are packed up.


    "[Tokomaha-chan, you coming?]" I ask the little goddess.


    "[Why would I-]" She glares at me weakly and starts, but I lick my lips, upon which she leaves her retort unfinished. Blushing and looking away, she presses her lips shut and makes a difficult expression. Then, she finally turns to look at me again. "[A-alright! But not because your rod was so good or anything! Don''t misunderstand!]"


    - A tsundere has joined the party -

 Chapter 76 - Bewitched City

    The village of Iatukat had been emptied as Mereana told us, with the houses left intact but no signs of its inhabitants. When we looked into some of the houses, there was telltale evidence of struggles, but barely any spilled blood. I suppose the villagers had already been rounded up for the most part, and only some dissenters had to be chased down. In either case, there''s a clear trail leading away from the village, the grass trampled and bushes cut down to make way for a large number of people.


    There''s a totemic statue very similar to the one dedicated to Rangi - or rather its remains. It''s been burned to charcoal on a pyre, as a statement to the villagers to tell them that their god is powerless. Well, he was weaker than the god I killed in one hit, so he must have been quite weak in comparison. I''m sure Rangi wouldn''t fall to just a spike to the throat - if I can even penetrate his skin, that is.


    "[Smells awful.]" Tokomaha says while looking down on herself with an annoyed expression. She''s wearing clothes we found in one of the houses, since unlike me, she can''t erase her sexual characteristics. I didn''t really mind, but Awhina and Mereana both immediately went to find something that would fit her. It''s a typical traditional dress worn by women around these parts.


    I have to say, she may actually be even more enticing with clothes on. Since it means I can peel them off of her, and clothed sex is also quite exciting. Maybe we could-


    No, this isn''t the time for that. My libido is acting up again, ever since I got a taste of it yesterday, after a pretty long dry phase. When we finish our business at the capital and I find a clue about how to get back to the Demon Continent, I''ll grant myself the leeway to go at it for a while. I''m sure I''ll have a day or two''s time to have fun with Tokomaha then. When that day comes, I won''t let up until she completely melts~


    Ugh, thinking about it just makes me want to do it right away...


    "[Let us move on. There is nothing left here.]" Mereana says and saddles up and we follow suit, leaving the village behind us soon. She shows remorse at the fact that she helped turn this place into a desolate ghost town. But she acted under duress, so she can be forgiven to a certain degree. And she did lay down her arms the second she was no longer being forced to obey, so she deserves some leniency. I doubt the villagers who died or were taken away would think the same, though. "[Manoa is a four day''s ride away. The city is under the jurisdiction of Rapania the Sea Witch, so we will have to be careful.]"


    Hm? Sea witch? That sounds interesting. Maybe she''s someone I can have some fun with and-


    No more thinking about that kind of stuff... for now...


    "[A sea witch?]" Awhina looks grim as she asks for confirmation. It seems she knows what those are and understands how dangerous or difficult they are to deal with. At least that''s what I gather from it.


    "[Rapania? She''s meddling in the affairs of man now?]" Tahiri scratches her chin and looks at Mereana skeptically.


    "[You know her?]" At this point I shouldn''t be surprised that she knows every non-human. She knew Rangi, she knows Tokomaha, and apparently she knows this Rapania. "[Hard to deal with?]"


    "[She''s... complicated.]" I haven''t seen the God of Storm like this before. She seems melancholic, completely unlike her usual character. "[Rapania''s story is a tragic one.]"


    "[What happened to her?]" My children ask in unison. I want to know, too.


    But Tahiri goes silent and refuses to talk about it. Maybe she was friends with her before and something happened between them. In either case, we''ll have to go through her on our journey to the capital, huh?


    In the evening on the fourth day we approach the city of Manoa. It''s located on a peninsula, with a wide cliff jutting out over the sea. We have been moving through a jungle and across a steppe, and it took us around a week, but I doubt that this is the other side of the continent. I guess it''s part of a larger peninsula, and Aoranam and this city lie on different sides of it.


    Apparently the definition of city in the Adanak Kingdom is a bit smaller than in the Kingdom of Lares. It''s about half the size of Hovsgaerden, and while I would still only count it as a village, it''s the biggest settlement I''ve seen around here so far. It even has a wooden palisade wall and a gate house.


    But the guards standing watch aren''t watchful at all. Their heads are lowered as if they''re asleep, and those who are actually visibly awake just stare out into nothingness without paying attention to us. We walk into the city without being bothered at all. Guess seven pretty colorful looking people aren''t reason for concern around these parts here. Especially with someone like Tokomaha, who sits on her horse cross-legged and without a saddle, or Tahiri, who''s actually lying on her mount and looking up into the sky.


    The houses in the city are built with wood, but look much sturdier - and most of all - more secure and closed-off, than the ones in Aoranam. Instead of large windows, they''re actually quite small and all covered with curtains or even wooden shutters. Of course, there''s no glass here either, so I have to assume that this kingdom either lacks the technology or only the richest can afford it. Since the climate is pretty hot, they can get away with having no window covers, though.


    Something is bothering me.


    "[This place is dark...]" I comment and look around. It''s not like the city is empty, but the mood of the people seems really depressed. Nobody is talking and everyone just single-mindedly walks towards whatever their destinations are, never looking around, let alone glancing at us. "[Or is your way of riding a horse really that normal around here?]" I turn to Tahiri with that. Nobody in our group commented on it, and the people here aren''t paying attention to her, either.


    "[Hm, what do you mean?]" She lifts her head and her gaze seems to suggest that my question is strange. I''m not the strange one here! You''re the strange one!


    Now I actually feel like the odd one out for asking...


    "[Be careful. We could be attacked by Rapania or her people at any time.]" Mereana is the only one who seems to be on edge, her hand on the hilt of her sword. I don''t know if that will help her against what I imagine a sea witch to be, but if it helps her calm her nerves and gives her a sense of security, who am I to question it?


    "[Why would she attack us?]" Nobody should know that we''re on our way to bring down the God King, and we''re just a bunch of - admittedly strange - travelers. Furthermore, this is within the domain of the kingdom, and for all intents and purposes, Mereana is still wearing the armor of a commander of its army, even if there''s a slave''s brand on her cheek.


    "[On our way to your village, we had to stay here for a night after our march from Uarapo... The next day twelve men were found dead in their tents and thirty-five others had gone missing...]" She recounts with clear bitterness in her voice. "[Felgar clearly knew about this, but he did not care because they were slaves.]" I''m led to remember the flamboyant god, and it seems that he fulfills the exact image I had of his character from the little I saw of him.


    "[Rapania attacked your men, even though you''re from the same people?]" Awhina asks in astonishment. To her it''s unthinkable to attack and kill her own people, considering they are neighbors she grew up with. But even now, she cannot understand that slaves are treated as mere property. Still, this sea witch sounds like a pretty evil being, huh? "[Why doesn''t your king judge her?]"


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    "[Because she produces results.]" Mereana looks grim at this statement. "[More than a military leader, she is an oaiatup.]"


    "[What does ''oaiatup'' mean?]" I turn to Awhina and my children, but they don''t seem to know, either.


    "[Someone who does research.]" Surprised at the fact that none of us knew the word, Mereana explains. "[Rapania is a flesh agnuhot utuk¨¢m.]" And another word I don''t understand. But this time, she seems to interpret my questioning gaze the right way, since she immediately clarifiest using easier words. "[She uses live sacrifices for her magic.]"


    That sounds really evil, yeah. Something like a necromancer, then?


    "[All of us can handle ourselves, so you don''t have to worry about us. Well, Uten, Saten and I will keep watch.]" And obviously Tahiri, but I don''t even know if she''d get involved in any fighting, if the attackers are humans. She might just avoid combat with her uncanny ability to dodge everything, no matter how impossible it might seem. Also, her past with this sea witch may be troublesome, so I can''t expect any help from her. "[Let''s find a place to stay.]"


    It wasn''t that hard to find an inn, although the innkeeper wasn''t that friendly, eyeing us suspiciously and obviously staying defensively behind his counter. But the place itself seems unexpectedly clean, so he''s forgiven. Not like my children or I are going to lie down or even sleep tonight, since we need to keep watch.


    "[I wanna see more of this city!]" And there''s the problematic one speaking; Awhina has been fascinated with the architecture and the existence of clearly defined dirt streets ever since we saw the city from the outside. It''s her first time in a settlement other than where she came from, so obviously she''d want to make some more memories around here. It''s like she completely forgot all the talk we had about the dangers of the sea witch who governs this city.


    "[I''ll come with you then.]" I''d rather not let her walk alone out there. "[You two stay here.]"


    "[Whaaat? We want to see more of the city, too!]" Of course, the twins complain.


    "I have an important task for you two. Protect Mereana, but when people come and try to take you away, act like powerless children and let them." I speak to them in our language so that it won''t be overheard by anyone else. I don''t mind the others knowing, but if the walls have ears, they''ll be scratching their heads over this. "Treat it as a game. Of course, if you feel that her or your lives are in danger, you can fight with all you got."


    "Ohhh, that sounds like fun." They''re hyped up for it, but it''s still only a what-if scenario. It''s not guaranteed that something will happen - although I feel pretty confident that something will.


    "[Tahiri, come over here for a moment.]" I wave the God of Storm over, who has been watching our exchange with curiosity.


    "[What is it?]" She raises an eyebrow but does as asked.


    "[Keep an eye on my children and Mereana, but don''t interfere, unless you really feel the need to.]" I put an arm over her shoulder and pull her closer, whispering into her ear. I''m telling her this, knowing that she''ll most likely not interfere even if what I constitute as "need" arises.


    "[What are you planning?]" Looking at me skeptically, she asks my intentions.


    "[I don''t really know if you can call this planning, so I won''t tell.]" Sticking out my tongue, I separate from Tahiri and turn back around to Awhina. "[Let''s go, then.]"


    "[I''m coming, too. I-it''s not like I want to go with you, though! We just happen to share the same walking direction!]" I completely forgot about her; Tokomaha comes forward and expresses her desire to come along. Uwah, what a textbook tsundere thing to say...


    "[Oh no, you''re staying with me, Tokomaha. We have a lot of stories to share.]" Tahiri jumps in and throws an arm around the petite goddess, physically holding her back. I had almost forgotten about the so-called God of Growth, since she had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since we entered the city. Maybe she was really excited, but didn''t want to admit it.


    Thank you, Tahiri, for keeping her away from us. This is going to be a date between Awhina and me, so we don''t need a third wheel.


    "[Shall we?]" With this, Awhina and I leave the inn room together, to go sightseeing. I''m actually really aiming at gaining some relation points with her, since we haven''t had that much alone time together recently. Let''s see how far it gets today.


    There''s not much left of today, though. The sun has already disappeared behind the buildings and is nearing the horizon, its reddish hue tinting the sky on the other side purple. And unlike Kongenssoevn, Manoa doesn''t have a bustling nightlife or lamp crystals to illuminate the streets. We''ll have to return before it''s completely dark, but considering the size of this city - in name only - I doubt it''ll take us longer than an hour to make a tour.


    Not like there are any special sights to see, except for maybe the castle on top of the hill at the tip of the cliff, which is overlooking the city. It''s the only building made of stone, a fortress that just screams of an evil lair. Well, it is home to a being called a sea witch who uses human sacrifices to perform magic and conduct research.


    Luckily, Awhina doesn''t request to go take a look there, instead opting to try and find the marketplace, a thing she only ever heard about from Mereana. From experience, I know that markets pack up before the sun goes down, since the many traders come from outside and have a long way back home. Or because they can''t afford to illuminate their goods and prefer to be up again right before sunrise. In either case, I don''t think it''ll be a place as colorful as the bazaar in the cities of the Khurut Sultanate.


    Really, many of the people creep me out. Some of them are walking without looking where they''re going, or just standing around and staring holes into the air. Others stumble about aimlessly and let their arms dangle at their sides. They''re like zombies, some even giving off sighing and moaning sounds for apparently no reason. There are a few possible explanations that I know from games and stories, but I''d rather hope they''re just dead drunk...


    Whatever the case, I have my Chaos senses, so I can pinpoint their presences around corners and through walls. I won''t be ambushed, unless it''s by something that isn''t alive; and it lets me know that these aren''t zombies, since they give off life signs.


    "[What do you think?]" I ask Awhina, who seems quite fascinated with the sights. This is the first time she has seen houses that are more than one story tall, and the clothes these people wear look more subdued in color and design. It''s a whole new experience for her, who has been living in an isolated patch of the world so far.


    "[Everything is so different, but also familiar.]" Looking around, she responds absentmindedly. "[But the people aren''t as open and friendly as back home.]" That''s for sure.


    "[That''s just how it is in a city.]" Especially in one over which an evil castle looms and where people are kidnapped to be experimented on by a sea witch. "[The more people there are, the fewer of them you know personally. So they keep to themselves more.]"


    "[Are you from a big city?]" Since I seem to be speaking from experience, she asks this. I haven''t told her much about my past, since I felt like it would only serve to distance her and her family from me. After all, she''s a human and I''m a demon, even if, by their people''s definition, she''s technically a demigod.


    "[Yes, a very big one.]" But maybe it''s alright to tell her more, since at this point she knows and likes me for who I am, and won''t care about what I am.


    "[How many people live there?]"


    "[I think it was around thirteen million.]"


    "[Huh?]" She turns around to me with huge eyes.


    "[Hm? ... oh.]" I accidentally told her the number for the population of Tokyo.


    "[Take me there someday! I want to see what thirteen million people look like!]" Now she''s excited. The problem is that it''s not on this planet, most likely not even in this dimension. "[Promise me!]" Damn, when she makes these eyes at me, I can''t resist her. And she''s intentionally bending her knees and back, so she can look up at me, even though she''s quite a bit taller than me.


    "[Y-yeah, someday...]" I just can''t win against that expression. Then I grab her shoulders and pull her towards me.


    "[H-huh?]" She makes in embarrassment and motions to distance herself again, but I quickly spin her around.


    In the next moment, the hook that would have caught her by the waist goes through thin air and misses. We''ve been completely surrounded by a bunch of people dressed in black, with skull-like masks covering their faces, and wielding long hooks and other tools used to capture without much injury.


    "[Who are these people?]" Noticing that my action wasn''t flirting but actually to save her, Awhina looks around with her usual attentive expression, the same as when she helped defend the village against the slave army. It reminds me of the fact once again, that she''s not the typical damsel in distress that needs saving; she can handle herself, and could be considered quite powerful in her own right.


    "[I have a guess.]" These must be Rapania''s underlings, here to catch the newcomers to bring them in for experimentation. The sun is just about to disappear behind the horizon, but these guys didn''t even wait for it to be completely dark, to start kidnapping. I guess at this point public opinion doesn''t even matter for them anymore, since they have the city under control.


    Really though, how did I not notice them approaching? Even now, my Chaos senses aren''t picking them up. Maybe it has something to do with magic, or it''s possible that they''re actually undead?


    "[Let''s find out.]"

 Chapter 77 - Your Princess is in Another...

    Rather than undead, they were simply dead. Unlike the zombies and skeletons I instantly annihilated in the mausoleum in Hovsgaerden, these were corpse puppets on invisible magic strings that were unaffected by the light magic that instantly liberates the souls from the undead bodies. And unlike zombies, these seem to have been embalmed using chemicals, so as to preserve their freshness.


    In either case, they taste pretty bad.


    After eating the first one, I opted to just tear them apart limb from limb so that they couldn''t move anymore. Standing among heaps of dismembered human bodies, I look down at my work and nod in approval when I find that the last twitch has stopped. Turning to Awhina, she seems to be taking the situation harder than I thought.


    "[The dead are walking...]" As far as I remember, the traditions of Aoranam have it that the dead are cremated, with their ashes scattered over the sea. Normally, you wouldn''t see dead bodies for long, let alone moving like this. The citizens of the Kingdom of Lares are quite used to them, even though they''re perceived as dangerous. But for the people here, it must be quite a shock. "[What unholy magic is this sea witch performing...]"


    "[Let''s go back. I''m worried about the others.]" Not really, since I know they can handle themselves. The only one I''d have to worry about is Mereana, who''s a normal human.


    When we return to the inn, Tahiri is lying on her bed and relaxing. The others agreed on staying within the inn, so due to their absence it''s safe to assume that they''ve been taken away.


    "[I didn''t mean for you to be so laid back, you know?]" I walk over to the God of Storm and speak in a reprimanding tone. She could at least try to look distressed over their kidnapping or something.


    "[Where are the others?]" Awhina asks Tahiri for the obvious and opens the closet. "[Huh?]"


    I peek over her shoulder and find Tokomaha, bound and gagged by something I could only call bands of clouds. She''s struggling against her restraints, but much like when I had her in my grip, she''s too weak to break them. I turn around to Tahiri with an eyebrow raised, but she sits up and shrugs in response.


    "[I knew that she wouldn''t play along, so I made sure she couldn''t interfere.]" Answering in a matter of fact tone, she explains the situation. Nice thinking, I completely forgot about the fact that this little goddess isn''t the brightest lamp in the closet.


    "[What''s going on?]" Awhina looks at the two of us with a less than amused expression. After all, she was the only one - aside from Mereana, who''s no longer here - who had been left out of this little charade.


    "[Everything''s alright.]" Speaking these calming words, I signal for Tahiri to release Tokomaha.


    The second the little goddess is free, she immediately jumps up and begins to rant about her treatment. But since she knows she can''t beat Tahiri, she aims it at me. She should know better, though; last time she badmouthed me, I made her turn into a complete mess. Reminding her of that fact, I turn my hand into a collection of tentacles and wiggle them suggestively, upon which her eyes widen, her cheeks flush red and she shuts up immediately.


    "[What do you mean, alright? Tama, Tane and Mereana were taken away by the dead!]" Of course, Awhina wouldn''t just let it slide and points at me, before turning to Tahiri. "[And you were here, why didn''t you stop them? I''m sure you could do it easily!]"


    "[Because Chaos told me not to.]" Um, can you please not put the blame on me under these circumstances, even if it''s the truth? Awhina turns to glare at me. See what I mean?!


    "[Do you really think my two children would lose to those people?]" I put my hands on her shoulders and calm her down. "[I told them to let themselves get taken away. I know where they are this way and we''re going to free them now.]"


    It saves us time trying to find where the sea witch Rapania keeps her prisoners, since I can locate my two children much better than other life forms. Of course, it''s quite obvious that it''s in the castle overlooking the city, but this way I can pinpoint the dungeons and find any other people who could still be alive.


    Not like that was my real aim; I only wanted an excuse to raid the castle.


    "[Hm... alright then.]" Lifting one of her thick eyebrows, Awhina doesn''t look really convinced. She''s quite protective of Uten and Saten for some reason - and still calls them Tama and Tane - so seeing me use them as bait doesn''t sit too well with her. I''m only doing this because I know that it''s not very likely that something could happen to them.


    And they''re my children, as if I''d let them face real danger!


    So here we are, in front of the looming castle. The sky has already turned completely dark, and since last night was a new moon, tonight it''s not much brighter outside. I don''t really need any light, but Awhina doesn''t have night vision, so I''m using Circumluceo to create a light. But just like any light, it makes everything outside of its field of effect seem even darker.


    And the castle isn''t illuminated at all. There are four guards standing outside the gate, but they look to be the same as those corpse puppets. Of course, I make short work of them when they try to get in our way.


    "[These guys are creepy...]" Tokomaha comments and looks down at the dismembered bodies with a disapproving look. "[Rapania creates those?]"


    "[It''s safe to assume that she''s the one making and controlling them.]" Shrugging, I push open the gate.


    Or at least I try to.


    But it won''t budge. Apparently it''s not as easy as I thought it''d be. Really, what''s the point in people standing guard outside, when the gate is locked anyway? If we were an army attacking, those four would have been... umm... yeah, not like Rapania cares about those corpse puppets, so having some stand around outside doesn''t hurt. They''re already dead anyways, and against humans, they might be quite useful as a scary deterrent.


    No two ways around this then. I''ll have to unlock the gate in my own way.


    "[Step back a little, this could get dangerous.]" I''ve used this attack on Tahiri with no effect, but against something physical and solid, which can''t dodge, it''s certainly very useful. I mean, I was able to break through Zenlith''s air barrier this way, so a wooden one shouldn''t pose any problem. Overkill you say? Necessary, I answer!


    With this, I transform my right hand into a dragon''s head and shoot a concentrated plasma beam at the gate. Rather than burn, it melts away under the heat and a large smoldering hole appears in it. Dripping with caramelized wood, it doesn''t look like someone could just walk through that, but luckily it cools down pretty quickly. Taking the lead, I step through it while undoing the transformation on my hand.


    The courtyard behind the gate is filled with guards, and they all move like puppets. I turn to the others and exchange glances with them; it feels like this is going to be annoying. Not only do I not want to expand my body to its fullest to put them inside my body because they taste bad, but I also don''t want to show Awhina my real appearance just yet. So I''ll have to deal with them in another way.


    "[Tokomaha-chan, how about you take care of them?]" Pointing at the swarm of guards moving towards us, I speak to the God of Growth. She can create clones of herself, so I''m sure she could deal with them somehow. Not like I couldn''t just sweep through them quickly myself, but it feels like a bother. There''s no fun in that, when they don''t feel any fear and I can''t eat them.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "[Leave it to me!]" She actually looks excited at being able to show off in front of me. Your tsundere front is slipping, you know?


    I expected her to go through some hand signs or chant something, but instead, from the dirt around us, countless naked and unarmed clones of hers rise up. Then, they all extend a hand in unison, and copies of her bone spear rise up into their grasps. Why didn''t the ones she created in the forest when I was having my way with her have those?


    "[Attack!]" With this simple command, the Tokomaha-army charges, meeting the corpse puppets in battle.


    Rather than a battle, it''s really just a one-sided massacre. So she''s not called a goddess for nothing, huh? Her physical capabilities are still way above a normal human''s, it seems. The only reason she couldn''t fight against my restraints is because physically I''m on a whole different level from anything I''ve seen in this world so far.


    Stabbing and cutting their way through the ranks of the guards, the clones create a path for us, which we take swiftly. On the other side of the courtyard is a large single-winged door, which leads deeper into the castle. Instead of melting a hole into it, I just kick it down, since it looks much weaker than the big one. And since I made myself extremely dense and heavy, the entire door is broken out of its hinges.


    Awhina, Tahiri and the original Tokomaha follow me inside while her clones begin to sweep across the castle grounds like a raging storm.


    The illumination inside the castle is provided by torches, which cast flickering shadows across the walls and makes this seem more like what you''d find in a horror story. But there''s no reason for any of us to be scared; if anything, whatever might come out here should be afraid of me. After all, I''m the one that bumps those things that go bump in the night.


    "[Where are they being held?]" Awhina looks at me with an expectant gaze. I can''t really spot out Mereana by herself, since I can feel many life forms in the castle, but assuming my children followed the order to protect her, they should be together. And rather than underground, they''re upstairs. Maybe they''re about to be experimented on.


    "[Follow me.]" With this, I begin to sprint through the dark corridor, cutting apart a bunch of corpse puppets effortlessly along the way.


    We quickly move through the castle, running up spiraling stairs and through narrow corridors. This place is much smaller than the demon castle and it doesn''t take us long to reach the heavy wooden door behind which I can feel Uten and Saten. No sounds emerge from the inside, but I assume this is either a lab or a preliminary holding cell for subjects to be experimented on soon.


    Since this door opens towards the outside, I turn my hand into a giant multi-pronged spear and ram it into the wood, before bending the tips and pulling hard. The door is broken out of its hinges and I throw it aside like a piece of plywood. Inside is a room filled with metal and glass tools, and the unbearable smell of death wafting out in a heavy cloud. If it was the me from my previous life, my stomach would have turned.


    But now I just walk in casually and look around. I spot my children, hands and feet bolted to a wooden rack, staring at me in surprise. If they were humans, they would be bleeding and most definitely in pain, but they''re actually smiling at me, like children in the middle of playing a game would at their parents coming into the room. Standing in front of them and staring at us is a rotund man wearing a leather mask with glass lenses, dressed in a bloody and dirty beige coat, holding gruesome metal tools.


    "[Wh-wh-who a-a-are you?]" His voice is pretty high-pitched, but it''s most definitely a man''s. The stutter doesn''t seem to come from fear - since he sounds indignant at being interrupted - but is just a speech impediment, I guess. A typical mad scientist kind of person, huh?


    "[There you are, mama!]" Taking it as their cue to stop pretending, they pull themselves off the rack and regenerate the holes that had been driven into their palms and soles. Noticing that his subjects just freed themselves effortlessly, the man turns around in confusion.


    "[W-what? H-h-how?]"


    "[Where''s Mereana?]" I look around but can''t seem to find a place where she could be hidden.


    "[We don''t know, she was separated from us.]" Their answer rings a lot of alarm bells in my head. Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I look at them in annoyance and they flinch under my gaze.


    "[I told you that you should protect her, which requires you to be by her side.]" It''s not like Mereana is especially important to us now, since we''ve made it to a city where they can doubtlessly point us towards the capital. But it''d still leave a bad aftertaste if she were to die here even though she didn''t need to. "[You! Where did you take her?]" I turn my attention to the man, who has been looking between me and my children, at a complete loss for what to do.


    "[H-huh?]" It seems he was unable to follow the conversation and makes this dumb noise. Whipping around my arm and prolonging it in the process, I wrap it around him and pull him towards me. With my other hand I pull off the leather mask, revealing a round face with pasty and unhealthy skin. Wow he''s ugly.


    "[Where is the other one that came with those two?]" Staring into his brown eyes with my own, I turn them completely black for a moment, to enhance the pressure I exert on him - not like being able to transform my arm and having him in my grasp is enough. I can see the fear in his eyes as he begins to shake all over.


    "[L-l-lady Rapania to-to-took her f-for experime-me-menting.]" This is the worst case scenario.


    "[Where?]" Tightening my grip, I growl.


    "[I-in the e-e-east tower!]" He responds quickly and his teeth clatter. I immediately turn to Uten and Saten.


    "Prepare to be punished if something should have happened to her." I glare at the two and announce firmly. For a moment a hopeful glint appears in their eyes as they look at Tokomaha. "No, not that kind of punishment." I have no idea how to punish a Crawling Chaos physically or mentally, since we don''t really feel pain and our minds are able to go on without problems even after seeing ourselves in the mirror. Maybe the easiest would be to put them inside my body and not giving them food for a while, until they reflect on things... but I''ll think about it later.


    Uten and Saten look genuinely scared at the prospect and their smiles have disappeared completely. I think they''re taking things seriously now.


    "[Now, show us the way.]" Lifting the mad scientist off his feet, I carry him along, and we leave the lab-slash-torture-chamber.


    It doesn''t take us too long to reach the east tower, and we quickly climb up the stairs. The mad scientist screamed and shouted at the corpse puppets to make way for us, fearing that he would die if they tried to stand in our way. He didn''t consider that we only needed him to find the tower, and that his life would become worthless afterwards, it seems.


    I use a plasma breath to melt my way through the only steel door in the castle so far, and step through the still dripping hot slag fearlessly. On the other side is a laboratory, not unlike the one we found my children in. In the middle of the room stands a beautiful purple-haired woman wearing the medieval equivalent of a lab coat. Sitting on a chair in front of her is Mereana, restrained by various leather straps and metal shackles. Her eyes are lifeless, but with my Chaos senses I can feel that she is still alive.


    Behind me the mad scientist begins to scream and wiggle in my grasp. It seems a drop of hot metal fell on him or something. Bringing him to the front, I find that a drop indeed has burned a hole into his coat and set it on fire. Not like I care.


    Squeezing and twisting the life out of him quickly, I throw his carcass aside carelessly, letting the fire spread to all of his clothes and consume his deformed body.


    "[Rapania... how many lives did you take to look like that?]" Tahiri follows me into the room, sees the purple-haired woman who possesses an inarguable dark beauty, and asks with a sad expression.


    "[Tahiri, is that you?]" Surprised, Rapania blinks her dark blue eyes and fully turns to us. Yep, these two clearly have some history.


    "[Answer me...]" And the God of Storm seems to be deeply affected by what this sea witch has become. It would appear that Rapania has been killing people to achieve this beautiful appearance. Considering all the guards are soulless corpse puppets, it''s safe to assume that her magic consumes their souls to prolong her youthfulness or something along those lines.


    "[Why now? You did not care about me before, did you?]" Responding with a question of her own, the purple-haired woman''s tone leaves no doubt to the fact that in the past, Tahiri stood by and did nothing when something happened to her. Clearly, she''s blaming the God of Storm for her inaction, and the fact that the latter is unable to respond shows that she feels guilt over it.


    "[I have no idea what happened between the two of you and I don''t really care. But that woman is our companion.]" I step forward and ignore the heavy atmosphere. I have no idea what her powers are, but I doubt it''s something that could be dangerous for me. After all, she''s only something called a sea witch, not a god - and even some gods can be incredibly weak compared to me.


    "[Be careful, Chaos.]" Awhina warns me, her expression one of anxiety. "[Sea witches are powerful magic wielders.]"


    Ahhh, magic. My nemesis every single time I''ve fought so far.


    I point at Rapania and my finger shoots out in a spike, aiming to impale her throat in order to stop her from being able to chant - or in order to just kill her. I won''t waste time on talking like I did before and give the opponent time to do something.


    But my spike bends in midair and misses its target. Huh?


    "[You would save me?]" A cynical smile on her blue lips, Rapania looks past me. I turn my head and find that Tahiri is looking straight at the sea witch. So my attack was deflected by the God of Storm?


    "[It was my mistake that drove you to this, Rapania. I have to atone for my sins.]" Walking past me, she approaches her opposite. "[And you have to atone for yours.]"

 Chapter 78 - Sea Witch Rapania

    Rapania''s sinister smile shows her fearlessness and confidence in facing Tahiri, whom she should know as the God of Storm. Even I haven''t laid a hand on her, and I''m fairly certain at this point that I could be regarded in the upper reaches of this world''s hierarchy of powerful beings. So where does her confidence come from? Maybe the fact that they have history with each other and that Tahiri might not want to kill her? It''s the only explanation I can come up with under these circumstances, since I can''t see her losing to a being that''s called a sea witch, even if she has powerful magic.


    She waves her hand and the strangely shaped machines around us come to life, sparks flying about between metal coils and arcing back and forth with ear-numbing intensity. In response to that, Tahiri stretches her arm out at Rapania and electricity jumps through the air, directly at the sea witch. However, the attack is redirected onto one of the machines, which absorbs the energy and appears to become charged up in response.


    I can''t see Tahiri''s expression, but she must be surprised at this. Even then, it''s not like this redirection will be able to defeat her. The machines will become overcharged and most likely stop to function eventually, while she has unlimited energy. But I have to say, a lightning rod as a means of defense against the God of Storm may be the most stupidly clever invention possible.


    Trying it again, with the same result, Tahiri looks at the machines around her. The sparks have gained in intensity and are flying ever faster, suggesting that they will reach a threshold soon. Looking over her shoulder to us, she must be thinking that if these explode, we would be caught in the blast. While my children and I would be alright, Awhina and potentially Tokomaha could sustain heavy injuries. And Mereana, who''s still alive, might die from it.


    "[Do you really think these toys will keep you safe?]" With these words, she walks forward to get physical. I''m wondering why she doesn''t use wind blades, but maybe she actually really doesn''t intend to kill Rapania?


    "[I know they will.]" Spreading her arms, the sea witch gestures at the machines to both of Tahiri''s sides. The electric arcs hit the goddess and she stops, looking around in confusion. Then I see it: Her skin is beginning to flake off and her form is dissolving. Fat and muscles are exposed, then bones and organs, all disintegrating into nothingness as her form diminishes quickly.


    Within seconds, Tahiri has disappeared, not even making a sound in the progress.


    "Wha-" I''m painfully reminded of when my mother disappeared like that, not a trace of her body remaining. How did she do that?


    I can''t believe that the God of Storm would be defeated so easily. I haven''t even landed a single hit on her, and this sea witch just used some machine...?


    "[That was more effective than I thought.]" Shrugging, Rapania laughs with a triumphant expression. "[I am sure the king will like this.]"


    Alright, I don''t care whether Tahiri wanted to keep her alive or not, I''m going to kill her now. If this machine is able to disintegrate living tissue in layers, I can pass through it by replenishing my outer layer from the inside out. It''s not a huge field and I should be able to just jump through and reach her that way.


    ... or there might be something better for instantly killing her without even having to get close.


    Transforming my hand into a dragon''s maw, I point it at the sea witch and gather the plasma in its depths. A lightning rod is useless against that and I should be able to hit her with it. I''m making sure to keep the size small, so that I don''t accidentally hit Mereana, who''s very close to my target.


    "[Is that how you melted my door?]" Rapania''s eyes show pure curiosity. As expected, she''s a mad scientist, too. "[But are you sure you want to shoot me with that?]" With these words, she quickly moves behind Mereana. "[Please aim well.]"


    Damn! I can''t be sure that the electric field won''t mess with the beam in some way. If it gets redirected at the hostage, it wouldn''t be funny. Then how about a spirit spear? I can aim that with pinpoint accuracy, since it flies straight at the point I wish for it to go. And light shouldn''t be affected by electricity at all, right? I''m not confident in my physics knowledge in that regard.


    All my other magic is hard to aim and really large in scale, due to my lack of output control. Even if I can cast everything without using the chants, that fact hasn''t changed about my skills in magic. And my transmutation magic is still quite rudimentary and not of that much use. Without either Aurelia or Juzual around, I couldn''t really improve on it either; I''m able to change things into gold, and that''s about it.


    No two ways about this, I''ll-


    Suddenly the ground shakes and Rapania looks around in confusion. Then a rock spike emerges from the wall beside her and shoots straight for her chest. Backing away quickly, she avoids it and turns to stare at us. Or rather, at someone behind me.


    It''s Awhina, who has taken a pose similar to the one she had during the defense of Aoranam. This spike is clearly her doing, although the medium this time is the stone the tower is made of, unlike last time, when she used sand and dirt. Her ability was able to bypass the disintegrating barrier completely.


    Not wasting any time, I whip my arm around and punch the machine to my right, crushing it and sending it flying into the wall. The electricity jumps over to me and rushes through my body, but dissipates without doing much harm, leaving only a tingling sensation on the surface of my skin. With this, the arcs between the two sides have ceased, and I immediately extend my arm toward the sea witch.


    It turns into a spear and shoots forward, much faster than Awhina''s rock spike, aiming to pierce her chest. However, she''s somehow able to dodge that one as well. Still, it only served to separate her from Mereana further. That''s my cue to rush forward and immediately absorb Rapania, before she can come up with any more gimmicks or tricks.


    Just then, the roof of the tower is torn away and a storm suddenly finds its way into the interior. A lightning bolt crashes into the center of the room, followed by an ear-piercing thunderclap a nanosecond later. My eyes have been blinded, but I instantly swap them out with a fresh pair, allowing me to see right away.


    A naked woman with skin the color of angry thunderclouds, sporting glowing runic marks all over her body, is standing in the middle of the scorched circle. Extremely long hair arcs like electricity in the air, glowing bright like lightning seeking its target.


    That''s Tahiri, without a doubt.


    "[I''m disappointed in you Rapania.]" Her emotionless voice reverberates through the air as she walks forward, her electric hair jumping over to the machines in the surroundings and frying them from the sheer energy contained within her body. "[Very disappointed...]"


    "[A-as expected of you, Tahiri.]" The sea witch is cowering on the ground with a nervous smile, a clear hint of fear in her beautiful features now.


    "[Did you really think you could kill me with my own powers?]" Stopping a few steps before the sea witch, Tahiri looks down on her.


    "[No, but I thought it would be able to stall you for long enough.]" Rapania extends a hand towards the God of Storm and laughs, but then sadness seems to overwhelm her for just a moment. Then she vanishes in a pillar of light before anyone can react.


    She appears to have teleported away.


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    "[So, what''s the story between you two?]" I walk up to Tahiri and put a hand on her shoulder. Expecting electricity to run through my body, I''m surprised to find that it''s not happening, and realize that her skin has returned to its previous cloud-white. No hints of those glowing runes are visible anymore, so they must be something that appear when she''s going all-out. It''s the first time I''ve seen her look like that, which means she hasn''t ever fought me at full strength, huh?


    "[Shouldn''t you be more worried about that human?]" Pointing at Mereana, the God of Storm sighs without turning to look at me; she seems tired. But she''s right!


    Quickly running up to Mereana, I look into her lifeless eyes. Are my Chaos senses deceiving me? She clearly still has life energy, but even after everything that happened in front of her, she hasn''t moved or even blinked. Or does this mean her mind was destroyed and she''s become a vegetable?


    Whatever the case, I break her restraints - especially the metal ones digging into her flesh - and put my hands on her forehead and chest. I''ll begin with a medium-ranked healing spell meant for physical wounds first. Her silver armor is nowhere to be seen, as something like a white shirt covers her upper body. It seems she''s not wearing any underwear and her exposed legs look quite enticing. No, now''s not the time for that! An unresponsive doll is no fun either way...


    "[What happened to her?]" Awhina comes up to me and asks. I look over my shoulder to find that Uten and Saten are staying back, looking in my direction nervously. With a glare I signal to them that they should prepare for punishment later - especially if I can''t fix what happened to Mereana.


    "[I don''t know, she seems to have lost consciousness.]" Her pupils show no reflexes either.


    "[All the guards have stopped moving.]" Tokomaha states as she scratches her head. That means Rapania''s influence doesn''t reach from wherever she went, implying that she most likely isn''t in this city anymore.


    "[There are still a lot of people in the castle. Search for them and gather them in the courtyard.]" Whether those are the sea witch''s collaborators or prisoners, we''ll see when we get down there. I turn back to Mereana and find that my healing has removed the chafing wounds on her wrists and ankles, but did nothing to return her senses. Then next up is a light magic spell for strengthening one''s spirit and resolve. I don''t know how effective that will be, but it''s better than nothing. It''s also the only spell I know that involves a person''s mind, but I''m sure there are others.


    Within moments of casting the magic, Mereana closes her eyes and seems to slip into slumber. So does that mean it was effective or just served to turn her from an open-eyed vegetable into a comatose sleeping beauty? Will kissing her wake her up?


    Well, this is all I can do for now. She seems relaxed now and is breathing properly, like a person in deep sleep. Let''s wait until she wakes up before making any judgment regarding her mental health, I guess.


    "[Now, as for you, Tahiri... time to talk.]" I stand up and turn to the goddess, who is looking up absentmindedly. The storm above us has cleared and the winds have become a light breeze, but the roof is still missing. The dark storm clouds still remain, barring the view of the night sky. It seems her mind hasn''t calmed down completely.


    "[What is there to tell? I failed her and she became a monster.]" Looking at me with sadness but also defiance in her eyes, Tahiri replies curtly. Then she disappears in a flash of lightning, into the clouds above, upon which they quickly disperse.


    A sensitive topic, huh?


    "[I know what happened, but I don''t know whether I should tell you or not.]" Tokomaha walks up to me and states with a hint of unease. I''m sure she doesn''t want to meddle, but it''s clear that I really want to know, and she''s quite eager to please me, despite being a tsundere - or exactly because she''s a tsundere.


    "[Tahiri didn''t tell you not to speak about it, did she?]" Flawless logic right there. "[Then you can tell me.]" Thinking about it for a momet, the little goddess finally relents and her expression shows that she''s entering story-telling mode.


    A long time ago, there was a lonely sea witch who fell in love with a human.


    He was a young man who lived on a peninsula near the reef she called her home, and would sail past her during fishing trips almost every day, unknowing of her existence. Having lost her parents to a monster from the depths early in her life, she had been alone for a long time. Therefore, she was drawn to him the moment she laid eyes on him. However, as a sea witch, she could not go onto dry land and meet him. Spending her days watching the young man, her longing only grew stronger.


    Seeing the sea witch''s heartache, her long-time friend, a goddess of the sky, offered to help her get together with her beloved man. Gifting the sea witch the appearance of a human for one moon, she would be able to walk on land and meet him. But in exchange, she could not enter the sea for that duration, or the magic would be undone and her true self would be revealed to all. Thus, she was able to approach him in his village, and it was love at first sight.


    Every moon the goddess would come and extend the duration of the sea witch''s transformation, never telling her how the magic worked. Thus, many moons passed and the two lovers formed an eternal bond. Even though he found it strange that his wife would never swim in the ocean despite living so close to it - she avoided approaching the shore as if it was a cursed place - he did not question it as their relationship was perfect.


    However, soon the sea witch would look out to the waves every night and reminisce about her time in the depths, longing to swim in the water and feel it flow through her gills once more. She kept the goddess'' words in her heart and never fell to the temptation, but her mind seemed to become more and more occupied by her longing for the sea.


    The goddess learned of that fact and decided that it was time to test the man''s feelings. If he truly loved her, he would accept that she was a sea witch who could take on a human''s appearance. This way, she would be able to return to the sea she missed so much from time to time, without having to worry about people finding out about her. So, one day when he was out fishing, the goddess summoned powerful winds and caused a giant wave to smash his boat to pieces. She knew that the sea witch was watching from the shore and would jump in to his rescue.


    And that she did, without hesitation.


    Taking on her true form the moment she entered the water, the sea witch dove after her unconscious husband and quickly returned him to shore. Unable to go onto the beach, she let the villagers carry him the last stretch, waiting to see how he was. She already understood from their fearful expressions that her kind was regarded as monsters. But it did not matter for her, as her beloved''s life was hanging from a thread.


    Fortunately, it appeared that she had saved him in time and the village doctor was able to resuscitate him. The first thing he asked for was the whereabouts of his wife, since he did not see her face among the gathered people. When the villagers pointed at the sea witch waiting in the water not far away and he turned to look at her, his expression made his thoughts about her very clear. She understood, in that moment, that they could not be together anymore, and she swam away, ignoring his apologetic cries and pleas for her to return.


    The sea witch knew that it was the goddess who had caused this state of affairs. Calling her down from the sky, she expressed her anger over her needless actions. Unrepentant, the latter argued that if he could not accept her for what she was, he was not deserving of her. Their argument became so heated that it created an irreparable rift between the two and they separated in hatred, never to meet again.


    "[Those were Rapania and Tahiri?]" Awhina and my children ask in unison, complete and utter bewilderment on their faces.


    "[Huh, what do you mean?]" I''m confused. Of course that story was about them, who else?


    "[What she just told us is a very famous folktale.]" Uten and Saten respond to my question and wonder about my lack of knowledge about it. Well, I didn''t grow up around here and in this one year nobody told me that folktale. "[It''s used to teach children that all species have compassion and even gods can make mistakes.]"


    And a huge mistake that was, Tahiri; it was unnecessary meddling on her part. I can understand that it would be much better to know that the person you love accepts you for what you are, but it was something Rapania should have decided on her own. The decision was forced on her by the artificial emergency situation, most likely much earlier than was comfortable for either one in the relationship.


    "[What does a sea witch actually look like?]" I assume Rapania was in her human form earlier, since I can''t imagine anyone shunning that appearance.


    "[They have eyes like a fish, with razor-sharp teeth in their wide, lip-less mouths. Their hair is made up of scale-like growths and their necks are almost nonexistent, with gills on the front. They have webbed hands that look more like fins than fingers, and instead of a lower body, they have octopus tentacles as legs.]" Tokomaha explains since the others actually don''t know. I guess the stories don''t specify their exact appearances, but everybody agrees that it''s a monstrous one.


    That sounds quite like what a Crawling Chaos looks like. And this reminds me of the fact that I still need to show Awhina my real appearance. Also, my two children don''t know what they really look like either, since they never took on those forms. I''m interested to see their unique aspects, just like how my looks differed from my mother''s slightly.


    Maybe now is the time to show her... show everyone here? It''s the perfect transition from a story about failure to accept one''s lover for what they are, solely based on appearance and prejudice... right?

 Chapter 79 - Woman of Steel

    "[Ugh...]" Mereana''s voice from behind me immediately dispels any thoughts of revealing myself here. She''s just a human, and I know the effect I have on those; I don''t want her to lose her mind, in case I just brought it back from the brink earlier.


    "[Mereana! How are you feeling?]" I ask her as she blinks her eyes and looks around. All her physical wounds should be healed, and her mental fortitude should be boosted, so whatever traumatizing events she just survived should seem like a memory she can handle for the time being. I hope I did it right, though.


    "[Where... where is Rapania?]" That''s the first thing she''s thinking about. I can feel a hint of fear in her voice and panic rising to the surface.


    "[She escaped. You''re safe now.]" Reassuring her about that fact, I put a hand on her shoulder, but she flinches from the sensation. It seems her body remembers what the sea witch did to her. And it also seems that she''s apologetic about her reaction to my touch, as her expression becomes clouded.


    "[Ah! where are Uten and Saten?]" Remembering that there were others who had been kidnapped alongside her, she stands up from the torture chair, but falls back onto her bottoms again immediately. Seems like she''s still weak in her legs.


    "[They''re here. You don''t have to worry about them, they are my children after all.]" Stepping aside, I show her that the others are in the room and looking at her with varying degrees of concern. "[I''m really sorry that you had to go through this. If only these two had a little more common sense.]" Turning to them, I see that they''re shrinking a good few sizes under my gaze.


    "[No, I should apologize. I was unable to protect them and was caught myself.]" It seems that Mereana doesn''t understand that as my children, they possess far more power than she does. Maybe she''s judging by their childlike appearances, but aside from me, they''re definitely the most powerful existences in this room. Then again, I''m not completely certain about Awhina, but she doesn''t seem to be on the level of her father''s.


    "[In either case, let''s get out of here.]" I offer Mereana a hand and she takes it reluctantly. Apparently she''s a little reserved about touching someone right now, most definitely the result of whatever experiments Rapania ran on her. "[How is the gathering of the people in the courtyard going?]" I ask Tokomaha, who has been watching my actions with a hint of disapproval. Jealousy?


    "[I found a lot of prisoners in the dungeons and they''re currently still moving. Rapania''s people in the castle have all been rounded up already.]" Replying with a slight pout, the petite goddess avoids looking into my eyes, most likely because she doesn''t want me to read her expression. But because of that it''s even easier to read; she''s clearly jealous of my tender treatment of Mereana.


    "[Then let''s go and see these people.]" As I pass by Tokomaha, I pat her head. The leaves that make up her hair are covered in a fine layer of what I can only describe as fur, so it actually feels pretty fluffy. A rustling runs through it before she slaps my hand aside, a blush developing on her face. She just can''t be honest with herself, huh?


    On our way down from the tower, Mereana tells us what happened in that room. Rapania is apparently experimenting on the human soul, trying to extract only a part of it to fuel her magic, so that she doesn''t require a constant supply of living people. Whether that''s a commendable effort or a truly evil line of thoughts I won''t judge, but it seems she understands that she can''t keep using up humans forever.


    When I asked what she uses it for, Tokomaha was the one to answer. Apparently to keep her human appearance, she needs to sacrifice humans. It''s how Tahiri, who doesn''t know any transformation spells and sure as hell isn''t a sea witch, was able to give Rapania the magic to change herself into a human. The God of Storm learned about that fact from another sea witch a long time ago; their kind can use harvested souls to change their appearances into the sacrificed kind''s.


    Apparently the tradition of challenging Tahiri allowed her to get her hands on souls without resorting to killing innocent humans. So at least I don''t have to start considering that she''s actually pretty evil; then again, I don''t really care too much about human lives myself, and if it''s a necessity, I can totally understand it.


    Yet, why is Rapania still doing it? She was shunned by the man she loved, so what reason did she have to return to land and continue taking on a human appearance? I mean, she''s clearly allied to the God King, so there must be something to their relationship that compels her to dabble in politics.


    It''s useless to think about it on my own now, since I have far too little information about everything that''s going on behind the scenes. It''s not like I really care; this sea witch attacked me and those close to me, so I''ll shut her down - if Tahiri doesn''t do it herself. Speaking of which, she hasn''t returned yet, so I assume she''s sulking somewhere among the clouds. I''ll try and call out to her later.


    The courtyard is illuminated by torches and filled with Tokomahas. They''re all expressionless and naked copies of the sole clothed one next to me, and they remind me of how much I''d love to... cough.


    "[What''s going on?]"


    "[Where is Lady Rapania?]"


    "[Who are these people?]"


    I can hear those voices from the gathered people. There are about twenty of them, and most of them look pretty similar to the mad scientist I caught trying to experiment on Uten and Saten. I guess they''re all helping the sea witch in her research, so they most likely don''t have any redeeming qualities about them. Maybe I should just get it over with and kill them all right now.


    "[Rapania has abandoned you and ran away.]" I stand in front of the group and announce. All heads turn to me and I can see indignant but also fearful expressions.


    "[Who are you?]" Someone asks from within the group.


    "[I came here to get my children and my companion back.]" Gesturing towards Mereana and the twins behind me, I state while letting my gaze sweep across the gathered scientists. Some of them appear indignant, others flinch at the realization that my words imply I''m an enemy. Well, it''s obvious considering all the dismembered guards in the courtyard and the fact that a naked girl with superhuman strength strong-armed a lot of them into coming out here.


    "[W-what are you going to do with us?]" One of them asks me, and a murmur spreads through the gathered when they finally realize who the person in power is right now.


    "[Oh...]" I look at the broken door to the interior of the castle behind them. "[I''m not going to do anything.]" I see relief in some of their eyes, while others appear surprised or skeptical. Of course, they have reason to doubt me, since I would normally have all the reasons to kill them for hurting those close to me. Well, Uten and Saten are fine, and Mereana doesn''t seem to have sustained any lasting damage.


    But the reason I''m not doing anything is because I think it would be better to give that honor to those who suffered at their hands, too. I already killed the guy who was working on my children, and we''ll get Rapania eventually - the mastermind behind all this. Also, I don''t want to look unnecessarily bloodthirsty in front of my companions.


    Those in question are pouring out into the courtyard, quickly filling up the place and surrounding the scientists who realize the situation they are in. They huddle together, separated from the prisoners by a group of Tokomaha clones. These prisoners are comprised of male and female, and I even spot a few children among them. The majority are scared, shaking in their rags and looking around trying to understand what''s going to happen to them.


    "[I found your clothes.]" Tokomaha takes a bag from one of her clones and hands them to Mereana. The contents are rattling, so that must be the silver armor she wore before. To the petite goddess, those were just part of the woman''s attire, which is why she thought they were just another type of clothes. That''s cute~


    "[Is that everyone?]" I ask nobody in particular, to see whether one of the scientists or prisoners speaks up, but nobody does. "[Then let''s get started. Tokomaha, you can dispel them.]"


    She does as she''s told and all her copies turn into dust which returns to the earth. The scientists are exposed to their former prisoners, but the latter are confused and don''t immediately take action, staring at me and waiting for an announcement. I can''t blame them, they were taken out of their cells by dozens of naked little girl that looked exactly the same and could have been a new creation of Rapania''s.


    "[All of you-]" Just when I was about to announce the beginning of the slaughter, a woman with short silver hair steps forward with sluggish movements. There are huge steel shackles holding her wrists together and heavy chains around her legs. She is bandaged all over her body in place of actual clothes, but the skin that is visible is white, unlike all the other prisoners'', and she has a very lean physique. But the most distinguishing feature of hers is the fact that she stands taller than Awhina, and most likely even overshadows Rangi in height. How did she not stand out from the crowd before? Or was she actually cowering to blend in?


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "[Hey, take these seals off of me.]" She stops just a meter in front of me and practically orders me. So those bandages are actually seals?


    "[No, don''t do it! She will kill us all!]" One of the scientists screams. Oh, so she''s someone dangerous? Well, she is the only prisoner with shackles as far as I can see.


    "[What will you do when I take off those seals?]" I have to throw my head back to look up to her. She''s seriously tall!


    "[Like that guy said, I''ll kill them all.]" Shrugging, the woman replies in a matter of fact tone. I like that honesty, really. From this close up I can see that her irises are completely black. Well, it''s dark and night vision doesn''t give me the ability to see colors, so maybe they''re just dark brown. But it does look quite eerie.


    "[And the other prisoners? Are you going to kill them, too?]" Let''s see if she''s just a mass murderer who kills for her own satisfaction and is rightfully in chains, or is only directing it at the scientists in revenge for being locked up here.


    "[Why would I kill them? They didn''t do anything to me.]" So it''s the latter.


    "[Very well.]" With this, I pull on her bandages and find that they''re actually made of silky paper. A tingling feeling runs through my fingers and into my arm, but I shrug it off and begin to rip off the seals. "[What''s your name?]" While I''m doing this work, I ask to pass the time.


    "[It''s Korenga. Yours?]" She introduces herself and returns the question.


    "[Chaos.]" Responding with a grin, I rip off a long patch of a seal - and find that Korenga''s skin underneath it is covered in black tattoos similar to Rangi''s. It seems that she doesn''t feel any shame at being completely naked in front of so many people, and simply waits patiently until every last piece of the seal is removed. The scientists are shivering in fear, huddling together even more but unable to escape since they''re being surrounded by former prisoners on all sides. When I''m close to finishing up, one of them loses his mind and starts screaming.


    "[Nooo! Let me through!]" He shouts and pushes into the crowd, trying to get away from us. He''s immediately knocked down by several people, who take the opportunity to let out their anger and frustration at being kidnapped and held in this castle''s dungeon. Beating him up savagely, the man balls up and covers his head.


    "[Don''t kill him!]" Korenga bellows and her voice shakes the very air. My ears are ringing since I''m right in front of her, but luckily I''m not so easily affected by such things. The assailants stop immediately and move away from the scientist. The latter has a bloody face but otherwise is still alive; it doesn''t seem like he will try to run anymore, though.


    "[All done.]" I rip off the last piece. At this point I''m quite convinced that Korenga is a goddess. Why else would she have had all these seals over her body and be put in shackles? "[Should I remove these, too?]"


    "[Thanks. No need.]" With this short expression of gratitude and rejection of my offer, Korega rips apart the steel shackles as if they''re made of paper, not even a hint of strain on her face as she does so. I assume the seals were inhibiting her strength, because otherwise she could have just freed her hands and taken them off herself. She immediately walks towards the gathered scientists in quick strides - much faster than how she moved before - and the chains binding her feet are broken seemingly without her even remembering their existence.


    Her targets push one of their own forward as a sacrifice, and scramble to squeeze their ways through the gathered crowd. The man, tiny in comparison to the giant woman, pleads for his life and falls to his knees, but Korenga grabs his head and crushes it casually, not even stopping to listen to a single word he utters.


    Apparently that sight was so gruesome that the former prisoners are taken aback by it and causes them to step away from her. This opens up space for the scientists to finally find a way through, and they scramble in different directions.


    "[Don''t let them get out.]" I turn to my companions, who all seem quite used to seeing people''s heads getting crushed by bare hands - aside from Mereana, that is - and signal for them to help keeping Rapania''s men from getting away. Tokomaha reacts the quickest and summons her clones to block the hole in the front gate and the entrance to the castle.


    Awhina performs a quick dance, similar to Rangi''s, after which she stomps a foot in the direction of the stairs leading up to the battlements. The rock the stairs are made of shake and then deform, sinking into the wall and disappearing completely; with this, the last way out of this courtyard has been sealed.


    In the meantime, Korenga has caught and killed several other scientists who were unable to get away from her, their bodies twisted or their heads crushed from her overwhelming strength. I guess she''s a local goddess like Rangi, rather than a universal one like Tahiri; otherwise Awhina or Tokomaha would most likely have already expressed that they knew her.


    "[Oh, now I remember who she is.]" The petite goddess suddenly says with a face full of realization. Don''t tell me you actually know after all? "[The Black God. So her name was Korenga?]" That sounds like a pretty universal title. Although, her skin is clearly white!


    "[Is she a major god?]" I watch as she rips off a man''s head and part of his spine, and uses it to bash in the head of another. Well, that''s certainly black...


    "[What do you mean?]" Tokomaha looks at me with a questioning expression and tilts her head. I pet her and don''t inquire further; it seems that among the gods there isn''t really anything like ranks. After all, each one of them governs over different domains and they don''t have reason to create a pantheon with a hierarchy, as humans like to apply to them.


    "[I think that is too much...]" Mereana comments and averts her eyes as another scientist is ripped apart at the waist and his innards spill all over the place. The gathered former prisoners are screaming in fear and backing away wherever Korenga walks, pushing those she is going after out from their midst, fearing that they will end up as collateral damage.


    I don''t think so, though. Her way of killing them is really messy, and it''s not like they are made to suffer, as she generally takes their lives in a single move. Those unfortunate enough to survive the initial impact of her fist take the second immediately anyway. But it''s obvious that she''s not actually enjoying herself inflicting pain and suffering; her face remains neutral, as if she''s simply completing a chore.


    When it''s finally over, the courtyard is silent. The freed citizens are huddled into groups and staring at Korenga in terror, as she approaches me with her entire body covered in blood and gore - although she doesn''t seem to mind. Her black eyes appear empty, as they look me up and down once again.


    "[Are you an aspect of Mataku?]" She suddenly asks. How did she come to that conclusion? "[You were smiling while watching me kill these people.]" Oh, was I?


    "[That''s just her nature.]" The voice of Tahiri announces from above us. She lazily floats down, wearing her usual clothes once again. It seems she has gathered her thoughts and is no longer sulking.


    "[Tahiri!]" Korenga is the first to call out to her. "[Long time no see!]" She jumps up and tries to grab the God of Storm out of the air for a hug, but that attempt is easily dodged.


    "[Clean yourself, Korenga.]" Looking at the bloody woman with a frown, Tahiri keeps her distance.


    "[Oh, right.]" As if only now realizing that she''s really dirty, the giant goddess grunts and seems to pump up herself, upon which the tattoos on her skin expand and completely cover her entire body with their blackness. The blood on her skin starts to flow down from her now smooth surface and she shakes herself to drop the pieces of flesh on her head and shoulders. Apparently she''s like a certain homunculus.


    "[What are you doing here?]" Landing in front of me, Tahiri asks Korenga while maintaining her frown. I''d like to know that, too. With that level of strength and power, how was she caught and brought here in the first place?


    "[They caught me in my sleep.]" This simple explanation almost causes me to do a comedic face fault. Oh sweet oblivion, which fells even the mightiest! But not me, my children or Tahiri...


    "[As always, your existence simply amazes me.]" Shrugging, the God of Storm turns to me. "[Let''s go.]"


    "[Hey, where are you going?]" Korenga has returned to her normal skin color and texture, and is now free of any blood.


    "[We''re on the way to the capital, to take down this so-called God King.]" I respond and turn to her. Judging by her expression, I can tell that she is aware of who I''m talking about.


    "[Oh? Then let me come with you. I have a bone to pick with that one, too.]" And as expected, she offers to join us on our quest. I turn to the others to see if they may have reservations at letting her come along, considering the fact that she seems like a troublemaker.


    Awhina appears to be comparing her to her father, so maybe that''s why she might think it''s a good proposal. Uten and Saten will obviously follow my decision. Tokomaha doesn''t really seem to care; she herself came with us on a whim anyway. Tahiri shrugs and it looks like she doesn''t have an opinion on this matter either. Only Mereana seems apprehensive of the idea. Of course, witnessing the gruesome slaughter as a frail human herself, she can''t help but be scared of Korenga''s strength.


    But I don''t really count her opinion, since she''s not going to be doing any fighting anyway. A powerful ally who can easily push her way through masses of weaker enemies is always a good addition to have. After all, I can''t be everywhere at the same time, and she can most definitely hold out a front on her own.


    Yes, I''m learning. I won''t be fighting alone against well-organized groups anymore. Every time I did, I lost and was transported somewhere against my will; I had to fight on several fronts at the same time, and in the end just got defeated without being able to do anything. I''m sure that with these people around me, my unintentional attack on the magic academy would have succeeded - the same could be said about those who were with me at that time, too.


    And now I''m once again reminded of Senka, Kamii, Hestia, Vitalis and Lenoly - and Asoko, whom I last saw frozen solid on the battlements of the demon castle. I wonder what they''re doing, and if she''s been able to thaw...


    "[Alright, as long as you behave.]" I finally respond to Korenga''s offer. She shows a grin, even while her eyes remain emotionless and dark, which makes it seem like she''s sneering. Coupled with her appearance, it''s quite creepy... oh well, it''s quite the unique trait alright.


    - A musclehead has joined the party -

 Chapter L1 - Set Sail!

    After the Fall of the Demon Castle - LenolySide


    "She is still alive."


    It was these words that kept me going.


    They keep me going as we brave the waves of the Aurel Sea, crossing the ocean on our way towards the Dark Continent. Due to its geographical location, there are many storms and maelstroms in this region, which is why human ships usually avoid it and prefer to sail on the open sea when coming to the Demon Continent.


    With the invasion from the Empire of Terminus underway, the sea between the empire and the dominion is teeming with battleships and galleys, transporting evermore human soldiers over to put an end to the demons. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to navigate past them without getting spotted, and the most important thing was to avoid a naval battle which could endanger the important cargo.


    Lying in a well-padded crate is the frozen form of Asoko, the way she had been found standing on the battlements of the ruined demon castle after the attack of the alliance. No matter what we tried, there were no signs of thawing, but I refused to give up. Then someone I never expected to see again came to tell us that she was still alive, that a Crawling Chaos does not die so easily. It was a ray of hope in the darkness following the demon queen''s death; as long as Asoko is alive, the demon race isn''t lost, yet.


    The person who said this was Flann Aforgomon.


    Senka had told me that the court magician Mithra was a collaborator of the humans and gods, and that his daughter Flann is most likely the one maintaining communications with the Royal Academy as his representative. But Rewera assured me that Mithra had been a fake double agent working for the demon queen and bringing her information on the movements of the alliance. In other words, he and his daughter supposedly can be trusted; I still have my reservations, considering the fact that the demon queen is now dead and the humans and gods are victorious.


    According to Flann, only the giants living north of the Kingdom of Lares know how to counteract the effects of this freezing magic. I didn''t want to abandon the Demon Continent under these circumstances, but as long as the succession of the throne is in question, the demons will be unable to unify against the human invasion. Thus, we formed an expedition party to bring Asoko to those giants and return her back to life.


    We consist of six members, Flann and I, and four of the maids who had been the closest to Asoko. Many had died or been terribly wounded, so this was the maximum amount that could afford to come along. They are Anthera, Nezera, Szaga and Xaggavea, who all still bear some injuries from the battle, but are the least wounded out of all the maids. I would not call Szaga''s broken wing being less wounded than the few scratches Anthera and Nezera sustained, but when all the others are missing entire limbs or are close to death, she is still considered to be in fighting condition. Xaggavea is still missing several of her legs and her right arm is in the process of growing back, but she could not be persuaded to stay behind.


    When I heard about what happened in front of the infirmary, I can understand her sentiment. She was one of those who had been affected by the enemy''s magic and turned on her allies, causing several of the casualties with her own two hands. This is for her atonement as well as her peace of mind; if she had stayed in the castle, she might have had to watch helplessly as more of her colleagues and friends pass away from the wounds she inflicted on them. In her eyes, coming along to help bring Asoko back is the only use of her more combat-oriented nature.


    Being a gatekeeper demon, I expected that Flann could simply use space magic to transport us, but her power is limited to herself due to her inexperience in wielding it. Since the old transportation circles had been used by the gods, it is best that we don''t try to activate them, as they are either being monitored or may have been tampered with to potentially kill any unauthorized users.


    Thus, we''re sailing across the sea, aiming to navigate around the Dark Continent, then pass the Khurut Sultanate''s southern tip to avoid setting foot in any of the human nations. Unlike when I traveled through the empire with Asoko to get to the dominion, this time there are several demons who don''t know magic to disguise themselves as humans. And with a frozen statue in tow, it will most definitely cause troubles at checkpoints.


    Captain Morakan, an elderly demon with the head of a hammerhead shark, hobbling with an amputated leg and a cane, told us that the journey would take a minimum of fifty days, judging by the distance on the map. In reality, he never sailed this far from the Demon Continent and does not know the seas past the Khurut Sultanate''s souther tip, so it''s only his calculation. But he used to be the admiral of the dominion''s navy, until his retirement a year ago, and Rewera put her trust in his ability to bring us safely to the Kingdom of Lares.


    "The sea''s a kind lover and a cruel mistress." Commenting this as he looks forward to the massive maelstrom we are sailing straight towards, while we''re being chased by a gigantic storm cloud, Morakan laughs heartily. Rewera did warn us that he has a grim sense of humor and the way he leads his crew can only be described as methodical madness, but it has allowed us to escape a large warship flying the flag of the Empire of Terminus soon after our departure from Cape Nervis. And I trust that he will navigate us through this murderous stretch of sea; if I don''t, I''m sure I''d go crazy from fear and worry. "Furl the sails, ye scallywags, or do ye wanna feed the fishes?!"


    The fact that Morakan is the only one on board who could breathe underwater in case the ship sank is either testament of the crew''s trust in his leadership to prevent that from happening, or a constant reminder that if they don''t do their best, he will be the only one to not suffer for their mistakes. I''m not sure what to think about that, but I''d prefer if it was the former.


    "Hold onto yer duffle, we be goin'' down on the mistress!" The captain turns the steering wheel sharply and I watch in horror as the whole ship seems to be falling forward, before listing toward the port side - revealing the gigantic maw of the maelstrom we''re being drawn into. On our starboard, the storm comes into full view, approaching at an unholy speed.


    I don''t know what his words mean, but I grab the railing and hold onto it for dear life. I can hear Szaga screaming from atop the crow''s nest, where she has made herself at home due to the fact that she loves high places. Her wing is still broken, so she can''t just fly away under these circumstances, and I''m sure up there the movement we just performed was enhanced in intensity and speed. The other three maids are below deck, but I''m sure they''re fearing for their lives, too. Only Flann, standing next to the captain, seems calm and composed; most likely because she can use space magic to transport herself away in case something goes wrong.


    This may be the worst time to remember that I can''t swim!


    We begin to ride the maelstrom''s spin, as Morakan expertly steers the ship and keeps perfect control over it. The storm is almost over us and the heavy rain and darkness it brings along with it look like they want to swallow the us whole. I fear that the strong winds could cause the ship to lose balance and fall into the abyss, but just then, I see the captain spin around the wheel hard towards starboard.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The bow lurches upwards and we immediately leave the maelstrom behind us, shooting across the sea even with the sails furled. Utilizing the speed of the tide, we''re getting away from the storm following after us. Of course, even with that short burst of speed, we can''t outrun a storm, but apparently that''s the best way to navigate the largest maelstroms in this region.


    "Shahahahahaha!" Morakan laughs, exposing his rows of sharp teeth, as the winds whip about his cloak. "Unfurl and reef sails, batten down the hatches! This gunna be a big ''un!"


    Just as he announced, the moment the sails are opened halfway and tied up, a strong squall carries us forward. The masts creak under the force and I''m sure that if the sails had been fully opened, they could have broken from the pressure. Before I can feel admiration for the captain''s insight, a shower of heavy rain comes down on the ship and drenches me to the bones in an instant.


    "Ahahaha you''re crazy, you old bastard!" Szaga screams down from the crow''s nest, her voice sounding hysterical. I think something in her broke. "If you do this again without warning I''ll kill you ahahaha!"


    "Shahahaha! Ye landlubber better be grateful that I''m letting ye stay on me ship!" Responding in kind, Morakan steers us through the stormy sea with mad laughter. Waves as tall as the ship''s superstructure crash all around us, but we find the perfect way through it all, rocking up and down just like Asoko did when we first flew. I hope he''s not doing this on purpose, like she did back then, though...


    "Oeeeeeh..." Szaga retches over the railing while I pat her back. She had been holding up well so far, since her sense of balance is better than normal due to the fact that she can fly and perform fast maneuvers in midair. But the waves during the storm were too strong for her after all, especially while being on top of the crow''s nest and now that she can''t fly for the time being.


    "So weak! That''s why ye landlubbers ain''t gettin'' no respect from us mariners." Passing us by, Morakan comments in a gloating manner. "Leave the crow''s nest to one of ours."


    "I won''t! It''s perfect for m- oeeeeeeeh..." Keeping her stomach in check for long enough to object, Szaga once again hangs her head over the railing right after shooting off one sentence.


    Shaking my head, I look around us. The moment the storm subsided - soon after it had started - all the sailors immediately began scrubbing the deck and putting things back into order. Apparently the saltwater that washed across the deck several times will break down the wood if this isn''t done right away.


    During the storm itself I wasn''t able to move about, but once it had ended and I didn''t have to fear being thrown or washed off deck, I went down into the cargo hold to see how Asoko was doing. I had feared that she may have cracked or shattered from being tossed about, but Xaggavea had spun a web and suspended the crate we''re transporting her in from the ground to dampen all impacts with flexible strands. It was quick thinking on her part and I''m thankful for her presence here, even though she and Anthera aren''t on the best of terms.


    Apparently Nezera had hit her head while hanging upside down from a plank and that very Anthera was applying an ointment to the swelling. The latter had feared for her life, especially when water spilled inside the cargo hold several times, and the only reason she didn''t attempt to fly away despite the storm was because of Asoko; she had resolved to go down along with her, if the ship really sank. Commending her bravery, I sigh with a smile.


    Flann had weathered everything with a stoic expression, and even now she is standing next to the first mate at the steering wheel, looking across the sea with her green eyes. If she didn''t move from time to time, I''d think that she''s just a statue the real one put there to make us think that she''s still here. Her short blonde hair swaying in the breeze, she really looks like a boy in her current clothes.


    The Aurel Sea takes six days to navigate on average, but with our captain''s superior experience, we cut that down by half a day. Maybe because his crew is exceptional as well, keeping perfect efficiency even during the night. We soon come upon the Strait of Nax, with the Cape of Culon of the Demon Continent on our port and the Dark Continent on our starboard side. It is the narrowest strait between the two continents, where one can see the other side from either shore.


    Soon after we pass through the strait I can hear Szaga, who had immediately taken over the crow''s nest again after recovering - despite what she suffered through during the storm on our first day - shouting down from above.


    "Enemy ship sighted!" She waves at us and points to the horizon towards our bow. For now nothing is visible, but I trust her eyes, and it''s better to be safe than sorry.


    "Ye sure ''bout that?" Skeptical, Morakan pulls out a monocular and stares in the pointed direction through one eye. The entire crew and I hold our breaths in silence, waiting for his judgment, feeling the tension building at the prospect of encountering an enemy now. "Sink me! It flies the empire''s flag! Sail ho, three masts, that be a warship!"


    My heart sinks at the confirmation. In an instant, the entire deck flies into a frenzy as the crew prepares for battle. I can''t even begin to imagine what would happen if the enemy had a mage on board who could destroy our ship with magic from afar. If we get close enough, I could use my fire to burn them, though.


    "Get yer scury infected land legs movin''!" Growling across deck, Morakan spurs his crew to move even faster.


    I run under deck and find Nezera and Anthera. Unlike Szaga, the two of them can still fly, so I want to see if they are be able to intercept the enemy ship before it comes into range to potentially endanger us. It''s the middle of the day, and both of them are rather weak in the sun, but it''s our only chance to prevent a battle that could sink our ship.


    "Neither of us have any magic that could cause a ship to sink..." They respond with difficult expressions. I know that Nezera has darkness-based magic, but most of her spells are sensory deprivation ones, used to catch prey at night. Anthera only has a type of inborn magic which uses scent to influence a target. The greatest fighter among us is Szaga, who would normally be able to deal with the enemy on her own, but since she cannot fly right now, we would have to get close for her to use her magic.


    "But we''ll go and scout it out from the air. Maybe we can do something to drive them away." Nezera says with a difficult expression. We took down the flag of the dominion, but our proximity to the Demon Continent should already give them enough reason to suspect us. If there are two demons coming from here, they will definitely not leave us alone. Still, it''s better than being blindsided by a long-range attack.


    With this, we go up to the deck where the sailors are wielding crossbows, and I see several of them manning a huge revolving ballista ready to fire spears as thick as my forearm. Even then, these will be useless if the enemy rains flames down on us. I don''t have an aptitude to cast barrier spells, so I won''t be able to defend the ship against magic.


    Nezera and Anthera take flight, separating in midair and flying towards the enemy ship from separate directions. This way, they can avoid getting shot down by the same volley of arrows. I look in the direction they are heading, where the white sails are appearing over the horizon and the warship becomes visible with the naked eye. Even from this far away I can see that it''s much bigger than our ship. I can see the three masts that Morakan pointed out before, which makes it a class above ours. Its crew must be far more numerous, too.


    Arrows are being fired at the two, but they are flying too high up to be hit, as they circle the ship and look for openings to use their magic and disrupt the enemy. Then a fireball narrowly misses Anthera, who immediately aborts the mission and returns to us with Nezera as quickly as she can. Landing on deck out of breath, she is shaking all over her body after that encounter; even as a combat maid under the demon queen, barely avoiding a fiery death is still an experience that can drive fear into her heart.


    But at least we now know that the enemy has the means to destroy our ship in one shot if we get into their range. Turning to the captain, I see that he has come to the same conclusion.


    "I''ll be damned if these humans can catch up to me ship!" Hitting the railing before him with his cane, he shouts across the deck. "We''ll give ''em a chase across the six seas, if that''s what they want!"


    "Yo ho!" The crew cheers and immediately moves to optimize the ship for faster sailing even without any instructions. If it wasn''t for this dire situation, I''d feel impressed by their unity, but all I can think of now is trying to come up with a way to get out of this in one piece.


    I can only pray, though I don''t know to whom...

 Chapter L2 - Chase at Sea

    "Blimey! That thar be some old salt!" Morakan shouts and points his walking stick behind him at the empire''s battleship that has been chasing us for the past three days and nights. Due to the fact that the weather has been clear and the half moon is bright over the ocean, they didn''t lose us even at night.


    Anthera and Nezera have tried assassinations in the dark, but they were unsuccessful in identifying their fire mage at those times, instead only managing to whittle down a few of the soldiers on deck, before being shot at with arrows. The captain has expressed many times that he regrets being unable to bring his old crew, of whom many were able to breathe underwater just like him. They could have turned this situation around by boarding the enemy at night and launching a surprise attack. But with only him alone, it''s impossible.


    Why were they not here? Because of their age, they moved up to become captains or already retired, and are now leading the navy standing up against the empire''s invasion. There are not many marine demons like Morakan - he''s the sole representative of his kind, as far as he knows - so they can''t all gather on a single ship in these most crucial of times.


    Really, if only Szaga was able to fly. Unlike Anthera and Nezera, she''s strong enough to carry me over to the enemy ship. Then I could just burn the whole thing down with a fire spell. Then again, she could sink it herself, if she were able to fly over and use the earth in shallow waters to work her magic. But there''s no point in thinking about what-if scenarios. It''ll take Szaga a few more weeks to heal to the point where she can fly, but we hope to get away from them before it comes to that.


    After all, they''ve sent several pigeons to request reinforcements. We were unable to intercept them, even though they flew past us, since their altitude was too high for our arrows to reach. The enemy captain was also smart enough to always pick the times when Anthera and Nezera just returned, exhausted from the extended flight and sharp maneuvers they had to perform to stay outside the enemy''s range of fire, and thus unable to chase them down.


    At this rate, we have to expect that there will be reinforcements, potentially from the front. We won''t be able to evade them without making a huge detour, which could even lead us straight into even more enemy ships. That''s why we need to lose the one chasing us as soon as possible.


    "New moon''s approaching, the sea''s gunna be as black as pitch." Looking across the calm sea, Morakan comments. The sun is about to set on yet another day of carefully watching from the ship''s aft. The empire vessel appears to be gaining on us from time to time, while falling back on others. I''d like to ascribe that to our captain''s abilities, but their ship - while much larger than ours - has more surface area on their sails. Under these circumstances, they should be able to steadily catch up to us, until their mage can burn us down.


    The only explanation for why they are keeping their distance from us is because they fear that we may have a mage capable of destroying their ship onboard as well. Luckily for us, they don''t have any way to know for sure until they actually approach us, since we certainly don''t have anyone on par with their mage. Szaga''s earth magic may be powerful, but its range is far more limited compared to the enemy''s due to the depth of the water.


    My range is much shorter than either of theirs, and my ranged firepower is inferior, too. Among my people, cloaking ourselves in fire is an inborn ability, but shooting it out any further than half a dozen steps is something few ever master. I''m not the most talented, and the only reason I was admitted to the Royal Academy is because I made for a great research subject due to that inborn ability. But I took that to an extreme and can at least cause a small explosion of fire around me similar to what Kanundra did - only much weaker. If I could make it to the enemy''s deck, I could instantly set it all on fire, though.


    I turn to look at the ship following behind us. From here, I can''t make out any of their faces, but I can see that there''s one on the crow''s nest and one at the front of the bow, keeping tabs on us at all times. Their eyes trained on our tail, they follow every movement we make and don''t miss any maneuvers we try.


    "Let''s try to do something during new moon. Humans can''t see in the dark." The best bet would be to extinguish all lights on the ship at night and make a break for it in another direction, but that''s not a permanent solution. If they keep up with us somehow, we''ll have wasted an opportunity to maybe sink them and get them off our tail forever.


    In either case, that is still four days away from now. Let''s hope that we won''t run across any other enemy ships until then.


    "Ship sighted to our front!" Szaga shouts down from the crow''s nest. It''s the sixth day since the enemy pursuit has begun and the Khurut Sultanate''s coasts should be coming into view tomorrow. In other words, that ship can''t be anything other than a human vessel, which means it''s an enemy. Considering the fact that our pursuers sent a message ahead of us, there''s no doubt about this.


    "What flag they be flyin''?" Morakan shouts up in response, clearly more concerned with the fact that when a ship comes into view, the flag should always be the first thing one sees - and that Szaga didn''t make a mention of it.


    "I dunno, never seen it before!" As expected, her ignorance as someone who was born in the boonies shows. The only reason she can recognize the empire''s flag is because there were some discarded flags in the streets of the capital and she was taught about it then. Knowing about any other nation''s heraldry is asking too much of her.


    "What''s it look like, ye scallywag!" The captain stomps his wooden stump leg on the deck and yells impatiently.


    "There''s a red emblem with lotsa fancy lines that look like words, and a curved sword on dirty white." Comes from above.


    "That ain''t dirty white ye lame parrot! That be beige!" Banging his cane onto the railing before him, he immediately takes out his monocular and looks across the horizon. Folding it up again, he addresses his crew which has been listening intently. "She be right, that thar be them sandy swines from the Khurut Sultanate! Get to yer stations ye scurvy dogs, prepare for evasive maneuvers!" Growling in a deep voice, he edges on his men, before stepping up to the helm and grabbing the wheel to personally take the helm.


    Since we have rather favorable winds, we can hear a commotion breaking out on the ship hot on our tail. They seem to have also spotted their reinforcements and are preparing to close the gap, so as to force us into a pincer move.


    "Comin'' in straight ahead, cap''n!" The lizard-faced first mate keeping watch over the horizon using his own monocular states.


    "Hard port!" The captain announces and the first mate repeats it loudly. The crew immediately works to recalibrate the sails, while the wheel is turned to its very limit, causing the ship to slightly list to one side. I look behind us to find that the pursuer from the empire appears to immediately follow suit.


    "We be goin'' into the Devil''s Crooked Teeth, watch them landlubbers from the sultanate try''n follow us into there." Exposing his rows of straight sharp teeth, Morakan grins in glee. He says nothing of the ship behind us, most likely because he has recognized their captain''s skills. We''ll have to shake them in some other way, or confront them if there''s no other option.


    The Devil''s Crooked Teeth, according to the captain, is a sailors'' nickname for an area of shallow waters, most likely due to an undersea volcano, which has jagged rocks barely jutting out over the surface and many hidden just under the waves. Arranged in a gigantic circle with a very deep center, the area is rarely navigated by human ships due to its remoteness - and the fact that the Khurut Sultanate has a weak naval tradition. In Morakan''s past, he has scouted it out extensively, as a place to escape to when set upon by a large enemy naval force.


    But it will still require half a day to get there, so we''ll have to evade the ship coming from the front and our pursuers who are now clearly trying to catch up to us. At this rate, it''s possible that they''ll pincer us from both starboard and port, and if the ship from the sultanate carries a fire mage, we''ll be burned from both sides. Yet, if we make it to the shallows and they get close enough, Szaga will be able to utilize her earth magic to pierce their hulls.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Sultanate ship is changing direction, coming straight for us!" Szaga is at least doing her job as the lookout, even if she doesn''t know any nautical terms. I hate having to stand around, unable to do anything, so I watch the captain''s every move intently.


    "Let''s hope them sea dragons don''t show their scaly mugs." I hear Morakan mutter while carefully looking at the ocean.


    "Wait, sea dragons?" Did I hear him right? Unlike the land counterpart, these dragons can''t fly or breathe fire, but they are much larger and possess incredibly strong tails with which they can break ships effortlessly. Furthermore, they''re said to be able to spit water in a pressurized jet, capable of cutting even steel.


    "There be dragons ''round these parts, aye." But he doesn''t look that concerned for some reason.


    "... are they not dangerous?" Maybe the ones in these parts just ignore ships, since they''re not worth the attention. At least I hope that''s the reason why the captain can keep his calm despite speaking about such powerful beings.


    "Nay, they be deadly. If ye see a sea dragon, ye better start prayin'' and makin'' yer peace with the sea." Laughing with his sharp teeth exposed, Morakan doesn''t say anything that reassures me of our safety at all!


    I think I''m about to freak out here...


    The sun has moved halfway across the sky when the sultanate''s ship is close enough for us to see the faces of their crew. The vessel is about as big as ours, but has a different sail formation, arranged to look like two giant wings. The hull is also more narrow and it''s less tall, which would allow us to look down onto their deck if they were right beside us. There''s a company of soldiers onboard, readying javelins and bows, even though they''re too far away to hit us. And with the strong winds, it''ll be hard to hit either way.


    At the same time the empire''s ship is slowly but steadily gaining on us from the port side. Our sails are fully unfurled, but this is just the difference in design which we can''t do anything about. The captain has ordered the large ballista to be moved to our port, so that it can try to hit the mage when he comes into range, but I fear that it may be too close for comfort at that point.


    A blast of flames flies our way, but doesn''t reach us; it fizzles out halfway without doing any harm. The crew tenses up at the sight, buckets filled with water at the ready to put out any fire before it can spread. Morakan is concentrating on steering the ship as efficiently as possible, and it''s a testament to him and his sailors'' incredible capabilities that we''ve been going at this steady speed despite being forced to sail in a straight line due to the two flanking ships, which may cause us to miss more favorable winds.


    I run from starboard to port, watching both ships as they continue to come closer. Ahead of us is no indication that we''re entering The Devil''s Crooked Teeth, and my nerves are tensed to the breaking point. While a layman would say that fire is nothing to fear on the sea, since there''s so much water around to put it out with, it''s actually one of the biggest dangers to a ship. The sails, the lifeline of any ship, can catch on fire and burn down completely; of course, there''s a replacement for the largest sail of the center mast, but that would leave us at a snail''s pace.


    Furthermore, any important wooden structures burned to brittle cinders can''t be replaced while on the sea. And from this point forward, all ports are enemy territory, so we can''t exactly stop by for repairs. The old sailor''s saying "what is lost at sea remains lost forever" is an appropriate analogy for this danger.


    "Yo ho ho! We entered the teeth. Time to see if these old bones o'' mine still remember the way." Morakan points forward at a jagged rock formation jutting out of the sea like a marker. There''s a reddish circle on its side, as if someone painted it there as a warning sign. Wait, did he just say that he might not remember the way?


    A loud crashing noise from our starboard takes my attention away, and I quickly rush over to see what happened. It came from the sultanate''s ship, where agitated voices grow louder and are carried to us on the wind, speaking in a language I don''t understand. They must have hit one of the rocks underwater and realized that they''ve entered perilous waters. But there''s no such sounds from the other side, meaning that the empire''s ship is doing well in avoiding any dangerous rocks. As expected of someone the captain has approved of.


    Then I behold something incredible.


    The sultanate''s ship crashes straight into a rock right under the surface, and the bow bursts into pieces as the entire vessel comes to a sudden stop. Due to its speed and the force of impact, their stern is lifted out of the water and into the air, before the entire ship falls onto its side. Wildly flailing people and broken wood fly all over the place and drop into the waves.


    My mouth hangs open at the sight.


    This is what will happen to us if we run straight into a rock! I turn to look ahead of us, where the captain''s first mate is standing at the very front of the ship''s bow and acting as a lookout. But at these speeds, I doubt his warning will make it in time for an evasive maneuver, so all we can do is hope for a miracle.


    I look over to the empire''s vessel, where a lookout is stationed at the front as well, relaying warnings to the helmsman. Then I see a flash of red - a ruby gleaming in the sunlight - from their starboard, before a burst of fire comes our way. It very nearly reaches us, but because of the winds, it impacts the water and causes an explosion that rocks our ship. The resulting rain of seawater comes down onto the deck, immediately alerting the crew to the imminent threat.


    "Shiver me timbers!" Exclaiming thus, Morakan braces himself and holds the wheel steady. "They be gettin'' closer because of all the maneuverin''!" In other words, because we can''t travel in a straight line anymore and the enemy ship no longer follows in our wake, our paths may bring us closer to each other from time to time. Using those opportunities, the fire mage can shoot at us and may even be able to hit.


    "Szaga, come down here!" I shout up to the crow''s nest. "We need your magic!"


    "Understood!" Jumping out and nimbly landing on the topgallant, the gargoyle girl immediately responds to my call. Normally, she doesn''t like to leave the lookout unless it''s for a meal or when nature calls, but the current circumstances are different, and she has agreed to listen to Flann and me during emergency situations.


    Climbing down the rigging quickly, Szaga seems to be muttering something - most likely already preparing a spell. The moment she lands on deck, she leans over the railing and extends her arm downwards as if grabbing at something. Then from next to us a rock shoots out of the water and straight towards the empire''s ship. It impacts the water surface next to its starboard but seems to have missed.


    The enemy mage immediately responds in kind, throwing a fireball towards us. It hits our side in a burst of flames, and several sailors with buckets of water immediately run over to douse the blaze.


    Szaga immediately begins chanting again and lifts a rock out of the water, aiming its trajectory at our opponent''s deck. It doesn''t fully reach, but impacts their flank, creating a hole in the ship''s side. Unfortunately, it''s above the water line, so it doesn''t count as a hull breach which would cause them to take on water and slow them down.


    During all this, Morakan and the enemy helmsman are navigating the shallows from which some rocks jut out visibly, while others are hidden under the surface or masked by waves. Neither of them drop their speed, as the exchange of magic barrages continues. I move to our aft and gather flames around my hands, trying to help as best as I can even though I know that my magic won''t reach the enemy from here. Maybe, if we get closer, I''ll have a shot, but for now all I can do is try to scare them.


    Throwing out a shower of small flames, they flicker out less than halfway to the enemy ship, but I don''t let it dishearten me. I''ll try again, with more focus, and begin to gauge my range, while waiting for a chance to hit them with my blaze.


    In the meantime, the enemy has prepared crossbowmen on deck, who are beginning to shoot at us. Even over the rocking of the waves, their aim is steady and several of them just barely miss our deck, with very few of them falling into the foaming sea harmlessly. Our crew responds in kind, letting loose their arrows and shooting the ballista at their deck. The weapon doesn''t have enough penetrating power to breach their hull, but it can be devastating if it hits a human being.


    As we sway back and forth due to evading the dangerous shallows, we exchange volleys of magic, arrows and bolts. It''s clear that this may end at any moment, when either of us runs aground or sustains heavy structural damage due to the magic. The conventional ranged weaponry only serves to whittle down each other''s manpower, but since the railings are thick, everyone can take sufficient cover on both sides.


    Anthera, Nezera and Xaggavea must be scared to death below deck. None of them possess any magic that could help us at this range, so they''re taking cover and helping the crew to put out flames that may penetrate downstairs. None of them are long-distance fliers or sea-going demons, so it''s pure bravery that they came along in the first place.


    Then I hear words I didn''t want to hear under these circumstances coming from the first mate at the bow of the ship.


    "Sea dragon ahead!"

 Chapter L3 - Here Be Sea Dragons

    A sea dragon appearing from our front right now is the last thing we needed!


    "Where is it?" I hear Morakan ask and the first mate responding that it just appeared over the horizon. Since he''s watching from the deck, that must be quite a bit closer than when something is spotted from the crow''s nest.


    But I don''t have time to run to the bow and check it out, I''m occupied with trying to shoot flames that can reach the enemy. Redirecting a volley of crossbow bolts aimed at me using a burst of fire, I climb onto the railing and try to maximize my range in any way possible. I can hear the empire''s ship as well as ours occasionally scraping across underwater rocks or reefs, but neither of us has crashed yet and we''re barely slowing down.


    The enemy prepares a small ballista and aims at me. Seeing it, I immediately grab onto the rigging and swing around it, avoiding the shot narrowly. It embeds itself onto the deck behind me, the shaft vibrating from the force of the impact. If I had been hit by that, it would have completely run me through and nailed me to the ship.


    Swinging into my previous position once again, I see that our distance has shrunk. At this range I should be able to do something, and I immediately gather flames around my extended arm. I see Szaga create a spike out of a rock and extend it out of the water, impaling the side of the enemy ship before ripping a large hole into its flank.


    That''s my opening!


    Putting everything I have into my fire, I throw it straight into the jagged hole beyond which I see piles of ropes, stacks of barrels and crates. That must be their cargo hold, so let''s hope it''s full of flammable materials such as alcohol! Although I doubt it, considering it''s a military vessel after all.


    At the same time, the empire''s mage launches a fireball straight onto our main deck, setting ropes and sails ablaze in one large burst of heat.


    Screams emerge from both ships as their crews rush to put out the flames, but I feel that we may have sustained more damage than they have. Since the enemy ship is bigger than ours, I couldn''t hit their deck, but while they have a fire in their cargo hold, our main sail is burning up. We will slow down, which means they can overtake us and rain magic down on the entire ship however much they like.


    Szaga launches a rock right into the already burning hole in the enemy''s flank. I wonder why she aimed there, even though it''s already damaged enough, but maybe she wanted to direct it somewhere else and failed to do so because of the rocking of both ships. I see the projectile disappear into the hole and hear wood breaking; at least she was able to destroy something, hopefully an important pillar to hold up the deck above, but I seriously doubt it.


    Then an explosion rocks the empire''s ship, and a burst of flames shoots out of the hole. I can hear higher pitched screams and watch in wonder as several people on deck jump over the railing after having caught fire. In fact, there are now flames licking the sails and the blaze seems to be spreading quickly.


    It would appear that there was at least one barrel of highly flammable material, maybe even something explosive, which is exactly what Szaga''s last attack broke. Maybe it had been a contraption to hold a jar of oil, which got knocked out of place and tumbled down, breaking on the floor and releasing its contents across a wide area. In either case, I won''t look a gift horse in the mouth.


    The enemy ship steers away to take some distance and the fire mage''s last shot at damaging us misses narrowly, before I hear the creaking of wood and see that they have run aground. Unlike the Khurut sultanate''s ship, they didn''t shatter or even flip over, but it''s clear that they can''t continue their pursuit anymore. Our crew cheers as they notice it, although our situation doesn''t look too good, either. There''s still a sea dragon we have to deal with.


    "I''ll be, ye did it!" Morakan''s voice takes on a pitch I''ve never heard before. It seems that he''s actually overjoyed to see that our magic allowed us to shake our pursuers. But his expression immediately grows grim again as he looks ahead. "That thar be a sea dragon. They be nestin'' near the center of The Devil''s Crooked Teeth ''round this time of the year."


    I follow his gaze and see two greenish blue fins in the distance, sticking out from the water''s surface like sails. When I compare them to the burning sails on our ship, I can tell that the creature they belong to is massive. It must be past the edge of these shallows, because its entire body is hidden while it approaches our ship.


    "Yo ho! Listen to me ye scurvy rats! Put out the fire and prepare the replacement sail. Don''t be droppin'' anythin'' into the sea, lest ye give the beast reason to attack us." That may be the reason why he could speak about the sea dragons while remaining calm. So they really won''t attack us unless we provoke them somehow. He turns the wheel and aims to leave these waters as soon as possible. "Let''s get outta here."


    In either case, there''s nothing more I can do up here on the quarterdeck, so I head down to the main deck and help with putting out the fires. I can somewhat control flames that don''t originate from my body, but I have to practically be in range to touch them. Now is the best time to utilize this otherwise not very useful ability, to siphon the fire off the wood and dissipate it into the air.


    "Don''t use your magic around the dragon." I say as I pass by Szaga, who''s leaning against the railing with her back, clearly exhausted from the exchange of spells earlier. She must have been constantly moving about, dodging crossbow bolts and trying to find the best places to use her magic. Even though she''s a gargoyle, when she isn''t in her stone form her skin is still quite resistant to slashing attacks, but projectiles traveling at high speeds can pierce it.


    "Understood..." She responds with a tired sigh.


    After receiving this confirmation, I turn around to the burning deck, ready to get to work.


    "How''s it going down here?" When we finally put out the fires and the sailors start to lower the ruined main sail to replace it, I take the time to visit the cargo hold where the other three castle maids have been hiding out throughout the battle. It was the right choice, considering how dangerous it was above deck and how delicate their bodies actually are.


    "I-I was scared to death..." Anthera has always been quite weak-willed, which is why she got bullied by Xaggavea before Asoko came around. "Is... is it over?"


    "Yeah, our pursuers have been stopped and they shouldn''t bother us anymore. But we still have the problem of a sea dragon watching our every move." During our repairs, it has steadily approached us and is now swimming side by side with us at a short distance away. I just hope it will be satisfied with watching and won''t move to attack us. After all, we have no intentions of starting a battle against it.


    "A-a sea dragon?!" Even Nezera, who isn''t as easily shaken as Anthera, asks in a voice an octave higher than her already usually high pitch at this revelation.


    "Yeah. That''s why it''s better if you stay down here for now. We shouldn''t do anything to provoke it." I look at the crate holding the frozen Asoko, suspended in midair by Xaggavea''s thread. She has been very quiet and reclusive throughout the journey, making Anthera bring her the meals down here, where she watches over the important cargo at all times. I think it''s her way of atonement for what she did, even though it wasn''t by her own will.


    With a glance at the suspended crate, wrapped like a cocoon, I suppress a shudder at the thought that the dragon could sink our ship. We wouldn''t be able to do anything against a beast that massive, and there''s no way we could continue our journey from here without a ship. Anthera and Nezera may fly to safety, but between the two of them they aren''t even strong enough to carry one person, let alone a frozen statue.


    After making sure that everything is alright below deck, I climb up the stairs again. It appears that it has become rather dark, maybe because a cloud pushed itself in front of the sun. As I turn around and peer across the railing, my vision is filled with something dreadful.


    The sea dragon is right at the starboard of the ship, its sail-like fins blocking the sun nearing the horizon completely. Everybody on board is frozen in terror, not a single one making a sound as they look at the only visible part of the underwater beast. I can feel an immense pressure seemingly holding down the entire crew.


    The ship''s movements have come to a crawl because the main sail has been taken down and the replacement is still in the process of being put in place, so the dragon must be thinking that we''re stopping to do something. I heard from Asoko that they had been immediately attacked by a flying dragon in the Mineva Republic, when Onee-sama took the form of one and unknowingly flew into its territory.


    Please don''t attack us...


    The fins seem to fold down and then a gigantic head on a long neck rises out of the sea. Blowing out water from a hole on top of its head, the dragon finally shows its ferocious face before us. A jaw full of sharp teeth slightly exposed, its golden eyes sweep across the deck with undeniable intelligence. I can tell that this isn''t a mindless monster, it possesses reason and understanding.


    "Levvy?!" The first voice to break the silence - with a seemingly nonsensical scream - belongs to the captain. Everyone spins their heads around to him in shock, thinking he has gone mad. "That be ye, me baby girl?"


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Turning its head to the quarterdeck on which the captain stands the dragons gazes at Morakan,an old cross-shaped scar near the tip of its snout is revealed. When he sees it, his expression changes to one of joy. The dragon tilts its head slightly as if trying to think, before blinking its eyes twice. It''s a clear indication that there''s more at work in this majestic creature''s mind than just instincts.


    "... Morakan?" A low-pitched but distinctly female voice emerges from deep within the sea dragon''s throat, without its mouth moving. It talked!


    "It really be ye, Levvy!" Stomping his cane in elation, the captain quickly and nimbly hops down the stairs from the quarterdeck despite the fact that he has a wooden leg which seemed to have caused him trouble walking all this time. It seems that it''s been an act all along, to keep his abilities hidden, but being reunited with the one he calls Levvy seems to have made him forget to keep up his facade.


    The dragon lowers her head almost right onto the deck to look at Morakan more closely, who simply runs up to her and embraces her chin. It would appear that they know each other.


    "I missed ye! Where''ve ye been all this time?" His joy at seeing her again is almost tangible, and all tension leaves my body. This means she won''t attack the ship, right?


    "It has been so long, daddy." The dragon responds and my mind goes blank.


    Daddy?!


    "This here be me baby girl Levnalyth." Announcing like a proud father, Morakan turns to the crew and explains the situation. "I found her when she was still a wee baby, on an uninhabited island when I got me marooned after a battle with a blasted human armada. I''d barely lost me land legs back then. Must''ve been a hundred summers ago by now?"


    "A hundred and two rotations of the seasons." Levnalyth corrects her foster father and I can feel gentleness in her voice. If I were told about this without seeing it myself, I would have never believed it, but a sea dragon is looking at a demon with loving warmth.


    Also, it would seem that both Morakan and Levnalyth are over a hundred summers old. I cannot even begin to imagine living for that long, especially since my kind is rather short-lived compared to many other demons.


    "Ye gave me this scar when we first met." Pointing at his head, the captain states with a toothy grin.


    "You repaid it in kind right away." Nudging her foster father with her giant snout, the sea dragon responds while revealing her own teeth. If I didn''t know they were actually very close, I would have been scared to death at the sight. After all, neither of them actually looks friendly with their smiles, as their teeth are sharp and deadly.


    "What ye be doin'' here?" It''s clear that Morakan must already know the answer and it''s a test. After all, he explained to me earlier what sea dragons do around The Devil''s Crooked Teeth.


    And I would''ve never thought I''d see a dragon showing an expression of unease and embarrassment. Levnalyth looks away and seems to be hard-pressed to find an answer she thinks her foster father would accept. I can sense the tension on the ship grow, as we all must feel that she could very well sink us just to escape the question.


    "Who be the lucky lad?" Putting a hand on his foster daughter''s cheek, the captain changes his angle of attack. I believe that if she was capable of developing a blush, she would have.


    "I-I am a grown sea dragon, daddy!" Flaring up in response, she throws her head back in defiance. The entire crew ducks and takes cover at the move, fearing that she might throw a tantrum and break the ship in two. I myself almost jumped down into the cargo hold, but was able to hold back that urge. It really feels like the captain is playing with fire. "I do not need your permission to see anyone."


    "Considerin'' ye be here... the lad''s gunna put a ship in ye dock, won''t he?" I stare at Morakan dumbfounded. So does everyone else, including the dragon he made this insensitive comment about.


    "Dad!" Levnalyth roars in indignation, but it''s clear that she''s flustered.


    "Hey, at least let ye daddy see him." Standing his ground, the captain stomps his wooden leg. "Can''t have ye daughter be taken away by some lily-livered son''uva biscuit eater."


    "... I understand. I will call him." Finally giving in, Levnalyth lowers herself into the water, but her large fins indicate that she''s still right next to us. Don''t tell me he''s actually been waiting right under the surface? Then she resurfaces while blowing a plume of water out of the nostrils on top of her head, and looks at her foster father with an expression that I could swear is a pout - even though she doesn''t actually have lips to do so with. "There, he is on his way."


    I suppose there''s a way for dragons to communicate over long distances underwater, but for us on the ship we couldn''t hear anything. Somehow I''m not really looking forward to meeting her lover, since I feel that male sea dragons are most likely much more ferocious than female ones. Especially considering he''s someone who doesn''t know Morakan, and might get irritated by him.


    Let''s just hope he''s actually just a lily-livered son''uva biscuit eater... whatever that means.


    "That is him." Levnalyth points to the port side of the ship with her chin, and all heads spin around. A pair of fins are coming towards us at an incredible speed, slowly rising out of the water, before very nearly reaching us. In an explosion of water, her mate breaks through the surface.


    He has slightly darker scales than Levnalyth and there are two hooked spikes under his chin which she lacks, but other than that, they look very similar - except for the fact that he is a bit smaller than she is. Not to say that he couldn''t still easily destroy our ship just by ramming it.


    But I have a bad feeling about this.


    "This scrawny sea snake is ye mate?" Morakan''s scornful voice makes my heart sink. Don''t provoke him! He may look smaller and skinnier than your foster daughter, but he''s still larger than the ship you stand on!


    "Who are you, puny creature?" See, he sounds angry!


    "And he lacks manners, too. Name yeself first before askin''." But the captain is steadfast. Levnalyth seems to be hanging her head in shame and looks away.


    "I am Zurvorryth the Dreadful! Who are you to dare speak to me like this?" Booming with a majestic voice, her mate announces his name and raises himself out of the water to tower above the ship.


    "Ye be talkin'' to this lil'' girl''s daddy." Throwing his thumb back to point at the sea dragon on the other side of the ship, Morakan responds in a low and threatening tone. "Morakan be me name." Where is that guy getting his courage from?! I want some of it, too!


    "... daddy?" After a pause, Zurvorryth lowers himself back into the water and stares at his mate questioningly.


    "How old ye be, lad?" But the captain directs his attention back to him.


    "... what is this?" The question is directed at Levnalyth, who seems to want to disappear in a hole somewhere.


    "Just answer him..." Her voice sounds resigned.


    "I have seen fifty seven rotations of the seasons!" He''s actually proud about this, but I know for a fact that this father-daughter pair are way older than that.


    "Scrawny, disrespectful and a kiddo to boot!" Morakan looks completely bewildered, turning to Levnalyth. She actually looks at her mate in surprise; apparently she didn''t know about his age.


    "You are actually that young?" She feels compelled to ask.


    "What do you mean, young? How old are you?" Indignant, Zurvorryth looks at her with what I can only guess is the equivalent of having a raised eyebrow. Don''t you know not to ask a lady her age?


    "Almost twice your age!" Angry at his expectation that she''s actually younger than him, Levnalyth growls dangerously. I guess it''s not important to know each other''s age for dragons, since they''re so long-lived that an age difference of a few decades doesn''t matter at all.


    "T-twice...?" He shirks back, and at this point he just lost.


    What follows is a lover''s quarrel between two sea dragons, with a frail wooden ship between them. I''m fearing for my life with every further escalation between the two, and I''m sure the same is true for everyone else on board - except for Morakan, who watches the two in curious silence.


    "Alright! Alright ye two, stop it!" Finally, the captain steps in between the two fearlessly, and they quiet down in surprise. Turning to his foster daughter, his face fills with warmth and he pets her cheek. "Baby girl, I see ye really love this rascal."


    "Then-" Hope fills Levnalyth''s eyes.


    "But he still be a kiddo." He continues, seemingly dashing her hope for his approval. "So ye better hold them reins in this relationship and teach the rapscallion some proper manners."


    "Thank you daddy!" It shakes me to the core to see a creature twice as long as our ship snuggling up to Morakan. And hearing her purring like a little kitten must be my imagination.


    "Now for yer sorry ass, kiddo." He turns to address Zurvorryth. "If ye make me baby girl cry, I promise I''ll find ye and keelhaul ye with the entire dominion fleet. Then I''ll make ye apologize, before repeatin'' it all once more for good measure."


    I stare at Morakan with my mouth hanging open. But it opens wider when the male dragon''s reaction is reserved and almost fearful. If he wanted to, he could easily swipe at the ship and sink it in one strike, but he''s being stared down by a person less than one tenth his size. Is this what they mean by presence? The captain''s presence is easily overshadowing a sea dragon''s, and most definitely because he truly cares for his foster daughter.


    Then again, it''s most likely because the female sea dragon behind that man is larger than he is, and because he knows that she will most definitely kill him if he attacks her foster father.


    "Ye hear me? What be yer answer?" Banging his cane on the deck, Morakan emphasizes his question. Even then, I doubt he''s actually relying on her to have his back in this matter. It''s coming from his heart without any doubts as to the fact that he will succeed in doing what he just promised.


    "... understood, father." Hanging his head in an almost demure-looking gesture, Zurvorryth replies.


    "Who said ye could call me that?!" The captain sounds angry at being called father. But then again, I notice an almost happy undertone, which Levnalyth isn''t missing either.


    "Even though you are actually happy, daddy." Nudging him with her snout, she speaks in a smug voice and grins.


    "What, happy?! Don''t be ridiculous. Why would I be happy that this scrawny sea snake be takin'' me baby girl away?" He doesn''t actually sound angry and Levnalyth nudges him some more while laughing.


    The fact that the scrawny sea snake in question doesn''t even dare to refute it is evidence that he has learned to respect his father-in-law. It''s an unbelievable sight to see a sea dragon being respectful of a being it would normally be able to swallow in one go without a second thought.


    But I''m just amazed at Captain Morakan''s grit, as must be everyone else on the ship. I''m fully convinced that he will bring us to our destination safely.

 Chapter 80 - Tonight We Hunt

    No wonder Korenga was caught in her sleep.


    Everyone is sitting in the room, wide awake and with bloodshot eyes. Well, everyone who actually needs sleep, which are only Awhina and Mereana. But the others, including me, are sitting around the Black God and staring at her with exhausted irritation. Tahiri has made herself scarce after we returned to the inn, and with good reason.


    Korenga is snoring at a volume like a free-running chainsaw, and no matter what we do, we can''t wake her up. Her body is impervious to physical attacks, to the point where she apparently doesn''t even feel people shaking her. And it seems like she doesn''t need to breathe either, since pushing a pillow onto her face didn''t cause her to suffocate and awaken from the sensation. Why she needs to snore if she doesn''t even need to breathe is a mystery, but it''s driving everyone crazy.


    I''m seriously tempted to just kick her out of the building. I mean, if she really doesn''t notice anything that happens to her during her sleep, then she wouldn''t notice the impact from being thrown out the second floor window, right? Awhina is clearly playing with that idea, as her left eye is beginning to twitch. Mereana is more respectful of a goddess - or simply not utterly fearless - and lies back down while covering her head with a pillow, but it''s obvious that it won''t help at all.


    Maybe the best way would be to just get another room and dump her there. We did get some funds from inside the castle after all. Speaking of which, after all the scientists had been killed at Korenga''s hands, the other prisoners were told that they could leave. Thanking us, but keeping a careful distance from the Black God, they each returned to where they had been kidnapped from. Luckily, none of them had been from Iatukat, or at least nobody recognized Mereana.


    Tossing in her sleep, the Black God changes her posture and for a moment, there is silence. Hope blooms in everyone''s hearts that she will finally go quiet now, but instead her snoring just changes into the sound of a motorcycle going into a higher gear.


    "[Alright, I''ve had enough.]" Jumping up and growling, Awhina picks the much larger goddess up and slumps her over her shoulder. As expected, she has quite some strength in her thin frame, to easily carry somebody who looks like she''d easily measure at twice her weight.


    With this, she unceremoniously throws her out the window.


    Waah! It was a joke! I wasn''t seriously thinking about doing that!


    Wait, did Awhina read my mind or did she really come up with the exact same idea as I did, but actually in a serious way? I rush to the window and look outside, to find that Korenga is lying on a pile of straw - after having crashed through the stables'' roof. Her motorcycle snoring is still audible even from up here, although after closing the shutters, it should be bearable now...


    So that actually didn''t wake her up. Don''t know what you can do about your sleep, but I think that getting captured this way wasn''t a big achievement on the underlings of Rapania''s part at this point, but just luck. I''m sure they didn''t know she would be such a heavy sleeper after all, unless it''s part of her divine legend. Gotta ask Tokomaha or Tahiri about this later.


    Awhina turns around with a grumpy and tired expression, then walks towards my bed and flops down right onto me. Hey, you got your own bed! Ah, she''s asleep on my lap already...


    I pet her hair and sigh. It did become quite late today, and we''ve been riding all day long. This is her first time in a city, in a foreign land and after traveling for several days, too. I''ll cut her some slack for wanting to sleep in a bed together with me after so long; we''ve been spending our time together like this for the past year, after all.


    Even though I would have wanted to take Tokomaha somewhere and have some fun... oh well, I''ll do that some other time.


    The next morning we depart the city of Manoa after buying some provisions for the next stage of our journey, a two days'' ride to Uarapo. Between Manoa and Uarapo is a well-maintained dirt road, and sometimes one can even meet travelers or merchants taking it in either direction. This must mean that the lands are quite peaceful around here, since the latter aren''t moving in armed caravans. Most of them are drawn by donkeys, since normal people can''t afford horses, though.


    Speaking of horses, we couldn''t get another one for Korenga, so my children are now sharing one while she''s riding Uten''s. I would have told Tahiri to give hers away, since she can just float effortlessly, but somehow it''s relaxing to see her lie on horseback like it''s solid ground. The one carrying the Black God seems to get exhausted quite quickly, though. I assume it''s because she''s actually quite heavy, not only judging by her height and appearance.


    She would have gone naked, if we hadn''t bought something for her on the market. It seems that the gods and goddesses of this land don''t care for human conventions. I can certainly appreciate that, since I haven''t really felt any shame in a very long time now; even now, I''m actually naked, and the clothes are made from my own skin - a very advanced version of body-paint I''d say. The same is true for Uten and Saten, who share my view on that matter, but still dress up because Awhina would scold them - and me - if they didn''t.


    Then again, Tahiri wasn''t naked the first time she appeared, so she must have paid attention to social norms, huh? Hard to imagine that someone as free-spirited as her would put any thought into it. Well, her clothes are also just made from her powers - although she isn''t wearing the feathered headband she used to have until a while ago. Never noticed when she stopped putting that on, though.


    "[I think the horse won''t do it for much longer.]" Mereana states with a pitiful expression when we set up camp for the night. All the other horses seem fine and are standing around or eating grass, but the one that was carrying Korenga is actually lying on its side and breathing hard. It''s sweating all over, even though their breed seems to be strong against the jungle heat.


    "[Wahahaha! What a weak creature.]" Slapping her thigh, the perpetrator laughs as if it has nothing to do with her.


    "[It''s your fault, though.]" Awhina glares at the Black God while preparing the meal. Wow, she''s fearless, standing up to this goddess of violence even after witnessing what she''s capable of.


    "[I guess? Hahaha!]" Korenga seems to have a pretty bright mood at all times. It''s like her lowest point is neutral, and it goes up in varying degrees of joy, but never down into the negative emotions. Even when she took her revenge on the scientists she wasn''t actually enjoying herself, but neither was she conflicted about her actions. Maybe to her it was really just something that had to be done, and which she felt nothing about.


    "[I guess it won''t be able to move tomorrow?]" I ask Mereana, and she seems to confirm that judgment with her expression, but trying not to say it out loud.


    "[We''ll let her rest for tonight and see...]" Shaking her head, she sighs and stands up to join our circle around the fire.


    "[Don''t worry, we can take turns carrying each other.]" Laughing heartily, Korenga speaks to the horse, which is wheezing and not even trying to eat. You know, I actually wouldn''t be surprised if she made good of that declaration, considering her stupid strength.


    "If it dies, can we eat it?" Uten and Saten snuggle up to me and ask in a hushed voice.


    "Yeah, but only if it dies on its own." Petting their hair, I look to the pitiful being lying on its side. Well, it''d be a waste of perfectly fine meat not to do that. "But don''t you go killing it tonight when nobody is watching, alright?" Grabbing their noses, I set down this condition. I''m fairly certain they would have gone and done something just to be able to eat it sooner rather than later, if I didn''t tell them not to.


    "Understood." And sure enough, they look a little disappointed, but immediately hide their expressions behind a mask of smiles again, as they turn to Awhina, who is about to finish the stew over the fire. Like any Crawling Chaos in development, they are displaying quite some gluttony. I know they go hunting at night, and while they hide the fact that they''re gaining mass by never growing up, I understand due to my Chaos senses: Life forms were vanishing around where I could feel their presences all these times.


    "[Dinner is ready.]" Upon this announcement from Awhina, everyone turns their attention to the pot in our center. Its contents are more than enough to fill human bellies, but for me, that''s more like an appetizer. Maybe I should join my children on their hunt tonight; it might be the perfect timing to teach them about some Crawling Chaos things then.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    As expected, Korenga causes trouble once again. When we only had a snack for lunch, she complained that it was way too little. While I can empathize with her on accounts of my own insatiable stomach, she shouldn''t expect others to give her food. And this time is the same. According to her, the contents of this pot wouldn''t even be enough for her alone, much less splitting it among eight people.


    In the end she had to make do with it, just like she did during lunch. But her stomach started to growl soon after and it simply wouldn''t stop. Not only does she snore at night, her stomach also growls loudly when she doesn''t eat enough. As expected, a troublemaker...


    "[Let''s go hunting.]" I stand up and gesture to my children and Korenga. Awhina and Mereana are preparing their beds, and Tahiri is lying on of the lowest branch of the tree above like a cat, but neither of them are signaling that they want to join us. Well, it''s to be expected that the former two would want to sleep, after the troubles last night, and the latter isn''t easy to motivate anyway, unless it involves Oripiaw.


    "[I-I''ll go hunting, too.]" Tokomaha stands up and pulls her spear out of the ground. Her wording makes it sound like she''s going to go on her own, rather than come along.


    "[Oh? Good luck then.]" Acting as if I don''t realize that she wants to go with us, I respond in the most casual manner. For a second, she doesn''t understand what I meant and smiles, but it freezes over and she stares at me in bewilderment, flapping her mouth open and shut without making a sound. Unable to say what she actually wanted because it would clash with her personality, her eyes swim around until she finally looks up to Tahiri for help.


    "[Have fun, Tokomaha.]" The God of Storm crushes her hopes with a smile. Yep, she understood the situation, too.


    Turning back to me, the petite goddess blinks, still speechless. That''s just too cute~


    "[You can come with us, if you want.]" But I release her from her suffering with this invitation and pet her hair. Biting her lower lip and shaking from the humiliation, she blushes and can''t even muster the will to slap my hand aside as she has done so often. Ahhh, it''s so fun to tease her~


    Well, with the two goddesses around, I can''t really show off my true form now, can I? Actually, I could, but I don''t know how they would react. Especially Korenga, who thought I was an aspect of Mataku, might attack me if she saw that my real form is that of a monster. And I don''t want Tokomaha to look at me in disgust. Of course, I care more about Awhina''s reaction, but I wouldn''t want to lose the former''s tsundere love for me. I wouldn''t have someone to tease anymore.


    "[So, how do you two usually hunt?]" I ask Uten and Saten. I cleaned up an entire ecosystem of life by expanding, using my body to form spikes, and sometimes transforming into a dragon or even the Chaos Warhead to hunt down flying animals. But these two don''t know how to do the first one, don''t have a dragon template and sure as hell don''t know anything about funneling wind magic for propulsion.


    Oh, and I sure as hell won''t be giving them the dragon template just yet, considering the fact that they''re really mischievous and would use it for playing pranks.


    "[We transform like so.]" And they turn into two large black cats. Pumas? They look exactly the same as those found in the world from my previous life. "[And then catch our prey.]" Their voices are still the same even after they changed. They must be getting better at partial transformations of intricate things such as retaining a human''s vocal cords even while the entire body is something else. It came to me really easily for some reason, but they weren''t able to do it right away. Must be because I''m a genius - or because it''s easier for me to imagine all kinds of things due to my memories.


    "[Ohhh, that''s interesting. Are you two gods of nature?]" Korenga looks impressed and inspects them from different angles while scratching her chin. That''s the exact same thing the villagers of Aoranam thought about me.


    "[Hm, but isn''t that a little slow?]" I look at my children and wonder. Of course, there''s the thrill of hunting properly, including tracking and stalking, but I''d rather do it quickly and efficiently. "[Watch this.]"


    And with these words, I produce a spike from my shoulder without even looking in the direction of where I''m extending it towards. It moves so quickly that it would appear to go out instantaneously, and disappears in a tree above us. I feel myself hitting my target and a life signature disappearing, so I turn the spike into a tentacle, upon which I carry my prey down to ground level.


    It''s a... I don''t even know. It''s body is like that of a monkey but it has a head like a rat. Might be something that only exists in this world, although I don''t really know many species from my previous world, so I can''t tell. In either case, that''s my first victim of the night, and I present it to my children, who look up at me in awe. At least I think it''s awe, since I can''t really tell in their current forms.


    "[How did you do that?]" The Black God grabs my shoulder and looks at it closely. I extend a rounded tentacle explosively and hit her right in the forehead, upon which she quickly lets go of me and flinches backwards. "[Ohhh! So your body is really malleable, huh?]" I did it with enough force that a human might have been knocked off their feet and suffered a concussion, but she doesn''t even seem to have registered how strong that impact was, instead analyzing how it works.


    "[Where''s the fun in hunting like that?]" Tokomaha states with a dissatisfied expression and performs practice-throws with her spear. So her approach is to actually find her prey and then killing them with that? Maybe she actually creates clones of herself to hunt in a group, which is certainly more efficient than doing it alone. Well, can''t fault her for that, she doesn''t have a convenient body like a Crawling Chaos.


    "[Hunting is for food.]" I approach the little goddess and lift a hand in front of her face. "[This is for fun.]" I wiggle my middle and ring finger suggestively. She blushes furiously and I''m sure there''s a certain reaction downstairs as well, at the reminder of what I can do with just these two fingers.


    I laugh and turn around to Uten and Saten, who have transformed back and are trying to do the same as I have. It seems they aren''t as great at manipulating their mass yet, since their shoulders aren''t extending very quickly, and they can''t control the direction too well. One of Saten''s spikes even stabs me in the chest, and he apologizes profusely, even though he should know that it doesn''t hurt me.


    "[Try using your fingers or the whole hand. You should have a better feeling for it that way.]" At the start I also used my fingers, which I actually pointed in the directions of my targets, like a gun. That way I had better focus and could gauge where I was aiming. After doing so for several days, I started to be able to do it much more effectively, until I could just use any point on my body for it - especially after my Chaos senses awakened.


    "[Hm, are you siblings?]" Korenga asks while looking between me and the twins. Oh right, I never told her about our relationship.


    "[No, they''re my children.]" Petting the two at the same time while they extend their fingers at a tree trunk, impaling it repeatedly for practice moves, I state with a hint of pride. So that''s how a mother feels when she''s asked about her children, huh? They look up at me with upturned eyes and questioning expressions. It seems they weren''t paying attention to what we were saying. How cute they are while doing this~


    But they''re boys.


    "[You have children that big? You look so young!]" Why thank you, Korenga. But it''s a little different for our kind. Then again, I''d think that gods don''t really age beyond whatever they decide is perfect for themselves, unless Tokomaha really is only the age of what her appearance suggests. Although her personality is quite childish most of the time, she is a goddess, so...


    "[I did it!]" I hear Uten celebrate and turn to look at him. Apparently he was able to impale a small bird up in a tree, showing it off to me with a wide triumphant grin. Saten is sulking in the background. Were they aiming at the same target and his brother got it first? But they look really cute with these expressions~


    But they''re boys.


    "[Well done! Now, go out and hunt some bigger game with that.]" I pet both of them; even if one of them achieves more than the other, I''ll have to treat them equally; they''re twins after all. They hop up and down in excitement and then run off into the jungle. They''re just so cute~


    But they''re boys!


    "[Now, show me how you hunt.]" Turning to Korenga, I''m interested to see how she''s going to go about this.


    "[It doesn''t work when people are around.]" She states with a self-assured grin. Huh? Is that something to look proud about?


    "[What do you mean?]" I don''t doubt that her physical abilities would allow her to just chase down even the fastest animals on foot, and she could easily wrestle bears with her bare hands, so why would it be difficult for her to perform these feats while someone''s around?


    "[Animals gather around me naturally, so I can just grab some of them.]" Shrugging, the Black God sits down on the toppled trunk of a tree. "[But they get afraid when predators are near me, too.]"


    "[Alright, then we''ll leave you alone for now and come back later.]" That sounds like a really useful effect on wildlife. Though I wonder how they still trust her when she starts grabbing and killing them for food. Maybe it''s something they can''t fight against? But then they wouldn''t mind other predators either. Oh well, I won''t question the intricacies of a goddess'' powers.


    With these words, I wave at her and walk away, knowing that Tokomaha is looking between Korenga and me with a flustered expression. Of course I intend for her to come with me, but since I didn''t say it out explicitly, she can''t just follow me on her own - she has an image to uphold, no matter how far it has already crumbled in everybody else''s views.


    "[Hey, what are you waiting for, Tokomaha? Come with me.]" I turn around to beckon her. Her expression lights up and a bright smile appears on her face, but she immediately forces herself to look irritated again.


    "[I-it''s not like I wanted to come with you or anything! B-but if you insist...]" Spouting this typical tsundere line, she skips over to me with a clearly excited spring in her step. She''s just too cute~


    And she''s a girl.


    - They did lots of "hunting" afterwards -

 Chapter 81 - The Black God

    When Tokomaha and I return to where we left Korenga alone a while ago - we kinda forgot the time "hunting" together - we find that there''s a pile of dead animals next to her. I wonder why they would keep coming to her, if all they find is death, but maybe that''s just part of the Black God''s legend or something.


    Speaking of Black God, she was in her black skin mode just now, but turns back upon seeing us approach. It must have something to do with how they''re lured in, and now I''m really curious about what that form actually means. Unlike a certain homunculus, she''s physically already impervious to damage normally, so that''s not the result of her hardening her skin or something. And she used it in the castle to make all the blood slide off of her as if her surface becomes frictionless.


    "[Ohhh, how was it?]" Korenga is clearly directing this question at Tokomaha, who is a little unsteady on her feet after being subjected to my exceptional technique. Of course, she can tell what we went to do, even though I''m carrying a few small animals as an alibi. Well, I don''t really mind anyone knowing that we went at it, but I also don''t want to openly announce it to the world. But Tokomaha obviously doesn''t respond, averting her gaze in embarrassment as she tries to act tough.


    I walk up to the Black God and take a closer look at her spoils. There''s a large animal looking like a bear, but with purple fur and something I could only call bone gauntlets around its paws. Another big one is a deer with antlers that are literally branches, from which leaves grow. Yeah, those are truly animals that could only exist in another world.


    I can feel my children hunting a good distance from here, and life signatures are disappearing around them periodically. I''m expecting them to come back with a pretty small haul, having consumed most of it themselves along the way or even during hunting. But looking at Korenga''s achievements, it should be enough to last her for the journey to Uarapo. Then again, I wonder how she''s going to transport it all, especially considering we have no extra horse or even a cart. Should have gotten one in Manoa, if we had known that her horse would give out.


    "[So, how are you going to carry those?]" Her size is enough to carry the bear on her back and the deer under her arm, but there are also a lot of smaller animals.


    "[Tokomaha is convenient like that, no?]" Pointing at the petite goddess behind me, Korenga states what I didn''t even think about. So she''s going to rely on that convenient cloning ability to provide a cheap workforce?


    Wait... am I onto something here? I don''t know Tokomaha''s limits, but wouldn''t she able to create a huge labor force and...


    "[I''m not going to help you.]" Of course, if the person herself isn''t cooperative, that thought is moot.


    "[Oh, come on! I''ll give you some, too.]" Korenga lifts several of the smaller ones to bargain with the God of Growth. I turn away, chuckling to myself. Really, they sometimes behave really childishly, not at all the image of gods I used to have in my previous life. It was obvious with Tokomaha, but even someone as grownup in her outward appearance as Korenga can be unexpectedly naive and cute.


    Speaking of which, the same is true for Awhina. She''s half a head taller than me, but she''s much more of a child, even though we should be around the same age. Then again, she also has her mature moments, such as her ability to manage interpersonal relationship situations I would have trouble dealing with. And her outlook on life and the important things in it is also more adult-like than I can claim about myself.


    Huh, wait. Doesn''t this mean she''s actually more mature than I am after all?


    Uten and Saten are on their way back. I turn to look at the two goddesses, who are still in an argument about carrying the spoils. It looks really funny, with Korenga towering over the tiny Tokomaha and talking down on her, but the two of them seemingly being on roughly even footing. Maybe it''s because their mental age is very similar or something, despite their appearance. In turn, I couldn''t see Tahiri doing the same.


    "[We got a lot, mama!]" The twins have created makeshift baskets on their backs out of their own bodies and filled them with small animals they were able to impale with the spike technique they learned from me earlier. Sorry for doubting you two! You brought a lot back instead of eating it all by yourselves.


    "[Good job!]" Petting them, I look at the unfortunate critters. There are some that look pretty cute, too. "[But this is too much. See, Korenga caught a lot, too.]"


    Between us all, there''s easily enough to feed the entire village of Aoranam for several days. Well, maybe not when the slave army that now lives there is included.


    "[Then we should eat some of it right now.]" Uten states and undoes the basket transformation on his back.


    "[Let''s reduce the amount we have to carry.]" Saten follows his brother''s example and does the same.


    "[Alright, go ahead.]" I haven''t been too fond of gorging myself on uncooked stuff for the past year. Ruiha and Awhina''s cooking was just so delicious that I feel like it''s a waste to eat potential ingredients raw these days. I''d rather have her prepare some large feast with this, but it''s obvious that won''t be possible here in the middle of the forest.


    Taking several large rodent-like animals, the twins pull them inside their bodies through their apparent clothes. I think at this point, just like me, they don''t stop to enjoy the taste or anything either, and only eat to increase their mass as per a Crawling Chaos'' instincts. When I get a chance one of these days, I''ll ask to see their full sizes, but for now I just watch other them warmly.


    "[You...]" Korenga stares at the two intently, her gaze holding a hint of danger.


    "[Uh-oh.]" Tokomaha makes this sound and steps forward, to stand between the Black God and the twins, who continue to consume without noticing the building tension. What''s going on here? "[They aren''t aspects of Mataku, Korenga!]"


    But it''s too late, it seems she''s seen blood, and she turns into her namesake appearance. Charging straight at my children and knocking Tokomaha out of the way, her face shows pure killing intent. I react immediately and create boosters on my back, which I use to propel myself forward at an explosive speed.


    I crash into Korenga from the side. Due to my momentum we''re both propelled sideways and straight into a tree. Since I didn''t increase my mass at the time, I didn''t have that much force behind me, but knowing her body she''s definitely unhurt. I immediately increase my density and punch her jaw; even if she''s invulnerable, if she has a brain, this should rattle it.


    But it shows no effect, and instead I receive a punch with the force of a truck. At least that''s what I imagine it to feel like to be hit by a truck, because it sends me flying even in my heavier and sturdier form. I crash through a tree and become half-embedded into the one behind it.


    Before I can pull myself out from it, the Black God comes crashing after me, slamming into me with her shoulder. Since I don''t feel any pain and the damage is only superficial, there''s no delay in my actions. Wrapping myself around her and swallowing her inside me, I put an end to this battle instantly.


    Then revulsion fills my entire body and I immediately spit her out again.


    Ugh, what was that?!


    The aftertaste is still permeating my entire body and I shudder. This is the first time I''ve felt this way and it continues to haunt me!


    "[Maaataaakuuu!!!]" Roaring in an unexpectedly low-pitched voice filled with hatred, the Black God spins back around to me and uses the momentum to throw a heavy haymaker to my face. I feel my spine snap under the force and my head twist on my neck several times, but I undo my humanoid transformation to turn into a homogenous biological mass. If I had been human, that would have been my death, even with increased muscle and bone density.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I really want to know who or what this Mataku is, if the action of swallowing things into one''s body is associated with him or her. In either case, I now know that I can''t swallow her. At least I don''t want to, since her taste - or whatever it is - is something the insides of my body seem to instinctively shirk away from. This means I''ll have to fight it out in a physical way, which may be a practice in futility. Considering the fact that she''s most likely invulnerable, and she doesn''t have any means to damage me significantly, this might turn out in a fasion similar to my duels against Tahiri.


    "[Stop it, Korenga! Don''t hurt Chaos!]" Tokomaha runs after us and shouts desperately. I''m happy that you feel like that for me, but it''s better if you stay back. I wouldn''t want to see you get caught in this battle.


    I see my children following her and looking at us with wondrous expressions. They don''t understand why we''re fighting, but maybe they think it''s the same as when I fought against Tahiri all these times. They don''t seem too concerned either way, since they know how sturdy I am and that I can even withstand lightning blasts. Their bodies are practically the same as mine, so they''re aware of their own capabilities to a certain extent.


    Planting my feet and pouring my entire mass into my outward appearance, I increase my density to the maximum. Buffing up my size to match my opponent''s, I feel my feet sink into the ground due to my weight. This isn''t the time to joke, yet I can''t help but feel sad at noticing myself becoming so heavy that it causes such a phenomeno-


    Taking her shoulder slam to my chest, I stop Korenga''s assault and grab onto her. The surface of her body is actually really slippery so I lose my grip, allowing her to duck low before delivering a devastating hook to my chin with the force of her entire rising body behind it. I can feel my feet leave the ground even though I should easily weigh several tons right now. So this is the power of the Black God?


    But since I have no physical brain, it can''t be shaken from such an attack. So I immediately return the favor with a cross to her face, which she takes head-on. It hits her square on the cheek, but she doesn''t even slow down in her assault, throwing a punch into my side. I can actually feel her fist sink into my body a little, due to the impact displacing my mass, even though I should easily have the density of massive steel right now.


    This is bad. She''s actually stronger than me even at my full density.


    Turning my right hand into a dragon''s maw, I use it to bite onto her arm and shoot a plasma burst at it. The energy is diffused and scatters across the area behind her, causing explosions of fire - but her arm is completely fine. In response to this attack, Korenga pushes me backwards with her whole body, until we crash into a tree. Pulling her arm back with all her strength, I lose grip of her and immediately shield myself from her downward punch, which causes the entire tree to scatter into pieces underneath me.


    Lying on my back, I turn my chest into a dragon''s head and fire a large beam of plasma straight into the Black God''s face. The explosive force alone causes her upper body to snap backwards, which gives me enough time to get back up, but then her head comes back down straight onto mine in a hammer-like headbutt. I meet hers with my own and feel my feet sink in from the impact, which seems to send a shockwave through the forest around us.


    Neither of us can hurt each other. This is simply a slugfest until one gives out from exhaustion. I''ve never been exhausted since I got this body, so I can say with conviction that I should be the last person standing. But somehow I don''t feel so confident when I see Korenga''s relentless charge, into which she throws her entire body and soul.


    She repeatedly roars the name Mataku at me, all the while taking my heavy punches without showing any hint of effectiveness, and throwing her own - each of which would most definitely splatter a normal human''s body into bloody bits. Even though I should be incapable of feeling tired, somehow my whole body seems to be groaning under the weight of her assault. I can''t let this go on forever!


    Twisting my body to avoid her right cross, I put my all into a left haymaker, and shift the mass from my torso into the fist, while at the same time adding a funnel to my elbow and activating a burst of wind inside it - a punch thrown just like a certain giant robot''s elbow rocket. I''ve seen that my attacks at least have some stopping power against her, so maybe this will be enough to send her flying somewhere.


    But she ducks under it and I overshoot, losing balance and very nearly falling onto my buttocks. Luckily, I have this convenient body, so I retract my useless right leg, which has left the ground and won''t be able to help catch my fall, inside my body and grow it back out in front of me. My entire shape twists and turns on the spot, as my arms bend backwards and my face appears on the back of my head. I practically turned my entire body around on the spot.


    I brace for an impact from Korenga, but it doesn''t come.


    Looking down, I find that she is lying on the ground, her skin having reverted to its normal color with the black tattoos visible all over her body. It seems she ran out of juice, so I guess I was lucky.


    Then I hear her snoring and my legs give out under me.


    "[What happened? We heard a fight going on!]" Mereana and Awhina have been awakened by the noise from our battle and are standing in the camp anxiously. Unlike us, they don''t have night vision, so they couldn''t walk out and take a look.


    I''m still in my larger version since it''s easier to carry Korenga on one shoulder, while at the same time also bringing along the large bear-like creature she killed. My children are each carrying a pile themselves, while Tokomaha brought the deer along. Of course I wouldn''t waste any potential food, especially after such a battle.


    "[This one wanted to attack my children because she thought they were aspects of Mataku.]" I explain while dropping the big goddess in question carelessly. Putting the bear down a distance away from the fireplace, I shrink down to my usual size and walk up to the tree on which Tahiri is lazing about. "[So, who or what is Mataku?]"


    "[Mataku, the Primordial Terror, is the origin of everything that is evil and corrupt.]" Awhina is the one to answer in her stead. I''m sure she''s angry at Korenga for attacking the twins, as she glares at the snoring goddess. "[He can change his form and wherever he walks, the land withers and dies. He has existed since primordial times, and stands against everything living. Mataku is the eternal enemy of Tumanako, The All-Parent.]"


    I have understood by now that the people of Adanak don''t distinguish between male and female when referring to gods. Case in point, these three goddesses are all called God of something. The same seems to be true when touching upon the highest ranking gods. Well, considering Mataku is a shapeshifter like me, it''s better to refer to it as genderless, I guess. And same for this Tumanako, who''s called the All-Parent rather than All-Father or -Mother.


    "[There''s more to it.]" Tahiri floats down from her perch and comes to a halt in front of me lazily. "[Mataku has manifested in this world many times, taking on corporeal form and influencing gods and man for his own benefits.]" Sounds like one of the sorcerers...


    The God of Storm proceeds to tell the history between Mataku and Korenga. How the latter, when she was younger, was tricked by him into destroying the very village she was the patron god of. When she swore revenge, he appeared before her again in another form, and provided her strength in exchange for a terrible curse.


    She first found out what that curse was when she had a child with Pakangaroa, the God of War, whose favor she gained with her newfound might. Her powerful love activated it, upon which her body turned black like an aspect of corruption, and she killed her own baby with an embrace. Realizing that she had been tricked by Mataku, she became so enraged that the curse made her lose control of herself. Rampaging through Pakangaroa''s fortress, killing many of his children and even wounding him, she was cast out and barred from ever returning to his side again.


    Wandering the world aimlessly, she learned the conditions of her curse and how to control them over the ages, but by then she had already become a lonely existence nobody would ever make friends of again. She had become the Black God.


    "[So it''s because of this curse that I can''t eat her, huh?]" I mutter to myself.


    "[You tried to eat her?]" Tahiri raises an eyebrow and asks, apparently hearing my mumblings.


    "[Well, I thought it was the only way to stop her at the time. If she hadn''t fallen asleep, we would still be going at it right now...]" Pointing at Korenga, I state with some irritation. I''m reminded of the feeling I had when I swallowed her whole, and it sends a shiver down my figurative spine.


    "[That''s part of her curse. When her body turns black, things that touch her die. Of course, it''s not a perfect ability, since powerful gods are very resistant to it, but mortals and weaker gods are easily affected.]" That explains a lot. I didn''t notice it when I punched her, but when my entire body was enveloping her, the curse must have affected me greatly. So that''s how her child died, huh? "[And that she falls asleep at the same time every night is also because of Mataku. Korenga is most likely the greatest victim of his evil.]"


    I thought so, too. Though I don''t really understand why he would make her fall asleep, if he seemingly has the power over life and death itself. I guess this means that Mataku is just messing with her, huh?


    In either case, I''ll talk to her when she wakes up. I hope she''ll listen, or else we might have to fight until she falls asleep again, and then all we could do is to just leave her behind. Yet, I feel like doing something for her, because I know the feeling of loss and being all on my own afterwards. But of course, I can''t even imagine how many years or decades she has spent with that burden.


    "[Go to sleep. You need to be ready tomorrow morning, in case she still wishes to kill me and my children.]" Directing this at Awhina and Mereana, I walk over to the bear-like animal and create a blade out of my hand, with which I cut it to pieces. In my fight I expended quite some energy, even though I don''t feel tired at all; I guess rather than muscle pain and exhaustion, I simply use up my mass. I won''t say sorry for taking Korenga''s spoils, either. It''s her fault that I need to eat a lot now.


    Really though, this Mataku is the type I hate the most. If I meet him, I''m gonna smack him good.

 Chapter 82 - Flame On

    "[Hahahaha I see! My bad!]" Korenga laughs loudly and slaps her thigh after hearing Tahiri''s explanation of what I and my children are - though it''s not the full story, since she doesn''t know what I really look like. I already expected that she would be so laid back, even after she seriously tried to murder us last night and we fought with the intention to kill each other for what felt like an hour. "[But you''re really strong. Where did you get your strength from?]"


    I''m not that keen on telling her that I can grow limitlessly by eating life forms, and I most definitely don''t want to get bogged down explaining how mass and density works for a Crawling Chaos - leaving aside the fact that I don''t want to reveal that I''m one in the first place - so I''ll just avoid saying too much.


    "[I was born this way.]" Is the simple excuse I don''t even have to rack my brain to come up with. Uten and Saten are living proof of how seemingly weak younger members of our kind are and how powerful we can grow with time and experience, especially since they look like children, so she''ll have to accept that it''s the way we work.


    I don''t begrudge Korenga for fighting me yesterday, since there wasn''t really any harm done. I even left some of the food for her, since I didn''t want to deal with her stomach growling all day while we''re on the road. We have enough problems as it is already, with the horse carrying her yesterday being unfit to do so again. Well, at least it''s still alive...


    "[How are we going to continue without a horse being able to carry you, because you''re just too heavy?]" I remark in a snarky voice, making sure to put emphasis on the pretty much direct insult. We could easily just leave her behind, though. Fewer problems, really.


    "[I can walk.]" Suggesting thus, the Black God speaks in a tone that makes me think she doesn''t recognize that the problem originates from her.


    I know she can run really fast, since she rammed into me during our fight at an incredible speed. And she doesn''t seem to tire while in her black form, so it''s a legitimate solution to the issue at hand. Maybe we should just go with that and use the tired horse as the luggage carrier, like we did with the one Tokomaha now rides. There isn''t much luggage to carry after all.


    "[Then do so. I don''t want to hear any complaints that you''re tired or anything, though.]" I doubt I will, but if I do, I''ll kick her in the butt for it.


    "[I won''t tire.]" Speaking in a matter of fact tone with the straightest face imaginable, Korenga states, before lifting the horse onto her shoulders. The poor animal didn''t even have the time to realize what''s happening to it and doesn''t even struggle. She actually remembers her promise from last night. "[It''s my turn to carry you now.]"


    I somehow can''t even find it in myself to rebut her and simply stare at the sight of this giant woman carrying a living horse over her shoulders like it''s a sack of rice.


    "[Alright, put the horse down.]" After we passed the seventh traveler who looked at our group funny, I turn to Korenga, who''s traveling at the very back, and say with a frown.


    "[But why? He carried me all day yesterday, today it''s my turn.]" She replies in an almost defiant sounding manner.


    "[That''s not how traveling with horses works!]" I don''t know whether she''s actually this dumb or just acting the part. I''ll go with the former.


    The horse in question looks like it''s very tense at the unfamiliarity of its situation, but it seems that the Black God''s grip on its legs is so strong that it can''t struggle at all. Its eyes show fear of the height, though. Normally a horse''s legs don''t leave the ground for longer than a jump, so being propped up on something smaller than itself must be really frightening. Moreover, on the shoulders of the person who almost broke its back the previous day.


    "[Let us get a cart in Uarapo...]" Is all Mereana can contribute to the matter. She looks really tired, not just because of the lack of sleep she got last night, but most likely an aftereffect of whatever Rapania did to her. I did heal her body and strengthened her mind, but I''m neither a healer nor a psychologist, and most important, I don''t know what exactly she experienced in that tower.


    "[Then I can place this guy on it and pull him along!]" Korenga''s expression lights up at the thought and I bury my face in my palm. Alright, don''t react to it. React and you lose.


    "[How long until we reach Uarapo?]" Uten and Saten ask in unison. They seemed to be enjoying the journey, even though it''s slower than if they were to just run or even fly, but at this point the sights just repeat themselves. The landscape generally looks just green and brown as it passes by us, which is getting old pretty quickly. Of course, I do feel some excitement knowing that I''m on a journey to somewhere I''ve never been before, but even I''m beginning to tire of the view.


    "[It should come into view by the early afternoon.]" Mereana points forward on the road. It cuts through the jungle in a large curve, so we can only see ahead a hundred meters at a time at best. "[Uarapo is built on the flank of a mountain, so we will be able to see it from below when we approach.]"


    Now that sounds like an interesting sight to see: A city built on the mountainside. It must feature some interesting architecture.


    I turn to Awhina, who returns my gaze with a questioning expression and a tilt of her head. I''m wondering if she has ever seen a mountain in her life. There were none visible from Aoranam village and even along the way the most we''ve seen were hills. I''ll most likely get to see her excited expression, as I have many times on this journey. The same should be true for my two cute twins, who may have learned to fly ever since I came along, but haven''t taken any long trips away from Ototawa village.


    "[Something is wrong.]" Mereana suddenly says and stops her horse. I follow her gaze and see that from ahead of us a large mass of people are coming down the road. They don''t look like soldiers though, more like peasants. In fact, pretty much all of them are carrying large makeshift bags and bundles on their backs, while others push or pull along carts filled to the brim with everyday belongings. They look like refugees running from their homes.


    "[What''s going on?]" Tokomaha asks as she looks at the approaching people. I immediately put myself on guard and make sure to pick up every life form''s presence around us. This could be a diversion for an ambush.


    "[I''ll go and ask.]" Awhina declares and rides ahead. Among all of us, she looks the most normal and won''t cause any suspicions when she approaches them. After all, Mereana, Tahiri, Korenga and I all have white skin - and the two goddesses also feature tattoos all over their bodies - and the twins have blond hair and blue eyes, even if their skin is dark. Tokomaha is completely out there, with green leaves as hair, so she''s the least trustworthy out of all of them.


    "[You''re thinking something rude, aren''t you?]" Apparently, the little goddess in question sensed my glance and states with a frown. Shrugging, I follow Awhina with my eyes, as she gets off her horse to speak to the person at the very front of the refugees. It''s a woman carrying a huge bundle on her back, a baby fastened to her chest, pulling along her old mother on one hand and a child around the age of four on her other.


    They exchange some words, then the woman lets go of her child''s hand to point back towards where they came from, her gestures implying that something outrageous has happened. I can detect fear in her body language, so I assume there has been some sort of natural disaster which forced them to flee their homes. Considering they were able to take along some of their belongings, it must have been something that announced itself but is unstoppable. Maybe a volcanic eruption or a forest fire?


    The other refugees pass them by and many look up to Awhina in wonder. She''s taller than any of them, so obviously she''d draw their attention, but at least it''s not as bad as what anyone else among us would be subjected to, if we were in her place.


    She concludes her conversation and looks in our direction with an expression that suggests the problem is a complicated one. Mounting her horse, she slowly rides alongside the people that are pouring towards us. When the first of the refugees pass us by, I begin to understand what Awhina might have learned; their gazes are fixated on us and I can see realization dawning on them as they eye us.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I think it''s pretty much certain that whatever is displacing these people has to do with us. If I were to guess, it would be the leader of the village or city they''re running from is preparing for our arrival and sent its citizens away to prevent them from becoming collateral damage in the fight that is sure to break out. I have to commend whoever the enemy is to think of the people like that.


    Whoever that leader is knows what we look like and has told the people of us, too. And the fact that they''re not forming a lynch mob and don''t try to attack us means that they''ve been warned about how powerful we are. Could it be that it''s Rapania again?


    "[They''re from Uarapo.]" Awhina says when she reaches us. "[The lord has ordered the evacuation of the city to prepare for battle.]"


    "[The lord?]" Mereana cuts in with a surprised expression. "[Why would he...]"


    "[What''s the matter?]" I feel that there''s something going on here.


    "[The current lord of Uarapo should be a simple man with no political agenda.]" Responding thus, she plays with a strand of her red hair; this must be her way of showing nervousness. It''s the first time I''ve seen her like this, so that means she knows something that''s uncomfortable to talk about. "[Even if he knew we were coming, he would just lock himself in his palace and avoid trying to make a name for himself.]"


    "[Do you know him?]" But I ask anyway. If it''s information that can prevent some unforeseen circumstances, I''d prefer to know beforehand.


    "[... he is my former master''s son.]" She''s clearly reluctant to say it, but seeing as everyone''s eyes are fixated on her and waiting for an explanation, she can''t just stay quiet.


    I expected something along those lines. In other words, if he really became an enemy, she would most definitely hold herself back from killing him even if the situation required it. I''ll make sure to knock her out if she stands in our way during a crucial moment and allows the enemies to escape or spring their trap.


    "[In either case, let''s continue.]" I look around at the peasants who glare up at us in impotent hatred. It''s not that I''m uncomfortable under those eyes, but I''d love to get to Uarapo before the entire city has evacuated. It''s clear that whoever is sending them away cares for their safety, so if we arrived before the city is empty, they might not be able to fight at full power. I''m fully aware that I''m basically thinking about using innocent people as indirect hostages, but it''s not like I''m trying to be a righteous person. Whatever works, I''ll use.


    It seems we''re too late.


    At about the time as when the city at the side of the mountain, Uarapo, comes into view, the stream of peasants has ceased. The evacuation has been completed and all that lies ahead of us is a city where everyone we see is a potential enemy. That''s the mindset I have as I look up at the wondrous sight.


    The city itself consists of colorful stone houses built at the flank of a steep mountain slope. From down here I can see the stairs and wooden railings connecting the various levels, and some houses are stacked on top of each other, creating the tallest buildings I''ve seen in this nation so far. At the very top stands a large citadel-like building with walls painted in red and white, which is clearly the seat of the lord.


    Somehow, I feel that I''d rather not fight there and destroy the place. In my previous world, this would have become a World Heritage Site and definitely attracted tons of tourist, but here it''s a fully functional city where people live. Or at least used to live, until they were evacuated to make space for some huge planned confrontation.


    Our path begins to take us uphill as we ascend a winding slope up the side of the mountain. I keep looking up, to make sure that whoever is waiting for us isn''t raining down rocks on our heads. If I were them, I''d definitely do that.


    We pass a deserted checkpoint, an open wooden gate which should be closed in the case of enemies marching on the city. The fact that it has been left open makes it clear that it''s going to be a trap. Gathering from the still burning campfire and discarded bread next to the gate, I take that the guards received their orders and hastily left their posts without even having the time to put out the fire and finishing their meals. This is more and more shaping up to look like people fleeing from a natural disaster.


    I turn to Tahiri and Korenga. These two do possess a power on par with a typhoon, if not more. And I''m somewhat similar in that regard.


    The next checkpoint is deserted all the same, and the same signs of abandonment can be found here as the one from before. And it''s no different when we finally pass through the main gates of the city. Not a single soul can be seen and my anxiety grows. My Chaos senses aren''t picking up anything, but that only causes me to be on edge even more. I remember Rapania''s puppets, and the fact that they didn''t register on my radar at all. In a city''s streets they could sneak up on us, or use arrows to shoot at us. If it''s only physical attacks I doubt anyone other than Mereana are going to fall to it, though.


    "[Be careful of your surroundings.]" As we ride through the main street I direct this at the person in question more than at anyone else. "[This is most definitely a trap.]"


    "[What do you think it''ll be?]" Tahiri doesn''t look concerned at all, talking to me while lying on her horse''s back like it''s nothing.


    "[You sound like you''re actually looking forward to it...]" Sighing, I shake my head and shrug.


    "[Hey, is it just me or is the ground rumbling?]" Korenga suddenly asks with the least amount of urgency I''ve ever seen. She''s the only one standing on her own two feet, so I guess she''s the most sensitive to it. I don''t feel anything, but I won''t dismiss it as just her imagination; I''ve seen enough situations where that''s the last mistake someone makes.


    "[I think we should get out of here.]" I direct this at Mereana.


    "[Yes, that-]" She begins to agree, when the houses around us erupt into fire.


    "[Welcome to Uarapo!]" A male''s voice I seem to have heard somewhere resounds across the city. Since it echoes off the mountainside and the walls of the buildings, we can''t tell where it''s coming from. "[Let the Fire Festival begin!]"


    "[T-that voice!]" The redhead beside me looks around in shock. "[That is i-impossible! You killed him!]" Considering someone she would fear like this and whom I seem to have killed is limited to one particular individual, I remember that it''s the voice of Felgar, the flamboyant but weak god. So he wasn''t dead yet and healed, huh?


    With the dragon template I''m immune to simple fire, so this isn''t giving me any reason to be afraid, unlike before I got it. After all, fire seems to be the one most dangerous thing to a Crawling Chaos - especially when it comes from the inside.


    Then I see the scared faces of my children and remember that they don''t have the template. I didn''t give it to them because I thought they couldn''t take the responsibility, but maybe that was a mistake.


    "Fly! Get out of here now!" I shout to them in the common language and they don''t even question it. Spreading their wings gained from Hestia''s template, they jump up into the air and immediately take off.


    "[Hey, don''t just up and leave! The fun hasn''t even begun yet!]" Felgar''s voice echoes through the area and I see two large fire bolts come from somewhere higher up the mountainside, flying directly towards the flying Uten and Saten.


    I don''t hesitate a moment. Transforming into Chaos Warhead Mode, I shoot up in a burst of air, completely disregarding the horse under me, which is swept away by the recoil. Flying directly into one of the fire bolts and dispersing it with my magic-resistant carapace, I extend an arm and widen it into a large hand, with which I catch the other.


    "[Show yourself, weakling!]" I roar across the rooftops. Of course, I don''t expect that he''ll heed my taunt and actually do it, but I''m surprised to see a flamboyant figure appearing on the battlements of the lord''s palace.


    Without giving him even a moment to realize his mistake, I transform my hand into a dragon''s head and shoot a plasma beam at him. He narrowly avoids it by jumping sideways, but I move my hand and strafe after him. The battlements melt under the beam and turn into slag under the immense heat, and I see his clothes catch on fire, before he disappears behind cover again.


    "[Wait!]" I see two hands raised over the cover in a seemingly surrendering gesture, but that just tells me where he is. No more pointless effects or dragging out the battle. Summoning an array of spirit spears, I rain them down on his position like a shower of arrows that can pierce through walls.


    Yet, he must have either dodged them all or my aim just isn''t good enough at this range because he jumps out from cover unharmed, and throws a fire bolt at me while rolling across the ground. Channeling a gust of air under my funnel skirt, I fly straight towards him and burst through the flames like it''s a soap bubble.


    Pointing both my hands at Felgar, who now stands in the middle of the half-molten battlements without any cover nearby, I turn the dragon maws into honeycomb openings and shoot the plasma out that way. Spreading out in a rain of deadly heat, I see it impacting his body and causing it to explode into flames.


    If that didn''t kill him, I''ll have to reevaluate his status as a weakling drastically.


    "[You are simply incredible!]" From all around me, I hear a deep voice the sound of a raging blaze. Then the fires engulfing the entire city seem to rise up into the air and gather into the shape of a gigantic flaming bird.


    Is this his real form? He''s a fire elemental or some kind of phoenix?!


    "[As I said... let the Fire Festival begin!]" The flaming bird speaks with the vestiges of Felgar''s voice.

 Chapter 83 - Magnificent Seven Assemble

    I don''t know whether he''s aware of the fact that a Crawling Chaos fears fire the most or not, but the fact that he basically turned himself into my bane means I won''t be able to eat him. Especially since I know that he''s able to cause explosions by pointing at people, so in this form he''s most likely much stronger than before.


    Why did he die from one spike to the neck and stay down for a long time before, but was able to return right after getting melted and burned up this time?


    Maybe it''s because he''s a phoenix and they resurrect when their bodies are immolated. Does that mean I provided him the basis for this power-up? Last time there was no fire around, which he could use to come back with immediately, but this time an entire city in flames is right at his fingertips. In other words, it''s entirely possible that as long as he has any fire here, he''ll be immortal.


    "[Tahiri, make it rain!]" I yell down into the city streets where the others have dismounted, and are looking up to me and the phoenix I''m facing. The presences of Uten and Saten have distanced themselves and are moving away from here, just as I told them to. I''m really happy to have such obedient children.


    "[I won''t let you rain on my parade!]" Roaring like the sound of a blaze, Felgar flaps his wings and heat emanates from his form in an invisible wave. Scorching winds are whipped up and open a huge hole in the clouds above us. He''s using his control over hot air to dissipate Tahiri''s influence over the weather.


    You weren''t that strong last time we fought, flamboyant weakling!


    I summon several pools of water over him with the only water spell I can remember, though I have a feeling that it won''t be very useful against him. After all, this isn''t a game where certain elements beat others in a rock paper scissors system; there are somewhat real physics involved, as far as I could tell from all the experiences I''ve had up to this point.


    And sure enough, the water falls onto him and is instantly evaporated, causing a massive explosion in its wake which knocks me away. Catching myself in midair by funneling bursts of air into my back boosters, I look up at where the giant flaming bird was. It reforms from the fires of the explosion and I can''t help but think that he''s actually grinning with a smug expression in there right now.


    I feel like I''ve learned about something like this in school, regarding water splitting or so. As far as I can remember that required some really high temperatures, which would melt humans instead of igniting them, if they came into contact with it directly. I''d rather not let my children get close to something like that as long as they don''t have as much combat experience as I do. And most specifically, don''t have the dragon template.


    So water is out, and Felgar has turned into a living conflagration against which physical attacks should be useless. What else can I do?


    For now I''ll use the dragon armor and engage him so he doesn''t think about swooping down on the others. I''m not at all worried about Tahiri and Korenga, but I''m sure Awhina, Mereana and even Tokomaha won''t get away unscathed, if they come into contact with his body. Creating more boosters on my shoulders and legs, and growing out solid wings for better maneuvering, I practically turn into a carapace-plated biological version of a mecha.


    "[Felgar, your opponent is me!]" Raising my voice to draw his attention, I fly forward and directly at him. It''s the only thing I can really do right now, to keep him from attacking those on the ground, since I''m racking my brain to think of a way to take him down.


    Bursting through him, I''m once again shown clearly that his body is simply made of fire, rather than any burning materials. I simply can''t wrap my head around this at all, and I think that''s most definitely why I took so long to learn very limited transmutation magic. For these gods, performing such feats is just part of their nature, just like how transforming and moving my convenient body is for me.


    Swinging around and dispelling the flames clinging onto me, I look down to see what the others are doing. Awhina is using her magic to break apart houses and create a path for their retreat, while Tokomaha and Korenga cover her. Tahiri is nowhere to be seen. I don''t doubt that she went somewhere to find a way to help, because I can''t believe she would just run away under these circumstances.


    "[Useless useless useless! Everything you do is useless against me!]" Felgar''s voice returns my attention to him. He''s flapping his wings and coming straight towards me, but I feel like it''s an exercise in futility, since we seem to be unable to hurt each other anyway. Still, I meet him head-on, spreading my rigid wings and activating the boosters for additional speed.


    We fly straight into each other, but just like last time, I don''t feel any resistance as I move through his body. Then I realize that there doesn''t seem to be any end. I can feel the heat even through the dragon carapace, indicating that I haven''t passed through him yet. Replicating dragon eyes and the sideways closing membrane that lets them withstand the heat of their own breaths, I open my eyes I kept closed before to see what''s going on.


    But I''m surrounded by fire and can''t see anything other than light. It seems Felgar is purposefully surrounding me so that I''m unable to get my bearings. At least I can still tell up from down, so I shouldn''t crash if I fly around to try and shake him.


    Just as I think that and fly in a random direction, I hit a wall face-first. I feel the dragon carapace breaking from the impact and my unprotected form underneath come into contact with the flames.


    It burns!


    Quickly repairing the damage, I cover myself in the armor once again. So apparently I chose the worst direction, because that was the mountainside.


    "[Hahaha, what''s wrong? Didn''t you want to fight me?]" The annoying voice surrounding me and permeating my every fiber only serves to increase my determination to break out of this.


    Turning around and activating all my boosters at once, I fly away from the wall. But the fire keeps clinging onto me, not letting go at all. I can''t tell how far I''ve flown, but I''m sure we''ve already left the city behind us. If that''s the case, then at least the others are safe from being attacked by this guy.


    I feel the heat around me steadily increase in intensity. It seems Felgar is still able to make this worse by possibly becoming hotter than a dragon''s defenses can withstand. Maybe I could expand myself to my full size for a moment and become bigger than he can contain? Would that cause him to be torn apart or even dissipate him, even if only temporarily?


    Wait, as long as he''s still not hot enough to burn or melt the anti-magic armor, I can do something else.


    Reverse all thrusters!


    I start to suck in the flames in my surroundings like a vacuum cleaner, and pull them into separate chambers close to the surface of my body. I''ve gained a lot more control over where I put things inside me ever since the incident of the academy instructor detonating me from the place where I wanted to slowly digest him. This way, if anything explodes, it won''t be my entire body, but only a portion near the surface. And I also won''t distribute all my mass evenly, and instead gather it in an area as far from all those chambers as possible.


    "[W-what are you doing?!]" Echoing all around me, I can hear Felgar''s frantic voice call out.


    The result is astounding. Since my insides are practically infinite, I swallow all the fire around me easily. Then, with the dragon armor lining the interior chambers, I pull out all the air. The flames are immediately extinguished, leaving behind only heat, which I vent by opening slits between my armor plates.


    I truly feel like a mecha while doing so.


    I can see again. Looking down at myself, I notice that my plated skin is glowing red hot like superheated steel, but nothing is melting yet. Just in time, huh?


    It seems that we''ve traveled a distance away from the burning city, and on the opposite side of me is a much smaller phoenix, no longer completely on fire and actually showing a physical form. That must be his main body. It''s nowhere near as impressive, but still almost human-sized.


    "[What''s wrong? Wasn''t everything I did useless against you?]" My words really aren''t meant to mock him, since I''m not really feeling haughty; instead, I''m thinking of a way to kill him for good without burning him. Spirits spears should do the trick.


    Felgar doesn''t say a word and immediately circles around me to try and fly back to the burning city, where he still has a lot of fire to work with. I react instantly and follow him, conjuring up an array of small spirit spears under my wings. Firing them at his back in something that can only be described as a missile barrage, it feels like I''m a fighter jet shooting at a biplane.


    But it seems he still has some fight in him, as he''s able to take sharp evasive maneuvers and avoids most of the shots aimed at his body, with some piercing only his wings. Using the fires that burn on his feathers, he frantically repairs the damage, but I don''t let him off so easily. Since my aim against a moving target isn''t the best, I''ll use the advantage a mecha has over a plane: I''ll use melee weapons.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Creating a blade from my arm, covered in anti-magic armor, I activate my boosters and quickly gain on him. I can see him turn his head slightly and notice my approach, but I''m too fast for him to shake. All he can do is take evasive maneuvers, which only serve to slow his return to the city.


    I''m stalling because thunderclouds have gathered over the city and are just about to reach critical mass. Tahiri has personally gone up to make sure that the rain will be coming down and putting out the fires in the city. And it seems Felgar noticed it too, as he flaps his wings as quickly as he can to get back, so that he can regain his bigger form and use its heat to break the clouds again.


    But it''s too late, and before he can get close enough to exert his control over the blaze, the clouds start to spill their water like buckets, straight over Uarapo. Within a few seconds, all fires are put out, and before long there aren''t even embers left. Felgar''s wings are sizzling under the downpour, but they aren''t extinguishing, just like his flaming form earlier. I guess it won''t completely extinguish him, though I doubt his current powers amount to much at this point.


    And here I thought this guy actually became a big problem, but it wasn''t as hard as it looked it would be, since I don''t really have to fear fire anymore. This dragon template saved my life once again, and I''m seriously grateful for it.


    "[... magnificent...]" I hear him speak in a strangely composed tone. Actually, there''s a hint of admiration in it, too. "[Magnificent!]" He erupts in laughter as he flaps his wings to hover in place.


    I have a bad feeling about this.


    "[I see why you would dare to ride on the capital and challenge His Majesty.]" He would have applauded us if he had human hands, of that I''m sure. "[But you are nothing before his might!]"


    With these words, his body begins to glow brightly and before I can react and try to cut him down, he explodes into a wave of heat. When I replace my eyes with fresh ones to immediately dispel the bright spots in my vision, and look where Felgar was just a moment ago, he has disappeared. Don''t tell me he actually detonated himself in an attempt to suicide-bomb me, or to avoid becoming a prisoner? I mean, he did speak some cheesy villain lines before doing it, so that might actually be the case.


    Whatever the case was, it only caused a bang and a big flash. We''re still far enough from the city for it to have not affected any of the others, and I''m completely unscathed, too. It was a futile attempt at saving his dignity, because that was just pathetic compared to what he was capable of before.


    But what happens next completely blows away any thoughts about the weakened firebird.


    The peak of the mountain before me suddenly explodes from the inside out, spewing flames and molten rock. A little over a second later, the sound reaches me and I immediately close off my ears due to its intensity. Just mere moments later, the shockwave resulting from the displaced air causes me to lose my balance in midair and I tumble. Shutting down my thrusters and gaining my bearings, I quickly save myself from contacting the ground face first again.


    The mountain was actually a volcano! Mereana never told me anything about that! Don''t tell me Felgar actually made it erupt with his self-destruct move? Or is that actually him?


    Then I notice the pyroclastic flow coming down the mountainside and rolling towards the city of Uarapo. As far as I can remember from what I learned in school about volcanic eruptions, that wave of super heated ash and flying rocks can reach temperatures capable of melting glass. While not as hot as Felgar''s body was, it''s still a considerable threat.


    And the others are still in that city!


    Activating my boosters, I fly towards where I can feel their life forces. They''re on horseback and riding away from the cloud rolling down the mountainside, but I know that the flow can reach velocities far beyond a horse''s top speed. There''s no other way around this, I''ll fly them out. Good thing I can''t feel the presence of my children nearby, because I don''t want them to get involved in this.


    "[There you are!]" Awhina comments when I swoop down in front of them. "[What''s that appearance?]" She looks at me strangely. This is the first time she''s actually seen the Chaos Warhead form, and as someone from this world where the concept of giant robots flying in the sky don''t exist, I must look really strange.


    "[No time to explain, get on.]" With this, I expand and turn into a full dragon. All eyes are on me, sparkling in awe - although I do notice that Mereana is terrified. It seems dragons are a universal existence that induces fear in people. I haven''t heard or seen any mention of them in this nation, but I''m sure they exist here, too.


    "[What about the horses?]" Korenga asks and points at the one she''s carried for most of the day. It kind of hurts me to leave them behind, but I''m not big enough to take them all with me. And since I know the effect the insides of my body have on living beings, I won''t be able to just swallow them as a means of transportation either. And while Korenga is around, eating them isn''t an option, so it''s basically good meat wasted.


    "[They''ll find their own way.]" Is all I can say while I help Awhina up by lifting her on my wing. I know they won''t be able to outrun the ashes, though; the death zone can span several kilometers after all.


    When Awhina, Mereana, Tokomaha and Korenga get on my back, I quickly take off. Now that I think about it, I could have just turned myself into a jet plane and used the same technique I use in Chaos Warhead Mode to propel myself. I''d even be able to install a cargo hold that isn''t completely submerged inside my body. Though if the wind spell''s thrust isn''t enough, we might crash. I should have tried this a long time ago, but now it''s too late to think about it. This situation doesn''t exactly lend itself to conducting a test run.


    "[What''s that?!]" I hear Awhina shout on my back and I turn my head. The top of the volcano is spewing lava like a pot of boiling water, but from within the caldera, a massive figure seems to emerge. Its body is made of molten rock, but it''s taking on a vaguely humanoid shape.


    "[Rise, Roamukao!]" Echoing across the area, I hear Felgar''s voice. So that bastard still isn''t dead yet! "[Rise and rain down fire and brimstone! Burn the world to ashes!]"


    I see absolutely no way how I could defeat something like that. If it''s literally living lava, then it''d have a sheer limitless supply of it to regenerate itself, simply by pulling out more magma from the planet''s depths. My most destructive attacks are spirit spears and the plasma breath, and neither would be able to put a considerable dent into that thing.


    A lightning bolt comes down in front of me and I practically screech to a halt in midair, almost causing my passengers to fall off. Inside the lightning was Tahiri, who now floats in front of me with a serious expression.


    "[We have to stop him.]" It''s rare for her to speak in such a voice. The first time I ever heard it was when she came back after being disintegrated by Rapania, and she wasn''t playing around at that time.


    "[What is that thing?]" I circle around Tahiri because it''s not easy to flap my wings and stay in place without making it hard for the people on my back to stay on it.


    "[That''s Roamukao, God of Destruction.]" Well that''s a pretty obvious and evil sounding title... "[He usually slumbers beneath the earth and is only awakened when powerful gods clash, to partake in the battle and sow chaos and destruction.]" That doesn''t sound ominous at all!


    "[But the battle stopped.]" I mean, Felgar and I somewhat concluded our battle - leaving aside the fact that I''m not a god - and while he seems to be still alive, I don''t see him anywhere.


    "[That just means that he''s being influenced by something else. Does this so-called God King have sway over even Roamukao?]" Her expression grows grim. "[ In either case, if we don''t stop him here, he''ll rampage across the lands and destroy a lot more than just Uarapo.]" Pointing at the city that''s quickly being swallowed by the pyroclastic flow, Tahiri seems to suggest that it''ll be the fate of everything around here.


    Then I see what she actually means. From within the ashes I see hundreds of smoke-covered humanoid beings run downhill, setting fire to their surroundings by coming into contact with them.


    "[Those are aspects of Roamukao. Whenever he appears, his army of Ashlings are let loose to spread his influence.]" With these words, lightning begins to surge through Tahiri''s body as her rainbow-colored eyes focus. "[Without gods fighting nearby for him to join, there can be no end to his rampage. Come, Chaos.]" I think this is the first time I''ve heard her call my name like this. Actually, I feel like it''s the first time she''s called me by name at all.


    In either case, it means she''s serious, and she needs my help.


    "[What do you say?]" I speak to the ones on my back. Aside from Mereana, they all seem to be raring to go. Well, they are two gods and one demigod after all. "[Then let''s go.]" I don''t take the former''s opinion in this, since she can''t help out anyway. She should just evacuate with my children.


    Speaking of which, they''re appearing on my radar again, coming towards me. Looking in the direction, I see them flying side by side in the distance. Apparently they chose to return after seeing the volcano erupt and the giant god emerging from it. It''s the perfect timing to give them the same job as last time.


    I land on the banks of a river I just discovered from the air to let the others down on the ground. Then I undo my transformation and return to my human form. Moments later, Uten and Saten come down from the sky with frantic expressions.


    "[What''s going on?]" Uten asks.


    "[What is that thing?]" Saten inquires.


    "[No time to explain. Keep Mereana safe. We''ll go and stop it now.]" Since these Ashlings are spreading out as we speak. I turn to Tahiri. "[The Ashlings-]"


    "[Are weak individually.]" She cuts me off and gives me the reply as if she knew I was about to ask that. And her eyes are fixated on Tokomaha as she speaks, too. Apparently we already know each other''s motives well enough to do something like this.


    "[Tokomaha, you know what to do. Don''t let them get through.]" Petting the little goddess, I hand out her role. She pouts at the gesture, but doesn''t slap away my hand; it''s clear that she understands the situation and is willing to cooperate, just like she did in Rapania''s castle. Turning to the next person, my expression changes to one of skepticism. "[Awhina, try to create a wall to contain them.]" It would have to cover a huge area, so I don''t know if she has the power to do it.


    "[Leave it to me.]" Pumping her fist, Awhina shows a determined smile.


    That leaves the last person.


    "[Korenga?]" I turn to the Black God. She looks at me with her pitch black eyes, awaiting my next words. "[Smash.]" That''s all I can think of.


    And she responds with a wide grin, as her eyes grow wild. It''s the same expression she had when she tried to beat me to death last night, and a shudder runs down my spine at the thought of having to stop her rampage if she gets out of control again. But at least for now she''s going to target whatever isn''t us, so it should be fine.


    "[Let''s roll out!]" With these words, I transform into the mecha form I had during the battle against Felgar. Taking off alongside Tahiri, we each move to face the God of Destruction, Roamukao, in our own way.

 Announcements (Not a Chapter)

    Over the course of the next month, during which you won''t find any new uploads, you can check back to the first chapters, because I''ll upload parts of the edits I did for the ebook version there. Of course, since the ebook version, which will be covering the story from the first chapter and the journey through the Kingdom of Lares up until the academy, will be much longer and have a lot of new content, I won''t be uploading all of it there - those would be new chapters and entire arcs that don''t exist yet. You can find those in the finished ebook at the time.


    I''m basically doing this to make the style of my earlier chapters more consistent with the style I have settled into later into the story. After all, it started out really colloquially and cringe-worthy.


    You can go check out the very first chapter, which I updated just earlier. It actually has 1000 more words than the old version, too.


    Check back here for the list, which I''ll update, whenever an old chapter has been rewritten and uploaded:


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Chapter 1 - I have no mouth and I must eat (v2)


    </a>Chapter 2 - Saving Private Parts (v2)</a>

 Story Artworks

    Art By Whisper


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    Christmas Special Chaos:


    Chaos with Senka:


    Senka:


    Artwork by Oracle


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    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Maou-mama, Pelomyx:


    Hestia:


    Pre-Death Kuroe Makoto (Chaos):


    Academy Chloe Marcott (Chaos), with glasses:


    Artworks by DanP


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    Kamii (current design):


    Senka:


    Aurelia (naked):


    Various Artists from Inked


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    Senka by Kount:


    Senka by marmartar:


    Senka by Juzual:

 Chapter 84 - Godslayer Cannon

    Roll out, I say, but I still haven''t thought about any way I could defeat that gigantic body made of lava. My most powerful ability is to swallow things whole and dissolve them, but all I can think of when seeing this thing is a person trying to drink a cup of lava and getting their insides melted away by it.


    ... I have a pretty vivid imagination when it comes to dissolving and melting by now.


    Other than that, I''m strongest at physical attacks, which I doubt are going to be useful against living lava. Additionally, I can shoot plasma and spears made of light, and throw large pools of water on him. Then there''s mostly just light magic with soul-cleansing and shielding for a set duration.


    I don''t know what Tahiri could do, other than make it rain and try to cool his body down. But since that didn''t really work against Felgar''s main body before, and my water pools didn''t work on his empowered form, I doubt it''ll be useful against a mountain-sized being with an even hotter surface.


    Down below I see an army of Tokomaha spreading out, while a great rumbling from behind me suggests that Awhina is beginning her work. And the trees shaking or outright bending in a straight line towards the volcano Roamukao is emerging from indicate where Korenga is running.


    Really, how can I waver when the Black God, whose only powers are being incredibly sturdy and having very strong punches, is running at this enemy without hesitation?


    Well, here goes nothing.


    I increase my size immensely, but still within reason so I don''t stretch my matter too thin. Immediately, I can feel the drag caused by my sheer size, and understand that I most likely won''t be able to fly like this. I didn''t expect to do so with the wind spells I have at my disposal anyway, my aim is another; I''ll have to discover something more powerful as soon as I can for that, though.


    I turn into a gigantic dragon, but leave out the wings and transform the entire neck, including the head, into a simplified form shaped like a massive cannon barrel. Digging my feet into the ground and crushing the trees around me, I brace myself for what comes next. Gathering an unprecedented amount of plasma, I launch it at Roamukao from a huge distance away. Basically, I became a long-range artillery, shooting plasma beams instead of explosive shells.


    The plasma hits him square in the chest and causes an explosion. The shockwave causes all the trees in the area to shake and dust to be blown all over the place. And apparently it''s quite effective, as I see large chunks of his body break off and molten rocks splatter all over the place as his upper body bends backwards from the impact.


    But it was far from enough to bring him down completely. The pyroclastic flow spreading out from around him is mostly blown apart by the shockwave, but the Ashlings are undaunted and finally run into the forest at the foot of the volcano, setting fire to everything they touch. And Roamukao himself consolidates his body with more magma from below and quickly regenerates the damage he sustained.


    I can''t fire these in quick succession, unlike with much smaller plasma breaths shot from my hands. The heat this produces almost melts the insides of my barrel, so I need to wait until it cools down again. Since I''m using almost my entire mass, I can''t just swap out the hot matter with fresh stuff from the inside. So I can only use some wind magic to hasten the process; I sure as hell won''t use water and risk a vapor explosion like with Felgar inside my body.


    The ash and smoke expelled from Roamukao''s body mixes with the thunderclouds gathering above, and lightning plays around him. I''ve heard of that before, it''s called dirty lightning, which is caused by volcanic rocks in the clouds colliding and creating static electricity. Some of them are striking the god''s surface, but they show no effect.


    Then suddenly a massive lightning bolt comes down and connects with his chest, almost exactly where my plasma beam hit earlier. It digs into his body and causes lava to be scattered everywhere once more, as he shakes from the impact. There''s no question that this was caused by Tahiri. Still, it did about as much damage as my attack, which is far from enough to bring his huge body down completely.


    That''s when the God of Destruction goes on the offensive himself, swinging his arm around and throwing a huge mass of lava in the air. It turns into a hail of molten and burning rocks, coming down in the general area where I''ve dug myself in.


    Oh shi-


    Pulling my entire mass together and returning to the size of a human, I minimize the chance of being hit. Even then, I still begin to run forward to pass under the hail just like one would charge forward on a battlefield to avoid a shower of arrows, rather than run backwards risking being hit by those projectiles that traveled farther and for a longer duration. But being so small, the giant mass of lava coming down from above looks so much bigger and much more intimidating. And I''m seriously scared of being hit by any of that.


    While running, I begin to transform with every step, creating boosters on my back, covering my body in dragon armor and growing out fixed wings. Then I begin to fly rather than run, breaking through the forest canopy and maneuvering quickly to dodge the hail of molten rock. I turn my arm into a dragon cannon and shoot those obstacles I can''t dodge out of the way, before finally getting clear of the lava shower.


    I don''t think this is going to get anywhere with our current attacks. Tahiri is limited to using winds and lightning, and the most effective thing I have is the huge plasma artillery. Neither dealt any lasting damage, since our enemy can just regenerate. And I doubt any of the others are going to be able to do something, if we two can''t.


    I see Korenga''s trail meeting the fires spread by the Ashlings from afar and hear a giant impact. Then her black form jumps out from between the flames with two aspects clinging onto her. They lose their grip due to her smooth surface and fall to the ground below, as she leaps up the mountainside and runs directly at Roamukao while roaring at the top of her lungs. Not slowing down her sprint she effortlessly smashes her way through the mass of Ashlings still rolling down the slope from inside the volcano''s crater.


    The massive lava god seems to notice her approaching and brings his arm down in a sweeping punch, completely disregarding his own aspects which get crushed by his gigantic fist. When the Black God sees it, she changes her direction and heads straight for it.


    What is she doing?! Her, in comparison, hopelessly tiny figure is running to meet a fist the size of Awhina''s house head on.


    But nothing prepares me for the moment they actually meet. Korenga''s figure seems to disappear into the half-solid fist. A split second later, it explodes and sprays molten rock in a wide area, as Roamukao draws back his shattered arm seemingly in shock. The Black God continues to charge, causing the lava god to use his regenerating arm and sweep her aside. Due to the force, she''s thrown across the mountainside and into the forest below.


    A roar coming from where she fell indicates that she''s not only alive, but also kicking. I can''t help but shake my head at her recklessness, but at the same time I''m laughing at the absurdity of her sturdiness. Her clothes didn''t survive the encounter though, as expected.


    Still, the lava god''s incredibly quick recovery just shows that those kinds of attacks aren''t very useful. I feel like the only way to defeat him would be to cut off his supply of magma from inside the earth and then scatter his body with big attacks like the ones Tahiri and I used earlier. How the hell did those feuding gods defeat him before, when he emerged to join their battles? How is the world not a single smoldering wasteland already?


    If only there was a way to supersize Korenga. The only reason I could keep up with her was because I increased my density to the maximum while staying at her size. If I were to grow bigger, I''d spread out my matter and become too thin. That way I wouldn''t be able to achieve the same kind of density and quasi-indestructibility that I displayed during our duel. Furthermore, I''m not completely immune to heat, like she seems to be, so I can''t charge straight into Roamukao''s body.


    But wait, if she can do that, she could just dig herself into his midsection and explode it like she did his fist and forearm just now - however she did that in the first place is anyone''s guess, though. I only need to find a way to get her there, since the lava god will slap her away if she tries to get close like before.


    "[Tahiri!]" I shout up into the sky, and a lightning bolt streaks through the air inches away from me. The electricity jumps over onto my body, but since I''m basically immune to it at this point, I don''t even feel a hint of numbness. Floating in midair next to me, the God of Storm appears.


    "[What do you want?]" Her tone and expression suggest that whatever I want to say to her is very important, since otherwise me calling her down while she''s gathering her powers would be a waste of time. Charming as always, I see. But you still came down for me, so I''ll take it.


    "[Keep him off of me for a while, but don''t exhaust yourself.]" I begin, but she lifts an eyebrow.


    "[Who do you think you''re talking to?]" She sounds irritated, most likely caused by a combination of this situation and me questioning her abilities. Yeah, she''s never shown any exhaustion in our battles before, so there was no reason to specifically warn her about it.


    "[Alright, just keep your biggest shot in reserve. You''ll know when to use it.]" Tapping her shoulder, I send Tahiri off. She grows serious again and doesn''t ask what I''m planning to do before disappearing in a lightning bolt. I appreciate her cooperativeness.


    Moments later, rain comes down and begins to limit visibility. Within the downpour, I can see lightning flash and hit the glowing body of Roamukao, who expels ever more ash from his back to try and heat up the clouds, so that Tahiri loses control over the weather. I doubt it''ll be so easy for him, but I shouldn''t lose any time.


    I can see that Korenga has begun beating up Ashlings which are gathering and piling up on her, instead of charging back up the volcano. It''s clear that the lava god doesn''t want to deal with her destructiveness and instead wishes to keep her occupied while he can spread his aspects further. To my right I see that the wall Awhina is creating is only expanding in one direction. Upon focusing my eyes, I notice that she''s riding on the very front of the wave of stones rising up above the forest canopy. She actually has her arms spread out and seems to be having fun despite the circumstances, but at this rate she''ll be done pretty soon.


    Activating the bursts of wind in my back boosters, I quickly fly towards where the Black God is bogged down in a melee. All around me, the army of Tokomaha clones are engaging the Ashlings that are spreading out through the forest, and judging by the numbers on each side, this can only be described as a full-blown war. I''m sure there are humans witnessing this from afar. Maybe this will go down in history, noting this point as the beginning of the war against the God King of Adanak, or something like that.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    It would be cool to be a part of history like this~


    Korenga is swinging her arms and kicking her legs, scattering Ashlings with every move while more pile onto her and try to hold her down. I swoop in and shoot a volley of spirit spears, while forming a blade made of dragon armor on each of my hands. Spinning around myself, I cut my way through the enemies and pierce two that are getting on her back at the same time.


    She turns around and punches me straight in the face, causing my neck to break and bend backwards.


    Like in a certain auto-morphing figurine with a revolving head, I flip up mass from my chest to reform my head while letting the broken one sink into my back. Staring at Korenga dumbfounded as she continues her fruitless battle against the ceaseless stream of Ashlings, I frown. She basically hit me out of reflex just now, and most likely didn''t even notice that it was me, but if I had been anyone else, it would have ended really badly.


    "[Korenga!]" I shout while shooting scattered beams of plasma out of my back to stave off the waves of enemies coming from behind me. I''m now in the thick of it and have to stand my ground to be able to talk to her. "[Hey, blockhead!]"


    On these words, she actually turns around and swings at me. Dodging the attack, I get into her back and turn both my hands into dragon heads, with which I practically shotgun blast the Ashlings before me. At the same time, she continues punching, turning more of Roamukao''s aspects back into ash and rocks.


    "[Come with me!]" I keep my back to Korenga''s while speaking, and extend spikes from my arms with which I pierce several enemies at once. Behind them, I can see that a contingent of Tokomaha clones is coming towards us; because of the pileup here, they were able to penetrate the Ashling lines much deeper. This means I can leave them to her now and bring the Black God along.


    Not waiting for a response from the rampaging goddess behind me, I transform my wings into tentacles and wrap them around her. Then I turn my body around on the spot by bending my arms and legs backwards and spinning my head on my neck a hundred and eighty degrees. Anyone seeing it might cringe at the alien movement, but at this point I only care about efficiency.


    Reforming the boosters on my back, I lift off with Korenga. Since she''s incredibly heavy while in her black form, I''m much slower, and several Ashlings cling onto our legs. That''s when a volley of spears from the Tokomaha clones pierce them and cause them to let go. Jolting upwards, we get clear of the enemies below and take off into the sky.


    I''m flying us away from here, but she''s not making it easy, struggling and trying to punch and kick me. Luckily she doesn''t seem to be very limber in this form, as she can''t reach around to her back and try to grab me. Even if she did, I can easily slip out of her grasp by transforming my body parts, so it''d be an exercise in futility. Still, because of her movements, our flight looks like that of a drunk bee''s.


    My aim is to get to a quieter place and explain the plan to her. Looking down below, I can see through the burning forest canopy that the Tokomaha clone army is fighting the Ashlings over a wide area, but she''s getting overwhelmed at some fronts. I wonder what would have happened, if she hadn''t been around. Same goes for Awhina, who is just about to finish the wall surrounding the volcano. But if nobody was holding back the tide, she would most likely never make it in time to close them all off. In a sense, if even only one of the people on our side had been missing, this whole thing would have literally gone up in smoke.


    In either case, I find a pond far behind the frontlines and drop Korenga into it carelessly, before descending myself. She''s survived being flung across several hundred meters, so a drop of a few dozen meters and into water is no problem for her. I wouldn''t be doing this with anyone else, though.


    With a big splash, she lands in the water and displaces an incredible amount of it. Just as she resurfaces, I come down at the edge of the pond, bracing myself for her attacks. But apparently the water was enough to take her out of her battle trance - and she''s clearly pissed about it.


    "[What are you doing?!]" She roars and wades towards me.


    "[Listen, I need your help.]" Stretching out my palm towards her and gesturing for her to stop, I begin my explanation.


    She actually calms down, turns her skin back to normal and listens. When I finish outlining the plan, Korenga has a huge grin on her face that shows her support.


    "[That''s so crazy, it might actually work.]" Patting me on my shoulder, she laughs. I can feel my feet sink into the ground from the impact; even in her normal form, she still has excessive amounts of strength...


    "[It better, because I can''t think of any other way for our lineup to defeat that thing.]" Shrugging with a sigh, I point behind me. "[You ready?]"


    "[Let''s do this!]" Turning into her Black God form again, she pumps her fists in anticipation.


    I begin my transformation, into a form similar to the giant artillery as before. Growing out four legs to anchor myself with, I create a long and narrow barrel while shaping my main body into a form that can only be described as a loading chamber. And the payload is none other than Korenga herself.


    Since her body isn''t exactly cannonball-shaped, I create something like a cartridge into which I place her. I can feel discomfort inside me because of her curse, but it''s not as bad as when I actually swallowed her whole; I can endure this until she''s launched. Under the Black God Shell I begin to gather plasma. I know it doesn''t have any actual pushing power, but my aim is another.


    Pointing the barrel straight at Roamukao''s torso, I assume that I will have enough force to shoot in an almost direct line. Even then, I make sure to factor the heavy rain in, and the fact that Korenga weighs a lot herself, so I turn the barrel up a bit. If I overshoot the target it won''t be funny, though. After all, I haven''t studied ballistics.


    With this, I use water magic and place it right in the center of the plasma.


    In an instant, a massive explosion takes place inside my body, which I have lined with the densest dragon armor possible while taking on this giant form. The Black God Shell is launched along the inside of my barrel while inside the cartridge, which I catch before it flies off. She shoots out alone at an incredible velocity, straight towards the target. I instantly dissolve my form and discard the molten bits inside me before they eat away more of my mass.


    The Black God Shell is almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, but I can tell that this is going to be a success.


    Because moments later, she impacts Roamukao''s stomach, just about where he''s emerging from the crater.


    Then I see an explosion of molten rocks coming from where Korenga penetrated into his body. Looking down at himself, he must be wondering what happened, but then another explosion severs his upper from his lower half. He falls forward onto the edge of the volcano and begins to slide down the mountainside while trying to grab onto something, desperately trying to break his fall. It seems he has been cut off from the magma supply, because he''s not regenerating the mass he''s losing from moving about.


    The large amount of ash expelled from his body turns into a new wave of aspects that begin to spread out in all directions. I can tell that this will break through Tokomaha''s clone army, unless she can create more of them quickly; considering she wasn''t able to do so right after creating the first batch, which are already getting pushed back in many areas, it''s safe to say that she reached a limit somewhere along the line.


    That''s where Awhina''s wall comes into play. The Ashlings can''t fly and their forms don''t seem like they''re made for climbing, either. As long as they''re confined within this area, we can pick them off to the last one sooner or later.


    But for now, we need to deal with their origin first.


    Roamukao has turned around and stopped his descent, clawing at the flank of the volcano to try and crawl back to the crater so that he can reconnect to the bounty of the earth. That is when a gigantic lightning bolt, even bigger than the previous one, comes down from the skies and digs straight into his shoulder. The electricity doesn''t cease, seemingly turning into a gigantic sword that severs his left arm and continues to cut into his back.


    The massive arm rolls down the slope and breaks apart into a large puddle of lifeless lava, from which no more Ashlings emerge. It worked!


    I immediately transform into the giant plasma cannon and dig my feet into the ground. Since I''m much closer to my target this time, I increase the caliber of the barrel while making it shorter, before taking aim at Roamukao''s exposed back. I gather even more plasma than before, fully acknowledging the fact that it will most likely overheat me and burn away even more of my mass. But this is our only chance, so I''ll have to risk it all.


    Tahiri seems to exhaust her current supply of electricity, as the lightning blade ceases and the thunderclouds expel a large mass of water in a cold downpour. For some reason I''m reminded of cooling liquid being purged from a giant machine that just overheated. If only I had any such liquids that don''t instantly evaporate - as in, something that isn''t water.


    Blasting open my own barrel open, I shoot out the largest amount of plasma yet. It flies straight at Roamukao and hits him square in the back. The ensuing explosion scatters his matter and I see his other arm flying off and disappearing into the volcano. The remaining mangled torso finally begins to dissolve and lose its form, flowing down the mountainside as simple molten rock.


    The will behind Roamukao has disappeared, and his pieces return to the earth where they belong.


    I quickly purge the mass that''s melting down and beginning to foam as a natural defense against the immense heat my body is experiencing. Making sure that I don''t discard anything that isn''t irrevocably lost, so as to not needlessly create more Crawling Chaos children - since I''d rather not do it asexually again - I consolidate my body back into my humanoid shape.


    This was a really incredible design, if I may say so myself. I''ll name this the Godslayer Cannon. I''m sure it will come in handy against other gods I may encounter along the way.


    Looking around, I can see that the Ashlings aren''t stopping or outright disintegrating in the wake of Roamukao''s defeat. Can''t be as convenient as movie boss battles, where the hive mind is destroyed and the armies cease to function immediately, huh? Well, most likely it''s because the actual god is still alive and only lost his form above ground. But I seriously hope he doesn''t come out of that volcano with a new body.


    ... Oh crap! I completely forgot about the fact that Korenga is now in there!


    As if to mock my concern, I see her black form jump up onto the smoldering edge of the volcano. She raises her fists in a triumphant pose and roars across the area.


    "[I have single-handedly vanquished Roamukao!]" Hey, this was a team effort! But her laughter washes away any irritation that could be building inside me and I sigh with a wry smile.


    It seems that the Ashlings broke through the Tokomaha clone army, but have been stopped by the wall Awhina completed just in time. All that''s left is to mop them up and put out the fires, though the latter is best left to Tahiri, who seems to be gathering more thunderclouds again for that very purpose.


    I look at the crater from which Korenga is running down to join in on the extermination of Roamukao''s aspects, still expecting him to rise from it again. But there are no signs of it happening, only heavy smoke floating up into the sky and raining down as ash around the area. The volcano itself even seems to have calmed down and is no longer spewing lava. We''ll have to stick around a while and see how it goes, but I think this is the end and the God of Destruction rests once more.


    ... I have to say, that was pretty epic. I''m kind of happy that I could experience something I''ve seen in games and movies all the time, and even participate in it. Seriously, this is like any super hero fan''s dream come true, assembling a team of people with special powers and fighting a big bad together. Though now I''m aware of the dangers involved in it. Still, better to have lived and experienced it, than to only ever watch others do it.


    "[What are you standing around and grinning for. Get to work.]" A Tokomaha yells up to me and derails my train of thoughts. I can''t tell whether it''s the real one or just a clone, but I can feel irritation rise up again. I''ll punish her later for ruining the glorious moment.


    Taking on my organic mecha form once more, I activate my boosters and join the mop-up operation.

 Chapter 85 - The Chaos Flight Program

    "[That''s the last one...]" Stabbing a spike made of dragon armor through the chest of an Ashling, which promptly scatters into smoke and dust, I remark with a sigh. I look up into the sky, which has been dark ever since the battle against Felgar. Back then it was because Tahiri summoned a mass of thunderclouds, followed by the eruption of the volcano and a huge amount of ash being expelled into the sky, but the current darkness stems from the fact that night has fallen.


    "[Really? That was it?]" Korenga dusts herself off and returns to her normal skin tone, looking completely unharmed. She was in the thick of it more than anyone else, but it''s testament to her might that she was able to go through it all with fun and laughter - and not a hint of worry. "[Hey Tahiri, let''s go for a round. I wanna make Roamukao come back out one more time.]"


    What is this madwoman saying?!


    "[He didn''t come out because of our battle with Felgar. A firebird may possess the powers of a god, but he was not one of our kind.]" Waving off the Black God''s dumb suggestion, Tahiri turns to me and explains. I don''t really get what''s classified as a god and what isn''t, especially since many consider me one solely based on the powers I''ve shown. Then again, maybe a firebird is just like a sea witch, and considered as a separate kind of supernatural being.


    "[So it must mean the God King controls Roamukao after all.]" Tokomaha chimes in on our conversation. She looks exhausted, and sweat and rain are glistening all over her body. I hold myself back from licking my lips at the sight, since the conversation is an important one; I can always pull her aside later, when we figure things out.


    "[Ranking Roamukao, how powerful is he?]" I do have a pretty good idea, considering the fact that it took our combined effort to bring him and his huge number of aspects down. But I need confirmation for the fact that he''s considered one of the most powerful gods in existence. I''d rather not hear that there are several more just like him out there.


    "[The God of Destruction is a living force of nature. He may have been given a name, but I wonder whether he even has reason or not.]" Tahiri states with a look at the volcano, her expression grim. "[He has existed since long before I was born. Many gods consider him to be something apart from us, because nobody knows when he gained his powers and where his limits lie. He may very well be on the same level as Mataku, the Primordial Terror.]"


    Well, that does give me a little reassurance. At least she didn''t say that he''s the weakest among a group of several massive elemental-like gods whom we''ll have to eventually face one after another - or even all at the same time. In either case, it seems that Roamukao won''t show up again for now. If he was literally able to control the entire molten core of the planet, he wouldn''t be defeated - even if only temporarily - by his extension above ground getting destroyed. So at least there is a way to stop him for a while.


    "[How far is it to the capital?]" I turn around and ask Mereana, who has been staring at me, Tahiri and Korenga in absolute awe. While Tokomaha and Awhina''s powers were nothing to scoff at either, we three were the ones who were able to defeat a living volcano somehow. And she did see me transform into a giant cannon that could seemingly effortlessly blast apart something the size of a village.


    She knows that Tahiri is the God of Storm, and she understands that Korenga is powerful from her display in the castle - even though she could have never fathomed the extent of her power - but I haven''t shown anything on that level before. When she attacked Aoranam village with the slave troops, I only used a few of the weapons within my ever-growing arsenal, so she hadn''t been able to tell back then. I''m sure a part of her is wondering why I didn''t use that back then and suppressing a shiver running down her spine; if I had, her entire army would have been completely annihilated.


    "[It should take us another fifteen days. There are four cities along the way where we can resupply.]" She responds to my inquiry, unable to tear her eyes away from me. Even though she''s almost the same height as I am, she seems so much smaller right now. Is she unconsciously lowering herself to not stand out?


    "[We should hurry, before Roamukao can regain his strength and come out again.]" I don''t know how long his recuperation period lasts, but I''d rather not give him time to be back at full power when we''re fighting this God King, and allow him to join in on the battle when we least need it.


    "[I tried to call the horses, but they must have either run very far away, or been killed by the Ashlings.]" Awhina walks up to us and shakes her head. Her clothes have been singed in several places by flying embers and hot ashes and she has soot all over her body, but she''s unhurt. Yet, out of everyone who actively fought in the battle, she''s the one who shows the most signs of it. After all, Tahiri was never even hit, Korenga is simply indestructible - even though her clothes have been completely burned away - and I just fill out any wounds with fresh mass so it doesn''t show on the surface. And Tokomaha didn''t use her main body to fight, and while she is quite tired from creating so many clones, she only has some soot on her.


    I did lose quite a bit of mass in this battle, but I should still have more to work with than I had when I fought in the academy and got thrown to the moon. I''ll get it back whenever I have the time to go hunting, though I won''t have the time to do so if we want to hurry up.


    "[Aww...]" The twins hang their heads in dejection; I know they wanted to taste horse meat and were looking forward to eating the ones they rode when we reached our destination.


    "[No need to be sad, we can get new ones from the next city. It is two days away.]" Mereana consoles them, but I cut in.


    "[No, we will fly to save time.]" Turning to Uten and Saten, I add something in our language. "I''ll get you new ones after all of this is over, so don''t worry." Their expressions light up and they seem eager to continue the journey.


    "[Can you find the way from the air?]" Returning the topic to flying the rest of the way, I ask Mereana. Since there are no satellite images and people don''t usually see the land from the sky, it''ll most likely be hard for her to navigate while up there. We could always just follow the roads anyway, but I''d rather go in the most direct line.


    "[I have never seen the lay of the land from above, but I can try.]" She does show some apprehension at the mention of flying again, but it''s only to be expected of humans in this world. While mages seem to be able to levitate using wind magic, generally people live their whole lives without ever seeing the world from a bird''s perspective. Least of all while riding on a dragon, which are considered dangerous.


    If she could just tell me the direction, I could fly through the night and they would be able to sleep on my back, to save even more time. Then again, Korenga''s snoring would keep them awake in such close proximity. Well, I can just grab her with the dragon feet and carry her like that while she''s asleep, then put her back on top when it nears her waking time, so that she doesn''t notice. Not like she''d really complain about having a direct view of the land below when I sell it to her as a VIP seat.


    Actually, maybe now''s the time to try something new.


    "[Then let me practice a bit first. Flying in dragon form was only a stopgap measure.]" I want to test out changing into a Chaos Warhead form which could carry people on the inside, without actually swallowing them like I did with Hestia back then. Then we could travel much faster and potentially reach the capital in less than a day, rather than in fifteen.


    Walking away while the others begin to set up a temporary camp and repair their clothes, I find a stretch of open land where the trees have completely burned down, and transform into the organic-looking mecha form I employed in my battle against Felgar. This is the most useful form I can change into and is most likely also the best in a straight up fight when it comes down to versatility. It somewhat reminds me of a certain red and gold suit of high-tech armor.


    Then I expand in size and become a giant version of it. At this size people could stand on my palms, so I think this should be enough if I hollow myself out and let them ride inside me. But since I''m still limited to the same kind of wind spells, I should become more aerodynamic, which would be much better in the rocket-like shape I take when I become the Chaos Warhead. But that form doesn''t have arms or legs, so I''d simply fall over if I directly turned into that.


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    "Woah, what is that?!" I hear Uten and Saten shout from down below and turn my head. They''re looking up at me with sparkling eyes. I guess no matter the time period or the world, boys will be boys and fawn over giant robots. Even if this one looks more like a certain living mecha born from a human''s genetic material fused with matter gained from a transforming alien race in deep space.


    "Step back." My voice sounds strangely deep and reverberating while I''m in this form, since I have much larger vocal chords. Actually, it sounds pretty impressive.


    They do as they''re told and I finally begin my transformation process. I feel like a certain robotic race from space which can copy machines from Earth by scanning them. Within moments, I turn from a humanoid into something like a plane. Since I don''t know anything about proper aerodynamics and how large wings need to be to generate enough lift to stay in the air, I overshoot things a little just to be safe. I''ve seen enough plane models to know the overall size, after all.


    Now, planes use turbines to pull air from the front, pressurize it into a smaller opening and push it out in the back. I don''t think I can actually recreate the speeds necessary for it, so I''ll go with the same method as I have before, using wind magic shot into parabolic forms to emulate boosters. Since I can just multiply the amounts of casts for spells like I first found out with the spirit spears, I''ve been doing the same for the one used to propel myself in Chaos Warhead mode and my mecha form. But for this size, I''ll need far more than I''ve ever tried before.


    So, how do I take off? Planes need a long runway, but I don''t have that here. I could burn away a patch of the land with a plasma breath, but even then I can''t effectively simulate wheels with low friction for rolling across the airstrip. Then maybe vertical liftoff is the way to go?


    Creating boosters under the wings, I channel the wind magic into them. The resulting storm of dust and ash being blown all around me billows all the way over my children and towards the camp the others are setting up. And I haven''t even lifted off yet!


    I need to increase the thrust, so I put my mind into doubling the power. Of course, the blast causes even more dust to be blown away around me. I can hear Awhina and Tokomaha complaining, though I''m not able to make out what exactly they''re saying, since the wind magic is really loud; it''s almost as loud as a real plane engine.


    Finally, I feel myself lifting into the air slowly but steadily.


    Then I lose control and I flip over, landing straight on my plane nose before crashing onto my back.


    Well, that was the most worthless effort I''ve made in a long time. If only I had studied aeronautics in my previous life...


    Consolidating my mass back into my human form, I scratch my head and look around. I''ve created a small crater around me due to the strength of the wind magic, but that''s the extent of what I achieved here just now. I guess there''s no way around it but carrying them on my back in my dragon form, then. It''s just going to be more uncomfortable for them, since I''ll be swaying up and down from time to time because I need to beat my wings to maintain altitude


    Thinking back to it, I should have gone to the library in the academy for self-study more. Levitation spells with my output should have allowed me to lift a much larger mass than just a human body and maybe even achieve higher speeds, too. Then at least it''d be similar to hovering in a hot air balloon or something... like... that...


    I smack my forehead.


    Why didn''t I think of this before? I can easily turn myself into a huge hot air balloon. I have a free supply of fire using silent magic, and I can create boosters on its sides to fly against air currents or generally propel myself around. While it''s not necessarily the fastest and also not a very cool design, the other option would be to walk for a day and then get on horseback to creep along, while the God King and others can prepare, like Felgar did in Uarapo.


    "[What were you doing?]" Tahiri comes up to me and asks with a grin. She clearly watched me fail and is here to rub it in. But let''s see her keep on grinning when she sees my next move.


    "[Get back, I''m doing something else.]" Waving for her to go away with a derisive gesture, upon which she shrugs and floats backwards, I begin my mental preparations. This won''t look great, but at least it should be practical.


    From within my upper body I use a flame to blow it up into an ever-expanding bubble composed of fire-resistant dragon armor, but made as thinly as possible. I don''t want to accidentally overshoot my fire magic and burn myself down in midair, while carrying people who can''t fly and won''t be able to survive a fall from high up. Since I have a lot of matter to work with and this is actually hollow, I can easily make this larger than the Godslayer Cannon. Don''t know if this will be able to fly on just hot air alone, but I''ll be able to experiment some.


    Next up, I turn my lower body into a large gondola similar to those found on zeppelins rather than on hot air balloons. After all, it has to be big enough to fit at least four people, of whom three need to sleep, and of whom in turn one needs to be separated from the others by several walls. I use dragon bones to achieve this, since they''re far lighter than their armor, and while they lack the same magic resistance, they''re very durable, too.


    And within that gondola, I create an avatar of myself, just like I did when I played with Aurelia inside my body, while we were on our way to the moon. As long as I use the ground or a lifeline to connect to the rest of the construct, I can perform separate actions this way, and properly interact with my passengers.


    Now it''s time for the flight test.


    The hot air is already creating an uplifting sensation, but it seems that I don''t have enough yet. The bubble isn''t fully inflated anyway, so I increase the intensity of the fire inside me, causing the air to expand much faster. Really, if only I knew how to create a gas that could lift this form, I wouldn''t have to worry about heating up the air all the time.


    The gondola begins to leave the ground. At first only hovering less than my body''s height, it begins to float up faster and faster. Since my body ignores the laws of physics, I can always just pull matter out of my interior to weigh myself down. And since I''ll be carrying passengers - especially Korenga, who might turn into her Black God form at any moment - I need to factor that in, too.


    For the next few minutes I begin adding more and more weight to the gondola, until I feel like it''s about as heavy as all the people who will ride inside me are going to weigh. I''ll tell Uten and Saten to be at their lightest, by hollowing themselves out for the time being, and Tahiri should just fly on the outside. Maybe I''ll make her go back to Aoranam to get us some Oripiaw from Rangi, while making a status report and check on how they''re doing.


    I''m staying afloat, somewhere at the height of where Uarapo used to be. I can see that it has completely burned down, with some parts being covered by flowing lava. The once beautiful and colorful mountain-side city is now in irrecoverable ruins because of our fight. If I had come during peaceful times and without being an enemy of the state, it would most definitely have made for an interesting place for sightseeing.


    I sigh.


    Ever since coming to this world I haven''t had that many opportunities to see much of every place''s culture. The best time I had was when I traveled with Rolan and his party. But thinking of him causes anger to well up. He killed my mother, even if it was a team effort by the gods, and he was just a puppet in their plot. It''s not like he or his sword could have had the power to achieve it on their own, but he knew that she was my mother, so when he swung it down, he understood what he was doing.


    Damn, now my mood has turned sour.


    I look down and see the camp the others have finished to set up. It feels bad to make them pack up again, but I''d like to get moving. They can just transfer everything onto the gondola and do the cooking inside or something. I''ll have to consider how to deal with all kinds of waste, but I guess I''ll either drop it to the ground below or just take it inside my body. After all this time I''ve lost any and all apprehension regarding that, since it''s usually the first thing that happens with beings I swallow up inside me. In the end, it''s all organic matter, and there''s no such thing as disease for me...


    Enough about toilet things.


    I weigh myself down more and begin to descend again. Uten and Saten are looking up at me in awe, and I can see that the others are doing the same from the camp. Awhina''s mouth is hanging open as she drops the firewood she was somehow able to collect from all these scorched surroundings. Mereana looks somewhat scared at the sheer size of me, while Korenga is laughing like a child. Tahiri, who made fun of me earlier, has her arms crossed and grins with a resigned expression.


    "[Get on, everyone. We''ll take off right away.]" Opening a door on my side, I let my avatar, which is connected to the ship through its feet, step into the doorway and wave at them to come over.


    "[What is this, mama?]" My children are the first to run over with sparkling eyes and ask my avatar. "[What did you turn into?]"


    "[This?]" With my arms spread out and gesturing at the rest of my body with grandeur, I announce theatrically. "[It''s an airship.]"

 Chapter 86 - Downtime For Our Heroes

    "[It is that way... I think.]" Mereana points down below through the translucent membrane that substitutes for windows on the Chaos Carrier.


    Yes, that''s what I called it. I simply couldn''t come up with anything else and just went with that in the end.


    "[What do you mean, you think?]" My avatar turns to the red-haired woman and raises an eyebrow. She looks away in embarrassment and returns to stare down at the landscape below - standing a good distance away from the membrane that the entire front end of the gondola''s wall consists of.


    I can understand that she has a fear of flying and doesn''t trust the glass-like wall since it''s something unheard of on this continent. In actuality, it''s pretty durable since I used the same stuff found in the lenses of eyes for this. Well, I wouldn''t guarantee it holding up if Korenga were to lean on it, or Tokomaha were to try and poke her spear at it. Though if either of them did those things, I''d just open a hole under the former''s feet and drop her, and bind the latter for some punishment. After all, I told them not to mess around with anything in here, since it''s my first time doing this and it could all come apart, if I''m not careful.


    "[I have never traveled at such a height before.]" Mereana is shaking in her boots while staring down at the landscape, trying and orientate herself. For a human without night vision, it''s doubly difficult, so I''ll grant her some leeway. For now I''ll continue following the road she pointed out at the very beginning, instead of trying to make her find the most direct path towards the capital of Kairaki.


    "[It''s alright, we''ll start searching in earnest tomorrow. Get some rest for tonight.]" It''s most likely past midnight, judging by the fact that the Black God has fallen asleep not too long ago.


    "[Thank you.]" With these words, she leaves the bridge and goes to her own quarters.


    Tahiri is actually on top of me; not the avatar, but the airship. She told me that because it was warm on the balloon, she preferred to stay there. I can vaguely feel her tiny weight so I know that she''s still around, though I wonder why she has any weight at all considering she seems to be made of clouds.


    Tokomaha has actually gone to sleep earlier, even though she''s a goddess who doesn''t need it. She said that creating so many clones has completely exhausted her and that she needed the rest badly. I had wanted to do something with her tonight as well, but since she did fight valiantly, I''ll respect her wish.


    Uten and Saten are flying on their own outside, saying that they wanted to go for some hunting so that they could gain a lot of mass and learn to do the things I''m showing off one after another. They''re such sweet children, looking up to their mother as a role model. I told them to be careful and remain not too far away from me, so that they could take shelter on the Chaos Carrier - mostly so that I can feel their presences with my Chaos senses, though.


    I really need to work on my naming sense...


    In either case, with everybody else accounted for, that leaves Awhina whom I haven''t heard anything from ever since I took off and she found a room for herself.


    Tonight, I''ll finally make things clear. While I won''t show my real face - so far, aside from those in the demon castle, only Senka and Aurelia have seen it - I will talk to her about this unspoken thing between us two. After all, we seem to have something that goes beyond friendship, and we can''t keep on skirting around it forever. Being cooped up here together might be the best opportunity to make this move.


    Still, I do need to divert some of my attention to steering this airship, and while I''ve gained the ability to effectively multitask beyond a human''s level, it may seem rude that I''m doing other things while talking to her about such an important topic. I have no driver''s license, but I assume that''s how people who drive and talk to the front-seat passenger do it - though I only know how that goes from movies.


    I knock on Awhina''s cabin door. It''s a strange feeling to knock on a part of my own body to gain access to a partitioned-off space - also within my own body. Especially since I''m somewhat keeping tabs on everyone inside their rooms to make sure there''s nothing going wrong. It''s not to the extent of creating an eye and actually watching, but my Chaos senses are focused on everyone more than they are on my general surroundings.


    "[Hm? Come in?]" I hear a questioning voice from inside and remember that there were no doors other than those used for the entrances to houses in the Aoranam and Ototawa villages, and that there is no custom to knock when inside the house.


    Pushing open the door, I find Awhina sitting up from the organic bed I created in every cabin. It''s basically a shallow bubble containing air, covered in the soft and fluffy fur of one of the small animals I hunted when I first came to this continent. Aside from the bed, there''s only a table and a fixed chair, as well as a round window to look outside from. This is only a temporary abode anyway.


    "[Oh, it''s you, Chaos.]" Her expression brightens when she sees me. "[This bed is really soft. What''s it made of?]"


    "[I don''t know the name of the animal, but it''s part of my body.]" I step into the room and close the door behind me. "[Just like the rest of this airship.]"


    "[That''s really incredible. Your body is a mystery.]" Looking around at the smooth walls that could just as well have been an artificial polymer created in an industrial process, even though I simply shaped dragon bones into that form, Awhina speaks with a hint of wonder in her voice.


    I don''t reply right away and our eyes meet in the twilight of the room.


    It''s quiet aside from the sounds coming from the periodic bursts of fire heating the air inside the massive balloon carrying the gondola, but they are muffled through the ceiling and only make for a background murmur. It''s been a long time since we''ve been alone like this. While we were still in Aoranam village, it was already a pretty rare occurrence. When Uten and Saten were back at their home village, Rangi and Ruiha would be out from time to time, so that Awhina and I could laze about at home after my daily bouts with Tahiri.


    I spent around a year with her and we never got to the point of furthering our relationship beyond that of cohabiting friends.


    ... do I really want that to change? It''s strange for me to ask myself this after what I''ve so unhesitatingly done with Kamii and Hestia, but somehow I''m not so sure about my feelings for Awhina. She''s fun to hang out with, her sense for adventure and amazement at everything new is a breath of fresh air for me, and her personality is very similar to mine. She''s quite the tomboy as well and doesn''t seem interested in a relationship with the other gender - though that may be due to her young age and an eagerness to experiment.


    "[What do you think of me?]" I finally get myself to ask.


    "[Hm, what do you mean?]" Tilting her head, she counters with a question of her own.


    I sit down on the bed next to her and the first thing I notice is how soft and fluffy it feels. Damn, if only I could rest my entire body on something like that... No wait, I need to concentrate on the issue at hand. How am I going to explain to her what I mean when I ask her thoughts about me. I know that her people regard relationships more openly than I''m used to. Well, all people in this world kind of do, but they do even more so.


    "[How do you feel about me... about us?]" This wording should make it more clear and leaves no room for doubts.


    Awhina stares at me blankly for a moment, before she averts her gaze with an uneasy expression on her face. That''s not the kind of reaction I expected from her, after seeing how laid back she normally is. She never had any troubles speaking her mind before, so why does it seem so difficult now?


    "[... I really like you, Chaos.]" Finally, her hazel green eyes seek mine again, and I see something within them that gives me a bad feeling about what comes next. "[But... we can''t be together forever.]"


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    I saw that coming, though I''ll need you to elaborate.


    "[You''re a god, but I''m born of a human. Our time will never flow the same way.]" Showing a sad smile, I see that she has put quite some thought into it; I never considered it from that side of things. After all, I was a human in my previous life and ever since being reincarnated into this world, I''ve only ever lived from moment to moment. The far future was never really on my mind, since the immediate present always required my full attention.


    A Crawling Chaos is most likely biologically immortal. As an amorphous blob that doesn''t have any perceivable structure - including cells and organs - I''m impervious to diseases and the effects of aging. I won''t die as long as I''m not murdered, or until I run out of food after having consumed all life on the planet. I don''t know why Tahiri and the other gods are so long-lived, but I feel that there''s something beyond biology at work there. So as a half-god, for all intents and purposes, Awhina should be able to achieve that kind of long lifespan somehow, too.


    "[I don''t care. It''s the now that matters.]" I respond and motion to put a hand on her cheek, but for the first time, she shirks away from my touch. I stare at her dumbfounded, but she lifts both her hands and places them on my shoulders.


    "[I know, Chaos. I feel the same way.]" Her bittersweet smile breaks my heart. I feel like she is purposefully distancing herself from me so that I won''t be too sad when the time of our lives separate. Then she continues. "[But let us remain as we are. We will be friends as long as I live.]"


    ... she just friendzoned me, huh?


    But for some reason, I feel relieved. Maybe that was the answer I was looking for after all. I enjoy being with her, but I don''t actually feel like going further than friendly skinship just yet. It''s not like my libido has waned recently, since I do feel the attraction towards Tokomaha and pulled her aside only last night. And I would do it tonight as well, if she hadn''t said she needed rest.


    My relationship with Awhina is more similar to the one I have with Tahiri in that regard, I suppose. I do appreciate her beauty and feel attracted to her, but after spending so long with her and fighting to the death every day, an inseparable bond has blossomed between us. I think that trying to go for more might taint this thing we have.


    "[I understand.]" I lift Awhina''s hands off my shoulders and stand up from the bed. Her expression shows worry, thinking that maybe I''d break off our friendship because of this. Walking away a few steps and turning around, I look into her eyes. "[This is for the best.]"


    I have to admit, there''s a hint of regret within me. Maybe it''s my libido speaking, wanting to test out being with a girl who''s that much taller than me. But the overwhelming majority of my mind is at peace with this decision. And there''s still time. There are many years to come, in which we will inevitably change our outlooks on life, and then we might sit together like this again and reconsider things.


    With that said, I''ll still want some skinship for now.


    "[But that doesn''t mean I won''t want to cuddle with you.]" I rush forward and tackle Awhina down onto the bed.


    "[Wha?!]" Since I did it so quickly, she can''t react in time and is pushed down easily. I bury my face between her breasts and hug her to me tightly. She sighs in resignation and returns the gesture, stroking my hair quietly. "[You''re a real handful, you know that?]"


    Ah-ah, I''ve been rejected.


    Awhina went to sleep soon after and I left quietly. Floating inside the airship with my avatar connected to an umbilical cord on its back, I move through the central corridor from which the half a dozen rooms I created branch off.


    My target is Tokomaha.


    I know she said she needed sleep, but I''ll go and check on her to see how she''s doing anyway. After all, she was the one who looked the most tired out of everyone after that monumental battle against Roamukao. Maybe I can give her a massage and help her relax - or maybe do some more.


    Coming to a stop before her door, I motion to knock even though I feel like I don''t really need to do that in her case. But before I can decide whether to respect her privacy or suddenly enter without warning, I hear a voice from the other side.


    Hm? Is she talking to herself or a clone of hers? I put my ear against the door, even though I could just create one on the inside of the room to make eavesdropping much easier.


    "[... haaah... Chaos... mhhh...]" Her heated voice makes it very clear what she''s doing in there and I almost do a spit take. She excused herself for tonight by saying she was tired, just so she could masturbate while thinking about me?


    I create an eye in the corner of the room''s ceiling and peek inside. There, I see Tokomaha''s petite naked figure grinding her crotch against the table corner. Considering the furniture other than the beds are made from dragon bone as well, she''s basically riding my bone. Her leaf hair is rustling as shivers run down her spine from the pleasure, but I''m sure it''s far from comparable to what I''ve done with her. That''s pretty clear judging by her longing voice, as she calls out my name.


    Since her back is turned away from the door, I phase through it with my avatar and move over to sit on the bed silently, to watch her from a front-row seat.


    Beads of sweat form on Tokomaha''s chocolate-colored skin and roll over the white tribal markings that cover her body. Her very long hair hangs down her sides as she leans over the table, causing her small but supple buttocks to be revealed, as they sway rhythmically with her grinding motions. With one hand supporting herself, her other slides up her body and finds her small breasts, before beginning to massage them. All the while, she moans quietly as if trying to suppress her voice, interspersed with repeating my name over and over.


    Alright, I''m getting horny myself and I feel like watching isn''t enough anymore.


    But before I can stand up and surprise her from behind, she plops down on the chair. Huh, did she climax and is resting now? It didn''t seem like she did.


    "[... not enough...]" She whispers begrudgingly and places both her legs on the table, spreading them wide to slide both her hands between them. Then she begins to move them and her sweet breath escapes her parted lips. I can''t see very well, but from the sound she produces, it''s clear that she''s gushing wet. In fact, it seems to overflow from the chair and drip onto the floor below.


    Ok, that does it.


    I form shackles around her ankles resting on the table while moving up behind her. The moment she notices that something is off, I form tentacles with which I bind her arms to the chair and reach around to her front. My hand comes into contact with her completely soaked crotch and immediately find her entrance.


    "[Wh-wha?! Chaos?! How did you-uhhh~]" Her shocked voice and expression instantly melt away when I insert two fingers and tap the roof of her lower mouth. "Nnnhhh!"


    "[Why didn''t you tell me you wanted to do it?]" I stop my fingers and look at her face from close up. She turns away quickly, her cheeks completely flushed from pleasure and embarrassment.


    "[I-I didn''t.]" She mutters with a defiant attitude despite the fact that she''s overflowing from having two fingers inserted. That just makes me want to tease her.


    Pulling away, I step around the chair and sit down on the table in front of her. Staring at me with a dumbfounded expression, she struggles against her restraints before realizing the futility. A hint of desperation enters her eyes when it begins to dawn on her that I won''t continue if she doesn''t properly say that she wants me to do it.


    I look down at her and a devious smile plays across my lips. Her desperation grows at the sight and she begins to struggle again. So high up in the air, she has no materials to create any clones with, and even if she did, I would break her concentration like I did the first time we met, causing them to scatter again. In other words, she''s completely at my mercy.


    From the chair I create many tentacles that surround her from all sides. A large one covered in pimples emerges from between her legs, slides up her slit and comes to a stop. Her eyes widen, but I can see a hint of anticipation based on the fact that she doesn''t struggle. Is she actually looking forward to me going all-out now?


    But I don''t. I direct all the tentacles to barely brush across her body, while the big one''s shaft slides up and down her crotch, making sure not to do it too quickly or in a manner that could be too stimulating. Since Tokomaha wears her emotions on her face most of the time, I can easily tell when it''s beginning to feel good. At this point it''s quite easy for me to judge when she will near climax, so I know how to continue from here on out.


    Undulating the tentacles while sitting on the table and looking down on her, I watch as her craving grows more and more intense.


    "[I-I can''t... take it anymore! Give it... to me now!]" Tokomaha''s willpower finally breaks after I continuously denied her from orgasming for a pretty long time. Whenever she neared climax, I would slow down or even stop completely, to let her cool down again. After more than a dozen times, it seems she can''t keep acting strong anymore.


    "[What is it that you want me to give you? I won''t know if you don''t say it.]" Now, for the finishing touches. She should become more honest with herself already. Then she''ll be able to have a lot more fun with me.


    "[... uhhh...]" Biting her lower lip and looking away for a moment, she seems to be contemplating her options. I doubt there are any others than saying it straight, so to facilitate that I give her a little push. Placing the tip of the big tentacle between her legs on her entrance but not moving it any further, I wait for her response. "[Please put your... y... your thick rod to my... my treasure hole... and j... j... jam it in!]"


    Please jam it in...


    Jam it in...


    Jam it in...


    - Chaos broke -

 Chapter 87 - Resupply in Anutawa

    "[Where''s Tokomaha?]" Korenga asks in the morning, after everyone - including my children and Tahiri - assembled on the bridge of the Chaos Carrier. I call it a bridge, but there are no instruments or a steering wheel. Instead, there is a table and chairs, making this more of a communal room where people can gather for meals.


    "[She''s still resting.]" I reply quickly and curtly. She didn''t get much sleep last night, after all. Tahiri gives me a knowing grin, but I don''t react to it and turn to Mereana, to change the topic. "[So, can you tell the way from here?]"


    The red-haired woman in question is standing a few steps away from the window that reaches all the way to the ground, and looking over the landscape. Since it''s bright outside now, she seems to have an easier time finding the way.


    "[Over there, that is Anutawa!]" Pointing ahead of us towards the valley between two small mountains, Mereana suddenly exclaims. I stare into the distance but can''t really make out what she means. She''s quite observant, because she immediately explains her finding to everyone, when we show non-understanding. "[These two are the twin mountains of Erua, and where they meet stands the city of Anutawa. Normally it would have taken two days from Uarapo, but this... sky ship? It carried us so far overnight.]"


    In other words, by following the path she pointed out last night, we were able to cover a distance of a two days'' march in one night. It would have been much faster, if not for the fact that I didn''t go at full speed so I wouldn''t lose sight of the road below me. Oh, and because I was focused on Tokomaha, so I didn''t fully concentrate on steering, either.


    "[Beyond the pass lie the Nukumania plains. At the far end of those plains is Kairaki.]" There''s a hint of pride in Mereana''s voice as she explains this to us. It''s just like a native tour guide doing their job for the first time and being enthusiastic about showing off their country and its great sights to foreigners.


    "[Then we''ll stock up on food and water in Anutawa, before crossing those plains in one go.]" I still have a lot of capacity left over, so I can easily take on quite a bit of weight. I just want to get this journey over with quickly, before we encounter any more of the God King''s henchmen, who stand in our way. First Rapania, then Felgar, and then the escalation that was Roamukao. If we have to fight all the time along the way and face enemies like that last one again, I''ll keep losing mass. And when I lose mass, I either need to spend time to gather it again, or make do with less.


    I''ll do what I did in the Mineva Republic, and buy up a lot of food to regain at least some mass. Though in this case, I don''t have much money to work with. After all, the person who has been paying for everything is Mereana, and she didn''t have that much in the first place. I should have ransacked Rapania''s castle; I''m sure she must have had a treasure room or something of sorts where she stored her funds.


    Well, no point in regretting it now. The previous times when I got money, I was lucky that it was dropped by the small fry I killed, as if this was a game. But obviously, those were humans, not animals. If only this was actually a game, in which monsters in the wild dropped gold, and also respawned after a while. A day of farming in a lucrative area could result in pretty big riches, then. Especially since I''m so efficient at it.


    I begin to induce a descent by slowly letting out the hot air in the giant balloon. We can''t fly over the city, or we''ll cause a panic. After all, the Chaos Carrier does look organic, so people could mistake it for a giant monster that''s about to sow destruction.


    "[We''ll walk the rest of the way to Anutawa.]" I announce to everyone as I use the eyes I created on the exterior of the airship to scan for any open area where I could land. They understand my intentions for doing this, but there''s something I do need to tell them explicitly. "[Pack up everything that belongs to you properly and keep them on you. Otherwise, I can''t guarantee that they won''t disappear into my body forever.]"


    The city of Anutawa is similar in size to Manoa, where we faced Rapania. But unlike the latter, this one is filled with more life and vibrant colors. It''s clear that the people here live in peace and don''t know about the monumental battle in Uarapo, fought between us and Roamukao. I guess even with the saying that news travel fast, there''s no way they travel that fast. And considering we contained the Ashlings, they didn''t get to spread across the lands for all to notice.


    We split up to procure the supplies. Awhina and Mereana are going with my children to get the foodstuffs, while Tokomaha, Korenga and I were tasked with getting water. But considering I can just create it using magic, we basically just go to find large barrels to fill them with water later. I could always store it inside my body and let it run out of faucets I create in the Chaos Carrier, but I can''t guarantee that it''s potable. My body does exude corruption, and it might cause the microorganism in the water to mutate into some new forms of diseases for all I know.


    Tahiri obviously wouldn''t let herself get roped into doing any menial labor such as carrying things, so she told me that she would go back to Aoranam village to get some Oripiaw. Considering we traveled for ten days now, it''s a wonder that she could hold out with the little she had for so long.


    If I had the Senka Navigation System to guide me, I''m sure I could make it back to Aoranam in under an hour while flying in Chaos Warhead mode. After all, the last time I used it for traveling I easily surpassed the speed of sound, which is over a thousand kilometers per hour or something like that; and I doubt we got that far in these last ten days. Since Tahiri can turn herself into lightning - just like Zenlith - she should be able to travel even faster than I can.


    "[Hm, there''s a nice smell.]" Korenga suddenly remarks and sniffs the air. Somehow I''m not surprised that she would be the first to deviate from the task, and in such a manner, too.


    "[You''re right.]" Tokomaha follows her example and begins to look around. With her nose raised like that and sniffing all over the place, she resembles a cute little animal and I consciously hold myself back from petting her. Although I''m sure she''d make a bad attempt at trying to be tsundere about it, which make this decision much harder.


    I reproduce Vularen nostrils and a whole array of smells assault my senses immediately. Maybe I shouldn''t have gone overboard, and instead I use Hestia''s template to make a more normal nose.


    I get what they''re referring to. It smells like really delicious food, of the kind that Ruiha would cook all the time. I haven''t had many opportunities to taste the local cuisines, what with our group having to fight in Manoa without spare time left for sightseeing. And Uarapo was abandoned when we got there, got completely burned down by Felgar, and was then buried under lava from Roamukao''s eruption.


    But Mereana gave us just enough money to buy a large barrel of water. There surely isn''t any left over to pay for three meals - especially meals that would satisfy Korenga or me. Once again, I suppress the building regret from remembering that I should have searched Rapania''s castle for some loot.


    "[We don''t have money to spare on that.]" Heavy-hearted, I say to my two companions, who look at me with their own variations of pouts. Don''t look at me like that, I want to try the local cuisine, too...


    There''s no way around this. I''ll have to either find a job and make a small fortune quickly, or find a place where shady people - preferably slave traders - gather, and employ some self-defense. And since the former option is highly unlikely, I''ll have to try and opt for the latter. Knowing Korenga''s sense of justice, she''d certainly go along with busting slavers, but stealing their money would most likely be a no go.


    Argh, this is too hard. Why can''t there be a sudden invasion from an enemy army which we could go and stop? I''d be able to get a lot of mass that way and they would even honor me as the hero who saved the city. I mean, if I were to go around killing people normally, I''d be labeled a mass murderer after all.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Hm, did I just realize a fundamental hypocrisy of society? Kill a hundred people during peacetime and you''re condemned as a psychopathic murderer. Kill a hundred people on the enemy side during wartime and you''re revered as a hero.


    I sigh and look down at the small leather bag Mereana gave me. Inside it are a few crude-looking silver coins. This nation seem to be on a much more primitive technological level compared to the Kingdom of Lares or the Mineva Republic. They are even behind the Khurut Sultanate in their minting techniques. If only I still had some of those gold coins from the sultanate, I''m sure they''d fetch quite a bit just by being actually made of gold.


    When I think about gold, I''m reminded of Aurelia. I wonder where she ended up when she was somehow taken out from inside me by Mithra, who teleported me away to this country. I''m sure she''s lonely right now, and a hint of excitement wells up when I reminisce about her delicious golden thighs.


    Wait, gold...


    I slap my forehead audibly and the people around me stare in surprise. Ignoring them, I spin around to Korenga and Tokomaha. They both have their heads tilted in different directions as they look at me dubiously.


    "[Come with me.]" I grab the two goddesses'' hands and pull them along. Korenga''s huge hand somehow gives me a sense of security, while the warmth of Tokomaha''s delicate one makes me remember the things I did to her only last night.


    I shake my head of those thoughts so that I don''t forget the idea I came up with.


    "[Here.]" When we find an alleyway a distance from the bustling streets, I let go and turn around.


    "[H-huh? I-in front of her?]" Tokomaha stares at me in shock and takes a step back, then points at Korenga.


    "[... what are you thinking about, huh?]" Raising an eyebrow at the tiny goddess, I ask, knowing exactly what she''s thinking about.


    "[N-nothing! It''s not like I was thinking that you wanted to do it with- hah?!]" She slaps her hands in front of her mouth to stop herself from revealing everything - although it''s too late. Is she an idiot? I thought only little children and comical figures in fiction slip up like that. Well, she is something of a child when it comes to interpersonal relationships, I suppose, considering she most likely spent all her life in the wilderness surrounded only by animals.


    "[Look at this.]" Ignoring her slip up, I pick up a pebble and put it in my palm.


    Korenga and Tokomaha stare at me with skeptical expressions, but fix their eyes on the pebble. I''m sure they''re both wondering what I''m trying to pull here. Maybe one of them even thought far enough ahead to consider the possibility that I want to perform street magic to make some quick money. My convenient body would surely aid me in doing that.


    But I close my eyes and concentrate on the feeling of the pebble in my hand. Recalling my training, I picture its shape, weight and consistency in my mind and overlay it with something else.


    Gold.


    When I open my eyes and look, the pebble has turned into a gold nugget of the same shape and size. Its weight has noticeably increased, though. Basically, I just ignored the laws of physics, and turned one chemical into another seemingly without requiring any energy. With just a thought, I performed on the surface of my palm what would have taken a nuclear furnace in my previous life.


    "[Woah!]" Korenga exclaims and begins clapping. Wait, does she actually think that was a performance?


    "[How did you do that?]" Tokomaha stares at the gold nugget in disbelief. Huh? You, of all people, shouldn''t be surprised at changing things into other things. You use dirt and leaves to create practically perfect physical clones of yourself!


    "[It''s magic I learned from someone a while back.]" I''ll leave it at that. "[In either case, we can buy a lot of things with this now.]" Looking down at the ground, I find several more pebbles and get to work.


    "[This is some great food!]" Korenga and Tokomaha say at almost the same time while stuffing their faces. I guess they haven''t eaten anything cooked at a proper establishment in a long time - although I feel that the latter might actually have never eaten any prepared meals before meeting us and only ever grilled stuff over open campfires.


    I have to say, it is indeed some great food. The dishes are quite different from the ones traditionally cooked in Aoranam village. There are no fish in these, since it''s rather far from the sea, instead using meats from animals I''ve never tasted before. And unlike the age-old clich¨¦ of saying that everything unidentifiable tastes like chicken, these have very distinctive and unique flavors I can''t even begin to describe.


    I do feel bad that we''re eating on our own without inviting the others, though.


    In either case, now that the money problem has been solved, I can go to the market and stock up on matter again. Having a proper meal is just to satisfy my curiosity and to give the two goddesses something to be happy about.


    Tokomaha apparently didn''t learn to eat with cutlery and is grabbing the contents from the wooden plates with her hands. In Aoranam, people normally eat with their hands, except for certain dishes that are hard to grasp. But inland, it seems to be the norm to eat using something I can only identify as a mix between a spoon and a fork, as well as a sharp knife used to cut the meat.


    "[Bring more!]" The moment the food runs out, Korenga waves over the waiter and orders more as if it''s the most natural thing to do. If I hadn''t remembered the gold transmutation magic, I wouldn''t be alright with her doing it. But now we have plenty of money and don''t have to worry about the bill.


    Speaking of money, we found a place where we could exchange gold for coins, since I''m sure stores don''t take unverified gold nuggets as payment, when there''s an official currency in this nation. Considering I have no idea about the value of gold here, I agreed to whatever offer the store made. I''m sure we were ripped off, but I don''t really care when I basically have an endless supply of it.


    Never mind that doing too much of this will eventually cause gold to drop in value. But it''s not like I care about such things.


    "[Those three must be travelers who are new around here.]" I hear a man''s voice from the table behind me speaking in a hushed tone. Creating an eye on my palm, I lower my hand under the table and use it to spy on him.


    Unexpectedly, he seems like a normal person, and there''s a woman sitting next to him. I thought that he was a ruffian whispering to his cohorts about shaking us down and trying to steal our money in an alley somewhere, after we leave. I guess I''m being too paranoid about my surroundings. They''ve already returned to eating their own meal without paying us any more attention.


    Looking outside the window, I realize that the time for us to meet back up with Awhina and the others is approaching. We decided to finish up our business before the sun reaches its zenith and go for lunch together, before departing this city again. But on our group''s end, we haven''t even bought barrels, yet. And when I turn around, a new round of food is being brought to our table. Shaking my head at the sight, I smile wryly and sigh in resignation.


    "[You two wait here. I''ll go get our task done and meet up with the others, then we''ll come back here together.]" I turn from Tokomaha to Korenga. "[Don''t leave this place.]"


    "[Why would I want to leave? The food and drink here are great!]" Responding in a loud and overbearing voice that booms through the restaurant and bleeding out onto the streets, I can see people turning their heads outside to look at what''s going on in here. That''s one way to attract new customers, that''s for sure.


    "[I''ll leave the money with you, Tokomaha.]" Turning to the petite goddess, because I consider her to be the more sensible of these two, I hand her the heavy leather pouch, now filled to the brim with silver coins. Those are only about a third of all the money we got from selling a handful of gold nuggets, but it should be more than enough to cover the meal. I''m going to use the rest to buy the barrels we need, as well as to stock up on mass at the marketplace while none of the others are around to see it.


    "[Hokay.]" She replies with a full mouth, before swallowing it all down in one big gulp. I expected her to choke there, but it seems she can take things down her throat pretty w-


    "[Slow down a bit.]" I reprimand her while picking a crumb of food from her cheek.


    Apparently she didn''t hear my words because she immediately grabs my wrist and licks my finger clean. The gesture shouldn''t mean much normally, but for some reason it stirs something within me.


    I think I know what I''ll be doing with her next time.


    "[Alright, I''m off.]" Standing up from the table, I wave over the waiter. "[I''ll be back in a bit, so keep the food coming.]" Then, to make triply sure, I turn to the two goddesses one last time. "[Stay here until I return.]"


    "[I know I know.]" Tokomaha shoos me away with one hand, while grabbing something looking like a grilled drumstick. She begins to bite down on it messily and I shake my head with a sigh.


    With a bad feeling about this in my heart, I leave the establishment.

 Chapter 88 - Avoid All Side Quests

    Alright, three barrels should be enough. It''s within the price range of what Mereana told us it would cost, too. They''re the type with a lid that can be locked in place by pushing a wooden bar through two holes in the upper rim. At one glance, I can tell that these three would be able to fit my children, so I better fill them with water soon after boarding. Because I just know that they''ll play around with them otherwise.


    "[How ya gonna transport them, missy?]" The storekeeper asks me with a raised eyebrow. He was already skeptical about my order in the first place, due to my foreign looks; but seeing how I''m completely alone, he can''t help but ask after all. Even though I could have, I''ve opted not to take on a dark-skinned and black-haired appearance to blend in better. After all, Mereana doesn''t look like that either, and she''s from somewhere in this nation. Not to speak of Tahiri and Korenga, though they are kind of special cases.


    "[Don''t worry, about it.]" I state and point at the rope hanging over my left shoulder. Earlier, I went to buy one so that I could tie the barrels together and carry them more easily. Normally, Korenga would most likely have carried two or even all three by herself, but since I left her and Tokomaha in the restaurant, I have to do it on my own.


    Binding the three barrels tightly, I effortlessly lift them by the rope and hoist them onto my back with one hand. I can feel the stares coming from all over but I don''t really mind them. Though if I really didn''t care about people''s gazes at all, I could have just pulled them inside my body and made it much easier to walk around. But I''d rather not attract that kind of attention, since they might associate me with a rogue god much easier that way and report me to the authorities or something like that.


    Yeah, I have no idea whether that''s a thing or not, but I assume that gods not registered under the God King are treated as enemies of the state and persecuted publicly.


    With the newly bought barrels in tow, I make my way through the marketplace in search of stalls that may sell large quantities of food. I can stuff whatever I buy inside the barrels for the time being, then consume them when I find a quiet alleyway. But I don''t have enough time to do what I did in the Mineva Republic, which was to use a large cart to buy a lot, eat it all up in some place where nobody looked, then change my appearance to repeat the process elsewhere.


    The sun is pretty much at its zenith, so I think I might actually already be running a little late to meet up with the others. Well, they wouldn''t walk around searching for us even if we didn''t arrive right away, since everyone would just split up and get lost. We agreed to wait for each other, regardless of how late the other group is.


    In the end I went with buying my pre-death weight in meat. As always, I assume I was ripped off, but I don''t really care either way. Stashing it in the three barrels for later, I carry them on my back once again. Even though that alone should attract a lot of attention, the leather pouch with my money in it rattling quite audibly is clearly even more of a focus for the more dangerous types. I can tell, because there are some among the crowd that stare at it from the corners of their eyes.


    And sure enough, when I begin to walk away from the market to meet up with the others, a young boy bumps into me. I can feel fingers quickly crawling into my jacket and trying to grab at where I stashed the money. After all, my clothes are made from my own body, so I can tell when something brushes against them, let alone rummages through them with fast motions. Too bad, I already pulled the pouch into my body, so there''s nothing for even the nimblest hands to steal.


    Creating a tentacle inside my jacket, I grab the wrist instantly, before using my actual hand to grab the pickpocket''s collar.


    "[Hm, aren''t you a little young to be groping women?]" Lifting the child from the ground effortlessly, I bring him eye to eye with me.


    That''s when I realize that the boy is actually a girl. Tan skin, brown eyes, short black hair, an average girl from this nation. She looks to be around ten years old at most, with dirt covering her ragged clothes all over. As with even the most affluent nations, there are the less fortunate who cannot make a living other than through stealing.


    "[L-leggo of me!]" Scratching at my hand holding her, she struggles and kicks her legs. But even with sharp and chipped nails, she can''t penetrate my tough skin, so I don''t even flinch at the sensation.


    "[What''s the matter here?]" Two men push their way through the crowd. They are wearing cloth uniforms and wielding metal-studded staves. These must be town guards.


    "[This kid wanted to steal from me.]" Holding out the child in question towards the guards, I state with what could only be described as an annoyed expression. I''m not going to be tripping some flag here and get held up with having to resolve a matter that may be bigger than it seems at first. While I have no idea what the punishment for thieves is in this nation, I don''t really care what happens to a pickpocket. She could get her hands chopped off, like in some country in the world from my previous life.


    "[Is that true?]" The taller of the two guards bends down to look at the girl, who clearly doesn''t know how to hide her feelings, as she averts her eyes in fear. Really though, why do you ask the thief whether she''s a thief or not?


    I drop her down in front of the two guards and move to leave. There shouldn''t be anything left for me to do here.


    "[Wait.]" The shorter guard stops me and I roll my eyes.


    "[What do you need from me?]" Irritation fills my voice. I''m already late to meeting up with the others, and I still need to get back to the restaurant where Korenga and Tokomaha are feasting. Being held up here is the last thing I want.


    "[Please show us your identification.]"


    My what?


    "[My what?]" So far I haven''t seen any signs for that being required anywhere in this nation. Much like the Khurut Sultanate, their bureaucracy struck me as very rudimentary, where people could easily slip through the net without being discovered.


    "[You don''t have your identification?]" While holding the upper arm of the girl tightly in his grasp, the taller guard turns to me with his eyes narrowed.


    "[Come with us to the guardhouse.]" The short guard approaches me with the clear intent to grab my arm as well. I didn''t need any ID papers to enter the city, so why now?


    Ugh, this is developing into a bother.


    "[I think not.]" With a quick motion, I expand my back and swallow the barrels into my body. Then I create a gust of wind around me with a silent spell, and transform into the Chaos Warhead under the cover of the dust cloud I kick up.


    I shoot up into the sky and fly out of the city.


    Walking through the streets of Anutawa in a new disguise - basically a copy of Awhina but in smaller - I make my way towards the city square. Only now do I notice that there have been guards walking through the crowds all the time, and most likely there''s an influx of them scouring the city for my previous appearance after what I pulled.


    As I thought, the guards asking for identification was most likely because of my foreign appearance. Maybe there''s actually a law that requires foreigners to have papers on them, but natives aren''t bothered at all. Then again, I wonder how Mereana, Korenga and Tahiri haven''t been pulled aside already, but maybe it''s because the former is wearing a commander''s armor, and the latter two have tribal tattoos all over their bodies which show that they''re at least natives.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Or maybe because they don''t bother foreigners, until they''re involved in some kind of problem - or place themselves into the limelight like I did so stupidly.


    In either case, now I look just like a normal citizen, I don''t flaunt my money and I''m not carrying a pile of barrels impossible for my size on my back. If I get bothered again, I''ll be flipping a table.


    I''m running really late for our meeting time. I had to fly all the way out of sight before I could land in the forest. Then I transformed into a Vularen to circle around to the other side of the city, so that I would enter from a completely different direction as we did before. I did that just to be doubly safe, even though it took a lot of time.


    "[You!]" I hear a female voice shout over the constant murmur of the busy streets. I ignore it, thinking she must mean someone else, before I hear it more clearly again from my left. "[Young traveler!]"


    I turn my head and find an elderly woman dressed in burgundy and dark green robes walking towards me. The lower half of her face is covered in a veil made of small beads, but her visible purple eyes are clearly trained on me. Hobbling over using a gnarled wooden staff as a cane, from which accessories featuring feathers and beads hang in a large bundle, she repeatedly calls out to me.


    "[You, young lady! I have glimpsed the sign in you!]" She sounds excited, though there''s a hint of anxiety in her gaze.


    ... I don''t want to get involved. Turning away and walking faster, I try to ignore her, but her voice is really loud, and it''s drawing much unwanted attention.


    "[Great calamities will follow you wherever you go!]" Coming after me and seemingly abandoning her fortune-telling stall at the side of the road, she continues to yell ominous things. "[Wait! Let me help you!]"


    I''m almost running, but there are more and more people turning around to me already. Dammit, leave me alone already!


    Making my way towards a dark alleyway that people don''t use as a passage, I dip out of the masses and into the shadows. I immediately transform into Tahiri''s appearance, but with tan skin and shorter, black hair. Then I wait until the old fortuneteller comes towards me, before walking past her casually like nothing happened.


    I focus my Chaos senses on her and find that she''s pacing back and forth inside the alleyway, apparently still trying to find me there. Distancing myself from her as I make my way towards our meeting place, I sigh a breath of relief and tiredness.


    Finally, I see Mereana, Awhina and my children standing at the large tree in the middle of the city square. It seems to be a sacred tree, since it''s cordoned off with a wooden barricade, but unlike those found in Shinto shrines, this one doesn''t have a shimenawa - a purification rope - hanging around its trunk.


    "[Sorry I''m late.]" I approach them and they turn around to me in surprise.


    "[... who are you?]" Mereana asks with a wary expression and I remember that I''m in disguise. Even then, she should have at least been wondering about how similar I look to Tahiri.


    "[... Chaos?]" But even Awhina seems to be unsure, as she bends down a little to look at my face directly.


    "[Mama, why do you look like that?]" The only ones who don''t show the hint of a doubt and immediately recognize me are Uten and Saten.


    "[There was some trouble with a pickpocket and the guards started asking me questions, so I had to get out of the city once.]" Sighing, I point at my chest. "[I got the barrels inside me.]"


    "[I see... Hm, where are Tokomaha and Korenga?]" Awhina asks while still staring at me strangely. She must have finally recognized my resemblance to Tahiri, and it''s making her feel weird. If only she had the form before then, when I was a smaller version of her.


    "[I left them at a restaurant. Let''s go there to pick them up.]" Waving at the others, I signal for them to follow me.


    "[I... I do not have much money left.]" Mereana looks at me with a troubled expression. She knows that these two goddesses are quite the gluttons, so the bill will most likely be horrendously expensive.


    "[Don''t worry, I have money now.]" I won''t tell her how I got it, though. She seems skeptical, but doesn''t question a person she considers a powerful god with some really strange powers of transformation and seemingly even creation. After all, that airship still had a life-sized me riding on it, so to her it might as well have been conjured out of thin air. "[So, how did it go for you? Got everything you need?]"


    "[Yeah, we got provisions.]" Turning around to show off a huge straw basket filled with all kinds of foodstuffs, Awhina replies to my question. Mereana and the twins follow her example. "[But are you sure Tama, Tane and you don''t need any?]"


    "[It''s alright, we''ll hunt for ourselves during the journey.]" Or rather, I''ll have the twins hunt for my part, since I have to stay inside the airship for it to exist in the first place. I don''t know how long the journey will take and what will happen on our way across the Nukumania plains - although I''ll do my best to stay at a high altitude - so it''s better that we stock up on a lot of food for those who need it.


    "[Do you think this is enough for the Black God?]" Looking at me in worry, Mereana voices her concern. I totally understand what she means. The morning after our battle to the death she had a huge breakfast involving a large portion of the animals we caught that night. While it seems like she gets hungrier the more she moves around and uses her black form, her normal meals are already substantially larger than what a human of her size would eat.


    ... that may explain why she was shoving so much food down her throat earlier. Don''t tell me she actually held back during breakfast on the Chaos Carrier? Then again, she clearly wasn''t holding back in the restaurant I left her in, as if to make up for it.


    "[If it''s not, I''ll hunt some more for her.]" In other words, more work for Uten and Saten. Well, they can use the flight and hunting training, and increase their own mass along the way.


    We make our way towards the restaurant where I hope we''ll find the two goddesses. I''d rather they''re still eating and ordering more food, than having disappeared to somewhere. After all the pains I went through to avoid getting caught up in something, it''d be the last thing I need. And if they ate over the limit of the money I left them with, I''ll be able to do something about it with what I still have on me.


    "[Someone stole it.]" Tokomaha states with a natural expression while leaning back on her chair in a relaxed manner. There''s not a hint of remorse in her attitude and I bring a fist down onto her head.


    "[You should have been able to stop them!]" I reprimand her while pulling on the corners of her mouth. It''s not that I''m particularly angry with her, since I know that neither she nor Korenga have any understanding of the importance of money in society. If I were on my own, I wouldn''t bother with it either, since I can just take what I want.


    Wait, that sounds like I''m a bully. Well, if I really didn''t have to worry about opinions and my future around these parts, I''d certainly do that.


    "[How much is it?]" I turn to the waiter who has been standing by with a concerned expression. He seems to fear that we won''t be able to pay for the meal, though I feel like irritation would have been more appropriate. I know I would be angry, if my customers couldn''t pay. After all, it''s my loss even if they get punished for it.


    It seems that at one point the boss of the establishment had become uneasy about the bill since the two goddesses just kept ordering more and more, so he asked them to pay. Luckily that was only shortly before we came around, so there wasn''t much of a scene. If it had gotten to the point where the guards would have been called, it could have turned quite ugly. I don''t want to get bogged down with something like that right now, when we may be in a race against time.


    The price seems appropriate for the amount of empty plates on the table, so I pull out the leather pouch, which the pickpocket had tried to steal earlier, from inside my jacket - though really from inside my body. Paying for the meal, I give the waiter and his boss peace of mind. Then I ask him to clean up the table, so that we could all go for another round. He complies with a broad smile and quickly goes to the kitchen to relay the order for even more food.


    "[Are you sure you don''t want to chase down the thief?]" As we sit down, Mereana asks me in a hushed voice.


    "[I don''t want to waste too much time with something like that.]" I shrug and lean back on the wooden chair. The money doesn''t really hurt me, since I can always create more gold from rocks and sell it without inconveniencing myself. But more importantly, I don''t want this to go off-track.


    Then again, last time I went off on a side quest due to encountering some shady people, I met Kamii.


    But I can''t - or don''t want to - do that simply based on the remote possibility that I could have a fated meeting with someone. It''s more likely that it''ll be resolved with catching the thief and handing him or her over to the authorities. Which in turn could result in some uncomfortable questions, another hasty escape, and more time wasted.


    I''d rather just enjoy a meal with my companions, right here right now.

 Announcement - Ebook Is Here!

    Finally, after five arduous months of writing, rewriting, editing, cover-creation and looking for a name... the ebook has been finished and is ready for purchase - and free for those at the corresponding tier!


    A few numbers and statistics regarding this release:


    - It contains chapters 1 to 23 of the web version


    - It has 118,661 words, while the web version only has 58,449 words


    - As a paperback, it would have 447 pages (at 300 words per page on average)


    - It took almost exactly five months to finish


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    There are a few significant changes in the story''s flow, and a new harem member has been introduced, too. I overhauled some things, and primarily worked to preserve consistency and match continuity, so it should be a much more pleasant reading experience.


    But most importantly, I added some lewds in the first volume, which don''t exist in the web version. I know you''re all looking forward to that, aren''t you? =P


    Thank you for your continued support all this time! Next time, I''ll be faster, now that I have some experience.


    You can find it here:


    Demon Princess Magical Chaos - The Tentacle Awakens</a> (and if you search for this name in many other countries'' amazon pages)


    And with this, I''ll be returning to the regular schedule starting this week. But look out for my Patreon</a>-announcements, since I''m currently coming up with something new~

 Chapter 89 - Future-Proofing

    "[Everyone ready for takeoff?]" I ask through my avatar.


    Everyone is gathered on the bridge - or rather communal area - of the Chaos Carrier and looking at me in anticipation. We left Anutawa shortly after finishing our big lunch together and traveled a distance away from the city. Since this form is massive, even bigger than the Godslayer Cannon, we had to go off-road and find some open space out of view, where I could prepare without causing any problems.


    They nod in agreement as they brace themselves each in their own ways, so I begin to pump hot air into the balloon. Feeling my landing gear leave the ground, I retract them and apply wind magic to the boosters on the sides of the gondola, to facilitate a faster takeoff. Within moments, we''ve ascended to a height from which a drop would be fatal for a human.


    I see Mereana stiffen up as she watches the landscape through the large frontal window recede below us. She should start to get used to this sight since we most likely won''t land again until we reach the capital unless something critical happens along the way. And by critical, I mean a god coming to intercept us or someone getting sick during the journey.


    We soon reach cruising altitude - an altitude where arrows won''t reach us from the ground -and I turn to the red-haired woman to ask for directions.


    "[Wait... where''s Tahiri?]" Korenga suddenly asks and looks around.


    "[You''re right, where is she?]" Awhina and the others follow suit.


    ... damn, I completely forgot about her. We never actually agreed on a meeting time, so who knows how long she''ll stay around in Aoranam village to get some more Oripiaw. I don''t actually feel like waiting for her, but she''s an integral member of our forces when she chooses to become serious about fighting. And considering our last enemy, any help is appreciated.


    "[Where did she go in the first place?]" Tokomaha asks, and I glance at her with a frown. So she wasn''t even listening to anything we said as we split up.


    "[She went back to Aoranam to fill up on Oripiaw.]" Uten and Saten respond in my stead. I noticed only today that they seem to be getting along with the petite goddess rather well. Maybe because she was the first female experience they had as males - even though they were only with her clones. Although I guess it''s more likely because their mental ages are so similar, even if the latter should be far older.


    Bringing my palm up to my face, I breathe a long sigh.


    What do we do now? We could return to Anutawa and wait for Tahiri there, but I''d rather not do that. Considering she could just decide to stay in Aoranam for a day or two - or much longer than that - we would be wasting our time and risking more side quests popping up. I seem to attract a lot of those. And she''s the God of Storm, after all; an existence as fickle as the weather on an April day. So, it wouldn''t be surprising if she actually doesn''t return for several more days.


    "[It''s alright, she''ll catch up to us.]" I''m going out on a limb and guessing that she knows where I am due to our still outstanding challenge. At least I''m assuming that she somehow marked me as someone who issued a challenge to her but whom she has yet to kill, even though I don''t think she''ll go through with it anymore at this point.


    Angling the boosters horizontally to propel us forward, I begin to fly in the direction Mereana pointed out to me. Since Anutawa was at the base of the pass between the Erua twin mountains, we still have to fly over that stretch of land before we can see the Nukumania plains. But considering my cruising speed in this form, we''ll be over it long before the sun touches the horizon.


    While it''s not as fast as the dragon form and not even comparable to the Chaos Warhead Mode, it''s certainly faster than traveling on land. A journey of two weeks should be over in just a few days instead, especially when I can fly through the night unhindered and don''t have to make any stops for rest, as we would have to do if we were going on horseback.


    We''re getting closer to our destination by the hour.


    The Nukumania plains are a massive expanse of open steppe and grassland that stretches to the horizon. There are very few hills, and not a single mountain can be seen in the distance. Calling it a sea of grass would not be wrong, as the winds create rolling motions that move through the blanket of green like waves.


    The sight takes away my breath. As someone who grew up in Japan and never left the country, seeing a place that might as well be as big as the entirety of my homeland composed solely of open plains leaves me speechless. Of course, vision only goes so far, and in reality, this might be much smaller than I think it is, but from up here, nothing seems to be able to detract from the view.


    According to Mereana, this will continue on for a journey that would normally take twelve days on horseback, before we come across the huge Maheranui river, beyond which Kairaki stands. Some cities live off the bounty of the land along the way, but none can measure up to the capital, which is fed by the largest river on this continent. It has a population of over a million and a half, which is quite incredible for a nation that seems much less developed than any of the others I''ve been in so far in this world.


    I think this may tie into the savanna in which I was dropped off by Mithra when I first came here. I don''t know what direction I traveled in to get to Awhina''s village, but the large herds of buffalo-like animals I see below are the same as the ones I ate in huge masses back then. I guess it stretches across the entire continent and this part here is really far away from the place where I practically eradicated all life. And considering nobody seems to know about it, it must mean that it was far outside the borders of this nation, too.


    The journey itself is quiet and peaceful. Mereana and Awhina have opted to stay on the bridge, where the former would look at the landscape from time to time, to make sure we''re still on the right course. The latter seems to be asking for more stories of the kingdom and wants to know more about the capital that we''re heading towards.


    Korenga and Tokomaha seem to be talking about all sorts of things in the former''s room, and I don''t feel like joining them right now. They seem to have gotten pretty close after the big lunch they had together, but I assume it''s because they''re both gods and have lived for a long time. I''m sure they have a lot of stories to share.


    Uten and Saten sometimes go flying outside to feel the breeze and freedom of the sky, or swoop down and catch some of the animals from the herds that dot the landscape. Some end up in the cargo hold while still alive, to add to the provisions; others disappear into their insatiable stomachs immediately. I think that if Tahiri hasn''t returned by tonight and after everyone else has gone to sleep; I''ll ask them to show me their full sizes.


    I retract my avatar and turn my consciousness into the entirety of the ship soon after everyone settles into their own little worlds aboard the Chaos Carrier. Feeling the sun and wind on my surface, I take in my surroundings through senses I could have never imagined existed while I was still a human.


    Sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch; hunger, thirst, pleasure and pain; vibrations, heat, and balance - they are all human senses. I can shut off several of them, either because I will them to, or because of an automatic physical response to overstimulation. But there are other senses I can''t properly categorize since they are ones humans don''t have and can''t develop no matter what they do.


    I can sense life all around me. At one point I had to make a conscious effort to do it and would get overloaded by feeling even microorganisms in the air and the soil. Nowadays, there''s something like a filter which allows me to decide how big the life forms have to be before I can sense them on my internal radar. Usually, it''s no smaller than a house cat, so that I don''t have to feel entire rodent families hiding underground or flocks of birds perching in trees.


    Then there''s the sense that allows me to have perfect control over everything I do with my body, which a human could never achieve. Not only can I feel every part of myself and know exactly where every appendage is perfectly, but I can actually sense every single particle that makes them up. But at the same time, it''s something I only get conscious of when I transform, which also makes it so easy for me to quickly change my shape on the fly solely through imagining what I want to turn into.


    Remembering the first time I woke up and looked in the mirror, I smile internally. Back then, I still had to hold back a scream when I saw what looked back at me - even though that face had no eyes. It''s something I haven''t been able to grasp properly, yet; I could see without eyes, and I can still do so when I take on forms that have no eyes. But at the same time, I still require them when I take on the form of living beings through their genetic templates.


    The same is true now, in my Chaos Carrier form. I can see all around me, not just horizontally, but vertically, too. Even with such an alien sensation, my mind isn''t overloaded, and I can easily make out all the details. It was the same with the Godslayer Cannon, or when I turn into an amorphous blob while expanding to swallow a lot of things around me at the same time. It should be strange to be able to see in front and behind you at the same time, but it simply doesn''t feel wrong.


    On one side, I see Uten and Saten flying in loli Hestia forms and playing catch with each other. On the other side, I see a group of birds turning away from me when they notice what I am. Below me is the grassy plains and a herd scattering as they run away in fear. Above is the vast expanse of the sky, featuring few clouds and an endless blue canopy that stretches in all directions. In my back is the mountain range from which we just emerged, the twin peaks of Erua and the valley between them.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    To the front lies the convergence of blue and green, the horizon towards which we''re traveling. And beyond that, our final destination on this journey, where we will find a battle to the death or an all-out war of cataclysmic proportions.


    "Show me your full size." I speak through the avatar standing on the plains below the Chaos Carrier, which I parked around a hundred meters in midair. I have more than enough matter to create a long umbilical cord that can reach all the way to the ground, which is attached to the head of the avatar like the bait of a certain demonic anglerfish-toad hybrid. Well, in this case, I would resemble a blowfish more, but that''s beside the point.


    Uten and Saten are standing before me in the forms I first met them in, looking nervous. They must be afraid to show it since I''m sure they already experienced the same loss of sanity points I did when I looked in the mirror after that fateful first awakening. In their case, it must have been when they first gained a consciousness and became aware of their surroundings, only to see each other in their real forms.


    The others on the ship are either sleeping or cooped up in their own rooms. Leaving aside the issue with Korenga, who falls into oblivion every night anyway, Awhina and Mereana have gone to bed already, and Tokomaha is resting since she has nothing better to do. Nobody will disturb us unless Tahiri suddenly decides to come back at this time.


    "Um, I don''t think we should do this here?" Their eyes are swimming all over the place as they try to find excuses so they can avoid doing it.


    "Nobody is around to see you." Sighing, I pet their heads with my avatar. I''ve made sure that the only life forms I can feel with my Chaos senses are the ones aboard the Chaos Carrier and maybe a few smaller animals in the vicinity. "I just want to gauge your power."


    For a Crawling Chaos, size is the most important feature, followed by creativity and then access to templates. I survived the Dark Continent with only a human template because I had knowledge from my previous life and could use my innate transforming abilities creatively. Later I gained templates that have allowed me to stand toe to toe with beings considered gods in this world.


    The twins look up and exchange a glance with worried expressions. Maybe they''re self-conscious about the blob-like appearances we take on when expanding fully? Or is their true humanoid form just that horrifying?


    "Don''t worry. You can use all the mass you have to turn into giants. Like this." Pumping some of the mass I have left over from transforming into the Chaos Carrier through the umbilical cord and into the avatar, I grow it in size to about what I had when I fought at the academy before I was thrown to the moon. Just in case something happens and the cord gets cut, I''m keeping more than half inside the carrier since that one is the more important part. Uten and Saten barely reach my knees, and they have to put their heads back to look up at me. "Now you do the same."


    Finally, Saten is the first to gather his resolve, and he begins growing. I can see that he doesn''t have the same level of imagination that I have since he can''t picture himself turning into a giant at an even rate. Different parts of his body grow larger at different speeds, but he eventually manages to reach a height that surpasses mine by a bit.


    Uten follows suit and also begins to expand, and before long, the two giant twins stand before me. I think if I were to use all my mass, our ratio would be about the same as when we''re all at our human heights, though at this size, it would translate to more than twice their mass. In other words, they''ve eaten a lot and gathered a huge amount of mass, without ever losing any as I did due to battles. But my period of completely disregarding nature and eating all life that I could find still shows.


    I think it''s time for me to give them my templates, including the dragon one. Last time they couldn''t participate in the battle at all because it was all fire and lava, which they could never survive without the dragon template that I had. I mean, if I didn''t have it at the time, I would have simply run away. After all, I have a trauma of getting almost my whole body burned away by an explosion of fire.


    Shrinking myself back to human size, I gesture for the two of them to do the same.


    "Alright, I''ll be giving you injections." Not in the sexual sense. I wouldn''t mind doing it with them again, though they did tell me that they don''t like taking on female forms - just like how I dislike taking on a male one. But this is an important matter, so I want them to be concentrating on it since I have to teach them their limits and limitations, once they receive the templates.


    "What do you mean, injections?" They look up at me with a hint of fear in their eyes. Really, I don''t think there are needles in this world - least of all in this scientifically backwater nation - so where could they have picked up that aversion to the concept of injections?


    "I''m going to give you some very important templates. They will make you much more powerful and resilient, and they will allow you to join battles like the one against Felgar." Not going to mention Roamukao, since that one''s still out of their league.


    He was actually out of my league, too. If it weren''t for the combined firepower of Tahiri and me, as well as Korenga''s sheer indestructible body, which allowed for the crazy plan I came up with to succeed, I wouldn''t have been able to do anything myself. Three of me would most likely not have made that much of a difference at the time, either.


    With this, I turn the index fingers of my hands into something like syringes, into which I first load the genetic material of the vularen - most specifically in the form of a solution consisting of stem cells. Of course, I don''t intend to actually pierce their skins and inject them with it, and instead make them open their mouths. The syringes are more like those you see being used in animal shelters to feed newborn orphaned animals with.


    "Now, what do you see?" I ask them after they swallow the loads and absorb them. A Crawling Chaos can perfectly visualize appearances solely based on the templates they have ingested, so the twins should have no trouble turning into vularen immediately.


    As they do.


    Standing before me are two specimens of the first enemies I encountered, and the first living beings I killed with my own hands after coming to this world. It''s a nostalgic feeling, looking into their fierce visages since I haven''t seen any of them ever since my short trip to the Dark Continent. I did turn myself into one quite often, but I never had the opportunity to see myself in a mirror.


    They turn back into their human shapes, and I begin to cycle through various templates, including humans and other animals that I''ve eaten. They might come in handy someday, even if only for infiltration or having fun as I did with Hestia in the Mineva Republic while using various shapes and sizes. But I leave the most important template for last since I need to make a point that it''s something special.


    "This is the last template, and for this one I need you to listen very carefully." Before I give it to them, I need them to know several things and make them promise me not to abuse it. They look at me with sparkling eyes, because they already know what it is. After all, they gained all other templates and are aware of which one, in particular, is missing. "It''s a great power that comes with great responsibility. Not a responsibility to do good or anything like that, but one towards the people around you - most specifically towards me."


    Listening intently and making sure to appear attentive, Uten and Saten are clearly eager to finally get it and start to play around with it. It''s for that very reason that I''m giving them a lecture now.


    "The dragon''s plasma breath is incredibly destructive and very dangerous to all living beings, including others of our kind. Don''t ever use it for playing around." I''ve lower myself to their eye level and speak with a resolute gaze. Their smiles fade away at the realization that this is indeed very serious and a matter of utmost importance to me. "And don''t ever fire it against each other. Identify your targets well, know who they are and be aware that you''re not just taking their lives, but eradicating their bodies."


    The plasma breath can melt rock and steel, so an organic body will be evaporated almost instantly. My theory in regards to why a dragon can shoot out such beams while their throats remain safe is that it''s a form of magic, which they''re incredibly resistant to. A magic unique to dragons, just like the magic-imbued shouts in a certain game where one has to slay them to acquire their powers.


    "Promise me that you will use this power responsibly." That''s all I can ask of them. If they wanted to abuse it, they could do it, and I wouldn''t really be able to stop them other than through force. And I don''t want to be a parent who would beat her children. To me, that would speak of failure in parenting - failure to properly educate your children to listen to you.


    "We promise." Uten and Saten speak in unison and nod with determination. Their faces show that they have understood what I''m telling them, and their excitement has taken a backseat to a mature comprehension of the matter. I''m sure they''re feeling like grownups, now that I''ve shown that I trust them to be ready to take on this responsibility.


    Finally, I give them the template. They immediately transform into copies of the dragon that I fought against to the death in the airspace over the Mineva Republic, and from whom I gained this incredible power. It''s a testament to their will to honor the promise that they haven''t instantly tested out the plasma breath by shooting somewhere into the air.


    Turning back into their human forms, they look up at me with broad smiles, before jumping into my arms and embracing me. I give each of them a kiss on the forehead and gaze into their eyes with a smile of my own.


    "Along this journey, I will teach you many things that you can do with those templates." I point up at the Chaos Carrier which appears to be moored onto my avatar through the umbilical cord. "Most of that is created using a dragon''s materials. Before long, you''ll learn how to do that, too."


    Once again, their eyes begin to sparkle at the prospect. I think they''re most likely looking forward to being able to take on the Chaos Warhead form much more than turning into an airship, but I think that''s still far beyond their abilities at this point. For now, being able to form the dragon carapace to protect themselves from magic is the first step they need to take.


    Thinking back, I wonder how things would have gone if Asoko had the dragon template. Would she have been able to save our mother? Could she even have helped her defeat the gods?


    Clenching my first, I look in the direction of where Kairaki lies beyond the horizon. There''s no point in thinking about what could have been. After taking down this self-proclaimed God King, I''ll return with a vengeance and eradicate the sorcerers. Then I will ascend to the demon throne and see what can be done about the feud between humans and demons.


    Relaxing my hand, I look down at my children. I would have never imagined it possible, but I can feel my maternal instincts flare up at the thought that out there are many who would want to bring harm to them solely for what they are. Now that they have the dragon armor, they will be able to protect themselves.


    But I would like to see the fool who tries as long as I''m alive.

 Chapter 90 - Bringing the War to Their Doorsteps

    The journey across the Nukumania Plains proceeds without a hitch. All along the way, my children and I keep grabbing the large buffalo-like animals and bringing them up to the Chaos Carrier for food. In essence, only Awhina and Mereana need to eat properly cooked meals, but I still find myself in the kitchen quite often. After all, I need to regulate the fire on the stove, which I created with the matter from my own body and the use of magic.


    You know your seemingly omnipotent body has reached the height of usefulness when you can literally create a modern house with all the appliances necessary for a comfortable life. Except for wifi, that is. Thankfully, there is no Internet in this world, or I would have tried much harder to return to the demon castle and then become a shut-in.


    Well, at this point something like that won''t happen to the present me since a lot of things happened and I''ve changed my outlook on what constitutes as fun. I''m living an adventure now, and even if I got access to modern video games, I wouldn''t waste my life on them anymore, after all that I''ve gone through. Also, I still need to get revenge on the Sorcerers.


    In the end, everyone sits together for every meal and enjoys the homemade cuisines Awhina learned from her mother. Somehow, it gives me a warm feeling, to be surrounded by people I can call my friends - although they still haven''t seen my true appearance, yet. I don''t need to do that since it''s not who I really am - unless the situation calls for it.


    Even Tahiri is among them from time to time, although she prefers to remain alone on the top of the balloon. It seems she''s been brooding quite a bit lately, most likely thinking about Rapania and Roamukao. I just hope it won''t impact her when the time comes to fight. Sometimes she wouldn''t mind my avatar''s company and would share a drink with me while speaking of the times we were still fighting every day.


    Those times seem so long ago now, even though we haven''t been on this journey for more than twenty days. A lot of things have happened since then, and everyone has somewhat matured, as we fought together and against each other. No matter how this ends, I''m sure these bonds won''t break easily in the future.


    On the fourth day of our journey, around noon, I see a water body glistening in the distance. Unlike the small creeks and streams we flew across so far, it looks like a proper river. That must be the Maheranui river - and on its opposite bank should be the capital city, Kairaki.


    "[I... I cannot believe that we crossed the Nukumania Plains so quickly.]" Mereana looks ahead in disbelief and then stares at me. I''m standing with my arms crossed and my nose raised in pride. If only I had been able to properly create a jet plane, this distance would have been traversed in a few hours at most, though.


    "[I think we should prepare for battle right away, then.]" Turning around to the others, I announce with a serious expression. There is no way our approach wasn''t noticed, so I''m expecting anti-air and artillery fire to rain down on us, be it in the form of magical or physical projectiles.


    What I''m really interested to see is how this God King will treat his subjects during the inevitable battle. In front of Awhina and the others, I have to keep up appearances, but in reality, I don''t care about human lives much. The problem will be when he doesn''t either. Then I''d be at a disadvantage since I can''t use the Godslayer Cannon in a densely populated area.


    I''d prefer that he sent out an army to meet us outside the city or something like that. Then I could annihilate it and make them an example for anyone who dares to oppose me. That would surely make him, or at least his followers, lose morale - and who knows, they may even surrender.


    I doubt that would happen, though.


    "[Lowering altitude. Get yourselves ready for battle the moment we come within view of the city.]" I change my bearings and aim to circle the city wall. Approaching from the river-side will inconvenience everyone but those who can fly. I don''t know if Korenga can even swim, with a body that heavy, so it would be quite inefficient. "[I''ll find a landing spot on a field outside one of Kairaki''s gates.]"


    "[I do not know the exact number of gods the God King has subdued and included within his army. However, the most elite of them are called the Six Arms, and the king has a right-hand man known as the God Fist.]" Mereana explains while looking into the group. In other words, there are seven big names, as well as the king himself.


    While we have seven fighters, I doubt it''ll go like in those typical shounen battle manga, where every member of the crew gets to face one opponent in a duel. That would have been far too convenient. Then again, I wouldn''t mind facing off all of the Six Arms at the same time and kill them all together.


    Maybe I''m a little too confident here. If they''re all on the level of Roamukao, I wouldn''t be able to defeat even a single one on my own...


    "[I''ll go take care of this God King, then.]" Tahiri, who has joined us after I told her that we''re making our final approach on the capital, states with a relaxed smile. Normally, that should be my job, but I don''t want to argue about who gets to fight whom now.


    "[Hey, no fair. I want to be the one to punch his face in.]" Obviously, Korenga doesn''t care about what I want and complains about the matchup. We don''t even know whether that king is especially powerful or just a charismatic human who swayed some gods with his words. He could be a weak human being, for all we know.


    Not like she hasn''t killed weak human beings before, though. And this time, her aim is revenge as well.


    "[We''ll first see whether we can get into the city without having to fight our way in or not.]" From here, I can only see the pyramid-like building in the center of Kairaki sticking out over the tall city walls. It might actually be as tall as the Tokyo Tower, to be visible from so far away. I think that''s easily the tallest structure I''ve seen in this world so far, even eclipsing the sun disc atop the palace in the capital of the Khurut Sultanate.


    "[What''s that?]" Awhina is standing at one of the windows on the airship''s starboard and looks in the direction of the city.


    "[What do you mean?]" Mereana joins her but doesn''t know what exactly she''s referring to.


    "[It looks like a mountain, but it''s too uniformly shaped.]" Shading her eyes from the sunlight falling through the window, Awhina remarks.


    "[Oh, that is Ahakap, the royal palace.]" Leaning closer to the window, but still reluctant to touch it, Mereana points at the pyramid beyond the city walls. She could tell by her vague description that she meant that building.


    I had guessed as much. Every monarch in every time period usually had the largest buildings created in their honor, be it gigantic tombs in Egypt, or a city-sized palace in China. Why would it be any different for humans in this world?


    Crossing the Maheranui river and finding a large open plain, I look at the city''s walls and find that there are a gate and a road leading up to it. It has been opened, and a mass of soldiers is pouring out from it. Since I''m so huge in this form, they have inadvertently already noticed my approach. Even if they don''t yet know about what happened to Roamukao, since no messenger horse-rider could ever travel as quickly as we have, they can tell that I''m not an ally.


    I decide that this place is as good as any other to land. Considering they''re readying a welcoming party, I don''t want to betray their expectations.


    "[Ladies and gods, as we start our descent, please make sure your seats and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened, and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.]" As I begin to let out the hot air inside the balloon and induce a controlled descent, I make this corny joke in honor of the absent Senka.


    I miss her...


    "[What was that about?]" Tokomaha asks me with her head tilted and a confused look on her face. My avatar pets her head, but she slaps its hand away. Even now, she''s trying to keep up appearances in front of the others, even though she''s shown me her most embarrassing side in bed several times already.


    But I don''t reply and act like I''m concentrating on the descent. In reality, I actually am focusing my mind on our surroundings. There are many life forms around us, and I''m purposefully leaving the size filter on as low as I can without going crazy from feeling a sea of microbes. It''s to make sure that I don''t miss even the smallest animals, which could be transformed gods for all I know.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Soon, I grow out four legs and touch down on the grass softly.


    "[Ladies and gods, welcome to Kairaki Airport. I have no idea what the local time is, and the temperature is unnecessarily sweltering. On behalf of Chaos Airlines and the entire crew - consisting of only myself - I¡¯d like to thank you for joining us on this trip, and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice war!]" I was waiting to recite this line to complete the corniness from before.


    Everyone looks at me in confusion. It was just a joke, stop judging me!


    "[Yes, let''s have ourselves a nice war!]" Korenga pumps her fists and cheers. She gets it!


    "[Let''s go.]" I open up the entire side of the cabin and the team steps down onto the grassy plains below. Pulling the mass of the Chaos Carrier into my body, the ship disappears from view, leaving only us eight people on the ground.


    "[There are quite a lot, huh?]" Tahiri looks in the direction of the forming army and sounds as unconcerned as ever. She seems to be quite relaxed despite the fact that we''re here to fight a war with just the eight of us.


    Well, I think now it''s time to get this over with.


    "[Mereana, thank you for leading us to the capital. It''s best if you get to safety now since we won''t be able to protect you.]" With these words, I turn away from her and step forward. I don''t even wait for her reply, because it''s not negotiable. If she wants to come along, she''ll have to do so at the risk of losing her life in battle.


    "[Wait! I want to come along and witness the actions of the savior!]" I don''t know what kind of face she''s making, but there''s a hint of desperation in her voice.


    "[You may die.]" Not turning around, I speak in a cold tone. "[And I told you, I''m no savior.]"


    "[I don''t care.]" For the first time, she loses her formal way of speaking and lets her emotions run wild. "[I believe in you. That you will win and change this kingdom. So, I can''t be standing around and doing nothing.]"


    "[Do as you like.]" But I''m smiling to myself. I guess it''s true; something monumental is going to go down here, and I have no doubts that we''ll be coming out on top. In other words, history is being written today. Of course, she wouldn''t want to miss it, considering it will affect her future greatly. "[Just don''t get in our way.]"


    With these words, I walk forward and begin to transform, covering my body in dragon armor while growing in size. Taking it as the signal to move out, my children sprout wings and take off into the sky around me, while Awhina places a hand on the ground and rises up on a wave of stone. Tokomaha swings her spear in a circle and clones begin to sprout from the dirt. Korenga pumps up her muscles and turns into her black form, before letting out a roar that shakes the very air. Tahiri lifts the gourd of alcohol to her lips and floats up into the sky lazily.


    As expected of the most laid-back person I''ve ever seen.


    Finally, Mereana draws her sword and walks forward fearlessly. Among our powers, she makes the most underwhelming appearance. But precisely because of that, the enemies will be cautious of her; if she can stand among godlike beings like us, she must be quite powerful herself.


    Nope, she''s only very brave - or stupid. Or both.


    I''ll make the first strike, rather than wait until the enemy gets on top of us. While I can''t use the Godslayer Cannon, I can use a smaller version of it in a more mobile configuration. In other words, it''s time to unleash the romance of men - and mine - onto this medieval world. They will tremble under my might and learn that there are things in the universe they could never hope to best.


    "[I! Am! G*ndam!]" With this nonsensical exclamation, I transform into a giant humanoid covered in armor, with a simplified dragon head in my right hand functioning as a plasma cannon. Stepping forward and feeling the earth quake underneath my gigantic feet, I get a taste of true power. "[There are things you can''t fight, acts of gods. You see a living volcano coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you''re a giant mecha, suddenly, you can fight the living volcano. You can win.]"


    The army still emerging from the city and pouring out onto the plains looks like a collection of ants. Weapons and armor glisten in the sun and create a play of light the likes of which I''ve never seen before. Their numbers are staggering, but I don''t feel like I could lose to them. That''s the sense you get when you feel like you''re sitting in a giant armored mecha.


    "Mama, can we go all out?" The twins land on my shoulders and speak into my armor-covered ears in stereo. They are asking if I''m allowing them to turn into dragons and use the plasma breath here.


    I lift my left hand and point at the army going into formation in the distance.


    "Show them the terror of our kind." Speaking quietly, I ball up my fist in a crushing motion. From the corners of my eyes, I see that sadistic grins break out on Uten and Saten''s faces. Like mother like children, huh?


    "Let''s give them hell!" They announce in excitement and fly up at the same time, before explosively transforming into a pair of dragons. During our journey, they practiced transformations a lot and are able to do so really quickly now.


    But the first shot will be mine!


    I point the plasma cannon in my right hand at the army and gather the dragon''s breath, before releasing it in a single shot instead of a continuous beam. The ball of light flies forward at an incredible velocity before it begins to get affected by gravity and drops. But it seems my aim has become quite good, as the ultra-heated projectile impacts the ground in front of the enemies and causes an explosion that scatters molten dirt all over them.


    At the same time as my first shot shakes the enemy lines, dark clouds begin to gather above the entire area. It''s signaling that the God of Storm is going to join the battle against this human army.


    "[Wait, that''s not me!]" That Tahiri suddenly appears before me and shouts.


    Huh?


    A lightning bolt comes down from within the boiling black clouds, flashes past her, and hits me straight in the chest. Just like the lightning she used against Roamukao, this one seems to have physical weight, as the impact sends me staggering backward. I catch myself in time to not fall over and look down at myself. The attack burned a hole into my thick armor but didn''t go as deeply as Tahiri''s did on the lava god. Still, it''s more than enough to-


    "DOWN!" With my increased size, my shout turns into an ear-splitting roar that seems to create a shockwave around me. It''s directed at my children, who are in danger of being hit by those lightning blasts when they stay in the air. While they do have a lot of mass, flying around in dragon form will result in the same fate the original template suffered, when they get swatted out of the air.


    They listen to me without question, and quickly descend to the ground, but keep their dragon forms because their armor offers more protection than any other templates they have.


    "[Why did they have to be here..?]" Tahiri''s expression turns strangely sad, as she looks up into the sky.


    The black clouds above stretch down an arm slowly, which gathers into a humanoid form in midair. It''s a boy around my age, wearing a vest with a fluffy collar reminiscent of the clouds he''s made of. His exposed face and arms reveal grayish-black skin that is covered in white tattoos. With big round eyes featuring dark purple irises, he looks down at Tahiri in an intense stare, as his long gray hair trails behind him in the wind.


    A storm-like wind picks up around me and concentrates into a spot next to the boy, consolidating into the form of a girl. Her silken clothes are so thin that they barely obscure anything, and reveal perfectly white skin underneath, with no hints of any tattoos. On her face, rimmed by long flowing, snow-white hair, sits an expression of playfulness, as she sports a wide grin that extends all the way to her silver glowing eyes.


    Lightning flashes across the sky, and between the two, another boy appears, accompanied by a thunderclap. Going topless and sporting tattoos that glow brightly like the bolt he came down in, he has his arms crossed as an expression of his confidence. Electricity crackles through his short and spiky blond hair, which seems to radiate power. His sharp golden eyes make it clear that he''s prideful and certain of his abilities.


    "[Your children, huh?]" I ask Tahiri, although it''s quite obvious, judging by her reaction to their appearance. I guess each one of them represents one of her powers, although that seems more like they''re just aspects of her.


    "[Yes... Aopori, Aratio, and Tewira. Dark Cloud, Whirlwind, and Lightning.]" She states in a gloomy tone. It seems that seeing her children standing before her as enemies has caused her quite the shock.


    "[Hey, what are you doing, moping around like that? What happened to the wind that can''t be tied down anywhere?]" It''s my way to encourage her. If her children are naughty, she should punish them. If they side with the enemy, knock them around and make them come back to their senses. At least, that''s what I would do, if mine were to side with the humans and stood against me. "[Go and bring them back.]"


    Turning around to look at me in surprise, the God of Storm blinks a few times. Then, a smile appears on her lips as she closes her eyes in realization.


    "[Indeed. If the children of the storm stand against their mother, all that awaits them is a reminder of their place in the order.]" She looks up at the three, who graciously waited for us to finish our short exchange. They seem to be very confident, but they are going to get spanked soon. "[Prepare yourselves.]"


    With these words, she turns into the form I''ve only seen once before, when she showed her absolute superiority to Rapania, after returning from getting disintegrated by her magic gadget. Her long hair turns into pure lightning that arcs through the air aggressively seeking a target. The glowing tattoos are unable to hide the swirling black that her skin has turned into, resembling raging clouds ready to release their electric load.


    These three might be members of those Six Arms. I mean, they seem to be quite powerful even by god standards. It''s just that Tahiri is all their powers combined into one, most likely with many years more experience in using them, too. If they really are, then maybe the other three aren''t especially powerful, either.


    Self-proclaimed God King, we''re coming for you!

 Chapter W1 - Decision, Defense, Departure

    Corruption is retreating from this world. The tenebrous influences of the ungodly mass of curses have been extinguished, and peace can return to man once more.


    But man seeks not peace.


    Man seeks retribution, craves redemption, desires vengeance - through violence. Unbridled violence, directed at any and all that stands in its way. Once the enemies before one''s eyes have been vanquished, what is there left to do? Will there finally be respite? Or does the blaze, once ignited, burn until all is consumed?


    Five months have passed since The Cradle of Chaos, Demon Queen Pelomyx has been defeated at the hands of the human strike force, working in conjunction with the gods. The Empire of Terminus, in an alliance with the Fatas Triarchy and the Elven Enclave, has invaded the demon continent with an army a million strong. Within weeks, this alliance reclaimed the lands that Emperor Lucianus IV had conquered during his final campaign against the previous demon lord, Aldeath.


    The western holdings of the Dominion have been completely overrun, and the advancing humans are working tirelessly to exterminate every last demon they come across. With their queen gone and her heir missing, the demons have lost hope. And now, they are losing ground with every passing day, unable to muster a united defense.


    In these desperate times, it seemed like an act of god that the Mineva Republic suddenly declared war on the Empire of Terminus. Since the latter had committed the bulk of its troops to the Demon Continent, they were now fighting an invasive and a defensive battle across two continents. Under normal circumstances, they should have been able to repel this backstab easily, but since Emperor Lucianus V was at the demon frontier, orders were relayed much slower than normal, which caused many fatal delays.


    That was when Lord Ophalen, one of the most fervently loyal followers of Queen Pelomyx, began to organize a counterattack. Garrisoned in Rodens, the fortress city to the south of the capital, he had been the first to notice the city in flames and tried to come to its aid. Unable to penetrate the barrier, he had expressed the most rage and frustration at failing to provide help. Swearing bitter revenge after his liege''s death, he rallied the Four Great Clans under him in the capital of Arkaim.


    Lord Ophalen has the head of a crocodile in place of a human''s, with a metal lower jaw featuring saw-like teeth - as he lost his real one in the wars of the past. Dark brown scales indicating his advanced age cover his still muscular body, which has not waned over the years despite having far surpassed his kind''s already long lifespan. He is a senior member of the Kirali clan, one of the Four Great Clans, consisting of lizard-type demons, albeit not its leader


    Rising to prominence under Aldeath, he served two consecutive demon lords as a general during the wars against the humans, across more than a century of battles, after the Lucianus Dynasty of Terminus took an aggressive stance against the Dominion. Few would question his experience, which was honed through campaigns across the sea, defensive battles on demon soil, and many skirmishes against the barbarian demon tribes in the south.


    "I''m against Lord Ophalen''s leadership." The one protesting the otherwise unanimous decision to hand him the position of the supreme commander is the leader of an up-and-coming new clan among the demons. A slender figure cloaked in dark robes belies the power that rests in the lean body. Long black hair, blue eyes and pale white skin, a beautiful androgynous face, and a pleasant voice that could belong to either a soft-spoken male or slightly rough female, make it difficult to pinpoint both the age and gender. That is Ascelin Sheason, the vampire sovereign. "He has grown old and senile. His failure to protect the queen is a testament to that fact."


    "What?!" Crashing his fist on the massive wooden table and leaving a crack on its surface, Nilotec opens his jaws wide in a rumbling roar, to express his anger at Ascelin''s assertion. As the son of Ophalen, he has a muscular figure brimming with both youthful strength and battle-hardened experience. Rough, bronze-colored scales cover his bare shoulders and arms, and yellow-green eyes with slit pupils like those of a predator, make him a prime specimen of his race. He was the champion of the fighting pits of Phoshand, where the most powerful members of the demon races would test their mettle until he was called back by his father after the demon queen''s passing. "How dare you upstart question the decision of the Four Great Clans!"


    "Four Great Clans? They are a thing of the past." Ascelin speaks in a haughty tone. "They are either too old to speak for themselves, powerless, or absent."


    Pointing at the one empty seat at the table, the vampire sneers at the other gathered people, most of whom know that they are too weak to retaliate. The three present members of the previously Twelve Great Clans - now reduced to a third of their numbers - have lost much of their influence since Queen Pelomyx claimed the throne after killing their leaders. The sole surviving leader from that generation is the one of the Kirali clan, an elderly man resembling a humanoid turtle. He is known for his peace-loving nature and long-winded deliberations, but not for standing up for his honor when it is being questioned or outright ridiculed.


    "That does it!" However, Nilotec is less inclined to let it slide as the ramblings of an upstart clan with no political power. He jumps up from his chair and breaks it into pieces with a single strike of his powerful tail. With a mighty bellow, he fearlessly challenges Ascelin. "Step outside. I will have your head!"


    "Calm down, Nilotec." A voice calls out to the raging crocodile from the door to the meeting hall, and everybody''s heads snap around to the newcomer. It is Shugra from the Ajura - one of the Four Great Clans - heralding the arrival of their chief.


    "Sorry for bein'' late, there was somethin'' I had ta take care of." Chandra Ajura steps past her lieutenant with her six arms spread out in a gesture of greetings. "Some folks tried ta ambush us, but we beat ''em up good."


    "Ya wouldn''t happen ta know these guys, would ya?" Shugra waves in two more members of the Ajura clan, who are each carrying two pale-skinned men and women in black suits like lifeless puppets. Each one of them is beaten black and blue, with one of them sporting a broken and dangling jaw, and another with an arm at an angle that suggests it has been twisted several times like a wet rag.


    They are obviously all vampires.


    "I do not." Ascelin shrugs and smiles innocently. "As someone here said, we are just an upstart clan. I have not yet achieved absolute control over all my people. A radical faction acting against the clan''s official interests is, as of now, still unavoidable."


    "That''s a lie!" Nilotec''s eyes open wide in anger as he points at the vampire sovereign with a clawed finger.


    "Enough!" Ophalen, who has been sitting by quietly, finally raises his voice and reprimands his son. "We shouldn''t fight among ourselves. That''s what the humans would want."


    "Now that Lady Chandra has arrived, we can settle on a supreme commander." A man with a pair of giant twisted horns growing from his forehead states. He has white hair, horizontal rectangular pupils, and a long goatee, assembled on an elongated and wrinkly face that has seen many years of service. His name is Markor, leader of the Bakari clan, demons with goat traits.


    "I''m fine with it bein'' the young croc." Chandra sits down on the chair that has been reserved for her and crosses her arms, before remarking casually. She still refers to him the same way she did the first time they met. "Or should I be saying ''old croc'' now? Yer better suited for givin'' orders."


    "Is that alright?" The old croc in question turns his head to look at the six-armed, blue-skinned woman, skeptical about her spontaneous decision.


    "Unless somebody''s against it?" She shrugs and gestures at the gathering of clan leaders at the long table with one pair of her hands. Nobody objects and Ascelin remains quiet, knowing when to give up. "Guess not. Ya got the job then."


    "Thank you, everyone." Standing up from his seat, Ophalen accepts his new position as the supreme commander. "But know this. This is only a temporary solution until the heiress to the throne returns to us."


    "If she ever returns." Ascelin adds and earns glares from several of the assembled clan leaders.


    "She will. I am confident in the success of the Maid Corps to bring her to the Kingdom of Lares, to thaw her out from the god''s magic." Raising her voice for the first time, a giant woman in a maid uniform speaks up. She is the leader of the demon queen''s personal Maid Corps, Rewera.


    "Oh, Rewera!" Chandra jumps up from her chair and runs over to her, hugging the maid with all six of her arms. "I didn''t see ya cause ya been so quiet! How ya doin''?"


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "I am fine, Lady Chandra. You are disrupting the meeting." Speaking in a neutral tone, the maid leader does not show any hint of happiness at seeing her old friend again.


    "Ya bein'' cold. Is that how ya greet ya big sis after such a long time?" Poking her cheek with a finger, Chandra does not let up with her bone-creaking hug. When Aldeath had just gathered his companions on his journey to claim the demon lord''s throne, Rewera had only been five years old. At that time Chandra was already serving under her brother as a trusted lieutenant, along with Ophalen''s ancestor. In fact, she was the big sister figure to several of the gathered clan leaders'' ancestors, which is why she has so much influence among them. She has remained the greatest constant throughout many centuries of the Dominion''s history.


    "C-can we please do this later... b-big sis?" Rewera pleas and stutters like a young girl. For a moment, everybody is dumbfounded, while Chandra lets go and laughs out loud.


    "Alright, let''s get this started." Turning to the gathered demons, the Ajura clan leader states with a wide grin.


    "Where are the reinforcements?" A desperate voice shouts over the din of battle. The clashing of metal plays the twisted anthem of war and death, resounding from the walls and echoing into the city beyond it.


    "None are coming here. The western gate is taking the full brunt of it, so everybody''s going there!" The guard captain, a bear demon clad in full armor, roars over everybody''s heads. "We''ll make do with what we got. Don''t lose heart! The enemies are only humans!"


    A cheer rises from the fighting soldiers, and their morale soars again. The humans continue their relentless siege, bringing up two ladders for every one knocked down, while lumbering wooden towers are being pushed towards the city walls.


    With a great crash, one of the siege towers is smashed into pieces by a projectile fired from a catapult. Another cheer runs through the soldiers that witnessed it, and they fight with newfound hope. Following that, a shower of arrows comes down on the humans waiting to climb the ladders, causing a choir of screams as those who were unable to raise their shields in time are turned into pincushions.


    "These humans are weak! We can do it!" The bear guard captain roars and swings his gauntleted paw to crush a human soldier''s head, as it pokes up over the battlements.


    Suddenly, a blinding burst of light fills the sky above the wall. From within it, a volley of javelins made of pure light comes down on the defenders, and each one pierces through both armor and the flesh it protects. Several officers, including the bear captain, are killed in an instant, and the entire momentum of the battle shifts in the favor of the humans.


    Descending from the skies are a dozen people with pure white wings, wearing robes and dresses of the same color, which are richly embellished with golden embroidery. Some look upon the carnage below with indifferent expressions, while others sneer at the effect of their magic on the demons'' morale. They are Fatas, the representatives of the humans'' gods.


    Effortlessly, almost casually, they chant in an arcane language, and a javelin of light appear over each one of them. Releasing the projectiles, they claim a dozen more lives, further throwing the defenders into despair. The archers on the ground are unable to reach them with their arrows, and there are no flying demons in this city who could intercept them.


    With the relentless aerial assault, the demons on the wall are thinned out enough for humans to reach the top of the ladders in several points. What was a top-down battle only moments ago suddenly turns into a messy melee, as the two sides clash on even footing. The defenders, with quality over quantity, desperately try to push the overwhelming numbers of the humans back, while the human soldiers fight with increased fervor to secure a bridgehead for their troops to follow up.


    The volleys of light javelins soon destroy the catapults that were able to keep the wooden siege towers away. While some get hit by flaming arrows and begin to burn, several of them make it all the way to the wall. Drawbridges crash onto the battlements and are secured with hooks. The humans that pour out begin to overwhelm the demons holding the top of the walls.


    "The walls have been taken!" A demon officer screams in despair, and all semblance of a defensive line crumbles under the onslaught. At the same time, the gate is broken open by the battering ram, its operators left unchecked by the archers on top of the gates which are busy being embroiled in a melee. Then, even cavalry begins to storm the city.


    "Do not despair!" A female voice echoes in the minds of the demons and humans alike, and for a moment, everybody stops dead in their tracks.


    Then a volley of javelins made of pure darkness shoots across the sky, several of them finding their targets in the Fatas flying high over the battlefield. Two of them are pierced through the torso, one loses a leg and another an arm, while the others either have their wings shredded or dodge just in time. The dead fall from the heavens and are brought down to earth, their perfect bodies broken, and their white purity stained by the blood and mud covering the battlefield.


    "What was that?!" Screaming in a most unsightly voice, one of the three remaining Fatas looks around in terror.


    Suddenly, an explosion of fire sweeps through the streets and blows the advancing humans back outside through the broken gate. With a mighty roar, a dragon covered in a red carapace appears from within the flames, its winged front legs spread wide to intimidate the oncoming troops.


    "The counterattack begins now." The voice echoes through everybody''s minds once more, and some finally notice who it is coming from.


    High in the sky is a female figure in a revealing black dress with pale white skin, flying on a pair of jet-black wings that seem to project pure darkness. In her hand is a long golden spear covered in runes that emit a tangible power. At her sight, a cheer runs through the demon forces.


    "It''s Lady Hestia, the Black Valkyrie!"


    "Lady Hestia has arrived!"


    "The Black Valkyrie is leading us into battle!"


    Those near the red dragon shout something else entirely, as they behold the majestic figure of the winged creature known to hold an ancient power no mortal could hope to stand up to.


    "Lady Dregana, the Kinslayer is here!"


    "The Kinslayer will stop the humans!"


    "With Lady Dregana here, we can turn this around!"


    As those voices grow louder, the momentum that the humans began to build up only moments ago is instantly reversed. With newfound vigor, the demon soldiers unleash the last bit of their power reserves, as they push back the soldiers on the walls and round up those that already invaded the city.


    "Traitor!" The remaining Fatas repeatedly shriek in a hysterical choir and summon javelins of light to shoot at Hestia. The latter flies forward and brandishes her spear, swinging it in an arc before her. From its tip, a jet of fire forms into a wave of heat that cuts through the air.


    Before the Fatas can release their magic, Hestia''s spell reaches all three of them and engulfs their shapes in a relentless blaze. White wings and white clothes burn away in seconds, as the screams of agony disappear in the fire. Moments later, the winged beings disappear as ashes scattered in the wind.


    At the same time, Dregana charges through the human soldiers fearlessly, throwing men covered in full armor around like ragdolls with every swing of her powerful winged legs and her armored tail. Breathing flames at the siege towers still approaching the wall, she reduces them to cinders, while spears and arrows break on her impenetrable carapace like sticks on solid rock. Within moments, the battlefield turns into a sea of flames, in which humans run for their lives as the demons chase in righteous ardor.


    Taking to the skies to join Hestia, the two leave the battlefield to go to another location where the defenders are losing ground.


    Standing at the precipice of a cliff, at the edge of a canyon cutting through the wasteland like a gigantic scar, a lone dark elf basks in the evening sun. Night-blue hair swaying in the wind, violet irises with a faint glow, she is a figure of paramount beauty.


    The only issue lies with her right arm, hanging down almost all the way to the ground. It stands in stark contrast to the rest of her body, not only because it is of a bright red instead of the dark purple that is her normal skin color, but also because it is shaped like the elongated claw arm of a fiddler crab. Rounded knobs run along the inside of the pincer, but sharp spikes line the outer side of the entire arm.


    It is a grotesque symbol of violence, a testament to the fact that this dark elf is not as delicate as her appearance would otherwise suggest.


    "Kamii." A deep and rough male voice calls out to her from behind. The girl in question turns around to the people gathered there.


    They are a group of demons, wearing different kinds of outfits and equipment, ranging from full armor to simple clothes. There is a giant minotaur with a broken horn, wearing body armor that seems to be made of solid granite. A woman with her face covered by a grinning mask, wearing a hooded robe that sports long sleeves drooping all the way to the ground, is tilting her head playfully. Even a child with whiskers and long, fur-covered ears, carrying a massive sword broken at the halfway point, is among them.


    "Where we goin''?" The owner of the voice asks. He is a man with a rugged face, showing the scars of many battles and suntanned from a life on the road. A red Mohawk stands upright on his otherwise clean-shaven head, and tusks are sticking out from the corners of his mouth, which give him a wild appearance. His leather jacket has many pockets and sheaths for the plethora of knives in his arsenal, and a battle-ax rests in his hands.


    Kamii''s eyes are filled with a serene grace as she contemplates the question. Then she turns to the canyon and points with her cursed right arm, a determined gesture to indicate their next destination.


    "To Zohigal." She announces.


    "Umm... Zohigal is in the other direction." The man corrects the little dark elf''s mistake. For a moment, the wind is the only sound among the ragtag group, as Kamii turns around to look at the man with a blank expression.


    "To Zohigal." Pointing in the right direction, she acts as if nothing happened, and begins to walk along the edge of the cliff. Everybody suppresses their laughter as they follow her lead.


    To the capital of the barbarian tribes in the south of the Demon Continent.

 Chapter 91 - Perfect Matchups

    With the three storm gods occupied by their mother Tahiri, I can turn my attention to the gathering army again. Among them, I can spot a few people who don''t look like normal soldiers. They may be commanders or specialists, or even other members of the Six Arms, though I doubt they would come out now and leave the God King alone in his palace.


    Tokomaha''s clones are beginning to form a contingent, while Korenga pumps herself up with roars that should have the human army shaking in their boots. Awhina is raring to go as well, the wave of earth undulating under her feet as she perches on top of it like a panther ready to pounce. My children have opted to not take off into the skies again, now that lightning is flying all across it, as the God of Storm is facing her three children. Instead, they are most likely waiting to find the right opponents for themselves.


    How should I start this battle? I know we could just cut our way through the army, into the city, and make our way straight to the palace. I doubt the Black God would lose to anyone here, considering she could survive being inside a living volcano, but I still want to be careful about ambushes and being surrounded, if we don''t take care of these soldiers here.


    For now, I''ll scatter the weak.


    Since plasma shots take time to load and have a cool-down period due to the barrel overheating - even in the dragon''s original form - using a single big barrel is only useful against huge targets. The enemy is able to run out of the path and minimize their casualties when I keep slinging out big projectiles at a slow rate.


    Thus, I transform my plasma cannon arm into the shape of a seven-barreled Gatling cannon. Each barrel is obviously much smaller, but I can rotate it using my ungodly body''s capabilities so that I can achieve a fast fire rate. And there is a huge collection of targets in front of me to test this out on right now.


    "[If you don''t want to die, you should run!]" I announce in a loud voice that booms across the entire battlefield. Obviously, the enemies don''t know what a Gatling gun is, even while they''re staring into its deadly barrels, so not a single soldier takes this opportunity to come out alive.


    I gave my warning; they didn''t heed it. The others can''t say that I''m evil for massacring them all now.


    Winding up my Gatling cannon arm, I begin to shoot at them. The smaller projectiles are much faster than the big one and impact the faraway enemy lines within a second of being fired. Of course, this cannon doesn''t have the satisfying sound effect that accompanies explosives-driven projectiles, but it''s far more devastating.


    The plasma bullets fly into the enemy ranks and tear through the soldiers who have no protection against this kind of high-tech weaponry - though it isn''t actually high-tech and wholly biodegradable. While I walk forward and strafe across their lines, I see people melting away with their armor, others catching fire from being grazed, while more and more of them begin to try and run away.


    Suddenly, the ground before the enemy rises up and forms into a wall, which my projectiles impact but don''t penetrate.


    "[Awhina?]" I''m taken aback and mutter, but find that when the dirt peels off the wall, it''s made of pure gold. "... Aurelia?!"


    No, she would be able to tell who I am straight away and wouldn''t stand against me. But maybe she''s actually the God King? I could see her pulling something like that. But that doesn''t make sense either since they made clear that it was a he rather than a she. And I don''t see that prideful woman ever serving under someone - other than the person she was willing to spend eternity with. Me that is.


    So it must be someone with a similar ability as hers. Considering Tahiri is basically the same as Zenlith, it isn''t surprising to find someone with the power of someone else I know in this nation filled with people that have godlike abilities.


    Atop the wall of solid gold, a pool of liquid gold rises up and takes on the shape of a rotund human. Reminiscent of Aurelia, his everything is colored in shades of gold, ranging from yellow hair, copper red eyes, and whitish skin, clad in a white toga covered in trinkets and accessories of pure gold. Everything about him is so aggravatingly gold. Too much gold!


    Also, I wonder why he isn''t making his appearance more handsome, when he can just materialize himself out of gold? Why choose the looks of a fat man that is the clear stereotype of a rich bastard? He even wears a self-confident grin, accentuated by his pencil mustache made of gold, which is basically an invitation for his face to be punched in.


    I think we just found the opponent for Awhina, then. He doesn''t seem to have any especially destructive abilities like Roamukao or the storm siblings up in the sky, so she should be a good match.


    "[Let me take him!]" Korenga shouts and runs forward without any consideration for my thoughts. You''re throwing my plan to match the fitting combatants all out of whack!


    "[Hey, stop it!]" I call out after her, and she actually listens.


    "[Why?]" She asks me, not understanding that something formless is her natural enemy. How does she hope to fight something made of liquid gold with just her punches?


    "[Let Awhina take him on.]" Turning to the half-goddess by my side, I look for her reaction.


    "[I''ve been waiting for this!]" Unexpectedly, her blood seems to be boiling at the thought of fighting someone using her full power, and she immediately springs into action. Riding on her wave of earth, she shoots forward. When I think about it, it really is her first time being in a duel with someone since we started our journey. Against Roamukao, she only created a barrier and joined us for the cleanup of his aspects.


    Noticing her approach, the golden man moves to meet her, pulling the entire wall he created with him.


    Is he an idiot? Now I can shoot at the army again.


    But that''s when five soldiers in distinctly colored armors run forward. Red, blue, black, yellow and a pink one.


    Oi, that''s dangerous!


    They each pull out a unique-looking weapon and stab themselves in the stomach. I stare at them in complete surprise, but then they explode and grow in size, turning into giants about ten times as tall as humans.


    That''s a whole different problem right there!


    But when I look closer, I find that they seem to be covered in metallic armor plating. Are those supposed to be my opponents? Not a single one of them even measures up to my waist in my current form; I can just crush them with a single punch.


    Betraying my expectations for the third time, they converge, jump into the air, and begin to transform further. The red one forms a torso, and a huge head, the blue and yellow ones turn into giant legs, the black one opens up and turns into a pair of fittingly sized arms, and finally, the pink one wraps around the torso and creates a breastplate. Assembling into one body, they form a giant that is a match for my size.


    I can''t even rebut, that''s actually amazing. I wish Senka were here to comment on this, but I know what she''ll say under these circumstances.


    "[Stop it!]" Pointing at the armored giant, I mimic the doll girl''s tone. "[That''s a copyright lawsuit right there!!!]"


    The giant obviously doesn''t understand or care about what I''m saying, and runs up at me with his right arm pulled back in a very telegraphed punch. The army cheers at this heroic charge of what must be a champion of theirs, but I only see an untrained idiot trying to attack a bear with his bare hands.


    "[Don''t ignore me!]" With an ear-splitting roar, Korenga runs towards the combined mecha-like thing from the side. Once again, she can''t read the mood.


    "[Korengaaa!!!]" A deep bass voice causes the very earth to tremble, as it rolls across the plains. It came from atop the city walls, and I look over there to spot a lone figure standing on the battlements. Apparently, that''s someone who knows the Black God, so that means her personal opponent has arrived. Good for her!


    "[It''s the general!]" Another cheer runs through the ranks of the king''s army as they raise their weapons in newfound high spirits. "[General Pakangaroa has arrived!]"


    I feel like I''ve heard that name somewhere before, but I can''t really put my mind into trying to remember. It''s just one thing after another over there...


    Rather casually, I sidestep the awkward and slow punch from the combined giant and counter with a hook towards its solar plexus of my own. Because their form is the result of five individuals merging, and I''m in sole control of my entire body, I have the upper hand in reaction time and speed here. At least that''s my theory in regards to why it''s so sluggish. Maybe these five aren''t experienced fighters because their size alone allows them to crush anyone without much of a battle.


    My giant fist connects, and I find that this opponent is incredibly hard and heavy. Maybe I shouldn''t underestimate it after all; if something that heavy and with that size hits me, my dragon armor will most likely get dented in. On the other hand, that weight just causes them to be so slow. My body completely ignores the law of conservation of mass. I can literally throw a punch with a hollow arm, and fill it up with mass from my depths in the last second, giving it massive weight.


    It''s what I do when I let my arm crash down on the head of the giant combined mecha, and fill it with most of my body''s weight in the last moment. I used this against Korenga before, and at that time I overshot because she fell asleep. This time, the opponent is much too slow to dodge, and it won''t pull something so unexpected.


    The balled fist comes down on the enemy''s head like a massive hammer and punches it into its torso, crushing its neck and spine in a single move. The impact causes its feet to sink into the ground before its knees buckle and give way under the immense weight of my attack.


    The cheering from the enemy army stops abruptly as the giant falls flat on its stomach and stops moving.


    "[Was that all?]" I announce across the battlefield and spread my arms. Maybe this form is just too powerful for them to handle, so I should give them a bit of a handicap. It''s no fun to be winning with such overwhelming might.


    Not.


    I''ve been defeated too many times because I was overconfident in my powers. They are amazing, but there is always a bigger fish out there, and it''s not always obvious at first sight.


    "[In other words, let''s check for pulse.]" I turn around to the lifeless body of the combined giant.


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    Forming the massive plasma cannon I started out with, I unload it on the fallen enemy repeatedly, until my barrel completely overheats. Then I reform my arm again and take a look at its remains. Smoldering pieces of what I assume to be muscle tissue and molten bones is all that remains, as it evaporates under the relentless residual heat of the dragon breath. Its shape can''t even be called humanoid anymore.


    "[No pulse.]" With these words, I turn back to face the remaining human army, that has been watching our short exchange. It has fallen completely silent from shock, and I''d say their morale is completely broken by now.


    I undo my transformation and turn small again.


    Right at that time, Awhina and the golden man clash in a wave of dirt, rocks, and gold. Forming blocks of earth around her feet, the demigoddess uses her very surroundings to throw a barrage of giant punches. She is met by shields of gold, which take the attacks with the malleability of the soft metal. Her opponent creates tendrils to try and move through the cracks of her defenses, but she cuts them off by throwing up walls.


    There is an incredible beauty in seeing two people with the ability to control matter to such an extent duke it out. I''m sure seeing two Crawling Chaoses fight is similar to that - as long as they don''t show their true appearances.


    In either case, it looks like an evenly matched battle, so I shift my attention to the skies. I can''t tell how it''s going, but the fact that it''s still going means that these three brats are putting up a valiant fight. I have no doubts that Tahiri will win though.


    Turning to Korenga, I find that she has returned to her normal appearance and is staring up at the giant city walls. She must be making eye contact with that general of the enemy, who has his arms crossed and doesn''t look like he''s going to move. Since her back is turned to me, I can''t tell what kind of face Korenga is making, though.


    Then it hits me. Tahiri was the one who told me the Black God''s past with Mataku, and in there she mentioned the name Pakangaroa - the God of War.


    I take a closer look at him by recreating binoculars inside my head. Even though I didn''t pay much attention at school, I did learn some random useless trivia outside of it; in other words, I know how binoculars work, and how I can form them using the human eye''s lens. As always, this body is so convenient, I can look normal on the outside, while my insides are filled with all kinds of strange growths that can aid me in every situation.


    The guy the soldiers called their general is a powerfully built man with crimson skin. Since there is nobody around him, I can''t really judge his height properly, but I would say that he is actually taller than even Korenga. He''s completely hairless, accentuating the muscles of his exposed upper body, which is covered in a very intricate pattern of black tattoos, which reach all the way up his face and across his bald head. His eyes are actually on fire, with flames flickering outside his sockets. Around his waist, he''s wearing something like a championship belt with a huge bull''s head made of metal adorning its front. His crotch and thighs are covered by a loincloth cut from an animal''s hide, and he wears a set of thick golden rings around his wrists and ankles.


    So that''s the God of War, huh? He does look quite warlike.


    Well, I''ll leave this to Korenga, as I had already somewhat decided to earlier. I turn to Tokomaha and Mereana who are standing a distance behind me. There''s a whole bunch of clones now, easily numbering in the hundreds; and they are all standing in formation, ready to charge. I think this is the moment where we go for a clash of the armies, while their morale is still low from my completely one-sided beat down and destruction of their champion.


    "[Let''s go.]" I wave to my companions and begin to walk forward, creating a shield and a spear in my hands using dragon armor. I''ll take this opportunity to experience how it feels to be in the thick of a huge melee since I''ve never really done that before. Every hero in every story goes through that, and they usually feel that it''s unnecessary bloodshed. Let''s see how I feel about that.


    Mimicking the outfit of a certain Greek king leading just a contingent of three hundred soldiers against a much larger force, I begin to form armor. Then I remember that in popular culture, he apparently went topless. That can''t be right. That''s really stupid to do in a real battle, no matter how skilled you are. So I just create a breastplate that looks like my naked body, embellished with the six-pack I don''t have - or rather, don''t want to have plainly visible, since such muscles don''t befit a delicate girl like me.


    Finally, I put on a Corinthian helmet featuring a red-haired crest, before breaking out into a light jog, while the army of Tokomaha catches up to me. Mereana joins my side, and we begin to charge, as the human soldiers in front of the city walls take on a defensive formation under the orders of a lower-ranked commander. At one glance I can tell that they still easily outnumber us more than ten to one.


    Good, a bit of a challenge.


    We pass by my two children still in dragon form, who realize that the situation has changed. They undo their transformations and follow my example, covering themselves in dragon armor with a far less refined appearance; they lack the training and visualization ability I''ve been honing for all this time since I got this body. It''s pretty good for their first attempt though.


    "[The giant god from before has used up all its energy, this is our chance!]" I hear someone bellow among the enemy troops. They think I became small because I had no choice, huh? I won''t correct their misconception about my abilities, though I''ll be giving them a huge surprise later when I tear down the wall in my giant form again.


    "[Shields up!]" I try to act commander-like when I see a volley of arrows fly up into the sky and come down on us. Unexpectedly, the Tokomaha clone army put their hands to the ground in unison and pull up dirt that turns into large oval shields which remind me of those carried by African tribes I saw on pictures in my previous life. Didn''t know she had something like that up her figurative sleeves; I thought the only tool she had was that bone spear.


    With perfect unity, the clones create a shield wall with no gaps and weather the hail of arrows. The instant the last impact is confirmed, I charge forward once again, and they follow me closely. To me, this is actually just like child''s play right now, but it feels quite refreshing compared to battles where my world seems to be at stake.


    I turn to look at Awhina, who is embroiled in battle with her opponent, wearing a grin on her lips. Despite the fact that she doesn''t have the clear upper hand, she seems to be having a lot of fun, too. On the other side, Pakangaroa seems to have jumped down from the wall and is walking forward to face Korenga in a duel. I doubt anybody is going to disturb them over there.


    Our contingent charges straight at the human army, and just before I reach my first opponent, I jump up and perform a lunging stab - a cool move I''ve seen in a movie before. My spear is blocked by the opponent''s shield, but luckily I didn''t make myself as weak as a normal human being; I have much more weight in my body than one would be able to tell from my appearance. Even though the enemy was able to block the spear instead of being penetrated by it, the impact sends him tumbling backward into his own troops.


    With this, I break a hole into the formation, and the Tokomaha clones immediately follow. Along a wide line, the two sides clash with spears and shields, and a messy melee develops instantly.


    I pull my spear back and stab a soldier in the exposed thigh. His scream is like music in my ears. Next to me, Mereana''s sword cuts through her target''s uncovered arm. She''s doing pretty well despite being just a human. Her opponent''s wailing is drowned out by the clashing of weapons all around me.


    Then there are Uten and Saten, who are slashing their way through the enemy lines with their monstrous strength. The Tokomaha clones are also far more powerful than any human soldier could be, and easily break apart the entire battle line with their onslaught.


    "[Do not falter! They are hopelessly outnumbered!]" The enemy commander tries to rally his troops, but that allows me to spot him out. He''s among a contingent of cavalry, but I can tell who it is because of his differently colored armor; it has the same kind of silver sheen that Mereana''s has, as opposed to the standard bronze everybody else around him wears. Incidentally, infantry is only wearing scale armor that only covers the torso.


    I pull my spear back into my body, pick up a fallen enemy''s, and throw it with all my strength, aiming at the commander. One of his cavalry guards see it and brings up a shield to block it, ignorant of the fact that my arm strength is on a whole different level compared to anybody of human size - except maybe for Korenga.


    The spear pierces not only through his shield, but his body armor, and pulls him off his saddle, before continuing straight into the commander behind him. He''s also thrown from his horse, and the two figures fall to the ground lifelessly, joined together by the shaft of the spear that is sticking through the both of them. All who witnessed my feat go pale from fear, some even going as far as to drop their weapons.


    However, it seems like there is a proper chain of command, as someone else takes over almost immediately, and orders the soldiers to dig in on their positions, while their wings circle to strike our flanks and rear. They want to grind us down from all sides.


    This is actually incredibly fun. The stench of blood and spilled guts, screams of agony and terror, all flow into me and fill me with elation. It''s a different kind of sensation than when I satisfy my hunger or libido; it fulfills a desire apart from those two, which a human doesn''t have - doesn''t even know of.


    I think I could become addicted to this...


    "[Let''s show them what we''re made of!]" I raise my voice to address my children as well as the Tokomaha army. With these words, I create a sword from dragon carapace in my palm. "[We''re breaking through.]"


    Swinging the sword in every which direction, it cuts through weapons, armor, flesh and bones alike. On either of my sides, Uten and Saten are doing the same, as we create a bloodbath in our wake, into which more and more clones follow. Our aim is the cavalry unit at the center of the enemy troops, which should consist of most of their chain of command. If I take these out, the entire army should lose cohesion.


    A huge impact on the wall to our right causes the battle to cease for a moment. As the dust settles, I can see that Korenga seems to have been embedded into the rocks from being thrown through the air at a high velocity. She''s in her Black God form, so I''m not worried at all. With a roar, she frees herself and jumps out to clash with her ex-husband again.


    On the other side, a wave of dirt mixed with gold crashes into the God King''s army, as Awhina and her opponent''s battle takes them closer to the city walls. There still isn''t any sign as to who has the upper hand among them, but I somehow don''t doubt that the half-goddess will win this. Maybe I''m being complacent, but after we defeated Roamukao, I don''t think anything from around here could win against our lineup.


    I mean, take me as an example. I could easily just expand and swallow this entire army with my current size, but I don''t do it because of several factors. One of those being that I don''t want to trigger Korenga or betray Mereana''s expectations of me being the savior spoken of in her prophecy. While I think believing in a prophecy is stupid in the first place, I do want to help her. And turning into a giant monster that kills all humans is not the way to go.


    Slaughtering my way through the infantry, I reach the cavalry. A spear comes down on me, but I deflect it with my helmet. Another shatters on my shield before I''m in range to attack the riders.


    "Horses!" I hear my children exclaim in unison. That''s right, they wanted to eat them after we rode them to the capital, but we had to let them go during the battle at Manoa.


    "Alright, have your fill." I cut a rider down and mount his horse, before calling out to them.


    "Thank you, mama!" Their response causes my heart to warm. Then they explosively expand, turning into dragons once more. At the sight, the horses buck, and the riders lose control of them, while the infantry shy back. Even now, I can hear some lower ranked commanders among them trying their hardest to keep up morale, but at this point it''s impossible.


    The twin dragons tear into the cavalry unit, flinging humans through the air while ripping horses apart in their powerful jaws. While they aim to eat the mounts, the riders are becoming collateral, too. More and more soldiers begin to run away, some getting cut down for their cowardice, while others start to wrestle with their officers.


    Humans are such unsightly creatures...


    "[To the gate!]" I command the Tokomaha clones, of whom most likely not a single one has even sustained any injuries, let alone been destroyed and returned to the dirt. Really, I have to admit that her power is something else. Every one of those register as real lifeforms in my Chaos senses, and appearance-wise they are all the same. I couldn''t tell which is the real one and which is just a clone.


    Riding on my newly gained mount, I ride through the fleeing enemies and cut down those who try to stand in my way. The gate isn''t far away, and I could have just walked over myself, but I really feel like a commander this way. Raising my sword, I signal for my troops to rally behind me.


    Suddenly, something flies at me from the sky, and I have just enough time to raise my shield. With a heavy impact, that something connects and rips me straight off the horse, sending me flying through the air and tumbling to the ground. When I look at my shield, I find that it''s cracked, even though it''s made of dragon carapace.


    Without losing a moment, I increase my body''s density to its maximum before sitting back up. In front of me stands a naked child, barely in its teens, with no discernible genitals. It has onyx skin with white lines that take on intricate patterns similar to the tattoos sported by all gods. A black full helm, strangely anachronistic for this nation, with a single thick spike sitting on its apex, covers the head, and beyond an eye slit are two glowing white eyes.


    "[Ah! That''s Aorutihaua, Child of the Sun! Be careful, Chaos!]" Several Tokomaha warn me in unison, employing a very serious tone. The title alone rings all kinds of alarm bells in my head. The sun implies incredible heat, which can break down anything solid into liquids or straight up vapors.


    I''m sorry I got ahead of myself again! I won''t look down on my enemies anymore, so please stop sending my natural enemies after me all the time!

 Chapter 92 - The Child of the Sun

    This is no time to play at being a heroic warrior at the front lines. I have no idea what this Child of the Sun can do, so I''ll have to go all-out from the start. I''ve already increased my density to the maximum and become the ultimate shield; now I need the ultimate spear to take my opponent down with a single hit.


    Well, as ultimate as I can make it right now.


    I think the best is the spirit spear, which I haven''t used in a while. It''s only because the plasma breath has been more useful against the enemies I''ve had to face recently. But it''s still one of the most powerful spells against those with magic protection, which the gods most likely all have built into their bodies. After all, it seems to pierce magic barriers effortlessly.


    With a simple thought, an array of light appears over my head, and within a split second, they shoot at the onyx-skinned god before me. They don''t even have the time to dodge, as the spears pierce their body.


    No, the light actually didn''t pierce - it was absorbed.


    The white lines on Aorutihaua''s body begin to glow as if having taken over the luminosity of the spirit spears. I should have known, that the Child of the Sun would be immune to light-based magic, considering the sun is the most powerful source of light. Instead of causing damage, they were only buffed up by the spell.


    Then how about plasma? I transform my right arm into a dragon cannon and build up a powerful shot inside. That''s when Aorutihaua moves for the first time since their first appearance before me.


    They''re bowing at a beautiful ninety-degree angle, like a politician apologizing for a scandal, their arms at the sides of their body.


    Huh?


    Then they lean forward even more, before flying towards me without warning. I have enough presence of mind to shoot the plasma at the approaching enemy, and they disappear in the beam. Emerging from the beam, the spiked helmet goes straight into the opening of my plasma cannon. Barreling through my arm and splitting it apart up to the shoulder, the Child of the Sun exits near my back again.


    So that''s what hit me earlier. No tricks, no magic, it was a head-butt with that spiked helmet. The cannon barrel was my only structural weakness in my otherwise extremely dense body, and they aimed for it right away. I don''t really feel any pain, because I rarely recreate nerves in my body anymore, ever since the incident of getting blown up from the inside happened. I couldn''t imagine how this would have hurt if I had been able to feel it.


    But I noticed one thing when they were inside me for that short moment: I didn''t have a sense of rejection that I got from Korenga when I tried to swallow her during our battle. This means that the onyx skin isn''t a curse from Mataku, and it''s what the Child of the Sun looks like normally. In other words, even if they''re fast, I can still just take them inside my body, where I can lock them down, if not outright digest.


    Spinning around with my ruined arm, I do my best to mend the damage while spotting out the enemy. They''re standing a distance away, angling their body for another attack.


    Come!


    As the child shoots at me, I focus my density around the impact point but increase the malleability underneath it. The spiked helmet pierces through the dragon carapace that covers my chest and travels further inside. If I had been at normal density, I would have had a hole punched into my body. However, now they get stuck in the rubber-like layer I formed underneath the armor.


    "[Seeking the bosom of a woman, you''re still just a child, huh?]" I quip even under these circumstances when I look down at myself. They''re magnificently stuck inside me up to their shoulders, with their body straight like an arrow. "[I''ll take you in anytime you want.]"


    With this, I open up a gate into the unfathomable abyss that is the inside of my body and pull the Child of the Sun into it.


    I regret it immediately when I feel the heat rising. This is on a whole different level compared to Felgar''s flames, which were already enough to heat the dragon armor up to near their melting point. Luckily, I did recreate nerves for the sake of gauging whether they can create a fire inside me and whether my body can handle it or not. Clearly, it can''t, and I immediately spit the child out again.


    What''s with all the enemies lately being ones I can''t eat? I thought the dragon carapace would allow for me to protect my insides against situations like the fire mage causing an explosion in my stomach, but its magic resistance doesn''t work to the degree I''d like it to against the power of these gods. Essentially, they''re just like the sorcerers, who use an advanced kind of magic. In other words, I shouldn''t rely on it against those either, when the time comes.


    So, what now? Spirit spears and plasma are useless, and I can''t eat them. The only way is to fight physically then? But why does it feel like it''ll be an exercise in futility, just like it was against Korenga? Is it because the black skin reminds me of that indestructible goddess?


    I dodge just in time to narrowly avoid getting pierced by that spiked helmet again. Maybe that''s their only way of attacking, so what would happen, if I were to remove that helmet? But I can barely follow their movements, so catching them mid-flight should be impossible. And I don''t want to risk taking them inside my body again, in case the retaliation comes much faster and stronger this time.


    When Aorutihaua angles their body again, I create boosters in the front of my body, and the moment they move, I shoot backward myself. If I can''t follow their speed, I just need to lower it through relativity, by moving in the same direction. This way, the projectile-like god coming straight for me appears much slower, and I find the time to grab their shoulders.


    Surprised, they come to an abrupt halt, and I''m barely able to hold on. Only that my aim is the helmet, which I hang onto while using my backward momentum to pull it off of their head.


    It actually comes off surprisingly easily, and I fall flat on my ass. At my speed, I flip over myself and roll across the ground several times, before skidding to a halt on my back. With a quick motion, I get up to my feet again and look at the helmet in my hands. The material is incredibly heavy and feels cool to the touch, but I can''t tell whether it''s something magical or not. Well, considering the spike broke through dragon armor and still looks perfectly pointy means that there must be something special about it.


    Then I look up to the Child of the Sun, to see what the face under the helmet looks like. As expected, it''s onyx-colored skin covered with white markings as well. Two large streaks are running straight down from the pupil-less eyes like tears. The hair is actually medium-length and seems to be made of white crystals.


    What catches me off-guard is their expression. I thought they would be angry at having the helmet stolen, or act indifferent about it, saying something along the lines of ''that was my limiter''. However, neither of those scenarios is the case. Instead, Aorutihaua is staring at me wide-eyed, with quivering lips and a face that suggests they''re close to tears.


    "[Give it baaack!]" Running forward while flailing their arms, they seem to have completely reverted to a simple child. The voice sounds androgynous as well, so I can''t tell whether that''s a boy or a girl.


    I hold the helmet up, obviously having no intention of giving it back.


    "[You meanie!]" Now, they''re hopping up and down, apparently having completely forgotten the jumping strength they displayed moments ago. Is this even the same person? Split personality? Was their power actually coming from the helmet?


    "[What are you even?]" I ask while putting a hand on Aorutihaua''s head.


    "[I''m Aorutihaua, Child of the Sun!]" For a moment, they seem to regain their composure a little to announce this, but when I don''t react with the awe they seem to have expected, their facade crumbles again. "Auuu..."


    "[I mean, are you a boy or a girl?]" Exerting force on their head, I put some emphasis into my question.


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    "[I don''t understand.]" They answer with a genuine questioning look, apparently not feeling the pressure of my fingers at all.


    So this child is genderless? That somehow doesn''t feel right. Even though some of them seem like living concepts, the gods all have genders - except for Roamukao, that is. But that one also didn''t seem like it was born by someone, and just came into being through nature. Child of the Sun implies somebody''s child unless it''s supposed to be literal. And that would make even less sense.


    "[Give it back!]" Struggling against my grip, Aorutihaua tries to climb up my body to take the helmet back from me.


    "[Alright, but under the condition that you won''t attack me anymore.]" I let go of the child and step back from them.


    "[H-huh? But I can''t do that. I was told to kill you, and all the other rebels.]" Tilting their head with a difficult expression, they reply innocently.


    "[Who told you that? The God King?]" It doesn''t seem like their actions stem from fear of the God King, or they would have shown it.


    "[No, it was his advisor.]" Just like a child, Aorutihaua gets roped into a conversation with me, despite having tried to kill me just earlier.


    "[Why do you listen to that advisor?]" This may become interesting.


    "[Because he said that you came to kill mama!]" As if remembering this fact, they come at me again and try to take the helmet back. "[That was a present from mama! Give it baaack!]"


    "[Who''s your mama?]" I purposefully speak in a child-like manner, to stay on the same wavelength as this child before me.


    "[God of the Sun, Areteniha.]" Pointing up into the sky, Aorutihaua states with pride, before remembering that I still have their helmet. "[Now give it back already, you stupid cow!]"


    They slap my breasts, and I feel something snap in me. I use the helmet to bash the child over the head, upon which they fall on their bottom while holding the place in obvious pain. So, they feel it when it''s the helmet, huh?


    "[Stop your whining! We didn''t come here to kill your mama. In the first place, how could we down here ever reach her up there?]" This is still a battlefield, but I take my time to scold them. "[I''ll give your helmet back, so go back to your mama''s side and leave us alone.]"


    "[I... I can''t.]" They reply with a downcast look. "[I lost my Golden Shawl, so I can''t get back to mama. The advisor said he would help me find it...]"


    "[But he''s been busy, huh?]" That advisor sounds very suspicious to me.


    "[H-how did you know?]" Surprised, Aorutihaua blinks at me.


    "[I''ll help you find it, so let us through, alright? I have an idea where that Golden Shawl could have disappeared to.]" Patting the child''s head, I state with a smile, before handing them the helmet back.


    "[Really? Do you promise?]" Their face lights up at my offer immediately.


    "[I keep my word, unlike that advisor.]" With a jab at that suspicious person, I help the Child of the Sun up to their feet.


    "[Then I won''t get in your way anymore!]" They put their helmet back on, before bowing in my direction. For a second, a shiver runs down my spine at the sight, thinking that they''re going to charge at me again. Then they straighten their back and point at the closed city gate behind us. "[Let me help you get in.]"


    Without waiting for my reply, Aorutihaua angles their body in the direction of the massive gate, before taking off like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. Only that this arrow is as thick as a battering ram and has the punching power of a meteorite.


    When they connect to the steel gate, the sound of metal being hit once rings across the battlefield. My jaw drops when I see that one entire wing is bent out of shape and smashed inwards. The way into the city is opened just like that.


    Hmph, I''m not surprised. I''m sure, Korenga could have done it with a single punch, too!


    But she''s still embroiled in her duel against her ex-husband. Neither seems to have the upper hand, and I feel like their battle could continue until around midnight when the Black God''s timer runs out. Well, as long as she keeps the God of War occupied here, I have no complaints. We''ll just go ahead and kill the God King while he''s out here banging his head against a brick wall. Just have to be done by the time Korenga falls asleep.


    "[Follow me!]" I rally the Tokomaha clones behind me, who had been scattered and fighting on their own without my command since I was occupied with Aorutihaua. My children have finished up the entire cavalry unit and are rampaging through the human soldiers in their dragon forms. I''d rather take them along inside, to keep them in my sight, so I raise my voice. "[THAT GOES FOR YOU TWO, TOO!]"


    Oops, a little too loud. It boomed across the entire battlefield, and everybody is holding their ringing ears now. I''ll have to practice shouting with a dragon''s throat more since I usually don''t do it and overdid it this time.


    I see Uten and Saten coming my way, smashing humans aside and stomping others in their way. Good thing, they''re quite obedient, so they don''t cause any problems for me. I''m sure they''ll grow up fast and become more and more independent quickly, though.


    "[Make straight for the palace. Don''t fight in the streets unless absolutely necessary. Let''s put an end to this quickly.]" I turn my body into soldier mode again and instruct the Tokomaha troops as well as the twins. "[I assume that most or all of the Six Arms are out here right now. Pakangaroa, Tahiri''s children, and that fat gold bastard should all be members, and maybe Aorutihaua was one, too.]"


    "[Ah, no, I''m not a member of the Six Arms.]" The Child of the Sun''s voice suddenly comes from behind me, and I spin around in surprise. I thought they had already left the battlefield after opening the gate, but apparently that wasn''t the case. "[Pakangaroa and Kouratua are the only members here.]"


    I assume Kouratua is the golden man fighting Awhina. Their battle hasn''t seen a conclusion even now, and I assume it''ll go on for quite a while until either finds the perfect opening to take out the other. I seriously hope that Awhina''s stamina will last since she isn''t used to fighting for long periods of time.


    Wait a second... only two of them came out here, even though they knew we were coming? They''re looking down on us way too much. But doesn''t that mean there are four more people with pretty strong powers still in the city? And there''s also the matter of the God Fist, who apparently is the God King''s right-hand man. He must be on a different level compared to the others.


    "[Oh well, we''ll deal with them when the time comes.]" I pet Aorutihaua, although it''s basically just their helmet. "[Do you know who the other members are?]"


    "[The God King''s two guards are also members, although I don''t know their names. Another one isn''t here right now.]" They reply in a thoughtful tone. "[Ah, one of them returned just a few days ago. I think her name was Rapania.]"


    Huh? Rapania is one of the Six Arms? Isn''t she actually really weak? Maybe it was just that Tahiri was overwhelmingly strong, so her real strength didn''t come across. In either case, she had a device that could temporarily disintegrate the God of Storm, so I''ll have to be careful. After all, I''m not a living concept, and I can''t turn my body intangible; if I get disintegrated, I don''t think I''ll be able to reform.


    "[Thank you, Aorutihaua.]" I pet them once again.


    "[Don''t forget your promise.]" I can''t see their expression through the helmet, but there''s a hint of enjoyment in their voice at being pet. Can they feel through the helmet?


    "[You have my word.]" I then turn to my companions, and I raise my newly formed dragon spear. "[Move out!]"


    The capital city is unexpectedly quiet and empty. Then again, the citizens were most likely told to stay in their homes, since there''s a battle raging outside the walls. Not a single soul can be found in the streets after we broke through the defensive lines stationed right behind the broken gate. It makes our journey to the palace easier, so I won''t complain.


    But I have to say, that''s really a massive building; from down here, I can appreciate the work that must have gone into it. It''s a gigantic pyramid with three staggered layers. The lowest has a balcony extended outwards, where the monarch can address his subjects from, while the upper two are wider and feature vegetation hanging down like green waterfalls cut off right after their drop.


    I can imagine why a human being could feel like a god when looking down at the world from up there. Unlike a natural mountain, it''s a place made to elevate one individual above the rest of the people. That can get to people''s heads pretty quickly. I''ll make sure to drag this God King down from his seat and back to earth, regardless of whether he''s really a god or only human.


    But first, we''ll have to get there. An army is surrounding the pyramid, and a host is coming straight at us through the main street that''s as wide as a football field. It''s not going to be as easy to get to our destination as breaking through the gate made it feel.


    Still, these are human soldiers, and Korenga isn''t anywhere near me.


    "[Tokomaha, don''t tell Korenga about this.]" I turn to one of the clones closest to me. Or maybe that''s the real one, I can''t really tell. "[Uten, Saten.]"


    "[Yes, mama?]" The twins ask in unison.


    "[It''s time to eat.]" With a grin that splits my cheeks to my ears, I announce. They immediately understand what I mean, and their expressions become something similarly demonic to what mine should be like.


    I create boosters on my back and leave the Tokomaha army behind me, as I fly forward, flanked by my two children in their dragon forms. Right before I reach the enemy lines, I expand and grow into a formless mass of flesh and tentacles. Rolling into the human army, I engulf and swallow everything in my path.


    It''s a feast!

 Chapter 93 - The Man Who Sold the World

    "AAAHHH!!!"


    "[Monster!]"


    "[Help meee!]"


    "[Nooo!!!]"


    A choir of voices filled with absolute terror reaches me, and I feel the onset of ecstasy. Hundreds of human soldiers have already disappeared into my body, as I roll through the main street of Kairaki as a wave of flesh and tentacles.


    The enemies are scattering, not even trying to put up a fight at this point, and all those who are caught in my path are swallowed whole. None can escape my cosmic hunger, even though my aim is only to get to the pyramid in the center of the city as quickly as I can. I leave those running into the side streets to my children, who haven''t completely let go of their forms as I have.


    In this form, I can see in every direction at the same time, and I can tell that the Tokomaha army, and Mereana near the front of it, have stopped following me. I''m sure they must be scared witless of me right now, but I just want to put an end to this quickly; Tahiri, Awhina, and Korenga are still fighting outside the city.


    Even now, I still have the presence of mind not to break into the surrounding houses with my almost liquid-like form, and eating all the civilians. My morals aren''t so far gone, yet. I think it may also be the only saving grace I have in everybody else''s eyes because I''m limiting myself to soldiers - those who step onto the battlefield prepared to kill. For me, those who are prepared to kill should also be prepared to die.


    Now, I wonder whether there will be some other members of the Six Arms coming out to greet us or they''ll just let us go all the way to the palace first. I''d prefer they come out and attack us one by one, but I assume that the two bodyguards are going to be staying with the God King. Rapania will most likely have set a trap in the palace, too.


    The God Fist is the one I''m wondering about the most. He or she must be someone above Pakangaroa''s level to be appointed to a higher station than the literal God of War - who''s going toe to toe with Korenga in her Black God form.


    Just when I think this the city wall is pierced from the outside and a crimson figure crashes through the debris. A second explosion of rocks and dust follows, and Korenga flies after her ex-husband. They clash in midair and crash into the city below. Every blow that follows in their fight causes the very air to tremble.


    I suppress a shudder. I wouldn''t want to be over there, not even with all this mass that I have. As has been the case with every opponent lately, I haven''t been able to swallow any of them. So, I''m sure the same is true for Pakangaroa. It seems like my defining trait has diminished by quite a bit.


    With these thoughts, I clear the streets from the human rabble and roll onto the plaza before the palace walls. Obviously, they''re not as tall as the city walls, but they''re still sizeable. At the same time, barriers like that pose no obstacle to me, as I pull all my matter together and turn into my humanoid form again.


    The soldiers at the gates realize that they have no means of stopping me and scatter away, their morale completely shattered. I whip my arm around and grab one of them, before reeling him in from a distance.


    "[Which floor-]" I begin to ask, but realize that the whiplash just now broke his neck. Oops, I didn''t consider how fragile human beings are. Pulling him into my body, I try again but make sure to be more careful this time.


    The victim is a young man barely of age. His eyes are filled with overwhelming fear, to the point where he doesn''t even try to struggle and only mutters a prayer for salvation.


    "[Which floor is the God King on?]" I ask him, but he keeps his eyes pressed shut and continues to prattle down meaningless word after word. Tightening my grip on his body, I hear his bones creak. "[Hey, I''m talking to you.]"


    "[I''m sorry! Please don''t kill me!]" He squeezes out between his whimpers of pain.


    "[Then tell me what I want to know.]" I speak coldly.


    "[The topmost balcony leads to the king''s chambers!]" With his eyes pressed shut, he quickly reveals what I want to know. His fear of me is stronger than his loyalty to the king at this moment. "[I told you, so please let me live!]"


    I drop the boy carelessly and walk forward while looking up at the palace. I hear him scrambling to get away before a terrified scream emerges from the direction he tries to run into. It''s cut short by a squelching noise, and then there''s only silence.


    "[Oh, you already caught up to me, huh?]" I look over my shoulder and find Uten and Saten standing behind me, in their human forms once more. "[Did you eat your fill?]"


    "[We feel like we could go for much more.]" They reply in unison, and I smile.


    "[Don''t we ever?]" With a shrug, I point up at the pyramid. "[The God King is up there somewhere. Let''s go.]"


    I recreate the Chaos Warhead lite version and take off into the skies. Looking back one last time, I find that Tokomaha and Mereana have begun moving again, and are coming towards the palace as well. They''ll join up with us soon enough, but I''m sure the gate to the courtyard will pose a little problem to them.


    Raising my arm, I expand it to a gigantic size and cover it with dragon armor. Then I bring it down like a titan''s hammer, crushing the entire gatehouse and a section of the wall, flattening it to the ground. Before the arm''s weight pulls me down, I return all the matter into the infinite depths of my body.


    There, they should be able to follow quicker now.


    "[Stay close to the pyramid, watch out for the storm above.]" I warn the twins. Lightning is flashing through the dark clouds and whirlwinds are whipping the air, a testament to the fact that the God of Storm is still embroiled in a battle with her children. Maybe she''s having such a hard time because of the number''s advantage?


    Flying along the wall of the pyramid, we ascend its side quickly. I can feel the presence of more than a dozen humans on the first balcony, so I come to a stop, to see who''s there. At our sight, some of them stare in fear and others run away blindly. An archer fires an arrow at me, but it misses, and I punish his attempt with a plasma shot that melts his upper body away.


    In the center of these people, most of whom are wearing military uniforms, stands a table with a map and some wooden figures on top of it. I assume they''re the commanding brass, but none of them look like a king, so I have no reason to deal with them here. It might come back to bite me later, but I don''t want to chase down every human, thinking they play an important role later.


    The second balcony features a garden, but I don''t detect any human presences in there, so I don''t even slow down to see what it looks like.


    Finally, we reach the uppermost balcony, which is less than half as big as the second one. There''s a much smaller garden here, and beyond it are closed shutters of richly carved mahogany-like wood covered in golden ornaments. Those look like they could lead to a rich person''s chambers, so I land amidst the greenery and flowers.


    I push open the shutters, preparing myself for an ambush the moment I do. On the other side, I find a beautiful bedroom instead. The interior is filled with lavish decorations such as painted vases and statues of perfect human forms. The giant canopy bed, which could hold ten people, is dressed with silken curtains and covered with satin sheets.


    But the God King isn''t here.


    The humans my Chaos senses picked up were the four gorgeous women lying naked and sleeping on the bed. It seems they were involved in lovemaking until only moments ago, judging by their appearances as well as the smell in the air. The fact that they were going at it with no regard for the battle raging outside tells me that these must be part of the king''s harem. And the king must have been sure of his victory.


    Well, I would have been as well, if I had been told that a group of only eight people is attacking. Having the God of War and the Child of the Sun around surely added to his confidence.


    "[Mama...]" Uten and Saten are looking at the forms of the women with clear interest.


    "[Not now. You can take them later, when we''re done here.]" I shut them down immediately before they get funny ideas. This really isn''t the time to let your libido run wild.


    I wonder where the God King went. Assuming they finished only moments ago, he could even be in the bathroom and might walk back in here without a care in the world.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    The sound of water flushing comes from a door to the left, and I spin my head around to it. Then the door opens and out comes a bearded man in his mid-forties with light brown skin and wearing a silken bathrobe. He has his long hair tied into a bun on the top of his head and an innocuous look in his golden eyes.


    How did I not notice him with my Chaos Senses? Now that he appeared before me, I can actually feel his presence.


    "[Huh, who are you?]" He sees my children and me and asks without a worry in the world. "[I didn''t call for more. And aren''t you two a little young?]" Pointing at the twins, he tilts his head with an eyebrow raised.


    This guy must be almost blind not to notice our appearances. We don''t look like concubines at all, especially since our bodies are covered in dragon armor. Maybe he thinks we''re doing cosplay for him or something like that.


    "[Are you the God King?]" I turn my left arm into a spike and extend it all the way up to the man''s throat before asking him in a firm tone. It''s an unmistakable statement that he shouldn''t waste my time here.


    "[Woah!?]" His eyes widen in shock, and he steps back.


    "[No, that can''t be. Are you a double?]" I glare at him, and he shrinks back. That''s not the kind of behavior one would expect from someone who could make real gods move for him. Could it be that I got the wrong room? This guy must be a fake, and the real one is waiting like a last boss in the throne room or something.


    "[Oh, no no. I''m not a double.]" For some reason, he doesn''t seem concerned enough about this situation, but at the same time, he doesn''t have the regal bearings of a king. It''s like he doesn''t fear for his life at all. Maybe he''s one of the Six Arms or even the God Fist himself?


    "[So you''re the king?]" I stare at him with a skeptical expression.


    "[Indeed, I am.]" Puffing up his chest with the kind of prideful mannerism a commoner imagines a king to have, he tries to speak with regal bearing.


    "[Then I''ll have you die here.]" I pull the spike back demonstratively, motioning to stab him in the chest. In reality, I''m not actually planning on actually doing it without getting some information out of him first. If I really wanted to kill him, I could have done it without giving him time to react. His behavior is completely different from how I pictured him.


    "[W-wait!]" Raising his arms in a gesture of surrender, he loses his composure.


    "[Tell me the truth now.]" Placing the spike on his throat and poking him slightly, I emphasize my position of power over him.


    "[I''m Makanui, the one known as the God King of Adanak.]" The man starts and flinches when I glare at him. "[But I''m actually only playing this role.]"


    What?


    Others Side


    "[You lost your edge, mama!]" The voice of Aratio of the Whirlwind echoes through the air, accompanied by laughter. She has always been the playful type and inherited Tahiri''s unrestrained nature. To her, life itself is a game, and she can easily gain and lose interest in things within mere moments. The fact that she joined her brothers here is most likely just another one of her whims, and she could leave at any moment when she becomes bored.


    "[It''s time to leave the stage for the next generation!]" Tewira of the Lightning announces and calls down a bolt of plasma, fully aware of the fact that his mother''s body is just a projection. His personality is the culmination of Tahiri''s wrath, and he has been angry at everything since he could remember. He was the most likely candidate to one day attempt to overthrow his mother to cement his position in the sky.


    Aopori of the Dark Cloud never spoke more than three words in one sentence, and rarely more than nine words a day. Despite the fact that he inherited Tahiri''s rare moments of deep resentment, he has always tried to rebel against her by being more forgiving than any of his siblings.


    The God of Storm''s battle against her children is a wholly defensive one. Even though she acted tough before Chaos, she actually cannot bring herself to fight them seriously. She knows that she can avoid all the attacks they throw at her, and she has ways by which she could take them down. After all, they only represent an aspect of her full powers.


    "[Fight us!]" Tewira roars and turns himself into a living lightning bolt, shooting straight for his mother. However, she merely turns her body into a fine mist like the interior of a cloud, and his rage-filled attack passes through her.


    "[Come on, mama. This isn''t fun at all.]" With a pout, Aratio flies past Tahiri, and uses her wind to try and scatter her very own mother into pieces. Once again, the God of Storm thwarts the attempt by turning into lightning herself.


    Aopori''s dark clouds swirl about and close in from all sides in an attempt to swallow his mother''s energy and disperse it across the skies. A strong whirlwind rises around her, to blow apart the gathering clouds.


    This back and forth has continued since the start, and all this time, Tahiri has avoided raising her powers against her children. Ever the drifter, she had left them when they were still young so that they had grown up without the love and warmth of their mother.


    "[This is getting boring.]" Aratio floats on her side in midair, propping up her head with a hand and acting like she''s lying on a bed. She embraces her whimsical nature like no other of Tahiri''s children. "[What did you even come here for, mama?]"


    "[Why won''t you fight?!]" Tewira balls up his fists in unbridled fury and discharges a whole storm of lightning bolts, which all pass through his mother impotently.


    "[For that creature?]" Aopori speaks, just loud enough for his mother to overhear him. He would never waste his words on idle talk, always carefully choosing what to say. This time as well, he is spot on in his deduction.


    "[Then I''ll kill that thing.]" Looking through an opening in the clouds to spot Chaos, who is charging into Kairaki''s defense army at the front of a company composed of Tokomaha clones, the child of lightning grinds these words through his teeth. "[It''s just like an aspect of Mataku.]"


    Suddenly, dark clouds explode outwards from Tahiri''s body and expand in all directions. Tewira quickly takes his distance, fearing that his mother could absorb his powers.


    "[Ohhh, do you finally feel like fighting?]" The child of whirlwind creates a barrier of wind around herself and scatters the clouds coming towards her. Her eyes light up with joy at the prospect of finally being able to go all out against her mother. "[Let''s get started!]"


    "[No.]" Tahiri''s voice echoes through the skies, a menacing rumble like the rolling thunder before an all-out storm."[I''m putting an end to this.]"


    "[What is your name, young girl?]" The man with a body of pure gold asks while riding on a wave of the same. He has been going at it leisurely, his control over his element as exquisite as the element itself. It''s a testament to his abilities that he can conduct small talk in the middle of a battle like this.


    He is Kouratua, the God of Gold. His rotund appearance and boisterous personality would be more befitting of a minister, and his financial capabilities did land him the seat of Treasurer of the Kingdom. However, unexpectedly, he displayed incredible combat skills as well, using his uncanny control over gold to hold his own against even the most powerful gods of the God King''s army. Thus, he was elevated into the ranks of the Six Arms.


    "[Awhina!]" Out of breath and with beads of sweat glistening on her chocolate skin, the demigoddess still finds the time to respond.


    "[Just Awhina? No family name?]" With an eyebrow raised, Kouratua asks in a skeptical tone.


    "[Huh? What are you saying?]" Awhina creates a barrier of flowing stone to block a spike shooting out from the wave of gold her opponent is riding. "[Who ever has a family name?]"


    "[Right.]" Clearing his throat, the rotund man puts his arms behind his back in a relaxed stance, and tendrils of gold rise all around him. He used this method several times before, utilizing those tendrils to get through the gaps of Awhina''s still inexperienced defenses.


    "[You''re weird.]" The village girl raises a wall in anticipation of the incoming attack, but it doesn''t come right away.


    "[Say, girl. Why are you here?]" Stalling his assault, Kouratua leans forward while scratching his pencil mustache and asks.


    "[You attacked my village!]" Seeing how the God of Gold doesn''t attack, Awhina raises her arm and creates spikes of dirt and rock to throw them at her opponent.


    "[Is that so? What did you hope to achieve by coming here?]" With a simple thought, the wave of gold undulates to avoid the attack. Bringing himself to eye-level with the demigoddess while hanging upside down, Kouratua continues his inquiries.


    "[We''ll depose the God King so that our village will be safe.]" Not letting her opponent overwhelm her, Awhina slides backward while creating a giant wave behind herself, aiming to cover the rotund god and his entire pool of gold with it


    "[Who will reign then?]" Following her retreat, Kouratua turns himself upright and extends his footing towards her. "[You?]"


    "[No, but someone wiser than the current king!]" She raises both her arms and a wall cuts her off from her opponent. Then the wave of dirt she created earlier comes crashing down on him.


    Suddenly, the wall before her cracks open and a large mass of gold presses through it. Stunned, Awhina stares at it, as the front opens up like a flower, to reveal Kouratua. His impressive figure towers half a head over her, and his body is easily three times as wide as hers. He turns his head and looks around, finding that he''s now inside a giant dome of dirt.


    "[Wait.]" He gestures for a ceasefire when he sees the demigoddess trying to go for a preemptive attack. "[We can talk in here without worrying about someone overhearing us.]"


    "[... why would I want to talk to you?]" She asks with a frown, preparing her mind to make the entire dome crash down on the man of gold the moment he makes a wrong move.


    "[Because that necklace can separate your pretty little head from the rest of your body with but a thought from me.]" Pointing at Awhina, Kouratua states with a shrug which suggests that he wouldn''t mind if she tried to fight.


    She looks down at herself and finds that a beautiful necklace made from interlinked rings of gold is floating around her neck. She didn''t notice until he pointed it out, but apparently, it was put there just moments ago. How is he controlling it from a distance? He never showed any signs of being able to do that, or he could have used much more powerful methods to attack her before.


    "[Now, let''s talk.]" Ripples form on Kouratua''s stomach and extend all the way across his large body before a hole opens up in the center and reveals a hollow interior.


    From inside emerges a naked woman, whose body is as golden as the rotund man she inhabited.


    "[What is your relationship with Chaos?]" Looking down on Awhina despite being a head smaller, Aurelia asks in an arrogant tone with her arms crossed in front of her modest chest.

 Chapter 94 - Taking Shape

    "[Explain yourself!]" I tap my foot in impatience and lightly poke Makanui''s chest with my spike arm. He inches back with a nervous smile as he holds up his hands and shrugs.


    "[Well... you could say I''m a figurehead.]" The man begins, clearly not happy with describing himself the way he just did. "[I don''t hold real power, and only need to show my handsome face to the people.]"


    Striking a pose, Makanui winks at me. I''m sure he would be considered handsome in this nation, but I''m obviously not swayed by that kind of behavior. I''ve spent a while with a flirty man who has a charming aura towards women, and my love for girls was reinforced by that experience instead.


    "[So, who''s the one deciding everything?]" My voice changes to a low and menacing tone, suggesting that he better hurry up before I lose my patience.


    "[Oh, my advisor Hunapori runs the state.]" Even when I''m threatening him like this, he doesn''t seem fazed to the point of true fear. I can''t have that from a mere human like him.


    Yes, to my Chaos senses, Makanui is just a plain human. I can tell the difference between them and the gods through their life signatures on my radar. He may still be a powerful mage who learned things from Rapania or something, so I won''t let my guard down. I''ll never let my guard down around humans again, after all the things I''ve gone through because of that.


    "[What does this Hunapori look like and where is he right now?]" I think after he answers, I''ll just kill him. There''s no point in keeping him alive if he''s been sitting by and watching free people getting enslaved for the system that is feeding him, just so that he can secure his position in this world - even if he''s just a figurehead.


    "[He has long and straight black hair, white skin, and eyes that seem to have had their light sucked out from them. I really don''t like that guy, but what can I say, he''s the boss.]" Makanui explains in a half-joking manner. Then he looks at the open balcony door and back to me. "[Considering you came in through the window, you must have passed him on your way up.]"


    I think I saw a person matching that description on the lowermost balcony, among the gathered military brass. All of them had some unique characteristics, as people near the top always seem to do, so I couldn''t single him out as someone special. In other words, I passed by the most important person because I thought dealing with all those was a waste of time. Instead, I got held up by this useless puppet of a human.


    My spike pierces through Makanui''s chest and embeds itself into the wall behind him. For a moment, the nervous but somewhat carefree smile on his lips freezes in place, before he looks down on himself. His expression crumbles and surprise appears on his features. I pull my arm back, and his lifeless body falls to the floor.


    "Come with me now. You''ll have more than enough time for those later." I turn around to my children, who have been continuously eyeing the women on the bed. They''re still asleep and completely missed everything that happened just now.


    "Aww..." The twins make in unison, but listen to me and follow me out onto the balcony. It''s good that they''re so obedient, or it''d cause me a lot of trouble; I''m not ready to leave them to their own devices in this world just yet, and my protective instincts are still very strong.


    I still can''t believe my mother just sent me off like that so soon after my birth...


    Makanui''s life signs disappear completely, and I jump down from the pyramid. So, this is how a king dies, huh? Like any other human. What a disappointing end.


    On the balcony outside, I notice that the clouds above have calmed down and are in the process of dispersing. The battle in the sky is over, then. I have not a shred of a doubt that Tahiri won, and judging by the fact that the weather is clearing, I should be right. If the three children had won, they would have kept the storm up and come after me.


    Raging through the residential districts to the left of the pyramid is the duel between Korenga and Pakangaroa. I have no idea how long they''ll keep going, but it feels like neither will ever yield, and they''re both nigh indestructible. Everything could be long over before a victor is decided between those two.


    The Tokomaha corps has pushed through the little resistance that remained in the courtyard and seems to have broken through the front gate of the palace. Some clones are staying down there and cleaning up the few that are still trying to offer resistance, while the majority has already flooded into the pyramid. They''ll come up here in due time.


    Spreading my wings, I float down the side of the pyramid on Hestia''s template instead of using the much louder Chaos Warhead lite version. I doubt the strategy meeting downstairs returned to normalcy after we passed by, but in case it did, I don''t want to scare them away now. Uten and Saten are following my example, and three angels of death swoop down onto the first balcony.


    I land on the ledge and look at the empty space before me. The table and everything on it has been left there in a hurry, and even the remains of the archer who shot at me are still there.


    "Of course, it''s not going to be that convenient, huh?" I sigh and pull the wings back into my body. "Stay close to me. There are still four of the Six Arms somewhere in this pyramid. If you see Rapania, you''re authorized to instantly use the plasma breath on her. Don''t let her use any magic."


    While instructing my children, I clad myself in dragon armor and create a plasma cannon from my left forearm and a spike from my right. These should make me ready for long and short range engagements, depending on the situation.


    "Anyone who doesn''t instantly run away is a potential enemy god." I finish up the briefing. "When I warn you, listen immediately."


    "Understood, mama." Uten and Saten cover their bodies in a magic-resistant carapace. They still can''t figure out how to recreate the dragon''s plasma-breathing throat in a smaller and more compact way to fit it into an arm cannon as I do, so for now, they have their entire torso region in the shape of a large dragon head.


    With these preparations, we go into the depths of the pyramid, to find this advisor named Hunapori.


    Others Side


    "[... I''m sorry...]" Tahiri mutters with a sad and distant look, standing on the ground once again and overlooking the battered forms of her three children lying around her.


    The battle on the plains outside the gate has concluded, and Chaos has already infiltrated the palace with her two children. Tokomaha and Mereana have followed her inside as well.


    A large dome of dirt is covering Awhina and the golden god, and there is no way for the God of Storm to know what is going on inside it. The victor will be the one to emerge eventually; for now, she can only hope that it will be Rangi''s daughter.


    The Black God and the God of War are still fighting, paying no regard to the destruction they are causing to their surroundings. While the former used to be a village god, Mataku has stripped her of such feelings over time. And Pakangaroa has never cared for human lives in his pursuit of the greatest battlefields worthy of song and lore.


    "[... I didn''t want to do this, but you left me no choice.]" With a sigh, the God of Storm sits down on thin air and looks at Tewira, Aratio, and Aopori.


    They are still alive, albeit only barely. Just like how a creator god can give power to aspects and take it away again, a parent god can do the same with their children. But Tahiri never wanted to treat them like mere aspects, which are only lower beings spawned from the elements rather than carried and birthed by a mother.


    However, their powers made it impossible for her to stop them in another way. Without them, they are now just normal humans. She will have a stern talking to with them when they wake up before she decides whether to return those powers or not.


    "[It seems my battle is over, Chaos.]" Looking at the clearing sky, Tahiri slouches her shoulders in a rare display of resignation, as she closes her eyes.


    Then they flap open again as she remembers something important; Rapania is most likely in that pyramid, and if whatever magic she tried to use to destroy the God of Storm was utilized against any of the others, they would most likely die.


    Taking off in a lightning bolt, Tahiri immediately springs into action once again.


    Mereana and the Tokomaha army have fought their way into the palace and overwhelmed the royal guard along the way. Only human opposition has stood against them so far, but gods are bound to appear soon enough. Even though Tokomaha''s ability allows her to fight entire armies, her strength isn''t much greater than that of the most powerful human warriors. If they encountered someone with abilities like the God of Gold or overwhelming strength like Pakangaroa, they would stand no chance.


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    "[Rapania is here.]" The Tokomaha clones mutter in unison as they sniff audibly with their noses. "[Be wary.]"


    It was what Mereana had feared. She clutches the hilt of her sword tightly and looks around nervously, knowing that in this battle of gods and monsters, a mere human armed with only a sword has no chance of survival. However, she still wishes to be there to witness Chaos change the fate of this nation, even if that resolution might cost her life.


    "[Perceptive little one.]" The alluring voice of the sea witch echoes through the palace halls. It''s enough to drive humans mad with desire, and Mereana finds herself staggering towards where she believes it to originate from. "[Come to me, I will give you peace.]"


    Rapania''s voice grows even more intense and all the humans in the palace, regardless of gender, begin to walk in the same direction.


    "[... no.]" Resisting the irresistible, Mereana slashes her left palm on the blade of her sword, to focus on the pain and regain control over herself. She had fallen under the influence of this sea witch before, so she knows the way it works, and understands that it isn''t absolute.


    "[Impressive. Then keep your mind and come to me.]" Despite the fact that Mereana was able to shake off her influence, Rapania sounds amused rather than worried. "[Just follow the puppets, and you will find me.]"


    Soldiers and slaves alike are walking through the corridors, all mindlessly drawn towards the origin of the sea witch''s voice like moths to a flame. Exchanging a glance with some of the Tokomaha clones, the former slave commander gathers her courage and follows the puppets.


    Exhaustion was a foreign concept to Pakangaroa, the God of War. He has fought on countless battlefields throughout the ages, never learning what it meant to grow weary from exertion.


    But his former wife, Korenga the Black God, is teaching him the meaning of that word today. The last time they faced each other, he sustained an injury to his left arm, but she regained her senses and ceased the battle just in time before he could discover that the feeling in his body was the onset of fatigue. This time, she isn''t fighting him filled with uncontrollable rage; she''s fighting with purpose.


    This time, she would not cease until a victor is decided.


    The Black God''s fist impacts the side of his face, and the force sends him flying backward through several houses before he crashes through half a dozen wooden stalls of the abandoned marketplace and skids to a stop on the paved street. Righting himself immediately, just in time to avoid her follow-up charge, the God of War counters with an uppercut into Korenga''s side that takes her off her feet ever so slightly. She shrugs it off instantly and continues her assault.


    He understands that he''s going to lose. It''s the first time in his long life of constant battles that this feeling was overcoming him. And for some reason, he doesn''t dread the thought of tasting defeat at the hands of his former wife.


    It had taken Pakangaroa a long time to come to terms with the loss of many of his children, including his newborn son, and longer still to find understanding for the actions of the one who killed them. Korenga was not to blame for the rage that caused the tragedy that day - it was Mataku''s curse.


    The only reason he aligned himself with the God King was that he possessed far-reaching influence and a gigantic base of manpower. With only eyes for battle, Pakangaroa could never hope to find someone hiding in the shadows, so he needed to rely on outside help, even if he didn''t like to admit it.


    He has always been bad at communicating his feelings to others. Even now, upon finally meeting Korenga again after such a long time, he couldn''t convey what he wanted to say, and they clashed head-on instead. But he believed that through their fists, they would be able to come to an understanding eventually.


    No, he knew that his opponent already understood. Tears are glistening on her face, as she twists her body and slams her fist into the God of War''s stomach from above. The ground under his feet trembles under the impact and gives way, causing their entire surroundings to cave in by half a meter. While the blow is blocked by his wall of steel-like muscles, he can feel it reverberating through his whole body.


    He returns the gesture with a haymaker to Korenga''s left flank. A shockwave travels through her black body and exits on the other side of where his fist connected. The building to her right is blown away by the excessive force of his blow, but she''s standing her ground without a hint of fatigue.


    Yes, he would lose. No, he doesn''t feel like he would regret it.


    "[Oh no, I cannot have you lose here.]" A familiar voice mutters into Pakangaroa''s ear, and he spins his head around in shock. In this moment of inattention, Korenga''s punch connects to his solar plexus and takes him off his feet. Since he didn''t brace himself, all of the force is transferred into his body, and he flies backward at an incredible speed, soon crashing into the royal palace in the distance.


    "[We''re... friends.]" Awhina is sitting on her wave of dirt, and nervously glances down at the golden necklace floating around her neck, before redirecting her eyes back to the girl made of the same, looming overhead.


    "[Why does it sound like you are more than just friends?]" Speaking in a disapproving tone, Aurelia raises an eyebrow.


    "[It''s compli-... what do you care?]" Impatiently, the half-goddess snaps up at her opponent with little regard for the noose around her neck. "[What''s your relationship with Chaos, huh?]"


    "[M-mine?]" Taken aback by the sudden counter-question, the golden girl stutters in embarrassment - to the surprise of Awhina. "[We are... friends.]"


    "[Right back at you!]" Jumping up from her sitting position, she points at Aurelia''s nose. "[Why are you, a friend standing against her here then?]"


    "[Do not get ahead of yourself, mutt. You are on my leash.]" Regaining her composure, the golden girl tugs on the golden necklace demonstratively without even moving a finger. "[I was told that Chaos would come here eventually, so I waited.]"


    "[Who told you that?]"


    "[A man calling himself Mithra.]"


    Chaos Side


    The guards inside the palace either have all run away or gathered wherever this Hunapori and the other military brass are hiding. I don''t really care either way since that means they''re not trying to stop us along the way and I can round them all up in one go.


    My Chaos senses are guiding me towards the largest collection of human life signatures inside the palace. Among them are two stronger energy readings, which most likely belong to gods. I''m almost certain that those must be members of the Six Arms, then.


    I can feel that Mereana and the army of Tokomaha clones are somewhere below us, making their way through the pyramid as well. Maybe we''ll meet up at the same place eventually, but I''m not worried that they won''t find the way; I''d rather deal with this alone, without endangering either of them.


    We come upon a double-winged bronze door richly ornamented with a relief depicting a giant version of the God King towering above people from all walks of life bowing before him. After knowing how disappointing the real deal is, this thing is just annoying to look at. Since the many humans I''ve been homing in on are behind this door, I''ll kill two birds with one stone.


    With a plasma blast that rips and melts through the bronze door, I open the path before us and announce our arrival with a bang. If that doesn''t turn some heads, I''ll be disappointed.


    On the other side is a large throne room befitting of a palace as big as this one; it rivals the demon castle''s in size, and the ceiling is even higher up. There are a few dozen people here, the majority of them royal guards. The empty throne stands on an elevated platform, flanked by two men in full armor uncharacteristic for this nation''s military tradition, one with a red and the other with a blue cape. They remind me of the guardian statues in front of Buddhist temples, with their masked helmets displaying wrathful grimaces.


    Those two are the ones I feel the godlike power emanating from, so I assume the two bodyguards are the Six Arms members Aorutihaua talked about, which leaves only Rapania and another one unaccounted for.


    Next to the empty throne sits a man that matches the description of Hunapori. He''s the only person who doesn''t look at least a little nervous among those whose faces I can see.


    So, this is the advisor of the God King, the actual string-puller behind everything. If we take him out now, everything should be over. Of course, I have no idea what happens afterward, but at least that should stop this kingdom''s current agenda of enslaving all gods.


    "[Such temperament.]" Hunapori speaks up, and his voice echoes through the halls.


    "[Let''s go.]" I mutter to my children, and we walk forward together. The guards charge at us with their spears and swords but are swatted aside or swallowed whole effortlessly, while we advance without slowing down even a little.


    "[What have you come to accomplish?]" Even now, the advisor doesn''t break his smile. He must be really confident about those guards of his. "[Do you want this nation? Do you want fame, fortune?]"


    Those are the stereotypical words of a cornered villain who can''t see another way out other than to offer what he most desires himself in exchange for his life. But he doesn''t sound desperate at all; he''s chatting in a friendly manner, still wearing that dark and empty smile of his.


    "[I''ll wipe that expression off your face.]" I cut the soldier coming at me in half and rush forward. At the same time, the two bodyguards, who have remained completely motionless so far, spring into action like statues gaining life. "[Uten, Saten.]"


    "[Yes, mama!]" Without question, my children finish up their respective human soldiers and charge up their plasma cannons.


    Without paying attention to the twin guards, I continue onward with my cannon raised and pointed at Hunapori. I promised Aorutihaua to find out where their Golden Shawl went, and I''m sure this guy is hiding it somewhere, so I can''t kill him straight away. But if he does make a wrong move, I won''t hesitate to melt his entire body away, along with half the throne room. Better explain everything and help the Child of the Sun myself, than to risk losing this battle.


    On both sides, plasma breaths catch the red and blue caped guards, and they disappear completely. Their life signs have disappeared as well, but I don''t doubt for one second that they''re still alive.


    "Be careful, that can''t be the end of them." I call out to my children while beginning to ascend the steps towards the advisor''s seat. He still doesn''t look intimidated and keeps on his smile, so it''s obvious that he has an ace up his sleeve.


    Then, the wall to my right explodes into dust and rocks, and something flies through the throne room into the wall on the other side. Not taking my eyes off of Hunapori, I create another set of eyes on the side of my head to look at what just came in like a wrecking ball.


    When the dust settles, a large figure with crimson skin lifts himself up onto unsteady feet among the rubble. It''s Pakangaroa, who must have been sent flying by Korenga. He looks quite shaken, and I don''t think he''s in any state to put up a fight against the current me.


    This guy can''t be the backup Hunapori was hoping for, right? I can''t help but think this because the expression on his face hasn''t changed even after witnessing one of his star players in this sorry state.


    "[We are missing just a few more.]" He suddenly states with a smile that causes a shiver to run down my spine.


    Huh? Am I... scared?


    This guy is bad news, so I won''t give him the chance to do anything. Without warning, I stab him in the eye and through the head with my spike arm. If he''s still alive after this, I''ll be using the plasma cannon to disintegrate his entire body on the spot.


    "[My, how impatient.]" His good eye turns to me, and he speaks without a care in the world, despite having had his brains pierced just now. "[Why not see what I have prepared for you... sister?]"


    These words stop me from making good of my promise to myself to obliterate him immediately in case he survived the spike to the head. It catches me completely off guard, and my mind becomes jumbled in an instant.


    Sister?

 Chapter 95 - This World Is An Illusion

    Others Side


    "[I don''t know who that is.]" Awhina responds with a shrug upon hearing the name of Mithra.


    "[Of course you would not.]" Aurelia states, a disdainful look on her face. "[In either case, I will be taking you prisoner now.]"


    "[What makes you think that-]" Before the demi-goddess can finish her sentence, the golden woman tugs on the necklace demonstratively once again. It''s like an owner pulling on the leash of her dog.


    "[This way we will get into the palace unhindered. Is that not your aim?]" Turning around to walk into the frozen form of Kouratua, Aurelia poses this rhetorical question in passing. "[Just know that I am on Chaos'' side.]"


    With these words, the front of the God of Gold closes around the woman, and he begins to move again as if he never stopped. Awhina stares at him with a skeptical frown, but as long as the collar is around her neck, she can''t disobey him. Or her, whatever their real form is.


    "[Did you two have a nice talk?]" He twirls his pencil mustache and looks down on the village girl with a smile. She blinks in surprise, and her mouth falls open. So, Kouratua and Aurelia are two different people? She could have sworn that either of the two was just an avatar of the other. "[Now, let''s go.]"


    Gold spreads around his feet and begins to break down the dome of dirt that has been covering them from prying eyes for the entire duration of their conversation. He has been holding back in their fight, so that something like this could happen; if he created a dome of gold himself, rather than killing her with pinpoint attacks, it might have appeared suspicious.


    That means he''s collaborating with Aurelia, although Awhina still can''t tell what her goal is. In fact, the God of Gold seems to have been hiding her for a long time without anyone knowing about it. Otherwise, she could have come out to face Chaos directly, instead of doing it in such a roundabout way.


    "[The battle has moved to the palace. I''ll take you there on the quickest way.]" Kouratua lowers the wall of gold he first created to stop the beams of light that Chaos shot out, and reveals himself to Kairaki''s garrison. Since the attackers have moved inside the city, the routed soldiers have gathered back together and are tending to their wounded here.


    "[Minister!]" Some of them shout when they see the golden man emerge from the dome of dirt. They must have been wondering about whether he lost or not, but seeing him safe raises their morale.


    "[I''ve taken her prisoner. Her skills can certainly be a useful addition to our forces, after some... realignment training.]" Gesturing at Awhina, Kouratua announces to the soldiers, who cheer at his words.


    "[The enemies have breached the gates and are inside the city!]" An officer comes up to the golden god, salutes him and reports on the battle situation.


    "[Then I will take the hidden pathway into the palace.]" Speaking in a reassuring tone that further bolsters the morale of the soldiers, Kouratua spreads his arms to show that he''s still capable of fighting. It serves to make them believe that everything is going to turn out well and that they will win this battle.


    Awhina feels curiosity rising in her chest. What is the golden woman''s goal here, and why is this god helping her?


    When Korenga regains her senses from the battle frenzy she entered after clashing with her former husband she finds herself alone in a field of rubble. There are human civilians all around her, staring at her in fear, while others are running around tending to the wounded who are screaming in pain.


    Looking down at her hands, she finds that she''s still in her cursed black form. The duration for which she stays this way has been slowly but steadily increasing whenever she loses herself in rage. And in this form, she''s also more susceptible to lose control, which is a vicious cycle that will eventually result in her bringing more suffering to the people of this world.


    Even though she may seem heartless during battle, she prefers to avoid causing innocent deaths. Her battle against Pakangaroa took her through the city wall and into the residential areas, but in her enraged state, she fought with no regard to her surroundings, and it resulted in this outcome.


    The God of War is actually more powerful than Korenga when she tries to fight with prudence rather than allowing her fury to take over. However, in her untiring and sheer indestructible black form, she can simply outlast anyone. While she may be able to use it consciously, there''s no honor in winning while unconscious.


    The Black God looks to the pyramid, inside which a large hole has been opened from the impact of Pakangaroa - whom she had sent flying with a powerful blow. She doesn''t know how long ago that was, but she has no illusions about victory just yet; he can''t have lost that easily. The first time her curse manifested itself, she had wounded him with a surprise attack, and they still fought to a standstill, while today he was fully prepared for her.


    Suddenly, a rock hits Korenga''s head and bounces off without causing any harm. Turning to look in the direction it came from, she sees a young girl bleeding from her forehead glaring at her. She motions to throw another rock, but a woman runs over, picks her up and hastily runs away.


    It''s a sight she has seen many times in her long life. Whenever she rampaged and destroyed villages, those who survived regarded her as a monster. Even young children would only look at her with hatred, and it used to break her heart. After repeating this many times, her emotions have dulled; as if to match her unfeeling body, her mind is becoming more and more warped.


    Sighing to herself, Korenga returns her attention to the pyramid. Pakangaroa isn''t emerging from it, although he should still be able to continue the fight. Maybe something happened in there, or he''s telling her that she should follow him. That''s the destination Chaos and the others were aiming for, and they must have entered already since there are no sounds of battle coming from outside the city.


    Walking forward while cracking her neck, the Black God begins to jog, before bursting out into a sprint that seems to shake the very air around her. Leaping off the ground, she covers a distance of a several dozen meters at once. On her second jump, the distance is tripled. On the third, she shoots through the air, straight towards the pyramid.


    That''s when a lightning bolt strikes the side of the giant palace despite the fact that the storm above has cleared. It must be the God of Storm, joining the fight as well.


    It seems that everyone is assembling.


    Tokomaha lets a few of her clones scout the entire floor of the pyramid while she follows Mereana with the bulk of them. The interior of the palace is lit by unnaturally bright lamps that don''t seem to originate from fire. They give off a similar feeling to when Chaos uses her ability that shoots javelins of light, and it''s unlike any god''s powers she has seen before.


    The little god can see through the eyes of her clones, and each of her scouts is reporting that the humans on this floor are all moving towards the stairs leading up. It''s the same direction Mereana is going.


    This human has shown some strange behavior ever since coming here. It seems that she is able to hear Rapania''s voice, or is even connected to her. At one point, Mereana suddenly slashed her own hand and spoke into the air, most likely because the sea witch was trying to exert influence over her weak human mind. Tokomaha would never fall for something like that.


    However, the fact that she''s walking in the same direction as all other humans suggest that she isn''t in complete control of her own actions. Tokomaha will keep this human safe because Chaos would want her to.


    On the second floor, they come upon some humans walking like puppets on strings. None of them seem to be fully conscious, and they don''t try to stop the clone army or Mereana. In return, they don''t try to tussle with the humans and continue on their path towards where Rapania must be waiting for them.


    Soon, they find a group of more than two dozen humans scratching at a large metal door, acting like base creatures that don''t understand the concept of the blockage before them. The door itself is reminiscent of the one they found in the sea witch''s tower in Manoa, which was the only place that used metal in such abundance and for such a mundane purpose.


    The little goddess quickly makes her clones roughly shove the human puppets aside, throwing many to the ground carelessly, before the real her kicks the door down.


    Or at least that''s what she wanted to do. However, it doesn''t budge in the slightest, and the sound from the impact of her foot makes it clear that this metal door is far thicker than the one in her castle. Back then, Chaos had been there to melt it with a beam of light from her hand, but she isn''t here right now.


    Suddenly, Mereana holds her ears as if there was a loud noise, but Tokomaha can''t hear a thing. It must be Rapania speaking again, and due to the proximity, it must exert exceptional control over the human female.


    "[Pull.]" Mereana presses out between her teeth, and Tokomaha turns around to her with a questioning gaze. "[Rapania said... the door needs to... be pulled open.]"


    The little goddess blinks her eyes in lack of comprehension and tilts her head. Then she looks up at the metal door to find a heavy ring; it doesn''t open inward but has to be pulled outward instead.


    "[I-I knew that! I-it was just my way of announcing that we''re coming for her!]" Stuttering an obvious excuse, Tokomaha immediately makes a clone pull on the ring. However, the door is too heavy for one alone, so several of her start working together. The real one hides her embarrassment by kicking one of the human men crawling towards her and grumbling to herself.


    Grinding over the stone floor and with rusted hinges shrieking like a murder of crows, the door slowly opens. It would seem that it hasn''t been opened in a long time, so either there is another entrance, or Rapania can move through walls - if she''s even in there in the first place.


    Preparing a wall of spears, Tokomaha sends a contingent of her clones ahead. If the sea witch is waiting for them inside, she wouldn''t want to go first with her real body, and she won''t let Mereana come to harm either. But the humans that have been impotently scratching at the door earlier suddenly seem to gain newfound strength, push past the clones, and make their way into the room before they can react.


    The interior looks just like Rapania''s room in her castle in Manoa. There are strange metal devices with sparks flying about them and emitting unnatural sounds. The humans that run through the aisle towards the back of the room, where a female figure stands next to one such device with a metallic rod in her hand, are struck by the arcing lightning and collapse with muscle spasms.


    "[Welcome to my laboratory.]" Greeting the little goddess and Mereana with outstretched arms, the purple-haired woman curls her blue lips into a sardonic smile. "[Did you miss me?]"


    Waving the metal rod at the people squirming on the ground, Rapania motions her wrist like the conductor of a choir. The humans suddenly stand up again, and their forms begin to twist out of shape. Muscles bulge and rip through clothes, bones warp and pierce their skin from the inside, creating sharp spikes and blades all over their bodies.


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    Soon, more than a dozen vaguely humanoid monsters stand before them, barring their way to the sea witch. Their agonized screams stand in complete contrast to their joyous expressions, as their twisted faces transform into tortured visages of ecstatic pain.


    The man closest to the front row of Tokomaha clones swipes at them with a bone scythe that splits his hand right down the middle. It was so fast that they can''t react, as their bodies are sliced in half and return to the dirt from which they were raised. These monsters are incredibly powerful.


    Suddenly, the wall to the left explodes, and in a flash of light, a glowing figure emerges. Tahiri has defeated her children and came to put an end to her history with Rapania.


    Chaos Side


    "[You''re...]" No wait, if Hunapori really is my brother, he should speak the language from the Demon Continent. "You''re Demon Queen Pelomyx'' child?"


    "Oh, so that''s who you are." His face shows genuine amusement at my words. Damn, he got me! But the fact that he''s the first person in this nation to speak this language - other than my children, who apparently inherited it from me - means that there''s more to him than meets the eye.


    "Then who are you?" I quickly pull my spike out of his head. I''m sure that if he''s really a Crawling Chaos, he could absorb me easily. It would turn into a battle to see who can eat whom faster. The fact that he didn''t just do so means that he wants to talk to me.


    "I''m sure you''ve heard of me before. You met those remnants of humanity, haven''t you?" The hole in his eye closes up in the same fashion as wounds in my body do, while he responds to me casually. "Or have they not mentioned me?"


    "Who are you talking about?" What does he mean by remnants of humanity? Humans are abundant as ever in this world.


    "Ahh, I see. You don''t know a thing about this world, do you?" Rising from his seat, Hunapori shakes his head with a sigh. "I can''t blame you, not many know. Those who do keep it a well-guarded secret."


    Suddenly, his form warps out of shape for just a second, before it returns to that of a human''s. Retaining the same face with the pale skin tone and black eyes which seem to suck in the light around them, he smiles at me. His long black hair has turned into a short, combed-back style, and his dark brown robes, the fashion of Adanak, have been replaced with a white business suit. It''s too modern to fit into the time period of this country - or this entire world. It even comes with a blood red tie.


    "But I don''t need to keep this secret from a sister." Sweeping back a loose strand of hair, he states with a dark smile that puts me on guard. There''s something unnerving about the expression, even though he only has the face of a human. "By remnants of humanity, I''m talking about those you may know as sorcerers - those who call themselves gods where you came from." With a disparaging gesture, he points at Pakangaroa, who is staring up at him in surprise. "Not these new humans."


    I''m confused. In what world are the sorcerers and these gods humans? They may be using magic - with the gods of this nation not calling it that - but their powers are indistinguishable from forces of nature. There is no way these are just humans, as those at the magic academy were.


    But he referred to the sorcerers as ''remnants of humanity'', while the gods of Adanak are ''new humans''. What does that even mean? I can''t begin to wrap my head around this.


    "I see that you''re confused. I would be, too." Hunapori nods his head with a sympathetic expression. "Then, maybe it would be easier to start at the very beginning."


    I know that I don''t have time to listen to this guy''s ramblings, but since he changed his form, he''s been registering in my Chaos senses as a Crawling Chaos. Aside from my mother and the pieces of me scattered in my first teleportation accident, this is the only other one I''ve met in this world. He may be able to tell me things about our kind - if I can converse with him in a sensible manner, that is.


    Creating a set of eyes on the back of my head, I peer into the throne room. Uten and Saten have cleaned up and left nobody alive. The only enemies in here are this guy before me and the God of War who doesn''t look like he''s in any shape to do anything. I can''t pick up on any other life energies in the vicinity, so I should be safe to stay a while and listen.


    "... go on." I keep my plasma cannon pointed at him, knowing that my kind fears high temperatures the most. Even if he also has a dragon template, it should still deal substantial damage to him.


    "As an ancient writer once stated ''any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'', so is this miraculous world based on technology as well." Hunapori begins with this opening phrase. "The magic you see in this world is nothing but invisible technology."


    What follows is something that feels like a stake is being driven through my head slowly.


    The Crawling Chaos that is taking a male human''s shape proceeds to explain that this world has ended once and that old humanity has gone extinct - the few survivors being the sorcerers, who are far below the minimum viable population. Those sorcerers are all children that remained in stasis for many millennia, their life-support staying active out of sheer luck, as the world around them crumbled away.


    Then, they emerged from their underground shelters and found a completely healed world, brimming with new life. There were remnants of the old world such as living machines and some mythical races humanity created out of pure hubris - such as elves and dragons - which had created their own cultures and societies after finding freedom.


    And there was a new human race.


    However, those were not other survivors or their distant offspring; they were humans created from scratch, ignorant of their kind''s former glory, possessing only primitive technology, and living in societies mirroring those of ancient times. To the children, it was a new playground, and they used the powers granted to them through the old technology to pose as gods.


    "As all children do, they got bored pretty quickly. Only that these children had eternal lives and counted time in centuries rather than years." Hunapori sits back down on his throne and folds his legs. "Here, take a seat. This might take a while."


    He gestures towards the throne next to him, but I ignore the suggestion. I don''t tire from standing around, and he should know that. Seeing my lack of reaction, he shrugs and continues with his story.


    They first started on this now nameless continent, formerly known as Armeria, and became the gods of its people for five millennia. But slowly, humans who developed godlike powers due to witnessing their feats and giving in to their imaginations began to emerge. The technology that allowed the remnants of humanity to perform miracle-like feats had gone out of alignment.


    Not only the new humankind but all sentient races of this world had access to that technology now, even if they weren''t aware of it.


    "Wait, what is this technology you keep talking about?" I interrupt Hunapori''s outlandish story with this question. I can''t even begin to imagine what kind of scientific breakthrough this world has reached to allow for humans to turn into living lightning.


    "The Imagination Engine. I''ve searched for it for such a long time, but I have yet to find it." He replies with his arms crossed and his head tilted. "It overlays reality with a new layer that comes directly from the imagination of those who can activate it. Don''t ask me how it works, it just does."


    That sounds like some impossible fantasy technology, but considering the existence of beings like him and me, it doesn''t sound that farfetched after all.


    "Then what are we?" I remember Juzual saying that we came from space, but being one of the sorcerers, she should have known about all this. In other words, she lied to me about their origins, and it''s possible that my kind was also born from this Imagination Engine.


    "Ah, now that''s a good question. For that, we''ll need to go back even further, when old humanity still exited." Spreading his arms in a grand gesture, Hunapori stands up from his seat with excitement in his eyes.


    Humanity created the Imagination Engine, and through thought alone, mountains flattened into plains, lakes formed where deserts were moments ago, and entire continents moved out of place at the whims of a chosen few. They were the only ones able to access the technology and abused its power for their simple entertainment, rather than for the betterment of the world, as it was intended by its creators.


    Their escapades soon devolved into a game of measuring their powers against each other, causing a war that threatened to wipe out all those who were unable to use this miraculous piece of technology.


    Then, one of the original creators of the Imagination Engine sabotaged it and allowed all those who shared the genetic makeup of humanity to use it. What followed was even more chaos, as life on the planet was brought to the brink of extinction.


    However, over several centuries the world settled into a natural balance, which ushered in an age of decadence that beggared belief. Humanity, having been reduced to a small fraction of its former numbers, gained infinite longevity, lost all touch with reality, and began to use the world as their canvas - as long as it didn''t clash with anybody else''s imagination.


    Thus, fantasy became reality, beings like elves and dragons were created solely for the entertainment of their makers, and nature itself was overwritten in favor of what humans who never learned to grow into adults wished to be real. What followed was social and cultural stagnation, as every person lived in their own world, sectioned off from the rest.


    "That''s where we come in. Or in this particular case, I." Hunapori looks down at me with a joyous expression, as if happy to be able to finally relate this story to somebody who''s able to understand it. "Into this world for which time seemed to have stopped, I was thrown - still unconscious at the time. And like every Crawling Chaos, when they''re unconscious, I ate."


    Wait, this sounds like the Primordial Crawling Chaos that appeared on the Demon Continent, and which my mother originated from.


    "I threw the world out of balance, ate to my heart''s content and gained a consciousness as I had grown to an incredible size. By that time, humanity had started a devastating war, accusing each other of creating me." With a broad grin, as if recalling a fond memory, he connects this part to the earlier story about the world ending and old humanity going very nearly extinct. "And by the end of that war, the world had been reduced to ashes."


    Sitting back down on his chair, Hunapori pauses for a moment and lets it all sink in. I notice Uten and Saten staring at us with wondrous expressions. They can understand the language we''ve been speaking in, but judging by their questioning gazes, they didn''t get any of it. I don''t have time to explain to them right now, as the ancient Crawling Chaos before me continues.


    "Our existence is a paradox, don''t you think?" He suddenly looks at me with a thoughtful expression.


    I don''t know what he means, but I keep my plasma cannon trained on him in case he suddenly decides to become aggressive. For some reason, I''m feeling really uncomfortable around him, as if my instincts are telling me that he''s an enemy.


    And if what he''s saying is true, then his mass must far surpass mine; by expanding, he could easily swallow me and everybody in this throne room whole. According to Senka, the Primordial Crawling Chaos had reached the size of over a kilometer in diameter, but according to his story, he could have easily grown to be much larger.


    "We eat and grow, and the more we grow, the more we have to eat to sustain our size." He almost sounds sad while saying this. "Why do we exist? When we consume all life on the planet, don''t we inevitably starve to death?"


    I never thought about this before. So far, I''ve always been able to sustain myself on normal amounts of food, and only strenuous activities have really diminished my size - not including actually getting ripped apart or blown up from the inside.


    "When I gained a consciousness, the first thing I did was to hide. Things played out as they did, and I nurtured the scorched world left behind by the old humanity." Hunapori points at Pakangaroa, who has been watching silently, seemingly waiting for an order or for something to happen that would require him to take action. Being pointed at so suddenly, he blinks his flaming eyes in surprise, but since he doesn''t understand the words, he realizes that they aren''t directed at him. "I was the one who made it so that the world became populated once again. Do you know why?"


    I can imagine the reason, and it puts me on alert right away.


    "So that I can find the answer to this question - to fill this void if you will." Patting his stomach, he speaks in a low tone. "I want to see what lies at the end of a Crawling Chaos, once it has consumed a world filled to the brim with life."


    His shape flickers once, and I blink. Maybe it was just an illusion, but I remain on alert. It sounds like he''s getting to the end of his explanation, and I don''t like where it''s going.


    "I''ve nurtured them into such delectable beings, too. Especially humans who believe they stand at the pinnacle of existence and are shown otherwise in their final moments taste the best." He shoots a glance at Pakangaroa, and his face splits into a smile that causes my hair to stand on end. "Just like this one."


    Then, several things happen at once, faster than I can react: Hunapori''s side deforms, and a giant mass of tentacles shoots out towards the God of War, entangling him in an instant. Through the hole which he created when bursting into the throne room earlier comes Korenga in her Black God form. A hidden door opens behind the elevated platform the throne stands on, and the golden god emerges with Awhina in tow.


    "Join me and eat your fill, too." The ancient Crawling Chaos stretches his hand out to me with a genuine smile, while Pakangaroa disappears into his body completely - right before Korenga''s eyes. That''s the moment her mind snaps visibly.


    "[MATAKUUU!!!]" The entire pyramid trembles under her roar.

 Chapter 96 - Not the Final Bossfight

    Others Side


    "[Should you really be worried about me right now, my dear passing storm?]" Rapania''s voice is sweet but poisonous, like colorful sap dripping from a leaf enticing curious animals to lap it up. Mereana falls to her knees and holds her head in pain at the sound. "[Your beloved creature is facing a crisis right now.]"


    "[She can handle herself.]" Tahiri replies, implying that if she couldn''t, it would just be her fate. "[This ends today.]"


    "[No, everything starts today.]" The sea witch cocks her head and laughs viciously.


    The God of Storm speaks no further and raises her arm. From the tips of her fingers, a bolt of lightning flashes through the air but is redirected to the surrounding machines. Unlike last time, her power isn''t enough to overload them, and in turn, the electricity jumps over to the transformed humans, whose bodies warp further.


    "[Is this all?]" As Tahiri walks forward, her lightning hair hits the monsters, and their skin becomes scorched, as they writhe in pain.


    "[Yes, that is all.]" Rapania waves her metal wand, and electricity jumps to the creatures surrounding the goddess from all the machines in the room, upon which they vanish in explosions of blood and guts.


    As the mist of blood settles, Tahiri stands in their center, her body unaffected and her clothes still the pristine white they were before. She looks around with an expression that suggests mild surprise - but not much more.


    Then the bloodied remains begin to writhe and gather, quickly turning into a single mass of moving viscera, clicking claws and teeth made of sharp bones, and skeleton-less limbs that flail around wildly.


    "[Is this not to your liking?]" The sea witch sneers at the God of Storm''s expression of disgust. "[That beloved creature of yours is no different in its true form, you know?]"


    "[She possesses a heart, unlike this thing.]" With these words, a lightning bolt strikes almost horizontally through the hole Tahiri came in through and hits the monster in a blinding flash.


    However, as the light subsides, the writhing mass has only gained a black sheen as its form collapses into itself and grows out again. The odor it emits goes from foul to an unbearable stench that seems to physically assault not only the nostrils but even the eyes and tongue. The speed of its movements increases as various shapes become visible on its surface, including tormented faces, and strangely deformed limbs of both humans and animals.


    "[What have you done...?]" With her eyes wide open, Tahiri turns to stare at Rapania. She has taken several steps back and is regarding her own creation with a mix of pride and disgust.


    "[I... no... we gave it a heart.]" Replying in awe, she has her eyes fixated on the tentacles that the mass seems to form naturally. It''s becoming more and more uniform by the second as if realizing what it should look like. "[This is our child, Tahiri.]"


    Wordlessly, the God of Storm summons a whirlwind around the creature before it can finish its metamorphosis. The cutting winds swallow it whole, the pressure and speeds within the vortex tearing it to pieces.


    However, when the wind disappears, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, a lone black figure stands where the shapeless mass was moments ago. Its uncontrolled transformations have stopped, and the stench it emitted is dissipating in the breeze blowing through the room and out the pyramid.


    The being looks down on its own ceaselessly undulating arms as if they consist of many individual tentacles. The upper half of its featureless face seems to be hidden behind a haze that exists only in the minds of the beholders, rather than in reality - a natural censoring of something that should never be seen by a sane sentient existence.


    "... ma... ma?" A rasping voice that grates on the nerves of all who hear it echoes through the room with no apparent source. However, it''s clear to everyone that the creature just spoke, despite having no mouth to do so with. It looks around the room, the head turning a full one-hundred eighty degrees without the body moving. Then the arms and legs bend backward on the spot before it takes a step towards Rapania.


    "[Yes, I am your mother.]" The being''s voice affected her just as much as everybody else, but she''s still able to put on a gentle smile as she regards her creation. Wordlessly, it takes another step forward and stretches an arm towards her, which the former looks upon in hope.


    "[No, stop!]" Tahiri screams, but it''s too late.


    The creature''s arm extends and turns into a spike that pierces Rapania through the chest. The God of Storm summons a blade of wind that cuts the arm off, and in the same motion, she turns her body into lightning with which she shoots straight through the being.


    Just like against Chaos, it shows no effect whatsoever. It lifts its stump and looks at it while tilting its head before the lost arm slowly grows out again.


    "[But... why?]" The sea witch breathes as she looks down on the undulating severed limb stuck in her chest. Its movements cease, and the form crumbles into dust, disappearing on the breeze. "[Oh no... it is still... incomplete...]"


    Uttering these words, she falls backward but is caught by Tahiri - who has returned to her normal state - before she hits the ground.


    "[You still... care for me...?]" She looks up and raises her hand to caress the goddess'' cheek. "[After... all this time?]"


    "[Always.]" The God of Storm replies with a pained expression.


    "[Huh... haha... is that so.]" A tear rolls down Rapania''s face as she smiles bitterly. Then her form slackens, and her arm falls to the ground lifelessly.


    "... ma... m-" The creature begins, but an invisible wind blade beheads it. The head on the ground crumbles away into dust, but from its neck quickly grows a new one - faster than it regenerated its arm.


    "[Don''t tarnish the moment with that foul voice.]" Tahiri lays the sea witch down and rises. Her skin turns gradually darker again, like gathering clouds before a midsummer storm, and the tattoos on her body glow brightly. Once again, her hair turns into lightning, crackling through the air.


    "[That is far enough.]" A muffled voice suddenly comes from behind the God of Storm, and she immediately reacts by unloading a torrent of electricity from her hair. When she turns around, there''s nothing behind her but a wall with scorch marks from her attack. "[This one is still a baby, so please do not treat it so roughly.]"


    Spinning around at the voice, Tahiri finally lays her eyes on the person it belongs to. A person in a dark blue cloak with every inch of their skin hidden by bandages, wielding a staff with a large diamond inlaid in its tip, is standing right next to the creature.


    "[Go to the throne room and help your friend.]" They speak, directed at the God of Storm. It''s unclear whether the voice belongs to a male or a female. Turning their head towards Mereana, who has regained her bearings after Rapania''s voice disappeared, they then address her. "[If you wish to see the prophecy fulfilled, go to the chambers of the king.]"


    With these words, the bandaged person and the black creature deform in a vortex that seems to warp the world itself, before everything returns to normal - but there''s no trace of them left.


    Then the entire pyramid seems to shake under a thunderous roar.


    Chaos Side


    Korenga''s visage, already distorted in her black form, has grown to a hellish one as she charges forward like a raging bull. Crashing into the Crawling Chaos before me, she runs him straight into a wall, before slamming her fists into his form repeatedly, and splattering him against the stone. She begins to rip him to shreds, while everybody just watches in bafflement.


    No, this can''t be the end. Mataku is a Crawling Chaos, so he can''t die from physical attacks like these, even if they seem to have quite an effect; I know I wouldn''t go down from this. And just as expected, the pieces scattered across the room gather together behind Korenga, while she continues to slam her fists into the remains now embedded in the wall.


    "[Behind you!]" I scream, but in her rage, the Black God doesn''t hear me.


    "[Ahhh, my masterpiece.]" Mataku says as he regains his previous appearance and fixes his cuffs nonchalantly. "[I don''t remember exactly why I gave her this body though. I must have been drunk or something.]"


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He touches Korenga''s back lightly, and out of pure reflex, she swings her arm around and hits him straight in the head. However, unlike last time, he doesn''t budge at all; it''s as if she was a simple human punching a steel pillar.


    "[No matter.]" He shrugs and proceeds to deliver a punch to her side. Her entire body jumps up, and she lurches back a step under the impact. I''m completely dumbfounded at this sight. Even at full density did my punches not have such visible effects.


    Korenga immediately shrugs it off though and attempts to overwhelm Mataku with an assault of her own. However, he avoids the punches or deflects them seemingly effortlessly, while throwing his own at the woman who''s more than a head taller than he is.


    I should help her, but I somehow can''t bring myself to move.


    "[This is going to take too long.]" With a bored expression, the man in white dodges a punch to his face and returns it with one to the Black God''s solar plexus. The impact seems to stop time, as his fist stops at the black skin, and for a split second, Korenga seems to be stunned. Then she disappears.


    The sound of an explosion is followed by a massive shockwave, as pulverized rock spews out from a hole in the wall in the almost comedic shape of a human figure. Mataku just punched her with so much force that she shot off while breaking through the sound barrier - and the palace wall.


    "Now, where were we?" He turns around to me with a smile, as if nothing happened.


    I shoot a full blast of plasma straight in his face, and taking this as their cue, my children do the same. Even if he most likely has far more mass than I do, there shouldn''t be anything in this world that can withstand this plasma fire for long.


    Unlike a dragon, I don''t have to cool the cannon down physically - I simply exchange the matter close to the melting point with fresh stuff from the inside and keep up the beam as long as possible. The same can''t be said for Uten and Saten, as they don''t have such an intricate control over their bodies, yet.


    "Hm, is this your answer?" I hear his voice from inside the light and immediately jump back while summoning an array of spirit spears around me, which I shoot out at where he was standing before. "And here I was offering you to see the end with me. You know, share the last moments of this world."


    Emerging completely unscathed while surrounded by a translucent barrier with a white glow, he looks at me with an almost sad expression. The spirit spears were completely negated, it seems.


    If this were a more lenient situation, I would have smacked my head at forgetting about this; I also know how to use this barrier spell, but I never used it when it could have come in really handy. Maybe I could have prevented any number of my previous losses with it, too...


    "I''ve always been lonely in this world. Nobody was like me at all." Mataku looks down with a crestfallen expression. "And I missed the opportunity to meet your mother..."


    I wonder how, since she reigned for over twenty years. It''s not like he couldn''t have just gone to the Demon Continent using these superior abilities of his and revealed his nature to gain her attention.


    "So, I asked the Gatekeeper to introduce you to me." Waving at me with a disappointed expression, he shakes his head. "But you seem to have a false sense of justice. You fraternize with these lesser beings."


    He points in the direction of the hole Korenga disappeared through, and then at Kouratua and Awhina, who have been watching the whole exchange, frozen to the spot they stopped at after emerging from the hidden door.


    "Is that what you believe?" Suddenly, a familiar voice I haven''t heard in a long time echoes through the throne room. Mataku turns his head in surprise, but a sphere of liquid gold swallows him before he can do a thing. "Superiority does not lie in one''s birth, but is gained through one''s actions in life."


    Aurelia is standing in all her naked glory in front of the golden god, whose body seems to have burst open from the inside. He doesn''t look like it hurt him, but he appears troubled at her coming out right at this moment, as if this reveal was meant to be a surprise for a different time.


    "Huh, what are you doing here?" I blink several times, my mind working as quickly as it currently can to piece together a plausible explanation for her presence. We were separated when Mithra transported me here, and I thought he pulled her out from inside me somehow and sent her to some completely different place.


    Wait, now I think it makes sense. Mataku mentioned a Gatekeeper, and my mother called Mithra a gatekeeper demon. So, he''s behind all this?


    "Rejoice, for I have come to your aid." Walking towards me while flicking her golden hair back, Aurelia looks at me as haughtily as ever. "I was told that you would eventually come here, but you really made me wait."


    The golden sphere which Mataku disappeared into is dented from the inside in several places but doesn''t break. The golden woman walks past it with little regard to the Crawling Chaos''s struggles, before coming to a stop a few steps in front of me.


    "Now, do you not have something to say?" She looks up to me but somehow manages to make me feel like she''s actually looking down on me.


    "I missed you." Is all I can bring out, as a smile inadvertently appears on my lips.


    "Is that all?" A little pout plays over Aurelia''s, as she frowns. Then she grabs the back of my neck and pulls me down for a kiss. The softness and warmth of her lips run contrary to my knowledge of the fact that her body is made of solid gold, but the sensation blows all my thoughts away.


    Even in her first open display of affection, she manages to appear on top of things. Instead of standing on her toes to reach me, she makes me bow before her. It''s how she has always been, and the reason why I both appreciate and respect her; she was brought down by me before and even saw my real face, but her attitude hasn''t changed much, and she retains her own brand of pride.


    "I don''t think that''s going to hold him for long." I point past her at the golden sphere, which bulges more and more violently. Aurelia''s abilities appear to have grown stronger, but they still seem to be limited to gold.


    "Indeed." With these words, the stones scattered across the floor begin to disintegrate and turn into a golden mist, before forming into swords. "But until he breaks out, I will do this."


    The swords pierce into the sphere from all sides and run Mataku through like in a pop-up pirate game - only that he has no hole to pop up out of. All movements cease for a moment before the struggles grow even stronger. Rather than wound him, she just enraged him, but she doesn''t care; she pulls the weapons out and stabs them in again.


    When she pulls them out the second time, they have melted away except for the parts that were outside the sphere. Then the entire thing seems to heat up and the gold drips down on the floor, out of Aurelia''s control. Apparently, she can''t weave gold when it''s beyond the melting point.


    I really wonder how we''re supposed to fight this guy. He can shield himself from plasma, has the same physical immunity as I do, and according to his story, he''s had many millennia to learn how to use the Imagination Engine''s powers. In contrast, my imagination is awfully limited by the preconceptions I have about reality.


    For now, all I can do is try everything to damage him. I sure as hell don''t want to use this opportunity to test out how a Crawling Chaos consumes another one; if the one with more mass wins, I''m sure he''ll come out on top. While I might never know for sure if I don''t take some risk, I feel the likely outcome is greatly in his favor.


    As the last bits of the golden sphere drip to the floor and slowly cool down again, Mataku stands where he was moments ago, with a glowing hot body that appears like the sorcerer who was living lava. It''s like a smaller and more refined-looking version of Roamukao.


    "It is done." From above comes a voice that I''ve also not heard in a long time. Even though this is a dangerous situation, I can''t help but throw my head back and look up. There, I find the familiar figure of Mithra floating in the air while carrying his staff. My suspicions were right; he''s been working with Mataku.


    "Oh, really?" The latter''s body solidifies again and returns to the one he had earlier, with the anachronistic business suit. "Seems I don''t need you anymore."


    These words send a shiver down my spine. It sounds exactly like one of those where a super powerful person snaps a finger and the entire area explodes, with everyone in the vicinity being evaporated on the spot. I don''t doubt that he can do exactly that, too.


    But before I can come up with something, a massive lightning bolt enters from the hole Pakangaroa left in the wake of his entrance earlier and strikes Mataku. A moment later, a smaller bolt hits the ground next to me, and Tahiri emerges from it in her battle mode.


    "... you know what, I''ll watch you struggle a little longer." The ancient Crawling Chaos says as the light subsides. As before, he''s completely unhurt, even though this bolt looked like the one that was able to cut Roamukao in half. "I want to see what conclusion you arrive at. But I''m sure you''ll come around, and see the world the way I do."


    Isn''t this exactly what an overconfident villain does? He lets the heroes who opposed him go, solely based on the fact that they don''t seem to pose a threat to him at the time. I mean, he''s even indirectly gloating, especially towards me. Has he, in all this time, never read any fiction? I doubt this world doesn''t have any fictions that detail a group of heroes'' struggles against a seemingly overwhelmingly powerful villain. In those, the endings always have the heroes winning by growing stronger while the villain remains relatively the same.


    Then again, no Crawling Chaos ever just remains the same. While I can grow, so can he. That''s where his confidence must stem from, too.


    "You betrayed me." I glare up at Mithra, who slowly comes floating down to stand next to Mataku.


    "I apologize if I may have given you the wrong impression, but I never had any loyalty towards you. I followed your mother, but she is no more." He replies in a neutral tone.


    "... that seems to be the case." My emotions grow colder as I stare him down. At one point I was sure he was a traitor who had joined up with the humans to eliminate my mother, and the fact that he didn''t help her during the battle in the demon castle should have only solidified that opinion. But when he teleported me away, clearly saving my life, I thought he might have been a good guy working for my mother after all.


    "Cut the Gatekeeper some slack. They can''t oppose the highest directive of the Crawling Chaos." With a shrug, Mataku speaks, and I return my attention to him. What does he mean with that? "I''ll see you before the end... I never asked your name, did I?"


    "... Chaos." It doesn''t matter whether he knows my name or not, so I give it to him freely. When I thwart his plans, I hope he''ll remember to scream it at the top of his lungs.


    "Fitting." He smiles at me, a genuine one free of sarcasm or malice. "Until the end of the world then, Chaos."


    The space around Mithra and Mataku twists into a vortex, before snapping back to reveal that the two of them have disappeared. Their sudden departure seems to lift the tension in the room, as I can hear the twins audibly breathe out a sigh of relief - as do Awhina and Kouratua, who must have been left on the sidelines in this confrontation beyond their scopes.


    I continue to silently stare at where the two enemies stood only moments ago, a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

 Announcement - Ebook Giveaway!

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 Chapter 97 - The Savior of Adanak

    It''s over.


    Actually, nothing is over, and things have only begun. Mataku''s explanations have raised more questions than they answered, but for now, I understand that he has been alive for a very long time and that he''s definitely far more powerful than any other being on this planet. It seems that rather than the sorcerers, he''s the real evil in this world. While the sorcerers killed my mother, their goal isn''t to turn this planet into a barren wasteland devoid of any life. I''ll make sure to get my revenge on them, but it will all come down to a final confrontation with Mataku no matter what.


    I need to learn how to utilize the powers granted to all sentient beings by this Imagination Engine. I''m sure it''s not as simple as it sounds since otherwise, this world would be in a lot of chaos; animals and children that never learned any limitations through common sense would be flying through the skies all the time - at the very least. There must be some rules to it, but they must be lenient enough that those who don''t even know about the technology can unconsciously use it, just like those being called gods in this kingdom do.


    "[What''s going on here?]" Awhina heard Korenga call Mataku by name, so she understands that we just had a brush with the Primordial Terror. And she also witnessed the battle with him, which went in anything but our favor from start to finish. But I think she might be more interested in hearing what we were talking about in this language foreign to her.


    "[Mataku just told me that he''s going to end the world.]" That''s all I can say. I have no idea when or where he''ll start with it, but I''m sure we''ll all know when the time comes.


    Awhina remains silent upon hearing this, and so does Kouratua next to her. I''m wondering about his presence here, but considering Aurelia came out of his belly just now, it must mean he''s collaborating with her in some way.


    In the end, we didn''t get to meet all members of the Six Arms, and the God Fist wasn''t around either. Still, Mataku alone was more than enough to deal with all of us, even though we had the power to take down a being like Roamukao together. But that explains why the massive God of Destruction followed his orders; fighting the Primordial Terror seems like a bad idea.


    I walk over to the hole left by Korenga and look inside. It seems to go all the way through the pyramid, and I can see daylight on the other side. This strength must either stem from an impossibly huge mass inside Mataku''s body, or some kind of magic utilizing the Imagination Engine. In either case, the Black God has been sent flying a huge distance, and I don''t feel like following her to see how she''s doing.


    "Go find Korenga and bring her back. If she attacks you, just fly away." I turn to Uten and Saten, who nod in response and immediately walk through the hole to do as they''re told.


    "Who are they?" Aurelia suddenly asks and looks at the twins with a raised eyebrow.


    "They''re my children." I reply without thinking, but I immediately regret it; the golden girl stares at me dumbfounded. Oh boy, if she reacts this way, what will Hestia say? I feel like her head would explode, thinking I had children with someone while she wasn''t around. "Alright, let me explain-"


    "There is nothing to be explained." Turning away from me with an expression that I can only describe as a jealous one, Aurelia ends the conversation. A part of me is happy that she feels that way, but another part realizes that she may be quite difficult to deal with. If she can''t accept that I''m not made to be with a single person for life, she won''t be able to stay with me. I''ll have to work it out with her eventually.


    "[What happened here?]" Tokomaha - or one of her clones - enters the throne room through the busted door and calls out to me.


    "[We fought Mataku. Where''s Mereana?]" I casually mention that we just tussled with the Primordial Terror that even the most powerful gods fear, and immediately steer the conversation away from it.


    "[She went up to the king''s cham- wait...]" For a second, the little goddess seems to have missed the bit about Mataku, but then her mind catches up to it. "[You did what?]"


    "[Why did she go up there?]" I mutter to myself and turn to Awhina, whose hands are still bound by golden shackles, then address the golden god. "[Would you be so kind to undo her bindings?]"


    I emphasize my request by aiming my plasma cannon at him; even though he seems to have been a mode of transportation for Aurelia, I won''t trust him too readily.


    "[Oh, I''m sorry.]" Kouratua has closed up his open stomach again, and without a hint of having to spend any effort on it, has the shackles around Awhina''s hands melt away with a thought.


    "[Stop ignoring me!]" Tokomaha walks up to me and punches my side, but since I''m still clad in dragon armor, she might as well have punched a stone wall. Holding her hurting hand, she glares up at me.


    "[I''ll explain later, for now, let''s gather everyone back here and think about what we should do.]" Petting the little goddess'' head with all the affection I can muster under the circumstances I deflect the question. I know that Mataku said he would be waiting to meet me again at the end of the world, but he could change his mind and come back right away, to finish us off. "[Why did Mereana go to the king''s chambers even though the battle was taking place here?]"


    "[Because there was this bandaged guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and told her if she wanted to fulfill the prophecy, she should go there.]" She explains while casting a glance at Tahiri.


    "[... what happened?]" Something seems off about the God of Storm, and it''s not just because we couldn''t defeat Mataku here.


    "[Rapania is dead.]" Tahiri speaks quietly and avoids eye contact with me. I had already expected that these two meeting would lead to such an end, but hearing her say it still puts a bitter taste in my mouth. It was clear that she cared for that sea witch, despite all that happened.


    "[She used Tahiri''s power to create a creature similar to you.]" Tokomaha suddenly seems to remember and looks up to me with an expression of worry.


    "[Thank you for calling me a creature.]" I ruffle her leaf hair, although it''s not as easily done as with actual hair. What did she mean by that, though? Did Rapania crack the code of how to create a Crawling Chaos from scratch? But if she''s dead, then I''m sure she took that technique to the grave with her. If she required Tahiri''s power, then she couldn''t have done it before just earlier, which means she wouldn''t have had the time to teach anybody else...


    Wait, is that what Mithra meant by ''it is done'' when he first appeared? Mataku''s attitude towards me changed completely afterward, so maybe it''s true that Rapania created a companion for him. I doubt any of the people here understand just what exactly the Primordial Terror and I are - including myself - so it''s possible that Tokomaha made a mistake, though.


    In either case, they are gone, and I have no idea where they could be now. The fact that Mataku, in his human transformation, can hide from my Chaos senses doesn''t help the matter either. I need to find a way to detect him as quickly as possible, or he could surprise me by transforming into just about anyone in the world.


    "[I''ll go get Mereana, you stay here and wait for Korenga and the twins.]" I need a little time to myself, to think about what to do next. Turning into Chaos Warhead lite version, I fly through the hole Pakangaroa left when he crashed through the side of the pyramid, and fly up to the topmost balcony.


    On the way up, I notice that soldiers have begun surrounding the palace on all sides, and beyond the encirclement are civilians, here to see what''s going on. I''m sure the God King announced that there would be rebels attacking this city soon, but that the army would deal with them. The fact that these so-called rebels made it all the way into the palace must have made the citizens of Kairaki curious. After all, nobody is pillaging the city and, aside from those incurred in Korenga''s battle with the God of War, there haven''t been any civilian casualties.


    Without making a sound, I step inside the king''s chambers, where Mereana is standing over the dead king with her bloodied sword drawn. If I didn''t know better, I''d say that it looks like she was the one who killed him. The concubines who had been sleeping earlier are awake now and are huddled together on the bed, staring at the lifeless king. They''re most definitely getting the wrong idea about the situation, though.


    Then I have an epiphany.


    "[Mereana.]" I call out to the former slave, and she turns around in shock, bracing herself for an attack.


    "[Oh, it is you, Chaos...]" Her surprise is overshadowed by her tiredness, as she lowers her sword. "[What ha-]"


    "[Help me with this.]" I produce a rope from inside my body - part of a collection of things I keep in there at all times in case I need it - and point at the king.


    "[Hear me, citizens of Kairaki!]" Mereana announces at the top of her lungs while standing on the balcony.


    I would have doubted that anybody can hear her from down there, but apparently this place was built in a way that makes sound carry farther. Many people among the crowd tilt their heads up to see who''s talking. The former slave girl repeats herself two more times, waiting for everybody''s attention, before continuing.


    "[The God King is no more!]" As she says this, I push his body over the edge of the wide stone railings. He rolls down the pyramid and comes to a stop with the sound of bones breaking; we attached a rope to his neck and bound the other end to one of the pillars of the balcony so that he''s now strung up on the side of the pyramid for all to see.


    "[The era of repression is over! Your savior is here!]" The former slave turns to point at me, but I shake my head. "[... what do you mean?]"


    "[I''m not from this nation. The people will never accept a foreign usurper.]" I speak to her with a smile.


    "[Are you serious?]" She looks at me dumbfounded.


    "[This is your place.]" I gesture at the gathered people below, who are eagerly awaiting the continuation of the announcement. "[Claim your throne.]"


    With these words, I walk away, and Mereana stares at me with her mouth open. Then she musters her courage and addresses the masses below again. The moment she does I quickly turn around and stand a few steps behind her, applying Hestia''s black wings to my back and spreading them all the way for everybody to see.


    A murmur runs through the crowd as many point up to the pale-skinned former slave girl in surprise and awe. Not realizing what I''m doing, Mereana continues to wave at the people below, to whom it must seem like she is the one with the wings.


    I guess her prophecy came true after all.


    "[So, what now?]" I ask into the room, directed at nobody in particular. I''m sitting on the king''s throne sideways and gazing up at the ceiling high above. No matter how you look at it, this room is just way too big, even bigger than the throne room in the demon castle.


    Awhina is sitting on the stairs leading up to the elevated platform the throne stands on and is looking down with a thoughtful expression. Tahiri has returned to her normal form and is sitting on a cloud while floating right next to me. My children found Korenga unconscious and embedded deep inside the city wall, and carried her back; they''re sitting to the left and right of my feet, looking up at me curiously. Tokomaha has already scattered her clones and has placed herself on the advisor''s seat demonstratively as if to say that she''s my number one. Korenga is back in her normal form as well, and lying halfway down the stairs while staring into the air with a vacant expression.


    The two golden figures, Kouratua and Aurelia, are standing behind the throne. I already know that the latter will be coming with me, but I still don''t know what the former is doing among the gathered here. Mereana is waiting at the very bottom of the stairs, a distance away from the Black God, nervous to be in the presence of so many powerful beings.


    "[I mean, I know my next move, but what about you guys?]" I look down at the gathered people. According to Mataku, these are all humans - except for Aurelia, whom I would classify as a lich. My unofficial policy has always been to not associate with those and to favor demi-humans like Kamii and Hestia.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Though, when I look at Tokomaha, I can''t really see it; she has furry pointy ears and leaves for hair. There must be something else mixed into her blood for her to grow into such an appearance. The same is true for Tahiri, who can turn into literal lightning, and the indestructibility of Korenga is - though affected by Mataku - something I would never associate with a human.


    "[What''s your next move?]" Tokomaha is the first to reply, doing so with a question of her own. I have a feeling she''ll go along with whatever I''ll do.


    "[I''m going home.]" At my words, Awhina turns her head to look at me, but I quickly continue so that she doesn''t get the wrong idea. "[I''ve been gone for too long, my people need me.]"


    When I left the Demon Continent, my mother had just been killed. While Mithra was the one who made the decision for me, it was my own decision to stay in Adanak for such a long time. I could have asked Tahiri to show me to a city soon after meeting her, and tried to find my way back. Then again, I was in a slump after everything and just wanted to get away from the world.


    But the world caught up to me.


    "[Then I''ll come with you.]" The little goddess says with her nose raised high, just as expected. "[What would you do without me?]"


    "[I''d be free of a girl who can''t be honest with her feelings.]" I tease her, and the grin freezes on her face before she turns away with her cheeks puffed up.


    "[Where did Mataku go, I wonder...]" Korenga, defeated but not broken, mutters this question. Who knows how long she''s been searching for him, and after this short encounter, he has disappeared from her sight again. I know that her purpose in life is to seek revenge for what he did to her, so I should just take her along.


    "[Come with me. I know that he''ll come to see me again before long, and at that time we fight him together.]" Standing up from the throne and talking forward a few steps, I address the Black God. She sits up and gazes at me vacantly before light returns to her eyes. Then she nods with a hint of a smile.


    "[That sounds like a plan.]" With these words, she lies back down, feeling less lost than she did moments ago.


    "[Hey, you promised that you would help me find my Golden Shawl!]" An androgynous voice calls out to me from above, and I look up. Aorutihaua is standing on top of the needlessly tall backrest of the throne, wearing their full helmet with their glowing eyes trained on me. I completely forgot about them.


    "[I haven''t forgotten about you, I just wanted to know what everybody here would do after this is over.]" I lie with a straight face and look up to the Child of the Sun. "[Once we conclude this meeting, I''ll help you find it, alright?]"


    I''m actually quite interested in seeing where they''ll go after getting this Golden Shawl. If they jump straight up towards the sun, I''ll be very surprised after Mataku''s revelations made it clear that they''re all humans. No matter how technologically advanced humanity of this world became, I still can''t believe that they''re able to create anything capable of surviving the heat of a star.


    Then again, maybe that''s just a limiter I''m involuntarily placing on the power of my imagination based on the common sense drilled into me during my previous life. I''ve seen so many things in this world that defied everything I''ve ever known, so I should open my perspective on things more.


    "[What about you, Tahiri?]" I address the third goddess whom I would like to take along with me. "[In which direction does the wind blow next?]"


    "[It seems the wind is following the path of history.]" She replies with a knowing smile. I don''t really understand what she means, and it must have shown on my face since she continues right away. "[You''re one of the key people that are defining that history. The wind has been redirected just this once, I suppose.]"


    "[Thank you.]" It''s all I can say to her now. She has decided to join me on this journey that will most likely take me to the end of this world - not in the geographical but the metaphorical sense of the phrase.


    "Will you not ask me?" Aurelia comes forward from behind the throne and places herself on it. Her regal bearings, despite the fact that she seems to have embraced a nudist lifestyle ever since her time with me on the moon, make it obvious to all that she''s of royal birth; it''s as if every throne in the world was made for her to sit on.


    "I..." Wait, I feel like saying that I assumed she would be coming with me from the get-go might sound a little presumptuous of me, especially for someone with so much pride. "... wanted to wait for you to make your own decision, your highness."


    Still, our relationship should go beyond this, so I can give myself some room to address her ironically. The golden girl''s response is an ironically raised eyebrow before she switches her crossed legs and gives me a glimpse of the treasure between them in a move I''m sure is intentional. Then she finally smiles.


    "Clever. Indeed, I will not be leaving your side this time." She states with conviction and leans on an armrest in a gesture most befitting of a monarch. Her charisma is so overwhelmingly sexy that I make a mental note: When I sit on the throne of the Dominion, I''ll have a seat next to me prepared for her.


    "[Awhina, are you returning home?]" She''s the last one of the gathered people that I need to ask. This is a fork in the road that we have been walking on together so far, and I''m sure that she''ll take the other way. Her goal was to bring peace to her village by overthrowing the God King, and we achieved that today; she shouldn''t get involved in the wars of another nation before stability returns to this one.


    "[Yeah, I''ll be going back to Aoranam.]" It''s the answer I expected. Her expression does look a little lonely when she says this, though. Maybe she was hoping that I''d tell her to come with me, but I remember my promise to Rangi and Ruiha; that I would bring her back home safely. It''s a pretty long journey back though, even with the Chaos carrier.


    "We''ll be going with her then, mama." Uten and Saten suddenly stand up and state without a doubt in their minds.


    That leaves me completely dumbfounded. I didn''t ask them all this time because I had assumed that they would come with me no matter what. But now they''re deciding otherwise without having consulted with me before.


    "Don''t you want to stay with me?" I try not to sound desperate, but it doesn''t come out in any other tone than that. Even though I didn''t give birth to them directly, I still have the feelings of a mother for her children. Seeing them walk their own paths in life so soon hurts my heart - especially since I''ve only been with them for a little over a year. At least they''re not alone and have each other.


    "We do... but we have all the time in the world." They sound much more mature than I feel right now when they say these words. Our kind seems to have an infinite lifespan, so as long as we''re alive, we''ll be able to meet again - even if it''s a thousand years into the future. Still, I would have wanted to teach them many more things.


    "What happens if Mataku attacks you?" It''s a legitimate concern, but it''s not like staying with me is safer for them. For now, I don''t have an answer to his overwhelming power, and it''s more likely that he''ll come to find me rather than these two.


    "Then we''ll run away and find you." Speaking in unison, they say exactly what I would have recommended them to do. It seems every Crawling Chaos has self-preservation deeply ingrained into their bodies. For these two, who don''t have anybody they love from the depths of their hearts, saving themselves is still the absolute priority. I would hesitate to run away because I have people I want to protect.


    "Yes, you''ll always be welcome by my side." I stretch my arms out towards them in an inviting gesture, and they immediately jump into my embrace. Pressing a kiss onto each of their foreheads, they bury their faces in my chest. I''m fairly certain they''re actually enjoying the sensation, but I don''t really mind; they''re charging up on mama-tonium for the time ahead when I won''t be around anymore - albeit only temporarily, I hope.


    "[Then it''s decided.]" I prepare to make an announcement, but my eyes fall on Mereana, who seems like she wants to say something. "[Yes, Mereana?]"


    "[Are you going to leave, without the people ever knowing of what you did here?]" She asks with a doubtful expression. In her eyes, I must seem very selfless, to just give the glory to her. After all, because of my actions, she''s the one who is officially recognized as the person that has slain the God King and fulfilled the prophecy foretold by the Oracle of Kairaki. Since the entire military brass in the palace has been wiped out, there should be nobody who stands in her way now.


    "[What did I do here?]" I play dumb, even though it''s obvious that everyone here knows better. "[You led a group of gods into Kairaki and cut down the God King.]"


    "[But you-]" She tries to object, but I interrupt her.


    "[Yes, but without you, I wouldn''t have moved. And neither would the others.]" I don''t really have to humor her lack of self-confidence and ambition, but I do so anyway. "[We''re gods, we can''t govern the world of man.]"


    I casually included myself since Mereana doesn''t know that I''m actually something completely different. Among the gathered people, only Aurelia is aware of that fact, and she raises an eyebrow at my words but doesn''t say anything.


    "[Now go, your people are calling for you.]" I can hear the voices of the civilians outside. They''ve been calling nonstop since the former slave girl revealed herself before them. I''m sure she has friends among them whom she can work together to rebuild this nation.


    "[You go, too. Watch over her.]" Aurelia suddenly says in the language of this nation, speaking very fluently, albeit in the dialect of the capital rather than the boondocks version I learned. The person she''s addressing is Kouratua, who has been listening silently so far.


    "[As you wish.]" With a bow, the rotund man walks down the stairs. I still don''t understand his role in all this, but I''ll ask Aurelia later when we have the time to talk. Also, I''d love to ask why he keeps using that outward appearance even though his body is made of gold and he can just shape it however he wants it to look like. Maybe it''s his sense of aesthetics.


    But I think having a member of the Six Arms standing by her side will give Mereana more credibility and sway over those who may still be loyal to the now deceased God King. I wish her all the best in either case.


    "[Now I''ll be helping you out, Aorutihaua.]" Looking up to the Child of the Sun, I speak with a smile. I can''t see their expression under the helmet, but I''m sure it''s a happy one.


    I really hope I''m right with my hunch, though.


    I was right.


    Inside the palace''s treasure room there was one sealed box that looked like it would contain some important secrets. When I broke the lock and opened it, there were many documents and trinkets, and stuffed between them was a glowing shawl that Aorutihaua immediately recognized.


    It turns out, the advisor was deceiving them, and it was right under their nose all this time. What a surprise!


    We''re standing on the middle balcony of the palace, while gathered around the Child of the Sun. I peek down to watch Mereana standing on the lowermost terrace with Kouratua, addressing the people pushing up all the way to the palace''s inner gates - since the front gate was broken down by me earlier. Next to the former slave girl are several other people that seem to be army commanders who have long hoped to overthrow the God King''s rule.


    "[So, are you going to go home to your mother?]" I turn around and ask the androgynous child, who''s hugging the Golden Shawl like it''s a long-lost lover.


    "[Yes, I haven''t seen her in a long time.]" They reply and wrap the shawl around their shoulders, upon which it floats up into a circle behind their back. That looks exactly like the depictions of Buddhist deities with the ribbons that seem to indicate their godhood.


    Then Aorutihaua lifts off from the ground. So, that shawl actually lets them fly? I seriously hope they won''t fly straight up at the sun next, because that would mess with my head.


    "[Mama, I''m here!]" They call out towards the sky.


    There''s silence, as everybody looks around in anticipation. But when a minute passes and nothing happens, I find myself wondering.


    "[Umm...]" I start, but the Child of the Sun preempts me with an explanation.


    "[It always takes a while until mother arrives.]" Floating in midair, they don''t seem to be alarmed. So, this is standard procedure then? Don''t tell me she''s really coming down from the sun. Even for light, that takes over eight minutes.


    "[She''s coming!]" After around eight minutes, Aorutihaua points up at the sun. I put a filter over my eye lenses and look up, but aside from the burning circle in the sky, I don''t see anything.


    Then, a bright orb separates from the sun and comes down towards us. A murmur goes through the crowd below when they see this, but my attention is completely focused on this phenomenon happening right before my eyes.


    The blinding rays of the orb fade away to reveal a woman with pearl skin, dressed in radiant white robes with a giant halo behind her back. If this isn''t a real goddess, I don''t know what is. Her tranquil expression seems to suggest that nothing can make her lose her composure, and considering she seems to have just come from the sun itself, I doubt anything worldly could harm her.


    Also, her almost completely visible breasts, due to her very low neckline, are truly the bounty that Mother Sun provides to the world. They''re an order above even my mother''s...


    Wait, what''s the point of the shawl allowing Aorutihaua to fly, if their mother just comes down to pick them up anyway? I mean, it seems like the shawl lets them communicate over long distances, or I wouldn''t see any reason why they didn''t call her before.


    "[My child, how I have missed you.]" The God of the Sun speaks with a voice that melts my insides. Her motherly stats are way off the charts, and I feel myself relaxing in her presence as if being held in the gentle arms of my own mother. Not good, I need to stay in control.


    "[Mama!]" Flying straight into her chest, the Child of the Sun hugs their mother while still keeping their helmet on. I would have thought they would remove it for this long sought-after reunion, but I guess it''s somewhat part of their body. "[These people helped me find the Golden Shawl again.]"


    "[Thank you! How can I ever repay this debt?]" Areteniha nods her head and speaks with her all-encompassing voice.


    I have to hold myself back from asking her to let me hug her, too. I''d love to bury my face between those breasts, but that would feel like a betrayal against my mother, who isn''t in this world anymore. No, I''m sure this booby-goddess can be of help to me in another way.


    "Do you understand me?" I test her with the language from the Dominion. There''s no way that a goddess that represents an even more universal concept than Tahiri, the God of Storm, doesn''t know the rest of the world. I can understand that the latter only stayed around this continent because they never got a look at the planet as a whole. But someone who seems to have literally come from the sun just now must know more.


    "I do." She doesn''t seem surprised at all and replies with a gracious smile.


    "Then I have a request for you." I make up my mind and look straight into her glowing white eyes. "Can you show me the way to the Demon Continent?"

 Chapter 98 - Body of Gold

    Others Side


    The gathered citizens, as well as most survivors of the garrison of Kairaki, stand and listen as Mereana holds a hastily improvised speech in regards to the future of the kingdom. With the death of the God King and most of his staff, the door has been opened for profound changes in this nation. Among the first things she addresses is the abolishment of slavery.


    Kouratua can tell that she doesn''t possess the qualities to lead a nation. Aurelia told him to watch over and help her, as he has done many times during his long life with various leaders. He just hopes that she will turn out better than the last queen several generations of man ago.


    Suddenly, the people in the courtyard point up and murmurs grow louder. The God of Gold turns around to see that a drop of the sun seems to have fallen to the land of man. A radiant figure floats down to the middle balcony and disappears from view. The occurrence seems to be taken as an omen of good fortune, but Kouratua knows that it was Areteniha, God of the Sun, who had finally been called down by her child.


    Shortly after, as Mereana successfully resumed her speech, another wave of surprised voices runs through the people. This time, it''s caused by a bloating mass that grows from the middle balcony. It takes the form of what the rebel gods first arrived on, the flying, flesh-colored monstrosity the one known as Chaos can turn into.


    "[They are departing now?]" Mereana exclaims in shock and looks up.


    "[It would seem so.]" Kouratua replies with a glance above.


    "[I have not had the opportunity to say goodbye!]" The former slave attempts to run inside the pyramid to climb upstairs, but the golden god stops her.


    "[Don''t forget who you are now. You can''t just leave in the middle of addressing the people.]" He speaks in an imploring tone, trying to sound helpful rather than commanding.


    "[But-]" As expected, she attempts to protest, but Kouratua shakes his head. Over time, she will have to learn how a monarch acts, but for now, he will have to guide her.


    "[You have a duty to fulfill. If fate wills it, you''ll see them again.]" With these words, he gestures towards the balcony from which she has stepped away. Voices among the citizens grow louder asking for where their new queen has disappeared to. "[Your people need you now]"


    Mereana''s flustered expression changes at these words. She understands her newfound responsibilities and throwing it away just to say a proper farewell would be the height of foolishness. These people helped her get to this place, so the right way to honor them would be to do what she set out to do when she asked them for their help.


    It''s as Kouratua said; she will see them again if fate wills it. Until then, she has to try her best and make this kingdom into a better place.


    "[Thank you for everything...]" She mutters towards the Chaos carrier and then turns back to the balcony, waving at her people to calm them down.


    Chaos Side


    I look down at Mereana and Kouratua from the bridge of the Chaos carrier. The golden god is by her side to hopefully right her wrongs - of which she will most definitely commit many during her reign. Aurelia has assured me that he''s very competent and that he has mentored many politicians before.


    "What''s your relationship with him anyway?" I turn around and ask the golden girl, who raises an eyebrow at me.


    "Hm, are you jealous?" She replies with a jab at my wording. It''s not what I meant, though I''m sure I won''t have to be worried about that anyway. Still, I''m quite interested to hear why she was hidden inside his body.


    "Of course I''d be jealous if you were with a man while I''m not around." I walk over to her and caress her cheek while speaking with an ironic undertone. She doesn''t avoid this intimate contact and actually seems to revel in it, as she closes her eyes.


    "What would you say if I felt the same way?" Aurelia opens her golden eyes and stares at me with an unprecedented intensity. She glances sideways at Tokomaha, who''s sitting on a chair made from my body and watching us with a frown.


    Uh-oh. I got two tsundere on board now. One is more honest with her romantic feelings, while the other is quite open in regards to her carnal desires - with some help. Maybe there''s a way to reconcile these two and have them learn from each other? But I have to address this sooner rather than later; I don''t want them to quarrel while on board of the Chaos carrier.


    "Well, I would tell you that you will have to learn to live with it." It''s the only thing I can really say here. I won''t lie to her and deflecting the issue is pointless. "You see, I just have too much love in me."


    "I see. So, this is how it feels." Closing her eyes once again, Aurelia seems to have come to a conclusion. She steps up to me and puts a hand on my chest. "I have known the day I first met you."


    "That means-" I begin, but she pulls me down by the front of my shirt - which is part of my body.


    "Do not dare to turn to another, when you are with me. That is the one rule I impose on you, Chaos." With these words, she presses her lips to mine once again, as a continuation of what she did in the throne room earlier. Now that I''m not under the stress of a life and death battle, I have the time to notice that her motions aren''t awkward like a beginner''s. She has at least some experience in this, huh?


    When we separate, I see everybody stare at us. Tokomaha''s gaze is one of obvious disapproval, and Awhina looks excited; she''s at the age where she would want to try this herself.


    "I guess this isn''t the best time to be asking if you would accept a threesome with a certain other girl here, huh?" I quip and instantly receive a resounding golden slap in the face.


    "Come to my room after this." Aurelia states with a deadpan expression and walks away, out of the bridge. I stare at her shiny departing backside while blinking in confusion. Did she just...?


    "[Ohhh, mama is getting some later!]" Uten and Saten cheer and whistle. I didn''t teach them to act like that, so where did they pick those manners up from?


    "[Oh, is that what this was about? Way to go, Chaos.]" Korenga joins the cheering after grasping the contents of my exchange with the golden girl. I instantly understand whom my children got their behavior from and shoot a glare at the Black God.


    "[What do you mean by ''getting some''?]" Awhina asks innocently. She''s the very image of a sheltered village girl, though I had assumed that growing up in such a small village with its open architecture would have given her enough opportunities to learn about such things. Maybe it''s just the wording she doesn''t get.


    "[It means that Chaos and that golden butt will-]" Korenga starts to explain, but I quickly create a tentacle from the side of the wall and cover her mouth with it. I half-expect that she''ll bite through it to continue talking, but apparently she gets the hint and stops.


    "[Let''s go, we''re drawing too much attention away from Mereana''s speech.]" I point outside the translucent membrane window. The citizens of Kairaki gathered in the palace courtyard are listening to her intently, but I use this as an excuse to change the subject.


    With this, I increase the heat of the fires in the large balloon while pushing the Chaos carrier off the ground, and we take off. Awhina and my children are here because I decided to at least carry them to the port town of Whakara two days away, where they''ll get themselves a boat. Tahiri said she would make the whirlwind guide them home, though I''m a little worried that she might be talking about her daughter Aratio.


    Though I do wonder why Uten and Saten don''t transform into dragons and fly back.


    Looking down at Mereana and the golden god one last time, I activate the boosters, and we begin to gain altitude while flying across the city. Normally, the group of heroes would stay a day or two for celebrations, and then finally depart with the entire city cheering on their way out. But that''s only for when they actually saved the world. This wasn''t a battle against an evil overlord set on destroying the world, though.


    Well, in a way it was. But nobody knew until we actually faced him at the very end. Now, Mataku is still at large, and all that changed was the leadership of Adanak. While I''m sure it''ll move towards a better future, in my eyes, it''s not something worth celebrating over. We didn''t really win after all.


    For now, I just want to get back home and claim the throne of the Dominion. Areteniha told me that she would teach Aorutihaua how to get there and let them lead us across the sea. Through my conversation with the God of the Sun, I couldn''t glean what her child''s gender is, and it''s still irking me now. If I don''t find out during our next conversation, I''ll ask her directly.


    Now that things are settled, I need to pay Aurelia a visit in her cabin. I''ll make sure to slow the ship down so that we fly through the night - even though a distance of two days on foot can be traversed in just a few hours on the Chaos carrier. This is a long-awaited moment, to be able to finally seal the deal with the golden girl.


    We fly towards the setting sun and leave the capital of Adanak behind us.


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    "I didn''t expect that you would invite me." I close the cabin door behind myself and look at Aurelia. She''s lying sprawled out on the bed in all her naked glory. I''ve seen her like this for a long time while we were on the moon, and today she''s been walking around this way, too. All this time, I haven''t been especially attracted to her, because rather than enticing, it has simply been casual nudity.


    What I see before me now is meant to stimulate carnal desires. The golden girl''s posture radiates eroticism, and when she raises her hand to wave me over, my libido overflows. But I hold myself back from jumping straight onto her; this woman is a queen, and I need to act in a manner befitting of her status. The golden body illuminated by the fading sunlight falling into the cabin through the small window is a picture of perfection.


    She is art.


    "Impressive. I expected you to jump on me like the beast you are." Aurelia teases me with a smug smile.


    "Be careful. This beast is a trickster." I reply with a grin and let tentacles grow from the bed, with which I bind her arms and legs. "Feels familiar, doesn''t it?"


    "This is all made from your body then?" Unlike last time, she doesn''t struggle against the restraints - although I''m keeping them loose on purpose - and looks around the room, then glances at the cord coming from my head, connecting to the roof.


    "Yeah, I''ve improved quite a bit during my time apart from you." Walking over to the bed and climbing onto it, I lean over Aurelia. She looks at me with a straight gaze, no hint of nervousness or even fear in them; there is a notion of anticipation, although overall she gives off a dignified feeling rather than one of suppressed eagerness. She''s going into this with full knowledge of what is going to happen.


    It''s a strange feeling. So far, I''ve always reveled in the uneasiness and fear of the unknown that my partners have felt towards me, even after having experienced it with me several times. Aurelia is unlike any of them, showing me that she''s going to be my equal in this.


    I undo the restraints - even though they were weak enough that she could have just raised her arms and legs to free herself from them - and put a hand on the golden girl''s cheek. As if she read my mind, she doesn''t look surprised that I retracted my tentacles. A small part of me feels a hint of irritation at the fact that she always seems to be in control of her emotions, and it wishes to see the raw feelings she displayed when I showed her my real face back when we clashed.


    The overwhelming majority of my being wants to rise to the occasion and be with her as an equal. I would feel inferior if I just let my desires run rampant - unless she said the word and wanted me to do so.


    Aurelia puts an arm around my neck and pulls me down towards her. Her lips touch mine and all my unnecessary thoughts are blown away; we''re here to make love, so there''s no need to over-think things. I respond to the third kiss she was the one to initiate today and just go with the flow.


    How is she so soft to the touch? How does she produce saliva and body heat? How does she have all of that when her body is actually made of solid gold?


    Those questions don''t matter now. We''re embracing each other, feeling the other''s skin with our own, and our bodies are those of simple human beings as we seek warmth and intimate togetherness.


    I could easily sprout many appendages and grow a man''s member like I always do with Tokomaha, but it would feel out of place here. With Aurelia, I want to remain true to my former human self, just like she''s holding onto hers by choosing this form despite having the freedom to become anything she wants to be.


    "To think I would lie with you..." When we separate for a moment, Aurelia mutters with a wry smile. When we first met, we tried to kill each other. In fact, I wanted to torture her to death for almost killing Hestia, but when I was shot into space, she was the only person by my side for several days in absolute nothingness. The absurdity of it all resulted in us two forming a strange relationship at first, which solidified into friendship - or more - on the moon.


    "After our rocky start, I wouldn''t have thought it either." Guiding my fingers along her cheek down the neck and across the collarbone, I reply. Well, I did somewhat force myself on her while we were floating in space, but I never went all the way. And when she became my teacher in magic later, there wasn''t anything more than some light physical intimacy such as using her heavenly thighs for lap pillows.


    "Yet, here we are." Aurelia pulls me in again and initiates our fourth kiss. For some reason, it feels quite different with her than with anybody else. She''s the first one to proactively seek me out and steer things her way, even while she''s lying at the bottom.


    Just as I think this, she separates from me and pulls me to the side, before quickly climbing on top. For a second I''m completely blindsided by the maneuver and blink at the situation. The erect tips of her modest mounds brush past mine and send a shiver across my skin. Then she holds down my wrists and brings her lips to my neck.


    An electric shock runs through my body at this unfamiliar sensation, and I let go of my voice.


    Wait, isn''t this the first time something like this is happening to me? Every single time I''ve been the one in control, even when it was mutual pleasuring. Aurelia is single-handedly taking the reins this time, and it''s a complete surprise to me. So this is how it feels?


    I like it.


    But I can''t just remain passive, so I try out freeing my arms lightly. However, the golden girl on top of me keeps her grip strong, signaling me that I should let her take the lead. I kind of expected that she wouldn''t be the type to let things happen to her one-sidedly like Tokomaha seems to be; I didn''t expect that she wants to be the one who makes things happen to others one-sidedly, though.


    Aurelia moves down from my neck and across my collarbone, sending waves of pleasure through my body and into my brain. I''m in a human body right now, so I have all the senses of one. When her lips brush across my skin, and she moves down between the large mounds on my chest, I breathe in sharply and suppress a shudder.


    Slowly, I become intoxicated by the sensation of being on the receiving end, and my body switches from relaxation between shivers of pleasure to tensing up repeatedly, whenever Aurelia finds another erogenous zone. She slowly moves down my body, and lets go of my wrists, but all I do is run my fingers through her golden hair as she passes my navel.


    I''m enjoying this more than I imagined. In a way, I could view this as me making her do this as a service to me, but I''m not averse to the thought that she''s somewhat dominating me right now. While the former is especially exciting when I consider that a queen is working her way between my legs with her mouth, the latter is very fitting for her attitude towards me.


    Then any thoughts about this bizarre situation are blown away when her tongue finds its way to my most sensitive spot. The shock running through my body makes me breathless, and I try to push her head away from me. But she doesn''t budge and takes my reaction as a sign that she did something right. Intensifying her assault, she doesn''t give me any room for relaxation.


    My back arches as she purses her lips and sucks on my bud, before separating from it with an audible smack. It seems that Aurelia knows exactly what she''s doing because she just barely stopped short of giving me a climax. Instead, she runs her tongue across my inner thigh and massages the back of my knee, to hold my arousal but giving me a little room to cool down at the same time.


    "You''re incredible." I breathe and look down to her. She returns my gaze with an intense golden one of her own. Her expression makes it clear that she must be enjoying giving me pleasure just as much as I am enjoying being pleasured. I know that feeling very well myself.


    Then she moves up my thigh and brings her tongue to my folds, where my love juices have already begun flowing. Apparently, she decided that my being able to talk was enough rest. But now she''s getting down on my treasure hole, inserting her tongue just enough to tease my opening, before twisting it and advancing deeper inside.


    At the same time, she brings her hand around and presses her thumb on my button. Once again, my back arches from the sensation, and I can feel my toes curling as I claw at the bed sheets made from my own body. But this time, she doesn''t let off and sends me well and truly over the edge. I can''t control my voice and am surprised to hear my high-pitched whimper, as my lower mouth ejects a spray of clear liquids straight into Aurelia''s face.


    Instead of angering her, she takes it as a sign that I''m enjoying it immensely, so she continues to drill her tongue into my depths. Then, I suddenly feel a new sensation as something enters my rear entrance. My surprise is so great that I accidentally forget to try and hold on. The full strength of a second climax overcomes me and my entire body quakes.


    That means the entire Chaos carrier is shuddering.


    The mood immediately plummets as we''re both shaken out of our lovemaking and look around while our bodies are frozen in place. I''m sure everybody felt that as well, though they all know what I''m doing anyway. But since we''re so high up in the air, doing something too exciting might be a little dangerous. Then again, aside from Awhina, nobody would get seriously hurt if they fell, and I''m sure my children can catch her in time.


    "It would seem that your improvements are not as great as you think." Aurelia wipes her face and looks me in the eyes with a smug expression that would normally make me want to turn the situation around on her. But right now, I''m checking through my entire body to make sure that everything is alright. If the flame-outlets in the balloon go haywire, I could end up a fireball after all.


    "Cut me some slack. You wouldn''t be able to control yourself if you were in my position." I reply, realizing what I just implied.


    "Hm, in what position?" The golden girl kisses my inner thigh and teases me with this question. Obviously, she would pick up on it.


    "It just felt that great." But I have no problem admitting it. She doesn''t seem surprised at my openness and lifts herself up to approach my face again.


    "Then shall we continue?" Our noses are less than an inch apart when she asks me with a straight face. She''s the definition of a cool beauty, and I can feel my heart skip a beat.


    "Of course." I reply and initiate a kiss with Aurelia for the first time. We share in a heartfelt embrace, and our bodies become entwined. One hand runs down her back while another feels its way towards her modest chest. Hers are only barely bigger than Tokomaha''s, even though she not only looks but is actually much more mature than the latter.


    Then I quickly reverse our positions and push her down on the bed. Now it''s my turn to give her a taste of my techniques. She doesn''t fight back and looks up at me, her expression filled with so much warmth and affection that I''m completely overwhelmed. I didn''t expect that she could make such a face.


    My heart is set aflutter, and I press my lips onto hers, feeling her overflowing love and letting her feel mine.


    "[Seems to have been a pretty good night.]" Korenga comments when we assemble on the bridge the next morning. As expected, she doesn''t care about tact.


    "[It was.]" I glance at Aurelia. She neither gloats nor acts shyly, instead considering our sensual encounter last night par for the course. I really appreciate her dignified attitude and feel that it''s something I can learn from her.


    "[Hey, you!]" Tokomaha comes forward and points at the golden girl. "[Chaos is mine!]"


    I stare at the little goddess in surprise. Don''t tell me she''ll try and challenge her for sole possession of me, even though our relationship has mostly only been about using each other for pleasure - with me dominating her rather than it being a mutual thing. If she were more open with her feelings, it could certainly develop into more, but for now, Aurelia has the edge over her in that area.


    "[Is that what Chaos herself says?]" The golden girl turns to me and asks with a sardonic smile. Leave me out of this, oi!


    "[Well, if you were more honest with yourself, we could be more than sex-friends.]" There, I said it. And Tokomaha stares at me dumbfounded. Then her face flushes red, and tears appear in the corners of her eyes, as her lips quiver because of her lack of words.


    "[Chaos you idiot!]" She slaps me in the face and runs out of the bridge. I have not the shred of a doubt that with this she''s trying - and failing - in her own way to invite me to her room later just like Aurelia did yesterday. She forgot to say it, though.


    "[Ahhh, you made her cry.]" Korenga teases me with a smirk. It was her fault, to begin with, for mentioning what we did last night. Though I guess I''m mostly to blame. I mean, yeah, I''m in the wrong here...


    I''ll go and pay her a visit later.


    But first, we''re approaching the harbor city of Whakara. When we land, there''ll be a pretty big farewell. Here, Awhina and the twins will leave the party to return to Aoranam and Ototawa, whereas I''ll be taking Tahiri, Tokomaha, Korenga, and Aurelia to the Demon Continent.


    This will be the first time I''m consciously leaving people behind, rather than being separated from them by force.

 Chapter 99 - Going Home

    "[It''s the ocean!]" I stand at the edge of the harbor and call out towards the sea stretching out endlessly in front of me. We''ve been inland for a while now, and it''s always refreshing to see the wide open blue.


    Some passersby laugh and whisper at my behavior, but I don''t care. Our colorful group is already causing people to stare at us with a mix of curiosity and derision. Especially Korenga''s tall frame and Aurelia''s golden skin are drawing attention. Of course, she put on clothes - albeit dazzling golden ones - when we entered the city since it would have caused even more of a commotion. The news of Kairaki''s fall hasn''t reached here yet, and obviously neither has the information about the appearances of those responsible for it. Otherwise, they would either swarm the heroes or run away from the usurpers that we are.


    But as expected, this is a pretty big port city, so the water around here is quite dirty and smells bad. Must be because the sewers are directly connected to the river, which is the same as the one capital is built next to - the Maheranui. It''s already carrying all the filth from the villages and cities from upstream, and with its slow flowing speed, it tends to gather around.


    Such a place is going to be the location for our farewell?


    "[Let''s go to have a meal.]" I turn to my companions and suggest this. When I think about it, we left Mereana without saying a word. She has many important things to worry about now, so I think it was the right decision to slip out quietly; can''t have her show weakness of emotions in front of her new subjects. But with Awhina and my children, I''ll make sure to take my time to have a heartfelt farewell party.


    To that end, I follow my nose and search for the best-smelling tavern in the city. I can spend as much money as I want here since I won''t be coming back to this nation for a while after this. And carrying a large number of coins around will only ensure that I''ll either have to jettison it from my body because of some unforeseen circumstances, or lose it in some way. I''ll give the rest to Awhina, in case she decides to make a stop in a port city and needs to find a place for the night - I''m sure my children won''t need it since nature provides plenty for a Crawling Chaos.


    Thus, I find a spacious and comfortable tavern I deem acceptable for the occasion. I remember our time in Anutawa and the big lunch we had together. Back then, Mereana was still around, but our number hasn''t changed; Aurelia is with us this time.


    I''m actually looking forward to seeing her eat. Since her body is made of gold, and I know from our time on the moon that she has no metabolism, I don''t think she can eat at all. Where would it all go?


    Of course, she doesn''t eat. Why did I think she would? Throughout our meal, Aurelia has been watching me with a smile. But it wasn''t a love-struck expression or anything like that; she''s gauging my table manners. The only time I ever ate in her presence before was when Juzual gave me that huge whale-like creature on the moon. Back then, I just swallowed it whole, so there wasn''t much to observe.


    Luckily, I seem to get a passing grade; when our eyes meet, she doesn''t look disappointed. Still, that''s quite some pressure she''s exerting on me, to the point where I''m not really noticing what I''m eating.


    The others are making merry, understanding that this is their last meal together for the foreseeable future. Of course, Korenga is the loudest of them all, but my children are learning from her quite readily. I would prefer if they didn''t, but they''ll be separated soon, and I don''t want to be a stick in the mud during such an occasion.


    I look at Awhina, who''s joining them in her own way. She wears her heart on her sleeve and has never been one to hold back her voice either. It''s one of the qualities I''ve always appreciated in her.


    On the other hand, Tokomaha is still sullen because of what happened on the bridge of the Chaos carrier earlier. The only reason she couldn''t just lock herself in her room is that I took that room with me when I undid the transformation of the airship. Even then, she knows that all of it is me and I could slip through the walls just like that time right after our battle against Roamukao when I visited her during a very intimate moment.


    The situation with her needs to be resolved sooner than later, but for now, I don''t want it to put a damper on everybody''s mood. At least she isn''t refusing to eat and is digging in silently.


    "[Alright, let''s go to the beach.]" When we''re done and leave the restaurant, I turn around to the group and decide. Our talks have returned to the imminent farewell, so I need to steer things in the right direction.


    "[Aren''t we getting a boat in the port?]" Awhina asks and exchanges a look with the twins. They shrug, not understanding my motivations either. "[Or are you still stalling?]" She''s grinning while saying this, thinking that I don''t want to get separated from her just yet.


    "[It''s the long-awaited beach episode!]" I spread my arms and announce in a cheerful tone while ignoring her teasing. Then my shoulders droop, and I smile self-deprecatingly. "[Not.]"


    "[Huh?]" Everyone makes in unison, confused about my strange mood swings.


    "[We don''t need to buy a boat. You two can be boats.]" I point at the twins. "[You need to learn how to use your bodies for all kinds of things, not just straight transformations like the dragon template.]"


    "[Ohh! Like you turning into the big balloon?]" Uten comments.


    "[Ohh! Even though that form is pretty ugly?]" Saten adds.


    "[Yes, just like that. It saves money, and you can practice your transformations.]" I put my knuckles to Saten''s head and grind them into his temples while replying casually.


    "[It''s the beach!]" I spread my arms and call out towards the sea once again. In this world - or at least this nation - there is no concept of sunbathing and swimming in the ocean as a leisure activity, so the beach is empty. The sand is a beautiful white, similar to the one at Aoranam, and the water is much clearer than the stuff that flows through the harbor.


    Nobody shares my enthusiasm, and this is the second time I''ve made this gag within a short period of time, so it doesn''t even draw any confusion either. Awhina and the twins do look happier than they did at the port though, seeing a beach that reminds them of home. They take off their sandals and start walking barefoot, feeling the sand between their toes.


    I guess they want to go by sea because they''re feeling nostalgic about sailing on the waves.


    I''m going to teach Uten and Saten how to transform into boats, and preferably a self-propelled one. It only requires some simple magic - or whatever the power I''ve been using really is. I''ve taught them the wind burst spell on our way across the Nukumania plains, although they haven''t been able to master it to the point where they can emulate the Chaos warhead mode. Still, it should be enough for this purpose.


    "[Alright, follow my example.]" I wade into the waves and go in until they reach up to my thighs. My legs expand and grow into a pair of hollow buoys which merge at the center and turn into a boat-like form. Basically, I''m a human upper body attached to a jet-ski.


    "[That looks pretty lame.]" The twins comment in unison and frown at me, obviously having no intention of copying me. Those little...


    "[Alright, how about this.]" With this, I shape the jet-ski into a traditional boat, create a single mast, and form a sail. Then my body rises out of the planks and turns into a complete human once again - albeit attached to the boat through the feet. It looks like one of those canoes used by the fishermen of their home villages, so their happy reactions are quite understandable.


    "[That''s more like it!]" They look excited. "[Teach us how to do that.]"


    "[Well... in this form the journey will take longer.]" I cross my arms and voice my concern. It''s their time they''d be wasting going with a traditional vessel rather than one that can move like a jet-ski, but from their expressions, I can tell that they don''t mind. Awhina clearly doesn''t mind either.


    "[I did it!]" Saten is the first to grasp the concept of transforming in a way that makes it feel like it will turn into something outside the body.


    I first practiced this when I was on my way to the moon, by creating a life-sized version of myself inside the mind-bending depths of my other-dimensional body, to... interact with Aurelia, who was my prisoner at the time. Using the same principle on the Chaos carrier, I expanded my exterior body to turn into the giant airship, while creating a human-sized avatar to interact with the passengers.


    It''s understandable that it would take the twins some time to understand how it works since it must be a really strange feeling. Unexpectedly, this time it''s Saten rather than Uten, who is able to do it first. The latter usually seems to get the hang of transformations faster, but maybe this was something far more out there than simply changing the structure of the body.


    Maybe there are more differences between the twins than I thought. I feel melancholy well up when I realize once again that I won''t be able to teach them anything else for the foreseeable future.


    "[Just wait, I''ll get it right away, too!]" Uten, never one to let himself get outdone by his little brother, proclaims with a pout. He''s just so cute.


    As expected, he only takes a few more tries to achieve the same level of proficiency as Saten, but the latter is standing by with a smug expression. He already got his victory, so he''s obviously quite happy. In either case, with this, they can both take on the job of carrying Awhina back home.


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    So this is it. They''ll return to Aoranam and Ototawa, and I most likely won''t see them for a long time. I''m sure that my battle against the sorcerers will take a while and I won''t have the freedom to just go into Chaos warhead mode to fly across the globe for a quick visit. When things calm down over there, I''ll make sure to come here, though.


    "[Come to mama.]" When we stand on the beach again, I spread my arms and invite the twins into my embrace. Just like in the pyramid, they quickly take the invitation and jump into my bosom, burying their faces into my chest. As before, I don''t really mind and squeeze them to me. But then I hear sobbing.


    Uten and Saten are both crying.


    Stop it, or I''ll have to cry, too! Suppressing my tears, I let go, and we separate again. Their eyes are reddened, and their faces are wet, but they quickly wipe the tears away and try to act tough. I squat down before them and caress their cheeks.


    "[Make sure to protect Awhina along the way, you understand?]" I remind them of their important task, to take their thoughts off this farewell. I''m sure the demi-goddess can handle herself, but this way, they won''t constantly think about our separation. "[And don''t cause too much trouble for Rangi and Ruiha.]"


    I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes now, so I have to cut my speech short to pull them in for another hug. But they understand that it''s hard for me, too, and let their emotions run wild.


    "[We will miss you, mama!]" The twins breathe into my ears between the sobs and tighten the embrace.


    "[I know. I''ll miss you two, too.]" Finally, I feel a tear roll down my cheek as well.


    When we separate, I ruffle their hair and stand up to face Awhina. She''s been watching silently, making sniffling sounds while trying to suppress tearing up herself. I walk up to her and am once again reminded of our pretty large height difference.


    In the end, our relationship never went further than close friends. We discussed it and came to such a decision, despite the obvious fact that we have those feelings buried deep inside our hearts. Maybe next time, when I come again, we''ll both see things differently, and then we could try again.


    "[Take care of yourself, Awhina.]" I look up to her, and she returns the gaze with her fascinating hazel green eyes.


    "[May Areteniha guide you back to my side one day.]" She replies with what I assume is a common phrase in their village, to hope that two people can meet again. Then we both notice at the same time what those words imply and chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.


    Areteniha is indirectly the one who''s going to guide me, and those who''re coming with me, across the ocean and back to the Dominion. Using this phrase that incorporates the God of the Sun whom we actually met in person feels strange now. But considering we know that she''s real, it makes Awhina''s wish seem much more real, too.


    Finally, we put our foreheads together and touch the tips of our noses while closing our eyes. It''s the farewell gesture that only people in her village use, and I feel honored that I have been wordlessly included with this. When we separate, she opens her eyes and looks deep into mine.


    "[I will be waiting for your return as long as I live.]" She says with a smile and tears in the corners of her eyes. If I didn''t know better, I would have taken it as a confession. But I know that she thinks her lifespan is far shorter than mine, and that we might not meet again for decades, if not centuries.


    "[I won''t take that long. I''ll come back before you know it.]" I hug her and bury my face between her breasts. At least this much I''m still allowing myself to do. Then I pull away from her and point at the twins. "[Keep an eye on those two, don''t let them run too wild.]"


    "[You hear that? Your mother tells me that I have the authority.]" Speaking in a half-joking tone directed at my children, Awhina puts an arm around my shoulder and squeezes me. "[I''ll make sure they turn into good men during your absence.]"


    "[I''m telling you, it won''t be that long.]" I laugh. Then I notice Aurelia''s dumbfounded expression as she looks at the twins. From their outfits, she must have assumed that they are girls, but she was just told otherwise. I suppress a chuckle at the sight.


    "[Greet Rangi and Ruiha from me. Tell them that the wind is watching over the chaos for a while longer.]" Tahiri comes up to Awhina and pets her hair, even though her height difference to the latter is the same as mine. "[I''ll come by again for some Oripiaw, so make sure you have a lot stocked at the time.]"


    "[I understand, Tahiri.]" With a nod, the demi-goddess replies in an earnest tone. Despite having lived with her for the past year and journeyed across the nation, she still treats the God of Storm with respect. While it''s not at the level of treating her as a figure of authority, she can''t seem to bring herself to be as casual with her as she is with me.


    "[Sounds like the Oripiaw is good over there. I''ll come around for a visit, too.]" Korenga speaks with her arms crossed and a determined nod.


    "[I''m sure you''ll just drink it all up and leave nothing for Tahiri.]" I quip, and she laughs. Everybody joins her, as they get pulled along by her voice


    I turn to look at Aurelia, who has been watching everything from a short distance away. She doesn''t feel like joining this extended farewell scene; she met them all only a day ago, so there isn''t anything she could say.


    But on the other side, also apart from the group, stands Tokomaha. She hasn''t talked at all since our little argument earlier this morning, although it''s clear that she doesn''t plan on just leaving. I''m sure she''s waiting for me to come to her and make things right, or maybe thinking of a way to do something on her end. In either case, her relationship with these three wasn''t anything special, and they''ve only known each other for a few weeks.


    Awhina suddenly walks over to the little goddess, who stares at her in surprise, and starts whispering into her ear. Due to the angle, I can''t see the latter''s expressions, and the demi-goddess is making sure to keep the volume low enough that I can''t hear. I''m sure I could switch the interior of my ears to another template that has enhanced hearing, to eavesdrop on them, but I won''t do that. There must be a reason for this secrecy.


    When she''s done, Awhina returns to our group, and I peek past her just in time to see Tokomaha turning away with reddened cheeks and a troubled expression. I''m sure she just got some advice on how to try and mend our relationship.


    "[Oh yeah, I remember you talking about making the whirlwind guide them back home.]" I turn my attention to Tahiri since we''re nearing the moment of separation.


    "[Hi~]" A female voice makes behind me, and I spin around in shock. Floating over my shoulder is Aratio, the God of Whirlwinds, wearing her completely translucent dress that hides literally nothing, and blinking at me with a mischievous expression.


    "Woah!" I jump back in shock, and she giggles, her silver eyes fixated on me.


    "[I have to admit, she''s a cute one, mama.]" Aratio''s shape wavers, and she warps right in front of me, accompanied by a breeze. "[Hey, let''s go and have some fun~]"


    My heart skips a beat when her face is right in front of mine, an almost manic expression in her eyes while she licks her lips. In a way, I do feel physically attracted to her appearance, and that outgoing personality seems like she could be a really fun person to hang out with. But she''s Tahiri''s daughter...


    "[Stop that. You have something to do first.]" Her mother reprimands her and delivers a chop to her forehead.


    "Kyaun!" The God of Whirlwinds makes a cute noise and holds her stinging head.


    "[You can join up with us later if you feel like it, but for now you have to guide them back to Aoranam.]" Tahiri points at Awhina and the twins. "[And don''t lose interest halfway and leave them out on the sea.]"


    "[I know I know~]" She rolls her eyes in the same motion as she twirls her entire body in midair, making it look like her eyes actually stayed in place, Aratio answers in a flippant tone. "[What a shame. See you some other time then, cutie~]"


    She waves at me and winks before her body disperses into thin air. Then a breeze passes by me and flips my skirt up. I''m certain she just inspected me down there with this, though I don''t really mind since there''s nothing to see.


    Hmm, she seems quite interesting, now that I got to see a bit more of her. I wouldn''t be averse to the idea of her joining our party after finishing her job here, even if only because of her powers. It''s totally not because I wouldn''t mind having fun with her or anything like that.


    "[Let''s not drag this out too long.]" Awhina announces, not because she wants to cut our time together short, but because she doesn''t want to make it harder for us to separate than it already is.


    Uten takes on the first shift of being the boat since he''s still peeved that Saten outdid him in the transformation training this time. Pushing his boat part out into deeper waters using his human part while Awhina controls the sail and Saten uses an oar he created from his own body to help, the three set out on their journey back home. When Aratio''s wind catches in the sail, they gather together on the small deck and wave at us.


    Soon, they disappear in the distance, and the farewells are over. I turn to those who are left; Tahiri, Tokomaha, Korenga, and Aurelia are standing by, waiting for me to announce the continuation of our journey.


    "[Aorutihaua!]" I call out towards the sky. Then I remember who I''m dealing with and regret it immediately.


    From within the blinding circle in the sky, a drop of light comes down in our direction, but it doesn''t radiate as much brightness as Areteniha. What it lacks in luminosity it makes up with speed though, as it doesn''t decelerate at all.


    I turn into the Chaos warhead, activate my boosters, and sweeping Aurelia and Tokomaha off their feet, quickly putting distance between where I just stood earlier. Tahiri and Korenga can take care of themselves, so I don''t try to pull them away. It turns out, I did it just in time, as a split second later the sound of a huge explosion rings out from behind me.


    A wall of dust and fog is thrown into the air, but the God of Storm graciously blows it away quickly when she manifests her body again in the same place she kept standing in until the impact. Where I stood only moments ago is a large crater, and the sand has been turned to glass. Korenga has been swept off her feet and is stuck head-first in a dune, though she''s obviously unharmed.


    "[You called?]" The Child of the Sun stands in the center of the crater, wearing their trademark helmet and the Golden Shawl around their shoulders, speaking as if their entry was perfectly normal.


    "[Next time, how about slowing down?]" I put down Aurelia and Tokomaha and snap at them, knowing that it''s pointless to argue. Tahiri told me that Aorutihaua is also known as the God of Meteors. Meteors are also called shooting stars, which resemble tiny and quickly moving suns. In either case, I''d rather they didn''t simulate a small scale extinction event right onto where I stand.


    "[Ehhh...]" With a disinterested tone they turn away and put their arms on their hips.


    "[Oh well... Do you know the way now?]" I change the subject and ask. Areteniha knows the world''s geography well and even understands the politics of the various nations; she apparently likes to watch the world from her home somewhere near or even on the sun. But her child is mostly living on the planet and never paid much attention to the world of man before their shawl disappeared, so she had to teach them the way.


    "[Yes. Follow me when you''re ready.]" They turn around, the glowing eyes under the full helm directed at me.


    I look at Korenga, who has unburied herself from the sand. Tahiri is floating on a small cloud with her usual aloof expression. Aurelia is standing next to me, giving me a neutral glance. Tokomaha, having been saved from suffering the same fate as the Black God by me just now, is finding something in a direction opposite of me very interesting.


    Well, everybody is ready.


    "[Let''s go.]" I state and begin to transform into the Chaos carrier again. Finally, I''m going home.

 Chapter 99.5 - Service Heaven [Censored]

    "[You''re slooow!]" Aorutihaua flies circles around the Chaos carrier while nagging about my speed. At first I thought they were the stoic type once they put on their full helm, but apparently, that isn''t the case once they also wear the Golden Shawl that allows them to fly.


    "[We''re above the ocean, so I can''t just experiment with my form.]" I reply through my avatar sitting on top of the balloon next to Tahiri. Last time I tried recreating a jet plane, it flipped me over, so I''m not too keen on trying it with passengers and out over the sea. If that means it''ll take a while longer, then that''s how it is.


    "[Boo...]" The Child of the Sun makes, and I can imagine them pouting underneath that black helmet.


    "[So, where were we?]" I turn to the God of Storm and try to pick up our conversation from before we were interrupted by the childishness of the little god buzzing about the airship like an annoying fly.


    "[You were asking about how to make up with Tokomaha.]" Tahiri replies with a knowing grin.


    "[Ah... yeah.]" I scratch my cheek bashfully. Normally, I wouldn''t really want to ask for advice in regards to relationship issues, but somehow I feel that Tokomaha deserves better treatment from me. While it''s true that I don''t like those who act hard to get or just can''t be honest with their feelings that are obvious to everyone else, the God of Growth has grown on me.


    I know I shouldn''t do it, but the comparison with Aurelia comes quite easily; they''re both very prideful. After last night with the golden girl, I understand that she isn''t shy and clearly knows what she wants, but has high standards that I need to uphold if I want to stay with her. Tokomaha, on the other hand, hasn''t made anything clear - aside from enjoying being taken for a ride seemingly one-sidedly.


    "[Have you tried talking to her?]" The God of Storm states in a matter of fact tone.


    "[You make it sound simple.]" I lie down and place my head on her lap casually. She doesn''t mind and looks down at me with a raised eyebrow while regarding my question.


    "[Because it is.]" With a shrug, she replies. "[Why does everybody have to make things complicated? Everything can be resolved through talking. Action comes only when either side thinks that there are no other options.]"


    I don''t think she''s referring to relationship problems with that last line of hers. It sounds more like something applicable to altercations, be it between individuals or nations. Though I guess it''s true to a certain extent; I should have a talk with Tokomaha before anything else.


    "[Guess I''ll give it a try.]" I sit up from Tahiri''s lap and turn to smile at her.


    "[Always happy to help.]" She returns it and takes a gulp from her jug of alcohol.


    "[Thank you.]" My avatar melts into the balloon while waving at her, and she waves back.


    I form from the ceiling of the bridge and slowly come down. Everybody is in their own rooms, so it''s empty in here. Since this ship is literally just me, there are no instruments or a steering wheel, so I don''t have to check for any course errors or malfunctions. Looking around, I wonder why I came here rather than go directly to Tokomaha''s room.


    Then again, I should go there and knock, rather than drop in without announcing myself. It worked last time because she was in the right mood for it, but currently, she won''t be happy if I do that.


    Thus, I physically walk through the central corridor of the living quarters and go to the little goddess'' room, even though I can move through the walls easily. Need to keep some semblance of normalcy even for someone like me.


    "[It''s me.]" I knock on her door and call out to her. There''s no reply, and for a second I wonder whether she''s asleep or not in. But before I can form an eye on the other side of the door, I hear something from inside. Don''t tell me she was masturbating again or something.


    The door opens, and Tokomaha is standing there, looking up at me with defiant eyes. There are no signs of her having cried recently or anything like that, but it''s clear that she''s been upset since this morning.


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    "[What do you want?]" She asks me in an abrasive tone, and I forcefully step into the room, causing her to stagger back. "[Hey, what are you-]"


    I close the door behind me and look at the little goddess with intent eyes. She realizes her situation and is feeling nervous, but there''s also a hint of anticipation in her eyes. Then she notices her own thoughts and shakes her head to clear it. Apparently, she doesn''t want this to go like the last few times when I basically forced myself on her.


    Neither do I.


    "[I''ve come to apologize.]" I finally say. Normally, this is where I would bow deeply, but I hold myself back from following my instincts. This nation doesn''t have that kind of custom other than for people to show subservience to others. That''s not the message I want to give her. "[My words this morning were out of line.]"


    Tokomaha doesn''t say anything and avoids eye contact. She''s not making this easy; I''m making some concessions here, so she should at least reply. But the fact that she didn''t just ignore me or slam the door on me when she saw me on the other side means that she''s willing to at least listen to me.


    "[There''s something I have to tell you.]" I think this might be the first time I''m having this talk in such a straightforward way. So far, I''ve taken my situation with the girls for granted, especially because Kamii and Hestia were always so devoted and silently accommodating. Even Aurelia has shown understanding, though she did attach a rule.


    I begin by telling Tokomaha about the girls waiting somewhere on the other side of the world, and how I''ve been living my life so far. Throughout, her face shows a wide range of expressions, but I can see from her reactions to my mention of other girls that she does disapprove of it. That''s not good.


    "[What do you think of me now?]" When I''m done, I let the little goddess decide.


    She looks up at me with her amber eyes, her gaze unwavering. But it only lasts for a moment, before she looks away with a difficult expression. She''s remained silent ever since I first started talking, and that hasn''t changed even now. Walking over to the bed and plopping down on it, Tokomaha cradles her legs and seems to be deep in thought.


    I remain standing in the center of the room where she left me and wait. This will need some time, I think, but that''s what we have plenty of right now. Unlike all the others before, it seems that she''s really thinking about what it means to share me with somebody else - especially with as many as four or more others.


    The problem I have is that I believe each one of them deserves my full attention, but at the same time, I can''t leave them all for any single one. While it would be frowned upon or even hated if I were in a shounen harem story, this here is my reality. I never thought things would get to the point where this could happen to me. But I also never thought I would be reincarnated as a cosmic horror, so there''s that.


    "[Chaos...]" Finally, Tokomaha looks up and speaks in a quiet voice. She pauses for a moment, and there''s silence once again. I try not to look too eager to hear her words so that she doesn''t feel any pressure to continue. Then, while looking straight into my eyes, she says what I didn''t know I needed to hear right now. "[I love you...]"


    If I had a heart in this form, it would have skipped ten beats. I know that she''ll say something after this, but for now, I''m really happy that she feels this way about me.


    "[I don''t like it.]" She says with a miffed sideways glance. Huh, she doesn''t like the fact that she loves me? "[That I have to share you. I don''t like it.]" As if she noticed the ambiguity of her statement, she explains her words. "[But it seems that if I want to stay with you, I''ll have to accept it.]"


    I have to hold myself back from saying the wrong thing here. In a way, I wanted to say that she shouldn''t have to accept it if it hurts her inside. I''m sure she could find somebody devoted only to her. But at the same time, I understand the feeling of loving a person so much that you don''t want to let them go. Only that for me, it applies to several people.


    "[So promise me at least one thing.]" Tokomaha focuses on me and the determination in her gaze surprises me; it reminds me of Aurelia''s expression on the bridge yesterday. "[That when you''re with me, you won''t look at anybody else.]"


    They''re basically the same words as the golden girl''s. Her sentiment is understandable, and I can get behind that promise just like I did with Aurelia''s. I won''t make the same kind of joke with the little goddess though since it seems like that admittance took a lot from her. She won''t be able to handle me making insensitive jokes right now.


    "[Thank you.]" I walk over to Tokomaha and lean in on her while placing a hand on her cheek. "[I promise.]"


    Then, for the first time, I kiss her lips properly, as a lover would. I remembered that during all our escapades we never shared a heartfelt kiss. The first time I met her, I forced my prolonged tongue into her mouth as part of her punishment, and every single time afterward, our lips never even touched.


    Now that I think about it, I never really let her feel my appreciation for her properly. I''m going to mend that now and shower her with my love.


    When we separate, she looks up at me with glazed eyes and breathes heavily. I didn''t notice the passage of time during our connection, but apparently it was quite long. However, this is far from over, and I need to give her more to convey my feelings for her.


    I gently push her down onto the bed and bring my lips to hers again.

 Chapter 100 - Return of the Queen

    "What do you think of this Black Valkyrie?" General Ophalen looks across the Fields of Huwinn that surround Arkaim, the capital of the dominion, and asks into the room behind him.


    "I hear that she is a black-winged Fata, and witnesses report that she has killed almost two dozen of her kin already." Markor, leader of the Bakari clan, replies with a thoughtful expression.


    "Speaking of kin, there''s the Kinslayer Dragon. Some say she''s been sighted alongside the Black Valkyrie every single time." Nilotec scratches his chin and adds to the conversation.


    "That is my point." The old humanoid crocodile turns around and regards the people gathered in the meeting room. There are only four of the top military brass remaining in the capital since the human invasion has progressed to the point where all the marshals had to be mobilized in the field. "Why has she not come here and talked to us, yet? It has been seven moons since she first appeared in Gaislaic, but nobody knows where she and her pet dragon disappear to after every battle."


    "What harm is there in not knowing where she goes to rest after helping out." Athilacia, leader of the Lamia clan, says while shrugging.


    "I prefer to know all the factors that could influence this war." With every other step he takes the sound of metal hitting rock rings through the room. For a day now, he has been feeling phantom pain in his missing right foot, a sign that a storm is coming. "It could all be a human ploy, to make us let down our guards and welcome those two with open arms."


    "Would they sacrifice their precious Fatas and dragons for that?" Nilotec questions his father''s concerns. "We all know how symbolic those winged people are to humans. Watching their deaths has oftentimes demoralized the enemies so thoroughly that they even gave up their overwhelming advantage."


    "Maybe you''re just paranoid." The lamia flicks her split tongue across her ironically smiling lips and states in an offhand tone.


    "Maybe..." Ophalen mutters and looks out the window again, down into the crowded courtyard. Currently, the capital''s garrison consists of the Petsobek, and as many of the Kirali clan as its leader could spare, Markor''s personal army, Athilacia''s elite skirmishers, as well as a small contingent of ajura left behind by Chandra, under the leadership of her deputy Taragasura.


    Yesterday the former moved out with the bulk of the army that had been gathering over the past few weeks in Arkaim, to reinforce the city of Erbilan, which was projected to take the brunt of the human spearhead advancing across the continent.


    To say that Arkaim was lightly protected was an overstatement.


    While the Petsobek under General Ophalen have always been counted among the most elite warriors of the Dominion, they don''t have enough members to man the castle walls, let alone the walls of the entire city. The same is true for the Ajura clan members, although they are arguably the most formidable force among all of demonkind. The numerous members of the Bakari clan are fierce warriors but are generally considered barely on par with human elites. Finally, the Lamia clan provides exceptional archers, but they also barely number in the five hundred.


    All in all, the troops remaining in the capital numbered barely eight thousand. Reinforcements from deeper inland were on their way, but if an attack were to happen here, they would be hard-pressed to defend the city long enough for those to arrive on time.


    "... what is that?" The old general waves over his son and points towards the west, where Chandra''s troops had disappeared over the horizon only yesterday. A strange shimmer, like the heat in a desert, was visible in the distance. However, the temperature was far too low for that to happen, and such a phenomenon is unheard of on the Fields of Huwinn.


    "I don''t know. Should I send scouts?" Nilotec comes up to his father''s side and turns his head to look where he''s being pointed towards.


    "Yes. And sound the alarm." Ophalen growls and stares into the distance. "I have a bad feeling about this."


    When the strange shimmer was halfway across the fields and approached the city of Arkaim, it became more and more apparent that it was something artificial. It began to spread out as if moving to encircle the city. Nilotec''s scouts reported that they could ride into it without a problem, although it would part for them and avoid being touched.


    The entire city is now on high alert. Archers man the walls, bows and crossbows ready in case the phenomenon proves to be some kind of human machination. With a steady pace, the translucent glow is beginning to envelop the city on all sides like an otherworldly mist.


    "Catapult loose!" West gate captain Gargulan bellows this order when the shimmer passes the threshold General Ophalen set before it would be considered hostile. Behind the wall a dozen wooden catapults launch their heavy projectiles over the gate, raining the deadly payload down on the strange glow.


    Before they impact the intended target, the rocks shatter in midair, and their remains roll down an invisible slope as if a giant shield was angled over the shimmer. That''s when dark blots begin to appear and reveal what has been hidden underneath.


    From within a massive human army emerges, immediately rushing towards Arkaim''s walls carrying siege ladders. Due to the surprise, it takes the demons some time to react, and even Gargulan is rendered speechless at the suddenness of events. There had been no reports that such a large army had made it past Erbilan, which is over six hundred leagues from the capital.


    A shower of arrows comes down on the besiegers when members of the Lamia clan are the first to recover from the shock. The invisible shield that stopped the boulders before don''t seem to work this time, and the human soldiers fall by droves. However, the shimmer is still being lifted and the army emerging from it seems to have no end.


    "How many?" Nilotec, acting as field commander and watching from the western watchtower looming over the wall, asks the lookout.


    "It would appear that the bulk of the forces are right here before us, but I estimate the entire army to number over one hundred thousand..." The Argos demon Meos speaks in a tone of fatality while blinking the one hundred eyes in his head at different times. The other members of the staff begin to mutter nervously.


    "What are you all so afraid for? We''re the ones on the wall, and they only outnumber us fifteen to one." The humanoid crocodile spins around to the others and snarls. "They might have blindsided us with this strange magic, but we''re still at an advantage."


    Then war drums pick up in the human army, and Nilotec looks back to the battle. The shimmer has finally disappeared completely and has revealed the full extent of the enemy''s forces. Not only was Meos'' estimate on the conservative side, but the humans also brought a large number of siege weapons.


    One of them, a giant battering ram, is being pulled towards the gate by a dozen oxen. With one glance, anybody can tell that even the reinforced steel gates of Arkaim can''t withstand something of that size for long.


    "Order your archers to shoot the draft animals!" Nilotec roars towards Athilacia, who immediately looses a signal arrow. "Have the catapults target the ram!"


    The message is quickly relayed to the artillery captain, who begins to readjust the firing angle of his unit. Meanwhile, the Lamia clan archers begin to rain down arrows on the oxen at the front, but strong gusts divert their otherwise perfect aim.


    "There is a mage among the enemies." Meos'' many eyes sweep across the battlefield to try and identify the one who''s preventing the arrows from reaching the draft animals.


    "With such a large force, I don''t doubt they have more than one." Nilotec lets his fist crash onto the parapet and growls.


    That''s when the catapults begin to fling their rocks over the wall and towards the ram. The field commander watches as they perform an arc through the air and approach the large construct. Then the rocks hit an invisible wall and shatter, just like they have before. A murmur runs through the gathered staff as their only reliable means of destroying it has been neutralized.


    "Let''s go do somethin'' ''bout it." Taragasura clicks her tongue and waves at her aide to follow her out.


    "Wait, what are you planning?" Nilotec stops her and inquires with an intense gaze.


    "I''m gonna lead my peeps out there an'' take that thing out." The Ajura clan''s deputy leader replies in the most natural tone without turning around.


    Chandra is the most powerful warrior in the history of the ajura. She had surpassed her father even before he lost three of his six arms in his first and last clash against the previous demon lord, Aldeath. Some had rumored that she might even have been able to best Aldeath, but now nobody would ever know.


    Taragasura may live in the shadow of Chandra, but her clan members know that she comes only second to their leader in power. Even Shugra, Chandra''s longest-time personal aide, said that he could not hope to defeat her. The fact that she''s his elder sister is completely irrelevant to his evaluation.


    "Even if you''re strong, you can''t just run into that huge army with just one hundred men." Aware of her might after learning about it from Shugra, Nilotec still didn''t think that she would be able to survive against the massive numbers outside - even if they are only normal human soldiers, which he seriously doubts.


    "Oh, the cute lil'' croc''s worried ''bout me?" Shrugging, Taragasura mocks her commanding officer, showing as little respect as any member of her clan does to those weaker than they are. "Watch me."


    With these words, she walks out of the room and descends the tower. The little crocodile in question grinds his teeth and turns to his aide.


    "Tell Acutis to take three hundred men and follow her. Get her out of there when things go wrong." Nilotec gives him these orders and sends him away. He isn''t motivated by personal feelings for the ajura, although he wouldn''t be averse to the idea of lying with her. If she and her troops were to fall here, the morale among the defending army would drop significantly. After all, the Ajura clan is considered to be the most powerful among the demons, after the few remaining individuals of the Rangatira clan that Aldeath belonged to.


    The crocodile turns around to look at the castle sitting on the floating mountain. There''s still one Rangatira who hasn''t grown weary of the world and retreated to become a hermit, but only an attack on the castle will make her move. Luckily, he was able to persuade his father to remain in there, since he''s the supreme commander and too important to be so close to danger.


    Peering down from the tower, Nilotec watches as Taragasura rallies her small force and leads them towards the ramparts rather than the gates.


    "Huh, what are they trying to do?" He scratches his head and watches as the multi-armed people with blue and purple skin take several steps at once and quickly reach the battlements, before lining up and letting out a thunderous war cry.


    Then they jump over the parapets and down the other side.


    "What?!" As Nilotec leans out the tower window, his bewildered voice seems to resound across the entire city.


    "These are just plain ol'' human soldiers, sis." A female ajura warrior with six arms comments casually while slicing and dicing her way through the enemy soldiers with her curved swords. Even though the human soldiers are densely packed, the one hundred clan members easily cut through them as they head towards the battering ram.


    "Dammit, and I was hopin'' to meet one of ''em knights." Taragasura clicks her tongue. It''s a tick she can''t abandon even though many have told her that it makes her come across as spiteful.


    "The boss''ll wipe ''em humans out wherever she goes, so we ain''t gonna see much more action than this here. You gotta take whatcha get." Swinging his four arms with one sword in each hand, a male ajura warrior teases his commander.


    The small force of blue and purple-skinned demons cleaves a swath of death through the human army, making straight for the battering ram. Nobody can stop them, as even fully armored foot knights are swept aside like ragdolls, and they quickly reach the first of the draft animals.


    Taragasura''s instincts suddenly tell her that something is coming from her right, and she raises her sword purely by reflex. She feels an impact on her weapon but can''t see what it was from. In the next moment, two of her ajura warriors fall over, beheaded at the exact same height as where her sword blocked something invisible.


    "What the-" The shock only lasts for a split second, before all her clansmen are on high alert and go into a defensive formation. Taking the opportunity, the human soldiers form a circle around them and take a respectful distance from the demons at the center.


    "That was dishonorable of you, Folke." A reprimanding male voice resounds across the opening and from the encirclement a slender man steps forward. His medium-length blue hair stands in stark contrast with his pure white armor and cape. In his left hand is a rapier held loosely, while his right holds a small buckler.


    "They''re demons. Honor is wasted on them." Next to the knight another man in a ragtag outfit befitting of a mercenary''s choice of equipment emerges from thin air, his gauntleted hand seemingly sweeping aside a curtain with a print of reality on it. His youthful face is tanned, suggesting a life on the road, as opposed to his companion''s fair skin.


    "Please excuse my colleague''s behavior." With a nod, the white knight offers an apology. "He was not trained in chiv-"


    "Ya talk too much." Taragasura lunges forward and spins around herself with all six of her curved swords performing a slash at a different height, turning herself into a whirlwind of blades.


    However, they create sparks on an invisible wall a step away from the white knight but don''t penetrate the barrier.


    "No manners, as expected of a demon. Alas, I shall not lower my standards to match those of yours." Without flinching at the sudden and powerful attack, the knight in white brings the hilt of his rapier to his chest, before bowing gracefully. "My name is Colart. They call me the Knight of the Iron Veil."


    "I don''t care." The Ajura commander clicks her tongue and thrusts a sword at the man, but it''s deflected again.


    "My uncouth companion is Folke, the Mirage Knight." Colart continues while ignoring Taragasura''s dismissive attitude, introducing the man in the mismatched armor since he wouldn''t do it for himself.


    Taragasura immediately understands the situation and why these two are paired up. The one who just called himself the Knight of the Iron Veil must be using magic to create a barrier and the Mirage Knight must be turning it invisible.


    Then realization hits her; the Mirage Knight must be the one responsible for hiding the entire army under that strange shimmer. Maybe because it covered such a large area, he couldn''t do it as perfectly as it is hiding the wall of his companion right now. And the Knight of the Iron Veil must have been the one who blocked the catapult shots directed at the battering ram.


    In other words, if she takes either of these two out, the flow of battle will change greatly in the demons'' favor. However, the difficulty lies in how she can achieve that.


    Taragasura suddenly throws a sword upwards. Everybody''s eyes follow it, except for hers and Colart''s, who stare each other down. Then, the sound of the blade hitting something in midair causes the former to look up after all. The weapon is sliding down an invisible slope and coming back towards her. Catching it with her free hand, she clicks her tongue audibly again.


    Considering the soldiers surrounding them don''t show any gaps, the barrier should only cover the open space between the two and the ajura warriors. But maybe this knight has the power to shape his wall however he wants to.


    How is either of them doing it? They aren''t using incantations, and there are no runic circles on their equipment or at their feet. Magic without chanting is something only demons are born with, but these two are very clearly humans; no demon that has sided with humans has ever been found on the battlefield fighting against their own kind.


    For the ajura, who have no talent for magic, such opponents are the most troublesome to deal with. Usually, they would cut their way through those guarding the mages and kill them before they finish their incantations, but that''s not possible against these two.


    "I guess this is a challenge." Clicking her tongue, Taragasura remarks with a frown. Then a fearless grin appears on her lips.


    Arkaim was built around the floating royal castle, which had been there long before the demon lord came into existence and claimed it as their own. As such, the location wasn''t chosen because of its easy access to natural resources like a river or a nearby forest. In fact, the city was known for being hard to defend, and none would live in it if not for the fact that it was the capital where the demon lord resided. Without Queen Pelomyx, however, the city was only a badly designed death trap now that it had become surrounded.


    But even such a place had a silver lining. The walls were too sturdy to tear down, and there were no weak points in them other than the heavy steel gates in the four cardinal directions. The massive gatehouses had enough tar stocked to soil an entire lake, and there were a hundred arrows on hand for every human participating in the siege.


    What the city lacked were soldiers.


    The sheer amount of ladders were beginning to overwhelm the defenders in several sections of the walls. Although eight thousand could man all the gates, there were gaps along the walls which only archers were keeping closed with overlapping ranges. Without the Bakari clan members and their fire magic, many sections would have fallen already. While their range was very limited, they were able to create explosions powerful enough to knock siege ladders down quickly.


    However, due to the constant rain of arrows, the demons were becoming increasingly pinned behind the parapets. Soon, the first human soldiers made it to the top of the ladders and began to engage the demons at close range. Nilotec had the foresight to spread out his elite troops, posting just a squad of four Petsobek on every wall section across the entire city. They were mighty warriors in a melee and experts at holding positions. With the speed and power of the crocodiles they were based on, they made quick work of those who spearheaded the human assault on the walls.


    When they looked across the Fields of Huwinn, despair slowly but steadily began to grip the hearts of the physically weaker defenders. The crawling masses of human soldiers were hundreds of men deep in all directions, the encirclement so complete and thorough that not a single rat could pass through them.


    Then the message that Taragasura''s assault on the battering ram outside the western gate had been repelled spread like wildfire, causing the morale of the demons to plummet further. Soon after, the western gate fell.


    "What were you thinking?" Nilotec growls at Taragasura as she plops down in her seat at the command table. He doesn''t mean for his tone to sound angry, but his people have a small vocal range, and they always come across as aggressive. She''s pressing bloodied cloths onto the stumps the lower two of her left arms have been reduced to just below the elbow.


    "Mind yer own business." The Ajura deputy leader clicks her tongue. Despite having lost two arms, her face shows rage rather than pain. Her attitude derives from the fact that she was bested by those human knights and lost almost half of her people, and then she even had to be saved by Nilotec''s troops.


    The western gate was broken down by the battering ram shortly after, and now the demons on the inside have to fight the human soldiers flooding into the city in a messy melee. The Petsobek are somewhat weaker than the ajura warriors while they have ten times their numbers, but even they won''t stand a chance against tens of thousands of humans.


    "If you can talk back like that, you seem to be fine." Glancing at the two missing forearms, Nilotec is somewhat reluctant to call her fine, but he''s grasping at straws to loosen the tension of the situation. The truth of the matter is that none of the ajura are in any fighting condition after this failed foray.


    "Fatas!" One loud voice yells over the din of battle, and several others pick it up. Dread fills the hearts of the defenders as those who have the leeway to do so look up into the sky.


    Flying overhead, circling like vultures eyeing a carcass under the sun, are nine figures with snow-white wings. Each one summons a spear of light in their hands and throws them at the Lamia clan members on the gatehouse, who have been raining down arrows on the humans scrambling to push into the city.


    Every single spear claims a life, but the well-disciplined lamia archers immediately return fire. However, no arrows reach the Fatas as they are flying too high up and with the sun in their backs.


    "Where''s our air support?" Nilotec roars. He''s referring to the Gargoyles of Arkaim.


    "They are not awake at this hour of the day, commander!" One of his aides replies.


    "I know that!" Smashing his fist on the heavy wooden table, the humanoid crocodile snarls in response. The gargoyles turn to stone on the spot they stand in shortly after the sun rises and only awaken in the late afternoon when it nears the horizon. They used to stay statues as long as the sun was out, but it slowly changed in recent times.


    It''s clear that the humans picked this time of the day to attack knowing that the largest aerial force in the capital is unable to act.


    More and more archers on the walls fall to the magic of the Fatas, and the humans flooding in through the broken gate slowly push the defenders back. Unlike Rodens, Arkaim doesn''t have layered walls. The only place they could fall back to would be the castle, but it can''t hold the entire population of the city. Since this attack was a complete surprise, the civilians didn''t have the time to evacuate and are holed up in their homes shaking in fear.


    The situation is dire, and it looks like it could result in a repetition of what happened over one summer ago when the gods attacked the city through the transportation network.


    "We need to close that gate." With a glance across the walls, Nilotec can tell that they''re still holding out well. But if the humans are allowed to spread out in the city, they will be able to climb onto the battlements and take out the defenders from behind. "Follow me."


    The commander descends the tower with his aides and picks up his weapon, a giant curved blade with handles on both ends and one in the center. Its form is meant to be used in both close range and against enemies with polearms, and it''s the preferred tool of war for the Petsobek.


    At the bottom of the tower, Nilotec peers across the square just behind the gate, where the humans are slowly pushing back the demon defenders by employing long pikes in large numbers. His troops are unable to fight at their full potential under these circumstances, especially when they are surrounded by weaker demons they might hurt if they went all-out.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "I guess every clan training on their own has led us to this day..." The humanoid crocodile comments to himself, but it''s overheard by his entourage, who exchange glances with each other. "Nothing, just thinking out loud."


    He turns around towards the humanoid statue let into the side of the tower, glancing up at it reluctantly. Its appearance is strangely unrefined, and unlike the beautiful hand-crafted ones standing deeper inside the city, this one prioritizes function over form.


    "Ghann, wake up!" Finally, Nilotec makes up his mind and roars up at the statue towering at five times his height, calling out a name. For a moment, his aides look at him in wonder, silently thinking that he must have lost his mind a little over the situation.


    Then cracks suddenly begin to form on the surface of the statue, and the ground begins to shake. Light fills those cracks and runs all the way up to the eyes before the entire figure begins to move. The colossus steps forward and creates a tremor that travels across the entire square. Both humans and demons stop their fighting for a moment as they realize the spectacle that is unfolding.


    "C-commander, what is that?!" One of Nilotec''s aides point up at the living statue and asks him in utter bewilderment.


    "That''s Ghann. She''s one of the four guardian golems of Arkaim." The commander takes the time to explain, as the golem in question looks down at him. "I just hope she hasn''t gone senile after all this time..." He mutters to himself, before raising his voice and bellowing up to her. "It''s time for you to fulfill your purpose! Seal the gate!"


    For a moment, Ghann doesn''t react and simply continues to stare down at the crocodilian. Then she raises her head and looks towards the gate, before seemingly realizing the situation the city is in. With a heavy step, she wordlessly steps forward with no regard for those under her feet. The commander and his men quickly step aside and make way for her, and so do the demons in her path.


    When the humans realize that the golem is coming towards them, they begin to panic and push backward, trying to get away from this new threat. The Fatas above start raining down spears of light, but they barely scratch Ghann''s surface, as she unerringly continues towards the broken gate, trampling the humans in her way. Her emergence immediately reinvigorates the demon army, which uses this distraction to tighten the half-circle around the humans that have made their way inside already.


    "Stop that thing!" The voice of the human commander somewhere in the center of that half-circle exclaims. But none of the humans can offer any kind of resistance against the massive golem whose feet are barreling through their ranks.


    Soon, Ghann reaches the gate and bends down slightly to fit under the archway. The humans still trying to pour into the city see her and their advance turns into a hasty retreat. Then the golem''s form begins to dissolve as she melds with the surrounding walls.


    Within moments, the passageway has been completely plugged by Ghann, whose original form is no longer visible. Instead, a solid wall of stone stands where the broken gate allowed the humans to flood into the city. Those still inside are cut off from any reinforcements and are hopelessly outmatched by the more powerful demon warriors.


    "Phew... she remembered her duty..." Nilotec sighs in relief. Then he looks across the humans now trapped with no reinforcements from outside and no way to retreat. "Kill them all!"


    His command echoes across the square and his troops double their efforts in exterminating the isolated enemies. The defensive battle has turned into a one-sided massacre.


    They have managed to stem the tide, even if only for a moment.


    "The humans aren''t letting up, and are doubling their efforts to scale the walls with siege ladders." General Ophalen remarks while looking out the window, towards the western side of the city, where the battle is fought the hardest. Fires have broken out among the houses due to enemy catapults employing explosive barrels, and the walls have been painted red with blood both on the outside and the inside.


    "They are the ones with a time limit. Once the gargoyles awaken, they will be able to destroy their siege weapons from the sky, and nine Fatas will not be able to stop them." Markor states in a hopeful tone.


    "The crippling of the ajura so early in the siege is a hard blow for us." The general doesn''t let optimism take hold, as he gauges every little detail.


    "Taragasura says that they will be ready for battle again after some rest." But the Bakari clan leader prefers to look at the positive aspects of things. "As long as the walls hold, we can wait for reinforcements."


    "Reinforcements? I left only a small garrison of five hundred in Rodens, all the capable fighters from Gorgonai have been drawn towards the line of defense near Erbilan, Adagiran stands almost completely empty. And the reinforcements from inland won''t arrive until a fortnight from now." Turning to the Markor, Ophalen growls in a low and menacing tone, although he''s only trying to sound bitter.


    "Chandra is still close. The messenger should have reached her by now." Scratching his goatee, Markor tries to argue, knowing that the old crocodile would be able to find some fault in it, too.


    "Yes, Chandra..." Looking out the window again, the general stares at the distant horizon, where he hopes to see a cloud of dust that would denote the Ajura clan''s return. In his heart, he fears that Chandra won''t be able to win against the two knights that Taragasura failed to defeat. And in all likelihood, there are more of them among the besiegers at the other gates of the city.


    The Chosen Knights are a novelty the humans cooked up soon after Queen Pelomyx passed away. Rumor has it that they wield magic just like demons do, requiring no incantations or runes, but each one of them specializes in strange spells previously unheard of.


    According to the reports, those that Taragasura encountered were called the Knight of the Iron Veil and the Mirage Knight. With those two, there were now twelve confirmed Chosen Knights, and it''s highly likely that there are many more still on their way from the Empire of Terminus.


    "Milady, what do you think?" Ophalen turns to the tall maid standing at attention near the door. "How should we proceed?"


    "I am but a simple maid, Lord Ophalen. I do not presume to know the subtleties of war." Bowing her head, Rewera speaks in a neutral tone. She''s a master at holding back her emotions, which are surely running rampant inside her at the prospect of humans invading the capital once more. They already breached the gate on the western side once, and as things stand, they will most likely succeed again elsewhere.


    "Please, milady. Do not humble yourself. You are... the wisest person in the capital right now." Holding himself back from saying that she''s the oldest, the crocodilian hobbles over to the maid and lowers his head before her. She''s the sister of Aldeath and the only Rangatira whose whereabouts are known.


    "My age does not worry me if you wish to mention it, milord." Rewera doesn''t smile, although her voice bears a hint of amicability. "My brother was the strategically gifted one. I have no education in the art of war."


    Ophalen sighs and begins to turn away when the giant maid - albeit still smaller than the general - continues to speak.


    "But consider what I say at your own discretion. The enemy will not sit by idly until the gargoyles awaken. Now that Ghann has closed the western gate, they will concentrate on penetrating elsewhere." She says in a manner that makes it seem like she is only talking to herself. Like every Rangatira, she chose her way and is seeing it through regardless of what others think of it. In her case, it was to become the maid leader of the demon castle after her brother''s death, so that she could stay close to his final resting place.


    "I see..." Ophalen already suspected that the humans wouldn''t just continue to try and scale the walls with siege ladders mindlessly. But there''s one golem for every gate, so even if they broke through elsewhere, the same would happen again.


    "Enlist the people of the city." Finally, Rewera makes a definitive statement, in a tone and manner unlike the ones she spoke with before.


    It''s a thought Ophalen has been playing with since the start of the battle. When Pelomyx became the queen, demons with individual powers awakened one after another. However, at the same time, many standing armies have been reduced because of her overwhelming might on the battlefield. Whenever she went to war, she would only bring a token army with her since she could annihilate thousands of humans alone.


    Now that the queen is no longer, maybe it''s time to reinstate the system of conscription that was used under Aldeath.


    Thus, under General Ophalen''s orders, and while the city was still under siege, civilians were given military equipment and sent to defend the walls. Many were fearful, as they belonged to races that were physically weaker than humans, but others were eager to fight for the survival of the city. Even before the order went through, there had been many volunteers, and now the entire citizenry was slowly coming to life.


    The fewer than eight thousand members of the regular army were bolstered by tens of thousands of civilians now, and the situation started to look far less bleak. After the humans failed to take the west gate, and they had been pushed back, morale was high. Now it was rising further when more and more demons appeared on the walls to hold them against the invaders.


    However, the humans didn''t lose heart and achieved small victories in some places while sustaining heavy losses in others. The siege looked to be evenly matched for both sides, especially since the Fatas left the battlefield after the western gate was sealed again. Of course, the demon command suspected a ploy and kept their most skilled archers on high alert.


    Time passed, and the battle developed into a stalemate, but it was nearing the moment when the Gargoyles of Arkaim would awaken. If they did, the demons would achieve air superiority and rain death onto the humans outside the walls who are unable to join the battle.


    Shortly before the time came to pass, the nine Fatas reappeared over the city and started to shoot their spears of light at all winged statues they could find. Many that weren''t gargoyles were destroyed, but among them were also ones who would have come to life - now forever silenced in their shattered forms.


    The defenders had no means to counter the aerial assault, as there were very few winged demons who were also powerful enough to fight in midair. Many had already left the city to defend the dominion against the invasion elsewhere on the continent, so just a handful of Fatas was steadily decimating the demons'' greatest hope.


    But in their jubilant hubris, they committed a grave blunder; they attacked the gargoyles perching on the royal castle. During Pelomyx''s reign, she had generously allowed the living statues to peruse any free space on the floating castle, as long as they kept everything tidy. Thus, during the day, hundreds of gargoyles would stay on the towers and battlements while striking amusing poses to delight the queen.


    Now that they had come under fire, the guards of the castle would no longer sit still. Even though the Maid Corps, normally only consisting of exactly ninety-nine hand-picked girls from all kinds of clans - numbered fewer than seventy now - they contained about a dozen capable of aerial combat. And then there was the maid leader, Rewera.


    The Fatas had stirred a hornet''s nest.


    From the roost where Aldeath''s beloved manticores used to live, the winged members of the Maid Corps set off to dispose of the flying threat. Rewera flies at the very front, sporting a pair of powerful crimson wings with sharp claws at their tips that run counter to her otherwise straight-laced appearance.


    Upon seeing the maids approaching with lances in their hands, the Fatas begin to chant their light spells. In response, the demon maids cast their own magic while performing evasive maneuvers. It quickly turns into a dogfight between nine with pure white wings and thirteen with variously shaped wings.


    Soon, the Fatas are overwhelmed through the small but decisive difference in numbers, and they beat a hasty retreat. That''s when Rewera decides to send a message by making a statement here.


    She shoots forward on her wings that carry her through the air swiftly and bridges the gap to the Fata at the very back. Grabbing onto the woman''s foot, the maid leader pulls her backward and takes hold of her neck. The others hear her scream and turn around.


    "I advise you never to come back here again." Rewera''s tone is serene, and she almost sounds polite.


    For a second, the Fatas bear the hope that they may get their comrade back. Then the giant maid grabs onto the shoulders of the woman and rips her in two as effortlessly as one would do with a sheet of paper. Dropping the lifeless pieces carelessly, Rewera lets her gaze drift across the others, not the hint of an emotion in her dark red eyes.


    With high-pitched screams of terror, they fly away as quickly as they can.


    While Rewera had regained control in the airspace of the city, another human machination was coming into effect at the western gate.


    The battering ram had tried to penetrate the wall Ghann turned into but given up after not even denting it with several dozen swings. Finally, the human army pulled away their siege ladders and retreated from the walls, when they realized that their efforts were in vain.


    However, the demons knew that it was no reason to celebrate because shortly after, the Knight of the Iron Veil stepped forward alone and pointed his rapier at the walls. Nothing happened, but that was because the Mirage Knight must have been nearby and hid whatever the slender knight did under his cloak of invisibility.


    Then a man on a horse wearing more colorful and decorated armor than those around him ordered a general charge. The demons were completely perplexed and watched as the human army trampled forward and past the knight in pure white, who stayed in place unmoving.


    Thousands of humans began walking on thin air, ascending a slope towards the battlements, immediately opening up a wide front across a large stretch of the walls. All hitting at roughly the same time, a flood of soldiers crashed against the demons who were barely able to bring up their weapons in time due to their confusion at what just happened.


    With just a single stratagem the besiegers had leveled the playing field. Now it was only a matter of numbers.


    "The walls have fallen! Retreat to the western plaza!" Nilotec bellows across the battlefield. Demons are being pushed down the battlements and are falling to their deaths, while humans are gaining the upper hand everywhere through sheer numbers. Even with the hastily conscripted militia, they are still hopelessly outnumbered on every front. "Petsobek, on me!"


    With a battle roar, the powerful crocodilians gather around their commander and form a loose line of defense, through which the fleeing demons escape. The humans that follow hot on their heels are shredded to pieces by the massive blades of the Petsobek, as they are now fighting on their own terms. Given enough space and when defending those who stand behind them, they are unparalleled warriors.


    But human archers appear on the walls and start pelting the Petsobek with arrows. Most bounce off their hard scales, but some find their ways into weak spots such as eyes and joints. One after another the mighty warriors fall, and gaps open up in the final line of defense.


    "Fall back!" Nilotec decides that they have bought enough time for even the slowest of the retreating demons, and orders his men to abandon the defense. He gnashes his teeth at the thought of how many of his troops, let alone of the militia and soldiers on the walls, just died. But if they can''t consolidate their forces at the plaza and form a defensive perimeter, the entire city will fall, and they will all be slaughtered.


    "The northern gate has been breached!" A messenger reports this disastrous news to the Petsobek commander.


    "The gargoyles are awake!" One soldier points up, where hundreds of dark gray winged beings take to the skies all across the city.


    They roar in anger at the losses they sustained during their sleep and sweep down at the invading humans with their powerful claws. Some come down into the streets and crush several enemies at once with their rock-hard bodies and wings, while others grab helplessly flailing victims and drop them from high up.


    But their numbers are too few to hold back the flood of humans coming over the walls. In their wake, the enemies set houses on fire and kill civilians who were too late to escape. Throughout the city, on the large streets and in the small alleyways, demons are fighting for their lives against the overwhelming numbers of the invaders.


    Outside the walls, many more are waiting to get their turn at massacring the demons, lining up impatiently to climb the ramp that Colart created. Even cavalry are making their way up and pouring into the paved streets of Arkaim.


    All seems lost.


    That is when a horn familiar to any demon warrior echoes across the city. Its powerful and deep tone sets the defenders'' hearts ablaze and reinvigorates their bodies with newfound hope. The remaining ajura fighting in the streets to defend their wounded deputy begin to settle into a roaring cheer that confuses the humans.


    "The boss is here!" Many of them exclaim, and the demons around them understand immediately.


    Chandra Ajura has come with reinforcements.


    "How did this..." Rankud, chieftain of the Minotaur clan looks over the army still outside the burning city and stares wide-eyed at their massive numbers. He hadn''t seen so many humans in one place since the invasion three summers ago when he had helped evacuate the cities along the path of the coalition army of the humans and the elves.


    "Hear me!" Chandra''s voice pulls him out of his stupor. "Rankud, take yer men to the left an'' strike ''em from behind."


    "Understood!" He quickly moves to execute the commander''s orders and runs over to his troops. There are three thousand minotaurs from many different tribes, and it fills him with a swell of pride to think that they are now all working together to repel the humans from the dominion.


    "Kethorn, ride along the walls an'' get ''em away from the ladders." The Ajura clan leader addresses a female centaur in heavy armor that extends all the way across her horse body. The red-haired woman wordlessly bangs her shield in response and gallops away to rally her troops consisting of heavy cavalry numbering five thousand. "Shugra, you''re coming with me."


    "Of course, boss." Expressionless as always, the bald ajura replies with a nod.


    "We''re going straight down the middle! Let''s give ''em hell!" Not one for long speeches, especially considering the direness of the situation, Chandra raises her bladed trident. Then she begins to run forward, closely followed by her people, while Shugra blows the giant hollow dragon claw, the war horn of their clan.


    The minotaurs join in with the horns of their ancestors, and with the roar of the centaurs, the announcement of their charge shakes the very air. Then thousands of hooves moving together evoke the illusion of a rolling earthquake, as the entire reinforcement army, ten thousand strong, is set in motion. They surge down the gentle southern slope of the Fields of Huwinn, towards the enemies at the gates of their capital.


    The besiegers turn around and form ranks, placing pikes in the front and archers behind them, firing thousands of arrows at the approaching mass of muscles and hooves. But the rain of projectiles can''t stop the relentless charge, and terror washes over the hearts of the humans.


    Chandra is the first to reach the enemy lines, and with a single swing of her heavy trident, half a dozen humans <u>are ripped</u> to shreds. Not slowing down at all, the entire Ajura clan smashes through the pikes like a flash flood breaking through a flimsy dam. They slaughter the archers that were too slow to run and continue onward completely unhindered.


    At that time, Rankud''s troops crash into the rear of the human army with their spiked tower-shields. The giant humanoid bulls easily slam aside even the most heavily armored troops and fling them through the air like ragdolls. <u>Cleaving the enemies into pieces with their massive axes</u>, the minotaurs don''t fall behind the ajura in their advance.


    Kethorn''s centaur kin have formed a cavalry charge, their powerful armored bodies turning into deadly rams. The front row, following their chieftain, locks their bladed lances into place, and they are soon upon the terrified humans. Like ships parting the sea, the centaurs blaze through the enemy lines and trample those who stand in their way under their hooves.


    Thousands of humans perish within moments of the charge, and their morale is instantly shattered. Few try to stand and fight, and most run away like frightened children, dropping their weapons to lose any weight that could slow them down.


    "Break ''em all!" Chandra''s voice echoes across the battlefield and further raises the already skyrocketing morale of her troops.


    But when hope seems restored at last, a new set of horns resounds across the battlefield and causes the demon reinforcements to stop and wonder. Since they are unfamiliar ones, it can only signal human reinforcements. The Ajura clan leader turns to look behind them, where a small contingent of riders seems to be approaching. Circling over them are eight Fatas, although they know to keep a respectful distance from the city now.


    The men and women riding on the horses wear only light clothes and wield no weapons, except for the one that''s leading them. She''s a knight in armor painted pure crimson, carrying a massive lance too large for fighting with it on horseback. When she raises her weapon, the contingent comes to a stop, and they dismount, before sending their horses away.


    "Form up!" Chandra bellows, understanding exactly what is about to happen next. She has heard reports of similar sightings and the subsequent turn of the tides of battle in each one of them.


    The two dozen men and women who look like simple civilians begin to sprint forward before their bodies burst out into balls of fire. From within the fiery explosions, giant dragons emerge, their roars sending shivers down the spines of all who hear them. Their massive claws grind the dirt as they charge towards the demons on all fours rather than taking to the skies; they are the dragonkin, flightless magical amalgams of humans and dragons.


    Within seconds, the dragonkin are upon the demon reinforcements, and this time the latter ones are helplessly flung through the air. Ajura, minotaurs and centaurs alike are but toys before the beasts in whose bodies flows the blood of the most ancient and powerful beings in the world. Belching flames that melt steel and flesh, they barrel through the demons like unstoppable juggernauts, their purpose to snuff out all hope for victory.


    But Chandra laughs maniacally as she charges at the dragon closest to her. She rolls out of a flame breath''s way, then dodges under a massive paw that sends half a dozen of her soldiers flying, before stabbing her trident into the giant creature''s flank. It roars in pain and snaps its neck around to bite the ajura woman, but she lets go of her weapon and grabs the jaws with all six of her hands.


    "This is more like it!" When she sees fire building inside the dragonkin''s throat, she pulls it down and slams it face-first into the dirt. The flame breath explodes inside the beast''s maw, and flames flare from its nostrils. "It wouldn''t have been a challenge otherwise!"


    Punching the side of the dragonkin''s head, Chandra follows up by kicking up her trident and slashing at the leg it supports itself with. The beast falls on its side and exposes its vulnerable chest. With a powerful thrust, she drives her weapon between the visible ribs and into its heart. Squealing one last time, the dragonkin stops moving.


    However, she has no time to celebrate her small victory, as another beast charges right at her. On its back, it''s carrying the crimson knight, whose oversized lance makes much more sense now.


    "Dragon Knight Svanhild. Come and face your death, demon." The voice of the woman still holds youth, but her features can''t be seen through the visor that covers her face. Her tone is firm and speaks of her resolve, as does her weapon pointed at Chandra.


    "Oh my, a noble. I''m Chandra Ajura." Spinning the trident through all six of her hands, she smiles fearlessly and introduces herself. "Remember it well, cause I''ll be the one to knock ya off yer fancy horsie."


    Wordlessly, Svanhild raises her lance, and a powerful whirlwind begins to swirl around its entire length. The dragonkin she rides breathes fire at Chandra while charging forward. As the two clash, the other beasts wreak havoc all around them, and the humans rally their forces after almost routing completely just moments ago.


    "What else can we do?" General Ophalen mutters as he watches over the situation unfolding inside and outside the gates from the meeting room in the castle tower. Even though Chandra has returned sooner than expected - evidently by leaving behind the bulk of her forces that consisted of infantry and only traveling with those who can make the journey quickly - the situation is still as dire as ever, if not worse. "Now would be a good time for the Kinslayer to appear..."


    "I raise you by a Godslayer." Suddenly the voice of a young girl responds, and the old crocodile spins around in surprise.


    One of the empty seats at the strategy table is now occupied by a doll with black hair that gradually turns to blonde and then to white towards their tips, marble-like blue eyes, and messily-cut and equally messily-stitched cheeks. Markor stares at it in confusion and Rewera immediately moves around to cover for the Great Clan leader.


    "Who... what are you?" Ophalen growls menacingly.


    "No no, who was right." The doll moves and shows that it''s alive. "You can call me Chu- Senka... nice try." She turns around and mutters the last part into thin air.


    "How did you get here?" Rewera asks, looking ready to pounce.


    "That''s not important." Waving her hand with a creaking sound that suggests wooden doll joints, Senka stands up on her seat and looks between the people present in the room. "You people have incredible luck... or should I say, you have a god in the machine?"


    Baffled by her incomprehensible ramblings, nobody says anything.


    "In either case, you''re about to be saved." Pointing out the window towards the northwest, the doll girl steers their attention to the storm approaching unnaturally quickly from that direction. "That''s what I meant with ''I raise you by a Godslayer'', even though I don''t even know what exactly that means."


    Senka shrugs and sits back down, her cheeks cracking open in a smile as she looks genuinely happy at what''s about to happen. To Ophalen and the others, her appearance is simply grotesque, and it reminds them of the self-mutilating kobolds living in the Ogely mountains.


    "I can see something..." Rewera is staring into the storm intently and is the first to notice a small form floating in the sky. It looks like a ball and not like something that should be able to fly.


    However, it''s rapidly approaching alongside the storm, its size growing bigger and bigger by the second. Soon, she can see that it''s a somewhat human skin-colored, elongated balloon with a large gondola at the bottom. A translucent window is at the front of that gondola like a single giant eye. Inside, the maid leader spots a person, and her heart jumps.


    "T-that cannot be..." She rarely loses her composure, but this is one such rare occasion.


    "What do you see?" Markor asks with concern in his voice.


    "It is the princess..." Covering her mouth with a hand, Rewera breathes in awe. "No... the queen. Our queen has returned."


    Chaos Side


    They did it again. The humans attacked the capital again, and I''m arriving late; they have already breached the city and are killing the civilian population. There''s a sizable force of demons fighting outside the walls, but two dozen dragons are rampaging in their midst. Those are clearly on the side of the humans, so I assume they must be ones like Dregana.


    "Get ready. This isn''t like Kairaki. We''re here to protect the demons." I repeat the mission goal, especially for Korenga. "Don''t attack those who have things humans don''t, such as horns, multiple arms or wings. You can kill those dragons, though."


    "Gotcha." The Black God pumps her fists and grins, ready for battle.


    "Our top priority is to secure the city. You know what to do." I turn to Aurelia and Tokomaha. The former doesn''t respond, but I don''t really need confirmation from her. The latter replies with a nod and an eager look on her face.


    On top of the Chaos carrier, I create another avatar of myself and look up into the roaring skies. Lightning flashes in the dark clouds looming just over my head and one bolt cuts through the air right in front of me, leaving behind a figure with long sky-blue hair.


    "Let it rip, Tahiri." That''s all I need to say to her.


    Wordlessly, she turns into another lightning bolt and disappears into the sky. Her role is a pretty special one here because her presence is my declaration of war against the sorcerers. She is treading on the domain of Zenlith with her very existence, and he won''t be able to sit by idly while she is in these lands.


    "Get ready." Back inside the carrier, my avatar states while the airship quickly drops out of the sky and towards the ground. With a rough landing, we impact the dusty plains a short distance away from the action.


    The instant Tokomaha''s feet touch the ground, hundreds of clones rise from the dirt. At the same time, Aurelia performs a grand gesture at the clone army, and from the ground, sets of golden armors and weapons form to cover every single one of the naked little goddesses.


    Korenga''s skin turns black, and her eyes show her battle craze taking over, before she runs off on her own, straight into the human troops that have come to respond to our appearance. I hope she won''t harm any demons, but I''ll keep an eye on her just to make sure.


    Finally, I pull the entire Chaos carrier together and form my normal human-sized self. Covering my body in dragon armor, I float up into the air, no longer confined by wind magic. Spreading superfluous wings just to make myself look menacing, I let the presence of a Crawling Chaos run wild. It expands from me in the form of a wave of terror, and the humans are left screaming in fear in its wake. Then I raise my voice across the entire battlefield with the power of a dragon''s throat.


    "I have returned!"

 Chapter 101 - An Offer They Cant Refuse

    "Why aren''t you just eating them all?" I hear Senka''s voice inside my head. Ever since I returned within the range of her telepathy, we''ve been talking to each other a lot. She even openly expressed that she has been missing me a lot, especially recently, due to the situation on the Demon Continent. "You could easily end this battle."


    "Oh yeah, I haven''t told you my plans." I speak in my mind while I fly across the battlefield sowing death and terror. "I don''t intend to wipe out all of humanity."


    "Hm, why not? You said you didn''t care about their existence." Senka sounds surprised, and I can imagine her raising an eyebrow. She chose not to transmit an image of herself since I''m somewhat busy fighting a war out here; I''m sure she''s watching from inside the demon palace.


    "I still don''t care about them. But I might need them." All the while, I kill human soldiers by the droves, using my dragon blade and plasma cannon without any reservations. Those I need aren''t the useless rabble, but the powerful ones like the dragon rider, who''s fighting a purple-skinned, six-armed demon, that I spot from all the way across the battlefield.


    According to Senka, there are around one hundred and forty-thousand human soldiers, and only around sixteen thousand professional demon warriors. Among those humans are several outstanding ones, who are known as Chosen Knights. Apparently, it''s a newfangled term to refer to humans with special powers, who are similar to the gods of Adanak. In other words, they can cast spells without incantations, and wield them as naturally as one would breathe.


    Vitalis was the one who found all that information from her time spying on the top brass of the humans. She''s currently still doing her work in Pontis Daemonis, the empire''s bridgehead for this large-scale extermination war. I''ll pay that city a visit soon after this siege is over, just like my mother did.


    But for now, I''m going to secure the city.


    I make my way across the human army, randomly shooting and slicing at those who don''t disperse from feeling my presence or seeing my approach. Soon, I fly parallel to the wall and let my dragon blade cut along it as if I''m trimming a hedge. There are no demons manning the defenses anymore, so I''m not accidentally killing anyone I shouldn''t be killing.


    Suddenly, I crash into an invisible wall, although the dragon armor holds. Catching myself in midair, I look around; there must be some kind of barrier, so I''m searching for the caster. With the masses of people under me, that''s an impossibility though.


    "Scatter!" I roar. An almost visible shockwave expands from me, and the humans do as they''re told, running head over heels in every which direction, as long as it''s away from me.


    The strategy paid off because there''s only one person left standing in the clearing that the humans made for me. It''s a man in pure white armor, with medium-length blue hair, and wielding a rapier in one hand. He looks up at me with a fearless expression - or maybe it''s one of steadfastness, as he holds back his feelings of dread.


    "Are you one of those Knights I heard of?" I lower my volume to a more normal one and address the man.


    "And you must be the demon queen''s child." He replies while narrowing his eyes. "I am Colart, Knight of the Iron Veil."


    "I see. I am Chaos, the crown princess of the Dominion." Dropping out of the sky and landing effortlessly about a dozen steps away from the white knight, I fold my wings and speak to him as a civilized person would do. "You seem to be well-mannered and sensible, so let''s talk this out, Colart."


    "You wish to negotiate?" Raising an eyebrow, the knight looks at me unbelieving. I had him as the type that has their emotions under control, and I was right; his reaction is quite mild compared to what one would expect under the given circumstances.


    "No, I wouldn''t call it a negotiation; I''m making you an offer that you can''t refuse." There''s no time for empty phrases, and I get straight to the point. "Take your troops and leave."


    In the next instant, something strikes my neck from the side and bounces off my dragon armor. I''ve increased my density to the maximum, just in case there''s an ambush; it seems to have been the right call.


    "Folke, stop that." Colart speaks into the air, and I deduce that it must be someone invisible.


    "Damn, what is this creature made of?" A voice comes from next to the white knight and then a veil with what seems to be a print of reality is swept aside. From within appears a man in mismatched armor pieces. That must be Folke.


    "I will overlook that just now. So, what is your answer?" Ignoring the newcomer, who must be another one of those knights, I continue with my previous talk.


    "And if I refuse?" Looking straight into my eyes, Colart probes for my reaction.


    "As expected, you don''t understand what I mean by ''an offer you can''t refuse'', do you?" My tone doesn''t change, and I speak as if I''m talking about the weather. "If you make any choice other than the one I offer, you will have chosen death."


    "Hah, the walls have fallen, the city is being sacked as we speak, and we have the numerical advantage." Folke seems to be a more vulgar person than his companion, as his speech is much cruder. His outfit also makes it clear that he''s a man of practicality rather than form. "You should be begging for mercy. Not like you''re gonna get any, though."


    "Does he speak for you?" I continue to focus on Colart and don''t address the other guy.


    "He does not, but he speaks the truth." The white knight replies while raising an eyebrow. "We have an army that far surpasses yours."


    "We have a Korenga." I respond with a quip and shrug. With perfect timing, I hear the Black God''s roar and see an explosion of dirt, in which a bunch of humans are flung through the air like ragdolls. "Well, I assume that''s your final answer."


    Colart stares at me with a hint of confusion, doubtlessly thinking about the situation with every single one of his brain cells. Folke doesn''t seem to have any trouble concluding our conversation by covering himself in his cloak of invisibility.


    But my Chaos senses can still tell where he is. So far, the only one who has been able to fool it was Mataku, and he couldn''t erase his presence completely, only mask it as that of a human''s. I don''t know whether he also has the Chaos senses or not, but for now, that''s a huge advantage I have over humans and gods alike.


    Folke is coming at me straight from the front, most likely aiming at my eyes or my mouth, thinking they''re weak spots.


    "I take that as a yes." With these words, I stab at the invisible man by extending my dragon sword. I feel his presence dodging sideways, but my spike still connects with something and creates sparks out of thin air.


    "What?!" Folke''s voice rings out from where his presence registers on my radar.


    "Wait, we-" The white knight begins, but I shoot up into the sky, no longer listening.


    So those are the Chosen Knights. I can see why normal demons would have trouble against them. They cast magic without incantations, and their physical prowess seems to be a cut above the rest as well. In other words, they''re really like the gods of Adanak - albeit nowhere near the level of those I have with me.


    I see the Tokomaha clone army, consisting of over five hundred of them clad in golden armor, advance through the enemy ranks in an unstoppable onslaught. It''s like a repetition of the Battle of Kairaki, where we attacked an army of humans with just a handful of powerful individuals.


    Korenga is barreling through armored soldiers like a train, on a direct path towards the other side of the battlefield. It''s clear that she aims to fight the dragons raging among the ranks of the demon reinforcements on the southern side of the city.


    Aurelia''s shining figure is still standing around where we first landed, not showing the slightest inclination to join the war. I''m sure fighting like a common soldier among the rabble isn''t her style, and unlike me, she can''t fly; in other words, she can''t stand above the rest like she deserves to.


    They''re still far enough away that this won''t affect them, then.


    I raise my hand and cover my face with a visor. This is the first time I''m doing this, but during our journey from Adanak, I''ve been thinking about the Imagination Engine a lot. While I didn''t have many opportunities to try things out during our flight across the sea, we did make some stops after reaching the Demon Continent, and I was able to play around and realized several issues.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Mainly the fact that I''m most likely subconsciously limiting myself in my imaginations. I''m unable to do things I haven''t achieved through magic before; I can fly without having to rely on air magic and boosters now, but I still can''t turn rocks into meat, like I tried on the moon. Maybe that''s impossible to achieve anyway, but according to Mataku''s explanation, everything should be possible, as long as it''s imaginable. After all, there''s a sorcerer whose body is made of lava. If you can turn meat into rocks, the opposite should be possible.


    Above my dragon cannon, a ball of plasma forms and grows bigger and bigger. The heat it emits is immense, but I''ve shielded my body with the light magic spell I''ve forgotten to use ever since our journey under the mountain. In this case, it''s not a static sphere like back then, but it wraps around my body like a personal shield.


    Wordlessly, I throw the massive plasma bomb down at the human army. I won''t do something as silly as giving this move a name or even calling it; that''s not what people do in reality.


    The giant ball of light hits something invisible in midair, and I see that Colart is pointing his rapier at my attack. But whatever his barrier is made of, it''s unable to last against the immense temperatures of the plasma, as the air around it becomes heated up. Then it seems that the invisibility is dispelled and I finally see what the Knight of the Iron Veil''s ability is.


    It''s a giant shield made from iron - I assume, judging by the guy''s title - lacking any ornaments and embellishments. As expected, when it''s being kept invisible all the time. But judging by his straightforward personality, I would have been surprised to see something gaudy anyway.


    That shield melts away and drips molten slag down onto the soldiers it''s trying to protect from the plasma ball. The screams of the humans are music to my ears, as I watch their flesh melt and their clothes catch on fire. Then the plasma ball breaks through the iron wall completely and falls into the middle of the human army. Many have scrambled out of the way already, but those caught in it evaporate without leaving behind any remains.


    Colart is staring up at me wide-eyed, though it''s hard for me to interpret the meaning of his expression.


    I raise my arm and create another ball, this time charging it up much more quickly than the last. Throwing it into another densely packed formation, it impacts them unhindered, and they don''t even have enough time to scream. The earth itself is turned into a pool of molten dirt and rocks, stamping a perfect circle out of the human army.


    The screams of terror and despair rush into my body, and I feel refreshed. This is far more exciting than our attack on Kairaki when I held myself back from just annihilating them all.


    For the third time, I raise my arm and begin to generate a new plasma bomb, but someone is yelling up at me, and I look down.


    "Please stop! We will leave!" A blonde man in a very ornamental suit of golden armor, sitting on a horse covered in the same, is screaming in despair.


    "Who are you?" I float down and come to a stop slightly above the man, who''s barely able to keep his horse under control while his body is shaking all over. The cavalry around him are all in uniform silver armor, and even though they look like they want to run away, they''re somehow still holding on. They''re obviously personal guards for an obviously important person.


    "Y-your majesty, please do not reveal yourself before-" One of those guards implores, revealing the status of the one he''s tasked to protect.


    "Silence! I cannot watch my people die like this any longer!" Said majesty reprimands his follower and returns his blue-eyed gaze to me. "I am Hector, Fourth Prince of the Empire of Terminus, Commander of the Second Expedition Army and-"


    "Ohhh, so you''re the commander." I interrupt him since I''m sure that he''ll just continue to rattle down his titles if I don''t. "You should choose your men better." I point over at where Colart is standing, frozen in place from the shock of witnessing my power. "I see that you''re far more sensible."


    "Yes, he does not have the authority to command a retreat, but I do. I promise that I will order a general retreat, so please cease your killing." Hector pleads although he does try to keep up a facade of pride before his men.


    "Well then, do it." I point at the city, from which I can still hear the sounds of battle. The soldiers across the battlefield are still in a general movement towards the siege ladders. Even though I''ve left my mark, each of these plasma shots killed a few hundred at best. There are still over a hundred thousand left all around and within the city walls.


    "But should we not first talk-" He begins, and I instantly summon a ball of plasma, unhesitatingly throwing it over his head into the troops behind him. Witnessing how serious I am his tone immediately becomes desperate. "I understand! I understand! Sound the retreat!"


    He was trying to stall for time, most likely either hoping that the city''s sacking progresses to a point of no return or that any one of the other Chosen Knights comes here and takes me down.


    Suddenly, a blast of wind knocks me out of the air and down to the ground. Apparently, it was the latter, and somebody arrived who thinks they can deal with me.


    But as I try to stand up, a mass of humans come down on me and start hacking away with their swords. Of course, I''m still covered in dragon armor, so they can''t even hope to hurt me at all. I explosively spread my wings and will a shockwave to burst out with me as the epicenter. It happens as I imagine it to, and my immediate surroundings are completely cleared of people, as they''re flung into the air in an explosion of bodies.


    Rising to my feet, I orientate myself and find that the dragon rider has come all the way across the battlefield and is covering for Hector. I''m surprised to see that it''s a young woman, wielding a giant, drill-like lance and wearing full crimson armor that seems to be made of crude materials - potentially dragon carapace, too. The dragon whose base of the neck she sits on is completely black and looks similar to the one that teacher at the academy could turn into - only that this one has no wings. Were they clipped or is this a ground-based species?


    "You..." The crimson knight looks at me with a surprised expression in her intense blue eyes.


    "Do I know you?" I feel compelled to ask since clearly, she thinks she knows me.


    "How dare you... no, it matters not." Raising her drill lance, she points it at me and makes winds swirl around its entire length. "Dragon Knight Svanhild. I shall be the one to claim your head."


    "Is that so." I feel like I remember that name from somewhere, but it escapes me right now. It doesn''t matter though. I raise my hand and create a ball of plasma, before flinging it at the humans to my right, evaporating a whole swath of them in a simple move.


    "You fiend! Your opponent is me!" With an angry roar, Svanhild stabs her lance forward, and a torrent of wind comes towards me. I increase my density again and what would have swept me away earlier feels like a simple breeze.


    "Is that all?" I ask her, not in a mocking tone, but rather out of curiosity. If she can''t do more than this, she won''t be useful to me. "Show me your full power."


    "What?! You dare mock me?" But Svanhild takes it the wrong way and commands her dragon to attack, while she charges up her lance again.


    The dragon''s paw comes down on me, but I lift my hand and catch it with my palm as if giving it a high-five. Even though the impact should be tremendous, I don''t budge an inch, and instead, the dragon loses its balance and falls on its side. The crimson knight''s lance stabs at me and bounces off my armor, releasing its magic at the same time.


    A whirlwind shoots out from the lance''s tip and hits her allies behind me, creating a path of destruction as dozens of humans are shredded into pieces. I admit, her power may be quite handy in a large-scale battle where she has to cut through lines of enemies, but it''s less useful against single targets and completely ineffective against me.


    "I wonder, what makes you a dragon knight, other than that you ride on one?" I ask without being really interested to hear the answer. Creating a long spike, I stab the black dragon in its exposed side, right below where its armor plates end. But that''s not where I end it, as from the tip of that spike I recreate Hedgehog Mode and skewer the creature from the inside thousandfold.


    Svanhild falls off the writhing dragon''s back and quickly rights herself, staring at her dying steed in surprise. Then anger flashes over her face, and she gives me a deadly glare. But I turn away from her and look over to Hector on his horse.


    "This is your last chance." I rise into the air and call out to him. "Retreat now."


    "Never!" Svanhild shouts at me from below, and a pair of dragon wings break through the armor on her back. No, it seems that the armor itself formed the wings. She beats the giant wings and flies up at me with her lance pointed at my face. I grab onto it and guide it to the side, but her expression shows triumph, as she fires up the wind around her weapon - most likely thinking that it will shred my hand to pieces.


    I pull on the lance and prolong my arm, wresting it out of the dragon knight''s hands. The storm is instantly dispelled when it leaves her grasp, and I let the whole thing sink into my body.


    "Wha-" Hanging in midair, Svanhild stares at me wide-eyed.


    Whipping my arm around, I swat her out of the air, and she crashes back-first into the dirt below, her wings breaking in the process. Then I form a massive ball of plasma and point my free hand at Hector.


    "What''s your answer?" I roar, putting all my thoughts into letting my Crawling Chaos aura run wild.


    The humans near me either faint from the feeling or scream in terror as they scramble to get away. The effect reaches the prince of the empire and his horse bucks, throwing him off; the same happens to many of his guards, and only a few are able to keep their steeds in control.


    "Sound the retreat! Retreat! Quickly, retreat!" Hector screams as he crawls along the ground trying to create any kind of distance between himself and me. In response to his order, one of his guards blows a horn with a distinctive high-pitched sound.


    I hear the same horn being blown elsewhere on the battlefield, and finally, I see a general movement run through the human army, as they back away from the walls. Maybe it''s a trick; maybe it''s real. In either case, that should create some breathing room for those who might still be fighting in the city. I''ll take care of those if they refuse to retreat.


    "[Korenga, calm down for a moment. They''re retreating.]" With the volume of a dragon, I roar across the battlefield to give the Black God the signal to cease hostilities for a bit. "[But kill those that still attack you.]"


    Lightning flashes across the sky above and thunder rumbles. Tahiri is beating the drums loudly, although she isn''t making it rain just yet. If she does, it means that Zenlith has come, as per our agreed signal.


    I watch as Hector and his guards scramble onto their horses and ride away in full gallop. Svanhild is lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious after the heavy impact. Landing next to her, I make sure she doesn''t escape in the confusion; I don''t really need her powers, but she might provide me some useful information.


    If the whole thing is a feint though, I won''t be giving the humans another chance.

 Chapter 102 - Liberation of Arkaim

    I was right; the signal for the retreat didn''t reach the humans still fighting inside the walls. The army on the outside is retreating quickly, while the demon reinforcements that were being torn apart by the dragons are giving chase in righteous fury. I''d tell them to go and secure the city instead, but I notice that the purple-skinned, six-armed demon I saw fighting Svanhild earlier is rallying their troops to do just that.


    Picking her up and holding her unconscious form under one arm, I fly up into the air and peer over the retreating army. Even though both the reinforcements from the southwest and our attack did a lot of damage, their numbers are still immense. One hundred and forty-thousand is such a huge mass of people that I can''t even begin to imagine what the million-strong army that my mother defeated here the day before my reincarnation must have looked like.


    "[Tokomaha, enter the city through the northern wall and help secure it. Korenga, hold your position.]" I call out to my companions across the battlefield with the dragon voice. The humans from the empire shouldn''t be able to speak this language, so they won''t understand what I''m saying.


    "[What about me?]" I hear a muffled voice next to me and spin my head around.


    "[You''re still here? I thought you returned to your mother''s side.]" It''s Aorutihaua, who has been flying around me like a satellite with a very eccentric orbit, even after we safely reached the demon continent, and they pointed me in the direction of the capital city. I haven''t seen them since we approached the siege, so I thought they had finally decided to leave.


    "[It seemed like fun around you, so I decided to stay a while longer.]" They perform a pirouette in midair and speak through their full helm. Since they have the Golden Shawl, they can go back to their mother''s side at any time, I guess. "[Do you need some help?]"


    "[Oh, you would help me out?]" I''m surprised. Aorutihaua seemed to be one of those gods who doesn''t care about anything below their feet, especially after regaining their means to soar in the skies. "[Alright, see that army over there? If they, at any point, turn around and come towards the city, do your thing.]"


    "[What thing?]" Tilting their head, the Child of the Sun looks at me through the slits of the full helm.


    "[You know, when you drop out of the sky, and the whole area around you explodes. Do that into the middle of them.]" Patting Aorutihaua''s helm and then pointing at the human troops that are gaining more and more distance, I state in a matter of fact tone. Last time the child-like god came down like that, even Korenga was swept off her feet.


    "[Huh? That was just my landing.]" The androgynous meteor god tilts their head again and is seriously wondering about what I mean.


    "[Yeah, do that again, but with more force.]"


    "[Is that all?]"


    "[That''s all.]" It''s obvious that they''re pouting under the helmet since they must perceive it as a pretty small and insignificant contribution. It seems like they never stopped to think about the implications of them creating a meteor impact-crater in the middle of what must still be around eighty-thousand humans. "[I''ll play with you later if you do that for me.]"


    "[Really?]" Aorutihaua''s voice sounds as bright as I imagine their expression to look like, but I can only see their two glowing eyes in the darkness behind the visor. "[You promise?]"


    "[Yes, I promise. And when have I ever broken a promise?]" I''ve only ever made one to them, and I fulfilled it. That''s a very small sample size, but I know that the Child of the Sun isn''t one to think about it too deeply.


    "[Yay!]" Performing a quick looping in midair, they cheer.


    I return my attention to the burning city, where the humans are beginning to fall into confusion. Some of them must have heard the signal for the retreat, and are telling their comrades about it, while those who didn''t hear it must be questioning the information''s authenticity. In either case, the demons seem to notice it and quickly consolidate their forces once again, as they try to hold the central plaza a short distance away from the floating castle. They must have a pretty good commander.


    When the retreating army has run away far enough and still don''t show any signs of slowing down, I fly towards the city.


    "Humans, hear me! Your army has retreated! Lay down your weapons and surrender!" With a roar that carries across the entire city, I make myself heard. Those who have the leeway to do so look around in fear and confusion when it dawns on them what my words mean. The demons do so too, thinking that it may have been aimed at them.


    The army of Tokomaha clones reaches the abandoned northern gate and begin to enter the city. I''m not sure she can distinguish humans from demons well enough when considering her own appearance, so things might get messy. Unlike the humans of Adanak, those from the empire are far more light-skinned, too.


    I think it''s alright for me to go down into the city. The retreating human army won''t be able to turn around quickly enough to catch me by surprise now. I signal for Aorutihaua to stay here and fulfill their job when needed, before flying to the castle with Svanhild under my arm. I''ll drop her off there, and have her put in the dungeon for the time being.


    As I approach the castle, a group of flying maids comes out to greet me. At the very front is the maid leader, flying on violent looking crimson wings so completely out of place for her otherwise reserved appearance. I have no idea what kind of demon she is since she otherwise looks completely human - even though she''s more than a head taller than I am.


    "Your humble servant Rewera welcomes your return, my Queen. Excuse me for being unable to kneel before you." Bowing deeply while in midair, the maid leader speaks in an almost apologetic tone. So she was called Rewera? I never learned her name during my short time at my mother''s side, but now I know.


    "Put her in a cell and be careful of her magic. She can cast it without incantation." I do away with any empty phrases and hand her Svanhild. "And I''m not your queen, yet."


    "Excuse me. It was a slip of the tongue." Taking the unconscious Dragon Knight, Rewera bows again while beating her wings to stay in place. The many beautiful maids in her retinue are staring at me in awe, and some have tears in their eyes. I''m reminded of the fact that Asoko did a number on them when she came here with Lenoly back then, while I was on the moon. Apparently, they believe I''m my other half.


    I don''t have time to clear up the misunderstanding right now.


    "Are there any intruders in the castle?" I look down at the humans and demons still fighting in the streets below. Even without reinforcements, they still have a quantitative advantage, albeit not a qualitative one.


    "No, there are not. The walls have only fallen not too long ago. We were able to repel an attack by a few Fatas earlier, though." An eager maid with the wings of a dragonfly replies. Her voice is crisp and carries youth, and I can see that rather than individual teeth she has two serrated bars. She seems to be the happy-go-lucky type, as she grins with a hint of pride.


    "Then why haven''t you gone out to help defend the people?" I try not to sound too reprimanding, especially after seeing how joyously she reported their success at holding the castle just now. Still, her smile freezes as if I just slapped her in the face.


    "Our duty is to protect the castle-" Rewera begins.


    "Doesn''t matter, I''m here now." But I interrupt her, not wanting to waste time arguing. "Next time, remember that people make a nation, not castles."


    "Wasn''t that a little harsh? There are some important people in up there right now, you know?" Senka''s voice suddenly echoes through my head.


    "Oops." I reply in my mind, not really regretting my words - it''s a good lesson, even if it doesn''t apply in this particular case.


    Well, I guessed that the top military brass is in there; my mother is no more, so some other demon must have taken the reins for the time being. The doll girl told me that unexpectedly, not a single member of the Four Great Clans attempted to usurp the throne through military strength in the absence of any successors. In this case, they believed Asoko to be the one, and they''re currently somewhere on the other side of the world trying to thaw her out.


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    In other words, they''re most likely mistaking me for my other half, believing that I''ve finally returned - with a power-up to boot. I''ll have a lot of explaining to do when this whole thing is over.


    When I turn to fly down and deal with the humans in the streets, I see that the Tokomaha army is beginning to do their work. It seems they know how to differentiate humans from demons based on the fact that the former are the first they encounter. And they''re attacking the clones because they all look the same, thinking they must be demons, too. Since the humans are attacking the clones, the demons that witness it think that they must be allies. It''s that simple, huh?


    Then I see a golden figure standing on a disc of gold flying over the city and coming our way. It''s obviously Aurelia since I know for a fact that Tokomaha can''t fly. She didn''t join the battle outside the walls and isn''t really interested in fighting inside them either; her eyes are on the castle, where she''ll be living with me from now on - for however long we can stay here before leaving to liberate the rest of the dominion.


    "[It''s boring out here!]" I hear Korenga''s voice booming across the city. It''s always impressive to hear that organ of hers being put to use; my volume derives from the fact that I can create a giant pair of lungs and a huge throat inside the depths of my body, but she''s doing the same without such a convenience.


    "[Come to the floating castle and meet me in the central plaza. Don''t fight anyone on your way there!]" I roar back, and the maids all hold their ears in shock. The humans and demons fighting below me do the same and look up to see where the incredible voice came from.


    "What is that language, your Royal Highness?" Rewera is wondering about what I just said. She was the only one who didn''t cover her ears, although I think it''s mostly because she''s carrying Svanhild with both hands, rather than because it''s not affecting her.


    "I''ll explain later. That one is Aurelia; she''s with me. Let her into the castle." I point in the direction of the approaching golden girl, before descending to the city square quickly, not waiting for an acknowledgment of my order.


    "Woah!" A humanoid crocodile covered from head to toe in blood - most definitely not his own - makes when he sees me. I picked this one on purpose because I''ve noticed that he''s been the one everybody else has been rallying around; he must be the field commander.


    "Hear me, warriors and citizens of the Dominion!" Not amplifying my voice to the extremes as I''ve been doing when communicating with Korenga so far, I make myself heard across the entire plaza. "I am Chaos, daughter of Queen Pelomyx! Fear no more, for I have returned!"


    It takes a few seconds for the demons to process the news. Then an ear-numbing cheer runs through their ranks, as they visibly regain their vigor.


    "Humans, hear me!" Once again, I address those still fighting the demons. There must be a commander somewhere, egging the humans on to keep up the battle to the last man. "Your army outside the walls has retreated! Surrender now, and you shall live!"


    "What? How can you let them-" The crocodile commander turns to me and questions my offer in an aggressive voice, but I shut him up with a glare that leaves no room for any arguments. I fully understand his anger at the humans, who have invaded this deeply into the capital of the dominion. But massacring them all here will only perpetuate this chain of mutual hatred.


    "Do not listen to that thing! We have them on their last breaths! For the Emp-" A knight sitting on a horse, clad in silver armor and golden shoulder pads covered with runes, raises his sword and rallies his confused troops, but I shoot a plasma beam at him. The upper half of his body is vaporized instantly, and whatever enchantments his armor featured proved completely useless against it.


    At the same time, I see a light flashing in the corner of my eyes, coming from beyond the walls. When I look in the direction, I see a massive dust cloud rising into the sky, before the sound of an explosion reaches us, closely followed by a shockwave that sweeps some roof tiles away.


    It seems that Prince Hector got frisky and thought he could blindside me, now that I''m inside the city. Judging by that explosion, Aorutihaua did a pretty good job at being a meteor. I can''t even begin to imagine how our battle would have turned out if they had the Golden Shawl at the time.


    Completely uninterested in what just happened outside, Korenga is crashing through the human troops in the streets like a runaway freight train. I did tell her not to fight anyone, but I didn''t tell her not to open the way up for herself. Before she reaches the lines of the demons, I stop her though; don''t want her to be considered an enemy.


    "[Hey, stop.]" I call out to her, knowing that she won''t really listen right now. Thus, I increase my density to the maximum; I ate pretty well during our crossing of the ocean since I caught quite a few of those giant marine creatures of which Juzual gave me one on the moon. I should have at least twice as much mass as I did when I first clashed with the Black God.


    She runs straight into me, but bounces back and falls onto her backside. I''m forced to take two steps back myself, noting that Mataku was able to hold his position without even flinching against a completely serious Korenga. How much mass does he have, to be able to achieve that?


    "[Oh, it''s you.]" She stands back up immediately and looks down at me. Seeing her height from up close like this is always an impressive sight.


    "[See these behind me? They''re my people, the demons.]" I gesture at the defenders on the plaza. Then I point behind her. "[In this nation, humans are the enemies.]"


    "[So I should just smash them?]" Cracking her neck, Korenga turns around and grins in what must look like a terrifying expression in their eyes. She''s still in her black form, so she should register as a demon.


    "[Only if the majority of them refuse to surrender.]" Patting the Black God''s shoulder, I stop her from going on a rampage again. Then I float up into the air and spread my wings while raising my voice and putting weight into my words. "This is your final chance. Lay down your weapons. At the count of three, kneel and pray to your gods. Then you shall live. If you do not, only death awaits you."


    Even before I begin to count, many throw down their weapons and clasp their hands to pray. Many more who were undecided so far do the same when I count one. At two, only a few dozen humans are left standing, and even the cavalry has dismounted. At three, a ball of light appears over my head, and from within it a spirit spear shoots out for every single human within my range of vision still standing. They fall over lifelessly with sizzling holes in their chests.


    "Commander, tell your troops to round them up and guide them outside the city." I land next to the crocodile man and give him his orders. Not waiting for his reply, I turn around to the civilians gathered in the center of the plaza. These can''t be all the citizens of the capital and must be only a fraction, or the humans really did a number on them before I arrived. "You are safe now."


    That''s all I say, and a cheer runs through the crowd, followed by thunderous applause. I fly up into the sky and revel in the awe I''m receiving. My instincts are telling me that terror is much more nourishing than this, but the vestiges of my humanity think that something like this once in a while isn''t so bad.


    Letting my gaze wander outside the city, I see a massive crater where Prince Hector had retreated his troops to earlier. The impact wasn''t quite able to eradicate them all, but I see human bodies strewn across the entire plains, most of whom aren''t moving anymore. After this, I doubt they''ll try again.


    "[I did as you told me. They blew their horns, and suddenly all of them turned around.]" Aorutihaua appears next to me and says. They must have been flying at an incredible speed because I didn''t even notice their approach.


    "[Well done. I have some important things to take care of, for now, so come find me after this whole thing has been settled. I''ll play with you then.]" I pet their spotless full helm, which they most likely rammed into the ground head-first. Whatever it''s made of, it must be at least as sturdy as Korenga''s black form. Considering the thing inside it doesn''t get vaporized from the impact at such a high speed, I assume the Child of the Sun''s body is similarly indestructible.


    "[Yay!]" Performing a looping again, Aorutihaua is unexpectedly obedient. Reminds me of the twins I left behind in Adanak...


    All that''s left to do is cleaning up. The reinforcement army has entered the city from the south, and they will most likely begin to kill any humans they see. Zooming across the sky, I come to a stop before these troops.


    There are six-armed men and women, each as tall as the maid leader, minotaurs, and centaurs, but no other kinds of demons. They must be an elite contingent or something like that since all of their members look powerful. At the very front is a six-armed woman with long red hair tied in a bushy ponytail and purple skin. Her body is covered in cuts and bruises from the battle, but she looks relatively better off than most of her entourage.


    "Woah!" She makes and signals for her company to stop. It has become a common reaction to my sudden appearance, just like I used to do when Aorutihaua popped up out of nowhere. "Yer... yer the princess?"


    "Yes, I am Chaos, daughter of Queen Pelomyx." I state in a matter of fact tone. "As you may have noticed from that explosion just now, the army that retreated has been dealt with, and the humans inside have laid down their weapons and surrendered. Do not harm them and guide them outside."


    "Why don''t we kill ''em all?" The purple woman asks with a raised eyebrow, showing not a hint of awe despite who I am.


    "... who are you?" Now it''s my turn to raise an eyebrow. She doesn''t show the respect and reverence I expected all demons would after I saved their city just now.


    "Oh, sorry. We never met, did we? I''m Chandra, leader of the Ajura clan." She introduces herself quite casually and tilts her head with a neutral expression. Still nothing, huh?


    "She''s a pretty big shot, served under King Aldeath and helped establish his rule, and has lived for nearly seven hundred years. She was one of the few who sided with your mother when she took the throne after his death." Senka''s voice speaks in my head and gives me a much-needed explanation. Now I have a good grasp on why she''s so informal.


    "Come to the castle with me, Chandra." Landing on the ground and looking up straight into her eyes, I speak with less authority and in a more friendly manner -though with more determination than before. She''s one of the people I need to prove myself to before I can properly ascend the throne of the dominion. "I''ll explain everything there."

 Chapter 103 - Declaration of War

    "... I see." The humanoid crocodile with a metal lower jaw, General Ophalen, mutters after I finish my explanations. Everybody in the throne room shows varying degrees of surprise, especially the Maid Corps who gathered as a welcoming committee and instead got roped into listening as well.


    "That means, the Chaos-sama who was taken to the giants was not you?" The maid with the large translucent wings asks. With her bright green bob and the curved reflexive glasses that cover almost the entire upper half of her face, she seriously reminds me of a dragonfly. She seems to have gotten over my earlier rebuke and feels comfortable enough to speak in my presence.


    Wait, are those really very reflexive glasses? I think those are actually her eyes - compound eyes, like an insect''s.


    "She was my other half, which split from me in a transportation circle accident." Dispelling the thoughts about her appearance, I explain again. I already told them about everything that happened since that night when I left after warning my mother about the conspiracy. Asoko didn''t tell them much and was enjoying the high life with the maids, according to Senka.


    Incidentally, the doll girl is sitting on my lap - where else? The moment I saw her, I picked her up and squeezed her tight, and she returned the gesture despite her usual tsundere self. Aurelia is to my right and Tokomaha to my left, while Korenga is lying down on a couch in the corner of the room, not interested in politics; she doesn''t understand the language I''m speaking either way, unlike the little goddess, who learned quite a bit from me on our journey back.


    Across the table are the crocodile general, his son Nilotec, Chandra Ajura, the Great Clan leader Markor, and Athilacia, leader of the Lamia clan. Rewera is standing behind me, while the other maids have aligned at both sides of the table. Unlike the one in the meeting room in the tower, this one is rectangular and has a clear division of sides.


    And rightly so, since currently, things aren''t clear; the dominion doesn''t have any laws of succession when it comes to the monarchy. When the previous ruler dies, there is a gathering of the biggest clans, which used to be the Twelve Great Clans and now include several newcomers since twenty years ago. They have extensive discussions and either elect someone or when they can''t decide, hold a tournament.


    Thus, the clan leaders across from me will let me know their decision in regards to how to handle this. The maid leader did overeagerly refer to me as the queen, but I''ll have to hear it from these important people. But for now, it''s still a questions and answers meeting.


    "That means there are two successors who are equally eligible?" Markor scratches his goatee and asks nobody in particular, getting right to the important question.


    "I wouldn''t say we''re equally eligible. As I am now, I''m far more suited for it." I state with confidence. While I do feel bad for Asoko, who is another me in every sense of the expression, I''ve gained incredibly powerful allies and have the edge over her in power, too. Unfortunately, only one of us can take center stage, and it''s going to be me.


    "Well, I''d like to test ya anyway." Chandra comments with a grin that reveals her sharp canines.


    "I heard you were one of those who helped King Aldeath grasp the throne and sided with my mother when she succeeded him." Regarding the six-armed woman with a straightforward expression, I carefully choose my reply. "It would be my honor to be deemed worthy by you."


    We don''t have much time since Tahiri is still up there creating lightning and thunder. There hasn''t been any rain, so Zenlith still hasn''t caught on to what''s going on here - or he has chosen not to intervene, now that the human army was destroyed. I remember Juzual saying that to them it''s all just a huge game; when my mother died, the playing field was leveled, and the gods had no more reason to help the humans.


    According to Vitalis'' reports, that''s not entirely true though. The Chosen Knights, a novelty among humans of the Empire of Terminus and the Kingdom of Lares, were empowered through the favors of the gods. In other words, they were given a glimpse into the reality of this world and gained access to some powers unique to their imaginations, similar to the gods of Adanak.


    "Let''s do it then." Standing up from her seat, Chandra cracks all six of her knuckles, followed by her muscular neck.


    "Now?" I tilt my head at her suggestion.


    "When else? Ya gonna be the queen, if ya win." She grins at me and makes a very interesting statement.


    "Is that alright?" Looking at the other clan leaders, I ask for their opinion on the matter; it sounds like winning against Chandra is all it takes for me to prove myself and the other leaders have no input. Both Ophalen and Markor close their eyes, and Athilacia smiles in resignation, meaning they accept it.


    "Chandra is also known as the Kingmaker." Senka suddenly says, and all eyes are on her. She''s been completely silent for a while now, and everybody already forgot about the fact that she''s not just a lifeless doll. "She''s been there each time someone ascended to the throne in the past six hundred years. Then again, there were only two occasions, but that''s still more than anybody else alive today can say about themselves."


    "... that''s a curious doll." Chandra leans over the table and looks at Senka with a raised eyebrow. It seems that she hasn''t seen her speak and move just earlier, so she''s understandably surprised. "Are ya a new kind of demon?"


    "I''m not a demon; I''m a human." The doll girl replies with a deadpan delivery, just like she rebuked me the first time I questioned what she was.


    But that was a mistake because I hear gasps coming from the maids, and alarmed expressions appear on the faces of the demon leaders. Chandra''s eyes narrow a little as she regards Senka. What would they say if they learned that all demons were indirectly created by one of the Old Humans?


    "That reminds me, I got a human back in Ajurai. He confessed to me that he was involved in the death of the queen." The six-armed woman casually drops this bomb into the room while scratching her cheek thoughtfully.


    "What?! You never cared to tell us all this time?" Ophalen jumps up, causing his chair to topple over, and roars while baring his teeth. He''s a bit taller than Chandra and his physique, despite his supposedly advanced age, is no less impressive than hers. Some of the maids flinch at the sudden outburst, and from the corners of my eyes, I see Tokomaha''s ears twitch.


    "I thought it best to leave the decision to the princess ya''ll been waitin'' for." Shrugging, Chandra doesn''t let herself get intimidated at all. From that alone, I can tell that she not only looks powerful but also has a strong will. And that she doesn''t seem to care for rank much.


    The general grits his teeth but doesn''t say anything else. Markor and Athilacia remain silent, though they must be thinking the same as Ophalen. How could she keep this secret for such a long time - and keep him alive, too? It''s been over a year since then, and I feel that any other demon would have definitely killed him the moment he confessed. I know I would have.


    "What''s his name?" I ask, suppressing the anger welling up inside me. If it''s Rolan, I''ll have the Ajura clan leader hand him over so that I can execute him myself.


    "It''s Gram. One moon before the attack on the capital, he appeared in Ajurai with two other men and a dark elf with a cursed arm-" The red-haired woman begins to explain.


    "Kamii?!" All thoughts about the big man are blown away, who I know was there during the battle against my mother, as she drops another bomb - this time directly on me.


    "Oh, ya know her? She had quite an interestin'' power in that arm of hers." Chandra confirms my hopeful suspicion.


    "Where is she now?" I try not to sound too desperate, but it''s hard to keep my emotions under control when it comes to the little dark elf. Senka told me where Hestia and Vitalis are because she has ingested their blood - whatever that means for a slime girl, that is - but she hasn''t done the same with Kamii and only entered a temporary connection, which has been severed after some time passed.


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    "She was taken away by yer mother some days before the attack." If the ajura thinks it strange that I''m so interested in Kamii, she doesn''t show it on her face.


    "When the Queen returned from her inspection of the dominion she had a cursed dark elf named Kamii with her." Rewera suddenly joins the conversation. "However, after the castle fell, she disappeared without a trace, and nobody knows where she went."


    Don''t tell me the gods took her away when they left. Would they have any reason to do that? Maybe her power was interesting to them? Whatever the case, I need to find her.


    "... tell me about Gram. Why did he come to you after what happened?" I can''t fathom what must have run through his head to go to Chandra and even confess what he did.


    "He told me he felt guilty." She replies with a downcast glance. It''s strange seeing someone of her stature like that.


    "Is that so... Have him brought here." I stand up and stare straight into the giant woman''s green eyes. She returns the gaze with a steadfast one of her own, not letting my determination make her waver.


    "Then ya gotta beat me first." Pumping her fists, Chandra reminds me of our duel to determine whether I''m suitable to be queen or not. I''ll get this over with quickly; if she can''t even decisively defeat a dragon or a Chosen Knight, she won''t have a chance against me.


    "Let us go to the arena then." Rewera suggests with a grin.


    I look up into the sky and find that Tahiri is still going at it. Since no resources are required to use the Imagination Engine, she can keep doing it forever - hopefully, it won''t take that long for Zenlith to make his appearance. He should be really angry at finding out that someone''s intruding on his domain of weather control right under his nose.


    The arena is located in the eastern part of the city and reminds me of the one I first met Aurelia in. I''m standing in the ring and across from me is Chandra, unarmed and with her upper body laid bare. Quite unlike Korenga, this one has the physique of a man, except for her face and her chest area. Those three pairs of boobs are somewhat distracting, but her bulging muscles do turn me off again.


    My entourage, as well as the clan leaders, are sitting in the spectator''s box reserved for high-ranking visitors, and the stands are filled with civilians and soldiers alike. Many have shown up after somehow hearing about our duel, even though the cleanup of the city is still underway; the fires have all been put out by now, but bodies and rubble still need to be cleared, so they shouldn''t be wasting their time here.


    Even the maids have come to watch, neglecting their duty to protect the castle.


    "[Hey, didn''t you say you''d play with me after you take care of things? Why are you playing with that big oaf now?]" Floating next to me is Aorutihaua, speaking in a tone that conjures up the image of a sulking pout before my eyes.


    "[I told you this isn''t a game. It''s going to decide whether I become queen or not.]" Though I have no doubts about my victory. "[Now be a good child and go sit up there.]" I point at one of the empty seats in the spectator''s box, next to Aurelia and the others.


    "[Boo...]" The androgynous god makes, before flying away.


    "We fight until ya make me give up." Chandra calls out to me across the ring right when the Child of the Sun leaves my side. I simply close my eyes and nod once in response.


    Lightning flashes across the sky. The thunderclap that follows signals the beginning of our battle. The six-armed woman sprints forward, her heavy steps reminiscent of Korenga''s powerful charge. But just from her movements, I can tell that their strength can''t be compared; the Black God is completely out of her league.


    I stand in place, not even taking a stance, and increase my density to the maximum. Chandra punches with all three of her right arms, the fists aiming at different points on my body; one connects with my face, one with my solar plexus, and the lowermost with my stomach.


    The ajura is more than a head taller than I am, and she must surely weigh more than three times my apparent body weight. I admit that the impact is quite strong, but it''s not even enough to make me budge an inch. A murmur runs through the crowd at our clash, but nobody is cheering. They must be awed.


    But Chandra doesn''t let up and begins a barrage of punches with all six of her arms. I can see that even the most skilled human would be completely overwhelmed, but she''s wasting her strength on me.


    Finally, I swing my arm and deliver a devastating punch to her midsection. Purposefully lowering my density and strength so that I don''t rip her apart, the force is still enough to make her fold over completely. She falls to her knees and coughs up blood.


    "Oh damn, I overdid it!" I quickly cast a healing spell on her, and another murmur runs through the crowd. Either they must be surprised by my strength, or wonder why I can cast light magic despite being a demon.


    "Why did ya heal me? The battle''s not over!" Chandra looks up at me with a bloodied grin and jumps up while performing an uppercut, using her entire body''s momentum behind it. However, I neither let my guard down nor reduce my density. I hear a cracking sound in the wrist of the fist she hits me with, as I stand my ground without trouble.


    Isn''t this just bullying the weak?


    Suddenly, I feel a drop on my head. Then another, followed by two more before the clouds seemingly release all their water content at the same time. It''s Tahiri''s signal that someone has come to confront her.


    "We''ll postpone this." I don''t even wait for a response and shoot up into the air while covering my body in dragon armor. Even though I know that the Old Humans are those who created the dragons and their magic resistance - which means they could just ignore it if they wanted to - I still feel safer this way.


    The spectators begin to talk among themselves, most likely wondering why I left in the middle of this all-decisive duel. To me, it wasn''t that important, since I''ll have ample opportunities to show my power, which should be overwhelming in the eyes of those who don''t know better. If Zenlith has appeared here, he''s far more important than whether I become queen right now or later.


    "[Tahiri!]" I call out to the God of Storm as I fly into the clouds. Expanding my Chaos senses, I feel two presences high above me and quickly increase my speed. With a sonic boom, I break through the sound barrier, and within a few seconds, through the clouds, too.


    Tahiri is floating above a sea of white clouds and is staring down a man in a white leather coat. Long and straight silver hair, violet eyes, and an expressionless face that nonetheless emanates self-confidence and a sense of superiority. I will never forget that appearance.


    "Zenlith..." I mutter while glaring at him.


    "And who are you?" He looks at me like regarding a pebble, the same way he has done that time he stopped me as I was on my way to help my mother in her battle. But I won''t let myself get riled up by his dismissive behavior; our playing field has been evened out quite a bit since we last met.


    "How about this?" I transform into my mother from memory. Finally, Zenlith''s eyes widen, before disbelief settles in his gaze - all the while he''s still maintaining a dignified and neutral expression.


    "Pelomyx? But you should be-" He begins, his voice more accusing than surprised.


    "Dead? Yes, she is dead." Undoing the transformation, I return to my usual blonde appearance. "I''m Chaos, child of Queen Pelomyx."


    "... so what? You are just another vile creature." Zenlith narrows his eyes, and I feel air pressure coming from all around me. I''ve been able to withstand this same move last time, and now I got far more mass even while in midair, so this should be completely useless against me.


    The pressure keeps increasing, and I get the impression of a submarine dead in the water, sinking deeper into the ocean. Could it be that he can imagine infinite pressure that can destroy even this body of mine? He''s not surprised to see me bear it so far, which means he can do even more. I''ll have to go at it differently; trying to break through the wall head-first won''t do me any good against the Old Humans, it seems.


    "So you want to measure your reach against mine, huh?" Speaking without moving my mouth, I provoke the Lord of the Sky to give it his all. "Let''s see what runs out first. The space inside me or all the air of this planet."


    At these words, I open up tiny holes all across my body and let the air flow in, letting it fill my infinite stomach. It doesn''t show on the outside, but I feel an immense amount of air pushing into my depth. This is by far the biggest thing I''ve ever taken inside me.


    "What?!" For the first time, Zenlith''s expression of silent superiority cracks, as his eyes widen in angry bewilderment.


    "Is this all?" It''s a throwback to his taunt during our first meeting after he pummeled me with lightning strikes. Now that the air is being funneled inside me, I can open my mouth and give him a fearless grin.


    "How dare you!" He raises his hand, and an invisible blade splits my body in half. It was able to cut through my increased density and the dragon armor easily. However, it neither hurts nor shows any other effects on me, as I literally pull myself together with the tentacles that make up my body.


    "Go back to your friends, human." My smile disappears as my face reverts to my true visage. "Tell them that I know what you are."


    Zenlith''s expression turns into a grimace of shock. The thought that a being thinking himself all-powerful is showing such a face to me is exhilarating, and I can fully understand Mataku''s enjoyment at bringing down the haughty gods of Adanak.


    "Go back and tell them that I''m ending your kind, once and for all." Returning my appearance to that of my human one, I speak in a straightforward and natural tone; rather than feeling the need to display determination, I''m showing that I don''t even consider it something worth getting worked up over. "It''s time for you to learn what I really am."

 Chapter 104 - A Show of Force

    As expected, Zenlith wouldn''t just leave like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs. Instead, he points his hand at me and performs a grasping motion, making me think that he''s trying to compete with air pressure again.


    Instead, I black out for a second, before the world returns before me. I find that my altitude has dropped a little, but all my limbs are still there and my mass hasn''t changed at all. What did he do?


    "[A-are you alright?]" Tahiri asks me while looking unexpectedly concerned. It''s the first time I''ve seen such an expression on her face, and I feel alarmed.


    "[What happened?]" I look up to keep Zenlith, whose eyes are widened in anger as he lowers his hand, in my view, and ask the God of Storm. Whatever he did, it didn''t have the intended effect of instantly ending my life. But still, I did black out, and I must have fallen a little bit before catching myself subconsciously.


    "[You were just split into a million pieces...]" Tahiri glances all over my body as if she''s trying to see whether I''m really alright or missing some pieces.


    Wait, he could cut me that many times with just a simple motion of his hand? Even at maximum density, I couldn''t withstand his previous invisible attack, but it wasn''t very effective, and I remained conscious throughout. If he can somehow cut me and then scatter my pieces wouldn''t I die? Or would each piece gain a new consciousness and turn into an army of my clones?


    I can''t let him do that again.


    "[You are from Armeria?]" Addressing Tahiri, Zenlith speaks in a distinctive accent of the language spoken in Adanak. I already believed Mataku, but this is the last nail in the coffin of any lingering doubts.


    "Leave her out of this." Glaring at the self-proclaimed Lord of the Sky, I quickly think of a way to take him out. If my suspicions are true, he must have all the powers of Tahiri, and much more. Her whole reality consists of being the God of Storm, while Zenlith is only acting out a character. Knowing about the Imagination Engine and what he can do with it gives him a huge edge over her.


    "Is she important to you?" He turns his cold gaze towards me and asks in an equally cold tone. Then, before I can even react, he gestures at the goddess, and she disappears into a fine mist. Her presence in my Chaos senses disappears completely.


    My mind goes blank.


    "ZENLITH!!!" With a hate-filled glare, I roar at the man in white and imagine him getting shredded into a million pieces himself.


    Then it happens; the Old Human''s form explodes into red mist, just the way I wanted him to.


    For a moment, I''m utterly surprised. The shock from seeing Tahiri disappearing on the spot still hasn''t completely settled, and the rage didn''t have enough time to express itself fully when the next unexpected thing happened. Is this the true power of the Imagination Engine? When there''s a powerful will behind an image, it just gets realized regardless of the target?


    "So, your name was Chaos." Zenlith''s calm voice resounds across the area. Of course, he can''t have died from something physical like that, and I shouldn''t have expected otherwise. After all, I''m sure others have tried this against him before. "I have recognized you as an enemy now."


    He doesn''t rematerialize, and after a while of silence, I realize that he must have left. Maybe it was a heavy blow after all, but considering he could still talk in such a calm manner, that doesn''t seem to be the case. Why would he leave, if even my anger-fuelled use of the Imagination Engine is unable to kill him?


    "[You would get so worked up over me?]" Tahiri''s voice comes from behind me, and I register a presence on my radar again. Spinning around, I look into the rainbow-colored eyes of the God of Storm.


    "[You... you''re alright...]" I mutter, recognizing the feeling welling up inside me very well. It''s the relief one feels when a person important to them is unharmed.


    "[Who do you think I am? Something like tha- woah!]" She begins quipping, but I fly straight into her and envelop her in my arm. "[What''s come over you?]"


    Suppressing my tears, I hug her tightly and remain silent. Realizing that I must have thought she really died, she returns the embrace and sighs. We stay like this until the whirlpool of emotions inside me calms down again, and I feel collected enough to show my face to her.


    "[... I told you that each one of these gods is as powerful as Mataku.]" I explain my worry and separate from her to look her up and down.


    "[And I told you that I''m the wind. The wind may cease for a while, but it never dies.]" She smiles at me warmly, and I feel my heart jump. It''s been a while since I got to spend quality time with her, and while this isn''t the best occasion, I''ll take what I can get.


    "[With this, it''s done.]" I turn away from the God of Storm and look across the ocean of clouds. The moon shining above basks the scenery in a cold light befitting of the desolation that our short confrontation left behind - even though nothing was lost or destroyed. It just feels like a monumental battle just took place here.


    Zenlith has received our declaration of war, and I''m sure he''s gathering the other Old Humans to try and repeat what he did to my mother. But unlike that time, he most likely won''t be playing by the rules he set for himself anymore. With the power to scatter a person into single atoms, he shouldn''t have needed any help to defeat her back then.


    But he was unable to kill me just now, so maybe a Crawling Chaos has some kind of defense against whatever he did? Tahiri did say that I was just cut into a million pieces, but I just consolidated myself instantly again or something like that.


    "[Can we have some fun now?]" Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice blows into my ear hotly. Shocked, I crank my head around. Silver glowing eyes in a beautiful pale-skinned face framed by long flowing white hair greet me with a mischievous glint.


    "[Aratio!]" This is the second time she''s blindsided me. My Chaos senses are keenly trained on my surroundings, but she was able to hide her presence from me - most likely by turning into wind.


    "[You remembered my name! I''m so glad~]" She tilts her head and gives me a radiant smile. No matter how I look at her, she''s really cute and falls well within my strike zone. However, her mother is right beside me, so it doesn''t feel right.


    "[Hey! You promised to play with me after your battle!]" The sulky voice of Aorutihaua causes me to turn around again. My exchange with Zenlith was really short, but still long enough for the Child of the Sun to realize that I wasn''t going to come back right away. That made them think I concluded the duel with Chandra, and that I must be free now.


    "[It''s sinful to be so popular.]" Tahiri grins at me mischievously and teases me.


    "[Under any other circumstances, I wouldn''t mind it.]" Shrugging with a sigh, I address Aratio and Aorutihaua in turn. "[We''ll talk about this later. And right now isn''t the best time for games.]"


    "[Don''t make me wait too long, or I might lose interest, you know~]" The God of Whirlwinds smiles, but because she''s upside down, it looks like a frown.


    "[You''ve been saying this all day!]" The Child of the Sun is harder to deal with, as they don''t accept a postponement again.


    "[Alright, come with me, I''ll play with you right after I finish my business with Chandra.]" Sighing again, I pet Aorutihaua''s full helm. It feels weird no matter how often I do this, but it seems to have an effect each time, as they noticeably calm down.


    With one last glance across the clouds, I begin to descend.


    It turns out that after I left, Korenga jumped into the ring, and is now slugging it out with Chandra. I don''t know whether she did that on purpose to occupy the crowd or was simply itching for a proper fight, but everyone seems to have forgotten about my departure.


    The Black God isn''t in her eponymous form but is still able to hold her own even against those six arms. It''s clear that despite being hailed as one of the strongest demons - if not the strongest - she still can''t defeat someone who has unlocked the powers of the Imagination Engine.


    I''m actually curious to find out whether demons use that to cast their magic, or it''s coded into their beings like the dragon breath. After all, it''s something a dragon''s throat is naturally able to produce, and I could replicate it without knowing the principle behind it. Or maybe it''s because I saw how it was used and felt its effects first-hand that I believed I could use it, too.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Before I can lose myself in thoughts, I watch as Chandra wrestles Korenga down and begins to pummel her with all six of her fists. So, in her normal form, she''s slightly weaker than the Ajura clan leader after all.


    Just as I contemplate this, the Black God covers her body in darkness, as she gains a burst of strength. With a roar, she easily pushes Chandra off herself and grabs one of her arms. Swinging the ajura around like a ragdoll, Korenga throws her into the walls of the arena.


    "[Hey, you overdid it!]" I drop into the ring before the goddess and stop her from following up on that. She didn''t lose herself in her usual battle trance completely, so I get through to her. Dispelling her black form, she scratches the back of her head.


    "[Sorry, you alright?]" Korenga calls out to Chandra, who has disappeared in an explosion of dust and rocks. Nobody on this continent understands the language spoken in Adanak, so no answer comes.


    "Hey Chandra, you still alive?" I speak in the common language. Finally, there''s a response from within the settling dust; Chandra bursts forth and charges straight at Korenga. "Stop it. This is over."


    I enlarge my hand to a gigantic size and grab the battle-crazed clan leader. She tries to wiggle free, but my strength proves far too great for her. A murmur runs through the audience at the sight of my transformation ability, and I''m sure some are whispering about how my mother was capable of the same.


    "Ya really yer mother''s child." Finally, Chandra calms down and speaks with a resigned sigh. "But that doesn''t mean I''ve accepted you yet."


    "[What did she say?]" Korenga asks as I let go of the purple-skinned woman.


    "[That she won''t accept me as the queen just yet.]" I translate for the Black God and shrug. My powers have been made very clear in front of such a large audience, and the other clan leaders know what I''m capable of now. Chandra will eventually have to come around, even if it means that I won''t ascend to the throne right away.


    I know that I lack in political and governing skills. So far, I haven''t put a single point into those skill trees, because I''ve been wholly uninterested in them. Well, I still am, but that doesn''t mean I''ll leave it to others; even if there''s no succession in the dominion''s royalty, I still believe I''m currently the one most fitting to rule. After all, who else here could ever hope to stand up to Zenlith like I just did?


    "That''s alright. I know I still have a lot to learn." Walking up to the ajura who''s more than a head taller than me, I stare into her green eyes with determination. "I''ll prove myself by winning this war."


    "Big words. Let''s see ya do this." Placing one of her hands on my head, she pets my hair with a smile. So this is how it feels, huh? I don''t dislike it, but I think the gesture is quite disrespectful, considering I''m a princess, and she''s my subject. And when she''s doing it in front of so many people, it might undermine my authority.


    "I will." Pushing her hand aside, I catch myself speaking with a pout. Am I a tsundere?!


    "I''ll follow ya until then." Crossing all three pairs of her arms, Chandra grins and nods. Was that an indirect pledge of fealty after all?


    I''m guided to my room, the one I woke up in after reincarnating into this body. I haven''t been here in such a long time, but the gaudiness hasn''t changed. At this point, I can''t even call it that anymore, since it''s in accordance to both the location and the period this world seems to be set in - even if it''s far into the future of a world that previously had an incredibly advanced civilization.


    After the battle in the arena was concluded without declaring me the clear victor, my succession to the throne has been postponed. Still, the demon clan leaders have accepted me as their supreme commander based on the fact that I''m the daughter of Pelomyx, and I know that in their hearts they should already see me as the next queen.


    When everybody dispersed, and I was on my way back to the castle, Aorutihaua flew straight into me and tore a hole through my body. They were angry that I seemed to have forgotten my promise to play with them right after concluding the battle with Chandra. All the demons that witnessed it were staring with their mouths wide open, but when I didn''t show anger and instead seemed to bow to the little Child of the Sun, their jaws dropped further.


    Some prospective queen I''m turning out to be...


    Who knows how much time has passed since then, and it''s already deep in the night now. I don''t tire, I don''t need to sleep, and I don''t have any luggage, so I wonder why I''m letting the dragonfly maid lead me to my room. Maybe she thought I wanted to go to sleep because I was sighing so much after playing with Aorutihaua in the sky - which Tahiri cleared again after our confrontation with Zenlith.


    "Umm... would you like me to lay with you tonight?" The maid with the large compound eyes, which look like a faceted bike helmet visor - it even has the rainbow-colored sheen of one - asks me in a somewhat bashful manner.


    "Huh?" I make in a dumbfounded tone. Wait, is she mistaking me for Asoko? Whatever may have happened between the two of them has nothing to do with me.


    "O-oh no! Please excuse my rudeness, Your Highness!" Bowing deeply in a very Japanese manner, the dragonfly maid beats her wings for a second before calming down again. "I meant to say: Would Your Highness deem me worthy to let me spend the night with You?"


    "You don''t need to be so formal with me. What''s your name?" I gesture for her to raise her head and finally remember to ask. I''m going to inherit all the maids of the castle, and even if they most likely all joined Asoko''s harem already, there''s nothing wrong with at least learning their names.


    "My name is Nymphylecitaphia." She responds while looking into my eyes - or at least that''s what I think she''s doing.


    "Nymphy-" Scratching my head, I try to repeat it, but can''t even remember the second half. Although I''ve heard many strange names in this world, this one takes the cake.


    "Nympholecitaphia." Repeating herself, the maid speaks slowly and patiently.


    "Nah, I''ll just call you Nymphy from now on." Shrugging, I give up on trying to pronounce that name.


    "Understood." Somehow she seems happy to have received a nickname from me. "Then, shall I accompany you for the night?"


    "Don''t mistake me for Asoko. I''m Chaos." I say it directly. Knowing that she belongs to Asoko, I can''t just lay my hands on her; I told her to keep away from my girls, so I''ll do the same with hers.


    "Oh, I did not mean it that way. Asoko-sama never asked for my company." She replies, her voice sounding quite neutral. I can''t help but feel a hint of loneliness in it though, as she seems to be a little dejected. Why would my other half not choose her? I thought our tastes would be the same, and in my eyes, Nymphy is a very cute girl - quite exotic, but cute nonetheless.


    "That''s a shame. Even though you are such a lovely thing." I lift the dragonfly girl''s chin and look into her compound eyes. That''s one thing I''d have to get used to; choosing which of those facets to look into. She blushes and purses her lips in embarrassed silence.


    "Already flirting again, huh?" Senka''s voice echoes through the quiet room.


    Nymphy and I both look down to find the doll girl peering up at us with an expression of disapproval. I''m used to her appearing in the twilight like that, but the maid isn''t, so she screams.


    The ear-piercing shriek is something that feels like it should have a special move name. It reverberates through my bones and gives me the sensation that the very particles making up my body are vibrating. I cover her mouth with a hand and put a finger over my lips, signaling her to stop.


    "I am sorry." She mutters bashfully after calming down again.


    "What are you doing here?" I had the maids accommodate the members of my entourage in their own rooms, and told them that I wanted to rest tonight. During our journey, I''ve been spending a lot of time with Aurelia and Tokomaha each, so I felt that a break was in order.


    Senka doesn''t respond and looks up at Nymphy, wordlessly signaling to me that she wants to speak with me in private. I feel bad for sending the maid away after giving her hopes like this, but it must be something important if she wants to do this in person rather than through her telepathic abilities.


    "Sorry, Nymphy." I pet her green bob-cut and mutter in an apologetic tone. "Something important has come up, so we''ll continue this tomorrow."


    "I understand, Chaos-sama." Since I made it clear that I''m not dismissing her indefinitely, she doesn''t sound disheartened. With a bow, she excuses herself and leaves my room, a noticeable spring in her step as her translucent wings quiver in excitement. That''s pretty cute.


    "So, what''s so important that I had to send away my date for tonight?" Picking up Senka and hugging her to my chest, I ask her in a half-joking manner. No matter how much I do this, I just can''t get enough of her.


    "Your date, huh?" Rolling her eyes, the doll girl lets my embrace happen and stays limp as a real doll would. "It''s about the Imagination Engine."


    "Huh?" I immediately stop the cuddling and hold Senka at arm''s length, my hands under her armpits, to look into her eyes. With this, my mood is instantly sobered up, and seriousness returns to my thoughts. "Since when have you known about it?"


    "Let''s just say I didn''t know about it myself before you found out." She replies and looks past me as if there is someone else. But I know for a fact that behind me is only a wall.


    "What did you find out?" Walking over to the bed and lying down on it, I hold Senka up like a toy.


    "Nothing much, just that I know it''s not located on this planet." Her arms and legs are dangling as she still acts like a ragdoll. I don''t really know what to do with that information since it doesn''t help me to know where the machine is. It''s not like I get more power when I''m closer to it or anything.


    "And what about it?" I place her on the bed next to me and look into her blue eyes reflecting the light from the lamp crystal on the nightstand.


    "I think you might be missing the big picture here." Sitting up from the bed, Senka frowns and stares at me in disapproval. "Have you forgotten where magic in this world comes from?"


    Wait, is she suggesting what I think she''s suggesting?


    "Yes, I see from your expression that you finally understand what I mean." Plopping back down, she returns to being a lifeless doll again.


    "Are you saying I should eliminate all magic in this world?" I mutter in bewilderment. The repercussions from that would be unimaginable, and everyone I know would lose their abilities. But the same would be true for the Old Humans and even Mataku. At that point, the former would be simple humans again, and the latter would just be a Crawling Chaos with a huge amount of mass.


    And it would give the physically more powerful demons a huge edge over the humans.

 Chapter 105 - Duties of a Leader

    My conversation with Senka went until the next morning. We pondered the pros and cons of finding and destroying the Imagination Engine, and it has left me mentally drained. We weren''t able to come to a conclusive decision on the matter since neither of us knows all the factors. What happens to those beings whose lives are based on magic? What if all demons, which were created by Alverost, are actually magical in nature? Would they all fall apart and turn into goo, or just disappear completely?


    But there is also good news; the doll girl told me that Hestia is on her way to meet me here. While I wait, I''ll have some time to start working on administrative duties that come with the supreme commander title. I''m not really looking forward to it since I''d rather go out and just liberate the dominion myself.


    When I enter the dining hall, a sense of nostalgia washes over me. The long table, the chairs with tall backrests, and the maids standing by - it looks the same as that fateful first morning of my new life in this world.


    But there is no demon queen sitting at the end of the table, greeting me with a smile. Instead, several people are already having breakfast without me - namely my entourage. The clan leaders will convene with me later in the day to discuss our further steps in this war, although I expected them to be here right now. I guess this place is reserved for family members and their guests.


    "What would you like for breakfast, Your Highness?" Rewera comes up to me and asks with a graceful bow.


    "Did you preserve the bodies as I told you to?" To commemorate that I finally returned, I''ll travel down memory lane all the way; I''ll eat the same as what I had the first time I entered this room. When the giant maid answers in the affirmative, I let her know my choice. "Then make steamed heads and stuffed torsos."


    But unlike that time, my appetite has grown exponentially. While I haven''t been feeling constant hunger like I did back when my mass was still little - unlike what Mataku believes a Crawling Chaos does the more it grows - I still do like to consume a lot.


    I look at Korenga. We had a long conversation on the bridge of the Chaos carrier about my nature and the fact that I''m a member of the species Mataku belongs to. She remained quite thoughtful afterward but accepted it on the basis that she has been traveling with me for a while and knows me enough to trust me. If I ever deceived her, she would have my head though.


    Tokomaha and Aurelia have accepted me the way I am already anyway, and Tahiri doesn''t think any less of me because of that. In fact, once when I talked to her alone on top of the balloon of the airship, she praised me for being able to control my hunger and the desires that drive me. Back then I felt honored to be thought of like that, but I sometimes do let my instincts take over - especially in battle.


    Thinking back to my first day, I inadvertently have to smile when the tray is opened, and from within the plume of steam, a human head appears. I remember my initial shock and then my attempt to write it off as an elaborately decorated cake. Then watching my mother teach me how to eat it since I had no mouth at the time, and my reaction at her pushing it inside her voluptuous chest.


    It has really been such a long time since then.


    "[You''re gonna eat that?]" When Korenga sees it she asks with a frown. While she has accepted that I''m a literal omnivore, seeing me eating human body parts must be hard for her to swallow.


    "[Don''t worry, those are taken from the bodies of the dead. I wouldn''t have live humans slaughtered for me.]" I don''t know how much that appeases her consternation, but that''s all I can say. The fact that I''m eating humans remains.


    Taking my time and enjoying the meal, more than ten times the amount of what I had back then, I ponder my future from here on out. First on the list is to retake the entirety of the Demon Continent and beating back the invasion. Secondly, I''ll negotiate with the human nations to end this age-long conflict for as long as I reign. Since I intend to live until my natural lifespan runs out - and judging by Mataku''s existence, it''s very long - I''ll become a living contract.


    After all, our common enemy is the Primordial Terror that wishes to end all life on this planet in what can only be described as a huge banquet in his honor. Maybe eventually I''ll develop the same kind of hunger that he must be holding at bay constantly, but I won''t let myself succumb to it and fly into the sun when that happens. As a wise person whose name I can''t remember once said, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.


    When breakfast is concluded my entourage follows me to the meeting room in the castle tower, while the maids clean up after us. On our way there we chat about meaningless things to bridge the time. I look out the window and across Arkaim, half of which has been destroyed by fires and catapults. The rebuilding efforts are already underway, but the whole thing has put another scar on the populace. I think I''ll hold a public speech later, and talk to them.


    Opening the door to the meeting room, I enter first to find that everybody is already sitting and waiting.


    Ophalen is reading documents while wearing a monocle - since his eyes are on the sides of his head, he can''t use them both at the same time for looking at close things. His son Nilotec has his arms crossed and is sitting silently with his eyes closed. Markor is stroking his goatee while going through letters, most likely those sent here from the front lines. Athilacia is leaning back and smoking a long pipe, the snake tail that is her lower half wound around the legs of her chair.


    When they see me, they all motion to stand up and greet me, but I quickly gesture for them to remain at ease. I''m not the queen yet, so they don''t need to be this formal with me. In fact, even when I sit on the throne, I don''t want things to be so stiff.


    "Where''s Chandra?" I look at the red-haired ajura woman sitting in the clan leader''s place. She''s missing the lower two of her left forearms, and judging by the bloody bandages, they were lost in the battle yesterday. There is no light magic among the demons, so nobody has a way to restore lost limbs, it seems. Maybe I''ll add to my announcement that I''ll be doing healing for the rest of the day and that everybody is welcome.


    "I''m Taragasura, her deputy. The boss went to inspect the returned infantry." The amputee introduces herself with a simple nod and speaks in the typical accent of the Ajura clan members. If her wounds are causing her pain, she isn''t showing it.


    "Hm, what is this about?" I turn to General Ophalen.


    "Lady Chandra had initially taken her army to reinforce Erbilan because the advance of the human spearhead will be headed for it." The old crocodile replies quickly. "When she received our call for aid, she took all her troops and returned to defend Arkaim, but that may have left Erbilan undefended."


    "When do you think will the humans arrive?" It seems I may have to postpone my healing session and go there myself first.


    "In two weeks from now, at the latest. But with the surprise attack here, they may have snuck another army past our scouts and attacked there already." Ophalen growls, and I assume he''s angry that the humans are using such tricks. I can''t fault them; without the support of the gods, they''re generally weaker than the demons. Even if the Chosen Knights are each about as powerful as Chandra, they''re still few in numbers; they can''t fight and win wars on their own.


    "I''ll go there and take a look after this meeting is over." With this quick statement, I conclude the topic and intend to move on, but Nilotec has different plans.


    "Erbilan is over six hundred leagues from Arkaim. A journey there will take even someone who can fly more than a day." He voices his concerns that I might be gone too long in a time of need.


    "You haven''t seen me fly yet, have you?" I give him a confident smile that silences him completely. "Now, can I have a report on the numbers of yesterday''s battle?"


    "Yes, the numbers..." Ophalen picks a document from the table and quickly skims it to find the right lines. When he begins reading, my mood drops. So many soldiers died, and three times as many civilians have been reported dead or missing. The numbers of the latter are most likely still going to rise during the day, as the cleanup is still underway.


    I could understand any urges for revenge as I feel them myself, but there are bigger fish to fry than to avenge every death manifold; and in either case, the humans lost far more than the demons did in this siege. First, I need to kill the Old Humans, so that there won''t be anything in the background pushing for war between humans and demons anymore. Then, I need to find a way to deal with Mataku.


    Easier said than done. But at least I have a goal to work towards, unlike that year spent in Adanak, where I basically just enjoyed a long vacation before the campaign against the God King started.


    "How many humans did we capture?" I sigh when the general concludes his report.


    "Those that surrendered inside the city numbered over ten thousand, and over a thousand more were rounded up outside the walls. Many of them were wounded or playing dead." Markor is the one who answers my inquiry. He stands up and walks over to the window that leads to the western side of Arkaim, before pointing outside demonstratively. "My scouts report that a massive explosion must have taken place within the retreating army. Judging by the many heavily wounded we found, very few survived unscathed and were able to escape; otherwise, they would have tried to help them."


    "What was that explosion?" Nilotec asks me in a low tone, from which I can glean awe. He must think it was my power or something.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "It was my message to the humans that breaking their word will bring them only death." I confirm it, taking credit for Aorutihaua''s immense destructive power. In reality, I should be able to do something similar, although it would most likely take a while to prepare. "Speaking of prisoners, how is that dragon knight doing?"


    "When she heard that her army was annihilated, she stopped talking and is only sitting in her cell silently." Athilacia takes a puff from her pipe and speaks in a manner that gives me reason to believe that she can be very sassy when the situation requires it. I''m sure she and Senka could become great friends.


    "I''ll pay her a visit after this." There are a lot of things for me to do today, it seems. The top priorities are to hold a speech before the citizens of Arkaim, flying to Erbilan to see whether it''s in danger or not, and then to go and speak to Svanhild - in that order. Staying busy will keep me on my toes, though.


    The rest of the meeting was mostly administrative stuff that I left to the clan leaders. Issues like distributing food and water, cleaning the streets and rebuilding the houses aren''t things I can help with since they require manpower rather than individual powers. Instead, I''ll provide moral support by addressing the citizens on the main plaza, from directly among the people.


    Of course, I have to adlib it since I thought of this only a few hours ago. But I''ve gotten quite comfortable in my skin, so even when so many pairs of eyes are staring at me, I don''t feel nervous. Seeing their doubtful but also hopeful gazes fills me with pride, to be the one who can provide them with what they need in this dark hour.


    "Hear me, citizens of Arkaim, my people!" I let my voice echo across the plaza, amplified by an augmented throat. The murmurs cease completely when they hear it. "I know that the past year has been filled with trials, and each one of us has lost important friends and family."


    At these words, I see many nod in agreement, others shed silent tears, while a few break down crying. I know that this was going to touch a nerve since I feel the same way; I lost my mother back then, which was the whole cause for the dominion''s current situation.


    "But fear no more, despair no longer, for I, Chaos - daughter of Queen Pelomyx - have returned!" Spreading my arms in a symbolic embrace, I announce. For a second, the crowd stares at me in silent awe. Then thunderous cheers roll over the plaza like an earthquake given voice.


    "So this is how order dies... with thunderous applause." Senka, who is standing on the podium next to me, mutters to herself. I assume she''s making a joke about my name having the opposite meaning of order, and the fact that I''m gaining power here means that order is being eliminated.


    The doll girl had been missing for most of the morning after she left my room on her own, and only rejoined me after the meeting with the clan leaders was concluded. She told me that she was guiding Hestia on her path here and that she would arrive sometime in the afternoon - most likely completely exhausted from flying as fast as she can. That means I still have time to do everything I set out to do for the day before then.


    In my speech, I continued to lay out my future plans of beating back the humans and retaking the lands lost to them. Obviously, I left out everything to do with Mataku and the Old Humans, though. For the civilians, those are godlike beings, and if I were to announce that I wanted to fight them, it would only make them fear for their lives. Even if I could hold my own against them, in a battle between gods the powerless are the ones who have to suffer.


    Directly after concluding my public appearance and returning to the castle for a quick lunch, I immediately took off to visit Erbilan. Nilotec once again voiced his concern about my absence from the capital, but I told him that I would go alone and leave my entourage behind. He was a little more convinced by that, most likely when he realized that Korenga is among them - someone who can hold her own against Chandra.


    When I ascend from the castle walls and increase my altitude, I can see the crater that Aorutihaua''s impact left behind on the Fields of Huwinn in all its glory. There are demons still clearing the charred and torn apart corpses of the humans strewn across a large area. The Child of the Sun is a living natural disaster and most likely possesses destructive powers on par with any of the Old Humans. Not to speak of their mother, Areteniha; looking like a living fragment of the sun itself, she might even have the power to annihilate this entire planet at will.


    It''s only natural that over time more and more such powerful beings would come into existence due to the Imagination Engine, and the Old Humans most likely left Armeria because they feared a confrontation with them.


    "Can you hear me Chaos Air Force One?" Senka''s voice speaks directly into my head, but there is some static. I asked her to guide my flight to Erbilan since I don''t know the most direct way; following the road would mean I have to slow down to keep track of it.


    "Why is the connection bad, even though I''m still so close?" Replying in my mind, I look to the camps outside the city, where Chandra''s troops are readying themselves to depart for their initial objective again.


    "Have you lost your sense of humor?" Sounding completely clear again, Senka replies in a somewhat sour tone. She''s right, I''ve been a little uptight recently. But the situation is quite tense; a war with nearly almighty beings is imminent, and afterward, there is still the issue with a Crawling Chaos that must have many times my mass.


    "Maybe... I''m sure I''ll regain it the longer I stay with you." I send her a mental cuddle, as best as I can envision it without her in my arms, and turn towards the direction of my destination. "Alright, I''m ready. Guide the way."


    The second she does, I shoot off at many times the speed of sound, creating a massive sonic boom that will have shocked the entire population of Arkaim. I''m sure Nilotec, who was watching me take off, is staring at the point in the sky where I disappeared from with his crocodile jaws wide open.


    The landscape under me almost instantly changes from the wasteland with the jutting sharp rock formations to a dry steppe with gentle slopes.


    "Wow, you''re fast." Senka comments, most likely watching everything through my eyes.


    "Yeah, I''m no longer bound by wind magic and aerodynamics. It''s one of the first things I mastered after I learned about the Imagination Engine." I look around while performing a barrel roll. "Before, I could only fly as fast as wind magic cast into boosters would allow. Now, I''m just flying through imagination alone. I''m sure I could go even faster, but I might overshoot my target."


    Considering Areteniha seemed to be going at the speed of light, I''m sure that''s what anybody with the right imagination could achieve. But if I were to travel at the speed of light on the planet, I''d make several trips around the globe in just a fraction of a second - or directly shoot out into space.


    "There it is." Senka signals me that my destination is just ahead, and I come to a quick stop, before slowly approaching it. The steppe has made way for a mountain range, and blocking the exit from it is a fortress city. It looks to be about as big as Uarapo, which was destroyed in our battle against Roamukao.


    It looks fine from here; no siege is underway, and demons are walking in the streets normally. Some children are playing in the streets, and I see a few people pointing up at me. I should go down there and have them spread the word of my return from here on out, too.


    Quickly descending and landing in the courtyard before the central keep, I look around. Demon soldiers, the majority of them lizardmen, instantly swarm me from all sides and point their spears and halberds at me. I should have expected such a reaction, considering I look quite human - even if I just flew without wings and all.


    "Intruder!" One of the archers on the wall shouts and points at me, calling more reinforcements for little ol'' me.


    "Who are you?!" A massive lizardman similar in size to Ophalen comes forward and asks me with a loud bellow. He has matte black scales and a rounded head unlike a crocodile''s, with the neck of a bull and a powerfully built body. His inquisitive black eyes stare at me with suspicion. In his clawed right hand, he''s wielding a large halberd, which he points at me.


    "Of course the news wouldn''t travel here so quickly." I shrug and speak to Senka, who already commented that my actions just now were quite thoughtless and rash. Then I turn my attention to the demons surrounding me. "Will this help?"


    I transform into an appearance similar to that of my mother''s. Long purple hair, curved horns protruding from my forehead, gray skin and yellows irises surrounded by black sclera. I even copy her clothes, but leave my body shape alone; I don''t have her bountiful breasts, but I''m not trying to pass as her anyway.


    "The queen?" One of the demons mutters in shock and lowers his spear.


    "It''s obviously a trick!" The big lizardman growls. "Don''t let your guard down."


    "I''m Chaos, child of Pelomyx. I have come to let you know that Arkaim came under a human surprise attack." Raising my voice, I let everyone in the courtyard and beyond hear me. "I have vanquished the enemy and liberated the capital, so I came to see if Erbilan was still standing."


    More and more demon soldiers falter under my words, and many begin to believe that I''m the real deal. Only the commander isn''t that easy to convince.


    "You don''t believe her, do you?" He turns to look at his subordinates with unbelieving anger. I feel that I should praise him for not trusting something a random stranger who can seemingly transform into anybody is saying.


    "What''s your name?" With the regal bearing I learned from watching Aurelia, I ask the lizardman commander.


    "Rhosk, Commander of the Erbilan garrison!" He proudly announces himself by beating his chest with his free hand. "And who are you really?"


    "Very good, Rhosk. I hope you will continue to question future intruders like this." Leaving him speechless with this praise, I rise back up into the air without answering his repeated question about my identity. "Chandra''s troops will arrive here in five days and reinforce this city against the human spearhead. Make sure to keep the city well defended until then, should the enemy attack."


    With this, I quickly shoot upward and fly away. Since it didn''t take me that long to come here, I''ll fly ahead and see where the human army could be. I''m sure Zenlith must have intervened directly and told the empire''s high command about the big loss at Arkaim. They will most likely consolidate their forces and go for a final confrontation or scatter across the continent to take as many cities and villages as they can.


    The former would be quite welcome since I''d be able to take care of it all in one go. The latter would be the hardest thing for me to deal with; after all, I''m only one person. Even if I can fly around at such high speeds, I can''t be everywhere at once. Maybe I should just find the human spearhead and annihilate them in one big blast.


    "[Aorutihaua, are you there?]" I call out into the sky but receive no answer. They haven''t shown up all day, though I suspected that they would be somewhere near. Maybe they finally returned to their mother''s side?


    "[I''m not the Child of the Sun, but are you alright with me?]" Suddenly, a voice speaks behind me. At this point, I''ve gotten used to it and turn around without being too surprised. It''s Aratio, the God of Whirlwinds.


    "[Well, if you have the destructive power of a meteor...]" Knowing full well that she doesn''t. But if she can turn into a tornado, it could be quite devastating, too.


    "[Hm, do you need me to destroy a huge army like Aorutihaua did yesterday?]" Asking me while flying upside down, Aratio fixes her silver eyes on me. Only now do I notice that they possess a sheen similar to Tahiri''s rainbow irises. Like mother like child, huh? "[I can do that if you play with me~]"


    "[Sorry, but that will have to wait.]" I put a hand on the goddess'' cheek, as she pouts like a child at my repeated rejection of her advances. "[I have to return to the castle.]"


    Senka just told me that Hestia has arrived.

 Chapter 106 - One Reunited, One to Go

    With Senka guiding my flight back, I go even faster than I was on my way to Erbilan. Within just a few minutes, I arrive above the floating castle, my figurative heart beating faster at the thought that Hestia is here, and that I''ll finally be reunited with her.


    The citizens of Arkaim call out to me and cheer at my return. While slowly floating down towards the castle, I wave at them with a benevolent smile. Even though I can''t wait to see the angel girl again, I can''t just ignore my people when they call out to me.


    "You''ve become a proper queen already." Senka comments when I come down in the courtyard of the castle and the crocodilian guards stand at attention.


    "Becoming the leader of a people requires more than birthright. I''m just practicing what I learned." I reply to her in my mind while walking through the open front gate of the castle at a brisk pace, gesturing for the soldiers to be at ease. They''re Ophalen''s personal troops, who are only stationed in the castle because he is here; otherwise, there would be nobody other than the maids.


    "You have returned, Your Highness!" One of said maids welcomes me back with a bow when I walk through the corridor towards the throne room, where Senka told me Hestia is waiting. I recognize her as the maid with the ash-colored hair that nearly covers her eyes, and a lizard tail; she was the first non-human encounter I had in this world - other than myself in the mirror.


    "I remember you..." Stopping for a second, I take a closer look at the maid. "What''s your name?"


    "It is Keiza, Your Highness." Lowering her head, she looks uncomfortable under my gaze. In fact, she''s trembling, and her scaly tail is pushed up against her skirt. Is she afraid of me?


    "At ease, Keiza." I pet her hair and speak in a gracious tone, to calm her down. "I just remembered you from the morning when I first woke up."


    "Ah, yes." Looking up at me with large gray eyes featuring vertical slit pupils, she shows me a reserved and slightly uneasy expression with pursed lips. Compared to the other maids I''ve seen, she looks the most down to earth. If it wasn''t for those pupils and the tail, she could pass for a normal human.


    "You should look up more. It''s a waste to hide that cute face of yours." Lifting her chin, I look deeply into her eyes. She reluctantly returns my gaze, her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment; clearly, she isn''t used to such attention. But she isn''t the odd one out among all the maids because she was most definitely chosen for her appearance as well.


    Senka clears her throat in my mind, and I''m pulled back to reality. I let my flirty nature take over for a second there. After everything is over, I''ll have enough time to have fun with the maids that aren''t in Asoko''s camp. And Hestia is waiting; before adding more girls to my harem, I should first reunite with all those I already have.


    "Keep up the good work, Keiza." Petting her hair one more time, I excuse myself and continue on the way to the throne room.


    "You sure you weren''t some kind of playboy in your previous life?" The doll girl''s disapproving voice rings in my head.


    "Believe it or not, I was a virgin who hadn''t even kissed a girl before coming here." I reply silently. It''s really hard to believe, considering I''ve had so many experiences since I was reincarnated; one would think I must have been a pro at it before.


    I throw open the wings of the gate to the throne room, and my eyes immediately fall on black wings and silver hair. At the sound of my entry, the girl these features belong to spins around, and her crimson eyes widen when she sees me. Dropping her golden spear, she covers her mouth with both hands, and tears appear in the corners of her eyes as the emotions overwhelm her.


    "Hestia!" I run toward her, but she can''t even move as she sobs at my sight. Taking her into my embrace and lifting her from the ground, I squeeze her tight.


    "I missed you so much Onee-sama..." She finally puts her arms around me and mutters, before letting her tears run freely.


    At the term she uses to address me with I''m reminded of my shameful past when I was basically acting like a cougar with Kamii. Hestia wanted to get as close to me as the little dark elf was, so she started calling me Onee-sama, too. It''s quite embarrassing, but considering her current state of mind, I won''t tell her to stop doing that for the time being.


    "I''m back now, and I''ll never leave your side again." I whisper into her ear and kiss her neck. Then I finally notice the person who picked up Hestia''s carelessly discarded spear and is now standing a short distance away, watching us with a frown.


    Flaming red hair, piercing golden eyes, and lips unfamiliar to smiles. The last time I saw that face was shortly after the angel girl had been completely corrupted and the person confronted me with a hateful glare. But I remember meeting them again afterward, in a different form - when I attacked the academy after learning that Kamii had been teleported away to a random place.


    "Dregana..." I speak in a low tone and let go of Hestia. "You dare show yourself here?"


    "Ah, she is with me, Onee-sama." The angel girl steps between the red-headed woman and me. "She is not an enemy anymore."


    "... as long as you think of the happiness of Miss Hestia, I am not your enemy." Dregana presses out these words quite forcefully. But I can tell from her piercing gaze that she cares about the angel girl and that keeping her safe is her main concern - if not her only one.


    But the fact that she is in part the reason for me ending up on the moon - and in extension, my absence during my mother''s time in need - remains, and it''s something I can''t forgive so easily.


    "No, that is not right, Dregana." Despite being at least two inches shorter than the dragon woman, Hestia speaks down on her like she''s in charge. Judging by the dragonkin''s reaction, that seems to be the case though. "You will serve Onee-sama as you serve me."


    "But-" She''s just about to protest when the angel girl''s deathly glare shuts her up. It seems that something happened between these two during my absence.


    I shoot Senka, who''s leaning against a pillar and watching everything silently, a questioning glance, but she doesn''t say a word, not even telepathically. It seems she doesn''t want to influence this one with her sometimes very convenient knowledge too much and let it play out naturally.


    "You promised to follow my every decision." Stepping forward and cupping Dregana''s cheeks with her hands, Hestia employs an empathic tone while her features soften. It''s incredible to see the dragon woman mellow out under her touch. "And we have traveled down this road together this far already. Go all the way with me."


    I''ve heard about Hestia the Black Valkyrie, and Dregana the Kinslayer. They appeared on various battlefields, helping the demons defend their cities against the overwhelming forces of the humans. In those battles, the latter earned her title because she killed several transformed dragonkin. The humans will certainly not take her back, so her future is with Hestia - and in extension, with me.


    I don''t expect an apology from Dregana for fighting me in the academy and holding me back from killing the principal. If I were a begrudging person like that, Aurelia wouldn''t be sitting on the throne-


    "Um, wait a second." I walk past Hestia and Dregana and climb the few steps leading up to the demon throne, on which the golden girl has placed herself as if it''s the most natural thing for her to do. "What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Sitting in my rightful place." Replying with a deadpan expression, Aurelia returns my gaze with an unwavering one of her own. I''m sure that she''s cracking a joke - despite the lack of a smile on her lips - but at the same time, I know that she believes her rightful place in the world is on an elevated throne, no matter which one that may be.


    "Onee-sama... why is she here?" The black angel approaches me from behind and asks while pointing at the queen of gold. Last time they met, the former got impaled by a spear controlled by the latter.


    Hestia was already in the throne room before I returned, but most likely ignored the golden girl thus far to avoid a confrontation. Now that I''m here, she musters her courage to speak out about it. Aurelia knows about my relationship with her, so she has remained nonchalant about the Fata.


    "Aurelia has joined us and become my girl." I bend down and bring my face close to the golden girl''s. "Isn''t that right?"


    "That goes both ways." Her lips curl up into a smile as she stands up and caresses my cheek demonstratively in front of Hestia. "Do you understand, corrupted Fata?"


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    "Fortunately for me, this Fata has more to offer than the speaking gold bar." A smile appears on Hestia''s lips as well, but her eyes remain cold, as she crosses her arms and accentuates her large breasts. It''s one thing she has over Aurelia without a doubt.


    "Two lumps of needless fat has you so proud?" Putting a hand on her hip and placing a leg forward, so that it peeks out of the high cut skirt she''s wearing, Aurelia shows off her thigh. It''s her greatest visual feature - aside from the fact that she''s made of gold. "As expected of birds, their brains remain small even when they gain bodies like humans."


    Wait, is that what Fatas are? I thought they were created by the Old Humans from scratch, just like dragons, elves, dwarves, and giants. With the Imagination Engine, they wouldn''t even need to splice genes to do that, and could just conjure things out of thin air. Or am I giving that machine too much credit?


    Most likely, it''s just Aurelia''s sharp tongue at work.


    "You seem to believe that your words are worth gold, but under all the shining exterior there is only disappointing lead." Hestia''s voice is enough to freeze over the atmosphere in the whole room, as her smile grows more and more deadly. Her wings are quivering a little from suppressing the anger welling up inside her. Most of the maids look at her uneasily, and some even show fear, thinking she could explode at any moment.


    "Break it up, you two." I step between the quarreling girls and speak in a decisive tone. "You''re both important to me, and I don''t want to see you quarreling."


    "Oh, we were only exchanging a greeting." Aurelia leans on me while smirking at Hestia.


    "Do not worry, Onee-sama. We are getting along just fine." With an eyebrow twitching, the angel girl tries to keep up a strong facade, even while any semblance of it has already crumbled in my eyes.


    "I mean it. If I catch you two fighting again, I''ll leave you both for Korenga." I take a step away from the golden girl, who almost falls over upon losing her support and walk over to the Black God. She has been watching the exchange without much interest since she doesn''t understand the language we''ve been speaking in. But at the mention of her name, her eyes light up.


    "[Is this about me?]" She wonders when I approach her.


    "[Don''t ask any questions and just carry me like a princess.]" I wink and whisper to her while spreading my arms as if asking for an embrace.


    "[Alright, if you say so.]" Raising an eyebrow, Korenga does as she''s told, and lifts me up into her strong arms easily. I''m surprised by the motion and can''t help but feel my heart skip a beat, even though I was prepared for what would happen. So this is how it feels?


    Actually, the Black God looks quite handsome from up close, especially with her nonchalant expression - mostly because she doesn''t understand the situation, but also doesn''t care enough to ask. When I think about it, isn''t the difference between us about the same as that of the cute girls with me? Is that why they considered me handsome and confessed to me in school?


    "Oh no, Onee-sama! I am so sorry!" Hestia is staring at me with almost tearful eyes and apologizes in a heartfelt manner. "I promised never to argue with those you have chosen to be by your side, but I broke it here because I was too weak to contain my feelings!"


    "... are you serious?" Aurelia''s reaction to my actions is less emotional, as she mutters with an appalled expression. "Alright, I understand. I was just teasing the little Fata..."


    It seems my threat was quite impactful, though with varying degrees. I''m sure it didn''t hit Aurelia as hard as it did Hestia, who is very close to breaking down in tears at the thought that I might really leave her to become the sub in another relationship, only because she was arguing with someone else among my harem.


    "[You can let me down now, Korenga.]" In a better mood, I tell the Black God, and she places me on my feet.


    "[What was that about?]" She crosses her arms and looks down at me with a questioning gaze.


    "[I was just making a point with those two. Thanks for helping out.]" I raise a fist.


    "[Always happy to help.]" Bumping it, she grins. She seems like a very reliable older sister type with that expression, and I somehow feel at ease. I hope I can be like that for the girls under my wing, too.


    "I have something to do so go get some rest, Hestia." I walk over to the angel girl and caress her cheek. She''s still sniffling from the shock of my threat, but her eyes show defiance when she thinks that I''m going to separate from her right after reuniting again - even if I''m not going somewhere far.


    "No, I shall accompany you, Onee-sama." Speaking in an assertive tone, she makes her intention to stay with me for the time being clear.


    "Aren''t you tired from flying over here?" I glance at Senka, who must know how far the angel girl traveled earlier. Though judging by the latter''s appearance, she doesn''t seem exhausted at all.


    "I am completely fine." She gives me a radiant smile and takes my arm, pressing her breasts against it. "Where are we going?"


    When I think about it, it''s been a long time since I''ve been able to touch ones like hers. Tokomaha''s chest is quite small, and Aurelia''s is only one order above the little goddess'', albeit nowhere near my own. Hestia''s bountiful mountains remind me of my previous times with her, and I can feel lust well up inside me.


    But I need to check myself right now; there are some matters to be settled, and then we''ll have the whole night to get familiar with each other''s bodies again.


    "As you may have heard already, yesterday a secret human army attacked this city. We beat them back, and I captured one of their Chosen Knights." I begin to explain as we walk out of the throne room. Dregana is following us silently, never leaving Hestia out of her sight. She''s like an overprotective mother watching over a child she believes isn''t ready to see the wide world alone.


    Aurelia, Korenga, Senka and the maids stay behind. Tokomaha and Tahiri went out into the city below to do some sightseeing, and I''m grateful for that. The little goddess would have complicated matters even more just now.


    "Are you going to interrogate that knight?" Hestia asks while looking up at me, though it''s clear that she isn''t that interested in the topic; her focus lies on being by my side and enjoying my presence to the fullest. While I did say I wouldn''t leave her side, it''s quite likely to happen again - considering each previous time has been almost completely out of my control. She must be thinking that now is the time to charge up on Chaosium.


    "Yeah, this is a Chosen Knight, so I''d rather not risk anybody else getting hurt. I''m going to do it myself." I answer her half-hearted question earnestly since it''s something quite important. While we make our way down the stairs into the entrance hall, I begin to think of questions to ask and methods to employ that will make sure I receive answers. It''s quite helpful that she''s a pretty cute female.


    "So that knight is a female." Grinning mischievously, Hestia states in a tone that suggests she knows exactly what I''m thinking. Is my expression that transparent?


    "But she''s a human. I''m not very interested in those." That''s not entirely true, considering now I know that even beings as powerful and colorful as the gods of Adanak are all humans who have some degree of access to the Imagination Engine''s powers. Tokomaha, Tahiri, and Korenga should be genetically human, even if their appearances and inherent abilities suggest otherwise. Technically, Aurelia also used to be human, though her body is now made of solid gold - while retaining the properties of a flesh and blood human somehow. If I make exceptions for those, I could do the same for any other human.


    "That is quite reassuring to know, Onee-sama." Even though she makes it sound like a joke, there is a hint of relief in her voice. She obviously doesn''t want me to add more members to my harem since it would mean less time I can spend with her. I can''t fault her for that, although we''ll have a lot of time together after this is all over.


    We walk across the courtyard, eyed by the Petsobek guards who wonder about Hestia and Dregana''s presence in the castle and make our way to the barracks, underneath which the dungeon is located. The interior is quite crude and undecorated compared to the main building where the king or queen lives, and it''s clear that this place isn''t meant to be seen by guests. Nilotec''s, Markor''s and Athilacia''s personal guards are stationed in here, and those with time off greet me by standing at attention. Some hastily put away their food or hide playing cards, thinking that it''s an impromptu inspection.


    "Your Highness! What brings you here?" The quartermaster, a crocodilian with a heavy scar running across his right eye, quickly comes forward and greets me with a salute. His good eye goes over the girl hanging onto my arm and the red-headed woman following closely behind us, but he doesn''t say a word about them.


    "I want to interrogate the Chosen Knight." I state my intention.


    "Yes, I shall lead you there right away." Nodding, he jogs back into his room and emerges with a ring of keys in his hand.


    With the Petsobek quartermaster as our guide, we go down a flight of stairs and enter a corridor with branching paths on either side. Judging by the temperature and dampness, this place is underground - or rather inside the bedrock part of the small floating island the castle is built on. I''m reminded of when I met Asoko for the first time, in that deep underground prison in the Khurut Sultanate.


    We walk all the way to the back of the corridor, then take a right and continue into the depths. This place is much smaller than the one under the holy building of the sultanate, but it seems that the prisoner was put into the cell the furthest away from the entrance. There are crude lamp crystals let into the walls, providing just barely enough light for one to see the path.


    Finally, after passing through several locked heavy wooden doors, we''re led to a cell next to which two Petsobek are standing guard. While I think that this security measure might be a little too lax for a Chosen Knight, I won''t point it out. They weren''t killed, and she didn''t escape, so everything is alright. Depending on how the interrogations go, I might even take her out of this cell and send her off with a message to the humans.


    "Hey, how are you doing Svanhild?" I activate my night vision to see into the completely dark cell, where she''s sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall in the back. Her armor has been taken from her, and she''s dressed only in undergarments. With disheveled hair and her head lowered, she makes for a quite miserable appearance, even though only one day has passed since her capture.


    "Svanhild?" Hestia''s voice sounds alarmed as she tries to peer into the darkness of the cell, and I hear Dregana stepping forward from behind me, too.


    "You know her?" I look at the angel girl, and she returns my gaze with an eyebrow raised.


    "You do not remember her?" She sounds somewhat unbelieving, but doesn''t blame me and explains instead. "We were in the same wind magic class at the academy. She was one of those who bullied me before you came."


    "Oh." Finally, I remember who she''s talking about, and I blink at the girl behind the bars, who stirs at our voices and looks up with hate-filled blue eyes.


    She''s Drills!

 Chapter 107 - Moving Ever-Forward

    "You''re Drills?" I speak out loud what I just thought. At that word, Hestia puts a hand over her mouth and turns away, suppressing a snort. Is calling Svanhild by the nickname of Drills that funny? It''s what her hair used to look like at the Royal Academy.


    "... you traitor!" Svanhild spits at Dregana and gets up, but is hindered by the chains around her ankles. Her expression is one of seething anger, as she regards her former teacher with hatred.


    "So, can you imagine what I came here to do?" I walk forward and press my body onto the steel bars of the prison cell. Under the utterly bewildered expressions of everybody present, I seemingly phase through them unhindered. In reality, I simply let my matter coil around the round bars and reform on the other side.


    "To bring me out for a public execution..." Although she is surprised by the casual display of my otherworldly body and inches back, she finds enough presence of mind to reply in a low tone.


    "That''s one of the potential outcomes of my visit, yes." Stepping right up to her fearlessly, I look down straight into her eyes. "Depending on how things go, you may get out of here alive though."


    "I see." Svanhild lowers her head, and her shoulders shake. I don''t for a second believe that she''s afraid, and prepare for the obvious attack that''s about to come. "Then I choose your death instead!"


    As expected, she throws a right hook into my solar plexus, but her fist is surrounded by whirlwind shaped like a drill. I let the attack hit me because my mind is occupied by the thought that she''s honoring her theme perfectly with that ability.


    But of course, it has no effect on me at all. Due to my body''s potential density even the force of Aorutihaua - without their Golden Shawl - is unable to harm me; what could a weak punch with some wind surrounding it do then?


    "Wha-" She utters in surprise and tries to draw back her hand, but I grab it quickly and pull her closer.


    "I''ll ignore this pathetic attempt, but make it your last." I whisper to her coldly. Then I let go, and she falls onto her bottom, staring up at me with fearful eyes. "What I want from you is information about the movements of the other Chosen Knights, as well as which gods are participating in the war."


    "Why should I-" She begins, but I interrupt her.


    "Guards, leave us." I order the two crocodilian guards outside the cell, and they immediately do as they''re told without question. They know first-hand how powerful I am, and that I don''t need protecting. "Why should you tell me everything you know?"


    "Because you will torture me?" Asking in an almost meek tone, realizing that her situation may be worse than she thought.


    "Because I will tell you everything I know." With these words, I turn around and unlock the cell door by creating a key from my finger. "Come in here and make yourselves comfortable. This is going to take a while."


    Waving Hestia and Dregana into the cell, I sit down on a mass of tentacles sprouting from my backside, before extending two of the tentacles to create two normal chairs. The dragonkin frowns at my display and is reluctant to sit down, but Hestia does so without hesitation. She has seen most of my true form already - and she has enjoyed being embraced by it greatly - so there wouldn''t even be any apprehension if I had told her to sit on a chair made of tentacles. That actually gives me an idea, but I file it away in my mind for later.


    Svanhild looks disgusted, as she retreats from me. It''s to be expected, but I don''t care about her opinion at all.


    "Now, where should I begin?"


    "And that''s that." When I finish the history lesson and look between the people present, I find that they each have a different expression on their face. Hestia must be having an existential crisis at the realization that her race, and in extension she herself, was created on a whim. Dregana is skeptical, but mostly because she doesn''t take all my words at face value just yet; it does sound too outlandish to be true for a person who was naturally born into this world.


    Svanhild is staring at me like I just told a stupid joke. It''s quite obvious that she doesn''t believe a word I said, but I can tell that she''s forcing herself to think that way. A hint of doubt appears in her eyes as she looks at Hestia, who has swallowed everything without questioning it.


    "What was the point of telling me this?" Her aggression has subsided considerably, and she asks in a resigned manner. Maybe she''s really thinking that I''m crazy enough to believe my own story and is pitying me.


    "The Old Humans are deceiving everyone. I will put an end to those remnants of a past age and return control over destiny to the hands of the people." I maintain a serious tone and state my intentions. It''s only half the truth; my main goal is revenge for my mother, with my secondary goal being to end the war between humans and demons. Only after that am I thinking of the free will of the people who have been treated as toys by the self-proclaimed gods for two thousand years.


    "And you think I believe you?" Svanhild''s expression grows increasingly impatient again when she remembers what I want from her.


    "I know you believe me. Deep down in your heart, you already considered it yourself." That''s obviously something I can''t know, but it''s watering the seed of doubt I''m seeing in her eyes. "Who did you get your power from?"


    "Why should I-" She begins again, but I interrupt her.


    "Come on. Not like that''s going to make a difference now, is it?" I gesture at the situation she''s in.


    "The Lord of the Sky, Zenlith." Pressing out between her teeth, Svanhild lowers her eyes.


    "It goes something like this, right?" I raise my forearm and summon a whirlwind shaped like a drill around it with a simple thought. Since I''ve been using wind magic the most out of all elements, and because I''ve seen Drills activate it several times, I have a pretty good grasp on how it works.


    "How?!" With a surprised shout, she stares at the whirlwind before I dispel it.


    "Because of the Imagination Engine." I turn to Hestia, who must have made peace with the world and herself just now and is no longer confused by my revelations. "You try it."


    Wordlessly, the angel girl raises her hand, and soon a breeze starts up around it, which spins slightly. Of course, I don''t expect her to achieve the mastery that Svanhild most likely spent a long time to attain, but it''s proof for my story. It would be easier to bring Tahiri here and have her show off the abilities that Zenlith is known for, but it might not be necessary anymore.


    "I spent... so much time... learning it from Lord Zenlith..." Svanhild holds her head and mutters as if what just happened has shattered her sense of self.


    Really though, did she think that creating a shredding whirlwind was some kind of incredible and unique power? Compared to that, Colart and Folke''s abilities are much more powerful - especially when they work together. Just the latter alone could be really difficult to deal with for normal humans and demons.


    "I can teach you." I lower myself to the blonde and lift her chin so that she looks up at me. "Join me."


    "Yeah, I obviously didn''t think it would be this easy to convince her." I shrug, as we leave the barracks. Svanhild bit the hand I lifted her chin up with like a mad dog, although she broke all her front teeth in doing so. Even when I restored her to her previous beauty, she didn''t trust me at all and refused to give me any information or even join me.


    Well, I''ll keep trying, though I won''t give her too many more chances. Getting information on the other Chosen Knights and the Old Humans is not an absolute necessity. Ultimately, I want to lure the human army into one huge confrontation in which I can kill their beloved gods before their eyes, and expose the disappointing truth of this world.


    "Onee-sama, can you teach me how to use this Imagination Engine?" Hestia nestles up to me and asks with upturned eyes. I would have done it anyway even if she didn''t ask, because all those important to me should have a way to defend themselves in case the Old Humans attacked them. While I think that not even Tahiri would be able to defeat her counterpart if he got completely serious, it''s better than nothing.


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    "Yes, I will start with your training tomorrow." Caressing her cheek with a suggestive smile, I continue. "Tonight we''ll be doing something else."


    Upon these words, Hestia''s face reddens as she understands my intention immediately. But there is not a hint of embarrassment in her eyes, as she licks her lips and breathes out hotly in anticipation.


    "I am looking forward to it, Onee-sama." She replies unhesitatingly, disregarding all the people within earshot - mainly Dregana and the castle guards. The former is very obviously frowning in my direction, though she should be aware that we''ve done it before; the latter tactfully act as if they didn''t hear a thing.


    We walk up the stairs and towards the dining hall, where the others should be having dinner already. Telling the history of this world took a lot of time, and the sun was about to set when we came out of the barracks. Right now the glowing disc is touching the horizon, and its reddish light basks the scenery in a warm tone.


    Stopping to look out the windows and regard the city, where many lights have been turned on, and the streets are bustling with activity, I feel contentment in my heart - knowing that it won''t last very long. I''ll have to head out and face the Old Humans soon, and then there''s still the matter of finding a way to coexist with the humans - or subjugating them if there is none.


    So I''ll enjoy this moment of peace for as long as it lasts.


    During dinner, Hestia never left my side, much to the chagrin of Tokomaha, who has returned from the city with Tahiri. When I explained the situation to her, she frowned, but didn''t say anything else and simply plopped down on my lap. Senka was nowhere to be seen, so that seat was empty. Maybe the doll girl saw this situation coming and created this opportunity on purpose.


    I really enjoyed my time, smelling the little goddess'' fragrant leaf hair and feeling her soft body leaning against me. Hestia would lean in on my arm and purposefully let me feel her large chest while insisting on feeding me. With Aurelia sitting on my other side and all the maids attending to me, I presented the perfect picture of a harem protagonist.


    When we finished, everybody left for their rooms, and I had a maid show Dregana to one just for her. Only Hestia remained with me, as even Tokomaha understood that my priority tonight lay elsewhere. We quickly went to my room and locked the door behind ourselves, giggling like children before a prank.


    I let the bath water in and undid the clothes I created from my own body, while Hestia slid out of her dress. As I saw her pure white skin in all its naked glory I felt my breath stop for a moment; I had sorely missed this sight. Extending my hands toward her, I feel my hands itch at the thought of what''s to come.


    "Alas, I won''t show that to you here." Senka shrugs and flips over two pages of the flipchart.


    "Wait, why did you build up the anticipation like that just to let everyone down?" I complain, not expecting a proper answer. But she fixes her large blue eyes on me and replies with a completely serious expression.


    "Because we have more important things to do than showing that kind of thing right now." The doll girl uses a pointing stick to underline the title on the flipchart. It reads ''Visualization'', with various bullet points underneath it. "You were the one who asked me to help you in this class."


    My entourage, as well as Dregana and all the maids, are sitting in the room like a school class, while Senka and I are standing at the front as teachers. This is a lesson on how to use the Imagination Engine to at least improve their innate abilities so that they don''t require incantations anymore.


    I made the maids attend because they are supposed to be the elite forces directly under the demon lord''s command. And I heard from Senka that they were defeated by the humans who infiltrated the castle that day my mother was killed. I can''t have that happen again, even though I personally don''t need their protection.


    "Alright..." I stand down, seeing as the attendees of the class don''t seem to mind the doll girl skipping a part that I feel would have been well-received, albeit maybe unnecessary to maintain context.


    "So, next up is ''Visualization'', and how to employ it to improve your magic." Continuing without lingering on our short exchange, Senka gestures at the first bullet point. "Having a vision is key."


    It reminds me of my time on the moon with Aurelia. Juzual made the golden girl teach me visualization, saying that it was the key to unlocking my potential in magic. Back then I didn''t fully understand its importance since I was still under the impression that magic was real. Now I know that magic has moved up an order because of the Imagination Engine; what used to be considered magic has just become something achievable through science, while real magic lies beyond that.


    One example would be my body. To science, the infinite space inside me is nothing short of magic. Same for its complete disregard for the laws of physics, which the Imagination Engine still follows, when I store away matter so that it doesn''t affect the outside world. If I were bound to the law of conservation of mass, my current form would probably be heavier than the floating rock this castle is built on.


    "Each of you has magic unique to your clan." Senka begins and gestures at Amerega for a prime example. The frog maid blinks her round eyes and brings a bulbous fingertip to her chin in a thoughtful expression. "You cast your magic instinctively, without much thought."


    "Some of your spells are the results of your line of ancestry. Others came about because of culture and society." I rejoin the topic and add to the explanation. Several demons that are one of a kind appear on the Demon Continent each year. Their memories of being created by Alverost must have been altered so that they believe they somehow came into existence naturally.


    "Others have the natural mental inclination. It''s what decides the so-called ''affinity'' for the elements." Shaking her head, the doll girl takes back over. "Even though there are no such things as elements, and everybody should have the potential to do anything."


    A murmur runs through the class at her words, and I see many confused expressions. Senka and I had agreed on not telling the maids the truth of this world just yet since it would be too much to process right away, but she just took a step in the wrong direction.


    "What she means is that affinities being inborn and unchangeable is a myth. Anyone can learn any element with the right mindset." I quickly backpedal on the doll girl''s thoughtless statement, and I see understanding pop up in everybody''s faces. Hestia and Dregana have been warned to stay quiet about what I told them in the prison cell, so they silently listen while thinking their part. "We''ll take a lunch break and meet back in the courtyard to do some real training there."


    "We did it, Your Highness!" More and more maids call out to me when they become able to use magic of an affinity they thought they did not possess before. Furthermore, they have learned to abandon the notion of requiring a catalyst - another lie the Old Humans ingrained into everybody.


    "Why aren''t you able to cast magic?" I turn to Senka, who''s watching the students'' progress silently. "Didn''t you say you used to be human?"


    "Because I''m not from this world." She replies quietly without averting her eyes from the training maids.


    "Neither am I." I mutter, but she shakes her head and looks up at me with a strangely sad smile.


    "No, this is your world." That''s all she says, before turning away again. Does she mean this has become my world now? I know that I was reincarnated into this Crawling Chaos body and that there is most likely not a place for me to return to. So I guess in a way, yes, this is my world.


    "Your Highness, Lady Chandra is asking for You." A bakari messenger comes up to me and kneels. He resembles Markor, like all his male clan members do, but is of slightly smaller stature.


    "So she has decided to depart, huh?" It''s a rhetorical question because I know that her army has finished resting and is ready to move again after the forced march back to Arkaim. "Tell her that I''m on my way."


    "As You wish, Your Highness." Lowering his head to acknowledge my order, the messenger departs to fulfill it.


    "I''ll leave this class to you then. Don''t teach them too many strange things." Patting Senka''s hat, I grin at her.


    "When you come back, they''ll be ready to overthrow you." Looking up at me with an evil grin that splits her cheeks all the way up to the molars, the doll girl replies in the tone of a megalomaniac.


    "Yes yes, I''m looking forward to that." Waving at her as I walk away, I signal for Hestia and Dregana to stay behind, before making my way toward the single large tree in the middle of the courtyard. The gods of Adanak are sitting in its shade and dozing off.


    I look at the cute sleeping face of Tokomaha, as she lies curled up in the grass, her hair blending in perfectly with her surroundings. Korenga is leaning against the tree with her arms crossed, unexpectedly not snoring. Tahiri is the only one who is still awake, as she plays with the flowing white hair of her daughter, Aratio, who''s resting her head in her mother''s lap. Unfortunately, I have to disturb this idyllic image, because I need one of them.


    "[Korenga, wake up.]" I put a hand on the Black God''s shoulder and shake her lightly. She opens her eyes and looks up at me, not a hint of wariness or surprise in her features. In fact, it looks like she has found peace, as her eyes seem to have regained the life that I had been missing in them since I first met her. It surprises me so thoroughly that I forget to speak.


    "[What is it, Chaos?]" She asks with a gentle smile, and I''m pulled out of the moment. There''s a twinge in my heart when I think about what I have to tell her next.


    "[Come with me. I''d like you to go to Erbilan with Chandra, and defend the city against the human attack that will happen there soon.]" Almost reluctantly, I explain the reason for disturbing her. I came to this decision after discussing my concerns about the difficulties of this war with Senka. She was the one to suggest splitting up my forces, because each one of us amounts to an entire army, and keeping us all in one place would be a waste of resources.


    "[Oh, some action again?]" The gentle and peaceful Korenga is instantly replaced by her usual self, as her eyes lose their light. Instead, I see bloodlust in them as I have so often. "[Just point me in the right direction.]"


    "[I''m sorry...]" I mutter quietly to myself, but she overhears it.


    "[Don''t be. I understand.]" She rises to her feet and pats my head. I feel my breath getting stuck in my throat at her expression and suppress tears from welling up as I look down. "[I''m the Black God. What am I without the fight?]"


    At that moment, I swore to myself that I would return the light to her life and let nothing disturb it again. But for the time being, I need her dark and unbridled side - the side that can never find peace.


    "[Yes, for the time being...]" Looking up at Korenga, I speak with determination. "[Let''s go.]"

 Chapter 108 - Sending a Message

    Watching from atop the western gatehouse as the army under Chandra sets off, I stare at the back of Korenga, as she walks side by side with the Ajura clan leader. They are on their way to reinforce Erbilan, the gateway to the Herelier desert, where many key cities of the Dominion - including the capital - are located.


    If there were a fast information network in this world, I alone would be enough to defend the entire continent. But messages are carried by birds or winged demons, which require a day for a distance that takes me a minute. While I can''t be everywhere at the same time, I can be everywhere very quickly, and the only ones who could coordinate a simultaneous attack across such vast distances are the Old Humans - meaning I would be able to encounter them then.


    Seeing Korenga off with a heavy heart, I return to the castle to continue training the maids. And as expected, my mind is too occupied with the fate of my people to fantasize about the actual kind of training I''d prefer to conduct with them. The sooner they become more powerful, the sooner I can leave the city in their hands to start the counteroffensive against the human invasion.


    As I fly back up towards the floating castle, I hear voices call out to me from the ground. Despite having fought such a hard battle just two days ago, the citizens of Arkaim have regained their vigor and optimism due to my speech and my continued presence. For their sake, I can''t be feeling down about the Black God''s situation. Waving back at them with a smile, I hear many people cheer.


    Suddenly, I have a thought.


    "Senka, you said Vitalis was in Pontis Daemonis, right?" Addressing the doll girl through our mental connection, I want to confirm what I should already know.


    "Yes. What about it?" I can see the image of her raising an eyebrow at my question.


    "Can you contact her and ask if any demons are being held there?" Not for one second do I think I can let my intentions slip by Senka, but I try to sound as casual as possible.


    "What would you do if there are?" She''s obviously skeptical about my sudden interest in the human bridgehead on the Demon Continent.


    "Nothing, really." Shrugging, I ascend over the castle walls, from which the guards look up at me in wonder - after all, I''m flying without wings, and they will most likely never get used to it.


    "Then why are you even asking." Senka''s response makes me picture her pouting face in my mind. I immediately shoot down into the courtyard and land in front of her, before sweeping her off her feet.


    "Come on, help me out here~" I kiss her cheek and hug her tightly. She''s just too cute!


    "You''re going to fly off and do something stupid then, aren''t you?" She shows an irritated look on her face but doesn''t struggle against my embrace. "So I won''t."


    "No, if there are demon prisoners, I won''t do anything." Placing Senka on her feet, I look into her eyes with a serious expression. "But if there aren''t, tell Vitalis to evacuate that place."


    "... what are you planning?" Furrowing her eyebrows, the doll girl looks up at me with a skeptical look.


    "I''m going to send them a message."


    Others Side


    Pontis Daemonis was established by Emperor Lucianus IV, who used it as the bridgehead for the campaign against Demon King Aldeath, as his forces had been weakened after the incident with the Primordial Crawling Chaos. Even after the emperor''s death at the hands of Queen Pelomyx, the Empire of Terminus continued to hold the city against many attempts to take it for the Dominion.


    After the demon queen was vanquished last year, the coastal fortress city has once again become the staging ground for the human invasion of the Demon Continent. It houses more than a hundred thousand soldiers at a time, with all the necessary facilities such as a vast granary, smithies, and stables.


    Now that the invasion has progressed to the point where the demon armies are being pushed back on all fronts, many question the necessity to maintain such a large garrison. The upper echelons propagate the idea that it is a display of the empire''s overwhelming resources, to be able to keep so many soldiers out of the war effort to hold a city that would only be of strategic value if they were conducting a general retreat from the Demon Continent.


    The governor of Pontis Daemonis is Second Prince Saturio, rumored favorite son of Emperor Lucianus V. His older brother, the Crown Prince, is known to be a spendthrift who loses himself in poetry and women - a blemish on the family''s name. On the other hand, Saturio is known to be a capable military commander despite his young age and is lauded as a genius with the sword. Some even say that he would surpass his father in due time.


    Fourth Prince Hector, on the surface equally capable but prone to cowardice when under pressure, had been tasked with leading a secret army to take the capital of the demons by surprise. At the same time, the forces across the entire continent would advance on the cities before them simultaneously and overwhelm the demon high command - which has shown itself steadfast in their defenses from the very start.


    If the capital falls to Hector, that would be the end of it. But even if it can withstand a prolonged siege, no reinforcements will come for them as many other cities will have their hands full being besieged.


    At such an important time, Saturio felt that the political maneuvering of the nobles supporting Hector and the Crown Prince has negatively impacted the empire''s war effort. Keeping him so far away from the action where he could have been making a big difference with his capabilities is pure folly.


    But his diligence is not diminished by the easy task of training the troops and maintaining a steady flow of supplies to the front lines, as he views it as important as leading the troops, if not more important. While it may not require someone of his overall brilliance, none would argue that he is less suited for governance than he is for warfare.


    "I have finished looking over the documents and have made some adjustments to the distribution of grain among the troops based on their projected routes." Saturio leans back in his chair and gestures at the stack of papers to his right. He is left-handed, which has earned him some scorn behind his back during the time he was learning fencing, but due to his position, nobody would ever dare to say it out loud.


    The aide quickly picks up the stack and leaves the room, to deliver them to the corresponding offices. Sighing, the second prince stands up and walks out onto the balcony, to look over the city. With paved roads and neatly arranged buildings, it exemplifies the architectural ingenuity of the Empire of Terminus, as much as it remains a monument to his grandfather''s strategic acumen.


    Located on a river delta island connected to the mainland only by two drawbridges on either of its sides, it remains an impenetrable fortress. The superior navy of the empire can easily defend the city from the river, and due to the extensive shores, they can land troops for large army stagings.


    Saturio shades his eyes against the strong afternoon sun and regards the city with pride. Then he hears concerned voices grow louder in the courtyard and looks down to see people pointing to the sky. He lets his gaze wander up to see what they are talking about, and when he spots it, his eyes widen in bewilderment.


    There are two suns in the sky. Neither loses to the other in brightness, and for a moment the Second Prince''s mind tries to process the phenomenon his senses are picking up. Then a new notion occupies his thoughts and soon wipes away all others.


    One of the suns is growing bigger - or coming closer.


    Chaos Side


    "That''s taken care of." I look down at the huge crater filled with molten slag where Pontis Daemonis - and the surrounding land - used to be. "Now, where is Vitalis?"


    "You''re a madwoman; you know that?" Senka''s spirit form is floating next to me, and she''s looking down at my handiwork with a frown. "What happened to not exterminating them all?"


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    "That was a message. Even if Zenlith ran back and told all the other Old Humans, the empire most likely doesn''t know about my return, yet." I look across the landscape to see whether any humans escaped the calamity or not and spot a patrol of half a dozen horsemen galloping towards the top of the hill after hearing the explosion. They most likely saw the massive plasma ball falling, too. "Watch this."


    Dropping out of the sky right in front of them, I look at the humans as if they were mere insects. The horses buck in shock, and their riders try their best to control them.


    "Hear me, humans." I create a second throat to achieve a minimally delayed, deeper echo of my words that gives me an otherworldly voice - without going all out and doing it Crawling Chaos-style. Paired with my armored form in the Chaos Warhead mode, it should have enough of an impact. "I have eradicated Pontis Daemonis from the map. Let your emperor know that the same will happen with every single human city in this world if you do not withdraw all the soldiers from the Demon Continent within one moon."


    Suddenly, one of the riders shoots an arrow at me. I purposefully turn my head towards its flight path and let it hit my eye. Harmlessly bouncing off of the reinforced eyeball, it falls onto the paved road with a clattering sound. Unblinking, I let my gaze rest on the man with the bow, whose expression shows unbelieving fear.


    "Pray to your gods that your emperor listens to my gracious proposal." Rising into the air slightly, I look down on them with a cold glare while gesturing behind me. "If he does not, you will return to your homeland to find a wasteland of craters just like this one."


    Leaving the terrified riders behind, I fly up into the sky and undo the dragon armor transformation. At this point, I don''t even need an aerodynamic shape to travel at Mach speeds since I can just imagine a shaped barrier around myself instead.


    "What do you think?" I grin at Senka, who looks away, clearly suggesting that she knows my announcement to those soldiers just now was very effective. "So, where''s Vitalis?"


    "She went up the river and is waiting over there." Pointing towards the east, upstream from the delta I just turned into an almost perfectly circular bay, she replies with a thoughtful expression.


    I follow the river and keep an eye on both banks until I finally spot a blue-skinned person. Rather than blue-skinned, her body is made of almost completely translucent bluish liquid. She seems to spot me, most likely because Senka told her about my approach, and waves up at me with both her hands while jumping up and down. Each time she lands, a little bit of her matter splashes from her and quickly rolls back to rejoin the whole.


    "Onee-sama!" Vitalis calls out to me, and I feel like an arrow just went through my head. I''m seriously questioning my sanity when I let everyone call me that in my academy days...


    "There you are." I land before the slime girl and look her up and down. It seems like she has gained a bit of size, especially in the areas that make her look more mature. She''s also completely naked, most likely because she was spending all her time in the pipes and drainage system of Pontis Daemonis to spy on the humans.


    But it''s too dangerous for her to keep doing that, now that the Old Humans know I have returned. I''m sure they knew she was spying on them and just ignored her - most likely fully aware of the fact that she''s connected to me. Once they become aware of me being a threat, they''ll look for anything they could use against me, including hostages.


    "I missed you so much!" While I expected her to jump at me and hug me tightly, she holds herself back from doing so. Our relationship never progressed anywhere because it was cut short, but I''m sure she would have become my girl as well sooner or later. We can still catch up on it, but for now, she''s still reserved.


    "Thank you for helping me back then, Vitalis." I recall when she came to my aid when I was caught in the gravity trap, and the surrounding mages were about to pummel me with powerful spells. She was able to delay them long enough that I could escape but almost died for doing so.


    "I-it was only natural for me to do so, Onee-sama." She sounds nervous as her eyes swim all over the place. I guess seeing me after so long reignited the flame in her heart.


    "Come, let''s go home." I spread my arms, and she looks at me in surprise. Bubbles rise up from inside her chest, travel through her neck all the way up to the top of her head where they come up to the surface and burst audibly. Is that her way of blushing?


    "H-how will we get back to Arkaim?" She cups her cheeks and looks embarrassed because she clearly knows how. I remember that Senka told me slimes reproduce by having their partner incorporate them into their bodies and mixing some parts, before expelling them again. When I took her inside my body for easier transport back in the academy, I essentially had sex with her.


    "Like last time." With a grin, I embrace her and let her slowly sink into my body. Bubbles continuously burst from the top of her head, and I fear that she might be boiling, but it just seems to be a natural reaction rather than because she''s actually heating up.


    Once she''s all the way inside me, I take off and gain altitude, before instantly jumping to hypersonic speeds to return to the capital.


    "I''m back!" Scooping Senka up into my arms in the courtyard, where she''s still training with the maids, I cuddle her and squeeze her to my chest.


    "Those are evil!" She slaps my boobs with an annoyed expression.


    "Ahn! Not so hard!" I act like it both hurt and aroused me, and press my face against the doll girl''s.


    "Shouldn''t you let Vitalis out?" Pressing out through my smothering embrace, Senka reminds me of a pretty important issue. Well, I did put her in an isolated and watertight partition, so she shouldn''t have melted. Although I can''t guarantee that she wasn''t affected by my corruption.


    "Wait... explain corruption to me." Putting Senka down again, I turn serious.


    I know that Alverost and the other gods somehow added this so-called corruption aura that all demons possess, which causes mutations in humans and animals. But they didn''t create my mother or me, and we still have it. And it couldn''t be like the tribal magic that some demons are born with, because I''m only the third generation, and even the first generation, the Primordial Crawling Chaos, had it.


    "I told you that you''re a Cosmic Horror." Senka begins, and I nod. "Your kind has a maddening aura that affects all living beings. Alverost and the other Old Humans were inspired by that and modeled the demonic corruption based on your aura."


    "What is this about maddening aura?" Hestia peeks around me and asks. Luckily it wasn''t one of the maids; it would have been too early for them to learn their origins.


    "Not too important." I deflect the question and turn to look at the maids training in the gravel-covered courtyard. This maddening aura is beneficial to demons because Alverost programmed theirs to be similar? Well, it''s not like that can be changed at this point since it''s been added to their very genetic templates.


    "Melting..." Senka mutters to remind me of the pressing matter.


    "Bring me a large wooden tub." I order the two closest maids, and they quickly leave to fulfill the task.


    "Well, this looks awful." Looking down at the contents of the tub, the doll girl comments with a disgusted expression.


    Vitalis has completely melted and is bubbling all on her own. Even though I made sure not to get mixed with her, she still ended up this way, so I guess it must be the effect of my corruption aura. There''s nothing I can do about that.


    "Is that Vitalis?" Hestia should remember that night I came back from the library with the slime girl inside me, and how she splattered all over the floor when I pulled her out again. Maybe it''s been so long that she forgot what I considered to be quite the memorable event.


    "Yeah, I went to Pontis Daemonis just now and picked her up from there." I explain, and everybody looks at me in surprise.


    "Did you not leave just a little while ago?" The angel girl is the one who asks what all the maids must be thinking. "How did you-"


    "That''s a secret." I place a finger on her lip and smile. Several of the maids look at me with dreamy expressions, while Hestia blushes at my gesture. Does what I just did warrant such a reaction? "In either case, I''ve erased Pontis Daemonis from the map."


    At these words, I hear gasps from the crowd around me, while others blink in bewilderment. I''m sure some of them must have seen me annihilate swathes of enemies with plasma balls during the siege; is it that farfetched to think I can''t do the same on the scale of a whole city?


    "J-just like that?" One of the maids asks, almost fearfully.


    "Yes, just like that." Winking at the maid in question, I reply with a casual smile. Then I become serious as I glance at Rewera, who is standing further back. "It was a message to the humans as well as the gods."


    I know that what I did doesn''t hurt the Old Humans at all. At the same time, they could easily do the same with any demon city, and it would hurt me to know that so many lives were lost because of my declaration of war. While it would mean that they are abandoning their millennia-long game, I doubt they''d let that get in their way of bringing me down. But then I could at least meet them all in a serious confrontation.


    "You''re thinking that the gods could do the same to the cities of the Dominion, aren''t you?" Senka basically read my mind and speaks to me telepathically. A glint in her eyes suggests reproach; I should have thought about the consequences before doing what I did. That also explains why she called me mad back there.


    "Yes and I''m trying to-" I begin to reply, but she interrupts me.


    "You can''t really do anything if they were to go all out in eradicating demonkind because of this." Cutting me off in a pretty serious tone, the doll girl looks at Vitalis slowly reforming in the tub.


    "... tell me what I can do." I''d like to believe that I have grown ever since the many errors that led to my banishment to the moon and indirectly the death of my mother, but it seems I still act too rashly sometimes. At least now I know to ask for help instead of doing it alone.


    "Get one of those Old Humans to help you." She responds in my mind while speaking out loud to the maids, telling them to return to their exercises. "Go find Exla."

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    EDIT: Somebody pointed out that I do hyperlinks instead of plain links, so people might think there''s nothing to click. I''ll mark it this way from now on, for the extra deathbricks-like people.


    EDIT2: I failed to make the link permanent. Now it should work forever.

 Chapter 109 - Guardian of the Soil

    "You want me to ask one of those who killed my mother for help?!" Turning to Senka, I raise my voice angrily. Everyone stops what they are doing and stare at me with baffled expressions, but I ignore them.


    "I guess you haven''t been paying attention in mythology class." The doll girl stays calm and responds without looking at me. She gestures for the maids to return to the center of the courtyard, and they reluctantly do as they are told while stealing glances at me.


    "What do you mean by that?" Forcing myself to calm down, I''ll see what she has to say. I doubt she would be so tactless as to suggest trying to team up with one of those responsible for the death of my mother - and everything going on between the humans and demons.


    "Exla is the sister of Zenlith." Senka proceeds to explain, finally turning to look up at me with her large blue eyes. I shrink a little under her piercing gaze, as she is silently reproaching me for my flare of emotions. "They''ve had a really bad fight."


    "Would she really help me though?" I''m skeptical because she must surely know that I''m kind of an enemy to all life on this planet. "Even if she had a fight with her brother, he''s still her family. I could never imagine wanting to kill someone from my family, no matter how bad of an argument we had."


    "Don''t slack off now!" She calls out to Hestia and Dregana, who are at the very front and have been trying to eavesdrop on our conversation while acting like they''re practicing magic. "Let''s continue this inside... You should know the personalities of these self-proclaimed gods. They are children thinking in immature absolutes."


    The second half was spoken through telepathy, and my lips curl into a smile at the thought that she changed over so casually, while at the same time gesturing at the maids to continue their training.


    "So, where can I find Exla?" I sit down on a chair made from my tentacles and act like I''m watching the maids while responding to Senka in my mind.


    "Well, judging by what you told me about your short time on the Dark Continent, you''ve seen her already." The doll girl crosses her arms and peers across the courtyard, where various kinds of spells fly into the sky and dissipate moments later. It''s like a fireworks display.


    "... the cloud?" Suppressing my urge to turn around and speak out loud, I look up into the sky instead. I fell through it - or into it - when I came back from the moon, then there was a booming voice and tendrils of fog threw me out into the open. "That was Exla?"


    "Yeah, she''s known as the Guardian of the Soil, but there''s not really anything about her that makes her an earth god. The guardian part is true though since she''s keeping her garden safe."


    "The Dark Continent is her garden?"


    "You encountered the living machines, didn''t you? Those are one of the last remnants of the past age. Several wild animal species only exist over there, and Exla is their gamekeeper."


    "So am I right in the assumption that she doesn''t care about the world outside that place?" Scratching my chin, I lean back in my tentacle chair and look at the goddesses under the tree. Tokomaha is still asleep, and Tahiri has dozed off as well, while Aratio has disappeared to somewhere.


    "She at least hasn''t for the past thousand and a half years. She hasn''t even left that continent in all that time." It sounds like Senka is thinking of her as a shut-in, and at the scale that these Old Humans operate in, calling an entire continent a place where someone shuts herself away on may even be appropriate.


    "Then I''ll go, I guess." Standing up and speaking out loud - enough for Hestia to hear me - I look down at the doll girl, who meets my gaze.


    "Now?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.


    "Yeah, when else? Best not to waste any time." I''ll take Tahiri with me since she''s the only one who can keep up with me in terms of speed by turning into lightning. "Can you stay connected to me when I''m over on the Dark Continent?"


    "No, I''ll need to travel about halfway over there." Senka shrugs, but her expression tells me that she knows what I have in mind.


    "Stay here, Hestia. I need you to relay through Senka if anything happens during my absence." I address the angel girl, who looks like she wants to come along. Even if she can fly, it''s nowhere near the speed of a dragon, let alone the Chaos Warhead. She would only slow me down, and a trip that might take only a few hours would end up becoming a week-long journey.


    "Thanks for asking whether I want to make the trip right now or not." Pouting a little, the doll girl turns her head away with a sour expression.


    "I know you want to. Since you get to be very close to me for a while." Lifting her up, I cuddle her tightly.


    "Stop that! Isn''t that showing off?!" Pushing herself away from my breasts, she shouts in irritation. Even though she says she''s an immortal, her heart is still a young girl''s, who understands that she will never grow bigger; she will never look down to see a chest like mine on herself. "Keep those damned things away from me!"


    She moves to slap them again, but I quickly hold her at arm''s length. Since she''s so much smaller than me, her short arms can''t reach me at all. Then I press her against my chest again, before letting her sink into my body. She doesn''t struggle and lets it happen, but clearly annoyed that I didn''t give her a warning first.


    "You can keep training for a while longer. Rewera, you will decide when everybody should return to their duties." I call out to the giant maid, who has been overseeing everything without taking part in the class herself.


    "I understand, Chaos-sama." She replies with a bow and moves to the place where Senka had been standing in until now.


    With that out of the way, I go over to the tree under which the two goddesses are lying next to each other. As I approach, Tokomaha''s ear twitches and she wakes up to look at me sleepily while yawning like a cat. A shudder runs through her body, and her leaf hair rustles audibly as if a breeze blew through it.


    "[Hm, where did Korenga go?]" She asks while looking around.


    "[She left to reinforce another city.]" I''m reminded of how I broke her peace with my request, and suppress a frown. There will come a time when I can create a place in this world for her. "[You can go back to sleep, Tokomaha. I need Tahiri for this next one.]"


    "[What do you need me for?]" The God of Storm seems to have awakened, and asks with a smile. She sounds really relaxed, so I feel bad for making her go all-out right after a nap. But I''d rather not meet with one of those Old Humans alone - even if I could most likely beat one if it''s a duel.


    And out of all the people here, she''s the most powerful in both offense and defense, when it comes to facing an opponent who can turn a person''s body into mist with a simple gesture. While Korenga is most likely able to survive anything physical thrown at her, I''m sure she can''t reform from being scattered into a million pieces. Tokomaha, Aurelia, and especially Hestia would stand no chance.


    "[We''re going to talk to one of those self-proclaimed gods. I''d feel safer if you came with me.]" Speaking the truth, I return her smile with one of my own. It''s to signal that I trust her with my life.


    "[Even though I couldn''t do anything against the last one?]" Tahiri floats up into the air lazily with an easygoing expression. While her words would suggest frustration at the fact that despite being one of the most powerful gods of Adanak she can''t do anything here, her face doesn''t show any of that. I know I wouldn''t be able to remain so calm when asked to meet another one of those actually godlike gods.


    "[That last one was special.]" Saying this is more to ease my mind rather than hers. Even though the pantheons supposedly don''t have ranks, humans consider Zenlith the chief god. I''d rather believe he''s far more powerful than any of the others, or I don''t see any way of defeating them.


    And we''re going to meet his sister now.


    "[If you say so.]" With a shrug, the God of Storm concludes the exchange. "[Let''s go then. Lead the way.]"


    "[Try to keep up with me.]" I grin at her as we both float up into the sky. While I say that, I''m sure lightning is faster than whatever speed I traveled at when I went to Pontis Daemonis earlier. She''ll have to slow down for my sake.


    When we gain enough altitude, I ask Senka for directions and to tell me where to let her off so that I can remain in contact with Hestia through her. Once I get my bearings, I signal for Tahiri to follow me, and shoot off towards the horizon at many times the speed of sound.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Within less than ten minutes of flying at hypersonic speeds - crossing an ocean at one point - I reach a new landmass that Senka identifies as the Dark Continent for me. Last time I was here, I had been dropped off by Juzual and even had a brush with Exla without realizing it. Before that, I had been teleported here by accident, even though I was supposed to be sent elsewhere.


    I come to a stop and look across the vast landscape opening up before me. How long will it take for me to find the giant cloud? While it''s quite big, it still just resembles a cloud from afar.


    Next to me, a lightning bolt strikes thin air and Tahiri emerges from it in her thundercloud appearance. The tattoos that are usually invisible on her white skin now glow brightly like lightning flashing through dark clouds. Her hair crackles and electricity arcs towards me, licking across my skin without causing any damage; I''ve been completely immune to it for a long time now.


    "This is quite the large area. How will we find her?" I ask Senka in my mind. We stopped about halfway here and dropped her off near a small village. I made sure that the place wasn''t in imminent danger of being attacked by a human army, and she told me she wouldn''t meet anyone and just wait where I placed her.


    "You''ll have to think of something yourself. I could have helped out if I were there, but you wouldn''t want to lose contact with the capital, would you?" She replies, making me realize once again that I still haven''t gotten a good grasp on the doll girl''s abilities. We never fought side by side before, though judging by her ninja-like ability to vanish into darkness, she must be more of an assassin type than someone made for straightforward combat.


    Maybe if I cause a ruckus, Exla will come to find me. But then she''d most likely try to kill me or at least throw me off the continent. That would be a bad start when I want to ask for her help in defeating the other Old Humans.


    "Wait, if Zenlith and Exla had a fight..." I suddenly think of something and turn to look at Tahiri. "[Can I trouble you to create a storm again?]"


    "[Who do you think you''re talking to?]" The God of Storm responds with a grin. Well, her title says it all.


    "[Then follow me, we''ll do it deeper inland.]" With these words, I shoot off again, expecting Tahiri to keep up with me in lightning form easily. While I can''t see her when traveling at such a high velocity, she''s been able to follow me since we left the capital. When I think about it, she''s really powerful, isn''t she?


    Coming to a stop above a vast forest growing on rolling hills and small mountains, I look around to see whether Exla might be somewhere nearby. But considering the area I can cover with my vision is quite small, it would have been a real stroke of luck if I could have spotted her. Even though she''s gigantic, easily towering over mountains that must be at least a thousand or so meters tall, it''s still an insignificant size compared to an entire continent.


    "[Here is fine.]" I say after Tahiri arrives, and she immediately increases her altitude to begin. Within moments, strong winds begin to whip around me and clouds gather above us, covering the sky. It grows significantly darker over a large area and lightning flashes through the thunderclouds.


    I create a ring of eyes around my upper body so that I can look in every direction, keeping my vision on the horizon to make sure I spot Exla approaching. She won''t be happy when she thinks that Zenlith has come here to look for trouble, so I''ll need to meet her before she attacks.


    Quite some time has passed without anything happening, and at one point Tahiri came back down, letting the storm rage on by itself. We''re drinking from the last stores of the Oripiaw she brought from Aoranam village while waiting. Once she''s out of the brew, she''ll have to make do with what the demons have. After all, without a guide, she most likely won''t be able to find her way to Adanak and then come back to Arkaim.


    "[So, when will this self-proclaimed god come?]" Lifting the jug and finding only one drop coming out of it, the God of Storm asks with a frown. Considering she lived for such a long time she can be unexpectedly impatient, and it''s strangely endearing.


    "[I don''t know, but I''m sure she can''t just leave this alone.]" I reply and produce a jug from my stomach area. It''s filled with rum from the Bakari clan, who are, according to their clan leader Markor, the foremost brewers of the Dominion.


    "[What is this?]" Tahiri looks at the jug with both eyebrows raised, her eyes showing clear interest. I hand it over to her, and she pulls off the cork before sniffing the contents. "[That smells strong.]"


    "[Like that has ever bothered you.]" I haven''t tried the liquor myself, but I hope it''s good since the goddess is quite the connoisseur when it comes to alcoholic beverages. She would frown at those served in the restaurants we ate at, and even I could tell that they were inferior to the Oripiaw brewed by Rangi.


    "[My, this is a peculiar taste.]" After taking a sip, the God of Storm shows a positively surprised face. "[Where is this from?]"


    "[I knew you would run out of Oripiaw soon enough, so I asked the clan leaders where I could get the best liquor in the Dominion. It was brewed by the Bakari clan; you know, those under the goat-faced old man.]" Since Tahiri hasn''t joined our council before and only seen the clan leaders from afar, she doesn''t know their names.


    "[I think I''ll meet him and praise his work.]" She gulps the rum down and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Despite being a revered god, she doesn''t follow etiquettes and try to keep up appearances of dignity - especially around me. I''m quite thankful to her that she would show her true side to me.


    "[He would be honored to hear that the God of Storm likes it.]" I smile and take the jug as she returns it to me. Taking a sip from it myself, I do notice that it''s quite strong, and burns in the throat, but has a tender, sweet note that lingers longer than the bitterness. I have no idea how they achieved that, but it''s impressive.


    "[Is that it?]" Tahiri suddenly points at the distance, and I look over in the direction. A massive towering cloud that travels over the ground rather than in the air is approaching us while its upper reaches disappears into the thunderclouds that the goddess beside me has summoned, dispersing them upon coming into contact with them.


    "[Yeah...]" I let the jug sink into my chest and ready myself for battle. Even when I look at it from almost directly below the clouds, it still looks huge. If it reaches the height of a cumulonimbus, it would easily be taller than Mount Everest.


    "Is that her?" I ask Senka in my mind, although there really is no doubt about it. The doll girl''s astral body appears next to me, and while her expression is a neutral one, there is a faint sense of awe in the look she''s giving the approaching cloud.


    "Yes, that''s Exla, the most powerful Old Human." She mutters in a grave tone, and my eyes go wide. The most powerful one? Even more so than Zenlith, whom I always considered the strongest of them solely based on the fact that his power seems to be having control over the very air itself?


    "How much does a cloud weigh?" I suddenly feel compelled to ask. I don''t think I could reach the size of that cloud even if I were to turn all of my mass into small dispersed particles like mist.


    "What?" Senka turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised, wearing an expression that suggests I must have gotten my priorities wrong.


    "How much mass do you think that cloud has? Could I fight it?" I think I should have a few thousand tons at my disposal.


    "... don''t even think about it. A cloud like that has about two million tons of mass." The doll girl crosses her arms and looks ahead grimly.


    "Two mil-" My eyes go wide, and I yell out loud. Tahiri spins her head around in surprise, but I quickly wave at her to show that I''m fine.


    But I''m really not. My puny mass could never compete with that literal force of nature coming towards us quickly. I feel like I''m spotting angry faces in the clouds, but they must be stemming from my imagination. Whatever the case, Exla is surely angry, believing that Zenlith has come looking for a fight.


    Then a booming voice confirms it.


    "Zeeenliiith! Whyyy haaave yooou cooome!" Due to her sheer size, the voice is produced over a large area, making it sound as if spoken in slow motion, even though it''s at a relatively normal speed. It''s far louder than what I have achieved with the dragon''s throat, and the God of Storm holds her ears because of the overwhelming noise. The very air seems to be shaking under it.


    "[Quick, stop the storm!]" I implore Tahiri, and she raises her hand to dispel the angry thunderclouds. But the massive cumulonimbus cloud that remains pristine white continues to approach us at an alarming pace.


    "Exla, stop!" I bellow with an enhanced throat which causes Tahiri to cover her ears once again.


    Unexpectedly, Exla does slow down and then comes to a stop. Due to her sheer size, I can''t judge our distance to her, but she''s covering almost my entire field of vision already. When I look up, there''s still a lot more to her height, so we should be somewhere around the lower third of her body.


    A massive face appears in the clouds and looks at the two tiny figures floating before it. Its features don''t reveal whether they belong to a female or a male because they''re just two crude eyes and a rift for a mouth.


    "Whooo aaare yooou?" The voice is still as loud as a rolling thunder passing right by one''s ears, but Exla seems to have calmed down a little, now that she realizes neither of us is her brother.


    What should I tell her? I can''t very well start by saying that I''m the princess of the demons and that I want to enlist her help. Considering she''s been living here like a hermit for the past one and a half millennia, it wouldn''t be surprising for her not to know anything about what''s going on elsewhere right now either.


    Whatever the case, I''ll start by introducing myself first.


    "I''m Kuroe Makoto." I give her my real name because I feel that saying Chaos here would be a bad idea. And Chloe Marcott doesn''t fit with my current ethnicity since I''ve returned to sporting the physical appearance I had before my reincarnation.


    "Maaakoootooo...?" The eyes of the face in the cloud go wide in evident surprise, before they disappear along with the mouth. Then, something like an arm extends from where the face was before, tiny in comparison to the whole cloud, but still huge compared to us.


    From the center of that arm, a pure white figure seemingly made of fog rises. It''s the form of a young girl with a body type similar to Kamii''s. Her hair is curly and very long, reaching all the way to the clouds below her feet, and the sheer volume gives her the appearance of a fluffy sheep. She wears a shiny white school swimsuit, but knee-high boots cover her feet in a dissonant combination of fashion.


    So this is what Exla really looks like. I have the urge to touch her hair, even though I know it''s most likely made of water vapors.


    Her starry eyes resembling swirling galaxies are fixed on me, and she tilts her head while blinking a few times in wonder. Then her lips curl up into a happy smile filled with excitement.


    "Are you Japanese?" She speaks in a bell-like clear voice that perfectly fits her appearance and asks me - in perfect Japanese.


    My jaw drops.


    Come again?

 Chapter 110 - My Little Otaku Cant Be This Cute

    "Hm, are you not? That name sounds Japanese, though?" Exla asks in the common language which we spoke in earlier, then tilts her head and blinks with a puzzled expression. "ÊÇÖйúÈËÂð? ??? ???????"


    I don''t understand the words she just said, but judging by their intonations and characteristics, they must be Chinese and Korean. Even as a failure in foreign languages during my school days I can at least recognize those two.


    "Well, I am Japanese..." When I respond in the affirmative, the sheep-looking girl''s expression lights up, but I gesture for her to hold the line and close my eyes before rubbing my temples. My mind is a whirlpool of thoughts, but I direct them at Senka. "What is this girl saying?"


    "It seems she knows the place you came from." The doll girl replies in a matter of fact tone. Despite keeping a poker face, one of her eyes is twitching, so I can tell that her mind is in turmoil, too.


    "This isn''t a matter of knowing where I came from! How does she, someone from this world, know about Japan?!" While keeping my eyes closed, I''m internally screaming at Senka desperately. "She can''t be reincarnated like I am, right?"


    "Don''t ask me. I have no idea either!" She screams back at me with her hands raised in a helpless gesture. "This world is a mess!"


    "What''s wrong, Makoto-san?" Exla''s clear voice brings me back to reality, and I stare at her dumbfounded. She even knows Japanese honorifics!


    Still, judging by the fact that she just called me by my given name she doesn''t understand the intricacies of our society through experiencing it. You don''t call someone by their given name on their first meeting, and some go calling each other by their family names throughout all their school lives, even if they''re friends.


    "Where do you know Japan from?" I just have to ask this directly, or my thoughts will spiral out of control.


    "Huh, what are you saying?" Raising an eyebrow, the little cloud girl stares at me with a dubious look. "Japan was the holy land of anime before the Imagination Engine went online."


    The world comes crashing down on me.


    Is she saying that this is my world but in the far future? Was the Imagination Engine activated that time when I was falling asleep in the bathtub? Did one of those in power reshape the world and many more people were reincarnated just like me? But if they had been, this world would be quite different.


    No, when I think about it, some of this world''s cultures are strangely similar to those from Earth. These can''t be mere coincidences, especially considering that something akin to magic has existed for millennia here - societies would have developed in drastically different directions if there hadn''t been any influences like those.


    Though it''s all just my conjecture and there''s no proof. Except for my mother, who seemed to know Japanese as well and taught the maids the most important honorific for addressing a superior...


    "Wait... holy land of anime?" My mind snaps out of contemplation, and I stare at Exla with a blank face.


    "Yes! Japan was the land of innovation, where anime showed how the world should be - and in some cases turned out to be!" With a glint in her eyes, Exla raises her voice in excitement. Then her tension drops again when she continues. "I was born after the Imagination Engine was activated, so I never had the chance to visit it in person. After all, the world was completely remade at that time."


    I didn''t hear this from Mataku because he came to this world after the Imagination Engine changed everything and most likely didn''t bother to learn about the history from before his time. Even then, how did he not accidentally mention anything that would have tipped me off to this development?


    "Luckily, my father had saved all the data in the world from before that. When we were put in stasis, he left them with me. Over the millennia since I awakened in the healed world, I''ve watched every anime ever produced and rewatched the best of them many times! They''re a treasure trove of ideas and imagination!" The girl with her head in the clouds says with unmistakable fascination.


    This zeal when talking about anime, combined with the fact that she has been staying on this continent for such a long time all on her own; there''s only one word I can use to describe her with here: Otaku.


    "You''re an otaku!" It''s not meant to be derisive in her case, especially since she doesn''t fit the image of the sweaty and balding men in Akihabara, who stared at me with lecherous expressions when I went there for the first time, that pops up in my mind at the word. She''s completely different from those physically, but the similarities in obsession are evident.


    "Yes, I am!" Exla puffs out her flat chest and points her nose up high. I''ve heard that foreigners take pride in being labeled as otaku - or even refer to themselves as such openly - even though the term has clear negative connotations in Japan. But her expression is incredibly endearing, so I can''t bring myself to rebuke her.


    Wait, she just mentioned that her father left all the data in the world with her. Does that mean she has all the information ever created by humanity hidden away somewhere? Could I find out what happened to me through those then?


    "Tell me more about yourself, Makoto-san!" With a childlike gaze of curiosity, the little cloud girl smiles at me expectantly.


    "Umm..." I glance at Senka, who''s just watching our exchange with a blank expression and a slack jaw. No help from her, huh? Tahiri is listening in silence, not understanding what we''re talking about due to the language barrier. She can''t help me here either, so I''ll have to get through this myself. "I''m from Tokyo-"


    "Wow! Finally, I get to meet a chosen one in the flesh!" The cloud arm Exla is standing on extends further towards me as she hops up and down excitedly. What does she mean by chosen ones? Did she watch some anime in which the people in Tokyo are special or something like that?


    Not like I couldn''t think of at least ten different series where the setting is exactly that...


    Then something happens that wipes away all immediate thoughts: The little girl is approaching and growing bigger in my view, but it doesn''t seem to stop. With every passing meter, she increases in size, as the cloud arm extends more and more, until she finally comes to a halt just a couple of steps away from me, standing at eye level.


    Only that she''s at least five times my height.


    "Misleading perspective!" I point at the giant little girl''s nose, and she draws back slightly in surprise. She tilts her head and blinks, and I have to keep myself in check so that I don''t accidentally yell out how cute I find that reaction. "Why are you so big?"


    "That''s because my stupid brother would always mock me, saying I never grow up. So to show him, I''ve become thi~s big!" Standing on tiptoes and raising her arms, she makes herself appear even bigger. Whether by pure chance or intentionally, she describes the massive cloud behind her with this gesture perfectly, as if she was talking about that instead of her body before me.


    I feel her brother might have been referring to both her childish mentality and her childlike appearance, but I won''t say it out loud here.


    "Hey, tell me what your favorite anime is!" Leaning forward, she brings her face close to mine. Like in those comedic situations when someone becomes overbearing, her excited visage fills my entire vision - but in this case, it''s because she''s a giantess! "The one I can always rewatch and never get tired of is Akashi Records."


    "Huh, Akashi Records?" I''m dumbfounded.


    "Yes! It may appear like a typical isekai story, but there are many hidden gems of knowledge embedded into its intricately woven plot." Exla explains with a delighted smile.


    "I know right? You''re the first person I met who appreciates the life lessons that series teaches!" I''m overjoyed to have met a like-minded person. "Even though its title is silly and it may start out as a comedy at first, the depths of its characters and maturity of its themes are things that other stories in the genre just don''t have."


    "Especially Julietta, whose motivations appear simple at first, but when the layers are peeled back, you see how much there is to her character."


    "You think so, too? Julietta is my favorite! Her character growth is-"


    Senka coughs, and I''m pulled back to the present.


    "Wait, now isn''t the time for this." I let myself get strung along because Exla brought up something I couldn''t ignore, but we came here for another reason.


    "Hm, what is it?" The cloud girl asks while raising her head from her hands. At one point she has plopped down on the cloud, lying on her stomach and cradling her chin in a playful and leisurely manner.


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    "I came here to ask for your help-" I begin, but she immediately interrupts me.


    "Anything." With glittering starry eyes, the giant little girl stands up and puts her hands on her hips in a pose supposed to elicit a feeling of reliability. She just looks like a little girl trying to impress somebody much older than her - even though she''s most likely the oldest among all of us here. But that knowledge doesn''t diminish her incredible cuteness, and I consciously hold myself back from fawning over her.


    "Umm, don''t you want to hear what I need help with?"


    "Anything you need help with must be right. After all, you''re a Japanese, and you like Akashi Records."


    I suppress the urge to avert my gaze from the beaming joy and radiant innocence coming my way. That attitude is so naive that I''m actually impressed someone far over two thousand years old could still have it.


    "Even if it has to do with your brother?" I bring myself to ask. Exla''s expression immediately changes as her face goes blank.


    "... who are you again?" The pitch of her bell-like voice is lowered by a perceived octave, and the surrounding temperature seems to have dropped drastically. While she isn''t showing any hostility yet, it''s no longer the friendly attitude from before. Tahiri looks on guard, even though she doesn''t understand what brought about this change.


    "It''s a long story..." I don''t let myself get intimidated and reply with a sigh. "But I guess there are no two ways around this."


    I start with the fact that I''m a Japanese high school girl who reincarnated into the body of a Crawling Chaos, telling her a little about the circumstances that most likely led up to it.


    "So you''re just like Akashi?!" Exla raises her voice in surprise and interrupts me at the very beginning; she already reverted to a more friendly tone. I never took the time to contemplate the similarities of my situation with the protagonist of my favorite anime, but now that someone else pointed it out, I won''t be able to help thinking about it all the time.


    Though unlike her, I didn''t die in such an unsightly manner, surrounded by thin books.


    "In a way, yes... But this was only the beginning of everything." I don''t want to tell her off directly for interrupting me, to not get on her bad side. After all, she could most likely squash me like a bug if she ever felt like it.


    "That sounds like something a protagonist would say!"


    "Alright, let me continue please."


    "Sorry..."


    Thus, I relate to her everything that has happened to me in quick summary, trying not to waste too much time on small details. The most important thing I had to mention is the fact that until only recently I didn''t even know about the existence of the Imagination Engine, let alone the fact that this is the future of my world rather than another universe.


    Throughout, Exla listens intently, her expression changing from wonder to deep excitement in some parts, while showing surprise and sadness in others. Then she grows increasingly somber when I explain my encounter with Mataku. It''s clear that she knows him.


    "So that was the calamity that befell Earth and forced us into stasis." She finally says. I forgot, but according to Mataku, the Old Humans alive in this era are those who survived the havoc he wreaked. "And you''re a Crawling Chaos just like this Mataku then, huh?"


    Lowering her gaze, the giant little girl contemplates everything she just heard. If she comes to the wrong conclusion, we might have to fight here - though in that case, I''d just run away. To her, I should be akin to the offspring of the being that nearly eradicated all life on this planet. Judging by the way she worded it, her father died back there, too.


    "But you''re Japanese, and someone who appreciates Akashi Records, so I should be able to trust you!" Finally, she makes her decision based on the same criteria as earlier, when she agreed to help me without hearing what it was about.


    "Are you sure? I''m asking for your help to fight your brother." Of course, I don''t actually say that I want to kill him, as well as all the other self-proclaimed gods, though it''s heavily implied considering what I just told her.


    "That troublesome little brother of mine has caused you and the people of this world so much grief. He deserves punishment." She must understand my true intentions, so there''s no excited grin on her lips at the prospect of fighting with her brother. Instead, she lowers her head in a bow, as if to apologize for his actions.


    "Wait, little brother?" I stare at Exla wide-eyed, and she tilts her head with a questioning gaze. "He looks way older than you!"


    "Really? That little brat has been making himself look older?" Clicking her tongue, the cloud girl frowns at the thought that Zenlith could be mistaken for her older brother. Her image of an innocent little girl is crumbling, and I start to picture her as the big sister type that lounges around in a jersey while watching anime in a dark room and eating cup noodles, as long as nobody sees her.


    "How old are you?" It''s not a question one should be asking a lady, and I know that she has lived for at least two thousand years, so there isn''t really a point in knowing the exact number. I''m also interested in getting an idea about how much time has passed since her birth.


    "Hm... considering our aging process essentially ended the day we went into stasis, I would be sixteen, and Zenlith fourteen." But unexpectedly, Exla answers in a serious tone. Going by this, she''s technically one year younger than I was when my aging stopped as well. According to her earlier statement, she watched all anime series ever produced, so she should have gotten at least a good grasp on how school years work in Japan. "Since you were in the second year of high school, you should be older than me then."


    "Yeah, I was seventeen when I reincarnated into this body." I confirm it. So she has been paying attention to such details, too.


    "Can I call you senpai?" The giant little girl brings her face close to mine and asks with a hopeful smile. I''m dumbfounded by her priorities, so I nod unconsciously. Well, it''s alright; at least it''s not Onee-sama. "Yay, I got a real Japanese senpai now!"


    "Is this going to take long? I want to get back, you know?" Senka suddenly reminds me of her presence, and I''m barely able to hold myself back from spinning my head around to her astral projection. Tahiri has been floating next to me lazily since she felt that the earlier tension has dissipated and the current situation most likely won''t escalate into a battle anymore.


    "Ah, I''ll wrap this up quickly." I reply in my mind and look at Exla with a determined expression, before speaking out loud. "Can you come to the Dominion with me?"


    "Alright." She immediately nods eagerly and smiles. Didn''t Senka say that she has been the gamekeeper of the Dark Continent for all this time to protect the animals that only exist here?


    "Is it okay for you to agree so quickly? Don''t you have to look out for the animals on this continent?" Voicing my concerns, I gesture at the land below us.


    "There hasn''t been any incidents in all my time here. Humans and demons both avoid this place because the vularen are too dangerous, let alone the sawheads." Shrugging, Exla makes it clear that there''s no problem with leaving this place untended. I assume with ''sawheads'' she means the cyborg dinosaurs which almost ate me. Didn''t my mother kill one in a single spell? Does that not count as an incident?


    Well, I''ll remain quiet about that one.


    "Then can we leave right away?"


    "Yup, let''s go!"


    "How fast can you travel?" If she can only fly at the speed of clouds - or the wind - it''ll take us a pretty long time to get back to the castle.


    "Unfortunately, all the teleportation nexuses have been destroyed here. Otherwise, we could have traveled almost anywhere instantly." Exla scratches her cheek while looking away bashfully, making it clear that she had something to do with it. I suspect she smashed them all to prevent Zenlith from visiting her, though he can travel at the speed of lightning, so that was quite the useless act. "Well, I can just do this."


    The cloud under her feet changes shape and seems to grow more and more solid, before turning into something of an elongated flying saucer with an incredibly elaborate exterior design. The cockpit is located in a circular window in a protrusion on its right side. I feel like I''ve seen that somewhere before but I just can''t recall where.


    "Stop that! It''s seriously dangerous!" Senka is sweating bullets as she points at Exla''s creation and shouts, but obviously, the latter can''t hear her.


    "Can this thing keep up with me?" I mutter more to myself than to her; I''m skeptical because of this thing''s shape and size. Apparently, Exla heard me, because she responds through a speaker system.


    "You never heard of the Mil-"


    "AHHH!!!" The astral projection of the doll girl covers my face and screeches desperately, causing me to miss what Exla said.


    "... this is the ship that made the Ke-"


    "STOP IIIT!!!" It seems that this is something I shouldn''t hear. While I''m curious, Senka most likely has her reason for doing this. I''ll just act like I heard it all and look impressed.


    "Follow me then." I wave at the cloud girl sitting in the cockpit of the massive flying saucer, then turn to Tahiri. "[Thank you for accompanying me. Your presence really gave me peace of mind.]"


    "[Don''t worry about it. But I did realize that I might want to learn the language you''re speaking after all.]" Shrugging, the God of Storm gives me a resigned smile. I''m sure it''s been quite boring for her, waiting next to me all this time while I was talking to Exla. "[I can understand why Tokomaha felt that it was necessary.]"


    "[I can teach you.]" My eyes light up in expectation because it means I can spend some more time with her again.


    "[Yes, I''ll take you up on that offer then. But make sure to prepare a lot of that rum.]" Poking the center of my chest, Tahiri gestures at where I let the jug disappear inside my body earlier.


    "[Of course.]" I smile at her while thinking that I''ll need to make some time in my schedule for language lessons.


    "[You could have told me, then I would have talked to you in the language of Armeria.]" Exla suddenly announces through her speakers. It''s the same dialect that Zenlith spoke, most likely an ancient version of the language I learned over there - since they left that nation two thousand years ago. I should have known that all the Old Humans can speak the language of Adanak, considering it was their first playground after they got out of stasis.


    "[Well, we can do that from now on.]" Glancing at Tahiri, I find that she doesn''t really mind me forgetting about that possibility. "[Let''s go.]"


    I fly in the direction Senka points me, accelerating slowly so that I don''t accidentally lose Exla. This way she can tell me if I go too quickly and she''s unable to keep up anymore.


    In the end, everything went better than expected.

 Chapter L4 - A Clash of Fire and Ice

    Lenoly gazes out the greenish, half-translucent volcanic glass window, seeing only a dance of whiteness, and sighs. It''s the third moon they have spent with the fire giants in the Northern Kongensgrad, and the blizzard outside shows no signs of letting up. It started the moment Asoko was placed in the thawing vat as if the god that froze her was making it known that the attempt to undo his work was angering him.


    It took them two moons of traveling across the sea with Captain Morakan, and another moon to reach the fire giants'' domain. The female clan leader and shaman elder Tofi received them in an unexpectedly nice way, though Lenoly still suspects that she only did so with political intentions in mind.


    The frost giants have been amassing their forces, and there are rumors that their patron god Rimfryst has decided to join them to end the fire giants once and for all. The latter are slowly descending into hopelessness as their own god Leimu departed for an unknown destination a dozen moons ago.


    Lenoly knows that Rimfryst and Leimu are actually the gods Zylos and Kanundra - the latter of whom she met face to face during their attack on the royal palace of Arkaim. Their names are merely in the local language, but they refer to the same concepts that the two represent: Winter''s Frost and Bearer of the Flame.


    And Kanundra''s departure from these lands coincides with her attack on the demon queen. Maybe she was wounded in the battle and hasn''t returned since to mend her body. Whatever the case, her absence may result in the fire giants being wiped out by the frost giants, who are being favored by Zylos.


    The only reason Lenoly used to care about the giants is that, according to Flann, they''re the only ones who can thaw out a person that has been frozen by the god of winter. At first, she had been skeptical, as she thought that the method they had at their disposal couldn''t be any more effective than using an open fire. She had tried it, and nothing had happened.


    By now, she has become friends with several of them and can emphasize with their plight. She has decided to fight with them - as long as she''s still here - if the frost giants attack.


    "They say it''ll take maybe another night or two before Chaos-sama will be back." Nezera walks into the communal room and calls out to the Bakari girl at the window.


    "That''s good news." Lenoly turns around and sighs again, this time in relief. Then she has to suppress the urge to smile at the sight of the bat maid standing next to a piece of furniture. It''s a stone chair that towers over her by one full head and could be mistaken for a hut. Even after staying with the giants for so long she hasn''t been able to get used to the sheer difference in their heights.


    And the fact that their people are unexpectedly hospitable - not counting the elders, who have a political agenda in helping the demons.


    One or two more nights, before she can meet Asoko again. The maids still believe that she''s Chaos, though Lenoly knows who she really is. And the reason she''s still keeping it a secret is that it brings the demons hope, thinking that the heir to the crown is only frozen but will return eventually. Because Chaos has been missing for a long time now and nobody knows where she went.


    Except for Flann, maybe. She seems to know much more than she lets on, as she sometimes pops into existence out of nowhere and brings them news about the war situation back in the Dominion. The humans are on a steady push, but despite being essentially leaderless, the demons are holding out well.


    An alarming issue is the emergence of a new threat called ''Chosen Knights''. The two main advantages that the demons held so far were that many of their warrior clans possess physical prowess beyond even the strongest humans and the fact that to cast their tribal magic the shamanistic clans require no incantations. These two factors combined allowed them to stand their ground against their numerically superior enemies.


    These have both been neutralized by these Chosen Knights. Not only have they displayed incredible feats of strength and speed, but they also each have special magical abilities which the likes of nobody has ever seen before. The saving grace is that they are few in numbers, and despite their seemingly overwhelming might, they aren''t powerful enough to decide the fates of entire battlefields by themselves.


    But Asoko''s return will surely turn the tide of this war completely. Even though she may seem to be weaker than Chaos, she''s still a powerful demon and the child of the previous queen. Lenoly witnessed Chaos fight against the Saint of Luminosity, a dragonkin, as well as several lecturers and the principal of the Royal Academy practically on her own. And the only way they could defeat her was to launch her into the heavens.


    Hope that she returns also still remains.


    "They are coming." Flann suddenly materializes right next to the little Bakari and states in her usual emotionless tone. ''They'' can only refer to one thing; the frost giants have finally decided to use the absence of Kanundra to attack.


    The entire fire giant domain seems to come to life only moments after the young court magician''s appearance. She has once again arrived with the news before anybody else noticed what''s going on.


    "Quick, call Szaga!" Lenoly calls out to Nezera, who reacts immediately. Captain Morakan and his crew have remained on their ship because they''re demons not made for land, so the only ones who can defend Asoko are the maids and her.


    They have to hold out just a little longer.


    The village of the fire giants is located in the side of the volcano Leimuseidfjall - named after their patron god. Due to this hostile environment, the frost giants should normally never try to attack. However, the volcano has become dormant ever since Kanundra left, and the caldera has cooled down significantly. The ongoing blizzard has contributed greatly as well.


    The natural defenses were failing them, so the fire giants had begun to pile up lava to build walls around the entrance to their cavernous home. Szaga provided her knowledge of architecture to guide their efforts, as they lacked even a basic understanding of masonry and craftsmanship. It was part of their deal with the giants to thaw out Asoko.


    Anthera and Xaggavea have felt antsy about living in a cave inside of a volcano that the fire giants continually complain about being dormant. The day they arrived they searched for places their instincts told them is safest, and finally created their nests near Asoko''s vat. They will remain there and make sure that her thawing progress won''t be disturbed.


    "They''re thinking about climbing the sides and dropping down within the walls." Hakon, the champion of the fire giants, points down the snowy slope, where a contingent of nearly a thousand frost giants is splitting up towards either side of the entrance, barely visible in the blizzard. And a host of easily over three thousand more is steadily advancing on their position.


    Fire giants pride themselves in quality over quantity, as their bodies are always glowing hot, and they can erupt in fiery explosions that do their own no harm. They are the natural enemies of frost giants, whose body temperatures need to remain below freezing to maintain their shapes.


    However, the difference in numbers is staggering. The reproduction rate of fire giants is far lower than that of the frost giants, who also have a much wider distribution across the entirety of the northern Kongensgrad. While the former can stand their ground against ten of the latter, this time it''s a matter of being outnumbered nearly a hundred to one.


    The only proper projectile weapons the fire giants possess are thrown stones. They use the interiors of their bodies to heat the projectiles close to their melting point, then throw them at their opponents. Due to the size of the projectiles, they don''t have much range and usually fly in an arc that can be easily avoided. But this time, there are so many enemies that the few dozen lava throwers hit a target with every volley.


    They are only a small spray of hot water against an incoming avalanche.


    "Form up! Don''t let them get close to the walls!" Pulling one of many stone javelins out from the back of the giant next to him, Hakon aligns the glowing hot tip with the frost giants, who have begun to sprint up the slope.


    The other fire giants do the same and arm themselves with the weapons heated by their comrades'' bodies. Holes left behind by the spears close up on their own, as if they''re made of viscous fluids. Their bodies are far more resilient than those of their frozen counterparts, but strong impacts from the massive clubs they carry can still be deadly.


    The first volley of javelins is let loose, targeting the enemies closing in. Unfortunately, the frost giants circling around are at too far away to be hit, but it also means they will be delayed for a while longer until they can join the battle. That''s why they have to thin the enemies'' ranks as quickly as possible before they become surrounded.


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    Szaga is the only maid who can join the front lines. With her earth magic, she''s creating boulders that roll down the slope to crush the enemies while shooting pinpoint rocks at the enemies advancing at the very front of the large host. Each shot is a kill, but it doesn''t serve to discourage the frost giants at all.


    The enemies have reached the flanks and are fanning out, while the first few on the front are closing in on the volcanic stone wall. Many are mowed down by burning javelins, but there are too many for the fewer than eighty fire giants to put a significant dent in. At this rate, they''ll be overwhelmed.


    "Hraun Bylgia!" A deep female voice echoes through the cave and across the din of battle.


    As if the hardened wall was just a pastry with liquid fillings, lava spills out from a gash along its entire length and sprays the frost giants that have started to try and climb it with molten rock. The screams of the frost giants as their bodies are being evaporated is unbearable, and Lenoly covers her ears.


    The voice belonged to Tofi, who is one of only three fire giants capable of casting their tribe''s mostly lost spells. Even she wouldn''t have been able to summon a wave of lava out of nowhere, and it had to be carefully prepared over a whole moon beforehand.


    Now that the trump card has been unleashed, they will need to hit the fleeing enemies decisively, or they will come back when the lava has hardened under the relentless blizzard.


    The issue of those that are looping around to hit them from atop the cliff still remains, as the defenders on the walls abandon their posts to chase after the routing vanguard of frost giants. Sliding down the slope on the lava unaffected by its immense heat, which is already beginning to cool and slow down, they look like wave riders in slow motion, as they throw javelins and drive spears into the enemies'' backs.


    "That''s far enough!" Hakon calls the pursuit force back, which promptly ceases their advance and begins to return towards the cave.


    Szaga flies out of on her powerful wings, which have fully healed by now, in an attempt to scout where the detached force of the frost giants have advanced to. However, the blizzard continues unabated and relentlessly pushes her around, so that she has to return almost immediately.


    "Ah spotted a few movin'' fig''rs above, but ah dunno why they ain''t attackin''." She reports out of breath. After all this time, Lenoly has gotten used to her country bumpkin speech - even though she grew up in Arkaim. She most likely kept the gargoyles who came from all kinds of backwater places and are living on the castle''s roofs and battlements company and learned their dialects.


    "Is there any other way to get in here?" Turning to Tofi, Lenoly asks with an alarmed expression. The only reason the fire giants can hold this place is that the cave is a natural bottleneck that the frost giants will have to squeeze through. It renders their superior numbers useless. If there is another entry point, they would be attacked from two sides, and the numerically inferior side could never hope to hold their ground.


    "There is a small lava vent further up, but I had it sealed." The shaman elder of the fire giants responds in a self-confident tone. She thinks that they won''t be able to break in through there.


    That''s when the ceiling of the cave opening shakes from a heavy impact. Rocks break free and rain down, and Tofi quickly shields Lenoly from the falling debris with one hand. Due to the size of the giants, rocks that would kill a human are like little pebbles to them.


    "What they doin''? They tryin'' ta bring da whole cave down?" Szaga asks in a skeptical tone as she''s being shielded by another fire giant.


    "We need to stop them!" Tofi quickly calls out to her people manning the walls.


    "No, wait! They might be trying to lure us out!" Lenoly tries to stop her, but her voice is drowned out by another heavy impact that creates cracks all across the cave ceiling.


    If it''s not a feint, and even if they''re not really trying to lure the fire giants out from within the wall, the cave coming down will bring about the same result as if the frost giants overran this place. At least that way they would only be trapped inside rather than get slaughtered.


    Lenoly catches herself preferring the former option. Because it means that they will have the time to wait for the completion of Asoko''s thawing process. Maybe she''s putting too much hope in her revival, to the point where she doesn''t care about the wellbeing of their benefactors.


    "Szaga, can you strengthen the ceiling?" She calls out to the gargoyle - the only one here proficient at earth magic.


    "Ah can try." But her response doesn''t sound as confident as the last few times her abilities have been requested. The last demon queen most likely didn''t choose her for her intricate control over the element, but her raw output - and her beauty, which is a rarity among gargoyles. She can shoot rocks with enough force to shatter frost giants, but masonry is something she has only mastered in the traditional way.


    Slowly raising pillars of volcanic rock from the ground, Szaga begins to fortify the ceiling, just before another impact seems to shake the entire mountainside. One large boulder breaks loose and comes down on a fire giant, whose body of living molten rock is splattered about.


    That''s when boiling unease among the defenders turns into open panic. Several of them leave their posts and run back into the depths of their homes, to both seek shelter and to spend their final moments with their families. Even Hakon''s voice is unable to stop them, as fear grips their hearts.


    "The interior is safe; we are deep enough that this should not affect our homes." Tofi states with a grim look at the defenders, who begin to unravel. "Maybe it is better if we hole up inside and wait it out."


    It''s what Lenoly would have wanted, but if the only other exit is a small lava vent that has been closed up, it would mean that they''re trapped. The initiative would lie with the frost giants then, who could still attempt to bury them all alive by bringing the whole mountain down on their heads.


    "Nezera, tell Xaggavea and Anthera to stake out the lava vent." The little Bakari calls out to the bat maid. She has been waiting deeper inside, near the entrance to the main halls of the fire giants'' home because she can''t fly in the storm and is very fragile on the ground.


    "Understood." With a quick reply, she takes off to find the two maids in question. Maneuvering around stalactites in her flight, she disappears into the depths.


    Xaggavea surely already spread her network throughout the caves, so she should be able to inform them if enemies entered from somewhere. Anthera was unable to contribute on their journey across the ocean, but in confined spaces - especially dark ones with little to no airflow - she holds supremacy. When the only option is to hole up, they will be their greatest assets.


    "Szaga, will this work?" Lenoly asks the gargoyle girl, who''s still creating pillars while the quakes grow more frequent.


    "Ah dun think so." She says as a large crack spreads from the center of the ceiling and travels towards both sides. Pointing at it with a blank expression, she looks like she''s at a loss. "Tha''s bad."


    "Get inside!" Hakon bellows this command to all the remaining defenders on the wall. They don''t need to be told twice, as they abandon their posts and begin to run back to their homes. One giant sweeps up Szaga on the way and shields her from falling rocks, while Tofi does the same with Lenoly.


    The entire overhang of the cave entrance begins to come down. Some fire giants are left behind trying to avoid the rubble, while large boulders instantly smash others into pools of lava. More than a dozen die as the ceiling collapses on them, but the majority makes it to safety.


    When the dust settles, everybody stares at the entrance, which has been completely sealed. A hand is sticking out from it, squeezing Szaga so tightly that she''s groaning in pain. Just as Hakon runs to free her, the hand goes limp, and the gargoyle maid is freed. She looks up at the lifeless limb of her savior, which almost turned into a death trap, and then averts her eyes in sorrow.


    "This is it, huh?" Xaggavea surveys the hollow behind the relatively small lava vent that she and Anthera have been tasked with defending. While it''s only wide enough for one giant to pass through at a time, the area behind it is so wide that defenders can amass their numbers and hold out indefinitely.


    However, morale is at rock bottom, and Tofi is confident that the enemy won''t find this place. Even if they did, they wouldn''t be able to break through it anyway, as the opening is sealed by hardened rock. But Lenoly seems to think that it''s only a matter of time before the frost giants will try to make their way inside from this end.


    "My web should be able to stall them for a while if they do come in one by one, but it won''t be able to hold them for long." The spider maid says as she climbs the side of the wall and begins to lay down her string. Due to her size, it''s very thick and can be seen easily by the naked eye, but what it lacks in stealthiness it makes up with tensile strength.


    "I don''t even know whether my poison works against those walking ice statues." Anthera mutters absentmindedly, as she grooms the fur collar growing directly from her neck. She has always been an airhead, which is why Xaggavea likes to tease her, but she can be dependable when it''s important.


    "We''ll have to learn that the hard way, I guess." Shrugging, the spider maid lets go with her eight legs and hangs upside down from the ceiling on her web.


    Spreading her four wings, the moth maid takes off into the air gracefully and silently. The pair of giant eyes on her wings instill the spider maid with instinctive fear, as she feels the hairs stand up all over her body. Suppressing the urge to retreat, she averts her eyes and continues her work quickly.


    "Don''t forget that you can''t begin without-" Just in case, Xaggavea turns around one more time and begins to say, when she notices that Anthera''s antennae and wings are quivering in midair. "Stop! I''m still here!"


    Even though she may catch the moth maid in her web from time to time and play around with her, she''s secretly afraid of her abilities. They both like dark and cramped places, which provide Anthera a far greater advantage than they do Xaggavea. Her invisible and odorless poison will saturate the air, and anything that breathes will be rendered immobile.


    Then she will extend her tongue, which acts as a proboscis, and suck every last drop of liquid from her victims without a care in the world.


    "Oops, sorry." Anthera answers as if it was an inconsequential slip of her mind. She stops the spreading of her poison and holds onto the ceiling with her four arms effortlessly, then looks down with the two giant compound eyes on her head. "Hurry it up, Xaggavea~"


    "Be patient. This is intricate work." Sighing, the spider maid speeds up her work so that she can leave this confined space as quickly as possible.


    A moment later the tremor of an impact shakes her web ever so slightly. Even though there was no sound, she could feel it because of her incredibly keen senses when it comes to even the slightest vibrations traveling through the taut strings.


    They''re trying to break through on this side without making too much noise.

 Chapter L5 - Earth, Water and Ice

    "So they''re actually trying to come through here, huh?" Lenoly puts her ear against the wall of hardened lava and listens, but can''t hear anything.


    "They changed to slowly scraping after the first impact." Xaggavea explains. "But my strings picked that off too."


    "This place should be quite easy to defend though. Continue with your work and lay your traps. The fire giants will cover the exit of this cavern when the time comes." Looking up at the upside-down Anthera, who''s hanging onto the ceiling using her four arms and appears to be asleep, the bakari girl sighs. "When they break through, don''t try to fight and retreat. Anthera''s poison and your web should slow them down and thin their ranks."


    "Understood." Nodding, the spider girl returns to work on laying her web.


    "Can I bring you something to eat?" Lenoly wonders how much more web matter Xaggavea can create even though she hasn''t eaten much recently. The fire giants eat minerals mined from the volcanic rocks, so they have to care for their own food. And due to the dangers of roaming frost giants, only Nezera and Szaga can go out hunting.


    "No, I''m fine. So you say Chaos-sama will be thawed out in another night or two?"


    "Yes..."


    "It''s going to be alright, I''m sure." Anthera''s voice suddenly comes from above. She has detached from the ceiling and is floating down gracefully on her spread wings. The giant eyes on them invoke anxiety in Lenoly, even though she knows they''re fake.


    "It''ll take a while for them to come through." Xaggavea points behind herself. "At the rate they''re going, it could take a fortnight."


    "Just in case, be prepared for them to break it down all at once." With these words, the little bakari leaves behind the lava chamber to get the two maids something to eat after all.


    On the way to the single-family room the giants freed up for the visitors to use as a base of operations - which equals a proper hall for their smaller size - Lenoly notices that the women and children look anxious. The smallest child is almost twice her height, and to people of her size, they would still be considered powerful beings. To see someone like that trembling in fear drives home just how dangerous these enemies are.


    "Can you bring Xaggavea and Anthera some food? I''m going to check the thawing vat." Upon reaching the headquarters, she finds only Szaga perching on the two-story-tall stone table. Nezera may be scouting out the depths with her hearing skills to see whether there are other places the frost giants could enter from.


    "... right." The gargoyle girl hangs her head and replies after a moment of silence.


    "What''s wrong?" Lenoly asks, but can already imagine that she''s thinking about the fire giant that saved her from the rubble. He had jumped and extended his hand as a last resort to bring her to safety while sacrificing himself. Even though they''re honored guests here, it wasn''t an act that should have come to them naturally.


    "Nothin''." Szaga quickly replies and spreads her wings to fly over to the remains of the elk she hunted a few days ago. Her behavior makes it clear that she prefers to brood over it herself, so Lenoly won''t bother her anymore.


    Leaving the room behind, she heads for the workshop where Asoko is lying in a giant-sized vat filled with an orange liquid resin. Her face has regained its color, and her eyes have closed now. They had remained open with a perpetual expression of surprise until not too long ago.


    That a part of her can move is already more than what all the demon attempts achieved. Before, she was like a statue carved from marble, and they feared that she could break into pieces from a heavy impact. Now, she looks asleep, and maybe about to open her eyes at any time.


    The fire giant overseeing the procedure is a woman one head smaller in stature than any of the other fully grown giants, possessing the attitude of a pragmatic inventor. She''s considered an odd one among her people because they observe strict traditions and hierarchy, which she wholeheartedly disregards. Her name is Aslaug, and she''s the one who created the thawing vat about a century ago.


    When Lenoly thinks about it, it means that this fire giant with her more human appearance than that of her peers is, in fact, older than all demons here combined.


    "You staring at her won''t speed up the process, you know?" Aslaug comments when she sees that Lenoly has come to visit again. "How''s the situation outside?"


    She often shuts herself in her workshop for moons on end, coming up with all kinds of inventions that already exist among humans and demons, but are unheard of in this part of the world. One of those is a drill made from steel, with which the minerals that serve as their food could be mined faster. It was met with widespread criticism because the tribe considers the process of mining with their bare hands an important ceremony in itself.


    "The main entrance collapsed." The little bakari reports the situation. None of her people deemed it important to inform her of anything, it seems. "They''re trying to break through the lava vent."


    "So that''s what that noise was." Aslaug shrugs and returns her attention to the workbench, on which tools and piles of stone tablets are strewn around. She created a written language for her people, but it was ignored because their longevity means that oral tradition is simpler, so she''s using it for herself for the time being.


    "Is that all?" Lenoly wonders about how carefree this crazy inventor can be under these dire circumstances. "We''re trapped in here, and they''re trying to come in to finish us off."


    "Didn''t you say that one is the demon queen? She can save us all when she wakes up then." Shrugging without turning around, the fire giant continues her work.


    "... she isn''t who everybody thinks she is." Suddenly, as if a dam broke inside her, the little bakari lays bare the secret she has been keeping all this time. If any of the demon maids learned about that, their worlds would be shattered.


    "Hm?" Spinning around on her swiveling chair, Aslaug instantly finds interest in the topic. "Then who is she?"


    "It''s... hard to explain." For some reason, Lenoly feels that it would be alright to tell this outcast about the fact that Asoko, while being Chaos in both appearance and personality, is not the same person that performed all the feats she''s known for.


    Chaos was the one who uncovered the plot to kill the demon queen and warned her about it. She was the one who fought the professors at the academy twice on her own and survived both times with only being banished to a faraway place. She was the active one while Asoko was confined to a dungeon in the Khurut Sultanate for a long time.


    "I don''t really get how there can be two of the same person, but it sounds like this Asoko here was the one whom all of you are following." Aslaug points at the girl in the vat. "She was the one who fought against Rimfryst, no?"


    "Yes, but..." While Asoko might have been the one to fight Rimfryst, she wasn''t the one Lenoly first met at the academy.


    "Then she''s a legitimate Chaos, too. Whatever that means." Shrugging once again, the fire giant says flippantly and turns back to her work. "Don''t brood over such things. Their actions in life, not circumstances of their birth, decide a person''s position in the world."


    She goes quiet after that and returns to filling empty stone tablets with notes about her inventions by scorching their surfaces with her slender fingers.


    The bakari girl looks at Asoko and ponders the meaning of those last words. Both Chaos and her other half have their strengths and weaknesses, their successes and shortcomings. And the one she first made love with was the latter, whom she journeyed across continents with to reach the demon castle together. In actuality, she spent more time with Asoko than with Chaos.


    Does that mean the others would accept it if she told them?


    The sound of a heavy crash that shakes the very mountain wakes Lenoly from her sleep. She had gone to sleep and decided to tell them the next morning, but it would seem that fate has something else in store for her.


    There are no proper doors in the fire giants'' cave dwellings, so she can see from her bed under a stone chair that there are members of the tribe running past the doorway hastily. Scared voices echo through the caverns, and a child is crying somewhere.


    "They''re breaking through on the next one." Flann suddenly appears by the little bakari''s bedside and says in a tone that implies she has no stake in this; even though the content of her message is alarming, she doesn''t look the part at all.


    Lenoly jumps up and runs towards the lava chamber; she was wearing her clothes in bed in case of an emergency, and it paid off. Along the way, she meets up with Szaga, who comes from the direction of the collapsed entry. She most likely visited the place that has now been turned into a memorial site for the fallen.


    Just as Szaga wants to say something, the cave shakes under another earth-shattering impact. She takes up into the air and flies ahead, while Lenoly scrambles to catch up to her. They round the corner and find fire giants clumped up with stone spears, standing around the opening of the lava chamber anxiously.


    "They''ve broken through!" One in the front announces in a despaired tone.


    "Don''t falter! We can easily hold them here!" Hakon is also among them, although it''s hard to tell him apart from the others when looking from below.


    "Where are Xaggavea and Anthera?" Lenoly asks at the top of her lungs to be heard, but her voice is still drowned out by the murmur of the giants.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    When nobody answers, she makes her way through the defenders by running between their legs. The very front is defended by the champion Hakon, who has placed down a tower shield made from a stone slab, to act as a makeshift barrier.


    Squeezing past it without anybody paying attention to her, she reaches the inside of the lava chamber and covers her mouth and nose with a cloth. The temperature in it has dropped significantly, and she sees why; the wall of cooled and hardened lava has been shattered, and there''s cold air streaming in from outside.


    Xaggavea''s webs are still intact, but there''s no sign of either of the two demon maids. They must have completed their jobs and left already. The spider girl couldn''t say here with Anthera''s poison, and the latter has no reason to remain after having done her job of spreading it. But shouldn''t they have come here as soon as they heard the commotion?


    Lenoly is just about to turn around and leave again, as the longer she remains in here, the more likely for her to inhale some poison, but a rumbling sound stops her. It seems to be coming closer, and she stares at the entrance intently. Are the frost giants charging?


    But instead of icy figures squeezing in through the opening, a torrent of water rushes in. They must have melted snow from the mountainside and somehow guided it in here.


    The poisoned air inside the lava chamber is pushed deeper into the cave, as the water displaces it. She quickly runs away from the approaching water and squeezes past the giants on her way out. However, at the sight of the water, they also lose heart, and even Hakon can''t maintain troop cohesion. Scrambling to get away, they nearly trample Lenoly underfoot, but Szaga quickly swoops down and picks her up.


    "We need to get out of here." The bakari girl says while keeping her mouth covered with a cloth. She begins to feel sluggish, and her body doesn''t obey her commands as quickly as it normally would; the poison has gotten into her system and is beginning to act.


    Xaggavea and Anthera''s trap was rendered completely useless by this enemy stratagem, and they most likely didn''t even know about its existence. In turn, it''s coming back to bite them now, as the poison travels with the air that''s being pushed out, and it begins to fill the interior of the cave system in which the giants live.


    One silver lining is the fact that it doesn''t seem to affect them, but that''s what they thought from the beginning. After all, fire giants don''t have bodies like other life forms. They did consider that frost giants could be the same, although they do seem to breathe and eat organic matter.


    Lenoly directs Szaga towards Aslaug''s workshop. While it is higher ground than the lava chamber that''s being steadily filled with water, which will soon overflow and spill into the corridor leading towards the tribe''s living quarters, they don''t know how much the frost giants have dammed up. As a last resort, they''ll have to seal the door and lock themselves inside with the gargoyle girl''s earth magic.


    "Wha''s their plan?" Szaga asks once they leave the most dangerous area where the poison most likely spread and breathes heavily. She must have been holding her breath all this time.


    "I think they want to flood this whole place." Lenoly replies and looks behind herself. The fire giant defenders are running off to their homes, while the leadership seems to be going to convene in the communal room for an emergency meeting. Only Hakon remains with his tower shield, acting as a lookout and the first line of defense if they do come in with the water.


    "What happened?" Aslaug doesn''t waste any time on greeting them and asks without seeming to care about hearing an answer.


    "The frost giants broke the lava chamber barrier and are guiding water inside. At this rate, the caves will be flooded." Knowing that the giant inventor is carefree beyond help, the little bakari still puts on an alarmed expression.


    "No, that''s highly unlikely." The former replies and points at the ground. "Volcanic rock is porous. Before this whole cave can flood, the water will start seeping in."


    "Huh?"


    "Don''t ''huh'' me, I just explained it to you, didn''t I?"


    "Are you sure?" Now Lenoly is skeptical. If that was the case, why would the fire giants be so afraid?


    "It seems nobody else knows about this simple fact..." Shaking her head, Aslaug walks over to a barrel that matches her size - a multi-story stone tank for normal-sized people. "I''m the only one here who ever uses water. That''s how I found out."


    She pours a stone cup filled to the brim with it on the ground, and it almost instantly seeps in. The cup is the size of a barrel for Lenoly, so it was a considerable amount.


    "The water is most likely streaming in really fast, so the lava chamber getting filled up is highly likely. But once it spreads out and flows into the other rooms, there can''t be enough water to flood it all." Placing the cup on the edge of the barrel, the inventor finishes her explanation and sits back down at her workbench. "We''re quite high up, so it''ll just seep deeper and deeper down."


    The frost giants most likely don''t know that this won''t work and will keep pouring water in through the entry until whatever they dammed up in preparation will be exhausted. Then what?


    "Oh, but since the volcano cooled down, this might be problematic." Aslaug motions to turn around, but suddenly looks up and tilts her head with one flaming eyebrow lifted in a thoughtful expression. Then she shrugs. "Well, not like it''s so cold in here that the water could freeze."


    "What do you mean? What will happen when the water freezes?" Impatient about her unconcerned attitude, Lenoly presses the issue.


    "Have you never tried freezing a sealed container of water filled to the brim before?" She looks at the little demon with a surprised expression. "The weakest part on the container breaks, because water expands when it freezes."


    "Wha?" Szaga stares at the giant with an incredulous face.


    "Ugh, it''s always such a pain to talk to those of lesser intellect." Rolling her eyes, Aslaug returns to her work and makes it clear that she doesn''t want to continue this conversation.


    Lenoly and Szaga exchange a glance before they quickly make their way to the communal room to warn the fire giants about what they just heard.


    "From Aslaug?" One of the elders sneers when the little bakari reports to them what she heard from the inventor.


    "Don''t listen to her. She isn''t right in the head from cooping herself up in that so-called workshop of hers all this time."


    "She has never contributed to the tribe in a meaningful way before."


    Aslaug''s reception isn''t the best, and under the current circumstances, she will only be looked upon even less favorably than usual. That''s why Lenoly already sent Szaga ahead to seal the lava chamber with her magic. She knows it''s only a stopgap measure because if the frost giants can break down a wall as thick as the one that had been erected to seal the vent before, they will be able to do it with whatever the gargoyle girl can do in haste.


    Leaving behind the gathering, the little bakari returns to their room to find Xaggavea, Anthera and Nezera already gathered there. They''re also debating how best to protect the thawing vat until Asoko can move again. It seems the former two had returned to their nests after completing their jobs and fell asleep from exhaustion. They only woke up after the second impact sound and didn''t go all the way to the chamber before finding out what happened.


    "Szaga should seal the workshop entryway." Nezera argues, a rare instance when she raises her voice beyond the volume of a normal conversation.


    "Then how are we getting out?" Xaggavea brings up this valid concern.


    "When Chaos-sama is back, she can wipe out the frost giants single-handedly." The bat maid replies with an irresponsible statement. There''s no guarantee that she''s able to fight the moment she wakes up, and even then she might not be able to defeat them on their own.


    "If only there were a way to move the vat." Anthera says in her usual air-headed tone and the other two glare at her for saying something useless.


    "There is no point in bringing that up!" They flare up at her in unison.


    "The caverns won''t be fully flooded." Lenoly makes her presence known. "But the situation may be even worse."


    She explains that the whole cave could come down on them when the water freezes and expands. If the ground below cracks and hollows, the support for the ceiling would weaken. And if the frost giants have a way to freeze it very quickly, it could happen within moments.


    "But frost giants don''t have magic. There should be no way they can do that." Xaggavea crosses her arms and taps a pair of her arachnid body''s legs impatiently.


    "Didn''t they say their god Rimfryst has joined them?" Anthera mentions without thinking much, and everybody''s hearts sink when they remember their encounter with Zylos in the infirmary. The moth girl wasn''t there, so she doesn''t know the sheer presence the god of frost exuded.


    And he was involved in killing Queen Pelomyx, an existence among the demons that has always been placed on equal standing with the gods. None of the maids could even hope to stand up to him, and in their last encounter Chaos was frozen by his power as well. If they had to face him, they knew they couldn''t come out alive.


    "Then we should take Chaos-sama out of the vat and leave while we can." The spider girl is referring to the volcanic glass window in the communal room as their escape route. It''s the only other place they could leave this volcano from, but they would have to smash it. And outside is a steep drop - the reason why the frost giants didn''t attack from that angle even though its existence is clearly visible from afar.


    "The thawing process isn''t finished yet. We can''t just take her out." Lenoly was in the workshop earlier and saw that no movements were coming from Asoko.


    "It''s better than everybody dying and leaving her at the mercy of the frost giants, or even Rimfryst." Even though her tone and phrasing may be a little too grave, Xaggavea is right.


    There are three options in this matter. The first is to seal off the workshop doorway, leave the fire giants to fend for themselves, and hide until Asoko wakes up, then hope that they can either fight their way out or escape from Zylos who might be waiting outside. The second is to help the fire giants in the defense and try to weather the enemy assault - also until Asoko awakens and joins the fray - hoping that Zylos won''t be among their ranks. Lastly, run with her body now, even though the thawing process isn''t finished, and live to find another way to bring her back.


    To Lenoly, none of those sound like they have great prospects of success. It comes down to making the best choice from three almost equally bad options.


    "The sound of water stopped!" Nezera''s ears twitch, and she turns towards the door. Szaga flies in at almost the same moment, wearing an expression that suggests her job is done. She lands on the ground and looks at everybody with an eyebrow raised.


    "Huh, wha''s wrong?" Her initial thought is that they were staring at her, but when they quickly get up and run past her, she looks bewildered. "Hey, wha''s goin'' on?"


    "Szaga''s wall still stands." The bat girl says while flying through the air; if the frost giants had broken it down, she would have heard it.


    They soon reach where Hakon is standing guard and look past him down the corridor, which leads to the sealed lava chamber, lying just around a corner.


    "There''s still some standing water." Lenoly points forward, where a pool has formed on the ground. The water isn''t seeping into the ground as quickly as it looked with the amount Aslaug spilled, but that''s because there''s a lot more here.


    Some fire giants are peeking out of their rooms at the commotion. There are no movements in the darkness ahead of them, and Nezera isn''t picking anything up.


    "I don''t hear anything on the other side." Landing next to them, she reports with an uneasy expression. This silence can''t mean anything good.


    "He is coming." Flann suddenly appears in the middle of the maids and mutters in her usual tone.


    "Argh, stop doin'' tha''!" Szaga shouts as she stumbles back in surprise.


    "Who?" Lenoly has an idea, but still asks just to be sure. She wonders why Flann always appears shortly before something big happens, but never offers any advice or help. Furthermore, she only reports the inevitable.


    Before the blonde mage can respond, the pool of water freezes in an instant. The earth beneath their feet rumbles, and cracks form in every direction, running up the walls. In some parts, the ground erupts into short geyser-like bursts of dust and rock, as the ice expands explosively.


    "Zylos is here." She says, although there was already no question as to who could be responsible for such powerful magic.

 Chapter L6 - An End to Extremes

    "What do we do?" Xaggavea asks. The ground is shaking as the water that seeped into the porous volcanic rock turns into ice, spreading further underground.


    "Get back from here!" Lenoly jumps sideways just in time to avoid getting swallowed by a rift opening under her feet. Then Szaga swoops in and takes her into the safety of the air.


    "To the communal halls!" Hakon leaves his heavy stone slab of a tower shield behind to run away faster while waving at the fire giants who are rooted in place due to fear and looking around in confusion.


    "We have to get back to the workshop!" Nezera screeches in fear and flies ahead of everybody else. She''s worried that the damage from the spreading quakes could reach Aslaug''s workshop and cause the vat to be damaged - or the whole place to come down.


    The decision where to fight has been made for them now, as the ground crumbles away and the ceiling rips open. Rock and snow from the surface begin to slide in as if to fill the deep cracks in the ground, while fire giants and demon maids alike run from the cave-in as quickly as they can.


    Many of the former don''t make it.


    If they hide in the workshop and leave the other fire giants to their fates, there will be no guarantee that Zylos won''t find them once everything outside it is over. At that time, they would be trapped and be hopelessly outmatched. However, even if they fought, they know that they could never hope to stand up to a god.


    Lenoly looks back to see that where Flann remained moments ago without moving has disappeared under the avalanche. There''s no doubt in her mind that the blonde demon has escaped from there without a problem. Even though she supposedly came along to help them, she hasn''t done a single thing outside of warning them too late each time.


    "We have to hold out for as long as we can. Anthera, you stay with Chaos." Lenoly says while being carried in midair. Now would be the worst time to reveal that the one they''re risking their lives to protect actually isn''t the person they think she is. "If..."


    "I know." The moth maid says and lowers her head. Even though her attitude is relaxed and air-headed most of the time, she isn''t stupid; she can read the situation and was clearly paying attention to the flow of the earlier conversation.


    "Szaga, be ready to collapse the entire tunnel when they''re about to break through." Without dwelling on Anthera''s response, Lenoly moves on to give each of the demon maids a role in the upcoming defensive battle. Their fighting strength is pretty low compared to that of giants, and their magic won''t be of any use against the god of frost if he decides to march in personally.


    Lenoly grinds her teeth. If her body wasn''t so fragile that a single hit from a frost giant could kill her, her magic could have been the most useful here. Unfortunately, the bakari are specialized at cloaking their bodies in flames and casting powerful spells at the range of a spear thrust. Even studying at the academy hasn''t helped improve her range much.


    Xaggavea, who was most adamant about taking Asoko out of the vat and run away although the thawing process isn''t finished, is one of the weakest maids in terms of magic. But under these circumstances, even she has decided to come along to the front, in hopes to delay the enemies just a moment longer.


    Nezera may possess strong dark magic, but similar to Lenoly, it''s only useful at close range. Being able to fly will ensure that she can survive longer than the bakari girl though.


    Ultimately, Szaga is the only one who''s a proper combat maid in their group. They formed this team to sneak through enemy lines undetected and to break out of sticky situations by force when there''s no other way, not to fight a war like this.


    Everybody''s hopes lie in Asoko''s awakening now.


    They fly through the tunnels as dust and small rocks rain down on them from the cracks opening in the ceiling. If this goes on any more, the whole mountainside could cave in and bury the entire village of the fire giants. Then the enemy wouldn''t have to come in and risk losing their lives in battle. They do have a sense of honor, seeking to finish off their enemies by their own hands instead of leaving it to a force of nature - in this case, their patron god.


    However, suddenly everything goes silent, and the tremors stop. Either all the water has been turned into ice by now, or Zylos has decided that this was enough damage for the time being.


    "The enemy has broken the side of the volcano!" Hakon''s roar echoes through the entire cave system. "Come and defend your homes, save your loved ones!"


    The champion of the fire giant''s voice is calling everybody back to action, and some are coming out of hiding all along the tunnels where Lenoly and the maids are moving towards the place they decided to make their last stand in. Many of them understand that if they don''t fight now, they''ll be picked off one by one in their own homes, along with their families.


    "They are coming!" Then, the champion''s voice announces that the frost giants are storming in now.


    More and more fire giants come out of hiding, and Lenoly even spots women among them. The enemy won''t make a difference between men, women, and children when they get through, so they know that it''s better to die fighting than getting slaughtered helplessly in their homes.


    "I pray they hold out long enough." Xaggavea, who has been running on the wall rather than the ground, says more to herself than the others, but her voice carries far enough for Lenoly to hear. It''s a grim prayer, as she believes they won''t survive and are only good to buy time now.


    When they reach the doorway to the workshop, they find that Aslaug is peeking out from it with a worried expression.


    "They''re coming, huh?" She asks when she sees the group of maids coming her way.


    "How is Chaos?" Instead of answering the fire giant''s question, Lenoly poses one of her own.


    "Still in there." Pointing behind herself, the inventor replies. "It''s looking pretty bad out there, isn''t it?"


    "Yes." That''s all the little bakari says in response, as she begins to direct the maids.


    The damage from the ice hasn''t reached this far, so they quickly set up a defensive line. Szaga creates spikes on the ground which should serve to slow the enemies down, while Nezera hides among the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, hoping to slash passing frost giants from above.


    Because of the scattered defenders, the enemies flooding in aren''t met by an organized force. The sounds of battles are breaking out throughout the village, echoing through the tunnels and reaching them. It''s clear that it''s only a matter of time until they''re overwhelmed, and even before then, some could circumvent the defensive line and approach them.


    "There''s a group of three coming towards us." Xaggavea has laid out her web all across the pathways leading up to their position. She didn''t have much time, so she couldn''t do a job as thorough as she would have liked, but it''s still enough to spot giants who don''t care about being stealthy.


    Szaga creates a pillar ready to be launched the moment an opponent shows himself. Lenoly prepares her magic just in case one manages to make it through the ballista-like shots that the gargoyle maid can launch. They can''t allow even one of them to pass this point.


    This is their final line of defense.


    The frost giants are flooding in through the caved-in ceiling and pushing their ways deeper into the tunnels. With the only other exit sealed, the fire giants are fighting a battle for sheer survival now. Their numbers have diminished greatly now, and they have no proper defensive positions; all they can show is desperation in trying to protect the lives of their families, sometimes cowering in fear only a few steps behind them.


    However, Hakon isn''t the champion for nothing. His spear of heated rock pierces one enemy after another, as he defends the entrance to the communal hall, where the elders and children alike have retreated to. He leads the only semblance of a defensive line, as he and the other warriors hack and stab at the frost giants coming their way.


    Due to their size and physical properties, neither kind of giant creates weapons that use mechanical parts. Let alone ballistae or crossbows, they don''t even wield bows, as no material for either the elastic limbs or the string could withstand their strength. Throwing spears and slinging molten stones is all they can do.


    Therefore, the fire giants can hold out as long as they are. Since the demons aren''t nearby, they can cause their bodies to erupt in fiery explosions which keep the enemies at bay.


    But even that ability is limited, as it uses up the heat stored inside them, which needs to be replenished over time or by bathing in the caldera of their volcano. Neither is an option now, and the freezing aura of the frost giants only compounds on their cooling. Eventually, their limbs will harden and become porous like volcanic rock.


    Now isn''t the time to worry about such things; if he holds back now and gets overrun anyway, the defenseless people behind him will die as well. The defenders by his side know that and fight with stalwart vigor, albeit born out of desperation rather than in hope for survival. After all, no reinforcements will come, and the flood of the enemies is still unabated.


    "You will not pass here!" Stabbing through one frost giant and hitting the one behind him with a single thrust, Hakon roars. Upon hearing his conviction, some enemies look fearful and hesitate in their advance. Taking this opportunity to attempt scaring them back, the champion of the fire giants moves toward them with a fresh heated spear pointed at their faces.


    "I will be your enemy!" Suddenly, a frost giant more than a head taller than his peers approaches from the far back, pushing his way forward. A cheer runs through them, signaling that he must be their very own champion.


    Leveling his spear, Hakon waits for him to reach the front, where the latter shows the giant club made from ice that he''s dragging along the ground behind him.


    "My name is Isvardr, the wielder of Everfrost." He announces himself in a roaring voice. His figure is impressive, as he easily towers over Hakon and his head seems to scrape the ceiling.


    "I am Hakon, Champion of Fire!" Letting the fire that covers his head like hair burn brighter, Hakon walks forward to meet the challenge. The warriors on both sides step back to form a circle around the two contenders, who begin to face each other silently.


    Isvardr makes the first move by swinging the massive club called Everfrost with one hand. Hakon steps back to avoid it, and the weapon crashes into the wall next to him, leaving a crater in it. There''s no sign of the club having sustained any damage from it though. It must be a weapon that Rimfryst himself created with his indestructible ice.


    Taking the opening the wide swing left behind, the fire giant champion lunges forward with his heated spear, but Isvardr dodges it unexpectedly nimbly. He pulls Everfrost back and performs an upward swing to create some space between himself and his opponent.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    With that first exchange, both stand at the same distance to each other as before, but now they both have a wall behind their backs. The fire giants remain silent, watching the duel with bated breath, while the frost giants cheer for their champion. If the former died here, the defenders would lose their most powerful warrior, while the latter would still have incredible numbers on their side.


    Once again, Isvardr goes for a horizontal sweep, but Hakon judges the distance just right to step aside a little; the massive ice club hits the wall and stops short of touching him. This time, he doesn''t go for a thrust at the frost giant''s body but slashes at his hand, which is still gripping the handle of the weapon tightly.


    Ice evaporates as the heated spear tip burns all of Isvardr''s fingers away. Everfrost falls to the ground as its wielder holds his hand in pain. Without wasting any time to think about his imminent victory, Hakon lunges forward and stabs his spear into his opponent''s stomach. It pierces through the frost giant''s body and exits on his back, but the weapon has cooled down completely now.


    However, Isvardr suddenly jumps forward and pushes Hakon down to the floor, causing all the rock spears stuck in the latter''s back to run him through, before piercing the former as well. The surface of his body evaporates quickly as he comes into contact with the fire giant, and his whole upper body soon disappears completely.


    The frost giants have gone silent, as they watch Hakon slowly push himself up from the ground with half a dozen spears emerging from his chest. Fire giants usually store them in their backs to heat the tips, as they possess no organs that could be damaged by it. But the inferior minerals from the rock spears melting into his body now will cause him to slow down.


    "Who''s next?!" The champion pulls one of them out and levels it at the rows of enemies, who stare at him without making a sound.


    Then, suddenly a small figure with bluish-white skin and dark blue hair emerges from between the frost giants and walks forward. It looks like a human in both appearance and stature, but all fire giants know who this is at a single glance.


    "Rimfryst!" Hakon lunges forward and stabs his molten spear tip at the god of frost.


    But the god lifts his hand and casually stops it with his palm. Then he looks up as if only now noticing that the fire giant was there. His eyes are as cold as the deepest winter night, and he emotionlessly regards the champion.


    "Wha-" Before Hakon can finish expressing his shock his whole body solidifies into a frozen statue in an instant.


    "Four more are coming." Xaggavea announces, and Lenoly looks at her in despair.


    A dozen frost giants have already come their way, and they have only been holding the position because Aslaug eventually decided to help them by using a prototype ballista she created. By now, the wrought steel wire used as the bowstring has snapped, so they won''t be able to rely on it anymore.


    Nezera is lying unconscious after the wind pressure from a wild swing from a frost giant blew her against the wall. Szaga was hit by unfortunately angled ice shrapnel when an enemy''s upper body shattered from a fortunately angled impact of a rock pillar. She''s bleeding profusely and seems about to collapse, and even first aid bandages are unable to staunch the flow.


    Lenoly was able to fend off two that had broken through to get within her range one after the other, but with the state the others are in, the enemies will be able to advance unhindered and in larger numbers now. Xaggavea isn''t of much help in a direct confrontation, as she requires preparation time - and even then, her strings have little use against giants with immense physical strength.


    Aslaug prepares her sling. She has very bad aim and is generally weak compared to the other fire giants because of her smaller size and more human-like shape. The only thing she can contribute with now that her weapon broke is to try and intimidate the enemies with the threat of being hit by molten rocks.


    The first frost giant comes around the corner, and Szaga slaps her hand on the ground, causing a pillar to emerge before her. But she staggers to her feet only to fall back down again; she doesn''t have the strength to stand up and launch it anymore. Two more appear around the corner, and then the fourth, making up the numbers that the spider girl announced.


    "More are coming! I count..." She begins, but her face goes pale when she senses more and more converging on their position from all directions. "The fire giants must have been overwhelmed..."


    That means this place really is the last line of defense. The gargoyle girl tries to get up one more time, to fight to her last breath, but her legs give out completely this time, and she falls onto her bottoms, unable to even move anymore. Nezera still hasn''t awoken, so it might be more than just a concussion - which means that she''s out of commission as well. At this rate, they''ll be overrun immediately.


    Suddenly, molten rock drips down from the ceiling and stops the frost giants'' advance on their position about halfway down the tunnel. Within the rain of red-hot lava, a human figure emerges and lands on the ground effortlessly despite a drop of nearly fifteen meters.


    Lenoly immediately recognizes who it is, remembering when Rewera fought her in the castle, and how she nearly died as collateral damage. However, now she finds herself unexpectedly hopeful at the person''s appearance in this darkest hour.


    It''s Kanundra, Bearer of the Flame, the patron god of the fire giants.


    With a single wave of her flaming hand, half a dozen frost giants standing before her evaporate on the spot, and the ones following behind them stop their advance immediately.


    "What have you done..." Her voice has a low and rumbling sound like a volcano about to erupt, as the flames that make up her hair begin to glow hotter and hotter, visualizing her anger.


    "Lady Kanundra!" Aslaug calls out to her but receives no answer. Instead, the goddess of fire walks forward as the heat exuded by her living lava body reaches even Lenoly and washes over her like a physical wave.


    But the temperature suddenly drops again, when from between the retreating frost giants another figure emerges. Standing slightly taller than Kanundra, his bluish white skin and dark blue hair are telltale signs that he''s something other than human. The fact that his presence alone could counteract the effects of the fire god''s flame is enough evidence for his identity.


    "Zylos!" With a roar of flames, Kanundra calls out his name. He''s the god of ice, Winter''s Frost, and patron god of the frost giants.


    This is no longer a place where Lenoly and the demon maids can contribute. A clash between two gods could destroy the whole volcano, if not the entire mountain range. If they got caught up in it, nobody would survive.


    "We need to get out of here." The little bakari turns to Xaggavea and Szaga with a fearful expression.


    "Why are you here?! We agreed never to interfere in their battles!" The god of fire seems to be level-headed enough to hold a conversation still, even though she seems about ready to explode.


    "Because of that." Zylos'' voice is ice-cold, and he shows no emotions when he lifts a hand to point it at Aslaug. She takes a step back in surprise, being suddenly focused down by the enemy''s patron god''s intense gaze. "How long have you been hiding it?"


    "That has nothing to do with you!" Kanundra stomps her foot and shouts.


    "You broke our agreement first. I have come to rectify it." Stepping forward fearlessly, the ice god seems unaffected by the staggering heat his opposite is putting out. "You can start over."


    "No, I won''t let you do that!" The god of fire runs forward while her body grows hotter. With a swing of her hand, a wave of pure heat assaults Zylos, but only his hair is blown backward by it. He shows no hint of being affected, while the frost giants behind him evaporate in an instant without having time to scream.


    "You cannot defeat me, sister." Saying in an emotionless tone, he steps right up to her. At this range, her heat must be able to evaporate even rocks, but he doesn''t look the least fazed by it.


    "Zylooos!" She screams and throws a punch, but he catches her glowing hot fist with his palm.


    Then Kanundra''s flame disappears, and her skin tone returns to that of a tan human''s with reddish-brown hair. Like a light turned off, heat from her body that should have lingered in the air immediately disappears to give way to the absolute cold that Zylos exudes. Even though she''s naked, she isn''t immediately turned into a frozen statue like Asoko had been, meaning he''s holding back against his sister.


    He walks past her and slowly approaches Aslaug, who steps back into her workshop fearfully. However, before he can get there, he will have to pass Lenoly and the others, who were watching the clash of gods in awe and terror.


    "Demons, here?" His voice and expression don''t change, but he seems to be surprised to see them living with the fire giants so far from the Dominion. "It matters not. Nobody will leave here alive today."


    "Stop!" Kanundra runs past Zylos and stands in his way with her arms spread as if trying to physically halt his advance now that her powers seem to have vanished.


    "Why would you risk your life for that?" He asks as if genuinely wondering. His eyes glance at Aslaug before returning to stare down his sister, who may be powerless and naked, but possesses the determination of a person who has something important to protect.


    "Because she''s my ch-" Before Kanundra can finish answering, a huge mass of black tentacles appears out of nowhere and buries her underneath their countless numbers.


    For the first time, Zylos'' expression changes; he''s frozen in place with his eyes wide open in bafflement.


    The swirling mass of appendages draws back and consolidates into a humanoid form, which crawls across the ground seemingly in agony. The individual tentacles twist and twitch, as it loses its form repeatedly, and the hands hold its temples as if it suffers from a headache.


    Then the being appears to calm down, as it slowly gets up on its feet and the tentacles draw back together to form a human woman''s shape eventually. Long blond hair, blue eyes, spotless white skin but a face that has some uncharacteristically Japanese features - they are a familiar sight for the demons and the god of ice alike.


    "Asoko!" Lenoly suddenly exclaims when she sees the naked girl standing in the tunnel before her. Finally, after six moons of being frozen into a statue, she has reawakened.


    "... Lenoly?" The other half of Chaos turns around with a confused look. Then she seems to realize that she''s naked and begins to shiver from the cold. "Wh-where is this?"


    "You...? What have you done to Kanundra!" Zylos'' menacing voice comes from behind her, and she spins around again.


    "Zylos?" Taking a step back in surprise, Asoko stares at the god of ice.


    "Give me back my sister!" He takes a step forward and points at her.


    "What?" Even though she has awakened, it seems she ate the god of fire unconsciously. But since her powers had been taken away by her brother of the opposite element, she easily fell victim to the Crawling Chaos'' hunger.


    "You''ve eaten Kanundra, the Bearer of the Flame!" Lenoly quickly calls out to Asoko, who spins her head back and forth between the little bakari behind her and the furious god coming towards her. "You can fight!"


    "I ate her?" Blinking while looking down at her hands, Asoko thinks about it for a moment. That means she should have the powers of fire at her disposal.


    "Give her back!" With an angry scream, Zylos runs forward and reaches out with his arm. His hand grabs her chest.


    "Ahn, pervert!" Opting for a moment of unnecessary comedy, Asoko staggers back while her whole body catches on fire and begins to glow from the inside. Even though the god of ice touched her, she didn''t freeze into a statue this time.


    "Im... possible..." Zylos stares at the girl before him, who appears to be using the same abilities as his sister she swallowed moments ago. But unlike with her, he can''t seem to shut off this one''s power.


    "Hey, even I know that while heat seems to have no limits, the cold can only reach a set point." Shrugging, Asoko comments while her body glows at the intensity of a miniature sun. "So heat will always win out."


    "That is not how Absolute Zero works!" Pointing at the air above her, Zylos shouts. A massive block of ice appears out of thin air - maybe he actually froze a chunk of air itself in an instant - which falls onto the glowing Crawling Chaos. But before it even touches her, it evaporates again. "What?!"


    "What do you mean, Absolute Zero? It''s just negative some two-hundred seventy or so degrees. I should be at several thousands now. How could you ever hope to defeat that?" Grinning, Asoko points at him in a mocking gesture. "I don''t really understand hownor remember when I ate Kanundra, but now that I have, you won''t ever defeat me."


    "You ignorant creature! These powers are-" Before Zylos can finish explaining that their abilities come from technology rather than actual magic - and that absolute zero means the cessation of even quantum processes - a beam of heat pierces his chest and stops his voice.


    He looks down at himself to find a hole the size of a volleyball seared through the center of his chest. It doesn''t seem like he''s in pain, but his expression shows that this was an unexpected attack.


    Asoko stares at Zylos, whose eyes grow more intense despite the missing part of his body. But unlike when she used spirit spears in their last battle, he somehow isn''t fixing the damage this time. Maybe this heat attack was as effective as she thought it would be?


    "I will..." He begins to say but trails off. Then he falls forward face-first without even trying to break his fall and stays down.


    "... is it over?" Although she knows the common trope of the heroes posing this question, only for the opponent to emerge from the dust cloud completely unharmed, Asoko still lets herself ask it. After all, there is no dust cloud this time, and the enemy is lying on the ground, not moving a muscle and with a sizzling hole in his chest.


    Everybody remains silent, while they stare at the downed Zylos. Then, the realization dawns on them that it''s really over now.


    Asoko just defeated two gods back to back without much of an effort.

 Chapter 111 - But a Moments Respite

    "[This place has really gone to the dogs.]" Exla comments through her strange airship''s speakers when we reach the sky above Arkaim. She remained wordless throughout the journey and didn''t even say anything when I picked up Senka along the way. But this is the first thing she says? "[What have you people done to this once so fertile continent?]"


    "[No point asking me, I''ve only been born into this world... or era... two years ago or so.]" I don''t actually remember exactly how long it has been; I''ve been to so many climate zones in short intervals that losing track of the seasons is only natural. I do know that around a year passed in Adanak though.


    "[If I had some time, I''d make this place the way it used to be.]" The sheep-looking cloud girl in the cockpit says.


    "[I think you do have some time. Since I don''t know when they might attack again, we can only wait here for the time being.]" And while I know that Zenlith is most likely the most powerful among them when it comes to the power of imagination, there are still those like Zylos and Kanundra, whose personal imaginations have incredibly destructive applications.


    Then again, if they died from being disintegrated - which is what I did to Zenlith - things would be incredibly easy.


    "[So I''ll be able to work this land and make Arkheim green again?]" Exla sounds excited at the prospect of turning this entire region into a gardening project. Considering she was the gamekeeper of an entire continent for a while, that may even be a step-down in scale for her.


    "[Yeah, but first I''ll introduce you to the others.]" I point down at the floating castle. We''re still above the clouds, but I''m sure some have already spotted the airship Exla is traveling in. "[I''d prefer if you didn''t land in that conspicuous thing though.]"


    "[I understand.]" Grinning, the goddess of the earth seems to suck the entire airship into her body from the inside, before ending up with her human appearance sitting on a small cloud.


    "[I get that reference.]" I point at her with both fingers and wink, and she returns it with a cheerful smile. "[Now, let''s go.]"


    We''re talking in the language of Adanak - or Armeria, as it used to be called when the Old Humans still reigned there - because Tahiri is with us. Even then, she only watches us curiously and doesn''t join the conversations. Maybe she doesn''t understand our topics, or she''s still observing Exla.


    When I think about it, aren''t the two of them quite similar? They both have a cloud theme, even though Tahiri''s powers overlap with Zenlith''s rather than Exla''s. But their lax attitudes are pretty much the same, as they both lived for a long time. And they both know how powerful they are, compared to those around them.


    As we approach the city, I see people pointing up at us and running away in the streets. They should know Tahiri and me, and I can''t imagine why Exla''s childlike appearance would cause such a panic.


    We quickly reach the castle, and I land in the courtyard. The maids have finished their magic training and returned inside by now, but the Petsobek guards at the doors stare at our approach in fear, their halberds pointed at us with shaky hands. What has those two-meter tall crocodile-men so scared?


    Then I turn around and find that Exla, floating on her cloud, is still a giant. Maybe she was keeping her distance from me while in that strange airship so that I couldn''t judge her size, but now she can be put in relation with other objects.


    "[Misleading perspective again!]" I point at her and shout out.


    "Your Highness, what is..." One of the guards asks when he recognizes me.


    "Sorry, that''s just Exla, the Guardian of the Soil." Turning around to him, I sigh and explain, but that only serves to make him even more nervous. Yeah, I shouldn''t make it sound like this isn''t anything special; her name is known, even if nobody has ever seen her.


    "A god?" Another asks in a shaky voice, unsure whether to even try stopping her or just run away. I praise his discipline and bravery when he chooses to stand his ground.


    "[It''s been such a long time since I last saw normal-sized people.]" Exla tilts her head when she regards the Petsobek guards that should appear like 1/4 figurines to her.


    "[What about us?]" I gesture at Tahiri and me. Senka, whom I''ve taken out from my body by now, is an exception since she''s child-sized.


    "[I thought you were just tiny.]" Shrugging, the cloud-headed girl replies as if she''s serious about it. Then she cracks up with a grin before beginning to shrink along with her cloud and descending towards the ground while still sitting on it.


    "[Admit it, you just wanted to leave a big impression.]" I sigh again.


    "[Just like you at Kairaki.]" Tahiri comments while drifting past me on her very own cloud chair. She''s referring to the fact that at the start of the battle I turned into a giant robot that shot plasma at the enemy army to intimidate them.


    "[Hey, that was different.]" There really shouldn''t be any reason for me to justify my actions from back then, but I still feel the need to do so. It worked wonders to break the humans'' morale, though I have to admit that it was unnecessary. Even the five enemy gods that combined into one giant could have been easily taken care of at my normal size.


    "[Oh, you need to tell me all about that, senpai.]" Exla passes by me like a floating sheep while grinning mischievously.


    "[I made a huge mistake...]" I mutter when I look at the two goddesses on their clouds as they enter the castle ahead of me. Tahiri wasn''t much of a tease before, but it seems that something awakened in her after seeing how easily I become flustered from Senka''s cheeky remarks.


    Now I added another tease - one who calls me senpai in a tone that makes me wonder whether she''s saying it ironically or not.


    "[You''re back.]" Aratio suddenly whispers next to my ear and blows into it. I suppress the urge to shudder at the sensation and turn around.


    "[One of these days...]" Muttering this as I see her floating upside down next to me again, I stop myself and close my eyes. Then I open them again and look into her silver ones. "[You know what, come to my room this evening.]"


    "[Oh? Are you finally willing to play with me then?]" She stares at me with a hint of surprise in her gaze, but there''s an expectant glint in those ethereal eyes.


    "[If by play you mean in bed, yes.]" Petting her upside down head, I comment, and she twirls her lips into a frown, though it looks like a smile since she''s upside down. Did she do that knowing it would look like a smile, or is she actually frowning?


    "[I hope this time you''ll keep your word.]" Spinning around with her head as the pivot, she comes into an upright position and her lips curl up after all. "[You left me hanging a few times already. And you should know that I''m as fickle as the wind.]"


    "[I know.]" I gaze into her eyes with a confident smile. "[But if you didn''t like it, you wouldn''t be coming back each time now, would you?]"


    "[That boldness is what attracts me the most.]" Aratio replies with a giggle and licks her lips.


    "[Are you flirting with my daughter?]" Tahiri calls out to me from inside the entrance hall, where she and Exla stopped to see why I wasn''t catching up to them. She''s actually grinning, signaling that she sees nothing wrong with it. I think I would be more bothered with watching somebody flirt with my daughter, though I only have twin traps for sons.


    "[Yes, and she agreed to play with me tonight.]" The daughter of the storm replies first, and I twitch.


    "[Care if I join?]" Unexpected, not only does her mother not blame me for seducing her, but she even looks serious when she asks whether or not I want an oyakodon - parent and child bowl, to maintain the euphemism.


    "Ugh." Senka makes and rolls her eyes, before sliding out of my embrace and walking away on her own two feet.


    "[My, senpai has a harem?]" Exla acts surprised and covers her mouth in a feigned gesture of exaggerated shock. "[Are you going to get me, too?]"


    "[I''m not interested in little girls.]" I reply with a grin. Out of all my beloved girls, Kamii is the smallest. But this sheep-looking one is scraping too close to Senka''s size, which feels like a taboo even for a demon queen - not like that means the same here as it does in those indecent stories where a demon lord sweeps across the nation to build a harem of...


    "[What?!]" It seems me calling her a little girl has hit a nerve, as Exla suddenly grows in size and nearly fills out the entire entrance hall. She grabs me and lifts me in front of her face. "[You''re calling this appearance a little girl?]"


    Then she pulls forward the neckline of her white swimsuit and drops me into it. The fact that she couldn''t do so without lifting the cloth only shows that she''s too flat to have a cleavage.


    But I have bigger worries, as I get sandwiched between the fabric and her nonexistent breasts. This feels like a crime!


    "[There, can you still call me that?]" The giant Exla''s voice is booming through her chest directly into my ear. I can hear her heartbeat and feel the smoothness of her skin rubbing against my whole body. This may be unexpectedly nice-


    No, this is dangerous!


    "[Nothing changed about you except for your relative size to me! Your chest relative to your body is still the same!]" I press out from between her swimsuit and her hard sternum.


    "[I''m just messing around, I know that this appearance is a little girl''s.]" Her voice reverberates through my whole body again before a hand comes in to pick me out of the sweet deathtrap. "[But according to the sheer numbers of anime featuring this kind of appearance in an overly sexualized role, I thought it was the norm for Japan.]"


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "[Firstly, that''s not the norm, but something only perverts would feel attracted to. Secondly, were you trying to lure in some Japanese with that?]" I ask while sitting on her palm.


    "[It worked, didn''t it, senpai?]" With a grin, she puts me back down on the ground next to Tahiri, who watched our exchange in silent curiosity. Then her body becomes smaller again. "[If you like a more boom-kyuu-boom form, I can do that, too.]"


    Instead of shrinking down evenly all the way to her previous small appearance, she stops at the curves of a supermodel. And she''s still wearing the white school swimsuit, which is almost bursting at the bust and hips.


    But this isn''t really the type I like. She''s a little taller than me and looks too mature for the personality she displayed before. The cognitive dissonance causes me to shake my head.


    "[I prefer something more intermediate.]" I suggest while shooting Tahiri a sideways glance. Her figure is just perfect in my eyes, though it may be because I got used to seeing her practically every single day for the past year. On the other side of me, I see Aratio''s naked form under her pretty much translucent silken dress. She would be counted on the smaller side, albeit she''s still better endowed than Aurelia.


    "[Well, I''m just messing around anyway. I''m not interested in girls.]" Shrugging, Exla shrinks back down to her previous appearance.


    "[Oh, that''s a shame.]" I grin at her, and she returns it with her own while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.


    "[Maybe you can make me become interested eventually?]" She teases with an impish expression, before turning around towards the stairs, where a group of maids has gathered to watch the unfolding scene in the foyer. Among them is Nymphy.


    Oh damn, over reuniting with Hestia and not meeting her all day long even during magic training, I completely forgot about her. Now I''ve booked Aratio for tonight too. This would be the second night in a row in which I''m standing her up, not counting the very first night in Arkaim where I decided to strategize with Senka instead.


    I begin to see limits to the feasibility of maintaining a harem in the physical sense. While I don''t think I could stop loving any single one of those whose positions are already cemented, once a certain number is reached, spending time with them equally will become an impossibility. My body doesn''t tire, but I can still only be in one place at a time - and entertaining several at once is not an option unless they offer it themselves as Aratio and Tahiri did.


    Technically, I can be in several places at a time, like I did on the Chaos Carrier, where I was both the airship and an avatar inside it. But it would feel like a betrayal if I placed down an extension cord between rooms and created bodies of myself to be with different girls at the same time.


    And I promised both Aurelia and Tokomaha that I would never look and think about others when I''m with them. I don''t think doing it any differently with Kamii and Hestia would be right either.


    I''ll have to work this out some other time, as for now I have work to do. The day is growing darker already, and there are still a lot of matters to attend to before I can even think about having fun.


    "Welcome back, Your Highness." The maids bow in unison when I make my way up the stairs, flanked by Tahiri and Exla.


    "I''m back." I reply in a matter of fact tone, not letting my thoughts show on my face.


    It''s only the second day after the devastating siege, and the city looks much more cleaned up already. The demons work fast, and some incorporate their tribal magic into rebuilding the houses and streets. An overall sense of hope has returned to the population, not only because of the victory against insurmountable odds but also because they have a new queen who promised to retake the lands and return peace to the Dominion.


    They saw that I could defeat Chandra easily, even though she''s counted among the strongest demons in existence by many. Few witnessed me fighting outside the walls, but those who did have spread the tale like wildfire. In other words, they understand that I can make good on my promise.


    I''ve made the clan leaders, and maids keep the fact that I obliterated the entire city of Pontis Daemonis a secret. The people will wonder why I won''t just fly to the human continent and destroy their capital cities one by one until they surrender. In their eyes, human soldiers and civilians make no difference. If killing large numbers of either ends the war, it would be a small price to pay.


    That was an idea I thought about before. Kongenssoevn has around a million inhabitants, and I assume it won''t be any less for Vertex Mundia, the capital of the Empire of Terminus. If by destroying those cities - and killing the heads of states and chief military staffs that will most likely be there - I can save more demon lives, it might be a viable tactic.


    But that would only perpetuate the cycle of war. After all, the civilian casualties would be immense, and those who had family there would eventually breed a new leader who will be hell-bent on revenge. That''s without taking the Old Humans into account. They wouldn''t sit still, and Zenlith could strike where I can''t see, eradicating a whole city in retaliation moments after.


    It would be like a nuclear war.


    Maybe destroying Pontis Daemonis was a little too hasty. There shouldn''t have been any civilians, and it was a supply depot and staging ground for the human invasion. It was a legitimate target in war. I just hope Zenlith sees it the same way.


    "Damn, what am I getting scared for." I scratch my head and turn away from the tower window overlooking Arkaim, where the lights from homes and street lamps create a view reminiscent of a modern city. Or in this case, an ancient city, considering I learned that this is the far future of the world where I used to live as a Japanese high school girl.


    "What were you thinking about?" Hestia asks me from her seat at the table. Dregana is standing behind her, deep in thought herself. She must be mulling over everything she learned from me yesterday and today.


    "About what to do in this war." These must be the kinds of problems people back in my time were facing. As a Japanese, it''s in my very spirit to oppose the nuclear solution, but now I''m thinking of doing the same. Maybe if the Old Humans didn''t exist, that would indeed be the best solution right now.


    "You should make an example of the capitals like you did with Pontis Daemonis." Vitalis suggests. She has gathered herself again - both literally and figuratively - and has reverted to her usual self. As expected, somebody already considered this option.


    "That''s exactly what I don''t want to do." I look across everybody gathered in the meeting room. The Great Clan leaders are here as well, and so are Aurelia, Tokomaha, and Tahiri. Aratio is nowhere to be seen, but she was never one of my inner circle like those are. "What if Zenlith or any of the other gods retaliate in the same manner?"


    Vitalis flaps her mouth open and closed, but doesn''t say anything and averts her gaze. It seems she thought I had already become so powerful that this wasn''t a problem anymore. In a way, it wouldn''t be a problem to me in the physical sense. Unlike the Old Humans, I do care about my people though. If I didn''t, I could wage war on the enemy without a care in the world.


    "For now, we will have to wait and see how the empire reacts to the defeat here and the loss of their supply base. The armies still in the field all have their own supply depots, so they will not run out anytime soon." Ophalen says while looking across the map of the Dominion, on which small flags and figurines have been placed to simulate the positions of the various troops of the two warring factions.


    I look at Erbilan, where Korenga has gone with Chandra. That place should be the safest right now, aside from here. But there are reportedly more than a dozen detachments of human troops raiding and pillaging on the other side of the mountain pass that the fortress city defends.


    The continent of Ceogath is immense. Not all of it can actually be counted as part of the Dominion, such as the savage southern tribes and the northern mountain folk. Communications with the far west are scarce as well, where another small nation of demons exists. As long as they don''t attack our rear, I won''t bother with them though.


    At this point, almost half of the nation has fallen to the humans, or are in immediate danger of being raided. In a little over a year, they have made so much progress that it''s astounding. But the Chosen Knights are in large part responsible for that. It doesn''t help that the deeper inland one gets, the less powerful the demons are - except for the elites in Rodens and Gorgonai. The Ajura are near the southern borders, so they can''t really be counted as inland demons either.


    Good thing I returned when I did. Even if Arkaim hadn''t fallen right then, the Dominion would have been overrun afterward. I would have had to put the splinter groups together at the time if there even were any. That would have complicated things.


    "I think our best bet is to create a defensive line along the various passes of the Dalgan mountain range." I point at the mountains at the center of which Erbilan is located. It''s the widest pass, but not the only one. The previous army was able to pass them by undetected due to a combination of Folke''s cloaking ability and the usage of those passes. "Send a message to all the cities and villages beyond that line and tell them to evacuate to Arkaim as soon as possible."


    "And give the land to the invaders just like that?" While Nilotec has accepted me as the new queen, this is a matter I expected he would argue against.


    "Yes. Lost land can be retaken. Lost lives can''t be restored." I fixate my eyes on him with an intent gaze, and he immediately falters. It''s perfectly logical and makes a lot more sense than to hold onto some misguided sense of pride. Better to lose the land and rebuild elsewhere, than dying and then losing the land anyway.


    "When we sign a peace treaty with the humans, they will have more land to claim." Ophalen informs me of the usual procedures for treaties, which I haven''t studied at all. I won''t bother to learn them now.


    "This war will result in nothing less than our full victory. The humans will have nothing to claim, and I''ll make sure they''re grateful that they still exist after I''m done with them." Putting my hand on the table, around the place where the Empire of Terminus would be located if the map extended that far, and state in a matter of fact tone.


    Everybody stares at me silently, some dumbstruck, others in awe. Nilotec lowers his gaze and doesn''t say any more, and neither does Ophalen.


    "For tonight, the meeting is over. We will continue this tomorrow." I won''t make the final decision on the general retreat beyond the Dalgan mountain range right now. It still requires some deliberation as to the feasibility of such a large-scale migration. After all, around half the population of the Dominion is on the other side. Though I assume a lot of them have already been slaughtered by the advancing human tide.


    Filing away these heavy thoughts to the back of my head, I watch as the demon clan leaders leave one after the other, until only my girls remain.


    "What do you think about this?" I ask Aurelia directly. She used to be a queen, and I think she most likely knows more about strategy than I do.


    "At the level you operate on, strategy and the likes are already unimportant." Exla answers before the golden girl can, as she floats in through the window on her cloud. She wasn''t invited to the meeting, but I had her listen in from the outside anyway because it concerns her as well. "You gave the humans the stick, next you give them the carrot."


    She refers to their massive defeat at Arkaim and the destruction of Pontis Daemonis as me giving them the stick. Considering how big that stick must have looked to the humans, it will put the carrot in disproportionate relation. They would most likely even be ready for an unconditional surrender now if the Old Humans weren''t the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes.


    "But knowing my brother, he won''t let the humans surrender." She says with a grim expression. As before, Hestia and Tokomaha look anxious in the presence of this person. The former changed her attitude after learning that this was one of the Old Humans - and supposedly the most powerful one at that - while the latter must instinctively feel that she isn''t somebody to be messed with.


    "Do you know where he might be?" I doubt she does, considering she didn''t leave Yagrath in forever. If only we could locate him and take him out, the whole war would most likely end. When she shakes her head, I sigh. "This puts us in a very passive position."


    "If he shows up before me I won''t let him run away." Exla assures me with a straightforward gaze. I told her about my confrontation with him above this city and how I was able to disintegrate his body. She only said that trying to hurt him directly won''t work, but didn''t give any alternatives. Maybe she wants to take things into her own hands since he''s her brother.


    "Then let''s end it at this for today." For the second time, I dissolve the meeting and turn around one more time to look across the city below. Starting now, I won''t be sleeping for a long time.


    Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice Tahiri lingering while everybody else is already leaving. Her expression says it all.


    Tonight, I won''t be sleeping anyway.

 Chapter K7 - Leaders Past and Present

    "What are you doing here?"


    "I should be the one asking that question."


    "Why?"


    "Because the last time we met, it was in Arkaim."


    "Yes."


    "How did you get here then?"


    "I walked."


    "That''s not... in either case, what''s with that title, Wandering Pariah?"


    "What about it?"


    "What have you been doing to earn it?"


    "I don''t know."


    "But..." The conversation is going nowhere. It has been almost a summer since the battle in the demon castle when the gods vanquished Queen Pelomyx. Afterward, he went on a journey across the Dominion in search of answers, first going towards where the humans came from, only to witness the atrocities they were capable of inflicting on the defenseless civilians. Just like Shelnir who killed the child in his arms, they didn''t hesitate to execute even infants.


    It was irreconcilable with his ideals, but he also couldn''t stop them. Still, he followed their path of destruction to see with his own eyes what his actions in the demon castle caused. Along the way, he found small villages and settlements still untouched by the war. Most demons he met turned out to be just like humans; many had their own tribal cultures and traditions, but they loved and feared for their families just as much as humans do.


    Rolan looks down at Kamii, who returns the gaze with an expressionless one of her own. He''s bound to a wooden pillar, and the little dark elf''s companions are surrounding him. Every single one is a demon - and judging by their animosity directed at him they hate humans. It''s a wonder that they haven''t already attacked him yet.


    Through their interactions, he could tell that they were led by the little dark elf. He wonders how she could have gathered demons like a giant minotaur and the Mohawk-toting muscular man behind her, even though she talks very little and isn''t the most sociable person. She never seemed the type to lead, as she only ever followed Chloe.


    Thinking of Chloe, the princess of the Dominion, he lowers his gaze and remembers the last time they saw each other. He had just helped kill Queen Pelomyx, and she had witnessed it. If he had met her instead of Kamii, he would have been killed instantly. Then again, he doesn''t feel like he''s in a very hopeful position right now either. After seeing all the unjust suffering that he caused with the queen''s death, he now thinks it would be a justified punishment.


    But maybe meeting Kamii here is a sign for him to find redemption. The crone told him to take back all the members of his group, who broke up after they defeated the demon queen. She hadn''t mentioned the little dark elf, but he considered her an important member as well. Without her, Chandra would have most likely killed them before deciding to train them.


    He had been on his way to find Gram at Chandra''s fortress. Because she''s an important person in the Dominion, she most likely left to join the frontlines. The big man might have left as well, and his journey might have been a waste of time. But he encountered the little dark elf long before even leaving the lands ravaged by the human invasion.


    "I was on my way to Chandra''s fortress." Rolan finally states the reason for his presence here.


    "What were you doing in the castle?" Ignoring him, Kamii suddenly asks. She seems much more mature than she appeared to be when around Chloe, even more so than she was during their time with the six-armed demon.


    "Chandra''s husband is Oinos, the Walker in the Wild. He came to pick us up, and the gods made us join the battle against the demon queen." He answers truthfully. Even though it would be better to lie under these circumstances, he can''t bring himself to do that just to preserve his miserable life.


    One of the demons surrounding him steps forward with a deathly glare. It''s the demon with the red Mohawk, who''s only a little taller than him, but has a thick neck and a slightly hunched back. With a multitude of scars running across his face and two large tusks sticking out from the corners of his mouth, he has the appearance of a veteran of many battles. His overall appearance reminds him of a boar.


    "Ya were there when the gods killed the queen?" He asks in a deep voice.


    "I killed her." He didn''t think that this would be the time and place to confess his actions - his crimes - but it just came out on its own. His life was forfeit, but the emptiness that had steadily filled his heart since the start of his journey was being drained away. It''s as if a dam had broken.


    "What?!" The minotaur jumps up from its seated position on a broken wall and stomps his hoof, cracking the paved ground under the force. He angles his body as if ready to charge at Rolan and gore him with his one good horn - the other is broken.


    Kamii raises her crab arm, and he stops his movements. Despite her small frame and lack of words, she appears to have even such a fierce warrior under her control. But judging by her cold violet gaze, he can tell that he won''t get any mercy from her either.


    "Did you tell me this, thinking I wouldn''t kill you?" She asks, her words showing him clearly that she''s no longer the innocent little dark elf he knew.


    "No, I didn''t think so." Lowering his gaze, Rolan wonders what he really wanted to achieve by telling demons that he killed their leader.


    "Then what were you trying to do?" She snaps her crab pincer up and closes it around his neck. Only the thick wooden pillar to which he''s tied prevents his throat from getting crushed, although there is an audible creaking sound coming from it.


    "Maybe to find redemption?" He replies with a self-deprecating smile. Anyone can tell that his haggard looks, unshaven face and sunken eyes are a sign of hard times. She knows that he''s somebody who can survive in the wild without a problem, so that appearance can only stem from inner turmoil.


    "Not forgiveness?" Kamii tilts her head with an inquisitive look.


    "I know that''s not something I will ever find." Despite learning that the demons are, in many regards, better than humans, he doesn''t expect them to show more forgiveness than the latter would under these circumstances.


    "That''s true." Opening her pincer and lowering it, she stares up at the former leader of their group. "But I won''t be the one to judge you."


    Suddenly, a broken sword the width of a grown man''s waist flies at them from the side in an arc. Kamii raises her cursed arm just in time to block the blade. Sparks fly.


    However, it''s long enough to pivot around her crab pincer and slam into the pillar which Rolan is tied to. He screams in pain and looks down to find that the blade has cut deeply into the wood as well as almost all the way through his left arm, right below the elbow.


    "Ireyo!" Kamii quickly grabs the giant weapon''s hilt before it can be pulled back by the chain it was swung with. At the other end of it stands a child-sized demon with whiskers growing from their cheeks. A horizontal scar runs over the bridge of their nose, which looks recent. They have a pair of rabbit-like, fur-covered ears and pure red eyes staring at the human man in seething hatred.


    "He killed the queen!" The voice of the rabbit demon is that of an adult woman''s, quite unlike her appearance would suggest, and she sounds beyond enraged. "Let go of the Divider!"


    "No. It''s not your place to kill him." Never raising her voice beyond her normal volume, the little dark elf keeps her grip on the hilt of the massive weapon almost casually, while turning around to the masked woman in her entourage. "Sazi, tend to his wound."


    "Are you sure you can trust me to do that?" Her hooded robe with long puffy sleeves barely hides her curvaceous figure, but the alluring voice of a mature lady that emerges from beyond the grinning mask completes her image.


    "Yes, you''re a healer." Replying in a matter of fact tone, Kamii stares into the eyeholes of the stylized visage.


    "As expected of you." Tilting her head and sighing, the woman named Sazi shrugs in resignation. She implied that, given a chance, she might attack and kill Rolan herself, but the little dark elf''s trust in her took the wind out of her sails.


    "Ya serious ''bout lettin'' him live?" The boar-like demon asks. Despite his fierce appearance, he doesn''t let the emotions get the better of him.


    "Yes. Onee-sama will judge him." With a quick motion, Kamii pulls the giant sword named Divider from the pillar, and Rolan screams again. She regards him with one last look, before walking away while dragging the blade behind her.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "You were fortunate." Sazi comments while washing her bloody hands in a bowl of fresh water.


    "In what regard?" With a wry smile, Rolan lifts the bandaged stump of his left forearm. The thickness of the blade had pulverized his bones after the sharp edge had cut through the soft flesh, so there was no saving it anymore. It''s just like him to lose another part of his being on this continent where even the world itself seems to have forsaken him.


    "That I like Lady Kamii." The woman lifts her mask and shows off her desiccated and bandaged face. In place of eyeballs are dark empty sockets, but within, two red lights burn like tiny flames. "Otherwise, we would not be speaking like this."


    Rolan successfully held back the urge to scream at the sight of her visage. This is the first time he has ever seen an undead who''s able to speak and reason - unless he''s wrong about her identity.


    "And that I am Nefersobek Amunansazi of the Seventh Dynasty." She puts the mask back on and speaks in a self-assured tone. "You would have died from bleeding out if not for my surgical skills."


    "I thank you for that." Even though he just lost half his left arm, he feels incredibly calm. Maybe the thought that he can meet Chloe again is giving him purpose. But before then, he would want to gather Runa, Gram, and Sigurd first. He knows the location of the former two, but the latter is most likely already in the empire, spreading the word. Maybe the crone will appear before him again like she has each time he found himself at wit''s end.


    "There is no need to thank me. I may have stopped the bleeding and cleaned the wound, but disease and infection may take more from you still." There''s a hint of pleasure in her voice when she informs the human of this. "I may be a master surgeon, but I am not versed in medicine."


    With this, she walks out of the tent with a wave of her puffy sleeve. Rolan sits up and groans from the pain of the gauze rubbing on his arm stump. Even with anesthetics and a bottle of rum in his system, the throbbing pain still runs up his shoulder with every heartbeat.


    Suddenly, the entire tent is ripped away, and radiant sunlight blinds his eyes. Then, a massive shadow looms over him, and the minotaur lowers his head towards him with bloodshot eyes peering out from under his thick helmet. He snorts air through his nose and regards the wounded human with a wrathful look.


    "Stop that, Zancrax." The Mohawk man steps between the towering demon and Rolan. "He''ll get his judgment in due time."


    "Don''t stop me, Terog! My family was killed in Arkaim, and one of those responsible for that is here!" The minotaur named Zancrax stomps his hoof and balls up his fists until cracking sounds emerge from his knuckles. Those hands look like they could crush a human''s head like a raw egg.


    Rolan lowers his head upon hearing about the death of civilians in Arkaim. He had been unable to save a child, faltering under the words of a goddess. If only he had been strong enough to block her attack back then.


    "I don''t like it either, but ya heard what the missus said!" Terog puts a hand on the axe at his belt, and the tension in the air is about to explode.


    "You two-" Sazi begins to intervene, but suddenly stops. Maybe she thinks it''s an inevitability and would rather he dies sooner than later, instead of letting him continue to disrupt group cohesion. Kamii and the rabbit demon Ireyo are absent, so if he were killed now, they would only have to apologize later.


    "Will my death bring back your family?" Rolan suddenly looks up with a determined expression. It wasn''t that he lacked the strength to oppose Shelnir; he didn''t have the resolve. His mind had been in turmoil after everything he learned about the demons, but a part of him had still been clinging to his old values. And he listened to the goddess even though she was clearly in the wrong.


    "You what?!" Zancrax pushes Terog aside like a fully grown person would a child, and brings down a fist right next to the stretcher the human is lying on. The ground shakes under the impact.


    "Nothing will bring them back now!" Raising his voice, Rolan returns the minotaur''s glare with a firm gaze of his own. "So many died because of me."


    He lowers his head once again and thinks back to his actions. Only a summer ago, he believed that just killing the demon queen would resolve everything. It had been a belief he clung to until the moment he brought down his holy sword, and its light destroyed the monster before him.


    Even before he first met any real demons, he doubted that all of them were evil creatures with no redeeming features. His time with Urial and her family of Nightmare breeders, as well as the moons he trained under Chandra taught him that the demons were only different from humans in their physical appearance.


    The death of the demon queen at his hands opened the doors for a human invasion. Instead of bringing peace, it only invited more suffering to both humans and demons alike. Soldiers with families on one side and civilians on the other side are both dying - for what?


    "Give me a chance to atone." Looking up at Zancrax with pleading eyes, Rolan speaks in an imploring tone. Terog steps in and delivers a resounding punch to his face, which causes him to fall off his stretcher.


    "Don''t gimme that crap!" The boar demon roars at him, and even the minotaur looks surprised. "I''ll make sure ya live to die at the hands of Lady Chaos. Before then, all ya have to do is to keep your mouth shut."


    "I want to do more than just wait for my inevitable death..." Holding his bruised cheek, the battered human sits up from the dirt ground, then rises to his feet unsteadily. "Punch me more, if that appeases your anger."


    "Oh, it''s on. Ya asked for this." Terog winds up for a hook.


    "Stop." Kamii''s voice calls out to him from behind, and he staggers to a halt. "I told you that Onee-sama would be the one to judge him."


    "He was askin'' for it." The boar demon points at Rolan.


    "Even then." Walking forward with Ireyo in tow, the little dark elf approaches them. Her violet eyes are free of any emotions as she regards her former group leader, who''s bleeding from a cut on his lip. She looks down at the stump of his forearm, where blood is seeping through the gauze again because he involuntarily used it to push himself off the ground without even noticing the pain. "See to that, Sazi."


    "To order a queen around like this, Lady Kamii is really incredible." The woman in question shrugs and speaks in an amused tone.


    "Terog, Zancrax. Fix the tent." Kamii reprimands the two.


    "Hey, it wasn''t me-" The latter begins to complain, but he''s shut up by a silent violet gaze. The demons seem to respect or even fear this little girl despite her small stature. Rolan witnessed her power first-hand and knows that she isn''t somebody to be trifled with.


    "And you, keep quiet until Onee-sama comes back." Directing this at the human, she says with no regard for their past together.


    "Where is Chloe?" She saw him killing her mother, but was taken away by Mithra before a battle against the gods could begin. As far as he could glean from the actions of the demon army and the rumors circulating among the civilians, they''re currently not led by a central figure, so Chloe isn''t sitting on the throne.


    "I don''t know. But she''ll be back." Turning away, she concludes their short conversation. "Rest."


    A few days after their encounter in the walled village of Roaris, they moved on. Kamii and her group''s destination was Zohigal, the capital of the southern barbarian tribes, but she decided to make a detour around Ajurai, the fortress of the Ajura clan. Rolan told her that Gram may be living there now. She saw the whole group in the demon castle, so it''s safe to assume she already considered the likelihood of all of them to have had a hand in the death of the demon queen. Maybe she wants to capture Gram and present him to Chloe as well.


    That''s probably what the crone was telling him to do. To gather those responsible for this misery so that they can be judged by the one who has every right in the world to do so. She''s most likely a demon after all.


    Their journey took them across hilly plains littered with collections of forests, reminiscent of the Slaettermark where they essentially started their journey after meeting Chloe. After twelve days, the landscape changed and gave way to a steppe, which soon began to look like the surroundings of the ajura fortress they stayed at. Rocky hills and buttes were jutting out of the dry ground all around them.


    Another two days later, Rolan''s strength gave out, and Zancrax was tasked with carrying him. The minotaur refused to do so at first, but Kamii''s persuasiveness broke through his obstinate exterior. Even though the haggard human had lost an arm and a lot of blood, he had walked on his own two feet and kept up with the healthy demons for such a long time.


    By the time they reached Ajurai five days after he had collapsed, he was wracked by fever and already delirious. The stump of his forearm was swollen, and the onset of gangrene was visible. Just as Sazi had explained, she was only a master surgeon and understood nothing of the aftercare required to maintain the health in the patients. In fact, she was more of a corpse experimenter than a surgeon that healed the living, but she never told Kamii that.


    "Oh, it''s you." Batamira, Chandra''s great-grandnephew, and deputy governor of Ajurai during her absence, welcomes Kamii and the other demons. He watched their training with Chandra from time to time but was usually too busy with administrative work to interact with them much. Still, he could instantly recognize the cursed crab arm. "And is that the human boy? What''s wrong with him?"


    "Help him." Is all the little dark elf says.


    "Are ya really goin'' that far to save him?" Terog asks but receives only a silent gaze in response. But then she shakes her head and speaks up after all.


    "He shouldn''t be dying from something like this. Onee-sama will be the one to decide whether or not he dies for his crimes." She states in a matter of fact tone.


    "What''d he do?" Crossing all three pairs of his arms, Batamira asks curiously.


    "He killed Queen Pelomyx." Kamii answers truthfully, and all the ajura surrounding them stare at her with wide-open eyes. When they realize she isn''t joking, their faces darken in anger.


    "Why would you want to keep him alive?!" One of them shouts, and the others support his complaint. They seem to have enough discipline not to attack him or even stoop so low as to throw rocks. The fact that he''s being carried on the back of a giant minotaur that towers over even the powerfully built ajura may be another reason - even though they''re members of the most powerful demon clan.


    "Do explain, little one." Bending down to take a closer look at the little dark elf, the deputy commander of the fortress inquires with a frown.


    "Because none of us here have the right to take away the opportunity for Onee-sama to exact revenge on him." Standing her ground against the giant ajura warrior who looks like he''s twice as tall as her, she replies in a steadfast tone.


    "I see. Who''s that Oneh Sama you''re talkin'' about?" Scratching his chin with one hand, Batamira glances at the feverish Rolan.


    "She''s the daughter of the demon queen." Kamii doesn''t speak with pride or make it a grand announcement. To her, it''s a simple fact, a response to the question she was asked. A murmur runs through the gathered warriors.


    "So he''s goin'' to be a present to her when she returns, huh?" Shrugging, the deputy commander looks into the eyes of the little dark elf, as if to gauge her reasoning for delaying the inevitable. There''s no way the princess wouldn''t kill him the moment she lays her eyes on him. "Have it your way. We''ll keep him alive."


    "Is Gram here?" With the first topic out of the way, Kamii brings up the next.


    "You mean that big human, right? Yeah, he came back shortly after the battle at the capital and has been stayin'' with us since. Should I get him?" Turning to one of his aides, he prepares to have him call over Gram.


    "No, bring me to him." The little dark elf lifts her crab pincer to stop him. "I want to talk to him alone."

 Chapter K8 - Journey to the South

    Kamii rides the lift up the butte atop which Chandra''s fortress stands and looks over the village below. It''s empty for the most part, with the majority of its inhabitants pulled out to join the war. There''s only a skeleton garrison remaining to defend the young - ajura elderly don''t exist, as they stop aging after reaching their prime.


    If a large army came this way, the demons wouldn''t be able to withstand a siege for long. While they''re individually the strongest demons - with the exception of the few Rangatira that may still be in existence - none of them could measure up to Chandra. And even she isn''t invincible.


    Kamii and her companions have somewhere to be and can''t stay here to help in case of a battle. In fact, they have foregone helping out in several other villages and cities, even if they could have made a difference with their strength.


    That''s all due to the crone telling the little dark elf to go to Zohigal, saying that she would find answers to a lot of her questions there. As the woman covered in black feathers foretold, she met somebody she had been separated from for a long time. But the fact that it wasn''t Chaos did annoy her. However, now she understands that she should collect Gram as well, and bring the old group together, so that they may be judged for their actions in Arkaim.


    When they reach the top, she''s greeted by a sight similar to the one she saw back when they arrived here for the first time. Two multi-armed ajura warriors are wrestling in the courtyard of the semi-circular wooden fortress, surrounded by others of their kind watching and cheering them on. She half-expected to see Gram among them, but he isn''t present and must be inside the building.


    Batamira silently gestures for the fighters to continue when they motion to stop as they pass them, before leading Kamii around the makeshift arena. He doesn''t take the little dark elf''s size into consideration when he walks at a brisk pace, but she jogs after him without complaining. They quickly make their way into one of the side entrances of the longhouse. When the deputy commander opens the door, a fragrant smell wafts into their faces. Lunch is being prepared.


    Walking through the empty barracks where two dozen warriors normally live in a rather cramped area, they enter the hallway and pass the bathhouse, before finally reaching the kitchen. Batamira stays on the other side of the door and gestures for Kamii to continue herself. Her request was to talk to Gram alone after all.


    In the kitchen, the big man is standing before a large bubbling cauldron, wearing an apron and stirring with an oversized ladle. For a second, the little dark elf stops to consider that he''s acting like a house husband, waiting for the wife to return from the war. He has always been the best cook in the group - then again, he has always been the only cook. Neither Runa nor Chaos prepared even a single meal, and all Rolan and Sigurd were good for was to heat water and stir the stews.


    "Gram." Kamii calls out to him, and he spins his head around in surprise. Nothing changed about him in the past year, and his mustache is still as magnificent as ever.


    "Kamii?" He almost drops his ladle when he sees her. A smile appears on his face, but it freezes over when the little dark elf doesn''t return it with her own. Her eyes are focused on his face, and her eyebrows curl into a slight frown.


    "What were you doing in the demon castle?" The last time they all saw each other was in the infirmary of the demon queen''s castle, and they had parted on a sour note.


    "We were called upon by the gods to help defeat the demon queen." Gram answers truthfully. Even though he spent some time with demons and learned that they aren''t all bad, he still believes that taking down the demon queen was the right thing to do.


    Kamii couldn''t fault him for that. His father died, and his family went to ruin because of a cursed beast, resulting from the corruption spread by Queen Pelomyx. While that corruption may be a blessing for demons, he''s still a human.


    But it seems that he lived here, oblivious of the war being fought on this continent. Rolan felt apologetic about his actions because he witnessed their repercussions first-hand; Gram returned to Ajurai right after the battle was over, and most likely never told anybody about what happened.


    "Do you think that was a good thing?" The little dark elf''s amethyst eyes stare into his with a piercing gaze.


    "Yes, I do. Humans no longer have to suffer from curses and corruption." Sensing that something is wrong, the big man feels the need to justify himself.


    "Like me?" Lifting her crab pincer, she brings it up in front of Gram''s face. She suffered for a long time due to this deformity, but all she can remember is that it was at the hands of humans. None of the demons considered her an outsider when she traveled the continent, and many took her in as one of their own.


    Then again, she was treated well by him and the others as well, and they considered her a proper companion.


    "No, you... what happened to you, Kamii?" Realizing that she''s acting strangely cold, the big man finally looks her up and down to see that she wears an outfit completely different from her usual ones. Chloe bought her a few bright dresses and a thick cloak for winter, but she''s now clad in dark, form-fitting leather and sports a tattered scarf around her neck.


    Her clothes are dusty, and some places are worn down by a lifestyle that clearly involved fighting. Even if her features haven''t changed noticeably, both her gaze and speech are much more mature than he remembered them to be.


    "The demon queen died, the humans invaded and are now massacring innocent demons in their homes." She replies without changing her expression.


    "What?" Gram lets go of the ladle, and it tumbles to the floor. He did witness imperial soldiers kill civilians in Arkaim, when they were waiting for the preparations to invade the castle to finish. "I thought..."


    "You thought it would be over with the death of Queen Pelomyx?" Kamii steps forward and uses her cursed arm to pick up the dirtied kitchen tool nimbly. She throws it in the sink and looks up at the big man. "Your actions started a war in which hundreds of thousands are dying."


    He stares in shock as the little girl gives him an accusing gaze. The thought had crossed his mind before, and seeing the entire ajura army move out from the fortress behind their leader did make him wonder what was happening. But nobody had told him anything, leading him to believe that even if there was a war, it wasn''t as devastating as Kamii just described it.


    "Rolan is with me." Turning away, she changes the subject. "We''ll stay here until he gets better again."


    "Rolan? What happened to him?" After hearing that his former group leader is sick or wounded everything else is forgotten for the moment.


    "You can go meet him when he wakes up again." With these words, Kamii walks out of the kitchen.


    Rolan''s feverish dreams were haunted by the scenes of carnage and unjustified violence he witnessed so many times over the past year. Defenseless civilians that had no will to fight were slaughtered on the spot, others ran away and were hunted like game. Human soldiers laughed as they beheaded kneeling women and children. A girl looking like Urial was being flayed alive as the men reveled in her screams.


    He sits up from a lying position and screams at remembering her eyes darting across the plaza in search for help - or release from her torture - and fell on him.


    His surroundings are different from what he expected; rather than in a tent, he''s inside a wooden room and lying on a proper bed. Natural sunlight falls in through the window that lacks glass panes, and the sound of people shouting can be heard outside. They aren''t murderous yells but encouraging ones.


    "How are you doing?" A familiar voice comes from the open doorway, and Rolan turns his head to look over.


    "Gram..." He mutters when he recognizes the big man. When they separated back then, he would have never thought that their reunion would happen in such a manner. "As you can see, I lost a few things."


    The former leader lifts the stump of his left arm, which has grown shorter since the day it was amputated. Because of infection and gangrene, even more of it had to be removed, and it now barely extends below the joint.


    "Was everything we did wrong?" Coming into the room and sitting down on the chair next to the bed, Gram asks the question that has been haunting him with a downcast gaze. It has been five days since Kamii informed him of the war. Since everybody avoided him and Rolan was asleep until now, he mulled over the issue on his own and found no answers.


    "No." Rolan suddenly replies in a confident tone. "We did what we thought was right at the time."


    "But it turned out to cause suffering instead of preventing it." Looking into his leader''s eyes, the big man argues. It hasn''t gotten to the point where his self-esteem is shattered since, unlike Rolan, he didn''t witness the atrocities human soldiers committed against the demon civilians. However, he never thought that the Empire of Terminus would start a war of extermination after the demon queen died. He always thought that they would have peace for a time.


    "Yes, that''s true." Lying back down, the former leader peers up at the wooden ceiling. "We did the right thing from a certain perspective."


    That''s something Kamii told him on their journey. She learned this from Chloe, who had thought about the effects of corruption and considered that it was something humans could never reconcile with. Thus, to humans, killing demons was the right thing to do.


    "That''s why her mother stood at the top of all demons, and even the gods were afraid of her, huh?" Covering his eyes with his right hand, Rolan smiles to himself in self-deprecation. If the daughter had the capacity to think in such ways, her mother must have been an incredible person as well.


    A shiver runs down his spine when he remembers what she had looked like. If he didn''t have the support from the gods, he wouldn''t have been able to stand his ground back then. And now, he has decided to put himself at the mercy of that monster''s daughter.


    "Will you come with me once again?" Rolan sits up from the bed and gives the big man a determined look.


    "Where are you going?" Gram''s expression makes it clear that he''s going to follow him this time regardless of their destination.


    "To find redemption." The former leader smiles as his eyes flicker over to the doorway, in which Kamii has appeared silently.


    Whatever form that redemption may take.


    A fortnight after they arrived at Ajurai, Rolan was well enough to walk on his own again. His arm stump had been properly disinfected and looked to be on the way to healing. At Kamii''s request, the ajura gave them plenty of medical supplies for the journey ahead of them, so that he wouldn''t suffer an infection again.


    Despite protesting at first, Zancrax was persuaded to pull a cart, on which a large number of rations were brought along. He had always been the one to carry the baggage in a giant backpack, but now he was being used as a draft animal. At least nobody rode on the cart, and even the still wounded Rolan walked on his own two feet.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Their journey took them further south, where the dry steppe changed into a savanna a few days after their departure from Chandra''s fortress. No roads lead where they were going, and only under the guidance of Sazi could they find their way.


    Wild animals both large and small lived in these parts. The biggest of them were thick-skinned quadrupeds that towered above the trees and fed on entire branches in single bites. The untouched nature was soothing to the mind, and the former group leader found himself lulled by the peacefulness.


    But he wasn''t far enough gone to leave the world behind to become a hermit. There were things he had to do before he could allow himself to retreat from everything. If he was still alive after finishing them.


    One moon after their departure from Ajurai, they finally found their way into a jungle. Navigating the terrain became increasingly difficult due to the undergrowth, and eventually, Ireyo had to use the Divider to clear a path. She did so while grumbling, complaining that her noble weapon wasn''t a gardening tool.


    The climate became hot and humid, and the humans were sweating profusely even when the physical activities weren''t especially strenuous. Terog wasn''t any better off, and Zancrax was panting as a means to adjust his body temperature. Sazi was fine for obvious reasons, and Ireyo didn''t seem to mind either.


    Kamii looked completely unaffected as well, and no hint of sweat could be seen on her skin. Her step was light and seemed unburdened by the muggy climate.


    The first night, Terog was made to realize that the humidity meant making a fire was a fool''s errand. Insects were buzzing around their ears, and wild animals called for their mates, so none of them could fall asleep. Once again, only Kamii seemed to be fine, as she closed her eyes and quickly dozed off.


    They attributed it to the fact that she was a dark elf and didn''t think about it any further.


    "We''re surrounded." Terog suddenly calls out to Ireyo while sniffing the air. It''s the second day in the jungle, as the group cuts their way through the jungle in an almost straight path.


    "What is it?" Kamii asks as she strains her sense of smell without achieving any result. The boar-faced man has the best nose among everybody present, and what he picks up may not be readily noticeable to others.


    "A whole bunch of ''em. Smell like blood." He replies while glancing at Sazi.


    "Blood Apes." The masked woman explains. "They have a primitive culture of their own, hunt in large packs, and are extremely territorial."


    "You say it like it isn''t our problem." Zancrax secures the cart and brings down his visor. "Good thing I didn''t take off my armor even in this heat."


    "What do we do?" Rolan, whom Kamii allowed to carry his sword, stands beside Gram. The latter has raised his shield while glancing around cautiously. Ireyo glares at the two of them with clear disgust and lifts the Divider with a single thin arm of hers.


    "We fight our way through." She comments and grabs the chain attached to the hilt of her massive broken sword. With strength that should be impossible at her size, she throws the weapon to the side, before yanking the chain around.


    As if hewing crops, she cuts a wide half-circle through the jungle in front of her, before yanking the sword back on the chain. Howls and high-pitched shrieks emerge from all around them, signaling that this attack must have hit something.


    "Circle." Kamii only says, and everybody comes around to cover Sazi at their center. Maybe she isn''t a fighter and takes on more of a support role. Being a zombie, she most likely doesn''t possess much physical strength.


    From all around them, chimpanzee-sized apes with blood-red fur and white paint covering their naked bodies break out of the undergrowth. They wield crude spears and clubs, showing off their sharp canines as they scream at the demons in their midst. Their sizes differ greatly, with a few towering at nearly the height of Gram and looking more like gorillas.


    Several of them drop down from the trees and climb on top of Zancrax, using thick vines in an attempt to capture him. They must have seen bulls before and thought that he''s only a draft animal, but minotaurs are proud demons that hate the thought of being used by others.


    "Get off me!" With a roar, he grabs the vine and pulls the apes off him with a quick movement. Stomping the head of one that fell under his hoof, he slams his fists on the ground to intimidate the apes around them.


    At the same time, two of them rush at Kamii with spears. Gram runs forward to defend her, but she preempts him by meeting the two assailants head-on. With a swing of her cursed arm, she slaps the first one''s spear aside, before clasping the second one''s neck in her pincer. Not even hesitating for a second, she quickly jerks her arm around and slams the ape into its companion. Then she lets go and brings down the hammer on top of the first one''s head.


    She repeats the process until one hit bashes in the skull of the first and turns it into a bloody mess. Then she continues with the second one buried underneath the twitching corpse. More apes charge at her, but on her seventh consecutive hit, enemies begin to be sent flying. On her tenth, the head of an unlucky ape bursts like an overripe melon, as the skin and bones are no longer able to withstand the force of her attacks.


    Rolan and Gram have witnessed her strange ability before when sparring against Chandra. Back then, Kamii had been the only one with the potential to deal serious damage to her, although the conditions for her ability were a great limiter. In a sense, she''s the perfect fighter when it comes to facing many enemies consecutively.


    But the former leader won''t be overtaken when it comes to defeating a group efficiently. Even with only one arm, he can still use Roshanee. Staring at the opponents charging at him intently, he takes in the distance to them, the weapons they wield and the speed at which they approach.


    Then he pulls the Sword of Light from its hilt and charges forward as if moving in time lapse. He moves past each enemy and slashes or stabs a vital spot at blinding speed, performing a quick dance in a circle that brings him back to his starting point next to Gram.


    Unlike usually, he can''t immediately return his sword to the scabbard due to lacking his left hand to hold the latter in place. He has to make do with swinging the sword at the ground in a practiced motion of getting the blood off of it - even when it never clings to Roshanee in the first place.


    The apes stumble, several dying on the spot while others are surprised to find blood spurting from open wounds on their bodies where none had been before. Their companions, who witnessed it from the outside, stop in shock and look around confused.


    Terog and Ireyo each killed several enemies on their ends as well. The boar demon doesn''t possess any overwhelming strength as the rabbit woman does, nor does he have a magical sword like Rolan, and he doesn''t have powerful curse as Kamii does. He fights with pure skill, honed over a long career as a warrior, with consistency beyond that of the human''s even when he''s empowered by Roshanee.


    The big apes join the fray as well, each aiming to take on one member of the group. Kamii easily dispatches the one coming at her with a single strike that transforms its body into an explosion of flesh and blood. Ireyo cuts hers down with a ground-shaking slash of the Divider. Zancrax gores his opponent''s shoulder but becomes locked in a battle of physical strength, as the latter doesn''t let go of the horn. Rolan slashes up the giant gorilla attacking him with a bone club, but the cuts aren''t deep enough to bring it down.


    Terog and Gram find more trouble with their opponents, as neither of them possesses a decisive power as the others do. Seeing their leaders charge in, the smaller apes experience a second wind in morale. Even if they can''t win in quality, quantity will eventually overwhelm these demons foreign to this nation. The humidity and heat drain their stamina, and eventually, none of the intruders will be able to continue fighting.


    "We need to break through." Sazi calls out to Kamii with this suggestion. "There must be hundreds of them waiting in the surroundings."


    "Zan." The little dark elf calls out to the minotaur, who reacts to the shortened name with a snort.


    "Yes, leader? I''m kind of busy here." While he doesn''t like the nickname, he still asks politely for her order while wrestling with his opponent.


    "You take the point. Sazi and Rolan, get on the cart. Gram and Terog will pull it." She quickly hands out the roles to everybody while fending off the smaller apes, even though her companions are still embroiled in their own fights.


    "What about you?" Rolan dodges the bone club from his opponent while protesting. Kamii runs past him and swings her crab arm, snapping the giant ape in half at the waist and sending it flying sideways into a group of smaller ones.


    On the other side, Ireyo''s giant blade has cleaved through Zancrax'' enemy in a single swing, allowing him to switch his position to the one given to him by their leader. Even though the rabbit demon''s sword would serve them better in clearing a path, the minotaur is only good at charging ahead single-mindedly and ill-suited for defending a retreating group.


    "Ireyo and I will guard the rear." The little dark elf replies, directed at the rabbit woman rather than Rolan.


    "I''ll join you. I can still fight." He has used Roshanee many times over the past year and practiced with it to the point where he doesn''t even feel the strain from wielding it anymore. Even now, he''s keeping the weapon in the open - an act that should drain his strength, but he doesn''t feel any fatigue.


    "No. You''ll slow us down." Pointing her normal hand at his face without even looking at him, she states in a matter of fact tone.


    On his way towards the front, Zancrax delivers a devastating lariat against Terog''s opponent. The latter takes the opportunity to sink his axe into the giant ape''s abdomen and rip it open before the former crushes its chest with a powerful stomp. At the same time, Kamii shatters the knee of Gram''s opponent, allowing him to bring the edge of his shield down to break its neck.


    Suddenly, as if the death of the last gorilla-sized one was a signal, a massive ape towering even over Gram emerges from among the trees. A crown of feathers sits atop its head, and it wears a necklace on which all kinds of demon and animal skulls are strung up. That must be the chieftain.


    It lets out a roar as it beats its chest, and all the apes fall back. Kamii''s swing at one of the retreating apes misses, and she clicks her tongue. There are still several dozen enemies all around them, and the trees are shaking from the reinforcements arriving from deeper inside the jungle.


    Ireyo throws her weapon without hesitation, but the chieftain dodges it nimbly before stepping on the hilt of the sword to keep it in place. Even with her strength, she''s unable to pull it back with the chain.


    "Let go of the Divider, you filthy beast!" The rabbit woman screams in anger and runs forward, abandoning her position as the rear guard, but Kamii stops her by lifting her hand.


    Without a word, the little dark elf charges at the ape chieftain. She hasn''t hit any targets for a while now, so the effect of her arm has run out. The power that seems to double after every consecutive hit has to be built up again, but she still attacks fearlessly.


    The giant opponent swings its arm to catch her, but she bends her upper body backward and slides across the wet ground on her knees while hitting the ape''s elbow with her pincer. It''s nothing more than a light tap for the beast, but it''s enough for her to reach the second stage.


    She nimbly gets back on her feet and touches the ape''s midsection with her cursed arm, before evading its other arm trying to take hold of her. When she was training with Chandra, she learned to avoid six arms coming from an opponent towering over her just like this one. Two arms are much easier to dodge.


    And she reaches her third stage just like this.


    Rolan and the others watch in awe as it looks more and more like Kamii is only toying with her opponent. Her graceful dance as she lightly taps the ape repeatedly to mask the strength of her attacks makes it look like she''s confident in her skills. She must have been practicing even more over the past year to get to this level.


    Suddenly, the little dark elf goes all out, as she smashes the chieftain''s kneecap with a full-strength swing. Howling in surprise, the beast falls forward and catches itself with its arms. She purposefully attacked a point of mobility so that there would be no escape from her follow-up hits.


    Without pausing, she smashes away one of the supporting arms, breaking the wrist in the process and causing the bone to stick out from the torn skin. The force alone is enough to cause the chieftain to flip over onto its back.


    Then Kamii jumps up and swings at the giant ape''s chest. It attempts to block the attack with its good arm, but the impact leaves an audible wet cracking sound, and the arm is shattered as well. Without stopping, Kamii repeatedly brings down her crab arm, each time destroying more of the massive opponent''s bones until a final hit splatters the beast''s brain across the forest floor.


    The smaller blood apes, after witnessing their leader getting defeated so one-sidedly, immediately scatter into the surroundings while screaming in fear. A few bigger ones remain, unsure what to do, while the biggest ones that came out of the jungle alongside the chieftain see an opportunity to take the reins. Even after the head has been taken out, the danger isn''t over for the demons.


    "Go!" Kamii identifies that fact and immediately signals for the group to move. Ireyo has retrieved the Divider and takes the rear, as Gram and Terog pull the cart while following Zancrax, who charges ahead under the directions of Sazi.


    Rolan, seeing nothing else for him to do, throws Roshanee onto the cart before climbing onto it himself - he can''t sheathe it with only one hand, so he chose to go the quick route. Looking behind himself, he sees the little dark elf and the rabbit woman following after them as they make their way through the swath of broken branches and trampled undergrowth that the minotaur at the vanguard leaves in his wake.


    Under the leadership of several giant apes, the smaller ones return to their senses after their initial panicked flight. They begin giving chase, throwing spears and rocks as they slowly catch up. At this rate, the group will be hounded until either side is completely exhausted.


    "Zohigal is not far from here. Just hold out until then." Sazi announces without even looking at her surroundings. Rolan considers that she may have a talent that''s similar to Sigurd''s, as he can tell directions and time accurately even when underground.


    Harried by the blood apes, the strange companionship makes its way through the jungle at a breakneck pace.

 Chapter K9 - Lady of the Mountain

    Zancrax breaks through an especially thick patch of undergrowth and notices too late that there''s no more ground to walk on. After a drop of a few meters, his body hits the water. Luckily, it''s not so deep that he can''t keep his neck above the surface, but the others following right behind him are shorter in stature.


    "Careful, there''s-" Before he can warn Terog and Gram, who are pulling the cart on which Sazi and Rolan are riding, they already appear from the gap he created. Zancrax quickly dives sideways so that they don''t crash into him.


    Fortunately, the cart is made from well-aligned wooden planks, as it floats on the surface of the water without springing a leak. The two on top of it are rocked around but can hold on. However, those that were pulling the cart become fully submerged and struggle to get back to the surface due to their heavy equipment.


    Kamii and Ireyo are able to make a full stop before falling down from the ledge and face the blood apes. They appear all along the shoreline and begin to fling stones at the minotaur and the riders of the now unintentional raft. The little dark elf glances at Terog and Gram struggling in the water and immediately orders the rabbit woman to go and help them.


    "What about you?" She swings the giant broken sword to cleave several approaching enemies in half.


    "I have your back." With a powerful punch of her crab arm, Kamii sends one of the smaller apes flying back into a group of others. Since she couldn''t keep up her curse counter completely throughout their flight, it wasn''t powerful enough to kill the beast in a single hit.


    Without questioning her leader''s decision any further, Ireyo lodges the Divider between two trees and jumps into the river with the chain in her hand. Among all the demons in this group, she''s physically the strongest despite her diminutive height, which barely reaches up to Kamii''s chest. She dives into the slow-flowing water and finds Terog trying to tear off his armor. At the same time, Gram has discarded the shield strapped to his back and is swimming towards the boar demon.


    Grabbing the latter''s fang, she gets his attention and hands him the chain. He catches on quickly and begins to pull himself up on it, while she uses her monstrous strength to tear the leather straps holding his heavy breastplate in place. The issue is the gambeson he wears underneath, as it''s made of cloth and completely soaked in water.


    At last, his head breaks the surface, and he takes a long deep breath. However, he isn''t in the clear yet, as his strength is giving out after having swung his axe in battle and pulled the cart for several leagues at top speed. Holding onto the chain with one hand while pulling at his gambeson, he tries to take it off.


    Zancrax catches the floating cart while rocks are pelting his helmet and shoulder pauldrons; the armor can easily withstand the projectiles flung at him, and he ignores them. However, neither Sazi nor Rolan are wearing such heavy armor. He''s using the folded tent to cover her and himself from the rain of stones, but the cloth won''t be able to withstand any spears.


    "We need to get out of here!" Rolan calls out to Kamii, whose attacks have gained in power after repeatedly hitting enemies again.


    "The river changed from how I remember it." Sazi looks around as if to recall the lay of the land before it turned into what it is now. She points upstream and then at the other shore. "There used to be a small ridge so that should be a shallow crossing now."


    "We kind of have other problems right now." The minotaur lifts an arm to shield himself from the flying rocks, as the openings for the eyes on the helmet are big enough that a stray projectile could hit him there. He pushes the cart upstream nonetheless, to reunite with the still struggling Terog.


    Gram, having lost his extremely heavy shield, is unable to defend himself and has suffered a blow to his head, which is now bleeding profusely. It didn''t have enough force to knock him out, but if he takes more of those, one will eventually do the trick. He swims towards the cart, hoping to take cover behind it.


    The little dark elf''s attacks have gotten to the point where every swing turns an enemy into an explosion of red mist again. Maybe the blood apes can''t comprehend what she''s doing or are just so frenzied that they don''t care, but they keep charging at her with reckless abandon. Even the bigger ones, under the orders of the group of new leaders, try to attack her but are ripped apart by her cursed arm.


    Ireyo is finally able to help Terog out of his gambeson, which quickly sinks to the bottom of the river. The rabbit woman immediately climbs up the chain and gives it a good pull, causing the boar demon to leave the water and land on the shore just below the small ledge from which they fell earlier.


    With a kick of her powerful leg, she sends an ape attempting to grab her flying, then retrieves the Divider and returns to Kamii''s side. The two keep the enemies busy and distracted so that those in the water can move along the shore unbothered.


    Finally, Gram gets behind the floating cart and hides from the few stones still coming their way. Zancrax can now use both his hands to push it more quickly than before. The boar demon catches his breath and gets up to his feet; now that he no longer wears any armor, he can''t join the battle and instead follows the others by ducking down and sneaking along the shoreline.


    The two above him slowly move parallel with the group in the water, so that the blood apes don''t get ahead of the group and begin to throw rocks again. Steadily, they progress towards the point Sazi pointed out earlier, sustaining only a few hits along the way.


    "Stay away from the water." The masked woman warns Rolan when he moves over to help Gram.


    "Why? What''s in there?" Staring intently at the surface, which is being stirred by the movements of their makeshift boat, he tries to peer into the muddy depths. If there are dangerous animals, the big man and Zancrax should get out of there immediately.


    "It is full of diseases. You do not want to expose that arm of yours to them." She doesn''t sound very concerned about him but rather about the time they would waste if he were to become sick and fall unconscious again.


    "Then what about them?" The former leader gestures at Zancrax and more specifically Gram, who has a head wound while in the water. Terog and Ireyo were also completely submerged, so they should be affected as well.


    "We will see. Zohigal is not far from here." Peeking over the cloth, which Rolan affixed with the wooden frame of the tent so that it can stand on its own, Sazi sees how the others are doing.


    "How far is it?" Ireyo calls out to her without even noticing that she''s watching, while felling several trees in a single swing of her giant sword, causing many apes to drop down from the branches and others to get crushed under the trunks. She must be getting close to the end of her monstrous strength as well now, as her voice sounds impatient and tired.


    "Just a bit more." Kamii answers in her stead, believing that Sazi will give an answer when the time is right. Her voice is steady, and she seems to be the least exhausted of the fighters, despite being the one who moved the most.


    Rolan wonders why the apes continue to attack despite taking so many losses. Maybe they''re all corrupted creatures because they live on the demon continent, but in his experience, even cursed animals have a survival instinct. By now, at least a hundred of them must have been killed; was all that just to satisfy their territorial instincts?


    But just as he thinks this, the apes finally begin to retreat. Maybe their new chieftain has realized that at this rate, their numbers will drop too much, and they won''t be able to maintain their territory against other tribes or invaders.


    "They''ve given up!" Zancrax raises an arm out of the water and cheers.


    "About damn time." Terog peeks over the ledge and looks up at the backs of Kamii and Ireyo. The latter is breathing hard and drags her sword along the ground at this point. It''s completely red from the blood of the enemies she has slain. On the other hand, the little dark elf is composed, and her cursed arm is perfectly clean. Or maybe its natural blood red color blends with that of the enemies she splattered with it.


    "The crossing is right he-" Sazi begins, but suddenly the deafening roar of a beast far larger than anything they heard before echoes through the jungle. It vibrates through the air, and its shockwaves cause the trees to shake. The blood apes must have sensed its approach and retreated for that reason.


    When it ends, the entire jungle has fallen quiet, even though it had been filled with the noises of all kinds of animals before. The group of humans and demons remain completely still, looking around without even turning their heads. Anxiety lays itself over them and sweat rolls down their faces as they try to make out where it came from.


    "What was that?" Rolan whispers to the zombie woman, whose expression is indiscernible through her mask. Even if she didn''t wear it, her desiccated and bandaged face wouldn''t show any emotions either way.


    "That... cannot be." She sounds shocked and cradles her hooded head.


    "Tell me what that was!" Shaking her shoulder, the one-armed human asks intently but receives nothing but mumbles of disbelief. "Kamii, that seems to be something bad. We need to move!"


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Luckily, they already reached the shallows that Sazi pointed out earlier. In her current state, she wouldn''t be able to guide them. Terog walks into the water once more to check the footing and discovers that there''s a path leading in an almost straight line through the wide river. Since it still reaches up to his chest, Kamii and Ireyo are both loaded up onto the cart. With the boar demon pulling and Gram pushing, they begin the crossing, as Zancrax becomes the rear guard and is made to carry the Divider, which is too heavy to place on the floating cart.


    When they''re halfway to the other side, Rolan looks back to see trees shaking as if something is pushing them aside. Whatever is doing it must be gigantic. And it''s coming their way, crushing the undergrowth audibly with every step.


    "What..." Muttering to himself, he tries to peer into the darkness of the tree line to see what''s coming after them, but can''t make it out at all.


    "That is the primeval protector of the jungle, Tepeyohuatl - Lady of the Mountain." The zombie guide finally explains in a fearful tone. "She is the patron goddess of the demons of Zohigal."


    "That doesn''t sound too bad?" He tries to lighten the mood, but nobody is having it. It''s clear that this Lady of the Mountain made that roaring sound, so it''s most likely a being the size of a giant.


    "A goddess?" Kamii asks and clicks her pincer nervously. She only had bad experiences with those beings people would call gods, and has sworn to fight them whenever she meets one. But then the tree line breaks open, and she sees who - or what - this goddess really is.


    A titanic dinosaur standing on two powerful legs as thick as the oldest tree trunks appears on the riverbank. Its massive body is like a mountain and covered in moss-green feathers. A crest of longer red feathers grows from around its head like a mane. The powerful neck supports a large head with a rounded snout and a massive jaw, in which jagged teeth the length of a grown human''s arm glitter in the sunlight. They seem to be made of pure gold.


    Its yellow eyes are like those of a raptor, as it fixates on the group which is slowly moving through the water to get to the other side. Then it tilts its head a little before opening its giant maw for an earth-shattering roar. It appears as if it has a physical effect on its surroundings, as trees are whipped back, and the earth just before its feet crumbles. Waves spread out in a half circle from the epicenter and wash over the group.


    They cover their ears in pain and cower under the howl of the goddess. When it''s over, they don''t waste a single moment on speaking and begin to run through the water as quickly as they can. Even Kamii, who has been stoically steadfast all this time, is paddling with her cursed arm just to get away from this gigantic creature faster.


    Tepeyohuatl slowly steps into the river, the water level barely reaching halfway up to her ankles. There''s an undeniable intelligence in her gaze, as she follows them across the ridge. However, it''s also undeniable that she''s angry, most likely for their trespassing on the jungle she protects and slaughter of the blood apes, which are part of the natural order.


    With her sheer size, she will quickly catch up to them. Even though the current isn''t strong, the water is still deep enough to impede their movement significantly. But this isn''t an opponent they can fight, so all they can do is try to run.


    The little dark elf has the most destructive potential among the whole group, but she''ll get trampled or devoured in a single bite before her curse counter can reach a high enough number to damage that gigantic dinosaur''s body.


    Ireyo is the only one who could do anything to that goddess without any buildup time. The Divider is still a massive weapon despite being broken, so it could cut deeply into the gigantic dinosaur''s scales. But she can''t use her monstrous strength in the water, and even if she could fight, she knows that she won''t survive being stepped on by that.


    "I''ll borrow this." Zancrax says to the rabbit demon, grips the hilt of the broken sword he''s carrying and turns around to face Tepeyohuatl. It''s still a little oversized even for him, but as he''s the only one who has a good footing in the river, he can utilize it better than anybody else.


    "What are you doing?!" Ireyo screams in surprise and motions to jump into the water but is held back by Kamii.


    "No, we can''t fight that!" She tries to calls Zancrax back, but he doesn''t heed her words and fearlessly stands his ground against the approaching mountain.


    The goddess of the jungle stops for a moment and seems to be surprised by the minotaur''s resolve. Then her eyes narrow slightly, and she opens her maw to roar at him. The pressure of her voice is enough to send him flying backward and knock the Divider out of his hand. It reaches the others and propels them across the river, straight onto the shore on the other side.


    But it was not an act of kindness. The force is enough to cause Terog to roll across the ground and hit his head against the rocks, while the cart is smashed into pieces on a tree, and its three passengers fly off into the undergrowth. Fortunately, Gram avoids getting skewered by one of the splinters stuck inside that very same tree as he barely misses it a moment later.


    Zancrax crashes into the jagged remains of the cart with his back first. If he didn''t wear his thick granite-like armor, he would have sustained several deep wounds from that. The Divider hits him on the helmet, but luckily it was only the hilt rather than the blade; it''s still enough to cause him to see stars for a moment.


    The first back on her feet is Ireyo, who dives forward to pick up her weapon. Swinging it around by the chain, she propels it at Tepeyohuatl''s approaching head with the longer edge of the diagonally broken blade. But the goddess opens her mouth and nimbly catches it between her teeth, before throwing her head back. The rabbit demon is pulled along with her chain and flung into the air.


    Kamii is the second one up, and she sprints towards the massive dinosaur. With every further step she approaches her, she slows down, until she finally realizes the difference in their sizes. Looking up at the looming mountain on two legs, who seems to be playing with Ireyo by swinging the chain she''s holding onto around in a circle, she finally understands the futility of fighting this calamity.


    "Ombro Dela Nokto!" The little dark elf raises her normal hand towards the head of the dinosaur goddess and shouts out this short incantation. A muddy cloud of darkness appears out of nowhere and covers her eyes, causing her to open her jaw and let go of the Divider in surprise. The weapon is flung across the treetops, and Ireyo, never letting go of the chain, follows.


    Tepeyohuatl''s arms are too short to reach her eyes, and even if she could, she wouldn''t be able to dispel the darkness that Kamii summoned with magic. She tries to rub her head against the tree trunks, but it obviously can''t remove something that isn''t a physical manifestation.


    "Terog, are you alright?" Gram gets up to his feet and drags himself over to the boar demon, who stays on the ground groaning. Since he doesn''t wear any armor, he took the full brunt of slamming into rocks repeatedly. The fact that he''s trying to push himself up shows that he didn''t sustain a spinal injury though.


    Zancrax is shaking his head and looks stunned, but when the tree he''s leaning on shakes from the goddess swinging her head against it, he quickly jumps up to his hooves. Sazi and Rolan both seem fine, albeit a little wobbly, as they stick their heads out from the bushes they landed in. When they see how close the massive dinosaur has gotten, they quickly work their way deeper into the jungle.


    "Zan, carry Terog. Gram, carry Sazi." Kamii makes this split-second decision while rolling sideways to avoid getting trampled by Tepeyohuatl''s giant clawed foot. "We''re making a run for it."


    "I''m going to find Ireyo." Rolan, lacking all sense of self-preservation, begins to move deeper into the jungle to find the person who cut off his left arm.


    "Sazi, lead the way." The little dark elf doesn''t think much about what he may get himself into and orders the masked woman, who''s getting picked up by the big man. Since he lost his massive shield, he''s much faster on his feet than before.


    The minotaur helps Terog to his feet and motions to carry him, but the latter refuses it and limps on his own. Since he''s too slow, Zancrax picks him up under his arm and against his protests anyway. They follow the path Gram with Sazi in his arms is treading, but quickly overtake them. After all, Zancrax likes to bulldoze through things.


    Kamii casts the dark magic spell that blinded Tepeyohuatl earlier one more time to make sure it lasts long enough for them to get a little distance between each other, before taking the rear guard. She hurries after the others, making sure not to lose them in the maddeningly green hell that surrounds her on all sides now.


    "I found her!" Rolan''s voice comes from somewhere ahead, but the echo from the trees scrambles its exact direction.


    "It is not far to Zohigal!" Sazi calls out to the others from a similar direction but much closer. "Do not lose the way!"


    Following it, Kamii finds the path that Zancrax has left behind in his charge through the jungle, and sees Gram''s wide back ahead of her. Now the only ones missing are the rabbit woman and the one-armed human.


    "Rolan, Ireyo!" She tries calling them but receives no answer. Then the bushes next to her suddenly burst open, and the two emerge. Rolan runs past her in a panicked full sprint, while Ireyo chases after him with a furious expression, dragging the Divider after her like a ball on a chain. "Huh? What happened?"


    "He picked me up and wanted to carry me!" She sounds angry.


    "I just wanted to help." He turns his head and explains desperately. "It looked like you were h-"


    But he''s cut off when he runs into Gram''s back, who has stopped in the middle of the swath that Zancrax trampled into the undergrowth. Losing his balance, he falls onto his back and rubs his cheek, then looks up to inquire about the reason for why he''s standing still.


    "Why have you stopped?" Kamii preempts his question and looks behind herself to see where Tepeyohuatl is. Then she gets the answer to her question when part of the jungle seems to come alive.


    Eyes open among the bushes behind her and leaves move to reveal the shapes of lizard-like, avian-looking humanoids. Their sharp and curved beaks have been painted with various colors that let them blend into the surroundings better. They carry obsidian-tipped spears in their three-fingered hands from which short wings grow that are unfit for flight. What they lack there, they make up with powerful legs sporting long claws that look like they could rend armor.


    The flightless bird demons have their spears pointed at various vital spots on their bodies without any prior vocal arrangements. That they possess intelligence beyond that of the apes is clear in how disciplined and organized they are even without an apparent leader.


    "These are the Physornis warriors of Zohigal." Sazi introduces them from her position in Gram'' arms. Her voice doesn''t sound as carefree as she was with the blood apes, but at least it''s not as alarmed as it was when the giant dinosaur announced herself. "They are worshippers of Tepeyohuatl and enjoy her protection in exchange for sacrifices."


    The latter part causes the group of demons and humans to feel anxious. The way it looks, they''ll become such sacrifices.


    Moments later, the sounds of bushes and branches being crushed by giant feet announce the arrival of Tepeyohuatl. Her head appears from between two massive trees, and she lowers it to stare at the foreign demons surrounded by the Physornis warriors. The dark magic spell around her eyes have worn off, and she stares at Kamii with the dinosaur-equivalent of a frown. Then she snorts from her nostrils and walks past them.


    That''s the signal for the bird-men to make the group follow her. It would seem that they will reach Zohigal in a fashion different from how they had hoped they would.

 Chapter 113 - The Crone

    I gesture for Tahiri to come with me to my room. Aratio is nowhere to be seen, but I''m sure she''ll join us if she can remember that tonight is the night I promised to play with her. If she can''t, it''ll be her loss.


    Along the way, I push all thoughts of the war and other girls aside. There won''t be anything or anybody else occupying my mind but the woman - or women - before me. Luckily, I talked it over with Nymphy earlier while on transit, and although she looked lonely, she showed understanding. A kiss restored her confidence that I''ll keep my word eventually. But for tonight, neither she nor the other girls will disturb our time together.


    As we enter my room together, we see that the lamp crystal is switched on, and Aratio is already floating around in the air. Unlike Tahiri, who usually does the same by sitting on a cloud as if it were a divan, the God of Whirlwinds is moving like a leaf in the breeze, spinning around an eccentric axis in slow-motion without a care in the world. When she notices us, her lips curl up into a smile.


    "[Finally. I got tired of waiting and was about to leave again.]" She greets me by zooming close to my face in a gust of wind.


    "[Don''t be impatient, Aratio.]" Tahiri passes me by and pulls her daughter aside. "[I can assure you that she''s worth the wait. She can go all night and not tire.]"


    She''s purposefully not keeping her voice down to a whisper, most likely signaling me that I should give my best. No matter how hard I tried hiding it, we were on the same airship for a while, so she overheard my playtime with Tokomaha and Aurelia often enough. Korenga certainly did too.


    "[Nothing less than all night will satisfy me after making me wait for such a long time.]" Aratio replies with a pout.


    "[Is that a challenge?]" I close the door behind me and grin at the two women standing in front of my bed while turning the key audibly. Then I pull it out of the keyhole and lift it for them to see before letting it sink into my hand demonstratively. "[Neither of you is getting out of here without thoroughly satisfying me - and getting satisfied by me.]"


    Even though they both can turn into thin air and slip through the cracks of the door, both Tahiri and Aratio wear an expectant expression on their faces. The more mature mother licks her lips in anticipation, while the more childlike daughter appears aloof about it, even though her eyes are slightly anxious in anticipation.


    I''ll make sure to give them both what they want - and then some more.


    I wake up, not remembering when I fell asleep. There are no windows in this room, so I can''t tell what time it is. Normally, I don''t need to sleep, but maybe the activities last night were too strenuous while maintaining a human body after all.


    The thick smell in the air tells volumes about what happened here, and I pity the maid that has to come in here to clean up; I wonder how the room is aired out usually.


    Then I realize that I''m alone on the bed. Did Tahiri and Aratio wake up before me and already leave the room? I have the key somewhere in my depths, but they can both turn into air, so they must have exited that way.


    Refreshing my transformation to be at my best, I stand up and create a set of clothes from the folds of my skin. With this, I look presentable to the public again. Unlocking and opening the door, I look back one more time to take in the evidence of our tussle last night.


    The moment I exit the room a maid greets me. It''s Keiza, who seems to be responsible for cleaning my room in particular; she must have been waiting here for a while, never knocking to ask for entry. She bows and tries to maintain a neutral expression, but the smell must tell her what we did last night.


    But before I can say anything, I see the scenery outside the window and realize that it must already be past noon. We went at it for almost the whole night, but I didn''t think I would sleep in like this. The morning meeting with the clan heads was supposed to be hours ago.


    "A meal has been prepared for You, Chaos-sama." Keiza says in a throwback to my first morning in this world. This time she''s much more composed when meeting me, especially since I look like a human, unlike back when I didn''t even know I had reincarnated into a Cosmic Horror body.


    "I missed my meeting, didn''t I?" Walking up to her, I sigh.


    "No, I have taken the liberty to reschedule it for the late afternoon. I hope I did not step out of bounds." She bows deeper and speaks in the manner of a trained secretary. Was that her role?


    "Thank you. That saved me a lot of trouble." I pet her hair and reply with a breath of relief. The thought to appoint somebody to take care of scheduling never occurred to me. Up until now, I''ve been making do by remembering thing myself and going along with the flow. It also helps that I mostly have free reign because of my status, but planning for the war is something I can''t just avoid with that.


    Not that I would anyway.


    "I-I shall clean Your room then, Chaos-sama." Without raising her head, Keiza continues to bow.


    "Alright." I''m just about to walk away and let her do her job when I think of something. "Look at me, Keiza."


    "W-why?" Refusing to do so, the ash-haired maid asks with a stutter. Without saying another word, I bring a hand to her chin and lift it so that I can look into her vertically slit pupils.


    Her face is flushed red, and those very eyes are darting around, unsure where to look. She seems to have derived incredible joy from my praise and petting.


    "Y-Your Majesty, I..." Trying to come up with a response and failing, she flaps her mouth open and closed without making any further sounds.


    "You''re so cute." I mutter and seal her lips with my own for just a quick kiss. Then I separate from her and look into her completely red face. But her hair suddenly turns red as well, and steam rises from it. The tip of the scaly tail that comes out from a hole in her maid uniform''s skirt portion, which has been swinging back and forth in excitement, lights on fire. "Huh?"


    "Ahhh, Your Majesty, I... I!" Holding her flushed cheeks and shaking her head as a halo of fire appears around it, she says in a quivering voice.


    "Calm down Keiza, I''m sorry!" It''s not that I''m especially afraid of fire, but the carpet, curtains, and furniture are all flammable, and I don''t want the castle to burn down because my flirting went too far. "I should have asked for your consent first!"


    "N-no, that is not it!" Her eyes are swirling in their sockets, and she''s clearly confused, but the flames don''t let up. "I am just... too happy! For Her Majesty to favor someone like me!"


    "Alright, then you''re happy that I did it. But calm down already!" I cover myself in dragon skin and hug her, but that was the wrong move. Her whole body bursts out in flames, which consume her maid outfit as well as anything flammable several meters around her. It''s exactly what I wanted to avoid, but I instead made it happen myself.


    "I am so sorry, Chaos-sama!" She apologizes in an almost hysterical tone - most likely because I''m embracing her like this - and keeps spreading her flames.


    "Calm down!" I speak in a commanding tone, employing a little bit of my true nature in it. At the sound of it, the flames on her body die down in an instant and she begins to shiver all over from fear. "I''m sorry if I scared you..."


    I look around, and she does so too. There''s a circular area around us that has been completely burned down to the naked stone of the castle, and even the window panes have bent under the heat. It''s not at the level of Felgar''s phoenix body, but would still be dangerous for other living beings in her surroundings.


    Now that I get a good look at her naked body, I discover that her arms are covered in gray scales, all the way up to her shoulders. She was wearing gloves before, but now I can see that her hands are clawed. The same scaly skin covers the hips halfway down the outside of her thighs, where they wrap around her legs completely like thigh-highs suspended from garters. Her feet are also clawed, although they look more humanlike than reptilian.


    Her entire lower back is covered in scales as well except for what looks like her buttocks, where the skin is like that of a human''s. There''s also a narrow patch of it running down between her small breasts and splitting up to form something like a natural shelf bra.


    She''s an exotic kind of beautiful, and it looks like she''s wearing seductive lingerie.


    From the other side of the corridor, a group of maids comes running in our direction. They must have heard the uproar and thought somebody was attacking the castle, but when they see me embracing the lizard maid, they stop dead in their tracks.


    "T-this is not what it looks like!" Keiza tries to explain the situation, but her wording only makes it worse.


    "Come clean this up." I order the maids and pick the one in my arms up into a princess carry. If I didn''t have something to do soon, I would have taken her into my room and spent the rest of the day with her in there without hesitation. But I can''t waste away my time doing the pleasurable things in life when other peoples'' lives are at stake. I''ll have to postpone this for another time.


    I still carry her inside my room though, to find her a clean set of clothes from inside the wardrobe to wrap herself in. They''re all beautiful and high-quality dresses that must have been prepared for me to wear once I returned from my three-year journey. Keiza repeatedly refuses by saying that she''s not worthy of wearing such expensive outfits, but I eventually force her into one that exposes her arms and legs sufficiently. The short skirt and her natural thigh-highs form a perfect absolute territory too.


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    She seems to have a complex regarding the scaly parts of her body, even though it''s natural for her clan. Her time around girls with smooth skin must have caused that to develop. The uniform rules in the Maid Corps are pretty lax, and many have modified outfits that show more skin or have decorations on them. She might be the only one who usually wears something that covered all signs of her heritage - aside from Rewera, who is a paragon of professionalism.


    "You''re beautiful the way you are. You should show it more." I whisper into Keiza''s pointy and scale-covered ear, which she kept hidden under her perfectly combed gray hair before. Then I take hold of her right hand and lift it to my lips. The dark gray scales are a little rough, but they have a sheen that makes them look different under various lighting conditions. I kiss the back of it and smile at her.


    "I-I am not worthy of-" She begins, but I stop her with a finger on her lips, before caressing her cheek.


    "Have more confidence in yourself." Once again, I curse myself for having such a tight schedule even though there''s not really much to do. The meetings simply take time because of all the deliberation we have to go through.


    The smell in the room doesn''t help alleviate my lust after having seen her naked appearance either, but I keep my libido under control with a lot of willpower.


    "Let the others take care of things here. Come with me." Pulling her along by the hand, we leave the room and walk past the maids cleaning the aftermath of Keiza''s flare of emotions outside my door. They glance at us, and I hear giggling and encouraging whispers. It''s good to see they''re getting along; I had considered the possibility that the others were bullying her for her lack of self-confidence.


    When I enter the dining hall with Keiza''s hand still in mine, I see two other maids waiting there already. One is the frog girl I seem to remember seeing on my first morning in this world, and the other is very clearly a lamia. But she has snakes for hair, so maybe it''s a subspecies called medusa. This is all just from my fantasy knowledge, and I don''t think that''s what they''re actually called here.


    Nobody from my entourage is present though. Since it''s the early afternoon, they must have already had lunch. Usually, I''d see somebody hanging around though - mostly Tokomaha, who has a very healthy appetite despite her size.


    "Where is everyone?" I ask the frog maid. Her name was Amerega, I believe.


    "They are watching the Guardian of the Soil till the Fields of Huwinn, Your Highness." She replies with a bow, her eyes glancing over me holding the lizard maid''s hand without showing anything on her face. But she''s clearly thinking her part.


    "Exla is holding a show of her powers, huh?" I didn''t see her from the window of my room, so she must be working on the other side of the castle right now. "She should have told me."


    "Your Highness, what do you wish to eat for... breakfast?" The lamia maid whose name is Nesis - as far as I can remember - inquires, making a noticeable pause to sarcastically imply that I got my sleep schedule out of whack. She''s quite bold.


    "How about you..." I begin and make a pause, causing all the maids to stare at me with big eyes. Nesis'' are filled with a hint of doubt and fear, trying to guess whether that was a joke or not. "... bring a selection of food along. We''ll have a picnic on the northern battlements and watch a goddess do her work."


    "I shall have someone bring a table and a chair." Amerega suggests, but I wave her off.


    "What do you need a chair for? You have me." The moment I speak the words I realize their implication. So do the maids, as they stare at me wide-eyed once again. But not letting it get to me, I walk ahead to choose our picnic site, burying the shame welling up somewhere in my unfathomable depths.


    On the battlements, I look across the Fields of Huwinn on the northern side of the castle. There are many people watching from the city walls below, as a massive cloud figure walks across the lands a short distance outside the city, turning the earth under its feet with every step.


    There''s no immediate effect, unlike how I expected things to go; I thought greenery would sprout behind her as it did for a certain nature god in a movie I watched as a child. She wasn''t kidding when she said she needed some time, but I hope it''s not the god kind of ''some time'' when considering how long she stayed on the Dark Continent.


    "This is incredible." Keiza says next to me, her red slit eyes staring at Exla in awe.


    "Come, sit down." I gesture for her to take a seat and let myself fall backward. Tentacles sprout from my back and take on the form of a chair. I extend them around me to create a circular table as well as three more chairs, all standing in a half-circle so that we can watch the scenery.


    The lizard maid looks at my creation with a skeptical expression, but eventually brings it over herself to sit down after all. Soon after, Amerega and Nesis come up the stairs with baskets and stare at the furniture in surprise. They must realize that those are part of my body.


    With the breakfast unpacked and arranged on plates before me, they stand aside and wait for further instructions. I thought the additional chairs would be an obvious sign for them to join me, but they didn''t take it that way.


    "You two sit down and relax too." I smile at them, and they exchange a glance. The reaction I expected from them was to refuse politely while referring to the difference in our standings. But they actually sit down - in their own individualistic ways; Amerega perches on her chair as a frog would, and Nesis coils around hers before sitting down with the part that corresponds to a human''s backside.


    This is my definition of a peaceful morning - or afternoon, I suppose. Watching a massive cloud being till the fields outside a city with beautiful but dark architecture while sitting on top of my very own castle''s walls with a few maids, eating a variety of high-quality dishes of which some are made from human meat. I don''t know how else to describe this as but ''perfectly demonic''.


    "[So that''s where you were.]" Tokomaha comes up the stairs and calls out to me.


    "[Good morning.]" I spread my arms, and she jumps into them naturally. She has completely discarded all the tsun in her and become a full-on dere even in front of other people by now.


    "[It''s way past noon already.]" She comments while sitting down on my lap. "[Are Tahiri and Aratio still asleep?]"


    "[Huh? They woke up before I did.]" Just as I''m about to hug her she asks me, and I stop.


    "[I haven''t seen them all day.]" Shrugging, Tokomaha answers. Somehow I have a bad feeling about this.


    "[Have you seen Tahiri and Aratio today?]" I ask the maids, and they shake their heads. "[Stand up.]"


    The moment they do so, I retract the chairs made from my matter, as well as the table with all the things on them, into my body, and stand up myself.


    "[What''s wrong?]" The little goddess who was sitting in my lap slides down, turns around, and looks up to me with a worried expression.


    "[Hopefully nothing.]" With these words, I take off in a hurry and fly toward Exla. I really hope it''s nothing.


    But the God of Storm and the God of Whirlwinds have both disappeared from Arkaim. A search turned up nothing, and nobody saw them leave, but that only makes it more obvious that they did leave.


    Why though? Why would they leave after spending such a night with me? Was it something I did?


    Wait, don''t tell me it was because of my words about Tahiri surrendering herself to me. We did it until she passed out, so did she take it as her loss? Is there a concept of ''the little death'' in the Adanak culture as well, and she considered our duel to the death her loss? Did she return to her nation because of that?


    I sit in the meeting room and bounce my leg restlessly. The clan leaders know the reason for my impatience and are trying to keep things short, as they give me a breakdown of the time and resources required for the large-scale evacuation I ordered yesterday. The state coffers have never been as drained as they are now, and this maneuver will cost much more.


    "I''ll do something about funding." I reply when Oquachit continues to list the areas where money is needed. He''s the old turtle demon and clan leader of the Kirali, to whom Ophalen and his son Nilotec belong. "That won''t be a problem. Next."


    I have half a mind to transmute a huge pile of gold right now, but that''s not a solution. It would collapse the economy and do nothing but speed up the downward spiral of the Dominion. I''ll just have to go and take it from the humans then.


    "Who goes there?!" Rewera suddenly exclaims, and everybody in the meeting room turns their heads to see the maid leader look in the direction of the window behind me.


    Jumping up and turning on the spot by rearranging my body, I look outside with my night vision. Even then, all I can see is the dark scenery beyond the brightly lit city below.


    A rustling sound causes everybody to start looking around, as an eerie breeze blows through the room. Within, black feathers dance like ash. They don''t belong to Hestia, who''s sitting in the seat next to mine and focusing her senses on our surroundings.


    "Poor soul." An old woman''s voice echoes through the air, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. "A lost soul that has transcended space and time, seeking the warmth of others and losing them one after another."


    "Show yourself!" I command in a firm voice, but the storm of feathers only grows in intensity.


    "One, then two, with two more pieces. Freed a beautiful child of the night, corrupted an angel of light." The voice continues in a mysterious tone, but it''s obvious that she refers to me. How does she know about Asoko and my children? "Lost the night, but found the other half."


    "Who are you?!" I focus my Chaos senses on our surroundings, but it feels like each feather is a living being. The voice is talking about how I was sent away from the academy and lost Kamii, but discovered my other half on our journey back from the Khurut Sultanate.


    "Plucked a heart of gold, but discovered a lie-ridden truth." She now refers to how I met Aurelia, who''s listening with an intent expression. And the lie-ridden truth is Juzual teaching me about the self-proclaimed gods being sorcerers from a far-away nation. I now know that was only half the truth. But that happened on the moon, how could this voice know about that? "A glorious return, a regret for a lifetime."


    "Enough of this." I turn myself into the Chaos warhead form and open up the various plates covering my body to suck in the air around me - along with the feathers.


    "Ah, I understand." The old woman''s voice finally replies to what I''m saying and the eerie wind slows down, causing a multitude of feathers to fall. Just as one passes my eyes and blocks my vision, an old woman clad in a black-feathered robe appears out of nowhere, sitting right in the middle of the long table. "Youngsters are so impatient."


    "Who are you?" Ophalen jumps up from his seat and wields his cane like a club. But when he realizes that the old woman''s milky white eyes are blind, he stops for a moment.


    "What do you want?" I cut to the chase and ask her directly.


    "I am here to tell your fortune." Without a care in the world, the old crone gives me a toothless grin and points a bony finger in my general direction. "You have lost somebody, and you wish to find her."


    "Who are you?" Preparing to create a spike from any point on my body and run her through the head when something feels off, I ask in a low and menacing tone.


    "I am but an old seer, here to guide you onto a better path. It is up to you to accept my visions. Kekeke." She explains mysteriously and then cackles with a rasping sound in her throat. "Go south. Seek the worshippers of the sun, but do not trust those that would dedicate a temple to it. There, you will find whom you are searching for."


    "You..." Aurelia suddenly stands up, and blades of gold appear in an array around the old woman, pointed at her face. "You are Shelnir!"


    "The Guide of Tomorrow?" The moment the golden girl nods in confirmation, I turn the crone into a pincushion without any hesitation. The entire front of my body turned into a more focused Hedgehog mode and extended at her at blinding speed without even making a sound.


    Everybody in the room stares at me in shock, not thinking I would act this swiftly. But I know that this alone won''t be enough to kill an Old Human. As expected, her body turns into an explosion of feathers, as her voice echoes from everywhere once more.


    "Go south, to the capital of the sun. To Zohigal." She repeats herself but adds a very real place name. Then her cackling fades away as the feathers slowly disappear without leaving a single trace. Even those I swallowed earlier seem to have vanished from reality.

 Chapter K10 - City of God

    Zohigal, as it is known to the people of the Dominion, is called Tonatiultepetl in the local tongue, named after their principal deity, the goddess of the sun Tonatihuatl. While Tepeyohuatl is the patron goddess of the city, Tonatihuatl is the one who has gifted them the use of fire and magic. And she continues to give life to the world and its inhabitants.


    The stone walls are completely hidden in the jungle, and there isn''t even a marked path that leads up to it. Gates made from the same material as the walls are equally embellished with figures and murals, which show that they are more decorative than for defensive purposes. Though when they pass through the gateway, they see that their thickness far surpasses that of the strongest fortifications in the Dominion.


    Tepeyohuatl growled something to the Physornis warriors and disappeared at one point, letting the bird demons guide them on their own. She wouldn''t be able to fit through the gate, and the walls are too tall for her to climb, so she must have returned to what she was doing before their presence alerted her.


    The city of Zohigal is a sprawling metropolis that appears to be overgrown by the jungle. Trees sprout from inside buildings, and the paved streets are broken by brushes in many places. Soon, the captive group realizes that it''s all as intended. Many inhabitants can be seen tending to plants that would otherwise have been considered invasive. The people here have not lost their touch with nature even after building a civilization with such a rich culture.


    Many larger and smaller dinosaurs can be seen among the bird demons. The four-legged ones appear to be used as beasts of burdens. Some pull carts while others have wooden structures strapped on their backs on which citizens ride. The two-legged ones seem to be reserved as mounts for the Physornis warriors as they patrol the streets.


    "I never imagined something like this could exist." Gram comments while looking around. "Is an elven city similar to this?"


    He''s referring to the closeness to nature, which elves supposedly exhibit. His indirect question directed at Kamii doesn''t go unnoticed by the little dark elf, but she ignores it. Her kind is nomadic with no permanent settlements and live wherever they can forage for food. Their perceived rarity stems from the fact that they go out of their way to avoid places where humans are active.


    "What exactly are we doin'' here again?" Terog asks Kamii in a whisper. She only said that a way to reverse the momentum of the war could be found in this city, never specifying what that meant in particular. But the truth is that she doesn''t know much beyond that either.


    "I don''t really know." Shrugging, the little dark elf replies truthfully. "We''ll see."


    Exchanging a look with Zancrax, the boar demon frowns. Kamii has always been very cryptic, so this is nothing new. The members of this fellowship have all met the blind seer, and all been told to follow this cursed girl that they would soon meet. Nobody but her knows what they have journeyed so far to do.


    And while being captured by the Physornis may be part of their destiny, it could just as well result in their ends if they get fed to dinosaurs instead of being led to meet somebody important as they''re - for some reason - expecting to be.


    "Ya just tell us when, then." Muttering under his breath, Terog implies that the little leader should make the call when to attempt an escape. Now that Tepeyohuatl isn''t with them, they should be able to overwhelm these bird warriors. Although with every step deeper into the city, their chances at making it out dwindle further.


    "Wait and see." Kamii replies while looking ahead. They''re being led towards a ziggurat that towers over the city. Unlike the buildings around it, this is the only one that isn''t overgrown and kept completely free of any vegetation. A bright light from a big flame is burning at its apex, but it doesn''t appear to flicker at all. Villagers can be seen carrying unlit lamps up the steps and coming back down with lit ones.


    "That is the Sunshard. It has burned for millennia and is the only source of fire in Zohigal." Sazi, who has remained silent so far, explains. "Even though the pyramid is not as big as the one I was laid to rest in, the fact that it still exists while mine has crumbled long ago means I have to admit that they are the more successful architects."


    She speaks in a dissatisfied tone, and although her face isn''t visible, everybody can tell that she''s feeling jealous. None of the group members know her past exactly, only that she''s an undead who came from a place that is now part of the Khurut Sultanate.


    They enter the central plaza in front of the ziggurat, and all eyes are on them. Even though they''re prisoners, their hands aren''t tied, and they''re taken through the main street openly, rather than brought to the barracks next to the city gate. Maybe they''re considered guests? Or they''ll be led directly to the slaughter.


    The Physornis warriors speak in a guttural language none of the group can understand, but when they point their spears at them and direct them to the left of the pyramid, it''s clear that their destination lies elsewhere.


    Behind the ziggurat is a walled palace, so the initial idea that they will be given an audience with the ruler of the city seems all the more likely. While having spears pointed at them doesn''t exactly give them the confidence that it''s a nice reception, at least the likelihood of becoming live sacrifices seems to have dropped by a bit. Technically, Tepeyohuatl didn''t attack them either, and her powerful roar and lack of expressiveness may have caused a misunderstanding.


    But Kamii mentally prepares for the worst case scenario anyway. One thing she learned traveling the Dominion during the past year is that unforeseen circumstances are not as unforeseeable as one may think. She avoided a lot of situations that could have ended badly if she had not prepared for them.


    The palace gates are guarded by a pair of featherless lizardmen with powerful builds and dark gray skin. Unlike the nimble and long-legged Physornis, these are less humanoid, standing hunched forward with bulging muscles and carrying what appear to be flat wooden bats. But the edges have inlaid obsidian pieces that make them look like crude saws. Nobody doubts that they''re effective despite their unusual appearances, considering the apparent strength of those wielding them.


    These guardians stand as tall as Terog despite their hunched backs, and their eyes with vertically slit pupils watch them carefully as they pass by. On the other side of the gate, a whole contingent of them are waiting, and they take over from the Physornis in guiding - or guarding - them.


    "These are the Varanida monks. While the Physornis warriors are the common soldiers and scouts, these are the elite backbone of the Zohigal army." Sazi comments as the previous group of bird-like warriors leaves and is replaced by an encirclement of those powerful fighters. Their chances of making an escape have diminished greatly.


    "How do ya know all this?" Terog asks while scratching his chin. The undead surgeon has always been a fountain of historical knowledge, but it generally stops before the demons first came into existence. Considering it happened over one and a half millennia ago, that would make the civilization of Zohigal predate that of the Dominion''s.


    The Dominion is only mildly aware of the existence of these southern barbarian tribes. No trade or political dealing has ever occurred between them, and now they know why; they only ever discovered the blood apes and the Physornis scouts, thinking they were primitive savages living in a jungle village called Zohigal without much of a civilization. And even that only came from folklore, as the Empire of the Sun that Sazi belonged to fell long ago, and no others had any contact with them for centuries.


    "Zohigal has existed even before the first dynasty." Replying while looking around the interior of the wide-open courtyard, the former ruler takes in the sights of this ancient civilization. "Not much has changed about this place since then."


    "You were here before?" Even though it should have been obvious by the way she guided them here, Rolan still asks.


    "Yes, we had a trade agreement with them, so I came for two royal visits in my time." Sazi explains her past and settles on looking ahead, as they approach the palace gates.


    "You don''t happen to speak the language of those, do you?" Gram inquires as he hears the Varanida growl something to each other in an aggressive-sounding tone of voice.


    "Isss that Pharaoh Nefersssobek Amunansssazi I sssmell?" A voice asks in a strange accent of the language the demons speak. The gate to the palace building opens to reveal a towering but thin-limbed, long-necked lizardman with shiny black scales wearing colorful robes and a feathered headdress that looks like frills. He appears to be incredibly old, sporting saggy skin along his neck and weary yellow eyes, but there''s an undeniable glint of vigor in them when he spots the masked woman. "Your sssmell hasss changed though."


    Bending forward his long neck down, he extends a long forked tongue towards her. He blinks his eyes by only closing the transparent nictitating membrane over them, and shies back when he notices a different smell.


    "Are you alright? The ssstench of deasss clings to you." He leans on his feathered staff and bends his entire body forward to look at Sazi more closely, ignoring the people behind her completely.


    "Itzcoatl!" She sounds surprised when she recognizes him. "I did not expect for you to be still alive."


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    "That voissse. Yesss, you are indeed Pharaoh Nefersssobek Amunansssazi." Itzcoatl hears her voice and recognizes it. Straightening his back, he attempts to appear more dignified despite his advanced age. "And you did not expect me to be ssstill alive? Doesss your kind not live lesss than a sssingle cycle?"


    "I am a special case." Hiding her loneliness behind a fa?ade of grandstanding, Sazi replies in a prideful tone. She woke up in her tombs all alone, the servants and royal guards that had been buried with her already crumbled to dust. The same had happened to her entire civilization when she finally made her way out of the crumbled pyramid.


    "A ssspecial cassse, I sssee." If he''s thinking something, he doesn''t show it on his face, which already lacks those expressions more humanoid beings could interpret. "And who are thessse?"


    Finally, he takes note of the ragtag group of demons and humans behind the undead pharaoh. They remained silent throughout the exchange between the old lizardman and the only one among them who seems to know what''s going on.


    "They are my entourage. Please do not sacrifice them to the Sunshard." Speaking in a half-joking manner, Sazi introduces the group as her followers.


    "What a ssshame. They would have made for good material." But Itzcoatl sounds genuinely disappointed. "Follow me. I will bring you before the Sssihuatlahtoani. After all, your visssit mussst hold sssome importanssse, to come wisssout announsssment or a large prosssesssion. And to run from Tepeyohuatl, who only came to guide you."


    It seems that the lady of the mountain recognized Sazi as well, though the latter doesn''t remember ever meeting her - also the reason she was so shocked to find that the giant dinosaur was coming for them. She growled something to the Physornis warriors, so it may have been an order to take them to the palace directly.


    "Who''s that?" Terog whispers to Sazi and points at Itzcoatl when they follow him into the palace. The Varanida guards have been reduced to six, although that number implies that they don''t fully trust them yet.


    "Itzcoatl was the prime minister when I was still among the living. He still appears to be that even today." She replies in a hushed voice.


    "How old are you again?" Zancrax asks directly, but only receives silence as his answer. "Huh, didn''t you hear me?"


    "Why are minotaurs always so thick-skulled?" Ireyo sounds irritated. She has been glaring at Rolan for the longest time, but he made sure to avoid her, so she found a new target to let off some steam.


    "Because we have to use our heads all the time." Not understanding the metaphor, he replies honestly and with a hint of pride in his voice. Everybody rolls their eyes at his words, and he looks at them in surprise. "Huh, what is it?"


    "In either case, the actual ruler has changed. When I last came here, there was an emperor, but now it''s an empress." As they walk across the large overgrown hall with the open roof, the former pharaoh explains what she remembers. "It appears that the Varanida are incredibly long-lived."


    "Only thossse born under a ssspecial ssstar." Itzcoatl overhears their conversation and turns his head on his long neck to add. "At my birsss, the Hueytetotopixqui foresssaw that I would live to witnesss the End Timesss."


    "End times? Please tell me more!" Rolan walks forward and inquires with an alarmed expression. His unkempt hair, overgrowing beard, haggard appearance, and the bandaged stump that is his left arm make the prime minister frown - or at least his expression appears that way to those with humanoid and more expressive faces.


    "Your ssservant lacksss ressspect." He ignores the human and addresses Sazi instead.


    "Yes, he has not been properly trained yet. Please forgive his impudence." Extending a hand to wave Rolan back, she apologizes in his stead. "But you never mentioned the End Times to me before."


    "That isss because it was of no relevanssse back then. The priessstsss believe the End Timesss are upon us. The sssun dropped a ssshard over one moon ago in a faraway plassse, and the Obsssidian Comet wasss sssighted two daysss ago."


    "What happens then?" Ireyo walks past Sazi and asks impatiently. The old lizardman has been talking too slowly for her tastes.


    "All your ssservantsss appear to lack training. But I ssshall forgive thisss one because ssshe isss ssso fluffy." The corners of his wide mouth curl up a little, making it look like he''s smiling. "The End Timesss have been foretold by the Old One, the creator of our people. A great darknesss will cover the world, and all life will ssseassse."


    "That sounds bad." Zancrax mutters, but the others wait for Itzcoatl to go into more details. When he doesn''t, they exchange glances with each other, until Sazi takes it upon herself to ask for them.


    "Is there any more information about it? Did the Old One tell you what form that darkness would take?" She follows up on the subject. But the minister doesn''t reply, as they reach a large door.


    Two massive Varanida warriors easily towering over even Zancrax, stand guard on both sides. On Itzcoatl''s approach, they pull open the two sliding wings of the heavy stone door by two protruding handles. The hall beyond is a richly decorated throne room, filled with golden statues of regal-looking lizardmen and -women between plants growing directly from openings in the stone floor, as well as a carpet of live grass leading down the center.


    On a podium, two dozen stone steps elevated from the ground stands a throne made from pure gold. Sitting on it is a white-scaled and red-eyed lizardwoman similar in appearance to Itzcoatl, wearing a predominantly green dress and a variety of gold jewelry. A feathered crown sits atop her head, fastened to it with a leather strap around her neck.


    She hisses something to the old lizardman bowing before her, and he replies with a hiss of his own. The two continue to talk back and forth like this for a while, with the minister most likely explaining who they are. It seems to be their language, though Sazi shrugs when the others glance at her questioningly. She never learned it during her visits, as they were usually quite short - and Itzcoatl could speak with her normally.


    "Welcome to Tonatiultepetl. My name isss Teoyohticacoatl." Standing up from her throne, the empress speaks to them in the common tongue - to everybody''s surprise. "Prime Minissster Itzcoatl hasss informed me of who you are, Pharaoh Nefersssobek Amunansssazi. Our empiresss ssshared a prosssperousss passst, ssso you are our honored guessst. But he hasss not mentioned the reassson for your visssit."


    "For that, I have to introduce you to the real leader of our expedition." Stepping aside, Sazi gestures at Kamii. The latter steps forward without bowing or showing any other sign of respect to the empress that just welcomed them into her city.


    "We are here because a blind old lady told me that I would find a way to turn the war around that has been going on in the Dominion for the past year." She doesn''t even introduce herself and jumps right to the point.


    "An impatient one, I sssee." Smiling - or performing the lizardwoman''s version of it - Teoyohticacoatl descends the stairs slowly. From behind the large throne, two Varanida warriors emerge and follow behind her silently. They look less muscular than the ones that had been escorting them up until the door outside but instead have black bead-like scales with yellow patches. Their eyes are black as well, giving them a sinister appearance. "A blind old lady. A ssseer? Wasss ssshe perhapsss clad in black feathersss?"


    "That was the one." Kamii replies instantly. "Do you know where she is?"


    "That old ssseer isss a crow that bringsss misssfortune. Ssshe mussst have an ulterior motive to sssend you here." Itzcoatl takes over the explanation. "Whenever ssshe appeared before usss, calamity sssoon followed."


    "So I won''t find anything here?" Tilting her head, the little dark elf asks in a disappointed tone.


    "A war, you sssay?" The empress inquires in a curious tone.


    "Yesss, the warm-blooded creaturesss known as humansss are in the processs of invading the Dominion. According to our information, Queen Pelomyxss wasss asssasssinated, leaving the nation leaderlesss." The prime minister informs her, sounding a little impatient. "You ssshould know about thisss, Great Sssihuatlahtoani. I told you many timesss."


    The group of demons and humans stares at Itzcoatl and then glance at Teoyohticacoatl. His words and tone sounded disrespectful, but their target looks ashamed rather than angered. It seems that he takes on a mentor role for the albino lizardwoman.


    "Please, can you send an army to help the demons?" Rolan suddenly steps forward and kneels on the ground before the empress standing near the base of the stairs.


    "A human asssking for help from thossse it would label a demon all the sssame?" The old minister''s yellow eyes fixate on the one-armed man on the floor. Pacing back and forth before Rolan, Itzcoatl lets his staff resound on the stone ground with each step, purposefully making it louder than it needs to be. "What isss your purpossse?"


    "I beg you; you are their only hope!" Banging his head onto the ground, the former leader pleads.


    "Doesss thisss lowly ssservant ssspeak for you, Pharaoh Nefersssobek Amunansssazi?" Eyeing the masked woman, Itzcoatl asks in a low and menacing tone.


    "No, he is stepping out of-" Sazi motions to walk forward to stop Rolan from tarnishing her relationship with the lizardfolk, but Kamii takes action first.


    "Get up and go back there." She uses her crab arm to lift him by his collar and drag him back, displaying an unexpected amount of strength in her slender body. Then she addresses the empress and the prime minister. "I''m not here to ask for your help in the war."


    "You came here becaussse the old ssstormcrow told you to." Lowering his head and looking at the little dark elf from close up, he scrutinizes her expression. She doesn''t show much of an emotion, but he still seems to see right through her. "All will be desssided in five daysss. The Hueytetotopixqui will conduct a Sssuncaller Ritual, and the future of our world will be revealed."


    Straightening his back, he turns his focus to Sazi again, his body language and eyes making it clear that he expects her and her pesky followers to behave in that time.


    "You will be our honored guessstsss until then." Knocking the butt end of his staff on the ground twice, he summons the lizardwomen servants that had been waiting behind the pillars of the throne room. "Ssshow them to their abodesss."


    "Wait." Empress Teoyohticacoatl stops the servants, and they kneel on the spot. "I wisssh to ssspeak to Pharaoh Nefersssobek Amunansssazi a little more. There are many sssingsss I want to hear about the Dominion and the world of thossse humansss."


    "Asss you wisssh. Take the othersss away." Raising his staff and bringing it down once with a decisive sound, Itzcoatl grants his empress'' wish.


    The Varanida warriors growl at the ragtag group, signaling them to leave the throne room. As they don''t speak the common tongue, it''s the only way for them to make their intentions known to the demons and humans.


    "That went... well?" Terog mutters to Kamii in a questioning tone.


    "At least we won''t get sacrificed to a giant fire." Gram is the one that replies when he sees the little dark elf deep in thought. She must be considering their next move, quite unlike how he remembers her. The little girl clinging to Chloe has truly grown up.


    All they can hope for now is that the Suncaller Ritual holds the answers to their reason for being in this city.

 Chapter 114 - To the Promised City

    What do I do now?


    Tahiri and Aratio have disappeared, and Shelnir comes to tell me that I should go to Zohigal. The clan leaders then inform me that the southern barbarians aren''t exactly in a friendly relationship with the Dominion and that very few know anything about them.


    It just sounds like a trap, but the timing is too perfect for it to be a coincidence. The Guide of Tomorrow is most likely responsible for this and is now luring me into a trap. But as far as I could tell, there was no old crone like her among the people in the ritual hall where my mother died.


    Knowing the Old Humans, they''re still keeping the game alive. Otherwise, Zenlith would have called them together and attacked Arkaim right away. This is most likely part of their plan to return balance to this war so that the demons don''t get wiped out. Otherwise, they would only be left with the boring humans.


    And even if it''s really just a trap in an attempt to kill me, it could be an opportunity to catch myself one of the Old Humans.


    I''ll reconvene with the clan leaders next morning and discuss how to proceed with them. Shelnir didn''t give me a time limit, and knowing Tahiri, I doubt she''s in trouble. So I don''t need to up and leave right away, potentially leaving Arkaim right when another sneak attack is about to commence. Then again, it''s questionable that the human offensive will ever recover from their loss here and the destruction of their supply base.


    As I wander the castle without a destination in mind, I pass by Nymphy. She glances at me - or at least I think she does since her compound eyes are shaped like a jet pilot''s visor and have no pupils - but doesn''t say a word. I''m not in the mood for doing something tonight, so I feel bad for her.


    No, I shouldn''t let things get to me like this. Just like Aorutihaua, Tahiri and Aratio are fickle. Shelnir''s appearance may be a complete coincidence, and they left on their own. They may be gone for a few days and return later as if nothing happened. Or they just returned home altogether because they felt like it, and I''ll only ever see them again if I go to Adanak. But I shouldn''t be too concerned with their absence. Judging by how it went last night, it wasn''t because I lacked something, so my pride isn''t hit either.


    Then I should affirm that feeling.


    "I''m free tonight." Stopping in front of Nymphy, I look down at her with an inviting smile. She looks surprised and then begins to fiddle with the hem of her maid skirt. Wordlessly, she nods, and I take her hand.


    As we make our way to my room, we pass by several other maids. Most bow to me and don''t show any thoughts on their faces, but some smile to Nymphy with encouragement, while others look a little jealous. I initially thought that Asoko had taken them all for herself, but it seems that wasn''t the case, and plenty of them are still free.


    But tonight, this dragonfly girl has my full attention. She has deserved it after waiting patiently and with understanding for these past days.


    I open the door to my room and find the lights already on. Hestia is lying on my bed wearing glasses and nothing else. The expression on her face is one that stirs a base desire in me, and it nearly causes me to lose my form.


    Then she sees Nymphy behind me, and her smile freezes over.


    "Excuse me." The maid says and motions to leave, but I stop her.


    "No, stay." I''ll find another way to resolve this situation. Hestia is a yandere, but she''s the type that''s obedient to her love interest. She''s not far enough gone to think she can get away with taking out anybody that gets close to me as the extreme cases would.


    "Onee-sama?" Sitting up from the bed but not covering herself up despite being in the presence of what''s essentially a stranger, she looks at me and then glances at Nymphy.


    "I promised her tonight." Technically, I didn''t settle on any specific day, but after tomorrow I might be on the move again. And since I intend to leave all the maids here while taking Hestia along, she''ll get her chance then.


    "Could I join you then?" But the fallen angel looks at me with upturned eyes, and my heart melts. She''s saying that she would be fine to share me with somebody else during our night session. To think I would get a threesome two nights in a row is like a dream come true.


    "Only if she''s alright with it." Turning to Nymphy, I ask for her opinion. She may prefer to have me to herself or be uncomfortable with exposing her body to another person. But she thinks for a moment before nodding in assent.


    Two winged girls coming up tonight then.


    Beating her translucent wings with an audible buzzing sound, Nymphy shakes off the liquids that gathered on them from our activities last night. Hestia and I watch from the bed, the former looking at the quick cleaning method jealously. Her disheveled and sticky black feathers can''t be cleaned as easily as that and will require some care.


    The dragonfly girl''s naked form under the lamp light is exotic and stunning to behold. Parts of her back, neck, and limbs are covered in chitin, and sharp blades grow from her forearms and shins. Luckily, my body is malleable and can instantly heal from cuts, or last night would have ended in a bloodbath.


    Hestia concentrated on me alone and never even touched Nymphy. There were some apprehensions, for obvious reasons, but she should slowly warm up to the thought of sharing me with others, after realizing that I have more than enough skill and stamina to satisfy two at the same time - if not more.


    "I shall return to my duties then." Bowing with a lovely smile after putting on her maid outfit, the dragonfly girl prepares to leave.


    "You really don''t need to push yourself. You can rest today." I have no doubts that she was completely exhausted last night, but she seems pretty chipper right now.


    "I have gotten plenty of energy from you, Chaos-sama." Even though she doesn''t have human eyes - and therefore, no eyelids - I could imagine her winking just now. "I will be able to work extra hard today."


    With a spring in her step, she leaves the room, and I exchange a glance with Hestia. She''s leaning on me and looks up with a blush, as if ready for another round. But I have a meeting to attend, and I can''t put it off; today, I need to decide whether to go to Zohigal or not.


    "Let me clean you up." I say and embrace the angel girl. Then I begin to cover her entire body with a membrane and clean off her surface from any remnants of our activities last night. Such bodily fluids used to bother me before, but now everything just registers as potential food.


    When I peel myself off her and return to my usual form, a perfectly clean Hestia sits before me. She peers down at herself and looks surprised.


    "Your body is incredible." That''s all she can say while I get up from the bed.


    "In more ways than one." Wiggling a finger, I grin. She blushes again, and her thighs twitch. Maybe that wasn''t a good gesture; she may get aroused again. "Get ready. We''re heading down for breakfast."


    After hours of deliberation at the meeting, I finally put my foot down and made a decision. I''ll go to Zohigal and take Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha with me. Exla will stay to defend Arkaim, as she''s the only one who can stand against the Old Humans. While I would have liked her with me in case I''m walking into a trap with several of them attacking me at the same time, I can''t leave the capital undefended either.


    If things go further south than we''re already heading, I''ll just take them all into my body and Chaos Warhead out of there. And this time I''ll actually do it instead of just thinking about it.


    As expected, Ophalen and Athilacia strongly protested that decision, and even Rewera spoke against me leaving the capital at such a crucial time. I reassured them that Senka would remain to maintain an open channel directly to me. In case something happened, I could come back within minutes.


    Nobody was convinced, but they knew not to object to their ruler''s decision for too long and accepted it reluctantly. While I know that the clan leaders argue for the safety of the people, I appreciate the fact that Rewera is looking out for my personal safety first. She saw two rulers of the Dominion die and clearly doesn''t want that to happen a third time.


    With the decision made, I prepared for the journey. Since nobody knows the exact location of this Zohigal - not even Senka - I''ll need to travel to the southern jungles and find myself a local who can show me the way. While the maids ready supplies for a longer journey, I fly out onto the fields outside the city to practice my transformations.


    "So senpai is going without me?" Exla comes down on a cloud arm beside me, while her main body in the form of the massive cumulonimbus cloud continues to till the land.


    "Don''t make it sound like I''m leaving you behind for good." I reply while taking on the form of a large plane like I did when I wanted to fly toward the capital of Adanak after the battle against Roamukao. Back then, I still tried to use magic to propel myself, but now I know that I can just fly without any form of propulsion.


    "Shelnir appeared before you, huh? She''s the worst out of the bunch." Lowering her gaze, the little girl on the cloud grows serious, as she looks into the cockpit where I created an avatar of myself. "The others are all oddballs or spoiled brats, but she''s truly twisted. Her greatest pleasure is watching the suffering of ''lesser beings'' as she calls them. She''s like a child who uses a magnifying glass to burn ants."


    "I see." To me, all the Old Humans that were present during my mother''s death are evil as well. And maybe one of them was Shelnir in disguise - or the crone was a disguise - so the possibility that she was directly involved is high. In either case, I consider all of them enemies rather and won''t hesitate to kill them when I see them. "I''m prepared."


    With these words, I begin to take off from the ground effortlessly. Unlike the Chaos carrier, this one uses neither hot air not propellers, but flies by defying gravity itself. The jet engine pods are purely for show, but aesthetics are quite important to me, even if they aren''t very useful. I could essentially transform into a flying sphere, and it would fulfill the same purpose.


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    "So you really don''t know where Zohigal lies?" I ask Exla once again, in hopes she might recall something.


    "I don''t. That little nerd Alverost would know for sure, but I''m not that interested in this new world''s geography since it could be changed again at any time." Shrugging, she replies as I expected she would. "But I don''t know where he or any of the others could be right now."


    "It''s going to take a while to find it then." Sighing, I begin to accelerate from my hovering position and leave Exla behind. For a test, I fly in circles around the city, going faster and faster until I feel myself breaking the sound barrier with a loud bang, before being surrounded by silence.


    Since I''ll have people riding inside me, I can''t go from resting speed to hypersonic as I normally would. My Crawling Chaos body ignores the laws of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, but those inside me don''t, unless completely enveloped. And by now I know that our kind has something from outside the Imagination Engine''s system, which is the unnatural aura we exude in our true forms - something that drives weak-minded beings mad. I don''t want to subject Hestia or Tokomaha to it - even though I already have with the former a few times, with varying effects on her mind.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be here to protect this city." Exla says with a confident pat on her flat chest, when I slow down and land on the ground again.


    "I''m counting on it. Thank you." I would have petted her head if she weren''t in her giant form. But as if she realizes it, she picks me up and sets me down on her palm. "This is the weirdest feeling ever."


    "Go on. I don''t bite." She lowers her head, and I stand on tiptoes to touch her fluffy hair. Even though she''s several magnitudes bigger than me, her hair doesn''t have the corresponding thickness and is like a cloud. Considering she''s most likely made of spread-out vapors, that''s exactly what they would be then.


    "I could have just turned bigger myself." When Exla places me back on the ground, I scratch my head.


    "Where''s the fun in that?" Grinning, the cloud arm on which she sits rises into the air and returns towards the cumulonimbus behind her. "See you soon then, senpai."


    I wave at her as she grows smaller and smaller until she''s only a speck that gets absorbed by the massive cloud. Once again, I''m reminded of her sheer size and the incredible mass that she has. But if there''s one thing I learned, mass isn''t everything, when you can turn a lot of your imagination into reality.


    With this, my flight preparations are done.


    "Will You not reconsider, Your Majesty?" Rewera stands in front of the maid corps, who have gathered in the courtyard to see me off, and tries one last time to persuade me. She could offer to come with me, but that thought doesn''t seem to cross her mind. Or maybe something is keeping her here, and she doesn''t want to leave.


    "Don''t worry about me. I''ll be back before you know it. Until then, Exla will keep the city safe." I stand at the top of the stairs leading up to the door on the side of the jet plane I created from my body. Unlike in the Chaos carrier before, I''m no longer attached to it through a cable on my head, and the connection runs through my feet instead. This way, nothing is visible on the outside, and it''s more aesthetically pleasing.


    "I am not worried about the city, but Your safety." She didn''t express it as explicitly before but finally comes out saying this.


    "If I can survive being turned into fine mist, I''ll be able to survive anything now." I wink at her, but she doesn''t seem convinced. "You can come with me if you''re that worried."


    "No, my place is here." When I try to bring up the possibility, she refuses it instantly.


    "To tell you the truth, nobody here could even hope to stall the gods, let alone protect me from them. At this point, it would be better for you all to stay out of a battle between them and me." Laying down the hard facts, I explain with a sigh.


    "We would try nonetheless." Rewera states in a matter of fact tone, her face not betraying her emotions, and the Maid Corps nod in assent. I can tell that they''re a little hurt that I think they''re weak, and even the head maid looks piqued. Maybe my wording wasn''t the best, and it opened old wounds when she''s made to remember how she was unable to protect my mother.


    "I appreciate that thought." I won''t apologize or step down to comfort her and the other maids. It''s a harsh truth that they''ll have to live with and get over on their own. "Keep the castle safe until I return."


    With these words, I step inside the jet and close the door. Even though there''s no need, I walk through the central aisle toward the cockpit. The interior is shaped like that of a passenger plane, but there are only three big and comfortable seats for Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha. The former has one specially shaped to accommodate her wings too.


    "Ladies and ladies, this is Chloe Marcott, and I¡¯m your chief flight attendant. On behalf of Captain Kuroe Makoto and the entire crew, welcome aboard Chaos Airlines flight 001, non-stop service from Arkaim to Zohigal." As before, I run this routine gag. Senka''s projected imagine in my mind rolls her eyes and groans. She''s staying in the castle to maintain an open line to me. "Our flight time will be of an as of yet unknown number of minutes. We will be flying at an altitude of around one thousand meters at a ground speed of a few thousand kilometers per hour."


    Hestia glances at Aurelia and Tokomaha, who act like they don''t know me, completely perplexed by me rattling down these lines. She must be thinking they''re an incantation to make this strange form fly, or really wondering if I''ve gone crazy.


    "At this time, make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and that your seat belt is correctly fastened. Also, your portable electronic devices must be set to ''airplane'' mode until an announcement is made upon arrival. Thank you."


    Then I realize that there''s one person too many on the plane, staring at me rattling down the routine flight announcement with a dumbfounded expression.


    "... Vitalis, what are you doing here?" I materialize another body of mine right behind Hestia''s seat and look down at the bubbling blue girl. "I wanted you to stay here and help organize things with Senka."


    "I... I am always left out." She lowers her head and bubbles pop on top of her head.


    "It''s an important job." I try to persuade her, but she shakes her head.


    "I want to be with you." This is the first time she''s clearly stating her wishes, and I can''t refuse that.


    "Alright... you can come with me. But no melting." Sighing, I create another chair for her but make sure it''s shaped in a way that she won''t make a mess when her form dissolves from the speeds I''ll be flying at. "I''m too soft, aren''t I?"


    "I love that about you too." Hestia is the one that answers, and I pet her hair.


    "Ready for takeoff." With this, the second avatar I created behind the angel girl dissolves into the floor, and I sit my first avatar down at the front, before creating another one in the pilot''s seat.


    It''s a lot of fun to play this out, as I randomly flip switches and press buttons on the fully recreated cockpit instrument board. I feel like a real pilot this way. The jet takes off vertically, as I simulate the sound of engines - reduced in volume, so it doesn''t blow out the eardrums of the maids waving outside.


    "You''re a real child." Senka''s projection sits on the copilot seat and has her arms crossed.


    "Leave me be. This is an opportunity that might never come again." Grinning, I pull back a lever and begin to accelerate. "Let me have my fun while I still can."


    Depending on what I find in Zohigal, it may be a long time before I can enjoy myself like this again.


    Taragasura told me to make a stop in Ajurai before heading further south. Chandra''s stronghold is the last settlement before the wilderness beyond and could serve as a base of operations. She was reluctant to tell me, but I knew she wanted a notice delivered there directly; asking royalty to be a messenger for a mere vassal is obviously considered inappropriate.


    It''s pretty much just a status report and asking for reinforcements if there are any to spare. I told Taragasura not to worry and to leave the fortress defended, as no more warriors are needed in Arkaim at the moment. I would still deliver the message though.


    The rock formation on which the wooden building stands is surrounded by a settlement that looks unfit to be called a fortress. The walls aren''t very tall and could be burned down easily. I guess the ajura are powerful warriors that fight better on open ground - and nobody would come this far south just to poke the hornet''s nest. Humans know that the Ajura clan is the most powerful among the demons despite their small numbers after all.


    "Welcome to Ajurai." The deputy commander Batamira greets me. Taragasura told me that he''s Chandra''s great-grandnephew and that his personality takes after her because she was the one that raised him. "Who may you be?"


    "Can''t you tell from looking at me? I''m Crown Princess Chaos." I stand my ground and stare up at the towering ajura, having taken on a form similar to my mother''s. My entourage is behind me, looking around with varying expressions, as we''re being surrounded by blue-skinned, six-armed warriors wielding three pairs of all kinds of bladed weapons.


    As expected, Aurelia is the least worried, standing in the center without a care in the world. Tokomaha glances around, confident of her own superiority but still cautious like a cat. Hestia is indignant that anybody would threaten me and glares at them. Vitalis is scared of these powerfully built demons around us even though her body should be impervious to blades.


    "You do look like the deceased demon queen. But we have not received word that the crown princess has returned." Batamira raises a bushy red eyebrow and scratches his chin with one of his six hands. "And you have strange companions with you."


    I made a point in landing somewhere out of sight and completing the last stretch to the fortress on foot so that they don''t see me transforming, but it was all for naught. Just like the commander of Erbilan, this one doesn''t believe what he''s told without proof. I think it''s good to be skeptical like this, but it will get tiring after a while if I have to confirm my identity each time.


    "Let''s put that aside for now; I''m not here to stay for long. Taragasura wanted me to tell you that she would like more reinforcements in Arkaim since many were wounded during the siege four days ago." I start, and a whisper runs through the warriors surrounding us. "But I think you don''t need to do that. This fortress is already pretty lightly defended as is."


    "There was a siege in Arkaim?" That''s the first question the deputy commander has. So nobody brought that information here? I know it''s a long way from the capital, but I at least expected a messenger bird being sent out. Then again, we did travel nearly a thousand kilometers just now, so maybe it didn''t arrive yet.


    "Yes, but we resolved it." I gesture at the girls behind me. Technically, Tahiri and Korenga were involved as well, but there''s no point to make this too complicated and go into details. "In either case, spread the word that I have returned, and that I will end this war soon."


    With these words, I glance around, and the ajura mutter among each other in surprise.


    "We''re headed for Zohigal. I need assistance in finding my way there." Getting right to the point, I step forward and stand in front of Batamira fearlessly. He bends down and looks me in the eyes silently.


    "Why do you want to go there?" Finally, after what feels like minutes of silent staring, he asks.


    "Because someone''s supposed to be waiting there for me." Replying in a matter of fact tone, I don''t flinch under his gaze.


    "Wasn''t the group that passed here recently headed there as well?" The attendant standing behind Batamira whispers to him, but I overhear it.


    "What group?" Now I''m interested. When the ajura glares at his attendant to shut him up, I let my patience slip. "Alright, we don''t have time for this."


    Cracking my knuckles and neck, I send unmistakable signals. Taragasura told me that, just like Chandra, her great-grandnephew would listen to fists more than to words. Even during wartime, he would be the type not to worry about giving away information as long as the opponent beat him in a duel.


    "Do I have to beat it out of you or will you tell me now?" I give him one more chance to choose a way out of this without getting a bloody nose.


    "Oh, you''re on." He accepts the challenge without hesitation.


    "After you." Curling up my lips into a confident smile, I gesture at the courtyard where two ajura warriors were wrestling when we first arrived. "Don''t go crying to great-grandaunt Chandra when I beat you."

 Chapter 115 - Total Eclipse of the Heart

    "Why not just tell me from the start?" I remain standing in the initial position the duel commenced in and look down on Batamira, who lies in the dust before me.


    "Because it wouldn''t be fun otherwise." He speaks brokenly between panting breaths. After our short exchange, he can''t move a single limb and simply stares up into the sky. But there''s a grin on his face, meaning he enjoyed the fight.


    "I never get you battle maniacs." Shaking my head, I walk closer to him. In truth, I do enjoy battles as well, but not in the same sense that Chandra or he does; I like hearing terrified screams of people as they run away from the unstoppable force that I am to them. Even fights where I could lose my life don''t hold any excitement for me, and I prefer to end them quickly without giving them a chance to harm me in return.


    "It''s in our nature." Batamira states with a chuckle. "Ouch, even laughing hurts."


    "Alright, now tell me everything." Standing right above his head and looking down with a cold gaze, I show him how serious I am about this. "And don''t try something like grabbing my ankles and pulling me down. I''ll crush your head if you do."


    "I understand. No need to be so heavy." Slowly moving his arms while trying to flip himself over, the deputy commander replies jokingly.


    "That was a terrible pun." I put a foot on his shoulder and push him back down. "And I prefer you right there. Now talk."


    Taking the normally humiliating position in stride, Batamira proceeds to tell me about what happened shortly before and after the death of my mother. Then he details the arrival of the group over one month ago, and their departure two weeks later. They should have arrived in the southern jungles by now.


    When he finishes, I''m frozen in place. My mind is jumbled as I hear the names, unbridled rage and pure joy wrestling for control over my outward appearance. Staying still and staring into an empty spot, my vision leaves me, and I''m trapped in my thoughts for what feels like an eternity, unable to decide what to make of the information I just received.


    "Onee-sama?" Hestia''s voice brings me back. She overheard everything and must know how I feel.


    "It has been almost two years." I mutter and step off the ajura warrior on the ground. He seems to have recovered enough to get right back up, but I don''t register his movements as I turn around to face the fallen angel.


    "You must be happy." Even though she''s smiling, I can feel a hint of loneliness in it. Maybe she''s jealous that I would lose control over myself like this for somebody other than her.


    "Yes..." But I can''t pay that any mind. The impact of the revelation has blown away all other considerations I had.


    If I go to Zohigal, I''ll be able to meet Kamii again. And at the same time, the murderer of my mother will be in my grasp. For now, I can''t tell which is more important to me, but all will be revealed then.


    Kamii Side


    On the third day in Zohigal, Sazi got the permission to let them go out into the city with a palace attendant who speaks their language acting as their tour guide while four Varanida monks keep watch over them. Even though the former pharaoh is an honored guest of the empress and prime minister, her entourage doesn''t enjoy the same level of trust at all. Especially with the presence of humans, whom the lizard folk know as invaders of their neighboring kingdom, they feel uneasy to let them walk through their streets unsupervised.


    Both Sazi and Ireyo are absent from this outing, as the former spends most of her time with Empress Teoyohticacoatl, and the latter has been asked to come along as well. She isn''t telling the others what they do during their long meetups, but from her attitude, it''s clear that she''s being treated like a pet. Itzcoatl has repeatedly expressed how delightfully fluffy he finds her, so the empress must feel the same.


    The Suncaller Ritual is two days away, so Kamii''s mind is too preoccupied with what lies before them to think about enjoying herself in the city. The others show varying degrees of the same sentiment, with Zancrax being the most frivolous in his attitude, as he seems to have no care in the world.


    The little dark elf knows that it''s not true. Even though the minotaur may seem simple-minded, he has a deeply wounded heart and hides it under a fa?ade of simplicity. Everybody knows it, and they play along with him because they carry similar scars with them.


    But soon, Terog also loses himself in glancing at the stalls that sell exotic tools and weapons cut from obsidian. He''s the only member of the group that relies on a multitude of tools for combat, and most of his supplies such as throwing knives and daggers have been used up in the battle against the blood apes.


    Gram becomes similarly absorbed in discovering kitchen tools of a civilization that doesn''t seem to use any metals harder than gold. Zancrax is having a field day eating various kinds of foods he would have never gotten to see in the Dominion.


    Only Rolan is in even less of a mood to visit the stores and stalls, and only trudges after the group while looking at the paved street in front of his feet. Ever since his short outburst in the throne room, when he forgot his position and begged the empress for help to beat back the human invasion, he has been very quiet.


    Kamii glances back at the former leader but doesn''t go to talk to him. She doesn''t need to act friendly with him, even after everything they went through together; he''s still an enemy of the demons for what he did to Queen Pelomyx. And he''s an enemy of Chloe most of all.


    When lunchtime comes, the group is led to a large open air restaurant on the plaza they passed through on their way toward the palace the day they were brought in as prisoners. It overlooks the bustling street and grants a beautiful view of the towering ziggurat on top of which the Sunshard burns brightly.


    As the group walks to find seats that would fit Zancrax - who still has a massive figure and corresponding weight even without his granite armor - Kamii passes by a table and overhears a familiar male voice. It''s talking in the guttural language of the Physornis, but she wouldn''t forget it even in hundreds of summers.


    She turns around and finds a hooded person with his back turned to her, seated at a table across from a female Physornis sporting colorful plumage. Wordlessly, she extends her cursed arm, grabs the person''s neck, and lifts him from his seat with surprising strength, causing his chair to topple over audibly.


    The Varanida monks who had been staying a short distance away since the beginning of their outing begin to move instantly, and the palace attendant - also a member of the Varanida class of lizardfolk - who had acted as their guide spins her head around in shock, too overwhelmed by the situation to speak.


    Grabbing the crab pincers because they must be pressing down on his throat, the man tries to free himself, but then realizes what it is that has him in its grip.


    "Kamii?" The voice presses out and taps the cursed arm. She lets go, and he turns around on the spot, pulling down his hood to reveal himself.


    "Huh?!" Rolan''s stares at the familiar face underneath it. "Sigurd?!"


    Gram''s mouth falls open when he recognizes the bard of their group, whom they had parted with right after the defeat of the demon queen. Back then he had said he would travel the world and spread their tale, but never would he have thought that ''the world'' included somewhere as remote and unknown as this city.


    "What are you doing here?" Kamii suddenly asks. Rolan and Gram both wanted to pose the same question, but in a much more amicable tone than the little dark elf employed. She almost sounds hostile, as her eyes scan Sigurd''s appearance.


    He looks perfectly fine and content with his life, with colorful feathers in his hair and a natural suntan from being exposed to the elements of warmer climates. It appears he''s in Zohigal in the capacity of a tourist rather than a troubadour, even though this city shouldn''t let humans in so easily.


    "It is good to see you. Rolan and Gram are here too?" His smile is natural as he regards the three people he used to travel with. Then he finally notices that his former leader is missing his left forearm, and his eyes go round. "What happened to you?"


    The Varanida monks, sensing that the situation didn''t escalate as they thought it would, stand down again and glance over at the palace attendant. Even though they are guards and she attends to the empress directly, the warriors of this culture are of higher social standing. Thus, she lowers her head to them apologetically for having let this happen.


    "You didn''t answer my question." The little dark elf raises her cursed arm a little and clicks the pincer audibly. The seriousness of the situation finally dawns on Sigurd, as he glances across the demons behind Gram, and his gaze falls on Rolan''s sunken face.


    "It is a long tale. Let us sit down together, and I shall tell you the details." The bard closes his eyes for a moment and opens them again before speaking. "I believe this is the time for you to learn some important things... about this world, and about me."


    He turns around to the shocked Physornis woman whom he was sitting with and who''s now standing up with a concerned expression in her eyes. Sigurd calms her down with a cooing sound from deep inside his throat before lowering his head apologetically. She nods in understanding and glances at the little dark elf with a frown, then walks away, turning many heads as she passes them.


    "Did we disturb you on a date?" Gram asks the bard jokingly, trying to ease the tension of their reunion, but the latter gives him a smile and a knowing look that causes the big man to blink in confusion.


    "Just remember that I know my way with the ladies." Winking, Sigurd implies everything Rolan and Gram may be thinking about him - and more. "But that is another tale, for another time."


    "You''re the Lady of Brilliance?" Kamii asks with clear skepticism in her expression and tone.


    "Oh no, not exactly." Sigurd leans back on his seat and waves at her misunderstanding. "I am what some would call an aspect of her. You could think of me as her child."


    "So you''re a demigod?" Gram stares at the bard dumbfounded. Even though they traveled together for such a long time, he never showed any signs of his heritage. He turns to Rolan, who doesn''t look as surprised as any of the others at the table. "Did you know about this?"


    "Do not be too hard on him. I told him a little about myself, and he knew there was more to me than meets the eye." The bard speaks in the leader''s stead. "But while this revelation may seem shocking to you, there is more. Something I was taught by my creator - my mother - only recently."


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Sigurd then proceeds to tell the group about the game of the gods, and the fact that they are actually only immortal people from a forgotten age manipulating humans and demons for their own amusement. That the Lord Creator Alverost is the one who created the demons out of a sense of curiosity. That there could be lasting peace between humans and demons if not for the demon lord system put in place to promote eternal war.


    Throughout it all, Rolan''s expression grows increasingly downcast, as he begins to understand that for the amusement of a group of people playing at gods so many innocents had to suffer. That he had been used by them to create a symbol of hope for the humans and a target for the hatred of the demons.


    "Why are you telling us this?" Kamii glances at the Varanida monks standing in the four corners of the cordoned-off area that is the open-air section of the restaurant. Suppressing the urge to click her pincer audibly, she keeps it under the table for the time being.


    "Because I am here to put an end to it." For the first time since they sat down, Sigurd''s expression grows serious as he addresses Rolan. "You were sent here by the crone, right? I am sure she even mentioned me."


    "What do you know about the crone?" The latter suddenly looks up in surprise and asks hastily.


    "That you should not trust her." For the first time since any of them have met him, the bard shows an emotion that borders on hatred. "She is the cause of many evils in this world, and this time is no different."


    "Who is she?" Finally, the leader asks the question Sigurd must have been waiting to answer.


    "Shelnir, the Guide of Tomorrow." He replies in a low, almost grumbling tone. "The schemer of the self-proclaimed gods, who loves to raise people''s hopes and then guide them to ruin."


    "What, Shelnir?!" The leader jumps up from his seat, and his chair falls backward. The Varanida monks motion to step in as they sense a potential escalation, but the guide shakes her head to signal them that everything is still under control. "Are you saying that coming here was just a joke? That she sent me all the way across the demon continent to watch me reach my wit''s end here?"


    "Yes, that is indeed the case." Not mincing his words, Sigurd confirms his suspicions. "But before you despair, know that it was not for naught. You found Kamii, Gram and me along the way, and you will soon meet one more person you have been longing to see again."


    "Technically, she found him." Zancrax suddenly joins the conversation, and everybody turns their heads to stare at him in surprise. He and Terog had been listening silently, taking in all the information while thinking their own part, but the minotaur felt compelled to comment there.


    "I assume that explains your lost arm?" Smiling to the towering demon, the bard then turns to Rolan and looks at the stump of his left forearm. "Do you want to get it back?"


    "Huh, what do you mean?" Blinking, the leader asks in confusion.


    "I am an aspect of Lady Sintress, the woman who brought light magic into this world. I can heal you." With an expression of compassion befitting of being the offspring of the Lady of Brilliance, Sigurd explains.


    "Thank you, but this is a burden for me to bear." Thinking for a bit, Rolan then decides against it. He glances at Kamii, who looks in his direction expressionlessly. "If this is all over and I''m still alive, I''ll think about it."


    "That is what I thought. As expected of the leader." Smiling, the bard lightly shrugs his shoulders and then turns to the little dark elf. "I believe you will be happy to hear that Miss Marcott has returned to the Dominion not so long ago."


    "What?!" She jumps up, and her cursed arm gets caught on the table, causing it to shake and several cups to topple over. Once again, the Varanida monks motion to approach them, and once again the palace attendant acting as their guide signals for them to calm down. "Where did you hear about that?"


    "You should know by now that I have my sources." Winking, Sigurd maintains at least some of the mystery surrounding his person with that. "Everything will be revealed during the Suncaller Ritual. Pay close attention to the sky at that time."


    "You''re talking as if you won''t be staying with us." Gram wonders, looking over to the Varanida woman as if asking silently for her to allow him to come to the palace as a guest.


    "That is true; I will be leaving the city and return on the promised day." Getting up from his seat, the bard indicates that the time for parting has come, but Kamii lifts her cursed arm onto the top of the table demonstratively.


    "Who said you could leave? You''ll be coming with me and await Onee-sama''s judgment." She speaks in an unmistakably hostile tone, but Sigurd looks at her with a sad smile.


    "You have really changed, Kamii." Shaking his head, he turns around. "Do not worry; I will be there."


    With these words, he walks away, knowing that the little dark elf can''t get violent in here with the warrior monks keeping watch over the situation. The latter is painfully aware of it as well and plops back down on her seat with a sigh.


    Terog and Zancrax exchange a glance with each other and then stare at Kamii as if asking what their next move should be. Meanwhile, Rolan and Gram watch the bard disappear into the crowd before falling deep into thoughts. This wasn''t the kind of reunion they thought they would get with their former comrade - not even the former leader considered it would be under such circumstances, despite interpreting the prophecy from the crone as his quest for atonement.


    "If he doesn''t appear during the Suncaller Ritual, we will go and find him." The new leader finally says and clicks her crab pincer audibly. "He isn''t getting out of this with his sweet talk this time."


    The Suncaller Ritual is so called because the lizardfolk perform an elaborate ceremony that leads them across their entire city and ultimately onto the apex of the ziggurat where the Sunshard burns brightly. It involves great risk to the population and has only ever been conducted in times of great importance. After all, the Sunshard will be covered by a monolithic stone slab and put out, to call down Tonatihuatl, the principal goddess of their religion, to commune with her.


    Sazi has been given a front-row seat right next to Empress Teoyohticacoatl, and her entourage consisting of the demons and humans that came with her are watching the ritual from the seats behind them. The procession of colorfully dressed lizardmen and -women dances through the streets and across the main plaza in elaborate patterns, wearing intricate masks and wielding ceremonial spears and axes.


    Kamii can''t concentrate on watching the spectacle and looks around restlessly as if waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen. Terog and Ireyo are similarly anxious, while Zancrax is enjoying the show without a care in the world. Rolan and Gram watch the procession, but neither of their minds is on it either.


    When the palanquin carrying the Hueytetotopixqui - the great priest - passes them by, the population prostrates itself on the ground. He resembles a giant toad with a massive body and a wide mouth but has thin arms and legs that look like they won''t be able to support his weight. He carries a feathered staff in one four-digit hand and a mirror shield made from polished gold resembling the sun in the other. Pupilless black eyes that seem to be filled with starry night skies show that what he lacks in physical appearance, he makes up with mystic abilities.


    The procession makes its way toward the top of the ziggurat, where the giant stone slab is standing in position for the great priest to give the signal for it to be lowered onto the Sunshard. As they pass the stands in which the empress and her prime minister sit, the priest turns in their direction to lift the shield and touch its surface with his staff in a salutary gesture.


    Empress Teoyohticacoatl nods and gestures at him to proceed, and the palanquin bearers slowly and ceremoniously walk the last steps to a scaffolding built in front of the giant flame that''s burning as if it''s being fed by a jet of gas. The great priest labors to get up under his own strength and waddles across the small bridge connecting his palanquin to the scaffolding, where he comes to a stop.


    From the two back corners of the ziggurat platform, a lizardfolk of each main caste approaches him. One is the Physornis woman with the beautiful coat who was with Sigurd when they met him in the city. She carries an obsidian dagger and a golden bowl and moves with refined steps. The other is a young Varanida male with a slightly less bulky body than his peers. He carries a smaller version of the paddle-like obsidian saw and a larger bowl also made of gold and walks at a measured pace, his head raised in pride.


    They climb the steps leading up the scaffolding from opposing sides and come to a stop next to the great priest. He raises his ritual tools and begins to chant in a deep pitch that resembles the croaking of a toad. The Physornis and Varanida on each side fall into a trance-like state as the present their own tools to the flame, and their bodies undulate to the song-like voice of the priest.


    To the horror of those unfamiliar with the practices of the lizardfolk, they watch as the two kneel and place their golden bowls in front of them before they touch their obsidian blades to their own skin. The Physornis woman slits her own belly, causing her guts to fall out into the container before her. She then stabs herself in the throat and falls over lifelessly, ending her suffering quickly.


    At the same time, the young Varanida saws off his own head with one swift motion of the ritual blade, which also falls into the larger golden bowl before him. His headless torso drops forward and slides to the wooden floor, the tail still twitching from the sudden decapitation.


    Holding their breaths, Kamii and the others stare at the gruesome ritual self-sacrifice, while the massive stone slab is lowered onto the opening where the Sunshard is emerging from, covering it completely and extinguishing it. The great priest points his staff at the severed head and directs his mirror at the guts in the bowl, then looks up at the sun and calls out to it at the top of his lungs.


    For a second, nothing happens. But a murmur suddenly runs through the citizens gathered at the foot of the ziggurat, when the sun begins to darken. There are some large clouds in the sky, but something massive is pushing itself in front of the light in the sky, blotting it out.


    The great priest raises his voice, making it clear that this isn''t what should be happening. More and more lizardfolk stare at the phenomenon in the sky with confused and frightened expressions. It''s unthinkable that worshippers of the sun wouldn''t know that solar eclipses exist, so Kamii and the others know that the fear stems from the fact that they know one shouldn''t be happening now.


    "That''s no moon." Ireyo mutters in a grave tone when she finally comes to a realization. "It''s a flying fortress."


    When the eyes of those looking up have adjusted to the change in luminosity, they can see that the massive shadowy form is a gray sphere-like construct made of something other than stone. Despite its silent mode of floating, an audible sense of pressure lays itself over the city underneath its overbearing presence.


    "Alverost''s Sanctum." The rabbit demon adds, an expression of impotent hatred distorting her features.


    Chaos side


    Two days and nights of searching from the skies netted me nothing; I couldn''t find anything due to the size of the jungle. The sheer mass of living beings in it means I can''t use my Chaos senses to use the discovery of a concentration of lifeforms as an indicator of the presence of a city. And the tree density makes it impossible to see what may lie below.


    But on the third day, around high noon, I spot a massive floating sphere in the distance, slowly descending on the jungle below. Since I''ve been traveling in Chaos jet mode and let my passengers use the windows to help me look, I can quickly turn and fly toward it. As I approach the sphere, I begin to realize just how big it really is, and how out of place it is in this more or less fantasy world.


    It''s obvious that whoever this belongs to is an old human with the knowledge from my time. Otherwise, Senka wouldn''t be flapping her mouth in speechlessness as if she''s staring at another case of copyright infringement.


    I just wonder how I could have missed it so far. Does it have a cloaking mechanism or did it actually come down from space?


    "Look at the size of that thing." Hestia comments in awe, and my mind goes places before returning to the task at hand.


    "I''m sure it has a thermal exhaust port somewhere." My pilot avatar glances over to the copilot seat where Senka''s projection sits. She stares back as if ready to murder me just to keep my mouth shut.


    "I just asked Exla, and she told me that''s Alverost''s Sanctum." Explaining the thing floating in the sky, the doll girl then changes her voice and impersonates the Old Human on the other end of the line. "That little nerd has a real need to overcompensate."


    "Speaking from experience?" I ask the little cloud girl directly, expecting Senka to transmit it. But she only stares at me with an expression of disapproval.


    "Do you want to destroy Arkaim? Because that''s how you destroy Arkaim. Don''t constantly remind her of her immature body." She comments with a frown. Then her expression grows concerned as she swivels her head around. "She''s staring at me as if she could hear that, but that should be impossible. Please say something to appease her."


    "Senpai loves you the way you are, Exla-chan." I say before turning to look in front. "I''m approaching the sanctum now. Let''s keep the radio channels open."


    Activating my Chaos senses at the longest range and greatest sensitivity, I make sure to pick up on anything that could emerge from that flying fortress and intercept us. But in the wake of doing that, I discover an unnaturally large gathering of living beings roughly the size of humans about halfway between me and that thing.


    Don''t tell me that''s Zohigal there, and Alverost came to destroy it? That sphere sure looks like something that could fire a city-blasting death laser from it.


    "Not on my watch." I speed up and quickly bridge the distance to the city in one burst. "Not this time!"

 Announcement of Volume 3

    You expected this to be a chapter when you saw a notification? Too bad, it was me, an announcement!


    Memes aside, this post is to announce that Volume 3 of Demon Princess Magical Chaos is finally available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions:


    Demon Princess Magical Chaos Volume 3 - Starchild Crusaders


    </a>


    Volume 1 will be on a Kindle countdown deal from the 12th of July, starting at $0.99 and rising by $1 every two days until it returns to its regular price after a week. Grab it here:


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Demon Princess Magical Chaos Volume 1 - The Tentacle Awakens


    </a>


    Volume 2 is also on a Kindle countdown deal until the 16th of July because Amazon had a problem with Volume 1''s enrolment in KDP Select and messed up the schedule... Get it in time:


    Demon Princess Magical Chaos Volume 2 - Academy Days


    </a>


    And with this, I''m also announcing that a chapter is coming within this week. Today is my birthday, so I can''t promise that I can finish writing it now. After that, we''re returning to the regular schedule at least until this "volume" is over. Then I''ll continue with the books and start work on volume 4.

 Chapter 116 - Use the Force

    Kamii Side


    A small arrow-head like form appears from near the equator of the gray sphere that''s floating above the city and blotting out the sun. It quickly drifts down toward the city and seems to be heading straight for the ziggurat atop which the ritual was held.


    The Varanida monks standing watch around the wooden stands immediately surround Empress Teoyohticacoatl and Itzcoatl, while those near the platform rush to protect the Hueytetotopixqui, who only stares up at the flying fortress with a blank gaze. Even the great priest doesn''t know how to react in such a situation.


    "Alverost?" Rolan mutters, remembering that Runa was taken away by the Mage of the Beginning after the battle in the demon castle. Back then, he felt strangely compelled to let her go, even though he would have never done so under normal circumstances. Maybe the god put a suggestion into his mind when his defenses were lowered due to the relief of having defeated Demon Queen Pelomyx. "What is he doing here?"


    "It doesn''t matter." Kamii stands up from her seat and looks up with a strangely unconcerned and determined expression. "We''ll capture him here and bring him to Onee-sama as well."


    "Capture a god?" Terog stares at the little dark elf with round eyes, but they become even bigger when he sees that she''s serious.


    "How would you even go about doing that?" Zancrax looks at the arrow-head form slowly descending toward them and then the big sphere looming in the sky.


    "That thing is flying down here, so it should be able to fly back up." We''ll take it and get inside that big thing." Saying it in a matter of fact tone, Kamii points at the smaller flying object and then at the fortress.


    "Opposing one of those newcomer gods from the northern city-states that call themselves the Empire of Terminus now?" Sazi asks, and Gram looks at her with a questioning gaze. How old must she be if she considers these ancient gods to be newcomers? She notices his gaze and tilts her head. "What?"


    "Nothing." The big man quickly shrugs and looks back up at the small floating object approaching them. It''s now close enough to make out all of its features, revealing it to be a light gray ship-like vessel with two wings and a fin on top. The wings fold up as it nears the large open platform near the stairs, and two chutes open, from which feet-like structures extend.


    It lands with an audible thud, and the loud buzzing sound and the wind it''s kicking up quickly fade away before a ramp opens from its underside. The Varanida monks don''t hesitate to run toward it and ready their weapons to attack anybody who might emerge from this strange flying ship.


    But to the shock of Rolan and Gram, the person walking down from it is someone they know. Standing at a height even taller than the minotaur beside them, a brown-skinned man with the mane-like green hair and bushy beard of the same color emerges with his head lowered so that he doesn''t hit it on his way down. His empty white eyes don''t show where he''s looking, but when he turns his head, it''s clear that he''s sweeping the surroundings with his gaze. Wearing a confident grin, he crosses his arms and looks down at the lizardfolk temple guards.


    "My, it''s been a while." Oinos, the Walker of the Wild, says to nobody in particular. Then he spots the sacrifices lying on the altar from which the great priest is staring down at him with a fearful expression. "Nothing seems to have changed about this place in all this time. Always nice to find that it''s such an institution."


    Then he turns around and looks up the ramp, from which a group of menacing soldiers clad in shiny black armor emerges. They wear full helmets with a skull-like motif, their eyeholes covered by what appears to be reflective glass, which obscure all of their features. Judging by their physical characteristics, they must be humans but considering they''re under Lord Creator Alverost they could even be automatons.


    They line up on two sides of the ramp, facing down the lizardfolk that are unsure of how to react and await orders from either their great priest, the prime minister or the empress. Finally, another person whose face is visible walks down the ramp. He wears white robes and sports wavy white hair. Even though he looks like a man on the eve of his life, his inquisitive green eyes hold a youthful shine reserved to the immortal.


    "Alverost!" Ireyo exclaims when she sees him and attempts to jump over the spectators sitting in the stands to charge at him. She seems to have a history with him, as she was also the first to recognize that the flying sphere above them belongs to him.


    "Wait." But Kamii grabs her out of the air with her crab claw and pulls her back. "Let''s first see what they came here to do."


    It doesn''t look like either of the two gods standing in front of the flying ship noticed the rabbit demon''s attempt at rushing toward them. If the reason for their visit is related to the Suncaller Ritual, then they shouldn''t suspect that the little dark elf and her followers are here and out to get them. With that, they''ll at least have the advantage of surprise on their side.


    "Don''t even think about it." Rolan mutters to Kamii when he realizes her intentions. "That''s Oinos, the Walker of the Wild. He''s far stronger than even Chandra."


    "How do you know that?" The little dark elf raises an eyebrow and asks in return.


    "I told you that he came to get us from Chandra''s fortress so we could join the gods, right? He fought her to free us." The former leader explains while glancing at the dark-skinned man towering in the center of the platform. "And he overpowered her just as easily as the demon queen did."


    And as they all know, Chandra easily beat the four of them even when they fought together. While the bard didn''t do much beyond creating some distractions, it was still four on one. Then again, now they have Zancrax, Terog, and Ireyo with them, so maybe they stand more of a chance...


    "I know what you''re thinking." Rolan quickly stops her from continuing the train of thought she began spinning. She looks up at him with an eyebrow raised again, skeptical that he could tell. "I believe Oinos could defeat Tepeyohuatl."


    He doesn''t need to say out loud that even with all of them present, they knew they couldn''t achieve the same.


    "Then what would you have us do?" Scowling, Kamii turns to face her former leader fully. "Just watch?"


    "Yes. For now, we should observe what they came here to do." He isn''t entirely comfortable talking about trying to fight two gods when he''s missing an arm. And neither Roshanee nor Kamii''s cursed arm did that much damage against Chandra even while she was treating their serious attempts at killing her as only sparring, so he doubts they could hope to put a scratch on Oinos when trying to kill him.


    "Who are you?" Itzcoatl comes down from the wooden stands and represents the lizardfolk as one of the few who speaks their language. "How dare you disssturb our sssacred ritual!"


    "You forgot about me? Last time I visited in an official capacity was when you were still a little newt." Oinos turns to grin at the old minister. "Guess you hadn''t been nurtured to your position yet, so we didn''t talk back then. But I never forget a face, even if it''s one like yours."


    "Name yourself!" This time, it''s Empress Teoyohticacoatl who speaks up.


    "I am Oinos, Walker of the Wild." He replies in a laid-back tone despite knowing that she''s most likely the empress of the lizardfolk. But if it had been Zenlith, he would have taken offense at being spoken to in this manner even by someone of her position.


    "A human god?!" The old minister looks shocked, most likely wracking his brains to think of how best to deal with this situation. He understands that nobody here could ever hope to fight him.


    "I don''t know about being human, but humans do seem to worship me as some kind of nature god." Shrugging, the Walker of the Wild talks as if it doesn''t concern him.


    "What have you come to do?" Itzcoatl sounds far less confident than he did a moment ago when he finally confronts Oinos regarding his motives for coming here.


    "Ask that the old man." Flippantly pointing at Alverost, who watched the exchange with amused curiosity, the green-haired god directs his scaly conversation partner to the man in the white robes.


    "Why are you always so disrespectful to your father." Despite his choice of words, the Mage of the Beginning is smiling as if mildly reprimanding a naughty child.


    "That''s the only freedom I have." Shrugging once again, Oinos steps aside and hands the stage to his father. Shaking his head, Alverost turns to the prime minister of Zohigal.


    "When I heard you were going to conduct a Suncaller Ritual, I just had to come and witness it." Speaking in an ironic tone, the Mage of the Beginning points at the massive flying fortress looming over the city. "After all, I would love to meet Tonatihuatl."


    "Our goddess is not for a human god to meet as they please!" Flaring up, Itzcoatl points his staff at Alverost.


    "Oh, but I have met her before." The latter replies with a smile as if regarding a child. "She is my mother after all."


    Chaos Side


    A small shuttle separated from the sphere and landed in the city hidden under the trees. Even while I approach the flying fortress, there are no signs of any defensive mechanism activating. Maybe they''re invisible from the outside, and a whole swarm of fighter jets will come out to shoot me down at any moment.


    And just as I predicted, dozens of hangar doors open around its equatorial trench, and a whole fleet of small flying saucer-like crafts come shooting out.


    "Oi, those two don''t go together!" Senka does the straight man act, but I have more important worries than what franchise which knockoff before me belongs to.


    "Please fasten your seatbelts." I announce across the ship and automatically fasten all their seat harnesses; just a belt won''t be enough for the g-forces they''ll be experiencing now. "We will be experiencing some turbulences."


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    The moment I finish, I roll the jet plane sideways and avoid a volley of green plasma-like projectiles. While in my current state I''m most likely indestructible through conventional means, I still don''t want to try my luck when the Old Humans are involved. These could carry weapons specifically made to circumvent the Imagination Engine - provided that''s even possible. But they do have the upper hand when it comes to knowledge, and I didn''t exactly have time to talk to Exla about it in detail.


    "Ugh." I hear Hestia make and create an avatar next to her.


    "Is this too much for you?" The g-forces from my sudden barrel roll may put a huge strain on her body. Aurelia is obviously fine, and Tokomaha seems to have a really sturdy body despite appearances - and a sturdier stomach. Vitalis is almost entirely made of water which is incompressible, so she doesn''t really feel anything.


    "No, I am f- ugh." The angel girl tries to assure me but has to suppress the urge to vomit.


    "You''re not fine. I''m going down right now and let you off. Then I''ll take care of these pests." I say while taking several hits from the plasma fire. Luckily, they bounce off the dragon armor coating I applied to my entire exterior, causing only some surface burns that barely tickle me.


    "I am so-" Before she can apologize, I pull her and everybody else inside my body where the laws of physics don''t apply, as I have to perform an especially sharp maneuver to dodge a giant laser coming from the circular crater-like structure above the equator of the flying fortress.


    Turning my shape into that of the Chaos warhead, I watch the path of the straight laser, as it cuts across the sky and melts a massive hole into a mountain in the distance.


    "Thank you." I turn around and look up at the looming sphere, a grin playing across my lips. "I learned that one now."


    Extending a palm toward the fortress, I picture myself shooting such a weapon. Then I remember that if I shoot it down, it''ll most likely fall onto the city. Stifling the light gathering in my hand, I click my tongue.


    "Alright, back to the original plan then." Dropping straight out of the sky, I disappear among the trees of the jungle. There, I expand my size so that people can come out of me, and bring forth Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha. Luckily, I had the presence of mind to plan <u>ahead</u> for such a situation and packed plenty of water inside me. This way, I could place Vitalis inside a large pool instead of enveloping her with my body.


    She emerges with a <u>clearly</u> disappointed expression, but I can''t have her melting on me right now.


    "Go secure the city and find Kamii. If you see an Old Human, stay back and don''t fight them." I point in the direction of where I feel the greatest concentration of life forms. The members of this team are all composed of girls I''ve had intercourse with in one way or another. To think I''d be able to fight alongside all of them at the same time is an incredibly endearing thought.


    And Kamii should be somewhere in Zohigal. Since I didn''t have the Chaos senses when I last saw her, I don''t know her unique life signature; I''ll have to find her the conventional way later.


    "I''ll achieve air superiority." Looking up through the canopy of trees, I fix my gaze on the sphere. It doesn''t seem to be moving to train its laser on me, but the swarm of small fighters is flying in a wide arc to come around for a strafing run on our position. "Go now."


    With these words, I fly straight up and pull the attention of the UFOs, which immediately move to intercept me. Then I grow an extra pair of arms and turn each of my four forearms into seven-barreled rotary cannons.


    "Scatter." I mutter and unleash a stream of plasma pellets that cut through the approaching fighters like lasers. But unlike a laser, these single projectiles have a far larger spread, causing them to hit targets in a wide area.


    After a few seconds, only half a dozen UFOs are left. They appear to be manned, as they turn tail and retreat towards their home base, clearly afraid of being shot down.


    "You''re not going to survive this anyway." I zoom past them and straight toward the openings in the sphere from which they emerged earlier. The closer I get, the more I realize just how big this thing is. Obviously, it''s not at the size of the battle station this is based on, but it must still be more than ten kilometers across.


    Just as I''m about to cross the threshold to the hangars, a wall of light covers the hangar bay, and I crash straight into it. I''m completely fine as my body is practically impervious to impacts these days, but it was still a surprise to be stopped short like this.


    It makes sense that there would be a shield to keep would-be intruders out, but I doubt the designer took my existence into consideration. After all, a normal plane wouldn''t be able to stop in midair and most likely also lack the firepower that I bring with me.


    Landing on the smooth metallic surface of the flying fortress, I return the shape of my forearms into normal human hands. Then I create something that resembles a flashlight in each of my four palms.


    "When in Rome..." I mutter, knowing that Senka will be panicking again; this is skirting dangerously close to the invisible line that she seems to have drawn between what constitutes a reference and what would be a copyright violation.


    Where light would normally come out from, straight blades of plasma emerge. Considering my current shape, this is much closer to Beam S*bers than L*ghtsabers, so it should be fine. Sticking them into the gray wall next to the energy shield, I begin to cut along it.


    I''m not trying to cut out the entire doorframe and have a specific goal in mind instead. After a few meters of cutting with all four blades stuck inside the wall at a different height each, the energy shield suddenly cuts out. I must have hit one of the shield projectors, if not the main one.


    Where used to be only the rhythmic din of the battle station''s engine that allows it to fly, I can now hear an alarm horn coming from inside the hangar. Either it had been on before, or it activated when I breached its defenses. Jumping over the barrier and into the fortress, I''m faced down by hundreds of what look like copy-pasted goons in white armors with helmets that feature skull-like motifs.


    They wield black rifles, which are all pointed at me.


    "Hah, you won''t hit me anywa-" I get the evil empire goons they reference and laugh at them, but they open fire, and I''m pelted by hundreds of laser shots that burn away at my skin. Unlike certain space knights with magical abilities, I can''t deflect them with my plasma blades as I don''t have psychic abilities.


    Creating the shield of light I should have used more often throughout my battles so far around myself, I make an opening to think up a solution to this problem. Then I remember something interesting, and a grin inadvertently creeps onto my lips.


    I can cheat psychic abilities. After all, just like the adage concerning technology and magic, manifestations of physical skills inexplicable to humans are often explained as psychic abilities. My body is already capable of superhuman feats including incredible strength and speed; now I only need the senses to match them.


    And I have the perfect template for that, collected not so long ago from the lovely maid with the translucent wings: The vision of a dragonfly. Recreating the visor-like eyes that she has into something sleeker - a pair of shades - I begin to perceive the world in slow-motion, just like I read somewhere.


    I have to try this during a nightly session sometime; I''m sure it would look breathtaking.


    The onslaught of projectiles slows down noticeably - even though they''re lasers and should move at the speed of light - and I begin to swing my plasma blades like baseball bats to deflect them back.


    But reality doesn''t live up to fantasy, and instead of hitting what is essentially just concentrated photons using plasma, the light projectiles go straight through the blades and continue to pelt me.


    "I was lied to!" I exclaim and cover myself in the shield of light again.


    "It wasn''t meant to be." Senka comments drily in my head. "The others have entered the city. When the lizardmen guards at the gate and on top of the walls saw Aurelia, they prostrated themselves and immediately opened up. Considering the motif of this culture, they must see her as some kind of goddess."


    "She really is one." I reply with a dreamy thought back to my time with her in bed. Then I catch myself and return to a more serious tone. "I mean, that''s good to hear. Keep me updated on what''s happening in the city."


    Licking my lips, I undo the four-armed transformation and return to the shape of my pristine high school self. Looking around as the light shield keeps out the laser shots, I consider my options. These goons may be humans or robots, but it doesn''t matter to me either way.


    Bursting out into my real appearance, I lower the barrier of light to give them a good look of myself. It takes them a second to realize that what emerges from behind the shield isn''t the armored girl with the four arms, but a monster made up of countless black tendrils and tentacles.


    Then the usual happens; some break down instantly, others start screaming and running away, while the braver ones shoot at me. My face cracks open into a toothless grin that gives them a glimpse into the abyss.


    Without any warning, I charge forward and effortlessly push one of the soldiers down, before crushing their helmet and its contents under my foot. The one next to him is grabbed and lifted into the air, where I separate their upper from their lower body, letting the blood rain down onto me and color my surface red.


    The harrowing screams echo throughout the hangar, as I rampage through their ranks like it''s all just a videogame. It''s their own fault for dressing like faceless goons when there are existences in this world akin to heroes.


    Not that I''m one of them.


    Finally, the hangar is lifeless except for two soldiers I captured to interrogate. They both missed my initial reveal, and their minds weren''t completely broken. Returning to my human form but keeping them wrapped in my tentacles, I turn to the one on the right and take off their helmet, to find a middle-aged human man with brown hair and green eyes underneath it.


    "Where is the bridge of this thing?" I ask him with a cold smile. He opens his mouth in bafflement, looks to the other soldier in my grasp and takes in a breath to speak.


    I crush his body in my grasp and drop him carelessly before turning to the other goon. Taking off the helmet, I''m surprised to find a woman with long blond hair underneath it. Good thing I didn''t do it the other way round, or it would have been a waste of a surprisingly beautiful face.


    "He was going to lie to me. I can sense people''s intentions." I lie, as I don''t have such an ability at all. But the intimidation factor should be enough for her to tell me the truth now. "Tell me what I want to know."


    "I-I don''t know. I''m j-just a simple s-soldier. T-that man you k-killed was the c-captain. H-he was the o-one who k-knew." She prattles down while stuttering in terror. Normally, I''d be reveling in it, but her words put a damper on my mood, when I glance around at the bloodbath I caused. No survivors except for her, so nobody else who could know.


    "Are you serious?" I loosen the tentacles around her and put her back down. "So I have to go search on my own?"


    "I-I am sorry." Falling to her knees, the female goon apologizes with her life on the line.


    "Get out of here. I''m taking this thing down, so you better be gone by then." I point at her nose before floating up into the air. My Chaos senses pick up different concentrations of life forms gathered in various places throughout the flying fortress. One of those has to be the control room.


    "Vitalis just called me. She fears Hestia may be planning to do something to Kamii when she finds her." Senka''s voice suddenly echoes through my head.


    "What do you mean, do something?" Frowning, I come to a stop and turn around. The female soldier flinches and stares up at me in fear, thinking I changed my mind about letting her live.


    "You''re the one who thinks she''s a yandere, you tell me." The doll girl replies, a hint of concern in her voice.


    "She wouldn''t..." I start, but then remember that the circumstances are quite chaotic. She could kill Kamii when she finds her and then say that it was one of Alverost''s followers.


    But would she really betray me like that at this point just to eliminate one competitor for my affection? Even though she should know that there isn''t even any competition in the first place - I love them all equally.


    "Why does Vitalis think that?" I can''t leave my task here on just a hunch.


    "She says that it''s something in Hestia''s eyes. They look anxious but also filled with loathing while muttering Kamii''s name." Senka''s answer is enough suspicion for me to act on, even if it''s not conclusive evidence. I''d rather not risk anything.


    "Alright, I''m coming right away." With these words, I shoot out of the hangar and dive straight down toward the city hidden under the jungle canopy. The flying fortress won''t be going anywhere soon anyway. "You better not do anything dumb, Hestia."

 Chapter 117 - Reunions in Zohigal

    Kamii Side


    Something big is happening above. The massive flying fortress has released a beam of light reminiscent of Kuroeh''s light magic, although it was a continuous stream rather than a javelin. A few moments later, the sounds of hundreds of explosions resound across the sky.


    "This is our chance." Kamii mutters to Ireyo and turns to Terog and Zancrax. "Keep Oinos occupied; we''re going for Alverost."


    "You can''t be serious." Rolan begins to protest, but she lifts her crab arm to stop him.


    "If you don''t want to help, stay here." The little dark elf says with upturned eyes filled with disappointment. She isn''t trying to persuade him though, as she springs into action without waiting for a reply. "Go."


    Even though Terog and Zancrax overheard Rolan and Gram''s tale about Oinos'' power before, they see that this may be the best opportunity to take down Alverost. They wouldn''t mind losing their lives if they can take at least one of the gods with them - especially the one responsible for a majority of the atrocities committed against demons.


    Pushing the high-ranking lizardfolk officials aside, Zancrax moves first. He isn''t wearing his granite armor, but he still charges forward fearlessly, as both the gods and all the soldiers in black are staring up into the sky in surprise.


    The massive minotaur lowers his head and aims his remaining horn to gore the dark-skinned god. But instead of piercing flesh and drawing blood, he bounces off his back and crashes into Oinos with his shoulder. It felt like he ran into a mountain.


    "Hm?" Turning around casually, the Walker of the Wild wonders what tickled him, to see Zancrax staggering sideways. The minotaur reveals Terog, who swings an obsidian saw at the back of the god''s knee while throwing a knife of the same right into his eye.


    The projectile bounces off his naked eyeball, while the saw''s teeth shatter on impact, not even leaving a single scratch on Oinos.


    "Oh, there were other kinds of demons here?" Without a care in the world, he fully turns around to look at the challengers who so daringly attacked him with all their might.


    But Kamii and Ireyo have already passed him by his blind spot on the other side, and are heading straight for Alverost. The latter only now realizes that something is happening right next to him and turns to look, and so do the black armored soldiers.


    The dark elf spots them raising the crossbow-like tools in their hands and realizes that if they aren''t trying to run forward to protect their god, they must be able to take the assailants down from a distance. And they''re still half a dozen steps away from touching the god who may only appear to be an elderly man. Even if they can reach him, he may not go down instantly.


    When beams of light emerge from the tips of the black tools, Kamii realizes that she may have grossly miscalculated.


    Hestia Side


    When they were granted access to the city of Zohigal, she flew ahead of the others. She had spotted her target through the streets and trees, and nobody would stop her from getting there before anybody else does.


    A festering emotion has been eating away at her insides ever since that time she and Onee-sama had been transported to the Khurut Sultanate. Even when she enjoyed her embrace back then, and the times after they reunited, that emotion wouldn''t leave her. It''s a darkness deeper than any cave, boring a hole into her heart.


    And the reason for that is atop the ziggurat, where all the city''s eyes seem to be focused on; the gathering of the lizardfolk surrounding an incredibly tall and muscular brown-skinned man, the minotaur and the boar demon charging at the former, the white-haired old man and the armored soldiers clad in black lined up behind him.


    The little dark elf charging past the ensuing confusion alongside a rabbit demon is the reason she went ahead of her companions - the other girls in Onee-sama''s harem.


    She has seen enough dangerous situations to understand that the tools in the hands of those black soldiers are used for murder at a range, resembling crossbows without limbs. And they''re trained on the approaching girl with the cursed arm.


    A shiver runs across Hestia''s body, and a crazed smile spreads across her lips when she realizes that death is heading for Kamii. Finally, the time has come.


    Chaos Side


    When I descend on the city, I see a pyramid-like building atop of which lizardfolk are gathered. They seem to have been in the middle of something when the battle station floating above rained on their parade.


    Then my enhanced vision, the eyesight of an eagle I ate sometime along the way in my life, shows me the details of the people on the platform. My calibration is a little off, so the first thing that fills my vision is a muscular brown-skinned chest belonging to a man. Zooming out, I discover that this green-haired and -bearded man is the tallest person around, being charged at by a man in a red mohawk and a massive minotaur who''s still shorter than him.


    They attack him fruitlessly, making it clear that he''s not a normal human. Then I notice an old man with white hair and a beard of the same color standing in front of a contingent of soldiers in black armor, looking like potentially elite versions of the ones inside the flying fortress above.


    I recognize him as one of those present during the battle in which my mother died - in other words, that''s Alverost.


    But my gaze falls on the purple-skinned girl with the massive crab pincer for a right forearm, and my figurative heart performs a bungee jump in my unfathomable depths.


    In my horror, I notice that she and a small hooded figure are charging at the old man while the black soldiers train their laser rifles on them. Within less than a split second, the entire upper half of my face changes into the eyes of a dragonfly once again, as I try to slow down time. However, even if my perception of time changes, it doesn''t change the speed at which I can physically move.


    "Kaaamiiiiii!!!" I scream as I watch the rifles discharge a deadly storm of laser beams while I feel like my body is moving through molasses despite breaking the sound barrier.


    But a figure jumps in from the side and blocks them with a pair of jet black wings. The familiar silver hair sways from the impacts as the plasma burns feathers. After the first salvo, the battered figure of Hestia remains standing with her arms stretched out, covering Kamii with her own body.


    When she falls forward, I''m there to catch her. Replacing the sizzling surface of my body after it melted from the air friction due to my sudden burst of speed, I embrace the fallen angel in my arms.


    "Onee-sama..." She presses out between faltering breaths, looking up at me with tear-filled red eyes. "Can you... finally forgive me?"


    Those words are enough for me to understand everything. She must have been feeling guilty for being the one I rescued when we were sent away from the academy. At the time, I was forced to leave Kamii behind, who had been with me first. And most likely she sensed that a part of me was subconsciously blaming her for that.


    "You did nothing you need to ask forgiveness for." Engulfing Hestia in a warm glow that begins to heal her wounds in exchange for putting her to sleep, I kiss her lips. She closes her eyes, a peaceful - a redeemed expression on her face, as she slips away into slumber.


    Placing the black angel on the ground gently, I turn to look at my main reason for being here. I erect a spherical barrier of light around the three of us when the second salvo of laser shots are let loose on us.


    "Kamii..." I mutter and look the little dark elf in her violet galaxy eyes.


    "Onee-sama..." She returns my gaze, unexpected calmness and maturity in her features. Physically, she hasn''t aged a day, but it feels like the years left their mark on her soul nonetheless.


    I spread my arms, hoping that she will jump into them like she used to do before. With a surprised expression, she looks me up and down, then lowers her head. For a second, I fear that she may reject me, thinking I abandoned her when I never returned in such a long time.


    But then she bridges the few steps that separate us, and throws her entire weight into me, burying her face into my chest. I embrace her with all my heart, letting her know that I don''t ever want to let go of her again. Under the dull impacts of the laser shots pelting my barrier of light, we hug for the longest time, ignoring our surroundings as if only we two exist in this world.


    When we finally separate, I suppress the tears from coming up as I look down into Kamii''s face. She''s crying, but unlike a child''s unsightly bawling, she''s showing me a smile that breaks my heart to pieces and fully mends it again in the blink of an eye. I feel my love for the adorable little dark elf reaffirmed right there.


    "Sorry to ruin your glorious moment, but I think I''m supposed to kill you here." A deep voice tears through the silence that has surrounded us after the laser volley stopped, and I spin my head around to see just in time how the dark-skinned man towering above me breaks through my barrier of light by literally walking through it. He wears a wholly unenthusiastic expression, looking not in the least interested in fighting here.


    The minotaur and boar demon are lying on the ground unmoving, most likely taken down instantly. I should be careful about this individual; if he isn''t a Chosen Knight, then he''s an Old Human. The fact he could just walk through my barrier like that is evidence enough that he''s extraordinary.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Stand back, Kamii." I stand in front of the little dark elf to cover for her and glare up at the giant. "Who are you?"


    "They call me Oinos, Walker of the Wild." Shrugging, he introduces himself as one of the gods of the humans - in other words, an Old Human.


    "Interesting. You gave me your name even though you said you would be killing me here." I step forward with a fearless grin. If being disintegrated into a fine mist doesn''t kill me, I doubt anything else really can. I would have to be thrown into the sun to die, most likely. "Do you doubt your own abilities?"


    "Oh, the possibility of an upset always exists." Oinos seems very carefree and nonchalant even when he entertains the notion that he may be the one to die instead. "But it''s highly unlikely."


    I walk forward, growing in size with every step until I stand right before him in the appearance of Korenga. Even though I''m still shorter than him, we''re almost eye to eye now. The only reason I took on her appearance was to rectify her absence in this situation that was so obviously made for her - two muscleheads squaring off.


    "Interesting." The man with the green beard remarks. Only now do I realize that his eyes are completely white, with not a hint of irises or pupils. Rather than being glazed over or covered by something, they look strangely natural that way.


    Seeing as he isn''t making the first move, I increase the density in my arm to the point where it should be able to crush steel and perform a devastating hook to his face.


    The motion is stopped as if I just punched an impenetrable wall and my arm cracks. Drawing back, I look at the broken limb with an eyebrow raised. While it wasn''t nearly all of my power, the difference in hardness does make me want to scratch my head.


    Something hits me in the face, and my vision performs a seven-hundred twenty. Luckily, I don''t have a spine, or my neck would have been ground to dust just now. Oinos very obviously hit me, but I didn''t see it at all, even though I secretly put the dragonfly compound eyes into the human-looking ones of my current appearance.


    Wordlessly, I increase the density in my entire body as I swing at the man''s solar plexus. But once again, my fist cracks and nearly shatters without even causing him to flinch, let alone stagger. This was how much power I used to lift Korenga off the ground that time I fought her when she went out of control over my children. He''s on a higher level than her, whose body seemed impervious to damage but still followed the law of momentum.


    Once again, I feel an impact, now in my solar plexus - only that it blows a hole through my chest and out my back. Even with my increased density, his attack was still able to do this much damage. Maybe the physical approach isn''t the best here, and I should explore a solution through the Imagination Engine.


    But before that, I''ll take care of something else.


    My gaze falls on the old man standing behind Oinos, watching our battle with a curious smile. Lifting a finger in his direction, I shoot a laser beam straight through his forehead. It''s a smaller version of the superlaser the battle station fired at me, but it was just as fast.


    A sizzling hole opens in his forehead, as his eyes roll up as if to look at it. Then the old man collapses forward and falls to the ground, staying still without even a twitch. I know he''s one of the Old Humans, so I don''t doubt for a second that he''s still alive.


    "Oh, can''t beat me, so you''re going for the old man?" Oinos looks behind himself, appearing not at all worried. "Too bad that''s just a spare."


    "Can I safely assume that his real body is up there?" Pointing at the sphere floating above us, I ask casually.


    "Yeah, he doesn''t like to come out in person much." Shrugging like someone who has given up trying to convince a shut-in, he replies without a care in the world. He must be sure that there''s no way I can take that thing down.


    "So if I make that thing go boom, he would die forever?" Even though the topic is such a macabre one, I say it with a friendly smile.


    "I think so. He''s not the strongest when it comes to physical abilities." Oinos reveals another piece of information about the old man. "But before that, I''ll be taking you down."


    "Is that so?" I grow my arm, swing my body around and grab him in the same motion. Then I lift him up and throw him as far as I can.


    Or at least that was the plan, but he seems to be rooted to the very ground. Either he''s incredibly heavy, or he''s using the Imagination Engine to anchor himself in space. Whichever it is, my plan to move him out of the city to reduce collateral damage - especially to Kamii and Hestia only a dozen steps behind me - has failed.


    "Hm, what was that?" Spreading his arms and breaking out of my grip, Oinos asks with his head tilted and an eyebrow raised.


    "Here I thought we could maybe move out of the city and find an empty place where we don''t destroy people''s home when we go all-out." It might be useless, but I''m technically appealing to his humanity.


    "Thinking it''s even going to be a prolonged battle, huh?" Shaking his head with a smile, as if he''s reprimanding a naughty child, he spreads his arms slightly. "I''m going to end this now."


    "Are you now." Increasing my density to the maximum, the ground under my feet cracks and gives way. Before I sink into the pyramid, I begin to float in place, making it look like I''m standing still. This should be what Exla does when she packs all her two million tons of weight into that small body because I doubt she has the same convenient dimensional pocket inside her as I do.


    But then I realize that floating in midair defeats the purpose of increasing my weight - before an impact sends me flying backward into the wooden stands, scattering the lizardfolk sitting there. Luckily, I could catch myself, or I would have traveled quite a distance from that just now.


    Looking up, I see a white-scaled female lizard with a long neck. Then she''s obscured by a group of what appear to be warriors, wielding weapons that are essentially paddles with sharp rocks laid into them. They remind me of the Petsobek under Nilotec in that they''re all burly lizardmen, but while the former have crocodile heads, these are more like dinosaurs.


    "Impressive. This one was meant to scatter you across the city." The giant man in question slowly steps toward me with an expression that doesn''t look impressed at all.


    "I''m not so easy to get rid of." Getting up and walking past the lizard warriors, I meet Oinos halfway. We stand one step apart, staring into each other''s eyes with unconcerned expressions. I smile because I know the physical type can''t hurt me, and he''s confident that I can''t put a scratch on him either.


    "Would I get an upset stomach if I ate you?" I ask with a grin, attempting a different approach altogether. Eating an Old Human who has access to the Imagination Engine might not be the best idea.


    "It would feel like something''s trying to claw its way out from inside you." Oinos replies with a heartfelt smile of his own.


    In the next moment, I deliver a punch that breaks the sound barrier with an audible bang. At the same time, the Old Human''s fist lands in my face in the fabled cross-counter.


    And for the first time, my attack causes him to move. But I feel my cheek cracking open from the impact of his punch, even when I''m at maximum density. While it''s easily mended, I can''t help but feel anxious about his strength; it doesn''t look like he''s going all-out yet, while I''m already using all I have.


    "Can you ask Exla about Oinos?" I request of Senka in my mind as I draw a step back and let the crack on my face close up. The dark-skinned man doesn''t pursue me and touches his cheek with an amused expression.


    "Color me surprised. I actually felt that." But his calmness tells me that he still doesn''t consider me a potential threat to his life.


    "Come here, and I''ll let you feel some more." Waiting for Senka''s reply, I gesture at Oinos to be the one to step forward.


    "Please do." Doing so unhesitatingly, he follows my request.


    "Oinos isn''t an Old Human." Senka''s voice echoes through my head. "Even if the Imagination Engine didn''t exist, Oinos would still be an existence close to a god."


    "What does that even mean? There are a lot of weak gods in mythology." I think while readying myself for another cross-counter.


    "Is he weak?" Senka sasses me.


    Before I can reply, I hit the ground face-first, causing the entire pyramid to quake from my impact. I look up at Oinos who looms over me with a surprised expression.


    "Did the world move for you too, sweetheart?" He quips with a grin. "It must have; you did crack the ground after all."


    "Exla says that even she wouldn''t be able to defeat him as long as Alverost is alive." Explaining in a concerned tone, Senka flickers into my vision. "Take Kamii and Hestia, and get out of there."


    "Nah, that just means I have to kill Alverost first." Getting back up on my feet, I crack my neck. Then I remember that I don''t have a spine in this form - and even if I did, my current density wouldn''t leave room for any bubbles in my cartilage to be popped to get the cracking sound. "Well, that was awkward."


    "If you weren''t an enemy I''m supposed to kill I''d take you as my wife." Oinos shakes his head with an expression that suggests regret.


    "Unfortunately for you, I''m not interested in men." I revert my appearance from Korenga''s form to my usual one and stare up at him with a frown. He''s really huge when I''m at my normal height.


    "Who am I to judge? But you''d come around to appreciate me in particular if you just gave it a go." Shrugging, he doesn''t let my sexual orientation dissuade his advances - which are ultimately pointless since he wants to kill me.


    "I prefer to give, not take." My hand turns into a stake, then my entire arm compresses into a barrel-shaped form, and the stake retracts inside it. In the next moment, I create an explosion inside the chamber behind the stake, taking a page out of the launcher with which I shot Korenga into Roamukao. The stake is expelled at several times the speed and force at which I could throw a punch; it''s an organic pile bunker.


    For the first time since our encounter, Oinos moves to dodge; he turns his body sideways, and my spike slides off his abs, drawing sparks and leaving behind a shallow cut. What emerges isn''t blood, but a golden liquid. Is he made of gold inside?


    "Interesting." Aurelia''s voice comes from behind me just then, and I turn around. Think of the devil, and she appears.


    "And what a sweet devil she is." I wink at her, and she gives me a gentle smile. Then she returns her gaze to Oinos, and her eyes turn cold, as her lips curl up in amusement.


    "Before you try, this isn''t gold." Touching his wound and bringing up the stained fingers, he explains without the onset of fear and panic I would have expected from him at this point. "Just some liquid on which I run."


    "What are you?" I ask him with a skeptical look. Senka did tell me he wasn''t human, but his words make it sound like he''s actually a robot.


    "Not a human, that''s for sure." Remaining mysterious, Oinos looks at me with an almost lonely smile. The wound closes up, and not even a scar remains. "But to think you put a scratch on me... I like you more and more."


    "Stop flirting with me and fight." Suppressing the urge to shudder, I prepare to launch another pile bunker shot while he lifts his arms into the semblance of a slightly defensive stance for the first time. It would seem he has become wary of my new means of attack.


    Before either of us can make a move, sunlight floods the pyramid. I look up to see that the battle station hasn''t moved out of the way of the sun and that an intensely glowing orb of light is coming toward us instead. I''ve witnessed this phenomenon before, back in Kairaki. But I wore self-grown dark lenses at the time, so it''s much more intense now. The lizardfolk throw themselves on the ground, clearly understanding what''s going to happen next.


    The blinding orb comes to a stop a few meters above the pyramid, and the light fades away to reveal Areteniha, God of the Sun.


    "Tonatihuatl!" The lizardfolk cry out in unison and begin to undulate as they repeatedly prostrate themselves ceaselessly.


    "Grandmother." Oinos only gives her a nod, like a teenager forced to acknowledge the presence of their elders.


    "I was called by the Suncaller Ritual, but what is this? What are you doing here, Chaos?" She lets her beaming gaze move across the pyramid platform, taking in the destruction and corpses. Then her gaze falls on Alverost''s spare body. "Care to explain why my child is dead?"


    Areteniha is Alverost''s mother? Uh-oh.

 Chapter 118 - Skyfall

    "He isn''t dead, granny." Oinos suddenly says. "That''s a spare body."


    "What have I told you about calling me that?" Changing the target of her radiant glare, Areteniha looks at the dark-skinned Old Human.


    "Sorry." Lowering his head, he unexpectedly apologizes. Not only did he clear me of all guilt as the person in question is still alive, but he also seems strangely modest when dealing with the God of the Sun - who now turns out to be an Old Human as well.


    My priorities are straight though; I don''t want to kill all Old Humans, only the ones that are responsible for the death of my mother. This does exclude Areteniha since I didn''t see her there.


    "But you did try to kill him, Chaos." Returning her attention to me with a frown that looks nothing short of terrifying, considering she has this motherly aura about her, she makes this valid point.


    "First, why am I the first suspect here? Even if I was the one who did it." I''m a little peeved that she would suspect me first - even if there''s most likely nobody else who could have done it here. "Second, he killed my mother and has brought a lot of suffering over humans and demons alike."


    "He killed...?" It seems that Areteniha had no idea what her other child was doing down here. Aorutihaua is flying freely around the world as they like and not harming anybody unless they choose to land from time to time. So maybe she thought Alverost was doing the same. "Is that true?"


    Oinos, being called to testify so suddenly, flinches and blinks. Even though he''s a towering man made of muscles, he can''t win against his grandmother''s inquisitive gaze. It''s the same even for all-powerful beings; mothers and grandmothers have that overpowering quality to their existences.


    "Yes. He was involved in killing that... person''s mother." He admits that my accusation is correct, although the way he reluctantly refers to me as a person doesn''t sit well with me. But then he continues. "He''s also been experimenting on the beings he created. Those that the new humans call demons and all."


    This is the first time I hear one of the Old Humans speak about the current version of humanity. As expected, he considers himself to be apart from their kind based on his earlier birth and his knowledge about the Imagination Engine.


    "I knew I should have stayed on Earth after he woke up from stasis." Areteniha''s expression becomes clouded and her radiance fades a little. "Thinking you would look after him, I went to the research station for a few thousand years, and this is what happens?"


    Their perception of time must be really skewed if she can just bury herself in work for a few thousand years without coming to see her very own flesh and blood. Then again, their relations seem to be a little strange to me, mainly because of their apparent ages. I can''t believe Alverost would choose the look of an old man when he can be anything he wants to be.


    Then again, maybe it''s just one of many bodies he''s controlling from inside that sphere in the sky.


    "Come down from there right now, child." Calling up into the sky, Areteniha addresses her son. Her tone may be level, but I can feel a shiver run down my spine at how menacing it must be to whoever is on the other end of those words.


    For now, I''ll stay vigilant while watching how this plays out. I can''t consider the God of the Sun - or just an Old Human scientist living on the sun - my friend, so I have to be very careful in my course of actions. My target here is Alverost alone since Oinos wasn''t present when my mother was killed. I will kill him if he stops me though.


    But I don''t know what I would do if Areteniha stood up for her child and became my enemy. She doubtlessly has excellent knowledge about the Imagination Engine, and working on the sun must have given her a lot of insight into its power. I could never hope to stand up to even a fraction of the sun''s heat.


    A massive holographic screen appears in the sky, projected from the bottom of the battle station, and shows a blonde boy around the age of twelve. He looks exactly what he is - a naughty child caught by his strict mother.


    "What are you doing here, mother? I thought you were going to stay on the sun for a while longer." He does sound a little scared but tries to maintain a strong fa?ade in front of Oinos and the present demons.


    So that''s his real appearance. The old man spare body is just his way to command more respect from those he reveals himself to. But wouldn''t that mean he had a child as a child himself? Technically, the Old Humans are all many thousands of years old, but if he maintained his youthful body in that shape and used a fake one to perform the act, wouldn''t that make Oinos just another one of his creations? That would give Areteniha''s earlier rebuttal of him calling her ''granny'' a whole different meaning.


    "Do not try to tell me that you did not know about my pet project down here." Now she sounds angry. Considering she just admitted creating, or at least to a great extent influencing the lizardfolk, it would seem that the son is taking after his mother.


    "I did not expect you to be here at this time, though." He admits. "Shelnir told me that something was going to happen here on this very day that I should find great interest in."


    Huh, Shelnir told him that? Did she time it right so that we would meet here? Was she hoping he or Oinos would kill me and put an end to the demon resistance? But Kamii, and supposedly Rolan and Gram, are here as well, so maybe she wanted to put me through some more grief by letting the little dark elf die before I arrived.


    "You are still associating with that girl? I have told you that she has mental issues." Areteniha frowns at the revelation that Shelnir is involved. Just like Exla said, the so-called Guide of Tomorrow is a little psycho who enjoys sowing despair and misery. "But why am I talking to you over a screen? Come down from there right now. Do not make me come up to you and drag you out myself."


    The mother-power that the God of the Sun displayed all this time has just taken a jump into infinity. If I were her child, I would be scrambling to follow her order immediately.


    "I cannot do that; there are enemies who want to kill me around." But Alverost correctly assumes that the moment he leaves the safety of that battle station, I''ll be waiting for him with a laser to the head. I don''t care if he''s a child or the son of someone who may have the power of the sun at her disposal. If I see him in front of me, I won''t be able to control myself.


    I''ll deal with the consequences when the time arrives.


    "Onee-sama?" Kamii asks with her head tilted. She must be wondering why I''m not attacking the person who just revealed herself to be the mother of the murderer of my own mother. It''ll be hard to explain, and I can''t do it in front of the person in question either, so I only give her a reassuring smile.


    "Everything will be fine. Just be careful and stay behind me." I whisper to her while half-turning my head. Even though I doubt Areteniha will attack me suddenly, I still keep her in my field of vision just to be sure.


    The minotaur and Mohawk-toting man with a distinctly boar-like face groan and slowly get up from the ground. I thought they were dead after attacking Oinos head-on, but he only knocked them out. At the same time, I finally notice the presence of the tiny bipedal rabbit standing behind Kamii.


    I have to say, Alverost does have some good taste in the demons he created. Not like that will keep me from getting revenge, but at least credit where credit is due.


    Despite hearing what the Old Humans are talking about, the lizardfolk still keep on prostrating themselves. Maybe they don''t understand the words, considering this is not only geographically, but politically separate from the Dominion. They most likely have their own language, similar to the Khurut Sultanate when compared to all the nations that either used to be or are part of the empire''s greater sphere of influence.


    But if any of them could understand the content of their conversation, they must be realizing that this is a huge revelation. Or maybe it''s too complicated for them either way. As someone who knows about the Imagination Engine, I can put the puzzle together, but to them, it must seem strange that these godlike figures are holding a rather banal verbal exchange.


    Then I spot Rolan and Gram in the wooden stands among the lizardfolk that didn''t have enough space to fully lie flat on the ground and are instead only genuflecting. The big man''s body does stand out among them, but I didn''t look in the direction before. Once the situation with Alverost is resolved, I''ll make sure to take care of them, too.


    "Can we talk about this somewhere else? You are undermining my authority." The boy in the holographic screen says and shuts off the connection. That brings my attention back to the Old Humans, and I turn to look at Areteniha''s reaction to being so suddenly hung up on.


    "Your authority?" Her tone can only be described in the same vein as a volcano just about to burst. "What about mine?!"


    In the next moment, she explodes into light, and I quickly put a hand in front of Kamii''s eyes to shield her from the brightness while creating an opaque layer over my own to witness what''s happening. But it''s too late by the time I''m done, even though it took less than a second. She has already burned a hole through the center of the battle station with a concentrated beam of light.


    "W-what have you done?!" The holographic screen flickers into existence again and shows a panicked Alverost, the consoles around him sending off sparks and alarms blaring into the microphone. " You destroyed the gravity core! It is going to fall!"


    I stare up at the massive sphere, easily overshadowing the entire city''s surface area and then some. If this thing falls, whatever is underneath it will be completely obliterated - and that happens to be a city full of what I consider to be demons, even if they don''t belong to the Dominion.


    In other words, I have to find a way to save them. But how do I either redirect it or annihilate it without leaving anything behind?


    Really, how is this taking such a weird turn? When Areteniha revealed she was Alverost''s mother, I was already prepared to fight three Old Humans at the same time. But then Oinos somehow decides to help me by telling the truth, and Areteniha goes ballistic on her son instead.


    "Young man, you will not let that toy of yours crash on my project." The furious mother with the power of the sun points at her son''s face.


    "It would seem I do not have a say in this." Alverost looks around his instruments, and his expression of fear disappears as he shrugs in resignation. "I''ll come to see you on the Rhodos station later."


    With this, he switches off the connection again, and in the next moment, a small capsule flies off from somewhere around the equator. He just escaped on his own and left all the troops onboard as well as this entire city to die!


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    But suddenly, the escape craft explodes in midair, and just a split second later something impacts the ground in the distance even before pieces of the destroyed vehicle are raining from the sky. If my intuition doesn''t fail me, that must have been Aorutihaua, who either just did a one-in-a-million accidental collision, or deliberately took out their brother.


    Areteniha didn''t see it coming though, as she stares at the smoke and falling debris with round eyes and an open mouth. Oinos reacts almost instantly and runs off the pyramid to save his father - though I doubt he survived it. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have needed to escape his falling fortress in the first place.


    Speaking of which, it''s growing bigger and bigger in the sky, and some of the lizardfolk are noticing that fact. Some voices become louder, most likely informing their brethren of the impending doom, but as if rooted to the spot they''re prostrating in, none try to run away. Maybe they expect the God of the Sun to do something about it, or they''re accepting their fate.


    But Areteniha suddenly disappears, leaving behind only a trail of light burned into my retinas. Switching them out on the spot, I see that she indeed departed, most likely in hopes of finding her son alive. In other words, she abandoned her pet project in favor of her rotten child, although I can understand that sentiment. It''s what any good mother would do.


    Now, no matter how I look at it, there''s no way I can stop that thing. If I used the death laser I just learned from the battle station, the explosion would only scatter the pieces. And even at my full size, I can''t ever hope to stop something that big - bigger than Exla and most definitely heavier too.


    The ground begins to quake, and I look around, thinking that the gravity of the descending battle station is affecting the geology underneath it. But when several trees start to shoot up as if they just experienced a monstrous growth spurt, I understand that this must be something else''s doing.


    "Onee-sama!" Vitalis slithers up the stairs and calls out to me while pointing behind her. I follow her finger with my gaze and see Tokomaha standing in the square amid the lizardfolk, reaching up with both her hands as if trying to catch the falling mass.


    It would seem that the God of Growth is showing her true power. I always questioned why her title was that and not God of Copies or God of Clones - even if those don''t sound as interesting. The little goddess did eventually tell me that she isn''t actually known for making copies of herself, but for growing jungles wherever she goes.


    And apparently, that includes supersizing plants, too.


    The massive trees must be many hundred meters across each, darkening the surroundings of the entire city. Wherever they''re growing from, other things are most likely being displaced. But at least it''s from the surrounding hills and mountains, which is better than leaving this city to be crushed.


    Aurelia walks up to Tokomaha from behind and then looks up as well. The trees meet the massive gray sphere, and the colossal branches shatter from the impact, raining down onto the city below. Raising her hand, the golden girl turns those pieces into gold and liquidizes them before sending them back up.


    With the combined powers of my two beautiful lovers, the falling battle station comes to a stop under the creaking support of half a dozen titanic trees and what essentially amounts to a floating saucer of gold the size of the entire city. But Tokomaha doesn''t stop and waves her hands around, causing the trees to continue growing in thickness.


    Finally, she turns to nod at Aurelia. The latter consolidates the gold saucer into a cube and sends it away with a gesture of her hands, dropping it somewhere beyond the mountain range. The little goddess looks up at the massive construction that darkens the sky with a suspicious gaze before lowering her arms as well.


    Silence permeates the air as everybody stares at the precarious safety they find themselves in. But the trees are holding the sphere in place securely for now, and some breathe sighs of relief. I''m among them, as I glance up one last time to make sure it''s not moving anymore before turning around to Kamii while the two girls begin to ascend the pyramid stairs under the reverent gazes of the lizardfolk - mostly directed at Aurelia for being made of gold, as they didn''t really understand what happened just now.


    "Kamii, how-" I mutter, about to talk to her now that all the tension has left the situation when I notice movement from the corner of my eyes.


    Spinning around, I grow one arm out into a bladed whip that cuts through every single soldier in black that came with Alverost. Their uniform armors didn''t protect them in the least, as their top halves separate from their bottom halves.


    They had been pushed to the sidelines when I clashed with Oinos and stayed quiet when Areteniha appeared. But now that they''re gone and the crisis is averted, they feel their loyalty to Alverost flare up, thinking they can take me down while my back is turned. I have to commend them for staying even while the fortress was going to fall on their heads, but maybe they were poor brainwashed people.


    Whatever the case, I don''t want to risk losing anybody important to me because I overlooked some goons.


    "Sorry about that little interruption." Turning back to the little dark elf, I smile. She tilts her head at the sight of the dismembered corpses, then looks into my eyes with a smile of her own.


    Aurelia and Tokomaha reach the top of the stairs, and along with Vitalis, join my side. With what seems to be perfect timing, Hestia awakens from the healing-induced sleep and sits up to complete the picture. All the girls that I love are back at my side, and we''re finally together.


    Then my gaze falls on Rolan and Gram.


    "If I may be so bold to put a stop to anything that may be about to start." A familiar voice suddenly announces, and I crank my neck around at the annoying tone of it. The bard, dressed in a colorful feathered outfit reminiscent of the one he used to sport when we were traveling together, comes up the last few steps of the pyramid. He''s a little out of breath, as he gestures for me to wait while he catches himself before continuing. "Please do not start a fight before hearing me out first."


    "Why should I do that? He killed my mother, and you were complicit in that." Employing a cold tone, I rebut. The only reason I haven''t extended parts of my body as stakes and driven them through the three yet is that I''m somewhat interested in hearing the excuses he may be coming up with.


    "It may be a shocking revelation to you, but let me tell you about the false gods and the truth of this world." The bard hastily adds when he realizes that I''m about to take off some heads.


    "I already know everything about that. The game of the Old Humans, the Imagination Engine." I cut down his attempt at building up the tension and mystery. "But I''m interested to hear why you know. Are you one as well?"


    "I-if you know, that does make what comes next much easier." Stuttering in surprise, he shifts his gaze between Rolan and me. "I am not one, but I am related to one, who told me everything. I learned that most of the atrocities in the past millennia have all been planned by Shelnir."


    Shelnir again. Exla warned me of her, Alverost mentioned her as well, and even Areteniha described her as a girl with mental issues. She guided the two of us here, most likely to watch us clash for her own amusement.


    "And she was the one who sabotaged the demon lord system to apply random mutations to people across the continents. The demons created by Alverost are, due to their already altered natures, more prone to positive mutations, so they consider it a blessing. But in reality, they too are impacted by its effects." The bard explains, more confident with his voice now that he has my attention. Juzual told me on the moon that the demon lord system was introduced by Shelnir and Serent together, and that they worked on the specifics with Alverost. But ultimately, Shelnir was the one who turned it into a tradition for every demon lord to undergo the ritual that amplified their powers.


    Technically, I already knew that she was responsible for the irreconcilable relationship between demonkind and humanity. Over the death of my mother, I just filed that knowledge away as Zenlith became my main point of focus. After all, he seemed to act as the leader of the pantheon. But as it turns out, the actual big bad is the Guide of Tomorrow, who pulls all the strings.


    "Shelnir is the one who appeared before Kamii and Rolan, and gave them a prophecy that led them here." And just as I already began to suspect, the bard confirms it. If she guided both Alverost and me here, then putting the little dark elf into the line of fire must have been an attempt to cause me more grief.


    "How does she know all this? I mean, to tell people what to do for them to be in the right place at the right time like this? Don''t tell me she really knows the future?" This is the one point that bothers me the most. If we had arrived a few seconds later, Hestia wouldn''t have been there to shield Kamii with her body. And if I had been a few seconds later myself, the fallen angel would have died. It couldn''t have been planned out perfectly for me to witness Alverost''s soldiers kill the little dark elf right before my eyes, could it?


    Then again, if I had arrived later, the evidence would have pointed to her being killed by Alverost either way since his fortress would have been looming over the city. And unless he initially planned to kill everybody in this city, there would have been witnesses for me to ask if I had come here a few days later.


    But what if I had come too early though? I wasted some time searching for the city, but if I had found it a day ago, I could have put a stop to it all before anybody got so close to dying, and Shelnir''s plans would have been ruined.


    Maybe she knew I wouldn''t be able to find Zohigal without the giant marker floating above it, and she did tell Alverost to come at this specific time. If so, she really had it all planned out perfectly.


    "She does. Shelnir is the only person among the false gods who has access to the Akashic Records." The bard responds to my rhetorical question, and I''m stunned for a second.


    Wait, Akashic, not Akashi. And here I thought Akashi Records held some prophecy of what''s happening in the real world.


    "What are those?" I ask, considering there are many possibilities as to what that concept refers to. The most prominent one I know is that it''s a compendium of all knowledge, past, present, and future. But that seems unlikely even with something as powerful as the Imagination Engine.


    "It is the name of a device that calculates probabilities to a degree close to certainty. Of course, it is not perfect, or Miss Kamii and Miss Hestia would have died before your eyes."


    That explains a lot. She''s using some kind of supercomputer that calculates the future for her depending on how she tweaks events. It also makes sense that she would take the role of the oracle goddess then.


    "Does that mean Zenlith isn''t the leader of the bunch?" I ask, knowing that Senka is conveying all this to Exla as we speak.


    "On the surface, he is. You may not like it when I say this, but Zenlith is a good person in his own way." Replying with a sideways glance, the bard replies. He''s wrong assuming I wouldn''t like it. I don''t even care if that Zeus-knockoff is a saint who saves puppies from drowning. He was one of the main driving forces behind the death of my mother, and I will have his head for that no matter what. "But Shelnir is holding all the real power, as he does not care much for worldly matters. He enjoys the game to an extent, but he does not get involved unless called on by the others."


    Is he trying to tell me that Zenlith only joined because the others asked him? Whatever the case, he''s guilty either way. And even if the Guide of Tomorrow was the one who masterminded everything, the others happily played along.


    "So Shelnir sent me here to die?" Rolan suddenly comes up from behind me, and I turn my head to glare at him. But then I notice that he''s missing an arm and looks not only unkempt but haggard. The past year has been taking a toll on his body and mind, it seems.


    Good. It''s at least a measure of redemption for what he did. Not like anything - not even death - could ever absolve him of his crime.


    "I did not want to tell you last time because I knew you would have thrown yourself into danger on purpose." With a slight frown of disapproval, the bard practically confirms the former party leader''s suspicion. "I could not let you do that, my friend."


    Rolan replies with silence, as being called a friend in such an empathic tone plugged up the leak in his lost heart - even if only for a moment. I glance between the two and wait for the conversation to continue; this couldn''t have been all, could it?


    "And after all, there is someone you need to meet." As expected, the bard does continue after this heartfelt pause. "I hope she is alright, although I expect that she will be quite shaken by the events that just transpired."


    "Who is it?" The former leader asks with a confused look.


    "You told me Shelnir''s prophecy. Did you forget the last person you need to take back?" Pointing up at the sphere resting on the titanic trees, the bard smiles.


    "Runa?" Rolan''s expression brightens a little. Then he remembers that this was supposed to be his grave, so the presence of his beloved must hold meaning in Shelnir''s plan. "Was she meant to witness my death and despair at it?"


    "That is no longer of any importance." The bard shakes his head and reassures his former leader that it is alright to feel hopeful for once.


    "So the whole gang is back together, huh? Then I can deliver justice to all of you at the same time." I step in and state with a calm expression even though my interior is seething. I''m trying to suppress the feeling for the time being, to let it all out at the appropriate moment.


    "Please leave the others out of this. I was the one who-" Rolan begins, but I cut him off.


    "I saw all of you there, next to those false gods. Only because you delivered the final blow doesn''t mean the others aren''t accomplices." I don''t want to waste any more time talking to him and point at the shuttle so thoughtfully prepared by Alverost''s now deceased soldiers. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 119 - Crisis Core

    I realize that most likely nobody here can fly that piece of technology that is so out of place in what used to be the apparent time period of this fantasy world. But since this is faux fantasy with the stereotypical lost-civilization theme, I guess not even that battle station is out of place.


    Let alone the fact that this is the far future of my very own world, too.


    Even though I could easily take everybody up in my jet form, I don''t want to let a person whose powers are unclear ride inside me. I''m virtually indestructible by normal means, but the bard is still an unknown factor. I won''t get exploded from the inside again.


    But luckily, I find that the pilot is still sitting in the shuttle, having missed the entire commotion outside because she was listening to music on her headphones with her eyes closed. Like the armored guards, she wears a black outfit, though this one is made of cloth. Judging by the lack of a weapon, she isn''t combat personnel.


    "Hey." I call out to her futilely. If she could miss my physical exchange with Oinos and all the explosions, simply calling out to her won''t do the trick. Thus, I pull off her headphones and repeat myself a few times louder than before. "HEY!"


    "Woah?!" She flinches hard and falls off her cockpit chair. "What did you do that for?!"


    Her expression of indignation turns into one of confusion when she sees me. Then her jaw drops when she notices the people that followed me inside. Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha have squeezed into the small cockpit one after the other as if refusing to leave my side. Even the usually dignified golden queen is vying for my attention so blatantly, and it''s incredibly cute.


    "Who are you?" Pointing in our general direction, the unexpectedly beautiful pilot - or maybe not that unexpected, when considering Alverost''s preferences - asks with all the dignity somebody who fell on their ass from shock can muster.


    "You''re going to fly us up to that battle station of yours." I point one of the guns I collected from the dead goons outside at her and state in a matter of fact tone.


    "I refuse." She replies in a poor attempt at appearing steadfast; her whole body is shaking, and her eyes are crossed to stare at the barrel pointing between them.


    Wordlessly, I lower the gun and fire a laser pellet into the ground, leaving behind a small sizzling crater just millimeters away from her crotch. Then the barrel trains on her face again, and I nod at her.


    "Yes, sir. Right away, sir." The woman jumps up from the floor with an overeager salute, plops down on her seat, and begins pressing buttons and pulling levers. She''s an obvious small fry who doesn''t think about the consequences of aiding who''s most definitely an enemy, just to save her own hide. Luckily for her, there won''t be any because her employer might be dead already.


    Turning around, I see that Rolan and his party have taken their seats in the passenger area. The massive minotaur, red Mohawk-toting boar demon, and the rabbit, as well as an unknown masked woman in flowing robes - all members of Kamii''s party, it seems - are there as well, though I don''t remember inviting them.


    "Those are Zancrax, Terog, Ireyo, and Sazi." The little dark elf points her cursed arm at them one after the other for a quick introduction. "They helped me get here."


    "Thank you." I bow my head in gratefulness. They must have been protecting her from harm as well, though I''m sure she''s grown a lot since we last saw each other. Not physically but mentally.


    "Are you not the new Queen of the Dominion?" The masked woman named Sazi asks me. Her alluring voice has an otherworldly reverb that makes me wonder what lies underneath her cover. I''m interested in various ways.


    "I have yet to be crowned." Replying while waving off her concern that a queen would lower herself before her subjects - at least I assume they are - I shrug. Since my duel with Chandra, the Kingmaker was interrupted, and I haven''t physically sat on the throne even once, I''m not officially the queen yet. When my current project is done, I''ll return for a proper coronation though, not just for myself but also for the sake of the masses.


    "But you are Chaos, right?" Zancrax, the minotaur taking up three seats on the bench, asks while holding a cloth to his bleeding head.


    "Yes, I am." I gesture in his direction and imagine light magic at a distance. This is the first time I''m trying such a feat, and I''m still operating within the limits of the magic system put in place by the Old Humans, but his wound closes and the bleeding stops. He blinks his eyes in surprise when he takes away the blood-soaked cloth to see that he has been completely healed.


    "So you finally returned." The boar demon - though more like the typical interpretation of an orc in modern Japanese fantasy, which also happens to be entirely unlike their original appearances in literature - Terog is staring at me with a tearful expression.


    I already knew that with the death of my mother, demonkind was plunged into despair. And I already saw how the masses cheered when I announced my return. But seeing an individual whom I''ve never even met before react like this is something special.


    "What took you so long?" The bipedal rabbit asks with a voice that sounds like it would normally be pleasant and motherly. But there''s clear accusation in her tone.


    "Yeah, what took you so long?" Repeating the question, Kamii puts her left hand on her hip. She comes across as sassy enough even without her right doing the same, and I muse what she would look like with both hands on her hips. Her gaze leaves no room for speculation regarding what she thinks I was doing all this time, when she glances at Aurelia, Tokomaha, and Vitalis.


    "I was preoccupied with learning the truth about this world." I lie. For most of the past year, I''ve been taking time off from the world. It wouldn''t be wrong to say I was depressed after my mother died, even if I didn''t show it on the outside. Being gone from all worldly matters, fishing and hunting with the villagers, spending time with my lost twin children and generally enjoying life. I was able to take my mind off fighting gods to the death by fighting Tahiri, the God of Storm, to the death every day. "But now I''m back."


    I stretch out my arms in a theatrical gesture, only to simultaneously receive four skeptical looks. Except for Vitalis, everybody else is suspecting that I was wasting my time doing nothing of importance for a long time. Luckily, none of them were there at the time, and the one person who could incriminate me is the one I initially came here to find.


    As we rise into the air and the shuttle''s nose turns around, I remember that with this, I still have no clue where Tahiri and Aratio went after we shared that hot night together. After all, Shelnir''s prophecy was to lure me here so I could witness Kamii dying. She most likely learned that the two left and deemed it the perfect timing to mislead me.


    "What happened here?" Our pilot asks while flying toward one of the many hangar openings in the equatorial trench of the battle station. She''s looking at the giant trees that sprouted out of nowhere and are propping up the listing sphere. The interior of the hangar is turned almost ninety degrees. "I can''t land here."


    "Just crash it near a door or something." I put my hand on her shoulder and command, and she flinches hard.


    "Y-yes, sir. Anything you say, sir." She replies and snaps up her hand for a salute - hitting herself in the forehead.


    "What''s your name?" I ask her as she rubs the spot above her right eye in pain.


    "2H-31-Near, sir." Quickly returning her hand to the steering stick, she replies with her call sign.


    "I''ll call you Near then." Shrugging, I point toward one of the hangar doors that look like they lead deeper into the structure, for her to fly toward. "Do you know a Luna Sigint?"


    "I do not, sir. But there''s a central databank with all the personnel files." Giving up piece after piece of information without even trying to hide anything, Near replies immediately.


    "You know that you''re a bad goon, right?" I frown at her, but she scratches her cheek in embarrassment. "That wasn''t a compliment."


    "Oh." She looks genuinely down because of my rebuttal, and I turn away. Doesn''t she realize her situation? Alverost most likely only kept her around for her looks, which I have to admit are pretty good. But to make somebody this inept their personal pilot must hold some deeper meaning. Maybe she''s an incredibly powerful Chosen Knight in disguise.


    "Ahh, we''re gonna die!" Near scrapes the wing on the wall while setting down the slowly hovering shuttle. The sound of metal scratching against metal makes it seem worse than it actually is, and at the velocity we''re going, nobody is even going to get a concussion.


    Finally, it sets down and wedges itself into the door I wanted us to use.


    "You did that on purpose, didn''t you?" I slap Near across the back of the head, and she yelps in surprise.


    "No, sir. I''m so sorry, sir!" She straightens her back and apologizes toward the air before her.


    "Get out." I pull her up by her collar and drag her out of the cockpit. The others are already disembarking and looking around in wonder. Aside from the bard, none of the others have ever witnessed architecture like this before, let alone technology this advanced. There were no windows in the shuttle so nobody could tell we were flying, but Zancrax makes his way to the open hangar to look outside.


    "Woah, we''re really inside that sphere!" He peeks out and immediately jumps back in fear. This is a height people of this world normally don''t look down from, especially not without any ground directly below.


    "Come here and help us move this strange ship." Terog calls out to the minotaur and points at the nose and hull of the shuttle covering up our entry point.


    "No need." I lift a hand and gesture at the two demons, motioning to destroy it.


    "No need." Aurelia walks forward and turns the entire shuttle into gold with a single touch before making it float out of our way. Carelessly dropping it onto the pile of other aircraft that have formed due to the sphere listing on its side, she turns around to me with a deadpan expression on her face.


    "Thank you." I reply with the same and glance at Near. It seems her bad landing was an attempt to slow us down, as she blinks at the golden shuttle and then the nearly vertical shaft that lies open before us with her jaw hanging open.


    Without further ado, I grab the pilot around the waist and float down into the corridor. My girls follow me one by one, each having their own way of descending. I didn''t consider that several can''t fly because I got used to being with my children and Tahiri, but even Kamii is jumping from foothold to foothold nimbly.


    Leaving behind the human party and the demons that came with Kamii, we make our way through the crashed battle station. Near, being held under my arm, has dropped all attempts of stalling us and is diligently leading the way - although the path is pretty obvious for now.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The ever so slightly curving corridor seems to describe the entire equator of the sphere. We soon reach a stretch that has a steep slope, but no longer requires those who can''t fly to climb. Along the way, we passed several other hangars in which we could have landed, and whenever we do, I bop Near on the head for it. She flinches and profusely apologizes each time.


    At one point, Rolan and the others catch up to us since we slowed down to take in our surroundings. I don''t know how they got down, but he''s determined to meet his girlfriend again - maybe even getting ahead of me to have a heartfelt reunion before I pass judgment on them. But I''m no monster; I''ll give them at least that much.


    We reach a blast door, where Near inputs a code on a panel in the wall now turned floor. The masked woman named Sazi comments how wondrous all this is, and judging by the looks of Zancrax and Terog, I can tell that they''re overwhelmed by the level of technology as well. But from Ireyo''s deadpan silence, I glean that she has seen something similar before - or I''m just bad at interpreting a rabbit''s facial expressions.


    "Oh, it seems I don''t have the necessary clearance." Our guide says while demonstratively pointing at the beeping red screen of the panel.


    Without saying a word, I jam my fingers into the tiny gap between the two sliding parts of the door. With the creaking sound of metal, I pull them apart effortlessly and bend the frame in the process. Well, saying it was effortless would be a lie; it did require a lot of strength, and I''m sure nobody else here would have been able to do the same. But compared to Korenga or Oinos, this was nothing.


    Beyond the door is a small room with many screens on the walls. An office chair is stuck in one of them, most likely from the battle station crashing.


    "No more games, Near." I pick up the woman by her collar and float down into the room with her. "Find Luna Sigint now."


    "Yes, sir!" She replies and moves her arm, but before she can finish her salute, I drop her. Tumbling across the slanted floor, she slides under the table housing the console. "W-why did you do that? That hurt!"


    "Now." Ignoring her complaints, I point at the keyboard. Near jumps up and immediately gets to work without saying any more.


    "Was she always such a demon?" Gram asks Terog, but the latter shrugs.


    "This is the first time I''ve ever met her." He replies. "And she''s every bit as charismatic and confident as I imagined her to be."


    I initially wanted to turn around and call the big man out for his lame pun, but hearing that somebody who met me for the first time is respecting me this much makes it too awkward. Acting as if I didn''t overhear their conversation, I peek over Near''s shoulder.


    "I found her. She''s in the superlaser control block as the... huh?" She announces while looking at the lines of code displayed across multiple screens repeatedly. I can''t read it at all, so I have to rely on her telling the truth.


    "What is it?" Asking impatiently, I put my hand on her shoulder once again.


    "I-it''s better if you see it for yourself." Near backs away from the console and points at the doors. "Umm, can you carry me again?"


    Picking her up by the waist, we leave the databank room behind. As we make our way toward a lift, various scenarios run through my head regarding what could be going on with Luna. Her role in the control block of the superlaser could be anything, but knowing the sick bastard Alverost, she''s being used as a living battery. Not like that would be necessary with the Imagination Engine, but he could be doing it to fulfill some kind of nerdy scenario of his.


    The lift is almost horizontal, and it doesn''t fit everybody at once, least of all somebody of the size of Zancrax. But before I know it, Kamii, Rolan, the bard, Ireyo, and Aurelia are already riding it when Gram steps in and activates the excess weight alarm.


    "What is that noise?" He looks around in surprise and asks, but doesn''t move from his spot at the door.


    "That means you need to lose some weight." I push him out, but he complains.


    "Hey, it''s all muscle alright?" Flexing his exposed arms, he tries to hide the fact that his body fat has increased visibly. He stayed at Chandra''s fortress ever since my mother''s death where he didn''t get as much action as he used to as an adventurer.


    "Stay here; we''ll be back." I ignore him and tell the others that have to remain. Hestia looks at me with the eyes of an abandoned puppy, but I mouth to her that it''s going to be alright. Tokomaha has far less fear of separation and waves naturally as the door closes.


    Usually, the journey in a lift would be up or down, but with the listing of the battle station, we''re going sideways. It''s a strange sensation, but luckily it doesn''t take very long for us to reach our stop. When the door opens, a corridor similar to the one we were in just now opens before us.


    But judging by its curvature, we''re no longer near the equator. Even though it''s a sphere, the interior is constructed like a regular building with floors. The tilt of the corridor is still the same as the one we just came from, and it makes traversing it difficult. Luckily, everybody seems to have either evacuated or gathered in one place, so we don''t run into soldiers that may try to bar our way.


    "Behind this." Pressing a button, Near opens a large blast shutter, and heat hits me like a wave. There''s a corridor in front of me, strangely aligned with the direction of gravity rather than the rigid structure of the battle station. It seems that gravity is being manipulated here in one way or another. The walls of the corridor are filled with rods which cause the air around them to waver. "The security system is online, and nobody can get through here. It can only be switched off from the other side."


    "It''s just some heat." My clothes, made from my skin, melt back into my body and turn into dragon armor. I most likely don''t even need to use this though.


    "Wait, it''s like a microwave in there!" The pilot grabs my arm and stops me.


    "Huh, you care about an enemy''s life?" Amused, I turn around to look into her eyes.


    "Y-yes of course, sir!" Thinking it''s a test, she responds with the exact opposite of what she must be thinking. "All life is sacred, sir!"


    "How did you get into the employ of Alverost?" I mutter to myself. She''s not only a little slow in the head but also too honest and unexpectedly kind to be working under a mad scientist who doesn''t care about the lives he takes. I continue, speaking louder for her to hear. "Don''t worry about me."


    With these words, I step inside the hallway and immediately feel the microwaves shaking me down to my very core. I may have been underestimating the effects of them a little too much there because I certainly won''t be fine going through this as long as I have a body that obeys the laws of physics.


    "C-c-cover your e-e-eyes." I stutter due to the microwaves causing my body to exhibit macrowaves. Yes, I know that''s not a real thing.


    Not waiting for anybody to follow my order - or rather advice - I burst out into my real form. Standing a head taller than I usually do, my body is made of countless tentacles twisting and writhing in place like pulsing veins. At once, the microwaves hitting me seem to lose their effects completely. According to Senka, I''m a Cosmic Horror, and space is full of deadly radiation that my kind should be able to survive. It would be ironic if it couldn''t with that kind of a name.


    But I still don''t waste any time going forward and begin to sprint. Maybe flying at Mach speeds could have worked as well, but there''s another door at the end of the deadly hallway, and I''ll have to stop there to push the release button anyway - or physically tear the thick shutter open, which takes about as much time.


    I hear a high-pitched scream behind me and assume it''s Near or Ireyo. All the others have seen my real appearance already and should at least be able to swallow their fear. Without turning around, I finish the trek and push the same button on the panel next to the door that our guide did when opening the door to this place.


    And as I hoped, the shutters in front of me open - only to reveal another corridor just like the one I passed through. Luckily, I''m impervious to the microwaves, or I wouldn''t be able to survive this.


    Finally, after the third door, I come upon a wide open space. There''s a giant hole up above - the one caused by Areteniha''s angry outburst at her son. The central structure is a tower with a spiral staircase, at the top of which a naked person is strapped to a metal frame.


    "Why am I not surprised." I recognize her blonde hair and modest chest; it''s Luna. The fact that she was put here to act as a battery was kind of obvious judging by Near''s reaction when she saw the personnel file of the half-elf.


    "Runa?!" I hear Rolan''s voice behind me and turn around. He stares at his sweetheart bound at the apex of the tower for a moment, before rushing past me and onto the bridge leading across the deep chasm that separates our position from the base of the spiral staircase.


    It seems that with me making it through, the microwave corridor was shut down. Everybody else makes their way toward us, and I see that the person who screamed earlier was Near after all. She''s leaning onto the bard, still delirious even from just witnessing the back of my real form.


    "Is that her?" Aurelia asks with her arms crossed.


    "Yes, she is the last person mentioned in Shelnir''s prophecy to Rolan." The bard replies to the golden queen''s question.


    "Then Shelnir''s plan is coming together?" Kamii asks with a concerned glance at Ireyo. The latter is sniffing the air as if to detect danger, but I can''t feel any life forms besides the ones I see here.


    "Don''t worry. I''m here." I cross my arms and keep my senses trained on our surroundings while floating up into the air and approaching Luna. Rolan is running up the stairs while the group moves across the bridge after him, but I reach the bound half-elf first.


    She''s unconscious, with her arms and legs shackled to a rack, but there are no signs of any external wounds. It doesn''t look like she''s being drained of her energy or whatever else may have been going on with her before Areteniha shut this whole thing down with a single shot.


    "Runa!" Rolan reaches the top and desperately calls out his lover''s name while trying to catch his breath. He touches her face with his one remaining hand, then tries to rattle on the restraints. "I''m getting you out of there right now. Don''t worry."


    When he reaches for his belt, he notices that he doesn''t have a sword on him. Nobody was allowed to bring weapons at the bloody ceremony that Alverost interrupted in such a grandiose way, so he''s unarmed in more ways than one.


    I look at the console right next to her, where a big red button screams at me to press it. The fact that ''emergency stop'' is written on it in English in all caps leads me to believe that it shuts down whatever system she''s part of right now.


    "Here goes nothing." I push it, and the whirring sound that permeated the air until now stops. If not for this, I wouldn''t even have noticed that sound, but in comparison, the silence now seems deafening. Luna stirs, and her eyes flap open. Looking around with a disoriented gaze, she soon regains her bearings and sees her lover.


    "Rolan? What are you doing here?" There''s surprise but also a hint of joy in her voice, but it''s soon replaced by confusion when she notices that she''s restrained and naked. "W-what is this? Why am I bound like this?"


    "Isn''t this your job?" I ask her sarcastically while the former party leader tries to break the shackles that are clearly made of some kind of metal with his one bare hand.


    "No, I am the caster of the Divine Retribution." She replies with an angry look in my direction while trying to break free but realizes who I am. Her eyes widen, and her motions freeze. "Chloe?"


    "You thought you would never see me again, huh?" Crossing my arms, I look down on the half-elf. Acting all high and mighty right now is a waste of time, but I do it anyway. Learning what she means by saying that she''s the caster of Divine Retribution is more important, but I have a pretty good idea what it may be. "Are you the person firing that superlaser?"


    "Superlaser... that is what Lord Alverost called it." Muttering to herself, Luna stares at me in disbelief. "How do you know that name?"


    "Let''s just say I know a lot of things." Replying mysteriously, I glance at Rolan, who has given up trying to do the impossible and is now listening to our conversation. "But with this, you''re all back together. Aren''t you glad, leader?"


    "W-what do you intend to do?" The half-elf asks in mounting fear as she tries to free herself without me noticing. She''s obviously failing at it. "Where is Lord Alverost?"


    "He''s dead." Near''s voice suddenly announces in a spiteful tone. She reached the top of the tower with the others at one point and is now looking in my direction with a hate-filled gaze. "That monster killed him!"


    The airheaded and strangely cheerful pilot seems almost possessed. I didn''t expect that she was capable of directing so much hatred at somebody. But maybe she somehow learned about what happened in the city and to Alverost''s escape pod somewhere along the way from outside the microwave corridor to here.


    "I wish that were true." I shrug at the false accusation and return my gaze to Luna. "Let me get you out of there; then you can have a reunion with the big man as well."


    I leave the sentence open on purpose, implying that I''ll pass judgment on them together. Next to the big red button is a small and inconspicuous one with a label reading ''release mechanism'', which will most likely undo Luna''s restraints.


    "No, don''t do that!" Near runs forward and tries to stop me, but it''s already too late, and my finger comes down on the button. Is it because Luna is powering the entire ship and it''s still somewhat hovering? Trees holding up something that is most definitely heavier than a few million tons was suspicious to me from the start. Or was that the actual self-destruct button of this whole place?


    But when the half-elf begins to convulse and scream, I find that there''s a third possibility.

 Chapter 120 - Shattered Predictions

    Apparently, ''release mechanism'' doesn''t mean releasing whoever is inside the restraints. I can''t for the life of me think of any other possible meaning those two words could have in this context, but it seems to involve torturing the subject instead. Was it mislabeled?


    "You have killed her!" Near points at me in accusation.


    "Excuse me, but she sounds very alive to me." I reply, but it''s drowned out by Luna''s screams.


    "Release means that all the power of the station rushes back into her!" Explaining during the moment when the half-elf draws breath to continue her wailing, the pilot displays knowledge that I feel she shouldn''t know.


    "That''s such a misleading label!" I don''t comment on where she learned about the inner workings of the battle station''s primary weapon, which should be kept top-secret from the rank and file like her. "So she''s being electrocuted, huh?"


    Without waiting for an answer, I grab the metal restraints with my bare hands and tear them off as if they were made of paper mach¨¦. Whatever power was flowing through them shoots into me, but it doesn''t even register; Tahiri''s lightning strikes were far more powerful, and I got used to those in no time. Luna falls unconscious and drops into Rolan''s arm, but I still feel her life force with my Chaos senses.


    The bard immediately jumps to her side and places his hands on her chest and forehead. A white glow emerges from his palms, and the half-elf''s breathing visibly calms down. Not only did he never say he knew light magic, but he didn''t even speak an incantation. He did say that he''s related to the Old Humans, so he could be connected to Sintress, the Lady of Brilliance - the only god played by an Old Human whom I haven''t met yet.


    "Why?!" Near suddenly screams while holding her head and staggering back. "How do you always exceed my calculations?!"


    Her form flickers, and I glimpse several faces overlaying themselves over hers in quick succession. The same happens to her pilot uniform and even her physique, as she takes on various forms including non-human ones. When I see this, it dawns on me.


    "Shelnir!!!" I roar and burst out into my true form without giving anybody a warning. She looks up in terror, and her appearance settles on that of a girl around my age with distinctly Japanese features, wearing a shrine maiden''s outfit with a cherry blossom pattern. That must be what she really looks like, and I''m stunned by it even though I knew that this is my world in the far future. I just never thought a fellow Japanese would be among the Old Humans.


    "S-stay away from me! Monster!" Stumbling back, she shuts her eyes and shields herself with her arms, but I overcome my initial shock and rush forward. An invisible wall blocks my advance, most likely a barrier cast by her.


    "Nothing will keep me from tearing you apart, you hear?" I maximize my mass and punch the barrier, but it doesn''t break even from an impact that creates an explosive shockwave which staggers everybody behind me.


    "Let me do it." Kamii suddenly comes forward and slams her crab pincer against the invisible wall behind which Shelnir is cowering in fear with her head held between her hands. My face seems to have affected her mind to a degree, but it wasn''t enough to break it completely.


    "What do you-?" I start but remember that she has a strange power in that cursed arm. We haven''t seen each other in such a long time that I almost forgot about it. And I didn''t get the opportunity to test what it''s capable of before we were separated.


    We didn''t have the time to do many things together before we were separated.


    The little dark elf shows unexpected strength in her slender limbs, as she punches the barrier in quick succession without tiring. Eventually, an impact sends out a shockwave similar in magnitude to the one from my previous punch.


    And the impact right after sounds like a massive explosion which causes the entire station to shake. Shelnir looks up in shock, and her eyes widen when Kamii''s crab arm comes down on the barrier once again. The entire battle station splits open as if it has been cleanly cut with a gigantic knife, and the part of the spiral tower she''s standing on slides down and falls.


    Now I see how the barrier works; the invisible wall was secured in place by sliding it into the structure of the flying fortress as if placing a glass pane on a bowl. It''s near indestructible but not immovable.


    "Stop!" Shelnir floats in midair and lifts her hands to stop Kamii before she can bring her arm down one more time. The battle station has essentially been cut in half by the properties of that barrier, and it''s going to slide out of the branches holding it up and fall onto the city if it breaks apart. She continues in a low tone. "I know now."


    "What do you know?" I growl, and she flinches. Even now, she has her head turned, and eyes shut tightly to avoid seeing me, but my voice still reaches her.


    "That I underestimated you all!" She jumps to her feet and points in our general direction while making an angry face with her eyes closed. "Next time, I won''t make the same mistake!"


    "What makes you think there is a next time?" Aurelia comments by my side. I motion to turn around but see movement and stop myself, to witness two golden swords come out of nowhere and impale Shelnir through the chest from behind. The golden girl must have transmuted the debris from the tower and formed those weapons with it. "That is for Vanadia."


    The Japanese Old Human coughs up blood and looks down at herself in surprise. Her expression seems genuine, and it tells me that she''s fatally wounded. She no longer has the concentration to keep flying and begins to fall. I guess Zenlith is really the only special one among them for being able to reassemble himself even when his body is turned into mist. Either the others never considered the possibility of being hurt like this or lack the imagination to become as indestructible as he is.


    Suddenly, darkness rushes in from the opening of the battle station created by Kamii''s pounding of the barrier and gathers into a slender form clad in a black cloak that wields a scythe made of shadows. Catching Shelnir with a skeletal hand, he breaks her fall and floats back up to us.


    "Serent, the Liberator of the Dead." I hear Rolan''s whisper through the ensuing silence. A skull with two red dots for eyes look at me, its eerie empty grin contradicting the cold anger I feel emanating from the intent glare.


    "Today is a festival of gods, it seems." I remark sarcastically and fly toward him.


    "Wait, his scythe is-" The bard calls out to me from behind, but it''s already too late.


    Even though my body is at its maximum density, and I created a shield of light magic overlaying my skin, the black blade slices through my right forearm, enters the waist, and exits the other side at the hip completely unhindered. I feel my lower half separating from my upper half, and all sensations leave the wounded area as if the nerve endings died off.


    "Wha..." I look down and see the dismembered lower body and forearm as they''re caught by gravity and fall. But long before they hit the ground, they turn grey and flake before scattering into dust. It''s just like what happened to my mother, so that means it was Serent''s doing rather than Rolan''s. "YOU!"


    My missing right arm and lower body grow back out, and I swipe at the reaper with a clawed hand expanded to gigantic proportions. I have more than enough mass to reform into my original shape a hundred times, but I just lost half of my overall matter. Before he can cut away more of me, I''ll just have to crush his body into bone dust.


    But he covers Shelnir in his cloak and turns into a storm of inky darkness, which slips through my giant fingers. It flies past me and reforms in front of Rolan and the bard, who stare up at him in fear.


    "She was meant to die today." Serent''s deep but ethereal voice echoes through everybody''s minds as if an icicle was driven into their heads. He''s pointing at the still unconscious Luna.


    Ireyo gathers herself before anybody else does and leaps up to attack him, only to be swatted out of the air by a skeletal hand. A volley of Aurelia''s flying golden weapons shoot toward him, but spinning his scythe around, he deflects them all effortlessly.


    I shoot a plasma beam at Serent''s head, and he turns around to catch it with his palm. It doesn''t even leave a scorch mark on his bones. Kamii runs past Aurelia and tries to crush his legs under the flowing black cloak with her pincer, but all she grabs is black smoke as if he doesn''t even have legs.


    Finally, I try again with an array of light spears, which I release at him like a shotgun blast. For the first time, the reaper feels the need to dodge, as his form sways sideways to avoid them all. They punch holes into his smoke-like cloak, which doesn''t mend itself. I expected it would, but it seems that he may be weak to light magic, even though he''s an Old Human who''s above such things.


    "There are too many interferences to conduct the proper reaping ceremony." He says with a sideways glance to the unconscious Luna, but Rolan quickly shields her with his body. "But that is a debt I intend to collect."


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Knowing that he intends to leave, I fly forward at Mach speeds with no regard for those around me and spread out my form to swallow him whole. But before I reach him, he explodes into a storm of darkness once again and scatters.


    The aftershock of my acceleration sends Kamii and Ireyo flying off the tower, and I quickly extend a pair of tentacles to catch them. After returning them to my side, I look around but see no traces of the inky black cloud Serent turned into.


    He has escaped, but it didn''t feel like he really had to; his overwhelming power dominated us, and we completely lost.


    "Dammit!" I stomp my foot and create a dent in the floor before returning to my human appearance. My mass is still considerable, but it hurts to have lost half of it due to my overconfidence. I should have considered the possibility of abilities that go beyond physical attacks, especially when facing one of the Old Humans. Taking hits just to show I can isn''t very smart.


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    "Why does he want to come after Runa?" Rolan asks in disbelief. "She served Lord Alverost well."


    "Because she was part of Shelnir''s plan to make you fight against me." I spit in his direction. At this point, I''ve figured out what she wanted to achieve here.


    Her plan was for Rolan to gather his old party and bring Kamii to this city, then for me to witness the little dark elf and maybe even Hestia''s deaths. I would go on to kill Alverost and learn from the humans that Luna must be in this sphere. It would give the former leader a reason to live when he sees her again so that he no longer feels like letting me kill him. But my haphazard attempt to release her from these restraints would kill his beloved, which in turn would have given him a reason to fight me to the death.


    An alternative would have been for my companions and me to be killed by Oinos, but Areteniha finding out about her son''s actions anyway. She would then destroy the flying fortress, which in turn would have allowed Rolan to find Luna here. He would then accidentally kill her with his own hands when trying to release her.


    But none of those things came to pass. She vastly underestimated me, and I saved everybody, including the half-elf I should want to kill. That''s why she broke down, seeing her predictions repeatedly fail like that. She may have used incomplete data of me in that Akashic Records machine of hers, so the results were a little off each time.


    If everything had gone according to any of her scenarios, all the outcomes would have been horrible. Shelnir is an evil sadistic monster that needs to be stopped. And somebody like Serent, who seems to pride himself in being in control over life and death, will most likely keep her alive and return her to full health in no time.


    This is far from over.


    "Your judgment is postponed." I turn to Rolan and the bard, who look up at me in surprise. Kamii and Ireyo do the same, with the latter motioning to protest my decision. I continue before she can speak and point at the former leader. "Serent clearly didn''t want to kill you. He could have easily cleaved right through you to kill her."


    "What do you mean?" The former leader asks with a skeptical look. "I''ve served my purpose before the gods, and they''ve thrown me away."


    "Listen here, you shit." I grab his shirt and lift him close to my face effortlessly. "You can wallow in your self-loathing and regret for all I care. But those aren''t gods, and you''re done when I say you are."


    Staring at me with his mouth hanging open in speechlessness, Rolan can''t find a response to that. When I let him go, he falls back onto his bottom and looks up at me dumbfounded.


    "We''re going back." I turn around and state.


    "Where to?" Kamii asks, and I give her a warm smile.


    "Home."


    I was trying to act cool by saying that we''re going home right away, but when we reunite with the others, I remember that Alverost, Oinos, and Areteniha are just a Korenga stone toss away from here. I still have unfinished business with the former two, and if the latter stands in my way, I''ll have to fight her too.


    Alverost seems to be quite weak, so he''s not a problem. But I lost a lot of mass, and Oinos didn''t even budge until I used all I had. And how do you fight somebody with the power of the sun? Areteniha could most likely evaporate me with a flick of her finger.


    "Maybe you should come back here and regroup first." Senka says in my mind while I ferry everybody back down from inside the cracked sphere in a smaller version of the Chaos carrier. "Don''t forget that you have Exla here. Right now, she''s only a glorified watchdog, but I''m sure she can be of great help in a proper fight."


    "More like a watchtower." I add but don''t comment on using the cloud girl to fight her brethren. Maybe it''s false pride or just stupidity, but I don''t want anybody else taking away my revenge. If she kills them all in my stead, I would never get over the death of my mother.


    At least now I know who to be careful of the most. Zenlith, Oinos, Serent, the three most powerful opponents, each represent a different kind of challenge. And then there''s still Areteniha, the one I fear even Exla can''t overcome.


    "Ask her how she would go about fighting Areteniha." Just in case she does know her weakness, I have Senka inquire for me. A few seconds later, the response already comes, from the girl in person.


    "Are you insane? Don''t even think about fighting her! While I may have the most imagination of them all and could single-handedly take all of those on Earth down, she''s in a league of her own!" Exla''s voice is transmitted through the Senka phone. "If she wanted to, she could make the sun erase this planet with a thought!"


    "Thank you. That tells me enough." I respond and sigh.


    "What is wrong?" Hestia asks my avatar. She only saw me heave a sigh and may be thinking that something is bothering me. In a sense, it''s true, but she could never imagine what Exla and I were just talking about.


    "Just found out once again how small I am." I reply with a wry smile. No matter how much mass I gather on any number of planets, I could never hope to challenge a sun. My existence may be called a Cosmic Horror, but that''s nothing before the power of those celestial bodies.


    "Now that you know, you can work on improving." As expected of Aurelia, she comments this. It''s her way of encouraging me, and I do appreciate that she doesn''t present me a shoulder to cry on. Nothing good ever comes out of that, except for one''s feelings for a fleeting moment.


    "You''re right." Nodding in assent, I land the Chaos carrier on the platform and make everybody disembark before pulling all the matter back into my human avatar. The lizardfolk remained in their positions while we were inside the battle station, most likely waiting for either something to happen or their leaders to tell them that they may leave. They''re now staring at me like I''m some sort of god. Well, in a way, I do have godlike powers.


    "I am Prime Minissster Itssscoatl, at your ssservissse. Ssspeaking for Queen Teoyohticacoatl and all of Tonatiultepetl, I ekssspresss my gratitude." An old lizardman with black scales comes forward and declares with a deep bow of his head, which sits on a snake-like neck. He even talks like I always imagined a snake would, but he does have arms and legs. "You have sssaved usss all from the ssstar of ekssstinction."


    "It wasn''t really me." I reply truthfully. "These two were the real heroes."


    With these words, I push Aurelia and Tokomaha to the forefront. The former takes the attention with the dignity of a queen while the latter is surprised to be in the limelight. Both look around as the lizardfolk bow to them in reverence.


    "Who are you?" Itssscoatl asks, and I glance at my followers. I''ve heard that even though this city-state is located on the demon continent, they aren''t part of the Dominion. Maybe we can forge an alliance with them based on this.


    "I am the crown princess of the Dominion, Chaos." I announce for all to hear so that they know that they owe the Dominion their existence. "And before we continue, I''d like to ask if something happened while we were up there."


    "Tonatihuatl left in a pillar of radianssse and returned to her sssrone in the sssun." The prime minister explains, and I suppress the urge to sigh in relief. That must be the name of Areteniha in their language. She must have found Alverost still alive and went to the Rhodos Station on the sun to heal his wounds. It does mean that one of the main targets for my revenge is out of my reach, but I doubt it''ll take long, and he''ll be back soon enough.


    "What about Oinos?" I hope he left as well, but Areteniha doesn''t seem to like him, so she may have refused to take him along.


    "He hasss not returned." Once again, the reply makes me want to show relief. It may feel a little anticlimactic to leave our battle unfinished, but I don''t think I could defeat him as I am right now. Until we meet again, I''ll need to find a surefire way to defeat him.


    "Thank you. I''d love to stay and talk, but we should get going." I express my gratitude for the information and turn away to leave. But as expected, he stops me.


    "Pleassse, will you not ssstay a few daysss. I believe thisss wasss a sssign." Using his staff to point at the crashed battle station above the city, Itssscoatl implores. "The Sssuncaller Ritual hasss given usss guidance. It sssent you here to tell usss that we ssshould no longer isssolate thisss sssity and align ourssselvesss with the Dominion."


    That''s exactly what I wanted to achieve, but not right now. I''ve left Arkaim unattended for too long; the likelihood of an attack occurring there is quite high, even with Exla holding the fort. Now that I took Alverost and Shelnir out for at least a while, the other Old Humans won''t watch quietly. When I''m alone, I can easily fly at hypersonic speeds to return here at a later time for signing a treaty.


    "I have to return to my capital. But I promise that I will be here tomorrow." Scratching the back of my head with a troubled expression, I give him my reply.


    Itssscoatl stares at me like I''m insane, as he''s aware of the distance between our two cities. He should have seen what I''m capable of, but maybe he''s too old and can''t see too well, or didn''t understand what he witnessed. In either case, he''ll just have to take my word for it.


    "Don''t worry. I keep my promises." I glance at Kamii, who looks up at me with a neutral expression. It changes into a warm smile under my gaze, and I put my arm around her to squeeze her to me. It took a while to fulfill it, but I reunited with her. "Await my return at noon tomorrow."


    "I... I ssshall take your word for it." Bowing his head, he steps back and glances at the stands, among which the white-scaled female lizardfolk I saw earlier sits. So that''s Queen Teoyohticacoatl. It explains why the bulky warriors surrounded her when I crashed near her in my fight with Oinos.


    "Now, all aboard." I expand into the Chaos jet and have my avatar stand at the open door to call them in. Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, and Vitalis do so without hesitation, finding seats for themselves right away. The little dark elf never experienced this, but she follows the example of the others who have.


    "This is most curious." The bard comments as he climbs the stairs to the door while eyeing my new form with unabashed interest. Even though I''m a jet, why does it feel like he''s ogling my naked body instead?


    "What is this?" Luna, who has woken up sometime after we landed on the pyramid, asks with a suspicious gaze while being helped by Rolan. He did explain the situation to her, and while she most definitely hasn''t agreed to deliver herself to my judgment, she''s going to follow his decisions for the time being.


    "Not a torture chamber." I mutter to her while she passes my avatar, and she stares at me with round eyes. Laughing about her response, I slap her ass and cause her to jump in surprise. "Get inside already."


    When I first came here, I was with only my girls and Vitalis. Now the members of our group have grown by Kamii and her party, and Rolan and his party, bringing their numbers up to fourteen. Rather than a jet, it''s almost like a passenger plane. And Sazi asked the lizardfolk warriors to bring everybody their equipment during my conversation with Itssscoatl, so they even have luggage. I''m glad I can fly using my mind alone, and that weight is not an issue.


    After all, Zancrax''s armor seems to be made of granite, Ireyo''s giant broken sword is heavier than it should be at that size, and Gram still has his oversized shield. I don''t know if I would have been able to carry them all in the Chaos carrier, back when I didn''t know about the Imagination Engine and flight that doesn''t require magic and ignores physics.


    "Please take your seat quickly so we can depart." I announce over the speaker system - which is just extra mouths hidden behind mesh covers. When they do, I grow seatbelts that secure them in place. Some of them struggle in surprise, but my girls are telling them that everything is fine.


    "How many days will it take to Arkaim?" Gram asks while looking out one of the oval windows covered with eye-lenses in place of glass.


    "Days?" My avatar sitting in the cockpit turns around and asks in feigned innocence. The big man looks over and blinks his eyes, then turns his head to look at the other me at the closing door. He does a double take for both avatars but watches in horror as the latter walks toward the nearest wall and disappears into it. Snickering to myself, I make another announcement. "Hold tight. We''re taking off."


    The Chaos jet jumps into the air and quickly leaves the tree line beneath it. Then, I start a gradual but fast acceleration in the direction of Arkaim, under the guidance of the global positioning Senka.


    Almost for the entire journey, somebody would be screaming in fear of flying.

 Chapter 121 - Never A Break

    "We got a problem." Senka, sitting in the co-pilot''s seat with her astral body, suddenly says. We''re only minutes from Arkaim, so whatever it is, we can deal with it when we arrive. "Your other half has returned."


    "Oh." I had completely forgotten about her existence at this point. Somebody may or may not have told me that Lenoly and a group of maids took her frozen body somewhere to get her thawed, but I don''t remember who or when that was - even though that couldn''t have been more than a week ago. "But I don''t see a problem with that?"


    "Well, people think she''s you." The doll girl sighs exaggeratedly as if to imply that I''m not thinking things through enough. "So things are getting confusing."


    "In what way?" I raise an eyebrow. If they think she''s me, she can clear up that misunderstanding herself pretty quickly. Don''t tell me they now think I''m an impostor, and she''s the real one because she returned with the maids?


    "That''s exactly it." Senka read my mind and confirms my worry. Since we''re connected like this, my conscious thoughts are transmitted to her as if I were saying them out loud.


    "How can they think that way after everything I showed them?" Shaking my head, I sigh.


    "What''s the matter?" Kamii calls out to me from her seat, which is the closest to the open cockpit, alongside Hestia''s. She''s the only one among my girls beside Tokomaha who doesn''t know about Asoko. I don''t even know how to go about explaining the existence of another me to either of them.


    "We''re arriving momentarily." I change the topic and act like that was the reason for my long sigh. Slowing down from the Mach speeds that I''m traveling at takes time when I have beings on board that can suffer from whiplash. Aurelia and Vitalis should be fine in their own ways, but the others will be affected.


    "To think I would return here in such a fashion..." Rolan mutters, but I overhear him as everything inside this jet is part of me. The last time he was in Arkaim, he killed my mother, so it''s understandable that he would feel that way.


    "What fashion may that be?" Ireyo asks with clear hostility in her voice. She''s the one person among all of Kamii''s companions who seems to hate him the most. If it weren''t for the change in the situation after our encounter with Shelnir and Serent, he and his party wouldn''t be alive anymore.


    "Alongside a group of people who want me dead." He replies with a wry smile. It''s quite obvious even from his outward appearance, but he changed quite a bit in that year I was gone. He used to be overly optimistic about his role in the world, which could be attributed to the ignorance of youth. But now he''s just a broken man, one on the verge of giving up on searching for a purpose.


    We''ll discuss things later today, and I''ll give him one. Even though I hate him for his involvement in my mother''s death, his actual role in the Old Humans'' schemes seems to be bigger than I thought. I doubt he ever had the power to kill my mother, and it was all just staged by Shelnir and Serent, create a hero character - also known as a glorified temporary toy of the gods when comparing that role to characters from mythology.


    "Oh, you''re back, senpai!" Exla flies next to us on a cloud as I approach the castle. She''s in her giant form, garnering many round eyes from my passengers. Although they already witnessed some far more eye-popping things in Zohigal earlier, this still surprises them.


    "Are you done with the tilling, Exla?" I peer over the city walls all around us to find that the Fields of Huwinn look a darker color than before. She said it would take a while, but that was pretty fast.


    "Yeah, next comes the planting." The Guardian of the Soil grins with a satisfied expression. Her constant tilling on the Dark Continent has turned the entire place into a single jungle that nobody could ever hope to traverse without modern machinery. Maybe I need to rein in on her enthusiasm, or Arkaim will end up like Zohigal.


    Not that it being hidden would be a bad thing, but this isn''t a self-sufficient city-state, and it lives from trade. Being unreachable might detract from its feasibility of remaining the capital of this large nation.


    "Maybe we should leave that to the citizens. Give them something to do to take their minds off the war." I reply while gently setting the jet down in the courtyard. A welcoming committee of maids has already lined up outside, holding their skirts down in the wind I''m kicking up on purpose. I don''t have any engines, but just to see them make those cute gestures, I simulate a storm underneath me.


    Then I spot Rewera staring at me right through the cockpit windows with an unamused expression, and I stop. Even though I know I''m stronger than her, I still fear her. It has something to do with her aura as a superior of a large group of people - something I''ve never been before even though I''m the uncrowned demon queen.


    Oh yeah, Asoko is here and seems to be challenging that though. I''m not especially keen on being the queen and am satisfied as long as I can get revenge on the Old Humans. That''s why I''m sure my other half won''t be demanding the throne; I know myself the best, and she''s another me after all.


    "You want the throne?" I ask with a blank expression while standing before said throne, on which Asoko is now sitting while flanked by her very own harem. Lenoly is among them, and she looks nervous about this situation.


    "The other Onee-sama." Kamii points at her and comments. I was going to explain our connection to her once this situation was resolved, but it seems they already met before and figured things out.


    "It was a joke." My other half stands up and states, to the surprise of all the maids on her side. They may have mentally prepared themselves for a coup d''¨¦tat, but hearing that it was all a joke takes the wind out of their sails. Some stare at Asoko with their jaws hanging open.


    "Yeah, we don''t have time for this." Senka falls from the ceiling where she was blending in with the shadows and delivers her knuckles to my other half''s head in rebuttal. "Messengers just reported that a huge army was spotted heading for Erbilan. They will arrive sometime in the afternoon tomorrow."


    So they decided to go for a final confrontation rather than guerilla tactics. The latter would have hurt us quite a bit, but now I can make a show of force and have them surrender - or annihilate them all in one go if they refuse to do so.


    "Guess we have to postpone our heartfelt reunion and head for the meeting right away." I wave at Asoko to come with me, but she shakes her head.


    "Nah, I''m done." She says with a casual shrug and smiles weakly.


    "What do you mean, you''re done?" Staring at her with an eyebrow raised, I ask in confusion. She just returned from being thawed out of Zylos'' magic, so she should feel a desire for payback.


    "I killed Kanundra and Zylos." Her expression changes into a serious one. Those were two of the Old Humans present during the battle against our mother. "It seems they were brother and sister. He took her powers away, and I ate her. Then I gained her abilities and burned a hole through his chest."


    That doesn''t sound right. Kanundra was the Bearer of the Flame, with a focus on fire and heat, while Zylos was the Winter''s Frost, her antithesis. But those are only roles they occupy by acting out the traits of the gods as imagined by the new humanity. Eating an Old Human doesn''t grant us their powers as they gain theirs through the Imagination Engine rather than from physical traits found in their genes.


    Don''t tell me she was able to do so precisely because she doesn''t know about the Imagination Engine. Her view of reality turned out stronger than Zylos'' for that moment, even if it may have been a misguided one. In other words, she won through blissful ignorance.


    I rub the bridge of my nose and lift a hand to ask for a break.


    "Well, even assuming those two are dead... what does that have to do with you saying that you''re done?" I put that topic aside for future confirmation and focus on the point that started our conversation.


    "I''ve had enough of politics and wars with the gods. I want to go back to the quiet life with the girls - the life I had for a few weeks before everything went to hell again." Her expression tells me that I won''t be able to persuade her. It''s not that she''s scared or indifferent; she''s tired of a life like this after getting a glimpse of a better one. I can''t fault her for that.


    "Then go." I stare into her eyes without ever averting my gaze. In a way, I don''t really care what she does, and there''s no accusation in my tone. I''ve gone too far down this road to leave it, but she has only dipped her feet into it a few times. A part of me wishes we could change places, and I could spend a peaceful life with Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, and all the maids willing to come with us. I would be going on a journey around the world or even just live somewhere quiet and have fun every day.


    "What about revenge for your mother?!" Vitalis unexpectedly flares up and asks. She''s a member of the demon folk through and through, who for the most part idolized our mother.


    "It''s alright." I lift a hand and calm her down. I understand better than anybody here that Asoko''s connection to our mother wasn''t as strong as mine. In her eyes, she was abandoned just hours after her birth into this world, left to die in a desert. While I was saved from the Dark Continent, went to the Kingdom of Lares and met all kinds of people, she spent a month in a dark cell all by herself, scared that the executioner would come for her someday.


    Even after that, she only met our mother once, shortly before the latter''s death. I noticed early on the strange connection I had to our mother, which made me regard her higher than I should have, although I was only with her for a total of less than a day. That connection was severed when she died, and Asoko most likely noticed it too. It''s not that I had a special emotional bond to her, but I still can''t forgive the people who killed the person that gave birth to me.


    They also robbed me of the chance to ask her whether or not she''s a reincarnator as well since aside from the Old Humans, nobody in this world should remember Japanese honorifics.


    "Where will you go?" I ask her in a neutral tone of voice. In reality, I don''t care where exactly she goes, as long as she stays safe. She''s my other half, and we went on a journey together, during which she even saved my life. That''s something I''ll never forget, and the reason I will forever consider her family - even if she''s another me.


    "I don''t know yet. This Adanak seems like an interesting place." Shrugging, she replies casually. I wonder who told her about it, but that seems like an excellent choice to get away from the war here. Adanak should be stabilizing after the God King''s death, and demons aren''t hunted over there so the maids that can''t hide their species traits won''t have to worry either.


    "When you do, you have to visit the villages of Aoranam and Ototawa. My children are living in the latter." As if talking about vacation spots, our conversation grows more and more casual. "But you should make sure not to get mistaken for me. I did stir up a lot of trouble over there."


    "I heard. Including the brush with Mataku." Asoko grows somber, and her eyes meet mine.


    "Alright, who told you all of this?" I have to know now. She didn''t even look surprised when I told her about me having children. The only person here who was here when she arrived and also knows everything is Senka, but the doll girl most definitely didn''t have time to tell her all of these things before my return.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I did." Flann suddenly appears right next to me, and I instantly burst out in tentacles and wrap them around her tightly without hesitation.


    "Woah, what are you doing?" Asoko yells in surprise and comes down from the throne platform, but I gesture for her to stop.


    "She''s the child of the traitor Mithra, who works for Mataku." I say and pull the androgynous girl closer to me so that our noses almost touch. Unlike her father, she''s not bandaged and has a cute but expressionless face. That won''t stop me from tearing her apart if she gives me any reason to suspect that she''s my enemy though.


    "Hey, she helped us during our journey. Without her, Asoko..." Lenoly start, but then trails off. Maybe she just realized something, as she tilts her head in wonder.


    "No, she never interfered and seemed to be only observing." The spider maid elegantly walks down the steps of the platform on her eight legs while stating in a matter of fact tone. "Finding the Fire Giants was left to us even though she knew where they were."


    "She never warned us about any dangers before it was too late to avoid them either." The slender maid with bat wings for arms joins the circle of condemnation that comes down on Flann. Something tells me that Mithra''s daughter is not very popular among the maids.


    "Let me tell you why it may seem that my father betrayed Demon Queen Pelomyx, and why I did not interfere in your issues." She states with an emotionless face. It goes beyond Kamii''s now kuudere behavior and might really be because she lacks emotions. Though in the academy, she was afraid of me and revealed that I was a Crawling Chaos. Maybe that was just an act.


    "Yes, do enlighten us." I stare into her green eyes and find that they seem to suck me in. The suspicion that Mithra wasn''t from this world already came to me before, but seeing those unfathomable lenses into another dimension is giving me clarity. She and her father may be aliens similar to my race.


    "You may have heard that we are called gatekeeper demons. We are no demons, but we are gatekeepers and agents of an ancient existence." She begins, her breath unhindered by the tentacles wrapped tightly around her. This does sound like a huge revelation, but it doesn''t give me any reason to trust her yet. "Everybody should know about the Watcher in the Night. That is my father''s true master."


    I never heard that name before, but I know exactly what - or apparently who - she means: The eyes I saw on our journey from Hovsgaerden to Kongenssoevn, and again when we were being ferried on the river through the Khurut Sultanate. After that, I stopped paying attention to what I thought was either a natural phenomenon or something I could and should never meddle with. It did appear a few more times during my stay in the Adanak Kingdom, but I didn''t take much note of it.


    "What is that thing?" I furrow my brows and ask, not believing everything she says just yet. That being operates on a scale way beyond that of a tiny planet such as ours, so why would it even need to send agents here? Couldn''t it just flick a finger and obliterate us as well as the entire solar system along with it?


    "They are beyond comprehension. They are the eternal and the inevitable." Flann lowers her gaze for a moment, then fixes her green eyes on me. I seem to glimpse an emotion in them for a split second, but it disappears again as she opens her mouth to continue. "They are your progenitor."


    "I can''t believe Asoko would still leave after all that." Vitalis looks out the window and watches my other half, accompanied by a group of twelve maids - now in casual clothes - following her as they walk down the main road toward the gate. They don''t draw much attention in their current appearances, especially since Asoko darkened her skin and turned her hair black. That''s the look she had when she tried to blend in that one time in the Khurut Sultanate.


    I also can''t believe I would let her go so easily after learning what we really are. Senka called me a Cosmic Horror in the past, which implied that I''m not from this planet, but that we originate from an existence that comes close to a real universal god is the biggest revelation since I was reborn. Even learning about the Imagination Engine and that this is Earth in the far future pales in comparison to that.


    Flann explained that Mithra is bound to follow the orders of the most powerful Crawling Chaos in this universe. From the very beginning, that was Mataku, and the only reason he ever served under my mother was that he was ordered to do so.


    But whenever the Watcher in the Night appeared in the sky, Mithra disappeared from this world for that duration. Even Flann doesn''t know what he did do in that time, and what that universe-sized god wants with this tiny planet.


    That''s why I''ll stop thinking about it. It''s pretty much the same thing as Areteniha''s power over this world. With the force of the sun at her disposal, she could evaporate this planet, and there would be nothing I could do about it.


    "I just hope she won''t go and pick a fight with Mataku." I mutter and sigh, then turn around to face the gathering of people in the throne room. Rolan and the others were locked up in the dungeon, so they didn''t hear anything about my origins, but my harem and the maids did. "Don''t worry about all this. Where I''m from and what I am doesn''t change anything about my goal to protect the Dominion and bring down the gods."


    Kamii only nods silently, but her expression tells me that she doesn''t mind at all. While she''s the one who saw my real nature the least out of all my girls, she has a strong will that belies her childlike features.


    "I''m not worried." Hestia says with an affirming smile. She was the first who got to enjoy my true body''s perks, and she hasn''t been herself ever since.


    "I never cared about your origins. It is you as a person that I love." Aurelia''s straightforward statement of affection has me blushing. In a way, she''s even more amazing than the angel girl when it comes to expressing herself.


    "[So you''re not a nature god?]" Tokomaha isn''t proficient enough in the language we were speaking to understand it all, but she seems to have gotten the overall gist of things. "[But you''re still you.]"


    She acts true to her emotions, and it doesn''t matter to her what I am as long as I don''t betray them. Although she couldn''t be honest with herself before, what she demands of me is quite simple now.


    "You will always be our Onee-sama." Vitalis says next to me while pumping her fists as if having made up her mind about something.


    The maids keep themselves in the background, but I see Nymphy smiling at me with a nod. It''s no different for the others; none of them show any apprehension, instead merely feeling their suspicions about my mother and me confirmed. The same goes for Kamii''s party, which was specially allowed in here. They don''t look like they have any objections to my person - though I can''t really tell what Sazi is thinking through her mask. In either case, the revelation doesn''t change anything about the fact that I''m the most suitable person to sit on the throne right now.


    Speaking of which, I still haven''t sat in it once, while even Asoko has. I haven''t been officially crowned yet, but this is a great opportunity to at least assert my claim before the gathered people, now that the mood is right.


    "The meeting to discuss the defense of Erbilan is beginning shortly." Rewera states the moment I try to ascend the steps to the throne. I don''t think she did it on purpose, but it was the perfect timing to cut me off there again.


    I turn my head and stare at her expressionless face, though I seem to glean a hint of a smile - something I would have never expected coming from her. Maybe that''s her showing approval of me even after learning what I am, or maybe she did it on purpose after all.


    "I think that destroying the Imagination Engine is the only way to stop at least Areteniha." I communicate with Senka telepathically while we sit in the meeting regarding the defense of Erbilan. The empire army is presumed to be about a day away from the fortress city, so I don''t feel like it''s an especially pressing matter.


    "Have you considered all the possible repercussions if you were to do that?" The doll girl on my lap asks. We had a night-long discussion about this issue, and at the time, we came to the inconclusive conclusion that it would be better to leave things be for now. But learning that Areteniha is an Old Human and holds that much power in her hands changed things.


    "I can''t even begin to consider all of them." It''s not like I wouldn¡¯t be impacted by it too, but as an existence from outside this system, I would at least still be able to use my body the way I always have been.


    "Keep this as a last resort. But we still need to find it." Even though she isn''t moving, I could feel her shrug being transmitted to me mentally.


    "They consolidated their entire invasion force to strike at Erbilan. It''s not a number the garrison can handle, even with the reinforcements!" Ophalen slams his scaly fist on the table and roars. It seems that the talk was going in circles, as the last time I paid attention, the question about whether or not to send more troops from the four fortresses around Arkaim was still being discussed.


    "It won''t matter. They won''t reach it in time." Athilacia keeps her arms crossed and asserts in a tired tone. Arguing with crocodilian general can be quite tiring as he''s as stubborn as he is loud.


    "Are you saying they will lose before we arrive?" He grows increasingly agitated.


    "I believe she is implying that our troops will be victorious even without needing more help." Markor explains the Lamia clan leader''s assertion in a favorable light. I''m not sure that''s what she meant, but she doesn''t contradict it.


    "That''s too complacent! If they break-" Ophalen flares up but goes silent when I raise a hand.


    "Aren''t you forgetting about me here? I''ll be heading there tomorrow, after taking care of talks with Zohigal about an alliance." I state in a matter of fact tone. At this point, they know about my traveling speed and don''t even question that I''m covering distances of hundreds of kilometers like it''s nothing when it takes normal people on the ground months to do the same. "Or maybe you''d feel better if I went there now?"


    I stand up demonstratively as if to say that I wouldn''t mind leaving right away. And it seems that was what they were hoping for, as nobody objects. They still don''t dare to ask for my help directly, as if afraid to offend me. After all, who asks their queen to go to the battlefield when there are plenty of soldiers who can throw their lives away for her?


    "Then I''ll leave right away. As always, Senka will act as my liaison here." Putting the doll girl on my seat, I motion to jump out of the window and depart right away.


    "Wait, please take me with you." But as expected, Hestia doesn''t want to leave my side. Judging by the fact that Kamii walked over to me wordlessly, it''s safe to say that she won''t let me go alone either - especially not after just reuniting with me earlier today.


    "What about you, Aurelia?" I ask the golden girl sitting at the table.


    "I will keep the throne warm for you." She says with a mischievous smile. The clan leaders visibly suppress the urge to comment on her joke, which in their eyes is undoubtedly in bad taste. But since she''s not only my trusted lover but also a queen of legends even the demons know about, they don''t dare to do so.


    "[I want to help Exla grow the crops.]" Tokomaha answers before I get around to asking her. She''s the God of Growth after all, even though I haven''t seen that aspect of her until she grew titanic trees to stop Alverost''s flying fortress from falling.


    "[Well, I want to take Exla with me.]" Scratching my cheek, I admit with a wry smile. She''s the most powerful person here, followed by me, and then there''s a pretty large gap before the others make the list. Taking her away will diminish the defenses of Arkaim significantly, but I expect that the Old Humans will be leading the army heading for Erbilan, so she''ll be needed there.


    It seems that the general and clan leaders aren''t aware of this ranking of powers. To them, my harem must all be godlike beings, and it''s true for the most part. Hestia''s ruthlessness paired with her corrupted Fata magic put her above others of her race - and thus far above the vast majority of humans. Aurelia is a one-woman army that can at least somewhat stand against the Old Humans, and Tokomaha is the same in a different sense. Only Kamii seems considerably weaker than the others, but I''ve noticed that she has undoubtedly gathered quite some combat experience during my time away from here.


    All that won''t matter if the empire''s advancing army is just a distraction though. If Zenlith, along with all the remaining Old Humans, came here to destroy the city in my absence, it would be a precarious situation. Even if I travel at full speed, it still takes me a couple of minutes to return here from Erbilan, so I will have to count on the golden girl and the God of Growth to hold out for that long.


    "[Then I will just continue her work on my own, I guess.]" The little goddess shrugs as if it''s not much of an issue for her.


    "You called, senpai?" Exla suddenly looks through the window in her giant form, her big round galaxy eyes staring at me in anticipation, and I suppress the urge to step back in surprise.


    "You were eavesdropping on us, huh?" I feign a scolding tone and bump her nose with a finger.


    "I''m coming as well." Suddenly, I hear Dregana''s voice behind me and spin around. Hestia has allowed her to attend this meeting in the background, but she blended in so well despite her rather conspicuous bright red hair that I forgot about her.


    "What do you want to do there?" I raise an eyebrow and ask in a skeptical tone.


    "I just wish to be by Lady Hestia''s side... this time." Lowering her gaze for a moment, she then meets my eyes with her hawk-like golden ones. They suggest that they won''t take no for an answer, especially after learning that the angel girl nearly died in Zohigal.


    "Alright, we got enough for this mission." Shrugging with a carefree attitude, I stop any further people from hopping on this departing train. Kamii, Hestia, Dregana, and Exla, and reuniting with Korenga soon - that makes for a nice team to stand against the army of nearly a million threatening Erbilan. "Meet me down in the courtyard."


    It begins to feel like a game, though I shouldn''t let down my guard. The remaining Old Humans will only become more and more desperate as their numbers dwindle, and my strength grows. I just have to find a way to tie a definitive noose around Zenlith''s neck before he no longer cares about appearances and starts destroying and remaking continents like the Old Humans who abused the Imagination Engine did before Mataku''s arrival.


    A part of me does envy Asoko for being able to leave everything behind. When all of this is over, I''ll take an extended vacation from war and politics.

 Chapter 122 - Parlay

    The sun rises over the slopes before the eastern gates of Erbilan''s forward fortress. It looks like the beginning of the end, as a mass of cloth and steel covers the deforested wasteland as far as the eyes can see. Every last tree was felled over the course of yesterday alone and turned into building materials. Now, a fortified camp stands across the no man''s land between the demons and the human army.


    Estimates put their numbers at a little over the previously suggested one million - more than six times as many soldiers that made up the force that attacked Arkaim a little over a week ago. The empire intends to drop the hammer on the gateway to the capital, and take the rest of the Dominion in one go. For that, they have gathered not only all their human troops but added members of various other races from within their territories.


    A host of Fatas is circling above the city-sized camp of the enemy, and a sectioned-off fort constructed in the only remains of the forest that used to cover the now open wasteland houses an army of elves. Massive humanoid figures, which are doubtlessly giants, can be seen working on assembling siege engines, and a large workshop made from stone has risen overnight in which dwarves are stoking furnaces. It''s too late for them to be forging weapons, so they''re surely concocting something that will be used to break the walls of the demon fortress.


    The reason I haven''t gone down there and put an end to all of this is that Zenlith arrived ahead of the army yesterday and appeared before me with the intention to talk. Under normal circumstances, I would have attacked him right then and there, but Kamii and Hestia were closer to him than they were to me. And he didn''t try to hide his intention to kill them if I made a wrong move.


    "You will not fight in this battle." He said in the most natural tone one could muster when talking to a hated enemy. Though it didn''t even seem like he hated me as much as I thought he did during our last encounter.


    "Why would I listen to you?" I spat out and glared at him, knowing that his positioning put him at an advantage. Exla wasn''t with me at the time, or she would most likely have been able to do something about it.


    "Because I hold this continent hostage." Zenlith looked down on me with a cold gaze that left no doubt as to whether or not he was capable of that. "You have disrupted this game enough. The Dominion will fall here, and in time, another nation of demons will rise from its ashes. It has been decided."


    "By whom?" All I could do was keep talking, hoping that Exla would notice that her brother was here and come to take him out. I knew the extent of the control Old Humans had when using the Imagination Engine; when he said he was holding the entire continent hostage, he wasn''t exaggerating. With a thought, he would be able to sink it to the bottom of the ocean or turn it into a sea of lava. The only reason none of the Old Humans have done so is that they were never threatened in this game of theirs.


    But Zenlith decided that he had enough of my meddling. To him, it must feel like another player entering his sandbox game and messing up the scenario he built over a long time.


    "By all of us." With a sweeping gesture, he suggested that all the remaining Old Humans were now focused on this. There weren''t that many left, with Zenlith, Oinos, Shelnir, and Serent the only ones confirmed alive. And even then, Oinos might be on the sun with Areteniha and the doubtlessly heavily wounded Alverost, while Shelnir might still be out of commission from our encounter with her.


    "I want a seat at the table." I announced with a determined expression. "I know about the Imagination Engine."


    "I am well aware. That is why you will not fight in this battle." Unsurprised by my revelation, the self-proclaimed Lord of the Sky responded in a neutral tone. "And we will do the same. After this is over, we can talk again."


    With these words, he disappeared like mist in a breeze before I could say anything else to him.


    It seems like he''s going about this differently compared to when he put an end to Aldeath and killed my mother openly in the capacity of a god. Back then, he could have easily held her down the same way he''s doing now, by turning the entire Dominion into his hostage. But while he and the other Old Humans were treating her like a part of the game, they recognize that I''m outside of its confines now.


    I doubt they will really let me join their ranks, though. I''ve done too much damage to their members already and influenced their game irrevocably.


    And what was that about Zenlith not caring about the game too much, and Shelnir being the one controlling everything? He seemed fired up enough about this scenario that he would come out here personally to keep me from disrupting it any more than I already have. If that''s not dedication to it, I don''t know what is.


    But does that mean I came all this way just to watch this war unfold without being able to do anything?


    I grind my teeth and glance at the demon soldiers gathered on the walls around me. They look terrified by the sea of enemies that will soon wash against this fortress in destructive waves until it''s ground down completely. Even with almost the entire remaining force of the Dominion gathered here, the defenders don''t even number a hundred thousand, when compared to the million humans on the enemy side.


    "What''s the matter, senpai?" Exla''s voice pulls me out of my gloomy thoughts, and I turn around to her. Kamii and Hestia are there as well, and Dregana is keeping in the background.


    "Your brother." I reply dryly. Right after Zenlith left, she appeared next to me and muttered a chuunibyou line, saying she sensed something; a presence she hadn''t felt in a long time. I discussed the matter with her, and she repeatedly assured me that I shouldn''t worry about it.


    "Oh come on, you still don''t believe me?" Acting hurt, the cloud girl pouts exaggeratedly. Then her expression grows serious. "I''m not lying when I told you that I''m the strongest on Earth as long as the Imagination Engine is active. Alverost''s mom holds the biggest stick, and Oinos would still be a god even without the engine, but when it comes to imagination, I can win against them all."


    "In a battle with atomic bombs, nobody wins." I reprimand her hubris. She holds all the knowledge of humanity before its fall, and included in it aren''t only anime or movies, but also historical records, so she should know this.


    "And I''m telling you that''s not what I mean. The only reason I can''t defeat Alverost''s mom is that she can pull the power plug. But everybody else can only push the reset button." She''s using a console gaming analogy, and I get the impression that Areteniha is like the mother in the scenario of elementary school boys being sore losers when playing games at her son''s home. "And my hand covers the reset button. As long as I''m here, nobody will make any changes to the world."


    "Guardian of the Soil, huh?" I mutter her title. If what she''s saying is true, then she''s like a living anchor that keeps reality in place.


    "That''s just the leftover spot that Shelnir gave to me after we came here. In Armeria, people called me Tumanako, the All-Parent." Puffing out her chest in pride, she declares, sounding like a child who just got a good grade in school and wants praise from her big sister. "I''m not a parent, though; don''t worry, senpai."


    "There''s nothing wrong with being a parent." I shrug, speaking from experience. Judging by Exla''s confidence, it''s safe to say that she can really stop the others with just her imagination alone. The fact that the humans of Armeria would consider her their primary god may be a testament to that.


    "Oh yeah, you did say you had two little boys. They must be pretty cute." Grinning mischievously, she peers up at me with her galaxy eyes.


    "Don''t you dare lay a hand on them. They''re still kids." The irony isn''t lost on me, considering what I did with them moments after first meeting them. They are Cosmic Horrors just like me, so age is unimportant, but my motherly instincts tell me not to give them away so easily.


    "I''m joking, senpai. It''s you I''m looking up to." Her grin grows even wider, and I can''t help but think that she''s making fun of me now.


    "Come back in ten years, when you''ve grown up." I pet her fluffy hair, which looks exactly like the clouds in the sky reddened by the dawn.


    "Even if you''re my senpai, I won''t forgive you for making fun of my appearance." Exla pouts with a scowl, and I quickly let go of the matter in fear of incurring her wrath.


    "[Chaos! Is the enemy finally coming?]" Suddenly, Korenga''s booming voice echoes through the gatehouse. She went to sleep in there last night while waiting for the human army to start moving. Mataku''s curse is still active in her, even though it''s only part of the Imagination Engine''s system. When we got the time, I''ll ask Exla to undo it.


    "[They''re still preparing, but I think it''s going to be soon.]" I reply to the Black God as she appears in the doorway and walks toward us. The Petsobek are the tallest among the demons defending the fortress battlements, but she still towers over them.


    "[Can''t we go out there and bring the fight to them?]" She asks impatiently while scratching the back of her head. I would have done that if not for Zenlith''s warning, and even though I do trust that Exla is extremely powerful, a part of me still thinks it''s better to listen to the self-styled god for the time being.


    After all, the Old Humans could just go ahead and destroy other cities instead of upheaving the entire continent in retaliation, when they realize that they can''t do anything too grand because of the Guardian of the Soil. I doubt she can know everything going on across this continent, so that''s still a possibility.


    "[That would be strategically unwise.]" I answer with a frown. She''s much older than me and should have seen more wars than I have, but maybe they were never a siege like this, with a huge discrepancy in numbers on the two sides. In Arkaim, we were the reinforcements coming from the outside, but here, we''re the defenders from the start. "[We''ll let them break themselves on our walls first.]"


    I turn my head to look at the demons near us. They don''t understand what I''m saying, but their expressions relax when I''m around. Most have heard of my powers, so they believe that I''ll solve this single-handedly. When they see me not fighting, they might lose heart then; they would be wondering why I''m sitting back while my soldiers die.


    Then again, there''s a loophole in Zenlith''s demand, aside from the obvious fact that I can have Exla fight in my stead: He said I couldn''t fight, but he never said I couldn''t take command. Not like I''m great at strategy games - and this isn''t a game - but at least my people won''t think I''m just a passive bystander when I direct them from the front lines. I can''t attack, but I can defend myself when I get attacked, so that should be fine. It just means I can''t do flashy stuff as I did back in the siege of Arkaim and when I erased Pontis Daemonis from the map.


    "With these numbers, it should be alright." Kamii suddenly comes up to me and states with an expressionless look on her face. I know exactly what she means even without her demonstratively clicking her crab pincer. Maybe today is the day we get to see the ceiling of her curse power - if there is any.


    "Our business is with them." Hestia looks up into the sky with a determined gaze. The vulture-like white-winged people are her kin, but she feels nothing but contempt for them. After all, they''re the ones who sent her to the academy to let her die from the buildup of corruption over time with no means of relief.


    Dregana will join her in the sky this time, and fight in her dragon form. As the only dragonkin with wings, she''s a special existence among her kind. They usually have a place in the militaries of this world''s nations, but she was sold by her very own mother because she hated her otherness. I learned this from Hestia only yesterday when the topic of the dragonkin fighting on the humans'' side came up.


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    To think Dregana had such a tragic past; I''m feeling some sympathy for her.


    "What is it?" The dragon woman in question glares at me as if having sensed my thoughts.


    "You''re not cute at all." I grumble and turn away from her.


    "I do not care whether you find me cute or not." She adds with a derisive snort, but then yelps in surprise when Hestia pokes her in the side with a pout.


    "Do not disrespect Onee-sama." The angel girl says in feigned anger.


    "Now that was cute." I comment with a laugh. Dregana''s voice is always firm and level, but that little expression of surprise was several octaves higher than her usual pitch.


    "Forget that ever happened." Glaring at me with clear killing intent, our former wind magic professor suppresses the urge to transform on the spot.


    "[Oh, there''s movement.]" Korenga points toward the human camps, and I spin my head around. Everybody does the same, and we look over the empty no man''s land to find that the humans have opened their gates to let a flood of soldiers spill out onto the plains. The siege engines built by the giants are being pushed into their positions while cavalry troops line up in the front to preempt any forays from our side.


    The giants and dwarves are still working, so this must be only to probe our reactions for the time being. But Chandra''s orders are to hold the battlements no matter what until she spots an opening. For a muscle-head, she''s unexpectedly sensible. Then again, even I - a high school girl from modern-day Japan with no experience in medieval and magical warfare - know not to go out and fight an army in an open field if you have walls to protect you.


    "They''re sending somebody to parlay." The Argos demon in the tower calls down to us. "There are six people, and one of them is Emperor Lucianus."


    "The emperor comes personally, huh?" I mutter under my breath. I heard the reports about how he also personally led an army of elite knights to ravage the city of Arkaim while the gods fought my mother. He''s the leader of all humans, so shouldn''t things be over if he dies here?


    Of course, Zenlith wouldn''t let that happen. Even if Emperor Lucianus V died here, he would find a way to make the humans continue this war. In fact, they might fight with reignited hatred for the demons if he were to be killed while parlaying.


    "Let''s go down there." I gesture for Kamii, Hestia and Korenga to follow me. "[You come as well, but don''t start anything unless I do.]"


    "[Come on now. Am I a rabid dog or what?]" Acting hurt, the Black God shrugs with an exaggerated frown. She''s being ironic, as she''s well aware of the fact that people gave her the title that she has precisely because of her episodes of losing control.


    "What about me, senpai?" Exla looks up at me with a pout, feeling left out once again.


    "Are you sure you want to show yourself before the humans? It will ruin your image as the Guardian of the Soil if you side with the demons openly." Not like anybody would know who she is by seeing her current form. But I obviously don''t say that out loud.


    "You just thought something rude, didn''t you?" Even then, she scowls at me as if it was written all over my face. Maybe it is; my body works in mysterious ways. "Nobody really knows me anyway. After all, I never appeared before the humans after leaving Armeria."


    "Isn''t that sad?" I shrug. If she wants to come, who am I to stop her. She could just come even if I tell her not to by flying after us, and I wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    Thus, I hop off the battlements and land outside the gates. Korenga does the same and causes the ground to shake on impact, while Hestia gracefully glides down on her wings with Kamii in her arms. Exla floats down on her cloud and joins us, but I notice that Dregana is missing. When I look up, I find that she''s at a loss. In her current form, she''s barely stronger than a human, so this isn''t a drop she would be able to walk away from without injury. And transforming into a dragon is not an option, as it leaves her naked afterward.


    "Here, I''ll catch you." I hold out my arms and call up to her, and the dragonkin''s face flushes red as her usual glare intensifies that I fear she could shoot out a death laser from her eyes.


    Then her head disappears from the battlements, and moments later, the gate opens. Out of breath, Dregana walks through them. It seems she ran down the stairs as quickly as she could to not keep us waiting. When I smile at her, she shoots me an annoyed look. It seems that I''m really hated.


    "Is it alright not to bring Chandra or Rhosk? She is the marshal, and he is the commander of Erbilan after all." Hestia asks while looking through the crack of the gate before it closes again. "And should we not ride on nightmares? They are coming on horseback."


    "It''s fine. Rhosk has handed command over to Chandra anyway, and she hasn''t made a move to come out herself. This is only a formality anyway; I''m sure this will be a wholly fruitless parlay." I shrug while growing mass from under my feet. It quickly turns into an ornamental palanquin that floats half a meter off the ground with a throne at the center on which I place myself. "And why travel like a peasant when I can travel like a queen?"


    "You have a great sense of aesthetics, senpai." Exla comments on my choice to emulate a certain Persian king''s ride. She floats up to sit in one of the seats I created around mine, but I notice that she isn''t physically lowering her body into it and keeps hovering on her own. Her mass must be extremely heavy due to all the mass she has. Even the Imagination Engine can''t replicate the pocket dimension of a Crawling Chaos, so it''s all in real space for her.


    On the other hand, the moment Korenga steps up, the entire platform lists because I forgot about her weight. Even though I should be able to carry any amount of weight through imagination alone, I didn''t account for it just now. But Kamii and Hestia take that opportunity when the platform is a little lowered to climb aboard as well and sit down on my left and right. Finally, Dregana reluctantly follows their lead and does the same.


    With this, I begin to hover down the slope toward the approaching group of human riders. I''m sure they witnessed what I just did and must be wondering whether or not that was an illusion or some incredible magic.


    Speaking of magic, I notice that one of the six people is Thorvadis, whom I last saw in the demon castle when he helped murder my mother. But just as I could suppress the urge to kill Rolan instantly when I met him again, I keep my seething anger down and let it simmer. There will be opportunity enough to get my revenge once the battle commences.


    In the center rides a man almost as tall as Gram and with a similar physique. He''s decked out in bluish-silver armor richly ornamented with golden runes and embellishments that make it look ceremonial rather than fit for battle. His massive horse is the same, heavily armored and of a sturdy build. The open helmet reveals a clean-shaven face on the handsome side, light-blue eyes filled with pride, and long blond hair spills out over his shoulders. The golden crown worked into the helmet tells me that this is Emperor Lucianus V.


    To his side is a slender girl with leaf-green hair, emerald eyes and pointy ears. She must be Evelyn Adrasteia Velia, the elven queen that succeeded the throne after her mother died the day before I was reincarnated into my current self. She looks just like her mother, except for the color of her hair. Her expression is filled with hatred, which doesn''t diminish her beauty in the slightest.


    The one member of this group that catches my eye more than anyone though is the Fata, sitting side-saddle while wearing a stunning white robe. Quite the opposite of Hestia wearing her easy to move in black leather outfit, she seems to be the type that stays far from the front lines. Her light blue eyes are narrowed as if about to nod off, and just as every member of her kind, she has silver hair and possesses peerless beauty.


    I still prefer my fallen angel though, and glance at her hoping to catch her staring at me to see my reaction at meeting another Fata. But instead, I find that her wings are trembling and her hands are balled into fists in suppressed anger. It would seem that they know each other.


    "Who is that?" We''re still far enough away that I can ask Hestia. It would be bad form to do that while engaging in a conversation with them.


    "Apate Moirael. She is my father''s wife." The angel girl replies without turning around, and I understand what has her so on edge. She got the title "Black Valkyrie" for swooping in and helping the demons, but the Fatas know her as the first among them that fell to corruption. It''s no wonder that somebody from her past life would appear before her eventually. To think it would be the one person who most likely has the greatest interest in seeing her die.


    "Don''t worry. She won''t dare to do anything to you." I state with a determined gaze. Even if she''s a Fata, a being from before Mataku essentially reset the world, part of her setting is that she needs to chant to use magic. I can preempt that with a simple thought.


    "Lucianus V is my brother." Exla suddenly announces on my other side while speaking Japanese so that only I can understand. I suppress the urge to express my surprise at not only her suddenly changing the language, but also revealing this hidden truth.


    Then again, I remember that Zenlith had done the same twenty-two years ago. He had disguised himself as Lucianus IV to personally kill Aldeath and used a physical body. That''s when my mother was able to wound him, and possibly the only time he could ever take damage.


    Is this the opportunity to kill him that I''ve been waiting for? When he appeared before me as a god, he was always living lightning just like Tahiri in her storm mode. If he''s hurt, he will most likely drop all pretense and discard his disguise, but as long as he''s in that body, he can be killed.


    At least that''s what I think, but I may be wrong.


    "The Saint of Luminosity..." Kamii comments, and I follow her gaze to see the small figure of Arcelia Crux riding on a horse behind Thorvadis. I don''t doubt for a second that Basarab is also somewhere in the human camp, so we''ll have a rematch with the Royal Academy crew very soon. Only this time, I''m not fighting alone anymore, and I won''t be defeated by the limited magic that the gods imposed on humans.


    "[Won''t this be over if we just kill these guys?]" Korenga points at the group of six with an innocent expression.


    "[A parlay is sacred. You don''t kill each other during one.]" Exla replies in her old accent, and the Black God''s eyes widen in surprise. The two of them haven''t had an opportunity to talk yet, so she didn''t know that the little cloud girl could speak her language.


    "[Whoever decided that?]" I ask her, and she turns her head to me with a thoughtful frown. She must be searching her memory for books or stories.


    "[History, I guess.]" She states after a few seconds.


    "[And that''s why it repeats itself.]" I assert with a shrug. "Anyway, keep it classy."


    We''re within earshot of the other party now, so I stop the chatter and let my eyes meet the human emperor''s. His gaze tells me that he really is Zenlith, as his lips curl into a self-assured smile. He must believe that I won''t try anything funny because he''s holding this continent hostage.


    But then his gaze moves across my entourage and gets stuck on Exla. His eyes widen in bewilderment, and his smile freezes when he recognizes her. He stops his horse, causing the others around him to do the same in surprise, and his confusion becomes almost tangible.


    "What is the matter, Emperor Lucianus?" I call out to him with a malicious undertone in my voice. "It is as if you have seen a ghost."


    "Oh, don''t tease him so, senpai. Remember that he''s just a boy in puberty acting out his fantasies. He just happened to realize that his sister is watching him." The cloud girl sounds so gleeful that I fear Zenlith could snap, but it seems that he doesn''t dare to oppose her.


    "What are you doing here?" Zenlith, in the guise of Lucianus, asks while pointing at Exla. He''s still trying to keep up appearances, but his followers are wondering how he knows the cloud girl who is so obviously on the side of the demons.


    "Who is that?" Evelyn is the first to ask, but only receives a glare that shuts her up. I know that those two are an item, as it has been the case for every generation of emperors from Terminus and queens from the elvish kingdom. Good to see that the woman is below the man here...


    "Senpai told me a few things about what you have done in recent times." Exla gestures at me as if it wasn''t obvious enough whom she meant by senpai. "It might be time to put an end to this game."


    "You should not be interfering." Visibly grinding his teeth, Zenlith balls his fists. Thorvadis and the others are exchanging glances at the human emperor''s uncharacteristic behavior. His image must be crumbling, so maybe I can deliver the final blow.


    "If you didn''t know that she has been with me for a while now, then you might also not know that just two days ago, Alverost''s battle station was destroyed over Zohigal." I speak in all seriousness, not letting a smile blemish the veracity of my statement. "That little nerd is most likely dead, and Shelnir is mortally wounded too."


    Staring at me with round eyes, he searches my expression to gauge whether or not that''s a bluff. His lips tremble as the scenario appears to be crumbling all around him. But it seems that Exla was telling the truth when she said she could keep Zenlith and all the other Old Humans from pushing the reset button. Because if that were not the case, he would most likely have snapped and upturned this entire continent after learning what I just told him.


    Then he suddenly regains his composure, closes his eyes, and sighs. But it doesn''t seem like he has resigned himself. Instead, he must have considered all possible courses of action and come to a conclusion on his own. And the determination in his gaze tells me it''s not something I''ll like.


    "Then that just means the playing field is even." He states with a carefree smile. Something doesn''t feel right; he looks too confident for having just learned that his far more powerful sister is now standing against him. "Let us negotiate your unconditional surrender then."

 Chapter 123 - Charge

    Is he serious right now? Where does that confidence come from? Maybe he got more powerful over the years since his last fight with Exla - in other words, expanded his mind to get a better imagination. But are people able to do that through effort? I thought that was something you only lose the older you get, as more influences ground you in reality.


    My visage is a physical mask right now because I know that I let my feelings show too easily. I need to keep a poker face in front of Zenlith as well as my entourage. If this comes down to a battle, which is highly likely, I want him to think that I''m more confident than he is.


    "Did you maybe mean to offer your own surrender?" I look down on him with the self-assuredness of someone who knows that they have the upper hand here, even though I''m confused about where we stand power-wise. "Leave now and never set foot on the Ceogath continent again. If you choose to fight, we will come for your empire after wiping out every last one of you here today."


    "I take that negotiations have broken down then." Zenlith shakes his head with a sigh. It''s not like he ever thought we would do what he was demanding of us. Surrender was never an option to begin with because the result would have been a genocide - the same as if the humans won today.


    "My, that was quick." Apate comments in an amused tone. She turns her eyes toward Hestia, who glares back in hatred. "You never had a place among our people, so turning into a demon was the only way for you to belong somewhere. It is befitting of you to be on that side."


    In the next moment, an invisible barrier shatters in midair but is instantly mended again. I glance at the fallen angel to realize that she just activated her cursed eyes to disintegrate Apate, but something blocked it.


    Then Kamii suddenly turns around, opens her crab pincer and snaps something up. The gasp of a person can be heard even though there''s nothing visible. But then I realize that I had the Chaos senses off all this time because it was annoying when surrounded by countless people inside the fortress. That''s a huge oversight on my part.


    When I turn it on, I notice that the little dark elf is holding a human in her grasp - and that there''s a whole contingent surrounding us right now, all turned invisible by a certain somebody I''ve met not long ago.


    Kamii closes her pincer completely, and two halves of a human appear out of invisibility and drop onto the palanquin. They belong to a man in form-fitting clothes to muffle all sounds while moving, his hand still clutching a dagger with which he was most likely trying to kill one of us.


    From underneath the palanquin, tentacles sprout and turn into spikes that extend in all directions, piercing through all the invisible soldiers'' heads. I feel one of them dodge, and another deflects my attack, so those two must be Folke, the Mirage Knight, and Colart, Knight of the Iron Veil.


    The instant the soldiers die, their invisibility gets undone, and corpses appear on my spikes, skewered like meat ready to be grilled. I pull them in and under the palanquin, where I swallow and instantly shred them to prevent a suicide bombing from happening inside me again - even if I''m pretty much impervious to that now due to being able to line my insides with dragon armor and barriers.


    Evelyn stares at my ride - which is another part of my body - with round eyes, terror filling them as she doesn''t understand what just happened.


    "What about the sanctity of parlays, huh?" I turn to Exla, who scowls at her brother''s underhanded tactics. Did he really expect to kill us in this manner? He saw how I was able to survive being turned into mist myself, and not even because of the Imagination Engine but due to my alien biology.


    "Were you trying to kill us with this?" The Guardian of the Soil gets up from her seat and balls her fists in anger. Her hair turns darker like angry thunderclouds, and her galaxy eyes begin swirling. "It seems that you have become rotten to the core, brother."


    "Your Majesty, who is this girl?" Thorvadis is the one who asks this time, but Lucianus raises his hand to shut him up just as he did with his wife earlier.


    "[Does this mean we''re going to fight?]" Korenga stands up and cracks her neck in anticipation, feeling the atmosphere crackle from the killing intent sent both ways.


    "[Yes, negotiations have broken down, so we''ll fight.]" I reply with a glare at Zenlith. He must understand the Armerian language as much as Exla does, and his eyebrows furrow in disapproval.


    "[Remember my warning.]" He suddenly says while pointing at me. "[Sister being here changes nothing.]"


    "[What do you mean?]" That sister in question asks him with a dangerous glint in her eyes.


    "[I had Alverost''s mother revoke your absolute rights for today just now.]" Zenlith is visibly trying to suppress a sneer as he makes this revelation. "[So you either play the game, or I will remove this entire continent from existence, and you alongside it.]"


    "[What makes you think I''ll let you do that?]" I try bluffing to make him think that I''m entirely capable of overriding his imagination with my own to stop him from abusing the Imagination Engine. In reality, I don''t even know how Exla was going to do that.


    "[You are an irregular existence, and your data is not even recorded in the Imagination Engine, so you get to keep your fantasy. But you cannot oppose mine.]" So that''s where his confidence came from. He just cheated by snitching on the host''s mother, who then took away Exla''s rights to moderate the meeting of rowdy kids. "[But do not worry, sister. You only lost the absolute rights, but you are still as immortal as I am. When this is all over, you''ll realize that it was all just harmless fun.]"


    Without waiting for a response, he gestures for his entourage to follow him, as he turns his horse around and leaves. Arcelia and Thorvald don''t follow right away, staring at the back of the emperor of Terminus. They must be wondering about many things that happened in this meeting, including his use of another language they don''t know. Zenlith''s mask is clearly crumbling already, and as I''ve seen with Rolan and other humans before, they may turn away from the false gods if they found out the truth.


    "Master Eklundstrom, a word, please?" I extend a hand toward the principal, who turns his head.


    "You wish to talk? I always thought the time for that was over when you attacked the academy staff and me not once but twice." He feigns surprise as he scrutinizes me with his inquisitive eyes. It''s as if he can see right through me with those. "So you are the demon queen now. What should we call you?"


    "That''s not important right now. You can stop this bloodbath-" I start, but he raises a hand.


    "No, you could have stopped it. But it is too late now." With these words, he directs his horse away without listening any further. But then he stops when he notices that Arcelia isn''t moving. She has her eyes closed as always, but I can feel her stare on me.


    "Lady Crux, I have a child of the Lady of Brilliance in my custody. He told me that-" I thought she would listen if I brought up the bard''s connection with Sintress, the goddess that she adheres to, but my wording may have backfired on me instead as she opens her eyes, which glow from inside.


    "Speaking of hostages now, Miss Marcott? I am sure that an adherent of the Lady of Brilliance will gladly give his life for the greater good." Her voice is level, but it''s clear that she''s enraged by my statement that may have sounded like I was trying to threaten her. "You will be destroyed, and then there can finally be peace."


    And just like Thorvadis before, she turns her horse around and leaves. Finally, the two invisible knights I was unable to kill with my spike attack earlier walk away as well and turn visible once they think they''re outside my reach. Folke turns around to glance at me, his full helmet hiding his expression. But I can tell that he must be angry that I saw through his invisibility again.


    "[Why are we letting them leave?]" Korenga asks with an expression of incredulity. "[Didn''t you just say negotiations broke down and we could fight?]"


    "[We have bigger problems right now.]" I say while making the palanquin float back toward the gates. Of course, I''m talking about the revelation that Exla essentially lost her god status through a very underhanded move from Zenlith. He did say that she didn''t lose all her powers, but she can no longer stop him from destroying this continent if I don''t keep out of this battle.


    "I can''t believe he would do that." The cloud girl looks up at me with a vulnerable expression. It''s the first time she has shown such weakness, even though she''s still immortal and most likely more powerful than me. But that''s the look of somebody I have to protect. "And how could Alverost''s mother allow it?"


    "Next time she''s around, we''ll have to ask her." I say while approaching the gates of our fortress. They open for us, and I reduce the size of the palanquin so that it can fit through. "But for now, we need to concentrate on this battle. Zenlith wants this to go like a conventional war without using any godlike powers. Let''s win this fair and square - and drag it out until you get your absolute rights back so that you can stop the tantrum that he will be throwing when that happens."


    "Hm, that sounds like a plan." Rubbing her chin while in thoughts, she agrees with me. It hurts to lose her support, but even without using the Imagination Engine, I''m still a powerful being that can oppose the Old Humans. Otherwise, Mataku wouldn''t have been able to nearly wipe them all out back in his early days.


    "I have a bad feeling about this." Dregana comments after listening to our exchange. I doubt she was expecting Exla to actually help in this battle, but she has learned the truth of this world from me not too long ago and knows that this war involving millions of lives boils down to a group of kids playing a massive war game. Now that the fickle Old Human in charge holds all the power in his hands again, she doesn''t see a good outcome to this.


    We''re still at a numerical disadvantage of about one to fifteen.


    When we reach the top of the battlements, I look across the no man''s land to see that the armies have lined up and almost come to within the range of the lamia archers'' arrows. Lucianus is personally leading the troops and riding along the lines while raising his richly ornamented sword.


    He''s most likely artificially amplifying his voice and holding a speech which reaches all the way to us. The contents are the typical hero babble about justice and slaying evil, bringing peace to the lands and light back into the world. Even Kamii rolls her eyes at how clich¨¦d those lines are.


    "This kingdom of evil will fall today. Join me, men, and bring an end to the demons!" Lucianus seems to conclude the motivational speech and turns his horse around to face us. Making a brief pause for dramatic effect, he raises his sword and opens his mouth. "Cha-"


    "CHAAARGE!" A roar suddenly emerges from the mountain to our right, and takes the disguised Zenlith off guard, as he closes his mouth in surprise.


    The contingent under Chandra emerges from the forest covering the mountainside on the enemy''s left flank. It consists of the entire cavalry, all of her Ajura clansmen, minotaurs, and centaurs, as well as any demon quick enough on their feet to match the speed of charging nightmares. They number around twenty thousand, which is nothing compared to what the humans are fielding.


    But their charge is so quick, and the enemy is taken by complete surprise, that they break right into the left flank of their infantry lines. Even from my vantage point, I can see human limbs flying left and right as the whirlwind of ajura weapons hit first. Then whole bodies are flung through the air by the minotaurs and centaurs, before the cavalry, and other individual demons start hacking away at the stragglers. Within seconds, thousands are killed.


    The confusion among the humans spreads and the archers, unsure whether or not to shoot, decide that it''s best to protect their own hides first. Sending a volley into the demon army, they aim to take as many down as they can even at the expense of their own people.


    But Chandra expertly directs her troops and changes course while still in the middle of their charge. Only a few demons are hit by arrows, while far more find their ways into human bodies instead.


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    I see Lucianus shouting something while raising his weapon, and a movement runs through his entire army. I couldn''t hear what it was, but he''s rallying his troops after this devastating preemptive strike, most likely intending to surround them in their midst and wipe them out. The Fatas circling above come to a stop and prepare to display their air superiority.


    "Air contingent, to battle! Keep those white-winged pests away from our troops!" I expand my lung capacity and roar this order across the fortress. From the rooftops behind me, a swarm of winged demons takes to the air. They include ones based on birds, insects, and flying reptiles, all led by a male harpy commander.


    "I shall be going then." Hestia turns to me with a confident smile and takes a golden spear handed to her by an attendant. Is that the one that Aurelia almost killed her with? I didn''t know she kept it.


    The fallen angel beats her wings to join the ascending demon air force. Dregana jumps off the battlements and explodes into flames in midair. From within, her winged dragon form emerges - the biggest flying being among all those that fill the airspace above the battlefield now.


    All the mobile troops are fighting now, and only archers and infantry remain in the fortress, which won''t be able to make it in time to join the battle before Chandra''s momentum runs out. I''m not allowed to fight directly unless they come to me, so all I can do is watch from here.


    Arrows, javelins, spirit spears, and other projectiles are flung through the air as the two sides clash and split up into various dogfights. Meanwhile, Chandra has cut off the entire forward left flank of the human army and is chasing them toward the fortress. They''re composed entirely of heavy shield and spear infantry, which makes her success so much more impressive.


    A volley of arrows is let loose by the lamia archers even without my command. I''ve given their leader free rein to do as they see fit because they''re far more experienced than I am when it comes to shooting. They know the distance at which they''re most effective.


    The humans are too preoccupied with the stampede of demons coming after them to notice the deadly rain, causing droves of them to drop to the first volley. Upon the second, they brace themselves in time to avoid most damage by raising their shields. But no third comes because it was all just a distraction.


    Chandra''s army charges into the stopped infantry troops from behind and annihilates it, even while the enemy cavalry is chasing them.


    "Catapults! Fire!" Rhosk, the Kirali commander of Erbilan, roars with his deep smoky voice. With the Ajura clan leader in the field, I''ve given the strategic command to him. I''m better used as a figurehead to inspire the troops because as I noted before, I''m not great at strategy games.


    It was the perfect timing for the artillery strike, as the scattering rocks fly over Chandra''s troops and come down on the enemy cavalry chasing them in a deadly rain. Even with the improved mobility on horseback, they can''t dodge the barrage in time, and hundreds are pummeled to death. And among those that died instantly, the commander seems to have been one, as the entire formation crumbles in confusion.


    "Reload and halt!" Rhosk realizes this opportunity and commands the catapults to stop so that Chandra can do what she does best.


    The Ajura clan leader almost instantly turns her army around on their heels, their mobility much higher than that of humans on horses. Those that ride on nightmares have to perform a wider turn, but they do so with intent; they box in the scattering enemy cavalry contingent from both sides. And once more, they decimate a large detachment from the enemy army.


    It feels like their momentum just doesn''t stop, so I don''t worry about those in the field and look up into the sky. Surprisingly, very few have died and fallen so far, as hitting flying enemies is pretty hard. Dregana is the biggest target, but her dragon armor is thicker than the one I ate back then. It''s even capable of taking spirit spears, which only explode on the surface and leave little scorch marks rather than pierce through.


    I spot Hestia''s black wings, as she zooms across the sky faster than any other Fata. She must have learned to incorporate magic into her flight just like I did with the Chaos warhead, as she isn''t even beating her wings. Instead, they seem to be blown around by unnatural winds, which she doubtlessly casts underneath or behind them to propel herself through the air.


    With a spear thrust behind which she put her entire body, she pierces an enemy Fata through the chest. Then a burst of air under her wings pull her backward to avoid a spirit spear, while at the same time pulling her weapon out of the lifeless enemy. Closing her wings and spinning around herself, she changes her orientation while pointing at an enemy. A black javelin shoots out from the tip of her spear and pierces another Fata through the wing, which causes them to plummet from the sky.


    But there''s a development in the field, and my eyes are naturally drawn to it again. With the enemy cavalry destroyed, the entire human army advances on us like a wave. It''s not something Chandra could handle, especially when most of her non-ajura troops are winded after the quick maneuvers and sprinting. They seem to want to go for one last charge before returning, but I don''t want them to risk it.


    "Sound the ground retreat, ready to open the gates!" I turn to Rhosk and give him the command. He gestures at the designated lamia archer, who nocks a shaped arrow that plays a loud whistle when fired.


    I descend the battlements and wait on the other side of the gate while activating my Chaos senses. Everybody else will think that I want to congratulate the returning troops personally, but it''s mostly to make sure nobody invisible is trying to sneak in alongside them.


    Invisibility really is a troublesome power to deal with, and this Mirage Knight can extend it to anybody he wants. Only at too large a scale does it cause a shimmer that can be seen from the outside, but now that the demons know about it, he can''t pull it off again. Even then, he can still use it to infiltrate us and spy on our strategies.


    The gates open and Chandra steps through the doorway first. She''s covered in blood just like all the troops that follow her inside, but it''s clearly not their own. I greet the Kingmaker with a smile and pull her aside to commend her on that genius foray while keeping my Chaos senses sharp.


    "We did quite some damage not only to their numbers but also their morale." The Ajura clan leader reports with a toothy grin.


    "Were you the one who wanted to continue?" Just in case, I ask her what that moment of hesitation was before I sounded the retreat order.


    "Rankud was the one; he wanted to keep goin'' until everybody was completely exhausted." Turning around and delivering a punch to the minotaur chieftain''s midsection as he passes us by, Chandra explains. He falters under it and gasps for air even though she made it look like a friendly tap. But he doesn''t try to retaliate and laughs it off. "It was good everybody agreed that you''d have the last word in everythin''."


    We made it so that a special set of whistle arrows would be used when I was the one who gave the orders, while Rhosk and Chandra had their own sets. It was recognizable by the difference in pitch, so they instantly knew that I had decided to stop them from continuing.


    "Now comes the hard part." The stream of demons coming through the gate goes on for a while, so I ascend the stairs to the battlements alongside Chandra to view the situation outside, not forgetting to keep my senses trained on the gate to screen for invisible humans. "This is where the actual siege begins."


    "Hey, if each of us took out five, we cut their numbers down by almost a tenth." Wiping the blood off her body with a cloth an attendant handed her along the way, we reach the top of the gatehouse and look across the no man''s land onto which the human army is flooding now. "But I gotta say, there really are a lot of ''em."


    "Fire at will!" The lamia captain orders her archers to rain death on the enemies. Erbilan has stocked enough arrows to shoot every single human twice, so even if not all hit or many are deflected, it should be enough to cause some severe damage.


    Even then, the sea of bodies hiding behind their shields while advancing is daunting to look at, especially now that they''re this close. If I could just fly up and fire a Sp*rit Bomb at them, this whole thing would be over in an instant. But I can see Zenlith watching from the back of the army, standing on a wooden platform constructed to give him a better view over the battlefield. The entourage he had with him during the parlay is also there, as well as other members of the military staff.


    "Can our catapults reach there?" I ask Rhosk while pointing at the platform.


    "No, that''s too far away." He understands what I want to do, but shakes his head with an apologetic expression - as far as a lizard face can make any expression at all.


    "It''s alright. I doubt it would be able to do anything against them. Just wanted to send them a message." Shrugging, I wave him off. "For now, concentrate on keeping the humans off the battlements."


    Shield bearers protect groups of siege engineers carrying ladders while they approach the wall. Even then, arrows find their ways between the openings and kill a few of them. But it''s like a drop in the ocean, as there are plenty to replace the fallen soldiers. Enemy archers begin to shoot at us to provide cover for the siege ladders, which are put up against the walls while everybody has to take cover.


    "Bakari ready!" Rhosk''s thick scales protect him from the arrows, so he doesn''t have to hide. I stand beside him while covering Kamii with an arm turned into a tower shield made from dragon armor. "Ladders!"


    "Good." I hear the little dark elf mutter in anticipation when she hears that the enemy is coming into her range.


    "No, you''re staying back as long as arrows are being shot at us." I frown at her enthusiasm. It''s not that I don''t want her to enjoy herself - if she derives enjoyment from battle - but safety still comes first. It''s one thing to let Hestia, who''s incredibly mobile and possesses powerful light magic, fight in the skies; it''s another to have Kamii on the ground using her bare cursed arm and no armor to fight swarms of enemies.


    "[Can I go down there?]" Korenga points in front of the gate while arrows bounce off her skin. She''s not yet in Black God mode, but her body is already near-indestructible even now.


    "[Wait a bit longer. You''re a trump card, so keep low for the time being.]" I extend my hand and hold her back. Then I grin at her while pumping my fist. "[But when I give you the go, you''ll get to smash as much as you like.]"


    Korenga smiles like a child who was promised snacks if she behaves. I have to consciously remember that she used to be a peace-loving person that was cursed by Mataku to become an uncontrollable rage monster. Once this war is over, I want to give her a quiet life so she can have peace again.


    The battle in the skies seems to slow down, as both sides become tired from flying. Especially those demons that expend a lot of energy because they have to beat their wings continuously to stay airborne become hard-pressed to dodge the flying magic of the enemies now. On the other hand, Fatas have a far more efficient method of flying, gliding through the air on their large wingspans or using wind magic to change their altitude.


    "Sound the retreat for our air company. Have our archers keep the Fatas away from us." I turn to Rhosk and point into the air.


    "But what about those beyond the wall?" The commander asks while pointing at the enemy archers. They''re in range of the lamia archer battalion and have to hide during each volley coming at them. But if given the leeway to shoot continuously, we would be under a constant rain of arrows.


    "Use the catapults and turn the rocks smaller. They won''t do as much damage, but it will force the enemy to seek shelter all the same." I decide while gesturing at the designated archer to send the signal into the sky.


    "Break the rocks further and fire at will!" Rhosk walks over to the other side of the wall and gives the order to the catapults, which immediately get to work. At the same time, the signal arrow whirrs through the air, and a high-pitched whistle tells our troops in the air that they should make an orderly retreat.


    "Enemy siege weapons aren''t ready yet, so we''ll have some time before they rain stones on us." I point behind the enemy archer lines, where a palisade wall is being erected hastily, beyond which catapults are wheeled into position.


    "Taragasura was right to leave the walls and destroy their siege weapons in Arkaim. But this time, they got far more troops." Chandra gestures across the battlefield. "And they''re preparin'' for a prolonged siege by buildin'' forward fortifications."


    "Can I ask you to try it still? Korenga will come with you this time." It''s a tall order, but we have to demand the unreasonable of our troops to make it through this.


    "I''ll go meet with Rankud and Kethorn." Chandra states with a grin. The majority of her contingent is resting now, but they had planned to do another foray through a mountain pass later anyway. It was meant to strike their camp and set it on fire to destroy their supplies, but the more pressing matter is to destroy the enemy''s siege engines before they can carpet bomb us.


    "Give them enough rest first." I say to her as she walks away. She waves without turning around to acknowledge my order.


    The air company flies across the wall, chased by the Fatas that see an opportunity to bombard us from above. But Hestia turns around in midair and creates a whole array of black spirit spears with a swing of her golden weapon which seems to double as a staff for her. The spells spread out like a shotgun shot and takes the enemy by surprise.


    Most can dodge, but three aren''t so lucky and have either their wings or bodies pierced. They fall from the sky and into the human masses outside the walls. However, one is able to crash-land on the rooftop of the gatehouse, where she''s beset upon by several demons that were placed there as additional lookouts.


    "Wait!" I bellow from below, and the soldiers stop immediately. Floating up, I look down on the Fata to find that it''s a girl. Her right wing has been pierced and burned by Hestia''s spell, and the skin on her hands and arms are scraped from the landing, but otherwise, she doesn''t look especially wounded. "She''ll make a good hostage."


    "I will not-" Before she can continue talking - and potentially cast a spell - I shoot out a tentacle and gag her with it. Her eyes widen in terror as she realizes who I am, and she struggles against the demons holding her down. It seems being touched by them was still fine, but the demon queen is a whole different matter, huh? "Hestia, do you know her?"


    "I do not." The fallen angel lands next to me after having made sure everybody got away, and the Fatas in the sky are retreating.


    Dregana lands on the square between the barracks and remains in her dragon form to await further instructions from either Hestia or me. I was told that whenever she returns to human form, she can''t transform into a dragon again for a while, so it''s better to stay that way until the battle is over. She needs a lot more food and takes up more space, but other than that, it doesn''t have any drawbacks for her.


    "Can you leave her to me? I will break her in for your use." Hestia says with a cold smile that causes the enemy Fata to stare at her with her eyes wide open in terror.


    "No, that''s alright. I have you, so why would I need her?" I reply with a shrug. Then I come up with an idea, and a sinister smile flashes across my face. "Bring me ropes."

 Chapter 124 - Reign of Fire

    "You cowards!" The humans near the gate scream up at us from below. I laugh at the weak insults they throw at me in particular, and gesture for the archers to shoot at them.


    The captive Fata is hanging naked from the gatehouse in an intricate rope tie that emphasizes her helplessness. She''s placed right in front of the gates, so the humans can''t use their ram without cutting her loose first. But a cauldron of boiling oil is placed right above her, signaling them that if they try to get closer, she''ll turn into fried chicken.


    "An ingenious use of a hostage." Rhosk praises me while looking down over the battlements with a thoughtful scratch of his chin. "This will keep them away for a while."


    The ladders are being pushed off the walls or burned by bakari flames. At one point, Korenga was feeling so bored that she lifted one of those ladders into the air and threw it across the battlefield. That''s when we first noticed the invisible barrier that had been erected in front of the enemy catapults, which have finished calibrating and are now being loaded.


    "We have to do something about that." Chandra''s expression is grim as she points at the enemy artillery about to rain rocks on us.


    "It''s alright. If they''re allowed to use shields, so are we." I say and turn to Exla. She''s been quiet all this time, trying to figure out how to cheat the system so that she gets back her absolute rights within the Imagination Engine. "Can you do that for me?"


    "Oh, alright." Shaken from her thoughts, the cloud girl blinks her eyes. Then she tilts her head a bit before looking up at me with a questioning gaze.


    "Shield the battlements from any incoming rocks, but leave holes for our own catapults." She wasn''t listening, so I specify what I want from her again. It seems getting her full powers stripped was quite a shock for her.


    "Ah, right." Exla nods with an embarrassed expression and raises a hand. Nothing happens, so I turn to look at her. "Oh, you wanted it visible?"


    As if to prove her point, the first volley of catapult projectiles bounces off an invisible barrier covering the top of the walls, then rains down on the human army in a deadly rain. Even from here, I can see that the siege engineers are gesturing wildly to cancel the next wave. For the time being, they''ve been rendered useless.


    I pet Exla''s fluffy hair and give her a wordless smile of gratitude. With this, the defenders on the walls have some breathing room now.


    The battle slowly grinds to a halt as the humans start to realize the futility of their ladder-based assault without artillery or even arrow support. With any and all projectiles bouncing off Exla''s barrier, they don''t have any means to harm the defenders without getting up here first. And the Fata bound in front of the gate dissuades an attack from that pathway.


    "How is it looking?" I turn to Chandra, who''s overseeing her troops preparing for a foray on the other side of the wall. There are secret passageways that lead through the mountains on both sides, which will allow them to stage a flanking maneuver, much like the one they made earlier. As the enemy troops are growing tired, they''ll be able to take them off guard again.


    "We didn''t lose many, but a lot are wounded, so we can only field half the numbers from before." She replies with a frown. Not like we could ever match the humans in numbers, but having fewer than ten thousand to make a foray into the still nearly a million-strong army outside will be hard.


    Then again, because of mountains, there aren''t actually a million stacked up together, and many are still waiting in their fortified camp. They have the numbers to grind us down over time by swapping out the wounded and tired with fresh troops that are still resting. We, on the other hand, have too few numbers to employ the same strategy and have to use almost everybody to defend the wall.


    "[Korenga, go with Chandra.]" This is the moment for the Black God to shine. Before, the marshal''s division had been waiting in ambush throughout the night, not knowing when the humans would attack, so Korenga had to be left behind. This time, it''s going to take place today, meaning that she can participate this time.


    "[Finally some action!]" Swinging her arms as if warming herself up, she comes over with an excited expression. I hope the enemies didn''t see it because they''ll know something''s up.


    "[Make sure to stay with her. I''m not worried that the humans or their mages can do something to you, but Zenlith is over there. He''s not someone you can beat with muscles alone.]" Maybe right now he can be, but I doubt he''ll care about the rules if his life is in danger. And at that time, Korenga will get disintegrated just like Tahiri and I were. Only that I don''t think she can return from that.


    "[Can''t make any promises. You''ll have to come and get me if I go out of control.]" Delivering a slap to my back that would break a normal human''s spine, she states with a laugh. I know that she can''t think straight while in Black God mode, and will attack those she perceives as enemies until they''re all taken out. A tactical retreat is not in her repertoire.


    If the enemies were all humans, she would eventually be able to defeat them all on her own. Especially since they lack somebody like Rapania, who was working with Mataku and knew how to make Korenga believe that she couldn''t use her powers by wrapping her in some painted cloth. But they still have Zenlith, who is sure to abuse his powers to shut her down if things don''t go the way he wants them to.


    "Give us a signal when you''re ready. We''ll distract them here with a feint so that you can get their exposed flank again." With these words, I send Chandra and Korenga off. The contingent this time is missing most of the regular cavalry, as they can''t force nightmares through the tunnels. The horses with the burning eyes and manes may appear to be demonic, but only possess more powerful bodies than their regular counterparts. They still get spooked almost as easily as the ones humans ride.


    "Is this it?" Hestia looks across the battlefield, where the humans have slowed down their assault on the walls. We''ve entered a stalemate, so it''s easy to believe that we''re at an advantage. But the Argos demon has calculated that we have killed maybe a hundred thousand by now, most of which were in Chandra''s earlier charge.


    It seems that the humans are brewing up something, as they don''t fully commit to scaling the walls. With the Fata bound in front of the gate, they also don''t dare to attack from that angle, but I thought it would only serve as a short-term solution. It''s been a while now, and they still haven''t attempted to cut her loose even if they''d risk losing her.


    "Don''t say that, Hestia. I''m sure they will come at us with something new very soon." Knowing Zenlith, he will be doing this like in a movie, using different methods one after the other instead of all at the same time. I''m sure it looks more cinematic that way.


    "They will break themselves on these walls." Rhosk is oddly optimistic even though the enemies still have the overwhelming numerical advantage, which won''t go away anytime soon as long as we can''t land a decisive strike.


    I focus my eyes on the elevated platform from which the enemy military staff is directing the battle. They look perfectly relaxed as if all this lies within their calculations. Then I notice that a dwarf craftsman has climbed up and is talking to them about something. The furnaces are still active, but it doesn''t mean that whatever they were doing hasn''t born some fruit already.


    But what could they be cooking up that would give them even more of an advantage at this point? Then again, maybe they don''t see their position as an advantageous one, considering we''re up here and they''re still down there.


    From the camp behind the swarming army, a squad of giants comes forward. They aren''t the type of unkempt mountain people with pot bellies and warty faces I know from fantasy, but human-looking men and women clad in armor that appears to be crafted from dragon carapace or the scales of some other reptilian animal. If it''s the former, they''ll be formidable.


    Their leader seems to be a young woman wielding a massive hammer with a pointed end. It looks like something you use to smash in a wall during house alterations, and its target is fairly obvious. But that can''t be what the dwarf came to report, as it doesn''t look like any of their equipment was crafted by them.


    I don''t think we have anything to oppose giants with. There are some gigantic demons, but most are rare individuals that don''t try to live among the more common races. Currently, there''s not a single one of them enlisted in the Dominion''s army, so we can only try to keep them away using our arrows.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    But looking at their full plate armor, I really don''t see how we can do that. The catapults could be the only thing that can harm them, but their speed is slow, and the projectiles can be evaded quite easily unless those giants are incredibly cumbersome.


    Suddenly, an explosion in the fortress shakes the earth, and I spin my head around. One of the barracks buildings has been cracked open by something, and I look down to see a black metal ball lying in the debris. How did nobody see this coming? Was it made invisible by the Mirage Knight again?


    That''s when another ball impacts the building next to it, breaking through the ceiling and landing in the room below. Even from here, I can see that a demon''s broken limbs are sticking out from underneath it, crushed by the projectile.


    I look in the direction of the human army once again, but it doesn''t look like the catapults did this. Then I find that there''s movement behind the line of giants. Recreating a simple spyglass inside my eyes, I zoom in to see that two giants are spinning around their own axis with their hand holding something invisible resting against their right chin. They''re doing shot put with those iron balls turned invisible!


    "Exla, extend the barrier up!" I shout, but two more iron balls already land behind the wall. One of them shatters a catapult while another crashes right into a pile of weapons, scattering them as deadly shrapnel. Those aren''t even the ones the giants were winding up, so I watch as they finish their movements to throw two more.


    A few seconds later, something invisible hits Exla''s barrier and slides down on it right into the enemy ranks below the wall. It seems that the invisibility only wears off when the projectile becomes hidden from view - meaning that Folke is out there using his power.


    But another ball appears in midair above another building, apparently having traveled over even the extended barrier. While they don''t cause too much damage on their own, they do have a psychological effect on the troops, who now have to fear giant iron balls raining down on their heads.


    However, the bombardment stops, and only the screams of demons calling for help to find those lost under the rubble can be heard. Then, the first iron ball to land suddenly loses its form and opens up like a flower, revealing cloth padding, which is pried open from within as a naked man emerges.


    "Out of the way!" Dregana suddenly roars while charging toward us. The demons standing ready on the road quickly dive sideways to avoid getting crushed by her massive paws. Even though she doesn''t have much of an expression, something tells me that she''s frantic. "Dragonkin!"


    Right when she says that, the realization hits me and time seems to slow down as I turn my head toward the man who emerged from the opened iron ball. His face breaks out into a grin, doubtlessly having heard Dregana''s voice boom across the area. Then, an explosion of fire spreads out with him at the epicenter, followed by four more - each coming from where the others landed.


    The shockwave blows away the demons who have come to investigate, and from within the pillars of flames, five wingless dragons emerge. They immediately begin their rampage and charge through the ranks of the defenders like runaway trains. Two of them turn toward Dregana to stop her so that the other three can do whatever work they were sent here to do.


    Hestia summons an array of black spirit spears and shoots them at the dragonkin closest to us. He''s able to avoid them all by lunging behind a building, then peeks out to breathe a stream of flames in our direction. I create a shield around those in my vicinity just in time, but it causes the fire to spread sideways across the ramparts. Many demons are burned to cinders within moments.


    "We''re exposed here!" Rhosk, who was lucky to have been right next to me, roars while moving to order the defenders on the wall to seek shelter.


    "No, the enemy soldiers will climb up here if you don''t stand your ground!" I hold him back and point at the humans on the other side, who have begun to move again. "I''ll take care of this, so stay here!"


    I can''t keep relying on Exla in her weakened state; she has to stay here to keep the barrier up, which leaves only Hestia and me to fight the dragonkin. Luckily, this is all behind the wall, so I can fight without Zenlith seeing me. I might be just deluding myself into thinking that he doesn''t have some way to watch me even from a distance, but it should be fine as long as I''m not too flashy.


    Maybe I should have asked him for more definite guidelines regarding what constitutes as fighting in his eyes, but it''s too late now.


    "Keep an eye on the Fata." I order the demons at the cauldron of boiling oil. I''m sure that the humans will take this confusion up here to free her. It would hurt to lose the deterrent that she represents - if not on a strategic level, then at least on a psychological one.


    Running toward the dragonkin that just spewed flames at us, I leap off the battlements and transform myself. Along the way to Erbilan, with Dregana strapped into one of my seats, I stole a little of her genetic material so that I have the bulkier dragon form that she has. After all, maybe Zenlith can track my usage of the Imagination Engine and take that as me breaking his condition, but my transformation ability comes from outside the system.


    The enemy, preoccupied with breathing flames through the streets to burn away incoming demon soldiers, doesn''t notice until I''m right above him. His eyes widen in surprise before I crash right onto him while snapping at his neck with my powerful jaws. He''s able to narrowly avoid it and turns around to do the same, but I slam a paw in his face and push him right through the building he was hiding behind.


    But a dragonkin''s armor has pretty much the same properties as a fully-fledged dragon''s. The only difference is that the latter can fly and breathe plasma instead of fire - or at least the one I met was like that, and there might be different types. If I use plasma here, I could accidentally burn the entire fortress down, so I have to fight him physically.


    The dragonkin bursts out of the rubble and charges at me, but I narrowly dodge him before sinking my teeth into the back of his long neck. He struggles to get free, but I lock my jaws and bite right through his spine. A shiver runs through his body, and his arms and legs twitch uncontrollably before going limp.


    Letting go, I stomp on his body to make sure he''s dead before turning to my next target. When I think about it, I should have just increased my mass to the maximum to crush him when I first dropped on top of him. No use thinking about what should have been; I have to concentrate on taking the remaining enemies behind the gates out.


    I hear Dregana''s roar and peek over the buildings to see that one of her opponents has mounted her and is biting her armored neck to no avail, while the other one''s head is being held down by her front paw. I think she should be able to handle herself as her body is sturdier than that of the regular dragonkin, so I concentrate on the one going for our catapults.


    Undoing my transformation, I fly across the building in my way and turn into a certain bipedal lizard in midair before I land on the street on the other side. The impact tremor alerts the enemy to my approach, and he turns around for a quick peek before rushing to get his job done. I''m sure they weren''t sent here to take important members of the military staff out but to cause as much damage to our long-range attack capabilities as they can. It was a suicide attack from the start, and this one knows his priorities.


    Running as quickly as I can, I bridge the gap between us in a matter of a few steps. However, that was enough for him to breathe a stream of fire that washes across the catapults like a wave, setting the wood on fire, and burning the crews that were too late to get away. Before he can take a breath to finish off the remaining catapults, I bite his shoulder and drag his entire body backward, causing his head to be pulled up and his breath to be fired into the air instead.


    When he''s done, I throw him down, then grab hold of his upper and lower jaw with my claws, and fire a plasma breath out of my mouth right into his. His neck melts from the heat, and I hold his severed head in my hands as his body twitches in its death throes.


    At the same time, it seems that Dregana has successfully taken down one of her opponents by caving in his chest with her paw. The other one that was hanging onto her neck lets go and takes his distance to assess the situation. Out of the five dragonkin, only two are left now.


    The one remaining on my side has climbed the wall a distance away and is using his fire breath to clear the battlements of defenders so that the humans can climb up. But that''s when a volley of black spirit spears flies at him from the side, one piercing his shoulder, another grazing his left eye, and one more going straight through his right elbow. With the forearm dangling down uselessly, the dragonkin takes one more breath to do as much damage as he can before falling.


    That''s when I shoot a spirit spear right into the side of his chest, causing the flames to erupt from there instead of his mouth. The explosion rocks his body and sends it over the battlements, hopefully falling on as many humans as possible and crushing them underneath his giant frame.


    "My Queen, the captured Fata has disappeared!" Rhosk calls out to me, and I spin my head around to stare at him.


    "What do you mean, disappeared?" I roar, noticing that at my current size, my voice is thunderous and aggressive. I didn''t mean to sound so angry. "Somebody cut her loose?"


    "No, from one moment to the next, she was gone!" The Erbilan commander explains, and I instantly know what happened. Folke must have turned her invisible and then somebody else invisible cut her out of the ropes while Rhosk turned around to report to me instead of ordering the cauldron to be tipped over. By now, our valuable hostage must be gone already.


    "Dammit!" I turn around to see how Dregana is doing, but Hestia flies past me.


    "Leave this to me." She says and points at the walls. "The giants are coming."


    I put my trust in her to help Dregana out, so I run toward the wall and scale it in one leap, during which I turn back into my regular human-sized self. Looking across the battlefield, I count seventeen giants walking toward us while the sea of humans parts for them. The one at the very front is the woman wielding the hammer, and she''s making a straight line for the gate from which the deterrent has been removed.


    It''s just one thing after another.

 Chapter 125 - Attack on Titan

    The catapults have been mostly destroyed, one section of the wall still has burning bodies strewn across the battlements, and fires are spreading across the fortress town. One dragonkin is still fighting Dregana, though that should be over soon once Hestia reaches them. But now a squad of giants is coming forward to break down the gates and allow the flood of humans to push in.


    Demons are running up the stairs to plug the hole in the defenses left by the dragonkin''s rampage just now, while some are using water magic to help fight the fire. Nobody except for me will be able to stop the giants, but that would mean exposing my involvement in this battle to Zenlith.


    "Exla!" In my desperation, I call out to the cloud girl still holding up the barrier. Arrows and rocks are pelting it, meaning that if she lets it go, all of that will hit the demons on the walls. Maybe I can take her place and keep up a barrier; it shouldn''t constitute as fighting.


    But what if it does? Then Zenlith would go all out and destroy the entire Dominion instantly. It can''t be that the demons are going to lose only because I''ve been locked down. How were they able to survive all this time without me then?


    "I don''t know if I can do it, senpai." Exla replies with a look that tells me she''s desperate too. Having lost the power to keep her brother in check really shocked her, but the thought that she can''t do anything against him if he were to decide to reset the world is weighing her down.


    Kamii looks at me, an expression of concern on her face. Then she walks toward me, and I wonder what she wants to do. But instead of jumping into my arms or stopping to talk, she simply passes me by on her way to the stairs.


    "Where are you going?" I try to grab her arm, but she nimbly avoids it.


    "Defend the gate." Her terse statement causes alarm bells to ring in my head. Her body isn''t much stronger than a human''s of her physical age, and only the crab pincer possesses a strange power. How is she going to hold the gate with only that cursed arm?


    There''s a squad of heavily armored demons posted behind the gate to plug it with brute force when it''s broken down. She''s already expecting that it will fall, so she''s going to help them. On top of the wall, she can''t fulfill her cursed arm''s condition, but down there, she should be able to once the enemies surge in.


    Terog, Zancrax, and Ireyo were placed near the gate and are now coming forward when they see Kamii starting to move. It was the right choice to bring her party along, as she will have people around her that she can trust her back with. Sazi isn''t a fighter, so she''s working as a medic in the sickbay in the far back of the fortress though.


    In either case, I don''t want the gate to fall that soon though. Once it''s cracked open, there''s no way to plug it as it was done in Arkaim; Erbilan doesn''t have any golems like Ghann. Chandra should be getting in position soon, but she can''t do much against giants either. I guess I really have to risk enraging Zenlith and go out there myself.


    With this thought, I jump off the wall and transform in midair. Exploding outward, I turn into a giant version of myself, which I cover in plates of dragon armor. But instead of making it look like a suit of armor, it''s more of a second skin that covers everything except for the joints. This way, I''ll retain my mobility, which the enemy giants don''t have.


    The humans at my feet run away in terror, but the approaching squad of giants doesn''t slow down. They seem to have proper discipline, quite unlike all the versions I''ve seen in fantasy. Understanding that I''m only one opponent, they fan out to scale the walls where I can''t reach them. But this is as far as I can go intervening in this battle, as one look toward Zenlith tells me he won''t allow more than this.


    Bracing myself, I let out a deafening roar to scatter the already wavering humans. They don''t rout completely because I''m not enough of a threat to the army as a whole, but they still don''t want to be in the vicinity when two giants clash.


    Even though I think they''re able to speak, the female leader of the squad wordlessly gets into range, then performs a strange sideways step and nearly falls into a horizontal position before spinning around her own axis.


    The hammer connects with my chin from below and sends my lower jaw flying off even though it''s armored. This would have killed anybody else, but luckily, I''m me. But that wasn''t a move one would have ever expected being performed by a giant wielding a massive hammer. Regrowing the jaw, I jump up just in time to avoid the sweeping follow-up swing aimed at my knees with pinpoint accuracy.


    It seems she was briefed on my abilities because she doesn''t look surprised at all that I''m still alive. That''s also why Zenlith is allowing me to do this much; he may be thinking that I''ll get a thrashing, which will lower the defenders'' morale. But if he thinks anybody within the system can defeat me even when I''m not using it, then he has another thing coming for him.


    When I land, she''s already in the process of redirecting her momentum for another swing at me. But I charge into her range instead of trying to avoid it and grab the handle of her weapon. As if having expected that, she suddenly lets go and tackles me with her shoulder.


    I also let go of the weapon and ram my foot into the ground to come to a stop. Then I grab her arm and twist my body around. It''s not on the level of a Judo throw, but I succeed in throwing her over my hip, eliciting the first surprised expression from her.


    As the giantess falls on her back, the ground shakes, and she gasps for air as all of it is pressed out of her lungs from the impact. Without speaking an incantation, I make the ground rise up and lock her in place with stone shackles. It''s an application of Awhina''s demigod ability, though really just another fantasy turned reality by the Imagination Engine.


    This should be fine as I''m not doing anything over the top, right?


    I don''t glance at Zenlith because I''m sure he would put a stop to this if he thought I was violating his condition. Instead, I run toward the next giant as quickly as I can before he reaches the wall. Tackling his waist from the side, I throw him down to the ground and deliver a devastating punch to his helmet, which dents it and knocks him unconscious. Binding him in earth magic like the first, I look up.


    At the rate I''m going, I won''t be able to stop them all. They''re tall enough to sweep the top of the walls of defenders with their different kinds of weapons, and they can pull themselves over to the other side and wreak havoc just like the dragonkin did. Only that there are more of them this time.


    I see one of the giants shy back from the wall as a burst of fire flies in his face. It''s not a dragonkin''s breath but tribal magic from members of the Bakari clan. They don''t have much range, so it won''t keep the enemy at bay for long. Elsewhere, lamia archers are focusing their arrows on those coming their way, but the giants wear thick armor and only need to shield their faces to continue advancing.


    Suddenly, a massive black spirit spear explodes the head of a female giant who''s already in the process of climbing on top of the ramparts. Her lifeless body falls back down and crushes the humans that were following her lead. Hestia appears on the wall and spreads her wings in a threatening pose, but it only invites a volley of arrows from the human archers. Of course, she didn''t come unprepared, as a tornado-like barrier surrounds her and sweeps the projectiles away.


    On the other side, Dregana leaps across the wall and right onto a giant, who''s taken off-guard and gets a faceful of flames. She swings her powerful tail and throws droves of humans through the air before charging at the next opponent of her size.


    However, the giants are more disciplined than I thought, as the others don''t falter when they see their comrades falling, and continue to advance. One, then two, and then four make it over. I follow them, knowing that I can only do damage control at this point.


    As I vault over the wall, I see Hestia taking to the air and going for her next target. Dregana is already embroiled in a battle with an opponent that was prepared for her - unlike the first she brought down with ease.


    "Ladders again!" Rhosk roars at the top of his lungs to rally the defenders, who have been thrown into turmoil because of the dragonkin and now the giants. "Hold the wall!"


    I turn myself small when I see that the other side is teeming with my soldiers; I would have crushed them under my feet if I hadn''t done so. Then I shoot out a tentacle from my arm to pull myself toward the closest enemy. Using my momentum, I swing around him and form a dragon blade on my hand, with which I cut through the back of his knee. As he falls, I bounce off a building and spin around myself to slash his throat in passing.


    I''m not using the Imagination Engine anymore, just in case Zenlith is monitoring it while I''m behind the wall. The plasma breath is also out of the question, as that should be visible from the other side. That leaves only my real body''s capabilities, which should be enough for dealing with these enemies. It will just take a little longer.


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    I spot one of the giants moving toward the gate where Kamii went to wait for the moment it gets breached. If he reaches them, she will be in danger, so I concentrate on this one first. Swinging myself on my tentacles and moving like a certain nemesis of a superhero with a spider motif, I quickly bridge the distance between us. But before I can reach them, I hear Rhosk''s voice.


    "Shoot her!" He sounds agitated, and when I look toward him, I see that he''s pointing at something on the other side of the wall. But I can''t worry about outside when there''s this enemy on the inside, about to barrel into Kamii and the troops she took with her.


    Then the gate explodes inward, the two wings flying off their angles and rolling out of the tunnel right into the demons on the other side. For a moment, time seems to slow down when I try to see where the little dark elf is, only to find dead and dismembered bodies flying through the air as dust is kicked up from the impact.


    "No..." I whisper. Then I accelerate my swing, stab a tentacle right through the gaps of the armor the giant ahead of me wears. Penetrating his skin, I burrow deeper and then expand the appendage until he bursts from the inside. Disregarding the scattering flesh, I fall to the ground and roll across the floor, then get up from that crash which should have broken half the bones in a human''s body. "Kamii!"


    "I''m here." I hear her voice as she coughs due to the dust, and my heart jumps in relief.


    "Are you alright?" Still, she might be injured, so I call out to her. My Chaos senses pick her up among other survivors, but I can''t tell whether or not her body is whole.


    "Yes." She replies with her usual terseness. "The gate..."


    "It has been breached." I look over to see the legs of the female giant I engaged first, as she retreats from the wall. Not killing her was my mistake, as she has broken out of her restraints, picked up her hammer, and smashed the gate open. Already, I hear the human cheering approach, as they storm toward the hole in our defenses.


    "To me!" Suddenly, Kamii appears from inside the dust cloud with a bellowed order. I never thought I would see her commanding troops, but the heavily armored soldiers behind her listen to her and answer with a battle roar. It seems Terog, Zancrax, and Ireyo are also unscathed. The little dark elf then addresses me again without looking in my direction, her eyes fixated on the gateway before her. "Take care of the giants."


    "Be careful." I trust that she can deal with humans as long as she isn''t alone. Aside from her party members, all the soldiers around her are kirali similar to Rhosk. While they aren''t Petsobek, the elite among the elite, they seem better suited for maintaining a defensive line than the crocodilians who wield erratic weapon arts and prefer wild swings that endanger all around them. "I''ll come to help you later."


    With these words, I pull myself up and target a giant who has grabbed hold of a barrel of oil from one of the few unscathed catapults. She''s most likely trying to locate our supply storage and burn it down. It seems that Zenlith has no intention of letting us fight the long battle, a strategy that favors the defenders when they have an easier supply route than the besiegers.


    "Fatas!" I hear Rhosk''s voice from above, followed by a whistling arrow ordering our air company to take off again. They''re still resting, but it seems that they won''t be given that leeway. No longer satisfied with sending one gambit at us after another, the humans are going all-out now.


    Suddenly, the giantess carrying the barrel of oil trips over something. As I reach the apex of my swing, I see that some demons have pulled up a bunch of ropes along her path and entangled her legs. Now they jump on top of her and start hacking away with their weapons, but her armor is too thick. She shakes them off, rips off the ropes, and gets up.


    It bought me enough time to reach her though, and I jump on her back just as she''s about to start sprinting again. Throwing a tentacle around her neck right between the armor plates, I grow blades all along its length and pull hard in one direction, sawing her head off in one quick motion. No more mercy.


    As her headless body falls over, the demons around me cheer. But there are still several more giants within the walls, each moving with some aim in mind. I see two smashing in the large doors to the storehouses as if searching for something. Three others are running around locating the last remaining artillery weapons we have and destroying them.


    More and more of my troops start swarming them. I spot many bakari fire bursts while agile demons climb up using the armor pieces as footholds. One of the giants falls from having their ear pierced by a monkey-like demon wielding a curved sword. Another is tripped and beset on by a mass of heavyweight demons. Everywhere I look, the defenders are fighting back.


    It seems that they can somehow handle them, after all. Thus, I quickly swing back to the gate, where Kamii and her troops are holding the line against an onslaught of armored knights. The humans weren''t dumb and sent through their strongest as a vanguard instead of needlessly sacrificing lives to the meat grinder that always lies behind the gates of a fortress. The result is a stalemate of forces.


    "Bring the oil!" I call out to some demons standing at one of the few still unscathed buildings and point at the gatehouse. The cauldron we used earlier to threaten to turn our hostage Fata into fried chicken has cooled down now, but the contents are still flammable. Even if I don''t use any magic, we can physically light the area in front of the gate on fire.


    As I reach the top of the gatehouse, I see that Hestia has dispatched two more giants on her side, while Dregana is clawing to get back over the wall after having finished off her opponent. Two dozen humans are clinging to her back and tail, stabbing weapons into the crevices between her armor plates to hold onto her.


    "Morelit! Help her out!" I point at the Petsobek division commander standing by for my orders. There are currently twice the number of Petsobek in Erbilan than there were during the defense of Arkaim, but most are being held in reserve in case a retreat is in order. Only about two hundred of them man the walls, as a safeguard in case the enemy starts pouring onto the battlements.


    "You heard Her Majesty!" Morelit is the third in command after Nilotec and Acutis and was stationed in Erbilan for a while alongside his fellow Kirali clansman, Rhosk. He''s the fiery counterpart to the stoic fortress commander, and usually serves as a vanguard in open battles rather than defend against sieges. This is an opportunity to satiate his bloodlust.


    Taking a dozen Petsobek, the division commander moves toward Dregana as she just reaches the top of the wall. More than thirty soldiers are clinging to her back now, with several of them in places where she can''t reach at all. But the crocodilian warriors should take them out pretty quickly.


    "Your Majesty, we brought the oil." The demons I ordered earlier arrive with several barrels and ask for further instructions. I grow four tentacles like extra limbs from my back and lift the barrels effortlessly before throwing them down right onto the heads of the humans trying to push through the gate. They shatter bones on their way down to the ground, where they break open and spray their content on those in the vicinity.


    I repeat the process until there''s only one barrel left. Taking out a piece of cloth from inside my body - one of many objects I keep there in case I need it - and stick it into the bunghole to let it soak with oil. Then I light it on fire with a tiny Ignis, one of the first spells I learned in this world.


    The enemy right under us already expect what''s coming, but they''re locked in place because of the sheer numbers pushing from behind and the deadlock in front. Even though they displayed great discipline before, the thought that they could be among the first through the breach to achieve fame had them blinded. Now they''ll pay for that overeagerness.


    An explosion of flames spreads out across the mass of humans as the oil ignites in a flash. Screams of burning people echo through the gatehouse as they''re unable to even roll on the ground because there simply is no space to move. But seeing the chaos, a commander further in the back calls for a temporary retreat.


    It seems that we staved off the first wave. But as long as the gates are broken, they''ll keep coming. And while we do have a lot of oil barrels in storage, it won''t last forever. They''re still scaling the walls as well, so this is only a short-term solution to this problem.


    I could raise the ground to plug the gate, but that would most likely be considered a gross violation of Zenlith''s condition. I''ve already done enough at this point, and he let it all go for some reason, but if I were to close up an entire pathway of attack, he could stop being so lenient with me.


    Damn, I hate being at the mercy of somebody else. I prefer being the one in power - in many ways.


    Dregana has turned back into her human form when she couldn''t take the humans clinging to her body anymore. It seems they weren''t just random soldiers but had means to hurt her through her dragon armor. There are cuts all over her body even after undoing her transformation, so it seems that damage carries over and isn''t conveniently regenerated.


    Due to her suddenly shrinking, several of the armored soldiers fall from the battlements or back to their side of the wall. But almost two dozen remain, who immediately get up and form a line right before the Petsobek led by Morelit run past Dregana and clash with them. To my surprise, they stand their ground against the assault from the much larger and muscular enemies.


    In the air, a series of dogfights has started again, and I turn around to see Hestia taking off to join them. At least in that department, we''re not at a numerical disadvantage, as Fatas are rarer than flying demons. And my fallen angel has the advantage of knowing things outside the magic system that her former brethren still adhere to. I''m sure Zenlith doesn''t know about that yet since she hasn''t used it in any exceptionally flashy way.


    The oil is used up, and the flames die down, leaving behind a pile of roasted human bodies crumpled in their armors. For a while, the enemy waits to see what we might do next, but then they open a passage for a single knight in white armor. It''s Colart, the second most troublesome Chosen Knight after Folke, but the one much better suited for overcoming this obstacle.


    He raises his rapier, and for the first time, I see his unique magic in action, as it''s no longer obscured by the Mirage Knight''s invisibility. Seemingly out of thin air, spinning discs made from iron appear, slowly but steadily growing larger until they fuse to turn into a giant iron shield. It moves into position right above the gate and creates an umbrella to stop any more oil attacks from above, and the human army instantly begins to storm in.


    Kamii and her party are still defending on the other side of the gatehouse, but they will be overrun eventually when they have to face this absurd number of enemies. Then again, the corpses will pile up into a mountain and might plug up the gate. But at that time are those going to be human or demon ones?


    That''s when I see movement on the left - from the enemy''s right wing. A mass of troops is rushing through the opening between the formations and widening the gap like a wedge. Without slowing down even as the human army realizes what''s going on and starts to react, they plow through them right toward the lineup of enemy catapults.


    Chandra''s second charge has begun.

 Chapter 126 - Chosen Knights

    I watch as Chandra''s troops reach the first of the catapults and tear it down like a wave swallowing a sandcastle. From where I stand, I can''t spot Korenga, but I''m sure she''s playing her part. As long as she''s there, they will be unstoppable even when other Chosen Knights appear; as an existence that can withstand being submerged in lava, there''s little that can harm her.


    Just as I think that, a lightning bolt comes down from the sky. I shift my eyes in the direction of the platform where the human army''s military staff is standing, but Zenlith is still with them. Then again, he could be a remotely controlled body, just like the old man Alverost that I killed in Zohigal.


    But if he''s personally taking part in this, then I won''t stay quiet either. I''d rather risk it all in an attempt to kill him before he can destroy the continent than to let him run wild and win the war. The result will be the same when the humans start a systematic genocide.


    As if sensing my gaze, Zenlith, in the guise of Lucianus V, raises his hand with a smirk. Then he shakes his head and glances over his shoulder. I create a telescopic lens in my eyes and strain them to see what''s going on among all the chaos, to find that a muscular man with long blond hair and a full beard is standing where the lightning struck. Electricity crackles around his body, and a large diamond glows on the back of the golden gauntlet covering his right hand.


    That''s when I remember the briefing about the twelve confirmed Chosen Knights and their abilities, which I only listened to half-heartedly because I thought they would never become an issue to me. This man must be Halthor, the Thunder Knight, and is considered the most powerful of the bunch. I can see why Zenlith might favor him; he follows the Lord of the Sky''s designated theme perfectly.


    If he can turn his body into lightning, then it''s going to be troublesome. Even if he can''t defeat Korenga, all the other demons won''t be able to lay a finger on him. And that''s an ability that can take out droves of my people instantly without even getting close to them. If Colart and Folke are the utility type, Halthor is pure offense.


    But then I spot Korenga in her Black God form charging right at him. He lifts his hand, and lightning comes down from the sky, runs through his body, and lashes out at her. However, it dissipates as soon as it hits the surface of her blackened skin. Then she delivers a devastating punch to his face that sends him flying right into a catapult, which shatters from the impact.


    Either he can''t turn into lightning, or he didn''t expect that Korenga was immune to his magic and was slow to react. But that punch should have broken his neck, if not completely splattered his head. So much for the strongest Chosen Knight, huh?


    Of course, it''s not that easy. It seems that Zenlith has been teaching Halthor more than just how to control lightning; the Thunder Knight comes flying out of the rubble, looking perfectly fine except for a slight bruise on his cheek. He channels lightning through his body once again, and his eyes start to glow from the inside as he lands in front of the Black God. When he straightens his body, he brings up his glowing gauntlet in an uppercut that causes her feet to leave the ground for a moment.


    Did I see that right? A human managed to do what I was barely able to even with all of my mass put behind it at the time.


    But that can''t stop Korenga. It seems to enrage her instead, as she starts swinging her fists at Halthor in a barrage of punches that should each have the force of several tons behind them. However, he blocks them time and again while countering with his own. Despite the Black God''s life experience, she never needed to learn proper hand to hand combat. On the other hand, the Thunder Knight has studied what appears to be boxing, as his movements are precise with little waste of energy.


    "After everything he hated about Armeria, there he goes teaching the new humans to use the Imagination Engine again." Exla comments when she sees the duel of godlike beings. Both demons and humans around them have stopped fighting and are watching in awe, forgetting that they''re still in the middle of a war.


    "What happened in Armeria?" I ask without averting my eyes from the fight. The outcome of that will decide the fate of Chandra''s charge. While I''m confident that nobody can really defeat Korenga because her power comes from the imagination of Mataku, many things haven''t gone the way I thought they would today.


    "Things got out of hand. More and more individuals with powerful fantasies appeared." Her voice sounds grim, though when she continues, I understand that it''s not because she thinks it a bad thing. "The others wanted to be unchallenged, but they couldn''t maintain control anymore. So they abandoned Armeria and came here."


    And here, they created a system for magic with strict rules that everybody would have to adhere to, restricting their fantasies to what they think is possible. But Zenlith seems to have decided to grant some individuals more freedom than others, creating a person like Halthor.


    He said he didn''t want me influencing this battle with my knowledge of the Imagination Engine, but he''s doing just that. It''s like a cheater telling another cheater to stop so they can dominate the game alone. If only Exla''s abilities weren''t sealed, then I could at least fight him on even grounds. But as it is now, I can only hold back in fear that he''ll destroy everything.


    The glimmer of hope is the word ''today'' that he used. Maybe I''m placing too much in that, but if it really only lasts for today, then we only need to hold out for that long. I''ve read somewhere that sieges can last for weeks, if not months, though that was for ones set in reality without magic and giants. But all we have to do is buy time for Exla''s absolute rights to return.


    Chandra seems to have ordered her troops to continue their advance. There are still several catapults left, and they''re in the middle of the enemy army. Even if those in the immediate vicinity may be awed by the fight between the Black God and the Chosen Knight, those further away will be able to move and cut off their path of retreat. And their momentum had run out when Halthor first appeared, so it''s going to be a difficult battle either way.


    Suddenly, the ground shakes from a tremor, and I look around in surprise. Did the humans come up with some new means of attack again? But then an even bigger tremor occurs only seconds later, and the sound clearly originates from below us.


    A shockwave sweeps through the gateway and blows out all the humans pushing inside. The buildup that led to this suggests it was Kamii''s power. So that''s what she''s capable of when she gets enough hits in with her curse combo.


    Colart walks forward, looking like he wants to take care of this personally. I don''t know the little dark elf''s limitations, but I doubt that his shields will be able to do anything against her exponential power. But something tells me that Folke isn''t far away. Even if Kamii was able to sense the invisible assassin climbing onto my platform - it was my mistake for making the surface unfeeling and not activating the Chaos senses - it doesn''t mean she''ll be able to deal with him in particular.


    Now that I think about it, couldn''t I just plug the gate with myself? It doesn''t count as fighting if I just turn into a wall of tentacles, and when people were to attack me, I''d swallow them in self-defense. This way, we could take a breather as well as hit the enemies in the morale; they already lost so much to crack the gate, so seeing it close up before their eyes should hurt them a lot.


    But before I can set this plan in motion, I see Chandra''s troops take down the last catapult. I have no doubts that these aren''t all of them, and that they have more that need to be assembled in their camp, but at least for now, Exla doesn''t need to stay here to maintain the barrier. This frees her up for other things.


    "Exla, the enemy artillery is down. Help on the walls." I call out to her, and she nods in response. Even if she can''t fight like a god, she isn''t limited to one particular thing, unlike the Chosen Knights. That at least makes her versatile enough to do both offense and defense.


    Colart has disappeared under the shield umbrella he put up above the gate to stop us from pouring down oil. He''s about to clash with Kamii, who was able to survive without me for all this time, meaning that she must have gotten stronger. I do want to trust that she can handle herself, but I don''t want to risk her getting hurt.


    "I''m going to plug the gate. Take over here." Rhosk is the commander anyway, so I didn''t need to say this. But it was to drive home that I won''t be giving any orders for a while so he should make the hard decisions when they come up.


    "Understood!" He replies by beating his chest once, then walks forward as if switching gears. Before he can give out any orders, I jump off the wall and grow out tentacles to swing myself underneath Colart''s umbrella.


    I land in front of the humans as they wait patiently for their champion to take out this obstacle. Their eyes are fixated on me, and then one of the men seems to recognize me as his face goes white. His armor clatters from his shaking body, and he''s just about to drop his weapon in terror. Maybe I don''t actually need to do anything to stop their advance; my presence is enough.


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    "Leave now, if you don''t want to die." I announce in a tone which leaves no doubt that I can deliver on this threat. What will come next is laughter, and then somebody will rush forward to try and kill me.


    But to my surprise, nobody is laughing. They must be on edge now, and considering we''re in the middle of a battle, anything could happen. So it might not be too far-fetched to think that this lone girl standing before them could be an incredibly powerful demon.


    "The demon queen..." The man that recognized me earlier mutters in fear, now certain about my identity.


    "Huh?" Some near him make in surprise. Then the murmuring spreads through the ranks of the humans. Even if they weren''t there, they must have undoubtedly heard about what I did in the siege of Arkaim. As far as I remember the numbers after the battle, very few humans made it out alive.


    Oh, and I guess the annihilation of Pontis Daemonis is also known to be on me.


    I let out my Crawling Chaos presence a little, and everybody shies away from me with terrified expressions. This isn''t part of the Imagination Engine, so I should get away with it for the time being, as long as Zenlith isn''t here to feel it himself. Now I don''t need to turn myself into a blob and physically plug up the gateway.


    It feels like Benkei defending the entrance to the castle alone so that Yoshitsune wouldn''t be bothered during his ritual suicide.


    With that ominous comparison in mind, I create a pair of eyes on the back of my head to see what''s going on between Kamii and Colart. He doesn''t seem to have noticed my interference and is solely focused on the little dark elf standing on the other side of the short tunnel.


    Many differently-sized shields floating in the air surround him on all sides as he stands straight with his rapier raised. I still can''t get over the fact that this slender man with a noble''s face has powers that should belong on a tank such as Gram.


    Kamii is staring him down with her cursed arm held behind her like a sword, ready for an upward swing. She could cut a person in half with the crab pincer, so she does possess some incredible strength in it aside from her curse power. But will it be useful against the shields?


    Her party is right behind her, most likely intending to join the battle as well. Maybe this isn''t going to be a duel after all, but no matter what happens, if she'' about to lose, I''ll step in and take Colart out myself. Even if it may hurt the soldiers'' morale or her pride, being alive is more important than any of those things. Feelings can be mended; death can''t.


    One part of me worries about Chandra''s charge. From where I am right now, I can''t see what''s happening over in their camp. But the fact that I can still hear thunder means that Halthor is alive and fighting Korenga.


    "If we take her down here, this war is over!" A man in a rune-covered suit of armor comes through the encirclement of humans. He''s obviously affected by my aura as well, but he tries to act tough and power through it. It does help to lift the soldiers'' spirits, as some start to cheer reluctantly. Soon, they seem to gather their courage and challenge me with a roar.


    I grow a tentacle from my back and turn it into something like a spider limb, with which I draw a half-circle in front of me. At the sight of this otherness, the humans grow quiet in shock and disgust. But the one that rallied them moments ago steps forward fearlessly, brandishing his mace that seems to glow from the inside. Is he a paladin?


    "Anything moving over this line disappears." I announce just as he opens his mouth to talk. He closes it again and stares at me, then raises his mace and addresses his troops.


    "She is alone. We will take her down here! Charge!" With this, he''s the first to cross the line as he swings his weapon at me.


    In the next moment, the part that crossed over onto my side of the line disappears - cut apart and instantly swallowed by tentacles growing from my back. Blades made from dragon armor and honed beyond the limits of the material thanks to my convenient body can cut through steel as if it''s not even there. Even without using the Imagination Engine, I''m plenty strong.


    Half the man''s face and upper body are gone, and he falls forward, disappearing to my shredder until only parts of his legs remain on the other side of the line. The mist of blood left in place of where he used to be warns the soldiers that I can make good on my announcement with little effort.


    Their morale instantly plummets, and they stop even before taking another step. In fact, they all inch backward, about ready to run away. With this, I have the gate covered - until the next brave leader steps up to challenge me.


    It seems that Colart''s fighting tactics are unexpectedly underhanded despite his white-knight appearance. He uses his shields not only to defend himself but also to block Kamii''s view so that he can stab around it with his rapier. So far, she has gotten a few hits in on the shields but had to retreat each time he came in for an attack.


    This way, she won''t be able to build up her combo sufficiently. Maybe this is Colart''s tactic, aiming to tire the little dark elf out and then strike when her movements grow slower from fatigue. After all, he uses very little energy whenever he goes in for a sneak attack, while she has to continuously swing her right arm as well as jump back to avoid getting stabbed.


    I could help her right away, but a part of me wants to see how she will overcome this. Just don''t let this be a wrong decision that will make me regret it later.


    Suddenly, Terog and Zancrax seem to decide to join the battle as well. The former whips his hands around, tossing throwing knives through the gaps between Colart''s shields. Most get deflected by the quickly reacting shields, but three make it through, two of which the Knight of the Iron Veil strikes out of the air with his rapier. The last hits his neck but bounces off his gorget. That''s the closest anyone has come to hurting him.


    The minotaur in his granite armor charges forward. Colart brings all his shields to the front but layers them so that Zancrax runs into one after another. But the massive demon crashes through them as if they don''t pose an obstacle at all. It causes the Knight of the Iron Veil to step aside to avoid getting hit for the first time.


    Terog suddenly appears from behind Zancrax and ducks underneath the knight''s now misaligned shields. I can''t see the latter''s expression from where I''m standing, but him taking another step back tells me that this caught him off-guard. However, he''s still a Chosen Knight and not to be trifled with.


    The boar demon swings his axe horizontally while drawing a dagger with his other hand for a low stab. Unlike all the straight-laced warriors I''ve seen, he seems far more pragmatic and uses whatever means he can to win.


    Colart summons new shields, but can''t make it in time to get them to a size at which they can block the attack. Thus, he hops backward to avoid the axe, then swings his rapier down to stab Terog''s other arm still in the middle of his upward motion. The latter twists his body to avoid it while throwing his axe up into the air. With a quick sidestep, he performs an incredibly fast spin around his own axis while whipping out a chain with the hand he just freed.


    This time, the Knight of the Iron Veil has his shields at the ready, which deflect the chain. But Zancrax has turned around and charges at Colart from the side, ducking low to tackle him with his armored shoulder. This time, the several shields are placed at leg-height, which trips the minotaur up and causes him to slide across the ground. But as before, he was only acting as a cover for the approach of somebody else; Ireyo has joined the fight.


    With strength that belies her little frame, the rabbit demon swings the oversized broken sword that would look much more fitting in Zancrax''s hands down at the knight. Sparks fly when the blade cuts through several shields before finally stopping at the last one that separates it from his shoulder.


    My Chaos senses suddenly tingle, and I turn my attention to the front, where somebody has approached me. But to my surprise, nobody is there. For a split second, I''m confused; then I understand what this is and start up my tentacle shredder. However, it''s too late already, and Folke has passed me by.


    "Invisible incoming!" I shout into the gateway, upon which Terog instantly falls back to where the others are. Kamii knocks her cursed arm on Zancrax''s back, and he understands the gesture that they''ll be splitting up for this fight.


    The boar demon returns to the little dark elf''s side and begins to whisper something to her. They must be coming up with a countermeasure against an invisible opponent. Just as they do that, Colart raises his free hand and performs a circle with his index finger. It seems that was the signal for Folke to turn his shields invisible because they fade from view right after.


    It''s two well-coordinated Chosen Knights against Kamii and her party. I''m not too confident about their victory, now that the Mirage Knight has joined the battle, but the little dark elf does seem to have a special sense for invisible people, so maybe she has a way to see through him.


    "Come out and introduce yourself." Colart is directing this at Folke, who has the mentality of a mercenary rather than that of a chivalrous knight - which the former tries to make himself out to be.


    "Why do I have to do that." Folke''s voice echoes through the tunnel, masking his actual location. "They''re going to die anyway, so what use is an introduction?"


    "For the afterlife." The Knight of the Iron Veil''s response is curt.


    "There is no afterlife, only oblivion. The undead are proof enough." The Mirage Knight scoffs at this reasoning. He''s either very cynical or plain ignorant because I''ve witnessed first-hand that the souls of the dead are trapped in the undead and are released with light magic. Well, not everybody gets to see light magic at work, considering how rare humans imagine its affinity to be.


    Or maybe those weren''t souls but just another imagination to complete the image of zombies. At this point, I can''t tell what''s real or only part of the system.


    "Less talking." Kamii steps forward and swings her crab arm at thin air, but I hear a tongue clicking, which most definitely didn''t come from Colart. So she really can tell where he is.


    "How do you know?" Folke''s voice sounds displeased. It''s clear that he must have dodged, but there was no noise even though the last time I saw him, he wore all kinds of armor pieces that should clang or creak when in motion. He must be padding a lot to eliminate all the little sounds he creates, so being seen through so easily must be quite the shock.


    "Ya two take him, the leader and I got this one." Terog points in the general direction of where Kamii swung moments ago and tells Zancrax and Ireyo to fight Colart on their own.


    "He moved over there." The little dark elf takes the wind out of her companion''s sails by pointing in a completely different direction from where he did.


    "How?!" This time, Folke is furious. Maybe that''s Kamii''s aim, as angry people make fatal mistakes. Now I''m beginning to trust in her and her party''s victory.

 Chapter 127 - Counterattack

    With my presence, the humans don''t dare to advance anymore - until maybe another Chosen Knight shows up. Folke had no trouble getting past me while invisible, though it was a huge gamble on his part since he knew I''m able to pinpoint his location somehow. Thus, as long as I''m here, the battle in the tunnel behind me won''t be disrupted by any further participants.


    Kamii and Terog are fighting the invisible Folke. Even when the former knows where he is, he''s still a formidable opponent. In a way, she''s doing it all on her own, as the boar demon isn''t much help right now. It seems that her cursed arm isn''t just strong, but also incredibly sturdy. Sparks fly out of nowhere when she uses it to block attacks from the Mirage Knight - more often than not for her ally rather than herself.


    Zancrax and Ireyo are brute-forcing the battle against Colart. Using his granite armor as a shield for herself, she weaves in and out of combat with her giant cleaver-like weapon, shredding iron shields with every strike. While the minotaur can''t do much with his large size, he keeps the Knight of the Iron Veil''s attention on him by repeatedly trying to charge through the latter''s defenses.


    To be honest, the battle is at a pretty low level compared to what I''ve witnessed or participated in before. When one can throw a punch that creates shockwaves blowing away everybody in the vicinity, seeing people fight it out with feints and strategy is refreshing though. At my level, thinking too much is a waste of time, as a single attack can decide it all.


    I notice from watching them that Kamii is really using her eyes to follow Folke''s location. Is she able to see through invisibility with them after all? Maybe all cursed beings have modified eyes as well as some other expression of corruption, such as her crab arm or Hestia''s black wings.


    That reminds me that the fallen angel is fighting in the sky. Several demons as well as a few Fatas have already rained down from above, some hurt and performing a crash-landing, but most of them dead. The few demons that make it to the ground alive are instantly hacked to death by the humans that cover the entire slope before the gates.


    I have to consciously avert my eyes from that truth so that I can keep my sanity. How can I not do something while my people are dying? But Zenlith is hovering his finger over the win button - or at least it''s his victory condition - so I have to let this play out within the confines of his scenario.


    But I forgot to tell him that if he should use the Imagination Engine to destroy the entire continent, I''d be coming after him until he''s dead. It would still be my loss, but he won''t get away with it alive at least.


    Suddenly, Terog screams, and I return my focus to the fight behind me. It seems that Folke landed a cut on his forearm with an invisible blade after Kamii saved him from it all this time. Luckily, it''s not too deep, and he''s going to walk away from this with just another scar to adorn himself with - provided he survives this fight.


    "What''s the matter?" I hear the Mirage Knight taunt his opponents. With my Chaos senses, I know exactly where he is, but his voice does seem to echo unnaturally. Maybe that''s part of his personal fantasy too.


    "Damn you!" Terog appears to lose his cool, as he swings both his arms wildly. Then Kamii pulls him back by his belt, though I see a cut appearing on his face just above the eye. She just saves his life once again.


    "Calm down." The little dark elf continues to stare into thin air, exactly at where Folke is, and chides her partner. "Don''t lose your cool."


    "I didn''t." The boar demon replies in a defiant tone, but to me it looked totally like he did. But then he looks ahead with a broad grin before turning to the other battle. "Zancrax, tag!"


    Out of nowhere, as if that had been planned from the beginning, the minotaur charges straight into the wall. I''m just as surprised as the Mirage Knight at this sudden development, especially because my Chaos senses tell me that he was just crushed against the tunnel wall by that.


    At the same time, Kamii has switched over to attacking Colart without even looking at what just happened. She gets three hits in before the Knight of the Iron Veil attempts to attack her. However, right at that moment, Ireyo swings her broken sword on the chain attached to its handle, aiming at his legs. He has to jump and messes up his momentum, causing the rapier to miss the little dark elf.


    She gets four more hits in, at which point the shields bend under the force of her attacks. But instead of taking his distance and taking away the targets for her to build up her combo on, he increases the defenses, not knowing the truth about her power. That will prove to be his downfall.


    One strike, and several iron shields are bent out of shape. Another strike, and Colart loses control over them, as they''re no longer suspended in midair and fly past his face as dangerous projectiles. He raises his rapier to create more, but it''s already too late; Kamii''s strike lands on the last remaining shield, which is propelled into his midsection. The crushing sound results from both armor and bones breaking. Then he''s flung backward against the wall, from which he slides down lifelessly.


    In an instant, they turned the battle around and dispatched their enemies, two powerful Chosen Knights, with nearly silent coordination. The way they split up initially was to lull them into a false sense of security. After all, even with Zancrax and Ireyo''s physical strength, they could never get through Colart''s defenses. At the same time, Kamii was weighed down by Terog''s inability to see their opponents, which resulted in an unfavorable position of the two.


    But when the minotaur steps back to reveal the crushed remains of Folke, I realize how he was able to pinpoint his location even without anybody pointing the right way. On the Mirage Knight''s right shoulder, far away from any other wounds, is a splotch of blood - left there by Terog''s seemingly furious swings. The boar demon used his own blood to place it in the knight''s blind spot.


    That shouldn''t have been enough for him to be defeated. It''s impossible that Folke never got an enemy''s blood on himself before, so the timing had to be right. After all, when he cut Terog, the blood on his weapons instantly disappeared. It means he has to be aware of it - or refresh his invisibility at a set interval across his entire body. An interval the boar demon seems to have figured out during their fight.


    After all, he had been cut several times before without ever letting out his voice. There are a few more wounds all across his body that I didn''t notice because of the color of his clothes and armor. So that scream was to get Zancrax'' attention, and his outburst was to put blood on Folke in a place he wouldn''t erase before the next interval of activating his invisibility.


    The minotaur saw the floating splotch of blood and without a moment''s hesitation, charged him into a wall. Kamii saw it and knew that the Mirage Knight was out of commission, so she immediately turned her attention to Colart.


    And just as they had to use a trick to take down the elusive Folke, defeating the Knight of the Iron Veil was just as straightforward as his personality. Not knowing about the little dark elf''s combo curse spelled his downfall.


    A roaring cheer echoes through the tunnel as the demons on the other side who witnessed the conclusion to the battle raise their voices. On the other side, the humans stare with their jaws hanging open as their two champions were killed right before their eyes.


    "I can leave this place to you then?" I ask Kamii and her party without turning around. Terog stares at me with a dumbfounded expression, then sighs in resignation. He was the only one wounded in this battle, so he might have been thinking that with me here, he could get some rest. Instead, I''m making him continue fighting right away.


    But I have to get an overview of the battle situation again and can''t stay on the ground forever. While these four have won against the two Chosen Knights, demons have been continuously falling from the sky, wounded or killed by Fatas. I fear that Hestia could be one among them eventually, too.


    "Go." Kamii points at me with her cursed arm, discerning my concern for the others fighting elsewhere on the battlefield. She gives me a smile filled with confidence, and my heart jumps at seeing a rare expression from her. "We got this."


    Not saying anything more, I jump up only to realize that Colart''s shields are still there. If he''s dead, how come-


    "He''s still alive!" I shout into the tunnel, but see Zancrax getting smashed into the wall next to Folke by something invisible. Terog is next as he was leaning against the minotaur due to his wounds. Then the same fate befalls Ireyo, who lets go of her giant sword.


    Only Kamii is able to avoid the invisible attack. She pulls on the chain of the rabbit demon''s weapon with her cursed arm, then rolls across the ground to swing it at the still collapsed Colart not too far away. He has raised his arm weakly, but his fantasy is still strong.


    The weapon is deflected by something invisible again. That means Folke is also still alive, and able to cast his magic on his partner''s shields. He isn''t moving from where he was embedded into the wall, and remains visible. This must be their last-ditch effort to at least take Kamii and her party down with them.


    Then the shields become visible, meaning that the Mirage Knight must have died. Zancrax, Terog, and Ireyo are being pressed against the wall by a multitude of small iron shields that are misshapen or incomplete. But even then, they''re still capable of crushing them to death.


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    Colart''s arm suddenly wavers before he lowers it.


    "We lost..." He mutters with his last breath, and the rapier rolls out of his relaxing hand. It seems that even though he just attacked their backs when they thought he was dead, he still thinks himself chivalrous to ''let them go'' instead of killing them in his last moment.


    Witnessing their champions'' last-ditch effort fail, the morale of the humans in front of the gate hits rock bottom. Seeing that, the person riding on a horse further in the back, most likely a division commander, orders a temporary retreat. This should give Kamii and the others some time to take a breather.


    But when I look outside, I see that the assault on the walls is still ongoing. Nowhere have the defenders faltered yet, and humans and ladders fall left and right, only to be replaced by more moments later. This is the standard portion of a siege battle, it seems. With the dragonkin and giants used earlier, they don''t seem to have any further tricks up their sleeves for the time being.


    The battle in the sky is slowing down visibly. The Fatas are becoming tired from all the maneuvering as well now, and many retreat on their own without waiting for orders. They may be powerful individuals, but as a species that views itself above humanity, they don''t work well within a chain of command led by a human - even if it''s Zenlith in disguise. I''m sure even the Fatas don''t know that it''s really him.


    Hestia''s black wings stand out among all the winged beings in the air. Even from here, I can tell that she''s wearing an excited smile on her face as she relentlessly attacks her former brethren with her golden spear and corrupted light magic. I''m happy to see that she''s having fun, though I''m afraid that she might become reckless out of overexcitement.


    When I reach the top of the gatehouse, I find that Chandra''s troops have made their way through the enemy army and successfully burned or tore down all remaining catapults. That means Exla no longer needs to maintain the barrier above the wall and can join the fighting once something big comes our way again.


    But Chandra is still behind enemy lines, and everybody is descending on her contingent from all sides. Even if they''re made up of the fiercest warriors of the Dominion, they won''t last with that much of a difference in numbers. And with Korenga held back by Halthor, now completely separated from the already isolated troops under the Ajura clan leader, they don''t have as much power to break through defensive lines.


    One look at Zenlith tells me that he will no longer tolerate my involvement. His smile has disappeared, and his glare is directed straight at me. Time and again, his gambits have failed or produced only poor results. Now that two of the Chosen Knights have fallen and the artillery was destroyed, he must be feeling restless.


    For now, the battle for the wall is in favor of the demons though. Whenever a human reaches the top, a burst of flames greets them. The Bakari clan usually prefers to fight in the field, but when they direct their tribal fire magic well, they can defend battlements near indefinitely.


    That means I can only stand here and pray that Chandra makes it out of there with the majority of her troops still alive.


    Korenga and Halthor''s duel has taken them halfway across the battlefield, and they''re now approaching the edge of the mountain on the left from our position - back to where the Ajura clan leader''s charge began. It seems that the Thunder Knight purposefully directed her there so that they can fight without incurring any collateral damage.


    The fact that he''s still keeping up with her is incredible. He must be Zenlith''s star pupil, which means he should be the strongest Chosen Knight. But he''ll eventually tire, as Korenga is indestructible and only ever stops when she falls asleep at night regardless of the situation. After all, Mataku hit her with incredible mass, and she was completely unhurt by it. I doubt Halthor possesses even a fraction of that Crawling Chaos'' strength.


    That''s when I see movement coming from the enemy camp. A caravan of bull-drawn carts is carrying cargo covered in white cloth. The fact that dwarves are driving those means that whatever they were forging has been finished and is ready to be used in battle. Maybe they''re special shields that will allow those scaling the walls to defend against the bakari flames. Or they contain weapons with which they''ll get an advantage over the armored troops defending the gate.


    Whatever the case, we''ll be ready for it.


    A few hours have passed since Colart and Folke fell, and Chandra''s troops have disappeared into the forest they first charged out of on the other side of the enemy army by now. It was a bloody struggle through the humans'' ranks with most likely many losses of their own. The forest is now on fire, most likely an attempt to smoke them out or burn them alive in case they''re still hiding there. They need to take a long way around to return to behind the wall, but I''m sure they''re fine.


    The contents of the carts have been distributed among the enemy soldiers, but they were able to keep things under wraps even from the argus demon''s eyes. For now, there''s an uneasy quiet before the storm - even while humans continue to climb the wall and get thrown back down again. Whatever they cooked up will doubtlessly be put into motion before the sun sets in a few more hours.


    I couldn''t sit still all the time and decided to walk on the ramparts to inspire my troops. Raising my voice in some places, helping out by throwing ladders off in others, I show the defenders that I''m with them. Wherever I go, their morale is raised, and they fight with newfound vigor despite being tired after a day''s battle.


    "Something is coming!" The argus demon in the tower announces, and I look across the battlefield. A company of about a thousand soldiers wrapped in uniform cloaks is marching toward us as the common conscripts in mismatching equipment makes way for them. They must be some kind of elite.


    "Brace yourselves!" I''m still on the left section of the wall, so I shout out this inspiring command in place of Rhosk, whose voice doesn''t carry all the way here. The demons don''t cheer and instead quietly prepare their bodies and minds for whatever the enemies are throwing at us now.


    The human army retreats from the walls and take their ladders with them. It seems that this new force doesn''t need to come up here, so maybe they''re all mages? So far, very few mages have joined the battle, most of whom only cast some attack spells which were intercepted by our own.


    But if they''re all magical warriors, we won''t be able to defend against that. The quality gap of magic knowledge between the demons and the humans is huge. Inborn tribal magic seems to be the extent that the former is usually capable of - for example the bakari fire and wind magic of various flying races. The only reason there has been a balance between their powers is that mages capable of warfare are rare.


    The Chosen Knights were the first departure from that status quo. They''re the type only those incredible individuals like Chandra can oppose in direct battle. Colart and Folke''s defeat also came at the hands of such demons, with the help of Kamii.


    After all, I''ve never heard of a demon like Ireyo, capable of wielding such a massive sword like it''s a toy - even if it''s broken. Zancrax is also special: He wears full armor that looks like it was cut from solid granite, while all other members of his race rely on their spiked tower shields and their thick hides for protection, wearing only the bare necessities to cover vital parts. But even with that armor which might in itself weigh a ton, he''s as fast as any other minotaur. Terog may not possess any such outstanding traits, but he makes up for it with experience and wit.


    We don''t have that many such individuals among the defenders though. Even if this is a vital battle, the vast majority of them has been left in the capital in case of another sneak attack. The Maid Corps also consists of outstanding members of each demon race, including ones they''re the sole representatives of because Alverost only created them as prototypes.


    In other words, despite being more numerous than the defenders of Arkaim were when it was attacked, there are relatively few members of quality within this increased quantity.


    The company of cloaked soldiers come close enough for the lamia archers to shoot a them. But the arrows are blown off-course by wind mages among them. Maybe they really are all mages, but none of them seem to be carrying any catalysts. This makes me wonder whether or not they''re all Chosen Knights.


    Their numbers are pretty small, so it''s entirely possible that they were only trained recently. But even if that''s the case, as Chosen Knights, they pack powers that demons can''t hope to oppose.


    They line up in front of the wall and pull off their cloaks to reveal elongated rods that don''t look like staves. They lift them with two hands, one at the back and one in front, and point them toward us. The first row gets down on one knee, and the second lifts the same kind of rod toward us. Is that...?


    "Get down!" I scream, but it''s drowned out by the sound of explosions, as a storm of bullets mows down any demon unfortunate enough to stand between the crenellations.


    Several projectiles hit me, but they only open holes in my matter and pass through without causing any harm. I stare across the battlefield to see the smoke that emerged from the gun barrels get blown away by the breeze. These are natively forged weapons rather than the sci-fi laser rifles that Alverost''s troops had. They use gunpowder to propel the bullets, as I see them reload with practiced movements.


    But that first volley was a huge blow against the demons on the wall. Over a hundred lie dead, many more are wounded, but the hit to the morale is far more severe. To those who don''t understand the concept of guns, they were just hit with some magic that nobody can even react to.


    "Exla!" I turn to the cloud girl, who understands and raises her hands to create a barrier once again before the next attack comes. But from the corner of my eyes I see Zenlith, in the guise of Lucianus V, raise his arm and give the signal for his troops to advance once again.


    "He shut me out!" Exla suddenly says with a desperate look in her eyes. It seems that he''s had enough of his sister''s meddling and completely took away her rights in the Imagination Engine. "I can maintain my body, but I can''t produce any outside phenomena anymore."


    So at least she should be safe from getting killed right now. But without her, the enemy gunners can keep the defenders down while their troops climb all the way up to the battlements. Once a section of the wall falls, all hope is lost.


    The Fatas are in the process of retreating, and some overeager demons continue to chase them - including Hestia. But if the enemy decides to try shooting at flying targets, they''ll be at risk.


    "Rhosk, give the signal for the air force to retreat!" I order the Kirali commander. He was lucky to avoid any harm in that barrage just now, as even his hard scales wouldn''t have protected him from it. There are very few demons who could remain unharmed after that. "We might have to abandon this wall."


    He nods grimly and gestures at the signal archer. This is only a forward defensive position, but it is the best fortification between here and the actual city of Erbilan. Only the walls of the fortress city itself are on part with this one''s defenses.


    But Chandra hasn''t returned yet, so if we leave now, she might run into the human army occupying this place later. We can''t keep defending this position as we have before, but we also can''t just abandon it either.


    That''s when the second volley comes in.

 Chapter 128 - Winter Has Come

    The second shot claims far fewer lives than the first, but not everybody was able to react to the suddenness of the situation and duck behind the battlements. I hear the sound of ladders hitting the walls again, but the moment they do, human soldiers clad in robes already hop over onto the ramparts.


    They are hooded like the musketeers but are a different breed of warriors that instantly get to work cutting down the defenders in their vicinity. It seems that they intentionally avoided landing near Petsobek, as the crocodilians have to push their way through injured and panicking demons to get to these new enemies.


    Everything descends into chaos around us, and I look down to see that troops are storming the gateway again. If they wield guns as well, Kamii is in grave danger.


    "What was that?" Hestia lands next to me, and I pull her away from the battlements as quickly as possible. "Wha-"


    "Stay low. The enemy has a new weapon that will change war forever." I speak in a grim tone. While the guns they wield aren''t as advanced as Zenlith could have easily made them, this battle has already become separated by hundreds of years in technological level. "We need to pull back."


    The silver lining is that the muskets are long, so if we employ guerilla tactics in the buildings and streets during our retreat, they won''t be able to utilize the full potential of this new weapon. But right now, I still have no idea what to do against that considerable number of guns with what we have here. I could try to create a shield as Exla has, but Zenlith has made it clear that he won''t let it slide anymore.


    "Sound the retreat, Rhosk." I turn to the commander, only to see that he was shot in the abdomen and is now bleeding profusely. He was miraculously spared in the first volley because of luck, but it didn''t hold up for the second.


    Holding a hand in his direction, I heal him without hesitation, Zenlith be damned. The demons would descend into disarray if their commander were to fall here. Even my presence won''t be able to alleviate the hit to their morale when the only experienced leader currently present is out of the picture.


    I''ll have to believe in Chandra figuring things out herself. Gesturing at the lamia archer to fire the signal arrow, I pull Rhosk toward the stairs leading down from the ramparts. But he shakes off my grasp and stops on his own, giving me a determined look.


    "I will hold this position until everybody has retreated." Like a captain being the last to leave - or go down with the ship if others don''t make it - he refuses to abandon his post.


    "We can''t lose you here." I know that it''s pointless to argue against his will, but I still try. He shakes his head with a toothy grin.


    "No, You are the one we cannot lose here, Your Majesty." With a nod toward the stairs, Rhosk gestures for me to go on. "Take command of Erbilan''s defenses until I arrive."


    Something tells me he won''t be joining me. If I could exert my full power here, I wouldn''t have to let him sacrifice himself here for the sake of a retreat. In fact, there wouldn''t even have been a battle with so many lives lost. I press my eyes shut in impotence, then open them again to look up at the black lizard commander, forcing a smile onto my lips.


    "I''ll be waiting for you." That''s all I say before turning around and pulling Hestia with me.


    "What happened to Dregana?" The fallen angel suddenly asks, and I nearly stumble down the stairs. Over everything happening, I completely forgot to see how Morelit and his band did on their end. If they were defeated, she would be dead by now.


    "I''ll go check. You tell Kamii and the others to retreat." Pointing at the gate below us, I give Hestia this task before growing tentacles to swing myself to the section of the wall where Dregana turned back into her human form.


    When I reach the place and jump onto the ramparts, all I see are the corpses of about two dozen Petsobek and a similar number of the humans that got on top of the wall by clinging to her dragon form. No sign of the red-head, but Morelit is leaning against the battlements while coughing up blood.


    This entire section is completely abandoned, but the human troops outside don''t seem to try and climb it. In fact, they''re leaving a huge gap, as if they think that this place is dangerous. Something doesn''t feel right.


    "I''m sorry, Your Majesty." The Petsobek division commander apologizes while trying to get up in spite of his wounds.


    "Don''t move." I physically hold him down and heal him as I have Rhosk earlier. "What happened? Where''s Dregana?"


    Morelit lowers his head, and I immediately know the answer; she was taken by the humans. Hestia won''t like this piece of news at all, but we can''t do anything about it right now. If she''s still alive, she''ll be used as a bargaining chip or in some insidious machinations later. If not, there''s even less we can do then.


    "Come, we''re abandoning-"


    Suddenly, my vision is filled with fire and blood. The feeling of being flung through the air registers on the side, as my surface is scorched by immense heat and pummeled by scattering debris. I cover myself in dragon armor, unsure where I am right now before I see the sky above me. Then gravity begins to pull me down again, and I activate the Imagination Engine to stay in midair.


    Looking down, I find that the entire section of the wall where Morelit and I stood only moments ago has been blown up from below. Chunks of stones fall on the fortress city behind it, crushing escaping demons and shattering buildings in its range.


    That''s why the humans were staying so far away from that position. Whoever set this up left the Petsobek division commander there as bait so that if somebody came to check on him, they would get blown up alongside him. He''s definitely dead now; the blood that covered my vision belonged to him - and is now ingested alongside his genetic template.


    Before all of this is over, I''ll find and bite to death whoever did this while transforming into him, as a courtesy to Morelit.


    While the area near the gate has fallen to the musketeers, this part is now being swarmed with troops entering through the newly-created breach in the wall. The forward fortress is falling faster than we anticipated now, and there won''t even be time for an orderly retreat.


    I fly toward the gate again to see Kamii still defending it while Hestia hovers over them and throws black spirit spears into the gateway. They''re trying to keep in the flood so that those on top of the walls can evacuate, but they will soon be attacked in the rear by those coming through the hole that opened a short distance from here.


    The explosion didn''t go unnoticed, but they haven''t found the right moment to disengage yet. Right now, they''re too preoccupied with the thought that others on top of the wall haven''t escaped yet to think of their own timing. That''s why I need to do it for them, even if we have to leave some to die.


    "Kamii, Hestia! Time to go!" I call out to them and drop into the mass of humans pushing against the armored demons at the gate. In this chaos, Zenlith shouldn''t be able to tell what I''m doing, so I let all hell loose by turning into a dragon-reinforced ball of spikes that skewer all humans in the vicinity. That causes those that follow to stop in their tracks, which gives the demons an opening.


    "Retreat!" Kamii raises her cursed arm and directs her troops away from this position, but shoots me a worried glance. Hestia does the same while taking to the air to join the demon air force covering the retreat from the skies while staying low enough so that the musketeer army on the other side of the wall can''t shoot them down.


    In either case, everything is going to turn into a mess now. The walls are all but overrun, with individual Petsobek warriors being the sole defenders in some sections of the ramparts, still fiercely shredding their way through the humans who made it to the top. But they''ll fall eventually, giving their lives so that their allies can retreat.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    My heart aches at the thought of how many died today because Zenlith decided so, and how many more have to die until he''s satisfied. If only Exla could use her full abilities, he wouldn''t be able to walk all over us and do as he pleases.


    But then I realize something, and my heart drops. If he can shut Exla out like this for one day, can''t he continue to do that tomorrow too? Won''t he be able to keep doing this for however long he likes so that she doesn''t interfere with him anymore? Doesn''t this mean we have no hope to ever turn this around on him?


    This means I have to achieve what she wanted to do. As the one person not registered in the system but still able to use it, I''m the only one who can oppose him. Since he can''t shut me out, he had to use a deterrent to stop me from interfering, but if I can somehow prevent him from ever activating it, everything will be resolved.


    Knowing this and actually doing it are two different things though. I have no idea how to shut out his fantasy on such a grand scale. Even now, I can''t do what all the Old Humans seem to be capable of - turn organic matter into inorganic matter and vice-versa. Tahiri figured it out, and I''m sure the same is true for Korenga''s black form.


    With perfect timing, the Black God is flung across the sky, pushed by a lightning bolt that was doubtlessly shot out by Halthor. She hits the slope that leads toward the next wall a distance away from our position, shortly followed by the Chosen Knight himself traveling in a streak of lightning. It seems he hasn''t learned from Zenlith to turn himself into electricity, so he''s kind of holding onto it as if it''s a living thing.


    But before he can reach the place she fell, her form shoots out from within the dust that her impact kicked up and intercepts him in midair. They collide and fall straight down, but lightning strikes coming from above and the earth quaking under our feet tells me that the fight is still going on.


    It''s good to see that at least one front is holding, but their battle is in the way of our escape. For now, we can only try to avoid them, but it will slow down the retreat.


    "Git ay mah way." A girl''s voice echoes through the gate tunnel, speaking in a strange accent. I turn my attention back to the stalled enemies to see that they part like the sea to reveal a girl barely taller than Senka. She''s clad in heavy black armor that looks strangely blocky and uncomfortable to move in. But she walks forward as if it''s not hindering her at all, especially since she also carries a giant mace over her shoulder. Her visor is open to reveal the face of a child, framed by curly red hair spilling out from under the helmet.


    "It''s Fufia the Tiny!" The humans cheer on what appears to be a Chosen Knight. But with a single glare from her green eyes, they''re shut up.


    "Somebody caa me ''at again, I''ll shove a cane up their crease an'' use them as a bludgeon." She shakes her fist at a nearby man, who shrinks under her gaze. That crude way of talking stands in complete contrast to her cute appearance, and I''m completely taken aback by it.


    "It''s Fufia, the Titan Knight!" The enemy soldiers correct their cheers under threat of being sodomized with a stick and turned into a living mace. That''s a name I didn''t pay much attention to because of what it is, but to find that it''s such a cute little girl is a surprise.


    Well, not that cute when considering her delinquent-like facial expressions and way of talking.


    "Whit ur ye lookin'' at?" She glares up at me and raises her giant mace over her head. "Ur we gonnae barnie ur whit?"


    I don''t understand what she''s saying, but I think she''s challenging me. I''m currently not looking like I did when I defended the gate so that Kamii and the others could fight Colart and Folke, so they don''t know who I am. Otherwise, her reaction would be entirely different.


    I glance behind me and find that Kamii and her company have already covered quite the distance, so it should be okay if I retreat now too. The few remaining defenders on the walls are doomed already, and while I would like to witness their final moments and burn it into my memory, I can''t let myself get surrounded and be forced to fight. Zenlith would most likely consider even that a violation at this point.


    But I won''t let him have his way unconditionally. I know that the humans won''t believe what I have to say, but it''s worth a try anyway; there''s nothing to lose but a little bit of time.


    "Hear me, humans." I change my appearance to the one I''m known for, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing the academy''s uniform. Except for Fufia, nobody recognizes me right away though. She immediately lowers her stance and stares up at me with a cautious expression. "I am Chaos, child of Queen Pelomyx."


    That''s when a murmur runs through the troops before me, and some recognize me. Nobody tries to be brave and rushes forward to kill me, so they must have been told that I''m an existence only the Chosen Knights can oppose. Even that is false, but the Old Humans can''t admit that I''m on their level.


    "You have been deceived by your so-called gods. They were the ones who created our kind so that they could play war games." I include myself among the demons because one truth is difficult enough to understand. "Lucianus V told me that the gods planned for the demons to fall this time so that they can rise again in the future to continue this eternal war between our people."


    It''s not the entire truth, but I can''t explain that Lucianus V is most likely just an avatar of Zenlith.


    "Has it not been enough bloodshed? How many more-"


    "Enough of that." A familiar voice suddenly interrupts me from behind, and I step backward just in time to avoid the scythe slicing through where my neck was.


    It''s Serent, having the courtesy to announce himself before attacking me. The only reason I could react so quickly is that I saw that Fufia, of all people, glanced past me with a hint of surprise in her eyes. She was so fixated on even my smallest movements until then that I knew something was up.


    "You again. I have the biggest bone to pick with you." I turn around while swinging my arm, only to achieve the same that Kamii did when she tried to strike his nonexistent legs. The towering floating skeleton in black robes doesn''t even move and stares at me with the red dots in his otherwise empty eye sockets.


    "Did you just...?" For the first time, he breaks his character to point at me with his jaw open.


    "Get out of here! I''m sure you''re ruining Zenlith''s scenario with your presence!" I swing at his head this time, and he slides backward to avoid the attack while still perplexed by my unabashed pun even in this life and death situation.


    "That will not be on me." Gathering his composure, Serent turns his gaze aside and states in his eerie ethereal voice before disappearing in a black mist.


    "What did you even come here to do?!" I point at where he vanished and shout, but then a giant iceberg shoots up in the middle of the retreating army of demons out of nowhere. I watch as debris and people get launched into the air before gravity pulls them back down to earth, knowing that they''re all going to die on impact.


    That''s not something a human mage could achieve - not even a Chosen Knight - or it would have happened long ago. I''ve seen this phenomenon before, but not to this extent.


    Then the iceberg shatters into tiny pieces which roll down the slope in an avalanche, burying houses and demons underneath it like a tidal wave. It approaches us, and I look down to see Zancrax and other heavily-armored demons bracing themselves with Kamii hiding behind them.


    This is already outside of Zenlith''s scenario, so I don''t care about his condition anymore. I raise a hand and create a barrier around them just in time before the avalanche made up of sharp ice splinters rather than snow reaches them. The humans behind me start running away, but Fufia is rooted in place, looking at the incoming disaster like a deer would stare into the headlights of an oncoming car.


    I''ll be damned if I let a cute little girl die, even if she''s an enemy. Thus, I create a barrier around us as well, just enough to cover the gateway so that the avalanche doesn''t wash right through it. Then it hits, burying us completely before everything goes dark except for the glow of the shield of light.


    When the rumbling of the avalanche ends, I extend the barrier upward until it pushes a hole leading up to the sky. Then I turn around to the stunned Fufia.


    "Get away from here. Little girls don''t belong on the battlefield." I say with a shooing motion in her direction before floating up through the hole to the surface of the newly created glacier. I hear her shout after me that she''s not a little girl, but I don''t care right now.


    "Where are you, monster?!" An angry roar echoes across the ice-covered slope, and I look toward the top of it to see a lone figure with pale blue skin and tattered white clothes - barely distinguishable from the background. When I zoom in on him, I realize that it''s Zylos, Winter''s Frost. But unlike last time when I saw him, his dark blue hair is disheveled and his sapphire eyes are bloodshot.


    I''m surprised that he''s alive. Asoko told me that she ate Kanundra and then killed him with a heat beam through the chest. I don''t easily believe things unless I see them myself, even if they''re said by another me, but I didn''t think he had any need to play dead back then. Maybe he really was on the verge of dying. Well, not checking for a pulse is one of the most common mistakes I''d expect myself to make when I don''t eat the opponent whole - which I won''t do with an Old Human unless they''re already dead.


    Though having a gaping hole in the chest should kill any human - except for an Old Human, it seems. Whether that or the loss of his sister, whom he was at odds with, is the reason for his unhinged appearance, I don''t know. But it''s clear that he came here with no regard for keeping to the scenario to seek revenge.


    He may be mistaking me for Asoko, or he doesn''t care and wants to kill all members of my kind. In either case, he has disrupted Zenlith''s game, and the gathering clouds above tell me volumes about what the latter thinks of that.


    Things are getting out of hand now.

 Story Artworks 2 and Announcement

    It has been a while since you heard from me, so I had to do something about that.


    Volume 4 is nearing completion, with about 95% of the writing done. However, a Christmas release is, unfortunately, quite unlikely now.


    That''s why, for now, I''m only announcing that Demon Princess Magical Chaos: Volume 1 - The Tentacle Awakens (link)</a> is available on Amazon for FREE starting on the 12th of December (tomorrow). It will remain that way for 5 days, so don''t miss this opportunity!


    And without further ado, let''s get into the artworks by fans on my Discord Server (link)</a>:


    Spoiler: Art by Whisper, artist of the ebook covers<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    Dregana Tarragon


    Hestia


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Tahiri


    Tokomaha


    Kamii


    Spoiler: Book-only character


    Daica (Lady NIghtwane)


    Spoiler: Art by Oracle


    Spoiler: Book-only character<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    Daica (Lady NIghtwane)


    Runa Sigint


    Korenga, the Black God


    Exla, Guardian of the Soil


    Dregana Tarragon


    Spoiler: Art by Sergit<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    Self-explanatory


    Kamii

 Chapter 129 - Limited Power

    From within the clouds, a lone figure descends. A white leather coat, long silver hair, violet eyes narrowed in displeasure - it''s Zenlith. Right now, I don''t feel the need to turn around and see whether or not Lucianus V has disappeared from the platform on the other side of the battlefield because this could go down any moment now.


    "What are you doing?" The self-proclaimed Lord of the Sky asks in an annoyed tone that thunders across the area.


    "You are here because of that creature too. Where is it?!" Not showing the leader of their game any respect, Zylos yells at him to reveal me. It seems he can''t make me out from that far away.


    "You have ruined the game with your unplanned appearance." Ignoring the frigid boy''s question, Zenlith remarks while glancing around. A portion of the demon army has been buried under the ice, though it''s safe to assume that most survived it in one way or another - as if to prove me right, I see some of them popping up on the surface after digging their way through, with more and more following.


    "Fuck your game!" Pointing at his fellow Old Human, Zylos loses his temper. "She killed my sister right before my eyes!"


    "Then you are at fault." Zenlith''s merciless statement stuns the ice boy. "Being unable to protect her even with your so-called Absolute Zero means you let it happen."


    Zylos'' mouth hangs open at this accusation. Asoko told me that she doesn''t even remember what exactly happened, only that when she woke up from her popsicle state, she was incredibly hungry. There was a giant made of lava, several people she recognized and could hold back on eating, and a lone naked woman. That one seemed okay to eat.


    When she had consumed her, she finally came back to her senses, and then Zylos was standing before her. At the time, her mind wasn''t entirely there yet, so she genuinely believed that by eating Kanundra, she could use her flame powers. The Imagination Engine answered her, and she somehow overpowered his imagination with pure ignorance.


    Well, it was his fault, though. Because according to the maids that were present and witnessed it all, Zylos took away his sister''s powers when she tried to fight him, which allowed Asoko to swallow her whole. He did the same thing to her that Tahiri did to her children when they were fighting her - or what Zenlith did to Exla today through a different pathway. Only that the Lord of the Sky knows not to take away all her powers and make her mortal. Even if she''s a thorn in his side, he doesn''t want her to die.


    "Shut up!" The Winter''s Frost yells at his fellow Old Human when he can''t think of a proper comeback. He must realize that his actions directly caused Kanundra''s death, but having that pointed out to him so bluntly has angered him.


    It looks like there''s going to be a battle between the two now. I''m afraid that it''s going to cause widespread destruction, as I doubt Zylos will hold back right now. And if he goes all-in, Zenlith will have to, too. That will doubtlessly result in the destruction of this entire area, if not the whole continent.


    But hey, now that Zenlith has stepped up personally, I can use my full powers too. I only need to believe in myself, and I should easily be able to achieve what Asoko has without even knowing about the Imagination Engine.


    Somewhere halfway between Zylos and me, Zancras pops out from the ground, closely followed by Kamii, Terog, Ireyo, as well as other demons that were covered by my shield earlier. Suddenly, the frozen boy points at her, and his expression grows even more insane than it already was.


    "You!" He shouts, and the little dark elf spins her head around toward him. Then she immediately lowers her stance as if ready to fight. They know each other, huh?


    But that''s not an opponent her combo curse or clever teamwork can ever overcome. He survived getting a hole gouged through his chest, can create an iceberg in the blink of an eye, and freeze even a Crawling Chaos into a statue that required some special way of thawing - even though I''m sure at this point I could overcome that just as Asoko did.


    I immediately shoot forward and cover myself in a shield before Kamii and the others can do something rash. Coming to a stop in front of her, I extend a hand to signal that they''re under my protection.


    "There you are!" With these words, he points at me and summons a swirling storm that flies in my direction. I fly toward him and burst right through the tornado, ignoring the frigid temperatures. If I don''t feel the near absolute zero conditions in space, this is nothing.


    Zylos'' expression is filled with surprise when he sees me approach him on my own accord. But before I reach him, a lightning bolt hits me from the side and sends me off-course. Even though it was only electricity - which I''ve grown immune to after training with Tahiri all this time - I also felt a physical push. I crash into the ice splinters covering the ground but shift my transformation so that when I flip over myself, I end up standing upright again.


    "Two on one?" I turn around to Zenlith and ask, ready to accept the challenge. If I can go all-out, then I feel confident that I can deal with their personal fantasies. At least I''m immune to their abilities now so I''ll figure out how to kill them during our fight.


    "No. Keep out of this." But it seems that the Lord of the Sky has different plans as he points at me with a frown, then turns to Zylos. "Leave now, or I will have to remove you."


    "You''re defending her?" The frigid boy misunderstands Zenlith''s intentions and flares up. His character of a sullen-looking, cold-hearted person who doesn''t care about anything in the world has been completely broken, and ice doesn''t seem to fit him anymore. "Doesn''t matter, I''ll just remove both of you!"


    Does he really think he can defeat Zenlith? According to Exla, he''s the second only to her - although her level is supposedly far beyond all of theirs combined. Where is she anyway?


    Not only breaking character but also the concept he''s so proud of, Zylos extends a hand at Zenlith and shoots out a shockwave that hits the latter like a physical object and throws him backward. But he catches himself in midair and points a finger at the frigid boy, calling down a lightning bolt on him.


    But as if welcoming it, Zylos raises a hand and takes the electricity in. It courses through his body and causes his hair to stand on end as he revels in the shocking sensation. Then, as if gathering the energy in his hand, he balls his fist around it before throwing it back at Zenlith.


    Considering he can turn into living lightning, the Lord of the Sky doesn''t even dodge and takes it without batting an eyebrow. But then he realizes that hidden inside the lightning bolt was a chain of ice, which connects him directly to his opponent''s hand. In an instant, his entire body freezes over.


    However, unlike Asoko, Zenlith knows the rules behind Zylos'' imagination, as he bursts out of the ice encrusting his surface and destroys the chain in the process. Then he raises a hand at the ice boy and creates a whirlwind on the spot, aiming to shred him to pieces.


    Zylos counters it by lowering the temperature around him to the point where the wind dies down. It''s a battle between two people who know how to control the weather to some extent, so this is just a fruitless back and forth. Neither can be truly harmed by the other, so their attacks will eventually escalate and begin to involve the entire continent.


    Before that happens, I have to take either one of them down somehow.


    But as I think this, Zylos extends both his hands toward Zenlith and brings his palms together as if crushing something between them. It''s the same move the latter used on me during our very first encounter, using air pressure to try and squeeze me to death.


    "You challenge me in my own domain?" But it obviously doesn''t work against his target, who sounds angry at the attempt.


    Then, the air around Zenlith suddenly burst out into flames. It''s definitely Zylos'' doing, as he no longer cares about keeping up appearances. I doubt this can harm an Old Human, least of all one who can turn his body into lightning.


    To prove me right, the fire dies down, and the man in white casually emerges completely unscathed. But then, the frigid boy extends another hand at his opponent and the space around Zenlith warps. For the first time in their altercation, I see surprise on his face, as he looks around with a worried expression.


    "You lack imagination, Zenlith." Zylos says, his countenance as cold as he used to be for just a moment. Then he spreads his arms as if ripping something apart, upon which the Lord of the Sky''s shape is torn apart from all sides and turns into a fine mist as if billions of hooks pulled on him at the same time. "You could never deal with having your body destroyed."


    "Damn you." Even though he just lost his body, Zenlith''s consciousness still lingers in the area, and his voice echoes through the air. Why can''t he reform his body? If he can turn into lightning on his own accord, why is it so hard to remake himself after being turned into mist? Tahiri could do that quite easily when he did it to her. Does this mean he lacks the imagination to do so?


    "Sit back and watch me end this monster." With these words toward the disembodied Zenlith, Zylos points at me as if saying that I''m next.


    Well, I won''t be defeated by whatever thing he just pulled though. I was able to immediately gather my scattered pieces even when my consciousness cut out for a split second, so that won''t be able to kill me. But before he can even start attacking, I''ll make the first move.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I shoot forward at several times the speed of sound with no regard for air friction on my surface, turn my right forearm into a spike, and stab it straight through his heart. But I don''t feel any resistance other than cloth. He looks down in surprise, then turns his eyes up to give me an unhinged sneer.


    "Did you forget?" Ripping open his shirt to reveal that my spike went through the hole Asoko left there, he laughs me in the face. "But losing my sister hurt a lot more!"


    He throws a weak punch in my face, but it''s stopped by my shield. Even though he could have used the Imagination Engine to freeze me or damage me in any other way, he condensed all his hatred into this simplest of attacks. It wasn''t meant to hurt me but to appease his primal urge to kill me with his own two hands - or at least lay his hands on me once.


    I won''t wait for him to come up with a means to achieve that and return his attack with my own, sending him flying several meters away. He skids across the ice and comes to a halt, but immediately sits back up while throwing a temper tantrum.


    "This cannot be happening!" Punching the ground and jumping back up, he raises his hands to his sides. His face is cracked as if his body is made of ice, but it quickly mends itself again while he creates two whirlwinds in his palms.


    Whipping his arms forward, he makes the whirlwinds move across the ground like two giant snakes. They pick up the tiny ice splinters and grow to massive proportions, poised to shred me to pieces in their crossfire. But I fly forward once again and avoid their convergence point, then jump up when he brings them together into one massive horizontal cyclone to catch me between them.


    From midair, I shoot a beam of plasma down at him, but he raises a hand and blocks it with his palm. Then I feel a spike piercing my own palm and realize that he sent a pillar of ice right through the beam. Before he can try to freeze me, I split my hand in two and pull away from the pillar.


    That''s when he suddenly is right in front of me and grabs my throat as if trying to strangle me, intending to freeze me just as he did with my other half. I remember myself floating in the vacuum of space, wholly unaffected by the nearly absolute zero environment there. Whatever he throws at me is only minimally colder, so it shouldn''t have any effect either.


    "This won''t work against me anymore." I''ll leave him in the illusion that Asoko and I are the same person and kick him in the stomach to separate him from me.


    "Absolute Zero can''t be beaten by your puny imagination!" He catches himself in midair and roars while glaring up into my eyes.


    "That''s because what you''re doing isn''t Absolute Zero." Exla''s voice suddenly comes from next to us, and I turn my head to find her sitting cross-legged on a floating cloud while looking down on her fellow Old Human with a pitying expression.


    "Exla... what are you doing here?" Zylos is more surprised about the little Old Human''s presence than her statement but then catches onto it. "What do you mean, not Absolute Zero? It can''t be."


    "Even though your imagination is strong, you never learned the limitations of the Imagination Engine. You would think that human imagination is limitless, but it''s not. Not when the energy to realize it is limited." She sounds almost sad to see him in such a state, then goes on to explains in a grave tone. "The sun is finite, its energy finite. If imagination is left unchecked, life on earth will cease to exist."


    She points at the sun just about to disappear behind the walls of Erbilan on its way down. It confirms what I already suspected when I ran into Areteniha in Zohigal and learned that she''s an Old Human as well.


    "I''m the only one here who knows that there''s a limiter built into the Imagination Engine. You can''t request anything that requires more energy than the output that''s available to us."


    So this is the final truth behind the Imagination Engine. It''s located on the sun and draws energy from it to achieve everything that''s being imagined on earth. I''ve read somewhere that the sun''s output every second is magnitudes bigger than that of modern-day humanity''s in a whole year. Powering individuals who imagine themselves shooting flames out of a staff or even turning their bodies into lightning should be child''s play with that much energy.


    "Absolute Zero would require infinite energy or infinite time." With these words, Exla finishes her explanation. "But unlike something like destroying the universe or creating a new one - both of which would also require infinite energy - a very close approximation to Absolute Zero is achievable with very little use of energy."


    But of course. If a fantasy requires more energy than the sun can output, the request can''t be accepted. To not break the illusion, it will apparently try to get an approximate effect in those that are achievable.


    Zylos opens his mouth and closes it without saying a word when he hears this and stares at Exla. It seems his entire world is crumbling before him, as he has been so proud of his ability all this time, only for it to turn out to be a lie. But then he looks up into my eyes, and I see his wish for revenge still burning strong.


    "If Absolute Zero doesn''t work, then I will go in the other direction." He balls his fists before his entire body bursts out into flames. Maybe he wants to honor his sister with this, or he thinks that''s the only way to defeat me, who doesn''t fear cold. It''s true that as a Crawling Chaos, extreme heat does affect me more than extreme cold.


    Extending a hand at me, he shoots out an explosion of heat, but it doesn''t even get to me. With the Imagination Engine backing my shields, I''m practically immune to such things too.


    I take a page out of Zenlith''s book and bring in air pressure from all sides to crush Zylos. However, it seems to have the opposite effect as the oxygen feeds the fire, and his body grows hotter and more intense to the point where his entire form glows like a miniature sun. Heat radiates from him and evaporates the ice on the slope in a large area. The steam is then blown away by the storm whipped up by the clash of temperatures and the air pressure I''m throwing at him.


    This is only making him stronger, so I stop it. He looks up at me, and inside the radiance, I see his face smiling triumphantly. But just as he''s about to fly at me to burn me in his fiery embrace, I cover his body in layers of shields to stop his movements.


    "You think this can hold me?!" Zylos'' voice sounds like a roaring flame as he increases the intensity of his heat on his own accord. I feel the shields dissolving and realize that they must be made of something as well; Zenlith''s were made from a layer of gases that he could hold in place with his imagination, so those made from light must use something similar.


    But I simply add on more and more, hoping that he reaches a point where the Imagination Engine will deny his fantasy; if he wants to create a second sun here, it will surely be considered an impossible request.


    "Stop!" Exla suddenly calls out to Zylos, but her voice doesn''t seem to reach him in his sun-like state. "You''ll kill yourself!"


    "Huh?" I''m surprised by her trying to help him, but then notice that he''s dissolving my shields faster than I create them. A wave of heat hits me like a wall, and I''m flung backward as my surface begins to bubble to alleviate the burns. I quickly create a layered shield around myself instead and take my distance. It doesn''t look like he wants to follow me, as he continues to grow hotter.


    Has he lost control?


    Demons that were trapped under the glacier and have been freed by the heat melting the ice spontaneously burst out into flames. Those in the close vicinity instantly evaporate when Zylos turns up the heat even further.


    "Stop it!" The cloud girl tries again while even her form wavers in the heat. She can''t maintain her body and has to fly away as well now. I can''t even begin to imagine how to stop him, but I don''t think anything I can do would be able to reach him right now.


    He''s floating in place, and the brightness grows so intense that his form disappears into a sphere of light. My vision fills with white, so I quickly retreat backward while continuously mending the shields over my body, which start to get dissolved too. As I turn around, I notice Zancrax crouching on the ground with his back turned where I last saw him, the granite armor on his back red hot from the heat. He''s shielding Kamii and the others with his life!


    I fly to them and erect a shield all around us. Then I pull up a mound of earth and create a physical barrier to shield us from the direct heat radiation. I can''t even begin to imagine how hot our surroundings are right now, and I won''t activate my sense of temperature to try it out. But if I hadn''t seen them here, they would have been caught up in the mad Old Human''s meltdown.


    When I look around, the dirt just outside of the shadow of the wall is beginning to melt. I have to create a dome of earth and cool it down from the inside, or everybody will get cooked alive by the rising ambient temperature of the air.


    But that''s only a stopgap measure. I feel like this might very well be the end of this entire area, if not the whole continent. The fact that the Imagination Engine hasn''t stopped his request yet means that this is all within its output limits. When I think back to my knowledge of the sun, I shudder to imagine what it would be like to have all the energy drawn from the sun through the engine right now concentrated in this one spot.


    But the light suddenly disappears as if a switch was flipped before I could even complete the dome.


    I immediately cancel it and shoot out from behind the earthen wall to peer across the area. That''s when I find that Zylos has vanished, nowhere to be seen. The effect of his rampage is still visible everywhere, with the ground immediately underneath where he was floating a giant pool of lava.


    All demons in his area of effect have vaporized without a trace, with those on the fringes burning or already charred, while those further out have collapsed from the heat or are trying to crawl away still. The massive circle of blackened ground and burning buildings make it seem like a bomb has gone off without generating a shockwave.


    Just how many died here?


    "He''s gone." Exla comes down next to me and states in a solemn tone. "There''s a reason his sister never went beyond a certain temperature. At one point, it turns into a runaway process that goes beyond the Imagination Engine''s capabilities. His body was annihilated when the engine couldn''t keep his atoms together anymore."


    I shudder at the thought that Asoko believes she has that kind of power too; I have to warn her never to exceed whatever temperature that limit is.


    "Onee-sama!" Hestia comes flying toward us. Luckily, she was far enough away not to get caught up in it. Korenga and Halthor''s battle took them over the mountain to the right of Erbilan, so she should be fine as well.


    "Thank Exla; you''re alright." I call out to the angel girl, feeling enough relief to add a little quip. The cloud girl is floating next to me and gives me a funny look. It just wouldn''t feel right to say ''thank god'' when I have an entity so close to one right here.


    Then I look in the direction of the overrun wall. The fighting has stopped, but I still see some demons standing among the humans. Both are staring in our direction, incapable of continuing their little squabble after what just happened. They just witnessed a battle between gods, and I''m sure they will never truly understand what really occurred here today.


    What they saw is Zenlith, the Lord of the Sky, coming down from the heavens above and having an argument with Zylos, Winter''s Frost. The former was then destroyed without a trace after a short exchange of powers. Then I fought Zylos, upon which he turned into a miniature sun and then disappeared as well.


    For all intents and purposes, their principal god died during infighting, and I just killed the other one right in front of their eyes. If that''s not something to capitalize on, then I don''t know what is.

 Chapter 130 - End of the War

    I fly toward the human army after making sure that Kamii is fine and healing Zancrax of the heavy burns he sustained while protecting her. Lucianus V is still there, but his expression makes it clear that the Lord of the Sky is in charge. He''s looking at me, fearing what comes next.


    But rather than dropping a Sp*rit Bomb on the human army, I grow in size while floating in midair and look down on them. Eventually, I tower even above the gatehouse, and giants become to me what humans are to them. Nobody is moving as they stare at me in fear and awe.


    "Hear me, humans." I cross my arms and let my voice thunder across the slope. "I am Demon Queen Chaos."


    I pause for a moment and peer across the vast army still outside the gates. My wording is crucial, now that Zenlith is temporarily rendered powerless - or maybe he''s just without an immortal body and doesn''t dare to invoke his threat of upturning this continent when I can retaliate by murdering him. In either case, this window of opportunity won''t last, and if he regains control over the army, he could restart the war.


    There has to be some definitive way of ending this war, not through fear and conquest, but a peaceful method that won''t cause future generations to decide to rise up in arms again. Demon corruption is the biggest obstacle to that, but surely, there''s something we could do through the Imagination Engine. Other than that, there shouldn''t be anything in the way of coexistence, or at least mutually tolerating each other''s existences without having to interact ever again. After all, demons have this continent while humans have theirs.


    "Lay down your weapons." I start with this. Even though I try to make it sound like a suggestion, in my current form that most likely came across as a threat. Especially after killing one of their gods, that can''t have been anything but a threat. Damn.


    But the humans do as they''re told, what with a being that seems to surpass even their gods standing before them.


    "What are you doing? Who told you to surrender?!" But Lucianus V throws a fit like a child. There''s no doubt that he''s Zenlith, as I can''t believe that any emperor who moves with his armies into war rather than stays in his palace can be somebody so ignorant of troop morale.


    "If you surrender now, you will be granted safe passage back to your homelands." I really have to force myself to do this. A part of me wants to just kill them all for what they did to my people - and another part is thinking that it''s a waste of food. But the calm part of my mind decided that this is the right choice, even if most demons wouldn''t agree with me. By showing the humans mercy now, they''ll understand that demons aren''t evil creatures out to destroy them.


    "I will destroy this entire continent, Chaos! Don''t try me!" Lucianus V points up at me and yells in a desperate attempt to grandstand.


    "This war is over. Never come to bother us again, and we will leave you in peace as well." I conclude my short declaration, ignoring the tiny figure on the platform in the middle of the human army.


    "This is not over yet! You hear me?!" That''s already going beyond being a sore loser, and all I have to hold back from killing him. If I killed the Emperor of Terminus, the human army would fight with righteous fervor. I''ll end him when he comes looking for trouble next time - my revenge isn''t forgotten yet.


    Of course, if he wants to charge forward on his own, I''ll have to defend myself, won''t I?


    "No, this is over." Suddenly, a female voice echoes across the area, and a radiant beam of light breaks through the clouds above. If not for the unfamiliar voice, I would have thought that Areteniha is coming.


    However, the person appearing from within the god ray is a slender girl, barely a woman, with shoulder-length golden hair and clad in a simple white robe while going barefoot. Unlike the Old Human from the sun, she doesn''t have a halo; in fact, she doesn''t have anything that makes her stand out as a godlike being. Her eyes are closed, and the gentleness of her face lulls me into a feeling of ease.


    The Fatas still in the air begin to fly in place before her, their eyes closed and heads lowered in reverence. The humans on the ground look up with longing gazes, raising their hands as if asking for salvation. All the tension leaves the area when she descends halfway from the sky and stops before me.


    "Sintress..." Exla comments next to me as she looks at the girl in white. That''s the Lady of Brilliance, the one Arcelia and her church adhere to. There was never any mention that she was involved in this game of the Old Humans, but it doesn''t seem like she came for that reason. "She hasn''t appeared in a long time as her imagination to bring peace to the world turned out not as she wanted it to."


    "Please end this meaningless conflict, Zenlith." Sintress addresses Lucianus V directly, revealing his true identity in front of everybody. But I notice that they just stare at her with soothed expressions, no more worries in their features. I realize that she must have been wishing for people to be peaceful around her, but that fantasy of hers may be more of a curse than a blessing if it turns everybody into zombies like this.


    "Not this again." But Lucianus V rolls his eyes. "We have been over this before."


    "Then I will not leave your side until you end this game." Even though it''s supposed to be a threat, it just doesn''t feel like one. But Zenlith seems to think otherwise, as he gnashes his teeth in annoyance. So that''s what Sintress, the Lady of Brilliance is? A nuisance?


    "She was the only other person besides me to oppose this game. I wanted nothing to do with it, but Sintress tried to put a stop to it by giving the world light magic." Exla explains the relationship between the Old Humans when they first conceived this game of theirs. "You may have noticed that its properties are different from any other magic."


    I think I know what she means. It can heal wounds as if turning back time, without putting a burden on the beneficiary, unlike water magic. And the spirit spears seem to be from outside the system even, able to penetrate any barrier as if it isn''t even there - except for the dark affinity. But that doesn''t strike me as anything special. The space affinity seems far more unique, especially when there''s currently only one human who can wield it.


    Well, this is all talk within the system imposed on the humans by their false gods. Anybody aware of the Imagination Engine should be capable of doing anything without being restrained by seemingly arbitrarily inborn affinities.


    "You must be thinking about the wrong thing. I''m talking about the light barrier." When the cloud girl sees my skeptical expression, she elaborates on her earlier words. "If used right, it''s an inviolable sanctuary that not even I can break. That''s the gift Sintress left to New Humanity. The spirit spears are an unintended application of it which more warlike minds conceived."


    "What is your answer, Zenlith?" The Lady of Brilliance looks down on the disguised Lord of the Sky with a calm, almost gentle expression. Although she''s imposing an ultimatum, it doesn''t come across as such; to me, it sounds more like she''s asking whether he will stay over or go home after game night ended on a slightly sour note.


    "Damn it!" Slamming down his fist on the wooden railing in front of him and breaking it, Lucianus V seems to make his choice. Neither seems that hard on him, but one only has a temporary effect while the other would mean she would continue to interfere in the future. So retreating now and biding his time is the better option. "Sound the re-"


    "No need." Serent''s voice stops Zenlith before he can finish his order, and the massive skeleton appears behind Sintress from a cloud of inky darkness. His scythe locks onto her neck and runs across it in a motion to behead her. However, the blade disappears upon contact, and even though his face is a blank skull, I can tell that he''s surprised by this development.


    "You too, Serent. Cease your play at being death. You should grow out of that phase already." Turning around with a reprimanding tone in her voice, Sintress ignores the fact that he just tried to assassinate her. When she lifts a hand to his face, he retreats as if scared of her touch, and then disappears in a cloud of darkness again. It seems that they have the worst compatibility.


    So this is the Lady of Brilliance, the Old Human that is the bard''s mother - even if she doesn''t look old enough to have been a mother. Her confidence knows no bounds, and she seems above everything that''s happening in this ugly world.


    "Always running away when things do not go your way..." Sintress shakes her head in resignation, then turns her attention to me. "As for you, Demon Queen Chaos. I understand that you know the secret of this world."


    This is the moment of truth. She''s clearly a pacifist, but she also possesses great power. That type is the scariest when pushed to take violent actions. To me, she just seems far removed from the realities of this world, so she wouldn''t understand what causes people to kill each other. Is she going to be my enemy or will she only tell me off and be done with it?


    "I am truly sorry for the lives lost today, both human and demon." But she unexpectedly lowers her head and apologizes for something she had no control over. Or does she think she should have been here to stop it before things progressed to this point? "Please accept my help."


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    Without waiting for my reply, she extends her arms to her sides, and a warm glow spreads from her. I look around to see humans and demons alike who appeared to be dead rise again, seemingly surprised that they''re alive.


    But it''s not resurrection; she healed everybody equally, but those who are dead remain so. I don''t think bringing people back from the dead is possible even with the Imagination Engine, or she would have done it. She really is a saint at heart, though I wonder why she sat idly by all this time when the other Old Humans played with millions of lives for hundreds of years and only decided to make her appearance now.


    Once done, she turns her head to Zenlith again, wordlessly signaling him to continue with what he was about to do earlier before Serent so rudely interrupted. He grinds his teeth and calls a retreat, but nobody listens. They''re all enthralled by Sintress, whose aura puts them into a docile state of emptiness. I''m glad it doesn''t affect me; this really is a powerful curse rather than a blessing.


    As if realizing this fact, she flies past me and lowers herself out of sight behind the gatehouse, upon which the humans snap out of it. For the third time, Zenlith calls a retreat, each time further compounding on the deep humiliation he must be feeling. It seems that the Lady of Brilliance''s ability lingers a little because nobody questions that decision, and the troops begin an orderly withdrawal. Even those standing right next to demon warriors just walk away without even paying them any attention.


    Finally, I shrink down myself and watch as the humans who had pushed through the gate earlier leave the same way peacefully. Turning around, I find that Sintress is standing barefoot in the mud of the road, which became this way after Zylos'' short-lived glacier melted. She doesn''t seem to mind the dirt at all, as she smiles at the demons around her with a saintly expression.


    Walking over to her, I look around to make sure the humans are retreating from atop the walls as well. Their morale was already broken before, but if Zenlith in the guise of Lucianus V had ordered to fight to the last, they might have been swayed to do so. Her appearance pacified their minds completely, and he wouldn''t have been able to rouse them even if he had tried.


    "Rest easy now. The war is over." Sintress announces in her soothing voice, and even the demons who weren''t affected by her aura look at her as if she''s a saint. Now that she''s standing before me, I notice that she''s several centimeters shorter than Hestia. While floating in the air, her presence was larger than life, but by standing in the mud, she has now shrunk down to a relatable size. Much like me, though I did it physically.


    "Why did you decide to come forward now?" Exla comes down next to me and scrutinizes her fellow Old Human with a skeptical look. It''s the same question I asked myself, and I''m interested to hear the answer.


    "Because you decided to do the same." The Lady of Brilliance maintains her closed eyes, but that was clearly directed at the little cloud girl beside me. "I was called to the Rhodos Station to heal Alverost. There, I learned that Zenlith requested for the restriction of your access rights because he feared your interference in his game."


    So Alverost is still alive after all. And Sintress healed him, huh? It seems that she doesn''t differentiate between good and evil, and wishes to save everybody equally. Maybe she believes that evildoers will turn good once they have seen the light; it''s na?ve and helps those with the will to continue doing bad things. I''m sure Alverost didn''t have a miraculous change of heart after coming back from nearly dying.


    "It took you this long to reach here from the station?" Exla frowns as if suspecting that there''s more behind her delay. After all, Areteniha made it here in pretty much exactly the time light takes to travel from the sun to earth.


    "I saw Juzual on the moon." Suddenly, Sintress'' expression clouds over. "Or rather, the being that disguised itself as Juzual."


    "Huh?" I blink my eyes in surprise at these words. "What do you mean?"


    "A great evil is occupying the moon base where Juzual went to after your argument with your brother." She addresses Exla with these words, but the implication is that the one I met was an impostor. "If it realizes that the Imagination Engine''s amplifier is there, it may tamper with the system."


    "Wait, what do you mean by ''great evil''?" I get hung up on Sintress'' earlier choice of words.


    "The same kind I feel from you, but far greater." She points a finger at me, but there''s no accusation in her voice. Well, it is an accusation nonetheless because she called me evil just now. But I have a bigger worry than that.


    "So it''s a Crawling Chaos." I mutter, and Exla turns to me with a concerned expression. She knows what I am, but it doesn''t seem any of the other Old Humans do. Revealing myself before Sintress like this might have been a bad move.


    "As long as it remains on the moon base and does not do anything, everything is alright." But she doesn''t seem to know what a Crawling Chaos is or thinks it just another creation by Alverost. "I will return to the Rhodos station and search for Juzual''s whereabouts in the engine."


    "You''re going to leave already? Stay a little longer. We have a thousand years of things to catch up on." Exla pouts a little and floats over to embrace Sintress. Rubbing her cheek against hers, she squeezes her tightly.


    When I think about it, Juzual is what she is, Shelnir is a psychopath, and Kanundra seemed to be a tomboy, so the only gentle girls among the Old Humans are these two. Of course, she doesn''t want to get separated from her this quickly after being able to meet her again.


    "Your Majesty! A human envoy has come to parlay!" A messenger - a girl at one-to-four scale with translucent wings, which is obviously a fairy but is grouped under demonkind for some reason - arrives next to me to report.


    "What now?" I turn around and look through the gateway to see Arcelia and Thorvadis approaching on horseback. Behind the latter is Basarab, and to my surprise, I spot Ninlil riding with him. And in their midst is Dregana, sitting on a horse while covered in a blanket with her gaze lowered. They came to return her, huh?


    "Lady of Brilliance!" Arcelia is the first to call out to us. Her voice sounds desperate as she jumps off her horse and steps into the mud in her pure white robes without worrying about dirtying them. Running forward with her arms outstretched as if asking for salvation, that action only causes some demons to bar her way thinking she''s trying to attack me who''s standing next to her.


    "Let her through." I signal the soldiers, who give me a surprised look but do as they''re told. I''m glad that they''re not brainless drones who follow every order and at least questioned it for a moment - before realizing that if I can kill a god without sustaining any injuries, a human won''t pose any dangers to me.


    The Saint of Luminosity drops to her knees a few steps away from Sintress while disregarding the muddy ground and lowers her head in reverence. She only came here to see her goddess, but the others remain on horseback until they''re right before us.


    Suddenly, Thorvadis pulls out his wand and mutters something while pointing at the ground. The mud around him solidifies as if dried out in an instant before he gets off the horse. I was prepared to kill him instantly if he had pointed the wand anywhere near me. Does he not think that it was a move that could have been interpreted as an attack?


    "We have come to return the Kinslayer to you." The principal''s voice sounds a little coarse as if he has something stuck in his throat. It must be the feeling of having lost the war despite all the grandstanding earlier, and then his opinion about me being proven wrong when I announced that I would let the human army leave in peace.


    When I see Dregana from up close, her expression one of suppressed anger and shame, I remember Morelit getting blown up into my face in the trap they set for me where they captured her.


    "Were you the one who made the wall explode?" I point at Thorvadis and ask in a neutral tone that doesn''t betray my feelings. Even though I didn''t know the Petsobek division commander that well, he was a comrade and didn''t need to die in such a manner. If he admits to doing it, I''ll have him put before a military court and tried for that war crime.


    "It was the Blast Knight, Clerebolg." Basarab suddenly speaks with a rasping voice. He could have tried to invoke his mind-control ability right there, but didn''t; I was too slow to react to that prospect and let him finish a whole sentence.


    To be fair, after today, I know that the humans of this era aren''t the evil ones. Neither the principal nor Basarab ever attacked me out of malice; they even tried to negotiate with me twice. Both times, it was me who initiated the hostilities, so they had to act to protect their friends and themselves. The same must have been true for most soldiers in this war.


    Everything is the fault of those Old Humans still playing their game: Zenlith, Alverost, Oinos, Serent, and Shelnir. Though I''ll keep a question mark next to Areteniha''s involvement in this, and Juzual is another issue altogether.


    "Very well. Tell the Blast Knight that if he ever shows himself before me, I will bite him to death." Halfway through the sentence, I transform into Morelit and employ his aggressive voice to bring across my point. Thorvadis'' expression doesn''t change, but Basarab and Ninlil flinch at my casual transformation.


    The demons around me seem to realize what happened to the Petsobek division commander and lower their gazes while suppressing the pain in their hearts. Unlike Rhosk, he was very close to even the lowest foot soldiers, sharing drinks and stories with them in their barracks.


    "Rise, my child." Sintress has approached Arcelia and tries to make the latter stand up again.


    "Why have you abandoned me for so long?" But the Saint of Luminosity remains on her knees and asks while sobbing. The two of them seem to have prior history, or Arcelia is just generally speaking about the Lady of Brilliance''s absence from this world.


    "I am so sorry." Falling to her knees as well, Sintress embraces her opposite. "Even though I tried so hard, I could have never been the mother you deserve."


    Wait, Sintress is Arcelia''s mother?


    "You''re Sigurd''s mother?" Suddenly, I hear Kamii come up behind me and ask this. I spin my head around to the little dark elf, then back to Sintress. That impure bard is this pure girl''s child?


    "How do you know Sigurd?" The Lady of Brilliance sounds surprised, but her eyes remain closed even now.


    When I think about it, she has at least two children right now, so maybe that bard being her child shouldn''t be that surprising. How many children did she have with how many men across how many centuries?


    "Can you please bring me to him?" It seems that checking on Juzual can wait.


    "I will come, as well." Arcelia suddenly announces in a firm voice.


    "We cannot leave without you, Lady Crux." Thorvadis chimes in with a troubled expression. It seems that Basarab and Ninlil think the same. The catgirl in the back is glancing at me with an uneasy look, averting her gaze whenever our eyes meet. She must be worrying that I hold a grudge over our fight that day I was sent to the moon when she delayed me enough for the principal to complete his gravity spell.


    "Wait!" It suddenly comes to me, and my raised voice causes everybody to flinch in surprise. Why haven''t I thought about this before? It should have been so obvious. I turn to Sintress with a grave expression. "The one on the moon is the Primordial Crawling Chaos."

 Chapter 131 - Crowning Moment of Glory

    Because I thoughtlessly blurted out my insight regarding the being that''s most likely impersonating Juzual on the moon, we''re now in this strange situation where Thorvadis, Arcelia, Basarab, and Ninlil are in the castle in Erbilan, sitting at the long table across from us. Sintress is with Exla to my left, while Hestia and Kamii are on my right. Dregana is standing in the corner of the room as always.


    The demons outside are celebrating this almost impossible victory, but the atmosphere in the room is oppressive.After all, they just learned the truth about this world, and from Sintress no less.


    Nobody is saying a word, as each of the academy crew has a different reaction, but it''s clear that none of them can come to terms with it just yet. Only Arcelia seems to accept it all readily; she''s the daughter of the Lady of Brillianceafter all.


    Unlike with Svanhild and Dregana, who heard it from me - somebody they wouldn''t trust their lives with - they have to believe it when one of their twelve gods is saying it. She left out the Imagination Engine but revealed that neither she nor any of the others the humans of this era consider to be gods have ever been any. She also told them that the demons were created by one of them for fun and that they were manipulating both humans and demons into fighting wars as a game.


    "So you are the Guardian of the Soil?" Thorvadis seems to escape his thoughts by addressing another issue in the room. Unlike everybody else, Exla is sitting cross-legged on a cloud of her own making. Her casual display of power should confirm her status as an Old Human, but he feels the need to ask for a different reason.


    "Why is it thatthey so easily accepted Sintress for the real thing even though she only wears a simple robe, senpai?" With faux tears in her eyes, she turns to me and asks without responding to the principal''s question. "Do I have to grow big for them to believe?"


    "Not here." I pet her cloud hair with a smile. It''s precisely this kind of behavior that makes people doubt she''s a goddess whose stories include the creation of entire continents, blessing harvests, and defending all life on earth against the Lord of the Sky''s wrath when he calls down diluvian rainfalls.


    "Yes, she is Exla, the one you call the Guardian of the Soil." Sintress confirms her identity, taking Thorvadis'' question at face value. It doesn''t seem like he was asking because he doubted it but ratherthat he can''t believe two of those he calls his gods are sitting at a table on the side of the demons.


    "This is all hard to believe." Basarab employs his raspy voice to comment. It seems that he wasn''t fully healed from when I stabbed his throat in a preemptive attack, and the aftereffects have caused him to lose his enchanting voice. I don''t feel the need to apologize after everything that happened.


    "It doesn''t matter whether or not you believe it. That''s the truth of the world, and it affects us all." I remark in a harsh tone that causes Ninlil to flinch. What is it with her fear of me? "The issue now is what you will do about it."


    "What can we do about it?" Thorvadis asks with an eyebrow raised. He''s referring to the fact that the false gods are still as powerful as real ones compared to even the most powerful human mage - himself. Standing against such beings without any means to back it up will only invite death.


    "For starters, no longer call them gods." I know that it''s quite a high demand for humans indoctrinated for nearly two thousand years to make them abandon their gods so suddenly. But killing these false gods before their eyes should help - just as it did when I destroyed Zylos in front of the million-strong human army. "I''m working to break their influence on this world. Go back and tell your people that."


    Depending on how it''s spun, I can even be turned into a hero for the humans. Of course, it will be hard to accept that a demon, the enemy of many generations, is working for the betterment of the world. Especially after they just lost hundreds of thousands of lives in a war against my kind.


    "Emperor Lucianus V will not allow any of that information to spread." Arcelia suddenly joins the conversation. She has been listening wordlessly and taken everything in without making any judgment. Of course, being the daughter of Sintress, she will accept her words more readily than the others. And it seems thatshe''s already thinking ahead down the path I''m trying to direct them.


    "Can you not teach it through your church?" That''s a pretty long shot, considering churches are meant to praise the gods. Denouncing them would make it seem like they went mad with demonic corruption, and it might open up a pathway for Zenlith or any of the other gods to excommunicate any church that does follow through with it.


    "No." Kamii unexpectedly raises her voice in this discussion, even though I didn''t think she cared much about it. "Use Sigurd."


    I stare at her for a moment, then realize what she means. The bard talked about a network of his kind when he gathered intel in Hovsgaerden. She''s implying that he could utilize that network to spread the thoughts among the populace through rumors.


    "You want me to let him go?" I still have a bone to pick with those four although I don''t know what exactly it is that I should do with them. Letting one of them go would have never crossed my mind though.


    But Kamii should know that too. She only made the more mature choice, letting go of an old grudge to potentially create a path into a better future. I know that killing them won''t erase their sins, and it sure as hell won''t bring back my mother. Furthermore, it''s pretty much established that they were being played by the gods. And even if it looked like Rolan was the one who killed her, it was most likely Serent''s fantasy masked as the human''s actions to give humanity a hero.


    "I''ll think about it." I lower my gaze and sit back in my chair under the scrutinizing amethyst eyes of the little dark elf. It dawns on me that she has discerned what I need rather than what I say I want. Putting off the decision is just me being stubborn, but even I know that I will choose to follow her suggestion in the end.


    "For the time being, you can try to effect a peace treaty between the Kingdom of Lares and the Dominion of Chaos." Sintress takes the helm of the conversation. She''s directing this at Thorvadis and Arcelia, two of the most influential people in the kingdom.


    "Why don''t you help out? I''m sure they''ll listen to one of their gods." I ask the Lady of Brilliance, but only get a sad smile in return.


    "It is precisely because of who I am that I cannot do that. You have seen my effect on humans." She replies, pursing her lips in self-loathing. It seems that her wish for peace has turned into a passive ability that can''t be switched off anymore. Though the fact that it only works on humans means she made it even before the demons were created.


    I wonder why it doesn''t affect Thorvadis. Arcelia is her daughter, Basarab is most likely a corrupted human, and Ninlil is a demon, so I understand why those are exempt. Maybe there''s yet another secret to him that I can''t perceive even with my Chaos senses.


    Whatever the case, he''ll be out of my sight soon enough. We had our differences, and we did things to each other that can''t be forgiven, but I don''t feel the need to kill him anymore. But I don''t want to keep getting reminded of the failures of my past, so tolerating his presence is another thing.


    "Then we''ll have to trust that these humans won''t betray the expectations of the only two gods who consider their lives precious." I suppress the urge to sound spiteful, but it only half-succeeds. Truthfully, I don''t care if they go back to Zenlith''s side after leaving here, as I intend to put an end to all this one way or the other. If subterfuge and diplomacy fail, death and terror is always available - it just has to be done in that order. Killing the Old Humans that stand in the way of peace comes first, then I can hold up their heads to the humans and have them bow before me if need be.


    With this, the semi-secret meeting in the Erbilan castle is adjourned. Sintress has offered to bring Thorvadis, Arcelia, Basarab, and Ninlil back to the Kingdom of Lares through the transportation network. This reminds me that I never encountered teleportation again after Basarab made me forget it - except for Mithra''s.


    "Quite convenient, isn''t it?" Senka suddenly comments in my mind. I suppress the urge to flinch at this jump scare. She didn''t appear once during the siege even though so many things happened today. "Aorutihaua came here to seek shelter from their mother."


    "Huh?" I let out my voice, causing Kamii and Hestia to turn around to me in surprise. "What do you mean, seek shelter? So it really was them who shot down Alverost''s escape shuttle?"


    "I think it''s better if you come back and talk to them yourself." Senka''s voice tells me that she just shrugged even if I can''t see it. But I''m not as relaxed about the revelation that we''re harboring a person who may receive Areteniha''s wrath at any moment. I''m sure a death laser from the sun won''t harm them, but it will erase all of Arkaim, if not the whole continent.


    And that right after we saved it from Zenlith. Or did we?


    "I''ll come once we have finished everything up here." By that, I mean having shown myself at the celebrations and held a speech. Also, we need to find Korenga, whose battle with Halthor took her somewhere so far away from here that we can''t even spot them through the lightning strikes that the latter was firing off all the time. I think the two of them might still be at it even though the human army has retreated.


    "Just hurry it up. Can''t guarantee that Arkaim will still be here if you dawdle." With this ominous comment, Senka hangs up the call. Well, I could easily reach her again if I just thought about communicating with her, but I better not waste time with small talk and get to work.


    In the large hall of the keep, Chandra is fanning the flames of a brawl between one of her clansmen and a giant minotaur. The latter looks bulkier than most of his kind, has scars all over his body, and the right horn is broken off. There''s a distinctive mark on the center of his back, like a cattle brand.


    Wait, is that Zancrax? I couldn''t recognize him without the granite armor, which he never took off in my presence until now. He was close to dying earlier when he shielded the others with his body, but here he is, throwing and receiving punches with a six-armed man. I don''t know which is more impressive; a minotaur going toe to toe with an ajura warrior, or an ajura warrior going toe to toe with Zancrax. After all, he''s an extraordinary existence when compared to his kin.


    That''s when I realize that not a single minotaur is cheering for him. Terog is the only one who has his back, yelling out instructions on how to overcome the difference in arms. Sazi and Ireyo are both sitting in one corner of the hall and don''t want anything to do with things, but I didn''t expect them to join either way. But something must be up about Zancrax.


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    "Come on! You can do it!" Kamii suddenly shouts out from next to me, and I swivel my head around in surprise. I didn''t expect that she would join here.


    The minotaurs who were watching the fight with disgruntled looks stare at the little dark elf, knowing that she''s with me. They can''t show their displeasure openly with somebody I''ve recognized, so they quickly turn to their drinks and act as if Zancrax isn''t even there.


    I don''t feel like asking what the issue is, but I''ll give the hero who saved my girl all the honors. That way, those who dislike him will be shut up.


    "I know you can''t lose to an ajura." I call out to the minotaur, causing Chandra to stare at me with round eyes.


    "Ohhh! Challenge accepted!" She pumps her fists and turns to her fighter. "Ya better not lose, Mukasura. The honor of the Ajura is on ya shoulders."


    "Gee, way to put pressure on me, boss." The ajura warrior named Mukasura mutters while bracing himself. I feel like Zancrax could quickly charge him right into a wall as he did with Colart. But he''s deliberately holding back and fighting with muscle strength rather than that supernatural ability of his.


    I make my way to the long table at the front of the room where the commanders and clan heads sit while keeping an eye on the duel in the center of the room. On the way, the demons open the path before me and greet me with respectful silent bows. I''d prefer if they patted my back or spoke some welcoming words rather than act so distant. Even if I don''t have much time right now, it would feel better to be close to the populace than be placed on a pedestal above everybody.


    Though I can''t deny that I''m enjoying it. Could be as much an aspect of being a Crawling Chaos as enjoying causing death and terror is.


    Zancrax is brought down by the ajura''s strength and held in a headlock from which there seems to be no escape. Six arms beat two thick arms, after all, I suppose. But then, the minotaur pushes himself as well as the massive man on his back up from the ground and grabs hold of the latter''s leg. It''s obvious that he wants to drop his entire weight onto the ajura by falling backward.


    "Don''t let go now." He grumbles, giving Mukasura time to react and let go. But by doing so, he plays right into the minotaur''s feint, as the latter spins his for that size unexpectedly nimble body around and swings the ajura into a pillar back-first. The powerful impact seems to shake the entire room, and the six-armed warrior is down for the count.


    Chandra''s jaw drops while her fellow clan members show varying expressions of coping with the loss. That is, throwing their hands up in regret, covering their faces, or shouting at their representative to get back up even though it''s obvious that he won''t be able to. On the other hand, only Terog, Kamii, and unexpectedly Ireyo are cheering for the victor. As I reach my seat, I loudly clap my hands to commend Zancrax, causing Rankud, who''s sitting at my table as one of the clan leaders, to stare at me in surprise.


    Something is definitely up about the minotaur''s status among his people.


    "To one of the champions that took down two Chosen Knights today!" I raise my cup to Zancrax, and the ajura follow my example. However, neither Rankud nor Kethorn, the centaur chieftain, or any of their clan members join us.


    "Come on, can''t ya forget the past already?" Chandra slams her hand down on the table in front of the two chieftains and remarks with a grin. "He took the Brand; he served his sentence. And today, he fought honorably."


    "Excuse me, but what is this about?" I put down my cup and ask the three of them.


    "He''s an exile." But Kamii is the one to reply. "He killed his chieftain in a rampage and was banished."


    I glance at Rankud, who regards Zancrax with nothing but contempt. The current chieftain unified the tribes through force of arms and created the minotaur clan to be officially introduced as a potential future Great Clan. Those two most likely never met each other before.


    "Hey, ya benefitted from that the most." The Ajura clan leader points at Rankud and denies my thoughts. "Without him, ya old man would still hold onto the status quo, and ya wouldn''t be here."


    "Those two things are unrelated." The minotaur chieftain flares his nostrils and snorts.


    "You are in the presence of your queen!" Rhosk suddenly raises his voice in a dangerous growl. "Do not squabble about politics."


    He stands up from his chair and slams his tail on the ground to get silence from everybody in the room. This was meant to be the part where I hold a speech, but it seems that he''s much better suited for that.


    "This is the celebration of our victory. Honor the heroes that have died to make this happen, as well as those that are still with us." The commander of Erbilan points at Zancrax. "He is one of the latter!"


    The ajura, party-people as they are, raise their cups to toast the exiled minotaur. Kamii, Terog, Sazi, and Ireyo join them as well. I can understand that this is part of their culture, but denying him the honors for everything he has done today would be a wrong sign from me.


    "Hey, she''s not the queen yet." Chandra states with a wide grin that shows off her sharp canines. "Ya still haven''t done a proper coronation."


    "Why don''t we do it here?" I ask with a shrug, eliciting a surprised expression from the Ajura clan leader. Then I lean toward her with upturned eyes and a knowing smirk. "You are the Kingmaker, aren''t you? Or do you still not recognize my power?"


    "Oh no, I do." Waving off my thinly veiled challenge, she looks around. "But ya gotta do the ritual in Arkaim castle."


    "No, I don''t. That was a system implemented by the human gods." For now, I don''t yet feel the need to explain everything pertaining to the false gods and the origin of their powers to the demons. "No need to follow their rules any longer."


    "Ya got a crown?" It''s quite unlike Chandra to come up with so many obstacles to a coronation. I had thought she would be immediately on board with it.


    "Is this enough?" I grow out a simple crown on top of my head using my own matter. It''s covered in gold-colored dragon scales. "Or you prefer something flashy?"


    The crown morphs into one of those overly ornamental ones I''ve seen in games and anime, which don''t look practical at all and too heavy to be worn every day. The gemstones are all made from eye lenses, and the golden scales smoothen out to look like metal.


    "Oh well. But I think ya misunderstood what makes me the Kingmaker." Closing her mouth after it dropped open upon witnessing my transformation abilities, Chandra states with a shrug. "That''s what others call me because the last two I considered worthy for the part got it too."


    She pauses and looks across the room as if to gather everybody''s attention on her. It seems that she''s ready to make an announcement.


    "And I have considered ya worthy the first time I laid my eyes on ya." She finally says before dropping to one knee and lowering her head. For a moment, silence permeates the room as everybody stares at the Ajura clan leader''s actions in surprise.


    Then they hastily get up from their seats and drop to their knees as well. The only ones remaining standing are Kamii, Hestia, and Exla. The latter is sitting on her cloud, but she gives me a seemingly proud grin. The little dark elf and the fallen angel walk over to me before both lower themselves as well.


    I suppress the urge to tell them not to. This is an important moment for the demons, so I''ll let it play out. A swell of pride fills me when I think about my position in the Dominion, now officially recognized by everybody present. This isn''t really a public coronation ceremony since it only involves ranking members of the demon army and my personal followers; I''ll hold a proper one in Arkaim once we return there.


    Which should be soon since there''s still the matter of Aorutihaua.


    I leave the celebrations early, excusing myself with the truth about urgent business in the capital. The first thing on my list is to find Korenga, though. I take to the skies and start to follow the trail of destruction left behind by the battle between the Thunder Knight and the Black God.


    There are some big gaps at times, but I always find craters, burning trees struck by lightning, and shattered mountaintops that continue the trail. It zigzags across the landscape, moves from mountains to the plains and back until a thundercloud ahead gives me reason to believe I may have found them.


    But there''s no lightning coming down from it, and it looks about ready to disperse. Could it be that the fight was decided not too long ago?


    Then I realize that it''s time for Korenga to sleep. It should be past midnight now, so she must have just keeled over in the middle of their duel and started snoring. Whatever Halthor did afterward, I will have to see, but I doubt he would kill her in her sleep. After all, he''s reportedly the same type as Colart - all about chivalry.


    When I reach the general area, I realize that I don''t even need the Chaos senses to find them. In the very center of the most prominent crater, I spot two figures lying on the ground. As I approach, a duet of snoring reaches my ears, and I blink my eyes.


    Korenga and Halthor are lying opposite from each other, the former completely unscathed while the latter is bruised all over. But both are sleeping without a worry in the world. Maybe the Thunder Knight decided that if she can just take a rest in the middle of battle, he can follow her example and be fresh to continue tomorrow.


    The winner, in the long run, would have been the Black God, but I have to commend him for holding out however many hours their fight has lasted. But taking this opportunity, I''ll bring him back with me and put him in a cell with Rolan and the others. Both were ''chosen'' by the false gods, so they should be able to get along. And having a fellow human tell him everything rather than hearing it from me should help sway him.


    I descend into the crater and glance at Korenga. She must have had her share of fun today. Their battle took them several hundred kilometers south from Erbilan, so it must have been a monumental clash. It''s so far that I don''t even get reception from Senka anymore.


    Suddenly, I feel heat run through my shoulder and lose all feeling in my right arm. When I look down at myself, I find that something has burned a straight line through my collarbone, part of my chest, and severed the arm from my body.


    Without losing time, I extend my left arm, pick the severed limb up, and assimilate it back into my body. I don''t want to lose any mass when I have to fight an opponent who can do that to me without making a sound.


    My Chaos senses didn''t pick up on anything; it''s only a sphere about two kilometers in radius with me at the center, so that was a long-range attack coming from outside of that. And it cut through the light shield always surrounding my body at this point.


    "I was waiting for you." Zenlith''s voice echoes across the skies. Didn''t have to wait long to find out who attacked me just now, did I?


    Then something blips in my Chaos senses, and I immediately duck rather than harden my body. It was the right choice as a scythe made from darkness cuts through where my neck was a split second ago. In fact, it was so close that it nicked the top of my head and cut off some of my hair, which turns to ash and disappears in the breeze.


    The owner of that distinct weapon is obviously Serent, who came to assassinate me. This time, he didn''t announce himself and was trying to end it in one strike. It seems that his patience with me has run out, especially after his run-in with Sintress earlier.


    "It''s great that you came to me. Now I don''t have to search around the globe for you." I glare at the Liberator of the Dead before breaking out into my true appearance. Here, I don''t have to care about anybody witnessing us. "But I thought you would be hiding from me after everything that happened."


    Just then, I feel heat cut through my shoulder once again, but diagonally toward my waist. Taking that opportunity as my upper half separates from the lower half, the skull-headed Old Human swings his scythe horizontally to cut the immobile legs.


    But as I fall, I grow out my one attached arm and pull the severed lower half into my palm. In the same motion, I twist my body made from tentacles and reform it into a humanoid shape in midair before throwing a spirit spear right into Serent''s face.


    However, the skeleton bends his body sideways and dodges it by a hair''s breadth. Just as Exla explained, the magic Sintress created is the most powerful thing in this world if used right. And while I don''t know whether or not I am using it right, the other Old Humans sure think I do.


    Still, I can''t rest as long as Zenlith is attacking me from an unknown location with an unknown skill that can cut through my body as if it''s made of butter. It must be some kind of high-powered laser cutter; light isn''t ordinarily visible even when concentrated like that. That means I have to figure out Sintress'' inviolable sanctuary in this fight to defend myself against that as well as Serent''s cheat-like scythe.


    My faceless visage cracks open into an abyss-like grin. The time for revenge has come!

 Chapter 132 - Heaven and Hell, Lets Rock

    I may have seemed quiteenthusiastic about encountering these two Old Humans away from anything they could threaten me with but their own abilities, but their gloves are offas well. They don''t run the risk of exposing themselves before witnesses that may question their divinity here.


    Zenlith still hasn''t shown himself, but he makes his presence known through the invisible lasers cutting up my body at specific intervals. It seems that he has a cooldown, so at least I can work around it even when I have no way of knowing what angle it''s coming from.


    Well, I doknow that it''s coming from above, but that doesn''t help me much when I can''t see anything through the thunderclouds that have begun gathering again. And going up there isn''t an option when I have an opponent before me.


    Serent is still keeping up with his roleplaying of a psychopomp, so all he does is swing his scythe whenever I''m inconvenienced. Although he''s easily three meters tall, his movements are nimble; every single spirit spear has missed its mark, and he even seems to be getting better at dodging them.


    I shoot up into the air, acting as if I''m trying to break through the clouds. The Liberator of the Dead obviously won''t let that pass, as he swings his immaterial scythe by the very back of the handle to cut where I''m going to be rather than where I am.


    In an instant, I reverse my momentum and disregard all the g-forces that act on my body by virtue of being a Crawling Chaos. At the same time, I also reverse my form, turning my back to the front and the front to the back so that I don''t have to turn around physically. Creating a spirit spear in my hand to wield it as a physical weapon, I catch Serent off-guard and make his wide swing miss.


    But he seems to be an experienced fighter - unlike most of the other Old Humans - and immediately regains his composure. Raising a massive skeletal hand, he grabs my torso while pulling back his weapon to decapitate me from behind.


    Opening my hand around the spirit spear, I let it fly straight at his chest while abandoning my head by spreading the seat of my consciousness across my entire body. It''s a strange feeling, and I don''t like doing it, as I can now see from every inch of my body at the same time - it overloads the vestiges of my human understanding.


    Serent opens his mouth and angles his head, letting the spirit spear fly through the gaps of his jaw where there wouldn''t have been any in a regular human head. At the same time, his scythe cuts straight through my shield and takes off the head where my consciousness used to be concentrated in. It scatters into ash before it hits the ground.


    I''d love to make them think that they killed me, but I doubt the Old Human still grabbing me by the torso would fall for it. Dropping me like a dirty rag, he nimbly spins his scythe around his body to cut me in two. But I suddenly charge straight at him with one spirit spear forming in each of my hands.


    That''s when an invisible laser comes down and splits me down the middle. In fact, it''s my momentum that takes me through the stationary laser rather than it moving through me. As seems to be the case whenever a Crawling Chaos is burned, the surface bubbles rather than get cauterized, as if hurrying to repair the damage. It allows me to grow tendrils between the separated pieces and reconnect them quickly.


    However, this time is different. My consciousness resides in both parts at the same time, and I forget to reconnect because of this alien feeling. This couldn''t be what happened when Asoko was created, right?


    I fall past the surprised Serent, who doesn''t seem to be communicating with Zenlith directly and misses the opportunity to cut me up further. As I drop toward the ground, my reflexes tell me to form a viable human shape again, and so I do - creating two of me at the same time. The sensation of disconnect between body and mind grows as I see myself falling as if I''m looking into a mirror, but from both sides of it at the same time.


    Serent realizes that something is up and follows me to finish the job in midair. However, I focus my mind and overcome the nausea that this strange sensation causes by seeing through where my eyes should be again. It''s much more manageable if it''s just controlling two bodies, kind of like I do in the Chaos jet. But there, I was still connected through the body of the plane; these two aren''t physically linked at all. I don''t know where my mind is located, so I have to concentrate with all my being to control both.


    I fly sideways to dodge the scythe coming for the left split body, but it causes my right one to fly in the exact same direction and straight into the path of Serent''s swing. Did I say control? I''m just fumbling about with these new settings.


    "What?!" Luckily for me, the Old Human didn''t see that coming and stops his attack to retreat. Maybe it''s because both of me are still holding one spirit spear in one hand each. His surprised ethereal voice vibrates through the air and reaches both my split bodies'' ears, one of me hearing it with a split-second delay.


    This is nothing like my anime Sh*dow Clone technique! I should come back together as quickly as possible before one of me decides that it wants to remain an individual. But since I''m controlling both through one mind, that shouldn''t happen, unlike with Asoko who gained a separate consciousness the moment we split.


    "I''ll deal with this later." I make both of me create another spirit spear in my empty hands and attack Serent from two sides. Even if my mass is split in half, the very fact that this is happening right now seems to confuse my opponent sufficiently and cause him to freeze up. Unsure of what to do, he flies into the air to avoid getting into melee range with me and stares at me with the two red dots in his empty eye sockets.


    "What have you done?" It would seem that he isn''t asking me but Zenlith.


    "Is that monster an amoeba?" The Lord of the Sky''s voice booms across the sky, sounding just as confused as Serent appears to be. That reminds me of a quip Senka made a long time ago, something about me being named after an amoeba.


    "What''s the matter? Scared now that there are two of me?" I bluff by speaking with one and finishing the sentence with the other. Concentrating hard, I make one charge forward while the other throws both spirit spears at Serent just to make it seem like they''re separate individuals each with the power to fight on their own.


    He flies up into the sky to avoid both, but my control isn''t good enough to follow him right away. To hide that fact, I taunt them further.


    "So two men ganging up on a lone girl is alright, but when the situation is turned around, you chicken out?" I make it seem like I''m deliberately not following him rather than because I can''t.


    "Do not use the Helios Cannon anymore. She will only split further." The Liberator of the Dead calls out to the Lord of the Sky, either because they really don''t have any way to communicate without letting me hear it, or he''s trying to lull me into a false sense of security.


    Whatever the case, they''re becoming cautious of me now. As long as Zenlith doesn''t show himself, all I can do is concentrate on Serent. He''s quite troublesome with that scythe that seems to be able to annihilate the smaller part of whatever it cuts through. The issue is when he decides to use whatever it was that killed my mother while her body was still whole.


    But something tells me it might have conditions attached that he can''t invoke whenever he wants to. Otherwise, he would have used it already instead of engaging in close combat with me even when he fears the spirit spears.


    A thought occurs to me: What if I try this like in a computer game? Switching off the sense of sight in the forward body, I turn it into third-person view from the me in the back, which remains in first-person. With this, I can play a third-person action game as well as a first-person shooter game - although it still requires significant skill to control both at the same time. I don''t have parallel processing brains after all.


    The first-person shooter game me grows a minigun on the right arm. It''s a portable version of the plasma rotary cannon I created on my G*ndam transformation in the attack on Kairaki. At the same time, the third-person action game me creates a layered shield of light over the left arm and a spirit spear in the right hand.


    Unleashing a barrage of plasma, I aim to make Serent go back down to ground level. But of course, he doesn''t feel the need to dodge and only swings around his cloak of darkness to block the pellets. However, that was part of my plan, as disguised within the storm of bullets were tiny spirit spears that are practically indistinguishable from the plasma.


    Several of them fly straight through his inky black cloak and impact his real body underneath it all. Letting out a scream of pain, he quickly flies down to avoid getting hit anymore. But there, I switch my focus to the melee me and stab upward with the regular-sized spirit spear.


    He swings his scythe at me in hopes to make me get out of the way on my own volition, but I raise the shield even though I know that it won''t be able to block the blade. Instead, I extend my arm and stop the pole of his weapon before the blade can slash through my upper body. In the same motion, the spirit spear goes straight for Serent''s face.


    In the last moment, he reflexively raises a skeletal hand to capture it, but the light magic pierces through his palm and impacts the left side of his face, where it explodes on contact. Just then, heat cuts through my body, causing it to split down the middle. Both parts regenerate and grow into full bodies immediately.


    For a moment, seeing everything from three different angles causes my mind to snap a little. But it only feels like a rubber band being accidentally let go in the wrong direction. This is the first time I''ve seen myself see myself so my brain is turning to mush and flowing out of the duck into the squirrel-


    "Stop!" I shout at myself and all three of me freeze on the spot. Looking at each other for a moment, I scratch all of my heads at the same time and then smile vacantly. "Why, this is a funny feeling..."


    "My face!" The Liberator of the Dead roars as he rights himself after the explosion to the side of his face, then pulls aside his cloak to reveal a multitude of skulls in place of his ribcage. He doesn''t have any legs, and the body ends in a dangling spine. Several of the heads have also been damaged by the spirit spears fired from the minigun earlier, but he takes out an unscathed one and replaces the head on his shoulders with it, dropping the skull to the ground carelessly.


    Then he notices that there are three of me now, and his new jaw opens with an audible clatter. That just looks so funny that I burst out laughing, but one of me has to dodge quickly as he angrily swings his scythe at me.


    "I told you not to split her further!" Serent shouts up into the sky.


    "She was going to kill you!" Zenlith''s angry voice echoes across the area in reply. I don''t understand what''s wrong with that. In fact, why did he stop me from doing it?


    No no no, my mind is getting messed up. I''m forgetting who is what and what is the name of that animal I feel over there?


    "I do not die! I AM DEATH!" Serent''s thunderous announcement pulls me back a little before I almost fall down the mental rabbit hole. I really have to pull myself together right now. Maybe in the literal sense too.


    "Spoken like a teenager in that phase of their life!" The first-person shooter me points at the floating skeleton with a pitying expression, which causes the other two of me to burst out laughing. "Hey, what''s so fu-huhuhu hahaha!"


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    Then the first-person me starts laughing too, infected by the general feeling overcoming my mind. If there was something important we had to do, I already forgot.


    "Wait, pull yourself together!" I suddenly shout out to myself, and all three of me freeze while staring at Serent.


    "What is going on?!" Zenlith''s voice echoes across the area, clearly wondering about my strange behavior.


    "Why don''t you come down here and find out?" The three of me speak in unison. At least in this case, my mind is made up of butterflies instead of bubbles. No, my mind is in harmony when it comes to its response to one of the Old Humans responsible for the death of my mother.


    "Know who else is responsible?" The new me asks the third-person action game me.


    "This one!" The first-person me raises the minigun and unloads a volley straight at Serent without regard for the new me standing in its path.


    "Woah there!" She rolls out of the way just in time to avoid it. With a nimble sideway gliding motion, the skeletal Old Human does the same.


    "I''ll have to pin him down before I can shove this long and thick thing down his throat." I say to myself, prompting me to rush at Serent from both sides while the first-person me aims the minigun once again.


    But then the invisible laser comes down again and splits that one down the middle. Regenerating the lost half from all the mass I have, I find myself quartered.


    "Whee!" The new me makes with a blank grin while pointing at the me still holding a minigun.


    "Am I getting dumber with each split?" I ask myself, but realize that all four of me have the same blank smile. "But this feels really good."


    "More!" Two of me shout up into the sky, asking Zenlith to split me further.


    "What are you?!" But he instead just booms across the sky in a mixture of anger and confusion.


    "I''m Chaos!" All four of me announce in unison, each in a different intonation. The first sounds determined, the second angry, the third somber, and the fourth has the voice of a happy little girl. But they''re all me hahaha~


    "We have to hurry! She is coming!" Serent makes his scythe disappear into the blackness of his cloak and raises both his arms. Darkness begins to swirl around him; so maybe he''s going to use whatever he did to my mother.


    "Why did we stop calling her Maou-mama, I wonder?" The innocent fourth me asks all of a sudden. It causes me to stop dead in my tracks before the first me answers. "Because it didn''t feel appropriate to call her that after her death."


    "Girls, we have bigger things to worry about." The somber third points at Serent gathering his powers.


    But to me, that looks like useless visuals to impress an audience instead of having any practical reasons. I''ll use that opportunity to attack him while he''s standing - or floating - in place and doing the male counterpart of the magical girl transformation sequence. The villains could always attack them at that time, but they don''t do it, seemingly out of courtesy. Or simply because the plot demands it.


    I''m neither a villain nor courteous, and there is no plot to follow. I''m four. No wait, there are four of me, of whom one seems to be four years old.


    "Stop thinking, start doing!" The angry second me shouts out and splits my arms into their individual tentacles. Then a spirit spear appears at the tip of each, with which I run at Serent.


    At the same time, I lift both of the determined first''s arms, grow a minigun on the one that doesn''t have one, and unleash a storm of plasma pellets at him from another angle. The somber third summons two light barriers on the Liberator of the Dead''s sides and motions them to squeeze him in.


    The fourth me giggles like crazy while pointing at our more or less coordinated effort.


    But a lake of darkness suddenly spreads out underneath Serent, into which he disappears right as the light barriers created by the somber me are about to lock him in place. The angry me just barely misses the top of his head with the closest tentacle before he disappears, and all the spirit spears and plasma pellets fly through empty space.


    That''s when the innocent me notices a giant face forming in the clouds, which is definitely Zenlith''s doing. Serent''s lake suddenly shoots upward as if something exploded inside it, and the darkness flies straight into the cloud face like a burst of-


    "Ahahahaha!" All four of me point and laugh at this unintentional comedy. But then there''s a break in the clouds, and a beam of light comes straight down onto the fourth me. All sensation disappears from that area of my body, and I watch in horror as the split body turns into dust.


    "You took my innocence!" The angry me shouts up into the sky, only to receive the next beam of light. Once again, I feel a part of me disappear and turn to nothingness. This weapon doesn''t seem to have a cooldown and instantly erases my mass without any way to counter it. Is this the end?


    "Ahhh! I don''t want to die!" The somber me cries out, but then I realize that it came from both of my remaining bodies.


    "I won''t let you die, senpai!" Suddenly, the clouds in the sky disperse in an instant, revealing a massive triangular vessel floating in place. There''s a gigantic dome-shaped structure attached to the bottom, as well as what appears to be an antenna on a swivel. The former is doubtlessly the weapon that destroyed my split bodies, and the latter is the Helios cannon.


    "Exla!" Both of me shout at the same time, and I feel relief washing over me when I see the cloud girl above me. "Wait, are you-"


    "Yes." She replies with a confident grin without waiting for my actual question.


    "Wait!" Zenlith''s voice appears to come from a speaker system in the flying vessel rather than because he''s dispersed in the atmosphere or something like that. So that was his trick all along? "If you attack, I''ll destroy this continent before you can reach me."


    "No, you won''t." Exla raises a hand, then brings it down on the ship in a chop of rebuttal.


    "Misleading perspective, oi!!!" I point at her and shout in surprise. It looked like she was much smaller and somewhere between me and that thing in the sky, but she was actually massive and far behind it. Her voice was echoing anyway, so I couldn''t tell the distance that way.


    "Nooo, stooop!" The Lord of the Sky''s voice sounds desperate, but it''s too late to plead for mercy. The cloud girl''s hand breaks straight through the hull of the ship and snaps it in half. A massive explosion occurs as something important was hit and detonates. I spot an escape pod separating from the hull just before that place bursts out in flames as well.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" The determined first grows in size and turns into a smaller version of the Godslayer Cannon - all that my mass can achieve right now. Never has its name been as appropriate as in this very moment, as I''ll kill the real body of a self-proclaimed god with it.


    But before I can fire, Exla''s hand comes around and grabs the pod out of the air.


    At the same time, the remaining other me notices that among the falling rubble, Serent is coming toward me. The damage to the skulls making up his chest has been healed, and he brings out his scythe from inside his cloak in a last-ditch effort to kill me. However, he has to decide between the two bodies first.


    And not like getting cut by him instantly kills me as long as I can spread my consciousness evenly across my bodies. I''ll only lose mass, and he''ll have to repeat that process many times until I''m too small to hold my current consciousness. But before that can happen, I''ll have destroyed him first.


    "Do it! Come on! Kill me now! I''m here!" I raise my determined half''s arms and mock him by undoing the minigun transformation. It unexpectedly has the intended effect, as he flies forward straight at that me while ignoring the other me.


    At this point, my control over the split bodies has become impeccable. After all, getting a taste of four separate bodies with one consciousness seems to have unlocked my potential or something.


    The body being attacked splits down the middle while the other one comes flying forward at speeds faster than that of sound - with an array of spirit spears angled and focused into a point like a ramming spike. The surprise of seeing me split causes Serent to waver for a moment even though he knows that the Helios cannon was destroyed.


    That causes him to not notice the deadly missile flying toward him from behind. The light pierces his head and disintegrates his skull from behind.


    Then the sonic boom hits my split parts and sweeps them away from each other even though I intended to put them back together right away. Now my mind rubberbands once again as the world around me twist for a split second.


    The headless torso of the Old Human falls to the ground, causing my mind to return to reality. Through my Chaos senses, I can tell that it''s not over yet; he still has a life signature. There are a dozen more skulls to replace the one he lost, and one is slowly creeping up his chest toward the stump of his neck. That might be his fantasy of immortality.


    Instead of smashing them one by one, the closest me grabs the body by the dangling spine.


    "W-wait! What are you-" All skulls speak at the same time. His arms are unmoving, so before the missing head is replaced, he seems unable to move. That means he''s utterly at my mercy. And I have none to spare right now.


    I swallow Serent whole before he can regain control over his body. Transforming my unfathomable insides into a grinder made from dragon armor, I begin to move on him from all sides. He realizes that there''s no escape this time, as one skull after another is shattered and ground into dust.


    "Stop! I don''t want to die!" A multitude of voices screams inside me, but I speed up the process before he can attach the replacement head to the neck and regain his freedom of movement.


    Before long, he''s ground down to dust disappearing in my depths as nutrients. His life signature within my Chaos senses fades as nothing remains of him.


    With this, Serent is dead.


    "Is he..." Exla comes down in her giant form, her hand still closed around the escape pod in which Zenlith is doubtlessly pissing his real body''s pants.


    "Yes." The part of me that ate him replies. Then I walk forward with my other two thirds, causing the cloud girl to blink in surprise. "And yeah, that happened. Guess I can split now."


    As I say this, I rejoin the three pieces to form a full me again. My mind still feels wonky, so I hit the side of my head as if that will put the loose screw back in. Then I look up at Exla with all the determination I can muster.


    "Now for Zenlith." I extend a hand as if asking her to give him to me. She stares at me for a moment, then looks down at her balled fist before opening it - to my surprise.


    But suddenly, a lightning bolt shoots out from her hand. She furrows her brow, and just a few dozen meters away, a figure drops out of the sky, crashes through some trees, and impacts the ground.


    She just denied his fantasy with a simple thought, just as she blocked him from turning his threat of destroying this continent if she were to attack him into a reality earlier. I fly over to where he fell and find a naked boy looking like a younger Zenlith trying to get back up. It seems that she didn''t fully turn him into a simple human and let him retain at least a modicum of power that allowed him to survive that fall.


    "Exla, how could y-?!" He turns around and shouts, but then sees me still in my Crawling Chaos form and shrinks back. His eyes are round, and his mouth moves without making a sound. That''s an expression of fear, and I revel in the thought that this is an Old Human.


    "Are you going to kill him?" The cloud girl asks behind me, though her voice makes it clear that she has no intention to stop me if that were the case. It seems that she has already given up on her brother''s life.


    "No." To both their surprises, I reply in the negative. One part of me really wanted to until I saw him like this, and a big part still wants to even now. It''s not that I have any pity for him in this powerless state, but that I think death is too quick. After all, it wasn''t from Serent''s power alone, but with the help of Zenlith''s war machine that my mother was killed. "Not yet."


    "What do you mean?" Exla sounds concerned as if expecting that I''m going to torture Zenlith for a long time before finally ending his life. It''s a tempting prospect, and he certainly deserves it for all the things he''s done. But Serent deserved it all the same, and he got a quick way out because I didn''t want to take any chances.


    "Death is too light a punishment. I will take away all that''s precious to him." I cross my arms and look down on the boy. The fact that he isn''t glancing past me to his sister tells me that she isn''t one of those things. He''s an arrogant little kid whose game and reputation are more important to him than family and morals. That''s what he''ll suffer to lose then.


    "W-what do you intend to do to me?" His voice is a mix of fear and indignation, but I don''t sense a hint of regret or repentance in it. It''s hard to be humble when one hasn''t had the need to do so for however many thousand years he has been alive.


    "You''ll see." I extend a hand toward him and state with a cold smile.

 Chapter 133 - Long Live the Queen

    "Are you sure about this, senpai?" Exla asks me with one last concerned look back down the long corridor before the blast door closes. I returned to Arkaim with the cloud girl and the de-powered Zenlith and was led to one of the vaults from their age. It would appear that the current capital of the Dominion was built on top of the ruins of an ancient city called Arkheim, and there''s an extensive underground bunker that hasn''t been discovered by demons due to its impenetrable walls and an entrance that only opens for Old Humans with the correct code.


    There, I locked him into a room shielded on all sides by thick walls from which there can be no escape without his abilities. According to Exla, as long as the new humans believe in the immortality of the god Zenlith, he will be unable to die even when she strips him of all his abilities. His body may be destroyed by disintegration - though I still don''t know how to replicate what I did at the time - but he can reform it as long as the Imagination Engine is active.


    I don''t want to kill all humans, and I don''t want to shut down the engine that most likely powers a lot of demon lives. So for now, I can only imprison him and proceed with what I told Thorvadis and Arcelia. Eventually, he''ll be ripe for the picking.


    "Are you having second thoughts about handing him over to me?" I float up into the night sky while turning to Exla. She shakes her head, and the fluffy hair seems to poof up even more under the motion.


    "He deserves what''s coming to him." Her expression tells me that she has resolved herself to let Zenlith, her brother, and only remaining family member in this world, pay for what he did with his life.


    "As I said, I''m not going to kill him." Petting Exla''s hair, I give her a warm smile, and she nuzzles into my hand. My plans for him aren''t very thought-out yet, but I know that only killing him would be too little of a punishment. Serent''s death was too quick and not nearly as painful as he deserved, but I didn''t want to risk anything at that moment.


    The thing I want out of the guilty Old Humans the most is terror equal to what they caused, and regret that can break a human''s spirit. Leaving Zenlith to think about it for a while without any contact with others is only the first step. I''m playing the long game, now that the immediate crisis has been averted.


    "Where are you going?" Senka suddenly appears before me in her astral body, her expression anything but amused.


    "Back to the party in Erbilan. I''m sure they''re beginning to miss me." I reply in my mind and think about all the food I''m missing out on. Also, since the cleanup of the corpses isn''t beginning until tomorrow, I''ll snatch up a mountain of human bodies to replenish the mass I lost in the battle against Zenlith and Serent. Currently, I barely have more than I had when I was first sent to the moon.


    "Aorutihaua is impatient and thinks it''s best if they left for Armeria again." The doll girl informs me while crossing her arms, and I turn my head to look at the floating castle above Arkaim. I zoom in on the highest tower, where I spot the androgynous onyx-skinned child sitting with their legs dangling over the balcony. Senka is right beside them, most likely trying to convince them not to leave.


    "Alright, I''ll talk to them." Sighing, I turn to Exla. "Go ahead without me. Tell those in Erbilan that I''ll be coming soon."


    "What is it, senpai?" The cloud girl looks up at me with an eyebrow raised, but I tilt my head toward the castle. She doesn''t know what it is that I pointed at but takes the wordless explanation without asking any further questions. She doesn''t go ahead though and follows me.


    "[Hey, what''s wrong?]" I come to a stop in front of Aorutihaua, who looks up slowly, seemingly without a hint of surprise at my presence. They look the same as they did when I first met them, a pointed helmet obscuring their face.


    "[Mama yelled at me.]" There''s evident dejection in their muffled voice, and I suppress the urge to pet them. Doing so while the helmet is on is pointless, even while the point may come across.


    "[So you ran away?]" All depends on their answer now. If they ran away on their own after being yelled at or were sent away for a while, nothing will come of this, and mother and child will eventually reconcile. But if they ran away to escape their mother''s wrath, then we may all end up as collateral.


    "[This is the first time she has been angry with me.]" Lowering their head, Aorutihaua speaks in a miserable tone. Maybe they''re just overreacting, but I don''t want to take any chances.


    "[Can you bring this child someplace safe?]" I ask of Exla with an imploring gaze. First of all, I need this potential ticking time bomb to get away from this city. There are a lot of things I have to do right now, but I think I know where I can bring them once I''m done here.


    "[You want to get rid of me?]" The onyx-skinned child in question looks up at me, reproach in their muffled voice. Even through the helmet, I can tell that they''re pouting.


    "[Be a good child and stay with aunt Exla until I come to play with you.]" Patting the helmet after all, I put on my friendliest face. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see the cloud girl''s face close to mine. She wears a fake smile that would have frozen my blood if I had any.


    "[Aunt?]" She asks, not dropping the mask of smiles that covers the death glare underneath.


    "[I bit my tongue.]" I try to wiggle my way out by sticking out said tongue and averting my gaze.


    "[That was on purpose!]" She spins me around to make me face her wrath.


    "[I bitted my fong.]" Repeating myself in a childlike voice while lisping, I flutter my eyelashes innocently.


    "[It wasn''t on purpose after all?!]" Finishing the skit, Exla reacts precisely how I expected her to. Then her fist comes down on top of my head and causes me to bite off my tongue, which was still wedged between my teeth. "[Don''t think I don''t know this one!]"


    "[Come on. Compared to them, you''re ancient.]" I catch the tongue before it can fall into the city below and integrate it back into my body.


    "[Girls don''t like it when their age is played up, senpai.]" Exla retorts and puffs out her cheeks.


    "[Hey, you''re scaring them.]" Gesturing at Aorutihaua, I notice that they''ve taken off their helmet and are watching our exchange with interest. I guess the comedic skit actually made Exla more endearing to them.


    "[Come with this aunt. Let''s leave this granny to her adult business.]" Extending a hand toward the onyx child, the cloud girl regards me with a pout. I throw up my hands in defeat; I look the oldest here, and by my logic of calling Exla an aunt despite her childlike appearance, I can''t be anything less than a granny.


    I watch as Exla and Aorutihaua begin to fly away from the castle. Both turn around several times, and I wave until they disappear in the distance and start to travel at full speed. Maybe the cloud girl is taking them to Yagrath, though I doubt she''d want to expose her garden to the wrath of Areteniha either.


    With these thoughts, I descend into the courtyard. Since I''ve already stopped here, I might as well greet my girls before returning to Erbilan. I land in front of the main gate where I met Rewera earlier to hand over the sleeping Korenga to her. Halthor has been secured in a cell next to the one in which Rolan and the others are staying, after being stripped of anything that could serve as a catalyst, of course. He''ll have time to talk to them and Svanhild, a fellow Chosen Knight, when he wakes up.


    During the time when Exla showed me the vault in which I locked Zenlith, I had the maid leader spread the news that we won the siege of Erbilan. Whether or not that also spells the end of the war, we''ll see; I can only put so much trust in Sintress'' effect on the humans.


    But I''m confident that the morale of the humans should be thoroughly broken when I announce that their principal god has been defeated and that I even overcame the self-proclaimed embodiment of death. Though I wonder what happened to Lucianus V now that Zenlith has been rendered completely powerless. Did he turn into mist or become a lifeless doll? Whatever the case, as long as he isn''t in control of the empire, we can find peace.


    A sudden cheer from the streets of Arkaim causes me to look in the direction of the castle walls. The sound spreads like wildfire, and I hear all kinds of voices screaming in joy as the city doubtlessly fills with people leaving their homes. It seems that the maids have quickly broadcasted our victory at Erbilan already, and the celebrations are beginning now.


    They''re getting in the perfect mood for a festival, and I don''t want to miss it, but I still have to return to the party in Erbilan as well. I''ll give the girls a kiss each and quickly make my report to the military staff that stayed in Arkaim, then go back before returning here in the morning to announce my official coronation - which I''ll place two weeks from now.


    After all, I still need to go to Zohigal and talk to the lizardfolk about a treaty for the future. I initially promised to return there yesterday, but I''ll have to do it tomorrow to not keep them waiting too much longer. There are many things that need to be done before I have the leeway to attend a grand ceremony before the people.


    I enter through the front gate and am met by two rows of maids greeting me with respectful bows in the entrance hall. Although I told them I''d be heading back to Erbilan right away, they still lined up neatly to wait for me here. What would they have done if I only returned two days later?


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "I apologize for our inability to do so earlier, Your Majesty." Rewera stands at the very end and welcomes me with an official air about her gesture as she bows at the perfect angle.


    "It''s alright." I wave off her concerns and peer across the lowered faces of the maids who each have their eyes closed in anticipation of their leader giving them the signal to move. They''re no longer the one hundred-strong Maid Corps anymore, as some left with Asoko. But those that remain are here either out of a sense of duty or because they''re attracted to me rather than to my lower half.


    I could have worded that better.


    My eyes stop on Nymphy, who can''t close hers. I''m sure her compound eyes see me looking at her, as she purses her lips slightly while her cheeks redden a bit. Maybe she remembers what we did that night and interprets my gaze as another invitation. I give her a passing smile and proceed onward. I''m not at all averse to that idea; it was a good night.


    At the end of the hall, I look up at Rewera with a casual expression, then wordlessly ascend the stairs. She immediately follows me, and the maids do the same, slowly dispersing along the way to do their work or head for sleep at this advanced hour, as I move toward the conference room where the military brass would be pulling an all-nighter if it hadn''t been for our quick victory. But even now, they still await me there, unable to go to sleep until they have ascertained my safety with their own eyes.


    Rewera pushes open the door for me, upon which Ophalen and the others stand up from their seats. I glance across the gathered clan heads before breaking out into a smile. Aurelia and Tokomaha regard me with expressions that suggest my victory was a matter of fact, while Vitalis smiles at me shyly.


    "The siege of Erbilan has been lifted. The humans are retreating under the guidance of the Lady of Brilliance." I begin with the news that they can grasp, but the mention of a god already causes the clan leaders to blink in surprise. Then comes the bomb. "I killed Winter''s Frost at Erbilan."


    "After the battle, I went to pick up Korenga whose battle had taken her hundreds of leagues south of Erbilan. There, I was ambushed by two gods. I killed the Liberator of the Dead." Patting my stomach with a cold smile, I announce. "And the Lord of the Sky has been rendered powerless and is now imprisoned under Arkaim."


    At the revelation that I killed Zylos, their mouths already slackened in surprise, but when they hear of those feats, I could imagine their jaws dropping to the floor if they weren''t attached to their bodies. Though, with a metallic clang, Ophalen''s metal lower jaw does come undone and falls onto the table, revealing the grievous wound underneath it. Nilotec quickly picks it up for his father and snaps it back into its mounting.


    "With this, the human offensive has been crushed. Emperor Lucianus V was just a puppet. With his strings cut, he won''t dare to do anything." I conclude the quick report. The death tolls and damages in Erbilan haven''t been calculated yet, so I can''t tell them the numbers, but they''re pretty high. It''ll take a while to recover from that.


    But all that matters right now is that we beat back an army over a million strong, with barely one-tenth of their forces. If we can do it once, we can do it again - especially when their power has been reduced by three whole gods.


    "Oh, and Chandra crowned me queen." I quickly add, but it doesn''t seem to come to anybody''s surprise. At these words, all the gathered demons smile before bowing their heads in reverence. The feeling of their respect washes over me, and I suppress my flaring emotions. Glancing at Aurelia and Tokomaha, who haven''t moved, I see that both are, once again, taking this as a matter of course. Only Vitalis lowers her head alongside the gathered demons, deeper than anybody else.


    The golden girl''s smile does tell me that she was waiting for this moment when I would become her equal not only through power but also in my position in this world. She already deemed me worthy before, but now I''m her equal in every way. I''ll exceed her expectations though.


    The little goddess gives me a look that suggests I better not neglect her now that I''m going to be a lot busier with statecraft - in which she can''t help me. I better keep her happy, or she might just up and leave. After all, gods from Armeria seem to be quite capricious - if Tahiri and Aratio are any indications.


    With my report out of the way, I let the questions begin. Most revolve around who died and who survived, and numbers that I can''t provide right now. While most commanders in high positions came through alive, I had to inform Ophalen of the death of his son Morelit with much regret. I was there in his last moment, and it wasn''t the death a warrior of his caliber deserved - but I told the old crocodilian that if I ever met the one responsible, I''d take revenge for him.


    Finally, the talks are concluded, and I tell them that I''ll return to Erbilan until the next day to ensure everything is in order. Neither Aurelia nor Tokomaha complain after hearing what happened in the siege battle. They know that the people over there deserve my attention more than they do. Vitalis looks dejected but doesn''t say a word either.


    With a nod at Senka, who has been sitting quietly and unmoving in her chair like a puppet with its strings cut - though all the while following my movements with her eyes - I leave the conference room. Rewera is the only maid to accompany me to the top of the tower from which I take off, though we do pass several maids along the way.


    Most of them voice their congratulations on my victory which they couldn''t do when standing at attention earlier, though some only bow silently in their shyness. Each one gets some hair petting from me nonetheless, leaving all of them speechless in my wake. With the mood in the castle set for my return, I inform the maid leader of my intentions of the crowning ceremony in two weeks from now before taking off back toward Erbilan.


    There, I first sweep across the battlefield and swallow as many human bodies as I can find. If they come back to ask for their fallen, we''ll tell them that they''ve been cremated, as is the custom among several demon tribes. The dead themselves don''t care what happens to them after death - unless they turn undead and their souls are bound to their rotting corpses. Cremation or consumption has the same result in either case.


    When I return to the keep, I find that the party is still ongoing and has become quite raucous. The ajura are some of the best drinkers among the demons, and it seems that they challenged everybody else to drinking games or contests. Those that haven''t collapsed already are bellowing in celebration or roaring victory songs. Chandra is obviously the one who catches me and makes me compete with her.


    After a few drinks, I do feel my tension fade away. Usually, I wouldn''t be affected unless I drank away a barrel of strong ale, but I''m deliberately letting go of my inhibitions. In case something happens, I can always refresh my body with a simple thought.


    Thus, we drink and celebrate through the night, consuming the stores of alcohol in Erbilan''s keep. Kamii and Hestia, who retreated somewhere so that they wouldn''t get roped into joining the alcoholic part of the festivities, return when they learn that I came back. I promptly place giant jugs filled to the brim in front of them, and soon, they become intoxicated as well.


    When I think about it, this is what I believe this new life - I can no longer say new world after all - should boil down to. With my two girls here, I can''t argue that my time when I was with Rolan and his party was better, but it was definitely unburdened by the fates of nations or even the entire world. The celebration after a completed quest is what I felt to be a highlight of life.


    Looking back, I haven''t had any such celebrations until after I was brought to Armeria in the wake of my mother''s death. There, we celebrated the victory over the God King''s small army coming to destroy Aoranam. Later, we ate and drank after winning over Roamukao, and had a big farewell feast after taking Kairaki and bringing reform to the Kingdom of Adanak.


    Before then, I mostly experienced setback after setback, so I never got to realize how much I like doing this. Of course, I understand that if it isn''t earned, it''s just empty partying. As the leader of a nation, I have to be careful about wasting money.


    With these idle thoughts, I cheer as Kamii and Hestia down the brew in their jugs, swept along by the festive atmosphere.


    I wake up in the morning, lying naked on the broken remains of a table with Kamii and Hestia in a similar state of complete undress on top of me. Unlike me though, they found blankets to put underneath themselves and to cover themselves up with, and only I''ve been left out in the cold in all my bare glory.


    Looking around, I find that many other demons are in the same situation as I. Some groan as their sleep is made uncomfortable by their positions or others lying on top of them, others are beginning to wake up while wondering what happened.


    Even though I drank a lot, I don''t have a hangover. What I do have is a blank space in my memories when it comes to the circumstances that led to my current state. Did I do it with my two girls in front of everybody, or did we all just strip down in the heat of the moment and dance on top of the table until it broke?


    Carefully slipping out of their embrace, I grow out tentacles to softly place their heads down before sitting up and peering across the room once more. There''s a hole in the wall, and an ajura''s legs stick out over them. By the look of the sandals, they belong to Chandra, whom I might have punched through the wall. A lot of other tables and chairs are broken, and many demons look battered and bruised - not the result of the battle yesterday.


    A drunken brawl perhaps.


    I sigh and make a mental note to not overdo things from now on. For some reason, I feel like I''ve made one before but forgotten about it. Must have been a long time ago.


    With the victory party in Erbilan concluded, I oversee the beginning of the cleanup in the morning, both inside and outside the fortress walls. There''s no need for me to stay, and neither is there for Kamii and Hestia. Bringing them as well as the little dark elf''s party along, we head back to Arkaim in the Chaos jet after discussing a few things with the hungover Chandra and the perfectly sober Rhosk.


    I planned to continue onto Zohigal soon after but am held up by Korenga. She wants to know what happened after she fell asleep. Once brought up to date, she mostly expresses her regret at not being there to brawl with me - and even more at not being able to attend the party.


    Finally, as I go to set off again, followed by all the girls in my entourage wishing to accompany me, I pass by the throne room with its double-winged doors open. Only a group of maids cleaning are inside, overseen by Rewera.


    "Hmm." I make while stopping, causing Kamii to nearly run into me from behind. With a look at the girls, I smile and gesture for them to follow me before walking into the hall. The maid leader greets me with a respectful bow, and I lift a hand for her to be at ease.


    Then I climb the stairs toward the throne. The footsteps following me stop, and I look back to see that Aurelia has raised a hand to stop everybody from coming up with me. She understands what this moment means.


    Reaching the top, I let my hand glide over the armrests while rounding the throne. It has a simple design, seemingly carved out of a single block of stone, with a cushion placed in the spot where one would sit, and a red cloth draped over the backrest.


    Senka is sitting behind the throne as if it''s a matter of course. Her lifeless form makes me think she has run out of juice, but she cranks up her neck to look at me. I stop my feelings from welling up when I see her smile at me warmly - the first time she has ever shown an expression like that in all the time I''ve known her. She then closes her eyes as if telling me that this is my moment, and nothing should take that away from me.


    Nodding, I proceed to finish rounding the throne. When I reach the front side again, I find that the maids have stopped working and are watching me with apparent anticipation. Others are peeking in from outside before quickly waving at more from down the corridor. I pause for a moment to let them gather but won''t wait until all of them are present.


    Peering across the gathered witnesses, I close my eyes and pull up the image of my mother before my eyes. Maou-mama, watch over me.


    I sit down on the throne, cross my legs, and lean on an armrest. At the bottom of the platform, Aurelia falls onto one knee - to my earnest surprise. But I don''t let it show, as I watch everybody else follow her gesture, honoring me in this unofficial moment of my ascension to the throne of the Dominion.


    "Long live Queen Chaos!" Rewera, who remained standing to assume the role of the court announcer, speaks in a firm tone that echoes through the hall. Everybody repeats after her.


    "Long live Queen Chaos!"

 Epilogue - Punishment of a Lifetime

    He had suffered a humiliating defeat, but it wasn''t due to the creature''s abilities. His very own sister had betrayed him and sealed his powers, although she could never hope to seal his immortality. It was guaranteed by the Fatas and the humans that believed in his invincibility. As long as they existed, he would come back from death even if his body was reduced to dust.


    But to his surprise, the creature didn''t even try to kill him. Instead, it threw him in a dark cell in the vault of Arkheim and left him there without saying a word. Maybe it would wipe out humanity and all of the Fatas, but he knew that neither his sister nor Sintress would allow that.


    As long as he was alive, he could come back from all this. His powers may have been sealed, but Alverost and Shelnir are still out there. They would surely try their best to free him. And even if they didn''t, a time when his sister let down her guard would come. He would regain his powers and remake the entire world before she could react.


    Weeks lined up into months, months turned into years, and at one point, he regretted not marking down how much time had passed. Days flowed into one another, and he thought that they might have forgotten about him. Without the need for food, water, or even sleep, all he could do was spend time with his thoughts, imagining all the things he would do once he got out of his prison cell.


    Only that his imaginations never turned into reality. That meant at least his sister hadn''t forgotten about him in all this time. He found solace in the fact that if she wanted to keep him locked up forever, she would have to spend the rest of eternity awake and vigilant, a part of her mind focused on him. She would live as a prisoner all the same.


    One day, demons came to take him out of his cell so that he could be transported somewhere else. He didn''t understand what had changed about the vaults of Arkheim, but it was a welcome change in his monotonous life. And maybe, just maybe, there would be an opening for him to escape.


    He was put into a simple steel box carriage that didn''t present even a single opening to look outside. The guards didn''t speak a word during the transfer, even when he taunted them. They placed him inside before locking the door behind him as if it was just a job to be completed.


    Due to the darkness inside the carriage, he couldn''t tell how much time passed, but the shaking and rattling told him that they had been moving nonstop for all this time. Maybe he was going to be brought to a new prison in a place they thought he could never break out from even if he got his powers back so that his sister no longer needed to spare him another thought.


    But it all came apart when the carriage suddenly performed a jump and then fell on its side. The door was pried open, and light fell in from outside, revealing a group of bandits. There were a boar-faced demon and a masked woman of unspecified race beckoning for him to come out.


    When he emerged from his prison to see the blue sky for the first time in however long he had been locked away, he breathed in the fresh air as if it was sustenance for his soul. He liked to keep up a strong fa?ade, but being kept in darkness forever did take its toll on him.


    The one that had rammed the carriage off the road was a minotaur wearing a suit of armor that seemed to be cut from granite. It stared at him with bloodshot eyes, but the boar demon assured him that it was just how he pumped himself up for this mission.


    A mission to free whoever was inside this carriage, no questions asked. They were told that once the person was out, they could leave him alone as he would find his own way to the one who gave them the job.


    He didn''t understand who of his friends would free him while using demons rather than their own abilities, but it didn''t matter. He was free now, and he would rebuild everything he had lost.


    If only his sister would finally forget about him.


    It took him many days to reach a settlement as he had to walk on foot. As he looked like a human, he had to cover himself in the hooded cloak given to him by the masked demon to blend in. It didn''t sit well with him that he had to hide his face, but he didn''t want to be found by somebody loyal to the creature and get recaptured.


    It wasn''t long before he found that he had been brought close to where Pontis Daemonis used to stand. That meant he could find a ship that could carry him to the Empire of Terminus.


    Once there, he would be able to return to the capital of Vertex Mundia and get into the palace where his children are doubtlessly still in power. Then it would only be a matter of time before he could manipulate this sorry excuse for humanity to put their belief in his current form as the Lord of the Sky.


    That would allow him to overpower his sister''s fantasy eventually.


    He had to lower himself and become a stowaway to board a ship that would sail to the empire. For some reason, many humans were walking the streets of the port town, and plenty of ships sailed where he wanted to go. Had the demons carved out a piece of land on Eorath and built a bridgehead much like Pontis Daemonis used to be for the empire? Were the humans slaves working under the demons?


    They surely didn''t look the part, and he could see smiling faces among them even as they talked to the demons. Had the two sides settled into peace despite the threat of the demon corruption? It had happened before, but that was the most boring outcome, so he sowed war between them again.


    All would be revealed once he returned to Vertex Mundia, and if there were indeed peace, he would restart the war.


    In the Empire of Terminus, he realized that humans and demons seemed to be more than just at peace. The ship he stowed away on was a trading vessel bringing spices to the empire harbor. Many demons were living here, neither as overlords nor as slaves, but as equals to the humans. It didn''t seem as if the creature had forced the nation to surrender, so this meant that enough time had passed for this to become a natural occurrence.


    Whatever the case, now that he was back, he would wake up the humans and remind them of who the enemy was.


    The palace in Vertex Mundia had been razed down to its very foundations. In fact, not even those remained, as if the entire building had been ripped out of the ground. The symbol of his rule, a monument to humanity, gone in his absence.


    And nobody seemed to care. The citizens of Vertex Mundia were going about their business as if the titanic building that once towered over the landscape, impossible to construct with their primitive knowledge of architecture and technology, never existed in the first place.


    He found patrolling guards and asked them what had happened, receiving a shocking answer: His sister had come here and plucked the building out as if it was a giant tooth, calling it the symbol of this nation''s decay. But the fact that they agreed with it caused him to boil over in anger.


    For the first time in a long while, he let out his true feelings, pointing at the guards and accusing them of blasphemy. They were treasonous scum that deserved death for their disregard of the bounty that the Lord of the Sky - that he had brought them.


    He didn''t see the fist until it connected with his cheek. The pain ran through his face and caused tears to shoot up into his eyes. This was the first time anybody had ever dared to do that to him. But even more shocking than the fact that the guard punched him or that he was scolded for invoking the title of that false god - the root of all evil - was that he felt the pain.


    He was no longer invincible.


    It didn''t take him long to realize that all the gods participating in the game had been denounced and de-deified. Not a single human worshipped them anymore, their failings and crimes revealed in a campaign by the Church of Light. The Lady of Brilliance and his sister had appeared all over the world to denounce him and his followers as frauds.


    That is also when he finally learned that he had been isolated from the world for nearly twenty years. In all that time, the new humans had either chosen to forget about the false gods or learned to use their names as curses. Not a single person would help him.


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    One day, he started to feel hunger for the first time since he could remember. His sister may have grown tired of keeping him in her mind and disconnected him from the Imagination Engine entirely. From that moment on, he was an average human who could die from starvation and disease.


    His life went downhill from there. Even if he quickly learned that without power, money, or any authority to his name, he couldn''t survive in this harsh world, possessing the body of a weak child meant he couldn''t work either.


    Thus, he banded together with a group of orphans in Vertex Mundia, led by a man who always remained in the shadows. He aimed to take over his position and claw his way back up by any means necessary. But as somebody who never needed to work before, he grew impatient quickly and experienced many setbacks.


    And he got to feel the cruelty of life when that man sold him to a lesser noble. There, he experienced hell.


    Running away from the capital was the only path to survival. With only the clothes on his body and oversized boots stolen from a servant, he ran as far as his constitution would take him - away from the top of the world, where he used to stand and look down on the new humans. Those humans he had considered lesser beings, who could now squeeze the life out of him with a single hand around his slender neck.


    His feet took him into the wilderness, into freedom. But it wouldn''t be the end of his hardships; in fact, it was only the beginning.


    Wild beasts, hunger, the cold winter nights, and sickness drove him back into a human settlement. It was a small village with barely three hundred inhabitants, and nobody would want to take in a stray who looked like it had a plethora of diseases it could transmit.


    But that was when he saw her. Golden hair, pale blue eyes, spotless skin, and a gentle face that could bring peace to one''s very soul. It was a familiar face, but he collapsed into unconsciousness before he could call out to her.


    The next time he woke up, he felt much better. His pounding headache, the shaking in his limbs, the pain in his throat, and all the other ailments that befell him during his life in the wilderness were gone like a fleeting memory. He lay in a warm bed with fresh sheets, in a small room of a wooden hut with a fireplace stoked by his savior.


    "Sintress..." He muttered, his voice sounding hoarse. The Lady of Brilliance turned around, her open eyes looking at him with nothing but gentleness. The last time he saw her eyes was when she closed them in an oath to not open them again until she brought peace to the world. Did she feel that she had succeeded in that?


    "How are you feeling?" She asked with her bell-like voice. But something seemed different about her from when he last saw her. The memory of how she appeared before him to end the war between the new humans and the demons floated back to the surface of his mind like a bubble in a swamp.


    "You can heal me with a thought, so why do you need to ask?" Feeling defiant even though she saved his life, he turned away angrily. Back then, she stood against him, and he would never forget that.


    "No, I cannot. Not anymore." The resigned tone of voice she said this in caused him to turn his head on the pillow and stare at her in surprise.


    "What do you mean?" His confusion soon made way for understanding when the implication of Sintress silently shaking her head settled into his consciousness. "What about my sister?"


    "You need some more rest." With these words to change the topic, she made the answer sufficiently clear. And that was when it dawned on him that the innocent and childlike Sintress he knew was no more; she had grown up and become more mature since he last saw her.


    The same would happen to him too. They had been stopped in time ever since they entered the stasis capsules those many millennia ago. The creature had restarted the clock in one way or another. He was mortal now, and his life in this world would be limited by the short time an average human had.


    Due to his weak constitution, he stayed in Sintress'' hut for a while longer. Every day, he witnessed more situations that drove home the fact that they had lost everything. She had to start fires by hand, cook food on her own, clean herself regularly, and all the other physical activities humans were forced to do, but which they had been exempt from while using the Imagination Engine.


    Something in him broke when he saw her coughing from a developing cold. The girl that was the paragon of health, whose gift to the world had been healing magic, was reduced to such a sorrowful state. He knew that everything was over.


    But he didn''t want to accept it.


    "Why did you let that monster do this to you. To us! To me!" He accused her. Never would he forget the humiliation she subjected him to when she appeared above the battlefield in Erbilan and made him retreat. Even though Zylos was the catalyst for his defeat there, her involvement led to his impatience to seek revenge before a new avatar body had formed. He was forced to use his real body while flying Olympus so close to earth that he was exposed to danger.


    "So that we could finally have peace." Her expression was gentle, not defending herself against his outburst. Even when she lost all her powers, she was a saint. It hurt him to see her like this, and then he realized that this was what the creature had wanted. It had won.


    "No!" He slammed his hands on the table and jumped up, causing his wooden chair to topple with a loud noise. "Could you not have talked to me about this first? Why did you have to stand against me?"


    "But I did. I talked to you, but you would not listen." With a weak smile filled with regret and resignation, Sintress replied with the harsh truth. Then she covered her mouth and tried to suppress a cough, unsuccessfully.


    "Damn it all!" He couldn''t bear to see her like this, so he ran.


    He had no aim, no place to go to. But he had to leave everything behind, or the feeling would consume his sanity. Ignoring Sintress'' voice calling out to him until it faded away in the distance, he continued to run until the human limitations of his breath forced him to pause. But it was still not far enough from everything he knew, so he continued to walk - away from it all.


    Forced to return to a life of vagrancy and begging in the streets, the former Lord of the Sky was reduced to the lowest among those beings he considered lower lifeforms. His glorious life as the most powerful of his kind was but a fleeting memory at this point, one the vestiges of his fading self-esteem still held onto like a flickering flame in a storm.


    One small fragment in his soul maintained the hope that everything would return to the way it was. Be it by some miracle or even the pity of that creature that was doubtlessly still out there.


    If he didn''t, something would truly come to an irreversible end. It was just a feeling, but he knew it to be true. After all, what was he without his past?


    Years had passed at this point, and he had grown into an adult. His previously blond hair hadn''t reflected the sunlight for a long time now. An unkempt beard covered his face, and his skin was darkened by exposure to the sun. Despite being only around thirty years of age physically, his appearance suggested he was far older. His right leg had been broken when he fell off a cliff, and with nobody to mend it, he was now lame.


    Yet, he still walked the countryside, taking more steps in days than he had in thousands of years, even while he relied on a makeshift crutch. The constant pain from the poorly healed break had already become a background feeling that didn''t bother him as much as the constant hunger.


    People had taken pity on his appearance and given him money in the small town he last passed through. But every store had denied him entry, so he had to walk to the next to hope that somebody would sell him food.


    Two men approached him from ahead, talking to each other about meaningless things. He involuntarily lowered his head to appear as insignificant as possible. Too often had he been bumped into or outright beaten for acting above his status.


    But that was the moment something inside him snapped. Years of frustration, anger, and hatred burst out when he became conscious of his current state.


    "I am Zenlith, dammit!" He shouted with his coarse voice and raised his fist at the two men who recoiled in shock and surprise. "You should be the ones to lower yourselves before me!"


    "Ignore him. He''s that crazy homeless wandering around these parts everybody''s talking about." One of the two remarked with a pitying glance at him.


    "Damn you cockroaches!" But that only fanned the flames of his rage - at the creature named Chaos, at Zylos for ruining his game, at his sister for taking away his powers, at the world for throwing him into this fate. He swung his crutch at the men, but a stinging pain in his stomach stopped him.


    Looking down at himself, he noticed the knife hilt stuck in his chest and the blood seeping through his dirty clothes. He had experienced far more pain than this, but something told him that this one was different.


    Raising his head, he saw that the man before him was staring into his eyes with a frightened expression. He let go of the knife and stumbled back, then exchanged a look of horror with his companion.


    "He attacked me! It was self-defense!" His voice sounded desperate.


    "I know. Let''s go." And the other quickly pushed his friend along to walk away from this situation, leaving the knife where it was.


    As the pain strangely subsided and numbness spread through his body, he knew that this was not something he would walk off as he had other things before. Collapsing to the ground without even breaking his fall, all sensation grew distant, and his vision blurred.


    This was the end. This was how he would die. The Lord of the Sky, reduced to a vagrant stabbed by a nobody on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. He wanted to laugh, but his breath only brought forth a blood-filled cough.


    In this final moment, he remembered Sintress. She was the only girl he had ever loved, but their paths had diverged when she didn''t see eye to eye with his way of treating the world as his playground. Yet, when she saved his life, he had been unable to stand seeing her reduced to a regular human being. Now he paid the price for having thrown away the only chance at redemption this world still had had to offer to him - the one she had offered to him all those years ago in her tiny but warm home.


    A tear appeared in the corner of his eye when he felt the regret wash over him. It was followed by the grip of oblivion, as his world faded into darkness.

 Chapter 134.1 - Thirteen

    Half a year has passed since the Battle of Erbilan. The war against humanity has ended. The Old Humans are scattered and weakened. Chaos took to the throne and ushered in a new era of darkness.


    Or at least that''s what a fantasy book would say. But this world is neither a fantasy, nor does it take place in a book. I''m Chaos, not a bringer of darkness, but a purveyor of love and happiness!


    At least in the bedroom, that is. Not that I have a lot of time on my hands with all the administrative duties that come with being the queen of the Dominion. I wonder how Maou-mama did it, but I''m slowly learning.


    Fortunately, I have capable people around me in Oquachit and Markor who are versed in matters outside of war as well. Other advisors have been supporting me in all this time as well, and we''re well on our way to rebuild the Dominion from Erbilan all the way to Pontis Daemonis.


    I''ve received little news from the human nations, but it seems that the Alliance has been officially dissolved. The Kingdom of Lares wasn''t a member during the last war, so we weren''t even officially enemies. Still, they haven''t come forward to vie for peace with the Dominion yet.


    I believe it''s only a matter of time. Corruption has disappeared around the world since I didn''t undergo the demon lord ritual. Without the threat of corruption or demon invasions, the humans no longer have a reason to sail halfway across the world to attack us.


    Since many demons rely on it to grow older than the natural lifespans that Alverost gave them, Exla and I worked on making a contained version of the corruption that only extends slightly beyond the Ceogath continent, which doesn''t rely on a single demon to generate but rather a collective imagination of the entire species. That way, demons who want to live long lives need to stay in the Dominion and the surrounding lands.


    Without the looming threat of corruption or a demon invasion, Thorvadis and Arcelia''s jobs are made easier. They''re using their influence and names to spread the word that the gods they worshipped all this time were humans from a forgotten era who were playing a strategy game using entire nations as their toys.


    It''s going to be a long and hard road, but as a member of a species that can practically live forever, I''ll see all of this to the end. For now, I only need to concentrate on rebuilding and keeping an eye on Zenlith, who''s locked in the vaults of Arkaim. I''m sure the Old Humans will try something to get him out of there in time.


    "Where does the story go from here?" Senka suddenly asks when the meeting finishes, and the ministers leave the room. I turn to look at her in surprise but find her looking up at me rather than into space as she usually does when saying something that sounds meta.


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    "Well, I doubt it''s over yet." I look out the window to let my gaze sweep across the nightscape of Arkaim, which has grown busier again in recent months after the rebuilding has been completed and families returned to their homes. "Alverost and Shelnir are still out there. And we haven''t heard from Sintress, who went to the moon to check on the fake Juzual."


    Exla returned a few days after leaving with Aorutihaua to inform me that she has brought them to the Dark Continent after all. She then left again to be with the little meteorite god, and I haven''t heard from her since either. I''m sure if something happened to her, Zenlith would have broken out of containment already, so that''s a good indicator of her continued safety.


    I just feel like something is brewing in the background of the period of peace we''re having now.


    "No, it''s definitely not over yet." I glance at Flann, who stands beside Rewera. The blonde androgynous girl with the unfathomable green eyes has only been observing, rarely ever speaking in all the time she has been staying by my side. She''s more of a doll than the actual cursed doll girl I''m talking to right now.


    "Mataku." Senka mutters. We had plenty of time to catch up on everything that happened on both our sides, so she knows what kind of existence this Primordial Terror is.


    I left the Adanak Kingdom to its own devices under Mereana since I had to take care of my people, but maybe it''s time I take a look there to see how it''s doing. After all, Mataku disappeared with Mithra after apparently succeeding in some kind of experiment, but I doubt he left the Armeria continent for good.


    Nobody there can deal with him. I''m not even sure I could fight a Crawling Chaos that had thousands of years to experiment with the Imagination Engine. We come from the same species, and he most likely has plenty more mass than I do, as well as more knowledge about what is and isn''t possible using imagination.


    I never got to learn what machine Zenlith used to disintegrate my split bodies instantly since Exla destroyed it, but that might be the only way to kill Mataku. I''ll have to speak to the cloud girl about that.


    "Tell me when I''ll be free to hop over to Armeria for a while." I address Rewera while picking up Senka. The doll girl could easily walk on her own, but I''ve been spoiling her recently. It seems she has become quite attached to me despite her snarky attitude.


    The maid leader exchanges a glance with Flann then lowers her head apologetically. I can only laugh wryly at this, and I''m sure she''s well aware of the fact that she just made a silent joke. She''s implying that as the leader of a nation, I don''t have any free time.


    Of course, that''s not entirely true. I could always appoint a prime minister and just drop everything on them, but I feel that at that point, a monarch has no more reason to exist. In other words, what I need now is somebody temporary I can trust to make decisions in my absence. Somebody who knows what they''re doing, with experience in politics.

 Chapter 134.2 - Thirteen

    "Absolutely not." Aurelia crosses her arms and replies with a sour expression on her face.


    "Why are you so opposed to this?" I''ve been learning under her since before my official coronation, and there''s always more for her to teach me, so she''s obviously the best choice.


    "Because I wish to come with you." The golden girl''s expression softens as she looks up at me.


    "Oof, that was a critical hit." My defenses against an attack from that angle were down, so I took full damage from her gaze. There''s no way I can refuse her coming with me to Armeria now.


    Well, it was just a thought. I don''t ever want to be separated from any of my girls again, so I''m going to bring all of them with me from now on. It''s not a vacation, but I''d pick some of the maids to come with me through a lottery. I''m taking along Nymphy by default though.


    "So, you want to go to Adanak and see how it''s doing?" Tokomaha asks in our language. She still has an accent, but her progress has been incredible. She initially made excuses by saying that she only wanted to learn it so that she can understand what we''re talking about. But her real motivation was to be closer to me all along. It''s just another expression of her tsundere side.


    "Yeah. There are several things I need to keep watch over in the Dominion, but Mataku poses a bigger threat to the world as a whole than the Old Humans." I turn to the little goddess with the leaf hair. She has started to tie the willow-like branches and leaves that grow from her head into a giant ponytail during meals recently. It''s quite evident that it''s to entice me rather than for convenience''s sake.


    "The movements in the Fatas Triarchy worry me." Hestia comments. At first glance, it may not seem related to my wish to visit Armeria, but the truth is that the Fatas have an iron grip on the humans in their nation, which they keep like slaves. Even if the influence of the gods has waned, the triarchy is large enough to start another war if they learn of my absence.


    "Should we pay them a visit before going to Adanak?" I turn to the angel girl and ask. She has lost any attachments to her homeland even before I met her, and as a fallen angel with black wings, she feels a closer connection to demons than her kin. Her expression is neutral when talk about the Fatas Triarchy comes up.


    "I believe that would be for the best. If they refuse peace, they shall have war then." The Black Valkyrie states with one of her bloodthirsty smiles. Then a giant crab claw lightly bops her on the back of the head, causing her to yelp in surprise.


    "Stop that." Kamii says with her usual deadpan expression. The angel girl and the little dark elf have grown quite close over the past few months, so an interaction like the one just now has become commonplace between them. "We can''t attack them."


    "She''s right. If we attacked first, we would be sending a message to the other nations that the Dominion is willing to use force to subjugate them. We''d just start another war." I explain with a sigh. It''s not that Hestia doesn''t understand politics, but she seems to be too excited at the prospect of killing her hated kin.


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    "Trying to maintain the moral high ground is doable with enough power, but it''s by no means easy." Senka adds to the conversation with one of her tidbits of wisdom.


    "We need to find Sintress." Even though she said that she doesn''t want to flaunt her false godhood, at this point, she''s the only one who can control the Fatas. I saw at Erbilan how they revered her while completely ignoring Exla, so she''s still recognized as one of their gods despite opposing Zenlith.


    Sintress made the human and Fata army leave back then, but she didn''t give a definite order for them never to attack again. Few Fatas died, and there are many more where they came from, so their thirst for war is most likely still strong - unlike that of the humans, who have been beaten bloody in that last battle.


    "What first?" Korenga asks with a thick accent. She learned the language alongside Tokomaha but displayed less enthusiasm in the process so she isn''t as good yet. She understands most of our conversations, but forming complete sentences is still difficult for her.


    "First comes the meeting with the clans. The treachery of the Vampire Court has finally been uncovered." Rewera interrupts our planning for a journey away from the Dominion.


    I look up from the dinner table and find the maid leader towering over me. She''s as intimidating as ever, but I''ve gotten used to her so her overbearing matron-like presence no longer cows me. And I''m the queen, so at the end of the day, she still has to listen to my decisions.


    "Can''t Chandra do something about that?" I roll my eyes. The vampire clan turned traitors during the human invasion, but there has never been definite evidence of it until now. Codebreakers were finally able to decipher the code Ascelin Sheason, the relatively young female leader of the court, used to write correspondence with the Alliance. Senka obviously had a hand in that.


    "Lady Chandra wants nothing to do with such matters." I know that the Ajura clan leader stays away from politics, but the way Rewera said it makes it sound like she''s too lazy to care. She''s the leader of one of the Four Great Clans and known as the Kingmaker, but that doesn''t mean she likes to live up to those titles. All that matters to her is fighting strong opponents.


    "What about Nilotec?" I grasp at straws; in truth, Great Clan leaders Oquachit and Markor would both have more authority than the crocodilian general when it comes to matters regarding clans.


    "Lord Nilotec has his hands full with taking over administration in Rodens." Despite knowing that he shouldn''t have the power to pass judgment on the Vampire Court, Rewera still regards my question with an earnest answer.


    After the - hopefully - last great war against humanity, Ophalen retired at a venerable age of over a hundred and thirty, and left it all to his first son Nilotec. The ceremony was conducted last month, but his newfound responsibilities keep tying the crocodilian down.


    The only reason I mentioned Nilotec is that the Petsobek are like the natural enemies of the Vampire Court. With their hard scales and visceral fighting style, they can easily cut through the masses of artificially bred thralls of the court. Vampires themselves are physically stronger than humans, but not nearly on the level that allows them to compete with Kirali.


    "When is the hearing going to be?" I sigh and give up.


    "The Vampire Court has been ordered to appear in Arkaim in three days." Ignoring my attitude, Rewera informs me in a neutral tone.


    "Do you think I could make it to the moon and back in three days?" I turn to Aurelia, who chuckles at my joke. Admittedly, I could most likely make it there in an hour or so, but the thing that disguised itself as Juzual on the moon is a Crawling Chaos, so I''m sure I''ll be stuck there for a while if things go south.

 Chapter 134.3 - Thirteen

    "The time has come." Flann suddenly announces when I make my way to my room with Hestia. The daughter of Mithra follows me everywhere and never seems to sleep, so I haven''t been paying much attention to her presence lately. That''s why her speaking up without being talked to startles me.


    "What?" I turn to look at her, to find that her eyes have become windows to space. They show a myriad of stars as if giving a glimpse into another universe. "Woah!"


    I''m so surprised that I nearly drop Senka. Hestia raises a hand and wordlessly summons a black spirit spear, ready to shoot Flann if she makes any wrong moves. It doesn''t seem like an overreaction after everything we''ve gone through, and the only reason I haven''t done the same is that I''d instead go with swallowing her whole than leave any room for error.


    "Thank you for your hard work." The androgynous blonde girl seems to be possessed by someone else, as she shows a genuinely grateful expression. She then turns toward the window, and I follow her gaze directed at the full moon illuminating the night sky. "Now, it is time for the endgame."


    On the moon''s surface, a gigantic thirteen is written in red Arabic numbers - something that hasn''t been used since the time of the Old Humans. There can be only one explanation for this; the Crawling Chaos disguised as Juzual has decided that with most of the false gods dead and Zenlith rendered powerless, her time to make a move has come. And the number is definitely a countdown to something.


    "And what is that endgame?" I ask Flann, guessing that Chaos-Juzual is possessing her somehow.


    "To put an end to this whole farce." Turning back to me, the blonde replies coldly, all the glee she showed moments ago gone as if blown away. "The moon will crash into this world, and not even Exla will be able to do anything about it."


    So that''s what the number is about; it''s showing the number of days until the moon is going to collide with Earth. And I don''t need to have seen any of those disaster movies to know that the result will be the complete annihilation of all life on the planet. Depending on impact velocity, it may even shatter both celestial bodies.


    "... ok?" The whole planet exploding is something straight out of science fiction, but it has never made me feel anything when I saw those scenes in movies either; the threat is real, but it doesn''t register. I guess it''s easy to lose sight of things when the scale is too grand. Threaten my girls or my people directly, and it would be a whole different matter. "Umm... any way to talk you out of doing this?"


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    "Do you even know who you are talking to?" Suddenly, Chaos-Juzual-Flann''s tone changes into a more casual one, even coming across as slightly sassy. "I am the Witch of the End. My purpose is to bring an end to everything."


    "And here I thought you were a Crawling Chaos." I tilt my head and reveal that I''m aware of the truth.


    "So, you knew." Growing serious again, Chaos-Juzual-Flann looks up at me with a calm expression. "Well, our interests just happened to align."


    "Why is it that when a Crawling Chaos wants to commit suicide, they have to take everyone else with them? Can''t you do it silently and alone?" The latter is a rhetorical question, but the former is a serious one that I feel quite exasperated about. Mataku''s goal in life seems to be the exact same thing, though his scale pales in comparison to this moon-dropping plan.


    "Because life is meaningless, but nobody wants to die alone." Comes the reply almost immediately.


    "Edgy." Senka shoots this comment off without even a second of delay.


    "Yeah, what she said." I agree with a sigh. "Well, thank you for telling me in advance. I''ll definitely do something about it."


    "I look forward to seeing you try and fail." Chaos-Juzual-Flann replies, a sinister smile creeping onto her face.


    "That expression unexpectedly suits Flann. It''s pretty sexy." I point at the blonde girl, getting a nod of agreement out of Senka and Hestia. Even though I prefer to be the one on the attack, that face is one I could fall for as well. I feel compelled to do something to her after this. "Anyway, are you done?"


    The possessed girl blinks her eyes in confusion, unable to grasp why none of us seem at all concerned about the impending doom of this whole planet. Then she shakes her head as if having come to a conclusion.


    "I see that you have already made peace with yourself." It was the wrong conclusion. But what more can I expect from a person who seems to be an edgy teen?


    "Yeah yeah. Can we have Flann back now, please?" I don''t particularly need to talk to her right now - except to ask her to show me some more emotions after seeing her like this - but I think there''s no more point in talking to Chaos-Juzual at this stage. She has made the first move; now it''s time for us to make ours.


    "See you all in thirteen hours, then - if we are all lucky and can wave to each other before the collision." With these last words, the windows to another galaxy retreat into Flann''s pupils and disappear, upon which the blonde girl looks up at me in surprise.


    "Is something the matter?" She asks, apparently unaware of the mental takeover just now.


    "Hey... did she say thirteen hours?" I exchange an uneasy look with Senka and Hestia.

 Chapter 135.1 - The Enemy of My Enemy

    Crisis meeting.


    All my girls are in the meeting room, and so are Rewera and most of the maids. Aside from my core group, they''re currently the only other people in the Dominion who know the truth about the Imagination Engine. Maybe their ideas could help foil this doomsday plan.


    I did spend some time to explain that the moon is about one-fourth the size of our planet and that if it''s allowed to impact the ground, everything will end. Of course, I left out the fact that some like Aurelia or me could survive even if the entire planet were to be shattered. That would only make them worry that I could abandon them if things don''t work out. Though I doubt anybody would think that at this point.


    "Can we destroy it?" Rewera asks in all seriousness.


    "Unless we erase it completely, the pieces will still rain down on us in a hail of meteorites." I played with that thought before, but I don''t think there''s anything on this planet with that kind of firepower. Not even Alverost''s small Death S*ar would have been able to achieve that.


    "Leaving aside the fact that it will cause many problems if the moon just disappeared." Senka comments with a shrug. She knows this stuff better than I do, it seems.


    "I heard about the crisis, Chloe." Suddenly, Rolan and his party bursts into the room. He and the others have been freeloading in the castle ever since our heart-to-heart shortly before my official coronation. We worked things out between us; while there''s no more bad blood, it''s still awkward.


    That''s why we''ve been avoiding each other for the most part until circumstances would bring us back together. Circumstances such as this one, it would seem.


    "This is not something you can help with." Hestia declares in a commanding tone that causes Rolan to duck in surprise.


    "Now now." I''m not particularly interested in what humans who have been indoctrinated in the Old Humans'' magic system could contribute here. Especially ones who don''t know about the Imagination Engine. But Luna was the one operating the Death S*ar laser, so maybe she knows some of Alverost''s plans.


    "Let''s blow it up." Halthor comes to the forefront from behind Gram and makes this suggestion.


    "Already out." Korenga crosses her arms and remarks in a sharp tone. She, of all people, shouldn''t be judging others for their ideas. After all, she brought up the idea of letting me launch her in the Godslayer Cannon and explode the moon from the inside as she did against Roamukao. But as expected of two muscleheads, when one makes a statement while filled with conviction, the other accepts it without a shred of doubt.


    "Could you not stop it as you did with Alverost''s flying fortress?" The bard suggests. He''s referring to how Tokomaha grew gigantic trees, and with the help of Aurelia slowing its fall, stopped it in midair. Even now, it''s still looming over Zohigal, but the lizardfolk are slowly dismantling it with the technologically advanced tools they found inside the sphere.


    "The moon is many times larger than that sphere." Senka explains while pointing out the window of the meeting room. The number on the celestial body''s surface has shifted to a twelve, signaling that we only have half a day left. I wonder how Chaos-Juzual is doing it, as the astrology lab in what was formerly Mithra''s tower reported that it seems to be actual paint.


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    "Even with the power of the Imagination Engine, I can''t imagine anything that could stop this." I finally admit. After all, the Imagination Engine isn''t all-powerful, and things are limited by the laws of physics. Not the ones I know, but the ones future humanity discovered long after my death.


    And the only things I can imagine involve destroying the moon, which is so vital for the planet''s stability, as Senka explained earlier. With every passing hour, the approach of the moon will cause more massive tidal waves and earthquakes that could be incredibly destructive on their own.


    "Have you contacted Exla yet?" The doll girl asks me, and I shake my head in thoughtfulness. Chaos-Juzual said that even she wouldn''t be able to stop this, but maybe it was just a trick to prevent me from going to her right away. Even then, I don''t know where exactly she is on the Dark Continent, so finding her will take precious time. "And this may be an unpopular suggestion, but maybe you should ask that Mataku for help."


    I stare at Senka with my eyes nearly popping out. His goal is the same as Chaos-Juzual''s, so he''s definitely my enemy. Why would he have any reason to stop this? I''d think that having the planet shatter from being hit by its own moon is even flashier of an end than what he had planned for himself.


    "Is that a serious suggestion?" I give her the benefit of the doubt and ask. That''s also meant as a request for her to explain in more detail.


    "Well, the way you explained Mataku to me, it sounded like he wouldn''t like somebody one-upping him. For his plan to work, he will have to do something about the moon-fall." Senka sounds nonchalant in her explanation of something as grave as ending the world.


    "The enemy of my enemy, huh? You''re the specialist in psychology and the likes. If that''s your verdict..." I sigh and lower my gaze.


    "You ask help from Mataku?" Korenga inquires in a dangerously low tone of voice. Her history with him is so bad that she would try to kill him on sight even though she knows that she stands no chance.


    "I don''t know." Returning her gaze, I answer truthfully. Considering I''ve essentially pardoned Rolan despite the fact that he swung the sword that killed my mother - even if the effect came from Zenlith''s battleship - I''m not one to dismiss the possibility to work with former enemies if it benefits me. And afterward, I would backstab Mataku and take him down if he was in any way weakened from this.


    "Should I help You decide, Your Majesty?" Suddenly, Flann asks in her usual neutral tone. Her eyes are their normal blue, so she isn''t under anybody''s control. None that express themselves in her physical appearance at least.


    "What do you mean?" I narrow my eyes and look at the androgynous girl. We can''t be certain that Chaos-Juzual isn''t monitoring us through her, so I''m cautious about saying anything important in front of her. In either case, we''ll need a solution that can''t be counteracted. After all, if it could be, it wouldn''t be a solution.


    "I can contact my father." The blonde girl reveals, deadpan as ever. That''s a huge revelation I would have liked to have known about a long time ago. There are many things I wanted to ask Mithra. "Shall I?"


    I exchange a glance with everybody in the room. Rewera and the maids have a bone to pick with him for seemingly abandoning Maou-mama and leaving her to fight against the Old Humans alone. I, on the other hand, just want to know the reasons for his actions.


    However, we don''t have time for any of that right now.


    "Do it." I come to a decision. Although I''m the queen of a nation now, dealing with things as they come is still a legitimate course of action.


    "As You wish." With a nod, Flann stares into nothingness for a moment. Then, space behind her warps in a vortex before snapping back, adding the familiar form of Mithra in his usual blue robes to the foreground.


    The instant he appears, many weapons and claws are pointed straight at him from all sides, as the maids make sure he doesn''t make a wrong move. Bandaged as always, the former Court Magician''s expression at this treatment can''t be seen, but he doesn''t react at all. I can feel his gaze on me as he leans on his staff.


    "Your Majesty." He remarks with a nod, no hint of irony in his voice.

 Chapter 135.2 - The Enemy of My Enemy

    "There are many things I want to talk to you about, but now isn''t the time." I gesture out of the window, but he doesn''t turn his head as if already understanding what this is about. "What does your master plan to do against this?"


    Flann told me that Mithra has to serve the most powerful Crawling Chaos in the universe, which happens to be Mataku - whenever the cosmic-scale one doesn''t peek in on us. So the Primordial Terror isn''t his actual master but rather the bratty kid he needs to obey by default. In other words, his true agenda in all this is still unknown to me.


    "He thinks of temporarily stopping the moon and dealing with the one responsible for it." The magician in blue replies without hesitation.


    "How does he want to achieve that?" Some ideas buzz around in my mind, but I''d rather hear what the other side has planned.


    "By gathering enough mass to do it physically." And once again, Mithra answers with no doubt in his voice.


    "Hold up." I rub the bridge of my nose. For having lived that long, that''s what Mataku came up with? Could there ever be enough biomass on this entire planet for him to ingest that he could grow to a size that would allow him to hold up the moon? "Is he serious?"


    "He is still working on it." For the first time, I hear a hint of wryness in Mithra''s voice. It seems that he''s not very happy with the Crawling Chaos he has to follow.


    "I could do it." Tokomaha suddenly comments. She has been silent during the whole meeting, and only now speaks up. I stare at her, wondering what she means.


    "Do what exactly?" I seriously doubt that she can grow a tree capable of stopping the moon. There''s a massive difference between a diameter of ten kilometers and one of over three thousand kilometers. And she only managed to stop the one over Zohigal because Aurelia was able to hold it still for a moment.


    "Grow to the size that allows me to stop the moon." She replies with an expression that suggests her answer is obvious. Everybody stares at her, unsure what to think of her words that brim with nonchalant confidence.


    "Are you sure about that? We only have one shot." If she misjudges things, everything will end. After all, this plan involves letting the moon come close enough that something standing on the surface of this planet can contact it. Usually, the moon is nearly four hundred thousand kilometers away, but that plan would require it to come within a few thousand kilometers.


    "I can only tell for sure when the time comes." Tokomaha shrugs in a total lack of responsibility. If she can''t do it, then the planet is going to be destroyed.


    "How will you do it?" Leaning over toward her, I inquire with a skeptical expression. I don''t know how her personal imagination works, but it doesn''t seem to obey any laws of physics. The clones she creates only require a little matter to be fully flesh and blood humans. They have all of her physical characteristics but return to the dirt and leaves they''re made of when taking too much damage.


    It wouldn''t be funny if she does catch the moon, but her body comes undone because of the impact.


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    "I could show you." The little goddess stands up from her seat and points outside the window toward the grassy Fields of Huwinn. Exla didn''t have much time here, so all she managed to do was make grass sprout where the land used to be completely arid.


    "The moon is far beyond the scope of this immediate area." I know from maps that the Fields of Huwinn are a few dozen kilometers across, with the entire Herelier desert being about ten times that size. That''s only a small area on the surface of the moon.


    "I can imagine that much." Tokomaha remarks with a click of her tongue, which I would have almost flared up at. Then I realize her wording and chuckle to myself. "Huh, what is it?"


    Maybe she didn''t notice it herself, or she thinks I''m making fun of her, but I extend a hand and pet her leaf hair. She doesn''t push me away but still looks at me with an inquisitive gaze, not letting me off the hook.


    "It''s alright. I trust you." Putting all my confidence into it, I give the little goddess a warm smile. Then I turn to the others. "Alright, we need to figure out where the moon is going to land. Senka, go to the astronomy lab and help them figure it out. Keep in contact."


    The doll girl nods wordlessly, knowing that this isn''t the time for one of her quips. Without waiting for anything more from me, she jumps up from her seat and rushes out of the room to fulfill her role.


    "Maid Corps." I turn to Rewera and address the maids in general. They nod in affirmation, but I pause for a moment to think about my words carefully. I can''t go back on my trust in Tokomaha moments after agreeing to place everything on her little shoulders, but preparing for the worst isn''t a sign of weakness. "Deploy the shield array around Arkaim."


    Everybody''s faces turn aghast, as they realize the implication in my words. But not a single one complains. They know that twelve hours - or half a day as I explained it to them - is too little time for much else. There''s no way we can warn all of the Dominion, let alone the rest of the world. My order is for at least the capital and its inhabitants to be protected in case our countermeasures fail.


    "As You command, Your Majesty." Rewera declares with a bow, not a hint of worry on her face.  The members of the Maid Corps are inspired by her attitude and follow her example.


    Over the past half a year, the maids have learned to use the light magic barrier, as ironic as that is. They each can shield enough space to cover the entire castle, and with seventy-three of them, the whole city can be covered under a dome. They''ve been practicing it in case Alverost comes here with a new Death S*ar and tries to hit me where I can actually be hurt.


    This way, at least this city can be protected from the wave of death that will roll across the planet no matter where the moon impacts. Who knows what else will happen after, but at least Arkaim should survive the initial shockwave.


    To my surprise, Tokomaha doesn''t complain. She believes me when I said that I trust her. Even then, her stopping the moon could still cause a shockwave or any other sort of aftereffect on the surface of the planet.


    "I''m going to tell Exla." I stand up from my seat and ready myself to leave through the window, but Kamii''s crab arm grabs my wrist.


    "What about me?" She asks with upturned eyes. Hestia is looking at me as well, wondering what her role in all this should be. It''s sad to say, but neither of the two can contribute to this. The angel girl does understand that this is a scale far beyond what she can handle. Aurelia''s closed eyes imply that she has come to the same conclusion about herself.


    But then I realize that Kamii isn''t asking about how she can help stop the moon or protect the city. She simply wants to be by my side during all this, no matter how it turns out. I glance at Hestia and Aurelia, and then Tokomaha. One could say that their individual power levels are a reflection of the leaps and bounds that my opposition took during my life in this world so far.


    Only the little goddess is capable of lending a definite hand in this particular matter.


    "All of you should come with me." I declare with a warm smile. It pains me to deceive them like this. When I meet Exla, I''m going to leave those who won''t be able to survive if things go wrong to be protected by her. I''m sure she can keep them safe even when the planet is destroyed. "We''ll do this together."

 Chapter 135.3 - The Enemy of My Enemy

    "What shall I tell Mataku?" Mithra suddenly asks, causing everybody''s attention to shift onto him.


    "That we have completed his plan. He can sit back and prepare himself for the time when I''m going to end him." Turning to the bandaged man, I state with a determined expression. Korenga smiles at my words.


    "What about the being on the moon?" He counters with this question, causing me to pause for a moment.


    If Chaos-Juzual is really the Primordial Crawling Chaos that terrorized the Dominion over twenty years ago, then she should have far more mass than I do - unless she has been starving since then. Even now, I have no idea how to deal with another Crawling Chaos but to swallow them.


    "You will not be able to defeat that one just yet." As if having read my mind, he announces in an entirely neutral tone. "Not on the moon."


    Fully turning around to regard him, I close my eyes at the futility to see through his bandages. Then I look at Flann, whose expression is just as inscrutable despite openly showing her face. Do I believe him here and strike a bargain with the devil known as Mataku to fight Chaos-Juzual?


    "What does your master want in return?" I ask with a sideways glance at Korenga, whose eyebrows furrow at my hint of willingness to work with the Primordial Terror.


    "There is nothing left on this world for him to desire." Mithra replies, and I imagine hearing him sigh. "He does not even wish for you to stand aside as he performs his final banquet. He looks forward to you opposing him at the time."


    Turning his head to look at the maids still pointing their weapons and claws at him, he then regards his daughter. She doesn''t show even a hint of emotion at meeting her father, whom she hasn''t seen in a long time, and only returns the gaze. Her eyes are fixated on where his should be under the bandages.


    "So nothing at all?" I can''t believe Mataku would do anything out of goodwill. But then again, he''s doing this out of pure selfishness; after all, if he doesn''t stop Chaos-Juzual, he can''t do his thing.


    "Meet him on the dark side of the moon before the end of things." With these ominous words, Mithra disappears in his teleportation vortex, leaving the maids keeping their eyes on him peeved at his easy escape.


    "You heard Her Majesty. Get into position around the city." Rewera claps her hands and relays my orders. They didn''t move all this time because the element of danger that the former court magician posed remained in the room. Now that he''s gone, they immediately spring into action and leave one after the other while bowing to me. I see them off with a reassuring smile until the maid leader herself stops before me. "I wish You good fortune, Chaos-sama."


    "I hope you won''t need to use the shield array." I look up at her and state, not letting my unease show. I''ve decided to trust Tokomaha to stop the moon, but what happens then?


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    "Be careful." Senka''s voice suddenly echoes in my mind even though she isn''t in the room. I''ve grown used to her speaking to me like this though, so I don''t let it trip me up while I see off Rewera. "Mataku might be working with the Chaos on the moon."


    "I assume you think that either of them is spying on us, so you aren''t saying this out loud." I reply in my mind as I walk across the room toward Flann. "Can you help me determine something then?"


    "Go." Without wasting time, Senka asks me to pose my question.


    "I want to find out whether or not Flann is working with either Chaos-Juzual or Mataku. How should I go about doing that?"


    One would think that as Mithra''s daughter, she''s subjected to the same rules that he is in terms of who to obey. But she seems to have some degree of free will - or it''s all an act. Finding out what is the case is the point of my question.


    "That''s hard. She''s expressionless, has no idiosyncrasies, and generally shows no emotions. And I doubt there would be anything physical for me to detect either way even if I had the best equipment."


    "Aren''t there any questions one could ask which could determine whether or not she''s under their command?" It''s obvious that Flann''s poker face won''t give anything away.


    "If such a question existed, I would have asked it already." Senka replies, and I can picture her shrugging even though she has opted not to show her astral body in my vision.


    "Then, I can only let my judgment guide me, I guess." Suppressing the urge to shrug as well, I turn to Flann. She returns my gaze without blinking, waiting for me to address her. "Is your father watching?"


    "Yes." She replies with what I''d rather assume is the truth. If she had answered in the negative, I would have had reason to doubt her. "Shall I block him out?"


    "You can do that?" I catch myself staring at her before quickly averting my doubtlessly excited gaze. A smacking sound in my mind tells me that Senka just brought a palm to her forehead. "Shush."


    "Shall I do it?" She asks, not showing on her face what she thinks about my apparent interest. Having her act as if she didn''t notice only makes me more embarrassed than if she had laughed out loud.


    "Can you also block the Chaos on the moon? What about the big one?" The latter isn''t important right now, but that could give me insight into whether or not she''s telling the truth.


    "I already have. She will no longer take command of me. As for the big one, I have no connection to it." With a simple nod, Flann states in a matter of fact tone. But I glean a hint of pride in her deadpan expression and determine that this must be the truth then. Unlike her father, she must be free of their influence. Maybe only her youth is what allowed Chaos-Juzual to find an opening. Then again, I have no idea how old she is.


    "Alright. I''ll believe you." I pet the blonde girl''s hair, who looks surprised at the sudden caress. "Then there''s one more thing I need to know."


    Flann doesn''t shy back from my touch and looks up into my eyes, wordlessly waiting for me to pose my question.


    "Can you transport people without a circle?" Asking in a lowered voice so that only she can hear me, I ask her this all-important question.


    "As long as you are with me." In any other situation, this would have sounded somewhat romantic, but I immediately understand what she means. Her ability to teleport is limited by needing a Crawling Chaos to accompany her.


    "That''s good enough." With these words, I separate from Flann and turn to Korenga next. "Alright, how long can you hold your breath?"

 Chapter 136.1 - Coming to Armeria

    I realize that there''s no way I can find Exla in the time that''s left. Eleven hours until the moon falls, and she could be anywhere in Yagrath, which covers an area nearly as big as the Dominion. I don''t know whether or not she can see the moon from there, but if she has, I''m sure she''s already on her way here.


    What I can try to do is find Asoko and my children. Flann says that she has the same ability as her father to locate a Crawling Chaos no matter how far away they are. For a world-ending event like this, I would like them close to me. And I''m sure they could help against Chaos-Juzual and later Mataku.


    That''s why, for the time being, I''ll have to make good on my promise to take my girls with me this time. But they can''t survive on the moon, so I really shouldn''t have said those thoughtless words earlier. I want to protect them, but treating them too carefully could hurt their pride.


    "I have found them." Flann informs me just as the number on the moon instantly switches to a ten. I''ve been staring at it without blinking to figure out how Chaos-Juzual does it. And in doing so, I''ve avoided talking to anybody for the past half an hour or so.


    "Alright." I turn around to Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha. They''re ready to leave with me, wearing their respective combat gear and equipment. Then my eyes fall on Rolan and his party, as well as Halthor and Svanhild behind them. So she has deigned to come out as well, huh?


    "What should we do?" Rolan asks while resting his remaining hand on the hilt of his sword. It belongs to the glowing blade that he swung at Maou-mama back then, which was timed with Zenlith''s disintegration beam that ultimately killed her.


    "What do you think you can do?" I reply to his question with another. Not to sound condescending, but this has long since surpassed the realm of human abilities. Even if Rolan is fast with his magical sword, a Crawling Chaos isn''t an opponent he could ever hope to fight. Other humans with more powerful imaginations have tried and failed.


    "Believe." He suddenly replies with a strangely determined expression while looking straight into my eyes. For the first time since our reunion, he doesn''t break eye contact with me immediately and holds his gaze. "I heard that Zenlith is immortal because of our belief that he is."


    "You want to do the same with me?" I feel my eyebrows shoot up involuntarily at the idea. While it''s true that Exla said her brother is immortal as long as humanity believes he is, it''s not as easy as having just one person out there imagining it. It requires a collective unconscious imagination of millions to make that possible.


    Leaving aside the irony of elevating me into godhood through a new religion, it doesn''t really help with the current problem. I already consider myself pretty close to immortal. It''s everybody else that I worry about.


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    "I already believe that." Gram states with a grin. He has slowly opened back up to me over the past months - more so than anybody else of the party. Whereas Rolan and Luna treat me with the respect that a former mortal enemy and current monarch deserves, the big man has reverted to a more casual tone. Of course, he doesn''t dare to employ it in front of Rewera, but the maid leader is currently busy directing the Maid Corps. "But you''re not invincible."


    "Nobody is invincible." I reply with a frown.


    "We know that." Svanhild suddenly steps forward and regards me with an expression that sends me mixed signals. The Drills from my academy days has grown up into a fine woman. But she still has the childish streak she so thoroughly displayed during our classes together. "But we want to believe that you can be."


    This is an admittance I didn''t think she could ever make. And judging by her inability to look me in the eyes, she must feel the same. She was one of the Chosen Knights directly affiliated with Zenlith and believed down to the core of her being that he''s invincible and just. It was hard to make her accept the truth about the false gods, but her words mean that she has finally come around.


    "Don''t try to find a god in me." I reply with a sardonic smile. She glares at me before realizing that it was a joke and turning away in indignation. "But I guess it can''t hurt to have people believe in my success."


    "Sounds like the common shounen trope of friendship overcoming everything." Senka''s sarcastic voice echoes in my mind. That''s my thought as well, but I can''t completely disregard it as a placebo. After all, Zenlith has been exploiting something similar to it for millennia. "Anyway, I wouldn''t be cluttering the channel with pointless chitchat if I didn''t have anything to report. We know where the moon will impact."


    "I hope you won''t tell me to come all the way to the astronomy tower and take a look at the map." I reply while suppressing the urge to smile to myself.


    "I won''t fall into the trap of the ''come take a look at this''-clich¨¦." The doll girl replies, and once again, I can imagine her shrugging. "It''s going to land in the ocean north of Kairaki."


    Considering there''s about twice as much water as there is landmass on this planet, it''s not surprising that the impact area is an ocean. And the fact that it''s near Armeria makes it quite convenient since we''re heading there anyway. It''s also a continent nearly as big as Enorath and Ceogath combined.


    "Can I ask you to hold down the fort for when Exla arrives? I can''t wait for her here." I ask in my mind while turning to my girls to give them the signal that they should gather around so that Flann can teleport us. "Rolan, go pay Kleihn a visit. She could have something for you."


    "Huh?" The one-armed man blinks in surprise.


    "And stay in the castle. I believe something will happen here." Glancing at the other members of the party as well as Halthor and Svanhild, I silently include them in this statement. The bard left for Enorath to propagate the truth about the gods shortly after my coronation, so these two will have to make up for his absence. "See you after all this."


    With this short farewell that sounds too casual for the grave situation we''re in, I look at Flann. She walks over and into our midst before peering up at me with a questioning gaze.


    "Where to?" She asks, not at all daunted by having to teleport so many people at once.


    "Kairaki." I reply, assuming that she knows where that is. But then I realize that this is a dumb request and shake my head; Kairaki is bigger than Arkaim. At least it''s not as bad as Mithra saying that I should meet Mataku on the dark side of the moon. "To Asoko."

 Chapter 136.2 - Coming to Armeria

    The first thing I notice is that we''re in the middle of a plaza in Kairaki, which seems to be on fire. When I look around, I find that people are running in the streets, and Asoko is nowhere to be seen. At least the girls are all with me, standing around Flann in the center while getting ready for battle.


    "I can''t deal with this right now..." I roll my eyes and turn to the blonde girl. "Where''s Asoko?"


    "I could not bring you directly to her because of this." Flann raises her hands to gesture at the chaos around us. Smoke and embers are rising to the darkened sky even though Armeria should be on the light side of the planet right now.


    "We don''t have time for this." I grind my teeth and look around. That''s when I spot a soldier directing the flow of people and extend a tentacle toward him. The man screams in terror when he''s grabbed and pulled toward me, swinging his curved sword to try and cut my tentacle. "[Hey, have you forgotten your saviors?]"


    My shout in his language causes him to pause in surprise before he frantically looks across the girls behind me. Tokomaha should have left a pretty strong impression on the people of Kairaki, most of all on the soldiers who defended the city back then. It hasn''t even been a year since the war, and this man appears to be in his thirties, so he must have been there at the time.


    "[Aren''t you the God of Growth? And you are the God of Nature. Why are you here?]" He refers to the little goddess and then asks me in confusion. Now that he has calmed down, I gently place him on his feet.


    "[That''s not important right now. Tell me what''s happening.]" In a friendlier tone from the one I used before, I ask the soldier. He stares at me for a moment but then gestures into the smoke-covered air. That''s when I finally realize that the darkened sky isn''t only due to the smoke, but also because a massive black upside-down city is floating above Kairaki.


    "[That thing appeared out of nowhere and rained fire on the city!]" The soldier explains with a haunted look. "[Strange new gods - no, monsters... they came down from it, and our gods are fighting them.]"


    "[Where is Kouratua?]" Aurelia steps forward from behind Hestia''s wings and asks. The man''s eyes widen when he sees her golden form.


    "[The God of Gold is defending the castle.]" He points at the pyramid, his expression showing that he doesn''t bear much hope regarding the God of Gold''s success. There''s smoke billowing out of several of its windows, meaning that the battle inside is already in full swing.


    "That''s where we''re going then." I turn to my companions, who nod in grim understanding. Then I address the soldier again while pointing at the nearest city wall. "[There''s nothing you humans can do. Help the civilians evacuate the city.]"


    "[That''s what we''re doing. We can''t fight these monsters.]" Shaking his head, the man motions to leave but looks at us one more time. "[Be careful. Some of them shoot exploding arrows without wielding bows. Others throw fire that melts even steel.]"


    "Alverost." I mutter as the soldier returns to his job of directing the civilians away from the fighting. This feels like a repetition of the sneak attack on my mother. But unlike that time, he''s using futuristic weapons and a giant floating city to wage open warfare with no regard for the world learning the truth about the Old Humans.


    Now that Zenlith has been captured, and Zylos and Serent are dead, he must have grown desperate. Maybe he understands that he has lost all chances of retaking Enorath and wants to make himself a new home in Armeria. Even though possibly thousands of gods - humans with strong personal fantasies - live here, it''s still the better option than fighting against me. After all, I''m the person who could best several Old Humans with my fantasy.


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    He just didn''t know that I have a connection to this place as well.


    "Grab on." I gesture at Kamii and Tokomaha, who can''t fly on their own. Hestia and Aurelia understand and take off into the air before I follow them. Looking across the burning city, I find beings that resemble biblical demons fighting the minor gods of Adanak.


    Those must be Alverost''s new creations rather than demons from the Dominion. There''s little variation between the individuals, but many wield futuristic guns, including grenade launchers and laser rifles. They don''t seem to possess any intelligence, as they run through the streets or climb the buildings without any coordination. Some don''t even use their ranged weapons and chase after civilians as wild animals would.


    I won''t have to feel any remorse in killing these creatures. Not like I would feel much more if they were humans; enemies are enemies no matter what race they are.


    Unlike with Arkaim, I don''t feel any connection with the people of Kairaki. The only ones important to me are the comrades I fought with back then. And of those, Mereana is the only person who''s still in this city. I didn''t stay long enough to know who succeeded the throne after the fall of the God King, but Mereana is most likely in the palace. Thus, I have no desire to save the fleeing civilians running from the devils - as I''ll call this new wave of Alverost''s creations.


    "Top floor. We''re moving down from there." I fly ahead of Hestia and Aurelia, who nod in understanding and follow me. Last time, I didn''t move around much inside the pyramid and traveled outside instead. Tokomaha will be able to navigate the place better because she used her clones to overrun it back then.


    Keeping my eyes peeled for attacks from below, I land on the top terrace of the pyramid. The doors leading into the monarch''s chambers are closed but not locked. Pushing them open, I find that it has been redecorated since the God King last lived here. It''s far less lavish, and all the excessive gold decorations are gone.


    Maybe Mereana became the new queen? She''s a pretty frugal person, which would explain the change in the furnishing. But the room is empty, so I immediately move toward the door. That''s when Flann suddenly appears right before me out of a vortex in space. I nearly run into her but can sidestep in time.


    "Can''t you fly normally?" I ask with a frown. Then I shake my head when I remember that we have a time limit. The moon isn''t visible in the sky from this side of the globe, so I''ll have to rely on my unreliable sense of time.


    "I cannot." Flann replies earnestly. I somehow already suspected that, although it''s strange for her not to know how to fly when her father can.


    "Can you tell me Asoko''s exact position? We can''t waste time searching." I change the topic while glancing at Aurelia. She understands my hint and turns to Tokomaha.


    "Split up and search for Kouratua." The golden girl speaks in a commanding tone, not at all sounding like a person asking for a favor. But the little goddess knows not to argue under the current circumstances. She puts a hand on the floor, and among swirling dust, perfect clones of her rise to their feet. They leave behind a small indentation on the rocks; it seems that''s what they were created with.


    Without a word, they run toward the door without getting into each other''s ways and spill out into the corridor. Meanwhile, Tokomaha creates a second batch, and then a third. With this, over fifty of her clones begin to search the pyramid for the God of Gold, with more on their way.


    "She is inside this pyramid." Opening her eyes after searching for a moment, Flann answers my earlier question. I suspected as much.


    "I can search for her too." Tokomaha remarks casually while creating her fifth batch. Before I can answer, she raises her hand to create the sixth, when she stops short of touching the ground. Her expression suggests that something happened to her clones, with which she''s mentally connected. "There''s a new threat."


    "What is it?" I ask while mentally preparing myself. Surely, there are all kinds of devils, so some may be stronger than the little goddess. I''m not especially concerned since Aurelia and I can deal with those instead.


    "The big man from Zohigal." But Tokomaha''s answer has me stunned. It''s Oinos, the Walker of the Wild, who stands at the apex of Alverost''s creations. I was able to draw a trickle of blood from him by using all of my mass to create an organic pile bunker. He didn''t fight me seriously back then and played with me, so I can''t even fathom his true power.

 Chapter 136.3 - Coming to Armeria

    A part of me wishes Mataku were here to deal with Oinos. I''m sure he could beat him, though having them fight each other to the death doesn''t sound too bad either. But I doubt the Primordial Terror will show himself until our meeting on the moon. So I have to be the one to face this existence that could be a god even without the Imagination Engine.


    "Can you teleport during movement?" I ask Flann just in case, although I doubt it. Unlike her father, her ability to teleport is much more limited.


    "Only slow movements." She replies, then her eyes widen slightly in realization. "If you hold him still for a bit, I can bring you anywhere you want."


    "The sun?" It''s only a half-serious question. I''ll most likely die before he does if we''re sent there. Flann shakes her head without recognizing that it was a joke, and I sigh. "Then how about the dark side of the moon?"


    "I can do that." Nodding in assent, she confirms my choice. I can direct Oinos toward Chaos-Juzual or Mataku then and complicate the situation for either party. After all, those two are against everybody else, which includes the Old Humans. The Wanderer of the Wild will have no choice but to fight them as well.


    "I found Kouratua in the throne room. But there''s a lot of opposition. I''m losing bodies." Tokomaha suddenly states, an irritated expression on her face. "And I''ve lost sight of the big man."


    Aurelia wordlessly runs toward the door. She seems quite attached to the God of Gold, courtesy of their similar characteristics. I exchange a glance with Kamii and Hestia, then follow after the golden girl.


    "Converge on the throne room." In the voice of a commander, I relay the order for everybody, but especially the little goddess. "Where was Oinos last?"


    "Broke the front gate and all my bodies there. I don''t know where he went after." I hear from behind me, the voice sounding more peeved than alarmed. Tokomaha''s clones are quite a bit weaker than the original, but I have no doubts that Oinos could break her real body with a single punch as well.


    The corridors are empty except for the clones standing guard along our path. They leave their posts when we pass, and follow us, causing our numbers to swell as we make our way downstairs.


    Eventually, we come upon a hall filled with dead soldiers strewn across the ground. Scorch marks from a rapid-fire weapon litter the pillars and walls, and beams have cut molten streaks into the stone in some places. A few dead devils can be seen with countless arrows in their bodies or with spears stuck in their eyes and open mouths, but the difference in numbers tells me that regular humans stand no chance against them.


    This truly is a repeat of the sneak attack on my mother.


    Taking in the scene with a glance, I direct my eyes at Aurelia''s incredibly long golden hair swaying before me as she continues down the hall. Seeing that these devils can be killed with conventional weapons is giving her hope that Kouratua is alright. His abilities are virtually the same as hers, so he should be able to defend himself against these without much trouble.


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    Of course, that''s only true if there are no variations in the devils. I''m sure versions with more resilient bodies, higher intelligence, and possibly even access to the Imagination Engine exist among this invasion force.


    We make it down to the floor connected with the first terrace from the ground level, where the throne room is also located. Here, three dozen of Tokomaha''s clones are pushing against a front of armored devils wielding swords and spears. It seems that not all of Alverost''s forces are equipped with guns and beam weapons.


    But I can tell that these are a different breed. Their bodies are covered in brutish black steel armor. Those who swing serrated swords also have tower shields protecting their bodies, while others wield two-handed halberds and axes that could cleave regular humans in two.


    The clones, who were able to easily overcome human opposition during the Battle of Kairaki back then, are having a hard time even bringing one of these towering warriors down.


    "Out of the way." Aurelia commands with a voice that echoes through the hallway. In the next moment, she swings an arm, and a blade of liquid gold cuts through Tokomaha clones and armored devils alike. She didn''t even stop to consider that those are her allies, but knowing that they aren''t alive is what led to her disregarding their existence.


    "You could have warned me." The little goddess complains with a pout. It''s not that clones getting killed hurts her, but it took some time to create them. And losing them to friendly fire feels like a waste.


    Aurelia doesn''t even seem to hear it, as she continues to walk without stopping, not even deigning to look at the remains of the armored devils. When I pass them a moment later, I find that they''re more human-looking under their armor than those we''ve seen so far. Aside from hairless red skin, they have mostly human faces - although they sport sharp teeth and pupil-less eyes.


    Soon, we come upon the massive bronze door to the throne room. Last time, I blasted it open with a plasma beam because it showed a relief of the God King making gods bow to him. This time, it has been broken down already, with countless corpses of both humans and devils littering the ground. The sound of fighting can be heard from within.


    As we reach the doorway, I find the room teeming with devils of all kinds, embroiled in a melee with human soldiers and minor gods of Adanak. One towering devil with red skin and goat-like horns is looming over the God of Gold on the ground. His body is dented in many places, as he seems to have lost the concentration necessary to keep his physical form intact. He''s using his bare hands to hold back the massive cleaver aimed at his neck.


    Mereana is standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne platform. Her silver armor is covered in blood, as she fights off a horde of devils trying to climb up. Two women and five men are standing with her, wielding swords and spears to defend the throne. On it sits a shivering young woman, accompanied by three archers and a man in azure armor. That must be the new ruler of Adanak and the members of her royal guard.


    But we''re on time. Kouratua and Mereana are still alive, and the new queen hasn''t been killed yet.


    Without needing a signal, everybody springs into action at the same time. Aurelia points a hand at the ground and transmutes a multitude of golden weapons. Kamii charges forward, joined by Tokomaha and her clones. Hestia flies into the air and conjures an array of spirit spears through the Imagination Engine. I transform into my real appearance and let out a roar that causes the devils to stop in their tracks.


    In the next moment, two giant hands break through the floor below me and grab my ankles. Then I''m pulled down, out of the throne room.

 Chapter 137.1 - All Might

    Once again, I made the mistake of not activating my Chaos senses. In the last half a year, I can count the number of times I used it with one hand. Peacetime is truly dangerous for one''s fighting instincts.


    But I seriously need somebody to remind me of using all of my abilities that I accumulated over the past year. That should preferably be somebody who''s always with me. Maybe I''ll set aside another me inside my body for that express purpose when I get the chance.


    That''s how Oinos was able to ambush me from below. Not that it was a real ambush since he only pulled me down to the floor below the throne room and then let go without attacking. It seems my roar alerted him to my presence, and he used a shortcut to get me to face him.


    "We meet again." He states with a grin, his gaze doubtlessly fixated on me even though his white eyes lack pupils. Green hair extending into bushy sideburns of the same color make him appear to have a mane. His bare upper body is covered in silver markings against his bronze skin. But unlike last time we met, he has a massive curved sword that looks like an upsized katana strapped to his back with a sash.


    I''m sure it has a Japanese name because Alverost is a nerd like that.


    "Is your master aware that the moon is falling onto Earth right now?" Out of all the Old Humans in the Zenlith faction, Oinos is the only one I haven''t seen in the room where my mother was killed. And in our brief encounter in Zohigal, it seemed as if he was only being forced to fight. He may genuinely enjoy battle, much like certain other muscle-heads I know, but I think he might want to free himself of his creator''s influence.


    "That''s precisely why I''m here." The Walker of the Wild raises his arms into a shrug. "Shelnir predicted that you would come to the place of predicted impact."


    "So, you want to stop us?" I''m in my Crawling Chaos form, so I can''t show surprise on my face.


    "Kind of, yeah." Despite the situation, Oinos looks incredibly relaxed. "Father has a plan, but he hasn''t told me. All he wanted me to do was keep you here."


    "Huh?" Don''t tell me he wants to let the moon crash into the planet and kill me with it? Surely, he doesn''t think that''s enough to finish off a Crawling Chaos with access to the Imagination Engine? Or maybe I''m underestimating the force of a moon impacting a planet. "What would keeping me here accomplish?"


    "As I said, I have no idea." With these words, he walks toward me with a relaxed smile. In the next moment, I catch a punch thrown at my nonexistent face, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. He has bridged the distance between us in an instant, but the eyes of Nymphy allowed me to react in time. Her template has been the most useful one for the eyes that I''ve gotten so far, even more so than Hestia''s.


    "Don''t think I''m the same as I was when we last met." With these words, I spread my tentacles all across his body. Unlike with Korenga, nothing stops me from touching his skin directly, so I hope to swallow him whole. So far, he has only displayed unparalleled physical strength, which is easily countered by elasticity rather than hardness.


    "What''s so different about you now?" Unperturbed, Oinos asks while the silver lines on his body begin to glow. In the next instant, beams of light emerge from them that cleanly cut through my tentacles, even though they were covered in dragon armor. It seems that he has defensive measures against being swallowed whole. Good thing I found out before he was already inside me.


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    But it was enough time for me to draw close to him. Last time, the only thing that could hurt him was a pile bunker, but in a normal fight, it would never land a hit on him. This time, I created a massive pile bunker inside the depths of my unfathomable body, with only the spike poking out from my surface.


    With my chest close to his, I fire the weapon right into his solar plexus. The tip reinforced with the highest density dragon armor I have created to date pierces his skin and crushes bone. Then the force propels him backward with a momentous blow. He breaks through the wall and into the next room with such speed that he leaves a hole with his outline on it.


    But I realize that it didn''t crush his bones but mine. While there''s the golden liquid that seemingly runs through Oinos'' veins on the spike, the dragon armor tip has been shattered. Without wasting time on wonder, I retract it into my body. While repairing it, I realize that this liquid doesn''t contain any genetic material and might as well be some kind of coolant or lubricant in a machine.


    When I chase after him into the next room, I find that the wall beyond also has an Oinos-shaped hole. In fact, it seems to go all the way through the pyramid and out the outer wall. With every further wall, the outline is less defined, until the last few are simply holes. When I reach the exterior, I''m greeted with an uppercut from below, which I can barely dodge in time.


    However, in the same motion, Oinos grabs my neck and drags me back down before slamming my back against the side of the pyramid. I''ve realized that adopting a less dense and more malleable form is the best against force, so I don''t even feel the impact. But then he runs up the side of the structure while dragging me along its rough surface as if wanting to grind me down.


    I can react quickly enough by turning my back into smooth dragon armor, which is wholly unaffected by the abrasive sandstone. The instant I do so, he realizes that there''s something hard for him to hit, as he stops and brings his fist down at my midsection like a battering ram.


    That''s what I''ve been waiting for, as a new pile bunker is ready inside my chest. This one is reinforced with countless tiny spirit spears arranged into a microscopic tip. With perfect precision due to the slow-motion I perceive the world in when using Nymphy''s eyes, I time the exit of the spike with the moment the punch connects.


    While his flesh is hard, it can''t withstand the force behind my pile bunker. This time, the spike lodged itself between the bones in Oinos'' hand. It seems that his bones are sturdier than anything I could ever create, as it shrugged off even the spirit spears.


    Even then, Oinos doesn''t flinch from pain as he stomps his foot on my chest and pulls back his arm to free his hand. Not letting this opportunity go to waste, I create serrated hooks on the spike still in his hand to hold onto him. Turning the end of the spike into a flexible tentacle, I keep the hard tip lodged inside his flesh even as he pulls back with all his strength.


    "Impressive." He states while looking at his deformed fist before bringing his other one up to pull it out directly. But I won''t let him do that; opening a hole in my chest, I let his foot sink through my body. Then I grow two more pile bunkers inside me while pushing myself off the ground.


    The instant they''re aligned with his knee as my torso travels up his leg, I let the weapons shoot into him from both sides. I know that the human knee has many tendons vital for standing. Even if these pile bunkers can''t destroy his bones, they should be able to sever those tendons.


    But right at that moment, the silver lines on his body glow and shoot out beams that cut my torso apart from within. The spikes miss their intended target and only pierce flesh before I fall apart. Without wasting a single second, Oinos rips out the spike still in his hand and pulls on the tentacle attached to it.


    Shooting out tendrils all over, I quickly reconnect the severed parts just as the Walker of the Wild swings me around once and throws me into the air. Within a second, I reconsolidate into my humanoid shape and stop my momentum in midair.


    But when I look back, Oinos has drawn his massive sword. Phase two of the boss fight, huh?

 Chapter 137.2 - All Might

    Others side


    Chaos was pulled under by something. And as if that was a signal, the demons immediately swarmed the group left behind in the throne room.


    Nobody is worried about the queen of the Dominion; if anything, she''s the one person among them who''s the least in danger. The devils coming for them with no regard for their own lives are a far more pressing matter than checking whether or not Chaos is alright.


    Aurelia cuts a path through the enemy hordes with her golden weapons and makes her way toward the towering devil in the middle of trying to decapitate the God of Gold. The humans and gods of Adanak find relief in having the pressure taken off them due to the reinforcements that Tokomaha and her clones brought, and fight with newfound vigor.


    Hestia uses the ample space between the floor and the towering ceiling to take to the air and rain down spirit spears from above. But to her surprise, many devils can block them by creating barriers of dark flames. They return fire with flaming orbs or bolts of energy, causing the fallen angel to quickly weave her way across the room to avoid getting shot down.


    Only Kamii and Tokomaha are forced to fight in close combat, with the former quickly building up her combo curse due to the sheer number of enemies to hit. The little goddess forms a battle line using her clones, and advances in formation - something she would have never bothered to learn if not for Chaos teaching her tactics.


    Despite being outnumbered, they quickly gain the upper hand in the throne room. When Aurelia shreds the towering devil to pieces, the lesser devils realize that they''re outmatched and begin to panic. But as if an unknown intent is overseeing the battle, snaps of red lightning open unstable rifts in space from which more devils pour forth. Many armored ones appear among smaller imp-like creatures that swarm the room with pure numbers.


    Then, a massive thunderclap outside the throne room announces the arrival of a new enemy. A gigantic clawed hand grabs the metal doorframe and bends it out of shape just from holding onto it. Reddish-brown skin wrapped in armor that seems to fuse with the flesh, a maw filled with sharp teeth, burning eyes, and an arm ending in a metal tube comes into view. Two horizontal horns extend from this giant devil''s forehead, reaching from shoulder to shoulder.


    It takes a step through the door but can''t get in. With an almost casual shrug, it breaks the frame and the sandstone walls, fully entering the throne room. With a roar that seems to shake the entire pyramid, the giant devil makes its presence known. Humans and gods alike stare at it in horror, realizing that this must be a creature on a different level from those before.


    "Bigger only means it falls harder." Kamii comments as she splatters a human-sized demon with a single swing of her cursed arm. She has built her combo counter to the point where even metal gets ripped apart rather than bent, so this new opponent won''t stand a chance at all.


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    "Leave this to me." Hestia raises her hands and summons a massive lance of darkness above her head. Before, she would have had to chant a lengthy incantation in the language of the Fatas, but now she can easily conjure even the most powerful spells with a simple thought. Her imagination may be limited from many years of indoctrination in magic, but she has been training hard so that she doesn''t get left behind by Chaos.


    The lance of darkness comes down on the behemoth devil, but it raises its tube arm. From within emerges a crackling beam of raw energy that disintegrates the lance. Hestia dodges the beam heading for her with a nimble twist of her body, then spins around while creating an array of black spirit spears. She doesn''t need her wings to fly anymore, so she spreads them while creating more and more spears while making them rain down on the giant devil in sequence.


    They impact the creature''s skin but barely chip away at its surface. Even then, it roars in obvious pain and raises its hand to shield its face from it while haphazardly loosing pellets of energy in the general direction of the fallen angel.


    "Now''s your chance." One of Tokomaha''s clones pats Kamii''s shoulder just as the latter disintegrates an imp with a swing of her arm. The little dark elf doesn''t respond and instead spins around on the spot to head for the behemoth devil. Along the way, enemies are splattered left and right to further increase her combo counter.


    She wants to settle this in a single strike; jumping up into the air and swinging her crab arm horizontally, she aims for the midsection of the colossus. But to everybody''s surprise, the massive creature steps back with an unexpectedly nimble motion despite its size and swings its tube arm to swat Kamii out of the air.


    The little dark elf''s combo counter used to reset with time between hits. But now it only happens when she misses. Her intended swing hits nothing, but she twists her body around in midair, letting her cursed arm carry her momentum.


    The crab pincer collides with the devil''s metal arm. In the next moment, the shrapnel resulting from its disintegration rips dozens of smaller devils to shreds. The behemoth stares at its destroyed weapon with evident surprise but then roars in rage. Kamii takes that moment to land between its legs and slide underneath it, barely avoiding a stomp aimed at her head. Her combo is still going.


    Using that opportunity to pelt the devil with a rain of spirit spears, Hestia takes the heat off the little dark elf. But as if realizing that it''s a diversion, the beast endures the pain and turns around to grab Kamii. She gets up just in time to avoid the clawed hand and holds her cursed arm in reserve. Last time, she was able to hit after missing initially because the enemy didn''t know her abilities. She can''t swing her trump card around without a guarantee that she will hit now.


    Instead, she hides her arm behind her back and draws the dagger at her hip in a reverse grip. Compared to her curse combo, this weapon appears laughably weak before the behemoth devil. But if this creature is at all intelligent, it should become wary of it; after all, why would a person whose crab pincer can pulverize even metal forgo that for a weaker weapon? The only potential reason is that this dagger is even more powerful.


    "Come." Her short blade raised to eye level, Kamii glares up at the devil fearlessly.

 Chapter 137.3 - All Might

    Chaos side


    Cutting weapons are useless against me, though. I was scattered into tiny pieces by Zenlith''s imagination, but survived by reconnecting in an instant. Since I have plenty of mass stored inside me, on the outside, even a piece the size of my pinky could hold my consciousness. As long as my mass doesn''t get erased by something like Zenlith''s beam weapon or turned to ash by Serent''s strange scythe, I can survive anything now.


    Oinos performs a strangely slow horizontal swing with his right hand, moving right to left across his own chest. It appears slow not just because I have Nymphy''s eyes, but rather a deliberate-


    I feel my body being torn at by an unseen force. My arms and legs are twisted off, and my neck isn''t feeling so good either. Even as I stay suspended in midair, I sense my form slowly disintegrating.


    Then it stops, and I find that all that''s left of me is a frayed head and torso. My arms and legs are nowhere to be seen, so I quickly regrow them using mass from inside me. Looking at Oinos, I find that he''s getting ready for his next swing. No matter what that was, it will be bad if I get hit by it again. Before Oinos can complete his swing, I have to close the distance between us and get inside his ridiculously long range.


    With a sonic boom, I slam right into him with all of my mass - or that was the plan. But he has grabbed my neck with his free hand extended, causing me to almost rip off my own head due to my momentum. I realize that I''ve made a huge mistake, as his sword is now poised to swing left to right, with me right in its path.


    But not this time! I detach my lower half right as his blade would cut through me. I do the same with my neck, causing his vise-like grasp to crush the empty husk I leave in its place.


    In the next moment, my three pieces each grow into a full me, each moving independently from one another. As with any body-splitting technique, they each only have a third of my total mass, rendering the pile bunker unusable by either one of them. But I can still use the Imagination Engine through all of them individually and see from three different angles for maximum coverage.


    "That''s new." Oinos remarks when he sees the three of me surrounding him. His surprise seems genuine, which means that Alverost didn''t see my battle against Zenlith and Serent.


    "Flann!" I call out to the blonde girl to initiate my plan. She should have remained in the throne room or disappeared somewhere to hide from the battle, but she knows to continue monitoring me at all times.


    With this, I know she''s going to appear any second now. That''s why I use two of my bodies to cast a multitude of light barriers around Oinos and the third me that formed from my head. Trapping myself inside a tiny space with him is meant to take his attention off the fact that his movements will be restricted if he doesn''t break out immediately.


    "So, you think this cramped space will stop me from swinging this sword?" The Walker of the Wild looks around without a worry in his mind. Then he lowers his weapon - and lets the blade sink right through the multiple barriers as if cutting through soft butter. "Don''t underestimate this Ame-no-Murakumo."


    "I knew it!" Head-me points at the sword that is just an oversized katana. Of course, Alverost would give it a Japanese name. Just taking a name from mythology is a clear lack of creativity, though. And that coming from an Old Human who prides himself in having created demonkind. "Well, I thought as much."


    The fact that the blade can move through the barriers created by Sintress isn''t surprising anymore. For being an inviolable sanctuary, plenty of things have been able to break through it. Of course, that could be because I never learned how to do it right. Imagining an unstoppable force is just as impossible as it is to reach absolute zero with the Imagination Engine, so there must be something else to it.


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    "How about this then?" With these words, I propel myself forward once again. It has the same result as the last time, but I immediately lose my form and spread all across him. I also avoid the silver lines on his body, which would cut my tentacles to pieces if I have any part covering them.


    Instead of trying to turn rigid with my diminished mass, I simply cling to Oinos as a form of distraction. In the meantime, torso-me and legs-me draw the barrier closer to restrict his movements further. The fact that we haven''t been teleported yet means that this is still too much movement for Flann.


    With a thought, I place layers of barriers on top of my tentacles, which essentially turns me solid. Oinos is rendered entirely still, and I see the surprise on his face. Then he grins, and I understand that this still isn''t enough.


    Pumping up his muscles so quickly that my tentacles snap, he easily breaks out of the restraints. With a swing of his empty hand, he rips through all the layers of the barriers put around him from the outside. Then he spins around himself and lets Ame-no-Murakumo trail behind him.


    Torso-me and legs-me dodge up and down respectively, avoiding the invisible attack by getting within the range of the sword. The apex of the pyramid is disintegrated, and a massive swath of destruction in the city below follows the trajectory of the sword. It has gouged out the earth, leaving only a sickle-shaped crater running from the southern to the northern city wall. Rather than cut, this weapon seems to rend anything in its path with incredible forces similar to gravity. Or maybe it really is gravity.


    Luckily, it was only at this angle. Otherwise, those in the throne room would have been caught up in it. But that danger still exists, as Oinos turns around and raises the sword above his head, aiming at head-me. With the pyramid right behind me, that kind of move will blow it all away.


    "Don''t!" I scream, but he brings the weapon down in what seems to be an even slower swing than before. Extending my hands to each side, I have torso-me and legs-me flow back into my mass. Then, with two massive hands covered in rubber-like skin, I catch the descending blade between my palms.


    Even though I stop its momentum, the pressure from the weapon beats down on my regular Crawling Chaos body, almost causing it to break apart. The sandstone behind me is ground away, but it''s not enough to destroy the entire building.


    Then the strength behind Oinos'' arms forces my back to the ground. I switch my form around and surround the blade with all my mass, trying to make it too heavy for the Walker of the Wild to swing. Of course, under normal circumstances, that would be useless against somebody who can throw my full weight with a single hand.  But the sword seems to be incredibly dense, which is probably the reason a swing from it can cause tremendous pressure. With my added weight, he shouldn''t be able to move it anymore.


    In the next moment, I''m lifted off the side of the pyramid like it''s nothing. It would seem that all of my mass doesn''t even represent a fraction of Ame-no-Murakumo''s actual weight. I revise my strategy immediately and travel up the blade toward the hilt using a multitude of tendrils. Even if he can rip some of them off, he can''t stop them all.


    It seems that he doesn''t even need to do that, as he almost casually swings the sword and causes me to slide along its length and fly off the tip. Then the pressure from the blade hits me, and I quickly turn my body into a spear. With my tip facing where the pressure is coming from, I''m barely affected by it in my aerodynamic form.


    Once the swing is complete, I maintain my shape and turn my entire mass into a projectile - the Chaos javelin - before shooting at Oinos with as much speed as I can imagine. Before my mind can even catch up to my own acceleration, I find myself in his left hand, just millimeters away from his eye.


    That''s when I deploy an on-the-fly second stage to the Chaos javelin form; a pile bunker only as thick as a pencil, but with all the mass behind it, shoots out of my tip and pierces Oinos'' right eye. Or that''s what it was supposed to do, but he''s able to dodge just enough for the spike to only cut open his temple and scrape across his skull while generating sparks.


    He lets go of me in surprise and staggers back while holding the wound, from which golden liquid gushes forth the way it would in a human''s head wound. I doubt this is going to work again, and he''s going to heal quickly, so I have to come up with something new fast.

 Chapter 138.1 - Supernova

    Others side


    Sliding across the ground between the behemoth devil''s legs, Kamii brings up her cursed arm in a vertical swing. It hits the giant''s armored jewels, but not even thick steel does him any good as the force rips his body in two from below. Everything above the waist is reduced to an explosion of red mist


    The little dark elf avoids getting sullied by quickly getting up to her feet and running forward a few more steps. Without turning to look at her handiwork, she shifts her focus to the remaining devils.


    Those caught in her gaze stop in shock at the realization that their most powerful member has been defeated - by the person who looked the weakest in comparison. But before any of them can react by either running away or trying to fill the gap, Hestia rains down a hail of spirit spears.


    Before, most would have been able to dodge, but with them stunned from the loss of their leader, all of them are distracted. Ruthless as always, the fallen angel didn''t hesitate to take that opportunity to thin their ranks considerably.


    With their morale broken and their numbers diminished, the devils in the throne room begin to scream in fear. Some fight tooth and nail to get to the windows. Others look around in desperation as if hoping that whatever magic transported them here would take them back where they came from.


    The gods of Adanak and the royal guard still remaining in the hall make quick work of the stragglers. A cheer rings out when the last devil falls to a spear into the eye from one of Tokomaha''s clones.


    That''s when the entire pyramid quakes, and dust rains down from above. The royal guard brings up their shields to protect the queen from potentially falling debris, and everybody looks around in surprise. Something must have happened outside, or it''s the appearance of a new massive enemy that eclipses the behemoth Kamii took down.


    Whatever the case, Hestia flies over to one of the windows and peers outside. She can''t determine the origin of the shaking and switches to the other side, with the same result. The windows of the throne room only face the western and eastern sides, and the walls are too thick to allow for viewing at an angle. The floating upside-down city above hasn''t moved, and Kairaki hasn''t changed from being on fire, so it must have been something closer.


    Now that the immediate threat has been eliminated, everybody''s thoughts return to the whereabouts of Chaos. Tokomaha wordlessly creates many clones to search the pyramid with, but Kamii unhesitatingly jumps down the hole into which the Crawling Chaos has disappeared earlier.


    Hestia stares at the window before her in contemplation, then shakes her head as if coming to a conclusion on her own. Floating back down to the ground, she heads for the hole Kamii has jumped into moments ago, only to realize that she can''t fit through there with her wings either.


    "I apologize in advance for destroying your palace." With these words directed in the general direction of the elevated throne, Hestia raises a hand. Without a word, she summons an array of spirit spears with which she wants to stamp out a bigger hole in the ground.


    "Wait, we can go this way!" Tokomaha quickly stops the fallen angel for doing something so rash. She knows her way around this place since she has navigated it with her clones a few times by now. The terrace leading outside is on the same floor and won''t need further destruction of the royal palace.


    Hestia can suppress the urge to click her tongue, as she follows the suggestion of the little goddess and walks out of the throne room without any word toward the queen or their royal guard.


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    "[Who are you people?]" The man in azure armor seems to come to his senses, as he calls out to Aurelia and the others. He won''t forget that they came to their help, but he still needs to inquire about the identity of intruders into the palace.


    "[Let me explain this.]" Mereana turns to the man with an expression that suggests he shouldn''t question the intentions of these people.


    "[Thank you for saving us.]" Kouratua bows to the golden queen while filling out his dents from within and returning to his full rotund glory.


    "[Tell me what you know about this. What direction did the city above come from, and how long has this invasion been going on?]" Waving off the God of Gold''s thanks, Aurelia gets straight to the point. In truth, she wants to follow Kamii and find Chaos as soon as possible. But learning about the situation will surely be of some use.


    "[The floating city appeared right around high noon, hidden inside a dark cloud that looked like a storm front.]" The rotund god explains in a tone that speaks of his confusion at this sudden attack.


    "[That would be around the time the moon started falling.]" The golden queen mutters to herself, causing those within earshot to blink in surprise.


    "[What did you just say?]" Mereana comes down the steps, apparently already having finished explaining the identity of these newcomers.


    "[The moon will be falling into the ocean north of here.]" Not wasting any time on beating around the bush, Aurelia states in a matter of fact tone. "[If that happens, all life in this world will end.]"


    The shocking revelation leaves everybody stunned. Taking that opportunity to make her exit, the golden queen turns away to imply that she''s going to do something about it. Nobody thinks to stop her and ask for details, as they all wrestle with their own thoughts. Some nervously laugh it off as impossible; others argue that they should try to summon Roamukao to avert this crisis. None of their words reach Aurelia''s ears as she jumps down into the hole to join the little dark elf.


    Kamii follows the path of destruction resulting from Mahkotoh fighting whatever pulled her under. The holes in the walls leading all the way outside the pyramid tell her that this is an opponent capable of surviving even that much punishment. It must have been Oinos then.


    She looks down at her cursed arm. The combo counter is still going, so she should be able to catch the towering god by surprise. But judging by Mahkotoh''s fighting capabilities, it will be difficult even to approach somebody who can stand toe to toe with her. She will need to be incredibly careful and have a lot of luck to find a way into the battle between two godlike beings.


    "I will create an opening for you." Aurelia''s voice suddenly calls out to Kamii from behind, causing the latter to flinch in surprise. She was too deep in thought to notice the golden queen approaching her.


    Nodding in the affirmative, the little dark elf doesn''t speak her reply. The harem under Mahkotoh has a clear divide between those that knew her from before she went to the moon and those that came after. Kamii and Hestia are friendly with each other, and Aurelia and Tokomaha have an unspoken rivalry that binds them together. But there''s some seemingly insurmountable distance between the former and the latter two.


    It most obviously expresses itself in their powers. Kamii understands that she''s physically the weakest, and her ability to utilize the powers of the false gods lags far behind Hestia. All she has is her cursed arm; Mahkotoh implied that she could have the highest power potential among anybody in the world. But she knows best that it''s difficult to utilize properly.


    However, it goes beyond her usefulness in battle. She has grown beyond the point at which she would doubt the love she receives from Mahkotoh. But receiving it without being able to help the love of her life doesn''t sit well with her.


    "What are you brooding about?" Aurelia suddenly puts a hand on the little dark elf''s head, causing the latter to look up in surprise. She can count the times the golden queen has ever touched her with one hand - and not the one that possesses five fingers.


    But the gentle feeling suggests that Aurelia may be trying to bridge the distance to her. Living together for many moons while practically avoiding associating with each other isn''t healthy. Everybody has been busy since Mahkotoh''s coronation, but in the recent moon, they have had more free time together.


    "I-" Before Kamii can reply, the ground underneath their feet jumps several inches, causing them both to nearly fall over. A massive impact must have happened outside, but the fact that the pyramid is still standing means that it didn''t hit it directly.


    The two exchange a glance before wordlessly heading for the hole leading outside as quickly as they can.

 Chapter 138.2 - Supernova

    Chaos side


    I couldn''t see it.


    Half of my body is gone, erased by this last attack, and so is a cone-shaped area of the city behind me. The tip of that cone lies at the ground below the sword Ame-no-Murakuma, which Oinos is now holding with both hands.


    The last thing I saw was him gripping it with both his hands and raising it over his head. I instinctively dodged to the side, which is the only reason I''m still alive now. And even then, the part of me in the strike zone was disintegrated into nothingness.


    Damn, I can''t be losing matter now, when I have to head to the moon to potentially fight another Crawling Chaos later. I feel that in a battle between members of my species, mass is all that counts; the bigger one can simply swallow the smaller one. I''ve been saving up for the past half a year and gotten back to my largest size ever, but half of that has disappeared in one attack.


    Steam is rising from Oinos'' back, and it seems that the swing has overheated him. Or maybe it''s because he lost his cool from nearly losing his eye earlier. But the fact that he isn''t using that attack again means he can''t do it in quick succession. I need to do something about this before his cooldown is up.


    But what can I do? My mass is diminished, and even when I had all of it, I could only scrape along his skull rather than pierce it. His outside, despite looking like skin and muscle, is harder than anything organic in this world. Only Aurelia and her conceptual body could compare to it.


    Suddenly, a massive lance of darkness strikes Oinos from the side, only to scatter the moment it touches his skin. Rather than some magical defense, his physical form withstood Hestia''s most devastating attack.


    Wait, Hestia!


    "Don''t come over here!" I turn to scream at the fast-approaching black angel. She has no defenses against any of Oinos'' attacks. Her light barrier spell is stronger than mine, but it''s also not the perfect sanctuary envisioned by Sintress. I doubt anybody but the creator of it herself can ever reach that realm.


    Hearing my voice, Hestia stops abruptly and points both her hands at the Walker of the Wild. In the next moment, hundreds of two-dimensional-looking circles of blackness surround his limbs. It''s her corrupted version of a light barrier, with a similar application to the one I tried before. However, unlike my attempt, she''s directly locking down his arms and legs, not even giving him the option to swing his sword.


    The fact that Oinos doesn''t move while steam continues to come off his back isn''t an indication that Hestia''s spell has stopped him. In the first place, I somehow doubt that anything within the system of the Imagination Engine can be effective against him. Exla said that he''s a godlike existence outside the system. I would think the same about members of my species, and even I can barely scratch him.


    Suddenly, branches begin to sprout below Oinos'' feet, breaking through the cracks in the pyramid left by our battle. They begin to ensnare his limbs but shy away from his steaming back. It must be incredibly hot, like the heat radiator in a high-powered machine.


    Looking down, I see Tokomaha standing on the first terrace, raising her white spear with one hand and drawing circles into the air while pointing at Oinos. Wood won''t be enough to stop his movements; even I couldn''t do anything against him because of the beams he can fire from the tattoo-like lines running across his body.


    As if to prove me right, the moment the steam from his body subsides, Oinos looks up at me as if not even noticing the magic and branches binding him. The wound on his temple has already healed, and the golden liquid has been reabsorbed into his skin. His expression tells me that he''s completely serious now.


    He casually breaks all his restraints as if they don''t even exist. Raising both hands over his head, he prepares to eradicate my existence with Ame-no-Murakumo completely. In pure desperation, I shoot forward to get within his range. Maybe I can clasp onto his face and smother him? Or enter through his ears and nose to destroy him from the inside. He should be softer inside than he''s outside, right?


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    Just then, a blob of liquid gold surrounds his blade and stops it in place. Oinos looks up in surprise, struggling to pull his weapon out from it. Aurelia has appeared on the terrace near Tokomaha and is holding out both of her hands. For the first time, I see strain on her face as she has to muster all of her willpower to hold back the strength behind the Walker of the Wild''s physical strength.


    This is an opening I can use!


    Shooting forward, I aim for Oinos'' mouth. Just then, he twists his torso slightly and lets out a beam from his chest that forces me to evade. I know for a fact that those can cut through even dragon armor, and I don''t want to get split any further with my currently diminished mass.


    That''s when I see a person running up the remaining branches growing from the side of the pyramid, holding a dagger in one hand and drawing back the other as if ready to swing. It''s Kamii, with her amethyst eyes utterly focused on the back of the Walker of the Wild.


    I don''t know what she''s attempting to do, but her cursed arm may be the only thing in this world that could decidedly take down Oinos at this point. But the towering god will simply fire his tattoo beams to cut her apart if he notices her approach.


    "Cut this!" I shout and create a wall of spirit spears to fill his entire vision. Even if he knows that Kamii is coming at him from behind, she won''t be his top priority. After all, these spears are a creation by Sintress, meant to pierce through anything the Old Humans can imagine. I haven''t used them against him this openly before, so he can''t know whether or not I have been able to replicate the effect initially intended by their creator. I know for a fact that they can''t, as the pile bunker tip I used earlier was only marginally stronger than compressed dragon armor.


    His widening eyes tell me that he has taken the bait, as I make a show out of letting them spin in place before loosing them at him all at once. I can tell that this is the first time he actually fears something coming from me, as he desperately struggles to pull his sword free.


    Suddenly, he seems to realize something in my eyes, and he turns his head to look back. Judging that all this was to let Kamii get closer, he lets go of his sword and turns on the spot while swinging his arm at blinding speed.


    But it seems that Kamii has predicted the direction of his swing and has already twisted her upper body to the side. The air pressure from his fist cuts her cheek; if she had been only an inch off, her head would have been taken clean off her shoulders.


    In the same motion, she throws her crab pincer forward in a straight punch with all her might. Compared to Oinos, her speed is laughably slow; he brings up his left hand to catch the pincer. He may be surprised at the fact that somebody this weak is attacking him so audaciously that he''s lowering his guard and not killing her straight away.


    With a titanic impact that shakes the very air, her strike connects with his palm. For a split second, nothing seems to happen. Then, the cursed arm pushes his hand back into his stomach, connecting with his well-defined abs.


    In the next moment, his hand disintegrates against his own skin, followed by an impact traveling through his entire body. Then his back explodes outward, spraying golden liquid out so quickly that it hits me in the face like a solid wall before I even realize it. All the spirit spears still flying at him have been dissipated without my input, as a cone-shaped explosion of gold expands from Oinos. A second shockwave evaporates the gold and turns it into a fine mist that obscures my vision.


    I summon winds to make the mist clear faster, to find that the Walker in the Wild is standing where he met Kamii''s strike. A massive hole has been blown into his back, exposing his black spine and ribs, which have withstood even this impact. His left hand, having had everything but the same black bones removed, has fallen apart into its individual pieces, leaving only the stump of his wrist.


    "... what is your name, little one?" Oinos asks in a calm voice as he looks down at Kamii. His body is still and unmoving, standing tall like a stopped piece of construction machinery.


    "Kamii." The little dark elf draws back her extended crab arm and replies in a neutral tone.


    "Oh, I see." As if coming to a realization, Oinos smiles to himself wryly. "I guess everybody underestimated you."


    It would seem that Alverost was aware of Kamii''s existence but didn''t know that she possessed such a power. Everybody seeing her regular abilities compared to those of the other girls in my harem would consider her inconsequential. That''s why he didn''t inform Oinos to be careful of her. And sure enough, if not for everything coming together perfectly, she would have never landed a hit on him.


    "Oh, well." Lowering his right arm, the Walker of the Wild looks down at the hole in his stomach. "I''ve achieved what I came here for."


    "And what is that?" Kamii asks with a suspicious glare into her opposite''s white eyes.


    "I was only a diversion." Oinos looks like he wants to shrug, but can''t even muster that much strength. His body doesn''t seem to be healing from this wound. "The real target... was Arkheim."

 Chapter 138.3 - Supernova

    "What?" I approach the dying god and feel the urge to punch him, knowing that I won''t be able to do any damage with my diminished weight. "Is your master so petty that he would want to destroy my people before letting the moon do it?"


    "He believes... that Zenlith can do something about it." Golden blood flows from Oinos'' lips as he reveals that they know about Zenlith''s whereabouts. Only Exla and I should know that he''s in the vaults of Arkaim, as I haven''t even told my girls about it. To them, the Lord of the Sky is dead, as he should be to everybody else in the world at this point if the bard has been doing his job well.


    "So Alverost is at his wit''s end, too." With a sneer, I ridicule the Mage of the Beginning, who prides himself in his technological knowledge. The fact that he isn''t doing anything about it himself means that he has no means to do so.


    "It doesn''t matter anymore." Finally, Oinos raises a hand, and I jump between him and Kamii. He looks up toward Ame-no-Murakumo, which Aurelia is still levitating using her gold. I wonder why she hasn''t moved it away, but that doesn''t seem to be his target. Instead, I watch wide-eyed as he reaches into his wound and rummages around it for a moment. "This is the end for all of us."


    Then he pulls out a metal-looking sphere that glowing cables still connect to his body. There''s a glass window on it, revealing a brightly-shining light inside. Judging by the fact that this is his heart, I assume that''s some kind of fusion reaction. He wants to blow himself up!


    "FLANN!" I scream while reaching out for the sphere before Oinos can do anything with it.


    In the next instant, we''re on the dark side of the moon, the star-studded sky above sparsely illuminating our surroundings. Flann is floating above the ground next to me, holding out a hand toward me, which I take without hesitation.


    "So, you had this up your sleeve." The voice of the Walker in the Wild echoes in my head just as Juzual''s did when I was last here. He sounds wry, the tone of somebody who understands that his last-ditch effort was useless.


    Light fills my vision; then, I''m back on the branches in front of Kamii. I instinctively turn my head toward the east, just past a curtain of smoke rising to the floating city above. There, the sickle moon is visible just over the horizon. I remain unblinking to witness the dying star that Oinos turned into, as a corona grows from behind the moon like the sun during an eclipse.


    The spreading light slowly fades away, leaving only the silhouette of the moon against the darkening sky. For a moment, he was brighter than the sun itself.


    But this isn''t the time to be staring at the last moments of a true god; Arkaim is in danger. We have to get back and defend it before we can do something about the falling moon. Maybe leaving Tokomaha here and letting her do her job while I take the others back would be the best course of action.


    "The moon is falling faster now." Flann suddenly states in her usual unconcerned tone while looking up into the sky. "We do not have 9 hours left."


    "What?" I stare at the blonde girl for a moment. It''s my fault for telling her to bring him to the dark side of the moon when I formulated the initial plan for getting rid of Oinos. There wasn''t enough time to change the destination of this emergency teleportation.


    I try to stare at the moon to discern the number on it, but it can''t be seen because of the still bright sky. If it''s true that the moon has started accelerating because of the explosion on its dark side, then the impact point might have moved too. I''ll need Senka to find out the new location.


    "Let''s go back to Arkaim." Letting my gaze linger on the moon a second longer as I think about the consequences of this explosion, I turn to Flann.


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    "Understood." Nodding, she peers at the other girls approaching our position. She''s waiting for them to gather around so we can teleport.


    "[Are you leaving already?]" Mereana''s voice calls out to me from below, and I turn my head. She''s standing on the second terrace, which is closer to our position than the first one. She must have run up the stairs, as she looks out of breath.


    "[I''ll be back.]" I wave at her with a confident smile.


    "What about Asoko?" Hestia suddenly asks, and I blink at her in bafflement. Over the battle against Oinos and the revelation that Arkaim is in danger, I completely forgot about that. Also, the fact that the upside-down city above is still floating in place means that Kairaki isn''t safe yet. There''s just too much to be done.


    I switch on my Chaos senses and expand it to encompass the entire pyramid. The fact that she hasn''t come out even in all this commotion means that she must be busy with a powerful opponent of her own. But aside from another Old Human, I doubt anything could put up a proper fight against us at this point. So what is she doing?


    "Asoko is in the dungeon. I don''t know what she''s doing there, but she''s alone." I glance at Flann. She said that due to the interference, she couldn''t transport us directly to where my other half was located. But why would she stay in the basement if she''s all alone? There''s no way she was locked up there. "Wait here."


    With these words, I fly down toward Mereana while leaving my girls where they stand. Oinos is no more, and they can clearly handle the devils on their own, so I''m not worried about them. Asoko''s presence feels off, but it''s undoubtedly a Crawling Chaos. The only other options would be Mataku or my children, but I doubt that the former would be here right now, or that any of the latter would be alone.


    "I have a bad feeling about this." Flann suddenly appears next to me the moment I land on the terrace next to Mereana. I''m prepared this time, so I''m not surprised.


    "You feel?" I look at her in exaggerated skepticism, but she doesn''t react to my joke at all. "You''re no fun."


    "[I heard about the moon falling from the golden queen.]" Mereana remarks with a grim expression.


    "[Let''s talk while moving. I need to get into the dungeon.]" I state while walking ahead. Mereana quickly passes me and gestures for me to follow her, leading the way into the pyramid. It seems she understands that time is of the essence right now.


    "[What can be done?]" She asks while waving at the royal guard to open the gates of the terrace.


    "[We have to trust the God of Growth.]" I try to sound confident while following my former comrade in arms. Flann is trailing behind us, her shorter legs forcing her to jog to keep up with our brisk walk. "[She said that she can catch the moon and hold it back.]"


    "[... I shall believe in that.]" Nodding grimly, Mereana puts the fate of the world into our hands without hesitation. In truth, she most likely understands that neither she nor any of the minor gods of Adanak now in the employ of the new queen could ever hope to do something about the moonfall.


    We make our way into the bowels of the pyramid, walking past mountains of devil corpses. The fighting in the city is still ongoing, but Tokomaha''s clones have cleared most of the palace''s interior. We don''t encounter any enemies throughout our short journey into the dungeon, where Asoko has been slowly moving in circles. Something feels off.


    "[What are we doing here?]" Mereana asks with a sideways glance at me. I doubt she thinks I came here to break out the alcohol to celebrate our victory over Oinos.


    "[Have you seen or heard of anybody looking like me come through Kairaki in the past half a year?]" Before pushing open the door in front of me, I inquire about any sightings of Asoko in Adanak.


    "[I have not.]" Shaking her head with a skeptical expression, Mereana confirms my suspicions that whatever is beyond this door isn''t my other half. After all, if she were in the dungeon of the royal palace, people would know about it; she has no reason to sneak in here during a catastrophic battle outside.


    "[Then stay back.]" I gesture at the wall next to the door, and she complies with a confused expression. From traveling with me in the past, she can tell when I''m serious and understands to follow my orders even if they may seem strange at first.


    With a glance at Flann behind me, I ready myself for another dangerous encounter. Then I push open the heavy wooden door.

 Chapter 139.1 - Defeating Destiny

    The anticipation and tension rise as I find a dark cellar filled with crates, barrels, and pots stacked all the way to the ceiling. Whatever Crawling Chaos is moving about in this lightless environment is still further ahead, somewhere in the maze of unused containers.


    There''s a smell of decay that can''t just be explained by foodstuff being forgotten down here for a long time. This place isn''t so deep in the dungeon that people would completely forget about it. In other words, it''s new and was brought here after that being arrived.


    "[What is this...?]" Mereana wonders in a whisper. Her nose is crinkled when she notices the stench, and she looks about in confusion. She can only see within the radius of her torch, so her tension is much higher than mine.


    "[Stay here.]" I take the torch out of her hand and walk ahead quickly to prevent her from following me. Unable to come up with any plausible reason for why she should do so, Mereana stays at the door and watches me with a worried expression.


    Flann follows me with her usual emotionless face, not in the least concerned about the possibility of a fight between two Cosmic Horrors. Oinos was such a high hurdle earlier that I doubt this one is going to present much of a danger - as long as it''s not Mataku.


    When I make my way past the shelves and piles of items, I find myself in the center of the large room. It seems to be a loading area, as there''s a trap door above, which doubtlessly leads somewhere in the backyard of the pyramid.


    Below that door is a lone figure, misshapen and shuffling on unsteady legs, slowly moving in a circle without apparent aim. The signals of a Crawling Chaos are coming from its vaguely humanoid form that seems to be made of black liquid rather than tentacles. It''s surrounded by rotten offal, most likely meat to keep it alive down her.


    Seeing that appearance, I remember Tokomaha telling me about Sea Witch Rapania''s experiments. Something about her using Tahiri''s lightning to power some apparatus that turned human experiments into a creature close to my nature. The fact that it registers as one of my kin means that Mataku and Rapania succeeded in creating an artificial Crawling Chaos.


    "This is the one I felt." Flann''s eyes are fixated on the pitiful being that doesn''t seem to have noticed us yet. No matter how I look at it, this isn''t my other half, but it feels just like her. I don''t have many experiences with feeling others of my kind, so I''m not quite able to tell them apart by how they appear to me in my Chaos senses.


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    "[Hey, you.]" I try calling out to the creature. The moment I make my presence known, it cranks its oval and blank equivalent of a head toward me. If it had neck vertebrae, they would have been broken by that unnatural movement.


    It has no features in a face that looks like thick crude oil has been poured over a mangled human skull. But it''s clear that it can see me, as something like a mouth rips open at the base of the oval rather than where a human''s jaw would be. With a voice similar to mine in Crawling Chaos form, it seems to be saying something. Or maybe it''s just an expression of resentment, as that''s all I feel coming toward me from it.


    Then it raises an arm, which extends into a spike shooting straight at me. I let it bounce off my chest covered in dragon armor before grabbing it. That''s when I feel a prickling sensation in my palm and realize that Mataku must have given it properties similar to Korenga''s Black God form. It''s soft to the touch, so at least this one isn''t indestructible. But that means I can''t eat it.


    "I''d like to take this along for analysis, but I don''t think I can." Muttering to Flann, I point a hand at the artificial Crawling Chaos. A light barrier in the form of a sphere appears around it, cutting off the arm still extended toward me. "What about you?"


    "It will only turn into another one." Shaking her head, the blonde girl confirms my suspicion.


    "Too bad." With these words, I ignore the prickly feeling and pull the severed arm, which is beginning to twitch on its own, toward me. At the same time, I start a fire inside the barrier sphere to incinerate the creature as it bangs its head against the translucent wall of light.


    The winding black limb begins to ball itself together and melt into one solid form. But that suits me fine, as I put a light barrier around the much more compact piece and light a fire inside it as well. Turning up the intensity in both incinerators, I burn the artificial Crawling Chaos and its spawn until not even ashes remain.


    Only when I''m sure that the spheres are empty do I undo the magic. My Chaos senses no longer feel anything, so it must have been destroyed without a trace.


    I don''t know if this one was weak or incomplete, but who knows how many of those Mataku has created by now. Alverost is throwing these new devils at Kairaki, and Mataku is possibly fielding his own army as well. What''s going to become of this world?


    A pile of rubble very soon, if I don''t take care of the moon problem first.


    "Let''s head back." With these words, I return to where I left Mereana and tell her about my discovery. I''m worried about Asoko since Flann searched for her across the globe and only found this fake. But for the same reason that I didn''t want to spend any time on searching for Exla, I can''t waste any more on my other half at this point.

 Chapter 139.2 - Defeating Destiny

    When the world around us snaps back to reality, we''re back inside the throne room in Arkaim. It''s empty, but I instantly expand my Chaos senses to find that the entire castle is swarming with people that shouldn''t be here. The Maid Corps were ordered to get to their positions for the shield array and cover the city in light barriers. Even if some of them were still lingering since their posts are closer to the castle, there shouldn''t be that many.


    "The castle has already been invaded." I state in a matter of fact tone. Then I turn to my girls, who each spring into action without a word. They already know their roles, so I don''t need to tell them. It''s basically a repetition of what we just did in Kairaki. The only difference is that we won''t have to face somebody like Oinos again.


    "You''re back early. Do you want dinner, a bath..." Senka''s voice echoes in my mind, and I feel relieved that she can still crack jokes in this situation. It must mean that it''s not as bad as I thought it would be. "... or a war on your doorsteps, again?"


    "As always, you know how to make my heart beat faster." With these thoughts, I follow my girls out into the corridor, where I split up from them and head for the nearest window. Before anything else, I need to get a clear picture of the situation. "Give me a report on the moonfall."


    "Is that what we''re calling it now?" With the sass almost tangible, Senka asks in an unamused tone. Meanwhile, I see that an upside-down city similar to the one over Kairaki is looming over Arkaim. Countless flying demons are zooming through the sky while fighting variously-shaped devils in the air. The streets are filled with battle as well, but I''m confident that my people won''t lose so easily.


    Unlike during the Siege of Arkaim, the capital of the Dominion is now inhabited by soldiers and warrior families. I had the vast majority of the civilians move to the surrounding four fortress cities because I anticipated an all-out attack from the remaining Old Humans in the future.


    "Whatever you did, it caused the moon to accelerate. We have just under four hours." Growing serious, the doll girl gives her verdict. So Oinos'' explosion more than doubled the speed of the moon, huh? I''m sure that must have caused Alverost additional headache, aside from the fact that his most beloved creation whom he told to call him father is dead.


    "And where will it land?" The massive floating city above us is hiding the moon, but I''m sure it''s already pretty huge.


    "Northwest of the Dominion, somewhere west of the Ogely mountains." Senka''s voice sounds grim as she delivers the result of the astrology lab''s calculations.


    That''s within a thousand kilometers from here, which means that even with a margin of error of fifty percent, the moon will still directly hit Arkaim with its massive diameter of over three thousand kilometers.


    "ALVEROST!" I amplify my voice and roar into the sky. The sound causes flying demons and devils alike to scatter in disorientation. I''m not sure the Old Human is even in the floating city, but he surely has microphones installed to hear what''s going on around this place.


    Suddenly, a massive holographic screen appears in the sky, just as it did over Zohigal. The person shown on it is a boy with green eyes and blond hair - Alverost in his true form. His eyes are bloodshot, and it looks like he cried until only recently. There''s a mad determination in his gaze that suggests he''s willing to do anything to get what he wants now.


    "You!" His voice sounds bitter as he glares at me through the screen. I never expected that he could make such an expression. To me, the Old Humans who stood with Zenlith were all the same kind of brats that had never been educated about compassion and limits. So what would he be sad about? "What kind of trick did you use? How did you defeat Oinos?"


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    "The power of friendship." I shrug while replying in a mocking tone. I hold some respect for Oinos for fighting me head-on without ever taking any underhanded actions. His creator deserves none of that.


    "Don''t mess with me!" Alverost yells through his screen. His hair is disheveled as if he pulled at it when he learned of Oinos'' death. It seems that he''s at his wit''s end as well now. "I''m going to put you in a test tube!"


    At these words, something large separates from the upside-down city and comes toward me. It''s humanoid but has a slightly blocky shape and is white with red and blue highlights. A pair of red wings with glowing red trails of jet exhaust gives it a somewhat celestial appearance, but I recognize what this one is based on. It''s a giant robot.


    "That''s the worst one in the G*ndam series!" I shout at the approaching mecha before growing to match it. But I choose the inarguably superior variant that has a blue torso with a golden highlight across the center of the chest. Pumping my fists, I fly up to meet Alverost, whose expression on the screen in the sky only grows angrier.


    Of course, my choice was a close combat mecha into one counted among those that possess the most firepower while maintaining a normal-sized frame. I know that it can also fight in melee range, but if he knows his stuff, he should understand not to get into fisticuffs with me.


    Thus, I''ll have to make up for the difference with fighting spirit. Alverost''s mecha suddenly stops and opens its wings fully before deploying its long-range beam cannon. As the red jets emerging from the boosters on the wings grow in size and intensity, a massive red beam of crackling energy shoots toward me.


    The city and castle are behind me, so I can''t just dodge. Instead, I create a light barrier around my right palm and catch the beam while plunging forward.


    "What are you-?!" Alverost sounds both angry and surprised as I push through his devastating energy beam. He draws back his cannon and grabs the handle of the gigantic sword on his back. It''s about as long as his mecha is tall. Where the edge should be is a notch, which fills with a purple beam blade.


    "That''s what I''m talking about!" I grow two handles in my palms and summon two giant spirit spears on them in place of beam sabers. It''s clear that Alverost has lost his cool, as he charges forward with the wing-like jet expulsion trailing behind him in an afterimage.


    Our blades meet and expel each other, but I spin around myself and slash at my opponent''s head. He dodges by ducking below it and attempts to tackle me with the blade attached to his shoulder. Twisting my body sideways, I grab the handle on the underside of the shoulder blade and rip it out of its mounting before activating its beam dagger function.


    He really replicated it to a tee.


    With a swing of his two-handed blade, he tries to force me back. But I block the attack with one arm and stab the dagger into his shoulder joint. That''s when he delivers a kick to my chest to push me away before activating his jet boosters to take his distance once again. It seems he has realized that he''s at a disadvantage when fighting against me in close quarters.


    "You''re not getting away!" I open the circular boosters on my back and chase after Alverost''s mecha. He spins around in midair and raises his beam cannon. "Too slow!"


    Cutting off the front of the barrel, I render his long-ranged weapon useless. But due to the momentum of my swing, he has the time to bring down his two-handed sword. I raise my arm and let it scrape along the armguard before drawing back my other hand for a punch aimed at my opponent''s chest area, right where the cockpit should be located.


    "No, you don''t!" Alverost drops his two-handed sword and quickly draws the shoulder dagger, aiming to stab it down into where my cockpit would be if I were an actual mecha.


    "This farce ends here." I catch his wrist and deliver a straight with all my power. My fist breaks Alverost''s chest armor and embeds itself into his cockpit. Then I channel plasma into that hand before letting the energy explode outward in pure heat.


    As the inferior mecha is disintegrated by the plasma, and I look up at the screen in the sky. Alverost is still glaring down at me with incredulous anger. I knew from the start that he wouldn''t be coming down here himself. Not even Zenlith did that, even though he should have been very sure of his abilities. So somebody who prides himself on his brains rather than brawn wouldn''t risk his life in a straight fight.


    "First, your toy. Next, your bigger toy." I point past the screen and gesture at the floating city.

 Chapter 139.3 - Defeating Destiny

    "So be it." Visibly gnashing his teeth, Alverost gathers his emotions and closes his eyes. "Then I''ll be the king of the ashes. Have fun down there for as long as the planet lasts."


    With these words, the holographic screen disappears. Then the upside-down city begins to float away; he intends to run while letting the moon finish me off.


    "As if I''d let you." I mutter to myself and transform back into my human size. But before I can shoot upward and infiltrate the flying city, I stop to think. Would Alverost really be up there? I''d think that after the experience in Zohigal, he would be much farther away to keep himself safe. Unlike Zenlith, he''s not immortal, after all.


    So is this another diversion?


    "Contact Tokomaha. Have her clones go to the Prichet district." I contact Senka in my mind. The affluent Prichet district is where the only door to the underground vault of Arkheim is hidden. Alverost could be throwing everything away to free Zenlith, including two floating cities and even Oinos. In fact, if he''s really down there, he might even be risking his own life. "Tell her to swarm the place."


    "Understood." Comes the doll girl''s quick reply. She''s not making any jokes under these circumstances, and I''m grateful for that.


    I''d love to take Alverost out myself if he''s there, but the possibility that I''m overthinking things is always present. If I let the flying city get away, he might come again with an even bigger army and a new Oinos. After all, if he can create one, he can surely do it again in due time.


    Surrounding myself in plasma, I shoot up and straight into the buildings hanging from the futuristic city. It''s about one-fourth the size of Arkaim, but I assume it''s not filled with people. Surely, a lot of it is just for show.


    And as I expected, most buildings are empty or nothing but fa?ades. As I burn my way through the structures toward the perceived core, I expand my Chaos senses to feel life forms all around me. There are several places they''re concentrated in, but many of them have dark spots on their bodies. Most are missing parts of their heads and organs, others only their limbs. They''re most likely drones, kept by Alverost to do menial labor for him.


    I aim for one conglomeration of life forms. Judging by the numbers, that could be a place where the devils invading the city below are being created. When I break through the wall and into the massive facility, I find myself in something that can only be described as a cloning factory.


    "Intruder alert!" The nearest drones, some looking like humans, others like demons, all of them with mechanical parts sticking out of her bodies, turn to me with the expressionlessness of robots. Spreading my arms into their individual tentacles, I whip them around and tear the enemies into pieces. As I make my way through the facility, I pull the edible parts inside my body.


    The clone vats here seem to predominantly contain the human-sized variant of devils. They''re the most numerous type used in the invasion of Kairaki and now Arkaim, so there are most likely more such places in this floating city. For me, it''s an all-you-can-eat buffet.


    Spreading my mass out, I grab anything that registers as living, rip them to pieces to make sure they cease to be such. Then I pull them inside me for breaking down and adding to my mass. It won''t be enough to make up for what I lost against Oinos, but it''s better than nothing.


    It takes me less than a minute to clean the factory of anything living, though I did leave behind a huge mess of blood and guts. I''m in a hurry after all, so I can''t waste time cleaning up the scraps. Taking one last look around to make sure I didn''t miss anything important, I begin my rampage anew by turning into a living warhead and burning my way through the wall of the building.


    Once outside, I realize that the floating city left behind Arkaim and is rising further into the sky. When I consider the direction this is flying in, it seems to be heading toward Kairaki. The one over there is most likely coming to meet this one halfway, but I feel that at this speed, the moon will have impacted Earth before then.


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    In either case, there''s nothing below us for many kilometers on end, so I can go wild.


    "Alverost!" I let out a roar. It''s not like I expect him to reply to me at this point; if he''s anywhere on this ship, he should be heading for an escape pod.


    "What do you want?" But to my surprise, a floating screen appears in front of me. He''s wearing a haunted expression, and his face is covered in sweat. Maybe he really is on here.


    "What goes up..." With a glare that sufficiently signals my malicious intent, I spread my arms. "... must come down!"


    In the next moment, I create an explosion of plasma all around me, emulating Zylos in his last moments, without affecting my own body. The wave of heat melts everything in my vicinity and burns an expanding hole into the center of the upside-down city. It spreads further and further until some important device is caught up in it and explodes.


    Several more explosions rock the massive ship in a chain reaction, and the lights of the city go out with a flicker. The momentum carries it forward for another second before it begins to list to one side and fall out of the sky. It seems that whatever keeps it afloat is still somewhat active, but can''t carry the weight of the entire structure. It''s doomed to crash now.


    Alverost''s screen has shut off along with the power in the city, so either he''s going down with his ship, or he''s acting as if he is. I expand my Chaos senses to encompass as much space as I can, to find lives getting snuffed out in the ongoing explosions and fires inside the falling ship. None are separating from it, so either all of them are expendable workers and troops, or there are no escape pods because Alverost never thought it would be taken down.


    I stay in the air and watch the city-sized structure touch down on the ground and compress out of shape. With a massive explosion, the last anti-gravity device that was unable to slow its fall sufficiently goes up in flames as well.


    There are still some lives inside the wreckage, but they go out one after the other. Even now, there''s no sign of Alverost making it out.


    "Tokomaha discovered a group of soldiers in black in the Prichet district. All her clones were then destroyed by something invisible." Senka''s voice speaks into my mind.


    "I knew it." Even as I say that, and the urge to return to Arkaim overwhelms me, I keep watching for Alverost or anybody else escaping from the ship. "As long as Exla is alive, getting Zenlith out of there won''t help."


    Now that I think about it, why didn''t Alverost do what Zenlith did to Exla during the siege of Erbilan? Areteniha is his mother, who seems to be in control of the Imagination Engine. So he should be able to tell her to restrict the cloud girl''s permission, not just for a day or two, but forever. That way, Zenlith would get his permissions back and could break out on his own.


    The fact that Alverost hasn''t done so and gambled on such a direct strategy means there''s something else at work in the background.


    The Old Humans really fell apart, huh? Kanundra turned into a powerless human and was then killed by Asoko without the latter even knowing who she was. Zylos lost control and turned into a miniature sun that burned up the very atoms of his body. Serent was ground into dust despite trying to be immortal. Zenlith, the Lord of the Sky, was locked up in an underground vault to rot. Now, Alverost sacrificed Oinos for a cheap diversion to put everything on a gamble.


    I wonder what happened to Shelnir. The fact that Serent came to face me must mean her healing was already complete half a year ago. It''s alarming that I haven''t seen or heard anything about her handiwork in all this time.


    The Akashic Records allow her to predict the future enough to write and enact elaborate scenarios - although I broke several of them simply because I was more than she had bargained with. At this point, she should have gotten a good grasp of my abilities and input it in her supercomputer. She''s sure to strike again, possibly even right now.


    Now that I think about it, why was Oinos in Kairaki rather than here? How did Alverost know I would go there rather than directly to the place where the moon would impact Earth? Maybe it was Shelnir who told him that I would be in the capital of Adanak at that specific moment, so he sent Oinos to intercept and keep me there long enough to free Zenlith. But that would mean we broke her prediction once again; she definitely didn''t reckon that we could defeat him that quickly, if at all.


    "Tell Tokomaha to bring Aurelia to the Prichet district." I speak to Senka in my mind. "Shelnir might be there with Alverost."

 Chapter 140.1 - Serving Justice

    Other side


    Tokomaha lost over a hundred of her clones in an instant without even knowing what killed them. She had just entered the Prichet district and seen a group of people that definitely didn''t belong there when something struck them down from above. Thus, the true extent of the danger that awaits them is still unknown.


    But Aurelia doesn''t feel the need to take any precautions and flies straight across the rooftops toward their destination with a swarm of golden weapons following her. She will crush all opposition with overwhelming power and not let anything slow her down in taking revenge on Shelnir. If not her, then Alverost will get to taste her revenge.


    Still, the God of Growth wonders what could have taken out all her clones at once. There couldn''t be over a hundred skilled assassins that struck all at the same time without any of her seeing them. There was no wide-range attack that flattened the entire district, and the floating upside-down city had already left the area, which rules out some kind of weapon from there.


    The demons will begin to bounce back now that the devils'' support has disappeared. Kamii and Hestia stayed behind to clean up the castle of any intruders. It''s only a matter of time until those two will finish off the last stragglers. That''s why Tokomaha needs to do her part here.


    "Out of my way." Without moving her hands, Aurelia rains death onto dozens of devils standing on the rooftops while trying to hurl balls of fire at her. Even though she seems enraged, she has enough control not to damage the buildings with her barrage of golden weapons.


    Tokomaha runs at the forefront of an army of clones, washing over the devils in the streets like a tidal wave. Even the elites among them don''t stand a chance now that she knows how to circumvent their armor. They quickly make their way through the streets and reach the vicinity of where her earlier copies had been eliminated.


    "We are here." The leaf-haired girl speaks into her mind to contact Senka. It took her some time to get used to this, but she''s grateful that they can communicate quickly through the living doll.


    "Look out for the false gods. Don''t try to fight them if they hold something in their hands you have never seen before." Comes Senka''s reply, though it sounds more like Chaos said it. In Zohigal, the enemies had weapons that could shoot arrows of light. Chaos said that those were called laser guns, which are as powerful as bolts of lightning.


    Tokomaha understands that getting hit by lightning is incredibly deadly. She journeyed with the God of Storm for a time and has seen her handiwork. Even if the laser guns can''t compare in visual impact, she knows not to underestimate them.


    Aurelia, on the other hand, seems wholly unfazed by the prospect of facing weapons wielded by the false gods and their soldiers. Her body is on a different level compared to anybody else''s in the harem of Chaos. Never once has her golden skin been blemished by a scratch, let alone a wound.


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    The God of Growth is consolidating all her clones in the city and making them converge on the Prichet district from all sides. This time, she will keep many out of range to get a clear picture of what it is that could destroy her copies so quickly. They may be pressed for time, but it''s better than to go in blindly with her real body and get hurt.


    In the central plaza of the rather affluent district are piles of dead demons and devils alike. At the very center stands a ring of soldiers in black armor, much like those they encountered in Zohigal. Her clones saw some of them earlier while they were still in transit, but this seems to have been their destination.


    They''re protecting a machine that appears to be drilling into the ground, operated by a group of humans and demons with metal bits sticking out of their bodies. At their center is a boy with golden hair, wearing a shirt, short pants, and a backpack. He looks barely older than twelve, but the calculating intelligence in his green eyes is undeniable.


    Tokomaha has seen his face on the big screen floating above Zohigal and earlier above Arkaim. It''s Alverost, and this time, it must be the real him.


    She watches from the streets and alleyways leading up to the plaza. Aside from the drill, there doesn''t seem to be any other contraption that could have eliminated her clones earlier. Last time, the machine hadn''t even been set up yet, so it couldn''t have come from that.


    In either case, that drill puts a time limit on them. No matter what their plan is, it will most likely be completed when it finishes the hole. Before that happens, Tokomaha has to stop them; for that, she can sacrifice any number of clones. More than a thousand of her are ready to storm them from all sides at once.


    Just then, a rain of golden weapons falling in a perfectly circular pattern instantly eliminates all the soldiers in black. Even though Aurelia had the chance to kill the false god boy with that volley, she instead decides to reveal herself by landing in the square a dozen steps away from Alverost.


    "Finally." She says in a tone that causes Tokomaha''s ears to twitch. This is the first time she has heard so much hatred in the golden woman''s voice. "You will pay for all your crimes against life, Alverost."


    "I think not." Although his expression suggests that he''s nervous, he speaks in a defiant tone while raising his hand. He has a wristband with a cylindrical device at its center, which reflects the light like the windows in the city do.


    In the next instant, Aurelia''s skin color turns into that of a regular human being, and all the golden weapons floating around her drop to the ground. She falls to her knees and gasps for air, utter confusion on her face as she looks down at her hands.


    "What... have you done?" She glares at Alverost, as confusion makes way for disbelief when understanding dawns on her. He sneers at her, judging that he doesn''t really need to answer. Even then, he takes the time to do so anyway.


    "You rely the most on the Imagination Engine. I''m glad that it was you who came here." He says while showing off the device on his wrist. He then waves his other hand, upon which his backpack opens on its own, and a metallic arm extends over his shoulder. "When you have to shoot... shoot. Don''t talk."


    Tokomaha''s eyes widen, and she instantly rushes forward along with all of her clones. But before she can take even two steps, the sound of a single laser shot rings out across the plaza.

 Chapter 140.2 - Serving Justice

    Chaos side


    In the end, everything on the ship died without any of them trying to escape. It seems it was really only occupied by mindless slaves and incubating devils. Maybe I should have eaten more before wasting all that biomass, but what''s done is done.


    To my right, the sun is coming up from the horizon, rising on the last day of this planet - if Tokomaha should fail. Looking up, I find the moon looming close above us, brightly illuminated by the sunlight. The number on its surface has been replaced with a giant grinning grimace painted in red. It''s Chaos-Juzual''s idea of a joke, and I don''t find it funny.


    "How is the battle in Arkaim?" I ask Senka in my mind as I ready myself to head back at maximum speed.


    "Since the ship above disappeared, the numbers of the devils have been dwindling fast." The doll girl replies. Then she continues in a slightly worried tone. "Tokomaha and Aurelia should have arrived in the Prichet district by now, but they haven''t contacted me yet."


    "I''ll be back in a second." I glance down at the burning wreckage of the city-sized ship once more, then cover myself in shields so that I can withstand the air friction of moving at multiple times the speed of sound.


    "Rolan and the others went after them." Senka suddenly adds, and I blink in surprise.


    "Understood." It''s not like he could do anything against the Old Humans. With that thought, I shoot across the sky, leaving behind a massive sonic shockwave.


    Others side


    "I made it..." Rolan stands in front of the de-powered Aurelia with the glowing sword Roshanee in his right hand. His left is raised and outstretched, holding an oval barrier that seems to emerge from the back of his hand.


    He lost his left arm to one of Kamii''s companions, but here he stands with a new one that appears to be made from metal. That must be what Chaos told him to find Kleihn for, and it came just at the right time. The shield deployed from his mechanical hand has blocked the laser shot from Alverost''s shoulder weapon and made the Old Human''s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.


    "Not this time." The former leader lowers his arm and glares at Alverost.


    "You?!" He shouts, then looks at the device on his armband with an incredulous expression. "How?!"


    "It seems you did something about this... Imagination Engine in the area." Rolan glances at the surroundings once before returning his gaze to Alverost. "I don''t feel Roshanee''s empowerment here."


    With a flourish of his sword, he steps toward the Old Human while raising his left hand balled into a fist. Since it''s mechanical in nature, its abilities aren''t inhibited inside the area of effect from Alverost''s watch. And even with Roshanee rendered a regular sword that glows from the inside, it''s still a blade that can cut through a human''s flesh. Judging by the fact that the Old Human used a mechanical weapon himself, the inhibition affects him as well.


    "This is for the better." With these words, Rolan charges forward.


    "Stay away!" Alverost cries, upon which his backpack opens up on all sides, revealing a multitude of arms carrying guns and blades of light. The mindless drones operating the drill drop their work, upon which the machine comes to a halt, and pick up the laser rifles of the dead elite soldiers in black.


    The former leader turns his left wrist, upon which the oval shield grows in size. It covers his whole body from the laser fire shot by the Old Human and the drones alike. Charging forward, he swiftly gets into the range of the latter and lets his natural sword skills do their work.


    That''s when Tokomaha and her clones charge forward. The way she understood it, there''s an area around Alverost where her ability to create copies of herself is rendered useless. But it should prove a useful distraction for her real body to join the fray.


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    The moment they approach the Old Human within thirty steps, the clones disappear into the dirt that they were created with. But due to their sheer amount and the wind blowing across the city, the dust is scattered across the plaza. It flies in the direction of the drones and Alverost alike, who are stunned for a moment. It''s enough for Rolan to cut his way through the enemies and get right up to the Old Human.


    But he brings all his mechanical arms to bear, turning into a whirlwind of laser shots and glowing blades that causes the former leader to fall back in surprise. His shield can block the storm of hits, but one heavy strike from an arm sends him flying backward into the midst of the drones. Tumbling to the ground while taking several with him, he disappears out of sight.


    Tokomaha jumps back when a stray laser shot hits the ground in front of her. Chaos already warned her that these weapons could seriously hurt or kill her. But she realizes that without the Imagination Engine, she''s only a regular human. Until it happened to Aurelia before her eyes, she wouldn''t have believed it. She spent centuries as a goddess, and it''s hard to think like a human now. But her instincts honed in the wild are now holding her back.


    She''s afraid to die, and her legs won''t move as she wills them to.


    That''s when several people run past her. She notices the bald head of the tallest one and realizes that they''re the humans that were almost always around Rolan. They are Gram, Svanhild, and Halthor, each wearing their armors. But the unique pieces of equipment they carry all look similar to their leader''s new arm.


    At the sight of the newcomers, the drones begin to shoot at them. Gram takes the front and slams his shield down, upon which a huge barrier of light expands from it. It blocks the laser shots coming for him and those behind him.


    When the barrage ends, Halthor jumps through the shield and extends his gauntlet toward the enemies. Lightning arcs between his fingers and one of the drones before jumping over to the others in the vicinity. The mechanical parts sticking out of their bodies explode, causing them to drop to the ground, sizzling and unmoving.


    With the line of enemies out of the way, Svanhild charges forward with the lance in her hand. It''s smaller than the one she used to wield on the back of the dragonkin she rode, but it''s segmented into three parts. The center opens like an umbrella and turns into a shield. Then the cover over her arm lights up with two flames that shoot backward. If she didn''t wear her crimson dragon armor, she would be burned by those jets.


    With wheels under her greaves, she shoots forward as if hovering an inch above the ground. The lance is trained on Alverost, who stares at the approaching point like a mouse under the gaze of a snake.


    Then he raises his hands in front of his face in panic. As if that was a signal, a translucent shield of blue emerges from an attachment on the shoulder straps of his backpack. It stops the lance dead in its tracks, causing Svanhild to almost lose her grip on the weapon.


    But instead of trying a different angle, she stays in place with the jet still active, aiming to punch through with brute force. Then, the tip of her lance breaks, and the entire first section snaps into four pieces. In reality, it was only a cover that opened to reveal a drill head, which begins to spin with such intensity that the air around it seems to get pulled in.


    The noise is overwhelming, as sparks fly and the barrier shatters alongside the drill. Shooting forward, Svanhild very nearly impales Alverost, whose mechanical arms swing forward to deflect the broken lance coming for his chest. In doing so, they break under the impact, but turns aside the former Dragon Knight and send her tumbling into the giant machine behind the Old Human.


    Gram takes the opening to rush forward with the intent to slam into Alverost. One of the latter''s two remaining mechanical arms stab forward with a glowing blade and penetrate the physical part of his shield. But the big man already expected this and lets go of his only weapon to grab the other arm and direct its laser fire up into the sky.


    Halthor appears from behind Gram, gets behind the Old Human, and plunges his gauntleted fist into the open backpack before discharging his electric attack. The shoulder straps snap open on their own and launch the backpack away to spare the wearer from the explosion that sends the former Lightning Knight flying backward.


    Alverost, disarmed and alone, moves to deactivate the Imagination Engine inhibitor. Anything is better than dying here while rendered powerless by his own invention. He would let the world die and return after as a creator of new life; this time, he would make sure to program any kind of rebellious tendencies out of everything.


    But before he can finish inputting the command, a glowing blade cuts through his forearm and severs his wrist. Rolan, having bid his time until now, has rushed in at the right moment and swung Roshanee without a hint of hesitation.


    With an ear-splitting scream, Alverost falls backward onto his bottom and holds the cauterized stump of his left arm. The former leader raises his sword to deliver the finishing blow, but a sudden burst of air followed by a massive sonic boom stops him. When he looks up, he finds a figure floating down from above, enter the area of the inhibition field, and fall flat on her face.


    It''s Chaos.

 Chapter 140.3 - Serving Justice

    Chaos side


    I push myself off the ground and look down at my hands in surprise. Willing a flame to appear doesn''t work, and neither does floating. But I''m still in my human appearance, so I haven''t lost all my abilities. Looking ahead, I find the boy Alverost sitting on the ground, screaming and holding his cauterized stump of a wrist.


    A beautiful woman in golden armor kneels on the ground with labored breathing and unable to move. With one look, I can tell that this is Aurelia, who has somehow lost her powers. Tokomaha is standing a distance away as if bolted to the ground. Judging by the fact that the human party complete with Svanhild and Halthor is surrounding Alverost, it''s safe to say that he''s responsible for de-powering people in the area.


    "Don''t kill him yet." I walk over to Aurelia and see if she''s alright.


    "Why? He''s responsible for all this!" Rolan raises his voice while using his new left arm to gesture at our surroundings. The plaza is filled with dead bodies from demons and devils alike.


    "I said yet." Giving the former leader a displeased look, I kneel beside the golden girl who seems to have difficulties breathing. "Hard, isn''t it? When you don''t need to breathe for centuries, and it all comes back to you."


    "Mind... your own... business." Weakly smacking my extended hand away, Aurelia musters the strength to reply. If she can do that, she''s alright. "That... armband."


    I follow where she points and find Alverost''s severed hand on the ground a short distance from him. There''s a large watch still attached to the wrist, and I understand that this must be what''s inhibiting the Imagination Engine in this area. It explains why the humans were able to overpower an Old Human while Aurelia and Tokomaha couldn''t participate.


    "Somebody shut him up." I gesture at the still screaming boy. It must hurt to lose a limb, but that''s nothing compared to the suffering he has caused, so I have not a shred of sympathy for him. But the humans around him seem to pity the childlike Old Human. It doesn''t seem like he has anything more he can do at this point, so he really is nothing but a little boy barely in his teens. They don''t move and only stare at him with complicated expressions.


    Walking over to the severed hand and picking it up, I pull his wrist out of the watch and toss it aside before looking at the device. It appears simple enough, with a touchscreen in the center that shows the word ''on'' in green. When I bring my finger to it, nothing happens.


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    "Nobody... but me... can use that!" Alverost finally stops screaming to glare at me while breathlessly yelling in my direction triumphantly. It must give him a sense of a silver lining to know that nobody but he can operate his technology.


    "Is that so." I turn my hand into a tentacle and snatch up Alverost''s severed hand that I carelessly dropped just now. But instead of using his finger to operate it as he expected I would do, I toss the piece of the Old Human into my mouth. It causes the humans to look at me in shock, but I ignore their gazes.


    In the next moment, I transform into another Alverost. Everybody is stunned, but the one most surprised is the person himself. Then he raises his voice once again, sounding less convinced than before but still spiteful.


    "Transforming into me isn''t enough!" He laughs, and I wonder where he''s getting the idea from that this device is the only thing keeping us from killing him. It''s nothing more than an interesting gimmick that I think could come in handy to blindside Shelnir or even Chaos-Juzual and Mataku.


    I touch the screen with a finger, upon which the word on it changes to display a request for confirmation by moving a virtual knob across a star-shaped pattern. Apparently, Alverost built in a failsafe so that it wouldn''t release the inhibition field on accident.


    "How long does the battery last on this?" I walk over to Alverost, who stares at me blankly while holding his stump of a hand. "Tell me or lose your other hand."


    To demonstrate how serious my threat is, I grow a tentacle from my back and turn it into a giant pair of scissors. Snipping once in front of the boy''s face, I drive home that the next time he hears this sound, it will have severed his remaining wrist. His eyes widen in realization, but then he smiles nervously.


    "Y-you have nothing... nothing to threaten me with." He stutters, trying to act fearless. At least he understands that his end is coming soon, regardless of whether or not he answers my question. That''s why being defiant and denying me the use of his device is his final act of resistance.


    "Oh, well." I shrug and draw the pattern on the screen to unlock the Imagination Engine in the area. That''s when Alverost''s eyes widen in surprise before he laughs almost maniacally.


    "You idiot! You just gave me a way out!" He raises his hand as if grasping something in the air. But when nothing happens, he blinks once before realizing that he was tricked.


    "Is that so." I show him the screen, which still displays the big green ''on'' sign. It''s one of the oldest tricks in the book, and this self-proclaimed genius fell for it. "Do tell what your way out would have been."


    "That would be me." A familiar voice suddenly speaks above me, and I look up to find a figure faintly glowing from the inside floating in the air. Pearl-white skin, a radiant halo behind her back, and a cleavage that is truly the bounty of Mother Sun.


    Areteniha has arrived, and her gaze is anything but motherly upon seeing the state her son is in.

 Chapter 141.1 - Countdown to Destruction

    I''m having a sense of deja-vu. But this time, the situation won''t be explained away by an unexpectedly honorable Oinos. In fact, it''s exactly what it looks like, so I won''t make any excuses. I just didn''t want it to come to this so soon.


    "It is what it is." I look up into Areteniha''s glowing eyes fearlessly. Then I grow wings and fly up toward her, to sneakily make her enter the area of effect of the inhibitor device. I have nothing against her, but she will definitely kill us all if we hurt her son.


    "Stay back." In a commanding tone, the Old Human who just came from the surface of the sun glares at me. Exla told me that she can send solar winds toward Earth with a simple thought, so I think it''s better to listen to her order for now. "Deactivate that device right now."


    For seeing her son missing a hand, she''s unexpectedly calm. It seems she knows the area of effect of the watch, as she''s floating well outside of it.


    "Mama!" Alverost cries while raising his cauterized stump. "Help me!"


    "What will you do if I deactivate it?" I ask casually without looking at the boy. This device is the only thing that keeps her from frying us with a solar beam, and knowing Old Humans, she''d be willing to destroy the entire planet out of revenge. And unlike Zylos, she does have control over the power of the sun.


    "Stop the solar winds heading for Earth right now and send them back." With a smile that sends a shiver down my spine, Areteniha delivers her threat in an even more casual manner than my earlier question. "At this rate, the moon will fall before they reach, but I know you have a plan to prevent that from happening."


    Without turning around, she points over her shoulder at the celestial body that is beginning to occupy almost half the sky. Now that I think about it, even light itself needs over eight minutes to reach Earth, so there''s no way she can use the power of the sun in a direct battle. Solar winds are slower than the speed of light, so that''s even less useful in combat.


    Then again, as a threat, it carries more weight than even the moonfall. Unlike the moon, solar winds can''t be caught by the hands of a certain God of Growth, and they will most likely kill me too.


    "I see that you understand." The smile fades from Areteniha''s face as she regards me with her glowing eyes. She means business.


    "Alright." I doubt the trick I used on Alverost is going to work on her, so I motion to deactivate the inhibition field. That''s when I see a massive cloud approaching from the west and covering up the moon as it moves. It takes me but a split second to understand that it''s Exla, and I lower my hand. "But a threat to one''s life is only useful if it''s immediate."


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    "What?" The Old Human glares at me but then realizes that our surroundings are growing dark. She spins her head around just in time to see an arm of the massive cloud heading for her.


    But unlike what I expected, Exla doesn''t try to grab the glowing woman. Instead, she forms a giant lens with her own cloud body and slides it between Areteniha and the sun. Right then, the light from the sun is scattered, causing the Old Human''s body to disappear. She was nothing more than a projection.


    "No!" Alverost screams in desperation when he realizes that his mother wouldn''t risk her own life to save his. He slaps his belt buckle with his remaining hand, upon which the sides of his shoes open to reveal tiny thrusters.


    Before anybody can react, he slides across the ground before taking off into the sky. I can''t even follow him as quickly as he''s flying because the inhibition field locks all my modes of air transportation to wings. I hastily draw the unlock pattern, but just as I finish and turn to fly after the escaping boy, something whisks him out of the sky.


    In the next moment, a small impact a short distance away tells me that whatever it was made Alverost hit the ground quite hard. Once I finish the pattern, I quickly head over there, followed by the humans and Tokomaha.


    There''s a small crater in the paved stone of the plaza, and standing above a mangled corpse is Aorutihaua, blood running from their pointed helmet down to their naked but featureless onyx body. I can''t make out their expression under the helmet, but when they look up at me, I can feel the sadness permeating from them.


    The corpse is barely recognizable, but it''s without a doubt Alverost''s remains. There''s blonde hair around where a self-proclaimed genius''s brains are splattered across the ground, and the anachronistic t-shirt and short pants can still be recognized even with all the blood and guts spilled on them.


    I descend into the crater, take off Aorutihaua''s helmet, and hug them wordlessly. They snuggle into my chest and remain silent, but I can feel the small, near-indestructible body trembling in my embrace.


    "My son!" The disembodied voice of Areteniha thunders across the sky in lament. "You will pay for this, Kerry!"


    At this, Aorutihaua shivers even more and returns my embrace. So Kerry is their real name. If a mother, who''s also the equivalent of a goddess of the sun, says it in that tone, any child would be terrified. I can agree that seeing my child get killed would have me furious, but Areteniha isn''t blameless here.


    I learned that Alverost was terrorizing Aorutihaua, or Kerry, at every turn when they were still in Armeria. It''s how they developed the withdrawn personality of always wearing a helmet to hide their expression. The Golden Shawl could even be interpreted as a sort of safety blanket.


    Their mother knew about it, but because Kerry was a troubled child rather than a genius prodigy, they were left on the side. It''s unfortunate for siblings to kill each other, but it''s one of those times I think fratricide can be justified.


    "Come down here and do it then, old hag." I call out into the sky in the general direction of the sun. "Kerry is under my protection now."


    "You...!" Areteniha''s voice sounds beyond enraged when she hears my challenge. "I will erase you all!"


    "Try it." I might be overdoing it with the taunting right now, but nothing will change about the fact that the Old Human on the sun will use her power to attack us now.

 Chapter 141.2 - Countdown to Destruction

    "Try it." I might be overdoing it with the taunting right now, but nothing will change about the fact that the Old Human on the sun will use her power to attack us now.


    But to my surprise, silence is my only answer. Then a realization hits me, and I draw together my eyebrows in skepticism. How could Areteniha, being near the surface of the sun, even react to anything down here in real-time? Light, the fastest medium in existence, takes more than eight minutes to reach Earth from the sun, so we should have double that much of a delay between every exchange.


    "Exla, she''s somewhere near here!" I call out to the cloud lens above, which quickly consolidates into a humanoid form. With a nod, she disperses her body across the sky in a hurricane-like cloud pattern.


    No matter what Areteniha does, the power of the sun can''t be immediate. Solar winds take much longer to reach Earth than light, so we have to find her and make her call them back. In the worst-case scenario, Exla or I will have to head to the sun and tap into the Imagination Engine directly.


    "Tokomaha, get ready." I point at the massive moon in the sky. Even though it should still be several hours away, it''s the more immediate threat right now - according to Areteniha herself. "Flann, bring us to the approximate impact point."


    With a silent nod, the little goddess comes toward me just as Flann warps in out of nowhere. She seems to be observing me from another dimension or through telepathy at all times, so no matter how quietly I call for her, she always hears it.


    Once we''re somewhere around the Ogely mountains, I''ll leave Tokomaha alone to do her thing and head for the dark side of the moon to meet Mataku. I''m sure that the moment Chaos-Juzual is out of the picture, he''s going to take the opportunity to attack me. For that reason, I''ll be bringing Aurelia with me - the only other person here who can survive in the vacuum of space.


    "I''ll be right back. Stay here with the others." With these words directed at Kerry, I hand them back their helmet. They look at me with the gaze of a lost puppy but finally nod silently in assent. Petting their head once last time, I glance at Flann to signal that I''m ready.


    In the next instant, my vision warps, and we teleport.


    Other side


    "Where''s Runa?" Rolan looks around when Chaos disappears with Tokomaha and Flann. He used Roshanee''s ability to rush here and save Aurelia while leaving the others behind, but they arrived a short while later. But the half-elf is nowhere to be seen.


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    "She was right behind us." Gram, using his height to his advantage, peers across the plaza with a worried expression. She couldn''t have been blindsided by one of the devils attacking the city without any of them noticing. Her not following them must mean that something out of the ordinary happened.


    "Let''s backtrack." The leader decides while looking toward the street they came from. Then he glances at the golden queen, whose body has returned to gold. She''s standing at the edge of the crater and is looking down at the remains of Alverost. The onyx-skinned boy named Kerry has climbed out from the hole and is standing beside her now.


    "I''ll stay with them." Svanhild states with a wave of her hand while leaning on her broken lance. She sounds tired from the earlier physical exertion, even though the inhibitor has been switched off, and her training as a Chosen Knight should make her immune to fatigue. But it seems that fighting one of the Old Humans, a being she had still considered a god barely half a year ago, has taken a mental toll on her.


    Rolan understands well; he had been in a similar situation before. To have one''s worldview shattered by the bleakness of reality can make one forget even the best training. This was Svanhild''s first engagement against one of the Old Humans, and she performed admirably.


    With one last look back at the two women and the meteor child, the leader follows Gram and Halthor, who already went ahead. He has a bad feeling about Runa''s sudden disappearance. Many possible explanations rise into Rolan''s mind, but he hopes none of them are true.


    "This is where I last saw her next to me." Halthor states while looking around. They''re in the alleyway they took as a detour to pass by Tokomaha''s clone army that was clogging the main street.


    "Same." Gram scratches his bald head and looks up at the walls as if expecting to see footprints on them. Despite being a narrow path between two rows of houses, it''s relatively clean. The Prichet district is quite affluent, so it makes sense for there to be back alley cleaning. "She wouldn''t stop without telling us."


    "I think it may have been Shelnir." Rolan finally comes out with his dark premonition. The two taller men look at him with grim expressions, understanding what he''s implying.


    "Indeed, that does sound like her." Suddenly, Aurelia''s voice comes from behind them, and they turn to face her in surprise. The golden queen has approached them in complete silence despite wearing a suit of plate armor. It''s a testament to her control over the gold, making the segments float without touching each other. "Knowing her, she is most likely already gone."


    "Where could they have gone?" Scratching his head, Halthor looks up into the sky again. The moon is so close now that one can see it even from this narrow alleyway. If the upside-down city were there, the answer would have been obvious.


    "Maybe Shelnir took Runa to Areteniha as a hostage." Aurelia suggests while glancing up.


    "Is that so?" Rolan mutters while looking down at his mechanical left arm. In the next instant, he draws Roshanee with blinding speed and bridges the distance between himself and the golden queen. Swinging the glowing sword at her neck, he aims to decapitate her before she can react. But Aurelia raises a hand and blocks his blade with her wrist guard.


    "Wha-?" Gram and Halthor make in surprise at their leader''s sudden attack. They ready themselves to join the battle but have no idea whose side they should stand on. Rolan rushed to save the golden queen''s life earlier, so why would he try to strike her down now?

 Chapter 141.3 - Countdown to Destruction

    Chaos side


    We''re in a grass-covered valley just north of the Ogely mountains, where the cults of self-mutilating kobolds live. The winds are quite cold as we''re both farther north and at a higher elevation. Tokomaha is wearing an Arkaim-made version of her outfit from back when we were still in Armeria, so she should be pretty cold.


    However, instead of complaining, she takes off her clothes instead. I stare at her in surprise, then glance at Flann, whose expression doesn''t change. Don''t tell me she wants to do it one last time before everything might end.


    "I don''t think this is the time and place-" I start, but she turns around and glares at me, causing me to close my mouth.


    "I''m getting ready." She stabs her bone spear into the ground and walks over to me. Then she raises her face and closes her eyes, demanding a kiss from me.


    I oblige her, putting my arms around her slender body and pressing her against me in a warm embrace. That''s when I realize that she''s shivering, not from the cold, but from a feeling of uncertainty. She was confident in her ability to stop the moon, but it seems that being faced with the reality of the situation has made her feel uneasy.


    When I press my lips on hers, I feel her shaking stop. Pouring all my love for her into our connection, I let her know that I believe in her. Even more than what it means through the Imagination Engine, this should help her greatly.


    Our lips part, and I look into Tokomaha''s amber eyes, which are slightly glazed over from our sensual kiss. She still bears some uncertainty in her gaze, but I give her a smile that clears her last doubts.


    "I''ll come here to get you once we finish up on the moon." No more words are needed. The implications are enough to tell her that I don''t doubt for a second that she''ll stop the moonfall. All that''s left is for me to do my part. "[I love you.]"


    Tokomaha''s face flushes red at my straightforward expression of my love for her, and she averts her gaze. Then she turns to look up at me with a broad grin that shows her sharp canines. At this sight, I have to stop myself from embracing her again; she''s beaming with joy and confidence, and behind it all is her reciprocation of my love.


    "Go." She says while maintaining her grin. Then she turns away and walks over to her spear to cut our prolonged farewells short. I watch her for a moment before turning to Flann. She has, with all her sense of tact, kept a close eye on our exchange of love.


    "Interested?" I ask her with a grin, but she only moves her staff slightly, upon which my vision warps once again. It changes from the windswept, treeless valley to the plaza in the center of the Prichet district, right where I left the others behind earlier. Looking around in surprise, I face Svanhild. "Where did everybody go?"


    "Rolan and the others went to look for Runa." The former Dragon Knight replies while leaning on her broken lance.


    "What about Aurelia and Aorutihaua?" Glancing at the crater behind Svanhild, I only see the remains of Alverost, untouched as they were from before I left.


    "Aurelia said she had a bad feeling and followed them" Svanhild shrugs and sighs as if this has nothing to do with her. "Aorutihaua took off to the sky."


    I look up and find that the clouds have spread thin, meaning that Exla has yet to find Areteniha. At this point, she most likely already returned to the Rhodos station to make sure that her solar winds will reach Earth. We''ll have to deal with her later then.


    Suddenly, Svanhild staggers and falls, but I quickly catch her in time. Looking at her face from up close, I find that it''s ghostly pale and covered in sweat.


    "What happened?" I ask, but then notice the blood on the floor underneath her feet. "You''re wounded?"


    "It''s... nothing." She tries to stand on her own two feet but is too weak to do so.


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    "You stubborn mule!" I yank her lance out of her hand and toss it aside before lowering her to the ground. She can''t even protest my rough handling of her new but broken weapon and coughs up blood.


    I examine her chest, but the plated crimson dragon armor makes spotting any bleeding wounds difficult. Without wasting time, I extend my fingers between the various segments of her armor and cut the leather straps holding them together before removing her breastplate. But she suddenly moans from pain and grabs my wrist.


    "Under... my ribs." She presses out from between her bloodied lips. I look down but can''t spot what she means. Then I move my head closer and angle it to look up between the armor plates to find a piece of shrapnel stuck in her chest.


    "Alright. Bite down on this." I grow out a tentacle and give it the consistency of leather. While I can instantly heal her, there''s no point in doing so if there''s something stuck in the wound and prevents it from closing.


    "What... is this?" She asks while looking at my offered appendage with disgust. Instead of answering, I plunge it into her mouth to prevent her from biting off her tongue.


    At the same time, I pull off her chest armor with one quick movement, causing Svanhild to bite down on the mouthpiece I prepared in my foresight. Her muffled cry from the pain continues, but she''s able to keep her arms and legs from flailing.


    "Brave girl." I mutter to her while ripping off the shirt underneath her armor to expose her flawless white skin - save for the deep gash between her two lowermost right ribs. Pressing my hand on the open wound, I close it in a matter of seconds, upon which Svanhild''s expression softens.


    I caress her cheek and press a kiss on her forehead, upon which she jumps up in surprise. Her face is flushed red, and her mouth flaps open and closed in silence.


    "Here, wear this." I pull out a shirt from inside my body - one of many I keep there just in case anybody might need it. Svanhild looks down at herself and realizes that her chest is bare. Quickly covering herself up with one hand, she yanks the shirt out of my hand.


    "I shall remember this!" She yells while turning away.


    "So shall I." With a smug grin, I glance down at her still partially exposed skin demonstratively. Despite some past personality flaws, Svanhild has grown into a cute but also sexy woman.


    Then I remember that we''re still not in the clear. Luna disappeared somewhere, Rolan and the others went to find her, and Aurelia said she had a bad feeling about it. All of that looks like Shelnir''s handiwork, and without an Imagination Engine inhibitor, they can''t defeat an Old Human. She was close to dying last time when she lost her cool, and Aurelia stabbed her through the back. But she should be prepared this time and won''t show such an easy opening anymore.


    Really though, she''s one twisted person to let Alverost die despite being nearby. It seems this time she succeeded in the scenario she attempted in Zohigal by making Areteniha witness our side kill her son. While it ended up being Kerry who did it, I stood up to protect them, making me a target of her wrath as well.


    "Where did they go?" I turn to Svanhild and ask. She has taken off the rest of the armor on her upper body and slipped into the shirt, but her well-endowed chest is pushing up the cloth. When this is all over, I''ll make a move on her.


    "That street, first alley to the right." Not noticing my thoughts, she points the way with a still peeved expression. If only she knew what awaited her in the near future, she would most likely be much more peeved.


    "Alright, wait here." With these words, I fly straight toward where Svanhild pointed. Healing her took a lot of time already, so something could have already happened to Rolan and the others. But kidnapping Luna and having her lover come to rescue her sounds much like the setting of last time.


    Don''t tell me Shelnir is once again trying to make me kill Luna and have Rolan fight me to the death over it? She should know not to underestimate me this time, so it''s going to be more complicated than strapping her to a machine where the falsely labeled release button will cause her death.


    Whatever the case, I''ll smash her prediction once again, and this time, there will be no Serent to save her.


    When I reach the alleyway Svanhild pointed me toward, I find Aurelia standing with her back toward me, facing Rolan and the two other men. The leader''s hand is gripping the glowing sword Roshanee, but his arm is dangling down listlessly. His despairing expression is shared by Gram and Halthor, whose eyes are swimming as if thinking hard.


    "What happened here?" I walk toward them and ask in a commanding tone. It helps bring their thoughts back to the present, as they look at me in surprise. Aurelia turns around to me, her expression grim.


    Then I notice the mutilated body on the floor between them. Several swords of gold are stuck in its back, from which four iridescent wings sprout.


    "Shelnir put an illusion on her." The golden girl explains in a hate-filled tone. Two of the body''s four slender and chitin-covered limbs have been severed, and the wounds are cauterized. A deep gash runs across the aviation-visor like compound eyes that cover almost the entire top half of her face. "She made us kill her."


    It''s Nymphy, the dragonfly maid.

 Chapter 142.1 - Watch and Learn

    Rage rises in me just as the ground underneath my feet begins to shake. Looking up, I find that the moon is filling the entire view of the sky now, thinly veiled by Exla''s misty form. The end is fast approaching, and there''s no time left to be wasted.


    My feelings grow cold in an instant, and I walk over to Nymphy''s body. At that sight, Aurelia pulls out the golden weapons that are still stuck in her back with a gesture of her hand and moves them out of the way. Rolan and the others can only watch silently, unable to say a word to me. No more words are needed; I know that they aren''t at fault.


    "You''ll be with me forever." Muttering these words, I open the front of my body and pull Nymphy and her severed parts inside me. Then I turn to Rolan. "Take care of everything here. We''ll be back soon."


    "Shelnir said that she has Runa on the Rhodos station." He quickly says, sounding desperate. I know that under the circumstances, he doesn''t feel that he has the right to ask for my help, but he still mustered his courage to do so.


    "I understand. We will deal with that after this is over." There''s no reason to blame him; I''m sure I would have fallen for Shelnir''s trick all the same. The one I need to seek revenge on is the Old Human who plays with fate.


    "Thank you." Rolan lowers his head in apology and gratefulness alike. But I already shift my gaze to Aurelia and raise a hand, upon which Flann appears next to me. It''s time for us to meet Mataku on the dark side of the moon; anything else has to wait until we''re done there.


    "Wait." The rumbling earthquake continues, and I realize that it''s not from the moon''s gravity just yet. Flying up and clearing the rooftops of the nearby buildings, I look north. I feel something overwhelming fill my heart at the sight that greets me.


    A giant naked Tokomaha is rising, her legs obscured by the atmospheric haze due to the vast distance. She''s still growing larger, the movements of her form appearing incredibly slow as she raises her arms in preparation to catch the moon. The sight leaves me breathless, and I stop to take in the view.


    Flann already told me that the eyes in the sky, called the Watcher in the Night, is the origin of my kind. Its sheer size could be considered celestial, if not universal. But it''s not something I could truly register with the mental capacity of a being whose size is bound by the limits of available food.


    Tokomaha, on the other hand, is a human with access to the Imagination Engine - and nothing more. That''s what she should have been, and talking to her hasn''t led me to believe anything else. Still, seeing her massive form that rivals a celestial body, born from nothing but her personal fantasy, drives home just how incredible of a person she is.


    She''s an existence I can genuinely consider divine.


    "She is doing her part." Aurelia comes up next to me, speaking in a calm but determined voice. "It is time to do ours."


    "Flann." With this, I order the blonde girl to teleport us to the promised place.


    In the next instant, I find myself on glass-covered plains. It''s the result of the supernova that Oinos turned into, which accelerated the moon further toward Earth. The glass is reflecting the sunlight, which comes in at a dangerously similar angle to what we just saw from Arkaim.


    Now that I think about it, the dark side of the moon is pretty huge, so saying that we should meet there is too broad of a criterion. I turn to Aurelia and then to Flann, raising an eyebrow when I realize that we can''t communicate without an atmosphere.


    "They will find us." The latter suddenly speaks into my mind, causing me to turn toward her and blink in surprise. But judging by Aurelia''s lack of a reaction, it was only audible to me.


    "You really are limited to serving my kind, huh?" I ask with my thoughts but receive no answer. Flann keeps looking at me as if awaiting a response. Then she lifts her eyebrows ever so slightly in apparent understanding.


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    "It would seem that, once we get back, I will need to teach you many things." Her voice echoes in my head once again. I assume she means that my kind can talk in space without the need for air.


    If I had known that before coming to the moon the first time, I would have been able to tell that Juzual was a Crawling Chaos. After all, back when we came here together, the only way for Aurelia and me to talk to each other was through her third-party telepathy.


    Then again, it couldn''t have been Juzual talking, as I heard Aurelia''s voice directly. She was like a conduit for us, so I wouldn''t have been able to tell even if I had known. Senka also possesses telepathy, and while I''m still not entirely sure what she is, she''s definitely not one of my kind.


    "Teach me now." I reply in my thoughts, knowing that Flann won''t be able to hear me. But for somebody as expressionless as she, it seems she was able to guess my intentions from reading my face.


    "Just do it." Comes the answer, which doesn''t teach me anything.


    "I need more than that." I open my mouth and try talking in the vacuum of space while shrugging, knowing that the gesture will be more useful than my silent words. Instead, Aurelia suddenly holds her head as if a headache overcame her.


    "Adjust your voice. Beings of this dimension cannot fathom the truth of your existence and everything that comes with it." Flann''s voice sounds level as always, but somehow, I get the feeling that she''s chastising me. Did I just speak in a tone as if the abyss came to life and caused the golden girl mental pain?


    "How is this?" I try once again, and this time it seems that Aurelia isn''t as affected by it.


    "Much better." A male voice echoes in my head, and I spin around on the spot. It belongs to a person I haven''t seen in almost a year now, and who I could have gone not seeing for another two eternities. But given the situation, this is where we are.


    It''s Mataku in his human appearance, accompanied by Mithra, bandaged all over and wielding his staff as he always does.


    "You did quite a number on the moon." Looking around, the Primordial Terror speaks in feigned fascination. I''m sure he knows that it was Oinos self-destructing that caused this rather than anything I did. He was able to disguise mockery with praise, and there''s nothing I can refute it with.


    "Let''s get going." Glaring at Mataku, I express my displeasure in having to talk to him. Last time we met, he revealed himself as an enemy of all life on this planet. There''s no way I would let that slide, and he hasn''t shown any indications that his goal has changed since then.


    I''ll have to ask him about that artificial Crawling Chaos he left in the basement of the royal palace in Kairaki, but I don''t feel like holding a conversation with him. The best thing for us to do is stop the moonfall and then get on with the battle to decide the future of the world. I still have to worry about the solar winds heading for Earth, after all.


    Aurelia seems to share my view on this matter, as all the camaraderie she can muster for Mataku right now is an intent glare. She won''t let any of his movements escape her gaze.


    "Mithra will move us." With a shrug, the Primordial Terror realizes that we won''t make good conversation partners. He does glance at Flann, an amused expression on his face when he then looks at his own personal teleporter. Maybe he would prefer a cute girl like her over the bandaged man.


    Putting an arm around Flann''s shoulder and pulling her in demonstratively, I signal Mataku that she''s mine. The blonde girl gazes up at me with slightly widened eyes, wondering what brought this on, but I don''t respond.


    In the next moment, our vision warps and snaps back to reality. We''re still on the moon, but our surroundings are no longer covered in glass. Above us is Earth, and standing on it is a massive Tokomaha looking up with her arms raised in anticipation. From our perspective, it appears as if she''s staring down at us, but her eyes aren''t focused on us specifically. To her, we''ve become too small to notice.


    "Impressive. I did not expect that little girl to have such a fantasy in her." Mataku''s voice speaks into my mind, sounding genuine for once.


    "Neither did I." A new voice joins us, belonging to Juzual. When I look around, I find the Witch of the End, or whoever now occupies that form, gaze down at us with her galactic window eyes. She doesn''t sound at all worried that her plan to drop the moon will be thwarted by Tokomaha''s efforts.


    "We stand now at the precipice of fate." Mithra suddenly speaks up, and everybody looks at him. Is he playing at being an announcer or narrator? "Cosmic convergence led you here. Now, the future of existence itself will be decided."


    He''s laying it on thick. We''re only fighting for one planet, so where does existence itself come into play?

 Chapter 142.2 - Watch and Learn

    "How are we doing this?" Chaos-Juzual asks with an amused smile on her lips. "A battle within the Imagination Engine is pointless as we are now."


    "The bigger Crawling Chaos swallows the smaller one." Mataku replies with a shrug. They''re discussing how to kill each other in such a casual manner that I can feel the tension drain from me.


    "Is this a joke to you?" I gesture at Earth, or, more specifically, the gigantic Tokomaha covering most of it up with her naked form. "We''re talking about billions of lives here."


    "Infinite lives." The Primordial Terror corrects me, causing me to furrow my brows in skepticism. He ignores me and turns to Chaos-Juzual. "Shall we start then?"


    "I am not abiding by your little scenario. You will have to take me by force." She speaks in a defiant tone as the smile on her lips fades away. Then her entire body begins to swell up from the inside. Her clothes melt into the expanding blob in midair, which soon reaches the ground and keeps growing from there. The amorphous being keeps swelling, and soon occupies our entire field of view. Over twenty years on the moon hasn''t significantly diminished the mass of the Primordial Crawling Chaos, it would seem.


    "How did you do that?" Mataku asks, his nonchalance replaced by visible anger. "Did you not hunger up here?"


    "Have you, of all people, forgotten what imagination can achieve?" A nerve-grating voice that causes Aurelia to fall to her knees replies to the Primordial Terror''s resentful question. So she was able to do what I couldn''t, huh?


    I remember training transmutation with the golden girl when we were last here. Turning rocks into gold is a neat trick, but I aimed to generate organic from inorganic matter for me to consume. That way, I would have never needed to kill again, and transmuting a barren desert like the one in the Khurut Sultanate could have allowed me to gain immense mass.


    "Were you a Crawling Chaos when we last met?" I ask, as Chaos-Juzual has yet to come down on us in a tidal wave of black flesh. Why did she help us out instead of consuming us back then? Why did she wait all this time to drop the moon? Why did she even stay on the moon in the first place?


    "Maybe." Is all I get in response. "Does it make a difference?"


    With a shudder that was most likely meant as a shrug, the Primordial Crawling Chaos finally begins to move. Aurelia gets up on her feet and transmutes a massive blade of gold that rises out of the ground below the mass of black. It cuts the Crawling Chaos in two, but myriads of tentacles quickly bind them back together in the wake of the sword.


    I raise my arms and create a giant ball of plasma that I intend to throw at Chaos-Juzual. But before I can do that, Mataku grabs Aurelia and me from behind and tosses us backward across the surface of the moon. The landscape flies past us, but I extend an arm at the golden girl, hold onto her, and stop us abruptly. The plasma ball I left behind in the distance fizzles out.


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    That''s when a massive finger comes down from above and squishes the Primordial Crawling Chaos underneath it. Looking up, I find that Tokomaha seems to have either seen the giant black mass against the grayish-white moon soil or noticed the light from my plasma.


    A moment later, the shockwave from her finger''s impact travels across the surface of the moon, blowing up dust and rocks that fly toward us. I erect a barrier of light around Aurelia and me to weather the deadly storm.


    When I look up, Tokomaha is already drawing her finger back and spreading her hands to catch the falling moon. That was the only help she could afford to give us, but I appreciate it. I just doubt it was of much use against an amorphous blob that won''t die from being compressed. At least I think I could survive an impact like that without much trouble.


    "Mataku, are you there?" I don''t really care whether or not he''s dead, and I would prefer it if he were, but he saved us from that impact just now. At least that''s the only way I can interpret it, though I don''t know what for. He should know that none of us could have died from that titanic poke.


    "Yes, but feeling flatter." Comes the response in a dry tone. He must be feeling absolutely fine if he can crack a joke after that.


    "Thanks for saving us." I force myself to say. It''s not just because of my pride but to let him think that we''re weaker than we actually are. "But how do you suppose we can fight that one?"


    Mataku made it sound like he had more mass than Chaos-Juzual and would swallow her earlier. But judging by his reaction to the revelation that she still had all of the mass from before being sent to the moon, it''s safe to say that his plan won''t work anymore.


    As Chaos-Juzual said, a fight between us within the Imagination Engine is a waste of time. Neither of us possesses the piece of technology that Zenlith used to erase parts of me from existence, so all that''s left is hurling the most powerful abilities we have at each other. Considering we most likely all have some form of imagination about shielding, that''s only going to destroy the landscape around us.


    Before Mataku can reply, the ground shudders. I look up to find that Tokomaha is bending her head down to catch the falling celestial body on her shoulders. What we just felt was the impact from her hands touching the moon''s surface. The next one will be far worse, as it will serve to slow down and eventually stop the moonfall.


    "We''ll be flung off." Mataku states in a worried tone. I look across the plains with Hestia''s eye template and find him staring up toward the fast-approaching shoulders of Tokomaha. "It may look slow to you, but we''re traveling faster than the moon''s escape velocity. Inertia will-"


    "Behind you!" I shout in my mind, causing Aurelia to hold her head in pain. From the crater behind the Primordial Terror, a massive black hand has risen into the air and is now coming down on him. The only reason I care about his safety is that I don''t know how to take on Chaos-Juzual on my own.


    Mataku turns around and looks up, but doesn''t do anything to dodge. It''s just like when I first met him; he would take everything without a care in the world and tank it through his sheer mass. Maybe he has forgotten how to dodge after millennia of living like that. It was the same earlier when he tossed Aurelia and me back but didn''t try to run himself.


    "Watch and l-" His voice is cut off when the hand slams onto him. I''m far more worried about him now than I was when Tokomaha''s city-sized fingertip squished him. He was in his humanoid form when the palm of another Crawling Chaos came down on him. That means the black tentacles are surrounding him now, and he will get pulled inside Chaos-Juzual''s body.

 Chapter 142.3 - Watch and Learn

    "Dammit." I gesture at Aurelia to follow me at her own pace before rising into the air and zooming across space. I fly toward the massive hand, which reveals itself to belong to a gigantic infant-like form. It slowly climbs out of the crater, its skin crawling with tentacles still setting into place. I don''t know if that''s Chaos-Juzual''s idea of a sick joke or a representation of her imagination, but I suppress a shudder at its appearance.


    Turning toward me with its black eyes, the giant baby opens its mouth beyond what should be physically possible for a human jaw. From within the black maw shines a light - an energy beam of some sort! I dodge the plasma by strafing to the side at a right angle in the middle of my flight while ignoring the massive g-forces acting on my body.


    "Can you hear me, Mataku?" I try to reach the Primordial Terror inside the baby but get no response. I doubt my voice not created through the Imagination Engine, but in some other Crawling Chaos way, is reaching him now.


    I know that the Imagination Engine can be accessed inside a Crawling Chaos''s body from first-hand experience, though I don''t understand how. Mataku had millennia of practice using it, as opposed to Chaos-Juzual, who, in turn, has over twenty years on me. I''m sure he can figure something out if he hasn''t been digested yet. For now, I can only do my part.


    Surrounding myself in plasma, I zoom toward the giant black baby intending to burn my way through it as I did with the buildings on Alverost''s floating city. Then I reconsider my chances of making it through her body alive and gather the plasma into an enormous blade instead. Physically cutting a Crawling Chaos into pieces is a waste of time, but cauterizing the severed parts could at least slow down the rate of reconnection.


    As I approach Chaos-Juzual, she opens her mouth once again. This time, instead of light, a multitude of tentacles shoot out like a stream of vomit, coming toward me with the intent to absorb me too. Dodging with a midair twist and swinging my plasma blade, I sever them all about halfway to their roots.


    With a burst of speed, I fly close to the black baby and let my weapon do its work. Her reaction time is barely enough to take notice of me, but the tentacles extending from the massive body are unable to catch up to my movement speed. Cutting her all over, I notice that the burnt wounds are slow to close themselves, as expected.


    All I need now is some decisive move to kill-


    Suddenly, Chaos-Juzual lurches toward me at an incredible speed. If it weren''t or Nymphy''s eyes, I wouldn''t have been able to react. Then I realize that this wasn''t her intentionally changing things up to take me by surprise. Her massive form isn''t stopping and flies past me out of the lunar atmosphere and toward Tokomaha''s back - followed by moon rocks and dust.


    The God of Growth has caught the moon and stopped it.


    Damn, I can''t have her leave the surface of the moon just yet. And who knows what she will do if she touches Tokomaha''s giant form. Maybe she could bite off chunks of her body and gain even more mass that way. But more than that, her goal is to let the moon hit Earth, so she could use that opportunity to get the God of Growth out of the way.


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    "Aurelia!" I call out to the golden queen coming falling toward me. Catching her in an embrace in midair, I point at the giant baby. "Catch her!"


    Extending a hand toward the moon''s surface, she transmutes a massive area into gold. Then she points at Chaos-Juzual, who keeps getting farther away from us, upon which the lake of gold bubbles up and forms countless tendrils that shoot past us.


    I watch as the mass of tendrils latch onto the giant baby''s entire body and stop its momentum before reeling it in. Without Aurelia, I couldn''t have done this; I would have had to use my own mass in place of the gold, and that would have been absorbed by the Primordial Crawling Chaos in no time.


    But Chaos-Juzual realizes our reason for stopping her. She begins to spill out from between the gold, but Aurelia twists her hand and closes her fist. From the large gold tendrils, smaller ones grow and rein the spilling tentacles in. Then, with a swing of her arm, she pulls the massive blob of darkness back and slams her into the golden lake.


    Spreading her arms, Aurelia pulls the entire lake together to seal Chaos-Juzual inside it. But the latter begins to glow from the inside, and the gold melts off of her body. The melting point of gold is nowhere near as hot as the point at which atoms break apart - the way it happened in Zylos. But once molten, Aurelia seems to be unable to control it.


    That''s where I come in. Gesturing at the ground around the golden lake, I create a massive sinkhole into which I drop Chaos-Juzual before covering it back up. I know that it''s only a stopgap measure, as even rocks will eventually melt from her heat. But burying the Primordial Crawling Chaos in the center of the moon could be a viable option.


    Suddenly, the cover I put over the sinkhole erupts. From within rises a massive woman with oily black skin crawling with tentacles. Of course, Chaos-Juzual can fly, and her physical strength won''t be held back by only dust and rocks piled up on her.


    She extends a hand toward us, from which a storm of tentacles sprouts. I wrack my brains to think of a permanent solution to this battle, but all I can think of is to burn away the mass as I did with Mataku''s artificial Crawling Chaos. Only that, unlike that mindless creature, Chaos-Juzual won''t be caught in a light barrier that easily.


    In the meantime, Aurelia brings up the remaining gold that wasn''t melted in an attempt to shred the approaching Primordial Crawling Chaos from below. As before, it won''t do anything against this massive body since it will simply reconnect quickly. But even a distraction is better than nothing.


    However, all of a sudden, the tentacles coming toward us stop before being pulled back. I watch as parts of Chaos-Juzual''s form dent inward as if hit by invisible punches. Her face looks surprised, and even though the eyes are entirely black, I can see the panic in them. Then her arms and legs are forcibly retracted into her body, which loses its humanoid form and continues to compress.


    "NoooooOOH?!" With a scream, which causes Aurelia to cry in terror before she falls unconscious from the mental strain, the giant face is pulled inward as well. As if a black hole opened up inside Chaos-Juzual, she shrinks faster and faster, until it all disappears into a sphere a little over one meter in diameter. Its surface shows a different galaxy and seems to lead to another dimension.


    I can''t adequately describe what happens next, but it seems as if space is turning inside out for that sphere alone. Then, a blob of black tentacles takes its place, from which four limbs and a head sprout. It quickly morphs into a humanoid form, which gains colors and grows clothes. Within a moment, it turns into Mataku as he looked like before Chaos-Juzual swallowed him.


    "As I was saying." He states in a nonchalant tone, a sinister smile cracking his face. "Watch and learn."

 Chapter 143.1 - Still Not The Final Bossfight

    "What did you do?" I ask with a suspicious glare. It looked like he somehow swallowed Chaos-Juzual from the inside. But that would go against anything I''ve learned about my body.


    "Think about it yourself." With a shrug, Mataku sneers at me. Then he looks past me toward Tokomaha''s back before gazing at the incredibly close Earth. His eyes seem to show a hint of longing, which catches me by surprise.


    But the moment is over when he closes his eyes and opens them again to show the blackness of his irises. He then shifts his gaze to me, and a sinister smile plays over his lips once again.


    "So, what now?" He asks while spreading his arms. "The moon has been stopped. Should we get to fulfilling destiny now?"


    At those words, Mithra appears next to him, and Flann warps out of space next to me. They disappeared earlier when the fighting began, and most likely only returned to ring the bell for the next round. As Flann said, she and her father serve our kind but don''t do much more than teleport us around and observe us.


    "Let me try out what you just did. Hold off on digesting me when I''m inside you." I remark in a sarcastic tone while running scenarios in my mind for how to defeat Mataku.


    Aurelia suddenly wakes up in my arms and looks around in confusion. She''s searching for the massive form of Chaos-Juzual, but all she sees is the distant Primordial Terror, accompanied by Mithra. But that''s enough for her to tell that we were somehow able to take the third Crawling Chaos out of the picture.


    "This isn''t the best place for our final confrontation." Mataku states while glancing at Mithra beside him as if he''s the one that needs convincing rather than me. "Put the moon back where it should be first. I will let you know when it''s time."


    "As if." I mutter more to myself than in response to Mataku''s careless treatment of our deathmatch. But it seems that he heard it.


    "What will you do about it? Do you think you can defeat me right now?" With a nonchalant shrug, he sneers at me. It''s true that I don''t see any way we can beat him, especially now that he has gained the overwhelming mass of Chaos-Juzual.


    I wonder why he would want to postpone our fight right now when this is the perfect opportunity to take care of me once and for all. The only plausible explanation is that he can''t. Something is holding him back, or he thinks I have an ace up my sleeve. Whatever the case, I can''t let him leave right now.


    "First, this." I shout out while at the same time aiming at Mithra with a pinpoint plasma beam. The former court magician warps away right as the beam was about to hit him, leaving behind Mataku. I didn''t think it would work, but I succeeded in separating them from each other. That''s the opportunity I''ve been waiting for.


    My chest snaps open beyond my frame and spews forth a jet of water in the direction of the Primordial Terror, who stares at it in wonder. As the water evaporates and freezes into crystal mist in the vacuum of the moon''s atmosphere, a lone figure flies out from within.


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    "It''s time to smash!" I announce. That person is none other than Korenga, whom I kept inside my body for the past seven or so hours. The reason I didn''t take her out to fight before now was to hide her presence from Mithra or anybody else that could have noticed it.


    When I asked her how long she could hold her breath, she said that at one point, she had been tossed into the sea in her Black God form and walked on the bottom of the ocean for around a week before reaching an island. Thus, I circumvented her curse that makes her hard to touch and impossible to swallow for my kind by keeping her in a pool of water inside me.


    Korenga launches at Mataku and throws a mighty punch at his face. He raises a hand to block it but is surprised when the Black God''s fist rips straight through it. It seems that even with all his mass, it was unable to stop her rage-fuelled swing.


    He takes her fist to his chest, and a hole is blown right through it. I have a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, even though the last time that happened, it was to me. Still, it doesn''t do anything to reduce Mataku''s mass, as no piece of him is split off or pulverized.


    I always took Korenga as mindless in her rage when in her Black God form, and even more when facing her most hated enemy. But she seems to realize the futility of punching him, and changes her tactics.


    Just as he mends the wounds and moves to go on the offensive himself, she catches him in a bear hug. Last time, he defeated her in one hit, and his mass has increased even more compared to back then. She understands that she can''t let him strike her, or she may be sent off into space this time.


    But it seems that she understands the Primordial Terror''s weakness. He suffers from the same unnatural apprehension against the Black God''s touch as I do. His physical form recoils from her, and he can''t muster the strength to break out from her grip. Instead, he seems to break under it; his top and bottom half are squeezed apart. I won''t let this opportunity slip by.


    "Aurelia, shred!" I say while shooting forward. The golden girl understands what I mean and raises her hand. The mass of shredding blades under Mataku that were suspended in midair when she fainted earlier begin to move again. They turn into a golden blender right underneath Korenga and Mataku.


    With a plasma blade, I cut off the lower half of the Primordial Terror hanging on by a small crushed section of his torso. He tries to grab for it with an arm turned into tentacles, but I surround the lower body with a light shield. Then, I throw it at the golden maws under me before undoing the shield right as it hits. Within a moment, the legs are shredded into a million pieces.


    Even now, Mataku''s mass should be substantially larger than mine. But if that eliminated half of it all at once, I can already consider this a success. The blender will continue to cut the pieces until none of them can hold a new consciousness. I can feel their presence through my Chaos senses and will eradicate them once we''re finished with the main target.


    The Primordial Terror loses his shape and roars in anger as he slips out from Korenga''s grasp. He then consolidates into his true appearance of a roughly humanoid form made of dark gray tentacles for muscle strands. Delivering a backhanded strike at the Black God, he sends her flying across the surface of the moon and into a nearby mountain.


    Even now, he has so much mass that Korenga''s steadfastness means nothing to him. But whereas she''s a hard target, I have a flexibility that will protect me from those hits. Holes will be opened up in my body, but nothing more should happen if he punches me with the surface area of a human fist.


    "You wanted it this way." His true voice grates on my mind as he speaks in an angry tone. Even though we''re both from the same species, it still affects me to a degree. In the next moment, he extends his palm toward me, which flares open like a trumpet and grows to massive proportions. He wants to swallow me whole.

 Chapter 143.2 - Still Not The Final Bossfight

    I surround myself with plasma, aiming to do the same thing to the inside of Mataku as I did to Alverost''s flying fortress. Even if he has the dragon template or knows how to shield himself, it won''t be enough to protect himself from this immense heat. Spreading the heat away from me, I explode like a miniature sun.


    But through a view hole I left in the plasma, I find that the inside of Mataku''s growing palm is covered in metallic-looking plates. In the next moment, I''m assaulted by my own heat and quickly switch it off. Looking around, I realize that he must have created a magnetic field like the one used inside a fusion reactor.


    The only reason I even know about fusion reactors is that it was shared around on social media. As if I''d ever pay attention to that if it came up in physics class. But it helped me identify the danger of this situation, so I''m grateful that this tidbit stuck with me even through a reincarnation.


    Turning around, I find that Mataku''s hand is about to close off around me. Once I''m inside him, I won''t be able to get out no matter what I try. He was able to eat Chaos-Juzual from the inside somehow, but he also had thousands of years more time to learn how to do it. I won''t try my luck in the middle of a life and death battle.


    Narrowing into a spear as I did in the battle against Oinos, I shoot through the tiny remaining opening and escape Mataku''s grasp. Once outside, I grow a multitude of extra arms and create plasma blades on each one of them. I don''t think there''s much else I can do to defeat him right now than to chip away at his mass piece by piece.


    Suddenly, Korenga tackles his main body from the side and drags him with her. With Nymphy''s eyes, I can follow their incredible speed and watch them impact somewhere in the crater left behind by Tokomaha''s finger earlier.


    Last time Mataku''s punch hit her, it knocked her out in an instant. But this time, she bounced back almost right away and has the energy to strike back. If she has overcome her physical limitations, there should be nothing he can do to stop her now. Still, aside from punching and bear-hugging him, there isn''t much she can do either. I have to be her follow-up and find a way to end him for good.


    But before I can fly after her, I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around. It''s Aurelia, who can''t speak in the vacuum of the moon''s atmosphere and gestures instead. She''s pointing down at the stopped blender made from her gold, to direct my attention to the wriggling pieces that remain of Mataku''s lower half.


    "Thank you." I realize that this is an opportunity. Flying down, I quickly scoop the individual blobs and masses of small tentacles up with countless tendrils. Making sure I don''t gather them all into one place, I pull them inside my body and begin the absorption process.


    It''s a strange feeling, but somehow it gives me a sense of delight. This is my first time eating another of my kind, and it''s quite unlike what I get from rejoining a piece of myself after it was severed. It''s hard to describe, but it brings me satisfaction, and every piece I eat in quick succession raises that feeling.


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    Not good; I might get addicted to this.


    Suddenly, the ground under my feet rises and lifts me on a pillar of gold. I look up to find Aurelia looking down at me with a disapproving gaze before pointing in the direction of where Korenga and Mataku flew earlier. It seems I lost myself in the feast and forgot that we''re still in the middle of a battle for the fate of the world. Right now, the Primordial Terror is focused on pummeling the Black God into the moon dust, blind rage driving him to forget about the more significant threat that I should present.


    Feeling the incredible amount of mass I took from Mataku, I should now have enough to overcome his when I eat him. But there''s still the unknown factor of what he did to Chaos-Juzual when she had already swallowed him whole. Maybe I should keep chipping away at him until there''s not enough to hold his consciousness before finally consuming him.


    "Please reconsider." But before I can move, Mithra appears before me and speaks into my mind. Flann warps out of space right next to him and looks up at her father.


    "You want to beg me to show him mercy now?" I glare at the bandaged man, but since I can''t see his expression, there''s no way to tell what he''s thinking.


    "You have defeated the third wheel. Now is not the time for you two to fight." He explains in a neutral tone, and Flann turns her gaze toward me, her green eyes piercing mine while awaiting my answer. I have no idea what he means, but we took Chaos-Juzual out of the picture. The moonfall has been stopped, so we no longer have a common enemy.


    "Why should I spare him?" I know that I''m in no position to talk as if I have Mataku on the ropes when he''s barely weakened. But it''s better than to think that I''m the one at a disadvantage, now that I most likely have more mass than he does.


    "You talk big..." The Primordial Terror''s voice speaks into my head, and I look past Mithra to find that the former stopped his relentless assault on Korenga and is now staring at me across the plains. At least that''s what I assume he''s doing, as he has no face in his true form either. Even now, my mind isn''t Crawling Chaos enough to perceive our kind''s appearance as it truly is. "... for somebody in eating distance."


    In the next instant, he zooms across the landscape and stops a few steps in front of me. Thanks to Nymphy''s eyes, I could follow his movement even at that speed. But it was to show that he has all the abilities that I have at his disposal, and more. I can''t even glance past him to check on Korenga; his overbearing presence has my eyes glued on him.


    "I have more mass than you now." Standing my ground, I grow to my true appearance to match his. We''re around the same height, though he appears slightly bulkier still.


    "See how that helped your predecessor." Even though I''m just as tall as he is, Mataku still manages to look down on me. Chaos-Juzual had overwhelming mass, but he was somehow able to eat her from the inside. If I were to swallow him whole, he could do the same to me then.


    "And you think I wouldn''t do the same to you?" The moment these words leave my mouth, something in the Primordial Terror changes. His face is indiscernible to me, but something tells me that he''s smiling. It seems that he has seen through my bluff, but to my surprise, he isn''t calling it.


    "We''re at a stalemate then." Shrugging, he shrinks down into his human appearance as if saying that there''s no point in fighting at this point.

 Chapter 143.3 - Still Not The Final Bossfight

    "Do I have to remind you that you lost half your mass already?" Matching him, I turn into my blonde appearance and cross my arms defiantly. Past Mataku, I spot Korenga rising from the crater she was pummeled into without a hint of damage. But I quickly return my gaze to him to hide the fact that the Black God is up again. If she could only rip off his head and reduce his mass by a lot at once, we could be done quickly.


    "As Mithra here said, this isn''t the time for us to fight." Anybody else saying it would have come across as attempting to get out of a losing battle. But why does the Primordial Terror sound as if he''s in a stronger position? "You have somebody to rescue."


    "Who do you mean?" I narrow my eyes and glare at him. Don''t tell me he pulled an Alverost and used this world-ending situation as a distraction for another goal, such as kidnap Kamii or Hestia. Tokomaha is still carrying the moon on her shoulders, and Aurelia is right here with me, so I don''t know who else he could refer to.


    "Maybe that person isn''t too important to you, but she can change the course of fate." With a nonchalant glance past me, he leaves me hanging with this cryptic statement. Then he turns on the spot and extends his arm to catch Korenga by the throat just as she charges at him. The surface of his hand recoils from her, but he keeps his hold through sheer willpower. "You were a most useful case study. But I found a better alternative, so you are no longer needed."


    At those words, my eyes widen as I suspect that he''s going to take away her powers. But instead, he easily lifts her off her feet and tosses her up into the sky at such a velocity that she''s already a tiny speck against Tokomaha''s tan skin when I look up. Don''t tell me that''s who I''m supposed to save? I don''t doubt for a moment that Korenga can survive falling from orbit.


    "What do you mean by case study?" I can already guess that he''s talking about her properties that make her inedible to our kind. He somehow applied that to the starving artificial Crawling Chaos that I found in the cellar of Kairaki palace. But what even was be the point in doing that? He made her his own natural enemy.


    "In time, you will learn." Mithra answers for Mataku as if trying to prevent him from disclosing anything else. Then he turns to Flann, wordlessly staring at her for a moment as if wanting to say something. His silence tells me that he either can''t find the words or has reconsidered, as he then turns back to me. "The solar winds heading for Earth are of greater concern. Until then, your battle will have to wait."


    This time, before I can react, Mithra and Mataku both disappear in a vortex. The tension from the situation was already gone, so I didn''t feel the need to try and stop them. For now, I need to catch Korenga so that she doesn''t fall into the ocean or something.


    I glance at Aurelia, who looks dissatisfied with this conclusion. The silver lining is that we saved Earth, and Chaos-Juzual is now gone as well. Now, the only Old Humans standing against me are Shelnir and Areteniha. But Mataku is still a danger to this world, and we should have dealt with him when we had the chance.


    With a nod at the golden girl to stay put, I fly up into the air and use Hestia''s eye template to locate the falling Black God. But I notice that her trajectory is changing, slowly bending toward Tokomaha''s exposed backside rather than falling straight at the blue planet below. Her body has a gravity field of its own and, I realize that where her feet are firmly planted on northern Ceogath, the atmosphere seems to be swirling about her.


    Quickly catching up to Korenga, I extend a hand to catch her, only for her to grab my wrist with crushing strength and pull me in. It seems she has entered her berserker mode, in which she can''t tell friend from foe anymore. She''s going to try to bear-hug me as she did with Mataku before.


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    But I separate myself into two pieces before she can do so. It''s the return of one consciousness inhabiting two bodies at once! My lower half takes Korenga''s legs while the upper half grabs hold of both her hands. With a perfectly coordinated swing, I toss her back at the moon, aiming at the golden spot that Aurelia created. I''ll let her keep her in check while I work on something more important.


    Merging back into one body and flying around Tokomaha''s back, under her armpit, and toward her front, I look up to find her face showing a strained expression. She seems to have a hard time carrying the moon''s weight as it''s still being pulled toward Earth by gravity.


    "You can push back now." I call out to her as loudly as I can, causing the leaf-haired goddess to blink in surprise. Only at her size, a blink seems to take several seconds to complete. She''s used to communicating through Senka at this point, so she doesn''t try to look around.


    Still, her expression shows irritation, as if wanting to say that she would have done so long ago if she could. She''s still much smaller than the moon and doesn''t seem to be able to grow further. The fact that she can even carry it in the first place is an incredible feat. I wish I could help her, but I can''t even begin to imagine how to move this celestial body with my mind alone.


    But then an idea comes to me, and I prepare myself with a few deep breaths of vacuum. Making the physical motion is just for show.


    "[Let''s have lots of sex after this is over!]" I give her an incentive to do her best, causing Tokomaha to blush from ear to ear. Her grip nearly slips, but she catches herself at the last moment and turns her head slightly as if searching for me. Then she gives up and grinds her teeth before pushing with newfound vigor while still looking embarrassed. I almost doomed the world with that one, but it seems to be working as intended. "[You can do it.]"


    This time, I speak quietly, more to myself than to the little goddess turned titan. But I can see in her gaze that she heard it as her lips curl up into a smile. Gone is the blush, as she focuses her body and mind on this monumental task.


    With a silent roar, Tokomaha straightens her legs, back, and then her arms. Ceogath, the continent the Dominion is located on, cracks under her feet. The web extending around her are visible even from space, and my eyes nearly pop out when I think about just how big of an area that affected. But finally, the moon moves and soon leaves the hands of the giant goddess.


    I watch as it drifts away from Earth for a while before realizing that without anybody stopping it, it''s going to leave Earth''s gravity well. One can''t judge the speed of things in space because reference points are few and far between, so it''s hard to tell how fast the moon is moving now. In either case, Senka said that it would be bad if the moon were gone, as it affects many things like tides and gravity.


    Looking to the side, I see that the sun seems brighter than before. That must be because of the solar winds heading here, which will most likely take a few more days to reach us.


    It''s just one thing after another.


    "[Good job, Tokomaha.]" I''d love to pet her leaf hair, but she''s just too big for that right now. I''ll give her lots of love later when we''re all back in the palace of Arkaim. "[Stay where we last parted. I''ll come to get you soon.]"


    With these words, I fly to the moon once again to pick up Aurelia and Korenga before having Flann teleport us back home. We''ll have to solve the moon problem with Senka''s help once again.


    As I approach the golden lake, I find Korenga encased in a sphere of gold with only her head sticking out. She must have given trouble to Aurelia, so she did that to make her stop. Binding her like that does seem to be an excellent way to end her rampage without having to knock her out, but only the golden queen can do that.


    "It''s done." I sigh even though no air escapes my mouth since I have no lungs in this form. Looking up, I see Tokomaha shrinking toward the surface of Earth, the planet we all saved together. "Let''s go home."

 Chapter 144.1 - The Final Secret

    We''re sitting in a meeting on the terrace of Arkaim palace, for the first time using it for any purpose other than sunbathing and taking off into the sky. Several winged messengers are with us, listening to our conversation to bring the news to the various clan leaders.


    During our battle with Chaos-Juzual and Mataku, Arkaim was cleansed of all devils. Kamii and Hestia came out unscathed, but many demons died, and many more are wounded. And near the end of it all, the shockwave from Tokomaha growing gigantic to stop the moon reached this city and blew across it as a massive storm.


    Even with the shield array erected by the maids, the earthquake that followed caused a lot of damage to the city. The destruction is even worse than it was after the surprise siege half a year ago right when I returned. Many other cities were most likely devastated much more heavily, and the entirety of the Ogely mountains have been flattened under the God of Growth''s feet.


    I''d call it good riddance if the only beings that had lived there were the self-mutilating kobold cults. But in reality, many farmers and small towns near the mountains were directly affected. By now, the shockwave must have traveled across most of Ceogath and reached the oceans surrounding the continent. The whole world will get to feel the impact of Chaos-Juzual''s actions eventually.


    It was a success, but at a significant cost nonetheless. I''m sure that Tokomaha was visible even from the Empire of Terminus. The humans still clinging to their false gods must have had their eyes opened to the fact that the one who came to their help was somebody standing on the side of the demons. I''ll have the bards spin an epic about this.


    "At this rate, the moon will escape Earth''s gravitational field and fly off to never return." Senka, as always, rains on my parade with the hard facts. "By my estimate, it will leave the point of no return in eleven days."


    "Did I really push it that hard?" Tokomaha asks sheepishly. She has been glancing at me ever since we returned here as if waiting for me to make good on my earlier promise. Now she''s worried that we will have to postpone things because of this new crisis.


    "We can take care of the moon later. The bigger issue is the solar storm heading here." The doll girl waves off the problem of Earth''s moon drifting away as if it were only a minor inconvenience compared to this one. She points at the sun above, which looks as bright as ever. "It''s going to reach us in about four days, although we''ll be on the dark side at the time."


    In other words, Armeria is the projected place of impact once again. But at least we have a bit more time compared to the previous crisis. I''ll have Flann teleport Aurelia, Korenga, Exla, and me to the Rhodos station tomorrow after everybody has rested up. None of the others can survive in space, so I''d rather they don''t risk their lives on a space station close to the surface of the sun.


    "We need to find Asoko and my children." I glance at Flann, suggesting that this time she has to make sure it''s the right person. Who knows how many of those artificial Crawling Chaos creatures Mataku has created, but they will either be in a large group or single individuals meant for scouting. Therefore, finding my twin children should be easier than locating Asoko among all the single ones out there. Aside from the fact that I know where they most likely are either way.


    "I believe that Mataku has now done away with the fakes he created." The blonde girl suddenly replies. Her expression doesn''t tell me how confident she is in her own statement, but I''m skeptical about the source of her knowledge.


    "Did Mithra tell you that?" I remember the father and daughter duo sharing eye contact for a bit before separating. He must have talked to her in a way I couldn''t hear, or maybe they even held a long conversation at that moment. I have no idea how the minds and bodies of these servants of the Galactic Crawling Chaos - as I call the owner of the eyes in the sky now - work.


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    "Mataku''s only concern in creating those was to test how to defeat another of his kind." Flann continues to explain, which gets my attention. Before Sea Witch Rapania succeeded in those experiments for him, he never knew the limits of his own species. Even I still discover new things about me from time to time, such as having the ability to talk in space.


    "So, you think he would waste the potential army that could consume the world for him?" I don''t trust whatever Mithra might have told his daughter at that moment.


    "I do not know his plans. That is merely what my father told me." Neither nodding nor shrugging, the blonde girl leaves me to judge the situation. "But if it is the truth, I will be able to locate Asoko without fail this time."


    "Make sure you do." I may sound abrasive talking to Flann like this, but we can''t afford to make mistakes that will cost us precious time at this point. "Everybody should take this night to rest. We will take care of everything tomorrow."


    I look at Tokomaha to let her know that she''s included with that everybody. She may have ingenious control over the Imagination Engine, but she''s visibly tired after her titanic feat. We still have plenty of opportunities to do it through the night once everything is settled. The same goes for Svanhild, whose charms I discovered once again today.


    "That''s it for this meeting. Bring the news to the clan leaders as quickly as you can." Standing up from my seat, I gesture at the messengers. They bow to me silently before taking off into the sky.


    Walking away from my position at the table, I signal that the meeting is adjourned. The attending court officials begin to leave the terrace and walk toward the door where Rewera lowers her head to see them off.


    I turn to Flann with a neutral expression to avoid tipping off anybody else that I have business with her later. She doesn''t show any indication that she understood, but I won''t say anything more. Then I round the table and walk over to Senka before lifting her off her feet. Hugging her to my chest, I begin to head toward the door myself.


    "What''s wrong?" She asks, having the presence of mind to do so through telepathy. Under other circumstances, she would have complained about being pressed into my breasts, but she understands that I''m troubled right now.


    I notice Kamii watching me from the corner of my eyes, but pretend not to see her. She must know that something is on my mind; for being a kuudere, she is well-attuned to the emotions of those around her. The same appears to be true for Rolan, but he doesn''t think that he has the right to counsel me.


    "We''re in the endgame now." I reply to the doll girl''s question while heading for the door, but cry out in surprise when she pinches my side. "W-what are you doing?!"


    "That''s forbidden!" She speaks out loud, causing everybody to stare at us in surprise. I don''t know what she''s talking about, but it''s been a while since she got angry over something I said. Must have something to do with her idea that we''re in a world of fiction rather than reality. As I explained to her before, this is my reality, so nothing changes whether Senka''s worldview is real or a figment of her paranoid imagination.


    Excusing myself from everybody, I go toward the door that the court officials have already left through. As I walk past Rewera, I give her the look when I want her to splurge on the meal for both my girls and the Maid Corps. They have earned it after their work today.


    The maid leader looks surprised when my exit tells her that I won''t be joining them. But she bows in compliance nonetheless and gestures for the maid standing in one of the corners of the terrace to deliver my order. Then she motions to follow me, but I raise a hand to let her know that I won''t be needing her services after this. She bows to show that she understood once again.


    I walk through the corridors of the castle and make my way to the astrology tower. Even though I was ready to talk to Senka earlier, I''ve decided to wait until we reach our destination. Once there, I''ll have Flann join us as well.

 Chapter 144.2 - The Final Secret

    "So, what''s the problem?" Senka asks the moment the door to the astrology lab is closed behind us. The room is filled with shelves laden heavily with books and scrolls, and at the center stands a table with maps and measuring devices.


    Placing the doll girl down without answering, I head over to the brass telescope and look inside. It''s trained on the moon, the surface of which is still painted with the massive grinning face. When I insert another lens, I can see a large section of its surface, at the center of which is the golden lake left behind by Aurelia. So they were watching our battle from down here, huh?


    "As I said, I feel that we''re moving toward the end of something." Without turning around, I keep looking through the telescope while moving the dials and knobs to test different settings and angles.


    "Why do you say that?" The living doll''s voice sounds neutral, genuinely asking for an explanation.


    "Today, Oinos, Alverost, and Juzual died." Finally, I stop messing with the instruments and leave the view through the lens in a hopelessly out of focus state. Looking at Senka, I smile wryly. "Of the Old Humans standing against peace, only Shelnir and Areteniha remain."


    Something tells me that once they''re out of the picture, Mataku will put his plan into motion to devour this world. I have no idea how to defeat him when mass doesn''t make a difference for him anymore. The only thing I can think of is to teleport him into the sun, but just as I have Flann to teleport me, so does he have Mithra.


    "So you''re scared of the future." Senka states with a deadpan expression. I feel defensiveness rise in my chest, but only let out a sigh.


    "Yes." Slumping down on the chair at the end of the table, I admit to both the doll girl and myself. Then I glance at Flann waiting by the door. She teleported in rather than follow us on foot, sensing that I want her presence. "Come here."


    Gesturing for the blonde girl to come over, I pat my thigh. She follows my request as if it''s an order, and wordlessly sits down in my lap. Senka''s brow furrows at the sight, but she suppresses the urge to make a snarky comment. I already know what she wanted to say; I denied Tokomaha and skipped Svanhild to fool around with this girl because she can''t say no to me.


    "Tell me the truth. About everything." I look into Flann''s green eyes from which I can glean the otherworldly reality that my kind hails from. "Let''s start with my progenitor."


    Keeping her eyes fixed on mine, the little gatekeeper stays silent for a moment. She stands apart from the system in which she has to obey the most massive Crawling Chaos in the universe, unlike her father. When I think about it, the fact that Mithra still follows Mataku means that he has more mass than I do even after I consumed about half of it. I''m somehow glad that he left on his own after all.


    "Mataku may have mentioned it before. The fate of a Crawling Chaos." Flann begins, maintaining a level voice and emotionless gaze. But even if neither her expression nor words betray it, she does seem to feel strongly about what she''s about to tell me. "He must have an unyielding will. After having lived so many millennia, his cosmic hunger must be driving him insane."


    "What is that cosmic hunger? I feel quite content with regular-sized meals." At these words, Senka snorts sarcastically.


    "Those portions fulfill the regular calorie intake for five girls your age and build." She remarks with a frown. I don''t know what she means; I''ve always eaten a lot even before reincarnating into this body.


    "Cosmic hunger is the Outer One''s leash with which they control their offspring." Flann continues, ignoring the doll girl''s interjection. "So that you shall one day consume this planet that you have been seeded to and return to their womb."


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    I stare at her, unable to comprehend what she just said. Then I let the lines run through my head once again before putting it into simpler terms. This Outer One uses this cosmic hunger to make us fatten ourselves and then return to their belly. We''re nothing more than an automatic food delivery service for a cosmic god.


    "Why?" That''s all I can ask. If this Outer One is truly a cosmic god, why do they need such a roundabout way to eat planets? Why can''t they just come here themselves and swallow it all in one go? Instead, they use such an unreliable method to gain nourishment. What if all the offspring gets eradicated by whatever lives on the planets they''re seeded to? Will the Outer One starve?


    "Because it exists in a realm beyond time and cannot enter this dimension. The tears created in it by the Imagination Engine are too unstable for it to come here." Understanding the underlying question behind that one word, the blonde girl explains.


    My mouth drops at this revelation. The Old Humans accidentally granted access to the Outer One through the creation of the Imagination Engine?


    "Then what about the eyes in the sky?" I ask, frantically looking for an explanation.


    "They are merely projections of the Outer One''s will. They are not physical." Flann replies with such conviction that I can only believe her. "My father was created to stabilize those temporary tears in space just enough for their offspring to leave and eventually return to their realm. Through those, he guided the first Crawling Chaos to this planet."


    So even a gatekeeper who can teleport anywhere instantly is unable to help the Outer One come through. Its existence must be beyond the limits of this dimension if only its fragments can cross one at a time.


    "And you?" Looking her up and down, I compare Flann to Mithra. She looks plenty human, even if she''s always emotionless, but I imagine it''s nothing more than a mask. Behind it must lie something similar to me.


    "I am an unforeseen factor in the Outer One''s eternal feasting." The blonde girl bats her eyelids and looks down. Then she returns her gaze to meet mine, and I''m startled to see emotions in her eyes. She shows hints of uncertainty and fear. "My father has decided to betray the Outer One, and I am one of the tools to achieve that."


    "You''re not just a tool." Bringing a hand up to caress her cheek, I assuage her worries. But my own thoughts are in turmoil, and it seems that she can sense it. Why would Mithra betray a cosmic god? Is this work so bad?


    "I cannot reveal to you the full extent of my father''s plans, as I do not know it." Not reacting to my touch, she speaks in her usual tone. "But understand that he is not your enemy."


    It sounds like a plea to me, but she shows no such notion in either her expression or inflection. All I can say is that she gives me that impression, so I''ll act on that basis.


    "What about Mataku then?" After hearing Flann''s explanation regarding my origins and Mithra''s goals, something tells me Mataku is aware of those. He did say that he wanted to end it all in a massive feast when I confronted him in Adanak. The fact that he didn''t do anything afterward tells me that his plans may have changed.


    "I do not know." Shaking her head, the blonde girl tries her best to look and sound apologetic. She fails at both, but the thought counts.


    "So, for the time being, I''ll count him as an enemy." Making up my mind, I state in a matter of fact tone. It won''t hurt to think that way as long as I don''t know his real goal. After all, he could be loyal to the Outer One and control Mithra in a way that undoes his plans. "But tell me, how long has your father been planning this?"


    "He never told me." Flann replies while looking past me out the window. This is the first time I see her like this, deep in thought as if trying to search unreliable memories for the answer. "But it was from before my birth."


    Now I''m interested to learn how she was born. And, more importantly, who her mother is or was. Neither Maou-mama nor Mithra ever mentioned her, and Flann didn''t talk about her either.


    "Queen Pelomyx provided the vessel, and my father placed a consciousness into it." As if having read my mind, the blonde girl states while shifting her gaze back to meet my eyes. Unblinking, she awaits my reaction, but all I can do is stare at her.


    Maou-mama is also Flann''s mother?

 Chapter 144.3 - The Final Secret

    "Wait..." I blink a few times, then glance at Senka as if asking for help. But the doll girl only shrugs, acting as if this isn''t a big revelation. Looking at Flann''s unchanging face, I wait for her to elaborate. But when she doesn''t, I can''t stop myself from asking. "You''re my half-sister?"


    "I am nothing more than a mud doll given a temporary soul to fulfill a purpose." Her voice is neutral as always, but the content of her words are nothing but self-deprecating. "I will cease to exist once that purpose has been fulfilled."


    "You''re my sister." I declare and hug her tightly. Judging by her description of her birth, she wasn''t conceived through a union between Maou-mama and Mithra but artificially created in some alien manner. Even then, she''s a physical offspring of my mother, and the former court magician gave her life.


    At this point, nothing can truly shake me anymore. That Maou-mama and Mithra had a child together in one way or another comes at the end of a long string of shocking revelations. I take it as it happens and accept Flann into the family without a problem. And I''ll make sure that she won''t be cast aside when Mithra''s plan comes to fruition.


    "So, are your worries about the future alleviated now?" Senka barges in on our heartfelt moment, and I glare at her with a frown.


    "Somewhat." The thought that Mithra is rebelling against a being that could be considered an omnipotent god in another dimension is only making me more anxious. But now I somewhat know my role in all this and understand what must be done.


    And learning that Flann is my half-sister is a glimpse of light in this darkness that lies before me. I have Asoko and my two children, but discovering more family is always welcome - as long as they''re nice people.


    "Sorry for being so unfriendly toward you." I separate from Flann and look her in the eyes apologetically. Since she''s the daughter of Mithra, somebody I considered a traitor that let my mother die, I didn''t treat her too well. At best, I spoke to her as if she were a servant, but that will change.


    "It matters not." The blonde girl on my lap replies, seemingly indifferent to how people treat her. I remember when I grasped her in my tentacles and wanted to squeeze the truth out of her right after she returned with Asoko. Back then, she didn''t show any distress at being handled roughly either.


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    "It matters to me." With a serious expression on my face, I deny her nihilistic attitude. Grabbing her face with both my hands, I force her to acknowledge my feelings. "You will be my court magician. We''ll do an official ceremony once we have taken care of the solar winds situation."


    "Now, kiss." Senka suddenly appears right next to us and says, causing me to flinch in surprise.


    "Do you always have to ruin the glorious moment?" Sighing, I frown at her.


    "Why did you even bring me along when all you needed was to talk to her?" Shooting back with a question of her own, she stuns me into silence. Then I remember what I brought her with me for in the first place.


    "I want to talk to you about the Imagination Engine... once again." I gesture for Flann to get up and stand up myself. Pacing through the room, I think about how to broach the subject best.


    "You think it would be better to destroy it so that people like the Old Humans can never come into existence again." The doll girl correctly guesses my intentions. "And now that you know the Outer One is using the tears it creates in space to send its offspring here, even more so."


    "I don''t even know how we can stop the solar winds. There''s no way we can force Areteniha to call them back unless we threaten the destruction of the Imagination Engine." Even then, I''m not sure it would be enough to coerce her. She lost her son and is willing to destroy all life on Earth at this point. Would she care about keeping her powers afterward?


    The problem of the Outer One is something I''ll have to worry about for another day. It doesn''t seem to have a human understanding of space, sending in Mataku however many millennia ago and only a little over twenty years ago sending the next. It may take an interest in Earth again in another thousand or more years.


    "And here I thought you were already so detached that you don''t feel the gravity of this situation." Grinning at me, Senka jabs at the fact that I kept my cool during the meeting and talked as if stopping this calamity was a foregone conclusion.


    "What did you just say?" But something else in her statement piques my interest.


    "Is it time for this clich¨¦ now?" The doll girl sighs and rolls her eyes. "I said gravity. I''m sure that''s the word you''re looking for."


    "How could I forget?" Slapping my forehead audibly, I ask myself this rhetorical question.


    "Because you''re-" Senka begins, but I interrupt her.


    "Don''t say it." I point at her and narrow my eyes. Then I turn to Flann with a new plan blossoming in my mind - one that could give me an edge over every enemy in the future. Excluding the Outer One, that is. "There''s a certain nostalgic place we have to visit."

 Chapter 145.1 - Gravitation

    "Dear principal." I state in a sarcastic tone. After the siege of Erbilan, we parted on a more amicable note, but we can''t be considered reconciled. After all, I killed some of the professors, and he was complicit in killing my mother.


    "Miss Marcott!" Jumping up from his chair in surprise, Thorvadis stares at me through his rectangular glasses. He''s unexpectedly nimble for his advanced age, moving like somebody who has seen half as many summers as his physical appearance suggests he has. "What are you doing here?"


    "I''ve come to learn gravity magic from you." With a nonchalant statement, I look around his office. The last time I was here, I stabbed Basarab through the throat and was knocked out the window onto the field outside. "You may or may not have noticed what happened yesterday."


    Right now, I have only Flann with me. There''s nothing left among the humans that could hurt me now, so I didn''t need to take anybody else to help me in case a battle happens. But I''m not here to start anything, only to learn the concept behind gravity magic. With the right knowledge, I should be able to use it up to the limits of the Imagination Engine.


    "I saw the moon falling, and a goddess stopping it." Thorvadis replies honestly. So Tokomaha was visible even halfway across the globe. It''s early in the morning here, as opposed to evening in Arkaim, so he must have had the opportunity to sleep over that divine sight if he could.


    "Well, the moon is going to leave this planet''s orbit in less than a fortnight if we don''t do something about it." Shrugging as if it''s not that big of a deal, I pace around the room and take in the sights. The repairs to the wall haven''t left a single mark, and the stone looks just the same as it did before. "But before that comes a greater calamity."


    "Greater than the moon falling?" Raising a bushy eyebrow, Thorvadis asks with a skeptical glint in his inquisitive eyes.


    "The sun falling." I look out the window. It''s facing east, so the sun is just peeking above the Kongensgrad. It may just be my impression because I know what''s happening, but it looks brighter than usual. Massive solar winds can''t be equated to the entire sun coming toward Earth, but for all intents and purposes, the result will be the same. Explaining the concept of celestial activities to people from a medieval society will just take too much time.


    "And you believe that gravity magic can stop it?" Now the principal looks even more skeptical. He should have gotten a good idea of the size of the moon and of Tokomaha, who stopped its fall.


    "It''s not so much gravity magic but the understanding of gravity itself." I return my gaze to the old man standing behind his desk. We explained the Imagination Engine to him, but it''s hard for people of this age to come to terms with the concept of a machine that can turn thoughts into physical phenomena.


    "Then, let me recommend you some books from the forbidden section." Motioning to round his desk, Thorvadis states with an attitude that suggests he''s aware of the fact that I broke in there before to learn transportation magic. But I raise a hand to stop him.


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    "No, there is no point in learning from the books at this point." I gesture at the tea table between the two couches and make the vase fall upward before catching it with my hand. It''s an application of the gravity spell I learned by copying the principal''s when he launched me into space, but that''s the extent of what I can do. For that, I need a surface and already existing gravity, which I merely reverse.


    He stares at me in confusion. Then he sits down, lifts his glasses, and rubs the bridge of his hawk nose as if irritated about something. Looking at me put the vase back in place, he shakes his head and sighs.


    "If you can so easily achieve what took me decades to master, there is nothing more I can teach you." His voice sounds annoyed, and I can understand why. But he shouldn''t think of me as some youth that just comes along and does something he has been practicing all his life better at my first try. We''re literally worlds apart.


    "That''s not true." I give Thorvadis a wry smile and glance back at Flann. "I need to know how gravity works. It''s more than moving something with one''s thoughts."


    Wind magic is the closest to gravity insofar that it''s causing physical phenomena with invisible forces. Thus, somebody incredibly proficient at the wind element could use it like telekinesis. But whereas air will have a harder time moving objects, the heavier they get, gravity isn''t limited by such things. By reversing gravity, even the most massive object can be launched into space.


    I need Thorvadis to give me a quick lesson in its more delicate applications. Then I''ll be able to use it on any scale I can imagine, as long as the Imagination Engine can handle the energy requirements. That way, I should be able to reverse the gravity of the solar winds and send them back into the sun.


    At least I''m working under the assumption that this is the same way Areteniha sent them toward us in the first place. If that assumption turns out to be wrong, I don''t know what more we could do. That''s why I can''t think about this too deeply and only press forward.


    "When will it happen?" The principal asks while adjusting the glasses that became crooked from his earlier movements.


    "Three days from now." I reply calmly, causing him to stare at me with his eyes wide open. He used to be exceedingly calm even under pressure, but I''ve surprised him twice today. I consider that a win. "We''re going to the sun and speak to the false god responsible for this in the evening. Until then, I would like to learn all there is to know about gravity."


    Leaning back in his chair, Thorvadis seems to shrink from the stress piling up, and he looks more wizened than ever. Closing his eyes as if deep in thought, he breathes in and out a few times to come to terms with my demands. Then he opens his eyes again and stares at me as if I''m an alien.


    "It took me decades to understand the principle behind gravity and its application in magic. There is a reason I am the only living human in the world who can command it." He''s close to hysteria, but his voice remains firm. There''s a hint of pride in his tone, but he''s aware that there have been others throughout history who achieved gravity magic. Otherwise, there wouldn''t have been any books written about it in the library''s forbidden section. "I cannot teach you in a day what took me most of my life."


    "I know. I''m not asking to learn everything about it. I only need to know the core principle." Waving off the principal''s concerns, I look at him with an intent gaze. Then my face softens, and I give him a confident smile. "Tell me what it feels like."

 Chapter 145.2 - Gravitation

    Standing on the field outside the academy, the place I was launched into space from last time I came here, I prepare to put into practice what Thorvadis just taught me. It wasn''t much, but the principle behind gravity is surprisingly simple.


    The windows of the academy are filled with students staring at me, and more of them are gathered at the edge of the field. They rarely get to see their principal outside his room or the dining hall, but he attracted even more attention by ordering everybody to make way for me, who appears to be a new student. They''re right to think that a spectacle of some kind is about to unfold.


    I could have easily had Flann teleport us to some deserted place elsewhere in the world, if not to the moon itself. But I''m using this opportunity to get a look at the students and new professors. Maybe I''ll get a glimpse of Ninlil over at the dorms, too.


    Then I remember that I can''t waste too much time fooling around when the moon is drifting away, and the solar winds will fry this planet in just three days. Gesturing at the center of the field, I raise a giant ball of mud and transmute it into stone. There''s no way wind magic could lift that boulder, so I can be sure that I''m doing it right instead of using an alternate method subconsciously.


    As before, I reverse the gravity of the object, causing it to fly up and accelerate quickly. Stopping it, I let it drop back down before waving my hand at it from the side. Nothing happens, and it falls back onto the grassy field with a thud, creating a small crater on impact.


    I don''t glance at Thorvadis next to me, but somehow I get the feeling that he feels vindicated. But I know he isn''t such a petty person, or he wouldn''t have taught me anything. After the siege of Erbilan, he sat down to talk to me even after everything that happened between us. If he held a grudge back then, he was able to swallow it for the sake of the survival of the human race. He should be able to do the same now.


    More and more students gather, thinking that I''m undergoing a test of my abilities to enroll at this academy. There''s a murmur rising from the open windows when they realize that I''m not speaking any incantations to cast magic. Only Chosen Knights are supposed to be capable of that, so they already treat me with reverence.


    Thinking back, I had some pleasant memories here. One mistake on my part brought it all crashing down. If everybody involved had reacted more calmly back then, what would things look like now? There''s no real point thinking about it so long after the fact, yet I can''t help but try to picture my life if I had stayed here instead of getting teleported to the Khurut Sultanate.


    Then again, I wouldn''t have met Asoko or gotten to see Hestia with glasses. I wouldn''t have encountered a dragon and gained its template, or had any reason to go into the Lost Tombs and find Aurelia. I would have learned a lot more magic and eventually left the academy with a lot of books to present to Maou-mama on my return.


    Maybe then Maou-mama wouldn''t have had to die if I had remained here in the academy. Then I would have never been teleported to Adanak to find out that I had twin children. Without going there, I wouldn''t have met Awhina, Tahiri, Tokomaha, or Korenga.


    I would have been blissfully ignorant of the truth of this world until Chaos-Juzual or Mataku eventually destroyed it.


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    "What is the matter?" Flann asks while looking up at me, seeing how I stopped trying to cast magic. The Royal Academy is such a nostalgic place that I''ve gone down memory lane a bit too deeply and forgotten my main objective.


    "Just reminiscing." I smile at her and pet her hair. Then I remember a question I''ve been meaning to ask. "Oh, before I forget, when were you born?"


    "The winter after Aldeath died." She replies, not at all looking surprised at me suddenly bringing up this topic. I calculate in my mind for a moment to come to one realization.


    "You''re my older sister, then." I lift my hand off her head as if I was scalded. All I know from my Japanese upbringing is that I should show respect to my elders. Even though I was an only child, I knew from classmates that they would never dare to treat their older siblings like I did. "Again, I''m sorry for my attitude toward you all this time..."


    "It matters not." Staring at my hand hovering above her, Flann states in a level tone. Maybe she was enjoying it?


    Turning back to my task, I notice Thorvadis watching us from the side. His eyebrows are raised as high as physically possible, and under his beard, it looks like his jaw is slack. The revelation that Flann is my sister seems to have shocked him deeply. The image of a wise old master that I had of him is crumbling before my eyes.


    Ignoring him, I gesture at the boulder in the middle of the grassy field again, making it fall upward before trying to apply a slight pushing force. But instead of going the way I want it to, it merely drops back and impacts the ground with a loud thud. It buries itself into the dirt a bit, and I realize that it moved a few steps away from the initial impact crater in the direction I wanted it to go.


    It''s working, even if only slightly. Where did my ridiculous and uncontrolled output from back when I first started here go?


    Repeating the process, I launch the boulder in the air and push with a physical motion of my hand. As if my remembrance of that time I summoned a pool of water with a spell meant to create a bucket worth of it affected my ability, my target flies off toward the dorms.


    "Uh oh." I watch the boulder fly and quickly gesture at it to pull it toward me. But with my concentration broken, it doesn''t react.


    In the next moment, I see a small figure jumping more than a dozen meters high into the air and meeting the projectile. A heavy impact sounds across the field before the boulder flies back toward me. It rolls across the grass and falls into the crater it left when it landed the first time.


    "Hole in one." I comment with a whistle as I watch Ninlil land gracefully with her oversized hammer in hand. She then runs across the field with an angry expression on her face, looking ready to pounce.


    But when she notices me, her eyes narrow into slits, and she hops back with her tail puffed up in fear. It seems she''s still not over what Asoko did to her and isn''t aware of the fact that it was another me. I look at her with a wry smile, then turn to Thorvadis.


    "How was that?" I ask nonchalantly. His furrowed brow tells me that I achieved in a few tries what most likely took him years of his life. But he wouldn''t be a teacher if he didn''t take pride in his students going above and beyond his abilities.


    "You require more practice, but you are going down the right path." He remarks with a genuine smile that makes me feel bad for all I''ve done to him and his academy in the past.


    "Thank you, Grand Master Eklundstrom. For everything." In a heartfelt tone, I bow to Thorvadis to express my gratitude for what he did when I was still at the academy. Neither side can truly forgive the other, but I''m not sure I''ll ever come here again, so I want to make peace with the past. "I believe that what you just taught me will save this world."


    With these words, I turn to Flann. The principal doesn''t say anything in response as if contemplating the right answer. Before he can find it, we already teleport away and back to Arkaim.

 Chapter 145.3 - Gravitation

    The silver plate flies off my control halfway across the room and hits Korenga in the head. It bounces off harmlessly without the towering woman noticing the hit, but she still stops her meal to look around in surprise at the sound of impact. Luckily, there wasn''t anything on the plate, or it would have scattered across several people.


    "What are you trying to do?" Aurelia glares at me disapprovingly. For a moment, I think she''s talking about my lack of table manners and about hitting Korenga. Then I realize that my choice of object to train with has a deeper meaning than I would have ever considered.


    Is she worried that I''m encroaching on her territory of telepathic object manipulation but with silver instead of gold? Or is that her way of making a joke?


    "Gravity." I reply with a shrug and flick a finger at the plate that landed on the table behind Korenga, causing it to fall upward. Then, with another flick, it moves toward me and accelerates. Catching it in my hand, I look at the small dent left behind by the hit to the Black God''s temple.


    Senka taught me a bit more about the physics of gravity. For one, it moves at the speed of light, which is also the reason a black hole''s gravity can stop even light from escaping. But she also explained the concept of inertia, which works even in the vacuum of space. That''s what causes an object with mass to start slowly and accelerate over time, instead of having the same instantaneous burst that light has.


    To be honest, she said that there''s no way to teach me everything about gravity in a matter of days or even months. In my time, it took physicists years to learn everything humanity knew at the time, and there were still many things unknown to science.


    For now, I can only practice what I already know. Before heading to Armeria to find Asoko and my children, I''ll visit the Khurut desert and experiment with gravity on a massive scale there. It will be practice for when I try to slow down the moon and have it get caught by Earth''s gravity again.


    We discussed through the night how Chaos-Juzual might have caused the moon to fall at the speed that it did. According to Senka, even at a full stop of its angular momentum, the moon should take about five days to drop onto Earth. But to achieve it in thirteen hours would have needed some means of acceleration.


    Maybe the Witch of the End had a deep understanding of gravity. It would explain how she was able to make Aurelia and me zoom through space when I first met her, and then again when she sent us back to Earth. With our tiny mass and no air resistance, we accelerated so quickly that it felt instantaneous.


    "This is what will bring the moon back under control." I drop the plate in my hand, but before it reaches the ground, I reverse the gravity acting on it. For a split second, it floats in midair as if weightless, but then quickly accelerates toward the ceiling. I catch it out of the air and get the strange feeling of the weight tugging upward rather than downward before I undo the gravity on it.


    Unlike the telepathy-like control that Aurelia has over gold, gravity requires much more effort to make it move as intended. For all intents and purposes, all it can achieve is momentum in a single direction at a time. Complex movements would need an insane amount of fine-tuning of vectors that I''m simply not capable of. I think no living being could achieve that with the limited calculating capabilities of their brains.


    "Gravity, huh?" Exla comments while leaning back on her floating cloud chair. Her huge fluffy hair is a reflection of the morning sun''s orange glow illuminating a band of clouds from below. Even though we''re in a room without windows, her hair is like a screen that shows only the most beautiful of skies. "The Juzual I know didn''t have much of an imagination. All she was ever able to do was seemingly erase things from existence. Nobody understood how she did it, but that''s why she fit the concept of the Witch of the End."


    "Erase?" I place the plate on the table in front of me and ask with an interested gaze.


    "Maybe her imagination wasn''t as weak as you thought it was." Senka suddenly chimes in and speaks with her arms crossed. She glances at me, then returns her gaze to Exla. "The Imagination Engine uses the thoughts of its users to converts the sun''s energy into phenomena on Earth. As we all know, E=mc2-"


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    "You lost me there." I raise my hand, only to be shut up by a glare from the doll girl. I''ve heard that formula before, but I have no idea what that means.


    "Energy can be converted to mass and vice versa." Exla takes over the explanation, deliberately putting it into simpler terms for me to understand. I appreciate the sentiment, but I also feel somewhat belittled by a girl that looks a lot younger than I do - even if she''s much older. "But nobody has ever achieved that through imagination alone-"


    Suddenly, the cloud girl stops and turns to Tokomaha, who is eating without following our conversation. She notices the eyes on her and looks up with a blank expression before it turns to confusion when she sees Senka and me staring at her as well.


    "What?" She swallows her food and asks, unaware that we only now realized just how incredible her feat of stopping the moon truly was. She used the Imagination Engine to turn energy from the sun into mass. And when she was done, she turned it back into energy. After all, there isn''t a massive pile of new dirt where she grew to titanic proportions.


    It''s the same principle her clones are made by; the little earth she always uses could never make up for creating physically complete bodies of her size. They seem to be more of a mental catalyst for her than the actual ingredients.


    I inadvertently break out into a smile when I find myself appreciating just how incredible the little goddess is. Not only can she make plants sprout, create clones of herself, and grow to the size of the moon, but she may have given us the key to the creation of matter itself.


    "Are you making fun of me for something?" Growing irritated from confusion, Tokomaha frowns at me. I only shake my head and keep my smile on, causing her bushy eyebrows to furrow even more.


    "So you''re saying that Juzual was able to erase matter by turning it into pure energy?" Exla doesn''t sound too convinced. She always prided herself as the one with the most potent imagination among the Old Humans - or at least the most flexible. To realize that she considered Juzual to lack imagination even though she achieved what nobody else could at the time must be shocking.


    "And vice versa." Senka adds. "Maybe that''s how she stopped the moon''s orbital velocity and used that energy to push it toward Earth."


    "That means one should be able to do the same in reverse. Stopping its momentum away from Earth and using that to propel it back along its regular orbit." The cloud girl scratches her chin and theorizes with a thoughtful expression.


    This talk is already beyond me. All I can tell is that they''re on their way to finding a solution to this celestial problem. But does that mean I don''t even need to use gravity for that? If Exla can figure out how to do that energy to mass transfer, she should be able to not only recapture the moon but also stop the solar winds.


    "So, you got the solution?" I ask the cloud girl innocently. But she only spins her head to me with an annoyed expression.


    "If you can help me sift through a million scientific papers to find the right ones that explain the mass-energy formula in a way that I can understand, I''ll do it." It''s the first time she''s talking in a tone about as sarcastic as Senka''s. "This isn''t something you study in a few days."


    "I learned gravity in a few hours." Demonstratively launching the silver plate on the table before me into the air with a gesture of my hand, I state with a shrug.


    "Then you should stick to that plan." Senka mocks me with a cynical shrug. "I''ll help Exla with that other problem then. Call on us in a few decades to see if we''ve figured something out."


    "Alright, alright." The sarcasm pelts me like hail, and I duck under it apologetically. "I get it already. This isn''t something that will be ready for the solar winds or the moon''s escape."


    I look across the gathered girls, who watch our exchange in confusion. Korenga doesn''t seem to care and continues to eat her meal, but the others have stopped and seem to be trying to understand what we''re talking about. Especially Tokomaha is still peeved about my earlier behavior and furrows her brow again.


    Then my eyes fall on Kamii and Hestia. From here on out, things are getting way out of their league. This isn''t even a matter of the power of their imagination anymore. Even Exla and Mataku, who had millennia to experiment with the Imagination Engine, are incapable of overcoming problems on this scale.


    Only Chaos-Juzual, who specialized in mass-energy conversion, could pull off the moonfall. And Areteniha, a scientist working on a station near the sun and with direct access to the root system of the Imagination Engine, is most likely using a manual approach for the solar winds.


    All I can do is hope that my imagination for gravity will prove strong enough.

 Chapter 146.1 - Toward Departure

    "I''m only going to get Asoko and my children. You don''t need to all come with me." I argue with a long sigh. Kamii and Hestia are clinging to one arm each, not wanting to let me go without them. "I''ll be back right after."


    I returned from the Khurut Sultanate just now from a successful experiment in grand-scale gravity manipulation. If I can do it at the scale of everything up to the horizon, I can expand it to everything I can see as well. That should work for the moon and the solar winds.


    They were peeved when I left without warning right after breakfast and came back a few hours later. I only took Flann with me, just as I did when I visited Thorvadis to learn the principles behind gravity. But when I said that I would go on to Armeria to pick up Asoko and the others, Kamii and Hestia jumped me at the same time.


    "Either we go together, or you''re not going anywhere." The little dark elf says while snapping her pincer dangerously. She told me that as long as she doesn''t miss, her curse combo doesn''t reset. Apparently, it''s based on something as vague as her intention to unleash the power and the relative speed at which she hits something.


    In other words, double the striking power that pulverized a large part of Oinos is now waiting to be unleashed. On me, if I refuse to bring her along with me. She knows it won''t kill me, which is what she''s counting on.


    "We will no longer leave your side." Hestia pouts, her red eyes glaring at me intently from below. Her breasts are pressing against my arm and giving me a fuzzy sensation, but I have to stop myself from floating away on them.


    "Alright, but we''re not going there for fun. We need to go to the Rhodos station as quickly as possible." I glance at Rolan, who''s waiting with his group in the background. Next to them are Kamii''s party, which looks on with wry smiles.


    They all know that this situation is far out of their hands. Kamii stands out among her companions due to her curse, and even then, it was a miracle that allowed her to land that hit on Oinos. Space isn''t a place for those who can''t survive in it without a protective suit, so I won''t be able to take them with me even if we''re going to a space station that will undoubtedly have an atmosphere inside.


    Right now, the only people who can accompany me are Aurelia and Korenga. Asoko and my children should be able to help out as well, so I''ll have to shake them from the most likely peaceful lives they lead in Armeria for this, hopefully, final battle against the Old Humans. After that, only Mataku awaits.


    "Aren''t you forgetting someone?" Exla floats by in front of me. Kerry is sleeping with their head resting on her lap, seemingly unperturbed by the noisy surroundings.


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    "Yeah, I guess all of us are going on a field trip then." Shaking my head and heaving a long-suffering sigh once again, I give up. I only want Flann to find Asoko and the twins, and then return here right away. It shouldn''t take more than an hour, so bringing everybody might delay us more than necessary. But they''ve all made up their minds now.


    After a bit of preparation, Flann teleports the whole group to Kairaki first. We left without taking care of all the devils still fighting in the city, and the upside-down flying fortress was also still hanging in the sky at the time. I just assumed that with Oinos gone, they would get routed or flee.


    When we arrive on the terrace of the pyramid, the first thing I find is that Alverost''s fortress is still there. The city below is still burning, but there are no longer sounds of battle raging all around us, and I can spot people using buckets to try and put out the fires. The damage is extensive, with the parts gouged out by Ame-no-Murakumo remaining like scars on the land.


    It seems that with Oinos gone, the reinforcements from above stopped soon after. Still, having that thing looming over their heads must be an oppressive feeling for the people. Not a single god of Adanak is capable of bringing it down with their powers, aside from maybe Roamukao. But he''s not someone they would want to summon in the capital.


    "[Who are you?!]" The two guards standing at the door of the terrace point their spears at us and shout in surprise. But then they see Korenga, and their eyes widen. As with Aurelia before, they recognize the Black God, though for different reasons.


    "[How is the situation in the city?]" I walk up to one of the men and ask in a commanding tone that leaves no room for arguments.


    "[The enemy has been wiped out! The gods are discussing how to remove that thing.]" The other one I''m not staring down replies quickly while pointing at the flying fortress above us. He seems to understand my position instinctively and doesn''t dare question my authority, fearing later punishment for lack of respect.


    "[We will take care of that. Tell Mereana I said hi.]" Growing more casual, I smile at the guard and turn to my companions. "We''re taking over that ship."


    With both Oinos and Alverost gone, nobody is in control of the devils anymore. Maybe I can find some useful technology on that ship, and possibly even make the devils work for me instead. It didn''t seem like they possessed much in the way of intelligence, so I''m not holding my breath. If they attack us, I''m going to eat them, though.


    "Can you find the command center or bridge?" I ask Flann, who closes her eyes for a moment. Then she opens them again and nods hesitatingly. It seems she isn''t sure whether or not the place she found is the right one.


    "I found the place most likely to be the command center, but detect no life signs on the entire ship." She explains her hesitation, and I look up in surprise. They couldn''t have all died since yesterday, could they? Maybe there was infighting over lack of food, or just due to general confusion, but that shouldn''t end in every single one dying.


    "Let''s go." I give Flann a determined look before turning my gaze to my companions with a sigh. "Get ready for a battle... again."

 Chapter 146.2 - Toward Departure

    When we warp back into reality, I find that the room Flann teleported us into is immaculate and devoid of any signs of struggle. It''s a command center more than a bridge, as instead of a window to the outside, it has a massive screen filled with smaller windows that show footage of the city below at various angles.


    Much like in the mission control center in sci-fi settings, each desk has its own computer terminal, displaying data that looks like gibberish to me. The chairs are in various positions, but each one is empty.


    "What happened here?" I look around for clues as to where the crew disappeared to.


    "Mataku." Korenga states in a grim tone after sniffing the air. "Was here."


    I smack my forehead and sit down on one of the chairs. He most likely came through here after I killed his artificial Crawling Chaos scout. Or he did it after he lost half his mass to me on the moon. In either case, I let this happen because I thought that maybe the ship had already left before I killed Alverost. Or that the gods of Adanak might have found a way to deal with it.


    It was my neglect that allowed Mataku to possibly regain some of his lost mass. If I''m lucky, he did it before we met on the moon. But at least he didn''t take the ship with him, even though he most likely knows how to use it.


    "You''re up." I stand back up and shrug off the feeling of regret before addressing Exla. Maybe I could somehow figure out how the controls work, but I''d rather not do so when I''m above a city with a million inhabitants. If I accidentally hit the reverse and made it drop, it would be a catastrophe rather than a joke.


    The cloud girl nudges Kerry awake, who looks up with sleepy eyes behind their helmet. A moment later, they realize where they are and jump up in apparent shock.


    "It''s alright. This isn''t the Rhodos station." Exla quickly puts a hand on their shoulder and calms them down. "This is one of Alverost''s fortresses. I believe he called this a Mu-class Seed Ship. He always mentioned wanting to leave this planet once he created the perfect form without a need for the Imagination Engine."


    She''s talking about Oinos in particular. To me, he was already close enough to perfection. Regeneration, godlike physical capabilities, indestructible bones, able to survive the vacuum of space - he had it all. The only step above that would be a Crawling Chaos beyond a certain threshold of mass. I think Mataku most likely achieved that before I took away roughly half of it.


    "So, he wanted to bring his values to other planets, huh?" I mutter to myself more than as a question directed at Exla, but she seems to overhear it.


    "I would have stopped him. We don''t deserve other planets if we can''t make this one work first." The cloud girl''s expression grows dark at these words. I don''t entirely agree with that sentiment, but won''t argue about it right now.


    We just averted an extinction event and are about to prevent another one. Exla herself said that she couldn''t have done anything about the moonfall on her own, and most likely, none of the other Old Humans could have either. If not for the existence of Tokomaha and me, this world would have been destroyed, and humans and demons alike with it. If Alverost had left this planet and seeded another one before then, human and demon culture could have at least lived on wherever he went.


    I think I might want to try doing that once all of this is over, and peace returns to the world.


    "So, how does it look?" Looking at Exla not moving at all, I ask her with an eyebrow raised. In fact, since I called her, she has done nothing but to sit down on one of the seats in the command center.


    "I''ve interfaced with the ship. No lifeforms outside of us remain here. Everything else in perfect working order, as expected of Alverost." The cloud girl''s eyes reflect the screen in front of her, but she isn''t looking at it. Her gaze seems distant as if seeing far beyond the scope of this room. She must be using her cloud-like properties to connect to the circuits directly.


    "Can you steer it? And how fast does it go?" I inquire while crossing my arms thoughtfully. The sister ship that appeared over Arkaim flew away relatively quickly, but it wasn''t at a speed I would consider fast enough to replace the Chaos jet. It''s just more imposing to ride in this.


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    "We can reach the sun within the Earth day. But that only applies to space travel. Inside the atmosphere, it''s much slower." Exla explains while nodding and closing her eyes. She seems to have discovered a newfound respect for Alverost. "He really did it. What sci-fi predicted a long time ago, he built all on his own. Of course, with some help from the Imagination Engine."


    "What do you mean?" There isn''t much time for lengthy explanations, so I''ll have to stop her if she starts throwing formulas at me.


    "Well, I read that he has an inertia damper and impulse thruster on this thing. All that''s missing is a warp drive for faster than light travel." Instead of formulas, she throws out words I don''t understand. I was never that big on science or hard sci-fi, so those mean nothing to me.


    "In simple words, please." I tap my arm impatiently.


    "Alverost found a way to reduce or completely negate the inertia of this huge ship. That is, we can accelerate and decelerate quickly without feeling any of it inside here." After a pause to gather her thoughts, Exla tries again while looking up at me. But even this is hard to wrap my head around, so I''ll just nod. "And he''s using a thruster that allows us to travel at a considerable fraction of the speed of light."


    "So, this ship can go fast, huh?" That''s all I take away from this. The first part doesn''t click with me much.


    "Yes, this ship is speedy." There''s evident sarcasm in her voice, but the cloud girl knows that I''m only a reincarnated high school girl who knows nothing of science. "But I hope you realize just how incredible this is."


    "I don''t really." I shrug. Areteniha can travel from the sun to the surface of the Earth at the speed of light, so going there at only a fraction of that seems not much of a feat.


    "I know what you''re thinking. But she''s a cheat." With a frown, Exla sees right through me. I don''t understand how one can cheat the Imagination Engine any more than it already is a cheat, but she gives me the answer right away. "She has a real-time copy of herself in Earth''s orbit at all times. A human''s mass can''t travel at the speed of light, but information can. Whenever she comes down here, she really is only making a clone descend from a space station with her memories."


    "So when she appeared over Arkaim yesterday..." I scratch my head when I remember that a lens was all it took to disperse her.


    "That wasn''t even a clone, but a projection from orbit. But that''s what allowed me to find the space station the clone comes from." Pumping her fist in triumph, Exla grins. "She will have to deploy a new one if she wants to know what''s happening down here."


    "That''s news to me." She never told me the result of her search.


    "Not worth mentioning. It was a small station with a cloning capsule and some laser systems. A shuttle bay for drones that created the illusion of a voice from the sky." Shrugging, the cloud girl suggests that it really wasn''t something worth troubling me over. I''ve had too much on my plate to also worry about smoke and mirrors.


    "Wait, does that mean..." I glance at Kerry, whom Korenga is entertaining by letting them dangle from her muscular arm. The Areteniha that appeared after eight and a half minutes once Kerry put on the Golden Shawl was only the clone who waited that long to give the illusion that she came from the sun? It wasn''t even their real mother at the time.


    That''s cold, coming from a woman living near the surface of the sun. And to think I considered her one of the few Old Humans who aren''t evil; I was as thoroughly fooled as her own child. But at this point, I don''t think she''s ever going to stop seeking revenge for her son. All that''s left to do is get this over with - in one way or another.


    "Well, let''s head to where Asoko is." I look into the room and gesture at Flann to come over. Then I turn to Exla once again. "Can you steer this to Arkaim? But park it somewhere away from the city."


    "It''s going to take a few hours. As I said, it doesn''t fly as quickly inside the atmosphere as it does in space." She nods in assent but feels it necessary to explain the limitations.


    "Can''t you just space-hop?" The fact that I even know this is a miracle in itself. I''ve seen something similar in a game before, where an ICBM was fired into space, where it could travel faster than inside the atmosphere. It cut down the time it took for a nuclear missile launched from Russia to reach the US by more than half.


    The cloud girl stares at me wide-eyed as if I just came up with something outrageous. Then she closes her eyes and sighs once before turning to her console.


    "That''s why you''re senpai." With a wry smile, Exla states with a hint of admiration in her voice. Does that mean it works, and she simply didn''t think of that?


    "[What about you?]" I ask Kerry, who drops down from Korenga''s arm and looks at me in surprise. "[Are you coming with us or staying with aunt Exla?]"


    I feel a death glare bore into my back, but act as if I don''t notice it. It''s harmless banter between us at this point, or so I''d like to think. And truthfully, Exla is not only millennia older than I am but is definitely the more mature one when she wants to be.


    "[I want to come with you.]" But to my surprise, Kerry walks over to me and looks up into my eyes almost pleadingly. It seems that being inside Alverost''s ship is uncomfortable for them, and when Exla is busy steering, she won''t be able to entertain her as Korenga did.


    "[I understand.]" Petting their helmet, I give the onyx-skinned child a warm smile. "See you in Arkaim then, Exla."


    With these words, I glance at Flann and signal her to teleport us wherever my other half is located. And according to her, this time, it should be the real Asoko as Mataku destroyed all the artificial Crawling Chaos drones. I''ll believe it when I see it.

 Chapter 146.3 - Toward Departure

    Space warps back, and we stand on a beach, looking out toward the ocean. I spin around on the spot and see Aoranam village sprawling before me. Even without my Chaos senses picking up the number of lifeforms, I can tell that it has grown to more than twice its size since I left it. There are many people I don''t know working in front of their houses - former slave soldiers who stayed here when we set off toward Kairaki.


    Among them, I spot Awhina with her mother, who stare at us with open jaws. Seeing the tall and brown-skinned beauty, I nearly forget my objective here and move to rush toward her. But standing just a dozen steps to her right, out in the open communal square is Asoko in the dark-skinned appearance she had when I first met her in the Khurut Sultanate. She''s teaching a boy around six years of age how to tie knots, not yet noticing my presence.


    "[Chaos!]" A familiar deep male voice calls out to me, and I turn in the direction of its owner. It belongs to Rangi, father of Awhina, chief of the village, and local protector god. "[What brings you back here?]"


    "[Rangi! You make it sound like I''m not welcome here!]" In the end, I hesitated to decide on whom to call out to first and had the decision made for me. Well, we parted on a friendly note, so everything should be alright with Awhina. On the other hand, I''m not sure how Asoko will react to being told that she''s needed at the front lines again. She came here to retire from wars and all.


    "[Oh no, you are always welcome.]" He scratches his head in embarrassment, then smiles wryly. "[But Awhina said you left, never to return.]"


    "[I didn''t say I would never return! There was just a lot going on in my kingdom.]" That''s a huge understatement, but I don''t have much time to tell him everything right now. First, we need to take care of the solar winds; then I can come back here for a vacation someday. "[Did you see the God of Growth yesterday?]"


    I vaguely point in the direction of where she would have been visible in the far distance if they had seen her. The massive continent of Armeria is roughly halfway around the globe from Ceogath. But I''m not sure where exactly the Adanak kingdom and this particular village are located since there are no maps that also include the rest of the world. Maybe she was just over the horizon, and they completely missed the moonfall.


    "[Isn''t she with you?]" Pointing past me, Rangi gestures at Tokomaha. The two never met, as far as I''m aware, but Awhina must have told him about her companions.


    "[Chaos!]" Speaking of Awhina, she runs across the square and calls out to me.


    Asoko overhears the demigoddess calling me and spins her head around in surprise. When she sees me, her eyes widen, and she drops the rope in her hands to walk over as well. But before that, Awhina reaches me and embraces me vehemently.


    "[I thought we would never see each other again.]" Separating from me, the demigoddess half a head taller than me looks me in the eyes with a warm expression. Then she seems to remember something and looks up. "[Tahiri, come here! Chaos has returned!]"


    I freeze up at the mention of the God of Storm. The last thing I remember of her is her beautiful form sprawled out before me on my bed with her daughter Aratio next to her. And then the sense of loss when they were gone the next morning, without so much as a note.


    Suddenly, a thunderclap echoes across the cloudless sky, and I realize that she just escaped. I fly up into the air and scan the horizon using Nymphy''s eye template. Only this way can I barely spot the lightning disappearing toward the west.


    "[Oh no, you''re not getting away!]" I mutter to myself while jumping to supersonic. Exla explained that the mass of a human can''t ever reach the speed of light, so even if Tahiri is in lightning form, she''s not moving as quickly as actual lightning. At least I think that''s how it was when we traveled from Arkaim to the Dark Continent to find Exla.


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    Or maybe she wants to be caught, as I seem to catch up faster than expected. It''s hard to make out where exactly she is inside the lightning bolt shooting across the sky, so I spread out my tentacles in an attempt to grab her from many sides at once. But she suddenly changes her direction at a sharp angle to elude my grasp.


    "[You really don''t want to see me again?!]" I shout after her, but realize that she''s moving faster than the speed of sound.


    Thus, the chase continues, as we fly across the ocean, travel over land, instantly cross mountains, and break through the clouds. I don''t know how long we''ve been going at it, but she has turned on the spot several times, trying to lose me with a surprise maneuver. Each time, I''ve caught up within moments, only for things to repeat.


    But this time, I have a plan. As I come close enough to catch her, I activate the Imagination Engine Inhibitor. We''re high enough above the sky that there''s nothing for her to crash into, so I can do it without worrying about her safety.


    The lightning dissipates in an instant, and from within a naked Tahiri tumbles upward into the night sky. I instantly catch her and pull her inside my body. We''re at an altitude where the cold temperatures and lack of oxygen could prove deadly after all. Gravity catches me, as the inhibitor also causes me to become unable to fly without using wings.


    I let myself fall below the clouds before spreading Hestia''s wings and slowing myself down. Then I pull Tahiri out from inside me and carry her like a princess. She shivers in my embrace, though I don''t know if it''s because of the cold she was subjected to for a moment or her rediscovered fear of mortality in her powerless form. It''s similar to what Aurelia went through.


    "[Why did you run? Did you really hate it so much that you didn''t want to see me again?]" I look at the God of Storm''s face, only to find tears in her eyes. She quickly turns away and hides her face between her hands. It was such an unexpected sight that I''m rendered speechless; this is the first time I''ve seen her this vulnerable.


    "[No, it''s...]" Tahiri mutters and trails off, but I don''t try to make her continue. It''s best to give her some time to catch herself.


    But time passes, and she still can''t look me in the face to continue. I adjust her in my grasp and force her to turn to me. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are swimming as if the emotions are running wild inside her mind.


    "[What is it?]" I''m beginning to worry about her state of mind and ask with an eyebrow raised. She shakes her head but remains silent, quietly requesting a little more time. I continue to glide across the sky on Hestia''s wings, scanning the landscape with my eyes to find out where we are. We went from a place that was late afternoon to one of early morning, meaning we traveled a pretty long distance in our chase.


    "[I was afraid to stay.]" Tahiri finally turns to face me, an unexpectedly cute pout on her lips that makes her look almost childlike.


    "[Why?]" Is all I can ask. She could survive getting turned into mist by Zenlith, so what was there for her to fear?


    "[... don''t make me say it.]" She averts her gaze again, her cheeks even redder than before. I''m growing more and more confused, and it seems she notices that with her sideways glances. Then, seemingly becoming annoyed by my lack of comprehension, she turns to me and frowns. "[I thought that if I spent another night like that with you, I wouldn''t be able to live without you! There, I said it! You fool!]"


    And she slaps me across the face before crossing her arms and turning away completely. I just stare at the back of her head with my mouth ajar, my mind overloaded by her confession.


    "[You are the fool!]" I shake her and shout, causing her to turn around in anger.


    "[What?! How dare you-]" But she stops when she sees my expression. I can feel the tears running down my face, as relief overcomes me.


    "[I thought something had happened to you, or that you hated me for something I did.]" I squeeze her to me and bury my face in her shoulder. "[You should have at least come to visit after cooling down.]"


    "[... that, I could not do.]" The voice next to my ear sounds grave, and I separate from her to look into her rainbow-colored eyes. Her blush of embarrassment has all but faded, and there''s only clarity in her gaze. "[Mataku approached me with a proposition I could not refuse.]"

 Chapter 147 - Time of My Life

    Tahiri left because she was scared that she would lose her freedom and bind herself to me. Aratio simply did it on a whim because that''s the kind of goddess she is. But the mother had to force the daughter back several times during their journey, or she would have returned to me for another hot night.


    In the end, they arrived in Adanak within a few days and decided to find Mataku. The Primordial Terror had left on his own accord after our battle in the throne room of Kairaki palace, but it didn''t mean he wouldn''t appear again soon after. As one of the universal gods of Adanak, Tahiri had the duty to stand against him if he should try to realize his ambitions of consuming the world.


    But he appeared before her with the help of Mithra and made her a proposition. If she helped him in a particular research, he would leave this planet forever. Of course, she didn''t believe him and attacked, but her lightning had no effect on him. As a Crawling Chaos, he could adapt to it just as I did.


    Ultimately, he held Aratio and her two brothers hostage. The Tahiri from before we met would probably have fought to the death even with their lives on the line. But she couldn''t do so anymore after getting involved with human emotions once more. Bowing to him to save her children, the God of Storm agreed to help Mataku. But if she ever discovered that what he was trying to do would bring doom to the world, she would rather die than help finish it.


    To her surprise, he asked her to provide power for a machine resembling the one Rapania used to create an artificial Crawling Chaos. He used corpses of humans and animals, injected with a small piece of him, as the base for the experiments. At first, she thought that he wanted to create an army of clones for himself. However, whenever she finished one, he would lock himself inside a room with it for a while.


    When he emerged from it, the corrupted creature was always gone without a trace. Then he would ask her to make another, repeating the process. It seemed that he was trying to confirm something, possibly their abilities or completeness.


    In the end, she helped him make nearly a hundred of the monsters, growing more restless with each one. At one point, a dozen of them were locked inside glass containers while he spent increasingly more time experimenting with one at a time. But it seemed that Mataku achieved a breakthrough one day. She would never forget his face as he laughed from the bottom of his heart, crying tears of joy.


    It terrified her.


    With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the God of the Storm and her children, almost as if they were an afterthought. He had no more business with them, and it was clear that he didn''t even care if they would try to stand against him again in the future. Tahiri, not one to run away with her tail between her legs when told to do so, wrecked his hidden research lab with an indoor thunderstorm before leaving.


    "[That was the last time I saw him. He never appeared before me or my children again.]" Concluding her story, Tahiri averts her gaze as if ashamed of bowing to Mataku''s threats rather than fighting him to her last breath.


    "[I know what he was trying to achieve.]" I state with a thoughtful tilt of my head. He used the Crawling Chaos spawns to practice how to overpower one of his kind, just as Flann told me. It seems he learned how to consume one from the inside, as he did with Chaos-Juzual on the Moon. That could be an ability with which he could even defeat the Outer One.


    That''s when the full extent of Mataku''s plan dawns on me. He wants to consume this world and be called back to the Outer One, at which point he''s going to eat him from the inside. The Primordial Terror would be able to replace a cosmic god and become an untouchable existence himself.


    And I''m pretty much the only one who can prevent that from happening. Defending this planet against the Outer One''s seed every few millennia is one thing, but if Mataku takes over, this entire universe will be at peril.


    I can turn myself into the size of a mouse by compressing all the matter inside me into the other dimension that is my stomach. I''m sure Mataku knows that trick as well, so he could enter this dimension through one of the tears created by the Imagination Engine. He wouldn''t be limited to sending through a fragment of himself to do his bidding; he could pass through all at once and consume as he pleases.


    "[What is it?]" Tahiri asks with her eyebrows drawn into a frown. I realize that I wasn''t explaining it but only putting things into thought.


    "[Another time. It''s not important right now.]" I shake my head and give the God of Storm a warm smile. She blushes slightly at my doubtlessly charming expression and averts her gaze. We''re flying through the sky with me still carrying her, enjoying the nightscape illuminated by the still massive moon. It''s a romantic getaway with just the two of us.


    "[So, what did you come here for? Aren''t you the queen of your own nation?]" Finally, Tahiri''s voice breaks the windswept silence of our flight once more. She sounds sulky but not at all unwilling to remain in my embrace.


    "[You may have missed the God of Growth stopping the moon when it was falling from the sky.]" If she was in Aoranam for the past few days, she must have missed it. "[And we had a battle with Mataku on the moon.]"


    Tahiri only stares at me blankly, unsure what to make of what I just told her so casually. She didn''t notice that the world was about to end.


    "[Oh, and Areteniha is going to destroy all life on this planet in three days. That''s what-]" When I get to this part, Tahiri''s whole body begins to shake, which causes me to stop in surprise.


    "[WHAT?!]" Finally, finding the word she was trying to say, the God of Storm lets her emotions burst out straight into my face. So that shaking wasn''t from fear but growing bewilderment. "[What did you do for her to react like that?]"


    "[We... killed her child.]" It''s hard to admit this when she''s already so upset, but she would have found out sooner or later anyway. "[Ah, not Aorutihaua.]"


    "[I didn''t know she had any other- it doesn''t matter... WHY?!]" For a moment, Tahiri seems to calm down, but another wave of panic overcomes her.


    "[He was Alverost.]" I reply in a matter of fact tone. For a moment, I wanted to compare him to Rapania, who killed many humans in her experiments to help Mataku create an artificial Crawling Chaos. But I already told her about all the Old Humans when she came to the Dominion with me, so she knows what he has done. Hearing that name, she turns thoughtful instead.


    "[How can we stop the God of the Sun?]" Regaining her composure, Tahiri stares at me in all seriousness. I smile at the fact that she so naturally included herself with that question. But this affects everybody on Earth equally, and I''d be happy for somebody with an imagination as powerful as hers to join us in this battle.


    "[We''re going to the Sun and stop her there.]" When I put it into words like this again, it just sounds so absurd. It''s as ridiculous as that one movie where they fly to the Sun with a nuclear bomb to make it shine brighter again. "[As you know, these godlike powers are created from a machine on the surface of the Sun.]"


    Tahiri had a hard time accepting that fact when she first learned about it, but it ultimately changed nothing about who she is. Others, such as Tokomaha, were similarly unimpressed, to the point where it didn''t even affect how they use their powers. If she were limited by the common sense so ingrained into me, she would have never been able to grow herself to nearly the size of the Moon to stop it.


    "[I came to Aoranam to get Asoko and my children.]" I finally answer her earlier question. She must have already gotten acquainted with my other half as they were in the same village for who knows how long. One part of me considers the possibility that Asoko may have put the moves on her, too.


    "[So I was right in my assumption that this Asoko is like you.]" Tahiri tilts her head to look at my face at a different angle. My other half looks like me, but she has black hair and dark skin, which may hide our resemblance at first sight.


    "[She''s not just like me. She''s another me.]" We both know Tokomaha, who makes many clones of herself, so I have to elaborate at this point. "[Not like the God of Growth. Asoko is half of me but with a soul that is a copy of mine.]"


    Tahiri remains silent, looking at me curiously. It''s a difficult concept to grasp for anybody, including myself. Asoko and my children are a strange case, as the one other time I was split into several pieces, I maintained control over all of them through one mind. Maybe the distance made the difference, or my understanding of my body did.


    "[Anyway, I want their help in this battle on the Sun.]" I conclude my explanation. Among everybody that I know, I can trust those three the most to be able to fight alongside me even when the Imagination Engine is shut off or damaged in the battle.


    "[What is your plan?]" She finally poses the dreaded question. "[Let me guess, you have none.]"


    "[You haven''t even given me time to answer!]" I cry out against the unfair treatment, but she puts a hand on my cheek. Her charming smile blows away my indignation.


    "[Knowing you, we will simply charge in and crush the opposition with overwhelming strength.]" But her words don''t match the feeling her expression is conveying to me. Only somebody with as much life experience as Tahiri can look and sound so innocent while making such a sardonic remark. "[Do you think this will work on the God of the Sun?]"


    "[I don''t know if anything will work on her.]" What I do know is that beyond a certain level of power, nuances achieved through tactics and techniques go out the window. Oinos won against everything with overwhelming strength, and it was the same that beat him in the end. "[But for the sake of this world, we have to try.]"


    "[I don''t know if I can be of help.]" Unexpectedly, Tahiri speaks words of weakness. But it takes me only a split second to realize that with the Imagination Engine gone, all the godlike beings around me would become mortal humans. Aurelia, Tahiri, Tokomaha, Exla, and, most likely, even Korenga would be rendered powerless and turn into liabilities in a battle.


    That means we have to make sure not to shut down the machine unless everybody is safe. According to Exla, all of Alverost''s inventions, as well as the demons he created, are viable without the powers of the Imagination Engine. Beings that were conceived through imagination alone are a different matter though; fire and frost giants were created by Kanundra and Zylos, with no scientific basis. They would cease to exist immediately.


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    But I''m sure some demons have come to rely on a specific ability granted through the Imagination Engine that they couldn''t survive without it anymore. In other words, destroying it is only a solution when we have exhausted all others.


    "[It should be fine.]" Mustering my determination, I show her a confident smile. To prevent doubts from rising inside me, I change the topic. "[I''m going to return your powers. Don''t run away again, alright?]"


    "[I promise nothing.]" Tahiri smirks mischievously, causing my heart to skip a beat at the sight. Tearing away my gaze from her, I grow a tentacle to input the unlock pattern on the inhibitor device on my wrist. It seems that the difference is immediately noticeable, as the God of Storm begins to float under her own power.


    "[Let''s go back to Aoranam.]" I look up into her fascinating rainbow eyes and grasp her hand. She squeezes mine in return as if to affirm that she will stay by my side. Maybe it''s just my impression, but it seems as if she''s saying that it won''t be only for the foreseeable future either.


    In the next moment, we turn into a streak of light across the night sky.


    "[So romantic.]" The twins call out to us and whistle. We descend from the sky with our hands still interlocked, but all the attention doesn''t compel Tahiri to let go. When I glance at her, I find that she even appears to be pleased to be viewed that way. Maybe she''s proud of herself for being able to admit her true feelings after all this time.


    I''ve seen several new sides of the God of Storm today, and I''ll cherish those memories forever.


    "[So, why are you here?]" Asoko gets straight to the point. She speaks in the Adanak language but still has a thick accent. Is that what it sounded like when I barely spoke it back then?


    "[I need your help.]" I answer in kind. The maids that left the castle with her are gathered behind her, glancing up at me shyly. Not all of them are present, but I''m sure that they''re alright. They aren''t able to contribute this time, so they should stay here until Asoko''s return.


    "[What for?]" She asks in a brusque tone. I understand that she came all this way to escape from the fighting and the dangers to those she loves. To have me appear before her like this not long after she left must come as an annoyance.


    "[This is the final battle.]" With certainty in my voice, I present her with what awaits us. "[We''re bringing the fight to the last remaining Old Humans. After that, there will be peace.]"


    I doubt that there can ever be lasting peace in a world where sentient beings live, but since I''m an immortal deterrent, I should be able to help it somehow. As long as no more people with godlike powers try to pull strings and make nations fight each other for sport appear, things should turn out for the better.


    I''m also leaving out the fact that Mataku is still out there. But who knows when and if he will strike anytime soon, and where that will be. At that point, I''m sure Asoko will be ready to fight once more when called upon.


    "[What was that about the Moon falling?]" My other half glances at Tokomaha, whose ears perk up at the mention of her godlike feat. It seems that the little goddess has been going around town bragging about it, but is now eagerly waiting for me to tell the story once again.


    "[Juzual turned out to have fused with the Primordial Crawling Chaos from which our mother was born. She made the Moon fall toward Earth, but we stopped her.]" I give her the short version as I''m sure Tokomaha already gave her the long one. The little goddess looks disappointed that I didn''t even mention her name. "[But our issue now is that we have a solar storm heading this way. According to Senka, nothing will survive if we don''t stop it.]"


    "[So we go in, beat up those responsible for it, and force them to cancel their doomsday device. Then we kill them.]" Putting her hands on her hips, Asoko states as if it''s the most obvious course of action. It seems she optimistically thinks that this is the usual simple problem with the usual simple solution. Tahiri chuckles behind me at the realization just how alike we are, but I don''t give her the satisfaction of turning around and rolling my eyes at her.


    "[That''s the plan. But our opponent is the God of the Sun. False god she may be, her ability to control the Sun to some extent is quite real.]" I''m the last person who likes to rain on my own parade, but I have to present the facts. If we mess it up, only my newly-acquired grand-scale gravity manipulation, which I''m not entirely confident in, will be able to save this world.


    "[So, how are we getting to the Sun?]" Ignoring the concerns, my other half asks for the next step of our plan.


    "[We have a spaceship waiting for us in Arkaim. It''s going to take us there in a day.]" I''m glad that she''s quick on the uptake; she''s me, after all. It saves us a lot of time when I don''t have to explain the details to her since she already has some prerequisite knowledge to grasp the issues we face.


    "[That''s cutting it close, isn''t it? Won''t we have to circumnavigate the solar storm?]" Suddenly, Asoko brings up a point I didn''t consider before. I look up at the glaring sun as if trying to gauge how wide this storm is, but it''s obviously a pointless endeavor to do so from Earth.


    "[Then I''ll help us push through using my gravity control.]" I may not be confident in stopping the entire storm with it, but if it''s covering the size of Alverost''s spaceship, I should be alright. "[Anyway, let''s go.]"


    "[Are you leaving already?]" Awhina asks with a sad expression on her face. We''ve been here for maybe half an hour, and all I''ve done is speak to Asoko and my children.


    "[I promise to come back when this is over. Then I''ll spend a few days here. I hope you''ll cook for me then.]" With these words, I bridge the few steps between us and hug her. The demigoddess is half a head taller than me, so I nestle into her neck. She smells nice, like the flowers that grow on the cliff from which she first showed me Ototawa island.


    "Death flag." Asoko mutters behind me, but I ignore her. I''m well aware of the fact that my words are a bona fide death flag, but we''re not in a story here. We will defeat Areteniha, stop the solar storm, and end the reign of the Old Humans once and for all. After that comes Mataku, and when there is finally peace, I will be able to take some time off for myself after all these battles.


    I separate from Awhina and leave to gather my companions, who have scattered throughout the village. They already know the details of this mission to the Sun and don''t understand the Adanak language anyway.


    The first I find is Kamii, surrounded by curious children captivated by her crab pincer. I see one of them carrying a living crab, seemingly comparing the animal''s weapons to the little dark elf''s. She maintains a neutral expression, not at all flustered by the attention. When she sees me, a slight smile appears on her lips, which blows me away. After all the time we have been separated, I love her more than ever.


    Secondly, I spot Hestia standing at the beach, looking out toward the sea. Everybody is keeping a respectful distance from her, the aura of majesty that surrounds her acting like an invisible shield. But I break through it, as I did when I first met her, and put a hand on her shoulder. She turns her head and meets my gaze with her crimson eye - the other one hidden under her bangs as always. Her ethereal smile sets my heart aflutter, as it has always done and always will.


    Next, I find Aurelia with my children. The two are making a fuss about her golden skin and hair, touching her arms to check the feeling of her skin with sparkling eyes. I would have expected her to get angry with them, but she only watches them warmly. Maybe she''s thinking about what it would be like to have children of her own. When she looks up at me, her golden gaze captivates me just as it did when we first met as enemies. I may be the ruler of the Dominion, but she''s my queen.


    When I send the five back to the village center and go to find Korenga, I realize that Tokomaha has joined me on my walk at one point. With her amber eyes, she scrutinizes my expression, then stretches out a hand to grasp mine. She started as a bratty tsundere who didn''t know how to express her feelings. But over time, she has become a loving companion who always tries to show me her best side. Squeezing her hand in silent affirmation, I continue.


    Korenga has turned into a living jungle gym. Children are climbing all over her, and she''s laughing with them. Seeing her like this, I can''t bring myself to tell her that we have to leave. She went through so much pain in her life, so I would love to leave her here where she can have peace. But I know that as long as Mataku is still out there, her curse of rage will rear its head again to destroy her happiness. When I resolve myself and walk over to her, she puts down the children and meets me halfway with a determined grin.


    Finally, we make our way back to the village square in front of Rangi''s house. I see just in time as Tahiri accepts a gourd of alcohol from the towering land god. This brings back memories of how I accidentally challenged her with alcohol the first time we met. It began with duels to the death and ended in a relationship of mutual trust. With the misunderstanding out of the way and her true feelings laid bare, we have now officially become lovers.


    With everybody gathered, I say my farewells to the villagers, thank Rangi and Ruiha for taking such good care of my children, and turn to my big sister, Flann. She nods with her usual emotionless expression, and in the next moment, we disappear in a vortex and reappear on the terrace of Arkaim castle.


    "Took you long enough." Exla''s voice booms down on us from the sky, and I look up to find Alverost''s floating city looming over us. I hear panicked voices in the streets, so she couldn''t have been here for long enough to explain that this isn''t another attack by the Old Humans. And I even told her to park it away from the city.


    "Everybody is here, huh?" I hear Senka behind me and turn around to find Rewera carrying her on her arm like a porcelain doll. The giant maid uses a hand to keep the doll girl from falling off and bows to me.


    "Welcome back, Your Majesty. I have sent out the Maid Corps and the garrison to calm down the citizens." When she rights herself, her piercing red gaze bores into me. I shrink under it, well aware of the reason for that glare. "You should have warned us that You would bring that here."


    She doesn''t need to point up for me to understand what she''s referring to. But this isn''t even my fault! Exla forgot what I expressly told her before we left for Aoranam. I need to have a word with the cloud girl about this. For having what is essentially the entirety of the Internet saved inside her brain, she seems to have trouble retaining small but essential details.


    "We''re leaving right away." I stretch out my hands, and immediately understanding what I want, the maid leader hands me Senka. Suddenly, Uten and Saten pop out on my two sides and stare at the doll girl with glittering eyes.


    "What''s that?" Saten asks in a delighted tone.


    "What''s that?" Uten repeats after him.


    "She''s so cute!" They declare in unison and reach out to grab Senka.


    "Gah! Now there''s two more of them!" She complains with apparent aversion written on her face. I hug her to my chest and turn away from my children, whose expressions immediately falter.


    "She''s mine." Snuggling the doll girl, I stretch out my tongue in a mischievous gesture. Then I run away from them, compelling the twins to chase me.


    "I''m nobody''s but my own! Argh!" Senka struggles in my grasp but is too weak to escape me, as always.


    "No fair!" Uten and Saten complain as little children would about an older sibling getting a bigger portion for their meal.


    "Can we get going?" The doll girl grabs my face to force me to focus. I stare into her big blue eyes for a moment, then give her a heartfelt smile that seems to catch her by surprise. "What''s with you?"


    "Just remembering the good old times." Hugging her, I look across the faces of my companions. When I was reincarnated, I was thrown into this unfamiliar world all by myself. Senka was the first person out there whom I felt I could trust. And after I met her, I made so many friends and lovers.


    "We''re coming as well." Suddenly, Rolan''s voice declaring from the doorway of the terrace pulls me out of my reverie. It seems that he has fully embraced advanced technology, as he wears something like a sleek spacesuit. The mechanical arm that the gremlin maid Kleihn gave him is exposed so that its functions can still be used. Gram, Svanhild, and Halthor standing behind him wear the same kind of suits, tailored to their different sizes.


    I anticipated that they would want to come along, as Shelnir kidnapped Luna with a message directed at them to go and get her back if they can. Under different circumstances, I would consider them a burden, but they were the ones who brought down Alverost. Of course, there were special conditions involved in their victory, but they bring the right amount of determination to make use of such situations when they present themselves.


    "Just make sure not to get in my way." Turning away from them and toward Flann, I answer Rolan with a silent smile to myself. Senka may be the person I first trusted, but he and his party were those who made it possible for me to meet her in the first place. No, it was Luna in particular; if I hadn''t followed her that day, I would have never found Lady Nightwane''s store.


    Everything that happened in this world led me to this point. All the lovers, allies, enemies, and everybody between them made me who I am today. I have to be grateful to the opposition I faced, which forced me to grow beyond myself. Now, I''m standing at the last step before becoming the most powerful being in this world. Once I do, I can protect those important to me.


    "Let''s go." I raise my head and look at Flann before declaring with a confident grin. "Let''s take down the Sun."

 Chapter 148 - The Queen Pelomyx

    Of course, it wouldn''t be as simple as flying straight to the Sun with the members present. We may be nearly twenty people in our little core group, but Rewera declared that she wouldn''t let me go if I didn''t take an escort from the castle.


    For the first time, the maid leader herself declared her intent to travel with me. She argued that the floating city is like a reflection of Arkaim, so if I''m staying on there, the Maid Corps should be coming as well. Since my return, they have received extensive schooling in utilizing the Imagination Engine, so they should be a force to be reckoned with.


    "Thirty-seven combat maids and twelve support maids. With this, we can finally contribute to Your Majesty''s fight." Tallying the numbers as they board the shuttle that Exla lowered to the courtyard, Rewera speaks in a proud tone.


    Kleihn''s technological expertise is an outlier, but the others do bring some useful skills for the journey, such as cooking and operating the easier-to-control devices on the ship. Surely, they can learn how to fire the turrets in case we encounter enemies in space. If nothing else, they can be eye candy.


    We''re flying into the belly of the beast, so I''m putting their lives at risk. But whether it''s up there with me or down on the ground away from the fighting, there''s no way to avoid danger. If something happened to them, I would blame myself endlessly either way; however, it''s easier to protect them if they''re near me.


    "Shuttle A12, we''re ready to receive you." When we fly up to the main hangar in Alverost''s spaceship, Exla''s voice calls us over the speakers. I''m sure she''s having fun reciting all those sci-fi lines, but I think it makes sense to have communication standards in these situations. Although she''s remotely controlling the vessel that we''re flying on, so it''s not even necessary to talk to us.


    This is the first time I find myself in the extensive hangar, and when I step off the shuttle, I see the countless fighters and bombers stacked up in bays ready to be launched. The former have a triangular design, resembling arrowheads with the cockpit located near the ends of the ships. The latter look like fatter versions of the fighters. Coming from someone so focused on designs, Alverost appears to have slapped those together for functionality over form.


    But there are also a few unique ships, both smaller and larger ones, parked in the very back of the hangar. Those must have a specialized role or could be Alverost''s hobby. There''s no sign of any mecha, though, so the one I destroyed over Arkaim must have been a one-time design.


    "What''s this? What are those? What''s that?" Kleihn runs past me and asks while pointing at everything around her with glittering eyes. She''s not addressing me in particular, but I do feel compelled to reply to her.


    "You can take anything that isn''t fixed to the floors or the walls apart. Just put them back together afterward." I pat the gremlin maid''s short and spiky green hair, careful to avoid the welding goggles she wears in place of a maid''s frilly bow. Her large animal ears twitch under the sensation, and she turns to me with widened eyes.


    "Really, Chaos-sama?" She asks for confirmation, and I nod in affirmation. When I do, she jumps up and down in joy before running off into the hangar with an ecstatic expression. Being a gremlin, Kleihn has an exceptional affinity to machines, with the ability to analyze them while taking them apart. She can tell how things work with one look at how the parts fit together and is unexpectedly good at explaining it to others afterward.


    She should be able to school the other maids in how to operate the fighters and bombers, although we don''t have much time for them to learn about it sufficiently before we''ll reach our destination.


    "Why aren''t we teleporting there with Flann?" Senka asks me this very valid question while she walks down the ramp among the maids.


    "Because we don''t know what we''re getting into." I reply right away with a glance at my half-sister. She''s as emotionless as always, not even raising an eyebrow at the question. "Flann may be able to see where we''re going, but she doesn''t understand the technology. For all we know, we could end up getting teleported right into an airlock or a containment room."


    "Fair enough." With a shrug, the doll girl turns away and heads for the bridge as if she already knows the layout of this ship. When she arrives at the bulkhead leading out of the hangar, it opens automatically to reveal Exla on the other side.


    "Everybody, come with me. I''ll show you to your quarters." Raising her hand to get everyone''s attention, the cloud girl declares with visibly suppressed excitement. She must be having a lot of fun with this. "I need to talk to you on the bridge afterward, senpai."


    "Huh, why can''t we do it now?" I ask, tilting my head in wonder. The bridge, although more like a command center with over consoles, isn''t a very private place.


    "Well, it''s official business, so I''d like to do it in its proper place." With these mysterious words, Exla turns away to guide the band of maids to their rooms. Our trip will only take a day there and another back, so it''s not a journey that requires so much preparation. I think the cloud girl is just indulging in her hobbies.


    "Kleihn, come along now." Rewera calls out to the gremlin maid, who is lost in wonderland and doesn''t even hear the maid leader. "If you don''t come, you won''t know where your room is."


    "It''s fine." I raise a hand to stop Rewera. "I''m sure she''s not going to stay in her room for even a moment."


    Looking at me for a second, the maid leader then shifts her eyes to the gremlin maid. She''s running from one side of the hangar to the other, close to tears because of the overwhelming amount of new technology surrounding her. I''m sure that she will have figured every single vessel out by the end of the day, and will be able to come up with new designs by tomorrow.


    "As you wish, Chaos-sama." With a bow and a rare wry smile, Rewera agrees to give Kleihn free rein.


    "Make sure to listen to Exla''s explanations well. Knowing the girls, they won''t, so you''ll have to teach them all over again afterward." I stop the maid leader from leaving with these words. She turns to me with a neutral expression - the one she puts on when listening to instructions. "Especially the safety measures and how to wear pressure suits."


    "Pressure suits?" Rewera wonders with a slight tilt of her head.


    "Space is a dangerous place. There''s no air, so if you get thrown outside the ship and don''t wear a suit, you will die." With a serious look on my face, I explain the dangers that await those who haven''t mastered the Imagination Engine. I know that some people are alright in space because they already did that before. But until I can be sure that the maids are ready, I will have them be prepared to put on suits at any moment - if not outright make them wear one at all times.


    "Understood, Chaos-sama." The maid leader bows before me to confirm my order. She''s the most diligent of the Maid Corps, so I''m not worried that she will hammer this fact into their brains by the end of the hour.


    "Alright, you come with me." I gesture at Rolan and his group. Since they''re already wearing spacesuits, I''ll show them around the most important places on the ship. Luckily, everything is relatively concentrated around the bridge - the rest of the flying city appears to consist of growth vats, housing blocks, training facilities, and storage spaces for the devils, which we won''t be using. "And don''t separate from me. You''ll get lost in here."


    The core group is gathered on the bridge. Asoko and my children are each sitting at consoles on one side, and my girls are on the other. I''m in the elevated captain''s chair, looking at the main screen the way a commander would. It shows a graphic that projects our travel route, although there isn''t much to see since we''ll be going on a nearly direct line toward the Sun.


    "I called you here to make an important decision, senpai." Exla appears to have taken on the role of the helmsman, sitting in the swiveling chair right before me. Her console has switches none others have, including levers and even a small steering wheel. I don''t know how useful that is on a massive ship like this, but maybe the command center can be detached in an emergency.


    "What is it?" I ask, shifting my gaze to the cloud girl.


    "The name of this ship. We can''t keep calling it Mu-City 02." She replies while waving her hands around her in a grand gesture.


    "I don''t think we called it that even once." I reply with a raised eyebrow.


    "I think you should be the one giving her a name." Exla refers to our temporary troop carrier for the attack on the Rhodos station as if it were a woman. But that instantly gives me an idea.


    "Queen Pelomyx." I declare, knowing that I''m going to develop an unhealthy attachment to this ship that we captured from the enemy. After all, I have to honor her name and can''t let it be destroyed in battle now. Rewera, who has been standing behind my seat all this time, shifts her position with an audible rustle of her clothes.


    "The DSF Queen Pelomyx, then?" Smiling warmly at my decision, Exla confirms with me.


    "DSF?" Tilting my head, I try to figure out what that''s supposed to mean, but the moment I ask, the answer becomes apparent. "Ah, Dominion Space Force, huh?"


    "This is the first ship in the force, but surely, more will be added down the line." Crossing her arms, the cloud girl asserts with confidence. She has no doubts that we''ll overcome this doomsday event and live to thrive afterward. "The Queen Pelomyx has an energy-mass conversion bay. It''s big enough to build two destroyer class ships a day."


    "That will have to wait for after this battle. It will take more than a day for anybody to learn how to steer a ship, let alone operate it well enough for battle." Scratching my chin, I consider the implication of having a 3D-printer that can churn out several spaceships a day. It''s safe to assume that the Rhodos station has several such energy-mass conversion bays. Even if Areteniha started now, she would be able to meet us with a whole fleet.


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    "Well, for now, let''s toast on the naming of The Queen Pelomyx!" Changing the subject, Exla turns around to her console and speaks into it.


    A moment later, the doors to the bridge open automatically, and a dozen demon maids enter carrying trays of tall and slender glasses filled with a sparkling yellowish liquid. Given the occasion, it''s most definitely champagne.


    "This is from my personal vineyard on the Dark Continent." The cloud girl announces proudly while the maids walk between us and wait for everybody to take a glass. Keiza heads straight for me, her mousey appearance sticking out between all the beautiful demon girls.


    "Chaos-sama." She holds out her tray toward me while avoiding my gaze. I know that the dragonewt maid is quite cute underneath her gray bangs, and she only ever asserts herself when she''s clad in flames. Taking the glass from her tray, I pet her hair with a smile.


    "Thank you, Keiza." With these words, I turn away from the furiously blushing maid and look across the room. Everybody has a drink now, although I spot Tokomaha sniffing hers with suspicion while Korenga already finished hers. She can understand the language we''re using, but most likely didn''t get that this is in celebration of naming the ship we''re flying on.


    With a wry smile, a maid with several glasses left on her tray goes over to give her another one. It was good thinking, as the moment she comes into range, the Black God takes a glass and downs it in one go as well. I wonder if she even has time to taste the champagne, but it brings a smile to my face.


    "To The Queen Pelomyx!" Exla leads the toast while raising her glass. Those who understood the contents of our conversation do the same, while those that had some trouble following it only do it upon observing the others. Among them is Tokomaha, who glances around with a skeptical look on her face.


    "To The Queen Pelomyx!" I repeat after her and drink from my glass. This is the first time since coming to this world that I''ve had a sparkling drink. It''s also the first time that I''ve had champagne, but even I can tell that this tastes pretty good.


    Moments later, everybody has finished their drinks, and the maids begin to clean up the glasses. Exla gestures at everybody to sit down in their various seats as if giving out their roles in the command center. I think she should be the executive officer, but she appears to like her position as the pilot. Considering she''s the only one who can do it, she''ll most likely have to take on several jobs at once.


    "Now, captain. Please do the honors." Sitting down in the helmsman''s seat and looking forward, the cloud girl speaks in a ceremonious tone.


    "Alright, Helmsman Exla, take us to space." I play along with her and put on a commanding air while pointing forward.


    "No, no, not yet. First, you have to ask for the status of everything." Looking over her shoulder, Exla objects to my jumping the gun.


    "Alright, alright." I raise my hands. I was never big on sci-fi, so I don''t know much beyond what I may have glimpsed on television in my previous life. "All stations, status report."


    "Sensors are clear." Hestia announces from in front of a console that features several screens, including a large circular one that must be a radar. She''s playing the sensors operator then, although I have no idea when Exla taught her what to do.


    "Engines green." Tahiri is next, acting as the chief engineer even though she should be the last person fiddling with the technology. If she unleashes her lighting, everything will short-circuit.


    "Weapon systems ready." Uten and Saten declare in unison, sounding very happy about the existence of weapons on this ship.


    "Everybody strapped in and awaiting command." Tokomaha, most likely in the capacity of the tactical officer, announces while looking straight ahead. As the person who can single-handedly provide an entire army''s worth of landing troops, that''s a fitting role for her.


    "Route plotted and ready to go." With unexpected seriousness in her demeanor, Senka contributes to the little game. Her stitched fingers fly across the keyboard before her, and the big screen changes from the graphic displaying our flight path to show the exterior of the ship. It''s either an external camera feed or an actual window.


    "Helmsman Exla, punch it." Finally, I get to say my line. Acting as if the previous hiccup never happened, I raise my finger and point ahead toward the sky above.


    The cloud girl presses a few buttons on her console and pushes a lever forward. With a barely noticeable jolt, The Queen Pelomyx begins to move. The outside view is shifting, with the clouds coming closer but then disappearing underneath us. We''re quickly gaining in altitude.


    Space, here we come.


    "This is..." Rolan mutters while staring at the main screen. We have left Earth and the Moon behind us now, and it displays a rectangular cutout of space with the bright sun before us. Exla put a filter over it to dim its luminosity, and a screen could never be as bright as the actual sun, so we can look at it without burning our retinas.


    "Incredible." Gram completes the leader''s sentence. Everybody is captivated by the view, except for Aurelia, Exla, and me. Each of us has been to space before, and while I do enjoy the scenery, it brings back some memories.


    Tokomaha stood outside the planet''s atmosphere, but she was too busy worrying about the Moon to have enough time to look around. She''s looking at the screen with her mouth hanging open. The same goes for Korenga, although she was on the side of the Moon facing Earth - and in Black God mode.


    I see a hint of anxiety in Kamii''s gaze when she realizes that outside is a hostile environment that will kill her in seconds. Exla has been using the 3D-printer meant to print ships or spare parts to make custom spacesuits for everybody that needs them. They should be done in a few minutes, and then I''ll be able to breathe more easily.


    "From here, we can''t see the solar storm yet." Senka mutters while staring at the small monitor before her. She appears to be putting different filters over what we see on the main screen to determine what we''re dealing with. "It must be traveling within the corona of the Sun."


    Uten and Saten are leaning over her backrest to watch her work, fascinated by the moving horror doll and her suspiciously quick operation of the console. I noticed it earlier already, but she''s doing it as if she''s completely familiar with the system.


    "It''s going to be a few more hours before we come into contact with the approaching storm. Exla will inform us when the time comes." I walk up behind Senka and lift her off her chair. Her body goes limp like a ragdoll, but she turns her head to glare at me. It causes me to smile at her apologetically for interrupting her work. "I need to talk to you."


    Most people are still captivated by the view outside, so they don''t notice me walking out from the bridge. Uten and Saten understand that I want to be alone with Senka, so they stay behind and fiddle around with the keys on her console.


    "What did you want to talk to me about that we had to be alone for it?" As we walk down the corridor outside the door from the bridge, the doll girl asks me while still in my arms.


    "Your origins." I squeeze her to my chest and nuzzle my face into her hair. She shows no reaction to my implied question for a moment, but then sighs.


    "If you want to know whether or not I''m an Old Human: I''m not." Senka realizes that seeing her use the technology of this spaceship with apparent ease is the reason for my sudden interest in her past. "I''m also not a reincarnated person, and neither am I an alien lifeform."


    "Then, what are you?" I turn her around in my hands to face her.


    "A deus ex machina." She replies with her head tilted, a sarcastic grin on her slit mouth. "I was added to this world as a convenient tool to tell you about all kinds of things that would be hard to find out otherwise."


    For a moment, I stare at her with a frown. But when her grin fades and gives way to another sigh, I realize that this must be a difficult topic for her.


    "I used to be a human in a universe with superhumans and magic-like abilities. Not through technology like in this one, but phenomena unexplainable through physics." For the first time, she goes into detail about her past, and I listen quietly so that I don''t miss a thing. "I died, and through a grudge, I came back to life with some neat new abilities."


    She''s talking about the fact that she can ingest blood to kill somebody remotely, move stealthily like a ninja, and use telepathy to speak to people. I always thought that it was a strange combination of skills for a person who looks like a beautiful doll that was maimed by a troubled mind.


    "That universe ended, but I continued to exist. I became something else." Staring at me with her big blue eyes, Senka speaks as if she''s about to reach the conclusion of her story. A few seconds pass with our eyes remaining locked to each other''s before I blink in confusion.


    "Wait, that''s it?" I ask with an eyebrow raised in disbelief.


    "Well, you can read-" Senka begins to reply, but suddenly, an alarm sound plays through the invisible speakers inside the ship. The regular white light is replaced with red emergency illumination, causing the doll girl and me to look around, alerted.


    "All hands to battle stations! Enemy fleet on an intercept course!" Hestia''s voice drowns out the alarm.


    "Captain to the bridge!" Exla adds hastily before the feed cuts off.


    "We''ll continue this later!" I shoot Senka a quick glare before putting her under my arm and running back the way we came. When we enter the bridge, I find that all those who can''t survive in space are wearing spacesuits now. It would appear that the 3D-printer made it just in time for a battle.


    The big screen has been changed from the outside view to a three-dimensional display of our position in relation to the approaching enemy fleet. I don''t know how far they are from what''s shown, and the numbers don''t tell me much either. But I guess that it''s close enough that it warrants the alarm.


    "What are we dealing with?" I put Senka down and quickly sit in the captain''s chair. It''s an ironic role since I''ll be the one to head into battle first, but I suppose when I do, Rewera can take over. Asoko and my children will be accompanying me, as will Aurelia and Exla - all those who could otherwise assume a leading position when I''m not around.


    "Two carriers, four battleships, and sixteen destroyers. They''re the automated Venus fleet." The cloud girl replies while the graphic zooms in onto the enemy ships. I see Senka working at her console, quickly analyzing each ship class by cycling through them one after the other. Maybe she''s coming up with a countermeasure already.


    "Automated, huh? So I don''t even have to feel bad for destroying them all." Not that I would have if they had been operated by Alverost''s devils or even humans specially trained for the task, as in the spherical battle station above Zohigal.


    "They were made as a precaution against any attempts to go to the Rhodos station. Maybe somewhere around the world, a civilization could have reached that level of technology without their knowledge after all." Exla explains while pointing at the big screen. "This is only a small detachment patrolling halfway between Earth and Venus. The full power of the Venus Orbital Fleet is a hundred times that."


    I blink my eyes at this revelation. Even if the new civilizations of Earth reached the spacefaring stage again, they would start with simple satellites and manned rockets. That small detachment is already overkill against that level of technology. What were Alverost and the others expecting to prepare a hundred times that?


    "Bring it on." I put on a fearless grin. With everybody that is on board this ship, I don''t feel like we can lose. And according to Exla, The Queen Pelomyx should be the most advanced vessel that Alverost ever built. After all, it was his last-ditch effort to free Zenlith and regain control over the world. If he had brought the Venus Orbital Fleet, things would most likely have ended differently, though.


    "Let those robots see the overwhelming firepower of The Queen Pelomyx!" Uten and Saten declare in excitement. The maids and a contingent of Tokomaha clones have already gathered in the weapons control center. They can remotely operate the revolving laser turrets and long-range railguns from a safe place just underneath the bridge.


    "They''re outside our effective range." But Exla puts a damper on their tension, causing them to blink their eyes a few times. "At this range, they will use-"


    "The enemy is scrambling fighters!" Hestia interrupts the cloud girl.


    "That." Exla gestures at the angel girl''s statement. "They will first determine what we came here for. If we can''t provide the correct answer, they will attack."


    "And I assume you don''t have it." I cross my arms with a thoughtful gaze at Hestia. Her spacesuit comes with a cover for her wings, which consists of segmented armor plating sporting boosters all over. I think those were made with movement in space in mind. "Then we''ll bring out our own fighters."


    I stand up from the captain''s chair and look at the fallen angel and Aurelia in turn. They both understand what I mean and nod with confident smiles. Asoko and the twins stand up from their seats as well, cracking their knuckles in anticipation.


    It''s time for a space battle.

 Chapter 149 - This Is Sci-Fi Now

    It has been a while since I was last in outer space. Back then, it was only Aurelia and I, on our way to the Moon with seemingly no way to return to Earth. This time, we''re voluntarily emerging from the safe environment of the spaceship to engage a drone fighter squadron coming toward us.


    "Can you hear me, senpai?" Exla''s voice speaks into my head. In reality, I have a communication device buried inside me, with a tiny bit of the antenna sticking out the back of my head. Since I don''t need a suit, I have no atmosphere around me. It would make verbal communications difficult, but I came up with this solution in the end. Asoko and the twins did the same, while Hestia wears a helmet.


    "Loud and clear." I reply by speaking with a mouth on the inside.


    "The Queen Pelomyx has no shielding, so when the battle begins, try to keep the enemy away from her." The cloud girl explains.


    "It''s the most advanced ship Alverost has ever built, but it has no shields?" Frowning even though I know Exla can''t see it, I inquire in a doubtful tone.


    "Force fields are science fiction, senpai." She rebuts me in a sassy tone that borders on matching Senka''s. I hear a loud ''hah'' coming from the doll girl in the background. I''ll tickle her to half death when I return to the command center after this battle.


    "Why not shield using the Imagination Engine then?" Force fields are science fiction, but turning imagination into reality is not, huh? While talking, I change the composition of my eyes to alternate between ultraviolet and infrared. In the latter, I spot the heat signatures of the approaching drones, flying in perfect formation to each other.


    "Because the Venus fleet uses inhibition field generators in their missiles." Exla replies in a grim tone. Alverost used an experimental handheld version with a relatively large radius, but according to the cloud girl, these devices had never achieved a radius beyond half a meter before.


    "Do their fighters have them, too?" Half a meter is more than enough for any missile to pass through shields put up with the Imagination Engine. The best way to counter them would be with point defense then, but for a ship as needlessly large as the Mu-City class, it has surprisingly little in that department. It was meant as a carrier more than anything, it would seem, although it does have plenty of large-scale weapon systems.


    In a world ruled by the Imagination Engine, I would expect that the Venus Fleet has plastered every inch of its vessels with inhibition field generators. It''s what I would have done.


    "Not that I know of. But in that case, you have conventional weapons." Exla replies vaguely. Alverost''s handheld device was a technological breakthrough, but the Venus Fleet is working with older technology that might not be as convenient as I imagine them to be.


    I zoom in on the approaching fighters with the Fata template, then switch off the infrared sight. That''s when I realize that they''re stealth vessels that blend almost entirely with the starry background of space. It''s going to be hard for Hestia to spot them, especially with her weakened eyesight.


    "Hestia, stay close to me." I switch the channel to a private line with the fallen angel and look behind me. She''s flying with her wings folded, a stream of light trailing behind her from the jet engines built into the wing covers.


    "Are you worried about my eyesight?" She asks in a warm tone, catching me off-guard with how well she saw through my thoughts. "Don''t worry, Onee-sama. My helmet adjusts everything for me. I can see them clearly."


    I don''t know if this is a technology that was already present on the ship or something Kleihn cooked up before she boarded, but it''s impressive, to say the least. Logically thinking, the customized wing covers are the gremlin maid''s doing, but I can''t be sure about the HUD-enabled helmet she''s wearing now.


    "Well, I''m worried about you in general." I turn over mid-flight and look back at her. She should be able to see my face as I give her a wry smile.


    "Please watch how strong I have become." Hestia replies in a confident tone. I can''t see her face through the helmet, but I can tell that she must be smiling.


    "Fighters are changing into attack formation." Asoko suddenly blares through our communication channel, causing me to shift my gaze to her. Uten and Saten are flying in a delta formation with her, but break off upon those words.


    "They have recognized us as enemies." Exla announces. "Our own drone fighters are no match for the Venus Fleet, so all they can do is serve as distractions."


    "I didn''t even know we had any drone fighters." I turn my head and find a swarm of small fighter jets getting into an echelon formation in front of the Queen Pelomyx.


    "They fly on autopilot rather than with the AI that the Venus Fleet has. These were designed for piloted flight after all." The cloud girl explains, doubtlessly shaking her head and shrugging while doing so. I wonder if Alverost had planned to teach devils how to fly them.


    "Incoming!" Uten and Saten speak in unison, and I transform the top half of my face into Nymphy''s template. With some adjustments, I have a vast field of vision alongside infrared vision and nearly slow-motion perception.


    In the next moment, a volley of missiles separates from the enemy fighters. They''re still several dozen kilometers away when it happens, but within just a few seconds, the swarm of deadly payload flies past us at breakneck speed.


    "Asoko, Uten, Saten, take out those missiles!" I point back to the Queen Pelomyx.


    "Roger!" All three reply in unison and bring out the fighter cannons that they stored inside their bodies from their arms. Since the Imagination Engine doesn''t work on the warheads, they need to use conventional weapons.


    "Hestia, follow me." I look at the angel girl flying behind me through my nearly three-hundred-sixty degrees'' field of vision. She nods and raises her arms mid-flight, summoning a massive array of black spirit spears. The only reason they''re visible is that my sensitive eyes pick up the star-studded cosmic backdrop, and those shards of darkness blot them out completely.


    Coming to a stop and spreading her metal-covered wings, Hestia launches the projectiles like a massive shotgun blast. The spirit spears shred through the approaching fighters, and more than a dozen silent explosions light up the space before us.


    "So they don''t have inhibition field generators protecting their hulls." I mutter to myself before raising my arms just like Hestia and summoning a massive array of spirits spears while she brings up the second barrage. This should make short work of them all.


    As the two of us release the spirit spears in a dense shower of light and darkness, the enemy fighters try to break off to the sides. But even if the spears are slower than the speed of light, they''re too fast for the relatively large fighters to dodge. Aside from a few at the outer edge, they scatter into explosions that light up even the fleet of larger vessels behind them.


    That''s when I notice the carriers spewing out squadron after squadron of new enemies. The thirty or so vessels we destroyed were nothing more than an initial scouting detachment. When I think about it, the scope of the Venus Fleet is just too grand. If all of them came down on us at once, we wouldn''t stand a chance.


    Behind me, Asoko and the twins shoot down the missiles one by one, with the drone fighters of the Queen Pelomyx helping as best as they can. I think not having automated point defense turrets is a serious design flaw in such a huge ship. Still, I suppose Alverost never considered the possibility of facing an enemy with an equal level of technology.


    Several missiles make it through the barrage and the self-sacrificial drones ramming into them. They impact the front of the massive Queen Pelomyx, gouging holes into its hull. The damage isn''t substantial enough to warrant alarm, but that was only a few warheads. It will be catastrophic if a whole barrage hit.


    "Destroyers and battleships are firing!" Exla''s voice pulls my attention back to the front, where a blinding volley of plasma and laser shots explode from the Venus Fleet detachment. As the projectiles fly silently through space, they illuminate the vast fleet of fighters and bombers coming our way.


    "You can shield against those, can''t you?" I ask the cloud girl while suppressing the doubt in my voice. Energy weapons can''t have inhibitors built in, so she should be able to put up a shield with the Imagination Engine.


    "I just wanted to make it more dramatic, senpai." In an apologetic tone, Exla replies. I can imagine that she''s sticking out her tongue while averting her gaze. When I get back, I''ll smack her on the head for this.


    "Hestia, we''re going for their capital ships." I create a spinning array of spirits spears around me, then grow out a plasma cannon on my left and an autocannon on my right hand. The latter is conventional weaponry from the Queen Pelomyx.


    "Understood." Folding her wings, Hestia follows my example and creates a mass of black spirit spears that fly with her. Speeding up with a violet burst from her boosters, she stays close to me.


    The enemy fighters unleash a barrage of missiles aimed at our carrier rather than at us. Maybe we''re too small for their targeting computers, or they will use their autocannons to get into a dogfight with us. In either case, this time, there will be several hundred missiles heading for the Queen Pelomyx.


    "I got this, Onee-sama." Hestia suddenly declares while shooting past me. She draws the long spear in a holster on her back and holds it in both hands before inducing a spin in her flight.


    In the next moment, a thin red laser shoots out from the tip of the spear, which neatly cuts many of the missiles into pieces. They explode, causing a chain reaction with the others in the vicinity. Still, at least a hundred more make it through, but it''s back on the level of what the second line of defense should be able to handle. The laser disappears after only a few seconds, most likely needing to recharge for a moment.


    "Why didn''t you use this from the-" I begin to ask, but then watch Hestia turning the spear''s center section and drawing it apart to expose the internal mechanism. It ejects a glowing-hot rod from a chamber - spent ammunition. Then she pulls out a small relay baton-like rod from a holster on her thigh before inserting it into the spear. I had been wondering what those were when we left the hangar, but now I know.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "I have nine more shots." She declares, and I can imagine the wry smile on her face. She could have brought more, but there aren''t many other places she could reach so quickly on her body. "Don''t worry; I have other weapons."


    Now I''m looking forward to finding out what those are. That laser spear must be Kleihn''s invention, as Old Human technology is more advanced than that. But she''s on the right track if she can make something on that level already. I assume there weren''t any sufficiently powerful handheld weapons Hestia could have carried into battle with her, so this is good enough.


    "Incoming!" I point forward, where the enemy fighters are converging on us. They must have determined that with us here, their missiles will be rendered ineffective, so they''ll take care of this nuisance first. Without inhibitors around the ships themselves, they don''t pose much of a threat to us, though.


    Suddenly, two autocannons on each vessel shoot at us, unleashing a storm of bullets in our direction. With Nymphy''s slow-motion perception, I can tell that they''re tiny and won''t have inbuilt inhibition field generators. I raise a light shield in front of me, and Hestia follows suit with a translucent black one. The bullets hit a second later, pelting them like vertical rain. The shields flicker on each impact but hold out effortlessly.


    Then the fighters pass us by and spin around on the spot. Unlike an aerial battle in an atmosphere, there''s no drag to take into account. And without living pilots, they can perform high-g maneuvers that would kill a flesh and blood human with impunity.


    Hestia spreads her wings, which light up violet, just like her jet exhaust. The massive metal covers over her individual flight feathers give her a powerful rather than a graceful appearance. As the light reaches its maximum level, dozens of beams of light fire from her wings in every direction.


    Brilliant fireworks of exploding drone fighters occur all around us. The dark angel adjusts her feathers and wings ever so slightly, the high-intensity lasers cutting through the space around us like a multitude of blades. Unlike the laser spear, she appears to be able to keep this up for much longer.


    Within less than a minute, half the enemy fighter fleet is reduced to scrap. Finally, Hestia''s wings stop emitting lasers, and she folds them again before charging forward in a burst of violet jet exhaust. I quickly follow her as she heads for the main fleet. The remaining fighters attempt to engage us in a dogfight, even though there''s no point in doing so in space.


    As I fly, I loose spirits spears behind me that shoot down our pursuers. Hestia swings her laser spear around, releasing short bursts that cut through fighters trying to intercept us from the sides. In a luminous dance of death, we leave behind a trail of muted explosions as we make our way toward the two carriers flanked by four battleships and sixteen destroyers.


    Even now, the carriers continue to spew out fighter squadrons. As we approach, I realize that they aren''t big enough to house even half as many vessels as they''ve already expelled. They must have matter replicators that use the Imagination Engine to keep creating ships.


    "Those two first." I speak to Hestia through the communications device in my head and point at the carriers. As with the small fighters, I doubt they have inhibition field generators. I''m sure Alverost assumed that whoever made it this far either used vastly inferior technology or utilized the Imagination Engine as a crutch. Both would have been obliterated by the first volley of missiles already.


    We make our destructive way through the fighters and bombers firing at us from all around. Sometimes putting up shields, switching between conventional weapons and magic at others, we cut a swath through the enemy fleet. Finally, we''re close to the carriers, when I notice that the small vessels emerging from their bowels have changed shapes.


    One of the carriers is making robotic copies of me, and the other of Hestia.


    "Get these cheap dolls out of here!" I roar while flying forward, surrounded by a sphere of plasma. Burning holes through the copies that get in my way, I head straight for the center of the carrier before me.


    Hestia can''t do the same, but instead gracefully dodges her robotic clones while shooting her wing lasers. Like a certain angel-winged mecha, she single-handedly breaks through the line of lesser machines meant to replicate her. Finally, she makes it to the carrier and spreads her wings before creating a shield around herself.


    I blast right through the core of my target and emerge from the other side. Secondary explosions that erupt into a chain reaction confirm that the carrier is going down. I then turn to look at Hestia, who bends her wings forward like two giant hands. Their tips move and align before lighting up violet. In the next moment, she shoots out a focused laser that travels straight through the massive ship before her. Wielding it like a giant blade, she cuts the carrier in two.


    Turning around on the spot, she spreads her wings again and cuts through all her inferior robotic copies and remaining fighters in the vicinity. Floating in space with her arms and legs widened, she turns all the nearby enemies into balls of silent fire.


    That''s my girl!


    "We need some help back here!" Senka comments as I approach Hestia to embrace her. Whether the timing was on purpose or pure coincidence, it ruins the moment of silent awe that the dark angel''s power has put me in.


    I look back and zoom in on the Queen Pelomyx to find that the destroyers of the Venus Fleet used the time we took on the carriers to loop around toward our mother ship. The battleships are too large to pass us by unnoticed, but the smaller destroyers - more like large gunships - used the explosions as cover.


    Suddenly, the battleships unleash a barrage of missiles larger than those carried by the fighters and bombers. Hestia''s wings have powered down, and my conventional laser gun is out of energy. If I had the knowledge of how to generate energy, I would be able to recharge it through the Imagination Engine.


    But the others can deal with those. We''ll take out the source before they launch a second volley of missiles. With a nod at Hestia, I head for the right two battleships. She replies with a nod of her own, then readies her spear and aims for the other two.


    I approach my first target under a hail of laser shots and conventional bullets. Creating a plasma blade, I fly past its bow, plunge it into its superstructure, and carve a glowing-hot gash into the battleship as I travel across its hull. Eventually, I hit something critical, which explodes in my wake and causes a chain reaction inside the ship. Pulling away as the massive vessel shatters from within, I make my way to the second target.


    Hestia is doing the same with her laser spear, cutting through the first battleship''s midsection. However, she runs out of energy before an explosion occurs, and has to reload her weapon. But help comes from an unexpected side when the enemy vessel next to her first target fires a salvo of giant lasers. They''re aimed at the fallen angel, but she dodges them effortlessly. Instead, the beams tear through their ally and deliver the final blow. So much for artificial intelligence.


    Without even taking a moment to celebrate, the angel girl moves onto the unfortunate second target around the same time as I do. The Venus Fleet may be technologically advanced beyond reckoning, but they''re facing opponents on the level of the Old Humans. There''s a reason most of them did not need fancy weapons or armor; their imagination alone could overpower any technology.


    "Four charges." Hestia expels a spent, glowing-hot rod from her laser spear and states when she meets back up with me. I''m watching the flying missiles making their way across the debris field between the Queen Pelomyx and the remains of the carriers and battleships. The sheer mass of warheads is overwhelming, and their size implies that they will cause far more damage than their smaller counterparts.


    "Uten, Saten, Asoko, prioritize the destroyers." I relay my orders. "Exla, use all of the drones to ram the missiles."


    "Those are nuclear." The cloud girl''s reply takes me by utter surprise. As if having read my mind, she then continues. "I know what you''re thinking. But these are still one of the best weapons humanity could ever produce."


    If it works, why change it, huh? But does that mean that all the battleships of the Venus Fleet carry such a mass of nuclear missiles? That''s beyond overkill for meeting a fledgling space-faring people.


    "What would be the damage if even one hit the Queen Pelomyx?" I ask, expecting a devastating answer.


    "I blocked the explosions last time by creating shields right when the missiles hit and their inhibition field generators broke. Even then, I wasn''t fast enough to block the damage completely. But you know first-hand that no shield erected through the Imagination Engine can withstand the power of the sun." She''s referring to when Zylos turned himself into a sun inside Earth''s atmosphere. I tried to put hundreds of layers of shields around him to contain him, but the heat dissolved them instantly. A nuclear explosion is even hotter than that.


    If only I knew the secret behind Sintress''s inviolable sanctuary. But my mind is already too restricted by what I learned of the magic system to envision it properly. In the first place, how could an immovable object exist when the Imagination Engine has real physics as its limitation?


    In either case, I will have to use my trump card now. I wanted to hide it until we reached the solar storm heading for earth, in case Areteniha is observing us and devises a countermeasure. But these nuclear missiles can''t be allowed to get close to the mother ship.


    "Everybody, return to the Queen Pelomyx." I send out the order while gesturing at Hestia to stay by my side.


    "What? Why?" Asoko asks in a doubtful tone.


    "We got this." Uten and Saten reply enthusiastically.


    "Now!" I yell into the microphone, most likely causing them to flinch. A moment later, they answer in the affirmative, and I zoom in with my eyes to where the last explosions took place. Between the small debris field, I find that my other half and my children are flying backward while shooting at the few remaining enemy fighters harassing them.


    The nuclear missiles are almost halfway to the Queen Pelomyx, and the destroyers are already engaging her in a close-ranged shooting match. They will be caught up in the blast, but maybe their role is to sacrifice themselves to keep the enemy in place. It''s not like it has a crew whose lives would be lost.


    I extend my hands toward both edges of the spreading debris field. This is my first time doing it in space, but it should be no different from back on earth. I only had a few hours to train, but everything depends on my imagination anyway, so it''s up to me to picture the result I want.


    In the center of the debris field, scrap begins to gather and form into a ball. Even though I aimed at the entirety of the area, the effect started at the very center and is only now beginning to expand. Almost like a magnet pulling in metal shards, the ball grows as more and more debris is drawn into it.


    Then, as if surpassing a threshold, the effect multiplies exponentially in an instant. Everything in a region spanning several square kilometers is pulled inward at blinding speed - except for the nuclear missiles. However, they''re punctured by debris, and some of them explode into blinding flashes of light. It sets off a chain reaction across the entire swarm of missiles. Massive spheres of light brighter than the midday sun appear before me instantly.


    But even those explosions are pulled toward the center, where all the gathered materials have been compressed into a smooth sphere the size of a small car. It''s gravity magic - the spell Thorvadis used to draw me into the gravity circle at the center of the grass field. Unlike him, I''m maintaining it until the end, though.


    Energy and matter are compressed into the sphere, causing it to glow as hot as the sun. With my arms still spread out to limit the gravity field''s area of effect, I use every available mode of vision to check if I missed a missile. Only when I''m absolutely certain, do I draw my hands together as if to enclose them around the shining orb dozens of kilometers ahead of me.


    Then I turn toward the sun and perform a flinging motion, throwing the sphere at it. It should be fine to return matter that came from the source of the Imagination Engine''s energy there.


    "Always recycle." I mutter as I watch the orb that contains hundreds of ships'' worth of scrap and the energy of several hundred nuclear explosions disappear into the light disc of the sun. It''ll be a while before it reaches its destination - possibly even after we arrive there.


    "Incredible." Hestia whispers, looking at me through her opaque visor.


    "You more so." I reply with a smile. I had made up my mind to trust that my girls can fight on their own, but I never expected her to keep up with me. With the right tools, she even overtook me in the numbers of destroyed fighter crafts.


    "We''re done here as well. Thank you for asking." Senka''s sarcastic voice pulls me out of my reverie. I turn to the Queen Pelomyx and find the last destroyer breaking apart under internal explosions. Asoko appears from within, her whole body glowing hot.


    "Oh, damn." When I see that, I remember that I forgot to talk to her about not heating herself up too much. So many things happened since Zylos turned into a runaway nuclear fusion event that it slipped my mind. "We''ll talk later on the ship, Hestia."


    With these words and a wry smile, I gesture at the fallen angel to follow me at her pace before flying off ahead of her to rein in my other half.

 Chapter 150 - Solar Storm

    "The solar storm is approaching." Senka gestures at the large screen, which appears to be dimmed so that we can look in the direction of the Sun without going blind. It shows the bright disc in the center and a slightly less luminous bloom emerging from it.


    "How long do we have?" Distances in space are very hard to gauge, especially when it involves objects of incredible sizes. Perspective and relativity are key - something Exla likes to fool around with when she makes herself larger or smaller.


    "It''s the classic school book problem of two moving trains." The doll girl shrugs. "Do you want to know how long we have until we fly into it if we just punch it? Or how long it takes to get to where we''re parked right now?"


    After getting back to the Queen Pelomyx, I returned to the bridge for a status report instead of immediately continuing the journey. Explosions in space can turn even nuts and bolts into deadly projectiles, and there were plenty of those in the destruction of the scouting fleet.


    "Both?" I''m not sure what either means for what I have to do.


    "Well, this ship can fly at about twice the speed of an average solar storm. If we go straight at it, we''ll meet in about an hour." Senka begins to explain, her blue eyes staring at me with a less than amused glint in them. I don''t know what has her so cranky, but she proceeds to give me the answer. "The solar storm has no mass. Laser distance measurements don''t work, so all I can do is approximate the value."


    "What does that mean?" She seems to be beating around the bush a little.


    "This might be a little hard for you to understand, but these are velocities far beyond what humans have achieved in your time." Suddenly, the doll girl''s attitude changes to a condescending one, but I can''t really argue against that. I don''t understand technology too well, let alone astrophysics. "Regardless of whether we wait here or fly at it, the storm will be too fast for anybody to react to."


    "If this ship can fly twice as fast as the solar storm, why don''t we just match its speed?" I scratch my head and ask with a shrug. Even I know how relative speed works, so this sounds like a good idea in my book.


    "How would we do that? If we let the storm get close enough, we might get swallowed by it. If we stay too far away, we won''t accomplish anything." But Senka tears down my idea with narrowed eyes.


    "Alright now, don''t bully senpai too much." Exla finally comes to my help after listening to our back and forth for a while. "We may not be able to tell our exact distance from the storm, but we can just backtrack toward Earth at a slightly lower velocity. It will catch up with us eventually, and then senpai can do her thing."


    "That sounds reasonable." I agree with the cloud girl, but get a glare from Senka.


    "That''s quite irresponsible. If you fail right above Earth, there won''t be a second chance." She complains.


    "Well, that''s true regardless of where we do it." Smiling wryly, I glance around the command center. Everybody is listening, but I can tell that they don''t understand what we''re talking about. Still, they''re aware that if I can''t do it, nobody can.


    "You just need fast reaction speed, right?" Tahiri suddenly floats up to us and asks. "As long as the Imagination Engine is active, I got that covered."


    Because of all the science recently, I forgot about the usefulness of the Imagination Engine in such a situation. We''re facing a natural disaster, not a technological application. And with the Imagination Engine, Tahiri is a living force of nature herself. She can turn herself into lightning while maintaining her consciousness. And as far as I know, lightning is quite close to the speed of light.


    "That still leaves the issue of knowing when the solar storm will be within the range of your gravity." Senka crosses her arms and asserts. She may come across as abrasive, but it''s her own way of covering all our bases so that nothing unforeseen happens. I''m quite thankful to her for that.


    "Why not send a drone out to three hundred thousand kilometers? When it gets destroyed, its signal is cut off one second later. At that point, the solar storm will take about eleven minutes and seven seconds to reach us."


    Everybody turns around at this suggestion to find Kleihn standing at the door with grease staining her cheeks and a complicated-looking tool in her hand. The sudden attention takes her aback, and she shrinks under the gazes of so many people she knows are akin to gods.


    She learned all those values from Exla over the past few months and from fiddling with the technology on board of the Queen Pelomyx. The gremlin maid is truly a technological genius who might only be second to Alverost himself.


    "Why didn''t I think of that?" Exla slaps herself on the forehead after she has seemingly run the calculations in her mind. "That''s more than enough time to match our speed with the solar storm."


    "Can you use your gravity on something as far away as the moon?" Senka suddenly asks me, causing me to blink my eyes in bewilderment.


    "What does this... oh." But when I begin to ask, I realize what it is that she''s getting at. Distances in space are ridiculous, and when fractions of the speed of light are involved, it gets even worse. About three hundred thousand kilometers is how far light travels in a single second. It''s a little less than the distance to the Moon. "I''m not sure. But I think it''s better if we''re closer."


    "How close?" With an eyebrow raised, Exla wonders.


    "Most likely too close." I admit, realizing that my idea was quite flawed. I only practiced gravity magic for a bit, lifting the desert all the way to the horizon and making it swirl about in the air. That kind of distance is nothing compared to the size of the entire planet, let alone the solar storm. I have no evidence that I can extend it to the size of the entire Sun. If things go wrong, this could mean the end of Earth.


    "Well, whatever the case, you just have to do it." Senka declares in an assertive tone that leaves no room for doubt. I can appreciate that she''s putting her trust in me, for better or for worse. In reality, I guess it''s more like resigning herself to the fact that the fate of the world lies in my hands now.


    I sigh, close my eyes, and remain silent for a moment. My mind replays how I went from juggling a silver plate to lifting millions of tons of sand within hours. I''m a Cosmic Horror, the offspring of the closest thing to a true god from another dimension. A few stars or planets are nothing compared to what my mind should be capable of.


    "Yes, I''ll do it." I open my eyes and proclaim, no more doubts in my mind. Do or die; there is no try. And I don''t intend on dying here.


    "The first drone has cut out!" Tahiri announces before my mind even registers that the alarm on the screen has begun to flash. She wasn''t boasting when she said that she had reaction speed close to that of light.


    We lined up three hundred drones one thousand kilometers apart from each other to gauge the exact speed of the solar storm so that the Queen Pelomyx can match it.


    "Second one." The God of Storms states slightly under two seconds later. She''s pressing a button the instant she notices the alarm. Senka and Exla are then using the speed of lightning and the delay due to distance to extrapolate the values we need. "Third."


    After twenty-four of the three hundred drones we sent out have disappeared into the storm, the doll girl jumps from her seat. She must have come to an answer.


    "As predicted, the solar storm is traveling at the maximum speed that plasma can travel in the vacuum of space." She explains, but nobody, aside from Exla, has any idea what that means.


    "I can match the speed of the Queen Pelomyx to a margin of error under point one percent." The cloud girl adds, which makes more sense to me, at least. It may seem like a tiny fraction, but when these velocities are concerned, it''s huge. "If we''re too slow, this gives us several hours before the solar storm catches up with us. If we''re too fast... well, nothing happens then."


    "Several hours is good enough." Finally, I respond after understanding the calculation. I should be able to conjure a gravity field in under half a minute if things go as planned. Of course, that''s never guaranteed.


    "This is overwhelming." Rolan comments while looking at his own display. He has been staring at it since we started the sounding drone operation. It shows the dimmed Sun and the solar storm that now covers the entire screen. It''s a little under a light second away, but its size already surpasses human perception.


    "Are you sure you can stop that?" Gram asks me without averting his eyes from the screen. Halthor is on the other side, and Svanhild turns to look at me with unease in her expression. For the humans who have only reached the domain of Chosen Knights, this is far beyond their understanding, let alone capabilities.


    "Do you doubt me?" I ask snidely. He and the other humans were there when I declared that I would do it regardless of how impossible it might seem.


    "You couldn''t stop the moon, could you?" But help for Gram arrives from an unexpected place. I turn around to find Kamii scrutinizing me while maintaining her usual expressionlessness. I can tell that she doesn''t seriously doubt me but just wants to mess with me.


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    "That was the me from three days ago." Replying with my head tilted back in feigned haughtiness, I respond in absolute confidence. "I''ve grown since then."


    I''m not showing off for nothing. Everybody in the command center and the maids throughout the ship are anxious about this doomsday event. All their hopes rest on me now, so if I were to express even a hint of nervousness, their morale would plummet.


    "I believe that is quite true." Aurelia joins the conversation with a knowing look at me. She''s one of the few who somewhat understand what I really am. And after facing Chaos-Juzual and Mataku on the Moon, she has an even better grasp of the truth. My progenitor, the Outer One, is an unfathomable existence beyond the limits of this dimension. I''ve reached a point where my mental capacity is growing exponentially as if to match my true capabilities after learning about them.


    "Do you mean the width of your waist?" Asoko pokes me in the side with a grin. Luckily, I''ve been keeping my body a mixture of several genetic templates, none of which are susceptible to tickle attacks. Otherwise, I would have squealed in surprise and ruined my cool image.


    "You''re not one to talk, auntie." Uten and Saten unexpectedly come to my aid and appear on Asoko''s two sides. "Judging by how much you''ve been eating every day, if you were human, you would look like Kouratua by now."


    I snort at the mental image that this comparison conjures into my mind. Aurelia turns her head aside and suppresses the urge to laugh. Most others in the room don''t understand the joke since they never met the God of Gold, but they can tell that Asoko was at the butt end of it.


    "Who is this Kouratua?" She asks with a frown.


    "Just know that it wasn''t flattery." I reply, then burst out laughing when I imagine Asoko''s face on the rotund god''s body.


    "Now I really need to know." Putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a headlock, my other half complains.


    "He looks like this." The twins transform their bodies and seemingly mix together to take on the appearance of the God of Gold. He towers over everybody in the command center except for Korenga, who watches the skit with amusement.


    "You should not be laughing, Onee-sama." Hestia comments, and I blink my eyes at her. She''s wearing a rare sardonic smile on her lips, and her red eyes are focused on me as if I were prey. "Even when you were acting like a human in the academy, you ate for two. Recently, that has more than doubled."


    "Et tu, Hestia?!" I can''t believe that the fallen angel, of all people, would stab me in the back like this. She laughs and sticks out her tongue playfully.


    "You eat even more than Korenga." Tokomaha gives me the finishing blow.


    "What was that about cosmic hunger, sister?" Asoko pulls me close and sneers.


    "Five minutes and thirty-three seconds to contact." Exla''s voice announces through the speakers of the command center and the rest of the ship. It pulls everybody''s attention back to the world-ending event approaching us. When the solar storm is within twenty thousand kilometers from us, the Queen Pelomyx will match its speed, and I''ll get to work outside the ship.


    "How far out is the storm?" I quickly get into serious mode again, and the others who were fooling around with me do the same.


    "About one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers." Senka answers as if she had the number ready.


    "Switch to the outside view." Upon hearing that answer, I request of Exla without looking at her. The cloud girl presses a few keys on her console, and the big screen turns blindingly white. Everybody covers their eyes, but I stare at the phenomenon that will end the world if I fail without blinking.


    "Sorry about that." Exla apologizes while turning down the intensity of the light with a filter.


    "I think it''s good that everybody knows what we''re up against." Senka comments, garnering the attention of the entire command center. She then turns to me, directing everyone''s gaze onto the one person their hopes rest on. "No pressure, but if you fail, it''s the end of Earth."


    "Yeah, no pressure, alright." I ruffle her black to white gradient hair, and for once, she lets me do it without grumbling. Then I look across the faces of everybody one by one, showing them my absolute confidence with a fearless smile. "I''ll go and get ready."


    "It''s time, senpai." Exla speaks into my head as I stand on the place that could be considered the bow of the Queen Pelomyx. My vision is filled with the solar storm, its overwhelming size hard to truly grasp. "Are you sure you can stay out there?"


    "I''m anchored in place." I glance down at my feet, or rather the tentacles they have turned into that are clinging onto the hull of the ship. "And inertia doesn''t seem to affect me much anyway."


    The inertia dampener of the Queen Pelomyx only operates inside the ship. I still don''t understand how it works, but it means anything on the surface that isn''t part of the ship will be thrown off in an instant when it accelerates.


    "Alright, get ready then. Three... two... one!" Exla finally agrees with a sigh and counts down the seconds to ignition. On one, I feel a tug at my feet that travels up my legs and into my body. But aside from that, no much happens. Distances and velocity in space are already hard enough to tell, but as a complete Crawling Chaos, I don''t feel any acceleration.


    "So, did it work?" I ask through the comms. The solar storm still looks exactly the same as before, but if we weren''t moving, it would hit us within a minute.


    "Something''s wrong." Comes the cloud girl''s alarmed response, and I listen intently. "We''re moving at atmospheric speeds."


    "Diagnostics were all green." Senka''s voice joins the channel. "Tahiri specifically checked power and engines for damages."


    The doll girl is referring to how the God of Storm turned herself into electricity and traveled through the entire ship to check for broken cables after the missile hits.


    "How much slower is that, Exla?" I ask while keeping my gaze on the solar storm. It might be nothing more than an illusion, but it feels like the wall of light is looming closer than it did before. Even if it were only around three seconds away from reaching us, it would still be a distance of over a thousand kilometers.


    "We might as well not be moving at all compared to the storm." Exla''s grave voice replies. That means less than a minute now. My heart sinks, but I quickly catch myself.


    "Then I''ll just have to stop it before then." Keeping my emotions under control, I announce in absolute confidence. It really is do or die now. Before, we had accounted for many opportunities to go with trial and error, as we could have maintained our speed relative to the solar storm for almost a whole day before it would reach Earth.


    Raising both my hands, I stare at the luminous wall before me and project my image of a gravity well forming there. I don''t know how deep the storm is, so I''ll have to maintain the spell until it''s all over. With the new time limit and the pressure of everybody I ever cared about dying if I fail, this situation feels more real than ever.


    But no matter how I try to imagine it, nothing happens. The storm is still over twenty thousand kilometers away, so maybe my range limit means that I can''t do anything about this after all. Nobody else has any hope of accomplishing what I was trying to do here, but that doesn''t mean I will naturally succeed at it.


    No, I can''t think negatively. Everything relies on my imagination; I just have to go far beyond my previous limit in one leap!


    Shutting off my senses for a moment, I go inside my mind and search for a solution. Then I grasp the largest form I can imagine without entering the realm of the abstract. That''s not the Moon or planet Earth. It''s not the Queen Pelomyx or the massive battle sphere that Alverost brought to Zohigal.


    It''s Tokomaha. The size of spheres in space is hard to fathom, even for my human mind, with its horizons expanded by the view of a Crawling Chaos. I''m sure I will get there eventually but now isn''t the time yet. Instead, the giant God of Growth standing on Earth as if it were a large boulder and stopping the Moon with her shoulders is the most massive comprehensible shape in my mind.


    Returning to the present, I spread my arms and face the glaring brightness of the solar storm very quickly catching up to us. Then I imagine Tokomaha''s size for a gravity well before me, into which the entire storm will get sucked. As I do so, something tugs at my mind, and I can instinctively tell that it''s working even when I don''t see an immediate effect.


    Overlaying my vision with darkening filters until the luminosity is at a bearable level, I notice that a slightly brighter shape has formed in the wall of light. It looks like the little goddess, standing with her arms stretched toward the heavens. A warm feeling overcomes me for a moment when I realize that this is the second time the petite girl is saving our planet from a cosmic-scale threat - even if it''s not in person this time.


    Soon, the Tokomaha-shaped gravity well loses its form as it grows and swallows the solar storm before us. It continues to expand, reducing the luminosity in a massive circle around it while gathering it all in a small radiant sphere at its center. It reaches a point where I could look at the absorption area without any filters.


    Time passes, but I realize that the gravity sphere isn''t expanding any further and won''t eliminate all of the solar storm. The Queen Pelomyx may no longer be in immediate danger of being swallowed by it, but all around us, the light passes us by. I only opened a large hole into it.


    "How big of an area was that?" I ask through the communications device in my head while looking around. As I expected, it''s a long wave rather than a wall; even now, the storm streams past us while the gravity sphere acts as a shield for us.


    "It''s hard to tell, but sensors beyond ten thousand kilometers around the ship show massive electromagnetic interference." Exla replies in a grim tone.


    "So I only made a hole twenty thousand kilometers in diameter, huh?" Muttering more to myself than as an answer to the cloud girl, I look at the luminous sphere where the storm''s energy and matter are gathering. A hole that size is at least enough for Earth to slip through, so I don''t know why Exla sounds so grim.


    "No, this is far from enough." As if having read my mind, Senka states in a grave tone. "It''s truly hard to grasp cosmic scales, so I can''t fault you for it. You might as well be attempting to hit a target board twenty thousand kilometers away with a hand-thrown dart."


    "Huh?" I make in surprise. My mind was already entering celebration mode, but leave it to Senka to pull me back to earth.


    "Do you know how wide the solar storm is? Assuming it doesn''t grow after emerging from the Sun, which is about one point four million kilometers in diameter, you just opened a hole that''s less than zero point zero two percent of the whole." The doll girl explains patiently. Lots of numbers make my head hurt, but when millions are put against tiny decimals, even I can understand the implication.


    "Also, the hole is already closing again." Exla adds, causing me to spin around. Behind the Queen Pelomyx, the solar storm is flowing back together like a raging river that was parted by a rock. It''s a wave of plasma with an irregular path, so of course, that would happen.


    It was all for nothing.


    "Damn." I look forward again and notice that the gravity field shielding us from the storm has started disappearing because I stopped concentrating on it. As long as it''s still ongoing, I have to keep my mind on it and won''t be able to try again behind us.


    "Is this it?" I hear Svanhild''s voice on the channel. She doesn''t sound particularly filled with despair, but I''m sure that''s because a concept as grand as the end of the world is hard to comprehend.


    "Can''t we do anything?" Gram mutters, bringing the appropriate level of graveness in his tone. Everybody besides me is powerless even to attempt standing up against this cosmic event. Their survival is guaranteed as long as we stay on the Queen Pelomyx, but it wracks them with guilt thinking that they can do nothing but watch Earth turn into a ball of fire.


    Finally, the storm passes after a few minutes. It might appear to be a short event, but the velocity it''s traveling through space at means that i8t equates to a length ten times the radius of Earth. Millions of degrees will be bombarding the planet for those few minutes, evaporating the oceans and erasing all life on the globe. Earth will become uninhabitable for who knows how long.


    "It''s a kill switch! Damn you, Alverost!" Exla suddenly exclaims. "Even in death, you''re still a royal pain in the ass."


    "What does that mean?" I ask while directing the sphere of condensed energy toward the Sun.


    "We flew the ship at the maximum speed only once. It seems that it was programmed so that the moment we stopped, the switch would kick in. Now it won''t start up again." The cloud girl explains, frustration and anger in her voice. "At atmospheric speeds, we''ll take years to reach the Rhodos station. Or to return to Earth."


    I stare at the solar storm that fills my vision behind the Queen Pelomyx just as it did in the front until five minutes ago. But for us, it might as well be as far away as the stars themselves.


    Is this checkmate?

 Chapter 151 - The Abyss And The Light

    "Can we move?" I ask the moment I enter the command center.


    "Tahiri is double-checking the electronics, Kleihn is checking the engine, and Senka and I are working on the software." Exla replies as her hands frantically fly across the console before her. The doll girl beside her is doing the same, her big blue eyes shifting at blinding speeds while checking the code running across the screen.


    "I need to know how long this will take." Sitting down in the captain''s chair, I demand the unreasonable. Knowing Alverost, this isn''t something that can be resolved in a few minutes - least of all by people unfamiliar with his technology. Given enough time, I''m sure Kleihn could take apart the entire ship and learn everything about it. But we don''t have that time.


    "Nothing." Tahiri suddenly materializes from the screen of her console, accompanied by flashing electricity.


    "So, we at least know it''s not a physical blockade to the engines." Senka comments without looking away from her work. I''m not that surprised that she can work with this technology. She has consistently shown that she somehow knows things apparently without ever having come into contact with them before.


    "The engines are running normally." Kleihn''s voice comes from the speaker on Exla''s console, causing the latter to scratch her head in frustration. That''s definitely not what she wanted to hear because it makes identifying the problem much more difficult.


    "Everything looks normal. The commands are received and confirmed, but our speed remains limited." The cloud girl finally turns to me and explains. I can tell from her expression that this situation is grave; she''s at her wit''s end. While the solar storm will take another two days to reach Earth, by the looks of it, diagnostics, let alone repairs, will take far longer than that.


    "Are there any vessels on this ship that can catch up to the storm?" I abandon the idea that the Queen Pelomyx will be up and running on time and look for an alternative. For now, the most important thing is to stop the solar storm; being able to continue our journey to the Rhodos station comes after.


    "None of the fighters are fitted for long-range flight. It makes sense in reality." Before I can complain, Exla quickly adds the latter statement. I guess if space travel isn''t instantaneous, flying for weeks or even months in a tiny cockpit is the best way to lose one''s mind.


    "Why do you need a vessel?" Aurelia comes up to me and gives me a skeptical look with her eyebrows drawn together. For a moment, I''m unsure what she means, but that only causes her to frown outright. "You can fly."


    I stare at her with an eyebrow raised. I know that I can fly through space without a ship, but...


    Now that I think about it, speed is all a matter of imagination. I put myself into a box because of the Queen Pelomyx, but it really is only a carrier for all those on board who can''t survive in space yet. If I''m by myself, I should be able to do anything I can dream of.


    "Thank you, Aurelia." With a nod to the Golden Queen, I then turn to the rest of the crew. "So, that''s the plan. You find out how to repair the ship while I go and take care of the storm."


    "Take one of the deep space probes with you, senpai." Exla grabs my arm when I pass by her.


    "Why?" It''s not like the solar storm can be measured with those instruments. I''ll have to wing it, as I have done so often before.


    "Because space is vast. There''s no way you''re getting back here without a super long-range communications device." Senka replies in the cloud girl''s stead without ceasing her work. She sounds impatient as if suggesting that this is common sense.


    "Alright, got it." I pet her hair, but she still doesn''t look away from the screen. With a wry smile, I turn away to leave the command center.


    "Good luck, Chloe." Rolan calls out to me, and I swivel my head around. Gram, Svanhild, and Halthor stand by him, their expressions telling me that they''re praying for my success. As I look across the faces of everybody on the bridge, I realize once again how anxious they must feel.


    "We will have a meal ready when you return, Chaos-sama." Rewera declares with a bow. The other maids on standby do the same, looking at me with hope in their eyes. Most of them don''t have real family back on Earth, but the Maid Corps is the equivalent to most of them. More than half of the corps are still in Arkaim castle right now, waiting for our triumphant return.


    Silently raising a fist while walking toward the door, I signal that I''m going out there not to try, but to succeed. It feels like something like this happened only earlier, but for the first time, I''ll be all by myself. Not a single person can match my speed in space if I go all out as a Crawling Chaos - most likely not even Asoko and the twins, whose imagination isn''t up to par with mine. Even Tahiri, who can travel close to the speed of light inside the atmosphere, can''t join me this time. Lightning can''t move through a vacuum after all.


    As I make my way to the nearest airlock, I mull over the issue of my output. A gravitational field of twenty thousand kilometers is immense already, but I need to expand my mind further. The dimension on my inside is seemingly infinite, so I should be able to use that as a pointer for things on the outside.


    Suddenly, an idea enters my mind at that thought, but it slips out of my grasp before I can fully form it. It felt like a significant discovery too, but maybe it''s not related to my immediate concern, so my subconscious filed it away for later.


    "Should I bring you before it?" Flann''s voice suddenly asks right beside me. I''m not as easily surprised by people popping up out of nowhere these days, so I turn around almost leisurely to regard my half-sister.


    "If I fail, we would get caught in the storm and die." I reply with a wry smile.


    "No. Only you would die." She declares in her usual emotionless tone. I blink at her a few times, then realize that this may be the first time she made something akin to a joke.


    "Haha, yeah. That''s true." I laugh it off and shrug, then start walking again. But a hand is clasped around my wrist, and I stop before turning my head.


    "Do not die." Flann requests of me with upturned eyes that catch me by surprise, but the moment is over in the blink of an eye. She returns to the expressionless self I''ve known her as since I met her again in Arkaim.


    "Don''t worry. I don''t plan on dying anytime soon." With unwavering conviction, I declare while heading for the airlock door.


    "There is more waiting beyond this, Chaos. So you cannot find your end here." Flann mutters, more to herself than for me to overhear. But my ears are incredibly sensitive, especially in the quiet of the ship''s hallways. I act like I didn''t notice, but remember when she talked to me about Mithra''s plans. I''m an integral part of his rebellion against the Outer One. Surely, if I''m about to die, he will teleport in and whisk me away to safety even if that means leaving planet Earth to its fate.


    I exit through the airlock and transform into my complete true appearance for the first time in what feels like years. The towering humanoid with tentacles for muscle strands and an empty face is something I only employ so that those close to me don''t lose their minds. But now, I can go all out.


    No, I have to go all out with no regard for anything else. This is my Crawling Chaos proving ground. If I fail here, I have no right to even think about challenging the Outer One one day.


    A short distance away, a hatch opens, and a cylindrical object is ejected from it. That must be the deep space probe Exla and Senka were talking about. Floating over, I realize that it''s as large as a tank truck. Considering it''s designed to act as a lone beacon in the middle of nowhere, it must be filled with fuel and instruments for long-term independent operation.


    "The short-range comms won''t work once you''re more than fifty thousand kilometers away." Exla speaks over the communications device still in my head. "When you have stopped the solar storm, take out the probe and activate its console."


    She then proceeds to explain the sequence of buttons and keys I have to press so that it will show me the way back to the Queen Pelomyx. While she does so, I look back toward the Sun, and then at the massive solar storm front obscuring almost half of space. It''s truly a sight to behold no matter how often I see it.


    "Alright, understood." When the cloud girl finishes her explanation, I acknowledge in a confident tone. Then I spread my tentacles and will my body to chase after the storm.


    I start moving slowly at first but accelerate at what feels like an exponential rate. I clear the surface of the Queen Pelomyx moments later. When I glance back, the massive carrier has already disappeared from sight, not even a speck of it visible even with the Fata zoomed eyes.


    Then, darkness and light seem to bend around me as my mind enters another dimension. Without a reference point, I don''t feel myself moving. However, at the same time, I know that I''ve reached velocities beyond human understanding. Something tells me that this isn''t acceleration but another form of movement far removed from the laws of physics. Yet, I can''t escape the desire to try more of it. To go faster. To go beyond.


    "Stop!" I hear Flann''s voice in my mind and pull myself together, in both senses of the phrase, before I fall off the edge of perception.


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    I''m surrounded by light that burns my bubbling surface, but I can tell that I''m not in the center of the solar storm. Otherwise, I would have evaporated in an instant. If not for my half-sister stopping me, I would have disappeared - and Chaos would have found her end here. However, the storm passes within seconds, and I''m in open space once more.


    Mending my burns with matter from the inside without sparing my brush with death any thought, I get to work. I''m the progenitor of a being that fills an entire dimension with its mass. A measly solar system is nothing compared to what I should be able to achieve. With that thought, I spread my tentacles as if trying to grasp half of space before me. Then I imagine gravity on par with that of the Sun.


    The solar storm appears to get sucked into the all-encompassing darkness that spreads from me. I should be using gravity magic, but it turns out to be something completely different. The sensation of the plasma entering me is indescribable, and I''m overwhelmed by lust for more.


    This must be a cosmic feast. I can still the hunger lurking deep inside me, and then I''ll be able to return to my mother''s womb...


    "No, sister!" Once again, Flann''s voice pulls me from the brink of the abyss. My sense of perception returns to find a field of stars before me. Looking around everywhere, I find the Sun in my back and a tiny blue dot in the far distance - Earth.


    If the solar storm still existed, our home planet wouldn''t be visible from here. That means I erased it entirely without even leaving behind a gravity-condenses sphere of light. Did I consume it all?


    Just to make sure, I look all around myself using different modes of vision. But aside from the cosmic background radiation, the electromagnetic waves from the Sun, and the field of stars, I don''t see anything else. Rather than physically stopped, it was somehow erased without a trace after all.


    I don''t feel anything inside me. Even if it was mostly hot plasma, if I had swallowed the entire solar storm, I should be able to sense at least something. Could it be that there really is a black hole inside me, and I pulled it all in there? Considering I''m a being not of this dimension, nothing should surprise me.


    Taking out the truck-sized deep space probe, I press the combination of buttons that Exla taught me on the analog console. Luckily, it was quite simple, or I would have forgotten it already after the mind-boggling experience earlier. The instant I finish the sequence of keys, I can feel the radio waves emerging from the device when it begins sending a signal to the mother ship.


    Not even two seconds later, the small screen above the console flickers to life. It shows a message from the Queen Pelomyx, giving me directions for how to return.


    "Now that I think about it... Flann." I call out to the gatekeeper girl, and she appears from a vortex right next to me.


    "You called, sister?" She''s floating before me as if there''s nothing unusual about being in deep space as an apparent flesh and blood human. But as with me, her appearance is deceiving.


    "Bring me back to the Queen Pelomyx." I request of my half-sister while pulling the deep space probe back into my body. She nods and waits until I''m done before transporting me with the usual vortex.


    In the next moment, we''re back in the main hangar. She had the foresight to bring me here so that I could unload the probe before I head for the command center. When I look around, I find that Kleihn''s handiwork is all over the place. In less than a day, she not only took apart a fighter and a bomber and put them together again but also built what appears to be a hybrid of the two. There''s an ongoing tinkering site on the left of the main door, and many tools lie strewn across the ground on the right around what appears to be parts of an armored spacesuit.


    The gremlin maid astonishes me time and again. She looks cute and has an agreeable personality, but there''s something about her that makes me look at her as a little sister rather than a potential lover. And I''m sure she''d rather spend a night awake tinkering than wasting it on a tussle in the sheets.


    Suddenly, an alarm begins blaring throughout the hangar. For a moment, I wonder if it''s because of me appearing in here without warning. But then I realize that it must be a call to battle stations. After the solar storm disappeared, Areteniha must have sent something new toward us.


    "All hands to battle stations. The Venus Fleet is on an intercept course." Exla''s voice announces through the speakers. "Until Queen Chaos returns, we will have to hold them at bay."


    That makes me realize they don''t know I''m back yet. Running through the hallway to the lift that will bring me straight to the bridge, I patch through to Senka in my mind.


    "I''m back on board. Launch drone squadrons and tell Asoko and the twins to get ready to head out." I speak without confirmation while getting into the lift.


    "Understood. But you should come and see this first." Senka replies, not a hint of surprise in her tone. She must have sensed that I''m back on the ship already and maybe already informed the others. "I know it''s clich¨¦d to say this, but I can''t begin to describe it."


    "I''ll be right there." Thinking in my mind while it races to imagine what she could be referring to, I press the button for the command center as the door closes. During the two-second long ride, I realize that I could have asked Flann to teleport me there. But the lift reaches its destination and opens again to reveal the hallway right in front of the main entrance of the bridge. As I step toward it, it automatically slides open sideways.


    The main screen shows a view of space in the infrared spectrum. The Venus Fleet ships employ stealth technology, but as long as they''re using their engines, they make themselves quite visible. And much like the solar storm earlier, the enemy now fills the screen with countless bright dots.


    "Captain on the bridge." Rewera announces when I walk in. As an old demon who lived through centuries thinking of the world in one way, it''s hard for her to grasp these new concepts that came to light recently. She can''t contribute to the technological aspect of the Queen Pelomyx, but she''s trying her best to help in its administration.


    Everybody except for Senka spins their heads around in surprise. They must have thought that I would take longer to return after sending my message from the deep space drone only earlier.


    "Status report." I give the maid leader a reassuring smile before turning to the others with orders. I''ll have to inquire about the meal she said they would prepare for my return later.


    "Over seven thousand confirmed blips." Hestia, the one in charge of the sensors, is the first to respond.


    "Nothing changed about our engine situation." Tahiri states with a shrug. It couldn''t have been longer than ten minutes since we first learned about the kill switch, so I didn''t expect it to be fixed yet anyway.


    "We''re like a sitting duck." Exla adds with a grim look ahead. "Judging by how fast the Venus Fleet was made to adapt, they will be switching up their tactics this time."


    "Not that they need tactics when they have those numbers." Senka nods in the direction of the big screen while continuing to hammer away on her console. She''s still working on finding the kill switch, not sparing a second to look away from her screen.


    "If each one of the capital ships fires a volley of inhibition field nuclear missiles, we could be looking at nearly a million missiles heading for us from all around." The cloud girl moves a stick on her console to swivel the camera for the main screen. It shows that the Venus Fleet''s heat signatures are looping around our sides as well as above and below. "Not to speak of the fighters they could field."


    "So, what can we do?" Uten and Saten ask in unison. They don''t show any fear despite the desperate situation we find ourselves in right now. The odds we faced against during our journey to take down the God King are nothing compared to this. But as they did back then, they must now believe that we will overcome any hardship.


    "We know from the last time that their missiles don''t work on small individuals." I declare into the room with the bearings of a leader. Even though I''m not sure what we can do in the face of such overwhelming numbers, I have to maintain morale.


    "This means we can come, too." Svanhild, of all people, is the first to step forward. She naturally came along because she belongs to Rolan''s party now, but I didn''t think she could ever make a difference in a space battle.


    "Now is the time for you to see the fruits of my training." Halthor declares toward Korenga. After their fight during the siege of Erbilan, those two developed a friendly rivalry. It''s a testament to the Chosen Knight''s might that he can match the Black God.


    "Then let''s compete to see who can take down more of those black ships." The latter replies with a confident grin. This technology talk is beyond her; all she cares about is that out there is the enemy, and it needs to be destroyed.


    "Moving through space isn''t as easy as you think." I try to rein in their enthusiasm with hard facts. Korenga fell uncontrollably when we were on the Moon because she couldn''t fly on her own and had to be rescued. I don''t know about Halthor, but he can fly inside the atmosphere. However, aside from physical strength, he uses lightning, which doesn''t work in space.


    "The enemy has launched fighters. Or rather..." Exla''s voice trails off when she hastily types something on her console. The main screen zooms in on the small lights emerging from the enormous carriers, then switches to normal view. "Mecha!"


    "Woah!" I stare at the mass of robots, then notice that many of them have mechanical wings, much like those in Hestia''s spacesuit. They were clearly modeled after the ones they used in our last encounter, albeit these are far more refined-looking. My enthusiasm drops. "Oh, no."


    "Are you not happy about those, senpai?" The cloud girl asks with a skeptical expression. She knows that I love mecha, so my sober reaction must seem strange to her.


    "Nah, those are human-sized. I want giant mecha." With a pout, I wave off the things displayed on the screen. "It''s like fighting androids with those. Not that they put up much of a fight."


    "I think those will." With a quick motion of her hand, she zooms in even closer at one of the Hestia-bots'' chests. A blue dome sits where a real Fata''s sternum would be located. "That''s an inhibition field generator."


    Considering one of those can cover a radius of about half a meter, the cores of their bodies are safe from the Imagination Engine. With their sheer numbers, we won''t have the leeway to take them out one by one with conventional weapons. And if we don''t destroy them completely, who knows what explosives they could be packing in those chest cavities.


    "More than a million of those are approaching from all sides." Hestia announces, grimness in her voice. She was there when Erbilan was beset by a human alliance army a million strong. Even if each of us could take out ten thousand without breaking a sweat, we would still have hundreds of thousands making it through. It''s an overwhelming number that can simply ignore us and flood the Queen Pelomyx.


    "Should I do it again?" Tokomaha walks up to me and asks. She''s referring to herself growing massive and possibly blocking the enemy''s attacks with her body. If she can turn into a giant as tall as the Moon''s diameter, she can easily hold the Queen Pelomyx in one hand. However, that doesn''t solve our problem of being unable to fly through space. She would have to weather a constant barrage from the enemy fleet with no relief in sight.


    Maybe the only way is for me to try and replicate what I did with the solar storm. But I don''t think I have enough control over that not to swallow the ship accidentally. And if I did that, I''m most likely never seeing her and the crew again.


    "You appear to be in need of help." A familiar voice suddenly announces through the speakers, and everybody turns to the main screen. A girl with closed eyes and blonde hair rimming her beautiful face is displayed on it. She exudes an aura of serenity and peacefulness that can even be felt through a screen. It''s Sintress, sitting in what appears to be a fighter cockpit.


    "Sintress!" Exla is the first to exclaim, utter surprise on her face. "I thought you..."


    "Let us leave that matter for later. I will take care of the Venus Fleet." The Lady of Brilliance declares her intent to help us. She''s wearing a light smile, but it''s not one of arrogance. Her confidence is quite reassuring, but I still need certainty.


    "How?" I blurt out instead of posing the sophisticated question I tried to formulate in my mind. She''s possibly the Old Human most reliant on the Imagination Engine, so what can she do here?


    "I know what you may be thinking, Chaos." Sintress speaks in a slightly chastising tone. I know that her personal imagination is forcing peace onto people''s minds through some kind of brainwashing. "I will show you the perfect sanctuary."

 Chapter 152 - Perfect Sanctuary

    "Are you sure we can trust her with our lives?" Tokomaha asks me while looking at the big screen. It shows a cutout view of the Venus Fleet before us, but many more ships surround us on all sides now. "We should go out there just to be safe."


    She''s referring to the fact that it might seem foolish to rely on Sintress''s declaration that she would take care of everything and not take precautions in the case that she fails. After all, she''s dealing with inhibition field missiles.


    "Well, the missiles will take a while to get here." I reply with a shrug. The engagement range of the Venus Fleet is around ten thousand kilometers. Although the rest of their technology is highly advanced, and they use the same high-speed engines as the Queen Pelomyx, their missiles still use the tried and true combustion principle. We''ll have a few minutes to react if they pass through Sintress''s perfect sanctuary.


    "Permission to come aboard, captain." Suddenly, a familiar voice asks from behind me, and I spin my head around in surprise. It''s Sigurd, accompanied by Arcelia Crux. The bard is wearing his usual clothes, complete with the feathered hat he sported when I first met him. Like her mother, Sintress, the Saint of Luminosity is clad in a simple white robe.


    "Sigurd!" Rolan is the first to call out to him, sounding glad to see him again. It hasn''t been that long since they parted ways, but nobody could have expected that they would reunite in the middle of space. "What are you doing here?"


    "I saw the moon fall, and the exotic young lady stop it." With a wink directed at Tokomaha beside me, the bard replies. At this point, I know that he''s not seriously flirting with any of my girls. He at least has the decency not to target those who are already in a relationship.


    I shoot the little goddess a glance either way, but for a very different reason. She''s the tactical officer who should be keeping the interior of the ship safe from intruders. At the very least, her job is to notify me that somebody has boarded us. But judging by her reaction, she wasn''t aware of it either.


    "And I heard through the grapevine that Runa has been abducted by Shelnir." In a more serious tone, Sigurd then continues. By that, he most likely means that Sintress learned about it and told him. Both he and Arcelia are her children, and they appear to have since remained in contact with each other after their unexpected reunion at the siege of Erbilan.


    "Where was Sintress all this time? I remember her saying that she would go to the Moon and check on Juzual. After that, I didn''t hear from her again." I inquire with my arms crossed. I''m sure she could have done something about the moonfall and the solar storm with that perfect sanctuary of hers. If it really is as perfect as she and Exla claim it to be, that is.


    "We have to leave this for another time." Senka announces a split second before an alarm sound goes off.


    "Nuclear launch detected." A robotic female voice announces in an unfittingly calm tone. Now is the moment of truth; is Sintress truly capable of stopping inhibition field missiles with something from the Imagination Engine?


    "Watch her." Arcelia declares when she sees my doubtful expression. At this point, I''ve given up trying to control myself when not in front of enemies. It''s alright if my friends and allies can tell what I''m thinking by looking at my face. I have nothing more to hide at this point, except for my actual face.


    "How long until impact?" But I still don''t intend to rely on a power I don''t know blindly. I hope Sintress succeeds, but in case she doesn''t, we need to be ready.


    "Two minutes and thirty-five seconds." Hestia responds in a severe tone. She''s the sensors operator, but until not too long ago, she didn''t even know the concept of timekeeping. With Exla around, a load was taken off my shoulders when it came to teaching everybody about the Imagination Engine. They have all come a long way since first learning about it.


    "I hope she won''t wait until the last moment." Muttering to myself, I stare at the screen, which shows countless little blinking lights. They''re the heat signatures of the missiles heading for the Queen Pelomyx. Every single one of those could destroy the entire ship, but we have nearly a million bearing down on us. It''s absolute overkill for a single vessel, but Alverost wanted to make sure nothing threatened the Imagination Engine on the Sun.


    Suddenly, the screen lights up to blinding levels. Exla quickly applies darkening filters over the camera, but all it does is turn the white into a dark gray. There are no signs of shapes, only pure light. The cloud girl spins the camera around, but the same appears to be happening all around us.


    More than ten seconds pass before the light dies down. Hestia quickly types something on her console, then looks at it with disbelief before repeating the process.


    "What is it?" I ask her, and she leans back on her seat.


    "The enemy fleet has disappeared." She only says, seemingly drained of all her energy. "There is nothing else left out there."


    "Except for this." Exla adds and brings up her small screen to the big one. It shows a blonde girl in a simple white robe standing on top of an unarmed shuttle with her arms outstretched. She lowers them moments later, then turns around to look almost directly at the camera.


    My mind is filled with questions and theories on how she accomplished this. The enemy was scattered across the same range as my gravity field could cover in the solar storm. And the nearly one million missiles were coming in staggered at different distances. It looked like they all detonated at the exact same time, so it wasn''t a chain reaction.


    I watch as Sintress walks to an open airlock on top of her shuttle and then disappears inside. Even though she could easily fly in space on her own, she''s still using technology as a crutch. Maybe she doesn''t want to lose touch with reality entirely. Then again, that perfect sanctuary of hers is far out of touch with reality.


    Could it be matter to energy conversion? That was Juzual''s domain, but Exla explained that none of the Old Humans had figured it out. The Witch of the End was considered an outsider among them because it appeared as if she couldn''t create anything despite having access to the Imagination Engine. At this point, I feel like creation is nothing special when one considers all the possible applications of the technology.


    In either case, I''m glad she''s on our side. Fighting the straightforward power types such as Zylos, Serent, and Oinos was relatively easy. But when the opponent''s imagination becomes too abstract, it''s impossible to formulate a countermeasure in time. Same with Exla, who has the broadest imagination and can easily change her strategy on a whim.


    "While we wait for Sintress to come aboard, explain things to me." I turn to Sigurd and Arcelia, who shift their gazes to me. At least I assume the latter is doing that as her eyes are always closed.


    "I was in the Empire of Terminus, spreading the word of our lady and savior, Chaos." With a flourish and a bow, the bard replies in what would have come across as sarcasm if not for how serious he makes it sound. I''ve become a goddess, huh? "Lady Crux did the same in the Cathedral of Light in Kongenssoevn."


    As a saint and one of the very people capable of light magic, Arcelia has as much real influence as a ruler of a sovereign nation. In fact, the king of Lares seeks counsel with her on a regular basis. Therefore, it has been relatively easy for her to spread the truth about the Old Humans there.


    On the other hand, since the empire''s state religion is essentially Zenlithism, taking the approach tantamount to heresy over there isn''t the best. It''s much easier to spread the idea to the common folk by using the network of bards. It will take much longer than a paradigm shift within the church, but without Zenlith or the other Old Humans meddling, time is what we have.


    "So neither of you know what Sintress was doing since she said she would check on Juzual on the Moon, hm?" I tilt my head with a disapproving frown. I''ll have to ask the girl in person then.


    "She told us that she inspected the rift in reality." But to my surprise, Sigurd explains with a thoughtful expression. It''s rare for his constant frivolous smile to disappear completely, and rarer still for him to make a grim face. This appears to be a serious topic.


    He''s talking about the rift that the Imagination Engine opened. It''s what allowed the Outer One to send Mataku into this dimension many millennia ago. And about twenty years ago, the Primordial Crawling Chaos that gave birth to my mother was brought here the same way.


    "At first, she thought that it might be best if she stayed there as a guardian so that nothing could ever pass through again." Arcelia continues to relate what Sintress was doing for the past few months. That implies the Lady of Brilliance was willing to dedicate her life to keeping this dimension safe from the Outer One. It would have been tantamount to self-sacrifice. "However, she said she could feel an unnatural pull from the rift within a moon. It would have overpowered her mind and drawn her inside if she had not run away."


    Stolen story; please report.


    Even the Old Human with the most serene mind is affected by the madness of the abyss. Her perfect sanctuary comes from her will, but if that''s eroded by the Outer One''s emanations, it will start to show cracks. That must mean nothing in this dimension can keep it out - except for its kin.


    "She returned after the moon fell, inquired her sources among the demons, and learned that you were heading for the sun." The bard takes over the explanation. In other words, Sintress only came right at this time by chance. If she hadn''t, I''m not sure the Queen Pelomyx would have survived the onslaught of nuclear inhibition field missiles.


    "Sintress has docked in the hangar." Exla announces, interrupting our conversation. It''s going to be a minute or two before she reaches the command center then.


    "Run another scan at maximum range. Make sure the coast is clear. Exla and Tahiri, get back to working on that engine. We need to move." To get things rolling as soon as possible, I give out the orders. "Tokomaha, this time, do your job as the tactical officer."


    The little goddess tilts her head questioningly. I guess she was only playing along earlier and doesn''t understand what her job description is. It''s a cute reaction, so I''ll forgive her. Still, everybody needs to do their part for this to be a success. There''s no time to explain every single thing, so I''ll make it short.


    "Disperse your clones across the ship. Search for intruders at all times and report to me when you find something." Of course, that''s not the full extent of her job, but for now, that''s all that matters. I doubt that Areteniha will send infiltrators; she would have done it long ago if she could. And Shelnir evidently wants us to reach the Rhodos station to repeat the situation with Luna after I broke her last prediction.


    Sintress coming and destroying the Venus Fleet must be within her calculations still.


    "I see." With this simple answer, she walks toward the door right when it opens to reveal Sintress. She''s going barefoot on the cold metal floor, not at all inconvenienced by the lack of shoes. When I see her stand right in front of Tokomaha, I realize that the two are quite close in height and build.


    But that also shows me that they couldn''t be more different from each other. The caramel-skinned little goddess and the angelic white Old Human are like complete opposites of each other not only in looks but also attitude. The latter steps aside to let the former pass, who nods in passing without paying much attention to her. The only thing they truly have in common is the sheer scope of their imagination.


    "Welcome on board." I stand up and greet the Old Human who looks like a young girl. Even though I have pressing questions for her, I don''t forget my manners this time.


    "Thank you, Chaos." With a graceful bow and a radiant smile, Sintress expresses her gratitude. She truly is a good girl at heart, not just in appearances.


    "Now, please explain how you did that. Those missiles were equipped with inhibition field generators." Getting the pleasantries out of the way, I jump to the main point. If this is something I can learn, we won''t have to fear anything from Areteniha until we take care of her on the Rhodos station.


    "I tried to leave that gift to humanity, but the others of my age corrupted it." Shaking her head slowly, Sintress begins to explain. "Those who have learned the light barrier through magic will never be able to achieve the perfect sanctuary."


    Coming from anybody else, I would have thought it an excuse. However, I instinctively understand that this girl tells no lies. It must be true that holding preconceived notions about that inviolable barrier makes it impossible to learn how it truly works.


    "Try me." But I don''t give up that easily. I''ve overcome so many walls in this life due to either my human ingenuity or my mental capabilities as a Crawling Chaos. After all, I learned all the things I''m now capable of despite holding the preconceptions I brought from my previous life.


    "Solid light." Finally, Sintress gives in and speaks two simple words. I have no idea what that means, but Exla and Senka simultaneously jump up from their seats.


    "You were able to achieve that?!" The cloud girl grabs the blonde''s shoulders and looms over her with widened eyes. On the other hand, the living doll is holding her temples as if this revelation causes her a headache.


    "What is solid light?" I inquire when I see their overblown reactions. The combination of those words doesn''t make much sense to me, but if taken at face value, it would mean... literally solid light. And that can''t be right.


    "It is just that. Slowing photons down until they act like a solid." To my surprise, Senka is the one that explains. She then turns to Sintress with a doubtful expression. "But that requires the right medium. Light moving through a vacuum is literally the furthest from that."


    "This is getting into science territory that I won''t ever understand." I raise a hand to preempt an answer from the Lady of Brilliance. "Just give me an explanation of what the end result should look like."


    "I see. Yes, to put it bluntly, it is a wall of solid light, which lingers in physical form even after you stop making it." Opening her palm, Sintress creates an immensely bright sphere on top of it. But when I put darkening filters over my eyes, I find that it''s actually a flat panel shaped like a hexagon. A much less luminous version of many such panels arranged into a sphere is what I get from the light barrier spell.


    "In other words, it''s a kind of physical manifestation, which is how you could use it to block the missiles even though they carry inhibition field generators." Tilting my head as Sintress lowers her hand, I find that the hexagonal panel remains in place for a while before fading away after a few seconds. "Wouldn''t this be considered energy to matter conversion?"


    "No, because photons don''t have energy or mass." Exla takes off the nuclear blast shades she created from her cloud hair and clarifies. "They''re supposed to exist only in motion, so-"


    "That doesn''t make much sense to me, but let''s not get too scientific." Waving off the cloud girl''s explanation, I turn to Sintress. "What makes you think that those who learned it through magic will never be able to achieve this?"


    "Because what you learn through magic is not light." She responds by raising her other hand and creating a football-sized light barrier bubble. It''s one of the three spells I learned from the sacred texts of the Lady of Brilliance that Arcelia gave me in Hovsgaerden so long ago. "This is nothing more than a cheap imitation meant to emulate the perfect sanctuary through other means."


    That cheap imitation saved many people over time, but I guess if it had been the original, I could have done much more. The far less luminous sphere made of hexagonal panels also lingers for a time, much like the solid light. But I know from experience that it''s far from perfect since it couldn''t stop Zylos going supernova.


    "What is this, then?" I point at the bubbles shield just as it disappears.


    "Solid air. Very like Zenlith to overwrite my gift to new humanity with his own domain." Lowering her hand, Sintress speaks with a sad expression on her face. She and Zenlith were in a relationship that ran deeper than that between friends a long time ago until they disagreed on the treatment of the living beings of this world.


    "It''s quite sturdy and isolates against heat well. But it is easily broken down beyond a certain temperature." Exla adds while creating her own light barrier. "And most of all, Zenlith could negate it whenever he wanted to."


    "So, how does hard light work?" This is the only question that matters. If it''s anything like how I learned gravity magic that allowed me to suck up an area of twenty thousand kilometers of the solar storm, I should be able to master it in an hour or two.


    "Imagination." Sintress replies with a sigh. I figured that this would be the answer. "There is a reason why light, dark, and gravity are considered the rare affinities. They are the most difficult to grasp."


    When I think about it, I encountered the dark element less than any of the others. For being so widespread, especially among demons and corrupted beings, it''s rarely used. On the other side, only one new human is currently capable of gravity manipulation, and I learned that one pretty quickly.


    "Is it dangerous if it goes haywire?" Crossing my arms, I inquire of Sintress.


    "It is safe. Ultimately, it is nothing more than light." She answers with a shake of her head, causing her shoulder-length blonde hair to sway gently. Even with closed eyes, her expression is relatively easy to read; there''s more to this. "But I heard that your spirit spear is incredibly powerful. Maybe there is an angle to teach you from."


    I remember Exla telling me that the spirit spear is a weaponized application of the perfect sanctuary. That means it''s solid light turned into the shape of a spear, launched at high speed with incredible penetrative power. Of course, that implies one knows how the perfect sanctuary works already, which I don''t. Maybe overlapping many spears could emulate the barrier, though.


    "I better do it in the training room, after all." With a wry smile, I look around the command center. If I try it with spirit spears and they fly off somehow, this place would get some unnecessary breathing holes. Then I turn to Sintress and bow as if greeting a teacher. "Would you please join me?"


    "With pleasure." The blonde girl nods with a gentle smile. She''s incredibly charming despite or because of her simple clothes and lack of makeup. The closed eyes create an air of serenity that surrounds her like a tangible aura. Even without a glowing halo or a shiny outfit, she is shining more brilliantly than Areteniha''s overblown self-presentation ever could.


    "The scans reveal nothing within our range." Suddenly, Hestia''s voice pulls me out of my reverie, and I blink my eyes a few times before turning to her. "If something is approaching, it will have to be from very far away."


    "It doesn''t give us that long anyway, so keep an eye on the sensors." Exla asserts with a frown. The radar range can accurately reach around a hundred thousand kilometers beyond which cosmic background radiation interference is too strong to spot small blips. At that point, visual confirmation of engine burn is far more accurate but quite hard to notice against the starry backdrop.


    The Venus Fleet is as fast as the Queen Pelomyx should be, so they''ll reach us in less than two minutes even if we detect them at the very edge of our sensors. Then again, as long as we have Sintress here, the Venus Fleet no longer poses a threat.


    "In either case, stay on the engines. That''s our top priority." I declare with a glance at Senka, who already went back to typing away on her console. I have no doubts that if it''s a software issue, Exla and she will find it. I''ll leave the circuits and hardware to Tahiri and Kleihn. And if everything fails, I can take everybody inside me and travel through space as a living ark. It just makes life harder for everybody else.


    "What should we do?" Uten and Saten ask with their heads tilted in opposite directions. Asoko is standing behind them with her arms crossed, waiting for an answer as well.


    "What do you mean? Of course, you''re coming with me to learn this." I state with my eyebrows drawn together in a skeptical frown. Since learning about the Imagination Engine, my growth has far outpaced theirs, not only in mass but also in ways to utilize my abilities. This is an opportunity to at least get them up to speed a little. After all, I''d feel safer if they could defend themselves and those around them as well as I can.


    "Chaos-sama, a meal has been prepared. Would it not be better to take a rest after everything that has happened and partake in dinner?" Rewera steps forward from her position in the background and stops me. The prospect of a meal does appeal to me, and I glance at the others in the room. Surely, they''re hungry too.


    "Yeah, let''s do that." Korenga stands up from her chair with an enthusiastic grin. Kerry is hanging onto her shoulders and squeals in excitement at the sudden bumpy ride.


    "That will have to wait." But Tokomaha suddenly enters from the doorway, flanked by two of her clones. "We have intruders on board."

 Chapter 153 - Infiltrator

    "One of my bodies was destroyed here by a laser from down the corridor." Tokomaha explains while standing in front of the big screen. She''s using her spear to point at the place where it happened on the ship''s interior map. "The one behind saw that it was one of the metal puppets with wings before getting hit as well."


    It would appear that at least one of the Hestia-bots somehow made it aboard the Queen Pelomyx. I don''t know how they bridged that distance so quickly or made it through the perfect sanctuary, but they''re quite troublesome. With inhibition field generators in their chests and who knows what weapon systems on their bodies, we can''t attack them without a plan.


    "They''re still far from any critical systems. I doubt they carry nuclear weapons, but their energy sources could make for powerful explosives." Exla types something on her console and pulls up security camera footage onto the big screen.


    It displays a Hestia-bot gliding down a corridor on wheeled feet. One arm is fashioned into a cannon inspired by Hestia''s laser spear, and the sectioned wing plates are most likely laser cannons as well. Those were able to cut through entire ships of the Venus Fleet, so if this one decides to go on a rampage, the Queen Pelomyx could be cut apart from the inside.


    "I just confirmed four more of them." With her arms crossed and her head tilted in thought, Tokomaha adds. She must have sensed more of her clones getting destroyed. "I hate to say it, but with those inhibition things, I alone am no match for them."


    "Then, we will take care of them." Rolan steps forward and declares. He and his party have shown their abilities while fighting inside Alverost''s inhibition field generator prototype before. Although Svanhild and Halthor are Chosen Knights, they took well to the technology Kleihn provided them.


    "It''s alright. As long as we don''t use anything created through the Imagination Engine to fight them, they don''t pose much of a problem." I state with a shrug. Tokomaha only has trouble with them because all she can do is throw spears and aim for weak spots in armor. These Hestia-bots are covered in some futuristic alloy that she can''t penetrate. And if her clones get too close, they will be dispersed by the inhibition field.


    "That sounds like a job for me then." Korenga puts her fist in her palm and cracks her knuckles. Her power is derived from a curse rather than the Imagination Engine. The Black God can''t be stopped by technology.


    "Me too." Kamii clicks her crab pincer audibly and glances at Hestia. The fallen angel fought by my side in space earlier, so the little dark elf wants to show her cool side. And against the Hestia-bots, the original might not be able to do much. After all, conventional weapons are too destructive to be used inside the ship, and she has no other means to fight. Kamii, on the other hand, has her cursed arm, which is much like Korenga''s black form.


    "Exla, tell Tahiri to stay here when she returns from checking the circuits." I declare while waving over my other half and the twins. The latter two perform a mirrored salute with enthusiastic grins. "Tokomaha, you stay here and inform us about any more intruders through the comms."


    "Understood." The little goddess salutes as well, learning from watching the twins. We''re not organized as a military, so this is just playing around, but I act like a superior officer and respond with a nod.


    "What about me?" Suddenly, Dregana steps out of the shadow of a corner in the command center and asks. It catches me by complete surprise, and I stare at her for a moment. I don''t even remember her getting on board, but given how she has been following around Hestia like a puppy, it shouldn''t be surprising that she''s here.


    As a dragonkin, she''s reliant on the Imagination Engine to transform, but she''s physically a dragon once she does so. While that means she could fight with her strength, I don''t see how she can stand up to the Hestia-bots who use laser cannons. Also, the corridors would be too narrow for her dragon form.


    "Stay here and protect Hestia." I reply before quickly turning to the fallen angel to preempt her complaint. "Keep an eye on the sensors. For all we know, this might be a distraction so that an outside enemy can approach."


    The massive fleet that Sintress''s perfect sanctuary destroyed was most likely the vast majority of the Venus Fleet. But the likelihood of more ships being produced by whatever spacedocks the last one came from is very high. After all, they can print them as if they were leaflets. I don''t know how much time we have until another fleet is ready, but the artificial intelligence governing the Venus Fleet is continuously evolving. Next time they might come with inhibition field generator bubbles covering their entire ships.


    "Sintress, you could surely help against the intruders, but please stay here in case more of the Venus Fleet comes. You will be needed to defend the entirety of the ship." I address the Lady of Brilliance. She nods wordlessly, and I suppress the urge to sigh in relief that she''s so accommodating. Sintress truly is a good girl.


    "Then we will go in her stead." Arcelia declares in a tone that leaves no room for argument. Still, I glance her up and down with a skeptical gaze; unless she''s capable of erecting the perfect sanctuary, she might as well be a civilian compared to the level we''re dealing with. After all, she''s physically human, and I don''t think she knows how to strengthen herself.


    "Do not doubt her, Chaos." With a warm smile, Sintress puts a hand on her daughter''s shoulder. I wouldn''t expect Arcelia to ever explode in anger, but somehow that gesture suggests that the Saint of Luminosity might do so when I''m involved.


    "Alright. But you said we." I look at Arcelia''s closed eyes, then shift my gaze to Sigurd. I expected him to go with Rolan and Gram, if at all, but it would seem that he comes as a pair with the saint.


    "I know what you may be thinking, Lady Chloe." With a wry smile, the bard tips his feathered hat. He then turns to give Rolan and the others a sideways glance. "But I have fallen far behind my old comrades."


    He must be referring to the fact that they adopted the use of technology and trained in the Imagination Engine while he spread the word in the Empire of Terminus. Although he''s Sintress''s son, that doesn''t necessarily mean he''s special. Back then, all he could boast was incredible hearing, a great vocal range, and an impeccable sense of direction - all of which are abilities still within human limits.


    "I can only assist Lady Crux now." Sigurd still refers to his half-sister in such a distant way. I guess it''s hard for siblings who grew up separated from each other until adulthood to bond as a family.


    "I understand. Then you two will be stationed in the engineering bay." It contains our most essential modules in the form of the fusion reactor, life support systems, and the currently still unresponsive engine. Furthermore, Kleihn is working there by herself, and I would feel safer if people who can fight are with her.


    "As you wish." Sigurd performs an exaggerated bow while Arcelia only nods.


    "Alright, let''s go then." With a grand gesture, I announce our departure to battle. Rewera suddenly steps up to me from the side when I walk to the door.


    "Please allow me to accompany you." She requests with a bow. I''ve heard that she''s powerful enough to match Chandra in a fistfight, and I know that the Ajura chief can seemingly effortlessly bend steel armor with her punches.


    "I expected you to say that we should leave this to the Maid Corps instead." I assert with a grin, but she shakes her head in response.


    "I would have suggested as much if I did not see what Lady Hestia was capable of." Rewera gestures at the fallen angel, who blinks her eyes in surprise. "If these are modeled after her, the maids would risk losing their lives."


    It''s praise and admittance of weakness in one statement. Although the Maid Corps weren''t established for combat, many of its members are uniquely powerful among the demons. But most of them rely on the Imagination Engine to do so, especially now that we''ve been teaching them. I wouldn''t send any of them into battle against the Hestia-bots either, out of fear that they might die.


    "I see. That''s good judgment." With an approving nod, I turn back to the door again. "Tokomaha, lead the way."


    I''m talking to one of her clones, as the original is staying in the command center. She performs a salute and steps through the door first, where a dozen more clones wait with their spears ready. The little goddess said that she''s no match for the Hestia-bots, but that doesn''t mean she won''t try again and again.


    This is the first time I''m considering the fact that these clones appear to possess individual personalities rather than being remote-controlled puppets. I''d love to explore how that works within the Imagination Engine, but that will have to wait for when this is all over. I can split myself up, so this is nothing more than idle interest.


    Nearly a dozen pairs of footsteps follow me out, and I turn around to put everybody into teams. That''s when I realize that Aurelia is among them, acting as if it were completely natural for her to join the fight. She should know from experience that her powers, which are derived entirely from the Imagination Engine, are very susceptible to the inhibition field generators. It''s also the reason why I didn''t bring her with me into the space battle before.


    "I know what you want to say, Chaos. But I can take care of myself." The Golden Queen preempts the comment about to leave my lips. An array of golden swords and spears are floating behind her like a peacock''s plumage. For now, it''s still closed so that she doesn''t take up too much space in the corridor.


    I guess the momentum of physical objects is preserved even when one''s psychic-like control over it is broken. So if Aurelia launches her golden swords and spears, they maintain their speed after entering an inhibition field. Still, the only reason her weapons are so destructive is that she controls their shape through the Imagination Engine. Gold by itself is too soft to scratch the alloys of the Hestia-bots.


    "Alright, but you''ll stay with me." I''m sure she knows herself that gold is a soft metal and not used for weapons.


    "Are you underestimating me?" With a displeased look on her face, she sweeps her hair back and glares at me. But I step up to her, grab her waist, and pull her in.


    "We haven''t fought side by side in a while. I just want to be near you, My Queen." I whisper sweetly, causing her expression to relax into an ironic smile. She understands that I''m just buttering her up, but that doesn''t mean she doesn''t enjoy it.


    "Very well." With a nod, she grabs my chin and forces my face down toward her. I expect a kiss, but she pushes me away with a self-assured smile. "Make sure not to get in my way."


    That''s the cocky attitude that I fell for. It''s not arrogance if she can back it up, although, at this point, practically everybody but the Old Humans and my fellow Cosmic Horrors are out of their depth. After all, if the Imagination Engine is taken out of the equation, advanced technology and otherworldly powers reign supreme.


    "Alright, we''re splitting up to take care of as many of them at the same time as possible. We don''t know if they''re communicating with each other. If one is destroyed, the others may go on a rampage." I announce the game plan. "Move out."


    We''re first heading for the engineering bay together and form a perimeter around it before splitting into our respective groups and going out into the sprawling Queen Pelomyx to hunt the intruders. Everybody has communications devices patched through to Exla, who will direct them to the Hestia-bots when they show up on surveillance feed.


    I decided that Kamii, Aurelia, and Rewera would come with me. Rolan and his party are staying together while Korenga and the twins are teaming up. Finally, Asoko said that she would take care of things on her own. I don''t know what she has been doing since we separated, but she only learned about the Imagination Engine in passing. Maybe she has powered up immensely since I last saw her in Arkaim.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    This will be the first time I get to see Rewera''s power. So far, I''ve only heard about it from the other maids but never witnessed anything myself. It may have been a good thing that she never had to fight when I was there.


    "Kleihn, come out for a moment." I call out to the gremlin maid, whose little butt is sticking out from an open panel in the ship''s main engine. The short green-haired tail is waving in the air, accompanied by the clicking and clanging sound of tools deeper inside the machine. "Kleihn?"


    It seems that she''s so engrossed in her task that she can''t hear my voice. Walking over to her, I grab her tail and stroke it with a sensual touch. Her hips jump, and I hear a loud bang, followed by a moan of pain. Knowing exactly what happened, I instantly feel sorry for the gremlin maid and help by pulling her out from the opening.


    "Uhh, Chaos-sama..." Kleihn sits down on the floor and rubs the top of her head. I squat in front of her and give her an apologetic smile.


    "Sorry for startling you. You weren''t answering." I caress her cheek, causing her to blink her eyes in embarrassment. She then notices Rewera towering behind me and quickly scrambles to her feet in fear. Before the maid leader, she has to adhere to formality.


    "I haven''t gotten very far with the engines yet. This is the most complex machine I have ever seen." The little gremlin maid quickly rattles down her report, causing me to smile wryly. "I will redouble my efforts and finish within the day. Or night. It''s hard to tell what time it is in space."


    "Don''t worry. That''s not what we''re here for." I pat Kleihn''s head and calm her down. "The enemy has infiltrated the ship. We don''t know how many there are, but every single one of them could destroy the engineering bay on their own."


    "Are they those mechanical Fata replicas?" She asks with glittering eyes. Anything machine excites gremlins, and Kleihn is the most gremlin-like of them all. When I reply in the affirmative, her lips widen into a delighted smile that belies the potential danger they pose to her and this ship. "Could I ask Chaos-sama to bring me one with as little damage as possible?"


    "Now look here, this isn''t a game. Those are-" I wrinkle my eyebrows and begin to rebut her, but she quickly interrupts me.


    "I''ll make it worthwhile!" She jumps into my chest and hugs me tightly before looking up with puppy eyes. My heart skips a beat at this sight, and my mind races at the implications of her offer.


    "Kleihn!" Rewera booms behind me, causing the gremlin maid to flinch. She lets go of me and staggers back a few steps before bowing her head deeply.


    "It''s alright." I raise a hand to stop the maid leader from lecturing Kleihn about etiquette and attitude toward her queen. She''s quite strict with these things even when I prefer a more casual relationship with my maids. I want them to like me rather than respect me purely out of duty. "I''ll see what I can do."


    I pet the little gremlin''s hair, and she looks like she''s about to jump into my chest again. However, she glances up at Rewera and holds herself back from doing so. Instead, she bows and expresses her gratitude. Sighing, I turn to look at the maid leader with a wry smile.


    "In either case, these two will be staying here with you. I know that you lose yourself in tinkering, but listen to them when they tell you to take cover." I gesture at Arcelia and Sigurd, who watched my exchange with Kleihn in patient silence. The latter smiles warmly, which makes me feel like he''s belittling me.


    "Understood, Chaos-sama." The maid bows to me once more and then turns to Sintress''s two children to do the same. "I will be in your care."


    It''s rare to see maids who usually only work behind the scenes acting like this. Unless Rewera is around, they don''t even bow to me anymore, so this gives me a nostalgic feeling.


    "With this out of the way, it''s time to go." I turn to the hunting parties and announce. The engineering bay is at the center of the Queen Pelomyx, so we will fan out in every cardinal direction. Tokomaha has already confirmed more than fifteen Hestia-bots, so we have our work cut out for us. At this point, we can''t even try taking them out all at the same time to avoid self-destruction of the others. "Keep on the channel and make sure only to take fights you know you can win."


    Everybody present cheers with varying degrees of enthusiasm in their voices. Some people, such as Aurelia and Svanhild, feel that it''s beneath them to act like foot soldiers under a general. Others, like Gram and Korenga, have no such inhibitions and give it their all to pump themselves up.


    Finally, we split into our parties and head for different doors out of the engineering bay. Looking back, I find Kleihn already burying herself back into her work while Arcelia and Sigurd watch with warm smiles. They must think that she''s a child playing around.


    My eyes meet with Asoko''s, who gives me a grin and nods knowingly. I assume she''s going to go all out in her Crawling Chaos form, which is only possible because she will be alone. The door closes behind her, and my Chaos senses tingle; I was right, and she transformed the moment she was out of sight. Somehow, that makes me feel competitive.


    "Let''s clean them up quickly and get back for a meal." I declare, eager to get done for various reasons.


    "As you wish." Rewera nods and takes off her gloves. This is the first time I''ve seen her do that, and I can tell that it''s her sign of getting serious.


    "Do not get ahead of yourself, Chaos." Looking down at me with her head tilted back, Aurelia makes her intention to show off here very clear. Maybe she''s sensing that there''s more behind my eagerness than meets the eye.


    Only Kamii doesn''t say a word and walks firmly.


    Asoko knew that when she''s with her other half, she would be overshadowed. And sure enough, after being called back by Chaos, she disappeared into the background along with her two children. As a clone, she seems to be nothing more than a fake next to the original.


    That thought had plagued Asoko for a long time, and living with the demon maids while deceiving them about her identity had only made it worse. But when she was thawed out and saw Lenoly and the maids who had been willing to journey across the world for her, she had finally overcome that feeling.


    Kuroe Makoto split into two individuals at the start of her life in this world. The half that returned to the castle and met their mother before Asoko even learned the truth about her own existence is undoubtedly the original. However, that doesn''t make her less of a person; Asoko has her own life, and the people who love her are proof that she stands apart from Chaos.


    But even then, a little shard of envy remains in her heart. She may have said that she doesn''t want a life in the limelight, but it wasn''t an easy decision. Hearing from Senka what Chaos went through when they were separated taught her that she lived in a different world altogether. Not only is she the original, but her experiences are much like those of the main characters in those epic stories she read in her previous life.


    Being called back only showed her that once more. While Asoko had traveled to the Adanak Kingdom and retraced Chaos''s steps, her other half had saved the world several times. She has hopelessly fallen behind, and there''s nothing she can do about it - especially not when she''s with Chaos.


    That''s why going alone on this intruder hunt is her way to reclaim a little pride in herself. She will capture or destroy the most Hestia-bots and be able to triumph over her other half at least in this little game. After all, she can go all-out when she''s alone.


    "I''m such a fool." Asoko mutters and sighs, although the voice that emerges is not of this world. At least when it comes to their true appearance, she''s no different from Chaos. They are both existences that distort reality, and the only variable is their experience in utilizing their abilities.


    "You''re close. Just two more corridors." Senka''s voice resounds inside Asoko''s head, pulling her from her melancholic reverie. If the doll girl was able to read her mind, she''s not commenting on it. "The bot just entered the camera''s blind spot. Be careful."


    "That doesn''t matter to me." Gliding through the empty but brightly illuminated corridor like a living shadow, Asoko moves soundlessly. She''s in a Crawling Chaos''s true form, shapeless and ever-changing, spreading like an ink droplet in water. Any living being with a weak will would instantly lose their sanity upon seeing her, but she''s alone now. Surely, cameras could never capture the truth about her as one''s eyes could.


    As her form rounds a corner, the Hestia-bot is right in front of her. Without hesitation, Asoko spills all over it and instantly swallows the robot whole. Even if it can shoot lasers that melt futuristic battleship armor in the blink of an eye, it''s useless if that is fired into infinity.


    Fixing the Hestia-bot in place against her inner wall, Asoko opens the other dimension inside her body toward endless darkness. With the arm laser and the wing cannons held in place, that''s the only place the robot can aim them. Struggling with joint-creaking intensity, it tries to free itself while unleashing laser beams into the abyss.


    Of course, Asoko can''t deliver this live weapon to Kleihn, so she spreads her tendrils and enters through the tiniest cracks in the Hestia-bot''s armor. She suddenly overlays the image of the struggling robot covered in her tentacles with the original Hestia and quickly disperses the thought. That''s a dangerous thought. Instead, she concentrates on finding some important-looking circuits and severs them one by one.


    Eventually, the robot ceases its functions. Unlike in fiction, it doesn''t go limp and instead remains rigid in the pose it was in before the power source was cut. Another movie trope broken by reality.


    All in all, it took Asoko less than ten seconds to subdue the first intruder without causing any collateral damage to the Queen Pelomyx. She''s looking forward to beating her other half this time.


    Rolan and his party follow Senka''s instructions and soon encounter their first target. Not knowing how destructive this winged automaton shaped like Hestia could be, they approach it with caution. For that, Gram has deployed his shield with Svanhild behind him. Rolan and Halthor are taking a detour through other corridors to flank the machine.


    Although it has spotted the towering bald man with his massive energy shield, the automaton appears to be observing him. If it begins to shoot its wing lasers, it could cause a lot of damage to the interior of the Queen Pelomyx, so they try not to aggravate it until everybody is in position.


    "Lady Exla said that energy shields were science fiction." Svanhild mutters behind Gram while looking at the glowing shield emerging from the center of his physical one. That must mean Kleihn invented something even the Old Humans thought impossible. After all, this shield remained active even inside the inhibition field generator that Alverost carried.


    "Don''t worry about it too much." Gram replies with a grin that visibly lifts the corners of his mustache. "All of this is beyond me. But what I know is that we have to do everything to get to the sun and save Runa."


    Svanhild is aware of that herself. She had been trained as a Chosen Knight and thought she was standing at the top of the world right below the gods. But then, Chloe Marcott returned as a being that could challenge and even best these gods. Her world was shattered when she learned that everything she had been taught was a lie.


    All she can do now is let herself get swept along by the person who messed up her life. But in reality, she''s not truly angry about being awakened from this dream. She may even be grateful to Chloe for opening her eyes to the truth.


    "Uh-oh." The big man''s voice pulls Svanhild out of her thoughts.


    "What?" She quickly asks, instantly worried.


    "The automaton seems to consider us an enemy now." Gram responds with a wry smile. He points ahead to show that the winged machine has raised its laser cannon and aims at them.


    "This shield will hold, right?" Svanhild mutters in a doubtful tone. It worked against the lasers that Alverost''s mechanical arms unleashed, but this one''s weapon gives her a much more powerful impression. After all, she witnessed what Hestia was capable of, and these are modeled after her.


    "Are you in position?" The big man skips over Svanhild''s question and speaks into the earplug-like device that lets them communicate with each other across large distances without having to shout.


    "Halthor and I are in position. On my mark." Rolan''s voice responds a moment later. Halthor and the leader are on opposing sides of the crossing and will move in for a pincer attack. All Gram has to do is advance and keep the automaton''s attention on him. His translucent glowing shield and big frame are perfect for that. "Go!"


    All four spring into action at once. Although the big man mainly acts as a distraction, Svanhild is his follow-up. It''s a similar strategy to the one they used against Alverost, and this automaton is most likely not as powerful as an Old Human.


    A violet laser beam hits Gram''s shield but is dispersed harmlessly. It would appear that Kleihn''s invention triumphs over even advanced technology. However, the automaton suddenly spreads both its mechanical wings and unleashes a barrage from the tips of their segments down the corridors on its sides.


    Both Rolan and Halthor have a personal shield, but theirs are far smaller than Gram''s. The leader ducks low so that the energy barrier deployed from the back of his left hand covers more of his body. On the other side, Halthor utilizes the strength given to him through his Chosen Knight training to charge forward in one go while barely avoiding the beams.


    The automaton appears to realize its position and flies backward. However, Halthor is already on it and reaches out with his gauntleted hand. He''s the Lightning Knight, and even if he''s vastly overshadowed by the woman named Tahiri, who is like a real goddess, his electric discharges are like lightning.


    His fingers brush against the metal wing and an electric arc forms between them. At least that''s what was supposed to happen, but the automaton''s surface seems to be non-conductive. With that, Halthor''s main form of attack is rendered ineffective.


    However, he doesn''t let that discourage him. He fought Korenga, who was immune to his lightning, to a standstill back during the war. The inhibition field bubble only covers the head and torso, so the rest is still susceptible to the Imagination Engine. As a Chosen Knight, he wasn''t selected solely for his ability to generate electricity. His combat sense is extraordinary, as well.


    Reaching out with his other hand, Halthor grabs one of the automaton''s wing segments and pulls it toward him. Finding the perfect distance from the inhibition field generator, he steps on the robot''s thigh and pulls with all his might. Metal creaks and then rips, and the Lightning Knight holds the automaton''s broken left wing in his hand.


    In the next moment, Rolan comes into range with Roshanee. The glowing blade effortlessly shreds the right wing down to the lower joint but then bounces off the alloy. That''s how far out the inhibition field generator extends from the dome on the automaton''s chest. It raises its laser cannon arm into the leader''s face, who barely raises his oval energy shield in time to block the beam.


    Finally, Svanhild emerges from behind Gram, activates the boosters on her drill lance, and flies straight at the now wingless automaton. It turns its head with the mask-like face, then raises its left forearm to block the lance.


    Svanhild shreds right through that arm and then the chest dome before the force of her drill rips the entire automaton into pieces. Turning around after passing through the broken machine, the Dragon Knight looks at the remains to make sure it won''t explode.


    "One down." She whispers to herself in a satisfied tone. Even after everything, she can still contribute.

 Chapter 154 - The Collective

    "Too easy." Korenga complains with a shrug and drops the Hestia-bot she ripped in two carelessly. If it has a self-destruct mechanism installed, it must have been broken. The towering woman covered in black tattoos hasn''t even entered her Black God mode yet. This means that her physical strength doesn''t come from the Imagination Engine but Mataku''s curse.


    "There is one more down the corridor and to the right." Uten and Saten translate in unison what Senka tells them over the comms. Korenga has been learning the Imperian language, but it''s not good enough to understand scientific terms. "And be more careful next time."


    "What is there to be careful about?" Turning away and heading for her next target, the Black God speaks in a displeased tone. She hoped to have enemies that could fight a little, but these robots are about as flimsy as humans when faced with her might. "I don''t even need to go all out."


    "Well, we still don''t know if they will explode." Saten explains patiently, crossing his arms to stress his seriousness.


    "You may have only been lucky this time." Uten adds, following his brother''s example and then nodding.


    "Then I''ll just have to break them all the same way I broke this one." Korenga points at the pieces of the unmoving Hestia-bot with her head. "Problem solved."


    "I wish I could have such a simple disposition." The twins translate Senka''s comment, then realize that they weren''t supposed to do so. The Black God looms over them with a frown and looks at their faces one by one, then turns away again. Uten and Saten breathe a sigh of relief.


    "Next." Korenga declares in a tone that leaves no room for argument. With a look at each other, the twins follow the Black God''s lead wordlessly.


    The trio walks down the corridor and reaches the bend around where Senka said the next Hestia-bot is. But when they round the corner, it''s not just one robot that awaits them. Half a dozen mechanical angels turn their heads, their eye lenses focusing on the three.


    In the next moment, they point their laser arms at Korenga first, judging her to be the biggest threat. Her eyes widen, followed by her lips curling up into a broad grin. This is the fun she was hoping for.


    Uten and Saten duck back around the corner when Korenga turns into the Black God and gets to work. Laser shots fly and scorch the walls, and the sound of metal ripping and tearing echoes through the hallway. The bestial roar of the berserker goddess tells the twins that it''s better if they stay back for now. They have no reason to compete here.


    The severed head of a Hestia-bot bounces past Uten. He stares at it as it rolls down the corridor, then looks at Saten, who only gives him a shrug in response. With Korenga around, they won''t have a chance to bring that cute maid with the fluffy ears a complete robot. Then again, they understand that it''s better not to pine for their mother''s lovers.


    "There were more than expected." Saten reports to Senka over his headset while glancing around the corner to see how Korenga is doing. He witnesses her grabbing the arms of a Hestia-bot and kicking it in the chest, ripping off the limbs while cracking the inhibition field dome. "Six of them."


    "Huh?" The doll girl replies with a sound of confusion. "Wait, where are you right now?"


    "It says D Block, Level 5, Crossing B32 here." Uten joins the call, looking at the number on the wall across from them.


    "Wait, you''re one level higher than the feed I was looking at." Senka realizes in a distressed tone. The sound of rattling keys tells the twins that she must be switching to the surveillance feed on their level now. "There''s one more right below you. Korenga seems about done."


    "Sounds like it." With a listen, Saten agrees. The Black God''s rampage has abruptly come to an end with the last breaking noise of space alloy.


    "You can go down to the level below from a service hatch near you." The doll girl explains, but she sounds absentminded.


    "What''s the matter?" Uten asks while nodding when Saten points out the aforementioned hatch. He can tell that the revelation of there being more Hestia-bots than expected is causing her a headache.


    "I''ll get back to you in a moment." With this short answer, Senka switches off her comms. The twins exchange a look, then split up to get to work. Saten walks over to the hatch and tries to figure out how to open it while Uten turns around the corner.


    "Over here, Korenga." He calls out to the Black God, who looks around as if hoping that one of the Hestia-bots is only playing dead and will try to attack her. She turns her head, her black eyes glaring at the little Crawling Chaos for a moment. Then she undoes her transformation as if it were nothing.


    Less than a year ago, she attacked the twins in an uncontrollable rage because she thought they were aspects of Mataku. It took their mother everything in her power to keep her busy until she fell asleep at midnight. Now, the Black God appears to effortlessly switch between the cursed beast and her regular form at the snap of a finger. She can still lose control sometimes, but usually only when the Primordial Terror is involved.


    "There''s another one down there." Uten points at Saten, who just found the lever to open the service hatch.


    "I''m not sure I''ll fit." Scrutinizing the opening with narrowed eyes, Korenga ponders while rubbing her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "You two go ahead. I''ll go around."


    "Uten will go with you. I''ll scout ahead." Not waiting for an answer, Saten drops down into the hatch fearlessly and disappears out of sight. The two left behind exchange a glance and shrug before walking in the direction of a lift that will take them down.


    "I assume you never watched a horror movie in your life." Senka suddenly opens the line and comments when Saten releases the ceiling hatch and sticks his head out from it. The Hestia-bot has skated down the corridor on its wheels and appears to be searching for something.


    "What do you mean?" Looking around to make sure there are no others, Saten asks.


    "You never split up." The doll girl asserts in a grim tone.


    "Well, if this were horror, I would be the monster." Saten replies in a whisper. With a grin, he silently lowers himself from the hatch by transforming into the true appearance of a Crawling Chaos. Slithering across the ground, he moves soundlessly and approaches the robot from behind.


    Then he latches onto the humanoid robot''s limbs all at once and bends them back into a hogtie before ripping them out of their sockets. Even if Korenga''s strength is superior to Saten''s, he''s still a Crawling Chaos. He can break metal without a problem, too.


    "There was only one here." Saten returns to his human form and speaks to Senka. He holds the limbless torso of the Hestia-bot up by its head and looks at its features. It''s a simple design with no embellishment; everything on it serves a purpose. "What were you so concerned about?"


    "I''ve been looking at security feeds all over the ship. They''re multiplying." Comes the doll girl''s alarming reply. "I think it''s dumb that the security cameras don''t cover everything."


    "It would be too easy then, wouldn''t it?" With a wry smile, Saten lifts the robot higher to look at its face. The mask-like plate covering it lacks all features, but it still follows basic human anatomy with its bilateral symmetry and a pair of camera lenses behind eye-shaped slits. "When I look at it this closely, it does seem kind of cute."


    In the next moment, the Hestia-bot explodes.


    So far, we haven''t been able to capture a single one of the mechanical Fatas. Aurelia realized on the first encounter that her golden weapons are unable to penetrate the torso but can still cut the wings and legs. She can incapacitate them, but finding that they have no more options may lead to self-destruction - if they have such a function, that is. I''d rather not find out.


    Instead, we encountered about seven of them so far. Rewera is leading in the score, having taken out four with her bare hands. Aurelia disarmed one, and I finished it off. And finally, Kamii got two.


    I already knew that the little dark elf has become incredibly skilled in combat, but watching her dodging laser shots coming down the corridor had me on edge. Still, she made it all the way across by herself and ripped through each Hestia-bot with a single swing of her cursed arm.


    Even now, I don''t fully understand the principle behind her power. It appears that every hit doubles her impact force, but I remember seeing it resetting after she missed a swing, struck something inanimate, or didn''t hit anything for a while. How come she can do it with these robots then? Once we''re done here, I''ll have to ask her about it, as she seems to have figured out the rules of her power.


    "Hm." Aurelia makes when we follow Tokomaha''s clone toward the next target. The Golden Queen must be frustrated about not being able to help much, though I think our combination attack is fine. We can fight side by side, which is already more than I can hope for when we consider our enemies.


    Suddenly, the whole ship shakes from an impact or an explosion. An alarm starts blaring, pulling me out of my peaceful thoughts. We don''t experience a shockwave, so the detonation must have occurred either far enough away or was sectioned off by blast doors.


    "What happened?!" I ask into my headset.


    "There was an explosion in D Block. I lost contact with Saten." The doll girl''s answer makes my heart drop. Even if they''re my children, and I know that they''re powerful individually, a sudden explosion and losing contact with him still worries me.


    "Damage report." Still, I bring myself to ask about the status of the ship first. If we have sustained massive hull damage, we might lose air, putting all those who can''t survive in space without a suit in immediate danger.


    "Luckily, the ship''s armored hallways held, and the shockwave has dispersed throughout D Block. No hull breach detected." In a professional tone, Senka gives me the readings. "Saten was right there, though."


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "What about Uten and Korenga?" After a short pause, I inquire about the other two who were with him. I doubt anything can happen to Korenga as long as she''s in Black God mode, although an explosion that can''t destroy this ship most likely can''t damage her normal form either.


    "They split up before it happened. Uten and Korenga are now on their way to the explosion site and should be able to report the situation soon." When I hear that my other son is safe, I breathe a sigh of relief. "Ah, they-"


    Senka''s voice is interrupted by static that completely drowns her out. I glance at my companions, who were listening in on the conversation, then take off the headset and use the doll girl''s telepathy to talk to her.


    "What happened to the comms?" I ask in my mind, but before I can get an answer, the corridor lights switch off and turn back on in red. It''s the emergency illumination in case the ship loses power.


    "Somebody is jamming the channels!" Senka replies in a distressed tone. I can imagine her stitched hands flying across the keyboard to figure out the issue, much like when she was checking the engine error.


    "What do you mean, somebody?"


    "Something!"


    "That''s not an answer!"


    Suddenly, the alarm noise from the speakers is replaced by static that fills the hallway. It rises to an ear-splitting pitch before disappearing altogether. For a moment, there''s silence, and I exchange a look with Kamii. Then, a female artificial intelligence voice speaks in the pleasant tone of an announcer.


    "We are the Collective. Your ship is already under our control. Surrender, and your termination shall be painless." The voice declares as if speaking about the weather. Her proposal means death in either case, so we should ignore it.


    "That must be the contingency plan of the Venus Fleet." Senka explains in my mind, most likely saying what Exla is telling her. "In the first place, their fleet should look like an alien force to anybody who doesn''t know that the Old Humans are fakes. This act is only solidifying that impression."


    "So, the ship is under their control. They could vent everybody out into space then." That explanation is as good as any to me; I need to know what we can do.


    "Abandon ship." The doll girl responds as if having heard my unposed question. I can tell that it''s not her usual sarcasm but spoken in utter seriousness. The artificial intelligence of the Venus Fleet is vastly more powerful than any number of human brains combined. "Ah, Exla says she''s doing something about it."


    I blink my eyes a few times. For a moment, I was utterly convinced by my own train of thoughts, but that just derailed it.


    "What did you say?" I ask in an incredulous tone that must be showing on my face, as Kamii tilts her head questioningly. Then, she seems to realize something.


    "What''s going on?" The little dark elf''s voice suddenly joins our mental call, and I stare at her wide-eyed. Aurelia watches us with an eyebrow raised, unsure what to make of my pantomime.


    "Before you ask, she''s initiated. And so are Asoko and Hestia." Senka quickly explains before continuing with the more pressing matter at hand. "Exla said, ''I''ll take care of this, senpai'' with a confident smile."


    "That''s alright, then." Kamii remarks, and any hint of worry disappears from her face. When I see her put her trust in Exla this quickly, I realize what I''ve been doing. How could I forget that the cloud girl is the Old Human with the greatest mental capacity among her kind? Only because she hasn''t been able to show off her powers recently doesn''t mean she''s out of her depth now.


    "What should we do then?" Rather, what can we do? If it involves technology, there''s no way I can contribute. All I know is fighting using a direct approach, making the best use of my imagination and Crawling Chaos body.


    "I think this Collective took over a section of the ship and used its material to build a replicator to create an army of those robots. When they decided they had enough physical defenses, they hacked our system." Senka speaks in a slightly absentminded tone. She must be typing on her keyboard at the same time, trying to push back the Venus Fleet AI''s encroachment on the ship''s life support systems. "The most likely location is the cloning halls of D Block. Uten and Saten reported many enemies on their way there. Rolan''s group went the exact opposite direction and has only encountered three enemies. Asoko was second closest to them and caught five and destroyed eight. You had seven on your end. What you can do is try to find this replicator and destroy it."


    "Understood." Kamii replies immediately, seemingly unconcerned about the dangers we may be facing.


    "How could we have overlooked it until things got this bad?" I vent, knowing that there''s no point in complaining about what''s done. We went into this whole journey to the Sun quite unprepared for what our enemies had in store. It''s only natural that this is what we get.


    "Well, if it''s any consolation to you, I think I have found our engine problem." The doll girl says, followed by an audible sigh even though we''re communicating telepathically. She had to get that one in there, didn''t she?


    "Let me guess. The Venus Fleet AI already infiltrated us in our last battle. We''re only seeing its effect now." It''s not even a surprise to me anymore. After all, I can believe it when Sintress says that her solid light barrier is perfect. That means the infiltrators must have come from the scouting fleet we fought before.


    "One hundred points to you. Now that we know the source, time to take it out." Senka is trying to sound encouraging, but her voice feels sarcastic to me. Surely, things aren''t as simple as her statement makes them seem, and she''s implying that.


    "Where is Tahiri?" Changing the topic, I ask about the God of Storm since I haven''t heard from her for a while. She checked the circuits for broken places across the ship before, so she may have even traveled through the replicator at one point.


    "She hasn''t come back yet..." The doll girl trails off, having realized that something is wrong about that. Electricity moves at nearly the speed of light, so even if Tahiri did a comprehensive check of every single panel and switchboard, she should be done many times over.


    If she entered an inhibition field while inside a cable in the wall, she would have been turned into her human form. I shudder to imagine what that would mean if she were in a place her body couldn''t fit. And in that case, I would most likely not find her remains in a long time.


    I close my eyes and spread out my consciousness across the entire ship. Passively, I can feel life forces well, but when I concentrate, it becomes much keener. I count the forty-eight maids in the quarters around the command module and those who stayed on the bridge, Kleihn and Sintress''s two children in the engineering bay, Rolan''s party, Asoko sweeping through the corridors, and Korenga and Uten next to Saten.


    I can tell that Saten lost a lot of his mass in that explosion. It must have taken him by utter surprise to be able to do that much damage to him. After all, with the dragon template, he should have been able to withstand a blast that can''t even damage the ship''s structure. When I meet him, I''ll have to chastise him about letting down his guard in a combat zone.


    Of course, I can''t sense the presence of the Hestia-bots or the location of the replicator. When I go deeper, maybe I can use the bacteria in the air to feel movements caused by the machines. I''ve tried seeing all of life before, and it was an overwhelming sensational overload. But I''m still growing, and my limits are yet to be seen.


    Just as I''m about to focus, I feel a lone presence far inside D Block. It''s none other than Tahiri, staying in fetal position unmoving but alive. Maybe she passed through an inhibition field and was turned into her human form inside a cramped space. It''s even possible that the entire area surrounding the replicator is packed with inhibition field generators - if they haven''t yet implemented Alverost''s prototype.


    Whatever the case, rescuing Tahiri is my priority now.


    "Tell Asoko to head for D Block and join Korenga and the twins. I assume you don''t have a line to Rolan and his crew, so tell Tokomaha to send a clone. He should return to the engineering bay." Our focus should be to stop the physical encroachment of the artificial intelligence. Even if they can take over through the software, we can always restore things as long as the hardware is safe. The worst-case scenario would be if the engine was tampered with physically. "We''ll head there as well."


    Senka replies in the affirmative, and our connection is ended. She most likely realized from my tone that I know that Tahiri is, if not safe, at least alive, so she didn''t comment on it further.


    "Now, tell me what is happening." Aurelia demands to know when she senses that I''m back in the physical realm.


    "Well, you heard the announcement. The Venus Fleet has taken over part of the Queen Pelomyx and is trying to gain full control. Exla will take care of the internal part. We''re going to clean out the enemies in the ship." I summarize our telepathic conversation. Kamii was listening in, so she doesn''t require an explanation. And for Rewera, this all goes over her head, so she will simply follow me.


    "Destroy the enemies. Understood." The Golden Queen replies with a sneer. She, of all people, shouldn''t act arrogant now that she knows the best she can do is incapacitate the Hestia-bots. But Aurelia wouldn''t be Aurelia if she didn''t put up a tough front even under these circumstances.


    From now on, we need to worry about the enemies self-destructing. That it hasn''t happened earlier means they only do it under certain circumstances. We don''t know what those are until we ask Saten, who was hit by one such explosion. Therefore, we should disable the enemies entirely for the time being. I''m worried that Asoko, who captured several Hestia-bots, may get exploded from within, but I''m sure she has taken the necessary precautions.


    With these thoughts, we set off in the direction of D Block while taking care of any robots we encounter on the way. I believe in Arcelia and Sigurd, and Rolan''s party to keep the engineering bay safe. Exla and Sintress have the bridge, so I don''t need to worry about that place. In the end, we should be fine as long as nothing unforeseen happens.


    Tahiri is hiding naked in a small crevice between two machines in a hall with many glass vats. They''re all empty now, but she can tell that they were used to grow living beings when this was still Alverost''s ship.


    In the center of the hall, a machine that seems to be pouring out a mercury-like substance is eating away at everything in its surroundings and adding the matter to itself. From an opening, winged metal puppets are emerging one by one with an increasingly shorter delay.


    The replicator is growing at an increasing rate. The larger its size, the more mercury pours out to consume the Queen Pelomyx. Tahiri can tell that if this threat isn''t rooted out entirely, it will return like cancer. That silvery liquid must be the origin of it all, not the growing machine itself.


    The God of Storm doesn''t know much about technology. When she was traveling through the ship''s electronics and passed through this place before, she didn''t think of it as anything out of the ordinary back then. After all, it was connected to the ship''s energy grid and didn''t do anything.


    But the second time she checked the ship after Chaos returned, she came through once and realized that this place had come to life. Her mistake was to check it out again on her own instead of immediately reporting it. When she exited the circuits to take a look with her physical body, an inhibition field covering the entire hall was activated at that same moment. Whether out of pure chance or with the goal to capture her, the machine prevented her from using her powers.


    However, she managed to emerge in a spot where it couldn''t see her, so she could hide herself in time. She has been sitting in the fetal position, trying to breathe as little as possible while the machines walked past her one after the other.


    It''s frustrating for a god to be hiding like this. But she knows that without her powers, she''s nothing more than a fragile human. Chaos has taught her that survival matters more than misguided honor; as long as one lives, one can strike back again. If she died here, she wouldn''t be able to lie with Chaos again.


    The fact that she''s thinking about such things in her precarious situation causes Tahiri to smile wryly. Before she met Chaos, she had never feared a thing. She lived life to her heart''s content, killed those who opposed her, and enjoyed her status as a god of Adanak. The existence of other powerful gods was unimportant to her. She was the wind, the storm; nobody could stop her.


    Only when Tahiri met Chaos did she begin to fear losing something. Whether that was her dignity as a god, her children, or her very life, she could no longer do as she pleased without worrying about the consequences.


    It''s her own fault for getting into this situation, so she has to get herself out of it even if she can''t use her powers. However, the only way leads past the increasingly more frequently passing winged metal puppets. If she''s found, that will be the end of her.


    Waiting for help to arrive isn''t like Tahiri. Who knows when Chaos or anybody else who can save her will come? The likelihood of getting discovered rises with time, and eventually, the replicator will spread to her position. The sooner she makes her move, the better.


    Peeking out from her hiding spot, the depowered God of Storm looks for an opportunity to make a run for it. Just then, one of the winged robots rolls past her on its wheeled feet, causing Tahiri to freeze. She hears the wheels come to a squeaking stop, and her eyes turn to look in its direction.


    The metal puppet has turned around. Even though it has no real eyes, Tahiri can feel its mechanical gaze on her skin, prickling like a freezing gale. It takes not even a moment to identify the naked woman as an enemy and raises its arm cannon.

 Chapter 155 - Absolute Control

    The God of Storm stares into the barrel of the mechanical angel''s arm cannon and realizes that this may be the end for her. She''s in a cramped space, and there will be more coming down the aisle at any moment. Even if she can dodge the first shot, she will be exposed to all the other enemies in the vicinity.


    But she wouldn''t be a god of Adanak if she didn''t struggle until the end. Jumping out from her hiding spot and rolling across the ground right as the cannon lights up inside, she avoids the laser beam by a hair''s breadth. In fact, the tips of her long sky-blue hair are grazed by it and catch on fire, but she has more to worry about than losing her hair. The metal puppet is following her movements and going for a second shot.


    Suddenly, a wave of darkness travels down the corridor behind the enemy and swallows it whole. Tahiri can''t help but scream when she stares into the abyss that threatens to roll over her as well. However, tendrils of blackness shoot out and cover her mouth before the abyss retreats and turns into a human form. It''s Asoko, a finger on her lips to shush the God of Storm softly.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter anymore..." Chaos''s other half remarks with a sigh and lets go of Tahiri''s mouth while looking past her. The goddess turns around and finds mechanical angels approaching their position from all around the massive replicator. Some fly, others skate across the aisles or climb over the vats and the other equipment in the hall. "I assume an inhibitor is active around here."


    Asoko pulls a blanket from her stomach and lays it over Tahiri''s shoulders as the latter is frozen in place. She must be still processing what she saw of the Crawling Chaos''s true form. It would seem that Chaos never showed her everything.


    "The others are coming. Go down that way and don''t turn back." Asoko declares while stepping forward to meet the gathering enemies. Tahiri''s mind snaps back to reality, and she grasps the blanket to cover herself before starting to run.


    Even after such a long life as a goddess, witnessing the true unfathomable depths of a Crawling Chaos has left her transported back to a time when she was a simple village girl. To when she cowered during thunderstorms thinking it the wrath of the gods. But she knows that there is nothing to understand about this being; even the concept of its existence is beyond her grasp.


    As she runs down the corridor almost blindly, she hears the sound of laser beams and explosions behind her but doesn''t dare to turn around. She knows that Asoko wouldn''t do anything to hurt her, but her instincts tell her to get as far away from the Crawling Chaos as she can.


    Thus, she only realizes her surroundings when she runs face-first into a pair of soft breasts she remembers the shape of quite well. Looking up, she sees Chaos gazing into her eyes with worry. The God of Storm flinches but understands that her fear is irrational. However, it''s already too late, and Chaos has noticed her behavior.


    "I''m sorry..." Tahiri apologizes, but Chaos flicks her over the forehead. The pain seems to travel through her entire body, and she realizes only now how tense her muscles were. It would seem that the terror of Asoko''s true form has permeated her from head to toe.


    "I take you saw Asoko come through." Chaos mutters with a wry smile. Even though Tahiri shirked away from her in fear, she doesn''t fault her for it and shows understanding instead. Then she turns away and addresses Rewera. "Please take her back to the command center."


    The towering maid leader hesitates for a moment and shows a difficult expression which Tahiri interprets as not wanting to leave her queen''s side when she''s about to head into battle. But then she nods in acceptance.


    Under normal circumstances, the God of Storm would have protested being treated as if she were delicate and weak. But she realizes that her mental state makes her unfit for combat, more so than the inhibition field that stopped her powers have. Accepting Chaos handling her tenderly with silent gratefulness, she departs with Rewera.


    I have to thank Asoko for saving Tahiri, but give her a stern talking to about her showing off her true appearance before anybody but the corrupted people. Even if they seem like actual gods, even more so than the Old Humans, they still possess human minds. Our humanoid true forms with replacement faces are the limits of what they can take, and even that is enough to break weaker-minded humans.


    Walking down the corridor where Tahiri came from with Kamii and Aurelia, we head toward where I feel Asoko rampaging. Her void in my perception rapidly changes form as it snaps across the room, quickly expands and contracts while fighting something invisible within the Chaos senses. I resist the urge to glance at my companions; if there are a lot of Hestia-bots at once, they''ll be in danger too.


    As we come upon a massive hall filled with glass vats and machinery for creating demons, my eyes are glued to the gigantic machine at its center. Liquid metal is spreading from its base in pulses, and Hestia-bots emerge from the many holes in its structure like wasps from a hive. It must be consuming the matter of the Queen Pelomyx to build its army.


    They''re all swarming around a shadow without a definite shape that moves across the room erratically. It swallows the mechanical angels that are too slow to get out of its way and grows tendrils into spikes to rip apart the others out of its reach.


    Asoko is showing off her power against the Old Human technology, overwhelming the army of Hestia-bots all by herself. I turn to look at Aurelia, who furrows her brow at the living darkness in the hall before her. She saw my true face and didn''t lose her mind, but at the time, I was still in a humanoid form.


    Kamii watches without a change in her expression, taking in the truth of my other half, and in extension, of me. She seems to be evaluating Asoko''s power and appears impressed by her prowess. This is the first time she sees a Crawling Chaos fight all-out, so she turns to me as if silently asking whether I''m capable of that too.


    "Do you want to see?" I ask her with a smile, and she stares at me with her swirling amethyst galaxies. Kamii is a master of the poker face, but I can tell that she''s excited to witness my true power.


    "One is enough." Aurelia states in a displeased tone. It would seem that seeing a Crawling Chaos in its natural shapelessness - even if only from afar - doesn''t agree with her. I can''t fault her for that since it is quite a mind-bending experience.


    "Asoko, mind doing it in a less obvious way?" I call out to my other half, who sweeps through a group of Hestia-bots and swallows them without a trace. The blackness consolidates into a humanoid shape with distinct red vein-like lines running across its body. My split half looks different from me when she does that, and it doesn''t appear to be a conscious choice.


    "How many have you got, sister?" She calls out to me across the hall while dodging a laser and ripping through another Hestia-bot with her tentacle hands.


    "Fewer than you." I admit although I don''t want to tell her that I can count those we took out among the four of us on two hands. Meanwhile, she must have swallowed at least two dozen since we came here. I won''t be catching up to her now.


    "How many for Kleihn?" Even though Asoko doesn''t have a face in that form, I can tell that she''s wearing a sardonic grin when she asks this.


    "None..." I admit with a roll of my eyes. After learning that the mechanical angels can detonate themselves, I decided it would be best to turn them into scrap. Technically, I could line my insides with dragon armor to withstand explosions, but I don''t want to risk it. Even after so long, I still have a trauma from that one time a professor exploded my insides.


    "Want some? I got a few to spare." The smug grin I''m imagining on my other half''s nonexistent face begins to annoy me now.


    "After we deal with that." I point at the giant replicating machine at the center of the hall spewing out more and more robots. Their shapes have since departed from a Hestia-like appearance as if trying to replicate Asoko. Considering that her power doesn''t come from her shape, it might even be a step-down from the Hestia-bots with their many weapon systems.


    "Don''t bother. We need to abandon this entire section." Senka suddenly states in my mind, but it would seem that she addressed Kamii and Asoko as well since they both react to it.


    "What do you mean?" I ask with my eyes narrowed, although I know the doll girl can''t see it.


    "The Collective has already taken over most systems through the software, but that liquid metal will take over the hardware too. If that happens, the entire ship will be under its control with no means for us to revert it." She responds in a grim tone. I don''t understand what that means, but I know that we can''t let the Collective take over the ship''s critical systems. "Exla and I are working on releasing the city section."


    By city section, she means the majority of the Queen Pelomyx. The command center and other vital systems are located in the detachable core, while the rest is filled with cloning and housing facilities. Now I get that if the liquid metal spreads to the core, there will be no way to counteract its encroachment anymore.


    "Do what must be done. What''s our role in this?" I don''t know anything about computers, so I can''t help in combating the Collective''s cyberattack. All I can do is bash things, I guess.


    "Go wild. Destroy to your heart''s content. Everything in that section will be detached anyway. But keep the Collective busy." Senka responds, and I notice a change in Asoko. It seems she was waiting to hear this.


    "Call back the others if you can reach them." I state in my mind and turn to Kamii. She should head back to the command center; once we start blasting, the hull could be damaged, and the air could escape from the ship. Aurelia is still in her golden form now, so the inhibition field doesn''t reach the hall entrance yet. "Just in case, you two should return. Leave this to me and me."


    I gesture at Asoko, who is already going all-out, shooting plasma beams all over the place with no regard for the damage she''s causing. She''s inside the inhibition field, but the dragon template generates plasma not through the Imagination Engine but by biological means.


    Aurelia shoots me a glare that suggests she doesn''t like the implication in my request. It''s like I''m saying that she''s weak, though it''s not my intention.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "I just want you to be safe." I extend a hand to caress the Golden Queen''s cheek, but she turns away. I can tell from her expression that she''s well aware of the dangers and hates that it''s true. She can survive in space without a suit, but that becomes useless when the enemy can take away her power. In the end, space is the territory of lifeless machines and Cosmic Horrors.


    "Korenga doesn''t care." Senka''s voice adds in my mind. I guess the doll girl and the Black God are exceptions.


    Wordlessly, the Golden Queen turns around and walks back down the corridor we came from. Kamii gives me a silent look, telling me to be careful.


    "Who do you think I am?" I respond with my arms crossed and a confident grin, but her eyebrows twitch.


    "An irresponsible child who makes mistakes all the time and causes everybody to suffer the consequences." She stabs me mercilessly with these words, causing Aurelia to stop in her step and turn around. The Golden Queen looks at Kamii with her eyebrows raised in utter surprise, then glances at my face.


    "Amazing." It would seem that her mood has been lifted by the little dark elf beating me down verbally. She smiles wholeheartedly while extending a hand toward Kamii, who only gives me a deadpan look before turning to follow Aurelia. The latter sticks out her tongue at me and leaves hand in hand with the little dark elf.


    "What just happened?" I stand rooted in place, staring at the two girls blankly.


    "You got what you deserve." The doll girl declares.


    "Ouch." Blinking my eyes a few times to gather my thoughts, I turn to see how Asoko is faring. She appears to have overheard Kamii''s tirade and is laughing away while ripping through the Collective''s robot army.


    "But you are the person I love the most." The little dark elf''s voice suddenly speaks into my mind, and I spin around. But she and Aurelia have already disappeared around a corner.


    "That''s motivation enough for me." Smiling wryly, I mutter to myself. I know that the same is true for Aurelia, despite her sometimes cold demeanor. She doesn''t express it often, but that makes those moments all the more precious.


    Without further ado, I burst into my true form and join Asoko''s assault on the massive replicator in the center of the hall as a robot army comes at us from all sides. Hopefully, this is the last battle before we reach the Sun.


    "It has breached the level seven defense." Senka announces as her stitched fingers fly across the keyboard. The only other person in the room who understands her is Exla, who is sitting motionlessly on her chair and seems to be staring into thin air.


    "All you need to do is delay. I''m about to reach the detachment controls." The cloud girl''s voice emerges from the speakers in the command center. She''s using her mind to interface with the ship computers directly and overcomes the limits of the human body. "Is everybody back in the core section?"


    "Everybody is accounted for. Except for the usual suspects." Senka glances at Rewera, who rounded up the Maid Corps in the crew quarters and brought them to the engine room. Rolan and the others are back in the command center and watch the situation unfold with anxious expressions. The only ones missing are Chaos, Asoko, the twins, and Korenga, who should be fine even if they''re blown into space.


    "Encroachment on memory banks... halted." The speakers suddenly say, and the motionless Exla''s eyebrows twitch. She''s referring to her personal memory, which is stored inside her very body with the help of the Imagination Engine. The fact that even a fragment of the Venus Fleet''s artificial intelligence could endanger her mind shows how powerful its processing power is. "Locks release mechanism is back in our hands. Quick, it''s trying to corrupt me again!"


    Senka stops typing on her keyboard and switches to a different console to input the commands. For a moment, nothing seems to happen. Then, an alarm blares throughout the entire ship from all speakers.


    "City section detachment sequence initiated. All personnel; clear the affected areas immediately. I repeat-" A pleasant female voice announces, but Senka continues to type away. The voice continues in a more severe tone. "Emergency detachment sequence commencing."


    The doll girl expedited the process and skipped the grace period granted to personnel to clear the area. The Collective could have found a way to stop it through the network invasion or by physical means if she gave them the time.


    A tremor runs through the entire Queen Pelomyx, felt to even the most superfluous exterior structures of the upside-down city of the Mu-class Seed Ship. Small controlled explosions occur all around an oval section at the center of the massive vessel before the ship''s core detaches.


    "The network invasion has been cut off." Exla''s voice comes from the speakers, showing that she isn''t letting her guard down even now. She must be fighting the last traces of the Venus Fleet artificial intelligence remaining within the core''s systems.


    "We have control!" Senka exclaims and quickly inputs one command after another. The red emergency illumination is replaced with the regular white lighting, and the doll girl breathes a sigh of relief.


    "Engines are coming back online." The cloud girl states while remaining immersed in the virtual world. "Taking our distance from the city section."


    "What about Chaos-sama?" Rewera asks while looking at the large screen that now displays the view from a rear camera of the core section as it drifts away from the detached city.


    "They''re having fun." Senka appears to have been in constant communication with the four Crawling Chaoses rampaging through the cloning facilities. They''re with Korenga, who''s going berserk against the robot army that the replicator is throwing at them in its last-ditch effort to protect itself.


    A massive explosion erupts from the city ship near the gaping hole where the core section used to be. They''re lucky that the Collective''s invasion was detected before it could physically take over any critical ship sectors. And even luckier that they have Exla, the only person who could compete with the artificial intelligence''s processing powers. Otherwise, they would have had to abandon the ship entirely.


    "Let them have their moment." The doll girl comments when Rewera stares at it in worry. It would seem that the maid leader still can''t grasp the true power of Chaos and her split parts.


    "Alright, time to end this." I return to my human form and announce to Asoko and the twins. The replicator is in shambles, and the inhibition field generator is destroyed. However, the liquid metal is still moving. Unless we annihilate everything with plasma, it''s never going to end. And I''ve had my fill of destroying a sheer endless wave of robots in any way imaginable. "You go ahead."


    "What do you want to do?" My other half asks with a wave of her hand, creating an invisible shockwave that rips several robots apart effortlessly. She''s learning to use the Imagination Engine pretty quickly.


    "I want to try something big, and you''ll get caught up in it. If you don''t want to return to being a part of me, better leave." I gesture at the corridor behind us. The atmosphere in the ship is being sucked toward it, meaning that there''s an opening into space.


    "What about her?" Uten and Saten point at Korenga still rampaging through the hordes of robots trying to pile onto her after finding out that their weapons are ineffective against her. It reminds me of that time we fought Roamukao, the God of Destruction, when the aspects piled onto her to little effect.


    "Take her along." With a wry smile, I watch the Black God use broken robots as clubs and flails to beat up the others, not in the least slowed by the many enemies clinging onto her back and legs.


    "You tell her to stop fighting then." The twins exchange a look with each other, then give me irresponsible shrugs in unison. In the meantime, they effortlessly cut apart the robots in their surrounding using countless tentacle blades growing from all over their bodies.


    "You take care of this. I''ll go ahead and get my reward from Kleihn then." Asoko winks and blasts off like a rocket, bursting through the robots surrounding her and flying off toward the corridor I pointed out. I roll my eyes at the thought, then sigh.


    "Korenga!" I call out to the Black God, who rips apart an enemy by the arms and legs, then turns to me with a seemingly annoyed expression.


    "What." Her deep and dark voice demands a satisfying explanation for my bothering her when she''s having fun.


    "Enough fighting here. Go with the twins. You will get to fight the false gods and Mataku soon enough." I know that cutting her playtime short can be dangerous, so I need to sweeten the deal for her. And it seems that hearing Mataku makes her think about it for a moment.


    The robots pile onto her and try to hold her down with their mechanical strength and weight, but she doesn''t budge and considers her options.


    "There''s no real fun or glory in destroying metal puppets, is there?" Shooting a plasma beam at her that melts off all the machines clinging to her, I give her the final push. Korenga considers her mindless enemies, then crushes one of the robots'' skull under her bare foot.


    "Hurry and bring me to Mataku then." She growls before walking toward the twins while dragging along the machines trying to pile back onto her as if they weigh nothing.


    With a smile of relief, I watch Uten and Saten clean up the enemies refusing to let go of the Black God before she returns to her regular form. I create a light barrier to cover their retreat from the hall and keep the robots from exiting the hall.


    Finally, I''m alone with the slowly rebuilding replicator and the Crawling Chaos-like robots encircling me. The liquid metal is already getting close to me, leaving behind a hollow metal web from which as much usable material has been stripped to build the army.


    It''s interesting that the Venus Fleet artificial intelligence couldn''t discern the truth about our powers and sought to replicate our appearance in hopes of copying us. The mechanical tentacles making up the muscle strands for the vaguely humanoid shapes of the towering machines do increase their physical strength. However, their overall abilities remain as inflexible as those of the less organic designs of the Hestia-bots.


    I remember the feeling from not too long ago when I swallowed the entire solar storm heading for Earth. At the time, I wanted to use gravity magic through the Imagination Engine, but it turned out to be something different. Maybe controlling it is the final step toward reaching the true power of the Outer One, even if it''s most likely only a tiny fraction.


    But I have to keep myself in control this time. Flann was there to stop me when I almost lost myself in the sensation of traveling through space at incredible speeds. And again, moments later, when I was consuming the solar wind. I can''t rely on her to do that each time.


    I spread my arms and extend my senses all around me as the robot army charges forward. They fill my vision, and their metallic footsteps echo in my mind, but in the next moment, there''s only silence. Everything seems to slow down as if moving through molasses. Then, the hall and everything in it become distorted as if viewed through a very thick lens.


    A bubble expands around me, and I can feel space itself as one would feel the wind on one''s skin. With simple thoughts, I bend and warp it, and everything within is deformed as well. The robot army, the remaining instruments, the floor, the distant ceiling and walls - the entire city section discarded by the core is twisted by my mind.


    Everything is moving as I imagine it. The overwhelming feeling of control and power inadvertently causes me to smile in dark delight. It''s similar to when I revel in the terror of mortals who behold my true form. But there''s something else beyond it; a sense of domination I''ve never felt before.


    It''s as if I can shape existence itself to my will. And it''s not through the Imagination Engine but my own abilities. This must be the Outer One''s true potential, and I''ve learned how to wield it. Now it''s up to me to master it before I have to face them someday.


    "You are getting there." Flann''s voice speaks in my head, and I feel warm inside. Even though she''s as emotionless as ever, I can sense the encouragement of an elder sister in her words.


    In the next moment, I expand the bubble of my influence outward until I feel empty space all around it. The entire detached city section is now within my control, and I begin to warp it inward. The liquid metal licking at my feet is stripped away as everything swirls around me. The distorted robots, still functional despite their misshapen forms, struggle to reach me as all matter disappears into a vortex.


    When Flann and Mithra teleport, space around them is distorted in the same way, but this is different. I''m not moving; everything else is. Maybe it''s like a reverse to teleportation, then?


    Drawing my arms together in front of me as if cupping smoke between my palms, I pull the surrounding vortex together. Everything is compressed and gathers, seemingly phasing through me to end up within my grasp. The city section and everything that was inside has turned into a shiny metal ball the size of my fist floating before me.


    I touch the sphere and realize an incredibly simple truth. Flann mentioned before that the Outer One''s offspring is seeded to distant worlds to consume and return to feed them. She never specified that it was only eating organic matter. That''s what must have happened with the solar wind that disappeared inside me.


    The only reason I couldn''t digest inorganic matter so far was that I believed I couldn''t. As a Crawling Chaos, I operate beyond the confines of the Imagination Engine, but perhaps I''m a natural Imagination Engine contained within myself. It would explain why I can do these things now that I have abandoned all self-imposed limits.


    If that''s the case, nothing in this dimension can stop me now.


    "You are ready, sister." Flann declares although I''m not sure what exactly she''s referring to. I doubt I''m anywhere close to reaching the Outer One''s control over space, but maybe she means that I can beat Mataku with this.


    "I feel ready." Smiling, I mutter in the vacuum of space.

 Chapter 156 - Passing the Mercury Screen

    "What did you do?" Exla asks me when I return to the command center. Everybody''s eyes are on me as I walk to the captain''s chair and sit down in it.


    "Chaos stuff." I reply with a shrug and look at the big screen that shows the already much closer sun covered with a darkening filter. I don''t want to elaborate on my powers right now - not that any spoken language could truly describe them. "Status report."


    "The Collective''s hacking has been removed, and there are no traces of its physical encroachment within the core section." The cloud girl returns to a professional attitude and reports while looking at her screen.


    "The core section is still quite big, but we only have one hangar with two shuttles and four fighters remaining. Not that we were using those anyway." Senka adds with a shrug. "Also, the energy-matter conversion bays were on the city section, so we''ll have to do without them."


    "Sensors are clear. No enemy vessels detected within range." Hestia continues from the top. She seems to be having fun with her job as the sensors operator.


    "Engines are a go." Exla takes over for the absent Tahiri, who is in her quarters with Aurelia. They must be talking about the experience of witnessing a Crawling Chaos''s true appearance. It might take a while before the God of Storm can return to her duty as the chief engineer, although Kleihn has essentially taken over that job.


    "Everybody is accounted for." Tokomaha announces, then turns to me with a curious expression. She must have seen me disappear the entire city section within mere moments and can''t wait to ask me how I did it whenever private time arrives for us.


    "We went off course a little, but the route has been adjusted." Senka returns to her previous station as the navigation officer and completes the little game of starship crew.


    "Take us to the Rhodos station, Exla." I lean back and sigh in a resigned tone. I never expected this to be a quick and painless journey, but I''ve had about enough of fighting space and ship battles.


    We will have to assume that the Venus Fleet''s improving artificial intelligence is also communicating with the Rhodos station, which means that Areteniha and Shelnir most likely have an inhibition field generator in place to stop our attack once we land. But as before, Shelnir will learn the hard way that there''s no predicting a Crawling Chaos''s potential.


    Exla pushes the acceleration lever at her console and activates the impulse engine. We can''t feel anything inside the ship, but I assume it''s moving now.


    "Tell me there won''t be a Mercury Fleet waiting beyond the Venus Fleet." I inquire of the cloud girl, but she turns her head with a wry smile.


    "No, there''s only the Venus Fleet." She replies, and I sense a hint of sadness in her tone. "Mercury no longer exists."


    I blink my eyes a few times at this revelation. Then I turn to Senka, who only shrugs as if saying it doesn''t matter to her if one or two planets are missing from the solar system. Did the Old Humans blow it up for sport?


    "See here." Exla inputs something on her console, and another filter lays itself over the screen before us. "We have already passed Venus. This is where Mercury should have been at this time of the year."


    She conjures a circular pointer on the big screen - essentially a mouse cursor - and moves it near the right edge of the sun''s muted corona. There''s only empty space, so I don''t see the point in telling me where it should have been if she already told me that it no longer exists. But then I notice something akin to a starfield surrounding the luminous sphere.


    "It''s a Dyson swarm." Senka explains when she sees it. "The Old Humans mined away all of Mercury and turned it into satellites to power the Imagination Engine."


    "Correct. Kind of." With a sigh, Exla states quietly. "A partial Dyson array was constructed for the initial activation of the Imagination Engine. Afterward, one person did the rest and completed what is now called the Mercury Screen."


    "Let me guess. That person is Areteniha." I avoid the urge to glance at Kerry, knowing that any mention of their mother will awaken bad memories in the child of the sun. From Exla''s expression, I can tell that I''m right, which would mean that the God of the Sun is the oldest of the Old Humans.


    She was there at the inception of the Imagination Engine and lived through the cataclysmic first war using its powers. Then, she survived the second war that Mataku caused and is still going strong now. She must have been living on the Rhodos station since the very beginning and ignored all that happened on Earth.


    She''s as far removed from the plight of mortals as can be. Mataku may have caused the apocalypse that reset everything, but she witnessed it all and did nothing to help. I shudder when I remember that I once compared her to my mother. She''s a failure as both a parent and a human being.


    "By the way, her real name is Elaine." The cloud girl adds, and I notice her turning to look at Kerry. Now I feel compelled to do the same but find that they appear to be sleeping in Korenga''s lap. "Areteniha is a mouthful."


    "What should we do about her?" I wonder when I consider Kerry''s strained relationship with their mother. Even if she mistreated them in the past, killing her might only generate another trauma. But asking them what we should do would be too cruel.


    "Strip her of her powers and send her back to Earth." Exla suggests, but I furrow my brow. I don''t think that would be good for Kerry either. They might want to reconcile with their mother, but Elaine could let her anger and frustration at her powerlessness out on her child.


    "Strip her of her powers and exile her to the Rhodos station." Kerry suddenly remarks, and we turn around to the androgynous child of the sun. They aren''t wearing their spiked helmet, so I can see their expression. It appears resolved, with a shadow of sorrow behind the strong exterior. That solution would be barely different from what Exla suggested, but maybe there is meaning in remaining on the Rhodos station instead of being sent to Earth.


    "Couldn''t she sabotage the Dyson swarm or command the Venus Fleet from there?" Crossing her arms with a thoughtful tilt of her head, Senka wonders. Elaine would still have access to all the Old Human technology and find a way to seek revenge.


    "I have reason to believe she''s a vengeful... person." It''s sarcasm, despite the serious situation; everybody knows that Elaine was ready to destroy Earth to avenge her son Alverost. I had to hold myself back from throwing an insult at the Old Human considering her child is right in front of me. "It would be better to keep her far away from all technology if we''re going to exile her."


    "It''s alright. Let me worry about that." Exla says with a downcast look, then gazes up at Kerry. She doesn''t want to discuss this matter for much longer in front of them. "You should remain free."


    From the cloud girl''s words, I suddenly understand what Kerry was suggesting. They wanted to be a warden for their mother in her exile and keep watch over them. Even when stripped of her powers, she would still have the ability to use technology for her purposes. After all, she was the engineering genius behind the Dyson swarm that enables the Imagination Engine to function, if not one of its creators. They would prevent her from trying anything, and in doing so, become an exile themselves.


    It would seem that Kerry accepts Exla''s proposal, as they remain silent and look aside in thought. I stare ahead at the screen showing the visible dots of the Dyson swarm. The Old Humans kept all of this a secret for so long and made the new humans live in the mud for millennia. If I hadn''t come along, they would have continued doing this until whatever Mataku planned eventually came to fruition.


    Why can humans be so disgusting?


    "So, what are you going to do with these?" I ask Kleihn while pointing at the robots that Asoko brought her. They sit in a large pile at the center of the hangar, stopping any vessels from taking off if need be. None of them show any exterior damage, so my other half must have found a way to shut them down before they could fight back or self-destruct.


    "I don''t know yet, but learning about this technology will surely come in handy for the future." The gremlin maid says without looking up from her work. She''s taking apart one of the Hestia-bots on her workbench with seemingly practiced hands. It has been a few hours since we returned from the cleanup mission, so she had plenty of time to tinker on them.


    It would appear that Asoko didn''t ask for a reward from the technophile maid. My other half and I have agreed not to touch each other''s girls, even if the boundaries aren''t set in stone. But when I look at Kleihn, I just can''t imagine her ever engaging in a relationship; she''s married to technology and the pursuit of knowledge.


    I pat the gremlin maid''s hair, and she looks up in surprise. Blinking her eyes at me a few times, she seems to be working her brain. Then, something visibly clicks, and she puts down her tools.


    "You want the reward I promised." She says and fully turns around to me. I glance left and right, but nobody else is in the room.


    "Uhh, I wasn''t-" I start, but she interrupts me.


    "I have something for you." With these words, Kleihn stands up and walks over to another workbench, where she picks up a wristwatch-like device. I remember it as the inhibition field generator prototype that Alverost used during the attempt to free Zenlith in Arkaim. I assume she tinkered with it and probably increased its effective range. But I think it hinders us more than it helps us against enemies who wield technology. "This is an inhibition field generator inhibitor... I''m still working on the name."


    "It can cancel inhibition fields?" I stare at the wristwatch with round eyes. It seems silly that there are two layers of canceling in this, but I won''t question how it works as long as it does.


    "The range is about the same as it was before, but I reversed its effect." Kleihn explains while gesturing at the Hestia-bots with the inhibition field generator domes on their torsos. "I tested it using those."


    She did all that within a few hours. I wonder why I didn''t use the gremlin maid before all this. Once we return to Earth, I''ll have her and her clan get to work on deciphering all Old Human technology we have captured and help build everyday tools to make life easier all over the world. For now, I''ll have to make do with hastily constructed prototypes like this one.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Thank you, Kleihn." I smile and pat her head, and she closes her eyes contentedly. "I should be the one rewarding you. You''re doing so much work with no rest."


    "Oh no, this work is my reward." Raising her arms to gesture all around her, Kleihn asserts with a laugh that reveals her sharp canines. Rather than being a workaholic, she combines work and hobby into one. That''s why she can be so happy about being burdened with more of it. "Please bring me all the enemy technology you can find, and I will make it work for us instead."


    "Good. Keep at it then." I ruffle the gremlin maid''s green hair and return the grin. "I''ll make sure to bring any toys I get my hands on."


    I push aside the thought that it was Asoko who brought her the latest batch of technology. Kleihn doesn''t seem to think anything of it either and fixes her hair with a wry smile.


    As I leave the small hangar to check on Tahiri, I run across Tokomaha, or perhaps one of her clones. When I approach, she stands at attention and greets me with a salute, but then grins.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary detected." She reports the situation on the core ship, what remains of the Queen Pelomyx. Her clones have been dispersed on the much smaller vessel and constantly patrol anywhere they can fit through to ensure there are no remnants of the Collective.


    "Good job." I caress her leaf hair, and she nuzzles into my hand. After this short exchange with the Tokomaha clones, I continue onward to the crew quarters. I left Tahiri with Aurelia for all this time because I felt that she would come out of her cabin herself when she''s ready. But we''re approaching the Rhodos station, and I need to know if she''s prepared to join us or will have to stay behind for the final battle.


    Taking a deep breath before her room, I knock on the door. Then I realize that the thick metal plate doesn''t exactly transmit sound well, and I wouldn''t even be able to hear if she answered. Instead, I press the bell button on the panel next to the door.


    "Chaos." The screen lights up and shows Aurelia looking at me. I can''t tell what she''s thinking from her expression, but she sighs and presses a button on her side of the panel. The door slides open a moment later and reveals the Golden Queen awaiting me.


    Tahiri is lying asleep on her bed and appears at peace. To be able to sleep after witnessing a Crawling Chaos''s true form shows that she must have overcome the terror in her mind after all. When Aurelia notices my expression, she raises an eyebrow.


    "It was not easy." She comments, seeing through my thoughts. I''m sure it took some effort to convince the God of Storm that the irrational horrors that we represent are no danger to her. According to Senka, it''s an existential terror that grabs hold of people''s most basic instincts, resisting any logical explanations the mind can conjure. Of course, I can''t judge that since I never experienced it myself.


    "I understand." Still, I have enough empathy to know that people will suffer from this. "She should stay here when we reach the Rhodos station."


    "No, I believe it would be best to let her fight alongside us." Aurelia disagrees while flicking back her hair. "Reaffirming her power is the best medicine."


    Now that I think about it, those most affected by our true appearance have always been the relatively powerless people. The Old Humans were far less impressed because they believed themselves to be gods. Aurelia didn''t lose her mind because she felt invincible due to her control over gold - and in extension, her own body. If Tahiri hadn''t lost her power at the time, she wouldn''t have been as overwhelmed by it.


    "It''s her decision to make then." I sigh and declare, glancing at her peaceful sleeping face. Maybe I''ve been underestimating the God of Storm despite knowing her very well. She''s not so weak to let this keep her in the abyss of despair for long. When she wakes up, she will surely float about lazily and laugh about my mishaps as she always did.


    "Our enemies are the God of the Sun and... Shelnir." Aurelia adds while looking down with her brow furrowed. It seems that she has to bring herself to express the following statement. "We will need all the help we can get."


    I smile wryly but don''t comment. At this point, I think I could put an end to Elaine with a single thought, and Shelnir doesn''t have any special abilities aside from using the Akashic Records to calculate a likely future. The only person I know that could fight me now is Mataku, and only because he''s another Crawling Chaos who has access to the same abilities I have.


    "Get ready for battle, Aurelia." I caress the Golden Queen''s cheek, compelling her to look up at me. She gazes into my eyes and seems to glimpse a hint of my thoughts.


    "Whatever happens, I want to be the one to end Shelnir." Aurelia has seen through my utter self-confidence and demands from me at least this much.


    "Of course." I give her a reassuring smile and move in for a kiss.


    "Please do not leave me behind." She mutters before our lips touch, and I''m taken aback. Those words are an admittance of weakness that I never expected to hear from Aurelia, the Golden Queen. But it seems that she understands the scope the false gods and I operate on compared to hers.


    "I will be with you. Forever." Promising with a whisper, I kiss her lips. She accepts me slowly but then begins to seek more from me as if afraid that I''m leaving her behind. The Golden Queen''s power is immense even when compared to the Old Humans. However, witnessing me disappear the entire detached city section of the Queen Pelomyx must have driven home how far I''ve moved ahead.


    And she knows that beyond the two remaining Old Humans awaits Mataku, a being possibly even more powerful than me. The others must feel the same, especially Kamii and Hestia, whose powers can no longer measure up against the enemies we face now.


    "And I was wondering why it was getting hot in here." Tahiri suddenly remarks in a sarcastic tone, and I separate from Aurelia. The God of Storm is sitting up on her bed and watching us with a grin. Gone is any hint of her earlier unstable demeanor after witnessing Asoko''s true form.


    "How are you doing?" I keep a hand on Aurelia''s waist while turning to Tahiri. The Golden Queen glances at me from the side, then smiles sardonically.


    "Chasing clouds while you carry gold in your hands, huh?" She comments, and I understand that she''s jabbing at my polygamous tendencies.


    "I''m incorrigible." Ducking my head in feigned guilt, I chastise myself.


    "I would feel better if you joined me in bed." Tahiri beckons me with an enticing wave of her hand, causing the blanket to slip from her shoulder. It reveals her bare skin underneath, unblemished like a polished pearl.


    "I would love to indulge you. Both of you. But we will be arriving shortly. Can''t have you tired and out of breath before the big battle, can we?" I finally let go of Aurelia and step back with my hands raised. She and Tahiri both stare at me with wide-open eyes for a moment, then exchange a glance.


    "Is that a challenge?" Tahiri asks in a rhetorical tone.


    "It did sound like one." Aurelia plays along and answers.


    "Even though it was you who could not wake up before I was gone that day." The God of Storm throws a verbal jab that pierces my heart.


    "I remember you losing your mind and nearly plummeting from the sky." The Golden Queen relates her side of the story.


    I don''t know if I made a huge mistake or started down a new hidden route with this. The only two girls to defeat me in bed are with me in a small room, and the atmosphere is just right. Maybe I should take it all the way, after all?


    "Captain to the bridge." Exla''s voice announces through the speakers, breaking the magical moment. I feel both sad and relieved, sighing to mask my expression from showing either emotion. I have to show that I''m in control.


    "We shall continue this later." I wink at Aurelia and Tahiri, who tilt their heads with smug smiles. They must be thinking I''m using this opportunity to run away, but that only makes me look forward to showing them my true power later.


    I leave the cabin and walk down the corridor to head for the command center. Along the way, the maids I pass greet me with respectful bows, and I raise a hand to tell them to be at ease. I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many like-minded people as we head to the conclusion of this battle of the ages. Everything will be over soon, and we can return to live a comfortable life back on Earth.


    "Captain on deck." Rewera announces me when I enter the bridge.


    "Report, Helmsman." I play along and request of Exla in a commanding tone since she was the one who called me here in the first place.


    "We have passed the perimeter of the Mercury Screen. Rhodos station is under an hour away now." The cloud girl explains without turning around.


    "The sensors show the Mercury Screen behind us, but no enemies ahead." Hestia continues with her role as the sensors officer and reports.


    "To battle stations." I sit down in the captain''s chair and order with a wave of my hand. "Ready whatever weapons we have left."


    "Some lasers, a railgun, a few missiles." Uten and Saten comment while exchanging a look with each other and shrug in unison. They make it sound like it doesn''t matter, and I feel the same, but we still need to uphold discipline.


    "You have me. That should be enough." Korenga declares with a grin.


    "Those who can''t fly under their own power in space shouldn''t leave the Queen Pelomyx. At this distance, the sun''s gravity is already quite strong." Exla finally turns around on her seat and gestures at the screen. At this point, the sun almost touches the top and bottom edges, which seems to be its real size when viewed from our current position in space.


    "Roamukao didn''t kill me. The sun won''t either." Crossing her arms, the Black God asserts fearlessly.


    "Maybe, but you won''t be able to get out once you fall inside. And none of us will be able to help you." The cloud girl explains patiently, causing Korenga to shrug. I shudder at the thought of falling inside a star. Even I know that the immense gravity wouldn''t let anything go, so the invulnerable Korenga would be trapped for eternity.


    "So, what''s the plan?" Asoko asks from her seat, where she''s leaning back casually instead of trying to act like she''s a member of the crew. She has as little knowledge of technology as I do, so she knows better than to fiddle around on her console.


    "We go in and beat the Old Humans." I respond with a sarcastic grin. We can''t plan ahead properly since we don''t know what they have prepared for us at this point. All we can hope for is that our powers suffice to overcome their imagination. But I''m not too worried after expanding my limits in the recent outings.


    "Sounds good." Of course, Korenga would agree with me there.


    "The usual then." Asoko comments with a sigh, then chuckles. "Break through the front and beat everything they throw at us."


    "Exactly!" Uten and Saten cheer in unison. "That''s how we''ve always done it!"


    "Incoming transmission." Senka suddenly interjects, causing everybody to turn to the doll girl. She types something on her keyboard, and the big screen showing the dimmed sun is replaced with a familiar smug face illuminated from below against a dark backdrop.


    "Greetings, Shelnir." Exla speaks in a low and threatening tone. I''m glad that Aurelia isn''t here since she would most likely have snapped upon seeing the Old Human. It seems that Shelnir has something up her sleeve yet, although I glimpse a hint of madness in her eyes. Maybe she has gone insane after the repeated losses of her comrades and has deluded herself into believing that she found a way to defeat us.


    "How are you doing, Exla?" Shelnir inquires with a sardonic smile. She shouldn''t be able to see us because Senka wouldn''t make the mistake of transmitting our feed to the enemy.


    "I feel great. I''m doing what I should have done millennia ago." With a tilt of her head that her conversation partner can''t see, Exla responds honestly.


    "Is that truly so? Do you not sense it? Is it not scratching at the back of your mind?" The Guide of Tomorrow whispers in feigned concern. It almost looks like she can see into the command center and look directly into Exla''s eyes.


    I glance at the cloud girl and notice that she seems to be frozen in place. Then I turn to Senka, who returns my gaze of worry. She gets off her chair and walks over to Exla, but before she reaches her, Shelnir speaks up again.


    "Perhaps it has progressed so far that you no longer feel at all." She muses, then laughs out loud.


    "She has withdrawn into her mind." Senka explains when she looks into Exla''s eyes. "It must be the hacking from the Venus Fleet artificial intelligence!"


    "I thought she already dealt with that." I jump up from my chair but realize that there''s nothing I can do to help. The cloud girl has changed her mind to be an organic supercomputer and literal cloud storage, so it''s in the domain of technology. Among all of us, only Senka knows anything about that.


    "Shall we return to fulfilling the prophecy that you avoided in Zohigal?" Shelnir changes her target and seemingly stares directly at me. Then she steps back from the camera and slowly fades into the darkness.


    Suddenly, the screen is blown out in white, but the camera quickly adjusts the brightness and reveals the interior of a dome illuminated by countless floodlights. At its center is Luna, strapped to a rack I recognize to be the same as the one in Alverost''s spherical battle station. It would seem that Shelnir truly is still hung up about us overcoming her prophecy.


    "The hero of this age arrives in time to witness the chaos at the center of the maelstrom murdering his beloved. What shall he do against such terror and malice?" The Guide of Tomorrow spreads her arms and announces, but her tone is quite different from when she acted as the blind seer. Then she stares into the camera with deranged eyes. "You know what must be done."

 Chapter 157 - Megastructure

    Yes, I know what must be done.


    I gesture at those who were present in the moon-like battle station above Zohigal back then. She wants a replay of what happened, which means we need to be there together. Her scenario was supposed to have me killing Luna, and Rolan attacking me in revenge, forcing us to kill each other. And this time, she wants us to play it out as it was supposed to go.


    "Come quickly, or the Goddess of the Sun will smite you." Shelnir declares in a mocking tone before cutting the connection on her end. As if that was a signal, an alarm blares throughout the command center.


    "A beam attack is coming from the Rhodos station!" Hestia announces in a frantic tone.


    "Do not worry." Sintress stands up from among the rows of consoles and reassures us in a calm tone. Her Perfect Sanctuary should be able to stop anything thrown at it as long as it isn''t surrounded by an inhibition field generator. "I will keep us safe."


    "The shot should still take a few minutes to reach us. We can simply dodge." Senka sits down on the chair next to Exla and takes over the controls for the Queen Pelomyx. It seems she has determined that she can''t help the cloud girl while she''s fighting inside her own head. Although Senka can invade one''s mind, the technology-based system in Exla is quite different from that.


    "Do both." I decide before gathering those who were with me back in Zohigal. Kamii, Hestia, Tokomaha, Rolan, Gram, and Sigurd are on the bridge, and I''ll need to go and get Aurelia afterward. "We''ll go on ahead."


    The Queen Pelomyx may be able to travel at a relevant fraction of the speed of light, but I can move faster in space now. I will put an end to things as quickly as possible.


    "What are you going to do? Do you even know where to go?" Senka asks with a skeptical expression.


    "I''ll find it." Shrugging carelessly, I respond in a casual tone.


    "That''s the quickest path to failure." The doll girl rolls her eyes and sighs, then types something on the console with one hand while moving the steering joystick with the other. A moment later, the main screen changes and displays an adjusted image of the Sun that allows us to look at it. "Over there."


    Senka points at a dot near the equator of the still relatively distant Sun. That must be the Rhodos station, the facility that must be housing the Imagination Engine.


    "I hope I don''t overshoot it this time." I mutter to myself and garner a horrified stare from everybody around me. When I realize that, I wave off their concern with a smile. "Don''t worry. I got this."


    Their expressions don''t change, and I understand that my casual attitude doesn''t necessarily instill great confidence in people. Growing more serious, I begin to explain the plan with all the self-confidence I now feel after understanding my true power.


    "You have the ship, Senka." Once I finish, and everybody is on the same page, I transfer command to the doll girl and leave the command center with them in tow. She''s the only person here who can operate it while Exla is busy with the virus; I doubt Sintress ever bothered to learn Alverost''s technology.


    We walk down the corridor in silence, with Korenga following us as if it''s the most natural thing. Kerry is riding on her shoulders but has to duck their head to avoid hitting the rims of the bulkheads along the way. I will take everybody who can and wants to fight for this final outing.


    When we reach the elevator to the hangar, I tell the others to go ahead. I''m heading to the cabins to get Aurelia and Tahiri while they take the time to put on their spacesuits. As they board the elevator, Kamii and Hestia stay behind for a moment while Tokomaha keeps the door open.


    "This is it, right?" Hestia asks, and I know what she means.


    "Yes, it''s the final battle." I reassure her. It''s not the complete truth, but this is the last confrontation in which they can help. Once the Old Humans are defeated, humans and demons can finally be at peace. But for its continued existence, I will have to find Mataku and end it once and for all. And only the other Crawling Chaoses can help me against him.


    I can tell that Kamii''s amethyst galaxy eyes seem to see right through me, but she doesn''t speak up. Hestia might know too, but she smiles warmly and enters the elevator after the others. The little dark elf nods to me and follows her, and Tokomaha stares at me for a moment longer before stepping back and letting the door close. Her amber eyes tell me that she''s thinking her part too.


    It''s the same as Aurelia earlier. Everybody is afraid that I will leave them behind and go to a place they can''t follow. And it''s true; I''m a being from another dimension that isn''t bound by the laws of this one. That fact will catch up to me one day when the Outer One finds a way to enter this dimension to reclaim their parts.


    But that could be in a hundred or a million years from now, for all I know.


    As I make my way to Tahiri''s cabin, I think things over. Aurelia said she wanted to deliver the final blow against Shelnir herself, so I''ll leave her to it. This time, Serent won''t be there to save her when she gets skewered by golden weapons. But if things look dire, I will put an end to everything with my newfound powers.


    When I reach the door to the God of Storm''s room, it opens and reveals Aurelia and Tahiri emerging from within. They shouldn''t know about our short conversation with Shelnir, so they must be heading to the command center.


    "Chaos?" The Golden Queen wonders, but a shadow falls over her expression. "Is it time?"


    "Yes." I get straight to the point. "We''re heading out. Shelnir wants to play her games, so we''ll go along until we''re close enough to end her."


    "Understood." Aurelia''s eyes grow cold, and she nods in assent. There''s no more need for words when it concerns the Guide of Tomorrow.


    "Are you ready, Tahiri?" I ask the God of Storm, who glances at the Golden Queen before looking at me with a smug smile.


    "I am always ready." She declares in a confident tone and floats past me out of the room. Then she turns around and looks into my eyes with her rainbow-colored irises, wearing an expression that shows her determination. "Let my storm eclipse the sun."


    I smile at her words and lead the way to the hangar.


    Everybody who needs it is suited up. I look across the gathered to take in the sight, noticing some discrepancies here and there. Kamii''s spacesuit leaves her crab pincer out, while Tokomaha didn''t even bother trying to put one on. Everybody else is properly wearing theirs though, and Hestia is in the same half-mech suit she wore during our battle against the Venus Fleet.


    "Rewera?" I wonder when I see the maid leader among them, already wearing a spacesuit and carrying the helmet under her arm.


    "Please let me accompany You, Your Majesty." She bows with her eyes closed, robbing me of any will to oppose her. There are no other members of the Maid Corps, so it''s merely her selfish wish to fight by my side. She lost a king and a queen before because she was busied elsewhere; she doesn''t want that to happen again.


    "Alright." Although I doubt there''s anything left in this universe that could threaten my life, I grant her permission with a nod. She may gain a measure of redemption when she can feel like she''s helping me in this monumental battle.


    Svanhild and Halthor, both former Chosen Knights and now nothing more than traitors to the yet to be enlightened Alliance, are ready to lay down their lives to defeat the Old Humans. They don''t have a connection to Luna like the other humans do and care more about ending the arbitrary reign of the false gods.


    "Before you say anything, I stuck my head into space." When I stare at Tokomaha, who''s in her usual outfit, she waves her wooden spear in front of me and argues. She did stop the moon from falling by turning so big that she could be seen across half the globe. At that time, her head was definitely far outside the atmosphere, and she had no trouble with that.


    "Then you have to wear this." Kleihn suddenly walks over from her workplace and hands the little goddess a dome-shaped breastplate. It appears to be a Hestia-bot inhibition field generator dome, which the gremlin maid must have reprogrammed like the experimental watch that I carry.


    "What is that?" Tokomaha dislikes unnatural things and would sooner wear no armor than cover herself in metal. She eyes the breastplate with the suspicious look a dog would give upon being offered only vegetables for a meal.


    "It''s an anti-inhibitor." The gremlin maid explains, but that doesn''t tell the God of Growth much.


    "It allows you to use your powers even inside an enemy''s inhibition field." I speak in the Adanak language, causing Tokomaha to tilt her head before showing understanding.


    "I only had time to make two." Kleihn turns to me and says in an apologetic tone while gesturing at her workbench where another completed anti-inhibitor lies. "If only I had started sooner."


    "Don''t worry. We should be fine with those two and this one here." I reassure her and point at the watch in my hand. It covers a large enough area, so it can work for several people at once. And I know whom to give the other breastplate to.


    "Whatever it is that you want to do, do it quickly. We''re still being shot at." Senka speaks into my mind and expresses the urgency of the situation. It would seem that the beams from the Rhodos station have all been dodged or blocked by the Perfect Sanctuary so far, but the fear of being damaged so close to the Sun still exists.


    "Aurelia, please wear the other one. I know it doesn''t look great, but-" I turn to the Golden Queen and request of her, but her glare stops me from continuing. Still, she walks over to the workbench and touches the device with a finger, turning it golden.


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    "As long as I do not change anything on the inside, this should be fine, right?" She asks Kleihn, who stares at the gilded breastplate with round eyes, then nods slowly. The only transmutation magic that demons know of is the gaze of a medusa, which are a very rare existence.


    Aurelia gestures with her hand upon which the golden toga she''s wrapped in splits apart and reveals her naked form underneath. The breastplate changes its shape and fits itself around her chest with the dome on her back. Kleihn''s expression upon seeing this gives me the impression that she realizes she should have reworked it to be this way from the start.


    Golden weapons fly in from all around the hangar and converge on the Golden Queen, who takes them apart and rearranges them into laminate armor. The toga comes back to join the outfit, completing its natural look. Within but a moment, she''s covered in a suit of armor I can imagine she used to wear as the queen of Terminus.


    Everybody''s eyes are on Aurelia, who takes the attention in stoic silence. She revealed her nakedness in front of many people, but it bothers her as much as it does me.


    Meanwhile, Tokomaha is fiddling with her breastplate, looking for ways to put it on. Maybe it''s better if she gets the anti-inhibitor watch after all, even if that may leave Rolan and the others more vulnerable. The God of Growth could maintain a sizeable army of clones that way.


    "What''s your plan, sister?" Asoko walks up to me and asks with a tilt of her head. I haven''t told anybody that I can travel through space faster than the Queen Pelomyx, so they may be thinking that I''m having Flann teleport us after all. I still think that entering the Rhodos station without assessing the situation from the outside is a mistake, so I won''t do that.


    "I''ll fly us there. And all of you will be inside me." I finally declare, glancing at Korenga. She already knows the procedure and sighs; last time, I kept her in a pool of water inside me so that she wouldn''t touch me and unravel my transformation. I don''t have to do it the same way this time.


    "Us, too?" Uten and Saten wonder, clearly worried. I have the same instinctual fear of being swallowed by another of my kind, so I understand their apprehension.


    "You don''t have to, but you need to hold onto me then." I pat their heads, then look at Asoko. She rolls her eyes in thought as if trying to come up with an alternative even though she doesn''t even know what I want to do.


    "Let''s get this over with." Rolan steps forward and puts on his helmet. His expression is one of unease, but the determination to get back Luna is trumping all doubts. And he trusts that I won''t eat him at this point since I have no reason to anymore.


    To make things easier for everyone, I transform into a doorway that leads into a hollowed-out space on the other side. I''ve changed my interior into a replica of the command center, made from all the materials I can recreate with my body. That way, they should feel at ease during the journey to the Rhodos station.


    Rolan is the first to enter, leading by example to show that he''s willing to put his life in my hands. When the others see it, they follow him and enter me one by one.


    Finally, Korenga steps up to me and looks through the doorway with worry. Being in the confined space of a Crawling Chaos''s interior with other people might be a bad idea. If she goes berserk, she could rip them apart before I can do something about it.


    "Don''t worry." I reassure the Black God, but she looks around with her brow furrowed. Since I''m shaped like a door, my voice must have sounded disembodied. "There are plenty of people in there who can hold you back if things go wrong."


    Raising an eyebrow in doubt, Korenga sighs and steps over the threshold. As long as she isn''t in her black form, her touch doesn''t bother me. I just need to make sure not to give her any reason to transform since that could cause me to lose my shape and eject everybody into space - or accidentally go into digestion mode.


    Once the door closes, I can work my magic and place the room into my infinite depths. Nothing happening on the outside should affect it unless I allow it to.


    "Now, for you three." I address my split parts. Since they have an instinctual fear of going inside me, we''ll have to work something out. The simplest solution is if they grab onto me for dear life as I approach light speed. "We''ll take it outside."


    I carry Asoko and the twins outside the Queen Pelomyx and teach them how to move through space without the need for propulsion. Be it because my quick evolution affects my split parts, or it''s simply in their natures as Crawling Chaoses, they grasp the concept within moments. With this, they will at least be able to move even if they separate from me.


    The Sun is many times larger than what it looks like from Earth, but it''s still quite a distance away. According to Senka, the Rhodos station is about halfway between the Mercury Screen and the Sun. That puts it at about half the orbit of Mercury, which is still an immense distance for human minds.


    Not so for a Cosmic Horror that deals in eons and cosmic distances as a mortal would in hours and kilometers.


    "Now, hold on tight." I warn Asoko, who''s hugging me from behind. Uten and Saten are holding onto my arms and tighten their grips when they hear me speak in the vacuum of space. I have them secured with tentacles, but I don''t know how my shape changes when I move through space like I did to catch up to the solar storm.


    I begin to accelerate, or rather will myself to move toward the Rhodos station I can see in the distance. My eyes are interior telescopes overlaid with filters, so I can roughly make out the silhouette of the space station that houses the Imagination Engine. Since I have no reference point, I can''t tell how big it is, but it appears to be disc-shaped.


    The darkness of space and the light from the Sun bend before me as I accelerate to the point where I no longer perceive my surroundings. Last time, Flann had to call me back from the edge. This time, I control my emotions better and voluntarily slow down again. My vision warps and the light filling my view draws back together into the form of the Sun, now more than twice as big as it was before.


    The Rhodos station is a short distance from me, but I seem to have been moving slightly to the top and left. If I had continued like this, I would have missed it.


    From this angle, I can see that the structure is elongated rather than a disc, separated into three sections. The one closest to the Sun is a giant concave dish that seems to be used for shielding it from the star''s heat radiation. Its shape indicates that this could also serve to collect energy directly in case the Mercury Screen fails.


    Shielded by that dish is a cube-shaped section that should be the Imagination Engine. Beyond that is another smaller structure that looks newer in design. It appears to have been built and added to over time, giving it a far less uniform shape than the other two it''s attached to. On its surface, facing away from the Sun, is the concave dish that houses the beam cannon. Alverost must have built that after he awakened from stasis.


    "What was that?" Uten and Saten ask in wonder, looking around wide-eyed. They''re referring to the physics-defying mode of transportation I used.


    "Interesting." Asoko mutters in a reflective tone. Both she and the twins should be able to learn this in no time after witnessing it once. All we need now is to find out how to control our direction and pinpoint our destination without any deviation. Then, we''ll be able to go to distant galaxies and play among the stars.


    "If the Imagination Engine or Luna weren''t in there, I would crush the whole station as I did with the detached city section." I spit out in disdain. For now, the world still needs the power of imagination, and letting Luna die would leave a bad aftertaste.


    "Then let''s get to it." Asoko says and flies ahead. We''re close enough to the Rhodos station that we don''t need to use my space zooming ability anymore. And I can tell that my other half wants to experience the freedom of moving through space some more.


    "The sun seems so close, but I don''t feel any heat." Saten wonders as he lets go of my arm.


    "But I''m afraid to transform into a body that could." Uten admits, completing his twin brother''s thoughts.


    "I wouldn''t recommend it." Not feeling the heat radiation from the Sun at this distance must be another perk of being a Crawling Chaos. If I transformed into a human body, who knows what would happen. I''ve seen a movie in which a person was evaporated in an instant upon being exposed to the Sun at a similar distance. "Let''s follow auntie Asoko."


    "I heard that." My other half turns around mid-flight and glares at me. She must know that Uten and Saten consider me their mother, so that makes Asoko their aunt. But being aware of it is quite different from actually being called that.


    "She told us not to call her that." The twins whisper to me, but due to the nature of a Crawling Chaos talking in space, my other half overhears it again.


    "That''s why you should definitely call her that." I stare Asoko straight in the eyes while saying this, grinning smugly from ear to ear.


    "Stop it! I''m not old enough to be an aunt!" She complains, much like how I did when Uten and Saten first called me their mother. But I came to consider my responsibilities as an adult, so maybe this will help Asoko mature as well.


    As we fly toward the Rhodos station, I realize that we may have underestimated the distance and its actual size. Even though I can tell that we''re moving quite fast, and it has grown bigger in our vision, it still feels quite far away.


    The beam cannon gathers energy for another shot and unleashes it. But the Queen Pelomyx is too far away for me to spot even when I follow the attack''s path without searching for a while. I just have to hope that Senka and Sintress are keeping it safe.


    "Where do we break in?" Asoko asks while looking across the Rhodos station.


    "I see something coming out of the station." Uten suddenly points ahead.


    "Looks like they scrambled fighters." Saten shades his eyes, although it''s a pointless gesture when the Sun''s brightness is so overbearing.


    "Now those make for good reference points." I assert while watching the ships emerging from multiple hangars around the beam cannon. They''re still tiny dots compared to just the beam cannon dish, let alone the entire structure.


    That puts the Rhodos station at several dozen times the size of the Queen Pelomyx when it still had the city section, which was around ten kilometers across. Just the forward section is already the area of the Fields of Huwinn, with the beam cannon about as large as Arkaim. The cube housing the Imagination Engine is even larger, and the concave dish is many times its size still. This is a veritable megastructure, and right now, it only exists for the sake of upholding Old Human supremacy.


    If not for all the demons and other beings on Earth who rely on its power, I would destroy it after saving Luna.


    "We won''t be wasting time fighting those." I announce to my split bodies when I see that they''re growing plasma cannons. Without another word, I gesture at the approaching swarm of fighter crafts and crush them all within my palm. They''re pulled together into a single point and compressed into a small metal sphere.


    "You have to teach us how to do that, too." Uten and Saten complain when they see me make short work of the enemy army.


    "All in due time." Patting their heads in passing, I fly ahead and move toward one of the hangars, which are slowly closing as if hoping that it could bar our entry.


    "It doesn''t look like they want to let us in." Asoko looks across the surface to find an opening, but the darkness in the shadow of the concave dish and the dark gray material of the station makes it hard to discern its details.


    "Shelnir and Elaine aren''t on the same page." I muse and look at the openings from where the beam emerges. "We''ll have to make our own door."


    With these words, I fly toward one of the closed hangar bays. As a test, I create a spirit spear in my palm to see if there''s an inhibition field generator. The fact that magic works means there isn''t. But I don''t doubt for a second that Shelnir has some of them prepared inside, not knowing that Kleihn has developed countermeasures. Once more, her prediction will fail because she will have underestimated us.


    Before, I melted my way through things by surrounding myself with plasma. But now, I can tell that I don''t need such tricks to overcome physical barriers. Putting a hand on the metal, I push on it and open a palm-shaped hole in it. Gliding forward, I erase the metal as it comes into contact with my body and enter the Rhodos station unhindered.


    "You''re moving ahead too quickly, sister." Asoko calls out to me, and I turn around to find her and the twins looking in through the me-shaped hole in the hangar door. She''s not talking about me breaking in by myself without waiting for them to be ready.


    "You''ll be able to do all this in no time, too." I reassure them with a smile as I look around the hangar. It''s not pressurized, so the hole isn''t sucking air out of the interior. Soldiers in black armored suits rush in to confront me, as they did in Alverost''s battle station.


    I can feel that they''re humans, and the fact that they carry laser guns tells me they aren''t Old Humans. They must be people gathered from Earth and made to live here to serve the false gods until they die, never learning the truth about the world they came from.


    The soldiers line up and point their weapons at me while Asoko and the twins enter after me. They must be wondering how I opened the hole, so they aren''t sure what to make of me yet. As new humans, they''re pitiful, but I don''t have mercy to waste on those who can''t understand the difference in our power from me literally single-handedly pushing my way through steel.


    "It''s time." I mutter and instantly grow into a large door that opens to reveal those inside me. They''re already aware of the situation and spring forth to face the unsuspecting defenders.

 Chapter 158 - Elevator Games

    Aurelia exits my pocket space with an array of golden swords, one pointed at each enemy. Tokomaha emerges with a small army of her own, carrying spears ready to be thrown. The others also have their weapons drawn and glare down the soldiers in black.


    The enemies finally react and point their weapons, but a glowing streak moves through them before anybody can make the first move. Their guns fall apart in their hands, and they stand before us unarmed and utterly bewildered.


    "Surrender now, and nobody has to die." Rolan appears in front of us, leaving behind an afterimage of light from Roshanee in his hand. I doubt anybody on the Rhodos station knows him but seeing a human-looking person among us should help persuade the enemy. "You serve false gods who are petty and cruel. We are here to free the world of their scourge."


    I raise an arm to stop the others from carrying out their attack. I''m ready to block the shots for their intended targets in case Rolan missed a weapon among them. For now, we may be able to avoid a massacre if the enemies do accept the hero''s proposal.


    But then I realize that without an atmosphere, nobody could have heard him talk. Instead, the soldiers hastily reach for their sidearms, but Rolan speeds through them and cuts the handguns apart in one swift motion again. Left with no recourse, they turn and run away, and I hear the hero sigh over our channel.


    "I would help you get your message across, but I''m sure they wouldn''t appreciate it when it''s me saying those words." I muse while walking forward and passing Rolan. He sheathes Roshanee and sighs again.


    The others follow us as we make our way through the hangar. The soldiers are heading for the many airlocks, most likely hoping to get new weapons from the armories and barricade the corridors to stop our advance. Shelnir knows how well it worked last time, and we''ve all grown stronger since then. But it seems that she doesn''t care in the slightest that her soldiers may get slaughtered.


    To spite her, we won''t kill a single one of them then.


    "Show yourself, you hack fortuneteller." I call out into the vacuum of the hangar with the Crawling Chaos voice. Most of my companions stop in their steps upon hearing this, but they aren''t as affected as the much weaker-willed enemy soldiers. Some of them flinch and trip, others run for cover, and a few even collapse on the spot. I know that my voice alone can''t kill, so those should be merely knocked out.


    "What was that?" Gram wonders with an anxious undertone in his voice and looks around frantically while readying his shield. I turn to him and grin, revealing myself to be the culprit.


    Given that we''re in a vacuum, Shelnir''s answer wouldn''t reach us anyway. I guess we have to go through an airlock and enter the pressurized section of the station before we can get any pointers from her.


    Last time, she disguised herself as a goon to lead us to the right place. I doubt she will put herself in such danger again this time, especially after how badly it went back then. But the Rhodos station is far larger than Alverost''s battle station, so searching randomly would take way too long. I guess it''s time to find us a guide.


    "Grab somebody who looks different from the regular soldiers." I order Tokomaha, who makes her clones fan out and search the hangar between the parked vessels. The original is wearing the anti-inhibition watch, so she will be fine even without a spacesuit in case there''s an inhibition field generator hidden somewhere in the hangar. Her clones can be like canaries in the coal mine; they will dissolve into dust if they enter one such field.


    Soon, we reach the airlock on the other side of the massive hangar beyond which a few soldiers have already escaped. I look around for a panel with the obvious open button but find none. I don''t want to break it open as that would remove the air part of the airlock.


    "How is this one?" Two Tokomaha clones approach, dragging a soldier in their arms. This one also wears black armor but has a distinct red shoulder guard that marks him as someone of rank. To make sure that it''s not an illusion or disguise, I use my Chaos senses to probe his physical makeup and find that he''s a regular human male without any hidden additions.


    "Open this door." I put a hand on his helmet and use a mouth on my palm to demand in a tone that leaves no room for argument. My expression implies that if he won''t do it, I''ll find someone else.


    "I''d rather die." He responds, the vibrations of his voice transmitting through my arm to my ear.


    "So be it." I shrug with my hand still on his helmet so that he can hear what I''m saying, then address the Tokomaha clones. "Throw him outside."


    "H-huh? No, wait!" When he realizes that I''m not granting him a quick death, he struggles against the little goddess''s grip and presses his helmet against my palm so that I can hear his pleas.


    "Let me handle this." Rolan steps forward and kneels beside the man, and I draw my hand back. He puts the glass of his helmet against the man''s so that his voice can reach him. If we could figure out their frequency, we wouldn''t need to jump through these hoops.


    Rolan proceeds to explain to the captain that he used to be a toy of the gods, raised up to be a hero of humanity, and then dropped solely for the sake of entertainment. He speaks of their attempt to destroy the entire world once they realized that they lost control. And now that retribution is coming for them, they''ve gone mad and still attempt to continue playing their games.


    It doesn''t take long for the former hero to persuade the man, whose worldview is shattered when he learns of the treachery of the Old Humans. Surely, he must have seen the signs before but looked away in fear or willful self-delusion. But seeing people from Earth coming all this way to put an end to the false gods seems to have opened his eyes.


    The two Tokomaha clones let go of the man, and he walks over to the wall next to the airlock. Touching it with his glove causes a panel to open and reveal buttons. Inputting a code with practiced motions, he activates the door, which slides open toward both sides.


    "Thank you." Rolan says and waves, knowing that the captain can''t hear them at this distance. But when I realize that, I walk over to him and put my hand on his helmet glass again.


    "Tell us your frequency. Let''s stay in contact." I demand, not out of goodwill toward him but for my own needs. After all, once we have the frequency these soldiers communicate with, we can announce our reason for being here to all of the crew at once.


    The man still feels apprehensive when I''m the one talking to him. After all, I look like a human but walk around in a vacuum without wearing a pressurized suit. But I''m sure he also witnessed me pushing a hole through the meter-thick hangar gate as if it were snow. Maybe that''s the reason he gives it quite readily, allowing me to tune in and speak into his helmet directly.


    "Thank you. Now go somewhere safe until you hear an announcement from me that it''s over." I say and give him a dismissive wave of my hand. If he''s smart enough to recognize that fighting us can only mean death, he should understand not to get in the crossfire between the Old Humans and us.


    He only nods silently and walks off, noticeably shaken by the revelations and our appearance. I doubt we''ll see him again, so I turn to the party to prepare a speech over the Rhodos station garrison''s channels. That''s when I notice Rolan looking at the retreating man''s back with a pained expression. He must be thinking that we came here and destroyed many people''s worldviews, leaving them with only emptiness.


    I feel no sympathy for those who would blindly follow orders or believe in false gods. It''s one thing to think there''s a higher power, but a whole different matter when that supposedly higher power tells one to commit atrocities in their name. But I suppose common sense isn''t as common as its name implies.


    "Hear me, soldiers of the Rhodos station! My name is Chaos, Queen of the Dominion. I have come to purge this universe of the false gods that play with our lives. Whether you are demon or human matters not to me - stay out of my way, and no harm shall come to you." I speak into my internal microphone as I lead our boarding party into the airlock. "Oppose me, and you will learn what a real god can do."


    Everybody stares at me when they hear my last statement, but I ignore them. It may sound hypocritical to call Elaine and Shelnir false gods in one sentence and present myself as a real one in the next. But at this point, my power may as well be that of a true god as humans understand it. I make miracles happen even without the need for the Imagination Engine.


    "Good speech, sister." Asoko comments snidely. But she knows best how close our existence is to actual gods. Our scope is already beyond comprehension, even if it deals mainly in destruction - evidence of our heritage.


    As we emerge on the other side of the airlock, we come upon a broad corridor with several elevators before us. I press the button to call one as a test; the last time we did this in enemy territory, it was filled with soldiers. If my speech didn''t have its intended effect, we might run into troops here.


    When the elevator arrives only a moment later, it opens to a large but empty cabin. It''s not yet proof that my announcement is keeping the new humans away from the fighting. Still, I appreciate that our time isn''t wasted on subduing another contingent of soldiers.


    The elevator appears to be a troop carrier, as our entire party fits into it with space to spare. In other words, I doubt this goes all the way to the command center or the beam weapon control room. The buttons for the floors certainly don''t give anything away, but at least there are only three, including the one for the floor we entered on.


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    Since we boarded the Rhodos station in one of the hangars below the beam weapon''s concave dish, I decide that going up is the only sensible choice.


    "Do you know where we are going?" But before I can press the corresponding button, Kerry suddenly calls out to me from the doorway. They have been staying quiet since earlier, so I already forgot about their presence. They''re walking on their own two feet now, staying in the very back of the party as if not wanting to stand out.


    "I don''t." I reply truthfully. Knowing how gigantic the Rhodos station is, searching haphazardly will be pointless. And I announced that everybody should stay out of my way, so we might not even run across a person who could guide us. "You''ve been here before, right?"


    "Yes." Averting their eyes, Kerry responds sheepishly. It was a rhetorical question since Elaine is their mother, but I didn''t want to assume anything. When talking to the Child of the Sun, one needs to use a light touch to avoid causing them too much stress.


    "Can you show us the way?" I walk out of the elevator and crouch down before Kerry. They turn away and hide their gaze behind their helmet. We''re somewhat pressed for time, but I know to give them room for thinking and considering their role in this.


    Finally, Kerry nods and points down the corridor. I pet their helmet, through which the Child of the Sun can seemingly feel my touch, and stand up to tell the party to leave the elevator again. But before I can do that, the doors close in front of me, and I hear the hum of the machinery inside moving the cabin.


    "Umm." I turn to look at Kerry, whose glowing eyes stare back at me in bewilderment. Is this Shelnir''s attempt to separate us?


    The elevator doors open to a contingent of soldiers in shiny black armor that seem to have been heading to reinforce the troops in the hangar. This means that Chaos''s announcement did little to dissuade the Old Humans'' troops from attempting to fight off the intruders.


    "Run." Asoko steps out of the elevator and speaks in her Crawling Chaos voice. The soldiers were about to shoot but immediately drop their weapons and flee. It would seem that hearing a real god''s otherworldly voice after the earlier announcement is doing the trick after all.


    As the soldiers scatter, Asoko turns around to the elevator again, only to find that the doors have closed and the sound of machinery moving can be heard from the other side. Blinking her eyes, she stares at the polished white door for a moment.


    "Did we just let Shelnir do this to us twice in a row?" She mutters in an incredulous tone.


    "Communications are jammed." I mutter when I hear only static through my headset. Shelnir could have done that much earlier when I made the announcement over the garrison''s frequency but decided to do it now. This means separating us is part of her plan.


    I force open the elevator doors and find the empty shaft on the other side. When I look inside, I discover that it goes on seemingly endlessly in both directions. For having only three buttons, that''s an excessive distance to cover. This must be an express elevator for transporting troops from the barracks to the hangar.


    Since I doubt those inside pressed a button, I have no idea whether the elevator went up or down. My first instinct is that it went up, but Shelnir could be playing mind games with me and have sent it down. However, the moment I consider this conundrum, I''m stuck and unable to make a decision.


    "I guess I''ll have to do both then." I sigh and split my body in two with equal mass, forming two of myself. The last time I did this was in our fight against Mataku on the Moon, which somehow feels like it was months ago, even though less than a week has passed since then. I both turn to Kerry and address them in unison. "Do you want to wait here or come with either of me?"


    Overwhelmed by seeing me like this, the Child of the Sun can only stare in awe. I don''t think this is such an incredible feat considering Tokomaha makes hundreds of herself with a wave of her hand. But witnessing one body split in two might be more intriguing than dust being turned into clones for someone who knows the limits of the Imagination Engine.


    "Or I''ll stay with you." I make my two bodies touch hands and create a third between them, splitting my mass equally in three. "I''ll go up. And I''ll go down."


    I use different mouths to speak, but in reality, it''s all me inside the three bodies. But unlike Tokomaha, who steers all her clones in something akin to a hive mind, my split parts can express different aspects of my personality depending on how they form. Of course, I made sure to leave a particularly motherly part behind with Kerry.


    As I travel both up and down the elevator shaft, my mind is stretched beyond its limits. The split bodies have never been this far apart from each other before, but something tells me that rather than reaching a limit, I''m merely expanding it. I''m a cosmic being that can travel faster than light, so my thoughts should be able to match that. One day, I might be able to exist in many places across the entire universe at once.


    When I reach either end, I find that horizontal tunnels lead away from the shaft and deeper into the Rhodos station. Maybe a hidden panel or a specific button combination allows one to travel on these alternate paths.


    The door behind the me at the top of the shaft opens, and Asoko peeks her head inside to see me floating there, contemplating what to do.


    "Oh, fancy seeing you here." She says in a sarcastic tone and looks down into the sheer endless shaft. "That looks like a huge waste of space."


    "If you''re here, that means they must have gone down this tunnel." I tilt my head and wonder. It would seem that Shelnir pulled a fast one on Asoko the same way she did on me. But the fact that she opened the door around the time I arrived means that the elevator couldn''t have already passed by the middle stop again before I entered the shaft.


    "What games is Shelnir playing?" Crossing her arms, my other half asks in a rhetorical tone and sighs while shaking her head.


    "She knows she stands no chance otherwise. So she separated us from the others, thinking they''ll be helpless without us." I shrug while making the me at the bottom of the shaft travel back up and merge with the me waiting with Kerry. "But the Akashic Records only go this far. She has no idea what she''s truly dealing with."


    Even the best man-made supercomputer using the energy of the entire Sun to run could never hope to comprehend a Crawling Chaos. I''ll teach her how insignificant her petty games are before true power over space and time.


    "I''m sure she can hear you." Asoko glances up with a skeptical expression, then rolls her eyes. She knows that even if Shelnir can see and hear our every move, she won''t be able to predict what we can do. After all, we''re ever-evolving.


    "Let''s go." When my two thirds arrive with Kerry in tow, I meld back together with myself and point down the tunnel leading deeper into the Rhodos station.


    "You''ll have to teach me that one, too." My other half looks at me with an eyebrow raised before following me. She never witnessed me do it before but most likely already played with the idea when she saw Tokomaha''s abilities. I only learned it by accident and under strange circumstances, so it''s not surprising that neither Asoko nor the twins know about this property we have.


    "It''s hard to control at first, so better not do it for this battle." I lost a lot of mass that time because it messed with my mind. Still, it also served to confuse the enemy a bit, so I was able to overcome them in the end with its help. It won''t work on Shelnir since she must already know about it.


    As we travel down the tunnel illuminated by a strip of light on each of the four walls, I take in the smooth and seamless architecture. I don''t see steel cables or rails, so the elevator moves through magnetism rather than mechanical propulsion. It would explain how quickly it had already disappeared by the time I forced my way inside.


    "The elevator is coming." Kerry points ahead and states in a matter-of-fact tone. I follow their finger and see a wall approaching us at an incredible speed. I can tell that it''s empty through my Chaos senses, so this is either Shelnir''s laughable attempt at killing us, or somebody called it behind us.


    I raise a hand toward the elevator, and it stops in an instant. The air that was pushed ahead by it whips about my hair, but that''s the extent of its effect on me. If there had been people inside, they would have been turned to a pulp on the wall. Luckily, my Chaos senses care nothing for barriers or force fields and can feel things even through the Perfect Sanctuary.


    The elevator isn''t seamless with the wall around it but has plenty of space to move around because it''s hovering with magnetism. Thus, I move to the side of the elevator and slip through the gap.


    The fact that it was empty implies that the others got off somewhere ahead of us. This makes it harder for us to find them, even with the straightforward shape of the tunnel. Doors leading out of it are quite readily visible in the walls, but that means they could have disembarked through any one of them.


    At times like this, I wish Senka were here. Her means of communication are as inexplicable as some of my abilities, so it can''t be jammed like electronics. But she''s still millions of kilometers away, dodging the Rhodos station''s beam cannon while approaching. Her only weakness is the relatively limited range, which seems to be less than a thousand kilometers.


    Then I remember something about the Chaos senses and wonder why I haven''t tried this again since my mind has been expanded by my abilities. I was once overwhelmed by the world of light when I let myself feel every living organism. Now, I shouldn''t have to fear that sensation anymore. In fact, I should be able to expand it to cover the entirety of the Rhodos station and more, considering I have already glimpsed eternity.


    Closing my eyes, I concentrate on my senses and let them expand like a physical bubble. Asoko suddenly makes a noise next to me, meaning that she may have sensed it. But the fact that Kerry doesn''t react shows that only another Crawling Chaos can feel it.


    Light surrounds me everywhere. I can sense... everything.


    "They''re at the end of the tunnel." I open my eyes and declare in a calm tone before speeding forward.


    "What did you do? It felt... weird." My other half asks with a frown. Her presence, and that of my children, within my senses, were an all-consuming void rather than black emptiness, so it goes both ways. I can understand that being probed like this by another Crawling Chaos is a strange sensation, but she will have to learn it as well eventually. I''m sure Uten and Saten felt it too.


    "What happened?" Kerry, intrigued by our conversation, inquires while following us.


    "You wouldn''t get it." Asoko brushes them off, but I shoot my other half a glare that causes her to shy away.


    "I used something like an inner radar. She could feel it because she''s like me." I explain to Kerry patiently, and they stare at me in silence for a moment.


    "That''s amazing." The Child of the Sun speaks with their eyes glowing slightly more intense than before. "What did you see?"


    "I know where our friends are. And where Shelnir is." I announce the last part slightly louder so that the Guide of Tomorrow can hear us. Maybe she doesn''t have ears inside this tunnel, or the jamming affects her as well, but I won''t pass up on a chance to make her quiver in fear.


    Flying down the tunnel faster than before, I head for where the others are. I can direct my senses toward the front to monitor what they''re doing. It would seem that they''re inside a large hall, possibly another hangar. They''re lining up with their weapons ready, and Korenga appears to have gone into Black God mode. However, my Chaos senses can''t pick up who they''re fighting, meaning they must be robots - possibly something akin to Hestia bots.


    "We should hurry." I turn to look at Asoko and Kerry with a bad feeling about this.


    Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, and Tokomaha were there when Chaos faced an immensely powerful being created by the false god Alverost. They witnessed the power of the one called Oinos as he wielded a gigantic sword that tore apart Kairaki with every swing. They understand that even without the Imagination Engine, he''s close to a god.


    It took the combined effort of all of them to defeat him, and even then, it was a tough battle that could have gone quite different if only a tiny factor had been off. If not for his lack of knowledge about the true power of Kamii''s curse, he would have never been defeated by her strike; she would have been turned into fine red mist by a backhanded slap instead.


    Rolan and the old members of his party know Oinos from his one-sided fight against Chandra, while Svanhild and Halthor only have second-hand accounts. But they all know that even Chaos had a hard time winning against him.


    However, now they''re facing over a dozen clones of the Walker of the Wild, every last one carrying the Ame-no-Murakumo that can disintegrate even a Crawling Chaos with a simple swing. Shelnir seems to be done messing around.

 Chapter 159 - Infinite Evolution

    Korenga is the first to move. She turns into Black God mode with a battle roar and charges forward at the closest Walker of the Wild. The towering android slowly swings the Ame-no-Murakumo copy he wields with both hands and generates an immense pressure that slams into Korenga. But to his surprise, the attack breaks on her like a wave against a jutting cliff. The others behind her are shielded from the effect by her shadow.


    Then she crushes through and tackles the Oinos clone head-on. The other androids watch curiously but keep the group of intruders in the corners of their eyes. Because they are mass-produced models of Oinos, they must share his mentality and sense of honor, so they won''t interfere in the duel.


    Rolan looks past the lineup of godlike enemies before them and peers at the far end of the massive hall. Bound to a gigantic metal cross is Runa, unconscious like when they found her in Alverost''s battle station. He realizes that he feels calm despite the dire situation and glances at his comrades without saying a word. Gram and Sigurd return his gaze but don''t betray their thoughts.


    "There is one for each of us." Aurelia comments in a grim tone as she watches the two combatants clash with earth-shattering intensity. As it stands, they might not even be able to beat a single one with all of their strength combined. Having each of them duel an Oinos clone is impossible.


    "Leave this to us." Uten and Saten walk forward and raise their fists. The twins are among the shortest in their party and tiny compared to the enemies before them. But they know that these two are the children of Chaos and harbor unfathomable powers in their slender, androgynous forms.


    "Two more then?" One Oinos clone walks forward with his giant sword over his shoulder. The fact that he feels confident to face the twins alone shows he doesn''t know about their potential.


    "What are you doing? End them all right now!" Shelnir''s impatient voice echoes through the massive hall, causing the would-be combatants to stop in their steps. She clearly doesn''t appreciate the honorable attitude of the Walkers of the Wild.


    "You woke us up to fight for you, so let us do our thing." One of the Oinos clones looks up and responds in an almost annoyed-sounding tone. They''re Alverost''s creations, but that doesn''t mean they answer equally to all the Old Humans. Perhaps he even programmed them so that they only listen to his orders without question. With their creator gone, they could be free if they wanted to.


    "Remember that I hold the trigger for all of your lives in my hand." The Guide of Tomorrow remarks in a shaky and slightly deranged tone. It would seem that she''s struggling to keep her composure after all the setbacks she experienced recently.


    "As I see it, only we stand between these intruders and your life." Another Oinos replies with a grin, causing a round of laughter to run through his peers. "Might be better if you don''t run your mouth, little lady."


    Aurelia narrows her eyes when Shelnir doesn''t retort. It would seem that these Oinos clones are not the Guide of Tomorrow''s mindless slaves and have opinions of their own. Maybe she could even reason with them.


    "Could I ask you to stand aside? We do not need to fight." The Golden Queen steps forward and addresses the last Walker of the Wild that responded to Shelnir.


    "No can do. You lot killed our father." To Aurelia''s surprise, the casual attitude of the Oinos clone replying to her is replaced by cold fury. The Guide of Tomorrow seems to have informed them that Alverost is dead. Otherwise, she may not have been able to motivate them to fight for her in the first place.


    "So be it." Lowering her gaze, the Golden Queen raises a foot and stomps the ground. From where her heel connects to the gray metal floor, a circle of gold spreads out. It continues to travel in all directions, and she raises her palms. Golden weapons rise from the solid surface of the floor as if emerging from a pond.


    Everybody gets ready for battle, anxious about the weaker members among them. But not one hesitates to heed Aurelia''s command as she points forward and lets her weapons fly. An all-out battle is inevitable.


    The first to move is Rolan, who disappears with only a streak of light showing his trajectory. One of the Oinos clones drops his Ame-no-Murakumo and matches his blinding speed. He knows that he doesn''t need the divine blade to fight the human.


    But to his surprise, Rolan passes him by and heads straight for Runa. The android chases after him and extends a hand to crush the Chosen One''s skull from behind. But as if he saw it, Rolan dodges in time and spins around himself to cut through the Oinos clone''s wrist with Roshanee.


    He appears out of the slowed-down world that his speed lets him see and looks at his wrist stump. Golden blood is pooling around it to mend the damage, but there''s no hint of his black bones being damaged. In that split second, even faster than he could react, Rolan cut through the gap between his bones, cleanly separating the softer tissue holding them together.


    Stopped before him is the human in question, his sword held in both hands. His left arm is mechanical but looks far less sophisticated than anything Alverost has created recently. A lesser being was able to outpace an Oinos clone, even if it was with the help of the Imagination Engine.


    "Impressive." All he can feel is genuine admiration. Although he was programmed to be perfectly loyal to Alverost, he never appreciated his father''s single-minded pursuit of perfection in the Rangatira and the Walker of the Wild series. Even he understood that it was a fool''s errand to create something permanent meant to be perfect. Perfection is an ever-shifting goalpost.


    Rolan knows that the time for talking is over, so he keeps his eyes on his opponent with perfect focus. He knows that cutting off this godlike being''s hand won''t be enough to stop him from continuing to fight. It''s likely that he won''t be able to do it again.


    Behind the Oinos clone, Aurelia summons a storm of golden blades. Hestia rises on her jet wings and unleashes a barrage of plasma beams. The overwhelmingly flashy display is to hide their weaker companions from view, but the Walkers of the Wild don''t care about these tactics and charge straight through the rain of deadly projectiles.


    Suddenly, Uten and Saten spread out countless tentacles and grab onto several enemies at once. They know they can''t stop the mechanical gods'' movements, but their aim is another. Much like how their mother pushed through solid steel as if it were a snowdrift, annihilating the matter in passing, they attempt to do the same with the Oinos clones'' limbs in their grasps.


    But they aren''t at their mother''s level yet and can''t begin to fathom how she did it. The enemies unleash light from the tattoos across their bodies and cut through the tentacles with little resistance before continuing onward.


    Gram runs forward and creates a massive barrier with his shield. The first Oinos clone reaching it pulls back a hand and punches the force field, but it doesn''t give way. For a moment, hope sparks in the big man''s heart, but he sees another enemy raising his giant sword. He heard from Chaos that this weapon goes through barriers as if they were made of paper.


    At that moment, a blur crashes into the Walker of the Wild ready to swing the Ame-no-Murakumo. It turns out to be Rewera, having burst through her spacesuit and revealing a pair of curved horns sprouting from her forehead and bat-like wings growing from her back. She grabs the blade''s hilt and holds the Oinos clone back from swinging it with all the muscles on her body bulging under the strain. It takes her all to lock his wrists in place, but it causes him to raise an eyebrow at her in mild surprise.


    "One from the Rangatira series." He remarks before pulling back and delivering a devastating kick into Rewera''s flank. The sound of breaking bones can be heard, but the maid leader doesn''t let go of the Walker of the Wild''s wrists and slams her horns into the latter''s chin from below. The impact causes his feet to leave the ground for a moment, and she pushes forward with all her strength to topple him.


    However, as she''s busy with her opponent, another raises his divine blade to tear down Gram''s barrier. The Golden Queen''s weapons slashing at him draw sparks, but he ignores the scratches on his skin to hold his swords with both hands. It''s the move that erased half of Chaos''s mass in a single swing.


    Kamii slips through Gram''s one-way barrier and runs at the Oinos clone swinging down his Ame-no-Murakumo. He doesn''t let the little dark elf''s desperate charge throw him off and continues the surprisingly slow attack. But Kamii swings up her cursed arm and meets the giant weapon halfway.


    A massive shockwave explodes outward from their contact point and washes across the room. But to everybody''s surprise, the Ame-no-Murakumo is repelled with so much force that it''s ripped out of the Oinos clone''s hands. It flies up and embeds itself into the ceiling almost down to its hilt.


    Kamii doesn''t stop to regard her handiwork and lunges forward to hit her opponent with the immense power built up in her cursed arm. However, without the Ame-no-Murakumo, the Oinos clone can show his blinding speed. He steps in for a devastating punch at the little dark elf''s chest.


    Lightning flashes and runs through the android. Although his circuits are clearly insulated, the light itself throws him off slightly and allows Kamii to barely dodge the punch by twisting her whole body sideways. Still, the sheer pressure from the attack rips through the clothes on her left shoulder and chafes her skin.


    Behind the Oinos clone appears Tahiri in her thundercloud form, power crackling all across her body. Another android raises his sword to bring it down on her, but she unleashes a powerful discharge at his chest that staggers him. The surface of his body glows as if heated up by the electric plasma, but that''s the extent of damage her full power can cause to the Walker of the Wild.


    Halthor faces an Oinos clone in a duel with his bare fists. His body is charged with lightning, but unlike the God of Storms, he can''t turn into it himself. Still, he fought Korenga nearly to a standstill before, so he can somewhat stand his ground against this overwhelming opponent. But it''s only a matter of time before he will tire and fall, much like he did in his fight against the Black God.


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    On the other hand, Svanhild is aware that she can''t so much as scratch an Oinos clone''s skin with her drill lance. She remains with Sigurd and the others behind Gram, catching herself praying for Chaos to save them.


    Suddenly, Korenga is sent flying through the room and crashes into the wall, which withstands her heavy impact without a dent. It doesn''t slow her at all, and she lunges back toward her opponent with a roar. Still, it shows that even the physically strongest member among them has her hands full against a single Walker of the Wild.


    Hestia dodges a swing from an Ame-no-Murakumo directed at her by activating the boosters on her wings. The air pressure surrounding the main attack still catches her and sends her tumbling through the air, but Dregana catches her with a wind cushion.


    Behind her, the attack that disintegrated even Chaos''s dragon armor and parts of Kairaki dissipates against the wall. It''s either made of an indestructible material, or it contains inhibition technology, and the blade''s pressure is part of the Imagination Engine. If it''s the latter, perhaps there is a way to negate it entirely, but Hestia wouldn''t know where to begin.


    Several androids sink into the circle of gold that Aurelia transmuted part of the room''s floor into. Golden tendrils latch onto their limbs and pull them under, but they begin to rise again as if unbothered by their fetters. Despite the Golden Queen''s powerful imagination, her power is no match for the overwhelming existence that the Walkers of the Wild represent.


    Rolan''s high-speed battle beyond the lineup of Oinos clones sees him becoming overwhelmed by his opponent. Although they''re about the same speed, the human has to be careful not to get nicked in the slightest while the Walker of the Wild can fight with reckless abandon. After he lost his right hand, all the other wounds he sustained since then are easily mended by his regenerative abilities.


    Suddenly, Rolan slips on something and falls into his opponent''s attack trajectory. Even then, he barely manages to twist his body out of the way of the massive fist that promises death. Still, it nicks his prosthetic left arm, which is ripped to pieces and scattered across the room.


    The impact and his high-speed slip cause him to tumble across the ground, but he quickly gets back to his feet against the protests of his aching body. Only now does he see that he slipped on the Oinos clone''s severed hand and smiles wryly.


    Uten and Saten gather their scattered parts and attempt to use their mother''s matter-eating ability once more but are faced with two androids raising their Ame-no-Murakumo copies to attack them. The giant blades radiate an aura of doom despite looking absolutely ordinary. The twins are rooted in place, like deer staring into oncoming headlights.


    "You did well in holding out until now." A familiar voice echoes through the room, and the party members'' hearts beat higher. Those who can afford to turn around do so to see Chaos floating above them. She opened a her-shaped hole into the elevator doors, through which Asoko and Kerry peek into the room curiously.


    With an almost casual gesture of one hand, Chaos pulls the Oinos clones together in the center of the room as if a black hole only affecting them has appeared in their midst. They activate the newly-installed inhibition field generators in their chest cavities, but the effect of her attack doesn''t cease. Their sensors don''t pick up anything abnormal even as their bodies creak under the pressure; it''s not a force humanity has ever encountered before. They can''t move a single finger and stare at her in utter confusion.


    Then she closes her palm, and the Walkers of the Wild are crushed inward. Black bones, supposed to be indestructible, break under the unknown force acting on their bodies. Golden blood gushes from ripped skin but is immediately drawn into the sphere by the unnatural pull.


    In their last moments, some of the androids realize that they''re witnessing what their creator pursued all along: An infinitely-evolving being that will adapt and overcome anything over time. According to the prototype Oinos''s memory that they received, she was almost defeated by him. But within the short few days since then, she has grown to the point where even a dozen equally powerful mass-production models don''t even present a bump on her road.


    Finally, the androids lose their shapes entirely and are compressed into an ever-shrinking sphere until even that disappears from sight.


    Everybody stares at Chaos, who lands in their midst, with awe and a hint of fear. She has moved so far ahead of them that it feels like she could leave them behind and turn into something unfathomable. Even if she''s a Crawling Chaos, a being not of this world, she always seemed grounded in their reality. But after her display just now, it''s clear that she has ascended to a different realm.


    "What is it?" I look around with an eyebrow raised when everybody only stares at me silently. I take note of the humans among them, whose expressions show clear hints of fear. My display of overwhelming power must have been terrifying for those barely scratching the surface of the Imagination Engine''s potential.


    Albeit in my case, it wasn''t the Imagination Engine but my own abilities. I have stepped into the realm of affecting reality with my mind alone. The Imagination Engine holds no sway over me anymore.


    Before anybody can answer, I peer through the room and see Rolan at the other end of the hall. His mechanical left arm is shattered, but he looks unharmed otherwise. Instead, he stands at the bottom of the massive metal cross on which Luna has been strapped and appears to be contemplating how to free her. It''s reminiscent of the rack in Alverost''s battle station, but there''s no control panel in sight.


    I extend my Chaos senses across the room and check on her, finding that she''s indeed the real Luna - and that she''s alive. As before, I assume that Shelnir put some gimmick on her restraints so that when I try to free her, she will be killed. As I walk toward the cross, I think about the possibilities and countermeasures.


    "It''s a trap, isn''t it?" Rolan comments when he notices me approaching behind him.


    "Of course it is." I glance around, searching for camera lenses in the vicinity in vain. "But this is nothing for me now."


    With these words, I float up to Luna and glance across her body. She''s unconscious, most likely drugged, and wears a simple white dress reminiscent of a hospital gown. Her limbs are held in place by metal clasps, with a particularly large one around her neck. Something tells me that rather than shocking her like the one in Alverost''s battle station, this one might try to decapitate her when I mess with it.


    I raise my hands and gesture at the metal cross and all of its components. They distort around Luna''s form and let go of her, causing all the hidden mechanisms to go off simultaneously. However, I bend the material so that nothing even touches the half-elf''s skin, let alone draws blood.


    Moments later, Luna floats freely in the air, and the cross has been turned into a metal cube small enough to fit in my palm. It''s surprisingly fun to mess around with matter like this while ignoring the limits of compressibility.


    Lowering the half-elf with me as I descend, I gently place her in Rolan''s arm. Then I look through the room, waiting to hear Shelnir''s mental breakdown now that I have broken her so-called prophecy once again. The silence I''m greeted with could mean that she''s smart enough not to transmit it through the speaker system for all to hear.


    I extend my Chaos senses to where I found Shelnir in her secure little room earlier only to discover that she has left it. Spreading it out further, I sense an entire city filled with humans just before the entrance to the cube-shaped section of the Rhodos station. Beyond it are no more life signs aside from two individuals, meaning that the entire forward section, including the cube and sunscreen, is automated. Those two life signs must belong to Shelnir and Elaine.


    Then I sense a human-shaped void the likes of which I have never seen before beyond them. A shudder overcomes me, and I blink my eyes, causing Rolan to look at me in worry.


    "Mataku is here." I explain simply and turn to my comrades. Everybody here knows about the Primordial Terror, the being that caused the apocalypse that nearly wiped out all of old humanity. They understand that beyond Shelnir and Elaine, this overwhelming opponent awaits.


    "Will we continue or wait for the others?" Aurelia asks me with a shrug. She''s referring to those who stayed behind on the Queen Pelomyx and are still on their way here.


    "I don''t know what Mataku intends to do here, but he seems to have business with the Imagination Engine." I respond with a thoughtful tilt of my head. Could it be that he''s trying to deactivate it? What would he have to gain from doing that now?


    "Shelnir and Elaine will not be going anywhere. This is their final retreat." Sigurd comments and sighs. Then he gestures at everybody else in the room. "It would be good to take a breather after that battle."


    Some are bruised and bleeding, but it''s quite surprising that they came out of this with so little damage. It''s not that the Oinos clones were weak, but that my comrades grew stronger. At least strong enough to hold out for the few minutes it took me to reach them after Shelnir''s elevator games earlier.


    "Given that the Rhodos station may still be firing at the Queen Pelomyx, I''ll head for the weapons control room. You stay here and wait for my return." I look around the room and suggest while healing everybody with a thought. Surely, those I erased were all the Oinos clones in existence, so they should be safe here. "I will be back momentarily."


    I shoot Asoko and the twins a meaningful glance. It would seem that the latter tried their best to stall the godlike enemies until I arrived, so I''ll trust them to keep everybody safe until my return. They nod in response to my silent request, and I extend my Chaos senses across the Rhodos station once more.


    When I find a concentration of people sitting in a configuration reminiscent of a command center, I decide to try going there. Without another word, I rise to the ceiling and slip right through the material without even making a hole in it. If I can erase matter and reshape it with my will, I can make it intangible to me as well.


    The fact that I don''t find my rapid growth over the past few days alarming shows that my mind has already left behind its humanity. At least, I still feel it necessary to take action and save my people. It''s entirely possible that I will reach a point where I no longer care for anything but myself.


    Shaking my head of these grim thoughts, I move through solid matter as if it doesn''t exist and quickly make my way to the command center. I rise from the floor and emerge in a large room filled with rows of screens behind which humans in uniforms type away on consoles. Behind me is a giant three-dimensional hologram displaying a graph with numbers and dots that seem to symbolize the Rhodos station and the approaching Queen Pelomyx. The first to notice me screams in surprise, causing the others to look up from their work.


    "I assume you saw what I did to the Oinos clones." I speak calmly as the guards at the doors draw their weapons. "If you didn''t, here''s a taste."


    With these words, I wave my hand and pull the guns out of their grasp. They fly into the center of the room before being compressed into a pyramid. I''m having quite some fun with the shapes I can make, so that means I''m still human, right?


    "Now, stop your attack on that approaching vessel and cease any hostilities. Nobody here has to die." I announce while dropping the pyramid into my hand and twirling it around with my fingers to look at its smooth surface. Then I glance at a guard reaching for something in his pocket and smile wryly. "Don''t waste your life here for those false gods."


    The woman shivers all over and drops to her knees with terror distorting her features. Maybe I let my fa?ade slip a little, but I''m not even aware of that anymore. I need to keep my mind together.


    "You should go back and live on Earth. Being cooped up in a space station can''t be good for you." I look across everybody in the room and attempt a gentle smile. Instead, it causes panic to break out; the operators jump up from their seats and scramble toward the exits.


    As the room empties out in a few moments, I''m left wondering what I did wrong. Looking back at the hologram, I see the Queen Pelomyx rapidly approaching in a straight line now that the attacks on it seem to have ceased. I guess I achieved what I came here for, so it should be alright like this.


    I wonder where they will dock, but I''ll leave that for Senka and Exla to figure out. I hope she has dealt with the virus invading the systems by now, or it could get troublesome when they can''t stop the ship from crashing into the Rhodos station.


    Extending my Chaos senses outward again, I see if the operators of the command center are waiting outside in hopes of returning after I leave. While they seem to be still running for their lives down the corridors, I seal the doors to the room by connecting their matter to the walls. By the time they return and cut their way through, the Queen Pelomyx should already have arrived.


    With this, I slip back through the floor and head for the hall where my comrades are waiting.

 Chapter 160 - War in Heaven

    Exla is battling the overwhelming system corruption caused by the Venus Fleet artificial intelligence. By the time she noticed it, it had already spread so far inside her mind that she had to shut down her bodily functions to concentrate on combating it. She has no idea what is happening outside, but she has no leeway to check.


    If it were a regular computer, her hands would fly over a keyboard, and she would be typing code to fight the hacking. But since this is inside her computer-like brain, her mind palace, she is experiencing a battle to the death in a perfect physical simulation.


    Exla takes the shape of a cloud as a walking pun. Inside her very body is all the lost knowledge of old humanity that her father gave her. She has since become an existence beyond human, a living computer with an immense data store, and a being unable to live without the Imagination Engine.


    "Don''t underestimate me." The Guardian of the Soil declares as she materializes a plasma cannon in her hands and shoots down at the mass of robots rolling toward one of her fortresses. There are countless copies of her all over the walls, unleashing various weapons at the massive besieging army.


    Anti-aircraft laser batteries shoot down incoming jets, rockets fly across the battlefield, and artillery shells explode against the fortress defenses. The enemy''s gigantic walkers unleash barrages of plasma that scorch the walls and melt gun emplacements. Many of Exla''s avatars are destroyed as new ones pour out of the depths of the fortress to take their places.


    It would be a hellish sight if not for the fact that there are telltale signs that this is a simulation and even looks like a videogame. Destroyed allies and enemies alike scatter into pixels or fade out of existence. The skybox continues to change and glitch as Exla battles the Collective for control over it in the background processes.


    This is only one of many battlefields inside her mind palace, which is roughly the shape and size of Earth itself. The war is being fought all over this digital planet, with both conventional weapons and fantastical inventions. More than half of her domain has been overrun by the Collective now, parts of which have turned into a gray goo to convert her data into weapons against her.


    Meanwhile, the real Exla is sitting motionlessly in her helmsman chair in the Queen Pelomyx, not showing a hint of the battle within her. If one paid attention to her starry eyes, one could glimpse the flashing lights and explosions inside her mind.


    However, Senka has her hands full dodging the massive strafing beam from the Rhodos station, and Sintress is ready to raise her Perfect Sanctuary in case they cut it too close. Given that the weapon was created by Alexander, the inventor of the inhibition field generator, it''s entirely possible that her imagination might falter under its firepower.


    As the diminished but still gigantic Queen Pelomyx swerves and avoids the beam, Exla fights for the continued existence of her very mind in a simulated world war. Missiles destroy swathes of the digital landscape in her brain as she slowly loses ground, and the expanding gray goo of the Collective is beginning to take over key processes. The Guardian of the Soil to lose control of herself more and more.


    Everything in it happens at speeds hundreds of times faster than a regular human brain could register, and entire months of this immaterial conflict pass within minutes in real-time. She''s driven to the brink and soon realizes that the control over her physical body slips from her grasp. At this rate, the Collective will gain control over her vast databank and a body to use it all and perhaps even free itself from its programming. The gray goo inside her mind could leave the confines of the simulation and take over the real world.


    "Sorry, but this is as far as I go. You should abandon this ship. I''m going to self-destruct." Exla suddenly announces throughout the command center of the Queen Pelomyx using its speakers rather than her own mouth. The beam weapon from the Rhodos station has stopped, but she can''t know it; she''s still inside her mind and can''t spare any processing power for external senses. Even doing more than delivering this seemingly pre-recorded line is taking her all.


    Senka and Sintress exchange a glance for a moment before realizing that Exla''s fingers have dissolved into the console before her. It would seem that the Collective has taken over a part of her physical body and is once again invading the Queen Pelomyx. Suddenly, the ship''s systems go haywire, and alarm lights begin to blink all over its interior.


    "Oh, no you don''t." Senka leaps off her chair and grabs Exla''s cheeks to look into her eyes. Then the doll girl''s pupils dilate over the limits of her iris before spreading their blackness over the sclera and then her face, forming a butterfly pattern. She only rarely uses this ability because it takes a lot of energy, which only eating souls can provide, but now is the time to give it her all. Her body turns rigid like a statue, and she enters the cloud girl''s mind.


    "It was an honor to serve with you all." The Exla avatar in charge, wearing a general''s uniform, declares in front of the gathered Exla dignitaries inside their most secure bunker. Glum silence permeates the hall at what is about to happen.


    General Exla raises her fist to let it crash down on the big red button on the podium in front of her to unleash the energy inside her physical body, which should explode like a nuclear bomb. But suddenly, Senka materializes before her and kicks her in face. A shocked murmur runs through the crowd as the avatar in charge tumbles to the ground.


    "Why are you giving up like this?!" Crossing her arms, the doll girl roars at the Exla avatar sitting back up from the floor. "Has the Old Human with the greatest collection of knowledge run out of imagination?"


    "I kind of did." General Exla stands up and rubs her bruised cheek, which returns to normal as if it had never been hit. "The Collective has taken over most of my data and processes by now. If I can''t access them, I can''t fight back."


    "Are you a computer?" Senka asks in a rhetorical tone and glares down at the general.


    Suddenly, the ceiling of the bunker caves in, and a massive drill drops into the midst of the last remaining Exla avatars attending the self-destruct meeting. From the hole pours in a flood of hovering machines shaped like squids, with bladed tentacles and many lenses for eyes.


    "That''s pretty derivative, isn''t it?" Senka looks up and tilts her head.


    "It''s what Alverost does best." Exla grumbles as her many copies materialize weapons to shoot at the invading swarm.


    "Are you one to speak?" The doll girl remarks with a frown and watches as the Collective''s murder machines run over the last defenders like a wave of metal, creating a bloodbath in Exla''s innermost sanctuary. As the last of her copies fall and scatter into pixels one by one, the original is left with no more options.


    "I have to self-destruct. Get away from here!" General Exla declares in a desperate tone and raises her hand to push the button. But Senka punches her in the face to stop her.


    "Pull yourself together!" The doll girl yells and grabs the confused cloud girl''s uniform with both hands. Some of the machines turn to Senka and head for her without her noticing as she continues to speak. "You''re the otaku who has memorized over a million episodes of anime!"


    "Hey, behind you!" Exla screams, but Senka ignores her.


    "Is this the extent of your imagination?" She asks while gesturing at the simple plasma guns and rocket launchers the few remaining Exla avatars use to fight back against the Collective without looking back. "Where is your human ingenuity? Is all you can do copy-paste from your data like a machine?"


    The tentacles of the flying squid-like machines shake as they approach Senka as if excited to rip her apart. Exla glances between them and the doll girl, lost for words as her mind uses all the processing power left to her to find a solution.


    "No!" As the bladed tentacles appear to reach for the doll girl in slow motion, Exla gathers her wits and declares. Senka breaks out into a smile as the machines grab her. But before they do, the cloud girl explodes into light.


    The earth ruptures and the machines covering the last bunker are violently scattered from below. Rising from the hole in the ground is a giant humanoid mecha with its arms crossed. Its color scheme is like Exla''s, and it has cloud-like ethereal hair spilling from underneath the armor plating on its head. Sections in its armor open to emanate heat that burns away the gray goo moving in from the surroundings.


    "Maybe this will be a fate worse than death. But I''ll stake my very soul on this!" Exla declares with her starry eyes burning with determination. Her mecha lifts off and leaves behind a rainbow-colored, cloud-like trail. It spreads outward and scatters all the machines of the Collective that it touches, disintegrating them into pixels that fade into nothingness.


    Exla flies across the landscape of her mind palace, and the rainbow cloud grows larger to encompass more and more of her world. As the enemies are destroyed, the data her father left her with are erased with them. She can feel her memories getting deleted - the dangerous side-effect of this solution.


    "This is fine." She smiles wryly and thinks of Chaos in her final moments as long as she can still remember her. After this, she may come out as an amnesiac, if not a completely blank slate, so she wants to savor these memories before the end.


    "You think I''d let that happen?" Senka''s voice suddenly reaches Exla from the lower cockpit seat in front of her. From her vantage point, she couldn''t see the doll girl and thought she had already left her mind palace when she summoned this mecha. "Nobody messes with memories when I''m around."


    With these words, she pushes some buttons and pulls some levers before her. Exla''s memory corrosion comes to a stop, and she watches as the landscape of her mind is restored in the wake of her rainbow cloud trail. Senka somehow pulled back memories that should have already been erased.


    "You astonish me." Exla leans over her console to look down at Senka.


    "And you disappoint me." The doll girl replies in a disdainful tone. She peers up at Exla''s avatar, who looks thunderstruck by the sudden scolding. "In the end, what you made is still pretty derivative."


    Senka is referring to the fact that Exla created a giant mecha of all things when she could have erased all the enemies in something akin to an electromagnetic pulse or an explosion. There is absolutely no need for her to physically fly across her mind palace like this.


    "If it were that easy, I wouldn''t have had so much trouble." Leaning back on her seat, the cloud girl retorts with a pout. "And  I like these things, alright? I know senpai does, too."


    "If only she could see your gallant figure as you retake your world." Senka sneers in a tone that implies far more than her words do.


    "Uhh, don''t tell her about all this." Exla blushes and mumbles in embarrassment.


    "Look, you even made the AI learn from you." The doll girl points forward at the horizon over which a giant mecha appears. Parts of it are solid, and others are made of gray goo, giving it a more organic-looking form than Exla''s. But the intention behind taking this shape is clear; it wants to fight on equal standing and beat the cloud girl at her own game.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "I''ll take you up on that!" With this declaration, Exla pilots her mecha toward the Collective''s avatar.


    In the meantime, Sintress is left alone on the bridge of the Queen Pelomyx. Although the beam weapon from the Rhodos station has stopped, the Collective''s encroachment on the ship''s systems is arguably more dangerous since she can''t deal with it using her Perfect Sanctuary. And with both Exla and Senka out of commission, there is nobody to combat the artificial intelligence''s control. They may be heading in the general direction of the station for the time being, but the Collective could fly them into the sun if it decided to take them with it.


    Exla''s mecha throws a rocket-powered punch at the enemy, who takes the hit with a section of gray goo that absorbs the impact. At the same time, it delivers a cross-counter that hits Exla''s chest armor and bounces off.


    "Yet, she took more damage than was immediately visible." Senka comments in a narrator''s tone.


    "Oi, you''re not much better yourself!" Exla complains when she realizes that the doll girl just made fun of her chest size. "And why are you waging psychological warfare on me alongside the enemy''s physical attacks?"


    As she says that, the two mecha exchange blows with little effect before separating from each other and pulling out new weapons. Exla draws a beam saber while unleashing a rain of small missiles from her shoulder-mounted launchers. The Collective avatar grows point-defense laser cannons from its grey goo and shoots down the barrage while bringing forth an energy blade of its own.


    Shooting forward while surrounded by explosions, the battle for Exla''s mind and body, the Queen Pelomyx, and potentially all life back on Earth, continues.


    Inside this fantasy, blades of pure plasma can bounce off each other. Exla and the Collective strike and block as if it were a swordfight but take their distance to use ranged weapons like arm cannons and shoulder weapons between clashes. Despite being gigantic machines, their movements are incredibly fast.


    "This is stupid." Senka mutters with her arms crossed and watches the fruitless battle in this virtual space. It looks like a war game now, especially considering the battle being waged all around them between the resurgent Exla avatars and the remnants of the Collective''s armies. If the stakes weren''t this high, she would have already left this digital world.


    But as it stands, Exla''s victory isn''t assured yet. After all, the ever-evolving artificial intelligence of the Venus Fleet almost won against her at one point. If it overcomes her this time, there may be no way to take things back. To hopefully be able to aid her at that point, the doll girl will remain inside this simulation until the end.


    "I''m sure senpai would love it." Overhearing Senka''s mumblings, the cloud girl states with a grin.


    "I know. Doesn''t make it any less stupid." The doll girl grumbles.


    "It''s not a game, though. Even now, I can feel the Collective resurging." Exla says with a wry smile.


    The truth is that the Venus Fleet artificial intelligence is indeed a formidable enemy. It planted a seed deep inside Exla''s mind and let it grow silently without letting her feel a thing until it was too late. Shelnir must have had a hand in this approach. After all, the Collective would normally have attempted a brute-force takeover while relying on its vast processing power - which would have been doomed to fail instead.


    Suddenly, the enemy''s beam weapon grazes Exla''s shoulder guard and causes a secondary explosion in the missiles stored inside it. The force throws the mecha off balance, but Exla catches it before it can fall out of the sky and opens up a chest cannon. It unleashes a scattered beam that burns away most of the enemy''s gray goo. Underneath it is a skeleton-like mecha with much of its internal circuits exposed.


    "Now!" Exla uses this opening and lunges forward with her beam saber. It pierces the perceived heart of the enemy mecha and causes a massive explosion that throws her back.


    When the smoke parts, the enemy has disappeared without as much as scrap being left behind. But something tells Senka that this isn''t over. Exla seems to be aware of that as well and stays on the lookout while the battle continues to rage around them. If this mecha was the brain of the Collective, then its smaller avatars would have ceased function or disappeared altogether by now.


    That''s when the ground rumbles and rises from below. It cracks open to reveal countless cables made from gray goo running through the earth. It would seem that during their fight, the Collective has been taking over core parts of Exla''s mind again without her noticing. Like an exposed wound, the gray goo gathers into a pool from which a titanic mecha emerges.


    "This looks familiar." Senka tilts her head and stares at the new enemy, which remains submerged below its waist. Attached to the top of its head is a smaller mecha - the one that Exla thought she destroyed earlier. It''s now clad in new armor rather than gray goo and is missing everything below its waist, just like the far larger one.


    With a swing of its massive hand, it scatters all the fighters in its vicinity. Enemies and allies alike are crushed and thrown through the air by this god of destruction. The visor of the larger mecha opens to reveal a beam cannon, which it uses to scour the battlefield.


    "The larger they are, the harder they fall." Exla comments and flies up to avoid the beam. "A stationary target is nothing more than target practice."


    With these words, she transforms part of her mecha''s back into two cannons that flip over its shoulders. They unleash two purple beams with electricity crackling around their path due to their sheer energy at the smaller enemy mecha on top of the larger one''s head. But a powerful barrier absorbs them at the last second.


    Countless mechanical tentacles break out of the ground and shoot beams at Exla, who dodges them in midair and unleashes a barrage in return. Missile pods open on the gigantic mecha''s back and shoulders, unleashing a rain of death on the surroundings. Within all that chaos, the cloud girl does her best to evade while striking back.


    "This looks like a proper boss fight now." Grinning with nervous excitement, Exla looks down at the massive enemy and its effect on its surroundings. The sky is darkening and unleashing lightning, and a storm is picking up. The battle around them intensifies as if in response to this change in atmosphere.


    "You say that, but it''s all inside your mind." Senka doesn''t let herself get pulled into the mood and shrugs. "How about doing it with the Moonlight Butterfly knockoff?"


    "I''ve been trying to." With a wry smile, Exla responds while gesturing behind her. The trail of rainbow clouds that erased the Collective''s hold on her mind is still emanating from the back of her mecha, but it no longer seems to affect the enemy.


    "What then?" The doll girl asks with an eyebrow raised.


    "I''ll have to change the conditions." She points ahead, and her mecha mirrors the movement. Her voice is transmitted outside through speakers, and the Collective stops to listen. "A final battle with everything at stake."


    With these words, their surrounding landscape begins to shift. Exla''s countless avatars scatter into pixels that get pulled toward her mecha. Then, the very world of her mind palace itself begins to disintegrate and get drawn into her. Only the parts that were already taken over by the Collective remain in place, and soon, they find themselves in space. Asteroids and debris - broken and unrecoverable data - are the only things floating here besides Exla and the massive enemy.


    Now that the part hidden underground has been dragged out, the Collective mecha''s ugly truth is revealed. Instead of legs inside the gray goo, it''s directly connected with the network of tendrils that had dug deep into Exla''s world. Light pulses through them, and they only move under inertia in the weightlessness of space, showing that their purpose is to transmit data rather than fight.


    "There is no more hiding. Either you fall, or I do." Crossing her arms, the cloud girl declares in a determined tone. Whoever gets destroyed now will have no place to retreat to. With everything on full display in this practically empty space, a direct confrontation staking all of their data and processes is unavoidable.


    The Collective seems to understand Exla''s intentions and readies itself for battle.


    Sintress looks around anxiously as the systems on the Queen Pelomyx calm down. The encroachment of the Collective hasn''t stopped as light pulses across the consoles like a steady heartbeat, but the alarm is no longer going off. Then she realizes that the ship is speeding up and appears to be heading straight for the Rhodos station now.


    The artificial intelligence has determined that to maximize its chance of survival, it will have to escape the confines of this ship. Without a replicator, it can''t create a body large enough for its processes to leave, so ramming the Queen Pelomyx into the massive Rhodos station and escaping there would be the best option.


    If it does indeed take over the Rhodos station, it would be the worst-case scenario. It would have access to the Imagination Engine''s core systems and be able to lock out everybody from its usage. Coupled with the fact that the Akashic Records are located on the station as well, it could quite accurately predict the future and become nigh unstoppable.


    "Exla, finish this right now! You are running out of time!" Sintress walks over to the motionless cloud girl on her chair and shouts into her ear, hoping that her words will reach her.


    "You heard that?" Senka comments while leaning back in her cockpit seat.


    "Time moves faster in here, so it should be alright." Exla replies with a nervous laugh while steering her mecha through the barrage of enemy attacks. So far, she hasn''t had success in damaging the small mecha on top of the large one, which is most likely the main body of the Collective. She''s chipping away at everything else, but it gets mended by the vast mass it still has available. "Just need to find a way through that shield."


    "Could it be the Perfect Sanctuary?" With a thoughtful tilt of her head, the doll girl wonders. Considering almost the entire Venus Fleet was destroyed by Sintress''s barrier, it''s only natural for the artificial intelligence to learn from it. While it may not be able to replicate it in reality due to its lack of access to the Imagination Engine, inside a simulation is a different matter.


    "Then it would have used it from the start." The cloud girl dodges the barrage of beams and missiles and returns fire while considering this possibility.


    "Considering it''s only covering the most vital part, I have reason to believe that it requires a lot of processing power to make something supposedly impenetrable in a simulation." Senka points at the barrier that only covers the side of the smaller mecha where it gets attacked.


    "That could be a trap." Exla responds while flying in a zig-zag pattern to avoid the countless mechanical tentacles trying to grab her. She shoots many of them down with a machinegun, then turns around and activates her boosters to fly away faster.


    The gigantic Collective mecha follows her, the asteroids and debris in its way bouncing off its surface without doing any damage like rain hitting a car window. Along the way, it continues to shoot at Exla, who has her hands full dodging now that she showed the enemy her back.


    "Where are you going?" The doll girl asks, looking around the cockpit where the virtual screen gives her a complete view of their surroundings. Since Exla consolidated her mind palace into the mecha, there''s only empty space now.


    "I''m charging up an attack." The cloud girl explains while pointing at a moving bar on their HUD. "Hopefully your theory is correct. Because I don''t think there''s any way to deal with a limitless Perfect Sanctuary inside a simulation."


    "I''d rather it be perfect." Senka remarks with a shrug.


    "What do you..." Exla rebuts but then realizes something.


    "I see you caught on." The doll girl crosses her arms and grins.


    Without another word, Exla turns the mecha around and unleashes her charged attack: A massive barrage from all her weapons at once. Energy beams curve under the influence of her imagination, and missiles avoid the enemy''s point-defense lasers to strike their intended targets.


    They all head for the core of the Collective, the small mecha embedded in the larger one''s head. It erects a spherical Perfect Sanctuary around itself right before the attacks hit, blocking everything without sustaining a scratch. The larger body ceases all its movements, and the tentacles no longer pulse with light. Senka was right; the core was cut off from the rest by its own Perfect Sanctuary!


    Exla charges through the fire of the explosion right as the barrier goes down and tackles the small mecha. The impact separates it from the larger body below, ripping the flimsy gray goo tendrils reconnecting the two parts. She then grabs the enemy mecha''s head and unleashes her final weapon concealed inside her arm.


    "Don''t you dare say it out loud!" Senka demands, but Exla doesn''t care.


    "Shining Finger!" She roars and generates powerful vibrations from her palm that instantly heat up the enemy''s body. Internal explosions rock the smaller mecha, and gray goo flows out of its orifices before scattering into pixels.


    Finally, its deformed remains glitch out and disintegrate into nothingness before Exla, who watches in grim satisfaction. The massive mecha floating in space behind her remains unmoving, showing that the core was indeed concentrated in this smaller obvious weak spot. The Collective thought the Perfect Sanctuary could shield it from all harm like it did the Queen Pelomyx from the Venus Fleet. But just like its fleet before, it proved to be its undoing.


    With a wave of the cloud girl''s hand, everything created by the Collective dissipates into pixels. Then, the asteroid field is cleared up, and all that remains is empty space. There is no place for any remnants of the artificial intelligence to hide here. It was eradicated without a trace.


    "We did it, Senka!" Exla jumps up from her chair and cheers.


    "Alright. Now that this is done, I''m out." Without so much as congratulating Exla on her hard-fought victory, the doll girl disappears into thin air.


    "Uhh, you could at least take a moment to celebrate with me." Sighing, the doll girl sits back down and grumbles. Then, she looks around herself with a lonely smile. "I''ll have to leave it this way for now."


    She''s referring to her mind palace, now blank despite regaining control over all her data and processes. They''re now concentrated in her mecha, floating in empty space. Thinking back to some video games, she considers that this is like the starting point of sci-fi survival games where one has to build up an automated empire from nothing.


    "Guess I have something to look forward to once this is over." She remarks while powering down her mecha. With one last look at the ambient background lighting of the depowered cockpit, Exla logs out and returns to her real body.

 Chapter 161 - Making My Way Downtown

    Luna has regained consciousness by the time I''m back with everybody. She has no memory of anything since the attack on Arkaim when she was kidnapped but seems fine otherwise. My Chaos senses reveal nothing wrong with her physically, so everything should be alright now.


    "We''re about to arrive." Senka''s voice echoes in my mind, and I understand that they''ve gotten close enough for her telepathy to work. Only a moment later, the entire structure of the Rhodos station quakes, and I narrow my eyes.


    "I assume you crashed." I say with a roll of my eyes. The station is gigantic, but it didn''t look like it had any berths for large ships to dock. And the hangar we entered from wasn''t large enough for the Queen Pelomyx.


    "You assumed correctly." The doll girl answers dryly. "Everybody is safe. Inertia dampeners are indeed quite magical."


    I won''t comment on this since I don''t understand technology. All that matters is that the Maid Corps inside the Queen Pelomyx are unharmed by the crash. They should be able to make their way here on their own, especially with Exla and Sintress around. I''m sure Kleihn wouldn''t want to leave the ship, but telling her there''s a much larger structure to explore here could get her moving.


    "Can you find your way here, or should I come to get you?" I ask Senka in my mind. I destroyed the elevator, so maybe they won''t even be able to come here on their own.


    "We''ll be fine. Exla and Sintress know their way around the place." She responds, and I can practically see the shrug she''s performing to herself. "Let''s meet in Rhodos city."


    "Is that what it''s called?" I''m not even surprised. But considering it''s the only settlement on this massive space station measuring hundreds of kilometers across, it''s self-evident. "And how do you figure we blend in there?"


    "It''s a city. I''ll see you there." That''s all Senka says before cutting the connection. As somebody who grew up in Tokyo, I''m not unfamiliar with the anonymity of large cities. And I sensed that Rhodos city is a metropole with several million inhabitants, so it wouldn''t be hard to disappear there. But looking across my companions, I can only imagine the attention they will draw.


    I assume that the station''s population consists of the descendants of new humans brought here to serve the false gods. Since Shelnir and Elaine are in the otherwise empty second section right now, nobody is leading these new humans directly. We could slip through unnoticed or attempt to free them of their indoctrination.


    As it stands, nothing they throw at me will faze me anymore. When defeating over a dozen Oinos clones didn''t even require more than a hand gesture, it''s clear I''ve ascended beyond the Imagination Engine. And even without me there, everything went well with my companions despite their opponents, although some were wounded.


    But who knows what else Shelnir has planned?


    "What now?" Asoko comes up to me and asks. She must have guessed from my expressions that I was talking to Senka in my mind.


    "We''ll take a trip downtown." I reply with a grin. When she raises an eyebrow, I realize that nobody here knows there''s a city on the Rhodos station. "We''ll be heading into a human city."


    Kamii exchanges a nervous look with Hestia. Everybody else here could mask their special features using clothes and accessories, but the little dark elf''s skin color and giant crab pincer and Hestia''s wings are impossible to hide. But I show her a reassuring smile.


    "We don''t need to hide anything." I declare in response to their unspoken but unmistakable worries. "You have nothing to be afraid of when I''m around."


    Aurelia narrows her eyes at my words but doesn''t say anything. Something tells me she doesn''t like that I''m treating them like delicate flowers when they fought by my side all this time. But at the same time, she understands that we''re so close to winning this final battle. Once this is over, we''ll have peace from Old Human interference. Dying for the sake of pride now would be the height of folly.


    Of course, I''m not so na?ve to think that there will be eternal peace on Earth after beating these enemies. As long as people have desires, there will be conflict. I''m not here to eliminate war forever but to end this particular one that has been raging for many centuries.


    Kerry leads the way out of the hall into an extremely long corridor with two sizable moving walkways going in both directions. Everything in here feels needlessly huge, but at least we won''t have to walk like in Alverost''s spherical battle station above Zohigal. Then again, the size difference is immense.


    Our party silently follows the little Old Human onto the moving walkway going right. Although this is a new experience for most of my companions, not one expresses surprise or fascination at this point. Thus, we quickly move down the corridor into the distance.


    I look back and see Luna leaning on Rolan''s right shoulder due to still being a little unsteady. His mechanical left arm has been destroyed in the battle against Oinos, so he''s visibly trying his best to stay balanced with her weight against him while standing on the moving floor.


    "We''re here." Kerry suddenly says and hops off the end of the moving walkway playfully. Everybody follows the little Old Human and stands still for a moment to regain their footing.


    We''re at a crossing with another long corridor to our left and an automatic door to the right. A sign above the door says Staging Grounds Station, which I assume marks this as a train station. As we approach, the door slides open to reveal a set of escalators leading down. They are wide enough to hold several people on each step. Judging by the name of this place and the open spaces that can fit many people, all of this is used for moving large numbers of troops.


    As we descend the escalators, we come upon a platform with automatic trains waiting on both sides. I can''t believe we''ll use Old Human technology like this with impunity to infiltrate their city. But since the fight against the Oinos clones, I haven''t felt any life signs in the vicinity. The troops meant to stop us must have already been moved to the city.


    As I extend my senses across the forward section of the Rhodos station, I can sense some movement, but most of it seems to be scrambling for trains departing for the city. Could it be that this section will be depressurized or even jettisoned?


    "Let''s get on." I follow Kerry into the nearest wagon and see the God of Comets heading for the lead car. Although it''s an automated train, it might not move without the right input from somebody with the proper authority. I should hope that the child of Elaine has that authority, though.


    The doors close automatically shortly after everybody embarks. There are no seats, but plenty of hanging handles, illustrating the utilitarian nature of this train. The spacious interior is made to transport several hundred people per wagon. Thousands of soldiers could be packed inside one such train to be transported through the Rhodos station at a moment''s notice.


    This shows that the Old Humans could field a huge army - possibly large enough to subjugate the entire world through traditional military force if they ever threw off their yoke of indoctrination. With the Venus Fleet stopping any haphazard ventures into space and the Rhodos army for a planetary invasion, the Old Humans had all the tools to keep the world under their control.


    Luckily, it wasn''t new humanity that rose up against the Old Human rule after learning the truth, but us. We''re a small force capable of fighting their entire army, so sending it down to Earth wouldn''t have done them any good. Now it''s too late to stop me anyway.


    We ride on this otherwise empty train through a dark tunnel leading deeper into the Rhodos station. Only the engine''s humming breaks the silence as everybody stands around or sits on the floor to process our situation.


    I sense eyes on me but ignore them. Svanhild and Dregana have been staring the most since my otherworldly display against the Oinos clones earlier. But they''re not the only ones worried about my departure from the imaginable. I don''t feel the need to reassure them that I''m still myself right now, though. Perhaps that shows my human emotions are fading?


    Suddenly, the dark tunnel opens to a massive space drenched in natural light. The train continues inside a glass tube elevated from the rest of the landscape, which consists of rolling hills and patches of forests. My companions walk up to the windows and peer outside in stunned silence. Not one could have imagined seeing this after coming so far through space.


    "Are we truly still in space?" Hestia asks in a skeptical tone. When we look up, all one can see is a blue sky with the sun shining brightly.


    "Perhaps this is an illusion?" Rewera wonders while letting her gaze sweep across the vast landscape. "Or were we transported back to our world?"


    "No, this is all inside the Rhodos station." Kerry explains while pointing into the distance. I notice that the land is curved, showing that this is inside a massive cylindrical structure. It must encompass the entire first section of the Rhodos station aside from the part that houses the facilities where we just came from. "My brother added this a long time ago to breed the people who would man his advanced ships."


    It doesn''t shock me to learn that Alverost bred humans for desirable traits as unquestioningly loyal lackeys and fodder. I have several people with me who were created by the Old Humans for entertainment purposes. Surely, they were also selectively bred until they displayed the psychological traits they hold today.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "We''ll be going into a military facility. Be ready to fight." As we travel across the landscape at an incredible velocity, Kerry warns us of what lies ahead. I look at the faces of my comrades and see their determination as they prepare whatever weapons or equipment they use. That''s when I realize that they don''t want to burden me with all the work even now.


    I stay quiet about this and look outside. The rolling hills are covered in fields of crops and vegetables. Pastures are filled with livestock grazing on the fresh grass. In the distance, I can spot birds flying through the sky, and there is doubtlessly a working ecosystem underneath it all. With my Chaos senses, I can tell that this section is teeming with light down to the smallest microbial life forms.


    When I look in the direction we''re traveling, I see Rhodos city in the distance. It has all the hallmarks of a modern-day metropolis, with a concentration of skyscrapers in its center. The average building height drops the farther out one goes from the city center, giving it the appearance of a synthetic mountain when viewed from afar.


    I feel the train dip before a sudden tunnel cuts off our view of the outside. Moments later, we come upon an underground station as the train quickly slows down. The brightly illuminated platform is filled with hundreds of soldiers behind barricades, guns drawn and pointed at our train.


    "Leave this to me." I say and step forward, but my companions get in my way.


    "This is not worth your time, Your Majesty." Aurelia remarks sarcastically and is the first to exit the train as the doors open. With a wave of her hand, parts of the train turn to gold and form into weapons that fly faster than the eyes can follow. Within moments, a golden storm rages across the enemy soldiers and cuts their guns into pieces without harming a single one of them.


    My companions step forth without a worry in the world. They trust that the Golden Queen got every last weapon, so they feel safe stepping into what should have been the enemy''s perfect kill zone. I sigh with a wry smile and follow them.


    "Do you still wish to fight?" The Golden Queen asks the new humanity soldiers looking at their destroyed guns with dumbfounded expressions in a casual tone. Even the sidearms in their holsters were shattered, so all they could do now is rush at us with their fists and sheer numbers.


    "How dare you demons invade the sanctum of the gods!" One of the soldiers musters the courage to yell at us.


    "I don''t understand the Old Human narrative anymore." I exchange a glance with Kerry, who remains silent. Did they truly tell the inhabitants of the Rhodos station that we''re demons from the Dominion? These new humans should know that the population on Earth lacks all advanced technology, so how could we have even gotten here? Wouldn''t having to admit that we hijacked one of Alverost''s ships damage their authority as gods?


    "Leave, you demons!" Another soldier shouts while throwing a piece of his destroyed weapon at us. Hestia raises a barrier to block it without a word and glares at the man. Her space suit and armor-covered wings hide that she''s a Fata, albeit a corrupted one, so the new humans can''t identify her for what she is. Perhaps they think she''s also a demon.


    More and more enemy soldiers throw things at us, but they''re all blocked by the fallen Fata''s barrier. Even though they realize the futility of their actions, they feel strength in their numbers and a sense of superiority because we aren''t reacting. Maybe they think we''re intimidated.


    "Enough." I step through Hestia''s barrier and declare in my real voice. For a moment, all the new humans freeze in their movements, and the projectiles stop flying. Then they drop their makeshift throwing implements and stare at me in terror. I continue in my human voice and employ a less authoritarian tone. "Do you not recognize one of your gods?"


    With this, I gesture at Kerry, who looks up at me and shakes their helmet-covered head. It seems they don''t like the attention, but then I realize they mean something else.


    "They won''t recognize me. I haven''t been here in a while." They respond when the humans only stare in confusion.


    "What is a while?" I tilt my head and wonder with a wry smile.


    "A few hundred years?" Kerry shrugs. As one of the two Old Humans who never went into stasis after Mataku scoured the world many millennia ago, the God of Comets has a very loose concept of the passage of time.


    "Still, they should know about the child of their leader, no?" I glance at the humans, who remain frozen in place while watching our exchange. After glimpsing the truth about me, they don''t dare to make another move for the time being.


    "I''m not sure they even know my mother. She has no interest in this new humanity, so she most likely never showed herself before them." The tiny Old Human explains with another shrug. Elaine did appear in the sky above Kairaki when Kerry called her, but she never interacted with the new humans there. She was definitely invested in the lizardfolk village of Zohigal, though.


    "Whatever the case, it''s pointless to talk to them about this then, huh?" I look at the silent soldiers, who flinch at my attention. This brings a smile to my lips that only increases their anxiety. "Run along. We''ll be going sightseeing in Rhodos city now, so tell your comrades not to bother us."


    The new humans are too stunned to react to my simple words directed at them as I wave at my companions to follow me toward the platform''s exit. As I walk forward, I notice some soldiers gather their courage to stand up to me. It''s commendable for these regular humans, defenseless without their weapons, to stand up against a cosmic horror like me with willpower alone.


    "If you try anything, it will be more than just a glimpse of oblivion." I stop and turn to them while letting my fa?ade slip once more. Several people faint on the spot while others scramble away past their frozen comrades. A moment later, panic breaks out, and everybody tries to run away without regard for their surroundings.


    "You overdid it." Kamii knocks me over the back of my head with her crab pincer. I turn around and stick out my tongue. But now that the soldiers are clearing out the platform - while leaving behind some of their unconscious comrades - the path to the exit is open.


    "I think I did it just right." Returning to a more serious demeanor, I gesture at the far end of the platform where the soldiers run up the escalators. Very few remain near us, kneeling on the floor and looking down to avoid making eye contact with me. It''s almost as if they''re praying to me, but I ignore them as I walk past them.


    My companions look around in silent pity or understanding. Some of them know the terror of my true form, while others have overcome it with their sheer power of will. Asoko and the twins bask in the fear emanating from the new humans in passing. It''s nourishment for the soul in our kind, but it can''t replace physical food.


    "What say you we go and get ourselves something to eat while we wait for Senka and the others?" This reminds me that we haven''t had a proper meal in a while. It''s a great opportunity to see what food culture has developed in the new humanity directly under the watchful eyes of the Old Humans.


    My other half and the twins agree in excitement, but most others in our party don''t have the mind to think about food right now. We''re in the belly of the beast, and the future of the entire world hangs in the balance. I can''t fault them for having no appetite when the stakes are so high.


    But I''m exceedingly calm as I step onto the now empty escalator and look up at the last stragglers running up the stairs above us. Not one of them considers pressing the emergency stop button to slow our advance. If they''re thinking at all, they should know that I would consider such an action as fighting back, though.


    When we reach the top, we emerge into a hallway with another set of moving walkways. Kerry leads the way and points in the direction opposite of where the soldiers are escaping toward. They must be fleeing to their barracks or even some kind of shelter to hide from this storm we brought. I hope, for their sake, that they aren''t trying to get new weapons in the armory.


    We''re still underground, so we can''t see where this long walkway leads us. There are signs on the walls and hanging from the ceiling that give directions in this facility, but nothing tells me how to get to the city. If Kerry were not with us, we would be hopelessly lost - or I would have to make my own path through this labyrinthine megastructure.


    Finally, we reach a section with windows. As we look outside, we see that this is a military complex, complete with tanks and planes. Although there''s no audible alarm, soldiers run across the tarmac and hastily head for their vehicles. They''re most likely preparing to meet us in battle somewhere, unaware of the futility of their resistance. At least it''s a new group, so I can''t be too harsh on them.


    We''re still far from the city, judging by how far away the skyscrapers are. I doubt there''s a train running from here to the civilian area, so I assume we''ll need to hijack some mode of transportation. I''d say flying under our own power would be better, but we''ve already poked the hornet''s nest beyond recovery. There is no more blending in at this point.


    "You seem to be having fun." Svanhild comments with her eyes narrowed in displeasure. We haven''t spoken much recently, so it''s surprising that she started a conversation with me.


    "Does it show on my face?" I touch my cheek to check but then smile wryly. "Yeah, it''s indeed fun to discover all these new sights."


    "I believe you are having fun being feared rather than seeing the sights." She shifts the weight of her drill lance resting on her shoulder and remarks. As one member of new humanity who was under the direct influence of the Old Humans for a time, she understands the sentiment of the soldiers running around frantically outside. If I hadn''t captured her during the siege of Arkaim and opened her eyes to the truth, she would have stayed just like them.


    "I cannot deny my nature." I tilt my head with a shrug and roll my eyes. "I''m trying my best to keep it at a minimum, though. I''m not a monster."


    Svanhild stares at me for a moment, then realizes it was a joke and rolls her eyes. I''m definitely a monster from the point of view of everybody in this universe. Still, those walking with me now understand that I would never harm them. I''m their gentle monster lover or friend.


    That thought brings a smile to my face, but it causes Svanhild to shy back. Her grimace suggests I made it look weird or even scary. Touching my cheeks again, I wonder why I seem to be losing control over my expressions.


    We exit the building through a large and empty entrance hall to find countless soldiers hiding behind barricades with weapons drawn. Gun emplacements have been set up, and several tanks have their cannons trained on us. Several jets armed with missiles are hovering with a quiet hum above them, doubtlessly already locked onto us.


    There''s anxious silence as the soldiers scrutinize me through their iron sights and scopes. I must look utterly human to them, but that doesn''t mean much when the Old Humans they worship as gods are the same.


    The moment I step forward, a storm of plasma and metal bullets fly toward me. The gun emplacements unleash a ceaseless barrage, the tank cannons roar, and missiles whistle. But with only a thought, I stop them all in midair a few steps before me. As the attack continues, my view is gradually filled with stopped projectiles.


    Soon, the enemy commander orders his troops to stop shooting when he realizes that something is wrong. As the smoke clears, a wall of projectiles floats between the attackers and me. I hear shocked gasps among the soldiers and can''t help but break out into a smile.


    I raise my hand and gather all the bullets and shells into a glowing-hot star-shaped form. I''ve had a sphere, a cube, and a pyramid, so I have to come up with new shapes. It begins to shrink down before it reaches a size I can grasp. The hot amalgamation of plasma and metal sizzles out in my palm.


    When I open my hand and reveal that there''s nothing left, the new humanity soldiers stare in terrified silence. The commander is frozen in place, the vast difference between our powers slowly dawning on him. I doubt any of his so-called gods, aside from perhaps Zenlith, would have been capable of such a feat.


    I begin to walk toward the barricades and tanks as if taking a stroll through a park, not even paying attention to my surroundings. The human soldiers step back with their weapons lowered as I pace through their ranks without as much as glancing at them. My companions follow me, some of them nervous and ready for battle even though the enemies have clearly lost their will to fight.


    "Oh, right." I turn to the commander, who flinches at being addressed so suddenly by this otherworldly being that I am. "Could we perhaps borrow a vehicle to drive to the city? We will make sure to return it to you later."

 Chapter 162 - Group Photography

    We roll up to a suburban train station in a troop transport hovertruck. Since nobody among us could drive, we had one of the soldiers chauffeur us. The female driver breathes a loud sigh of relief when I get off from the passenger seat but flinches when I turn around to thank her before closing the door.


    There aren''t many civilians around, but they stare at our amazing gathering of unique-looking people. If this were Japan, we could act like a cosplay troupe, but in this city of new humanity, we stand out like a sore thumb. Still, striding through the train station as if it''s the most natural thing for us outsiders to do, apprehensive looks soon turn into curious ones.


    I expected this space station to have an authoritarian regime that controls its people''s thoughts and indoctrinates them into perfect obedience toward the false gods. One hallmark for that would be uniform clothes that erase individuality. But in reality, the civilians are surprisingly fashionable, wearing clothes not much different from the time period I came from.


    "I am sure they are watching our every move." Sigurd comments while glancing left and right, pulling me out of my reverie. He''s not referring to the civilians, so he must mean hidden cameras or soldiers in hiding.


    "They''re most likely up there." I point up at the bright sky. While I can''t feel machines with my Chaos senses, I don''t doubt for a moment that the military has drones flying high in the sky to monitor us. After all, sending soldiers to tail us could cause an escalation and result in casualties.


    Although the commander and the troops at the barracks gave up when faced with my overwhelming power, they aren''t the decision-makers in the grand scheme of things. Certainly, there''s a group of leaders sitting in a safe place that won''t give up until being convinced in person. I''ll have to deal with them when the time comes.


    "But with you here, we have nothing to fear, right?" The bard preempts my declaration with a wry smile.


    "Indeed." I raise my nose in exaggerated pride, eliciting a chuckle from him.


    The train soon arrives at the station. I tell my companions to wait for the passengers to get off before we can embark; even in this unfamiliar place, the etiquette is the same. Unlike the military transport train we rode from the Rhodos station''s forward section, this one is much smaller and reminiscent of those in Tokyo.


    There are plenty of open seats, so we sit down across from each other and take up most of a wagon. We make for an interesting sight with our vastly varying heights and builds, the equipment and weapons some of us carry, and a few clearly non-human members. Both adults and children stare at us, and some younger kids even come up to us in curiosity.


    "Hey, is that real?" One little girl asks Kamii while pointing at her cursed arm. The dark elf glances at me as if seeking help, but I give her a reassuring smile. Seeing this, she raises her arm and clicks the crab pincer demonstratively. The little girl''s eyes widen in wonder and begin to glitter in excitement.


    "Stop bothering the other passengers, dear." A woman walks over and pulls her away. "Excuse her rudeness."


    "It''s alright." Kamii replies with a nod and watches the child being dragged down the aisle while looking back repeatedly. This would be the first time an adult human hasn''t shown a hint of disgust at seeing her cursed arm. I don''t know if the woman thinks it''s an elaborate costume, but she didn''t seem bothered by it at all.


    "The people here seem pretty friendly." Rolan comments while looking at the departing mother and daughter couple warmly. He has borrowed the bard''s cloak to hide his destroyed left arm, and I think that was a good idea. No matter how nice the civilians of Rhodos city are, a man with a torn cyborg arm will draw attention of a different kind.


    As we ride the train toward the city, I catch myself remembering my previous life. Although the sights outside are quite different from the Tokyo in my memories, it still makes me reminisce about what it was like. My companions are excitedly looking through the windows to take in the unfamiliar sights or sitting quietly to rest a little before the inevitable next battle. But to me, the atmosphere feels almost like a field trip.


    "I hope they do not attack us now." Sigurd mutters next to me and glances around. He''s not worried about us but the civilians that would be caught up in it. As I am now, I could protect everybody on the train and deal with the attackers, but I don''t say it out loud. Still, he seems to see through my expression and smiles. "I am truly glad that we are on the same side."


    I give him a noncommittal smile in return and peer across my companions. The moment I consumed the entire solar flare and surpassed the speed of light, I should have sent them back to Earth. But one part of me sensed that if I did that, I would never see them again. As if separating from them would irrevocably change how I perceive everything around me.


    Sighing, I look at Kerry, who stands on their seat and looks outside with a curious expression. They said they haven''t been here in a few centuries, so a lot must have changed. Even now that I have glimpsed eternity, I have yet to grasp the true meaning of being alive for many millennia. That still lies before me.


    The train soon disappears underground, and more and more passengers get on at every station. We''re transported from the familial atmosphere of the suburbs into the cold anonymity of a metropolis. The gazes now are filled with curiosity but also a sense of disapproval. It would seem that standing out in the society of Rhodos city is frowned upon, much like it was in Tokyo.


    "Next stop, Zenith Square." The pleasant female automated voice announces, causing me to look up in surprise. She didn''t say Zenlith, but it was close enough. I certainly expect to see some places named after the Old Humans here.


    "This is our stop." Kerry remarks and peers up at the standing passengers through their helmet. I can sense nervousness in that gaze and understand that they''re anxious about having to squeeze through so many people.


    "We''re getting off here." I stand up and call out to my companions sitting on the other side of the coach. When Rewera and Korenga rise from their seats, the other passengers make space for them. Using that opening, the others follow their wake, and we move toward the door.


    The train rolls into the station, an incredibly tall hall that looks like a waste of space, and slows to a halt. The doors open, and we exit along with many other passengers, who immediately head toward one of the escalators leading up from the platform.


    I make sure nobody is missing before following Kerry. From here, I will have to rely on them being our tour guide even though they most likely don''t know the way either. A station name remaining the same for centuries is one thing, but stores staying in business for that long are rare. Then again, this place is most likely quite resistant to change if it has existed at the same level of technology since Alverost established it over a thousand years ago.


    The underground station is an extensive shopping district in itself, with small stores and restaurants right where we climb the escalator. Countless people are moving with a destination in mind, but I can spot some waiting around pillars while looking at something suspiciously similar to smartphones. This is a living and breathing city, not just a breeding ground for the Old Humans'' loyal soldiers.


    "Not much has changed here since I last visited." Kerry remarks while hiding near the center of our party. They dislike crowds, so this is an uncomfortable place for them to be in. "The station layout is still the same."


    Many eyes are on us as we make our way in the direction the little Old Human points us. Most of my companions are still in their spacesuits, making them stand out among the regular clothes in this place. Korenga wears a traditional Adanak outfit that exposes most of her elaborate tattoos. Tokomaha''s leaf hair makes her look like a walking shrub in this underground space otherwise devoid of plants.


    I would normally tell them to try and keep their focus so that they don''t stand out more than they already do. But seeing them look around in wonder at all these new sights warms my heart. We came here to do battle, but this is a good experience for them. Now, they can see the true extent of all that Zenlith and the others have denied Earth for millennia.


    Finally, we reach the surface and find ourselves in a bustling pedestrian area with shops all around. People walk around in fashionable clothes, carrying shopping bags while talking on their phones or holding drinks. Drum-shaped robots move about the place, cleaning up wherever waste touches the otherwise spotless ground.


    "There''s no nature." Tokomaha comments with an expression of displeasure and sniffs. There''s not a hint of greenery here, even though the suburbs had plenty. Still, the air doesn''t feel stagnant, probably because everything here uses electricity, and the temperature is regulated to perfection.


    "What''s this? Is it a circus troupe?" I hear voices among the surrounding people, talking in hushed tones. As far as I can tell, there''s not a hint of animosity toward us, only innocent curiosity. The new humans, both young and old, stop to look at us before continuing onward, not one of them lingering long enough to be considered rude.


    "This way." Kerry lowers their helmeted head and points toward one of the alleyways that lead away from the main street. I pat their helmet and signal my companions to shield them from the onlookers. As we cut across the broad pedestrian area, some people do gawk at our procession. Some younger children even run after us before their parents stop them.


    Finally, we enter the far narrower alleyway, and Kerry sighs in relief. It''s almost as if too much attention becomes oppressive to them and makes it hard to breathe. I look back and realize that Senka was right; even though we''re clearly outsiders here, nobody cared enough to question us. It''s the anonymity effect of large cities.


    The street before us is mostly empty, but there are plenty of small stores and bars. They seem the type to open in the evening when the city comes to life with working adults finishing their jobs and looking for some quick escapism before having to return home and sleep. Even in a mostly automated city, I can see black companies existing in one way or another.


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    Kerry leads us down the street before rounding a corner into an even smaller alleyway. It''s barely wide enough for two people to pass each other while brushing shoulders and seems to feature obscure little stores only few would know about. Here, we come upon a small bar that the onyx-skinned child enters without hesitation.


    "Welcome." A girl with black hair and decidedly East Asian features greets us from behind the counter when the bell hanging from the door rings. But when we enter one after the other, her eyes widen in increasing surprise and confusion.


    The interior reminds me of an izakaya, a Japanese bar that serves some dishes that go with alcohol. Of course, it''s not entirely like one since the Japanese culture no longer exists in this age. It''s a mix of various things, but the inspiration is undeniable. The girl behind the counter also wears a modified kimono-looking outfit that seems easier to move in than the original versions I know.


    Our party barely fits into the otherwise empty bar, with Korenga, Rewera, and Gram looking hopelessly oversized in this small space. The wooden chairs creak under their weight, especially in the Black God''s case and with the big man still wearing his spacesuit.


    "It still looks the same since I last came here." Kerry walks forward and looks around, not at all apprehensive despite the girl''s staring. Then they look up at the largest framed photo among many hanging on the wall in the very back of the narrow restaurant.


    I blink my eyes when I see that it shows the helmetless Kerry smiling next to a young man of East Asian descent, standing in front of an older version of this very bar counter. That must have been taken several centuries ago when they last came to the Rhodos station.


    Then I glance at the girl manning the new counter and realize that she may be the direct descendant of the man. She stares at Kerry, then the photo, and her jaw drops as she swivels her head back toward the little Old Human.


    "A-a-a-a-are you... Kerry?" The girl stutters while rounding the counter with unsteady steps.


    "You must be Ichi''s descendant." Kerry takes off their spiked helmet and shows a surprisingly mature smile. So far, I''ve only ever seen them as a child, but now I realize once more that this Old Human flew freely across space for many millennia. They may be a child in body and heart, but they also have an incredibly old soul.


    For a moment, the girl is unable to speak as she stares into Kerry''s glowing white eyes. Then she screams for her father while running into the back of the store and up a flight of stairs. I walk up to the God of Comets and pat their crystal hair.


    "Are you sure you want to come here before we have finished our business?" I ask with a dubious look. If they attacked us here, the girl and her family would be caught up in the fighting.


    "They won''t attack inside Rhodos city." Kerry sounds quite convinced of that fact, but I''m not so sure. At this point, Shelnir and Elaine should be desperate. After all, we''re at their doorstep now, and we defeated what should have been their last hope, the Oinos mass-production models.


    Two sets of footsteps stomp back down the stairs before the door is slammed open, and the girl from before emerges with her father. He looks quite different from the young man in the photo next to Kerry, but I can imagine that he''s Ichi''s direct descendant.


    "... are you really Kerry?" The man stares at the little Old Human in disbelief. The framed photo is the centerpiece on the celebrity wall. And the fact that they know Kerry''s name shows that their patronage must have been considered a historic event that was recounted through the generations of this family.


    "Yes. It has been a while since I came here." Kerry responds with a bashful smile. It''s rare to see such an expression on their face, so I''m slightly taken aback. But it seems that they feel comfortable with these people even if they''re essentially strangers. They would have tried to hide from the attention in the rear of our party otherwise.


    I step back and watch as the father and daughter pair begin to talk to Kerry in a reverent tone. Joining Hestia and Kamii at their small table, I watch warmly as the three talk. But a moment later, the daughter realizes that they have a full house of guests. She bows to excuse herself from their conversation with Kerry and comes over to us.


    "Are you Kerry''s followers?" She asks nobody in particular, eliciting a sniff from Aurelia. I shoot the Golden Queen a meaningful glance before standing up to reply.


    "Something like that, yes." I smile, trying to hide my sadness and loneliness at the nostalgia I feel when I see a Japanese-looking girl before me. She''s of mixed blood, but the Japanese features still shine through enough for me to recognize her as such. "For now, a round of drinks for us, please. I leave it up to your recommendation."


    I wink at the girl, who raises an eyebrow at my carefree attitude regarding our order. Knowing my companions and myself, we''ll finish everything they have stocked if we don''t have to move on soon. It''s a reprieve after our journey through space, and although we''re still in enemy territory, it feels like we can relax here.


    Soon after, Kerry returns to us with the father accompanying them. He bows before us, not letting his thoughts at our strange appearance show on his face in a display of professionalism. We have a round of introductions, and I learn that his name is Shin - and his daughter is Nina. The Japanese culture no longer exists on Earth, but it would seem at least something survived here on the Rhodos station.


    Kerry hasn''t explained our reason for being here, so I''ll keep it that way. Instead, I express an interest in learning how they came to visit this establishment on the Rhodos station, considering they were on bad terms with their brother.


    They explain that they snuck in many times while their brother was on Earth playing his game with the others. To Kerry, it was a little revenge against Alverost, even though the latter most likely never heard about it or didn''t care if he knew. They explored the interior of this forward section plenty, and the new humans living here were quite welcoming toward them.


    It''s not hard to see that the people always knew Kerry was Alverost''s brother but didn''t know about their bad relationship. That''s why they treated the childlike god with respect, which soon turned to warm-heartedness when they realized that they were still a child. Perhaps Kerry isn''t aware of that fact, but they''re happier for it.


    Nina arrives with two trays full of glasses and bottles, balancing them on her palms with surprising skill. Although she looks about the age when I died and reincarnated, she must have had plenty of practice working in this bar.


    She puts different drinks in front of my companions and me while explaining what they are. I can smell the alcohol in the air, so at least I know they must be cocktails, but I can tell that she judged some of us by our apparent ages.


    "Hey, why do I get no alcohol?" Tokomaha complains after sniffing hers. She looks to be in her teens but is among the oldest in my companions. Likewise, Kamii and Luna didn''t get any alcohol either since they also look younger than they really are.


    "Alcohol is not for children." Aurelia lifts her glass of what appears to be wine and swirls it in a practiced gesture. Tokomaha takes offense at the Golden Queen''s sardonic smile, but I mediate before she can raise her voice.


    "We will be staying here for a while, so take this as a starter." I say with a wry smile, then glance at Nina.


    "You judge them by their appearance, huh?" Kerry walks up to the bartender girl, whose eyes widen in shock. It''s a loaded question considering their own childlike but non-human appearance.


    "No, I would never-" She begins, but the little Old Human interrupts her with a reassuring smile.


    "Not all gods look like ones." They say in another display of maturity beyond their usual behavior, then gesture at my companions. "There are three among them, not counting this true god here. Can you find them?"


    Kerry puts a hand on my arm, eliciting a chuckle from me. In this party are a few obvious non-humans, but all those that used to be called gods in Adanak are actually humans using the Imagination Engine. Yet, I would consider Tokomaha and Tahiri gods when it comes to their scope. After all, the God of Growth saved the Earth, not the so-called true god that I am.


    I watch Nina fidget as she tries to figure out who the gods Kerry mentioned are. For a regular human with no abilities, all of them could be considered gods in one way or another. In Adanak, all of them would have been revered as such.


    Suddenly, the bell on the door rings when it''s pushed open, and everybody tenses up. But instead of enemies, it''s Senka, Exla, and Sintress. Before I can wonder how they got here so quickly, I see Flann entering behind them. I narrow my eyes when I consider that she said she can only teleport others when I''m with her.


    "We used one of the transportation terminals." Senka explains, having read my expression and mind.


    "We''re with them." Exla asserts before the father and daughter pair can speak up. The small bar is already quite full, and with Kerry''s visit, they most likely thought of making this a private event.


    "Now there are two more gods." The God of Comets says with a grin while greeting the two in question. Nina''s confusion grows, but Shin seems to recognize one of them.


    "Lady Sintress?" He mutters in disbelief and awe. Although Sintress was banished from the pantheon on Earth shortly after Aurelia''s tenure as the queen of Terminus, she must still hold her position as one of the gods on the Rhodos station. Surely, depictions of the Lady of Brilliance still exist in this city, or Shin wouldn''t have associated the petite blonde girl with the constantly closed eyes with the goddess.


    "Today is your lucky day." I say with a grin. Considering Shin and Nina''s ancestors treasured Kerry''s visit to the point of keeping a photo of it as the centerpiece on their celebrity wall for all this time, having so many amazing people in their bar must be an incredible honor. That gives me an idea. "Do you have a... uhm, camera?"


    There is no word for camera in this language, so I turn to Exla and finish in Japanese. She understands what I mean and translates it for me. Nina immediately takes out a smartphone from her pocket and shows it to me. The only difference from those in my age is the incredibly thin design that makes it look like a card rather than a device. It also lacks a camera lens where I expected one, but it must be hidden like many future tech cameras.


    "First, the guests of honor." I gesture at Kerry, Exla, and Sintress. The Old Humans make much more impressive celebrities than the still unknown rebels trying to overthrow the gods these people still adhere to. Of course, we won''t reveal the truth to them.


    After Nina shows me how it works, I operate the camera and take a photo of the three Old Humans and the owners in front of the bar. One part of me wonders where Nina''s mother is, but as an outsider, I won''t pry. If she were upstairs, they would have called her down already.


    When I return the phone to Nina, she does something on it, and a printer hidden behind the counter immediately spits out a physical copy. Shin holds it up like a treasure and smiles with such contagious joy that I feel the corners of my mouth curl up as well.


    "Now, can I ask you to take a picture of all of us and print it?" Once the father and daughter pair calm down, I ask Nina while pointing at her phone. Everybody is here right now, and we have the technology, so this chance might not come again anytime soon.


    "Of course." She replies with a beaming smile.


    I gather everybody in front of the bar and line them up according to their height and build. It takes some coordination, and I receive some curious questions from those who don''t understand the concept of photography, but the party soon stands or sits in front of the counter for a group picture.


    "I''m taking it now." Nina announces, clearly no longer thinking too much about this strange but amazing situation. Over a dozen extraordinary people are before her, getting their photo taken by this regular barmaid. Once she learns the truth about us, it will become a story she can tell her grandchildren.


    The camera has no audible shutter sound or other indication that the photo was taken, but Nina breaks out into a smile and walks up to me to show the result. Considering we are so many people, it''s amazing that no one blinked.


    "Thank you." I express my gratitude as warmth spreads in my heart. With this, we have physical evidence of our fellowship coming all this way.


    Nina prints out one copy for each of us, probably sensing that we don''t have the technology to make more ourselves. I''m grateful for her to be so quick on the uptake without having to pry for information. Each of my companions looks at the printed copies with different emotions, but there''s a sense of relaxation spreading throughout the bar.


    I ask Shin to cook up some food and Nina to bring more drinks so that we can have a party before heading out to our final battle. Of course, I don''t tell them the latter part. I quietly imagine how Shelnir and Elaine would react if they learned that we went out of our way to enjoy ourselves here while they were expecting us to attack them.


    For now, destiny can wait. After all, this could be the last time we''re all together like this.

 Chapter 163 - The Edge of Imagination

    "Thanks for the meal." I lean back on my seat and sigh in satisfaction. Since this is more of a bar than a restaurant, it makes sense that they don''t have that big of a selection of food. But they still served all the dishes available on their menu, most of which go well with alcohol.


    Ultimately, Shin and Nina brought out every last bit of their food stores to cook for us. It was a veritable banquet after all the hardships leading up to here. But we''re presented with a new problem now.


    "Umm, do you have money to pay them?" I turn to Exla, who stares at me with an eyebrow raised.


    "You think I would have any of Alverost''s game currency?" She sounds genuinely offended, but I can tell it''s an act. As the Guardian of the Soil who lived in exile on the Dark Continent for over a millennium, it''s not surprising that she wouldn''t have the currency of the Rhodos station.


    "What about you?" I turn to Sintress, who shakes her head in response.


    "I live on alms and the goodwill of the people." She explains with a sad smile. Even if she''s an Old Human, her way of life seems to have been the most grounded among them. After all, she had many children with new humans throughout her long life.


    I turn to Kerry, who doesn''t even wear clothes besides the golden shawl draped over their shoulders. They blink when they notice my gaze, but I turn away without speaking up.


    "Dine and dash when they received us so warmly?" I consult with Exla and Sintress, feeling guilty just considering the prospect. If I truly wanted to, I could leave for a moment and shake down the soldiers watching us from outside the bar for some money. But that would only invite future hardships on the father and daughter pair.


    "Oh, you don''t have to worry about paying." Nina seems to have overheard our hushed conversation and states with a wry smile. "It''s our utmost honor to receive the patronage of our gods."


    "We are no gods." Exla remarks while sipping on her drink and staring into the distance. She got a whisky neat, something I always associated with hard-boiled detectives in older movies. Her gaze suggests a sense of detachment from the conversation, but I wonder if she isn''t just drunk.


    "I would feel bad not paying after all that you did for us." I try to gloss over Exla''s words and grab Nina''s attention. For now, there''s no need to confront the civilians of the Rhodos station with the truth. "We ate and drank so much."


    As I say that, Korenga behind me shatters another glass when she shifts around to express her joy. She''s not doing it on purpose, but this space isn''t made for somebody of her size. If she jumped up from her seat, she would most likely make a hole in the ceiling, and if she accidentally hit her elbow against a wall, it would be torn down.


    "This is an occasion that happens only once in many generations." Shin walks up to us while Nina quickly cleans the broken glass on the floor. "We have already received our payment."


    He nods in the direction of their photo with the three Old Humans and the group picture on the celebrity wall. I understand the concept of keepsakes as a form of payment, but my conscience won''t let me exploit their ignorance.


    "And thus, Chaos''s story comes to an end in this Rhodos city, being forced into dishwashing for a hundred years to clear the tab she and her friends racked up in under an hour." Senka comments next to me, and I shoot her a narrow-eyed glare. She shrugs with an ironic grin and continues. "How about you pay them back by freeing this world?"


    Shin and Nina don''t understand what the doll girl is talking about, so they tilt their heads in wonder. I wouldn''t say breaking their worldview and potentially making their lives miserable in the process is payment.


    "I will come back and repay you in a few days at most. There is something I have to do before then." Standing up from my seat and bowing deeply, I declare in a firm tone. Everybody grows quiet and stares at me, including the father and daughter pair. They''re surprised at my sense of duty, then smile in resignation.


    "Alright, I will open a tab for you." Shin sighs and takes out his smartphone. He types in something and shows me the result.


    "That''s a lot of zeroes." My eyes adjust to the long number, unsure what to make of it. I have no idea about the currency used here, but even if it were in Japanese yen, it would be a considerable sum. But I gather my wits and grin. "I am a queen. This should be nothing."


    We wave goodbye to Shin and Nina as we walk down the alleyway together. Although we consumed copious amounts of alcohol, it seems that everybody''s minds are surprisingly clear. Even the humans, who also had a few glasses, appear steady and focused once more now that the break is over.


    This time, Sintress leads the way. We''ll be using the transportation circle underneath the Rhodos city hall, which she and the others used to come here quickly from the crashed Queen Pelomyx. It''s not supposed to be a publicly accessible space, but they used a secret passage which we''re using to get inside.


    Along the way, I notice that the soldiers sent to tail us seem to be in disarray. Judging by their movements, they''re talking to their superiors over their communication devices and asking for instructions. But as we disappear into an alleyway near the city hall and descend into a hidden door on the floor, they lose sight of us.


    It''s a short walk from the surface, through a perfectly clean corridor that leads into the basement of the government building before we come upon another hidden door in the wall. The inside has a small elevator that doesn''t fit all of us, so we go in groups of four.


    Finally, we''re all reunited in front of the transportation room reserved for the Old Humans. Unlike those on Earth, this one doesn''t use brickwork to hide its advanced technology. The circle itself is elevated from the circular room, and instead of magic inscriptions, it merely features concentric rings of metal and glass. There is no control panel, but I know to use the Imagination Engine to activate it.


    As the stream of light surrounds us, I realize for the first time the underlying mechanism of this so-called teleportation. Since I moved faster than light at one point, I can grasp the essence of this technology - or rather fantasy - within the short moment it lasts before we find ourselves at our destination.


    "It''s truly magical, isn''t it?" Senka comments snidely, having read my mind again. "And here you thought this was science fiction."


    "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, but in a world of advanced technology, magic becomes indistinguishable from it instead." I reply with a wry smile. I''m not even surprised at the revelation of this truth about the Old Humans'' transportation circle at this point.


    Flann gives me a meaningful look, although her expression doesn''t change. I should have guessed as much when I consider her and her father''s powers. Also, there''s the truth about our origin and the eyes in the sky. It should have been obvious that under the laws of physics, creating something like the Imagination Engine is impossible.


    We walk out of the transportation room and enter a straight corridor with a ceiling steeped in darkness. The only light comes from low lamps let into the wall periodically, illuminating the simple metal-looking surface of the floor. At the end is a large and smooth elevator platform that takes us up a tall shaft disappearing into the blackness above.


    As with the corridor before, we only have sparse illumination on the platform, lighting us up from below. Nobody speaks a word, preparing themselves mentally for what is about to happen. My Chaos senses tell me that beyond here lies a sterile world lacking even the presence of microbes. Only Shelnir and Elaine can be felt in the distance and the void that is Mataku near them.


    The shaft opens above us, and the elevator comes to a halt in the middle of a vast open empty space with no walls or ceiling in sight. We can''t see beyond the distant darkness, making it feel like we''re on the surface of a metal planet in open space.


    "Where are we?" Uten and Saten look around curiously and ask in an almost reverent tone. The utter silence of this space seems to swallow their voices, but at least there is a breathable atmosphere here.


    "This is the Imagination Engine chamber." Exla explains while looking ahead. "Reality does not exist in here."


    "I can feel it." Asoko comments with a sideways glance at me. Although her mind hasn''t gotten to my level yet, her senses pick up the anomaly of this space.


    "Stay together, or you might get lost." Sintress extends a hand toward Sigurd, who takes it bashfully. It would be a heartwarming sight to see mother and son bonding if it were not for the uncanny feeling of this seemingly infinite chamber. Everybody is ill at ease here except for me. Somehow, I feel right at home.


    We follow the Old Humans in what seems to be an arbitrary direction. The elevator we came in here on barely distinguishes itself from the rest of the repeating meaningless pattern on the floor, and there are no landmarks one could use to orientate oneself. I get the feeling one could truly get lost in here even though it''s all a flat surface.


    "The elevator is gone!" Svanhild suddenly exclaims, and we turn around on the spot. Even though we only walked a dozen meters, the elevator floor lamps have disappeared. There is now only an endless expanse of metal.


    "If we get too far from each other, we might get separated forever." Exla shakes her head and asserts. Everybody huddles together a little more at those words, looking around in worry. "It could take us only two steps to get to the core of this tesseract or decades of aimless wandering. That''s the nature of this chamber."


    "I''d rather not we have to walk for that long. Could get tiring with me lugging this around." Gram jokes while shifting the weight of his shield to carry it better. He may be trying to lighten the mood, but it''s clear that he''s nervous.


    Everybody else is the same. They came face to face with over a dozen Oinos mass production models earlier, but that was still within the possible. Now, they have entered the unfathomable, and the confusion is eating away at their sanity.


    "Bring us to it then, sis-..." I turn to Flann but trail off when I find a massive cube filling my view where none had been before. My half-sister notices my surprised gaze and looks behind her. It''s a metal structure with countless glowing lines running across it in no perceivable order.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "We were lucky this time." Kerry says behind me, but I don''t want to turn around, fearing that the core may disappear again when nobody is looking at it.


    "Is this space the entire middle section of the Rhodos station?" I ask Exla without turning to her.


    "It could be. The sensors on the outside say that the core is always at the exact center of this space. Inside here, it''s everywhere and nowhere." She responds, also making sure not to look away.


    "This hurts my head." Halthor remarks while walking toward the cube. Among everybody, he understands the situation the least, but he still came all this way to help in our struggle. I have to give him credit for that.


    Everything in here feels familiar. When I think about it, it''s like my infinite interior where nothing is in a fixed place until I decide for it to be. It''s as if the inside of a Crawling Chaos is bleeding into real space and messing with the laws of reality. In fact, that must be exactly what''s happening here.


    Inside that tesseract core must be a gateway to the realm of the Outer One.


    "How do we get in there?" Hestia asks while flying up to the bottom of the cube. She''s not using the jet engines on her wings but the Imagination Engine to not disturb the otherwise perfect silence of this space with their loud roar.


    "There are no doors. We just end up inside at one point." Once again, Exla gives a cryptic explanation. "Not like anybody normally has any business going in there."


    "Inside the core is a space of raw possibility." Sintress adds, her brow slightly furrowed. "The Imagination Engine filters out that possibility and limits it so that only the probable can be achieved."


    "That''s what ended Zylos, huh?" I raise an eyebrow and wonder, causing the Lady of Brilliance to nod with a sad expression. I always thought that the power of imagination was limited because of the laws of physics. But I guess it''s precisely because of the laws of physics that imagination has to be limited. Otherwise, this universe would be quite a different place already.


    I won''t ask how the Old Humans were able to limit possibility to probability using technology. Even if I have access to infinity and my consciousness could move beyond time and space itself, I''m still a high school student who failed physics on the inside.


    "So that means we will have to contend with Shelnir and Elaine with their imaginations unbound?" Rolan asks while peering up at the cube floating a dozen meters above us. He has grasped the gist of our conversation somewhat but still has difficulties understanding its true implications. His abilities stemming from the Imagination Engine may be at a level close to the Old Humans, but it still only manifests as physical strength and moving incredibly fast. Who knows what the Guide of Tomorrow and the God of the Sun could do inside this core where the laws of physics don''t need to be upheld?


    Everybody grows silent at the prospect of having to fight unfettered potential and looks up at the cube''s rough surface. But in that regard, I doubt anybody can outdo my potential now. Also, we have Exla, the Old Human with the most powerful imagination with us. Even if I were not here, she should be able to hold her own against those two.


    "We are inside." Flann remarks and pulls everybody out of their reverie. When we look around, we find ourselves in a large cubical room that should be the inside of the core we were staring at moments ago. Every surface has a square opening, including in the ceiling and on the floor, leading into identical cubical rooms.


    "This is messing with my mind." Korenga grumbles as she looks around.


    "It is indeed baffling." Tahiri floats up and looks through the opening on the ceiling while Hestia descends again. The fallen Fata silently clings to my arm, and her expression shows that she''s afraid. Kamii and Aurelia have their emotions under control still, but it''s clear that they''re uncomfortable. All of this can no longer be explained through magic, technology, or even raw imagination.


    This is in the realm of us cosmic entities.


    "Feels like home." Uten and Saten remark in unison as they walk toward the hole in the floor. When they look inside, their expressions grow blank, and they turn around to us. "Can you tell that we aren''t standing on the floor but the ceiling?"


    Right as they say that, everybody''s sense of gravity shifts, and those who can''t fly fall toward what used to be the ceiling. I grab hold of everybody unable to catch themselves with tentacles sprouting from my back.


    "Stop saying such misleading things. There is no floor or ceiling in here." I remark, and the Imagination Engine accommodates our collective consciousness by turning off gravity. Everybody''s hair begins to float, but I keep my feet firmly planted on the rough metal surface. Much like the outside space, this one is also covered in uncanny patterns the meaning of which only the builders would know.


    "And this space isn''t as large as it seems." Tokomaha declares as if having realized something. When she says it, the distant patterns on the walls of this cubic space grow within everybody''s vision. I shift my gaze slightly and realize that what used to be a room of easily fifty by fifty meters has been reduced to one of five by five meters.


    "It''s pretty cramped all of a sudden." Korenga complains while knocking on the wall that is now right next to her. The slight pushing force causes her body to float away from it slightly. The openings on the surfaces that measured several meters across are now small windows, revealing that all the rooms beyond are as tiny as this one.


    Kamii peeks through one of the windows and shudders at the sight of the recursive rooms that disappear into infinity. The cube looked finite on the outside, but reality doesn''t matter in here. Wordlessly, the little dark elf takes my hand and intertwines her fingers with mine. Her squeeze tells me that she''s afraid to be separated from me.


    "Why are Shelnir and Elaine awaiting us inside this place?" Rolan wonders, exchanging a glance with Luna. He said earlier that we would have to contend with the two Old Humans at their full potential here, but he realizes that the reality of this space is too malleable to have any semblance of control. Anybody could overthrow their imagination on the spot.


    "Maybe they want to go out with a bang." Floating in the air as if lying on a hammock, Asoko comments with a shrug. Here, they have no limitations, so they could create a second sun. It surely would fit Elaine to do that, but I don''t know what Shelnir''s personal fantasy is.


    "Or they want to banish you all to the other side." Flann adds, causing everybody to turn to her. So I was right in assuming that one of the tears in space leading to the Outer One is inside this tesseract. Or perhaps it''s more accurate to say because the tear is here that this is a tesseract.


    "What about Mataku?" Tahiri wonders when she realizes that our talk is about otherworldly beings.


    "What about him?" I turn to the God of Storms with an eyebrow raised. I don''t think this space changes anything about his power relative to ours; he was always far beyond the Old Humans.


    "Why is he here?" She asks while letting sparks fly from her fingers that connect with the wall but dissipate. It may seem metallic at first but appears to be a non-conductive material. She may have been trying to travel through it and search for our target.


    "Surely to return home." I glance at Flann. From our conversation, I know that Mithra is trying to rebel against the Outer One. Where Mataku is, the former court magician won''t be far, but how much he can do in the end is questionable.


    "So we beat Shelnir and Elaine, and then Mataku, and we''ll have peace, huh?" Asoko pumps her fist with a grin. I would love to have such a simple-minded outlook on what lies before us, but I can only smile wryly. "Somehow, I feel like you just insulted me in your mind, sister."


    "Nothing of the sort." Shrugging, I turn away and peer through one of the windows into the adjacent rooms. My Chaos senses tell me that the Old Humans are very near, but I get the feeling that we won''t be able to find them if we don''t imagine ourselves doing so.


    With this in mind, I move through one of the openings into the next room and peer up. There, in the next room over, is a large open space that looks like it could be the outside of this cube. And within that space is a massive machine generating a bright force field that illuminates its surroundings. Two figures stand before it with their backs toward me.


    "I found them." I turn around to call out to my companions, but they''re nowhere to be seen. Really, I should have expected this when I left them behind, but it''s surprising that it happened so quickly.


    "We should have all held hands." Kamii comments in a level tone as I turn to her. Through her hand, I can tell that she''s shivering in fear or anticipation when she looks at the machine in the next room over.


    "They will find their way." I pull the little dark elf closer and head for the opening in the ceiling. As we pass over the threshold, gravity takes hold of us again, and I help Kamii over the edge before she falls back into the previous room.


    "How nice of you to join us here, at the edge of reality!" Shelnir turns around to greet us with her arms outstretched in a grand gesture. She wears a beautiful navy blue kimono with a wave print. Her expression shows that she''s absolute sure of her superiority.


    Elaine looks the same as she did when she appeared in the sky over Kairaki, except that her hair is unkempt, and she wears a white lab coat. She glances over her shoulder with sunken, empty eyes, but they widen when she sees me. She must have been in a trance and only now realizes what is happening.


    "What did you do to the solar storm?" She dispenses with any greetings and demands to know, her eyes twitching in a display of her unstable mind.


    "Now, now. We will have plenty of time to speak about such things in a moment when everybody is here." Shelnir waves a hand to stop Elaine from continuing. I can tell from her demeanor that she has become unhinged herself, clearly having forgotten that I broke her last prophecy. After all, I was supposed to kill Luna when trying to free her, which in turn should have made Rolan fight me to the death. "I can tell what you are thinking."


    The Guide of Tomorrow turns away from us, wholly unconcerned that we could try to attack her. Kamii squeezes my hand as if to signal that we should make our move now, but I shake my head ever so slightly. It''s not that I''m afraid because we have been separated from the others, but one part of me has a morbid interest in the Old Humans'' last gambit.


    "The battle to the death will still happen, but it doesn''t have to be perfect. Life is imperfect after all!" Spreading her arms, Shelnir speaks with her back turned to me. She''s staring up at the force field as if praying to it rather than addressing me. "I planted the seed, and the core of the tesseract has delivered the water. Watch it bloom now."


    The moment she says this, she spins around and points past me. I notice with my Chaos senses that my companions have arrived and turn to look. They seem surprised when they notice that space has changed before their very eyes but prepare for battle upon seeing Shelnir and Elaine.


    Suddenly, bright lights appear behind everybody. Then, a barrage of plasma beams shoots out from the rear. One cuts through Kamii''s cursed arm and severs it cleanly just below the shoulder. The little dark elf screams in pain as her crab pincer drops to the floor.


    The core of Hestia''s wing covers on her back is hit, igniting the machinery inside and causing it to explode. She''s flung through the room and into a wall by the pressure of the explosion.


    Aurelia has a hole burned through her abdomen from behind. Molten gold pours from the wound as she looks down at herself with an utterly surprised expression and collapses to her knees.


    Tokomaha''s instincts allow her to barely dodge the sudden attack, but her leaf hair bursts out into flames. Tahiri has her head cut off, but her body turns into lightning, negating the damage. Korenga doesn''t even notice when a beam whips across her back until it singes her hair, upon which she spins around in surprise.


    Asoko, Uten, and Saten each have a beam cutting through their torso, but they''re Crawling Chaoses, so they can repair the damage immediately.


    I stare into the small cubical room, past the carnage, where Luna hovers a few inches off the ground. She''s surrounded by several balls of plasma, and her eyes are glowing with power, but it''s clear that her mind is gone. Rolan and the others turn to look at her, unable to comprehend what the half-elf just did.


    Before Luna can shoot again, now aiming at those around and behind her, Rolan disappears in a blur and tackles her down to the ground. The plasma balls floating around her go haywire and scatter into tiny pellets that pelt the surroundings. This time, Sintress is quick enough to react and erects the Perfect Sanctuary around everybody, shielding them from the deadly rain.


    A blast of wind sends Rolan flying up and crashing into the ceiling. Rising from the ground is the empowered Luna, who raises her arms to summon another array of plasma spheres. Sintress points at the half-elf, upon which a Perfect Sanctuary surrounds her and locks her in space. But Luna merely waves her hand and cuts through the barrier with a plasma beam as if it were paper.


    Utterly shocked, the Lady of Brilliance can''t react in time and has both her legs cut through by the continuing beam. She falls to the ground but raises both her hands to lock Luna''s limbs in place directly with smaller barriers like I attempted against Oinos in Kairaki.


    Gram, Sigurd, Svanhild, and Halthor stare at the imprisoned Luna with their mouths hanging open, unable to comprehend what just happened in the last few moments.


    Then, space shifts and changes. The walls of the cubical room move away, and the floor stretches, pulling everybody apart. Segments of the floor and wall fold in a kaleidoscopic display that boggles the mind. Moments later, everybody has been separated, and all I''m left with inside the cubical room that returns to its original size are my beloved girls wounded and dying on the floor.

 Chapter 164 - Glimpse the Unthinkable

    Luna, the perpetrator of this atrocity, has disappeared into the depths of the tesseract. The wounded Sintress, the highest authority on healing imagination, was also separated from everybody. All my companions have been scattered into different rooms, except for the three heavily wounded girls before me.


    Kamii has lost her cursed arm, but aside from the excruciating pain from having her wound cauterized on the spot, her life is in no danger. Aurelia is kneeling on the ground while looking down at the hole in her stomach, unmoving. Hestia is in an impossible to discern state, with her wings burned and her back armor ripped open by the explosion.


    This was Shelnir''s doing. I have no idea why she thinks this would make me try to kill Luna and force Rolan into defending her against me. The duel to the death that she prophesized in Zohigal would never happen at this point.


    But even as I comprehend all these matters, all I can do is stare at the carnage. I have no idea how to reattach a limb that has been burned off like Kamii''s. Aurelia''s body is made of gold, so how would I even go mending it? And Hestia''s wounds are so extensive that I''m not sure my healing imagination is enough.


    What good is my perception of infinity and bending of reality when I can''t help those I love?


    "What appears to be the matter? Have you lost your wits after-" Shelnir begins, but I turn around and gesture at her. Her voice disappears as if cut off, and her sardonic grin freezes. Then she begins to claw at her throat, and her eyeballs bulge out.


    "Weak." Elaine comments and waves her hand at Shelnir. The vacuum around her head is dispelled, and the Guide of Tomorrow gasps for air. The Goddess of the Sun wasn''t referring to my attempt at killing Shelnir but the latter''s inability to counteract my imagination. An Old Human who lacks the imagination to breathe in a vacuum is indeed weak.


    I could have erased Shelnir by compressing her into nothingness, but one part of me wants to drag out her punishment for all that she has done. Dying instantly is too light a death for her crimes.


    "Help them!" Kamii jumps up from the floor despite her pain and grabs my shoulder with her left hand. Since the wound was cauterized, she''s in no danger of bleeding out. That''s why she has the leeway to worry about the others.


    I turn to stare at Hestia and Aurelia, both of whom aren''t moving. My Chaos senses can tell that they''re both close to dying, the light fading throughout their bodies as their cells shut down. One part of me watches in fascination as the life ebbs from my beloved girls, but Kamii shakes me from these decidedly inhuman thoughts.


    Without wasting another moment, I gesture at the floor around Aurelia, where the molten gold has pooled. It begins to flow back toward the hole in her stomach and returns to her circulation that I monitor with my Chaos senses. Even if the makeup of her body is beyond human, it doesn''t change that her physical system still functions like one. If I made the golden blood flow backward, it could destroy her circulation as a whole.


    At the same time, I wave at Hestia, who floats up from the floor. I have all the genetic information I need to remake her entire body from scratch, so it should be a simple task to mend her wounds. Her wings are barely connected by some strands of muscles, and underneath all the blood and charred flesh, I can see her damaged spine and exposed ribs.


    Waving one hand, I create gold out of the very air itself, with which I replace the lost parts in Aurelia''s stomach. She''s still not moving, but I can tell that she''s aware of what I''m doing and merely waiting for it to be finished.


    Waving my other hand, I use my imagination to grow back organic matter all across Hestia''s back. Her wings are reconnected with new bones that disappear under tendons, muscles, and finally, skin before black feathers sprout once more. The severed spine reconnects as nerves appear from thin air.


    I walk toward Aurelia while having Hestia float over to me. The Golden Queen finally stirs when I put the finishing touches on her abdominal muscles and coat it all in a layer of golden skin. At the same time, the unconscious fallen Fata is lowered to the ground as her wounds are fully mended. Within my Chaos senses, they are both back to how they were before Luna''s sudden attack.


    Shelnir stares at us with her mouth hanging open. This has nothing to do with surpassing her calculations or breaking her prophecy; this is an ability she didn''t think I would have. Perhaps even Sintress can''t do what I just did. On the other hand, Elaine regards the Guide of Tomorrow with disdain. She has been working with the Imagination Engine since before it existed, so she knows that there are no limitations within this tesseract.


    I turn to Kamii, who is kneeling on the floor next to her severed cursed arm, looking thoroughly exhausted. Still, her expression lights up when she sees that Hestia and Aurelia are safe. But when she notices my gaze, her eyebrows draw together slightly.


    "What will it be, Kamii?" I cover the few steps separating us and ask while looking at the crab pincer on the floor beside her. Now is her chance to be rid of that arm and all the difficulties that come with it.


    "Without it, I can''t fight." The little dark elf replies in a sullen tone. In reality, she knows that with how powerful I have become, she no longer needs to fight. But that''s not the reason she''s hesitant; if she had a normal right arm, she would be no different from any other dark elf. She fears that I would lose interest in her.


    I remember the day we first met. Since then, I have often expressed that I like her cursed arm''s appearance. It wasn''t a falsehood or out of pity, but genuine admiration for the aesthetic of a petite girl with an oversized crab pincer for her right arm. The fact that she hid an incredible power within it was secondary to me.


    But that''s not why I love her. If it were, I would be no different from those that discriminated against her for it. I love Kamii as a person, with or without the cool red pincer that could potentially destroy an entire planet after the combo counter goes high enough.


    Kamii''s eyes light up when she sees through my thoughts. Then she averts her gaze and bites her lower lip in self-loathing. To have such doubts after all we''ve been through shows that her fear stemmed from a lack of self-confidence.


    I smile wryly and gesture toward her with one hand. The cauterized stump that remains of her right arm just below the shoulder opens up, and she gasps in pain. But no blood flows from the wound while the damaged parts are cleared and turned into a clean cut with open blood vessels, severed nerves, muscle fibers, and the exposed humerus.


    Then, atoms appear out of nothing and gather to form bonds that create organic matter. It swirls around the wound like dust and assembles into larger structures connecting the severed tissue. A regular arm with spotless mauve purple skin shapes within moments.


    Unlike how I repaired the damage to Hestia, I made something completely new that didn''t exist before. In Kamii''s genetic material, there was no information on her right arm being anything but the corrupted crab pincer. Thus, I created it from scratch out of my imagination, using her left arm as a base.


    The little dark elf stares at her new arm and raises it gingerly. Caressing her skin with her left hand, she senses the touch and blinks in wonder. Then, she turns her right hand and moves her fingers one by one.


    My Crawling Chaos heart warms at the sight of Kamii discovering the use of a normal right arm. Although her face doesn''t show it, she''s overcome with emotion. If it weren''t for our current circumstances, it would call for celebration.


    "Thank you for waiting." I look up at Shelnir and Elaine, who watched the matter creation with varying degrees of wonder. It would seem that the God of the Sun isn''t surprised to see this being done inside this tesseract, but the Guide of Tomorrow is utterly baffled.


    "How... what..." She can''t even form a working sentence as she points at us. I so easily nullified the results of Luna''s sneak attack, and with it, Shelnir''s final attempt at breaking me.


    "Did you truly think that this would make me kill Luna?" I walk past Kamii, who turns around when she notices that a battle might break out now. She clenches her right fist and looks up at our two enemies before joining me. I throw my head back slightly and glare down at Shelnir. "You are clearly the mastermind, controlling Luna''s actions. I will put an end to that, and I will smile with her after everything is over."


    Shelnir stumbles back a few steps, and her lips quiver in frustration. She has lost control of the situation once more, and this time, Serent isn''t here to save her. But there is still Elaine, who watched everything unfold calmly as if showing that she''s not afraid of me.


    As somebody who has been researching the Outer One''s tear in space and the limits of the Imagination Engine, she should have the greatest knowledge among all Old Humans on how to utilize them. Even if Exla possesses the greatest imagination - although that might have been bragging on her part - Elaine has the knowledge to back hers up.


    "What will you do?" I turn to the God of the Sun, whose eyes narrow at being addressed so casually by her enemy.


    "I only wish to know how you erased the solar storm. After that, I will kill all of you." She replies in a neutral tone. It''s neither a threat nor a display of overconfidence; to her, ending us all is a matter of course. Her attitude makes it clear that she has no doubts about her abilities to match me even after my earlier display.


    "I''m not here to kill you, so I will tell you." Shrugging, I show that I''m not the least intimidated by Elaine''s aura of superiority. If not for Kerry, I wouldn''t hesitate to end her life right here, right now. But I undo the transformation of my face and continue. "I ate the storm."


    Elaine''s eyes widen, but she doesn''t falter. Meanwhile, Shelnir screams and stumbles backward in terror, her bloodshot eyes fixed on me, although it''s clear that she wants to look away. I ignore the Guide of Tomorrow and watch the God of the Sun''s minute muscle motions to determine her thoughts about this form.


    "You are just like Mataku." She spits out in disgust and points at me. A beam of concentrated light shoots out from a rift in space before her for a split second and burns a hole into my chest. But unlike Luna''s plasma beam, this isn''t a manifestation of imagination or a hidden technological weapon. She opened a gate to the surface of the Sun and gave me a glimpse of its raw energy.


    I look down at the hole in my chest, then at Elaine again. Her expression doesn''t change despite my lack of reaction. It seems that she was testing my resilience with that attack and found the result satisfactory. She must think that if she can throw me into the Sun, I would die.


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    The hole closes itself again with matter from inside me. After swallowing the energy of the solar storm, I was able to convert it into mass. At this point, I have enough to grow to Tokomaha''s size when she stopped the Moon from falling. I have nothing to fear from physical attacks such as this one.


    "I cannot have you comparing me to a fledgling such as her." Suddenly, a familiar voice declares throughout the room in a sardonic tone. Everybody looks around, but there''s no sign of its owner.


    A spot above the massive glowing spherical barrier in the room distorts, and Mithra appears from within. The bandage-covered figure floats in midair with his staff in hand, unmoving and watching silently. But it was not his voice that called out to us.


    Behind Elaine, darkness gathers into a solid form and takes the shape of a human-looking man in a white business suit with slicked-back black hair. The God of the Sun notices him and turns around on the spot to blast him with a glimpse of the Sun as she did against me.


    When the rift opens, Mataku''s hand is there to catch the beam. Much like I would, he gathers it into a small sphere with a mere gesture of his fingers. But instead of letting it fizzle out or swallowing it, he flicks it back at Elaine.


    She''s slow in dodging it and is blasted with a split second of raw fusion energy. But as I thought, her imagination is strong enough to withstand and control it. The explosion of energy moves back inward and gathers around the God of the Sun''s torso in a radiant ring.


    "Even if you are a creature from the other side, this is my domain." Elaine declares and lets the ring explode outward. It cuts through Mataku and the surroundings but dissipates against the room''s walls. Still, it does force me to bend space a little so that it doesn''t hit Kamii and Aurelia behind me.


    "Oh, foolish mortal. What you call your domain is merely a pale imitation of my home." The Primordial Terror shakes his head and reconnects his severed body as if it were nothing. "Have a glimpse of the unthinkable."


    At those words, reality bends and folds away, and the massive chamber of the Imagination Engine core fades into infinity. It reveals the endless reaches of space, filled with distant stars, galaxies, and nebulae. Gravity disappears once more, and everybody floats freely. It''s clear that this isn''t really space, as Kamii is breathing just fine. Perhaps all of this is an illusion?


    "Take a look at the insignificant specks that dare to compare themselves to you, father." Mataku spreads his arms and announces into the vast unknown. I swivel my head upon his words and look around; if this is truly the other side of the tears in space, we will have entered the belly of the beast far earlier than I wanted to. And with Kamii, Aurelia, and the unconscious Hestia no less.


    For a moment, there is only the silence of space. The deafening noise of one''s own circulation and nerve signals should be playing in all those who have them. I''ve heard somewhere that it can cause insanity after prolonged exposure.


    But then, space itself shifts. As if the universe were a pattern on an unfathomably large creature''s body, the stars, distant galaxies, and massive nebulae undulate like the countless tentacles that form a Crawling Chaos''s body. Entire galactic sectors disappear under the movements of the Outer One as all of existence itself seems to turn toward us.


    Then, myriad holes open in space - tears in the fabric of reality itself that show neither light nor dark but sheer nothingness. I perceive them to be unblinking eyes that have turned on us after their owner has been called so frivolously by Mataku.


    "Is that all?" Elaine looks around as if hoping for more. Her attitude does seem to surprise Mataku, who raises an eyebrow in skepticism. But he should know that there is no acting strong when faced with a cosmic horror; either one falls prey to its effects, or one can withstand it in one way or another.


    Before Mataku can comment on this, Shelnir screams from the depths of her lungs and claws out her own eyes. It would seem that her mind has given out upon seeing the truth of the Outer One, and she would sooner lose her sight than continue to perceive it. However, as blood streams down her cheeks like tears, and she holds her own squashed eyes in her hands, she turns her head left and right.


    "I still see them! They are still watching me! Peering into my mind! Make it stop!" She squeals while trying to shield herself with her arms. Rather than a physical gaze, the Outer One appears to be looking at her very soul - something she can perceive even without eyes.


    I try to bask in the terror emanating from her, but I sense that the Outer One is actively sucking it away as if denying either Mataku or me the pleasure. Not a shred of the unholy energy that I would normally feel upon being in the presence of somebody experiencing this level of horror reaches me.


    Although the Outer One isn''t staring directly at her, Elaine seems unnaturally composed despite this situation. She must have plenty of experience with the core of the Imagination Engine and its emanations to know that this is what lurks on the other side of the tears in space. In fact, she appears to look around in curiosity, as if to memorize it all for her research.


    Suddenly, several swords made of gold fly through space and pierce Shelnir''s body. Her wailing is silenced in an instant, and I feel her life energy fade away. I turn to Aurelia, who stands behind me silently with a hand raised toward the Guide of Tomorrow. Her expression suggests that she''s conflicted about her own actions.


    Killing Shelnir so quickly was a mercy. Her mind was already broken, but she would continue to suffer until she decided that only death would free her from the torment of being under the scrutinizing gaze of the Outer One. But in doing so, Aurelia cut short her revenge against the Old Human responsible for the death of her beloved Vanadia. She would no longer be able to suffer for all the crimes she committed.


    But then, an ethereal scream echoes in our minds, and I spin around to look at where it''s coming from. Shelnir''s corpse floats freely and unmoving, but light separates from it and takes the rough shape of a human. The tormented face of Shelnir appears on this ghostly emanation''s surface as it gets drawn out of the physical body. The Outer One is pulling out her soul to continue her suffering.


    Aurelia watches in horror as the Guide of Tomorrow''s soul finally separates from the lifeless body and floats off into the distance, screeching all the while. As the body turns to dust and scatters into nothingness, Shelnir''s soul disappears from sight as well, leaving behind only the echo of her agonized wailing.


    Despite watching her comrade get killed, Elaine shows no hint of emotions. It would seem that any sense of caring about others has disappeared in her after the death of her beloved son Alverost. Now, all that''s left is professional curiosity and seething vengeance. The latter has taken a backseat after witnessing this mind-bending spectacle.


    I feel jealous of the Outer One for being able to feast on such delectable terror for the foreseeable future. Kamii nudges me with her newly grown right arm, and I realize what I just contemplated. Sighing, I push the cosmic horror thoughts aside and concentrate on our situation.


    "This isn''t real, is it?" I state and tilt my head back to regard Mataku with a look of disdain. As if my words flipped a switch, the walls of the Imagination Engine core snap back out of nowhere, and we''re back in the massive but mostly dark room illuminated only by the spherical barrier in the center.


    "I am surprised that you would limit yourself so, sister." Mataku shakes his head and glances at the unimpressed Elaine. I know that what we saw a moment ago was real, but I had to make us return here.


    Although neither Kamii nor Aurelia seemed affected by the Outer One''s presence, I would rather not have the Outer One turn his attention to them. Who knows what would have happened if he had looked directly at them like he did with Shelnir?


    "What happened, senpai?" Exla calls out to me from behind, and I glance back to find that the cloud girl has found her way back to the room outside the core chamber. She looks at the unconscious but healed Hestia on the floor, then lets her gaze sweep across the people before her. There is no trace of Shelnir, so she must be wondering about that.


    "I think it would be best to explain it once everybody is here." I say while turning to Mataku. "You have no problem with that, do you?"


    Kamii, Aurelia, and Exla stare at me in surprise when I address the Primordial Terror so casually. And they''re baffled when he merely shrugs in response. We should be enemies, so why would I need to ask him for permission? Furthermore, why would he give it so carelessly?


    My words turn to reality, and everybody appears in the room behind Exla. Luna has lost consciousness after Shelnir''s death but is still locked inside Sintress''s Perfect Sanctuary prison. The others stand around her as they were when the room separated them earlier, staring at the repeated sudden change in their surroundings with widened eyes.


    Sintress''s legs are still missing, showing that even her powerful healing imagination doesn''t allow her to regrow lost limbs. I would help her, but I can''t avert my gaze from Elaine or Mataku right now.


    "What happened?" Korenga looks across everybody''s faces, then turns to peer into the core chamber. Her eyes widen when she beholds Mataku, and she bursts out into her Black God form with a roar.


    "Uh oh." He makes with a wry smile, then addresses me in an exaggerated accusing tone. "You could have kept that rabid beast away. Now, negotiations have broken down."


    In the next moment, Korenga practically flies through the room and crashes into the Primordial Terror, who deflects her into a wall. The heavy impact leaves not even a dent in the seemingly otherworldly material the core is made of, and the Black God bounces off it to go for another charge.


    "There were never going to be any negotiations." I reply calmly. Then I raise a hand toward Mataku, who tilts his head back with a wry smile. Before he can do anything, I compress him into a tiny sphere and make him disappear into nothingness.


    Or that''s what I feel happened. But nothing changes, and he raises an eyebrow in a challenging expression. It''s as if there are two versions of reality before me: One in which I defeated him in an instant and another in which he overruled my fantasy. That must be what happened then.


    Korenga slams into Mataku from behind and tries to squash him in a bear hug. Her anti-Crawling Chaos properties cause him to shy away from her touch and lose his shape. But in reality, he delivers a back-handed punch into the Black God that sends her flying backward.


    Once again, I perceive two outcomes at once, with the unfavorable one playing out as the other fades into memory. I now realize that this is the true effect of the Imagination Engine''s core; they are possibilities manifested through imagination. And it would seem that Mataku''s is overwriting the more probable outcome.


    Suddenly, the barrier in the chamber disappears, and a storm blows around us. I identify the tear in space that the shield was holding in check: A perfectly spherical hole that is neither black nor white. It is merely the lack of existence itself, like a wound on reality - a missing piece of perception.


    The atmosphere is rushing inside it, meaning that the oxygen here will be depleted sooner rather than later. The realm of the Outer One is space itself, so it''s only natural for the vacuum to pull the air in. But I notice that the machine that created the spherical barrier seems to be disintegrating on a subatomic level. Its entire shape is wavering slightly, and particles are pulled toward the hole.


    If left unchecked, surely this entire structure will follow soon. And if it expands, the whole Rhodos station will be in danger. Of course, knowing the scope of the Outer One, perhaps this entire dimension will eventually be swallowed up.


    "We are done here." Mithra, who is floating above that hole to the realm of the Outer One, calls out to Mataku. I get a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu from this.


    "I will leave you to it then." The Primordial Terror raises a hand toward Elaine, who has watched the situation between us unfold in silence. Her nature as a scientist and observer of many millennia has led to her indecision.


    "Yes, go back where you came from, creature." She waves him off, and I realize that it''s not indecision but that she lacks interest in him - or indeed anything else. All she wants is revenge on us for killing her son, and she''s willing to overlook what could amount to the end of reality itself.


    But I won''t explain to her that we need to stop Mataku. I will take down Elaine here and deal with him afterward. There are no doubts in my mind that I will succeed. And that''s all the imagination I need.


    Korenga rushes at the Primordial Terror once more, but he phases through her and moves toward the hole. Meanwhile, Elaine raises her hands, and the walls of the room retreat in all directions, much like how Mataku gave us a glimpse of the Outer One''s realm. But unlike before, we''re now right in front of the Sun itself.


    A massive coronal mass ejection comes our way. Elaine wants to erase us all in a single strike, but I extend a hand toward the approaching plasma wave many times the size of Earth itself and grasp it as if it were a physical object. A large section of it stops and falls back toward the Sun, and we''re spared.


    "Impressive." Mataku comments and glances back at me only a few meters away from the tear in space. But to everybody''s surprise, a streak of light shoots past Elaine and cuts through his neck. "Oh?"


    His head separates from his body, but that won''t kill a Crawling Chaos. And the person responsible for the attack does know this.


    "You are not going anywhere." Rolan, the fallen hero, declares while standing between the Primordial Terror and his destination. His missing prosthetic arm has been replaced with an immaterial one made from light, and he wields Roshanee with both hands. "This ends here."

 Chapter 165 - Beyond Light

    "You are the one!" Elaine suddenly screams as Mataku reattaches his severed head with countless tendrils sprouting from his neck. She points at Rolan in accusation, seemingly finally recognizing by his movements that he was one of those instrumental in the death of her son Alverost.


    Ignoring Mataku, who stands between her and Rolan, she opens several rifts in space from which concentrated beams of light shoot out. The Primordial Terror is pierced, but it turns out to be an afterimage. However, Rolan deflects every last beam with Roshanee, moving well beyond the physically possible.


    As Mataku floats off to the side, I watch with my heightened senses the moment that the fallen hero reaches the speed of light, even if only for an instant. He not merely deflects the beams away from himself but guides them into the Primordial Terror''s back all at once. The latter is pierced for real this time, and his body bursts into flames. Then, Rolan falls onto his knee and holds his chest, gasping for air as if he sprinted a full marathon in an instant.


    Our surroundings shift, and space moves. I realize that it''s not the universe moving but us. Elaine puts the Sun behind Rolan, but something impacts her side before she can do anything and sends her tumbling into the distance. It''s Kerry, having stayed out of sight of their mother all this time. Finally, they made up their mind to fight her.


    Mataku puts out the flames engulfing his body and mends the holes created by the beams of the Sun itself. Then he turns to Rolan with a less than amused expression. Although it was Elaine''s attack, the fallen hero was the one who redirected them toward his back.


    "I was willing to overlook you, insignificant creature." He declares and raises a hand toward him before performing a crushing motion. But when nothing happens, Mataku narrows his eyes in confusion.


    "Was... I supposed to die... here?" Rolan asks between wheezing breaths when he realizes what the Primordial Terror was trying to do. His nervous smile shows that he wasn''t aware of the attempt, but ignorance might have been what saved him.


    "Then I shall do it in a way a lesser being like you can understand." With these words, Mataku bursts out into his full Crawling Chaos form for the first time. He becomes an even more monstrous version of me, with countless loose tentacle blades separating from his hulking body. Spreading them out in a mandala-like pattern, he charges at Rolan as if sliding through reality itself.


    I decide it''s time to help him, but space shifts again, and we fall toward the Sun. Elaine has regained her bearings in the distance, wholly unharmed by Kerry''s meteoric headbutt. Even though the Sun is behind us, her head is illuminated by a halo that shines as intense as her rage must be.


    As Rolan rises and faces Mataku''s onslaught with all of his remaining strength, Elaine is trying to throw all of us into the Sun. But I know that this is all within the Imagination Engine, a representation of the possibility that we are outside the tesseract and in the control of one person''s mind.


    Our surroundings suddenly smear like artifacts in a bad video player. Reality twists, and we''re thrown into an ancient forest. I somehow recognize it as the Dark Continent, a most familiar place for Exla, the Guardian of the Soil. It must have been her who transported us here to stop Elaine''s imagination. She knows it so well that her mental image is strong enough to overwrite the God of the Sun''s.


    Even the hole in reality has disappeared, and the storm from the other side sucking away the atmosphere in this space ceases. This means that Mataku can''t escape into it when he deems the battle unfavorable for him.


    But the God of the Sun doesn''t let the sudden overwriting of her imagination stop her. She unleashes a barrage of sunlight from her halo that burns the surroundings. Sintress raises a Perfect Sanctuary to block the attack, but it passes through it as light would. Instead, Gram leaps forward and erects a force field from his shield that blocks the beams without a problem.


    I already had a hunch that the Perfect Sanctuary is only perfect outside the tesseract. Inside here, anything can be overwritten with a strong enough imagination - even the power of the Sun. In that regard, the so-called lesser beings of Earth, created by the Old Humans for the sake of entertainment, seem to have the upper hand.


    "Ironic." I comment with a genuinely amused smile.


    Then, several plasma beams come from behind us and pass through Gram''s barrier to assault Elaine. I glance over my shoulder to see the reawakened Luna, desperate determination written on her face. Maybe her mind was watching her own actions when Shelnir controlled her, and she''s trying her hardest to redeem herself.


    Elaine raises a barrier of her own that absorbs Luna''s powerful plasma beams. Svanhild suddenly charges through it with her rocket lance and the much smaller energy barrier extending from it that shields her from the God of the Sun''s attempts to stop her. But the Dragon Knight''s target isn''t Elaine, as she shoots past her and heads for the battle between Rolan and Mataku.


    Here, inside a representation of Earth''s atmosphere, Tahiri and Halthor can both participate. Without a perceivable signal between the two, the God of Storms turns into a lightning bolt, the tail end of which the Lightning Knight grasps. The bolt flies past Elaine and strikes Mataku''s flank.


    The lightning burns through him and exits on the other side. But before the Primordial Terror understands what happened, Halthor crashes into him fist-first. The monumental strike matching Korenga''s sends him tumbling backward into an ancient tree that shatters from the impact.


    But he bursts out from the still flying splinters and lets out an otherworldly roar. It''s cut short by Svanhild stabbing her drill-lance into his stomach and spinning it at a blinding speed. The rotational force shreds his matter, causing the tip to be embedded deep inside him.


    All of Mataku''s tentacles converge on Svanhild, but she presses a button on her lance handle. The tip of the lance opens inside the Primordial Terror''s stomach and unleashes a massive explosion that blows a hole into him and throws the Dragon Knight backward.


    I watch in silent awe. Normally, I would have moved to help them already, but seeing these members of new humanity fight a Crawling Chaos to a standstill makes me want to see how far they can go. The thought that it would be impossible for them to make a difference here is exactly why they can do it. Mataku is so out of reach for them that he would never need to imagine himself winning against them. His absolute victory should be a foregone conclusion in his mind, and that is why their desperate imagination allows them to overcome him.


    "All of this is useless!" The Primordial Terror roars and consolidates his shape. Then he shakes his body, and countless black blobs separate from him like oily droplets. The moment they hit the forest floor, they begin writhing and growing, taking on humanoid shapes within seconds.


    They must be artificial Crawling Chaos models or split bodies like those I can create. They''re physically imposing, reaching a similar height and shape to my true appearance. Even if they aren''t as resilient as the original, their numbers alone could tip the scales of this battle. But whatever the case, they don''t stand a chance against real people with their own minds and souls.


    Several streaks made of pure darkness move across the battlefield. It''s Asoko and the twins, charging into battle while turning into their true appearances. They had their minds opened to their full potential when I gave them a glimpse of infinity as we traveled from the Queen Pelomyx to the Rhodos station. Now, they should grow rapidly and soon reach my level on their own.


    I watch in satisfaction as my three progenies rip through Mataku''s minions with efficient brutality. Then I remember that somebody seems to be missing and hear the cracking of undergrowth. Korenga bursts from the greenery and flies toward the original Primordial Terror. Having been flung far away in space after phasing through him, she could only return after Exla brought us to the Dark Continent.


    The Black God delivers a monumental punch to the place that is most likely Mataku''s head. His form bursts under the impact, but he instantly consolidates himself and returns the gesture with an uppercut that launches Korenga upward. Roots shoot up from the ground and catch her before she flies into space.


    Tokomaha joins the fray from out of view, but her presence is made sufficiently apparent when the entire forest moves in to attack the Primordial Terror and his minions. Even as their whirlwinds of bladed tentacles cut through their surroundings, the landscape continues to come down on him.


    Under the cover of this onslaught, Kamii moves forward. Even though she no longer has her crab pincer, I know that her cursed ability must still be there. If her combo counter hasn''t reset after losing her arm, she should have the power of a directional explosive on the level of a kiloton bomb.


    She heads for Mataku, identifying him as the more important threat. Since the tear in space leading to the realm of the Outer One is no longer visible, we have a real chance to put an end to whatever it is that he has planned.


    I look back at those not participating yet. Aurelia is observing carefully, still undecided which fight to join. Dregana kneels by Hestia''s side, ready to shield the unconscious Fata with her body. Sigurd carries his mother on his back, watching the situation unfold in anxious silence. Rewera is waiting for my order, unsure what she could do in this monumental confrontation. Exla concentrates on holding this imaginary real space together and seems unable to do anything else.


    "Why are you standing around like this?" Senka looks up at me with a doubtful gaze. She''s right; I would normally have been the first to jump into battle. But right now, I feel somehow content as an observer. Is this what the Outer One is like when his eyes appear in the night sky?


    I glance at Flann and see through her emotionless fa?ade. She''s silently telling me not to show my hand before the right moment. After all, this matter goes beyond merely fighting Mataku and Elaine here. As long as neither of them bends reality too far, I can stand back.


    Speaking of the God of the Sun, she seems to have a surprisingly even battle against Luna, although the latter isn''t exactly fighting alone. Gram''s shield separates the half-elf from a swift death by a solar beam. Judging by the God of the Sun''s expression, she''s not at all pressured by this situation and merely considers what to do next.


    A massive shockwave that blows apart the forest rings out, and I find that Kamii''s right fist still holds the power of her curse. She disintegrated one of Mataku''s minions and splattered several more with a single punch. This does bring a smile to my lips.


    "Hestia!" Dregana exclaims behind me, and I turn to find that the fallen Fata has awakened. She looks around, surprised to find herself in the middle of a forest, but quickly gains her bearings.


    "You saved me, Onee-sama." Hestia looks up at me with a reverent gaze.


    "Are you good to go?" I nod in the direction of the raging battle with a grin. Although her body is fully mended, she might still be shaken by the grievous wound she sustained earlier. But much like with Tahiri losing her powers, the best remedy for that would be to fight with her full strength.


    "Of course." The fallen Fata stands up and spreads her wing covers demonstratively. The metal plates covering her real wings move and click in a beautiful display of adaptive machinery. Truly, Kleihn surpassed herself when she created this for Hestia.


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    "Our opponent is Mataku." Aurelia turns to her and points at the fierce battle where most of our numbers are concentrated. It has turned into a veritable battlefield, with the enemies'' numbers increasing as the Primordial Terror continues to create minions with every movement in his high-speed battle with Rolan.


    Elaine seems to overhear Aurelia, and her eyes narrow. The Golden Queen is one of the people responsible for her son''s death in her eyes. Being ignored by one of Alverost''s murderers when his mother is right before them and seeking revenge seems to make her decide to act.


    "Exla, bring us somewhere else if you do not want the Earth to be annihilated." She calls out to the Guardian of the Soil while spreading both her arms. Exla''s eyes widen, and our surroundings shift immediately. The lush forest of the Dark Continent is replaced by a reddish desert devoid of all life. I can instantly tell that this is the surface of Mars.


    But nobody seems to be affected by the lack of an atmosphere. By now, all my companions have already reached the mental state that allows them to breathe in a vacuum without even thinking about it. Or maybe they''re just unaware of where we are.


    The battle against Mataku continues in the background as Elaine brings her hands together, and I realize what she''s about to do. Before I can move to stop her, Kerry approaches in a sonic boom and heads for their mother once more.


    The God of the Sun unhesitatingly turns around and opens a massive gash in space from which an explosion of energy blasts the God of Comets. The tiny obsidian body disappears into a veritable coronal mass ejection that evaporates the surface of Mars in its general direction.


    But from within the continuing solar eruption, the glowing-hot Kerry bursts forth and hits Elaine''s barrier, where they stop for a split second. Then, they break through with all their built-up energy released instantly, causing their form to vanish in a flash. A hole appears in their mother''s chest, and a delayed impact annihilates the landscape behind her. The God of Comets was turned into a veritable relativistic kinetic missile.


    Before the shockwave on the level of an extinction event meteorite hits us, our surroundings shift to the surface of the Moon. A spot in the sky shines more brightly than I''ve ever seen before, and I zoom in to see that it comes from Mars. Its surface has been cracked open by Kerry''s impact.


    A short distance away from us, the God of Comets bursts out from inside the Moon where this shift in location left them and looks at their mother through their helmet slit. Elaine is still standing with a massive hole in her chest, seemingly unperturbed by the damage to her body. The wound is neither bleeding nor cauterized but glows from within.


    Wordlessly, the God of the Sun unleashes the power of the Sun from within her. Her entire body explodes into light, and the surface of the Moon under her feet vaporizes into glowing-hot dust. Before the heat radiation can hit us, I put a barrier of dark matter around Elaine.


    "That''s enough." I declare. Within the tesseract, turning one''s own body into a star seems quite possible. When Zylos tried it, he killed himself in a runaway nuclear reaction because he was limited by probability. Here, she might truly be able to annihilate her surroundings and return to her human form afterward. "What should I do with her?"


    I could crush this sphere inward and reduce Elaine to a singularity. With Flann here, I could carry her billions of light-years away from here and return in an instant. In fact, I could even remove her abilities for the time being and let her suffocate in the vacuum of space. But I know that each of those options would hurt Kerry.


    "Release her. I got this." Exla calls out to me, and I glance back. That''s when our surroundings shift and return to the interior of the Imagination Engine core. It''s not the room with the rift but one of the tesseract''s infinite recursive rooms. So this is how the Guardian of the Soil hid the hole in reality.


    "Are you sure?" I look past the light-swallowing black sphere that locks Elaine in place at where Mataku and the others are fighting. Tokomaha, having been robbed of nature once more, has fallen back while Hestia and Aurelia join the fray. We''re still in a precarious position in that regard. Just like I did until now, the Primordial Terror is most likely playing around before heading off to complete his plan.


    "I will not let my sanctuary fail again." Sintress declares while holding onto Sigurd''s shoulders. I wave my free hand in her direction and restore her legs the same way I did Kamii''s arm.


    "I ask again. Are you sure?" I inquire when I see the Lady of Brilliance''s surprise as she lowers herself from her son''s back and stands on her regrown bare feet. If she still can''t imagine healing lost limbs while inside the tesseract, how can she create an actual Perfect Sanctuary now?


    "Yes. I will seal her imagination." Exla gives me a confident but grim look. She seems to have made up her mind about something. Thinking back, she was able to remove her brother Zenlith''s powers with a thought. But within this space of infinite possibilities, it surely takes more than simple imagination to do that with somebody as powerful as Elaine.


    Sintress averts her eyes, realizing that she lacks Exla''s confidence. Her Perfect Sanctuary failed against even Luna in her mind-controlled state, so the fear that it might be broken again when lives are on the line now could lead to that very outcome.


    "I believe in you." With these words, I lower my hand and undo the dark matter barrier around Elaine. However, the God of the Sun seems to have calmed down as she''s no longer as luminous as the Sun itself. All her physical features have been erased, leaving a glowing human-shaped body that floats above the tesseract''s floor with her arms crossed casually. She must have been waiting for me to release her.


    "Elaine, let''s put an end to this all." Not thinking too much about that appearance, the Guardian of the Soil declares and points at the glowing figure. It was enough to return Zenlith to his original form when he tried to run away in the form of a lightning bolt. But nothing happens to the God of the Sun.


    "This is not a fantasy, Exla. And it is all thanks to you, creature." Elaine says in a surprisingly calm tone and turns to me with her featureless face. "I may no longer be able to live outside the tesseract, but that is a small price to pay for my revenge."


    I narrow my eyes as I look the glowing figure of the God of the Sun up and down. Physically, she should be similar to what Tahiri turns into when she''s a lightning bolt. But I can instinctively tell that this isn''t temporary. Her life energy is so radiant that it blots out its surroundings. It''s nothing I''ve ever seen before and seems to defy the void-like existence that is a Crawling Chaos.


    "Impressive." Mataku''s human voice echoes through the chamber, and I turn to the battle. It''s still raging, with Rolan seemingly gaining the upper hand in the high-speed duel against the hulking original. But as it turns out, even that is nothing more than a more elaborate minion.


    The real one is upside down on the ceiling, wearing his signature white suit and sitting in an armchair while enjoying a glass of wine. Sometime in the middle of the battle, he must have separated from my comrades and taken his distance without them noticing. Even now, they''re engrossed in fighting the endlessly replenishing numbers, unaware of what''s occurring over here.


    Mithra is right-side-up next to him, his expression hidden under the bandages covering his face. I feel that he doesn''t enjoy working for the Primordial Terror. Knowing his final goal of gaining freedom from the Outer One - a goal perhaps not even Mataku knows about - I can see him reluctant in playing around at this juncture.


    "You have certainly transcended. I can no longer call you a lesser being." Mataku sounds truly impressed when he says this to Elaine, but his tilted-back head and self-confident smile show that he still doesn''t consider her a potential threat. The God of the Sun looks up at him, her reaction indiscernible on her glowing and featureless face. "Once I finish my business on the other side, we could perhaps converse about eternity?"


    "What makes you think I will let you leave?" I call out to the Primordial Terror.


    "Because I already have." He says with a shrug. At those words, his form wavers and vanishes as if it were a mirage. He disappears even within my Chaos senses, showing that he''s no longer in this dimension - or at least no longer on the Rhodos station. As if his disappearance triggers something in his minions, they all go berserk and lose their shapes to turn into whirlwinds of tentacles.


    While they seemed to be fighting with clear intent before, they have become nothing more than bundles of cosmic hunger. Their unpredictable movements throw off my companions, who do their best to defend against the onslaught.


    I raise a hand to erase them with a thought now that I know they are mindless beings but feel compelled to dodge. My arm disappears without a trace at that very moment. If I hadn''t moved, that would have been the better half of my body. I look at Elaine, who hasn''t moved from her spot, but I can spy a hint of a smile even in her featureless face.


    Did she move through me at the speed of light? But I should have been able to perceive it with my expanded consciousness. Then again, that must have been the reason I could sense something and dodge it in the first place.


    "Did you know that light is everywhere at once along its path?" Elaine explains calmly. But I can hear a mocking undertone in her voice. "Can you see it?"


    The moment I concentrate my senses on the world of the infinite, she asks me as if she anticipated it. That''s when I see that Elaine is everywhere in the room at once. Her shape is duplicated infinitely, with parts of her cut off by people''s shadows and dimmed by reflections off the walls. If I weren''t a Crawling Chaos, the shifting kaleidoscopic reality of her existence would have broken my mind right there.


    "Now, I have nothing to fear." She raises her hands in a grand gesture, which is mirrored by all of her representations at once. But I spot a delay, showing that she is still limited to the speed of light - possibly a self-imposed limitation. That brings me to a realization.


    "Oh, is that all?" I tilt my head and look at the original standing at the center of this mind-bending light show. I must admit that she is indeed an existence beyond physical reckoning now. No technology could ever hope to observe the truth about her; no living being of this mortal dimension could match her reality. But I''m neither technology nor a being of this dimension.


    "You are merely a native existence from the other side." Elaine''s reaction to my belittling words tells me that she''s not amused. But she doesn''t lose her sense of superiority. "What you take for granted, I have studied, internalized, and now finally harnessed for myself."


    "Are you saying I''m a genius and you''re the normal person surpassing me through hard work?" I smirk with my arms crossed.


    "No, you are the normal person. I am the genius who put in the hard work to surpass even real gods." The God of the Sun responds angrily.


    "Then show me what all that hard work amounts to, genius." I raise my regrown hand and beckon her to bring it on.


    "I already am." Elaine turns her featureless face to look across the representations of herself in this space at the border of time itself. But I grin and snap my finger. Light ceases, and the extinguished God of the Sun stands before me in her human form. "What?!"


    "Why have you limited yourself to the speed of light? Is it because you fear what lies beyond it?" Our surroundings are steeped in absolute darkness, and all that remains are the exposed Elaine and me in my human appearance. But I melt into the black background and stare at her from every angle at once. For the first time, she shows fear - something not even the Outer One''s gaze could achieve.


    I revel in the feeling that a transcendent being that has gained even Mataku''s approval is akin to a frightened child before me now. I seemingly switched off her abilities and reduced her to a human with a snap of my finger. But in reality, I merely pulled her into the realm of my perception.


    "What lies... beyond the speed of light? That is impossible! Not at this scale!" Elaine musters the mental fortitude to argue despite the reality of the situation. Then she realizes the fallacy of her statement and gasps.


    "And that is why you will forever be a lesser being." I declare with an abyssal grin that stretches across this entire space of absolute darkness like a tear in the fabric of reality. Elaine screams when she sees this, finally realizing the futility of her struggles. Her belief that she had reached or even surpassed our realm has been shattered with a simple display of the fundamental difference between our existences.


    I return perception to normal, and we find ourselves in the tesseract once more. The God of the Sun is still in her human form, cowering on the floor, naked and shivering. I can tell that she has lost her will to fight after the glimpse of true infinity.


    "What did you do?" Sintress walks up to me and asks. For everybody else here, it must have looked as if Elaine suddenly collapsed into a puddle of self-deprecation after talking about being everywhere at once.


    "Well done, Your Majesty." Mithra''s voice praises me from surprisingly close-by. I turn around and find that the former court magician hasn''t left with Mataku and stands beside his daughter. Gram, Luna, Exla, and Sintress prepare to fight him, but I raise a hand to stop them.


    "I assume that I am your master now." I address Mithra, who only nods wordlessly. He then waves his staff in the direction of the Primordial Terror''s minions, which scatter into dust that vanishes from existence moments later.


    Rolan and the others look around in surprise, then notice that the battle on this side appears to have ended. The moment his tension fades, sweat bursts from all of his pores as if it had been held back by his willpower alone. He drops Roshanee and collapses onto the floor in exhaustion, unable to move a single muscle. Luna, Gram, and Sigurd run forward to check on their leader.


    The others fighting beside him aren''t as tired since they only faced the lesser minions, but they breathe a collective sigh of relief when they sense that it''s over for now. Svanhild and Halthor fall on their backsides and take deep breaths. Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, and Tahiri stay on their feet, cautious about the sudden peace.


    "Where is Mataku?!" Only the Black God is still full of energy, roaring in unabated rage. Asoko and the twins instantly return to their human appearances to avoid drawing her attention. While Korenga has had herself well under control recently, she still has trouble distinguishing between friend and foe when Mataku is involved.


    "No longer in this realm." I reply to the Black God while breathing a tired sigh. Then I address Mithra again. "But that''s why you''re here, isn''t it?"


    "Indeed." Flann is the one to answer instead. Our surroundings shift, and we find ourselves in the core chamber with the hole in reality still sucking away at the infinite atmosphere of the tesseract. "The time has come."

 Chapter 166 - Its Time

    Flann doesn''t need to say any more. Mataku has gone to the Outer One''s realm for whatever purpose, and only I can stop him. After all, nobody else could survive the other dimension. No, some people here could accompany me to this final confrontation.


    Asoko and the twins understand my glance and exchange a look with each other before walking over to me. Although they are smiling in self-confidence, I can tell that they''re nervous. I appreciate that they aren''t quipping about this to encourage themselves and take it in stoic silence.


    "Did you think I would let you get away with this?" Suddenly, Shelnir''s voice echoes through the core chamber. Everybody looks around in surprise, but I''m sure that she''s not really here. There is no doubt in my mind that she was consumed by the Outer One when Mataku gave us a glimpse of his realm. "I predicted that I would die here. And in my death, I shall take this universe with me."


    An alarm blares throughout the core chamber, and I exchange a look with Exla and Sintress. They stare back in shock, and I immediately understand that Shelnir must have activated something with her death. I knew that the Guide of Tomorrow was a sore loser, but to think she prepared to get back at us even from the grave.


    Our surroundings fold away like a moving kaleidoscope. The seemingly infinite chambers around the core disappear into the distance, leaving only the floor on which the shielding device for the rift stands. Considering Elaine is lying on the floor in a fetal position, I don''t think she''s the one manipulating it with her imagination. This must be a mechanical phenomenon that requires no mental input.


    "She''s deactivating the Imagination Engine!" Exla finally realizes the situation and exclaims. For a moment, I worry for all those who rely on it to exist but then remember that this machine is not what allows imagination to turn into reality. It''s a limiter that prevents the rules of reality from being overwritten irrevocably. Without it, a person on Earth could destroy the whole planet with an innocent thought.


    No, before that, the people of the Rhodos station would be affected. I think back to Nina and Shin and grimace at the thought that shortly after declaring that I would pay them back, their lives could be turned upside down by our actions.


    "How do we stop this?" I inquire of the Old Humans. Then I glance at Elaine, the person instrumental in harnessing the Outer One''s tear in space for the Imagination Engine. If there''s somebody who knows, it should be her. But she''s clearly not in a state to think about anything right now.


    "I''ll get on it." Senka walks over to the puddle of depression that Elaine turned into, but Kerry steps into her path.


    "What are you going to do?" They ask, a defiant expression in their eyes. Although they helped fight their mother even to the point of piercing through her body at a relativistic velocity, they don''t want to harm her now that she has lost her will to fight.


    "I''m only going to get the information we need from her mind and save this universe. That''s all." The doll girl says with a seemingly disinterested shrug. But I can tell that she''s being cynical. Wasting time on emotions when the stakes are this high shows that Kerry is still a child, but I can''t fault them for that.


    "It will be alright." But Senka receives help from an unexpected angle. Kamii calls out to the God of Comets while walking over. I heard from her that Senka used some weird technique to speak directly into her mind without drinking her blood. While I wouldn''t exactly care if she drank some from Elaine, doing it this way should appease Kerry.


    I watch in silence as the God of Comets reluctantly lets Senka pass. The doll girl kneels beside Elaine and grabs her face with both hands. The God of the Sun stares into emptiness, seemingly unaware of her surroundings. While it''s not on the level of having her mind broken from seeing a Crawling Chaos, she''s in a catatonic state after being shown the limits of her own existence.


    Darkness spreads from Senka''s pupils across her eyes, reaches her eyelids, and spills onto the surrounding skin, taking a vaguely butterfly-shaped pattern. Something deep inside me stirs as if recognizing her as kin, but I know that the doll girl isn''t a Crawling Chaos. Her existence is as unfathomable as I thought myself to be. But now that I know everything about myself, I can tell she''s something different altogether.


    It only takes her a few seconds before she lets go of Elaine''s face and stands up. Something tells me she has bad news for us, and when she turns to me, I know it for a fact.


    "Out with it." I demand in a level tone. The tesseract is still folding away into infinity, but I''m certain that it will end very soon and expose the tear in space to the cube-shaped middle section of the Rhodos station. Once that happens, there will be no stopping the effects of the Outer One''s dimension.


    "Well, it''s best everybody evacuates." Senka responds while looking across the faces of our comrades. I can tell from her gaze that she means everybody but those who will head to the other side. "And the colony part of the Rhodos station should detach and leave this place as quickly as possible."


    "Is it that bad?" Sintress asks in an anxious tone. She doesn''t understand her own technology, but she can tell that letting the Imagination Engine fall here spells disaster for reality itself.


    "No time to argue. Do it." The doll girl turns to Exla, the only other person here who knows how to operate Alverost''s inventions.


    "The exit is right over the edge of this platform." I point behind us where reality seems to have retreated into the far distance. My words seem to hold the most power among everybody here, so I just know that the cube moved to accommodate my statement. "Time to go."


    At its current speed, the tesseract will most likely fold itself into the planet-sized cube-shaped center section of the Rhodos station in a few hours at most. When it touches the walls, I assume that means the end of the Imagination Engine''s operational limits. Surely, the tear in reality will then expand with no way to stop it.


    "What about you?" Aurelia doesn''t move and asks with her eyes narrowed. Kamii and Hestia stand behind her, and Tokomaha watches us from a few steps away.


    "I''ll stop this at its origin." I point at the hole in space that defies perception hovering in the center of the platform. "Don''t worry. I''m not going alone."


    At those words, Asoko, Uten and Saten, Flann, and Mithra all line up beside me. Beyond this point, only these five will be able to fend for themselves; I won''t be able to guarantee anybody else''s survival even with my unfathomable powers.


    "Exla, I''m counting on you to get everybody out of here." I employ a severe tone, and the cloud girl salutes in silent resolve. But then I lighten up and break out into a self-confident smile directed at everybody. "I''ll be right back."


    With these words, I head for the hole in reality. But before I can take two steps, somebody grabs my wrist, and I turn to find Kamii holding me back with her new right hand. She looks at me with upturned eyes, silent reproach in her gaze. Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, Tahiri... everybody is the same.


    I can tell that they understand the situation. This is a battle they can''t help me in, and it frustrates them to no end. I appreciate their feelings, but I won''t let them come even if they insist on it.


    "You won''t let any of us come even if we insist. That''s what you must be thinking, right?" Tokomaha says with her arms crossed and her head tilted back. Her expression suggests she''s not angry; she will see me off with her blessing. In that regard, she''s unexpectedly mature.


    "But I will come anyway." Korenga declares, still in her Black God form. In her mind, killing Mataku is the only way she will ever reach redemption. I give her a sad smile, then raise a hand in her direction and undo her transformation with a single thought. She looks at her reverted white skin, then stares at me. "What did you do?"


    "It''s time to find peace, Korenga. I will finish it for you." I say with unwavering conviction. For a moment, the depowered Black God stares at me with her mouth hanging open. Various emotions flash over her face, going from confusion to anger before finally reaching resignation and sadness.


    I have no right to take her revenge from her, and I expected her to rebut me for it. But she seems to have understood my sincere wish for her to leave the violence behind and return to her gentle self from before Mataku ruined her life. When faced with my honest feelings, she can''t help but accept. And what''s done is done; even if she argued, I wouldn''t return her curse. Without it, she can no longer fight at the level required of her at this point.


    When my gaze moves onto Hestia, she quickly shakes her head and folds her wings behind her back. As I am now, I could return her wings to their pure white state before my corruption. But I''m not so insensitive to do that to her. She takes pride in being stained in my color, and it doesn''t cause her any problems, unlike Korenga''s curse.


    "You will return." That''s all Aurelia says to me, not a hint of doubt in her eyes. It''s more than an expression of trust. Her tone suggests that it''s an absolute order from the Golden Queen. It brings a smile to my lips.


    "Of course, my queen." I bow exaggeratedly, causing her to sniff in scorn. I can tell that she''s angry at herself for being so powerless, but she would never admit it openly. And she would certainly not accept if I told her to stay away because she could prove an impediment in our upcoming otherworldly battle.


    "There''s no question that you will come out victorious as you always have." Tahiri is obviously suppressing a similar feeling inside her when she declares with an unquestioning gaze. Her rainbow-colored irises reveal that she felt quite powerless in the mind-boggling battle earlier. She has yet to fully overcome the shock from nearly dying to the Collective in her depowered mode, but I can tell that this won''t keep her down for long.


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    "As I always will." I nod at her, eliciting a chuckle that blows away all her anxieties. Seeing me like this fills her with confidence.


    "The longer you drag this out, the more death flags you''re raising, Makoto." Senka interjects before I can address Rolan and his party next. I narrow my eyes at her choice of words but then grin with unwavering self-confidence.


    "Bring it. I will cut them all down." Balling my fist, I assert to nobody in particular. Out of everybody here, only Senka and Exla understand what we''re talking about, but their expressions show that they believe in whatever it is I''m declaring. "But yes, we don''t know how much time we have left, so we better get going."


    "Chloe..." Rolan calls out to me but can''t bring himself to continue speaking.


    "You did well and fulfilled your part splendidly. You are forgiven." I turn to him with a slightly annoyed look and announce, causing him to blink in surprise. Resolving this issue now certainly seems like a huge death flag, but I don''t care. Senka''s furrowed brow shows that she felt that as much as I did. "Now go."


    Finally, everybody starts to move. Everybody except for my beloved girls. Kamii is still holding onto my wrist with her shaky grip, silent but persistent. It feels like a great parting, but I haven''t given her any last words.


    "Wait for me. I will be back very soon." I caress the little dark elf''s cheek with my free hand. Then I gently place a hand on hers, and she understands that it''s time to let go.


    "Death flags." She points at my face, causing me to blink in surprise. Senka or Exla must have taught her the meaning of that word at some point. Then, a wry smile breaks out on Kamii''s face, and she looks into my eyes with her amethyst galaxies. "Promise to come back, Mahkotoh."


    "Who do you think I am?" Crossing my arms, I give her my most confident grin yet. "I''ll come back with some souvenirs from the other side."


    Finally, I step away and turn to the hole in reality in front of which my kin are waiting. Asoko''s expression shows that she would have wanted to have such a heart-to-heart with the girls she left behind on Earth before embarking on this endeavor. But since she''s a little more simple-minded, I can tell that she gets over it quickly when she sees my expression.


    Uten and Saten innocently follow me wherever I go, even if it''s into the literal belly of the beast. I have no doubts that they will be able to hold their own in the realm of the Outer One, though. They possess a childlike imagination that my more jaded older self has lost in some parts.


    Flann is expressionless as always, but I can tell that she''s anxious. This is what her father worked toward; what she was created for. The future beyond this point is uncertain. I will make sure to give her a normal life once this is over.


    And Mithra''s bandaged face doesn''t give away his thoughts. It''s the moment of truth for him: He manipulated the universe toward this point. If we succeed, he will be free from the Outer One. It''s hard for me to tell whether or not that''s a good thing, but as long as he doesn''t turn on me afterward, everything should be alright.


    Without looking back, I lead the way into the tear in space.


    Unlike when Mataku transported us to the other side through the Imagination Engine, the actual transition is far more violent and mind-bending. Although I''ve seen various depictions of wormholes in fiction, the real deal is quite different.


    The core chamber floor and the people watching our departure distort, and our surroundings turn inside out. Light itself bends around, warping our perspectives of ourselves. I have a feeling I see my entire body spread out on a two-dimensional plane before me. But that''s soon replaced by tugging on my physical form.


    It''s worse than my first teleportation in this world. Back then, I lacked control, so when my body was getting pulled apart from all sides, I had no means of fighting it. Or that''s what I thought all this time. But even with my freely fluctuating density and toughness, the sensation remains the same.


    At one point, it begins to feel like the universe is turning me inside out as well, and I glimpse a new truth to the Outer One''s realm. Every last particle of my being is shaking, moving about against my will as if taken hold of by a different consciousness. Perhaps that''s actually the case.


    Finally, we reach our destination: Empty space with the vastness of the universe as a backdrop. Asoko and the twins appear to have had the same experience as I did, taking deep breaths of the vacuum to calm their minds. Flann and Mithra seem wholly unperturbed, but that may just be how they tick.


    My Chaos senses appear to have shut down in this realm. All I can see through them is the same as with my naked eyes. But then I realize that all the lights in this universe are alive. This is the Outer One, an infinitely vast living being encompassing this entire dimension.


    "Where is Mataku?" I turn to the father and daughter pair of gatekeepers. As if the person in question heard me, space a short distance away from us warps.


    "I have been waiting for you." The suit-wearing Primordial Terror forms from the stars themselves as if they were closer than the perspective lets on. "It has been a while, sister."


    I narrow my eyes, slightly confused by his wording. But then I realize that time must flow differently here, if at all. It could have been seconds or centuries since he left us in the core chamber. His choice must be the longer one then.


    "What have you been doing here all this time? Look at the stars until you became a part of them?" I quip while glancing around. Even if this is a realm of raw possibilities, he certainly doesn''t seem to have created anything to make this place livable.


    "It would appear that Mithra has told you nothing of my plan." Mataku gestures at the court magician and shrugs. Then he raises his palms in a pose signaling his grandeur. "I have taken over father."


    I blink my eyes, unable to grasp what he just said. But then, the universe begins to move, swirling around us in a dizzying display of cosmic power. Although reference points in open space are few and far between, I can tell that it''s not us moving, unlike what Elaine did in the core chamber.


    "You came in time before I lost interest in your mortal dimension." The Primordial Terror remarks with a sardonic grin. He still looks like the old Mataku, but his atmosphere has changed. I''m starting to believe that he has somehow assimilated the Outer One and gained his powers. "Now I remember what I wanted to do."


    With these words, the universe stops, and we float above the Earth. This is still the other side, but I can instinctively tell that this is also the real Earth. From our vantage point, I can see the land on which Tokomaha stood to push back the Moon when it fell. The continent itself has cracked, and entire mountain ranges have been flattened in the wake of her divine deed.


    "How should I eat it?" Mataku wonders as if talking about a snack. He extends a hand toward Earth and grasps at it, and I flinch in shock. But I''m baffled to see that the entire planet suddenly rests in his palm like an apple. "Just biting into it would feel... unceremonial. After all, it was my home for most of my life. Even if my memory will fade in the eternities to come, it deserves more right now."


    I can only stare at the ease at which Mataku considers things on a cosmic scale. Compared to how he casually holds the Earth now, Tokomaha''s desperate struggle seems laughable. So this is the true power of the Outer One.


    "This isn''t real, sister." Asoko suddenly says while the Primordial Terror produces a spoon from his sleeve. It causes him to look up from his would-be meal for a moment before peering down again and finding that the Earth has disappeared from his grasp. Instead, it is now floating between my other half''s palms. "Anything is possible in here, but if that were the case, the Outer One would have already consumed our universe the moment the tear in space was opened."


    For a moment, I want to commend Asoko for bringing this detail to my attention. Flann told me that her father is called a gatekeeper because he allows the Outer One to send through fragments to consume the worlds on the other side. If Mataku indeed became the Outer One, he can''t pass through the tear in space anymore. But before I can comment on it, Mithra chimes in.


    "Everything in this realm is real. If the Outer One had a consciousness to do so, he would have entered the mortal dimension you came from." The gatekeeper explains in an emotionless tone.


    "Only a consciousness gives meaning to possibility. Without it, all the Outer One could do was languish in infinite potential." Flann adds to her father''s explanation.


    "That''s the gist of it." Mataku reaches out toward Asoko and takes the Earth from her even though they''re at least ten meters apart. But I understand that in this space, logic has no meaning. "Once I have disposed of you, my mind will fade into infinity eventually. Until then, I will enjoy these powers to their fullest."


    "What do you mean?" I ask quickly to stop Mataku from sinking his spoon into the planet in his grasp.


    "All I wanted was my freedom. I fought to avoid being reabsorbed into our parent''s womb." The Primordial Terror says while swinging his spoon like a conductor''s baton. It almost sounds like he''s reciting a pre-recorded statement rather than speaking naturally. "And I won. But the cost was that I would become our parent either way. Soon, I will stop dreaming. My will shall cease. Eternity is existence without living."


    One part of me wants to say that it''s good riddance if Mataku stops having his own will. After all, he''s the type to kill and destroy out of fun, and with the powers of the Outer One, he could do so at a dimensional scale. But something tells me he would take down a universe or two before then if he decided he didn''t want to fade into oblivion unremembered.


    "Why do you think you have to honor your home by eating it?" I extend a hand toward Mataku and take the spoon out of his hand before he can sink it into the Earth''s crust. I employed the same trickery of perspective that both he and Asoko used earlier as if it were the most natural thing for me to do.


    "That way, it will become a part of me for eternity." The Primordial Terror responds and produces another spoon from within the space between his fingers. If I were in his position, I would have been annoyed by the constant interruptions, but somebody who has infinity to look forward to appears to have the patience to match.


    "I would rather it remains where it is. Go exist in eternity on your own." I take the Earth out of his hand and send it on its way around the Sun before putting myself between them and his vision. With a thought from me, it disappears from this dimension and returns where it belongs. "As long as I live, you will keep your hands off my world."


    "You are right." Mataku responds with a sigh, and I narrow my eyes. I can''t see him agreeing so easily, but perhaps becoming the Outer One has changed his perspective on things. Then he continues. "I will have to eat you first then, sister."


    "Bring it on." Asoko pumps her fist with a grin and readies herself for battle.


    "You will not harm our mother." Uten and Saten declare in unison and glare at the Primordial Terror.


    "There will be no harm done. All of you will merely return to being part of us." With these words, Mataku melts into the universe behind him as if it were the surface of a pool. Then, the entire field of stars begins to move, just like the Outer One did earlier when called to consume Shelnir''s soul. "Struggle beautifully, my kin, for this is the final chapter of all our lives."


    "Not if I have something to say about it." I grumble and extend my consciousness outward. In this infinite space within Mataku, I can tell that not only the galaxies before us are moving, but the entire universe is coming together to swallow us. "Stay together, everyone."


    "I''m not sure where to start." Asoko looks around, commenting on the futility of fighting an entire dimension with the six of us.


    "I shall make sure that the border between you and the Outer One remains stable. But that is all I can do." As if having read Asoko''s thoughts, Mithra declares in an emotionless tone belying the severity of the situation. A moment later, he vanishes in a vortex, and I furrow my brow. Did he want to do that, or was he erased by Mataku? Then his voice echoes in my head, and judging by the reactions of Asoko and the twins, in theirs as well. "Fight to your heart''s content."


    I will have to trust that he''s speaking the truth. That means he has alleviated my biggest fear of getting absorbed in an instant by this infinite being that Mataku has become. Now, we only need to find a way to actually fight him.


    "What about you, Flann?" I turn to my half-sister, who seems like an observer right now. Even her father is doing something to reach his final goal of being freed from the Outer One''s influence, so I expect her to lend us a hand.


    "I will fight with you, sister." Flann looks at me and nods, a rare display of genuine emotions on her face. She''s filled with determination to end this fate her father has given her. Only after we put an end to this can she begin to live.


    "Can you do what your father is doing right now, too?" Looking into Flann''s green eyes, I inquire of her in all seriousness. She merely nods in response, showing no hint of doubts in her own abilities. That''s all I need to know, and I turn to the others. "Asoko, Uten, Saten. It''s time."

 Chapter 167 - Infinity and Finality

    "Time to do that, huh?" Asoko nods in approval with her arms crossed.


    "I see you know what I''m thinking." I grin in satisfaction.


    "Who do you think I am?" My other half grins in return and asks in a rhetorical tone.


    "What is it?" Uten and Saten don''t understand our conversation and glance at us in turn. They''re not on the same wavelength as Asoko and I, owing to their different personalities from my original one.


    "You know what it is." But I cross my arms to match Asoko''s stance as we look at Uten and Saten. They stare at us for a moment, blinking their eyes in lack of comprehension. Then they look at each other, and it begins to dawn on them. Their faces light up in excited smiles.


    "Let''s do it!" I declare in a booming voice.


    "Do what?" Senka asks in my mind in a doubtful tone, and I blink in surprise. Suppressing the urge to ask how she''s talking to me here in another dimension, I gather my thoughts and maintain the tension of the moment.


    "You know what." I reply in my mind and extend my limbs. First, Uten and Saten wordlessly latch onto my right and left arm each. Then, Asoko comes from behind and grabs my waist.


    For a moment, there''s only silence as we float in space in all of our ridiculous glory. Then, I hear Senka sigh in my mind and nearly burst out laughing. We''re here, far beyond the edge of reality, facing a being that could be considered a true god. I''m sure even Mataku is watching with a figurative eyebrow raised.


    Suddenly, Flann disappears in a vortex like her father did moments earlier. Then, I feel the life energy and emotions of my split half and my two children. We never did it before, but we all somehow understand what to do.


    Uten and Saten wrap around my arms and lose their shapes while Asoko covers my legs in the same way. Our minds meld together, and we let go of the borders of our existences. But I sense Flann''s presence in our midst to catch us so that the individuals named Asoko, Uten, and Saten don''t disappear into my larger consciousness. We become one in body and mind, but we all exist together simultaneously. When a Crawling Chaos is involved, it doesn''t have to make sense; when multiple are involved, they break through sense.


    The feelings of my lost parts reconnecting with my soul give me a sense of completeness, even though I know it''s only temporary. I never knew that I had been missing something since that day they split off from me. But now that we are whole again, we can tell that this is what we should have been all along.


    "Combine!" We declare in a booming voice, echoing through this vast space of infinite potential and the dead end of the cosmic consciousness that inhabits it. Our fused body shifts and grows, taking in the surrounding universe as matter for ourselves. We turn into an amalgamation of all our individual appearances, clad in a veil of galactic matter.


    "What are you doing?!" Mataku''s voice, serene and superior until now, sounds surprised, even panicked. "How can you so easily take a part of me?"


    We wouldn''t be able to explain it, but we just feel like we could do anything now. But there''s a hint of a foreign will within this space that is neither Mataku nor us. It connects us to the Primordial Terror, much like how Flann holds us together while keeping us separate.


    "Mithra!" In a roar of anger, Mataku exposes the one responsible to the mind-bending space that is the Outer One''s realm. A part of the universe backdrop shatters, and the gatekeeper in his dark blue robes appears from within as if thrown out of a window. His bandages have disappeared, revealing his true appearance for the first time. He''s a living field of stars, like a cutout from space itself.


    "I have leveled the playing field as best as I could. The rest is up to you." Mithra''s voice shows true emotions for the first time. It sounds as if he''s...


    Before I can finish the thought, the gatekeeper''s body dissipates and becomes one with Mataku''s realm. His robes float in place, the only evidence remaining that shows he existed at all. We can feel that he is well and truly gone without a trace, his sense of self melding back into the Outer One he was created from so long ago.


    "I expected his betrayal, but not in this form." Mataku''s voice sounds composed once more as the universe continues to come down on us from all sides. "To think he would give up his life for you, sister."


    We don''t respond and take in the feelings of Flann, whose emotions flow into us. Our very souls have been fused, even if she''s the one actively keeping our senses of self intact. But in doing so, we can sense her thoughts as keenly as if they were our own.


    Mithra gave up his life for nobody else but his daughter. We don''t know if it was part of his plan or a desperate last-ditch effort when he saw that Mataku had assimilated the Outer One. But the truth remains that he made this conscious decision at the very end. We have to honor his final wish.


    "But it is useless." The Primordial Terror''s declaration pulls us back to the situation at hand. We don''t know if he said anything else before then, but he continues in a self-confident and level tone. "You are merely a fraction of me. And when we both possess a consciousness, the one with more mass wins."


    "You will not swallow us." We speak with our voices combined and extend our arms. Mass doesn''t matter in this realm when we have every possibility at our fingertips. It comes down to who has the stronger will now, and we believe that we win over Mataku. "We will drag you down to our level."


    The universe around us bounces back, and we sense the Primordial Terror''s confusion. Although we can''t see him, we can tell that anger wells up within him when he realizes what we have done. The surface of our celestial body is covered in black armor that shines like metal.


    "You would bring that curse into this realm?!" Mataku bellows in rage, and two vast spirals appear in the celestial tapestry that look like eyes filled with wrath.


    "We consider it a blessing!" With our arms crossed, we declare in a defiant tone. This causes the Primordial Terror''s anger to well over, and he gathers many stars into balls of superhot cosmic matter with a thought. These spheres, each larger than the entire Solar System, come down on us from all around.


    In space, without any points of reference, size doesn''t matter. Nobody could tell how large we have become after Mithra gave us a fraction of the Outer One''s mass. Thus, we gather the balls of star matter with a wave of our hands and crush them between our palms.


    But Mataku isn''t done. He gathers entire galaxies into their central supermassive black holes and arranges them around us like a shooting array. Their mass is brought over the brink, and they contract and spill their contents over the event horizon, turning into jets of mass and energy coming straight at us.


    Still, Korenga''s invulnerable skin deflects these attacks rivaling the energy used in the genesis of entire galaxies. Mataku made a mistake in creating the Black God; it came back to bite him in the ass in the most important moment of his life. I''m quite glad for it, though, since this could be considered Korenga''s revenge.


    "That is impossible! In here, I am absolute!" He''s increasingly losing his cool. Even though we can tell that he''s still confident in his victory, the cracks are beginning to show.


    "We break through the impossible! We don''t care about your absolute!" With these words, we pull back an arm and throw a punch between Mataku''s two spiral galaxy eyes. Even though it shouldn''t be physically possible due to our distance and size difference, it connects with space itself. The dimensional fa?ade cracks, and we shatter Mataku''s mask to reveal the truth beneath the Outer One''s universe-like appearance. It''s a vast being made of countless tentacles that hold together the borders of this entire dimension.


    "How dare-" He begins, but we grab his tentacles and pull him out of the void into this space. Even though he should by all accounts be invincible within his own dimension, we somehow manage to move his infinite real body with our finite mass.


    As we thought, the power of will rather than physical properties matter more in a battle between cosmic beings. But with the five of us combined into one body and soul, there is no will more powerful than ours in this dimension right now.


    A club-like arm the size of the Local Group knocks into us and sends us tumbling through space, and our grip on Mataku slips. We notice that Korenga''s armor has cracked from the impact. To think that a physical attack with the Outer One''s own mass is more powerful than multiple supermassive black holes exploding simultaneously. Truly, cosmic horrors operate apart from common sense.


    Mataku seems to recognize that he can damage us with his tentacles without suffering the backlash from the Black God''s curse. Several dozen massive flails emerge from the hole in the celestial tapestry and swing away at us.


    We face the onslaught with our fists, blocking and striking at the incoming bludgeoning attacks in retaliation. Pieces of our armor break off, and our fists crack, but rather than being pushed back, we advance on Mataku''s real body peeking in through the crack in the fa?ade we opened.


    Suddenly, one of the Primordial Terror''s tentacles is scattered by the impact from our right fist. It causes him to shy back in surprise, upon which he discovers that our right arm has turned into Kamii''s crab pincer. We exchanged many strikes already, each on the level of galaxy-ending proportions. The combo counter has reached a level beyond what his otherworldly body can withstand.


    "Child''s play!" He dismisses Kamii''s curse while gathering all his exposed tentacles into a battering ram the size of our whole body. If he wants to measure raw power, we will take him up on it.


    We throw a punch with the cursed arm and meet the battering ram directly. The crab pincer crushes through in an impact of the eons, and the shockwave rips through his entire visible part and shatters it into pieces. They are quickly sucked into the hole in space where they came from and reabsorbed into Mataku''s mass.


    "Fight and die with the vestiges of humanity you have left!" We declare in a thunderous voice that shakes the very corners of this dimension. "A god stands no chance against us!"


    "So be it!" Mataku responds, and the universe around us crumbles, starting from the hole we punched into it. From within emerges his full size, gathering into a humanoid shape to rival our own. Glaring us down is a monstrous Crawling Chaos mixed with fleeting traits of a human. Patches of human skin cover parts of his arms and legs, and he has several pairs of eyes misplaced on his face.


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    It''s as if Mataku has already mostly forgotten the form he took while on Earth. He has lost touch with imagination and is beginning to act on the instincts of a Crawling Chaos. Meanwhile, we are in the form closest to what Chaos used to look like. We remain human despite our overwhelming existence under which a civilization like that of Earth would barely register as a speck of dust on our skin.


    After all, we have a world to protect, promises to keep, and we each have people waiting for our return. We aren''t like Mataku, who had no connections to Earth and merely wanted to see its destruction as a pastime. It''s the reason why his consciousness was fading into the Outer One. He''s an empty being, the only thing left on his mind existence itself until even that disappears into the monotony of infinity.


    "What now, sister? Will we fruitlessly punch each other for all eternity?" The Primordial Terror''s face splits into two grins, revealing the abyss of reality in his mouths. "You should know that physical attacks against our kind are useless. Moreso now that we have reached infinity."


    "Eternity. Infinity. Those things don''t matter to us." We crack our knuckles before pointing at Mataku in a challenging gesture. "We have somewhere to be after this, so let''s make this quick."


    Those outside the rift in space have escaped from the tesseract and reached the elevator to the transportation circle. Rolan looks back in worry as the platform descends, seeing the violent storm induced by the gateway to another world whipping through the space still folding away into the distance.


    "Be safe, Chloe." He mutters to himself as his view is blocked by the elevator shaft. Although it shouldn''t be his place to fear for her life since he couldn''t even fathom how powerful she has become, he can''t help but worry for her. He knows that the false gods and Mataku had their hands in intertwining their two fates. If not for their interference, he and his party would have never met the princess of the Dominion.


    In fact, if not for their meeting, the Old Humans would have never turned him into the chosen hero. It''s that thought that causes him such grief to let her fight alone now, at the end of everything. But he also understands that his existence is insignificant before the true gods that Chloe and Mataku have turned into. All he can do now is pray for her to return.


    Everybody else appears to think the same. He finds solace in the fact that even the Golden Queen and the God of Storms understood that they would have merely held Chloe back if they had gone with her. But at the same time, he doesn''t have the mental fortitude to be confident about her return like they are.


    "This is where I''ll leave you." Senka suddenly says when they reach the bottom of the elevator shaft and step off the platform. Before anybody can argue with her, she quickly explains. "I''m staying here to repair the tesseract and undo Shelnir''s actions."


    For a moment, there''s only silence. Nobody knows how to respond to the doll girl, especially given the unpredictable nature of the tear in space. But Senka herself breaks the silence.


    "Come on, it''s like you''re thinking I''m going to die while holding the door shut for you to escape." She tilts her head and remarks with a sarcastic grin. It causes Exla to flinch, which the doll girl takes note of with grim satisfaction. She then continues with a shrug. "That''s not gonna happen; I''m already dead."


    "You will return, right?" Kamii asks in a surprisingly unsure tone, ignoring Senka''s quip about her undead status.


    "I''m not a hopeless optimist like Makoto, so I won''t promise anything." The doll girl shrugs once again. Then she grows serious. "There''s no time left. Get going already. Leave this to me."


    With these words, and before anybody can protest, Senka activates the elevator to go back up. They watch her until she disappears from view, then exchange anxious looks with each other before silently running down the hallway toward the transportation circle.


    Senka can feel Makoto and Asoko''s presence within the tesseract even though they should be in a different dimension. She can see through their eyes and witness their actions as if they were playing out right before her eyes. In fact, her connection with Makoto is so strong and stable that she can even sense her emotions.


    "Heh." The doll girl can''t help but chuckle when she feels no fear in her mind. Makoto is filled with such infectious determination that Senka wonders if her still heart could start beating again from basking in it. "Maybe I was hasty in calling you a hopeless optimist."


    Even though their opponent is a cosmic horror with the power of a universal god, Makoto and her kin face him down with unwavering conviction in their own victory. If that doesn''t inspire greatness, nothing would. Senka will have to fulfill her part and keep this dimension safe by stopping the collapse of the Imagination Engine.


    The elevator reaches the vast open space housing the tesseract once more. The platform with the tear in space is nowhere to be seen, and neither are the walls folding into the distance. But Senka doesn''t stop to take in the atmosphere and steps away from the elevator before turning around.


    Before her is the wall of the cube-shaped central section of the Rhodos station. Putting a hand on the relief of controlled chaos on its surface, the doll girl turns back to peer into the distant darkness. The expanding core is still nowhere to be seen, but she can''t tell how long she has from that alone.


    When Senka looks at the wall again, a door is right before her. She places her palm on the console next to it and uses her strange ability to open any lock regardless of how sophisticated or otherworldly it is. Beyond is a small room with a simple elevator platform and a stairwell.


    Thinking for a moment, she decides to take the stairs rather than wait for the elevator. Something tells her that it''s faster as long as she goes about it the right way. And as she expected, when she rounds the corner to the first floor, she''s already at the exit. Time and space have no meaning here, and it didn''t take Senka long to grasp how to utilize it.


    She soon finds her way into a large room that looks like a command center on a ship. There''s no hint of life in here, showing that everything about the Imagination Engine must have been automated a long time ago. The doll girl quickly seeks out the most important-looking console and gets to work. When the screen flickers to life, so do all the others in the entire room.


    "That won''t work. The Imagination Engine isn''t something you lesser creature could hope to comprehend." Shelnir suddenly appears in the air before Senka and declares in a haughty tone. But the latter doesn''t even look up from the screen and continues to tap away on the surprisingly analog keyboard. She has no time to waste paying attention to a holographic recording or memory imprint of the Guide of Tomorrow. But Shelnir doesn''t seem to mind, quite unlike how her living counterpart would have reacted, and looks at the big screen showing many warnings with grim satisfaction. "Soon, the first cracks in reality will show."


    Exla leads the others out of the teleportation chamber close to the command center of the Rhodos station. Chaos said that she cleared it out earlier to stop them from attacking the Queen Pelomyx on her approach, so she hopes that they haven''t returned yet. It would complicate matters.


    As they leave the hidden passageway and enter the military complex, they encounter workers and soldiers running through the corridors in a hurry. There is no audible alarm, but it would seem that they have been alerted to something occurring within the Imagination Engine.


    "Let''s hope they are already preparing to detach the colony section." Exla remarks with a wry smile, knowing that it would be too good to be true.


    As they step out into the open and head for the command center on the fastest path, the humans stop and stare at them. Although these members of new humanity have been sheltered from Earth for many generations on this space station, they know about the demi-humans that inhabit the planet they originate from.


    Before they can react, Rolan knocks them out with his blinding speed and clears the way for the others to follow. With Exla pointing them in the right direction, they quickly make their way for the command center while leaving behind countless unconscious new humans. An audible alarm sounds now, and opposition grows quickly.


    "It will be increasingly difficult not to kill somebody accidentally." Aurelia comments while her golden weapons fly about her as if they had a mind of their own. She has turned the blades into bludgeoning tools instead, using them to knock the humans out rather than slash them into pieces. Chaos didn''t want to kill a single new human, and she will honor it until the end.


    Rolan rounds the corner to the corridor leading to the command center and finds it barricaded with several gun emplacements. A storm of plasma bullets comes his way, but Sintress raises a Perfect Sanctuary in time to shield him.


    "We don''t have time for this." Exla mutters and performs a pushing gesture into the corridor. An invisible force blasts apart the metal barricades and slams the soldiers into the walls. The others use the opening to overwhelm the rattled new humans and take away their weapons before shackling them.


    The door to the command center appears to have been cut open with plasma cutters. Chaos did say that she sealed the doors from the inside after she scared everybody out of the room, but it would seem they were able to enter after all. Kamii peeks inside, only to be greeted with a barrage of shots which she quickly avoids by pulling her head back.


    "They are converging on us." Sigurd comments, his hearing allowing him to pick up the footsteps of many soldiers heading their way from both sides of the corridor. He isn''t too worried considering their lineup, but all of this delays what they came here to do.


    "I will clear out the room." Aurelia steps forward with the countless golden weapons swirling about her as if mirroring her impatience.


    "There is no need for that." Gram argues while taking the massive shield from his back. Its force field has already proven powerful enough to block even an Oinos clone''s attack, so it will work against anything the new humanity can throw at them.


    The Golden Queen narrows her eyes but nods in agreement. She would tarnish her name if she insisted on wanting to let loose against powerless humans merely to fend off her frustration at being unable to help Chaos in her final battle.


    The big man deploys the energy shield and steps into the doorway, closely followed by Exla and the others. As they pour into the command center, Sintress erects the Perfect Sanctuary behind them and covers the door right in time to block a flash grenade exploding in the corridor outside.


    "Who''s in charge here?!" The cloud girl demands to know in a booming voice that causes the new humans to hold their ears. It wasn''t exactly meant to elicit an answer but to gain everybody''s attention. And it worked, as the soldiers stop shooting while staying ducked behind their cover. "I am Exla, the Guardian of the Soil. I need to speak to your commander."


    She isn''t too keen on using her title as a false god to get ahead among the new humanity, but now is not the time to choose her methods. They need to start the detachment procedure as quickly as possible before the influence from the other side spreads to Rhodos city.


    "I am General Willis, commander of the Rhodos station garrison. You are the intruders who caused a mess in hangar seventy-three and crashed a city-ship into the outer shield. Why should I believe anything you say?" A middle-aged woman stands up from behind cover, holding her chest out in unwavering steadfastness. The soldiers surrounding her keep their weapons trained on Exla and the others to lay down suppressive fire when needed.


    "Because if you don''t, there won''t be a Rhodos station soon." Exla steps forward, and Sintress lowers the Perfect Sanctuary to make way. The Guardian of the Soil has been walking on her own two feet for a while now, but she begins to hover and creates a cloud under herself that she sits down on. It''s solely to show off her divinity before the skeptics, even if many may think it nothing more than a trick.


    "This is a waste of time. Onee-sama and Senka are fighting for all of us right now." Hestia walks through Gram''s energy shield and spreads her metal-covered wings. Her appearance mesmerizes the new humans in the command center, but General Willis only narrows her eyes. "Hear me, humans. I am a Fata, messenger of the gods."


    Unlike the cloud girl''s roar earlier, which was a purely physical noise, Hestia''s voice echoes into the listeners'' very minds. She doesn''t need to raise her volume to reach even the last corner of the large room. Even if the general isn''t quick to believe her, some of the soldiers show signs of hesitation. It would seem they were indoctrinated to recognize Fatas since the new humans here could potentially be told to work with them when on Earth.


    "The Primordial Terror has killed Lady Shelnir and damaged the Rhodos station''s center section. Lady Areteniha demands that you initiate the procedure for detaching the colony section right away as she fights the monster from the stars!" Hestia lies with absolute conviction. It''s a calculated gamble considering Korenga is carrying the listless Elaine wrapped in a sheet of cloth under her arm only a few steps behind her. But not one new human would think that she''s the God of the Sun, if they even know her real appearance, that is.


    For a moment, there''s only silence in the command center. But be it due to Hestia''s voice being so convincing or the new humanity''s indoctrination to listen to Fatas, General Willis falters. She orders her soldiers to stand down before stepping forth from the rows of consoles.


    "Then you are the real Lady Exla?" The general asks cautiously while looking at the girl in question floating on her cloud. It''s understandable that the new humans would be skeptical about a child like her being one of their gods.


    "We have no time for introductions." Aurelia demands in a cold tone that leaves no room for argument. With the many golden weapons still floating around her, she has as much of a divine presence as Exla does, if not more. "The fate of existence itself is on the line."

 Chapter 168 - The Universe Between

    A warning sign pops up on Senka''s screen, showing that detachment procedures for the colony section have been initiated. She takes note of it and removes the message within a split second to continue her work. Right now, she''s using her Limit Break to work as fast as if she were directly plugged into the computers. She''s thankful that the input delay is so negligible with this advanced technology that she can do this.


    The tesseract''s unfolding is documented to her in real-time, although none of the cameras inside the cubic space can capture it. It has already progressed more than halfway to the walls, but the effect of the other side has moved far beyond it. Even here, in this empty command center with no minds to manipulate reality, she can tell that something is changing.


    "What are you?" The holographic Shelnir wonders when she watches the doll girl''s hands moving at speeds comparable to Rolan''s when he uses Roshanee.


    Ironically, her Limit Break has a limit. It comes from the spiritual energy she has saved up over time after consuming the life energy from her victims. Once it runs out, she won''t be able to so much as move a finger. It''s how she ended up in that strange magic store where Chaos ultimately found her. If that happened before she completed her work, it would all be for naught.


    "A deus ex machina." Senka takes the time to respond, lining up the sounds of her voice in a meaningful way for those not experiencing the slowed-down world that she sees. She shouldn''t have any leeway for conversation, much less with a mental imprint of somebody who is already dead. But watching Chaos and the others'' fight against Mataku makes her want to show off.


    She has reactivated the force field to contain the tear in space, but it won''t hold if there is no physical tesseract left. She is now manually moving and arranging the cube''s modular wall sections to create a new core for the Imagination Engine. It''s not something a single mind should be able to accomplish on the fly, considering it took a team of many dozens of experts many years to construct it in the first place.


    "This can''t be happening!" Shelnir complains when she sees a real-time graphic of the cube''s walls shifting and floating around on the big screen in the command room. They''re already forming into larger structures and taking on a vaguely cuboid shape.


    If Senka makes a single mistake in her calculations and the fitting of the pieces, there will be an opening. The unfolding tesseract will crash through that weakness, and all of her work will have been for naught. And at that time, she won''t be able to stop it anymore. Even if space and time don''t hold much meaning on the other side of the rift, their effects are still very real here.


    "You will not end my final revenge!" The Guide of Tomorrow moves through the room toward Senka with her arms outstretched as if trying to choke her. The latter doesn''t have the leeway to react to a hologram, especially since her spiritual energy is running dry quicker than she would like.


    But to the doll girl''s surprise, she senses something brushing against her. And it would seem that Shelnir has noticed as well, as she looks down at her hands. It would seem that her soul, which the Outer One consumed before, has found its way back to this side now that the boundaries of reality have become muddled.


    "I''m back?" She seems to realize the truth as her soul overlaps with her mental imprint on the computer. All she needs now is to create a physical body for herself, and she can come back to life.


    Before she can even begin to imagine creating a new body, something tucks on her very being. It''s not quite like what she experienced when the Outer One sucked her in, but she''s terrified at the prospect of being pulled away from this world once more.


    "How thoughtful of you." Senka suddenly says in a sinister tone, and Shelnir looks down at the doll girl in shock. A butterfly-shaped pattern of darkness has spread over her eyes and their surroundings like a mask. Her completely black irises seem to suck in the ambient light from the computer screens. "Now, I won''t have to worry about running out of energy."


    With these words, Senka opens her mouth so wide that the seams holding her cheeks together snap. The inside of her mouth is an abyss that seems to grow before Shelnir''s eyes. She realizes too late that rather than the doll girl''s maw enlarging, she''s being shrunk.


    The Guide of Tomorrow''s soul is swallowed into Senka without so much as a whimper. The doll girl''s eyes return to normal, and she continues to type away on the console before her with newfound energy. Shelnir''s holographic version remains in place, glitched out from the computational error of having part of her ripped away in this space of infinite possibilities.


    "Thanks for the top-up." That is all Senka mutters as she returns to light-speed work on rebuilding the tesseract. To her, consuming Shelnir''s soul was akin to downing an energy drink. With the energy gained from the Old Human''s soul, she will be able to finish this long before running out.


    A continuous siren blares throughout the colony section. The civilians prepare for the detachment by finding shelter and safe places where they secure themselves to railings. Although the entire Rhodos station has triple-redundant life support systems, including the inertia dampeners and gravity generators, it''s always better to be safe than splattered against the walls.


    Surprisingly, the system for detaching the colony section is simpler than expected. It shows that Alexander or Elaine prepared for a situation where they had to jettison their new humanity followers. Luckily, it has a heat shield that will protect it from the proximity of the Sun, so at least it wasn''t created to erase them all in one go.


    As Exla fills General Willis in on the details of their confrontation with Mataku and the state of the Imagination Engine, the others head for the Queen Pelomyx ahead of her. The Maid Corps are still there, barricaded in to keep out the new humans trying to enter and apprehend the intruders. The general has already given the order to let them pass, so they can progress unhindered toward their destination.


    Kamii looks at her right arm as they ride an elevator that will take them close to where the Queen Pelomyx is embedded into the outer wall of the Rhodos station. She trusts that Kuroeh will return from this battle against Mataku and reunite with her. Her people are incredibly long-lived, so being separated for two summers as they had been was nothing special. But being given this normal arm shortly before separating feels like it carries some finality to it. As if this was a parting gift.


    She glances at Korenga, whose unchanged tattoo-covered pale skin and muscular frame belies the shift in her. Her eyes are no longer wells of blackness and show light and warmth for the first time since they met. Although she carries the powerless and unmoving Elaine under one arm and Kerry on her back, seemingly without feeling their weight, her gaze shows that she senses the gravity of the situation. Before, she would have been unfazed by anything, but there''s worry in her mind now.


    "She will return." Hestia puts a hand on Kamii''s shoulder and speaks in a reassuring tone. She may try to sound confident, but her hand is shaking slightly, showing that even her conviction isn''t unwavering. After all, their beloved left to fight a being so far removed from reality that they couldn''t even begin to imagine standing up to it.


    "She better return soon, or I will take over as the queen of the Dominion." Aurelia comments with a disdainful sniff. Coming from the Golden Queen, it doesn''t sound like a joke.


    "That would be acceptable." To everybody''s surprise, Rewera speaks up about Aurelia''s statement. She''s not one known to joke either, but they can tell that it must have been a quip. Somebody as loyal to Chaos as the maid leader wouldn''t dismiss her merely because she did not return in time.


    "I can wait." Tokomaha joins with a shrug. When she says it, they can believe her. Although the Old Humans, such as the Lady of Brilliance traveling with them right now, have been alive for over ten thousand years, they spent most of it in stasis. On the other hand, the little goddess lived for many millennia before Sintress and the others woke up from their slumber.


    Rolan keeps quiet and glances at Runa. As a half-elf, her lifespan is quite a bit longer than his, but she isn''t ageless like pure-blooded elves. Even without the Imagination Engine, Kamii will live for centuries and Hestia potentially for millennia. With it, they are as immortal as Aurelia, Tokomaha, and Tahiri.


    He saw that time and space held no meaning in the realm beyond this one. Who knows how long Chloe and her brethren might take to fight Mataku there? Will he live long enough to see her again? Will any of them?


    "I will not wait. If she takes too long, I will go and get her." Tahiri states in a playful tone and interrupts Rolan''s grim thoughts. Everybody knows that the other side of that tear in space is a hostile environment not made for mortals, so she''s clearly joking. But underneath her careless fa?ade, one can tell that she''s also anxious. Eons might pass in the blink of an eye for those on the other side. Chaos might return to find herself alone in this universe.


    The party sinks into silence after everybody has expressed their thoughts and wishes. All they can do now is escape the sphere of influence expanding from the damaged tesseract and wait for Chaos and Senka to fix it.


    They soon reach the breached area created by the Queen Pelomyx ramming into the Rhodos station''s outer shield. The Rhodos station''s coating of self-repair nanites has plugged the gaps created in the structure, so they have a breathable atmosphere all the way to one of the airlocks of the city-ship.


    The soldiers standing by with their breaching equipment silent see their approach and raise their weapons reflexively, but Sintress''s glowing halo informs them of their identity. Although the new humans are angry about the damage these invaders caused to their station, they follow General Willis''s orders and let them through unchallenged.


    "Welcome back!" As the party boards the ship, they are greeted by Kleihn''s voice. "Lady Exla has informed me of the situation, and I have prepared the Queen Pelomyx''s systems for departure."


    Sintress blinks her eyes in fascination, then glances at Sigurd without him noticing. She''s an Old Human, but she has no idea how to operate any of the technology that Alverost created after they awakened from stasis. In that regard, she truly admires the adaptability of the new humanity and demonkind. Although she may be immortal due to the Imagination Engine, her children are not. She believes that they each come to surpass her in one or more aspects during their short lives, showing that life truly only has meaning when there is an end to it.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Aurelia has noticed the Lady of Brilliance''s gaze but doesn''t speak up. She can roughly tell what Sintress is thinking but disagrees. Living forever carries with it a duty toward those who don''t. And she believes the Old Human has done her best to fulfill it. As they walk through the corridors of the city-ship, the Golden Queen considers what it is that she must do as the potential future queen of the Dominion.


    They split up at the elevators, with Korenga and Kerry bringing the listless Elaine to the infirmary. The others head for the command center, where they are greeted by Exla''s face on the giant main screen. All systems are blinking green, showing they''re ready to move despite a decided lack of crew.


    "The ship was built so that a single person can fly it. You can do it, Kleihn." The cloud girl encourages the gremlin maid sitting in the commander''s chair. The latter shows off her sharp teeth in a fearless grin and inputs something on the console before her. "The influence from beyond has reached the outskirts of the colony section. Get ready to depart on my signal."


    With these words, Exla''s face vanishes as she turns away. Everybody can hear her speak, but they can''t tell what she''s saying since she''s too far from the microphone. A moment later, she returns to look at the camera, an encouraging smile on her face.


    "Detachment procedures will take a little more time. Leave without me. I''ll catch up to you." She says, trying her best to sound reassuring.


    "What about the people of the Rhodos station?" Sintress argues, knowing that the remaining core section of the Queen Pelomyx couldn''t even hold a thousand people, let alone the millions living in Rhodos city.


    "We''ll do our best." Exla replies with a wry smile. There really is nothing else she could say. Evacuating the city onto the many ships of the Rhodos garrison forces would take far longer than the detachment procedures. And even if they had the time, there would still not be enough capacity for all of them.


    All they can hope is that Senka will succeed in rebuilding the tesseract and reinitializing the Imagination Engine before reality is overwritten by the thoughts of the people in the Rhodos station. Any single negative imagination could cause devastation, both physically and mentally.


    "You''re good to go." After a moment of somber silence, Exla finally gives the signal for their departure. The garrison soldiers waiting around the airlock to the Queen Pelomyx have evacuated to places that won''t be depressurized when the ship pulls out of the Rhodos station''s hull. "Don''t think about staying around in the vicinity and coming to our aid. Go back to Earth. I''ll return with Chaos and Senka."


    "I''ll hold you to that promise." Kamii points at the screen with her normal right hand and declares, eliciting a chuckle from the cloud girl. But she doesn''t reply and cuts off the connection as if saying it aloud would jinx them.


    Hestia clasps her hands in prayer. She doesn''t pray to any of the gods she was taught about or even one of the Old Humans. If there is somebody who can bring Chaos back, it''s Chaos herself. And she has more than proven that she is a goddess.


    Our fists clash. Since there is no atmosphere in space, there are no shockwaves. Instead, the sheer gravity between our masses as they smash together causes the surrounding stars to be pulled in toward our contact points. As our hands draw back, entire galaxies swarm around our forearms.


    This is still the Outer One''s realm even though Mataku has gathered all its mass into him. Reality has no meaning here, so the space can be filled with the universe of the Outer One''s unconscious dreams and the physical manifestation of Mataku''s will in the shape of a monstrous humanoid.


    Our battle has devolved into a slugfest seemingly devoid of any meaning. Physical attacks are useless against our kind, especially with the unfathomable mass we possess now. But our imagination is what limits Mataku to playing at our level. He can''t swallow us due to Korenga''s curse, and we can''t hurt him because he is a literal universe of matter and space. In other words, turning him physical allows us to fight him.


    At this point, he may possess a billion times more mass than we do, but the difference isn''t as overwhelming due to our collective imagination. Still, it is as if we were back in a human body, fighting a professional boxer twice our weight.


    But we make up our lack of strength with ingenuity. Kamii''s curse still works, and each strike scatters Mataku''s matter into the surrounding stars. But he collects himself quickly each time and follows up with newfound rage.


    Suddenly, he grows countless tentacle spikes from his forearm, aiming at all our vitals at once. Our left fist turns into a giant drill lance powered by jets of ignited celestial gas. It crushes through the array of spikes coming for us and pierces the Primordial Terror''s fist before shredding his forearm. It''s Svanhild, the Dragon Knight''s favored weapon.


    Mataku doesn''t let up and performs a kick toward our midsection. We grow a pair of cosmic wings and beat them to put distance between us before unleashing a barrage of stars from the tips of their feathers. It''s an application of Hestia''s wings with Kleihn''s mechanical wing covers and their inbuilt lasers.


    The Primordial Terror charges through the storm of beams that would annihilate galaxies and attempts to tackle us even though his damage isn''t fully repaired yet. But we can tell it''s not desperation or pain that drives him; he is merely enraged that we continue to exist in this realm when it should be fully under his control. And it''s true that, by all accounts, he shouldn''t need this much time to annihilate us.


    "What''s wrong? Where is your absolute power?" Asoko comes to the forefront and taunts Mataku as we dodge his lunge with a swift beat of our wings. We can tell that she''s using this attitude to hide her nervousness, but I let my confidence flow into her to calm her down.


    But her words already show their effect, as the Primordial Terror roars and spins around while turning his tentacle arms into several titanic blades to cut us apart. Uten and Saten counter it by splitting our arms into the same to meet them.


    As the cosmic edges collide, they generate sparks that each birth a new star. Such is the scale of our battle that all that came before seem insignificant.


    The first battle at the academy, the territorial dragon, the duel against Aurelia, the return to the academy, the first meeting with Zenlith, the many contests with Tahiri, the defense of Aoranam, confronting Rapania, the Black God''s rampage, teaming up against Roamukao, the siege of Kairaki, Mataku''s revelation, the battle for Arkaim, foiling Shelnir over Zohigal, the invasion''s climax at Erbilan, Zylos''s meltdown, Zenlith and Serent, Oinos in Kairaki, Alverost and his city-ship, Chaos-Juzual on the moon, the Venus Fleet, the wrath of the Sun, the Collective''s takeover, the Oinos clones, Elaine''s final evolution...


    All of those battles led us to this moment. Even if they were child''s play compared to what we face now, we will use everything we learned along the way.


    As the blades clash repeatedly, we grow a new pair of arms underneath them and gather the newly created stars into one galaxy-sized sphere of pure energy around our right fist. When Mataku notices it, it''s already too late, and we hit his chin with a spinning uppercut. The impact force shatters his head, causing his interior to bleed into the surroundings.


    We don''t let up and shoot his body with the wing lasers as we take our distance, then reverse thrust and slash into him with the bladed tentacles. Although there''s nothing to stand on in space, Mataku staggers as he quickly gathers back into a humanoid form.


    But before the deep gashes in his form close, we extend our tentacles inside them and unleash Tokomaha''s growth. Roots take hold inside his body and spread quickly. The Primordial Terror bursts open from within a moment later, and a cosmic tree grows to fill out this infinite space.


    Mataku wouldn''t let that stop him, though. He quickly pulls himself together and entangles the tree with his matter to consume it. We induce a spin into the many stars around us and transform the energy into an electric discharge that whips through the universe. It''s conducted by the tree and explodes into the Crawling Chaos clinging to it. In a massive lightning blast that would make Tahiri proud, his matter is scattered into the cosmic background.


    It gives us a short breather, but we prepare ourselves for the next round. After all, there is no way he could be defeated by only this much.


    The universe swirls around us, and from the stars themselves, a new Mataku is created. Now, all human vestiges are gone, and he doesn''t have a perceivable face anymore. He''s a vast field of tentacles speckled with starlight - countless close stars and distant galaxies woven into the fabric of his very being. Once more, he has become the universe around us.


    "Are you done already?" We ask in a challenging tone. Our senses have adjusted now, and we can feel the light of movement even when it surrounds us like this. Mataku is definitely planning something.


    That''s when the universe comes down on us once more. But unlike the first time when he tried to swallow us, he attacks with every celestial phenomenon imaginable and unimaginable. Streams of hot gases surround us and sear our surface. We react by coating our skin in the Black God''s curse.


    Then, a rain of neutron stars, accelerated by the spinning gravity of supermassive black holes, pummels us from all around. As before, the limits of Korenga''s resilience are shown here, at the edge of possibility. Entire galaxies melded together and made critical to explode into supernovae against our body, shattering our armor into stardust.


    Yet, the soft flesh of a Crawling Chaos underneath it is better suited for weathering a hard attack such as this one. We absorb the neutron stars and supernovae into our body as if they were nourishment.


    "Keep going. Give us all you got." Asoko taunts once more, and I quickly pull her back under. But it''s already too late as Mataku realizes he''s only making us stronger and changes his approach. He comes down on us again to melt us into him while at the same time continuing his barrage of cosmic attacks. We can''t grow Korenga''s armor to defend against him this time and are engulfed by the vast Primordial Terror.


    "I cannot keep you all separate from this." Flann''s voice reaches our minds, sounding strained by the pressure of trying to maintain our boundaries. She has already been doing her best to keep the four of us separate, but Mataku''s overwhelming consciousness is a different matter altogether.


    We unleash a blast of energy from our entire surface in an attempt to dissuade the Primordial Terror''s attempt at swallowing us. But considering he''s made of energy himself, Mataku merely consumes it the same way we did earlier.


    Then I have a thought and take the helm alone. Our skin turns to gold, and Mataku''s encroachment stops. I remember when I ate Aurelia and tried to digest her, but nothing happened. Be it the strength of her imagination that made her golden body impossible to corrode even for a Crawling Chaos, or merely my lack of imagination back then, it works now. Whereas the Primordial Terror couldn''t come in contact with the Black god at all, he can touch but not consume the Golden Queen.


    At this point, Mataku is no longer speaking. Perhaps breaking him apart earlier has erased all remaining traits of his humanity, and all that''s left is the wish to eat this foreign body within him. As his tentacles move across our surface, we consider how to best destroy him now that he has returned to being space itself.


    Suddenly, our surroundings begin to heat up. Trillions of galaxies swirl about our body, their movement generating immeasurable heat beyond what we could have imagined. The entire universe is compressing on us from all around as if Mataku is attempting to return everything to the initial singularity.


    We always thought that a Crawling Chaos''s greatest weakness was fire when my worldview was still limited. But the truth is that absolute zero and infinite heat are still extremes even cosmic gods can''t overcome easily.


    The many layers of our gold coating evaporate under the immense heat. Mataku is still trying to eat us while he melts us down, so it''s only a matter of time until he whittles away our mass. We have to come up with countermeasures beyond anything we''ve tried before, or this will be our end.


    "Don''t worry, we got this." Uten and Saten speak in our mind in unison, sounding as self-confident as they never have. But we''re connected, so I can tell that they''re trying to convince themselves.


    "Even the end of this universe won''t stop us from returning to ours." Asoko declares fearlessly in an attempt to grandstand. She doesn''t come across as convincing, but she speaks my mind.


    "Universes... dimensions..." I realize something when I consider my other half''s statement. With a thought, Asoko and the twins are on the same page with me. They understand that what I will attempt to do could very well lead to our demise. But it''s worth a try given these circumstances. "Let''s see if this theory is correct."

 Chapter 169 - Pierce the Heavens

    The crew of the Queen Pelomyx watches on their screens from afar as the massive colony section of the Rhodos station finally begins to move. Communications have been cut off for a while now, so they don''t know the status of Exla and the new humanity. All they can do is observe as the structure separates from the cube-shaped center section housing the Imagination Engine.


    "Huh, I feel like some people are missing." When Korenga returns to the bridge alone after delivering Elaine to the infirmary with Kerry, she looks around and remarks. Sintress turns to her at those words, then peers at the faces of the gathered.


    "Where are Tokomaha and Tahiri?" Aurelia asks with her eyes narrowed. She was sure they returned to the Queen Pelomyx together, but they must have slipped away somewhere along the way to the bridge.


    "Reports of flooding, a lightning storm, and earthquakes have been reaching us." General Willis informs Exla as alarms continue to blare throughout the command center. The structural integrity of the colony is at risk.


    "Some people closer to the cube section came within range of the failing Imagination Engine." The cloud girl looks at the large screen displaying the status of Rhodos city. Although it''s the inside of a space colony with artificially-controlled weather and a perfect gravity system, it now looks like a scene from a disaster movie. "We can only hope we escape its sphere of influence before the station breaks apart."


    The others in the command center stare at Exla in shock. The Rhodos station may have many safety features, but if the structure is compromised to the point that the colony is exposed to the vacuum of space, it could collapse on itself. At that point, all the humans will die even if they''re inside the shelters.


    "What can we do?" The general asks, desperate to keep her people safe.


    "Pray." Exla shrugs with a wry smile. She may be able to suppress conscious imaginations to a high degree, but she can''t deal with the results of unconscious thoughts. And all of new humanity only has the latter type of imagination since they were indoctrinated into believing they couldn''t use the Imagination Engine. "Ah, but make sure you pray to the right gods. So, not me or any of my brethren. I''ve already given my all, and the others are either powerless or dead."


    Although the cloud girl sounds casual despite this dire situation, as if saying that they will get through it without a problem, it doesn''t instill much confidence in the new humans. It''s clearly gallows humor at this point.


    Exla sees some of the people in the command center close their eyes and clasp their hands in prayer as she suggested. All that can save them from themselves now is Senka completing her work near the heart of the problem.


    Suddenly, a new alarm joins the cacophony of noises in the command center, and everybody looks up in shock. The live schematic of the Rhodos station shows that its outer armor has cracked due to the continuous earthquakes conjured by a troubled or perhaps innocent mind.


    "The nanites coating is insufficient to repair the damage." One of the operators reports in an alarmed tone. "An aftershock could tear open sectors three to fifteen."


    Exla peers up at the schematic and realizes that the aforementioned sectors make up almost the entire length of the drum-shaped colony. A tear that large would cause such quick decompression that the air inside the station would be gone in a matter of minutes.


    "Can''t we speed up and get out of here already?" The cloud girl inquires, knowing that they would have already if they could. Even with Alverost''s genius in creating inertia dampeners, the Rhodos station is a massive ship. If it were as fast and maneuverable as the much smaller city-sized ship that the Queen Pelomyx used to be, he would have brought that to attack Arkaim in his attempt to free Zenlith instead.


    As if her question was a signal, another warning pops up. This time, it shows that the rear end of the colony section has been damaged. One of the four massive thrusters has been ripped off in a gigantic internal explosion, causing the other three to stall to prevent a chain reaction. Then, the entire rear section separates from the slowly-drifting ship, much earlier than it was supposed to.


    "Without that, we''ll be pulled back into the Sun''s gravity!" One voice in the command center laments.


    "The heat shield was damaged in that explosion! We can''t leave the Rhodos station''s umbrella, or the Sun will fry the colony." Another cries out. Perhaps they believe that there could still be some way to escape the Sun''s gravity well, but with the heat shield damaged, they couldn''t even try.


    General Willis only stares at the screen amidst the racket in the command center. She silently curses her powerlessness as the world she grew up in and is charged with protecting threatens to collapse before her eyes. And when she sees that even the Guardian of the Soil has no answer, the general isn''t sure prayer will be of help either.


    That''s when warning windows appear all over the schematic in such rapid succession that it seems like a glitch. The noise of error messages becomes so overbearing that the operator in charge of the sound switches it off. But even without the sound, the angry red popups layering over one another make it clear that there has been a catastrophic system failure.


    "What''s happening?" General Willis inquires in horror. Due to the inertia dampeners and gravity engines still working, they can''t feel any of the destruction that must be happening inside the colony. "Give me eyes on the inside!"


    "Ma''am, we have reports of the lightning storm disappearing! The flooding is stopping, too!" One of the operators explains before bringing up a camera feed from Rhodos city. The black clouds looming in the center of the drum have all but dispersed, and the tidal wave washing over parts of the city has begun to recede.


    "Then what are these warnings?!" The general points at the schematic still spewing out too many errors to count. If the colony has broken open and been exposed to the vacuum of space, the clouds'' dispersal and the water''s receding could be explained. Either they''re being sucked away, or the minds conjuring up that imagination have perished. But these readings indicate an almost uniform breakdown of the station.


    "There are too many errors to tell. All the sensors are overloaded." Another operator responds to the general''s question in a desperate tone while typing away on his console. "But these aren''t false positives. Something is happening in the walls, but-"


    "We have visuals on the outside!" The first operator cuts in and opens her camera feed on the big screen. It''s a view of the entire length of the colony section, with the rest of the Rhodos station still slowly moving away in the background. Their inertia keeps them from going backward for the time being, but it''s only a matter of time until the Sun''s gravity pulls them back.


    The armor plates on the colony''s surface bend and quiver as if something is moving underneath them. Some panels pop open from the internal pressure, revealing dark tendrils spreading throughout the structure. This must be causing all the error messages, as the sensors find these foreign objects pushing aside or outright destroying the systems they''re meant to monitor.


    "What is that?" As everybody watches the occurrence before their eyes, somebody in the command center breaks the anxious silence in a terror-filled voice. Knowing the colony section''s sheer size, one can tell that those tendrils are titanic.


    "Once again, the real gods save the day." Exla suddenly declares and laughs from the depths of her heart. Everybody turns to stare at her, unsure what to make of their god seemingly losing her mind. But she doesn''t care and leans back in her chair to look at the spreading tree roots digging their way through the structure on one screen and the situation inside the colony calming down as the weather dissolves.


    It''s Tokomaha and Tahiri.


    Everybody aboard the Queen Pelomyx watches as the surface of the Rhodos station''s detached colony section shifts and changes. Massive roots grow from within and tangle together to cover the exterior. Soon, the entire ship is encased by the growth, and not a single piece of the original surface remains visible underneath it. Then, a field of white flowers opens across the roots in a cascade, covering the colony''s outside despite the vacuum of space.


    Finally, one massive flower opens on the far side of the drum-shaped colony, replacing the damaged heat shield. It''s almost as large as the cube section of the Rhodos station, making it more than sufficient to protect the colony from the Sun.


    Korenga chuckles when she recognizes the God of Growth''s handiwork. Once more, Tokomaha shows her prowess as possibly the most powerful god of Adanak in this most spectacular fashion. Her presence over there also explains Tahiri''s absence. Be it the desperate-sounding conversation with Exla or a general sense of unease, the two decided they were needed on the colony section and returned there before the Queen Pelomyx departed.


    Suddenly, a smaller screen overlay opens over the outside view and shows Exla''s face. She wears a broad smile, but there''s a hint of unease in her expression even now.


    "It would seem that we''re saved. For now." The cloud girl says and glances aside, most likely at General Willis''s reaction to her words. "We have lost propulsion, so the Sun will pull us back in very soon."


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    "And that''s where I come in." Another screen pops up, and Senka''s giant stitched face appears, almost touching the camera. Several people on the bridge, but especially Runa and Dregana, let out a small shriek upon seeing her like that. Even after everything, they can''t deal with her appearance. "The tesseract is fixed. You can let your imagination run wild again."


    "That''s great, Senka!" Exla stares at the screen with newfound hope in her eyes. It would seem that she was merely putting up a strong fa?ade earlier, and only now does she show a genuine smile. "I''ll make sure the colony is on its way then. We will send a shuttle to get you."


    "No need." The doll girl replies instantly, causing Exla to frown in surprise.


    "What do you mean?" She asks cautiously as if expecting the worst.


    "I got something left to do here." Senka smiles wryly while typing on her console. "Don''t wait for me."


    With these words, she cuts off the connection and gets up from her chair. The glitched-out Shelnir hologram still hovers in the air above her, staring down in shock and disbelief. With a few quick taps on her console, the power inside this control room is shut down, and the holographic projector with it.


    Senka quickly exits the room and flies down the stairs before running down the corridor toward the door leading into the cube. Just outside, the newly built tesseract looms where she expects it to be, and she climbs a set of hovering stairs she added for ease of access for those who can''t fly.


    As she travels through the infinite recursive interior of the Imagination Engine''s core, she listens to Chaos and her kin''s thoughts as they formulate their master plan for the millionth time. Time has no meaning on the other side, so it has no meaning on this side either. Senka merely decided that she had to complete her task before heading there, so she put them on loop.


    "Don''t do anything stupid until I''m there." The doll girl mutters as she rounds the corner and enters the core chamber. The barrier around the tear in space has been replaced, and it holds the other side''s influence back while letting probability flow through.


    Senka extends a hand toward the crackling force field, then pushes through it without hesitation. Her clothes are disintegrated at an atomic level, but her naked body passes through without sustaining any damage. The full extent of the grievous wounds her stitches hold together become visible for but a moment. Then, she disappears into the tear in space.


    "Let''s see if this theory is correct." I say with a nervous smile. If it fails, it will be not only the end of the five of us but possibly the entire universe beyond.


    "Here goes nothing." We say in unison and anchor our minds in our very center. As Mataku''s universe bears down on us, shaving our mass away with the power of genesis itself, we concentrate on this instinctual feeling every Crawling Chaos has within them.


    Inside each of us lies a dimension. I always thought it was a separate one for every individual, but that''s not the case. All of us born from the same progenitor have always been connected, even if the infinite vastness meant we couldn''t feel it until we became one like now. But that doesn''t extend to Mataku or the Outer One.


    On a silent signal, we turn inside out as one. The force that held our body together is reversed in an instant, and everything on the outside becomes the inside. Even for us, who have glimpsed what lies beyond eternity, it''s a sensation unlike any felt before. There are no words to describe it, no natural or unnatural phenomenon to compare it to.


    It feels like we''re dying.


    All our matter appears to be escaping from us into the surroundings, and what used to be our surface gathers into a single point in space. We''re becoming a singularity, threatening to disappear into nothingness along with our strained minds. It''s like when we crossed from the other side to this but amplified infinitely.


    "What have you done?!" Mataku exclaims when his dimension mixes with ours and collapses. Even as we fade away, we can tell that the same is happening to the Primordial Terror. It didn''t go as planned, but if we can take him out with us, the other side will be safe.


    The universe of the Outer One contracts toward us at the speed of eternity before suddenly bouncing back and spreading outward beyond the scope of our dimming understanding. In an instant, this realm has spread further than it ever has, surpassing mere concepts such as space and infinity itself.


    This is how two dimensions become one, and it is truly a spectacle to behold. Mataku''s scream of terror as he melts into nothingness echoes endlessly, food for our fading thoughts. Indeed, the greatest meal with the most magnificent view in our final moment; there is nothing more we could ask for.


    "I told you not to do something stupid until I''m here." Senka''s voice suddenly resounds in our wilting minds, now clearer than ever. Be it because of our imminent disintegration or because all we have left is our minds, but it sounds like she''s right next to us. "I am here."


    And with that, our insides return where they belong. The universe of the Outer One is restored as the brilliant celestial tapestry it used to be before we broke it down to confront Mataku. Asoko, Uten and Saten, and Flann are all separated from me as if our minds themselves repelled each other. In our midst floats the naked doll-like girl with shoulder-length black and white gradient hair.


    "You saved us, Senka..." I mutter solemnly.


    "And the universe on the other side as well." Crossing her arms, Senka acts haughty. But I fly forward and embrace her with all my heart. "Hey, careful. Don''t break me when I''m vanishing already."


    "What?" I draw back from her and look her up and down. Then I realize that her limbs are fading into space. "What''s happening?"


    "This isn''t a place for anybody but your kind. I knew the risk in coming here." The doll girl gives me a warm and resigned smile that overwhelms my emotions.


    "No, we''re getting you out of here! Where is the exit?!" I squeeze Senka to my chest and look around in desperation.


    "You can feel it, can''t you? All of this is part of you now." She peers at our surroundings, taking in the beautiful sight of the stars unfiltered by an atmosphere, windows, or screens. "And there is no exit large enough for any of you."


    I understand what she''s saying. When we inverted ourselves, our interior dimension mixed with Mataku. And now that we''re split in five again, each one of us carries inside us a part of this new dimension - a fifth of this infinite universe. And with that, we have become the Outer One just as Mataku did before us.


    Without Mithra, we can''t ever leave this space. Even though Flann has the same powers as Mithra, she is trapped inside this space with us now that she has taken a part of it into her. In defeating Mataku, we have sealed ourselves into this dimension forever.


    "But I believe in you, Makoto." Senka declares in a confident tone, although her voice sounds faint. When I look down at her, only her head and torso are left, as everything else has faded into the stars. She doesn''t seem to be in pain, but her consciousness is disappearing as well. Still, she utters words of encouragement toward me despite her own dire situation. "You will find a way to return. Just don''t take too long."


    "We will give you a part of us." I squeeze her and bury my face in her hair.


    "We both know that it doesn''t work that way." The doll girl''s calm tone stabs me through the heart. She has resolved herself to meet her end like this, and my unsightly struggling only makes it harder on all of us.


    "I don''t want you to die." I whisper in despair as tears blur my vision.


    "I''m already dead, dummy." Senka replies, but none of her usual sass can be heard in her voice. It would seem that, at the end of everything, she''s not putting up her typical attitude. But when I look at her face, I find a mischievous streak still left in her now. "This isn''t goodbye forever, Makoto."


    "What do you mean?" I blink my eyes in confusion. The doll girl''s body is disappearing, leaving me with barely anything to hold in my arms.


    "I''m not fading into obscurity; I''m becoming one with legend." She grins, stretching her stitches and baring all of her teeth. As if that was the signal, her fading speeds up as even her hair begins to vanish.


    "No!" I cry out as Senka becomes intangible and melts into the universe.


    "Don''t cry for me, Makoto. I''m simply moving on to the next franchise." Her voice echoes through this infinite space one last time, leaving me with stardust flying off into the celestial background and a cryptic message, both of which I''m unable to grasp. But then I gather my emotions and wipe my tears.


    "I will hold you to your words. We will see each other again!" I declare toward the stars even though much of them are part of me. Then I turn to my kin surrounding me, who each show different levels of sadness for Senka''s passing.


    For a long time, there is only silence. Uten and Saten wipe their tears, and Asoko smiles sadly. Only Flann maintains her emotionless fa?ade, but I can''t fault her for that. She and Senka never got close enough to warrant any reaction from her. But I can sense that she has empathy for my emotions.


    Suddenly, I glimpse a speck of dust flying by and grab for it. As I open my hand, I find the Earth itself hovering on my palm. Although we''re in another dimension altogether, and the Imagination Engine has been repaired, we can still see into the dimension we came from.


    It''s so small within my perception that I can''t even make out the landmasses. I can only tell it''s the Earth because of instinctual knowledge. But no matter how hard I try, I can''t shrink myself further from my current size, let alone imagine how to return to human size. My body is shrouded in stars as if I were part of the universe itself. People on Earth couldn''t fathom my presence even if they could see me now.


    In other words, I can no longer interact with the other side in any meaningful way. None of us five can.


    "There is a way for you to return. All of you." Flann suddenly says, causing us to turn to her. But when I see her expression, I can tell what she''s going to suggest even before she continues to speak. "Give me your part of this realm, and you will be able to leave this space."


    For a moment, I ponder this possibility. Asoko and the twins do the same. If we could discard this unwanted mass and the power that comes with it, we could surely fit through the tear in space and return to our world.


    But I can sense Flann''s emotions. There''s not a hint of falsehood or greed in her mind. Instead, all I feel is reluctance, sadness, and resolve. She''s willing to sacrifice herself so that we won''t spend eternity in this prison. In doing so, her consciousness will soon disappear, and she will become the Outer One - a vast being of infinite possibilities and no consciousness to use them.


    "No." I float over to Flann and embrace her. Only now do I notice that she''s shivering. I silently praise her courage and resolve. "I promised that I would give you a normal life once this is over."


    "I can stay." Uten and Saten say in unison, then stare at each other in surprise. Although they try to appear strong, they have tears in their eyes and are shivering visibly. The prospect of losing one''s self over the course of eternity is undeniably worse than death itself. "We can stay here together. We won''t be lonely, then."


    Perhaps they would be able to keep each other entertained for a long time if they shared the burden of infinity. It would certainly be preferable to being here all alone, left with nothing but one''s own waning thoughts. But I can''t let children, least of all my children, take on this burden.


    "Guess I''ll have to bite the bullet." Asoko comes forward with a casual shrug.


    "Get with the mood, sister." I shoot her a glare, and she ducks her head. I can tell that she was joking to lighten the heavy atmosphere.


    In truth, none of us would want to give up our future and fade into eternity, but we''re all willing to help the others. I''m glad that I have such a great family.


    "Come here." I declare and wave my children over. They fly into my arms and hug Flann and me. Asoko meets my gaze, causing her to look away in embarrassment. But finally, she rolls her eyes and comes to join our group hug. "Nobody gets left behind. We will find a way out or spend the rest of eternity here - together."

 Final Chapter - Continued Story

    The Rhodos colony was moved into a Lagrange point near the Earth. It will require frequent course corrections since it''s several hundred kilometers across, but its gravity should affect neither the Earth nor the Moon too much. Astronomers on Earth will scratch their heads for years to come, but it paves the way for an exchange between the sequestered but advanced new humanity on the station and the medieval and magical people on Earth.


    After guiding the massive colony into its place, Exla and the two goddesses of Adanak returned to the Queen Pelomyx core module and reunited with the others. Without a moment''s delay, they made their way to the Imagination Engine in hopes of welcoming Chaos and the others back.


    However, when they returned to the cube-shaped central section of the Rhodos station remaining near the Sun, they found no way in. Due to its non-conductive surface material, even Tahiri couldn''t enter. The only connection to the inside they knew of was the transportation network in the colony, which had been irrevocably detached.


    Aurelia suggested using force to open a hole into the structure, but Exla stopped her. If they damaged the Imagination Engine''s containment system, Senka''s work and the colony''s detachment would have been for naught.


    Speaking of the doll girl, she didn''t respond to any of Kamii''s telepathic calls. It was safe to say that she had gone to the other side to aid Chaos and the others in their battle against Mataku as she said she would. They were cut off from the cube''s inside with no way to know what was going on.


    Ultimately, all they could do was return to Earth and wait.


    It has been two months since the battle on the Rhodos station. If Mataku had won, this universe might have already been consumed, so at least they know that Chaos and the others haven''t lost. Kerry has traveled to the cube section every day to check on the status of the Imagination Engine but found no changes.


    Life on Earth has returned to normalcy since the moonfall was stopped. The rumor that the titanic goddess who caught the Moon and threw it back into space was Exla, the Guardian of the Soil, has now made its rounds across the globe.


    "You are certainly more of a Guardian of the Soil than I ever was." Exla comments when Rewera recounts the report from the maids, who picked it up from people talking in the city. Although the cloud girl has been tending to a continent-sized garden for several millennia, she can''t call herself a goddess after the divine feats Tokomaha performed.


    "I am the God of Growth." Crossing her arms, the little goddess declares with a disdainful sniff. Her powers and actions may qualify her as a guardian of the soil, but she cares more about growing things than protecting them. "I only give growth. They have to guard themselves."


    Exla laughs at Tokomaha''s obstinacy. She protected the Earth and the Rhodos colony, which puts her firmly in a position of a protector. But even after those feats, she doesn''t want any praise or recognition - if it''s not from Chaos.


    Hestia looks up at the bright sky where the colony module is visible to the naked eye as a sickle, showing the side illuminated by the Sun. The flowers that Tokomaha grew on its surface will likely remain there for eternity, including the giant one that replaced its heat shield. It''s a monument to her divinity as much as the new mountain range that formed north of the Dominion from her growing to a titanic size is.


    According to some reports, the cult of self-mutilating and cannibalistic kobolds that used to live in the Ogely mountains in the region Tokomaha stood on survived the ordeal. They now worship her in their own strange ways as their chief god.


    The fallen Fata furrows her brow at the thought that Chloe''s actions aren''t spoken about at all. Nobody even noticed the solar storm that threatened to burn the Earth''s surface, but without her, the world would have been destroyed. The same goes for their battle against the false gods, the Collective, and Mataku.


    There is no doubt in her mind that she will return from the other side. They all know that time in the Outer One''s realm works differently, so it could take many summers for them to return and act as if not even a day has passed.


    That''s the hope they all share as they discuss how to handle Chaos''s absence regarding the Dominion. Aurelia jokingly mentioned that she would take over if Chaos didn''t return in time, and Rewera expressed her support as a follow-up. But as the days go by without a ruler, that joke is becoming a more and more likely reality.


    On the side of the clan leaders, not one would argue that Aurelia isn''t fit for ruling the nation. They have witnessed her prowess in battle and politics many times, so she''s certainly qualified. Still, the populace doesn''t know her and would worry why this largely unknown person took to the throne when their real queen promised them a new golden age under her.


    Rolan and his companions have already left the Dominion and returned to the human lands with Sintress. With her help, they will bring the truth to the people. Millennia of Old Human indoctrination will require much work and many trustworthy voices to come undone. Who would be better for the job than the former hero, several Chosen Knights, and a banished goddess herself?


    None of this matters to Kamii, who barely listens to the discussion. If Kuroeh doesn''t return, nothing keeps her in Arkaim. She has no interest in politics or power, so she would rather journey the lands as her nomadic people are used to. With her right arm now that of a regular dark elf''s, she has no trouble living on her own either.


    "You can''t sit still either, can you?" Tahiri addresses the little dark elf in a warm tone. It''s a testament to the Old Humans'' genius to create a language anybody can pick up quickly. The God of Storms took no time to learn it since they returned from their voyage through space.


    Kamii only nods once in response. The best time she had apart from Kuroeh was on the road, traveling through the Dominion with her companions. Perhaps doing it again could distract her for a while until her beloved finally returns.


    "Let us go on a journey then. I will show you where I met her." The God of Storms gives the little dark elf a warm smile. The latter knows that she''s from a continent unknown even to her people. Seeing new lands might indeed occupy her for the foreseeable future.


    "Back to Armeria?" Korenga asks, her green eyes lighting up with an excited glint. With the Black God''s curse removed, they are no longer black and lifeless. Her thoughts and emotions are on full display now, and her simple but warlike mind has been replaced with her original straightforward and bright personality.


    "That''s a good idea." Tokomaha comments when she overhears them talking. Although home is where she grows her forest - and where Chaos is - the God of Growth does miss the lands and climate of Armeria. Perhaps now is the best time to consider making a trip back to her origins while waiting for Chaos''s return.


    Everybody seems to share that thought. Not one doubts that Chaos will return, but they won''t sit around and wait for her while doing nothing. Even Hestia isn''t so dependent that she can''t think of a few things of her own to do during her beloved''s absence.


    Thus, the conversation about Aurelia taking the throne shifts to them going their separate ways for a time. Some would visit their homelands; others would take care of personal matters they neglected over the threat of the end of the world.


    Equipped with communications devices Exla got from the Rhodos colony, they would keep in contact across the world. Once Chaos returned, they would all reconvene to welcome her.


    Two years have passed since.


    Aurelia has settled into her role as the queen of the Dominion and made several trips around the nation to strengthen her position. With the support of Rewera and the Four Great Clans, few dared to voice discontent. But even those came around when they came face to face with her charismatic demeanor and striking appearance.


    Afterward, she traveled to the Empire of Terminus to initiate diplomatic relations with her former empire and home. The ministers welcomed the Golden Queen cordially, hoping that there was some truth to the rumor that she was indeed their legendary queen of yore.


    The last war saw the deaths of several important imperial household members and the disappearance of their pantheon. The incumbent emperor, a youthful and hedonistic despot, drove the empire and her people to the brink. Perhaps she could save the crumbling nation.


    Rolan and his companions had laid the groundwork for Aurelia''s success. Sigurd spread the rumors about her legitimacy through the bard network, causing the people to be more receptive to the truth. At the same time, Sintress reluctantly used her status as the Lady of Brilliance to propagate the message through her church.


    When the Golden Queen finally visited the empire, Rolan and the others had already moved on and returned to their homeland. Svanhild had a tearful reunion with her family, which thought she had died in the war. She would later join the royal guard and accompany the king of Lares to a meeting with Aurelia in the Dominion a few years later.


    Halthor left for his hometown in the north after meeting with the professors of the Royal Academy and thanking them for their guidance. His name would pass into legend when he saved many villages from the leaderless frost giants who had been reduced to banditry and marauding.


    Rolan, Runa, Gram, and Sigurd made the journey across the King''s Pass to Hovsgaerden, where they rejoined the guild. So far from the wars, nobody knew that he had been the hero of this age. They had started from humble beginnings and returned to a humble life helping the people. Rolan and Runa married in the summer after.


    Around that time, Hestia returned to the Fatas Triarchy and revealed her identity and powers to the people. Her father, one of the Triarchs, was relieved of his position when they verified that Hestia was his illegitimate daughter. The Moirael family she belonged to fell from grace in the following months, while the fallen Fata became a rising star to the nation''s oppressed.


    With Dregana by her side, she took on the nation''s leaders in open debate and shadowy intrigue. They declared her an outlaw when they could no longer keep her in check through political maneuvering and assassination attempts, which resulted in a civil war. Leading an uprising of the lower-class citizens, Hestia and Dregana took the nation by storm and dispatched their enemies with ruthless efficiency and overwhelming might.


    In a reflection of Pelomyx''s takeover of the Dominion, the fallen Fata quickly performed a purge of the old system and instated herself as the new absolute ruler. But whereas she showed no love for her own kind, her reforms quickly changed the nation for the better. The humans and dragonkin, treated as second-class citizens by their Fata overlords, revered her as their savior.


    Kamii traveled to Armeria with Tahiri, Tokomaha, and Korenga. They started in Aoranam and the neighboring Ototawa village, where they met all the people that helped Chaos get over her depression after her mother died. The villagers welcomed them warmly, and they stayed with Awhina and her family.


    The three gods of Adanak told the story of their adventures since they separated at the capital three years ago. The villagers listened intently, unable to grasp the concepts and scope of the battles they fought but understanding that they saved the world repeatedly. The people held a festival for their saviors and partied for many days.


    Soon after, they went their separate ways. The Black God, now relieved of that title, went on a journey to find herself and her ancestral home. The God of Growth returned to the ancient and untouched wilderness that she had missed so dearly. The little dark elf and the God of Storms continued on together, retracing Chaos''s footsteps through Adanak.


    Their journey took them to Manoa, where life had long since returned to normalcy, although hints of its dark past under Rapania are still visible here and there. They continued on to Uarapo, the town that Roamukao destroyed in his emergence. The people that evacuated back then had rebuilt it, complete with a totem pole depicting the legend of the seven gods that saved this land from the God of Destruction.


    Kamii and Tahiri enjoyed the food in Anutawa before they passed the twin mountains of Erua onto the plains leading toward Kairaki. In the capital, Mereana sought them out and invited them to a lavish feast in her manor. Even though she has become a general of the kingdom, she would spare all the time she could to welcome one of her old companions and a friend of Chaos.


    Finally, the little dark elf separated from the God of Storms here and continued on her own to explore the rest of Armeria. She decided to journey across the whole planet she had seen from space and return to the Dominion on her own in time.


    Tahiri returned to the skies and reunited with her children. They would spend some years together, catching up on what had been denied to them by Mataku''s interference. Aratio would sometimes bring up Chaos, and the God of Storms would only reply with a melancholic smile.


    Twenty summers came and passed.


    Rolan and Runa''s two daughters, Chloe and Vigdis, have left their home to go on their own adventures. Following their legendary parents'' footsteps would prove difficult, but the two girls were undaunted before this task. The human and half-elf kept in contact with their former companions as best as they could, but time was moving their lives apart.


    Gram journeyed to the Dominion on his own when their party broke up after Runa gave birth to her first child. There, he traveled to Ajurai to meet Chandra once more. Ajura and humans can''t interbreed, but that didn''t stop them from trying. The big man was certainly the envy of many, but he beat back all challengers, including seasoned ajura warriors vying for his position by the clan leader''s side.


    Sigurd traveled the world on his own, wearing his feathered cap and lute in hand. Even though he''s the son of Sintress, he never once revealed that fact to anybody and lived his life as a regular human. He aged gracefully and swooned many women of all races but never settled down as if compelled to stay on the road and spread the tales he had experienced during his time with Chloe and the others.


    The Dominion entered a golden age under Aurelia, with cultural and technological advances brought on by exchange with the Rhodos colony. With Kleihn and her clan''s help, they made many of the Old Human technology their own to ease everyday life. Trade between the Dominion and the human nations was booming, with the rebuilt Pontis Daemonis established as a gateway city for all races to mingle in.


    A few years ago, Exla finally plucked the gigantic imperial palace in Vertex Mundia, the capital of the Empire of Terminus, out of the ground. The people of the empire were on the brink of rebellion, but she eliminated the despotic emperor before a bloody war could ensue. He was the last in a line of rulers tracing their ancestry back to Zenlith himself. The empire soon reformed itself into a republic and distanced itself from its imperialistic past.


    Hestia stepped down as an absolute ruler and renamed the Fatas Triarchy into just the Triarchy. The government was reformed under a system of three rulers with a Fata, a human, and a dragonkin representative. Of course, she didn''t immediately yield power and took the seat of the Fata representative while Dregana filled that of the dragonkin equivalent. But gradually, she would follow Terminus''s example and give more and more power to the people. The road to a peaceful world was long, but she had time while waiting for Chloe to return.


    Kamii had visited every continent and came by the Dominion, the Triarchy, Adanaka, and the Kingdom of Lares a few times. The little dark elf would catch up with her former companions and fellow lovers of Kuroeh before moving on once more, seemingly unable to stay in one place for too long. She had no doubts that Kuroeh would return and find her, so she would live life as she pleased until then.


    Korenga found no trace of her home village after the many centuries since Mataku had cursed her. She instead moved to the now-abandoned fortress of Pakangaroa and transformed it into a sanctuary for the homeless and shunned. The Black God returned to her roots as a goddess of healing, but rumor has it that she''s not beyond responding in kind against those who would disturb the peace of her new home with violence.


    Tokomaha disappeared into the depths of the Armeria jungle. Lost travelers would report catching glimpses of her when she guided them back onto the right path, but she became an elusive spirit rather than a tangible god of Adanak. She melded back into the wilderness she had seemingly sprung from one day, returning to the legend that she used to be.


    Kerry watched by their unresponsive mother Elaine''s bedside as she finally breathed her last in a cottage far from civilization on Earth. They had tried to return her to her senses over the past two decades, but she had rapidly aged when she mentally cut herself off from the Imagination Engine. Now freed of the shackles that bound the little god to this world, they took off into space, never to be seen again.


    Two hundred more years would pass.


    After a long and fulfilling life, Rolan was laid to rest in the Hovsgaerden cemetery. His children and grandchildren, as well as many friends, attended the small funeral. A lone dark elf watched from a distance, meeting eyes with the aging Runa and merely nodding in silent mutual understanding. This would perhaps be the last time they met, even if the half-elf could surely still see another century come and go within her lifetime.


    Gram lived to the ripe age of ninety-nine and died with Chandra watching over him on his deathbed. Although their lifespans were inherently incompatible, she had spent her life with only him until his very end. Some of her people say that the Ajura clan leader never again loved somebody as much as she had loved the big man.


    Sigurd gained and broke many hearts in his time, but he never left behind children. In his songs, he spread the tales of his companions, of the war in heaven, of a young girl named Chloe, far and wide. Later, they were compiled by many bards around the world and shaped part of the world''s understanding of its history.


    Sintress gradually reduced her standing in her own church after revealing the truth about the false gods. Although she could perform divine feats, she first became a saint, then a priestess in a Cathedral of Light, then a mere nun in a small village church. Finally, she decided to return to the life of a wandering healer, as she had been in exile for many centuries.


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    Around that time, Zenlith was freed from his imprisonment and made his journey across the world to the Empire of Terminus, now renamed the Republic of Terminus. There, his ambitions were crushed, as was his spirit. He met up with Sintress when she finally decided that the world was ready to move on from old humanity and turned herself mortal, but couldn''t stand being reminded of his own mortality.


    As the Lord of the Sky died alone in a roadside ditch, remembered only as a crazy vagabond, Exla finally released the full knowledge of old humanity to the world. Within a few decades, new humanity and demonkind experienced rapid industrialization. As the last Old Human retaining her powers, she watched over the world''s development and made sure they did not repeat the mistakes of her people.


    Aurelia abdicated from the Dominion throne soon after, although it was only a formality since the government had transformed into a constitutional monarchy since Exla''s revelation. Two centuries under her rule had transformed the demon nation into the most prosperous country in the world. But in a rapidly changing environment, her outdated ruling model was no longer needed. Thus, she disappeared from the Dominion without a trace, nobody knowing where she went.


    Hestia had acted as a shadow regent in the Triarchy for nearly two centuries, but she one day decided that it was time to move on when she saw a carefree trio of a human, a Fata, and a dragonkin child play in the streets. That night, she disappeared from her residence without a word to her attendants. The same happened at the Tarragon Manor, where Dregana had been a political advisor for the dragonkin faction. The two left the Triarchy together and went on a new journey.


    By now, only the long-lived people remembered that a person named Chaos ever existed. Even then, she had become more legend than history, and the true extent of her deeds would only ever be known to those who witnessed them as her companions.


    Said companions converged on the Rhodos colony one day as if on a hidden signal only visible to them. Since Exla released the Old Human technology to the world, the colony''s relative isolation was also undone. Now, shuttles would travel between Earth and the busy spaceport regularly.


    Among the parked ships was one particularly large vessel with a legendary name. The Queen Pelomyx core module, preserved in a pristine condition by Exla and Kleihn, was moved for the first time in two centuries. It would become the gathering site of people who had not met each other in a long time.


    "Now, this is a surprise." Aurelia turns around and comments when she lets her gaze sweep across the people that have convened at the entrance to the Queen Pelomyx. Aside from those gathering at a distance to check out the massive ship taking up several docking ports, a few familiar faces have come within a few steps of her. "What brings you all here?"


    The Golden Queen wears a surprisingly simple but nonetheless stylish white dress. However, the biggest surprise is that she has cut her extremely long golden hair. It is now only shoulder-length, giving her a refreshing new appearance.


    "Something compelled me." Hestia responds, placing a hand on her chest as if saying that she feels it in her heart. She wears a bodysuit and mechanical wing covers that allow her to move through space by herself. Her appearance is the same as ever, although she now wears glasses regularly.


    Dregana stands behind the fallen Fata, also in a spacesuit. Although she can use the Imagination Engine to the same extent as an Old Human by now, she still has some mental inhibitions regarding space travel. After all, it is a dark and hostile place not meant for mortals, no matter how long-lived they may be.


    "I came here even though I dislike all this... matter." Tokomaha looks around in disgust. The little goddess is dressed in proper modern clothes, but she seems uncomfortable. If she didn''t have to ride a shuttle, she would have come as naked as she had lived in the jungle for the past two centuries. Even her leaf hair is tied back in a long ponytail to keep it out of her way when she needs to interact with terminals and automatic devices.


    Kamii only nods wordlessly in a greeting gesture. Her hair has grown out to her waist as if compensating for Aurelia''s shorter haircut. Among all of them, she looks like a vagabond in her now outdated but sturdy adventurer outfit. Her wanderlust remained unabated even in the changing world since Zenlith''s death.


    She visited Korenga''s sanctuary a few times, dined with Aurelia in Arkaim castle once every few years, gave advice to Hestia and Dregana in the Triarchy, and even hunted with Tokomaha in the wilderness of Armeria. During all that time, she maintained her old clothes and mended them when necessary, leaving her with a patchwork steeped in history.


    "It is no coincidence that we all arrived here around the same time." The Golden Queen surmises with a thoughtful expression.


    "That is because I called you." The door to the bridge leading to the Queen Pelomyx opens, and Tahiri emerges. Her appearance hasn''t changed, and neither has her easygoing attitude. "Exla''s communication devices broke down long ago, so I had to get creative to find you."


    "What did you do?" Hestia tilts her head and asks with her arms crossed. She''s apprehensive at the thought that Tahiri messed with her mind.


    "Just subliminal messages only you would get, sent across the planet''s ionosphere." Tahiri explains with a shrug, but that only causes everybody to stare at her in confusion. It would seem that the God of Storm, so complacent about her power over the weather for many centuries, has learned a few new tricks since.


    "Don''t forget that they haven''t been keeping up with the times." Exla approaches from the spaceport, walking on her own two feet. The Guardian of the Soil appears to have grown up into an adult, although her cloud-like hair is still as big and fluffy as ever. She wears a business suit and has a professional air about her, even more so since she''s accompanied by an entourage of attendants.


    "Explain." Kamii demands to know, causing some of the attendants to narrow their eyes at her. Exla is in the Rhodos colony council and a person of incredible importance to the world at large. Having the shabby-looking little dark elf address a person of her rank so rudely doesn''t sit well with them. But before one of them can speak up, the cloud girl responds.


    "Rather than explaining how she contacted you, it''s better to tell you why she did it." She says with a shrug and points at the ship. "Rewera is already waiting inside, so let''s talk there."


    With this, she speaks a few words to her attendants, who nod in understanding and depart. Then they board the Queen Pelomyx, a sense of nostalgia washing over them as they see the somewhat outdated and crude interior. Compared to the sleek commercial vehicles and shuttles used around the world now, it maintains Alverost''s more industrial design that favored function over form.


    It has been two centuries since most of them were last on this ship. Although they only traveled on it for a few weeks, it holds strong memories of the most important time of their lives. But unlike before, it''s now empty, missing the Maid Corps that traveled with them. Most of those who were aboard at the time have passed on or retired.


    They reach the bridge and find Rewera alone, sitting in a chair next to the commander''s seat. The maid leader hasn''t changed a bit, still looking prim and proper after two centuries of serving under Aurelia. Even when the latter retired, she continued to maintain the Maid Corps and Arkaim castle, feeling it her duty until she is someday relieved of her post by her true queen.


    After a quick exchange of greetings, they each take their old places and turn to look at Exla for her explanation. The cloud girl plops down in the commander''s chair and breathes a sigh of relief as her whole posture slackens. Then she opens her collar and sighs again.


    "Must be hard on you, putting up a professional front when you''re really like this." Tahiri comments with a grin, but Exla only waves off her stinging quip.


    "So, what is it?" Hestia asks impatiently.


    "Yes, yes, I''m getting there." The Guardian of the Soil is given no time to relax, and she shows her thoughts regarding that. "I''d think two centuries would teach you patience."


    "Out with it." But even Aurelia appears unwilling to wait.


    "Alright, I get it." Exla raises her hands to stop any more pressure. "We called you here because we believe that something is happening inside the tesseract."


    When she had their curiosity before, she now has everybody''s full attention. The cloud girl explains that they have been detecting weak fluctuations for a few years already, but it was never enough to be sure that it wasn''t merely quantum processes. However, in recent months, those fluctuations have increased in intensity and frequency. It''s clear that something''s happening to the tear in space, and it''s moving toward a definite change very soon.


    "Are you saying the Imagination Engine is failing?" Hestia asks with her red eyes narrowed.


    "We just don''t know." Tahiri responds in place of Exla. "But it could be something else."


    "Something is trying to come through from the other side." Kamii mutters, causing everybody to turn to her.


    "Yes, that''s a very likely explanation." The cloud girl says with an anxious look across the gathered. That tells them all they need to know.


    "There is no telling what that something is." Aurelia gives voice to their fears.


    "It''s Chaos and the others." Tokomaha leans back on her chair and comments in a carefree tone as if ignoring the heavy atmosphere on the bridge.


    "We can''t be sure." Exla responds while pushing some buttons on the console in front of the command chair. She initiates the decoupling procedures for the Queen Pelomyx to leave the Rhodos colony port with one hand while keeping her eyes on her old comrades. "But we will have to go and check it out."


    "When did you stop believing that they would come back?" Suddenly, the little goddess jumps up from her chair and asks into the room.


    "Never." Kamii replies with such conviction that Tokomaha stares at her for a moment. Then a warm smile lights up her face, and she sits back down.


    "None of us did. Let''s take this as a trip to hopefully welcome them back." The cloud girl continues, but her tone doesn''t sound as joyful as the topic should make her. "Or make sure that the Imagination Engine doesn''t break down."


    Everybody remains silent at those words; even those who don''t understand technology know what this means. After all, even if Chaos and her kin won against Mataku, it changes nothing about the fact that the Imagination Engine needs to function as long as the tear in space remains. Otherwise, the influence from the other side will seep through, regardless of who is in control there.


    "We''re on our way." Exla suddenly announces, causing everybody to turn to her. "We should reach the Imagination Engine in less than half a day."


    Over the last two centuries, the Guardian of the Soil has worked closely with new human scientists and the Gremlin clan to further Alverost''s research. With her vast stores of information and the Mage of the Beginning''s countless detailed development notes unearthed from the databanks of the Akashic Records, they have been able to improve on Old Human technology.


    In doing so, Exla was reminded time and again how much of a genius Alverost truly was. Even now, they rely on his foundations and merely improve on them as best as they can. It will be a while before new humanity births people capable of completely new research that could match some of the groundbreaking ideas that were essentially the Mage of the Beginning''s shower thoughts.


    "So, what have you been up to, everyone?" Exla asks as she leans back in her chair and lets the autopilot take over. The way she phrases it sounds like it has only been a few weeks since they last saw each other, but most of them haven''t met in over a hundred years.


    For some of them, two centuries are but a moment in their long lives. But others consider it the majority of their lifetime. Kamii, Hestia, and Dregana are of the latter type. As members of long-lived races, they''re expected to live forever, but they were all near Chaos''s age when they met back then.


    "Let''s begin with you, Tokomaha." The cloud girl points at the person she had absolutely no communication with since they split up.


    "Nothing much. I lived surrounded by nature as I did before." With a shrug, the little goddess responds casually. She''s technically the oldest person in the room, so perhaps these two centuries were more akin to two weeks in her long life.


    "What were you doing... for fun?" Hestia wonders, unable to comprehend such a free-spirited lifestyle. She was busy for most of her time and rarely felt boredom.


    "Being one with the world." Tokomaha shrugs again. Nobody can argue against that, but not one could have been prepared for her follow-up. "I could sense Chaos watching."


    "Huh?! What do you mean?" The fallen Fata jumps up and demands to know.


    "When calm at heart and surrounded by nature, I could faintly feel her gaze." The God of Growth explains.


    "I should have done that from the start then!" Hestia cups her face and shakes her head in despair. The others share her sentiment to an extent, but Exla claps her hands.


    "Don''t beat yourself up over it. She''s the only person in this world who could have felt it on her own. But our sensors did indeed pick up on it." The cloud girl explains, drawing everybody''s attention. "Long before the fluctuations in the Imagination Engine, our quantum research lab detected something outside our comprehension."


    Everybody falls silent after this. They remember the Watcher in the Night, the massive eyes in the sky that seem to observe from outside this universe. It was the Outer One unconsciously watching their surrounding dimensions and having a visible effect on sentient minds. No instruments could pick up that phenomenon until recent advances in quantum technology.


    Once again, everybody is reminded of Tokomaha''s transcendent mind. She could imagine things at a scale nobody besides the Crawling Chaos family could, even without ever studying science. The only person near her level was Elaine, but she needed millennia of research for that.


    "But we understood recently what it implies for this universe." Exla continues in a somber tone. She proceeds to explain using many scientific terms and concepts, causing everybody to shut off their brains and stop listening. But when she reaches her conclusion, their faces light up. "Chaos and her kin should be considered true gods in the complete meaning of the term now. Their mere existence affects reality at a universal scale."


    "We knew that already." Aurelia comments with a wry smile. Chaos evolved exponentially in the days leading up to their battle on the Rhodos station. None of them could begin to fathom where it would take her.


    "Yes, but we have scientific proof of it now." The Guardian of the Soil remarks with a shrug. "It would be the first step toward understanding what she is."


    "She is our Kuroeh." Kamii declares, causing all eyes to rest on her. Then everybody chuckles to themselves; it never mattered what Chaos is to any of them.


    As they continue to talk with each other and catch up on their time apart, they quickly approach the looming Rhodos station. The cube-shaped center section, now the only part remaining beside the heat shield measuring a thousand kilometers across, gives off an eerie impression.


    "Is there a way in?" Hestia asks, remembering the last time they came here. It has been two centuries, but nothing should have changed about this megastructure.


    "I indeed found one in the blueprints. One that doesn''t require us to destroy anything." Exla scratches her cheek and explains while her other hand types something into her console. The large screen showing the exterior is replaced with a blueprint of the cube, with one tiny dot blinking on its corner. "We would have never found it ourselves."


    Nobody mentions that she should have informed them immediately after discovering this. After all, there would be no point in entering the Imagination Engine when Chaos and the others weren''t there. Even Hestia appears to agree despite being the most fervent in expressing her obsessive love for Chaos.


    The cloud girl brings the Queen Pelomyx around to the corner of the cube and extends a docking arm. The Imagination Engine''s utility access is meant for drones, so it doesn''t feature a standard airlock the ship could connect to. They will have to go for a short spacewalk.


    Although it''s only a small jump from the docking arm to the cube, it feels like a daunting task. As they jump over and land on the non-conductive metal structure, they''re greeted with an eerie sight. Although the cube is smaller than the Moon, it has a perfectly flat surface. Only the section illuminated by the Queen Pelomyx''s floodlights is visible in the darkness behind the heat shield.


    Tokomaha walks over to the edge and peers over. Although gravity affects the surface uniformly, it looks like a drop of a thousand kilometers. It''s not something one could ever see in nature, and it causes the little goddess to shudder.


    Exla walks up to the corner and points a remote control at it. A two-meter section of the corner splits into three parts and opens up to reveal a square hole. It''s completely black inside and doesn''t instill much desire in them to enter.


    Kamii raises her left hand and creates a sphere of light above her finger before the cloud girl can produce a flashlight from her pocket. Hestia raises an eyebrow but doesn''t comment. Even though she knows that everything runs through the Imagination Engine, she hasn''t put much time into expanding her abilities in that regard.


    Everybody follows the little dark elf into the Imagination Engine while Exla enters last to close the door behind them. Kamii has been to many places around the world, but even after everything, this little excursion in the dark reminds her of their journey under the mountain in Rathgolim so long ago. It''s an experience she will never forget.


    The service tunnel has many branches, but it doesn''t take them long down the main path before they reach what appears to be the maintenance layer of the cube. None of this is part of the Imagination Engine''s systems yet, so they could have broken through the surface without worrying about damaging the machine after all.


    Exla brings up a three-dimensional holographic model of the cube and zooms in on their location. Wordlessly, she points in the direction they have to go to get inside the cubical space housing the tesseract, and everybody begins walking once more.


    The silence permeating the group is filled with anxiety. Although they want to believe that Chaos and the others are the ones knocking on the door to their reality, they can''t help but worry. What if it''s Mataku, after all? What if Chaos and her kin won but lost their minds and became destroyers of dimensions?


    Finally, they reach the gate to the inside of the Imagination Engine. Heavy automatic doors close behind them, and an alarm rings out before a square panel opens at the front. Although they never changed gravitational alignment while walking, they now find themselves on one of the floors of the cube, staring up into the black void housing the tesseract.


    "With so many of us, it might be difficult if we all look in different directions." Exla turns to her companions and explains after they step through the gateway. But when she looks up, the wall that should have been only a few steps behind them has disappeared. Instead, the tesseract looms there, in the vast emptiness of the cubical room. "Well, that was quick."


    They take the hovering stairs up toward the massive floating cube and enter the Imagination Engine. It looks no different from what it used to be before Shelnir tried to unfold it into their dimension. Senka has faithfully recreated it to become what it used to be since its creation. After all, it never failed in all that time until somebody actively tampered with it.


    Once everybody reaches the first room inside the tesseract, and they turn around, the opening to the stairs leading outside has disappeared. But this time, they are prepared for the unreliable time and space within this place.


    It doesn''t take them long to figure out how to reach the core chamber. It was the site of their final battle, but there are no hints of it anymore after Senka rebuilt it. The force field covering the tear in space looks exactly like the one in the past before Mithra disabled it. It hums steadily, not a hint of the fluctuations Exla mentioned noticeable.


    But now, this close to the source, everybody can feel it. There is no need for sensors or visual cues. They can tell that something is on the other side, right at the rift in reality.


    "What are they doing?" Aurelia asks with her brow furrowed. This force field shouldn''t pose any problem to Chaos, so why hasn''t she come through yet?


    Nobody wants to answer that question with the most likely theory that comes to mind. The Outer One was unable to come through and relied on a projection of their will, Mithra, to ferry tiny fragments of them over. Did Chaos and her kin meld together and become a new mindless Outer One, scratching at this opening like a beast trying to widen a hole to squeeze through?


    "It''s Chaos." But Tokomaha declares in an unwavering tone. "Let her in."


    Exla stares at the little goddess for a moment, then sighs. The others come to the same conclusion; there''s no point hesitating now. Although their senses aren''t as attuned as Tokomaha''s, they can feel familiarity in this presence on the other side of that rift. The overall atmosphere between Chaos and Mataku was the same, so all they can do is believe that it''s her.


    "I''m shutting down the force field for a moment. Try not to think too much in that time." The cloud girl walks forward to the console on the generator.


    "That shouldn''t be too hard for some of us." Tahiri quips with a sideways glance at the God of Growth. The latter sticks out her tongue at her fellow goddess.


    Countless golden weapons appear out of thin air and surround Aurelia. She''s the pragmatist among them, making sure she''s prepared for the chance of a bad outcome. After all, they stand at the edge of reality, in a space that will soon be flooded with raw possibility.


    Hestia clasps her hands and kneels in prayer. For her, there is only one true goddess, and she prays to see her again momentarily. Dregana watches over the fallen Fata, a difficult expression on her face. But in the end, Hestia''s happiness is the most important thing to her, so she should give her blessing.


    Kamii looks at everybody''s preparations, then peers down at her right hand. Chaos had such powers over reality that she could remake her arm out of nothing. Not a single fiber of her being doubts that she and her kin prevailed over Mataku. Balling her fist, she looks back up at the force field.


    Exla takes their readiness as the signal to finally disengage the force field. With surprising ease, she disables what should be the most well-guarded piece of technology ever created. In an instant, they feel a wave of terror wash over them as the rift in reality pulses noticeably. Before the cloud girl can gather her wits and reactivate the barrier, the tear in space morphs.


    Multiple arms obscured by reality itself sprout from the unfathomable shapeless hole in perception, holding onto the immaterial edge as if to force the body through next. Everybody is rooted in place, staring at the phenomenon with varying degrees of horror.


    Then, the tear widens, and a vaguely humanoid figure emerges like a malformed chick from its egg. It falls to the floor and turns into a puddle of starlight, where it remains unmoving for a moment. When it begins to shift again, Exla finally regains her senses and motions to switch on the force field. But something stops her, and she senses an immaterial hand grabbing her wrist; it''s the will of that being, extending outward beyond its visible physical form.


    The puddle rises from the floor against the pull of gravity and forms a humanoid cutout of space itself. Before anybody can decide what to do, the shape splits into five - three smaller figures and two taller ones.


    "Took you long enough." Tokomaha remarks with a grin that reveals her sharp canines. As if her voice was a signal, the cutouts in space materialize into physical forms.


    "If you hadn''t come, I would have gone over there and dragged you back myself." Tahiri asserts with her head tilted back.


    "I did not doubt for a moment." Aurelia declares in an unwavering tone while dematerializing the many golden weapons hovering around her.


    "Onee-sama." Hestia hastily rises from her kneeling position and runs forward.


    "Kuroeh..." Kamii mutters, tears rising in her eyes.


    "Kept you waiting, huh?" Chaos steps forward from between Asoko, Uten and Saten, and Flann and looks across her beloved girls with a warm smile. She spreads her arms in an inviting gesture and declares with a satisfied sigh. "I''m back."

 Epilogue - Worlds Beyond

    "Two hundred and fifteen years, huh?" I take a sip from my glass of whisky and muse once more, looking across the gathered. Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, Tahiri, Exla, Dregana, and Rewera sit at the long table we put together and observe me with varying expressions.


    We''re in Shin and Nina''s izakaya in the Rhodos colony, now run by Nina''s direct descendant, Anya. The place looks almost exactly like it did when we came here with everybody back then, but the photos on the wall have been replaced with new celebrities. Our group photo is still the centerpiece, though.


    We are down to half our numbers from back then now, but it gives me a bittersweet feeling knowing that they lived out their lives in peace. Some are still living as they please now, such as Kerry, who left the Milky Way galaxy a few years ago, according to what the sensors last picked up of them.


    "Are you sure you can''t stay here?" Exla asks again, ignoring my musings. The others watch my reaction, but they don''t look as concerned as the cloud girl does.


    "Yes. But don''t worry. We''ll come to visit you from time to time." I pat Exla''s fluffy hair and smile warmly. Although she has physically grown up, I still see her as the quirky little girl I first met her as.


    "Is it going to be in another two centuries?" The cloud girl puffs up her cheeks and pouts.


    Anya stares at our interactions from behind the bar with round eyes. She knows Exla as the council chairwoman of the Rhodos colony government and the last Old Human. Even if she''s no longer considered a goddess, she''s still deserving of reverence and respect. All the young woman knows about me is that I came here with her over two hundred years ago.


    "I hope to get a better grasp of time than that." Scratching my cheek, my smile turns wry.


    "It only felt like a few hours on our side." Asoko adds with a shrug while drinking a big gulp of sake.


    "It''s hard to tell how much time passes when you''re space itself, you know." Uten and Saten explain in unison and eat their shared jumbo parfait in mirrored motions. Although this is an izakaya, replicators can create any ingredient these days, so Anya has expanded the menu considerably since Shin and Nina''s days. "We could have taken even longer."


    "That''s what I''m afraid of." Exla shakes her head in dejection.


    After defeating Mataku with Senka''s help, we looked for ways to get back. It took us some time to discuss the possibilities, mainly because we were unsure about the consequences of our emergence into this dimension.


    Finally, we settled on sending through tiny parts of us that share their consciousness with our main bodies. It''s the neat little trick I learned when fighting against Zenlith and Serent, and I''m glad for it. And sending through a piece at a time is how Mataku and we were born in the first place, so we knew it would work.


    Teaching the others this method took only a moment, but I guess a few hours in our expanded consciousness was over two centuries in this dimension. It should be fine now that we have bodies to scale with the rest of this universe. As long as we focus more of our thoughts here, time won''t slip by us anymore.


    "Why do you have to go?" Exla asks in a sad tone, even though she knows the answer.


    "If you want to, you can come with us." I offer Exla my hand with a warm smile, taking the cloud girl by surprise. She stares at me for a moment, contemplating her options. But then her eyes move around as if taking in the interior of the izakaya and seeing Anya still watching us. I know what she''s thinking.


    "I can''t leave this world behind after all." She answers with a self-deprecating sigh. Although she may think that she has a duty to this world as the last Old Human, she''s really only trying to find excuses for her continued existence. All others of her kind have moved on already, in one way or another, and it should be time for her to hand the reins to new humanity.


    Of course, I can''t fault her for clinging to life. I''m sad that Sintress decided to live out her life as a human, but it was her noble decision. It doesn''t mean I want Exla to undo her immortality; on the contrary. I want her to live as she wishes.


    "I know what you''re thinking even now." The cloud girl points at my face and pouts again.


    "I don''t think I changed since we last met." I shrug and grin.


    "It''s true." Exla shakes her head and sighs once more. I can tell that wasn''t in response to my last statement. Gathering her resolve, she continues. "We''re getting there, but my duty is still not complete."


    "Then we will wait for that day." I extend my offered hand and caress her cheek. She nuzzles into it and closes her eyes in satisfaction.


    The others watch in silence, their expressions regarding my intimate interaction with the cloud girl inscrutable. They will have their time later, so they don''t express discontent now; they were patient enough for two hundred years, so what are a few more days?


    My first stop after leaving the Rhodos colony is Arkaim castle. Although much has changed about the world, the castle itself is maintained as a cultural heritage site. Rewera has been taking care of it with the current members of the Maid Corps, and they welcome us in the entrance hall.


    I spot some of the longer-lived members from my short time as the queen. They hold back their tears when they see me again and maintain a professional air even if they no longer have an obligation toward me. Of those are a few who were in Asoko''s camp. They still greet me with all the respect their former queen deserves, but their attention is clearly on my other half. The younger maids remember Aurelia as their queen and still treat her as such.


    Rewera takes us on a tour through the castle, but Asoko excuses herself and splits off from our group - to play with her maids, no doubt. As we walk through the corridors, I find that the interior has been renovated. Most rooms have been modernized with electric appliances, and even some elevators have been installed next to the stairwells. Although it''s a cultural heritage site, it''s not accessible to the public yet. The maid leader has been waiting for my return so that I can make that decision.


    It''s a difficult issue. Rewera and the Maid Corps call this place home still, but what would happen to them if this were turned into a museum? Some of the maids are unique demons who have lived here all their lives with nowhere else to go.


    "Do not worry about us, Chaos-sama." Rewera bows and smiles when I give voice to my worries. "I have arranged for everybody''s futures in case this came to pass."


    I''m filled with a sense of melancholy. So much time has passed in the blink of an eye, and everybody''s lives have changed. Even though I''m ageless now, time still only flows in one direction; what lies in the past can never be undone. And things will continue to change irrevocably.


    I look at the few maids following us. Even though some knew me personally from our time back then, their attachment to me isn''t as strong as it is with Aurelia now. Most stayed behind in the dining hall to catch up on the last two decades they had been apart.


    With a sigh, I breathe out my regrets. I never got to spend much time living the high life surrounded by the Maid Corps.


    Kamii pinches my arm, and I turn to look at the little dark elf in surprise. Her unamused expression suggests that she saw through my thoughts.


    "It would seem that becoming the Outer One made you even more insatiable. However that may be possible." Tahiri comments in feigned resignation and shakes her head.


    "If you have time to regret the past, use it to make a better future." Kamii grabs my wrist with her right hand and pulls me along toward the castle''s terrace. It overlooks the city and the green plains beyond, now completely different from what this sight used to look like.


    Arkaim has become a modern metropolis, although it lacks buildings taller than the castle - thanks to Aurelia''s influence, no doubt. Demonkind has flourished under the Golden Queen, as has new humanity across the ocean after many reforms.


    There is no place for me here anymore. I''m a member of a bygone era of conquerors when might made right. This is now the age of skilled administrators who can push the world forward without bloodshed. I believe Exla is well-suited for that job.


    "I release you from your duty, Rewera Rangatira. You have gone above and beyond to fulfill it." Turning to the maid leader, I announce ceremoniously. The few Maid Corps members still with us stare at me in surprised silence.


    "As You command, Chaos-sama." Rewera bows deeply before me. Although she has her expression under control, I can tell that she''s overcome with emotion. But it''s not relief or pride, but sadness. She''s painfully aware that this is the end of an era, and it hits her as hard as it does me. With a sad smile, she looks up and speaks a request. "Will You sit on the throne one last time?"


    I gaze at the maid leader in silence, then smile wryly and nod. She bows once more and gestures for us to follow her as she leads the way to the throne room. It brings me back to that moment of my unofficial coronation when I finally sat down on the throne the day after beating Zenlith and Serent.


    Aurelia and the other members of the Maid Corps already await in the throne room. Maybe they planned this from the start, or they had a feeling it would come to this, but they silently make way for me. As I walk to the elevated throne, I feel everybody''s eyes on me. It gives me a fuzzy feeling inside.


    When I reach the top and turn around, I note the absence of the many people who were there to witness me back then. Rolan and his party, Korenga, Exla, Sintress, and the shorter-lived members of the Maid Corps. They all moved on with their lives or passed on into the afterlife. It''s time for me to do the same.


    "Long live Queen Chaos." Rewera repeats her words from that time when I sit down. I smile as I behold the spectacle of everybody kneeling in response and repeating after her. Warmth and pride fill my heart as I caress the armrest.


    Even though I still feel melancholy over this end, I can say with confidence that I can move on now.


    Aoranam hasn''t expanded much since back then. Although the Adanak Kingdom has modernized along with the rest of the world, most of it has yet to take hold in this village. Even now, the houses are built of wood, and the people observe their traditions.


    Still, the boats on the bay are motorized, and there''s evidence of technology wherever I look, even in this remote village of a few hundred souls. Although the people are still mostly attuned to nature, some modern conveniences aren''t so easily dismissed.


    Rangi retired after Ruiha passed on, and Awhina became the new chief. She has grown into a fine woman of a towering stature that comes close to Korenga''s. Her carefree attitude and fiery temperament haven''t changed much, but she is definitely more mature.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "The world has changed so much, but you are still the same." She hugs me with bone-crushing intensity. As with every experience today, I''m reminded that over two hundred years have passed since I last walked this land.


    The people of Adanak have since been enlightened to the truth about the Imagination Engine and the beings they revered as gods. But it doesn''t change that they still hold deep respect for their former gods. Awhina isn''t the village chief because she''s a demigod, but because the villagers have chosen her to lead them.


    The former chief still lives here, but he has become far more like an immovable rock than he did the last time I saw him. It would seem that losing Ruiha has hit Rangi quite hard, but at least he hasn''t become an alcoholic even though he continues to brew Oripiaw. But that has become the only thing he does aside from sitting at the beach and looking out into the distance or visiting his wife''s grave.


    I can see the sadness in his eyes, but he''s not empty. As the land god of Aoranam, he will continue to live a long life, and I believe he can eventually pull himself out of this. I''m sure Awhina will help him.


    Uten and Saten have left for Ototawa on their own. Much like Aoranam, the village has barely changed, although it has also embraced some of the modern conveniences sweeping across the world. But after all this time of absence, the people have already forgotten their twin gods and look to Awhina as their pillar of support.


    "I''m ready for another journey." She declares with a grin when I tell her that I want to visit Korenga''s Sanctum. Perhaps it wouldn''t be a bad idea to leave the village to Rangi for a while; it could be an opportunity for him to find something new to do when the villagers look to him for guidance during Awhina''s absence.


    Unlike last time, heading out doesn''t draw much of a crowd. We aren''t going to war, and the roads of the Adanak Kingdom aren''t dangerous.


    "This is where you ambushed us." Tahiri comments when we pass through the jungle where we first met Tokomaha. The path from back then has been paved now to connect Aoranam and the surrounding villages to the rest of the kingdom.


    "You can tell?" I look around, unable to distinguish this plot of land from any other we have passed through until now. Since we''re going by a large van, driven by none other than Awhina herself, we quickly leave the place Tahiri pointed out behind.


    "If you go at the speed of wind and lightning all your life, you get a good sense of direction." The God of Storms replies with a shrug.


    "We will be passing by a few more such places on our way to Korenga''s Sanctum." Awhina points out to us with a reminiscing smile. According to those in the know, it lies a few hours south of Manoa, though it would have been a few days on foot back in the day.


    As the landscape passes us by quickly, I wonder how the others see this place. Kamii came here a few times on her constant journey across the world in the last two centuries, but even she must feel that things have changed. Seeing cars on the paved roads where we had to hack our way through the dense untouched jungle is a strange experience. In my mind, it was only a few years ago that we came through here, traveling as people in the Middle Ages did.


    We stop in Manoa for lunch. The city has blossomed into a seaside metropole with a few buildings that could be considered skyscrapers. I can tell that the nation still has its ups and downs regarding social equality, but it''s a far cry from what it used to be. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that it has moved beyond even the level of development from the age I was reincarnated from.


    Korenga''s Sanctum is an ancient citadel built into the flank of a mountain. Considering it used to be Pakangaroa''s fortress, the architecture gives off a warlike impression. White banners hang from the walls to alleviate the appearance but give it a regal air instead.


    The road leading here is still paved, showing that it has long since connected with civilization. Kamii said that back in its beginnings, it was still a lawless region that the former Black God had to protect from bandits all by herself. Certainly, it has become one of the kingdom''s places of interest by now.


    Awhina brings us near the outer wall. There doesn''t seem to be a parking lot, but since no other vehicles can be seen in the area, it should be alright to park wherever. The main gate is open, and an elderly man is sweeping the cobblestone pavement.


    As we leave the van and approach, I notice he has a peg leg but still works diligently to clean the road. There is technology to do it faster, but it would seem that this place is keeping things simple. He nods at us in greeting but doesn''t think much of us as we walk through the gate.


    The layered fortress is now home to countless infirm, orphans, and the homeless elderly. Children with missing limbs or covered in bandages can be seen laughing while playing in the streets. It seems ironic that the former home of the God of War has become a place for the weak people he would have shunned or even killed in the past.


    "Will we be able to meet the lady of the hour?" I wonder as we walk up the main road toward the keep.


    "I will meet you anytime, Chaos." A familiar voice calls out to me from behind, and I spin around on the spot. It''s Korenga, carrying a massive basket over one shoulder and a bundle of blankets under her other arm. She still looks the same as the last time I saw her, but there''s even more light and warmth in her eyes.


    The former Black God is surrounded by her people, but she towers over them by quite a bit. Children cling onto her legs, but she keeps walking without feeling their weight. Even without her curse, she''s still formidable.


    "It''s been a while, hasn''t it?" Korenga stops a few steps before me and says with a grin. She puts down the basket filled with fruits and vegetables and hands out the blankets to the people surrounding her. "What brings you here?"


    I watch her in silence for a while as she has to reply to her people''s questions and words of gratitude. The sight fills my heart with warmth, and I''m again reminded of my humanity. The Outer One''s realm is a cold place, but I can sense some of this warmth flow to my main body on the other side.


    "Have you found peace?" I finally ask. Korenga stares at me with her green eyes widened in surprise. But then she shows a motherly smile, and it''s the only answer I need.


    Korenga has returned to her calling after a long and accursed life as the Black God. I hope that the world will treat her kindly from here on out as it continues to change. But seeing how she''s loved by her people, I have no doubt that this is the case.


    Our last stop is the Kingdom of Lares. As with all the other monarchies in the world, it has become a constitutional government in recent times. According to Kamii, Svanhild''s descendants still serve in the now ceremonial royal guard, and Halthor''s are pioneers in the northern wilderness after he eliminated most of the frost giants in his time.


    But we aren''t here to see those; they wouldn''t even know who we are. Neither are we heading for the Royal Academy, even though so many memories tie Kamii, Hestia, and I to it. We''re heading to Hovsgaerden, arguably the starting point of this long journey that led all of us to this point.


    To my surprise, the city maintains most of its appearance from back in the day. The streets are still the same, even if cars rather than horse carts drive on them. Most buildings from over two hundred years ago remain, showing the sturdiness of this nation''s architecture.


    Kamii leads the way, but I would be able to find what I''m looking for myself. After all, the city layout and street names haven''t changed. The nostalgia hits me like a wave, even though it has only been a few years in my perception since I was last here.


    We visit the Hovsgaerden cemetery, where I did my first quest as a member of the adventurer guild. The undead still appears, so there''s an annual cleaning ceremony, but it''s no longer left to adventurers. As we walk through the rows of somber gravestones toward our destination, the memories of the past rise like ghosts from the ground.


    Although it wasn''t in this city where we first met, one could say that our fates were irrevocably intertwined when we began to work together here. After all, this is where I found Kamii and learned to use magic for the first time.


    Helt Family. The small mausoleum building displaying this name above its entrance is no larger or more lavish than any other in this cemetery. It''s a sign of humility even after their momentous contribution to the peace and prosperity of this world.


    "Chloe?" The voice of an elderly woman pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn around. Coming toward us is the owner of the voice, a slightly hunched-over lady in her twilight years, using a mage''s staff as a walking crutch and carrying a basket of flowers in one hand.


    "I''m back." I walk up to Luna and offer my hand in assistance. She only stares at me for a moment, unbelieving. But then she chuckles to herself as if coming to terms with reality. Of course, there was no way I wouldn''t return.


    "I am not so old to need help in walking." Even at her advanced age, she still maintains a headstrong attitude. I can see her youthful self reflected in that response, and it elicits a smile from me.


    Luna steps up to the mausoleum and waves her staff slightly. The heavy steel door opens to the small room within, and she enters to distribute the flowers in her basket among the tombstones. The one at the center of the mausoleum appears to be Rolan''s, only slightly larger than the others surrounding it despite being the family''s founder.


    "He believed you would find your way back to this world, and here you are." Luna says while laying the flowers before her late husband''s tomb. Her voice is trembling slightly, overwhelmed by emotions. "I wish he could have been here to see your glorious return."


    I can only imagine what it''s like to live for this long and witness one''s family and descendants die of old age one after the other. Eventually, this could be my fate. Kamii, Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, and Tahiri may be ageless within the Imagination Engine, but everything comes to an end. After all, even an eternal being like the Outer One found its end in Mataku, who then found his in us.


    "I lost track of time on the other side." I put a hand on Luna''s shoulder and speak in an apologetic tone. "I wish I could have returned as quickly as I thought I would."


    At least I came back to see her, the last of the biologically mortal people from our fellowship. As a half-elf, she has a little over two centuries in her life, so I truly did come right on time.


    "Where will you go from here?" Pulling herself up on her staff, Luna stands and turns to me with one warmth-filled smile only the elderly can muster. Even though we should be the same age, she sees me as a younger person now, with my future still ahead of me.


    "I can''t stay in this world for long lest I affect it in unfathomable ways." Offering my hand to the half-elf once more, I explain. She takes it this time and lets me help her over the mausoleum threshold. Outside, the others are waiting. "But I have created a home on the other side."


    I look up at the Sun, my gaze fixed on the Rhodos station in front of it. The tear in space leading to our realm where our real bodies are is cut off from this dimension by the barrier, but our consciousness can still flow through it freely. It goes to show how our existence is beyond this universe''s understanding.


    "Are you all going?" Luna turns to my companions and asks. They only respond with smiles and silent nods. For a moment, I play with the thought of asking her to join us but then change my mind. But it would seem that the half-elf can finally see through me - an ability she gained through the wisdom of old age. She lets go of my hand and leans on her staff. "I will be fine here, Chloe."


    My eyes twitch, but I stop myself from choking up. This feels like a proper farewell, unlike the others I''ve had in the past few days. Exla, Rewera, Awhina, and Korenga will continue to live on this Earth for a long time and possibly even decide to join me in the future. But I doubt Luna will still be here the next time I remember to visit this universe.


    "We will be going then." I step back from the elderly half-elf and behold her one final time, the last link to Rolan, Gram, and Sigurd, my fateful companions. My comrades in arms. My friends.


    "You say there are others like you?" Aurelia inquires as we stand before the gate to the Outer One''s realm - our realm. Tahiri has learned the most about technology out of everybody here, so she works on the console to switch off the force field.


    "Not quite like us, I would hope." I caress the Golden Queen''s cheek and grin, causing her to roll her eyes. But I can tell that she enjoys this side of me when she breaks out into a smile after. "Indeed, our... Quinternity, as I would call our existence, stands on a level of its own."


    Although we spent only a few hours on the other side within our perception, it would seem that reality likes to put an ironic twist on things. While this tiny piece of me has been making its rounds on Earth over the last few days, the other side saw millennia pass in that time.


    Asoko, Uten and Saten, and Flann all helped explore the vast infinity and the knowledge that comes with it in our new realm, and we learned many things. As we thought, the Outer One was a concept given life - namely, that of raw possibility.


    But there are other universal concepts that all have representative cosmic beings. In fact, we have been visited by a few lesser ones, who quickly scurried away after noticing that the Outer One had been replaced by a new mind.


    "There are so many worlds beyond this one. Even eternity wouldn''t be enough to explore them all." I declare with a sweeping gesture of my arms. Kamii''s eyes light up with a new flame when she hears this. Two centuries couldn''t have been enough to see all of Earth''s wonders, but the prospect of having an eternity of exploration before her does seem to excite her to no end.


    "I hope it''s not all just space and stars." Tokomaha crosses her arms and tilts her head back with an unamused expression.


    "Oh, have I just the things to show you then." I can barely suppress my giddiness at the thought that I can see my little goddess''s wonder-filled expression at the things I''ve discovered in passing. Terms such as the World Tree or the Garden of Eden couldn''t ever hope to do them justice.


    "As long as I am with you, I do not care where we go and what we do." Hestia grabs my arm and squeezes it. I''m made keenly aware of her breasts and the fact that it has been a while since I''ve enjoyed myself in such ways.


    "Oh, we will have plenty of time to think of where we can do what with each other." I touch my forehead with the fallen Fata''s and look into her crimson eyes. Hestia blushes at the suggestion but realizes that I baited her into having naughty thoughts. Still, she doesn''t let go and squeezes my arm harder, signaling that she''s looking forward to those things and so much more.


    "We are good to go." Tahiri announces, and the force field disappears. The little sense of something being slightly amiss with reality vanishes with it when the raw possibility of the other side flows out from the opening.


    "Are you ready?" I turn to my lovers. Their expressions are answer enough. "Then let''s go greet infinity together."

 New Story Announcement

    I know it has been a long time since you read anything from me, but I''d like to announce my new story here: Skypiercer</a>


    After finishing Chaos essentially twice, I decided to cool down with a non-isekai single-volume fantasy story, and I''ve been wanting to write this for a while now.


    It''s a dungeon exploration adventure story inspired by Made in Abyss, albeit not as dark or furry. This roughly Victorian-era fantasy world features a group of mid-teenagers challenging a tower that stands far taller than the tallest mountain in the world. It comes with its very own fantastical ecosystem, magic-like lost technology artifacts called fragments, and greedy humans making a living by finding and selling those.


    I''m currently in the process of releasing all the chapters I''ve been writing over the past year or so. Since I''m going to publish it later, it might get pulled from RR eventually, so don''t miss out on it while it''s still free. You can also become a Patron on my Patreon</a> at any tier and read all the available chapters right now.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Please go and give it a read. Maybe join our Hyper-Dimensionals</a> Discord community where you can talk about the stories and other fun stuff.


    <hr>


    After Skypiercer comes Hyper-Dimensional Reincarnation Administration, or HyDRA for short, a sequel set in the Chaos universe alongside Red Mantis and Avenger Doll</a>, which will continue in parallel. It will feature a completely new main cast of misfits tasked with policing reincarnated people across dimensions. They will be dealing with self-absorbed isekai protagonists threatening the fabric of reality, illegal inter-dimensional travelers, and megalomaniac aliens hellbent on gaining ultimate power. All that to the backdrop of the daily life at a timeless police precinct, complete with coworker shenanigans, an uppity coffee machine AI, and a cosmic horror boss who doesn''t understand concepts such as mortality or cravings for donuts.

 The Complete Collection

    So, it''s nearing that time of the year again. This year, I have finally gotten around to making a box set for the books, sold at a very reduced price. If you haven''t read the book edition of this story, now is the perfect opportunity to get the entire collection in one go! As mentioned before, the book version is much more polished than the webnovel and has almost twice the content with new characters, new storylines, and a different ending.


    Grab it on amazon while it''s still reduced: Demon Princess Magical Chaos: The Complete Collection</a>


    You can also follow and support me on my socials:Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Discord server: Hyper-Dimensionals Server (link)</a>


    Twitter: @MeakashiWrites (link)</a>


    Patreon: Meakashi (link)</a>


    If you have questions regarding the differences between the webnovel and the book version, feel free to join the Discord and ask away.

 Akashi Records - New Story Announcement

    So, here we are, a new story once more.


    Akashi Records</a> is a high fantasy reincarnation story set in an entirely original world without any humans or any of the usual DnD races like elves and orcs.


    Akashi Shizuru is an heir to successful parents with a glorious path in life laid out before her on a red carpet. But a freak accident cuts her bright future short. In the void after death, a voice tells her that she will get a second chance, but that she would have to fight for it. Thus, she is reborn as a fantastical creature resembling a humanoid manticore, with three rows of shark-like rending teeth and a scorpion tail. Named Viyal, she is the daughter of the chief of a tribal society resembling medieval Mongolians. As an incredibly rare albino, she faces a heavy destiny: Die before she sees her thirteenth birthday or live to conquer the world.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Please go and give it a read. Maybe join our Hyper-Dimensionals</a> Discord community where you can talk about the stories and other fun stuff.