《Wrath of the Heavens》 Prologue - The Fall The demons had finally gathered enough power to take on the heavens and launch an all out war. But it would be difficult. The power of the two sides were complete polar opposites. The demons could increase their population quickly and easily, both through the creation of new demons and by corrupting other races. However, most of them were relatively weak and only a bit stronger than a moderately trained human. The angels however, had the power of the heavens. A power source which slowly grows stronger over time and is dispersed to all angels depending on their rank. A new angel was exceptionally difficult to create, though it would add its own power to the power of the heavens and so it would not weaken the rest. More troubling for the demons however, was the power of the angels. While their numbers were low and slow growing, their power was legendary. Only the most powerful demons could defeat one the weakest angels in a one-on-one. To make matters worse for the demons, victory could only be viable by ending every single angel all at once. If there was just one left over, it would hold all the power of the heavens and almost certainly be unbeatable. The final obstacle was the True Angels. These absolute beings were held separately from the power of the heavens and were rumored to be the ones supplying the power in the first place. They held more than just raw power and held absolute authority over the laws of the universe itself. The Angels of Truth, Knowledge, Purity and Order were the ultimate enemies of demons. They were the very creators of the world itself. Truth: No lie can be made in his presence. A being will have no choice but to admit all that they are and become their true self. Absolutely nothing can deceive him, themselves or the universe itself. Knowledge: Holding the database of all of the heavens. He is said to know everything that is currently known by anyone or recorded in any book or form of media currently in existence. Purity: Corruption cannot exist in his presence. Vulgarity disappears and even demons themselves are purged no matter their rank. If they fight this power, they are erased but those that give in can lose their corruption and be restored to humanity. Order: The oldest of the Angels. His word is law. No being can resist His commands and even the laws of physics often bend to His decree. But it was worth the risk. The demons draw their power from hell, but the majority of the world drew their power from the heavens because using the powers of hell had a high risk of corrupting the user. Those foolish enough to try were often made into new demons to strengthen the very force they were trying to fight. If the demons could destroy the heavens, then there would be nobody left who could ever oppose them. The one ace the demons held was their newest warrior: Order. After millenia of whispers, Order had fallen to corruption and turned against his brothers. While the True Angels do not have total authority with their power over other True Angels, the same cannot be said of any of the other races. With the power of Order on their side, the demons took over every mortal and every angel to attack the remaining True Angels. Purity could not purify the already uncorrupt angels. Truth could not tell them to be true to themselves, as Order had rewritten what they truly are. Knowledge could not foresee Order¡¯s betrayal as He had long ago removed any method of spying on Him. The entire force of the angels¡¯ first target was Purity, the largest threat to the demons. In an instant of blinding light, every angel was destroyed, but it was enough. Purity had used nearly half of his power to eliminate every angel in existence, but the weakened Purity could no longer stand up to both Order and the demons and was destroyed.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. In the final moments of the war, nearly every demon was killed. But, that was enough. Before the final battle, Order made his second-to-last commandment. The strength of Purity shall go to Order; and so it did. Knowledge and Truth could not defeat the combined powers of Order and Purity paired with the army of demons He commanded. Before the final battle, Order gave his last commandment. With my death, the angels die. None shall ever be reborn or returned to life. On this day, the angels, both cherubs and True Angels, go extinct. And so, they did. With the death of the heavens, magic all but left the world. Relics of magic which were already made would still exist as their connection to the heavens would not be broken, but holy magic could no longer be used by anyone to make new ones. Only the weak chanting magic of nature, and the potent but dangerous magic of Hell could be used. It took less than two years for the little forces of Hell which remained to take over every part of the world which was not under a pre-existing barrier. ---------- ¡°Well Knowledge, is this the end of the world then?¡± ¡°Yes, but only temporarily. Nothing is eternal, not the end and not even us.¡± ¡°So what can we do then? Order will destroy us soon. You know we can¡¯t win. We may manage to kill Him but we will die ourselves in the process.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°Then how will the world go on? You heard His commandment. After this battle, the angels will go extinct and the powers of heaven will be locked from the world.¡± ¡°Tell me Truth. The rainbow-horn-frog went extinct about twelve-thousand years ago, did it not?¡± ¡°I fail to see how that¡¯s relevant, but if you say so then I will trust you on that.¡± ¡°They did. Every last one died. Never to be reborn. Never to be returned to life. Yet, our brother Purity decided he liked them and made a new one entirely.¡± ¡°I see. So it has come to that then. Finding a flaw in our brother¡¯s words?¡± ¡°He has never been careful about how He speaks. His power exceeds that of anything else in this universe. In truth, He could defeat us without assistance if He took some time to master His power. I may not be able to read His mind directly. But He is simple-minded after the pampering that Azariah gave Him. I may as well be able to see His thoughts like anyone else.¡± ¡°Very well. I will trust your judgement brother. There is no telling what kind of individual will be brought. They may not be fit to restore the heavens.¡± ¡°Maybe not. Though in the end, it does not matter who it is. Anyone at all will be better than nobody. Purity may be gone, but his essence will return to the heavens after our extinction and will guide the next soul to be righteous. The essence of the True Angels will all become a part of Heaven¡¯s power. Even if our created angel does not gain any of the abilities, the angel will still follow our rules. They will be pure.¡± ¡°Very well Knowledge. We will put everything into one individual to carry our dreams. I don¡¯t recall you being wrong in the past.¡± ¡°Today we have lost and the heavens will fall, but we will rise again. We shall die, and we may have lost the battle, but our victory is assured with this final summoning. The heavens will return. I just hope there is a world left for them to return to. I will use your essence as the seed for our next generation Truth. I trust that is acceptable.¡± ¡°You are one of the few that could lie to me, and yet I have always trusted you the most, brother. Do as you see fit and I shall follow your lead.¡± Chapter 1 - Failed Transference What is this? Everything is numb. Did the procedure fail? No. I¡¯m still conscious, but where is my body? Doctor!? It¡¯s not use, I don¡¯t even have a voice. ...to carry our dreams¡­ Hello? Can you hear me? ...fall, but we will rise¡­ What the hell is this? You said you were transferring my consciousness, not driving me insane! ...lost the battle, but our victory is assured¡­ In a barren land stricken by war and hell itself, a young woman awoke. Completely out of place, a naked girl lies in the dust, surrounded by a few dying trees and miles of dust and nothingness. Her tiny frame only makes the vast emptiness seem even more absurd. ¡°Finally, some light, though my body feels heavy doc. I swear I feel like I was in there for days¡­ Doc?¡± My voice seems different, though I guess I was supposed to be changing bodies. Just how feminine was this guy before I moved in?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Oww, I feel like I just did a full day workout. Even sitting up causes pain. ¡°Doc? Where the heck am I?!? Why am I naked? Oh my goodness!??! Where is my thingy?!¡± Did I just say thingy? What the hell? What the fuck is going on? Alright, let¡¯s think through this. We were going to be changing my body to save my life. It was experimental, probably should have just died. But even in a failure, I wouldn¡¯t be here. Unless I did die. This looks like hell, or purgatory at least. No, I wouldn¡¯t be a girl if I just died. The girl slowly stood up like a newborn calf to examine herself. She is short, perhaps five feet tall at most with long golden hair. Her age was hard to tell due to the unworldly lack of flaws and the sudden change in gender and size. Inspecting the surroundings showed mostly dirt with burnt up trees and shrubs. Various patches of ground seemed to be locked in an eternal flame. ¡°Doc, I¡¯m really going to need you to stop messing with me and get me the he-ck out of here!¡± Whether in hope or denial, the girl waited for a day, praying that the nightmare would end before finally beginning to walk towards the rising sun. I guess I¡¯ll just have to walk east to at least keep the same direction going. Actually, this doesn¡¯t even seem to be Earth. There were two moons last night. Whatever direction, at least it¡¯ll be consistent. I don¡¯t care where I go, I just need to get the hell out of here. Wish I had some clothes... After two days of walking day and night, she saw movement on a distant hill and felt hope for the first time since she arrived on this world. Her body felt as sore and weak as when she awoke, but things were finally looking up. Chapter 2 - The Angel is Born Sitting upon a throne of bones sits a monster. A red behemoth perfectly matching the description of a demon. He has four arms and a large set of bat-like wings. Being easily nine foot tall, he towers above the imp scurrying towards his throne. ¡°Lord Duriel, we smells a human, a woman!¡± ¡°A human this far out? It must be my lucky day. My last toy was getting worn out. It is past due for replacement.¡± As the beast stood up he grabbed the head of the tortured woman beside him and crushed her skull as she tried to scream. ¡°Let¡¯s go find out what kind of fun this new play-thing can bring.¡± Humans this far into the territory are exceptionally rare. Only high-ranking adventurers could get this far out. His imps would probably still win if it was only one human, no matter their rank. Even a full party would almost certainly lose to his lesser demons. But Duriel didn¡¯t want to risk the human¡¯s death. Not that it would cause him any grief, but he just destroyed his last toy and he was in need of a new one. He wouldn¡¯t forgive anyone that broke a potential replacement. It is good luck too that it is a woman; they are always more fun to torment. Duriel may be fine with tormenting either gender, but women were always his preference. He was looking forward to a new bitch to corrupt. - As the girl slowly walked to the hill she noticed a cave-opening with more figures coming out. But when she got closer, a giant walked out to join the people outside. That¡¯s, that¡¯s a demon however you look at it! I really am in Hell! She began to run away as fast as she could, but her body could hardly move after days in this wasteland. Duriel could hardly contain his joy. The woman was practically just a child, and a beautiful one at that. The only way it could be better was if she had some fight in her, but she was already stripped down and running away at a slow pace. ¡°Hahaha, how did a weakling like you even make it this far? Go have your fun my servants, but don¡¯t you dare let her die. If she is a virgin, save that for me as well!¡± With that command, the imps as well as a couple of lesser demons rushed at inhuman speeds towards the girl. The first demon crossed the two-hundred meters in only ten seconds, knocking the girl to the ground and held her while the rest came in shortly after. The girl had her face suddenly forced into the dirt as a hand forced her head down with the force of a truck. She didn¡¯t even have the ability to process the pain in such a short amount of time. Why? I wasn¡¯t perfect, but I tried to be good. I helped people, so why am I in hell? Was I too vulgar, I mean I suppose I was but why the hell would any god care that much about that! I helped people dammit. A warm tongue forced into her ear brought her attention back to reality. ¡°Mmmm. Your fear smells incredible. You will make a fine toy for our lord, but don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make sure to break you in first so you can survive the ordeal.¡± Adrian had training in his last body. He knows how to fight and would have a hard time finding someone he couldn¡¯t win against in his past life. But that was with a body built for combat, not this little girl. Although, even in his old body he would be helpless against these things that could seemingly run as fast as a car. While the girl was scrambling to think of a way out of this, she began to feel hands examining her body, and felt new fear as she realized exactly what was about to happen. In response to her screams, the demons could only laugh as their master slowly approached, taking his time to watch her torment. As one of the imps went forward to take her, an explosion of blood filled the air with a high-pitched scream. ¡°Nooo!!!!!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± (Duriel) All of the demons stopped and stared at the disobedient imp that decided it would be the one to take her. Or rather, they stared where it once was. In place of the imp was a cloud of blood and the small girl¡¯s hand as she tried to smack the assailant.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Wonderful! A fighter. Bring me more entertainment.¡± ¡°Fireball!¡± ¡°Raaa!!!¡± What is this? It¡¯s like they are going in slow motion now. That last demon blew up from a single strike. Is this body strong, or are they just weak? Either way, I need to get out of this alive, unharmed, and figure out what the hell is going on. While she focused on attacking the demons in front of her, completely obliterating each one in a single attack, the fireball launched from before hit her back. Duriel was pleased to see an attack finally reach the woman. She was strong and would certainly survive the weak attack, but he wanted to see her writhing in agony from real pain. They are throwing hot water at me now? This place doesn¡¯t make any sense at all. While the girl was lost in thought and killing the final demon, Duriel found himself in thought about the oddity of the situation as well. Fire immunity for a human? Hmm, I suppose on some level I should have expected it as she doesn''t seem to be injured by the heat of the ground here. But still, there shouldn¡¯t be more than a few humans alive that could eliminate all of those demons so easily, and even then only by using relics. There are probably some others that could defeat them, but they certainly wouldn¡¯t be uninjured. While one might expect the easy defeat of Duriel¡¯s servants to cause him concern or anger, it only brought him more joy. The strength he commands can¡¯t even be compared to the lowly demons he sent in. Duriel was known as demon nobility. He was a lower class of nobility, a demon baron, but a demon noble of any rank is said to be at a level humanity simply can¡¯t match. He would enjoy this. This is not just a toy, this would be his new servant. To serve him not just as a slave for his loins and sadism, but to help expand his territory. Her strength seemed to be about even with a greater demon. This wouldn¡¯t be an exceptionally difficult fight for him, but he would at least get to feel like it is a fight for once. ¡°Well now little girl, aren¡¯t you just full of surprises. Are you even human? I didn¡¯t feel much mana leaking from you at first so I assumed you were. Yet, you managed to defeat those weaklings I sent after you and mana pours from your body now. You have really got my hopes up, please don¡¯t disappoint me now little one.¡± And in that moment, Duriel rushed forward, breaking the sound barrier and delivered a backhand to the woman. Being completely off-guard and with her adrenaline down just a little bit after defeating the first group, she could not defend from the monstrous difference in power and was sent flying over a hundred meters and cracking her cheekbone. Okay, so those ones were just weak. That hurt. Shit, that hurt. If there is a god, you can just piss off! What am I even doing here in a different body, naked, against satan himself!? Duriel began to absent-mindedly throw more punches but the girl was on guard and holding her own. She managed to defend most of the hits and went to attack the demon. Being literally only half of its size, she was only able to attack one of his legs but her single punch put a massive crater where his knee once was. Expecting the demon to back off or shout in pain, the girl smiled and lowered her guard for a moment, only to be smashed into the ground and held there by two of his massive arms. ¡°Hahaha, you really have exceeded my expectations. You¡¯re not just equal to a greater demon, you exceed one. I absolutely must know what you are. It would be quite impossible for a mere human to have this much strength after the fall of the heavens.¡± ¡°Get off me! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Duriel was not scared of her empty threats. He was actually using a decent percentage of his full strength, but she was using all of hers and she could not get him to budge. ¡°No little one. But worry not, I have great plans for you. Before I do train you though, I¡¯d love to know exactly what you are. I shall drain your mana forcefully to see what you really are. There is no use hiding it from me any longer.¡± After placing his third hand on her head. ¡°Essence drain.¡± In that moment, for the first time in a thousand years, Duriel felt true fear. His arm vaporized in an instant and left part of his torso shredded. The pain he felt was unimaginable and it took everything he had just to keep from passing out. ¡°Im-impossible! We killed all of you! What kind of trick is this!?¡± As he backed up in horror, the mana forced out of the girl would not stop pouring out. He had released a true monster and the cork could never again be put back. The air began to sparkle as Duriel felt his lungs burn and a massive pillar of light pierced the sky. The light filling the air seemed like a second sunrise and blinded the demon noble. His regeneration quickly returned his sight, but he wished that it hadn¡¯t. For now, he could only see death itself. The scratches and bruises placed on the girl had disappeared, and from her back were two beautiful feathered wings. At approximately ten foot in wingspan, an angel laid before Duriel. The mortal enemy of his kind which they barely managed to defeat thousands of years ago. He would barely exceed any lower level angel, but anything aside from the lowest level of angel would be impossible for him to defeat, and he just absorbed pure holy mana from a high-tiered angel directly into his soul. The pain quickly caused him to pass out, with the last thousand years of torture he had caused flashing before his eyes. He finally felt an emotion he thought was loss to him, guilt. Chapter 3 - Awaken and Learn I don¡¯t remember much of when I first arrived to this world. Something went wrong when my consciousness was supposed to be transfered. I woke up tucked into a soft bed in a small cabin. After searching around for a bit, I found a middle-aged man who said he found me in the wasteland, completely alone. I found myself in a different body as I expected, but not the one I thought I¡¯d end up in. I found myself in the body of a young girl. I had become a rather short girl with long golden hair down to my lower back. At first I thought I had become a child, but closer inspection showed signs of adolescence; though I was still unnaturally petite. Even though I was an adult before, he treated me like a child and took care of me. He practically babied me, but it was kind of sweet and I had no experience in this world so I just let him. I also had no clue how to use this new body and found myself stumbling constantly which likely only made him see me even more as a needy child. I don¡¯t know why I was so receptive to the situation. I was aware that this was a very odd situation, but any time I tried to focus on that I just accepted this body as if it is what I have always had. He explained a bit about the world I found myself in when he discovered I knew nothing about it. I never told him about my old life, I figured it would be too difficult to explain and the memories of it were somewhat hazy as if this body was trying to reject them. I couldn¡¯t even remember my name, so he named me Adriel but he would usually call me his angel. When I asked him for his name, he got very concerned for some reason but eventually told me it was Duriel. Over the next year, which is apparently four hundred days here, Duriel taught me about the world and I was ecstatic to learn that magic existed here. There are three types of magic, though only two that are still often used. There are physical, usually called elemental, meta-physical and primordial magic types. Physical is often referred to as elemental while meta-physical is more psychological though can include light effects like illusions. Among these, elemental is the most prevalent in the world and can be broken down further into air, water, earth and fire types. Everyone is born with certain affinities for the elements, and in rare situations more than one, which can enhance their power or cause the spell to be more efficient and use less mana. A person can still use magic they do not have an affinity for, but it is usually less powerful and always uses a lot more mana. Primordial magic has been essentially lost in the world. It is hard to quantify and acts like a combination of the other two but far stronger. Durial says he doesn¡¯t know how it works, or really what it''s limits are, but the traces of it left in the world show that primordial magic was used to create life itself on this world. For some reason, magic came very quick to me. He would comment that no human could possibly learn this quickly. When I asked what I am if not human, he wouldn¡¯t tell me. He would only say that I¡¯m not human. Duriel held affinities for Fire, and Earth. Even though he said he doesn¡¯t have an affinity for air, he used a lot of it.Stolen story; please report. In this world, magic is not done with chants like in a video game from my world. Instead, you focus mana in various forms and imagine what you want it to do. While magic did not require chanting of the spell name, people often used them for advanced magic or spells they are not well versed in to help their mind focus on the flow of mana. The only limits are your own imagination, your supply of mana, and your control of that mana. Duriel taught me these things and spent almost every day training me on how to control my power so I could survive in this barren world. While it is true that this means that custom magic was entirely possible, the majority of magic is done by studying spells and methods already created by previous magicians. To create a completely brand new or fully customized magic is exceptionally difficult but ultimately the source of all magic. It is through this study that nearly all magic is also put into various tiers which indirectly represent their power. They go from the very basic tier 0 to tier 9, with tier 10 being reserved for ¡°ancient magic¡± and magic which is too powerful or costly to be reasonably classified. However, the tier is actually calculated by the quantity of mana and the amount of control needed and not the result of the spell. Generally speaking though, high tiered magic means it does ¡°more.¡± He didn¡¯t just train me in magic, but with a sword too. He only had experience with using a greatsword, which really wasn¡¯t viable for my body size. So I adopted a light rapier and a glave. I found the most useful way to use magic in this combat to be very straightforward body-enhancement to strengthen my tiny body and let me move fast enough to repel attacks. *pant* *pant* ¡°I guess I still can¡¯t beat you Duriel.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. I don¡¯t mean to brag, but I am quite a capable fighter and you put up a decent match. That¡¯s exceptional when you consider it has only been a year since you woke up here without any ability at all.¡± ¡°You are just trying to be nice now...¡± ¡°You know I couldn¡¯t lie to you, even if I wanted to.¡± It¡¯s true. While exceptionally rare, some people are born with additional unique abilities that often exceed what traditional magic can accomplish, and it seemed I had one as well. We called it an aura of truth and it makes it impossible to lie in my presence. It even affects myself. While after a few months of training, I figured out how to change its size and even remove it entirely, I had to use constant focus to alter or remove it. It is possible for me to lie by removing it temporarily or changing its area to include a void inside of it where I am, but not by accident and it makes my very soul squirm to do it. ¡°At this rate, you may be able to best me in another year.¡± ¡°I will work hard to make that happen! Please keep teaching me!¡± ¡°I will do whatever is needed for you for as long as I live, my angel.¡± I just wish he wasn''t so formal with me all the time... Chapter 4 - First Victory One Year Later¡­ The wasteland was filled with explosions and shouting as new craters were formed and clouds of dust were thrown into the sky. A middle aged man and a young girl were locked in a cataclysmic battle. Duriel began forming molten boulders around him to launch at Adriel. She quickly countered the partially melted rocks by forming a slanted wall of stone with a strong air current on the outside of it, throwing Duriel¡¯s attack to destroy more of the landscape. He isn¡¯t playing around now. That was a 6th tier attack. It has gotten serious now. Duriel blended into the shadows to appear next to Adriel, but her training in mana sense had made her aware of his transport immediately. She poured mana into her leg and kicked behind her right as he appeared. Being caught off guard, Duriel was sent flying and was only stopped after breaking through a tree nearly two-hundred meters away. She has completely mastered advanced mana sense. This may be our last bout that I can have a chance in. Duriel decided it was time to show Adriel what she could really do, and prepared his ultimate ability. He did not want to hurt her, but knew it had to be done to unlock her full power and he knew she would still survive. She had to. While stretching his arms in front of him, the very sun became blocked by a shadow and an eclipse fell upon the land. Light left the wasteland and the air itself solidified to make movement nearly impossible. That¡¯s, that¡¯s 8th tier magic! No, that might even be 9th. I can¡¯t tell, I haven¡¯t seen something this strong before. What is he thinking!? He always suppresses his true mana level, but I still thought it would max out around 7,000. It¡¯s over 16,000 now. Even at full strength, I have never been able to pass 6,000. As Adriel tried to think of what to do as a sadistic smile was seen on Duriel¡¯s face and she could feel dread crawl into her bones. This wasn¡¯t the kind man who saved her life and practically raised her in this new world. This was a monster. The bloodlust was evident from all senses. He would hurt her. The dark eclipse overhead quickly brightened as fire began to gather in an enormous ball of plasma to replace the artificial moon. His mana is quickly gathering above me. If he finishes this, it will definitely hurt. ¡°Fist of Baal. Form and obliterate.¡± He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s chanting. I have never heard him need to do that. As she began to break through the solidified air and pick up speed towards Duriel who was gathering mana, shadows on the ground began to grab and lash at Adriel, stopping her from reaching him. She quickly tore through them but new ones immediately took their place; it didn¡¯t matter how fast she removed them, there would always be another to replace them. If she tried to ignore them to advance, they would grab her instead. As a last effort, she moved to teleport behind him, but the mana of the area was completely frozen so no link could be made.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. This is ancient magic. A spell created by a demon lord eons ago for wars which the residents of this world could never survive. The pressure of mana both prevents escape as well as draws power which could destroy humanity and glass towns. Humanity of this era could never stand a chance against this power. That¡¯s not a power I can match¡­ What does he want me to do about this!? This is Duriel¡¯s strongest attack, however his body can no longer support magic of this scale and he briefly blacks out when the ball of plasma slams into Adriel¡¯s body. The shockwave decimates the landscape as though an atomic bomb was set off. In less than a second, everything above ground within a two mile radius is vaporized, while much of the ground itself turns to glass except for a small bubble surrounding Duriel. To think she can push me this hard now. Knowing I have this ability, I probably couldn¡¯t beat her again after this. This is truly everything my current body can manage. Actually, this body might not even be able to do that ever again... ¡°I win!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Wait. What!?¡± Standing in front of him is Adriel with her rapier at his neck. Her clothing is almost entirely burnt away and even parts of her arms and hair are burnt, but she has no serious injuries and is smiling in full force. ¡°Hahaha. You really did it. I knew you¡¯d survive, but I still didn¡¯t expect you to win.¡± What¡¯s going on? Her mana levels hardly went up. They briefly doubled, but even that shouldn¡¯t be enough to have made it this far. She didn¡¯t awaken her true power. She must have more than that, so how is she this unharmed? Oh dear, I need to get clothes on her, NOW. ¡°Well for a moment there I DIDN¡¯T think I¡¯d survive. How can you even do something like that? I didn¡¯t know you could use magic like that. It took everything to deconstruct the mana in the center of that plasma to divert it. For once I¡¯m thankful for my small body. If I were bigger, I probably wouldn''t fit in the opening I made there.¡± Duriel was shocked. He had assumed that she would tap into her body¡¯s hidden power to survive the blast without taking much damage, but she found a completely different method. ¡°What do you mean by deconstruct the mana? You mean like a magic shield to warp the plasma? I didn¡¯t sense such a shield formed by you.¡± Duriel took a towel out of his dimensional storage bag and gave it to her so she could cover up. ¡°Thanks, but huh? No. Your power is crazy Duriel. I know I can¡¯t match that, not even close. It would have destroyed any shield I put up. I changed the mana you used to turn the spell back into pure mana to undo part of the plasma in the center. Isn¡¯t that what I was supposed to do? I didn¡¯t see any other way out of that.¡± ¡°Oh I see. Ahem. Very good dear. I think we have both earned a rest, let¡¯s get back home and take a day off. I¡¯ll cook you a fine meal tonight.¡± ¡°Awesome! I want steak today.¡± That isn¡¯t possible. But then again, the rules of magic may have changed now; her very existence is proof of that. I can¡¯t wait to see what she can do when she unlocks her real power. I had hoped I could push her there myself, but I¡¯ll have to find another way. Duriel thought these things all the way back as Adriel skipped and examined the very few plants still alive on the path back home. Mana is personal, an extension of the body. To block someone¡¯s mana would be like blocking a punch, but to control someone¡¯s mana is the same as controlling someone else¡¯s body entirely. Complicated magic breaking spells exist, maybe she just used one of those and described it poorly. I made the right choice. When she realizes her true self, I hope she lets me follow her forever. I am honored to have raised her, but one day she will have to take charge, and I shall do whatever she says even if she can¡¯t forgive me for what I¡¯ve done. After all, I owe my life to this angel. Chapter 5 - The Journey Begins Today my journey begins. Duriel said I¡¯m full of potential and wanted me to finally see the rest of the world. Honestly, I think I can learn so much more from seeing the other races of this world. I still feel like I hardly have any control over my mana and I have only just begun to construct original spells. Most magic used has already been fine-tuned and created by people long ago and we still use it today. But magic in this world is practically identical to programming from my own world. It takes a lot of effort and time for complex magic, but anything seems possible with the right mindset and mana control. The most obvious area I have been using this in is for enchantment. Practically anything can be enchanted, though sentient life can resist unwanted enchantment due to how mana mixes together. I have enchanted all of my equipment to be physically unbreakable, though I¡¯m sure some powerful magic could still damage them. The other custom spell I made is a form of storage magic. I felt so proud when I saw Duriel¡¯s reaction to it. Most storage magic is used on bags and other containers to make the inside bigger than the outside. However, I have created my own pocket dimensions to put items into. The only two downsides to it are organization and the small mana cost to open the portal every time. Still, it¡¯s more than worth the mana for weightless storage. As for my gear, I have a full assortment of lesser dragon-leather armor and my two weapons: a glaive and an augmented rapier. It is most effectively used as a rapier, but it does have one edge sharpened to allow for some slashing, though the edge isn¡¯t highly effective due to how thin it is. Still, it gives it more uses than just stabbing and with the enchantments I have put on it, it has definitely become my favorite possession. Aside from these items for survival in the wasteland, I don¡¯t have much aside from a few history and spell books that I have already read. There was no money at my home as we were away from any other society and apparently my body doesn¡¯t need food or water to survive so I didn¡¯t bring any of that; though I still love the taste so I hope I can find some. The first few days of my journey were quite uneventful, though I did run into a few minor demons; no problem there. It¡¯s a bit odd actually. In my old world, demons were supposed to be powerful, or at least stronger than your normal human and very difficult to kill. I suppose I¡¯m not human anymore, but this world still seems very abnormal. ¡°My lucky day, a lost human has found me!¡± ¡°Oh. Hi there lesser demon! I¡¯m looking for the closest human city, could you help me find it, please?¡± ¡°Hehehe, your desire to get away from me is reasonable. But I think I¡¯ll just crush you instead!¡± Why do they always say that? His mana can¡¯t be more than 500, so how does he expect to even have a chance here? Even without an adrenaline boost, mine is almost 9,000. I guess I am suppressing it though. ¡°Mark, Veronica, Derek! Lesser demon spotted, tier 4. There is a young girl with it too. We have to move NOW!¡± ¡°Dammit, I wasn¡¯t looking to get my ass kicked today.¡± ¡°Come on now Markipoo, maybe she will give you a kiss as thanks. Power of the world. Gather in my heart as a vessel and strike my enemy before me. Lightning!¡± With the chant of the sorceress, a ray of electricity leapt from her fingers to the demon before me. It looks like her mana level is around 300, and she used around a quarter of her supply for that one attack. The demon began to put up a wall of magic to absorb the attack but had its hand impaled by an arrow shot from the man who found me, cancelling his defense preparations. Losing focus on me, the lesser demon quickly charged at the sorceress only to be blocked by a hulking man in full armor. ¡°I don¡¯t need a kiss from a little girl Veronica! Gah! This thing is tough.¡± Taking the full force of the demon''s charge, Mark¡¯s shield was dented as the force made his entire body ache and a powerful slash of its claws penetrated his armor and released a small amount of blood. ¡°Today, Derek!¡± A much more slim, though moderately tall man quickly got behind the demon which was cutting into Mark¡¯s armor and used a glowing shortsword to make a tremendous gash in the demon¡¯s arm, stopping its attacks.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°You are all more capable than I gave you credit for. In light of your achievement, I will give you a chance to flee with your lives.¡± ¡°You are the one that will be losing your life today, Demon.¡± ¡°Oh holy mother who left us with the-¡± As Veronica began her, rather unnecessary, chanting the demon exclaimed ¡°Then you forfeit your lives!¡± and started gathering a great ball of fire within its hands. It appears to be explosion magic. Demons have fire resistance so it should survive even if it is harmed, but the others probably can¡¯t survive that without some kind of plan. The archer fired another arrow, this one a pale blue in color, into the eye of the occupied demon which stunned it briefly and paused the charging of its magic. It wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop the demon, but it looks like he was only trying to buy time. ¡°You assholes all owe me a drink and a woman when we get back!¡± Shouting that, Mark leapt unto the stunned demon and held his shield between himself and the fireball while knocking the demon to the ground. A moment later, the magic finished its charge and activated, launching him into the air and heavily singeing the demon. ¡°-Holy smite!¡± Taking advantage of the commotion, Veronica finished her spell and a pillar of light about a foot in diameter came from the sky, burning a hole through the weakened demon. Heavily weakened, but somehow not dead. It began to scream and howl as it charged and, with a single swing, threw Derek twenty meters into Veronica. As it started to run again, a much thicker arrow impaled it through the ankle and into the ground, trapping its movements. This bought Derek enough time to get back up and run towards the frantic lesser demon. ¡°Pathetic worms! I will ensure your suffering in the pits of hell!¡± Sensing its danger being rooted in place, the demon completely ripped off its foot and spread its small wings in an attempt to flee. Before it could make it off the ground, Derek had already arrived and cleaved a wing off. Despite its efforts after that, the only result was its death. *Thud* After trying to get on his feet and seeing the battle over, Mark completely collapsed back on the ground. ¡°You good Mark?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯d be better if I were dead. It¡¯ll take weeks for these burns to heal and I¡¯m pretty sure he cracked a few of my ribs. Fuck! Yeah, that one¡¯s completely broken.¡± ¡°Go ahead and take five Mark. Derek, gather up anything we can sell off the demon. Tristan, keep an eye out for anything else. My mana is almost dry after that. I¡¯ll make sure the girl is okay.¡± ¡°Got it boss.¡± x 2 Mark simply raises an arm and gives a thumbs up. ¡°Hey there, girl. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m doing just fine. What about you guys? He seems hurt pretty bad.¡± ¡°Oh he- will be fine. He has been through a lot worse. I¡¯m just going to owe him a drink later. For real though, what are you doing out here all alone, do you have parents or guards nearby? This isn¡¯t a place for solo people and especially not kids.¡± Well, I¡¯m not exactly a kid but I understand the confusion. Apparently my body was ¡°done¡± growing the day I woke up. I was a bit upset about it for a while, but I have accepted it now. At least I¡¯m cute. ¡°Nope, just me.¡± ****************************************** Veronica POV ****************************************** What in the world is going on? We are miles away from the city. Nobody in their right mind would bring a child out here and she is completely unharmed. It almost looks like a human sacrifice being brought out here for the demons, or maybe a trap? This is suspicious. She looks like a warrior princess, this has to be a trap. It could be a demon disguising itself, but it would take a greater demon to be that realistic. One of those could just kill us now anyway. Mark needs to get back and we can¡¯t leave her here. We will get her back to the city. If she is a demon, she won¡¯t be able to get in anyway. ¡°So, um, what was your name?¡± ¡°Adriel.¡± That¡¯s an unusual name. ¡°So what are you doing out here then? The only people that go out here are adventurers and merchants. I suppose you are dressed like an adventurer, but I think you might be a bit young to be out here for now.¡± ¡°Actually I¡¯m on my way to the nearest nation. I have always wanted to see it and I can finally make the trip! Also, I¡¯m not a kid. I just stopped growing at this size for some reason¡­¡± I suppose she does have the body of a teenager at least, maybe. There are some curves. Maybe she is a bit older, but she is still tiny and based on her gear I doubt she can even use mana. She shouldn¡¯t be out here. She seems wealthy from her clothing, maybe she had an escort that died for her out here? ¡°Alright Adriel. We are just finishing up here and then we are going to head back to the nation ourselves. It¡¯s not safe to stay out here too long, so how about you come with us?¡± ¡°Sure! It¡¯d be great to have someone who knows the way.¡± *************************************** Adriel is beaming with excitement about meeting new people and finally seeing a new civilization. With Duriel being the only other person she has met since her awakening here, her potential friends have more than doubled in a day. ¡°Got the core, wings and claws boss. We should probably get Mark back. He won¡¯t be able to do much if we run into another one of those.¡± It¡¯s true. While they were trying to underplay it a bit when they said he was fine, Mark was definitely hurt badly and Veronica had used most of her mana. While the reward was certainly worth it, they would be unlikely to beat another one and they had no interest in dying for their jobs. After helping Mark back to his feet and introducing themselves to the girl, the group collected their bounty and made the journey back to the city.