Maou Shoujo Magical Chaos by Meakashi

Category: Original

Genre: Adventure, Anti-Hero Lead, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Female Lead, Grimdark, Harem, Magic, Multiple Lead Characters, Non-Human lead, Reincarnation, Strategy, Strong Lead, Supernatural

Status: In-Progress

Published: 2017-01-30

Updated: 2018-10-03

Packaged: 2018-10-11 20:38:30

Warnings: Gore Sexual Content Traumatising content, This fiction contains:

Chapters: 145

Words: 446,384

Publisher: www.royalroad.com

Summary:

Volume One is available on Amazon! It covers chapters 1-23, but has double its word count, and features new characters and subplots!

Volume Two is currently in the rewriting and editing process. Look forward to it soon!

Death and Reincarnation.

Kuroe Makoto, the tomboyish ace of her high school track and field club, never spared a thought for these things before. However, when she falls asleep in her Tokyo home after an exhausting marathon and wakes up in a fantasy world, those concepts become her reality. And unlike in the common light novel setting, she isn't reincarnated as the naturally good-looking and talented human hero who gathers a harem effortlessly.

In fact, she isn't reincarnated as a human at all. She is reborn as 'Chaos', child of the demon queen and heir to a kingdom at war with humanity.

Maou Shoujo Magical Chaos puts the Japanese high school girl in a tentacle monster, in this strange tale of a sound human mind possessing a horrifying creature's body.

Join Chaos on her oftentimes humorous but also perilous journey through a world of sword and sorcery, as she discovers a newfound appetite for life, terror, and having sex with demi-human girls.

This story features just yuri, as the female protagonist only has interest in other females.

Current Release Schedule: One to two chapters every week. Expect an announcement if I can't keep to that.

Pledge of Completion: With the release of the ebook on Amazon, I pledge that this series will never be dropped, and see completion.

Standalone spin-off featuring Senka: Red Mantis and Avenger Doll

Cover art by Oracle125.

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 disheveled short 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 a 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 cast stand-alone 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 of 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 in the hallway, 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!

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'd 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 organization 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 are actually 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 very strange and very 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. Each and 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 wide 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 wonder at seeing 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 because 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 ear-rings.

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 own 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 to just refuse to die to 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 perfectly replicate their physical bodies." And my beautiful mother's shape changes into the even more beautiful elvish 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.

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 me or one of the servants, 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 even 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 very surprised.

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 oufit 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, I guess?

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 to not 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 naked stone walls. The circular portion is actually 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 in an eerie blue light 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 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

I say "saving my parts", but I have no idea where to find them. 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.

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 buzzaws 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?

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 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 fall 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're 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? I fell asleep and drowned? 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.

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 like 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 to 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 a 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 the 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 actually 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... do 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, 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 are able to 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 rather unnatural ones, such as pink and dark blue, and they have tails that stand up like those of happy dog's.

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, 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, I'm sure of that.

"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 you did that. Actually, what's up with that name, Gram? You totally 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 to 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 clichéd 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 really 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 of 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 certain 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 gonna correct them, though. "That's a strange name. Maybe it's from the Mineva Republic?" Leave my name alone, oi! You're being 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 demons.

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

"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 really 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, 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 just 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 has the audacity 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 just 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 really want to, but well, the whole party is needed after all.

- Chaos has joined the party -

Chapter 8 - After All, It's Only That

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 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 obvious 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 smart phones 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 completely 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 due to the fact that it resembled a naked shirt look. The bard was nice 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 actually 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 do 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 actually 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 actually 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 to actively search for it eventually.

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

"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 basically 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 kinda 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 being 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 in comparison to the severed lamb leg, I'd actually 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 as what 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 actually 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 considered 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 the acid saliva holds true, 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 actually 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 MVP is the tank!

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 swirls around her. One of the many orbs light 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 actually really 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 have the 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 simply 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 really 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 - is able to distract from the world in another.

I'm in the middle, with a huge jug of beer in front of me. This'll 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 totally 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 was 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 wasn'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 salary man or what? "You're not half bad, either. Starting to feel the effect already?" I'm actually not feeling anything of the alcohol and have to wonder about how many percent this has. 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 my body's weight worth 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 bold-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 huge amount. The tavern keeper had to scratch his head when the barrel was emptied fairly quickly, but opened another one with a shrug. Phew, I'm lucky everyone seems to be so accepting of my unnatural 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 looks 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 kinda 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.

"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, 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 in 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're no monsters around for the most part. There aren't even many bandits since the kingdom is quite peaceful. So, a boring, 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 was 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 know that, 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.

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 great progress, against all expectations. Basically, he means I could keep up really 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 under two and a half hours. That's among the best in Japan at my age. Ehen!

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, actually, 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 of 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 friendly 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 just 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 secure 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 can't tell much about where I'm from since I've only seen it through my window. That's actually 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... I actually 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. If... Hm, 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's 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 quest line 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 in this town as someone buying things in large quantities at reasonable prices. We'll meet back here at nightfall." Rolan stands up and moves 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.

"You alright with it, Runa?" This guy actually 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! Actually, it was pretty good that I was sent to the Dark Continent the first time. I gained a really useful 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?" Buha, where did that come from? I only know you all for three days. Ah, must be my fake advances on him, just to see you 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 onward. 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 really 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 even has experience, 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 bold-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 actually 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 says. That's certainly not Lady Nightwane. "What's our watchman doing?" This doesn't sound good.

"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 a little scared.

From the back of the store, one more man comes out, much smaller and thinner than the previous two thugs. This one looks like he used up all the brain matter put aside to create the other two, but traded in his muscles as compensation. His eyes are those of a dead fish, as he stares at Luna. 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 something. Then the thug is already right in front of her and swings down his club. "Not her face you idiot!" 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 of the Demon Continent." I say with confidence. For a moment, the three villains 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 with them. This goes on for a bit, until they finally realize that I've joined in with them. "W-why are you laughing? What's so funny?" Ah, suddenly he's 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 ripped open my face with that laugh, since I normally don't have a mouth in this shape. 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's strong 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. Because when you crossed me, this has become your reality." He screams. Ahhh, this feels great. The thug with the club is completely inside me now. There isn't a single trace of him left. The other one who pissed himself has fainted, his eyes rolled back in their sockets. Wait, he isn't breathing. Wow, this effective? His mind shut his body down to preserve itself. "Now, tell me who hired you, and I will ease your suffering." Waves of shivers run through the brainiac's body at my voice.

"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 a break. 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 as he 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.

"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 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." Is that how it is? I didn't know. I'm kinda 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. 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." 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 by ignoring them.

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

"Chaos... how original." She looks away from me for some reason. "What if I told her that her name isn't based on the concept but on the amoeba of the same name?" She just said that to the air. 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 the human territory 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. One was killed by her. 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 clearly 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 look to 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 turns 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 move, 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 so soft, and kinda smells nice, 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.

"Zany enough for you?" Senka whispers, only audible to me, but her eyes stare into space again.

Who is she talking to, really?

Chapter 12 - Girls are Discussing

I think Luna hates me even more now. And she thinks I'm crazy. This was quite the fruitful afternoon. I also gained some insights into the human world, 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." 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 very dark purple, and her hair is dark green. Camouflage for the night? She kinda looks like a sullen mature woman, with the hair falling over her eyes.

It's lucky she's unconscious, so she didn't hear anything about what happened earlier. I really 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. Furthermore, nobody would believe that cute ol' me could be a monster. Cosmic Horror, Senka said? 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..." She's awoken. "Hmmph?" She realizes the gag and begins to struggle. Then she spots us. 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 Dutch wife?

"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... that's so depressing...

"How much do you want for it?"

"You have money?" 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 at the time. But it must be my lucky day, because I found a pretty fat purse in the brainiac's belongings inside my body. I can just 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 really know how much is in it, but I'll just let the money 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. Ah, no poker face. 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 angler 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. 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. While not as heavy, it should 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?

"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 because we supposedly didn't contribute to it. It was all me, though...

"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 ground.

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 on her body. Now I'm actually curious, even though I can picture it.

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

- You have obtained Creepy Loli Doll -

"I cannot believe it... Miss Marcott, you have terrible taste." Hey, you're being 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 back 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."

"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 the 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.

"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, we can only search one place at a time. It's very likely that we just pass each other by 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 kinda don't want to leave her alone, either. I've taken it this far to protect her, 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 maybe forget about it. I hug Senka firmly.

"Please don't be a raging lesbian..." I hear her whisper. I might just become one, you're just too cuddle-able.

"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?" Oh crap. I thought your alibi was perfect, but you never were an automaton in front of Lady Nightwane?

"Oops tee hee." Senka!!!

"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 kinda are. Lady Nightwane looks at us questioningly, but I think she's happy with the money 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." Kind of. Not really.

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 seems to see the world the same 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 waitress who's needlessly cute. 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, but shares her sentiment upon seeing Senka. Why does everyone have such an aversion to 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 actually speaking the truth, but that's only going to add oil to the fire.

"What? Now you act as if there is nothing going on between us, after all the nights we shared on your behest!" 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!" Slap. The waitress 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 an underground slave ring that Sveinn is transporting kidnapped elves turned slaves. 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 persuasive force within her 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 be using 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 amount of kidnapped elves to transport. Aside from them remaining completely still during the journey, locked inside hidden compartments inside the carriages, I cannot think of anything else.

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 the 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. Kinda like freeters in Japan.

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

- Adventurers are sharing information -

"I see... we have to do something about it. To think such problems still existed in our kingdom." Rolan has a grim expression. I knew he was the righteous type from the very beginning, considering the fact that 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 don't.

"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, right beside you. 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 at this stage 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 first name. Although it's actually my last 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 me for my idealism or 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.

"Miss Chloe..." Rolan is looking 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 as 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 actually expected that question from Luna much earlier.

"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. 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 they're in on it, too. 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 really 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 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... ah, 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 get 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 cliché.

"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.

"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 Doesn't 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 obvious 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." As I thought. "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 kinda 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 the their trail. We don't have many people in at the moment, because of the advanced hour, so we need all available hands." 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 at the city watch. We should wait for word from him." I almost forgot about him. What about the bard you ask? There was a bard?

"Only until I get word from my trackers. Time's of the essence. We don't want them to escape under our noses." 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 important 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 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." 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. It's very likely that they 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 completely 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.

"Uhm..." I make, and everyone 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 used 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 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. Actually, 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.

"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. 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 change 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 actually died 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 on the body it occupies." That sounds really scary, oi! That's like that demonic being that can kill people in their dreams. "But do you really 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. "Vigi is on the lookout from above." She uses her thumb to point upwards.

"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 serves as time for Halfdan to make an opening leading underground.

"We have been spotted." A man in dark blue attire appears right beside Ingrid. 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's covered in a thick layer of glowing ice that illuminates the surroundings. Oh, this is quite convenient for those on the lookout for anyone who might actually break out from there, since it lights up the street.

"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 really 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 sewage tunnel?

"Ignis." Luna beside me whispers and the air above her staff's tip lights up in 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. And there are two doors 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 to hold a bottleneck like this. Not that they'd get out, since there are people 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'd make everyone involved a huge laughingstock. That's just me musing, 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 are in this building.

Luna and I are mostly in the back, since we don't have any fighting capabilities to speak of. Well, officially, I'm just a healer. So, healing magic isn't that common in this world, huh? Considering there are only twelve in this kingdom, thirteen with me. Then again, I don't know how big it is and how many people live in it, so I can't tell yet. We come upon a corpse, someone who looks more like a thug than an adventurer. Must be one of them. Things seem to be progressing well.

"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 three being dark elves, but Lady Nightwane 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 really 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 cast healing magic, but a different variation that requires a longer incantation and basically only speeds up the body's own regenerative capabilities. In other words, light magic is true healing? This is really useful! Oh, so Luna doubles as the healer in her party, then. Well, she can't compete with me. Uh, I think my nose 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, in many ways. At this rate, we'll be done really 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 nice 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 he do that, when he could just break through the encirclement with this firepower and escape on his 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 him? 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, if only to find a countermeasure 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, else it doesn't explain how he 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 of 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 axes, hammers 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.

"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 elemental alignment!" Luna exclaims. Double? What do you mean?

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

Another fire ball 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, causing the flame to disappear completely on impact. What level of enchantment is your shield, oi? Look, the fire mage is also baffled. But in the end, it's just one wide 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 in 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 fire ball, 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 fire ball 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 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 forms and whips her cape around. From the tip of her staff water and fire form and mix, against all laws of physics, creating a glowing sphere. A barrier of wind holds it into place, until the sphere glows as brightly as the sun. Don't tell me, this is fusion?

The fire mage sees it and his eyes expand in shock. So this must be quite the strong 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 wouldn'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.

"If you do not surrender, the next one is going to hit a vital spot." It can be shot multiple times? That's so unfair!

"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.

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

This concludes the raid.

"But really, why would someone with a double elemental alignment become a criminal?" Luna wonders after 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 elemental alignment?" I'm really wondering. Sounds like having twice the affinity to a single element, but that seems really ambiguous.

"It means someone who would normally have access to two elements having both of them be the same element." That... doesn't make any sense. "These mages can greatly enhance even the most basic spells. You saw him use 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 somehow...

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 huge cage and unhesitatingly pull the sheet that covers it. Inside is a girl, maybe in her early teens. It's a dark elf, with dark purple 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 really cute and her almost glowing violet eyes are mesmerizing. But her right arm is deformed, from the middle of the upper arm down morphing into the claw of a crab. Unlike her skin color, it's a bright red, and it's incredibly huge. In fact, if she stood up, it would reach the floor. 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 this looks pretty cool.

"What happens to her?" I have the feeling that she's an outcast in the world of humans and elves. I'm sure nobody on the Demon Continent would mind, though. I mean, beings like me exist there. Uh, why do I always jab 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." That's really cruel. I look at her and our eyes meet. Ah...

"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." Just like you did for me. Well, I only imply that part. What Rolan did wasn't really significant to me, since I didn't need the kind of help he thought he gave me, but I think what I want to do for this girl will be. When I look into her eyes, I can see real despair. There's only a tiny hint of life in them, everything else was taken by the cruelties of humans. They are eyes 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 didn't follow me. He can't see what I'm doing from his angle. I stretch my finger into the keyhole and unlock it from the inside. 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, when they were confronted by the adventurers.

"Wait, that's dangerous, Miss Chloe!" At his 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 an emotion, her body reacts as if she had many painful experiences with people coming into this 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, with the bard even readying his crossbow. Stop it, or I'll get mad. I'm ready to take you all out to save this girl, if I have to! Yes, to me, she's more like kin than you are. I circle around to block their view on the dark elf 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 somehow 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 completely smooth. Either way, I don't think physical attacks really work on me that well. At least not on this level. But now that you attacked and 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.

Ah, she bit me. 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 afterwards, 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 look into her eyes and see the fear wane, replaced by sadness. Tears begin to form in them 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 really 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 where he stayed the night. 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 likes Senka. Finally, a kindred spirit on the party. Yes, I told Rolan that I wanted to officially 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 person 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 nice 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 really late at night when we finally get back to the tavern. Rolan reserved two room, one with three beds for the men and the other with two for the women. While Senka doesn't count, Kamii hadn't been within his calculations. 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 nice enough to offer us this. There's a sofa chair in the room with the two beds, but it doesn't look very comfortable. Not that I really 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 sleep on them. 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 "Good night, 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 actually 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 really 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 bed mate 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 the daughter of the demon lord. I ate a steamed human and actually enjoyed it. I was 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. I met Rolan and his party in a place apparently considered a village in this world, 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 months 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 really exciting. I'm meeting interesting people and beings and I'm living an adventure - although it's kinda 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 really 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.

"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 kind 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 certain 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 anyways.

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 really sleepy... I'm weak in the mornings after all, but apparently 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 really 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 her pants are basically hot pants. Nothing underneath, 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 "less 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 being 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 actually 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, so it doesn't really matter. "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 actually also the gluttonous type. There are two freeloaders on the party now. At least Senka doesn't need to eat.

"Well, Lady Marcott can work as a healer along the way." 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 until then.

Jokes aside, I intended to do that from the start. I don't know about her fighting capabilities, but her strength is really a joke. Her slap felt like that of someone her age, despite the fact that 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 think I'm making 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 defeat my mother... "We would have eventually moved to the capital, and then beyond anyways. 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 at least six days, considering the journey from the village to Hovsgaerden took three days. I don't know how the academy functions, but I'm sure that kind of behavior is frowned upon.

"I don't think the capital will have many subjugation quests 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, if you're going to try and realize this ambition of yours.

"I understand..." Luna finally admits that Rolan has been selling his case really 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 sounds quite romantic... if it wasn't being said by Gram 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 really 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 the 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 to the adventurer guild. Yes, we already finished shopping. No, I won't tell what exactly happened during that time.

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 really dejected, 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 only a single strap over her left shoulder holding it in place. Since she's so slender, it works out. Incidentally, she's wearing it now and looks a little happy. Her eyes have regained a lot of 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, coming in a set with the dress, with a white fur trim, 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 you mean by that? She asked for bandages instead of gloves for her battered hands afterwards and selected a simple dark blue hat. For some reason, she picked out steel-capped leather high boots that had to be meticulously tied, too. Doesn't fit the rest at all. But I'm really scared... what did you 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. Arcelia was her name, right?

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 really 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, this is basically just like 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 complex.

But there are also some really interesting sounding ones, like "Sivalta". Apparently 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 guess this means magic 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 anyways, 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 strong enough or not.

One quest catches my eyes: Cemetery Dungeon Clearing. There are dungeons in this world, huh? Should have expected that. There's actually 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. Hm... 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.

"I am really interested in this Cemetery Dungeon Clearing request." Trying can't hurt. I earn a 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 fire balls. Then I'll just will it to move in some direction. Luckily, there's a perfect target: An actual target, hanging at one end of the guild hall.

The spear flies, faster than Gram's eyes can follow, and hits the target dead center. Then it goes in, leaving behind a perfect hole the size of a volleyball in the wall behind it. And apparently the walls of every house in its path, the city walls beyond, until it disappeared towards the horizon. 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 several minutes, and it's almost at the same destructive power.

Everyone in the guild hall is dumbfounded by the sight, alternating their gazes between the wall and me. Yep, this spell is bad. If I carelessly throw these around, it'll cause a lot of collateral. I don't care for any possibly lost lives, but 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 been too haughty. I only learned how to use magic yesterday, and today I throw a spell that seems to ignore all forms of cover. And apparently without any effort, too. "Let us try the quest." I look into Gram's eyes with mine upturned. 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, 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..." 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 quest not best completed at night?" Not scared, you ask? This is a different kind of horror than 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." What, really? I look at him unbelieving, and he looks away while scratching his nose in embarrassment. Well, it wasn't nice for 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 lot of groups 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 type 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 mentally shut down completely.

""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 guild hall 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 whatever comes next 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 maou 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 really 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 it actually 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 clearly 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 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. 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 were 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 nearly a million... and they were completely wiped out?"

"If 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 grows louder as Ingrid scratches her head with a difficult 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 was 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 out that quickly.

"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 slowly descending on the people in the hall. I hear people still whisper about the one million dead and how impossible it would be to fight the demons. I guess that was a pretty big army for 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 survival of our people as payment. Dismissed."

Way to go to motivate them. Actually, 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 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 clearly doesn't look like one to run away. Rolan, Luna and even the bard are the same.

"Yes, this is the first expedition since 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 means he obviously failed. "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." Then losing a million being such a shock makes a lot of sense. Three times the amount of soldiers, completely wiped out rather than just routed, 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 explaining. "The sultanate had no relations to the emperor's expedition, 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 just roll with it anyway? For some reason, I think that's actually very likely what happened. The image of the maou 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 most important city during such a time. Even then, it'd still take a month to return, right? I can't make this decision so easily, 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 look. 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 kinda defeats the purpose. Maybe I can score some points with selflessness here.

"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 says "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." 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 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 actually considering it.

"I heard that the undead are really slow, so..." Oh oh, you're also considering it!

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 completely 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 to see 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. 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, because the ground in front of him is illuminated.

"Uurhhh..." Yep, that's the sound of a zombie. I also hear clattering bones, so 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 really bad, 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 like 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 huge number of undead 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 they each one of them leaves behind is ethereal and clear, 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 really unsatisfied. Apparently 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 really understand how amazing it was, so she just keeps clinging to me as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. She didn't even really understand that we were actually surrounded by undead and 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 and teach Kamii about myself.

When we return to the tavern, we're 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 really understand. I think I know a way to make her, 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 backwards in shock, but I catch her with my other hand. I revert the transformation and turn my entire arm into its real appearance - that of tentacles.

"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 which 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 little girl after all, even if she looks like one. We can talk eye to eye, although she sometimes loses me with statements that seem to speak to someone watching us.

"What... is that?" Kamii points at Senka and sounds a little scared. Ah, so you aren't scared 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 just 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...

Spoiler :

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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

"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.

"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.

"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 - School's 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.

"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?"

"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?

"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?

"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?"

"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.

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.

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.

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 clichéd 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.

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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

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.

"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.

"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...

"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.

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 cliché...

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.

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.

"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.

"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 triple agent."

"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.

"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.

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 protégés 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 déjà 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.

Spoiler :

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.

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.

"... 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.

"... 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.

"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.

"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-"

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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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 déjà 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?"

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.

Spoiler :

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."

"... 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.

"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.

"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.

Spoiler :

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.

"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 of her 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.

"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.

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!"

"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.

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.

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.

"... 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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

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.

Spoiler: Image

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 - I'm 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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

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..."

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.

"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 mother in 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."

"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!"

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."

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.

"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 tusks like 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.

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.

"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!"

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.

"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.

"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●kemon 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 déjà 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!

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

"Eá?" 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.

"Ók 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. "Ahà?"

"... hello?" It's obvious that we won't be able to communicate, but I still try nonetheless.

"Ahà?! Rangi, ereáh 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 ahà 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. "Ók iaw ienét?!"

"Nice... to meet you... too?" I speak reluctantly, wondering at their reactions.

"Awhina! Ereáh 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 ereáh 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 ám!"

"Ónit?" 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. "Onóp, eh oritok ám!"

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...

"Agniák!" 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, akít?" 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 aná 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 unót ai ik a uotàr!" Awhina turns to her parents and grins. " Em ognát uotát e ai aik etik ai uotàr."

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 uahá!" 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 ereáh ik ot enoát o opópá 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...

"Ereáh iam! Ak utaàkáhw uahá 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. "Ereáh 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.

"Aihutaákahw uta et etuákahw, Awhina." Ruiha calls after her daughter in a warning tone. "A auák e ekeháp." Yeah, I have nothing.

"Ak oihòm!" 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 ereáh uotàm ik ariér ik et uatákahw ai Tama auar ok Tane opópá." 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.

"Eròak ienáiani." 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.

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 ihiúkaráp!" 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 ienét i irùm i et agnaàp 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 aiháih eok ik et ihám i ienét, 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 erér 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 ereáh!" 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.

"Aéhep eok, Awhina!" He calls out to my captain.

"Eh iap uáha, 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 ienét ik a uotár." She pauses for a moment and then turns towards me with a thick eyebrow raised in a thoughtful expression. "I et ara, eh ahà uot aògni?"

I have no idea what she's asking me and blink at her in non-comprehension.

"Ok ukot aógni 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 ahà 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 - It's 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 from my 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 oihòm ana eok ihatét ik ihatét?" Awhina tilts her head and looks at the two girls clinging to me.

"Ea, ok ai ot uotát aeáhw." 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.

"Ahà?!" 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.

... 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 ahá om ukát papá?" 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 maramakáhw-" Uten starts.

"-uotàm eh autà ot papá." And Saten finishes.

"Eua, ak etik uahá..." 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 uahá 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 clichés.

"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.

"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 déjà 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 ienét om et irakáh!" Awhina's voice at the door rouses me from my deep thoughts.

"Ea, iek et ereáh iam uotát." 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 upút!" 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.

"Iatéhwakáhw 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 itiámat ehakáhw." 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 eáakáhw ana uahá ik ot oréw." 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 unót i et ahàk!" 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?]"

"[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 déjà 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! Akát om ot etám!

EEE-ereáh iam ik uahá, e et iwi iti! Ak utaakáhw uahá ik a eok i ot agnutúm!"

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.

"[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.]"

"[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.]"

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~

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?]"

"[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 utukám.]" 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.

"[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.

"[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?

"[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 - Lenoly Side

"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.

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.

"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?"

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.

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. Now 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.

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.

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.

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:

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

Chapter 2 - Saving Private Parts (v2)

Story Artworks

Art By Whisper

Spoiler:

Christmas Special Chaos:

Chaos with Senka:

Senka:

Artwork by Oracle

Spoiler:

Maou-mama, Pelomyx:

Hestia:

Pre-Death Kuroe Makoto (Chaos):

Academy Chloe Marcott (Chaos), with glasses:

Artworks by DanP

Spoiler:

Kamii (current design):

Senka:

Aurelia (naked):

Various Artists from Inked

Spoiler:

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.

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.

"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.]"

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.

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 cliché 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.

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

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 (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-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.

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.

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'?"

"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.

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.

"[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.

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.

"[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.

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.]"

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!

Come one, come all!

Starting with this announcement, I'll be giving away THREE copies of the ebook (vol.1) every time I post a new chapter. It's really easy to enter - just write an email to [email protected] in the following format:

- Username on RRL

- Your Amazon region and your Amazon Email address

- Some whispers of love~

This is a raffle, not on a first-come-first-served basis, but only those who enter within three days of each giveaway's starting date will be counted. The winners will be announced in the following chapter that gets published each time - though they'll most likely receive their stuff before then.

For those who would like to just get the book right away, you can find the two different editions here:

Demon Princess Magical Chaos - The Tentacle Awakens (Kindle Edition)

Demon Princess Magical Chaos - The Tentacle Awakens (Paperback Edition)

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"[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.

"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 are ripped 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. Cleaving the enemies into pieces with their massive axes, 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 Can't 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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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?"

"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!

Table of Contents

Title Page

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

Chapter 2 - Saving Private Parts (v2)

Chapter 3 - Who Let the Wolves Out

Chapter 4 - I eat, therefore I am

Chapter 5 - Take Two

Chapter 6 - Legend of the Land Selkie

Chapter 7 - Normies Should Just Explode

Chapter 8 - After All, It's Only That

Chapter 9 - On the Road

Chapter 10 - Going for All Character Routes

Chapter 11 - Breaking Minds and Fourth Walls

Chapter 12 - Girls are Discussing

Chapter 13 - Side Quest Accepted

Chapter 14 - Saint of Luminosity

Chapter 15 - Slavery Doesn't Pay

Chapter 16 - The Raid and Redemption

Chapter 17 - A New Dawn

Chapter 18 - Pretty Old News

Chapter 19 - State of Emergency

Chapter 20 - The Path to the Capital

Chapter 21 - Through the Belly of the Beast

Chapter 22 - The Journey Continues

Chapter 23 - Row Row Row Your Boat

Chapter 24 - The Royal Academy

Chapter 25 - Like a Rat

Chapter 26 - School's Starting

Chapter 27 - Blazing Transfer Student

Chapter 28 - Angel and Demon

Chapter 29 - Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 30 - Cue Romantic Music

Chapter H1 - Dying Embers of Hope

Chapter 31 - Purity and Corruption

Chapter 32 - Every Story Needs One

Chapter 33 - End of Innocence

Chapter 34 - Spread Your Wings

Chapter 35 - Revealed or Safe?

Chapter R1 - The Lost Tombs

Chapter 36 - Demon Mages Association

Chapter 37 - Chaotic Revelations

Chapter 38 - The Conspiracy

Chapter 39 - Night at the Library

Chapter 40 - Not Like One in a Book Off

Chapter K1 - I Love Onee-sama

Chapter 41 - Detour with Benefits

Chapter 42 - The Demon Queen Pelomyx

Chapter 43 - Return to the Academy

Chapter 44 - School Days

Chapter 45 - Checkmate

Chapter A1 - Peace of Mind

Chapter A2 - Sanctity of Will

Chapter 46 - Cruelty in the Desert

Chapter S1 - Hyper-Dimensional Loli-Doll

Chapter 47 - Operation Desert Sweep

Chapter 48 - Slavery Does Pay

Chapter 49 - A Foreign Land

Chapter 50 - The Twin Goddesses

Chapter 51 - The Prisoner

Chapter 52 - The 6th Day

Chapter K2 - This Hand of Mine

Chapter 53 - The Red Tides

Chapter 54 - Battle for the Bulge

Chapter 55 - Time to Return

Chapter 56 - Ace Combat

Chapter 57 - Chaos Returns

Chapter 58 - No More Mercy

Chapter 59 - The Gravity of the Situation

Chapter O1 - Splinter Cells

Chapter O2 - Perfect Dark

Chapter R2 - Look at My Horse

Chapter K3 - The Nightmare Breeders

Chapter O3 - The Breaking of the Fellowship

Chapter 60 - Space Oddity

Chapter 61 - Revelation of Divine Divinity

Chapter R3 - The Lioness' Den

Chapter O4 - I'm Flying

Chapter K4 - Smackdown

Chapter 62 - Soul of Gold

Chapter 63 - Beginning of the Training Arc

Chapter K5 - Difference in Power

Chapter O5 - How the Other Half Lives

Chapter O6 - Everyday Life With Monster Maids

Chapter K6 - Friendly Monster in Law

Chapter Y1 - Out of the Dark

Chapter Y2 - Into the Light

Chapter A3 - Gathering Clouds

Chapter A4 - Brewing Storm

Chapter A5 - Risk of Rain

Chapter 64 - Megasonic Chaos Warhead

Chapter A6 - Demon Holocaust

Chapter 65 - Lightning Before the Thunder

Chapter A7 - Castle Crashers

Chapter A8 - Of Gods and Demons

Chapter A9 - Mighty Clashes

Chapter A10 - Cradle to the Grave

Chapter 66 - To Dust

Chapter A11 - After the Chaos

Chapter 67 - Aloha?

Chapter 68 - Windwaker

Chapter 69 - It's Still a Sex Thing

Chapter 70 - A Real Faux Pas

Chapter 71 - Time for a Timeskip

Chapter 72 - Aoranam Village Defense

Chapter 73 - Prophecies are Bogus

Chapter 74 - Welcome to the Jungle

Chapter 75 - Wah! What are we going to do in the brush?

Chapter 76 - Bewitched City

Chapter 77 - Your Princess is in Another...

Chapter 78 - Sea Witch Rapania

Chapter 79 - Woman of Steel

Chapter L1 - Set Sail!

Chapter L2 - Chase at Sea

Chapter L3 - Here Be Sea Dragons

Chapter 80 - Tonight We Hunt

Chapter 81 - The Black God

Chapter 82 - Flame On

Chapter 83 - Magnificent Seven Assemble

Announcements (Not a Chapter)

Story Artworks

Chapter 84 - Godslayer Cannon

Chapter 85 - The Chaos Flight Program

Chapter 86 - Downtime For Our Heroes

Chapter 87 - Resupply in Anutawa

Chapter 88 - Avoid All Side Quests

Announcement - Ebook Is Here!

Chapter 89 - Future-Proofing

Chapter 90 - Bringing the War to Their Doorsteps

Chapter W1 - Decision, Defense, Departure

Chapter 91 - Perfect Matchups

Chapter 92 - The Child of the Sun

Chapter 93 - The Man Who Sold the World

Chapter 94 - Taking Shape

Chapter 95 - This World Is An Illusion

Chapter 96 - Not the Final Bossfight

Announcement - Ebook Giveaway!

Chapter 97 - The Savior of Adanak

Chapter 98 - Body of Gold

Chapter 99 - Going Home

Chapter 99.5 - Service Heaven [Censored]

Chapter 100 - Return of the Queen

Chapter 101 - An Offer They Can't Refuse

Chapter 102 - Liberation of Arkaim

Chapter 103 - Declaration of War

Chapter 104 - A Show of Force

Chapter 105 - Duties of a Leader

Chapter 106 - One Reunited, One to Go