Part1
"Gustav are you sure about this?"
Evlin had fused with her pet griffin and was back to her hairy golden-winged form. Gustav had come up with a plan to try and help her get over her fear of heights.
"You just need to avoid looking down. If we help you get used to the feeling of flying, you will overcome your fear of falling."
Right now Evlin was wearing a blindfold and trying to flap her wings once more. She could feel her feet disconnecting from the terrain and started to become nervous again.
[Evrything will be fine!]
[Gustav!? You're using telepathy?]
[I will not leave you alone. Just try to focus on the feeling of being in the air. I'll guide you all the way through.]
[I don't know...]
[Just trust me!]
[Ok... Ok... I'll trust you...]
[Good, now try to flap your wings with a little more power.]
Evlin followed his command and could feel her body being lifted by her wings again. Even being blindfolded, she knew she was getting more altitude.
[Youre doing great. Keep going!]
[I'm getting scared! Aren't I too high already?]
[You're barely off the ground! Don't worry!]
That was a lie. Evlin was actually reaching a distance of twenty feet from the ground right now. She would probably be ok if she fell from that height thanks to Sphinx's strong body but she was starting to get further and further away.
[Gustav! I'm getting scared!! Can I go down!?]
[Almost, let's just try a small maneuver first... Just keep calm and try to flap your wings to push you forward.]
[Ok... Ok...]
Evlin tried to take deep breaths and forced her wings to flap in a different direction, trying very carefully not to use too much force.
[Ok that's enough!! You can start slowing down your flapping now. Try to descend.]
[Ok!!]
Evlin was about to freeze in a panic the more she continued that experiment, but hearing Gustav's voice inside her head for some reason helped her calm down as if acting as a reminder that she had someone taking care of her, even though there was nothing Gustav could do to catch her in case she started to fall.
As she continued to descend, she was surprised to feel the rocky terrain under her feet again. She spent a long time trying to elevate herself, but it only took seconds to go down. Could it be that she was mistaken and was just floating slightly above the ground this whole time? Worse even, she was doing that and acting all terrified in front of Gustav?
[Evlin, you can take your blindfold now.]
[Eh? Gustav? Why are you still using telepathy? I'm in the ground already.]
She removed the cloth that was covering her eyes and found herself surrounded by clouds. They were so close she could almost touch it. She was confused as to what was happening and finally tried to look down.
Evlin realized that she was on top of a mountain very far from Gustav's location. She spotted him very far and realized that all of her friends were by his side cheering for her.
[So? How does the sky taste like?]
[You tricked me!!! What would have happened if I had fallen!??]
[I called the rest of the group while you were ascending in case something happened. I would never let you fall!]
Evlin saw Ria down there making a gesture with her hands and suddenly the whole group was on top of a large transparent shield that was moving towards her direction on top of the mountain. Ashley jumped off from the shield and locked Evlin in a bear hug.
"You did it!!! You finally learned how to fly!!!"
"Too tight!! Too tight!! Can't breathe!!!"
"Ah! Sorry!!"
"Arf... Arf... "
"I'm so proud of you sis!!!"
"Huh... Thanks..."
Evlin wasn't fully convinced she had conquered the sky after being tricked once, but she was happy that she at least managed to enjoy the feeling of being in the air a little bit. She spotted Daren in the group and directed a few words towards him.
"Looks like you were right after all lion-boy..."
"Huh...?"
"It was all about being able to trust your partner in the end..."
Evlin smiled at Gustav while Ashley continued to embrace her, which led to Gustav getting a little embarrassed and returning her smile with a wide grin himself.
The team continued to enjoy the cold breeze of the night for a little longer before finally coming down. Gustav at that night felt for the first time in a long time that he finally managed to do something for this group again.
Part 2
"So, how does it feel?"
Mia was inside a dark wide room sitting on a chair with her legs crossed and resting her chin on top of her arm with her katana blades placed on top of a table near her.
In front of her, a group of six men wearing trenchcoats was standing analyzing the new armor they were wearing.
The demon slayers were carrying their usual silver weapons, but this time they were also wearing pieces of armor made of the same material. Gauntlets, greaves, shoulder pads, and chest plate under their cloth. They all looked like a group of knights trying to hide their armor under their black clothes.
"I feel... So much power..."
Clayton and the rest of the group were enjoying the new equipment they received from Mia. They all felt an immense boost of energy flowing through their bodies.
"I feel like we can take on a hundred demons without breaking a sweat this time!! Lady Mia, this is amazing!!!"
"Mmmmm... Lady Mia... I like the sound of that... You're all welcome... But you are delusional if you think just a hundred will be enough to satisfy me."
"Of course... We know what our true goal is... Take back the south kingdom from those disgusting demons."
"That's my boy... As long as you all rely on this metal, there is no creature that can stand up against you."
"Lady Mia, are you not going to wear some armor yourself?"
"Of course not... Hiding my beautiful figure under some ugly armor would be a sin against nature, hihi."
"... Is that so...?"
"Don't worry... As long as I have my trusted blades there is no beast that can lay a finger on me... You all should know after all... You still remember our little sparing game right?"
"I- Indeed..."
Clayton was honestly trying really hard to forget about that match with Mia. The way this girl moved while unleashing her attacks still haunted him during his sleep. He could not deny her skill and ability. She was much more terrifying than the actual monsters.
"With that said... How about we welcome our newest member?"
Mia grabbed the small frog that was located inside a vase that she had arranged and released him on top of the table.
"Everyone, meet the last member of our demon slayer group!"
Clayton and the rest kept staring at the small amphibian in confusion just wondering what this girl was talking about.
"Lady Mia... I think we are all in bewilderment as to how this little animal could help us..."
"I told you, this isn't a frog, it's a human... A human who hates the crossbow girl just as much as you do!!"
"I- Is that so... And how do we return him to normal...?"
"That's where I come in..."
"You, my lady?"
"God, I will never get tired of hearing that!! Yes, I may not look like it but I'm actually a champion from the god of the north."
The slayers stared at her in shock by that statement.
"Wha- What did you just say??"
"Caught you off guard huh?"
"W- What does that mean exactly lady Mia?"
"Basically there are four gods competing to become the top dog right now, and each of them needs a champion to represent them. You all know about Marceus and his son Marcus right?"
"Yes... So Marceus was one of those champions..."
"Correct, and once he died, his son Marcus took his place, as the champion of the east. And as for me, I'm the champion of the north!"
"That's... That's amazing! So that's why you are so powerful on the battlefield!"
"Correct again! Are you all feeling a little better now that you now that a little girl only defeated you because she had the support of a god?"
"... Well..."
"Hihi... Anyway... Each champion is granted by the gods a body that doesn't age and a powerful blessing to fight against demons... Marceus's blessing was the holy metal, the ability to create weapons from his own body. Mine, on the other hand, is something used to fend off and absorb any kind of energy that doesn't come from the gods."
Mia placed the small frog on the ground and extended her hand towards him.
"I call it, spell break!"
As she said those words, a huge amount of magical energy began to spiral out of the frog's body and started to fly towards Mia's hand. Clayton took a closer look at Mia and realized that there was a small mouth coming out of the palm of her hand.
Mia was showing an expression filled with joy as the magical energy continued to enter her body as if she was enjoying a nice meal.
"Ahhhh!! It feels so good!! That Evlin girl... Her magic is amazing!!"
The frog started to grow in size and began to lose his green color. His rubbery skin slowly turned into human skin and what was once a small amphibian was now a full-grown stripped man laying on the floor.
Mia finished eating all of the magic and closed her hand. Once she opened again, the mouth was completely gone as if it was never there in the first place.
"Thanks for the meal!"
Clayton gave the man on the ground one of their trenchcoats to cover himself.
"So, new friend, how should we call you?"
"... My name is Xadi... You have my gratitude... How did you know I wasn't a normal frog?"
"Woman's intuition..."
"That so...? Anyway... I heard you all were planning to chase after the little girl?"
"Indeed! Would you like to join us? She's moving towards the demon kingdom right now."
"... That so...? I would love to... But there is little a mage can do without his staff... The little girl took mine and merged with hers..."
"I see... Clayton!"
"Yes, my lady!"
"Give him the gauntlet!"
"Right away, my lady!"
Clayton started to act with even more respect towards Mia after hearing she was a champion of a god. He was behaving like a knight towards his queen. Xadi, on the other hand, was still looking at her as if she was just a small kid who was getting full of herself.
"Do you have anything to say, frog-boy?"
"... Nothing young miss... I'm just wondering why I keep encountering so many little girls carrying so much power on their hands all of sudden..."
"Would you prefer if I was an old man on his eighties?"
"Not at all... Just feeling a sense of deja vu..."
Clayton arrived with the gauntlet that they stole from Evlin.
"Such a work of art... But I feel it has much more mass than I can handle... I would have trouble carrying it."
"That will be no problem. I can just give you a piece of blessed metal to boost your strength."
At that moment, Clayton had an idea.
"If I may, my lady... I think I have the perfect piece for him."
"...?" x 2
Mia and Xadi looked at Clayton in confusion as he revealed a metal gauntlet that had the same design as the one Xadi was holding.
"This gauntlet also used to belong to the crossbow mage... I'm sure it will be of great use in your hands."
Xadi put on the metal gauntlet in one hand and felt a surge of power filling his body. He proceeded to put on the wooden gauntlet on his other hand and managed to carry it with ease as if it had no weight.
He raised his fist that was carrying the wooden gauntlet and blasted the ceiling with a thunderbolt.
The demon slayers watched in awe this display of power while Mia just released a small whistle.
"Not bad!"
"... Say..."
Xadi looked at Clayton as if he just had a great idea.
"These gauntlets belonged to the little girl right?"
"Indeed sir."
Xadi left out a devious smile.
"Perfect..."
Part 3
"So I guess we should keep the blindfold for a little longer?"
"Just in case... I want to try and keep getting used to the feeling of being in the air before trying to really face my fear of heights..."
"If you say so... Just know that you can always count on me!"
"I'll keep that in mind!"
Evlin spent the rest of the night chatting with Gustav, exchanging ideas on how to proceed with her flying training. She was glad that they could talk so casually now. She never really addressed it but she always felt like there was some kind of invisible barrier trying to distance the two of them.
After traveling together for such a long time she managed to get along really well with everyone else. Daren and Lilith were her partners in the battlefield, Auren was her fellow healing buddy, Ria would always act like a hyperactive fangirl and Ashley was the closest thing she had to a family in that world.
Gustav was the only one she felt she could never truly approach.
But now that wall was finally broken as well and they could finally start acting like one true happy family. It seemed like all of her worries were finally resolved.
She went to sleep that night feeling extremely happy about her current situation, but that happiness suddenly stopped as she felt her body being transported to another place against her will the minute she closed her eyes.
Evlin was feeling confused. She was observing her surroundings and trying to understand what had happened.
"What the heck... Where am I...?"
She looked around and there was nothing but white any direction she aimed her eyes at. She gazed at her own body and realized that she was back in her school uniform and was fourteen-years-old again.
"The white void...? What am I doing here...?"
"Hey little girl!"
Her body froze in fear. She recognized that voice. Her head slowly turned around reluctantly and stared at the man who was behind her.
"You!!"
Xadi was looking at her with a wide grin on his face.
"Long time no see!"