◇Houghtow City—Flio's Living Room◇
After dinner, Wyne and Garyl were playing together in the living room.
"Aha ha!" Wyne laughed, spreading her arms wide. "Come and get me,
Gare-Gare!"
"All right, sis," Garyl said. "Here I come!"
Although they had been born only a month prior, Garyl and Elinàsze
were as developed as a human child would typically be at five years old. It
seemed half-human, half-lupine children grew up tremendously fast. Wyne
doted on the two like they were her real little brother and sister.
Today, yet again, Garyl had challenged Wyne to a grappling match after
dinner. "Today's the day!" he said. "I'll get you this time, sis!" Garyl
charged at her. Grinning, she pushed him back with both arms. "Aha ha ha
ha! You're feisty, Gare-Gare!" she said. "C'mon!"
Although she was still young, Wyne had been the strongest soldier in the
legion of dragons in the Dark Army. She was holding back considerably, of
course, but she wasn't about to lose to her baby brother. Even so, Garyl kept
challenging her, day after day after day.
"You're never gonna beat Big Sis Wyne, Garyl," Elinàsze said. She was
sitting on Flio's lap, watching her siblings go at it. She had grown more and
more attached to her father the bigger she got—a real daddy's girl. She
stuck to Flio whenever she could and spent just about every second of every
day in his company.
"Don't be so hard on your brother, Elinàsze," Flio said, smiling down at
her. "Wyne is very strong, you know?" Inwardly, he was breathing a sigh of
relief. I'm so glad they're normal children...
When Flio had reached Level 2 in this world, he had obtained
outlandish, phenomenal powers. He was well aware that it had caused him
to get involved in all sorts of trouble. I really hope my children don't end up
with powers like I did...
Periodically, Flio would check the children's statuses, just to make sure
there was nothing out of the ordinary. He very much wanted them to have a
normal childhood and not get wrapped up in anything too wild.
Ghozal and Hiya were aware of Flio's feelings, so they kept an eye on
Elinàsze and Garyl as well. So far, they had seen no sign of any unusual
powers. Elinàsze was born with a gem in the middle of her forehead, but it
didn't seem particularly poised to cause any trouble.
"I really thought Mister Flio's kids would have some sort of special
ability..." said Ghozal.
"Yes," said Hiya. "I did as well..."
Flio smiled. "I'd really rather they didn't have to deal with anything like
that," he said. He looked at Elinàsze sitting in his lap. Her jewel doesn't
seem to have any kind of effect for the time being, he thought, glancing at
the bright jewel. It would be nice if nothing ever came of it...
Meanwhile, Garyl had gotten utterly trounced by Wyne. He lay on the
floor, arms and legs spread wide, exhausted. "Dang it!" he said. "I'm still
no match for you!" He gasped for breath, but on his face was a big grin.
Wyne looked quite satisfied with the match. "You're getting stronger
every day, Gare-Gare," she said. "Not bad!"
"Am I?" Garyl pursed his lips. "I can't tell at all."
"Here! Let's see for ourselves!" Wyne raised her arm and began to
chant. A magic circle appeared, and from it came a number of skeletons.
There were ten of them, each less than a foot tall. The skeletons started
scampering around Garyl.
"Wow!" Elinàsze exclaimed, jumping down from Flio's lap and running
up to get a closer look. "What are those?" Her eyes were shining with
curiosity.
"Okay, Gare-Gare," said Wyne. "Let's see who's stronger: you, or these
skeletons!"
"But I lost to these things last time!" Garyl protested.
"You'll do fine!" Wyne said. "This time, you'll win!"
"You think so? Okay... I'll try it." Garyl faced off against Wyne's
skeletons.
Just then...
"Waaah?!" Elinàsze caught her foot on a rug decorating the floor and
tripped.
"Elinàsze! Watch out!" Garyl ran to catch her, but instead, he lost his
balance as well. The two of them tumbled to the floor.
There was a series of sickening cracks.
"Wh-What?! What happened?!" Garyl sprung to his feet and looked
down to see the remains of the skeletons he had been facing a minute ago.
Every last one had been completely smashed to bits.
"Huh?" said Garyl.
"What?" said Elinàsze.
"What's wrong, you two?" Flio asked, rushing to their side.
Elinàsze looked puzzled. "I...heard some weird voice in my head."
"Me too..." said Garyl. "It said...'Level Up'? Or something?" He looked
every bit as confused as his sister.
"Huh?" Flio blinked. No... Dreading what he would find, Flio cast
Identify. He looked at the windows.
Elinàsze (Child)
Lv: 2
Strength: ∞
Defense: ∞
Speed: ∞
Magic: ∞
HP: ∞
Skills: ∞
*Restrictions applied due to minor status.
Garyl (Child)
Lv: 2
Strength: ∞
Defense: ∞
Speed: ∞
Magic: ∞
HP: ∞
Skills: ∞
*Restrictions applied due to minor status.
No way... Flio's pupils shrank. He covered his face with his right hand.
Yes, it was at Level 2 that Flio had obtained his cheat powers—the
blessing of Transcendence. Now the same thing had happened to his
children.
◇ ◇ ◇
Later, Flio's family all gathered in the living room, along with Ghozal,
Uliminas, Hiya, and Damalynas.
Ghozal smirked. "You know, really, I had expected Mister Flio's kids to
have some kind of power, but this is something else!"
"Well..." Flio began, cocking his head and frowning at Ghozal's words.
"I had been hoping this wouldn't happen. I wanted them to have a normal
childhood..."
But Rys smiled. "Truly?" she said. "For my part, I am happy. My
children will be brave and strong, like my lord husband."
"Me too!" said Wyne, bouncing happily in the air. "Me too, me too!"
"Hmm..." Flio looked unconvinced.
"Exalted One," Hiya said, "if that is your concern, then you have no
cause for worry."
"I don't?"
"You do not." Hiya reached their arms out towards Garyl and Elinàsze.
"The children of the Exalted One have the phrase 'Restrictions applied due
to minor status' appended to their abilities. They will not achieve the
omnipotent powers of the Exalted One until they reach their fifteenth year
of age and become adults."
"Even so," Flio objected, "just look at the amount of magic they have..."
Flio had a good reason to be concerned. Restricted or not, Garyl and
Elinàsze's powers had bloomed all at once. Their bodies were overflowing
with magic energy.
Damalynas extended her arm and focused, and then laughed bitterly.
"Well, would you look at that?" she said. "It took me centuries and
centuries to build up the magic power I have now, and those twerps
surpassed me in the blink of an eye. What a world." Damalynas, the Grand
Magus of Midnight, had once been feared as a dark mage with enough
power to threaten the entire world and had been sealed away underneath
Klyrode Castle. "Well, anyway, they have a ton of magic power, but it looks
like their ability to cast spells is restricted. We'll have to keep a close eye on
them as they grow up."
"Hrm," Ghozal added. "Children with that much magic power...
Someone might try to use them for their own ends."
Uliminas nodded and folded her arms. "There's the devil Zanzibar's
whole upurrising against the Dark Meown, to begin with..." she said. "I
can't purrdict what might happen with that. We should be careful."
Elinàsze looked up at Flio with big worried eyes. "Papa..." she said. "Is
something bad going to happen...?"
Flio held her tight in his arms, giving her his usual easygoing smile.
"Everything's all right, Elinàsze," Flio said. "If anything happens, your
papa will be here to protect you." He gently patted her head.
Elinàsze smiled and hugged Flio back. "Thank you, papa. I love you."
Garyl sprung to his feet. "Don't worry, Elinàsze!" he said. "I'll be here
too! I'm gonna get so strong that I can even protect Big Sis Wyne!" He
charged playfully at Wyne, swinging his arms wildly.
"Aha ha ha!" Wyne laughed. "Look at you! Protect me, hu— Waaaah!"
Wyne braced herself to catch Garyl like usual, but this time he was moving
much faster than before. He caught her in the belly with one of his fists, and
Wyne went flying. She went splat against the wall.
"W-Wyne!" Rys cried out.
Ghozal looked stunned. "Come on..." he said. "I thought their power
was restricted! He's that strong?!"
Garyl froze up. He had no idea what had just happened. "I...sent big sis
flying?" he said. "Wh-What? How?"
Those children are definitely gonna need looking after, Flio thought. He
promised himself that he would protect them no matter what.
◇In the Sky, above a Forest◇
Three djinn flew through the night sky: Maglion, the djinn who
mastered the magic of the Dark World, Powlion, the djinn who mastered the
power of the Dark World, and Speelion, the djinn who mastered the speed
of the Dark World. They had been called here by Valentine of the Twelve
Evil Generals.
Right now they were hanging in the air, staring at something out of view.
"Did you two feel that as well?" asked Maglion, their long black hair
blowing in the wind.
"Yes..." Powlion nodded. They were wearing a black robe that covered
their whole body—it looked like some kind of vestment—but even so it
was obvious that their musculature was immense. "A tremendous release of
magic power..."
"Indeed," Speelion said, grinning widely. They were slender-bodied. "If
we could capture someone with as much magic power as that, we could
replenish the magic General Valentine spent to summon us, and even
conjure the Grand Passage!"
"I can sense several entities with great magic power in our vicinity..."
Maglion said. "We should capture them all, and present them to General
Valentine."
"Yes..." Powlion said. "I agree. General Valentine would be pleased."
"Indeed," Speelion said. "Then we should hurry!"
The three nodded, and changed their course to fly towards the surge of
magic they felt—Houghtow City.
◇That Morning, in a Forest near Houghtow City◇
"Ser Byleri! Hold on tight!" Sleip ran like the wind in his horse form
with Byleri clinging to his back.
"Like, yeah! Totally!" Byleri grinned. The two had recently adopted the
routine of going for long rides first thing in the morning. Behind them, Dalc
Horst and the rest of Sleip's elite personal guard ran after them. Sleip was
two orders of magnitude older than the other horses, but it seemed like they
were only barely keeping up.
Dalc Horst watched Sleip run happily. He's so much more lively than
when he was stuck in that outpost on the Dark One Yuigarde's orders, he
thought. We owe so much to Lady Byleri...
Sleip had been so much happier since moving in with Byleri that it was
almost unreal. It was like the pluck and vigor of his youth had returned to
him. His powerful legs were no match for the rest of them.
"Today, let us make for the canyon," he said. "What say you, Ser
Byleri?"
"Okay!" she said. "Like, I'll go anywhere with you!"
"Wait," said one of the demon horses running behind Dalc Horst. "All
the way to the canyon?!"
"Th-That's a bit much for a morning run!" said another.
Dalc Horst looked back at the pair. "Quit your bellyaching!" he said.
"Look at how fired up our old Lord Sleip is! Do you wanna fall behind
him?"
"I-I suppose not..."
"Now that you mention it..." They nodded, resolved to try to keep up.
The herd flew on through the forest, when Sleip let out a surprised noise.
A masculine figure was blocking the path. Sleip came to a stop a safe
distance away. Dalc Horst and the rest fanned out. Sleip had not given them
any orders, but each one of them understood perfectly well what to do.
They moved in formation to surround them.
"Indeed," the figure said. "I thought I sensed some beings with
respectable magic power, and decided to come bother you for a while. It
seemed like it might be entertaining." They paid no heed to the demon
horses surrounding them, and stepped towards Sleip. "I am Speelion, the
djinn who has mastered the speed of the Dark World. A djinn in service to
General Valentine of the Twelve Evil Generals."
A djinn from the Dark World! Sleip started to sweat, but he didn't take
his eyes off of Speelion. And the Twelve Evil Generals are the direct
subordinates of the goddess Sterner, Mistress of Evil! What would her cat'spaws be doing in a place like this?!
He responded curtly. "Sleip."
"Oh, Sleip, is it? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that the name of
one of the Infernal Four of this world's Dark Army? Then that would make
you..." Their pale-white, narrow face broke into a grin.
Sleip turned only his upper body back into a human, taking a centaur
form. This is bad, he thought. Other than Dalc Horst, the rest lack
experience. And... He turned to look at Byleri, who was sitting on his back.
She was shaking. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Who is this person?!" she
stammered. "I'm, like, kinda totally freaked out..."
I cannot fight with Ser Byleri on my back... Cold sweat ran down Sleip's
brow.
"Indeed," Speelion said. "That young lady riding on your back doesn't
seem to have much in the way of magic. I have no use for her. But if she
goes and tells someone about me, it might cause us difficulties later. I
believe I will kill her here." They tossed off the vestments they'd been
wearing and lowered their unnaturally slender body down on all fours. "Oh,
what now?" they mocked, noticing Byleri's apprehension. "I'll send Sleip
after you soon, so you won't be lonely. Although you might not recognize
him once I've wrung out all of his magic!"
Sleip stared at Speelion. Absolutely shameless, he thought. And then he
shouted out in a loud voice, "Retreat! Return to the pasture! Lord Flio must
be told of this!" He grabbed Byleri and tossed her behind him to Dalc
Horst. "Dalc Horst! I leave Ser Byleri in your care."
"Fweh?!" Byleri exclaimed. "S-Sleip!" She reached out towards him as
she sailed through the air.
Dalc Horst caught her in his mouth and tossed her onto his back.
"Retreat!" he echoed. "Lord Sleip's orders! To the pasture!"
"Yes, sir!" the demon horses answered as one, and turned to run full
speed in the opposite direction.
Dalc Horst took the rear of the herd. Byleri, who was riding on his back,
stretched out as far as her arms would go, reaching for Sleip. "Nooo!" she
cried, pulling at Dalc Horst's mane. "Like, go back! Don't leave Sleip on
his own!"
"Ow, ow, ow! L-Lady Byleri! Stop! That hurts!"
"Like, I won't until you turn back!" She pulled harder.
"W-We have to return to the pasture first! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
The two kept arguing as they sped into the distance.
"Indeed," Speelion said. "Did you think I would politely allow those
horses to get away?"
"Of course not," Sleip snapped. He charged at the djinn. "But I won't
give you the chance!"
But Speelion kicked off the ground, moving much faster than Sleip. In a
second, they were upon him, aiming a kick at his back. "Indeed, who would
have thought that Sir Sleip of the Dark Army's Infernal Four would be this
slow!"
"Ngh!" For a moment it looked like Sleip was about to collapse, but he
dug his hooves in and held firm.
"Oh? That wasn't enough to finish you, I see. Well, then..." Speelion
raised their right hand.
"F-Fweh!" Suddenly, Byleri was in Speelion's grip! They held her up,
hand closing around her throat.
"What?! S-Ser Byleri was ahead with Dalc Horst!" Sleip's eyes looked
fearful.
"Indeed," said Speelion. "Did you think they were fast enough to escape
me? While I was attacking you, I also took the opportunity to chase after
them and bring back the young lady." Speelion held Byleri up higher, above
their own head.
"F-Fweh... S-Sleip..." Byleri managed, screwing up her face. "Run! I'll,
like, totally handle this!" She grabbed hold of Speelion's arm, and bit down
on it as hard as she could.
"What?!" shouted Speelion. "What are you trying to do, girl?! O-Ow!
Ow, ow, ow!" Speelion hadn't been expecting Byleri to fight back, and was
completely caught off guard by her bite. It hurt like hell. "I underestimated
you! But no more! Die!" Their fingers dug harder into Byleri's throat.
"Ghh..." she moaned and writhed in pain, but Byleri still had fight in
her. She swung her leg and kicked Speelion hard in the face.
"Kn-Know your place, girl!" Speelion said, flexing their arm even
harder to crush her windpipe.
But the next instant, Byleri was gone.
"Wh-What?!" Speelion cried. They looked around, only to find Flio
standing next to Sleip.
"I thought I felt some kind of weird magic," he said. "And who would
you be?" Byleri had already been healed. Flio returned her to Sleip.
"Oh! Ser Byleri!"
"Sleip! Like, I'm so glad you're alive!" She jumped into his arms and
hugged him tight, crying tears of joy.
Flio smiled at the couple before turning his attention back to Speelion.
Speelion stared back at the newcomer. "Indeed," they said. "I couldn't
sense your presence before you arrived. You took back the girl, and you
show no fear of me. Who are you?"
"I'm Flio, proprietor of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store."
"Proprietor of a...general store?" Speelion laughed sardonically. "You
jest. Do not take me lightly! I am Speelion, the djinn who has mastered the
speed of the Dark World! Now, regret your foolishness in death!"
Speelion kicked off the ground and vanished faster than Sleip could see.
But as they ran at superhuman speeds through the forest, a look of shock
came to their face. "I-Impossible!" Flio was running after them, matching
their speed exactly. "N-No! Even in the Dark World, I am the only one who
can achieve such speeds!" For the first time that day, Speelion started to
sweat.
"T-Take this!" they shouted. A swarm of magic knives appeared around
them and flew impossibly fast at Flio.
Flio reached out to dispel Speelion's magic with his own, but nothing
happened. "Huh?" he said as the knives slashed at his body.
Speelion chuckled and stopped running, facing Flio from a short
distance away. "You're pretty fast," they said, "but it seems you know
nothing of the magic of the Dark World."
"The magic of the Dark World?"
"Indeed. You tried to dispel my Dark Blades, but could not." They
grinned. "Which means the magic of the Dark World will work!" As they
spoke, an even greater number of knives appeared. Once again, Flio
extended his arm to stop them. "Ha ha ha! Don't bother! The magic of this
world cannot harm me. Now stop struggling and—" Clink! A sound like
breaking glass rang out from behind them.
"Huh?" Speelion said, a worried look crossing their face. Clink! Clink!
Clink! They whipped around. The knives they had conjured were vanishing
one by one. "N-No..." Their eyes went wide. Before they knew it, they had
no weapons left.
"I guess getting hit by your attack made it so I can use the magic of the
Dark World," Flio said as he looked over his status window.
The blessing of the gods, Transcendence, which had activated when Flio
hit Level 2, not only boosted his abilities to ridiculous levels but also gave
him every magic spell and skill that existed in this world. Among them was
the ultimate spell, Epiphany. If he was ever struck by a spell he did not
know even a single time, he could use Epiphany to instantly learn every
spell of its type. Only one person before him in the history of Klyrode had
ever mastered this spell.
Flio himself didn't know about this spell. He had no idea why he could
suddenly use the Dark World's magic.
"So the magic of this world can't harm you," he said. "Does that mean
that the magic of the Dark World can?" He pointed at Speelion, and a vast
quantity of threads appeared.
"Th-That's the Dark Spell, Iron Web! How could a human—" Speelion's
eyes went wide. They were shaking. They ran as fast as they could, trying
to get away, but Flio's Iron Web was faster, and Speelion was caught. They
couldn't even get a word in edgewise before becoming completely
enveloped.
Sleip was stunned. "Well..." he said. "I knew you were extraordinary,
Lord Flio, but I had no idea..."
Flio turned around to face the lichsteed. "Oh, no, no," he said, giving his
usual easygoing smile. "All I am is the proprietor of a general store!"
◇In the Sky, near Flio's House◇
A feminine figure wearing black vestments floated in the sky, their long
hair fluttering in the wind—Maglion, the djinn who had mastered the magic
of the Dark World. Before them was Hiya, the djinn who commands the
origin of light and darkness. Hiya's beautiful body was adorned with
nothing but a white cloth wrapping. A circular halo shone behind their
head.
"You are a djinn of this world, are you not?" asked Maglion.
"And you, I take it, are a djinn of the Dark World," Hiya responded.
The two went silent, and for a while seemed to do nothing but stare each
other down as the wind tossed around their hair and clothing.
"I would prefer to avoid a fruitless battle with a fellow djinn," Maglion
said. "So I have a proposition. Would you hand over the two humans inside
the house?"
"Hm," Hiya replied. "And you would take them away without harming
us further."
"I knew you would understand," Maglion said. "Dealings with a fellow
djinn are so nice."
"Yes, I understand you," said Hiya, "but I refuse." Their narrowed eyes
didn't shift in the slightest.
Maglion glared at their adversary. "Oh?" they said. "And here I thought
we could come to an agreement. Perhaps you do not understand your
situation." They sighed and shook their head, tossing off their outer
vestments. Underneath, their outfit was styled with a black and purple
pattern. They looked every bit the priest of a dark god. "I am Maglion,"
they said. "Loyal servant of General Valentine, one of the Twelve Evil
Generals. I am the greatest magic user in the Dark World."
Maglion pointed at Hiya. "I perceive that you have command of this
world's origin of light and darkness," they said. "However, a djinn of a midlevel world like this one cannot hope to defeat a djinn of a high-level
world."
"We shall see," said Hiya. Once again, the two fell silent and returned to
staring each other down. But this time they were doing more than taking the
other's measure. To someone watching, it might seem like they were doing
nothing, but in fact the two were engaged in an intense magical exchange.
One djinn would cast a spell, and the other would use their own magic to
dispel it before casting a spell of their own, which would then be itself
countered. The two were casting tens, hundreds, even thousands of spells a
second as they faced down.
Minutes passed.
"My, my," said Maglion. "I thought you were nothing more than a midlevel world djinn, but you're quite good, aren't you? I suppose none but a
djinn could handle magic as you do."
"'You honor me,'" said Hiya, "is what I would like to say. However, you
are holding back, are you not?"
"Oh? Whatever makes you say that?"
"You have restricted yourself to only using the magic of this world,"
Hiya said, cool and matter-of-fact. "Not once have you drawn upon the
Dark World's magic."
"So you noticed," Maglion muttered bitterly, lowering their gaze. "So
much for my plan to trick you into thinking we were evenly matched. I was
going to let you get confident and then strike you down. Tch." They looked
back up at Hiya. "Well, what a pity. I'd love to obliterate you with the
magic of the Dark World...but my master General Valentine desires more
magic power. Yes, I shall wrap you in a bundle and take you with me. And
then I shall do the same to the people in that house. Although, with the spell
Iron Web, there's no guarantee any of you will make it back alive."
Maglion grinned fiendishly and raised their right arm skyward. And
then, noticing something, they stopped. "Well, well," they said, an
expression of undisguised contempt coming over their face. "What were
you thinking? You...incorporated the psyche of the Grand Magus of
Midnight into your mindscape?" They shook their head, giving Hiya a look
of pure condescension. "Unbelievable. The trash of the magic world. An
actual pile of garbage. And you took her into yourself? What is wrong with
you, mid-level world djinn?"
Maglion extended their arm outward. "I suppose I'll have to annihilate
the Grand Magus of Midnight first. If I presented something like that to my
master, she might have me killed." They began to chant.
Hiya took a step forward. "I have a proposition of my own," they said.
"I will let you see for yourself the technique I've developed alongside the
Grand Magus of Midnight, whom you hold in such contempt."
"The technique you developed with the Grand Magus of Midnight?"
"Just so. If you can withstand it, I will do whatever you wish. So I
swear."
"Oh? I see..." Maglion nodded. They were intrigued. "I may not have
been using the magic of the Dark World," they said, "but you did match me
spell for spell. I suppose I am just a tiny bit interested. Very well. I'll take
you up on your offer. Although, no matter what sort of spell you cast, I
assure you that it will not work on me." Maglion lowered their hand.
Hiya took a step forward. And then another step.
This djinn... Maglion thought. Hiya, I believe... What are they doing?
Are they going to cast their spell at close range? Do they really believe that
such low-level magic will work on me? Maglion regarded the djinn with an
expression of feigned calm, but they were watching Hiya's movements
carefully, not letting their guard down for a second. Just in case this spell
would actually do something, they wanted to be ready to counter it
immediately.
Hiya stepped closer. They were moving casually, not casting any magic.
And then, they whispered a spell.
Here it comes! Maglion thought. They readied themself. And then,
behind them, a wall of stone appeared. "Huh? A wall?" Maglion wasn't
sure what they had been expecting, but it wasn't that. They were stunned.
And then—
Thud!
Hiya's arm reached past Maglion, impacting the wall and pressing
Maglion against it with their own body. "They hit...the wall?" Maglion said
to themself, baffled.
They looked from their hand back to Hiya. Their faces were close.
"Huh? What?" Maglion was starting to panic.
And then, Hiya kissed them.
Asfdgsh!!*~%khfdn!!?
Maglion had no idea what was happening. Their eyes went wide, and
their limbs flailed helplessly.
Yes... Hiya thought. Djinn know nothing of lovemaking, just as I once
did not. Hiya entwined their tongue with Maglion's, tasting the djinn's
saliva. Strange, unknown sensations overwhelmed Maglion's body—the
fruits of Hiya and Damalynas's unfailing dedication to their training.
Maglion, their face bright red, tried their hardest to disentangle
themselves from Hiya, but they couldn't resist the waves of pleasure
flooding their senses with every movement of Hiya's skillful tongue. They
couldn't cast their magic. They could hardly even move.
And then, Hiya pulled away.
"P-Pwahh..." Maglion stared upward, blushing, their mouth opening and
closing like they were gasping for breath. Hiya wrapped their arms around
them and pulled them in.
"There's more," Hiya said. "We've only just started." And they drew in
for a second kiss.
Hours later, Maglion lay in Hiya's embrace, utterly spent. Their face was
still flushed crimson and their eyes were out of focus. "I..." they began,
their voice trancelike and faraway, "I've never..."
"Now you have seen the techniques I developed with your hated Grand
Magus of Midnight," Hiya said. "What do you make of them?"
"That... That was incredible..." Maglion sleepily gazed up at Hiya. "I... I
don't think I can live without you any longer..."
"In which case," Hiya said, smiling down at them, "will you join us in
our training?"
Maglion's face lit up at those words. Hiya took Maglion in their arms,
and the two vanished. Their destination, of course, was Hiya's mindscape.
◇Meanwhile, in a Hallway in Flio's House◇
"Mama? What's Mx. Hiya doing in the sky?"
"Are they fighting?"
Elinàsze and Garyl clamored in front of the window, but their mother
Rys was blocking their view, preventing them from seeing what was
happening. "W-Well!" she said. "You see... I suppose you could say they
fought, or something like that. I'm afraid you're a little too young to be
watching this..." She forced a smile on her face as she did her absolute best
to hide the entire window from view.
"They did?" Elinàsze asked. "I don't really get it, but I wanna see..."
"Me too!" said Garyl. "I wanna see how Mx. Hiya fights!"
That Hiya! Rys thought as the children tried their best to see the view
she was blocking. Doing something like that in the middle of the sky... It's
too early for the children to be learning about those sorts of things!
◇Blossom's Farm◇
In front of Flio's house was the pasture run by Byleri. And across from
that, spreading out as far as the eye could see, was a vast swath of farmland.
This was Blossom's farm. It had once been a small vegetable garden behind
the house, but Blossom had worked and worked until it had grown to be
more than twice as large as Byleri's pasture.
"Sorry to make you help with the farmwork, Mister Ghozal," Blossom
said.
"Don't worry about it!" said Ghozal, laughing. "I'm always glad to
help!" He was carrying two baskets of freshly harvested vegetables on his
shoulders down to the road where the cart was waiting.
The goblins Hokh'hokton and Maunty watched him work, their bodies
shaking violently. "M-M-My good Maunty," Hokh'hokton said, "do you
suppose it's all right for the former Dark One to carry the vegetables we
harvested?"
"I-I-I-I don't... I don't know..." said Maunty. "I don't know what to
do..."
Maunty and Hokh'hokton had once been in the Dark Army, back when
Gholl had been Dark One. Back then, they would not have been permitted
to so much as look upon him. Yet here he was, smiling cheerfully as he
carried baskets of vegetables.
The two shook as they worked, but they still kept filling basket after
basket. "I-I-I suppose if he's carrying them..."
"Y-Y-Yes... We need to keep filling the baskets. No question."
Wholly ignorant of the goblins' trepid conversation, Ghozal kept on
carrying the baskets with a smile on his face.
"Sir Ghozal! This way!" Balirossa and Sybe were waiting at the cart,
filling it up with the great big baskets. Ghozal's grin grew bigger when he
saw them.
Hrm... Ghozal thought. Balirossa is beautiful even when she's doing
farm work.
Just as Ghozal thought that, something enormous appeared behind her.
"Wh-What?" Balirossa said, looking up nervously as the thing's shadow fell
over her. "What is that?"
It was a heavily muscular figure wearing a black vestment. "Yes..." they
said. "Woman. You will be the first offering to General Valentine. Be
grateful for the honor."
"Eeeek!" Balirossa screamed. Shielding her head, she dropped to a low
crouch in fear. The djinn bellowed and swung their fist...but the impact
never came.
Slowly, Balirossa looked up. Ghozal was in front of her. He had covered
her with his body and taken the attack straight to his back. "Ser Balirossa,"
he said, "are you hurt?"
"Blocked?" said the mysterious attacker. "Well, no matter. You seem
like you have plenty of magic power, yourself. I'll take you down instead
and offer you to General Valentine!" They raised their arm again, preparing
to strike.
"Hrm..." Ghozal said. "You keep bringing up this General Valentine.
That wouldn't be Valentine of the Dark World's Twelve Evil Generals,
would it?" He gave Balirossa a shove back in the direction of the farm.
"S-Sir Ghozal!" she said, looking at him with worry in her eyes. He
gave her a confident smile over his shoulder.
"Oh?" the djinn said, seemingly impressed. "You know of General
Valentine? I am Powlion, the djinn who has mastered the power of the Dark
World, loyal servant of the general."
Ghozal cocked his head. "Strange," he said. "I severed our ties to the
Realm of Evil. Did Yuigarde reestablish contact?"
"Who knows?" Powlion said. "I think Maglion and Speelion said
something to that effect, but I don't care about stuff like that. I'm just here
to capture people with magic power and bring them back to General
Valentine!" They thumped their fists on their chest like a drum.
"Hrm," said Ghozal. "Fine. I'll just beat the living daylights out of you,
then." He cracked his knuckles.
The two glared at each other, faces practically touching, and then...
"Graaah!"
"Haaaah!"
The two swung their fists at once.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was an incredible sight. Ghozal and Powlion swung their fists for all
they were worth. Neither using any magic, they slugged each other with
nothing more than pure strength. Powlion was far and away the stronger
one, but Ghozal was holding his own, not giving an inch. He took the
djinn's punches full on the body, countering with strikes of his own.
"Y-You! For a human, you're not bad." Powlion's shoulders heaved for
breath as they looked at Ghozal.
"Hrm. For a djinn, you're nothing special." Ghozal stood up tall.
"Well then," said Powlion. "Out of respect for your strength, I will face
you in this form!" They began to focus their power into their body.
"Gwoooooooh!" With a shout, their skin changed color to become red.
Their body grew larger and larger, bursting through their vestments and
ripping them to shreds. Before long, they were nearly ten times the size they
had been before.
"Gwah ha ha ha ha!" Powlion laughed. "Are you surprised, human? This
is my true form!" They swung their arms in a great circle. The movement
produced so much force that it made the crops in the farm wave as if in a
breeze.
"S-Sir Ghozal!" Balirossa watched Ghozal from behind in the field. All
she could do was pray.
"Now!" said Powlion, "I'll finish it with this! I hate to use this attack
against a human, but I'll kill you and take your corpse to General Valentine
so that she can suck out all of your magic!"
"Hold on," said Ghozal, holding up his hand. "Just one thing."
"Mm? What is it, human? Are you going to beg for your life?"
"Don't be ridiculous. If I didn't think I could beat you, I would run
away. But..." Ghozal folded his arms and looked up at Powlion. "You keep
calling me a human. Do you really think a human would have this much
power?"
Powlion gave the matter some thought, and then nodded their head.
"Well, now that you mention it..."
"I'm relieved to see you can understand that much at least," Ghozal said.
"Well. Anyway. I'm not a human."
"Yes... Then, what are you? A demon?"
"Good," Ghozal said. "You're half right. But I would hate to end this
without you knowing who defeated you." Ghozal gathered his own power
and grew giant himself, his skin patterned black and blue. He had
transformed into a demon. "Hrm..." he said. "It's been a while." This was
the form he had taken as the Dark One Gholl.
Ghozal looked over his body to make sure nothing was out of place.
There was no sign of the damage he had taken in the exchange of blows
earlier.
"What's that supposed to be?" Powlion said, sighing dramatically. "I
was wondering how big you were going to get, but you're not even a third
my size! What a disappointment!"
"Incredible," Ghozal said, exasperated. "You actually are a big enough
idiot to think size is the same as power. Well, come on. Try hitting me." He
gestured with his fingers, beckoning Powlion to attack.
"Yooooou!" Powlion bellowed, their body growing redder by the
second. "Are you making fun of me?!" Furious, they brought up both arms
above their head, fists clenched tight together, and brought them down on
Ghozal.
Ghozal held up his right index finger.
When Powlion's arms impacted Ghozal's finger, there was a terrible
noise. A whirlwind of smoke rose up, tossing around huge boulders. When
it cleared, Ghozal was standing there perfectly calm, as if nothing had
happened.
"Ah... Ah... AAAAAH!" Powlion's eyes widened in shock as they
stared at their arms—what was left of them, that is. They had been broken
off past the elbows. The boulders that had gone flying in the whirlwind
earlier—those had been the broken fragments of Powlion's arms. Ghozal
had splintered them with only one finger.
Powlion froze up, unable to do anything but stare.
Ghozal cracked his knuckles again. "I didn't introduce myself, did I?"
he said. "I'm Ghozal, freeloader at Flio's house. But I used to be known as
the Dark One Gholl!" He struck Powlion with a swift uppercut, sending
them flying, their body disintegrating from the jaw as they sailed through
the air.
"I-I lost to a freeloadeeer!" Powlion wailed in the moments before their
body was completely shattered.
Ghozal folded his arms again as he looked over Powlion's scattered
boulder-like remains. "Dang it," he said. "Maybe I should have led by
saying I was the Dark One Gholl. That djinn went out thinking I was just
some freeloader..." He sighed and turned back into his human form.
Balirossa jumped into his arms. "Sir Ghozal! Thank goodness... I'm so
happy you're safe..."
Ghozal held her tight. "Hrm..." he said. "I'm glad you were worried
about me, but I'm not about to be defeated by some random djinn."
"I know, I know..." Balirossa cried as she nodded her head.
Suddenly, Ghozal could hear Flio's voice in his head. "Mister Ghozal, is
everything okay?"
"Hrm? Mister Flio?"
"I thought I sensed a djinn near you..."
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just took care of it."
"I see. Actually, I had a run-in with a djinn myself just a little while
ago."
"You did?"
"I did," Flio said. "I think we should compare notes about these djinn.
Can we meet in the living room?"
"Understood. I'll teleport right there." Still holding Balirossa, Ghozal
cast Teleportation and vanished from the spot.
◇Flio's Living Room◇
Ghozal and Balirossa appeared in Flio's living room to find Rys, Sleip,
Byleri, Hiya, Damalynas, Uliminas, Dalc Horst, and Flio himself waiting
for them. "Hrm," Ghozal said. "Sorry for the wait." He grinned affably at
the crowd, but Flio and the rest stood stiff, staring at the two of them with
curious expressions. "Hrm? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
Uliminas shot up from her chair and walked over to where the pair were
standing, her shoulders rising and falling, a folded paper fan clasped tight in
her hand. "So," she said. "Ghozal? Balirossa?"
"Hrm."
"Yes?"
"Meowt exactly were mew two doing in that state?" Uliminas pointed
the tip of her paper fan towards them.
"This state?" Ghozal and Balirossa echoed. They lowered their gaze to
look down at the state of their own bodies.
Ghozal was stark naked.
His clothes had been torn to shreds when he'd transformed into his Dark
One form. After all, his demonic body was more than twice the size of his
human form. It had been so long since he'd last assumed the form that
Ghozal had forgotten to worry about his clothes.
Balirossa's clothing, meanwhile, was in tatters. When Powlion was
shattered, his parts came down from the sky as clumps of rock. Balirossa
ran for Ghozal as fast as she could, but the rocks falling from the sky had
ripped her blouse open, exposing her breasts for the world to see.
Neither of them had noticed their state of undress.
"U-Uliminas!" Ghozal protested. "You've got it wrong! Ser Balirossa
and I have never done anything like that!"
"R-R-Right!" said Balirossa. "Just so, Sir Ghozal! I would never dream
of engaging in f-fornication!" The two pleaded for all they were worth,
Ghozal hastily covering up his groin and Balirossa covering her chest.
"Purrfidy! Mew liars!" Uliminas hollered, striking them both square on
the head with her fan.
◇ ◇ ◇
Later on, thanks to Blossom's timely arrival and hastily delivered
testimony, Ghozal and Balirossa were cleared of wrongdoing. When they
shared their accounts, Ghozal, who was well-informed about the history
between the Dark Army and the Realm of Evil, explained the situation to
the best of his knowledge. It was clear that they had been attacked by three
djinn underlings of Valentine of the Twelve Evil Generals. But they had no
clear idea why people from the Dark World—the world which Ghozal had
severed ties with when he had been Dark One—were here now, or why they
sought to abduct the members of Flio's household with vast magic power.
They decided to send Greanyl and her Silent Listeners—the former spy
corps of the Dark Army—to gather as much information about this event as
possible. Meanwhile, Flio created a new magic item for everyone to carry
with them, which he called Security Gems. If they were ever to be attacked
again by enemies from the Realm of Evil, they were to cast the gem to the
ground, breaking it. Upon doing so, the gem would sound the alarm,
sending telepathic signals to every member of Flio's household telling them
who had broken their gem, and where.
In addition, Flio cast Concealment on Garyl and Elinàsze. They were
still too young to be able to hide their magic power well. This way,
hopefully, General Valentine's minions wouldn't notice their power and
come after it.
◇Nighttime, Several Days Later◇
Flio sat on the bed, watching Garyl and Elinàsze sleep. Rys sat beside
him. "We haven't heard anything more from the Realm of Evil," she said,
smiling. "It's all thanks to your precautions, my lord husband."
Flio smiled back at his wife. "I just hope that's the last we hear of them,"
he said, patting his children gently on their heads.
"There's nothing to worry about!" Rys said, striking a martial arts pose
with a playful smirk. "Whether it's the Realm of Evil or the Dark Army... I,
Rys, will strike them down if they ever dare come after us!"
Flio wrapped his arms around his wife. "I'm glad you're looking out for
us," he said, "but don't get yourself hurt, okay?"
"Okay..." Rys said, nodding meekly.
The two embraced, and slowly brought their lips together in a sweet
kiss.
◇A Mansion, High in the Mountains◇
"What in evil's name is going ooon?!" Valentine wailed. "Riliangiu was
supposed to be summoning the Grand Passage, but now I can't even contact
her. Speelion's been silent, Maglion won't respond, and even Powlion
seems to have entirely vanished!" She flopped back on the bed in the room
she was staying at in one of Zanzibar's hidden bases—a mansion high in
the mountains.
"Now what do I do? I used way too much magic summoning those three
djinn..." Valentine held her hands out in front of her. The very tips of her
fingers had become hazy and wavering, a symptom of magic depletion. She
had lost so much magic that her physical form had started to grow unstable.
The inhabitants of the Dark World have a tremendous amount of magic
power in their bodies. Usually it's no problem for them to maintain their
forms for decades at a time, but Valentine had used almost all of her body's
magic power to summon her three djinn to this world. She didn't even have
enough remaining power to return home.
"I promised, though," she sighed. "I can't just throw those demons to the
wolves. Oh well." She sat up and walked over to the window, opened it, and
jumped out. "I'll go find somewhere with lots of humans to devour," she
said. "If I eat two or three thousand, I might be able to recover enough of
my strength."
Valentine headed out into the forest, searching for signs of humanity.