Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 117: The Monsters of Mattarglos

Ba-Ba-Bang! Ba-Ba-Bang!

The heavy mercato of Daniel’s rifle echoes off of the trees and deep into the distance, drowned out by subsequent shots that seem to summon the voice of the thunder god. Hekate has gotten used to the suddenness of the shots, helped immensely by her helmet having sound-dampening to protect her sensitive ears.

Her own magic-powered ice blaster is much quieter, all but coughing up a magic orb of concentrated energy that explodes ice magic when it contacts, and she does her best to sow chaos in the ranks of monsters rushing around them.

Neith is at the front, dashing with blindingly fast speed towards the fast-moving wind weasels; magic-evolved benkis that Hekate has decided to call kamaitachi, thanks to Daniel mentioning their similarity to the mythological spirit beasts of Earth’s Japan.

Senn, who is skillfully weaving magic spells that spread and intercept the kamaitachi, disrupting their wind magic, remarks loudly over the noise, “It seems an entire colony has been mutated by the source.”

Daniel crouches to Veiranoei’s level, who is in agony from pain in her ears. He forgot about her sensitive ears, and he replies to Senn, “Is it normal for multiples of a group to evolve together?”

“It is more common than not, I’m afraid.”

Daniel withdraws gatonine-friendly earmuffs from his bag, putting them on the gatonine knight. She looks at him, and he mouths very clearly and deliberately, “I’m sorry.” She nods with watering eyes, holding the earmuffs over her ears.

Hekate remarks, “I feel your pain, Veira! You’ll feel better!”

Not one to wait on results, he withdraws one of his marked water skins, providing it to Veiranoei. She hesitates, but he insists, and she drinks. She almost chokes, surprised by the taste, but she drinks some.

The alabaster liquid, for where it comes from, is effective as a healing potion, as well as a stamina recovery agent. He’s not sure if it also recovers mana for mages, but given that Shek and Skloe have minimal mana themselves, it’s probably just the first two effects, which are plenty.

Surprise spreads across Veiranoei’s face, and she taps on the earmuffs. “I-I can hear again… And the pain.”

“It’s a special healing drink. You alright?”

Dirt and wind spray across them, and Daniel hugs her, shielding her. One of the kamaitachi just lunged in, but Kera’tai was quick enough to intercept it with water magic. She’s now holding it off of the ground as she surveys the monsters around her. “They do not seem to care that they are out-classed.”

“There’s very little incentive for them to retreat,” replies Doephluev, suspending several of them off the ground with magic. She uses her right hand to cast another spell as well, and spikes of rock suddenly sprout out of the ground, impaling the four kamaitachi. “They can only get stronger if they defeat us.”

“Like the feldroks?” asks Daniel, surprised by this piece of information.

“Not to the same extent,” replies Vaergraes. “But, undoubtedly, they can and will absorb our mana.”

Veiranoei, now embarrassed that Daniel is still holding her, finally squeaks, “Um, I’m… I can fight again, m-... D-... Your Grace.”

“Daniel is fine, especially in battle.” He helps her up. “Sorry again about that. I didn’t think about your ears.”

“Your staff… it’s… unreal.” She watches Hekate fire her ice blaster. Unlike the rifle, it has to be cycled each time, lest there be a risk of the mana crystals dumping magic continuously and exploding the weapon. Still, she is able to fire a powerful ice spell every few seconds without any sort of chanting or catalysts other than the blaster.

Daniel’s rifle, on the other hand, allows him to cast ‘instant death’ as quickly as he can aim and ‘cast’, which can be multiple times a second. He explains as he checks his rifle once more, “Make sure the earmuffs stay seated. It’ll still be loud, but it’s better than nothing.”

Veiranoei nods, gripping her sword as she stays close to Daniel.

He begins casting again, and the monstrous benkis that come to a brief stop to assess their next move fall instantly, killed outright by Daniel’s power.

Of course, this is the usual way for the people of Zenkon to observe his rifles, particularly if they haven’t seen them before.

And, though she is capable of fighting and faces the closest monsters to the group, she and Daniel are at the center of the loose formation, and he and Hekate have ranged ‘spells’, while Senn, Doephluev, Kera’tai, and Vaergraes are using magic efficiently and carefully to pick them off. And, Neith is dashing between individuals, causing some to pursue him in futility, while he easily wipes out individuals that are too slow to escape him.

Monsters are stronger than their animal counterparts, and oftentimes, can be more intelligent in battle, since they are generally aware of their powers.

But, they are still no match for a dragon, the former demon queen, a deadly magic assassin, and one of the world’s eldest and strongest mages.

Hekate’s true strength is hidden by the fact that she is using a perfectly effective magic staff, and likewise, Daniel is unassuming at a glance, but calm and collected in battle.

After the fact, the group gathers around Daniel and Veiranoei, and she sinks to a kneel, while Daniel plops down to a seated position next to her with a content sigh. Without any hesitation or asking, Hekate plops down onto his lap, leaning back against him like it’s the most natural thing in the world, removing her helmet to relax a bit. And, Daniel simply supports her weight as he leans back on his hands extended behind him.

“This reminds me a little of the Citadel,” remarks Hekate. “Though, it’s more crowded.”

“This kinda reminds me of another point I am curious about.”

The young feldrok looks up at him, her ears cocking to listen intently. “What’s that? How many there are?”

“No. I kind of noticed this about the thorusk hakkadel, and some of the creatures that were living in the Citadel. I've always wondered this about manga and light novel monsters. When there aren't any adventurers around to fight them, and no need for food, do they just mill around waiting for people to fight?”

Doephluev takes a seat next to Daniel and Hekate, earning a brief scowl from the feldrok empress. “They generally live like their former selves. The only difference is their aggression, as you can see with the normally-passive benki.”

“Oh? But, I thought you said they don’t eat.”

“They don’t need to eat,” corrects Senn. “Monsters still gain sustenance and strength from eating.”

“I see. That’s good to know. And, if they don’t eat?”

“They’ll be a little weaker, but still very dangerous if you’re not careful.”

Veiranoei murmurs, “You’re all so… strong. That was the fastest I’ve ever seen a pack of kamaitaizen benkis eliminated. And, no one was hurt.”

Neith, who is picking at one of his fingers while listening, replies, “I was wounded gravely, I’m afraid.” He shows his index finger, and everyone squints to look. There doesn’t appear to be a scratch on it, though there is a red spot.

Daniel asks, “Did something sting you?”

“Sting, my Liege? No. I believe it is a shard of bone from one of the benkis. Perhaps a shard of tooth.”

“A splinter?” groans Hekate skeptically. “Seriously?”

“Indeed, your Greatness. It is quite irritating. Imagine how grave such an injury would be on others.”

She growls, and everyone shares a laugh. 

Daniel asks, “Is everyone comfortable with pressing a little further in? If possible, I’d like to get an idea of whether or not this particular area is filled with just the kamaitachi, or if there’s other monsters.”

Everyone agrees to press on, including Veiranoei, though she is the least sure. She sticks close to Daniel’s left side when they continue walking, with Doephluev gracefully holding pace at his right side, and Hekate leading the group. Kera’tai follows Daniel, alert to the sounds of the forest, but carrying herself like a loyal follower.

Daniel’s question is answered fairly quickly. The trees rustle, and branches crack as something rather large moves through a portion of the forest. Given its lax pace, it hasn’t discovered them yet, and the group takes cover once more, this time remaining quiet. Whatever it is is fairly close.

As it lumbers by approximately fifty yards ahead of them, Daniel recognizes the basic body form, though he never learned the name of the creatures. It is the wall-breakers that accompanied Kera’tai, Aoloan, Shek, Skloe and the others for the attack on Fort Peony, which Daniel repelled.

This one is not only feral, but quite aberrant looking, with intense streaks of color through its thick, shaggy fur. It has a fairly slow gait, but it also seems to radiate magical power. Not that Daniel can really tell to what extent, he has some idea what it looks like; a sort of gut feeling he gets when he sees someone or something with an especially large amount of mana.

He'll never tell them because he doesn't want to make them feel bad, but there are nights he can't sleep when crowded by three dragons and a feldrok due to the air feeling foreboding. They of course won't hurt him, but he has to be especially tired to fall asleep with them.

That aside, this monster, like the two true monster types Daniel has seen so far, has elemental magic as well. Doephluev starts to whisper, “It’s a weisperant…”

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The monster instantly turns its head towards the group, and everyone flinches, recoiling back into cover instinctively. The creature takes a deep breath, and Vaergraes screams, “Barriers! Now!”

The mages all coordinate to create magic barriers to shield the group, and it is just in time for a massive gust of white wind to rip through the forest around them, blasting heavily as Daniel shrinks himself to stay in cover. Hekate aims and fires her blaster, but the sudden blizzard around them doesn’t stop, indicating her shot did little to nothing to the monster.

The white-washed wind blocks Daniel’s view of the others that aren’t right next to him; Hekate and Doephluev. Doephluev shouts, “Weisperant masonrahm. Ice magic.”

Daniel notices that the light elemental that has been hovering near him shivers, and she vanishes in a brief flash of light. A white elemental takes her place, equally cute but radiating a small swirling wind of her own. She happily looks up at Daniel dancing in a circle. He can feel the monster moving, and the blizzard shows no signs of letting up. 

“Uh! Hello there, little cutie! I… suppose you want a name, huh?”

The pixie-like being suddenly brightens, and she hovers close, nodding vigorously. Hekate asks, “A snow elemental?”

“Looks like it. Uh… let’s see… How about…” A tree topples and crashes to the ground. “Uh… Oh! Snowbelle! We’ll keep it simple! How’s Snowbelle sound?”

The newly dubbed Snowbelle nods, happy with her new name. She then faces the direction of the monster and puts her hands on her hips. She sweeps her hands up in fluid motions, just like she’s casting a spell, and white light glows around her hands. Suddenly, a bubble seems to form around the three, who are currently only protected by a simple barrier. Now, the air suddenly falls still around them in roughly a ten foot diameter, which doesn’t quite reach the trees the others are hiding behind. Additionally, rainbow-colored shapes appear in his field of view. He recognizes the shapes, though the color scheme is different. They appear ghostly and unnatural, but it’s very clear who each one is.

He is seeing infrared views of everyone around him beyond the visible range. He can clearly make out Neith as he jogs around to flank the monster, only for icicle shards to rain down on his location, causing him to shield himself. Kera’tai is protecting Veiranoei, while Vaergraes is focused on creating a warming field to keep all three of them warm. Senn is firing off magic of her own, but it’s clear she’s struggling to hit the monster, which Daniel can see rather clearly.

It mostly blends in with the white of the blizzard, but it has just enough heat in its body to stand out to his new ability, which is undoubtedly granted by the elemental.

He sighs. “You are some handy little pixies, aren’t you?”

Snowbelle grins at him. She makes a muscle gesture at him, and he can’t help but laugh.

“Do you have any ideas, Daniel?” asks Hekate. “I think my blaster isn’t hitting him.”

“It’s more likely it’s useless,” replies Doephluev.

“I didn’t ask you!”

“Hekate…” warns Daniel. She pouts a little, and he adds gently, “She’s probably right. It’s doubtful elemental beings don’t have resistance to their own element. I think that’s why the elementals from the scarf are so effective. They’re protecting me and also give me an additional ability.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can see everyone from their body heat, including the monster. The blizzard seems to be strongest directly near the… uh…”

“Weisperant masonrahm,” adds Doephluev to help him.

“That. Thank you, Doephluev.”

She adds instantly, “Anything for you, my Love!” She does rub her arms with her hands, and Daniel asks, “Hekate, do you think you can use your warm air spell?”

“I… can. Won’t that make the elemental change, though?”

Daniel looks at Snowbelle. “Good point.”

“I-I’ll be alright,” murmurs Doephluev with a content smile. Hekate sighs in disgust. Her tail twitches, and she asks, “Daniel! You said you can see it?”

“I can. It’s roughly that way, moving towards Neith, who is trying to draw its attention away from us, by the looks of it.”

The young feldrok empress stands up. “Very well, then. Point me at it and I’ll handle it.”

“Remember, you can’t use too much magic.”

“Tell that to the monster!” whines the young girl.

He chuckles. “Keep it to a minimum, if you can.”

“Mwahahahaha! Who do you think you’re talking to! Now, show me where it is, Darling.”

Daniel stands behind her, pointing over her shoulder at the direction of the masonrahm, keeping his point at its center so Hekate just has to aim for center of mass.

“{Mukori. Mukori. Listen!}”

“Who are you? Navi?”

Hekate works on channeling her magic into a concentrated spell, following Daniel’s finger. She asks, “What’s that mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.” 

Hekate twitches as the voice snaps, “{Mukori, it’s me! Don’t you dare tell me you forgot me already!}” Judging by her reaction, Hekate is hearing it this time.

Daniel chuckles. “Yes, Geira-Mukori. What is it?”

“{Hmph! I don’t know if I want to tell you, now.}”

“Alright. We’re in the middle of something.”

Hekate casts her fingers forward, and a thunderous crackle and boom tears through the air, popping and crackling like a terrifying ripping of paper before the vaporized snow expands and causes a terrifying clap of thunder. The lightning bolt briefly illuminated the masonrahm, and its shaggy fur is back lit, revealing a rather frightening visage in the obscuring blizzard winds.

Daniel can see it shrug off the attack, and he moves on instinct. He pulls Hekate across him and pins her and Doephluev to the ground, just in time for wood to explode from a barrage of ice shards that rain down around them. Several hits spray across his armor like kicks or punches that are thankfully not painful, indicating he hasn’t taken any real damage thanks to his armor.

“{I'm waiting, Mukori.}”

Daniel checks on Doephluev and Hekate, specifically knowing what he's doing. “Are you both alright, my empresses?” Both of them beam, and then immediately scowl at each other, before lovingly replying simultaneously, “Thanks to you protecting me, Darling!” “Thanks to you protecting me, my beloved!”

He then says, “Geira-Mukori, we're fighting a monster right now.” He watches Neith strike the monster with a powerful punch that launches it sideways. It tumbles, but the grey dragon sinks to a kneel. He’s clutching his core, like he's cold.

“{I know, Mukori. That's why I was trying to help you.}”

Daniel sighs. “I'm sorry for misunderstanding. What can you tell us?”

“{Reina is probably the only one who can withstand the cold close to that monster. It has more mana than usual. Fire is the only element they're weak to, making them difficult to defeat with by any other means.}”

“Any suggestions?”

Hekate replies, “Snowbelle seems fine.” Daniel, Doephluev, and Hekate sit up. Senn is trying to use a light magic spell to cut through the blizzard vortex, but the ice intensifies around the monster, shielding it. It also swings its forepaw at Neith, batting him across the ground with brutal force. Once more, Daniel has bound the hands of his allies because of his own principles, and they’re the ones suffering. 

“Alright, Doephluev, you shield us from ranged attacks. Hekate, you’ll intercept melee attacks when we get close.”

“We?” asks Hekate. “It’s too dangerous for you!”

“I have to. Snowbelle is protecting me.” He withdraws a canister from his bag, saying, “We’ll fall back immediately.”

Hekate recognizes the canister, and while she’s still unsure, she nods once.

“Stay behind us, my Love,” replies Doephluev as the three climb to their feet. “I’ll not honor your wishes if you are harmed.”

“Me either,” adds Hekate. “I’ll just burn this whole forest down and be done with it. So don’t be reckless.”

He nods in agreement. “Same to the two of you, please. Geira-Mukori, we’re going to get close and disable its magic.”

“{I-I would be willing to come… if you ask, Mukori.}”

“No. We’ll handle it. If I’m going to set rules, I need to be the one that accepts responsibility.” He nods at Hekate and Doephluev. “Let’s go. Stay inside the bubble Snowbelle is creating. Snowbelle, we’re counting on you.”

The pixie nods proudly, taking a seat on Daniel’s shoulder as he jogs forward with Hekate and Doephluev. The three approach the weisperant masonrahm from the side opposite of Neith, who is using earth magic now to launch rocks, though they do nothing to the monster creating an ice barrier around itself.

Hekate calls out, “Wasn’t Geira supposed to be meeting with nobles?”

“{We’re taking turns watching over Mukori. Not because we don’t trust him, but because… just because.}”

Daniel chuckles. “Thanks, Mukori. I’ll teach you another recipe I like in thanks.”

“{You should have taught me all of them already! It’s not fair! But, you promised! It’s a promise, Mukori. I won’t forgive you if you forget.}”

“Yes, yes.” The trio closes the distance on the masonrahm, which has noticed them. It bellows, turning to face them. “Doephluev! Barrier!”

She casts the spell without a hint of hesitation, and ice shards explode against the magic barrier. The wind and snow are being deflected by Snowbelle’s safe zone, but the ice shards are too heavy, even for her protection. Though, it may only be negating the weather effect.

Getting closer makes it tricky, though. Hekate is ready for incoming attacks, but she suddenly slips, falling forward onto her hands and knees. Daniel instantly crouches, “Hekate! Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah! I slipped!”

Daniel notices Doephluev suddenly wobble, and she tries to plant her feet, only for her to slide, and she whines nervously. Daniel touches the ground. He can tell it’s freezing solid, but for some reason, his footing is completely stable. His boots are good, but they aren't that good.

Daniel calls out, “Doephluev!”

She manages to pivot and bring her barrier towards the monster again, but its massive forepaw slams into the barrier, shattering it. The recoil topples Doephluev as well. Daniel opens fire with his rifle, firing in several quick bursts, which startles the monster into recoiling back. He’s not sure if he’s landing any hits, but he keeps firing. He crouches near Doephluev. “Doephluev! Get onto my back!”

She does her best to climb up onto his back quickly. Daniel can see the masonrahm lumbering towards him again. Whether it’s deaf now or realizes the sound can’t hurt it, it’s no longer afraid of his rifle. He pulls the pin on the polonium grenade, walking back towards Hekate once Doephluev is clinging to his back. She’s struggling to get her footing, and she uses magic to heat up the ground. “Hekate, we’re going to run. Get ready to grab onto me from the front and hang on.”

“G-Got it!” replies the feldrok teen.

Daniel waits until the masonrahm is almost right on top of them, and he pitches the grenade. It passes through the snow better than he thought it would, but it is rather heavy being lead. It bursts just under the monster’s chest, and almost immediately, the blizzard begins to die down. Daniel wastes no time in scooping Hekate up against his chest, and she latches onto him, allowing him to run away from the masonrahm. It bellows, and Doephluev tries to reach behind Daniel to use her barrier, but no ice shards rain in.

Hekate cackles. “It’s working!”

With the wind finally settled, Daniel calls out, “Kera’tai! Open fire!”

The Chi’rinnis mage is shivering, but she follows Daniel’s instructions, pulling out her own rifle. She begins firing, and Daniel gets far enough away to set Hekate and Doephluev down, pivoting in a kneel to fire on the masonrahm as well. Without the blizzard barrier, the bullets find their mark, and the weisperant masonrahm roars in anger.

Senn, finally able to see, fight, and hit her target, also uses light magic to pelt the monster continuously, toppling it to its side. But, as Geirahoel said, magic doesn’t seem to do much damage.

Daniel switches from his semi-automatic rifle to the 20mm anti-dragon rifle, aiming quickly. Hekate flinches, and she calls out, “Brace yourselves!”

Daniel fires at the monster’s head, and an unnatural clap of thunder booms out as a result. The supersonic bullet closes the distance in an instant, causing the struggling monster’s head to cock, and for all other motion to cease.

Daniel exhales in relief, while the others slump to the ground.

Kera’tai complains, “Daniel! Why didn’t you do that from the beginning!?”

“Because, if the bullet got pushed off course by the wind, it’s not stopping until it ruins someone’s day several miles away. It’s important not to miss.”

She sighs, flopping onto her side as she hugs herself, trying to warm up. “Yeah, well… do you plan on cuddling all of us to warm us back up?”

Vaergraes chuckles as she casts the warming wind on herself. Hekate does the same for her, and Doephluev, either having no shame whatsoever, or trying to bond with Hekate in a contentious way, whines, “Hey! Your Greatness, please warm me up!” She crowds the feldrok girl, who complains, “No! Go away! You can use magic!”

“I don’t know this spell! Please! I’m so cold!” She grapples with Hekate, who whines and complains for her to stop.

“Fine! Then I’ll just hug Daniel!”

The young feldrok tenses, yelling, “No you won’t!” Now she’s grappling the archoneldwyn assassin. Daniel can only roll his eyes, surveying the aftermath of the battle.

“Thank you, Snowbelle,” says Daniel to the little white pixie. She dances happily on top of his palm. He then says, “Ucahote, are you listening to my helmet?”

“{I am, Mukori. I have told Ucahote to pick you up. If you’d like, I’ll teleport to your location and warm you up.}”

“I’m actually fine, thanks to Snowbelle. But, if you’d come warm up the others…”

“{Nevermind, Mukori. Reina and Ryuo are calling me.}”

“Hey!” snaps Hekate.

Daniel chuckles, “At least tell Ucahote to turn on the heat in the cabin.”

“{Done, Mukori. B-Bring back the body of the masonrahm.}”

“Oh? Is it edible?”

“{Of course! I may be learning, but I’ll make a wonderful meal for you with it. So, please hurry. Dinner time is getting close.}”

“As you wish. Thanks for looking out for us.”

“{M-My pleasure,... Mukori.}”

Geirahoel goes silent after that, and Daniel crosses the ice field created by the masonrahm’s blizzard. He tries to store it in the magic bag, but it won’t transfer.

Vaergraes, who is the least affected by the cold still remaining in the area, says gently, “I believe your grenade will preclude transporting it with magic, Daniel.”

“Huh… That’s… A thing,” replies Daniel.

Doephluev sneezes as she approaches Daniel, bundled in a blanket that Hekate gave her, while Hekate is wrapped in another one. The archoneldwyn murmurs as she wipes her nose, “You could take the fur off, yes? The m-meat is what the dragon wants.”

“Her name is Geirahoel,” replies Daniel dryly. “I miss when everyone got along.”

“Yeah!” cheers Hekate, shivering cutely and wrapping herself deeply in her blanket. Daniel looks at her, and she shrinks a little. “I-I mean… Yes, I… would like to get along with you better,... Doephluev…”

Doephluev is quiet for a moment. She finally replies, looking away, “A-Agreed, your Greatness. And, um, her Grace Geirahoel.” She sneezes again, looking briefly miserable as she does her best to control her sinuses.

Neith approaches, having heated himself up with his fire breath. “My Liege, allow me. I shall extract the edible components and dispose of the unusable parts.”

“I’ll help,” replies Daniel. “Once the shuttle arrives, you all can board it while we work. Get warmed up.”

“I’ll keep watch,” replies Vaergraes. “The cold was intense, but I should be fine.”

Kera’tai adds, “I’ll help until the shuttle arrives. It’ll help me warm up, I hope.”

Daniel nods, and Veiranoei, who is the least armored, approaches slowly. Daniel asks, “Veiranoei, are you alright?”

She nods. “I… This… This is Tyror…”

“Tyror?” asks Vaergraes.

The gatonine knight nods, and Hekate tosses half of her blanket over Veiranoei’s shoulder, sharing her blanket with the grateful woman. “Y-Yes… Thank you, your Greatness.”

Hekate looks to the side. “As long as you understand that Daniel is mine first and most, I don’t mind being friends with you.”

Veiranoei blushes, which compliments her pinkened nose and ears. She adds, “Tyror is… a masonrahm that has been undefeated for a long time. It… has grown stronger and stronger from all of the fallen warriors that it defeated…” Tears form in her eyes as she looks at the deceased monster. “It’s finally gone…”

Neith and Daniel share a glance, and the grey dragon in human form grins. He remarks warmly, “And, now, you will get the opportunity to present Tyror as a feast for your people.”

Veiranoei begins crying, and she instinctively hugs the person closest to her; Hekate. Hekate is surprised at first, but the young feldrok Empress smiles softly, hugging and patting her on the back, still a little bashful and confused herself, but knowing the simple gesture is plenty.

Daniel, Kera’tai, and Neith work on field dressing the huge creature, removing the large fur like a large rug, with the dragon using his full size to work on slicing the fur while Daniel and Kera’tai roll it away from each slice. They have to be extremely careful not to contaminate the meat with the magic-nullifying powdered polonium, which should mainly be concentrated at the underside of its chest, but could have contaminated its exterior, as well as potentially its lungs, which they’ll address if it comes to that.

The shuttle arrives, and Hekate takes Veiranoei and Senn inside, since Senn decided that she’s unable to watch the dressing, even though she has been alive for so long. Doephluev hesitates, but Daniel says, “You can go, Doephluev. Go get warmed up. We’ll be done shortly. Keep an eye out for other monsters.”

She nods, “Th-Th-Thank you, m-my love.” She trots to the shuttle to board and get warmed up.

Neith remarks, “I am surprised, my Liege.”

“About what?” asks Daniel.

The grey dragon in his true form leans close, still working diligently as he whispers his reply, “Doephluev seems to have really changed, has she not?”

Daniel takes his helmet off, storing it so certain individuals can’t hear what he’s about to say. “I think she has always gone with the flow, similar to Geirahoel. If we give her a meaningful purpose, she’ll be loyal. In that regard, I’m no different. I have no principled attachment to any belief of this world. Demon kin are not monsters to be exterminated, the world doesn’t belong to anyone, the dragons aren’t terrible beasts. Likewise, humans aren’t evil, the gods aren’t wicked, and life is just… life. I’m loyal to the people I care about. If we make her care about us, then…” Daniel trails off, focusing on his work of rolling the fur away like a giant carpet.

“I understand, my Liege. And, of course, I have benefitted from your beliefs, so I am certainly not going to object. I do hope you know that not all people will so readily change.”

“I’m well aware. Why do you think I didn’t revive the other three male greater dragons, or that I personally killed Brosjak in vengeance? I believe plenty of people are irredeemable, and I thought Doephluev would be one of them. But,... Ryuogriar gave her a chance, and she’s earning it. I haven’t gotten any uncomfortable vibes around her.”

Neith scoffs. “Indeed so, Daniel. I don’t know if I’ll revere her as the four primary empresses, but I respect that you are granting her kindness in exchange for her loyalty.”

Daniel nods. “This isn’t a manga or light novel, I hope. If as many people were complete psychotic lunatics as are in fiction, I can’t imagine any world would last very long.”

“Indeed. Your ‘suddenly shounen characters’, as I understand you called them?”

Daniel and Neith both chuckle. “Roeta told you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, my Liege. It was quite the tale. I regret that I was not there to fight in your place.”

“It’s alright. He was set on fighting me. And, I’m glad for it.” Daniel looks at his hand. “Brosjak was the first person I wanted to kill. Made me sick afterwards, but…”

“I understand, my Liege… More than you will ever know.”

Daniel smiles up at his best friend in the world of Zenkon. “I’m sure I know, Neith. Thank you.”

Neith nods, and they finish skinning the weisperant masonrahm.

As Daniel is storing it afterwards, Kera’tai approaches with a blanket over her shoulders. “Aren’t you cold, Daniel?”

“I'm alright. My armor and Snowbelle protected me.”

Kera’tai looks at the snowy elemental resting on top of Daniel’s head, and they both smile at each other. “I see.” She moves close to him, draping her blanket over his shoulder. She says as she leans against his chest, “Share some of your warmth with me, then.”

“Sure.” Daniel doesn’t resist, and he watches as Vaergraes jogs close. “If we’re ready, we should depart. There are more monsters that are approaching to investigate.”

Daniel nods. “Neith?”

The grey dragon nods, and he begins casting the relatively simple spell to transform himself.

However, something feels off.

Daniel looks up at the massive dragon, whose reptilian visage is expressive enough to show his confusion.

He tries the spell again, but Daniel can tell nothing is happening.

Neith puffs a breath, which causes a small fireball to emerge. It’s a fairly plain and clean orange flame.

Neith searches the area, and Daniel asks, “Problem?”

“I… can’t seem to use magic, Sire.”

***