Retrieving Asika’s Cores was a surprisingly uneventful process.

  Mikayla and Keldryn cautiously made their way back to where they’d left Flyreh’s corpse, watching out for the abhorrent, tar-like flesh that had almost subsumed them, but it all seemed to have evaporated. It only took a few minutes before they were standing over Flyreh’s corpse.

  “I . . we really killed him, huh,” she murmured. A chill ran down her spine. She felt like puking.

  “You can’t blame yourself for killing in self-defence,” Keldryn assured her. “I know your culture has weird taboos, but if you’ve been raised to think even that’s wrong then . . I dunno what to say, except that your world’s way too nice,”

  “No, no this is fine. Anyone in both worlds would tell me that killing him so he wouldn’t kill me is okay,” Mikayla assured him. “I . . I can’t even say that there should have been a better way or anything, because I don’t know what I could have done differently. Except maybe just run away, and then he’d still have Asika’s Cores and I’d have no way to get home . . was killing him worth that?”

  “You’re looking at it the wrong way,” Keldryn shook his head. He paused, formulating sentences. “He was a bad man. He treated us like livestock and wanted to kill us because it was convenient. He could have not done all that. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t captured Asika before she could find you and send you home. I guess . . he did the wrong thing and he paid the price for it. And it sucks that we had to be the ones to give him what he deserved. But he still deserved it,”

  “Yeah. You’ve got a point,” Mikayla agreed with a slight sigh. Somehow, though, that didn’t make her feel any better.

  “Come on. Asika said that every second might matter. We need to get you back to the rift. You can mope when you’re home,” Keldryn asserted. “Grab the Cores and we’ll head out,”

  “Okay, you’re right. Stand back, just in case this goes wrong,” Mikayla instructed, reaching down for the straps of Flyreh’s Core Controller. With shaking hands, she undid the clasps and pulled the gauntlet off, eyeing it as though she expected spiders to come crawling out of it and over her hands.

  For a long, tense minute, they waited for some kind of reprisal.

  And nothing happened.

  Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief. “I think we’re in the clear,” she decided, tucking the Core Controller into her coat’s pocket, where it awkwardly hung halfway out. “Say,” With a deep breath and careful application of will, the Black Knight flared back to life around her. “Nocturnus!”

  “That’s ‘teacher’ to you, apprentice,” he rumbled, putting on an affronted air. “I see that I’m back to being a disembodied voice. Wonderful,”

  “I didn’t agree to that,” Mikayla rebuffed him. “Not why I got you. I’ve only got enough Mana for about a minute, but I wanted to ask,” She held Flyreh’s Core Controller up to their field of view. “How does the Black Knight handle taking trophies from defeated enemies?”

  “Oho! Excellent question, lass! Generally, I would equip it and then parade around in front of my foe’s allies with it!”

  “Does sound fun. Probably a bit impractical, though, we’re in a rush,” Mikayla shrugged.

  “Mm, indeed. Then do not worry about it. Get going, lass. We have yet to see you safely home,”

  <=====}—o

  Once they’d returned to the top of the pit, they found Asika and Anza on the verge of jumping in after them. Asika was first to spot them, bouncing up and down while waving her arms like signal flares. “There they are! Hey! Hey guys! You’re okay!”

  “Where’s Flyreh?” Anza asked, peering down the stairs as though she expected him to come charging after them.

  “Dead,” Keldryn summarised, and Mikayla nodded glumly, fishing out their enemy’s Core Controller and offering it to Asika.

  “Really?” the faerie beamed, plucking two blue and one purple Cores out of Flyreh’s Controller. “Awesome!”

  “How?” Anza sharply asked.

  “Yeah, about that,” Mikayla had considered trying to keep the ‘demigod’ thing secret, but . . It quite simply sounded like too much of a hassle. Keeping Nocturnus secret was one thing, she knew that was for the best, but neither of her two closest confidants had any idea about what the Demigod System was. She needed information more than secrecy. Besides, Anza was a good person. Mikayla trusted her.

  “There was a shrine down there, with a dying god. Flyreh had enslaved him somehow. We tried to free him, but he was too far gone, and he said he was responsible for bringing me to this world when he was trying to escape. So he did a thing, and,” Mikayla flicked a popup into everyone’s vision.

  [NAME: Mikayla

  TITLE: Inheritor of the Rainbow Ouroboros

  LEVEL: 20

  RACE: Human (Demigod)]

  Anza blinked. “. . Damn,”

  Asika boggled, her sapphire eyes going so wide that, if Mikayla had doubted her lack of irises before, she couldn’t deny it now. “Oh, fry the Ghost Hound on the Sea-Fisher’s griddle and serve it up to the Boundless Chimera. That is not supposed to happen,”

  Everyone blinked at her.

  “Putting aside what I assume was a really bad swear, how bad is this?” Mikayla asked.

  Asika wrestled with herself for a minute. “Well. A god died. As a general rule, that’s not okay. But we can’t change it now. So don’t worry about it,” she finally decided. “The mission’s still ongoing. We should get moving, back to the site of your rift, now,”

  Anza opened her mouth, but Asika was already rounding on her. “I’ve already messaged the Goliath Guard using the Ataraxia Node. If you wait here and keep an eye on things, just in case, I’ll fly Mikayla back to her rift and get her home, then come right back here to report in,”

  Anza’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something you ain’t telling us, but I agree that’s the best plan. Aight. I’ll trust you,”

  Mikayla regarded Asika suspiciously, but the faerie was already taking her hand and pulling her towards the stairs.

  “I’m coming too,” Keldryn declared, starting after them.

  “Eh?” Asika blinked.

  “You sure, kid?” Anza raised her eyebrows. “I’m not gonna steal the glory or anything, but -“

  “You should,” Asika interrupted.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “What?”

  “If it gets out that two level 20s beat someone as strong as Flyreh, most people won’t believe it, but the ones that do will wonder how. Eventually, someone’s gonna figure out Mikayla’s new status,”

  “Is that bad?” Mikayla turned to Asika. There was something she wasn’t telling them.

  Asika grimaced, whistling through her teeth. “Yeah, so. You’ve become a Level 20 demigod. That doesn’t happen. The lowest-level demigod in recorded history was level 48, and he still had to deal with assassinations and attempts to steal his power. Believe me when I say, for your own good, we can not let this get out,”

  “Oh. Yikes,” Mikayla winced. So, having special powers in a fantasy world made you a target. That . . wasn’t surprising.

  “So the official story will be that I killed Flyreh and you three helped a bit,” Anza nodded. “Yeah, I reckon I can sell that,”

  “I’ll support that version of events, too,” Keldryn agreed. “It’s the least I can do,”

  “Thanks. Both of you,” Mikayla glanced at Asika, then at the two Guardsmen. “I. Uh. I guess this is goodbye,”

  “No it’s not. I just said,” Keldryn shook his head. “We’ve been together this long. I want to see you off,”

  “You sure? You don’t wanna hang around here until the investigators get here? Make yourself look good?” Anza checked.

  “I’m not leaving my friend. Not until I’m sure you’re safe,” Keldryn insisted.

  He was lying. If he wasn't there at the moment Mikayla left this world, he had no chance of taking possession of the Black Knight. Even though it made him feel like garbage to pretend to be so noble, to abuse his friend's trust like this.

  It wasn't like he didn't intend to live up to that promise, though, so it was okay . . right?

  “Aw, thanks, Keldie,” Mikayla smiled at him.He looked away, unable to meet her gaze, but she took it as him being bashful.

  “Well, I respect the commitment. In that case, here,” Keldryn’s eyes widened as Anza held out his rucksack. “This had your name on it. No idea if it’s all there, but I loaded it up with some potions the blood cult had lying around. Just in case,”

  “I thought I’d lost this,” Keldryn grabbed the rucksack and hugged it. “Thanks,”

  “No problem. Now get going, yeah? Time’s a-wasting,”

  <=====}—o

  They emerged into the open air of the Kaiju Kill Box, and Mikayla absently realised she hadn’t realised how stifling it had been to spend days underground until she could see the sky again. Even if it was still the same endless soup of white clouds that she’d grown accustomed to, there was something comforting about the cold air and the distant roar of the wind and - actually, no, no she still hated this hellishly frigid tundra and if she’d really just been thinking she missed it then clearly one of the fights she’d been in earlier had inflicted brain damage while she wasn’t looking.

  “Okay, so where are we going?” Asika asked. “Show me, on the Global Map?”

  “Here,” Using her Global Map, it only took Mikayla a few seconds to find the exact place where she’d first been dumped into the Cavemaw Spider’s lair and begun this terrifyingly wonderful journey. She dropped a marker on it and flicked the screen to Asika. “This is the spot,”

  “On the far side of Astralia’s Spear, huh? Not a problem,” Asika nodded.

  “Are you sure? It’s four days of hiking, as the crow flies. And that’s if we aren’t attacked by Kaijus on the way. Which we will be,” Keldryn pointed out.

  A wide smile split the faerie’s cerulean lips. “Yep, but, on the subject of crows flying,”

  She wrapped an arm around both of her friends as her Core Controller shone, and emerging panes of blue glass hoisted them all into the air and conjured six square metres of floor beneath them. Streaks of light were woven into a bubble with a clear viewscreen, and as they continued rising into the air the floor distorted into soft seats that pulled both Keldryn and Mikayla into them, perfectly contouring to their bodies.

  Asika settled into her own seat with her back turned to them, instead facing a large windscreen set into what Mikayla realised was the chest of her Armour Core. Squinting through the translucent blue panels, she confirmed that the arms Flyreh had tried to main her with and the sleek triangular wings were mounted around this central pod.

  “It’s pretty common for faeries to need to take passengers. So my Armour Core has extra seats!” Asika somewhat redundantly explained. “Oh, and it flies,”

  “Flyreh used it to hover,” Mikayla remembered.

  “Did he? Figures he couldn’t use it properly. Nah. Kagura-no-Shibu flies,” Asika twisted in her seat just to shoot them a manic grin, and entirely for dramatic effect conjured a joystick to yank on.

  Sudden G-forces drove them both back into their seats, forcing the breath from their lungs as the scenery of the Cliffwatch Kill Box fell away, expanding outwards into a panorama of hills and tundra.

  Keldryn gasped, gripping his seat so tightly that his knuckles went white. “Huh? Whoa! We’re so high up!”

  “Eventually I’m gonna stop being surprised by this world’s technology. I really didn’t think you had airplanes,” Mikayla gasped, standing up to peer at the view.

  It was beautiful. She couldn’t deny it, the frigid tundra laid out before her like a patchwork of birch trees, rivers and Kaiju tracks was a vista worthy of being painted. In the distance, she could even see a couple of the giant monsters minding their own business, and fortunately paying no attention to the giant fairy-robot-plane.

  “Welcome, all passengers, to Kagura-no-Shibu Flights, courtesy of the Cosmic Isles. I am your pilot for today, and because time is of the essence we are going to be flying very fast. So hold on tight,” Despite Asika’s words, the acceleration only barely rated as ‘uncomfortable’. Mikayla had to assume there was something kind of inertial dampening going on, because even as the landscape whipped past beneath them, it felt about the same as driving in a car on the freeway.

  “So that’s this thing’s name. I was wondering,” Keldryn muttered.

  “Kagura-no-Shibu,” Mikayla sounded the words out. “That sounds Japanese,”

  “Does it? I don’t know what language you speak, but I fiddled with the name’s arithmancy so that it won’t be translated by the System. In some languages, ‘the one who dances with fans for the entertainment of the gods’ is way too long to be a name,” Asika explained.

  “. . yeah, it is,” For the first time, Mikayla really appreciated the translation function, because the long string of words had somehow been packed straight into her brain in less than half the time it should have taken to say those words. Was that impressive or just plain disturbing? She didn’t know anymore.

  A few minutes passed in silence. But Mikayla could only distract herself with the view for so long before the questions gnawing at her insides became too much to bear.

  “Okay, we’ve got time to talk. Is it really just me being low level that worries you about my being a demigod now? It’s still okay to send me home after that?” she asked.

  “Of course it is!” Asika didn’t meet her gaze, focused on the endless trees as her Armour flew southwest.

  “Lie,” Keldryn flicked his tail in irritation.

  “Okay, okay, fine. But it’s really not your problem. I’ll take the blame,” Asika assured her.

  “That’s not an answer. Come on, we’re friends. I want to know what you’re getting into on my account,” Mikayla pressed.

  Asika sighed. “Gods are, well, important, okay? Having taken on this Rainbow Ouroboros’ essentia, you’ve become part of this world’s fabric. Remember my explanation about,” She hesitated, glancing at Keldryn. “. . Ah, screw it. About the two Systems fighting over resources?”

  Keldryn pricked up his ears but didn’t interrupt.

  “I’ve become one of the resources the Systems are fighting over,” Mikayla guessed, suddenly seeing where this was going. “So by sending me home, and the Ouroboros’ essentia with me, I’m removing a piece from the board,” She’d had a feeling it’d be something like that. It was still worrying to hear her suspicions confirmed.

  “Ring a ding ding, you got it,” Asika confirmed. “This, um, hasn’t ever happened before, y’know? There’s no precedent. The Cosmic Scales will definitely be happy that we retrieved the Ouroboros’ essentia from those guys. But . ."

  Mikayla whistled through her teeth. “So you’re gonna complete the mission and send me home without making sure that they’ll still want you to do that,”

  Asika offered her a wan smile. “You’re my friend. So this is the right thing to do. If I get punished for it, then . .” She shook her head. “So be it,”

  Mikayla hugged her from behind. “I wanna give you a cute nickname so much right now but I can’t think of any that don’t sound obscene,” she murmured, resting her head on Asika’s shoulder. Assie was right out. So was Ka-ka. Sika? Whatever. “You are such a good friend,”

  Asika flushed, her blue cheeks turning purple. “Ehehee. Thanks!”

  “Keep your eyes on the sky,” Keldryn dryly reminded them. Rolling her eyes, Mikayla sat back down and let Asika focus on flying.

  They were almost there. It would only take a couple of hours, then they’d be back at the Cavemaw Spider’s den. And then she’d be home.

  What could go wrong?