“How?” Sakura asked, wide-eyed and looking between the dead Cursed One and a pair of beasts. One’s posterior hung out of the cave wall, and the other appeared eviscerated. “I expected you to keep that thing busy until we finished up. It’s Bronze Realm, you know.”

Nil shrugged. “I hit it and hit it and hit it until I didn’t have to hit it anymore.”

Carmen let out a matronly chuckle and smacked Nil’s arm. Her eyes and staff glowed blue as luminous water flowed from her arm and wrapped around Nil’s injuries. The cold from it was pleasant on his shoulder and elbow. The cuts he suffered while Expending also slowly knit themselves cold.

“And the beasts?” Sakura asked, clearly not amused.

“I took care of that one,” Selia said, pointing at the specimen sticking out of the wall. Carmen’s waters enveloped the exposed half of her lower right side. A pair of clean slices marked her pale flesh. It seemed the Mind Mage had managed to land a blow before she slew it.

“And the roadkill?” Farah raised an eyebrow, nodding at the crushed remains lying off to the side. “It looks like it was run over, and then something took bites out of it.”

The Ironroot Whelp drew attention to herself with a squeak. She waddled out from behind a section of collapsed wall, forearms full of luminous mushrooms. One stuck out of her mouth.

“That’s Meatball,” Nil said.

“How the hell did you get a soul weapon and a spirit companion since the last time I saw you? Has it even been six months?”

“Almost eight, I think.” Nil winced again. Something clicked back into place, and he couldn’t be sure. Incredible pressure where his neck met his skull immediately faded. Discomforts he didn’t know he felt faded. A trickle of water retreated from down his back and wrapped around the shoulder. Carmen had found and fixed a spine realignment. “To be fair, I already had a soul weapon seed the first time we met. Illegal experimentation, corrupt companies, and all that nonsense. There is a lot of craziness happening on our Earth.”

“Not just yours,” Carmen commented.

Farah and Bjorn nodded along.

“There is fucked up shit going on everywhere.” Sakura sighed. “We have mad scientists kidnapping children and trying to create artificial power seeds. Its—”

“I started as one of those,” Selia interrupted, holding up her hand. “The Schema is still trying to fix the damage they inflicted.”

“Where there is power to be had and money to be made, the corrupt will do whatever it takes to come out on top,” Carmen said, eyes still focused on Nil’s shoulder. “Things were like that before the cataclysm in my world, and things only got worse afterward. Maybe it’s our nature.”

“I bet that’s the reason why the Control Worlds are stingy with knowledge, crystals, and everything else,” Farah said. “They don’t trust us.”

“Or we fear what we’ve become,” Merchant said, joining them. “We’re not far from our destination. Should we get moving?”

“That depends on our injured heroes,” Sakura commented, turning to Nil and Selia. “Are you okay to move?”

“Still a bit sore, but I can move,” Nil said.

“I can fix Selia while we move,” Carmen said, looking at her second patient. “How’s the pain?”

“Mostly gone, to be honest. The blade didn’t go that deep. Since the bleeding has stopped, maybe you should save your magic. The fountain will take care of the rest.”

The party got moving once again. Nil and Selia took over scouting duties together. There was no telling how close the pursuers were now, and it was too risky to send a scout back to check. So they pushed on with haste.

It was nice to travel through the dark just with Selia. She didn’t phase shift as much, and they spent most of their time jogging and conversing in whispers. Nil struggled to comprehend how much things had changed in so little time. He and Katherine were friends and then colleagues with a strong attraction and chemistry but not much else. Their vastly differing worldviews, politics, and ambitions got in the way of their relationship turning into anything more.

There were no such obstacles with Selia. They both wanted similar things in life and had similar ambitions. Their desire to make a better place regardless of the law’s purview also put them on the same page on several subjects. Things were easier with Selia, and even though they hadn’t discussed labels or the nature of their relationship, it seemed real. Despite his initial dislike, Nil felt something more than raw attraction for the woman. He believed Selia felt similarly.

The pair encountered Cursed Beasts a couple of times. They took them out without Sakura or the others’ assistance. The blood on their clothes made hiding their scents nearly impossible. So, when Nil sensed them coming, he drew their attention while Selia disappeared into a wall or floor. He Absorbed their attacks and put however many he could with martial ability alone while Selia suffocated the rest by trapping their heads.

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The pair faced their first challenge when they encountered a sharp cliff. It was smooth and curved inwards, and the path forward was through a high-up opening about three meters across. A folded ladder sat at the mouth.

“I might be able to make it with an empowered leap, but my aim isn’t great at this range,” Nil stated. “I can try, but I will probably just end up wasting time and energy.”

“How’s your throwing arm?” Sakura asked. The rest of the party and Merchant’s people had caught up while Nil figured out a solution.

“Great, but again, aim is the problem. I could probably hit the ladder with a couple of tries, but there is a high chance of me breaking it.”

“Don’t look at me,” Bjorn said when Sakura turned to him. “My aim is absolutely horrendous.”

“So you can get something close to it?” Selia asked, thoughtfully studying the opening.

“I can try.” Nil shrugged. “The lights barely reach it, so it won’t be easy. What are you thinking?”

“Throw me.” Selia grinned.

“Are you mad? If you don’t smash into the cliff face and die, the fall will kill you.”

“Hello?” Selia raised her eyebrows, putting on a sassy tone. “Phase shifter? I can just go into the wall if you miss. Catch me if I fall. Absorb will ensure I don’t get hurt, right?”

“Right.” Nil nodded. He didn’t like the idea, but the only other option was an arduous climb, which they didn’t have the time for. “Will you be okay in the stone?”

“New spells, handsome,” Selia said. “Between Spectral Tether, Seeker’s Compass, and Arcane Eyes, I should be able to find my way out. Just don’t miss by a wide margin, okay?”

After taking a few minutes of deep breathing, Nil got his heartbeat slow enough to take on the endeavor with a calm head. After a few test throws using boulders of roughly Selia’s weight, he first lifted her onto his, and then she settled in the palm of his hand. Nil supercharged strength before empowering the movement with Expend and flinging her like a shot-put.

Nil’s heart leaped into his throat as Selia went shooting up the cliff face. His throw proved short. She disappeared into the stone several meters below the target. Nil held his breath for several stressful seconds, hoping he hadn’t just killed the woman who now shared his bed most nights. Then, the ladder unfurled, and Selia’s smiling face emerged from the opening, illuminated by the floating light she carried.

After both mages had gone up, Nil followed. Once Merchant and all the other non-combatants finished their ascent, Sakura and Bjorn brought up the rear. They complimented Nil and Selia for a job well done before everyone carried on.

It took them another hour to exit the caverns. Soldiers and sailors rushed to assist them. They took the cargo and the packs. While the tired travelers caught their breath, the rest readied the vessel. A small ascent remained until they reached the dock and boarded the airship.

It wasn’t a capsule hanging from a giant balloon as Nil had predicted. Instead, it resembled a medieval frigate and had giant glowing gems sticking out of the hull. More such gems sat attached to the rear. Nil couldn’t make heads or tails of how it worked but was fascinated nonetheless.

“Thank you,” Merchant told them. “I’m not sure if we or the cargo would’ve made it without your contribution. That was quicker and easier than I expected.”

“Don’t jinx us now.” Bjorn groaned, and almost as if on cue, a roar echoed from the tunnel they had just exited.

Are the Fates a thing in the multiverse, or was that the mother of all coincidences?

The soldiers and crew ushered Merchant and the other survivors uphill to the vessel. The state of the abandoned city suggested it had seen no traffic in a long time. It was the same for the road that ran through it. However, the airship dock on top of the mountain appeared busy and regular enough to have a town built around it.

Nil saw no overground roads heading downhill. Yet, tantalizing aromas rose from the little market running up the slope. Several stalls also displayed fresh fruit and vegetables. It meant trading vessels regularly traveled through the port. As a result, a town had grown around it. There were the people who ran the dock, the soldiers who protected it, and all the people who supported both groups and their families.

The emergency quest talked about getting the cargo on the vessel and getting it gone but said nothing about the travelers or the residents. A few hundred lives were on the line, but according to the Nexus, they were expendable. Nil didn’t like the thought of it but also understood the gravity of the situation. If he prioritized the people and the cargo fell into the Scourge’s hands, the casualty numbers would be in the billions instead of hundreds. He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled.

“Does everybody know what they’re doing?” Sakura asked.

“Buying time,” Selia answered matter-of-factly.

“You and I hold the mouth,” Bjorn stepped up, unslinging the hammer strapped across his back. The black sludge that flowed through Cursed Beasts’ veins stained it. “Farah goes full-on artillery, and Carmen keeps us alive until the quest ends.”

“You have our support too,” one of the guards said, stepping up. He wore more ornate armor than the rest. “If we fail, everyone does.”

“And your citizens die,” Farah commented.

“Everyone here will gladly lay down their lives to ensure the dragon egg and source spells don’t fall into the Scourge's hands.” The man’s voice quivered, but he remained firm. “The captain has agreed to take the little ones and the pregnant if it looks like we’re going to be overrun.”

“Form two lines behind us,” Sakura ordered. “Put your best-ranged fighters in the back and protect them with your lives. Your duty is to take out anyone that gets behind us.” She paused, glancing at the crumbling stone towers on either side of the cavemouth. Snow covered them, and the cross-bow turrets atop them. “Do those work?”

“I don’t know, honored Summoned,” the guard replied. “It hasn’t seen use in my lifetime.”

“Find out. Get someone up there anyway. They can snipe the enemy mages and their long-range attackers.”

“What about us?” Nil asked.

“You two are far more competent than you appear. Take out their mages. Cause collapses on their heads. Make our lives easier.” Sakura looked down the now-trembling tunnel. Roars, howls, and the sounds of stomping feet echoed up it. “If you’re not up for it, help get the cargo on the ship.”