Isaac was holding off the man named Volken with great difficulty. He gritted his teeth as Volken's monstrous strength pushed him back. I attempted to stab Volken while he was distracted, having just arrived next to Isaacs. In a swift motion, he sent my brother backwards with a forceful shove and sent my longsword clanging away with a sharp upward knee movement.

“Oh crap!”

The sword was now a good ten feet away as it skidded across the church grounds. Volken, his attention now on me, swung his sword at my neck. I pictured myself wielding a katana, and in an instant, it appeared in my hands. Raising my arm up, the two weapons clashed against each other in a flurry of yellow and blue sparks.

Volken gazed at the blade in my hand with a surprised look. “Not only the boy, but you too? My interest in you humans builds up even more!”

He lifted his leg and kicked my torso with a force akin to a stampeding elephant, sending me flying and colliding with Isaac. We both let out a collective groan as we lay on the ground. We heard a noise that sounded like rocks scraping against each other while gathering ourselves up. Looking up, the source came from Volken, with a hand outstretched to the ground as if he was going to high-five it.

“As you both were gracious enough to demonstrate your abilities to me, I would be honored to reciprocate the gesture.”

His fists tightened as he surveyed the broken pieces of the fallen pillars around him. In a matter of seconds, six small golems materialized out of the flying debris. The proportions of their bodies were off, like a child stuck together whatever it could find with glue.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t underestimate them. While they may look unrefined, their power shouldn’t be glossed over.”

He let out a small snicker, as if he found the situation enjoyable. Snapping his fingers, a small light appeared in the golem’s eye sockets. They shook with vigor and whirled their heads, staring at us with cold, lifeless eyes. It reminded me of the golems back at the Bob Ross Lake. Was he the creator of those golems?

Volken cracked his knuckles and pointed at us. Under his command, all six bounded toward us with rigid steps. Isaac walked forward to intercept them, but I yanked him away.

“Isaac, stay behind me. I got this.”

“Are you sure? I can handle them all by myself-“ He shut himself up when he noticed another blade take shape in my palm. “Is that the same blue weapon from before? So, you just summon swords made from mana?”

I held the sword like it was a pole, aimed it at one of the approaching golems, and chucked it as hard as I could. Like a speeding bullet, the sword impaled one of them in the head, blowing it clean off. I then motioned for the blade to pause and made a display of slicing through the air. The katana instantly aimed itself at the remaining golems and flew through each one, causing them to crumble to the ground. With a snap of my fingers, the blade disappeared. I blew a sigh of relief as my knees buckled. Isaac caught me before I collapsed. Controlling a mana blade like it was a flying saucer sapped me of my mana and concentration, especially when it’s used for long periods of time…

The sound of clapping in the distance interrupted my train of thought. It was Volken who was slowly approaching. “Wonderful! Your control is commendable for a rookie. I would like to thank you for showing me- Woah now!”

His monologue was cut off when he spotted a katana speeding toward him. Instead of dodging or defending, he stuck his arm out and allowed it to connect, but instead of it dealing damage, it simply disintegrated. I couldn’t stop myself from feeling shocked.

“Just like that boy next to you, your mana is weak. That wasn’t enough to even tickle me.”

Volken then raised his gaze to the ceiling, muttering incoherently under his breath. Glancing upwards, the sky seemed to grow brighter, a dark orange slowly swallowing the dark night. Just how long have we been here? I hadn’t really been paying attention to the time. All I knew was that it was the morning before we got transported.

Volken scratched his chin. “Looks like it’s about time to wrap things up. It’s a shame, really. I would prefer for you guys to live, but you are making things extremely difficult. Between you and the prisoner, she takes priority. I’ll just have to conduct some tests...”

The man who had a cheery expression a moment ago now had one that resembled a predator eying at fresh prey. “...On your lifeless corpses.”

As if on cue, the black sword he was gripping spewed out an inky substance. A black aura enveloped all around it like a cocoon. With just one look, I knew something terrible was going on and we needed to put an end to it fast. Thankfully, Isaac had the same idea as he squeezed my shoulder.

“Laila, let’s attack him on opposite sides!”

Without waiting for me to answer, he attacked Volkens left. I followed him after grabbing my longsword off the floor and darted towards the Apithiens’ right. Everything after that happened in slow motion. Isaac and I raised our weapons in an attempt to harm Volken, but we were too late. He reached down and plunged his hand into the inky darkness, pulling out the same black sword as before coated in a weird, gooey substance. With both of our weapons just inches away from the man, he swiftly raised his sword and, with a single, well-executed movement, cut through our swords with remarkable precision. Our swords were rendered useless in seconds. We were both left stunned.

“I don’t know if you realized, but this isn’t your regular sword. It has been crafted by one of the most talented blacksmiths with top-grade materials.”

He darted his eyes at me and went for a stab toward my chest. I barely managed to twist out of the way and felt the cold blade grazing my arm. Wincing at the pain, I retreated a few steps back. Volken, not missing a beat, took advantage of that and aimed his sword right between my eyes. My life flashed before my eyes as the sharp blade came dangerously close to my face, but then I heard shuffling to my left. Isaac brought his shoulder down and rammed into Volken.

“Who needs that weak sword when I got my fists instead?!” Isaac howled. With balled-up fists, he threw a punch at Volken, who easily moved aside and used the hilt of his sword to bash Isaac in the front of the skull, accompanied by a sickening crack. Volken spun around and held his sword aloft, ready to bring it down on the boy who lay motionless.

“No!” I wailed desperately. There wasn’t enough mana left for me to materialize another weapon to throw, and the claw darts were exhausted from my earlier excursion.

With no other choice, I rushed on over while Volken gave me a momentary glance my way, unfazed. His attention was back on Isaac and let his hand drop. I screamed until my throat was raw and my voice hoarse, knowing that I would not make it in time to save Isaac. Thinking about how Isaac’s death would be my fault caused my vision to become blurry, and my eyes wet. The pointed edge was just inches away from his head before a familiar voice entered my mind.

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“Do not worry, human girl. I have finally arrived.”

A glowing circle made of blue sparks appeared below Isaac. He slithered into its depths and was no longer seen. The blue sparks dissipated into the air. The only thing I felt at that moment was bewilderment.

Volken seemed outraged, his nostrils flaring. “How did she recover enough mana to create her infuriating portals? I don’t know how you accomplished that, Solgen, but you will not escape from me!”

Volken looked around the vicinity, looking for Solgen, until he laid his eyes on me. “I’ll just hold you hostage and have her reveal herself forcefully!”

He charged at me with a loud roar, but it was to no avail. I felt a hand reach out behind me and pulled me back. The last thing I witnessed while the portal closed was the infuriated Volken screaming out curses. When I turned around, Solgen stood tall, holding onto the slumped Isaac on her shoulders. Her calm, radiant eyes peered down at me with a certain gentleness. Upon seeing them, my legs gave out, and I lay there, with little to no energy.

When I moved my head, the lights in this portal space were radiant, like stars in a night sky. I had no clue what was going on. Where was this place? Are we in space? It seemed like it. We were standing on a circular blue platform surrounded by a dark vast void of glittering stars. The platform was moving, but only slightly, like I was on a conveyer belt.

“I would like to express my gratitude once again for releasing me from my accursed chains and delaying Volken,” Solgen said. I slightly tilted my head and peered at the woman, giving her a thumbs up. She gave me a small smile and spoke again.

“As I promised before, I am in your debt. I will grant you whatever you wish for, as long as it is within my power to do so.”

My ears perked up at hearing that last bit. “Can you use your portal to take me and Isaac back to Earth?”

Solgen placed a finger on her chin, thinking. What came out of her mouth next was not an answer I was looking for. “I’m sorry, but I do not have the power to travel to other planets. I can only travel short distances. Is there anything else you would like?”

The tone of her voice sounded dejected, as if she felt bad for not being able to meet my expectations. I couldn’t blame her at all; she was our savior. I pondered for minutes, thinking about what our next goal should be since we couldn’t get back to Earth. If we can’t get back to our home planet, then we would have to survive here, looking for another way back home…

“Then how about you take me and Isaac to wherever you’re heading? Think of us as companions.” When the word companions left my mouth, Solgens’ facial expression switched to that of sorrow. That quickly went away, and she gave me an answer.

“Regrettably, I cannot guide you back to Earth, but I can bring you along with me. On one condition.”

“As long as it is not unreasonable.”

“You humans will be my pupils.”

Did I hear that correctly? Does she want to take us in as her students? But why?

My doubts were answered as she cleared her throat. “I shall impart combat skills to you as my pupils. If I were to leave you be, who knows if you’ll survive? I can’t have that in my good conscious. I will teach you everything I know. Not to mention how pathetically weak you are...”

Hearing that last part about us being pathetically weak… While true, I did not like it being told by someone else one bit- but she was right. I questioned whether Isaac and I would survive independently in this mysterious world.

I nodded at her suggestion. “We’ll accept your conditions. I look forward to your instruction. I would like to shake your hand, but my legs don’t feel like moving.”

A faint groan emanated from Solgen’s shoulder.

“Oh? It appears that your brother is awakening from his nap.” Solgen gave him a little pat on the back, but that seemed to have caused him pain instead, as he instantly snapped his head and shouted.

“Ow! The fuck was that!?” While he was spouting out curses, his eyes landed on Solgen, who stared back at him. The spew of curses died down and he fell quiet.

“What I meant to say was... Good morning?” Isaac shrugged his shoulders, but Solgen wasn’t amused in the slightest as she dropped him to the ground.

She dusted her hands off as if she had just disposed of the trash. “We’ll be reaching our destination soon. While we wait, introductions should be in order. My name is Solgen, but you probably already know that.”

“My name is Laila Hall, and this is my brother, Isaac Hall.”

Isaac gave a little wave toward Solgen. “So, you’re that prisoner that bastard was referring to?”

Solgen wrinkled her nose in disgust at the mention of Volken. “I ‘was’ the prisoner he was referring to, albeit I wouldn’t consider myself one, as I have done no wrong. I would tell you of the details, but that time will come soon.”

Well, I can tell that she doesn’t want to talk about her past right now. It is understandable. We are strangers, after all.

Isaac glanced at Solgen. “What happens now? Also, thank you for saving us. We were getting our asses kicked hard by that powerful guy.” He made a brief show by shadowboxing.

“Volken may be considered strong, but mentally he is weak. I know that better than anyone,” she said with a soft face. Just what happened to her that caused imprisonment for a decade?

I suppressed that burning question and followed up on what Isaac mentioned. “Changing the topic... Like Isaac said, what will we do now?”

Solgen turned her body opposite of us, her wild floor-length hair flowing. The only thought that came to mind while watching was that Solgen needed a haircut. She might as well be a lost princess that had been secluded in her tower for years and yearns for freedom.

“We are heading east of here. What lies there is the home of an acquaintance of mine. Hopefully, he still lives.”

I threw Solgen a question out of curiosity. “Is he friendly?”

“Probably.” Her answer was so laid back that it caused me to worry.

“Probably? Why probably?” Isaac asked.

“Enough questions. We are here.”

The environment around us changed. What used to be stars around us was now a scene that could be considered ‘hell’. There was molten lava all around, bubbling dangerously. Imps that were in the cave previously were freely flying around in the air with no care in the world. The lava pools were teeming with long, fishlike creatures, their bulging black eyes gleaming against their bright red scales. The air was so hot it felt like I was suffocating, each inhalation searing my lungs.

“Holy shit, we are going to die in this heat! Where are we?” Isaac was fanning himself with his hands like it was helping him cool down.

“Oh, stop your whining. We are in the Magmi region, known for its blistering heat and chaotic creatures. Now, follow me. There is a village past this area.” Not even waiting for us to answer, she hopped over the small pools of lava.

“She’s crazy as hell, Laila. Just how did you two meet each other?”

I almost snorted with laughter. “And you’re not? I’ll tell you on the way. Right now, we can’t lose sight of her.”

I followed the same path that Solgen took. Isaac hesitantly looked around his surroundings and chased after us. A few minutes later, we caught up to Solgen, who was waiting for us on top of a mountain range.

“Took you guys long enough. I’ll say this now. I will not go easy on you humans. A mentor who is soft on their students will lead to lackluster results.”

Isaac raised his eyebrow. “Mentor? You’ll be teaching us? This is news to me!”

“I will train you guys on how to fight properly. But before we can start...”

She pointed a finger at a small village in the distance that had settled in front of a volcano. The village was tucked between two lakes of lava that bubbled and steamed, and the air was filled with the sound of the creatures frolicking about. The sight was so bizarre that I thought they must have a death wish! Who thought creating a settlement in front of a volcano as tall as a mountain was a good idea?

“There is a blacksmith living in this colony. I will have him craft you guys some new weapons. The ones you used before were of inferior quality.”

Isaac was the first to speak up in an excited tone. “New weapons? Fuck yeah! Can we choose the design ourselves?” His eyes were that of a kid expecting Christmas gifts. Looking at his face, Solgen let out a small laugh.

“Haha... No.”

Isaac’s face, which had been full of glee, was now sagging with sadness.

“I have already determined the perfect weapons for you guys while I watched your fights.”

I blinked once. “Hold on. You were watching us this whole time?”

The expression she was showing was a full-on poker face. “Of course.”

That is terrifying...

“Enough dillydallying. We don’t have all day now...”

Solgen leapt off the mountain, and we hastened to keep up with her. From behind, she had a certain dignified grace about her, which was peculiar considering her history of being tortured and confined in a dank prison for unknown reasons. Either way, I knew that Isaac and I could trust her with our lives.