"I won't forget how you Crantans enslaved my people."

"Enslaved? What are you talking about?" When I saw a heated discussion between two deities, it didn't play out the way I expected.

First, one could turn into a dragon, but he took the shape of a man, letting his hordes attack us. He could have demolished everything but these creatures were weak, so why? Because he wanted us to level up as he said it, but again, why? To entertain him, or something, his motivation was unfathomable to me.

The other possessed this purple-haired Princess but she got sealed into a plushie. My brother worked hard on repeating this feat. Even as a stuffed cat she seemed powerful. But not to the same degree as this Dragon God. Their arguing about the past in their current shape looked hilarious.

"You Crantans enslaved the Sea People, then my nomads in the Appenon." Addas clarified, talking about some ancient history. Nati mentioned it while leaning over a large hand-drawn map before we set out. I was more interested in the geography at the time.

"Oh, you mean my husband, Remmol." The cat shrugged, and mentioning a spouse made the situation even more comical. "He led the invasion against Appenon in the First War, way before we met."

The Dragon God's eyebrows furrowed, he was already mad before the plushie continued. She mocked her people, which was oil to the fire. The sparks that flew between them seemed more dangerous than any of the monsters in this arena. And the Crantan goddess didn't hold back.

"Your nomads wanted to fight him in the mountains for whatever reason. It was spectacular how he beat them." The small toy's mouth was in a mocking grin. "Besides, I hate to break it to you, but when Cranta invaded, human slavery was already banned."

"It doesn't matter, you took their freedom all the same," Addas claimed. The doors along the castle's walls opened once more.

A new horde of monsters poured into the courtyard, another chance for us to level up. The orc shaman and my brother blocked his last attack, but he still wasn't satisfied with our strength. He wanted us to grind more.

"As I said, you talk about Remmol." The stuffed toy goddess argued as if the monsters weren't even there. Despite the danger, this face-off seemed more intense than anything in the arena.

I glanced at Nati who squeezed the dragon plushie but hesitated to unleash the spell. What was she waiting for? They paid no attention to us, and her previous attempt was a great success, as the cat came to life.

"I went there in the Second War, my task was to defend your people from Lansum rebels." She educated her opponent, but he had none of it.

"I was more than capable of defending them from any threats." The Dragon God crossed his arms over his chest.

With the monsters approaching us, I couldn't focus on their argument, rearing to go anyway. Whatever my brother said about this not being a game, I remembered the MMO we last played together. As surreal as this situation was, it felt nostalgic.

"Are we fighting, or what?" I asked, looking at the others who seemed anxious too. "I can't tell if they are stalling for time or this drama is the main event. But the monsters keep coming so..."

"They talk about stuff that happened a thousand years ago," Omerta explained as if I didn't know. "But the current threat is the monster horde."

"Agreed. Emi, which side do you prefer this time?" Cath grinned at me. We worked quite well during the previous fight, even though we only met yesterday. She knew Nati from earlier, and while she was petite and cute, she sure knew how to handle that huge sword.

For now, we were under a big orange bubble that deflected the god's last attack. Gitaut made it and my brother helped him out too.

"Left is good." I nodded, weighing my short blade. The shield shattered a while ago, but I felt so much faster, they couldn't put a scratch on me regardless. The sword also felt lighter, and my uniform mended all the rips and tears from the previous fight.

Whatever Alexandra made this from, it was amazing. If my uniform were the same in my world, I would have liked it much better. It saved me from many injuries, dirt, and even magic to some degree.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Not that my body was fragile. It was a perfect copy by the looks, but it didn't work like an actual human. I heard the magicians call it both golem or homunculus, but it was a tough shell either way.

"Please, Emi, be serious," Nati begged me, still protective. But it wasn't like I could stand around doing nothing while the creatures surrounded us. "We can't play by his rules."

"Then what do you suggest?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"It looks easy, but there are the minotaurs too, not to mention his strikes that we could only stop with a joint effort." She lectured me as if I didn't know. "Don't let your guard down."

"I know, it's not a game, I got your point, but still." I sighed, looking at the stuffed dragon in her hands. "If you want to end this fast, use the spell already, and we can all go home."

"I-its not ready yet." She claimed embarrassed. It was crazy how she looked like Alexandra in the other world, but the expressions were my brothers. And the hesitation too.

"Well hurry up." I urged her, noting. "Until it's ready, someone has to fight these things. But he seems busy arguing with the other plushie."

I made sure I didn't say it too loud. I didn't want to offend our guardian deity if Gedurian qualified as that. From what the Princess told us, she was a family member from the distant past.

But she still wanted to possess her. There had to be some inner fights, but it got much worse. And Aoi was the princess of a different nation, who didn't like the Crantans.

Then it was us, the Lesser Races from two different factions. If I thought about it for too long, our differences were greater than what these deities argued about. It was a miracle we weren't fighting each other instead of the monsters. And considering this, we coordinated well.

"A second rune to suppress his power should do." Omerta gave her opinion, standing close to Nati. "I will focus on helping you with the shaman, Ember and Aoi should be able to handle the monster horde."

"I could join the first row too." The Princess unsheathed a sword as well. She spent the previous turn meditating, and I haven't seen her fight so far. "If they are as weak as the previous batch, even I can kill a few, and then I'll get stronger, right?"

"That's the idea." Cath nodded, her bodyguard. Her eyes mirrored similar worries toward the purple-haired girl as Nati's for me. The air resonated between them like I saw it happen in silly romcoms. "Stay close to me though, Geddu won't help you this time."

"It was nice until it lasted, but I'm glad she's gone." Elizabeth smiled, but the cat plushie sent an annoyed glance towards her. She still argued with the Dragon God, but I no longer listened to them.

The first wave of the creatures surrounded us, but they couldn't break into the dome. We had to go out and meet them, and Ember provided a smoke screen to hide our movements.

It was more fire than smoke of course. The cat girl in red couldn't hold back even if her life depended on it, but this opened a path for us to attack. The monsters were alive this time, not undead like the ones swarming us before. Their movements were smoother, but they were weak all the same.

The blade, dull as it was, cut into them like a knife through butter, but I hoped for a replacement soon. Cath didn't have this problem. Her falchion was dull from the start, and its weight was destructive. Yet she looked like she danced with a feather.

"Behind you, and left." She warned the Princess, but Elizabeth picked up the pace fast. She cut down more creatures in the first minutes than I did. Her sword was in a better shape than mine. Gaining strength from fighting or not, exhaustion started to creep into my muscles.

Ember purged large swaths of monsters with each of her spells. Aoi used small precision strikes instead, in case one of us got flanked. Omerta told her to hold back because she got the most kills in the last round. The others needed to grind too, and if my brother dared to say this wasn't a game after this, I would blow up.

Nati and the orcs kept working on the dragon toy, etching another rune. They only fired off a spell when they needed to replenish their mana. Still, they were all on a different level. Not so much Omerta, but Gitaut could erase dozens of creatures with a glance.

And my brother, the Black Cat as he referred to her sometimes, could copy any spell she saw after the first try. The blue crystal in her cherry blossom staff would glow up, and a moment later she'd cast a crazy OP spell. They would cause more destruction than Ember's Firestorms.

The best part of it was her surprised expression, every time. As if she still couldn't believe how strong she was. And I heard she couldn't cast a spell before Alexandra brought me over. Now it was clear how she became the strongest magician in our group.

"Anyway, I won't let you toy with these adventurers." The stuffed cat's voice overshadowed all the noises from our fight. They still argued about the same thing, but at least this meant the Dragon God didn't fight us himself. "You had the chance to join the Cranta Pantheon. Whatever you say about oppression and your people are empty accusations."

"Why would I want to join them, when your pact wouldn't let me set foot among my people?" Addas replied, floating higher up in the air now. I slashed a monster in half, but my mind was elsewhere. "You couldn't return either and had to possess your descendant. And you want me to say you are the hero of this story? Don't make me laugh."

"She's not my descendant, I never had children." The cat scoffed as two more creatures tasted my blade, but the steel shattered. It was a gift from the dwarf smith and lasted for quite a while, but it had to cut through too much. "And don't blame me for the Inquisitorias' dumb mistakes. But who was at fault for the Sea of Storms?"

"A rogue god accuses me? Wasted words, prove your point in a duel."