I'm next to the guard again. He looks at me with the face of someone who is seeing me for the first time.
' Does he not remember me? Why is he looking at me with those eyes? '
I take a step forward and he stops me immediately.
«You can't go into the academy. Only students and authorized personnel can come in.» (Head guard)
«Don't fuck with me. You just sent me to battle so I could go in and now you are treating me like a total stranger?» (Me)
«Watch your tongue. If you really did it then you would be showing me the badge they give already.» (Head guard)
«They gave me nothing.» (Me)
«See how easy it is to catch a liar?» (Head guard)
' This bastard is pissing me off. '
«I'll report this to the general then. I hope you are sure of your words. » (Me)
' I can't believe I'll have to tell on him... But something seems fishy here... '
< Don't mind it. Just go with it.> (Devouring monster)
I turn around as the guard slightly smiles. That smile was small enough so that most would not even notice it. I walk in the direction of the general again, completely mad about what just happened.
I arrive at the spot and see a person screaming to the general. The general obviously looks kind of pissed off as well.
As I get closer, their words become clearer and I notice who the person screaming to the general is. A student from Noemi's class.
«I've already done 5 different jobs for you! Give me the damned badge already!» (Noemi's classmate)
«I've said it already and I'll repeat myself! I don't know who you are! If you want the badge then get to killing!» (General)
The student seems to lose it and throws his fist imbued with earth magic at the general. The general simply swings his fist and sends the student flying a few meters.
' Such strength... he easily sent that guy flying! That guy is not really a small one either! '
' How do you know that? '
' Not that. How do you know about that if you haven't been here for all that long? '
' That's interesting. I want you to tell me more about that realm later then. '
Kit mentally screams excitedly as we approach the general and the unconscious student.
When the general looks at me his eyes seem to panic for a second, while his face remained unchanged. He then puts his hand on his head and slightly waves his head.
«I forgot to give you the badge, didn't I? Dear me, it's been happening quite a lot lately so I can't trust anybody!»
' Is he trying to excuse what just happened to the student? '
' How the... If you say so... '
The general takes a small badge in the form of a shield out of his armor and throws it at me. I caught it in mid-air and the sweaty badge slightly crumbles.
'I this supposed to be the badge?'
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'What about telling...'
I quickly walk to the guard and hand over the badge before he could utter a single word. The shock was great enough so that he couldn't even prevent it from showing on his face.
«How did he... I mean...» (Head Guard)
A few long seconds of silence succeeded the almost unhearable words the guard uttered. He then crushed the badge and the words that were stuck on his throat finally came out.
«It seems like it was my mistake. I'm sorry.» (Head Guard)
The guard looks down and then back up as if he had an idea and the corner of his lips slightly curls up.
«I'll just need you to come back until tomorrow with someone from inside to make sure you are indeed a student.» (Head Guard)
' That's a trap. I'm sure of it. '
' B-but! '
I walk into the school ground and I'm instantly received with screams.
«JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!» (Noemi)
Noemi jumps and grabs my neck while burying her face on my chest.
«Why such a large noise? Is it that hard to get past that bastard guard?» (Me)
She looks up with tearful eyes and locks her gaze deep in mine.
«Where have you been? I missed you so much...» (Noemi)
«On a short mission.» (Me)
«SHORT?! Where in the world is 5 years short!?» (Noemi)
'WAIT!? 5 years?!'
' I'll go talk with the faction leader now... This is getting all too weird... '
< Do you even know where it is? > (Devouring monster)
' I... No... I was teleported last time, wasn't I? '
< Precisely. > (Devouring monster)
I start walking to the faction building with Noemi still hanging onto me in the hopes of seeing the hairy dwarf there.
«How long will you be holding onto me?» (Me)
«5 years.» (Noemi)
«...» (Me)
' Did she really miss me that much? Why would she? '
< Women stuff. Don't worry about it. > (Devouring monster)
«So... How's school been while I was gone, Noemi?» (Me)
«It's been awful! All we do is training for the great war!» (Noemi)
She starts to cry again as we enter the building.
' Being the daughter of the demon king must be very emotionally tiring... '
«GOD DAMN! Took you a while didn't it?!» (Hairy dwarf)
The dwarf screams from afar and a portal appears under my feet. We appear again in that room with the leaders united.
«You have returned. I was expecting you to take only a few days at most because of travel time.» (Leader)
'Travel time? It was just half a day away from here wasn't it?'
The leader keeps looking at me with the eyes of disgust as if someone had just trampled his trust and expectations.
«What do you mean by that?» (Me)
«It took 5 years to do something one would do in less than a week. We actually thought you had run away from the sheep-bat chimera and never came back in shame but you actually had the nerve to come back.» (vice-leader)
As the Leader was about to speak again I do something I never thought I would do...
«WHAT THE FUCK?!» (Me)
«Mind your words boy!» (Hairy dwarf)
«I'll give you one opportunity to explain that reaction. If I deem it insufficient, I'll kill you.» (Leader)
Noemi looks slightly up and tightens the hold.
' She seems... scared? '
I take a deep breath and calm a bit.
«The chimera I killed was neither days away from here nor was it a sheep-bat chimera.» (Me)
The leader gets up and draws his rapier.
«Give me details then.» (Leader)
«So I followed the path the artifact showed me and in half a day I arrived at some ruins. The compass seemed to be pointing to the middle of it. I went into the barrier that was protecting the place and the whole environment changed to an old castle. I went into the castle and found a lot of giant bugs. Further in I found a giant centipede-cockroach chimera. I then somehow killed it and then came back. Once I got out of the barrier again, I was in the middle of a war zone. Only a few minutes ago did I realize that the time inside the barrier is much slower than outside...» (Me)
They all just heard my story in shock until one of the lesser members couldn't hold it in and interrupted me.
«How big was the chimera?» (Lesser)
«A few hundred meters long I think?» (Me)
Some members hung their heads in disbelief as some other just flat out blacked out. The leader very specifically was in shock.
«Describe the chimera.» (Leader)
«Looked like a normal gigantic centipede but had the body covered by a cockroach-like shell.» (Me)
More than half of the people present had already fainted. Mostly women that imagined the horrifying creature.
«That is enough... You just described the sanctuary and the chimera of one of our later trials... It is just weird that the artifact took you there and the barrier was supposed to be just a space barrier and not a time-space barrier... You are free to go.» (Leader)
A portal appears under my feet again and we fall on my bed. Noemi is on top of me still holding me but now she is slightly trembling and holding with much more strength.
«Did you know him?» (Me)
Noemi nods slightly in agreement and proceeds to bury her face on my chest. When I realized I had my hand on her hairs and was pating on a weird way that I didn't understand.
A single tear goes down her face as she jumps up and goes in for a kiss.
I try to struggle a bit ut my body does not feel like it's mine anymore.
Our lips touch after the longest second. Each time they touch and separate, then touch and separate again, they seem to be melting and fusing into one singular mess of feelings and emotions. Not only body but something else as well... Something more... A kiss that would transcend the body. During that long, undefined time, that body was not mine. It was a mere shell while I was fusing with her, who had also left her shell behind. What am I? Who are we? Those questions had left me since that time in the village, right after I was betrayed by the humans and saved by the demons.
Once the endless kiss finished, I couldn't hold myself and hugged her tightly as she buried her face back on my chest and hugged me back.
We stayed there for I don't know how long, hearing and feeling each other's heartbeats, connected to a level I didn't even know existed.
At that point, I couldn't even hear the hysterical screams of my pet fox...