The morning sky is calm and quiet. The clouds that are present are light and would be welcome shade in the afternoon sun, but for now, simply shine white in the morning sunrise. The birds and insects that reside in the demon wildlands fill the air with nature’s music, and refugees march from their homes far in the west, heading east towards the safe zones being established near the villages and cities that can sustain the influx of refugees.

The sun’s gaze upon the world restores color to the mountains in every direction, and as the ground passes by far below, Daniel can’t help but appreciate the beauty of this world. In many ways, it shares similarities with Earth, and in others, it exceeds Earth in color and vibrance, reminding him that he is in another world.

Hekate murmurs softly, “I’ve… never been this high up…” She’s sitting in front of the human mechanic, and tears sprinkle his helmet’s transparent visor. He pats her forearms from behind, reassuring her. She wipes her face briefly, regaining her confidence. Reignleif is quiet behind him, simply hugging his back and listening to his heartbeat.

Ryuogriar is in a comfortable glide, conserving energy as much as possible as she carries the payload that doesn’t belong in this world.

Daniel pets her neck from his position seated on her back, “Ryuo, are you doing alright?”

She tilts her head slightly, but he doesn’t hear a response. Hekate calls over her shoulder, “She says she’s doing well! Thank you for checking!”

The mechanic thanks the young Feldrok, “Thank you, Hekate. Ryuo; if you start to feel tired, let us know.”

She nods her head, focusing on her path ahead to the testing zone Xyreko identified. It is the most barren area they could find, and should possess the least amount of life of any kind.

Daniel recalls from his research for a book once that Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated for testing, had an instantly lethal blast radius of thirty miles, with collateral damage as far as 400 miles away. His bomb is significantly smaller that Tsar Bomba, but because of the various shell components he’s using to reflect the blast inwards using mithril, his bomb could hopefully mimic its much larger inspiration with a smaller package.

The dawn of the secret nuclear age of this world is upon them. Only a handful of people are aware that they are intending to take any action, and as far as Vaergraes is concerned, Daniel is FAR ahead of schedule -mainly because he didn’t want her to witness his weapon up close in any capacity-.

Ryuogriar cocks her head briefly, and Hekate calls out, “We’re approaching the target zone, Daniel!”

“Thank you, Ryuo, Hekate. Get ready. Just like we practiced.”

“Ready!” calls out Hekate.

“I’m ready,” adds Reignleif from behind him, hugging him more firmly. Ryuogriar nods in confirmation as well. She begins ascending higher into the sky. Daniel shifts, and Hekate and Reignleif help him climb down to the bomb. It’s a precarious position, but Ryuogriar is flying carefully so that he can reach it safely. He’s also hooked to her via a rope, which Reignleif is also holding.

Daniel takes position on the bomb between Ryuogriar’s hands where her massive claws are cradling it. He reiterates once again, “Twenty seconds from go! Commencing countdown! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! GO!” He pulls the arming pin, which starts the timer, and the moment he says ‘Go’, gravity seems to disappear as the bomb drops away from him. Ryuogriar catches him with rehearsed precision, and she casts her transformation spell to quickly turn into her human form with wings. Reignleif has Hekate, who is already casting her return spell, and Ryuogriar catches Reignleif’s hand while holding Daniel.

The daring mechanic counts the seconds in his head. Nine, one thousand, ten, one thousand, eleven, one thousand, twelve, one thousand…

The magic glow swirls around them, and all at once, when it fades, they are in a completely different location. They land quickly on the ground near Xyreko, who was waiting for them, and they all turn towards the west as Xyreko raises a color-distorting barrier to reduce the glare, per Daniel’s instructions.

nineteen one thousand, twenty-...

The unassuming horizon suddenly has the blink that reaches across seemingly the whole world, illuminating every cloud in the sky, no matter how far away, and casting brief, long shadows from every mountain and hill between point zero and anyone able to witness it.

Following the instant of blinding light, a second sun is born on the opposite horizon, filling the sky with even more light than a mid-day sun. For several long seconds, the immense glow illuminates the world, and just as quickly, exchanges its dominion over the sky for a column of fire, smoke, and ash that climb into the sky with relentless force, pushing upwards on the billowing and broadening cloud. A skirt forms around the stem of the cloud, being driven upwards by the terrifyingly gigantic titan that was just awakened.

Seconds after the initial blast, the shockwave can be seen racing across the plains, blowing snow off of the mountains to the northwest, and toppling trees with weak root systems. The shockwave slams the barrier, clapping like thunder as it rolls across with a terrifying impact. Given the distance, it sounds worse than it is. The blast zone is over 200 miles away from them, and the Citadel’s large size, and the barrier’s even larger surface, act as a perfect drum for a terrifying shockwave that will potentially circle the earth in some capacity.

However, following the impact, Xyreko urgently calls out, “Master-!”

The barrier flickers out briefly, but returns just as quickly.

He asks instantly, “Xyreko?”

She replies nervously, “I… I’m still here, Master. But… The barrier faltered… I…” She looks directly at Daniel, and then back at the cloud that has pushed its mushroom-shaped cap high above the cloud line and into the portion of the sky not even the dragons can fly to. It dwarfs everything in the world.

Hekate nervously hugs her favorite companion’s side, looking up at him. He pets her head, his helmet hiding his smile. She murmurs, “I’m sorry I didn’t understand, Daniel…”

He kneels and hugs her, saying gently, “I’m sorry I brought it to this world.”

Ryuogriar steps up cautiously, putting her hand on his shoulder as she watches the cloud. “Master… Daniel… What are you?”

He chuckles. “Believe it or not, I’m a fairly average person from my world. I just know things that this world made possible.” He looks up at her, asking gently, “Can you accept one more time?”

She looks down at him, kneeling next to him and Hekate so that she can hug his neck. “Daniel… My Mukori… I already believed you could defeat the Devourer. I am now certain that we will.”

Reignleif quickly crowds in as well, hugging all of them, “He’s my Mukori, too!”

Hekate whines, “What’s that mean!? It doesn’t translate!”

They chuckle at her, and Daniel looks up at Xyreko. He asks, “The golems?”

She shakes her head. “I was able to preserve right up until that strange moving barrier reached us.”

“That was the shockwave. It’s the blast pressure that occurs from the explosive expansion. All explosions have a shockwave. This one is just much more…”

As he’s talking, the barrier crackles and rumbles again, and everyone halts. It wavers, but doesn’t fall this time.

Xyreko murmurs, “It was the same, but… weaker…”

Daniel sighs. “I see… The shockwave seems to carry some component of the nuclear blast that negates magic.”

She looks at him, and he says softly, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head. “No; Master, I am glad to know. I am prepared for it now, and the Devourer will be further away.” She asks to clarify her own concerns, “But… Is it possible the other summon made one as well?”

“Why do you ask?”

“That second wave… it came from almost the opposite direction.”

Daniel chuckles. “That was the shockwave circling the entire world and the other side of the shockwave finally reaching us.”

She cocks her head. “From… th-that?” She points at Daniel’s mushroom cloud, which is only now starting to distort with the world restoring itself through wind and its own revolution.” He nods sincerely.

She faces it directly, adding softly, “I, too, underestimated your weapon, Master…”

“The deadly force should be contained to the estimated zone, though we’ll have to send more golems when you can to survey the true yield. The second bomb will be identical, so as long as it seems like we can attack the Devourer’s core, it shouldn’t have enough power to resist the blast.”

She nods distantly as she remains partially entranced. “I don’t think the gods could withstand such power…”

The mechanic scoffs, petting the three hugging him to let him stand up. “I imagine the gods would be fine. That said, we’ll benefit greatly from launching the second mission as quickly as possible, before anyone can figure out that I lied to Queen Vaergraes.” He looks at Ryuogriar. She bows. “I am ready. I will drink stamina potations before we go to be safe.”

He approves with a nod. “Reina?”

She nods in affirmation. “Ready.”

“Hekate?”

She smiles, hugging him. “I’ve got plenty left to go! Let’s save the world!”

“Alright. Thank you all so much.”

He then looks at Xyreko, asking her, “Xyreko? Are you ready?”

She hesitates, still staring at the mushroom cloud in the distance. She turns, staring at him for a moment. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, Master?”

“Trust me,” reassures Daniel. “I can’t do it without you.”

She finally faces him fully. “Very well. Let us begin.”

Daniel and the others head back down to the control area to prepare. Xyreko has already had her orc henchmen move the second bomb to the flyway. During the second mission preparation, where the four refresh themselves, the human leader approaches Xyreko. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

She confirms, “Yes, Master. I am ready for the shockwave now. I… Have doubts about your part…”

He looks around, making sure the others haven’t returned yet. He whispers softly, “It’s the most important part. I have to make sure it’s dead. It may be the only chance a vulnerability is exposed if it doesn’t die outright.”

She nods reluctantly, knowing he’s right. “I… I could send the others with you…”

He shakes his head. “They’re magic. It will come for them.” He puts his hand on Nemaisol, the magic sword that reacts negatively to magic beings in contact with it. “Our pal can have this if he wants it.”

She is silent as she looks at the sword. “This… wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“I know… But, what kind of isekai hero would I be if I didn’t strike down the big bad with a cool fantasy sword?”

She looks at him, and he can tell if she could show expressions that she would be glaring at him. He smiles. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

She sighs. “The real problem is, I suspect it’s not that much of a joke.”

He chuckles. “Guilty. But, I think I’m the only one who can be close to it and not make things worse, since everything I’ve gathered from Vaergraes, specifically, suggests that it grows stronger when it devours magic. With that much magic concentrated in its body, though, it should have a hell of a time with Nemaisol if they come in contact with each other. It’s an insurance policy.”

She looks when Hekate jogs back into the room, stretching. She visits briefly with the two dragons, who are spending the free moment with their eggs and snacking.

Xyreko reports after a moment, “My second wave of golems have reached the blast zone. Master…” She looks at him. “It… It is as you described…”

He nods, having expected it. “Rock turned instantly to ash, glass formed by cooling sand, and devastation for miles around the center. Any idea on a radius?”

She ponders. “Twenty six miles, Master…”

This surprises Daniel. He had hoped his design would boost his yield into the megaton range, but with a devastatingly destructive blast radius of that scale, it’s approaching near what the Tsar itself was capable of. And, that doesn’t count the toppling of structures and trees further out.

Fantasy materials are no joke. I’m kinda glad I didn’t use sharmelkolle, now.

“Good. It won’t destroy every bit of the Devourer, but that should do us well enough. Have them orbit the Devourer, if possible, and await our arrival.”

She confirms with a nod. “Much of the Devourer is made of tendrils. The body may be easier to destroy than you think.”

He grins. “I’m hoping for easier. I’m just planning for everything I can. I’m not a genius by any stretch. In the words of an ancient wiseman from my world; ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants’. Sir Isaac Newton.” He looks out over the world. “This castle is pretty giant.”

There’s a peaceful moment between them as he observes the landscape in his moment of triumphant hope following a successful test.

“Promise you’ll come back, Master…”

“On one condition; you have to promise to call me Daniel when it’s all said and done.”

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She glares at him again, murmuring coldly, “That sounds like something you would say if you aren’t coming back.”

“I’d have to. I’d be promising, right?”

She stares at him silently. She growls, “Promise to come back, and from that moment on, I promise I’ll call you Daniel, Master.”

The young man bows his head. “I promise I’ll come back, Xyreko. Even if I have to crawl.”

She nods quietly. “Good luck.”

“Thanks. Be ready.”

The four meet back up at the flyway, and Daniel hands them paint brushes. “Alright, we have to christen our gift to our ol’ buddy, Mister Devourer.” They stare at him, confused. He chuckles, “Just write whatever farewell you want. Or taunt. Or just your name. Like this.” Daniel writes in English, “[Go forth to your next life and rest in peace, Devourer. -Daniel]” Hekate cocks her head. “That’s your old language?”

Daniel confirms warmly, “It is. Just a simple farewell. I don’t think it’s evil, so I just wrote goodbye as an otherworlder.”

She nods in understanding, and the three of them spread out to write their own messages on the bomb.

The mechanic adds, “You can make it as long or short as you want. Love, hate, whatever you feel like. It’s just a cheeky little thing that will cease to exist once it goes off.”

Hekate speaks her writing, “Sorry we killed you, but you hurt a lot of people. Daniel and I will remember you and tell our children about you. Love, Hekate.” She gives a proud nod for her message.

Ryuogriar says gently, “I wrote in draconic, ‘Seek a forgiving sun and rest now. Ryuogriar, mother of a child to be named.’”

Hekate growls, “You only wrote that because of what I wrote.”

“Not true. Our priorities are similar; the future.”

The young feldrok girl is skeptical, but she doesn’t retort.

Reignleif murmurs, “Is… Is this okay?”

Daniel steps to her side, and he can surprisingly read the text in Imperial common. “[You lost your way, and your loved ones are waiting. Please forgive us when we meet again.]”

The human pats her shoulder gently. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

She smiles and nods. “Thanks…”

Daniel then asks, “Xyreko? Any message you want to include for the Devourer?”

She waves at him, and he excuses himself from the other three for a moment, jogging to the golem caretaker.

She says softly, “Master… If possible,... Once it’s dead…”

Daniel can see her struggling, and he runs through ideas of what it could be. He asks softly, “Do… you want to try to resurrect it?”

“The feldrok within, specifically. I can’t imagine it chose to become what it is. If it can be restored to its true glory; his or her true glory…”

The earthling nods without hesitation. “You know that requires the second part, then.”

“Yes. I’ll do it. If you don’t believe it can be saved, it’s okay. But…”

“I’ll do everything in my power.”

She gives a grateful nod, and Daniel asks, “Any message you want on the bomb?”

She shakes her head. “Just put my name, if you believe it’s good luck.”

“I do,” assures the former sailor. “And, will do.” He jogs back to the bomb and the other three, painting Xyreko’s name on the bomb. “Alright. Ready for take off?”

They all nod together, and the second mission; the mission to destroy the Devourer begins.

Ryuogriar turns back into her dragon form, stretching her broad wings. Hekate checks her diamonds, ensuring she has plenty of reserve power, and Reignleif checks her own as well.

They mount Ryuogriar, and she picks up the second bomb, ascending into the air to begin flying westward. It is still before midday, and Ryuogriar flies tirelessly. It’ll take them about half an hour to reach the Devourer’s threshold, and another ten minutes or so to reach the center.

The remnants of the mushroom cloud loom over them as they fly underneath, and Reignleif cranes her neck as she looks up at the underside of the massive, unnaturally formed cloud. “Master… Your world really only fought other humans?”

He chuckles. “Yeah. Pretty sad, isn’t it?”

She hugs him, nodding. “You’re using it to save our world, though… Our children and grandchildren will thank you.”

He nods, petting her arms gently. “All of us. I literally couldn’t get this far without you three.”

Reignleif sits up to whisper directly under the part of his helmet under his ear, “I think we’ll have to celebrate after we win, Master.”

“Drinks and cakes are on me,” jokes Daniel.

Reina pouts, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Whaaat? I can’t hear you over Hekate’s tail beating me to death in irritation!’

They share a brief laugh. It isn’t much longer before the darkness on the horizon becomes visible. Looking like a mold, or some kind of destruction left in the wake of a massive fire, the unnaturally black stain on the world spans far into the distance ahead of them.

Reignleif murmurs, “That’s it…”

Daniel studies the mass of darkness. Because of its size, it’s hard to call it a living thing. But, he can see where the distinct line between life and death is. Though there are gaps between the wedge-like tendrils spreading towards sources of life and magic, anything already consumed is pitch black.

Unlike a mold or an ashen scar, however, the Devourer rises rather high into the sky, like a dark black blister on the world itself.

Daniel calls out, “Ryuo, can you fly higher than the test drop? We’ll need the extra height to be sure.”

She confirms with a nod. She eases her angle in a gentle incline, since they’re still a fair ways away from the drop location.

Hekate, leaning over to look down on the Devourer, calls out, “You think this thing was a feldrok like me, Daniel?”

“Yeah,” replies her beloved companion. “It’s the most logical assumption, since Xyreko was certain a third feldrok was still alive when we killed the Feral Feldrok.”

“What… would have made it do this?”

“Hard to say. It’s possible the absorption ability overloaded, or, if I were a feldrok and I found out the rest of my race was exterminated and I was full of magical power… I’d likely lose control, too.”

He can feel Reignleif’s hug tighten around his waist again, and Ryuogriar looks back at them sorrowfully.

Daniel adds, “I’m not passing blame. I’m just stating the facts as I see them. I would guess it was something along those lines.”

They continue forward.

The center of the Devourer, as Daniel hoped, is a little more distinct than the ‘legs’. Viewing it like a starfish, it has a fairly distinct center, which, while massive, is much smaller than the total surface area and reach of the monster.

Hekate suddenly points, “Look!”

The mechanic looks where she’s pointing, and he spots it after a moment. A large creature is being dragged towards the center. It looks like it’s a mammal, but it’s humongous, since it’s visible from so high. Reignleif states, “Berrwock. They’re non-sentient monsters. It likely refused to leave its territory or tried to fight.”

Daniel nods as he watches it. “We can’t do anything for it now, though it shouldn’t suffer once we drop.”

Hekate calls back, “Ryuo says we’re over the drop zone!”

“Alright! We practiced perfect! Let’s do it again, ladies, and sleep well tonight and every night after!”

They cheer, and just as before, Ryuogriar climbs gently as Hekate and Reignleif help Daniel climb down to the bomb in preparation to arm for the drop. Once in place, he calls out, “Just like before! Twenty seconds from go! Commencing countdown! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! GO!”

Once again, the wayward earthling pulls the pin on the titan’s alarm clock, and gravity shifts as he begins falling slightly slower than the bomb. Ryuogriar collects him, transforming quickly once the bomb is far enough away not to interfere. Daniel is counting in his head as before, and Ryuogriar takes Reignleif’s hand as she holds Hekate, who is already casting her return spell. They can’t fail, or all four of them die a quick death.

The glow of the spell appears just as the mechanic is reaching, Eleven, one thousand… He keeps counting, of course, and they touch down in the return circle, where Xyreko is waiting for them. The three jog to the edge of the battlements at the peak of the castle, where they should be able to see the blast.

Which, of course, affords Daniel the opportunity he needs to don the parachute Xyreko has for him, and which Geirahoel made by hand.

… Nineteen, one thousand, twenty, one thou-...

The light blinks brightly, and then the crown of a sun on the distant horizon to the west, further than the test drop, glows hellishly against the sky’s blue. Even this far away, it’s blindingly bright, if they didn’t have the barrier dimming the light.

Xyreko reports suddenly, “Master, a visitor…”

“It’ll have to wait until after.”

Thirty eight, one thousand, thirty nine, one thousand, forty, one thousand.

Daniel nods at Xyreko, and she acknowledges with her own nod. She quietly casts the teleportation spell on him, and seconds later, the manaless human finds himself in the sky again, falling. He can feel the heat, reduced dramatically by his sharmelkolle armor. The wind is also swirling around chaotically as the mushroom cloud rises what feels like feet away from him, but is actually over a mile away from him. From his height, he can see exactly what he wanted to see.

Burned away from the epicenter is a crater made of the mountainous body of the colossus known only as the Devourer. The ground is boiling, and parts of its body are burning as tendrils squirm violently enough to be visible from tens of miles away.

Even more curious -and likely also exactly what Daniel wants to see but didn’t know prior-, there is a point of light on or near the ground close to the epicenter, which is still partially stifled by the mushroom cloud.

“Gotcha… Thanks for lighting the way. It’ll all be over soon, big guy.”

Daniel does his best to steer his freefall, but he only ever did an indoor skydiving trip a couple of times, so he’s far from an expert on controlling his fall, especially considering the turbulence from the air still stabilizing from being displaced by the blast, and then violently rushing back in.

Daniel pulls the release, and he can feel the pilot chute of the parachute fluttering out of the pack, pulling the rest with it. He is jerked to a much slower descent by the massive chute. He uses his body weight and legs as much as possible to steer what little he can, but he’s relatively close to the ground now, and he’s close enough to see the glowing spot that is his target.

As the ground approaches, the mechanic angles his legs and momentum to land as gently as he can.

He loses his footing instantly and flops onto his back, and the parachute lays down over him, tangling him a little. Daniel was prepared, though, and he draws Nemaisol, as well as a knife, and he works his way through untangling himself.

He climbs out through the canvas of his chute, which he can’t worry about for the time being.

The ground is hot and smoking, and the ash and glassy sand remaining are eerily soft and threaten his footing. It’s also rather dark in the shade of the massive mushroom cloud, which looms high overhead, all but eclipsing the sun.

In a sense, Daniel feels like he’s on another planet. Everything around him is destroyed, smoking and swirling with dust devils and an eerie quiet.

He marches through the loose and unstable ground towards the light monitoring his surroundings.

As he’s walking, Nemaisol crackles, and he notices a chaotic swirling of the strange reactive gradient of the sharmelkolle of his armor. Without the barrier, he wouldn’t have ever noticed, but he suspects he’s experiencing the second pass of the shockwave’s energy. The pressure wave is almost completely gone, but this is likely the component that interferes with magic, whatever that phenomenon is.

For now, he still has to finish off the Devourer, or ensure it’s dead.

He can see the glowing core ahead of him, and from it seems to be ‘pouring’ the black material.

Daniel sighs. “Yep. Figured as much.”

He grips Nemaisol, which is glowing with a visible, flame-like aura. Given how much energy had to have been present in the Devourer, there is likely a lot of stray magic around Daniel, and Nemaisol is reacting with it. That also means the Devourer is absorbing that magic, with which it undoubtedly is healing itself.

Daniel sighs. “Alright, big guy. I hate to do this, but let’s just end this.”

Suddenly, some of the black substance takes a new shape, rising upright. The mechanic grips the sword on guard. “I don’t blame you. But listen, I care about this world. There are lots of people I care about in it. I know how you feel. But, your time has come and gone.”

He side-steps as one of the figures; akin to a shadow person; pounces at him. He slashes it with Nemaisol, and he can hear cries as it explodes in a puff of crumbling mass, similar to stone crumbling. He spins, cutting down a second one. Again, voices cry out. Feldroks can absorb and manipulate the souls of those that die in their proximity, and this one has plagued the world for a long time. These are likely the last shreds of lost souls being released from the feldrok that became the Devourer.

Just as he’s getting close, though, the black mass suddenly draws into a circle around the glowing core of amorphous magic, energy, and light. It throws a stone Daniel is unprepared for, and he barely swings the sword up to try to deflect, but he is slammed by the force of the boulder, tumbling across the ground. The stone’s two halves, cleaved in two by Nemaisol’s power, tumble apart. Daniel coughs, climbing to his feet quickly and then diving into a forward roll to avoid the next ranged attack.

The unskilled human then uses feints to avoid boulders, doing his best to rush closer and closer to the feldrok’s core. Fire explodes out around it, but it crackles and deflects away from Nemaisol, which Daniel is guarding with. He doesn’t know all of the abilities of Nemaisol, but it is the blade meant for someone like him; providing magic defense against magic for someone without. The harder the feldrok attacks him, the stronger the blade can defend him.

Just as he’s about to lunge, however, everything seems to stop, including Daniel. Nemaisol reacts violently, in spite of the strange phenomenon, and he is freed shortly after. But, the feldrok’s last ditch defense using what little of its body it has regenerated is still frozen in place.

“Daniel…”

The human called by the voice glances first, keeping his guard up against the strangely frozen Devourer.

Someone has appeared behind him, but it’s not anyone he knows. Daniel paces cautiously, angling himself so he can face both the Devourer and the newcomer with Nemaisol between them. Given how his armor and Nemaisol are reacting, the woman wearing a crisp white hooded robe is as powerful as the Devourer.

Catching Daniel by surprise, she suddenly drops to her knees. “I finally found you…”

“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure, Miss.”

Daniel operates his magic bag, withdrawing his rifle. The woman looks up from her kneel, golden tears trickling down her cheeks. He has his rifle about half way drawn, and the sight disarms him. She chokes out, “I’m so sorry…”

“F-For what? I gotta say, I don’t like that you’re here right now, since that’s suspicious as hell, but you haven’t done anything yet.”

“I have… I’m the reason you’re here.”

Daniel cocks his head. “You don’t look like a feldrok. And I met the royal family who…”

“No, not anyone from this world.” She stands up, sniffling as she wipes her cheeks. She removes her hood, revealing a beautiful visage that could only be described as divine. At first, it stops his heart seeing such a beautiful person, not just a woman, standing before him. Fortunately for him, Daniel activates his super secret psychic defense; accepting that such a person has no interest in him as a person.

“I don’t understand. Should I know you?”

“No… We regrettably never formally met. I am the goddess Ryukana, member of the Divine Realm who watches over worlds like Earth and Zenkon, ensuring threats that might arise due to residual divine energy from creation are balanced out in ways that promote stability.”

“Such as summoning people from one world to another…”

She nods when he guesses correctly. “Precisely. When the ritual was performed on this world,...”

“Sorry to interrupt, but this isn’t the best time for exposition.”

She cocks her head. “I have stopped time, though I am surprised you are able to move.”

Daniel reaffirms his grip on his sword, but doesn’t draw attention to it. He’s still not certain that she’s actually his ally. “Then, thank you. I’ll finish my mission, and we can talk.”

The far-off mechanic from Earth walks towards the Devourer’s frozen core, brandishing Nemaisol in preparation for a strike.

“Wait, Daniel!”

He pauses and looks at Ryukana. She asks, “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I intend to defeat the threat plaguing this world. It’s far from a demon king or demon tyrant, but it’s the monster destroying this world.”

“I know that… now. But, I meant… If you strike it down… Where do you think all of that energy will go? This… creature… It absorbed so much divine energy…”

“It has to die. My plan is to try to resurrect the individual, if possible, but the monster he or she became needs to be stopped.”

“Daniel, you aren’t supposed to be here. You don’t have to do this.”

“You’re telling me that now when I’m right here?” asks Daniel, shocked and rather appalled.

“Yes! Because… If you do that, not even I will be able to hold back the energy. You will die.”

Nemaisol crackles again, and she grimaces, though she tries to hide it. The mechanic doesn’t need to be a genius to figure out what’s going on. She’s trying to evacuate him, and she’s not succeeding, thanks entirely to a sword that operates in antithesis to divine energy -more often known in this world as magic-.

Daniel pieces together what he’s witnessing. He’s standing at the near-literal precipice of saving this world that is not his own, the supposed goddess that transferred him here is trying to stop him from being reckless, and he’s surrounded by devastation as Nemaisol defends him from magic far beyond his actual comprehension.

He asks softly, “Why would you stop me now? I’m just one person.”

“B-Because! You were never supposed to be dragged into this! You shouldn’t have to give your life for this world! Not when it was my mistake…”

Daniel looks at her. She pleads with him to back down and survive.

To leave it to someone else.

He says softly, “My Lady Goddess Ryukana… I don’t see it as a mistake.”

She cocks her head, and he moves before she could do anything else to react. He slashes the fallen feldrok known as the Devourer, and Ryukana cries out, “NO!”

***