More than ten thousand years have passed since she was born. She doesn't know if she had what other races consider a mother and father, nor what her life was like in those early days. It is said that the gods simply exist, and that they are only so immortal as the worlds they were created to govern.

The true fall was the demise of the feldroks. True it may be that the dragon known as Morthybargaron is credited with destroying the most powerful race, but he could not have succeeded were it not for the treacherous dragons Shiaulvolgarro, Sayrdarralouche, the archoneldwyn, and whoever it was among the feldroks themselves that betrayed their own peaceful kind.

She has long since abandoned or forgotten her name, as names are the one true weakness of the gods. Soon enough, she will emerge from the dark void she has inhabited since the fall of the feldroks, banished but not destroyed. Were she anything less than a divine being herself, she would have ceased to exist the way all the others almost certainly have.

Her connections to the world of Zenkon are tenuous at times. Her power undoubtedly crosses the threshold into what the otherworldly beings known as gods would more directly intervene against.

After all, she is a threat to them.

Her many eyes in the world of Zenkon see a great deal of the goings on, thanks to the servants who have enthralled themselves in her service. And, not least of which is her Harbinger, who has served her more than he knows, even against his will.

Her ultimate prize is about to present itself amidst the chaos surrounding an otherworldly summon. Several of her servants have gathered together, but they don't seem to be working together, given the number of secrets they're keeping from each other. This is typical, and it's perfectly acceptable for her designs. The pathetic mortals often create chaos around themselves, but her own intervention is the ultimate form of chaos.

From her perspective through the eyes of one of the knights serving a higher ranking servant with blond hair, she can see the otherworlder woman cowering against the floor of a pit designed to contain her. While she would be a powerful agent, she will allow the blond servant to apply his own plans while she focuses on her real goal.

Another servant belongs to the friar of the water, who failed to kill the thralls she ordered him to kill. Naturally, his fear of punishment has motivated him to work harder, amplified by her refusal to appear before him since. The friars enjoy power over the lives of other nobles and kings, as well as magic that even the most studious scholars will never lay eyes on. It is virtually impossible for the greedy and ambitious to ignore all that she offers, and once they are ensnared, she can simply turn him into a pile of bones any time she wishes.

Thankfully, letting the thralls live has served her well in turn. Her Harbinger has his guard up, but has his focus completely scattered, and the guilt of the two women he had to mutilate in order to rescue them from her curse has made him even weaker.

What will you do, my Harbinger? Your sword cannot protect you forever.

She smirks as she watches the servants converge on the otherworlder woman.

Yes, Kaeralegier. Can you overcome a goddess born to be able to ignore your power?

They say time is the enemy of mortals and friend to immortals, but it is simply a tool. She could bide her time and wait for a more opportune time, or she can risk virtually nothing in order to create a shortcut to her return. Her servant is among the knights moving under the blond's orders to surround the otherworlder, now that most of the monsters that were unleashed by the one known as Serrentuk have been slain or distracted away from their primary prize.

She doesn't normally bother learning the names of lesser races, including her Harbinger, but Serrentuk actually fought against the traitors following the fall of the feldroks, and he's personally responsible for driving Shiaulvolgarro into hiding and imprisoning Sayrdarralouche in his timeless void until the newest otherworlder killed him somehow.

She can feel the energy stirring as her target begins to descend on Zenkon in an effort to rescue the brunette. It's certainly providence that she'll be able to access such a large concentration of energy all at once, though she'll still need a great deal more.

Regardless, if she can absorb enough of a true divine being's essence, she may be able to withstand the various spells her Harbinger has been exposed to, revealing a weakness of her tethers to the world outside of the void.

She relaxes her six amber eyes and exhales deeply. Her voice has many layers as she uses her distorted form to cast multiple spells at the same time.

So long as she draws in more power than she loses, she will be able to return. And, her spells are very refined and efficient.

Her tails settle behind her, spreading in a large fan around her. Each comes in contact with one of fourteen magic circles as she taps into her connection with the world she originates from. She is still weary from being exposed to the human woman's direct holy power spell, but it's unlikely the Harbinger or his allies will be able to make use of it again, so she isn't worried even if they arrive in time to interfere.

The fear she is about to generate will serve her as well as devouring the foolish goddess herself.

Show yourself, Amalaskae.

She watches the servant that obeys the friar of the water as she sneaks into position closer to the otherworlder. She is retrieving something from a void spell that is bound to a pendant on her chest. This makes the void much smaller than a typical bag, but it's large enough to transport individual items like a magic staff or secret messages.

She laced in spell threads that enthralls the users of the compressed void-enchanted items when she casts the spell for the mortals serving her. While she has no qualms about the spell itself spreading, it creates a sort of cult-like exclusiveness to the spell that it can only be learned from one of her eyes, meaning she can spread her influence and ensure that her thralls are loyal to the cause, or kill them if not.

In this case, the spider-like drider woman withdraws something that immediately raises Her anger level.

Contrary to popular belief, not all of the feldroks were exterminated during the fall of the feldroks, and only one was able to be protected by magic from the fall.

The ones that were captured by the heinous monsters after the fact turned the eggs and hatchlings into experiments, not least of which is the one known as Falkorga'kohn's Tongue, which in fact, is actually Falkorga'kohn's sibling and the last child of Thrieva'raenohk taken and slain before his eyes, which caused the feldrok to become the would-be destroyer of the world until the Harbinger slayed him.

The drider woman doesn't know the song, which is the only thing that keeps the unnamed child from becoming a monster and creating new monsters in its wake.

She seems to be planning to use it on the otherworlder, while the blond man orders for the otherworlder to be captured.

These fools… The woman is a mere human. Power or no, she is weak. The lengths they'll go to…

But then, I suppose the goddess will be arriving for the same reason. How interesting…

She closes her six eyes as she begins channeling her mana, readying for the moment to strike. Her thrall is thankfully where he needs to be, and the mana of the world is stirring. A goddess can seemingly appear anywhere at will in an instant.

But, what they don't seem to know is that they are far from all powerful.

Just as the future can echo backwards into the relative past where it can be viewed with a fair amount of accuracy, the emergence of a massive amount of energy from beyond the world's existence creates waves that rush backwards, meaning her arrival is being foretold now that her decision is made, and the closer it gets, the more accurate that foresight becomes.

Since it should be any second now, there is no doubt that the apparently naïve goddess is about to arrive.

Come forth, Amalaskae, and let us see if you or Kaeralegier are the stronger…

Light starts to fill the pit, and She can feel the surge of power already.

None of the pathetic mortals gathering around the otherworlder have any idea what's about to happen.

***

Amalaskae whines as she observes Zuzia. Her first and only chosen summon is trapped and surrounded by enemies. The sunset-haired goddess whines in her panic, Oooo! Zuzia! What do I do?

She paces around the rock garden that she normally sequesters herself to. She can pretty easily go to Zuzia and teleport away with her, which may be the best course of action.

But, something is telling her that it won't be so easy.

No, I'm just worried. Zuzia needs me!

She pumps herself up, but remembers where she is. She is a goddess, specifically a World Manager residing in the Divine Realm. While their direct intervention isn't explicitly forbidden, overtly making their presence known can lead to more problems than it solves. And, in a world where magic is present, which is generally an extension of the raw energy that Chaos and Order use to create and destroy, and otherwise sustain existence, a lower ranking goddess presenting herself before mortals can leave behind traces that can be studied, understood, and utilized to threaten the Divine Realm. This scenario doesn't threaten the two Primordial Goddesses, but it can lead to the destruction of the Divine Realm.

I could simply kill them all… thinks the youthful goddess to herself. This isn't much different than any other direct intervention, but if there are no witnesses…

No… Zuzia would never forgive me if she finds out why I did it…

She throws her back against one of the cracked boulders of the rock garden, and it pops as the large chunk cracks in half again.

She groans in frustration with her own clumsy state of being. When Zuzia was doing well, everything was okay. She sent a void bag and her phone in a hurry with instructions directed at Amalaskae, hoping she'll deliver the items to the Fievegal at the request of the elven sorcerer who captured her.

Amalaskae sighs. Zuzu, if you're going to sacrifice yourself for him, then I have no choice.

The young goddess stands up straight and pumps her fists. "I can do this! In, out, and happily ever after! Easy peasy!"

She breathes heavily, but glances at the boulder she just broke further. "I just need to be careful."

Amalaskae transfers herself to the surface of Zenkon, appearing before Zuzia. She exclaims, "Zuzia! I'm here!"

"Your Grace! Intruder!"

"Protect his Majesty!" cry out other mortals.

Amalaskae doesn't care about the people around Zuzia. She doesn't really pay that much attention to what they're saying. She just needs to…

Without warning, and without realizing it right away, Amalaskae realizes that gravity is upside down, and as soon as her divine energy gives out from her trying to land on the ground, she falls head first into the floor in front of her human companion. She cries out in surprise, "Waahh! Oof!" She is sprawled on the floor as the soldiers cast magic to try to attack her.

Amalaskae simply groans as she climbs to her feet, feeling embarrassed that something like this could happen. The energy around her is swirling and strange. Mana feels to her like wind, always in motion, but at different rates depending on the concentration and individuals around her. The natural mana of the world is also shifted to a different 'temperature', or even 'cleaned of turbulence' when it is absorbed and converted by the bodies of living beings.

Instead, she's feeling even greater turbulence, such that the 'wind' is more like a heavy mist. Her body tingles at this, but she's never experienced it before, so it's difficult to put a finger on what she should be feeling.

She has to move quickly, and perhaps her strange, graceless entrance will prevent them from taking her existence as seriously.

The blasts of offensive magic spells hit Amalaskae, but they cause no direct harm to her. Order warned her that she's not invincible, which is one of the many reasons that world managers are supposed to be careful how much power they try to give their summoned heroes.

Focus, Amalaskae. Just take Zuzia's hand and…

The goddess approaches the brunette, who is still stunned as she studies her blood-drenched hands in horror. She seems to be unable to process anything else going on around her, including the half-spider woman who has retreated back a couple of steps. Though, the strange, twisted object she withdrew from void magic seems to be squirming and shaking in her hands.

I need to learn a lot more about this world.

"Cease attacks!" shouts one of the human men. "Don't harm the otherworlder!"

"Sieze her and drag her back!"

One of the knights obeys the orders, jogging up and taking Amalaskae's bicep with a stern and strong grip.

The goddess scowls at him and smacks his hand away. The floor, walls, and a large swath of the terrain outside of the fortress are all wiped clean in a convex semi-conical shape by a shockwave created in his wake. It's unlikely that he or anyone else can truly comprehend what has happened to him, but it's not Amalaskae's problem. The only people in this world that she cares about personally are Zuzia and Ryukana.

That said, seeing one of their comrades and anyone behind him disappear in an instant causes everyone to either freeze in place, retreat in fear, or otherwise try to hide their own presence. The only thing making noise following the thunderous clap of Amalaskae erasing the landscape with impingement damage from individual the individual particles of the human soldier are the strange sounds coming from the crooked, deformed, biological object the blind female drider is holding. It doesn't look like a weapon, and if anything, it looks like it's a living being trying to free itself from petrification. And, its activity has caused the drider woman to show fear.

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Amalaskae shakes her head to ignore everything else, and she crouches in front of Zuzia. "Zuzu, I'm here. Everything will be alright now."

Zuzia's eyes tilt to look into Amalaskae's, and the recognition slowly starts to take shape in her expression. Tears start to immediately form in her eyes, and she asks quietly, "A-Amala…?"

"Yes!" exclaims Amalaskae as she hugs her first and favorite summoned hero. "I'm here. I'm going to take you away from here!"

"Amala!" exclaims the Polish woman, and the goddess does her best to comfort her. She focuses on getting them both out, and she uses her power to transport them…

… nowhere. Amalaskae opens her eyes wide when her ability to transport doesn't activate.

What!? Why can't I move us!?

She looks at Zuzia, who is still sobbing into the goddess's shoulder.

Is it Zuzia's magic resistance that I gave her? No, I wouldn't have been able to transport her to this world, would I?

"SKREEEE!"

A shrill sound breaks out from the direction of the drider woman, and she cries out as she drops the object, which is almost certainly some sort of creature now. And, upon the loud screech, a wave of energy hits Amalaskae that makes her feel suddenly sick.

She shouldn't be able to get sick.

Regardless, what was a wind, and then a spray of mist, has now become a raging maelstrom rushing by in the direction of the aberrant monstrous object. It isn't just an object. It is some sort of creature that Amalaskae doesn't recognize, and she realizes quickly that one of her greatest failures was a failure to learn all there is to know about the world she's managing, since she was so excited to be able to summon Zuzia, and protectively watched over her as much as she could.

The creature has shriveled, barely-mobile limbs that are squirming, and partially folded 'flaps' at the top of the floating being shift and waver as pitch-black eyes seemingly stare into Amalaskae's very being.

Standing before Chaos and Order, the young goddess feels a sense of loving fear. She wholly respects the sheer and undeniable power of the two Primordial goddesses that created her. They can erase her on a whim just as easily, and nothing is more awe-inspiring and fear-inducing.

What she is feeling now is a genuine terror, yet another feeling she shouldn't necessarily be capable of experiencing.

To her, the creature looks like a fetal-stage canine-like being, but without fur or other noteworthy traits to separate it, it's impossible to know what it was supposed to be.

Regardless, it has trapped Amalaskae with some sort of power that feels like it's pulling her towards itself, and its soulless black eyes like those of a doll also seem to be trying to devour the goddess.

"D-Don't worry, Zuzu," urges the divine being. "I-I'll think of something… J-Just hang onto me. Everything will be okay. I-Pwugh-guh!"

Amalaskae grunts as yet another sensation hits her, this time from behind. A dark pulse erupts outwards away from her like a shockwave, and it immediately drives the levitating horror-beast backwards. The drider woman has long since fled, and Amalaskae never even saw it happen.

Apparently, something worse has just impacted the foolish ethereal being from behind.

When a goddess like Amalaskae transports themselves to a world, they become tangible, and they emulate the existence of their appearance. She doesn't feel 'pain' per se, but her bodily functions are interrupted, and she looks down as Zuzia recoils enough to see the same thing.

A dark tendril of energy is protruding from Amalaskae's chest, roiling like solid smoke. She looks over her shoulder, and she can see one of Yaulander's soldiers entangled with the same smoke-like energy. It twists and coils around him firmly, digging into his flesh like roots, while the source seems to be his eyes. The energy is amassing most notably around his neck, growing thicker and more distinct as it fills in an orb-like shape. The sphere consumes the man's head, which seems to be frozen in a silent scream as everyone else continues to keep their distance from the strange horrors occurring.

The evil embryo screeches again, and it finally snaps Zuzia out of her own horrified trance. "Amala!"

"Z-Zuzu… run…" whispers the goddess. She feels like she's being dragged deep into a darkness she'll never escape from as the sphere reveals its true nature; an amber-colored eye with a complex, multi-geometric pupil similar to a Celtic knot, looping ad infinitum and descending deep into an all-consuming void.

Amalaskae can feel her own consciousness being consumed as the eye peers deep into her being. H-How!? How can this be? What… is… this…?

The only external stimuli that the goddess is able to process as her own identity fades away is the voice of the one she loves screaming her name.

"Amalaaaaaa!"

***

"No…" states Ryukana as she tries to open a portal.

"What is it?" asks Daniel, sensing the urgency in her tone.

"I… can't open a path for you. Something… Something is blocking me."

"{Don't look at me, Daniel,}" starts Kaeralegier's voice solely in his head. "{I'm right here.}"

Obviously, thinks the mechanic in reply.

For her part, Ryukana adds with worry filling her voice, "Amalaskae… She's already in danger."

"You know where she is, though, right?" asks Treia.

"I… I can no longer see it, but I know the location," answers the goddess. "Whatever it is… I…" She glances at Nemaisol briefly, and Daniel lifts his hands. "I have no desire to stop this mission. It's not me."

Gold sloppily leans on Daniel's shoulder, asking a little brazenly, "How about above it? Can you open a portal above the location?"

Ryukana focuses, and she perks up. "I can. Though, whatever it is seems to be causing the phenomenon is blocking a large area around it. Nearly a mile in any direction is inaccessible to me…"

Neith warns, "My Liege…"

The human from Earth nods in agreement with him. "I know. If it's my new Cthulhu friend, we can't let it gain whatever it's after." He looks at Gold. "Gold, I'll remove your contract as soon as we're back to the Citadel if you get us to the ground safely."

The dragon perks up immediately, grinning at him widely. "Sold! No going back on your word, Harbinger!" She hugs him and kisses his cheek, gripping his wrist as she casts the partial transformation spell to spawn her wings. "Open the way, Ryukana!"

The violet-haired woman nods, waving her hand to produce a magical gateway through space itself, opening in the sky above an area that seems to be experiencing a dry season, similar to a subtropical 'winter'.

Without hesitation, Gold laughs eagerly, pulling Daniel through as Doephluev and Hekate both cry out, "Wait!", and Yaulwembor huffs, jogging after them. Daniel can just barely hear Ryuogriar and Geirahoel calling out, "Mukori!"

Before he knows it, he can feel the wind rushing by and a general weightless feeling, even though his weight is in full effect.

The human's heart races, since he wasn't ready for it, and Gold laughs as she falls with him, maintaining her hold on his wrist. She gives him a devious smile, calling out over the wind, "Don't worry, Harbinger! I can't be freed if you're dead!"

"Hekate's afraid of heights!" calls out Daniel.

"And, her parents would have thrown her off the flyway!" retorts the dragon. "She'll get over it eventually!" The mischievous blonde skillfully uses her wings and tail to roll them both over, which makes Daniel nervous, but she points above them, where Hekate is falling with her hands covering her face, and Doephluev is holding Yaulwembor's shoulders as the Faormyr dives towards the two, who are already at terminal velocity together. The archoneldwyn uses magic to pull Hekate to herself, holding her as the trio rapidly closes the distance thanks to the draconic lizard woman.

Gold laughs again, waving Yaulwembor close before rolling herself and Daniel back over. The Faormyr reaches towards them, and Gold gently offers her hand. Daniel realizing what the dragon is going for, also holds out his hand, nodding his head towards Gold's as well.

Yaulwembor is intelligent, and she is capable of solving complex problems, even if she doesn't understand what she's looking at, as was the case with Daniel's rifle. She could understand that it was dangerous to her in a way that magic virtually wasn't at all, yet she couldn't comprehend why it was so dangerous or why she couldn't copy it.

Here, she pretty easily figures out the goal and takes both Daniel's and Gold's hands. This raises their combined air resistance, particularly when Gold and Yaulwembor use their wings for additional drag. The Faormyr bears her teeth and growls at Gold, but the dragon gives her a smile. This doesn't please Yaulwembor, but she does leave it be, since Hekate briefly warned the reptilian apex predator through their strange magic communication method that they'll be doing one more mission.

Daniel does passively worry that Hekate jumped the gun waking up Yaulwembor when she did, but the Faormyr does seem to have very simple and straightforward desires, and because Daniel's party have proven to be merciful when she was at their mercy, she has a bit more trust than they have for her.

Regardless, what's done is done, and he has a mission to focus on.

Below them, he can see a fortress rapidly approaching, and part of the wall on the southwest face of the structure has already been exploded outwards in a conical path of destruction that reminds Daniel of something from an anime.

They warned me that Zuzia is strong, but… if that was her, she's approaching anime levels…

Daniel glances at Yaulwembor, and she turns her violet eyes towards him in turn.

Well… I guess Yaulwembor blew past that line as well…

"Take us towards the crater!", shouts Daniel over the wind.

Gold nods, though her playful and excited demeanor shifts to one of more serious battle-readiness.

"I'm sensing strange mana!" calls out Gold. "Be prepared for a fight!"

"Our priority is Amalaskae and Zuzia!"

"I know, I know! Brace for landing!"

"Darling! Stay close to me or Hekate!" calls out Doephluev. "And be ready to throw Nemaisol!"

Daniel nods at her, and Hekate keeps her face hidden from fear.

Kaeralegier, do you think you can silence magic the way we did at the conference?

"{Not until you are inside,}" replies the goddess. "{And, I can feel what Gold mentioned. This is your Cthulhu monster, and something similar to Kernuules. Between the two of them, even I will struggle to negate everything they are doing. One is like a black hole of mana, and the other is, well, Cthulhu. It seems like everything it's doing, including cursing you, is meant to find a way back into this world.}"

Daniel expected that much. He would be perfectly content with running out of his supply of seemingly unkillable mythical god-monster adversaries. But, because he still doesn't seem to have even scratched the surface of what's really looming over the world of Zenkon, he has to keep moving forward and protect his family. And, by extension, they can work together to protect the Fievegal and more.

The mechanic closes his eyes as he tries to put that out of his mind.

Protect your family, Daniel, thinks the overwhelmed misplaced Emperor. Just keep fixing the problem right in front of you…

Someday, he's going to have to face the reality of everything that casts shadows upon him, but if he really analyzes his situation, he'll realize the more terrifying truth.

He is a mouse surrounded by elephants stomping around. Even if he appears to be a threat to them, he only needs to be stepped on once.

And, there are a lot of elephants.

***

Moments before, Rikuto watches Daniel disappear through the portal, quickly followed by a reluctant Hekate, a worried Doephluev, and a seemingly indifferent Yaulwembor.

"I'll kill her!" exclaims Geirahoel. She huffs angrily, but Neith calls out, "Rikuto and anyone else going with me! Let's go! I'll get us to the ground safely, so gather here!"

The Japanese man sighs. He meant to help rescue Zuzia directly, but the attacking team has an important role as well. Given Yaulander's temper, Rikuto and his trusted ministers underestimated the Grand Prince. And, further emphasized by the rigged carriage, he's not simply an emotional child with too much power. The Imperial High Lord is cunning, and Rikuto let his guard down as a result.

He doesn't want to make that mistake again, and with the void artilleries also taken by the Grand Prince's men, they have to be on the look out for the destructive superweapons.

The grey dragon puts his armor's helmet on, saying confidently, "I'll be pulling us to the ground quickly, so hang on and be ready to fight."

"Right behind you, General," replies Helbeit, approaching with a massive rifle that makes Rikuto nearly ill. He knew Daniel had some kind of dragon-slaying weapon, since the rumors have spread that he singlehandedly defended Fort Peony against one. But, seeing a rifle as tall as a full grown man with a 20mm bore makes it even more clear. The force in the Grand Duchy is a fraction of the Fievegal's true strength.

Just as Ryukana is about to open a second portal for them, Ryuogriar places a hand on Rikuto's shoulder, startling him. He goes rigid as he looks in her direction. Though, he can't help it when his eyes lock onto her huge chest, where an elaborate tattoo marks her left breast and her cleavage seems to descend into oblivion.

The dragon is unperturbed by Rikuto's dumbfounded gaze, growling coldly, "King Rikuto, you do not have enough friends in this world to save you if you harm our Mukori."

He snaps his eyes to hers, and she adds seriously, "You will find a great deal of disappointment if you attempt to use your hidden ability on anyone other than your predecessor."

The Japanese man's blood pressure plummets as his face undoubtedly turns pale. He's wearing his lightly armored costume again, which means his face is hidden from her, but…

That's impossible. There's no way she could tell, could she? How would she know about that? I…?

He glances at Ryukana, the goddess who brought him to this world and bestowed the abilities upon him. She doesn't give away anything with her expression, but looking away from the dragon prompts the Empress to squeeze his shoulder slightly.

The well-endowed Empress whispers, "Mukori has spared you because he sympathizes with his fellow Earth-humans. If I sense even one abnormal behavior from anyone, I will personally 'sanction' you and your entire kingdom." She smirks wickedly as Rikuto's heart starts to beat faster. Her tone returns to normal volume, but with a viciously teasing tone, "Good luck, young King Rikuto."

Ryuogriar waves as the young king stumbles after the others joining Neith, and Ryukana opens the portal.

"I'll be transforming and catch you all, so stay calm," states the male dragon. "And, mind your targets."

Resken and Helbeit chuckle, each carrying a massive rifle, and the group passes through the portal one by one.

Rikuto jogs glances at Ryukana as she holds the portal open, waiting for his turn. She makes eye contact with him, giving him a soft smile as she whispers, "Be careful, Rikuto."

He feels a little relief with this, which offsets the dragon Empress's words.

I have to be more careful, apparently. I didn't think the ability would be detectable…

Sir Horaston, Rikuto's knight, is the last one before the otherworlder king, and he jogs forward to pass through the portal.

Forget it. I need to focus on rescuing Zuzia, retrieving the artifact and the artillery, and if possible, arrest Yaulander.

Rikuto follows Horaston, closing his eyes as he passes through the magic hole through space itself.

He can feel his weight drop as he begins falling, and his jaw trembles as the wind rushes by.

Come on, Rikuto. There's no way Ryukana will allow this to stand if they betray you. Open your eyes. You have to search for…

He snaps his eyes open to search, and he has to brace himself against a moment of vertigo that hits him from the sudden change in height.

As promised, he is indeed more than a kilometer in the air, and the landscape of a solitary plateau or butte looms over a rather beautiful, relatively undeveloped area of much smaller hills, a river, and scattered woodlands.

The problem is, the terrain makes it difficult to locate defensive installations remote to the butte itself, which does seem to contain structure indicating the fortress is built into the rocky surface.

Where are they, where are they? thinks Rikuto as he scans urgently. He can see several of the knights falling ahead of him, and Neith is plummeting with his back to the ground, observing everyone briefly before he casts a magic spell.

Magical smoke-like energy swirls around him, and it grows before everyone's eyes, forming a massive creature with wings, reptilian scales, majestic silvery horns, and sharp talons. Knowing the dragons are who they are said to be is one thing, but Neith's sheer size is breathtaking, and Rikuto's heart begins to race. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's awe. Either way, he can scarcely believe his own eyes.

The moment Neith catches everyone, Rikuto's hand on his deceptively soft scales makes the impulse pass through him.

A dragon would be a powerful minion.

"If I sense even one abnormal behavior from anyone, I will personally 'sanction' you and your entire kingdom." Ryuogriar's whispered warning passes through the young Japanese man's mind while Neith is flying the group in a dive that strangely doesn't create much, if any, turbulence across his temporary riders.

Rikuto closes his eyes, trying to put his dark thought out of his mind.

That said,...

When will I get another chance like this?

***

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