“Forgive me, Lady Ryukana,” remarks the younger of the two goddesses after slamming Zuzia into the ground with enough force to make a crater. The elder of the two goddesses and Amalaskae’s predecessor used her own power to protect Neith and Serrentuk, who were nearly killed. “I will need you to protect this world. I will take responsibility for incapacitating Zuzia enough to let her be taken to the Citadel.

  “I understand,” replies Ryukana softly. “Zuzia, you no longer have to fret. I am sorry for what is about to happen, but we will make it up to you later.”

  “I… But, what if… I hurt you?” asks the Polishwoman. She’s weary from the impact, but it’s one of many such forceful, destructive strikes she has received in the last few minutes, and like those, she’s only barely starting to feel anything resembling pain.

  Ryukana replies, “Then, we will have to hope Hekate has enough mana to heal us. Let us worry about that later. Just do your best to brace yourself and forgive us.”

  Zuzia looks at the sunset-haired clumsy goddess, saying with watering eyes, “Amala… I’m ready… Kick my stupid butt.”

  Amalaskae nods, her expression rather serious, given how she normally behaves. She was loving and kind, but a bit timid with her own strength. However, Zuzia is suffering because they can’t defeat her fast enough. If she is contracted to anyone that she can kill in a single blow, they may not be able to finish the contract override before she does exactly that. It’s imperative that they make sure she won’t regain consciousness during the process, even if it becomes painful.

  “Wait-wait-wait!” calls out Ryukana urgently as she’s finishing what she’s doing. From there, the dragon and elf watch as a massive, strange shape materializes around them. It seems to be a rather featureless box. The walls are formed of what appears to be mana, but possessing a white, daylight-like color that makes everything visible.

  Neith and Serrentuk certainly look worse for wear, but they can appreciate the fact that they’re still alive, while the goddesses look truly divine, seeming to effortlessly possess a glossy appearance that captures and dances light around them. Both men kneel as if on instinct, bowing their heads in reverence. Knowing what they are is one thing, but the amount of power they are letting show now could likely dwarf the entire population of the world, in spite of how strong Hekate, Yaulwembor, Serrentuk, and Senn should be in comparison.

  “Alright, ready. It won’t likely withstand your combined destructive strength, Amalaskae, but I’ll repair it as quickly as I can. Do try to finish quickly.”

  “Unfortunately, I’m much better at breaking things than anything else,” replies the younger-seeming goddess with some disappointment behind a bitter smile.

  She effortlessly lifts Zuzia by the neck, since little remains of the Polish woman’s outfit. For that, Ryukana snaps her fingers, and a new dress similar to the two divine beings are wearing forms instantly around Zuzia. Zuzia doesn’t quite have the outright beauty of the goddesses, but because she’s certainly pretty in her own right, she could easily pass as a divine being in the outfit, especially with how strong she is.

  Zuzia offers a prayer as her body tries to resist Amalaskae’s immovable grip, “Bo?e, daj mi spokój, by przetrwa? t? ?omotanin?, i b?agam, by Amala da?a mi najsilniejszy, szybki nokaut. [Pol.: God, grant me peace to endure this beatdown, and I beg that Amala gives me the strongest, swift knockout.]”

  Amalaskae replies with an affectionate smile. “Amen.”

  Serrentuk winces and looks away as the youthful goddess let’s her fist fly. As before Ryukana shields the two men from the effects, but it’s still terrifying for even the ancient near-immortal and the dragon to witness.

  Zuzia is launched dozens of feet in a flash by the first impact, which slams her against the divine wall of Ryukana’s cuboid barrier, which is humongous. Though Amalaskae’s fist appeared to move around the speed of a moderately skilled human punch, the air all but violently explodes around the impact, even as Zuzia slams the wall almost instantly afterwards while a condensation cone and sonic boom erupt from the brunette’s violent acceleration and substantial speed.

  Neith and Serrentuk are horrified, but it quickly becomes absolute awe when the otherworlder human coughs and starts to climb to her feet. She flops onto her backside for a seated position against the wall, dazed a bit by the impact. She spits blood out of her mouth, saying dryly, “You were supposed to do it in one punch, Amala…”

  “Spirits…” whispers Neith. “Could… Could we have defeated her?”

  “I believe we have the combined strength to kill her,” replies the elven sorcerer. “But, of course, that was not the goal.”

  Zuzia fearlessly climbs to her feet while Amalaskae simply stands fast, waiting. The goddess remarks without looking at the two men, “Breaking Zuzia’s bones would be easy. But, magic would not be effective at healing them. This is already agonizing enough.”

  The Polish woman stretches a little, and she flinches when pain bites her shoulder. “If I knew I was this tough, I wouldn’t have gotten caught by Nesparu and Yaulander to begin with.” She launches herself towards the group, since she’s still driven to kill Neith by the magic contract.

  But, Amalaskae easily intercepts her. She appears at Zuzia’s side as the brunette is all but flying forward from the speed she kicked off of the wall. Both Neith and Serrentuk can only watch, since even seeing it doesn’t let them react quickly enough to have done anything.

  The goddess’s knee rises with comparable force to her punch, and Zuzia slams into the ceiling of the divinely-formed box. She bounces off of the barrier, which crackles from the immense force, and Zuzia cries out in pain.

  Before she hits the ground, Amalaskae launches a flurry of punches directed downwards, and this hailstorm of devastating strikes rumbles the barrier. The floor shatters, and Ryukana flinches in reaction. The violet-haired goddess narrowly manages to recover the floor barrier in between blows, lest Zuzia be driven deep into the ground.

  When the floor shatters a second time, Zuzia does hit soil, which explodes in a crater.

  The sunset-haired goddess drops into the crater after her, but Zuzia is still conscious. She manages to spring upwards, tackling Amalaskae back up to the level, which allows Ryukana to close the floor again. The senior goddess sinks to a kneel, panting heavily. This prompts Serrentuk and Neith to both dash to her aid. “My Lady!” “Your Divine Grace!”

  “I’ll be alright,” replies Ryukana. Zuzia manages an airborne attack, kicking Amalaskae through the air into one wall, while Zuzia bashes into the opposite.

  Both of them start moving right away, but Zuzia is more aggressive in trying to keep the offensive advantage.

  She lands several fast and strong hits against Amalaskae, who does nothing to block or resist, simply taking the blows.

  Zuzia hops back several steps, nursing her shoulder. Her breathing is only barely starting to increase, while Neith and Serrentuk are both fairly exhausted.

  Ryukana murmurs, “Amalaskae, you fool… Exactly how much did you load into her?”

  “My Lady?” asks Serrentuk as he looks at her.

  The goddess simply shakes her head. “Pay no mind to that. Be ready to transfer Zuzia into Gate.”

  “Of course, my Lady,” replies the elf.

  With the distance and momentary pause she gained, Zuzia whirls and kicks Amalaskae as hard as she can, and there’s a thunderous boom from the calamitous strike with the goddess’s left arm. This hit is enough to stumble the goddess, and she gives a rather surprised expression. She touches her arm, looking at it.

  Amalaskae’s rather subdued but surprised response clashes with the fact that Zuzia is changing posture to try to launch another spin kick with as much of her weight and strength as she can muster.

  This time, though, Amalaskae’s hand moves faster than even an archmage and a powerful dragon can see. She catches Zuzia’s shin, halting the blow with a thunderous impact, but absorbing the shock effectively and preventing injury.

  Amalaskae throws Zuzia onto her back with the enhanced leverage she just gained by the awkward posture, and the Polish woman tumbles.

  “I suppose I shouldn’t be this impressed, but I guess it’s kinda interesting to know what pain is now.”

  “What?” asks Zuzia coldly as she rolls over. Her mouth is partially stained with blood, she has noticeable bruises now, and the clothes and shoes she started with are irrecoverable shreds and cinders.

  “Gods can feel pain?” asks Neith.

  “The difference between us and our creators is far greater than the difference between us and you, or even humans,” replies Ryukana softly. “Though… given what happened…”

  “Ah…” murmurs Neith.

  When Zuzia grumbles, “Must be nice…”, the dragon has a pretty good idea of what Ryukana means.

  The brunette already blames herself enough for what happened to Amalaskae, and instead, the youthful-seeming goddess is provoking her competitiveness. It’s the same thing Neith did to keep her distracted, though it was a gamble in his case.

  Zuzia tries to leap at Amalaskae once more, but the goddess simply sidesteps, disappearing briefly with the ghostly speed she moves, somehow not interacting with the air as a solid when she moves blindingly fast.

  The divine being reappears behind Zuzia, seemingly teleporting less than a yard in order to overwhelm the over-powered human. She catches Zuzia by the underside of her bicep, and Zuzia lets out a grunt of “Ooof!” while her momentum is halted.

  Without giving the human time to react, Amalaskae swings Zuzia up and over herself, slamming Zuzia down without another calamitous impact against the divine barrier that crackles and threatens to break.

  “Is… there anything I could do to help?” asks Neith, watching helplessly as Amalaskae has to wail on Zuzia without hurting her too badly or killing her.

  Ryukana thinks as the two exchange more brutal attacks. Zuzia is still able to muster a fight, even though it’s driven by the compulsion of her slave collar.

  Suddenly, a realization comes to Ryukana as she braces against the impacts against the barrier and blocks the shockwaves from killing the two mortal men.

  “While the gifts Amalaskae gave her are efficient, she is still ultimately a human. Sir Neith, all living beings in this world require oxygen, the same as hers. If you can use your flames…”

  Neith stands up, nodding. Neith has heard various pieces and accounts of the defeat of the dragons when they stormed the Citadel a few days after Lugrae was slain by Daniel and Hekate. He has heard it from the Empresses and Jeavana, as well as the other dragons that don’t serve Daniel. Jeavana, Reignleif, and Ryuogriar were specifically incapacitated by Xyreko closing barriers around them and removing the air. Those who breathed fire only hastened the effect, and Daniel killed the others who Hekate designated were cruel or malicious with an upgraded version of the rifle that killed the red knight at Peony and the green sage at a dattakorien village.

  Neith braces himself. The shockwaves shouldn’t be instantly lethal to him, and he has his armor. As long as he keeps his footing, he should be alright. That said, he can’t transform into his full size to try to distribute the forces, employ his natural durability, and increase the size of the flame for one very simple fact.

  He would be an easier target for Zuzia.

  As such, he’ll just have to do what he can as he is. “Your Divine Grace, please protect Lord Serrentuk. I’ll be as efficient and quick as I can.”

  “Remember, it will be taking away your oxygen as well,” warns the violet-haired goddess.

  Neith smirks, closing his helmet. It’s partially damaged, but he taps on his jawline. It’s still in experimental stages, but he has an air-supply helmet in case he needs to dive or enter into hazardous environments. Daniel doesn’t approve of the latter, since gases can still slip by if there are gaps, but it’s better than nothing.

  The dragon takes a deep breath, and he sparks his pilot flame, which starts burning in his relatively human-sized mouth. The flames emphasize his teeth, and he bides his time for just a moment as Zuzia struggles against Amalaskae. There are moments that it looks like the human is gaining an edge, pushing the goddess back. But, Amalaskae is holding herself back massively if what she said is true. Neith did try to break bones, and he did more damage to himself than to the brunette young woman. If Amalaskae is expending more effort not to, then the gap between the gods of the Divine Realm are truly as one might hold to the level of deity.

  Neith starts exhaling fire directly behind Zuzia, which causes her to flinch just as she parries one of Amalaskae’s strikes. While the grey dragon has never been a magically contracted slave himself, he doesn’t blame Zuzia for going with the path of least resistance. Amalaskae is causing her pain, and the most natural response in the world for any living being, from the weakest of goblin infants to the mightiest of feldrok sages, is to make that pain go away. Likewise, fire outside of one’s own control is an object of fear for most, since it is a constant of destruction, an agonizing pain, and in some cases, an unstoppable force of nature. It can’t be reasoned with, intimidated, or battled with brute force.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  It is this visceral, natural fear of the world’s element of chaotic reset that distracts the otherworlder long enough for Amalaskae to almost gleefully land a merciless suckerpunch.

  While her usual, lighthearted smile is gone, Amalaskae does have a sort of imminence to her rivaling a storm on the horizon. She doesn’t enjoy her task, since she is taking responsibility for the immense strength and durability she gave Zuzia, and she cares deeply for her summoned heroine. But, she does have a sort of pride in how strong and brave Zuzia is. She hasn’t given up her fighting spirit in spite of everything, including the battle against her friends. If anything, the human is enjoying herself as much as she can, since it’s a challenge. Amalaskae represents a mountain of might that the young Polish hiker can’t help but crave conquering the unfathomable height. Whether she knows it or not, Zuzia does possess the ability to grow even stronger than she is, which is probably a mistake on Amalaskae’s part. But, the goddess still can’t help but be proud of her chosen champion.

  The battle is tragic but necessary, and both of them refuse to give up until Zuzia can walk free again.

  For his part, the dragon knight inhales through his nose in slow, careful breaths, before exhaling to stoke and continue the plume of bright, wide-color-range flames from the complex natural fuel the reptilian apex predators produce. The divine box that Ryukana is sustaining is rather large, but the mechanisms of dragon fire are just as powerful as the creatures that produce it.

  The air quickly fills with a distinct, metallic smell as the concentration of alkaline air sharply increases in proportion to the burning ignityal.

  Zuzia coughs as she climbs to her feet, and she rubs her eyes. Her breathing is a little more ragged now, and she looks at Neith. His flame breath isn’t directed at her now, but instead, is focused mostly upwards and off to the side so he can keep one eye on Zuzia for her movements.

  Amalaskae again walks into the position between the two, ready to intercept the human if she tries to pounce the large distance between them towards the dragon.

  She whines, “Ammonia poisoning!? That’s cheating, *cough* N-Neith!” She lets out a longer, wet cough for a moment before making it back to her feet.

  Neith snorts slightly, careful not to inhale through his mouth. Dragons are mostly fireproof, but it can be quite painful if there is a backfire. And, as Daniel demonstrated with the drake he killed, according to Kera’tai and Aoloan who witnessed it, there is a chance of a total explosion.

  He’s not sure how much more efficient Zuzia’s body is over a dragon’s but he can tell the air is getting less ‘nourishing’, since his own flames are dulling in color and heat. Ignityal can still burn in the absence of air, but it becomes much easier to snuff out, assuming anyone attempting to do so is still conscious at the time.

  And, even more importantly, Zuzia seems to be reacting negatively to the alkaline air as she continues coughing. Tears are starting to form in her eyes as well, and she does her best to try to wipe them away, only for more to appear just as quickly.

  Still choosing not to give up, the Polish woman becomes frustrated and screams, charging straight at Amalaskae.

  The goddess doesn’t retreat or do anything but prepare to attack, but Zuzia shifts her own strategy on the fly. She swats the sunset-haired world manager’s hand away with a loud, booming clap, and she ducks low, specifically focusing on lifting Amalaskae by the thighs while on the move. The overpowered human pivots and swings the goddess. Just before Amalaskae swings a downward chop at Zuzia’s collar, she is launched through the air with near-ballistic speed.

  Her trajectory carries her straight towards Neith.

  The dragon narrowly reacts, abandoning his fire breath and leaping backwards. He manages to catch Amalaskae, which is more like her projectile body slams into him, briefly accelerating him more violently. Thankfully, his quick reaction spared him from being killed by the impact, and he is able to soften Amalaskae’s impact, rather than letting her slam into the barrier.

  The dragon slides to a stop, his own back bumping into the divine wall at a more manageable momentum. The dragon lets out a deep exhale of relief, and the residual smoke from his venom-extinguished breath puffs out.

  “My hero, Sir Neith,” replies Amalaskae simply. She isn’t being especially playful, but it is said in a fairly soft tone. This seems to give her an idea, and she says, “Ah! Why didn’t I think of that sooner!”

  The grey knight eases her to her feet, asking, “Your Divine Grace?”

  Amalaskae immediately faces him and leans against him, pressing her hand to his chest. She stares up into the visor of his helmet, which is a bit off-putting, since it feels like she is peering much deeper than her own reflection.

  If anything, she’s staring into his very soul, judging all of his deeds, both past and future.

  “You wish to help Zuzia, yes?”

  “I… Yes, of course!” replies Neith. “We’re not yet friends, per se, but I certainly do not wish to remain her enemy. And, my Liege Lord wishes to help her, since he feels partially responsible for allowing her summoning to happen.”

  Amalaskae nods. “Yes, I see, I see. Perfect.”

  “Amalaskae! Wait!” calls out Ryukana. But, whatever the elder goddess was going to say, it’s too late.

  neith feels something like a punch hit him in the chest.

  A powerful punch.

  The sensation immediately spreads like an injection of cold, electrified water into his body, and he stumbles back, cornered by the wall of the box formed by Ryukana.

  Amalaskae says seriously as Neith starts to panic, “Relax, Sir Neith. It’ll be over in a mere moment.” She then calls over to her senior, “Please don’t be angry, Ryukana! I’m only giving him a temporary blessing! It shouldn’t interfere too much with his natural state!”

  “You know how dangerous it is!” snaps Ryukana.

  Amalaskae smiles as she looks at Zuzia, who is still coughing, but refusing to fall unconscious or give up the fight. She has some resistance to poisons, but she’s still fundamentally human. And, if she fights a fellow human, fundamentally speaking, she’ll be much less likely to die in a trade of even blows. The junior goddess says to Neith, “If I don’t remove the blessing in a few minutes, you might suffer an immense fracturing of your soul. But, don’t worry. I won’t let that happen. Help me end Zuzia’s suffering and free her, and I’ll reward you. Though, what with, I don’t know yet.”

  Neith is bracing against the strange sensation, which is making his whole body feel like it’s pulling apart or pressurizing. “It should only be a few more seconds. Join me once you can.”

  She disappears in a flicker of her own visage, reappearing in front of Zuzia just as she’s gaining her balance and breathing heavily, trying to power through the alkaline air irritating her lungs, as well as the heat coupled with the choked-down air. The Divine Summon is a machine of combat wearing the skin of a young woman, and if she gives up, she’ll die.

  Neith coughs this time, the immense power of a goddess radiating through him. He can start to feel what she has done. The pressure isn’t his body resisting. He is becoming stronger and stronger through brute force magic. His skin is hardening, his bones are becoming more durable, and his blood is pumping faster to feed his new strength.

  The dragon falls to his hands and knees in an attempt to ease the strange pressure in his body. It’s not quite painful, but it definitely feels further suffocating against the reduced air quality he already intentionally caused.

  In hopes of distracting himself, as well as offsetting the heavy, tainted air, the knight activates the air dump function of his helmet. Immediately, he is met with the relieving taste of clean air, which purges his helmet quickly of the smell of alkaline air, or ‘ammonia’, if Zuzia’s name for it is correct.

  While the vapors left behind aren’t particularly hazardous to a dragon, even if he were to expend every drop of his ignityal over the course of long periods of time, making the air in an enclosed space like this truly poisonous to other beings, let alone asphyxiating.

  “Neith! I know I said join me when you can, but Zuzia is in danger!”

  “Hah!” scoffs Zuzia. She’s launching a flurry of attacks, as if a third or fourth wind has come over her. How she recovers so fast, in spite of the injuries she has sustained, minor as they are, can only be explained by her goddess-granted inherent power.

  Power which Neith seems to now have as well.

  The dragon rises to his full height, shedding his mantle and flexing his shoulders.

  There is one primary difference between Zuzia and Neith now that he has received a similar blessing from Amalaskae, assuming it really is on par with her.

  The dragon knight launches forward, and truly, the world blurs around him from the speed with which he moves. He can’t even hear the world around him, drowned out and passing him by while his humanoid form tears through the air from his supersonic movement. He arrives at Zuzia’s side inside of a second, and he catches her leg as it swings in a backwards crescent towards Amalaskae.

  The echo of his sonic boom rumbles deep across the barrier, while the impact of Zuzia’s leg with his hand makes a deep, resounding clap. She looks over her shoulder at the dragon, surprised.

  Zuzia grew up as a normal human with no magical power, no god-given super-strength, and skin that compares more to paper than to armor in terms of durability.

  Neith was a dragon from the moment a hardened shell gave way to his tiny egg-tooth and claws.

  The difference in their relative experience with such immense power is now the gap between them, dwarfing the brunette woman, now that they are a more even match.

  “Deus ex machina?” asks Zuzia a little sourly, in spite of the pain and exertion she’s going through.

  Neith smiles. He’s glad she’s maintaining her humor, even now.

  “I know not what that means, fair Lady Zuzia. But, take pride. It takes a goddess and her servant to…”

  “W-Wait, Neith…!” starts Amalaskae, but Zuzia is the one who shows her confusion.

  “Goddess? There is only one God, Sir Neith…” Zuzia strains, able to pull herself free. She then punches at him, forcing him to block, which allows her to loop her other arm over his forearm. She wrenches, but he is able to resist, which she seems to be relieved and thankful for. “I’m not such a blind zealot as to ignore the reality before me, but there could and should only be one Lord on High.”

  Zuzia strikes the dragon in the abdomen with her knee, which does cause him to flinch with the metal-crunching force she manages. Again, she is proving that she is stronger than Neith’s sharmelkolle armor, though of course, he does have to give some temperance to that. While it is sharmelkolle, there are two different fundamental alloys of the world’s strongest metal, and his allows its form to magically transform when he does. Because of this, it is more like ‘sharmelkolle-leafed’ enchanted armor, rather than solid indestructible metal.

  The Polish woman finishes her thought, “I have a lot to learn about this world, but I do believe God will see us all through this mess.”

  Neith smiles. “I spoke with my own beliefs and worldview without a sense of yours, my Lady. Regardless, forces far stronger than this world can normally muster are required to challenge you. That much is certain.”

  She scoffs lightly, but gives a bit of a sheepish, if weary, smile. “Thanks, Sir Neith.”

  “Stop flirting with each other and let’s end this,” growls Amalaskae. “One of you is in growing pain, and the other is on a ticking clock.”

  “Right!” agree both of them.

  The knight then states, “Lady Zuzia, I’m going to punch you now. Brace yourself.”

  This surprises the brunette, and she does in fact flinch back, pulling away from the dragon as forcefully as she can. Neith makes a show of it with his fist, but Zuzia’s footing gives out as she does her quickened backstep. Her eyes go wide as her back sails towards the ground.

  His tail still aches from the abuse it has taken in this battle since the beginning, but it is still a highly useful appendage that Neith has been attached to for centuries. In their natural forms, it is more of a club used in battles where claws are broken or death is to be avoided.

  Against an otherworlder human expecting a fist, it is a highly versatile secret weapon.

  He made sure to deliver some upwards momentum with the way he swept her legs, keeping her airborne just long enough for Neith to lunge behind her. He catches her in a headlock, pulling her to the ground with him on his back, and he grapples her.

  The human manages to try to strain against him, but the dragon now has the strength to keep her locked in place. “Do it now! I’ll hold her!”

  Just before Serrentuk obeys, Amalaskae holds up her hand. “Wait, Serrentuk. Sir Neith, Zuzia won’t be time-frozen like you will be, and she is not free of her orders. Even if we can prevent her from escaping the attempt to capture her in gate, it will be for naught if you are vaporized the moment we extract you.”

  The dragon pales, and Zuzia grunts, “Stop holding back and just finish it! I’m fine with it! I’m not worth this much effort!” Her body is writhing and struggling, trying to pull free of the dragon, but he is able to keep her legs from gaining traction, and her headbutts only manage to dent his helmet.

  “Don’t worry, Zuzu. I’ll handle it,” replies the sunset-haired goddess. She approaches and crouches down. “Now that Sir Neith is holding you still, I can just do this…”

  Amalaskae puts her hand on Zuzia’s chest. She frowns when she looks at the collar, which has dark lines stretching away from it which grant it influence over Zuzia’s will. Still, she says, “Please rest, Zuzu. You’ll wake up free and well-rested before you know it.”

  Zuzia watches with wide eyes. Neith is trying to choke her into unconsciousness, but she’s managing to breathe in spite of that.

  What she can’t resist is the slow, growing shock that comes from the goddess’s palm. Zuzia’s body tenses, and she grunts.

  As Amalaskae ramps the power upwards, it starts to cause tingles in Neith’s arms and chest. Seeming to notice this, the divine destroyer says, “Sir Neith, if you fall unconscious, I’ll protect you as well. And, I’ll remove my blessing as soon as…”

  Neith tries to focus on her words, but they start to fade into a blurry mess as the pain grips deep into his body. It’s not quite the same as an electrical shock, since it’s more like a growing pressure.

  The moonlight and distant mana fire all close into one singular point of darkness.

  ***

  Ryukana watches as Amalaskae finishes her delivery of a direct, powerful grip on Zuzia’s heart. Unfortunately, because it’s very similar to an electric shock, it seems to have reached into Neith as well. It takes focus, but it’s effectively like reaching into the target’s chest and holding their heart until it stops just long enough.

  It seems to work, as both blessing-enhanced mortals relax and go limp. Amalaskae carefully pulls Zuzia off of Neith, saying, “Sir Serrentuk, if you would…”

  Though the battle is over, Amalaskae isn’t especially pleased. If anything, she’s resigned to the outcome.

  Serrentuk and Amalaske approach, and the elven sage uses his special ability to contain Zuzia.

  He does point out, “As you mentioned, my Lady, Zuzia’s time won’t be stopped.”

  “Indeed. We’ll need to make haste.” She crouches over Neith. “I’ll transport him directly to…”

  Just as Amalaskae is saying this, Ryukana feels something that draws her gaze towards the northwest. She is no longer the world manager of Zenkon, but she has virtually all of the same abilities she was created with as a goddess of the Divine Realm. She can ‘see’ virtually anything she turns her mostly omnivident gaze upon. She’s not truly omniscient the way Chaos and Order are, but she has been keeping her attention on Daniel to avoid losing him ever again. She is limited in what she can do with that information, though Amalaskae was willing to step in to protect Zuzia, in spite of the chances she’ll be wrong about what she can get away with.

  Chaos and Order may not erase her, but she’s likely looking at a demotion similar to Ryukana.

  “Wait,” states Ryukana sternly.

  Serrentuk and Amalaskae both look at her. “Lady Ryukana?” asks the junior goddess.

  The elder of the two studies the distant turmoil taking place.

  I was already quite certain, but now it’s undeniable. So, it’s true. Kaeralegier…

  Ryukana turned a blind eye to the legendary sword that fell into Daniel’s hands. It was a known quantity when she took over as world manager of Zenkon. Its original wielder was already long dead, and the sword was stored in the Citadel, where the feldroks had no use for it, but also didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, since it’s one of the few things that could negate their magic.

  But, if you’re revealing yourself now… What is it that you have trapped?

  Ryukana knows there’s a high chance something went wrong with Jeavana’s contract removal. They expected a contract demon, but the team left behind should have been well-prepared to handle anything that came through. Jeavana herself would be able to participate as long as the contract demon was delayed long enough for Daniel to finish the removal.

  If it takes the power of a goddess that is more powerful than Ryukana, and possibly Amalaskae, either they wildly overestimated the abilities of the Earthling’s allies, or it’s something far stronger.

  If either of us lay eyes on Kaeralegier, we’ll be required to report to Chaos and Order… But, if it’s something beyond what the denizens of this world can handle…

  There’s a sudden flash of Kaeralegier’s power, and Ryukana nearly instinctively teleports to the location.

  No… She has protected this world long after trapping herself in that sword. And, she has protected Daniel many times, including during the Devourer and beyond. They have to handle it. I’m sorry, Daniel. Please endure…

  Soon enough, they’ll know the full outcome, whichever way the events have played out.

  ***