Chapter 4: Babies in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

◇Houghtow City—Flio’s Living Room◇

After dinner, Wyne and Garyl were playing together in the living room. “Aha ha!” Wyne laughed, spreading her arms wide. “Come and get me, Gare-Gare!”

“All right, sis,” Garyl said. “Here I come!”

Although they had been born only a month prior, Garyl and Elinàsze were as developed as a human child would typically be at five years old. It seemed half-human, half-lupine children grew up tremendously fast. Wyne doted on the two like they were her real little brother and sister.

Today, yet again, Garyl had challenged Wyne to a grappling match after dinner. “Today’s the day!” he said. “I’ll get you this time, sis!” Garyl charged at her. Grinning, she pushed him back with both arms. “Aha ha ha ha! You’re feisty, Gare-Gare!” she said. “C’mon!”

Although she was still young, Wyne had been the strongest soldier in the legion of dragons in the Dark Army. She was holding back considerably, of course, but she wasn’t about to lose to her baby brother. Even so, Garyl kept challenging her, day after day after day.

“You’re never gonna beat Big Sis Wyne, Garyl,” Elinàsze said. She was sitting on Flio’s lap, watching her siblings go at it. She had grown more and more attached to her father the bigger she got—a real daddy’s girl. She stuck to Flio whenever she could and spent just about every second of every day in his company.

“Don’t be so hard on your brother, Elinàsze,” Flio said, smiling down at her. “Wyne is very strong, you know?” Inwardly, he was breathing a sigh of relief. I’m so glad they’re normal children...

When Flio had reached Level 2 in this world, he had obtained outlandish, phenomenal powers. He was well aware that it had caused him to get involved in all sorts of trouble. I really hope my children don’t end up with powers like I did...

Periodically, Flio would check the children’s statuses, just to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary. He very much wanted them to have a normal childhood and not get wrapped up in anything too wild.

Ghozal and Hiya were aware of Flio’s feelings, so they kept an eye on Elinàsze and Garyl as well. So far, they had seen no sign of any unusual powers. Elinàsze was born with a gem in the middle of her forehead, but it didn’t seem particularly poised to cause any trouble.

“I really thought Mister Flio’s kids would have some sort of special ability...” said Ghozal.

“Yes,” said Hiya. “I did as well...”

Flio smiled. “I’d really rather they didn’t have to deal with anything like that,” he said. He looked at Elinàsze sitting in his lap. Her jewel doesn’t seem to have any kind of effect for the time being, he thought, glancing at the bright jewel. It would be nice if nothing ever came of it...

Meanwhile, Garyl had gotten utterly trounced by Wyne. He lay on the floor, arms and legs spread wide, exhausted. “Dang it!” he said. “I’m still no match for you!” He gasped for breath, but on his face was a big grin.

Wyne looked quite satisfied with the match. “You’re getting stronger every day, Gare-Gare,” she said. “Not bad!”

“Am I?” Garyl pursed his lips. “I can’t tell at all.”

“Here! Let’s see for ourselves!” Wyne raised her arm and began to chant. A magic circle appeared, and from it came a number of skeletons. There were ten of them, each less than a foot tall. The skeletons started scampering around Garyl.

“Wow!” Elinàsze exclaimed, jumping down from Flio’s lap and running up to get a closer look. “What are those?” Her eyes were shining with curiosity.

“Okay, Gare-Gare,” said Wyne. “Let’s see who’s stronger: you, or these skeletons!”

“But I lost to these things last time!” Garyl protested.

“You’ll do fine!” Wyne said. “This time, you’ll win!”

“You think so? Okay... I’ll try it.” Garyl faced off against Wyne’s skeletons.

Just then...

“Waaah?!” Elinàsze caught her foot on a rug decorating the floor and tripped.

“Elinàsze! Watch out!” Garyl ran to catch her, but instead, he lost his balance as well. The two of them tumbled to the floor.

There was a series of sickening cracks.

“Wh-What?! What happened?!” Garyl sprung to his feet and looked down to see the remains of the skeletons he had been facing a minute ago. Every last one had been completely smashed to bits.

“Huh?” said Garyl.

“What?” said Elinàsze.

“What’s wrong, you two?” Flio asked, rushing to their side.

Elinàsze looked puzzled. “I...heard some weird voice in my head.”

“Me too...” said Garyl. “It said...‘Level Up’? Or something?” He looked every bit as confused as his sister.

“Huh?” Flio blinked. No... Dreading what he would find, Flio cast Identify. He looked at the windows.

Elinàsze (Child)
Lv: 2
Strength: ∞
Defense: ∞
Speed: ∞
Magic: ∞
HP: ∞
Skills: ∞
*Restrictions applied due to minor status.

Garyl (Child)
Lv: 2
Strength: ∞
Defense: ∞
Speed: ∞
Magic: ∞
HP: ∞
Skills: ∞
*Restrictions applied due to minor status.

No way... Flio’s pupils shrank. He covered his face with his right hand.

Yes, it was at Level 2 that Flio had obtained his cheat powers—the blessing of Transcendence. Now the same thing had happened to his children.

◇ ◇ ◇

Later, Flio’s family all gathered in the living room, along with Ghozal, Uliminas, Hiya, and Damalynas.

Ghozal smirked. “You know, really, I had expected Mister Flio’s kids to have some kind of power, but this is something else!”

“Well...” Flio began, cocking his head and frowning at Ghozal’s words. “I had been hoping this wouldn’t happen. I wanted them to have a normal childhood...”

But Rys smiled. “Truly?” she said. “For my part, I am happy. My children will be brave and strong, like my lord husband.”

“Me too!” said Wyne, bouncing happily in the air. “Me too, me too!”

“Hmm...” Flio looked unconvinced.

“Exalted One,” Hiya said, “if that is your concern, then you have no cause for worry.”

“I don’t?”

“You do not.” Hiya reached their arms out towards Garyl and Elinàsze. “The children of the Exalted One have the phrase ‘Restrictions applied due to minor status’ appended to their abilities. They will not achieve the omnipotent powers of the Exalted One until they reach their fifteenth year of age and become adults.”

“Even so,” Flio objected, “just look at the amount of magic they have...”

Flio had a good reason to be concerned. Restricted or not, Garyl and Elinàsze’s powers had bloomed all at once. Their bodies were overflowing with magic energy.

Damalynas extended her arm and focused, and then laughed bitterly. “Well, would you look at that?” she said. “It took me centuries and centuries to build up the magic power I have now, and those twerps surpassed me in the blink of an eye. What a world.” Damalynas, the Grand Magus of Midnight, had once been feared as a dark mage with enough power to threaten the entire world and had been sealed away underneath Klyrode Castle. “Well, anyway, they have a ton of magic power, but it looks like their ability to cast spells is restricted. We’ll have to keep a close eye on them as they grow up.”

“Hrm,” Ghozal added. “Children with that much magic power... Someone might try to use them for their own ends.”

Uliminas nodded and folded her arms. “There’s the devil Zanzibar’s whole upurrising against the Dark Meown, to begin with...” she said. “I can’t purrdict what might happen with that. We should be careful.”

Elinàsze looked up at Flio with big worried eyes. “Papa...” she said. “Is something bad going to happen...?”

Flio held her tight in his arms, giving her his usual easygoing smile. “Everything’s all right, Elinàsze,” Flio said. “If anything happens, your papa will be here to protect you.” He gently patted her head.

Elinàsze smiled and hugged Flio back. “Thank you, papa. I love you.”

Garyl sprung to his feet. “Don’t worry, Elinàsze!” he said. “I’ll be here too! I’m gonna get so strong that I can even protect Big Sis Wyne!” He charged playfully at Wyne, swinging his arms wildly.

“Aha ha ha!” Wyne laughed. “Look at you! Protect me, hu— Waaaah!” Wyne braced herself to catch Garyl like usual, but this time he was moving much faster than before. He caught her in the belly with one of his fists, and Wyne went flying. She went splat against the wall.

“W-Wyne!” Rys cried out.

Ghozal looked stunned. “Come on...” he said. “I thought their power was restricted! He’s that strong?!”

Garyl froze up. He had no idea what had just happened. “I...sent big sis flying?” he said. “Wh-What? How?”

Those children are definitely gonna need looking after, Flio thought. He promised himself that he would protect them no matter what.

◇In the Sky, above a Forest◇

Three djinn flew through the night sky: Maglion, the djinn who mastered the magic of the Dark World, Powlion, the djinn who mastered the power of the Dark World, and Speelion, the djinn who mastered the speed of the Dark World. They had been called here by Valentine of the Twelve Evil Generals.

Right now they were hanging in the air, staring at something out of view. “Did you two feel that as well?” asked Maglion, their long black hair blowing in the wind.

“Yes...” Powlion nodded. They were wearing a black robe that covered their whole body—it looked like some kind of vestment—but even so it was obvious that their musculature was immense. “A tremendous release of magic power...”

“Indeed,” Speelion said, grinning widely. They were slender-bodied. “If we could capture someone with as much magic power as that, we could replenish the magic General Valentine spent to summon us, and even conjure the Grand Passage!”

“I can sense several entities with great magic power in our vicinity...” Maglion said. “We should capture them all, and present them to General Valentine.”

“Yes...” Powlion said. “I agree. General Valentine would be pleased.”

“Indeed,” Speelion said. “Then we should hurry!”

The three nodded, and changed their course to fly towards the surge of magic they felt—Houghtow City.

◇That Morning, in a Forest near Houghtow City◇

“Ser Byleri! Hold on tight!” Sleip ran like the wind in his horse form with Byleri clinging to his back.

“Like, yeah! Totally!” Byleri grinned. The two had recently adopted the routine of going for long rides first thing in the morning. Behind them, Dalc Horst and the rest of Sleip’s elite personal guard ran after them. Sleip was two orders of magnitude older than the other horses, but it seemed like they were only barely keeping up.

Dalc Horst watched Sleip run happily. He’s so much more lively than when he was stuck in that outpost on the Dark One Yuigarde’s orders, he thought. We owe so much to Lady Byleri...

Sleip had been so much happier since moving in with Byleri that it was almost unreal. It was like the pluck and vigor of his youth had returned to him. His powerful legs were no match for the rest of them.

“Today, let us make for the canyon,” he said. “What say you, Ser Byleri?”

“Okay!” she said. “Like, I’ll go anywhere with you!”

“Wait,” said one of the demon horses running behind Dalc Horst. “All the way to the canyon?!”

“Th-That’s a bit much for a morning run!” said another.

Dalc Horst looked back at the pair. “Quit your bellyaching!” he said. “Look at how fired up our old Lord Sleip is! Do you wanna fall behind him?”

“I-I suppose not...”

“Now that you mention it...” They nodded, resolved to try to keep up.

The herd flew on through the forest, when Sleip let out a surprised noise. A masculine figure was blocking the path. Sleip came to a stop a safe distance away. Dalc Horst and the rest fanned out. Sleip had not given them any orders, but each one of them understood perfectly well what to do. They moved in formation to surround them.

“Indeed,” the figure said. “I thought I sensed some beings with respectable magic power, and decided to come bother you for a while. It seemed like it might be entertaining.” They paid no heed to the demon horses surrounding them, and stepped towards Sleip. “I am Speelion, the djinn who has mastered the speed of the Dark World. A djinn in service to General Valentine of the Twelve Evil Generals.”

A djinn from the Dark World! Sleip started to sweat, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Speelion. And the Twelve Evil Generals are the direct subordinates of the goddess Sterner, Mistress of Evil! What would her cat’s-paws be doing in a place like this?!

He responded curtly. “Sleip.”

“Oh, Sleip, is it? Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that the name of one of the Infernal Four of this world’s Dark Army? Then that would make you...” Their pale-white, narrow face broke into a grin.

Sleip turned only his upper body back into a human, taking a centaur form. This is bad, he thought. Other than Dalc Horst, the rest lack experience. And... He turned to look at Byleri, who was sitting on his back.

She was shaking. “Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Who is this person?!” she stammered. “I’m, like, kinda totally freaked out...”

I cannot fight with Ser Byleri on my back... Cold sweat ran down Sleip’s brow.

“Indeed,” Speelion said. “That young lady riding on your back doesn’t seem to have much in the way of magic. I have no use for her. But if she goes and tells someone about me, it might cause us difficulties later. I believe I will kill her here.” They tossed off the vestments they’d been wearing and lowered their unnaturally slender body down on all fours. “Oh, what now?” they mocked, noticing Byleri’s apprehension. “I’ll send Sleip after you soon, so you won’t be lonely. Although you might not recognize him once I’ve wrung out all of his magic!”

Sleip stared at Speelion. Absolutely shameless, he thought. And then he shouted out in a loud voice, “Retreat! Return to the pasture! Lord Flio must be told of this!” He grabbed Byleri and tossed her behind him to Dalc Horst. “Dalc Horst! I leave Ser Byleri in your care.”

“Fweh?!” Byleri exclaimed. “S-Sleip!” She reached out towards him as she sailed through the air.

Dalc Horst caught her in his mouth and tossed her onto his back. “Retreat!” he echoed. “Lord Sleip’s orders! To the pasture!”

“Yes, sir!” the demon horses answered as one, and turned to run full speed in the opposite direction.

Dalc Horst took the rear of the herd. Byleri, who was riding on his back, stretched out as far as her arms would go, reaching for Sleip. “Nooo!” she cried, pulling at Dalc Horst’s mane. “Like, go back! Don’t leave Sleip on his own!”

“Ow, ow, ow! L-Lady Byleri! Stop! That hurts!”

“Like, I won’t until you turn back!” She pulled harder.

“W-We have to return to the pasture first! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” The two kept arguing as they sped into the distance.

“Indeed,” Speelion said. “Did you think I would politely allow those horses to get away?”

“Of course not,” Sleip snapped. He charged at the djinn. “But I won’t give you the chance!”

But Speelion kicked off the ground, moving much faster than Sleip. In a second, they were upon him, aiming a kick at his back. “Indeed, who would have thought that Sir Sleip of the Dark Army’s Infernal Four would be this slow!”

“Ngh!” For a moment it looked like Sleip was about to collapse, but he dug his hooves in and held firm.

“Oh? That wasn’t enough to finish you, I see. Well, then...” Speelion raised their right hand.

“F-Fweh!” Suddenly, Byleri was in Speelion’s grip! They held her up, hand closing around her throat.

“What?! S-Ser Byleri was ahead with Dalc Horst!” Sleip’s eyes looked fearful.

“Indeed,” said Speelion. “Did you think they were fast enough to escape me? While I was attacking you, I also took the opportunity to chase after them and bring back the young lady.” Speelion held Byleri up higher, above their own head.

“F-Fweh... S-Sleip...” Byleri managed, screwing up her face. “Run! I’ll, like, totally handle this!” She grabbed hold of Speelion’s arm, and bit down on it as hard as she could.

“What?!” shouted Speelion. “What are you trying to do, girl?! O-Ow! Ow, ow, ow!” Speelion hadn’t been expecting Byleri to fight back, and was completely caught off guard by her bite. It hurt like hell. “I underestimated you! But no more! Die!” Their fingers dug harder into Byleri’s throat.

“Ghh...” she moaned and writhed in pain, but Byleri still had fight in her. She swung her leg and kicked Speelion hard in the face.

“Kn-Know your place, girl!” Speelion said, flexing their arm even harder to crush her windpipe.

But the next instant, Byleri was gone.

“Wh-What?!” Speelion cried. They looked around, only to find Flio standing next to Sleip.

“I thought I felt some kind of weird magic,” he said. “And who would you be?” Byleri had already been healed. Flio returned her to Sleip.

“Oh! Ser Byleri!”

“Sleip! Like, I’m so glad you’re alive!” She jumped into his arms and hugged him tight, crying tears of joy.

Flio smiled at the couple before turning his attention back to Speelion.

Speelion stared back at the newcomer. “Indeed,” they said. “I couldn’t sense your presence before you arrived. You took back the girl, and you show no fear of me. Who are you?”

“I’m Flio, proprietor of the Fli-o’-Rys General Store.”

“Proprietor of a...general store?” Speelion laughed sardonically. “You jest. Do not take me lightly! I am Speelion, the djinn who has mastered the speed of the Dark World! Now, regret your foolishness in death!”

Speelion kicked off the ground and vanished faster than Sleip could see. But as they ran at superhuman speeds through the forest, a look of shock came to their face. “I-Impossible!” Flio was running after them, matching their speed exactly. “N-No! Even in the Dark World, I am the only one who can achieve such speeds!” For the first time that day, Speelion started to sweat.

“T-Take this!” they shouted. A swarm of magic knives appeared around them and flew impossibly fast at Flio.

Flio reached out to dispel Speelion’s magic with his own, but nothing happened. “Huh?” he said as the knives slashed at his body.

Speelion chuckled and stopped running, facing Flio from a short distance away. “You’re pretty fast,” they said, “but it seems you know nothing of the magic of the Dark World.”

“The magic of the Dark World?”

“Indeed. You tried to dispel my Dark Blades, but could not.” They grinned. “Which means the magic of the Dark World will work!” As they spoke, an even greater number of knives appeared. Once again, Flio extended his arm to stop them. “Ha ha ha! Don’t bother! The magic of this world cannot harm me. Now stop struggling and—” Clink! A sound like breaking glass rang out from behind them.

“Huh?” Speelion said, a worried look crossing their face. Clink! Clink! Clink! They whipped around. The knives they had conjured were vanishing one by one. “N-No...” Their eyes went wide. Before they knew it, they had no weapons left.

“I guess getting hit by your attack made it so I can use the magic of the Dark World,” Flio said as he looked over his status window.

The blessing of the gods, Transcendence, which had activated when Flio hit Level 2, not only boosted his abilities to ridiculous levels but also gave him every magic spell and skill that existed in this world. Among them was the ultimate spell, Epiphany. If he was ever struck by a spell he did not know even a single time, he could use Epiphany to instantly learn every spell of its type. Only one person before him in the history of Klyrode had ever mastered this spell.

Flio himself didn’t know about this spell. He had no idea why he could suddenly use the Dark World’s magic.

“So the magic of this world can’t harm you,” he said. “Does that mean that the magic of the Dark World can?” He pointed at Speelion, and a vast quantity of threads appeared.

“Th-That’s the Dark Spell, Iron Web! How could a human—” Speelion’s eyes went wide. They were shaking. They ran as fast as they could, trying to get away, but Flio’s Iron Web was faster, and Speelion was caught. They couldn’t even get a word in edgewise before becoming completely enveloped.

Sleip was stunned. “Well...” he said. “I knew you were extraordinary, Lord Flio, but I had no idea...”

Flio turned around to face the lichsteed. “Oh, no, no,” he said, giving his usual easygoing smile. “All I am is the proprietor of a general store!”

◇In the Sky, near Flio’s House◇

A feminine figure wearing black vestments floated in the sky, their long hair fluttering in the wind—Maglion, the djinn who had mastered the magic of the Dark World. Before them was Hiya, the djinn who commands the origin of light and darkness. Hiya’s beautiful body was adorned with nothing but a white cloth wrapping. A circular halo shone behind their head.

“You are a djinn of this world, are you not?” asked Maglion.

“And you, I take it, are a djinn of the Dark World,” Hiya responded.

The two went silent, and for a while seemed to do nothing but stare each other down as the wind tossed around their hair and clothing.

“I would prefer to avoid a fruitless battle with a fellow djinn,” Maglion said. “So I have a proposition. Would you hand over the two humans inside the house?”

“Hm,” Hiya replied. “And you would take them away without harming us further.”

“I knew you would understand,” Maglion said. “Dealings with a fellow djinn are so nice.”

“Yes, I understand you,” said Hiya, “but I refuse.” Their narrowed eyes didn’t shift in the slightest.

Maglion glared at their adversary. “Oh?” they said. “And here I thought we could come to an agreement. Perhaps you do not understand your situation.” They sighed and shook their head, tossing off their outer vestments. Underneath, their outfit was styled with a black and purple pattern. They looked every bit the priest of a dark god. “I am Maglion,” they said. “Loyal servant of General Valentine, one of the Twelve Evil Generals. I am the greatest magic user in the Dark World.”

Maglion pointed at Hiya. “I perceive that you have command of this world’s origin of light and darkness,” they said. “However, a djinn of a mid-level world like this one cannot hope to defeat a djinn of a high-level world.”

“We shall see,” said Hiya. Once again, the two fell silent and returned to staring each other down. But this time they were doing more than taking the other’s measure. To someone watching, it might seem like they were doing nothing, but in fact the two were engaged in an intense magical exchange.

One djinn would cast a spell, and the other would use their own magic to dispel it before casting a spell of their own, which would then be itself countered. The two were casting tens, hundreds, even thousands of spells a second as they faced down.

Minutes passed.

“My, my,” said Maglion. “I thought you were nothing more than a mid-level world djinn, but you’re quite good, aren’t you? I suppose none but a djinn could handle magic as you do.”

“‘You honor me,’” said Hiya, “is what I would like to say. However, you are holding back, are you not?”

“Oh? Whatever makes you say that?”

“You have restricted yourself to only using the magic of this world,” Hiya said, cool and matter-of-fact. “Not once have you drawn upon the Dark World’s magic.”

“So you noticed,” Maglion muttered bitterly, lowering their gaze. “So much for my plan to trick you into thinking we were evenly matched. I was going to let you get confident and then strike you down. Tch.” They looked back up at Hiya. “Well, what a pity. I’d love to obliterate you with the magic of the Dark World...but my master General Valentine desires more magic power. Yes, I shall wrap you in a bundle and take you with me. And then I shall do the same to the people in that house. Although, with the spell Iron Web, there’s no guarantee any of you will make it back alive.”

Maglion grinned fiendishly and raised their right arm skyward. And then, noticing something, they stopped. “Well, well,” they said, an expression of undisguised contempt coming over their face. “What were you thinking? You...incorporated the psyche of the Grand Magus of Midnight into your mindscape?” They shook their head, giving Hiya a look of pure condescension. “Unbelievable. The trash of the magic world. An actual pile of garbage. And you took her into yourself? What is wrong with you, mid-level world djinn?”

Maglion extended their arm outward. “I suppose I’ll have to annihilate the Grand Magus of Midnight first. If I presented something like that to my master, she might have me killed.” They began to chant.

Hiya took a step forward. “I have a proposition of my own,” they said. “I will let you see for yourself the technique I’ve developed alongside the Grand Magus of Midnight, whom you hold in such contempt.”

“The technique you developed with the Grand Magus of Midnight?”

“Just so. If you can withstand it, I will do whatever you wish. So I swear.”

“Oh? I see...” Maglion nodded. They were intrigued. “I may not have been using the magic of the Dark World,” they said, “but you did match me spell for spell. I suppose I am just a tiny bit interested. Very well. I’ll take you up on your offer. Although, no matter what sort of spell you cast, I assure you that it will not work on me.” Maglion lowered their hand.

Hiya took a step forward. And then another step.

This djinn... Maglion thought. Hiya, I believe... What are they doing? Are they going to cast their spell at close range? Do they really believe that such low-level magic will work on me? Maglion regarded the djinn with an expression of feigned calm, but they were watching Hiya’s movements carefully, not letting their guard down for a second. Just in case this spell would actually do something, they wanted to be ready to counter it immediately.

Hiya stepped closer. They were moving casually, not casting any magic. And then, they whispered a spell.

Here it comes! Maglion thought. They readied themself. And then, behind them, a wall of stone appeared. “Huh? A wall?” Maglion wasn’t sure what they had been expecting, but it wasn’t that. They were stunned. And then—

Thud!

Hiya’s arm reached past Maglion, impacting the wall and pressing Maglion against it with their own body. “They hit...the wall?” Maglion said to themself, baffled.

They looked from their hand back to Hiya. Their faces were close. “Huh? What?” Maglion was starting to panic.

And then, Hiya kissed them.

Asfdgsh!!*~%khfdn!!?

Maglion had no idea what was happening. Their eyes went wide, and their limbs flailed helplessly.

Yes... Hiya thought. Djinn know nothing of lovemaking, just as I once did not. Hiya entwined their tongue with Maglion’s, tasting the djinn’s saliva. Strange, unknown sensations overwhelmed Maglion’s body—the fruits of Hiya and Damalynas’s unfailing dedication to their training.

Maglion, their face bright red, tried their hardest to disentangle themselves from Hiya, but they couldn’t resist the waves of pleasure flooding their senses with every movement of Hiya’s skillful tongue. They couldn’t cast their magic. They could hardly even move.

And then, Hiya pulled away.

“P-Pwahh...” Maglion stared upward, blushing, their mouth opening and closing like they were gasping for breath. Hiya wrapped their arms around them and pulled them in.

“There’s more,” Hiya said. “We’ve only just started.” And they drew in for a second kiss.

Hours later, Maglion lay in Hiya’s embrace, utterly spent. Their face was still flushed crimson and their eyes were out of focus. “I...” they began, their voice trancelike and faraway, “I’ve never...”

“Now you have seen the techniques I developed with your hated Grand Magus of Midnight,” Hiya said. “What do you make of them?”

“That... That was incredible...” Maglion sleepily gazed up at Hiya. “I... I don’t think I can live without you any longer...”

“In which case,” Hiya said, smiling down at them, “will you join us in our training?”

Maglion’s face lit up at those words. Hiya took Maglion in their arms, and the two vanished. Their destination, of course, was Hiya’s mindscape.

◇Meanwhile, in a Hallway in Flio’s House◇

“Mama? What’s Mx. Hiya doing in the sky?”

“Are they fighting?”

Elinàsze and Garyl clamored in front of the window, but their mother Rys was blocking their view, preventing them from seeing what was happening. “W-Well!” she said. “You see... I suppose you could say they fought, or something like that. I’m afraid you’re a little too young to be watching this...” She forced a smile on her face as she did her absolute best to hide the entire window from view.

“They did?” Elinàsze asked. “I don’t really get it, but I wanna see...”

“Me too!” said Garyl. “I wanna see how Mx. Hiya fights!”

That Hiya! Rys thought as the children tried their best to see the view she was blocking. Doing something like that in the middle of the sky... It’s too early for the children to be learning about those sorts of things!

◇Blossom’s Farm◇

In front of Flio’s house was the pasture run by Byleri. And across from that, spreading out as far as the eye could see, was a vast swath of farmland. This was Blossom’s farm. It had once been a small vegetable garden behind the house, but Blossom had worked and worked until it had grown to be more than twice as large as Byleri’s pasture.

“Sorry to make you help with the farmwork, Mister Ghozal,” Blossom said.

“Don’t worry about it!” said Ghozal, laughing. “I’m always glad to help!” He was carrying two baskets of freshly harvested vegetables on his shoulders down to the road where the cart was waiting.

The goblins Hokh’hokton and Maunty watched him work, their bodies shaking violently. “M-M-My good Maunty,” Hokh’hokton said, “do you suppose it’s all right for the former Dark One to carry the vegetables we harvested?”

“I-I-I-I don’t... I don’t know...” said Maunty. “I don’t know what to do...”

Maunty and Hokh’hokton had once been in the Dark Army, back when Gholl had been Dark One. Back then, they would not have been permitted to so much as look upon him. Yet here he was, smiling cheerfully as he carried baskets of vegetables.

The two shook as they worked, but they still kept filling basket after basket. “I-I-I suppose if he’s carrying them...”

“Y-Y-Yes... We need to keep filling the baskets. No question.”

Wholly ignorant of the goblins’ trepid conversation, Ghozal kept on carrying the baskets with a smile on his face.

“Sir Ghozal! This way!” Balirossa and Sybe were waiting at the cart, filling it up with the great big baskets. Ghozal’s grin grew bigger when he saw them.

Hrm... Ghozal thought. Balirossa is beautiful even when she’s doing farm work.

Just as Ghozal thought that, something enormous appeared behind her. “Wh-What?” Balirossa said, looking up nervously as the thing’s shadow fell over her. “What is that?”

It was a heavily muscular figure wearing a black vestment. “Yes...” they said. “Woman. You will be the first offering to General Valentine. Be grateful for the honor.”

“Eeeek!” Balirossa screamed. Shielding her head, she dropped to a low crouch in fear. The djinn bellowed and swung their fist...but the impact never came.

Slowly, Balirossa looked up. Ghozal was in front of her. He had covered her with his body and taken the attack straight to his back. “Ser Balirossa,” he said, “are you hurt?”

“Blocked?” said the mysterious attacker. “Well, no matter. You seem like you have plenty of magic power, yourself. I’ll take you down instead and offer you to General Valentine!” They raised their arm again, preparing to strike.

“Hrm...” Ghozal said. “You keep bringing up this General Valentine. That wouldn’t be Valentine of the Dark World’s Twelve Evil Generals, would it?” He gave Balirossa a shove back in the direction of the farm.

“S-Sir Ghozal!” she said, looking at him with worry in her eyes. He gave her a confident smile over his shoulder.

“Oh?” the djinn said, seemingly impressed. “You know of General Valentine? I am Powlion, the djinn who has mastered the power of the Dark World, loyal servant of the general.”

Ghozal cocked his head. “Strange,” he said. “I severed our ties to the Realm of Evil. Did Yuigarde reestablish contact?”

“Who knows?” Powlion said. “I think Maglion and Speelion said something to that effect, but I don’t care about stuff like that. I’m just here to capture people with magic power and bring them back to General Valentine!” They thumped their fists on their chest like a drum.

“Hrm,” said Ghozal. “Fine. I’ll just beat the living daylights out of you, then.” He cracked his knuckles.

The two glared at each other, faces practically touching, and then...

“Graaah!”

“Haaaah!”

The two swung their fists at once.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was an incredible sight. Ghozal and Powlion swung their fists for all they were worth. Neither using any magic, they slugged each other with nothing more than pure strength. Powlion was far and away the stronger one, but Ghozal was holding his own, not giving an inch. He took the djinn’s punches full on the body, countering with strikes of his own.

“Y-You! For a human, you’re not bad.” Powlion’s shoulders heaved for breath as they looked at Ghozal.

“Hrm. For a djinn, you’re nothing special.” Ghozal stood up tall.

“Well then,” said Powlion. “Out of respect for your strength, I will face you in this form!” They began to focus their power into their body. “Gwoooooooh!” With a shout, their skin changed color to become red. Their body grew larger and larger, bursting through their vestments and ripping them to shreds. Before long, they were nearly ten times the size they had been before.

“Gwah ha ha ha ha!” Powlion laughed. “Are you surprised, human? This is my true form!” They swung their arms in a great circle. The movement produced so much force that it made the crops in the farm wave as if in a breeze.

“S-Sir Ghozal!” Balirossa watched Ghozal from behind in the field. All she could do was pray.

“Now!” said Powlion, “I’ll finish it with this! I hate to use this attack against a human, but I’ll kill you and take your corpse to General Valentine so that she can suck out all of your magic!”

“Hold on,” said Ghozal, holding up his hand. “Just one thing.”

“Mm? What is it, human? Are you going to beg for your life?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If I didn’t think I could beat you, I would run away. But...” Ghozal folded his arms and looked up at Powlion. “You keep calling me a human. Do you really think a human would have this much power?”

Powlion gave the matter some thought, and then nodded their head. “Well, now that you mention it...”

“I’m relieved to see you can understand that much at least,” Ghozal said. “Well. Anyway. I’m not a human.”

“Yes... Then, what are you? A demon?”

“Good,” Ghozal said. “You’re half right. But I would hate to end this without you knowing who defeated you.” Ghozal gathered his own power and grew giant himself, his skin patterned black and blue. He had transformed into a demon. “Hrm...” he said. “It’s been a while.” This was the form he had taken as the Dark One Gholl.

Ghozal looked over his body to make sure nothing was out of place. There was no sign of the damage he had taken in the exchange of blows earlier.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Powlion said, sighing dramatically. “I was wondering how big you were going to get, but you’re not even a third my size! What a disappointment!”

“Incredible,” Ghozal said, exasperated. “You actually are a big enough idiot to think size is the same as power. Well, come on. Try hitting me.” He gestured with his fingers, beckoning Powlion to attack.

“Yooooou!” Powlion bellowed, their body growing redder by the second. “Are you making fun of me?!” Furious, they brought up both arms above their head, fists clenched tight together, and brought them down on Ghozal.

Ghozal held up his right index finger.

When Powlion’s arms impacted Ghozal’s finger, there was a terrible noise. A whirlwind of smoke rose up, tossing around huge boulders. When it cleared, Ghozal was standing there perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Ah... Ah... AAAAAH!” Powlion’s eyes widened in shock as they stared at their arms—what was left of them, that is. They had been broken off past the elbows. The boulders that had gone flying in the whirlwind earlier—those had been the broken fragments of Powlion’s arms. Ghozal had splintered them with only one finger.

Powlion froze up, unable to do anything but stare.

Ghozal cracked his knuckles again. “I didn’t introduce myself, did I?” he said. “I’m Ghozal, freeloader at Flio’s house. But I used to be known as the Dark One Gholl!” He struck Powlion with a swift uppercut, sending them flying, their body disintegrating from the jaw as they sailed through the air.

“I-I lost to a freeloadeeer!” Powlion wailed in the moments before their body was completely shattered.

Ghozal folded his arms again as he looked over Powlion’s scattered boulder-like remains. “Dang it,” he said. “Maybe I should have led by saying I was the Dark One Gholl. That djinn went out thinking I was just some freeloader...” He sighed and turned back into his human form.

Balirossa jumped into his arms. “Sir Ghozal! Thank goodness... I’m so happy you’re safe...”

Ghozal held her tight. “Hrm...” he said. “I’m glad you were worried about me, but I’m not about to be defeated by some random djinn.”

“I know, I know...” Balirossa cried as she nodded her head.

Suddenly, Ghozal could hear Flio’s voice in his head. “Mister Ghozal, is everything okay?”

“Hrm? Mister Flio?”

“I thought I sensed a djinn near you...”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just took care of it.”

“I see. Actually, I had a run-in with a djinn myself just a little while ago.”

“You did?”

“I did,” Flio said. “I think we should compare notes about these djinn. Can we meet in the living room?”

“Understood. I’ll teleport right there.” Still holding Balirossa, Ghozal cast Teleportation and vanished from the spot.

◇Flio’s Living Room◇

Ghozal and Balirossa appeared in Flio’s living room to find Rys, Sleip, Byleri, Hiya, Damalynas, Uliminas, Dalc Horst, and Flio himself waiting for them. “Hrm,” Ghozal said. “Sorry for the wait.” He grinned affably at the crowd, but Flio and the rest stood stiff, staring at the two of them with curious expressions. “Hrm? What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

Uliminas shot up from her chair and walked over to where the pair were standing, her shoulders rising and falling, a folded paper fan clasped tight in her hand. “So,” she said. “Ghozal? Balirossa?”

“Hrm.”

“Yes?”

“Meowt exactly were mew two doing in that state?” Uliminas pointed the tip of her paper fan towards them.

“This state?” Ghozal and Balirossa echoed. They lowered their gaze to look down at the state of their own bodies.

Ghozal was stark naked.

His clothes had been torn to shreds when he’d transformed into his Dark One form. After all, his demonic body was more than twice the size of his human form. It had been so long since he’d last assumed the form that Ghozal had forgotten to worry about his clothes.

Balirossa’s clothing, meanwhile, was in tatters. When Powlion was shattered, his parts came down from the sky as clumps of rock. Balirossa ran for Ghozal as fast as she could, but the rocks falling from the sky had ripped her blouse open, exposing her breasts for the world to see.

Neither of them had noticed their state of undress.

“U-Uliminas!” Ghozal protested. “You’ve got it wrong! Ser Balirossa and I have never done anything like that!”

“R-R-Right!” said Balirossa. “Just so, Sir Ghozal! I would never dream of engaging in f-fornication!” The two pleaded for all they were worth, Ghozal hastily covering up his groin and Balirossa covering her chest.

“Purrfidy! Mew liars!” Uliminas hollered, striking them both square on the head with her fan.

◇ ◇ ◇

Later on, thanks to Blossom’s timely arrival and hastily delivered testimony, Ghozal and Balirossa were cleared of wrongdoing. When they shared their accounts, Ghozal, who was well-informed about the history between the Dark Army and the Realm of Evil, explained the situation to the best of his knowledge. It was clear that they had been attacked by three djinn underlings of Valentine of the Twelve Evil Generals. But they had no clear idea why people from the Dark World—the world which Ghozal had severed ties with when he had been Dark One—were here now, or why they sought to abduct the members of Flio’s household with vast magic power.

They decided to send Greanyl and her Silent Listeners—the former spy corps of the Dark Army—to gather as much information about this event as possible. Meanwhile, Flio created a new magic item for everyone to carry with them, which he called Security Gems. If they were ever to be attacked again by enemies from the Realm of Evil, they were to cast the gem to the ground, breaking it. Upon doing so, the gem would sound the alarm, sending telepathic signals to every member of Flio’s household telling them who had broken their gem, and where.

In addition, Flio cast Concealment on Garyl and Elinàsze. They were still too young to be able to hide their magic power well. This way, hopefully, General Valentine’s minions wouldn’t notice their power and come after it.

◇Nighttime, Several Days Later◇

Flio sat on the bed, watching Garyl and Elinàsze sleep. Rys sat beside him. “We haven’t heard anything more from the Realm of Evil,” she said, smiling. “It’s all thanks to your precautions, my lord husband.”

Flio smiled back at his wife. “I just hope that’s the last we hear of them,” he said, patting his children gently on their heads.

“There’s nothing to worry about!” Rys said, striking a martial arts pose with a playful smirk. “Whether it’s the Realm of Evil or the Dark Army... I, Rys, will strike them down if they ever dare come after us!”

Flio wrapped his arms around his wife. “I’m glad you’re looking out for us,” he said, “but don’t get yourself hurt, okay?”

“Okay...” Rys said, nodding meekly.

The two embraced, and slowly brought their lips together in a sweet kiss.

◇A Mansion, High in the Mountains◇

“What in evil’s name is going ooon?!” Valentine wailed. “Riliangiu was supposed to be summoning the Grand Passage, but now I can’t even contact her. Speelion’s been silent, Maglion won’t respond, and even Powlion seems to have entirely vanished!” She flopped back on the bed in the room she was staying at in one of Zanzibar’s hidden bases—a mansion high in the mountains.

“Now what do I do? I used way too much magic summoning those three djinn...” Valentine held her hands out in front of her. The very tips of her fingers had become hazy and wavering, a symptom of magic depletion. She had lost so much magic that her physical form had started to grow unstable.

The inhabitants of the Dark World have a tremendous amount of magic power in their bodies. Usually it’s no problem for them to maintain their forms for decades at a time, but Valentine had used almost all of her body’s magic power to summon her three djinn to this world. She didn’t even have enough remaining power to return home.

“I promised, though,” she sighed. “I can’t just throw those demons to the wolves. Oh well.” She sat up and walked over to the window, opened it, and jumped out. “I’ll go find somewhere with lots of humans to devour,” she said. “If I eat two or three thousand, I might be able to recover enough of my strength.”

Valentine headed out into the forest, searching for signs of humanity.