Help! I’m probably going to murder my friends in this Isekai!

[Lop]

The first month that Donovan spent in the iron maiden he screamed.

He screamed, and prayed, and begged, and cried, and passed out and regained consciousness, and tried to use the time-pass ability. But he found his HUD was no longer working, nor could he really concentrate from the pain.

The second month Donovan spent in the iron maiden he screamed and prayed and begged and cried and passed out and regained consciousness and tried to use the time pass-ability even without his HUD. The third month Donovan spent in the iron maiden he screamed and prayed and begged and cried and still tried to use his time pass-ability, but to no avail. The fourth month he suffered and grunted because his vocal cords were shredded. He also tried to use his time-pass ability in his moments of consciousness, but it still wouldn't work. The fifth month he suffered and groaned and began praying again and promised and bargained and tried to use his time-pass ability, but still couldn't use it. The sixth month he suffered and suffered and suffered and began to form more coherent thoughts despite the pain. They were angry thoughts, as well as strategies to use the time-pass ability. The seventh month he suffered and grew more angry and bitter and tried and tried and tried to use the time-pass ability whenever he wasn't blacking out. The eight month he suffered and wondered if this was all there was to reality, if he had ever not been suffering, if there had ever not been a time when he wasn't in the iron maiden. He tried to use the time-pass ability, but still couldn't pull it off. The ninth month he suffered and it became more than a physical sensation. It became a religious experience. Donovan was losing his mind.

The tenth month, he figured out the time-pass ability.

He had once asked Ozadias back when he was first building Mordor what the time-pass spell looked like without the HUD. It was mild interest, but the spirit of wisdom had taught him. Now Donovan had successfully recreated it through the pain and agony, but he could only buy himself a single half-second of relief. The spikes impaling him denied him the strength to concentrate and go for longer durations.

The eleventh month Donovan suffered and tried to use the time-pass ability as much as possible. Ten seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. Ten seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The twelfth month Donovan suffered and still tried to use the time-pass ability as much as possible. Nine seconds of agony, one half-second of relief, nine seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The thirteenth month was eight seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The fourteenth month was seven seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The fifteenth month was six seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The sixteenth month was five seconds of agony, one-half second of relief. The seventeenth month was four seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The eighteenth month was three seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The nineteenth month was two seconds of agony, one half-second of relief. The twentieth month was one second of agony, one half-second of relief.

The twenty-first month, Donovan formed more coherent thoughts. The pain had always been a part of him. He was the pain and the pain was him. It was his god, his lover, and his most hated enemy. He was in agony for one second at a time, broken up only by the angelic half-seconds.

The twenty-second month he suffered between seconds and half-seconds. It was the same for the twenty-third. And the twenty-fourth. Twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eight.

By the twenty-ninth month Donovan could time-pass as easily as he could breath. Though he couldn't breath well, as one of his lungs was punctured by a spike and the other by two. It was only a half-second, but it meant everything. He had figured out long ago that he couldn't die in the iron maiden. He could only suffer. By the thirtieth month he had made peace with his suffering. By the thirty-first he was furious again and raged against all the gods and all the works of man.

Thirty-second month, thirty-third, thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering, and split-second time-passing.

Thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth. Pain, pain, pain, always pain, and split-second time-passing.

Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty.

What was a brain? What was a sensation? What was pain, really? A nerve is pierced, and so it sends a signal up the spine. But what does that signal mean? How does it connect the brain to what is happening elsewhere? Does it actually mean anything? Shouldn't a spike that has spent several years impaling flesh become a part of that flesh? At what point do two objects join together and become one?

Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-six, sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine (Donovan remembered the concept of humor during this month, but only briefly) seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty.

Time-passing was all the proof Donovan needed to know god existed. The pain was the world, and the time-pass was divinity. Donovan had time for these thoughts and more. He began to remember more. He began to dwell on more. What was pain, really? Just a miserable pile of secrets. And who was his tormenter?

The demon king. Oh yes, Donovan still remembered. The pain hadn't erased that.

Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one-hundred.

To some, a month can go by in the blink of an eye. But not to Donovan. A month was anywhere between twenty-seven and thirty-one days. A day was twenty-four hours. There were around fourteen-hundred minutes in twenty-four hours. And over eighty-thousand seconds. Donovan only experienced about half that thanks to the time-pass ability, but millions and millions of seconds was a long time to feel pain. Every month, over and over and over and over again. Pain pain pain pain. Truly, what is a sensation?"

One hundred one, one hundred two, one hundred three, one hundred four, one hundred five, one hundred six, one hundred seven, one hundred eight, one hundred nine, one hundred-

And then there was light.

Donovan blinked. The doors of the iron maiden were opening. Multiple hands reached and dragged him from the spikes. The young man grunted in pain. He collapsed onto a cool, stone floor. The hands turned him over. Donovan couldn't see anything. He'd been in darkness for an eternity, and the light seared his optic nerves. Liquid was poured over his body, then someone lifted his head and pressed something to his lips. Donovan drank, greedily. It was the elixir. For the first time in forever, his mind cleared.

"what," he rasped. "what's happening."

"Master," a familiar voice said.

Donovan furrowed his brow. "Tokaroaka?"

"Yes master, it's me, hurry, you must sit up."

Donovan slowly complied. His thoughts swirled as the pain lessened. His vision cleared, likely thanks to whatever was healing his body. The world slowly came into focus.

He was in a dark chamber. Two figures kneeled on either side of him. One of them had a torch. Donovan squinted. It was Tokaroaka, and his adopted daughter. "what…what is happening."

"We managed to find you, as well as where the key that you gave me went. We've bought you time, but you must hurry and flee!"

"Flee?"

"Yes master, we've secured a portal to Lysseria, but it will not last long! Please, you must get up!"

Donovan frowned, then slowly got to his feet. "How long…" he glanced behind him. The iron maiden lay embedded in stone with its doors open. The young man shivered and turned away. He found his voice again. "How long was I in there."

"Over a year," Tokaroaka said, supporting him. The sorcerer's daughter came around the other side and held up Donovan as well.

"Only…" Donovan began. He narrowed his eyes. "No, it was years. Years and years and…"

"For you I'm sure," Tokaroaka said. He and his daughter helped the young man down a dark, damp passageway. "Forgive us for not getting to you sooner. Princess Ninja's sacrifice bought us time to escape, but we were still hunted relentlessly ever since you were imprisoned."

"Princess…ninja," Donovan said. Tokaroaka's daughter held a decanter to his lips. Donovan drank it, eager to wet his sand-paper throat. He finished it off, then nodded in thanks. "What's…what's your name again?"

"Yesmella," the uhnut girl murmured.

"Thank you Yesmella,"

They reached a narrow spiral staircase. "We must hurry," Tokaroaka said, helping Donovan up the first step. "The demon king is distracted, but," he paused. Donovan was twitching. "Are…are you alright master? Do you need another healing potion?"

"No," Donovan said. "Sorry, old habit, help me up these steps." Tokaroaka and Yesmella obeyed. Up and up the staircase they went, until they reached the top. The trio emerged into a cellar lined with wine barrels. Water dripped from the ceiling onto the stone floor. They half-walked, half-staggered through puddles towards the door on the far side. Donovan grit his teeth as he collected himself. There was so much to think about. To really think about. "What…what did the key go to."

Tokaroaka and Yesmella shared a look on either side of the young man. "A monster," the sorcerer said.

They walked up the stairs and reached a large hall. Servants rushed about, as well as strange soldiers wearing elaborate, glass-like armor and wielding halberds. Tokaroaka and Yesmella paused, then put on masks. They gave a third to Donovan. "What is this," the young man said, briefly letting go of the pair to put it on. His body felt whole again, but some part of him still felt the spikes. It was like they had melded with his very soul.

"We can't be seen," Tokaroaka said. He supported Donovan again with Yesmella, and they continued on. "This way, the portal is past several more halls,"

"Wait," Donovan said. He came to a stop and closed his eyes. "Where is Kaylee."

"Master," Tokaroaka began.

"Where is she. Tell me."

Tokaroaka swallowed. Before he could reply, his daughter pointed at a different hallway. "We saw her running that way when the monster was unleashed."

Donovan nodded and opened his eyes. "Demon. Demon are you here?" There was no response at first. Then a strange liquid bubbled up at his feet. It formed a tiny, humanoid shape, though its features were still dark and murky. "Huh, thought I lost you. You sure didn't answer inside the pain box." The demon didn't respond. It only tilted its featureless head. Donovan wetted his lips and nodded ahead. "Can you lead me to Kaylee? Do you have that ability?" The demon glanced over its shoulder, then looked back up at Donovan. It nodded, then scampered away. With Tokaroaka and Yesmella's help, the young man followed.

Down the hall, up the stairs, around the corner, down another hall. There were servants everywhere, running, panicking. Soldiers rushed to and fro. Voice shouted and echoed. Deep tremors rumbled through the castle. Donovan ignored it all. His mind was coming back. He was coming back. And he remembered all the hate and regret that he had held onto in the iron maiden.

The demon stopped before an archway leading outside. Donovan could see the orange skies beyond, as well as smell the pungent and heated air. He had forgotten what it was like to smell something other than iron and blood. The demon waited at the archway and pointed outside. Donovan let go of Tokaroaka and Yesmella and popped his neck. "Wait here."

"Master…"

"Just wait," Donovan said, walking through the archway. It led to a balcony. On it were two figures, gazing out over the city. The young man couldn't help but do the same. Among the spires and buildings walked a titan. Its skin was black with red cracks, and its mouth glowed with fire. Its eyes were like two miniature suns. Donovan blinked, impressed, then turned to the figures. One was the demon lord Ravalon. The other was Kaylee. The young man coughed and took off his mask, drawing their gazes away from the awe-inspiring sight.

Kaylee's eyes grew wide. "Do…Donovan?"

Lord Ravalon's face was shocked as well. "Damn it all, not now! Quickly, put him down!"

Donovan rubbed his arm. "Demon," the liquid being sided up next to him and placed a gentle hand to his leg. The young man nodded at Lord Ravalon. "Kill him," Lord Ravalon threw out his hand. A dozen geometric shapes appeared in the air, rotating and locking into place. Before he could activate them, the demon blob was on him. The force of its tackle sent the spy-master to the ground. The demon grabbed his head, then twisted it hard to the left. Donovan heard a snap, then Lord Ravalon went limp. The young man turned to Kaylee with a weary smile. "Hey."

"What…" Kaylee said, backing away. "You…" wings sprouted from her back, and her bottom half became a long serpent tail. Two flaming scimitars appeared in each of her hands.

Donovan held up his palms. "Whoa, whoa, peace, I come in peace."

Kaylee stared at him with narrowed eyes. Geometric shapes appeared in the air around her. "What are you doing here Donovan. How did you escape?"

"I had some help," Donovan said. He held out his hand. "I'm leaving, come with me."

Kaylee stared at him a few moments longer. In the distance the titan continued to take slow, steady steps through the city, sending tremors through the ground. Kaylee's wings receded into her body, then her serpent tail shrank until it became her legs. Her scimitars fizzled out into smoke in her palms. "Donovan…I…"

"C'mon, don't say anything, don't think. Just escape with me. Enough of this," he gestured at the city and the castle. "Enough of all this bullshit. No more demons and demon kings and terrible deeds. Just take my hand and let's go."

"How…" Kaylee said, taking a step backwards. She glanced out at the city and the colossal titan. "How are you still sane? It would have been tens years for you in there…"

"More like five since I was time-passing for half of it,"

"Time-passing?"

Donovan went over to Lord Ravalon's corpse and rummaged around his robes. "Yeah," he said, retrieving a decanter of glowing liquid. "And this drug juice helps a lot," He popped the cork and drank greedily.

"Donovan…" Kaylee said. Her expression was fearful, yet her eyes brimmed with years. "You…you need to leave. Hurry. I'll…I'll cover for you as long as I can, but you need to leave. Now."

"Not without you," Donovan said, holding out his hand again. "Come on,"

"I…can't. I can't Donovan. The demon king will find us and kill us. And too much has happened. The things…I've experienced…"

"So you're damaged goods, who gives a shit? We all are. Come with me, I have a plan."

"It's not about what's been done to me!" Kaylee said, her voice tinged with raw emotion. "It's about what I've done! I can't…I can't just put all that behind me! This is where I belong! This is what I deserve!"

"Oh for fuck's sake," Donovan said. The elixir numbed the pain, but he still remembered how little patience he possessed. He strode to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm not taking no for an answer. Sorry, but nobody deserves this, not even me. And definitely not you."

"I…" Kaylee began. She noticed movement and glanced down. Donovan's demon stood next to her and rested a hand against her leg. It stared up, as if comforting her.

"I'm going to find the others," Donovan said. "All of us who came here. Melissa and Bri and Justin and Seth and especially Alyssa. Together we can figure something out!"

"N-no!" Kaylee said, trying to free herself from Donovan's grip. "I c-can't! I can't see them again! Especially not…" she closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Not Seth…"

"Kaylee…" Donovan began. "You have a choice. You can stay here and continue to hurt people, or you can leave with me and start making amends. It's not always this clear-cut."

Kaylee opened her eyes and stared at him. She was clearly experiencing painful emotion. "You…want to make amends?"

Donovan snorted. "No, I want to kill the demon king. But the others are still good people, and we can rely on them."

Kaylee continued to stare at him, then slowly turned back to the titan. "If…if we leave, we'll be hunted like animals. They'll never stop coming for us. Everyone we talk to, everyone we travel with will be in danger. And in the end it won't matter, because we cannot stop the demon king."

"Well yeah, not with you helping him. But if you come with me right now, we at least have a shot." Donovan took her other hand. "Kaylee, I know I don't deserve to ask you anything, but right now I'm begging. Come with me. Help me find everyone. Help me do one fucking good thing in my life and murder that fucking asshole prick. And if you can't do it for me…do it for who we used to be. All of us. Our friendship, our dreams, everything we love-"

Kaylee freed her hand and put a hand to Donovan's mouth. She turned away, unwilling to look at him. "Stop…I…I'm tired. I'm tired of all of it. I can't do this anymore, but I'm too scared to stop. But…if you leave, and you force me to go with you-"

"Great," Donovan said, pulling her back towards the archway. "Let's go." They started moving towards the entrance to the castle. A sound like a roaring river grew closer and closer, than a tidal wave of imp-like creatures crested over the balcony. Donovan's eyes grew wide. "Holy shit."

"Lord Ravalon's demons!" Kaylee yelled. She turned to face them as her body transformed into a winged lamia. "GO! I'll hold them off!"

"The fuck you will!" Donovan yelled, pulling her along. "Demon! Buy us some time!" The liquid being glanced at the young man, then turned back to the imps. It seemed to consider its options, but the imps surged over it towards Donovan and Kaylee. The pair winced, preparing for the impact. Instead they just heard shrieks and the sounds of tearing. The demon lords opened their eyes to see Donovan's demon spinning around like a tornado. Imp body-parts sprayed in all directions. Donovan and Kaylee were splattered with blood. The young man furrowed his brow. "Right…okay…let's go then." He pulled Kaylee through the archway and they began running.

Tokaroaka and Yesmella joined them. The four figures raced down the hall and turned the corner. Yesmella took the lead. "This way! The portal's this way!"

Kaylee hiked her dress as she ran, her expression fearful and shocked. "I just…I just don't understand. How did you not go insane in the iron maiden?"

"Oh I did," Donovan said as he ran and held her hand. "I don't even want to think about what's going to happen when the drug juice wears off. But we can worry about that later."

"You're twitching," Kaylee said, furrowing her brow with worry.

"Yeah, old habit, it's just milli-second time passes."

"You're time-passing?"

"I'm afraid if I stop I'll die."

Kaylee grew silent. They rounded another corner, then another. Yesmella led them down spiral staircases, past servants and soldiers and demons. None seemed to notice them with all the commotion in the castle. The tremors from the titan continued to travel through the halls. Suddenly they reached a stretch of corridor lined with doors. At the end was one with a bright light spilling out of it.

"There!" Tokaroaka said, pointing. "That's the portal! Belok's guarding it now!"

"Where's Princess Ninja?" Donovan said. He came to a stop and tried to catch his breath.

Yesmella grew saddened, and Tokaroaka simply glanced away. "She's…" he began. "She gave her life the day you were entombed. She was killed almost instantly, but we managed to escape the castle during the chaos."

"I see…" Donovan said. "A…real one to the end then," He heard footsteps and glanced over his shoulder. His demon ran with its stubby legs down the hall towards them. Behind it was an avalanche of demons giving chase. "Oh shit…"

"RUN!" Tokaroaka said. "Into the portal chamber!"

The four sprinted through the door. Within was a stone well filled with bright water. Belok waited next to it. The gargoyle nodded in greeting, then gestured at the well. "Hurry," he rumbled. "Get in!" Everyone stopped at the edge and peered inside. It was bottomless. Suddenly Donovan's demon whisked by their heads and swan-dived into the portal. Everyone exchanged a surprised look. Belok picked them up with his massive arms. "In! In now!" He threw them down into the pool, then jumped in after them.

Donovan felt himself sinking. Lower, and lower, and lower. He then sped up, twisting and turning. The world seemed to expand and shrink and expand again. Light enveloped him, and then…

He was staring up at a bright blue sky. Birds chirped in the distance. A gentle wind blew past. Donovan groaned and sat up. The elixir was wearing off, and he still felt strange. Like he was on the edge of a very tall cliff, and about to tumble off. He glanced around. Kaylee was next to him, and in the process of sitting up as well. Tokaroaka, Yesmella, and Belok did the same.

"We…" Kaylee began, blinking. She looked up. "We made it? They're not chasing us?"

"The portal was collapsing behind us," Belok grumbled. He got to his feet and stretched his wings. "We were expecting four to travel, not six."

"Well," Donovan said. He pressed his hands to the ground and stood. "I'm just glad we're free of that place." He stopped, then started shaking. He couldn't stop. He collapsed again as his face grew pale.

"Master!" Tokaroaka cried. "What is the matter!"

Kaylee closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "The elixir, it's wearing off. Shit."

"Ah!" Tokaroaka said, kneeling by Donovan. "I prepared for this. A mind-wiping spell. It's temporary, but he'll forget the ordeal for a bit at least."

"w-where…" Donovan said, flitting in and out of time-passes. "I feel them…the spikes…they're still…"

"Memory wipes are dangerous," Kaylee said. "Do you actually know what you're doing?"

"As I said," Tokaroaka said. "They're temporary, but we can recast it as needed." He closed his eyes and began murmuring. A geometric shape appeared above Donovan's head, then rotated and locked into place. A column of light then poured down. A moment passed, and then Donovan closed his eyes and relaxed.

Everyone waited. The young man opened his eyes and slowly sat up. "Here's the plan…"

"Wait," Kaylee said. "Are you actually alright? How much do you remember?"

"Enough," Donovan said, getting to his feet. He turned to Tokaroaka, Yesmella, and Belok. "We have to split up…"

"Master!" Tokaroaka said, alarmed.

"Five is too many, and we have a lot of ground to cover. Our goal is to find the other heroes. Belok, I trust you alone, but you'll have to keep hidden and stay on your toes. Tokaroaka and Yesmella, you two travel together and find out what you can." He turned to Kaylee. "You and me will search as well."

Kaylee put her face in her hands. "I'm…just now fully realizing what I've done…we're all going to die…"

"Not yet," Donovan said.

"Master," Belok said. "I worry about leaving-"

Donovan waved his hand over his commanders. "I'm sorry, I should have done this sooner. In fact, I should have never done it at all. You're free, all of you. You're not under my enslavement spell anymore. Do what you want, but I'd appreciate the help."

Belok, Tokaroaka, and Yesmella all stared at him. It was if they were seeing him for the first time. Belok's expression was unreadable. He expanded his wings, flapped once, and took off. Everyone watched as he soared in the air and disappeared.

"shit…" Kaylee said, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand. "There goes one…"

Donovan turned to Tokaroaka and Yesmella. "Well? Do you hate me? I wouldn't blame you if you tried to kill me."

Tokaroaka slowly sank to his knees. His daughter did the same. "I…" the sorcerer began. "I have to…there's too much to think about…this is…a strange feeling…"

"Right," Donovan said, exhaling. "Well, stay alive you guys. I'm sorry I can't give you anything else." He turned and nodded at Kaylee. "Shall we?"

"Shall we what?"

"Start looking for the others."

Kaylee exhaled. "Is that…really all there is to your plan? Blindly looking? Hoping the demon king doesn't catch us?"

"They're heroes," Donovan said. "They can't be hard to find."

"I think…" Kaylee began. "I think I should go back…I-"

"Kaylee," Donovan said, turning to her. "Please…I can't do this without you."

Her hands curled into fists as she clenched her eyes shut. "Donovan…you…are the most selfish, fucked up person I know…and you dare…"

Donovan gave her a sad smile. "Yeah…I dare. Gotta kill the demon king after all…"

"We have no money, have NO idea where we are, are CLEARLY dressed as evil villains,"

"We'll manage," Donovan said.

"I don't know the mind-wipe spell Donovan! When it wears off you'll be useless, and I'm not carrying you around!"

"I'll teach it to you," a low voice said. Donovan and Kaylee looked over at Tokaroaka. The sorcerer was leaning forward on the ground, his arms resting on his knees. "I'll teach you the spell. My final act of servitude."

Donovan slowly nodded. "Thank you Tokaroaka." He scratched at his arm, feeling slightly ashamed. "What…are you two going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Tokaroaka said, getting to his feet. He helped Yesmella up as well. "I think we'll travel for a bit. I'm sorry, I don't think we can help you though. There's…too much to think about. I feel…"

"Like a new person," Yesmella finished for him. She narrowed her eyes at Donovan, though quickly looked away.

"I understand."

Tokaroaka taught Kaylee the spell, then took his daughter and began walking down the road. Donovan watched them until they grew too small to make out. He took a deep breath, then glanced around at the countryside. It was fields of wild grass and flowers as far as the eye could see, with only the occasional tree to break it up. "Well then," he said, sniffing. "We should get going,"

"Yeah," Kaylee murmured. "I guess so."

The pair set off. They walked along the road as birds called out and the wind blew past. Both Donovan and Kaylee walked with purposeful steps, but their expressions were worn and haggard. The young man only paused when he heard a rustling in the field beside him. He paused, staring at its source. Movement sent the stalks bending, then his demon emerged. "Ah…" Donovan said, frowning. "I was wondering where you went." The demon had a mouse-like creature in one hand, a bird in the other, and two more birds in its mouth. It chewed as it stared at Donovan with murky eyes. Feathers drifted from its mouth.

"That thing…" Kaylee said. "I really can't understand it." She slowly knelt down. "Do you…have a name? Can you speak?"

The demon stopped chewing and met her gaze. It spat out both birds, then its body shifted. Suddenly, Claire was standing before them. "food!" she said.

"Shit!" Donovan said, his eyes wide.

"Holy fuck!" Kaylee said, falling back and scooting away. "Claire! It's Claire!"

The girl stared up at them, then stuffed the mouse-like creature in its mouth. "Fwoowd!" she said, chewing.

"Why is your demon Claire," Kaylee said, trying to catch her breath from the shock. "What the fuck."

"Yeah," Donovan said, scratching his hair. "I don't really get it either." He took off the robe that he'd been wearing since the demon ceremony and draped it around Claire's shoulders. "I'm not going to think too much about it right now. Let's go before the demon realm figures out we're gone."

Kaylee slowly got to her feet and brushed herself off. She glanced at Donovan, then took off a part of her dress and handed it to him. "Wrap that around your waist." She glanced fearfully at Claire, then started walking. The girl followed, continuing to munch on the mouse-creature. Donovan finished tying the garment and brought up the rear.

"So…" he began. "What do your demons look like. In fact, what's with your powers? You turned into a snake woman back there."

"I don't really want to talk about this right now Donovan."

"Sure," he said with a shrug. They continued walking in silence. The road curved and cut through the wild fields. There was no sign of anyone else, just a wide blue sky and the birds. Claire ran ahead, disappeared into a field, and reemerged with two lizards. She ate one with a single bite, then swung the other by her side as she took the lead. Donovan glanced at Kaylee. "You know I'm getting kind of a weird Berserk vibe from all this."

"Berserk," Kaylee repeated, frowning. "Really…"

"Yeah," Donovan said, gesturing at Claire. "The creepy child following us around? It's like Casca and Guts."

"And who is Guts in this situation. Me? Because it's certainly not you."

Donovan frowned. "I could be Guts. Why couldn't I be?"

Kaylee stared at him, clearly unimpressed. "Well you certainly have anger issues, but where's your giant sword and your muscles?"

"I could get both,"

"No," Kaylee said, shaking her head. "If anything you're Griffith."

"Griffith? Why don't you go ahead and just tell me to go fuck myself?"

"Go fuck yourself."

A squawking sound interrupted them. Claire had once again disappeared into the fields and reappeared with a thrashing turkey-creature. "Food!" she announced, holding it high by the neck.

Kaylee just shook her head. "Fuck, what are we doing."

"Something good for once," Donovan said. "Just trust me."

The young woman covered her eyes with her hands as she continued walking. She let out a frustrated, muffled scream. "Goddammit!"

"Kaylee…"

"You know?" she said, turning on him. "I've watched you for a long time, and I was always impressed by how you managed to destroy EVERYTHING you touched! I certainly wasn't expecting you to pull it off against the demon king, but looking back, why wouldn't you? So why…WHY did I agree to do this!"

"Because you knew deep down it was the right thing to do. I'm proud of you."

"Please shut the fuck up, I'm begging you."

An animal cart appeared on the horizon. The fields changed from wild grass and flowers to crops. Donovan and Kaylee could make out workers walking along the rows. Claire continued to run ahead of them, sometimes stopping to inspect a bug and eat it, other times trying to climb the occasional tree that lined the road.

"Good," Donovan said. "Civilization is good."

"We don't have any money Donovan."

"So we'll get some."

Kaylee glared at him. "How? Are we going to rob people?"

Donovan shrugged. "Sure, if you want to."

"I don't want to rob people! What was the point of leaving the demon realm if I'm just going to act the same!"

"Fine we'll find something else."

They neared the buildings. It was a village, with penned fences surrounding the outskirts and houses made of strange plaster and thatch. The villagers in the pens straightened up and stared as Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire passed. Others looked out from doorways and windows.

"I don't have my HUD," Donovan said. "Am I going to be able to speak with them?"

"It's fine," Kaylee said, trudging along as she held up the hem of her dress through the mud. "Your demonic powers will supplement it to a degree. You won't be able to read and write, but you can understand and speak."

Donovan came to a stop in the middle of the village and took it all in. The villagers stared back from their hiding places. "I don't really see an inn around here."

Claire got on all fours and stalked a large bug hopping along the ground. Kaylee watched her for a moment, then looked around for herself. "Inns are rare, we'll be lucky to find one outside a proper town, and we still don't know where we are." She caught sight of a woman hurrying from one house to another. "Excuse me! Miss!"

The woman froze. She trembled, then slowly turned towards Kaylee. She quickly bowed her head. "My lady,"

"My lady?" Donovan said with a frown.

"It's my clothes," Kaylee said. "They know nobility when they see it. Miss! Can you tell me where we are?"

"Eloswan my lady," the woman said, keeping her head bowed.

"Is there a town nearby?" the woman pointed up the road without raising her head. "How far?"

"Five miles my lady,"

Kaylee nodded to herself and turned in the direction the villager pointed. "C'mon, we need to find shelter before nightfall."

They set off again, leaving the village. They passed more cultivated fields. The workers glanced up and stared as they passed. Claire ran ahead of them, then behind, then in circles. "Food food food!"

"So go find some," Donovan said. "You're a little apex predator aren't you?"

Claire stopped, stared at him with narrowed eyes, then took off towards one of the fields. Kaylee simply shook her head in disbelief.

"You should be nicer to her," Kaylee said. "You're her murderer after all."

"That thing is clearly just wearing Claire's face. It's a demon, you saw."

"sure," Kaylee murmured.

They reached the town as the sun was setting. The sky was awash in pinks and purples, and the sounds of the town drifted over the walls that encircled it. A line of carts waited at the gate. Soldiers were taking their time inspecting them.

"Well…" Kaylee said. "We don't have anything to pay with, or identification."

"Can't you just fly us over?"

"I'd rather not,"

"Well I don't want to enslave anyone if I can help it."

Kaylee arched an eyebrow. "That's a first…"

"It is not. I've been struggling with my powers for a while now."

"Well do it one last time then. I don't want to be seen swooping in carrying you and…your demon," she paused, glancing around. "Where is it?"

They found the girl at the gate. She was wrapped around a merchant and gnawing on his leg. The merchant screamed and beat at her. Both Donovan and Kaylee took off, trying to catch up. "Sorry!" he called. "Sorry, she's mine," He grabbed Claire and pulled her off. She yelled and struggled, but finally let go.

"Damn my mother!" the merchant yelled. "She's a little beast!"

"Please be quiet," Donovan said. The merchant's face turned blank. Donovan let go of the struggling Claire and turned towards the guards. "Let us pass please, official business."

The guards' faces went blank as well. The merchants further down protested as Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire entered the town, but they ignored them. The other side of the gate lead to a wide street. It was lined with buildings. Shops and houses, and people as well. They milled about and talked in doorways and called out to one another. The street was muddy. Animal-drawn carts dug deep ruts through as they passed. Donovan sniffed.

"It smells like shit."

"Yeah," Kaylee said. She took Claire's hand and started walking. "Let's just find an inn and figure out how much money we'll need."

People stared at them far less than in the village, but they still stared. Donovan asked any who drew near where they might find an inn. A few gave answers, though most hurried on. "There," Donovan said, pointing at a sign hanging over a door. "This is where he said it would be, and if that sign doesn't scream inn, then I don't know anything."

They entered into a room with a low ceiling. A hearth burned on the far end, and the tables were occupied by a handful of people. They all glanced at the trio as they nursed wooden cups and bowls of food. Almost no one was talking. The only sounds were the crackling hearth, and someone yelling through a doorway. Donovan approached and leaned through it. "Excuse me, can we get some service?" He quickly backed away as a portly woman with a hard expression emerged. She wiped her hands on her apron as she appraised Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire.

"Can I help ye…"

"Yeah," Kaylee said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "How much to rent a room."

The woman frowned and narrowed her eyes. "You're a strange bunch you are." She gestured at Donovan and Claire. "They hardly wearing naught but rags! And you, are ye supposed to be a noblewoman of some kind?" the woman shook her head. "This ain't no place for the likes of ye, of that I can assure."

Kaylee gave her a polite smile. "Yes, well, we don't really have any money…"

The woman's expression grew hard. "No money, no room. Out with ye, out!" She started ushering them towards the door.

"Wait!" Kaylee said. "wait…" The woman paused, her expression distrustful. Kaylee reached for one of her earrings and undid it. "Will this do? For food and lodging?"

The woman slowly took it. She turned it over in her pudgy palm, then bit it. "Hmm, one night, one meal."

"What!" Kaylee said. "That's arudan gold! Inlaid with chantoleen sapphires!"

The woman scowled. "On night, one meal. Take it or leave and find better, I dare ye."

Kaylee closed her eyes, trying to draw strength. "Fine…fine."

"Do you know where we can get work around here?" Donovan said.

The woman turned her scowl on him. "Well, there's plenty o' soldiering work to be done, but you two don't strike me as to have a lick o' fight in you."

"We can fight," Donovan said. He glanced over as one of the patrons cried out. Claire was climbing on top of him and gripping his hair. "Hey cut that out!" The girl glared at Donovan, then slowly let herself down from the patron.

"Well then there's your answer," the woman said, gesturing. "Go sign up with the guild."

"Guild?"

"She means adventure guild," Kaylee said.

"Ain't hardly any adventurers left since they all up and died in Eo," the woman shook her head and turned back towards the kitchen door. "Terrible business that, killed by the King of Vashn and his evil armies,"

Kaylee glanced at Donovan. The young man avoided her gaze. "Thank you," she said, turning back to the woman with a smile. "Which room is ours?"

The room was small, with a double bed, a table, a single chair, and a dirty window looking out into the street. Donovan nodded at the bed. "Ah, the ol' single bed situation."

"Please be quiet for a moment," Kaylee said. She walked over to a basin on the table and splashed her face. Straightening up, she put her hands to her face in deep thought. "Okay, this might work for a while. If we become adventurers we can travel around more freely and find the others. It also takes care of our money problems, since neither of us want to use our powers."

"Right," Donovan said.

She slowly turned to him. Claire whipped past them and leapt onto the bed. She rolled around and growled, fighting with the sheets. Kaylee held Donovan's gaze. "We really don't have a lot of time. We probably won't even find everyone."

"It'll be fine," Donovan said.

"Will it?"

The young man slowly nodded. "Yeah…" he said. "Once we're all together, that bastard is going to die."

Kaylee stared at him. Her expression grew dark, then she sighed. "I'm going to go get our food. And something strong to drink."

She was out the door and slammed it shut before Donovan could reply. The young man glanced around the room again, then slowly sat down on the chair. His entire body began to shake as the mind-wipe spell slowly faded.

Downstairs, Kaylee accepted three bowls from the inn woman, desperately trying to balance them. The worker frowned. "Ahh, I'll follow you up with the drinks, ye clearly never had to balance a bowl or two in ye life!" They heard a thump upstairs, then a cry. The woman furrowed her brow. "What in the gods…"

"Shit," Kaylee said. She adjusted her grip on the bowls and rushed for the stairs. The inn woman followed. The loud sounds continued, as did the cries. Kaylee stopped at the door and tried to open it, but the woman brushed past and did it for her. They both burst into the room.

Donovan lay on the floor. He had broken the chair to pieces, and had driven all four legs through his left arm. He was reaching for the table. Claire stood next to him, watching with a blank expression. Kaylee dropped the bowls. "Donovan what the fuck!"

"What devilry is this!" the inn woman said.

Donovan was pale. He shook as he licked his lips and continued trying to grab the leg of the table. "My body…I'm missing my body…I c-can't feel the spikes…"

Kaylee rushed over to him and sat him up. "Shit shit shit!"

"What is going on!" the inn woman yelled.

"Just go!" Kaylee yelled. "I'll take care of this!"

"I should say not!" the woman declared.

"GO!" Kaylee yelled. The inn woman made a noise of indignation, then turned and left the room. She shut the door resolutely behind her. Kaylee hugged Donovan tightly as he violently shook. "Fuck," she murmured, closing her eyes tightly. "You're going to get me killed you broken asshole."

Donovan didn't respond, instead just twitching as he time-passed again and again. Claire walked over to the spilled bowls and began picking up bits of stew. She silently chewed and watched as Kaylee began the memory wipe spell.

​

 

[Lop]

Birds and the sounds of animal carts drifted in through the window. Donovan's eyes slowly flickered open. He was staring at a ceiling. The young man felt uneasy. Something bad had happened, but he didn't know what. Not fully. He could sense it waiting in the corners of his mind, but every time he tried to concentrate, it receded even further. Donovan frowned, then glanced around.

Claire slept next to him, and was chewing on his arm. He narrowed his eyes and extracted himself, rubbed the teeth marks, then slowly got up. Kaylee was nowhere to be seen. Donovan approached the basin of water on the table. He splashed his face, then turned to the window. Birds continued to sing, and the voices in the street drifted through the smudged glass. The man walked over to the window and stared down.

There was a lot of activity to take in. People moved to and fro, and the animal carts clattered among them. There were well-dressed people, the destitute, and everything in between. Donovan closed his eyes and once again tried to figure out why he felt so off. His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room opened.

"You're up," Kaylee said, entering.

"Yeah," Donovan said, turning from the window.

"I was asking around for the guild's location here. Since we don't have enough money for breakfast we should head over there as soon as you're ready."

Donovan nodded, the unease still lurking in his mind. "I'm ready."

Kaylee stared at him for a few moments, as if appraising the man. She glanced at the girl on the bed. "Is your demon ready?"

Donovan gave a slight shrug. "I don't know. I didn't even know they needed to sleep."

"They don't, not typically. Yours is…unusual."

"I would hope so," Donovan said. "I..." he frowned, struggling to remember. "I committed murder…to buff my demons, and she was all I got." He reached for Claire and dragged her off the bed by her ankle. The girl growled and protested, flailing about.

"What do you mean…" Kaylee said, a strange expression on her face.

Donovan held Claire aloft by her foot as she thrashed. "I threw the real Claire in the demon reservoir, and this is all I got in return. So she better be good."

Kaylee's features grew pale. "Donovan…tell me you're lying…"

"Nope," Donovan said, dropping Claire in a heap on the floor. The girl snarled and attacked his leg, biting it furiously.

"The demon king…spent over a year tearing the city apart looking for her body…we searched everywhere…and you're saying the reason he didn't find it is because you put her in the sacrifice pool?"

"I'm sure he was just in denial. It's not hard to figure out, she certainly did."

Kaylee closed her eyes and put a hand to her head, as if struggling to process the information. "No…I…suspected it, so did the others…we just…hoped it wasn't the case…" She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes. "Alright, I can't worry about that right now. We need to sign up for the adventurers' guild and then we need to…" she gestured at Donovan and Claire, who were wearing a loincloth and robe respectively. "get you two some actual clothing."

The trio left the room and made their way downstairs. The common room had a few patrons in it. They ate from steaming bowls of what looked like oats, as well as nursing mugs of dark liquid. The inn woman emerged from the kitchen as Donovan and the others headed for the door. She paused, staring with narrowed eyes at the man.

"Why is she looking at me like that," Donovan murmured.

"Ignore her," Kaylee said. She opened the door and led them outside.

Claire took off immediately. She laughed as she ducked under the legs of a pack animal and caused it to rear up. The cart-driver cried out as the wagon tilted dangerously. "HEY!" Donovan yelled. "Get back here!"

Claire paused in the middle of the street, looked back at him, and stuck out her tongue. "Food!" she turned with another laugh and continued on.

Kaylee shook her head. "You know normally demon lords have complete control over their demons."

Donovan just exhaled in exasperation. "Yeah well…she…it, whatever, seems to be harmless unless I need her not to be, so I'll let it act like a high-level pokemon for now."

"You better hope you're right." Kaylee said, brushing back her hair from her face. "This morning I also asked around for any news of our friends, by the way."

"And?"

Kaylee shook her head. "Just rumors, all of them conflicting…"

"Well there are six of them…and we already know where Bri is. That magical catgirl kingdom, Caldy Bauble or whatever."

"Hm," Kaylee said. "If we don't hear anything solid, I suppose we'll have to start there."

The pair got passing glances as they made their way up the street. Morning sunlight streamed through the tight spaces between the houses and shops, causing a light mist to rise from the muddy ground. Kaylee led the way. Donovan occupied himself with studying the townspeople. They were a mix of human and upright, clothed animals (of which their species he had never seen before) as well as what he could only describe as mermaids but with legs. It was strange to be in the town. He had spent most his time in Lysseria in luxury. Now, he was among the commoners, in a world he had never bothered to learn about.

Kaylee shifted directions and approached a building ringed by a gate and a stone wall. Two armored figures, a bear-like creature and a human, stood guard on either side with spears. "We're here to sign up to be adventurers," the young woman said, resting a hand on her hip.

The two guards shared a look. The bear person snorted. "Families don't make good mercenaries. Take your kid and leave."

Donovan and Kaylee both looked down to see Claire standing between them. The girl held onto Kaylee's dress with one hand, and chewed on some sort of small creature with the other. "She's not our kid," Kaylee said. She gestured between herself and Donovan. "We're not together."

"That's not any better," the human guard said. "She's clearly attached to you. She gonna follow you around from battlefield to battlefield? Won't turn out well, you can quote me on that."

Kaylee glanced at Donovan. "You want to just get us through?"

"I'd rather not, using my powers isn't as fun as it used to be."

"Well I'm losing patience,"

Donovan pinched the bridge of his nose as he weighed his options. It only took a moment for him to give up and wave his hand. "Fine. Let us through."

The guards' faces went blank. They both stepped to the side. Kaylee moved past with Claire in tow. Donovan brought up the rear, the feeling of unease growing within him.

"Can I help you?" a clerk said. They were a squirrel creature sitting at a writing desk near the window. Donovan took in the interior of the guild. It looked more like an old-timey lawyers office than anything, the kind with workers named Bob Cratchit.

"Yeah we want to be adventurers," the young man said, turning to the clerk. "What does that entail?"

The clerk frowned, then set his quill in a holder and took of his brass spectacles. "Quite a lot actually. There's the pledge fee, which some consider steep, rules to go over, papers to sign-"

"How much is the fee," Kaylee said.

"Three qualms…if the three of you are intent on joining,"

Kaylee sighed, then undid her other gold earring. "Will this cover it?" she said, holding it out.

The clerk arched an eyebrow. "Miss this is not a pawnery. I cannot just accept your articles of clothing as payment, however expensive they may be."

"Fine," Kaylee said. "We'll be back."

The trio left and found a pawn shop, then visited what they assumed was a clothing store. "What do you mean you don't have outfits ready!" Donovan said, gesturing.

The woman gave him a polite smile, then glanced at Claire, who was busy violently shaking a wooden mannequin in the window display. "This is a tailor store sir, all our clothing is ordered ahead of time."

"Fine, give us something in our size then that someone else ordered,"

The woman's face went blank, then she turned and went in back. Kaylee occupied herself by the shelving against the wall. She ran her fingers along a piece of fabric and studied its design. "This is beautiful," she murmured.

"Still," Donovan said with a scowl. "Would be nice if this world figured out globalized sweat-shop economics. We should be able to just go into a store and pick something cheap out."

Kaylee shot him a look over her shoulder that showed she was not impressed, then went back to studying the fabric. A thump near the window signaled the wooden mannequin had fallen on Claire. The woman emerged from the back with three outfits. "Here you are sir, they're all we have that may fit you, as I haven't taken your measurements."

"Good enough," Donovan said, snatching a robe from her.

Back at the adventurers' guild, the clerk accepted their money and took out a stack of papers. The trio all waited in their new clothing. Donovan wore dark, priestly garments, Kaylee wore a muted dress and jacket with finely stitched designs, and Claire wore an over-sized cloak. The girl did slow spins around the room, waving her lengthy sleeves and trying to peer out through the hood.

Donovan watched as the squirrel began scribbling on one of the parchments. "So do we take a test now to gauge our powers or do we do that later?"

The clerk furrowed his brow and glanced up over his spectacles. "Whatever are you talking about? There's no such thing here."

"Then how do you know what rank we are?"

"You start at copper rank," the clerk said, resuming his writing. "If you survive long enough and pay the advancement fee, then you rise to silver and so on."

"What jobs are available?" Kaylee said.

The clerk finished writing and handed the quill and parchment to Donovan. "Sign here," he turned to Kaylee. "There's quite a bit of work to be done, and very few mercenaries left to do it. Unfortunately for you, there are no companies for you to join up with in the area."

"We don't need to join a company," Donovan said. He finished his signature and passed it to Kaylee.

"I should say you do! This is dangerous work sir! You will need at minimum sixty copper-rank adventurers, and even then you would likely not return."

"We'll be fine," Kaylee said. She finished signing and caught Claire as ran past flailing her length sleeves. "Come here and sign."

"Nooooo!" Claire said, struggling in the young woman's grasp. "Fooood! Fooooood!"

"Later," Kayle said, putting the quill in the girl's hand. "Sign if you know how," In response, Claire began scribbling all over the parchment. Kaylee rolled her eyes and took it away.

"Give us your highest paying job," Donovan said.

The clerk's face went blank, then he slowly reached into his writing desk and retrieved a weathered parchment. "The town of Osleffe has been taken over by bandit knights. Eighty qualm reward."

"How far away is that." Kaylee said, accepting the parchment.

"Two day's ride."

Donovan and Kaylee shared a look. "Well?" the young man said.

"Eighty qualm is a lot," Kaylee said. She rolled up the parchment and tucked it in her dress. "We can coast on it for a while and search for the others."

The bell above the door rang as two men and two large pig creatures entered in plate and leather armor. They were talking among themselves, then one of the pig creatures let out a throaty laugh. They quickly noticed the trio and stared with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"The hell?" one of the men said, tilting his head to get a better look. "Did these three just sign up Bartholum?"

The clerk cleared his throat. "They did."

One of the pig creatures shook his head, his booming voice echoing around the room. "Guild's gone to shit ever since the crusade."

"Yeah," the first man said. "They'll take just about anyone now huh?"

Kaylee pointedly ignored them and headed for the door. Donovan and Claire followed. "Good luck out there," the pig man called after them, then the others laughed.

They bought a donkey creature with their remaining money, then set out from the town. Donovan and Claire rode atop the animal, while Kaylee simply adopted her lamia form and slithered next to them. All three wore copper plates around their necks signaling their affiliation with the adventurers' guild. "So when is the demon king coming after us? I thought it would be hell on earth the moment we started traveling."

"It will take time," Kaylee said. She wore a dark expression as she stared ahead at the road. Those that passed in the opposite direction hurried to get out of their way, clearly fearful of the young woman's snake-form. "You killed Lord Ravalon when you escaped, so the demon realm's spy network is likely in turmoil right now."

Donovan patted Claire on the head. She frowned and shifted away. "You know for a demon lord he was pretty easy to take down."

"He wasn't a fighter, he was in direct control of a global spy ring. You're lucky you caught him unguarded in the castle. Nobody else could have."

Donovan glanced around at the countryside. "Well…" he paused, then started trembling. Memories began to seep back into his mind. "s-shit…"

"Oh goddammit," Kaylee said. She paused and dragged him off the donkey mount, then began murmuring the mind-wiping spell.

"w-whats going on…" Donovan said, twitching as his time-passes grew more pronounced. Claire watched with a blank expression atop her mount.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Kaylee said, finishing the spell. Donovan slowly relaxed, though he still twitched in milli-second bursts. "Are you still time-passing?"

"Yeah," Donovan said, slowly getting to his feet. "Though I can't remember why. I just can't seem to stop,"

"I guess it's not a problem if you can still talk and walk, though I don't know how you managed it. Now get back on your quedped."

"Yes ma'am," Donovan murmured, climbing back up behind Claire.

What should have taken two days only took half a day, mostly due to Kaylee carrying the donkey and its riders after they had gotten out of sight of the other travelers. The young woman possessed incredible strength to be able to fly with a pack animal, as well as Donovan and Claire, though Donovan didn't comment on it. Osleff finally became visible as the sun was beginning to set.

The town was built into the side of a cliff, with a river running past in front of it. On the top was a castle, towering over everything like a dark sentinel. Bonfires and torches were already lit on the many walkways and levels of the town. Donovan could make out tiny figures moving about as Kaylee set them all down.

"So how does this work," Donovan said. "We go in, murder everyone, then collect our money? I kind of thought this would be more like a dungeon extermination."

"There are dungeons," Kaylee said, transforming back into her human form. "But you'll find a lot more jobs like this than monster slaying and dungeon exploration. Adventurer is just a loose translation for 'mercenary'."

"Sure," Donovan said, stretching. "So then I guess it's murder than money."

"Food!" Claire shouted, pointing at the town.

"You seriously need to learn more words you little gremlin."

The girl narrowed her eyes at Donovan. "Fuack you."

Kaylee let out a laugh, then patted Claire as she passed. "Good job little one, you're learning."

The trio approached the town from the other side of the river. A stone bridge led across. It was guarded by a group of warriors wearing combination plate armor and wielding halberds, warhammers, and crossbows. Lanterns hung from poles along the bridge, keeping the evening shadows at bay. The warriors noticed Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire, and began to rouse themselves with murmurs and laughter.

"Alright demon," Donovan said. "You're up." Claire stared at the young man, then shifted slightly behind Kaylee. Donovan frowned. "What are you waiting for, go slaughter them." The girl shook her head as she clutched Kaylee's dress. "The fuck? You killed demons no problem, but now you're shy?" he gestured at the waiting warriors. "Those are murderers and rapists, tear them apart."

Claire simply hid behind Kaylee. "don't wanna…"

"For fuck's sake," Donovan said, putting a hand to his eyes. "Alright Kaylee, you're up I guess. Go unleash your demons on this town."

"Absolutely not," Kaylee said. "We're trying to be discreet, remember? My demons will let every agent of the demon realm in a thousand leagues know we're here."

"So what, I have to take care of this?"

A flaming scimitar materialized in Kaylee's hand. "Or I will. What are you hesitating for? You just called them murderers and rapists."

"Well I don't actually know if they are, I'm just assuming since they were called bandit knights and historically terrible things happened in situations like this. But fuck if my demon is getting cold feet then maybe she knows something I don't…"

"Then what, they're saints? I don't mind if you develop a conscience but this really isn't the time."

Donovan scratched at his neck. "Yeah…you're right, I'll take care of this." He approached the bridge and waved. "Hey guys, you mind jumping in the river and drowning yourselves?" The knights froze. They slowly turned towards the stone ledge and took unsteady steps towards it. Donovan tapped his foot as they climbed up on the stone railing in a line, then toppled over like synchronized divers. Once the bridge was clear, the trio headed for the town.

Around ten knights stood guard. They sat on barrels or the ground, talking and gesturing at each other with animal-skin tankards. They quickly stood and gathered their weapons as Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire approached.

"Hey," Donovan said. "We're from the guild, and we've been told to throw you out of this town."

The knights stared at them. Donovan arched an eyebrow impatiently, Claire had her entire hand in her mouth, and Kaylee simply gave them a polite smile. One of the warriors glanced at the others with a smile, then turned back. "You three are…copper adventures…and one of you is a little girl."

"Yeah no easy mistake she's actually a demon wearing a girl's skin."

The knights looked at each other again. Their grins grew. "Oh yeah? That right?"

"Yeah," Kaylee said, turning into her lamia form. The knights paused, their expressions stunned. That young woman's scimitars appeared in her hands. "That's right." She coiled up, then exploded at them. It only took a few moments for her to cut them all down.

They entered the gate and began working their way up. There were several streets that zig-zagged up the cliff-face, and a network of walkways. The sun dipped below the horizon, casting everything in an orange glow. The townsfolk were nowhere to be seen save for a few dead bodies. But the bandit knights were everywhere. Donovan took the lead as several ranks of warriors approached. "You," he said, pointing at a knight. "Jump off the ledge." He pointed out three more. "You guys stab each other." The first knight sprinted towards the wooden railing on one side of the street and vaulted over it. The others turned on each other. The rest of the knights charged with war cries.

Kaylee's scimitars emitted jets of fire that engulfed the knights. They screamed and flailed around. Those that escaped Donovan singled out and made kill each other. Claire idly followed the pair, sometimes stopping to inspect a corpse. Up and up they went, and more knights appeared.

"God how many are there," Kaylee said. She paused and inhaled, then exhaled a silvery cloud. It wafted over the warriors and turned them to stone.

"Holy shit," Donovan said. "That's a badass power."

"Thanks I made it myself," Kaylee said, then brought up a scimitar and decapitated one of the survivors.

They reached a plaza suspended from the cliff face with giant chains. It was ringed with two-story shops, and filled with more knights. There were also two, massive monsters that resembled a cross between a wolf and an ogre. The creatures were held back by ropes. They roared and snarled, until the knights released them on the trio. The two monsters immediately fell to all fours and barreled towards them.

"Shit!" Donovan yelled. "Kill yourselves!" The monsters ignored him. One leapt and fell towards the young man. Donovan closed his eyes and prepared to have his face clawed off.

Instead he heard a muted thud, followed by a scream and the tearing of flesh. He opened his eyes to see Claire in front of him. The girl had swiped the monster from the air and torn it in half. Both ends dripped with blood and intestines. Claire inspected the interior of one of the halves, then tossed them both aside. Kaylee took care of the other monster by shifted into a lamia and catching it around the neck with her tail. Each time the creature tried to claw her, she deflected it with one of her scimitars. The young woman squeezed her tail and the monster went limp, then fell to the ground.

They had little time to recover. A hail of crossbow bolts and a single, heavy ballista arrow whistled towards them. Donovan got hit once in the leg. Kaylee took one to the shoulder. Claire was hit with the ballista arrow and went sailing backwards with a startled grunt.

"Freeze!" Donovan yelled, wincing from the pain. The knights obeyed, though some were clearly trying to resist. He reached for the bolt to tear it out, then paused. For some reason, the feeling of it piercing his flesh made him feel whole. He furrowed his brow in confusion. Memories tugged at his mind. Donovan grit his teeth and ripped it out, then began a healing spell. Kaylee did the same. They tossed the bolts aside and slowly approached the remaining knights. "Sooo," Donovan said, gesturing at them. "Should I…have them guard the town or something? Seems like a waste to kill them all."

"No," Kaylee said, her tone low. "If they terrorized this place, the last thing the townsfolk will want is to have a constant reminder of it."

"So it's an execution then."

Kaylee glanced at him. "Is that a problem? Do I have to do it?"

Donovan sighed. "No no, I've got it. Just hate having to make these types of choices all the time."

"It's the price of power Donovan. I thought you were onboard with being a psychopath."

"Well sure when there's a clear benefit," he gestured at the knights. "But this…I don't know. I just want to kill that demon king bastard,"

Kaylee nodded. "Well we either earn money, or we continue using your power everywhere to get by. Pick one."

Donovan cleared his throat, then clapped his hands once. "Alright everyone, form a line, swan dive off the cliff please."

The knights obeyed, then marched single file towards the edge of the plaza. Claire followed them, then climbed up on the ledge and watched as each one took his turn. All around the plaza, doors began to open and people peered out. When they saw what was happening, they ventured outside.

The last knight disappeared over the edge. A hunched man approached Donovan and Kaylee, leading the rest of the crowd. "Thank you adventurers, thank you! You've freed us from those terrible Fennians!" The man's smile died as he stared at their necklaces. "W-wait…copper rank?"

"Yeah?" Donovan said, turning to him.

"B-but, there were almost two-hundred of them! And the Varghouls!" he glanced at the corpses of the wolf-ogres. "How? H-how did you do this?"

"Uhhh,"

"We're a special class of adventures." Kaylee said. "Since we freed you guys, can you begin collecting their heads? We need them to get paid. Also do you have a guild house here?"

The man stared, stunned, as did the rest of the crowd. More and more townsfolk were gathering in the plaza. "O-of course…" the man said. "We…will do that…and yes we do…" he quickly gestured. "And, and as a token of our appreciation, please, stay with us as long as you wish! We'll provide lodging, and food and drink!"

"And we will accept that offer," Donovan said giving him a polite bow. "Just show us to the rooms."

Claire sprinted over and skidded to a stop between the two groups. She threw out her hands. "Food!"

The man smiled uneasily at her, clearly noting her adventurer tags. He beckoned the trio. "Yes…yes then, come this way."

An hour later, Donovan, Kaylee, and Claire were fed, washed, and relaxing in the spacious reading room of a wealthy merchant near the top level of the cliff town. Donovan rested his head against the back of a comfy chair. Claire was climbing bookshelves and swinging from them like a lemur. Kaylee simply stood at the window and gazed out over the town.

"Hey…" Donovan said. She turned slightly, glancing back at him. "So…without my HUD and all that, how do I put points into abilities? I still have my demon powers I need to look into, and whatever else experience I have saved up."

Kaylee left the window. "For normal people, all that's involved doesn't really translate into rpg terms. It's like," she gestured thoughtfully. "Chi and ley-lines in the body. They've got it pretty well mapped out in this world, so you can induce all you need to in your body, but it requires special ink."

"Okay…" Donovan said. "Can we get some? What do I do, draw on my body?"

"Give me a bit," Kaylee said, heading for the door. "I'll find some."

Donovan was left alone in the reading room with Claire. The girl was now on top of the bookcases, and carefully walking along them like a tightrope. Donovan watched her for a few moments. "Hey, what's your deal, seriously. Are you self-aware? Are you fucking with us?"

The girl ignored him until she reached the end of the bookcases, then turned and stared down at him as if he was a bug. "Claire is Claire."

"Oh so you've taken her name too. That's kind of messed up you know?"

She crossed her arms. "Claire is Claire!"

"Well you better not be, cause I'm not supposed to let her be resurrected."

The girl turned around neatly on her heel. "Hmph!" she walked back along the top with her chin held high. "Don't care."

Donovan narrowed his eyes. "I liked it better when you only knew one word."

Kaylee returned after some time with a bundle wrapped in canvas. "Take off your shirt and lay down on that sofa," she said, setting her kit down. She unwrapped it, then selected a pen-like tool and an ink blot. Donovan obeyed, resting his head on his arms with his back exposed. Kaylee approached the sofa and sat on the edge. She peered over his back, then drew a circle with the quill between his shoulder blades. The young man shivered. The ink was cold, and the feel of the pen strange. "Wait…" Kaylee murmured.

"What." Donovan said.

"Things…like stats, and levels, it's all an approximation. But this…this isn't right." She leaned in close and squinted at the circle she'd drawn. "You have too much experience saved up no matter how you look at it."

Donovan thought for a few moments. "It's the time-passes. The passive absorption ability. I guess I've been accumulating experience all this time."

He couldn't see Kaylee's skeptical expression. "Well…like I said, you have a lot."

"Good, put it all into the mindtaker skill."

"What? Why? So you can control people? People like me? I don't think so, I had enough of that with the demon king."

"What?" Donovan said, raising his head from his arms. "I don't give a shit about controlling you, but that's where all my points are already."

"So what? Put them in a new skill."

Donovan furrowed his brow in irritation. "Wha- no!" he gestured with his arms hanging off the sofa. "I'm the enslaver guy, that's my thing!"

Kaylee punched him in the shoulder. "So get a new thing asshole! You're good enough at it for us to get by already,"

Donovan gripped his hair with his hand. "Gah! You don't get it!"

"What do I not get? That you need to play out your wildest slaver fantasies?"

"No!" Donovan turned on the sofa, upsetting a jar of ink. He stared at Kaylee. "First of all, where is the trust huh? Second of all, the demon king! Two thousand years! That's what we're up against! And I've been leveling for what, half a year if I'm being generous?"

Kaylee returned his gaze as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. "More than ten actually, but it won't matter if you put your points into that skill, because you won't be close anyway. Trust me, the demon king will wipe the floor with you if you try and use that power on him."

"Well then I need to better than him, so put it all into the enslaver."

"I'm not doing that," Kaylee said. She bent down and retrieved the inkwell. "Pick something else."

Donovan let out a noise of frustration, then settled back down. "Fuck it fine. What's a skill the demon king doesn't have."

Kaylee thought for a few moments. Claire came over and peered over the back of the sofa, watching. "Aspects of concepts like cold and ice," Kaylee said. "He doesn't have any of those abilities."

"What? Why?"

"It's…a long story. Someone he cared about used to be an ice sorceress, so I guess he stays away from it for…I don't know, guilt reasons or something."

"I don't want to use ice. Elemental powers are lame."

"Alyssa is single-handedly keeping back the active demon lords using fire and light. If you think an ability is lame, it's because you don't have any imagination."

Donovan narrowed his eyes as he rested his head on his arms. "Fine. Make me Elsa then I guess." He buried his face into the cushions. "fucking lame…" Kaylee leaned over and began to draw on his back. She formed circles, lines, and other various symbols. Donovan could feel a strange warmth begin to spread through his body. "So does this always require two people?"

"No, but it's easier."

"Do you need me to do this with you?"

"Probably if we continue being adventurers, but for now no." The pair were silent for a bit as Kaylee continued drawing. "So…about your plan."

"Yeah?"

"What is it? Besides going around and collecting all our friends."

Donovan raised his head from his arms. "I figured once we had all the powerhouses together, we'd just gather all armies in the world and go fight the demon king."

He felt the quill pause. "That's it? That's your plan?"

Donovan glanced back at her. "Well when you say it like that it sounds bad. C'mon, I can enslave any kings or emperors if you guys can get me close to them."

Kaylee sighed and leaned over him against the back of the sofa. "Donovan…it's not that easy. This world is complicated, and there are a lot of things more powerful than you, and the rest of us. I thought you learned that in Eo."

"Well sure, but that was the elf realms."

"You remember Delfanas? The kingdom you basically destroyed? The one that summoned us?"

"Yeah." Donovan said, still craning his neck to look back at her.

"Well they're in the process of resurrecting an ancient dragon lord."

Donovan furrowed his brow. "Why the fuck would they do that?"

"Because their armies, the adventurers' guild, are scattered, their capital is in ruins, and their trump cards, us, are off doing our own things. So they're gambling on bringing back one of their ancient enemies and hoping he can protect them against the Events."

"Huh," Donovan said, settling back down.

"Every kingdom is doing something equally drastic as this point. You going to mind control an ancient dragon? A league of undead sorcerers? A shape-shifting homunculi? There's all that and more. It's the eleventh hour, and you'll need a better plan than just 'mind control everyone',"

"Alright," Donovan said. "I'll figure something out. Can't be that hard once we get Alyssa and the others back."

Kaylee was about to respond, then fell silent. "we…" she began, closing her eyes. "We don't even know if they'll help us. If they'll want to help us. After everything we've done…"

"Justin and Melissa won't care what we did, and…" he paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "Well…Seth never stopped looking for you…you know that, right?"

Kaylee's eye remained closed. Her expression was one of profound anguish. "I know…I watched him…the entire time…"

They were interrupted by the door opening. Their merchant host poked his head in. "Ah…" he said, staring at the scene. Kaylee was still leaning over Donovan, while Claire watched from behind the sofa. "I…we found someone who heard rumors of one of the heroes."

"Which one?" Kaylee said, wiping her eyes and straightening up.

"I'm not sure…but they've apparently been in the city of Marada, in the kingdom of Wrenfold, for almost a year now."

Kaylee glanced at Donovan. "That corroborates one of the rumors we heard in the last town." She turned back to the merchant. "How far away is that?"

The man sniffed and brushed at his mustache. "Two weeks to the border, another week past that."

Donovan and Kaylee shared a look. "Well…" the young man said. "Might as well."

The three-week journey was circumvented by Kaylee flying them. She didn't fly often, only at night, and only for a few hours at a time. They camped during the day in reclusive spots, while Donovan spitballed various ideas.

"Alright," he said during the fourth day. He was sitting against a tree, practicing his new ice abilities. The small clearing they were in was littered with the frozen corpses of a creature known as a thistle-goblin. "How about this. Melissa, right?" he snapped his fingers, and another icicle formed on a nearby corpse. "She's got incredible abilities. I think she can clone herself? And change sizes? Anyways, maybe she could assassinate-"

"No," Kaylee said. She laid in the grass, staring up at the sky. "I've seen the extent of her abilities, and they still won't hold a candle to the demon king."

Donovan sighed. Nearby, Claire was marching around swinging a stick. "Bam bam!" the girl yelled, smacking the frozen thistle-goblins. "You're dead! You're all dead!"

"Well, could Alyssa take him on?"

Kaylee picked up a flower growing next to her and twisted it between her fingers. "No…probably not."

"God, fuck that guy seriously. How has such a powerful hero not broken the world yet?"

"He's come close plenty of times. You remember that monster your commanders unleashed when you escaped?"

"Yeah."

"That's one of the demon king's forms."

Donovan tilted in confusion. "What? I thought the demon king was the creepy hot guy."

"He is, they both are. The original demon king split himself into four forms. The demon king you met is the one who rules, the one who you released was another avatar, and the two others are…complicated, and elsewhere."

"fuccckkk," Donovan said, resting his head back against a tree. "That's gonna require more planning then…" They fell into silence, save Claire, who continued swiping with her stick. Suddenly Donovan began twitching. He glanced at his leg, pointed a finger, then sent six icicles through his flesh like a nail gun.

"shit," Kaylee said, rocking up in one motion. "Lost track of the time," She shifted into her lamia form and curled up around Donovan, holding him in place. She then began the mind-wipe spell. Claire watched, then dropped her stick and approached. The girl climbed up on Kaylee's tail and settled down for a nap. Donovan stopped twitching and slowly slumped unconsciousness. Kaylee performed a healing spell, then gazed down at the pair. Donovan was resting against her, and Claire snored atop her tail. "Sure," Kaylee said, settling back against the tree. "If I had any sense I'd strangle them both and run away." Claire murmured in her sleep as she drooled on Kaylee's scales. The young woman rolled her eyes and batted her lightly with the tip of her tail. Claire scowled with her eyes closed, but didn't wake.

On the sixth night, the city of Maranda became visible on the horizon. It had high walls, and tall, bulky towers. The nighttime sky was overcast, but a thousand burning torches among the streets turned it a light gray. Kaylee set down a distance away from the walls, transformed back into her human form, then the trio started walking. The guards were too drunk to stop them at the gate, so they passed on through. Once inside, it quickly became evident that the entire city was drunk. The streets were filled with partying, and breaking glass could be heard everywhere. Drunken singing, people racing through the streets on horseback, and brawls were everywhere the trio turned. Kaylee and Donovan asked around for the hero, but the best answer they could get was a finger pointed by a stumbling tradesmen towards the center of Marada.

"The hell is this place?" Donovan said, glancing around. A nearby man was bodied by an animal-drawn carriage, then run over.

"I've heard a little about it," Kaylee said, furrowing her brow. "Kind of like Los Vegas, but I never thought it was this bad."

Two men staggered towards Donovan. One of them paused, sizing him up, then reared back to throw a punch. Donovan held up a palm and froze them both solid, then turned back to Kaylee. "Why the hell would any of our friends be here?"

"Oh I can take a guess," Kaylee said, trudging onward. Donovan made to follow, but paused when he saw Claire trying to lick one of the ice statues. "Dammit you little gremlin, what are you doing?"

"Ssshhttuuuccckkkk!" Claire said, pounding a fist on the ice as she tried to pull her tongue off. Donovan snapped, and the ice melted. Both men collapsed on the cobblestone street. Claire scowled as she gripped her mouth with both hands, then stomped at one of the puddles made from the ice.

The center was dominated by a giant, six-story drinking house. It was circular, with balconies, slanted roofs, and more than a few unsafe-looking towers branching out from its various levels. Drinking, screaming laughter, and crashes could be heard within. Donovan and Kaylee paused by the door as someone came stumbling past. They tripped down the stairs and smacked their head. Multiple cups were thrown after them. "And stay out you clammy fuck!" a voice shouted. It was followed by laughter. Donovan and Kaylee shared a look, then entered. Claire paused a moment to bend down and stare at a man sleeping near the stairs. After flicking his nose, she straightened up and hurried after.

Inside was a giant hall that rose up at least four stories. Lanterns hung from exposed wooden rafters, and the room was ringed by balconies and stairwells. The center was taken up by tables, some overturned, others packed with people. Laughter and music echoed everywhere. Donovan watched as someone was thrown over a balcony on the end of a noose. He winced as they came to a sudden halt and dangled, twitching, in the air.

"Soooo, I think this would be a good time to admit I've spent most of my time in this world in very nice, very safe places. This…I'm not even sure we have an equivalent in the old world."

"Lucky you," Kaylee said, brushing past a drunk woman throwing up on the floor. Donovan and Claire quickly followed. The young woman passed a man who looked slightly sober and grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, we're looking for one of the summoned heroes. Have you seen any around?"

The man nodded, looking Kaylee up and down with an eager grin. "Yeaaaa, topp floor…whatr you doing miss-"

"Thank you," Kaylee said, giving him a gentle push that sent him sprawling backwards into a nearby table. Angry exclamations followed, then punches started being thrown.

The trio found a staircase and took it up. Up the first ringing balcony, which was filled with people, then the second, then the third. By the fourth it was clear the drinking house was also a brothel. They had to navigate around drunken couples falling against each other and the wall. "What are they doing?" Claire said, pointing at a man groping another.

"Oh uh," Donovan said, shepherding her away. "Well, when two demons love each other very…you know what, just keep your eyes forward."

The last level was a singular room, clearly private. The guards however were drunk and sleeping against the wall. There were large groups of people drinking, singing, and dancing. Silk coverings were draped everywhere, forming partitions. The shadows of shifting bodies flickered in the lantern-light. In the center was a series of cushioned benches with people lounging on them. Dancers twirled around and servers carried trays of tankards. A loud voice echoed out from the largest of the couches.

"That's it baybay! Show me what you got! Pour some MOTHERFUCKING sugar on me!"

"Ah," Kaylee said. "I recognize that voice."

"Yup," Donovan said, itching at his hair. "So do I,"

They stepped over one of the couches and pushed past the dancers in the center. Emerging in front of the largest couch, they gazed down at man burying his face in a dancer's chest. He came up for air, revealing their friend Justin. The man picked up a wooden cup and drained its contents. "Let's GO drinks on ME!" The figures on the couches cheered. Justin looked around with a dazed smile, then noticed Donovan and Kaylee. His smile slowly faded. "what…?" he rubbed his eyes, then stared again. "Donovan? Kaylee?"

Donovan arched an eyebrow. Kaylee crossed her arms. "Hello Justin. Let's have a talk."

​