First Contact

"How boring...I expected Demons to put up more of a fight..."

Though she had gone out of her way to locate the local underground arena, Rynka, a fairly tall member of the Beast Race with long, vermillion red hair, cat-like ears, and a tail, left feeling unsatisfied.

Staring down at the goons surrounding her, Rynka stomped on one of their heads as she said, "Even the thugs they sent to try and rob me were a bunch of weaklings..."

Reacting to the stomp, the burly, grey-skinned man beneath Rynka's heel did his best to raise his head, glaring at her as he groaned, "You're going to pay for this...Lord Pandrasu won't-"

"Weaklings shouldn't talk..."

Punctuating her words, Rynka sent her would-be assailant flying with a kick. She was tempted to kill him, but she had promised Alek she would stop wantonly killing after he defeated and spared her.

Understanding that it wouldn't be long before the city guard showed up, Rynka removed her oversized, bandage-covered sword from the ground and leaped atop the nearest building. Her weapon resembled a claymore cut from stone, but it was actually carved from the bone of a monster that once terrorized the country of Millis. It was originally used as a decorative piece for a statue, but the temple enshrining it predated the Laplace War by several centuries. Thus, by the time Rynka discovered it, the incredibly blade had been collecting dust for at least four hundred years.

Though most people wouldn't think to use a weapon intended for a statue as their primary armament, Rynka was gifted with immense strength, even for a member of the Beast Race. Ordinary swords bent or shattered if she just swung them around for training, so, while it was unwieldy and difficult to sharpen, Rynka had developed a fondness for the nearly indestructible weapon.

While leaping across rooftops with casual ease, Rynka briefly considered tracking down the Demon Lord who ruled over Wind Port. There were still a few weeks until the start of the Mating Season, but her near-daily spars with Alek left her feeling increasingly 'agitated' as Summer gradually gave way to Autumn.

Stopping atop a particularly tall building, Rynka directed her gaze toward the port. The smell of the sea had a calming effect on her, but as the cool, salt-infused wind blew through her inordinately long hair, it pushed aside her unkempt bangs to reveal an icy blue eye, a stark contrast to the ruby-red orb adorning her left.

Though it had yet to awaken fully, Rynka possessed the nascent form of the Demon Eye of Power Perception. It didn't show her the power level of her opponent, but it gave her a vague 'impression' of where she could find powerful foes.

Staring in the approximate direction of the Inn her Party was staying in, a shiver ran through Rynka's body, culminating in the fur on her tail standing on end. She didn't know how he compared to the other Gods, but the aura exuding from Alek's body was enough to weaken her bladder if she wasn't careful.

Shifting her gaze to the largest building in the city, a fortress-like mansion that stood out from virtually every other building, Rynka couldn't help but snort in disdain. She could sense several powerful people within, but they may as well be ants compared to her 'Master.'

Not wanting to disturb Alek or cause too much trouble, Rynka directed her gaze to another fortress-like building, the Demon Continent Headquarters of the Adventurers Guild. Her individual Rank was currently D, mainly due to the fact she had spent most of her life as an enslaved gladiator, but she could proudly refer to herself as an S-Rank Adventurer due to Alek's Party being graded accordingly.

Since the Adventurers of the Demon Continent were pretty famous, Rynka figured she could pick a fight with a powerful Party to pass the time. What she didn't expect was an aura comparable to Alek's to appear the moment she turned her gaze to the North.

"What the hell? Is there a monster horde about to attack the city...?"

Without considering the possibility she was sensing a single individual, Rynka leaped from her perch and began racing towards the city's North Gate. She could have turned around and informed Alek of the impending attack, but, knowing him, he would want to arrive after things got a little more frantic. After all, a 'True Hero' was either fashionably late or arrived at just the right time...

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Though she was delayed due to a flock of Razorback Wyverns attacking her over the Black Dragon Mountain Range, Atofe managed to reach the outskirts of Wind Port in just under two and a half hours.

Stopping a few hundred meters away and above the entrance to the city, Atofe exhaled a sigh before inhaling a breath so deep it caused her upper body to swell like a balloon. Then, upon reaching her maximum capacity, her voice roared louder than thunder as she shouted, "Aleksander Ryback! Come out here and greet your Grandma...!"

As the central hub connecting the Demon and Milis Continents, Wind Port was bustling day and night. Not even the occasional typhoon could deter the city's more than 700,000 residents from going about their business or enjoying life, yet, the moment Atofe shouted, an eerie silence settled upon the burgeoning metropolis.

Satisfied by the result, Atofe adopted a smug look as she descended to the ground to prepare for her grandson's arrival. The greatsword in Alek's possession was forged from the same materials as her own, so, while she would usually toy with flightless opponents, Atofe knew she would be the one at a disadvantage if she attempted to remain airborne.

Gravity Magic was classified as one of the three most powerful forms of Magic for a reason. It permitted hill-sized Dragons to soar through the air with remarkable swiftness, and, unlike virtually every other kind of Magic, it completely disregarded Barrier Magic.

"Hmmm...?"

Sensing bloodlust, Atofe's gaze locked onto the figure of a fiery-haired woman standing atop the 30m wall surrounding Wind Port. She could tell the woman was an 'enemy' the moment their gazes met, so, even though she intended to wait around for Alek to arrive, an amused smile developed across Atofe's face as she mused, "Another naughty kitten has arrived..."

As the distance between them made it difficult to discern whether or not Atofe's lips were moving, there was no way Rynka, even with her sensitive ears, could make out what she said. Despite this, she immediately leaped down from her perch and dropped into a three-point stance, her left hand supporting her as she held her sword in the clear precursor to a thrust.

Without bothering to draw her sword, Atofe squared her feet and raised her hands like a grappler, her smile growing to its limits as she shouted, "Well!? What are you waiting for...!?"

Without requiring additional prompting, Rynka kicked off the ground with explosive force, her body appearing to elongate for a brief moment as she traversed the three hundred meters between her and Atofe in just under a second.

Catching the fiery-haired cat girl by surprise, Atofe didn't even attempt to evade her thrust. Instead, she permitted Rynka's sword to pierce through her chest, cackling as she gripped her attacker's shoulders with the force of a vice. Rynka attempted to bound away and create some distance, but the muscles of Atofe's body became like steel, preventing her from pulling out her sword.

Understanding that the woman was likely one of Alek's allies, Atofe did her best to 'hold back' as she hammered her head down, headbutting the wide-eyed Rynka. The impact created a bone-crunching sound that could be heard clearly by the city guards, but, as she had abstained from using Touki, Atofe actually did more damage to herself than Rynka.

Though her face briefly became concave, it was still possible to make out Atofe's smile as she released the unconscious Rynka. Then, curious about the blade sticking out of her chest, she yanked it out and gave it a closer look.

"Is this a replica of the Holy Sword Nothung? Talk about a blast from the past..."

Having personally battled many of the most powerful figures throughout history, Atofe immediately recognized the sword in Rynka's possession. It was very clearly a fake, but the structure and materials used were nearly identical to the real deal. The only thing missing was a Magic Core, so if she had to guess, Atofe would wager the sword was either a prototype or an attempt to reproduce the original.

As Atofe was admiring the well-maintained yet battle-worn blade, alarm bells began ringing in her mind. In the very next moment, a sword formed of purple light pierced the same spot Rynka had stabbed previously. This time, however, she wasn't able to simply ignore it as the blade emitted a powerful gravitational force, pulling her organs toward it as it attempted to compress her entire body.

Borrowing a phrase of Paul's, Atofe shouted, "You little shit...!" as she grabbed the 'hilt' of the sword and strained every muscle in her arm to pull it free. Before she could, the figure of Alek appeared next to her, his oversized claymore emitting the same luminous purple sheen as her own as he said, "It's good to see you, Grandmother."

Punctuating his words, Alek smacked the pommel of his gravity sword with the flat of his blade, driving it further into Atofe's body as he sent her flying hundreds of meters into the sky.

Though the sun had already set, Alek raised his hand to his forehead as if he were trying to block out the sunlight, his red eyes gaining a hint of gold as he remarked, "I've waited eighty years to do that..."

Feeling vindicated, Alek's smile became more pronounced until he shifted his gaze to the collapsed Rynka. She was his first apprentice, so while he wasn't angry with her, seeing her in such a miserable state made him feel a peculiar form of frustration...

"It looks like we'll need to up the intensity of your training...but first..."

Shifting his attention to the sky, Alek narrowed his eyes as he sensed a tremendous amount of Magical Energy condensing beyond the range of his vision. What confused him was the fact it was moving away from him.

"Is she trying to draw me away from the city...?"

Looking back toward the city, a frown marred Alek's face as he briefly considered retreating and regrouping.

Dismissing such thoughts immediately, Alek raised his sword overhead and released a beam of purple energy that burst into a luminous purple cloud. Then, with a casual toss, he threw his sword aside, the grooves along the blade lighting up with a vibrant shade of purple as it hovered a few centimeters above the ground.

Though he could not fly on his own, seventy years of isolated training had made Alek a master of Gravity Magic. He preferred taking things slow and traveling on foot, but when the situation called for it, he could cross great distances in a 'very' short period of time...

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After listening to the explanation provided by Paul and Kishirika, the Black Knight would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little convinced. The existences of Zhongli and Ei were pretty compelling, but it was the Visions and Paul's self-created Mystic Eyes of Death Perception that captured the Black Knight's intrigue. So much so that, once the discussion was nearing its end, she begrudgingly remarked, "I see why my Doppelganger has put her trust in you...if what you've said is factual, you, your Spirits, and these Visions may be our greatest asset in the battle against Hitogami..."

Adopting a wry smile, Paul was about to respond, but Kishirika beat him to it, affirming, "That's right. Now, the real question is: Are you going to keep hiding away in this castle, or will you help us? We don't really need you, but your assistance might just increase our chance of victory. What do you say...?"

Though she still had her doubts, the Black Knight only had to consider her response for a few seconds before she 'glared' at Paul and warned, "Badi is never going to forgive you..."

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