[S2] Chapter 21: Sleep

"So, knock yourself out. What is it with you and Krys, as you call him so lovingly?" I ask Alex as I make myself comfortable with her and Nada on the camping chairs near the Dungeon Gate.

"Huh? What's supposed to be between us?" Her tone indicates that she knows exactly what I mean. Meanwhile, Nada just sighs in annoyance. I'm sorry I brought up this subject.

"Did you know each other before?"

"No, but he picked us up from school and went to the station with us. We had a chat, and I thought he was quite nice."

"Quite nice? That almost hurts me."

"What does? Do you think I crawled under his blanket last night? I don't need it that badly."

"I highly doubt that," Nada comments and gets up from her chair. "I'm going to my tent."

"Now we've chased her away," I say with a grin and look over at Alex, who just gives me a strange look.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd much rather know what the deal is with Miko and you. I wanted to ask back at school already, but I've never seen you alone."

Hey, we were talking about her feelings here, not mine. But maybe it's good to finally talk about it with someone who isn't Miko. Up until now, I've always just carried all this around with me.

"Well, I confessed my love to her, and her response was something like... Thank you, but I don't feel the same, at least not right now, perhaps."

"Ouch, that sounds bad. But it's interesting, so you're into women?"

"I've also been with a guy. You could say I don't limit myself to one gender." That almost sounds like I've had several relationships, but this guy was my one and only boyfriend so far. In the end, he broke up with me because I wasn't wild enough for him - in bed, needless to say.

"I didn't know I was talking to an expert. I'm completely inexperienced when it comes to relationships."

"Really? You're so pretty and got a great body."

"Are you flirting with me?"

"No, that was just an observation."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I've had plenty of opportunities to get involved with someone. But the thought that it might not work and I'd still have to see the person at school stopped me from even trying."

"And that's why you throw yourself at the first guy who doesn't go to your school?"

"Hey, that sounds like I'm needy."

"You probably are. But why Krystoff and not Wace?"

"Wace? First of all, he freaks me out, and he's way too pretty. I don't want to have a constant inferiority complex just from looking at his face."

"Hm, I can handle that with Miko by not thinking about it so often."

"What are you talking about? Do you realize how pretty and cute you look?"

My cheeks heat up a little. Compliments are just too effective against me. "Shut up."

"Oh, come on. But in any case, I wish you good luck. I think you're a good match." Alex says with a gentle expression and confidence in her voice that even I believe it will work out between Miko and me.

Afterward, we talked about all the love confessions Alex had already received and managed to pass the time quite well. It definitely helped me not to worry as much. So far, nobody from the dungeon has contacted us either, which is a good sign, I think.

I take a look at the shimmering mana of the gate through which the others will return later. When it suddenly starts to crackle, I have a thought that I haven't had for ages. If we can travel through this portal, can the monsters do so as well?

I only blink once before my eyes are glued to a woman with purple skin, shoulder-length white hair, and two horns sticking out of her head. Our glances meet, and a broad smile spreads across her face, revealing her sharp-edged teeth before her expression seems somewhat irritated.

Neither Alex nor I move a single bit. The woman with the horns doesn't do anything either except look around. I don't think I could say anything even if I wanted to. Her sheer presence crushes me.

Without moving my head, I look over to Alex, who is slowly moving her hand towards her walkie-talkie. We don't know when the others in the dungeon might come to help us if we contact them now. They might end up finding nothing but our dead bodies.

"You're not planning to fight, are you? In that case, I'll leave you alone. Just stay put." Her voice is gentle, suitable for her appearance even though she is a monster.

"What are you up to? And why do you speak our language?" Alex asks with a strange air of self-confidence.

"Your language? This arrogance is fitting for you, humans. But since you're the first person I've talked to in this world, I'll be happy to answer your question." Now, she takes steps toward us, and my body starts to tremble. She wants us to remain in our seats, but my instincts scream to flee.

"I don't know how much knowledge you have. But to break it down for you, we demons are looking for a new home. We have discovered these realms which connect our world to yours. We were warned to come here, but we are short on time. And that is why I am here now."

I was aware that the dungeons don't really belong to our dimension. Still, I've never heard that they're a connection to a completely different world. The ministry has probably known about this for a long time but has withheld this information. I don't want to imagine what would happen if the existence of this other world became public knowledge.

"What are you looking so confused about? It will hardly come as a surprise to you that there are more worlds than yours?" the horned woman looks straight at me. "After all, one of your people is definitely from my world too."

"I think it would be better if you went back to your world. We may not be the ones to stop you, but there are mages you don't want to mess with." Alex says and stands up.

"So mages are the most powerful beings here, too? I guess that's the case everywhere."

"You obviously haven't done your research." Why is she being so cheeky with this demon? It must be the stress.

"You got me there. In my defense, there's not a lot of information about your world back home. What is your name? I like you. If you want, you can work for me."

And what about me? I haven't spoken back yet and, as she ordered, haven't moved a bit. What is this conversation between the two of them anyway?

"Kayla, we have to stop her."

What? Why? So far, she seems quite approachable. She doesn't give the impression that she wants to cause a massacre, but that could change if we resist her now. I don't really want to play the hero. That's not my style.

With shaky legs, I finally manage to get up from my chair, unable to take my eyes off the demon. Her silent stare is unsettling, and when suddenly our walkie-talkies start crackling, I shiver. At the same time, our collective eyes wander to the devices lying next to us.

"Leave the camp immediately. A powerful monster is probably on its way to you!" I recognize Miko's voice, and I can tell she's running. I don't know where they are right now, but they'll probably need at least another five to ten minutes to get here.

"Do you want to answer?" the demon asks with an unexpectedly gloomy expression on her face.

"I don't think so," Alex replies and takes a deep breath before getting into a kind of fighting pose and spreading mana around herself like Miko does when she sets up a barrier.

"Very well. My name is Kajsa. In my world, I am a princess of the horned demons. Here, I am nothing but your enemy, so you don't need to hold back." As if we had intended to do that.

Still lost in that thought, Kajsa's face suddenly appears before me. She grins, and the next moment, I feel a blow to the stomach, and a short stabbing pain spreads. She grabs my poncho, and a second later, I am flying through the air and land roughly on the ground. After a few rolls over the grass, I finally come to a stop.

I can't put my finger on everything that hurts, but at least I'm still alive. Staying down and playing dead is not an option, is it? With a lot of effort, I raise my head.

It takes me a moment to regain my sense of direction until I spot Alex and Kajsa. Even though Kajsa constantly launches punches and kicks, Alex manages to either dodge them or deflect them with flowing, almost graceful movements.

As I try to stand up, my breath stops, and my ribs hurt worse than ever. I must have bruised them when I hit the ground. Rather accidentally, I remember that Nada is also in the camp. I look over to her tent and see her peeping out of a thin slit. I wonder if she could call for help? But who should she contact? Would anyone be here faster than Miko and the others? I suppose not.

"Stop just receiving, and start giving me something back!" It's Kajsa who barks at Alex with a certain amount of annoyance. Maybe I should just stay put. I'm probably more of a hindrance than a help. I didn't expect it to be so frustrating to be this useless, I actually feel like crying.

I grit my teeth and push through the pain. Standing on both feet, I slowly start to move. I can hear Kajsa clicking her tongue in irritation from a distance as she looks in my direction for a split second.

"You should have stayed down!" she calls out to me.

'I know,' I reply.

Almost furious, she turns towards me and swings out for a kick. I've watched her fight with Alex. I think I know what she's up to. Although I know the attack is coming, I keep running into her and activate the magical barrier of my poncho.

In the blink of an eye, a shield made of mana pops up around me, which doesn't stop Kajsa from going through with her move. Effortlessly, she breaks through the shield and hits my chest. Before I can be knocked away, I grab her leg with my arms.

As I had hoped, the shield has taken most of the force out of her kick. I think the training with Miko really helped me, even if it was just the experience of getting punched.

With one foot in the air, her other leg is a perfect target for an attack. Alex kicks Kajsa in the back of the knee and then delivers an elbow strike to her temple.

I let go of her leg and see her body slump in front of us. She had to lose consciousness after a blow to the head like that. Gasping for air, I drop to my knees right next to her. Alex is also completely out of breath.

That seemed too easy. It may be due to Miko's words, which announced Kajsa as a very strong enemy. Besides, Alex and I are anything but experienced mages, and yet we took down a demon?

"Ouch."

The moment I hear Kajsa's voice, I try to get up and distance myself, but she gets a hand on my ankle and holds me in place.

"Neither of you move, or I'll rip her leg off."

Frighteningly, her threat sounds very serious. I doubt my body could recover from such an injury. With tears in my eyes, I look at Alex, who has gone alarmingly pale. Suddenly, Kajsa flinches and stares behind me, her face filled with fear. Her grip on my leg becomes unbearably firm, and I groan in pain. At the same moment, Alex collapses on the spot and falls to the floor. I don't know what's going on here anymore.

Suddenly, it's as if someone has pressed my power switch. My eyes get heavy and fall shut. I get sleepy, and a feeling of inner peace and happiness spreads through me.

Am I about to die?

NADA

Although I am utterly useless, I celebrate as if I am responsible for this horned creature going down. It takes just a few seconds for the situation to change again entirely. Kayla is taken hostage, and Alex collapses to the floor.

But where is this demon looking? I dare to stick my head out of the tent to follow her gaze and discover a woman with long white hair walking leisurely towards the three of them. I can't take my eyes off her. Her classy, graceful black blouse and skirt make the white stand out perfectly. She is truly beautiful, but that is hardly the reason why this demoness reacts the way she does.

With blushed cheeks, I cringe at my thoughts and turn my gaze back to Kayla and the others. My breath stops for a moment as I discover the purple-skinned woman floating in the air, her hands scratching her throat in panic as if she is trying to undo an invisible rope around her neck.

Shortly afterward, she drops lifeless to the floor right next to Kayla. The white-haired woman arrives at their side and crouches down, running her finger over the demon's back as if she is painting something with precise, flowing movements.

I wipe the earlier tears from my eyes. The mere presence of this strange woman makes me feel relaxed, and I start to get tired. I blink once and realize that the demon has disappeared. I blink again and find no trace of the white-haired woman either. I shake my head in confusion and suddenly find myself staring into deep red eyes.

"I'm sorry." A voice speaks in my ear before a shrill sound, like someone scratching a blackboard with their fingernails, screams in my ears, deafeningly loud.

A stabbing pain spreads through my entire head. I just want it to stop. I scream but can't hear myself. I am scared. My vision goes dark, and I feel how my body falls to the ground.

Mom… somebody… help me please.