Temporary alliance between 2 fragthesis

A red mist enveloped the forest air—a mist known as the Termodeflad fog, caused by the vaporized chemical compound Termodeflad.

A swarm of abnormal demons surrounded them, lunging toward the soldiers.

But they never reached them—because the soldiers were riding on the backs of Gavian warriors.

The abnormal demons' attacks only struck the legs of the Gavian warriors instead.

Their tough hide made them resistant to the strikes from the charging demon horde.

Clearly, the attacks had no effect.

One of the Gavian warriors swung its massive tail.

The small-bodied abnormal demons were violently struck by the heavy tail.

Naturally, those demons were obliterated.

None of them regenerated—the number of abnormal demons kept decreasing over time.

William also felt something. Ever since the Gavian race joined the fight, the red mist known as Termodeflad had started to thin out. He had a hunch about why the demons no longer reappeared.

“Oh, I see now... maybe the Gavian are the natural enemies of demons,” William muttered.

“Yes, that’s correct. 800 years ago, we also asked the Gavian to help restore the environment in Jagrapati,” added Pusmoko.

“And the Gavian didn’t attack you—even though they're your weakness?” William asked.

“That battle happened 59,000 years ago. We once invaded Jagrapati. Of course we lost—even though Demon King Semar was sealed at the time,” the Gavian warrior carrying William and alliance replied.

“So the demons from Jagrapati have now made peace with the Gavian?” William asked.

“Yes, that’s right,” said Pusmoko.

“You guys better help too! Don’t just sit around on the Gavian’s backs like lazy bums!” Arga shouted.

“Yes, sir!” all the soldiers responded in unison.

They didn’t want to just sit around either. They wanted to experience real combat—fighting alongside their comrades. They didn’t want to relax atop the Gavian warriors' backs while others did all the work.

All the soldiers from the Aryapanggulu Kingdom leapt from the Gavian warriors’ backs. They attacked any abnormal demon that came near.

Their swords clashed with the demons—some of them even took hits. But even so, they never backed down.

The pain only fueled their spirits. They no longer needed to hold back. No longer had to settle for merely weakening the demons. Because they knew—any abnormal demon they killed would now stay dead.

No more resurrection. Only permanent death.

Once all the abnormal demons were eradicated and the red fog known as Termodeflad had completely vanished from around them…

Sunlight returned, bathing the sky and the ground in a beautiful orange hue. They began setting up tents, preparing to rest before the day turned into a new one.

The next morning, they packed up their tents and climbed back onto the Gavian warriors' backs.

An hour later, they finally exited the forest.

A desert now stretched out before them. There was only a mild wind—not a full-blown sandstorm.

William observed the desert’s conditions. He recalled Arjuna’s words. He wanted to see just how powerful the desert’s ambient magic could be.

Just then, a magic circle formed not far from them. Everyone could see it.

The pattern was simple—a ring with three small stars within it, glowing a pale green—the color of moss.

A tiny insect burst forth from the magic circle, shooting straight toward William. He didn’t even have time to react.

The bug smacked him right on the forehead.

“Ow!” William cried out.

He rubbed the spot where it hit him. When he looked at what he was holding—he knew what it was. The insect he hated most from his previous world.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” he shouted.

It was a stink bug.

An insect that would spray a disgusting smell to protect itself. Thankfully, this one was already dead.

Even so, his nose caught that hated scent. Of course, it wasn’t real. It was just olfactory hallucination—no one else could smell it.

“What’s wrong, William?” Dion asked.

“Here,” William showed him the bug in his hand.

“A stink bug, huh?” Dion examined the insect.

“Oh, that thing that just flew in,” the one of the soldiers commented casually.

“Damn it… my smell hallucination syndrome is acting up again,” William grumbled.

“Oh, so you instantly picked up the scent?” Arjuna asked.

“It reeks! Damn it!” William shouted.

Arjuna had an idea. He wanted to test whether their king also hated that insect—since William was technically his alternate self from the past.

“Your Majesty,” Arjuna called out.

Sudirja instantly understood what Arjuna was trying to do. He despised that insect—and hated even talking about it. He truly, deeply loathed it.

“Your alternate ho—”

“Finish that sentence, Arjuna, and I swear I’ll spit in your face!” Sudirja interrupted coldly.

“What His Majesty ha—”

“That’s enough, Arjuna! Drop it,” Arga cut in quickly.

“If anyone dares bring up that damned insect again, I’ll spit on you!” Sudirja snapped.

“I’m sorry! I just wanted to test you,” Arjuna apologized.

“My apologies if my spit hits you,” William muttered as he spat onto the ground.

After traveling for quite a while, the sun began to set. The sky and land were painted with a beautiful orange glow.

They had planned to descend and pitch tents for rest—but they knew that the desert was not a safe place to camp. They didn’t know what kind of dangers might come their way.

So they chose to remain atop the backs of the Gavian warriors. There was no safer option.

In the end, they decided to rest on the backs of the Gavian warriors.

While the human soldiers rested, the Gavian warriors kept walking. They wanted to shorten the travel time—even if it was just by thirty minutes.

The next morning, the human soldiers woke up. They had rested well and felt refreshed.

“Was there any magic triggered while we were sleeping?” Arga asked.

“Only five— all of them were Exemplar-level,” the Gavian warrior carrying Arga and his squad replied.

“Apologies for resting while you kept watch,” Dion said sincerely.

“It’s no trouble,” the Gavian warrior responded.

While the others were busy talking, William kept scanning the surroundings.

He saw something approaching—not clearly, but he could guess what it was. A demon. Either a low-level sentient demon or an abnormal one.

What William saw was a demon with four bat wings, three pairs of arms, a buffalo-like head with insect-like antennae for horns, and a serpentine lower body.

“Everyone—hostiles incoming!” William called out, preparing to strike.

“What’s going on?” Dion asked.

“Looks like we’ve got a group of demons approaching. Either low-level sentient ones or abnormal demons,” William explained.

Dion looked toward where William was staring sharply. He could see it too. The demons were coming in groups. If they weren’t prepared, they'd be overwhelmed.

So, Dion began forming a magic circle.

It shimmered above him, glowing with a bright green hue—the color of emeralds.

“Dark Chain of Inquisitor!” Dion chanted.

A black chain emerged from his hand—gleaming like obsidian.