Suzu Kato

Before we can even reach the battlefield, the enemy finds us. Breaking out of the jungle is what I can only describe as a theme park attraction, because I have never seen a spider this huge outside of movies or haunted houses. It mows down the vegetation like a small truck as it barges into our path. And it hisses! I didn’t know spiders could do that!

To the left and right of me, fire blooms instantly and travels towards the demon, scorching whatever it comes into contact with. Both Karina and Nono have taken the offensive.

“Prepare yourself to crack the core!” Safrim yells as he brings down his sword on one of the many legs to cut it clean off. “I’ve encountered this type before. The core is hidden in its eyes! When it can’t move anymore, blind it with light and destroy it at once!”

Poru shouts something back, but I can’t hear it. I clutch my sword harder, summoning up the courage to run forward and slash at the spider’s legs too.

I miss. I miss again. It doesn’t matter. I will eventually hit. I just need to get used to this.

“Yuki! Watch your step!” Karina shouts.

I have to laugh. Is this encounter so easy for her that she has the time to correct my stance? But she’s right. I didn’t pay attention to my feet, just the position of my arms. I try again, positioning myself with purpose. One strike, two strikes…

A hit!

A segment of a hairy leg flies off into the forest, the wound oozing black tar and smoke.

“Now!”

The body of the spider lies before me, large as a small car. Only one leg tries futilely to move it, pitifully. I hold my hand out together with Poru and concentrate on the light magic within me. The core bursts and the spider disintegrates with a whine so human, it breaks my heart. I hope whichever soul was taken to create this abomination has found peace.

“Quick. Before another finds us!”

No time to contemplate the lives of the fallen. Safrim pulls me onwards and I follow, stumbling through the undergrowth up onto the plateau, on which Char’s army is fighting.

True to their god, most of the fighters are armed with fire, the vegetation up here burnt to a crisp, bodies of dead spiders littering the ground. Yet there are still more—always more. They rush up from the forest, an unending stream of dark magic fueling them. If we could only find the summoners… If this was a game, it would be the first thing I’d try. But for now…

“We need to make ourselves known!” Karina says.

“I have just the thing,” Poru replied and raises his hands.

From his fingertips, glittering light like shooting stars emerges, flying up into the air like fireworks. Just moments later, an answering shower of light on the other side of the hilltop.

“They have light mages too. They’ve seen us!” Poru says excitedly.

“Let’s go,” Safrim commands and we follow him.

Out in the open, we are an easy target, but during the last days we have learned how to move as a group. With Safrim, Karina and Gale taking the lead, we have strong magic, blades and claws to clear the way. Poru follows, keeping attackers from both sides at bay with his light magic. Finally, Nono and myself guard the rear. Weirdly, I feel safer when she’s close to me, and with no one paying her any mind, she is free to use tricks that might give her origin away.

We make it halfway across the hill when the tide in front of us turns. So far, we have only been attacked as a byproduct. Now, the enemy targets us specifically.

That’s what Safrim has been waiting for. He shouts his signal at Karina, and together they unleash a firestorm, which burns itself through the masses, leaving smaller demons dead on the ground, and the larger ones stumbling. We run as fast as we can.

And then the battlefield explodes.

Droves of little spiders are sent flying as something rushes through them like a ram, pushing them back as if plowing snow. A woman emerges from the carnage, her aura glowing like a flame. She holds no weapon, but her fists are wrapped in leather and burning bright. Her expression is fierce—until she spots us. All of a sudden she grins and waves, even while she kicks away another demon spider attacking her.

It must be her.

Suzu Kato.

The Hero of Fire.

“Heeey!!”

All heads turn towards her as she yells at the top of her lungs. All of them—including the enemies. They home in on her, a turning tide like a tsunami of countless legs. I reach out, grasping at air, as if I could help her. Just as quickly, I realise I don’t need to. We are getting a demonstration of exactly why Char’s army was able to advance this quickly despite the opposition.

As the spiders swarm, in their midst a light blooms brighter than the sun. With a loud boom, the scenery itself explodes and the spiders are catapulted sky-high, burning away to ash as they fall, raining on the plateau as dark petals. Suzu has punched the ground, a shockwave of fire extending from the impact, which makes even the ground underneath my feet shake like an earthquake.

Voices rise, and I can see Char’s troops emerging from the smoke to support their hero, slashing at the remaining demons. Flashes of light and agonised screams follow.

“Come on,” Karina says, breaking me out of my stupor. “Let’s join them.”

We cross the distance, stepping over bodies, fighting off stragglers. Suzu looks up and our eyes meet for the first time. She jumps up and runs towards me.

“I’ve never seen you before and your clothes look all different. You must be from Atol! Where’s your army?” she asks without taking a single breath.

Another wave of spiders approaches and Poru conjures up a shield of light to hinder the smaller demons following Suzu from reaching us. Suzu looks at the barrier like she is seeing the most beautiful fireworks.

She behaves like a young girl, but her looks are decidedly not. Could it be that while I have grown younger after being transported here, she has gotten the treatment the other way around? The body is in her forties, with well developed assets and muscles like a wrestler. She is wearing leather armour fit for a thief in a video game, complete with large leather gloves that ooze black slime from all the demons she’s punched.

“Suzu Kato, I presume?” I ask.

“Present!”

“I am Hiroyuki Satoyama, the Hero of Light. We have received your message. The army is several days behind us, but we are here to inform you that they are indeed coming.”

“You’re also from Japan!” Suzu Kato beams and just like that I find myself wrapped up in a bear hug that threatens to crush my ribs. “I thought I was the only one! What did you do?”

“I worked in HR…”

“Oh, an office worker?”

“Yes.”

“I was a student before. Second year of high school. Manager of the basketball team. Isn’t this great? It’s an actual isekai!!”

“Yeah. Great,” I mumble.

“I was locked up, defending the city for the longest time. The king didn’t want to let me leave to fight the demons, but when you attacked on your side, he finally saw reason! Well, and Pym put a good word in, isn’t that right?”

The air next to Suzu glimmers and the vision of a young man appears like a mirage. He is dressed in a closely fitting, black, sleeveless top and a red skirt that reaches the ground. His hair is just as long and fiery, with glowing orange eyes to match. Golden jewelry inlaid with sparkling rubies complete the look of the god of fire.

“You did well today, my hero!” Pym booms loudly and laughs just as much. “Show them the power of fire!”

“Yes, Pym!”

Suzu disappears from sight, running with supernatural speed into the next group of demons. We watch as she decimates them with just her fists, which are wrapped in leather and fire.

“We can’t let her do all the work,” Karina says.

“Right,” I reply. “Let’s help her.”