I am Lumina Rasica.

  Three months went by, and I was currently on a pathway to Tenshi’s house. I was humming as I walked, and my voice sounded just slightly more grown, as my tail also looked a bit bigger.

  ***

  Taren was currently in the forest, swording down some beasts, each one he jumped at and killed. "Ha!" he shouted as he jumped at one of them and stabbed it in the head. One would come behind him, but he quickly used Wind Slash before it got to him.

  Taren would shake the blood off his sword, and he would quickly look back as another one tried to jump him, but before he could slash it down, someone else would already cut it in half.

  "To slow Taren," The man who slashed it said.

  Taren looked at him with a bit of annoyance. "I had that one."

  "All right, all right, my bad." He would look around as he saw more beasts around, and a small number of them were being killed off by others. "You know, I don’t think we ever had this much beast around." He looked back at Taren. "Slayed about twenty already."

  Taren continued to walk as the man followed. Taren said, "Seems that some are coming east. It’s strange how there are so many, but all I care about is killing these bastards." Taren would look serious.

  "You don’t seem to be having much fun about this more than most days. Come on, what's up?"

  Taren would run over to a few more beasts and slay each one. "Because!" She shouted as he killed a few more. "Out of any other day, this happened on my son’s tenth birthday!"

  ***

  Back at the house, a little girl with black hair and yellow eyes was trying to climb onto the couch. Once she reached the very top, she was able to look out the window. As she pushed it open, she noticed someone in the yard.

  That someone was me, humming with a smile. The girl looked at me and tried to steady herself, but she nearly fell off the couch. "Ahh!" she screamed as she tumbled down.

  "Gotcha!" Ria exclaimed as she quickly caught her. She sat her in her arms and looked directly at her. "Tara, you can’t keep climbing on top of couches like that. It’s dangerous."

  Tara dug her finger in her nose and said, "Sowwy, Mommy."

  Ria gently removed her finger from her nose, smiling. "It’s okay, sweetie. Just try not to do that, alright?" Ria then heard a knock at the door. She walked over and opened it. When she looked outside, she noticed it was me. "Oh, Lumi! It’s great to see you again!"

  I looked up at her with a smile. "Hi, Miss Ria!" I glanced over at Tara, who was looking away. "Hi, Tara! Are you doing well?"

  Ria turned her gaze to Tara, who had her face turned toward her shoulder. "Come on, sweetie, say hi to Lumi; she doesn’t bite."

  Tara hesitantly looked over at Lumi and waved. "Hello…"

  I waved back, maintaining a gentle smile. "Hiii."

  Ria let out a light chuckle and then looked back down at me. "Wow, Lumi, you’ve grown so much. How long has it been? A couple of months?"

  I turned back to Ria and replied, "My Mama and Papa told me I’ve hit something called puberty."

  Ria seemed a bit surprised. "Oh, huh, I forgot demi-humans experience it differently…" she murmured. "Well, you are just as beautiful as always. How about you come in to meet Seris and Sara?" Ria asked, moving aside to invite me in, knowing I would say yes.

  "Okay!" I exclaimed with excitement as I walked in.

  Seris was currently washing the dishes and would set the last one aside. She wiped her hands with a cloth, and I shouted, "Hi, Miss Seris!"

  Seris would set the cloth down and look at me with a smile. "Well, if it isn’t Lumi. You've grown a lot, haven’t you?"

  I would have a light chuckle. "I guess I did. Oh, and…" I would reach down my pocket, and I took out a ring. I handed it over to Seris. "I didn’t know when Tenshi’s birthday was, and I wanted to give him a gift. Do you think you can send this off to him? Pleeease."

  Seris looked at the ring. She was a bit frozen, looking like she was thinking of something, but she quickly shook her head to snap out of it. "Oh, why wouldn’t I? It’s beautiful, and I know Tenshi would love it." Seris would take the ring. "I’ll make sure to send this off to him."

  "Yesss…" I whispered. "Also…" Lumi would dig through her pocket and take out my old wand. "Do you think I should send his wand back? I've gotten very used to it, but I don’t want Tenshi to get mad—"

  "No, keep it," she interrupted. "Tenshi by now has probably already made a new one. I think Tenshi will be okay with you keeping it if he saw you now. It’s a lovely memento to keep, after all."

  I looked back at the wand, feeling a bit unsure still, but I looked back at Seris with a smile and said, "Okay." I put the wand back in my pocket.

  "And you're not the only one who wants to send a gift," Seris said as she walked over to the counter. She grabbed a small chest and looked back at me. "I plan to send this to him. It’s something very valuable to him. I also sent off the bow I forgot to give him before he left."

  Curious, I looked at the box. "Ooo, what’s inside?" I turned my gaze back to Seris.

  She scratched her head, unsure how to respond. "Well..."

  "Lumi!" a little girl exclaimed.

  I looked down and recognized her. "Sara!" I ran over and picked her up as she giggled. "You look adorable in your little maid outfit! Have you been a good girl to your mama?"

  "Mhm!" she replied, nodding with her big smile.

  Ria would walk up beside Seris as she continued to have Tara sitting in her arms. "My, it seems like Lumi has been doing much better mentally. Now most of my guilt can go away when seeing her like this," Ria said.

  Seris turned her head to look at her. "That story you told me about her figuring it out still can’t get off my head, but I’m glad Lumi is doing all right as well."

  "Taren, Taren, Taren, sometimes being a bit immature. Lumi must’ve been so homesick for Tenshi that she started to get just a bit violent, but I guess that goes to show Tenshi must’ve been a great teacher and friend." Tara was then fast asleep in Ria’s arms. "Oh, you. I guess you must be tired."

  Seris would lightly chuckle. Taren would come through the door looking just a little wet. Seris and Ria both looked over at him, and Ria said, "Oh my, what happened to you? It’s not even raining yet."

  Taren would take off his boots, look over at them, and say, "Well, it was either come home with blood or come home wet."

  Seris nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." I also looked over at Taren as he came in but ignored him and continued to play with Sara.

  ***

  A few minutes passed as Taren changed into something more comfortable and dried off, yet he still had his sword on his waist. He walked over to Ria and Seris, carefully taking Tara to cradle her in his arms.

  "How are the beasts being handled? You’ve been much more busy than most times." Ria asked.

  Taren shook his head. "They have mainly started to come from the east. I took some time off and let others handle it; hopefully, everything is fine back in Celine since that’s down in that direction."

  "Either way, Tenshi is strong, just like his father," Seris said with a reassuring smile.

  Taren gave a small smile. Suddenly, a low rumbling noise filled the air, coming from the east. The ground shook for a moment, and we all tried to steady ourselves.

  "Oh, Lord!" Ria exclaimed.

  "Ahhh, ah!" I shouted as I held Sara, trying not to fall. As it stopped, I would set her back down. "What the?"

  "What the hell was that?" Taren asked as Tara slowly woke up in his arms.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "That was probably just a small hilimaquake. I guess today isn’t going according to plan," Ria sighed.

  "It better be the last," Seris added.

  Taren would feel a bit uneasy and would walk over to the door. He opened it, and as he was on the porch, he looked down there and noticed some storm clouds far down there. Ria and Seris also followed to see.

  I continued to carry Sara, and I walked over to look from the back, wondering what had happened and also why they were outside.

  ***

  A couple of minutes earlier, back at the palace in Celine, Vieta was currently walking around the halls, and she looked to her left and noticed the room of Salina and Terits. She looked through and noticed the cradle that Talia was sleeping in.

  Vieta looked around to notice anyone coming, and since no one was, she went through herself. She walked over to the cradle and noticed Talia fast asleep. Vieta had a small smile.

  All of a sudden, a small yet strong hilimaquake happened out of nowhere. "Ah!" Vieta yelped as she grabbed onto the cradle for a moment. "What… what was…?" She looked over at the window and pulled the curtains. She looked up and only saw the massive blue magical circle, but this time it was starting to spin. "Huh… weird."

  She looked down at the cradle and noticed Talia’s eyes wide open. "O-Oh, guess you woke up. Please don’t cry…" she murmured.

  Talia just continued to look directly at Vieta and later reached her hands out to Vieta, but it was in a more forceful tone. Vieta was wondering what she was doing but realized what it was. "Oh, all right." Vieta took a step to the cradle and took Talia out.

  She pointed to the window with both her hands.

  Vieta looked back at the window. "Huh, what are you pointing at?"

  ***

  A few minutes earlier, down at the Zelwesla region in the palace, Larah was sitting next to Noah as he was fast asleep on his desk, and the room was a mess of a bunch of dried-up cloth.

  Larah sighed with relief and stood up. She took her staff and walked out of the room. As she continued walking, she exited the room and headed to the balcony. She took a deep breath. "Thank Marisa I'm not in that room anymore…" she murmured.

  Suddenly, she felt a small rumble from the west, and a hilimaquake shook the ground for a brief moment. "H-Holy..." she exclaimed, gripping the balustrade for support.

  Just then, something buzzed in her right pocket. She pulled out a small compass, its arrow glowing blue as it pointed toward the west, where the country of Dalria lay. "Whoa, the mana readings are going insane! Wait, isn’t that...?"

  In a rush, Larah turned back and ran to her guest room. She grabbed a map of the world from her desk and hurried back to the balcony. Sitting down in a chair, she spread the map out and placed the compass beside it.

  As she examined both, she noticed the compass was directing her attention to two regions within Dalria. One region in particular caught her eye: the Celine region. "Wait, Tenshi is all the way there." She looked up into the distance. "Tenshi, what’s going on…?"

  ***

  In a luxurious room, a man was reading a book when he felt a small hilimaquake. Instead of reacting in alarm, he closed the book and stood up. Walking to the window, he gazed out and noticed dark clouds gathering in the distance. A smirk appeared on his face.

  ***

  Another man who was on some snowy land with purple hair and a cloak would have a horde of beasts coming after him, but when it seemed like he wouldn’t make a move, all the beasts would die.

  The man would feel the small earthquake and wasn’t very alarmed either. He looked to the south, and it was a little hard to see from the snow if there was anything, but he said, "Huge amounts of mana from the south… is this another attack by the false…? Or… something beyond that?" The man would continue to stand there until he started to walk in that direction.

  ***

  A man with a white beard, long white hair, and yellow eyes sat on a throne, his eyes closed. He let out a few grunts as though he were having a bad dream. Suddenly, he shouted, "Ah!" as he opened his eyes, sensing a small rumble beneath him.

  "Such mana… such power that resembles something even stronger than the Demon God..." His expression grew serious as he called out, "Defrimi!" A man appeared before him, kneeling and bowing.

  "Yes, sir. How may I serve you?" Defrimi asked.

  "Go down to the ground of mortals and investigate who is behind the magical circle. This could signal the possible return of the Demon God. After finding out who is causing it, kill them without hesitation. Go now!"

  "As you wish, my lord." Defrimi then teleported away.

  ***

  I am Tenshin Trius.

  It would be many minutes earlier, and Rias, Desha, and I were all outside, far from the castle gates. I had my real sword, aka Taren’s sword, at my waist, and the staff in my hand as Rias also had some of her leather armor, and so did I.

  "Why did we come so far anyway?" Rias asked.

  As we all continued walking, I said, "Because I wanna show you both what I can possibly do with this staff. I know Desha is curious about my strongest spell, and I know you’ll like it, Rias."

  "You caught me," Desha admitted.

  I would look over at Desha. "And I was thinking we use real swords for once, you know? So you can teach me a bit about how to use a real one without getting me killed, of course."

  Desha would have a small smile. "All right, but I won’t go too soft, but that’s on you if I go too far."

  I gulped, feeling a bit nervous about what she said. I cleared my throat. "Now then." I stopped walking, and so did the others. I looked back at them and pointed the staff at them. "Let me show you the saint-class lightning spell, shockwave strike!" I would look directly at Rias. "Oh, and you might wanna stay in front of Desha because this will be strong."

  Rias nodded and got in front of Desha for her protection.

  I would turn around and point my staff into the sky. "No, be ready to feast your eyes on a great mage casting the strongest saint-class spell!" Rias’s eyes shined as she couldn’t wait for me to use it since it was also her gift. All of a sudden, there would be a small hilimaquake that lasted a second. "Whoa!" I yelped as I fell to the ground. Rias and Desha were fine since Desha stood her ground and held Rias.

  "...Oh, come on! That was the start of it, right?" Rias asked as she felt a little unimpressed.

  I got up from the ground and rubbed the back of my head. I looked back at Rias and Desha. "No… huh, weird…" I would look back into the sky and hold my staff up again. "All right, back to it! Watch closely and enjoy the show!"

  Rias returned to having a smile and hopped with excitment.

  I cleared my throat again, and the mana stone above my staff would glow. "From the clouds above, I summon the boundless power that was originally bestowed by the lightning god Alucelia Sentarin—" Before I could finish, I noticed the mana circle above us in the distance started to multiply and stack above each other, starting to spin just a little faster. "Uh…"

  "What do you mean ‘uh?’ Is that supposed to happen or what?" Rias asked, feeling a little annoyed that I stopped out of nowhere.

  I would slowly back up, feeling a little uneasy about what the magical circle was doing. "N-No, this isn’t coming from me at all!"

  "Wait!" Desha shouted as she stepped in front of me, pointing her sword to it as her sword would glow red. Worry creased her face, and the sword's glow diminished as she set it down beside her. Quickly, she glanced back at us. "We need to leave now!"

  Rias and I were taken aback by this. "Whoa, whoa! What’s with the sudden get-up? What’s wrong?" I asked.

  "Yeah, tell us! I really wanted to see him use his blast thing!" Rias exclaimed.

  "That doesn’t matter! Lady Rias and Tenshin, we must fall back and alert Lord Terits; this is serious!" Desha’s eyes darted to the left, and she spotted a massive glow heading straight for me. "Get down!" she yelled.

  "Whoa!" I yelped as she pushed me aside, and she would jump the blast.

  "Tenshi!" Rias shouted as she ran over to me.

  I would quickly sit up as I dropped my seat beside me. "W-What the hell…" I stammered, fear evident in my voice.

  "I apologize for my sudden appearance. I came here to see what the fuss was about," a man said as he walked up to us with a grin while wearing a white cloak.

  Desha would get in front of Rias and me and aim her sword at him, "You! Stay where you are!"

  The man stopped grinning and replied, "Oh, that’s a bit threatening now. It’s not very nice to aim a sword at someone for no reason, you know?"

  Rias turned to him and demanded, "Who are you? Explain yourself!" I got up and looked directly at him as I grabbed my staff.

  The man, grinning, said, "Sure, no problem. I am the Overlord of the Second Sin, the apostle of the witch who represents greed. It’s nice to meet every single one of you."

  "So you’re a false god…" Desha would start to look even more worried, but she tried to stay confident in herself.

  A… false god? I said to myself.

  "Shit!" Desha exclaimed as she quickly looked back as something tried to get close to me.

  Desha quickly tried to block what was coming to me. "AH!" I exclaimed and fell back down.

  Desha was now clashing swords with someone, and it was too hard to keep up with how fast they clashed.

  Oliver looked over at it and said, "Ugh, so we are just going to intrude into other people's conversations now?"

  The two stopped clashing and looked directly at each other. The man in front of Desha was Defrimi.

  "One of Hildros’s servants…" Desha muttered. Defrimi held his sword back as Desha kept hers pointing at him.

  "Hey!" I exclaimed. "Desha, what is going on?! Please tell us!"

  Desha ignored me and continued to look at Defrimi. "What are you doing here, servant of Hildros?"

  Defrimi looked over at the magical circle as it started to push out waves of energy, which felt like a small gust of wind, but nothing more. "The magical circle. I am here to eliminate the one who has summoned it by order of Lord Hildros." Defrimi looked over at me. "That boy is the one who must be summoning it; therefore, he will be eliminated."

  "And that boy didn’t do anything. Look…" Desha would hold up her sword to him, and there would be a small symbol on the handle. "I am the proud student of the sword god, Greyat Vendalian. I promise you, the child has nothing to do with this. If it’s anyone, it’s the false god." Desha used her sword to point at Oliver.

  "Oh great, thank Marisa, I haven’t been forgotten," Oliver said as he smiled with relief.

  Defrimi would look at him as he spoke and back at Desha. "...You may leave, but I will return and retrieve both you and the two children for questioning with Lord Hildros." Defrimi would walk up to Oliver.

  "Defrimi! Hasn’t it been a while?" The magical circle started to make some strange noises, and clouds of lightning started to cover more of it.

  Rias would poke my shoulder. "Hey, Tenshi," she said. I looked back at her to see what she wanted. "What’s going on…?" she said with worry.

  I would also look worried and respond with, "...I’m not sure; just let me think for a moment, all right?" I would ponder as I looked over at Defrimi and Oliver. Okay, so the mana circle started to react, and then this Overlord Sin guy started to attack me. Then this def-something guy who was sent my Hildros started to attack me and was saved by Desha twice, luckily, and now… What is going on?

  Defrimi had his sword pointed at Oliver. "Oliver Kreed. Apostle of the witch representing greed, you and the other overlords have come to an agreement to not start any wars between the eight gods. What is the meaning of this?"

  Oliver would face-palm. "Oh my lord." He looked back up at him. "Are people racist against me or something? I'm blamed for everything, like, wow. No, I just came here to see what this was about, servant boy."

  I would quickly look over to the magical circle as it was now gone. Everyone else would look curiously at what happened. …Huh? I questioned.

  Everything remained silent as it was gone. Suddenly, a beam came out of the ground below to where it once was, and later, a massive rift appeared in its place, producing loud noises and releasing waves of mana that made the wind a little stronger.

  "Yeah, see, I can’t do that," Oliver said.

  Desha quickly dashed over to Rias and me. "Tenshi! Lady Rias! We have to—" Before she could finish, a wave swept her away, and she was suddenly rifted out of sight.

  "Desha!" Rias shouted in shock.

  I quickly grasped Rias's hand. "Come on!" I urged as I ran while taking her with me. I’m not sure what is happening, but all I know is that whatever that was is dangerous. Guess my slice-of-life ends.

  The rift transformed into an orb and then imploded, releasing an even larger and brighter wave. Defrimi swiftly teleported away while Oliver shielded himself with crystals. Both Rias and I were panting, and she pulled her hand away from mine. "Stop! We have to save Desha!" Rias quickly ran back.

  "Rias! No!" I shouted, but she stood in shock as she saw the wave closing in on us. I grabbed Rias's hand again. "Please, Rias, we have to—" I glanced at the wave, which was getting closer. I knew we had no chance of escaping.

  I quickly grabbed Rias and aimed my staff in front of us. "Earth grow!" I commanded, and stone walls began to rise up before us. "Earth grow! Earth grow!" I shouted again and again, urging the walls to get bigger. "EARTH FORTRESS!" I shouted even louder as a stone orb enveloped Rias and me.

  Rias slowly started to cry. "Desha… no… we’re… we’re going to die…"

  I held Rias tightly. Is… is this seriously how it ends? Is Desha… dead? No, we’ll be okay. I’ll figure it out no matter what. I’m not done yet! "Rias, no matter what happens, we’ll be okay and find Desha," I assured her, gripping her hand tightly. "I promise."

  And then, the light engulfed us as it continued to grow all the way to the capital and more.