“How long has it been since Selene disappeared,” Rena asked Ellie in a somber voice.

“A week. I don’t understand, isn’t she immortal?”

“She most definitely is. I have no clue what could have happened to her. Have you come up with anything,” she asked Lilith who had been pouring through old tomes for days.

“Nothing. I know of no demons that can kill an immortal nor any spells that negate her power.”

After Selene didn’t return by the day after she disappeared into the cave, the party went back to investigate the area but found no signs of her. There was nothing about the area that suggested where she could have gone and there was no record of such a tunnel existing. None of the adventurers at the guild had reported seeing her, nor had anyone else.

After the second day, they traveled to her cottage Cassie told them about, but there was nothing there either. She was truly gone from the world. It was impossible to search for a crack in a rock when there were too many to ever check.

Once it became clear that Selene wasn’t going to return anytime soon, Cassie left the party and took a job at the Merchants’ Guild. Ellie remained but regularly attended private lessons with Archmage Rankin. Only Rena and Lilith remained, staunchly dedicated to their friend.

“Maybe whatever was in that tunnel wasn’t a normal demon. Do you know of any legendary or rumored demons?”

“There has not been a demon lord in hundreds of years, but it is unlikely that one would spawn underground. The only thing that could possibly beat her is a dragon lord, but those are just a myth,” Lilith explained.

“…Dragon lord? What kind of demon is that?”

“Half demon-half dragon. It is said that they can crush a dragon under its foot and bring about an apocalypse, but those are just stories.”

“……………That sounds bad. If someone of her ability can’t beat that kind of being, then no one can.”

Lilith sat on the bed she shared a single night with Selene and took a deep breath. The idea that her beloved was beaten by the hands of a demon of that magnitude was too much for her to think about.

“She will return, she told me she would,” Lilith mumbled wistfully.

“How long do you plan on waiting?”

“However long it takes.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Selene opened her eyes only to see nothing but darkness. Neither her arms nor her legs could move, she couldn’t even open her mouth. It was as if she was frozen in time.

Where am I, she asked herself. The last thing I remember is being thrown into magma and… Oooooh, I must be encased in rock. If I break out now, I’ll just be put into another one by that crazy strong demon… Oh well!

An enormous explosion blasted her out of the stone, followed by the entire area becoming frozen before she could be covered again. One look around the area made it clear that she drifted pretty far from where she was thrown into the river of molten rock.

“Did that weirdo say he was humanity’s bane? Well, I can’t just go back to my friends if that thing is still out there. I might as well kick that weirdo’s butt!”

Selene activated her boots’ speed boost and rushed back up the river. Even though she was thoroughly beaten the last time, she was excited for the challenge. Every enemy she had encountered thus far had been too easy. Finally, there was something worth fighting.

After an hour of running, she finally entered the cavern again. She looked around frantically, looking for any sign of the dragon lord that had beaten her.

“Foolish human!” The demon cried out as he slashed at the persistent adventurer.

She dodged his sword and kicked him in the chest, which sent him flying backward. Selene took her sword out of her inventory and jumped at her enemy. The dragon lord was prepared for her attack and readied himself to block her sword, but just before she made impact, she disappeared.

“Aaargh,” the dragon lord cried out in pain from a stab in the back.

Selene wasn’t going to go easy on him, nor was she going to play fair. Spamming her abilities would make quick work of the so-called lord. As he turned to face her, she activated Shadow Step and cut his side before he could realize she disappeared again. This pattern repeated until she had gotten five or so good hits on the demon.

After the sixth time though, he had caught on and was ready for her. He kicked her before she could hit him again, knocking her back and on the defense. Or so he thought. Before he reached her, she used her Elemental Magic and created a stone box to encase him in. She flooded the box with water, followed by her freezing the water.

“Stupid human,” he shouted as he broke through her icy prison. Prepared to fight, the dragon lord paused to look for his enemy who was once again out of sight.

“Up here!” Selene dropped down from where she was levitating, impaling the demon with ease.

The dragon lord cried out in pain and burst into flame. His armor melted off his body and his sword melded with his hand and split into five pieces. The fingers on the other hand grew into long, sharp fiery blades. What was left of the dragon lord was horrifying.

The faceless horned dragon lord sprouted a pair of wings that were composed of fire and ash, as was the rest of his body. While he was still bipedal, the dragon features made it clear how a demon could be called a dragon lord. Selene couldn’t help but call back to her old world and thought it looked like Tartarus mixed with a certain beast from a popular fantasy series.

Instead of using a menacing voice, the dragon lord screeched like the dragon she had slayed before he arrived. It turned its featureless head towards Selene’s direction and flew at her at incredible speed. Using its long blade-like claws, it slashed in a frenzy at the confused immortal.

Despite being able to dodge or absorb its multiple hits, she was intimidated by the grotesque creature. The ferocity of its attacks shook her and the screeches it made with each slash unsettled her. She attempted to attack but the demon was too fast and persistent with its movements. In order to take control of the fight again, she used Shadow Step, but it seemed to be on her the second after she reappeared.

Just when she was getting used to its attacks, it breathed fire on her between slashes. In a desperate move, she spammed her abilities. A pair of clones spawned next to her, stones from all around flew at the dragon lord, and a blast of magical energy shot out of her chest, knocking it back. The clones charged the demon, creating the much-needed distraction she needed.

Once again, she disappeared from sight only to reappear behind the dragon lord mid-swing. In one swift hit, the head of the dragon lord rolled into the magma river and the body crumpled and dissipated in the air as the ash blew away.

“…I did it…  Yes! Heck yeah! Final boss complete! Take that you ash-hole… Thank goodness no one was around to hear that. I should look around, maybe God left me some goodies!”

Before looking for treasures, she made sure to harvest the dragon corpse that was somehow in perfect condition. The scales and mana gem would be extremely valuable, plus black was her favorite color.

After an hour of searching the ruins of the city, she finally found a chest in the ruins of the palace that the dragon was lying on when she first entered the cavern. She opened it up and a big grin grew on her face. It was a long time coming but she finally found the thing she had been looking for since she was reincarnated. The other goodies were nice bonuses, but she couldn’t tear her eyes off the new armor set.

“Yes! It’s black and red! It’s so freaking badass! And no crown this time! And it’s all demon themed! Lilith is going to love this! Let’s see… Mimic’s Mask, Vampire’s Protection, Devil’s Touch, Cover of Night, and Satan’s Steps… Heck yes! Plus, Baphomet’s Bow and Blade of Beelzebub! This is the best! Alright, time to go home!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“It’s been a month, Lilith. You’ve been apart longer than you’ve been together, isn’t this a bit much? Even if she is alive, she’s not coming back. We still have money, and we can take contracts we can do together, it’s time to move on,” Rena attempted to persuade her.

“She said she would come back,” Lilith snapped back at her. “I will never give up on her!”

“Who are we giving up on?”

Lilith spun around in surprise, already with tears in her eyes. The woman in front of her looked like Selene, but her armor was pitch back with red detailing and her once blue eyes were now bright red. Not only was she alive, but in Lilith’s eyes, she was hotter!

“I knew you would come back to me,” Lilith cried as she embraced her beloved.

“Huh? It’s only been a couple days, right?”

“You were gone for a month! What the hell happened to you,” Rena exclaimed in disbelief.

“A month!? I was stuck in a rock for a month!? After I killed a dragon, some weird dragon demon thing threw me into magma. I broke out earlier and chopped that weirdo’s head off,” Selene explained. It was painfully abridged, but it covered the basics necessary for an explanation.

“Wait, you killed a dragon lord!? Those things are supposed to being about the end of the world!”

While Rena asked her questions, Lilith greedily held onto the girl she had dedicated herself to. Selene didn’t mind, especially after she learned how long she was gone. If anything, she owed Lilith way more than tolerating her clinging to her.

“I mean, the only reason he beat me at first was because he took me by surprise. The second time was super easy. I mean, it did become some kind of faceless ash creature, but it wasn’t that hard. Oh! And I got this sick new gear! It’s a little less revealing, plus, no crown!”

“You killed a dragon and a dragon lord… I missed your ridiculous feats! Welcome back,” Rena rushed over and joined Lilith in hugging her.

“I’m sorry I was gone for so long. If it had just been the dragon, I would have gotten back when I said I would. Where is everyone else?”

“Umm, Cassie is working at the Merchants’ Guild and Ellie is probably with her old master,” Rena answered as she backed off, recognizing how possessive Lilith was.

“Ah, that makes sense. We can go visit them tomorrow, I kinda want to lie in a real bed and not a stone slab.”

“Okay! We’ll catch up more later, I want to hear all the details, but you should get some rest. That is, if Lilith will let you get any,” Rena chuckled.

Rena rushed out to notify the Adventurers’ Guild that Selene had returned. It was going to be huge news that the immortal beauty was back from killing a world destroying demon. Plus, she wanted to get out of the house before Lilith did whatever she was going to do.

“Oh, damn, I forgot to mention I got a new skill… Hey, Lilith, do you mind if I go to bed?”

Lilith relinquished her embrace and took Selene’s hand in hers. “As long as I can join you.”

“…I really missed you.”

 

~~~~~~~~ Final Chapter