“WHAT!!!” Junk yelled, finding out that the loli was too savage. She did not even spare catgirls!

“You are not supposed to kill everyone in self-defense! They might have had a family!” Junk was agitated seeing the small girl tilt her head in ignorance of morals.

“But I have a galactic traveller’s badge. I can legally kill anyone who attacks me in self-defence. Especially in orbit. I can never get into trouble and even if I couldn’t escape on my own from the police or something, the association would save me.”

“That’s crazy! A galactic organization that condones murder…”

It was not meant to be, Junk had trouble applying his morals to this situation, since the galaxy was gigantic and there were so many lifeforms. There was no way this association would care about a dozen random soldiers.

The three made their way further into the desert, while Fluffy the small death star kept glaring at Junk with its one eye.

“What are you looking at! Hah! Looking for trouble…” The dwarf bored tried to intimidate the blob of fur to mind its own business.

“So, are we just going to keep walking further into the desert?”

The chapter would end with nothing happening, if the barren desert keeps stretching any further Junk thought to himself.

Something happened!

A black feather drifted down from the sky and landed on the orange haired loli’s nose.
Pom got her cute nose tickled and cutely sneezed. The feather drifted into the air and the wind created by the irritated small nose made it rise.

The very presence of the feather was a mystery.

The blackness of it reflected with a metallic glint. It was sharp and belonged to a bird, a large bird.

*screech*

A loud ear-splitting cry ensued. Hand covering their ears, the three spotted a black bird descending onto the ground.
It came down head bowed, and kneeled on the ground before Dislucas.

“Ehh… A birdy came down!”

Dislucas clapped her hands in delight.

“Lunch came on its own today!” Dislucas licked her lips.

The bird turned into a well-endowed fallen angel.

“Miss Dislucas… My benefactor! Welcome back.”

“You saved my life and killed a giant dragon that ate my family. I have grown since but never forgot my debt of gratitude. Just when I was flying, I saw you…”

“Not a chicken?” Dislucas tilted her head.

“If you wish to eat me… I understand, I will give you my life…”

“What!? No, no, NO!”

Junk quickly interfered and stood between the glutton and its next meal.

“Pom help me out here!?”

He asked for aid from his smaller companion, not wishing to see a sentient being used as food.

“Yeah… Don’t eat her. Maybe she can help us find a place to rest?”

And so, they had dinner and rested inside the camp, which was actually the fallen angel looking bird’s home. After the angel managed to sate the glutton and her pet’s appetite as a host, the two wanting desert insisted on going outside to catch a rabbit.
With the two savages gone, Lucy introduced herself and told them how glad she was that they spoke up for her. The loli was far stronger and more dangerous than any creature in this realm.

She told them how that dragon that ate her family was a disastrous one and if Dislucas hadn’t appeared when she did the whole planet might have been destroyed.

The dwarf finally understood why that association let Dislucas get away with small casualties. It was not that they were irresponsible, but it was the fact that the small loli had done so much good, saved a whole planet. They also couldn’t handle her overpowered abilities or just didn’t want to bare the losses.

It was time to sleep and Junk lied down, when Pom approached him. She shyly whispered that she did not receive enough headpats.
Junk smiled and started to give some love to Pom.

Morning, the two gluttons had in a rare generous streak caught breakfast for everyone. Then Dislucas asked them.

“You don’t seem to be from this realm. Cat and dwarf!”

“Yes, we got sent here by a portal. On accident.”

“Like a blue portal?”

“Yes, and it closed immediately behind us…”

Hmm, Dislucas thought.

“You two are from the same place as the catgirls, right?”

She then explained she saw a portal that the catgirls made at their camp, before she destroyed it with a black hole.

“It seems that the portal and the black hole triggered a fracture between the space and your realm. But you can stand assured. I am an expert in space.”

She proudly displayed her proficiency.

“Since I saw the other portal, I naturally know the location of your realm. But there is something else.” She cupped her chin in thought.
“You usually can’t open a portal just anywhere. You can easily open one if you have a massive energy concentrated in a spot, tho. It curves space. “

Junk just barely understood that she might be able to get them home.

“Does that mean you’ll help us get home?”

Pom asked hopeful.

“Not just help, I can get you there now. But the chicken must come with.”
“Oi! She’s called Lucy!”

“I know!”

Dislucas cutely struck out her tongue.

“Well, let’s go.”

Dislucas rose her arms, focused and recalled the other portal. She connected the two dots together, also tightening the portal and preventing any spatial interferences. There were some monsters that prayed on travellers using the portals. The monsters were usually worm like and effectively burrowed their way inside the portal. The unwary travellers were helpless no matter how strong. Time was still and instant for those using portals.

But with the right measures the portal could be impenetrable, as it was the nature of space to spread out and leave no holes. One other way was using a stabiliser on one and to not risk the interference of the creatures in the void.

With the portal made, Dislucas remembered something, she also had to inform them.

“Actually, you didn’t travel dimensions like you thought. For something like that you need to get a licence and ask for permission. Else you would have just been intercepted by the management. If you could prove it was not on purpose and an accident, you’d be sent free. Else you’d be imprisoned. Well, but if they didn’t catch you… You might reach a dimension. But you’d be killed and have your body remade by the rules of the universe. Fortunately, souls are a standard across world. You’d be changed but alive, maybe crippled.”

The loli for once had a dark expression.

“But if you mess around with interdimensional travel and get unlucky, there is a chance… An eldritch horror takes interest and pulls you inside their dimension. That is a force beyond any control. Inside the duct they can rip your soul away and do anything they want for amusement.”

She gulped.

“Many a traveller was taken, underestimating the void. It is infinite and filled with many horrors rather then something good. There are boons out there as well… But…”

Dislucas gave them a hard look.

“I once saw one rip away a thousand travellers’ souls from their body in the dimensional duct. It took but a moment they all disappeared. And many were far more experienced than me. The entity could not be seen but I felt it’s presence… It allowed me to and said.”

The loli copied a deep voice: “Heh, loli.”

“It was all it said before it went away. It spared me for some reason… I heard news of the whole dimension that I came from disappear. I said to the management what happened. They gathered the whole management of our galaxy. The strongest one, the traveller in our universe went inside, with the duct still open we saw his body disintegrate and his soul warp in horror. In the end it took all of the management to close the portal and the thing wasn’t even present.”

The horrific description told Junk what had happened. He had perhaps been incredibly lucky that he managed to get here in one piece and had his body created anew. I don’t believe in luck. Was the truck that killed him actually an eldritch horror?

“I may be stronger than that leader now and more skilled, but before the entity that definitely wasn’t the strongest out there in the void… I would still be the same helpless me at its mercy.”

Junk wiped his sweaty brow. Of all the things he didn’t need to know was that in the void something was waiting out there and preying on helpless souls. Well not just souls, it didn’t matter if you had a cheat.

Dislucas coughed and tried to cheer them up.

“You’ll be fine. Only dimensional travellers can potentially arouse interest! Let’s take you home.”

She pushed Junk, Lucy and Pom inside the portal, before going in herself.