The other fairies gave me dubious looks after I said I was bringing Kelcie and Ryel with me into Fairy. Kelcie was coming because she is my wife and will be following me to the demon lord meeting, and Ryel because we are the only family she has left, although I believe she said that she had an orc family from her mothers side somewhere else.

Rose gave me a thumbs up and winked – something she learnt from me – while Holly took her cue from Rose and shrugged. Mother wisely kept her mouth shut as I gave her a look, Thornwood merely sighed but otherwise didn’t say anything else to dispute my claim. 

It was only after I stopped glaring at them all that I noticed that my mother and Holly in particular were occasionally glancing nervously over the side of the ship. We had been travelling away from Fairy for some time, it was no wonder they were nervous. 

As we started saying our goodbyes, Enoc pulled me aside. “Lord Azalea? Do you mind if I speak with you for a moment?”

I nodded my head and followed him, subtly shaking my head at Kelcie when she glanced at me questioningly. “Sure, Prince Enoc. You can just call me Azalea though. There’s no need for this lord stuff. I’m still little ole me,” I said, gesturing at my diminutive form compared to him. 

Enoc smiled warmly at me. “Are you sure? Demon Lords are like a force of nature and anything like that deserves respect.”

Smiling in return, I nodded again. “Positive. I haven’t been a Demon Lord for very long, and honestly it’s weird having a prince act so…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish my thought. 

“Deferential? Respectful? Courteous? I can understand that. Even if you weren’t higher level than I am, regardless if that’s Power Level or not, you also saved a lot of people, my men included. If you are happy for me to just call you Azalea, then please, just call me Enoc, okay?”

I grinned, nodding enthusiastically. “I can do that! So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I have something that I thought you should have.” The prince pulled a necklace from his pocket. “This is a small crycom on a chain, otherwise known as a comlace. It’ll allow you to communicate with someone else who holds part of the same crystal. It’s not as secure as other forms of communication, so be careful, okay? I gave Callie the other one, as long as you are both on the same side of the world, you can communicate with one another.”

Hesitantly, I reached out for the necklace he was holding out to me. Grabbing it, I smiled as I watched it shrink down to my size. “That’s always so cool to watch! Oh, and thanks!”

Enoc chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. “It really is, I rarely ever get to see it change so drastically though.” He smiled. “You’re welcome. Also, the communication can be spotty at times, and it takes time to recharge its mana after each use – ambient mana only, so don’t try to force feed it, or it’ll explode.”

“Got it!” I nodded. “Thanks, friend. Good luck with your mission!”

“Thanks. I’m hoping that we can perhaps persuade the elves to provide their assistance again. Good luck with your demon lord meeting. Be careful with them, okay? Come back in one piece.”

I smiled at my new friend and nodded as I zoomed off to say my goodbyes. Placing the necklace in my neck spot in my inventory, I watched it vanish from my hand and reappear around my neck with a grin. My new world might not have TV, but it had magic. 

My grin faded for a moment as I remembered that I didn’t really know what my new world was anymore. Grimacing, I shook my head to metaphorically shake myself from following that thought. I had friends to say goodbye to. 

Glancing out over the side of the airship briefly, I noticed that the sun was finally setting. It had been a very long day, and it wasn’t quite over yet.

Enlarging myself, I stepped in front of Raya smiling softly at her. “Well, I guess this is goodbye, for now. It’s been a lot of fun, and I hope we meet up again in the future for more adventures.”

The nekokin’s tail swayed from side to side when I said that, and she moved forward, engulfing me in a warm hug. “I’ll miss you, my Azalea.” Pulling back slightly, she looked me in the eyes seriously. “Please take care, there are a lot of powerful people who seem to be scheming about you. I wouldn’t want to hear that you got hurt and I wasn’t there to heal you!”

I gave her a confident smirk and winked. “I’ll be fine, Ryel is here with us, after all. What could go wrong?” 

Raya and I giggled as we glanced at the half orc in question, just as she was showing Tyral her rocket shoes, nearly falling over when one shoe flashed and launched her foot forward unexpectedly.

Separating from the nekokin, who still looked a little sad, but not as much, I closed the distance between Callie and I. Before I could say something though, Callie pointed at my new necklace. “I see my brother gave you a comlace. That one is connected to mine, so just grasp it, think of wanting to talk to me, and it will notify me that you want to talk.”

“Huh, he failed to explain how it worked, I’m glad you did though, thanks! So I guess this is goodbye, how long do you think you will be on your quest for?”

Callie shrugged her slim but muscular shoulders, the beads on the left side of her head tinkling slightly. “No idea, I think that it’s about a week's travel time? Possibly longer, made worse that we will be flying straight over the worst of the warzone, if we flew straight that is.”

I whistled. “Wow, that sounds incredibly dangerous. Can you make it in this little ship?”

“We should be okay. We’re taking the longer route around the majority of the frontlines, avoiding the worst of it. Before we go, we will drop off the adventurers then meet up with the Storm Front and take that. It should be repaired by then,” Callie replied, glancing around at all of the people milling about, many of which still stared at the fairies in fascination, or at least I hoped it was fascination.

Nodding, I smiled at the half elf. “Well, goodbye then!” I said with a small wave.

“Oh, no you don’t, you aren’t getting away that easily, little lady,” Callie responded, pulling me to her in a tight hug. “Take care of you and yours, you hear me? Kelcie is a great girl.” She paused with a quiet chuckle – I felt her breath on my hair. “And Ryel is growing on me. Come back to us. You might be a brat, but you are our brat, okay?”

Giggling, I nodded into our goodbye hug, hitting my chin on her firm chest. “Got it! I’ll be back to annoy you before you know it. It will be like we never separated!”

Stepping back from me, Callie sighed as she looked down at me wistfully, before she mussed my hair up. “Good, don’t forget that,” she replied, smirking at my pout while I straightened my hair.

I was waving goodbye to Rad, who was whispering to Ryel about something – clearly it was amusing as Ryel was giggling when Tyral reached me and held something out. “Here, this is yours. I’ve already given Kelcie and Ryel theirs.” At my puzzled look at the small coin she had handed to me, she continued. “This is a token that you can hand in at any adventurers association. It’s worth a significant reward for successfully completing the expedition to West End.”

Tucking it away into my pouch, I thanked her, before a question came to mind. “Why wasn’t this like a normal quest?”

“Because it wasn’t a normal quest. It was far too open ended and unknown. The guild generates the quests themselves, and other than a guideline that they have to apparently follow for the system to accept the quests, it’s up to them to set the quest rewards. Standard and recurring quests are well known, but abnormal quests are a lot harder for them to work out.”

“Huh, interesting. Well, thanks again for that, and thanks for being such a great leader. Especially with regards to how those people treated Kelcie,” I said sincerely, hugging the much taller woman gently. 

Tyral patted my back gently. “You’re welcome.” She leaned down so her mouth was near my ear. “I know exactly how she felt. I’ve had my fair share of it too, but please keep that to yourself,” she whispered. 

I stared up at her in surprise as she stepped back and winked at me, before she walked over to Enoc, stepping into his embrace and snuggling into his side comfortably. Tyral was trans? That was a revelation to me, I wondered briefly how she would’ve transitioned, before the impatient noises my mother was making drew me back to reality. 

The sun was well and truly setting now, just a thin orange line across the horizon when lights positioned all over the deck came on, casting everyone in a soft white glow. 

“Rad, do you mind giving Ryel a lift to the ground?” Enoc asked. 

Kelcie and I looked at each, both knowing the other hadn’t really given that part much thought and sharing a look that translated to, ‘oops’.

The Arcane Mechanic saluted the prince. “Can do, Boss. Come on, Ryel.” With that, Rad snapped her fingers and her Airbike materialised next to her. Ryel rushed over, having finished her goodbyes like Kelcie and I had, and jumped on the back of Rad’s bike. 

“Well, that’s certainly handy!” I exclaimed, cancelling my enlarge spell. “Let’s ride!”

With the buzzing of our wings – Kelcie once again a cute little fairy – we took off from Little Stormie, waving to everyone watching as we dropped down underneath their eye line and into the forest below. 

I had thought that Rad would drop Ryel off immediately but she kept following the rest of us as we flew through the forest for a while. Eventually she waved to me, so I veered off and landed on her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“How much further to go? I will have to turn around soon if I wish to make it back to the ship before it gets too far and goes out of my range.”

I looked ahead, but couldn’t see the telltale shimmer of the magical barrier around Fairy. “Give me a moment, let me check.”

Lifting off of Rad’s shoulder, I flew straight up, breaching the roof of the forest moments later. Looking around, I spotted the barrier in the distance. At this elevation, it was impossible to miss it in the light as the last of the sun vanished over the horizon.

Dropping back down, I noticed that the others had slowed down to see what we were doing. 

“It’s not too far, another ten to fifteen minutes at most,” I said, landing on Rad’s shoulder again. “Think you can travel that far?” If not, we can just walk the rest of the way.”

“You mean I walk the rest of the way?” Ryel grumbled, although I could tell by her tone that she didn’t mean it seriously. 

I smirked at the little half orc. “Unless those flashy rocket boots of yours work, yes.”

Ryel’s eyes lit up. “It’ll provide me with a great opportunity to test them properly!”

A sigh sounded out next to me as Kelcie made her way over. “Did you just have to suggest that?” She asked with another sigh. 

Rolling my eyes, I defended my actions, brilliantly coming up with the perfect excuse on the spot. “We know she’s going to test them, this way, we’re there to help when she does!” 

Kelcie narrowed her eyes like she saw straight through me, but eventually nodded her head and shrugged. “I can’t refute that.” She smirked. “Sometimes you’re too smart for your own good, Azzie.”

Giggling, I flexed my muscles for some reason. “That I am!”

Rolling her eyes, Kelcie turned to look at Ryel. “Okay, come on, Ryel, let’s go. Thanks, Rad, for your help, and for giving Ryel a ride.” 

“No worries!” Rad said, saluting Kelcie with a wink. 

After a brief pause for goodbyes, Rad raced off, waving behind her as she vanished into the canopy of the forest. 

With Willow impatiently watching with her hands on her hips, Ryel tested out her boots, flashing forward several metres before she managed to work out a hoping skip that allowed her to move fairly quickly before her shoes ran out of fuel. The sun had truly set by now, leaving the forest in darkness, except for the light that my family and I were giving off, Kelcie having had to drop her fairy form again. 

We were nearing the magical border of Fairy when a bright light burst through the canopy above, exploding near us, while several winged armed humanoids rushed through the gap and flew directly for us. 

“Holy poop buckets! Everyone watch out!” I yelled while swiftly dodging a blazing sword swing. 

“Who are you, and why’re you attacking us?” I asked after dodging yet another swing. 

The person sort of reminded me of the Liches. It was highly androgynous in a sort of robotic way, almost like it wasn’t a real person. It wore what looked like an armoured toga, if there was such a thing, with bright white feathered wings like an Angel that glowed a soft golden colour. Its long sword blazed with a white-orange flame that made whooshing noises as it swung at me. From what I could see of its masked face, it was expressionless and emotionless, further reinforcing the robotic feel to it. 

With a strong flap of its wings, the angel rushed forward, sword first. I managed to place my shield up just in time, narrowly deflecting the attack with a loud crack as my shield shattered under the blow. 

I had no time to respond when it suddenly raised an elbow and smashed it into my face, sending me flying into the nearest tree. The tree shattered under the force of the blow and I dropped to the forest floor from the sudden stop of my flight. 

The world was still spinning when, within moments, the angel was on me again, its flaming sword raised to stab me. All of this had taken mere moments in time, barely giving me a second to even grasp what had happened, let alone put up some kind of response better than a knee jerk reaction. 

“STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE!” 

Suddenly Kelcie was there, a whirlwind of pink and white light, spinning and twirling twin swords, slicing and dicing the angel with a fury I had never seen before, and hoped I never would again. Even though she looked absolutely furious, I could feel her terror for me fuelling the anger. 

Shaking my head to clear the cobwebs from my mind, I finally noticed the sounds of battle all around me. My heart raced as I watched Rose seemingly dancing around Holly and Willow, vanishing from sight after twirling while mini twisters spun around them, blocking angels from getting to my family. Golems of dirt and plants burst out of the ground from Holly and Thornwood, crashing into yet another wave of angels appearing out from above. 

Throughout all of this, the angels hadn’t said a word, not even to each other, seeming to silently communicate. 

An explosion rocked the forest and thick smoke rushed out, covering everything and everyone in the battle, and yet I could still see through the smoke. It was almost like I was seeing double: on one hand, I could see the smoke, and yet on the other, I could see through it with no problem. 

“Kelcie! Azalea!” My blood ran cold when I heard Ryel cry out in fear. Bracing myself, I shot up directly at the angel fighting Kelcie, charging up a pulse and then firing it point blank in its face as I flew past. The blast staggered Kelcie, but also, and more importantly, blew the angel into blue pixelated light particles as it died. 

“Ha! Lightweight!” I gloated, orienting myself in the direction Ryel’s voice had come from. 

Through our bond, I knew Kelcie was fine, she had heard the cry and was more concerned about Ryel like I was. 

Flying forward, I immediately dodged a flaming arrow aimed at me from a random angel and fired a dozen [Telekinetic Bullets] at my attacker. I briefly wondered how it saw me through the smoke, before I noticed its eyes were glowing a bright white. The bullets peppered its wings, making it drop to the forest floor, allowing me to focus on getting to Ryel. 

I watched as Ryel fought for her life against three angels, whacking them with some kind of baton when they got too close, and desperately throwing out random bombs when they didn’t. Luckily for her, they were having a hard time seeing her through the smoke, smoke which she obviously let off herself earlier. No one ever said Ryel wasn’t a clever girl. 

Charging forward, I fired a [Psychic Slash] and watched with satisfaction as it hit its mark, causing the angel to flinch and hold its head in pain. I fired a blast of [Mystic Lightning] at the next target, before sending bullets at all three. 

By then, Kelcie had managed to catch up to, then pass me, slashing at the angels with her twin swords, spinning and twirling, covering Ryel as the young girl pulled a slingshot from nowhere and fired explosive pellets at our enemies. She didn’t seem to be doing a huge amount of damage, but a lot of her attacks disoriented or threw our attackers off balance, helping Kelcie and I hit them in vital spots.

The last angel we had to kill managed to shoot a fireball at me – that I easily dodged – before filling it full of bullet holes, watching it explode in blue particles with satisfaction.

“Is everyone okay?” Kelcie asked, checking Ryel over for wounds or scratches. I smiled fondly as Kelcie fussed and Ryel kept insisting that she was fine. 

Before I could answer though, even more angels burst out from up above. Dozens of them flying above us, clearly searching for our whereabouts through the smoke. 

“Do you have any more of that large smoke bomb?” I asked as the smoke began to thin enough for the angels to be able to see us easier. 

“Only small ones left, I’m sorry,” Ryel answered, shaking her head, looking upset. 

I smiled at her. “Hey, don’t worry about it, that was brilliant, and I bet it saved your life, so don’t apologise.”

Kelcie hugged Ryel to her. “Yeah, you did a great job, hun.”

“What’re we going to do about them?” I asked, pointing at the angels as even more joined the group up above. 

“My thoughts exactly, sister,” Rose said, appearing suddenly next to me. Our mother, Thornwood and Holly reached us moments later, looking remarkably put together considering they’d been fighting for their lives not long ago. 

Hugging my sister in relief, I looked around at our group. “Think we can take them?”

Thornwood shook his head. “Our best bet is to try and make it through the barrier and into Fairy before we’re overwhelmed.” He winced as he counted the angels. “There’s got to be over sixty of them now.”

I frowned as I tried to count them all but failed, and used [Inspect] instead. 

Warrior Caste Angel

Level: 300

Warning: Exclusively the servant of a God. 

“Oh. That’s not good,” I muttered, as even more turned up, pushing the number of angels to nearly one hundred now. “Okay, I vote we run for the barrier, and hope that it somehow keeps them out, agreed?”

Everyone nodded, or verbally agreed before we started slowly making our way through the by now rapidly dissipating smoke hiding us and towards the unknown safety of the barrier. 

“Run!” I yelled when it became obvious that we had been spotted as the angels swarmed – the flapping of their wings rather loud – and rushed us. I knew that if us fairies turned into our wisp forms, we might make the barrier in time, but there was no way that Ryel or Kelcie could make it, and there was zero chance I would leave them behind. 

Before any of us could even blink, there was a loud cry and out burst hundreds of fairies, all rushing for the angel swarm. 

Loud explosions, cheering and giggling echoed through the forest as the angels and fairies clashed, spells, weapons and random debris being thrown all over the battlefield. 

“Come on, let’s help them!” I cheered and zipped off towards the fighting. Purple lightning flashed from my hands and bullets spread into the angel horde as I let loose, no longer worried about my family. A dozen angels fell in seconds from the combined attacks of all the fairies. I began chaining my attacks, enhanced with [Fairy Magic] and I turned into a purple maelstrom of death before I ran out of mana and had to retreat next to Kelcie, who had changed her swords out for arm mounted crossbows, picking her targets carefully. 

Within minutes, the last of the angels were either dead, or fleeing for their lives and the fairies were cheering and celebrating their victory with displays of illusions like fireworks. 

“History is repeating itself already.” My mother moaned. “See what happens when you leave the forest, Azalea?” She asked, her hands once again on her hips. Ignoring my mother – who better believe I had follow up questions for her – I hugged Kelcie in relief that we had survived yet another battle. Today had been far too long for my tastes and I desperately needed a bed. 

“Come on, Kelcie, Ryel, let’s find a place to stay the night. I’m exhausted,” I mumbled, slowly leading my new family to my home, although it might not be for too much longer, if my mother didn’t give it a rest. 

I held Kelcie tight while riding on her shoulders, enjoying her warmth and trying to not doze off. During our trip, I furiously tried to not think about which god in particular had sent their angels after me, unsuccessfully as one particular angry war goddess came to mind, a thought I kept to myself for now. No one else needed to know yet.