The final clash between Princess Emeraude and the combined might of the Magic Knights had just happened. The heavens of Cephiro were lit up by a bright flash of light that covered the entire stratosphere, signifying the death of the Pillar. While only very few citizens of Cephiro knew the true meaning of the flash, they all could feel the shift in atmosphere. The terror and fear caused by the loud thundering sounds and the tremors of the crust, were all forgotten for one moment. A moment of silence overtook the planet, followed by a universal sense of unease.
It was at that moment that only two people in the entire world had more concerning matters to attend to. Up in the sky, a titanic figure in silver and gold armor was desperately trying to reach the surface of the planet. On his back, or more specifically, holding onto his brunette hair for her dear life, was a scantily clad woman with ankle-length black hair and a white cape.
Hotaru was in the middle of a precarious balancing act. The effects of the power enhancing drug Alcyone had given him were starting to fade away. He could have flown much faster, but then his passenger would get flung off of him. If he didn't reach the ground in time, his ability to fly and shrug off terminal velocity drops would disappear. In addition, there was one more pressing issue; they weren't the only thing coming down.
"Left! Right! Break!" Alcyone yelled instructions to him.
With Alcyone as his eyes on the back, Hotaru dodged massive falling crystal shards. The pieces of the former royal castle's crystal barrier were flying past them like blue meteors. While these shards were more harmful to Alcyone than himself, Hotaru still tried to fly as far away from the falling shards as possible. Afterall, he had no idea what would happen if the actual fortress were to come down.
Breaking out of the black cloud cover that surrounded them, Hotaru yelled out, "I can see the ground! Teleport to the surface, I will be with you in a second!"
"I can't do that!" Alcyone yelled out frightenedly. "If I teleport to the ground when going this fast, I will hit the ground this fast!"
"Shit, then hold on, I think we're far enough away from the fortress!"
Hotaru tried picking up the speed, but his velocity didn't seem to increase. In fact, trying to fly forward was like swimming through molasses and he quickly felt short of breath. As the ground started getting closer, his body felt heavy and he began to shrink.
"The effects have worn off," Alcyone gasped, grabbing hold of the collar of Hotaru's armor.
"Yes, I think I noticed," Hotaru answered sarcastically, his throat feeling dry and his voice wheezy.
Eventually Hotaru shrank back to his regular size and his speed slowed down to terminal velocity. He wanted to scream in terror but his body was too tired.
"Aluminum… Flight," he groaned, trying to force his flight spell to work.
While his body still felt heavy as ever, he did seem to slow down a bit. As Hotaru turned around, he could see Alcyone using her levitation spell to slow them down. It was clear she was struggling, but Hotaru knew Alcyone was stronger than she looked. With her face red as a beetroot, Alcyone managed to slow them down, but not quite stop.
"I'm sorry, but I will have to use you as a break!" Alcyone yelled.
Dipping close enough to the ground that Hotaru's feet touched the ground, his armored boots scraped against the rocky terrain. There was an ear-splitting screeching sound and sparks flying everywhere, as Hotaru's pointy Escudo sabatons dragged behind. It took half a minute, but eventually they managed to come to a stop, at which point Alcyone's numb fingers gave in.
"Ouch," Hotaru grunted, falling face first on the hard ground. "We made it…"
Panting heavily, Alcyone hurriedly turned Hotaru over onto his back. Hotaru watched as Alcyone placed her delicate hand onto his forehead, her eyes wide, cheeks flushed, and her mouth agape. The feel of her cool hand felt nice and her tender care made him feel at ease, eventually causing him to drift off to sleep.
Alcyone leaned over Hotaru, concerned and breathing heavily. He had a high fever and as she watched him lose consciousness, her heart sank. Last time she had tested her power enhancing drug on herself, she had become feverish for ten hours and her body had ached. However, she had managed to stay conscious and make herself some medicine to help her feel better. For Hotaru to completely pass out, the aftereffects must have struck him much harder.
She theorized that since Hotaru was so much more powerful than she had been back in the day, the strain on him must also have been greater. But this was not the time to start theorizing. Using the purple gem on her forehead, Alcyone summoned a mortar and pestle, bottles filled with dried herbs, bowls, and a small heater.
Mirriam rose, velvet lichen, cottier seeds, grind up, mix and boil. I grabbed these supplies for emergencies but I didn't think I would have to use them this early on. Wish I could do more for Hotaru, but right now he is doing his best and getting some rest.
Having calmed down a bit from preparing medicine, Alcyone held her hand over Hotaru's face, "…Thank goodness, he is still breathing."
Kneeling on the cold hard ground, Alcyone mixed up the medicine as quickly and as precisely as she could. She only had a limited supply of ingredients so she couldn't be wasteful, but she couldn't help but worry and hurry. The idea of Hotaru's condition starting to suddenly deteriorate weighed on her mind constantly. The young man, her dear Hotaru, had already cheated death on innumerous occasions. She wasn't going to let a drug of her own making to be what ends him.
Strange, only a few weeks ago I would have loved to have him in a condition like this. Right at my mercy… It would be so easy to finish him off right now…
Alcyone turned back towards the sleeping brunette man, looking at his sweaty and strained expression. She placed her hand behind his head, running her sharp pink fingernails through his hair. She leaned in closer, before placing a small wooden bowl onto his lips.
Feeding the medicine to Hotaru, she sighed and smiled, "I would have missed out on so much if it wasn't for you and the…"
That's right… Where are the girls?
Alcyone looked around the skies, trying to spot any of the Mashins or their glowing combined form. But the skies were dark and eerily silent, with only the sight of falling crystals at a distance breaking the cloud cover. In her heart, she had sensed Emeraude's death, so the girls should have been victorious, but it truly was just the two of them around.
Suddenly it dawned on her, "Did they return home already? But if that's the case then…"
She looked back down at Hotaru, who was still lying unconscious in her arms. Despite his condition, seeing him lying there warmed her heart. Once the bowl of medicine was empty, she placed it on the ground and placed Hotaru's head on her lap.
"You truly did stay behind, just like you promised," Alcyone cooed, stroking the back of his head. "I shouldn't have doubted you, but I always worried you would be forced to return home. I only wish there was more for you to stay behind for…"
As happy as she was about Hotaru staying behind, she couldn't ignore the gnawing feeling as she looked around her. Cephiro, the once lush and peaceful world filled with magical creatures, beautiful landscapes, and a thriving society free of hardships, was but a memory now. Every time she saw the barren and dark world, Alcyone's guilt gripped at her heart due to her past involvement. While she wasn't the main culprit for things to have gotten to this point, she couldn't deny her involvement.
If you were awake, you would say something like 'Road to rebuilding is a long one, but worth it', but I don't know if this can be rebuilt. Now that Emeraude is gone, a new pillar must be chosen, but I have no idea if we will find someone worthy in time…
Just as she was closing her eyes, Alcyone felt the ground beginning to shake underneath her. At first, she thought it was another earthquake, but as she felt the wind blowing from behind her, she quickly turned around, before quickly turning pale.
Descending slower than expected, Zagato's crystal fortress was finally touching ground. Despite being miles away, she could still see the ruins of the royal castle behind the broken, spiky, crystal barrier. The islands that the castle was built on still floated in the middle of the barrier somehow. While the castle was falling slowly enough to not be an immediate threat, the crystal structure was breaking apart under its own weight. As it did, it sent out powerful tremors through the unstable grounds of Cephiro.
With the earth still shaking under her, she collected her medicine making equipment. Using her levitation spell on Hotaru, Alcyone raised them both into the air. Just as she did, the ground beneath them started shifting and tilting, as a large crack appeared around them. While she needed to let Hotaru rest, Alcyone couldn't let him stay in an unsafe environment like this.
Flying at a height of a few meters, Alcyone began to search for more stable ground. Due to having to drag the floating, unconscious Hotaru behind her, she couldn't fly too quickly. As the ground below looked just as unstable no matter where they went, Alcyone decided to reach for higher ground, and flew them both atop a raised plateau. Despite having traveled over a mile, she could still see the remains of the Crystal fortress in the distance.
After laying Hotaru atop a suitably flat part of the rocky hill, she sat on a boulder, using her white cape as cushioning. It had been a rough day for both of them and now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was starting to feel the effects of it.
"Several hours of travel, fighting inside a volcano against Clef and Zagato, flying up to the fortress, looting the fortress, fighting Zagato and Emeraude, and now all this," Alcyone recounted her day. "I'm surprised I'm not even more tired…"
As she recalled the events of the day, she looked over at the sleeping Hotaru, who seemed calmer now. Her medicine appeared to have worked and as she leaned over to check his temperature, it seemed to have gone down a bit. Remembering all the things Hotaru had done for her today alone, she felt happy to be able to take care of him for a change.
"Honestly, after your lava bath and flying me around all day, it is no wonder my medicine knocked you out," she shook her head. "I shouldn't have let you eat it, but you did manage to save the world. And now, I need to keep you safe…"
The desire to lay down next to Hotaru and feel the embrace of his arms once more tempted Alcyone's weary body. But she knew that there was no time for this. Cephiro was a dangerous place these days and at any moment they could be assaulted by monsters. Her eyelids felt heavy and her stomach grumbled, reminding her of the fact that they hadn't eaten since the morning.
"We should have raided the kitchens as well…" Alcyone sighed, before looking around. "Where did Mokona go? It would be really handy to have it around right now."
To distract herself from her hunger and tiredness, Alcyone pulled out a book from her forehead gem. It was Forbidden Spells from Abarth to Zotye, which she had once more "borrowed" from the royal library. While she no longer desired revenge on Hotaru, the book was still worth a read. Both of her lightning spells, Astra and Arile, had been something she had read upon in this book.
Maybe I can find a spell for creating food or shelter, or anything that could help us survive in this wasteland. Even water would be appreciated at this point. Too bad the blue-haired girl isn't with us, she could…
Alcyone rolled her eyes before pulling out a larger bowl from her forehead gem. She then cast one of her ice spells into the bowl half-heartedly, filling it with tiny shards of ice.
"Hopefully that will melt before Hotaru wakes up," she smiled before concentrating back on her book.
About two hours passed as she kept on reading, feeling each spell out with her heart. While she could feel a connection to some of the spells, none of them were of the type that would help them in their current situation. The word forbidden truly fit the spells.
Eventually she was stirred from her reading, as she thought she could hear something nearby. However, her attention was focused on Hotaru, as she heard him start coughing dryly.
"T-Thirsty…" the young man called out weekly, his body twitching atop the stone he laid upon.
Alcyone put away her book and stood up, before carrying the bowl of melted ice water over to Hotaru, "Here, drink this."
After helping Hotaru to prop up his upper body, Alcyone assisted in keeping the bowl of water steady for him to drink. Hotaru's hands were shaking but he seemed to have no difficulties drinking. By the time he finished the bowl was empty, leaving Alcyone without a drop. But the look in his lime-green eyes was enough for now.
"Feeling better?" she asked, smiling sweetly.
Hotaru looked at Alcyone, before trying to raise his hand, "B-B-B-Behind you…"
Alcyone turned around and while she couldn't see anything at first, she soon spotted it. A large, almost invisible monster was in front of them, its outline masked by the black night sky. The only thing that was visible was a faint purple, jagged line hovering in the air.
She stood up and yelled out, "Barrier Circle!"
As she did, nothing happened at first, but then a shower of yellow sparks erupted from her barrier. The light of the sparks revealed an ethereal, jellyfish-like shape hovering in the air. Its movements were slow and sluggish. Instead of having swung its tendrils at them, it was holding its feeler against the magical barrier.
Seeing it couldn't get through the barrier, the monster pulled away, rising higher up into the air. As it did, its see-through form became cloaked in the darkness once more. Realizing that this monster was an ambush predator, Alcyone knew she couldn't let it escape or it would try again later.
"Astra!" she yelled out, firing a ball of lightning at the monster.
As the white ball of lightning struck the giant jellyfish, instead of exploding, it entered its body. The spell lit up the monster, after which the energy from it spread throughout the monster's body, making it wholly visible. Looking like a jellyfish plasma globe now, its movements became much faster and yellow electricity surged through its tentacle tips.
"Wrong element…" Hotaru gasped, trying to get up. "Silver Speed…"
As he tried activating his spell, every muscle in his body ached as if on the day after a hard workout. Immobilized by the pain, he was forced to drop the effect of the spell. Seeing Hotaru was out of the battle, Alcyone pointed her golden bident-like staff at the monster.
"Icicle Onslaught!"
Hundreds of icicles flew at the jellyfish in a tight spray, but the super charged monster just moved out of the way. Alcyone continued the assault, but the jellyfish gracefully dodged each spear of ice, swinging its body around its head. Once her spell ran out, the jellyfish brought its seven tentacles together into a single bundle, concentrating its stored-up electricity in one spot.
"Big mistakes," Alcyone smiled confidently. "Chaos Hail!"
Large chunks of purple glowing ice shot out from the tip of her staff, flying directly towards the jellyfish. Before the jellyfish could finish its attack, the glowing balls of hail sunk inside its body, before exploding and freezing it from inside. The frozen solid jellyfish looked like a lightbulb for a moment, before the heat of the lightning caused it to pop. The frozen remains quickly dispersed into air like Cephiro's monsters tended to do.
With the monster defeated, Alcyone returned to Hotaru, "Are you alright? Feeling any better?"
Trying to get up into a sitting position, Hotaru grunted, "I feel like dying, which is a slight improvement…"
"Then you shouldn't be moving around," Alcyone said in a caring tone, trying to keep him still, "what you need is rest."
"Yes, but we need to find a better place to rest at," Hotaru insisted, forcing himself to stand up.
"We are safe here!" Alcyone halted him by wrapping her arms around Hotaru. "We can see in every direction and if the earth quakes, we will not be in danger of landslides."
Hotaru shook his head, "You've never been camping outside, have you?"
"Well, no, but…" Alcyone admitted.
"We are completely exposed to the elements," Hotaru pointed out. "If it starts to rain or if the wind starts blowing, we have no shelter. I know you like it cold, but you won't like it out in a storm."
"…I guess you're right," Alcyone sighed, before pouting, "but it was such a pain to get you up here."
Hotaru felt a bit bad for her, but eventually smiled, "Don't worry, I will get down from here by myself."
Alcyone's eyes widened, thinking if she had hurt Hotaru's feelings for a moment. As she thought about it, Hotaru wobbled over to the edge of the plateau, making her heart sink.
"Stop! You can barely walk! You are not in any shape to climb down!"
"Tungsten Defense!" Hotaru grunted.
Instead of immense pain, the pain he felt was dulled. However, he could really feel the added weight of his body due to his severe exhaustion.
As I thought, every time my armor evolves, the pain threshold of Tungsten Defense goes up with its defensive power.
"Hotaru, please!" Alcyone begged, before she gasped in horror.
Without a word, Hotaru's body collapsed and fell over the edge of the plateau. She rushed over to try and catch him, but his added weight almost pulled her along with him. Alcyone placed her hands on her mouth, as she watched Hotaru tumble down a rocky cliff. Her companion seemed to hit every single obstacle in his way, and even crash through them. As she watched him go, Alcyone's worry turned to frustration, as she remembered how hard-headed Hotaru was.
"Why must he always push himself so much?" she sighed, watching Hotaru wave at her from the bottom of the hill.
Once they both had gotten down from the hill, Hotaru and Alcyone started walking, trying to find a more suitable place to camp out for the night. They passed several caves, but Hotaru didn't want to risk a cave-in in the middle of the night. Alcyone insisted that they should just focus on resting, but Hotaru continued walking.
After almost two hours of walking, Hotaru spotted a large tree with leaves in the wasteland. The tree grew next to a small lopsided hill, creating a natural shelter.
"There… that will do," he said in a tired voice, trudging over to the tree.
"Finally…" Alcyone groaned tiredly, her feet aching. "Why did we have to walk so far? Wasn't there a better place for us to rest at?"
Sitting down against the tree, Hotaru sighed exhausted, "To tell you the truth… I had hoped we could find some other survivors. Or find some other way to gain supplies…"
Alcyone sat down next to Hotaru, leaning against his armored body. While she was cold, tired, and hungry, it was due to those facts that she understood Hotaru's motives. As such she didn't want to argue and instead took solace in what they did have.
"At least we got each other, and tomorrow," she smiled at him, wrapping her large cape around them both.
It took Hotaru a moment until he realized Alcyone was referring to what he had said back in the Spring of Eterna. Heart, will, and tomorrow, the three things his grandfather had said were all one needed to continue. There was something reassuring about knowing that Alcyone had put those words to heart. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling Alcyone close to him.
"Right, tomorrow is a new day," Hotaru smiled back, before closing his eyes.
Despite their less than idyllic sleeping arrangements, the two of them quickly fell asleep in each other's arms. The wind picked up shortly after, but thanks to Alcyone's cape and their location, they were spared from the worst of it. Even Alcyone's long black hair (which she had tucked inside her cape) managed to insulate them from the cold somewhat.
While the two of them were snoozing peacefully, the cold and strong wind didn't spare everyone. A small creature less than a foot tall, had been flying about with its ears, until the wind swooped it up. Its round bouncy body rolled up across the rocky and dusty wasteland, being knocked about by the gale.
"Pu! Pupupu! Pu!" it chirped in a panic while being tossed around like a softball.
Eventually the wind flung the rabbit-looking sacred beast into a nearby tree that luckily still had leaves in it. However, while this had given it a soft landing, it also had incidentally trapped it.
"Puu-pupu! Puuu!" Mokona wriggled in the leaves.
Hearing rustling in the leaves above them, Alcyone slowly stirred and started shaking Hotaru, "Hotaru, wake up, something is rustling in the bushes…"
"There are no bushes…" he opened his eyes drowsily, before something fell in his lap. "GYAAAH! Mokona, stop scaring us like that!"
"PUU PUPUPU!" Mokona jumped at his throat.
"I think it is happy to see you," Alcyone giggled tiredly, watching Mokona nuzzle against Hotaru's neck.
Reluctantly, Hotaru started patting Mokona's head, about to drift off back to sleep, before he snapped wide awake, "WAIT A MINUTE!"
Five minutes, that's all it had taken for Mokona to set up its egg-shaped shelter, summon ingredients for a dinner, and for Hotaru and Alcyone to get comfortable. Hotaru had taken off his armor (which was now able store inside his gauntlets) and Alcyone had put on her pajamas. Despite the wind outside blowing stronger than before, they were cozy and safe inside a warm and well lit up dwelling. Hotaru was laying on the dark red, heart-shaped bed, while Alcyone was standing next to the kitchenette, preparing supper while wearing an apron.
"Are you sure you don't want me to help with cooking?" Hotaru asked from underneath the covers.
"You still need to rest," Alcyone ordered him while stirring a pot. "We need you at your full strength if we wish to find civilization tomorrow."
"Yes, mom," Hotaru scoffed playfully, rolling onto his back.
While Hotaru knew that Alcyone was adept at making medicine, he wasn't sure about her cooking. During the time Alcyone had traveled with them, she had never cooked before. This hadn't really caused an issue since the girls and him were all eager enough chefs to take up the cooking duty, if it meant getting to choose what was for dinner. However, there may have been some distrust in letting Alcyone cook.
She is the daughter of a noble family who has been given royal education and dwelling in the castle. I'd be surprised if there ever was a need for her to cook for herself. And she used to be our enemy so her poisoning our meal wouldn't be out of the question.
Hotaru sniffed the air, smelling the aroma of savory spices, "Smells good, what are you making?"
"Bugattian meat stew. It is a bit heavy but I figured we could use something warm yet hearty after everything we've been through," Alcyone answered, lowering the heat a bit. "I usually do not recommend eating like this right before bed time, but since we found Mokona, we might as well make the most of it."
"Pupupu-puu," Mokona nodded, sitting comfortably on a potholder.
Hotaru watched closely as Alcyone gave Mokona a small taste of the broth. Its permanently smiling expression didn't change, but he could see a ripple run through Mokona's mochi-like body, before its ears wagged. Without Hikaru to interpret for him, he could only assume Mokona had liked it.
About an hour later, the scent of the stew filled the entire shelter, and Alcyone called Hotaru over to eat. With five hours having passed since he took the power enhancing drug, he felt a lot less lethargic, though a bit dizzy when getting out of the bed. Walking over to the kitchen island, he saw Alcyone carefully plate up three bowls of delicious looking reddish-brown stew. Looking at it directly, his hunger cramps finally overpowered his muscle cramps.
"Thank you for the meal," Hotaru said politely before grabbing a spoon. "I didn't know you knew so much about cooking."
Alcyone smiled, sitting down to eat as well, "Medicine making and cooking aren't all that different, and I know a few recipes by heart. Mostly my own favorites."
"Pu-pupu," Mokona chirped and hopped on the table.
Without further ado, Hotaru took a spoonful of the stew and gobbled it up. The meats, root vegetables, beans, and fruit slices were all tender and juicy, and the broth was strongly seasoned but not overly spicy. The complex flavors revitalized his body, rousing his appetite even more. Before he even noticed it, Hotaru had already wolfed down his first bowl.
Mokona, who barely had the time to pick up its spoon, looked at him curiously, "Puu puu…"
"That was delicious!" he exhaled, having barely stopped to breathe while eating.
"I'm glad you liked it," Alcyone said, trying her best to smile despite his table manners. "There's plenty left if you want seconds…"
Noticing her unease, Hotaru cleared his throat before taking more, "Thank you, I will be sure to savor it. I just never knew that my girlfriend was such a great cook."
"Girlfriend…" Alcyone repeated, flushing deep red, while trying to keep a straight face. "It's not that I am great, I just have a lot of practice with this recipe, since our chefs taught me how to make it."
Trying not to let his amusement at her reaction show, Hotaru continued the topic, "Oh? Is getting taught how to cook part of noble upbringing in this world?"
"Not really…" Alcyone said, staring at her bowl glumly. "It's just that… when you have a large family, you rarely get to choose what you get to eat."
"Right…" Hotaru nodded.
The topic of Alcyone's family had come up on a few occasions before, but each time, she seemed to brush it aside or end the conversation quickly. In addition, she always spoke of them in a past tense, meaning they weren't around anymore. It was obvious that Alcyone's family was a sore topic for her, yet Hotaru wanted to learn more.
"Did you have a lot of siblings?" he asked gently, making sure she knew answering was optional. "I've never had any, but growing up in an orphanage was probably somewhat similar."
"I was the middle-child of five siblings," Alcyone answered matter-of-factly. "I had an elder brother and sister, as well as younger ones. It was a very… competitive house-hold, so it was hard to get my parent's attention. So, I had to learn some self-reliance."
With Alcyone growing quiet again, Hotaru placed his hand on top of hers, holding it gently, "Well, now you got someone else to rely on. And as your boyfriend, I promise, you have my full attention."
As he gave Alcyone a little wink, she slowly placed her hands in front of her face. Hotaru's face scrunched up, worrying he might have said something cringy while trying to be cool.
"It's so embarrassing…" Alcyone squealed from behind her hands.
"Yeah, sorry about that…"
"Not you," Alcyone shook her head, "it's me."
She pulled her hands away, revealing an overjoyed yet embarrassed expression. Her cheeks were flushed, she was smiling widely, yet her eyes were closed as she tried holding back tears.
"I'm 72 years old, and only now I am experiencing the joys of having a boyfriend," she admitted, laughing at herself. "A boyfriend, who is only a quarter my age, and still makes me feel like a young maiden in love… It's embarrassing."
Hotaru blushed slightly, smiling a bit proudly, "Oh come on, it's not that… wait, I'm your first?"
"…Yes," Alcyone glared at him for souring the mood. "I was… quite difficult in my youth. I was very picky and those who I did approve of weren't interested in me. Then I met Zagato and… proceeded to waste over forty years of my life."
Mokona, who was sitting next to Alcyone, patted her arm gently, "Pupu puu."
Seeing Alcyone turn glum again, Hotaru spoke in a courteous tone, "Well then, it will be my pleasure to be your first. I might not be as tall and good looking as Zagato, but I hope I can make up for your lost time."
"I'll look forward to it," Alcyone smiled gently, before looking at him intensely. "But please, do not compare yourself to Zagato. Right now, all my heart wants is you, Hotaru."
"…Thank you," Hotaru smiled, a warm feeling spreading inside him.
Once the three of them finished eating the stew (Mokona having a particularly voracious appetite) they washed the dishes together. While Hotaru's body was still sore, it felt much closer to a regular fever than anything else. According to Alcyone, his temperature was still somewhat high, but Hotaru felt normal.
Despite having been exhausted only a few hours ago, they both felt great after a good meal and a heart to heart. The fact that they had the shelter all to themselves, also allowed them to talk and act more freely. As such, when the bed time came, there was a slightly restless atmosphere in the shelter.
"You umm… you spoke about… making up for lost time," Alcyone muttered, blushing deeply, while looking at the bed.
Hotaru placed his hands in his pockets, standing straight as an arrow, "Yes… but I feel like we shouldn't hurry in that regard."
"Do you… perhaps find it off-putting to make love to me?" Alcyone asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.
"Nothing of the sort!" Hotaru corrected her, worrying he came across too harshly. "It is just that… I want to wait till we are in a safer location. I don't feel comfortable doing it out here in the wasteland."
"I see…" Alcyone nodded, feeling a load drop off her shoulder. "But do you think there will ever be a safer location, though?"
"I'm sure we will find something soon," Hotaru smiled confidently, before caressing her cheek. "And when we do, my little Snow White, I will make love to you until your hips give out."
Alcyone jumped slightly at Hotaru's ravenous words, as her heart skipped a beat. Her cheeks flushed and she shirked away from his caress, to preserve some dignity. While she knew Hotaru cherished her, she had underestimated the young man's lust towards her.
As Alcyone tried to calm herself down, she noticed Hotaru staring at the shelter's other bed. The large queen-sized bed with pink sheets and pillows, that the three Magic Knights had slept on, was neatly made in its corner. Though Alcyone hadn't traveled with them for long, it felt strange now that the bed was empty. Though she herself didn't mind them being gone, she knew Hotaru had traveled with the girls for a very long time.
"Do you miss them?" Alcyone asked, feeling slightly jealous.
"Not really, it's nice to have the place to ourselves," Hotaru answered without hesitation, "I was just thinking, why sleep on this bed when that one is larger?"
Alcyone was close to falling over from the release of tension upon hearing this. She then compared the heart-shaped bed and the pink bed, and realized Hotaru had a point. With both of them agreeing on sleeping on the Magic Knights' bed, they requested Mokona to put away the heart-shaped one, to save space. They also placed the pink bed's third pillow into one of the shelves of the kitchen island, giving Mokona a small cubby hole to sleep in.
Enjoying their newfound freedom, Alcyone asked shyly, "You mind if I make myself more comfortable?"
"Sure, what do you have in mind?" Hotaru asked.
"Well… I'm used to sleeping naked," she confessed bashfully. "I sleep alone most of the time, so I enjoy the freedom. I understand if you are not comfortable with it, though."
Hotaru's mind blanked out for a second, before he snapped back to reality, "I-I don't mind at all. In fact, I am used to sleeping in only boxers myself! …Just couldn't do that with the girls around, you know."
With Hotaru's permission, Alcyone nodded and smiled, before spreading open the shoulder width neckline of her pajamas. The light turquoise pajama dress fell to the ground in one fell swoop, revealing her tall, slender, yet curvy body. Her smooth ivory skin contrasted against her dark hair, creating a black frame around her body. She looked stunningly beautiful in the natural light of the shelter, and as she slowly covered her large breasts and untouched petals, Hotaru realized he was staring.
He turned around, swallowing deeply, "S-Sorry if I was drooling or something… you… you look beautiful."
"I'm glad you liked it," she said teasingly, before adding, "but now it is your turn, Hotaru dear."
Hotaru blushed nervously, remembering what he had said earlier. While he did enjoy sleeping in his underwear, he wasn't really much to look at. Sure, his current body was better looking than his previous one, but after witnessing the majesty of Alcyone's naked form, it wasn't much. He had always had some muscle due to his various part-time jobs, and they had gotten a bit larger due to fighting monsters and such. But he had also developed somewhat of a gut from over indulging in the local cuisines and in the food they made.
Nevertheless, he started removing his clothes while facing away from Alcyone. He was trying to buy some time to gather his courage, and for his hard-on to settle down. Once finished, he sucked in his gut before turning around, hoping to cause as little of a stir as possible.
"Oh my god!" Alcyone yelled out, covering her mouth as her eyes widened.
"It's not that big, is it?" Hotaru asked quietly.
"…Your scars!" she continued, having not heard what Hotaru said.
Hotaru looked down at his front, realizing what she meant. Over the course of his new life, Hotaru had collected quite a large number of scars on his body. Whether from school yard fights, street brawls, fighting monsters in Cephiro, or battling Zagato's minions. In fact, there were a few new ones from his previous fight against Zagato and Emeraude.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Right… They can be quite shocking for some to see on the first go… Wait, didn't you already see them when we washed up in the sauna?"
"It was very steamy and I tried giving you your privacy…" Alcyone answered unheedingly, clearly going through his war journal. "…Do they hurt? Did… did I cause them?"
"No, and only some of them," Hotaru answered, pointing at his sides, thighs, and shoulders.
Having calmed down, Alcyone pointed towards the bed, "Bed, rest, now!"
"Yes Sir," Hotaru laughed, no longer nervous.
After turning off the lights, the two of them climbed in the bed and underneath the large pink blanket, laying down next to each other. Tired and happy, they wrapped their arms around each other, before entwining their legs as well. As they embraced one another, their bodies came together like two puzzle pieces. While the two of them had slept in each other's arms before, their exposed bodies brought things to a new level of intimacy. They stared into each other's eyes, before slowly leaning in close, their lips meeting in the middle. Their kiss was long and deep, with Hotaru grabbing hold of the back of Alcyone's head.
Once they broke away from the kiss, Alcyone whispered, "You kiss like a brute."
"I'm out of practice…" Hotaru confessed.
"It's fine, I like it," she smiled, leaning against his chest.
Holding Alcyone securely in his arms, Hotaru said quietly, "I've noticed it before, but your skin is unusually cold."
"You're not the first to point that out," Alcyone replied, nuzzling against his neck. "Your body is very warm…"
Before Hotaru could say that they balanced each other out, they fell asleep.
There was no way of telling how long the two of them slept. There were no clocks, the world outside was in perpetual night, and there was no sense of urgency. Individually, Alcyone and Hotaru woke up from time to time, but time after time decided they would rather sleep a bit longer alongside their beloved. Even after neither of them could sleep any longer, they still lounged a bit, enjoying each other's body heat.
"Feeling better?" Alcyone whispered in a caring voice.
"Better than ever," Hotaru smiled back. "We should probably get up…"
"Yes, but you just stay right here," Alcyone winked, placing her hand on his cheek.
"But I'm fully healed now…" Hotaru objected.
"I know, but you've been through a lot lately. I just want to spoil you a little."
After giving Hotaru a morning kiss, she slowly got up out of the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed, straightening out her hair, before standing up and putting her pajama dress back on. Once she was dressed, she turned towards Hotaru, giving an enamored smile.
"I will make us breakfast, any requests?"
Hotaru thought about her offer, looking back on his life, before answering, "It has been over a decade since I last had pancakes… Do you know how to make some?"
"Never heard of them," Alcyone admitted, while putting on her apron, "but list off the ingredients and I will do my best."
Having recited Alcyone the recipe, Mokona conjured up flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, buttermilk, eggs, and butter. In addition, Alcyone requested some Cephiroan fruits and nuts. With a skilled hand and sharp eye, she prepared the pancake batter, mixing the dry ingredients together in a bowl before whisking in the wet ones until everything was smooth. She then took the fruits and nuts and made a simple syrup out of them.
Once the preparations were complete, Alcyone poured some of the batter onto a hot griddle and started flipping once it began to bubble. She made sure both sides were golden brown before transferring the pancakes onto a plate lined with paper napkins.
As the pancakes started cooking, Hotaru could smell their sweet scent in the air. Seeing Alcyone cook with such happiness and dedication, made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was a homely feeling that he knew could only come from having someone you love cook for you. Hotaru's stomach grumbled as he watched a large stack of thick pancakes rise up on top of the plate.
To finish things up, Alcyone set the kitchen island for three, before turning to Hotaru, "Come and get it."
Quickly getting out of the bed and putting his shirt on, Hotaru sat around their makeshift dinner table. Alcyone plated herself, Hotaru, and Mokona a pancake from the pile, before pouring some of the red syrup onto them.
"These look great," Hotaru complimented, feeling like a little kid again, before taking a bite. "And they taste great too!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Alcyone giggled, before taking a bite herself. "Oh my! Such a simple recipe, but they are delicious!"
"Pupu-puu-puu!" Mokona chirped while chewing on a pancake the size of its torso.
"I must say, you did a really good job for a first-timer," Hotaru complimented, having finished the first one. "You might be an excellent chef after all~."
"I couldn't have done it so well without your instructions," Alcyone smiled, happy about the compliment. "Also, cooking for a person you love always makes the food taste better."
Hotaru was about to counter this argument and just say it was down to Alcyone being great, but then he remembered this was Cephiro. Maybe one's will and heart when cooking actually affected the food.
"So, my darling Snow White, what should we do after breakfast?" Hotaru asked, while wiping his mouth on a napkin.
Alcyone thought about it, before carefully suggesting, "Well… I know it is risky, and I don't know if you are yet ready for it, but I was thinking we could return to the royal castle's ruins."
Hotaru thought about it, before asking in a serious tone, "Did you forget something there?"
"I have been thinking about what you said. About how much can be lost when a one-of-a-kind library is lost," Alcyone explained with a grim expression. "I want to go and try to recover as many books as possible. After that, we should try and find some survivors."
"Very well," Hotaru nodded, believing it to be a worthy cause, "however, if the castle begins to collapse on top of us or if there is no safe way inside, we will abandon the mission."
Or if anything else shows up. I will not lose her to that fortress again…
"Understood," Alcyone nodded back. "Before we depart, do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go right ahead."
"Why do you keep calling me Snow White? I am not a princess…" Alcyone blushed slightly.
(TN: The Japanese name of Snow White is Shirayukihime, which directly translates to white snow princess.)
"It's the name of my favorite fairytale from my old world," Hotaru answered, smiling at her innocent expression. "It is a story about a princess with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. And honestly, that description fits you perfectly."
Feeling flattered, Alcyone blushed more, leaning closer towards Hotaru, "Sounds like a fun tale, you mind telling it to me someday?"
"I promise."
Before the two of them could continue their flirting, Mokona started acting up, "PU-PU PUU!"
The white bunny blob hopped across the kitchen island, before jumping off of it, its forehead gem glowing lilac. In the middle of the shelter, Mokona projected the image of a lilac circle, from which the image of a kid with light purple hair appeared. While Hotaru had seen Mokona project Clef's image on multiple occasions, this time it was different. The image moved.
"Mokona, where are you?" Clef's image asked the little blob. "You were supposed to return to me after Emeraude was defeated, not stay camping in that cottage."
"Puu pudu pudu puu!" Mokona chirped while waving its nubby hands.
Clef raised an eyebrow, "You're with who?"
"Hello Clef!" Hotaru greeted him loudly.
"Hotaru!?" Clef jumped, having not expected a response. "Are you and the Magic Knights still in Cephiro?!"
"No, just me. The girls headed home already but I decided to stay here for an extended vacation," he joked while eating a pancake. "Alcyone is here with me too."
As he said this, Alcyone went pale as a sheet and tried desperately to mime at Hotaru that she wasn't here. She seemed angry, panicked, and nervous at the same time, as if trying to come up with excuses. While Hotaru felt bad for technically snitching on his girlfriend for their teacher, he couldn't help but find this charade very amusing.
"I see," Clef said with a gentle yet relieved tone. "I heard from Captain Lafarga that my former apprentice had joined forces with the Magic Knights. I am glad she is safe and proud she made the right choice."
Hearing this, Alcyone seemed to calm down, and looked sheepish and guilty. Her indigo eyes were sadly staring down at the half-eaten pancake in front of her, as her red lips slowly curved upwards.
"It's a trap," Hotaru whispered to her.
"Alcyone, are you there?" Clef asked, unable to see from the angle of the projection.
"Yes, Master Clef, I am here," she answered honestly and politely.
"How dare you turn on your teacher like that!" Clef exploded with anger all of a sudden. "When you get here, I will have you washing the refugees' laundry for weeks!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Alcyone apologized profusely.
"Told you it was a trap," Hotaru rolled his eyes smugly. "Speaking of, where exactly do you want us to come to?"
Clef cleared his throat before calming down, "Mokona, show them the map of Cephiro. I know it is no longer accurate but it will be easier to explain with."
Mokona chirped agreeingly, at which point the projection of Clef switched over to a rudimentary map of Cephiro. There was a glowing dot somewhat close to a marking of a volcano, with the symbol of the Fire Shrine on it. The dot then began to move on the map southwest, until it crossed the ocean to another continent. It was a continent that Hotaru and the Magic Knights hadn't traveled to yet, and seemed larger than the two previous ones. Eventually the light stopped in the middle of the continent, near a ring of large mountains.
"Me, Lafarga, and the others have gathered many surviving refugees of Cephiro to this location. I want you and Alcyone to bring Mokona over to us as soon as possible."
"We will be there as soon as possible," Hotaru said assuredly, before Clef's projection cut off.
As the conversation ended, Alcyone groaned loudly and leaned back in her chair, "Uuuurgh! I can't believe I will be stuck on laundry duty after we reunite with everyone else! This is just like when I skipped class in the past… Though this time I definitely deserve it…"
"Well, look on the bright side. Your punishment will only begin once we reach the rendezvous point," Hotaru pointed out. "Before then, I feel like we have time for a detour or two."
Having finished their breakfast, Hotaru, Alcyone, and Mokona headed back out into the dark wastelands of Cephiro. Mokona packed away the shelter, after which Hotaru used Titanium Power, and picked up his two passengers. Flying towards the remains of Zagato's fortress, he could tell for sure that the fatigue from yesterday was gone and his body felt good as new. While Alcyone and Hotaru had traveled for hours yesterday to get away from the crystal fortress, it only took ten minutes for Hotaru to fly back.
As the giant warrior hovered over the ruins of the castle and its bulwark, they tried scouring for a safe way in. The crystal barrier had broken apart into a blue moat of broken shards of vastly different sizes. The floating islands that once supported the castle, now leaned against each other precariously on their tips. The castle's upper floors had completely collapsed, with the bottom floors being mostly intact, and the middle ones close to crumbling. What made the entire structure even more shaky, was the giant hole in the ground it had landed next to.
The enormous crater created by Zagato and Emeraude in the final battle, seemed to penetrate all of Cephiro. There was nothing but darkness at the bottom of it and its edges looked unstable. Given another earthquake or a powerful collision, the castle would probably fall through the hole into the uncharted depths of Cephiro.
"Do you remember what floor the library was on?" Hotaru asked, eyeing out the castle.
"Third floor, but we won't be able to enter it directly," Alcyone answered, thinking about their way of approach. "We will either have to go up from below and down from above."
"In that case, down from above. That way if the castle collapses there will be less to fall on top of us."
"Pu-puu," Mokona chirped, its ears hanging low.
Hotaru flew over to an opening on the side of the fourth floor that looked like a halfway collapsed window. He placed Alcyone and Mokona down on the windowsill, before swapping Titanium Power to Aluminum Flight. With the three of them in, they had crossed the first hurdle.
As they walked through the corridors, the insides of the castle got more and more dark, lifeless, and messy. The marble ceiling was full of holes and the crystalline jade floor was covered in small bits of rubble. The support pillars that lined up the rooms they walked past, were full of cracks with some of them having collapsed completely. The sound of cracking debris echoed throughout the castle with every step they took.
While Alcyone had lived in the castle for many decades, she wasn't too keen on it. However, seeing the dark and dirty corridors that once were the opulent insides of the royal castle, was unnerving. As she turned around, she noticed Hotaru looking around at a rapid pace, like trying to catch a shadow out of place.
"Nervous?" she asked with a supportive voice.
"Not really, just… keeping an eye out for any possible dangers," Hotaru answered, his eyes still darting about. "Trying to get an early warning if something seems like collapsing, you know?"
For all I know, Debonair could be hiding in this place right this instant. I may have been able to defeat Zagato but I do not hold a candle against that bitch. Also, I would rather not have to eat another one of Alcyone's booster drugs, even if she had any left. First sign of trouble, I am booking it out of here, you hear that brain!
Despite Hotaru's paranoia, their journey to the library was an uneventful one. The hardest part was getting through a collapsed staircase, which both of them could easily cross with flight and levitation. Once they reached the library, the gold inlaid wooden double doors were hanging ajar from their hinges. Despite no longer being locked, the entryway was blocked by several fallen crystal pillars and chunks of the marble ceiling.
"Think it will be safe to move all that out of the way?" Alcyone asked, inspecting the damages.
"If done gingerly. Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Hotaru advised her, before activating Steel Strength.
One giant hunk of rock after another, Hotaru slowly picked up the debris and moved it aside. Mokona was lending a helping stub, by carrying small pieces of debris into its own pile. After a while, the little blob got bored, and started stacking the smaller rocks into a miniature castle. As Alcyone watched the two of them, she couldn't help but get a strange feeling.
At first, she thought she heard something, but it could have been just Hotaru's work echoing through the corridors. Then she felt a cold shiver run down her neck, but it might've just been the wind blowing through the castle ruins. Trying to sense if there were any magical presences around, she was able to pick up a minor signal, but she quickly lost track of it. While the chances were she had just been paranoid because of Hotaru's suspicions, she summoned her staff ready, as she felt like they were being watched.
Eventually, Hotaru managed to clear a path to the library doors, without causing further collapses. As he pushed the door out of the way, they could see the damage done to the library. Some of the spiral staircases and upper walkways had collapsed and the bookshelves were either crushed, crooked, or tipped over. A large chunk of the ceiling had fallen on the right side of the library, burying several sections. Despite this, the non-buried books seemed to be in good condition.
"Alright, Mokona, can you give us something to store these books in?" Alcyone asked.
"Pupu-puu!" Mokona nodded, before the gem on its forehead started glowing.
From the light of the gem, appeared three large crates about two meters tall, wide, and deep. They were white in color with golden decorations, and red gems in the corners. They had silver roll-up doors on their sides, which opened up on their own, revealing seven shelves inside each of them.
"You know, it's convenient that you have these, but it is going to take forever to fill them up," Hotaru sighed, thinking about packing up 24 cubic meters of books.
Seeing he was tired from clearing rubble, Alcyone patted his pauldron gently, "Don't worry, let me take care of that. You just take a break."
"…You trying to delay having to do the laundry?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow, knowing it would be even slower with a single person.
Alcyone let out a vexed snort, "No. Watch this."
Touching the skin around her forehead gem, a purple light shone out of it and into the center crate. As the light solidified, it formed into two dozen books that were neatly placed inside the middle shelf. Hotaru recognized these as the books Alcyone had stolen yesterday. After placing away the old stack of books, Alcyone turned towards the library's bookshelves. Going back and forth, she stored books inside her gem before transporting them over to the crates.
Seeing her working diligently, Hotaru sat on top of a dusty, floating armchair. He felt a bit jealous that Alcyone was able to use her magical armor to store away items, but was happy at least one of them could. To pass the time, Hotaru took the moment to inspect his Double Armor. With every evolution, the armor had covered more of his body and gained more lime-green orbs. While seven of the eleven gems held weapons, some were still just decorative as far as he knew. In addition, while most of them were spherical, the ones on the backs of his hands were flat like those of the Magic Knights.
"I wonder…" he said, before standing up.
He pointed the back of his left hand towards a fully stacked bookshelf, and concentrated on the books. Hotaru thought back on the days he still had his executioner's axe and imagined the books entering the gem. Sure enough, a shelfful of books was converted into lime-green light that was absorbed into the gem. The same happened when he used the gem on his right hand, and by doing it over and over again, he managed to store several shelves of books.
"Nothing like beating the final boss and unlocking inventory," Hotaru rolled his eyes.
Seeing Hotaru able to store items like she could, Alcyone warned him, "You shouldn't collect too many of the same item inside your magic gems."
"Why is that?" Hotaru asked, before walking over to one of the containers.
As he unloaded the books, instead of being neatly arranged on one of the shelves, they launched out of the gem like a grape shot out of a cannon. Hotaru was pushed back by the eruption of books, and was halfway buried in them. While some of the large and heavy leather bound tomes had made it inside the crate, Alcyone was less than amused by his pratfall. It was clear this method didn't suffice for conserving literature.
Seeing Alcyone tapping her foot scoldingly, Hotaru bowed his head, "I think I will just put them in the old-fashioned way…"
"That would be for the best."
It took about a half an hour before Hotaru had managed to clean his mess, during which Alcyone managed to fill up one of the crates. As she closed its roll-up door, Alcyone sensed something once more, coming from the direction of the library doors. Noticing her stopping and staring at the door, Hotaru also turned around, waiting to see a shadowy figure emerging. But to the surprise of the both of them, what they heard wasn't footsteps or even breathing, but dripping.
From the cracks on the doors and on the door-side walls, viscous lime-green ooze started seeping through into the library. As the slimy substance made its way in, the cracks and openings became larger, but not through force. Whether wood, crystal, or marble, the slime was dissolving everything it touched. Eventually a massive blob of mucus broke its way through the wall, with a basketball-sized red glowing core at the center of it. Among the slime there were the bits and pieces of the surrounding architecture that rapidly dissolved in front of their eyes. Its movements were slow and it made guttural noises that sounded like they were bouncing off of a drum.
"Pu-pupuu!" Mokona chirped, hiding behind the crates.
"Why did it have to be a corrosive slime…" Hotaru grimaced, "Is that thing one of Ascot's monsters?"
"No, I don't think so, otherwise he would have used it against you already," Alcyone said, summoning her staff.
While the slime seemed like a simple monster, Alcyone could immediately tell it was the perfect counter against Hotaru. Anything it touched corroded away and its body couldn't be harmed by physical objects. There was nothing Hotaru could throw at it that would make a dent in it, both figuratively and literally. Had she come across such a monster in the past, she surely would have sacked it on him.
"Good, we can go all out then. Silver Speed! Tungsten Defense!" Hotaru yelled, summoning his shield and spear.
"Are you really going to try and fight that thing?" Alcyone asked, astonished.
"Nope," Hotaru answered straight forward, "just gonna make sure it doesn't get a drop on you. Worst case scenario, I will dive in with my spear to strike the core, but I don't want to test if Silver Speed gives me acid resistance in these circumstances."
"Very well," Alcyone nodded, before spreading out her cape. "Frozen Finale!"
Unfurling her cape, Alcyone summoned a freezing blizzard that erupted from her body. The ice-cold wind and large clumps of snow struck every square inch of the slime, causing it to start freezing. While she could have easily defeated the monster with other spells, Frozen Finale was the only one that didn't damage the castle. Having dissolved its way here, Alcyone could only imagine the damage the monster had done.
While the slime tried to get away from Alcyone's spell, its movements were too slow. In just a minute, the slime was frozen inside a chunk of ice. However, as Alcyone stopped the Frozen Finale, the slime's core glowed bright red. The ice began to crack and there was a sizzling sound, as the slime corroded its way through its frozen body parts.
"Guess it wasn't as simple as I thought," Alcyone said calmly, seeing her ice melt away.
As the slime broke completely out of its frozen shell, it let out more guttural noises, before its body began to expand. At first, they thought the slime was growing larger, but then they realized it was taking in air and blowing a large bubble inside itself. By the time the slime almost reached the ceiling, the bubble burst and let out a large cloud of noxious gas. Both of them covered their noses, as a burnt rotten egg smell filled the room.
"Sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide!" Hotaru coughed. "It's trying to suffocate us!"
"Puu-uh-uh-uh!" Mokona hacked dramatically.
"Frozen Finale!" Alcyone yelled out while coughing.
This time Alcyone aimed her blizzard towards the broken library wall, blowing the noxious gasses out of the room. The spell also managed to freeze the slime a bit, but the slime continued melting itself. Once the room was clear of the gasses, Alcyone dropped the spell.
"We will have to break the core to defeat it!" Hotaru pointed out, before throwing his spear.
The spear was flung at a super-sonic speed, piercing and sinking into the slime. Its tip was close to reaching the core, but slowed down before it could reach it fully. While his weapon didn't melt away instantly, Hotaru could see it getting slowly corroded away.
"Ice Spear Attack!"
Dozens of large icy projectiles peppered the slime, but were all halted in track by its slimy mass. As the slime started advancing forward, the rubble underneath it was swallowed up by its body. Seeing the slime approaching the crates, Alcyone threw herself in front of its path.
"Barrier Circle!" She yelled out, surrounding herself in a magical barrier.
The barrier pushed back the slime, preventing it from advancing. As it tried going around her, Alcyone fed more magic into the barrier, forcing it to grow larger.
Seeing Alcyone struggling, Hotaru yelled out, "We need to run Alcyone! These books aren't worth losing our lives for!"
"No!" she yelled out, increasing the size of the barrier even further. "These books are invaluable! They are the inheritance of Cephiro's past! Even if Cephiro is revived, the history and culture these books contain will never be recovered!"
As Alcyone pushed herself to her limits, Hotaru could see that she was starting to tear up.
"I already caused the destruction of Cephiro! I will not allow its memory to be destroyed as well!" she cried out.
Watching Alcyone struggle, Hotaru felt pathetic and helpless. There was nothing he could do against the slime or help Alcyone, not without bringing the entire castle down on them. He wanted to just grab her and fly out of here, but would either of them be able to forgive him? As the slime continued stretching out its body over Alcyone's barrier, a thought occurred to Hotaru.
Why isn't that thing melting its way through the floor?
Figuring it was a long shot, he rushed behind one of the crates, "Mokona! I need as much liquid soap as you can give me!"
"Pupu puu?" Mokona chirped, peeking out from underneath a large book,
"Just do it!"
The gem on Mokona's forehead glowed brightly, before a large pile of ornate soap dispenser bottles appeared between them. These were the same soap bottles that the Magic Knights had used during their journey in their day to day lives. Without hesitation, Hotaru absorbed all the bottles into the gem on the back of his right hand, before rushing back into the fight.
He pointed the gem at the slime, before releasing its content, "Hope this works!"
Over two hundred bottles of soap launched out of the gem, scattering all over the back of the slime. As the bottles sank through its surface, they were quickly dissolved, causing the soap to be released inside the slime.
Alcyone, who had followed Hotaru's actions, was about to yell to ask what he was planning, when the slime started retreating. The slime's guttural sounds slowly became higher pitched, as its body seemed to deflate. The thick mucus-like slime slowly turned less and less viscous looking, as its body's surface tension broke apart. Once its body was flat enough that its red glowing core was almost at the surface, Hotaru rushed at it with his rapier.
"Die you Atalante snot!" he yelled, stabbing his titanium black rapier into the core.
The red core cracked, letting out a squeaking scream, before disappearing. As it did, Hotaru quickly moved away from the slime, as the corrosive substance spread across the floor of the library. Alcyone managed to hold back the acid with her barrier by spreading it out low and wide, but the acid soon melted its way through the floor.
"What in the world did you do?" Alcyone asked, watching the floor of the library dissolve in front of her.
"Bit of chemistry," Hotaru answered, before rushing to collect more books. "That acidic slime is probably going to eat its way to the bottom floor, so we best hurry."
"Right," Alcyone nodded, before joining Hotaru.
It took some time, but Hotaru managed to get into a rhythm of only storing a few dozen books into his gauntlets at once. While gathering all the books in the library was impossible, they still managed to grab the majority of the non-buried books. Working together while against the clock, they managed to fill the three crates within ten minutes. But by the time they finished, they could feel tremors echoing from the bottom of the castle.
"That should suffice. Mokona! Grab the crates and let's go!" Alcyone yelled out.
Mokona started storing the crates inside its gem, but as it tried to store the final one, the floor of the library split open. The ceiling began to crack next and the entire room was tilting in two directions.
"The castle is collapsing! We need to get out!"
"Titanium Power!"
Having grown to the size of a Mashin, Hotaru picked up Alcyone, Mokona, and the final crate. As Mokona stored away the crate, Hotaru wrapped his hands around Alcyone and Mokona. With pieces of the castle raining on top of him, Hotaru flew upwards, crashing through the upper floors.
Once outside, he continued flying until he was sure no debris could reach them. From the air, the three of them watched as the castle crumbled atop the floating islands it stood on. Once the castle fell, the balance of the islands shifted, causing them to topple over. This brought about a tremor that expanded the giant crater, causing the islands to roll down into the abyssal hole in Cephiro.
"Well, we're not going to be making a third trip," Hotaru stated dryly, holding his passengers in his hands.
"I would have liked to look for any remaining magic items, but Zagato probably sold them off already," Alcyone sighed, leaning against Hotaru's chest. "Still, I suppose I should be feeling worse for seeing my home being destroyed."
Hotaru stroked her head gently with his finger, "Don't worry, we will find ourselves a new home."
After flying for several hours, they reached what had once been the edge of the continent. The ocean dividing their current location and their destination, had dried up, leaving behind a large barren canyon between them. While they could have continued their journey, they weren't sure how long it would take for them to reach Clef and the others. As such, they camped down in Mokona's shelter for the rest of the day.
"You really should have let me do the cooking for you," Alcyone spoke out worriedly, looking at the state of the kitchen.
The entire kitchenette was covered in large quantities of strange ingredients that Alcyone had never seen. Dozens of different kinds of meats, fish, shellfish, beans, spices, vegetables and fruit were laid out across the kitchen island and furniture. Hotaru had requested Mokona for so many ingredients that the white bunny blob had passed out afterwards. Although Alcyone had offered to be the one to cook, Hotaru had insisted on taking care of today's dinner.
"This is the least I can do after you saved and took care of me yesterday," Hotaru smiled, stirring a large cast-iron pan. "Besides, since we will be handing Mokona over to clef, this is the last chance I have to cook with ingredients from my world."
"What are you making?" Alcyone asked, holding a whole shrimp between her fingers.
"Paella," Hotaru answered, placing ingredients on top of sautéed rice. "It is one of my favorite foods from my old world. Couldn't decide what kind of paella I wanted, so I decided to go with everything."
Although their dinner ended up being larger than intended, both of them enjoyed it greatly. Alcyone was mesmerized by all the different kinds of spices, while Hotaru was happy to get to eat shellfish for the first time after reincarnating. Having eaten until they were stuffed, they lounged around for the rest of the day, with Hotaru sitting on the bed and Alcyone laying in his lap. To pass the time, they swapped stories of their pasts. At Alcyone's request, Hotaru recited the full story of Snow White to her, without sparing a single detail.
"…And with the red hot iron shoes on her feet, the evil queen was forced to dance till she died. The prince and Snow White got married, and they lived happily ever after," Hotaru finished the story, while running his fingers through Alcyone's hair.
Having listened to the story, Alcyone just stared up at him in quizzical shock, "They tell stories like that to children in your world?"
"Weeell, there are dozens of different versions of it, this one is just the most interesting one," Hotaru admitted.
"It sure was," she laughed goodheartedly. "So, if I am Snow White, does that make you the prince then?"
Hotaru tilted his head back, begrudgingly admitting, "…I'm more of a pauper than a prince. Certainly not Prince Charming."
Though I have a pretty good idea who the evil step queen is…
Reaching up to stroke Hotaru's cheek, Alcyone smiled, "I think you are plenty charming in your own way. Also, would Zagato be the evil queen? He had a magic mirror after all."
Worried Alcyone may have read his thoughts for a moment, Hotaru smiled awkwardly, "If that was the case, it would make the Magic Knights Snow White and you the huntsman. Or would the queen send Snow White out to kill the dwarves in this version…"
"No need to overthink it that much," Alcyone giggled, slapping him gently with a pillow.
Having spent the day enjoying each other's company, they got ready to turn in for the night. They cleaned the dishes, brushed their teeth, and put away their clothes. Though it had become a daily routine, they both enjoyed having someone to share it with. Whether castle or orphanage, they felt more at home in this small egg-shaped cottage than ever before.
Laying down on the bed, they embraced one another once more, taking this one last time to enjoy the seclusion of the shelter. Kissing each other deeply, their passions flared up and their hands began to explore each other's bodies. Hotaru's hands glided across Alcyone's soft skin and round curves, while Alcyone ran her fingers across the contours of Hotaru's muscles and scars. Ready to give into their shared lust, the two of them were interrupted, as the ground beneath them began to shake.
The entire shelter trembled and shifted, as the earth quaked beneath them. At first, they thought it would blow over quickly, but the tremors turned more violent, before the shelter began to move. Mokona, who was giving them privacy in the kitchen island's shelf, was chirping in panic, as the furniture began to shift. Alcyone and Hotaru grabbed hold of each other tightly, right before the shelter tilted to the left, making them both slam against the bed's headboard.
As the earthquake soon halted, Alcyone rubbed her head, "Ow… I guess you were right about waiting until we are somewhere safer."
"Yeah, I was worried something like this might happen," he said frustratedly.
I knew something would happen to interrupt us. Always does in anime.
"Give me a second," Hotaru said, before getting out of the bed.
Alcyone watched confused as Hotaru walked out the front door in his underwear. There was a moment of silence, before the shelter was turned back upright. This was followed by a slight case of turbulence, before she heard the bottom of the shelter hit against something solid. Little while later, Hotaru walked back in, getting back in the bed.
"Let's just try and get some sleep," Hotaru said tiredly, before giving Alcyone a quick peck on the lips.
While the mood was gone, there was still great comfort in sharing the bed together. As Alcyone fell asleep in his arms, Hotaru stared at the ceiling while awake. Although he had managed to save his villainess, he knew keeping her safe was far from over.
It will be one week before the Magic Knights return. I need to make sure to enjoy these days until then, before things get complicated again.
As he fell asleep, Hotaru failed to notice a small, horned figure watching at the two of them from outside the window.
Author's Afterword: For starters, I would like to thank everyone who left their congratulations on the previous chapter. It was good to get everyone's feedback on the series thus far and I am hoping to get even more readers as the series goes on.
For the first of our trio of what I like to call "intermission" chapters, we have a chapter focused solely on Alcyone and Hotaru. While the two of them officially got together a few chapters ago, it was only now that I could properly show them off as a couple. I wanted for them to have a good balance in their relationship, between banter, care, and romance. Whether it is surviving in the wasteland, fighting monsters, or doing chores, they have each other's backs.
I also delved into more carnal scenes between the two of them, but tried to keep it in good taste. Also, I promise, I won't be teasing you readers on that front for much longer.
Next chapter, Hotaru's week of "vacation" is about to get more hectic, as he and Alcyone meet up with the rest of Cephiro's populace.
As always, reviews and speculations are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you to TheMotivatedOne, James Birdsong, merendinoemiliano and our recurring anonymous Guest for your reviews on the last chapter!