Chapter 26 – Double Trouble

"Ah, warmth~."

Reina woke from her sleep feeling well-rested. And why wouldn't she? She just slept with her closer-than-before girlfriend. There was warmth all around her.

That might have been strange, but Reina knew why that was. To her back was Maria, who was almost aggressively pressed against her. Even through two pairs of shirts, Reina could feel what was pushed up on her back. A pair of arms around her stomach locked the two women in place.

To her front was what had hatched yesterday: a baby dragon. Just like how she was held close by Maria, Kuromo was pulled toward Reina. Soft snoring came from beneath the covers of the bed.

She really could just lay there all day, but she knew better. She had a fight to prepare for.

Reaching behind her, Reina shook her bed partner, awakening her with a cute yawn.

"Morning, Boss~." Maria drawled out, giving Reina a squeeze.

"Morning. We need to get up." Reina said over her shoulder.

"Mm…fine…" It wasn't much of a struggle to coax Maria up.

Now it was time for the dragon. Reina moved the blanket off of him and was about to shake him as well, but his appearance threw her off.

"Wow." Reina looked at the baby dragon, who looked a bit less like a baby than before. He'd grown quite a bit, all things considered. If Reina hadn't just woken up, she probably would have realized sooner that Kuromo had grown.

When he first hatched and during his first day of life, Kuromo could just barely fit on Reina's chest and stomach. Now, he went from her hips up to her head, though that included his tail's length.

"The monster tamer wasn't kidding when he said leveling helped monsters grow. Well, my weapon probably helped a bit, too." Reina mused aloud. She'd already unlocked the first Monster User Totem earlier and unlocked the second yesterday.

While she couldn't see them directly, Reina conferred with Vyrdrun about his own stats. Kuromo's growth was even higher than a Gromnar's. Being a dragon, Reina wasn't really surprised, but it was still pretty amazing.

When she woke the curled up dragon, he stretch out, revealing several scales that glimmered from the light that passed through the window. Reina absorbed those into her weapon.

Monster User Totem III
(abilities locked) Equip Bonus: monster maturation adjustment (medium)

And just like that, Kuromo would be able to grow even faster.

"Gau!" Kuromo got in her face, licking it.

"Okay, okay, stop!" Reina laughed. It was liked being licked by a dog, though Reina had only been around smaller ones. Based on the dragon from the cave, this would end up being a rather big dog.

The four of them got dressed in their clothes and armor and left for breakfast in town, as to not take up more of the church's resources than necessary. Beyond that, the only thing they had to do was mentally prepare for the Wave.

Reina looked over her weapon forms, specifically the ones she unlocked in the past few days. Aside from the two Monster User Totems, there were four others.

Radiant Cross Amulet
(abilities unlocked) Equip Bonus: SP recovery (medium)

Crimson Blade Ceremonial Sword
(abilities unlocked) Equip Bonus: Forge "Magic Blade"

Lesser Black Wolves Crosier
(abilities unlocked) Equip Bonus: Skill "Blur"

Lesser Golden Hammer Talisman
(abilities unlocked) Equip Bonus: Skill "Turn Undead"

The SP recovery combined with the small bonus she got from the Black Dragon Meat Totem. It turned out that it only came into effect when her SP was below 50%. However, once she reached that point, the combined bonuses would be enough to replenish her SP even with her forged spirit out.

The Magic Blade actually gave a weapon to her forged spirit. She tested out normal weapons, but they were shocked out of its hands, just like for her. It increased her spirit's attack based on her equipped weapon's stats, but only a portion and without any power ups. It seemed to consider all the stats of the equipped weapon, not just attack, so that was something to consider. It was stronger than the Claws ability she got, but not after applying Enchanted Fist to herself, let alone the spirit. Plus, Magic Blade didn't benefit from Flaming Fists, so it was even weaker. Still, it would be a good backup weapon once her MP ran low from the spells.

The Black Wolves Church dealt with the underworld of the country, so the ability she got made a certain amount of sense. Blur made a target harder discern for a short time, making it more difficult for attacks to land. It had a 50% uptime, so one of them could be under its effect for half the time it was on cooldown. The SP cost wasn't too high either.

Finally, Turn Undead…likely did a similar thing from her game. There weren't any undead around for her to test it on, but there were plenty in the last Wave. The weapon form wasn't particularly strong, so it was better to have it unlocked.

There were plenty other weapon forms she copied, including ones that acted like offensive spells, but Maria already had them covered with that for now. For others, her level still wasn't high enough to unlock or show what they offered. Reina hoped this Wave would help change that.

Speaking of magic attacks, Reina didn't have many spells to work with. Aside from Enchanted Fist, she had Prestidigitation and Cutting Edge. One had virtually no use in combat and the other required a specific type of weapon. Unless she switched to her Caskalt Athame, which wasn't all that powerful anymore, she couldn't use it. She also didn't get much chance to work with her Fire Attribute, so that wouldn't help much.

But that was fine. Two Forge abilities she had, Immolation and Healing Touch, used MP instead of SP, so she still had some use for MP aside from her opening spell.

With their bellies full, they made their way to the Cathedral of Unity. Once there, they would meet up with the forces the churches were providing and go over any other plans. It would likely be similar to Lespax, where Reina's party would fight the boss while the templars would protect any villages and towns nearby.

As they entered the grounds of the cathedral, Reina saw what she'd be working with. All the churches did indeed send troops to help, 10 from each church. They all had on plate armor with the symbol of their church, likely making them all templars. Most used swords or spears, but a few had weapons their churches were named after, like the Golden Hammer templars wielding long-hafted hammers or the Radiant Cross with—curiously—crossbows on their backs in addition to their swords. They all kept to their own group, and they kept a watchful eye on one another.

"Is this going to be fine?" Reina wondered.

Aside from the templars, there were only a few adventurers. One was a woman who was dressed like a martial artist monk, kneeling on the ground, possibly meditating. Two were more standard-looking adventurers, both with light armor. One had a spear while the other had a sword and shield. Another looked to be a mage with a staff in hand. Based on how far apart most of them were, Reina didn't think any of them were in a party together aside from the two weapon users.

The last small group actually had a few members, though only three of them could be mistaken as adventurers. Reina recognized one of the non-warriors in the group, seeing as he approached her yesterday. There was a woman dressed in a similar fashion to him, but what Reina focused on was the man speaking with Bishop Valais, who was with the templars of his church.

"As I've told you, the Spirit Forger doesn't have the time to speak with you." She heard the bishop say as they approached.

"And as I've told you, your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. She agreed to speak with me, so that's what I'll do." The dark-haired man he was speaking to replied.

The templars with Valais didn't seem to appreciate the man's words, as they stepped forward to flank the bishop.

"You are not in your country. You would do well to remember that." The bishop said, a hint of threat in his tone.

Likewise, the two warriors with the man stepped forward with their hands on their sheathed swords.

"Is this how a bishop acts? I'm thankful I don't…hmm?" The man stopped his retort as his gaze shifted slightly to look at Reina.

Valais turned around as well. "Ah…" He held up his hand, signaling the templars to back down.

"Who's this?" One of the ready warriors asked aggressively, turning to face Reina.

Before Reina could respond, the man next to him who was speaking took a step forward. "That's the Totem Hero," he said, raising his hand to wave the man back, "you idiot."

"Apologies." The warrior who looked ready to fight removed his hand from his sword and stepped back.

Reina's group stood in front of the other two. It was clear tensions were on the rise before her approach. Why, exactly, she wasn't sure.

"Now then," The man cast a glance at the warrior before looking back to Reina, "thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I am Grimwald, Esquire, lord of Faena Village, vassal of Duke Balta of Hascain."

"…Reina Suzuki, the Spirit Forger." She wasn't exactly prepared for the long title.

"I've heard you fought in the Wave in Lespax, and now you prepare to fight in Keston's. On behalf of my country, I ask that you make Hascain your next destination." Grimwald said.

He spoke politely enough, dismissing Reina's previous opinion about him. She observed what he wore, noting he wasn't sporting any typical noble clothing. Instead, he wore breastplate with chainmail underneath to cover his arms. On his back was the handle of a sword, though she couldn't make out what kind. His black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, though even that was barely enough to hold back the wildness of it.

The two men he had with him also had breastplate armor, though underneath was some sort of leather. None of their equipment held a candle to knights or templars. As for the servants, their clothing was plain. Neither the man nor the woman looked beaten or in bad health.

"My plan was to travel there next." Reina decided to simply play it straight. She had no reason to make him think otherwise, and it was true that Hascain was her next destination.

"I see. Thank you for confirming this." Grimwald gave a light bow. "Until such time, I offer you my services. I am well-trained in—"

"The Spirit Forger is currently being housed by the Violet Storm Church." Bishop Valais cut in. "I'm sure anything you could provide would be a shadow of our contributions."

Grimwald glared at him. "Perhaps if I had the resources of one of Keston's large churches, I too would flaunt my wealth."

Reina didn't particularly care for someone speaking for her, but there was one thing she knew.

"It didn't work out so well the last time nobles joined my party." Reina told him directly. She could see the smirk on Valais's face, and she didn't care for that either. "But if you want to make a good impression on me, you can start by fighting in this Wave."

If he was just out to bring Reina back or for his own gain, he probably wouldn't want to do something as dangerous as that.

"You would have my lord fight for—"

"Carlo." Grimwald turned to the now-named aggressive guard. "Do you think I need you to speak for me?"

"S-Sorry, Sir." The man immediately backed down.

Reina might have been impressed by Grimwald's quick intervention, but she knew better. It was something she saw in an old drama. A lord might keep an aggressive knight nearby to act as an attack dog of sorts, only to be restrained to show some semblance of goodwill. She hadn't seen it in this world yet, but the nobles she's interacted with so far have tried other methods. King Tarik of Lespax didn't have one either, but he was already kind of odd.

Grimwald looked back to Reina. "While fighting to protect Keston isn't appealing, I will do so to show my commitment."

"I want you to work with the templars in protecting the people." Reina said plainly. "We can talk more after that."

"Very well." Grimwald gave a light nod.

As he turned, Reina got a better look at the weapon on his back. Her heart sank for a moment. There on his back was a well-made cleaver. She was worried that a man who had slaves was a hero, but her fears quickly melted. The Ritual Implement had a violet gem somewhere on it in every form. She heard the same was true for the Chisel and Cleaver. Thankfully, there was none on that weapon.

It was an odd choice of weapon, and not one Reina was exactly fond of. A few adventurers she'd seen had one, but they didn't exactly look friendly. A few of Borgi's associates in that restaurant came to mind. It definitely wasn't something she expected a noble to use. Maybe the stats on it were really good.

"Spirit Forger, such a man can hardly contribute to fighting the Wave." Valais spoke once Grimwald and his people were out of earshot.

"Even if he can't, he wants to help." Reina argued back. Sure, it was by Reina's request only, but it was something. "Besides, there are adventurers here, too."

"Yes, well…I suppose I can't argue with that." Valais admitted. "Now then, we should discuss how the templars will be deployed."

~Forging Legends~

Reina got everyone in her Battle Formations. Each group of templars already had a captain assigned to them, so Reina appointed the same person in her status. They could form parties for XP however they wanted, since it wouldn't affect her group.

The other adventurers weren't in a party together, but they all had the same goal. They wanted to increase their level and collect materials from the monsters the Wave summoned.

Reina didn't know them any better than she did Grimwald, but having more people to help make it to the Wave boss was good. The templars would focus on protecting the citizens, who would have monsters coming at them from all sides.

The formation she planned was similar to what they used in Lespax, though they had more melee fighters now. Chester, the mage, would be in the back with Maria. He was somewhat low-level and had lightning magic. Will, the spearman, would be in the front with Vyrdrun and her forged spirit. He would be to the side to prevent monsters from getting around. Brent, the sword-and-shield user, would be in the back to protect the mages. Matilda, the monk woman, would be close to Reina. She was fast on her feet and had a few throwing weapons on her, so she could move to the front or back as needed.

Kuromo, curiously, sat atop Vyrdrun's shoulder proudly. Reina had to admit, up there was probably one of the safest spots available. Plus, he'd been spending a good amount of time bonding with Vyrdrun, mostly from when they ate monsters together.

Of course, Reina wasn't going to entrust her party's safety to these people she just met. She wasn't going to make that mistake again. That wasn't to say she saw them as a threat or anything, they just hadn't worked as a group before. One of them could easily move out of position and leave a gap for monster to come in. Reina chose to view these adventurers as extra bodies rather than trusted companions. If they did their job, great. If not, her party was prepared to fight without them.

00:01

With the Wave nearly upon them, buff spells were cast. Reina cast Enchanted Fist on both herself and Matilda, occupying two of the simple rings she had to sustain the spells. Unlike Maria and the witch siblings, she wasn't proficient enough to cast a group spell, which would only take up a single ring.

Despite his low level, Chester was competent enough to cast his spell on the whole group. It was Defense Up, worded slightly differently than what one of the witches used.

Likewise, Maria had worked out a spell to use. Flaming Weapon. It did what it said, alighting the weapons of everyone in the group. She didn't cast it yet, instead waiting to see what the monsters were like. She did, however, cast Barkskin over everyone. Reina gave her a few rings to use for when her better accessories were all occupied.

00:00

The Wave timer finished counting down and they were all transported.

Just like before, the red sky was filled with swirling pools and cracks in reality. It didn't take long before they spotted a small town. Behind that, a large mountain range covered the horizon.

"The Mist Mountains!" One of the templars called.

Reina remembered hearing that before. She also learned that these mountains were several days away from the capital, and that was on a steady mount. There was no chance of reinforcements from the capital.

"To the town!" Without any further formality, the templars ran in the direction of the town. Monsters already began falling from the sky.

"Let's find the boss quickly!" Reina told her group.

They went off in another direction from the templars, toward the largest crack. That had been the site of the last boss, so it was a good bet it would hold true here as well.

Monsters were already dropping to the ground around them, standing as if they didn't just slam into the ground. As they ran forward, Reina got a good look at one.

"Forge Spirit!" She called out her skill and had the spirit appear in front of it. The flaming claw tore into the monster, killing it in an instant.

"I don't think that was necessary, Boss." Maria gave a light laugh as they continued on, more monsters appearing around them.

"I couldn't help it!" Reina defended her action. Vyrdrun could have taken it down without her help, but…

The monster came up as an Interdimensional Gnarl, and it was one of the freakiest things Reina had ever seen. It was shaped like a wide person, but it had no head. Instead, its face was on its chest. Wide, razor sharp teeth covered its stomach and lower chest with a single eye above them. Its arms were long, reaching to the ground and ending in claws.

Honestly, she preferred the running zombies from the last Wave. She'd give up using Turn Undead on them just to fight rotting corpses instead of these things.

Thankfully, these monsters didn't seem to have high defense at all. Will and Vyrdrun were easily able to run through any that got close with their spears, to say nothing of Reina's forged spirit. Matilda struck with her fists at the ones who came from the side, also killing in a single strike. The same was true for Brent with his sword. From the sheer numbers, they were able to get close enough for Maria and Chester to strike at them with their staves, killing them in two hits. It wasn't worth using magic just yet.

Even Reina with her Crimson Blade Ceremonial Sword was able to cut down monsters with ease, despite not having much practice with an actual sword. It currently had the highest attack with decent other stats, so it was good to use for an offensive build on her forged spirit. She was just thankful she didn't need to use it defensively, since she wasn't exactly sure how to.

"Haha! This is pretty easy!" Maria laughed, swinging her staff at another gnarl.

Reina wished she would take it a little more seriously, but she shared the sentiment. Their numbers were larger than the corpse chasers in Lespax, but they were easier to take down. If she wanted to, she could switch to a defensive weapon and just let her spirit's Immolation ability burn the monsters that made contact with it, provided she was fine spending all that MP.

It wouldn't be long before they found the boss.

"Up above!" Chester yelled, pointing at the sky.

Since Reina thought it was easy, of course there'd be flying monsters.

What approached from above were winged women with pelts around their chests and hips. They were lanky and had claws at the ends of the arms and legs. Based on appearance alone, they didn't look that threatening.

"Twin Fireball!" Maria fired off her signature spell, sending two beads of fire at two different groups. The resulting explosions caused all those hit to drop like flies.

…In this case, their appearance was spot on.

"Did we over-prepare?" Reina wondered.

The last Wave wasn't particularly difficult, not even the boss. Sure, Reina didn't do much fighting personally, mostly just sending her forged spirit out to fight, but no one in the party was particularly winded back then. Though, there were more monsters this time around.

With the addition of airborne monsters, Reina moved back to help defend Maria and Chester. Simple slashes were all she could do with the sword, but they were more than enough. Her forged spirit could handle the front with the others while she took up the rear. It was simple enough to order it to attack any monsters that came close, but Reina didn't need to give up any awareness on that front.

Thanks to another weapon form, Reina had full view of the party. It was the Black Dragon Eye Amulet that allowed this. It's equip bonus was Spirit Eyes, which allowed her to see through her forged spirit. Since it wasn't a skill or Forge ability, it took no SP to use. It was a little disorienting using it at first, but she got the hang of it before today.

A group of gnarls came from the front. The distance between her and the front wasn't long at all, so Reina could send her spirit ahead to intercept them and break up the group.

"Gauuuuu!" Before she could, Kuromo let out a roar. It was a bit too high-pitched to sound intimidating, but that wasn't the point. A green beam shot from Kuromo's mouth, burning through the monsters ahead of him. A few fell to the side right away with others flailing their long arms, parts of their upper bodies beginning to hiss and melt.

"I didn't know he could do that!" Reina was more impressed than surprised. The monster tamer mentioned a breath attack, but Kuromo shouldn't have been able to use it until he was much larger. Even he wasn't sure if Kuromo could, since he couldn't tell by the egg how much of a dragon he would be. Dragons could mate with just about anything, after all. Being a monster of a hero certainly had its advantages.

The fighting continued on. The flying monsters, now identified as Interdimensional Harpies, weren't able to contribute much to the battle. They did have a ranged attack in the form of a small ball of electricity they could launch from their hands at a great distance, but it sounded worse than it was. The ball wasn't very fast, maybe about the speed of Reina on her bicycle if she was in a hurry. Since the party was constantly on the move, it was barely worth mentioning, even if they did scorch the ground they landed on. The Lightning Bolts Chester fired off were much faster and more damaging.

After about 20 minutes of fighting, they came across another monster. Since it was close to the Wave crack and was larger than the others, Reina thought this could be the boss. It had the body of a scorpion, but from where its head and pincers should be was the upper body of a man. Like the rest of it, the torso was covered in yellow chitinous armor. Its eyes were slanted and glowed yellow. The arms started somewhat normal-looking but ended in fleshy bulbs with spikes on them. Similarly, its tail had spikes in place of a stinger.

Interdimensional Spine Arachnid

Its human head reached higher than Vyrdrun, and its body could easily cover all of him, too.

"I don't think I should get close to that." Matilda voiced.

"That's fine. You've done more than enough." Reina told her. Fighting the boss was the job of the hero's party. Someone who fought with only their fists wouldn't have as much range as someone with weapons. Really, it was great she fought the gnarls with their torsos full of teeth.

"Flaming Weapon!" Maria's spell enchanted the weapons of everyone present, including Reina. It basically gave a double coating to Vyrdrun's already flaming spear. It didn't confer anything to the forged spirit, but Reina could handle that.

"Enchanted Fist!" She applied this one to her spirit. The casting on Reina at the start did give a bonus to her spirit, so now it basically had nearly twice the bonus.

The spine arachnid screeched an inhuman screech from its human mouth. Its many legs walked it forward, both arms held back. Then, it punched them forward, sending out the spikes on the ends.

"Watch it!" Reina reflexively called out, moving her spirit to quickly intercept the spikes. The ones that struck it impaled its upper body. The zombie template and the Barkskin spell provided a decent amount of defense, but the attack still dealt significant damage.

Already, more spikes began to grow from the bulbs on its arms.

"We got more monsters coming!" Chester informed them.

"You, Matilda, Brent, and Will, handle them. We'll fight the boss." Reina ordered. "Keep them from swarming us."

While it would be nice to pile on the boss, getting surrounded wouldn't be good at all.

As the spine arachnid continued to approach, Reina sent her spirt forward.

"Twin Fireball!" Maria let loose her spell.

The explosions hit the boss in the chest, but the armor kept damage to a minimum. Reina was glad she acted first. Otherwise, the skill she was about to use would have been burned.

"Web!" With her spirit moving to the side, Reina threw her skill forward. It wrapped around the boss, slowing its movement, but not stopping it. That was to be expected. It seemed like this skill worked off her defense more than her attack, which wasn't nearly as high at the moment.

Vyrdrun grunted, thrusting his spear at the boss. It stuck into the armor, the wild flames swarming around the wound.

The boss flailed its arms, knocking the spear loose and tearing at the webbing around it. Before it could retaliate, the forged spirit came at the side, slashing at it with flaming claws. It struck the boss in its human torso, tearing off part of the chitin armor.

Screeching, the boss swung its tail, colliding with the spirit's raised arms. That, too, caused burn damage on the boss, but it more than made up for it by greatly damaging the spirit.

With a thought, Reina activated Healing Touch, having her spirit heal itself slightly. She had Forge Points to spend, so she opted to put that one on it.

"Gau!" Kuromo unleashed a breath of acid at the boss. While the initial attack didn't seem to do much, the acid clung to it.

Seeing as a piercing weapon wouldn't do him much good, Vyrdrun tossed the spear behind him. He pulled the war hammer from his back and readied himself to attack again.

The boss was able to clear away what little remained of the web and swung its arm at Vyrdrun. He was able to jump back in time, avoiding the spikes.

The tail of the boss whipped around, sending spikes in all directions. It reached far, forcing Reina and even Maria to dodge to the side. Like the nubs on its arms, the spikes on the tail began growing back.

"We need to end this quickly!" Reina called out. Those fired spikes were its best weapon. The more time they took, the more often they could be used.

"On it, Boss! Force Darts!" Maria sent her projectiles at the unarmored shoulder of the boss.

Only two of the missiles hit their mark. The others were knocked away by the boss's arm. That would work for it for now, but the acid was still eating away at its armor.

"Kuromo, keep breathing on it!"

"Gau!" The dragon gave an affirmative chirp, though he didn't breathe right away. It seemed he needed a little time to unleash it again.

Until then, Reina had her spirit pull back, only to use Charge and slam into the boss. More chitin was removed from the heavy swings of her spirit's claws. Vyrdrun matched the attack with a swing of his hammer, knocking it back as it came forward.

The boss's arms swung forward, connecting with Vyrdrun. It knocked him back, causing him to stumble, but he was able to remain standing.

With more options opening up, Maria continued to fire weak Force Darts at the boss. With Vyrdrun and Reina's forged spirit so close, her signature spell wasn't viable.

Reina wanted to move in to attack with Cutting Edge, seeing as it would penetrate the boss's armor, but she reconsidered. The boss swung again, hitting her spirit's raised arm. Even with Barkskin on her increasing her defense, she saw how much damage her spirit took. From that and the spikes, it was already at less than half HP. By its nature, her defense was higher than her forged spirit's, but that boss would knock her around far more easily. Getting close with what was basically a knife would be a bad idea.

Instead, she kept her spirit in the boss's blind spot, forcing it to split its focus between the spirit and the combo of Vyrdrun and Kuromo.

Another swing of the arms with slowly growing spikes, another slam from the spirit and Vyrdrun, and another round of Force Darts from Maria. Slowly and steadily, they were whittling away at the boss.

Kuromo had enough time to gather his acid, unleashing another beam at the boss. A fresh coating covered the chitinous armor, melting away its protection. The parts that weren't protected were burned from the attack.

The spikes on its arms were just about at their previous length.

"Vyrdrun, stop it from attacking!" Reina called out.

"Got it!" He returned, dropping his hammer. He grabbed each arm just below where the spikes were, preventing it from launching them. With its front occupied, that left its back exposed, the armor covering having partially melted. Now was the perfect time.

Just as Reina was about to have her spirit deliver a devastating blow, she gasped. She could see through its eyes, see what it saw, see herself with it, and see what was approaching Maria from behind. Or, rather, who.

"Web!" Reina whirled around, throwing her skill toward Maria. The woman flinched at the incoming skill, but it went past her, wrapping around a massive pincer. The webbing forced the pincer shut, preventing it from reaching Maria and crushing her skull.

"Damn!" The man the pincer belonged to jumped back, tearing at it with his other arm. His right hand was a pincer while the left was a long claw, the talons of which reaching at least a foot in length. "Guess you aren't the Spirit Forger for nothing!"

Reina stared at him. His body had grown a little larger and his face had warped, but she could tell it was Brent.

Before Reina could say or do anything else, she saw the previous sword-and-shield user turn and charge. Maria wasn't his target this time. Instead, his long claws pierced the back of Chester, running him through. The mage died before he could finish his spell against the incoming gnarls, let alone realize what had happened.

On the other side, Reina saw Will grow his arms out, becoming large, gorilla-like limbs. It seemed his target was Matilda, who was able to spot him before he attacked. Unfortunately, even though she was able to bring up her arms in defense, Will slammed his into hers, sending her flying. She must have flown over a hundred feet before hitting the ground. Both she and Chester no longer appeared in her party.

There were two Demon Lords here. And they were looking right at her.

Author's Notes:

I like breaking up Wave chapters, apparently. And with Demon Lords. You can't stop me!

It just goes to show, you can't trust nobody.