by Tj Dixon
“That was amazing?” Sor asks in disbelief.
“Yes. I’ll have to add it to my next manga. Absent minded girl crashes into world and causes earthquake. Maybe there should be someone under her though.” Grunti answers, rubbing his hands gleefully.
“Wouldn’t they be dead?” Sor asks.
“Perhaps that should be the premise, but they would have to be resurrected somehow or they couldn’t be the main character. Maybe the girl would resurrect them. I feel like that’s been done before though. Maybe I should make them a ghost.” Grunti says nodding happily.
“I give up. This is pointless.” Sor says shaking her head.
“There should definitely be a character like you in it too.” Grunti says nodding thoughtfully.
“If you’re making fun of me I’ll send you right back to hell and I won’t be using the celestial gate.” Sor warns him.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Grunti says.
“I’m serious!” Sor yells.
“We should probably move on from here.” I suggest.
“I’ll open the gate to Nirvali. Both of you go through it ahead of me.” Grunti says.
“Ok.” I say.
Grunti focuses mana and forms a portal in front of us. The portal is a black shiny disk hovering in the air just above the ground. It’s wide enough for about five people to pass through side by side. Sor pushes me forward so I hurry through the portal. Unlike the celestial gate it just feels like being ported.
On the other side of the gate I find myself in a large room with a throne and twenty female dwarves wearing black armour in four rows of five. They all look very similar to the one we saw when Grunti first arrived. In fact that very same dwarf is standing in the front row on the far left.
“Your majesty!” She calls out as she sees Grunti emerge from the portal beside me. I’m glad he didn’t take any longer. I hate to think what the dwarves might have done if they had mistaken us for invaders.
“Swimsuit girl! I mean Lupine.” Grunti says hastily correcting himself as he notices the other dwarves’ disapproving expressions.
“Welcome home your majesty.” A dwarf says from behind us. I turn and see the portal is gone. She’s standing near the throne.
“General Karina!” Grunti says happily.
“I’m here too.” A little green haired and green eyed faery says. She looks the same as the one we saw with Grunti at the temple.
“Imogen!” Grunti says happily.
“Nairon will be happy to see you too.” Lupine says.
“More importantly, can we go and get the next volume?” Imogen asks.
“I just need to grab my celestial gate opener and move the temple first.” Grunti says.
“Move the temple?” General Karina asks a little shocked.
“That’s more important than the next volume?” Imogen asks more than a little shocked.
“No, but we’ve waited this long. I don’t want to have to put it down to move the temple after I’ve started reading it.” Grunti says.
“Your majesty, could it be that you mean to move the temple here?” General Karina asks clearly worried.
“No. I plan to move it to hell.” Grunti says cheerfully.
“Did they offend you, your majesty?” General Karina asks in shock.
“Just how long will that take?” Imogen asks in shock.
“I’m not sure how long it will take to move everyone but moving the temple shouldn’t take too long once it’s empty. We’ll be putting it in a bag.” Grunti says.
“Just how big is this bag?” General Karina asks.
“This big.” Sor says taking out a small leather bag from an inner pocket in her jacket. It’s barely big enough to fit my hand in so General Karina’s confusion is understandable.
“It’s bigger on the inside.” Grunti explains.
“So why do you need to take the temple to hell?” General Karina asks.
“That’s where Peter’s making his new kingdom.” Grunti explains.
“In hell? Wouldn’t everyone die?” General Karina asks.
“I created a dome for him there where his people can live happily without worrying about air, cold or demons.” Grunti explains.
“You made a dome in hell? How? Actually, never mind, I don’t suppose any of us would understand even if you explained. So what can we do to help?” General Karina asks.
“Just make everyone welcome here. I’ll open the celestial gateway between here and their new home.” Grunti says.
“Is it safe to have a gateway to hell in the city?” General Karina asks nervously.
“Of course. We can even sell my new manga to them through the gateway.” Grunti says.
“Putting aside manga it would be nice to have a trading partner. If their home is in hell they’ll be able to obtain mana stones and minerals. We can sell food and crafted goods.” General Karina says.
“We have plenty of food, but we could trade food with each other to increase the variety.” Sor says.
“What food did you find in hell?” General Karina asks.
“We’re growing vegetables, fruit and nuts. We don’t have any meat though.” Sor says.
“I lived on a farm before I came to the academy so I know a little about keeping animals. If we got some animals we could breed them for meat.” I suggest.
“Just how big is this dome?” General Karina asks.
“A little bigger than Nirvali.” Grunti says.
“All of Nirvali?” General Karina asks.
“Yes.” Grunti answers.
“If you can make something like that for them why not do it for us too?” General Karina asks.
“I thought they’d make good test subjects.” Grunti says.
“We’d make good what?!” Sor exclaims.
“Test subjects. No mortals have lived in hell before as far as I know. So I thought you’d make good test subjects.” Grunti says oblivious to Sor’s anger.
“The dome is safe, isn’t it?” I ask in concern.
“Yes, definitely safe.” Grunti says.
“So why do you need test subjects?” Sor asks.
“Just in case.” Grunti says.
“Just in case what?” Sor asks.
“Just in case I’m wrong.” Grunti says.
“Then how is that definite?” Sor asks barely able to contain her rage.
“Well in theory it’s definitely safe, but it’s never been done before.” Grunti explains.
“If we all die I’m definitely going to kill you.” Sor tells him. The other dwarves all tense up as if preparing to fight.
“Don’t worry. Sora’s always like this.” Grunti says.
“My name’s Sor.” Sor says icily.
“Oh, it was, wasn’t it?” Grunti says.
“This is pointless. Just get your celestial gate opener and let’s get to the temple already.” Sor says.
“Is this it?” Imogen asks, floating towards us from the throne carrying a stone the same size as our angel stones but red. She lands on Grunti’s left hand and he takes it from her with his right hand.
“Yes, this is it.” Grunti says. “I thought I picked it up. I must have put it down there whilst I was waiting for everyone to enter the portal.”
“No. I found it on the floor by the portal before we went through. I meant to give it to you, but I forgot.” Lupine says.
“It’s a good job it wasn’t anything dangerous.” Grunti says.
“I wouldn’t pick up anything suspicious looking in here without checking with Grunti first.” Imogen says.
“Didn’t you just pick it up yourself?” Sor asks. Imogen goes pale.
“I could have died.” Imogen says in shock and sits on Grunti’s hand shaking her head.
Chapter 27 (Niji)
It’s so quiet here now. Our rival club took one room. We took another room and everyone else took the last room. There are a few people here who weren’t from our club, but even they were friends of club members. When everyone was here
it was loud and busy, but with most of our remaining club members gone to help Peter it’s almost deserted in here.
It was a shame Felicity and her friends left for Utopia Camerona. We weren’t exactly best friends, but we got on well. I got to know Tomo, Tabi and Mirai a bit better here, but they were such close friends, so I was always a bit of an outsider. Anyway, they all left to help Peter.
The 2A students are all a bit intimidating, but Charlotte from 2C was kind enough to invite me to join her and Emma whilst they chatted to pass the time. Again I feel like an outsider and Emma is from 2A. Apparently she worked as a bounty hunter on her own before working with the club. So that makes her super intimidating. They’re both sleeping right now though and I don’t have anyone else to talk to so I’m bored.
I could eat something to pass the time. There’s plenty of food on the table by the open door, but it’s so bland. They called them rations but I call them wood. They’re the same colour and they do look a bit like little blocks of wood. I think I’d rather be bored than torment myself by eating something so bland when I’m not even hungry anyway. I can’t even train in here because I’d probably wake someone.
“Everyone, quickly, get up!” Midori calls to us from the door with a huge beaming smile on her face. If she’s that happy then Peter must be safe. What’s so urgent though?
“I’m getting up.” Charlotte says in a daze as she sits up in bed. I’m only sitting down so I just stand, but for Charlotte who was asleep just sitting up quickly seems to have made her dizzy.
“What is it?” A girl I don’t know asks. I think she was Lily and Rose’s friend.
“It’s great! We’re all going to hell to be with Peter!” Midori exclaims gleefully.
“Explain what you mean properly.” Emma tells her, now sounding and looking wide awake.
“Peter created a new home for us in hell so we’re opening a gate to take us there. We just need to gather together in the throne room.” Midori says.
“Is it safe?” Emma asks.
“Of course it’s safe.” Midori says.
“Did Peter come to tell us this in person?” Emma asks.
“No. Sor, Helski and the dwarf told us. Anyway, let’s stop wasting time. Hurry up and get up. I want to see Peter again.” Midori says.
“We’re really going to live in hell?” Lily and Rose’s friend asks dubiously.
“If it’s with Peter there’s no difference between heaven and hell. Now come on everyone!” Midori tells us.
“We may as well go with Midori. Sor and Helski can explain to us why we’re being asked to go to hell.” Emma says.
“Sor isn’t the type who likes to explain things so I hope Helski can give us a proper explanation.” Lily and Rose’s friend says unhappily, but she does get up and nobody refuses. This isn’t really our home so we don’t have much choice.
We follow Midori out of the room and along a long corridor with one long glass window on our left. There’s mist outside so we can’t see anything else through the window. Like the rest of the temple we’ve seen, everything is grey stone other than the window itself. We follow Midori past a broken section of the temple avoiding piles of rubble and then along the corridor again.
Finally we reach a shiny black stone door that opens on its own revealing a black stone room with a large black stone throne. There are large fiery torches on the wall every ten feet or so lighting the room well. A small black cat, presumably the Kuroneko, is sitting on the throne. In front of the throne are Sor, Helski and a short fat man with green eyes, short black hair and black stony skin. He’s wearing black armour. Is that what a dwarf looks like? There are also close to a hundred cat people and a handful of humans gathered to the right.
“Come in. We’ll explain everything once everyone’s here.” The dwarf says.
“Go in, go in!” Midori tells us whilst waving us in. She then dashes off back along the corridor.
Emma leads us to the left. I’m grateful, because the cat people look very intimidating. The cat people are tense and aren’t speaking a word. Their eyes are simmering with anger that is very close to the boil. The humans with them are keeping their eyes down and staying perfectly still. I get the impression they just don’t want to be noticed.
“In here, everyone. Grunti will explain once everyone’s here.” Hermes says and leads a group of Contractians into the room.
I notice the leader of our rival club from the academy. She’s easy to notice because she’s probably the only black girl at the academy. There might have been more, but I don’t remember seeing any others. I suspect that everyone following Hermes into the room is from our rival club.
We wait in silence
“This way, nya.” Neko says and leads a confused looking group of Contractians into the room. They must be the girls who decided to stay but weren’t from either club. I notice a woman with them who looks a bit like a much older version of Rin. Rin’s mother?
“Hurry up, hurry up!” Midori says, impatiently ushering Neko’s group into the room. “We’re all here. You can explain now.”
“I’ll try to keep this simple.” Grunti says. “We’ve created a large artificial environment surrounded by a sphere of protective magic. In the bottom half of the sphere is fertile earth suitable for growing food in. You can also build on it or dig into it to make homes. The top half is filled with mortal friendly air. There’s plenty of clean water too.
“The location of this environment is the ice hell that Peter fought in. The location means that you are unlikely to be attacked by other mortals. The most powerful demons in this hell are dead already and the weaker ones can’t break through the protective magic surrounding it. It’s unlikely that any other gods or angels will intrude either, so the location is perfect.”
“We’ll be living there from now on. It may seem crazy, but it’s much safer than staying here.” The Kuroneko says, still in cat form. Her followers, on the other side of the room, seem to accept her words without hesitation. The tension on that side of the room seems to disappear instantly. On this side of the room though there are quiet complaints muttered all around me. As they notice our discontent the cat people glare angrily at us.
“We all agreed to follow Peter when we chose to stay here. We knew we might have to leave Contractia. There’s no point complaining now.” Emma warns everyone.
“We didn’t think that meant living in hell though.” Someone complains.
“You don’t have a choice.” The Kuroneko says and everyone’s gaze turns back to her.
“What happens if we refuse?” One girl asks. The cat people on the other side of the room glare murderously at her.
“Then you die.” The Kuroneko says simply. The girl gulps.
“I’m not refusing.” She says quickly.
“Good.” The Kuroneko says.
“I’m going to open a gate to Nirvali now. Once you’re all there and I’ve picked up the temple I’ll go back to hell and open the gate to your new home.” The dwarf says.
“Picked up the temple? Just how strong is that dwarf?” A girl behind me mutters.
“I’ll just be putting it in a bag.” Grunti says, noticing our confusion but only adding to it with his words.
“It will be going inside my dimensional bag.” Sor explains irritably.
“Oh, so he doesn’t have to pick it up. Maybe he’s not that strong after all.” The girl behind me whispers.
“Just hurry up and open the gate. I want to see Peter again already.” Midori says impatiently.
“Ok, I’m opening it now.” The dwarf says sounding a little flustered. A black shiny disk appears in the air in front of him. It’s about five people wide and a little taller than most humans.
“The Contractians can go first.” The Kuroneko says. She doesn’t look or sound like she trusts us.
“This way everyone.” Midori says and happily leads us into the disk. I’m near the front. Hell may sound scary but staying here is much scarier. I get the impression th
at some of the cat people would love nothing more than to rip our throats out.
We pass through the gate and arrive in another throne room. This time there are short pale skinned girls wearing black armour. Peter did say female dwarves look like little girls, but I didn’t realise just how literally he meant it.
“This way please. Keep moving so the people behind you can continue to pass through the gate. This way please. Keep moving…” A bored sounding female dwarf instructs us, directing us to the far side of the room.
“So this is where Peter lived when he went off on his own during the competition.” Charlotte says.
“After he defeated David Ishki and freed the Kuroneko’s followers.” Emma says.
“The Kuroneko doesn’t seem very grateful.” Charlotte says.
“I wouldn’t let her or her followers hear you say that.” Emma warns.
“If it’s in hell, Contractia and the Fallen Angels really won’t be able to follow us to our new home.” Charlotte says.
“Let’s just hope we don’t get invaded by the demons from another hell.” Emma says wryly.
“I hope not!” Charlotte exclaims.
“Don’t worry.” I tell her. “If Peter can defeat the local maou we’ll be fine. Any demons from elsewhere will be weaker outside of their own hell. The hell should eventually transform into a heavenly realm too if the local demons are all killed and there are gods living there.”
“That’s true, but I didn’t expect you to know that.” Emma says.
“My family were demon hunters before Contractia conquered our lands and enslaved me.” I tell her.
“That’s harsh.” Emma says.
“I’m just glad that I’m free now.” I tell her.
“What about your family?” Emma asks.
“They’re dead. They died rather than be enslaved.” I answer.
“That’s harsh too. I’m sorry.” Emma tells me.
“Don’t be. At least they didn’t have to be slaves. I was the one that wasn’t brave enough to kill myself.” I tell Emma.
“How old were you?” Emma asks.
“Six.” I tell her.
“I don’t think any six year olds would be brave enough to kill themselves and I wish nobody had to face that choice, especially so young.” Emma says.
