Starchild Crusaders

by J. J. Pavlov

  And then I get to the part that both lifts my spirits and dims my mood; the moment I met Kamii. The dirt-covered little dark elf with the crab arm that changed my life in this world. Who turned out to be Daica's older sister - at which point I learned that they both were several years older than me.

  She then became my first lover ever.

  "You covered your back quite nicely there." Asoko comments with a sneer. "Little dark elf, huh?"

  "Hey, at least she's of age. Unlike your Malika." Throwing this back at my other half, I see her expression freeze over.

  "Touché." She says and scratches her cheek. Then she continues in Japanese to keep our secret. "But the laws in the previous world don't matter here. I told you that girls become of marrying age when they are visited by Red Riding Hood for the first time."

  "Yeah, I don't buy into that. It's just a convenient law created by men without the consent of women." Shrugging, I signal that I don't want to talk about this anymore. To me, age doesn't matter as long as there's true love, and apparent age matters even less - though I do have standards.

  Getting back on track, I speak of the time I spent in Hovsgaerden with Kamii and Daica, and Rolan's party. That I made a mistake which essentially caused us to get kicked out of the city. The following journey turned out to be an experience of a lifetime, one I would have never even dreamed of having before.

  Our path took us across the snow-covered mountains of the Kongensgrad, and when it became too difficult to traverse due to the weather, we decided to take the shorter but potentially even more dangerous route through the ruined dwarven city of Rathgolim. Once again, a mistake on my part caused what seems to be the entirety of the ancient Graebern civilization to come down on us. But we made it out alive after a marathon through the darkness, to see the light of day again.

  "I have to say that a part of me would have loved to be in your place." My other half admits but then raises her hand before I can reply. "And don't you dare say that technically-"

  "-a part of you has." I join in at the perfect moment for us to say the exact same words in a choir. She glares at me for this bad joke, and I shrug. "You brought this upon yourself. Literally."

  "Damn you for making these lame clone jokes." Grinding her teeth, Asoko groans.

  "I know as much as you do that you would have done the same in my position." I suggest with a grin, and she rolls her eyes. "In either case, what comes next is the school arc in the Royal Academy that I mentioned earlier."

  These words instantly garner my other half's interest, and she quiets down to listen. I recount our reunion with Arcelia to get the written recommendations that would allow us to enroll in the academy. We then went there the same day and had an interview with the principal, Thorvald.

  "He somehow found out that I'm a demon." When I get to this part, I pause. What would have happened if he never found out? Or if the academy weren't so tolerant about having demon students, just like the rest of the nation.

  Knowing Thorvald's magical prowess, I think my life would have ended then and there. I barely knew anything about magic, so I wouldn't have been able to defend myself at all. Even now, I don't think I could defeat him in a straight battle.

  "What happened then?" Asoko's hanging onto my every word and is eager to hear how I got out of that situation.

  "Nothing. Kamii was with me, so I didn't want to risk fighting." Thinking back, I have to admit that humans aren't as bad as I thought they were. Maou-mama tossed me into a pit filled with confused and scared ones that had just suffered defeat at the hands of demons, so my perception of them had been that all of their kind hated my kind. But in reality, there are tolerant ones like Thorvald and Basarab - although I still think the latter may not be entirely human. "The principal enrolled me on a scholarship and even allowed Kamii to enroll as well."

  "Sounds like a nice guy." My other half says the exact thing I thought at the time.

  I then relate my experiences at the academy and how I met Hestia, who blushes at the memory of her old self's lack of self-confidence. She was cute then, and she still is now. But the side that is madly in love with me tips my opinion in favor of her current personality.

  Even though school should be boring, my time at the academy was all but. Every day, I learned something new and met interesting people, spent time with Kamii and Hestia, and had great food. And risking life and limb to sneak around the building once in a while replaced the kicks I got from winning marathons in my previous life.

  But those days came to an end when we were allowed to leave the citadel for the first time. Taking the opportunity of being out in the streets of the city, those who disliked my good relationship with Hestia sent assassins after me.

  I fought them off, but it came at a cost. The pure angel witnessed a scene of carnage and a face from hell - mine. Coupled with the fact that I touched her skin in the guild hall, it pushed her over the edge of corruption. It accumulated with no relief, and she collapsed from its effects. I thought I had killed her at the time.

  "But you only made me better." At this point, Hestia interjects while taking my hand, as if to demonstrate that my corruption doesn't cause her any harm. "My people fear what they did not understand. But there was never any reason to be afraid of having black feathers."

  I know that's not entirely true. Her personality did change, just as much as mine did after I was reincarnated into this body. We became manipulative and ruthless, our minds no longer bound by any rules but our own.

  "No, they were right to be afraid." I state with an amused smile. "Corruption is liberation. Why would any society want their members to be absolutely free?"

  "Ohhh, yes. You are right!" Hestia's eyes widen in surprise before she exclaims in understanding. "I am free, bound by nothing but my love to you, Chloe."

  If I were my old self, I would have been embarrassed at her saying this, but all I feel is deep affection in return for hers. But I'm no longer just Kuroe Makoto. I'm Chaos.

  "And I love you too, Hestia." Putting an arm around her waist, I pull her toward me and kiss her on the cheek. She giggles and snuggles into my side.

  "That's good and all, but can we continue the story, please?" Asoko asks in impatience, a little envy in her gaze. She has yet to meet somebody to love like I do my girls, but I'm sure she will; she's another me after all, and the only thing that separates us is opportunity and experience.

  "Yeah, right." I mutter awkwardly and clear my throat before continuing. After Hestia's corruption, things happened very fast. Within a week, our life at the academy came to an abrupt end, when Basarab told us of the champion selection that would be conducted by the god envoys. I went into it with a bad premonition but could have never guessed at the time what would go wrong.

  Mithra appeared as an envoy of the gods, causing me to panic and search for a way to use the teleportation circle in the academy's underground. I explain that my thoughts were a mess, thinking that Maou-mama's court magician was a spy who could reveal my identity to the professors.

  Thus, the same night, I learned how to use the transportation network, broke into the vault, and traveled to the demon castle to warn our mother. But it turned out to be a false alarm, and Mithra was an agent for her all along.

  However, the damage had been done because the academy found out about my nightly journey and ambushed me when I returned. They held Kamii and Hestia hostage right in front of my eyes, but the situation escalated when Aldebrand hit the angel girl.

  "He deserved to die." Asoko states in a matter of fact tone while looking at the angel girl's face.

  "In hindsight, I overreacted." I admit my fault for starting the battle based on just a bruised cheek. It wasn't reason enough for me to swallow Aldebrand on the spot, which should have looked nothing short of murder to everybody else. Of course, I don't doubt for a moment that they would have eventually attacked me with the intent to kill, as talking it out most likely wouldn't have amounted to anything. "I had a pretty good run and killed se
veral high-ranking professors, but was teleported away to the middle of the desert along with Hestia."

  "Impressive. Even teaming up on you wasn't enough to kill you." My other half mutters thoughtfully and walks straight into a wall. Her face is flattened from the impact, and she falls onto her bottom.

  "Hey, it seems we reached the end of the tunnel." I suppress the urge to laugh at her and look around to find that we're in a dead end. There should be some hidden mechanism to open it.

  "What keen insight, sister." Asoko gets back up and fixes her face with a scowl.

  "Your own fault for not looking where you're walking." I shrug and run my hands across the wall.

  "We got that in common. Remember all the dislocated shoulders?" Sighing, my other half helps me and checks the surface from top to bottom.

  "Are you looking for this?" Hestia suddenly remarks, and we turn around. She's pointing at a large stone lever sticking out of the wall. We were too preoccupied with the idea that just like the mechanism which opened the way to this tunnel, it would be a pressure-plate disguised as just another brick in the wall. "Time to work, Jalil."

  The fallen angel steps aside and orders our guide in a playful tone. All this time, he's been listening silently, maybe realizing that we're not just monsters. I'm not worried that revealing my story to him may cause problems in the future; he may even tell it to others in this nation and make me famous.

  Jalil pulls the lever, but it seems to be stuck. Pressing all his weight down onto it with a hop, a creaking sound tells me that it just moved. He does it once more, and it gives way, causing him to stumble and fall. The noise of stone surfaces grinding against each other fills the tunnel.

  Sand and dust trickle down on us from the cracks in the ceiling as the wall slides sideways, revealing a small crypt with a sarcophagus in the middle. A set of stairs leads up to another room with a double-winged steel door that's locked from the outside.

  Transforming my hands into blades, I stick them into the gap and then grow them thicker to pry open the wings, causing fresh air to rush inside. Feeling the cold breeze of the night on my skin, I push the doors open fully and step outside first. We're greeted by the starlit sky and the waning moon.

  After the introspective journey down memory lane in the darkness of the sometimes dry and sometimes damp tunnel, it feels great to be out in the open again. Our destination is still far, but with a new companion at my side, I feel much more confident about our swift return.

  Chapter 60 - Desert Storm

  Seventeen days have passed since we left Qusantinah. Jalil acquired a map of the Khurut Sultanate sometime along the way and is fulfilling his role as our guide diligently. At one point, I realized that he may have the same supernatural sense of direction that the bard displayed time and again.

  Not once have we gotten lost even when there were no roads, which is an impressive feat in itself. But just like the bard finding his way through Rathgolim with pinpoint accuracy without ever having been there in his life, Jalil has never left the vicinity of Almadinad and Moqadis. Unlike the bard, he's not a seasoned traveler, so it's even more impressive.

  In the first town after we left Qusantinah, we bought four camels and decided to stay on the ground instead of flying. The truth is just that none of us want to carry Jalil because putting aside his merits, he's still a disgusting person.

  In the early afternoon, we reach Jedinah, the last town before the Great Desert of Nagirah. The vegetation has already disappeared save for a few dry bushes, but from here on out, sand and nothing else extends as far as the eyes can see.

  "Asoko and I are going to stock up on food, you two should go procure rations for yourselves." I separate our roles before entering the wall-less town. I'm comfortable with letting Hestia go with Jalil on her own since I know she can handle herself. And the two of me don't need appropriately prepared meals; we can eat a lot in advance and then go hungry for a while.

  According to our guide's calculations, it'll take us a little over thirty days to reach the other end of the desert while traveling on camelback. There are no cities along our route before the destination, and locals say that they haven't seen it rain for decades anywhere in it, so oases are unlikely to be found.

  My other half and I could each transform into a vularen and walk nonstop to cut down on the travel time, but I don't think Hestia or Jalil would be able to sleep on our swaying backs. It's best to let the weakest link dictate our pace here, as he's also the only one who knows the way; neither Hestia nor the two of me understand how to navigate based on the positions of the stars after all.

  The money inside my storage space is still substantial. Even with another me to feed, as well as the expensive camels we bought, I've still not used up even half of it. Then again, that includes the pile of five hundred dhahaba put aside as payment for Jalil when we part ways with him. But there's still a good amount we can spend apart from that.

  Guess we'll be having a big feast today, even if it's not prepared by a chef. After all, the amount we need is far from what any kitchen has stocked.

  "How about this?" I point at a pen that holds four dozen goats. The prices we've encountered so far tells me that they cost sixteen fidiyaton each, and two more when I want them appropriately slaughtered.

  "Will it be enough?" Tilting her head, Asoko asks seriously.

  "I saw chickens when we entered the city, and I'm sure they have camels here, too." Replying in an equally serious tone, I wave over the overseer of the goats. The pen is a communal one, so not one person owns all the animals.

  "Medha turidu?" The man with the goatee asks when he sees us. I've seen aplenty that the position of women is weaker than that of men throughout the sultanate. Women walking around alone better carry a grocery basket lest they get eyed for being up to something; I know that he's not thinking very highly of us since no man is anywhere near us.

  "Alkullu." I point at the goats in a broad gesture and say. It's one of the most useful words I've learned in this language so far: All.

  "Medha?" Blinking in surprise and confusion, the overseer looks at the pen and then turns back to me. "Hal'ant majnun?"

  "Alkullu." Repeating myself calmly, I pull out a leather bag from within my red cloak and rattle its contents demonstratively. I've ordered them by currency inside my body, and this one is filled with fifty dhahaba. It's more than what the goats cost, so I won't be handing it all over.

  "No need to slaughter them." Asoko lips curl up into a sneer as she adds this under her breath. I do share her enthusiasm in this matter.

  A few hours later, we meet Hestia and Jalil in the town square again. Since I wasn't with the angel girl, her wings were on full display, which caused a gathering to form around her. She's sitting on a roof with her knees crossed, ignoring the masses below. When we approach, she spreads her wings and flies over their heads toward me.

  "Did you get what you need?" I ask when she lands in front of me and goes for a hug. "We've filled our bellies and got something for you, too."

  "Yes, Jalil has loaded the camels and is waiting over there." Hestia points to a street away from the square and the attention of the people. It was to avoid pickpockets or thieves, who may try to steal the goods while hiding in the anonymity of a crowd. "What did you get?"

  "I thought about how magic works." I think back to the peaceful times at the academy when I was still studying without a care in the world. I already guessed when we traveled the first stretch in the desert after arriving here that water magic isn't as convenient as everybody would believe. "Why is the Khurut Sultanate so dry? Why don't the shamans just use water magic?"

  There's no concept of mana, everybody can cast any number of spells without ever tiring; they only need to know the incantation and have a catalyst in the form of a crystal. So they could be walking around the nation, creating water to make it more fertile.

  In other words, there's a restriction in the only other element of creation among the four nature affinities. Earth magi
c requires earth to be present because instead of actually creating it out of thin air, it only uses what's available. The same is true for water magic, as per my experiences in the Khurut Sultanate so far.

  That would explain why magic in this nation is sealed from the general public. If people learned water spells, they would abuse it for their own gains, making the land even drier.

  "I think that just like earth magic, water magic requires moisture to be already present in the atmosphere." I summarize my thoughts. "In the desert ahead of us, there will barely be any of it, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to create water for you indefinitely."

  "Are you sure? You were able to summon plenty of it when we first arrived here." Raising an eyebrow, Hestia wonders. She's partially right because while the amount was not little, it was far less than what I could achieve with the same will when we were in the academy. However, the Nagirah desert is like a dead zone where not a single drop of rain has fallen in decades. The moisture in it has to be near zero.

  "I'm not sure, but just to be safe, we're bringing our own water." I point at my stomach, where I've packed a dozen humans-sized sealed pots filled with the life-giving liquid. Asoko has the same, and the amount between us should be enough to last for more than thirty days through the desert. Of course, I'll try to cast water spells once we're a few days away from this town, to see whether or not we really have to ration our supplies.

  "That does reassure me." With a beaming smile, she leads us toward the alleyway in which Jalil has parked our rides. "Will we continue moving today, or wait until morning?"

  "This is our last opportunity to sleep in a bed with a proper roof over our heads for the coming moon, so I say we use it." Asoko suggests before I can answer. I agree with her sentiment, mainly because at this point, half a day more doesn't make much of a difference. The scars on my left arm tell me that it's been twenty-six days since we were sent away from the academy. And the way it looks, we won't even be out of this nation before another month passes.