---

 

 

Step by step, with her hand as support against the icy wall, she continued to walk, her walk fueled only by her pride. The whipping winds began to calm down for their joy, and after 100 meters more, the nocturnal fog allowed to see a warm light in the distance.

"That must be Alsta... or is the end of the tunnel... To all the gods who are listening to me, please make it the first option... please" she prayed silently, while at each step the fog dispersed, allowing more and more of the night sky covered of stars, many of which she had never seen before.

With a new feeling of joy in her heart, she ran (as much as her aching body allowed her) to the gigantic citadel, looking for the nearest entrance or any guard that could help her. For her surprise, most of the doors were closed, except for one of the two buildings that protrude from the walls. A huge structure building with a facade similar to a cathedral, but adorned with black stone statues of sages, magicians and scholars (or at least she must have assumed that they were based on the books, canes and staffs they carried) instead of the typical gargoyles that she had seen so much in the most religious kingdoms. A large glass of warm colors covered the upper part of the outer doors, as if serving the adventurers to indicate a safe and warm point.

She knelt exhausted in front of the doors, striking with the back of her hand while on the other side they heard laughter and merriment, more typical of infants than of adults.

 

"Just a moment! A moment! "The voice that rang through the door was old and cultured, uttering and vocalizing perfectly, something logical for an Alsta resident. Slowly, the double doors opened, emanating a warmth with which she had dreamed for hours. From among them appeared a small old man, dressed in an ornate silver tunic and with a long beard that reached to his knees ... just as they had described her. "Oh Hello! We werent expecting any visitors so late- "

 

"It's this..." She forced herself to interrupt the good man. " the Alsta's library?"

 

"Corret, miss. You find yourself before the legendary library of King Monto, the pavilion of dark letters!" With great pride, the old man rubbed his beard while studying the visitor up and down.

 

"Have you already started tonight's story?..." she whispered, praying with all her strength so that the answer was negative.

 

"Judging from your clothes and lack of luggage..." The old man stepped aside, letting his guest in... something she accepted without hesitation, crawling at full speed until she was safe in the library. "You cant have come to explore the ruins of the Old Alsta, right?"

 

She denied softly, letting her bones warm. "This morning I heard at the camp of the ruins of Lower Alstaus that tonight you are going to tell the story of Erin, so I climbed the mountain as fast as my legs have allowed me... have you started already?"

 

"You've climbed... the whole mountain in... less than 12 hours?!" The old man couldnt hide his surprise, the revelation too shocking for his poor body. "You are a huge and pretty young woman, very passionate about the stories! You're lucky, young lady, I had just served the biscuits and hot chocolate that accompanied us tonight just when you knocked on the door" Her face radiated joy, while an innocent smile formed on her lips.

 

"Might If…"

 

"Dont ask, dear! Find a few cushions and sit next to the group, they are already placed around the big chimmey" The old man pointed to one of the walls of the building, for the brief moments before she ran away "WAIT, DEAR! What is your name??" The old man shouted, managing to hold her attention for a few seconds.

 

"My name is Line, sir!" And again, the girl ran again, dodging tables and shelves.

 

Smiling, the old man began to lock the doors and windows, thinking to himself. "A girl so young walking on such a dangerous path, even more with so many beasts infected by the darkness lurking on the trails ... and also in half the time of the recommended!" Kneeling and grabbing his knees, the old man lowered his head, reciting silently in the ancient language of Alsta. "Tibi gratias ago pro tui dare praesidium, dea Cela. Puer omni cura tua benedicetur innocentes coactus est vivere in world consumetur in tenebris..."

 

 

---

 

The chimney was as big as Line was expected, 2 meters high and 2 meters long, built with bronze and fed by a Branese core, giving enough heat to heat the entire library. Above it, a sound crystal system reproduces a soft orchestral music, helping to create a calm and familiar atmosphere. A stack of cushions and pillows was piled up on one side of the chimney area so large that they reached Line's hip, and right next to it a huge table was covered with plates full of cupcakes, biscuits, sausages and breads, accompanied by large jugs of hot chocolate and fresh water. As described at the border crossing, the nights of legends are a true symbol of the hospitality of the city of Alsta.

The group of attendees was much more diverse than she expected as she climbed the mountain, a part of her waiting for only small children.

Children who evidently assume a large part of the audience, playing with each other or sitting with their parents around the big chair. (although more than big it should be described as tall, with legs of almost meter and a half).

Further away from the chair was a group of young people of all races, some dressed in casual clothes and others ready to go to the unknown at any time. With this last group Line decided to sit down, calling attention to what appeared to be human twins, sitting on the edge.

 

"Excuse me, is this place taken"And although Line had tried to sound as smooth and polite as possible, the boy couldnt hide a giggle.

 

"A giantess, huh? What have you lost in such a high and cold place? I thought that the giants prefer the most temperate places" The boy said without losing a second his half-smile, trying to bother Line.

 

"Dan! Dont be rude! "The one who should be his sister reprimanded him, grabbing his hand and squeezing. "Sorry, my little brother's idiot, he didnt mean to offend you. My name is Veronica, and no, it's not busy"

 

Line denied smiling "Not problem, I'm not offended. Just the opposite, really! It's strange to meet someone who understands the difference between titan and giant!" Placing the cushions as close together as possible, Line dropped on them, breathing in relief after a whole day of walking.

 

"It's the height, isnt it?" Dan asked again, this time without a hint of mockery in his words.

 

"Correct, the giants like me have human skin, upright posture and we usually measure up to 7 meters, from which yes whom you see has a more solid skin, with almost rough texture and walks more stooped, then it is when you can assume that it is a titan" An explanation that she was more than accustomed to give, but still doing so with pride. The look of curiosity of the twins spoke for itself, something that took a smile from Line. "Four meters and sixty centimeters, although in recent months may have grown a couple of centimeters"

 

Dan and Veronica looked at each other for a few seconds before Dan turned back to Line. "You're not the tallest person we've met, but you're in the top five, you can feel proud"

 

"I will!" With an innocent smile, Line saw the old man approach his chair, raising his right hand towards her and moving his index finger in circles until a small golden glow began to emanate. Slowly, the chair reduced the size of its legs until it was just the right height for the old man to sit, moments later the chair climbed back to its natural height.

 

"What kind of magic has that been, my little ones?" The old man smiled at the children, closing their eyes while everyone shouted at the same time.

 

"ALTERATION!!"

 

"Right!" The old man applauded, amusing the children who clapped back. Clearing his voice, the old man raised his hands to one of the shelves, from which one of the books began to shine with purple light, leaving the shelf and floating towards the hands of the old man. "Do any of you remember the rule of the colors of magic?"

 

"YESSSSS!" The children shouted again in unison, losing any coordination at once, each listing the colors in a different order.

 

"Children children! Repeat with me! Red for power magic, orange for healing magic, yellow for alteration magic, green for protection magic, blue for vision magic, purple for movement magic and indigo for creation magic! It doesnt matter if what you want is to become adventurers, doctors, priests, blacksmiths... one of the first lessons is to know the colors of magic! Whether through crystals, jewelry or minerals, our world was born of magic, learning to differentiate it is a lesson as basic as breathing"

 

"And why are people who make ice swords and it isnt red?" Asked a child near the chair, raising his hand after having shouted.

 

"A very good question, my dear! Some argue that the art of elementalism has nothing to do with pure magic, but if one stopped to study each spell separately, after much searching would end up looking for the original colors with which the spell was woven!" The old man looked from I glanced at the boy, winking at him. "Although you should leave these questions for school hours, today we have many guests who have come to hear a good story!"

Bringing a glass of water to prepare to narrate, the old man cleared his voice for the last time, opening the book.

"Come to the fireplace if you want to warm the bones, because the trip we will undertake tonight will be very long! Today there are many young people who accompany us, for them I introduce myself: They call me Old Tegan and I am the scholar in charge of the lessons of the youngest and the night care of the library, which is why I started more than 50 years ago the nights of legend, one of the most beautiful traditions, if you allow me to show off, of our city!

Between these gigantic shelves that cover every corner and every corridor of the great library of Alsta one can find all sorts of stories; from realms that saw their fullness and found their end by the same hand of fate, going through epic crusades initiated by the smallest of rebellions, and even stories of love for which the protagonists shook entire continents without thinking about the consequences.

Our world was born of magic and legends, and thanks to them hundreds of heroes have written their stories, either directly or through the hand of the legendary and mysterious Masters Storytellers, who write the stories of those heroes who fell in battle!

Among so many great stories today we look at a specific one, one that tells the beginnings of one of the greatest heroes that our same world has known and still has the pleasure of knowing, because this has been written by hand by the very "Hero Queen of Eluxar"... or by the nickname by which many adventurers know her, "The Grimm's apprentice"

Each hero has a beginning, one for which they are remembered: Battles almost lost whose tilt turns thanks to the hero, rescue of towns, cities or even royalty from the clutches of the evil... but not all the beginnings of the future heroes are brilliant. Many are the heroes whose origins go back from the most absolute poverty, criminality or even death, because as they say the need to grow and mature is usually born of terrible situations...

This story? It belongs more to the second group, no matter how much the queen herself tried to decorate it! A long time ago, when even our sky was only illuminated by the moon during the nights, there was a name whose mere mention was a sign of bad omen... or at least it was still for the elderly, the only ones who remembered the meaning and the story behind that name"

 

Not surprisingly, many were the children who were starting to get impatient."Calm, Calm! Dont be impatient! You must learn to wait and ask yourself why we need this introduction? It will be helpful to place our story, nothing more! Everything will make sense later, I promise!" The old man's promise was enough to calm the majority of the unruly, who fell back on their cushions.

"Our story begins scarcely two decades after the birth of the first Apodemus star, whose disturbing light, day or night, illuminated a small town with no name or value in the forests of Hyalgan"

 

---

 

 

 

---

 

 

The tumult grew as the hours passed and the last inhabitants of the town arrived at the central square, having parked their daily tasks for the occasion.

The entire population of the town was in the square, waiting, some excited and others fear and fear the arrival of the hunters. Mayor Takun tried to calm his fellow citizens as best he could, remembering again and again that any kind of bandage and first aid material would be helpful if the hunt had been complicated... but... unfortunately, after so many days incommunicado and without new provisions of resources they could contribute were insignificant.

Something really dangerous if someone had been seriously injured... especially if Erin was the one who had been hurt.

 

No one in the village had trained in militias or had received basic combat lessons, all to a greater or lesser extent were either descendants of refugees and exiles from the surrounding kingdoms, or simply normal people who had fled to places further away from magical centers, so before a crisis like the current, the only hope to take down the beast that frightened the ways were the four brothers woodcutters of the Frago family and the mercenary in charge of the security of the village.

While the knot in Takun's stomach was still growing as the hands of the clock advanced, a sour voice brought him back to reality. "Mayor... if they have already hunted the beast... what are we going to do? If they havent been able to kill the beast, we have no place to hold it or lock it up... and we havent had time to prepare dinner for them either... and you know... and if the mercenary has been injured? " Oswald, the farmer and the main provider of food for the village, was visibly nervous, sweating even more than usual to the point that his bald spot served as a perfect reflection of the sunset.

 

"Calm down, okay?" Takun pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket, offering himself to Oswald as he turned back to the town's main road. (Calling it the main road was redundant, as it was the only cobbled village road, encircling the bronze clock that marked the center of the town and ending right in front of the town hall)

"We'll think of some idea later, so let's wait and see how everything has gone... just make sure the dinner is ready as soon as possible... Erin and the quadruplets are reasonable people but I doubt that their stomachs are so reasonable after 10 hours of hunting"

 

And without asking permission to join the conversation... or just follow the social forms, the voice of the harpy rumbled in the square, causing everyone to turn to her. "My children will know how to wait if necessary! Unlike that bodyguard of yours!" Lady Marian Frago, the matriarch of the family and direct descendant of the founders of the town, approached Takun cane in hand (with a speed that many women her age would want for them)

"That whim of yours has done nothing but bring us misfortunes! One after another! First bandits and now this!"

 

"Please, Mrs. Frago! You sure knows that accusing Erin of all that is wrong. She is who has taken us out of every problem! We have had to live in a dangerous time, so this town needed a guardian not to end up like so many others, with its inhabitants dead and turned into bandit posts!"

 

"We spent a lot of money paying, feeding and accommodating that whim of yours, until we had to deliver our beloved stable to her! And she isnt even able to avoid these misfortunes! What if one of my children is injured? Are you thinking of taking charge, Takun?!" 

 

"The first thing is that Erin doesnt see the future! When a problem occurs she is the first one to go out and solve it! The second thing is that your children are the ones who offered you your stable and those who have presented themselves first to accompany her! And third..." Takun took a breath, not used to arguing so much or so often. "Dont you think it's better to have her hired than to have ended up dead? Having her in the village has saved our lives, that already makes its price enough!" And although Takun knew that the statement was true, as mayor he couldnt ignore the doubts of his friends.

"Our harvests have been quite good this season, and Erin has agreed before to not charge until the town has paid their debts and needs, so I doubt that this time will demand her salary in advance. The most important thing right now is kill that beast so that the roads are safe, bring our crops to the capital and with the money buy as much "Grungust" as necessary to be able to plant and raise animals to feed us, to Erin and have surplus to sell. If someone has a complaint, you can express himself without fear"

And in the face of everyone's refusal to complain, Takun breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes and relaxed as much as the situation allows.

"Oswald, go to your farm and start preparing the best pork that you have frozen, Erin and the quadruplets deserve a good dinner today" Oswald could only shrug and nod, running back to his farm.

Erin was a reliable mercenary, her salary wasnt too high and her only two conditions were easy to fulfill, so Takun was determined not to give the mercenary any reason to want to leave.

 

 

---

 

 

3 quarters of an hour passed before the hunting group appeared on the driveway to the village, the four brothers at the head (full of small cuts except the eldest of the four, who carried his right arm in a makeshift sling, carrying a rather large wound all over his arm) and Erin behind them dragging the beast, tied to a thin trunk to facilitate transport.

The mercenary was even more full of cuts all over her clothes and her face was reddened by the overexertion, her facial expression was a real poem: part anger, part disgust, part fear and all the rest of sheer weariness, each step with enough strengt to made the ground shake under her feet.

 

Everyone started running towards the brothers, ignoring Erin who dropped the beast directly to the ground before leaning against one of the trees that bordered the road. "ERIN! THOSE TREES ARE VERY OLD-" Takun shouted as he ran towards the giantess, worried about the integrity of the trunk ... but a single glance from the giantess was necessary to silence him.

 

"Come on!... I'm leaning back a little, I'm not dropping my full weight..." Between snorts, Erin dropped to the ground raising a great cloud of dust and dirt.

Erin served the village as a mercenary/guardian for almost a year, using both her four-meter and fifty-seven centimeters (almost as large as most of the one-story houses in the village) and all the physical power they carried in harmony with her knowledge about magic to protect the village, a great point in her favor that differentiated her from the majority of mercenaries that Takun valued.

The giantess had helped the town in many ways, both directly by her duty ending a group of bandits who lived in a nearby mine or indirectly, both getting more visits from itinerant merchants thanks to their contacts and as an impromptu doctor thanks to the healing magic. Unfortunately for her and Takun (her biggest support in the village), none of this made the rest of the town improve their views on her.

This was partly because of their old age , with most of the people over 40 years old, enough older to still be consumed by old misgivings against the giants... and, although nobody want to admit it openly, the "extreme annoyances" that Erin's working conditions implied:

- 50 Silver moons per week.

- A dwelling (provided by the sacrifice of one of the two stables of the Frago family)

- And a breakfast and two meals a day (which translate into a large pile of wheat, milk and at least one calf or pig a day, not counting the labor to prepare all food, mainly that of Oswald and his wife)

A price that although Takun saw more than reasonable taking into account the efficiency of Erin and the utility that the giantess contributed (helping in repairs or helping the Frago brothers with firewood), it wasnt a sentiment shared by anyone else.

 

"It was a bear..." Erin said while looking for wounds on her arms and legs, leaving her precious trenchcoat next to Takun. "A damn bear infected by MotherNight... we found a deposit in a small cave north of here"

 

"What...? MotherNight here?" Takun sighed heavily as he picked up the huge trenchcoat, already tired of just thinking about cleaning and repair it.

 

"Yep, Garb, Bastian, Nam and I are going to go tonight to try to undermine all of MotherNoche's vein while it's off" With an exhausted sigh, Erin stretched both arms forward, letting the weariness fade as she applied to itself a simple anti-fatigue spell. "We're going to need some picks, a couple of boxes to transport it, a car for the same thing..."

 

While Erin continued to list what was necessary for the nighttime operation, Takun's mind made the necessary click to turn something terrible like a MotherNight deposit into benefits for a people that needed them. "You know, Erin... MotherNight, from what I understand, is quite valuable if you know who to sell it to" Erin was silent, narrowing her eyes. "It's quite valuable-"

 

"And extremely dangerous," Erin said at once, turning to the mayor with a very obvious expression of confusion.

 

"That too, but maybe... you know... it couldnt happen... that you know... someone..." Slowly, the mercenary's face was turning from red to a completely stunned white. "Who could be interested... to buy MotherNight?"

 

"Mr. Takun, we dont get a surplus of money when we sell all the weapons and clothes of the bandits of the mine? We dont need to sell MotherNight! We arent talking about selling weapons that we have no control over the utility that they are going to give them... We are talking about MotherNight, a type of Magic Crystal whose only use is to twist the flesh of the living and turn them into monsters infected by darkness! We cant do business with this!" Erin hit the ground with her fist, drawing the attention of all the inhabitants who were still in the square taking care of the injuries of the quadruplets.

 

"I know! But ... but ... and if someone is interested in buying it? Between calling the royal guard to take it away and destroy it... or someone to pay for it...would we get the same result? We get rid of that crystalline curse in both cases! The only difference is that in the last one we gain a benefit of a misfortune like this! Please Erin... be understanding, we have been incommunicado for two weeks... we need money fast to restart all our business" Erin tried to protest, but there were many people who, behind the giantess and the mayor, offered their support to the idea of r03;r03;selling MotherNight.

"Listen to this Erin, your ask in the guild of adventurers of the capital if someone can interest to buy MotherNight... and if in a week nobody answers I will write a letter to the royal guard to come for it, do you think it's OK?"

 

"The truth?" Erin leaned on the floor, getting up quickly and grabbing her trenchcoat. "I dont like it, but I guess it's that deal or none, right?"

 

Takun nodded smiling. "Thanks for understanding, Erin... dont take long, okay? Oswald left a while ago to prepare a feast for your feat" Without saying anything else, Erin put on her raincoat and ran off in the direction of Hyalgan's capital, GreenGate.

 

 

---

 

 

There were few hunters who turned around frightened when they heard the noise, reacting quickly when they recognized the figure that was moving through the woods. Erin had been in the region for less than a year, but she had quickly become a celebrity in the area. Her huge but elegant figure, her shiny white skin, her bright blue eyes and her orange hair (as dyed by the twilight as Takun used to show off before the other mayors) made her stand out instantly wherever she was.

Many claimed that the beauty and tone of Erin's hair should be indicative that the giantess belonged to the royalty of some more northern kingdom (although the giants used to be more numerous when one travels to the south), but at the refusal to speak of his past, something common among mercenaries, the rumors quickly stayed in just that, rumors.

Which didnt prevent Erin from being known as a princess by all the people of the region.

 

Stopping abruptly, Erin leaned against one of the trees that surrounded the main entrance to the city, unable to move. "What am I doing... selling MotherNight? Come on Erin... you wouldnt do that..." The giantess said to herself, hugging her stomach while thinking what her acquaintances would say about her if they saw her at that moment.

Unfortunately, the work as guardian of the villa was too good, providing her with a discreet place to think while at the same time having a roof under which to sleep and food secured. A job too good... so far, obviously.

"Selling weapons is one thing, I cant know what use they are going to give you..." Erin repeated, closing her eyes. "Selling Mother Night has only one possible way... one totally terrible for the poor victim who crosses the path of the buyer...

Is this the person I want to become? Anyone willing to sell MotherNight?" Lost in thought, Erin sighed before a single memory dominated her, one terrible enough to put her in a worse mood instantly. "No, but he made it clear that I can never become the person I want to be"

 

GreenGate acted as capital of the forests of Hyalgan, mainly because it was the largest and closest town to the edges of the region, so there were few services that were accumulated in the city. From a small hospital or a permanent market to more exotic things such as a modest magic academy to instruct and redirect the few apprentices in the area or to a headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild, mainly for the large mansion that stood in the center of the forest, former residence of the Penumbra walkers, now converted at the whim of a lesser god in an unknown Territory.

"Good night princess!"

"Still working at this time, Erin?"

"Be careful on the way back, princess!"

Everyone still on the streets turned to greet Erin, the giantess waving as politely as the rush allowed her as she made her way to the Guild.

 

As always, Erin ducked in front of the double doors of the building (Installed precisely by her), opening them and waiting a few seconds before entering, seconds that served all the usual as an indication that they had to get away from the entrance.

"Good evening everyone" Erin said as she crawling, the roof of the Guild just high enough for the giantess to be sitting on her knees.

There werent many people that night in the Guild, just a small group of adventurers drinking in silence at one of the tables, looking defeated. Bad luck in the mansion, Erin thought to herself.

 

"Mah dear elite mercenary!" The kitchen doors flew open, and although it seemed that nobody had left them, Erin waited a few seconds until moved a stool behind the bar. "Whew! someone gid enters 'ere th'day, oncom tae lose hawp o' seeing someone with...you ken whit ah mean, muckle lassie!" Gus, the dwarf and branch manager of Hyalgan Guild of adventurers, was as loud as ever, honoring the said that most dwarves wore with pride.

Make a lot of noise, let them know you're here before you kill them!

(Interestingly, Gus boasted so much of the saying that he even had it embroidered on top of the bar on the tavern side of the Guild)

 

"I'm also glad to see you, Gus" Erin said as she pushed aside some stools to make room at the bar, letting Gus prepare her usual drink before starting the awkward conversation.

 

"A menthol horn, am ah wrong? " Gus asked, already leaving the huge (still more in his hands) jar on top of the bar.

 

"Shouldnt you ask me before you serve?" Erin joked as she took a first sip, enjoying the taste of mint.

 

"A dinnae need it! ye hae nae ordered mair than 2 drinks in a' this time! if ye dae nae come fur th' fairn ah ken whit ye expect is mentholated horn, in trial yi'll waant tae sloch a guid heavy tis whit yi''ll need!"

 

"You know me too well!" Erin enjoyed the complicity of the dwarf, beginning to fear the reaction to the theme that brought her that night.

 

"Ye ken it, muckle lassie!" Gus flopped down on the stool, sitting with one arm on the bar. "That's how come ah ken that th'day ye come wi' something terribly tairible in mynd, richt?" Erin nodded, drinking half a jug before beginning to speak.

 

"The reason I didnt come in these last two days is that there was a bear infected by Mother Night near the village..." Gus's surprised look is within what Erin expected, so the giantess kept talking. "Thanks to the gods, we have found both the bear and the MotherNight vein... and now Mayor Takun wants to sell it"

 

"...Ye wull nae be serious, wull ye?" Gus rubbed his ears for a moment, hoping they had failed him.

 

"He knows it all too well, but he says that in order to give it to the royal guard to destroy it, he prefers to try to sell it to whoever needs it..."

 

"By a' th' gods... Ah think ah havent heard sic a twisted reasoning or in th' geggy o' th' maist hurdie elf... Listen erin, ah wull fin' it pernicketie tae fin' someone wi' a need... Or a buzz..."

 

"I know that very well! You search among your contacts if someone would want to buy it discreetly, I'll make a couple of calls and try to delay the sale for a week so that Takun has no choice but to send the MotherNight to the royal guard... it's the only way I see to do the right thing in this situation..."

 

Gus sighed, looking at the giantess out of the corner of her eye. "Ye'r tae guid tae be a mercenary, ye ken? nae mony mercenaries wull huv a go tae deliver something as valuable as mothernight tae th' ryle guard"

 

"It's called principles! And they arent exclusive to mercenaries or adventurers" Erin smiled, proud of herself. A silly pride, Gus thought, but if the girl made him happy...

 

"Principles, conscience, yer educated 'n' cultured wey o' speaking 'n' th' fact that ye ken me in mah native leid... Urr ye sure you'rent royalty?"

Not a second step before Erin hit the bar with both hands, blowing everything that was on it. "No! It doesnt matter how many times I was asked! My parents just raised me with love and affection, tried to give me a good education within their possibilities... I wish there were more, but it's all my story" 

 

"Okay... Dae nae git mad, muckle lassie " Gus sighed, jumping to the floor and approaching the desk that served as a counter for the adventurers. "Ye dinnae need tae pay me fur th' dram, ah will charge ye whin takun pays ye th' dosh he owes ye"

 

Sipping the rest of the mentholated horn, Erin peeked around the bar, easily leaving the jug in the sink. "Is there someone in the Tapirus academy?"

 

"Th' auld tapirus left this mornin' wi' twa promising apprentices near th' mansion, something o' wanting tae see th' natural dexterity o' they twa weans"

 

"Then I will have to open the door carefully, I dont want to jump back the security measures like the last time..." With a sheepish smile, Erin turned to the door, saying goodbye to Gus for the last time while leaving as well as she could through the gates of the guild.

 

 

 

---

 

Gus continued writing the offers on Mother Night for two hours, bid farewell to the unsuccessful adventurers in the process. The sky become cloudy and the rain threatened to break out during the night, so the old dwarf's intention was to close the guild earlier than usual to go to bed early and enjoy the sound of the rain.

Even so, fate had other plans. For shortly before finishing the last letter, the guild door burst open, a male figure dressed in a black suit, the legs of what appeared to be an intricate red, black and dark blue armor (colors that, in combination, were often attributed to older adventurers; a habit for rookies to know who they could ask for help in case of need) and with their heads covered by a completely closed helmet of the same design.

The figure took a couple of steps, bowing politely before Gus "Good evening gentleman, are you still open?"

 

Gus blinked a few seconds, confused at the situation. That a veteran adventurer might have been lost in such quiet lands as Hyalgan was the only thing the dwarf could think of. "For now, brother. What do you need?"

 

"A hot dinner before going on my way, I have always relied more on the guilds than on taverns or restaurants for a business as vital as dining"

 

"Wise choice, brother! I make the best chops in the area, with quite a difference, I can assure you" Gus kept the letter half written on the desk, jumping from the chair and running to the bar. "Table or do you prefer a stool?"

 

"Stool itself, I'm not capricious" The figure pressed some kind of mechanism on the back of his neck, the helmet fading in a golden glow... although the bar prevented Gus from knowing his guest personally. "Do you mind if I check the requests? I want to take advantage of the trip to take away some difficult request from the novices"

 

"No problem! Check them out as much as you need, dinner I'll take it out in 10 minutes "Leaving the adventurer alone, Gus went into the kitchen.

 

After a few seconds of courtesy to make sure the dwarf did not come out again, the adventurer sat at the desk, opening the drawer and reviewing the message halfway. "Mother Night?... Selling Mother Night? Mr. Mayor Takun ... talking about bad guys... and the intermediary is..." A smile crossed the face of the adventurer, keeping the letter inside his jacket.

 

"A year later, our paths cross again... fate has played the cards... let's see what hand awaits, Erin"

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

"Burp!" Trying to stifle a giggle, Erin rolled on her bed, resting after a long and full dinner. The rain had caught the giantess on the way back to the villa, forcing her to have to leave her raincoat and outer clothes hanging from the rack of the stable, and without a lock of her own (just a wooden crosspiece to block the door), she didnt feel too comfortable being half naked... just enough to not have to apologize for the belch.

The stable wasnt too big, but Erin was proud of how she had managed to adapt the situation. Her mattress? Built with 4 old mattresses filled with unprocessed wool horizontally attached to the final wall, with a canvas hanging from the front roof to create a false feeling of room and privacy. 

Her dinner table? made with two others smaller tables in the middle of the barn.

Her shower? One of the sides for the horses closed with bricks, making an improvised room with a cauldron on the roof with a crystal aqua generator to act as a shower.

Nothing too spectacular, but Erin was proud of her little first house.

 

The hours passed while Erin waited for the sunrise, the only possible moment to go to extract the Mother Night... unfortunately the sky had other plans with the rain going more and more.

"Luck is not on my side this week..." Erin said to herself, sighing as a chill ran through her from head to toe. Every day the winds came more and more icy, so the giantess was forced to ask Takun if a Branese crystal would go too far from the budget... the problem was how to ask for it; the last thing that the giantess wanted was to put Lady Frago more against her... but at the same time a Branese crystal was the minimum required: She was living in a barn, for the love of the gods!

And as if her thoughts attracting the undesirables, 3 knocks on the main door of the stable took the giantess from her thoughts. Sighing and wrapping herself in her makeshift quilt, Erin sat on the mattress, moving the canvas curtain aside. "Ahead…"

 

The door for humans next to the main door flew open, Takun entering and closing behind him as fast as he could. "What a blow it is forming... Could not mother nature give us a break from time to time?"

 

"I just hope..." Erin said between whispers, rubbing her arms trying to warm up. "That the sky has been cleared for the dawn..."

 

"Ya... talking about that..." Takun rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from the giantess. "Lady Frago says she will not allow her children to go out without a doctor looking at them-"

 

"WHAT ?!" Erin yelled furiously, scaring Takun who opened the door again to check that no neighbor had been scared.

 

Slowly, the mayor closed it again, without turning to Erin. "Come on Erin... dont you-"

 

"I CANT DO IT ALL BY MYSELF! HOW... how do you expect me to dig the MotherNight crystal and scare off wild animals at the same time?! And Mother Night is very heavy, I cant move it by myself!" Erin's complaints were completely understandable, plus Takun had no way to reciprocate.

 

"And if I help you...? I could... I dont know ... make a fire or something... "Erin blinked confused, before hugging her knees to her chest and burying her head in them.

 

"Let it be Takun... having to take care of you, keep an eye on the animals and the MotherNight? We'll end up setting fire to the whole forest in that scenario..." The giantess was on the verge of crying, more out of rage than in pain. "just, be honest with me... the quadruplets..."

 

"They were already dressed to come here... everything has been Lady Frago hand..."

 

"...thanks for telling me... Go away, please... I'd like to sleep a couple of hours before sunrise..." Takun sighed, feeling helpless as he left the barn, leaving Erin alone and furious, unable to scream louder for fear of awakening the other inhabitants.

 

 

---

 

The wind roared hard between the trees, and the rain was getting heavier. The armor sank in the mud, while the adventurer did not stop cleaning his helmet. "What a night! It looks like..."

And without finishing the sentence, the adventurer opened his eyes, looking at the sky while the rain stopped.

"Oh... that's a bad sign... I'd better hurry!" With two pulls, the adventurer managed to get his feet out of the puddle of mud, to finish the three steps in one even deeper, burying him to the knee.

"I should have come without armor ... I wonder if Gus had free rooms ... Would it be irresponsible to turn around and go check it out?" Shrugging his shoulders, the adventurer pulled his legs back out of the puddle of mud and started walking back to GreenGa-

 

"AHAYAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

"...Yeah, I'd better leave the room for later"

 

 

---

 

A scream. 

Two screams. Erin stirred on her mattress, her mind returning back to her body.

Three screams and dozens of knocks on the stable door later.

"What... what happens?" Erin asked the nothingness, only receiving more screams.

 

When her brain was able to react, new screams marked the speed with which Erin dressed and opened the doors of the barn. Takun and his wife, accompanied by two other villagers, fell to the ground with the force of the giantess.

Erin's eyes quickly became accustomed to the darkness of the night... but it wasnt darkness that awaited her.

Fire.

Much more fire than she had ever seen... and something more in the heavens.

Takun and the other villagers were talking at full speed, but Erin couldnt hear them, because all her senses were centered in the sky.

 

Beyond the villa floated an orange and black sphere, as if it were a sun, over the trees. The object, as beautiful as disturbing, seemed to ooze liquid over the forest... and again, the giantess's brain made the necessary click.

"TAKUN, WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Erin shouted, running forward a few meters and starting to look around.

 

"A DEMON! A DEMON WITH RED WINGS!" Takun's wife screamed, crying on the disconsolate floor. "IT WAS IN FLAMES! IT DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN ON THE HOUSE OF OSWALD, TAKING IT ALL OF FLAMES! GODNESS NEA, PLEASE, PROTECT US!" Oswald tried to hold his wife, but she refused, crying and praying on the ground.

 

"As he said... that... thing... landed at Oswald's house... we only found out because too much light had started coming in through the window..." Taking a deep breath, Takun stood up, walking towards Erin. "He... or it... or whaterver didnt make a sound... it just... looked around... and in the blink of an eye... everything was on fire... all the houses nearby...

I try... try to open as many doors as I could!"Erin ran back to the barn, picking up her raincoat. "He was a being... almost like a bat! But bigger than you! And his eyes... They were huge, like two windows!"

 

"Are more people safe?" Erin said without taking her eyes off the sphere, swallowing to herself.

 

"Only those from the houses on this side of the town, so you... the family Month and I hope Lady Frago too... the fire... it was too intense ... Erin, please, we have to flee somewhere! We have to warn the guild!" Takun begged while Erin held her ground, her mind trying to piece together all the pieces.

 

"The quadruplets have gone to the forest, havent they?" The giantess' question was direct, but Takun was too nervous to understand it. "ANSWER BACK! YES OR NO?!"

 

"YES! YES! I saw them pick out their work tools and have run out... why do you ask?"

 

"Because that... round thing is more or less where we find Mother Night..." Gritting her teeth, Erin grabbed the stable doors, beginning to close them. "Takun, I'm sending you Mrs. Frago, bring her here and hide... If the fire is approaching, flee through the forest..."

 

"And you? Erin please-"The giantess closed both doors at once, waiting for a moment while leaning her head against them. Putting on the hood of the sweatshirt, Erin closed her eyes, letting the heat of the flames transport her to more peaceful places, seeking the necessary relaxation for what was coming.

 

"Mother... Father... Grandfather... Grandmother... Emma... Gabriel... pray for my luck tonight" Without waiting a second, Erin launched into the race.

 

 

---

 

 

"Godness..." Sighing, the adventurer began to walk again, making his helmet appear again for an extra protection against the flames. "I hope this wasnt about playing with MotherNight... we are the only species that insist on stumbling over the same stone" Shrugging his shoulders at the rawness that surrounded him, the adventurer looked for any survivor who could help, eventually spotting a middle-aged man knocking on the door of a burning house insistently.

 

"LADY FRAGO, PLEASE! EXIT!"Although the fire was still far from them, and he had no interest in meddling in family matters, the screamer was his only way of understanding what was happening.

 

In the blink of an eye, the adventurer appears behind him, gently touching his shoulder to get his attention. Before Takun could scream scared, the adventurer covered his mouth with one hand, showing a letter in the other.

"I am looking for the mayor of this village. I am quite interested in buying the MotherNight if you havent already converted it into your end. Would you kindly tell me where he is?" Takun tried to talk, pointing desperately at the adventurer's back. "Oh ... of course, you cant talk back... hehehehe..."And the second he removed his hand, Takun shouted again.

 

"THE MONSTER!" The adventurer turned slowly, making his helmet disappear to get a better look. A gigantic beast, with an orange body and shaped like a bat... except for the eyes and the wings. While the eyes were huge and bright, as big as the wheels of a horse car, the wings seemed to be crystalline, soft and transparent.

 

"Wow! What a singular mutation..." The adventurer laughed to himself, advancing towards the beast big like a house. "Normally the MotherNight only increases the size and forms crystals in the bodies of the animals... but you? You are an authentic work of art! Not only have you mutated to become my prey... but you have also managed to master the flames! Simply amazing!"

 

Takun ran towards the adventurer, grabbing his waist as he cried. "You must save us! My wife and another couple are hiding in the barn!"

 

"Save you? Yes, I should do something..." The adventurer looked at the beast, his eyes twirling in his eyes in all directions. "I could do it... but of course, I came to this city to do business"

 

"...Business?..."

 

"Right! And now... if you'll excuse me, I'll do the first part of our business dealing with this rude man" With an elegant bow, the adventurer turned back to the monster.

 

The first second was more than enough for Takun. Covering his face, he tried to look away as much as he could, knowing that the only possibility of forgetting that day was that he didnt see the monster. Although a thought crossed his mind while the adventurer put an end to the devil ... and that is that the monster that he and his wife had seen before had no crystal wings...

 

The monster they had seen had red wings ... and it was much bigger.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

 The dark sphere became bigger and bigger as Erin ran towards Mother Night, using all her senses to try to find any trace of the quadruplets. The tension inside her didnt stop, her guilt growing out of control.

"BOYS! GARB, BASTIAN, NAM, MARON! ARE YOU HERE?! DAMMIT!" Erin screamed with all her might, the smoke complicating the rescue operation even more. Coughing and beginning to cry, Erin raised the neck of her trenchcoat, trying to hold the breath.

The flames were beginning to revive thanks to the wind that accompanied the storm, because although the sphere was keeping the rain away ... for some reason, the wind and cold were becoming more intense.

"What a... coff ... coff ... combination..." Cold by the wind, heat by the flames... a personal hell that if for a giantess like her was so intensely, a human would be in a situation a hundred times worse. "GUYS, PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING!"

The giantess burst into tears, as she began to run back to the cave when they had found the MotherNight. A thousand and one times Erin cursed the moment when the "King of nothing" had broken the seal of Apodemus, releasing his first star in the heavens and infected the lands with the cursed crystal. And although Erin was only 10 years old at the time, now with 20 years old, the giantess was able to remember perfectly that week.

 

The race through the flames was eternal, not knowing exactly how far she had progressed, the trees with which she was oriented that morning were completely destroyed... more and more numerous and in a worse state as the giantess progressed.

Stopping to take a breath, Erin crouched in front of one of the trees, examining it wounds: The blows were reminiscent of clawing, only at a size many times greater than normal... as if a gigantic paw had been hitting it with rage for a short period of time. But what really called her her attention was the burn marks, covering all the trunk, without following the path of the claw.

"It's... it's as if that monster had first hit themselves against the trunk... And then he would have smashed it with his claws?..." Looking towards the forest, Erin swallowed hard to see a large stone stained with cross-shaped mud... one that she and the quadruplets had used to mark the Mother Night cave.

She was so close... and there was still no sign of the quadruplets... Erin didnt want to put herself in the worst feeling, but fate was doing everything possible to make it.

 

A few dozen steps, Erin stood in front of the cave, where that morning they had faced the infected bear. No sign of the quadruplets, which if they had managed to get here... they had only a place to go... down.The giantess looked around, looking for a stick that could light like a torch, finding all the ashes around her. Pressing her right fist to her chest, Erin closed her eyes, reciting an advanced spell so she doesnt have to worry about keeping the concentration... or rather trying, the situation was far exceeding her, diverting her mind.

"Come on Erin!" She said to herself, and letting her mind go back to the past, her teacher's voice echoing in her head.

 

First, you must choose the material with which you are going to weave the spell, because as a painter chooses his colors, a magician must choose wisely the appropriate material for each occasion.

 

"Charme de lumière" Erin said in a loud voice, covering her arms with an ephemeral shine, a sort of whitish flash unable to overshadow the violent flames.

 

Let the magic resonate with you, let it flow through your body until your mind is able to glimpse ... And in that moment catch it! Shape it, mold it and weave it to your liking!

"Luminosité..." Erin's voice trembled, because her mind was unable to stop imagining what awaited her below.

 

A great magician does not stand out for the power or the gross amount of his magic... today any imbecile with a lot of money could buy a necklace of accumulative crystals or an amplification staff. No, what differentiates a magician from a legend is the agility with which he shapes his dreams and his mind! For the speed with which he weaves the right spell at the right time!

You are able to make a difference, Erin... my precious girl... your parents and your grandparents expect a lot from you because we know you can give it, so dont be afraid! We will be-

 

"SHUT! UP!" Quickly, Erin's memories turned dark... filled with hatred and rage. She tried to control herself, grabbing her head with both hands; ignoring all the extra magic that was building up in her arms. 

"YOU'RE NOT HERE!" Erin shouted with all her might, so much that anyone in 100 meters in the round would have heard it. "I AM ALONE! YOU PREFERRED ... YOU PREFERRED A RULE OF 300 YEARS AGO TO ME!" Clenching her fists, Erin pointed both hands forward, screaming even louder.

"LUMINOSITÉ DES LUCIOLES!"Hundreds of small flashes of light came out of Erin's arms, floating towards the cave and illuminating it. Recovering her breath, Erin gritted her teeth, moving steadily inward.

 

 

---

 

 

"Ten... ten thousand?" Takun asked confused, not straying far from the adventurer.

 

"Is not enough money?? I can pay more, I wouldnt mind. You and your wife should focus on rebuilding your life... and the other marriage sure will also want to start again very far from here and what I want is worth more than ten thousand miserable Blue Orbs!" The adventurer said offering his hand affectionately, a hand that Takun declined with an attempt at elegance that was nothing worth his current appearance.

 

"Why... why? We dont even know if the MotherNight is still whole..." Takun sighed, imagining the mansion he could buy with so much money... never again working, just living calm and happy... it was something too appetizing after such a fateful night.

 

"Believe me, the MotherNight does not attract my attention nor the least, although I'm willing to pay to make sure it's destroyed... it's the other part of the deal that interests me! Let's do this, I raise it to fifty thousand Blue Orbs for the four of your, and another fifty thousand so you can start businesses and sustain your lives... is there a deal?"

 

Takun froze, managing to sweat the cold drop still surrounded by flames and ashes. "It's a joke?"

 

"I never joke when it comes to money, friend Takun!" The adventurer laughed, turning to him and offering his hand again.

 

"If I accept it ... you promise me to take good care"

 

"YOU PREFERRED A RULE OF 300 YEARS AGO TO ME!" A cry in the distance shook the forest, one strong enough for the sound of burning to be completely obscured.

 

Both men stopped immediately, and while Grimm was frozen trying to look for dangers, Takun was quick to recognize the voice "THAT'S ERIN! WE HAVE TO HELP HER!"

 

Takun shouted, trying to run away in the direction of the scream, only for the adventurer to grab his pants.

"You should not worry, the other beast is not what made her scream like that" the adventurer said calmly, reciting silently. Suddenly, roots as black as coal came out of the ground, enveloping Takun and lifting him up.

 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

 

The adventurer floor hard, taking off his helmet again and closing his eyes. "Give me a single second of silence, if you are so kind"

Takun obeyed, the roots returning her to the ground and vanishing. The adventurer opened his eyes again, his expression this time much more serious. "I need you to confirm if you accept the deal, Mr. Takun"

 

"Eh? We shouldnt first-"

 

The adventurer replaced his helmet, reciting again. This time, a black light enveloped Takun's entire body, making him float next to the adventurer. "We must hurry... and I need to know that you have accepted the deal..."

 

"Okay okay! I agree with the deal! Where should I sign? Please help her!" Takun begged, unable to move.

 

"Nice to know it. That means I have a reason beyond pure kindness to get going" He said in an adventurer before running off at an inhuman speed, with Takun floating behind him

 

 

---

 

 

With a thud, Erin fell to her knees, unable even to cry. As the giantess had supposed, the quadruplets had managed to get to Mother Night.

"Please...nooooo... please..." Crawling on the floor, unable even to coordinate her own limbs, Erin came to one of them... who of them was would be impossible.

Calcined…

Shattered...

Dismembered...

 

Erin took in her hands what should be the body of one of them, the bottom completely torn apart. The tears of the giantess fell incessantly, struggling to recognize who was in her hands from among the blackened remains.

"WHY?! You didnt need you to come here! It doesnt matter to an infected animal if you attack Mother Night that infected him or not!" Screams worthless, without going to anyone directed... deep down, she didnt matter if someone listened to her either.

 

Looking up, Erin looked at Mother Night's crystal, glowing with an almost insulting bluish tone. Around the glass, dozens of bat carcasses lay scattered. As Erin supposes, the monster must be a bat of the group, one that resisted the corrupting effect of Mother Night long enough to transform. The trees felled and incinerated were the result of the newly transformed bat struggling to retain control of its instincts... and the attack on the village the result of the infection of MotherNight having dominated the poor animal completely.

Gritting her teeth, Erin got up (as much as the cave would allow), taking the corpse in her hands. "They deserve it... they tried to do what they think was the right thing" Erin told herself, leaving the corpse next from the entrance of the cave. With great sorrow in her heart, Erin took the next one, and the next, leaving for the brothers closest  with each other covered with ashes so that the monster didnt notice them

They werent the first corpses that Erin had to see... and surely they werent the last ... but neither that thought helped her.

With the four brothers buried precariously, Erin grabbed the largest rock in the place, heading towards the MotherNight.

 

"I dont know... what the hell you are, I dont know the reason Apodemus hated humanity so much to create you..." Erin said, lifting the rock at eye level. "BUT I SWEAR THAT I WOULD DESTROY AS MUCH MOTHERNIGHT AS I FOUND ON MY WAY" Again and again, Erin hit the glass with the rock. A succession of blows with all her strength... but even so they didnt nick the glass...

 

With an immense crack, the rock crumbled at the impact, bursting into a thousand pieces and causing Erin to lose her balance, falling on her knees in front of the glass."No ..." The giantess cried inconsolably, first picking up two pieces and beating MotherNight with them... and when both broke, she started hitting the glass with her own fists.

"Die!... Stop being so hard! Disappear! You've already done enough damage!" Sobbing silently, Erin didnt notice the first tremors.

 

"HYAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" A bestial scream brought the giantess out of her trance, seconds before the cave's roof collapsed on her. Erin closed her eyes, casting the most basic barrier spell on her.

 

Dozens of rocks crashed into the barrier, building up on the sides of the barrier as the dark light of the sphere filled Erin's senses. A gigantic almost demonic claw, covered with flames, hit the barrier, managing to break it and grab the giantess by the head.

Erin fought with all her might as the monster lifted her into the air. There, suspended under the cursed sky, she could see his captor completely.

 

If before the creature was a bat, at this point it was impossible to recognize it. His body was too big, more than 10 meters minimum to be able to lift her up so easily. The wings had mutated and lengthened, too large and heavy for the creature to fly, tying him to the ground. His arms had become a kind of elongated claw, incinerated and almost skinless. His head had lost all reason for being, two giant eyes completely crystallized, unable to move... and a mouth from side to side, covered with grotesque fangs inward.

A distorted being, without reason to exist more than causing pain... Erin could have even the grief of the bat, if it were not the grief suppressed by the pain constantly

 

"HYAYAGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" Squeezing the claw, the beast threw Erin against the trees. Between the shattered trees and the weight of Erin, four trees were torn off on impact, falling to the ground and serving as a cushion for the giantess.

 

"Please..." Erin opened her eyes in pain, only seeing the beast staring at her while her entire body covered with flames. The beast began to scream in pain, a scream so loud that Erin could only cover her ears. Consciousness left her, leaving only one last thought before closing her eyes waiting for the end. Her family, devastated when they hear her destiny...

"No... I dont want... to end like this..." Erin cried as she fell unconscious.

 

"AHYAAGAGAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"

 

---

 

 

Close your eyes, and make a wish.

A wish? I... I dont know what to want. What should I want?

How do I... how do I know what is my wish?

 

That is a complicated question, Erin...

For some, their deepest desire is given to them by the experiences, while for others that desire is born of a great ambition.

 

And what is your wish?

 

My wish will never be fulfilled, or rather, I will not see it fulfilled...

My wish, the deepest secret of my heart, will be my legacy to you, Erin.

 

Then there is only one thing I can wish for!

I want to become the person I must be to carry all the dreams and desires of my family and my kingdom!

I want to be able to confront him, and show him that he is wrong, trusting more in a rule from an eternity before me!

I want ... to be who I really am, who my heart tells me that I should be

 

I'm glad to see that I was not wrong with you, Erin... I'm glad your heart is so strong.

You will need a strong heart to resist the weight of my sins

Trust me your wish, Erin,

because I will give you everything I was so that it becomes the force of who you want to be

 

 

 

---

 

 

"My wish..." With her voice broken and exhausted, Erin opened her eyes, too tired to understand what was happening. The crackle of the fire was the only sound in the room, while soft white light came through the curtains.

If this was heaven, Erin was disappointed... But evidently it wasnt.

 

"What a strange dream." Rubbing her eyes, Erin slowly felt the pain in her bones. Leaning on one elbow, Erin rolled onto the bed where it rested, turning toward the window.

Removing the curtain, a snowy landscape received her, one that did nothing but remind her of the time when she first arrived at Hyalgan.

 

Little by little, lucidity returned to her.

"If I'm lying in a bed my size... this must be the adventurer's guild... how did I get here?" A big question that nobody was going to answer if it was formulated in an empty room. Turning slowly on her other side, Erin saw the fireplace lit with several Branese cores, heating the room even too much; her underwear, shirt and pants hanging on the chairs against the wall, impeccable and without any trace of damage.

"They have taken the trouble to... clean my clothes. I must thank them- Wait a moment..." Erin slowly lifting the blanket, looking at her birthday dress in all its glory. "They have stripped me and left me... They have seen me naked..." Erin's cheeks lit up as intense as the fire, completely covering the blanket. With all the strength her body was able to generate, Erin stifled a cry of sheer shame.

 

Sitting up, Erin covered herself with the blanket. Looking towards her clothes, Erin quickly noticed that something was very wrong "Where... where is... my trenchcoat!?"

Slowly, Erin got up from the bed, walking noiselessly to the door. Slowly, the giantess opened it, bending down and starting to crawl down the hallway on the top floor. When approaching the stairs, the giantess began to listen to a conversation... which forced her to keep as quiet as possible.

 

"Na na na! double stitch, double stitch!" Gus's voice was the first the giantess heard, screaming nervously.

 

"Come on Gus! Relax! "A second male voice answered, one that Erin could not recognize. "I have sewn garments enough to distinguish when I must secure a closure!"

 

"This trenchcoat is th' ainlie claes a've ever seen Erin wear, na maiter cauld or het! secure th' damn seam!" Erin's blood froze completely.

 

"My ... my ..." The giantess murmured before the wick caught itself inside her. Crawling at full speed back into the room, Erin tore the sheet off the bed, wrapping her dress and going back to the stairs

"DONT TOUCH MY TRENCHCOAT!"Like a frantic beast, Erin rushed down the stairs with such speed that the giantess herself couldnt place her hands well.

PUM! PUM! PUM!

The last blow to the ground was terrible, the giantess had landed with her face as cushioning. Gus and the adventurer looked at each other, confused as to what to do... although the confusion only lasted 4 seconds. "Hands off my trenchcoat!" Erin said, opening her eyes suddenly, getting up quickly and crawling to the adventurer, recovering her prized garment.

"Seams... patches of the same color... the zippers are in place... not a single thread..."

 

The adventurer turned to the dwarf, smiling at him with half a mouth. "See? I told you, I'm a very good seamstress!"

 

Frowning, the dwarf jumped off his stool, walking towards Erin. "Big lassie, r03;r03;how urr ye? yer body aches?" Completely ignoring him, Erin continued to check her trenchcoat.

 

""I would have killed someone if some of you had damaged my trenchcoat, you know?" The giantess growled while getting up and putting on her trenchcoat. (With the blanket still below)

 

"Is this how an apprentice should talk to her master" The adventurer said between laughs, keeping the needles and thread in a small bag no bigger than the palm of his hand.

 

"What are you talking about?... I... I know you?" Erin said confused, looking up and finally looking at the third person in the room.

Tall, with dark complexion and physical aspect more typical of the demonic race, although he didnt have the typical features of a demon. His eyes were amber, sharp and slightly slanted; his hair combed back with care. An air of aristocracy surrounded him, Erin couldnt discern if it was because of his elegant posture or his constant aspect of superiority.

 

"True! I've only known you unconscious! Excuse my manners" The guy got up from his chair, offering his hand.

"My name is... call me Grimm, everyone knows me by my last name. I am the man who has bought your contract"

 

Erin blinked a few seconds. "My contract? My contract as a guardian? No, no no! There must be an error, my contract is with Takun to work as-"

 

"That villa no longer exists, remember?" Erin froze at Grimm's words, blurry images of the fateful night flooding her mind. "What do you remember of thah night, Erin?"

 

With a nod, Erin asked Gus for a seat. The dwarf, swift for his size, pushed aside the stools, letting Erin sit on the floor with her lower back against the bar. "I remember... flames, and that monster..." Grimm sighed quietly, winking subtly at Gus.

 

"Remember how the beast descends on the village and you fight with it, protecting the barn?"

 

Ducking her head, Erin remembered how the beast rose over her in the middle of the village, grabbing her and throwing her against the trees. "Yes... I think so... although more than a fight I would call it a beating, I dont remember having even managed to get it out of it grab"

 

"You shouldnt suffer for it" Grimm sat back down, with both arms crossed forward on the table. "I must admit that even a legendary adventurer like me had problems dealing with that bat"

 

"All this has nothing to do with my contract! How have you done with my contract? Takun would not sell me!" Erin said suddenly, glaring at Grimm. "I'm not a slave! My contract is direct and formally registered in the town hall of GreenGate!"

 

With a smile, Grimm snapped his fingers, making a paper appear that Erin recognized instantly. "Buying your contract is... certainly a linguistic error on my part. Rather, what I have done has been to buy the rest of the time for which Takun had you hired, specifically and if my sight doesnt fail me, your services as a guardian for the next year and two months, up to a maximum of two years after which this contract should be reevaluated by both parties.

Of course, I dont need a guardian, so instead you'll become my apprentice" Erin swallowed deeply, looking for a legal breach. "You're a very smart girl, so I see the contract you wrote yourself... including this clause that a new interested party can-"

 

"That clause was so that if Takun stopped being mayor the next one could hire-" Erin tried to defend herself, only for Grimm to speak again.

 

"Dont worry, Takun, his wife and the other couple have been resting at the Green Door Inn. Do you want us to rescind this new contract? I had agreed with him that if you didnt agree we could reverse the purchase "

 

"Seriously?" Erin asked extremely confused.

 

"Of course! Do you think that the legendary Grimm would use a legal loophole to get what he wants? I prefer to play cleanly whenever possible!" Grimm laughed out loud, turning around and snapping his fingers. With a flash of dark light like the night, Erin's outer clothes appeared on her knees

"For now, go get dressed. I dont want my apprentice to get sick by going out with a blanket like a dress"

 

Lifting her clothes, Erin smelled her looking for any kind of trap... instead, a soft smell of roses enveloped her. "Why"

 

"Those clothes, they arent easy to find, right?" Grimm asked, stopping at the door of the inn. "It has the same interior fabric, and its seams and scuffs are similar to your trenchcoat, so I assume it was with the beginning of your trip. One of the first lessons that I am going to teach you is how to correctly treat your clothes, making weekly maintenance and ensuring the long term of the same"

 

Closing the door behind him, Erin stared at the clothes, not knowing what to say... she really knew what to say."Who the hell is that guy, Gus?"

 

"He says his name is grimm, 'n' efter investigating a bawherr his name appears in ferr a few records o' unknown territories 'n' in mony high-level commissions... It's as pure tough as it appears, muckle lassie. He murdurred they- sorry, th' infected bat while protecting ye 'n' takun 'n' th' ithers... "

 

"What does he want from me? I have no idea who he is, I have never seen him!"

 

"I cannae hulp ye wi' that, muckle lassie... Ah kin ainlie say that he haes bin taking care o' ye a' this week-"

"YOU JUST SAY A WEEK? A WHOLE WEEK?" Erin spun around, hitting the bar with both hands.

 

"You've bin oot cauld fur a week in kip, muckle lassie. Th' wounds that th' bat made ye... Wur muckle mair serious than th' doctor initially believed-" Erin looked at her arms and legs, looking for any sign of those wounds. Gus sighed to himself, regaining the attention of the giantess.

"the doctor said ye wid be oot cauld fur a lang time... 'n' grimm said he wid tak' care o' ye... 'n'.. 'ere yer! ilka day at eight o'clock th' morns mornin', at twa o'clock in th' efternoon 'n' at eight o'clock at nicht grimm cam tae yer room, healing ye wi' some kind o' spell in a streenge leid fur an hour" Erin's look of confusion doesnt stop increase.

"In addition, Grimm haes nae left th' guild in a' this time, his langest absences wur tae visit Takun 'n' tae hulp wi' th' collection o' th' remains o' th' attack" 

"Why... why?! I repeat, I have no idea who he is!! "Erin said scared, feeling too much in debt to someone she knew from 5 minutes ago, literally.

 

"it's aff tae titch ye tae fin' oot fur yourself" Gus said as Erin lowered her head, climbing the stairs again crawling.  Climbing onto the bar, Gus slammed his fist against his chest, giving her his biggest smile. "i cover yer back, sae proceed wi'oot fear!"

Feeling joy for the first time since she had woken up, Erin smiled broadly, reaching the second floor and closing her door behind her.

 

A few seconds later, Gus entered the guild's hold, leaning against the door and rifling through his pocket for a small, light brown crystal. With two whistles, the crystal began to glow, giving Gus the signal.

"mr. Gaspar, certain matters hae occurred beyond oor control. Ah will keep erin under surveillance... Bit a'm feart ah will need a freish cover"

 

""What's with that accent so ... dwarf?

 

"sorry, gaffer. Custom, ye ken"

 

"It doesnt matter, it hits you a lot. Also, we will give you what you need I will send the disruptor with money to cover your needs and so you can flee the city without problems. When you have enough data, reopen communication"

 

"That's what I'll do, sir. Agent Tsun closes the transmission" The glass stopped shining, and with another sigh that was even longer, Gus walked through the cellar, opening the door to the preserves room.

"You're going to be lucky, Gus, you can get your life back" The dwarf said to himself as he looked at the body suspended in stasis.

 

 

---

 

 

The temperature was as cold as it seemed from inside the guild, the streets full of workers coming and going. (Erin assumed that her destination was the villa)

Getting up quickly to avoid touch the snow beyond what was necessary, Erin stretched herself comfortable, letting the cold air rock her while her limbs returned to normal. As a giantess, Erin knew perfectly well that she had to learn to live with most buildings built for humans... And that was why the giantess enjoyed being under the open sky so much, without walls surrounding her. A feeling of freedom simply delicious.

 

The inn wasnt too far from the guild, only two streets away. Combining the closeness with the height of Erin, the result is that the giantess saw from far away Grimm and Takun leaning against the fence that surrounded the garden of the inn, sharing a hot drink that the giantess assumed as coffee.

"Takun!" Erin shouted when she was close enough so that the couple didnt have to move from their position. "You're good? Does something hurt you?"

 

With a sad smile, Takun denied while still stirring his coffee. "That is what I should ask you, dont you think?"

 

Dropping to her knees beside them, Erin denied smiling. "I'm in top form, you shouldnt underestimate the energy of a giantess!"

 

Takun could not blink, looking confused at Grimm. Two nodding and a wink after the adventurer later, Takun looked back at the giantess. "And your head? Do you remember that night?"

 

"Only... partially..." Erin closed her eyes, feeling her mood crumble. "I remember that I met the bat in the village, and that you, your wife and the Mes fled to the barn..."

 

Takun waited a moment, sighing with relief. "Erin, you saved us. If you... had not been with the bat, Grimm would never have arrived on time"

 

"Really?" Looking up, Erin grinned at a meal of guilt. "I'm glad you're safe... But I still failed the rest of the town... if only I had woken up earlier..."

 

"No one would have woken up in time, the bat did not make a sound before setting it on fire" Drinking all the coffee that was left in one gulp, Takun wiped his nose with the sleeve of his jacket. "We couldnt have survived that bat without luck on our part! Now it only remains to give thanks to Amun and pray for those who didnt survive that night, for their souls to reach Hona!

We have had to live in a dark age, but that only means that we must look to the future and living for those who could not... this is what our generation has been through!"

 

"Well said! Apodemus expects us to sink in our misery, we never have to give him that pleasure!" Grimm said drinking himself the rest of the cup. (Only in his case Grimm snapped his fingers, making a handkerchief appear and carefully wiping himself with it)

 

"Live for them and carry the future by flag, that's our duty!" Erin shouted joining the circle of smiles.

 

Circle that did not last long. "I had never named the teachings of Amun before... do you think he would bother to use them without first praying to him? The last thing I need now is for a God to make my life impossible" Takun said quietly, looking at the sky discreetly.

 

"Come on man! Amun is the patron of hope and smiles! There is no god more kind and more permissive than him!" Grimm quickly calmed Takun's heart, returning the smile.

 

The three shared a moment of silence, until Erin was forced to interrupt again. "Takun... is it true that you want to sell my contract?"

 

The mayor was silent, looking at the empty cup while searching for the right words. Two lies were already on Takun's shoulders, both to avoid as much damage to the giantess as possible... This time, Erin deserved the whole truth, without sweetening it to keep her on his side.

"Erin, Grimm has offered us fifty thousand Blue Orbs to me and fifty thousand for the Mes... in exchange for the rest of your contract" Erin said nothing, her face remaining as white as snow. Takun swallowed hard, ready to go on.

"Now we have no money or house for you... and after talking very carefully, the four of us have decided that we want to go as far away from Hyalgan as possible... and with one hundred thousand Orbs-"

 

"I DONT KNOW YOU!" Erin yelled suddenly, turning to Grimm. Hitting the ground with both hands, the giantess bent down until she was face to face. "I DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Why... why are you doing this?! Paying a hundred thousand blue orbs for the remains of my contract? My file as a mercenary is not worth a quarter of that amount!"

Grimm opened his mouth to answer, although Erin didnt plan on letting him talk yet. "Is it for my family?! You're dead if you intend to ask for some kind of rescue! Do you intend to sell me as a slave?! Who in their right mind would pay a hundred thousand Orbs for me?!" The giantess was hyperventilating, to the point of beginning to sweat.

 

"We dont know each other, you say?" Grimm laughed to himself, covering his mouth to not bother the giantess even more. "In that you are wrong, dear apprentice"

 

"Eh?"

 

"I do know you... pretty well, too." With another snap of his fingers, Grimm made an old notebook appear. "I was investigating about you after seeing you participate a year ago in the challenge of the god Iher, in the Caves of Gratas"

Erin's eyes snapped open, her brain remembering the aforementioned day. "I was very surprised to see that there was an unknown rookie among the winning team... and although I couldnt find out much more than what you wrote on Iher's file... let's say that I wished I had been faster and had met you before you left the party!"

 

"It is true that I participate in Iher games to have enough money to afford the trip... but I didnt do so much for the team... and also the teams were random! It's not that-" Erin said softly.

 

"I know exactly what you did for the team, Erin." Moving rapidly through the pages of his notebook, Grimm soon stopped at one. "I gathered statements from all your partners, and they all agreed that you were a pleasant surprise for the team, both for the physical section being much stronger than you seemed as for the magic section, being the one with more variety of spells!"

Takun looked at the notebook, reading the statements over and over again. "You made a good impression on them, Erin... they're all compliments!"

The cheeks of the giantess began to warm up and to become colored red. As Grimm had registered, there were many who spent all the celebrations praising her, even being one of them Iher himself. So many compliments were the main reason for her sudden departure, because what Erin was most interested in a year ago was keeping a low profile.

 

"On the other side of Paradise I met you, Erin." Grimm smiled, disappearing the notebook. "At that moment, I decided that I wanted to have an apprentice to whom to transmit all my knowledge... and had to be you"

Clearing his throat, Grimm stepped forward, planting the giantess face to face. "They know me as Grimm, the black shadow of Paradise. Nice to meet you, Erin" Grimm raised his hand, offering himself to the giantess.

 

Erin remained silent for long sixty seconds, until the moment she found her mind clear. "Takun, how much do you want to get away from these woods?" Takun nodded with a slight touch of guilt, that being the answer she needed. Her last act as guardian of the village was decided.

"They know me as Erin, a pleasure to meet you... Master Grimm"

 

With a handshake under a snowy mantle and a clear sky, the story of Grimm's apprentice began.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

"Well, gentlemen, excuse me while I finish filling in the documents"

And saying that, the notary turned to his desk, wetting his pen and beginning to write. The deal was closed, the money in Takun's hand and the contract in the hands of Grimm. The two gave a cordial handshake while the official notary of Greengate finished filling out the papers for the final signature, keeping silent.

 

Although, as was normal in their relationship, Takun own mind was forced to speak. "Do you think ... do you think what we have done is fine?"

 

Grimm looked at him out of the corner of his eye, preferring to close his eyes rather than start a deep conversation. "What part in particular?!

 

 

"You know what I mean!" Rubbing the back of his neck, Takun sighed. "Alter her memories..."

 

"Oh, that?" Grimm laughed softly, not wanting to deconcentrate the notary. "You make it sound a thousand times worse than it is. You said it yourself, the quadruplets were no different from their mother, and the people of the village preferred to recover their lives and their privacy before the security that the presence of Erin brought to them.

Erin is an interesting girl, and something inside of it tells me that it has great potential that I can take advantage of. She doesnt deserve to live conditioned by blaming herself for the death of people who hated her... So yes, I think we did well" With a snap of his fingers, Grimm made a card appear, stained with dried blood.

"But, as I told you, Grimm doesnt take two steps without taking care of his back. If the fault consumes you" Leaving the card on the table between them, Grimm crossed his arms over his knee, staring at Takun. "I can stop the spell before it is completed, and use your card to return the memories of the villa and this last half year... although it would be a pity, you should know it"

 

Takun kept looking at the card, doubting the way forward. In the end, the sense of responsibility of Takun was imposed, forcing him to reject the card, which vanished instantly... "You have to teach me how to do that... I mean, how do you make it appear? What kind of spell is that?!"

 

"I am sorry, friend Takun, but every great magician must keep his own spells until the moment of transmitting them is necessary! In addition, it is a very long spell, and combined more than 12 languages r03;r03;for its correct pronunciation! It's not something you can memorize in one morning!"

 

"And that's what you do in just the time of snapping your fingers?... Impressive." Takun looked at his hands, imagining how incredible it would be to possess such a skill. Unfortunately for himself, at no time in his life had he managed to listen to his inner magic. "And where do all of that things come from?"

 

"From my mansion, of course! For you to understand, the basis on which I wove this spell was the simplest long-distance transportation spell, touched up by me to be able to find any object of my mansion instantly-"

 

"Gentlemen" The notary interrupted them, passing the document. "All ready, sign both in your name to finalize the sale"

Two signatures and it was over, the notary saying goodbye before accompanying them to the door. Takun's wife was just outside the office, waiting next to the door.

 

"It's already done" Takun said showing the envelope with the money, which made his wife sigh relief. "I guess this is goodbye, Grimm?"

 

Grimm nodded, looking out the town hall window looking for Erin. "You will be fine? Do you need us to accompany you somewhere?" And although Grimm maintained a sincere smile, the adventurer couldnt ask more gods for a negative response, anxious as he had for a long time that he was not about to meet his new apprentice.

"We're going to pay for a trip in the Walker's sanctuary... so no, I dont think we need you anymore..." Takun's gaze was somber, his vision focused on the envelope with the money. "I've already said goodbye to her... so..."

"You dont need to say goodbye again if you dont think you can handle it"

"Take care of her... please. I dont know why, but that girl is unique... and I know she deserves a great future"

"A great future is what awaits her, because now she will learn from Grimm, the black shadow of Paradiso!" Grimm laughed as he made his way to the town hall doors. "You will hear from her again, call it a feeling that I have" And with a last handshake, the adventurer opens both doors, meeting the giantess sitting on the stairs of the building.

"Everything ready, apprentice?"Erin spun around, surprised by the sudden appearance.

 

"You could start saying hello! I was distracted writing in my diary!" Grimm couldnt help but notice the blog that Erin had stored in one of the sides of his backpack, a cover of a well-worked leather and with a pretty... curious emblem, engraved with metal.

 

"I didnt mean to scare you, apprentice" Grimm could not stop repeating it and smiling, each time repeated it only made it more and more real. "You have it all?"

 

Erin nodded, opening her backpack and casting an eye. "The fire ended up coming to the barn, but thanks to the gods my private drawer next to the mattress was intact. The backpack that you have given me has been more than big enough to store my 2 changes of clothes and my books, so the rest I have filled with a canteen, provisions..."

 

"That backpack was given to me by an old friend, and since I didnt know any giant I decided to keep it until it was put to good use" Grimm smiled as he reached the giantess, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad I kept it for so many years"

 

"Are you sure it's okay for me to keep it? I could buy one in the next city we went through..." The giantess didnt know how to look at her teacher, feeling guilty about being so dependent on Grimm in the last week.

 

"I dont think we'll stop much until we reach the border with Iiion, so consider that backpack your reward for completing the first of my lessons." Giving her a good pat on the back, Grimm went down the stairs of the town hall. "Do you need to go through the bathroom? Or can we start our trip?"

 

The giantess jumped up, looking at the town hall before denying. "I said goodbye to Takun last night, doing it again would only make me look like a baby"

Shrugging, Grimm began to walk, quickly reached by his apprentice. "And... where are we going? Last night you already said that we would go to the border of Paradiso with Inferno, but I'm not sure about the... you know, why are we going there?"

 

Making his helmet appear, Grimm stopped in the middle of the road. "I'm sure you are a smart girl, apprentice: Tell me what is on the border between both continents"

 

Erin crossed her arms with her eyes closed, trying to remember the school lessons. "Well, as far as I remember it is a barren and semi-desert zone, but I must point out something... you have the neutral city between the borders of Paradiso and Inferno, the crossing of the ten kingdoms... I dont remember the name. Then there are the unknown Territories of the 'Palace of Axel the broken flame' and the 'Marble Canyon'... and I believe there is nothing else..."

 

"Not bad! Not bad, apprentice! Specifically, our goal is Fallrest, the one you have known as the crossing of the ten kingdoms "

 

"Why-" and before Erin could ask the question, a huge force made her fall to her knees, unable to move as Grimm headed towards her.

 

"As my disciple and apprentice, you have a series of obligations to fulfill, Erin. The first thing you should learn is that if you want to ask me about any of my decisions about the places I say we'll go... you should first ask if you can ask"

 

"That makes no sense! I have to ask if I can ask why? "Grimm nodded, smiling and turning around, while Erin stopped feeling the pressure on her shoulders, allowing her to get up again. "Okay... I can ask you if I can ask you why we are going to Fallrest?"

 

"No, not today!" And just as Grimm finished speaking, he turned around and started walking back along the road that left Green Gate. The giantess was completely motionless, stunned by the answer... she could only think again and again that Grimm had done it completely on purpose.

"Are you waiting for something, apprentice?" Grimm screamed in the distance, returning Erin to the ground. In less than a minute, Grimm had already left the city for a good 10 meters, forcing the giantess to run to catch up.

Something unusual for her, accustomed to its enormous size gave him advantage when walking with humans.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The sun began to set in front of them, filling the snow-covered plains with a color almost of fire. Grimm had not stopped walking all day, keeping quiet despite all Erin's attempts to start a conversation.

Although the giantess at first had used her maps of the region to orient herself, it wasnt long before she understood that Grimm was not following any concrete route, constantly deviating from the roads.

Her stomach roared loudly, constantly remembering how she had not made any stop to eat since they left GreenGate that morning... almost 8 hours of constant walking, Erin not daring or stopping to relieve herself for fear that Grimm would leave her too much behind. Erin couldnt stop thinking how Grimm, to be a human, was so fucking fast.

"It's getting dark... we must take shelter under some tree to spend the night" Erin commented casually, hoping that that was the time that Grimm deigned to respond. No case on the part of the teacher.

"Come on, teacher! We've been walking too long! Also, you're keeping up with me all the time, and I know that's not easy-"

 

"How tall are you, En?" The first words in Grimm's hours and turned out to be a question? It wasnt exactly what Erin expected to hear, that's for sure...

 

"About four meters and fifty-four centimeters, according to the doctor from GreenGate who checked me last night-"

 

"And how much do you weigh?"

 

The giantess turned red as a tomato, looking away from her teacher. "It's not okay to ask a lady's weight!"

 

Grimm stopped short, looking to the right side of the road, by the direction of his head (all day with his helmet on, on the other hand) Erin deduced that he was looking at a lonely tree in the middle of the plain. "As my apprentice, you must know how to trust me about all things. One more time: how much do you weigh, Erin?"

 

Erin sighed even embarrassed, seeing that it was not going to go well stop was put as it was. "Eight hundred and eighty-nine kilos... but I'm still old enough to grow up! It's a normal weight-"

 

"Age?" And the streak of uncomfortable questions continued, as Grimm began to walk across the plain toward the tree.

 

"Twenty years... although technically I am now nineteen. I will be twenty years old in six weeks and five days will have them in 6 weeks more or less"

 

Grimm was silent for a few seconds, beginning to talk as he made his helmet disappear. "We are going to assume that your height is only increasing a few centimeters every month until you are twenty-one years old, when the next and last stage of your growth should begin, taking you to seven meters in a period of between five and six years.

Currently and without having a measuring tool at hand, your legs should measure a little less than two meters and sixty centimeters, exceeding my height by eighty centimeters. With that data and your weight in mind..."

Grimm closed his eyes, beginning to speak and do mathematical operations in a low voice and at full speed, so fast that Erin was soon lost completely. "If I havent calculated wrong, the average is that your step covers a distance of one meter and forty centimeters, so walking you travel in an hour eleven kilometers and... now imagine me, a human one meter and eighty tall , having to walk at your pace constantly... "

 

"I dont follow you, master... what are you trying to say?" Erin asked innocently, suffering from Grimm's possible anger.

 

"Yes, I'm quite tired and I cant wait to sit down to dinner and sleep" Grimm smiled, beginning to walk back to the tree.

 

"SERIOUSLY?! You make me tell you my weight... something sacred to a young lady, just to confirm that you're tired?! Seriously?!" Erin cried furiously and indignantly, watching as Grimm sat on the ground a good 5 meters away from the tree.  "We shouldnt... take refuge? I am sure that we are still in the Hyalgan territories, so it will snow safely during the night"

 

Snapping his fingers, Grimm made pencil and notebook appear, beginning to write very concentrated. "The first thing is that I am surprised at how little you have been interested in knowing how much progress you make in each step-"

 

"It's not that I change anything knowing how much my steps cover... I'm a giantess, I know that all my physical movements are bigger than those of a human"

 

"I can understand your perspective, Erin, but you must remember that having all the possible information about your body will make you more effective in your life. The second point I wanted to address is that yes, we must take refuge because until late tomorrow we will not leave the climatic territory of Hyalgan... but if you want to spend the night safely, you must do it yourself!"

 

"Eh? How? There are not many trees around here to collect firewood for a shelter" Erin knelt next to Grimm, trying to look through the notebook.

Unnecessary act, because after stopping to write and make disappear the pencil, Grimm tore the page of the notebook, offering it to Erin. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

 

With a wave of his hands, Grimm pointed to the sheet. Written there was a long multitude of unconnected phrases scattered across the page, joined by lines between them.

"Begin your training" Holding a giggle for the expression of the giantess, Grimm cleared his voice, crossing his arms.  "You are my apprentice, arent you? Well, that means you must learn my teachings! So strange is it for you?"

 

"No no! Of course not... it's just ... could we start in the morning? It's getting darker and harder to read... read... what's supposed to be written here?"

 

"A spell created by me, specifically the one that will allow us to spend the night under cover! If you want to sleep sheltered from the snow, you better start trying to use it!"

Grimm slapped the air, the tree began to shake so abruptly that all the leaves fell to the ground, leaving the poor tree completely bare.

 

"Is this serious?!" And with only her teacher nodding once, Erin understood how seriously she was going. Beginning to read and looking for an initial link, Erin didnt stop finding inconsistencies, lines that didnt make sense or phrases repeated in different languages.

Combine the five main languages r03;r03;of Paradiso and Inferno to modify and add functions to a spell was the most basic trick that anyone who was willing to learn to channel the inner magic should know. (Regardless they were magicians, sorcerers, shamans, spellwound, etc)

Erin's problem is that there was no phrase that made direct mention of the material on which the spell was held. And without material with which to create the spell... the ship was rapidly sinking.

"Wouldnt you give me... a clue or something?" Again Grimm just needed a nod to break the giantess's heart.

"It's okay! I can discover it by myself! Erin Vegner has never surrendered to a riddle, and never will!" The giantess began to spin the sheet, turning it in all directions while looking for the right angle. Grimm remained silent for a couple of minutes, talking again when the giantess was defeated.

 

"So how fast does Erin Vegner give up?"

 

"Hehehehe..." The giantess laughed softly, before turning the volume up. "Give up? I dont know that word, master!" Wrinkling the paper and throwing it to the ground, Erin ran away from the tree, using her hands to find the right position.

Grimm didnt dare to say anything, completely surprised by the safety boot of the giantess. "I advise you to keep your distance, master!"

 

"Shoot without fear! I know how to defend myself!" Grimm laughed as he put his helmet back on, standing in front of the tree.

 

Erin raised both arms, taking a breath as she began to concentrate.

Long, deep breaths, followed by rapid exhalations to send magic from your heart to your head. Magic concentrated quickly, taking different forms while as Erin mentally was weaving the spell unknown to her.

"Let's go! As Dragos said, either go for it all or prepare to beg for your life!" Erin yelled as she threw both arms forward, palms open with the tree in the middle of them.

"Charme de glace: Crystal Crown Unter dem Nachtmantel" A crystalline vortex formed between both hands, beginning to spin rapidly as it released a chill wind stream of intense light blue, illuminating all the closeness. The stream was advancing at full speed, reaching the tree in a matter of seconds, surrounding it quickly.

After a few seconds the stream began to rise through the trunk of the tree, reaching the top and spreading as if it were a liquid, covering all the branches to fall back to the ground.

"Detto e fatto!" The giantess shouted at the top of her lungs, giving a strong slap that released a white wave that froze all the icy current; turning the tree into a beautiful light blue igloo, without any entrance, but completely covered and secure. "Am I or am I not amazing?! Yeah! This is incredible! How could you create such a spectacular spell?"

 

While the giantess continued to scream with excitement and piropear, Grimm approached the igloo, impressed by her work. "To be a first time... you've managed to get it out pretty fast! Although I dont see a door, and I'm sure it included opening between the phrases"

 

"I may... have left it aside because I didnt know if the door was going before freezing or after..." Erin rubbed the back of her neck, trying to get rid of the matter. "But you have to admit, it's been amazing!"

 

Grimm shrugged, placing a hand on the igloo wall and reciting silently. Instantly, a purple saw went through the wall, opening a door the size of Grimm. "Wait... I cant get in there, teacher..."

 

"I know" Grimm said as he pushed the amount of leaves aside, selecting the driest ones and accumulating them next to the frozen trunk.

 

"Mas...Master?" Erin asked softly, realizing instantly that Grimm wasnt going to listen to her. "Okay, it should not be difficult ... it's just a cutting spell with some concrete measures... if only I had a ruler or something-"

Before Erin could even blink, the giantess was right in front of the trunk of the tree. "...what?"

 

"A simple teleportation spell, dont act so surprised, please" Grimm said as he looked at the 3 piles of leaves, a proud smile crossing his face. "Drag the biggest pile to the other side of the trunk, apprentice. That will be your bed tonight"

With a snap of fingers, the pile of dry leaves began to burn, providing extra light to the igloo and the surroundings. "If you have to urinate or the number two, tell me and I'll leave the igloo a moment-"

 

"Teacher, I cant leave... my needs here all night..." Erin said red with embarrassment, squeezing her legs to contain the desire to pee that she had given him when she remembered it.

"I guess not, you're a civilized person... it's okay, warn and I'll get you out of the igloo when you need it" And at the end of the sentence, Grimm pointed to the door, causing the ice to close completely. "Dinner and go to bed whenever you want, I'll read for a while"

 

"Well, I need to go to-"

"First prepare your bed, then piss" Erin sighed as her teacher sat by the fire, making a stack of books appear beside her. Seeing that the night would be silent, the giantess began to work on making a pile of leaves the best mattress possible... a tough task, no doubt.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

- 2 days later -

 

The sun shone high, marking the path of Grimm and Erin in the distance. The climate change between the Hyalgan territories and the vast plains of the kingdom of Iiion was so exaggerated that the giantess had had to change into her summer attire... and yet the heat was almost unbearable.

According to Grimm's explanation, each territory of Paradiso followed a different climatology, marked by the Great God who gave its name to the territory. According to the book that Grimm had lent her, the Storytellers mention Hyalgan as a dark and cold god, far from the affairs of his servants, hence the cold and humid climate of the region.

Iiion, on the other hand, was always represented as a passionate and war-loving god, a god who always fought with his people and who gave them great harvests and vast territories to form empires... Erin assumed that the damn constant summer climate should come of Iiion's passionate personality.

 

"Come on, Erin! Today will be a very hot day! "Grimm shouted with joy when he noticed that the giantess had been left behind for several minutes.

 

"Teacher... please! Why not wait for the sun to go down a bit? Even if it's after noon, it'll be less hot!" Erin pleaded from her shelter under the highest tree in the vicinity, high enough that the giantess could rest without fear of hitting a branch.

 

"Our reward isnt our destiny, but the way! Do you want to get to the next village before the end of the week? Come on, apprentice! You're young, put that extra energy to work!"

 

Grimm shouted as he turned around again, starting to walk again. "Oh shit ..." Erin whispered as low as possible, straightening up and starting to run to catch up with Grimm.

3 days of travel had shared both, and Erin still didnt understand Grimm's goal. (It's not that the refusal to talk about the teacher helped)

In all the time together Grimm had only made Erin repeat the same spell again and again with the excuse that the door was still not where it should be... Each repetition only exhausted more and more the patience of the giantess. And as much as Erin wanted to fulfill her contract and act as an apprentice, everything had a limit.

 

The end of the forest could be seen in the distance, plains of golden grass covered with rivers stretched as far as the eye could see. "On the other side of the hill that you see in the background is our first stop, Erin" Grimm stopped by the trees, sitting under one of them. "Time to go with the next lesson, do you think?"

 

"Can we have breakfast before?" Erin asked as she looked at the apples that hung from one of the nearby trees. They were small for her, but there were more than enough to fill her stomach and carry some more in her backpack.

 

"Have breakfast, huh? But Erin, that's the reward of this lesson!" Grimm laughed as he took off his helmet. "Tell me, my dear: What conclusions do you draw from your first lesson?"

 

"You like igloos very much and you dont like my rounded doors" Erin knelt next to Grimm, trying to concentrate and not jump towards the apple tree. "Both are true... although my problem with your doors is not the shape you give them, but the order in which you create them"

 

"What's wrong with my order?!"

 

"Well... first you create the igloo and then you cut the door, instead of creating the igloo with the door already made"

 

"The same is true, the result is still that we can go inside!" Erin defended herself, using the logic that had been taught her throughout her life as a weapon.

 

"If you think that the order of the factors does not alter the result of the spell... Then this second lesson should be very easy for you! I want you to fill our two canteens in the river in this forest" Erin frowned, something Grimm found simply delicious. "Do you have any complaints?"

 

"That's not a lesson, it's a chore! Arent you supposed to pass on your knowledge? Then give me another written spell to learn it!"

 

Erin's complaint was simple and understandable."But, my apprentice ... dont you want me to pass on my knowledge? Well that I try to do! There is a very valuable lesson that you should draw from this lesson: A spell must be efficient and always aspire to its maximum power, not remain in a comfortable result.

If you want to have breakfast, fill your canteens! I will prepare a fire to purify the water and roast some apples while you return!"

 

Commanding her to walk with a hand gesture, Grimm leaned back at the base of the trunk, closing her eyes.

"...okay, 'teacher'... I'll do what you say," Erin muttered as she got up, storing both canteens in the inside pockets of her raincoat before starting to walk.

 

 

---

 

 

After 10 minutes walking without hearing the faintest sound of water, the giantess began to get impatient.

"What does Grimm think I am... some kind of maid!?" Grasping her hair, Erin stifled a scream with all her might. "I could leave right now... I carry my money on my back and there's only clothes in my backpack... it's not like anything is going to happen either..."

Quickly the idea vanished, Erin remembering that the contract signed between her and Takun, and later between Takun and Grimm, included an annex to avoid the breach of it. "If I get out..." Erin said to herself, stopping completely. "Grimm could go and get back the money he gave Takun... And I cant allow something like that! What would mom and dad say if they saw me breaking a job...

But I dont want to end up being some kind of servant... If only I knew who Grimm really is, I could ask Nana to investigate about him... but of course! To know something about him, I must first ask if I should ask!

What kind of relationship between teacher and apprentice includes such idiocy?! I've given him my last name! I expected the same treatment on your part, stupid Grimm!"

Leaving all her frustration to flow, Erin leaned against a tree. "Papa... mama... Grandpa... Grandma... please tell me- You know what?! Forget this! I'm here because of you, grandpa! I'll get out of this without help!... I'm talking to myself, right?" Erin looked around, sighing exhausted. If she had reached the point of speaking alone, it was that she was on the verge of madness.

 

Another 10 minutes walking after, Erin began to hear the sound of the water. Running at full speed, the giantess finally reached a clearing in the forest, where a river flowed towards the golden plains. "Finally! Gods, thanks!"

Erin shouted with joy, running-Until a vision stopped her. The vision of a boar as big as her, covered with black crystals and almost tribal paintings, drinking water in the river. "... I cant believe it" Taking a slow step back, Erin prepared to make her triumphant exit ... until a huge noise filled the clearing. One from inside the guts of Erin. The giantess looked up, crossing directly with that of the boar.

"This is definitely not my week..." she whispered.

 

The boar began to walk slowly towards the giantess, while Erin tried to do the same in the direction of the forest. "Another one of yours who tries to take over my forests? Is it that you never learn, humans?" A deep voice like a drum sounded directly inside the head of the giantess, causing Erin to look in all directions desperately.

 

"Who you are?! Show yourself! "Erin screamed as the boar stopped, growling.

 

"Show? I'm in front of you, stupid giantess!" The voice sounded even louder, forcing Erin to cover her ears as a reflex.

 

After a few seconds to understand the situation, Erin looked up, pointing to the boar with a finger. The beast nodded twice, more than enough. "How is this possible? How can you no longer talk... if not speak directly to my mind?"

 

"Is this the first time you see an animal powerful enough to talk?" The boar asked, starting to circle around Erin, the giantess completely stunned.

 

"No... no, of course. Nana can talk and all that... but not a boar! I thought it was needed..." The giantess shrugged, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

 

"Be a more elegant animal? Smartest? Do you break into my house and dare to insinuate that I'm not smart enough?!" The boar screamed both mentally and with his own voice, shaking the trees.

 

"NO NO! OF COURSE NOT! "Erin cried, tears falling as hard as the river behind them. "SORRY MY DARE, LORD..." 

 

"Those from the nearby villages call me Snaky, the forest master. They think I'm some kind of reincarnation of an old warrior, that's why they adorn me while I sleep with these crystals and these paintings. They dont bother me too much, so I've decided to adopt that name to make them happy" The boar approached Erin, watching as the giantess cried inconsolably. "But come on, woman... dont cry like that..." Snaky began to feel bad, a feeling that lasted only until an odor rose in his nostrils.

"You ... what's your name, giantess?"

 

"E... Erin..." said the giantess standing up as she watched as the boar moved away, stopping completely to see how the boar turned to turn towards her again.

 

"You smell like honor, Erin... and something else, one that brings back many memories" Snaky laughed excitedly, losing himself in his memories. "So... what relationship do you have with Grimm?"

 

The giantess blinked dazedly, raising her arms discreetly and sniffing. Although it is true that she was 3 days late to her bathroom schedule, the smell was not too offensive... "I smell like Grimm... wait, you know Grimm?"

 

"Grimm and I... we have a story." Growling, Snaky started to move toward Erin, more and more menacing at every step. "And you, you're going to pay for it"

 

Like a thread too stretched, Erin straightened completely, beating Snaky by a head. "I'm going to pay? I havent done anything to you!"

 

"Are you going to fight back?" With a snarl, Snaky launched himself charging Erin, the impact so strong that the giantess ended up in the water. "AHEAD! FIGHT WITH ALL YOUR FORCES, YOU WILL FINISH LIKE THOSE-"

 

A dark arrow-shaped gust flew through the air, passing along the side of the boar. After a few seconds, Snaky bowed in pain, seeing how all his hair was burned where the arrow had passed.

"Dont come to me with nonsense, Snaky. If you want to fight" The giantess under the zipper of her trenchcoat, leaving it open completely. "Start praying to the god that pleases you the most, you will need it on your side, stupid boar with pretensions"Crashing her fists, the giantess closed her eyes, letting the boar ram furiously towards her.

"Charme des ténèbres: Flèche croyante!" Dozens of dark portals appeared around the giantess, beginning to shoot salvo after salvo of arrows.The boar began to retreat, growling as the gusts continued to hit him.

Hitting the ground with its legs, a stone wall was erected in front of the animal, protecting him from the arrows... but at the same time subtracting vision from Erin.

"DO YOU THINK YOU COULD FLEE?!" With an unusual agility for her size, Erin jumped on the stone wall, using it as a step to stand on top of the boar.

"Charme des flammes: Flamme amoureuse" A huge pink flame engulfed the boar, which screamed in pain as the giantess bounced on, falling to the ground behind him.

 

"BASTARD! AS YOU DARE!" Snaky roared with all his strength, so powerful that Erin fell to the ground on her knees, holding her head in sheer pain. Everything was blurry for her, not noticing how the boar charged until it was too late.

The giantess went flying, landing rolling on the ground. The boar issued an almost primary roar, one more of a beast than an intelligent animal. Stones began to form over it, accumulating in a rock that grew bigger and bigger.

Erin tried to get up, with the world still spinning from the previous scream. Pointing her hands, Erin tried to formulate another spell. "NEVER MORE!" Snaky shouted again with all his might, causing the giantess to lose concentration again. "ROLL UP AND DIE!" Snaky stood up on his hind legs, dropping to the ground as he threw the rock. Erin closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to minimize the damage.

 

"Time for the third lesson! Ask your teacher to help you improve your spells!" Appearing in front of the rock, Grimm pointed two fingers forward.

"Charme de la flamme: Fuoco sognatore!" A huge stream of yellow fire erupted from Grimm's fingers, hitting the rock and smashing it into a thousand pieces.

"Vontalba's style is certainly curious, using spells in other languages r03;r03;to keep yours as an empowering word... I'm surprised to see that you refuse that last part, Erin!"

 

"GRIMM!" Snaky continued to scream at full power, so angry that Erin swore to see smoke coming from his nose. "Dont get too blinded, Old Snaky ... I dont come to fight" And while he was saying it, Grimm walked to the trees, sitting under the shade of one. "Your fight is with my apprentice, right?"

 

"You... I DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID APPRENTICE, YOU ARE WHO STEALS MY-"

 

"EH, PIG!" Erin shouted, running towards the boar with her hands pointing at her in a triangle shape.

"CHARME DE LA FLAMME: FUOCO SOGNATORE!" The golden flame hit the boar directly, throwing him backward. "Do not get distracted, Snaky!"

The giantess kept running, digging her feet into the grass to brake right in front of the boar. "Because I'm not finished yet!" Pulling back her right fist, Erin closed her eyes smiling.

"Charme de flamme: promesse au ciel!" A punch covered in blue flames hit Snaky's stomach directly, which after a few milliseconds exploded in flames of the same color. Roaring and without being able to speak, the wild boar turned wildly to fall into the river, running down the river without stopping screaming.

 

"And there he goes again!" Grimm smiled as Erin returned to his side. "I dont know whether to aim this victory or give it to you, apprentice-"

 

"How do you know I'm from Vontalba?" Erin said completely serious, much more than Grimm expected the giantess to wear.

 

"Quite easy, really! Your style of formulating spells is identical to that of the battle wizards of Vontalba's army, first formulating the material in Arcrian and then the spell in your language, Astoni... although I have been slow to discover it, because for some reason you insist on maintaining the body of the spell also in Acin!"

 

"..." The giantess remained silent, Grimm could see how her mind was going at 1000 kilometers of thought per hour.

 

"Does it bother you that I know where you're coming from?"

 

"It's a secret, which I tried to keep at all costs. I have entrusted my last name so that you as a teacher know my full name... but the rest of personal information is personal for a good reason"

 

"The reason is that you are using magic weaker than your body is capable of giving. Listen to me, Erin, I dont know what motive made you leave home, but I can know by how you act two things:

A) You are not an orphan or abandoned, you have family waiting for you even if you do not want to return for any reason" Erin's eyes widened, while the giantess tightened her fists.

"And B) You are someone important because of how you want to store this information... and how you are using a false name"

 

"Technically it is not a false name!" Erin defended herself, denying with her eyes almost in tears.

 

"As I saw on your sign-up sheet for Iher's games, you erased your name twice before writing Erin-"

 

"Did you notice the erasure marks left by the rubber?!" The giantess said with a lump in her throat.

 

Grimm nodded, making his notepad appear. "In addition, your handwriting is elegant and compact, learned to write a lot and quickly without losing readability at any time. It isnt the type of letter that is taught in the school... rather it is the type of letter that a private tutor teaches, one that has studied in Phromecia.

I'll take that out of how you copied the leanings of the letters and the shapes of the capitals typical of the universities of Phromecia... all that while you added your own features to the rounded letters, relieving a kind and open girl, one who worry about the person who should read the text and try to make it as clear and beautiful as possible"

 

"Did you get... all that just by reading the profile I wrote to sign up for the games?" Erin was too perplexed even to be angry. "Who are you, teacher?"

 

"The person who is going to guide you and who you have to trust, silly" Making his notebook disappear, Grimm got up slowly. "You can keep your secrets if you wish... but if you want me to listen to you, to know you... that's my job. I intend to guide you and show you my way, Erin, to teach you my magic and my mistakes, so that you become a better person than me"

The giantess looked down, not understanding how Grimm could sound so sincere and innocent as he said something like that. All the air around him was mysterious and dark, not just because of his choice of wardrobe, but even there was something inside him that Erin could cling to.

 

"You're reading me like an open book, arent you?" The giantess was discouraged, her mind debating about her teacher.

 

"That's what you think? Erin... I prefer to see you as a blank canvas. "The giantess quickly looked up, confused. "I thought that with being honest about what I want to be like your teacher would be worth it, but I see that they taught you well not to trust the first change.

What I see before me is a young canvas, on which life has only given its first brushstrokes... Now is yours the opportunity to take the brush and start painting your life: You must be someone confident? Someone resentful? Someone open and sincere or someone reserved and a liar? I only see the brushstrokes that are already on you, but I cant know what kind of painting you plan to paint" Grimm's stomach roared hungrily, bringing a smile to both of them.

"The roasted apples should be almost ready, so let's go back" Grimm had already begun to move away when the giantess decided to trust her instincts, getting up and running towards her teacher.

 

"Tonight..." Grimm looked up, arching an eyebrow. "Tonight ... tonight you can know everything you want about me... in return I want you to answer 3 questions!"

 

"3 questions, huh? Okay, I think it's a good deal!" Grimm smiled as Erin's stomach also growled hungrily. "Let's go to lunch and let's get out before old Snaky comes back, that boar never knew when to give up!"

 

"Is that true... that you two know each other?"

 

"Snaky is the god Iiion's companion mascot, although he doesnt remember his master... it's been too long since Iiion left him here" Grimm stopped when he noticed that Erin had stopped moving, turning to see the giantess with the dislocated jaw. "Something wrong?"

 

"That boar is a divine animal?!" The giantess began to sweat, looking towards the river in the distance.

 

"Yes, something happens with it?" Quickly, Grimm contained a mocking laugh, sighing. "Erin, you will not be one of those who believe that gods are untouchable, right?" The giantess nodded nervously, still looking toward the river. "Oh, come on! A Paradiso and Inferno are known as the land of the thousand gods! Do you really believe that if a god were unbeatable we would have survived? There are few lesser weaker gods than a simple adventurer, and there are many older gods who have lost against heroes! Being a god doesnt make you powerful, being powerful makes you powerful! Remembering this will be our fourth lesson!"

After a few seconds, Erin nodded, walking back to Grimm. "And by the way, Erin... I chose to cross this forest to force you to face Snarky... and it will not be the last divine beast or God with whom you will face" The giantess stopped again, frozen with pure panic.

"To be my apprentice you must first optimize your spells, and in the process discover my mysteries... Dont stress for now, because both processes will come as a result of dominating my flagship spell! WorldDiver!"

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

A new night in the trip, a new stop in the way of the couple. Grimm and Erin stopped in a titanic ruins, big enough to even dwarf the giantess.

"This will be a good place to spend the night as well as to practice the WorldDiver tomorrow" Grimm dictated, walking between the gigantic stone walls.

 

"What was this place before? It doesnt seem to have a village architecture... and I have never heard of titanic settlements in Iiion" Erin ran her hands over the stone, noting the roughness of the stone and at the same time the softness and freshness of the moss that over the years had become one with the rocks, turning the ruins of a greenish gray color with a certain charm

 

"It has always been said that Iiion brought mercenaries from all over the world for his army, so we can assume that this must be some kind of camp for the mercenary titans. Although to go back to them we should look back almost a thousand years, to the time when Iiion and the rest of the founding gods liberated these lands from the abyss..."

Grimm raised a hand, snapping his fingers and covering everything with firefly lights. "Dont the old titans make you feel small? These ruins must measure at least 50 meters or more, and who knows if the buildings were not taller!

All humanity descends from them, and although we lived a short period of time together... they vanished, only leaving their homes and camps behind. Not even the current titans have a genetic relationship with them... beyond a similarity in the physical aspect according to how the legends describe them"

 

Erin followed her teacher through the ruins to a nook covered by stone walls, something that Erin assumes would be the remains of some kind of wardrobe. "The titans were consumed by the plague of metallic blood, right?" Erin asked, watching as Grimm nodded. A strong feeling of defeat seized her when she saw that neither such great and powerful beings were safe.

"The abyss of Hes, the MotherNight of Apodemus, the plague of the metallic blood of Arucas... why are these lands always attacked by such terrible evils? What have we done to them?"

 

"You shouldnt think like that, Erin." Grimm sat on one of the corners, making a large cloth appear that covered almost the entire "cave". "Although some past times were terribly hard... we can always impose ourselves and win the battle against Hes, against Arucas, against Mitolo... only Apodemus and Bió survived.

Now, a new world awaits the new gods and heroes, still young and inexperienced. Every so often, Paradiso and Inferno live a dark age... but for every dark age we face, dozens of bright decades we receive"

 

Clenching her fists, Erin created a large firefly in the center of the cave, illuminating it with a soft orange light. "That ... is a great reflection, teacher"

 

"Thank you, but I cant and must not attribute myself the merit, because I heard it from an old companion of fatigue, Malus the somber"

 

"The god Malus?..." Erin shook her head, sitting next to Grimm. "I have three questions that you will answer openly, right?" Grimm nodded with his eyes closed, huddled against the wall. "Well, there goes the first ... how old are you, teacher?"

 

"In order for you to answer by yourself, my birth coincided with the centennial anniversary of the founding of Vontalba"

 

"So you're three hundred thirty-seven years old? As? I know there are few heroes who have broken the age barrier, earning eternity like gods... but I've never heard of any hero with the name of Grimm "

 

"I will assume that everything goes in the same question to do you a favor, dear apprentice" Grimm laughed to himself while the giantess realized she had already asked three questions. "You havent heard of any hero with the name of Grimm because there isnt. I am Grimm, the black shadow of Paradiso, the one who exchanged his heart with the shadow of the demon Razzir"

 

"That will be my second question... why would you do something like that? The demonic gods are known to be moneylenders, always expecting something in return for their favors"

 

"I needed more time without losing my human will, and Razzir needed a human heart powerful enough. We both found ourselves in desperate situations, and we both knew that we needed a fair deal with the other. The rest was as you imagine... Razzir managed to save his beloved... and I gained time to cleanse my sins"

 

Erin pressed both hands to the ground, feeling the melancholy in the words of her teacher. "And you could not have tried a ritual to become a god?"

 

"To become a god, you must pay a price: Your human will in exchange for divine clarity... and I couldnt risk my will... because I knew that if I did my sins would consume me"

 

Intoning the voice, Erin began to recite an oath that Grimm remembered distant and distant, more sung by the giantess took a new interesting tinge.

"A god must not think himself superior, nor be cruel or evil, because divine clarity is a gift from his former brothers.

A god must always remember who he is and who he was, his oath always present as a symbol of his transition.

A god must not have will, because it is the will of humanity that must always guide him.

A god is not immortal, and his eternity must always connected to the hearts of their loved ones.

And so, when a god fulfills his mission, his life must end so that with his family he can rest"

"My grandmother always made us say the same oath in the cathedral of Phromecia... although I never understood what they refer to with divine clarity" Erin shrugged, looking for her canteen to drink a well-deserved drink of water.

 

"They say that divine clarity is... as if your brain and your heart worked faster while everything around you moves slower... some gods say that even their senses and muscles work at triple the speed and power, which would explain some feats. To be completely honest, I've never known if it's a fair price to pay for losing your will to improve, to grow... maybe that's why it's always the heroes who end up imposing themselves on the gods"

The couple remained silent, reflecting... or so he wanted Grimm believed that it was happening, because the giantess soon began to breathe softly, falling into sleep. "Erin! Erin!" Pushing her with one arm, Grimm managed to get her out of the dream world. "You have a question and you still owe me your story! Also, we havent dined! What are you doing sleeping so soon?"

 

The giantess yawned as she leaned back, placing her head on her teacher's legs. "It bothers you? And please, if for some reason you know how much my head weighs... dont say it, I'm still suffering from when you said my weight out loud"

 

"You weigh a little, but nothing that cant stand"

 

The giantess laughed as she snuggled, enjoying the residual heat of the day and the cool wind of the night.

"My story... it's long, master. If I have to start somewhere, it has to be by my name" Grimm nodded, resting a hand on the giantess's hair. "My name is Myerina Vegner... I am the heir to Vontalba's throne-"

 

"What?" Grimm said instantly, his reaction was within what Erin expected. "I havent been to Vontalba for a long time, but as far as I know, the heir queen and the king are humans, not giants... and none have giant ancestors"

 

"Let me explain, please" Erin said with a sigh, her gaze lost on the stone wall in front of them.

"Do you know the foundation of Vontalba? 455 years ago, the lands of Sartiols were inhabited by cruel and bloodthirsty giants, who dominated their neighbors and took who they saw as slaves... humans, elves, centaurs, dwarves, other giants...

Vontalba is a kingdom surrounded by gigantic mountains, steep and lashed by constant rain, with only a plain serving as an entrance... A natural fortress that the Marvioni giants as they called themselves took full advantage. They lived in the highlands of the valley, on the blue stone plains while the useless slaves and the wounded were thrown into the lower swamp, naked and unarmed.

My ancestor, Dragos Vegner, was a prisoner of war, captured after a brutal attack of the Marvioni to a neighboring kingdom... Dragos was brutally wounded, with one of his legs torn off by the Marvioni, who once finished having fun they threw him to the swamp waiting for it to become flesh for insects... but that wasnt his destiny.

Lanceria, one of the only two giants who had survived the swamp, found him in time and rescued him, healing his wounds in the small community that she and the rest of the slaves had formed near the edge of the cliff that separated the plains from the swamp.

Lanceria, that according to the slaves was thrown for being bastard daughter of one of the leaders of assault of the Marvioni, and Dragos began to spend more and more time together, while the old general slowly recovered from his wounds. Many months passed before Dragos regained his strength, although he could never use them again to fight. Leaning on a branch smoothed as a crutch, the former general began to teach the other slaves everything he could, from ways to get clean water to basic first aid.

Years passed without the situation of the slaves improving, surviving thanks to the hunting tactics of Dragos while Lanceria was dedicated to collect and try to save all those thrown by the Marvioni. The friendship between the giantess and the general did not stop increasing, Lanceria becoming the eyes and hands of Dragos when they were far from the villa.

The duo ended up being elected as leaders by the other slaves. And as Lanceria refused to become some kind of leader, preferring to be more useful in the wild thanks to its size and strength, Dragos just took over the position for both; swearing to his companions that they would manage to leave the swamp and recover their lives... a dream that gave them strength to continue, although Dragos knew that without weapons to break the door that separated the swamp and to fight the Marvioni would be left alone in just that, a dream.

 

Until the Marvioni made their biggest mistake.

 

In a burst of euphoria for their last conquest, the Marvioni launched hundreds of people into the swamp without bothering to disarm them... and without knowing that Dragos and the rest of the slaves had built a town far from their eyes.

In a one-night operation, Lanceria and the other slaves managed to save almost all the soldiers and their weapons, taking them back to the village to heal their wounds.  Dragos recognized the armor of the soldiers, recognizing them as the army of one of the enemy kingdoms of his old home.

In the same way, one of the soldiers recognized Dragos. The soldier stood up and introduced herself as Ash Hunter, the princess of the house Hunter and the last defender of her kingdom. Ash and his men recovered quickly, still blessed by their god slain by the Marvioni.

An opportunity like this was unique, and Dragos knew that they would take advantage of it. Thrown to the ground on his knees, Dragos begged Ash and his men to lend them their strength to take revenge against the Marvioni Lanceria and the rest of the slaves explained the situation... and Ash and his men understood that maintaining the quarrels for two kingdoms that no longer existed didnt help at all.

Kneeling his knees, Ash's soldiers swore allegiance to Dragos, becoming his sword to pierce the darkness. Dragos, turned into a shadow of his old self, took Ash's hands, vowing to direct them all to a bright future.And with the oath, the planning of the assault began.

 

Setting fire to different parts of the swamp, Dragos managed to force the Marvioni to open the doors of the only exit from the swamp to investigate, encountering Ash and his men in a fast and bloody ambush.

The plan began, Lanceria and his brother raised great torches that served as a reclamation for the other slaves who lived with the Marvioni. A single night, a brutal and bloody march to which tens of thousands of slaves joined them.

The Marvioni fought as hard as they could, but while Ash's men fought against, Lanceria's slaves sneaked into the shadows, killing all the giants in their wake.

When the last of the Marvioni was defeated, Lanceria threw his torch at the flag of the Marvioni, marking the end of the battle. All celebrated their victory with the sunrise, at which time Ash and Lanceria decided to name Dragos as the king-conqueror of the Marvioni.

 

Dragos refused at the beginning, but after quite insisting he decided to take the position again, naming his kingdom as Vontalba, a syllable for the surname of Lanceria, one for the kingdom of Dragos and one for the kingdom of Ash. 

Dragos raised his new flag, shouting to his people that no other conquering giant could wrest their new freedo.

The moment in which Ash decided to marry with Dragos was also the moment in which Lanceria took the position of symbol and guardian of the kingdom, position that was transmitted to its descendants, who swore to protect to the blood of Dragos, first king of Vontalba-"

 

"I've always admired the legend of Vontalba's foundation... But what does that have to do with you?" Grimm asked as Erin expected.

 

"I was going to-"

 

"Going? You were trying sneak a history lesson to avoid talking about you"

 

"It can... but it's relevant. Well ... my mother is Queen Hirari Vegner, the fifth heiress of Dragos and my father is-"

 

"The king consort is the son of Gaspar Spada, the former regent of Vontalba, leader of the armies of dawn and chief advisor to the previous king, Julius Vegner... and none of them are giants, Erin"

 

"Let me tell it, damn it! Well... you know how my grandfather died, right?"

 

"Now you want me to intervene? You dont clarify, Erin" The giantess hit the ground, nipping at Grimm's mockery. "Julius died when Hirari was 6 years old, fighting in battle against the King of Nothing... Gaspar assumed the regency of Vontalba until the princess was old enough to govern"

 

"Right. The defense against the hollow army of the King of Nothing was bloody and claimed too many innocent lives like my grandfather's... and much that survived did so with permanent damage. Bella, the giantess guardian of my grandfather, suffered serious damage... while her husband died in battle with my grandfather.

Bella, who had fought a thousand and one battles with my grandparents for Vontalba... lost both legs, leaving her whole body from navel downwards destroyed... and not only lost her legs and her beloved... she also lost her biggest dream... being a mother. Bella was transferred to the palace, where mom and dad did everything they could to make her happy.

Even though she tried to pretend, everyone knew that Bella's smile had died in that battle. 21 years ago, Bella began to get worse and worse... Mama and Papa brought all the doctors and priests they found... but they all ended up coming to the same conclusion... Bella's time was over. She kept saying that nothing happened... but when worse and worse she got on, except she could hide her pain... not being able to mother was her burden, her biggest dream was at the same time the bullet that would accompany her to death.

And then, when my grandfather asked my mom and dad to stop... my grandmother says that the two looked at each other, the same idea sprouting from their heads... the greatest idea of r03;r03;their lives.

They changed the purpose of their search, my father launched on a desperate trip to Phromecia, one when he managed to find her.

Days before Bella gave the last breath, Papa arrived with a shaman. The four met in Bella's room... and the shaman told them about her innovative technique-"

 

"Wait a fucking second! Are you talking... of a legatee birth?!" Grimm said out loud, so surprised that the giantess could not contain her laughter.

 

"Using a key stone and through a ritual, Bella's life energy would become a legatee residue, which the shaman would insert into one of my mother's ovaries... and with my father's seed, would result in a legatee baby, the combination of three wills.

I am Myerina Vegner Gaspar, the daughter of Hirari Vegner, Rogan Gaspar and Bella Vontalba... their three souls gave birth to me, thus fulfilling Bella's dream"

 

"That... makes you a legatee huma/giantess? A part of you is giant, and two parts are human... that explains your talent for magic... "Grimm began to see clearly who was the giantess in front of him... and to plan how to take advantage of this unusual origin.

 

"I've never had a difficult life, I suppose it's because people not only see in me an heiress of my grandparents Julius and Gaspar... but also in the heiress of the Vontalba champion. My parents and my grandparents have always loved me with madness, guiding me to be the future queen but never losing sight of the fact that I was just a girl... a very big one, but a girl after all.

I have two brothers, 13-year-old twins, Emma and Gabriel, and before you ask them they are only human... I love them too much... not a day goes by when I do not think of them" Grimm remained silent, letting Erin take comfort in his memories.

 

"If you love your family so much... and they love you so much... what were you doing in Hyalgan, almost half a continent away?"

 

"It all started a year and a half ago..." Erin's voice became much more somber and discouraged. "When we received the visit of Father Gurian, the leader of the holy church of Memoris"

 

"Dont fuck with me... Gurian? Who in their right mind receives a fanatic with too much self-esteem like him?!"

 

Erin could notice the hatred in Grimm's words, one too personal. "There are many Memoris churches in Vontalba... and my mother thought it would be a good idea to accept his request to come and bless them..." Every word made Erin more and more tense. "When we received him in the royal palace... Gurian confused me for a soldier... and that I was wearing a dress and my royal diadem! My parents tried to explain to him that I was their daughter, the princess... and Gurian went into a rage, calling us heretics for forgetting the words of Dragos"

 

"No giants will ever rule over us..." Grimm said sighing angrily.

 

"He kept saying we were monsters for forgetting our founder... and he threatened to take away the Memoris churches and accuse us of an impure kingdom before the assembly.... My mother didnt give up, preparing our lawyers and advisors for a legal fight against the holy church..." The giantess stopped, taking breath to continue.

"My gramp-... my grandfather... took the crown and used his power as an ex-regent and leader of the armies to disinherit me... He decided ... that it was more important to maintain our image and avoid a war against the holy church and all the kingdoms that they will support it before me... And that all the world in our kingdom and among our allies supported me! They were willing to fight for me! In the end... I didnt want to turn my grandfather into a monster... or provoke a war just for me... so I made the decision that I still believe was the right one"

 

"Seriously? Run away from home? That you think is the right idea?"

 

The giantess nodded without saying anything. "First, I havent run away from home as if I were ten years old... I've left home until I have a solution to the problem-"

 

"And have you found that solution?" Grimm sounded more and more serious each time, something that didnt help Erin.

 

"Not now... but if I never found her, my brothers can take the throne... I trust them. And so my grandfather could keep his pride ... he has fought a lot for Vontalba to be remembered as a villain... It's painful, but if I can protect them all by simply disappearing from the equation, I'll do it until my end"

 

"Erin, you're a complete idiot"

 

"You dont need to call me that either-"

 

"But I'm glad you are." Erin turned around, looking directly at her confused teacher. "Do you know why I need an apprentice?" Erin denied silently, not wanting to interrupt. "I myself fell into darkness... always fleeing from my sins without ever being able to face them... I begin to fear that I will never see my light again... and therefore, before the end that I deserve, before they devour me...

I want to be able to transmit to someone everything I learned... to know that there is someone I havent failed, someone who will be able to use my knowledge to change his life" Grimm's words were even more full of pain than before, and although Erin did not I could see changes in the expression on his face, it was easy to notice the weight they carried. "Do you believe in Hona?" Erin nodded quickly.

"They say that all our hearts were born there, and at the end of our days they return home. According to tradition, magic is born from the heart because these are always connected to Hona, for no matter in which conditions they die or if you are a human, a demon, a hero or a god... a heart always find the way to Hona...

Well that seems like a great idiocy!" Grimm raised his voice and his hands, waving his head angrily. "Are you telling me that monsters like Apodemus or Gurian will end up finding peace? That is not fair to their victims! If we all end up in Hona, it means that everyone will earn eternal rest regardless of their crimes! Is it that nobody has thought twice?"

 

"I dont think everyone in the world finds the same thing in Hona... maybe in that place there is a smaller and darker place for bad people!" Erin tried to do her bit, and judging from Grimm's eyes, it had been Fairly acceptable. "Teacher ... I dont understand what this has to do with what I'm an idiot... I'm not going to lie to you, I've been lost for a while"

 

"Well, I've got a history lesson in the middle of your biography!" The two looked at each other for a few seconds before they started laughing. "We are not the best explaining ourselves, right?"

 

"My grandmother has always told me that I am very little concrete, that since I have a so big head, everything goes a long way before I am able to express it with words"

 

"You dont seem so stubborn... oh wait... big head because of giantess... then you should tell your grandmother that I share your opinion" The giantess inflo chubby annoying, something that only managed to cause more laughter. "If I'm honest, there are many friends who have complained about the unnecessary length of my explanations... especially I remember an old scaly friend who almost throws off a cliff"

 

"Scaly friend? A salam- do you know what? Knowing how violent it is is enough for me"

 

"You dont even imagine it! I'm surprised that today I still consider myself a friend... But back to the subject, you're an idiot for believing that disappear fix something. Your problem is Gurian, right?"

The giantess nodded, not wanting to remember the guilty face of all her problems. "Well then you must face him under the rules of Phromecia, and for that you must become not only a better spellcaster, you should also become a better warrior.

Before you say anything, it doesnt matter how big and strong you are thanks to be a giantess... your punch this morning has only caused damage thanks to enhance it with your blue flame spell"

 

"In my defense, I've only been able to train as a swordsman with my grandfather and his apprentice." Erin raised an arm, squeezing and pulling muscle. "Since I was 6 years old I was stronger and almost taller than most soldiers and nobody dared to teach me self defense"

 

Grimm remained silent, hands folded and index fingers spread over his mouth. "I remenber that your grandfather Julius was a master of unarmed combat... although of course, I'm not saying it's genetic - Wait, swordswoman? And where is your sword? You are a princess, arent you? You shouldnt have a sword forged especially for you?"

 

Erin frowned. "I left EMOTL with my brothers... I promised them I would go back to look for her once I knew how to solve everything"

 

"EMOTL..." The giantess's cheeks reddened as she curled up as much as she could. "Dont laugh, please" The giantess begged, eyes closed, not daring to look at her teacher. "Eternal memories of the light..." Erin opened her eyes, seeing how Grimm was on the verge of crying. "Aggg! I knew you were going to laugh! I was 10 years old when they gave it to me! I was very hooked on Iskar's the Skywalker novels!"

 

"And you called your sword like Iskar's famous spell? Oh god... I am sure that if I tell her about that I will be able to laugh for years and years..."

 

"You just... say... if you told her..." The giantess jumped up, kneeling in front of Grimm. "Do you know Iskar? Iskar the Skywalker? The heiress of the blue bell? The carrier of Melodia, the legendary sword of Amun!?" Grimm nodded confused, watching as Erin began to tremble.

"OHMYGODNESS! PLEASEINEEDTOKNOWHER! IHAVETOKNOWLADYISKARINPERSON, IAMHERFANNUMBERONE,IHAVE ALLHERBOOKS,COMICS,BIOGRAPHIES,CRYSTAL-FILMS... EVERYTHING!! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!"

 

"5 minutes ago we were suffering from the pain of knowing that your grandfather preferred to avoid a conflict that you... and in the same conversation you just lost your mind for a hero to the point of almost drowning supplicating me"

 

"Iskar has always been my example to follow... since mom read me her first biography with 6 years before going to sleep, I've always wanted to become a hero like her! Someone that when people they know they're safe... a beacon of hope in the darkness" Grimm opened his mouth, although Erin was faster than him. "I know that that last sentence is taken from her story of the blue bell... but it's something that means a lot to me!"

 

The teacher shrugged, looking toward the ruins. "It's been quite a night, we've been talking for almost an hour and a half..." At the moment of both reconnect with the world, two roars filled the makeshift cave. "And I see that we're both hungry..."

 

"Should I go out and try to hunt something?" Erin asked, preparing to get up.

 

"No need ... since you've opened up to me, today I'll spoil you a little... but dont get used to it" Grimm snapped his fingers, making a large black portal appear on the wall. The teacher approached the portal, putting an arm inside. "Should... should... bingo" Erin remained motionless with her eyes wide open, while Grimm pulled out a huge tray with a bird cooked in the oven on top... except that the food has no color whatsoever.

 

"That's…"

 

"Our dinner. Before leaving on a trip I always prepare 50 complete meals, I took them away from the time and store them for nights when I cant hunt "With a stomp, a portal appeared on the floor in the middle of the cloth, dropping a dining room table. Erin watched silently as Grimm left the bird on the table, snapping his fingers to reveal portals on the table, of which fell covered, glasses, plates and even a bottle of wine and another of some kind of juice. (Without color, Erin couldnt guess what it was)

Raising his right hand, everything on the table began to glow and be surrounded by small glyphs of watches while Grimm began to recite."That what was robbed of time, gave nuovo senti il r03;r03;passo eterno di esso" The glyphs vanished, while Erin began to smell the bird as if it were freshly made, a smell that made her mouth water.

 

"Awesome…"

 

"Not so much, it's just a simple Stop spell combined with a permanent adjective and a conditional. Then the other is simply an anti-stasis spell focused on inanimate objects" The expression Grimm saw on Erin's face was similar to that of a cow watching a Branese locomotive pass by. "You'rent supposed to be a princess? I have not used any words that you should not know... "

 

"I know all the words! It's just ... how do you manage to think such a complex spell and pronounce it in such a short time?" 

 

"Practice, apprentice; and dont despair, there will be time for you to learn all these things. For now, let's have dinner and let's give this day finished. I have cutlery size XL but I do not have any dishes... does it bother you to use the tray?"

Erin denied as she sat on the floor, her mouth half-opened by the good smell of dinner.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

"Time to get up, Erin! A new day is rising in front of us! Full of opportunities!"

 

Erin stirred still asleep, listening to the twittering of birds near her... extremely close to her. The giantess sighed tiredly as she felt the little paws walk over her stomach.

"Oh... let's see..." The giantess smiled as she sat, forcing the birds to land on the ground. "What time is it supposed to be ...?" Rubbing her eyes, the giantess yawned lazily, looking around for her teacher. Instead, she found that the "cave" had been quite redecorated. The dinner table was still in place, and a wall of ice covered the entrance, with fragments cut like windows and doors.

A branese bonfire surrounded by kitchen tools illuminated a corner of the lair, because now to call it a cave was terribly wrong. Dozens of papers and maps hung on one of the walls, marked without words, only with signs and icons.

 

"Pio!" The birds began to chirp louder as they left the windows, leaving Erin alone... and at the same time, helped the giantess see that her backpack was next to the door, much more full than last night.

Crawling on the floor, Erin opened her backpack found a blue and black T-shirt and loose black cloth pants, complemented by wrestling shoes... all of the size of the giantess."What? I would remember if I had bought something so... Grimm has a fetish with the color black or something, for sure"

 

"Erin! Wake up! A new sky lies before us, shining with hope!" Grimm shouted again, this time louder. The giantess sighed as she left the cave, walking through the ruins to the main street of the camp, where Grimm was waiting for her. "And your training clothes?" The giantess opened her mouth to protest, but Grimm would not let her, pointing impassively at the lair.

 

Still sighing, exhausted for the good morning, the giantess took off her beloved trenchcoat, keeping it in her backpack. The training clothes werent too unpleasant (she was really extremely comfortable and light, although Erin was too angry without her trenchcoat to notice), so the giantess came out again.

""Where did all the things in the cave come from-?"

 

"Training base of Grimm's apprentice, not cave" Grimm corrected with a smile, greeted with a grimace of disgust by Erin. "Tonight I couldnt sleep, so I invoked a barrier to keep you protected while I was heading to the capital of Iiion-"

 

"Isnt supposed to be 3 days away ?!"

 

"I ... I teleported. My friend Hector works as an advisor to the king, so I went to visit him, check your story-" The giantess wrinkled her brow, annoyed by the comment. "Can you blame me? You tell me you're an escaped princess and that Gurian is so stupid as to attack the rulers of a country using their story as an excuse... I had to make sure everything was 100% real... Princess Myerina"

 

"Dont even think about it! Erin, my name is Erin for now" said the giantess accompanying the statement with a stomp, to mark the permanent end of it.

 

Grimm shrugged, smiling, feigning innocence. "You will not see me complaining, Erin is much easier to pronounce than Myerina. Anyway, as I have planned to stay a good season here in Iiion, I inform my friend that we were available to help and in the meantime take the opportunity to buy some things... the rest of the furniture and our beds should arrive tomorrow on afternoon"

 

"Arrive? Here?" Grimm nodded, turning around and letting the giantess see a crystalline Pillar of the Walker.

 

"Nobody had ever connected the Titanic ruins with the capital, so I've taken the trouble to buy a room in the Walker Shrine of the capital to install a teleportation stamp and a pillar... you know, to make it easier for us to buy, sell materials and those things "Erin remained motionless, stunned and stupefied.

 

"Teacher ... I still dont know very well who you are, but I can already tell you how amazing you are..."

 

"You dont have to swear it, dear apprentice." Grimm smiled as he clapped his hands, changing the conversation. "Iiion is a huge region, full of Unknown Territories and with good weather all year round... and for now, our home where I will teach you the most basic of my magic... the Sombre mystère de Grimm!"

 

"Sombre mystère de Grimm?"

 

"Right! Before changing my heart for the shadow of Razzir, they warned me that amnesia could suffer the first years, so I decided to write all my personal spells and collect the ones already written in a single volume" Snapping his fingers, a book almost 1 meter long and half a meter wide appeared on the floor between the two.

"The great book of the dark mysteries of Grimm! Or as you would say in my native language: Le grand livre des sombres mystères by Grimm! A single volume where I compile everything I've learned and created throughout my life, from spells to rituals, through elixirs and hexes! Not only are my inventions... also many other friends of mine have included their own techniques and magics!"

 

Erin knelt in front of the book, opening it and flipping pages. "This... there's a huge job behind this ... Grimm, you've even bothered to print it! This seems really expensive!!"

 

Grimm knelt on the other side, looking with a smile of permanent pride at the giantess. "Every so often add new pages or modify old spells if I manage to make them more efficient, to do it with a printer is a completely aesthetic decision... and to save me work, because there are 4 copies of this book... and you dont have to worry! All are updated to the time thanks to a small spell of my storyteller friend"

 

"4 copies?" Erin asked confused, without stopping to turn page after page.

 

"Correct: one is mine and it is the one I use to modify and write... besides, when I have left this world a storyteller friend of mine will come for it to be filed in the storytelling sanctuary.

The second, third and fourth are identical, and can continue to be modified even if the original has been closed. Of those three there is one for my adopted daughter, another is for my son... being the last for the person who became my apprentice... you, Erin"

 

Erin went completely red, not knowing how to say thank you. "Teacher... I... I dont know if- Wait, daughter? Son? You have..." Grimm nodded once. "How can this be the first time I hear about them?"

 

"Because you havent asked" The two looked at each other for a few seconds, until Erin frowned annoyed... with herself mainly. "I dont usually talk about my children so as not to attract bad luck. They... arent yet ready, their bodies are much younger than yours and their minds are still very childish for now, so until the right time I will not give them their respective books"

 

"I guess you'd rather not mention it again, right?" Grimm nodded, looking away, a sign that it was not a pretty subject. The giantess continued investigating the book, stopping at a double page in color with an almost photographic image of an inverted pyramid on a mountain. The pyramid was painted dark blue, with a multitude of white spots on it. (With patterns similar to constellations, according to Erin I thought I remembered)

A title was written under the image. "End of Pain... in Fallrest? Is this where we are going? Isnt it a weird name for a pyramid? Or very successful, if we consider that it is a pyramid..."

 

"Right, apprentice! Smart girl, no doubt! End of the pain is the last and oldest temple dedicated to the creator god of our world, the Celestial King. My plan is to go there to pay our respects... and if I'm lucky, meet a certain person in Fallrest."

Grimm went to the next page, where four objects were drawn. "We will face the unknown territory of Axel, and to open the doors of his palace we must present 4 keys as tradition marks"

 

"The key of the Astral Door, key of the Throne of Contemplation, key of the Clock Tower of Goodbye and the key of the Balcony to the Heart..." Erin read, trying to memorize.

 

"Divided into four Unknown Territories: Swamp of grimy thunder, Old Phromecia, Holy Tower of historians and last but not least the Marble Canyon!"

 

"My grandmother told me that she and her group of adventurers gathered the keys before she met my grandfather... but according to her there were only three doors in Axel's palace, and after much searching decided to leave and retire... My grandmother says that she didnt care too much, because she and my grandfather fell in love at first sight... and he took her to Vontalba"

 

Grimm smiled, pointing to the last of the keys. "If you dont know the secret of the palace, it may seem that the Balcony to the Heart doesnt exist... and there are few adventurers who, like your grandmother, left with their heads down, unable to find Axel himself" Grimm's constant smile spoke for itself.

 

"I imagine that you know how to open the last of the doors. Isnt that right, teacher?"

 

"At the top of the Pyramid of the Heavenly King there is a lighthouse... a strange place for a lighthouse, so far from the water. Well, if my calculations are correct, that same lighthouse can be turned to focus Axel's palace, in the mountain in front"

 

"Revealing the last of the doors!" Erin said excitedly, imagining her grandmother's face when she told her news like this.

 

"Until now I had no way to prove it, because they dont allow people to enter End of Pain without direct permission from Phromecia... or without permission from the royalty of any of the 10 kingdoms that founded Fallrest"

Erin stopped smiling for a second, reflecting what her teacher had just said. "Come on!" Grimm said excitedly, slamming the book shut. "It is perfect! You need Gurian to stop poking his nose at Vontalba, I need a member of any of the royal families who founded Fallrest to authorize me to enter End of Pain! I am going to train you as my apprentice, I will prepare you to challenge Gurian so your grandfather cant deny you anything! Then you give me permission as a member of the Vontalba royal family to test my theory... and so your grandmother and I fulfill our dreams of seeing what's behind the fourth door of Axel's palace!"

 

Erin was still not very convinced, feeling slightly used. "Is this why you couldnt sleep last night?"

 

"Yeah, its part of the reasom" Grimm did not take a second to admit it, something that although bad Erin could appreciate. "I kept thinking about the great coincidence that was all this! I want to see Gurian bite the dust, you want to recover your honor! And now this about your grandmother! It is as if fate had united us to be a teacher and apprentice, to finally solve one of the oldest enigmas in Paradiso and Inferno!"

 

"I suppose... that with something like that, my grandmother wouldnt be too angry at my absence..." The giantess looked up at the sky, deciding to trust. "Let's do it, master, we will solve the mystery of Axel's palace"

 

"Well said! My apprentice in is the best in the world!" Grimm shouted excitedly, closing the book completely to open it by the first page. "If we have to start somewhere, WorldDiver is our ideal starting point"

 

"I remember you mentioned it last day, although you didnt say anything else" Erin sat on the floor, taking the book between her hands.

 

Grimm smiled as he got up, walked away and stood in the middle of the old ruined street. "To explain the logical basis on which WorldDiver is based, first we have to start with your understanding of the world. Apprentice, how many forms does our world have?"

 

The giantess  looked down, holding a finger over her lips as she thought. "What do you mean by shapes?"

 

"Dont worry, it's a question I didnt expect you to answer." Spreading his hands, Grimm brought up a blue and green sphere in front of him. "If we start from the point that this is our world, you have to understand shapes as places inside and outside of our world at once" Clicking on the right hand, two new spheres appeared surrounding the original. One, the smallest and of an intense white was placed on top of the original one, while the second one began to orbit around the original, being identical to this one except for using red and yellow as colors.

"The higher sphere is the Hona, the place where our hearts go when our earthly lives end"

 

"And the other?"

 

"Well... This is going to be complicated to understand, so I'd prefer if you have questions, keep them for when I finished" Erin nodded serious and focused, something Grimm appreciates. "It has always been said that magic comes from the heart... but the reason why some people... Actually, they are the majority, it doesnt matter...

Really, the correct phrase isnt that they are not able to listen to their hearts ... the correct thing would be to say that their hearts are unable to connect with the place where the magic comes from.

To express it correctly, We extract the magic using our heart as a link... or in my case, the shadow of Razzir. And not only magic, divine clarity is also something that works as a connection! There are few gods who have told me things like that in times of great tension they could hear a mysterious voice that helped them to regain control... and there are few heroes who have managed to hear several voices from their hearts, giving rise to concepts like the double spellcasters or the shamans.

Several years ago, a Phromecia research group led by the illustrious Grand Chancellor Merlinus discovered the origin of both events... the Wonderland as Merlinus baptized it. Wonderland is... as if this world were reflected in a mirror, a place where there is no natural life but a constant and gigantic flow of magic everywhere, one that would kill any living being that tried to live there. But although there are no living beings, any construction, destruction or modification of the land that occurs here will be replicated in the Wonderland.

According to the latest statistical studies of Phromecia, 45% of the hearts of humans and demons are able to connect with the Wonderland, extracting pure magic from it and then weave and build spells. Any questions?"

 

Erin nodded, raising a hand with two raised fingers. "Two words: Ama...zing..."

 

"It's not a question, but I share the emotion with you, apprentice. Since the discovery of Wonderland 40 years ago, there are many magicians, inventors, geniuses in general who have tried to take advantage of one way or another: From motors that use pure magic instead of Branese crystals to crazy things like portals that would use the Wonderland to cover even greater distances than our current Walker stamps..."

 

"Since I've never hear talking about any of those things, I can assume that for now they're just theories" Erin said with a smile from ear to ear. "All theories... except the WorldDiver, right?"

 

Grimm could not contain his emotion, beginning to applaud his apprentice. "Bingo! This will surprise you... but WorldDiver is not a personal spell of mine, the merit falls on a small team that we form together with Merlinus.

My personal version of WorldDiver, although it is not exclusive and even if it is vain that I say it, is the most efficient and practical of all, because while the others focused on power... I preferred to give it a different perspective" And while Grimm finished speaking, the teacher extended his arms, letting himself fall backwards. 

 

And... before Erin's watchful eye, Grimm sank on the floor as if it were water, until splashing drops that became pieces of earth in the air. "Ma ... Master? ... What the hell ..." Erin got up quickly, throwing the book on the floor as she ran to where Grimm had disappeared, hitting the ground noticing its usual hardness. Startled, Erin began to hit the ground, trying to force Grimm out.

 

"Dont bother, dear apprentice!" Erin raised her head, hearing Grimm's voice in the air, as if she were in another room. "WorldDiver is based on the concept of entry / exit, allowing a wide range of options: from moving quickly through the Wonderland to surprise the enemy, overcome obstacles or simply to attack from impossible angles" Grimm's voice not only sounded of an echo of distance... it was also accompanied by a nuance almost of humidity, as if he were speaking from under the water.

"Look up, apprentice!" Erin obeyed instantly, watching her teacher stand on one of the stone walls, walking naturally through it ... although when Erin fixed a little more, Grimm's feet remained inside the stone, which became liquid as the teacher came down it. "The amount of magic in Wonderland alters its own gravity, allowing... 'to swim' through the air of Wonderland"

 

Erin shook her head, trying to understand all the information thrown almost by a cannon at her. "On paper I think I understand it..."

 

"Dont worry, apprentice. The book will guide you through the whole process of learning and mastering the WorldDiver"

 

Slowly, Grimm began to sink back into the wall, leaving Erin screaming desperately."Wait wait wait! The book?! And you?"

 

"You dont think... i'm goint to stay here step by step explaining conjugation, right? You have the first mystery of the book for it, pages from 10 to 18" Said Grimm's head, the last thing that remained outside the wall.

"I have issues to attend, so I'll leave you food made and I'll go to Floreanis. See you tonight, apprentice!" Alone, abandoned to her fate with a book as a tutor ... and a silly face worthy of hanging over the family fireplace.

 

 

---

 

 

3:00, three hours after Grimm's departure.

 

"WorldDiver!" Erin shouted, conjugating the spell as she dropped on her back... crashing again with the grass. "Damn it... what could I do wrong?"

Rolling across the floor, the giantess came to her book, open and pinned with stones by the double page on WorldDiver. "Entrance, Wonderland, magic skin, liquid form, surface... I've said it all!" Moody, Erin lay on her back, staring up at the clear blue sky. "If Grimm were here he would say something like... we've been together for a short time, I have no idea how that idiot would say to me..." Sighing, Erin got up again with the book in her hands. There was no time to waste resting, thought the giantess, because the huge book was not going to unravel its secrets by itself.

"WorldDiver!" The giantess shouted again, obtaining the same result. "WorldDiver!" The result was the same.

"WorldDiver!"                           "WorldDiver!"                                         "WorldDiver !!!!"     

                      "WorldDiver!"                              "WorldDiver!"                                          "WORLDDIVER!!!!!"

Dozens of attempts, dozens of mistakes... but none of them could snatch Erin's smile.

 

From the other side of the Pillar of the Walker, Grimm watched the scene amazed by the perseverance of the giantess. So absorbed was he with the scene that he did not even hear the footsteps behind his chair.

"It's always like this? What a persevering girl..." Sitting next to Grimm, the scarred old man offered a cup of coffee to his friend

"For now it's just her first training... but I told you Hector! Erin is a bighead, surrendering isnt in his dictionary except for certain matters that are irrelevant. What do you think of her technique?"

 

Hector remained silent for a few seconds, scratching his bald head with one hand while removing the cup with the other. "It reminds me of you intending to complete the WorldDiver... and dont take it for a compliment"

 

"You know me too well, old fox! I've been watching her for a long time, and I has not stopped seeing me reflected in her actions... Although I didnt expect her to be a princess... let alone a legatee girl! Imagine how powerful she can become if you combine her inheritance of three souls with my secrets! Think about it, Hector... we can stand before one of the greatest heroes that Paradiso has ever seen..."

 

Hector choked back a laugh, amazed to see his old friend so excited. No matter how hard he tried, the counselor was unable to remember Grimm so smiling. "Dont sell the bear's skin so soon, Grimm... and if fate wants Erin to become a Goddess?... or a memory in her acquaintances?"

 

"Good heavens, Hector! Dont be so pessimistic! You are seeing the same as me! They know you as tHector, the scout of heroes! The great counselor of Iiion and administrator of the assembly Paradiso-Inferno! Dont hide your admiration for my apprentice, old friend!" Sipping the entire cup in one gulp, Grimm sank into his chair, expecting to hear his friend's sincere opinion.

 

"...Erin, without running a face-to-face exam... she has enormous potential, one that since the time of Iskar and Grand I hadnt seen..." Grimm quickly got up from the chair, only to be restrained by the hand of Hector. "But Grimm ... you must remember something... you are not a hero. You are the most opposite of a hero I know.

Heroes arent born of wanting, but of duty. A hero follows his heart blindly, because that's all he needs... a man without a heart like you cant teach Erin something like that-"

 

"What are you saying..." Grimm sat down, hands folded across his chest. "Is it that I should get those lessons from real heroes? The storytellers still owe me a couple of favors, I could ask them to warn Iskar-"

 

"IDIOT!" Hector shouted furiously, getting up and grabbing Grimm by the shoulders. "Grimm, your path will cross Erin path someday... is that what you want?"

 

Grabbing the arms of his friend, Grimm under his head, laughing softly. "Hector... what an honor you care about me!" Hector looked away, feeling embarrassed to worry about such an idiot. "But... as you said, I am a man without a heart .. living a time that doesnt belong to me. The story should always continue, and the actors know what role they must fulfill"

 

"You're an idiot topped, Grimm" Hector released him, walking towards the pillar of the walker. "So ... Gurian, eh? I always saw him as an idiot with too much faith and a longing for unnecessary justice... but to the point of threatening war? The church of Memoris will not go to any war without permission-"

 

"I'm not afraid of what Gurian can or cant do... as you said, he's just a two-meter idiot too passionate about his job; what scares me the fracture that can create between the brotherhood of Paradiso and Inferno. I planned to pay him a visit one of these years... but now? Erin is my apprentice, and her offense I make it mine"

 

"Erin is the latest in a series of offenses that have put you in too many terrible situations"

 

"What can I say? I'm too passionate! I want to leave my mark on the world, so that, at least, they have something to follow when they finally see the light" Grimm narrowed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "It's time to do things well, Hector... and I would appreciate it if you helped me for one last time... who knows, maybe even the future queen of Vontalba will reward you with something!"

 

"I'm too old for the rewards to be what moves me... If Erin really has managed to fan the spark of that fire of yours, then helping you to burn again would be the greatest of honors, old friend" Hector looked at the giantess, beginning to devise a way to help the giantess and Grimm at the same time. "Give me a few days, and I think I can organize everything" Grimm remained silent, not following his friend ... neither was it a sensation too unusual for him, sincerely.

 

 

 

---

 

 

Erin kept insisting on her training, which gave Grimm the tranquility of walking around the capital calmly, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the water currents.

Floreanis, the capital of Iiion, was built around the giant sword that according to legend Iiion always carried with him. The sword, more than 100 meters high, was so deeply embedded in the ground that the underground rivers were cut, redirecting its waters to the surface, cascading around the steel of the blade.A kind of oasis that the followers of Iiion accepted as the last gift of their god, building a gigantic walled city surrounded by flowers.

And one of the few places in the world where Grimm owned a home.

 

The teacher smiled greeting the neighbors while he stopped in front of the garden of his house in the outer ring... much cleaner than one would expect after almost 5 years without coming to collect the letters.

With a slight sense of uneasiness, Grimm opened the garden door, walking along the clean tiles until he stopped in front of the front door, where the mailbox hung.

Residence Grimm: Grimm, Emmile Gughyn, Ehrwald Gughyn.

 

"Ahhh... that explains why everything is so clean! I'm glad to see that they finally accepted my offer!" Grimm shrugged smiling as he made the key appear. "Sweetie! I'm already home!"

 

Nor waiting for the door to open was necessary, he beginning to hear her run from the kitchen. Grimm saw her peek into the hall, as young and beautiful as ever... except for the paunch in front of her. "Uncle Grimm!" Emmile said running as her belly allowed, opening her arms and lifting Grimm in a hug too strong for an ordinary person.

 

"The air of the city has been good for you, right? Tell me it'snt from the dwarf... "Grimm joked as Emmile released him. The girl already seemed almost completely human, not counting her abnormal height and her silvery tail and scaly wings, bent and collected.

 

"Dont call him a dwarf! Eral has become a reliable husband and a great adult!" With a smile on his lips, Emmile patted his stomach a couple of times. "And soon, a great father!"

 

"You thought to warn?" Self-rising to pass, Grimm went to the room, before dark and full of books... now a bright room full of life and love, with a large sofa in front of a crystallographic screen. "Good heavens... where does the dwarf work? This doesnt look cheap"

 

"He works with Hector in the palace, assistant of the royal alchemist!" Emmile tried to go to the kitchen, stopped by Grimm who grabbed the end of her tail. "Dont look at it that much, the draconic tear has given me the opportunity to live with my own and with my love, I dont need to look more human"

 

"I dont think I could make any adjustments either..." Grimm pulled her down, forcing her to sit on the sofa. "Pregnant women should not work... and less with that package that you carry, that seems about to explode" The ex-dragon growled annoyed, something that Grimm let pass while walking to the kitchen completely renovated. "How does it feel to stop being a king of nature? Everyday life is a lot of trouble for you?"

 

"How do you think it can feel? Now I live among humans, which is my dream... and I dont need an empty square to see my husband! I'm still a little too big for human doors but it's not a matter of complaining either!" Emmile couldnt stop smiling, nor could she want to."

 

Your brothers have also become accustomed to their new bodies?"

 

"Of course, uncle Grimm! Oh! Please, you have to stay in the city for a couple of weeks! The doctors say that I should give birth between yesterday and at the latest on next Wednesday!! I want... no, I need!... No, I demand that you be here to see the birth of my daughter!" The teacher returned with a pitcher of water, watching as the dragon dragon pleaded almost on the verge of tears.

 

"How am I going to say no to my niece, silly? "The dragon clenched her fists smiling, excited to be able to gather almost her entire family. "Also, it's perfect for me. I'm training with my apprentice in the outside, in the ruins of the Titans-"

 

"Your... apprentice? Your? I cannot believe it! So cool! Grimm the loner, the black shadow of Paradiso... have an apprentice? What a news!" Emmile shrieked with joy, bouncing too much on the sofa for Grimm's pleasure.

 

"Just relax! You dont want your little dragontine to believe it's time to leave!"

 

"You dont have to worry! My sweet little dragontine has been kicking constantly for 3 months... no one has more desire to leave than her!" And although it was wonderful to say, Emmile automatically dropped on the couch, an almost supernatural exhaustion pinning her to the cushions.

 

"Think about thi ... your daughter will be born as a hybrid, so she will have all the opportunities in the world, both as a human and as an archdragon. Every kick and every stroke will have been worth it to see her smile" Stretching her arms, Emmile took Grimm's hands in her.

 

"And you are the one who has allowed all this... you are the best uncle in the world... and we will never be able to pay you what you have given us, none of my brothers had found our place in the world without your efforts"

 

"Dont get maudlin with me... if I remember correctly you were the one who took me in your jaws to make me face the old bighead!"

 

"Dont remember that kind of nasty stuff!" Emmile complained as she lay on the couch, resting her head on Grimm's legs and her hands on her stomach. "Let's stop talking about my bestial past... how is she?"

 

"Who?"

 

"Your apprentice, fool! It has to be someone incredible for you to have decided to take her under your wings"

 

Catching Emmile's hair in one hand and the other over her belly. Grimm threw back his head. "Her name is Erin, and yes, it's absolutely great. She is a giantess, and a girl will also be a legatee! She's 20 years old... and a lot, a lot of potential" Anticipating her niece's thoughts, Grimm hit her nose. "I'm not going to let her come until she learns her first lesson; dont try to convince me otherwise"

 

"Oh, come on! I want to meet her! If it's your apprentice, it's part of the family!"

 

"Yeah, let's talk about that part of our family" Grimm said suddenly, Emmile automatically knew what was coming. "What do you know about your father? I dont see him since the wedding of your youngest sister... Ersis? Eyni? I never remember who goes before"

 

"Dont pretend to forget the names, you never forget a name!" Lowering her tone, Emmile put her hand on Grimm's. "I went 6 months ago to give him the news that he was going to become grandfather... and invite him to come..." The silence was all the answer that Grimm needed. "He said he had to clear his mind, and he flew north... and since then Eral has not been able to find him or anyone who has sighted him..."

 

"You know how is the ... a bighead too proud" Emmile nodded as they both sighed.

 

 

 

---

 

2 hours later.

 

"WorldDiver!"  "WorldDiver!" "WorldDiver!!!!"             "WorldDiver!"  "WorldDiverWorlDiverWorldDiver!"

"............................." Panting after panting, Erin began to concentrate her magic, throwing herself into the final attempt. "WORLDDIVER!!!!!" With all her strength, Erin kicked the ground... getting through it as if she put her leg in a bathtub.

 

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY GOD! HOW MANY HOURS HAPPENED?!"The giantess shouted excitedly, shooing all the birds that passed through the ruins. "Now to wait for Grimm to come back to show him how great I-"

 

The giantess fell down suddenly, noticing how the ground hardens around her foot. First a slight pull, and then several strong pulls in a row. "What page... say is temporary?" The silence answered. "WorldDiver!" The giantess shouted, without result.

"No... no... I've done it once... calm down, Erin! You cant conjugate well if you're nervous! But how am I not going to be nervous if I have my foot buried at 30 centimeters of solid earth mixed with titanic causeway? For the love of the gods, I am strong but not so strong as to break something designed to hold beings of 50 meters or more!" Taking a deep breath, the giantess calmed down enough to try to pull her leg again.

Faced with the refusal to leave, Erin decided to do the most mature on their part.

Pull harder, more times and screaming more.                                                                       

 

........

 

Enough to ignore the thunderous flutter and the shadow that descended behind her... At least, until the shadow landed raising a great gale.

The giantess lifted her head quickly, whispering to herself. "Definitely, this is not my week"

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

"WHERE IS GRIMM?" The giant dragon roared without hesitation, so close to Erin that the giantess had to cover her ears. "I CAN SMELL HER BOLD CONCESSION!"

"YOU ONLY KNOW SPEAKING SCREAMING, MISTER DRAGON?" The giantess answered furiously while trying to turn without success, the compact earth gripping her foot with the expected strength of a titanic construction

"... I'm sorry. Accept my apology, it has not been appropriate to scream at you without seeing that bastard with a bad sense for fashion" Much nicer than Erin expected after her last encounter with an animal, no doubt. "Where's Grimm?" Erin noticed the dragon's head descending, looking at the giant's leg before whispering in a dismissively ironic tone. "Ohh! Learning to conjugate WorldDiver?"

"Well... yes!" She replied like a spring. "And now, if you are so kind to help me I would really appreciate it"

Lifting the flight, the dragon crossed over the head of the giantess, landing in front of her. Only with his neck and slightly upright body was more than enough for both of them to look at each other face to face, no yielding in a duel of glances. Navy blue scales adorned his body, and his wings, claws and fangs oozed pure electricity.

"I could help you, but it really doesnt interest me. Who I am interested in is the person who has impregnated you with that disgusting essence of superiority and lily perfume"

"So it's lily perfume? I already said that Grimm always smelled too good... "The giantess was glad to finally confirm her suspicions, only for the situation to return to slap her. "If you want to know where Grimm is, before you help me out"

"Pathetic... that's how you try to negotiate your freedom?" The dragon laughed out loud and forced, searching (and getting) to further annoy Erin. "You are too young to be his lover... what relationship do you have?"

The giantess knew it was time to tip the balance in her favor. Pointing her right hand towards the book, Erin began to smile and take out her chest (a curve still very childish, although no one could blame her for it. The sexual attributes of a giant always increase in its last phase of growth)
"You meet Erin, Grimm's apprentice! To speak to me like that is to speak like that to my teacher!"

The dragon looked at the book for a few seconds, before looking back at the giantess with narrowed eyes. "Apprentice? What do you mean, you're ... Grimm's apprentice? Grimm would never have an apprentice! That bastard hates traveling accompanied!"

"Until now! I, Erin, have managed to win the heart of my teacher! His mystery book is proof of that! I'm sure if you know Grimm you'll recognize his book!"

"I have never seen that book" And with those five words, Erin's entire defense sank. The giantess instantly lost her composure, one of her shoulders sunk slightly. The dragon gave another laugh, this time more natural. "You're lucky the dragons can feel the hearts of the humans like you, Grimm's apprentice!"

"Then...?" Erin's voice was still ragged. "Y...you believe ... me?Thanks! Gods, Thanks!"

"Either you're telling the truth, or you're even a better liar than Grimm... and I very much doubt that you'll be able to lie at that level." Rising on his two hind legs, the dragon flapped both wings, sending a gust of wind directly to the giantess. "If you allow me to steal the phrase... You are facing Myddrin, sovereign of the storms and devouring storms!"
The giantess tried to cover herself of the wind, only to notice how everything around her becomes slower ... or it would be better to say that Erin's mind had completely cleared. "Try again to use WorldDiver, the result should be better now that I have cleared your heart"

Taking a breath, Erin channeled her magic again. "WorldDiver!" She screamed while doing as much force as she could. Her leg came out smooth as if she ended up leaving her bathtub in the castle, although the force exerted was so great that the giantess ended up falling on her ass.

"Not bad, although you should practice a little more. WorldDiver isnt based on entry/exit spell as if it were a door. Rather... you should see it as a corridor, something to go through, not something to open and close"

"Not only can you clear my heart, but you also give advice about WorldDiver? Speaking of multipurpose..." The giantess rose slowly, testing her liberated leg. "Thanks, I guess"

The dragon smiled as it turned towards the book. "Dont thank me, I only do this so that Grimm has no choice but to help me. If I remember correctly, our scoreboard was 0:0 ... now he owes me a favor"


"I dont know what you're talking about ... but Grimm is not here right now"


"DAMN IT!" Myddrin shouted again, turning sharply. "You should have started out there! I dont have much time left!" Shaking his head, Myddrin tried to calm down. "You know ... you know when he's going to come back? Or where can I go to look for him?"

"He has gone to the capital, leaving me alone practicing WorldDiver"

The dragon remained silent, raising its head. "The capital is out of my reach, so I guess I'll stay here for now. You said you were practicing WorldDiver, right?" The giantess nodded, picking up the book and going back to the first page.

"I've only managed to make it work once... and you see how I finished. Damn, that the portal is temporary is something important to not write it!"

"Dont despair, when I met Grimm he and Grand were still consistently failing to execute the WorldDiver correctly. It is not a spell too complex in its conjugation, so the greatest weight is to visualize it correctly and manage the flow of magic of each word of the spell. In these moments, the practice is the only thing that can help you" The dragon was much kinder than Erin expected, thought the giantess as Myddrin lay on the ground. "How tall are you, girl?"

"4 meters and a half, and dont call me girl. I told you, my name is Erin"

"4 and a half? Damn, my bones get old... in the old days I could stand upright much taller" His lament sounded a lot like Erin, who covered her mouth to not seem rude.

"You remind me of my grandmother, complaining that her old armor is too big"

"The passage of time takes its toll on all mortals, and although they dont want to admit it to many gods as well. Few are those really young eternally...
One day, you are the guardian of unknown territory, preventing the unconscious from killing themselves inside. The following week, all your children have grown and decided to want to live among humans... and the next week, the god who gave you a name gives you a check and forces you to retire..."

"Do you hold a grudge against him?" The giantess sat next to the dragon, enjoying both the cooler afternoon wind.

"Resentment? I'm his servant, and it's not like we've fired each other in anger. He offered to be his voice and eyes among mortals ... although what he really asked me to do was make peace with my children. The check was his excuse for me to choose the second option.
Sitting on top of the world, Myddrin was a name that inspired fear in hearts and I just needed to raise my wings to make them flee... now they offer me food and raise their swords to protect me as if he were just a helpless old man..."

"They see that the one who previously protected them from their own folly now deserves to be taken care of back, you should not take it so badly!"

"For you it's easy to say, so young and still with so much to live... I've already fought all my battles, I've raised my children... and now I have nothing left. I cant keep fighting... and if Grimm refuses to help me, I will not be able to talk with my children again"

The giantess began to suffer for the dragon, approaching more unconsciously. "Did you fight with them or something?"

"Fight..." The dragon laughed without desire. "I dont know why I'm telling you all this ... I suppose they're nothing but ravings of old man." The giantess hurried to deny him, slightly cheering old Myddrin. "You know that more and more dragons are choosing to live with humans, right? The reason is because they have chosen to follow Amun's guidelines.

Many are the species that have become extinct when they decided to maintain the purity of their genes instead of following the teachings of Amun and joining humanity...Dont get confused, I'm not saying it's wrong to join humanity... Amun created the Huma and Reslae genes as a cure for the inevitable plague of metallic blood... and there is no greater honor for a follower of Amun than to join humanity.

Only... it's hard to change your mind when you reach a certain age. They wanted to become hybrids, they wanted to make their lives with their families... and they did, although I didnt stop asking them to stop. And I really dont know why I asked them not to do it! The good thing is that in the end they managed to fulfill their dream... everything... thanks to unpretentious help of Grimm and Grand"

"Grimm?" Erin's surprise was greater. Grimm didnt seem like the person who would help someone so much without wanting something in return.

"The same one you saw and danced... Grimm and Grand found a recipe without requiring sacrifices to create Draconic Tears, allowing them to become human. And dont think I've disappeared from their lives, okay!? I continue to attend their weddings, and continue to visit often! They will have chosen that life, but I'm not going to get away from my children!"

"That is a very positive attitude! You're a great father, you know?" Erin's smile was sincere, something that Myddrin could see without even reading her heart. And when the dragon didnt answer back, Erin could see that the trouble spot was close. "And something has happened that has driven you away?"

"My firstborn... is pregnant"

"Oh gods! Congratulations, Grandpa Myddrin!" This time, Erin's enthusiasm was even unpleasant... but not in the bad way.

"They see that the one who previously protected them from their own folly now deserves to be taken care of back, we should not take it so badly!"

 

"For you it's easy to say, so young and still with so much to live... I've already fought my battle, I've raised my children... and now I have nothing left. I cant keep fighting... and if Grimm refuses to help me, I will not be able to talk with my children again"

 

The giantess began to suffer for the dragon, approaching more unconsciously. "Did you have a fight or something?"

 

"Fight..." The dragon laughed without desire. "I dont know why I'm telling you all this... I suppose they're nothing but ravings of old man." The giantess hurried to deny him, slightly cheering old Myddrin. "You know that more and more dragons are choosing to live with humans, right? The reason is because they have chosen to follow Amun's guidelines. Many are the species that have become extinct when they decided to maintain the purity of their genes instead of following the teachings of Amun and joining humanity ...

Dont get confused, I'm not saying it's wrong to join humanity... Amun created the Huma and Reslae genes as a cure for the inevitable plague of metallic blood... and there is no greater honor for a follower of Amun than to join our brothers and sisters in the humanity. Its only... it's hard to change your mind when you reach a certain age.

They wanted to become hybrids, they wanted to make their lives with their families ... and they did, although I didnt stop asking them to stop. And I really do not know why I asked them not to do it! The good thing is that in the end they managed to fulfill their dream... Everything... thanks to the disinterested help of Grimm and Grand"

 

"Grimm?" Erin's surprise was greater. Grimm didnt seem like the person who would help someone so much without wanting something in return.

 

"The same one you saw and danced... Grimm and Grand found a recipe without requiring sacrifices to create Draconic Tears, allowing them to become human. Dont you dare to think I've disappeared from their lives, okay? I continue to attend all of their weddings, and continue to visit often! They will have chosen that life, but I'm not going to get away from it!"

 

"That is a very positive attitude! You're a great father, you know? "Erin's smile was sincere, something that Myddrin could see without even reading her heart. And when the dragon did not answer back, Erin could see that the trouble spot was close. "And something has happened that has driven you away?"

 

"My firstborn... is pregnant"

 

"Oh gods! Congratulations, Grandpa Myddrin!" This time, Erin's enthusiasm was even unpleasant... but not in the bad way.

 

"My first granddaughter is about to be born... and it will not be the only one that comes soon. All these years, we have followed separate paths... and now, I dont know if I want it to continue like this"

 

"You want to be there for her, right?"

 

"So weird is it? I am his grandfather! But... what kind of grandfather do I want to be if if she cries when she sees me? If I cant hold her between my claws for being a tiny pink ball? When my children were small, they were all dragons... but my granddaughter will not be. She will be born in a new world, one that belongs to you, to the youngs ones... a world of gods and heroes, of gigantic advances, like those strange machines that advance on rails"

 

"You mean branese trains?"

 

"Exact! To think that something like a simple Branese crystal can make an iron beast like that work is something that escapes me many times! You live in a wonderful world... and I dont want to stay in the past..."

 

"You will not stay in the past! Surely your children and your grandchildren will see the effort you are making! A family must... must stay together! A member shouldnt be left behind if others can avoid it!"

 

"You're wise for your age, Erin. I predict a good future" Erin blushes embarrassed, looking at the ground. "I guess you know what I need from your teacher?"

 

"A draconian tear to become a hybrid" The dragon snorted feigning annoyance, opening only one eye. "The things we do for love, right?" The dragon nodded before see how Erin turn to the Pillar of the Walker. "Wait here, okay? I'm going to look for Grimm and bring him here right now-"

 

"NOTHING ABOUT THAT!" Myddrin got up quickly, grabbing the giantess by the neck of her shirt and carrying it to the book. "Keep practicing the WorldDiver"

 

With shrunken shoulders, arms raised and completely confused, the giantess turned around. "I was going to help you!"

 

"And to skip the lesson! I want Grimm to owe me a favor, and one as big as this would assure me of the that fucking tear! Start practicing, I'll help you cleanse your heart until you can conjugate WorldDiver fast enough not to need my sensory push" Myddrin was blunt, moving and lying down next to the book. The giantess could not believe the situation... although the face of few friends of the dragon helped him swallow, no doubt.

 

 

---

 

 

A good snack in good company had left the good of Grimm more than happy, saying goodbye happily to Emmile before returning back to the ruins.

The ex-dragon was the living image of how to rebuild a life, and Grimm was glad to have given them the keys and invited them to live in the capital. And although not having seen Ehrwald weighed a bit, there were many days ahead of them to see the future father of his niece-granddaughter. And that led to Grimm thinking again about Emmile's words.

"If she's your apprentice, that makes her part of the family"

While they were completely true, bringing Erin to his world would only help the giantess to see how terrible her master really was... the evil and selfish acts far exceeded the honest acts on the scale.

A minor problem that had two possible easy solutions:

A) Be honest with Erin and recognize all the bad and the good, helping the giantess to form her own opinion about him.

B) Lying shamelessly and trying to hide all her crimes until the giantess got over her... or until he died.

An honest man would choose the first, a wise one? The second; and Grimm considered himself a great sage.

 

And without pause but without haste, Grimm had arrived at the Shrine of the Walker. It wasnt too crowded, the typical adventurers waiting to use pillars to Unexplored Territories; the only thing that really caught the attention was the adventurous Reslae who was trying to understand one of the maps of the entrance.

Like most of her race, the young woman was dressed only in rags wrapped around her body, and being a Reslae means that her generous hips, her huge breasts, her stuffed buttocks, her... thing and her muscles full of pure power... and also full of scars were covered by something clearly too scarce. (Thanks to Amun, this Reslae at least wore a sufficiently long loincloth)

A real danger to public morality, and because of the size of the girl's muscles and the jagged sword she carried in one hand, a real danger for anyone trying to explain it to her.

 

Grimm had enough practice with the Reslae tribes, so his new personality of trying to be correct for Erin sake made him take a step towards her, something that all the guards of the sanctuary appreciated at the time.

"Hey! What makes a Reslae as precious as your so far from home?" Grimm tried to be as casual and simple as possible, all in case it was the case that the girl was from some very inner tribe.

 

The Reslae turned to him, her mouth still slightly open with a small thread of saliva threatening to fall. "You know Ponoe?" Her pronunciation wasnt the best in the world, but you could tell that Reslae had been rehearsing previously.

 

"I'm not sure, but I do know your family very well, dear. Where you come from?"

 

The Reslae took the question very seriously, sticking her sword into the ground (marble) and standing firm with the back completely straight, as if it were something they had been rehearsing. "Ponoe has beef... beet... been! She has been sent to meet Don Hector by order of the Great Mother!"

 

If Hector was involved in something with the Reslae, it means that it is something important. "I see... and what are you looking for on the map, Ponoe?"

 

"Ponoe looks for Mister Hector! Mother says that Ponoe must trust the storyteller brand, so Ponoe looks for Mister Hector on the storyteller map!"

 

"Ponoe, you look like a good girl-"

 

"Ponoe is not a girl! Ponoe being 10 years old and being named proud warrior of the Great Mother! Ponoe plans give birth to great genes and powerful warriors!" Grabbing the cloth of her loincloth, Grimm hurriedly grabbed her arm before she could commit an act for which he was sure to imprison her.

 

"I dont doubt it, Ponoe! Believe me, I know the Rasleas world and your traditions... So, seeing how strong you are, I believe that you are trained up and down to pass some incredible genes, I dont need to see it in person! Just... has Grandma Malke explained to you that outside Wild Draylog, humans dont usually show their naked bodies in public?"

 

The conversation was extremely uncomfortable for Grimm, but avoiding a misunderstanding to Hector fell into those things that someone decent should do.

"Of course! Ponoe knows that not Raslaes are ashamed of their bodies, Mister Grimm!"

 

Grimm walked away confused, trying to remember Ponoe's face. "We... do we know each other?"

 

The Reslae nodded proudly. "Ponoe memorize face gentlemen friends of Great Mother pictograph before leaving to fulfill mission! Grimm, Grand, Hector, Iskar, Maria and Malus! Great Mother say that Ponoe can trust them if Ponoe has problems!" That explained why the Reslae had not responded to the salute using her sword, Grimm thought.

 

"Well, if you trust me, you should let me ask a friend to guide you to Hector?"

 

"Ponoe trust Grimm! Ponoe trust Grimm friends!" She wasnt the most lucid Reslae, but Ponoe had enough good heart to trust the humas.

 

Grimm looked at his side, gesturing to one of the guards. "Look Ponoe, this is Guard, okay? Guard will take you to Hector so you can fulfill your mission, understood?" The Reslae nodded to the poor guard, who silently cursed having chosen that turn. "And besides ..." To make sure everything was going smoothly, Grimm snapped his fingers, making one of Erin's winter T-shirts appear. "Ponoe, put this on, it's a tradition in this city"

 

The Reslae didnt seem very happy for the order, because as for all her kind, showing her scars obtained in battle was a symbol of authority and power that one had to wear at all times. Still, Ponoe put on the shirt, which covered her from the neck to the ankles, a sort of woolen dress that would keep her decent until the castle... hopefully.

"Ponoe dont forget kindness, Mister Grimm! Ponoe return favor in battle!"

 

"As you wish, dear! Go carefully, okay? "The question was addressed to the guard, who nodded still scared. The two left the walker's sanctuary, leaving behind an exhausted Grimm.

"Malke must be planning something... and if Hector is the one who she want, it can only mean good news for the assembly of Paradiso-Inferno... is this my punishment for having enjoyed a good hot meal while Erin trained alone? If so... I deserve it, without a doubt"

 

Grimm entered his private sanctuary without talking to anyone else, lighting the pillar and sitting down to wait.

5 long minutes of waiting to reflect on how he had just prevented a Reslae girl from taking off her humongous cock in the middle of a sanctuary... He can only wish it was not the third time that he had to do the same thing.

 

 

---

 

 

The pillar of the walker in the ruins began to shine, opening the portal. "Erin! my apprentice! How have you-"

 

Myddrin flew at full speed, intercepting Grimm before he could even finish leaving and carrying in his jaws. "YOU DAMM BASTARD! MAKE ME WAIT LIKE THIS?!" Taking off the flight, Myddrin released Grimm when they had both passed the 100-meter barrier. "YOU WILL PAY THEM, ALL OF ONE!"

Grimm crossed his arms over his head, catching a glimpse of how Myddrin fired his flashing breath, impacted directly on the still dazed master. Like a shooting star, Grimm fell to the ground.

The impact was such that all the grass around was burned by electricity even running through his body.

 

Where was Erin during all this? On her knees on the floor, with the mouth open completely open and her eyes blank. Myddrin went from a kind teacher who was helping with the WorldDiver to a wild and violent beast in less than 3 seconds... The giantess was still trying to understand what had just happened.

 

The dragon landed next to Grimm's body, staring at him with his eyes still injected with blood. "It is done? Do you feel better now?" Grimm asked still motionless on the floor, his voice much less broken than Erin expected.

 

"Yes, enough for now" Myddrin's expression went from pure rage to a more friendly one, while Grimm got up quietly and wiped the dirt off his shirt.

 

"You're lucky I'm wearing my armor pieces, staining this suit would have cost you an eye of your old face" The master grabbed his neck with both hands, turning his head slowly.

 

"You havent heard? Now I have money thanks to the salary for retiring-"

 

"No, You have not retired. Amun forced you to take your retirement after going almost a decade later"

 

Myddrin hit the ground frustrated. "False and empty words!! I'm not forced to retire, I'm still perfectly capable of continuing to do my job!"

 

"Really?" Snapping his fingers, Grimm brought up a small brush that looked extremely expensive. Kneeling on the ground, Grimm began to brush the clumps of grass still stuck in the armor of his legs. "That attack against me would have taken me minutes to recover; Now? 30 seconds. Old friend, you cant deny the passage of time... you are still you, but you must understand-"

 

"Dont you dare-" Myddrin rose on two legs, illuminating his jaws again. "Call me... WEAKLING!"

 

"I wasnt going to call you weakling! God, Myd! You are still powerful! You are just starting to lose strength because of the simple fact that your muscles are getting older and tired! Dont think you can cheat me by pretending to be able to spit another storm... it's too much for you to be out of breath"

 

Myddrin remained motionless for a few seconds, contemplative. "I hate you so much, Grimm" Falling back on all fours, Myddrin coughed several times, trying to catch his breath. "And I hate myself even more... In another time, I would have turned you into a lightning rod"

 

"We all get old, my friend" Grimm approached the dragon, giving him several pats on the leg. "It is the law of life... nor the gods get rid of it" And although dragon and teacher shared a precious moment, Grimm couldnt turn around to check if his apprentice was fine... well open-mouthed.

"Erin! Is something the matter? It seems you've seen a ghost!"

 

"You... you..." The giantess still couldnt get her thoughts in order, still completely gone from seeing her master get up so calm after such a blow.

 

"And this is nothing! Do you remember the friend who threw me off a cliff? "The giantess nodded twice, then turned her head to Myddrin and then turned back to Grimm. "Yep! but stop wasting time with nonsense!! Show time, my apprentice!"

Raising his fist to the sky, Grimm whispered something. At the time his hand began to shine with an intense crimson while in the area began to appear spheres of the same color covered with needles. "I present to you one of the mysteries of Grimm! Path of Love! Each of those spheres is designed to detect movement and shoot thousands of needles in less than 2 seconds!"

 

The giantess looked around, seeing how the spheres surrounded her. With a half-sided smile, the giantess closed her eyes. "WorldDiver 2!" Lunging forward, Erin dove into the ground seconds before ending up looking like a hedgehog.

 

Pride completely dominated Grimm, just so that a few touches on the back returned him to Paradiso. "Dont get your mind lost, idiot..." Myddrin said half laughing, infusing the confusion teacher.

Grimm began to look in all directions, looking for where reality will become liquid. The giantess still did not appear, worrying her teacher more and more. "You have a great apprentice, Grimm." Myddrin lay on the ground, still smiling.

"She hasnt only learned to use WorldDiver... she has also begun to experiment with it"

 

The teacher raised an eyebrow, curious to see what kind of ideas had been born from Erin's mind. "Did she tell you she's a legatee?"

 

"Do you think I'm too old to notice these things?... Your girl has a curious past, really. And as you know, Grimm..." Myddrin's smile was such that Grimm couldnt help but crush it. "Your girl has talent!"

Grimm turned quickly, feeling the echo of WorldDiver generating... but no matter how hard he looked at walls and floor, he could not see where the exit was. 337 years of age and accumulated wisdom, and Grimm could still be surprised.

 

By the time Grimm looked up, the giantess was ready and did not think to give her teacher time to react. "This is the result of letting me train with a storm dragon, master!" Erin yelled reappearing with her arms in X.

"Mystère de Grimm n.159!" The arms of the giantess were covered with electricity, forcing Grimm to use his own fists to stop the blow.

"Promised Thunder Express!" The intensity of the discharge was increasing, the rays that Erin enamanna became a blue increasingly alive.If Grimm could look away, all he would see would be Myddrin's stupid expression of superiority. As a teacher, having to be forced to dodge his apprentice's attack instead of blocking him was something that should make him deeply angry... but Grimm could only get excited.

 

"Mystère de Grimm n.19: Velocità della luce!" Vanishing in a flash of light, Grimm appeared several meters away as he watched Erin fall face down on the ground.Like the trunk of a tree, Erin ended up falling to the ground completely.

 

"Damn... hope you used WorldDiver to chase you!" The giantess had her face covered in dirt and grass, covering her bangs and the front of her hair.

 

"I was thinking about doing that, but after seeing that you have not only taken my WorldDiver... you have improved it and given your own personal touch, I had to quickly find a technique that would take me out of the place. 

Now let's go to the important thing... how? And that other spell? Where did it come from? My book only has 158 mysteries " Grimm crossed his arms, a position that although serious enough was accompanied by an expression of few friends, something that ended up scare the giantess.

 

And still, Erin decided to sit down and face her teacher. "To begin with answering your first question, I have been constantly practicing the WorldDiver to do what you did this morning to walk the walls... but for some reason it could not sustain itself adequately-"

 

"Oh... of course, the spell is set for my 70 kilos... you-"

 

"AGGG! Dont say it! "Erin pleaded desperately, crawling across the floor until she could grab her master by the shoulders. "Is it that you do not understand how painful it is for a girl to hear her weight said out loud?"

 

"Not even something..." The heart of a young damsel hid many secrets, thought Myddrin and Grimm at the same time. "Okay, I will not say it out loud. Equally, the reason is because I had not prepared the spell so that the entrance to the wonderland held a huge weight like yours" Erin stared emptily, before bending her defeated head.

"Nor can I say things like huge weight? Okay... gods, how complicated are you young girls"

 

The giantess looked down as she pinched her stomach below the shirt. "Now I feel like I should not even have dinner-"

 

"I have prepared a pumpkin lasagna at my niece's house before coming"

 

"...but since you are my teacher, I pretend that you have not said anything and normally dine by this time. Returning to the question, since I could not use the second part of the spell correctly, Myddrin suggested that I should conjugate a new ending of the spell.

And thanks to that idea, I created the WorldDiver 2! Instead of moving on a surface, I decided to appear from the heights to combine offensive spells with my strength and my... sigh... my weight to create a devastating combination"

 

Grimm scratched his chin, surprised at the idea of r03;r03;his apprentice. "Certainly, there have been times in which I have taken to messing with a version of WorldDiver not tied to surfaces... but dont get to document it for lack of remarkable results.

Good job, apprentice... very good job" Erin blushed completely, laughing as she rubbed the back of her neck. "And that new Grimm mystery? And before you say anything, I like the technique so I have no problem in including it in the book"

 

"Thanks, teacher! The truth is that the Promised Thunder Express has been a combined idea of r03;r03;Myddrin and mine. After completing and testing WorldDiver 2, I realized that using fire or ice spells in the fall I would put myself in a more risky situation than desired, so Myddrin suggested adapting one of his old spells-"

 

"The Thunderdrop! I thought that the shape of the spell reminded me of something!"

 

"Right" Myddrin replied, approaching the couple. "I may be too old to throw myself with such risky spells, but Erin is young and agile enough to execute them without losing the flow of combat"

 

"That's true..." Grimm gave a couple of applauses of admiration to the couple, before giving a stronger one while looking up at the sky. "Good work both for today. As it is getting late, we will fix the base in a moment with the other furniture that I have bought then we can have a good dinner together. And then..., you can take the opportunity to explain what you're doing here, Myddrin" The dragon growled softly, accepting the invitation without the possibility of refusing.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

"A draconian tear, eh?" Grimm leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and legs as he judged the dragon with his eyes. After a big dinner, the three of them rested around the table, with Erin lying on the floor rubbing her gut on one end and Myddrin curled up on the other, his head resting on his paws.

"The great Myddrin, devourer of storms, the one who kept silent for 3 years after screaming and cursing his children just for the crime ... of wanting to live with his human friends like the rest of the dragons?"

 

Erin turned her guilt aside, stopped rubbing her stomach to sit up and suffer through her line to look at the angry dragon. "That's not the story you've told me, Midi!"

 

The dragon looked away, feigning bewilderment. "I dont remember having shouted at my children... but maybe the silence it's something I should have commented"

 

"You screamed at your children! You threw me off a cliff when I brought them the tears! You may have softened over the years, seeing how your children married and were happy in their new bodies... but my friend, the facts dont lie" Grimm was more right than a saint, and Myddrin knew it perfectly.

"That's why I am very surprised that you want a tear for you now"

 

The dragon said nothing, looking alternately at Erin and at the stone roof of the makeshift shelter. "Grimm" Erin said trying to soften the mood. "Midi may have said some things before-"

 

"No Erin, I appreciate the gesture... but this is something I have to do myself" Myddrin stood up, going around the table until he was face to face with Grimm. "I know very well the scene that I provoked at that time, Grimm. And I know very well that I am a hypocrite for now want a tear... But I think this situation is the result of my decisions and I cant leave it alone ...

If I look back, all I've ever done has been to protect the 'Bastion of storms' and the fools who thought that being a territory created by Amun would be easy to conquer... While my wife fought with the gods, I watched the Bastion.

While my children were born, I watched the Bastion. When my wife left my children and me... after I buried her, I went back to protect the Bastion.

I have told myself a thousand and one times that I was doing the right thing... that it was my duty to fulfill the sacred mission of Amun... and when I blinked, my children were already adults.

Adults with their own lives, adults who like so many dragons began to wish to live more normal lives, to live in the world that humanity inherited... to be part of it. When you, the dwarf and Grand brought the stones... when the dwarf asked me for Emmile's hand in holy matrimony... I didnt know what to do. I realized... that I didnt know that my children wanted, that I wasnt the father that I should be for them.

I went into anger thinking that they were fleeing from their destinies as guardians, without understanding that they were following their destiny ... and their hearts... "

 

"And what has changed, if I can known?" And although Grimm already knew the answer, it was more important to check if Myddrin also knew it.

 

"Emmile's pregnancy. I'm going ... I'm going to be a grandfather ... and my children want me to be part of their new lives ... even though I fail them. I wasnt there to see them grow ... and even so ... they ... "Myddrin raised his head, unable to stop crying. "They have forgiven me ... they want me to be part of the life of my grandchildren ... and I dont know how to do it! Everything I've always done ... has been to protect the bastion ... and now Amun wants me to find a new place ... my children want it to be a part of their lives ... aand I do not even know who I am beyond the guard of the Bastion of the storms.

All I know ... is that I want to be able to hug my granddaughter. I want her to smile when she sees her grandfather ... and for that I must stop being the monster that I am and join the rest of my people ... join the rest of humanity"

Any other time; Myddrin would have been beaten unconscious for committing an act like crying in public.Those times were too far away already.

 

Grimm decided to let Myddrin wallow a little more in his misery, approaching Erin so he could whisper properly. "What do you think, apprentice? Should we look for a tear for old Myddrin?"

 

"What kind of question is that, master?! Everyone deserves to have a place to belong! To abandon Midi right now would be to deny him that right! I didnt know him when he did everything you said ... but the man ... dragon that I see before me is one who has reflected and intends to find his new place in the world!" Erin is a complete idealist, thought Grimm as he went back to his chair.

 

And that wasnt bad, the world deserves from time to time to have people like her to improve. "Old Myddrin... I'll get you the Draconian Tear-" Myddrin raised his head quickly to say thank you, but Grimm stepped forward. "But it will not be easy! We work against the clock, because your granddaughter is already showing up!"

 

"I will do everything necessary-"

 

"That doesnt depend on you, old friend..." Grimm whispered laughing. Myddrin remained silent as the teacher turned to his apprentice. "Erin, getting the desired gem will be something that depends entirely on you... because to create it we must make an alchemical recipe.

I advise you to start reading the introduction to the alchemy of my book and the recipe for Draconian Tears... from page 247 to 250"

 

Erin nodded quickly, jumping up to run to her corner of the lair. "I have it, teacher! Tears... are quite some ingredients... Do we have time to get them all?"

 

"The great majority already have them, because the young man who swore to love the first-born of Myddrin... and who was almost devoured by our friend is an alchemist in the castle of Iiion. The problem will be finding the base of the tear, a moon crystal... our best chance is to enter one of the unknowns territories of Iiion: Mine of the armory of Iiion!"

 

Erin nodded, getting up and picking up her raincoat. "I'm ready, master!"

 

"Erin ..." Myddrin said softly, guilt killing inside. "What kind of adult would it be if I let a young girl like you risk her life-"

 

The giantess paid her no attention, getting dressed and keeping Grimm's book in the inside pocket of her trenchcoat. "Myddrin" The dragon remained silent, without finding the words while the giantess tied her hair in a ponytail. "Save your words for when your tears come, okay?"

 

The determination of the giantess was overwhelming, eliciting a smile from the two old men as she left the lair in the direction of the pillar. "Your apprentice ..."

 

"Dont say it, friend. I know"

 

"Are all the youth like that? Because if so... Paradiso will be small for them"

 

"You know what they say" Grimm got up from the table, making all dirty plates and cutlery disappear. "The new generations are going strong... they are ambitious and determined. Even so, my apprentice is a superstar among them! Although you will never see say it to her"

 

"Tell a child who is the best and the child stagnates without realizing its potential- 

 

"Tell a man that he is a loser and will fight to change it. You were the one who taught me that phrase...

 

"I'll guard your lair until you get back, friend" Grimm nodded with a last smile at his friend, running to the pillar to catch Erin. "May Amun take care of you... my friends..."

 

 

---

 

 

Toc toc toc... TOC TOC TOC TOC TOC TOC TOC!

 

"Yggggg... I'm coming!" Ehrwald shouted as he put on his robe, running downstairs. Emmile looked from the top of the staircase, still in her pajamas and with her own robe gown under her arm. Two in the morning and already playing so loud? The two would be lucky if the neighbors didnt end up complaining.

 

"Be careful, darling... pick up a broom or something if where are dealing with a thief," Emmile whispered from the floor above, slowly descending as she tried to tie her robe around her stomach.

 

"Honey, you're a dragon! If a thief tried to steal, they would find a beautiful 2-meter pregnant woman with muscles capable of bursting a watermelon with her bare hands!" But nothing said prevented Ehrwald from approaching the edge of the room, picking up the broom as a weapon.

 

Emmile said nothing, lowering her head and sighing deeply. Ehrwald may have grown up alone in the mountains, but that didnt give him permission to make such convoluted and long metaphors. (And I'm sure he didnt give permission to continue without understanding how to make a metaphor)

The two looked at each other for a few seconds, nodding and standing on either side of the door. "We dont want problems, okay?!" Emmile shouted as she opened her hand, turning it into a scaly claw capable of tearing flesh, stone and metal alike.

 

"Pair of idiots! Stop stupid things and open the door!" Grimm shouted quickly, knocking the door even more.

 

Emmile and Ehrwald sighed in relief, Ehrwald moving to open the door. "Uncle Gri-"

"There is no time to talk! The situation is important!" Grimm slammed the door, knocking Ehrwald down. Without waiting to be invited, Grimm stepped in error on the leg of poor Eral. "Dwarf! It is not time to rest! Come on Erin, your turn"

Grimm moved aside, dragging Ehrwald and Emmile. With great difficulty, the giantess lay on the floor, sliding sideways through the door too small. In a fit of flexibility worthy of the circus, Erin managed to enter the house, sitting on the floor of the house similar to a huge children playhouse for her perspective. "Idiot... the WorldDiver is for these things!" Grimm chided his apprentice as he dragged chairs to the lobby, the only place where the giantess could sit.

 

"Well... you are right" said the giantess feeling extremely embarrassed, looking out the windows in search of anyone who could have seen such a ridiculous scene... although the giantess was hidden her identity, her honor and her real pride kept coming up.

 

"Let's not waste time, Erin, these are my nephews Emmile and dwarf-"

 

"Uncle Grimm! Enough! "Ehrwald stepped forward, offering his hand to the giantess. "Ehrwald-"

 

Emmile leap forward, pushing her husband and taking the hand of the giantess. "You must be Erin! You cant imagine how much I wanted to meet you since Uncle Grimm told me about you this morning! I am so excited to meet you so soon, you must have learned super fast to use the WorldDiver! Grimm has spent all the food boasting about you!

My name is Emmile Gughinr and this is my husband Ehrwald, and to take this opportunity I want to welcome you to the family! I just hope that Grimm has behaved well with you all your way here!" The giantess was speechless, overwhelmed by the seemingly inexhaustible energy that the pregnant beauty gave off.

 

"Emmile, sweety... I doubt that so much excitement is good for a pregnant woman as close to delivery as you" Grimm said sitting in a chair next to Erin. "We will have more time to talk once we solve this"

 

"What's the matter, uncle Grimm? You seem really attacked" Ehrwald asked, already seated and recovered. Erin could not help but be surprised by how quickly the little man had recovered... and the truth is that Ehrwald was used to Emmile and Grimm handle it at ease ... a test of love as he called it.

 

Sighing, Grimm inclined his head towards the giantess, as if to blame her. "Myddrin has appeared in our camp-" The marriage was silent, with the mouths half open. "He wants a draconian tear"

 

"Are you... are you sure it was dad, Uncle Grimm?" Emmile asked, her mind still cloudy. Grimm nodded silently, letting the dragon begin to wonder if all this was just a dream.

 

"And why he wants a tear now?" Ehrwald seemed calmer than his wife, but no less relieved and happy, Erin thought. "Precisely he was the one who told us that a dragon must die dragon and all that!"

 

"Erin" Grimm said without moving his head, simply closing his eyes. "You are the one who has spent more time with today... explain it- No! Even better! Erin, you must make a trial for Myddrin right now.

You have spent the whole morning with him, you have been able to listen to him and then you have seen how he has lied to you ... sorry, as he has hidden part of the truth from you. It's your turn to decide what we should do with Myddrin and if his words were sincere"

 

"Why me? That's not fair, Grimm! You know him much better than me!-"

 

"Bingo"

Grimm stood back in his chair, still looking at the giantess. A serious and deep look, one of a real teacher. "We are impartial because we know him... You, on the other hand, only have the information acquired today. You are a princess and future queen once we take care of Gurian, so this serves as double training for your future work:

Find the truth in the words of Myddrin, storm-eater... and decide if he deserves the draconian tear"

 

The giantess didnt say anything ... or rather, she didnt know what to say. It was evident that the three of them expected to hear a specific answer... but what Midi had shared with her was different from how Grimm, Emmile and Ehrwald expected it... Was Myddrin lying to earn her trust? Or the dragon was sincerely sorry for his actions and wanted to change to be with his family again?

The minutes passed, the trio more and more worried about the silence of the giantess. The thoughts of the giantess ended up constantly reaching her grandfather... how much she hated him for having sided with Gurian... how betrayed she felt to see how he put the honor of the kingdom before his own granddaughter.

Or at least, she wanted to hate him...

And what would happen if Myddrin hurt her granddaughter as much as Gaspar did to her? If now she defended him and Myddrin turned out not to have changed... it would only end up causing more pain...

"Myddrin..." If the dragon was only pretending, then the final blame would fall on her. And still, Erin knew what she had to say. Myddrin has found himself alone in the world ... and he knows very well that it is his fault for having driven his family away.

I dont know what he's done or said to you, Emmile, and I dont even know if he's sweetened his version of the story to make him look better... But I think he's really realized that he can not continue giving in to his pride.

And although I just met you I'm sure you deserve the opportunity to ask him why he wants to change now... because now she wants to return to your lives" The giantess could not find hatred in her heart for her grandfather ... What she wanted most was for her grandfather to explain why he had made that decision...

 

And if Myddrin really has changed and wants to be a good grandfather to his grandchildren, then the old dragon will have to answer the same question of his children... and Erin would make sure that he did it, personally as well.

 

"He..." Emmile hshe intertwining her hands, turned into claws. Her eyes were wet, with an unconscious smile decorating her reddened face. "I know why he wants to change... I know he wants to be by his granddaughter and his family!

I always knew... that in the end, Dad would remember how happy he was with Mom and with us ... and that he would want to experience it again with his granddaughter!" The dragon burst into tears, embraced from behind by her husband.

 

Grimm sighed in relief, rising from his chair and placing his hand on the knee of the giantess. "It's time for Myddrin to pay for being a bighead... and for that, we should bring him to a more manageable size. Dwarf, can you create the ritual?"

 

"I must ask Hector for permission to use the laboratory for a private matter, but I am sure he will understand the situation! and if not, I'll take the ingredients myself and I'll do it here at home!" Ehrwald squeezed his wife's shoulder, which raised her eyes covered with tears and snot. "When I asked for her daughter's hand, I swore she would make her smile every day of my life and that I would honor our last name! I dont plan to back out now on my oath!"

 

"You're so cool, my love!" Emmile shouted, burying her face in her husband's robe. "I love you so much!"

 

"Damn you, Dwarf ... you've been so cool for a few seconds" Grimm looked away, turning towards the giantess. "See, apprentice? That's not the kind of adult you should be. You always have to be cool always, not just once in a while"

 

The giantess laughed softly, trying to contain herself. "How strange is it to hear you say something like Cool, teacher..."

 

"What? Brazen apprentice! I practically invented the term Cool! Maybe Amun made it popular... but I was there when the expression was used for the first time! Anyway... Doing the ritual here or in the castle would take too much time" Grimm looked at Emmile for a second, keeping a smile for later. ""We will do the ritual ourselves in the mines themselves, so we must make our way fastet than ever, Erin. We have to ask for permission for the Unknown Territory and also we must collect the ingredients ... and both will be provided by the same person! 

Yes! This is gonna be great! Dancing Glory will make its triumphant return with its youngest member!"

 

"Wait, Uncle Grimm..." Ehrwald asked as he took off his snotty dressing gown and left it to his wife, who continued to use it as a handkerchief. "Are you going tonight?"

 

Grimm nodded as he opened the front door. "Do you have a problem with it, dwarf?"

 

Ehrwald was silent for a moment, turning to his wife. Erin watched as neither of them said a single word, somehow reaching an agreement to which Emmile nodded, getting up and running upstairs. "Allow me to accompany you, Uncle Grimm"

 

"Ehhhh, I have to take care of you-"

 

"You dont have to take care of me! I am an experienced alchemist and not the 16 year old child of the last time! I'm also part of Dancing Glory, remember? Who better than me to do the ritual? It will take a thousand times less than if we depend on you! We have a lot to talk about with Myddrin before my daughter is born, every minute we win is gold!"

Grimm was still not too convinced, looking quickly at Emmile, who gave him a quick confirmation. 

 

Before the silence of his teacher, Erin decided to take a step (metaphorical, stand up would be a mess too big for the rush that the situation demanded) forward, offering her hand to Ehrwald "Before they havent let us introduce ourselves properly, Assistant to the real alchemist Ehrwald Gughinr. My name is Erin, and although I dont know what Dancing Glory is, it would be an honor to accompany us"

 

"A thousand thanks, Erin!" Grabbing the giantess hand (or letting the giantess cover him completely) Ehrwald shook his head completely excited for, for once, be presented directly. "I dont know how you can be such a good girl following a dickhead like Grimm!" Ehrwald shouted as he climbed to the top floor, stopping at the top step. "And by the way, the family calls me Eral, you included!"

 

Grimm shrugged, going out the door and turning to see his apprentice implement the WorldDiver to get out easily. "Since when does an apprentice invite people without their teacher's permission?"

 

"You were going to let him come anyway! I just saved us a couple of minutes! Also, you heard both! Now I am part of the family... and the family supports each other!"

 

Grimm smiled as he listened to Eral run down the stairs. "You became part of my family the moment I got your contract, my dear... and dont think that means something good. I've managed to build relationships with terrible people, as you will see once I explain who we are Dancing Glory!"

Ehrwald appeared through the doorway dressed in an open black robe with his alchemist's uniform underneath, his alchemy bag dangling from his right arm. "Look at you... and think that in the end you have managed to become an alchemist capable of working directly for the real alchemical master..."

 

"I'm not that dwarf anymore Uncle Grimm! I think it's about time you stopped laughing at my height!" Ehrwald smiled as he turned around to kiss his wife.

 

"You still measure one meter sixty, Dwarf, dwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarf" Grimm scoffed, beginning to walk toward the shrine without waiting for him, followed closely by Erin and Ehrwald, starting to run as soon as they were on the corner of the street.

 

Emmile continued apathetic until they disappeared from her sight, making her way back home quietly. 

 

With the door tightly closed behind him, Emmile endured a laugh, dropping to the ground meanwhile. Thankfully, only Grimm had noticed the puddle under her chair was too big to be tears, which gave the dragon plenty of time to prepare.

"I know you feel like going out..." Emmile hugged her stomach, noticing the second contraction. "But I need you to hold on a bit more... let your grandfather be present... please!" The dragon whispered, rising and going up to the second floor to get both the bag for the hospital and the Guiltycomm. Crystal to be able to warn her brothers.

Emmile needed to have someone to shout until her husband, uncle, new addition to the family and father came back. 

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

Unknown territory 1: Mines of the Iiion armory Exteriors of the territory: District of Adventurers

With the full moon shining on high, the night lay quiet in its fullness when Erin, Grimm and Ehrwald left the Shrine of the Walker. For the giantess, who had only heard about the Unknown Territories and had never physically been in one, the image of joy and fuss dislodged her.

The entrance to the mines was excavated in the mountains, with a building built around it and a long queue waiting for almost 30 adventurers. Around the entrance of the Shrine of the Walker were shops, inns, street stalls, the largest adventurer's Guild that Erin had ever seen, and even thermal baths... all decorated with colored garlands and branese crystals painted in bright colors.

Street musicians, artists and others gather in the streets, surrounded by hundreds of adventurers sharing stories, tasting meals or showing guns.

 

Grimm went forward a few steps, standing in front of the sanctuary with his arms wide open. "Do you hear that, apprentice? It's the melody that accompanies the adventure!" Erin said nothing, still open-mouthed without being able to understand what she saw. Adventurers of all species of humans and demons, of all sizes and colors ... the nose of the giantess was detecting aroma of popcorn, roasted meats, sweets and all kinds of festive foods.

 

"Emmile has made me come to the mines a couple of times to, as she says, stretch her wings and take off a little the desire to fight..." Ehrwald walked towards his uncle, protecting his alchemy bag with both arms. "But even so my mouth always water when entering this place"

 

"It's normal!" Grimm laughed while keeping an eye on Erin. It wasnt that the giantess was going to get lost or that it was hard to find her... but even so, Grimm felt obliged to have her controlled. "You can only live this at a regional party or in the Unknown Territories! This mixture of smells... tastes... sounds and sensations, all this is born of the purest feeling of freedom!"

 

"Grimm ..." Erin whispered as she joined her two companions, kneeling so they could hold a conversation in low voices. "I dont understand what all the fuss is about, is not this supposed to be an unexplored Territory? Because... it seems that I have strained into a street during the Vontalba festivities"

 

Grimm suppressed a guilty laugh, placing his hand on the giantess shoulder. "My metaphorically little apprentice ... I infer that this is your first time in an Unknown Territory, right?" The giantess nodded as she fastened her trenchcoat and put on her hood, the fear of being recognized quickly surfaced in her heart. "Then, let me explain to you, dear! And before that... question for exam-"

 

"I have exams?"

 

"From now on. What is unknown territory? "Grimm crossed his arms, letting the giantess leave the hole alone ... or ask for help.But that was not written in Erin's dictionary either.

 

"An unknown Territory is an area that has been torn from space and time by a High God, turning the area into a sort of self-healing closed dimension in 3-day cycles. The conditions for a Territory to occur are three:

• It must have suffered effects from the magic of some Deep One, directly or indirectly through invocations or artifacts of the Deep Ones.
• It must have been contaminated by a Bio Blood Rain.
• Or it must have been affected by the star of Apodemus and his Mother Night.

Any of the conditions generate creatures that should never have existed or "Nonacids", which will act as a seal of the nucleus of that Unknown Territory, be it a living nucleus, a nucleus-object or a nucleus-place.

I know the theory of an unknown Territory, master. My grandmother has been my post-class tutor... And she was a renowned adventurer"

...

 

Grimm's face was worthy of being framed, something Ehrwald made very clear when he burst out laughing. "YOUR APPRENTICE HAS PUT YOU ON YOUR PLACE, UNCLE GRIMM!" Almost on the verge of crying, Ehrwald had to lean on the giantess to maintain her balance.

 

Very slowly, Grimm began to nod... first almost without moving his head, picking up rhythm and speed at every moment. "Very well ... very well, apprentice" On the one hand, the giantess feared for her physical integrity... on the other hand, she sat too late to finally use the endless hours of explanations and definitions that her grandmother forced her to swallow. "Well, that... the Unknown Territories have the property of regenerating their interior every three days... including the treasures and goods that the High Gods left for the brave who tried to clean the territories from the source of their corruption... although as history has made clear, That is almost impossible.

If you put together places with treasures that regenerate, ergo are infinite, to that you add a sense of adventure since the territory changes every three days... and you finish it off with humans and demons with a lot of free time and wanting to test their magic and/or improve your skills ... what gives you everything?"

The giantess decided not to answer, leaving this time it was her teacher who took the credit for being able to teach her new things... already known, but eh! That Grimm doesnt have to know!

"It gives you the Adventurer's Guild! As you can imagine, before the Guild everything was in chaos, the adventurers joined in gigantic groups to confront the territories ... and that led to the first infection"

 

Erin nodded, remembering her grandmother's lessons. "I know that. The first infection occurs when a group of 100 adventurers stormed the territory of Gulf of the Tides..." The giantess expected her teacher to continue, but Grimm had other plans. With a hand gesture, Grimm pointed to Ehrwald, who after making sure it was he who Grimm was looking for, took a book out of his bag, beginning to read.

 

"Gulf of the Tides is corrupted by the blood of Bio, and the creatures that inhabited the territory transmitted the plague of the distorted flesh of Bio with each impact. It was only necessary for one of the adventurers not to heal properly after the assault... and become infected to the old Phromecia"

 

"Old Phromecia had no chance ..." Grimm interrupted, crossing himself so that Erin and Ehrwald remembered to do it, as tradition marks. "Once the first adventurer was transformed... it was a simple domino effect. Amun had to appear in person, surround the city and bless the walls so that he could sink everything underground...

More than half the city sank in the depths, leaving only the university as a reminder of what was once the first great city of Paradiso. Maybe that same university is the center of New Phromecia, but the memory of what caused a single oversight penetrated deeply into the collective. Amun called before him the greatest adventurer of that time, urging him to form a legislative body capable of controlling the entrance to the Territories... and after that, Amun traveled throughout the continent assigning a guardian for each Territory"

 

"Amun and Marias Bink-" Approaching the group, an old man continued the story of Grimm. between Grimm's smile, Ehrwald's reverence and the giantess's own memories of the meetings in which she accompanied her father, Erin could understand that who was in front was the old friend of Grimm with whom they had to meet, the great magistrate and adviser Hector... although the giantess remembered the old man with more hair. "-Fundated a year later the Adventurer's Guild, which was dedicated to control and register any adventurer worth his blood.

Of being next to the territories, the Guild quickly extended to be in each capital... and later, in each great town, almost at the same level of importance as a hospital"

 

"You had to steal my story?" Grimm asked as Hector joined the group, taking a bluish envelope from his tunic.

 

"I tell it better, not in vain... I have studied about it" ignoring Grimm's burlesque gesture, Hector turned to the giantess, offering a small and discreet reverence. "Princess Myerina, a pleasure to see you again ... and see how well you have grown since the meeting of the assembly in Vontalba"

 

"I was only eight years old at the time, Magistrate Hector." Erin responded with another discreet bow, making sure that no one had heard them. "And if you'll excuse me, for the moment I keep the profile of Erin, Don Hector"

 

"Of course, your majesty" Grimm and Ehrwald looked at each other for a second, both of them taking a step back when they noticed how the conversation had risen without realizing it. "I know your situation in detail, and you should know that I share the opinion of this idiot" Hector discreetly pointed to Grimm, who responded by sticking out his tongue. "Gurian is a complete idiot"

 

"An idiot with too much power," Grimm added, opening the envelope. "Priority +15? Come on Hector! I know you can do much better!"

 

"Dont be impertinent, Grimm, it's the best I've been able to achieve in such a short time. I didnt want to wake up his majesty, so I made the prince who signed him... and no matter how prince he may be, at 7 he still does not have much authority"

 

Grimm pretended to spit a false annoyance, although in the end he could understand the logic after the decisions of his friend. "Ehrwald, come with me to check in to enter the Territory. Hector, I ask you please to prepare Erin with everything she can need... It's her first time in one of these, so we want her to endure until the end" Without waiting for an answer, Grimm ran out with Ehrwald behind him, leaving the giantess and the magistrade.

 

"Don Hector... what Grimm mean with hold on until the end?"

 

"I will explain it to you in due time ... before that, I must assure of one thing" Hector's expression hardened more than the giantess expected, beginning to fear that he had done something wrong. "Is Grimm treating you properly?"

 

"Eh? Treating properly? ..." Erin asked confused, fearing that the magistrate was going to do something about the Master-Apprentice contract if she answered something she didnt like. Protecting her former employers until they had some business with which to have benefit remained in the mind of the giantess... although Grimm didnt seem the kind of person who went to claim the money ... or let her go before the expiration of the contract without fighting...

 

Hector shook his head, grabbing the sleeve of the giantess to bring her closer. "You know ... Grimm is not the most attentive person in the world, and he has never traveled alone with young ladies like you to understand ... your needs!"

 

Quickly, Erin understood why the magistrate's concern. "No no! Grimm is super attentive to me! He doesnt mind stopping when I have to go to the bathroom or wait behind his back, he makes sure we have a roof under which to sleep every night and offers to go himself to look for food! It is true that we havent ... trained as much as I thought, but in the rest he has been super attentive!"

 

Hector sighed in relief, the giantess swore to see how a huge weight was removed from the shoulders of the magistrate. "Good thing... when he told me about you this morning, the memories of all the problems that Grimm gave Maria and Iskar have come to my head... and I couldnt let him do the same to a girl much more young and impressionable like you!"

 

"Oh come on, Don Hector, I'm not 8 years old anymore, I've grown a lot since then and I can prove it to you-"

 

"No need, the story that Grimm told me is more than enough to know that you have become a mature girl and ready to be a great queen some day" Hector prepared to turn around and ask Erin to follow him , but the memory of the old days made the giantess need to ask something.

"Don Hector, do you know anything about the Breca royal family?" The worried and darkened tone of the giantess helped Hector quickly understand what the giantess really wanted to ask.

 

"According to the confirmation to the meeting her father sent, your friend is in treatment and is much better, Erin" The giantess sighed feeling relief at the same time that Miki had overcome her illness and pain for not being in Vontalba and to be able to visit her... So many years apart and when she finally improved, it was Erin who wasnt available. 

Unknown territory 1: Mines of the Iiion armory Exteriors of the territory: District of Adventurers

With the full moon shining on high, the night lay quiet in its fullness when Erin, Grimm and Ehrwald left the Shrine of the Walker. For the giantess, who had only heard about the Unknown Territories and had never physically been in one, the image of joy and fuss dislodged her.

The entrance to the mines was excavated in the mountains, with a building built around it and a long queue waiting for almost 30 adventurers. Around the entrance of the Shrine of the Walker were shops, inns, street stalls, the largest adventurer's Guild that Erin had ever seen, and even thermal baths... all decorated with colored garlands and branese crystals painted in bright colors.

Street musicians, artists and others gather in the streets, surrounded by hundreds of adventurers sharing stories, tasting meals or showing guns.

 

Grimm went forward a few steps, standing in front of the sanctuary with his arms wide open. "Do you hear that, apprentice? It's the melody that accompanies the adventure!" Erin said nothing, still open-mouthed without being able to understand what she saw. Adventurers of all species of humans and demons, of all sizes and colors ... the nose of the giantess was detecting aroma of popcorn, roasted meats, sweets and all kinds of festive foods.

 

"Emmile has made me come to the mines a couple of times to, as she says, stretch her wings and take off a little the desire to fight..." Ehrwald walked towards his uncle, protecting his alchemy bag with both arms. "But even so my mouth always water when entering this place"

 

"It's normal!" Grimm laughed while keeping an eye on Erin. It wasnt that the giantess was going to get lost or that it was hard to find her... but even so, Grimm felt obliged to have her controlled. "You can only live this at a regional party or in the Unknown Territories! This mixture of smells... tastes... sounds and sensations, all this is born of the purest feeling of freedom!"

 

"Grimm ..." Erin whispered as she joined her two companions, kneeling so they could hold a conversation in low voices. "I dont understand what all the fuss is about, is not this supposed to be an unexplored Territory? Because... it seems that I have strained into a street during the Vontalba festivities"

 

Grimm suppressed a guilty laugh, placing his hand on the giantess shoulder. "My metaphorically little apprentice ... I infer that this is your first time in an Unknown Territory, right?" The giantess nodded as she fastened her trenchcoat and put on her hood, the fear of being recognized quickly surfaced in her heart. "Then, let me explain to you, dear! And before that... question for exam-"

 

"I have exams?"

 

"From now on. What is unknown territory? "Grimm crossed his arms, letting the giantess leave the hole alone ... or ask for help.But that was not written in Erin's dictionary either.

 

"An unknown Territory is an area that has been torn from space and time by a High God, turning the area into a sort of self-healing closed dimension in 3-day cycles. The conditions for a Territory to occur are three:

• It must have suffered effects from the magic of some Deep One, directly or indirectly through invocations or artifacts of the Deep Ones.
• It must have been contaminated by a Bio Blood Rain.
• Or it must have been affected by the star of Apodemus and his Mother Night.

Any of the conditions generate creatures that should never have existed or "NullumEst", which will act as a seal of the nucleus of that Unknown Territory, be it a living nucleus, a nucleus-object or a nucleus-place.

I know the theory of an unknown Territory, master. My grandmother has been my post-class tutor... And she was a renowned adventurer"

...

 

Grimm's face was worthy of being framed, something Ehrwald made very clear when he burst out laughing. "YOUR APPRENTICE HAS PUT YOU ON YOUR PLACE, UNCLE GRIMM!" Almost on the verge of crying, Ehrwald had to lean on the giantess to maintain her balance.

 

Very slowly, Grimm began to nod... first almost without moving his head, picking up rhythm and speed at every moment. "Very well ... very well, apprentice" On the one hand, the giantess feared for her physical integrity... on the other hand, she sat too late to finally use the endless hours of explanations and definitions that her grandmother forced her to swallow. "Well, that... the Unknown Territories have the property of regenerating their interior every three days... including the treasures and goods that the High Gods left for the brave who tried to clean the territories from the source of their corruption... although as history has made clear, That is almost impossible.

If you put together places with treasures that regenerate, ergo are infinite, to that you add a sense of adventure since the territory changes every three days... and you finish it off with humans and demons with a lot of free time and wanting to test their magic and/or improve your skills ... what gives you everything?"

The giantess decided not to answer, leaving this time it was her teacher who took the credit for being able to teach her new things... already known, but eh! That Grimm doesnt have to know!

"It gives you the Adventurer's Guild! As you can imagine, before the Guild everything was in chaos, the adventurers joined in gigantic groups to confront the territories ... and that led to the first infection"

 

Erin nodded, remembering her grandmother's lessons. "I know that. The first infection occurs when a group of 100 adventurers stormed the territory of Gulf of the Tides..." The giantess expected her teacher to continue, but Grimm had other plans. With a hand gesture, Grimm pointed to Ehrwald, who after making sure it was he who Grimm was looking for, took a book out of his bag, beginning to read.

 

"Gulf of the Tides is corrupted by the blood of Bio, and the creatures that inhabited the territory transmitted the plague of the distorted flesh of Bio with each impact. It was only necessary for one of the adventurers not to heal properly after the assault... and become infected to the old Phromecia"

 

"Old Phromecia had no chance ..." Grimm interrupted, crossing himself so that Erin and Ehrwald remembered to do it, as tradition marks. "Once the first adventurer was transformed... it was a simple domino effect. Amun had to appear in person, surround the city and bless the walls so that he could sink everything underground...

More than half the city sank in the depths, leaving only the university as a reminder of what was once the first great city of Paradiso. Maybe that same university is the center of New Phromecia, but the memory of what caused a single oversight penetrated deeply into the collective. Amun called before him the greatest adventurer of that time, urging him to form a legislative body capable of controlling the entrance to the Territories... and after that, Amun traveled throughout the continent assigning a guardian for each Territory"

 

"Amun and Marias Bink-" Approaching the group, an old man continued the story of Grimm. between Grimm's smile, Ehrwald's reverence and the giantess's own memories of the meetings in which she accompanied her father, Erin could understand that who was in front was the old friend of Grimm with whom they had to meet, the great magistrate and adviser Hector... although the giantess remembered the old man with more hair. "-Fundated a year later the Adventurer's Guild, which was dedicated to control and register any adventurer worth his blood.

Of being next to the territories, the Guild quickly extended to be in each capital... and later, in each great town, almost at the same level of importance as a hospital"

 

"You had to steal my story?" Grimm asked as Hector joined the group, taking a bluish envelope from his tunic.

 

"I tell it better, not in vain... I have studied about it" ignoring Grimm's burlesque gesture, Hector turned to the giantess, offering a small and discreet reverence. "Princess Myerina, a pleasure to see you again ... and see how well you have grown since the meeting of the assembly in Vontalba"

 

"I was only eight years old at the time, Magistrate Hector." Erin responded with another discreet bow, making sure that no one had heard them. "And if you'll excuse me, for the moment I keep the profile of Erin, Don Hector"

 

"Of course, your majesty" Grimm and Ehrwald looked at each other for a second, both of them taking a step back when they noticed how the conversation had risen without realizing it. "I know your situation in detail, and you should know that I share the opinion of this idiot" Hector discreetly pointed to Grimm, who responded by sticking out his tongue. "Gurian is a complete idiot"

 

"An idiot with too much power," Grimm added, opening the envelope. "Priority +15? Come on Hector! I know you can do much better!"

 

"Dont be impertinent, Grimm, it's the best I've been able to achieve in such a short time. I didnt want to wake up his majesty, so I made the prince who signed him... and no matter how prince he may be, at 7 he still does not have much authority"

 

Grimm pretended to spit a false annoyance, although in the end he could understand the logic after the decisions of his friend. "Ehrwald, come with me to check in to enter the Territory. Hector, I ask you please to prepare Erin with everything she can need... It's her first time in one of these, so we want her to endure until the end" Without waiting for an answer, Grimm ran out with Ehrwald behind him, leaving the giantess and the magistrade.

 

"Don Hector... what Grimm mean with hold on until the end?"

 

"I will explain it to you in due time ... before that, I must assure of one thing" Hector's expression hardened more than the giantess expected, beginning to fear that he had done something wrong. "Is Grimm treating you properly?"

 

"Eh? Treating properly? ..." Erin asked confused, fearing that the magistrate was going to do something about the Master-Apprentice contract if she answered something she didnt like. Protecting her former employers until they had some business with which to have benefit remained in the mind of the giantess... although Grimm didnt seem the kind of person who went to claim the money ... or let her go before the expiration of the contract without fighting...

 

Hector shook his head, grabbing the sleeve of the giantess to bring her closer. "You know ... Grimm is not the most attentive person in the world, and he has never traveled alone with young ladies like you to understand ... your needs!"

 

Quickly, Erin understood why the magistrate's concern. "No no! Grimm is super attentive to me! He doesnt mind stopping when I have to go to the bathroom or wait behind his back, he makes sure we have a roof under which to sleep every night and offers to go himself to look for food! It is true that we havent ... trained as much as I thought, but in the rest he has been super attentive!"

 

Hector sighed in relief, the giantess swore to see how a huge weight was removed from the shoulders of the magistrate. "Good thing... when he told me about you this morning, the memories of all the problems that Grimm gave Maria and Iskar have come to my head... and I couldnt let him do the same to a girl much more young and impressionable like you!"

 

"Oh come on, Don Hector, I'm not 8 years old anymore, I've grown a lot since then and I can prove it to you-"

 

"No need, the story that Grimm told me is more than enough to know that you have become a mature girl and ready to be a great queen some day" Hector prepared to turn around and ask Erin to follow him , but the memory of the old days made the giantess need to ask something.

"Don Hector, do you know anything about the Breca royal family?" The worried and darkened tone of the giantess helped Hector quickly understand what the giantess really wanted to ask.

 

"According to the confirmation to the meeting her father sent, your friend is in treatment and is much better, Erin" The giantess sighed feeling relief at the same time that Miki had overcome her illness and pain for not being in Vontalba and to be able to visit her... So many years apart and when she finally improved, it was Erin who wasnt available. "Erin, you must not suffer for being here..." Hector said reading it as an open book, the second person in a long time that did something like that. "As long as she heals, you will come back to see her. Amun wouldnt let destiny separate you both, he isnt that type of High God"

Instantly, the smile returned to Erin's face. Apparently, the giantess had not matured as much as she wanted to be seen, Hector thought to himself, turning to the crowd. "Now, Erin, its time to follow me. We have to prepare you for the Territory" The magistrate began to walk through the market, followed closely by the giantess. Erin could see how Hector directed quick and concrete looks at the products, jumping among them at full speed. A true master of shopping, no doubt.

"Let's start with the explanations, dear. I'm sure you'll want to know what's waiting for you inside" Erin nodded as Hector stopped to look at some fruits that the giantess had never seen, small and purple but shaped like bananas ... They didnt have the best aspects, if Erin had to be honest.

"The first thing is that you understand the term Moral Death. You see, Erin... "Hector said as he began to walk again. "It isnt possible for an adventurer to die within an unknown Territory. Instead, when your body succumbs to pain or fatigue fainting, the guardian's blessing makes you appear at the entrance to the Territory.This is called 'Moral Defeat or Death'... and believe me, morality is a name chosen through experience.

Another thing you should know is that the atmosphere inside of the Unknown Territories is distorted, causing the human or demonic body to consume its energy much quicker" Hector stopped suddenly at one of the food stalls, exchanging glances between the stand and the giantess's trenchcoat. "Dont you have a backpack or something?" Erin deny as she squatted to see, the vast majority of the fabric roofs of the market only reached the waist of the giantess.

 

"Are they candy?"

 

The magistrate nodded while without any hesitation opened the pockets of the trenchcoat, putting his hand inside and everything. "They arent normal candies, their recipe is designed to condense as much lemon juice and sugar as possible, all to provide enough energy to resist the atmosphere of the Mines"

 

"I like lemon and sugar... so go ahead, I'll stay with them. How much-" Hector did not even bother to let the giantess answer, paying with a handful of bills to the owner of the post and beginning to fill both candy pockets. "They are human-sized, but simply that you eat a handful should get the same effects. And I pay them forget this time... consider them a gift, you want? One of apology for Gurian's behavior... and for the future and inevitable behavior of Grim"

 

Although the giantess felt guilty about accepting such a gift, the idea of r03;r03;free candy was too attractive to reject. The walk of both continued for a couple of minutes, stopping in front of an armory in the open air.

"I dont need weapons! I have basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and I trust my strength! I'm perfectly fine fighting hand to hand, I assure you, Don Hector!"

 

The magistrate looked at her for a few seconds, gesturing to the giantess to bend over. "Believe me, even hand-to-hand fighters must wear mittens and gloves to defend themselves... you do not want to touch the NullumEst directly.

I suppose Gaspar will have taught you how to defend yourself with a sword, spear and axe, right?" The giantess nodded, looking with her eyes for a weapon of her size. "Dont worry about that, dear. Boss! Boss, are you there?"

 

From behind a forge appeared an elf and a young dwarf carrying a box with the Blueorb symbol on it. "Of course! A pleasure to see you again, magistrate Hector. If you comes for the rapier of the young prince, I havent finished it yet"

The elf replied as she wiped the sweat on her shirt.

 

"None of that, boss. I need a weapon for my goddaughter, which as you will see-" With a single gesture of hands the smith already understood the problem. "She is a giantess ... and it isnt easy to find giant weapons far from the plains. I know you usually have weapons purchased from very diverse companies, so you are our last hope"

 

The elf smiled as she looked at her assistant, who nodded back. "Well, you have good luck, dear! Yesterday my apprentice bought a pair of straight swords from a giant salesman! Do you know how to handle them?" Erin nodded, still stunned by her companion's lie. The elf made a gesture to enter the building behind the post, which thanks to the gods, had a door designed for titans/giants.

The building acted like a gigantic forge, dozens of workers hitting the iron, driving ovens or sharpening weapons. The elf turned directly after entering, opening the door of a small improvised store. With much effort between blacksmith and apprentice, the elf opened a huge wooden box, revealing the aforementioned sword. (Nothing out of the ordinary, simply a simple and efficient design to cut and penetrate)

"Here are the swords, so new that nothing has yet proven its edge! But quiet, sharpen and polish it myself before storing them! I'm sure that as a godchild of Hector you are used to something more luxurious... I hope you can settle for this!"

 

While Erin was bending down to take the sword, the elf gestured to her assistant, who ran back to the store. "Do you feel comfortable with them, Erin?" Erin raised the sword, letting her arm adjust to its weight. With a fast and precise movement of the dolls, the giantess made several cuts in the air.

 

"It's perfect, like the one I used to train with my grandfather. How much-"

 

"I already told you that today I pay! Dont insist!" Hector replied, watching as the assistant dragged a gigantic belt, almost covering it completely. "What is that?"

 

"Since they are nothing special-" the elf said as she took the belt and hooked the hilts to him. "I give you a belt with a scabbard holder completely free. That would leave us only the price of the sword, which would be 350 BlueOrbs"

 

"With that price I feel like I'm stealing you, boss... but I will not be the one who chooses to pay more for no reason" Hector laughed as he took out his wallet, paying again in tickets while Erin adjusted her new belt. 

 

 

---

 

 

 "Why have you left them alone, Uncle Grimm?"

The queue to see the Territory Guardian was moving much slower than Grimm wanted. It wasnt strange that Ehrwald felt that he had to break the silence between the two... no matter how much Grimm preferred to keep it until they had finished talking to that bastard rat.

"Couldnt you have bought Erin's things yourself?"

On the one hand, they were all just questions... but at the same time there was no desire within Grimm to answer them. Time played against and the Territory was so animated it could only mean that Grimm's greatest fears had become real. Or the other adventurers had managed to get the Foreman Gartacos out... and in case they hadnt arrived, surely the defensive systems would be activated.

Erin isnt weak, but her maximum level was far from what was required if Gartacos or the defense systems had appeared. One wrong step and the giantess could suffer a defeat that would destroy her emotionally... and that means that Grimm would have failed as a Master.

The lack of time to train her put the entire operation in a delicate spot... and even so, as a teacher, Grimm knew perfectly well that keeping Erin from accompanying him would only make the giantess feel weak...

"Uncle Grimm, are you listening to me?"

Ehrwald's presence reassured Grimm more than he himself would like to admit. The alchemist was no longer the 10-year-old beginner who so delayed Grimm in the past. The "midget" had matured into a renowned alchemist...

 

"Eh?" And although it would normally be an ironic Eh, this time it was true that Grimm was too deep in his thoughts.

 

"I was telling you-"

"Next!" The assistant shouted, opening the double doors. Ehrwald struggled to hide a disgusted snort as Grimm stepped forward.

 

The interior of the room gleamed like a well-polished jewel, the trophies and pictographs of victorious adventurers accumulating on the walls. In the middle stood the pillar on which the territorial guard reposed, lying face down on a cushion of silk while sipping a glass of wine. (With straw)

"Khan! Old man-" Grimm tried to initiate the conversation with energy to carry out the procedure as soon as possible... but the lazy mouse guardian had other plans.

 

"Old friend? You were going to say that, Grimm?"Khan didnt move, finishing the glass of wine before he even continued talking. "You stopped being our friend from the moment you took the DarkSun mask and the seal of Amun so that that bastard Merlinus dared to use his impure magic to transform it into that... gods, I do not even want to think what the fuck you will have turned it into"

 

"Dont say that! The treasures of old Phromecia are much safer under our-"

 

"You stole Amun himself, Grimm" Rolling lazily, Khan leaned over one edge of the cushion, banging a bell with his tail. "I'm surprised that Amun didnt kill you and put him as a trophy for an offense like that..."

 

"It's because I'm right, that's why I'm still alive" Grimm and Ehrwald did everything possible to ignore the servant who came swiftly into the room, filling the wine glass. "You should ... you should make your workers wear more clothes"

 

"By Gods... I will not be able to forget that and then Emmile will see it in my heart ..." Ehrwald cried softly, not wanting to bother the mouse.

 

"My servants, my uniforms, Grimm. I dont go to your house to tell you how to dress your employees"

 

"I have not-"

"Exact. You have no employees, Grimm" Khan rolled back onto the cushion, holding the straw between his paws. "And you dont have it because you're nobody. You are a failure with pretensions to greatness" The first of Grimm's emotional cords broke into a thousand pieces, the master having to contain himself with all his strength not to act.

 

"I dont care what you say, Khan. I have a level 15 permit-"

"Do you think I dont know? I have my men watching all the people in this district 24 hours a day" The couple looked down, finding the mouseholes quickly. "I know you have a permit, and I know you come with a giantess that you call your... sorry, how is it? Your apprentice?"

 

The second of the cables burst like a rocket in the night sky. "I would ask you not to speak ill of Erin... disgusting rat-"

 

"First, I'm a mouse." Khan raised one of his legs, making a ghostly scroll appear over him. "Let's see... Myerina Vegner... heir of Vontalba! How low can that little princess fall to let a coward like you train her?"Third and fourth cable.

"I see... I let Gurian crush her will in front of her own family? Useless and without blood in the body... bad combination having so much size and so little self-esteem"

 

"Khan..." Grimm's fists were so tight that the blood began to run where his nails were nailed.

 

"Oh! I see what happens! You are so afraid of dying without your children knowing who you are that you think that 'training' a girl of the bunch you can feel that your life makes sense! Damn pathetic bastard! I've always known you were sad... but I never thought that you would overcome the fact that your chosen nickname is Black Shadow of Paradiso! I see that-"

 

Every.

All cables, interrupters, cords... All untied.

Taking a first step, black roots full of thorns crossed the well-kept wooden floor, entangled around the pillar until reaching Khan. The mouse tried to conjugate a barrier without success, the roots strangling him long before the first word could come out of his throat.

"I am pathetic? That's what I am, mouse?" Desperate, Khan began to scratch and try to hit the roots with his tail... all completely useless. "It may be pathetic... but it's because I didnt get rid of you while stealing your precious little treasure! Perhaps the Mines of Iiion could have had a worthy guardian and not a mouse frustrated and dismissed from his former territory for being unable to follow simple commands! A fat, lazy and perverted mouse who cant even manage his territory correctly and depends on seconds to do all his tasks! "

Ehrwald began to tremble, following his instincts and closing the door as hard as possible. Explaining what was happening would be much easier without witnesses in between.

 

In an attempt to get reinforcements, Khan managed to push the cushion enough to throw the bell, throwing it to the floor. And as the sound never came to reproduce, the mouse closed its eyes losing hope ... just as the root began to loosen. "Eh ... Are you tired, Grimm? Can I ask you for a drink or something?"

 

Grimm laughed softly, slowly releasing the roots that held the mouse. "You expected the cold embrace of the eternal lover, right?" Grimm walked back to his companion, undoing the spell. "I prefer that you live knowing that the DarkSun belongs to my daughter... and that you will never possess it again nor will you recover your position as guardian of Old Phromecia"

 

"Lucky bastard... Give me that letter, let's end this quickly" Grimm sent the letter flying to the cushion, watching as the mouse opened it and looked at it. "Everything is in order, and since I dont have any urgency greater than 15, your group is next to enter"

 

"As ordered, 'guardian.'" Grimm smiled as Ehrwald reopened the door, heading for the exit when Khan called again.

 

"Since you go inside, do me a favor and tell your translucent boyfriend and his assistant that they have been there too long, that I have people waiting to undermine the last veins of electro-iron... and as much as you are friends with Hector, I have some rules to follow"

 

Ehrwald and Grimm opened their eyes almost at once, letting the mouse savor the surprise. "Uncle Grand is here?" Ehrwald took the lead in the question.

 

The mouse licked his lips, watching as Grimm wanted to shout something like "It's not my boyfriend" but his own pride made him not want to raise his voice, However small, that conflict of interest was reward enough for such disgusting conversation.

"Yeah, he came this morning and asked me if I could let him in without having to wait... Something that the pressure of the lower areas is ideal for his current job"

 

Grimm restrained his excitement, leaving the building and beginning to scream and run to where they had been with Erin and Hector... the excitement to be reunited with his friend such that he had already forgotten that his nephew was with him. "It's talking to each other and they're both kids... I cant understand what interest Amun has in letting them live..."

Growling, Khan did levitate the bell back to the pillar and the straw back to his mouth, resuming his guard night.

 

 

---

 

 

The giantess and the magistrate were the first to arrive at the crossing, looking around for the rest of the group. Although the giantess had been walking all the way back thanking Hector for his generosity, the feeling that it wasnt enough still lingered in her heart.

If anything, her parents had taught her to always give thanks for every act of generosity, a Vontalba custom that as part of royalty she should promote and respect.

 

The magistrate remained impassive, steadily removing the matter... his own honor made him want to help the daughter of a good friend. And more than that, it was the fact that Erin was part of the future heirs of the assembly, which instinctively made treating her properly part of Hector's tasks.

The assembly Paradiso-Inferno serves as a meeting point for the great kings of both continents: a place to resolve conflicts peacefully, where to draw new trade routes or where to create new treaties and international contracts for a better coexistence between humanity and Daemonium.

Whether humans or demons, all adults wanted to leave a better world to their children, so the assembly charged more and more value each year, with almost all the big and small kingdoms of both races having or seeking representation. Hector's dream was that all races within both species will end up joining the assembly, creating a powerful alliance that would allow any young person the ability to travel without fear.

 

It is true that on the part of humanity was the problem of the Reslae, their own nature as proud warriors and heirs of the mission of Bio to protect the genes of all the members of humanity made them not want to join the assembly without the right to challenge others of members of the assembly... and to lose against a Reslae means to give them the right of your genetic material... something no sensible king or queen was willing to accept.

An authentic riddle for coexistence that the magistrate had prepared to deal with at the next meeting of the assembly, at the beginning of the following month-

"Hector! Hector! Earth calling Hector!" Erin insisted, striking the magistrate's shoulder carefully.

 

Shaking his head, Hector made his thoughts to one side, focusing his attention again on the young heiress. "Excuse me, Erin. I was... thinking about a certain problem. Were you talking about something?"

 

"More like trying to ask you" Erin clarified, sitting on the floor next to the magistrate. "I was asking if you knew what Dancing Glory is and why Grimm cares so much. In the five minutes that we have to wait for the Pillar of the Walker to be activated, he has not stopped repeating that it was the best idea now that he had an apprentice who injected young blood ... and I want to know what I'm getting into, because my contract is just to be Grimm's apprentice"

 

The prudence of the giantess did not resemble that of her mother, which added more reasons to the magistrate's smile. "Dancing Glory... eh? That name brings me so many memories... That's the official name of our team, which Emmile, Grimm, Grand and the rest call our 'Family'. A long time ago we swore over a certain grave with our blood to stay united in the joys and sorrows, sharing our lives until the end.

That sentiment has not dissipated... but if it is true that we gave the team by undone in the records of the Adventurer's Guild...

If Grimm wants to officially revive it, it means that you are really important to him, Erin" Looking sideways, Hector did not have to wait long for see how the giantess blushed in an extreme start of shyness and shame.

 

"Why-"

"Grimm has lost many times the strength to continue, Erin" Hector interrupted, placing his hand on the giantess knee. "Dont ask why, just enjoy it and learn everything you can. Grimm will not be a hero or a great man ... but he is wise and knows how to cling to others ... indirectly, many people owe their lives to their actions ... and I am sure that if he noticed you it was not because of your potential power.

I've known Grimm for too long, and I can assure you that he cared about you for your heart"

 

"My heart?..." With both hands on her heart, the giantess closed her eyes. "I still dont understand ... but I guess I do not need to do it for now. My contract is clear, and I never disappoint."

 

"I know you will not, Erin. That feeling is the clear proof of your inheritance... Dragos would be proud, dont hesitate it for a moment" The giantess turned even redder, turning her head as she and the magistrate heard Grimm's first cries in the crowd.

 

"Grand is here!" The Master repeated over and over, reaching Erin completely sweaty from so much running.

 

While Grimm urged his apprentice to hurry, Hector watched them silently. That Grand was here wasnt luck... After so many years, the magistrate knew very well how capricious the Lady Destiny was... and this was clearly her work.

Dancing Glory... Again and again, the name echoed in his head, filling his tired old bones with emotion. Emmile's daughter, Erin... new blood in the family... blood need to be guided...

If Myddrin could repent of his decisions, he too can regret it.

"Grimm!" Feeling his muscles tense again excited, Hector waited for Grimm to turn to him to keep talking. "To face the Territory, you have an apprentice with no designated style yet, an alchemist and yourself as a WildCard. Erin could use somebody skilled in physical magic to learn and it would be good for you to have someone with real skill to finish the NullumEst fast"

 

Hector's smile had an unexpected effect on Grimm. The magistrate could swear to see a loose a tear to fall down the face of his friend. "And you have thought of someone who can fill that gap, old fox?" No answer is needed, both beginning to walk to the entrance of the mines.

 

Although Erin didnt understand the emotion of the matter, seeing her teacher so happy was able to cheer her up.

And with a firm step, the giantess quickly joined her master, Hector and Ehrwald at the entrance, ready to fight for the fate of Myddrin.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

The first steps are always the most important.

 

The first steps of a baby ... the first steps towards school ... the first steps away from the parents...

For an adventurer, it doesnt matter if he is a novice or an expert, the first steps in an Unknown Territory are crucial:

Get used to the pressure of the Territory, notice the first smells and sounds ... feel the magic flowing in the surroundings ... and most importantly , locate the essence of the closest NullumEst. A whole series of rituals that must be carried out in the shortest possible time.

Among the most veteran adventurers, this segment of time is often referred to as the "fifteen golden seconds".

 

Erin stopped in front of the entrance to the mines, a huge frame of old wood that surrounded the entrance to a cave. At no more than 5 steps away from the giantess, a green and violet vortex acted as a door, floating in front of a broken road. Her skin bristled with nerves, oblivious to the conversation her three companions were holding.

"It's time..." Erin thought to herself, clenching her fists as much as she could. It was not fear, it was not her own cowardice... what was holding her back was another kind of feeling, one that could overwhelm and terrify her heart. The work of a superior being was before her, impassive and immovable. One that was before she was born, and that would be after she left this world.

 

Grimm was not oblivious to the tension his apprentice exuded from all his pores. A tension that he felt in his day, in the same position that the giantess was now. Moving away discreetly from the conversation of Ehrwald and Hector, Grimm approached his apprentice, placing his hand behind the calf of the giantess. "Are you okay, apprentice?"

 

"Nervous ... quite nervous, really" It wasnt necessary that the giantess swear it, thought Grimm to himself, not wanting to make firewood from the fallen tree. "It is normal?"

 

"More normal than you think, little one" The words came straight out of Grimm's mouth, without even having to think about them. As his mentor once told him, now it's time for him to be the giantess's support. "You are facing another dimension... the work of a High God nothing more and nothing less. We are insignificant for people like Amun, but here we are, ready to assault his territory and leave with the deserved booty.

All the adventurers go through that feeling... I, Hector, Grand, the dwarf, Emmile, Iskar... Overcoming the nervousness and taking a step forward is what marks the beginning of the trip"

 

The giantess continued trembling, seeking strength to nod. "It's time!" The mouse announced from the mousehole next to the vortex. Beginning to spin faster, the green and violet turned dark blue, signaling that the link was complete. "Next group, on the move!"

After a couple of pats, Grimm joined Hector and Ehrwald in front of the vortex, looking one last time at the giantess before traversing it. The mouse erased their names from their list, turning to see how the giantess named Erin was not advancing. "Come on girl, we dont have all day!" The mouse screamed trying to get his attention,, putting an unfair hurry to the giantess.

 

"I... I'm g...going ..." The situation was so tense in Erin's head that the memories of her first day of high school were mingling with the current one. Fear of provoking hatred in their companions, fear of the Territory ... all together in a nutritious and delicious mixture for the eye of others.

 

"Girl, is this your first time or something?" The mouse asked to see how Erin progressed to steps too small for someone of his size. The giantess nodded stiffly like an automaton. "My god... the newbies are always too funny. Girl, listen to my advice: Being afraid means you feel, and that means you're ready to try! Failing is something that we should all do sometime, go without fear" A mouse giving her encouragement... The last thing Erin needed to see. And still, the giantess thanked him greatly.

 

A firm first step (Completely robotic, worrying everyone who was in the queue behind her). A quieter second step, supporting all its weight. Erin held her breath, counting from ten. Nine. Eight. Seven-

 

"ENTER NOW!" The mouse yelled, scaring the giantess and causing her to lose her balance inside the vortex. "For the glory of Amun, the rookies are too stressful!"

 

 

---

 

 

Interior of the Armory Mines: Floor 0  Team members:

•  Myerina "Erin" Vegner Gaspar: Apprentice
• Grimm: Freelancer
• Ehrwald Gughinr: Alchemist
• Hector Mulbow: Yojimbo

 

The first steps are always the most important... and for Erin, the first steps in her first Territory went in the downward direction.

Unable to scream for even the shock, Erin went through the vortex without managing to keep her balance. "Get away!-" It's all Erin could have formulated before falling to the ground, raising a great cloud of dust.

 

The trio remained motionless, amazed by the entrance of the giantess. Ehrwald was the first to take a step back, trying to lift Erin up. "And there goes your golden fifteen seconds ... Dont worry, you're not the first adventurer who falls when entering" He tried to comfort, without much success.

 

"I'm s...so sorry, guys..." Erin whispered almost on the verge of crying, feeling completely useless.

 

"Dont be sorry, my apprentice." Grimm approached the giantess, moving Ehrwald aside while Erin finished composing, wiping the dust off her face. "Open your eyes and enjoy the views, dear"

 

The giantess nodded, rubbing the rest of the dust. Before her rose a giant descending cave (more than twice as tall as the giantess), full of old iron scaffolding all over the walls, rails, wagons and hundreds of spikes and other abandoned tools, rusted and scattered throughout the grotto. Small lamps hung from the ceiling, illuminating the whole cave slightly. (without apparent background)

"Impressive ..." It was the only thing that Erin could express, overwhelmed by the image.

 

"The mines were attacked and taken by the deadly whispers of a Deep One in less than a day, what you see is how the miners left them as they ran for their lives" Héctor explained, taking a few steps towards the wall and examining it. "The Territories are frozen in time, and everything inside them reappears in 72-hour cycles. But what happens if we take an iron ore or some jewels from this place?"

 

Erin finished cleaning the dust, standing in all its fullness. While checking the condition of her trenchcoat and swords, the giantess gave her answer. "All materials that leave the territory return to the normal time flow, being released from the reset cycle. In its next cycle, the Territory returns to order, renewing all that is missing" 

 

Grimm applauded as he joined Hector, the two old men disappointed at not finding anything of value. "Correct answer" Grimm said feigning encouragement. "The Mines of the Armory is usually the Territory where the youngest adventurers come here to mine and look for jewelry, with which they are allowed to pay for better services, equipment or new trips. Even so... I hoped there was something valuable left to show you how materials are collected ..."

 

"We cant do anything about that, my friend, so let's pick up what we see valuable without stopping too much" Hector tried to encourage Grimm, continuing the path to the depths. "It is the last day of the cycle, there should be nothing valuable in the most accessible floors"

 

"Floors?" The giantess's question was logical, and as Grimm and Hector were too preoccupied with investigating the surroundings to get as much money as possible, Ehrwald decided to act as a teacher in the same way that Grimm was for him. "If a Territory is spread on the same plane, each section of it is called 'Zone'. And if instead the Territory ascends or descends, each section is called 'Floor'. Mines of the Armory is composed of three floors:

The 0 floor, the Great mining route. The floor -1, the Dependencies; and the final floor, Electro-Iron Excavation.

Each floor is isolated from the next by a vortex delimiter, which prevents the passage of NullumEste to lower areas where they can gain more power. Basically it is the solution that Amun devised so that younger and inexperienced adventurers would know when the situation becomes more dangerous"

 

"I think I understand ... although it's still weird ... you know" The giantess did not know how to express it with words, for her joy Ehrwald understood Erin's doubt perfectly.

 

"I dont know either why Amun would create places with practically infinite materials ... or because it would fill them with regenerable treasures for us to find ... there are many theories about whether Amun did it to train us against the different types of corruption or is it just a whim for the High Gods to have an entertainment ... however, a gift horse"

 

"THERE'S NOTHING!" Grimm's scream came from far below. When Erin and Ehrwald wanted to know, Grimm and Hector had already descended almost 50 meters into the cave.

 

"We should... hurry up, Erin. These two are capable of leaving us behind"

 

"They would not, would they?" The lack of response was enough response, so the giantess decided to grab the alchemist's waist so she could run at full speed. "How little you weigh, Eral!, Eral!"

 

"Oh, come on! I dont need you to call me a dwarf or midget too!"

 

 

---

 

 

"The hook is already cast. Erin and the dwarf should reach us quickly" Going ahead to capture a NullumEst had been the idea of r03;r03;Hector, who insisted on giving the giantess a controlled fight before continuing to descend more deeply. An overwhelming logic, Grimm hated to admit.

 

"Do you defend yourself well without a sword, Héc?"

 

"Who do you think you're talking to, Grimm?" Hector hit the overturned wagon he was sitting on, keeping the NullumEst locked until Erin arrived. "A yojimbo is not only a master of the katana, he is also a fierce fighter at bare hands! Not having a sword is not a problem for me, rather these little bastards should feel relieved!"

 

"I know that mines are not that difficult, but you have not fought for a long time-"

 

"Grimm. I trained the young prince every day of the work week both physically and mentally. I can defend myself in a Territory of such a low level ... In addition, Erin can learn a couple of things about the necessary spells that an unarmed fighter must know. His grandfather Julius was a master of unarmed combat and Gaspar is a genius of fencing; you know perfectly well that these things are transmitted in the blood"

 

"I dont say no-" The locked NoNacido began to hit the walls of the wagon, causing the duo to laugh. "But Erin's parents are pacifists-"

 

"Pacifists by vocation, Grimm. Hirari was able to break rocks with her hands only since he was 7 years old, and Rogan is a fencer recognized by all western Paradiso. Both chose the path of peace by their own desire, not by weakness" Grimm remained silent, part of him enjoying having two such succulent facts.

 

"So, Erin is not taking out all her brute force possible?"

 

Hector denied while checking that the giantess was not yet close, lowering the tone of his voice. "According to what I found out this morning after you left the castle... and to find out I mean ask Erin's grandmother-"

 

"Fuck, Hector! They're not supposed to know that Erin is here!" Grimm quickly lowered his tone, fearing that the echo of his voice had reached Erin's ears.

 

 

---

 

40 meters away:

 

"Aggggggg..." Ehrwald continued to vomit on his knees, with the giantess behind him watching to see if anyone was born attracted by the smell.

 

"I'm sorry ... but I had not started sprinting or anything ..." Erin repeated again and again as an apology, always with the look as far as possible from the unpleasant scene. Something that Erin couldnt understand is how the blood had no effect on her, but the human vomit was capable of making her sick just by looking askance at her.

"

It's been the constant ups-downs ..." Ehrwald explained while looking for handkerchiefs in his alchemist's bag. "I've never had a good stomach for transports with so much rattle ... Agggg"

 

A part of Erin wanted to continue until she met Grimm... but even though the mere smell of vomit was already making her sick, her sense of responsibility urged her to stay. "Stupid responsibility ..." 

 

 

---

 

 

"What else will it give? You asked me to find out more about her and help her with the problem about Gurian, so what I have done has been to inform me of the full story. Also, they were going to see her at the end of the month-"

 

"Excuse me!?" Grimm interrupted at once, blinking confusedly.

 

"You know perfectly that at the end of the month is the quarterly meeting of the Assembly Paradiso-Inferno-"

 

"Yes Yes! I know that! It is that time of year! But what does that have to do with... "As if it were a short film, the images of the people of Floreanis decorating the city pierced the mind of Grimm. "Dont say it…"

 

"Say what? ... Wait, Grimm. You said you intend to stay here in Iiion to begin your training with Erin, right?" Grimm nodded once. "And you said that... knowing that Vontalba's royal family would come here for the meeting, right?" Grimm denied once.

"Tell me what a joke ..." Silence. "TELL ME IT'S A JOKE, YOU DAMN BASTARD!" Hector jumped from the truck directly towards Grimm's neck, drowning him with all his might. "YOU'RE A COMPLETE IDIOT! YOUR APPRENTICE TRUSTED YOU THE REASON FOR WHICH SHE IS FAR AWAY FROM HOME, AND THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS TO BRING HER TO THE PLACE WHERE HER WHOLE FAMILY IS GOING TO BE A WHOLE WEEK!"

 

"I didnt remember-" Grimm cried, trying to push Hector aside. "That the meeting was this time in Iiion! I swear! I thought I played in Kazesis!"

 

"I had assumed that you wanted to be here so Erin would be reunited with her family to clear things up!" Again and again, Hector lifted Grimm's head, hitting her repeatedly on the floor. "That's why I've warned her grandmother to make sure her whole family comes! This is what happens to me for assuming that you are capable of thinking and doing things"

 

In a moment of respite, Grimm managed to break free of the iron grip, pushing the magistrate aside. Without letting him breathe, Grimm climbed on top of Hector, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "The first thing is that it has been unintentional! It doesnt give you-" First blow. "Right to-" Second hit. "SHOUT ME!"

With the slightly bruised old man, Grimm raised his right fist high. "And second, it is you who has decided to make your whole family come based on something you believed! I didnt ask you to do it! It has been your hand!"

 

And this time, Hector was the one who took the opportunity to unbalance Grimm, knocking him down. "It was an attempt to help a good friend! More than friend, a brother!"

 

"And I thank you!" Grimm tried to break free of the magistrate's grip, rolling both of them over the mine floor until they were beaten on rusty tracks. "It's a perfect plan!"

 

The two crossed fists, hitting each other's faces. "Of course it is!" Hector replied, giving a quick headbutt to try to get back on top. "I thought it was too perfect for you not to have thought about it!"

 

"I'm good even unintentionally, isnt it?!" The magistrate managed to get back up, this time with Grimm holding him by the neck.

 

"Of course you're good! A good idiot is what you are-"

 

"Ahem!" Erin cleared her voice, pulling the two out of the fight. "Can I know what you're doing? ..." As if nothing were happening, Grimm and Hector got up quickly, wiping the dust and fixing their clothes. "Hello? Are you planning to say something?" The giantess began to get impatient, crossing her arms and frowning.

 

The duo looked at each other for a few seconds, fighting with their eyes. As Grimm lost the battle, and feeling responsible for the giantess, he decided to explain the situation. "Er-"

 

"HOW DO YOU DARE TO DO THIS TO ME?!" Erin yelled with all her might, causing small fragments of loose rock to fall from the ceiling. "IT ISNT ... it's not fair, Grimm! Not even 24 hours have passed since I entrusted you with my identity and my life! It was last night! You had no right to do something like that!"

 

"Erin, I-"

 

"ERIN? It's not fair, Grimm! In my contract says that I am your apprentice! It doesnt say you can ruin my undercover life! It doesnt mean you can inform my family where I am from! How am I going to trust my teacher if in less than 24 hours you have ruined all this year that I have spent hiding from my own family! I'm not a puppet so you can decide what's best for me!" Tears fell like rivers down the cheeks of the giantess, snatching any response that Hector or Grimm had thought.

"You dont answer? ... I dont care what my contract says! You're a wretch, Grimm!" Without waiting, the giantess jumped over her master, starting to run towards the depths of the mine.

 

"Erin!-" Hector tried to scream, being answered instantly by a scream.

"Go fuck you too! Both! I'll get that jewel so that Emmile can have her father by her side without your help, pair of assholes!" The giantess walking away in the darkness was what ripped the magistrate from his stupor, trying to pull his friend's arm without answer.

 

"Come on Grimm! Stop being silly! We have to-"

 

"I'm a real imbecile ... is not it, Hector?" Grimm said in complete neutrality, without raising his voice.

"What the hell are you talking about, Grimm? Erin has gone to the depths! We are on the first floor, but the NullumEst are still dangerous! Quick, lend me one of your swords! The situation-"

 

"It's like she said..." Grimm's tone dropped, while the master's head was tilted upward, as if searching for something on the stone ceiling. "Not even 24 hours have passed and I've already ruined a whole year of her work ... I had no reason to distrust her story... but even so, I asked you to find out if it was true"

 

""Damn it! We do not have time for a depressive episode! Listen Grimm, there's nothing wrong with checking a story with so many big names behind! That's what I would do-"

 

"There is no such thing as logic in this world, Hector. Are pure selfish feelings, disguised as complacency to justify us... and if her grandfather really puts Gurian before her another time? And if... I've made an innocent girl lose her family?"

Slap!

Grimm's cheek burned with pain, as much as Hector's fist. The sound of the blow was much more contained than the power of the blow, enough to render a normal man unconscious. Even so, Grimm's tears were not from the punch.

"And if... I've failed the only person I wanted to help? I dont know ... I dont know what to do, Hec..."

 

Hector sighed, waving his hand in the slap. They were more than 30 years since the last major depressive episode, so Grimm really must have been hurt by his actions.

"If you've failed that girl ... you can only do one thing!" Taking a step forward, the magistrate grabbed his friend by the collar of his shirt, raising it up. (Well, Grimm didnt oppose any resistance either)

"Fix it! Fix it up! Ask a thousand times for forgiveness today, and ask a thousand times for forgiveness tomorrow! That your relationship is not based on a contract! Let Erin see that you really care! You are Grimm, the dark shadow of Paradiso!"

 

"The contract was just an excuse to get close to her ..." Squeezing harder, Hector lowered his friend until he was face to face.

 

"What makes you cling to her so much? What are you looking for, Grimm?" No word came from the teacher's mouth, breathing slowly until Hector began to shake him. "Answer me!"

 

"I have many things to answer ... right?" Grimm let out a small nervous laugh, closing his eyes for the impact. As he imagined, Hector threw him to the ground, leaving him with outstretched arms. "The truth? I dont even know ... When I saw her for the first time competing in Iher games, I felt something inside of me ... a feeling of responsibility ... of melancholy ... as if seeing her, I felt close and far away.

I consult Iher about this ... and Iher advised me to ask to her directly ... but unfortunately, she had already left"

 

The sentences had less and less meaning, but Hector did his best to follow the story a second time. "And you followed her" Grimm looked to the side, hoping his friend understood the rest.

 

"That would make me a pervert who persecutes minors ... and I'm not like that. I resigned myself not to think about it again ... until our paths crossed in GreenGate. I saw her leave the Guild of the city ... and I felt the same melancholy ..."

 

"From there it was like you told me, right? You entered the Guild and saw that her name was in an offer to sell MotherNight" Nodding, Grimm opened his eyes again.

 

"The reason why I distrusted her story ... the reason for my melancholy ... the reason that Gurian took her with her ... last night I understood everything. Erin ... she's a legatee- "

 

"I already know that, Grimm. What is not found is who is the third part of his birth. Those things are not recorded anywhere ..."

 

"Bella" Hector fell silent, falling to his knees with Grimm's head in his arms. "What….?...."

 

"Bella... Bella is her other mother. Bella is the one who gave part of her soul to fulfill her dream ..." Blinking quickly, Grimm eluded one of the magistrate's tears.

 

"How can it be ... Gaspar never told me! I was ... we were at her funeral! Maybe you and Iskar were in the audience, but I was by his side! Bella was also my friend!"

 

"That a child is born with giant blood without giant ancestors is not unusual because of the accumulation of giant soul that is in Vontalba, even more, it is considered a sign that the baby will do great things. When Erin mentioned Bella ... and Gurian, it all made sense-"

 

"And why didnt you tell me anything?! You have hidden a crucial part, unfortunate! I had the right to know! I had the right to know that Bella ... that Erin is her daughter! I'm too old for you to make me cry like this!" Trying to ignore his friend's hand by picking up his tears, Hector gritted his teeth with all his might, fighting not to run after Erin.

 

"Because I dont want to be the teacher of Bella's daughter. I dont believe in the future of that girl because of her inheritance ... I believe in her because I've seen someone kind and brave, who instead of getting away from here ... has run deeper, trying to help an imbecile as deep as us.

We were in the same battle in which Bella lost everything ... but the order that Dancing Glory and Black Veil be repositioned made us get rid of the final massacre... Bella never forgave us ... and she died resentful with alll of us-"

 

"The order came directly from Amun and Iher, Grimm ... it is useless to keep thinking about what would have happened if we had not gone to secure the lines of evacuation towards Inferno. Bella may still be angry with us, but when I talked to her ... she confided that she did not hate us, she just envied us-" 

 

"I can not change the decisions of the past, but I'm not going to live my final trying to redeem myself before Bella" Hector blinked more confused than he would like, completely losing the thread of the conversation.

"What I really want is to see the world to its fullest potential, I want to see the role that Erin will play for the future! I want to help Erin, train her and guide her ... so that she never makes someone cry like I have done. The world revolving up its brightest face!"

 

Hector mumbled a snarl, pulling away and letting Grimm rise. "So is that your decision? Is that the reason why you care about her?"

 

"Do you think there is something more hidden, my friend?" With the recovered smile, Grimm showed his helmet and full armor.

 

"I know there is not ... I know you too well. And if there was, I'll kill you for it-"

"I accept that deal! Now if you'll excuse me, I'll wait for you at the entrance to the Dependencies!"

 

Without saying anything else, Grimm disappeared with the WorldDiver, leaving the magistrate behind.

"I hate you so much, Grimm ..." Sighing, Hector got up, kicking the wagon and finishing off the NullumEst with a single blow of the wrist. "Are you planning to wait for something else, Ehrwald?"

 

Half trembling and still pale from vomiting, Ehrwald approached his patner leaning against the wall. "You were so engrossed in the conversation ... and Erin seemed so angry when she heard you ... I thought it best to wait patiently for you to fix things ... like the last time you argued"

 

With a half smile, Hector approached him, grabbing him under his shoulder in an improvised charge. "Thanks for waiting, I'll make sure the real alchemist knows how diligent you are. And do not deny yourself, now you're going to be a father, you'll need a lot more money"

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

Mines of the Armory: Near the end of the Floor 0

 

Erin had been wandering alone in the dark for a while. After running without stopping for almost 10 minutes, the giantess had slowed down when she noticed that the ceiling lamps were more dispersed. The darkness grew, and with it the creatures that crawl through it.

"I dont have time for nonsense! If there is a NullumEst, go out!" Erin shouted to no one in particular, too upset to realize the stupidity of her act. Although it made sense that she wasnt able to see it, because her head was in Vontalba continuously.

What to tell to her parents ... what excuse to say to her brothers ... and her grandmother ...

And the biggest problem, grandfather Gaspar.

Hello Grandpa! Do you still prefer to take the side of a man who called me a betraying begotten of my country? Or how is life treating you?

 

"Of course not! How could I say something so rude? ..." Erin sighed while still cursing Grimm. They werent enough curses for him ... and even so, the giantess doubted if it had been right to leave.

Because, even with everything, Erin wanted to believe in her teacher. What if he was being honest with the magistrate? Maybe Grimm really didnt know anything about the meeting being held in Iiion.

 

And ... to tell the truth ... the giantess didnt remember it either. And she was part of the royal family of one of the members of the meeting, which made forgetting about the meeting even more serious. Even so, nothing gave him the right to tell her origins to another person

...

"Hector would have ended up recognizing me ... I havent even changed my hair color... It isnt fair that I feel like this is also my responsibility. I am not the one who has not even waited 24 hours to tell me who I am! I have to trust Grimm's word, why he has to check mine? That-"

 

Clank! Clank!

 

The giantess stopped in her tracks, her blood frozen completely. Turning her head slowly, Erin prepared for the fight ... although there was nothing. "Hi? ... is there anyone?" The giantess asked, seeing only the wagons and the old tools she had passed by a few seconds ago. "If there is someone there ... you can leave, I'm not angry and I'm not going to hit you... please ..."

Of course, nothing and no one responded to the request, which Erin took as a sign that she should keep walking-

 

Clank!

 

"DAMMIT! COME OUT ONCE!" Erin was so nervous that she had unconsciously pulled out one of her swords, pointing towards the darkness as if it were a gigantic dragon. Slowly the giantess's eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing how the tools she had so casually overlooked before were sliding on the floor. Still trembling, Erin went to investigate, kneeling on the ground to see a kind of small bright green mass dragging the two pickaxes.

"It's you? Are you the NullumEst? You are smaller than I expected ..." Sighing for the embarrassment of being so scared, Erin knelt closer to the creature, trying to remove the pickaxe ... only to find that she could not pull it off.

"Hey ... you're stronger than you look, but this is not going to help you from n ... .n ... to ... na ... da ...." The green mass began to spread out from the ground, becoming an amorphous beast as tall as a Huma, covered with mouths and tongues. What Erin assumed was the creature, it was only one of their tongues.

"A ... ayyyy ... my mother ..." Erin said releasing her beak and getting up slowly, taking distance from the "thing".

"I have read too many comics to not know how a young girl ends up with a thing covered in tongues ... although they are usually tentacles ..."

 

As if offended by the comment, the thing hit the ground and walls with its beak, shaking it in all directions as if it were a truncheon. Erin managed to deflect some of the blows with her sword, retreating as much as she could. "To not even reach my waist, you're a quarrel, eh Blob?" The thing remained motionless, with its tongues hanging. "Oh, come on! You are ... a ball of ectoplasm with many mouths! Blob comes to you that neither painted! You know what? Fuck you! Charme des ténèbres: Flèche amoureuse"

The dark arrows pierced Blob, who did not take more than a second to close all his wounds.

"Oh ... you're ... like a jelly? I thought you would be more solid ... Do not worry! That you deal with those of your type! Mystère de Grimm No. 41: le glacier stellaire" Unleashing the icy stream, Erin directed it towards Blob, covering it in a matter of seconds. "Eat this!"

Turning Blob into a ball of ice, Erin did not waste a second. With a quick step forward, the giantess dug her sword with a single thrust. "Never get involved-" Gathering all her strength, Erin used the sword as a handle to lift Blob over her head, throwing him against the wall. "With an angry giantess!"

The frozen ball exploded into a thousand pieces-

"And dont think about getting together! Charme de la flamme sacrée de Vegner: Fête du soleil! "Conjuring a huge sphere of fire on the remains of Blob, Erin crashed her fists and exploded, reducing the remains to mere dust.

 

"Mysteries of Grimm and the sacred charms of the Vegner family ..." Raising her arms in sheer emotion, Erin shouted with a thumbs-up. "These are the two wings that take care of me, and while I have then on my side you can never defeat me! Is it clear to you, Grimm?!"

 

Clapping excited, Grimm appearing through the opposite wall. "You say that's because you're not mad at me anymore, dear apprentice?"

 

"I'm still very angry! But a lot!" Erin said fast as lightning, the answer far from what Grimm expected. "But gods! How good this feels! Have you seen that, teacher? I've destroyed it but good! I had not felt so good since I managed to snatch the sword from my grandfather for the first time!"

 

"If they gave me a RedOrb for every time a rookie tells me that ... it would be rich now. Although I have to recognize you, apprentice ... it has been an excellent execution, a 9 out of 10" Ignoring the giantess' protest face, Grimm approached her, gesturing for her to sit down. "Do you want me to apologize now?"

 

"No, now I want to defeat another NullumEst and get the jewel to Myddrin so that Emmile can talk to him ... and then, you will ask for forgiveness and we will begin to think about what I will say to my grandfather" The face of the giantess was impassive, which meant that Grimm had no room for negotiation.

 

"I accept under your terms ... but dont get used to it, you are my apprentice and I will make sure you learn that crying doesnt help to always get away with it"

 

"I have cried because of the anger of knowing that you have not taken a day to tell my secret! You would not have cried in my place?" The giantess replied, which allowed Grimm to know that the subsequent conversation with Hector was still private.

 

"I cried, apprentice ... I have cried for knowing that I have failed you. And I swear not to fail you too many times more"

 

"Huh?" Erin went to answer, but the sound of thunder falling to the bottom of the mine served as a point and separate in the conversation. "What was that?! another ulgy monster?"

 

Grimm smiled softly, looking intently into the depths. "Dark circus technique: Wild thunder ... I would recognize that sound anywhere"

 

"How can you distinguish that thunder and say what spell it is, master? Not all the thunder sounds the same?"A second thunder made the whole cave rumble, and judging from his master's position, the situation was getting worse.

 

"Darling, I make that spell!" A furious, brutal roar filled the air, forcing Erin to stand guard. "But we dont need to talk about it anymore. Whatever Grand is attacking, it intends to flee ... and we are on his way. Are you ready to fight, Erin?!" Making a black sword appear, Grimm stood with his sword straight and his feet together, in a posture similar to the kendo style but much calmer.

 

"A pregnant woman is waiting for us! I will fight until my body is dry and my blood spilled on our enemies!" The intensity of the giantess was well received, for Grimm knew from the cry that what was approaching was the only type of monster that could ignore the limitations of the floors ... which augured a great first battle

 

 

---

 

 

The beast, similar to a gigantic centipede, twisted and writhed all over the mine causing landslides. Erin managed to deflect them with her sword but Grimm wasnt so lucky, entertained in defending himself from the furious bites of the beast.

"Rule number 1!" Grimm shouted as he raised his right hand towards the ceiling, snapping his fingers to freeze it completely. "The deep ones use and train this type of-... Insects!" Erin jumped towards her master, dragging him to avoid the onslaught of the beast. "Thank you ..." The centipede began to nibble on the ground, creating a hole where it fled.

"As I said, the deep ones train these damn insects as siege weapons ... this is, concretely, a Tombstep ... dont confuse it with a centipedes of the surface"

 

"He's as big as you, teacher ... I can hardly confuse him," Erin replied, wiping away the sweat.

 

"I dont mean that, idiot! For starters, as you have already seen, the shell of a Tombstep is fucking hard ... and unlike a normal centipede-" The ground began to tremble, the duo jumping backwards to see how the beast was coming out of the ground at full speed, their jaws bloodied by the hardness of the rocks. "Unlike the animals and insects on the surface, deep ones have no concept of survival"

 

"Fight to death or kill, dont you?" Erin raised her sword, cleaning it and charging forward again. "If your shell is too hard for magic, I will pierce your mouth!"

 

"Moron! If it were so easy-" But the warning came too late. Erin leapt forward, throwing her thrust directly at the Tombstep's tongue, only to be caught by the creature's jaws.

 

"H... how?!" Shredding the sword as if it were a piece of bread, the Tombstep roared before diving back into the duo, forcing Erin to flee with the WorldDiver. Grimm gritted his teeth before conjuring his black roots, tying the creature long enough for both of them to be safe. "If the mouth is not the answer, where should we aim?!"

 

"The chitin of deep insects is resistant to magic and normal blows ... but that resistance does not completely cover their body. This Territory was created in a time when the deep ones still didnt cover their insects with armor ... so our best option is to force the Tombstep to attack us until we see where its shell becomes softer ..." The Tombstep began to shake with more violence, managing to break some of the roots. Grimm spat on the ground, the giantess tried to keep calm and pretend that the blood mixed with the saliva was not there.

"Dont worry so much, my black roots are part of the shadow of the devil that keeps me alive. Breaking them is the only thing that beast can do to harm me"

 

"Reason enough to not use them!" Erin protested as they separated again to avoid the onslaught of the Tombstep. "The mine is not so big or high enough to make it spin as much ... What's the plan?"

 

"That dear apprentice ... is what I would like to know!" Before the Tombstep disappeared again through a tunnel, Grimm jumped on him throwing his sword at the back of the beast, managing to nail it. "Mystère de Grimm N ° 70: Rouge pur, vie pure!"

The little finger of grimm red glitter, filling with cuts instantly. As if it were a firearm, the master's blood flew at full speed until it hit the handle of the sword, tying it in a sort of knot. "Erin! I need you here!" Grimm shouted as the Tombstep slunk back down the tunnel, unaware of Grimm's sword on his back.

Quickly traversing the distance between them, Erin grabbed her master by the waist. With all her strength, the giantess ground the ground nailing her feet, pulling the beast in the opposite direction. "Show that fucking insect the power of a giantess, apprentice!" Grimm encouraged her, pulling at his own blood with both hands.

 

"I dont... need ... you-..." The Tombstep writhed with all his might, trying to get away from the sword to flee underground. More the giantess had no plans to let him run away.

"To tell me- Grrrr" Gritting her teeth, Erin started pulling her teacher back, digging her heels with each step. "to show my-" The beast was frantic, losing ground second by second. "My giantess strength! I'm not just a giantess!" With a shout, Erin threw herself backwards, managing to get enough out of the Tombsterp for her tail to start poking through the hole again. "I AM A HUMA/GIANTESS! MY PRIDE IS FOR ALL WHO BRING ME HERE!"

 

Reaching back, the giantess shot all her body and the beast at the same time, taking the Tombstep and throwing it up into the mine. "That's it!" Grimm celebrated as the beast lay motionless on the ground, purple blood gushing from the wound that the master's sword had caused him. Helping the giantess to get up again, Grimm smiled to see which side lay the Tombstep. "Hector! All yours!"

 

Going down at full speed through the mine, Hector smiled as he began to concentrate. "NullumEst, there are 2 things I want to say: The first..." The magistrate stopped 5 meters from the Tombstep, waiting for Ehrwald to reach him. "I just dont like insects that hurt my family ..." With one hand on his back, Hector closed his eyes, letting the alchemist do his magic.

Ehrwald knew exactly what time it was, taking two blue cans out of his bag. Shaking them, the alchemist bent down to pick up the pieces of rock the Tombstep had released when it fell. "First principle of alchemy-" He began to recite in a low voice, forming a straight line with the pieces before proceeding to cover them with liquid. Ehrwald's arms were covered with blue glyphs, while the liquid began to harden. "Form the future: Magic glue!"

 

Wrapped in a flash, the liquid solidified completely, forming a dull sword that Hector picked up. "And the other thing... it's not for you, but for Erin" Tightening all the muscles of his body, Hector's tunic burst, falling down only held by his belt.

"Be sure to learn this lesson the first time, Erin... because for a yojimbo ..." Héctor's muscles began to glow red, a seal appearing on top of his right pectoral. Raising his sword high, the magistrate turned his entire body back, only with one foot forward at the same level as his sword.

The magistrate vanished before the watchful eye of Erin, who searched in all directions. All that the giantess found was the guilty smile of her master, who crossed his arms behind his head. "Even a dull sword ..." Erin quickly turned around, watching Hector reappear as he wiped the purple blood of the Tombstep from his glue sheet. The giantess blinked confused, until the touch of her teacher made her turn again towards the Tombstep.

"It's more than enough to cut down those who should never have existed"

 

In less than what the giantess took in blinking, huge jets of blood began to sprout from the body of the Tombstep, while it was divided into three fragments.

"Uchinaru-ryoku no michi: Danpen-ka sa reta jinsei" Like the corpse of Tombstep, Hector's sword broke into pieces. "And in case you hadnt understood... Path of inner strength: fragmented life"

 

One could say that the magistrate was enjoying the situation, enjoying the face of admiration of the giantess ... and that one would have all the reason in the world.

"Dude, you have muscles too worked and marked for your age ... you make me feel bad with my own body and that didnt happen for more than 300 years- Wait, the last time happened 40 years ago, which was the last time I saw you half naked" Grimm joked as he pushed away the remnants of the Tombstep, helping Ehrwald pass without getting stained with blood.

 

"Mr. Hector! What a body so defined for his age!" Ehrwald emphasized slightly offended the magistrate, who understood that the comment didnt hide any malice, only admiration.

 

"I will be almost 90 years old, but daily exercise and meditation is very helpful in keeping you fit. Changing the subject, have you stayed with the lesson, Erin? This type of magic is very common in the oriental kingdoms, where I come from. They are known as Heiwa no kokonotsu no michi, or the nine ways of peace"

 

The giantess nodded, slightly absorbed by the inherent strength of the naked torso of the magistrate. Although the front was full of cuts and scars, only a scar adorned his back ... a show of power. "Basically, you reinforce your body by magic, right?"

 

"Right. Each of the 9 paths is focused on a certain part of the body, the example is the path of inner strength, which focuses on the strengthening of the of the muscles, something that any type of oriental martial fighter knows how to use at will. In contrast, Western martial fighters often use more magic to improve their armor or weapons"

The two elders could see how the mind of the giantess began to to devise something ... her smiling half grimace was a clear sign of that.

 

"If you have finished speaking-" Grimm caught the attention of the giantess as she began to continue descending. "The portal to floor -1 is in front of us ... and maybe Grand too ... although honestly, I doubt it very much. That Tombstep has come straight out of the ground diagonally, so it must have come from the lower floors"

 

The group nodded, beginning to follow Grimm, descending into the darkening depths. On their way, the corpses of several Tombstep were joined with the marks of claws on walls, roof and floor and the holes that the insects had used to attack or escape; and judging by the state of decomposition, Grimm insinuated that they had been there since the morning. The remains of a brutal combat, without a doubt.

What impressed the giantess most was that the stomachs of the beasts were fulminated with electric magic, a sign that Grand was as powerful as his master ... because if something Erin wanted to believe, it was that Grimm had restrained himself his to let her take care of the Tombstep.

 

At the end of the tunnel, in this case literally, a portal similar to the one they had used to enter floated in front of a ruined tunnel, the entrance full of signs of forbidden passage.

"What a pity, Grimm" Hector laughed as he approached the portal, turning to see the face of his friend. "Your boyfriend has not expected us"

 

"Damn bastard! Grand isnt my boyfriend! Brothers! We're brothers!" Grimm defended the second, his face much redder than Erin had ever seen him. "Erin! Ignore him! Grand and I are brothers sworn by blood, nothing more!" The giantess nodded without wanting to say anything, intrigued by the nervousness of her teacher.

 

"So you want to go in first? Maybe Grand is inside and you can K I S S before your apprentice comes in and misunderstands a show of love between brothers for ... you know-" Pushing aside the magistrate, Grimm went through the portal screaming.

"YOU ARE A ASSHOLE, HÉCTOR! YOU HAD ANYTHING SAID-" And the voice stopped ringing.

"Dont worry, the portals dont transmit the sound once you get to the other side. Grimm is as good as he can be" Hector tried to reassure the giantess while Ehrwald joined Grimm on the other side. Even so, the fact that the giantess kept looking at the portal without saying anything worried him. "Something wrong, Erin?"

 

"Your joke was just a joke? Or was he serious? Grand is Grimm's boyfriend... why they are not... together?" The giantess kept sounding much more worried than Hector expected, the joke without context had really affected her.

 

"Ohhh ... you're too innocent and good for your size, little one. Listen to this Erin," The giantess knelt quickly, as if afraid that someone might hear them. "Grand and Grimm ... I have no idea of r03;r03;their feelings for the other. They are from our family the ones who knew each other before Merlinus summoned us in Phromecia ... and they have always been very close to each other, without ever showing public acts of love.

They are friends? They are a couple? It has always been a topic with which to joke in our family ... unfortunately, now both live in different worlds"

 

The magistrate concludes turning towards the portal, being stopped by the hand of the giantess."How do they live in different worlds? But isnt Grand supposed to be here?" The question of the giantess had touched a delicate subject, Erin could tell by how the magistrate's face darkened quickly. "That will have to be Grimm tell you ... he made us swear it would be he who would bear the burden of telling"

 

Without saying anything else, Hector crossed the portal, leaving the giantess meditating in silence.

"Grimm is really a very mysterious man ... all the people who have gathered around him ... I guess it's the result of such a long life ..." The idea of living in different worlds from the person one loves resons inside Erin's head, who could not help but worry about her teacher. She herself had a promise of love to fulfill ... and no matter how silly it sounded, the giantess really wanted the people around her to be as happy as they could be.

Without wanting for her companions to wait her, the giantess went inside the portal. 

 

 

---

 

Mines of the Armory. Floor -1: Dependencies/Residence of the miners.

 

"Alchemical fire! Your turn, Uncle Grimm!"

The giantess did not have a second to get used to the pressure, a combat receiving it as soon as it appeared. Human-like beings without heads attacked the group, armed with rusty picks and enrobed blades.

Ehrwald jumped back, throwing a small ball that exploded with great force, covering with a yellowish liquid the strange Unborn.

 

"You have 20 seconds to group them, Hector!" Grimm yelled as he opened his arms, making Erin appear at his side. The new pressure and the nauseating smell were causing the giantess to be dizzy, so Grimm was forced to jump to slap her in the hope of making her react. "Erin! There is no time! Open your book and go to mystery number 5!" Grimm ordered, the combined shout and slap was more than enough for Erin to come to her senses, opening her book and navigating through the pages.

 

"20 seconds? I have 10 left over! "The magistrate shouted even louder, the emotion permeating him completely. "Harikēnfōsurōdo: Gyaku shikuron!" Hitting the ground with the palms of his hands, Hector invoked a powerful hurricane that took the NullumEst away with him, directing everything on him. "Keep your spirit up, Erin! Let your heart go up in flames and let yourself be carried away by the heat!"

 

With a blow with his hand open, the magistrate threw all the NullumEsts towards Grimm and Erin.

"Showtime, Apprentice!" Grimm said smiling, standing back to back (Rather back to backside of Erin's legs) with his apprentice, both pointing their hands forward, forming the V of victory. "Mystère de Grimm N ° 5: Flamme collante" The two shouted in unison, releasing a green flame that enveloped the monsters, sticking them between them without being able to let go.

 

Grimm thought it was enough, but the giantess was too excited to stop. Without warning, Erin lunged forward, leaving her teacher behind. "Mystère de Grimm No. 161: Great Bright Flare!" Unsheathed her second sword and covering it with golden flames, Erin gave a great slash, piercing the entire ball of stuck monsters.

 

The golden flames absorbed the greens, taking advantage of both them and the alchemical fire of Ehrwald to burn the triple of fast to completely consume the NullumEst. "Master ... those... god, It's so hard to say NullumEst without stopping to think...-

 

"Amun also calls them Unborn, if that is easier for you to remember" Ehrwald's words were received as May water by the giantess, who opened her eyes wide as she saw that there was a term a thousand times less complicated than saying NullumEst

 

"Well... those Unborn were born of the miners consumed by the deep ones, right?"

 

The giantess was much more perceptive than Grimm expected. "Yes, dear apprentice"

 

"Then ..." Erin went back up straight, sheathing her sword. "I dont care how many cycles they have lived and how many will live. In this I will grant them a quick and painless death"

 

"That's why you used golden fire, right?" Ehrwald asked, joining Grimm and Hector.

 

"The golden fire that doesnt burn or torture, only consumes ... a poetic ending for this little slaughter" Hector nodded with half-closed eyes, watching Grimm out of the corner of one.

 

"Your technique has been interesting at least, Erin" Grimm walked towards the giantess, gesturing for him to sit down. "A painless death for those condemned to repeat a cycle ... good job, apprentice. Two spells in a day" Erin blushed embarrassed, but even when Grimm raised his hand to pat the head of the giantess. "Tomorrow I want you to write both this and the technique inherited from Myddrin in the book"

 

Erin nodded accepting the duties without complaint, taking advantage of the moment of calm to see the area. The dependency complex was a great tunnel vertically down, with roads dug to the sides full of dilapidated rotten wooden shacks. At the bottom of the hole you could hear the noise of Branese conveyor belts, accompanied by the periodic whistling of steam escaping.

"Electro-Iron excavation complex is down, right?" The giantess asked as she watched Hector approach the railing in disrepair, wondering how deep the floor would be.

 

"Right, Erin." The magistrate peeked carefully over the edge, not seeing the bottom. On the other hand, what he did see was what was expected. "We have to be careful, friends. Some previous adventurers have activated the mineral waste system ..."

 

By the expression of disgust of Grimm and the one of disappointment of Ehrwald, the giantess could imagine that it was not a good news. "Cursed adventurous newbies!" Grimm began to rant, also leaning over the edge to check the situation. "They dont read the information of the territory and then what happens happens, they activate traps that complicate the situation more to others! That is to be insensitive and uncivil!"

With a pat on the back, Hector and Grimm shared a few seconds of complacency, turning the group around with the bad news. "Erin, midget... we are in a hurry and the stupid ones who came before have activated the traps, so we need to have our eyes wide open"

 

Although Erin did not understand her teacher's preoccupation with these traps, there was someone in the group prepared for the occasion. "It's not all bad news, Uncle Grimm and Mr. Hector! As Emmile always says-" Ehrwald tried to cheer up the two old men, digging in his bag for a boat full of silver dust. "There is only one way to face the deep ones"

The eyes of the two old men shone when they saw the silver dust, exclaiming in unison. "Field of dreams!" Climbing to the railing, Ehrwald opened the dust and threw it into the void, creating a magic circle in the air.

"Ours is the will of Amun, ours the body of Bío and ours the heart of the King! Primal Law of the Alchemist: Path of Pure Dreams!" Slowly, all the silver dust thrown began to float upward, stopping above the magic circle.With gentle hand movements, Ehrwald moved the dust forming a path to the center of the circle. "Ready! Now-"

 

"Not ready, dwarf" Grimm interrupted really annoying without Erin could understand why. "You have not activated the circle! Start walking, do not tell me you're afraid of heights!"

 

"Uncle Grimm, I cant activate it anymore ..." The alchemist's cheeks began to flush, looking away from his uncle.

 

"Eh? Dont make excuses, dwarf! I dont intend to waste time in the traps, and I suggest that you dont either! There is a compelling reason to hurry-"

 

"UNCLE GRIMM! I'm not a virgin anymore! I cant walk the dream path!" Ehrwald's face (and indirectly Erin's) went completely red, watching as Grimm arched an eyebrow.

"How are you not going to be-"

"How the hell do you think I've got my wife pregnant?!" The conversation was really uncomfortable for everyone present, Erin and Hector especially seeing how much it was costing Grimm to get the message.

 

As if a branese bulb had lit over his head, Grimm struck one of his fists against his other palm, directing his gaze to Hector. "I cant have children ... Grimm, but I swear that that if you dare to suggest what you're thinking, I'll send you to the bottom of the pit with a kick"

 

"Well, I cant either! My record is proof enough that-" Instantly, half Grimm smashed 180 degrees to finish over his apprentice. "Erin, are you a virg-"

 

Without thinking twice and without giving a second of reaction, Erin put forward one foot, turning her whole body to give Grimm the biggest slap she had ever given anyone in her life. The force of the impact, added to the advantage of weight of the giantess and the inertia of the movement were enough to send Grimm flying and turning as if it were a bullet, landing 10 meters above the wall of a half-destroyed house.

The movement had been so instinctive that the giantess took a second to recover consciousness, remaining frozen to understand what had happened.

 

"Thanks." Ehrwald and Hector said in perfect harmony, although Erin didnt listen them because of the tension inside her head.

 

As fresh as a rose, Grimm rose from the ground, rubbing the marked shape on his face from the giantess's hand. (Mark that occupied more than 60% of his head)

"You dont have to say anything, apprentice. Even I realize how discourteous it has been to ask you about your virginity and no longer as a young girl ... if not as a princess" A much less violent response than Erin expected. "Even so, I must insist that we are in a hurry. If you are so kind and you meet the requirements to walk the dream path, I would really appreciate it-"

 

"Wait for me to clarify this-" The giantess tried to push the subject away for a few seconds, while letting her heart return to itself. "Does this spell require the user to be a virgin to function?"

 

"Basically," Ehrwald replied to the stupefied giantess. "Virgin blood is an important ingredient for the primordial laws of alchemy, so the great alchemists tend to have young and pure apprentices, naming them masters when they no longer have that purity of blood"

 

"I ... I ..." The giantess sighed, trying to raise the collar of her raincoat to cover her face. "I will ..." Erin agreed almost whispering, so much so that the group struggled to understand the statement. "Just tell me what to do and that's it, I want to finish this as soon as possible to lock myself in a cave and never leave again"

 

"Easy, it's very simple" Ehrwald tried to draw a small alchemical circle around the earth, surrounding it with stars. "You place yourself in the center, I will create the ritual and when I give you the signal you should spill a drop of blood right in the center. If everything goes well, we generate a slide of silver dust to the bottom"

 

"And you will not fall when you step on the slide? None of the three of you are virg- god, this is the worst thing that has happened to me in years, even worse than Gurian shouting at me..." The question of the giantess was exactly the same as Ehrwald himself asked his teacher in this same place, so the answer came naturally and quickly.

 

"For that your blood! It will solidify the way so that we with blood fallen in alchemical sin can step on it! I know that all this virginity and sin sounds a lot like sect ... but the laws of alchemy are very old and efficient, we have never found a way to achieve the same effects with blood post sexual relations-"

 

"I dont need to hear it!" Erin interrupted shaking her head and turning towards the road, walking with her head down all the way to hide her shame red tone having it completely. The first steps on the vacuum were more or less easy, although the giantess was afraid of suffering a sudden attack of vertigo.

The problem came when the giantess arrived halfway, because the dust trembled slightly, the sensation similar to when her grandfather made her cross suspension bridges during her workouts. "Forgive the question, Eral ... but this is completly safe, no?"

 

"Of course! The dream path only asks..." The alchemist's eyes snapped open, his fingers moving unconsciously up and down as if he were counting.

 

The alchemist's silence caused the rest of the group to come under tension at once, Grimm and Hector ran quickly towards Ehrwald. "You've taken into account Erin's weight ... no?" Grimm asked without getting an answer. "DWARF, TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE WEIGHT OF MY FUCKING APPRENTICE!"

 

"W ... what ... what did ... I do ...?" Erin asked shaking and crying, trying to keep her whole body as still as possible.

 

"Erin, listen to me ..." Grimm leaned over the railing, seriously considering jumping to try to grab Erin. Unfortunately, the teacher knew his own limits well ... and that would only make them both fall. "Try not to move ... I'm going to-"

As if it were a window, the path of silver dust broke into a thousand pieces.

 

Time slowed down for everyone, each second charging a meaning completely for all. For Erin, the sensation of falling was enough to leave her semi-conscious, only being able to notice how her body fell uncontrollably.

For Grimm, the adrenaline and the feeling of wanting to protect his apprentice was the necessary fuel to propel him, throwing himself behind Erin.

For Hector and Ehrwald, seeing Grimm and Erin falling was the trigger to jump behind them, trusting that Grimm could have grabbed the giantess so catching him would save them both. Unfortunately, master and apprentice were very far apart ... which led the two to fall down to try to rescue them.

 

4 souls descending in the darkness at full speed, rushing to a sure moral death.

 

 

---

 

 

---

 

 

Last floors of floor -1. Minutes before the entrance of Dancing Glory

 

"If you have finished, turn off the fire. Attracting more Tombstep is not within the plans of our last hours here

 

"Why? We are alone and the territory will restart tomorrow! We've killed a lot already, I do not think there's any left" The felinke protested but didnt stop obeying, pouring some of the water from her canteen over the campfire.

 

"My dear Miki..." Grand floated around the felinke, caressing his arms as he noticed how his young lady bristled her hair, fruit of the icy and spectral touch. "You are a lady of high birth ... you must not act like a vulgar adventurer. What would your parent say if he saw that under my care you have assailed yourself?"

 

"Oh come on, I'm not going wild! It's just not wanting to waste water in vain! We still have to be here-" The felinke snapped her fingers, trying to remember.

"2 hours more, your body still needs a little more treatment"

"And that's why I dont want to waste my water! And if more of those filthy insects appear, they force us to fight and ended up dehydrated for not having water in my canteen?!" Grand had to roll his eyes, not wanting to argue at this time. Miki was extremely prudent, logical for her sick past ... but even prudence has a limit where it begins to blur with obsession. "Come on, say it" Miki challenged the specter, as bold as ever.

 

"I? Say? Darling ..." Grand floated around her until he stopped behind her, hugging her from behind. "I was hired to save your life ... to rid you of the evils that afflict your heart and body" Slipping one of his hands down the felinke's shaved back, Grand stopped when he reached the flexible and hairy (But still slightly muscled) tail of his partner, sliding his fingers through them to cause a chill. "I know you perfectly inside and out, and you know me. You dont need me to tell you anything"

 

"You're too disturbing even to be a-" Miki fell silent at the sound of what seemed to be a slap, loud enough to resonate throughout the complex of dependencies. Grand contained a laugh to see how all the fur on the body of the felinke stood up scared, the specter returned to embrace with both arms trying to calm her young and frightened heart.

"What was that ?!"

 

"That dear, it has been your desire to give me a slap in the face-"

 

"Idiot!" Miki jumped up, running to the entrance of the abandoned bedroom that had been assaulted and taken as his own. Carefully, the felinke drew his dark blue dagger from its weapon holder, holding it back as Grand had taught him.

 

"You should look out if you want to see something ... hiding behind the door frame will not make you-"

"And if it's a disgusting bug?" Miki answered instantly, letting her insect panic take over. "Please, Grand ..." Carefully, the felinke took the pendant out of her pocket, tucking it around her neck while throwing little puppy eyes (ironic coming from a felinke) to the specter.

 

With a snort, Grand accepted the proposal as he began to float to the collar, the spectrum was introduced inside, letting the magic of Merlinus work its magic.

Slowly, Miki's soul began to sink into his heart, leaving Grand to take control of her body. "Well, are you ready?" Grand asked as he unpacked the felinke's ponytail.

 

"I had a hard time getting that ponytail in the dark..." Miki whispered depressed, watching as all her hard work cascaded down her back.

 

"I dont understand how you can make ponytail taking into account that the ears of the felinkes are on the top of your heads ... it is super uncomfortable to have the hair pulling our ears to one side constantly" Grand defended his decision, knowing how much Miki disapproved it. Carefully, the specter peeked into the outer corridor of the complex, looking both to the sides and to the hole.

 

"Do you see something? Is there some filthy bug?"

 

"You can open your eyes, pussy, there's nothing here" Grand could notice how Miki re-emerged from the bottom of her heart. While the felinke was reassured to see for herself the words of her guardian, Grand used the time to peek through the central hole, looking up and down the possible source of noise. "That hit sounded too much like a human slap ... it couldnt have been a bug"

 

"How can you distinguish the species?-" Miki tried to ask, interrupted by the ipso facta response of his guardian.

 

"You will see, my dear. You're young and inexperienced, and that's not bad at all ... considering the time you've been in bed sick; but your body, or rather, the body of the felinkes is incredibly skillful and powerful:

Night vision and improved, better sense of smell and hearing, harder and more efficient muscles and bones, sharp and resistant claws on hands and feet, powerful and completely manageable tails, warm fur and skin care and prepared to expel the heat ...

As we have already put into practice, your body along with my experience becomes a powerful machine-" The felinke couldnt stand any more empty adulation, but knowing that everything was to avoid telling her how he could distinguish the species of the assailant ... As always, Grand was a trickster charlatan who did not hesitate to put his deception skills into practice.

 

"Should we go check what happens?"

 

"I dont think it's a good idea. The blow has really sounded up, it would take several hours to get back to the top ... and let me ask the question, dear. Do you really want to get into the hassles of some small-time adventurers?" Miki wanted to protest, but Grand's argument made sense.

Neither of them had any intention of fighting more than necessary, because the visit to the Territory was part of the treatment of the felinke based on the dimensional aura of Amun ... and although Miki was much better, fighting for no reason could only bring problems ...

As the grandfather of her best friend Erin always said, to fight with everything one must be involved with 100% of his heart .... Erin ...

"Again thinking of your friend? Gods Miki, try to contain your melancholy when I'm in control of you!" Grand groaned, wiping away a lonely tear.

 

"It's not my fault! There's only one thing that I long for more than my home and it's Erin ... 4 years are too long apart ... I cant wait for the day where I can see her again and show her that I'm not the sickly kitten I used to be!"

 

With a sigh, Grand leaned on the railing, looking up the hole waiting to hear the adventurers again. "Yearning is useless, dear. It's not like that Erin was going to fall from the sky to see you"

 

"You dont know that! My last night's fortune cookie said that a great reunion would take place in Iiion!" Although Miki was inside her own heart, Grand could see her swelling her chest and holding her head high.

 

"You know that cookies always bring a generic message to try to look as convincing as possible, right?"

 

"You're depressing and a party pooper, Grand." Miki growled annoyed, turning around and going back inside his heart.

 

Grand could only shrug, leaving the young lady to deal with her own anger. "I'm realist-" As if it were thunder, the echo of a scream ran through all the rooms.

"DWARF, TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE WEIGHT OF MY FUCKING APPRENTICE?!"

 

Quickly, Miki re-emerged as soon as she heard the rumble, looking in all directions trying to locate the source. "Grand! There are problems! Grand? Hi, Miki calling Grand!" But Grand remained completely silent, as if he had just seen a ghost. (Rather hear)

Miki tried to keep calling him, with no result. The felinke was about to force the manual return of her body when a second sound filled the rooms, this time as if a window had been broken. Thanks to this second noise, Grand regained consciousness, jumping quickly over the railing. "Grand! What happens? Dont be silent again like that, idiot!"

 

Miki protested on the verge of tears, fearing both her body and her guardian."I'm so sorry dear, it's been like an echo from the past hit me right in the stomach ..."

 

"Emmm, I dont get it," Miki tried to say while watching Grand begin to conjure some kind of spell. "What are we doing?"

 

"Pay attention, dear. This is one of my most multipurpose spells!" Pulling the forces directly from the heart of the felinke, Grand jumped into the void ignoring Miki's panicked screams.

"Dark circus technique vol. 1: Elastic spider web!" As Grand rushed to the void, his claws lit up with all the pantone colors, releasing elastic threads that quickly intertwined forming a huge spiderweb capable of covering the entire hole.

 

"Awesome! Why do I still learn knife throwing techniques if I could have been learning something as cool as this?!" Miki asked instantly, marveling at the bright threads. (Calling him threads was really generous, they were as thick as boat ropes)

 

"Everything in time, dear! The dark circus conceals many mysteries to be in a hurry to learn them!" Grand laughed as he took a few small jumps, making sure of the integrity of the web. "Everything ready, Grimm! Dont make me wait too long!" Grand yelled without being able to contain his emotion, slightly disturbing his protégé.

 

 

---

 

Same place (slightly higher but not for long), Grimm Group.

 

"Everything ready, Grimm! Dont make me wait too long!"

 

As if it were a sunbeam, the cry of an old friend pierced Grimm's face, illuminating her with a genuine smile. After several minutes falling without knowing how to save the situation, Grand's voice brought the good news that the group needed. (Above all the semi-conscious giant that fell in front of them)

"Did you hear that, Erin?!" Grimm yelled trying to wake her up, doing everything he could to get closer to her. "Everything's going to come out- OH HOLY DEAR GOD!" Grimm began to scream as he realized the grand failure of Grand's plan, one that his friend could not have planned in advance.

"GRAND! HECTOR, THE DWARF ARE WITH ME, AS WELL AS MY APPRENTICE ERIN, WHO IS A GIANTESS! A HUGE ONE!"

 

Far below in the hole, Grand opened his eyes wide as he listened to his friend, looking at the cobweb around him. "Oh no oh no oh no-" But before he could remedy anything, the Merlinus pendant began to glow. "MIKI NO-"

 

The specter of Grand was forced out of the body, Miki regaining full control instantly. The felinke quickly began jumping excitedly, waving her arms from side to side with her face completely red from the excess of blood."ERIN! THAT GUY HAS SAID ERIN! HAVE YOU HEARD THAT, GRAND?! IT IS ERIN! FALLING FROM HEAVEN! I TOLD YOU-"

 

"MIKI! THE SPIDERWEB WAS THOUGHT ONLY FOR ANOTHER PERSON!" Grand yelled with all his strength, managing to get the giantess out of her unconsciousness.

 

"M ... Miki?" Erin asked still too tired, trying to understand why she had heard the voice of her best friend Miki if the felinke was supposed to be in her kingdom recovering from the corrupt skin syndrome. Unfortunately, those thoughts vanished as quickly as Erin could re-understand the current situation. "OH AMUN BLESSED, WE CONTINUE FALLING!"

 

"Now you realize, sleeping beauty?!" Grimm shouted as he began to see the intense bright lights of the elastic web. "Damn ... there's no time. GRAND! THE SEAL OF MERLINUS!" After a few seconds in which Grand could begin to spot Grimm and the rest of his group, his friend's message made sense. Turning toward the felinke, Grand lost the words as he watched her run in circles through the web. "What are you doing-"

 

"You have to save Erin! We have to save Erin! We have to save Erin! We have to save Erin!-" With a fourth repetition the specter has had enough.

 

"MIKI!" Grand went through it, freezing completely to stop her. "We can save your friend if you throw my pendant to the handsome black man!" Miki looked up, watching as the group fell closer and closer. Without really knowing if trusting a stranger the Grand's seal was a good idea, Erin's screams of fear were enough to make her see reason. Miki nodded to his guardian, tearing off the pendant and preparing to throw it. "Wait ..." Grand whispered in his ear, preparing for the reception. "Wait a little more…"

 

Time froze when Grimm's group was only 5 meters away from the web. "ERIN!" Miki yelled at her friend as she threw her pendant.

 

"Miki!" Erin responded with tears of emotion but above all with fear, even without understanding what the felinke was doing in a place like this.

 

"Grimm!" Grand shouted as Grimm caught the pendant in mid-air, placing it before it fell against the web. "Hector, dwarf! Grab the giantess!" Grand begged as the group bounced off the web, destroying the vast majority of the threads. There would not be a second bounce.

 

In the space of 4 seconds, three different actions occurred:

- Ehrwald managed to find a full blue vial in his bag, throwing it into the air while taking Hector's hand. "First principle of alchemy: Magic rope!" The alchemist shouted as the bottle exploded, releasing two streams of liquid.

One stuck to one side of the hole, the other to Ehrwald's free hand. After the rebound, the liquid string solidified enough to slow down the duo's fall, allowing them to sway thanks to Hector's impulse and land in the outer circle of the nearby rooms.

 

- After the first bounce, Erin and Miki were able to come face to face as they rose into the air. For the giantess, seeing her best friend and patner without the whitish and broken skin was almost like a dream, which would explain the bizarre moment of such a meeting. In addition, the beauty in which Miki had become a marvel to Erin, getting lost in the dark blue fur full of white wicks.

For the felinke, returning to see her best friend after 4 years in bed was a dream come true. Seeing how beautiful and big she had become was enough to cause a change in her heart, one that unfortunately was interrupted by the fear that the situation awoke in the young hearts of both princesses.

Instinctively, Erin reached out one of her arms to grab the felinke and pull against her own chest, trying to protect her from any impact. (fact that left both words speechless, more focused on surviving the coup)

 

- Grimm and Grand didnt need a word, knowing perfectly what to do to save everyone. With superhuman agility, Grimm put on Merlinus' seal, allowing Grand to enter his body. But unlike how the specter possessed the felinke, this time the possession was more of a "union". Finding themselves both in total control of Grimm's body, the duo began to conjure both parts of the proper spell, saving time for each other.

"Showtime!" Grimm and Grand's voices sounded completely synchronized, waiting for the moment when they would fall back onto the web.As planned, the combined weight of the four was too much for Grand's spell, the web broke just Erin fell again. The giantess managed to turn around, preparing to fall on her back in an attempt to protect the felinke.

 

While both girls cried and cried out in fear, Grimm/Grand didnt stop smiling for a second, sticking his limbs to his torso to gain inertia and fall before the giantess. "Dont suffer anymore, little ones!" The two shouted as they began to see the ground, ready for action. "Mysterious technique of Grimm's circus: Twinkling Globe!" Grimm/Grand spell as he reached the ground, forming in his hands a small shiny ball.

The impact was devastating, but the ball kept shining, preventing them from falling to the ground. Out of nowhere, the ball began to grow to occupy much of the top floor as if it were a trampoline.

 

Erin fell on the spell, bouncing like a fluffy mattress. Two rebounds later, the giantess finished braking, lying on the ball. "But what the hell...- MIKI!" Erin reacted quickly, opening her arms to let the felinke breathe. "Are you okay?! Have you hurt yourself?!"

 

The felinke didnt move an inch, enjoying the heat of the giantess and the almost enchanted glow of her guardian's spell. "Once again ... you always end up protecting me ..." Miki said with a smile from ear to ear, passing her index finger gently down the giantess stomach. "How can I equalize the score at this rate?"

 

"Match the score?" Erin asked confused, tried to join the ball without much success, the ground too bouncy for such an objective. "You dont have to-"

 

"Ladies, I'm sorry I cant give you more time to loiter!" Grimm/Grand said as the balloon exploded, releasing them all onto the floor of the final floor of the premises.While Erin fell on her ass (the blow so brutal that the giantess could almost sense it to the point of breaking), Grimm/Grand landed gracefully, placing her attention on the dozen of Tombstep awakened by the lights and noise. "Oh well"

 

"Erin! Erin, are you okay?!" Miki was screaming, scared and descending from the giantess, watching as Erin writhed on the floor while rubbing her buttocks, forming a beautiful bridge. "Grand! Erin needs-"

 

"It was a fall of only 2 meters, smaller than her!" Grimm/Grand answered quickly, beginning to walk towards the still blinded Tombstep. "Protect her a few seconds, Miki. We have matters to attend to..." The felinke obeyed quickly, taking out her dark blue dagger and placing herself in front of the giantess to be her shield.

"And now ... where were we going?" The Tombstep began to roar in anger at seeing their dream disturbed, launching themselves to kill the provocateur of such disturbance.

 

Snapping both hands, Grimm/Grand surrounded himself with magic circles. His right hand, covered with a black aura; his left hand, covered with a white aura. The wind began to swirl around him, keeping the tombstep away as they began to spin the spell. Without realizing it, the same current of wind was affecting her young companions, forcing the felinke to lower her head, squint and even cover her face with both arms. (Even Erin had to stop lamenting her bones because of all the pressure her teacher was generating)

"What kind of spell is that?" Miki asked without waiting for an answer, seeing how the different magic circles were dyed black or white.

 

"I dont know... but we should get away," Erin advised as she tried to stand up, her backs still too painful to allow her to run ... or rather stand up. Miki realized quickly, trying to raise the giantess hand so that it leaned on her. "Miki, no need-"

 

"Dont you dare say you can run! Let me be your support this time!" The felinke was completely determined, gathering all her strength to raise Erin's hand. The giantess didnt want to waste her friend's effort, letting the felinke help her crawl away from the merged master.

 

"They are already far away" 

"Then it doesnt make sense to wait any longer, right my other half?"

Grimm/Grand began to consume the magic circles, accumulating strength for the spell. Once the tombstep noticed the wind subside, their instinct made them charge again. "Poor wretches ... you arent to blame for having been brought here by the depths ... but unfortunately, that will not make us pity." Raising an arm in each direction, Grimm/Grand took a breath.

"Mysterious Technique of Grimm's Circus: Living Flame and Mysterious Technique of Grimm's Circus: Lost Way" A double spell, one thrown by Grimm's voice and one by Grand's.

 

For a few seconds, Erin and Miki believed that the spell had failed because the tombstep were moving forward without caring. Nothing could be further from the truth… As the tombstep jumped over Grimm / Grand, their bodies distorted like plasticine in the hand of a small child.

Deformed, broken and lifeless, the same corpses of these remained floating in the air, bursting into crimson flames seconds later. Neither of the two princesses could look away from their respective tutor, too absorbed by the spectacle in front of them. Grimm/Grand remained motionless, arms outstretched and head raised, eyes closed ignoring the massacre in front of them.

Security. Power. Greatness. Pride ... either of the princess had thousands of words to describe the scene ... but if someone tried to ask them, not a word would come out of their mouths.

 

Hector and Ehrwald arrived seconds later to the top floor, approaching the girls in silence. The light of the crimson flames bathed everything that minutes before was illuminated by a bright and full of fantasy light.

"This, dear ones ..." Grimm/Grand began to speak without abandoning their position. "It's the power of Dancing Glory... the greatest and most beautiful magical discipline ever created: The mysterious techniques of Grimm's circus"

Turning around conjuring a small gust of wind to clear the ashes from their path, Grimm and Grand parted again. The ghost strived to recreate his legs only to be able to walk perfectly coordinated with Grimm, letting the shadow cast by the flames behind him cover his apprentices.

 

"As I told your parents, Miki... I'm not only going to cure you and give you the opportunity to live fulfilling your dreams... I'm going to make you the heir of Grand's dark techniques, making you able to subdue the night"

"As I told you, Erin, you will learn and inherit Grimm's dark techniques... Not only to become my successor, but someday this magic of ours will be used by you to subdue fate at your whim-"

 

A message from Grand for Miki and one from Grimm for Erin, both said at the same time without leaving behind the other.

Hector smiled to see how without having planned anything, Grimm and Grand had come to the conclusion that he needed to transmit their magic. "No matter the distance or the silence, in one way or another ... You always end up meeting halfway, pair of idiots with grandiloquence airs" The magistrate thought to himself while the flames went out, finishing consuming the last of the corpses. Darkness reigned again in the depths of the dependencies.

 

 

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