Jay and Striaster strode through the forest, making more headway than the speed of their steps indicated. A few forest creatures assaulted them, but were easily pushed back. Amon's tendrils dealt with almost everything, Striaster taking out a few of the monkeys which were throwing objects from a longer distance with fire. They eventually saw the trees start to thin, and the attacks started to taper off. Striastger slowed down, and Jay did as well. "I see the city he was talking about," Striaster said.

Jay looked in the indicated direction but didn't see anything. "How do you know it's there?"

"I shifted my eyes into a Watcher's. They, as the name implies, have the best eyesight around."

Jay nodded. "How far until we get there?"

Striaster shrugged. "If we run, a couple of minutes? That's not the problem. The problem is getting you to look like a Zarlan."

Jay frowned. "I can have Amon cover me with a thin layer of silver liquid."

Striaster shook his head. "That'll just look weird. If you give me permission, I can shift you."

Jay nodded. "I have no other choice, don't I?"

Striaster nodded. "I can't think of anything else. So, there are two choices. I shape you into a Zarlan and we can run around together, or I shape you into something small and you can get into places I can't and get to sit on my clothes."

"Zarlan, please."

Striaster tapped Jay on the shoulder, and he felt his body suddenly change. He looked down at his hands, watching them grow claws that he instinctively knew were retractable, turning red. He also saw, in the reflection of some of Amon's liquid, his eyes turn to black, though he knew that was simply a reflection of the shapeshifting magic used on him. Short horns grew out of his head as well. His body didn't change in size or gain any other features, so it was mostly fine, with the horns weighing his head down a little bit more than he was used to. Nodding to Striaster, they started running, speeding towards the city.

They quickly stopped near the gates, no line to enter visible. The gates weren't even manned, simply open for anyone to wander through. They did so, quickly entering the city. All the buildings were made of wood and stone, with Zarlans everywhere. Street brawls were happening everywhere, Zarlans using their Domination to fight each other. There were no stalls or shops in this area, the buildings seeming to be warehouses. They continued deeper into the city, Jay following behind Striaster.

A Zarlan bumped into Jay, seemingly on purpose. "You bumped into me. Get ready to fight, fool." the Zarlan immediately said.

Jay sighed. Striaster turned back. He held up his left and right hands, using his pointer and middle fingers as 'legs' and miming two people facing each other. Then he slammed his hands into each other and waved one in the air, the supposed victor, while he dropped the other. Then he pointed at Jay. It... looks like he wants you to fight and win?, Amon said.

Yeah. It would probably be for the best if you didn't help against this one. No need to show off anything more than I need to.

He received a mental nod from Amon and turned to his challenger. A small circle had already cleared, spectators watching the battle. "Sure," Jay said, waiting for his opponent to charge.

Roaring, the Zarlan did so. Slowly. Jay waited for the Zarlan to approach, simply slamming them into the ground with a punch. Then he walked away, the Zarlan instantly knocked out. The crowd closed once again, the spectators dispersing. Jay quickly found Striaster, taking a brief moment because of the other Zarlans, and they continued once again. "What's with the fight?," Jay asked Striaster.

"Zarlans fight with other Zarlans to see which is stronger. The strongest is the leader. My social status is known because of my real status. They have a kind of sense of one's status. It's weird. Basically, my status is known. Yours is not, so they fight you."

Jay nodded. "How many do I need to take out for them to stop attacking me?"

Striaster shook his head. "Numbers don't matter. Take out someone they see as relatively strong and they'll stop."

"Is there anyone here who I can take out?"

Striaster pointed at a random Zarlan in the crowd. Jay immediately singled him out, walking at him. He couldn't have people fighting him 24/7. Tapping the Zarlan on the shoulder, Jay waited for them to turn around, asking them, "Hey. Wanna fight?"

"Sure, puny," the Zarlan said, turning around. It was only then that Jay realized how massive the Zarlan was.

You know what they say!

Actually, I don't.

Really?

I really don't.

The taller they are, the harder they fall!

That's not really true, but sure.

Jay watched the bigger Zarlan clear a circle with a few swipes of its hand. This was bigger than last time, and the spectators actually seemed interested in this fight. He recognized a few from his last fight. The Zarlan walked towards him, the earth seeming to shake with each step. "Better not take any chances," Jay mumbled to himself, readying a punch.

The Zarlan raised a hand out in front of the punch, the hand suddenly growing big enough that the only target he could hit was the hand. Some kind of shapeshifting like Striaster or simple enlargement?, Amon asked.

Jay sent her a shrug back. Bigger target.

He sent a full-force punch into the hand, which he felt instantly shatter. The Zarlan flew back, slamming into the ground multiple times and flying through a corridor the crowd quickly made. Jay regrouped with Striaster, walking away with him. "Are all the Zarlans like this?," he asked.

Striaster shook his head. "Oh no. Those were the weak ones. Civilians, you would call them. You haven't seen any of the fighters yet. Astaroth was one of the weaker ones."

Jay sighed. "So this is going to be annoying."

Striaster nodded. "True."

They pushed through the crowd, quickly getting to their destination without further fights. Striaster led Jay through another set of gates into a better-off sector, shops lining the streets. They walked past them, nothing interesting visible, Striaster continuing to walk. Eventually, another set of gates let them into a residential district, and then another set of gates led them into an area with inns.

Striaster chose one, seemingly at random, and they walked inside the Zarlan's Rest. Inside, there were many tables, few open. Striaster walked over to one, sitting down. A Zarlan arrived, looking down at the two. "What is it you want tonight?"

"Food. Preferably animal meat."

The Zarlan bowed before retreating. "We need information on what to do next. I need to get back to my world, and I don't know what you want to do," Jay said.

Striaster gave him an immediate reply. "Oh, I don't like this world. I'll come to yours."

Jay sat back, surprised. Striaster continued. "In my world, I have a relatively high status. Everyone wants to be friends with me or such. You're the first person to be a friend without any kind of ulterior motive."

Jay shrugged. "We're not Zarlans, so it makes sense that we don't care about Zarlan hierarchy."

Striaster shook his head. "There's more. It felt good to be... nice to someone and help. For the first time. Zarlans always conquer. That is our nature. But what if I can take control of Domination and help instead of hurt?"

Jay smiled. "That would be amazing. Welcome to the team, Striaster."

They shook hands for a brief moment, awkwardly flapping their arms up and down. "I'm not perfect at this," Striaster said with a wry grin. "Anyways, we need info, like you said. You sit with me and look menacing while I do the talking. You don't know the language, and you don't know the culture."

Jay nodded. It made sense. Striaster quickly made his way to another table, plopping down in a chair without asking. Following his example, he sat next to Striaster, watching him start to converse with the table's previous occupants. Soon, they started shouting at each other. Sighing, Striaster waved at him, and Jay stood. Then one of the original occupants got up, and a circle formed, as it had previously. Jay watched the Zarlan rush him, punching him into the ground as he had done before. Then they both sat down and Striaster went back to talking with the now more amiable group.

They soon got up, Striaster shaking his head. "No information on how to get out of the world."

Jay sighed. It had been worth a try. "Another table?," he asked, pointing to a table with what he assumed was another group of male Zarlans. Jay frowned. He had no way to find the gender of a Zarlan. He would just assume them all male until further notice.

Striaster shook his head. "This was the most dominant group here. Everyone was listening to our conversation. If they didn't offer information, they had none. Eat, then we'll go to the next place."

Their food quickly arrived, what seemed like a meat stew. Striaster and Jay quickly ate their meal, exiting the inn and continuing their activities.

Astaroth raged even harder. What was a monster like that doing at the human capital? It was supposed to be an easily conquered world, filled with timid cattle they could enslave and eat. This 'Metallic Council' had lied to him and he would get his vengeance. Astaroth sped up, increasing to speeds that very few could match. Almost instantly emerging at the Council's base, he forced his way inside, teleporting through the door. Grabbing the first Metallic he saw, Astaroth asked his question. "Why did you lie to me about the timid cattle in this world?"

The Metallic Council, held in Astaroth's iron grip, answered quickly. "We didn't lie."

Astaroth shook his head. "I fought someone called Diamond. He was a hard opponent. You lied."

The man he was holding shook his head. "He's the strongest this world has to offer."

Astaroth slowly put the human down. "You came very close to eradication, there. I would be careful next time."

Diamond started carving runes into the ground inside a massive room, filled with all five types of energy. They didn't clash, flowing freely past each other and getting sucked into the ground whenever a sigil pulled them in. He finished in a short period of time, the coordinates of the world, burning themselves into the ground. Creating a few safeguards, Diamond activated the portal, immediately throwing a clone in, making it out of illusions. He couldn't go through himself, but he could definitely help them. There were other things to do out here. The clone waved a hand out of the portal before fully sinking into the void, a familiar embrace after using hundreds of portals.

He stepped away, forcing himself to not look at the portal any longer. There was no more he could do. After this, they were on their own.

The king stared at his daughter. "By Thought. What happened?"

"Jay and our new teammate, Striaster, fought a demon called Astaroth for a while, blowing up the compound, and then jumped into a weird portal because Astaroth was too strong, blowing it up behind them. So we don't know where they are."

He shook his head. "I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or disappointed."

Millie shrugged. "They'll live."

"Hm?"

"Jay always breaks through at the most unlikely of times. It's as if he's a protagonist. His luck will eventually run out, but... I believe in him."

The king sat back. "You know, Xera said much of the same thing."

"What?," Millie asked, confused.

"She said she believed in him. I wonder what causes people to truly believe that he will, no matter what, overcome whatever happens."

Millie started laughing. "I believe he's going to win because he never gives up. Do you know what his goal is?"

"What is it?"

"To be the best. The strongest. The one who would protect those behind him. This goal is incredibly important to him. So important, in fact, that he says it in his sleep, with so much conviction that you can feel your own mind align to it and your bones rattle with the words' sheer force. Hearing it once makes you believe he will win any contest, no matter what it is. Hearing it twice? You believe it's true. Hearing it three times? He's going to do absolutely anything and everything to protect the people around him, while getting stronger and stronger. And he's not going to fail."

The king, surprised, listened intently to Millie's small rant. "I see. This is interesting," he mused for a brief moment.

"It's just a matter of time before he gets back," Millie whispered before walking out of the room, leaving the king sitting there, alone.