“If you don’t stop pretending, I’ll break your fingers then turn you to stone,” Euryale said with a perfectly calm voice. “And if you keep pissing me off, I’ll do it in reverse.”

Instantly, the mage’s eyes popped open. Dallion could have sworn that she had been unconscious—her breathing pattern and the emotions emanating from her didn’t give any cause to suspect anything else. Clearly, he was mistaken, although the gorgon wasn’t.

“That’s better,” Eury said. “Had a fun time?”

Katka’s eyes screamed “not particularly” but her lips didn’t move.

“So, now that the cloud citadel is gone, what should we do? We’ve no intention of getting involved in Academy business. However, we don’t want the Academy to meddle in ours.”

“Everything in the world is Academy business,” the mage replied. Now that she was back in the awakened world, a lot of her confidence was restored. “You know what happens if you kill a mage.”

From what Dallion had heard, meddling with mages was never a good idea. The Academy didn’t appreciate anyone meddling with their own, even if they had been outcast. Exceptions were few and far in-between and always relied on other powers. There was talk that several powerful guilds and trade organizations attempted to hold mages accountable with mixed results. The hunters were a highly valued and well-knit group, but they had no chance of facing off to the Academy itself.

“I’ve heard,” Eury admitted. “We’ll be hunted down and killed, or worse. However, that won’t matter much for the mage that is dead.”

Katka’s smile quickly vanished. That was one of the things about Eury: she didn’t bluff, but what was more, she did it in such a way that people knew the fact.

“You’ve already vowed that you won’t hurt me,” Dallion said. “Vow that you won’t hurt anyone else in the group and we’ll let you go.”

“Just like that?” The mage narrowed her eyes.

“Just like that.” Eury crossed her arms. “As I said, we don’t want to meddle in the Academy’s business unless you want to hire us to find something. Then we’ll decide on a case-by-case basis.”

“Hunter’s code,” Katka scoffed. “Alright, I vow not to do what was said.”

It wasn’t much of a vow, but it didn’t have to be. The intent was obvious and as far as the Moons were concerned, the vow was binding. In fact, the fact that Katka didn’t try to hide behind complex and elaborate phrasing suggested that she had no intention of breaking her word. It wasn’t so much out of gratitude, rather that she didn’t consider them worth the time or effort.

Getting what she wanted, Eury untied the mage’s fingers. There was a moment of silence during which time Katka massaged her hands. Done’ she drew a series of patterns. A large green circle with symbols appeared above her, erasing any wounds and tears she had. No one would ever suspect that she had been in a fight, let alone lost it. But that wasn’t the goal of the spell. Similar to Dallion, the mage wanted to be sure that she still had the ability to perform magic while in this world. Now that the spell had proven successful, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Our business is concluded,” she said, drawing another pattern that lifted her in the air. “I hope never to see either of you again. Still, Dal did help me out a bit, so here’s a free piece of advice. Don’t go hunting magic creatures. You’ll always arrive late and if you don’t, you’ll wish that you had.”

Without another word the mage then flew straight up, then zipped away across the sky with the speed of a comet. There was a time when Dallion would have been impressed by the speed. After living in the world of furies, however, he viewed it as passable at best.

I never liked her, the cloud said, floating around Dallion in an attempt to rub itself into him. The action was doomed to fail, but just like in Jiroh’s place, Skye seemed to enjoy it. She’s a nasty woman. I hope she gets hit by lightning!

Somehow, I doubt it’ll happen, Dallion thought.

“You’ll have to get rid of that,” Eury said, giving the cloud a glance. “At least we get back. There hasn’t been a cloud creature in the open for centuries.”

“You think someone will steal her?” Dallion asked, instinctively petting Skye.

“You know what nobles are like. We don’t have the same protection as we do in Nerosal. And I know how heartbroken you’ll be if something happens to it.”

I’d be more heartbroken if something happens to you, Dallion thought, but just nodded. That was a conversation for another day.

Skye, you’ll have to hide in a flask again, he said. At least for a while.

No! The cloud moved briskly away, changing into an almost perfect sphere of fluff. It’s uncomfortable in there! I can’t fly. The air’s bad. And—

Please, Skye. Dallion used his music skills with the request. You’ll be safe there. And I promise the next time you come out, there will be a huge surprise.

The cloud hesitated. It hated to stay in tight spaces, yet it could also tell that what Dallion was saying to be true.

It won’t be long, right? Skye asked, in hope.

A few weeks, Dallion replied, causing the cloud to shiver. I promise to talk to you every day.

Well, if it’s so important, I have no choice. But no talking! I plan to catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep!

I’m sure you will. Dallion took out a flask from his backpack, emptied it, and just to be certain, went into its realm where he not only mended all flaws but also improved the task twice. If he was going to ask Skye to remain inside for weeks at a time, the very least he could do was make sure the creature was comfortable.

With a loud pop, Skye whooshed into the flask. Resisting the urge to shake it, Dallion put the item back in his backpack. Somehow, he had just acquired a cloud. That wasn’t a phrase he thought he’d even have to use, but there it was.

“You really can talk to it?” Eury asked.

“Yep. It’s similar to fury speech.” That wasn’t exactly true. While there were some general similarities, it was thanks to the combination of music, writing, and zoology skills that he was able to communicate to the cloud… and potentially any other creature. It was interesting that in this world, the method of communication was closer to that of talking to guardians than actual verbal communication.

“What do you plan on doing with it? There’ll be questions when people see you with something that only nobles are supposed to have.”

“It won’t be the first time. Besides, it’s not for me.”

The snakes on the gorgon’s head stirred.

“Jiroh asked me to give it to someone, someone close to her.”

The gorgon nodded. She knew perfectly well who that someone was, and it wasn’t her.

A few hours before sunset, the rest of the hunters emerged. Their haul was impressive: artifacts, jewelry, and a large amount of nymph scrolls. Everyone laughed and joked as they put the finds aboard, but Dallion could feel that it was fake joy. A dull sadness was emanating from all of them. Everyone was perfectly clear what had happened, yet chose not to address it. Either way, one thing was for certain: the hunters of Neorsal were no more. It was as if a void had formed without which the team could no longer stick together. Largo had often mentioned he was considering going to the provincial capital, and now he could well do that. The other two hunters were likely going to follow suit, leaving Eury and Dallion alone in the city. One could claim that it was for the best that the hunter party at least went out with a bang, finding a nymph city, a cloud citadel, not to mention defeating an academy made. However, that would be a lie.

The group took a different route on the way back. Avoiding the sickly port town, they continued further north until reaching land. There, Dallion convinced them to leave the boat in the sea. The vessel was already thankful for the massive repair and upgrades she had received. She offered to link to Dallion, but he refused. It would be a while before he decided to soul off the continent. Joining the rest, he then continued inland.

The first few days, the group was as talkative as could be. They’d share old stories of the times they had formed as a team, their first commissions, each big mess up, and a lot of inside jokes that Dallion knew nothing about. Sitting a slight distance away, he’d listen in, trying to picture what was being said.

Beyond doubt, Jiroh had led more than an interesting life. She had one goal since childhood, and still she had managed to achieve so much and help so many. Finding her sister had come as a near shock. Knowing what she had been through, the fury had no obligation to someone with whom she wasn’t even related by blood. Still, she had taken her in and seen to it that she was not only protected and looked after, but prepared for this world as well.

Dallion attempted to level up several times as they traveled, but without success. His heart wasn’t in it, leading to him failing miserably in the trial. The echoes and guardians tried to cheer him up in their own way, but that didn’t work. Dallion just needed some time not doing anything. Back on Earth, he would have said he needed recharging or “alone” time, but the truth was that he wanted the exact opposite. At one point he was even tempted to ask whether Jiroh had placed any echoes in old items she’d owned, just to be able to speak with her. Deep down, he knew that was a bad idea.

Two weeks after leaving the coast, the group came to a crossroads. There was nothing in the terrain that indicated it: they were far from all the trade roads, with wilderness going on in every direction. However, they had reached a point at which an important decision had to be made.

“It’s a week from Nerosal,” Eury said. “Faster if you can make it.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Largo sighed. “The princess means a lot to all of us. We’ll all—"

“I’m going to tell her,” the gorgon interrupted. “She’ll expect to hear it from me. All you’ll do is say the same, and that would make it redundant.”

“Eury…”

“She doesn’t need to hear it more than once, Largo. All of us were close, yet some were closer to her than others.”

The large man looked down. He knew what the gorgon meant, just as he knew that she was right. Regardless of anything else, the person closest to an otherworlder was another otherworlder.

“And the kid?” he asked.

“Dal’s coming with me. He has a message to give.”

“Thought you’ll say that.” Large adjusted his backpack. “We’ll leave your share at the overseer, in case we’re gone before you come back. She’ll make sure you get it.”

“You keep the share. That was the deal. It’s how Ji wanted it to be.”

“A little money never hurt anyone. Besides, maybe Dal will finally get enough metal to forge a proper set of armor.” He laughed, ruffling Dallion’s hair.

That was part of the weirdness living in this world—people born within months of each other could have an age difference of centuries when it came to true time.

“See you in the wilderness,” the large man said, then walked away.

That was the last exchange the hunter group ever had. They might continue to be friends in future, but their destinies were no longer aligned.

Thanks for everything, guys, Dallion thought. You taught me a lot. He then set off towards Halburn, with Eury following close behind.