“I don’t understand, sir,” Lekha said, once the three of them had arrived at one of Edger’s many offices in the station. “What are you trying to do?”

Edger collapsed into his seat. “Tell me,” he said a little slowly. “Have either of you ever heard of the Philadelphia Experiment?”

Lekha and Hayder exchanged a look. “No. I haven’t,” Hayder was the first one to admit.

“That’s not surprising. It’s a rather old conspiracy theory dating back to the 20th century,” explained Edger. “It’s about a supposed military experiment an old superpower attempted with their navy in the city of Philadelphia. The theory claims that during one of these experiments a ship was said to have been gone invisible. Later a man came forward claiming the ship hadn’t only vanished but had teleported to another city with the crew of the ship suffering several side effects like intangibility and ‘freezing’ in place.”

“You can’t possibly be suggesting it's true?” Hayder frowned.

“No, of course not!” Edger laughed. “It’s a dumb idiotic conspiracy. No silver of truth is attached to any of the accounts. Hell, the man who came forward initially was later found to presumably have a mental illness. It’s just…” He stopped laughing, as he turned serious all of sudden. “The name of the ship in that story was named the USS Eldridge.”

Hayder recoiled as though he had been slapped. “You’re joking!” he scowled. “Him?!”

“It’s only a suspicion,” Edger admitted.

“Still…” Hayder collapsed into a chair, a hand covering his mouth. “If that man is really behind it then…” He trailed off.

“Well, regardless of that,” Edger said, deciding to move on. “I believe this also might be a good business opportunity. We’re currently on track for the current mines on Isis’s moons to eventually dry up in about 30 to 40 years.” Lekha nodded in confirmation. “Added onto the extra cost of transporting the raw materials across space and through a Rozen Gate, this company will be in the red very soon.”

Lekha shook her head. “I don’t see how supporting those three will help you in any way.”

“It’s called an investment… or something like that. At the end of the day, if they find their way back home, then what’s stopping us from hopping along the ride?” He shrugged. “The world they live in is likely to be rich in resources if it can support life as strange as them. Plus…” He frowned. “I have a working theory that their world might explain the secret of the Rozen Gate.”

Hayder nodded. “You mean magic.” The three girls hadn’t gone into much detail about the subject and treated it as a passing thought, but it had caught both Hayder and Edger’s attention.

“Obviously.”

Rozen Gates. There only existed five of them in controlled space, each one connected to five different star systems. Currently, they were in the Amun star system about 25 light-years away from humanity’s home planet of Earth. The Amun Gate was located a little past the system's fifth planet, orbiting the largest gas giant.

About 200 years ago, the Rozen Gates were built by scientists on Earth and launched in different directions, so that humanity would have an easier time colonizing the cosmos. However, only those five were ever built. The United Government kept a highly classified secret about how they were built, which was good for them since they were the ones who controlled all five of the gates. No other company or government has managed to create their own Rozen Gate, but at the same time, the United Government has never bothered to make more, despite how profitable it would be.

In fact, Edger had gotten word that several years ago, the U.G. had attempted, themselves, to find out how they worked, but to no avail. Strangely, the Rozen Gates were now a glorified mystery despite being created by humanity.

But now that magic was in play…

“Is it possible that the Rozen Gates were created using magic?” he asked simply. “And I would like to know that.” He frowned. “It feels as though humanity has encountered a wall out here in space. The Rozen Gates got us out here, but now they are dragging us down. The citizens of Nemesis live their lives with technology more than 200 years old. I need something to progress my company into the future.”

“You could easily send out spies to determine the origin of the Gates!” Leka protested. “Why attempt to turn these girls into some mercenary band?!”

Edger frowned. “The ship is called the Eldridge XIII,” he explained. “Who’s to say there aren’t 12 other research ships just like it. Or maybe even more. If they all have some sort of ability to connect to another world, then other beings just like those three may find themselves lost in this world. There might already be a fair amount of these otherworlders running around in controlled space.”

“The rumors…” muttered Lekha, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“The sharpshooter that can control the winds from the Theocracy,” said Edger. “And the executioner from the U.G. who can slice an Igo in half with only a single swing of his katana. If we take these rumors at face value there’s a possibility that they could be from another world, brought here by the Theocracy’s experiments.”

“Shit,” muttered Hayder.

“The Theocracy believes that God doesn’t exist in this universe. Rather it exists in a completely separate one,” Edger continued to explain. “I can only assume that’s why they are connected to that ship. If those three nonhuman intelligences were able to arrive here then what’s stopping a literal god from their world from coming? And then what would we do? If we faced a literal god, would humanity survive?”

Lekha and Hayder looked equally as troubled. Lekha opened her mouth to say something, only for Hayder’s phone to suddenly ring.

Hayder pulled it out and glanced at Edger, who merely gave him a nod. He accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Who is it?” he asked. “I’ll have you know I’m-”

“Lieutenant!” A voice screamed from the other side. “There’s a monster!”

“What are you talking… Where is it?” Hayder urgently asked.

“I don’t know where it came from! People are saying it came from that ship that just docked in 15 a few hours ago, but- Ahhh!” With that, the line went dead.

Edger looked grim, but Hayder didn’t even bother to acknowledge him as he rushed out of the room, quickly calling others for reinforcements. Once he had left, Edger turned to Lekha and said, “Call the holding cell. Have them free Sana and her friends and inform them as to what is going on?”

Lekha hesitated, worry plastered all over her face. “Are you sure, Edger?”

“Yes.” Edger nodded. “Whatever attacking our security is probably something from their world. If we’re unable to defeat through conventional means then we may need their help.”

“As you wish. “ Lekha bowed her head and rushed out of his office.

Edger sighed and ran a hand down his face. Things were moving quickly. If everything worked out, he’d need to make some preparations. He grabbed his cell, tapped a number, and held it to his ear. “Yeah, it’s me. I was just wondering if you could do a custom job?”

“A knight could never stoop so low to become a simple mercenary!” protested Charlotte, pounding a fist into her breastplate. “I refuse to sully my honor like that!”

“Yes, yes, your poor honor.” Tomoe rolled her eyes. “But the issue here is that trusting the man is certainly a death sentence!” She glared at Sana. “Don’t tell me you’re actually considering his offer?”

Sana twiddled her thumbs as best as she could through her cuffs. “Yeah, but…” She couldn’t exactly meet Tomoe’s eyes. “He’s right. If there’s nothing for us here, we shouldn’t bother staying. But to even do that we need some help.”

“Still to rely on a human...“ Tomoe shook her head. “Never mind. Forget it.”

Sana gave her a strange look. “Obviously we’re going to have to be careful,” she assured. “You should always know what you’re signing up for!” She looked a little pleased with herself.

“Speaking from experience?” asked Tomoe, more so talking to herself.

“Y-Yeah in a way,” Sana admitted with a small laugh, thinking back to when Ryoga had brought her along on the dungeon expedition.

Charlotte folded her arms and let out a huff. “Fine, then we’ll do pro and cons.”

“Hm?” Sana blinked.

Charlotte held up a finger. “One, we have a better chance to potentially find a way back home. Two, we’d potentially get some help or funding from that CEO man. And three…” She paused and made a face. “I… honestly cannot think of another good reason.”

Sana raised her hand into the air. “And three we can keep our ship and sleep in those comfy beds!”

“That’s not much of a pro,” Tomoe pointed out. “That’s like… one-fifth of a pro. Maybe one-half for you.”

“I can’t help it!” Sana hugged herself. “Those beds are amazing. Better than anything I experienced at home!”

“Let’s move on. The cons…” Charlotte sighed. “Are too numerous to count…” Her voice trailed off, her attention drawn away from them for the moment.

“…Yeah?” Sana and Tomoe followed Charlotte’s gaze to the nearby guard to find him speaking into one of those thin pieces of metal again. He looked worried, with sweat beading on his brow. “Sorry… Let them go? A monster?”

Sana raised a brow. What was going on?

The guard hung up and approached each of their cells, opening it up for them. “I’m supposed to let you out,” he explained, unlocking them from their cuffs. “Orders from the CEO.”

Charlotte frowned. “Why?’

“Um… I don’t- they said something about a monster?” Even the guard sounded confused. “I was told that you would help in suppressing it.”

“Oh really?” Tomoe took a step out of her cell, making the guard wince at how close it was to him. Tomoe licked her lips. “What’s stopping me from killing you here and running away?”

The guard fumbled with his gun. “Me shooting you?” he nervously answered.

Tomoe poked the gun he was holding with a finger. “Oh, what’ll that even do?”

He blinked. “Have you never seen a gun before?” he asked, only for Tomoe to shake her head. The guard raised it into the air for a second, before thinking better of it. “You’ll see it in action soon enough,” he decided, holding onto it a little tighter. He gave Charlotte a nod. “Your… sword…” He had to stifle a laugh. “Is on the desk.”

Charlotte looked a little suspicious, but when she checked she did indeed find her weapon untouched. “Thanks,” she said, still a little confused.

The guard snorted. “Follow me,” he ordered, apparently deciding that Tomoe’s threat meant very little.

There was a little hesitation on Tomoe’s part, as she weighed her options. In the end, she decided to forego running away for the moment. Even she had the foresight that she didn’t really have anywhere to run to.

The three of them followed the guard through the hallways, taking the same twists and turns that had brought them to the cell. Eventually, they reached the docks, but nearby their ship, a small crowd of guards had gathered around someone.

As Sana slithered closer, she realized that this was the threat the guard had informed them about. Resembling a young girl wearing mostly old brown rags with spiky white hair that fell to her shoulders and gray eyes, it wasn’t clear at first what made them so nervous. However, instead of arms and hands, the girl had light gray feathered wings and, instead of feet, four sharp talons scraped along the metal floor. Balanced precariously on her shoulders was a long double-tipped sky blue lance.

A harpy. Sana bit her lip in worry. She could see why they called them over.

One of the security personnel, a woman who seemed to be the one in charge, noticed their arrival. She gave them a nod, apparently already told of their situation. “I assume you know what she is?” she asked in a gruff tone. “It’s already injured two of my men.”

Charlotte blinked. “And you’ve just been standing here?” she asked incredulously.

She hesitated. “We didn’t want to hurt her after having encountered you three,” she admitted. “She just… looks so young. We’ve just maintained a perimeter and because of that, she seems hesitant to attack…”

“Hmph.” Tomoe scoffed. “It’s crafty, then.”

“Crafty? How so?”

“It’s a harpy,” Sana explained, looking a little worried. “They aren’t monsters like the three of us. They mostly live in the mountains to themselves and attack adventurers. They… Harpies don’t have any intelligence like you or me. They’re just feral monsters.” She shook her head. “It’s not being hesitant, it's merely acting like a cornered rat.”

The commander gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to the harpy. “Shit!” She raised her arm. “Everyone a-!”

“Wait!” Charlotte grabbed her arm suddenly. “Do you mind doing me the honor of slaying her?” She eyed the woman’s nametag. “Ms. Tanya.” She bit back an insult and shot Sana a glare, hoping she would understand.

Tanya blinked, before pulling her arm away from Charlotte’s grasp. “Slay?” she repeated. “N-No, all we need to do is capture her.”

“You are fooled by her appearance,” Charlotte said, drawing her sword. “Against a feral like her, that may prove to be fatal. And besides…” She disliked admitting this, but she couldn’t help but be honest. “I want to prove that my skills are better than any of you humans.”

Tomoe stifled a laugh, as Charlotte entered the circle to face the harpy. Always about her honor.

The harpy grinned sharply as Charlotte approached it. It leaned itself slightly forward and let its lance roll down its back, catching it with its left leg, grasping its shaft with its talons. It raised its wings slightly into the air, keeping its balance, now that it was standing on only one leg, while deftly spinning the lance with her left talons.

Sana frowned. That was… a stance. She was reminded of how Ryoga would often change how he held his sword depending on the situation. It was a strange stance for the harpy to take, for sure. With no hands, the way it wielded that lance was like a circus performer playing with a baton.

…Wait. Why would a feral harpy have a weapon in the first place-?

The harpy tossed its lance into the air. Everyone’s eyes followed it, but, after a second of seeing it fly up into the air, Charlotte snapped her attention back to harpy just in time to see it rushing towards her, its talons scraping across the metal floor! It pivoted and raised its right leg into the air, to try to kick Charlotte in the side. Charlotte only barely managed to block it, by protecting herself with her arm and letting the harpy’s talon wrap itself painfully around it.

However, the harpy wasn’t done yet. The lance it had initially thrown into the air was now falling towards it and, using their weapon’s and the harpy's momentum, caught it on its own shoulders, spun it around itself a couple of times, before pushing the weapon forward so that it’d pierce Charlotte’s face. If it wasn’t for Charlotte’s reflexes catching the bladed edge of the lance with her free hand, she’d surely be dead now.

Sana’s mouth fell. That had all happened in the span of maybe a few seconds. Now the two hung there, both unwilling to let go of the other.

Charlotte, however, finally registered what had happened and, with a grunt, wretched the lance out of the harpy’s grip and tossed it aside. At the same time, the harpy let go of Charlotte and flapped its wings to gain a little distance between the two.

The centaur stared at the harpy, before staring down at her own hand, now covered in her own blood. By comparison, the harpy was practically spotless and was giving Charlotte the same sharp grin it had on before. It had gotten the first blood over her.

Charlotte scowled and pointed her sword at it. “What the hell are you?” she growled, but the harpy didn’t seem interested in answering. Instead, it put its head down low and began to charge at Charlotte again.

“That won’t work twice!” Charlotte raised her sword to cut her down, tensing to be ready for its kick, but the harpy did something different. It fell to the ground, its momentum carrying it forward and under Charlotte’s legs and body. Charlotte clanged against the floor, as the harpy skidded out from under her and, in one fluid motion, grabbed its lance, holding it over its shoulders once again.

Charlotte whirled around and began to swing her sword at the harpy, as the harpy spun her lance around to parry each swing. Sana watched with wide eyes with the rest of the audience. Both of them were highly skilled and the way the both of them moved felt like both were moving with some idea of what they were going to do a few seconds ahead. At one point, the harpy jumped into the air, angled itself better with its wings, and attempted to bring its lance down on Charlotte’s back. However, Charlotte twisted herself around to slam the blunt end of her sword against the harpy’s body, interrupting the attack.

Sana frowned. The way the harpy moved… was she truly feral? She moved and wielded the lance as if she had been trained. Perhaps…

As the fight continued, both parrying each other, so neither of them had any major wounds, it felt as though it would never end. However, Sana with her eye could tell that someone was at a definite disadvantage…

Charlotte managed to whack the harpy’s lance out of her grip and, before the harpy could move, reached out, putting the harpy in a chokehold. “…There…” Charlotte’s breathing was ragged and the both of them were sweating. “Now, I can end this…” She raised her sword and…

“Stop!” Charlotte froze, as Sana slithered to them.

“What… what are you doing?” Charlotte spluttered, but Sana ignored her and lowered herself so that she was at eye level with the harpy.

“You name…” she asked, talking with the harpy. “What is it?”

Tomoe frowned. “It isn’t going to understand-!”

“Lili…” The harpy managed to say, her voice hoarse but soft. “Liliana. Or… you can call me Lili.”

Charlotte flinched, nearly dropping her sword. “You… can talk?” She turned towards Tanya angrily. “I thought you said she killed some of your men?!”

Tanya recoiled. “What? No, I said that two of them were injured not dead!” She pointed towards the corner where two men currently bandaging the light wounds on their arms. They spotted Tanya pointing at them and, unsure of what was going on, waved awkwardly. “You were the idiot who ran in without listening to a word I said!”

Tomoe started to laugh and was soon joined by a couple of others in the crowd. Charlotte released Lili from her grip and backed away, her face a bright red.

“Are you okay?” Sana asked concernedly.

“I’m fine,” the harpy replied simply, picking up the lance from the ground. “It was fun.”

Sana blinked. “Fun? You nearly died!”

“Yeah.” Lili gave her a wide, almost feral, grin. “Fun.”

“How’d you learn to do that?” Charlotte asked, trying to repair her bruised pride. “And don’t tell me you were self-taught.”

“Teacher taught me,” Lili answered simply.

“Who was your-?” Sana started to ask, but she was unfortunately interrupted.

Lekha suddenly ran in, her face pale, breathing heavily. She immediately locked eyes with Tanya. “What’s the situation?” she asked, after straightening out her clothes.

Tanya immediately snapped to attention and saluted. “Ma’am! Lieutenant Hayder is currently engaging the giant monster on the other side!” She pointed over the Eldridge XIII. Sana, straining her ears, could hear shouting from the other side. Caught up in the appearance of Lili, she hadn’t noticed it.

“W-Wait.” Charlotte pointed at Lili. “I thought she was what you worried about.”

“You didn’t let me explain!” Tanya protested. “She came out of your ship after that monster!”

“So, then-!”

GRAAAAAAAAA!

Charlotte was cut off when a roar echoed throughout the room, which made everyone freeze. Most of all Sana, who recognized the sound and her mouth fell open in horror.

“A d-demon?!”