A Titan Of Strength

Rue, the Demon Lord he had painstakingly defeated before.

A battle that had brought him to this world, and now she was here too. Both of their strength were far from that battle, but right now Rue had an upperhand. In this place without mana she was still capable of using the demonic energy exclusive to the Demon Lord.

More importantly, the way Rue looked was exactly the same. As if she was entirely transported here, and not just her soul like Akiol and his party. That would explain how she still had access to demonic energy, but only spelt more trouble.

Akiol let go of his sword and delivered a swift strike with his fist. Rue dodged it with ease and flipped the sword to grab it properly. Inspecting the vibrating blade she complimented, "Your sword choice never fails to please."

"You don't know how to swing one."

"Aha!"

Rue swung several times, each swing cutting through naught but air. Akiol spotted an opening and kicked Rue's hand, knocking the sword upwards. Grey energy crackled down the blade as she forced a swing regardless. Swinging around Akiol dodged the attack and pinned her arm. Moving quickly he threw Rue towards the ground and put her in an arm lock, twisting to free his blade.

Grey energy snapped towards Akiol, threatening to consume him. Silver Aura leapt to defend, small wisps clashing against the powerful arcs. Rue watched in interest, "You've learned a new trick."

Energy crackled up her arm as she forcefully swung upwards. Akiol was unable to maintain his hold and was flung towards the ceiling. Crashing into the metal ceiling Akiol lost the air in his lungs. Falling almost limp towards the ground.

Rue stood up and dusted off the borrowed clothes, "A fight like this is so childish compared to before."

Akiol sucked in a breath, silver Aura helped him flip forward and land on his feet. Dashing forward he collected his sword off the ground, swinging it towards Rue's neck.

{Way of the Galaxy: Photon Cutting Slash}!

"Ah?", Rue's arm crackled with demonic energy as she lifted an arm to block. Silver Aura and grey demonic energy sputtered from impact, the blade having broken past and creating a gash. Rue watched with an intrigued look, "You've done something very interesting. Your sword was never at this level before."

"Why are you here?", Akiol instead decided to interrogate her.

"I woke up at this world. Did you think I came here intentionally? After I lost our battle I was greeted with an unfamiliar place."

Akiol's sword retracted and flickered forward. Rue took a step back but noticed the wall was now behind her. Akiol's sword embedded into it and almost scratched her neck.

Rue raised her hands in a surrendering fashion with a smile, "Okay okay, let's calm down shall we? I'm not trying to die again."

"Why are you helping them? Those demonic beasts shouldn't be in this world."

"Assuming the worst of me? I was captured shortly after I awoke."

Akiol's eyes narrowed as he inspected her expression. Rue laughed sweetly, "We don't have to fight you know. This place isn't under the scrutiny of those gods."

"If you were captured, why are you here now?"

"They let me go~? Maybe they wanted me to kill you, since last time I tried to escape it was quite the spectacle."

"You expect me to believe that? With your history?"

"Oh come on~ I don't have an army to my disposal anymore. It's just me! I can show you were they held me, will that calm you down?"

Akiol was unsure. This very same being was who caused havoc and chaos in his world. To trust them so easily, his instincts screamed against it.

However there was a fair point. Part of why the Demon Lord was so terrifying was the army of demonic beasts under their control. Although Rue was stronger than Akiol, even with the advanced suit he wore, she lacked the fighting technique. In fact it was almost as if she hadn't spent any time developing at all.

Akiol's stare almost created a hole through Rue's eyes, but she remained silently smiling. Clicking his tongue Akiol pulled his sword free, "Show me."

Rue's hand flickered forward and grey energy crackled. Pausing just before Akiol's neck she flashed a dazzling smile, "Fair, worth a shot."

Akiol's sword was a hair away from piercing her heart. Retracting her hand she gestured for Akiol to follow, "What about you? Why are you here?"

"The gods sent me here."

"Sent you?"

Rue paused and looked up, "What are they planning now?"

"Keep moving."

"Yes yes, you really ought to stop following their words all the time. They do what's only good for their self interest."

"You say that, yet followed the evil gods."

"Neither of us had a choice then, you know that best."

"Willing to go against them now?"

"I wonder~"

Walking to a room Rue spread her arms, "Tada~! My home for the past few years."

Akiol eyed the words on a few computers, most of it incomprehensible. Moving towards a large glass capsule he gently touched its surface. Rue, placing her hands behind her back, spoke in a low tone, "I don't remember much after coming here. When they captured me I remember being in a liquid."

"What about the beast?"

"What beast? You know those things can't function without mana, and this place is devoid of it."

Akiol knelt down and studied the bottom, "You remember anything else?"

"Just one thing, the only thing I was able to see in that liquid. Hand me your sword."

Akiol instead stared at Rue, not moving to answer her demand. Rue extended a hand, "What, you think I'm gonna stab you? I need to draw something."

"Then use the pen and paper around."

"What's a pen?"

Akiol opened his mouth but paused, "It's a quill."

"Then just say that! Where is the ink?"

Picking up one of the clipboards and pens Akiol handed it to Rue. Upon receiving the pen she stared at it, "This isn't a quill."

Akiol had fully understood that his arrival to this world was relatively stress free. Using James' memories he had overcome the obstacle in knowledge. Picking up the pen he demonstrated how it works. Rue made an excited expression, "It doesn't require ink! Oh I hated writing, if I had this I don't think I would've minded it as much."

Finding a paper with a decently large blank space Rue scribbled a rough sketch. Inspecting her work she nodded happily, "Done! It writes so smoothly!"

Akiol took the clipboard and flipped it around. Looking at the drawing he paused.

For it was a rough picture of the sun setting over a horizon.