Princess

"This girl scares me."

Geddu's remark about Nati felt hilarious. She has changed a lot since we last met more than a month ago in the tiny village that has since worn her name. She looked almost the same, although she got into a better shape, but the air around her was different.

"I found a spell that can bind a deity into any vessel, even this plushie." She explained, shaking a stuffed toy towards the paladin, and summoned a wizard staff out of thin air. "We could seal the Dragon God and add a few magic runes to prevent him from casting spells. Then we could grab the dungeon core and return to the surface."

Gone was the strange girl from another world who would sit in a corner during the conference. She observed the situation, and when she spoke, she tried not to offend anyone, or get out of the line. She worked on a weapon and her previous invention was a toy. Now she plotted to defeat an actual deity with a stuffed animal.

"We could use the same runes I came up with Lambert." The orc witch added pondering. "If we sewn it to the outside, he could no longer cast hostile spells, and it isn't a complex signal either."

As their radical plan formed, I tried to remember how things were the last time we were together. I changed a lot since too, but still had a long way to go. I improved my stamina, learned some fencing, and even hosted a goddess in my head, but I couldn't reach their level. Nati became a full-blown wizard. Or a witch. Or a mage herself, her magicules overflowing. No wonder my unwanted invader freaked out from her.

"It would take a tremendous amount of mana, and quite some time to embed it though." The shaman noted. "I can only hold him off for a few minutes at best, but then I can't supply the runes with my magicules."

They didn't panic in the middle of this carnage, each of them added their ideas until it became a solid plan. They didn't even notice. Some members needed more confidence and experience, but they weren't alone. Their group compensated for each other's weaknesses.

"I can create a diversion, if not much else with my flames. And before they react and suppress our magic, I'll wipe out most of the pixies." The Fire Witch offered, clutching another stuffed animal in her hands. "For whatever it is worth, he seems preoccupied with his ritual."

Each pitched something, and the otherworlder kicked it off with her original idea. The others soon added their touches, until they covered every angle. Gitaut might not looked like it, but he turned out to be reliable and strong, the witches capable in their fields.

Looking at their little team, the paladin and I seemed the weakest links. We relied on outside factors instead of our strengths and knowledge. She couldn't even access hers while in the dungeon, and I wanted to get rid of mine for a while now.

Nati's sister was the only one who didn't dabble in magic. The body she inhabited could snap us both in half with its brute strength though. Still, their plan felt daring and desperate, unsurprising when we faced a god. He ruled over the largest dungeon ever recorded in Cranta's history.

"This all sounds sounds very optimistic." Cath raised an eyebrow too, glancing to the side to nod towards the carnage below. "He incinerated half the jungle when we met. The Saipole strike team got wiped out in the blink of an eye, then he flew off like it was nothing. I don't know much about magic, but you'd need more mana in that rune than you'd try to suppress."

Nati's face turned dark as she got lost during her theorization. Gadurien also felt rather anxious inside my head. Her thoughts were clear most of the time, overpowering my own, but now they were a garbled mess. They bubbled to the surface as incoherent sentences. I had to focus on them with every brain cell to make sense of them, and she both liked their idea and found it terrifying.

"The sealing rune could work without much effort. Of course, Addas isn't some weakling, he gathered followers inside the dungeon." Her tone often changed, from optimistic to scared or apathetic, giving me a headache. "He has a huge advantage. But with all these magicians lined up, if they poured their mana together into a restrictive rune like the one on the girl's armor... They could limit the dragon's power."

She went on and on about their strengths and the danger they posed for herself. She highlighted the opportunity to seal away the dungeon's ruler to end this insanity. I soon realized what scared her too. The same method could expel her from my body, making her entire existence flutter inside me. I wanted to ask Nati if it's possible.

"Hey, come on, I know we had some creative differences, but I'm on your side, remember? Why would you want to get rid of me like that?" I heard the voice trying to appeal to me, and I suppressed a giggle.

The others were busy working on Nati's idea. Even though Cath seemed skeptical, it was better than nothing. The place seemed problematic for executing intricate plans with the murderous battle below. But the cat girl called Ember was right.

It distracted the Dragon God, he watched the killing with an enigmatic smile. The voices died down somewhat, once most of the original participants got wiped out. The rest must have been on their last legs too, but I found the Saipole princess again, who was in her element.

"It's easy for her when she's the only one who can use magic. And the form she uses depletes her mana reserves slower." Geddu explained in one of her clearer moments. "It's also more prone to fail when someone tries to suppress it. But while she has free reign, she has a good chance of wiping everyone out. Where did she keep her reserves until now?"

All our interactions have been one-sided so far, never a close call. She lost fast or won even quicker. Sure, she became outmatched thanks to literal god's interventions, but she was tough. I had no idea how she got captured, but watching her dominate the arena reminded me not to piss her off.

But the fairies were a real problem, for our plans too. They could hinder our thought processes or suppress the mana. Addas possessed similar powers, except way stronger. When they didn't intervene, the dungeon increased all spells' strength. But I had no illusions about this making the Dragon God stronger too.

After listening to Gadurien's thoughts, sealing away this monstrosity seemed promising. But they had to finish the preparations under his nose without getting wiped out. That was the real challenge.

"Yes, you need time. If only another deity present could buy you some." Geddu didn't sound like she volunteered. Rather, it felt like she tried to appeal to me, promising more power if I guaranteed her safety. Of course, she denied these unspoken accusations. "It's not like I'm afraid of these people. I'm a prominent goddess from the Cranta Pantheon, don't be ridiculous."

"You said yourself that Nati scares you," I replied with a grin. I formulated some additions to their plan in my head. I forgot about not speaking my thoughts out loud, and the girl in question glanced at me with confused looks.

She had the exact amount of freckles sprinkled across her nose to give her the cutest possible face. Her hazel eyes could melt anyone's heart. When she looked at me like that, I felt a flutter inside. A feeling only the most handsome princes of the old could induce in me before.

And sometimes Cath, when we began to warm up to each other and went through all those dangers together. What was wrong with me? Now of all time, considering some romantic feelings towards random people. I blamed it on the stress and the fairies, but Geddu's laughter dragged me back into the present. Nati's eyes reminded me of a puppy I had before the Collapse. It always begged for food, and realizing I called her scary out of the blue, I attempted an awkward apology.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't talking to you, it's just..." Blood rushing into my face, I glanced at the paladin for help, but she let out a hearty laugh before saying anything. "The voice in my head regarded you as crazy powerful. And the shaman as well. She thinks we have a fighting chance if we follow up on your plan but... We'd need distractions."

"I thought she already left, Geddu was dead silent for an entire day after the Dragon God appeared." Cath jabbed at us, although only the goddess took real offense. It was strong enough to rub off on me though.

"She volunteered to be that distraction." I blurted it out. Not exactly what she suggested, but looking at the stuffed toys, I had an idea. I could already tell, Gadurien wasn't a fan. "We have two figurines, right? If you prepare one for Addas with a seal, we could use the other as Geddu's temporary shell. You shaped Alexandra's body too, you could do it."

The voice in my head almost screamed, protesting with all her might. This caused the strongest headache, and I had to grab onto something. Cath gave me this concerned look, but Nati's eyes lit up. She turned towards the cat plushie the Fire Witch brought with us.

My temple pulsed as if it wanted to explode and I couldn't explain things further. She acted like she saw straight into my brain, clenching her fist around the crystal in her staff. Gadurien thrashed herself around between my thoughts. I almost let out a scream too, covering my mouth and closing my eyes for a moment to regain control.

The voices in my head and the arena became a tangled mess. While I had a feeling they tried to talk to me, this was Geddu's worst behavior so far. For someone immortal, she panicked hard when it came to leaving my body. But then everything became quiet.

The pulsing stopped like it never happened, and my thoughts calmed down too. My ears were ringing, but I recognized Cath's voice soon.

"You all right?" She grabbed my shoulders, eyes wide, and I took a few shallow breaths before I could look around.

"I can't believe you let her do that!" I heard Geddu complain, but her voice was different. For once, it didn't appear in my thoughts, Her voice originated nearby, and my ears picked it up. "I was trying to help."

As the migraine subsided, a toy cat's button eyes stared at me with a judgemental expression.