After they finished what they came to do, it was finally time for Esdeath and Maruti to go home. The journey back felt so much easier and quicker than their trip here. They didn't have to fight off scary monsters, or constantly watch their backs, or spend all their time searching for what they needed.
Now, none of that was a problem. They didn't stop at all—to be honest, Esdeath wouldn't let herself or Maruti stop even for a minute. She was so desperate to get back and see Lortell again as fast as she possibly could.
They pushed themselves to travel as far as they could every day, and in just two days, they had left the Terra Divina far behind, heading straight for the demon kingdom.
Even here, they only paused for a quick bite to eat before taking to the skies again. This was so different from last time, when they had to be extra careful about flying because Esdeath was pretending to be a vampire and Maruti was pretending to be a bull demon.
Maruti might have been fine, but a vampire flying without using her wings? That would have made a lot of people very suspicious.
But things were completely different now. It was time to go home. They didn't care if someone got suspicious or what they thought about them. By the time anyone could try to do something, they would be long gone.
Just like that, they flew across the demon kingdom, covering a journey that would normally take days in just a few hours.
A day later, they had already crossed the chasm of death, which brought them one step closer to the borders of the human world.
They decided to take the same path they had used to get to the demon realm, just in reverse. First, they went to the Awakened Kingdom to meet Queen Maddie, then to the other side of the Dwarf Kingdom to meet M.A.L.I.C.E., and finally to the borders of the Church Kingdom and the demon realm to enter the demon realm.
It was the same route, but backwards. After crossing the border again, they went to the Dwarf Kingdom, heading straight for M.A.L.I.C.E.'s headquarters. They didn't have any reason to visit the main dwarf kingdom anyway.
Standing outside the familiar headquarters they had been to on their last trip, their figures moved inside.
Maruti had changed back into her usual style of clothes, the kind she found easiest to move around in.
What outfit they were?, Well it depends entirely on her mood even if they are not easier to move around.
She wore tiny denim shorts with an off-the-shoulder top, the bottom of which she had tied in a little knot.
Esdeath had also changed her look quite a bit. Her hair, which she had worn in a single braid with two bangs at the front recently, was now straight again like before.
Instead of the formal white shirt, tie, and black pants she had been wearing, she was now dressed in a sailor fuku uniform. The new outfit made her look surprisingly cute, but at the same time, her strange red eyes and pale skin gave her an appearance that was very uncanny.
"What do you think? Should we start introducing ourselves as dragon slayers from now on?" Maruti ask, her black boots making a thumping sound on the ground as she walks a few steps ahead of Esdeath.
Surprisingly, unlike last time, no one tried to attack them. This was a clear sign that 2S kind of trusted them now.
Esdeath shook her head a little. "No, dragons and humans have a peace treaty now, so there's no such thing as dragon slayers anymore. And even if you're talking about the old days, to get the title of dragon slayer, you had to kill two dragons. Annihilating ten dragons would give you the title of 'The Annihilator.' Slaying a hundred would make you 'The Devourer,' and someone who kills a thousand dragons in their lifetime is called—" Esdeath was casually showing off her knowledge about the world, but then she suddenly stops walking.
Seeing this, Maruti stops as well. She tilts her head and looks Esdeath right in the eyes.
"—The Penetrator!" Esdeath finally adds.
Maruti narrows her eyes, not understanding for a second, but then her eyebrows furrows as she realises what Esdeath meant.
"So you're saying that 'Penetrator' is actually 'The Penetrator'? The slayer of a thousand dragons?" Maruti ask.
"It's possible," Esdeath replies. "After all, he only remembers two words: 'Penetrator' and 'dragon.' He's not a dragon, so why? Having those two words stuck in his mind even after losing all his memories... it definitely means something. Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
Somehow, all the clues were right in front of her. Having 'Penetrator' and 'dragon' in the same sentence was enough to show that it wasn't just a coincidence, yet she hadn't figured it out back then.
But here she was, suddenly getting it, even though they were talking about something completely different.
She shook her head again. "Forget it. We don't have much to do with him anyway. We should focus on our own things," she says.
Maruti nods in agreement, and they continues their walk until they were further inside.
Surprisingly, 3S was standing there, waiting for them. Then again, it wasn't really a surprise, since they figured she must have already seen them arrive on the security cameras or something.
"Is it time?" 3S ask in a flat voice.
"No, but it's not that far away either. If you want, you can come with us to Anastasia. It'll only take a few more days," Esdeath answeres, her voice just as flat.
"No. You all will come here, and we'll make whatever necessary preparations we need to travel to Hell," 3S replies, setting her own demands.
Esdeath pauses for a few seconds and then nod. "Okay. It's better not to have any distractions while we're making preparations," she answers, agreeing to 3S's terms.
"But, since we're going to use this base, you'd better prepare several doors as soon as possible," Esdeath added.
"Doors?" both Maruti and 3S repeats at the same time, looking equally confuse.
"Don't ask too many questions. Just prepare them. Doors of different sizes, designs, and colours. There should be at least a hundred. Also, some earth and wood path essence stones and mana crystals. Leave the rest to me," Esdeath exclaims with a light smile, as if she was giving out a recipe for something.
3S still had a blank expression on her face, but Maruti could tell she was probably having second thoughts about suggesting that this base be their meeting point.
For the next few seconds, the three of them just stood there, awkwardly staring at each other without saying a word.
Finally, 3S broke the silence.
"Anything else?" she ask.
Instead of answering, Esdeath just casually points at Maruti.
A wide grin was on Maruti's face as she rubs her hands together. "Of course I'm not going back without my bike," she says, taking a small book out of her pocket and tossing it towards 3S.
3S caught it easily. It was the instruction manual she had given to Maruti a while back.
"I finished the manual. I'm pretty sure I can drive it now," Maruti added.
"Hmm... It's still in that same room. Go and get it," 3S answers, then turns around and walks towards a chair, casually sitting down.
Meanwhile, forgetting all about her, Maruti and Esdeath made their way to the room where the superbike, the David Putra 2000cc, was parked.
And just like 3S had said, the superbike was in the room, in the exact same position.
Maruti's tongue automatically stuck out of her mouth as she ran towards the bike and immediately jumps up and sat on it.
Her hands were already rubbing the handles of the bike. She touched some buttons on the handle, causing several hologram screens to pop up. Quickly clicking through the options, she starts the bike immediately.
Turning around, she patted the back of her seat. "Come on... come on... sit down, hurry!" she calls out.
"There's no way to get out of here while riding a bike. We need to carry it outside," Esdeath suggests with a sigh.
"Ohh, come on, don't pretend like you don't know. Now come and sit," Maruti replies, her enthusiasm not fading at all.
Esdeath was silent for a few seconds, and then a wide, sly grin spread across her lips.
"Crazy bitch," She say, before walking towards her and sitting on the back seat, placing one hand on Maruti's shoulder for better balance.
"Let's GOOO!" Maruti shouts Turning on the wheels, she burst the superbike right through the glass walls that led to the balcony.
SMASH!...
The glass smashes into pieces as the bike flew directly out of the headquarters building.