The weekend arrived, and Rowan was discussing final details with Sora.
"All right," he said. "What's the time difference between worlds?"
Sora looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, is time in the other world slower?"
She shook her head. "No. I'll be returning us to the exact point in time from which we left. No time will have passed. We could stay there for years, and it wouldn't matter."
Rowan facepalmed. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner? We didn't have to wait for the weekend—we could've left anytime!"
Sora shrugged. "Well, now you know."
Shortly after, Takina arrived, carrying a couple of gear bags, with Chisato and Aika walking up behind her.
"You didn't tell us what kind of animals we'd be hunting," Takina said, her expression as serious as ever. "So I just grabbed a few things."
Rowan glanced at the bags and said, half-joking, "Those probably won't be enough… unless you grabbed some explosives."
Takina nodded. "I also grabbed explosive slugs for the shotguns."
Rowan looked at her, a bit wide-eyed. "Really?"
She nodded again, confirming she wasn't joking.
"Okay, maybe that'll be enough. What else did you bring?"
"Mines, a couple of hand grenades, and our standard pistols as sidearms."
Rowan nodded thoughtfully. "All right, you and Chisato will probably be fine."
Then he looked over at Aika.
She smiled confidently. "Don't worry, boss. I'm not helpless. I've been practicing magic."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "For all of what, three days?"
Sora chimed in. "I showed her some things. She's not going to be blowing up any mountains anytime soon, but she can at least defend herself."
Rowan sighed. "All right then. Let's go and get this started. So, Sora—how's this work?"
She stared at him like he was dumb. "Just select the world you want to go to in the menu and click it."
He blinked. "Really? It's that simple?"
"Yeah. What were you expecting?"
"I don't know. I thought maybe I'd have to cast a complicated spell or rend the fabric of reality or some shit like that."
She rolled her eyes. "That's for people who don't have systems. Now just click the damn button."
"All right, all right. Geez."
He opened the menu, selected the world he wanted, and clicked.
Time in the DxD world froze, and a portal opened.
Without hesitation, they all stepped through it.
What awaited them was a jungle-choked ruin of what was once the pinnacle of human ambition. Isla Nublar was no longer a theme park, but a graveyard overrun by nature and stalked by creatures that had outlived their cages. Cracked walkways disappeared beneath creeping vines, broken monorails hung like skeletal remains over dense foliage, and the glass dome of the visitor center stood shattered—its insides dark and silent. The distant cry of something massive echoed through the trees, and the wind carried the scent of wet earth, metal, and something... primal.
Jurassic World was dead—but the monsters were very much alive.
They stood in the pavilion just outside the visitor center. Chisato stared, wide-eyed.
"What the heck is this place?" she asked.
Rowan replied, "A ruined theme park. Run by a businessman and a scientist who thought it was a good idea to bring dinosaurs back from extinction and put them on display like common zoo animals."
Aika blinked, frowning. "You're kidding, right? That sounds like the plot of a monster movie."
Rowan snickered. "Something like that. Extra dessert when we get home for the person who guesses what happened."
Chisato's hand shot up. "Oh! I know! One of the dinosaurs broke out of its cage and it started a chain reaction of chaos, panic, and probably a lot of death—which led to the park being abandoned and taken over by the dinosaurs!"
Rowan grinned. "Ding ding, you win."
"Yesss!" Chisato pumped her arms triumphantly.
Takina crossed her arms, looking skeptical. "Why was that the most obvious answer?"
Rowan shrugged. "Because people are always doing the dumbest thing possible. The extinction of the dinosaurs happened for a reason. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to bring back not just extinct herbivores, but a whole bunch of extinct apex predators too—I have no idea. I mean, if you were going to make a dinosaur theme park with real dinosaurs, why not just stick to the herbivores? I guess it would be boring, but it would be safe, at least. Anyway, I'm rambling."
Sora clapped her hands together, her tone brisk. "Alright, that's enough explanations. Without further ado, here's everybody's quest."
Just like that, they all received a system notification:
---
New Quest Issued: Cabela's Big Game Hunting — Jurassic Update
Quest Description:
Each participant must hunt one of the island's predators.
Reward:
The better the kill, the better the reward.
Penalty for Failure:
Get hunted by a group of Yautja for 3 days.
Here's your polished version with grammar, punctuation, and canon-faithful adjustments for Sora, Takina, Chisato, and Aika:
---
Rowan looked at Sora and said, "I have a lot to say about that penalty, especially since you're including my peerage members in it and not just myself. But I'll wait."
Sora shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, they're not going to grow stronger if you coddle them."
Takina said, "She has a point, Rowan-sama."
Rowan looked at her and said, "None of that. Only speak to me with honorifics in the company of other nobles. But in private settings, I don't want any of that."
She nodded. "Then for now, I'll call you Boss, since I'm your servant."
Sora shrugged. "That's what me and Aika call him."
Chisato chimed in, cheerful as always. "Sounds right to me. It's what I called Mika when I worked for him, so it'll actually be a bit comforting."
Rowan sighed. "That works. But in all seriousness, let's get to work, ladies. This island is huge. Let's get our bearings first—there should be a map at the visitor center."
They nodded at his words, and all of them made their way inside the building. Finding a map didn't take long—there were plenty of them inside the gift shop.
Rowan spread out the map on a nearby table. "Alright. Here's the lay of the island. The quest did say that we each needed to hunt one of the island's predators, but it didn't say we had to do so alone. So feel free to pair up."
Takina replied, "While that would be the best course of action, I believe it would be detrimental to our individual growth. Chisato and I work well as a team, but on our own... we need work."
Chisato nodded at Takina's words. "Yeah, I'd like to get a feel for what my body can do, now that I can actually put this heart of mine to work. Not to mention the fact that I'm physically stronger now."
Aika raised a hand casually. "Don't forget me. I'm gonna go bag the biggest dinosaur I can find."
Rowan sighed. "Just don't get killed. If you're in trouble, fall back, okay?"
"Gotcha," Chisato said.
"Understood," added Takina.
"You bet," Aika grinned.
They all replied, then departed for different parts of the island—Chisato and Takina each with a gear bag, and Aika, strangely, took nothing but the pair of knives strapped to her waist.
Rowan watched her go. "Is Aika going to be okay?"
Sora waved him off. "Oh, she'll be fine. You worry too much. After all, you're the one who needs to be concerned. Your prey is in Sector 6."
Rowan narrowed his eyes at the map. "The Forbidden Sector."
Sora grinned. "Yep. Where they keep the really dangerous dinos and their experiments. I'm sure you'll find something worth hunting in there."
Rowan walked out the door and said, "Let's go," then headed off into the forest.
---
POV: Takina
As Takina walked through the forest, she scanned the brush for any signs of movement, fully aware that she could be ambushed by any number of things. The jungle was thick with vines and towering prehistoric trees, their massive roots coiling through the undergrowth like serpents. In the distance, she could hear the low hum of insects and the occasional guttural cry of something far too big to be natural.
She moved to higher terrain, making her way up a rocky hillside scattered with moss-covered boulders and broken tree trunks, remnants of some earlier stampede. Eventually, she emerged from the dense jungle and into a clearing.
What she found made her stop.
A massive field stretched before her, covered in tall grass that swayed like waves under the humid breeze. Old monorail pylons loomed in the distance, half-collapsed and overtaken by vines, casting long shadows over the field like skeletal watchmen.
She said to herself, "This is where I'll most likely find my targets."
Without wasting a second, she got to work—setting up traps along the perimeter of the field and preparing the terrain to her liking, turning her prey's home turf into a death trap. Methodically, she worked her way inward, placing explosive tripwires and caltrops hidden beneath disturbed grass and loose soil. When the trap-laden zone was complete, she retraced her steps exactly, walking back out and scaling a tall tree on the edge of the clearing.
Hiding among the thick canopy leaves, she whispered to herself, "Fortunately, I masked my scent with some vanilla before I entered the forest."
She activated the communication spell Sora had taught her, a small glowing magic circle appearing in her palm as she whispered into it, "I'm in position. Waiting for my targets to come to me."
A few seconds later, she heard Chisato's voice reply, "Good luck."
Then Aika's voice followed, casual as ever, "Be careful."
Then Rowan's voice cut in. "Wait—targets? What are you hunting?"
She casually replied, "Raptors."
There was a pause.
"You just went right for the hardest thing you could think of, didn't you?" Rowan said with a sigh. "Oh well. Be careful."
After the communication cut out, Takina heard the grass begin to rustle. Her eyes sharpened, tracking movement. Long, scaly tails peaked above the tall grass, their patterns blending almost too well with the golden green blades. The raptors were awake.
She checked her shotgun, chambered a round, and calmly said to herself:
"Mission start."
She stood stock still, patiently waiting for the correct moment. Suddenly, from three different directions, surrounding her in a triangle formation, the raptors exploded into view—leaping at her, teeth and claws flashing.
Right before they reached her, she used her newly enhanced physical abilities to leap backward in a graceful arc, backflipping high into the air while simultaneously lining up her shot. The loud blast of the shotgun lit up the area as the explosive shell slammed into the heads of the three raptors as they clustered together, biting at empty air. The specially customized high-yield explosive shells did their job perfectly... almost.
Takina landed on her feet just in time to see one of the raptor's heads explode instantly. The second raptor that had been hit had half its skull missing and was slumped on the ground, rapidly dying.
The third, however, had the intelligence to duck its head under the body of the second just in time to avoid fatal injury. Parts of its skin near the ribs and spine were bleeding, however, and it didn't look very happy about it.
It rushed Takina, clearly furious. This raptor was larger than the others, with a slightly different color pattern. Cruel intelligence glinted in its eyes as it lunged at her.
She jumped to her left, avoiding the raptor's snapping jaws, rolling into a somersault, cradling her shotgun and popping back up on her feet, leveling it at the creature—only to see that it wasn't there.
It had ducked back into the tall grass.
Takina couldn't see it, but she knew it was watching her. She could feel it.
Calmly, silently, she began inching closer toward some of the traps she had laid out, hoping to take advantage of them when the creature ambushed her from her right.
She barely managed to throw herself to the ground in time as the creature sailed above her, jaws snapping right where her neck had been moments ago.
Without looking back, she sprang toward the opposite direction of the creature while throwing a concussive grenade in the direction she believed it was.
While sprinting toward the more lethal of her traps, she heard the raptor screech in pain and confusion—which told her that her concussive grenade had done its job.
She had precious little time, but she planned to use it wisely.
She was less than twenty feet away from her kill box when, without warning, she felt the creature's thick, muscular tail slam directly into her legs, sending her sprawling forward—almost planting her face on the spot where she was sure one of her mines was located.
She scrambled to flip herself onto her back just in time to see the massive jaws coming for her.
She slammed her shotgun into its mouth, preventing its jaws from closing around her.
Hot, fetid breath and warm saliva reeking of death and rotting flesh assaulted her senses as she struggled.
She could see the back of its throat and feel its saliva—and what she assumed was the rotting blood and flesh of a recent kill—hitting her face as it roared at her.
Finally, it was able to get a good grip with its teeth on the shotgun and ripped it from her hands, sending it flying.
Just as it was about to raise its head for one final strike, the shotgun landed on an explosive mine a few feet away from the struggle.
The blast sent them both flying—the raptor only a few feet, but Takina, who was much lighter and no longer weighed down by the creature, flew much farther.
Fortunately, the raptor's body had shielded her from most of the shrapnel.
She landed quite a few feet away from the raptor, with a couple broken ribs and some scratches on her face.
Dazed and disoriented, she struggled to her feet to see that the raptor had done the same.
It was glaring at her in pure hatred, blood now pouring from its right side.
It had the look—and dangerous energy—of a cornered animal, ready to take its opponent down with it.
Takina could tell it no longer saw her as prey.
She was a threat.
With no weapon in her hand and her gear lost in the struggle, she sprinted in the opposite direction as fast as she possibly could.
The raptor took off after her, gaining on her by the moment—until finally, Takina stopped.
Her back to a massive oak tree she had earlier used as a landmark in the grassy landscape, she turned and faced the raptor, panic clear on her face.
She put her hands up as if in surrender, and slowly bent her knees, heading toward the ground as if to beg.
Roaring in triumph, the raptor lunged at her, ready to go for the kill.
Suddenly, Takina snatched at something hidden in the grass at her feet—a black wire, buried in the dirt.
She yanked the wire, activating the trap she had set here just in case she needed to make a last stand.
Magically enhanced blades sprung up from the ground just as the raptor had gained too much momentum to stop.
The raptor watched helplessly as the blades sliced through its legs, and it slid across the ground, helpless.
Takina calmly stepped to the side, away from the tree, as the raptor's full momentum slammed its head directly into the giant oak—hitting with such force that a visible crack appeared in its skull, exposing its brain matter.
And finally, it lay still.
Takina waited for a moment, then slowly walked up to the raptor, realizing that it wasn't dead—but it was quickly dying, and in no position to be a threat.
She watched silently as death claimed it.
When the light faded from its eyes, and she saw the creature take its last breath, she calmly muttered under her breath:
"Hunt complete."
Takina took a momentary breather to heal her wounds. Once she felt her natural healing factor take effect and her body begin to mend, she approached the alpha raptor, grabbed its left foot, and with her knife, sliced off its middle claw. Then she began making her way back to the visitors' pavilion.