The Abyssal Kraken Sea was fun for exactly two hours.
Maya finished her perfect, bite-sized piece of seared Megalodon, wiped her mouth delicately with a napkin provided by a trembling Demon Lord Kaelen, and let out a soft sigh.
"I'm bored of the water," Maya announced. "The humidity is ruining the blowout I just gave myself. I want a proper date night, Leo. Paved streets. Cafes. Maybe some light souvenir shopping."
Leo nodded, tossing his binoculars onto a plush chair. "You got it, babe. City date it is." He snapped his fingers and pointed at Malakor, who was currently wearing a floral apron over his spiked armor to wash the dishes. "Hey, Mal. What's the biggest, fanciest city in this dimension? We want the premium tourist trap."
Malakor stood at attention, a soapy sponge in his massive, clawed hand. "O Great Patron! That would be Aethelgard, the Grand Capital of the Eastern Human Kingdom! It is a sprawling metropolis of culture, wealth, and grand bazaars!"
"Perfect," Maya said, slipping her sunglasses back on. "Grab the bags. We're going shopping."
Cut to thirty minutes later.
The streets of Aethelgard, the most heavily fortified and bustling city in the Human Realms, were completely paralyzed.
Merchants dropped their cabbages. Knights froze mid-patrol, their jaws unhinged.
Strolling down the center of the pristine cobblestone street was a man in a floral shirt eating a magical gelato, and a stunning woman holding an iced latte.
Behind them, carrying twelve different shopping bags, were the two most terrifying entities in recorded history—Demon Lords Malakor and Kaelen—both wearing crisp butler suits and sweating profusely. Floating a few feet above them to act as a giant, terrifying patio umbrella to block the harsh sun was Vermithrax, the Sovereign of the Skies, who was glaring at any human who dared look at Maya for too long.
General Pavan, General Karthik, and General Aman were trailing behind the group, aggressively holding the doors open for every boutique Maya wanted to enter.
"If that human merchant didn't wrap the silk scarves properly," Karthik muttered to Aman, his fangs bared, "I'm going back to burn his shop down. The Lady requires pristine packaging."
"Just carry the boxes, you brute," Pavan hissed, balancing four hat boxes on his spiked horns.
Leo took a bite of his gelato. "Gotta admit, the architecture here is beautiful. Very European, but with more glowing crystals."
Maya hummed in agreement, looking at a display of mythril jewelry. "It's nice. A little quiet, though. I expected more street performers or something."
Suddenly, the sky above the bustling market didn't just crack—it shattered.
A deafening sonic boom rattled the cobblestones. The clouds parted violently as a golden, jagged rift tore open in the atmosphere.
The terrified citizens of Aethelgard screamed, diving for cover as the sheer pressure of the rift flattened market stalls. Malakor and Kaelen instantly dropped the shopping bags and drew their legendary weapons, stepping in front of Leo and Maya. Vermithrax let out a warning roar that shook the foundations of the city.
A tiny figure was ejected from the golden rift, plummeting toward the earth at terminal velocity.
"Incoming projectile!" Malakor roared, raising his battle-axe to deflect the threat.
Leo didn't panic. He casually handed his half-eaten gelato to the terrifying Demon Lord. "Hold this, Mal. Don't let it melt."
Leo stepped forward, didn't even bend his knees, and simply reached his left hand up.
THWAP.
A massive shockwave rippled out from Leo's palm, shattering the windows of the nearby boutiques, but he didn't budge an inch. The dust cleared.
Leo was holding the "projectile" by the collar of her tunic, exactly two inches from the ground. He had caught her as easily as catching a stray baseball.
It wasn't a bomb. It wasn't a monster.
It was a little girl, no older than seven. She had messy, silver-blonde hair and was wearing a tattered, overly large white dress. She was covered in cuts and bruises, breathing heavily, and radiating a very strange, incredibly dense aura that made the Demon Lords subconsciously take a step back.
Leo blinked, gently setting the child down on her feet. "Well. That's not a souvenir."
Maya lowered her sunglasses, her maternal—and highly protective—vacation instincts instantly overriding her desire to shop. She crouched down, ignoring the dirt on the cobblestones.
The little girl looked up at them, her golden eyes wide with fear and exhaustion. She swayed slightly, clutching a glowing, broken pendant in her small hands before her knees gave out.
Maya caught her instantly, cradling the unconscious child. Maya's eyes, normally so unbothered, flashed with a terrifying, absolute zero coldness that made the surrounding air freeze into actual snowflakes.
"Someone," Maya whispered, her voice slicing through the silence like a scalpel, "just dropped a bleeding child out of the sky on my date night."
Vermithrax, Malakor, and Kaelen all simultaneously shuddered. They knew that tone. That was the tone that vaporized assassins and subjugated dragons.
Whoever had hurt this kid was about to experience a level of face-slapping violence this world had never seen.
Leo sighed, cracking his knuckles. The sound echoed like cannon fire. "Mal. Kaelen. Pack up the shopping bags. Looks like our vacation itinerary just added a rescue mission."