Albedo stood up.
It wasn't a slow or hesitant movent like before. There was no trace of the crumbling figure that had been crying on the ground minutes before. She stood with an upright posture, her wings folded naturally, her face now composed—not cold, not arrogant—just… focused.
Her golden eyes still had a strange glint, but now it wasn't despair.
It was decisiveness.
"I will help," she said firmly. Not loudly. Not theatrically. "And I won't get in the way."
Strax watched her for a few seconds, assessing not her strength, but her intention. He had seen beings lie with perfect words before. What he was looking for now was sothing else—inner coherence.
She didn't look away.
"I won't attack anyone without reason. I won't create conflicts. I won't try to impose myself." Albedo took a deep breath. "If I'm wrong… you can send away."
Strax frowned slightly.
"We're not going to use this as a threat," he replied. "But yes… you need to control yourself."
She nodded imdiately. "I know."
There was sothing almost strange about how she spoke now. Like soone who had finally received a basic manual for coexistence after millennia of surviving in chaos.
"Good," Strax said, straightening up. "Then we understand each other."
He turned to Frieren.
The elf was still standing, arms crossed, an unreadable expression. She didn't seem annoyed. Nor did she seem comfortable. It was that classic look of soone processing too many events for a single day.
She t his gaze.
"…are you sure?" she asked, without accusation, just cautiously.
"No," Strax answered honestly. "But I never am."
Frieren sighed, closed her eyes for a second, and nodded.
"Then let's go," she said. "Before sothing more improbable appears out of nowhere."
Albedo smiled—a small, restrained, almost shy smile.
"Yes," she said, clearly too excited for soone trying not to get in the way. "Let's go."
—
The return to Asgard was… imdiate.
Space bent under Strax's will, and the transition was as smooth as passing through an invisible door. One second they were in the destroyed cave, the next the air changed—cleaner, more charged with organized mana, imbued with the presence of sothing ancient and stable.
Asgard.
And as if the universe had a very specific sense of humor, the first thing they saw upon reappearing was:
Chaos.
An entire training field in ruins.
Stones ripped from the ground. Bent tal stakes. Deep impact marks scattered like craters. And at the center of it all—
Kali.
Shirtless. Scales partially visible along her shoulders and spine. Her hair loose and plastered to her body with sweat. The wide smile of soone who was… having fun.
More than thirty soldiers advanced against her at the sa ti.
They were shouting.
Not her.
Kali advanced first.
Her fist shot through the air like a projectile. One soldier was thrown back before he even understood what had happened. Another tried to flank her—he received a kick to the abdon that buried him in the ground up to his waist.
Two ca from above.
She grabbed both by the arms, twisted her body, and used them as makeshift hamrs against the others.
—CRASH—
The entire group fell to the ground.
The few who still tried to get up were t with knee strikes, elbow strikes, and blows as precise as they were brutal.
Strax closed his eyes.
He sighed.
"Damn…" he murmured. "She's going to kill soone like that."
Frieren watched the scene with a mixture of astonishnt and resignation. "Technically… she hasn't killed yet."
"For now," Strax replied.
Kali twisted her neck, cracking her knuckles, and shouted to the fallen soldiers:
"GET UP! IF YOU CAN BREATHE, YOU CAN FIGHT!"
A few groans answered.
Strax massaged his temple.
And then… sothing caught his attention to the right.
He turned his gaze.
And sighed again.
Another training camp.
Thirty more soldiers.
This ti, the remnants of the forr Beast Monarch.
And in the middle of them—
Agnes.
With a completely neutral expression.
She advanced slowly, breaking formations as if disassembling poorly assembled furniture. A punch to the jaw. A sharp blow to the sternum. A precise spin that threw two n to the ground at the sa ti.
She didn't shout.
She didn't smile. She didn't get worked up.
It was almost… clinical.
The soldiers tried to surround her.
She simply wouldn't let them.
Strax tilted his head back.
"Of course," he murmured. "Why not."
Albedo watched everything with wide eyes.
She remained silent for a few seconds, clearly analyzing every movent, every impact, every mana fluctuation.
"…they are quite similar," she finally comnted.
Strax turned his face to her.
"Similar how?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Both are violent," Albedo said matter-of-factly. "Extrely competent. And clearly… territorial."
Frieren raised an eyebrow.
"That last part was specific."
Albedo tilted her head slightly. "Instinct."
She then pointed with her chin at Kali. "Who is she?"
Strax sighed.
"The one on the left," he said, "is my wife."
Albedo blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…I understand."
She stared at Kali for a few more seconds, absorbing the information. The way she moved. The absolute confidence. The brute force combined with technique.
"She's also a dragon," Strax added.
"…ah," Albedo murmured, now with sothing close to genuine reverence. "That explains a lot."
Frieren suppressed a smile.
"And the other one?" Albedo asked, now pointing to Agnes, who had just taken down three soldiers at once using only a shoulder and elbow movent.
"A friend," Strax replied.
He paused.
"…subordinate, perhaps. Or an ally. Or a recurring problem."
Frieren looked at him. "You really don't know."
"No," he confird. "And honestly, I've given up on categorizing."
Albedo watched Agnes with renewed attention.
"She doesn't fight for pleasure," she comnted. "She fights for purpose."
"Yes," Strax agreed. "And that's sotis worse."
In the field, Kali finally stopped.
The soldiers were scattered on the ground, groaning, trying to compose themselves. She put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, satisfied.
Then she turned her face.
And saw Strax.
Her smile imdiately widened.
"STRAX!" she shouted, waving her arm. "YOU'RE BACK!"
And then her eyes moved.
To Frieren.
Then…
To Albedo.
The smile faded.
It didn't disappear.
But it beca… sharp.
Kali walked toward them, her steps firm, each one echoing on the ground like a declaration of presence.
"Who is she?" she asked bluntly, stopping beside Strax.
Albedo felt the pressure imdiately.
Not the full draconic aura—Kali wasn't unleashing everything—but it was enough to make it clear that this creature didn't need to prove anything to anyone.
Strax opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Sighed.
"Long story," he said. "Short version: ancient demon, seven thousand years old, summoned by an idiot, didn't work, now… under observation."
Kali looked directly at Albedo.
Silence.
Albedo swallowed hard.
"…pleasure," she said, choosing each word carefully. "I don't intend to cause any trouble."
Kali tilted her head slightly.
"Intending isn't the sa as achieving," she replied.
Frieren intervened before the atmosphere soured.
"She stayed," the elf said calmly, "because sending her away would cause bigger problems."
Kali looked at Frieren, then at Strax.
"You decided this?"
"Yes."
Kali held his gaze for a few seconds.
Then she shrugged.
"As long as you don't ss with what's mine," she said, smiling again. "Or with who's mine."
Albedo nodded quickly. "Never."
Kali laughed. "Good answer."
She then turned, pointing with her thumb at the destroyed field. "Co here, prove to that you're useful."
"I-I don't think this is—"
"Alright, I'm coming." Albedo bowed, and disappeared, appearing in front of Kali.
"Oh, excellent speed," Kali said. "Spatial distortion?" she asked, and Albedo nodded. "Great."
Albedo nodded again, posture erect, wings tightly folded, expression too serious for soone who had cried minutes before.
"Yes. Short-range spatial distortion," she replied. "It's not pure instantaneous, but it drastically reduces the perceived distance."
Kali smiled.
It wasn't a gentle smile.
It was the smile of soone who had just found a new toy.
"Great," she said, snapping her fingers. "Then it won't break easily."
Strax felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Hold on—" he began, but Frieren placed her hand on his arm.
"No," she said, with a tired half-smile. "Leave it. This is going to happen anyway."
Agnes, who had approached silently, watched with neutral interest. "If she survives five minutes," she comnted, "that's already impressive."
Albedo blinked.
"…five minutes of what?"
Kali didn't respond with words.
She simply advanced.
The air exploded.
There was no warning, no initial stance, no scream. Kali crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, her fist coming in a straight line, charged with enough draconic force to pulverize steel.
Albedo vanished.
The blow crossed the space where she stood, creating a shockwave that opened a crater in the ground behind.
"Good," Kali comnted, turning her body in the sa movent. Albedo reappeared on the left, wings partially spread to stabilize her body in the air. She didn't even have ti to breathe—Kali was already there again.
Another impact.
Another displacent.
The training field began to resemble a war map.
Albedo began to understand.
This wasn't a test of strength.
It was a test of reaction, control, and… intention.
She didn't counterattack.
She didn't try to dominate.
She only dodged, distorted space, retreated, always calculating.
Kali noticed this.
"Hm," she murmured, pausing for a second. "You really don't want to fight."
"No," Albedo replied, reappearing a few ters behind. "I want to… prove that I'm not a threat."
Kali tilted her head.
Then smiled again.
"Wrong answer."
She stomped her foot on the ground.
The entire field trembled.
The stones rose into the air as if gravity had been switched off for an instant—and then they all ca at once, hurled at Albedo like projectiles.
Albedo's eyes widened.
She spread her wings fully, demonic mana expanding, forming a layer of distortion around her body. The stones traversed space… and erged behind her, falling harmlessly.
But the effort was visible.
Strax frowned.
"She's holding back too much," he murmured.
Agnes nodded. "Yes. And Kali hates that."
As if to confirm it, Kali appeared right in front of Albedo, grabbing her by the collar before she could even react.
The two hung suspended in the air for a mont.
Eye to eye.
"Listen here," Kali said, her voice low, dangerous. "If you want to stay here… you can't just be docile."
Albedo swallowed hard.
"I… I can fight," she said. "I just—"
"No," Kali interrupted. "You can control yourself. I've seen that."
She released Albedo, who fell to her knees.
"What I want to know," Kali continued, "is if you know when to stop."
Silence.
Albedo took a deep breath.
Then she slowly stood up.
Her aura changed.
It didn't explode.
It didn't dominate.
But it beca… dense.
Organized.
The demonic pressure aligned, not as submission, but as focus. The wings closed slightly, the horns seed more defined, and the golden eyes lost any trace of emotional instability.
"I understand," she said.
Kali smiled, satisfied.
"Show ."
Albedo advanced.
This ti, she didn't run away.
She distorted the space within Kali's reach, altering angles, changing trajectories, making the dragon's own movent less predictable, even to herself.
Kali laughed loudly.
"Ah, now that's more like it!"
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