Dee had made it clear that they needed to get back as soon as possible. Walking through the town to the place where they usually opened portals, the dragon explained that he had left the assassin tied up with some help from Arcadia, but it might not be long before she woke up. While Arcadia could keep her down for some time using All Hail the Queen, there was no telling how quickly Violet/Lana might figure out what was going on.

  “Have they not met before?” Arthur asked, “I remember you saying Lana had been following you guys for a while now.”

  “Nah, she wasn’t yet in when Arcadia was still going out.” Elle answered, climbing down from the dragon’s back as he started to open the portal, “It’s been a long time since our great, great leader actually decided to step into another universe. Like, really long.”

  “What does she do, then?”

  “Sit down and order us around? I don’t fucking know. She stays locked in there the entire time. I mean, she has her reasons, but whatever. She’ll probably find out somehow if I told you anything, so forget it. Maybe one day she’ll tell you herself.”

  Skill Activation

  Wormhole

  Arthur felt a bit out of place all of a sudden. The more time he had spent in Maria, the more he had realized just how deep the connections between all of them went. He fit in, obviously. They were all him, so it was impossible not to fall into place with ease. Yet, there was a very obvious divide between them and him. They had been here forever and gone through way too much together. He was just the latest member in a long line of people who had come and gone.

  He stepped through the portal second, right after Elle. Arthur knew that it wasn’t their fault to be so close. It wasn’t his either. But as far as they were concerned, he could die on this mission somehow. It made sense why they didn’t bother to tell him too much. Nobody would. Not even he would. Which is who they were.

  As soon as he stepped in, a darkness enveloped him. He closed his eyes. This had happened last time, too. This darkness would be followed by a very, very bright burst of light as it finally reached him, and that hurt the eyes if you weren’t ready for it. Even though he was ready this time, he would rather not take the chance at all.

  Arthur felt solid ground beneath his feet once more and confirmed they had managed to travel successfully. He opened his eyes.

  Immediately, he noticed that they were in a forest. Far from the one that they had been in back in his universe, this one had a distinct air about it. It was far greener and denser. It was almost comically green and dense. As if straight out of a story. But then again, that’s what this world was, right? It was a fantasy universe with disappearing and reappearing horses. It was basically a story where he came from.

  Everyone started walking, with Dee barely fitting through the overgrowth due to his size. It didn’t last long, though, because the tree line soon came to an end as it opened into a wide area before some massive city gates. They were attached to a similarly massive beige wall that stretched on forever on both sides. On the door were two guards, who immediately stood alert the moment they all appeared.

  The dragon walked up to the side of the gate and immediately decided to lie down. Resting, he spoke, “Just get in, get the potion, and come out. I’ll be ready to portal by then.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

  Elle waved to the guards, and they reluctantly waved back. Vil did not acknowledge them at all, which made sense given his personal regard as a commander. To him, this was probably way too normal. Arthur, on the other hand, wasn’t quite sure what else he was going to see today.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Elle asked the guards, shaking their hands.

  “N-nothing. Please, you may pass, sirs.”

  “You got it!”

  He thanked them, and the smaller door built into the massive gates opened up. As the three stepped in through them, Elle started to speak.

  “They made this whole gate for us! The big one’s for Dee, but he rarely steps in these days. Too tired and not very enthusiastic. He’s, like, very old.”

  Arthur looked back at the dragon, who had already drifted off to sleep. Entering the gate, the three got into the city, and the door shut behind them.

  The moment Arthur laid his eyes on the city, he was stumped. It was a medieval city. Not just one he was seeing on television or in a film, and not the ruins of one either. It was a proper medieval city with architecture and building material to match. Weathered stones, brown roofs, cobblestone floors, and a distinct, musky smell throughout the streets. He could even see a few people in the distance, closer to what he assumed was the town square.

  “Welcome to Chicago!” Elle spread his arms; fresh suit blowing in the wind.

  “Did you take the wrong name?”

  “Huh? No. Not at all. This is Chicago.”

  “He is right, Sy. This is indeed the city named Chicago. What is so difficult to accept about that? It is quite a fitting name for a strong city such as this.”

  “No, no. That’s not what I mean. What I mean is…what?!”

  “Yeah, look, man, just don’t think too deeply about it. I had to live with it the first time around, and now you gotta do the same. Alright?”

  “Fine…”

  Once his hopes and dreams had been crushed by the revelation that the amazing, fantastical medieval city they had entered was called Chicago, Arthur decided not to think about things too much. They started walking, and he followed, with Elle leading the group.

  Despite the crushing revelation, walking through the city was still quite fun. The smell was intoxicating and fresh, and the entire aesthetic still blew him away. The fact that he could see people wearing proper medieval clothing while making their way through their daily life was fascinating. There were wooden and straw baskets everywhere, wooden stalls with fruits, vegetables, and clay utensils. Even someone selling swords, knives, and other such weapons.

  The blacksmith called out to Arthur as soon as he saw the katana scabbard on his back, but let him go when he realized he was with Elle. Apparently, everyone in the city of Chicago knew them to some extent, since they did greet them every time they passed by. Vil was even the subject of some bows, with some people actively refusing to meet his eyes because they thought he was some high-ranking member of the army.

  It was slightly strange to be in a world where he was the one with the out-of-place clothing, and the knight fit in perfectly. At the same time, he couldn’t care much. Arthur could see why Vil had found it so easy to move around the world, even with the weird stares. The fascination of seeing another world was so high that it overwrote the anxiety.

  “So, Mousmous,” Elle suddenly started as they got closer and closer to their destination.

  Right in the middle of the city, visible from all angles, as a castle, the rose much higher than the other buildings, and was built at an elevation. Probably something like a hill. With its grey stone and similar brown slate roofs, it fit in with the rest of the town perfectly while still maintaining its own identity.

  “King Gikanamous.” Vil corrected him.

  “Mousmous is a good friend, right? He’s very cool and is well-acquainted with the idea of the multiverse. And he’s the father of Arthur in this universe, who is, like, five years old. And he is friends with Princess Celia from nearby, who is also the same age. They play around, like, all the time. They’re so cute!”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Elle laughed as he played around with the air. It was as if just thinking about them was enough for him to be happy. Arthur couldn’t deny that it did sound fun. First there was him and Elle, and then a medieval Arthur, then a dragon Arthur, and a female Arthur. Or, well, there were probably a lot of female Arthurs. But then there was an animated one and one who blew up with the Earth. And now, a child. Maybe there was even a lizard Arthur. Would the assassins go after him, too?

  They were almost at the gate to the castle. It was a relatively smaller gate, with a curving path behind it that moved up the hill and to the main gate. Once the three of them appeared, the guards immediately opened the gates. Again, Arthur was impressed at just how far these people had gotten all on their own.

  The three continued, but the gate did not close behind them. Elle and Vil could not care less, but Arthur noticed that a couple more guards showed up from the main town square and started talking to the ones at the gate. Together, all six of them started staring at the ones walking up the path.

  Right then, more guards appeared from the castle doors and started moving down the path towards them. Seven of them. There were thirteen looking at them this very moment, and two guarding the main building. He could also see more guards posted at the ramparts towards the top of the castle. Then one each in the two watchtowers which had a complete view of their position.

  Maybe it was just because he himself felt out of place and unwelcome, but it was strange to have almost two dozen guards’ eyes on them. Arthur shook off the feeling and kept walking without overthinking. Celia’s words from yesterday still echoed in his mind.

  Until an arrow flew in out of nowhere and pierced through Vil’s head. As the now-dead knight started to fall down, Arthur immediately closed his eyes. Stretching one hand out and using the other to take out his katana, he counted down.

  One. The soldiers started to run and close in. Two. They also took out their swords and shouted as the fight started in earnest. Three.

  Skill Activation

  Time Reversal

  He aimed it at Vil, and only Vil. The knight’s dead body moved up from the ground, stood straight, and the arrow flew back out to the watchtower that it had come from. As soon as Vil was back to life…

  Skill Activation

  Sin

  Elle, on the ground already, created a massive wall structure all around them. The arrow flew in once more, but hit the wall. Breathing through the small hole that had been left empty at the top of the triangular structure, the three looked at each other in the cramped space and tried to catch their breath.

  “What happened to Mousmous being your best friend?” Arthur asked.

  “Alright, Mousmous was never my best friend, alright? But he was pretty cool until just now. I don’t know what’s going on. I just got here, like you. Things were fine the last time I visited.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  Vil answered, “Right about two months, Sy.”

  “Two months is…”

  “A long fucking time, yeah, I know. Now, I’m gonna collapse the structure, or else we’ll pass out due to the heat, alright? Get ready to fight. And Vil? Don’t take an arrow to the head again.”

  As he said that, another arrow came in from the watchtower and hit the stone wall. Arthur checked the cooldown on Time Reversal. There were still two and a half minutes left. He switched to Object Reversal and took a long breath. Elle looked at Vil, and once the knight nodded, he closed his eyes. Arthur took a position that would make it easier for him to rush up, and prepared himself.

  Then, the structure retreated back into the ground, and they ran out to fight.

  Arthur ran down the path, and all six of the guards who had been walking up were standing in front of him. There was no way he was going to take all six of them at once, so he decided to be smart about it. He knew he did not have the fighting prowess, so he would just have to make them believe that he did.

  “Come on!”

  He screamed, brandishing the katana. As the men closed in, he got ready to play badminton again. Using the same logic as he had with Lana, he focused on defending as the guards attacked from different directions. Moving backwards, he ensured that they remained in front of him and did not have any chance to create a circle. This meant that only three or so guards attacked him at any given point.

  It was difficult, but the rhythm of it slowly started to grow on him. It was just like a game. Very tiring, but doable. He kept on dodging while egging them on. He needed them to believe that he was weak, but was pretending to be strong. This would bolster their confidence in their strength. And once their belief in the concept of their strength was at an all-time high, he would strike.

  Arthur hopped backwards so that he touched Vil. This grabbed the knight’s attention, and he took out a smaller dagger to throw at the six approaching guards. In the meantime, Arthur closed his eyes and the seconds ticked by.

  Skill Activation

  Object Reversal

  Opening his eyes once more, he rushed in with the belief that it would have worked. That he would successfully get the guards now that their strength had been reversed. But instead of fighting physically weakened guards, he found something completely unexpected.

  The guard in the front of the pack stopped and fell down on his knees. The others paused and watched, confused about what was going on. One of them put his hand on the man’s shoulder. Then, the guard took off his helmet and threw it away. The individual fights raged on in the background, but this one had taken a sudden pause.

  “I can’t do it…” The guard put a hand on his eyes and started to wail and cry, “I just…can’t. My life is worthless. I am nobody, and I can achieve nothing. I should quit. I mean, my wife is cheating on me anyway. I am sure of it!”

  Behind him, one of the guards gulped and stepped backwards, “H-how did you know?”

  “What?” The guard at the front looked back, “Wait? Really? She’s cheating on me?”

  The other guard retreated a bit and then ran off. The guard at the front off put his hands up, and brought them down on the ground; repeatedly hitting the ground in sadness and grief. The remaining four guards were unsure about what to do, so two of them also sat down and tried to stop him from losing himself. The other two noticed that Arthur was just watching and decided to attack.

  Their swords came for him, and he started blocking once more. But fighting against four at once had given him way more confidence. With just two, he could find way more openings to try and fight back. While it didn’t always work, it still gave him some opportunities to attack their armor and potentially weaken them.

  He wasn’t sure about what had happened with the crying guard, but he could guess. Strength was not a concept. It was a physical reality. As such, he could not just reverse someone’s entire prowess. That was Arcadia’s skill. All he had done was reverse his mental strength, which was a concept that was a psychological and social construct, like winning and losing.

  Arthur pushed the guard to his left backwards with a shove, and while he gained his balance, he slashed at the feet of the guard who was still in front of him. As the guard jumped, Arthur kicked his knees and made him tumble to the ground once more. Before the first could recover, he switched his skills and closed his eyes. The seconds passed, and even as the guard got closer, he was able to get done.

  Skill Activation

  Time Reversal

  Arthur kicked the helmet of the guard who was still on the ground to get some time. In the meantime, he pushed the first guard back to the moment he was still trying to balance himself, and left him in the worst position possible. The little bout with Arcadia had taught him that if a human was affected, then they remained conscious. Their momentum did not carry over for long if they could think and change their positions.

  Leaving him in the position right before he was going to fall, Arthur let the skill go and hit the second guard on the helmet once more. The first one tumbled to the ground and hit his head on the small stone hedges lining the path. Groaning, he turned around and tried to bring himself under control.

  Three more left, then. Arthur took a deep breath and walked up to the guards on the ground.

  Behind him, it looked like Vil was faring well, too. He had almost taken out all the guards and was only being bothered by the constant arrow attacks from the watchtowers. Elle, meanwhile, had stolen one of the guards’ swords and was somehow managing to keep up with his blocks.

  Then, right as he raised his sword to attack the guards on the floor, someone appeared.

  Out of the right, with absolute precision, a woman jumped in with one of the cleanest dropkicks he had seen in his life. Almost like she was flying, she hit the face of the crying guard and sent him tumbling down along with the other two. Then, she controlled herself before he could also join them and stood up.

  “Don’t worry! We are here to save you!” She screamed and raised the short sword in her hand.

  Wearing light brown leather armor with a brown cape, she had long, flowing blonde hair that was tied into a braid. Hearing a loud clattering of swords from the back, he noticed another group of men and women with similar clothing bursting through the castle walls and helping Vil and Elle out.

  Confused, the knight and the suited man turned and came to Arthur as the others engaged in the fight.

  “Uncle Elle! Uncle Vil!”

  The woman, who was clearly in her late teens, waved her hand.

  “Huh? Who are you?” Elle asked.

  “What do you mean? It’s me! Celia Ingram.”

  As the soldiers continued to fight the surprise attackers in the back, the three men looked at each other with even more confusion.

  Celia Ingram?

  The one who was supposed to be five years old?

  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and its song Great Days by Karen Aoki! I've got a very deep connection to this show, especially since it was my very first anime (not counting Pokemon, of course). If you still haven't seen it, then please do! It is definitely a very bizarre experience that you won't get anywhere else.