"Damn it, I can't open it. I really thought that would work," I sighed wistfully, before closing Treasury.

Guess that only leaves the option of capturing Fenelza, but that's going to be easier said than done.

While I am stronger than her, her Warp Gate is a problem...she could easily use it to teleport me straight to the Demon Lord.

It likely only took so long to activate earlier because she was trying to warp between worlds...but it'll probably be a lot faster if she's warping between spots in the same world.

Another concern is getting her alone...if I have to fight several Calamity Level Threats to get to her, I'm bound to end up dead.

In other words, I'd have to sneak up on her unnoticed, knock her unconscious before she has the chance to use her Warp Gate, restrain her somewhere and get her to warp me back to Earth.

Yeah...that's going to be seriously tough.

I should have Drain active when I go after her...I couldn't move or chant when she activated Warp Gate before, and even I could, it just happened too fast, I would've already ended up here before getting the chance to nullify her power with Drain.

I'm pretty sure I was still able to channel Mana despite not being able to move...right, Ai?

<Yes, you were, the flow of your Mana wasn't interrupted>

<If you have Drain active if and when you get caught in Warp Gate again, you should be able to move it around as usual>

Alright, then, I've got my counter against her Demonic Art. Now what I need is more information.

Hm, should I withdraw Luxuria?

I need a way to let Aria know when I'm trying to contact her, so at least for now, I'll leave Luxuria there.

Acedia mostly just stayed indoors when he was living here, so he isn't going to be much of a guide, but it's better than nothing, I suppose.

The direction in which Fenelza flew off after we ended up here, it's likely that the Demon Lord's castle, or whatever residence he lives in, is located somewhere that way.

But I can't afford to rush this...I want to get back to Earth as quickly as possible, but there's no point if I get myself killed in the process.

I'll need to take some time to get stronger, be as well-prepared as I can possibly be before I make my move.

I should let Aria know that this will take a while...this is gonna suck, just how long am I going to have to go without seeing her?

At least I can still communicate with her, it's better than nothing.

Hey, Ai, could you let me know if Aria puts anything new into Treasury?

<Very well, I'll monitor Treasury and alert you if she does>

Thanks, appreciate it.

"<So, what's the plan, Kai>?" Superbia asked me.

"Good question. Acedia, any idea where precisely we are in this world?"

"<I do not know, my Lord>," He shook his head as he let out a yawn, sprawled across the grass and staring up at the sky.

Well, it's fine, no sense in getting too far ahead of myself, after all. As things stand, I'm nowhere near ready to make my move.

To begin with, I'll have to assess my situation and what I'm going to need. Alright, food and clothing won't be a problem, thanks to Treasury.

I'm going to need shelter, though, a place to stay in that won't easily be noticed. Using the bathroom is going to suck, I'll probably have to dig holes in the ground for toilets.

Ai, can you map out the area as I explore it?

I'll find a place to use as a hideout, and then steadily explore further and further until I've got an idea of the general layout.

I can have the Apostles of Sin split up and explore too, to cover more ground.

<Yes, I can do that, leave it to me>

Great, counting on you.

"Alright, let's move. We shouldn't linger here, it's possible that Fenelza might try to warp back to this spot. If we assume her Warp Gate works similarly to Teleportation Magic, specifically the long-range Spells, she's probably able to warp to any spot she's been to before.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to enter our world through a Dungeon," I pointed out thoughtfully, glancing around before picking a direction and heading through the forest.

Acedia got back onto his feet and followed after me, along with Superbia.

I'll look for a cave or something, that should work, at least for now. I'll write Aria a longer, more detailed message after that.

Too bad pens and pencils are obsolete in this era, everyone just texts now.

It certainly explains why Aria's handwriting is so bad, that might have been the first time she's ever written words the old-fashioned way.

Well, to be fair, she wrote with sauce instead of a pen, probably using her finger like I did.

I should tell her to store some paper and a pen in Treasury, that'll make it easier to communicate. She can probably find pens in stores that sell vintage items or something, I bet there's some demand thanks to collectors. Might be a bit pricey, but that won't be an issue.

"<I suppose we should accept the fact that we're probably going to be in this world for a while, huh>?" Superbia sighed wistfully.

"Yeah, probably, unless we get really lucky," I replied with a wry smile.

"<May I got to sleep, my Lord? There is no particular reason for me to be awake right now, is there>?" Spoke up Acedia lazily.

"Fine...<Withdraw, Apostle of Sloth: Acedia>," I chanted with a sigh, before adding as I glanced at Superbia, "What about you? You can take it easy inside me, or hang around out here, your choice."

"<Oh, I'd like to stay out here. I want to savor the feeling of my new body>," She replied with a grin.

"Cool. Alright, let's find a place we can lay low safely. It's been a long day, I could use some rest."

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