Extra's Rebirth: I Will Create A Good Ending For The Heroines

Chapter 521 521: Asasiel island [III]

Rain let out her breath as she surfaced above the water, gasping and reaching out with her arms while flapping her legs below the sea to keep herself afloat.

In her past life, she had gotten the hang of swimming during one of Reinhardt's "team building exercises" which had mostly consisted of him throwing everyone into a lake and telling them to figure it out.

So this didn't come as something new to her.

However upon looking back, the wreckage of the ship was still burning.

The wood looked as if it had been eaten through by some sort of corrosive energy that was specifically made to consume and destroy everything it touched.

It was blackened and charred, and the smell of demonic energy was so thick in the air that it made her want to gag.

Pieces of debris floated around her and she had to push some of them away to keep treading water.

'So the Empire betrayed us…?' Rain thought as she looked around carefully, treading water and trying not to think about what might be swimming beneath her.

Thinking about it now, ever since they had gotten near this island, she had this weird feeling in her gut and it was proving right. There was a barrier surrounding this whole place and they were trapped in it like rats in a cage.

'Nyala, can you hear me?'

They could block them out of the outside world but not from the powers of the goddess… At least she hoped they couldn't.

[Heya, you guys seem to be trapped…]

'Was it that obvious…?' Rain blinked with obvious sarcasm dripping from her mental voice. 'Why didn't you tell us that the demons were in cahoots with the Emperor? It's obvious he sent us here to die… and I really wanted to attend the festival.'

The festival was supposed to have the best food stalls and she'd been looking forward to it for weeks.

[Oh right, the betrayal thing. Yeah I knew about that.] Nyala said cheerfully. [I was having so much fun shopping in the Divine World for Azel's birthday that's coming soon though. There's this store that sells edible body paint and I thought—]

'Nyala.'

[Right, right. Well, you can still attend the festival if you survive this.] Nyala continued like this was a minor inconvenience. [There's just like 300 demons here with two Demon Kings… then the main Demon Lord army has… wait let me check my notes, about 1000 regular demons and half demons with four more demon kings positioned around the Empire. But I think Hubby can handle it and you too. You're super strong!]

Rain felt a vein throb in her forehead.

'That's... great. Very reassuring.'

[Anyway, I'll be out of connection for a while since I need to finish shopping. Oh! Elarielle just walked in… ELARIELLE PUT THAT DOWN. That is NOT appropriate for a goddess to wear… I don't care if Azel would like it, you look twelve! We are NOT getting canceled over lingerie!]

There was a sound like something crashing in the background.

[Okay she's crying now. Great. I'll talk to you later, Rain. Don't die!]

Then the connection cut off abruptly and Rain floated there for a moment, processing what just happened.

'I'm going to die on a demon island because the goddess was too busy lingerie shopping to warn me about a political assassination plot.'

Just then, something grabbed her ankle hard and dragged her below the surface violently.

As she tried to struggle and kick, bubbles escaping from her mouth, she found it was Azel pointing urgently above the water with his free hand.

Coming from the island were several demons that had spread out their leathery wings to search the top of the waters for them.

They were flying in formation like a military search party.

She came face-to-face with him underwater and her first thought was that he had very nice eyelashes for someone who'd just survived an explosion.

Her second thought was that she really needed to get her priorities straight.

'I told Nyala to link our minds before she got distracted by shopping for edible body paint.' His mental voice came through clearly. 'So the voice you can hear in your head is mine.'

'You look tired...'

'Yeah, you too.' He thought back. 'Anyway, I've gotten the whole layout of Asasiel Island using Shadow Perception. This is definitely a trap to keep us busy while something bigger happens on the mainland.'

As for Fia, the phoenix was somehow still perched on Rain's shoulder even though they were underwater.

She was grateful she had taught the little bird to control her flames during bath time although explaining to a phoenix why they needed baths had been its own adventure.

'Yes… I talked with Nyala just now and she was absolutely no help whatsoever—'

'Hold on… let me get us out of here.' He interrupted as more monsters were coming from above, their shadows visible through the water then he sank into the shadows like he was being swallowed by darkness itself and she followed, feeling the strange pull.

When Rain opened her eyes, she was floating in a world of complete shadows with countless holes of light up above like stars in a reverse sky.

It was disorienting and beautiful and terrifying all at once. Everything was dark and weightless and she felt like she was suspended in ink.

Azel was holding onto her hand tightly and it made her blush despite the situation.

'Is this where you bring all the girls?' She thought at him before she could stop herself.

'You're literally the second person I've ever brought here.'

'Who was the first?'

'That doesn't concern you…'

'Whatever…'

"Where are we?" She asked out loud as he continued floating upward toward one particular hole of light.

"Shadow Realm or something like that…" He said casually like he was discussing the weather and not an entirely different dimension.

The two appeared in a forest, materializing at the shadows of a tall tree on the edge of the island that was swaying in the wind.

He was getting used to this Shadow movement ability. Besides this being like his second time actually doing it properly, it wasn't that hard once you got the hang of it.

'Yeah right, you just picked out the biggest shadow of them all.' Gwendolyn's voice came through.

'It's called being strategic.'

'It's called being lazy… like you usually are.'

He settled at the base of the tree and immediately started taking off his wet clothes, letting his shirt and everything come off until he was in his shorts and he was about to let those go too.

Rain's face turned pink as she realized what was happening.

"Why… Why are you stripping…?" She asked as she quickly turned around to face a very interesting tree bark.

"You think they didn't bug our clothes?" He shot back with perfect logic that she couldn't argue with. "I'm sure they're trying to trace our position now so let's get rid of them. I can send them back to the wreckage through the shadows."

Rain opened her mouth to argue, then closed it.

He was right.

She heard the sound of fabric rustling as he took off his shorts without hesitation.

"I'm naked now, just so you know." He said helpfully.

'WHY WOULD YOU ANNOUNCE THAT!'

"In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't wondering!"

He willed the shadows to wrap around his clothes and send them back to the wreckage, standing completely naked in the forest.

The wind felt nice against his body and he wasn't panicked in the least. Compared to the enemies he had faced recently… like Merek and Bael'zaroth who could actually kill him, these demons were fodder.

However that wasn't what he was worried about right now. It was the screen in front of his face.

[Welcome to the Fourth Major Calamity: Dragon's Awakening]

[The System wishes you luck… maybe once you finish this one, you'll get a well-deserved break. Please remember to harvest your rewards for completing the third calamity, you'll need them]

'Great. A dragon? I hope it's not what I think it is…'

He didn't even want to know what dragon was awakening because if it was who he thought it was, this overpowered feeling would vanish really quickly.

'I need to get more information… is it this Island? Is it going to happen here or the mainland? What is the Demon Lord planning?'

Each calamity required him to use his head which was why he hadn't gone on a rampage yet.

He turned to Rain who was still facing away from him and hugging herself.

"Aren't you going to take off your clothes too?" He asked. "They definitely bugged yours as well."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, only to see his member standing completely erect like a flagpole.

She whipped her head back around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

'This is fine. This is a normal survival situation, people get naked in survival situations all the time. This is fine...'

"Huh?" He looked down and blinked in surprise.

Gwendolyn was currently stroking him and he had been so deep in thought about the Dragon calamity that he hadn't even noticed her doing it.

'Hey, calm down.' He thought at Gwendolyn while glaring in her direction. 'She thinks I'm a pervert now. How are we supposed to work together if she's too embarrassed to even look at me?'

Gwendolyn grew stiff and then floated away from him like a scolded puppy.

"Sorry Az." The ghost said quietly and he patted her head to show he wasn't actually mad.

Meanwhile Rain took a deep breath and tried to center herself.

"Azel…" She said while reaching for the straps on her top.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a medical condition I should know about?"

"What?"

"With your penis. You're always... excited when I'm around…"

She started unzipping the back of her top, trying to sound professional. Fia was still on her head, but the phoenix had turned to look in the opposite direction… even the bird seemed mortified.

"That's a misunderstanding." He said quickly, glancing at Gwendolyn who was now grinning and giving him two thumbs up.

If he didn't know better, it was like Gwen was running a one-woman campaign to get him together with Rain.

However he knew his limits. Not only was Rain a heroine in the game but after what Reinhardt did to her in her past life, she had every right to avoid men entirely.

"You called out my name five days ago." She didn't face him but her voice was matter-of-fact. "And finished on my clothes as well as my face… I had to wash them."

She let her top fall, revealing her back to him.

"That was also a misunderstanding."

"So you weren't thinking about me?"

"I—look, It was… it's complicated."

"Uh huh."

She took off her bra, letting it fall with her other clothes then her hands went to her panties.

"I hope you're not looking."

He turned around obediently and she dragged down her panties, stepping out of them.

"That was also a misunderstanding." He repeated weakly.

"So you weren't thinking about me when you did it…" She took a step away from her pile of clothes. "And here I thought, you were mad at me for telling you that you don't know what loss feels like."

"I told you I forgave you for that." Azel said with a hand on his waist, still facing away. "And I do know what loss feels like. You were wrong about that."

There was silence for a moment. She glanced at him and saw his erection was still there, looking genuinely painful.

Rain felt something shift in her chest. It was Guilt…

She'd spent her whole second life trying to be attracted to women… Martha had been supportive though she wanted her.

"Love is love," she'd said but it had never quite worked out the way Rain wanted it to.

Women were beautiful… soft and safe but apparently her body had other opinions.

Specifically opinions about the naked Azel standing three feet away from her with an erection that looked like it hurt.

"Bring it over." She heard herself say.

"What?"

"I'll… help you with that… with my hands… with just my hands." She added quickly. "We can't have our hero walking around distracted during a life-or-death mission."

This was purely tactical… strategic thinking. It totally had nothing to do with curiosity or guilt or the fact that she'd been thinking about it for five days.

"You can look at me… and help me send my clothes off too."

He turned to face her and with a snap of his fingers, the shadows coalesced around her pile of clothes and sent them away then he looked at Rain properly for the first time.

She was completely naked with one hand over her breasts while the other covered her private area. Her blonde hair was still damp and clung to her shoulders.

He was a man that dodged weapons easily but not opportunities.

"Are you sure?" He looked at her seriously and she gave a small nod while her face burned.

'No. But we're doing this anyway.'

He walked closer and she slowly reached out with a trembling hand.

The moment her fingers made contact, she almost pulled back… It was warm, warmer than she expected.

She took hold of it properly and her hand trembled.

It was longer and thicker than Reinhardt by a significant margin. The former hero in her past life had been well-endowed which was why he'd been able to satisfy multiple women but this was different.

'Oh. OH. This explains so much about his life choices.'

She now understood on a fundamental level why he had so many women who seemed perfectly content sharing him.

"You'll have to close your eyes…" She started to say.

Before she could finish, there was a loud caw from above and she sensed demonic energy approaching fast.

Two half demons were flying over the canopy with their wings beating loudly.

Azel's member left her hand as he soared into the air with his holy magic wings, slamming into both demons with brutal efficiency.

There were sounds of bones breaking and screams cut short.

He landed moments later, holding two corpses and his erection still pointing at her like an accusation.

Rain stared at him and he stared back.

"We can make disguises." He said.

She looked at the sky... then back at him, then at the bodies and then at his erection again.

"Can you please—" She gestured vaguely at his lower half.

"I can't exactly control it."

"Try thinking about something unsexy."

"Like what?"

"Dead demons… math... your grandmother."

"My grandmother is a certified badass who once killed a dragon, that's not helping."

As for where he had learned that from, Kyone told him of course during one of their training sessions.

Rain covered her face with both hands, she couldn't act stoic when it was just the both of them.

'I touched Azel's penis… we almost had a moment.'

"I hate my life." She said out loud.

…

Soon two half demons walked into the settlement, wearing tattered clothes stolen from corpses. They approached the guard stationed at the entrance.

"All hail the Demon Lord… Malazhara!" They both shouted in unison.

The guard, a half demon with one normal eye and one glowing red, nodded once and waved them through.

'This disguise is terrible.' Rain thought through their mental link as they entered.

She had objected strongly to wearing corpse clothes but here she was, wearing Azel's oversized shirt because her clothes had tracking devices, and he was wearing his backup set while they both used illusion magic to disguise themselves as demons.

'It's working though.'

'Because these demons have two brain cells and one of them is asleep.'

He wanted to get information before doing anything rash. Things were solved by gathering intel first and rampaging later.

The settlement was just a makeshift town with several half demons hanging around. Some were sharpening weapons while thers were drinking something that smelled like feet.

There was a huge statue in the town square.

It was of a woman… a beautiful woman with long flowing hair and two large demon wings spread wide at her back. She looked almost angelic despite the demonic features.

'Beautiful.' He uttered into the mental link without thinking.

Rain and Gwendolyn both turned to glare at him.

"Are you serious right now?" Rain said out loud, forgetting they were supposed to be quiet.

A few demons nearby looked at them.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You just… never mind." She took a breath. "You can get hard for her statue then. See if she'll help you out."

'I made one comment about architecture.'

'It wasn't about architecture.'

'The wings are very detailed.' He couldn't help but tease her… she was cute.

'I'm going to push you into a demon.'

Gwendolyn was trying not to laugh and then he approached the statue to look closer, mostly to escape this conversation.

There was something written on the base in crude letters.

It was a set of ominous words written in human language, which was odd for a demon settlement.

"You all will die."

The three of them stared at it.

"Well," Rain said after a deliberately long pause. "That's not ominous at all."