《The Journal of Alexis Greco》


 Upon Arriving in a New World, Write.

    I¡¯ve heard it said that the two worst noises in the world are that of a heart monitoring device beeping away, uncaring, and that of the same device only showing a flat line. I can agree with that second sound being among the worst.


    However, the sound of one of those devices beeping away has become something of a hopeful sound to me. It means that despite however badly the battle outside went, somebody had managed to drag back a living person and not a corpse.


    It¡¯s been six months now, and the continuing stream of new pilots to replace killed ones still chills me. Not even a full seven days manages to pass between a death and a replacement starts training.


    I wonder why they¡¯ve not tried for more like me. I¡¯ve managed to last for six months and not died yet. I¡¯ve seen the setup they have. They can find a another person like me. It makes no sense to me to not get another person that can handle the stresses of their strange machines. Hell, get somebody that¡¯s even a better fighter than I am or something, and you can have a great front line duo.


    If somebody finds this and I¡¯m dead, especially if you have pull in that part of the EDF bureaucracy, make sure to do that next time. If somebody finds this and I¡¯m alive, do what I said, but work even more at getting it done. By the time I went back and put all these pages into my old journals, I¡¯ve done more than enough for all of you that whoever finds this should owe me some kind of favor.


    So go on, if that old man¡¯s still in power, suck him off or something while you present the idea. Do it to his ego at least.


    And apply everything I¡¯ve written triply so if I¡¯m staring at you, foot tapping in impatience.


    -Journal of Alexis Greco, Dragged From Another World


    <hr>


    I am unsure how to begin this new journal of mine. It has been some time since I was separated from my previous journals, and much of my first days here were spent in that infernal room, subject to the desperate magics of my summoners.


    A desire to ignore those particular pains makes me wish to fill this first page with nothing but what small joys and pains I can remember from the two days leading up to my being pulled down the tower of worlds.


    Unfortunately, desperation still grips too strongly. I can scarce focus enough to meaningfully put word to page. These few sentences were the results of some time spent pacing, arguing with myself, and struggling to write when I want to be free.


    Free from the eye-searing whiteness of this room. Free from the stagnating air that they seem to be able to move at a whim. Free from the infernal disruptions of my dreams by their magics.


    That bit of angry writing and pacing has given me an idea. An idea wholly based on hoping that they are as inexperienced in the ways of using dream magic, because it is being used as a teaching aid of all things right now, and I¡¯ll be able to focus on some slight mundanity of the world to steal a greater peek into the mage¡¯s mind.


    My plan so far is to focus on these three ideas:


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">My family and friends had always made a few, sometimes off color, jokes about what ends my dabbling in illusory and scotic magics might bring, given that we lived under a Baronet of our kind.</li>


    </ol>


    <ol start="2">


    <li> The disdain of the status seeking incubi and succubi for illusions was already a thing of parody well beyond our culture, even if few knew that shadow magic was treated as a different kettle of horses.</li>


    </ol>


    <ol start="3">


    <li> If I can manage a stable way between these worlds, try being a merchant.</li>


    </ol>


    No. I had something else, but that stuck. I¡¯m not sure why.


    Another dream in a kind of teaching room. They called upon me earlier than I had expected, and bade me sleep. The ease with which it was done, and that I did not notice it, suggests a far greater experience with mental magics than I¡¯d been planning for. Perhaps they are merely poor ritualists?


    I can not find out yet, so I can only hope and prepare two new mental canards for them.


    One is this story: to some degree, being magically banished from my home and landing in another world was a thing that I¡¯d had in mind as a thing possible but that would not happen for a number of reasons.


    At the moment, I have decided to both try and treat everything as real (because a number of the contrivances of this world are patently absurd) and some kind of illusory punishment for much the same reason.


    The other is an old joke. The secret of the first change. Of course, there is none, but at least I should get some enjoyment out of this if they haven¡¯t been trying to learn Copian from my dreams.


    Five? Five days into being Taught


    Well, it seems that whate¡¯er ends my summoners have for me, it does not involve knowing much about me. It also involves poor, poor attempts at being apologetic.


    I don¡¯t quite grasp the written languages enough to truly know what I am being presented with, other than additional cups of water, but I should be able to make a few more deductions about the experience of the various people that are behind this strange scenario.


    I believe that whoever they have as a summoner was both utterly lacking in actual experience and ignorant. Sadly, they also seem to have been the only one with any knowledge of that art.


    The summon arriving covered in blood and seemingly bleeding even more of it was, well, it was normal for all but the the most extravagant of summoning rituals.


    The teacher¡¯s obvious concern over how I felt, the lack of anything sharp or particularly heavy, and a discovery of mine in that dream realm all pointed to one thing. The summoner believed I was a threat to myself, at least initially.


    I feel it will soon change to having been injured in a fight soon, or something like that.


    Right now, I only care for how I can leverage this into something more.


    Day the Sixth


    I seem to have quite embarrassed my dream-tutor, and once more can lower my estimation of the actual magical knowledge of this group. Or perhaps they operate like a blinded cult, with as few members knowing anything but their commands as the leaders can manage.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Thus, the tutor was wholly unaware of me being anything but human. She was quite surprised by my demands to know what these feminine products were. The progression from ¡®how is one to use them¡¯ to my becoming female actually managed to drive her from the dream involuntarily.


    I wonder if I shall have a new tutor, or will be able to enjoy her embarrassment a bit longer.


    The lack of things to do other than exercise has cut into my memory of my waking hours. I almost forgot to write down that I was given a conversational partner today. It was done through magical means, so we were never actually in the same room, and the topics were mundanities at best, but actually having even the simplest of conversations while awake gladdened me greatly for a time.


    I feel, though, that the gladness has faded by now, but I can recall it being quite the bright spot.


    Day Nine


    Two days prior, I was finally given introduction to the reason for my summoning, and it is exhausting. Golems of metal made into magical knight¡¯s armor. I am to be one of the mortals inside these great works.


    While I am not told much about their magics, I have been able to discover a few things. One is that despite the near-sexless uniformity of the golems, they use, either as animation or for some other reason, energies that are magically aligned to male or female.


    Being bathed in the energies has the expected changes on me. This was only of note because the great brain trusts that run this setup are only partially aware of the energy¡¯s alignment. They know it exists, but not which golem is aligned to male and which to female.


    Of course, I was not just to be a living golem tester. I was to sit in one, command it to fight the foes they knew were coming, and in return be given a life and luxury in that life.


    If I felt they had actual knowledge and skill, I¡¯d ask for a way back home. But I¡¯m afraid of the results of the mistakes they¡¯re inevitably make. I¡¯ll have to try and figure out an inter-world calling or the like.


    Get my teacher in on this and pay off any debts more instruction would incur. Still, I can barely believe how my arm aches. It seems the golem transfers some degree of injury, or perhaps the last golem, whose name I think was Driv-veil, did not agree with my own magic.


    Either way, I am very glad it was not my right that hurts.


    Day 14


    The training continues to exhaust me. I write this only because I need to regain the habit before this is over, or I fear I will forget for several days after.


    Unfortuantely, I can¡¯t remember much of the days spenting triaing.


    Unfortunately, I can¡¯t remember much of the days spent training in the golems and I am forced to slow down, lest I write poorly.


    It is from both learning two written styles in dreams, and fatigue that I must slow.


    I have found out that a few compatriots will join me soon, and the first run of the knight armors will be done with the twentieth.


    Given the scale of the golems, the sheer amounts of gold, steel, glass, and everything else that went into them, I can only imagine how many of the fearsome luminaries of the wandering world must be expected to come in at once to make twenty of these things seem insufficient.


    I will have nightmares for the next few weeks at the revelation.


    Day 15


    I am at once relieved and bewildered. I asked about the enemy and the numbers of the knight armors. The one I spoke with did not know much of the enemy, which worried me. But then I was told why the golems would not stop at twenty.


    Several nation-states had some knowledge of this group and were unwilling to be wholly dependant on a shadowy group for defense.


    So, many nations had effectively purchased a number of future knight armors and the less than greatest of this run. Apparently a few demons had already arrived, although the person I spoke to did not call them that. From his descriptions, they were a trio of lesser ones, capable of being dispatched with gunpowder and blood even by the poorer states in my world. For an honest mage, it¡¯s not worth knowing their names despite the power.


    Still, seeing these golems being made by some small private group told me that the states of this world would be more than rich enough to use gunpowder and blood to defeat those lesser ones even if they had all come together. It would merely have a ruinous cost in lives and property.


    And that is what the golems, no, the knight armors are for. Numbers, strength. Both will increase and because the demons can not be killed, merely their presence in this world destroyed, they would win eventually.


    Besides that, I know enough to banish them, if not easily. Perhaps I can inscribe that into my knight armor¡¯s fists or the weapon it is eventually to be given.


    2/2/25


    Unfortunately, the several of the loose leafs of paper I had used for the temporary journals have been lost, so I will summarize here. Frustration at the world¡¯s ignorance of the magic they use. Enjoyment of a grand first victory. Amusement at how my summoners seem to think me younger than I am. By age, yes. But their judgment of me by just that is to my advantage. Correction Fluid is such a grand thing. Back to copying.


    I have recently learned the calendar system of this world. It is rational, and accounts for the imperfectness of its own length. It is far better than I expected for a world of magical-yet-not-called so knights somehow fighting monsters that somehow has been kept a secret despite the assurances I¡¯ve had of the pervasiveness of the ability to communicate across the world with nothing more than a small brick of many materials.


    Another thing I take issue with. Most of my fellow knights can somehow accept the clearly supernatural natures of our armors yet deny the magic inherent in them and see little else. The smallest and lightest of them is near twice the size of the tallest man to have ever lived and still heavy beyond belief, yet it moves with the agility of the one inside and doesn¡¯t sink into the ground when walking on the pointiest points of its feet!


    But call the enemies demons and they say it¡¯s merely from another world! Well, they are right in that regard, I¡¯ve even placed the one I defeated as coming from the heel of fangs, but it can not be a demon to them.


    The enemy must be some kind of a (get that bit of terminology and write it in here later) and not a demon.


    Or my transformation must be a side effect of being able to use both the masculine and feminine armors and not be-


    Well, now that I¡¯ve a calmer head after my failed search for that term they used so insistently, my fellow knights not understanding that I, as an incubus, become a succubus due to innate magic in my kind is because of how the superiors have fed the lie to them.


    So I made my note into text, and decided to work on my calm. Stay calm, don¡¯t complain aloud, and enjoy some tea.


    2/4/25


    I still hurt from the battle yesterday. It was apparently a near enough victory that I had to be carried back. I am unsure by what means, as I was the last to fall and the demon¡¯s spittle kept things from being moved by even the mightiest of non-magical machines.


    2/5/25


    I was also more fatigued than I thought. I fell asleep after writing only a few short sentences. Unfortunately, much of my memory of the days before has slipped away in a drugged haze.


    I am also quite stiff in the shoulder and hips. If this persists, I am told I should go to the physical therapist.


    I wish I had managed to be awake for more of this day. But at least the soporific healing should be over. I merely need to return to proper sleeping patterns and the last few days shall be as a bad dream.


    Well, no. A bad dream could give inspiration for illusions. These days and their pains are beyond what I can weave into existence even with the best of reagents. Tomorrow, I will collect the loose sheets I¡¯ve been using, and copy them into my journal proper.


    I will also get back into the habit of recording my day in my journal. Settling in has been about as difficult as has the way I¡¯ve had to switch between an actually learned written language and a dream-taught one. Speaking, at least, is easy. Weaving spells requires you to switch languages often enough, after all.


    Stil, none of the loose pages I¡¯ve used has been taken from me, at least not of the ones I¡¯ve written using a language from this world.


    There¡¯s still not enough for anyone to truly learn what I¡¯m writing, and with their level of shown skill, not even magic will get them more than a few words at best. I am, at least, content. Perhaps it will even last into tomorrow.

 Bless or Curse Luck, and Write

    2/10/25


    Behold, Journal, the culmination of several days of trying to recover found-but-damaged-papers. I did manage to keep up individual pages for the previous days, but recovery is more important. Probably.


    As I write this, not all of the pages have seen my eye, so I may be premature in celebrating the recovery of lost days. Well, if nothing else, the first few days were mostly good.


    For the day of 1/30, I had the first real battle of my career. I did not recognize the demon then, and still have little clue now. There was nothing memorable about it and that showed me the grand power of the knight armor Linorm. I think I described it in much more glowing terms then, but I can¡¯t quite recall what words I used.


    Then I believed it to be the largest of all of them; now I merely think it as the most brute-ish. Twenty feet tall, gorilla-wide, it glimmers like false gold, and it has as weapons a long spike-tail and an axe blade out of the almost spherical right hand it has. I think I described the features it had as finely made but scant.


    There is just the suggestion of a human-like face now that I think of it. Of course, I haven¡¯t seen it again to refresh my memory. I believe it is en-route to the purchasing nation¡¯s army yards.


    I had 2/1 as a training day, but it was honestly more of a meet-and-greet day because of the absence of enough knight armors. The one I complained about the day after was actually the armor assigned to Ike.


    I still don¡¯t know the name for certain, but I believe it has the name ¡®Hofut¡¯ or something like that. Very angular like some dueling dandy in full finery. The swords it have are thick enough to be a small spear and a large spear, yet the base staff insist that it has two swords.


    I think I noted that Ike wasn¡¯t that appreciative of my jokes of it having one and him the other. I still think he was embarrassed that I wasn¡¯t quiet about it with Jeri in earshot. Most of the pre-practice stuff was lost, and I don¡¯t remember a lot of it.


    Going from a masculine armor to a feminine one was very tiring back then, and has become only a little better now.


    I do, though, remember that the Hofut was not for me. The swords were too big for me to use them like swords and too flexible to use like spears. Oh, yes. I think I put down a description of it in the original pages. I mentioned the height, look, and weapons above, it¡¯s pure white, and I can not think of anything else that I remembered about it.


    It has a face, like all the other armors I¡¯ve seen so far, but I couldn¡¯t describe it to anyone even if death was on the line.


    Jeri¡¯s armor was called Nyx. I liked Nyx. It had cannons and that the workers called mere guns. Fools. Mere guns could not match that world shaking sound. It was also much more human than the Linorm, despite the even more ape-like arms.


    I¡¯d wager it was both the less rounded body shape as well as the rather cheeky attempt to ¡®clothe¡¯ with black paint. Any battle would strip most or all of that ¡®clothing¡¯ from the frame, so I don¡¯t envy the ones that keep trying to give it clothes.


    The arms also did well in the test fight at keeping a ¡®demon¡¯ away from me.


    Despite my best attempts most of the rest of that day escape me. I know I made some kind of comment about suddenly being a succubus that got explained away as a joke and then came the stream of faux-magical terminology that they used to explain why I could use both positive and negatively charged armors.


    I still don¡¯t remember it all and don¡¯t care to.


    I would prefer to remember how Ike and Jeri reacted to my change, but I was too tired. All I can remember is that it was far more entertaining than I¡¯d ever expected to see. But again, this world¡¯s legends (legends!) of succubi and incubi are quite different from the truth of me.


    Oh, and for some reason, I¡¯m getting sent to the last years of mandatory schooling as cover. Or I think. I haven''t really looked up too much on where that wonder ends.


    2/11/25


    Today I discovered two important things. One is that somebody on the staff has a sense of humor. And didn¡¯t share that with me. Ike¡¯s name is not Ike; it is Harold. Ike is apparently some reference to a joke about some story. A lord with two swords or something. I didn¡¯t really pay that much attention to the quick explanation, instead wondering if my code name was also a similar reference.


    Jeri¡¯s probably was, considering the speed with which she approached me and mentioned her actual name. Presumably she also did the same to Harold. In a better run organization, I¡¯d have been angry about the breach of rules.


    But it¡¯s unlikely that anyone knew about, much less instituted the code names seeking to avoid name based magics, so I¡¯m at a loss.


    The second discovery I was shown was that the small miracles called smart phones can record both sound and sight. I¡¯ve a great deal of use for both, although I¡¯m unable to record at all times, sadly.


    Both for reasons of batteries, but also because of rules about recording things in public. The first can apparently be fixed with portable chargers. The second, well, I still have my memory and a fast hand at writing in condensed form.


    I didn¡¯t have much happen today to put my phone to work at aiding these entries, but that¡¯s fine. Something¡¯s going to happen and it¡¯ll be of such benefit then.


    2/12/25


    I have to say, the education system of this world is an amazing thing. Being able to teach not only the highest branches of maths to people whose jobs may never need them is amazing but the building and the verification of other branches of maths I¡¯ve never even heard of is perhaps even more amazing.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    That I could have an age to study those things and KNOW.


    Yet another day of little happening. Harold and Jeri seem to be asking the wrong kinds of questions about me. The last two of the ¡®to be kept¡¯ knight armors are just starting production, and I was unable to participate in the demon attack.


    I believe that this one was one of the higher ranking, but less martially adept demons because despite the lack of attention from the demon, I was unable to actually leave the detached building that served as changing rooms while my fellow pilots had to do some trickery to get the knight armors out of the silos to attack.


    Perhaps one of the ascended sons or daughters of a greater demon? The way that information is kept under lock and key here would impress the most miserly of gods and demons if it weren¡¯t so uneven.


    I can find plans for the Martian and Adante, but getting anything more than ¡®we were attacked by a demon today¡¯ has been about as enjoyable as milking a rukh¡¯s claws. Admittedly, far less dangerous to my person, but about as enjoyable despite that.


    I think I¡¯ll ask Harold and Jeri about something enjoyable to do when we meet tomorrow. I¡¯m going to need it if the keeps up.


    2/14/25


    So, yesterday, I found out that my transformation was somehow kept a secret from the people in the labs. The people who, as far as I can tell, literally have a job where they are supposed to be monitoring physical health, mental health, and (though they don¡¯t know it) magical health for each of the pilots. They also have some work with the raw number crunching on the knight armors.


    But getting back to my current source of great surprise. Apparently, nobody in the labs was given the slightest hint that my change could happen under circumstances other than enter golem, turn it on. (I say golem in this case because I have been used to test the unfinished knight armors and ensure things are working. Also to get on record if what kind of charge they have. And unfinished, a knight armor ranges from a particularly ugly doric golem to aegyptos golem in terms of comparative appearance.)


    As a result instead of actually getting to do some kind of team bonding thing while there was an unplanned long week end, I got to get poked, prodded, tested, and got to practice the strangest version of the birds and the bees for young succubi and incubi ever.


    My master would have found humor in these days and also would have liked how I found out that a penny ante succubus trick for fashion could be used as birth control. I would have liked to have my phone on hand to record the conversation because of all the medical stuff I knew nothing about, but that¡¯s secondary.


    Apparently the flush, maintained properly, will do some kind of hormone regulation that leads to greatly suppressed fertility. I¡¯m going to have to read up on this stealthily, as I get the feeling that this would be another one of those questions or gaps in knowledge that makes me look like I¡¯m from the hinterlands of the worlds.


    Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t the recording smartphone conversation that started that. It was, of all things, milk. I mostly managed to save myself by quickly turning it about the quality of the milk rather than my actual surprise at how available the stuff was, but it was quite close.


    I would go so far as to offer, at least here in secret, most of the credit to others, classmates whose names I didn¡¯t really remember except when I had to.


    Back then, I wish I had the opportunity to have backed up the idea even further; perhaps with something ¡®Ike¡¯ and Jeri making an assertion that money to get out of crushing poverty was why I volunteered for the job I had.


    Of course, that wouldn¡¯t have made sense until I attended class female (but in a male uniform) once, had revealed the change to my fellow pilots, and also had the ¡®official¡¯ story for my background told to me.


    It¡¯s surprising how long it took for that to be passed to me. They apparently thought that my name would give me a hint through the dream teaching. Nuance such as that is not going to get through anything but the most explicit of dream teaching, and possibly not even then when for my culture it¡¯s mostly man¡¯s name. Of course, we¡¯re something of a small culture within a greater one that considers it a unisex name, perfectly valid for men and women. Although the next royal child is definitely going to sway that.


    But that¡¯s fine. It gives me some freedom, a few jokes, and the opportunity to try and figure out sexual mores without seeming as ignorant. Here my changes is a thing that just flat out doesn¡¯t happen twice or more a day to a single person.


    Back home, well, incubi and succubi are known and that¡¯s been a thing that¡¯s changed mores over the centuries and probably also more immediately. I am not that much of a historian.


    Unless I can re-rail my plans, I¡¯m going to be spending tomorrow reading up on medicine and probably being under-amazed because there¡¯s too much I can¡¯t understand.


    2/15/25


    I have somehow managed to perform both choices I mentioned yesterday. It seems that all the pilots ended up in the same place, same time, similar reasons, and so on down the line. There was not nearly as much connection as I¡¯d wanted but getting any done is fine.


    I had the reason for why I kept on switching knight armors, she had a bit more understanding of the medicine, and he had the better group skills than I did. Much as I hate to admit it, Harold was a more charismatic person than I.


    On the other hand, he¡¯s also terminally weak to risque jokes. My offer to equalize things made him blush hard enough to set Jeri laughing, and really it was all down hills from there. With any luck, he¡¯ll never have to fight against one of the lewder demons.


    Of course, the overload and crossload short problems put a damper on their good moods. Jeri didn¡¯t make a thirst joke, or even an earthy comment when I tried to push the upsides of size enhancement, health benefits if you can rest, and impressive issue.


    That last one might have just gone over both their heads, but by the time I could have considered that, I was already suiting up to fight in Nyx. And in that case, it had seemed to fall under the heading ¡®definitely a not good idea to attempt¡¯.


    Ultimately, it was a false alarm, magic building almost to the heights needed to rip open a portal but not reaching over. If I weren¡¯t available, then it would have made a good tactic. The waiting and the flood of magic from the collapsing portal would have, in a few more attempts, hospitalized one or both of the pilots.


    I wondered how long I would stay a secret. (As of finishing this journal¡¯s pages, the answer is ¡®still seems to be a secret¡¯. More people helped keep it.)


    Harold was a little disappointed by my sudden masculinization. It may be because the flood of magic gave me a fleeting increase in size. It was probably something else I¡¯m not thinking of now.


    Jeri at least liked how none of my clothes fit right for a few hours. It made for a few jokes at Harold¡¯s expense that she enjoyed. Mostly, I¡¯m guessing, because Harold didn¡¯t make a proper rejoinder or even an attempt at a response.


    C¡¯mon Harold! The obvious responses are easy to see, like my tits would be if I had been in your knight armor. Literally no effort there and it¡¯s still better than your non-response would have been.


    Later this night, I fear I will make a horrible blood oath with Jeri to get the stick out of Harold¡¯s ass.


    2/15 Addition


    I basically did.


    2/16/25


    The demons again waste time. Unlike the last time, this one wasted nearly the whole of the day and almost to the middle of night. It greatly indebted both Jeri and I to Harold, because he was actually able to do his assignments and we (to different degrees) took notes from him.


    In short, fuck the demons. My ass is sore from sitting in a seat not made for me, changing more and more while sitting in said seat, and


    And


    Making me so tired that I can¡¯t remember the rest of my sentences.


    I will hope for an easy class in the morning, that I may recover more.


    2/17/25


    <hr>

 No time to come up with a good title that ends in write now

    2/18/25


    I can hardly believe the ¡®tactics¡¯ of these demons. Yes, it worked, but surely, surely somebody should have seen the possibility for error.


    And that simple error was what ended up dooming them. The massive sleep spell would inevitably catch too many people, free some, and continue to creep outwards for a time. Then it would collapse and start over again.


    Fortunately for us, the pilots, we weren¡¯t caught while in the knight armors, and the collapses of the spell greatly distracted the demon.


    It took all of one shot from Nyx to discorporate and banish the thing and rob all the planning our superiors did to try and get around this ¡®unpredictable soporific attack¡¯ of gravitas.


    In the final plan, that shot was just to get the attention of the demon. Ha. Ha. ha.


    I should have fought for the the person that wanted to just press the attack, but I do not argue well for a few hours after waking.


    It feels strange to be writing at 3 PM. But between the mess of waking and sleeping late yesterday and being unable to be in a position to sleep for most of the rest of today has also been strange.


    Beh. I still feel fatigued from the awkward patterns of sleeping and waking yesterday. And I ended up breaking my phone and bruising my face. These are quite related.


    Well, these have not been good days for memory.


    2/19/25


    Was trapped by a demon today. Not sure how I feel about this. On the upside, I got to record the fight. I could manage a really great description of it, if all the shaking and rotating didn¡¯t make me want to vomit.


    It¡¯s impressive how this demon¡¯s power didn¡¯t do anything for machines and non-living lenses. I couldn¡¯t quite tell how badly I was being moved around and rolled and such. At no time during my stay in the box did I feel any discomfort other than being unable to move and the direct result of that.


    The pins and needles feeling has a name here. Paresthesia. And while Hector and Jeri don¡¯t take my belief that they¡¯re demons, they¡¯ve both felt the sensation enough (and this particular demon was sufficiently demon-like) that my paresthesia from hell joke got a little laugh out of them.


    Still need to try and bond with the group more. I think we¡¯re getting another person soon, so it¡¯s definitely going to help if I can manage this group mood bouying before then.


    I think that word¡¯s not spelled correctly, but I¡¯m not going to check.


    Still feeling ill from the last attempt at seeing the fight recording.


    I think I¡¯ll just quit while I¡¯m ahead.


    2/20/25


    I have managed to actually plan in advance. I¡¯m waiting for the appearance of a demon sometime in the middle of our little outing. Or something to happen and keep it from happening.


    Otherwise, this was a nice day. Somehow we have finally managed to start getting some attention as pilots, so whatever magic is in place is certainly fraying badly.


    Incidentally, I¡¯m going to find that ritual ground, get the details, and ride that into so many more lessons from my master that. I¡¯m not sure what to compare it to, because it¡¯s just that big. There is nothing to buy that¡¯s really worth making the comparison for.


    I also managed to make and pull off a spell that let me notice cameras.


    I had to shut it down pretty quickly. So many cameras. So much observation. Again, the scale of the spell staggers my mind. I think I know where all the actually knowledgeable spell singers were. They all died to power this massive work for months on end.


    Should have left better notes for their understudies and co-conspirators.


    Classes are interesting just because of seeing how much more has been learned in a few hundred years. I can, to a degree, manage to imagine what advances could be done in spell and ritual crafting now that I have an idea of how transformative advances can be.


    I should also work on making spells to better defeat heat cameras, microphones that can hear better than any animal, and so on.


    Now I wish I had mastered shadow-work enough to actually manage to make wholly new spells. I¡¯m not, but I can do a little modification. So faux-acids, bullets of night, and the sounds of nothingness.


    Well, that¡¯s the plan. It¡¯s going to be weeks at best, and likely a few months for the shadow spells. Definitely months for each of those illusions.


    2/21/25


    Demon attack today, and I¡¯m relieved. This should probably worry me, but the benefits of better chemistry on the knight armors will be enough to salve my worries. I had managed to set up my phone just to get the new knight armor recorded, but while moving about Adrumbation (who comes up with these names, also, male) the demon was nice enough manifest and attack pretty much from moment one.


    Now, Adrumbation is the lankiest and most human of all the knight armors so far. I mean, it almost has a person¡¯s face on its ... face. Of course, the proportions are all too thin for an actual person, being like Harold¡¯s Hofud (finally found out that¡¯s the knight armor¡¯s name and I¡¯d just been mishearing it all this time) but ten times thinner and twice as long in the limbs. Almost three in the core, but the extreme curves to its everything means that Adrumbation is not anywhere near three times as tall.


    Didn¡¯t do actual measurement, but I think it¡¯s only about nine feet taller. Hard to tell, because this was the first demon fight that I¡¯d actually say is worth calling a direct fight.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It was tough, strong, and managed to make the best of the sudden appearance by running and flinging bits of construction and handfuls of earth.


    Adrumbation had some tricks. Those super thin limbs? They stretch. But more importantly, they channel shadow bolts really well. Possibly other shadow magic as well, but it¡¯s not mine and the shadow bolts didn¡¯t end up mattering as much as I¡¯d have liked.


    In my favorite bit of direct offense¡¯s defense, this demon threw a lot of things. Most of the bolts ended up breaking thrown weapons and saving Adru- my current knight armor¡¯s hide a lot of a pounding.


    I¡¯m going to hope neither of the two I¡¯m going to get assigned will have a name that long. I¡¯d just have to abbreviate it. Them. Reminder. Need to get more liquid paper, because I¡¯ve managed to loan away all the ones I had.


    Still, looking back, the fight was more of a slog then I remembered. It¡¯s probably because having buildings and clods of eath flung at you have a way of being real exciting while watching it is much less so when it¡¯s just one on one like that.


    If the demon had a partner, it¡¯d definitely look better as a fight, but I¡¯d probably be dead. If I had a partner already on the field, drawing a few things away would have definitely managed to shorten the fight.


    Both Jeri and Harold did manage to get in the fight, but by then I¡¯d gotten a lucky hit to the leg. The demon had to throw smaller things, couldn¡¯t move as well, basically the fight was decided by the time they¡¯d joined.


    Also, need to experiment with later armors, do they have a limitless supply of one aspect of mana, can the massive magic hearts just twist their deep wells of power into any aspect, or is there some other explanation for the sheer number of bolts I managed to project through it?


    2/22/25


    Ah, the sweet smell of success. And drinks, and other things. Yes, I¡¯m a bit late on this, but I don¡¯t care. I had success today. No, wait, officially yesterday now. So later than I thought. Also, I¡¯m going to have to teach both of my teammates a little bit of that thing called moderation.


    If these were the alcoholic versions of the drinks and not just punched up some with magic, I fear most of the pilots would be very dead now.


    Yes, not just dead, very dead.


    But once I can get my hands on some, I¡¯m going to see if this ginger beer is supposed to be that rough or if the non-alcoholic version is making up for the lack of alcohol by being about as smooth as sandpaper.


    In either case, it¡¯d be a good gift for a few people I can think of, master included. It¡¯d just be better with alcohol in it.


    I think I¡¯ll write more tomorrow. Despite the bout of wakefulness I still feel like I could get to sleep. So I will.


    2/23/25


    Well, had to explain a few things. My explanation of magic almost got over with the other three pilots. If it had just been Jeri and Harold, I think they¡¯d have gone for it. Miss Smisse or however her last name is spelled. And of course, she¡¯s the kind of person that insists on having her last name used. Just once, I¡¯d like to meet somebody that¡¯s very insistent on having their last name used and that has a last name I can actually spell.


    That was more of a complaining rant than I¡¯d like to have done in here. I¡¯ll blame it on the last bit of demon activity, which was at once underwhelming as hell and dangerous. The large, monstrous demon was large enough that it couldn¡¯t avoid Nyx¡¯s shots, slow enough that it couldn¡¯t get anything between it and my shadow bolts, and (eventually) defenseless enough that Hofud only needed us to minimize the amount of damage it could do to the surroundings, not to win.


    Of course, the high powered sensors that the HQ uses detected a much smaller entrant into the world.


    Human sized, to be precise. Unfortunately, it left no trail of demonic power and was at least knowledgeable enough to have covered its face. Well, all I can hope for is that it will react like most demons upon being threatened by anything and become larger and monstrous.


    And that it will get threatened soon.


    Oh, to have focused on demon warding.


    Well, nothing to be done but to try and do a little bit of ritual and work on getting Miss Schmeisse to loosen up some. At least enough that I can start calling her by first name and don¡¯t have to keep on trying to properly spell Shmisse. Perhaps I can look up the name tomorrow when I have to test the newest armor.


    2/24/25


    As much as I didn¡¯t like the length of Adrumbation¡¯s name or the difficulty I had to go to just to find out the spelling of Smisse, I would have liked to see them stay here. But, no, it is to the EU they go. I¡¯m still not sure where in that place, but I could find out.


    Some part of me doesn¡¯t want to, but I probably should. It¡¯s still a secret, but officially signed policy is that once any other nation in this agreement opens up a factory capable of making more of the knight armors, the city the factory is in will get three armors stationed in it in addition to others the state already has.


    Once again, the official but somewhat secret line is that the demons are alien invaders targeting high energy sources. Which, officially, is why the first attacks happened in places with the new fission power plants. It¡¯s more likely that there¡¯s some magical fore-knowledge of where the first ones would appear, the plants were placed there, and then something magical is put in the factories to divert demonic transit from wherever it was supposed to go to near the factory¡­ at least in a relative sense.


    In an era of horses being the kings of speedy travel, none of the appearances have been close. But in an era of cars, trains, and planes all laughing at the idea of merely surpassing the horse, the appearances were all exceedingly close.


    Of course, military minds have said that the second greatest advantage of demons and gods is that they have mastery of movement, and occasionally lend that to their subordinates. I think they¡¯re just not yet used to not having that advantage, and that¡¯s what most worries me about the loose demon.


    The obvious concern is that it could learn how much the gap has closed and then they¡¯re going to make use of the advantages they do still have. I think whatever demon is in command just doesn¡¯t get (yet) that any single demon of the strength they can easily send over can be relatively quickly outnumbered and defeated despite what strange gifts it may have. Knowing that a battle will quickly become three on one (or one knight armor and Many Soldiers on one demon) will definitely lead to some kind of change. I¡¯m just not sure what kind.


    The other obvious concern is that the loose demon might be getting supplies. Demons love tools almost as much as the more successful kind of mortal societies do, even if they have a far broader idea of what is a tool and really don¡¯t have as much of an idea of ¡®this is a tool to keep in good condition¡¯ as the better craftsman I¡¯ve seen at work do.


    Just given the great variety of tools available and the magic of demons, that¡¯s a possible problem I literally couldn''t even begin to make a worst ten list of things it could lead to.


    At least the demons seem to be going for something other than just death given that it was a sleeping spell and not a slaying one.


    I¡¯d call this worrying I¡¯m doing fear of the unknown, but it¡¯s only half that. In the few cases I¡¯ve ever had to deal with demons, I had no clue why they were there. I at best knew that their reasons were in service of the most radical outsiders and their means involved violence to me or those near to me.


    Here, it is demons coming for the reasons of demons, and while slaughter was out, well. There is a great deal of unpleasantness that can be done to people without reaching the level of slaughter.


    I should probably practice this secretive bit of prodding elsewhere, but I am still unsure as to which of the seeming secretive masters of this job is the one, true secret master. Or if any of them actually are; in that case it¡¯s a great bit of hilarity that what should be this conspiracy isn¡¯t and is instead some kind of legitimate governmental work gone


    I¡¯ve spent an hour trying to encapsulate my feelings into words. And yet all I can do is laugh at how I can¡¯t properly end ¡°Have I wandered into some great work of government gone ____¡± with a single word or even a concise phrase.


    At best I¡¯ve come up with comparisons to a few shows or the worse kind of morality play to fill in the blank. And then I¡¯d have to explain those comparisons, and that would defeat the point. Ah, well. I leave this contemplation for tomorrow.


    2/25/25


    Emergency! Disaster! I hope to be able to see tomorrow. Now, off into the breach!

 Things got better, now that I had time to look back and write

    2/30/25 (Well, it should be!)


    My back hurts. This is the first case where we should have suffered great losses, but the absurd toughness of the knight armors kept all of the pilots alive. Oh, and those suits they have us wear. I think they worked well at keeping poison from our lungs and other blood-filled vital organs.


    I could be quite wrong, but don¡¯t care. At this moment, I only desire to know the rage the demon leaders will feel when all three pilots and knight armors will stand on the field of battle once more. Unfortunately, there seems to be little magic for miraculous healing.


    Very fortunately then, that mundane skill has, in the centuries of difference, advanced far enough that these three broken bodies are not resigned to a helpless life.


    3/3/25


    I suppose I should have seen being shielded from the worst news by well meaning people. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve no real existence beyond what this plan has granted me in this world, and thus I¡¯ve got no choice but to stay on until the end of attacks or the end of me.


    Harold is not dead, but he can neither fight nor live on. Jeri is dead. Despite both magic and skill, her lungs were too damaged and so she died in the night.


    Also, it seems I¡¯ve gained some additional sensitivity to magic, as I was able to see that weak and subtle effort despite intervening objects and distance.


    In better times, I¡¯d have to look into this. Do something about it.


    But I can¡¯t manage to focus enough right now. Even this writing is slowed and distract¡¯d by swirling emotions and anger.


    I need rest and relax.


    3/4/25


    I managed some kind of relaxation today. It was the cheap kind that got me scolded, in part because of the laws against it and in part for what my handler called the sheer irresponsibility. I was just hungover enough to not be able to muster a good defense for myself.


    But I was able to assure my handler of secrets being kept and the general lack of connecting my misdeeds and my identity. I need to get a new recording device.


    I¡¯m not sure of my words of only five minutes ago.


    I don¡¯t plan on being this hungover again any time soon, but another device could be useful. I¡¯d want to keep it here.


    Or at least not take it with me for reasons of being safer. Not much chance of being blow up, you see.


    Tomorrow will suck even more.


    3/5/25


    I was mostly right. Unfinished knight armor, lots of soldiers, and a marginally prepared demon attack lead to lots and lots of dead soldiers. About as many as the other attacks I¡¯d been recovering though. They had to bomb and shoot it into getting into range where I could beat the beast to death.


    Well, death as it applies to demons. Being a warded bull demon of some sort, this one had a much more normal seeming death. Like bashing a bull with stones until it stops moving kind of death.


    I forsee a great number of warded demons in the future, all protected against explosives given the horrifying effects slightly magical ones had on the knight armors.


    I really wish I could have more sleep.


    3/6/25


    New recruits. What surprises me isn¡¯t that they had new recruits, but that they were waiting on a compatible knight armor to be finished before bringing them in. Literally the whole time things have been going to hell here, they had more people already ready and waiting.


    The only reason I¡¯m not absolutely furious is because I was informed of the armor they¡¯d been trained in. The most complete one here would have done something to them. I haven¡¯t had the time to do proper calculations for what would happen (or totally forgot if I did) but it would be pretty bad.


    I mean, each knight armor is, in my current estimate, using numbers that look like the answer for a beginner¡¯s first ¡®find what is wrong in this equation¡¯ question.


    At least I managed to get a good look at the core of the knight armor because of that last fight. It¡¯s still all a mystery to me, but it¡¯s a big steel ball that somehow generates far too much magic. More guessing here, about a quarter of the output to keeping it from sinking or falling apart, another quarter goes to making sure every electric thing has power before it needs it, and I¡¯d guess that all but the last tenth or so probably goes to the very inefficient anti-demon methods it has to be employing.


    On the one hand, a great deal of that power could be diverted to prevent something like the sleeping wave from happening again. On the other, I¡¯m not sure exactly what those anti-demon measures are. It could be partial warding, forcing each demon that arrives to waste large amounts of energy on manifesting, resulting in much easier victories for us because of the lack of powers and tricks the demons should be able to use.


    I don¡¯t even know what I need to sneak into at this point. Do I need to see a heart being made? Are there inscriptions hidden in the many, many parts that make up a knight armor? Are there designs that only come together when it¡¯s finalized?


    Too many unknown questions.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    3/7/25


    On the one hand, I don¡¯t get the reference and it only gets me cold and wet. On the other, it¡¯s at least getting me half the attention I need for a blessing ritual for the three of us. And on the wing and tail, it¡¯s kinda strange getting attention like this.


    I guess there are people with twin fetishes (fraternal in this case) that would be shouting at me for not pursuing this as aggressively as I can. I guess the unexpected normalcy of this situation is the other half of what¡¯s kind of putting me off?


    It¡¯s hard to put in words while distracted.


    Picking back up now. After the sudden death of Harold and Jeri, I¡¯ve decided to put a bit more into describing my new teammates, the Addison twins. (Note, make a recording and find a safe-ish place to keep it.)


    Ben Addison is a tall guy; foot and some change taller than I am (is that the right phrase? I think so.). Fits well with having a tall sister. He¡¯s also the one that did the cold water splash as some kind of reference or joke. Need to ask about that later. Black hair, brown eyes. Strongly built. Probably in some kind of sport before he became a pilot. (Is it too much to hope he was in a combative one?)


    Odette Addison isn¡¯t quite as tall as her brother, but it could be the hair misleading me. Hers is long and let down, his isn¡¯t very long but it¡¯s pointed or spiked up depending on the day. She had what I¡¯ve heard called a gymnast''s build, but more muscled. Same hair color and eyes as her brother, other than some decorative streaks she ended up getting because of losing a bet.


    And while I know that both of them are considered at least somewhat attractive because of how others have reacted to them, I really don¡¯t see it. I mean, it¡¯s not like they have ugly faces or anything like that. It¡¯s just, they¡¯re a bit.


    They¡¯ve got the better kind of worker¡¯s body but more extreme, somehow are pale, and all together it¡¯s really throwing me.


    Not that anyone would really get to read this entry to know.


    I like to think that most of my confusion has been easily passed off as being a bit unsure how to react to being one¡¯s fetish and the other going along with it semi-interestedly.


    No, I hope that¡¯s what¡¯s going on.


    3/8/25


    The Addison twins seemed very interested in better group bonding, now that I¡¯ve gotten to know them better. I¡¯m very much not counting on mundane life or demon battling allowing it to happen as quickly as I¡¯d like (for one, I often have to get them on task for school things because that¡¯s apparently part of my new duties as a survivor).


    However, it won¡¯t matter much until we have enough knight armors for all of us to go out and fight, so I can at least justify waiting. Or at least have two with hopes of another passing through soon.


    That¡¯s almost as good and I¡¯m glad because it¡¯s what I¡¯m being forced to work with.


    Also, this line of complaint reminds me. The Addison twins are both using male type knight armors. It seems that the change from male to female armor causes harm, but as long as one stays with the type they¡¯d started using, that doesn¡¯t matter.


    Definitely not something I¡¯d foreseen, but that was fine. I wasn¡¯t my master, after all. Hell, even she didn¡¯t specialize in enchanting, which I think is the area this problem mostly lies in.


    The newest armor is called Chevalier Vert and its twin is Chevalier Rouge. They are to be very similar, standing 22 feet tall and looking like armored knights. Admittedly, like no armored knight I¡¯d seen before, but I can make allowances for things like guns, not having to actually protect flesh so closely, and not being able to have horses.


    In order, I have a fondness for guns and more of them is better, the rounds aren¡¯t round enough and the sharps too extreme but without flesh I guess that works, and I can only imagine how much worse things would be if somebody had to be a horse. The jokes would never end, and gods forbid that the horse-pilot actually have some relationship with the rider-pilot.


    Also, Benjamin (his sister insists that he be called using his full name after some slight she saw and I didn¡¯t, so I¡¯m doing it here until I can find out what) is at least getting to enjoy what happens when I get through using Chevalier Vert.


    I am also enjoying not changing as often; the extra energy is useful even if it means needing some kind of breast support.


    Incidentally, today I discovered the new classification of the corset and the new bit of clothing called the brassiere.


    Variety, cheapness, support. If I have a way between worlds, this would be the other product to bring back. No, it could be the product to bring back. Unlike milk, it wouldn¡¯t spoil. Also, I know of a bigger market, at least in terms of who would think they¡¯d be able to afford it.


    I should, perhaps, look into ways to sneak one sized for master. I think she¡¯d need a custom made one.


    3/9/25


    I was right and wrong yesterday. There was a demon attack today. This one was only difficult because it was able to fly. It eventually was shot enough by guns and skewered enough by suppressed missiles that it fell and got banished by being held to the ground.


    There was a good bit of destruction caused by lightning strikes, but it seems that buildings now are slightly more able to resist being burned than what I¡¯m used to. There was this one barn that didn¡¯t make it at all, but other than that the buildings are standing, mostly whole.


    My mistake was thinking that I¡¯d need to get custom work for a bra for master. It seems that sizes like Henrietta had were common enough to have a standard size, but not common enough to be physically stocked. Order online, and there it was.


    I also discovered the offense Ben had committed. Well, it was more a bit of miscommunication. I¡¯d mentioned that sitting in his seat so much would end up making my breasts bigger. The his was the knight armor and that was true. The long waits before had shown that this was true for me sitting in a male armor, with less noticeable growths when the situation was me sitting in a female armor.


    My guess was that it was either making me more virile or would only show when erect, and in the last chance I¡¯d had, I was too tired to find out. Would have made for a hilarious show for the coroner if the size increase was just as proportionate.


    Back to the previous topic. Odette happened to have mistaken that for me being tricked by her brother. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯d be tricked into that, or what Ben would get out of it. They¡¯ve both seen me naked from the waist up plenty, and unless they¡¯ve got the worst memories of all time, have felt me plenty while joking around. I suppose the answer¡¯s something fetish based or otherwise something I don¡¯t know.


    But in any case it¡¯s been cleared up and I got to feel good being peace maker.


    3/9/25 sudden addition


    Hit me before I fell asleep. My cover was being a sheltered or something farm girl. I guess something about that was why. Need to investigate further. Remember to copy this voice message when I wake up.


    3/10/25


    Another day, another lesson done. I got asked by the twins how I could manage to be so calm and focused on day-to-day things after such a horrible attack. I was able to basically B.S. a better answer than ¡°It went better than I was expecting once I saw it fly¡± once I was able to delay the answer until after eating.


    I¡¯m not sure how, it was all very off the top of my head and I also turned off my phone and other recording device to show that I was being very serious about this. So I don¡¯t have much record of what I said and it was all a rush of passion that I can¡¯t quite get back again.


    Still, while it may not have lifted their spirits, it at least got their focus back now that they¡¯d had time to lose it.


    I also got them to agree to try my relaxation method. Now I just need to work the ritual into it and I¡¯ve got gold.


    Time to shop around and see what I¡¯m able to get.


    Most of the herbals were easy enough to get, but they¡¯re also the least important part; all focus aids and nothing actually helpful. Gold was hard to get, but I managed enough through getting jewelry. As for magic, I had to improvise. Properly enchanting it was out of my league by lightyears (which is itself part of an amazing concept that I can only accept because the math staggers me in such a way that it seems to be right and is also consistent with experiments I was able to find).


    So I went and improvised in a rather basic way. Blood and growth did it.


    I¡¯m going to have to hope for another clear day, demon-wise. The improv won¡¯t last a full day. It probably just will last long enough to be used tomorrow.

 Are Crystal Spires the new trend, I ask as I Write?

    3/11/25


    Well, it wasn¡¯t a total loss. They ended up even more embarrassed when the ¡®steam bath¡¯ got interrupted, but that interruption didn¡¯t matter. The bare minimum got done, we are going to be protected from some more esoteric tricks that might be overlooked by a society not familiar with demons as anything but myth, and there''s going to be some kind of luck on the horizon.


    No attack, just ¡®normal¡¯ interruption. I¡¯m pretty sure that being interrupted isn¡¯t normal, but the security (?) person made the excuse of ¡®just checking to make sure everyone is alright¡¯ so I¡¯m not going to doubt anyone too vocally.


    Especially as the twins didn¡¯t seem too used to the idea or the experience and probably would have overstayed a bit even under my eye. Definitely not going to let them do this without me and not just for their reactions.


    It may be the degree, but they certainly couldn¡¯t take my response. It¡¯ll be good fun ribbing them about it later.


    Also had a very long short conversation with somebody that was in on the magical side of this operation. I use that rather badly worded phrase because while he was in on the magical side, it was a very near thing. Dozens and dozens and dozens of words where used only a few were needed.


    The amount of talking around a pair of subjects that could have easily been directly asked about was enough to stagger a truck. It¡¯d have killed a horse.


    With somebody more knowledgeable, I¡¯m sure I could have had that conversation in an hour, at most.


    But if there was an ulterior motive, like I¡¯m thinking, then there was somebody listening in and evaluating what I said. I¡¯m just not sure if it was for truth or for learning.


    3/12/25


    I¡¯m going to count getting a group assignment and working out outside of class and work with the twins as good luck for me and also as good luck for them; they just aren¡¯t recognizing it as good luck for them.


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the outfit I wore or the fact that after the demonic invasion I kept wearing it that got them wound up. Can¡¯t wait for this newest armor to be finished. The frame I could see looks much heavier than any other, even if it¡¯s rather small at only ten feet tall. It¡¯s also the most bestial of all; the lower half lies on the ground like some great lizard or dragon. The arms look to be bigger than the ape like arms of Nyx or Linorm.


    I¡¯m hoping it ends up armed like Nyx. Now that I¡¯m more sure about the magical numbers, I want to try firing even larger shadow bolts or cloaking the bullets in shadow. Well, shells, even at that size.


    It also lets the bosses indulge Odette by having me use both male and female knight armors. I am going to mark this page, after some consideration.


    The invasion was a number of very small, very weak things I¡¯m not even sure really count as demons. They¡¯re more like beetles and sick looking rabbits. We crushed enough to collapse the one way portal, but I can¡¯t help but fear the obvious possibility there.


    I¡¯m going to have to try and breed some enchanting materials for my anti-demon ward. A normal ward is still beyond me, but I know I can work an illusory one if I can get a properly magical bit of wood.


    Seeing as there¡¯s no magical breeders around, I¡¯m going to have to work on a lot of things. I think I¡¯ll need another notebook just for this one. And I¡¯m going to really be hurting for how large this place is.


    Goal for once I finish: Think of something happy to distract from the sympathetic aches of my future purse.


    3/13/25


    This assignment has truly shown that, academically, we three are less than the sum of our parts. Probably because of the strain of constant, minor demon invasions. Well, as constant as it can be.


    Three a day is almost enough to end up with the bridge becoming two ways, despite whatever efforts are being made to keep us from counter-invading.


    I think the shocking-glass-ball like towers are being used to keep the levels of magic high because that¡¯s the most simple way of doing what they¡¯re claiming; keeping the demons from invading.


    After all, these experiences mean that the demons have to know about the advances in firearms and explosives, so opening up for a possible face full of shell is going to keep the portals closed while the magic stays in the air.


    Also, I don¡¯t believe I mentioned their priority in getting repairs (and I¡¯ll check soon to remove this if I did), but Nyx and Hofud are being moved to the EU to get a factory open ahead of schedule. I had assumed one would stay here for me because the new one was being overlooked for them, but no. I am wrong.


    This also makes me fear that the new one will also be moved elsewhere, as I¡¯ve yet to learn its name. Oh well, nothing I can do there but wait.


    In the meantime, I¡¯ll work on getting that group project up to snuff and also looking into the other groups. Just was so used to not being forced to change that now I¡¯m getting even more tired by it.


    3/14/25


    Got woken up by the twins. Ate. Thanked them. Have to do some kind of checking for the thing.


    3/16/25


    Had an assassination attempt. It failed due to¡­ something. I¡¯m still feeling the after effects. I have things to copy down later. For now, gotta rest up again.


    3/17/25


    Gas weaponry. It was something of a joke, other than a few really ambitious spells, back home. Here it¡¯s not only a thing, but a thing that has had international treaties made about their use. Unfortunately, it seems to apply to nation level actors, so I¡¯m not sure that there¡¯s going to be worse stuff leveled against the person that tried this on me.


    My survival with no lasting side effects probably burnt all the luck the blessing ritual would give. Unless the thing is that they were incompetent. Then it may not have.


    This is the deep question of how a blessing works.


    I¡¯m not going to try copying whatever this weapon is called. The word is long and complex. I looked up the name of the most famous gas weapon. Dichlorodiethyl sulfide is the name. This gas weapon had a longer name by two words and at least one of those words was as long as Dichlorodiethyl.


    Chemistry will not be my thing, I think.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Had to miss two demon attacks. I, along with everyone else, suspect demon cultists have made their appearance. Their really, really lucky for us appearance.


    Now, obviously, I didn¡¯t get to see either attack. But worse, nobody recorded it and nobody¡¯s willing to talk about them. That only makes me want to know more. How can I plan if I can¡¯t know anything about the two demons I missed?


    Not that the demons have been doing anything that requires the kinds of planning I¡¯m going to do, but I¡¯d like to get it started before illusory wards are needed in large numbers. And I guess shadow traps? I can¡¯t estimate how much or how little they¡¯d do unless I can make an estimate. And to do that, I need to know more about the demons.


    I can use all the lacks to try and fix other estimations I may make.


    3/18/25


    I would love to say that life has resumed with no difficulties. Love, love, love to. While there was no lasting damage from the gassing physically, socially is a different matter. I¡¯ve gotten token apologies from people I never even saw before. While not all of those have turned into more questions, enough have that I¡¯ve ended today more than a little annoyed.


    Have to thank the twins more. Timely, if awkward, interrupt on their part by taking me out of the conversation by lifting me up and carrying me out of the conversation.


    Also, got to hear some rumors about me. It¡¯s pretty funny to hear people wondering about a basic fact of life. Well, to me it¡¯s a basic fact of life. To just about everyone else, somebody changing sex like that is a thing of fantasy stories.


    Incidentally, I took some time to read a few of those things. Didn¡¯t finish any, but I need to do more research on succubi and incubi.


    Research is the wrong word. I just want to see the popular perception now that I know more about where to look. Some of these ideas are just hilarious. Some are just hilarious in terms of my formerly-local politics.


    Elf nation on the decline is just so apt. Granted, in that book it¡¯s far less than any of the major elf nations have fallen back home, but still.


    Also, that¡¯s just one book. There¡¯s many many others; I just heard that one is one of the classics. And yes, with that amount of emphasis from what I was told.


    Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t asked too much about my own reading habits. It would have been awkward to just make up names or try and fake knowing about anything that was mentioned to me.


    Just found something searching the sea of information that is the internet. (Also, audio books, are great both for efficiency and as entertainment when writing.)


    Well, well, well. This is a very salacious bit of words about succubi. I¡¯d call it harmful propaganda if the writer actually knew about succubi. And it was less salacious. Far less salacious.


    As it was, it¡¯s just bad yet well written reading that makes me want to go out and be sociable. Unfortunately, the kinds of places I¡¯ve read about that make me want to go there need a few more years on the fake that I was given.


    Perhaps I can entertain the twins, but separately. I don¡¯t think they¡¯d want split attention.


    3/18 addition


    Of course, it¡¯d have to wait for the weekend.


    3/19/25


    If this is the start of a series of demon attacks intended to solely irritate, I will be most cross. The magic level is still high, so there will be another long period of time before a weakling passes over. This still does not sooth the irritation of this demon¡¯s visit.


    My throat aches, and the taste of blood is unpleasant. There is no harm, but constantly feeling like I am coughing up blood is harm enough.


    It will fade, but this


    I have an interruption to note. The curse spreads. My nose hurts now. Surprise of surprises, it also feels like I¡¯m bleeding.


    The only consolation is that - I wrote that already. And I¡¯m out of correction fluid. I am not sure when that happened. Oh, well, it¡¯s a thing to get tomorrow.


    Woke up again. I may not actually be bleeding (and I¡¯ve checked) but it feels like it when I lay down. Just noting this so that I can remember to mention it tomorrow.


    3/20/25


    Had a very nice cake today. It¡¯s made me think that I should visit one of this world¡¯s grocers more directly. I may not have (much) control over the fees I¡¯m being paid as part of the oh-so-advantageous-to-them background the secret masters have set up, but I do have some. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d actually be able to take full advantage of what control I have, but the fact that nobody else shared my opinion of the cake is telling.


    Although, on second though, it shouldn¡¯t surprise me. Preserving milk, after all, implies a rise in things that have milk in them. Cakes have milk in them. One plus two is three.


    Actually, let me check the seas and see what the local stores have.


    Pineapple. Whole pineapple. Whole pineapple on sale at prices that the common man can afford, at least by comparison to other things it also sells. Perhaps I should search more and see if this isn¡¯t some kind of high price store.


    I know it isn¡¯t, and the search confirms that, but I had to find out. The sheer shock of pineapple being available enough to be sold as a food and only a food is- I¡¯m leaving that one in. I got the correction fluid, but if I ever get to show this to my master I want this paragraph kept in. I want to share the shock, although I¡¯m not sure I can.


    It¡¯s definitely a thing to be skeptical of if you haven¡¯t seen this other world. I think I will buy a pineapple and just enjoy it this weekend. No, get two and enjoy one with each twin.


    3/21/25


    Thirst. A condition I¡¯m suffering from and have taken steps to cure, at least according to some of my classmates. That conversation also helped me get a few laughs. I have admitted to a twin fetish to the locker room, and from that my enjoyment of the side effect the knight armors have on me.


    I have also crushed a few people¡¯s dreams by revealing that¡¯s the internal name for the things. I may save the actual names of individual armors for later. The reactions would be great, or the lack of reactions would be joyless.


    Bleeding feeling was back, but it¡¯s not nearly as much. Unfortunately, I¡¯m reliant on the knight armors and their anti-demon features because while illusory, this is also the result of a curse. So while I could break it magically, it would just come back until the knight armor eventually removes the curse.


    My guess is that the parade being scheduled for soon is to try reducing the impact of this curse on the people around. I can¡¯t tell if they want to try maximizing the results, or if there¡¯s studies and spying being done to see if the curse worsens.


    Much as it sounds crueler, I¡¯d prefer if they¡¯re checking to see if the curse worsens. It¡¯d be more information and make things easier for later treatments. At least assuming that the treatments are more, larger parades.


    That¡¯d be either overkill or not enough, depending on how you look at things. Definite overkill on the number of parades, not enough for curse breaking if my recovery is typical. Of course, it may not be.


    That loose demon might have discovered that I¡¯m a succubus and is taking steps to make the curse worse on succubi and incubi. It could also be that curse was an attempt to see the strength of the anti-demon warding on the knight armors or that it was designed to be leech some energy from the knight armor and it¡¯s only the overwhelming might of the cores that wore the cuse away.


    On better news, after I write this, I will be waiting to entertain Odette. I¡¯m hoping for a good time.


    3/22/25


    Well, had both of the twins. And found out that, at least in this case, I managed to be entertaining enough for both of them at the same time. The pineapples didn¡¯t really come out when or as much as I¡¯d wanted, but that was fine.


    Benjamin was fun to tease with it though. He really does enjoy the fruit. I think I¡¯ll make sure to invite him whenever I have a pineapple and want to eat it. I need to look into my partners more. It¡¯ll make entertaining easier.


    What else? What else?


    Really, it was all just the main events today and I can¡¯t quite manage to say much about it. I¡¯m still taking everything in. I think I may start to enjoy having teammates that can manage to move me about with such ease. It¡¯s exhilarating.


    Almost got to squish the free demon. It was threatened and revealed the ugly truth to the world. Unfortunately, the foul thing managed to run before soldiers could be properly massed, much less a knight armor deployed.


    A few police men and women shot at it, but the comparatively small numbers mean that they may as well have been trying to assault the thing by hand.


    I¡¯ll have to try and commandeer better recordings of it.


    3/23/25


    Miracle of miracles. I actually managed to get a better look at the transformed demon and at almost no cost to me. The good news is that this demon is rather weak. The bad is that it had very strong and noble colors to the marks it had.


    Weak demon royalty means all kinds of indirect problems. It won¡¯t fight, but will eventually manage a better grade of assassin at minimum. This changes the estimation I made of the curse in a big way; I think the curse was meant to be worsened by the royal.


    Of course, the knight armor acts as a very simple but extremely powerful curse breaker so I can laugh at the curse and the royal. Especially as any greater curses it may know will be washed away by the difference in power and only serve to frustrate the demon.


    That actually raised my mood considerably after the effort I had to go finding at the person that ended up giving me the video for so little consideration.


    Considerably may be an exaggeration.


    Of course, when the levels of ambient magic start to sag (and they will), I¡¯m going to bet that the first thing that comes out is a powerful demon, hell-bent on getting the spires down.


    I¡¯ve decided to call them spires now. New outer casing makes them look like that. I¡¯m going to be so tired once they do come down.

 April Fools is a thing I wish that I would write out... as I write

    3/25/25


    Certainly a novel reason for one of the spires going down. Fire caused by not realizing that bits of the casing acted as lenses and using flammable (or is it inflammable, my reading has suggested both can be used) materials in large parts of the support structure.


    A very sunny day happened yesterday, the one over a bit of blacktop caught fire first, and we three pilots had to work until it was no longer safe or able for us to stay operating the knight armor.


    Not exactly coincidentally, the newest knight armor was rushed out. I won¡¯t give out its name now, as the poor thing wasn¡¯t responsible for the bad performance it put on. That was the rush to have it active.


    That was also why I was given the job of attempting rescue of the one that caught fire first. That one was already written off, but the director of this job said that the effort needed to be made.


    My knight armor¡¯s arms failed under the very magical fire. It wasn¡¯t spectacular looking, but that distance. If the requirements weren¡¯t so high, it could be the newest weapon to totally change the battlefield. But that much work and danger? It wouldn¡¯t even count as vundervaffin. Or however that term is spelled.


    The only upside is that at least one, and possibly as many as three, demons managed to ¡®fall¡¯ into this world on fire. My knight armor was unable to actually finish any of them, but they were on fire. Nobody is really clever when lit on fire.


    In much the same vein, most beings are also typically not very alive for long after being set on magical fire.


    It is only due to not being able to grab the spire and having been ordered to retreat when the portal opened that I am not currently a brickette. This page looks like I used my attempts at transliterating all wrong, but I didn¡¯t pay attention in the store or in history enough since the last entry and am currently trying to get into the middle of a lot of not caring about anything but celebrating being alive.


    So if I remember to correct this tomorrow or the day after, what went wrong, me? I should be celebrating too much to remember this palty detail. Or have celebrated, depending on what the twins can bring.


    This world seems to have plenty of recreational experiences that take up lots of time. Even some that seem to grow to fill available time.


    Well, I¡¯m going to attribute that one to either loss of attention or just being that kind of addictive. Either way, have to work at getting some party food (Earth version) ready for when I wake up tomorrow.


    3/27/25


    The higher ups (and in this I include the twins parents) were fairly angry, if completely toothlessly. I think the previous loss had everyone shook and the almost total failure of communications in my armor just drove their thoughts in that direction.


    After all, my armor (which still needs to be properly debut-ed) was in far better shape than those two. It is, unfortunately, still not up to operating standards beyond boosting my shadow bolts. I wish my anger or skills were up to making the work go faster, but the made-into-sloth engendered by the ¡®improved¡¯ anti-invasion defenses means that the EU factory is dangerously close to working while everything to protect and support the factory is still half or quarter finished in places tither and yon.


    Well, Hofud and Nyx are both finished. The pool of applicants was just not fished out of because it was believed that there would be time to ensure that only the best picks for the repaired knight armors would chosen.


    Hopefully the speed choosing doesn¡¯t result in a dysfunctional team. I can¡¯t help but worry that a second target will mean both sides get mightier demons as there are two places to dump transit magics into.


    At the very least, I¡¯m expecting another attempt to get a demon loose in the world and then a try at making bases or something. Hopefully the other demon is as focused in methods as this one. I learn more and more about the monstrously good security this world has when the people securiting know what to look for and when.


    Or perhaps it¡¯s just that securing against the kinds of gas attacks this demon wants to use is easy with the kind of apartment building I¡¯m in. I don¡¯t have enough samples to know, especially as I¡¯m probably being valued a bit higher than most humans.


    A third possibility occurs to me, but I discounted it after a little more thought. If somebody did have a summoning fetish, I think there¡¯d be more summoned people or I¡¯d at least be more watched.


    3/27 addition.


    Couldn¡¯t find any cameras. Don¡¯t mean they¡¯re not there. I hopefully just made myself paranoid. But I¡¯m going to check more later. Sleep now.


    3/28/25


    I¡¯m surprised by how little I had to lie about being almost burnt. Most were not as inquisitive about things as I expected. The rumor mill, of course, is filled with fun from what Odette and Ben have told me.


    I, apparently, am just not friends with the right kind of rumormongers. Tis all food and books for poor Alexis. Also gambling, but that¡¯s not something I try and indulge in too much. My master has served, often enough, as a moderating lesson for gambling. Of course, she also serves as a lesson for why gambling has as many adherents as it does.


    Nothing else particularly interesting today. It seems that either the demons have been caught off guard with the loss of those three demons or that they¡¯re saving up to try at both factories at once.


    There¡¯s probably a saying for this situation. I don¡¯t know it, obviously, and don¡¯t care to tempt fate asking around about it. So I¡¯ll just present it as thus; I preferred bored knowledge to uncertainty, bored or otherwise.


    And there have been things keeping me excited recently; all mundane but still. Excitement is excitement. Most of it has been research into things paying off and the laughs I¡¯ve had as a result. A little has been day to day things that were causes to celebrate. The tiniest fraction is because of the failed assassination attempt on the twins. I¡¯m not happy it happened, just happy it failed.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Yes, it was gas. No, the demon hasn¡¯t learned (in a way). Odette and Ben live in a larger place that happens to be much more active in terms of windows and doors being opened. So the ceoh wasn¡¯t ever able to actually build up enough to cause any debility much less injury.


    Also met Ben and Odette¡¯s mother today. A nice, caring, maternal woman who would probably be giving really good advice if I was a human and had to go through the changes. I listened because, well, I figure it¡¯ll at least be funny when I get to meet master again.


    Well, if I¡¯m right about the end of the month being the best time to try a dream sending again. It wasn¡¯t necessary to mention before, but when getting the warding supplies I also worked a dream sending keyed towards master into the ward setup just in case actual dream magic got involved.


    It would be, as far as I knew, pretty useless. I wasn¡¯t sure where this world, mine, and the tower of worlds were in relation to each other, so it wouldn¡¯t get through. As far as defenses went against an actual demon master of dream magic it was hiding in a corner and only slightly better against a determined student of dream magic. It was, however, also so cheap and easy to set up that I put it in just on the off chance it managed me a surprise night of safety.


    Then yesterday night I got a very small connection to my master. Not enough for much to get through, but enough to realize that it happened.


    So my plan for tonight is to make the dream drink, read a copy of the information I wanted to send to master, and hope to get a good enough connection before the end of the month that she can start doing the complex maths needed to make the trip a few times.


    I¡¯m pretty sure the pineapples alone would be incentive for the money she¡¯d be shelling out for a longer term solution, but getting her over is the bigger possible point of failure.


    Even so, I think that greed could get her to entice a master of world travel to get on with the project. There are actual demon pacts that probably get less money than we could manage based on the pay I get.


    It¡¯s hard to say with demon pacts because of the riders and other things they like to throw in, after all. Making an actual pact for wealth would probably get some status to go with the money, but the effort involved in having to hide the pact signs is one of those things that¡¯s hard to put a price to.


    I¡¯m rambling, aren¡¯t I? Well, I still feel that I have a very good reason to do so. Gonna prepare early and sleep early. I don¡¯t really have the time to do any real experimentation, but I¡¯m going to try anyway. Today is early, if it don¡¯t work tomorrow will be later. Need to put that on my memorization card too.


    3/29/25


    Early worked better, even if I had to bull through some of her dreams. Got interrupted by demon attack. Bastards. Still a bit out of it from the interruption. Luckily it¡¯s a free day other than the attack. May come back later to write more andbetter if I can get back to sleep.


    Reminder: Armor intro.


    3/30/25


    Got back to sleep yesterday. Didn¡¯t manage to wake back up till a few hours into today. I was at least right about this being the best day for a dream sending. I can only now hope that I¡¯m going to get some aid. I¡¯ll also have to hope that master Alissa can set up really a good dream learning session or two.


    Had the twins over today. I think master will enjoy entertaining them with me, especially since she¡¯s not going to have to wait a few months as I thought she would.


    No demon attack. Don¡¯t remember much of yesterday¡¯s attack between the interrupted spell and being too tired to remember to record much.


    Still, I think it was a much better showing for Natal. There¡¯s some kind of foreign accent mark somewhere in there, apparently, but I don¡¯t know what mark or where.


    Natal, now that it¡¯s finished, is somewhere between a lizard and a dragon in body plan. The legs move between dragon-like to move, and lizard-like to keep stable. The forelimbs are basically clawed hands for self-defense and grabbing. Have to keep one on the ground at all times, sadly. On the up side, guns. Natal has three guns and they are all just great. The smallest is in the mouth, and it¡¯s more of a rapid fire gun. The other two are back mounted, one comparable to Nyx¡¯s guns, and one even bigger.


    Even using shadow magic, the biggest gun requires me to get into a special stance to fire it. This is mostly because it won¡¯t deploy otherwise, but the thing looks like it could injure mountains. Oh, and obviously it¡¯s got a dragon like face. If master Alissa can manage a quick arrival, I¡¯d love to cash in some of the favors for a bit of fire magic training. This thing needs to breath fire, not gasses and foam.


    Didn¡¯t have a chance to see the other thing I¡¯m going to end up piloting. It¡¯s going to be made at the EU plant and I don¡¯t know the language of the place it¡¯s going to be made in. So most of the information is going to be unavailable to me.


    This plant has officially been moved to support. It will produce spare parts, new factory pieces, and so on, until all eight factories are finished. I don¡¯t believe it.


    Well, I mean I don¡¯t believe that the final number is going to be eight. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be more or that somebody is going to be shafted. Just can¡¯t find out which.


    Alarm scared me. I spent so much time on this that I didn¡¯t get to actually cover today like I wanted to.


    But I need to get back to a normal sleep pattern unless another demon attack gives me an excuse not to. And I even had all the material set up. Oh well, hopefully for tomorrow.


    3/31/25


    No demon attack today. Instead the loose demon has grown in tactics if not intelligence. Or it hasn¡¯t noticed the anti-demon properties of the knight armors in respect to the world around the armor.


    Thus his little blood sacrifice cultist/combat unit was almost a total waste. It got some army moved in, so for us mortals the attack actually benefited us. It warms the cockles of my heart to have benefit gained incidentally.


    Of course, since the army can¡¯t really (and I asked Ben and Odette) justify shelling one of their own cities, knight armors will remain the best answer. Of course, if the demons can manage to move over a really powerful demon, then they¡¯re really the only sustainable answer even if we were to lose one every fight.


    Losing a third of the army deployment I saw, plus whatever of the city is lost can¡¯t ever be sustainable. Although, my current theory, based on the data, says that a really powerful demon is going to take a long time to show up. Hopefully enough for this world to wander back out of range of a demon world.


    After all, a really powerful demon would want concessions, and for a vacation or pleasure world, those concessions will be big. Lesser demons can be paid. As long as the demon in charge doesn¡¯t regularly lose agents like the one it has tring assassinations now on a regular basis, there¡¯s probably not going to be any bringing any of something really scary.


    Unfortunately, with no access to divinations at the moment, there¡¯s no real solidity to this. It¡¯s all based on trying to figure out why it¡¯s all been such weak demons.


    There¡¯s other possible reasons, but I can¡¯t see why there¡¯s nothing stronger at the point other than my current idea. Even punishment should have seen some kind of aberration and probably not that swarm.


    Divination has to be the tool I¡¯ve missed most from home. Mostly because of the demon invasion.


    Just realized, I should try one more dream sending. Make sure that master knows to bring lots of supplies for divinations. Need to cut my writing short. I¡¯m not sure I have the supplies after fixing the interruption before and my preferred places include a few that will probably be close to closing if I don¡¯t leave now.


    4/2/25


    Today is not happening. Sorry


    4/2/25 (actually)


    Another really strange demon. Nobody could get work done. I don¡¯t even want to talk about it anymore. I think a new small one got through. But couldn¡¯t verify because the big demon managed to disrupt all the cameras for a while.


    At least it also did itself in. Didn¡¯t even get to aim at the thing.


    Going to rest again and then try writing something meaningful tomorrow.


    4/3/25 (I think)


    Selhalt¡¯s blood! I felt that. Going to have to find out what that feeling was once I start feeling normal again.

 The Goo of Hell Slows Me as I Write.

    4/3/25


    Okay, found out what the cause was. First test of the new factory. Apparently anyone with magic can feel one of those things being started up. I¡¯d call that really stupid, but the people behind it have all the magic users I know of either working for them or are them.


    Also, they want the demon portals to be fairly predictable, so what should be a really bad idea actually works for them. I¡¯m not sure if I like this situation or not.


    I¡¯ll wait for more news about a possible arrival from home before I make that judgment. Other than the whole interrupted sleep part of noticing it. That¡¯s horrible and I woke back up feeling horrible.


    So horrible that I didn¡¯t notice my overuse of that word in my last sentence until I had to get up to properly finish my sandwich. I have pickles and will use them.


    But yes, today has been something of a blur because of both interrupted sleep and what I have to assume is some strange side-effect of all the magical hearts of the factory. Actually, I think it may be drawing in magic on a too rapid rate.


    Okay, took a bit, but I managed to think to activate the wards again. It did help my head a bit, so I¡¯m going to go with what I last wrote. Activating whatever it is at the core of a factory (I only assumed it was a magical heart like in the knight armors, only more of them) seems to draw in massive amounts of magic. My current assumption is that the heads of this outfit either are going to eventually have the active factories feed the waking ones or that they¡¯re more aware of when and where the portals are opening and this awakening (and thus each other new factory¡¯s awakening) is an attempt to delay or even prevent a powerful incursion of demons.


    Unfortunately for me, the leaders and especially the really magical people have all been well hidden from me. I wondered how they were so close to my age, although younger) the cover had been but now I.


    I think the ward went back down. I¡¯ll try and fill the air with magic again and see if I can start thinking better.


    Did that. Don¡¯t know how long it will last. The cover was also probably chosen to keep me in one place. My overseer has legal rights over me, and isn¡¯t moving from this city until the city is gone. Perhaps I should just make another useless illusion to keep magic in the air and go to sleep. Without some really good reagents the flow of magic towards the new factory and the drain it puts on me is just not something I can meaningfully stop.


    I mean, the difference in my penmanship before and after is such that you only need eyes to tell the difference in. I was almost about to start the bad repeating again. Time to spell and then sleep.


    4/4/25


    I think that the explanation given to the school and the police was a bit too much in terms of revealing secrets.  I could be wrong, and mistaking utter apathy in talking about the (I believed to be) covered-up magical aspects of me, the armors, and the factories for an active attempt to hide all the magic involved in my physiology, the armors¡¯ less known functions, and the factories whatevers.


    I specified there because I¡¯m pretty sure my being summoned, some of the functions that the knight armors have, and probably several bits of the inner workings of the factories are secrets for reasons other than being magical.


    For instance, my being summoned probably would fall under kidnapping laws considering I wasn¡¯t exactly willing to be brought across. I mean, I didn¡¯t fight back then because I thought I was dealing with a group that could pull the stars to the ground at first and then realized that there were other issues at play.


    And right now I¡¯m staying in place because it would make an eventual reunion easier. I hope. Almost everything important in master Alissa¡¯s attempts to make a bridge is beyond the scope of my training under her. The one thing that isn¡¯t, a general receiving circle, has already been completed, hidden, and supplied by my hands and it would have had the smallest amount of impact of everything if the other factory hadn¡¯t been activated.


    Now it should at least get her here instead of somewhere in the EU. (Still haven¡¯t found the exact location of the new factory in a confirmable way.)


    It¡¯ll still work even if more factories get set up, but there being others planned was the whole reason to set up a receiving circle in the first place. I¡¯m just not too sure how well it will work if the powering up process is active and there¡¯s not enough other factories to feed the new factory.


    I mean, I¡¯ve done some math, and since even the most magical master is less magical and has less material than any of the demons that have been invading, so the cross world travel should get through uninterrupted. It may be draining; don¡¯t have the knowledge to figure out how to begin trying to calculate that.


    I am also trying to make sympathetic shells for my knight armor. The factory activation process definitely sent some kind of waves through the demon¡¯s invasion area, and that makes me feel that it¡¯s best to start preparing for a rougher invasion some time soon.


    4/5/25


    Still nothing. Well, there was training today, but I¡¯m talking about on the invasion side of things. No actual invasions, no signs of build-up. I got to be exhausted switching between Natal and one of the Chevaliers, but it means little in the long run.


    Well, it¡¯ll probably return my figures to normal, but there were other ways of doing that. Also, the changes may be currently going through review as recruiting material. Which for once didn¡¯t sound like a euphemistic phrase when it was said to me. I¡¯m surprised but strangely happy.


    I can¡¯t figure out why.


    I think I¡¯m going to take a nap before continuing. I switched between the knight armors way too much today.


    The nap did not help. Well, it helped in that I am now more awake. It did not help in that more of today is a tired blur. I can vaguely remember things I wanted to write about, like getting parts of a new knight armor shipped in, but I can¡¯t remember what I wanted to write about them.


    It¡¯s a bit frustrating, especially because it¡¯s now late and I¡¯m not tired.


    4/6/25


    Got to be sanitized today. It was unpleasant as hell.


    Another attempt was made to discourage any kind of early response to the demon¡¯s invading, at least here. Over in the EU, it was an actual attack.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I haven¡¯t gotten the details of the EU attack, but considering that my day from about noon on has been spent getting cleaned in a wide variety of chemicals.


    All in sealed rooms with breathble air pmpe n thrgh the


    Okay. Came back. Had to put some of the anti-iching powder all over because the stuff that couldn¡¯t be removed by safe cleaning started acting up.


    Today also means that there¡¯s going to be a scramble to find out how the demon goo managed to get in the cockpit and basically nowhere else.


    Given what I know, my suspicion is that the goo was not actually demon made or a degenerate demon. It was something from some other world that they just slung on through somehow. Well, that¡¯s another one for master Alissa.


    I think I¡¯m going to powder down my bed and then got to sleep real early. I want today to be over.


    4/7/25


    Classes were interrupted today. At first it was just by the last bit of the goo making me almost draw blood. Then it was an attempted assassination by magic. Unfortunately for the demon, the lights at the school were more than bright enough to suppress the spell until I could get into Natal.


    I could even tell how it was targeted, so I¡¯m going to have to pass things on to people I only know exist because everything about the way this operation has been working tells me they must exist.


    This will be very frustrating.


    My first attempt has been writing using unfocused spells to leave words in magic. I know I¡¯m going to have to try and leave more. So far my plans are to get more reagents and write on my home, and try some blind dream seeking.


    I mean, I¡¯m already doing dream things anyway, so I might as well try. Well, another early night of sleep, assuming traffic is good and I can get back early. At least this won¡¯t result in me waking up early.


    4/8/25


    I feel like Odette has been pulling my leg over what the next few Tuesdays are. But with how far she went to try and sell the idea to me, and the effects I know it will have on her and Ben, I¡¯m going to go along with it.


    Especially because my attempts to get in contact with those mysterious shadow leaders looks like it¡¯s going to end up costing me some of my health and the fit of most of my clothes trying to absorb some of the flow of magic in the knight armor.


    Too bad I can¡¯t bill them for my dignity; I mean, they¡¯re already going to be paying for my health if only because the people here seem to be trying their best to do that. I had started this day hoping for a strong demon attack. I¡¯m going to have two reasons for it going forward. Three? I¡¯m not sure how this innuendo works in this particular case.


    Perhaps I should ask for some hands on help.


    Going to have to use that tomorrow. I¡¯m going to need some kind of distraction and hopefully weak humor works.


    I¡¯m going to hope that there¡¯s a demon attack soon that warrants what I¡¯m planning.


    Well, planning for commando training tomorrow if nothing else happens.


    4/9/25


    First truly simultaneous double attack. Makes sense given that my digging for more info was able to reveal that it was failure of the EU portal to properly stabilize that prevented the previous attempt from being a truly simultaneous attack.


    On this end, another goo attack. Much worse this time around. I¡¯m writing, ass hanging in the wind, because the thing is like poison oak, ground fiberglass, and a grand Amanaki poison. I am not fine, but the magic drawing I was doing helped me destroy the invading goo quickly.


    Odette is not in good shape. Ben¡¯s suffering along with me. I am waiting to hear how the EU attack has gone.


    I can¡¯t quite describe the sheer speed of the attack. It was impossible. The gate opened, the demons appeared, I was in range to fire, and then suddenly goo. There was nothing from the gate that my knight armor could recognize that would have predicted to goo flow.


    I can¡¯t figure out the direction it came from either. I was most heavily hit, but Odette and Ben got such different amounts in their knight armors that I can¡¯t manage to put together an angle of attack.


    Perhaps it will be easier once I don¡¯t want to scratch myself bloody. I¡¯m going to get another wash and then talk to Ben. Anything for a distraction.


    4/9 continuance


    The wash has helped some. I¡¯m still going to miss a few days due to being too raw and itchy to do much of anything but lie down with soothing lotions all over me. I also know that tonight, I¡¯m going to go as full bore into dream magic as I can. It will hopefully keep me asleep through this horrible night.


    What else am I missing? I know I am.


    Oh, yeah. That one big thing I mentioned last page. The EU battle went about as well as the early battles did here. The demons were apparently very tough, but that was about it. I think the demons are overestimating how fast a knight armor can be transported in their planning.


    They are also underestimating how trained people are going to be now that there¡¯s two areas, or something. I need to hear more about what those two were planning and actually properly identify who they were before I can say much about the training plan they had.


    I also need to identify who they were. I was much too distracted for various reasons to really do that. But considering it was past the good security and they weren¡¯t exactly being stealthy, I have to assume some kind of importance on their parts.


    Although, with how my general luck has been the last few days, they¡¯re with somebody important as the guys who just throw ideas out there regardless of how real implementing it may be.


    4/10&11/25


    I had some audio notes and post-its for today, the tenth, and the eleventh. After review, I decided to go and put the past two days in one entry and todays as its own thing.


    Wasn¡¯t able to do too much on those two days. The lotions and numbing agents made things hard to do. And by things, back then I mostly meant things like using the bathroom or cooking. Even eating hasn¡¯t exactly been easy. I wish I had somebody around to make the rather obvious jokes to right now, but the twins are understandably currently almost completely occupied with a little thing called being concerned with the literal lung damage done to Odette.


    It¡¯s apparently not going to be fatal like they worried a few days ago, but it could keep her from using a knight armor as most of them have not been built with the accommodations needed for the kind of healthcare devices she may end up needing. I am also a bit ignorant on what those devices are, but even now it doesn¡¯t seem like a good time to ask.


    I have several bits about the itching and the pain. It all holds, but now that I¡¯m combining things I can basically summarize.


    It goes like this. Fuck my everything itches, even things that normally don¡¯t itch. There also also itches in places that itch once every seven years, but this one doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯d have a good and simple solution that doesn¡¯t also put me out of commission.


    In related news, I want to thank whoever it was that suggested that movie to me. I didn¡¯t remember while I was itching, still don¡¯t remember now, and want to credit properly. It made the hospital food much more tolerable.


    Note, I wasn¡¯t hospitalized, but the treatments required aid to properly do. That aid brough hospital food since I couldn¡¯t really go out with lotions and creams for clothing.


    I also accidentally broke the house phone and couldn¡¯t hold on to my mobile phone for shit in those days.


    I¡¯m doing a bit better with it now, but that¡¯s getting ahead of things as far as entries are concerned.


    Actually, I think this whole entry is, but fuck it. Too tired and trying to fit this all in one night¡¯s writing has taken it¡¯s toll.


    4/12/25


    First day I could wear some very loose clothing. It let me see Ben and Odette. If they weren¡¯t in such bad shape, I¡¯d have been much happier. Ben still has some scratch marks as testament to how bad the goo is if you can¡¯t get rid of it fast.


    I need somebody that¡¯s a better teacher than I to get here and teach a wider range of magics. The stars are different here, so I don¡¯t think anyone would have the benefits I did in learning. Which means that they¡¯d need to use methods I didn¡¯t need to learn to get the basics down.


    Odette was unable to speak what with the mask, but is at least able to not need sedation. Ben calls it a big improvement over yesterday.


    Obviously, they look like crap, their parents look like crap, and there¡¯s not a whole lot to be done. I had been hoping to look into what kind of retirement options were given to them, given that Odette isn¡¯t likely to be returning to duty.


    But in the time between getting to today and transcribing todays materials, I¡¯ve found out that only Ben is going to stay. And only until a new replacement can be arranged. It¡¯s sad to say, but considering the powers on both sides of this battle, I was only thinking of losing comrades to death recently.


    Nothing of injuries, nothing of fear, nothing but death.


    I¡¯m going to probably entertain one last time, but this has managed to really make me sad. Perhaps I¡¯ll fit more into the next entry. Perhaps I won¡¯t. I just need to rest some and do it very soon. The scratching is showing the first signs of coming back soon and I have something more important to do than this writing. Hopefully, I¡¯ll have finished seeing if my shadow-gun idea will work by tomorrow.

 In a dream bridge, I create as I write.

    4/13/25


    I have finished and tested the shadow-gun ritual. I injured myself trying to do it in an emergency because the demon on the loose managed to try a direct assassination. Thankfully, the assassin brought no gas nor flames, and I was able to do a poor imitation of it in the bathroom.


    Unfortunately, the attempt ate most of my left arm¡¯s shadow in the process and my arm is cold and weak.


    I¡¯m being moved into one of the Chevaliers and keeping Natal. The one was going to be assigned to me has been changed while we were out. It is to be assigned to the replacements that will come.


    I do not know if it will be redesigned or not. I haven¡¯t had the time or ability to find out recently. But one thing I have had is the occasion to throw some of that goo into the demon¡¯s face. Well, the shadow of the goo, but the idea still holds.


    This was very dangerous, and the reaction of the demon only furthers the idea that someone counted as mighty wants this world for a pleasure den. Still in the skin of a mortal woman, the demon began to prepare a frightful, soul-rending assault, before stopping cold.


    I have heard that such powerful attacks tend to imprint something of the demon on the world when used, and if a much stronger one wanted this world to only dance to one master, the pause makes perfect sense.


    So, at the very least I can rest better knowing that the worst displays of power are off the table for a long time. Too bad for my children¡¯s children that I can¡¯t do anything to prevent the worst showing up for them, unless this world¡¯s movement around the tower will do something about it.


    I want to write more today to make up for the sudden end I had to do last time, but everything else is washed away by the excitement of the assassination and spitting in the demon¡¯s face.


    What else is worth joining these two events? I know not. I know not.


    4/14/25


    Got to avoid another day of school. What I could wear by this point was deemed inappropriate for classes and that amuses me. So uptight.


    Inappropriate would be showing up in a butcher¡¯s apron that had only been used an hour ago. Inappropriate would be intentionally showing off that I was only wearing sandals and a dress. Inappropriate would be


    Had to stop and get some anti-flea spray. As it turns out, the assassin was quite filthy and left behind a pain of fleas. Combined with the remains of the goo¡¯s itching and I occasionally find myself in a horrible situation. If the chemicals don¡¯t work quickly, I will request a move and some kind of cleaning in the medical facilities.


    Because the attempt to go back failed, I managed to have enough time to find out some more information on the two new pilots. Two similar looking but unrelated people. I don¡¯t know if somebody has a fetish, some kind of belief in the luck of twins, or what, but it¡¯s amazing that they found two people that looked so alike and yet were not related.


    I¡¯ll do a proper recording of them when I have names, but they are both quite striking. Perhaps it¡¯s just a very good case of lighting for the pictures, but they looked quite impressive. Strong facial features, a good light in the eyes, and so forth.


    Also managed to find out that while the new knight armor will be renamed, it won¡¯t be changed. So will whichever Chevalier gets assigned to the new recruit. Also, now that I think about it, between both factories all combinations of pilot and knight armor gender have been matched. I wonder how this will turn out.


    They seem to know that for a human, going from a male to a female knight armor is bad, and know exactly how bad and why. It¡¯s just that the hidden leaders haven¡¯t come up with a really good explanation that obscures the magical origins and nature of the knight armors.


    Discovering this is either a sign that those secret masters are slipping due to stress, or that I got quite lucky. I won¡¯t try again soon.


    4/15/25


    Got to fight while still a little itchy. It was interesting. It was probably a bit of an image nightmare, considering this demon tried to peel me out of the knight armor and managed to expose a good bit of me to sunlight.


    I don¡¯t think the demon on this side is as well informed as it thinks. Ben was not completely gone, and so for his last battle, Chevalier Vert easily slays a demon whose body had probably been remodeled to be unstoppable as long as it was able to fight one on one. It might have even been designed to slay Natal and Natal alone, if I was willing to speculate in ways I¡¯d likely never be able to confirm.


    I made sure Ben got a great going-away present. The best I could manage. I once again find myself wishing I knew more enchanting, because it¡¯s not going to last long. Hopefully, though, it lasts just long enough to get Odette¡¯s lungs healed up enough for her to get a semblance of her old life back. Oh, to be able to recharge such things at a distance!


    Which is a good enough bridge to my next point of writing. Master Alissa managed another contact. It was a strong dream bridge, which is a good sign. I¡¯m still unsure when she might be able to come over physically, but the strength of the bridge is a good sign.


    I had to break the news that the twins would be gone, which saddened her. The exoticness (to her) of the new pair was quite heartening, though.


    It also put in my head cognizance of how much smaller this world is compared to home. Or however it was she wanted me to word that. It doesn¡¯t matter, I don¡¯t recall it much outside of the shared dream and it¡¯s not that important in the bigger picture. The sheer differences of life (in the big picture) are sure to impress Alissa.


    And probably also make me look impressively jaded because I¡¯ve lived in this society for two months and have adapted incredibly well. The flawed dream training likely helped in that regard. Ah, to be able to let master see their spell at work.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She¡¯d either laugh, cry, or both.


    I have also had an interesting offer made back home. Some of my blood, and the ability to shift freely in exchange for the patronage of the Madorra. I will definitely have to talk with master about this and hopefully manage to get them into my two world exploiting scheme, but only so far.


    If they knew too much, I¡¯m sure that they¡¯d get too greedy for my wants. And too greedy can mean too much spread, competition, or worse things.


    My master is going to try and bring some information about them across the dream bridge, because I don¡¯t know much about them.


    I know they¡¯re pledged to the king and queen of my homelands (and thus the lands I was in when studying under master Alissa), are probably really important because I don¡¯t know their rank, and not much else.


    It¡¯ll certainly be interesting to know why they want those two things of me. I can think of a number of possible things ranging from a mostly harmless curse sink to a contraceptive charm.


    4/16/25


    Going to sleep early lead to some gains in the dream bridge¡¯s stability. Gains in the bridge¡¯s stability lead to me being distracted through the day. Being distracted through the day meant that if only I was cleared to go back to school, I would have had a great ending to this trio.


    Sadly the inability to wear undergarments means I¡¯m still not cleared to go regardless of if I attend as male or female. Apparently underwear is part of the dress code, even if it¡¯s not a checked part.


    I know because I¡¯ve managed to catch a few people in the act, and noticed a very against rules lack in their outfits. I don¡¯t think most of them noticed, but either way I made sure to leave quickly.


    Going back to not being able to go to school, I was able to go out and about today, albeit under guard since there¡¯s still a few more days until there will be back-up. I¡¯m unsure of the policy that ends up delaying transfers until the new knight armor is here, but I am sure it¡¯s pretty useless in this case. I can switch knight armor types, so it doesn¡¯t matter much if I¡¯m having to switch or be limited for a time.


    Humans can¡¯t, although I haven¡¯t seen enough human magic users here to be sure if it¡¯s a hard can¡¯t or if it¡¯s just a ¡®needs things they do not have¡¯ can¡¯t. Master Alissa would be better equipped to know, and could probably send that information across the bridge, but I think it¡¯d be better for her situation (and my plan¡¯s health) if she offers it and help in exchange for a background and some other aid.


    Then it¡¯s money making time, among other times.


    Got a message that tomorrow is the day the new armor arrives. Day after, the pilots. Who made that kind of mistake? At best we¡¯d have two people to pilot, me and Rodriguez, the base¡¯s trainer. Rodriguez has had some kind of cancer or surgery that means that getting in a knight armor is going to be worse than projected for her age.


    Oh, yes, I managed to get to read some of the pre-production estimates and know why this program is mainly recruiting ages eighteen to twenty-nine. They estimate that health problems will show up outside that range. For under eighteen, it would be very soon and possibly very serious ones, like kidney problems. For over thirty, it¡¯s not as quick but unless the person was in very good health the issues that would show up mean only a few years as a pilot.


    And this program is planning for the long run, even if luck hasn¡¯t let them get that. Here alone of five pilots, four didn¡¯t even make the year mark. I may not make the seven year mark they¡¯re aiming for each pilot to have as a lower end of service. For them this must be depressing.


    I know the dangers of fighting demons and even with all the advantages of knight armors, the demon in charge wanting this as a pleasure world, and the technology of this world I see seven years as unreasonably optimistic.


    If only because the demon in charge will probably want the world more than absolute control before that seven years are up, and then we¡¯re going to be in a real spot of trouble.


    I¡¯m going to get my introduction notes set up right now and work more on the dream bridge.


    4/17/25


    I have to say that the two don¡¯t like as alike in real life as the pictures made them look. Well, real life is something of an exaggeration. Kenneth Ray Jackson (and isn¡¯t that a name), decided to make a group video call.


    I didn¡¯t know that phone numbers were a thing we could request. I may have to use this. But back on track, Kenneth Ray Jackson (named for two of his parent¡¯s favorite musicians) and Lettie Da Silva only looked a bit alike in those pictures. Those pictures were taken because it was part of some kind of look-alike contest, the details of which I blanked out of my mind after one realization.


    Well, it¡¯s not a confirmed realization, but I think that somebody is going for some kind of strange photogenic composition for the US group. Which bothers me slightly more than the idea that it was because of some kind of superstition.


    I am not sure why, but I can hazard a guess. I¡¯d have rather had these two unknowns - they both admitted to a lack of extreme physicality, military, or technological backgrounding - because somebody felt they¡¯d be lucky rather than any other reasons.


    Or perhaps there¡¯s other information I haven¡¯t been privy to, and there is other testing that is more important than useful backgrounds?


    I think I¡¯ll go with that for the sake of my heart.


    This is a thing I need to do because even just recounting that got me discomfited enough to forget what I was going to write.


    I¡¯m going to sleep. I need to just not worry about this anymore tonight. Heavens help me if there¡¯s a demon attack tomorrow.


    4/18/25


    There was a demon attack today. It was just in the EU. I, on the other hand, got to disrupt the portal over here because they again overestimated how quickly knight armors can be moved around. Also, how they get moved in. This group isn¡¯t going to be moved to the EU for an attack in most circumstances.


    So I got to shoot what was supposed to be a ¡®stealthy¡¯ gate opening closed all because the demons are trying to get clever.


    Admittedly, if we did have a policy of moving knight armors around such large distances for an abnormally sized gate, this would have probably succeeded and been pretty bad. Not call in the bombers type bad, but still pretty bad.


    The worst case would probably be bomb the city levels of bad, but I think it was a portal intended for capture and not a sustained invasion.


    Why? My reasoning is that consanguinary magic probably won¡¯t be guarded by the knight armor¡¯s anti-demon flow and so the demons are counting on obscurity to get around that and try and capture the defenders (meaning me at the moment and Jackson and Silva soon) while out of the knight armors.


    I say obscurity because I know about that use of consanguinary magic only because of the dream bridge. The mages here won¡¯t know about it, and the demons seem to not realize how far out pilots are being drawn from.


    Of course, this is just based on learning that from Alissa last night. It is entirely possible that they would try and make a continual portal or try to take over the city. Also because kidnappings can lead to leverage, and leverage leads to becoming an unwilling demon slave that is unable to betray the demon except by acting with less energy.


    And I¡¯m going to be so happy to make the introduction of this new knight armor. I¡¯m not sure who the mechanics think I¡¯m talking to, but in exchange for not writing the introduction down until tomorrow, I got to get even more information about her.


    I also think that changes were made, because I was pretty sure I was scheduled to pilot a male knight armor and a female one (Natal). I just wish I knew if they had another almost completed knight armor and just swapped assignments in, or if hearts were changed around, or if something else has happened to change that.


    On the other hand, I have ended up being assigned to a male knight armor, one of the Chevaliers, and a female one, Natal.


    Also, there¡¯s going to be an opening of a Canadian factory starting some time next week. I¡¯m hoping it won¡¯t have the same effects as before, but I¡¯m not going to hold out much hope. I will also need to remember that for the dream bridge, and tell master so she can make some preparations. I¡¯m not sure how fast it will be finished or when the draw will start, but it¡¯s best to start preparing soon.

 In honor of Saturnal, I drink and write!

    4/19/25


    Ah, Saturnalia. You apparently existed once on this world and now are no more. This has almost nothing to do with anything, I just learned it today and the way I did was something I wanted to immortalize.


    It won me a trivia game completely on accident. I was only listening enough to hear festival and answered reflexively. My winnings were fairly inconsequential, a soda, but it was my first bit of gambling with my new compatriots.


    I hope that this will be a long and fruitful bit of collaboration. I am willing to bet that I¡¯m probably going to be wrong and they or I will be reassigned to Canada whenever that ¡®soon¡¯ is.


    I should probably start a proper introduction for Kenny and Lettie, but there¡¯s an emergency going on now.


    I¡¯m only writing because damages to the base have left us unable to get to the Knight Armors in their docks. As a result, all three of us were called to a secured area, and we are to be ready until either a demon attack happens and we have to bust the armors out of their cages or somebody determines that this is a job for the police or army and we finally get to go home.


    4/20/25


    My everything is sore and I am tired. These are related, but only a little. The tent I got to sleep in got collapsed. A great many cans hit my sides.


    They also got the legs, arms, and most of my places that aren¡¯t called the face and head. Somehow a shelf broke. I did not enquire any more than that.


    These things happen, after all. Especially when unplanned demolitions happen and you have to sleep in tents because you can¡¯t be cleared to go home.


    I wonder what will happen tomorrow. Or at least later today, considering how early I¡¯m awake because of this little incident.


    I¡¯m looking at a clock. It says 8:55 PM. I will get to shower and sleep in my own bed tonight. Despite it being handed over to the police, I know enough people think that the person might have been subverted by demons. Obviously, they said something like alien quislings or catspaws, but I know the truth. As do some other people in this group.


    I¡¯m just not sure who all of them are. I know that the mission director has recently gotten some kind of information that made her approach me after the accident and say ¡°I know and we can talk if you need to,¡± but that¡¯s also pretty vague.


    Does she think I know the cause of the shelf collapse and can either verify that or lead me away from my conclusion? Does she know that I¡¯m an incubus (currently) and can talk about what it means in a society where I¡¯m basically a half-remembered bit of legend. Does she know that I¡¯m from another world and am being basically imprisoned here and thinks she can do something to make that hurt less?


    Well, actually, in that last case she can, but only because of plans I¡¯m pretty sure that are unknown to everyone on this side with the possible exception of there being some kind of plans as a just-in-case scenario. But that would be good pre-planning rather than explicit knowledge.


    It also reminds me. Because of the incident I didn¡¯t manage to talk about the dream bridge.


    At least according to Master Alissa, the end of the dream bridge in this world, my head, and the factory should be far enough away that such subtle and distant magic will be unaffected.


    Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t say the same about me, if only because there is the unknown of the Knight Armor on my body to account for and trying to get the numbers in dream spaces would be futile.


    I think I will sleep off my rude awakening more than usual. I just realized how I shifted topics without meaning to. Also, still hurts a bit.


    4/21/25


    Waking up with a cold today has made me very aware of how lucky I was to neither catch new diseases from this world nor to have had some old ones from my world spread around. It is not providence, so I have to give extra credit to the magical side of this operation. I only wish I knew how, so as to best give them accurate credit.


    In any case, I had an uneventful day, as I was commanded to sleep and relax because of how banged up I was. There was also an interesting attempt on making my life worse by the demon in this world. A sneaky curse that worses injuries slowly and coincidentally. Fortunately, the injuries of yesterday were numerous enough that even a curse this subtle had become obvious from the sudden worsening of bruises.


    Oh, and even if it wasn¡¯t, training day. I got into Natal, Lettie into Vert, and Kenny into the still to be introduced armor of his. I mean, I could introduce it now, but training seems an awfully mundane event to introduce it with. So instead I will say that when it activates full power, it definitely does right by the name it was given. I have also found out that my new companions are at least part Canadian each, so I¡¯m thinking that I can see the writing on the wall.


    At least they should be Alive And Well when they leave. That is in my prayers and I¡¯m making it my goal for the time being.


    Completely coincidentally, there is training on dodging the goo. Just like the changes to Kenny¡¯s armor from what I heard the original was like are completely coincidental and not at all meant to try and better protect from that goo. It¡¯ll also do good against another focused Knight Opener, which is what they¡¯ve termed demons shaped like the one that gave Natal a bit of a wrecking.


    My only hope, which I¡¯ve sent up the line, is that there will be at least one other person assigned here when Kenny and Lettie are sent to the factory up north. There will be accommodation for whatever type of knight armor they are eventually to be assigned.


    It also means that the EU factory will be the only one under complete guard, but two-two-three is better than one-two-three.


    I think I will add more when I¡¯m sneezing less. I almost made a mess of this page.


    4/22/25


    Obviously, I didn¡¯t get to add more. The medicine I was given to take at night did a fine job of rendering me into a deep sleep. There were some jokes in the school about the rotation of armor pilots due to my absence of two days. Kenny and Lettie were nice enough to let me know about them and be a little offended on our behalf.


    They¡¯ll get used to the place soon enough. Or not need to. One of the two, and I¡¯m not sure which I¡¯d prefer.


    I mean, I do like the gallows humor on occasion.


    I will have to report that the medicines I¡¯m given have been more soporific than indicted. Officially it¡¯s probably going to be listed as a potential side-effect of being able to use two different polarities of knight armor core or something like that. I haven¡¯t kept up with the terminology to be sure while I¡¯m feeling so sleepy. But it¡¯d just be a sign of me not actually being human.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.Again, so very lucky.


    4/23/25


    More medical tests are being scheduled for me. None before the two others are considered fully trained, but I guess I got pretty lucky with the emergency stuff not having reactions. Really, my not dying has been quite the blessing. I¡¯m not sure what to call the whole not being crippled either.


    Superlat-luck? Multi-miracle?


    Just with the goo warfare I should have probably at least gotten a persistent sneeze like a perpetually new snuff user.


    Not that I¡¯m complaining. I¡¯m just admiring my luck in a rhetorical way.


    I was apparently much more out of it than I thought when I woke to write yesterday. There was nobody to notice on the night of the 21st, a fact that rather worried my new comrades. Thank you, friends, may your stay in Canada be awe inspiringly comfortable. May your Berber? Tatar? Whichever, may your family¡¯s blood be en-nobled by your acts. Also, may you have not taken pictures of me answering drugged and half-dressed. I have no desire to see how my face looked.


    Enough about the future and praising my friends, though. We had an attack that was solely in the EU. Large build-up, two demons at once, and one was a Knight Opener. Fortunately, the other demon was wholly unable to properly distract two of the three now classic Knight Armors. So the Knight Opener got opened up on, and the other one was forcibly banished soon after.


    I suppose if there¡¯s another double attack in the EU, spires will go up there, hopefully with the lens issue fixed and the two American locations will also need them.


    No sense focusing too much attention on one place, after all. Especially since it might encourage more anti-building tactics from the demons.


    And by might, I mean will. The other shoe is going to drop and I think it¡¯ll be before the new plant is opened up. There have been too many losses with not enough mystic gain for the goo to be the end of non-demon attack tactics.


    Of course, the other obvious change would be more assassinations until one sticks, but the one in charge of those is both stuck in the most watched place of the two sites and also not good at non-magical assassination.


    I mean, just going by the news in the past few months, I¡¯ve heard of situations that could have at least gotten one of us killed, only in other parts of these United States. The demon has some agents sworn to it. The math seems clear to me.


    Although if the truth of the matter is that the demon here is going to be recalled to whatever realm it came from once the assassinations are done, my ghost will laugh and laugh and laugh. Because that would mean we were being saved by this world being a pretty damn good place to vacation in, regardless of the strange standards of demons.


    4/24/25


    Some assholes managed to find the triggering apparatus for the demon attack alarms and trigger them. All over town. The on-site stuff hasn¡¯t been messed with, so it means this was an outside job. This also means that I can really only grumble about things because I don¡¯t know enough about how the system works or how the false report was triggered to say anything more on the matter.


    Most of my current-but-not-truly contemporaries are complaining for class and test related measures first, and the idea of answer fatigue second. My fellow pilots (here, EU, and former) are all more or less thinking of this event with horror caused almost entirely by the ideas that it could either be a bunch of false positive or a false negative.


    I agree with my fellow pilots far more than the rest of society, needless to say.


    I am eagerly awaiting long, physical patrols in the knight armors at all times, and I am not being sarcastic. The alternative will end up letting unknown demons arrive in unknown amounts and sizes and is just far too dangerous to allow. Until a schedule can be arranged, I can only hope for good plan-


    When I finish this, it should now be midnight. I got picked up around nine for a very late briefing around ten. As it turns out, there were even better contingies then I was going to hope for. Civilian false positives will continue to be a thing. Civilian false negatives will only happen here if several of the small scale scanners are physically altered. Our false positives will be cleared up before anyone is dispatched to get the pilots, and false negatives will only happen if there is large scale destruction of the city.


    I can rest easily now, and admit to myself that I didn¡¯t want to go on physical patrols now that I don¡¯t need the lie backing my will.


    4/25/25


    I was wrong by ten seconds. Oops.


    Aaah. Friday. Home of many things I¡¯m not going to be doing and neither are a lot of people here. I would call this a demon attack, but to be honest, it¡¯s just harassment. Well, no. I heard biological warfare bandied about, so people here are taking things more seriously than I. But that¡¯s due to different views on things.


    I know this waste is just being done as harrassment. The waste flesh and offal is too poisonous for normal scavengers to healthily consume, and that would be a problem. However, cleaning up the waste is fast and easy for this world; there¡¯s no risk of getting blood in an open wound or dozens of dead rats suddenly stinking up a place.


    For them, though, this has to look like some kind of disease spreading attempt, but with unknown diseases and parasites.


    Sadly, as a loyal and enthusiastic member of the pilot crew, I have to act like this is a legitimate threat to health.


    At least there was no goo attack to go with it. Just lots and lots of cleanup. Oh, and stealthily hoping my magical shot was able to disrupt any magic that might have been the secondary thrust of this harrassment.


    I guess that makes it even more fortunate that the knight armors were set to guard the offal, and we even got to do a few small attacks.


    I also managed to sneak a bit more classified information past my eyes. It seems that the demon that was here has snuck through one of the portals in this ¡®attack¡¯ and emerged in the EU. Sadly, it¡¯s likely to have changed face. If it hasn¡¯t, then I will rest far easier once I can find out that alien cult leader X or whatever has been killed when trying to resist being detained.


    Perhaps I should try another big of wasteful magical messaging. It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll help much, but I suppose letting somebody with important know that these things are mostly harmless is still some help. Better make a list for tomorrow then.


    4/26/25


    Managed to get the reagents before the follow-up attack. It¡¯s funny. Whoever did this planning wasn¡¯t expecting full-force clean-up, so the little pests these two came over with were unable to feed and become a horrifying swarm.


    They still managed to be an annoying swarm and the army is, I believe, still exterminating the ones trying to break into the disposal facility. But a beast-tamer with no beasts is going to be quickly torn apart. I owe Lettie a drink due to our bet while suiting up.


    It was indeed even more underwhelming than I had expected. If only we¡¯d get to see this again.


    Well, if nothing else, I¡¯ll get to relax (prepare the reagents and charge up), leave a message, and then get to work doing another blessing.


    Although I don¡¯t think the effort is needed, I¡¯m going to be safe. I mean that for both for the messages and the blessing.


    The offal¡¯s danger has been shown and proved lacking. The blessing will break once the reason for the transfer happens.


    But I don¡¯t want to look back on this as me getting lazy. Well, off to get more reagents and dinner.

 The New Factory Does Not Distract Me As i Write.

    4/27/25


    Managed to have another sauna session for the blessing. There was little need to convince anyone, because we had an attack today. It erupted in horrible smelling blood. The blood had some ability to get through material things. If anyone needs more explanation for why we all piled into a large room full of warm-ish steam and strong scents, you¡¯re not being serious. I refuse to believe that anyone would be that dense.


    Now, not a whole lot managed to stay out of phase long enough to get through the suits, thankfully, but enough did manage for the smell to stick stuck. The ritual needed very little dressing up to convince anyone. It was all presented as ¡®things to cover up the smell¡¯ or ¡®things to keep the other stuff safe.¡¯ And when I say presented as, I pretty much mean that I just said that first bit and got interrupted before I could manage to figure out how to word the second point properly.


    Being able to claim distraction by smell is good for letting you start saying something and then not following up on it.


    We also are going to spend several days in quarantine to see if there was anything else other than stink to worry about.


    If I need to abandon this journal, I will be most cross.


    4/27/25 addition


    Haven¡¯t needed to abandon anything yet. Just rotating between sauna, cool down room, and cold, soapy/chemical-ed showers. We smell like rotting flesh, bad eggs, and other things about sixty or so percent less by now. I am not looking at the clocks intentionally at this point because things have gotten more than just a little tiring. If anything half-way interesting happens here, I¡¯m going to put it in.


    Otherwise, it can all wait for tomorrow¡¯s entry.


    4/28/25


    There¡¯s been an interesting side effect of the cleaning yesterday. Which did get us not smelling foul, incidentally. But I have worst case of dry skin I¡¯ve ever heard of. I haven¡¯t heard much about dry skin, which means that most cases would probably qualify as worst, but I have one qualification for this one. It is not quite full body, but badly close to being full body cracking of the skin.


    I am going to have to report back in for further treatment because I¡¯m the only one that¡¯s suffering this way. As a result, I¡¯ve found myself forgetting what I was going to put in today from yesterday. I don¡¯t think it was too important, though. Probably just more bitching about the smell. Which was horrible. It will haunt my dreams for ages.


    4/29/25


    Got a message from my master last night. Preparations are mostly finished on their side, and then the wait comes in. The factory opening will horribly mess with any kind of world transit that¡¯s less in scope than the tower of worlds or demons and gods. And nobody wants to see that happen to their friends.


    Now if only I could actually manage to know when it¡¯s going to happen. Things have been hilariously tight-lipped in that regard. None of my sources for the EU opening have anything, I haven¡¯t been able to sneak in and find anything, and somebody has deliberately been messing with the positioning of the pilots.


    A demon attack happened literally mid-take-off. Thankfully, the plane had some weapons on it, so the departure and return were both safe. It also helped that this was a pretty unlucky demon attack. The planner was certainly expecting to take out two pilots with the goo. Unfortunately, I went out today in Natal because the decision was made to work with the still in the area army group in a show of solidarity.


    While the small guns didn¡¯t do a lot to hurt this tie-dye blob demon, the army men and women did a good job of keeping it from moving in the right direction. The right direction was, alternatively, towards my spell-charging Natal or towards the plane.


    The EU fight did show that even with a full complement of pilots, the demons¡¯ plan was flawed. The blob shape just couldn¡¯t force a knight armor to stay in place long enough for the apparently internal goo sacs or a few surprise portals to get any good hits in. Although, given how well the demon bodies cohered after defeat, I¡¯d bet money that this is the lead-up to another horde of somethings lead by a demon leader.


    Or something like that. There¡¯s other tricks, but I can see them thinking that there was just some small flaw with the original plan and making a few adjustments to try for a better result. Or at least they are in this circumstance.


    Oh, and Kenny and Lettie are still here. This was apparently just a dry run that went so well I can¡¯t even lay it all at the feet of my blessing ritual. I¡¯m going to make a bet with myself. If, in the next two days, they are finally taken to the Canada location, then I will try a new place to eat. If I¡¯m wrong, I will instead try one of the recipes out of this cook-book that didn¡¯t look too good and try it.


    4/30/25


    Demon attack! Bad timing!


    5/3/25


    I am unsure how to count this. Do I win because the plan was to have Kenny and Lettie out of the city by the end of the month and thus eat at a new place? Do I lose because the demons decided to try an unending series of attacks using portals hidden in the remains of the blob demon and need to try lutefisk?


    The only upside is that through combined arms and luck, the EU regiment was kept in place and completely crushed the surprise attack there. I was also wrong-ish on what old tactic the demons were revisting, but only partially.


    None of the demons here were all that powerful or large. I mean, yes, they were too large to be a human and powerful enough to inflict casualties to the professional soldiers where the armors couldn¡¯t be, but compared to ones the size of a knight armor with unusual abilities these were nothing.


    Unlike that infamous rock-pile semantic problem, I can safely say that around fifty nothings they became something and have people believe me without an argument. The first five had been take care of easily. But then they started coming in greater and greater numbers, and before the assault wore itself out, three hundred of the demons had come through.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    And like I said just before, when they had fifty out at once was when things looked like it might cost most of the city. Air support carried the day, at a high cost. I¡¯m going to have to see the final count, but I know that several streets were ruined by the demons and several more by aerial bombs.


    Thankfully, the actual degree of city loss was minimal once the fist of the air had managed to land. It¡¯s just that the parts that were lost were pretty definitely and almost totally lost.


    I suppose the one upside is that there¡¯s going to be - wait.


    The factory here shutting down for a bit while the city repairs isn¡¯t a good thing for me! It means another bit of feeling bad as the factory powers up.


    Well, at least I can be happy for the people. I¡¯m going to have bad news for master Alissa. At least I can sleep comfortably tonight. The last few bits of sleep I did manage to get were uncomfortable, short, and almost not worth it.


    It was basically only allowed because of fatigue. We had not trained for combat this prolonged, and in a way neither had the army. Or perhaps it was just the casualties. I should get actual sleep. I don¡¯t remember where I was going with this.


    5/5/25


    The beginning stages of the factory opening were yesterday. I seemed to have slept through most of it. Also, the factory closing here is apparently going to happen after the Canada factory is finished. Until then, I¡¯m half-alone. The soldiers don¡¯t have the presence or weapons to really count as full presence with how they¡¯re currently being restricted, but that¡¯s enough for them to keep me from saying I¡¯m alone.


    There was a big speech by the leader of the US. I didn¡¯t listen to it too much. There no nation leader that knows enough of the truth to be worth listening to.


    The good news is that I don¡¯t feel anything unusual, so at least the later openings won¡¯t be affecting me. Hopefully. It could be that there will be a forced closing or two next time and I¡¯m going to be suffering again.


    I¡¯m going to take a positive view, but a realistic one, and say that I¡¯m going to suffer next opening, but not alone.


    No new attacks, thankfully. Well, no. I heard that there was an EU attack while I was asleep and also that there¡¯s signs of a large one soon to be underway. But I can¡¯t really do anything about those, so for here it¡¯s the same as there being no new attacks. It¡¯s going to be interesting seeing how the next attacks are dealt with here.


    Air power may win battles, but at high cost to the city. And considering the track record before now, I can¡¯t see heavy air power being called out for less grim circumstances than last time. Some minor support, on the other hand, I can see happening almost every time.


    5/6/25


    Awarenesss of the altered flow of magic is constant. The impact on me, less so. It¡¯s showing a bit more, as I¡¯m tired, but that only greated the impact of my realization. The demons attacked during the opening. Is it desperation, or has the multiple open factories thing changed things in ways I don¡¯t know?


    I¡¯ll have to sent over information when I dream tonight. This could quicken things. I also realized how beyond schedule this opening was. Two weeks and change and it¡¯s just begun. Or at least the kindling of the heart is just done.


    I have no clue how they¡¯re setting things up. Perhaps that are making the actual factorial parts first and then kindling the heart last this time? I think I recall the heart being active first for the EU plant. I¡¯d have to check, but then again I might have not heard that level of details.


    No classes for the foreseeable future. The place needs to be decontaminated. When the demons were swarming, a few ran out and died in distant parts of the city. Cleaning was done, but tehre needs to be more work done because of basements and closed places.


    Also damage to water pipes. Very Important, those pipes. I think I¡¯ll keep my personal office here for the trading. Clean water, hot water, on demand. The best you could have at home was two of those, and you¡¯d lack the third option.


    Here, lacking one of those is a disaster.


    I am also being kept under lock and key while repairs are being done. It¡¯s offically to make sure I¡¯m always avaiable for response to an attack because of the lowered knight armor count, but I think it¡¯s because somebody knows the effects of the opening on me and wants that to be secret.


    I¡¯m only half sure as to reasons why.


    5/7/25


    Wednesday has come and gone. I think I remembered to send the messages across the dream bridge, but something about this opening is really just tiring me out. It¡¯s all the worse because I¡¯m not really involved in the opening at all!


    No more attempts by the demons to make new incursions while the factory¡¯s opening. I wonder why. I hope I didn''t get an answer to that. It¡¯d mean I completely forgot it.


    Still rotting away in this less than guilded cage. The feeling is lessening, so I¡¯m guessing that the Canada factory will be operative soon. And then the cycle will begin again.


    Well, I hope not, but I¡¯m also resigned to it. The city is still damaged, so I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s going to make it more or less attractive to being a training city.


    On the other side, I have the best record of not dying, so I¡¯m probably seen as having skills. On the definite negative side, I can be seen as having the most dead co-pilots.


    Well, I¡¯m going to be waiting with baited breath to see what gets sent here. Wait. I just realized-cum-remembered something.


    The factory here is going to be closed. The factories are basically the thing that the demons appear around. The factory here is going to be closed!


    There¡¯s not going to be any demon attacks until it reopens.


    So this probably cinches the training site idea. I just wonder who I¡¯m going to end up training. Time to get more reagents.


    5/8/25


    Wasn¡¯t able to get much information on the new knight armors. It seems that lots of information got moved to other places. I¡¯m guessing it started during the preparation to shut down, but it could have happened earlier. I try to not sneak in and find things too often. It could lead to more security and then I couldn¡¯t get in and find out these things.


    Still, I¡¯m now experiencing the downside of being completely blindsided when things happen faster than expected. If they¡¯d also kept occult documents in with the other things, then I¡¯d be really frustrated. Since it wasn¡¯t even all that detailed on the knight armors, I¡¯m not that angry.


    I mean, at best, I could get a good heads up on some design aspects. General shape, general nature of weapons, certain parts it was deemed to need more of.


    Still, I did get some information. The two knight armors are going to be the first of a new breed. Designed by an outside designer with only slightly better information than the general public.


    That was needlessly dismissive towards M. Chandra. These originals aren¡¯t really made with an eye towards good use of the magical heart of the beast, so not knowing about it should be fine. As long as the important anti-demon features are made standard or forcibly added in.


    They may in fact know more overall than I do, as there are material details that I only know at the most bare levels of knowing. I know the code names for certain alloys of metals used in the knight armors, but those code names don¡¯t tell me anything about how they¡¯re made.


    Is it enchanted metal? Is their knowledge of mundane metallurgy advanced enough that these behemoths can be made to walk even with how they¡¯re made and move and so on?


    Hopefully, this will be a good surprise.


    5/9/25


    Bad news. The Canada and EU locations will be brought up to full count (in Canada because only two were moved there and in the EU because the attack this night claimed one) before my location is reactivated for anything.


    I¡¯m still kept here, and on active duty for all it matters. The factory is down, no demon portal appeared here with the other attacks, and even my magic doesn¡¯t really add to a knight armor''s few uses outside demon fighting.


    Well, this then is time to learn more about the new demons and catalogue things. Oh, and complete the missing school work I had. It will reopen on Monday.


    I should take more steps to socialize outside the dream world. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting people far too much.


    Oh, and I hope master Alissa won¡¯t be reading this too much. She should be here about this time next week. The closure of the factory changed a few things, so she¡¯s being extra safe. And still bringing information. That she didn¡¯t say more is a bit worrying, but at both ends so to speak.

 NBC Scares Me, I Write

    5/10/25


    Theoric¡¯s blood! I could feel the demon¡¯s entrance into the world. The attack information is still being withheld, but an entrance like that can only be impressive or successful.


    I''d be worried in a deep, abiding, and legitimate way if this invasion so far hadn''t seemed like it was going for a pristine capture.


    An arrival that could be felt at this distance would signal the beginning of the end, possibly even with heavenly aid. Actually, now that I think about it, the results of this attack will basically be confirmation for my idea that this mill of demons is to try and get somebody a new vacation place. If the Canada and EU factories aren¡¯t wiped out, then the only explanation is that demons are being restricted to this can be a ¡®good¡¯ capture.


    If one falls, then it¡¯s either really bad luck or the capture planners are willing to sacrifice the perfection for a gain, be it ever so small. And to round out the speculation, if both fall, then I was wrong and there¡¯s some unknown reason that they were wasting arrivals.


    In any case, I should have at least a little bit of my two-world transportation idea up and running. I can try and be generous and altruistic and save people if it looks like the worst will cut things short.


    But I¡¯d really prefer if I can just get as long a duration as I can manage for this venture and that it ends because the bridge is stressed by distance and it must be closed.


    Unrelated to all of this, by complete accident, I managed to see some notes on long term, under-informed observation of me. This accident will set back the rest of my spying, as they¡¯re likely to expand the times and places I¡¯m being watched in order to make sure I don¡¯t see more of it.


    If I hadn¡¯t already found out that large amounts of information I was interested in weren¡¯t here anymore, this would be quite frustrating. As it is, I can take this accident in good humor. Well, good enough humor. I¡¯d prefer to know what¡¯s being observed, what they¡¯re saying about me, and all that, but it¡¯s not worth the effort to (currently) try slipping out and finding these answers.


    5/11/25


    Moving the other end of the bridge was a pain. If there was more magical knowledge doing the watching, I¡¯d be afraid of being found out. As these apartments are wildly empty (but not entirely, I¡¯ve seen people enjoying the other apartments both in this building and the one I moved the portal to), I had a good amount of choice for where I could move the new endpoint to.


    I even managed to disguise my search for people and things in two ways. The obvious, probably observed one was by trying to alleviate my boredom by trying to arrange a ¡®we are still alive¡¯ party for the residents of the apartments. I went and knocked and got just enough answers that there will be a party the tomorrow after the worst emergency states are cleared.


    The magically obvious and thus probably definitely unobserved method was that I went and observed the empty or non-answering apartments with a scotic scout spell. I didn¡¯t have the actual reagents for that, nor was I in the knight armor today, so I had to do it the hard way.


    Meditation in the dark that I hoped looked like resting, blindfolding myself, and getting rid of every bit of light but the stars or the moon.


    With the scout, I could examine the rooms and chose one that had neither persons nor spying equipment in it. Such things may be well hidden to the mortal eye, but as creature of shadowy nature, the spy of darkness could find them quite easily.


    The actual moving of the bridge was almost disappointingly easy in comparison to having to cover up all those lights so well. I just sent my dream-self to move the communication point dream-brick by dream-brick.


    It would be a little unwise, but the lack of dream-lands activity makes those risks and dangers a complete moot point. Right now all it means is that I am ever so slightly less in contact with my master.


    5/12/25


    It occurs to me that so much of my life for the past few months has revolved around fighting and being prepared for fighting that I don¡¯t hav- wait, I forgot to put down planning for the whole two world transport thing, but that too.


    I don¡¯t have much to do outside of those things, and the first two have shut down to a minimum while the third is only days away from being complete. It is also, and this is crucial for my complaint here, pretty much an utterly passive thing on my end.


    I only have to move a few stones, metaphorically, to keep the bridge in its place each night. I also have to cut off contact across the bridge as it builds, lest the alarms and sensors detect the thing.


    At least tomorrow will be better. A number of emergency states will are set to be cleared tomorrow, so preparation can begin and a nice distracting party will happen. With any luck, the day after that, I will be occupied with my master¡¯s arrival and newsbearing and all of that. That¡¯s just on the outside of the margins, but I¡¯m feeling like being optimistic.


    Especially as the demon¡¯s attacks tomorrow will cover up this little portal and hopefully also ease the formation.


    The last attack I mentioned confirmed my idea, so I have little worry about the chain of attacks they¡¯re starting. Until a change in tactics happens, the demons will die with little chance of ruining things for me, and only slightly more of ruining things for the pilots in Canada and the EU.


    I can sleep easy tonight.


    5/13/25


    Got to do my shopping for the party. I¡¯m going to make a few roasted chickens, well spiced. Also found out more about this EU, as two pilots were killed today, and neither directly by demons. It caused a bit of grumbling between the different nation-states of this EU empire and the home nation of the surviving pilot (once a member of the EU empire).


    Also, the assassins were nationals of that Great Britain, which I think was the cause of the argument. Either way, this could be an actual problem, as the attack build up isn¡¯t stopping. Oh, and there was an attempt on the factory itself.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I wasn¡¯t able to get internal information on who¡¯s to blame, but I can wait. It¡¯s quite possible that the internal stuff is being delayed by a desire to find any possible demon links first, before assigning blame.


    Unfortunately, I am being kept here, and not even by some detection of the portal I¡¯m keeping in place. The matter is quite frustrating and also completely beyond negotiation.


    At least I am allowed to practice in Natal and the Chevalier, which due to a cleaning error has temporarily become the Chevalier Blanc, and offer words of encouragement to the others. I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯re going to be that impactful to anyone but Kenny and Lettie. Especially the burnt hair joke. I had no clue what the EU members looked like when the thing was recorded, and now it mostly doesn¡¯t matter.


    I am going to check on the chickens and then hope for better news.


    5/14/25


    The survival party was a bit of a hit. I even got to drink a little beer and some wine. Nice wide variety of things were brought. I am going to have to find out who roasted the beef, because that was really good and I want their recipe.


    Still nothing on the sabotage, but I got to at least hear about the fallout of the attack. Somebody was rushed into a knight armor and hospitalized for it. Combination of age and a bad heart. That sacrifice saved the factory, though.


    Probably also some of the town, but that was less important than knowing that they¡¯re going to have a full complement of knight armor pilots by this time tomorrow. If there was any chance of us working together, I¡¯d have looked into this more, but it seems doubtful that I¡¯m even going to the Canada factory much less the EU one.


    So, sorry Sam. I had prepared notes for how we might work together, but it looks like I¡¯ll never have a reason to actually write them down.


    Nor reason to lionize your description. I think it¡¯s telling that I¡¯ve had time enough to complain about this. Well, hopefully only a day more and then I shall be able to commerce and learn and in general be even more engaged with things.


    Perhaps next party, I¡¯ll get to work lionizing people for the things they bring. Duke of Roast Beef. Legate of Lasagna. Sultan of Sweets. Prince of Drinks. Then write overblow and flattering descriptions of each according to the title. I¡¯ll have to pass that along. Probably with some kind of vote.


    Details for next time.


    I go now to sleep, perchance to not have to visit the dream world any more for a few weeks.


    5/15/25


    I think that this day would be considered very numerologically auspicious for me if it was, in full, 5/15/2125. Of course, I have no skill in such arcane magics and don¡¯t have the assistance of my master. Although now that I reflect on this statement, I think that numerological blessings are too obscure for even her. It will be a long time in either world before anyone is born that can get full blessings and I think its divinitory prowess is little.


    Again, not my area of knowledge, and I don¡¯t know anyone religious enough to study it for sacred purposes. Still waiting and hoping.


    I went to the gymnasium. They had a much higher dress code than I was expecting. Ah, Greek jokes. Nobody here¡¯s going to get them, and nobody knows why I¡¯m making them. Well, if they could read my mind to hear the joke.


    Being unable to fight has worn on me. I can at least say with satisfaction that the continued assault ended and the incidental attack on the factory didn¡¯t end up with a city or town being lost. The lives lost were minimal, but more than what had happened in previous attacks. On the positive is that with the spires in the EU, they will have a long time without a new attack. Canada will have to endure until more new spires can be made.


    5/15/25 addendum


    No, it seems that the free demon that was here has moved to the EU all to sabotage those spires. Destroyed by drinking down large amounts of the demonic and factory mana. I¡¯ve heard of jet lag. It is so wonderful to see that demons don¡¯t suffer from that. Perhaps I might be similarly immune? I¡¯d love to be able to test this.


    5/16/25


    Classes, though not truly restarted, have at least handed out things to do while the decontamination closing extends the period nobody can be inside without a protective suit. I was not allowed to bring either knight armor close to the school, though I think it would help.


    The leader has at least some kind of planning beyond just abusing power and is fighting quite dirty. I am glad that there¡¯s no nuclear attacks to complete that horrible NBC trio.


    Just the two parts of that triangle that have been already used are quite frightening. I have no desire to be further assaulted invisibly, and especially not in a way that this world has no good way of dealing with it.


    Nor would I be able to find a magical cure. I can hope to only ever have nightmares of what a demon might twist those waves towards.


    I believe I will set aside some extra time tonight to pray. This will come before doing the assigned work. I may have a great deal of latitude in that respect, but I think I want to distract myself from what I thought of more than anything else.


    In fact, I think I shall try and finish that before I continue here.


    5/17/25


    My attempt failed, and I am rather shaken still. The idea haunted my nightmares and while I don¡¯t recall them vividly, I do recall the fear. It even affected my ¡®work¡¯ in the dream.


    Thankfully even shaken as I was, the bridge is still in place. It would take many nights of drunken self-destructiveness to ruin the bridge. Thankfully there is no plan for another opening, or we¡¯d have to hurry very badly.


    I managed some of the assignments though. I probably shouldn¡¯t congratulate myself for doing something so expected and menial, but I need to keep track of something while I am here rotting away.


    Perhaps I should count and give an actual number instead of some. Out of twenty five things, I have seven finished and three more in various degrees of completion. Two more are started but not near anything more than a single degree of completion.


    Prayer was a little comfort. I think I need somebody to pray with me. Again, I say hopefully tomorrow.


    Oh, another thing to think about. A few important stores are open again. I can get some minor reagents, and perhaps even look into breeding them since master Alissa will be here soon. Oh, and green houses and other ways of growing out of season.


    Plant reagents were never the most popular because of the seasonality, but this can help with surprise uses. There¡¯s no way to properly store them that I¡¯ve found that is that much better than what we can do back home.


    Well, no. Tests need to be done. Perhaps something can preserve their mickle qualities better than drying or ¡­ preserving, but I¡¯ve not tried it out. Mostly because the things I can use plant reagents for are hard to measure.


    Wait, why I am writing things that master would want to read in here? I¡¯m sorry journal, but I¡¯m going to stop inorder to copy to a better, less information filled location and then go back to work.


    5/17/25 addendum


    I got called in for a fight. Wish me luck and no long term injuries.


    5/25/25


    I kid, I kid. But I can feel the steps upon the bridge even while waking. Master Alissa will be here soon and I want to hedge my bets on her looking at numbers first and then reading. This is why I put such a space.


    The demon here was a threat. A new kind of Knight Opener. It flew. This lead to its downfall as it managed to fly over the army¡¯s base while avoiding Chevalier Blanc¡¯s attacks.


    It was also probably looking for Natal, meaning that the demons can¡¯t tell who is in the knight armor. Or at least don¡¯t know about how the rotation can work.


    I just can¡¯t figure out how to best do something with that.


    Oh, and we found out why there was an attack despite the lack of factory. Before the Knight Opener was a cavalcade of demonic base building demons. They seemed to think this place was abandoned and so were going to use it.


    If no attacks show up in places without a factory, if they do; I believe the secretive heads have good, popularity gaining answers for both circumstances.


    But it¡¯s now a question of how to fight if the demons can get such a place in play. Remote enough and they¡¯d have an unquestionable advantage.


    I can only hope there¡¯s no way to target the floors of the oceans or other inhospitable and hard to find places. Wait, no. They¡¯d have to have a presence here, a big one, before they can make suitable a space like that.

 Behold the Other World, for another I Write

    5/19/25


    Somebody decided to run the factory again for a few moments. It made me have to work to keep the bridge open. I have never been quite so happy for a thing being closed as I have been for no classes to day.


    5/19/25 addendum


    Took a nap because look at that spacing. Today looks like two words. The official explanation for the sudden attack was the testing of the factory¡¯s central generator. Which they did yesterday night to cover things up some. Or perhaps there¡¯s some other non-magic drinking part that they did test.


    That doesn¡¯t matter nearly as much as the damage to the bridge, and they way they¡¯re selling the attacks. Subjugation is a great way to frame things if you want people to fight back, especially against an attacker that has made little effort to speak or otherwise shape the narrative outside of their actions.


    And I guess they don¡¯t care? I mean, the one that wants this world may have plans like that, or may not, but if the minions don¡¯t care enough to advance those plans¡­.


    The plans may as well not exist at all.


    I don¡¯t think this has set anything back, but


    5/20/25


    I was more tired than I thought by fixing the bridge. I didn¡¯t even get to mention the stuff they had me do with the army in knight armors. It wasn¡¯t interesting in and of itself, but I wonder if anyone will manage to find a good use for these impressive but focused beasts.


    At least if they can manage to make the manasphere, they¡¯re going to have a great energy source. I would also happen to find it most satisfying if they manage the idea wholly on their own while not realizing what they¡¯re doing.


    Mostly because of how it would infuriate several people I am obligated to dislike academically and arcanally. Having not met any of master¡¯s rivals or their students, I¡¯d prefer to keep an open mind socially about them.


    This has given me an idea. I will be back to write when I have craft supplies.


    I forgot that the twenty-four hour store that had a good amount of crafting supplies was closed by reason of being completely destroyed. I hadn¡¯t set foot in it for so long that I forgot to check on the place. Well, at least I can order online. I am surprised that hasn¡¯t stopped for anything that can¡¯t be drone-ed into place.


    I guess the idea of carrying on is strong with the world here. Plus, again, the amount of advances that make re-building so fast.


    5/21/25


    Even the asbestos warning because a pre-repurposing-of-this-town factory having a big accident can¡¯t get rid of my smile. It just puts it behind a very nice mask that as a pilot I didn¡¯t have to pay a dime for. Even better, I am getting to keep it.


    I have absolutely no idea what I¡¯d use it for, but I¡¯m already almost irrationally happy, so what¡¯s a little more happy?


    Now, what else to put in the welcome kit? I have the milk, some materials to make a little mana fold, preserved foodstuffs, premade and frozen food stuffs, pineapple flesh, a pineapple, and several cubes of very good quality beef.


    Well, good quality for the price. I¡¯ve read up a little and it¡¯s actually a pretty bad cut of beef only really good for stewing or long marinating. At least one of those is almost a given on winter months, and it¡¯s still better than what I¡¯d be able to get back home or at master¡¯s tower. I¡¯d say that even a noble would take this as the good kind of campaign food. Just need to do something to preserve it.


    I have also sacrificed a good bit of my night vision for a few weeks to ensure that there¡¯s some shadows in place for the arrival tonight.


    But what else? Oh, books. How could I have forgotten. Books and something cheaply copied from the library. Luckily I decided to write early today to focus my thoughts.


    Oh, before I go. SmartPhone Get One. Insert maniacal laugh here.


    Okay. Went to the library that was still open, got out the full twelve books I could get. The material didn¡¯t matter as much as having a variety of sizes, some in color, and different kinds of binding. I can¡¯t even price some of these books, but in this twelve I have what should have been decades of work, thousands of kroner worth of money, and lots of something else. I¡¯m going to be honest.


    I lost where I was going with that one when I went for kroner instead of any other coin I was familiar with. I feel pretty safe in saying that nobody uses such an old coin for actual trade anymore. A few of them are a good in and of themselves.


    Has master Alissa actually seen the pile? I never asked, but it would really have ruined that comparison if she¡¯d never seen the thousand crown pile. More ruined.


    Well, the basket is finished, and I have a few hours before I¡¯d normally be writing and two or three before she should arrive. I guess I¡¯ll get to cooking. I do have some beef for stewing, after all. Enough to make some quick stew and also have a few bits left over to show off.


    To the oven!


    5/22/25


    I am now glad for the lack of routine. I mean, not completely, as I had to work with the local army again, but in the wider sense. That the school is still closed. That I was able to mostly divert my social obligations to being online. That I¡¯m basically left alone here and have managed to rearrange the monitoring stuff to my liking and use.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Obviously, most of today was bleed over from yesterday, getting master settled in, and then making a schedule because she¡¯d lost a few hours going through the bridge. The schedule was unimportant presentation fluff. Building hype, as it were. I don¡¯t think we stayed on schedule past the first item. Indeed, there¡¯s an argument to be made that even the first item, eat the stew, didn¡¯t get completed on schedule.


    Mostly because I remembered one thing that was great, but that we wouldn¡¯t be able to take full advantage of. Hot water almost on demand. (Clean water was part of the preserved food items I had squirreled away.)


    Hot showers on demand is a thing I never want to get tired of. Master Alissa isn¡¯t going to be tired of it, even though her mastery of magic means that it¡¯s only a few mineral reagents away. I¡¯m pretty sure penny for penny (or grosch for grosch) the hot water here wins out.


    The deal for me was one of the more common and basic uses the nobility had found for succubi and incubi; sympathetic contraception. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s going to work across dimensions, but I lose next to nothing unless I suddenly lose use of Natal or the Chevalier for long periods of time.


    Most of the other stuff was about as impressive to her as it was to me in the beginning. She had a few bigger reactions/thoughts about some other things.


    Mostly seeds, but also metals shaped on demand. I suppose that comes with the greater knowledge and skill, but she could also be planning a very fancy garden. Of course, the chances of the fancy garden being magically important are so high that I¡¯d feel bad for taking bets against.


    Oh, and the whole of greenhouse technology. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯d give an impressive number of important organs for the glass, steel, and a generator. Solar, gas, any kind of generator. Oh, and a battery. Solar or whatever generator and a battery. I need to mention that to her later.


    Batteries make it better. It almost doesn¡¯t matter what it is, batteries make it better. I¡¯ve got a few things to show off that idea to Master Alissa.


    Having to end early. My writing is waking master.


    5/23/25


    Walk about the city after my training was the plan. It was actually uninterrupted, but extremely late. That really surprised me. There was a portal attempt at the other places, a factory heart re-activation, and yet nothing here.


    Of course, this city is still pretty dead compared to how it was before. Master was just surprised by the sheer number of attacks and how alive it still was. Even after I floated my idea that it was an attempt to get a pleasure world for some large-and-in-charge greater demon, it surprised her.


    I didn¡¯t have a gun to show her, and licensing or black market issues were what made me not want to take them across worlds.


    At least with Master here, the repair of the bridge is an easy thing. The amount of possibly reagent grade material she¡¯s found is impressive. We can¡¯t actually buy, store, or even take all the stuff she wanted to test or make folds of, but that was a given well before we went out. I only had a cup¡¯s worth of knowledge and testing in comparison to her barrels of knowledge. And that cup only held specific waters, so it wasn¡¯t even a full cup of testing.


    I¡¯m going to make a guess right here. I¡¯m going to call early August as the end of testing time. Possibly as early as the last few days of the month before, but I¡¯m saying it¡¯s more likely to be the first week of August.


    Now I have to try and figure out a way to get Master Alissa into a knight armor. Perhaps I should see if she can take the rush of both kinds of armor and negotiate on that? Even if I can¡¯t, a few folds filled with the power is good for experimentation and we can always try sneaking in and getting her to touch a core.


    Factory core or knight armor core, either one is probably going to have some real impressive results.


    Transfer to a note-to-self for later: both of us should hunt for the secret masters. They¡¯re going to have the pull needed to make this easier, but also have reasons to want to shut it all down.


    I also mentioned how this world could, without really knowing what they¡¯re doing, make the manasphere. Or at least a wired version, which I think was supposed to be better, but just totally impractical for the amount of high-quality metals involved.


    This world¡¯s production of metals is insane, both amount and quality. Need to make some kind of purchasing agreement here and funnel it to artisans back home. Oh, and tools. Get better tools for our favored makers, and this will be even better.


    Of course, getting a good furnace from here would be best of all, but it would need lots of infrastructure to get full use out of. Wait, I need to look and see if there¡¯s electric furnaces and what else they need.


    At least the greenhouse idea had some fairly simple needs, most of which could be theoretically repaired if the bridge looks like it¡¯s going to collapse for the next few centuries. Glass is easy to repair with magic. We¡¯re not going to need full power, so that can probably be poorly repaired multiple times.


    And also with the ideas fully on display and finished, we can probably make a much larger, poorer version that still works.


    The lights were the big sticking point. I still don¡¯t have a good answer, but there¡¯s some long lasting ones, perhaps a blessing is the answer?


    Have to confer with both Master Alissa and whoever of the Madorra is going to be along later.


    5/24/25


    This was, perhaps, the strangest way I¡¯d ever ended up helping a magical ritual yet. For reasons of morale, somebody in some organization wanted to do an impromptu parading of the knight armors and army together. I got informed by a phone call from the base by one of the front door secretaries. Jude something or other. I managed to get on both of their good sides and haven¡¯t used their last names for so long I¡¯ve forgotten both.


    Went around the repaired and repairing bits of the city once, showed off the not-quite-unique trick that they¡¯re calling the shadow magic I used in Natal, and then got to be fancy near the apartments I¡¯m living in.


    So I opened up some while making impromptu ¡®smoke¡¯ rings that were about as charged with magic as I could manage. Anyone that ends up reading this in the years after my death gets no prize for guessing the direction the rings went. You may try and be specific for extra points as long as that little parade didn¡¯t somehow manage to get a popular depiction back home.


    Then it¡¯s back to no prize. Although I¡¯m going to have to wait a little bit for Master Alissa to report how much she was able to capture from that stunt, and then how much she¡¯ll be able to actually use. The second number is the one we¡¯re actually interested in. If there¡¯s a lot that can be freed from the shadow magic construct without denaturing, then we have a celebratory move I need to argue about doing whenever I finish a battle in the state to do it.


    If not, I¡¯ll still argue for it as a celebration, just not as hard or as much. I can¡¯t think of a good use for magical shadow right now since it¡¯s notoriously hard to recycle into powering a new spell, but that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t think of a use for it. I haven¡¯t had the chance to test the shadow gun with it, for instance.


    Preliminary numbers are in. It¡¯s not quite enough to make me want to argue strongly for a new celebration, but the sudden nature of the parade also means that the best setup that we could manage was not present. Once there¡¯s at least a good capture set-up we¡¯ll know for sure. Master just wanted to test as an in-case situation. Perhaps the armor¡¯s core would manage to output so much that even with my middling skill and the lack of proper preparations, there would be enough to recover that a lack of prep would still be more than worth it.


    Funnily enough, I think there is that kind of output in Natal and the others, but the internal channeling bits that were the ¡®bones¡¯ and ¡®ribs¡¯ mean that most of the power can¡¯t be so easily transferred out as mana. As anti-demon forces, yes, but then again, that was almost certainly a secondary, if poorly understood, purpose for the knight armors.

 Oh, Fatigue, you delay what I write.

    5/Someday


    I¡¯m not sure who put the mad scientist in charge of things, but I would like to make a complaint on several levels. One, why would you give anyone access to two knight armor hearts and not also give them lots of unshakeable oversight? Two, why do they have no real knowledge of what¡¯s going on with the only pilot to be able to switch between polarities? Three


    I forget what I was going to say for three, but it was probably pretty nasty. These tests have not been good for me. If not for master, I¡¯d probably be in bad shape right now. Emesis has been the foremost of my problems, but not the sole cause of my something. I forget the where that was going. I shall take my rest now.


    5/28/25


    This can¡¯t really be the date, right? I haven¡¯t lost this many days to the experiments, no, to the after-effects of the experiments of one crazed doctor? Sadly, I can not find any lost entries and even with an example in front of her, Master Alissa didn¡¯t notice any of the sticky notes I like to use.


    We didn¡¯t even find any of the small ones I sometimes make equally small summaries on, at least not that related to the possible missing entries. Things I wanted to try eating, things I wanted her to see that were of lesser importance, and notes on where I¡¯d kept the valorizations of my co-pilots both near and far. I¡¯d hoped to not have to use those more than I have till now, but that is hope I am not completely able to do anything about.


    In that vein, I think I¡¯ll start on some kind of preface to these journals. I have room on the inside cover, I can spare a page on later ones, and I just need to think of what I¡¯m going to preface these with for while I¡¯m here.


    Obviously, once these are collected post-mortem and published, there will be somebody else writing a different, hopefully more appropriate preface. Hopefully it¡¯ll be a bit sensational and talk of the secrets of the trading riches I¡¯d have made, but there¡¯s always going to be the chance that it¡¯ll talk about how the demons finally decided that the world was more important than its absolute suitability for being a pleasure world and I died in valliant defense of this foreign world.


    In that case, I hope for a good death and Master Alissa to make a few lifetimes worth of riches. Of course, I¡¯d really like for me to live to enjoy the fruits of my plans, so I¡¯m not looking forward to a good death in battle.


    5/29/25


    A number of things have had grand re-openings today. Not the school, thankfully for my plans, but at least now the place looks more like a modern town and not an ancient one. Although the loss of drinking and bathing water is definitely a mark against getting back to modernity, the fact that it won''t¡¯ all have to be torn up and remade is definitely good.


    Now if only the cleaning measures could be integrated safely into the knight armors, we¡¯d have even more safety against para-demon trickery. Para is not the right prefix here, but I¡¯m a bit distracted and writing fast. So I don¡¯t care much to get the proper word.


    Have to try and make the tour. Hopefully will write more when we get back.


    5/29 addendum


    Well, we weren¡¯t really able to get everything in we wanted. Master also attracted some stares, although I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s for her method of dress or the artistry of her back tattoos. They also serve magical purposes, but there¡¯s not nearly enough knowledgeable people on this world to account for the amount of stares, so it has to be either the artistry or her choice of color contrast between the white outlines and the colors of the tattoos themselves or the skin depending on which half of the rather thick lines you were looking at.. Either that or some of it is offensive here and I just didn¡¯t think to look, but I feel we would have gotten some kind of confirmation, as it were.


    Even if it was only people commenting when we should have been out of earshot.


    Oh well, that¡¯s not a thing that matters much. We got something of a meal, plenty of materials to invest in later, and a list of helpful books for some of our goals. The greenhouse was the most important one. Even a small supply of fruits, fresh yet out of season, would be a good money maker and being able to grow in winter would be a greater boon still.


    Sadly, there will be money lost in discovering the right sizes needed to be safe against harsh winters, hedging against minor misfortunes, and convincing the still absent representative to fund both of those beyond what means I have here and Master Alissa has back home.


    5/30/25


    A new strike against Canada and the EU. I didn¡¯t have to explain much of the politics of this world (because I know only so much of it) to Master Alissa, a thing for which I am thankful. She only wants to know of the more nearby nation-states and that one doesn¡¯t have a knight armor factory yet.


    No knight armor factory means no attacks. No attacks means that I don¡¯t care about the politics between here and that place. And Master Alissa doesn¡¯t think we¡¯ll be expanding to other nations on this world, so the trade deals she¡¯d normally be listening for are not being listened to.


    Especially as most of the things she wants to strengthen the bridge are available here and without much interest from others. Not all, of course. Getting gold has been an interesting bit of work, mostly buying old jewelry and claiming I have a desire to do this kind of work after I retire. The reforging has been the hardest part. Thankfully there was no need to mess around with altering purities or the like. Master got and learned the tricks needed to avoid those requirements. They¡¯d be too expensive in normal circumstances, but as we¡¯re posed to make money hand over fist, it¡¯s just a reasonable expense.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The jewels were also a bit of a hard buy, but that¡¯s more because we were limited on this side by the money I could make available for these purchases. Because of that, the bridge stabilization was not fully done. Just enough has been laid down to make sure that Master Alissa alone should be able to keep the bridge from collapsing when the factory here gets restarted.


    Not that I¡¯ve heard about it happening, even with a bit of spying, but if the demons strike here again, it could be done after the fact and the numbers faked. Or perhaps they really were testing something that day.


    Oh, and the water is going to be back on in a few days, and with it I shall have classes once more. I at least did some of the things I was given, so I should be able to keep pace. If not, well, with Master Alissa here, she can give me some aid. I just need to explain why this is being done to me and why I went along with it.


    Although given the lack of being approached, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s already enjoying the comparative lack of visual monitoring I¡¯ve built up to with my ideal behavior.


    6/6/26


    (not really)


    But it feels like that. If I ever get important enough to have a biographer, I want them to joke about having tests into next month at one point during this. I very much doubt I¡¯ll become that important, but it¡¯s a nice thought and fun joke.


    Now, as for the test. It was announced as a jammer for the alien teleportation targeting systems. I¡¯m pretty sure that it¡¯s actually the exact opposite, some kind of magical beacon for the demon¡¯s portals.


    I say this based on the extremely high amount of attacks I¡¯ve had to deal with in the two tests that I had to protect. Whatever methods it is using are beyond me, or at least beyond what maths I can do at this moment because from what I did calculate, there should be a lasting portal approximately twenty-six miles outside of town from all the other portals I had open. In addition, the Chevalier is going to have to be repaired so much that I¡¯m going to end up with somebody new to accompany Natal. There were no powerful demons.


    Just numbers and a very unlucky Opener. I got lucky because the bombing just barely didn¡¯t annihilate me. Chevalier, though, was not as lucky. And due to needling from Master Alissa, the Opener was really unlucky because it¡¯s blasted back to the demon realms.


    She was not reading over my shoulder, but instead read my face.


    I¡¯m going to rest now. I¡¯m going to have an interesting monday coming up and need rest after all that fighting.


    6/3/25


    I completely forgot that I fought through most of monday. It¡¯s just as well. I need to work off the excess changes from being in Chevalier and Natal so much anyway. Those changes both greatly amused master and made her want to try getting inside one.


    We¡¯ve done some magical writing, but this time there has been no acknowledgment nor action from the shadowy heads of this operation. This worries me more than it worries master. I should probably take some action to get her introduced to what this world has as far as guns go. They are much better than the ones at home, and this means that they¡¯re going to break through any shielding spell that would prevent those bullets.


    Indeed, the strongest guns might be, no are, beyond what an unassisted person could ever manage to shield themselves with. Of course, there¡¯s always folds and reagents and ritual works, but at least here the gun and ammunition is cheap enough that it¡¯s going to be more of a winning ratio for the gun.


    With the bottleneck of one bridge and government interest, it wouldn¡¯t quite be worth looking into a good rifle to buy a few of and take back with me.


    Note to me for tomorrow. Don¡¯t take breaks to exercise and shift while writing. You forget what you were going to say. Not that it was important this time, but it could be tomorrow.


    Of course, Master Alissa helped in that she engaged me in conversation while I was exercising more than usual. Of course, I¡¯m being ni-


    Well, she¡¯s settling in really well. Master Alissa is messing with me. Of course, without being a person here, she¡¯s limited to cash purchases which I have to take out, and sneaking around so that the nearby cameras don¡¯t catch her exiting here or entering the bridge room. Thanks to the miraculous ability of some fabrics to stretch, she had enough clothing to get a new wardrobe and a great explanation as to why she needed nearly everything.


    If the person that was supposed to be my guardian actually spent time here, fitting her clothes in would be quite difficult. But that person hasn¡¯t been, to the point that I think I¡¯d need to look at earlier entries to find out things like name, sex, and I think that¡¯s all I would write about them. I also have about as little desire to go back as I can have, so I¡¯m not going to go back and look. Unless I suddenly find out that I¡¯m going to need that information, but what¡¯s the chances of that? Also, I realize that I might not have even written that stuff down in the first place, expecting a constant flow of low level mentions until that person was driven into my memory. Or perhaps I didn¡¯t.


    Doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is getting my figures back into school attending sizes. Master is at least nice enough to make a magical shunt to help.


    6/4/25


    We will be entertaining the Madorra¡¯s envoy in three days. With help, I won¡¯t need to go to the extremes of staying in the dark as much as possible. I¡¯ll also have to go and make another showing off package to help grease the wheels of getting money and other kinds of aid. Plus I¡¯ll give my positive answer, should the circumstances here not worry the envoy.


    So in that sense it was lucky that I had to fight almost non-stop for days under unusual magical atmospheres. Of course, I¡¯ll have to break to check on what I need to get.


    I have a shopping list made with master¡¯s aid, and the only thing that¡¯s going to be missing is alcohol. We are unfortunately unable to purchase the stuff legally, and I¡¯m not taking risks with any illegal stuff I might be able to find. Most of it should be gettable in two days, and of course I¡¯m also adding on bottled water. Specifically one of the larger jugs I¡¯ve seen in the stores. There may not be any because of the water issues earlier thi- no earlier last month, but I want to try and get some.


    It¡¯ll be a good gift. Oh, yet another idea. Mineral water, both flavored and unflavored. I¡¯ll go do some right now just to be safe. Master can go and do things tomorrow if I wind up occupied again.


    6/5/25


    Thankfully, there was no need to send Alissa out. Not that I don¡¯t trust my master, but I think she¡¯s, taste-wise, a bit deficient in wine and wants to correct that. I don''t¡¯ hold the desire to try new things against her, it¡¯s just the lack of material ways to do this.


    Still, if she wants to, I¡¯ve told her the age she needs her fake ID to be at for illegal legal alcohol purchasing and given her places to procure both halves of the equation.


    Being back in classes, even for a partial day, was interesting. Most people seemed to think that I¡¯d be more injured after the wrecking of the Chevalier. I hid my magic behind explanations of extra armoring from a previous weapon set for the knight and while the weapon washed out, the extra armor wasn¡¯t removed.


    I also hid a few things behind the cover of luck, because that was indeed related, at least a bit, to how I avoided a goo-ed retirement. I noticed a few missing faces, probably because of how much the town got wrecked, but otherwise there was a healthy amount of people back at these partial days.


    Ah. I hear some purely magical knocking. I¡¯m going to have to start the ritual soon. I¡¯ve got some shadow power saved from the last day of fighting, I¡¯ve reduced cutting most of the lights to a single flip of a switch, and I¡¯m not feeling nearly as nervous as I probably should be.

 Sacral Writing

    6/8/25


    I have no real idea of how important the envoy I met with actually is. The Madorra were comparatively private and also distant, as befits the source of their nobility; keeping old forts at the edges of the king¡¯s lands in service. Their attention to me, before, was likely as something of a footnote. An incubus apprentice to a moderately well known mage of low political engagement compared to his master.


    Said master was not particularly strongly politically engaged in non-magical matters, so we both may as well have been political non-entities for their choices.


    Now, though, I think we will be both much more interesting just for the possible pay out our little trading idea can give them. Everything else? Extremely important to the ones that will get the goods or sell them with and for us, but less important to the Madorra as investors.


    They don¡¯t have the capacity to be too much more than that in these days, but I can only wonder what a complete reversal of decades of loss would do for them. In two generations will they become less private and nearer to a half-dozen places? Will they have eclipsed their old status and become equal of the king and the dukes of ages past? Or will all this money amount to nothing but an extension of their time as ignorable importants?


    I wish I knew enough of court politics to actually be able to say. Of course, the envoy was suitably impressed by everything we deigned to share. It¡¯s near impossible to not be impressed by the fruits of a world that is so far ahead. I can only assume what kind of orders the Madorra will put in just for themselves.


    Which is why I only made a few small purchases of non-perishables. Mineral water. Normal water. Some preserved foods. Master will have to go back and use some of the money to make purchases to sell here, but that was almost an unspoken given. Almost. I made sure to discuss it a few times during her time here and also try and set up things to be more comfortable here now that we have a stable enough way between the two worlds. Yes, the apartment is spacious, but it¡¯s a bit less than ideally outfitted with creature comforts in one particular area that is made up by everything else. But when you can manage to correct that one, nagging, infinitesimal flaw with (hopefully) just a small amount of the initial funds coming in, you do that for your partner.


    Especially as it¡¯s already being accounted for in our initial ledger.


    6/9/25


    I realized that in yesterday¡¯s entry I had a notable lack of mention about the contract I signed. Good.


    Less good is the first day of the factory being back up to full production and finding out that I¡¯m going to have to meet face to face with the scion of the Madorra that I¡¯m to be substituting for. The first means an end to the recent-ish decision of spending my days deliberately ignoring the news about demons as much as possible. And doubly ignoring any urges to write about them while I was ¡®resting¡¯ on superior orders.


    I think I even decided to not write about those orders because I have to assume there are fears of mental contamination and that somebody has found out how to get demon out of my writing, at least.


    In any case, it was likely that this order had its origins in the shadowy council of leaders. They didn¡¯t seem to have any answer to all the previous secret magic messages, but that¡¯s not necessarily bad.


    I¡¯m just hoping I don¡¯t get to ¡®negotiate¡¯ tomorrow or the day after. I¡¯m very cynical what this sudden reactivation may mean.


    6/10/25


    No negotiations. No attacks. Still on high-alert, though.


    6/11/25


    New demon type today. Write more when I get to have break.


    6/13/25


    For a normal attacker, a surge of this size would have been a death or glory last push. All three portals opened for as long as they could manage, spires if present or active were targeted first, and it was an impressive number at each portal. Hundreds, possibly even thousands. But it was not a doomed last push, even with the fighting to the end that did great damage around all three portals.


    I fear it is a declaration of escalation. A last attempt to gain a success before moving on to things they consider damaging to their goals.


    I am very worried, seeing as I don¡¯t currently have a partner. The army is nice, but can¡¯t hold the bigger demons at all. They¡¯re also going to die quickly when a stronger demon is present and using their demonic powers and I¡¯m not there to do rough countering with either knight armor.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I can only pray for a suspiciously well timed new addition to the team with an equally suspiciously well timed new knight armor. I wouldn¡¯t even mind the implication that I may be working for people that have sold out to the demons for some absurd bit of demonic politics.


    Or that they¡¯ve been leaked some demonic plans because some sadistic fool wants to make a great show of finally, utterly crushing the defenders that slew a thousand demons before. I like the second idea much more than the first, but I think we¡¯ll need to plan for both.


    Oh, and the new demon type. The people here are calling it a Sower. I can see the strategy being used, but never heard of any demon using it before. When they create chaos or great fear in the mortals they face, demons savor it like a good drink of liquor or tobacco. It is a thing to be enjoyed as long as possible, not be taken advantage of as quickly as possible to destroy a foe.


    Obviously, it can be guessed what the Sower did once the army had panicked.


    The incidental anti-demon features in my Chevalier were wonderful in this case. I couldn¡¯t stop the fear in its track, but I could stop the supernatural spread of it to others. I also have a sore ass because of how much I had to run around and got bounced around.


    There is debate on if the demons that bounced me around were a new type of demon, or just Knight Openers modified to try and more directly kill the pilot with every strike. The first case would be a danger to all pilots, the second actually would increase our safety.


    Multiple Point Harnesses, anti-crash features, and all that, you see. Bouncing a pilot around would take so long to kill that pilot that the armor would be destroyed twice over in all but the unluckiest of cases.


    6/14/25


    As it turns out, the envoy was quite important; the very daughter of the Madorra I was to serve as contraceptive for. I was not wholly sure why the deception was so important to her that only drinking with my master ended up bringing things out into the open, but for the sake of the contract and the expanded funding it would bring, I asked nothing.


    Master, although quite hung over, asked enough ribald and personal questions for four people. If this may have influenced my decision is a thing I leave for later generations to ponder. I have more treating to do as well as presenting more in-depth plans now that we have something of an available purse and goods to trade with.


    This world has, as far as I know, no true and absolute cure for a hangover. It does have some easily available medicine that helps with a hangover, as well as enough folk cures to keep Master occupied for ages.


    The aspirin was far better for the Lady Madorra and she has purchased a large supply of them right from us at an even better price (barely) than we were going to offer the Madorra. The first two bottles were already used, so we just had to apply a discount. She also felt that we should be giving everyone a larger discount on goods, but we had a ready answer if that was more than just post-negotiation grumbling.


    With the aid the Madorra are going to give us, if we can buy large amounts of jewelry and other well made goods, we will be able to have three green houses in under as many years. One for the Madorra exclusively, powered by the sun, one to sell to the king, powered by oil, and one for us to experiment with; it may, possibly, one day, end up powered by magic itself. Until then, it is likely to also be solar.


    Ah, the joys of a Sunday without an attack. I had three opportunities to write in this day. Now if only I had three things I wanted to write about. I only had two and a time to rest that I only discovered after a few moments of thinking what was going to follow the first sentence.


    6/15/25


    I got a partner, but no new knight armor to go with. This probably has to do with Master Alissa¡¯s completely hidden status. Officially, it is an attempt to automate that will likely have a suspiciously well timed failure that eliminates the prototype while master goes and enjoys her adult status and pay.


    But the advantage of another armor in the field is not to be understated now that I¡¯m expecting stronger demons. And master¡¯s use of better technique and skill should make the anti-demon features and the heart of the knight armor.


    We only need to get her to be inside of the thing instead of showing off and commanding the golem from its shoulder. A nearby building would be better, but I think she¡¯d object on the grounds of being less dramatic. She still thinks of a demon fight as this dramatic last stand, despite it all.


    Or perhaps somebody has let her into the wine, or she¡¯s attempting to secure her life after the prototype is made to explode or whatever end is going to be given to it.


    There are many possible answers, and I will do my best to keep myself blinded to them. If I do not know, then I can not possibly reveal the answer by accident.


    Classes have been quite disrupted and even now nobody is quite sure how things will go, especially as attacks have happened again. The demons have given, by accident or by foreknowledge, a great degree of credence to the propaganda that the shadowy council has given to the world.


    IT has been a while and I¡¯m doing this entry on the longer kind of post-it, so just in case, I¡¯ll write that down. If I¡¯m not too tired, I¡¯ll search to see if I need to put the propaganda in again. But it¡¯s ¡®the aliens wish us to be limited servants of theirs. Not enough power to be a threat.¡¯


    If I get more time, I¡¯ll get the exact words.


    Demon attack during practice. No new words to write.


    Strange trickery abounds. Will need to write more tomorrow because I need to go over it with my now sleeping master. Still, want to get down first impressions. Unusual teleportation? Something like that, yes. Success came for them from bad landing. Ha ha ha. More report tomorrow.


    6/16/25


    The Lady Madorra was quite impressed at how the two knight armors dealt with a pair of apparently mid-ranking demons. Especially how we prevented them from using their world warping magics to destroy the city or drag more demons in without the usual gate problems.


    That she was still here was a small surprised, but in my defense, I was quite distracted with keeping up the facade of a good student and also fighting in the Chevalier.


    It got modified, so it looks like the Chevalier Ciel and some new unit will be what I command unless the ruination of the prototype is going to leave me with Natal again. But until then, it will be Ciel and something new.


    Also I conferred with master Alissa and she thinks that my first impression was essentially right. She put in some additional riders, and thoughts on why, but it can be boiled down to this. It¡¯s likely that this was a measure added to allow for more continuous assaults on the three cities as it drags some of their portal-energy with them.


    Thankfully, they¡¯re also going to get more accurate, which should lead to fewer accidental aquatic assaults like their victory yesterday. It also means being able to keep better track of them, and not having to do searches.


    Only two of the demon groups got found. One had partial escape from the air forces sent after them. I can only hope that they¡¯re no more successful than the last free demon.

 Cover Writings

    6/17/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    The first air strike on American Soil by Americans. The first missile strike on American Soil by Americans. The first nuke on American Soil by Americans? That was effectively the thrust of an article in the news that I had to read.


    Was the ¡®alien invasion¡¯ going to get bad enough that things would escalate to that final point, given that the writer seemed to distinguish between air strikes (which I was given to believe involved shooting missiles at targets) and missile strikes in a way that I wasn¡¯t sure about. They seemed to believe that the escalation was inevitable despite the wording used at points.


    Or at least I read it that way. I¡¯m going to get to hear more answers later on, but it¡¯s interesting to see the outside perspective that I¡¯ve been trying to avoid so as to better keep my perspective. No need to get over-confidant because of the praise of people with no true idea of how this fight is going.


    Surprisingly, despite the increased activity of the demons, the sheer surveillance and militarization of the world has kept things in check. Not so much that I¡¯d call it a lucky victory for this world given the sheer willingness to throw away demons that the leader of this invasion has shown, but enough to make the demon¡¯s win pyrrhicly costly if the demon is willing to throw away centuries of owed oaths and debts to get its final victory.


    Of course, I don¡¯t share this to the shadowy overlords of the defense or the obvious overlords of the defense. The first should already have some kind of plan/be unknowing dupes that master and I have escape plans for. The second don¡¯t need the demoralization of knowing it isn¡¯t their fight to win.


    There was a demon battle today, but we weren¡¯t involved. It was all air power because of how the demons forgot (or at least the previous ones didn¡¯t share) the secrets of explosions and human air power.


    Their attempt at base building was annihilated with no human losses for now. I will not take wagers on the likelyhood of losses when investigating and cleaning up the base. I should, however, have taken bets on the demons being less effective than the last free demon was.


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    6/18/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    New attack. Or at least new attempts at using this world¡¯s technology. Unfortunately, the jet-like demons crashed into the ground with their attacks or weapons wholly unused. It seems that the warp-jumping does not favor fast moving creatures. It could still prove damaging to the world and morale, but only because a few dozen demons have spread themselves over a mile or so of ground.


    And not all of the new demons¡¯ form was soft and fleshy, though at those speeds even soft and fleshy could damage buildings. Just not as well as rigid, tough wings could. Well, at least I have some new nightmare to suffer under, should the demons make a good base. Demon jets. What new horror will they think of.


    Well, at least I can rest knowing that I should probably be dead before seeing demon nukes or demon jets. (This is sarcasm, master. You¡¯d be more convincing about not reading my writing or having this read to you, if you didn¡¯t respond to my words verbatim.)


    I wish I had time to get a camera in place inside either of the knight armors. The faces we made upon seeing the demons almost literally crash and burn would have been a delight to try and describe. Just feeling it settle on my face was interesting, as was the audio log.


    Attempted audio log. I refuse to accept that any of the things I saw on the page were actual words or close to what I said. Not that I¡¯m sure how to put the mix of ¡°What the fuck,¡± ¡°What was that,¡± laughter, and ¡°What happened¡± that I made to page.


    Just that the mix of sounds and vulgarity that was on the page is wrong.


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    6/19/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    My sneaking around had an unexpected bit of success. I got to see one of, perhaps even the, heads of this group, which is quickly getting a name promotion to the Earth Defense Force. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a major upgrade in anything else, but I could be wrong. Certainly that old man isn¡¯t going to let go of his position of secret control.


    Unfortunately, I had to waste large amounts of folded shadow mana to hide in a tiny, tiny shadow. Since master is trying to get around on technicalities, for whoever reads this to her, this is a short comparison of things more pleasant than hiding in that.


    Testicular torsion. Having nails cutting into your back. I am trying to think of an alliterative bit of pain involving female parts and failing, but if you, reading this, are female, come up with one. The point is that it¡¯s quite painful, but not dangerous as long as things don¡¯t get any closer.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t recognize the old man, nor did his underling refer to him as anything more identifiable than Mister Boss. I suppose there are blander, less information filled ways of -


    No. Not going to spend time bitching about how this isn¡¯t going to be easy before I even wake master and tell her about this find.


    We can do that together and work on finding him later. Of course, we¡¯ll keep those records elsewhere. Somewhere that we¡¯re going to have to make.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    If our planning ends soon enough, I¡¯ll write more. Can¡¯t get too distracted.


    <h1 class="column-title">


    </h1>


    It ended, but I ended up tired thanks to our guest. No more serious writing tonight.


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    /6/20/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    Too tired to correct mistake at top. Too tired to bitch about demon fight. Somebody, though, wants those demon jets to succeed. Even though they mostly won the fight for us. I just couldn¡¯t manage to get to sleep inside the knight armor so I think this has been 30 something hours without sleep so far.


    So happy that the fight was mostly ended by the jets. I just had to do some fighting and then get held in place again by demon bombs.


    I want to sleep. My arms hurt.


    <h1 class="column-title">


    </h1>


    6/21/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    I finally got to sleep. Not in the knight armor, because the rush of its heart wasn¡¯t going to let me sleep. But in a medical cot. Apparently there was something interesting that showed up during the fight and I wasn¡¯t awake enough to know and right now all the information is off being crunched so nobody else knows but the completely unavailable doctor.


    I have my suspicions, but also see no need to share them. Master, you¡¯re going to have heard them by the time you have the lady Madorra read this to you. She will have heard them. So why I am going to put them here when you¡¯re going to know?


    Why are you going to look for them when you¡¯re going to know?


    Okay, enough bitching. I have to go out and get materials. Master you will know.


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    Surprisingly, Master went and read directly this time. I don¡¯t think she believed that I have nothing on this as security. There¡¯s only three people that can read this that I know of, the language is the security.


    The place¡¯s security from theft was the actual security against being taken, and my studies into what kind of crime happens locally was my defense against the secretive old man or his equals taking the thing to study.


    In short, they¡¯d have to take too much to get this and thus it would have stood out too much. Plus I do have ways of tracking it that Master Alissa graciously shared with me early on in my learning with her.


    From there, a shadow thing could be made to retrieve it or its shreds and impede the study. I mean, no way that this is getting digital copies made that will then end up stored at any place but secure ones.


    Possibly even not anywhere else but there on site. The secrecy of the hidden masters is also a weakness.


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    6/22/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    Copying from the new journal that is all the damned post-it notes I had to write on during the warm-up to the attack today. Well, no, on second thought. Most of that writing was off the cuff curses that I don¡¯t want to do just yet and want to drain of any magic I had moved into them while I was in the Chevalier. But I did use the long-ass wait to have information relayed to me, so I want to spend time congratulating the EU and Canada defenders.


    From the sounds of what to relayed to me, you guys got to have most of the enemies bounced your way as this side of the triangle was used as a secondary launching point. I think this is the first time they got to see the jet demons in ¡®action¡¯ as this new method is only slightly better than the one before. The demons don¡¯t crash into the ground, they climb until they stall and splat to ground, or end up escaping the surly bonds of the Earth never to bother humanity again.


    Unless one is unlucky enough to hit an important satellite. Then they¡¯re going to bother humanity just once more.


    So a very good job at not being distracted by the hilarious failure and meeting the invaders head-on as soon as ones that you actually needed to care about showed up. We had two, ostensibly made to counter the Chevalier and Natal as I piloted them. Master does much better in the magical gun having Natal, so that light barrier did nothing. (Also I think she just wanted to try out the normal guns and used those ones. Either way, the light barrier was useless.)


    Two on one, we gutted the other easily enough with shot and sword. Bullet and blade. Next time there will even be a new knight armor for me to try out.


    Well, probably not given the rapidity of the strikes, but soon. Or at least we¡¯re going to get a new partner in on the secret.


    Either will be good. We can stop having a few army deaths because a demon decided to get cute and show off their ability to cause death and suffering at a distance.


    Now if only I could find the thing¡¯s name. It¡¯s very lean, and basically supposed to be some kind of kicking-cannonball kind of thing since the demons have started showing up just a bit outside of the respective US, EU, and Canada towns and here it just so happens that nothing they weren¡¯t already ruining by dying there was out where the demons were appearing.


    So spiked cannon-ball into them, knight armor whose name I couldn¡¯t find. And if they are too low or look like they can catch, kick them with your bladed shins.


    It is a hilarious idea and I so hope it works with somebody else. I want to witness this live, not experience it and see it through replay.


    <h1 class="column-title">


    </h1>


    6/23/25


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    I found out that, through wordplay, the new knight armor¡¯s name is Nameless. I feel this verges on sacrilege, despite the creation being a purely secular thing. Even with as silly a way of fighting as this one was given, you don¡¯t make something this impressive and then call it Nameless. That¡¯s just asking for bad luck with it breaking down.


    Well, still, I¡¯m hoping for it to come on in with a new pilot. That is either going to be a literal last second choice, or is going to happen after the thing has had a few rounds under its non-existent belt. Either way, fewer deaths is always going to be good and we can do a small blessing for a team of three that¡¯s better than what I did before.


    Same ¡®ritual¡¯ because I¡¯ve done enough work in establishing that pretext that I¡¯m going to keep it because I¡¯m supposed to keep it, but Alissa¡¯s help can work more in, as will the folded and seached mana.


    Forgot to mention last time, but master managed a much better work because of the cash I was able to bring and her own charming personality when she feels like it. You can¡¯t really argue that you prefer to be blunt unless you really need to otherwise.


    And this setup was a wonderful, wonderful case of otherwise. Make no mistake, it¡¯s just wonderful. You¡¯re just being drunk and loud now, and I need to remind you of something to be quiet. So hopefully you¡¯re going to get up and read this once I leave to relieve myself in the bathroom. Possibly a few times or ways if drunken mastery is dangerous.


    <h1 class="column-title"> </h1>


    So far, still good, and the celebration has wound down. I¡¯m going to rest now, and hope to wake up early to just about anything but a new demon attack.

 As always, the world must delay when I write.

    When I said anything but a new demon attack, that was not an invitation, universe!


    6/24/25


    As I said, it wasn¡¯t an invitation to cause a number of non-demon attack problems. Especially because a few have demonic origins to them. There was yet another ¡®attack¡¯ on the EU by humans and it claimed a reserve pilot due to a scheduling error. If the vehicles had left at the intended times, the bomb would have killed active pilot Marie Morel.


    Of course, this death will have some negative repercussions; chief of which is that I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to have a new reservist for a while.


    This building burned a bit, which is the one thing I don¡¯t think had a demon cause. It has the simpler cause of an old woman with no fucks left to give, a drinking problem, and (in this context) a smoking problem. While I (and by extension master) am not out of a house, it all smells wet and smokey, neither in good ways.


    I¡¯m too tired now. I¡¯m going to wake up later and hope I can r¡¯member the other things that happened or that the news media will.


    Yes, master. That was an intentional removed e. I put the apostrophe and everything. Yes, that¡¯s a rule here. One of the consistent ones.


    What was I going to write? Oh, yes. That news report on the outbreak of Red Sea, and the disappearance that I think was demon caused.


    I¡¯m pretty sure that the demons worsened (but did not directly cause the record setting outbreak of Red Tide. Probably as a doomed measure to starve people.


    Neither master nor I could figure out why a demon would want to steal the first floor of a building and only the first floor. Especially as the second floor is still standing. We could both come up with a very obvious reason for stealing the first floor and letting the second collapse; showing off and also causing mayhem.


    But leaving the second floor standing. That¡¯s defied any reason we could try putting on it.


    Still, this does leave things in the no demon attack zone I had wanted. Just makes me want to punch whoever granted this wish in such a backhanded way.


    6/25/25


    In the EU (and possibly also here and Canada), the reserves are apparently deeper than I¡¯d expected. The list of backups in the EU is already full again. I¡¯d hate to be that new reserve or their family. They¡¯d have to feel like there is an uncaring target carelessly near the reserve pilot¡¯s head.


    Still, this was a bit of a surprise, so I suppose on my next bit of intrusion I should keep an eye out for those kind of hidden lists.


    New demon tactic may be on show today. There was a Canadian attack and just a Canadian attack. No EU movement, no movement here.


    So we need to see if it¡¯s going to be fully staggered attacks, one and a pair of attacks, or if somebody just got bored and drunk and attacked too soon. I think we¡¯re all hoping for that last one to be the truth. It¡¯s just too relaxing a possibility.


    Of course that could also be its own reason to not actually relax at all, now that I¡¯m listening to people at the base while I¡¯m waiting for the testing to actually begin. I suppose that waiting for everyone¡¯s guard to be down and then striking would be a good tactic if they could actually get a base here that we couldn¡¯t strike at.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    And I think that given the limited number of places they would have available, at least any place my master could be taken to a few miles of in a few hours is not actually a place that could be kept safe.


    But the demons don¡¯t know that, so it at least means that nobody¡¯s going to be after her head specifically just yet. And yet yesterday shows that isn¡¯t quite as safe it it should be. Uncaring weapons are just as lethal as purposeful ones. Or something like that. Even with this ear protection, the noise is making it hard to concentrate.


    The shaking is also slowing down my writing something fierce. More later.


    6/27/25


    I put the day down a bit early. As it turns out, everyone was wrong. It just seems that there was some kind of breakdown in planning or communication or something on the demon¡¯s side and so attacks just went off several kinds of poorly. In Canada it was only poorly timed. They couldn¡¯t manage to put constant pressure on and so the gains in the middle ended up completely wasted as conventional forces were able to be brought to bear in amounts and types needed to be meaningful or break through the protective magics the demons brought.


    In the EU, it was poorly spaced out, and enough times their own clever tricks caught demon troops in the majority or almost exclusively. It can¡¯t even be called a slaughter by the defenders because of how badly those mistakes crippled the demon horde.


    And here it was poorly co-ordinated. Too few portals to start lead to us not thinking it was an unusual attack at first and winning like it was one of those early attacks where nothing unexpected showed up. Then there were too many portals and a few daring soldiers managed to make attacks on the demon lands. The reaction of the demons made attacking the demon lands into policy near instantly at all three places and here it is probably, no certainly, the only reason we managed to keep the city standing despite the massive horde.


    We still were the worst off of all the three sites, but we should have fallen to that many demons attacking all at once or at least had a victory so self-destructive as to steal the title from King Pyrrhus.


    When I wake up and it¡¯s actually the twenty-seventh, I¡¯m going to write down how my guess was proven right or wrong.


    I was right!Celebration!


    6/28/25


    Oh, that¡¯s right. I only put down my guess in words, not ink. Well, here it is, since I was proven completely right. The shadowy council has moved to open up even more factories on a schedule that can only be called panicked.


    I don¡¯t even think they¡¯re going to have enough reserves to keep those places protected with a knight armor eah once they¡¯re open. So I have to think that they¡¯re either sacrificial, somebody¡¯s got the ¡®brilliant¡¯ idea to move all the knight armors around for solo protection, or they¡¯re hoping to use cores alone as purification devices and hope that the human cost won''t cause too much anger and outrage.


    I guess I¡¯ll have to do some intrusion in the next two days to find out where the new factories will be. At least the counter-attacks will have bought some time for all of us to relax again. I will return when less hungover.


    In the time it took me to recover from last night¡¯s celebration, the locations were announced to the whole of the world. The names have no meaning to me, but I can say that geographically, none of them are in any of the nations already hosting one and I don¡¯t think they¡¯re in places directly beholden to them either. I need to read up on Brazil, at least, because it¡¯s the only one on this side of the world. I¡¯ll check up on Mongolia and India later. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get moved to the other side of the globe when the shadowy council has been so reluctant to have me move around the same continent by even a city¡¯s distance. But this has already turned out to be a few days of completely inexplicable events, so why not plan for a sudden reassignment to the waters of Brazil.


    It would be far more explicable than the demonic failures just two days ago, the theft before that, and the sudden storm today. I can¡¯t see why such a thing would go on even if the demons can¡¯t re-open portals here without inviting more strikes on their home grounds.


    Oh, yes. Both master and I can clearly feel the demonic energies and will be making sure to cover as much ground as we can in the knight armors tomorrow. Can¡¯t let demon plants sudden ruin everything underground due to negligence, now can we?


    I¡¯m just glad that I¡¯m probably not going to have to actually live here under this fake identity for too long, on the scale of lives. I think I¡¯d have to spend even more time in the lower academics because of the interruptions demon attacks have caused and definitely will cause. And while it was fun, over the long term it¡¯s going to become quite a bore. Perhaps there¡¯s some way to get out of this because of my responsibilities? Yet another thing to read up on.


    Ah, I think I know what the reason for the storm is. Some attacks were to be made while we¡¯re all tired from this rain of sleep.