On the deck of the Oceanos, Daniel eagerly awaited the arrival of a peculiar VTOL flight. Soon enough, it approached and landed, and as its door opened, a small girl dashed towards Daniel with a wide smile.
"Papa!" she exclaid before leaping into Daniel's arms, who crouched down to receive her.
After exchanging kisses on her cheeks, the girl noticed two familiar figures standing beside Daniel: Koyuki and Envy.
"Mama! You're back!" she exclaid, rushing into Koyuki's embrace for a hug. Koyuki felt a mix of emotions in her heart.
"Hello, sweetie, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Koyuki said as she kissed Sylvana's cheek, the latter giggling in response.
"Oh, now that your mom's back, you've forgotten all about ," Envy teased, drawing the little one's attention to herself.
"No, Aunt Envy, I would never!" little Sylvana quickly hopped towards Envy from her mother's embrace, causing Koyuki to feel a twinge of dejection.
At that mont, Michaela descended from the VTOL. In her hand, she held a cage containing a yellow iguana.
The iguana seed startled at first upon seeing Envy, but quickly returned to its usual calm deanor as it surveyed its new surroundings with curiosity, much like any ordinary animal.
"Hello, my lord, Ms. Koyuki, Ms. Envy," Michaela greeted the three with her customary kind smile.
"Hey, did you do it to her yet?" Koyuki whispered mischievously in her husband's ear.
"Do I look like a dog to you?" Daniel retorted, slightly annoyed.
Yep, that's her personality, just as it was before she beca a witch and got depressed because of the event of that night. She always enjoyed teasing him, but he was equally fond of teasing her. Wait… maybe she picked that up from ? No, it couldn't be, Daniel thought to himself.
Unbeknownst to the couple, their whispered conversation seed to be overheard by the archangel. Her face turned red, and even Envy, who wasn't paying attention, noticed. But Envy didn't feel like teasing or trolling the archangel right now; her attention was fixed on the peculiar yellow iguana.
"Hmm…" Envy's eyes studied the lizard, which seed slightly nervous under her gaze.
"Oh, Aunt Envy! Let introduce you. This is Princess Aura!" Sylvana bead as she gestured towards the yellow iguana in the cage.
"She's a talking iguana! Say hello to Aunt Envy, Princess Aura," Sylvana said to the iguana.
The iguana remained silent, still eyeing Envy and the others with curiosity, just like any normal iguana.
"Huh? Why's that? Strange… Are you feeling unwell, Princess Aura?" Sylvana asked the iguana, but it remained unresponsive, behaving like any ordinary lizard.
"What does it usually eat?" Envy inquired, still studying the yellow iguana.
"Oh! Princess Aura likes steak! And fish too! She asked to bring her steak from ti to ti!" Sylvana replied cheerfully.
"Huh? You feed her steak!? No, that's not right! Most iguanas are herbivores! Even if Princess Aura is an omnivore iguana, she should only eat small insects like alworms, roaches, or flies. The protein in at is too much for an iguana!" Envy exclaid, alard, as she explained to the little one.
"What!? But she said she didn't like insects!" Sylvana protested, pointing towards the yellow iguana, feeling a bit betrayed.
Hearing this, Envy approached one of the sailors who was on break and walking towards the lower deck to fish. She wore a glove and picked up an earthworm from the sailor's bait bucket, then walked back to the iguana.
"Danny, could you give a piece of your jerky from your storage space?" Envy asked her beloved. She knew that Daniel's favorite snack was dried seasoned jerky, and he usually kept plenty of it in his storage space for convenience.
"Here you go," Daniel said, handing her a piece as she requested.
Envy took it and walked back to the cage, stopping to open it. She offered two choices to the yellow iguana. In her right gloved hand, there was a living, wriggling earthworm, while in her left hand was a high-grade seasoned beef jerky.
Little Sylvana watched closely, curious to see if Princess Aura had been deliberately lying to her, causing her to be scolded by Aunt Envy.
As for the yellow iguana, it didn't hesitate to pounce on the earthworm and devour it as if it were the most delicious al in the world.
[Ughhh humph urggg… I'm… about to puke…. but I can't! I can't let this demoness know it's !] The iguana screams internally. Of course, the iguana was Mammon. He had transford into this form after losing all his power, forced to remain in this state to conserve his energy.
After witnessing the iguana voraciously devour the earthworm, Sylvana pouted, her cheeks chubby with disappointnt, while Envy smiled reassuringly at her.
"You don't need to pout like that, sweetie. Maybe Princess Aura just wanted to try sothing new, or perhaps she was being a bit willful and wanted to eat steak. It's similar to when you're willful and want to stay up late watching TV, and Papa doesn't allow it.
I think it's the sa for Princess Aura. It's okay to want to pamper her, but we also need to consider what's best for her. She's just a normal iguana and can't handle too much protein from animals like steak. It's okay if she eats a few insects, but we should also feed her vegetables," Envy calmly explained to Sylvana.
"Um… I understand, Aunt Envy," Sylvana nodded obediently, still feeling a bit conflicted. She glanced at Princess Aura and pouted before closing the cage. Michaela giggled at Mammon's predicant before picking up the cage and following Daniel, who was leading them to the entrance of the Oceanos.
On Daniel's side, he looked at Envy suspiciously and whispered into her ear. "You do know that it's Mammon, don't you?"
"What are you talking about? I don't get it," Envy replied, winking at Daniel.
Seeing this, Daniel was certain that Envy knew all along that the iguana was Mammon. The only reason she acted clueless was because she wanted to troll Mammon rcilessly.
Daniel then shifted his attention to Mammon in the cage, who was looking at him, trying his best to evoke sympathy while shaking its head, signaling Daniel not to reveal its true identity to Envy.
At that mont, Daniel could only remain silent, solemnly acknowledging Mammon's impending miserable fate.
—
After exploring the impressive and luxurious interior of Oceanos, the three arrived at their assigned rooms. Sylvana opted to stay with Daniel and Koyuki, while Michaela chose to stay with Envy, who was eager to befriend the archangel.
Once preparations were completed, and all those bound for Arica were onboard, Oceanos, the mighty super submarine, phased through dinsions and launched its transatlantic voyage at full throttle.
Traveling from Japan to Arica in its phased state, the speed of Oceanos couldn't quite match that of a jet. This was due to the need to maintain its presence in the current dinsion and the delicate balance required to avoid slipping out entirely.
Nevertheless, its speed rivaled that of high-performance cars like Ferraris and Formula 1 racers, enabling it to reach San Francisco Harbor from Japan in just a few days – considerably faster than a conventional ship.
As the iconic Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco Harbor ca into view through the periscope, Daniel sat in the command room, surrounded by futuristic computers, contemplating his next move.
Unsure of San Francisco's current situation following the activation of the Grand Alteration spell, he pondered two options: contacting Greed to pre-arrange their arrival or sending out small reconnaissance teams equipped with drone support to assess the situation.
Suddenly, a familiar, lodic voice broke the silence. "Danny..." Turning his head, Daniel saw Koyuki standing before him, clad in her signature red shirt, black leather jacket imbued with magic, jeans, and boots – her usual attire for action and combat.
"Let accompany one of the reconnaissance teams," Koyuki suggested. "I lived in San Francisco for a while, know the city well, and even have a safe house there. I can be of assistance."
Daniel considered her proposal thoughtfully. He knew his wife disdained being treated as helpless or rely decorative. Action and purpose were essential to her. Denying her this opportunity would undoubtedly lead to a drawn-out dispute.
"Very well," he conceded. "But you must take Tomoe with you. Her skills will be invaluable in case of unforeseen circumstances."
Koyuki suppressed a playful pout at her husband's protective nature, readily accepting his condition. Her past experiences had understandably instilled worry in him, and she wouldn't burden him further.
"Thank you, love, You're the best." she whispered, planting a quick kiss on his lips before leaving the command room to prepare herself and contact Tomoe.
.
Daniel, lost in thought in the command seat, wrestled with another nagging concern before finalizing his decision about Koyuki's mission. His paranoia wouldn't allow him complete peace of mind. He decided to dispatch additional backup to discreetly follow her.
"Michaela," he spoke into his communicator, his voice betraying a hint of worry, "Please et in the command room."
"On my way, my lord," Michaela replied promptly.
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